Magick that speeds the passage of time, granting Haste to distant units. Vertical range is improved compared to the Haste spell.
The Ivalice Chronicles' description
Hasteja, also known as Haste 2, is a Time Magicks ability in Final Fantasy Tactics, learned by the time mage job. It charges a spell that grants the Haste status to units within the effect radius, quickening their CT, letting them act faster. The action ability must be learned by expending JP earned for the time mage job. Hasteja is an upgrade to the Haste spell.
Other abilities that grant Haste include the bard's Nameless Song, the samurai's Masamune Iaido, as well Aegis, from Alma Beoulve's cleric and Ovelia Atkascha's princess jobs.
Certain equipment, such as the Chantage and the Excalibur, grant the Auto-Haste effect, a permanent buff that will always grant the unit the Haste effect.
The Haste effect is cancelled by Slow.
Obtained[]
Hasteja costs 550 JP in the North American version of Final Fantasy Tactics for the PlayStation, and 600 JP in the original Japanese version, as well in all versions of The War of the Lions and The Ivalice Chronicles, to be spent on the time mage job. Once the unit has learned it, it is available for other jobs as long as they have the Time Magicks skillset equipped.
Hasteja has a 20% chance of being randomly learned mid-battle if cast on a time mage who has not learned the spell yet. The spell cannot be passed on when a unit becomes a crystal.
Mechanics[]
Times current, place me in your whirlpool! Haste 2!
Upon casting
A time mage applying Haste on themselves.
Hasteja costs 30 MP with a charge time of 15 speed, with a cross-shaped effect range that can affect up to five units. Magick has a chance to hit (including healing and supportive magicks) based on the caster's faith and the target's faith. Hasteja's chance of success is based on the following formula:
This means that the higher both the caster and the target's faith stats, the higher the chances of the Hasteja spell to take effect. Hasteja, alongside its counterpart, Slowja, has the highest chance of success of all time magicks.
The Haste status effect increases the charge time (CT) recovery rate of a unit. The speed stat for calculating CT becomes 3/2*Speed. Haste lasts for 32 clock ticks. Same as the opposing status Slow, Haste does not affect the CT of actions that do not commence instantly, including Jump. Weapons and abilities whose power or effect are related to the user's speed—such as bows, daggers, ninja blades, and stealing—are also unaffected by Haste.
Haste can be removed with other abilities, such as the mystic's Harmony or the templar's Dispel.
The unit can still attempt to cast magick even without the required MP, however, it will fail upon activating.
Hasteja cannot be reflected, and will be nullified against a unit with zero faith or under the Atheist status; however the status effect will still provide the increased CT recovery to the unit if they were granted Haste before becoming affected by Atheist, having their faith reduced to zero, or wearing an equipment that grants the Auto-Haste effect. Hasteja cannot be cast by the arithmetician job command, Arithmeticks.
When casting magick, the player can choose whether to target the unit or the tile. Targeting the unit will result in the magick being cast directly at the character, meaning that if they move, the spell will still affect them. Targeting the tile will result in the spell only affecting the selected map tile; if there are no units within the spell radius, the cast will fail.
Use[]
The increased CT recovery effect keeps the buff relevant through the entire game.
The only difference between Haste and Hasteja is that Hasteja has an increased height of effect, at the expense of increased MP cost and a much slower cast speed, but a higher success chance. Both Haste and Hasteja grant the same status effect. Therefore, in most situations, casting Haste is more effective unless units are positioned on tiles with significant height differences.
Since Hasteja cannot be reflected, it can be cast on units under the status, or wearing equipment such as the mirror mail.
The samurai's Masamune Iaido can outshine the Hasteja spell, as it is an instant ability that also grants Regen. However, katanas have a chance to break when executing the Iaido, resulting in it being permanently lost and the user unable to cast it again, since the Masamune is a rare weapon that can only be obtained by stealing from Messam Elmdore in the story battle at Limberry Castle, or by catching it with the thief's Sticky Fingers against level 95 ninja throwing the katana.
Behind the scenes[]
In the PlayStation version, a time mage casting Hasteja may chant: "Times current, place me in your whirlpool! Haste 2!" Spellcasting chants are not used in The War of the Lions version, but return in The Ivalice Chronicles with new localization.
Etymology[]
The second tier spell of Haste was originally called "Haste 2" in the Final Fantasy series. When the change to the suffix system occurred, in most games Haste 2 became known as Hastega, but in Final Fantasy Tactics, Haste 2 was renamed "Hasteja". The -ja suffix in the series's spell naming system denotes the most powerful version of its spell family.