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Caves of Narshe Forums > Final Fantasy IV > Cecil: Weak or strong?

Posted by: HolyCeles 25th October 2013 20:31

I think Cecil is strong, but Kain was a bit better attacking wise.

Posted by: RavenLalonde 26th October 2013 03:23

I say if you did not vote strong then you must not have a brain.

Posted by: HolyCeles 26th October 2013 16:08

Dark knight Cecil kinda sucked compared to Yang. I did say both forms

Posted by: laszlow 26th October 2013 16:41

Dark Knight Cecil only sucks against certain enemies, like undeads and flans. Right up to before he transforms, DKC is one-shotting giant Raven enemies and providing your only tank.

And as a paladin, there's no question. His special abilities aren't great outside of backup menu healing and Cover, but he is your best tank (huge HP, heavy armor) and biggest source of physical damage. Kain's jumps might deal more, but not against undead enemies and only because he wastes half-turns up in the air. Cecil isn't just strong, he's probably the strongest party member you get.

Posted by: HolyCeles 26th October 2013 17:14

Laslow, I think another Character is a bit stronger up until you obtain weapons like the Defender and the Giant's axe. Kain and Yang were more powerfull, bbut soon enough Cecil was an awsome attacker.

Posted by: laszlow 26th October 2013 17:44

Your question was "weak or strong?" and I went strong. When you get him, he's quickly your best attacked. Once you start regularly getting new equipment for him (around the Fire/Ice range) he's a stronger attacker than Kain. Once you get Exaclibur, he's your most reliable combat presence. At the endgame he's a beast. Being average or below-average for a few midgame dungeons doesn't make him weak.

Posted by: HolyCeles 26th October 2013 17:51

I agree.

Posted by: Glenn Magus Harvey 2nd November 2013 23:05

Strong, of course! The tank and the physical damage-dealer.

Sure, Kain can dish out more damage in a single hit, but he only attacks at 2x damage over 2x the turns, so there's nothing particularly spectacular about him. On the other hand, Cecil supplements his damage-dealing with backup white magic.

Also, Kain's somewhat of a jerk. and a bit lacking in strength of mind, lol.

Posted by: Magitek_slayer 3rd November 2013 20:08

The original ff4 was balanced unfairly, and gave cecil with ragnarok a major advantage over kain.I was doing easily 4000-5000 dmg, and i didn't have to wait a turn to get it.At high level i could do around 6-7k dmg, meaing aroudn 12-14.000 damage in the time it took kain to 1 hit.

Posted by: Spooniest 8th November 2013 16:24

Cecil is strong when his HP are high enough...

But when his HP are low, he's weak...

Seems like a simple question to answer...

Posted by: Quad 12th April 2014 05:20

Well, I just finished the DS version, and Cecil was unquestionably MVP in a lot of boss fights, if only because he had enough HP to stay alive and Phoenix Down on Rosa. He always had at least 1000 HP on Kain, and even though Yang was my favorite fighter Cecil definitely made it possible to win the game.

Posted by: chevleclair 12th April 2014 15:47

For the most part, Cecil is an extremely strong character in just about every version of the game. Combine non-added special abilities, such as Edge's two-weapon attack, and Kain's lancer attack, Yang's two-weapon attack, etc, then Cecil is somewhat subpar. But as far as the no-nonsense straight up one shot, Cecil is probably the best.

As far as being a tank, there's no question Cecil is the best in that regard. Kain is comparable, but Cecil's HP and defensive value are the strongest in the game.

The ultimate test of Cecil's damaging ability was against Zeromus. At level 65, with Ragnarok and the Genji equipment (The crystal gear for the SNES), teamed with Rosa, and the haste/berserk combination, Cecil dealt the fabled 9999 for each attack.

Posted by: Billdolfski 13th April 2014 14:34

He's strong.

I don't think he's the undisputed king of everything (though he pretty much is in the older versions), some of the newer end game equipment make the other characters give him a run for his money but he'd be a solid if not necessary addition to any good party (which he is necessary, they won't let you take him out).

Posted by: Electricbassguy 6th July 2014 02:12

Cecil is pretty much the strongest (melee) character in your party most of the time.

Yang and Cid can out-damage him in some scenarios but he takes damage better than they do because neither can wear a shield in most versions.

Posted by: HolyCeles 6th July 2014 08:53

Nah, Kain for me was always a better Melee character. If he gets yang's skills (Focus and kick) he is an absolute BOSS. I always use Cecil as a tank, the combination of Brace and Draw attacks with the defender sword and good armour is awesome!!!!

Posted by: BlitzSage 4th June 2015 06:07

Quote (HolyCeles @ 6th July 2014 04:53)

For me, there was always one character that seemed to be better at melee than Cecil. Yang was early on, then Kain later. In terms of all the characters, Cecil was always at least the second most powerful melee fighter, but was the strongest of the permanent (and final) fighters.

Posted by: Spooniest 5th June 2015 03:32

I'm going to give the non smart aleck answer that Cecil is one of the most powerful main characters in the history of the series. He is a freaking walking battle tank when leveled up enough in his Paladin form. Dark Knight Cecil maxes out around 5000 HP, so the characters in the game who tell him "you aren't gonna make it like this" are right; with the most powerful dark armor and 5000 HP, Big Bang would waste Cecil in an instant.

Cecil going into Paladin form gives him a healthy Vitality stat, giving him, in the long run, the deepest HP pool in the game. Only Cid's HP will max the HP stat if leveled enough, but Cecil keeps up remarkably well, maxing somewhere in the 9400 range.

Combine that with his utterly unparalleled attack power, and you've got yourself a freaking walking tank. Edge can deal more damage but at the cost of being utterly made of glass.

So yes, Cecil's strong. How good a character is he? How strong in terms of story is he?

Cecil starts the plot and ends it. He is present throughout the entire game, and is the main activator in all but a few of the game's events. He is central to the game; if you took out Cecil there would be no story.

So yes, he is very much a load bearing character plot-wise.

How well designed is probably a matter of taste.

But what makes me mad about Cecil is that for all his power and importance, he is utterly ineffective without outside help in the long run.

This game whoops Cecil's butt to show you the situation is serious, and it does it continuously throughout the game. If Cecil's down, you're in trouble.

hehehe

So the answer is yes, but ultimately, just kinda sorta.