I never completed Final Fantasy XIII

[Phosphoric Ooze]

I remember when i first played the game back in 2010 and i got all the way to chapter 11 and my journey came to an end when a King Behemoth kept killing me over and over again. Then my memory got deleted so i had to start again from scratch. It's been 5 years and now i'm on chapter 10 because i want to finally complete this game in 2015.

 

[Choas kills yuna]

Don't feel bad I couldn't even get past the shiva sisters. I liked what I played of it but I didn't get very far at all. 13 and 13 2 are good games; what I played of them anyway. In 13 2 I got to level 99 with 4 job classes at the beginning of the game and got many monsters maxed out including behemoth. I just beat caius and got stuck. I beta caius with no problem at all. I like how on 13 2 you can get monsters on your team and time travel. Great game.

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

Don't feel bad I couldn't even get past the shiva sisters. I liked what I played of it but I didn't get very far at all. 13 and 13 2 are good games; what I played of them anyway. In 13 2 I got to level 99 with 4 job classes at the beginning of the game and got many monsters maxed out including behemoth. I just beat caius and got stuck. I beta caius with no problem at all. I like how on 13 2 you can get monsters on your team and time travel. Great game.

I also have 13-2 but never got started with the game because of not finishing the first one. Can you really capture monsters? That sounds fun.

 

[tiornys]

Glad to hear you're planning to finish!

Yes, in XIII-2 you can capture monsters. It's a big piece of the battle system in that game.

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

Glad to hear you're planning to finish!

Yes, in XIII-2 you can capture monsters. It's a big piece of the battle system in that game.

Thank you. Have you got any tips for chapter 10 onwards?

 

[LovingOfLightning]

I was late enough getting the game. I was a few years out. I got far into chapter 13, but my PS3, which had never failed me, began to not load the disc and break down eventually.So when I got a replacement PS3, despite all the Uncharted, The Last of Us and even Silent Hill HD stuff I had to replay and get trophies, it was XIII that took the most priority.I Still haven't finished it!!And someone got me XIII-2 as a gift and I didn't want to go "Aww, I've not finished the first game yet!" so I went and completed XIII-2 before XIII! I've since gone on and played LR, but my current replay of XIII, and don't forget the spanner in my gaming works that was getting a copy of the X/X-2 HD!I'm now at the end of Chapter 11. But again, what with working now, I haven't got the chance to play it.And worse, I've got past Chapter 11 before! I know, I wrote it down somewhere.

 

[tiornys]

Thank you. Have you got any tips for chapter 10 onwards?

You can make pretty much any party work if you try hard enough, but parties that include both Sazh and Vanille have a distinct advantage through chapters 10 and 11. These two characters give nigh-exclusive access to Haste and Imperil, earlier access to the rest of the offensive buffs (Bravery, Enfire, etc.) and debuffs (Deprotect, etc.), and earlier access to %-based healing (Curasa and Curaja) which becomes more important as your HP totals grow.

Speaking of which, buffs and debuffs are useful and powerful, and it's worth getting at least a few of them in almost every fight. Work them into your standard battle plans and learn how much buffing and/or debuffing is worthwhile for various enemy types.

Don't feel like you need to cover all scenarios with your paradigm deck. If you try to do that, you'll wind up with a deck that is at best mediocre against every fight. Set up a deck designed to fight the common enemies in an area, be willing to tweak it as you notice deficiencies* or run into tough enemy groups, and be willing to alter it considerably (along with possibly changing your party) when you reach a boss battle. Similar considerations apply to your equipment setups; Auto-buffing accessories like Blessed Talisman are great for fights against weaker enemies, but should be replaced when you anticipate a longer battle.

Finally, stay away from extensive secondary role development. It's a good idea to pick up Hope's Ruin (Commando) relatively early. There are a few other secondary roles where you get pretty good returns for only a stage or two of development, but for your first time through it's best to focus on primary roles so your stats aren't falling way behind**.

*: if you notice that one of the characters in a paradigm isn't actively contributing to your current battle plan, you should shift paradigms. If you don't have a paradigm worth shifting to in that situation, you should probably alter your paradigm deck. If you keep having this problem with the same paradigm, that paradigm needs to change. A common example is Evened Odds (MED/SYN/SAB) at the start of battle, where the MED is often just wasting time; depending on your options, RAV/SYN/SAB, COM/SYN/SAB, SYN/SYN/SAB, SAB/SYN/SAB, and even SEN/SYN/SAB are almost always better options.

**: If you're absolutely determined to pick one set of characters and never change your team (which is a mild form of challenge play), then secondary role development becomes more important. If that's where you are, let me know which characters you plan to play with and I can offer suggestions on which secondaries are good for that team.

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

You can make pretty much any party work if you try hard enough, but parties that include both Sazh and Vanille have a distinct advantage through chapters 10 and 11. These two characters give nigh-exclusive access to Haste and Imperil, earlier access to the rest of the offensive buffs (Bravery, Enfire, etc.) and debuffs (Deprotect, etc.), and earlier access to %-based healing (Curasa and Curaja) which becomes more important as your HP totals grow.

Speaking of which, buffs and debuffs are useful and powerful, and it's worth getting at least a few of them in almost every fight. Work them into your standard battle plans and learn how much buffing and/or debuffing is worthwhile for various enemy types.

Don't feel like you need to cover all scenarios with your paradigm deck. If you try to do that, you'll wind up with a deck that is at best mediocre against every fight. Set up a deck designed to fight the common enemies in an area, be willing to tweak it as you notice deficiencies* or run into tough enemy groups, and be willing to alter it considerably (along with possibly changing your party) when you reach a boss battle. Similar considerations apply to your equipment setups; Auto-buffing accessories like Blessed Talisman are great for fights against weaker enemies, but should be replaced when you anticipate a longer battle.

Finally, stay away from extensive secondary role development. It's a good idea to pick up Hope's Ruin (Commando) relatively early. There are a few other secondary roles where you get pretty good returns for only a stage or two of development, but for your first time through it's best to focus on primary roles so your stats aren't falling way behind**.

*: if you notice that one of the characters in a paradigm isn't actively contributing to your current battle plan, you should shift paradigms. If you don't have a paradigm worth shifting to in that situation, you should probably alter your paradigm deck. If you keep having this problem with the same paradigm, that paradigm needs to change. A common example is Evened Odds (MED/SYN/SAB) at the start of battle, where the MED is often just wasting time; depending on your options, RAV/SYN/SAB, COM/SYN/SAB, SYN/SYN/SAB, SAB/SYN/SAB, and even SEN/SYN/SAB are almost always better options.

**: If you're absolutely determined to pick one set of characters and never change your team (which is a mild form of challenge play), then secondary role development becomes more important. If that's where you are, let me know which characters you plan to play with and I can offer suggestions on which secondaries are good for that team.

Thank you for the advise. I beat Raines and nearly at the end of chapter 10. I know at least two characters that i definitely plan to play with and that's Lightning and Fang. I want Fang to be the leader and Lightning to be used as a Ravager. What's your thoughts on Fang as a leader and Lightning as a Ravager? I know that Lightning's best suited at Commando but i wanted a change from before so i equipped her with an Edged Carbine instead of a Gladius.

 

[Choas kills yuna]

I also have 13-2 but never got started with the game because of not finishing the first one. Can you really capture monsters? That sounds fun.

Yes, however, the detrement is that you only get 2 playable charcters atleast at first. Dunno bout later on.

 

[tiornys]

Thank you for the advise. I beat Raines and nearly at the end of chapter 10. I know at least two characters that i definitely plan to play with and that's Lightning and Fang. I want Fang to be the leader and Lightning to be used as a Ravager. What's your thoughts on Fang as a leader and Lightning as a Ravager? I know that Lightning's best suited at Commando but i wanted a change from before so i equipped her with an Edged Carbine instead of a Gladius.

Fang makes a strong leader and Lightning is an excellent support (AI-controlled) character, so you should do well with those two characters. Now, pardon me while I get on my soapbox for a second....

I think it's potentially limiting to say, "I'm going to use X character in Y role" no matter what character and role you're talking about. If you have a character in your party, it's best to try to stay flexible with their role assignment. If you have a healing paradigm, Lightning should probably be a Medic in that paradigm. If you have a heavy damage paradigm, Lightning should be a Commando in that paradigm (magic-spec'ed Commandos work very nicely with Ruin and Ruinga). It's fine to primarily plan on using Lightning as a Ravager as long as you don't force her to be a Ravager in every paradigm.

*ahem* sorry about that. Getting back to the idea of using Fang and Lightning, you're going to face some trade-offs in chapter 11 no matter who you pick as a third character. Sazh gives you nice offense but leaves you weak on healing. Hope gives you nice defense but leaves you weak on offense (this changes big time later on). Vanille gives you strong healing and excellent debuffs, but leaves you without convenient buffs. Snow gives you the most raw power but leaves you weak on ways to amplify that power.

By the time you get into chapter 12, you'll be able to teach Bravery, Faith, and Haste to Hope, and also to pick up Deprotect, Deshell, and Imperil with Fang. At that point, Fang/Light/Hope is a versatile and powerful team that can handle just about anything. But that's chapter 12, and maybe even a bit later, and you might want one (or more) of the other characters for most fights before then.

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

Fang makes a strong leader and Lightning is an excellent support (AI-controlled) character, so you should do well with those two characters. Now, pardon me while I get on my soapbox for a second....

I think it's potentially limiting to say, "I'm going to use X character in Y role" no matter what character and role you're talking about. If you have a character in your party, it's best to try to stay flexible with their role assignment. If you have a healing paradigm, Lightning should probably be a Medic in that paradigm. If you have a heavy damage paradigm, Lightning should be a Commando in that paradigm (magic-spec'ed Commandos work very nicely with Ruin and Ruinga). It's fine to primarily plan on using Lightning as a Ravager as long as you don't force her to be a Ravager in every paradigm.

*ahem* sorry about that. Getting back to the idea of using Fang and Lightning, you're going to face some trade-offs in chapter 11 no matter who you pick as a third character. Sazh gives you nice offense but leaves you weak on healing. Hope gives you nice defense but leaves you weak on offense (this changes big time later on). Vanille gives you strong healing and excellent debuffs, but leaves you without convenient buffs. Snow gives you the most raw power but leaves you weak on ways to amplify that power.

By the time you get into chapter 12, you'll be able to teach Bravery, Faith, and Haste to Hope, and also to pick up Deprotect, Deshell, and Imperil with Fang. At that point, Fang/Light/Hope is a versatile and powerful team that can handle just about anything. But that's chapter 12, and maybe even a bit later, and you might want one (or more) of the other characters for most fights before then.

Thank you. I'm on chapter 11 now (yay) so i'll be back and tell you how i've got on because Gran Pulse is a big place.

 

[LovingOfLightning]

Thank you. I'm on chapter 11 now (yay) so i'll be back and tell you how i've got on because Gran Pulse is a big place.

Don't hurry on to get to the next chapter! I spent weeks at my own leisure in one part of Grand Pulse away from driving the story.
However hard you think you've mastered what your parties strengths are, Grand Pulse shows how your party is still in the Nursery battle wise!

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

Don't hurry on to get to the next chapter! I spent weeks at my own leisure in one part of Grand Pulse away from driving the story.
However hard you think you've mastered what your parties strengths are, Grand Pulse shows how your party is still in the Nursery battle wise!

I'm not going to hurry, that's why i said it's a big place to explore. I also know it's a dangerous place because chapter 11 is when my journey ended before so i'm going to take my time. May i ask why you spent weeks in one part of Gran Pulse? Was it to do with grinding and farming?

 

[LovingOfLightning]

I'm not going to hurry, that's why i said it's a big place to explore. I also know it's a dangerous place because chapter 11 is when my journey ended before so i'm going to take my time. May i ask why you spent weeks in one part of Gran Pulse? Was it to do with grinding and farming?

It was the grinding and farming I loved, but it was mainly for this soundtrack was the best thing to listen to as you grind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrMbViOhvV8

I must have spent at least two months listening to this as I played for hours!

 

[tiornys]

Huh. I admit I was expecting the Archylte Steppe theme, not Yaschas Massif. Both good though.

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

Ok, now the IGN walkthrough of XIII is saying that you're not powerful enough to continue on with the story so they're telling you to do some missions and then continue the story.
http://uk.ign.com/wikis/final-fantasy-xiii/Chapter_11

On another walkthrough they continue on with the story and leave the missions till post game.

What should i do?

 

[Sheechiibii]

Depends how confident you feel when it comes to the battles. If you're having a hard time then maybe do some missions and get your characters stronger, if you're doing alright then you can keep going with the story. You get a chance to do more missions later on before the end of the game.

 

[tiornys]

I'm a big advocate of doing the early missions (up through 14 or so). Doing them during chapter 11 makes them more interesting because they're still challenging instead of being walkovers, and many of the rewards are more relevant at this point in the game. Missions give you a nice mix of fights, a solid boost to CP, and a solid boost to your gil/component/accessory resources, and they also unlock some nice gameplay features.

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

Depends how confident you feel when it comes to the battles. If you're having a hard time then maybe do some missions and get your characters stronger, if you're doing alright then you can keep going with the story. You get a chance to do more missions later on before the end of the game.

I'm a big advocate of doing the early missions (up through 14 or so). Doing them during chapter 11 makes them more interesting because they're still challenging instead of being walkovers, and many of the rewards are more relevant at this point in the game. Missions give you a nice mix of fights, a solid boost to CP, and a solid boost to your gil/component/accessory resources, and they also unlock some nice gameplay features.

I think i'm just going to go a head and continue on with the story because i've done lots of grinding earlier in the game and clocked 60 hours. I have yet to complete XIII-2 so once the story is completed i'll jump straight on that game.

 

[Phosphoric Ooze]

I'm on chapter 12 now. I can't believe i'm past chapter 11.

Any tips on chapter 12 and upgrading? Vanille has learnt Death and i've upgraded the Malboro Wand to it's highest level. Only need a Trapezohedron to upgrade the weapon to it's final stage. I say this about Vanille because it's important for chapter 12 i think. Maybe some information on the Death spell and how it can be used effectively? Thanks.