Upgrades

[davfra]

Can anybody tell me where I can find Rhodochrosite or Cobatite, please?
I need them for upgrades.

[Andromeda]

I don't think that you'll need much of the Rhodochrsite, but here is where you'll be able to find it. The Motherlode is a store that you'll get near the end of the game if I remember right, pretty cheap all things said.
Rhodochrosite - The Motherlode - 8,000 gil
- PSICOM Warlord (Palum Polum)
- Chocobo Treasure Hunting
- Mission 09 - Heave-ho
- Mission 16 - Surrogate Slaver
- Mission 20 - Words Unspoken
- Mission 56 - A Toothy Grin

The Cobalite I had more than enough just doing the killing in the game and the extras that I didn't have to actually get anymore for myself. But here are where you find them.

Cobaltite - The Motherlode - 17,000 gil
- PSICOM Reaver (The Palamecia)
- Chocobo Treasure Hunting
- Mission 02 - Goodwill Hunting
- Mission 13 - Eternity Unpromised
- Mission 19 - Triangle of Tragedy
- Mission 25 - Spectral Hunt

[davfra]

Thanks for that. I'm trying the upgrade with the whistling scarf. It seems pretty good.

[Sasquatch]

I'm still looking for advice on WHAT weapons and accessories to upgrade. Do I upgrade the weapons that area already better than others? Or do I go for weapons that don't take much Exp. to upgrade them, because they can move up in level faster? And accessories that provide buffs at the beginning of battles -- what do those upgrade [i]to[/]?

I asked about this earlier in another thread, but all I got was "don't upgrade weapons until chapter 11".

[davfra]

My first time around, I kept the original weapons and did just fine.
The second time around, I upgreade Lightning to the max - 16 levels - and then on to the next weapon - Falmberge - and did a similar thing with Fang and Vanille (my prefered party) and I can't say I noticed much difference.
This time around, I have the Whistling Scarf, upgraded to Auror scarf, which means Lighting always enters battle with full ATB.
I'm sure there are some great combinations in the game, but this is the only one I've found.
It would be great if there were a list of ideas similar to the Scarf one.

[Zargabaath]

I'm still looking for advice on WHAT weapons and accessories to upgrade. Do I upgrade the weapons that area already better than others? Or do I go for weapons that don't take much Exp. to upgrade them, because they can move up in level faster? And accessories that provide buffs at the beginning of battles -- what do those upgrade to?I asked about this earlier in another thread, but all I got was "don't upgrade weapons until chapter 11".

As for weapons that is up to you and how you want to mold each character into. You don't get all the weapons even in chapter 11 so I said to wait so you could make the best decision and not waste components. Unless you don't mind having to get even more components to level up any newer weapon that you like more. For example Sazh has some weapons that have some good effects: the Antares Deluxes which has the Chain Boost bonus, the Procyons which has Stagger Maintenance which extends the time that enemies remain prone to high Chain Bonus damage by 10% ( 30% with Stagger Maintenance II with the upgraded weapons), and the Spica Defenders which have the Augment Maintenance that extends the time of buffs by 40% (80% with upgrades); you would have to find the proper accessories to unlock the synthesized abilities that boost the effect of these weapons I mentioned and the others. You could upgrade multiple weapons for each character, switching out to fit the situation, but that would take even longer - the choice is up to you. You don't need the weapons with the best stats to beat the game nor the easist to level; the game can be beaten with mostly any weapon combination. The only weapon combination you couldn't use are those with Stagger Lock (character with that equipped will not be able to send an enemy into Stagger mode); they often have some of the best stats but if all three characters have that effect on them they won't be able to stagger any enemy.

Accessories like the Shield Talisman or the Morale Talisman that grant the wearer Auto-protect & Auto-Bravery respectfully but they are the final form of their group. The Guardian Amulet (Critical: Protect) upgrades to the Shield Talisman but that is as for as it goes. I don't know if you level the Shield Talisman that the effect lasts longer into the battle or not; somebody else may know that.