General Final Fantasy Thread

[BobbyPhil1781]

8 hours ago, Broncofan said:

If you did all the side quests & are cleaning up end of Ch 9, I can confidently say you’ve got 25-30 hrs of side quests / QB / main story left at a minimum (depending on if you want to complete the last side quest with 1st run through - no spoilers, it only opens up super late in the game).  
 

It took me even longer that was my daughter’s play time - I think it took me 40+ hrs from where you are (but I suck at quick twitch gaming lol).   

I just got done catching all the chickens and helping the protoge so that's good to know there's still a lot of content left. I'm going to finish everything I can bc this will likely be my only playthrough since Wukong comes out in a month+ and then the new AC game. Plus I have the GoW DLC as well since it's free.

[BobbyPhil1781]

Are Yuffie, Cloud, and Cait Sith the best trio? I'm having a very hard time getting rid of them

Windstorm is way too OP, even against enemies not weak to wind. Larger enemies, not as effective but she has so much else going on. Once they're pressured or staggered, Cait comes in with Let's Ride and the heavy combos just decimate enemies. Cloud is there bc he has to be lol. Still very useful in his own right though

Edited July 7 by BobbyPhil1781

[Broncofan]

18 hours ago, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Are Yuffie, Cloud, and Cait Sith the best trio? I'm having a very hard time getting rid of them

Windstorm is way too OP, even against enemies not weak to wind. Larger enemies, not as effective but she has so much else going on. Once they're pressured or staggered, Cait comes in with Let's Ride and the heavy combos just decimate enemies. Cloud is there bc he has to be lol. Still very useful in his own right though

Once the best support Materia are leveled up,  Aerith becomes a juggernaut once you have the ability to start with 2 full ATB bars, esp paired up with Yuffie (once she has the skill that reduces her ATB usage with some commands, and a fully leveled ATB Assist materia).    She can just spam Brumal form in that ATB ward and fill up the other 2 party member gauges, it’s so broken.   

Aerith laying down an ATB Ward on Yuffie (with the ATB sparing skill and Haste cast on her by 3rd party member, and the ATB assist material equipped), then casting an Arcane Ward on herself creates this ridiculous battle combo.  It’s also so broken.   The above circumstances don’t happen until late but it’s really helpful in the Brutal VR challenges and the final Protoric challenge.   Literally the only I way I could through the last 3 Brutal VR challenges lol. 
 

Having said the above both Aerith & Yuffie are OP as **** once you are into the last 2-3 chapters on their own, even before you get that broken combo.   Aerith just takes 2+ ATB bars of used skills (Arcane & Radiant wards laid on the same spot if the ATB-creating Yuffie scenario isn’t in play yet) to get going.     Once you get her best magic weapon she gains the ability to automatically cast from inside wards when she isn’t controlled directly.   So casting spells from the menu while you are controlling someone else Aerith then can cast 2 spells each time and be invulnerable.    Much like the OG game she takes a while to stand out but by the end she’s so powerful.   Add in the Expeditionary Medal accessory that boosts her limit break to LV2 to begin the fight and her Planet’s Protection is absolutely game changing in hard mode or vs tough bosses in 1st game (makes party invulnerable to most attacks for a period of time - can only be cast 1x in battle it’s that broken).  
 

But yeah Cait is a ton of fun.    My daughter used him a ton because of the variety in his attacks.     His Synergy & 2nd limit break is so much fun to watch too.    There is one game section where it’s mega irritating to use him though but it’s mercifully short.    Otherwise his Rebirth character is 1000000x better than the OG (more on that later).  
 

The crazy thing though - all the party members are so good if you know their exploitable strength / role.    Cloud & Yuffie’s air attack are ridiculous.    Cloud’s ability to stay in the air once you dodge is invaluable, along with Prime Mode against bosses and holding square 4x to add fury bonuses on the 3rd & 4th hits (and 4th hit adds a giga ton of ATB).    Cloud in Prime Mode, Aerith with Arcane & Radiant Ward and Yuffie with the Elemental Ninjitsu the enemy is weak to, is tough to top as a trio in the first run through.   
 

Yuffie’s Ninjutsu (once you can lengthen the time her shuriken can stay thrown) and the Windstorm ability make her so usable in every battle from the get go.   Add in Doppelgänger and it’s a ton of fun with her.   She’s definitely the best party member, just insanely vulnerable to damage on harder battles.   
 

Once Tifa gets the Concentration ability auto-started with each battle, this raises her Chi level, then using her Unfettered Fury ability gets her triangle attack to Rage and Fall and you do insane ATB & stagger-building damage you release it just as she uppercuts.   Her True Stike absolutely shatters staggered enemies.    For close -quarter or magic resistant battles (or need to stagger enemies as a condition to complete a task), she’s a battle tank.     
 

Barrett & Red are more damage / support tanks (Red’s Vengeance mode up close is very effective, Barrett being remote distance; both being able to build ATB quickly too) - the amount of optimization you can do with party members is insane.   Barrett often can replace Cloud in the VR battles because of said damage tank abilities.   And personally his & Aerith sweet and sour synergy attack is the most fun to watch (Cait Sith & Yuffie have a bunch of fun team ups with other members too).   
 

If you take on the solo VR battles that unlock after the game completes all of the above becomes apparent (YouTube if you need to see it first), using party members best traits / skills is only way to get through the solo challenges.   But then you get how each party member can crush.  It totally changes playing the 2nd time (and why I did Hard mode run through after VR challenges).   It’s wild how deep the combat is with each party member.    Players can spend most of the game unaware of how deep the combat runs with everyone, at least until Hard Mode or the post game VR challenges.  
 

It’s a big reason why the Hard mode replay was so much fun - no need to map out the terrain or Chadley’s VR, that’s saved, but you have to use the full battle abilities mentioned above.    You can choose to have the side quest data saved (or do it again on Hard to get more folios for 2/3 of them) - but all your map points are saved.     So it’s a speed run through each chapter.   But the battle mechanics are usually very different esp with the fixed party areas (and tougher opponents obv).   It was so much fun.  
 

(I get you aren’t doing Hard mode  - but the setup allows it you have down time later the 2nd run in Hard Mode is easy to do later.   When part 3 is due to come out I might do a Remake - Intergrade - Rebirth playthrough b4 in Hard Mode <but all side quests done> it’s likely a 10-12 hr run through for Rebirth.  We’ll see)   

 

But yeah in combat Yuffie is hands down the best all around party member.    So much fun to play both in 1st & Hard mode.    And Cait really adds the luck / random element (and the animation for both  is so wild).   The other part - both of their character development is 1000x better than the OG.    Cait’s VA did a phenomenal job.    And you really end up caring about his story instead of being a curiosity in the OG.     Same with Yuffie.    The writing VA quality with all the party & key players in Rebirth has been just top shelf.  

Edited July 7 by Broncofan

[BobbyPhil1781]

9 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Once the best support Materia are leveled up,  Aerith becomes a juggernaut once you have the ability to start with 2 full ATB bars, esp paired up with Yuffie (once she has the skill that reduces her ATB usage with some commands, and a fully leveled ATB Assist materia).    She can just spam Brumal form in that ATB ward and fil up the other 2 party member gauges, it’s so broken.   

Aerith laying down an ATB Ward on Yuffie (with the ATB sparing skill and Haste cast on her by 3rd party member, and the ATB assist material equipped), then casting an Arcane Ward on herself creates this ridiculous battle combo.  It’s also so broken.   The above circumstances don’t happen until late but it’s really helpful in the Brutal VR challenges and the final Protoric challenge.   Literally the only I way I could through the last 3 Brutal VR challenges lol. 
 

Having said the above both Aerith & Yuffie are OP as **** once you are into the last 2-3 chapters on their own, even before you get that broken combo.   Aerith just takes 2+ ATB bars of used skills (Arcane & Radiant wards laid on the same spot if the ATB-creating Yuffie scenario isn’t in play yet) to get going.     Once you get her best magic weapon she gains the ability to automatically cast from inside wards when she isn’t controlled directly.   So casting spells from the menu she then can cast 2 spells each time and be invulnerable.    Much like the OG game she takes a while to stand out but by the end she’s so powerful.   Add in the Expeditionary Medal accessory that boosts her limit break to LV2 to begin the fight and her Planet’s Protection is absolutely game changing in hard mode or vs tough bosses in 1st game (makes party invulnerable to most attacks for a period of time - can only be cast 1x in battle it’s that broken).  
 

But yeah Cait is a ton of fun.    My daughter used him a ton because of the variety in his attacks.     His Synergy & 2nd limit break is so much fun to watch too.    There is one game section where it’s mega irritating to use him though but it’s mercifully short.    Otherwise his Rebirth character is 1000000x better than the OG (more on that later).  
 

The crazy thing though - all the party members are so good if you know their exploitable strength / role.    Cloud & Yuffie’s air attack are ridiculous.    Cloud’s ability to stay in the air once you dodge is invaluable, along with Prime Mode against bosses and holding square 4x to add fury bonuses on the 3rd & 4th hits (and 4th hit adds a giga ton of ATB).    Cloud in Prime Mode, Aerith with Arcane & Radiant Ward and Yuffie with the Elemental Ninjitsu the enemy is weak to, is tough to top as a trio in the first run through.   
 

Yuffie’s Ninjutsu (once you can lengthen the time her shuriken can stay thrown) and the Windstorm ability make her so usable in every battle from the get go.   Add in Doppelgänger and it’s a ton of fun with her.   She’s definitely the best party member, just insanely vulnerable to damage on harder battles.   
 

Once Tifa gets the Concentration ability auto-started with each battle, this raises her Chi level, then using her Unfettered Fury ability gets her triangle attack to Rage and Fall and you do insane ATB & stagger-building damage you release it just as she uppercuts.   Her True Stike absolutely shatters staggered enemies.    For close -quarter or magic resistant battles (or need to stagger enemies as a condition to complete a task), she’s a battle tank.     
 

Barrett & Red are more damage / support tanks (Red’s Vengeance mode up close is very effective, Barrett being remote distance; both being able to build ATB quickly too) - the amount of optimization you can do with party members is insane.   Barrett often can replace Cloud in the VR battles because of said damage tank abilities.   And personally his & Aerith sweet and sour synergy attack is the most fun to watch (Cait Sith & Yuffie have a bunch of fun team ups with other members too).   
 

If you take on the solo VR battles that unlock after the game completes all of the above becomes apparent (YouTube if you need to see it first), using party members best traits / skills is only way to get through the solo challenges.   But then you get how each party member can crush.  It totally changes playing the 2nd time (and why I did Hard mode run through after VR challenges).   It’s wild how deep the combat is with each party member.    Players can spend most of the game unaware of how deep the combat runs with everyone, at least until Hard Mode or the post game VR challenges.  
 

It’s a big reason why the Hard mode replay was so much fun - no need to map out the terrain or Chadley’s VR, that’s saved, but you have to use the full battle abilities mentioned above.    You can choose to have the side quest data saved (or do it again on Hard to get more folios for 2/3 of them) - but all your map points are saved.     So it’s a speed run through each chapter.   But the battle mechanics are usually very different esp with the fixed party areas (and tougher opponents obv).   It was so much fun.  
 

(I get you aren’t doing Hard mode  - but the setup allows it you have down time later the 2nd run in Hard Mode is easy to do later.   When part 3 is due to come out I might do a Remake - Intergrade - Rebirth playthrough b4 in Hard Mode <but all side quests done> it’s likely a 10-12 hr run through for Rebirth.  We’ll see)   

 

But yeah in combat Yuffie is hands down the best all around party member.    So much fun to play both in 1st & Hard mode.    And Cait really adds the luck / random element (and the animation for both  is so wild).   The other part - both of their character development is 1000x better than the OG.    Cait’s VA did a phenomenal job.    And you really end up caring about his story instead of being a curiosity in the OG.     Same with Yuffie.    The writing VA quality with all the party & key players in Rebirth has been just top shelf.  

I had no clue about the Brumal Form spamming. Just watched a video and holy ****. That is unstoppable. Good info about Aerith b/c after seeing those videos, you're damn right she is insanely valuable. This is something I'm going to have to learn, for sure! I just got to Cosmo Canyon and am figuring out the bird's flight on the second course. Pretty challenging but I know I have a lot ahead of me.

I never use Barrett or Red unless I need a tank, you're right about that. Barrett is still very useful and I like his attacks but I just can't get away from my current army. I do need to learn others though b/c the army used to run around the world isn't always going to be good for the simulator.

This is a great post for info and I will be referring back to it. Thanks!!

[BobbyPhil1781]

Oh and if there is one thing that pisses me off in this game, it's Mai and Chadley. I can't stand them... not even a little bit. They're ungodly awful characters.

[Broncofan]

40 minutes ago, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Oh and if there is one thing that pisses me off in this game, it's Mai and Chadley. I can't stand them... not even a little bit. They're ungodly awful characters.

I know it would have been more work for the writers but my only complaint with writing was so much Chadley.   If they had party members give more background info at some of the side quests instead of him every time, it would have reduced the fatigue factor wIth him for sure.   

Edited July 7 by Broncofan

[Broncofan]

On 7/7/2024 at 6:08 PM, BobbyPhil1781 said:

I had no clue about the Brumal Form spamming. Just watched a video and holy ****. That is unstoppable. Good info about Aerith b/c after seeing those videos, you're damn right she is insanely valuable. This is something I'm going to have to learn, for sure! I just got to Cosmo Canyon and am figuring out the bird's flight on the second course. Pretty challenging but I know I have a lot ahead of me.

I never use Barrett or Red unless I need a tank, you're right about that. Barrett is still very useful and I like his attacks but I just can't get away from my current army. I do need to learn others though b/c the army used to run around the world isn't always going to be good for the simulator.

This is a great post for info and I will be referring back to it. Thanks!!

If you need to use YouTube for some sections or challenges there are great resources.    The Optinoob user is amazing in that regard.    I got 80+ percent of what I posted off his videos.   He saved my sanity with the VR challenges and Hard mode tough bosses lol.    No need to go there unless you’re doing the Brutal VR challenges post-game or last protorelic challenge but he’s the go-to resource in that setting.   ESP if you want to do the protorelic to completion in your first run through lol. 
 

But yeah it’s why I say a 2nd play through on Hard Mode is so fun.  After doing all the individual VR challenges and with the ramped up difficulty of the opposition, combined with leveled up materia - it can really be a totally different experience combat wise.     Again no need to do it right away but if ppl need another hit of the game either right away (me) or will replay it before the 3rd game (my daughter) that’s the way to go IMO.     No extra time doing mapping, intel collected still counts, so you only hard mode core main story plus any side quests if ppl want more Folios.   Can be a completely different gameplay experience and way shorter lol.   

ESP if ppl are going to replay this before Part 3 comes out, I'd highly recommend doing it in Hard Mode (assuming you've done the Protorelic and all the Combat VR missions in the 3 different locations where they offer battles challenges, you'll be close to LV70 if not there, and levelling up the materia in the 2-3 areas that are well-published on the internet, doesn't take long if you go there).      It’s why I saved it last as a victory lap after doing all the extra challenges etc for the Platinum (and I cleared the side quests that needed a Hard Mode replay to get the Folios - again, if because all of intel you're acquired still saves, it takes a fraction of time to do them, because you can travel directly to the key spots).   The Hard Mode replay that's pretty much just Main Story-based only takes 15-20 hours if you are at LV70 (a lot less if you skip cutscenes where you know what happens, but if you want to enjoy the story again just b4 part3, then keeping the cutscenes is doable, just longer) and have the support materia buffed, so it's IMO a great way to enjoy the replay pre-Part 3. 
 

One tip that will make a couple of fights you’re going to encounter down the road in this play through - knowing how to dodge / block is really crucial.    You’ll know when you hit those fights what I’m talking about.  I realized how bad I am at quick twitch gaming at those points lol.  
 

Otherwise enjoy the ride if you’ve made it to CC.   More goodness awaits you.    A lot of the best story beats and moments are still yet to come.  

Edited July 9 by Broncofan

[MikeT14]

On 7/6/2024 at 11:49 PM, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Are Yuffie, Cloud, and Cait Sith the best trio? I'm having a very hard time getting rid of them

Windstorm is way too OP, even against enemies not weak to wind. Larger enemies, not as effective but she has so much else going on. Once they're pressured or staggered, Cait comes in with Let's Ride and the heavy combos just decimate enemies. Cloud is there bc he has to be lol. Still very useful in his own right though

Cait Sith is definitely great in this if you know how to use him. He was fun too. I never got that good with Yuffie. That said, to me, Barrett is always a must have. 

[Broncofan]

5 hours ago, MikeT14 said:

Cait Sith is definitely great in this if you know how to use him. He was fun too. I never got that good with Yuffie. That said, to me, Barrett is always a must have. 

Barrett’s distance attacks and his Lifesaver / Steelskin / Max Fury then allows him to be the ultimate tank.   And he can build ATB and cast heal / support spells from a distance and so doesn’t risk getting interrupted.    If you are going to just use him as support he’s actually more valuable than Cloud.    Barrett / Yuffie / Aerith (the latter 2 doing the ATB Ward & Brumal spam & Arcane / Radiant Ward menu spell-fest) with fully leveled support materia is the optimal trio used to beat the hardest Brutal VR challenge - Rulers of the Outer Worlds.  
 

The fact you can see posts for almost every character on Reddit or other chats that “X is the most OP battle character” shows how deep and versatile combat can be.    Yuffie, Aerith & Cloud get the most love but truthfully all 7 members can be tweaked to crush just in very different ways.     Again it’s what makes a replay so much fun.    I will say as hard as the post-game VR challenges are, the solo ones do make you learn how each character excels.   I didn’t realize how good each character was until I did those solo challenges.   I barely used Red or Barrett first time and used both a lot more in Hard Mode.   Had a blast.  

Edited July 8 by Broncofan

[MikeT14]

14 hours ago, Broncofan said:

If you are going to just use him as support he’s actually more valuable than Cloud.

Barrett was the best character for me, agreed. I rolled with him, Cloud, and Tifa the most because that was my original trio I pretty much used, but I agree with you - if you learn how to use the characters any of them can be very successful. 

[BobbyPhil1781]

Finally beat Odin after a few dozen tries and didn't have to cheat which made me proud of myself lol. That was fun 

Edited August 27 by BobbyPhil1781

[Broncofan]

1 hour ago, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Finally beat Odin after a few dozen tries and didn't have to cheat which made me proud of myself lol. That was fun 

I literally spent 10+ hours finishing the last Legendary challenge, and another 12-15+ hours doing the last Brutal one - but somehow beat Odin on like my 2nd try on the regular Boss challenge.     Talk about blind luck.     I will say when it comes to beating Odin, just being all-out aggressive the whole time pays off.    Once he gets his mojo going, his Zanzezutken is unfair. 

[BobbyPhil1781]

9 hours ago, Broncofan said:

I literally spent 10+ hours finishing the last Legendary challenge, and another 12-15+ hours doing the last Brutal one - but somehow beat Odin on like my 2nd try on the regular Boss challenge.     Talk about blind luck.     I will say when it comes to beating Odin, just being all-out aggressive the whole time pays off.    Once he gets his mojo going, his Zanzezutken is unfair. 

Yeah, I just switched to agile team members that could dodge his attacks quickly and used stuff to get ATB ASAP so I could pummel him with attacks. He got to his warning stage the time I best him but luckily he was almost dead and I had two limit breaks I had been saving for the right time lol. It was a really fun battle! 

Just got my boat and am rummaging around looking for pirate stuff after getting the compass. 

I realized I won't 100% this game nor come close bc I'm not messing with the piano stuff. I'm going to do everything else though. Glad there's new side quests at every region as well. Just more **** to do even after 90 hours of game play 

Edited August 27 by BobbyPhil1781