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FF5 Four Job Fiesta 2014
Jun. 21st, 2015 08:50 pmThe Four Job Fiesta is an annual Summer Event where you are assigned random jobs from Final Fantasy V, and must play through the game with your characters using only those jobs. I've played through a few times, and this is a small collection of information on my quest from 2014. A random run with no risk - because two Berserkers and a Geomancer like I got in 2013 is not fun. Because of that combination, I could not beat the Bonus Dungeon, and I vowed to this year.
Because the challenge of this was not enough, this was also a solo fiesta. Easy for me, since I had a wellspring of knowledge to draw on from. I originally wanted solo low level, but that was a horrible idea. This will unusually be a mostly video-based report of mine. Their descriptions describe the boss battles in a little more detail, but I have condensed writeups here.
The first job I rolled was Thief. A good utility job. The early game wasn't troubling, and with Thief I was able to net an early Elven Mantle, which I forgot to equip at Galura the first time. After that, it was easy - and the second job was Mystic Knight, one of the best jobs in the game! I made sure to pick up Mug before the Karnak escape so I could loot numerous Elixirs from the Gigas on the way out. Black Mage as a third was not what I really wanted to see, but it would have its uses. It outperformed MK with a rod and a -ra spell. Archeoaevis was interesting indeed, as I could combine Black Magic with Mystic Knight's physical prowess. Summoner was another redundant job damage-wise, but it brought lots of utility to the table. Because of Mug getting me Gaia Gear in the Karnak escape, I was able to use boosted Titan on the rest of the meteor minibosses.
I fought extra stuff in the first world, too. Prototype was killed by Titan summons, and Jackanapes could be damaged by Fat Chocobo, after which I would have enough physical damage to physically beat him. In World 2, I did level Galuf enough so the prison break would not be an issue. The bridge was a bit rough, but I soldiered through.
The first of many superbosses I would face in this run was Gil Turtle, which actually got a reply from Gilgabot in 2013 when I jokingly complained you get no recognition for it. Though this video only shows the tail end of the fight, you can see what's going on here. Three of my four jobs came into play here. With Thief, I was able to steal a Lamia's Tiara earlier in the Ronka Ruins, increasing my chances of using Sword Dance with the Dancing Dagger. Dancing Dagger was also used to gain Float, from the Poison Eagles in Drakenvale. With Spellblade, I could deal actual damage by using Blizzara Sword (I fought him before Moore). And with Summon, I could use Titan to lock out damage. Summoner was chosen as the based job due to being able to equip the Tiara, whereas Mystic Knight could not.
Watching the big guy's damage output was important due to him occasionally being able to take down Golem in two attacks. I only attacked him after he did one attack that was not a high-roll. Elven Mantle could dodge 33% of the attacks, but there was still the chance to die if it did not proc after he has taken one attack, and I die to a one-two-three-four.
Just worth showing. Like in my Solo Cannoneer, I went for a Coral Ring in the Barrier Tower. I ended up with two. Atomos was put to sleep and killed with Black Magic.
The fight for an early Shoat was interesting. I actually needed Black Mage here, since Summoner could not kill in two. I had an interesting equipment setup in Moore: Dancing Dagger, Gold Hairpin, Luminous Robe, Elven Mantle. Firaga kills almost everything in one hit, though I switch to the Flame Rod for Imps and Wyrms. Dancing Dagger is used on Gaiajellies, and !Dance ignores accuracy checks, so I don't need Silver Specs. Artful Dodger (gives you Thief Speed) was my secondary, since as long as I kept my health high, a back attack would never kill me.
Mystic Knight was the job of choice of everything in Exdeath's Castle, except for Exdeath himself. Boosted black magic tore through him in one AI cycle, so I only had to face one Condemn.
Gogo I manually killed because I could, for a job you can never get in the fiesta unless you pony up $15 and sacrifice Samurai or Chemist. Mute Sword blocked all his nasty stuff.
Before too long, I could move onto the main events!!
Omega was the first I came to, and the first to fall. For it, I went in with Mystic Knight with Summon secondary. The equipment setup was Dancing Dagger, Aegis Shield, Genji Helm, Mirage Vest, Hermes Sandles. The Vest was just for magic defense, and Genji Helm is a nice anti-confusion safeguard. Dancing Dagger though, allowed me to override the robot's high evasion and dish out 9999 Sword Dances. Regular attacks that somehow get through still do 4500.
I also went into the fight with less than max HP to trigger Magic Shell. By healing after the first Wave Cannon, the second would trigger it. I needed not to get hit by Rainbow Wind for this to work. Float I got from a Gaiacat, which dodges Earthquake.
What Summon brought to the table was the possibility of using Carbunkle to bounce Search and Blaster. Reflecting the former even causes it to hit itself with its counterattacks.
That all said, there were three good places to make my strike. First, after the first Wave Cannon, I could heal and attack. The next Omega attack would never kill me, and I could heal before the second one. After he bounces a Search onto himself, I basically have a free attack - he could not kill me unless I'm at low health and he reflects Atomic Ray. Finally, right before he uses Search is a decent spot, but it's not preferable.
As for what kills me, a short list.
- Maelstrom if I don't have full ATB
- Instant death from Blaster
- Encircle landing
- A Mustard Bomb at low health
- Taking too many risks and getting Rocket Punched into a Wave Cannon
With everything together, I was able to cinch the victory after a few tries at the fight.
Shinryu by contrast, was just straight up murdered. Flare Spellblade together with the Chicken Knife and Mug ended this in less tha two minutes. Aegis Shield to block the opening Tidal Wave and whatever else, Diamond Helm to resist Lightning, and Bone Mail to resist Ice Storm and ignore Roulette. The only danger was Atomic Ray, since I was using Hermes Sandals, but since it only had a few chances to show up, it was nothing.
Before the bonus dungeon, I had to beat Neo Exdeath, and did I ever beat him. Chicken Flare Mug did insane damage. Just short of 9999! The Grand Cross part, and every other part for that matter, never stood a chance. I would not see a single Grand Cross go off, because its AI routine was constantly reset. Aegis Shield went berserk, blocking tons of attacks. With it out of the way, three parts remained. The physical part was next, also getting Chicken Flared. With a switch to Break Sword and waiting for the right moment, the Almagest part was instantly destroyed.
THEN I used the Magic Lamp to kill the back part. NeoExdeath was chopped apart, died, resurrected, then died again. Swag kills for the win! With this, I waited for the credits to end and moved onto the Bonus Dungeon. What's that? You need a Beastmaster which I don't have? That's completely stupid that hypothetical ventures in should not be able to happen unless you have it (which you need to capture a Behemoth for a guy who demands it) and Thief (which you need to run by a switch-deactivated waterfall which reactivates too fast otherwise), so I made an exception to get on by. Gil Turtle was easier than before due to added equipment and abilities.
Grand Aevis was the first of many new bosses. I naturally went in with everyone else in the party petrified, to protect against them being zombied - though there existed a chance to be zombified myself. Mystic Knight with Black Magic secondary was the choice, with a setup of Chicken Knife, Aegis Shield, Genji Helm, Bone Mail, and Hermes Sandals. I could cast Death on my own character to heal with the Bone Mail, which also protects against Blaster and Poison Breath. There was nothing better than Genji Helm. I went with Hermes Sandals over Angel Ring, as it proved more consistent; even with the possibility to instantly lose by zombification, it's better than being triple turned.
To start, I took out one of the Dark Elementals with Flare Swords. Then I weaken the other with Flare (so its White Winds are weakened) before using Flare repeatedly on the Grand Aevis itself - they're only slightly weaker than Chicken Flare, and have the added advantage of never triggering the Flee effect. I want to see Maelstrom, because it triggers Magic Shell. Two Aerogas are also acceptable, and I have my HP set up to allow for this. Just need to keep this up, weakening the Dark Elemental again as needed with Bio, and praying that I don't get one-twoed or Zombie Powdered.
My setup on Archeodemon was pretty esoteric, and this is a two-part video. The Gladius, I found in the bonus dungeon is the best non-Chicken Knife item I have. Royal Crown and Protect Ring are both there for their magic defense boosts, and the latter provides a free Regen as well. Now for the two odd ones. I used Ice Shield instead of Aegis Shield, as I can self-heal with Blizzaga Sword. Vishnu Vest is another bonus piece of equipment. It has 3 more magic defense than the Bone Mail, without a weakness to Holy or making healing MP awkward.
As before, the gimmicks to Archeodemon are his self-Death counter on anything that is not magic when not charging up for Mega/Giga Flare, and his absorbing all elements. His attacks become much nastier below 20000HP, consisting of the likes of Flare/Holy/Meteor, Death, and Hurricane. But I was able to beat him on this fight I was experimenting with. I was able to trigger Magic Shell with it. The flip side of it was that it halved the healing from Blizzaga, which was otherwise stronger than Blizzaga Sword self-hits. But the advantages of halving the damage or success rate almost all of his attacks more than made up for it.
I did not upload a video of the Guardian fight for some reason, but you're not missing much. Magic Knight with Summon was the setup of choice for Guardian, and the offense consisted of Syldra summons. Air Knife to boost the damage, Bone Mail to protect against Confusion and Old, Hermes Sandals for Haste, Genji Helm for nothing better, and Aegis Shield because it's Aegis Shield. Four summons wiped out the Launchers and the Wave Cannon, and it was just more Syldra from there on out, The Wave Cannon revived, but was killed off again after the "BARREL PRESSURE RISING" message. My bot-hating associate went down to minimal HP, but never actually died in this battle.
Omega Mk-II was more or less the same fight as before, just longer and using Flare Sword Dance instead of Thundaga Sword Dance. It took numerous tries not to get screwed over by anything, but it was not that big a deal..
Offense was no problem on Neo Shinryu - Chicken Flare provided all I could ask for, and I knew the trick to hitting him consistently, only missing once. Playing to Neo Shinryu's AI routine was important for defense. Golem was a godsend here, protecting against physical blows that otherwise would have flatlined me.
Of course, the Force Shield rendered his elemental array impotent. The rest of the equipment was dedicated to magic defense for protection against an occasional White Hole counter. He would trigger Magic Shell with Maelstrom, which gave even more defense. I one-twoed him to avoid his Mute/physical phase; if I couldn't do that, it would be tricky to survive it. The Giga Flare/Meteor parting combo was no threat with Shell.
Enuo was all that remained. I went in with Ultima Weapon (almost as strong as Chicken Knife without any of the downsides), Force Shield, Royal Crown, Vishnu Vest, and Hermes Sandals. The first phase really is not all that tough. I set up with Golem and Flare Sword and hack away, healing with an Elixir if needed and hoping the hands don't do anything stupid.
The second phase is where the game changes. Obviously, facing Dimension Zero head-on is out of the question, so to the back row it is. I switch in Air Knife and Aegis Shield, and begin the assault with Syldra, getting Golem back up as needed. It can occasionally be torn down in one shot by Dimension Zero, which is bad. Hurricane and Maelstrom are godsends here, giving me a Magic Shell. One of the weirdest problems here was not being able to see my character's hair, and so not being able to tell if Old was inflicted due to it not showing in the menu.
All there was to do was Syldra away, heal, and hope I don't die to the counters or a combo. You'll gain more from watching the video than from any text. I kept track of his HP, and grew more cautious as the fight went on. And in the end...
#VictoryEnuo #EnuoEnucleator
Index
Because the challenge of this was not enough, this was also a solo fiesta. Easy for me, since I had a wellspring of knowledge to draw on from. I originally wanted solo low level, but that was a horrible idea. This will unusually be a mostly video-based report of mine. Their descriptions describe the boss battles in a little more detail, but I have condensed writeups here.
The first job I rolled was Thief. A good utility job. The early game wasn't troubling, and with Thief I was able to net an early Elven Mantle, which I forgot to equip at Galura the first time. After that, it was easy - and the second job was Mystic Knight, one of the best jobs in the game! I made sure to pick up Mug before the Karnak escape so I could loot numerous Elixirs from the Gigas on the way out. Black Mage as a third was not what I really wanted to see, but it would have its uses. It outperformed MK with a rod and a -ra spell. Archeoaevis was interesting indeed, as I could combine Black Magic with Mystic Knight's physical prowess. Summoner was another redundant job damage-wise, but it brought lots of utility to the table. Because of Mug getting me Gaia Gear in the Karnak escape, I was able to use boosted Titan on the rest of the meteor minibosses.
I fought extra stuff in the first world, too. Prototype was killed by Titan summons, and Jackanapes could be damaged by Fat Chocobo, after which I would have enough physical damage to physically beat him. In World 2, I did level Galuf enough so the prison break would not be an issue. The bridge was a bit rough, but I soldiered through.
The first of many superbosses I would face in this run was Gil Turtle, which actually got a reply from Gilgabot in 2013 when I jokingly complained you get no recognition for it. Though this video only shows the tail end of the fight, you can see what's going on here. Three of my four jobs came into play here. With Thief, I was able to steal a Lamia's Tiara earlier in the Ronka Ruins, increasing my chances of using Sword Dance with the Dancing Dagger. Dancing Dagger was also used to gain Float, from the Poison Eagles in Drakenvale. With Spellblade, I could deal actual damage by using Blizzara Sword (I fought him before Moore). And with Summon, I could use Titan to lock out damage. Summoner was chosen as the based job due to being able to equip the Tiara, whereas Mystic Knight could not.
Watching the big guy's damage output was important due to him occasionally being able to take down Golem in two attacks. I only attacked him after he did one attack that was not a high-roll. Elven Mantle could dodge 33% of the attacks, but there was still the chance to die if it did not proc after he has taken one attack, and I die to a one-two-three-four.
Just worth showing. Like in my Solo Cannoneer, I went for a Coral Ring in the Barrier Tower. I ended up with two. Atomos was put to sleep and killed with Black Magic.
The fight for an early Shoat was interesting. I actually needed Black Mage here, since Summoner could not kill in two. I had an interesting equipment setup in Moore: Dancing Dagger, Gold Hairpin, Luminous Robe, Elven Mantle. Firaga kills almost everything in one hit, though I switch to the Flame Rod for Imps and Wyrms. Dancing Dagger is used on Gaiajellies, and !Dance ignores accuracy checks, so I don't need Silver Specs. Artful Dodger (gives you Thief Speed) was my secondary, since as long as I kept my health high, a back attack would never kill me.
Mystic Knight was the job of choice of everything in Exdeath's Castle, except for Exdeath himself. Boosted black magic tore through him in one AI cycle, so I only had to face one Condemn.
Gogo I manually killed because I could, for a job you can never get in the fiesta unless you pony up $15 and sacrifice Samurai or Chemist. Mute Sword blocked all his nasty stuff.
Before too long, I could move onto the main events!!
Omega was the first I came to, and the first to fall. For it, I went in with Mystic Knight with Summon secondary. The equipment setup was Dancing Dagger, Aegis Shield, Genji Helm, Mirage Vest, Hermes Sandles. The Vest was just for magic defense, and Genji Helm is a nice anti-confusion safeguard. Dancing Dagger though, allowed me to override the robot's high evasion and dish out 9999 Sword Dances. Regular attacks that somehow get through still do 4500.
I also went into the fight with less than max HP to trigger Magic Shell. By healing after the first Wave Cannon, the second would trigger it. I needed not to get hit by Rainbow Wind for this to work. Float I got from a Gaiacat, which dodges Earthquake.
What Summon brought to the table was the possibility of using Carbunkle to bounce Search and Blaster. Reflecting the former even causes it to hit itself with its counterattacks.
That all said, there were three good places to make my strike. First, after the first Wave Cannon, I could heal and attack. The next Omega attack would never kill me, and I could heal before the second one. After he bounces a Search onto himself, I basically have a free attack - he could not kill me unless I'm at low health and he reflects Atomic Ray. Finally, right before he uses Search is a decent spot, but it's not preferable.
As for what kills me, a short list.
- Maelstrom if I don't have full ATB
- Instant death from Blaster
- Encircle landing
- A Mustard Bomb at low health
- Taking too many risks and getting Rocket Punched into a Wave Cannon
With everything together, I was able to cinch the victory after a few tries at the fight.
Shinryu by contrast, was just straight up murdered. Flare Spellblade together with the Chicken Knife and Mug ended this in less tha two minutes. Aegis Shield to block the opening Tidal Wave and whatever else, Diamond Helm to resist Lightning, and Bone Mail to resist Ice Storm and ignore Roulette. The only danger was Atomic Ray, since I was using Hermes Sandals, but since it only had a few chances to show up, it was nothing.
Before the bonus dungeon, I had to beat Neo Exdeath, and did I ever beat him. Chicken Flare Mug did insane damage. Just short of 9999! The Grand Cross part, and every other part for that matter, never stood a chance. I would not see a single Grand Cross go off, because its AI routine was constantly reset. Aegis Shield went berserk, blocking tons of attacks. With it out of the way, three parts remained. The physical part was next, also getting Chicken Flared. With a switch to Break Sword and waiting for the right moment, the Almagest part was instantly destroyed.
THEN I used the Magic Lamp to kill the back part. NeoExdeath was chopped apart, died, resurrected, then died again. Swag kills for the win! With this, I waited for the credits to end and moved onto the Bonus Dungeon. What's that? You need a Beastmaster which I don't have? That's completely stupid that hypothetical ventures in should not be able to happen unless you have it (which you need to capture a Behemoth for a guy who demands it) and Thief (which you need to run by a switch-deactivated waterfall which reactivates too fast otherwise), so I made an exception to get on by. Gil Turtle was easier than before due to added equipment and abilities.
Grand Aevis was the first of many new bosses. I naturally went in with everyone else in the party petrified, to protect against them being zombied - though there existed a chance to be zombified myself. Mystic Knight with Black Magic secondary was the choice, with a setup of Chicken Knife, Aegis Shield, Genji Helm, Bone Mail, and Hermes Sandals. I could cast Death on my own character to heal with the Bone Mail, which also protects against Blaster and Poison Breath. There was nothing better than Genji Helm. I went with Hermes Sandals over Angel Ring, as it proved more consistent; even with the possibility to instantly lose by zombification, it's better than being triple turned.
To start, I took out one of the Dark Elementals with Flare Swords. Then I weaken the other with Flare (so its White Winds are weakened) before using Flare repeatedly on the Grand Aevis itself - they're only slightly weaker than Chicken Flare, and have the added advantage of never triggering the Flee effect. I want to see Maelstrom, because it triggers Magic Shell. Two Aerogas are also acceptable, and I have my HP set up to allow for this. Just need to keep this up, weakening the Dark Elemental again as needed with Bio, and praying that I don't get one-twoed or Zombie Powdered.
My setup on Archeodemon was pretty esoteric, and this is a two-part video. The Gladius, I found in the bonus dungeon is the best non-Chicken Knife item I have. Royal Crown and Protect Ring are both there for their magic defense boosts, and the latter provides a free Regen as well. Now for the two odd ones. I used Ice Shield instead of Aegis Shield, as I can self-heal with Blizzaga Sword. Vishnu Vest is another bonus piece of equipment. It has 3 more magic defense than the Bone Mail, without a weakness to Holy or making healing MP awkward.
As before, the gimmicks to Archeodemon are his self-Death counter on anything that is not magic when not charging up for Mega/Giga Flare, and his absorbing all elements. His attacks become much nastier below 20000HP, consisting of the likes of Flare/Holy/Meteor, Death, and Hurricane. But I was able to beat him on this fight I was experimenting with. I was able to trigger Magic Shell with it. The flip side of it was that it halved the healing from Blizzaga, which was otherwise stronger than Blizzaga Sword self-hits. But the advantages of halving the damage or success rate almost all of his attacks more than made up for it.
I did not upload a video of the Guardian fight for some reason, but you're not missing much. Magic Knight with Summon was the setup of choice for Guardian, and the offense consisted of Syldra summons. Air Knife to boost the damage, Bone Mail to protect against Confusion and Old, Hermes Sandals for Haste, Genji Helm for nothing better, and Aegis Shield because it's Aegis Shield. Four summons wiped out the Launchers and the Wave Cannon, and it was just more Syldra from there on out, The Wave Cannon revived, but was killed off again after the "BARREL PRESSURE RISING" message. My bot-hating associate went down to minimal HP, but never actually died in this battle.
Omega Mk-II was more or less the same fight as before, just longer and using Flare Sword Dance instead of Thundaga Sword Dance. It took numerous tries not to get screwed over by anything, but it was not that big a deal..
Offense was no problem on Neo Shinryu - Chicken Flare provided all I could ask for, and I knew the trick to hitting him consistently, only missing once. Playing to Neo Shinryu's AI routine was important for defense. Golem was a godsend here, protecting against physical blows that otherwise would have flatlined me.
Of course, the Force Shield rendered his elemental array impotent. The rest of the equipment was dedicated to magic defense for protection against an occasional White Hole counter. He would trigger Magic Shell with Maelstrom, which gave even more defense. I one-twoed him to avoid his Mute/physical phase; if I couldn't do that, it would be tricky to survive it. The Giga Flare/Meteor parting combo was no threat with Shell.
Enuo was all that remained. I went in with Ultima Weapon (almost as strong as Chicken Knife without any of the downsides), Force Shield, Royal Crown, Vishnu Vest, and Hermes Sandals. The first phase really is not all that tough. I set up with Golem and Flare Sword and hack away, healing with an Elixir if needed and hoping the hands don't do anything stupid.
The second phase is where the game changes. Obviously, facing Dimension Zero head-on is out of the question, so to the back row it is. I switch in Air Knife and Aegis Shield, and begin the assault with Syldra, getting Golem back up as needed. It can occasionally be torn down in one shot by Dimension Zero, which is bad. Hurricane and Maelstrom are godsends here, giving me a Magic Shell. One of the weirdest problems here was not being able to see my character's hair, and so not being able to tell if Old was inflicted due to it not showing in the menu.
All there was to do was Syldra away, heal, and hope I don't die to the counters or a combo. You'll gain more from watching the video than from any text. I kept track of his HP, and grew more cautious as the fight went on. And in the end...
#VictoryEnuo #EnuoEnucleator
Index
