Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Since this is a rather long post, I'll put my question at the top. Skip the following story if it's too boring for you (but I'm enjoying telling it

Has anyone ever defeated Chaos with a party of four Black Wizards, and what strategy worked for you?

After browsing the various FF 1 sites and reading FAQs, I was intrigued that some people have completed the game with unorthodox parties, such as 4 White Wizards or a solo Master. This inspired me to try my own unorthodox party, four Black Wizards. I'm playing Final Fantasy Origins version of Final Fantasy I, on PSX.

It was a very rough start, with Goblins trouncing me repeatedly, and earning enough gold to fill up my early spell levels took many hours. I discovered early on that, for physically weak parties anyway, SLEEP1 is the best low level magic in the game.

About midway through the game I began using POISON and MUDDLE, to great advantaged, kicking butt in places like the Hall of Giants to earn Gil. FIRE2 was indispensible at the Peninsula of Power, and wherever undead things lurk.

After finding the GAUNTLETS, MAGESTAFF, I tore through the Ice Cave like there was no tomorrow. The HEALSTAFF and HEALHELMs sustained me through even the most difficult dungeons.

For the Temple of the Fiends 2000 years past, I developed strategies for each encounter that kept me alive. Worms, for example, are vulnerable to MUDDLE which I cast using the SPELLBINDER. Other monsters fell in numbers when I held high my VENOMBLADE. The best option is sometimes to Flee from certain enemy groups, like White Dragons, Dark Warriors/Wizards. Three hits in a row of FIRE3, or SNOWSTORM is enough to cripple or destroy any party you can think of.

Many encounters in TOF2000Past were only survivable thanks to the WHITEROBE. Though I have no numbers to back this up, it seems that repeated uses of INVIS2 are cumulative, in effect causing the party to be untouchable after about three uses. Keep in mind though that INVIS2 cannot shield your party from the effects of magic, so groups of Green/Gas Dragons will still cause great pain.

As to the Fiends, they all fell eventually. Lich gave me problems at first, because his magic defense is so great that even FIRE3 and HARM2 (from the LIGHTAXE) caused him only 40-70 points damage. After I hasted two of my BWs, he went down quickly. Marilith was shockingly easy to defeat thanks to the WHITEROBE. Kraken unleashed an explosion of devastating physical attacks early on, but my BWs survived, thanks to the WHITEROBE. For all the first three, the RIBBONs provided adequate protection from elemental attacks.

Then there was Tiamat. Right off the bat she hit me with POISON, killing the BW without a RIBBON. This is the first time in the game where I had to rely on pure luck, and the Memo Save, to get me through a battle. After several attempts, I finally got her into a sequence where she didn't use POISON as the first attack. Even with two hasted mages, one of whom used the MASMUNE, it still took several rounds of heavy fighting and healing to take her down. Only luck she didn't get around to using POISON, which would have left me one BW short for the climactic battle to come.

Now for Chaos, he has annihilated me every time. Even with the HASTEd MASMUNE my physical attacks are too weak. Even FLARE causes less than 200 points damage. His physical attack is strong enough to bring my BWs to their knees. As for Tsunami, Tornado, and Flame, they bring my party to the brink of death. Problem is, I cannot inflict enough damage quickly enough to kill him before he CURE4s all over himself.

Has anyone completed the game with a party of 4 BWs? What strategy did you use?

--------------------

FFO on PSX: Killed Chaos w/ 4 level 49 Black Wiz's

I did that on the GBA version and I had almost no problems.
I just had 3 characters cast Flare non-stop and had my other one use healing items.
I was like level 60 though, what level are you?

--------------------

<Insert witty remark here>

It took many tries, but I finally got him! My BWs are level 49.

I cast haste on the BW with the MASMUNE. The other three BWs used the WHITEROBE repeatedly, and the HEALHELMs and HEALSTAFF. FLARE was used, but it didn't seem to damage Chaos much.

The hardest part of this party has been lack of proper healing. Perhaps next time I'll try all White Mages. I think a party of two Black Belts, a Red Mage, and a White Mage would probably be a real powerhouse.

Thanks very much for reading my story. It's been great fun

--------------------

FFO on PSX: Killed Chaos w/ 4 level 49 Black Wiz's

try going the other way, more towards all physical, depending on items to heal, try 4 black belts

Quote (Final Fantasy Guru @ 21st March 2007 23:55)

try going the other way, more towards all physical, depending on items to heal, try 4 black belts

That doesn't even answer his question. For one, he already beat it with four Black Wizards, which you'd see if you'd read. For another, he wanted to do it with four Black Wizards. Telling him to do it with another class is completely irrelevant.

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I appreciate all the suggestions.

Final Fantasy is a game that changed the way I thought of video games, and specifically my opinion of the NES. I bought a Commodore VIC-20 when they were new (1981 or so), mostly to play Gorf and Omega Race. Back then, the hottest thing around was the Atari 2600, but the VIC-20 had games that were more true to the standup arcade versions.

My early experiences on NES revolved around SuperMario Bros., and Legend of Zelda. There were no real RPGs for home consoles in the USA, so my only RPG experiences came from Ultima on the Commodore 64.

Ultima was a fantastically cool game, and practically created the computer RPG genre all by itself. There were older RPGs on systems like the Apple II but they were far less sophisticated, and the Ultima series ruled for a long time after.

When I first played Final Fantasy, I was amazed at how enormous it seemed. The dungeons were large, and graphically rich. The characters were animated and each one had personality. The first time I got my AIRSHIP, that sealed the deal. Final Fantasy breathed new life into the genre, set the bar much higher for everything that followed, and greatly increased my devotion to computer RPGs.

Since then, I've become addicted to Chrono Trigger, Dragon Warrior, and all the other titles in the Final Fantasy series. Now that I have a PS1 and PS2, I can play most of the FF releases to date. My latest passion is FF Tactics, which is surprisingly good. I wouldn't have thought Square had it in them to make a tactical game and still keep the FF style

It seems really sad that FF 13 is PS3 only. I'll never buy a PS3, as the Wii is a far more impressive accomplishment. PS3 may have the latest, most powerful hardware, but Wii is truly innovative and still has the traditional Nintendo "Fun" factor. IMHO Wii will move the gaming industry forward faster than PS3, spurring new development and more innovations.

(For all you PS3 fans, please don't be offended. I know PS3 is an extremely powerful, and sophisticated machine. Sony deserves credit for making a console more advanced that anything else we're likely to see for some time. But PS3 is not for me, has not won my heart, hasn't the character of a machine I can have fun with. To each one's own, and I hope you enjoy it while it lasts.)

Edit: I finally did buy a used PS3 because the price was right. Those two paragraphs seemed a bit out of place here anyway.

Before I stray too far from the topic of this thread (as if I already haven't), I think the most important factors in FF1 party composition are physical power, and healing power. In fact, this seems to be the rule for most of the entire series, with Final Fantasy X being a possible exception. Black magic is fun to use, and quite powerful, but it can't win the day without support of physical power and healing.

The reasons I think 2 BBs, a WM, and a RM:
- WM is a boon for healing, and fights okay in the early stages
- BBs are killing machines for most of the game
- RM can fight well enough for the first half of the game
- RM can help with healing
- RM can keep you entertained with Black magic
- Relatively cheap to equip, with nothing spent on 2 BBs

Weaknesses might be:
- Trying to balance between White and Black magic for the RM is a pain
- WM has a pretty low defense
- RM isn't nearly as good a fighter as BB or FI
- You never get some of the good Black magic

I've done a party of 4 BB/MA before. BB is great for most of the game. MA is less effective than the KN. His defense seems greatly hampered by the lack of protective gear, and the need for healing is increased.

Other opinions?

This post has been edited by sparerib1968 on 27th September 2010 17:31

--------------------

FFO on PSX: Killed Chaos w/ 4 level 49 Black Wiz's

well here is just a crazy thought. If you going to have a WW than why dont you have youre RW just do black magic. Or you could just get a BW. But thats just a suggestion.

Quote (yomama @ 23rd March 2007 01:46)

well here is just a crazy thought. If you going to have a WW than why dont you have youre RW just do black magic. Or you could just get a BW. But thats just a suggestion.

...well.... Ever see a black mage or white mage swing a sword at you....?

they are suited to do the fighting at the beggining of the game, and are GREAT support characters...

Quote (yomama @ 23rd March 2007 01:46)

well here is just a crazy thought.  If you going to have a WW than why dont you have youre RW just do black magic.  Or you could just get a BW.  But thats just a suggestion.

I don't restrict my RMs to Black magic only because deafeats the entire reason to choose RM. In short, if I wanted a character who could only use Black magic, then I would choose a BM.

RM/RW is probably misunderstood by many players, and it's easy to see why. Square doesn't discourage the view that RM is a second attacker, or extra healer, or backup spellcaster. Players who take this view are bound to think of RM as a worthless character. In fact, RM is none of those things. RM is the jack of all trades, master of none.

- He's restricted in White/Black spell choices
- He never learns the most powerful spells
- RW's fighting skill compares poorly with KN

The real reason to choose a RM is because you want a party that is flexible enough to survive the unexpected. When you're deep in the Earth Cave, It's nice to have more than one attacker. But when your WM just died, you'll be glad RM can drop the sword and tend to the wounds of your FI. Anyone who'se ever ventured a little too deep in a dungeon knows the sense of desperation at being lost without healing. Don't forget how few spell charges you get in the early stages.

Since my last party was 4 BW, I want something different. Thank you for your opinions.

This post has been edited by sparerib1968 on 24th March 2007 13:58

--------------------

FFO on PSX: Killed Chaos w/ 4 level 49 Black Wiz's

Quote

- BBs are killing machines for most of the game

I've always thought of Black Belts as worthless wanna be Fighters that die alot.

Seriously, a Fighter/Knight is way better than a Black Belt/Master will ever be.
Not only does a Fighter/Knight do more damage, he also has more defence and Knights can cast white magic.
Black Belts are fighters with less defence. Masters are Black Belts with almost no difference. A fighter to Knight upgrade comes with a bunch of goodies, but a Black Belt upgrade gets you nothing.


--------------------

<Insert witty remark here>

I have to disagree about the usefullness of bb/gm. I have witnessed a gm kill chaos in 1 hit. now granted he was level 50 (if I remember right that is the cap at least on NES) May I presume that you have not used a GM without any weapons equipped? Its disgusting how much damage they can truly do.

--------------------

Creativity is merely insanity focused.

I actually think the Ninja is very useful, ive had my ninja on par with my fighter on every game ive played..... but then agian, i always throw a red mage in there...so what do i know, right? lol

There are plenty of threads to debate classes in general, please use those.

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Yeah, old threads... VERY old threads...

let's revive what's dead!!

This post has been edited by zarghster on 20th July 2007 00:17

Ok my party may not be the best party and as for experiance playing FF1 the last time i played it was back in the 80's on the NES.....So bear with me and my horrible party selection. (just recently got it on the PSP)


Fighter
Thief
Monk
Red mage

I just recently started on the Temple of Chaos currently sitting at lvl 45, relying on a major ammount of Hi-Potions and Ethers to sustain he Life and Magic needs of my party.

Quote

Before I stray too far from the topic of this thread (as if I already haven't), I think the most important factors in FF1 party composition are physical power, and healing power. In fact, this seems to be the rule for most of the entire series, with Final Fantasy X being a possible exception. Black magic is fun to use, and quite powerful, but it can't win the day without support of physical power and healing.

I disagree. Final Fantasy 6 (FF3 for the SNES) was a game dominated by magic in the end. Anyone who knew Ultima was a powerhouse. The spell dropped 9999's on anything on the screen when it was cast by any character. I do understand what you're saying, but I think that the rule you're expressing only applies with FF1...

Quote (Makoeyes21 @ 10th October 2007 15:02)

Quote

Before I stray too far from the topic of this thread (as if I already haven't), I think the most important factors in FF1 party composition are physical power, and healing power. In fact, this seems to be the rule for most of the entire series, with Final Fantasy X being a possible exception. Black magic is fun to use, and quite powerful, but it can't win the day without support of physical power and healing.

I disagree. Final Fantasy 6 (FF3 for the SNES) was a game dominated by magic in the end. Anyone who knew Ultima was a powerhouse. The spell dropped 9999's on anything on the screen when it was cast by any character. I do understand what you're saying, but I think that the rule you're expressing only applies with FF1...

By the end of VI, you had characters who could do straight 9's 8 times in a row by simply choosing the Attack command. Magic was powerful, but in nearly every game, there comes a point when it is just not necessary.

--------------------

FFIVDS looks awesome, right? Especially the character scans. I mean, look at that CGI scan of Yang. You see it and you just think...badass. And then you look at his polka-dot pants, likely stolen from a Dr. Seuss book. And then you just...shiver.

Quote (Makoeyes21 @ 10th October 2007 19:02)

Quote

Before I stray too far from the topic of this thread (as if I already haven't), I think the most important factors in FF1 party composition are physical power, and healing power. In fact, this seems to be the rule for most of the entire series, with Final Fantasy X being a possible exception. Black magic is fun to use, and quite powerful, but it can't win the day without support of physical power and healing.

I disagree. Final Fantasy 6 (FF3 for the SNES) was a game dominated by magic in the end. Anyone who knew Ultima was a powerhouse. The spell dropped 9999's on anything on the screen when it was cast by any character. I do understand what you're saying, but I think that the rule you're expressing only applies with FF1...

Please note that I did use the qualifiers "seems" and "most" to indicate that the statement may not hold true in every case. It should be clear that I made allowance for exceptions by saying FF-X would be one. Besides, you're free to formulate your own strategies and share the results with us in a new thread.

Having said that, I'll grant that in some battles magic is quite helpful, or even necessary. I hate fighting undead without fire or holy magic, for example. In the context of this thread, however, the lack of physical power in my party proved to be a huge challenge.

--------------------

FFO on PSX: Killed Chaos w/ 4 level 49 Black Wiz's