FF6 - Brave New World

(Did the forum revert eat my post? I think so! Rar!)

For 1.0.8:

1: Can we please make it so Slot doesn't trigger enemy counterattacks? Setzer rolled Earth Rage against Chesticle, then died. I revived him, then he rolled Blackjack and again died.

2: Shouldn't it be called a "Dragoon Helm" instead of a "Dragon Helm"?

3: Doom Gaze: Compared to Umaro, he was easy. Not disappointingly so, but surprisingly so. (Sabin/Edgar/Terra/Gogo to kill Doom Gaze, but Sabin/Edgar/Terra/Mog for Umaro. That Snowstorm spam's lethal!)

4: Since Gogo can mimic Steal, it seems logical for him to be able to open Narshe's structures. Can we include this?

5: Sabin. He's my MVP. Aside from perhaps Serpent Trench, there is no point at which I regret having him along.

6: Party members come World of Ruin. I've discovered that 1000 HP is the cutoff point to where you're unlikely to be one-shot in the back row. Since Edgar has about 1600 HP, he's in good shape.

Unfortunately, everyone I waited to level (due to wanting them to have better esper bonuses) is a liability. It seems like a gentle breeze would kill 'em.

7: Setzer: When I have the choice to not take him, I don't. His spell selection is weak, his physical damage is pathetic (dealing double digit damage per hit with the best weapons available when I can cast Fire 3 for 7000+ and even 9999!) and his Slot ability feels meh. I like his in-combat no-MP party heal, but even then, that's low compared to a Cure 2, and enemies aren't waiting around for me to fully heal my party! I've given him the "Offering" relic and Sprint Shoes (because everyone should have Sprint Shoes!) and his damage is still meh. The best I can say about him is that he's an off-healer and can use the Switchblade and "Offering" to steal when Locke ain't around.

8: Mog: I kinda like him. Unfortunately, I don't know what the revised dances do. Maybe I'd like him far more if I did, because dances I use tend not to work when it counts (like, oh, bosses). It ain't because of Mog failing to dance, but not using party-healing dances when I need it, and using effects that either deal no or pathetic damage. His Fight isn't doing that much damage (dual wielding) and Jumping is doing a bit better, but still shy of 1000 damage per round. Mog is cool in personality, but ends up feeling weak to me due to 'meh' or poor Fight damage and unpredictable dances.

9: Gogo: I'm not sure what to make of the revised Gogo. (He's been dead most the time I've had him. Low HP kills!) Sabin can Bum Rush from the back row for about 2500, but Gogo does this for about 600. The best I can say about Gogo so far is that at least he can cast any spell of his companions, making him versatile in the Element3 and the restorative stuff. Oh, and Blitzing Chakra. Woo!

10: Umaro: My previous FFVI experience has turned me off to him. Being totally uncontrollable (and with unchangeable Equipment) is a downside, even if he hits hard. (Sabin hits hard, too!) I'm not sure what to say about him, but I feel meh tending toward "no likey."

11: Gau: He's still level 18 in a party of level 30ishes. His HP is below 400. That's problematic, even for training purposes. I also wish I had a comprehensive list of what the revised rages did since I have to guess. I know Exocite, Albatross, Adamantite, and Zombone. Beyond that, I don't know nor much care. Gau is better this time around but gets shelved due to complexity.

12: And this leaves me with the characters I like to play. (Haven't regotten Cyan/Strago/Relm/Shadow yet, but the situation is probably the same.) I already mentioned Gogo has potential, but I'm not sure how to spec him yet. Edgar and Sabin are permanent party members (because there are two Figaro brothers). I prefer a caster for my third slot- Terra or Celes- and my fourth slot is open. This isn't inherently bad, but it's no different from FFVI vanilla. It's probably that these characters are interesting in personality, easy to use, and effective at what they do.

I still flub the occasional Blitz, but I can reliably pull out Bum Rushes and Aurabolts and Chakras and Mantras, meaning Sabin is my MVP. Oh, and Golem is wonderful against physical-heavy bosses. Edgar brings out his tools for damage (Bio Blaster to DoT foes to death, Drill/Chainsaw when he can), heals with Cure 2, hampers bosses with Slow, and equips Palidor for Air Raid on bosses. Terra and Celes have the spells to keep people alive (Cure 2, Life, and occasionally Regen) and Energy 2/3 are wonderful for killing things. Reflect is occasionally useful (and helped Doom Gaze kill himself; hehe), but so far I've not needed anywhere near the plethora of spells available to my party.

It's a shame, too, because the various status effect spells (Bserk, Mute, Stop...) would be quite helpful to use against bosses, but aside from one boss that I Muted, I try to lay on the Slow then commence beatdown. There's simply too little reason to deviate from the standard FFVI formula (disregarding Vanish/Magic) of rocket tag, wherein combatants throw out their most destructive things as quickly as possible and mending wounds as needed. Instead of spamming Ultima and Genji Glove/Offering, it's Terra Morph + Ultima/Energy 3 or Sabin with Bum Rush/Aurabolt, or maybe Umaro with an Atlas Armlet and Sprint Shoes. The spirit of the original game is there, but the means of victory are different. And once you can buy Sprint Shoes, I believe this relic is mandatory for every party member who wants to live, especially on Boss Fights™. (Even with Sprint Shoes and 50ish speed, I'm finding bosses who are approximately as fast or even faster!)

My impressions so far are that characters are more interdependent (and the stinkers have been improved from vanilla), but my favorites are still my favorites, and quite useful at that! Everyone else... will get trained when the time comes. I wish there were more leniency when dealing with new characters so I wouldn't have to spend such a great effort keeping them alive long enough for them to get XP around where my main characters are meant to be.

13: When Celes meets Sabin and he's holding up the house, Sabin says, "And If" with both words in caps.

14: When I get to Maranda, why's there this guy running around so frantically wishing me good luck? His grammar should also use 2 sentences instead of 1.