***There will not be a live stream this Friday due to family stuff I have going on.  Will try for next Friday, but I cannot guarentee due to my wife being around the time where she may deliver our 2nd child.  I will update the blog if anything changes. MY NEXT CAST WILL COMPLETE THE GAME***

FFXII: Superboss Yiazmat

Yiazmat was actually a challenge I will admit that.  After grinding him for about a good 4 hours I was able to take him down, but it wasn’t easy.  I probably would have done it faster if I hadn’t healed in the hallway and allowed him to heal  a couple times.  I do have to admit though it was a fun fight.

I started off dealing with gambits and trying to figure out what strategy I wanted to go with.  I decided to try and keep one berserked character while having a support damage dealer and a support healer/buffer/damage dealer.  I will admit this strategy worked well for awhile until I reached a certain point of the battle until I had to switch things up.  (As always the music during the broadcast was provided by FinalFantasyRadio.com)

So here’s what I did:

Vaan: Berserked as much as possible
Fran:  Support Gunner, Switched to support damage dealer later one with 2 handed sword
Ashe: Support/buffer Bow, Staff, Gunner later on

So as you can see I had to deal with changing a lot to get comfortable in this battle.

I tried to keep Ashe in the hallway as much as possible and I allowed Fran some wiggle room to roam.

But that is basically it, until you get Yiazmat to a certain point in the battle you can grind him pretty easily.  Here are the gambits I used in the first part of the battle. (These changed during the battle ESPECIALLY near the end.  Near the End just give everyone arise and attack, it’s not worth healing)

Vaan:
ally: any  –> arise
self: berserk
foe: lowest hp –> attack

Fran:
ally: any  –> arise
ally: any –> remedy
ally: hp < 70% –> curaja
ally: any –> bubble
ally: any –> hasteaga
ally: vaan –> bravery
ally: any –> protectga
ally: any –> shellga
foe: lowest HP –> attack

Ashe:
ally: any  –> arise
ally: any –> remedy
ally: hp < 70% –> curaja
ally: any –> bubble
ally: any –> hasteaga
ally: vaan –> bravery
ally: any –> protectga
ally: any –> shellga
foe: lowest HP –> attack

Equipment:

Vaan:  Yagyu Darkblade –> Golden Skullcap –>Maximillian–>Cat-er hood
Fran: Fomalhaut (changed to Koga Blade later on) –> Golden Skullcap –>Maximillian–>Bubble Belt
Ashe: Perseus Bow (switched to Fomalhaut later on) –> Golden Skullcap –>Maximillian–>Sage Ring

Watch Part I and the final 3 Million HP below:
Part I

Watch live video from Dtrot’s Gaming Channel on Justin.tv
Final 3 Million HP

Watch live video from Dtrot’s Gaming Channel on Justin.tv
Wyrmhero Blade:

FFXII: Fishing Enthusiast

I got bored one night and figured I would go after this sword.  To even be able to get this item you have to get the 3 badges, one you get from Omega, the other from Hell Wyrm and the last from fishing.  The first 2 were probably the toughest part of this process and the fishing just takes a little time and you will get it quick.

The Wyrmhero Blade

To start it off just go to Balfonheim and talk to the Fishiing Enthusiast near the aerodome.  Talk to that person twice then run to the aerodome entrance…but do not enter…run back and the rod will be up against the wall.  Take that rod to Ruskel at the South Bank villiage (Dalmasco Estersand).  Fish with Ruskel for awhile until you get all the color bottles, once you get those you have to run around to certain places in order to get the message that is inside each of the bottles.  I am just going to copy and paste the info below  from FinalFantasy.wikia.com just to save me time in explaining a lot of this process.  Only thing I need to let you know is once you get past the Midstream area you must go and obtain the Matamune Rod.

FFXII: Fishing

Other than that just get through the commands in the fishing and once you unlock the Den of The River Lord is when you need to really pay attention. The commands aren’t really that difficult after a couple tries so just be patient and take your time.  Once you get the King of Nebra fish 10 times you will obtain the 3rd badge needed to get the sword.  Once you get that go to any merchant and sell your 3 badges to get the sword. Watch below:

Watch live video from Dtrot’s Gaming Channel on Justin.tv

Matamune Sidequest (FinalFantasy.wikia.com)

A different fishing rod is required to gain access to the last two fishing spots. Acquiring it is almost another sidequest in itself. To be able to begin it, you must first defeat Gilgamesh both times.

After defeating him, when you fish, the occasional Empty Bottle that you catch will turn out to be one of five coloured bottles. Each will contain a cryptic message leading to a specific spot in the game. After visiting every spot, the bottles will then form one last message, leading to the location of the Matamune.

After finding each location and deciphering the clues, the player will be lead to Barheim Passage. The Matamune is found in a section of the Zeviah Span, but by looking at the map, it’s clear that it can only be reached via the West Annex. Gilgamesh appears and presents the player with the fishing rod.

Fishing Areas (FinalFantasy.wikia.com)

The minigame begins with only one area, Downstream, being available. By completing certain conditions, an additional four river sections can be unlocked. Each area has an increasing level of difficulty and a different variety of Perfect Fishing rewards. Note: Every fishing spot will produce the occasional “Empty Bottle” instead of a fish.

CLICK HERE: Watch me live on Friday April 9th, 2010

This is it people…THE HOME STRETCH!!!

After going through my past blogs and listing off the stuff I would like to accomplish, I have come up with a final list.  I never really expected to play the game this long..but I do want to get some of the biggest things done and out of the way.  So here it is, the final list:

• Level Basch, Balthier, Penelo, and Ashe to LVL 99
• Get all Espers (2 left)
• Defeat Hell Wyrm
• Defeat Omega Mark XII
• Defeat Yiazmat (This will likely take more than 1 cast)

My reasoning for shortening my list, just want to get on to something else.  I do plan on following this list and finishing the game.

So what can you expect in my next cast?  Definitely look for me to finish the 2 Espers I have left and also finish leveling all my characters to level 99. You can alo expect, another great playlist provided by FinalFantasyRadio.com.  I would like to send out a big THANKS to Tebian for help making my cast a little more interesting each Friday.  So if you looking for some Final Fantasy XII and some great Final Fantasy music, then join me on Friday April 9th, 2010.

Last Cast:

During my last cast I was able to finally get all the items to obtain the best Great Sword in the game, Tournesol.  See below to see me  going through the task of building the items and recipe in order to buy the sword.

Watch live video from Dtrot’s Gaming Channel on Justin.tv

Also I was bored one day and decided to take on the Esper Zodiark.  See below for my battle against the best Esper in the game.

Watch live video from Dtrot’s Gaming Channel on Justin.tv

Watch live video from Dtrot’s Gaming Channel on Justin.tv

CLICK HERE: Watch me live on Friday April 9th, 2010

Click Here to Watch Me Live on Friday April 2nd, 2010

Wish I had this beauty :)

Tournesol is still a big work in progress, but I have made a decent dent in the item gathering.  For starters I have had 99 arcanas for quite some time so I will meet the 60 arcanas requirement.  I knocked out the Wargod’s Band, scarletites, Hell Gate Flames, Damascus Steel, and Soul Powder.  So that leaves me with High Arcana x6, Snake Skin x12, Serpent Eye x6 and Feystone x4.

While I have been going after these weapons I have also tried to kill 2 birds with one stone.  I have almost leveled all my characters to level 99.  So that should happen very soon and once that happens I will then plan on going after the rest of the Espers and depending on how I feel and how much time I have left in any certain cast I will go after Omega, Hell Wyrm and Yiazmat.   Now I might be able to fit Omega and Hell Wyrm in one cast, but Yiazmat will definitely take me more than one cast, that is if I don’t get owned the first couple times.

My Final Fantasy XII Experience:

Ever since I started streaming this game I have seen a steady amount of people hating this game, but there are a few who have said that they loved it.  Most of the complaints are the fact that the automated battle system, the fact that the characters just aren’t that interesting or the storyline just wasn’t that interesting.  Now I’ll be totally honest, after spending about 50+ hours on doing side missions and getting weapons, I really don’t remember everything that is going on in this game, but I do know that I really like this game.

One of my favorite aspects of this game is the gambit system.  Some say oh well the game plays for you…well if your one of those people…then keep you gambits off and go old school (just to clarify, I still love FF VII and the traditional style too).  The gambit system has allowed me to go this deep into the game.  I really could not see myself going after Danjuro for as long as I did and having to mash buttons and do certain sequences of magics for hours and hours on end.  Although what would have really helped this game, I think, an open battle system.  If this game had a open battle system , and when I say open as in you can just roam and button mash the crap out of enemies, kind of like Kingdom Hearts.

Final Fantasy XII Characters

Now on to the characters, I do agree with some about the characters.  Vaan’s fake painted on abs and the cheesiness that just surrounds Vaan the whole game doesn’t do much for me.  I do find Fran and Balthier interesting as characters though.  I mean how often do you see a race of half bunny rabbit-half weird humanoid women with sexy voices :).  I don’t really care much for Basch or Penelo so I won’t spend much time on them.  I do like Ashe’s character though and I think the game does keep her interesting enough to want to go find out more information on her…and once she gets those swords I don’t know about you, but I really wanted to know how the game was going to end…so that is another reason why I am sticking this game out.

Overall, I’m glad I gave the game a chance even though I tried playing it 4 times (all restarts at random times over the past 2 years).  I would recommend the game to other Final Fantasy lovers and would hope they would look past some of the flaws and just play the game for what it is, Final Fantasy.

Watch Me live on March 26th Click here

Turnesol

After taking loads of time in getting the Danjuro Dagger, I have decided to go after the 2nd best sword in the game…the Turnesol.

I started out the last stream gathering the items needed to create the recipe to create the sword and I have come to find out why this sword is so hard to get.  As stated above this sword requires 600,000 Gil, now depending on if you were able to save money this shouldn’t be a problem for most people.  The License Board should also not be a problem as I was able to fill mine for all characters around level 50.  But the big thing that makes this sword difficult is the rare items it takes to create it.  Here are the items needed and the strategies to obtain them.  This link has more details inside, I just wanted to give you a quick view into what all is needed: Source GameFAQ’s

So as you can see below this is no small task.  My last stream I don’t even think I was able to finish off the first round of Gemsteels.  What will be a big pain is probably the High Arcana.  This item is pretty rare, but according to some of the forums and stuff I have found, Dustia should drop them more than most monsters, but it will still take some time to do it.

“The Sunflower – A single, beautiful sunflower. Brilliant as the sun, wondrous as creation.”
—Bazaar Description

The Tournesol (??????, Tourunusoru) is a weapon in Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, in both games being one of the most powerful weapons obtainable.

The Tournesol is the strongest Greatsword available in Final Fantasy XII. Its license is found at the bottom right corner of the License Board. While it appears that the sword needs only three respective loots to synthesize, those items must also be synthesized first, and the total eight loots required can be very hard to obtain in numbers. The Tournesol costs 225 LP; and 600,000 Gil. It has an attack power of 140, topped only by the game’s strongest weapon, Zodiac Spear. While lacking a few points in attack power, the Tournesol exceeds the Zodiac Spear in terms of multi-hit and evasion rate. It is also one of the swords used by Gilgamesh.

Once I obtain the Turnesol I will prob knock a couple things off my to do list, as I would like to get going on another game.

So here is what I have left:

• Obtain Danjuro
• Obtain Atemis Bow (Not the best bow…so will cross out for time reasons)
  
• Obtain Sagittarius Bow
• Start gathering Items for Tournesol
• Level Basch, Balthier, Penelo, and Ashe to LVL 99
• Defeat Hell Wyrm
• Defeat Omega Mark XII
• Defeat Yiazmat (This will likely take more than 1 cast)
• Obtain Lu Shang’s Badge (Guide I might use to help speed up the process) Might do some other time
  
• Obtain Wyrnmhero Blade (Sell Omega Badge x1, Godslayer’s Badge x1, Lu Shang’s Badge x1 to Bazaar) Might do some other time
  

So join me on Fridays as I go after the Turnesol with music provided by FinalfantasyRadio.com.

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GEMSTEEL [SF004]
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Bazaar item name: Matchless Metal (29,997 gil)

Loot required: Scarletite x1, Damascus Steel x2, Hell-Gate’s
Flame x2

[Scarletite]:
1. Steal from rare game Aspidochelon (Trophy monster, Cerobi
Steppe, Feddik River: 40% appearance chance)
2. Drop (Hunter’s Monograph, 6%) or Poach (5%) Emeralditan
(Nabreus Deadlands)
3. Steal from Pandaemonium (a. Boss – Pharos First Ascent, b.
during hunt for the Shadowseer [rank VI])
4. After Fishing Sidequest

[Damascus Steel]:
1. Steal from rare game Bluesang (Trophy monster, Cerobi
Steppe, Crossfield: 40% appearance chance)
2. Steal from rare game Anchag (Paramina Rift, Karydine
Glacier: defat all enemies in this map and re-enter)
3. Drop (Knight’s Monograph, 6%) or Poach (5%) Bune (Pharos
Second Ascent)

[Hell-Gate's Flame]
1. Drop (Hunter’s Monograph, 5%) Cerberus (The Feywood, Walk of
Stolen Truths)
2. Poach (5%) Cerberus
3. Steal from Enkidu second encounter (Gilgamesh – Rank VII
mark “The Ancient Man of Mystery”)
4. Poach (5%) rare game Wary Wolf (Mosphoran Highwaste, Summit
Path: 7% appearance chance)

Additional notes:
It is also possible to obtain the Gemsteel by defeating an
enemy – the Lv. 99 Red Chocobo. It appears in the Ozmone
Plains, Haulo Green, but only has a 1 in 256 chance of
appearing, so it is not recommended at all.

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EMPYREAL SOUL [SF005]
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Bazaar item name: Jewel of Creation (29,997 gil)

Loot required: Soul Powder x1, Wargod’s Band x2, High Arcana x1

[Soul Powder]
1. Steal from rare game Vorres (Trophy monster, Necrohol of
Nabudis, Hall of the Ivory Covenant: taunt the Dark Element
[20% appearance chance], and let it chase you north past the
middle portion of the map)
2. Drop (Warmage’s Monograph, 10%) or Steal from Etem (Henne
Mines, Special Charter Shaft – you must obtain 10 espers and
defeat the mark Mindflayer [rank IV] to access this area).

[Wargod's Band]
1. Steal from rare game Victanir (Trophy monster, Nam-Yensa
Sandsea, Yellow Sands: 40% appearance chance)
2. Drop (Hunter’s Monograph, 5%) from Leynir (Nabreus
Deadlands,  Lifeless Strand)
3. Poach (5%) Leynir

[High Arcana]
See the Chosen Path section.

Additional notes:
You can also steal an Empyreal Soul from the Lv.99 Red Chocobo,
but again, I’ll strongly advise you against it.

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SERPENTARIUS [SF006]
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Bazaar item name: Jewel of the Serpent (19,998 gil)

Loot required: Snake Skin x4, Serpent Eye x2, High Arcana x1

[Snake Skin]
1. Drop (very common) or Steal from Wildsnake (Giza Plains Dry,
Toam Hills)
2. Drop (very common) rare game Grey Moulter (Mosphoran
Highwaste, Empyrean Way: enter map when the minute count of
the gameplay time is between 10 and 20)
3. Drop (very common) rare game Midgardsormr (Golmore Jungle,
Pths of Chained Light: 20% appearance chance)

[Serpent Eye]
1. Drop (Hunter’s Monograph, 8%) Basilisk (The Feywood, all
areas south of the Save Crystal)
2. Poach (5%) Basilisk
3. Poach (5%) Grey Moulter

[High Arcana]
See the Chosen Path section.

Additional notes:
You can also steal one from Zodiark. It’s up to you.

Watch Me live on March 26th Click here

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GEMSTEEL [SF004]
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Bazaar item name: Matchless Metal (29,997 gil)

Loot required: Scarletite x1, Damascus Steel x2, Hell-Gate's
Flame x2

[Scarletite]:
1. Steal from rare game Aspidochelon (Trophy monster, Cerobi
Steppe, Feddik River: 40% appearance chance)
2. Drop (Hunter's Monograph, 6%) or Poach (5%) Emeralditan
(Nabreus Deadlands)
3. Steal from Pandaemonium (a. Boss - Pharos First Ascent, b.
during hunt for the Shadowseer [rank VI])
4. After Fishing Sidequest

[Damascus Steel]:
1. Steal from rare game Bluesang (Trophy monster, Cerobi
Steppe, Crossfield: 40% appearance chance)
2. Steal from rare game Anchag (Paramina Rift, Karydine
Glacier: defat all enemies in this map and re-enter)
3. Drop (Knight's Monograph, 6%) or Poach (5%) Bune (Pharos
Second Ascent)

[Hell-Gate's Flame]
1. Drop (Hunter's Monograph, 5%) Cerberus (The Feywood, Walk of
Stolen Truths)
2. Poach (5%) Cerberus
3. Steal from Enkidu second encounter (Gilgamesh - Rank VII
mark "The Ancient Man of Mystery")
4. Poach (5%) rare game Wary Wolf (Mosphoran Highwaste, Summit
Path: 7% appearance chance)

Additional notes:
It is also possible to obtain the Gemsteel by defeating an
enemy - the Lv. 99 Red Chocobo. It appears in the Ozmone
Plains, Haulo Green, but only has a 1 in 256 chance of
appearing, so it is not recommended at all.