Today, I played a bit more. Beat down that battle with Agrias, which turned out to be easy, because the archer didn't had all that luck again. At that time, my Ramza was back in his Squire job to allow some better equipment combination, Elemental, Auto Potion, Attack Up and Move HP Up. I had the Geomancer with me with White Magic, Distribute, Defense Up and Walk on Water. Had a Lancer with Punch Arts, Counter, Brawler and Move on Water. And a Wizard with Yin Yang Magic, Auto Potion, Defense Up and Move on Water.
After that, went to fight Gafgarion in the Execution Site. That battle took 3 attempts. The first one I ran out of means to revive my fallen allies, which would mean they would get crystalized before long. The second attempt also went that way. The third attempt, I had Ramza the same way as before, brought Boco into battle, had my Wizard with White Magic, Auto Potion, Defense Up, Move HP Up; Priest with Elemental, Auto Potion, Defense Up, Move HP Up; and the Lancer with Punch Arts, Counter, Brawler and Move Hp Up.
This battle started with my Ramza luckily hitting 2 opponents with Geomancy causing them both to fall asleep. My Wizard turned one of the fake Ovelia into a toad and rode Boco to get away from that place. So, it was gradually easy to beat them when 3 of them were disabled so soon. I gave up on the possibility of stealing Blood Sword, because my Thief character wasn't very effective in that battle.
I went straight to battle at Lionel Castle. I thought it would be a tough battle facing Gafgarion again ... but it turned out ok. Ramza could boost haste on himself and two allies next to the gates before going down to open it, whils Gafgarion couldn't dish much damage due Auto Potion. Outside I had the same Lancer, the same Wizard, Boco and Geomancer with Steal, I think. The fact is that I could steal one of the lancer's heart, which helped killing one of the Oracles. The other lancers tried to hit my lancer and failed. All in all, wizard managed to buff with White Magic my team, Boco kept Esunaing anyone who got any ailment, my Lancer kept jumping and killing, and some lucky Elemental ailments. No units died in that battle.
Against Queklain, I had the same Ramza, the same Lancer, the same Wizard, Boco and the ex-Geomancer now Monk with Elemental. The difference is that I equipped them with a ring to avoid sleeping, death sentence. So the only stuff that hit was Undead. In fact, the first boss' move was using it. My wizard reacted with Autopotion and died. There wasn't anything I could do being and undead body, so I simply kept attacking Queklain and using Boco to do the support. Before long, the Wizard Revived and the battle went like that for a little while.
After that we have ... Coal City? I played some random battles before going there, having now a Ninja with Stealing abilities, the one I use to Poach too (which seemed one of the best ways to avoid the resurrecting-annoyance of some monsters plus the fact that some poached items are good and advanced compared to shops). Ramza is now a Samurai with Guts. The Lancer is the same as usual. Wizard too. My Priest is a Summoner now. I was going to make him the Time Mage, but his odds at hitting buffs are way lower than the Wizard, so the Wizard will be a Time Mage later. The Wizard which was the Oracle. Mustadio is a Mediator and Agrias is a Knight. I'm not sure what I'll make of Agrias.
Anyway, Coal City battle was the easiest thing in spite of the beginning. The first thing that happened was my Ninja being killed to 2 ninjas hitting those bizarre odds of 40% in a row. Just when I was still fuming, Olan hit all but 2 enemies with Galaxy Stop, fully with the three stats. I don't need to say how easy that got all of a sudden. The farthest ninja, which couldn't so anything and the closes Chemist, who died with 1 jump. I could only steal 1 sprint shoes.
The next battle was in Lesalia, the dreaded Zalmo's battle. The funny thing is that I wasn't remembering that battle was at Lesalia.
Which turned out to be another easy stuff, and the source, finally, of many stolen goods. Ramza's Bizen Boat quickly turned any magicians useless. Alma kept being Alma. My Wizard started turning others in toads. My Mustadio started sniping those who weren't toads (so it basically was a disabling battle, which kept getting easier and easier). Zalmo's Odin kept missing Ramza, while he still had MP to cast it. One of the enemy samurais went on a spot I mined with my Lancer to keep them away from my units, and she was killed by that preemptive jump. And my ninja only had to get next to the toads and disable enemies to start stealing stuff. It was a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery long battle until I managed to steal most of things possible so then I defeated Zalmo. The only thing I had to keep check was having my Lancer chakras Alma and Ramza bizen boats Zalmo. Mustadio and the Wizard simply did the rest.
I have been doing those propositions meanwhile, and then some other random battles. I'm still to enter the Monastery, which I recall has 3 tough battles, so I'll get a bit prepared.
The random battles are now easier with a broader range of abilities available. Also having Mustadio or the Wizard in the team pays loads due their disabling power. One of the battles was an accident in which I still hade people doing propositions, so I ended up fighting with 2 chocobos in the team, my wizard, my summoner and Ramza. It got very easy too in the end, because 2 chocobos in the team is simply OP.
All in all, getting used to having chocobos in battle, also getting used to use more buffs and debuffs, acting and not acting and the battles are getting a bit less annoying. Procs sometimes are bizarre, but that works around sometimes, when I have very low odds and still get successful. Just one battle that I missed 5 times a 80% Aqua Ball in a row which made me angry. It was at Bariaus Hill against 2 chocobos (the first to die), 4 bombs and a dragon. Poaching the dragon created an Angel's Ring.
Regarding balance so far, Olan's battle was the most representative of all. It was simply too easy that his Galaxy Stop had such high accuracy. The second time he cast it, he stopped the other ninja which wasn't affected the first time. So it all resumed to me moving to their position and killing them. I suppose it makes that battle less dangerous, due Olan being at that position and the AI sometimes suck so hard, that he could be easily taken down if he spell misses.
I'm starting to think that Auto Potion will be useless in late game.
Now, to your responses.
-In regards to monsters taking a long time to fight, I'd be curious to ...
Most of the problem was gravitating around battles against chocobos and the cuar which could revive. Given than most these unsuccessful battles happened on places I was visiting the first time, I wasn't prepared because I didn't know the monsters of that place. Other battles were ok. Started using petrify, poach, Raise 2 etc. to get rid of the undead too.
-In regards to Brave/Faith, outside of events, no, they're not boosted/reduced permanently. On the flip side, Mediators can alter those stats by 10 points in a single pop, meaning that it's well worth it to bring a Mediator around to either boost a mage's Faith or boost a Monk/etc's Brave.
Yeah, I just thought it was sad that they all started with 60, 60. It feels unnatural and the surprising factor of having a varied number is now gone, because I usually used these numbers to set my fighters and mages. And it could be even more surprising if the mages had bad zodiac signs to your teams, making your ponder whether they would be then fighters, or then that you would require using more of those brave and faith boosts as an aid.
-IIRC, the healing is done passively, but it doesn't display the number...
It's been appearing normally in all the last games I have been playing.
-Mindflayers are evil, evil creatures and they're ...
The only thing that's being bothersome in the last battles is the Counter Flood. It usually makes a character goes critical in 1 hit.
-I'm not sure of what you mean when you talk about Vertical Jump.
That's an overall feeling about it. When I first played this job years and years ago, it always sounded strange that we had to master jumping on high places if we actually goes outside the screen to do it.
-The graphical glitch at Zirekile is likely emulator related. What emulator are you using?
PCSX. The other emulators didn't work, no matter what.
-Steal is definitely a late-game thing to have. I want to add better Steals throughout, but it's not a priority at ...
It looks like it's worth at random battles with humans. The last battle I had was before going to Lionel, and there appeared 2 Geomancers with items in which it would take a while to appear, such as White Robe, Black Robe, Black Hood. Sadly, I wasn't expecting that and I had no stealers in my team and I also lost that battle given that I ran out of means to revive one of my characters at the same time the cuar was reviving another fallen enemy.
-Absorb: Holy is good late-game when there are enemies that throw Holy around...
So it's an anti-Wiegraf item at the Monastery?
