So........did you guys ever use much magic in FFX-2?

I've been playing the game for about the fourth or fifth time this week, trying to max various dresspheres. For me, magic is not very useful in X-2, even if you master the magic-oriented dresspheres. Black Mage only lets you learn the fairly basic Firaga/Thundaga/Blizzaga/Waterga spells; others you have to equip rare garment Grids to use.

As a source of damage, I generally found magic to be inferior to various physical attacks. It does provide some elemental options which the Attack command lacks, but there are ways of getting elemental damage with physical attacks (Fiery/Watery etc. Gleam/Swordplay elemental abilities, etc.)

Healing, on the other hand, can often be quicker than, and is generally more powerful than, white magic, if you use items instead. For me, a Curaga spell on one party member heals about 1,500 HP (I am currently mid-40s with levels). Compared to that, an Alchemist with Chemist auto-ability can heal 4,000 HP on all party members with a single Mega-Potion, which are easy enough to acquire through winning blitzball matches. Plus, you are able to conserve your MP for attacking this way (though I use my MP on physical abilities rather than magic).

There may be others though who have found a way of really making magic useful, like using spherechanges to gain stat bonuses and so on (for instance, I recall how spherechanging on the 'Healing Wind' Grid to gain access to Curaga before I had learned it manually managed to save my life in a boss battle with the Chocobo Eater).

Essentially, the point of that short essay was this: magic in FFX-2 sucks. It was, in my view, rather underpowered and didn't really suit the battle system. Don't get me wrong, it has its moments, but generally I didn't find it all that useful. I just wondered what other people thought about this.

Agreed. I just mastered the Black/White Mage Dresspheres for the sake of mastering them, and it sucks they can't normally "Attack".

Yeah, same here. There is little doubt that X-2 magic is near-useless. I almost never bothered with it. Physical attacks and special abilities are way too strong.

White Mage was the worst to master especially getting started when you could only use Pray, you couldn't earn any AP while fully healed.

I too just mastered the magic dresspheres for the sake of completion and switched to others once they were done.

White Mage was the worst to master especially getting started when you could only use Pray, you couldn't earn any AP while fully healed.

I too just mastered the magic dresspheres for the sake of completion and switched to others once they were done.

White Mage, you say?
First of all, since when do you not earn any AP when fully healed? That's certainly not true. At least, definitely not in any game I was playing. You sure it's not an international version thing? Or you didn't have an accessory preventing that? In fact, White Mage was mastered the fastest for me for some reason, it was always over before I knew it. And seeing as, much like in most battles in X-2 all I did was keep pressing X and using "Attack" or whatever the initial thing was if that was impossible, seeing as the White Mage's was "Pray", my party benefited from that.

Now, BLACK Mage was the most annoying to master.

I found White Mage and Black Mage easy to master, but then I mastered most of the magic on New Game+ files when I had the benefit of AP Eggs. Still though, both have ways they can level up quickly - Pray for White Mage, and Focus for Black Mage. Cast repeatedly for quick levelling.

Incidentally, Zak, while you can't normally use "Attack" with either Black Mage, White Mage or Songstress dresspheres, there is at least one way of getting the girls to physically attack in those dresspheres. In one instance, I used the Pride of the Sword GG to give them Swordplay abilities, then had a chuckle as the group used staves and, in Yuna's case, a microphone, to beat the crap out of Vegnagun. :laugh: