Question about Medics

[Tiffany]

Do yours actually cast Raise/Renew?

Hope has Renew. I double checked the CP description, and it says that it revives KO'd party members and replenishes their HPs. So I'm in a battle, and Fang dies. I kept waiting and waiting for Hope to cast Renew and he never did. I ended up having to use a Phoenix Down in order to revive her.

WTF?

Am I doing something wrong? Like, what else needs to be in place for the character to cast something like that other than have that character as a medic in the active paradigm, and have the ability learned?

Cuz that is a massive, massive dislike for the game. I mean, whats the point of building up your CP points if your characters won't use the abilities learned?

PLEASE tell me that I'm doing something wrong! Its gotta be some sort of weird oversight on my part!

[DragonHeart]

Renew is a technique, not a spell. That means you have to cast it manually when you need it. Your AI teammates will never use a technique on their own. They will cast Raise if they have it, but their priority is for non-KO characters so if you're taking a lot of damage your healer will just continuously heal you and themselves and never Raise.

Of course, you could always control your Medic if the AI isn't effective enough for the area/battle you are in. I know I've had to spam Phoenix Downs on more than one occasion before my lead character got Renew and even then, if I didn't have TP I still ended up scrabbling to get everyone up after heavy AoE spam.

~DragonHeart~

[Tiffany]

Okay that makes sense. Although Hope has Raise as well and didn't use that either.

Jerks. Sorry, had to get that out.

[Andromeda]

Dragonheart's correct. As I've read on a guide online the AI's priority is first that everyone alive has at least 70% HP. Once they have 70% HP it moves on to secondary check and will begin to use raise on dead allies. There a list of the priorities online.

[DragonHeart]

Was Snow KO'd?

Try setting a Paradigm for Med/Sen/whatever so if your third person is taken down you can minimize the damage to your remaining team until your third is back on their feet. This is particularly useful with Hope as your healer because he has low HP and can get KO'd easily. It depends mainly on who you have in your team of course, but having Fang or Snow around to tank can be extremely helpful when you need to Raise someone.

~DragonHeart~

[Ralz]

I'm trying to learn that myself. Once I get enough CP, I'll master the Crystarium for Chapter 8, right now.

I had a feeling it was a Technique. Something that freebie couldn't have come without a high price. But I dislike controlling Medics, I'm put to much better use on the battlefield. If the AI won't revive KO'd allies, I can and will toss a Phoenix Down. I have, like, 30 in reserve right now.

Besides, stay healed and then start reviving is the best thing to do. Because its no good to be constantly reviving if everyone's dropping left and right. o_O

[DragonHeart]

Well, every character learns Renew so as long as you have the TP there's no need for Phoenix Downs or controlling a Medic if you don't want to. I don't always have the TP but Fang is always present in my party so if someone is KO'd I can have her tank while my healer gets them back up. It doesn't happen often anymore but when it does it's usually from massive AoE. I still keep Phoenix Downs for backup though, in case both of my other characters are KO'd.

I find having a Sentinel/Med/Med Paradigm is invaluable for just such a situation. Between the damage control abilities and the fact that Fang can take hits all day no problem, it makes Raising a KO'd character a very quick process. I know not everyone has Fang or Snow in their team, this is just what works for me. A Commando would probably be a decent substitute for a Sentinel if you spam Blitz or Ruinga to keep the enemies from attacking.

~DragonHeart~

[Tiffany]

I can see where reading the strategy book would've been helpful at times like this. I have it but I always do my first playthrough on my own and then my 2nd I use the book and do 100% completion.

On a side note I'm frustrated with the Barthandalus (spelling?) battle. FML.

[DragonHeart]

I actually don't have it, though I did order one. Grr delayed orders. I never use one on my first run either so I've learned it all the hard way, with a few tips from Andro.

Barthandelus is indeed a pain. Are you on the one with the four magic-spewing faces?

~DragonHeart~

[Tiffany]

Yes!

I got those down okay, but then when it was just ..erm... him (?) left he totally smoked me. Not to mention I'm having difficulty trying to figure out what Paradigms would work best to stagger him as clearly that's the only way to get down his massive HP bar.

I'm going to give it one more go today then maybe try and find some hints or something. Frig.

[loaf]

Only thing I ever saw as a problem was why do enemies have weaknesses if your characters wont even cast that spell.

[DragonHeart]

I had the opposite problem, the faces kept killing me. Once I got past them I did fine. When he starts charging up Destrudo if you need to, heal up and buff up. If you don't just wail on him with any sort of all-out offensive until he uses it, then switch back to a defensive healing/buffing Paradigm. If you can Stagger him before Destrudo goes off it won't be as strong.

ETA: @Loaf - They're supposed to and they usually do use spells corresponding to the enemy weakness, however they'll only do it if they know it's a weakness. Try using Libra or Librascopes at the beginning of the battle to suss out the enemy weakness fast, otherwise it does take awhile before the AI 'learns' and adapts to the enemy intel information.

~DragonHeart~

[Tiffany]

I suck.

I'm spending time grinding and maxing out my CP levels as no matter how hard I try I keep getting smoked by Destrudo. I assume that I must be underleveled or something because really, it shouldn't be this hard, eh?

I've only got a few more to go before I've got them all maxed out so I'll try it (again) for the umpteenth time. Honestly, Odin was a walk in the freaking park with a sundae compared to this POS.

Argh.

[Andromeda]

The fight is always going to be fairly rough, even with a solid strategy I think. And so long as you fought 90% of any monsters you ran into over the course of the game you certainly won't be underleveled. Unless you are avoiding almost everything in the game it is possible to win. The unfortunate thing is that you can never overlevel, which certainly presents a problem. But they did design all of the monsters to be winnable without having to resort to cheating or overleveling, you just tend to need to know the right strategy. The game can be pretty brutal in spots, but if you can't get past it then it also going to mean you're not ready for the rest of the game. As I found it, while challenging as it is, the challenge prepares you and refines your tactics so you can deal with what is to come. Because the game doesn't get any easier the further you get into it. And it'll keep expecting you to improve your tactics and strategies in order to win.

The method I used was blitzing the head nearest to the center so that the blitz hit both of the heads on the left or right depending on what I side I was attack as well as the main body. After one head was gone the other next to it was usually pretty close. Afterward, I did the same thing on the other. At this point the main body has taken up some damage in the process of you clearing out the troublesome heads. This should make your battle with the main body a little easier.

I believe I used Lightning, Hope and Fang for the fight since I had a preference for Hope until I got to Pulse I think. Then I changed to Sazh. And Hope as the lowest HP in the game I think. But with Hope and Lightning you should be able to have double medic whenever you have a problem. And if you turn on Sentinel it'll provide a defense bonus to the entire team. I don't know what skills Hope has as a Synergist, but throw on whatever you have at the beginning and make sure it is replaced when it goes always. If you can throw on Saboteur as Fang when you're down to one target. I usually debuff when the enemy is staggered since it is usually less misses, but if you can get the debuffs on as early as possible. It will make the fight go a lot smoother as well.

Afterward, once in stagger do Ravager x2 and Commando until it is about 500-600% and then switch to Ravager and Commando x2. Commando is meant as your primary damage dealing role, Ravagers make very poor damage dealers. Ravagers are your stagger role they push it up and Commandos maintain the meter, but they also has the highest damage output.

If you have room for an extra Paradigm double up and switch between it every other complete turn. If you switch Paradigms every second turn you will be given a full action meter, which when you have normal action speeds can mean a lot.

Hope that helps you put the guy in his place. I really hate him, stupid high HP.

[DragonHeart]

My strategy was slightly different. I had...Lightning, Hope and Fang, I believe. Either Hope or Vanille, probably Hope cause I didn't have Vanille on my team as much as I should have until Pulse.

Anyways, my problem was the faces so I started Com/Med/Med and just had Fang rip each face apart as fast as possible while Hope and Lightning pretty much just kept her and themselves alive. I actually did this fight without Synergist or Saboteur, it was tough though.

So anyways, after I took the faces out I switched Fang to Sentinel, Lightning Com and Hope stayed Med. I was still playing defensively at that point, Fang spent a lot of time tanking. When he charged Destrudo then I'd go Com/Rav/Rav to get whatever hits I could in, then back to tank and heal with Lightning on the offensive. It took awhile to do this way but it can be done. You might even have better luck with Snow tanking, although he is sorely lacking in offensive power.

I know I certainly didn't get a good time on the fight but if you don't care about that sort of thing sometimes playing defensively can really help. Just make sure you take any advantage you can to do an all-out attack. I don't think I got Doomed on that fight but it was probably a close thing, considering.

~DragonHeart~

[Tiffany]

Thanks!

I think the only battles I avoided were the huge clusters of those deckdrone things right before you get into this area that I was in now. Mainly because I was sick of fighting at that point and wanted something storyline wise to happen.

Funny enough I have 0 problems with the faces. I can take them down within a few mins or so. Bart himself isn't that hard until he charges with Destrudo. While he's charging I switched Paradigms to the one where Fang's a commando, Lightning a Medic and Hope a Synergist. Then once my buffs are up I switched to Solidarty or whatever its called (Lightning a commando, Fang a Sentinel and Hope as Medic). Doesn't matter! First shot of Destrudo and I'm toast, even with all the buffs and whatnot.

That's what made me think that I must be underleveled, as I shouldn't be dying with one shot, with veil/protect/shell cast on me either. Eh?

With the faces I used a Librascope on them as it targets all of them rather than using the ability of Libra and doing it individually. The AIs did quick work of them, and I stayed with the Diversity Paradigm and had no troubles at all. I do start off the game in Bully though. But considering the faces portion of the game isn't an issue at all I guess that's okay?

[DragonHeart]

That is really weird. I don't remember ever being fully wiped out by Destrudo. The only other advice I can give is to not play as Fang if she's your tank since she's most likely to be KO'd, being Sentinel and all. You could try switching either Fang or Lightning out for Snow and make him the tank, he does have the highest amount of HP so he might live a bit longer.

What kind of accessories are you using? Might want to load up with +HP for this fight as well.

~DragonHeart~

[Tiffany]

Yeah it totally wipes my party out. Well, it wipes Lightening out, so that's basically all that matters, right? I have all the accessories from the area with all the stairs, and equipped her with the gold band. Her HP is around 1500 or so?

I wonder too if my choice in following the CP is my problem too. I never really followed the Medic role with her, I concentrated on Ravager first (as that's what she seemed to be all the time when you couldn't control who was in your party) and then Commando second. Medic and Ravager are maxed out now, so I hope that'll work.

As frustrated as I am with it, I do like it though! If it were too easy it'd be boring.

[DragonHeart]

Hmm, I used Commando as Lightning's main role, Sentinel for Fang. Do you have Phoenix Downs to use for quick raising when Lightning gets KO'd? That may help too. If she's your lead character and she's the only one who gets KO'd by Destrudo, definitely switch to someone else for the battle. Fang pretty much never gets KO'd as long as she's got Mediguard up.

~DragonHeart~

[Tiffany]

dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh

Why didn't I think of switching her out of the lead role?

I'm going to try that once my kid goes down for a nap!

[Ralz]

I got raped the first time I fought Barthandelus.

It seemed to go fine at first, I was just going to use 2 Ravagers and a Commando at the start to build up the Stagger Meter. And then I noticed Ravagers could barely even pull off a single percent, and his meter went up to 999... >_>

I was so busy dealing with that, I basically ignored the fact that his node's magic was leveling up and dealing crazy damage. I didn't notice I was screwed until the -ga's came. And four at once = not even three Medics could save you. At that point, it was a struggle to keep everyone alive. I tossed Phoenix Downs and got to see Renew in action. But overall, I quit the battle and readjusted.

I caved and read a FAQ online, and learned what I was supposed to do. Normally, I'd fight again and try something different, but that was so crazy, I had to know what went wrong. The next fight went far smoother. I went with Lightning, Hope, anf Fang. Lightning was a Ravager, Hope was a Medic, and Fang was a Commando. That was, the nodes were also getting staggered and easier to kill. After two were down, the magic upgraded. Then, another node was killed, and the magic upgraded again. Of course, I only had a single Blizzaga to deal with, and Hope could easily keep up with that.

So, when all the nodes are gone, then he changes his strategy. For me, Hope was able to heal all if his damage. I had the grid maxed for this chapter, and that's probably why. Destrudo didn't do more than 400 to me, and Hope quickly healed us back up. Eventually, I swapped Paradigms to get Protect and Shell going, and then I swapped to where Lightning and Hope are Ravagers and Lightning is a Commando. It was easy to stagger it, and I won shortly after.

Seems when you know what to do, the fight is too easy.

[Tiffany]

I BEAT IT!!! Friggin jeebus.


I tried to swap Lightening out of the leader role but it wouldn't let me.

Sooooo I used one of those fortisol shrouds right before I entered the room. Lucky enough it carried over for my battle! That helped. There were a few close calls and the asshat did cast Doom on me but thankfully Fang smoked him while he was charging up Destrudo again.

Holy hell.

[DragonHeart]

Yeah, I couldn't remember if the game would let you by that point or not, I actually forgot about the shrouds. Weird, since I've been using them a lot lately. Probably because I never have the most useful one, heh. Anyways, congrats! Since you've done so much grinding you'll probably not have much trouble with the next section, at least.

~DragonHeart~

[Yang's bald head]

Killed at 6th attempt. To be fair it wasn't that bad and I got further each time. The doom must have been just bad luck. Destrudo didn't one hit kill me like it did before for some strange reason

My summons don't seem too powerful though :/

[DragonHeart]

The Doom isn't really bad luck, he casts it automatically whenever you take too much time. Just in case you didn't already have enough pressure trying to kill him lol. XD Glad you both made it, he's one of the more annoying bosses.

Summons get stronger as you progress through the Crystarium and unlike the characters, they come with the lovely uncapped damage ability as standard. Usually my last ditch attempt to save a losing battle is to make whatever I'm fighting eat a Megaton Flare, courtesy of Bahamut. Though I think Fang outdamages him now....ah well, you still get free healing out of it so Eidolons are still handy even when they aren't dishing out uber damage.

~DragonHeart~

[Yang's bald head]

I have to say I realy am enjoying this game, had trouble getting into the post PS1 Final Fantasies. I can't help imagine how great the game could have been if they just cut out the liniarity. Imagine Nautilus being like a gold Saucer, Palompolom being explorable and the other areas being more open. The foundations are there.

Either way I am verry happy with the game at the moment and hope there is more to come.