Balthier (Final Fantasy XII party member)

Balthier
(バルフレア, Barufurea?, lit. Balflear)
Portraits
Gameplay details
Type	Party member
Quickening	Fires of War Tides of Fate Element of Treachery

Balthier is a playable character in Final Fantasy XII, who joins with his partner, Fran, in the first dungeon, Garamsythe Waterway; they are the first permanent party members to join Vaan.

He is the weakest male party member. Balthier's HP growth and Strength are good though lower than Vaan's and Basch's. His Speed is the highest of the six main playable characters. His MP and Magick Power growth are low. Balthier is well-suited for close combat. Conversely, his low magick stats suggest he is ill-suited for healing or using black magick. When he joins, his starting level is determined by Vaan's current level. Balthier, alongside Vaan and Basch, have the best combo speed with the high-combo weapons, and thus are good candidates for job combinations that exploit this in The Zodiac Age version.

Even though Balthier's default weapon is a gun and he has gun licenses already learned, Balthier has the slowest action time, together with Penelo, when using a gun—all the other characters' action time with a gun is faster. He can equip other weapons that make good use of his strength and speed stat, such as daggers, ninja swords, bows, greatswords, and spears.

However, any stat differences can be made up with gear and the animation speed differences are negligible. Balthier can be built in any way the player wishes without drawbacks.

After winning a boss battle the currently alive members of the active party perform a victory pose depending on what weapon they are equipped with.

Final Fantasy XII original

Initial data

Name	Initial Stats
Level	Vaan's level +1
LP	[Vaan's total LP + Fran's total LP]/2 - 135
Magicks/Technicks	First Aid
Items	—
Gil	200
Gambits	1. Ally: any ⇛ First Aid 2. Foe: nearest visible ⇛ Attack

Initial licenses

Name	Permits use of
Steal	Steal
First Aid	First Aid
Guns 1	Altair, Capella
Guns 2	Vega, Sirius
Shields 1	Escutcheon, Leather Shield
Light Armor 1	Leather Cap, Leather Clothing
Light Armor 2	Headgear, Headguard, Chromed Leathers, Leather Breastplate
Heavy Armor 1	Leather Helm, Bronze Helm, Leather Armor, Bronze Armor

Initial equipment

Category	Name	Effect
Weapon	Altair	Gun, Attack Power +6, Evade +10, CT 51, Critical% 5
Off-Hand	Onion Shot	Attack Power +1
Helm	Headgear	Magick Resist +5, Max HP +20
Armor	Chromed Leathers	Defense +5, Max HP +20
Accessory	—	—

Stats

Level	HP	MP	Strength	Magick Power	Vitality	Speed
2	99-103	20-22	25	17	24	24
10	277-311	32-41	29	20	27	25
20	630-725	51-75	34	24	31	26
30	1,084-1,261	71-109	39	28	34	28
40	1,513-1,768	95-153	44	32	38	29
50	2,198-2,581	115-189	50	36	41	31
60	2,803-3,299	134-223	55	40	45	32
70	3,146-3,702	149-247	60	44	48	34
80	3,542-4,168	163-271	65	48	52	35
90	4,082-4,808	173-285	71	52	55	37
99	4,691-6,044	177-289	75	56	58	38

Zodiac versions

Initial data

Name	Initial Stats
Level	Vaan's level +1
LP	[Vaan's total LP + Fran's total LP]/2 - 56
Magicks/Technicks	First Aid
Items	—
Gil	300
Gambits	1. Ally: any ⇛ First Aid 2. Foe: nearest visible ⇛ Attack

Initial licenses

Name	Permits use of
Command	Attack, Items
Steal	Steal
First Aid	First Aid
Guns 1	Altair
Light Armor 2	Headgear, Headguard, Chromed Leathers, Leather Breastplate

Initial equipment

Category	Name	Effect
Weapon	Altair	Gun, Attack Power +6, Evade +10, CT 51, Critical% 5
Off-Hand	Onion Shot	Attack Power +1
Helm	Headgear	Magick Resist +5, Max HP +20
Armor	Chromed Leathers	Defense +5, Max HP +20
Accessory	—	—

Stats

Level	HP	MP	Strength	Magick	Vitality	Speed
2	101-105	34-39	25	18	24	24
10	278-311	65-90	29	22	27	25
20	629-723	116-180	34	27	31	26
30	1,079-1,255	168-272	39	31	34	28
40	1,505-1,758	232-387	44	36	38	29
50	2,186-2,566	288-485	50	42	41	31
60	2,787-3,278	339-574	55	45	45	32
70	3,127-3,679	377-638	60	50	48	34
80	3,542-4,168	163-271	65	48	52	35
90	4,056-4,777	441-741	71	59	55	37
99	4,661-5,495	453-752	75	63	58	38

Quests

The party observes the bodies on the floor right as Balthier and Fran join.

Balthier joins in Garamsythe Waterway with Fran. He can be used as the party leader and thus directly controlled in dungeons and on the overworld, but only Vaan is controllable in settled areas. If the player makes Balthier the party leader in the Garamsythe Waterway as he joins, inspecting the body on the floor yields a different comment depending on who the party leader is. Though Balthier declares himself the "leading man", there is never a need to use him as a leader, or in the active party after the party reaches Bhujerba.

During the boss battle inside Lhusu Mines where the player is prompted to flee, Ba'Gamnan's gang will prioritize attacking Balthier. If the player defeats the bangaa rather than flees, a unique scene occurs where Ba'Gamnan curses ar Balthier getting away. During the optional rematch against Ba'Gamnan's gang in the Nam-Yensa Sandsea, if Balthier is in the active party, Ba'Gamnan will target him.

In the boss battle atop Draklor Laboratory, Balthier comments on the boss summoning minions if he is in the active party (Always hiding behind your precious toys. Pity if something were to happen to them.).

Behind the scenes

Balthier's hair, sleeves, and earrings are static in the PlayStation 4 version of The Zodiac Age. This has been fixed for the PC version, where they move in the wind.