I never completed Final Fantasy XIII

Tips on chapter 12:

  • Army of One, Last Resort, and Cold Blood are your best weapons against the bosses. Use them post-stagger for a major chain boost (and thus higher damage)
  • Curse and careful attack timing is your best weapon against Behemoth King
  • Daze is your best weapon against Adamanchelid
  • When you get to the three-way fights, if you contact a soldier, you get a preempt even if the Pulse monsters have seen you.

Tips on upgrading:
  • If you haven't already done so, max out some Black Belts and Rune Bracelets. They're super cheap to upgrade and 20% damage reduction is very useful.
  • The Tetradic Tiara you got from Dahaka can be maxed and dismantled to make Sprint Shoes (Auto-Haste) along with some other accessories.
  • The Goddess's Favor you got from Barthandelus II can be maxed and dismantled to make a Scarletite, which has several uses. If you're not sure what to do with it, and you like the idea of Sprint Shoes, max the Tetradic Crown you got from Cid, transform it with the Scarletite, max the resulting Tiara, and dismantle it.

Death has a base 1% chance at instant kill, plus 1% per other status ailment that has been inflicted upon the target, plus the SAB role bonus. Nothing else improves your chances--not Vigilance, not the Malboro Wand, not even the chain gauge--unlike what you may have heard elsewhere. Even though it doesn't directly help, Malboro Wand is nice to have when you're trying to use Death's instant-kill property because it helps you inflict other debuffs faster. Note that many enemies are immune to instant kill. If Death fails to instant kill, it deals a pretty hefty chunk of damage; if you shift to COM during the animation (maximizes damage, hurts your chance of instant kill), Death will deal about the same damage as 4 Ruins. Since Death (like all full-ATB abilities) bypasses damage resistance, you can take advantage of its damage against certain enemies, although nothing in chapter 12 comes to mind as a good target for that.

Death really isn't all that useful in chapter 12. Most of its utility is back on Gran Pulse, which you'll be able to access if desired once you finish chapter 12. That said, you can use it to kill the Adamantoise if you want, which allows you to pick up both treasures off of the glass floor instead of just one (and also offers a small chance at a Trapezohedron). If you're interested, this is the best way to go about it: http://youtu.be/uHHQ6jftrP4
 
tiornys said:
Tips on chapter 12:

  • Army of One, Last Resort, and Cold Blood are your best weapons against the bosses. Use them post-stagger for a major chain boost (and thus higher damage)
  • Curse and careful attack timing is your best weapon against Behemoth King
  • Daze is your best weapon against Adamanchelid
  • When you get to the three-way fights, if you contact a soldier, you get a preempt even if the Pulse monsters have seen you.

Tips on upgrading:
  • If you haven't already done so, max out some Black Belts and Rune Bracelets. They're super cheap to upgrade and 20% damage reduction is very useful.
  • The Tetradic Tiara you got from Dahaka can be maxed and dismantled to make Sprint Shoes (Auto-Haste) along with some other accessories.
  • The Goddess's Favor you got from Barthandelus II can be maxed and dismantled to make a Scarletite, which has several uses. If you're not sure what to do with it, and you like the idea of Sprint Shoes, max the Tetradic Crown you got from Cid, transform it with the Scarletite, max the resulting Tiara, and dismantle it.

Death has a base 1% chance at instant kill, plus 1% per other status ailment that has been inflicted upon the target, plus the SAB role bonus. Nothing else improves your chances--not Vigilance, not the Malboro Wand, not even the chain gauge--unlike what you may have heard elsewhere. Even though it doesn't directly help, Malboro Wand is nice to have when you're trying to use Death's instant-kill property because it helps you inflict other debuffs faster. Note that many enemies are immune to instant kill. If Death fails to instant kill, it deals a pretty hefty chunk of damage; if you shift to COM during the animation (maximizes damage, hurts your chance of instant kill), Death will deal about the same damage as 4 Ruins. Since Death (like all full-ATB abilities) bypasses damage resistance, you can take advantage of its damage against certain enemies, although nothing in chapter 12 comes to mind as a good target for that.

Death really isn't all that useful in chapter 12. Most of its utility is back on Gran Pulse, which you'll be able to access if desired once you finish chapter 12. That said, you can use it to kill the Adamantoise if you want, which allows you to pick up both treasures off of the glass floor instead of just one (and also offers a small chance at a Trapezohedron). If you're interested, this is the best way to go about it: http://youtu.be/uHHQ6jftrP4
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Fang's Highwind works really good as well. I only have 1 Black Belt and Rune Bracelet max levelled. Sprint Shoes are good so i will consider that.

Would Death be useful against Left Foreleg in chapter 12? Because i can't seem to kill it and it just kills my party with 1 or 2 stomps?
 
You don't need any of them. You want as many as you can muster up. Let me explain.

The most important things are the Aurora Scarf and Sprint Shoes on Sazh. This combination means that he immediately casts Haste on Vanille at the start of the battle, so she always has a Haste that lasts the full battle (which Sprint Shoes would not) regardless of how fast you have to Summon. If you don't have both, you'll want to delay a bit on Summon, trying to let Sazh cast Haste before Adamantoise kills you with a Stomp. There's a good chance you can make these, and if you have the resources, you should do so.

To make an Aurora Scarf, you transform a maxed Whistlewind Scarf with a Rhodochrosite. You can buy Whistlewind Scarf from Moogleworks. It only takes 350 XP to max it. If you don't have random components lying around, a single Superconductor from Lenora's Garage will do the job. Rhodochrosite can be purchased from Motherlode if you don't have any.

To make Sprint Shoes, you need a Tetradic Crown or Tetradic Tiara. If you haven't sold them, you have at least one of each; Cid drops a Crown and Dahaka drops a Tiara. Ideally, use the Tiara. Just max it with 2000 XP (18 Sturdy Bones + 3 Superconductors) and dismantle it. You get Sprint Shoes along with several other items. Tetradic Crown has multiple routes to Sprint Shoes, which I'll detail below.

Next in importance is the Collector Catalog on Fang, which raises your chance at a Platinum Ingot from 25% to 37.5%. If you don't have one, don't bother buying one. The cost is prohibitively high.

Next up are the 2 Aurora Scarves on Vanille, which slightly speed her up with +10% ATB recharge. These can easily be replaced by Whistlewind Scarves, which you can buy from Moogleworks.

The rest of the stuff is nice if you have it but not worth fussing about if you don't. The Energy Sash just gets you a little bit more TP back, and the other Catalogs give very small bonuses to your chances to get a Trapezohedron or shroud drop from Adamantoise.

Tetradic Crown --> Sprint Shoes with a Scarletite in inventory: max Tetradic Crown (4 Sturdy Bones + 5 Sturdy Bones + 1 Superconductor), transform to Tetradic Tiara with Scarletite, max Tetradic Tiara (8 Sturdy Bones + 2 Superconductor), dismantle for Sprint Shoes.

Tetradic Crown --> Sprint Shoes with a Goddess's Favor in inventory: max Goddess's Favor (18 Sturdy Bones + 2 Superconductor), dismantle for Scarletite, use above method with Scarletite.

Tetradic Crown --> Sprint Shoes without Scarletite or Goddess's Favor: max Tetradic Crown (4 Sturdy Bones + 5 Sturdy Bones + 1 Superconductor), dismantle for Hermes Sandals, max Hermes Sandals (1 Superconductor), use a Perovskite (purchased from Motherlode if necessary) to transform maxed Hermes Sandals to Sprint Shoes.
 
tiornys said:
You don't need any of them. You want as many as you can muster up. Let me explain.The most important things are the Aurora Scarf and Sprint Shoes on Sazh. This combination means that he immediately casts Haste on Vanille at the start of the battle, so she always has a Haste that lasts the full battle (which Sprint Shoes would not) regardless of how fast you have to Summon. If you don't have both, you'll want to delay a bit on Summon, trying to let Sazh cast Haste before Adamantoise kills you with a Stomp. There's a good chance you can make these, and if you have the resources, you should do so.To make an Aurora Scarf, you transform a maxed Whistlewind Scarf with a Rhodochrosite. You can buy Whistlewind Scarf from Moogleworks. It only takes 350 XP to max it. If you don't have random components lying around, a single Superconductor from Lenora's Garage will do the job. Rhodochrosite can be purchased from Motherlode if you don't have any.To make Sprint Shoes, you need a Tetradic Crown or Tetradic Tiara. If you haven't sold them, you have at least one of each; Cid drops a Crown and Dahaka drops a Tiara. Ideally, use the Tiara. Just max it with 2000 XP (18 Sturdy Bones + 3 Superconductors) and dismantle it. You get Sprint Shoes along with several other items. Tetradic Crown has multiple routes to Sprint Shoes, which I'll detail below.Next in importance is the Collector Catalog on Fang, which raises your chance at a Platinum Ingot from 25% to 37.5%. If you don't have one, don't bother buying one. The cost is prohibitively high.Next up are the 2 Aurora Scarves on Vanille, which slightly speed her up with +10% ATB recharge. These can easily be replaced by Whistlewind Scarves, which you can buy from Moogleworks.The rest of the stuff is nice if you have it but not worth fussing about if you don't. The Energy Sash just gets you a little bit more TP back, and the other Catalogs give very small bonuses to your chances to get a Trapezohedron or shroud drop from Adamantoise.Tetradic Crown --> Sprint Shoes with a Scarletite in inventory: max Tetradic Crown (4 Sturdy Bones + 5 Sturdy Bones + 1 Superconductor), transform to Tetradic Tiara with Scarletite, max Tetradic Tiara (8 Sturdy Bones + 2 Superconductor), dismantle for Sprint Shoes.Tetradic Crown --> Sprint Shoes with a Goddess's Favor in inventory: max Goddess's Favor (18 Sturdy Bones + 2 Superconductor), dismantle for Scarletite, use above method with Scarletite.Tetradic Crown --> Sprint Shoes without Scarletite or Goddess's Favor: max Tetradic Crown (4 Sturdy Bones + 5 Sturdy Bones + 1 Superconductor), dismantle for Hermes Sandals, max Hermes Sandals (1 Superconductor), use a Perovskite (purchased from Motherlode if necessary) to transform maxed Hermes Sandals to Sprint Shoes.
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I don't think it's worth fighting it now till post game because you will have to spend a lot of money on accessories to get the Sprint Shoes, etc. The Transformational Catalysts are not cheap. I only wanted to fight it so I could get a Platinum Ingot or a Trapezohedron. Do you think it's worth fighting it before continuing on with the story? Also near the end of chapter 12 you can fight Sacrifice's that drop Perfume which sell for a lot of Gill. Any how this is useful information on defeating one of the strongest enemies in XIII.
 
Phosphoric Ooze said:
I don't think it's worth fighting it now till post game because you will have to spend a lot of money on accessories to get the Sprint Shoes, etc. The Transformational Catalysts are not cheap. I only wanted to fight it so I could get a Platinum Ingot or a Trapezohedron. Do you think it's worth fighting it before continuing on with the story?
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Yes. Make whatever you can conveniently make, if anything, and then fight it as best you can. Worst-case scenario--if you can't make anything--you use Espionage for a round after Hecatoncheir leaves to get Haste on Vanille, and you miss out on a couple of Death casts per fight. Odds are still very good that you get the kill within a couple of attempts, and the guaranteed reward is that you get to pick up both the 6x Particle Accelerator treasure and the Plush Chocobo treasure instead of having to choose one or the other (not to mention the 40,000 CP).

Also near the end of chapter 12 you can fight Sacrifice's that drop Perfume which sell for a lot of Gill. Any how this is useful information on defeating one of the strongest enemies in XIII.
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Sacrifices also drop Scarletites, which are useful and very expensive to purchase. One of the best farming spots in the game is right at the beginning of chapter 13, where you can repeatedly fight a group of 4 Sacrifices with a very fast respawn.
 
tiornys said:
Yes. Make whatever you can conveniently make, if anything, and then fight it as best you can. Worst-case scenario--if you can't make anything--you use Espionage for a round after Hecatoncheir leaves to get Haste on Vanille, and you miss out on a couple of Death casts per fight. Odds are still very good that you get the kill within a couple of attempts, and the guaranteed reward is that you get to pick up both the 6x Particle Accelerator treasure and the Plush Chocobo treasure instead of having to choose one or the other (not to mention the 40,000 CP).


Sacrifices also drop Scarletites, which are useful and very expensive to purchase. One of the best farming spots in the game is right at the beginning of chapter 13, where you can repeatedly fight a group of 4 Sacrifices with a very fast respawn.
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I beat it without the accessories and was easy. I used Vanille/Hope/Fang and started of in Assassination, and when Vanille's Summon left i switched to Espionage and then started to cast Death. After a few hits it was over. The downside that i was unable to get any spoils. :(
I saved the game then loaded the saved data again and the Adamantoise respawned so i used an Ethersol and then beat it again but was unable to get any spoils for the second time.


Now i'm on chapter 13. Any tips for the last chapter?
 
Dagonites can be controlled with Thundaga-spam if you equip Auto-Vigilance or Auto-Tetradefense. Summons are also extremely effective against Dagonites. Otherwise, Dispel(ga) to clear their buffs will prevent them from using the highly disruptive Dash attack.

Sacrifices are very vulnerable to Fog, and all of their annoying and dangerous attacks get shut down by Fog. Same goes for Sanctum Templar to a lesser degree.

Aquila Velocycle is very easy to chain while it's charging its Plasma Cannon. Once you stagger it, most full-ATB moves are very effective at dealing damage through its damage resistance. If you can't stagger-cancel Plasma Cannon, you'll want physical resistance (and possibly a SEN) to survive.

Megrim Thresher can be Slowed, Cursed, and Dazed. All three are helpful.
 
tiornys said:
Dagonites can be controlled with Thundaga-spam if you equip Auto-Vigilance or Auto-Tetradefense. Summons are also extremely effective against Dagonites. Otherwise, Dispel(ga) to clear their buffs will prevent them from using the highly disruptive Dash attack.Sacrifices are very vulnerable to Fog, and all of their annoying and dangerous attacks get shut down by Fog. Same goes for Sanctum Templar to a lesser degree.Aquila Velocycle is very easy to chain while it's charging its Plasma Cannon. Once you stagger it, most full-ATB moves are very effective at dealing damage through its damage resistance. If you can't stagger-cancel Plasma Cannon, you'll want physical resistance (and possibly a SEN) to survive.Megrim Thresher can be Slowed, Cursed, and Dazed. All three are helpful.
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Before you face the 1st boss is there a chance you can go back to the start of chapter 13 because I missed a few items?
 
Slow buys you a ton of time between Bart's dangerous attacks, and Imperil doubles your chaining speed against him. Ultima can be deadly (but is very random), while Thanatosian Laughter is percentage based and will never kill you. Some chain-building post-stagger before going full COMs is a good idea, either with multiple RAVs or with a full-ATB RAV skill, depending on your leader.

Orphan's Merciless Judgment is also percentage-based. You see it at the beginning of the battle, any time Orphan shifts form (Consummate Light/Darkness), when you drop Orphan below ~40% HP, and somewhat randomly thereafter. If you're Poisoned when it hits, Poison will kill you before you can heal up. You can take less damage from it by having SENs on the field. The instant death move--which only starts showing up once you deal a certain amount of damage--will preferentially target a Medic, so you want to avoid controlling a Medic, or at least avoid being one when Progentorial Wrath might happen. Some strategies exploit this by using COM/COM/MED after staggering the first time to deflect the first PW to a non-leader character.

Veil's 50% status resistance applies to Instant Death as well as all the other debuffs in the fight, and is very useful. Poison can deal a ton of damage in this fight. You can also get a ton of damage by inflicting Imperil on Orphan to make it weak to all elements and then getting Enfire on your Commandos. Orphan is very resistant to status ailments, so it's a good idea to build some chain before trying to inflict them.

Don't forget about Renew and Summon if you get into a tight spot. I recommend throwing a Librascope--not Libra--against Orphan to save TP for them.
 
Phosphoric Ooze said:
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.
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Lol my brother was also stuck with Behemoth like 1 month. So cute :D
 
Well I'm bobbing along in Chapter 12!
I did get sidetracked by the notion that Lightning fights better when someone else is in the party, but went back to her and used "Army of One" after having Haste cast on her.
Having trouble with the Juggernaut, but didn't realise Sab is useful, so I'll try that tomorrow.
 
LovingOfLightning said:
Well I'm bobbing along in Chapter 12!
I did get sidetracked by the notion that Lightning fights better when someone else is in the party, but went back to her and used "Army of One" after having Haste cast on her.
Having trouble with the Juggernaut, but didn't realise Sab is useful, so I'll try that tomorrow.
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Good to know. Saboteur is useful but the Juggernauts use Steam Clean to cure itself from aliments. Synergist is the best paradigm to use when facing one.

I'm starting XIII-2 now.
 
Yes! Fantastic! I've made it to Chapter 13 where I was last time my original PS3 broke down. Any idea how I can jump to the platform where the "Current destination" symbol is? Typical FF! You think it's going to be a straightforward "Go to the other end of the room". But no. Not this time. :megusta2:
 
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