FFIV DS announced!

[DEFIANT]

When Mom Bomb changes, STOP attacking. Have Yang, use his Brace ability, and Defend for everyone else.

If you have to, set auto battle to do the commands for you. That way it saves seconds on you having to input them manually.

My whole team survived with this strategy. Cecil was around level 20.

I know what you mean badinsults, I too, had my ass handed to me more than once in this game. The Dark Elf and Cagnazzo come to mind. I Also thought the Magus Sisters would be really difficult but to my surprise I tore right through them.

[odditude]

haven't had any issues except for the damn frostbeasts in Zot. just whipped the shit out of Golbez and got Rydia back.

[SquareHead]

I picked it up yesterday, and I am getting my ass thoroughly kicked by the Mom Bomb. Despite the fact you level up quicker than in the previous incanations, the enemies are just that much harder.

I hear ya there. Haven't had much time to play it with work and all, but right now I kick calcabrena's collective ass, but then golbez beats the shit out of me at lv. 55.

[funkyass]

slow is your friend.

[odditude]

I picked it up yesterday, and I am getting my ass thoroughly kicked by the Mom Bomb. Despite the fact you level up quicker than in the previous incanations, the enemies are just that much harder.

I hear ya there. Haven't had much time to play it with work and all, but right now I kick calcabrena's collective ass, but then golbez beats the shit out of me at lv. 55.

damn. i'm in the low-to-mid-30s and had no issue with golbez whatsoever, and the only item i used was a single phoenix down and no augments (cecil has counter, but that never came into play). everyone was alive and at close to full health at the end of the fight. cecil and rosa healed, yang did triple-focus attacks, kain just defended, and rydia used a level-2 spell if cecil or rosa got the chance to use libra. rosa had just gotten curaga from leveling up after the calcabrina fight.

[badinsults]

I picked it up yesterday, and I am getting my ass thoroughly kicked by the Mom Bomb. Despite the fact you level up quicker than in the previous incanations, the enemies are just that much harder.

I hear ya there. Haven't had much time to play it with work and all, but right now I kick calcabrena's collective ass, but then golbez beats the shit out of me at lv. 55.

If Golbez's stats are like in the original version, his strength is directly related to what level you are at. So Golbez is actually far easier at a lower level.

I am currently about to tackle the Magnes Cave. Hopefully the Dark Dragon is still killed by a Tornado. So far I am very impressed with the voice overs, though other than the conversion to 3D, there isn't a whole lot that has changed over the original.

[Deathlike2]

If Golbez's stats are like in the original version, his strength is directly related to what level you are at. So Golbez is actually far easier at a lower level.

Golbez's battle in the original version was very much fixed and had zero to do with your level.

[badinsults]

If Golbez's stats are like in the original version, his strength is directly related to what level you are at. So Golbez is actually far easier at a lower level.

Golbez's battle in the original version was very much fixed and had zero to do with your level.

My experiences would dictate that it is not the case. For instance, the last time I played through FF2US, I was at a very low level, and Golbez fell with a few small hits. However, I have also leveled up to the point where my characters were over level 50, and Golbez took a long time to defeat, and would get a lot of level-3 spells in.

[Deathlike2]

If Golbez's stats are like in the original version, his strength is directly related to what level you are at. So Golbez is actually far easier at a lower level.

Golbez's battle in the original version was very much fixed and had zero to do with your level.

My experiences would dictate that it is not the case. For instance, the last time I played through FF2US, I was at a very low level, and Golbez fell with a few small hits. However, I have also leveled up to the point where my characters were over level 50, and Golbez took a long time to defeat, and would get a lot of level-3 spells in.

It's fixed, really. The rom data says so. The only possible way that it was longer is if you were bouncing spells off a person with Wall/Reflect status on them.

[badinsults]

If Golbez's stats are like in the original version, his strength is directly related to what level you are at. So Golbez is actually far easier at a lower level.

Golbez's battle in the original version was very much fixed and had zero to do with your level.

My experiences would dictate that it is not the case. For instance, the last time I played through FF2US, I was at a very low level, and Golbez fell with a few small hits. However, I have also leveled up to the point where my characters were over level 50, and Golbez took a long time to defeat, and would get a lot of level-3 spells in.

It's fixed, really. The rom data says so. The only possible way that it was longer is if you were bouncing spells off a person with Wall/Reflect status on them.

I seriously doubt that is the case. Golbez has stats that are based on your level. Maybe there is a bug in the algorithm that suggest that his stats are fixed, when really they are not. Remember that Golbez has player-character properties that may well be part of the battle in the Dwarf Castle.

[Deathlike2]

If Golbez's stats are like in the original version, his strength is directly related to what level you are at. So Golbez is actually far easier at a lower level.

Golbez's battle in the original version was very much fixed and had zero to do with your level.

My experiences would dictate that it is not the case. For instance, the last time I played through FF2US, I was at a very low level, and Golbez fell with a few small hits. However, I have also leveled up to the point where my characters were over level 50, and Golbez took a long time to defeat, and would get a lot of level-3 spells in.

It's fixed, really. The rom data says so. The only possible way that it was longer is if you were bouncing spells off a person with Wall/Reflect status on them.

I seriously doubt that is the case. Golbez has stats that are based on your level. Maybe there is a bug in the algorithm that suggest that his stats are fixed, when really they are not. Remember that Golbez has player-character properties that may well be part of the battle in the Dwarf Castle.

There are zero monsters in this game that behave like this.

The one you see as a boss (in all varieties) is a fixed monster. The one you see at the Lunar Core some some base initial stats that never increases once ever (the guy doesn't even have level up data available).

Here's a more concrete example...

Part of the Golbez-Rydia battle involves a "casting" of the Mist Dragon. If you already weren't aware, that attack is based off the caster's current HP. Unfortunately, the version casted is not based off this behavior. It uses a fixed damage algo in place of the casting. This would be more prevalent when Rydia is overleveled (having 2000+HP for example), the damage would still be under 1000. This "Mist Dragon" will always deal damage between 640 and 960... this is documented in the spell guide that I wrote for Gamefaqs.

[neoblaze]

Oh fraps! I have FFIV-DS now, yay! But I forgot it at home, whine!

[badinsults]

Man, I just got into the underground, and the difficulty in this game is downright brutal. I got slaughtered by both Barbaricia and the Calcabrena, and nearly by Golbez. I had to basically use the strategy of having Kain constantly jump and Cecil using Cura to beat Barbaricia. Also Golbez was very difficult because he uses a spell that makes him absorb all magic except for Bio and Drain. Used a similar strategy as Barbaricia, and just kept using Cura with Cecil and using Bio with Rydia. I also got defeated by three Black Lizards who relentlessly used Petrify. I managed to get a Stone Blade from one battle though, which was nice. I had to grind a bit to raise Rosa's level, as she was only at 26 when I got her (even Rydia was at 31 when I got her). Two hits, and she was dead.

[SquareHead]

Man, I just got into the underground, and the difficulty in this game is downright brutal. I got slaughtered by both Barbaricia and the Calcabrena, and nearly by Golbez. I had to basically use the strategy of having Kain constantly jump and Cecil using Cura to beat Barbaricia. Also Golbez was very difficult because he uses a spell that makes him absorb all magic except for Bio and Drain. Used a similar strategy as Barbaricia, and just kept using Cura with Cecil and using Bio with Rydia. I also got defeated by three Black Lizards who relentlessly used Petrify. I managed to get a Stone Blade from one battle though, which was nice. I had to grind a bit to raise Rosa's level, as she was only at 26 when I got her (even Rydia was at 31 when I got her). Two hits, and she was dead.

I did have to grind quite a bit as well, but what got me is the one time I killed Golbez in the dwarven castle it took me 20 minutes and 3 times of doing a 3 charge attack. This was at I want to say somewhere in the 50's for my levels. Then I forgot to save and my battery died.

The second time I fought him, was at the same level, all I did was revive Yang as soon as I had control, and he hit Golbez once, taking off somewhere in the 1,200 range and the battle was over. WTF? The earlier time it took me about 18,000 worth of damage to kill him.

Barrier Shift sucks my balls.

[funkyass]

slow is your friend people.

[Deathlike2]

slow is your friend people.

Slow's always been a great spell, perhaps overlooked by most people.

[neo_bahamut1985]

Man, I just got into the underground, and the difficulty in this game is downright brutal. I got slaughtered by both Barbaricia and the Calcabrena, and nearly by Golbez. I had to basically use the strategy of having Kain constantly jump and Cecil using Cura to beat Barbaricia. Also Golbez was very difficult because he uses a spell that makes him absorb all magic except for Bio and Drain. Used a similar strategy as Barbaricia, and just kept using Cura with Cecil and using Bio with Rydia. I also got defeated by three Black Lizards who relentlessly used Petrify. I managed to get a Stone Blade from one battle though, which was nice. I had to grind a bit to raise Rosa's level, as she was only at 26 when I got her (even Rydia was at 31 when I got her). Two hits, and she was dead.

One trick I did was time it right before Golbez paralyzes your party, I had Kain jump right before and quickly revived/healed the others whose HP was low. Believe me, that Golbez fight was so annoyingly hard I was to the point of pulling out my hair!

[Deathlike2]

Man, I just got into the underground, and the difficulty in this game is downright brutal. I got slaughtered by both Barbaricia and the Calcabrena, and nearly by Golbez. I had to basically use the strategy of having Kain constantly jump and Cecil using Cura to beat Barbaricia. Also Golbez was very difficult because he uses a spell that makes him absorb all magic except for Bio and Drain. Used a similar strategy as Barbaricia, and just kept using Cura with Cecil and using Bio with Rydia. I also got defeated by three Black Lizards who relentlessly used Petrify. I managed to get a Stone Blade from one battle though, which was nice. I had to grind a bit to raise Rosa's level, as she was only at 26 when I got her (even Rydia was at 31 when I got her). Two hits, and she was dead.

One trick I did was time it right before Golbez paralyzes your party, I had Kain jump right before and quickly revived/healed the others whose HP was low. Believe me, that Golbez fight was so annoyingly hard I was to the point of pulling out my hair!

Kain Jumping has always been an good option for winning that battle in the original.

[badinsults]

Man, I just got into the underground, and the difficulty in this game is downright brutal. I got slaughtered by both Barbaricia and the Calcabrena, and nearly by Golbez. I had to basically use the strategy of having Kain constantly jump and Cecil using Cura to beat Barbaricia. Also Golbez was very difficult because he uses a spell that makes him absorb all magic except for Bio and Drain. Used a similar strategy as Barbaricia, and just kept using Cura with Cecil and using Bio with Rydia. I also got defeated by three Black Lizards who relentlessly used Petrify. I managed to get a Stone Blade from one battle though, which was nice. I had to grind a bit to raise Rosa's level, as she was only at 26 when I got her (even Rydia was at 31 when I got her). Two hits, and she was dead.

One trick I did was time it right before Golbez paralyzes your party, I had Kain jump right before and quickly revived/healed the others whose HP was low. Believe me, that Golbez fight was so annoyingly hard I was to the point of pulling out my hair!

I have been doing that for years. However, unlike the original, it takes far longer for Golbez to start the Shadow Dragon attack. What I did was tedious, but it worked.

[SquareHead]

Is it me or do the doors eat you faster int he sealed cave? Im Around lv 55 - 60 and still lose a party member 80% of the time i fight them.

[funkyass]

There is an augment called Draw attacks, forgot where I got it, but at the crystal cave its a bit late to get IIRC. You'd dump it on Cecil and all single target attacks go only to him.

the question really is how fast can you cast reflect on your party. Ninth will bounce off you and teleport the door. I think it targets the character its going to cast ninth on first I think.

[odditude]

There is an augment called Draw attacks, forgot where I got it, but at the crystal cave its a bit late to get IIRC. You'd dump it on Cecil and all single target attacks go only to him.

the question really is how fast can you cast reflect on your party. Ninth will bounce off you and teleport the door. I think it targets the character its going to cast ninth on first I think.

draw attacks is in the programmer's room.

[Deathlike2]

There is an augment called Draw attacks, forgot where I got it, but at the crystal cave its a bit late to get IIRC. You'd dump it on Cecil and all single target attacks go only to him.

the question really is how fast can you cast reflect on your party. Ninth will bounce off you and teleport the door. I think it targets the character its going to cast ninth on first I think.

Believe it or not, monster spells are programmed curiously, but the even more fun filled fact is that Condemn/Count is also reflectable... the game's ATB system is kinda screwy with that, but result is really awesome. There's also one other monster attack/spell that makes this favorable behavior too...