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[Croc]

Okay, some quick advice please. I'm at

Spoiler

Zanarkand Ruins

now and just finished the puzzles there. I'm about to fight the boss but I'm just doing some grinding to get some good spells coming up on the sphere grid (hastega, curaga).

I've already unlocked Ultima as well as the -ga spells at this point. I have 4 black magic spheres too. Would it be more beneficial for me to use those to give Yuna the -ga spells or to give 4 people Ultima (or any other suggestions?

 

[Aurizen]

Okay, some quick advice please. I'm at

Spoiler

Zanarkand Ruins

now and just finished the puzzles there. I'm about to fight the boss but I'm just doing some grinding to get some good spells coming up on the sphere grid (hastega, curaga).

I've already unlocked Ultima as well as the -ga spells at this point. I have 4 black magic spheres too. Would it be more beneficial for me to use those to give Yuna the -ga spells or to give 4 people Ultima (or any other suggestions?

I made yuna learn all white and black magic spells, because I use her mostly throughout the game, so she became my black mage and white mage he magic is the highest.

 

[Croc]

I made yuna learn all white and black magic spells, because I use her mostly throughout the game, so she became my black mage and white mage he magic is the highest.

Yeah that's what I was thinking too, I just wasn't sure if it'd be more beneficial to have other people be able to use some good magic as well. But now that I think about it it probably wouldn't matter much considering the MP cost of Ultima.

 

[OmegaDL50]

You're mixing up sampling and tone generation, my friend. By its strictest definition modern sample libraries are still (obviously) sample based, the same way PSF2 is. This is different from tone generation which is algorithmic and has nothing to do with samples.

Well according to Keiji Kawamori per an interview via Polygon.

"Because the original PlayStation 2 version used a built-in tone generator with limited memory capacity, I wanted to fully re-master the soundtrack using current technology in order to match the HD re-mastered graphics," Kawamori said. "At first, our plan was to allow players to switch between the original and re-mastered soundtracks while playing the game. However, we encountered issues along the way that unfortunately prohibited us from implementing this feature."

And according to the documentation from Niell Corlett who created the PSF audio format, It has far more in common with midi synthesis using the self-contained driver code from the game itself. It's a weird format that's for sure.

http://www.neillcorlett.com/psf/
http://www.neillcorlett.com/psf/faq.html

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Yuna is key, I ALWAYS train her to learn Holy. that should do 9999 damage each time or something very close

Thanks but I finally beat her without Holy! It was a seemingly endless battle between Reflect, Curaga and Regen but after 30 minutes I won! I was never this far before... then I got Yojimbo and went back to Besaid and...

Spoiler

Dark Valefor came and I Zanmato'ed her with my first time summoning Yojimbo... o.o

 

[Falk]

Well according to Keiji Kawamori per an interview via Polygon.

"Because the original PlayStation 2 version used a built-in tone generator with limited memory capacity, I wanted to fully re-master the soundtrack using current technology in order to match the HD re-mastered graphics," Kawamori said. "At first, our plan was to allow players to switch between the original and re-mastered soundtracks while playing the game. However, we encountered issues along the way that unfortunately prohibited us from implementing this feature."

And according to the documentation from Niell Corlett who created the PSF audio format, It has far more in common with midi synthesis using the self-contained driver code from the game itself. It's a weird format that's for sure.

http://www.neillcorlett.com/psf/
http://www.neillcorlett.com/psf/faq.html

Tone generator in that case is a little bit of it being lost in translation. That quote is pretty interesting though as it's the first I'm hearing of an official statement as to why the original OST wasn't swappable.

Thanks for the links, but my point is, what you think may not be MIDI synthesis nowadays, in the form of sample libraries, actually still shares a lot with what PSF2 did/does, except in a more controlled environment which is obviously not limited by PS2 hardware (especially memory, just as Kawamori-san says), and shares nothing with pure tone generation.

Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

Spoiler

I worked on Lightning Returns OST and am currently involved in other Square Enix projects. Kawamori-san is an awesome guy

 

[Levyne]

Spoiler

I worked on Lightning Returns OST and am currently involved in other Square Enix projects. Kawamori-san is an awesome guy

Playing this soon. Looking forward to it

 

[Aurizen]

Yeah that's what I was thinking too, I just wasn't sure if it'd be more beneficial to have other people be able to use some good magic as well. But now that I think about it it probably wouldn't matter much considering the MP cost of Ultima.

yeah I use those sparingly, I think my Yuna has an MP of about 300+ during that part, I think Ultima does more damage than Holy. a few strategic moves on your part and healing and Ultima and holy should do the trick.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

As much as I'm enjoying FFX HD, I think its simply because its been so damn long since I've played the game. But with the new faces and music I don't like, I honestly think this will be a one-time play then sell. I'm more than happy playing it on PCSX2. I'm loving playing this portable on my Vita. But I guess I'm just a stubborn old man.

 

[Hellix]

Is it necessary to get fortune spheres to platinum, or could you get away with filling all the empty nodes with anything you want?

 

[OmegaDL50]

Is it necessary to get fortune spheres to platinum, or could you get away with filling all the empty nodes with anything you want?

Fill them in with anything you want. As long as the entire sphere grid is full, each node is activated, and every path is highlighted in a characters color, that is what is required for a "Perfect Sphere Grid" trophy and "Perfect Sphere Master" trophy for all characters

Although luck has it's benefit.

255 Luck basically makes Accuracy and Evasion nearly redundant. (255 Luck with 0 ACC and 0 EVA is actually better then 0 Luck with 255 ACC and EVA)

Luck determines the chance a a critical hit will land and dodge chance between the character and the enemy.

 

[Falk]

Technically the only reason you need Luck is to reliably beat the Dark Aeons and Penance. If you're willing to Zanmato all of them, you could just fill them with MDEF spheres.

 

[Crimsonlink]

I wish you didn't need luck to beat most of the super bosses aka Penance and D Aeons. Would have loved to just use the normal boss strats to defeat them.

Oh well, fortune spheres FTW!

On to Mount Gagazat for me. Think I'll Zanmato Seymour for the lolz.

Also Falk tell your bosses that everyone hates the Chocobo Races and that they should patch it if possible. I'd help pay for the patch if required. ;_;

Thankfully we are past that era so broken minigames can be patched so I shouldn't have to worry for future Square titles.

Spoiler

There will be broken minigames that are infuriating regardless >.>

 

[Falk]

I'm not a Square Enix employee. I work with the Video Game Orchestra, who, aside from live shows, records a bunch of stuff for game companies and has an excellent working relationship with SQEX.

 

[Holmes]

Done with fortune spheres!! Just need a few evasion spheres to fill the leftover nodes, and that's it!

 

[Falk]

Curious as to why you wouldn't fill the rest with MDEF... is there something I'm overlooking?

 

[hipsterpants]

Wow, filling the sphere grid is just pure carpal-tunnel inducing insanity. Tempted to use Yojimbo on Dark Valefor now just so I can get down and do all the other stuff first before the true grinding begins haha.

 

[XJF]

Technically the only reason you need Luck is to reliably beat the Dark Aeons and Penance. If you're willing to Zanmato all of them, you could just fill them with MDEF spheres.

Totally what I did. Gonna have the platinum here in a few hours.
You are kinda forced to Fight Dark Yojimbo. You could technically Zanmato him, but you're forced to fight him 5 consecutive times, getting Zanmato 5 times in a row is a very low possibility. Got all my Zanmato's for 100K, except the 250K I had to pay for Magus Sisters, and the 700K I paid for Penance.

 

[Falk]

There's a Dark Yojimbo-specific setup which is pretty reliable, doesn't kill the bank for the armor, and uses Attack Reels spam though. His status debuffs aren't as incapacitating as say, ribbon-piercing Break/removal. I'm farming him with literally no luck spheres right now for Ribbon armor just because.

 

[Levyne]

I'm so glad that O'aka and Barkeep can somehow collude behind the scenes to make me infinite money

 

[hipsterpants]

I might just end up Yojimbo-ing everything after all. There is no way I have the time or patience to get everyone's stats to a high enough level.

 

[Korezo]

I actually thought before, "it looks like his ass is casting Flare on me."

37 more fortune spheres to go!

Where do you get luck and fortune spheres? Earth eater and greater sphere?

 

[OmegaDL50]

Where do you get luck and fortune spheres? Earth eater and greater sphere?

Unfortunately yes. I mean outside the few you get in some of the treasure boxes in the game. If you want more these two monsters in the arena are the only other way to get Luck and Fortune Spheres.

 

[Atlantis]

Or, you just use a Special sphere to teach him Steal and actually take him down a path where he can do some real damage. I never take him down Rikku's path, it's a waste when you only need one skill.

If you take Kimahri down Rikku's path in the SSG, you should do it with the intention of using the Level 2 Lock near Steal/Use to get him Reflect, Curaga, and Holy way before Yuna. It turns him into a really great utility character, and his damage is great once he gets some Black Magic.

I might just end up Yojimbo-ing everything after all. There is no way I have the time or patience to get everyone's stats to a high enough level.

It's really the best option.

 

[braves01]

I nearly broke into a sweat against *late game spoiler*

Spoiler

Yunalesca

knowing I'd have to sit through that long cut scene again if I got wiped. Thank god I pulled through and now have my

Spoiler

airship

finally. It took way longer for this game to open up than I thought it would (at least compared to FFIV, the only other one I've played). Is this the beginning of more linear FFs or something?

 

[Levyne]

Well, both X-2 and 12 aren't super linear, then 13 is, and then its sequels less so. So it's not really the started of a trend, in my opinion.

 

[hipsterpants]

And the soft-resetting begins. Get your shit together Yojimbo.

 

[Croc]

Spent enough time grinding to get Yuna to Regen. Think I'm just going to Teleport my way to that magic +4 node in Rikku's grid that's right by Holy...

and then work my way backwards from there.

 

[hipsterpants]

The internet is failing me here guys. Where exactly is Al Bhed Primer 1 if you missed it on the ship? I know it's in the desert but I have no idea where.

edit: never mind haha, I am dumb

 

[Big Papa Husker]

I'm having a hard time finding where I need to go to turn the

Spoiler

Rusty Sword into the Masamune.

I tried going from the Highroad back to the Mushroom Rock, but I ran into the Dark Magus Sisters and got killed instantly.... and I hadn't saved in 25 minutes. SIGH.... Whats the best way to get to the statue?

 

[ramyeon]

I'm having a hard time finding where I need to go to turn the

Spoiler

Rusty Sword into the Masamune.

I tried going from the Highroad back to the Mushroom Rock, but I ran into the Dark Magus Sisters and got killed instantly.... and I hadn't saved in 25 minutes. SIGH.... Whats the best way to get to the statue?

You just have to stick to the wall as you run past them, that way they won't attack you.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

You just have to stick to the wall as you run past them, that way they won't attack you.

Which wall? It seemed like I was walking then people behind me looked at me and then they appeared and I got into a battle. Didn't see a way to get past them...?

 

[Tagg9]

Never played the game originally and I'm not really a big RPG fan but I'm quite enjoying FFX.

The animations and lip sync are absolutely dreadful by today's standards, but the story is surprisingly compelling. They did a great job of building up a fictional world with its own history and lore, as well as filling the cast with well-defined characters.

I also bought the strategy guide for $10 and it's helped immensely.

 

[Manu]

I just beat the game for the first time ever. This is my third attempt since 2008.

Over the years I had the story spoiled everywhere, and the mere existence of X-2 spoils the ending of X, but you know what? I still cried.

I'm such a wuss.

I love this game so much.

 

[CambriaRising]

Which wall? It seemed like I was walking then people behind me looked at me and then they appeared and I got into a battle. Didn't see a way to get past them...?

Choose djose high road from the airship, then go to the south west exit of that area, you will be behind them and can get where you need to go without fighting them.

 

[OmegaDL50]

I'm having a hard time finding where I need to go to turn the

Spoiler

Rusty Sword into the Masamune.

I tried going from the Highroad back to the Mushroom Rock, but I ran into the Dark Magus Sisters and got killed instantly.... and I hadn't saved in 25 minutes. SIGH.... Whats the best way to get to the statue?

Warp to Djose Highroad, you'll spawn near the beach with some wreckage to your left and a bunch of boxes stacked on top of each other. Use the boxes like stairs and walk southwest along the path. The very first Alcove on your left side will have a elevator that you can take up to convert the Rusty Sword into the Masumune (You need to have the Celestial Mirror to do this)

 

[Falk]

I just beat the game for the first time ever. This is my third attempt since 2008.

Over the years I had the story spoiled everywhere, and the mere existence of X-2 spoils the ending of X, but you know what? I still cried.

I'm such a wuss.

I love this game so much.

Spoiler

Yuna whistling at the end was one of the most heart wrenching moments in gaming history ever

 

[ramyeon]

Which wall? It seemed like I was walking then people behind me looked at me and then they appeared and I got into a battle. Didn't see a way to get past them...?

The wall to the left of them. You walk past them but if you tightly hug the wall it won't trigger their battle.

Or you can go to the beach like people said.

See this video for what I mean: http://youtu.be/mcI9Yojfycs

 

[Rabbit Clock]

So 99999 damage is the limit? I guess I shouldn't grind to fill the empty sphere grid nodes with strength spheres then since I'm already hitting that cap pretty consistently at 174 strength. What should I put in the empty nodes then?

 

[OmegaDL50]

So 99999 damage is the limit? I guess I shouldn't grind to fill the empty sphere grid nodes with strength spheres then since I'm already hitting that cap pretty consistently at 174 strength. What should I put in the empty nodes then?

Higher enemy defense levels will effect that. Especially the Dark Aeons and other Superbosses.

Even having 255 STR doesn't guarantee you'll do 99,999 dmg even against an enemy with 255 DEF (which is why Luck is factored after the fact to determine criticals and actually hitting and whatnot), but if you intend to take any of these bosses on without the use of Zanmato, then 255 STR is highly advised.

 

[B.K.]

Finally have 10 of every monster in the arena! Now it's time to start farming spheres.

 

[Rabbit Clock]

Higher enemy defense levels will effect that. Especially the Dark Aeons and other Superbosses.

Even having 255 STR doesn't guarantee you'll do 99,999 dmg even against an enemy with 255 DEF (which is why Luck is factored after the fact to determine criticals and actually hitting and whatnot), but if you intend to take any of these bosses on without the use of Zanmato, then 255 STR is highly advised.

That makes sense. So I should use strength spheres and luck spheres then? What else is important?

 

[OmegaDL50]

That makes sense. So I should use strength spheres and luck spheres then? What else is important?

Well if you don't plan to have more then 9999 HP, you don't need to worry too much about HP Spheres.

DEF and MAG DEF spheres are good to have, being hurt less is a good thing. Luck makes Evasion and Accuracy nearly irrelevant however Luck is by far the hardest stat to grind in the game. (Luck effects critical hit and chance to dodge, 255 Luck, 0 Accuracy, and 0 Evasion is actually better then 0 Luck, 255 Accuracy, and 255 Evasion)

Agility is decent if you want to have lots of turns before the enemy gets to act, which is useful against the Dark Aeons, Nemesis and Penance who are also equally fast too.

MP is probably not necessary because there is more then enough default nodes on the grid to get to 999 MP and there is very little reason to ever need that much MP, when you consider weapon abilities such as One MP Cost.

Once you max out STR, DEF, MAG DEF, and whatever else you like. You can probably just fill the rest of the grid with dud spheres just to max it out. MAG DEF is by far the easiest to grind

(One Eye in the Battle Arena drop them and he takes two hits kill since he only has 150,000HP.

Fenrir drops Accuracy Spheres, Pteryx drops Evasion, and Tanket drops DEF Spheres.

The most annoying are Luck and Mag which take long time get, so if you don't want to cast magic much for damage dealing you can make the choice to kill Jumbo Flan over and over to get enough MAG spheres to satisfy that curiousity of having high magic power. However Jumbo Flan is immune to physical attacks and thus must be killed by spells like Ultima, Flare, or Anima's Pain which all three have an excessively long and annoying animation.

Greater Sphere drops Luck and the Earth Eater has the Fortune Spheres you need to activate said Luck spheres, both are a grind to fight having over million HP each.

Ironclad drops HP Spheres, he has 2 million HP, but his armor can be nullified with Auron's Banishing Blade, and two Attack Reels should slay him (Use Entrust to transfer Overdrive gauge to one character to another)

Best of luck on filling in your Sphere Grid and happy hunting.

 

[Falk]

Yeah, X-2 is probably the least linear FF of them all.

Gonna go out on a limb and say Lightning Returns is even less linear.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Gonna go out on a limb and say Lightning Returns is even less linear.

But doesn't Lightning Returns time limit hinder this to a degree in which makes free exploration ill-advised.

 

[Damaniel]

As much as I'm enjoying FFX HD, I think its simply because its been so damn long since I've played the game. But with the new faces and music I don't like, I honestly think this will be a one-time play then sell. I'm more than happy playing it on PCSX2. I'm loving playing this portable on my Vita. But I guess I'm just a stubborn old man.

I have to say that I'm a little disappointed by the music too. Everything else has been nicely updated, but most of the changes made to the music have been rather detrimental.

Case in point - the Luca theme. The original was a wonder of minimalism. Nice deep bass line, kind of a dreamy atmosphere. Almost made me forget that I was going to be forced to trudge through some blitzball soon. The new one completely ruins it with those stupid horns near the end. It's like they hired a mariachi band to play over the top of the best part. Most of the songs just make me want to go listen to the originals.

Still going to play it (and beat it this time) though. The convenience of playing it on a handheld system can't be denied.

 

[Falk]

But doesn't Lightning Returns time limit hinder this to a degree in which makes free exploration ill-advised.

Well, yes and no. From a pure theoretical standpoint you're absolutely right; a time limit on a game puts a hard cap on how much you can accomplish in a playthrough. That aside, in a very specific case study regarding Lightning Returns, even on Normal, without a guide, you're very likely to run out of things to do before you run out of time, assuming you understand how the chronostasis mechanic works and how to get the most mileage out of it.

 

[Rabbit Clock]

Well if you don't plan to have more then 9999 HP, you don't need to worry too much about HP Spheres.

DEF and MAG DEF spheres are good to have, being hurt less is a good thing. Luck makes Evasion and Accuracy nearly irrelevant however Luck is by far the hardest stat to grind in the game. (Luck effects critical hit and chance to dodge, 255 Luck, 0 Accuracy, and 0 Evasion is actually better then 0 Luck, 255 Accuracy, and 255 Evasion)

Agility is decent if you want to have lots of turns before the enemy gets to act, which is useful against the Dark Aeons, Nemesis and Penance who are also equally fast too.

MP is probably not necessary because there is more then enough default nodes on the grid to get to 999 MP and there is very little reason to ever need that much MP, when you consider weapon abilities such as One MP Cost.

Once you max out STR, DEF, MAG DEF, and whatever else you like. You can probably just fill the rest of the grid with dud spheres just to max it out. MAG DEF is by far the easiest to grind

(One Eye in the Battle Arena drop them and he takes two hits kill since he only has 150,000HP.

Fenrir drops Accuracy Spheres, Pteryx drops Evasion, and Tanket drops DEF Spheres.

The most annoying are Luck and Mag which take long time get, so if you don't want to cast magic much for damage dealing you can make the choice to kill Jumbo Flan over and over to get enough MAG spheres to satisfy that curiousity of having high magic power. However Jumbo Flan is immune to physical attacks and thus must be killed by spells like Ultima, Flare, or Anima's Pain which all three have an excessively long and annoying animation.

Greater Sphere drops Luck and the Earth Eater has the Fortune Spheres you need to activate said Luck spheres, both are a grind to fight having over million HP each.

Ironclad drops HP Spheres, he has 2 million HP, but his armor can be nullified with Auron's Banishing Blade, and two Attack Reels should slay him (Use Entrust to transfer Overdrive gauge to one character to another)

Best of luck on filling in your Sphere Grid and happy hunting.

This is really helpful. The celestial weapons really do make MP cost pointless. Luck spheres sound like a nightmare to get. I guess I'll go with defense, magic defense, agility, strength. I'd try for magic spheres but I don't really use Lulu or Yuna as much as I should. I could also just fill all the empty nodes with magic defense spheres since One-Eye does go down in two hits and all this sphere grinding is starting to drive me insane. Anyways, thanks a ton for the help.

 

[OmegaDL50]

This is really helpful. The celestial weapons really do make MP cost pointless. Luck spheres sound like a nightmare to get. I guess I'll go with defense, magic defense, agility, strength. I'd try for magic spheres but I don't really use Lulu or Yuna as much as I should. I could also just fill all the empty nodes with magic defense spheres since One-Eye does go down in two hits and all this sphere grinding is starting to drive me insane. Anyways, thanks a ton for the help.

Sure thing. I've played FFX at least 7 to 8 times and thus memorized and accrued a lot of knowledge about the game over the years, so I might as well make that information useful by sharing it freely.

 

[Falk]

Man, ripping all the luck spheres back out after beating Penance to do Perfect Sphere Master feels so wrong :|