***Threads on Game Help***

[Che]

Chances are, if you are having trouble with a boss, it's not your crystarium levels, it's your strategy.

Try switching things up. If the boss or monster you are trying to beat hits hard, there's two things you can do about it.

• Heal through it.
• Tank it.

While you could do either route, you want to choose the one that will help you get those 5 stars. You should set up a paradigm that will eat some damage. The more SENs you have, the less damage your party takes. For hard hitting attacks that take away a ton of HP from your party, especially for multiple party members, you might want to consider a SEN/SEN/SEN setup, or as close to that as possible. I know I didn't have that many SENs before I beat the game, as I overlooked their importance.

The idea of a SEN is not to tank the entire fight. It's something to switch to in order to soak up damage, and then immediately switch to something else.

So in our scenario when an enemy is going to hit you with a hard attack, this should be your battle plan:

1. Switch to SEN/SEN/SEN or a variation to soak damage.
2. Switch to MED/MED/??? to heal up if necessary. (SYN or SAB is good here to refresh buffs or debuff the monster while healing)
3. Switch to RAV/RAV/RAV to attempt a stagger on the enemy.
4. Once the enemy is staggered, switch to COM/COM/COM if you have that many, or COM/COM/RAV, or any variation. COMs do the most damage to a staggered target. Remember to keep your weapons upgraded for maximum effect.

You have to try out strategies. Try every single role. Use libra to attempt finding weaknesses, or a librascope to save TP and do the same thing. This will make your characters buff and debuff the correct spells, and cast the correct spells the enemy is weak to, and add en-spells for added damage on enemies with elemental weaknesses.

Make sure to switch paradigms often. If you switch on the last animation of the last ATB segment of a turn, you will instantly switch and your ATB gauge will be instantly full.

Also: Buffs and debuffs are very important in this game. Do not overlook them when trying to defeat an enemy, especially a boss. Haste is almost crucial for every fight in the game. Just buffing haste at the start of a random battle can make it go faster. (Unless you are so geared and fighting such a low level mob that you kill them in one ATB turn.)

Sometimes buffs and debuffs are the key to winning fights.

[Rocky]

Since Che gave some sound gameplay tips and advice, I'm going to give an example of a setup I use for tough battles/marks/etc.

Since I'm a big fan of the Lightning/Fang/Hope combo, I'll be basing my main three party around them and will talk about different Decks I set up with that particular trio. If you have another group of three that you like to use and need suggestions, feel free to post and I'll try to help you with some of my advice~

Ok, so I'm balls deep in some monsters grinding that CP right when I come across this new badass Long Gui or what have you that wants me for dinner! Oh noes, what do I do! You do work, that's what, and with the knowledge I give you, the only thing that will be holding you back is the lack of CP (crystal pizza *winkwink*) that you need, and now I will give you the 7 proxies to hide behind so you don't get partyvanned by the FBI. (the sick ****s all know what I'm talking about.)

Ok first off, if you know you are going to be fighting a tough battle, do not be afraid to bust out the shrouds by any means. It's still ok to use the Evened Odds (MED/SAB/SYN) at the beginning if you want, but having all of your buffs administered before the battle starts will help speed things along quite smoothly. I usually start out with that deck if I'm going to be in a long battle, like with a tough mark or something.

When I'm ready to go on the offensive, I hit up the Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM), with Fang being the Commando. This will be my one-two punch into building up the chain gauge for my characters. Once I get a decent start on the guage, by this time the enemy is going to be delivering some heavy damage to me, while at the same time I want to get to that stagger! When I reach that point, I switch up to Mystic Tower (RAV/RAV/SEN), where this time Fang becomes the tank for the team, absorbing the damage. Now a lot of times, people feel they have to bail or break the chain guage because they are taking too much damage and have the need to heal. This is the proactive counter to that, and I am now fighting a war on two different fronts; one war is damage dealing, while another is the tanking. Keep in mind though that without the commando, the chain guage will be harder to maintain, so you may need to switch back to RA again to slow it down.

If you are taking damage but need to keep the chain, then I recommend using the Solidarity (COM/SEN/MED) deck. Lightning the Commando will be the damage dealer, Fang the Sentinel will tank, and Hope the Medic will heal the team. If you are either at a low chain gauge or just took a LOT of damage, then a good bet would to be to sacrifice the chain guage and switching to Combat Clinic (MED/MED/SEN), where Fang will tank while the other two heal. Use that Paradigm switch as a last resort though. I don't recommend dropping the chain guage if it is at all possible, because if you get hit with an attack that makes you drop the guage, chances are it's going to happen again and you'll be stuck in that rut until you A) retry or B) win the battle 30 minutes later. This game is all about pushing your abilities to the limit and going for the stagger whenever possible. Be aggressive!!

Anyways, those are the main 5 Paradigm decks I tend to use in most situations. As for the sixth one, it can be pretty flexible if you have those five, but I like having the Aggression (COM/COM/RAV). I mainly use this one once I get the opponent staggered so I can deal the big damage and put the smackdown on tough battles.

Hope this helps! If you have any questions feel free to respond!

[Andromeda]

I tend to be very aggressive after the whole final boss deal. Before the final boss I usually walked around with Fang on Sentinel in a lot of her Paradigms, but I dropped it in favor of a more aggressive stance.

I usually do a Lightning, Fang, Sazh grouping, but I've switched to Fang, Sazh and Vanille (who does about the same as Hope, but I think she has a little more HP to pad things out with than Hope at least before max). Plus before the game ends Vanille has Saboteur which combined with Fang's Saboteur really will speed up your debuffing efforts.

Post-game work though it is Lightning or Vanille and typically Vanille because of the Curasa and Curaja.

My standard farming of Adamantoise Deck is extremely aggressive.

RAV x3
COM x3
COM x3
SAB x3
SYN x3
COM, MED x2

I default to Synergist x3 for speedy buffing so I don't have to worry about Shrouds unless it is very tough mission. Afterward it goes to Saboteur x3 so that debuffs have a higher success rate as well as I'll be done a lot faster with 3 people doing it. Usually I'll be finished in two rounds, no more than 3 on the important debuffs (Slow, DeProtect and DeShell). The upside, debuffs increase the Stagger meter a lot just like Ravagers do and with 3 people, its highly unlikely the meter will fall back to zero before your turn comes up with Haste on.

Afterward, it is Ravager x3 until Stagger hits and then however high you need. And I just jump between two Commando x3 Paradigms to take advantage of the restored action meter every other cycle.

When heavily damaged I switch in to Commando and Medic x2 with Fang keeping the offensive by maintaining the Stagger Meter until I can go back to Ravagers. Commando is the heavy hitter, but they only maintain the meter while you're building it. And with only one Ravager you risk losing the meter while healing. This also keeps you on the offensive since the healing going on will cover any damage the Commando will take.

A little more passive, yet aggressive stance would be:

COM, RAV x2
COM, RAV, SYN
COM, SAB x2
RAV, MED x2
COM x2, RAV
RAV, SYN x2

This works to really well for always keeping the meter going up in fights where getting to the stagger as fast a possible while still managing everything else. There is not a Paradigm in there that would not keep the metering running and with the Commandos effect of slowing the meter fall in effect even while you're away from the Commando. The meter will still be maintained. It is important to remember the Commando's passive effect of slowing the meter's fall and that it lasts for a while even after there is no longer a Commando in play. So long as a Commando hit that specific enemy while the meter was filling it'll be slowed. So don't worry about losing the slowing power of the Commando for a few turns as long as you keep someone doing damage the meter won't fall while you're doing maintenance on the party.

[Serah]

Is the Barthandelus fight at the end the last fight? I spent like 10minutes kicking its ass and it had like no HP left and the c**t killed me >_< - I haven't bothered re-trying yet lol but if it IS the last fight I might be tempted to retry again sooner ...

[Rocky]

Is the Barthandelus fight at the end the last fight? I spent like 10minutes kicking its ass and it had like no HP left and the c**t killed me >_< - I haven't bothered re-trying yet lol but if it IS the last fight I might be tempted to retry again sooner ...

Nope.

[Tiffany]

Nope.

What he said, and then there are two more battles after that, which can be a huge biatch too.

Jus' sayin'.

[GranFran]

Is the Barthandelus fight at the end the last fight? I spent like 10minutes kicking its ass and it had like no HP left and the c**t killed me >_< - I haven't bothered re-trying yet lol but if it IS the last fight I might be tempted to retry again sooner ...

It's ok, hon.. He's kicked my ass 3 times now.. I decided to go back and complete my crystal leveling on the second loss and then try again.. Didn't help at all.. I keep getting him down to about 1/4 and boom he hits me with Destruct and I'm gone..

I'm using the strategy guide I bought and it says to use Paradigm Bully to start with then going to Diversity alternating with Relentless Assault.. Then when Big Guy goes into Destruct it says use Hero's Charge then, just before the attack lets loose, you switch up to Solidarity.. Well, that works for the first couple of Destruct Assault but about the third time it hits I always get killed.. Very frustrating.. I guess I'm going to try again with some of the Paradigm's I saw above and see if they help..

Wish me luck, I certainly do you..

Well, here's a question I haven't seen before and it doesn't seem to be covered in my strategy guide.. How in hell do you flee?? I mean I just got eaten and chewed up and spit out by two, not one, but two Behemoth Kings and even Odin didn't make a dent in these guys.. I was pressing the keys like mad on my controller in an attempt to do what came naturally in all the other FF games I've played and that to run like hell, but nothing happened! Help please!

[Andromeda]

Please do not double post. We have an edit button on the bottom right that allows you to update your post.

As for the fleeing, there is no flee button available in the game that is specifically labeled as flee (as it is traditionally known in RPGs and FF). The way you flee is by pressing the start button and then pressing the select button to retry, which will remove you from battle and place you a few seconds prior to your engagement of the enemy. This way you can avoid the fight if you wish or take another attempt at it.

As for the final boss in the game. It is only about the Crystarium up to a certain point. So long as you are fighting the majority of the monsters you come across you will be a fine a position to fight, because the battle is more about strategy than it is about having a lot of strength or HP. Strength will certainly get you through the fight faster, but in the end a good strategy will help more than grinding CP. Sadly, the death ability he has is a pretty cheap shot and I've always thought that. The death card is about the only thing that is something you can't really avoid unless you have an accessory that improves your resistance to it, which one can be found in the final dungeon. But you can win without it, since his death I'm pretty sure has the same chance of succeeding as yours does, it just doesn't really feel like it sometimes.

[GranFran]

Please do not double post. We have an edit button on the bottom right that allows you to update your post.

As for the fleeing, there is no flee button available in the game that is specifically labeled as flee (as it is traditionally known in RPGs and FF). The way you flee is by pressing the start button and then pressing the select button to retry, which will remove you from battle and place you a few seconds prior to your engagement of the enemy. This way you can avoid the fight if you wish or take another attempt at it.

As for the final boss in the game. It is only about the Crystarium up to a certain point. So long as you are fighting the majority of the monsters you come across you will be a fine a position to fight, because the battle is more about strategy than it is about having a lot of strength or HP. Strength will certainly get you through the fight faster, but in the end a good strategy will help more than grinding CP. Sadly, the death ability he has is a pretty cheap shot and I've always thought that. The death card is about the only thing that is something you can't really avoid unless you have an accessory that improves your resistance to it, which one can be found in the final dungeon. But you can win without it, since his death I'm pretty sure has the same chance of succeeding as yours does, it just doesn't really feel like it sometimes.

Excuse me, I do know what double-posting and the edit button is for, hon.. I've been on countless forums since I got my first computer back in 1981.. If something did get double-posted and I do not see where I did this, it would have been by accident, not intentionally, I assure you.. If fact, I've never known anyone who double-posted on purpose.. It is simply a fact, computers will be computers and people make mistakes they don't even know they've made..

Thanks for the information on the 'flee' issue..

[Andromeda]

Double posting covers more than just accidentally posting the same post twice. Double posting also covers posting twice with two different posts when no one else has posted. You won't see your double post because I merged it to fix the issue (noted by the edit on your post saying edited by Andromeda). So in the future if you have something additional to say an hour later please edit the post rather than posting again if no one else has posted, it is against the rules.

[GranFran]

Double posting covers more than just accidentally posting the same post twice. Double posting also covers posting twice with two different posts when no one else has posted. You won't see your double post because I merged it to fix the issue (noted by the edit on your post saying edited by Andromeda). So in the future if you have something additional to say an hour later please edit the post rather than posting again if no one else has posted, it is against the rules.

You are not particularly worth arguing with..

[Serah]

Thanks lol, I still haven't retried him yet :| I'll have ago using what you suggested have you managed to do it yet? I wish you luck if not lol

and I don't think you can flee from battles but if you pause it i'm pretty sure there is a 'retry' button that places you right before the battle. I've had to do it a couple times when I accidentally walked into fights i didn't want to be in lol

It's ok, hon.. He's kicked my ass 3 times now.. I decided to go back and complete my crystal leveling on the second loss and then try again.. Didn't help at all.. I keep getting him down to about 1/4 and boom he hits me with Destruct and I'm gone..

I'm using the strategy guide I bought and it says to use Paradigm Bully to start with then going to Diversity alternating with Relentless Assault.. Then when Big Guy goes into Destruct it says use Hero's Charge then, just before the attack lets loose, you switch up to Solidarity.. Well, that works for the first couple of Destruct Assault but about the third time it hits I always get killed.. Very frustrating.. I guess I'm going to try again with some of the Paradigm's I saw above and see if they help..

Wish me luck, I certainly do you..

Well, here's a question I haven't seen before and it doesn't seem to be covered in my strategy guide.. How in hell do you flee?? I mean I just got eaten and chewed up and spit out by two, not one, but two Behemoth Kings and even Odin didn't make a dent in these guys.. I was pressing the keys like mad on my controller in an attempt to do what came naturally in all the other FF games I've played and that to run like hell, but nothing happened! Help please!

[GranFran]

Thanks lol, I still haven't retried him yet :| I'll have ago using what you suggested have you managed to do it yet? I wish you luck if not lol

and I don't think you can flee from battles but if you pause it i'm pretty sure there is a 'retry' button that places you right before the battle. I've had to do it a couple times when I accidentally walked into fights i didn't want to be in lol

Oh yes, I LOVE that 'retry' button, now that I know it's there.. It's saved the team plenty of times.. Especially when you run into a big group or a couple of beasties that are as big as the Eiffel Tower.. It's nice just to say, forget it, and try and get them again on a preempt..

Now, I stayed a long time on Pulse just building up my team and getting every crystal available and I also got around to upgrading weapons and accessories.. I stayed mostly in the Tower leveling up.. I know some people are really good at strategy and can handles these big boss fights without leveling or grinding very much, but I can't.. Anyway, once I topped out all my tiers and upgraded my stuff I was able to wail away on Barthandelus and whup him good..

I'm now in Orphan's Cradle and have passed the last 'no going back now' save point.. Of coarse, I saved a game so I could go back if necessary..
So, wish me luck and you go back and build your party up, just grind until you feel comfortable and then go kick old big mouth in the butt.. Good luck!

[Yuffinara]

I have a tip for mainly the Cid Raines battle. This should probably finish him off within 2-4 minutes without him transforming.

~Prepare~
First off, your party is Snow (leader), Lightning, and Sazh.
Paradigms you need are
SEN/MED/SYN ~ Protection
COM/COM/COM ~ Cerberus
RAV/RAV/RAV ~ Tri-Disaster
SEN/MED/RAV ~ Entourage (I think it's called Entourage at least)
Your starting paradigm will be Protection

~The Battle~
Start off with Protection and let Sazh buff while you take all the attacks. Once Sazh is finished, switch to Tri-Disaster and stagger Cid. Switch to Cerberus. Lightning or Snow will use launch. Keep him in the air, if he lands, he transforms (and we don't want that to happen). So time your attacks well. Also Sazh will be there shooting him to keep him up there so it's very small chance that Cid'll land.

This should succeed before the stagger meter falls. If it doesn't, he'll transform and it'll be harder to beat him.