Basic Knowledge[]
Alright, so I know this hasn't been updated in a while, but I'm back and ready to get cracking on it. This section is bigger than I originally intended as there's lots of basic info you should know about this game For my own amusement I'm going to assume you know absolutely nothing about the game and if you do, you can just skip this. First off to play the game you need basic things like electricity, hands, eyes, a system to run the game, the game itself etc, etc, etc. I'm assuming this is all taken care of and you've gotten the game into the system, and are waiting on the main menu, where to two options are "NEW GAME" (yes, they put it all in Caps), or "Continue" (not all in Caps). Right now we'll be picking "NEW GAME"; However, when you come back later (after you've saved your game) you'll pick "Continue" to load up the game where you last saved it.
So, if you already clicked "NEW GAME" you're ahead of me so shame! I'm not done explaining! For those without patience, you can jump ahead a page to where the game actually begins. So, onto the rest of the basics. This is a Final Fantasy game for those who are unaware. If you haven't played one before there is a lot of exploration in these games and it is always in your best interest to explore as much as possible and to take time to do side-quests. As you're reading all this boring into I'm assuming you're planning on following this guide as you go and I will do my absolute best to guide you to everything, including things you can't actually see on the screen (Yes this game has invisible things hidden in it). So, onto basic advice about exploring in this game.
- First off, as with every Final Fantasy game, SAVE OFTEN! I can't tell you how many times I have gone ahead without saving, died, and lost progress. There are save points in areas but you can save anytime on the world map by opening the menu and picking "SAVE". If you don't do this and lose progress, it's your own fault and not mine.
- Talk to everyone and do so more than once. I'll guide you through the important conversations and get you all the stuff in the game, but this game has an interesting world and a lot of background that I won't be completely filling in.
- There are invisible draw points and save points in this game. You can still draw the magic from them if you can find them but you can't use the invisible save points until you learn the "Move-Find" ability. ..and you can never see the invisible draw points on the world map. So, I'll tell you exactly where the hidden ones are but you'll have to find them. Sound fair?
Junction System[]
Ah, the junction system. It is completely different than the systems in all the other games and I don't think I've every found another system quite like it in it's complexity and effect on the game. If you use it right (and you should be as I'll be walking you through it) it will make the game very easy and even the final bosses and secret boss shouldn't pose too much of a threat. So, let's go over the basics. We'll get deeper into leveling when we go over the battle system but I wanted to mention it here because since leveling is easier(relatively) you get only part of your power through stat boosts with each level. The other part (both permanent and temporary) will be through junctioning.
So, how does it work? First, you'll need a GF (Guardian Force). These are basically the summoned creatures from this game and without them your characters are super-pathetic and can't do anything but basic attacks (and limit breaks). You'll be given your first two GF's right at the start of the game but each GF has it's own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. As we go through the game I'll do a writeup on each new one you get and how to best utilize them. They also each have different abilities they can learn, and depending on what order you learn them in, and which character you equip each GF on, you can fully customize each character how you would like them to be. I typically have a character mostly devoted to Magic, one devoted to Strength, and one with high Vitality and Spirit (Warrior, Mage, and Tank archetypes). However, you have 6 characters to fully customize any way you like. I usually only use a couple at the beginning and keep the others to fully develop later, but if you don't want to go through all that effort you don't have to. Of course I'll let you know exactly how I'm doing it and you can choose to do the same or not.
So, once you have a GF equipped to one of your characters you can pick abilities other than just fight for them to use in battle. You can also equip magic that you have gotten to one of your stats (that the junctioned GF allows) to improve it. Improvements are dependent on what magic is used, the strength of the spell, and how many copies of that spell you have (max being 100 of any spell). For most the game we'll probably be using the "auto-junction" feature but I'll go through what I specifically have equipped as we go and good places to get strong magic to equip.
Draw System[]
Oh, how do you get magic? I guess I did sort of skip over that. That would be called the "Draw" system and it's intimately linked to the Junction system. "Draw" is a command that every GF knows and in battle it allows you to take magic from every enemy you fight and either use it immediately, or to save it for later (again with the max of any spell being 100). When you draw if you choose stock you will gain anywhere from 1-9 copies of the spell and store it in the character's inventory. There is a max amount of space, which is 32 spells, so as you get more spells we'll be doing some inventory management. How many you get depends on how high the character's Magic stat is and how powerful the spell you're drawing is. So you're mages will be better at drawing and it may be best to draw 100 of a spell with your mage, win the battle, transfer it to your other characters, then fight the same enemy again to fill up your inventory.
While you'll be getting most of your spells by drawing them from monsters, there are also draw points which look like intricate networks of purple light. You can just walk up to one of these and draw the spells. These will replenish over time, so grab them every chance you get. I'll direct you to hidden draw points as we go which often contain the strongest spells in the game. It should also be noted that when drawing from draw points you can draw up to 15 of a spell at a time. You can also level up your spells if your GF has the right ability and turn fire spells into fira spells and fira spells into firaga spells, so we'll be doing that as well. Well, I think that's enough explanation about the GF and Draw systems for now so let's continue onto talking about your how the battle system works in this game and give some basic tips on that.
Battle System[]
Basics[]
The battle system in this game is uses the familiar ATB system many other games in the series use but also has it's own unique quirks. When you get into a fight you still go into a mini-battle and have up to four different options such as fight, magic, etc to use. Once your character attacks they have to wait to attack again (ATB). The big differences is the background. Normally in a Final Fantasy game you encounter enemies in an area which are a specific level and even if you come back at the end of the game, they'll still be that same level. Not in this game. In this game enemies will always be the average level of your party (with the exception of bosses). So, if you encounter a Bite Bug at the beginning of the game, it will be near level 1 while if you come back at the end it could be level 100. Every normal enemy is like this and their stats, magic available, dropped items, stolen items, and attacks available to the monster all depend on the enemies level. Bosses are similar, however they all have a max level so if you're diligent you can be a higher level than them which will make fighting them easier.
Experience Points have also been changed a bit. In other Final Fantasy games, you usually only need a couple to get from level 1 to 2, but to get from 99 to 100 you need a whole lot more. However, in this game you only need 1000 experience to get from any level to the next one. This is possible because the monsters level up themselves so they will always be an appropriate challenge for your team.
Like other Final Fantasy games, each battle can also begin three special ways in addition to a normal battle:
- "First Strike" where you get to attack first.
- "Struck First" where you get attacked first.
- "Back Attack", where you're attacked first, and take twice the normal damage from the enemies first attack.
Limit Breaks[]
Limit Breaks are also back but this game has a different system for them (which I think is the best in the series) which is good as they are the most powerful attacks you can get in the game. A lot of my strategies rely on them so you should know how they work. When you're character gets low on life (below 25%) they're life bar will turn yellow. While they have less than 30% life (so yes, it is possible to get a limit break with a white life bar), you have a change to get a limit break. The "LIMIT" notice will appear and you can select it by pushing over from the "Attack" command. However, this doesn't always happen when you get low on life, but the lower you are on life, the better chance you have. You can also press the circle 
button to change characters and each time you get back to the character they may have their limit break. Get used to doing this as you'll be doing it a lot. Just remember that while limits are the most powerful attacks in the game, by being low on life you risk getting killed, so sometimes a better strategy is to heal up and keep attacking with your more traditional style.
Summoning[]
Summoning is also different in this game. You summon your GF's, which characters will have equipped, by using the GF ability in battle. When you do this your GF's HP bar will replace your characters (which can be useful for protecting low HP characters) and a time bar will slowly count down until your summon comes and executes their attack. This bar can be quickened by increasing your character's affinity with a GF by using them in battle or my using a specific item relating to your GF on the character. The max affinity is 1000, at which point they'll summon very quickly for that character. If your GF happens to get hit instead of your character while they're being summoned they'll take the damage and if all their HP gets taken, they'll faint and be unuseable until you revive them (which you cannot do in battle). There are a number of GF specific items to cure their HP and revive them and when you heal all your characters by resting it will also fully heal your GF's.
Status Effects[]
There are also a number of negative status effects your characters can be hit with in battle. I created a table below with them, and how to cure them. The Remedy (item) and the Esuna Magic can cure almost any effect so I won't list them below and you can assume they will cure any of the below unless I specifically point out otherwise. Dispel Magic can also be used to remove positive effects from your allies or from enemies.
| Name | Condition | Additional Cure |
|---|---|---|
| Silence | Cannot use Magic or Summon GF's. | Echo Screen (item) |
| Confuse | Randomly attacks a target, including itself. | |
| Poison | Lose HP each time you perform an action. | Antidote (item) |
| Berserk | Cannot be controlled and keeps physically attacking the enemy. Increases attack damage and ATB recharge rate. | |
| Slow | Speed cut in half. | Haste (Magic) |
| Blind | Hit rate reduced. | Eye Drops (item) |
| Slow Death | Counts down and when it reaches zero, the character dies. | Dispel (Magic) (Note Remedy and Esuna don't cure this |
| Petrify | Turned to stone. | Soft (item) |
| Zombie | Becomes undead (healing harms them). | Holy Water (item) |
| Slow Petrify | Counts down and when it reaches zero, the character is petrified. | Soft (item) |
| Sleep | Cannot take actions. | Physically attack |
| Curse | Cannot use Limit Breaks. | Holy Water (item) |
| Defense Cut | Receive double damage from physical attacks. |
Extra Notes[]
A few other notes about battles. You can run from battles by pressing R2 and L2 at the same time though certain battles, such as bosses, cannot be escaped from. If you hold down X 
, you will automatically select the attack command and the nearest target or if you set the option in the menu "Cursor:Memory", it will remember your last choice and automatically select that. I will be setting that right away and walking you through setting it as well. A few other useful commands are:
- Soft reset (pressing L1, L2, R1, and R2) to go back to the title screen.
- When you have a spell highlighted in the menu, press Square
to discard the magic. - When junctioning, press Square
to remove the junction. - In battle, you can hold select to remove the menus to be able to see.
- In battle, press Square to view abnormal status effects.
SeeD Ranking[]
Money in this game is also a bit different. You don't get money by killing random monsters (their pockets appear to have been emptied in this game). Instead, you get paid at regular intervals for having a job (imagine that). Once you get your job (being a SeeD mercenary) you will be given money for taking a certain number of steps with your salary depending on your rank. When you join SeeD you will be rank 1, but can be increased a number of ways. The max rank is S, which is after rank 30. We'll talk about increasing your SeeD rank when it becomes relevant (so in a couple pages), but note that your rank will fall if you don't fight enough battles in between getting paid so make sure you do fight when you get a chance to keep the income high.
Boss Rating System[]
| Rating | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1/6 | You can't lose this unless you deliberately try. |
| 2/6 | Should be an easy fight. |
| 3/6 | You might take a couple good hits, but you should win. |
| 4/6 | One character will probably die during this fight. |
| 5/6 | You may have to try this fight more than once to win. |
| 6/6 | Make sure you save since you will die many times against this boss. |
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