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So thus far, we have two main review threads, but we don't have an actual FF13 thread to discuss in-game battle strategies, weapon upgrading, and anything else you like about the game or want to compare with others. Like Phoenix's thread, let me preface this with:

*There COULD be spoilers contained within this thread*



So what do you guys think about the actual mechanics of the game?


First, let's talk weapon/accessory upgrading. One thing I didn't like was the fact that the game doesn't let on that you can even do this for quite a while early on, so while you are collecting components, you are likely selling them off as none the wiser. I read the main book manual, so I knew later on there'd be upgrading, but I only held on to items that sounds mechanical in nature.

Let me say that my head couldn't continually wrap around the ever-changing buy/sell/upgrade numbers, I could only see potential trends. So what I did was create an excel spreadsheet (ok, microsoft works spreadsheet...) in order to make some value ratios. Buy/Upg ratio is the cost of an item vs. the potential upgrade points it gives you. So a component costs 200, it gives you 80 upg points for an accessory, 80/200 = .40. So 40% value. This is the ratio for Polymer Emulsion fyi.

I've found that almost unequivically it is better to just upgrade everything, rather than sell. Even the monster drops that give you barely any experience will often reward you with 1.25x bonuses. I haven't been able to figure out what determines this yet, but monster drops give you these alot. So definitely upgrade.

Anyone that wants to check out my ever evolving spreadsheet can look here:

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r34/qui...sheetscreen.jpg

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r34/qui...spreadsheet.png

It proves to me that without exception, thus far the two most cost to value components you can buy at Lenora's Garage are the Polymer Emulsion and Turbojet. The higher the ratio the better. Now, each team member's weapon also varies how components affect them as well. I basically keep 1 of each type of component just to enter the upg value on my spreadsheet. Then only buy the most worthy components period. That means a lot of Poly's and hopefully a lot of Turbojets (gil is hard to come by in this game! I seem to only manage getting it by selling accessories I pick up that I don't like).



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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

weapon upgrading is decent, but like you said, it comes in to play way too late. basically what i do is i buy 24 otherworldly bones (which gets you to a multiplier of 3 instantly) then use as many ultracompact reactors as i need, using catalysts to upgrade. its very efficient and fast if you have the money to do it.

as for strategies, i pretty much either use a COM-SYN-SEN to buff up my party beyond belief, switch to COM-MED-RAV to heal up, then COM-RAV-RAV to stagger and kill anything left. ive been doing that since i could choose my party and it hasnt failed me yet.

as for the battle system, its too boring. all you do is mash the "X" button to auto battle, and switch paradigms when needed. you can input commands manually, but whats the point? auto battle puts the commands i would have picked anyway. and all the sidequests tick me off because its just more fighting. i am so sick of the battle system, and i need to unwind on some sudequests and bam! all the sidequests are fighting. the story is unimaginative, so it needs gameplay to fall back on. however, the gameplay is dismal, so the whole thing just ends up collapsing.

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Aujourdhui a commence avec toi.

Basically what I've found is that items of an organic nature such as skin, claws, bones, etc. are your small experience boosters, but are nessisary to up your experience Multiplier. When you get said multiplier up to 3X then you use your mechanical stuff such as your circuits, conductors and so on. Those give you HUGE experience boosts, but will drop your multiplier. Also I've come to find about 35 or so smaller "organic" items are needed to generally get to a 3X multiplier.

Also, when you get to that 3X don't feel bashful about just plugging a ton of high exp stuff into your weapon/accessory, unless you know for SURE it's gonna level cap real soon as anything extra goes to waste. Most accessories cap at level 6 or 11. OH! And note that you DO NOT receive a notification about the multiplier dropping...so pay attention, and just use an organic item to bring it back up.

This post has been edited by Sasquatch on 27th March 2010 21:04

The synthesized abilities is probably one of the most helpful hidden abilities in the game. There are 29 (hidden) synthesis groups. Each piece of equipment belongs to a different synthesis group, by equipping more than one item of the same group you will trigger a synthesis ability. For example:

Ultimate Physic - Prevents all physical damage, but also precludes magical restoration - you can only heal via items or by using Eidolons. This synthesized ability requires 5 items including a weapon. Hope and Fang, as well as five items, are required to trigger this ability called "Ethereal Mantle".

The items needed are: Simurgh, Tezcatlipoca, Dragoon Lance, Dragonhorn and Kaiser Knuckles.

Gestalt - "Random: Instant-Chain" is a great ability, and it's cheap requiring just two items. Instant-Chain doesn't work often, but for those long battles it will come in handy. "Gestalt/TP Boost" is useful fro reloading the TP gauge to use techniques, and makes it easier to charge your Gestalt gauge as well. The four required items can include accessories that boost TP through battle kills, and the effects are cumulative.

Items needed: WEAPONS - (Hauteclaire, Durandal, Lionheart, Ultima Weapon, Rigels, Polaris Special, Procyons, Betelgeuse Customs, Unsetting Sun, Midnight Sun, Alicanto, Caladuris, Heavenly Axis, Abraxas, Taming Pole, Venus Gospel) ACCESSORIES - (Survivalist Catalog, Hunter's Friend, Speed Sash, Energy Sash, Champion's Badge)

2-3 Items equipped triggers "Random Insta-Chain"
4-5 Items equipped triggers "Gestalt/TP boost"

Like I said, there are 29 of this synthesized abilities.

MULTIPLIER: BEST SHOP COMPONENTS

Multiplier Effect +14 (buy 80 gil) Takes 36 to 3x
- Sturdy Bone
- Barbed Tail
- Vibrant Ooze

Multiplier Effect +21 (buy 150 gil) Takes 24 to 3x
- Otherworldly Bone
- Diabolic Tail
- Transparent Ooze

EXP: BEST COMPONENTS

(Component) (EXP) (Buy Price)

- Ultracompact Reactor (40000 exp) (50000 gil)
- Supercharger (774 exp) (1600 gil)
- Particle Accelerator (4800 exp) (10000 gil)
- Turboprop (768 exp) (1600 gil)
- Superconductor (400 exp) (840 gil)
- Perfect Conductor (751 exp) (1600 gil)
- Tesla Turbine (823 exp) (1800 gil)

As a general rule of thumb, upgrading an initial weapon takes around 50000 exp. Upgrading a Step 2 weapon to Ultimate Weapon takes around 450000 exp.

TRAPEZOHEDRON MULTIPLICATION

This is the ultimate tip for making gil and upgrading your weapons.

You need at least six TRAPEZOHEDRON to make just ONE ultimate weapon per character, and would somehow have to fathom raising 12 million gil to buy them, There is a trick through dismantling if you already own one TRAPEZOHEDRON. Create one of the following weapons:

- Kain's Lance (made from Dragoon Lance, Shamanic Spear, Punisher, Pandorans Spear or Gae Bolg) Fang's weapons

- Nirvana (made from Tigerclaw, Healer's Staff, Belladona Wand or Mistilteinn) Vanille's weapons.

Upgrade either to MASTER level (cost 1.5 million gil), and then dismantle it. You'll obtain 3 trapzohedron, tripling your initial investment, and less than 4 million gil than buying them from the shop. You will also get 36 Moonblossom seeds at the same time worth 216000 gil.

I also got useful tips on how to obtain ELIXIRS and RIBBONS, I'll post it later.

THE POWER OF QUAKE

If you get a pre-emptive strike quickly follow with a QUAKE to stagger all your enemies.

PHOENIX LIVES IN ALL OF US

If your party has been downed and obviously only your leader remains, use your Eidolon to quickly and fully revive your party.

BATTLE 101

Delta Attack (COM-RAV-SEN) to start battle. After two rounds of attacks switch to Mystic Tower (RAV-RAV-SEN) so you can quickly chain your enemy. Once the enemy is staggered switch to Relentless Assault (RAV-RAV-COM) or Aggression (COM-COM-RAV) depending on the enemy weakness. Weak to physical switch to Aggression, weak to magic switch to Relentless Assault or Tri-Disaster (RAV x3) if available. If you need to heal at any moment during battle I recommend Combat Clinic (MED-MED-SEN).

This post has been edited by SaffireWeapon on 28th March 2010 01:05

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PS3 tag: TipoDLuffy

"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made"

I think I'm on Chapter X and I haven't done any weapon upgrades yet.. any advice on when to begin looking into that? And should I be waiting for a weapon with decent statistics to actually level up? I haven't actually seen much for equipment yet that is very different from what I got early in the game.

I usually use Relentless Assault to get the enemy into stagger before switching into Aggression. With weaker enemies I usually stick with Relentless Assault the whole battle. If my health is getting low at any time, I switch to COM-MED-RAV to get some healing going on (can't remember what it's called).

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

SPRINT SHOES

This accessory grants AUTO-HASTE.

Upgrade TETRADIC CROWN to Master and dismantle it.

You will recieve a HERMES SANDALS.

Upgrade HERMES SANDALS to master and use PEROVSKITE to transform them into SPRINT SHOES.

Death Penalty, you should upgrade whenever you can. Upgrade the weapons who's special skills or attributes appeal to you the most. When you have the ability to select your party concentrate on their equipment alone. Let the other three farm CP until you reach 999999 CP with each, don't worry about the equipment of the three you are not using, their time will come. You should at least MASTER your favorite initial equipment of your main party before Chapter 12. Evolve Hope's HAWKEYE first, this Boomerang transforms into EAGLETALON, Hope's strongest Magic Booster. You need a PEROVSKITE to do so.

This post has been edited by SaffireWeapon on 28th March 2010 08:50

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PS3 tag: TipoDLuffy

"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made"

ELIXIR ANYONE?

During the course of the game you will only find ONE elixir.

There's an accesory called DOCTOR'S CODE. Obtain from battle with Anima, treasure sphere in Sunleth Waterscape, mission 41 reward.

Upgrade this item to Master and dismantle.

You will recieve three shrouds and one elixir.

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PS3 tag: TipoDLuffy

"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made"

THE ALMIGHTY SUPER RIBBON

You'll win one from the chocobo treasure-hunting mini-game, and you can get more from Flowering Cactuars in the Faultwarrens.

OR

If you have 120000 gil to spare you can buy an ENTITE RING from SANCTUM LABS. This can be upgraded into a GODDESS' FAVOR with a URANINITE component, which once fully upgraded dismantles into a RIBBON.

The RIBBON can be upgraded into a SUPER RIBBON using the DARK MATTER component.

Moderator Edit

You've been here long enough to not double post. -R51

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 28th March 2010 22:22

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PS3 tag: TipoDLuffy

"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made"

What have you guys found to be the better way to go for regular run-of-the-mill game advancing: Equiping auto-buff accessories for Bravery and Faith, or just sticking with Str & Mag boosting accessories?

Obviously the stronger the str/mag booster, the more it plays a part right? I guess if there was a hypothetical scenario of 3 accessory slots, would you rather put 3 str/mag boosters, or 2 str/mag boosters with an auto-bravery/faith?

Now that I'm in Chapter 12, I use sprint shoes and other speed boosting accessories, but hypothetically is there a general rule that Str/Mag boosters trumps Auto-bravery/faith or vice versa?

This post has been edited by Tidu-who on 14th May 2010 22:36

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

I prefer to equip the COLLECTOR'S CATALOG, SURVIVAL CATALOG, and a CONNOISSEUR CATALOG on separate characters to boost my loot. COLLECTOR'S CATALOG will boost your spoil rate, SURVIVAL CATALOG will raise your chances of obtaining components and the CONNOSEIUR CATALOG will increase the chances of getting rare items. The CONNOSEIUR CATALOG can only be obtained by transforming a COLLECTOR'S or SURVIVAL CATALOG. I suggest upgrading the COLLECTOR'S CATALOG because there is only one SURVIVAL CATALOG.

Buff equipment in my opinion are useless except for the TETRADIC TIARA. You can master upgrade this items and then dismantle to acquire rare items and components that otherwise you will not be able to acquire.

Go for weapons and accesories that have QUICK STAGGER and/or INSTA-CHAIN. The more of them you equip the better. This items rarely INSTA-CHAIN the enemy, but if you equip a total of 5 you will trigger a hidden synthesis ability that allow you to raise your chain at a faster rate or better yet, it increases the chance of instantly staggering the enemy. You will also fill your eidolon's gestalt a lot faster.

Equip the SPRINT SHOES on Hope and use his buff magic to quickly buff your party, that way you can equi Str/Mag boost equipment.

I suggest you take a HP boost accesory, upgrade to the max, transform if you can and equip on Hope. He is the character with less HP.

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PS3 tag: TipoDLuffy

"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made"