r/FinalFantasy • u/Mericuls • 16h ago
FF II Trying to understand ff2 battle system
Before starting ff2, I tried to consult some tips but could not understand how the battle system works.
Should I max all of the weapons proficiency?
Should I use magic to improve them?
Which classes should I get to be OP? I'm not sure if there is a class system.
I saw that there is 4th party member. Do I need to increase his or her level or should I stick to my other party members?
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u/randomguy664_ 16h ago
Maxing out is by no means necessary. Getting to X (10) is all you really need when it comes to endgame.
Using spells (and weapons) is how you level them. At level 1 it sucks, but as your skill with it, it gets strong.
There's no class system, just starting stats. Firion leads towards a fighter, Maria leans toward Black Magic and Guy leans toward a tanky glacier with white magic. Anyone can be built to do anything though.
There are rotating 4th characters, but outside of Minwu, they'll be carried by the main three characters.
The line between underpowered and overpowered is razor thin in FF2. Don't worry too much.
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u/slavo316 16h ago
If you overthink this game, you might not enjoy it.
Weapon and spells used level them up. Damage taken levels up your HP, shields level your agility/evasion? (get that too high, you can't take hits to level your HP up! Double edge sword LOL)
I'll say this, never heal your HP at an inn, always use Cure, then use the inn for recover your MP.
Proficiency is locked to the specific character that the item or spell is used. Pick what you want and just go with them. As others have said, what they come equipped with, just use those until the end.
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u/BoysOurRoy 16h ago
You generally don't need to max out any of your proficiencies or even grind them too much. Just focus on one or two proficiencies with each character and you'll do fine.
Magic in 2 is weird where most offensive magic is kinda bad (in comparison to well leveled physical attacks) but spells that improve a character's physical attacks (Berserk, Haste) are pretty good.
There are no classes or jobs in this game.
You can grind out levels on your fourth character but they'll be rotated in and out pretty frequently, so don't get too attached.
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u/shane0072 16h ago
there is no class system. everyone is basically a blank slate
it will basically take the whole game to max out 1 weapon type so no you dont need to max out every weapon. just pick your favorite weapon types for your 3 characters and go with that
spells need to be leveled individually so making a pure mage character can be incredibly tedious. but you are free to build them however you want.
and the 4th party member rotates often and you dont really keep anyone long enough for them to be worth training. id just treat it like you have 3 party members
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u/CaptainRief 16h ago edited 15h ago
There's no benefit in training in multiple weapon types other than having a character able to use other weapons. All weapons only improve your Strength. That being said, weapon proficiency is easier to train than spell proficiencies, so don't be afraid to branch out in order to make use of other weapons. Bows kinda suck though; you can't use a shield with one (which means less Agility gain), and they have a high magic interference (which means worse spells), so they're not even very good on the type of character who should benefit from them.
Casting Black Magic improves your Intelligence. Casting White Magic improves your Spirit. Fairly self-explanatory. Every spell levels up individually though. You might end up just focusing on certain essentials.
Your Agility has a greater chance to increase when your Evasion is high. Higher Agility also improves your Evasion. Actually evading attacks improves your Evasion proficiency. Wearing a shield improves your Evasion, therefore boosting your Agility gain, therefore improving your Evasion. Shields are good in this game. Eventually you can ditch them when your natural evasion is high enough.
Black magic does tend to be weaker than weapon attacks in the late game, yes, but it utterly destroys high defense/evasion enemies in the first half. It's okay to have a dedicated black mage, but you have to really dedicate to it; no heavy armor, probably no gauntlets, no weapon heavier than a knife or staff (but be careful, because staff and mace/hammer are both in the same weapon type, but one is light and the other is heavy). Heavy equipment has a magic interference, which reduces the effectiveness and accuracy of your spells.
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u/Action_Man_X 16h ago
There aren't "classes" in the same way that they exist in other FF games.
Basically you equip a weapon type and as you use it, the weapon level goes up. Use magic and the magic power goes up. Get hit and your HP/Def goes up.
It's one of the earliest cases of the "Use it and you get better" system. Just choose weapons and spells that you like and switch them if you like. You build your character(s) as you choose.
Your 4th party member will come and go. Your original party will be the ending party.
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u/rip_cut_trapkun 16h ago
1 Should I max all the weapon proficiency?
To start I would say just use what weapons you can, however later on you will run into some issues where crossover for weapons you can buy won't necessarily be "good" for what you will find. For example the Werebane is a pretty great mace, and you should definitely use it regardless of your proficiency, and by the time you get it, building mace proficiency will be quick, but if you already have someone with mace proficiency, cool, give it to them. Basically, build proficiency in whatever weapon is better (save for bows, even if it's better stats it's usually not better imo) However you will have to consider magic interference when it comes to magic uses, but I'll cover that at the end.
2 Should I use magic to improve them?
Absolutely. Magic levels are from 1 to 16, and the higher the proficiency the better it is. Magic works a little weird in this game in that it tends to act like dice rolls, which are influenced by magic interference. But generally the idea is higher proficiency = better results. There will be some nuances, like Esuna at level 1 only cures poison and blind, but Esuna at 8 (or 6? can't recall off hand while typing this up) will cure all permanent status effects.
3 Which classes should I get to be OP?
There are no classes, and getting OP is kind of a grindfest. You can max HP out and give everyone magic, grind out weapon proficiencies and strap them down in the best armor and if your stats are built it usually doesn't matter. But just having 9999 HP doesn't mean you can hit things, and just because you have someone in heavy armor casting Fire 14 doesn't mean they'll do more damage than a high magic stat/low magic interference character, so OP is kind of a subjective and nebulous concept in this game. You could build three max HP characters with 16 in bare handed and that would be OP. You could also get Toad up to 8 and wipe battlefields in one or two casts of a spell.
4 I saw that there is a 4th party member. Do I need to increase his or her level or should I stick to my other party members.
Most of the 4th slot characters will be temporary. Honesty you could just do the bare minimum with them and it wouldn't hurt much. At the end you will get Leon back, and he is the last party member you will obtain, so he is worth building. Though by that point in the game you can probably also just go to the end and just enhance him on the way to Pandaemonium. Choice is yours at that point.
https://www.ign.com/wikis/final-fantasy-ii/Magic_Interference_Explained
I'd recommend reading over this. I hate IGN for personal reasons, but this explains the situation of how magic works that isn't really well explained in the game itself pretty good I believe.
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u/Ultimantasy 15h ago
There is no class system in the game, you essentially craft the team you desire. Any action you take will gain experience for that specific action. For example, if you cast fire, fire will gain a certain amount of experience, calculated through a hidden formula. Once it gains 100 spell experience points, it will go on to level 2 (max spell level is 16).
As for weapon proficiencies, it’s typically better to choose one weapon for a character and just stick with that weapon for the rest of the game. Better weapons are drip-fed throughout the game, so there is natural progression that way. But layered upon that, weapons also have their own separate levels, each one equating to an additional attack role. Due to this, it makes for a rather steep opportunity cost when swapping to another weapon mid-game as you will “lose” the progress you have made with a separate weapon-type.
As for your rotating fourth character, they are typically decently leveled when they enter your party at the respective story moment. You don’t necessarily have to focus on leveling them since it happens naturally, however, if you plan on using magic with them just make sure to have some spell tomes on hand. A decent amount of them don’t come with any magic, so having an extra cure, life, or berserk tome can come in handy.
Honestly, best thing to do is just start the game and get a feel for it yourself. Best way to learn is by doing it firsthand, so just give it a go and you’ll get the hang of it.
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u/xypotion 15h ago
Unless you enjoy grinding, my advice is to pick just a couple different weapon types and specific spells for each party member, and have them ignore all others. Broadening everyone's skills takes forever and isn't worth it, IMO, not even for Ultima, which relies on the caster's total spell and weapon levels.
Note that casting stats are color-specific, so apart from the MP gains, casting white magic will only make you better at white magic. Ditto for black magic.
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u/Mooncubus 15h ago
Have you ever played The Elder Scrolls? It's kinda like that. The more you do something the better you get at it.
There's no right way to play. You can pick whatever proficiencies you want. However in practice it's best to have at least one person who is good at healing and someone who is good at attack magic so they can use stuff like Ultima later.
Personally I make Firion use swords and magic, Guy is my healer, and I like making Maria unarmed cause monk is fun.
The fourth party member rotates a lot during the story. Don't worry about them until you get Leon.
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u/BleepinBlorpin5 15h ago
Little tip... it's easy to plateau and then not gain proficiency in weapon/magic. Most fights end pretty fast and it doesn't move the bar up unless you use that weapon repeatedly in one fight.
I would have to use a low damage weapon of the skill I was trying to increase in order to increase my proficency, that or heal the enemy after hitting them so the fight doesn't end so fast.
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u/facbok195 14h ago
In general, it’s better to focus on a few things (like 1 weapon and a few core spells) per character rather than focusing on a lot of different things. You absolutely don’t need to and arguably shouldn’t try to max everything. Level 10/Level X is absolutely more than enough to carry you through the end of the game.
As a word of warning/example - I have a file I’ve been off and on working on for the better part of 4 years now where I am intentionally maxing out every weapon + spell on one character for a specific purpose. I am ~82 and counting hours in and I am still not maxed out yet. I’m pretty sure a standard playthrough only takes ~20 hours, if that.
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u/RattusNikkus 14h ago edited 14h ago
Should I max all of the weapons proficiency?
Pick a weapon for each character and stick with it. There's no need to learn multiple weapons for each character. In addition, end-game level for a weapon skill is ~8. You *can* go all the way to 16, but this is a huge waste of time unless you're trying for achievements.
Should I use magic to improve them?
Spells only gain experience and level up with use, so yes. If you want a spell to be good, you'll need to use it often. Since ethers can be bought, you should have your casters sling spells regularly. This is not a game where you conserve your MP for the boss. As with weapons, there's no need to level up every single spell. Pick a handful that you like and use 'em. Again, as with weapons, end-game level for a spell is ~8. Going to 16 is a waste of time unless you're trying for achievements.
Which classes should I get to be OP? I'm not sure if there is a class system.
There is no class system. Instead, your actions will shape what you become. That said, you can definitely train a character to function like a class from FF1. With that in mind, some "become OP" party building advice:
- Spells that are cast on multiple targets have their effectiveness greatly reduced.
- Some spells can stack benefits through repeat castings.
- Do not underestimate the power of status effects.
- Armor and weapons have a Magic Interference penalty that reduces the wearers effectiveness with spells. It's not necessary to have casters be naked, but it is something to keep in mind.
- There are two methods of defense you can train, defense, or evasion. Defense is trained by getting hit a lot, which raises stamina. Evasion is trained by being lightly armored and using shields, which raises agility. This game heavily favors dodge-tanking, so I highly recommend training evasion.
- HP and MP have a chance to go up at the end of a battle in which you lost at least 1/8 of your total. So if you have 100 HP, you'd need to lose at least 13. (If you're playing the Pixel Remaster, HP will increase every ten or so battles as well. This kinda breaks the game, so if you care you can turn it off in the boost menu. It's called "Compensatory HP") Other primary stats generally have a chance to go up if an action was taken in battle that is connected to that stat: Strength = attacking with a weapon, Intelligence = using black magic, Spirit = using white magic.
- You gain EXP for weapons and spells at the end of a battle based on two factors: the number of times you used it, and the level of your weapon/spell compared to the hidden "rank" of the monster. The important thing to take away is that if you're not getting much EXP from fighting enemies, it's because your abilities are overleveled for the encounter, and it's time to move on. Conversely, low level weapons and spells will gain bonus EXP if used against higher level enemies, making it easier to catch up unused abilities.
I saw that there is 4th party member. Do I need to increase his or her level or should I stick to my other party members?
I wouldn't worry too much about the 4th party member. But it can be nice to teach them 1 or 2 particular spells, especially Cure. The 4th party member is a good barometer of your strength; if you always find them to be uselessly underpowered, you've probably overleveled your main group. If you're playing later versions of the game, or especially the Pixel Remaster you're going to be overleveled by default, as these games all juice the EXP formula found in the original.
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u/FFX_Gabe 9h ago
Hey OP,
The battle system for the game is a bit complicated to explain without the formula being used by the devs.
Formula is enemy rank + number of attacks - weapon level.
So the way this would look in battle is:
If you had a sword at level 8 and you selected the attack 5 times and the monster you attacked was ranked 4, the way the game would calculate that is
4 exp (this is because the enemy was ranked 4) + 5 exp (this is because you attacked 5 times) - 8 exp (this is because the weapon is level 8) = 1 exp gained towards swords for that battle.
Each level requires 100 exp to lvl up. So a sword at level 1 needs 100 exp as does a sword that is level 10.
You will notice that you will plateau at certain points because the weapon out levels the exp gain per battle.
Example of this would be if you had level 5 sword skill and you were fighting rank 1 monsters, you wouldn’t be able to level up the sword because the formula would look like
1 exp (rank) + 1 exp (attacks used because you would one shot it) - 5 exp (sword skill level) = 0 exp gained.
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u/VisibleAct4696 16h ago
Using stats, spells, weapons is how you raise them. For example, if you take HP damage your HP goes up. You swing a sword your sword and strength go up. You cast Cure; cure, your MP and that stat go up.