Don't misunderstand - storyline-wise, XII is by FAR not the most difficult game in the series, hell no. What mean is, I just realised that it's the only FF game where, even after my chars are all over 9000, with kick-ass weapons/stats/magic/etc, some areas STILL remain difficult.

From what I remember - and it has been some time since I played the older games, so maybe I just forgot something - in every other FF game you could reach a point where nothing could give you trouble. Lvl 99 made you a one-hit juggernaut. In XII, not so much. Maybe I just suck donkey balls (note: I've yet to kill Zodiark, so I might be on to something here), but even with maxed out chars and powerful weapons/armour, the f#$%^*ng flans and abysteels in the hidden Henne Mines' areas can STILL kick my arse when they gang up on me. Granted, this is partly thanks to CHEAP status effects, but the point remains.

I've read horror stories about X-2's Via Infinito, but - mostly due to time constraints - I haven't got so far in X-2, so I can't say anything.

Thoughts?..

I've never taken the time to max everyone out, but I HAVE completed the Bestiary and the Sky Pirate's Den and gotten every piece of equipment in the game, and I believe the hidden section of the Henne Mines contains the highest level normal enemies (as opposed to bosses/marks/rare game) anywhere. Even higher than the Subterra or the depths of the Great Crystal.

But the truth is, as you said, it's not levels, it's simply status effects. They're all in their 60s, but in this game you wouldn't want to underestimate the power of status effects especially when you're surrounded by Hecteyes, Necrofiends, and most annoying of all, Etems.

Hah, Etems are so annoying that even when I was making the Tournesol, I preferred hunting the Necrohol's Rare Game for Soul Powder rather than hunting Etems which are pretty common.

Just a tip for Zodiark - Right before you enter the Special Charter Dig (its lair), have one character go in alone so only one person will be affected by Darkja. It's a gift, being able to alter your party whenever.

As for Via Infinito, that is also true about maxed out characters having competition, but in that case they're actually are high leveled enemies, no status effects. I was maxed out but I found myself running from certain battles after Cloister 80. In XII you can't exactly "run" from battles that easily, so I guess that's also a factor.

I kind of feel like an idiot now, because... yeah, the enemies actually chasing you is kind of a factor here. *facepalm* Doubly so if they can teleport. #$%&* Etems. Or if there's 12 of them and you physically can't escape because they're everywhere around you. (What was that place called again, C-Section?..)


in this game you wouldn't want to underestimate the power of status effects especially when you're surrounded by Hecteyes, Necrofiends, and most annoying of all, Etems.

Ditto, although for me Hecteyes were by far the worst. Truly worthy successors to the mighty Malboros, huh. (And about the emphasis on status effects, thank the lord this applies to buffs, too. The Henne folks or Zodiark without Shell/Protect/etc? Yeeaaah.)

Re: Zodiark, I did try that, and he still owned me over and over again. Black Masks - check! Excalibur - check! Determination - check! Buffs - check! Game over - amazingly, check! Idk what it is about this fucker. Maybe I just lack patience.

What you must do is kill Zodiark before it uses it's Paling. Granted, you still have Magic and I'd imaging you have Scathe? Well, regardless, once it uses it's Paling it NEVER goes away! Only for a split second, but you're basically screwed into relying on magic for the rest of the battle, even though it gets a magic shield which does have a more fair going-away rate. But you don't have to deal with that. Save a quickening for when Zodiark uses something called "Shift". As soon as you see it begin to use that, it's your cue for a Quickening. If you're level 99, this thing will be toast.

Well the main story is very easy but some of the side quests require hours of strategy and patience. The final hunt for instance (can't remember his name) would probably take hours to beat if you were top level and had the best weapons. It's what makes it one of my favourite FF games despite the virtually non existent story.

Yeah, there's not doubt that Final Fantasy XII offers a lot of challenge. As for the story, well, yeah, the main plot was very skimpy compared to most other recent FFs. Still, one thing I did really like was the X-2 like ability to travel back any place pretty much any time that you wanted. It's been a while since I've played XII... I oughta try again sometime soon...

I've just started again this past week. Really getting into it, still dissapointed by the story (or lack thereof) but hey, the gameplay is very good.

I managed to pick up a signed copy of FFXII when it was released here in the UK, however it did not really grab me at all - although I thought it looked great. I really wasnt a fan of the 'real time' battle system and havent returned to the game since.

I actually prefer the battle system to previous FF games, but the characters and story are a let down and so it can't be my favourite.

Really...? cool, I started out with FFVII (my personal fav) and have always felt most rpgs work better for me when coupled with a solid turned based battle system. I agree with you about the characters & story though - wasnt a fan of the character design and story wise I felt it was just generally 'boring'. I really gotta return to it one day though, just to see how it plays out lol.

Try to avoid focusing on the general lack of story and enjoy the good characters such as Basch and Larsa and you might find that you enjoy the story more.

If you're anything over level 75, Zodiark won't be a problem, nor will the bats in the henne mines. You must be really bad! How'd you even get to lvl 99 if bats kill you? My lvl 99 characters only had trouble with Omega Mark XII (which was the only time i could manage to kill him).

That one small area where 5 of the Abysteels spawn can end the run for anyone, even if you spam Curaja on them.

FFXII certainly offers much to the hardcore battle enthusiast. I still haven't tried about a quarter of the marks and half of the Espers, not to mention the ultra-difficult optional areas of the game. I probably won't play it again having completed the main story and tried out most mini-games available. I simply can't be bothered grinding for hours on end to do something with little tangible reward.

But I disagree that it is necessarily the FF game with the most difficult optional areas. Some of the original creations in the FFX Monster Arena required even more time spent training and acquiring rare items to defeat without cheating. For me, FFX had the toughest optional bosses of any FF game. XII runs it close though.

But I disagree that it is necessarily the FF game with the most difficult optional areas. Some of the original creations in the FFX Monster Arena required even more time spent training and acquiring rare items to defeat without cheating. For me, FFX had the toughest optional bosses of any FF game. XII runs it close though.

I agree that FFX's Monster Arena was more difficult than the hunts in FFXII. At least until you find/create the limit-break weapons and armors; everything in FFX becomes a joke once you have 99,999 HP and can deal 99,999 damage with every one of the 15 attacks in Tidus's Blitz Ace or can take 20 turns before any monster with a character's maxed out speed plus Quick Attack. Even Nemesis is easy when you are maxed out. If they had allowed you to break the damage limit in FFXII, it would have made the game much more enjoyable, especially when hacking away at the 50,000,000 HP Yiazmat has.

Well,t he big difference is on FFX, you can let it sit as long as you want and you're not going to get your ass whipped just by doing that. If you lose focus when doing a battle on FFXII, you're finished.

I agree that FFX's Monster Arena was more difficult than the hunts in FFXII. At least until you find/create the limit-break weapons and armors; everything in FFX becomes a joke once you have 99,999 HP and can deal 99,999 damage with every one of the 15 attacks in Tidus's Blitz Ace or can take 20 turns before any monster with a character's maxed out speed plus Quick Attack. Even Nemesis is easy when you are maxed out.

Have you ever actually gotten to that stage without cheating or using a guide to track down the necessary HP Spheres/Strength Spheres? Personally, I've never bothered to try. Farming items on that scale is incredibly dull, reminiscent of the amount of Power Spheres I've had to farm to make my aeons even semi-useful in a battle (by that I mean giving them enough HP to survive a few hits), times a thousand.


If they had allowed you to break the damage limit in FFXII, it would have made the game much more enjoyable, especially when hacking away at the 50,000,000 HP Yiazmat has.

They do allow you to break the damage limit in a specific way - quickenings. I think having a cap of 9999 on normal attacks is a good way of ensuring quickenings remain worthwhile to the end of the game.

In FFX I actually maxed out my damage and health by taking everyone through the entire sphere grid and then using the clear spheres and the appropriate stat spheres (all of these are available from the Monster Arena) to create spots to gain the bonuses. Though I suppose that I have gone a bit overboard since my file is at 150+ hours and I am still working on getting everything from the Blitzball Tournaments.

That aside, having you put it that way about the damage cap in FFXII, it does make sense. Doing it this way ensures that you don't just ignore the quickenings, at least if you want to kill the guys that put up palings in a timely fashion.

Tip: Spam Sleepga on the absteeyls, then Curaja. All dead in 3 castings.

Wow, I didn't know that Abysteels were susceptible to Sleep status. I gotta try that the next time I play, whenever that might be.

I feel like this game was made to be unfairly difficult just for the sake of being difficult, to appease the basement dwelling dorks who said the earlier FFs were 'too easy'. It certainly wasn't for fun value or a fair & reasonable challenge. I hate everything about this game.

I hated the Suberra of the Pharos at Ridorana it was pain in the ass. It was annoying mixed with difficult.

Personally I love the difficulty factor, because it makes me feel good that I killed something that powerful. Zodiark I remember made me nearly throw my PS2 out the window and I nearly blew up my TV when I stupidly beat Yiazmat and then stepped on a trap on the way out. But I went back in there a couple days later when I had finished my tantrum and beat him in 3 and a half hours (some of the most repetitive game play in my life) and I felt good about it.

Via infinito is the most painful and tedius dungeon. It's repetitive and the payoff is not great. It leaves you with more questions than answers.

I never did any of the super hard sidequests until I started playing an old file again a few days ago, and, when I stumbled into the Subterra unprepared, I literally died three times before I realized that it was completely necessary to change my gambits XD I just ran all the time in the first room because the enemies are endless! At least they seem endless. I don't know for sure. I really, really like the difficulty, though, because, after playing so many RPGs, it's refreshing to get whooped at one and actually have to try and think and be strategic.

I loved the Via Infinito, too. The first time I went there I had done at least 3 new game pluses and had 3 Iron Dukes, so it wasn't a huge problem. But I started a new file and am going to go to the end in one playthrough! It was supposed to be a 100% run, but I couldn't get this one scene to play in the commspheres in chapter 4, so I'll be forever maxed at 99.8 percent. Oh well. I've already seen the perfect ending x3

All in all, I love challenge now, and I especially really hard areas (as opposed to boss fights) because you're thinking and playing and leveling up at the same time, which gives me a sense of satisfaction :] I'm currently trying to get the Whale Whisker in XII, and I have 1 Corpse Fly so far! 2 more to go... x3