. _JNNNN ""4NN) F I N A L (NN) (NN) F A N T A S Y (NN) (NN) T A C T I C S (NN) .NNNN) (NN) JN _____ NNNNN) (NN).NNNNNNN. _JNNNLJNNNNNN_.JNNNNNNL .JNNNNNNNNN` "" (NNNNNNNNNNNNL `4NNNN""""NNNNF""""NNNNN .NNNNF""NNNN (NNF `NNNN) (NN) 4NNN (NNN) JNNF (NN) (NN) NNNN (NN) NNN NNN) NNN 4N) (NN) (NNN (NN) NNN (NN) 4NN JN) JNN) (NNN (NN) NNN (NN) `NNL .NN` NNN) (NNF (NN) NNN (NN) `NNN___NNN` NNNN .NNN` (NN) NNN (NN) JNNNNNNF` NNNNL. JNNN` (NN) NNN (NN) NN) NN`"NNNNNNN" NNNNNNN) NNNNNNN (NNNNNN) (NNNNNNNNNNNNL. (N) 4NNNNNNNNNNNNNL (N BATTLE MECHANICS GUIDE VERSION 6.5 .NNF" `"NNN () ---------------------------------- NNF NN written by aerostar NNN JNF <aerostar100@yahoo.com> NNN. _NNF november 10, 2004 NNNNNL__NNNNN` . 4NNNNNNNN" with aaditya rangan <rangan@math.berkeley.edu> and town knave <townknave@aol.com> ******************************************************************************* * FONT CHECK: This file does not exceed 79 characters on a line at its widest * * point. For best viewing, make sure you are using a monospaced font such as * * Courier and that this entire box, bounded by the asterisks, is visible. * ******************************************************************************* Now that the BMG weighs in at over 750 K, the easiest way to find what you want will be to use the Find or Search feature in your web browser or text editor. Search for terms within [square brackets] to skip directly to the section you want: - A section number within [square brackets] jumps you immediately to that section - The name of an action, reaction, support, or move ability, status ailment, command set, or class within [square brackets] brings you directly to detailed information about your search term This is probably one of the very last updates to the BMG. It's been great fun researching, writing, and updating it over the past 6 years. Thanks so much to everyone on the GameFAQs boards for urging me to update, and thanks also to Ben Siron, who wrote a similar 'handbook' for Final Fantasy IV that inspired me to make the BMG in the first place. Peace to all, and enjoy! -Aerostar ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== For updates to the BMG, look on these websites: * http://www.fftactics.net/fftmech/ The FFT Battle Mechanics Guide homepage. Find the latest version of the Guide along with an archive of previous versions. Special thanks go to George Greer for allowing me to host the site on his server space. * http://www.gamefaqs.com/ New versions of the BMG, unless they contain extremely minor revisions, will usually be posted to GameFAQs as well. This is a wonderful site and, if you haven't been there, you've got to check it out! =============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** NEW IN VERSION 6.5 *** - Rewrote gameflow section, reorganizing the clocktick and reworking the mechanics of Quick - Revised durations of status effects to match new gameflow theory - Added section 2.8 on MIMIC - Fixed elemental parts of damage/success rate modification algorithms in parts 2 and 3 - Moved version history to the end of the guide - Made various minor revisions and corrections _______________________________________________________________________________ [0.1] contents ========================================================================= TO SKIP TO A SECTION: Find (Ctrl + F) the number of the section between brackets. For instance, if you wanted to skip to section 9.3, you would Find "[9.3]" (without the quotes). (No, there is no 9.3. This is to prevent you from finding this description when you search for a section number!) TO FIND ALL REFERENCES TO A SECTION: Eliminate the brackets in the previous search. PART 0: Front Matter 0.1 Contents 0.2 Acknowledgements PART 1: Mechanics Fundamentals 1.1 Definitions 1.2 Abbreviations & Symbols 1.3 Signs of the Zodiac 1.4 Evasion 1.5 Protect and Shell 1.6 The Elements 1.7 Handling multiple instances of the same variable PART 2: Direct commands: these are commands that do more than prompt you to select an attack from a list -- they require a bit more explanation than other attacks. 2.1 ATTACK 2.2 CHARGE 2.3 JUMP 2.4 THROW 2.5 ITEM 2.6 ELEMENTAL 2.7 MATH SKILL 2.8 MIMIC PART 3: Individual attacks: these are the attacks that are mixed and matched to generate FFT's command sets. They include all magic; physical attacks like BATTLE SKILL, PUNCH ART, and STEAL; and all monster attacks. Detailed information is given about each and every attack. 3.1 Legend 3.2 Damage and success rate modifiers 3.3 List of attacks - To find an individual attack, Find "[attack name]", where "attack name" is the name of the attack you're interested in. 3.4 Magic constants: damage 3.5 Magic constants: effects 3.6 BATTLE SKILL 3.7 STEAL 3.8 PUNCH ART 3.9 DRAW OUT 3.10 TALK SKILL 3.11 Sword skills 3.12 TRUTH and UN-TRUTH 3.13 LIMIT PART 4: Reaction, Support, & Movement Abilities 4.1 Rection abilities 4.2 Support abilities 4.3 Movement abilities PART 5: Abnormal Status 5.1 Preparative status changes 5.2 Supportive status changes 5.3 Negative status changes 5.4 Damage-derived status changes 5.5 Other status changes PART 6: Miscellany 6.1 Crystals 6.2 Counter Magic 6.3 Experience, Job Points, and Job Levels 6.4 Learning magic without JP 6.5 Weather and terrain 6.6 Blade Grasp 6.7 Teleport 6.8 Random events 6.9 Modifying longbow range 6.10 On Brave and Faith 6.11 Enemy levels 6.12 Missing and Guarding PART 7: Stats and Stat Growth 7.1 Raw stats 7.2 Leveling up 7.3 Leveling down 7.4 Class compendium APPENDIX A: Gameflow A.1 Action and reaction A.2 Gameflow basics A.3 The Mime cycle A.4 The Quick and the dead APPENDIX B: Weapons, Armor, & Accessories B.1 Weapons B.2 Shields B.3 Headgear B.4 Armor B.5 Accessories APPENDIX C: Command Sets C.1 Legend C.2 Command set chart END OF FILE: Version history _______________________________________________________________________________ [0.2] acknowledgements ========================================================================= Before the guide begins, I'd like to take a bit of space to thank everyone for their positive feedback, helpful hints and suggestions for improving the guide. Thanks to all of the people below for bits of information and inspiration: - Degenerator 12 <degenerator12@hotmail.com> - Karsten <azidahaka@gamebox.net> - triptolemus <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - Elmor the Elf <elmor_the_elf@mail.ru> - Kochocobo <kochocobo@yahoo.com> - Andy Harrington <harringt@edzone.net> - rain duragan <shinobu_elf@hotmail.com> - A P <ajp8414@yahoo.com> - Master Daravon <beefstew99@aol.com> - Notti <mahgnitton@hotmail.com> - George Greer <fft@fftactics.org> - Garanhir <garanhir@stupid.com> - Jjukil <jjukil@excite.com> - Dragon Fogel <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - Owvin <owvin@zdnetonebox.com> - Johan Bager <johanbager@hotmail.com> - Nick Lang <Syralen@yahoo.com> - Jivera <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - Kantolin <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - NeoKamek <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - jizus <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - LordMagus <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - MalcolmMasher <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - ganonl <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - PatBuns15@aol.com - Disorder82@aol.com - Overated <overatedsan@yahoo.com> - AquaHaute <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - Scythe Marshall <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> - The Pretender <on the GameFAQs FFT message board> FINAL FANTASY TACTICS BATTLE MECHANICS GUIDE version 6.5 .nNNNNN NNNNNNNN NNNNNNNN `` (NNNN (NNNN (NNNN (NNNN (NNNN (NNNN (NNNN (NNNN (NNNN `"""" M E C H A N I C S F U N D A M E N T A L S _______________________________________________________________________________ [1.1] definitions ========================================================================= Here are a few definitions of terms that will recur throughout the rest of the guide. - A UNIT is any person or monster on the battlefield. - An attack (lowercase) is any action taken by a unit in battle except for 'Move', 'Defend', 'Wait', or 'Equip Change'. ATTACK, in uppercase, refers to the specific command ATTACK. - The CASTER is the unit executing an attack. This doesn't necessarily have to refer to spells: a unit striking another with a sword is a 'caster' as well. - The TARGET is the unit(s) on the receiving end of the attack. The caster and target can be the same unit. - DAMAGE is loss of HP or MP. Unless otherwise stated, assume that the term 'damage' refers to HP damage. - An EFFECTIVE stat is one that is not actually displayed on the status screen in the game, but is used internally by the game for calculation of the formula it appears in. - PHYSICAL ATTACKING ABILITY (PA) is the number next to the sword icon on the middle panel of the status screen. A unit can have a PA no less than 1 and no greater than 99. Note: although displayed PA must be 99 or less, effective PA can be greater than 99. - MAGICAL ATTACKING ABILITY (MA) is the number next to the rod icon on the middle panel of the status screen. Like PA, MA is bounded by 1 and 99, inclusive, but effective MA can in theory be greater than 99. - CHARGE TIME (CT) is an indicator of a unit's readiness to act. A unit receives an ACTIVE TURN (AT, or simply 'turn') when its CT is greater than or equal to 100. On each AT, a unit can either move and act, move but not act, act but not move, or neither act nor move. At the end of the AT, CT is decremented according to what the unit did on its turn: move and act ........... new_CT = CT - 100 move only .............. new_CT = CT - 80 act only ............... new_CT = CT - 80 neither act nor move ... new_CT = CT - 60 If new_CT is greater than 60, it is instead set to 60. - SPEED (Sp) determines how often a unit gets active turns. For each unit of FFT time (clocktick), each unit will gain an amount of CT equal to its Speed. A unit gets a turn on any clocktick where its CT is greater than or equal to 100. Speed also determines the strength of some physical attacks (such as THROW and STEAL) and determines the charging time for the JUMP attack. Maximum Speed is 50, but under normal playing conditions it won't usually exceed 20. - WEAPON POWER (WP) is a property of weapons that determines their strength. It can be seen on the middle panel of the status screen, next to the letter of the appropriate hand ('R' or 'L'). - An ATTACK STAT (XA) is a general term that can stand for any stat or combination of stats that influences the damage or success rate of an attack. It is used where the same formula applies to two or more types of attacks, but different stats are plugged into the formula for each attack. For instance, swords and knight swords share the damage formula of XA * WP, where the attack stat XA = PA for swords and XA = [(PA * Br) / 100] for knight swords. - A PHYSICAL ATTACK is one that meets at least ONE of the three following criteria: (a) Damage or success rate is increased by the caster's having Attack UP (b) Damage or success rate is decreased by the target's having Defense UP or Protect status (c) Success rate is decreased by the target's physical evade. Note that an attack does not have to use PA in its damage or success formula in order to be a physical attack. - A MAGICAL ATTACK is one that meets at least ONE of the three following criteria: (a) Damage or success rate is increased by the caster's having Magic AttackUP (b) Damage or success rate is decreased by the target's having Magic DefendUP or Shell status. (c) Success rate is decreased by the target's magical evade. (In general, magical attacks that have beneficial effects, such as Cure and Protect are not susceptible to Shell, Magic DefendUP, or magic evade.) Note that not all attacks that use MA in their damage or success formulas are magical attacks -- some are in fact physical! - A NEUTRAL ATTACK is defined as one that is neither physical nor magical. Examples include TALK SKILL, DANCE, SING, the DRAW OUT ability 'Murasame', and the Bomb's 'Self-Destruct' command. - A CLOCKTICK is the basic unit of time of an FFT battle. During one clocktick, each unit's CT meter increases by an amount equal to the unit's Speed. Strictly, a clocktick is defined as the period of time between two consecutive S+ phases (don't worry about this now; see the gameflow section, Appendix A, for details). - A SLOW ACTION is any attack that requires a charging time between the time it is selected and the time when it is actually executed. - CLOCKTICKS TILL RESOLUTION [CTR] is a value associated with each slow action that determines its charging time in clockticks. A slow action with CTR = 1 will be executed on the clocktick after it is initiated, and one with CTR = 2 will be executed on the second clocktick after it is initiated. CTR is related to the spell speeds given in the game as CTR = RU{100 / spellspeed} and spellspeed = RU{100 / CTR}. This guide uses CTR instead of spell speed because spell speed is problematic for some slow actions such as CHARGE, and CTR is the actual value stored by the game. See Appendix A for details. - A FAST ACTION is any attack which is resolved immediately upon selection. See the gameflow section, Appendix A, for details. - A REACTION is any attack immediately executed by the target of a just-resolved slow action, fast action, or act of mimicry. Reaction abilities cannot be reacted to or mimed. The nature of the reaction is determined by a unit's reaction ability. - BRAVE (Br), which is listed on-screen under the character's name and occupation, is a stat that supposedly represents courage in battle. It's a factor in barehanded attacks, a few special skills and some weapon attacks, and also represents the rate at which you'll use your reaction ability. In this guide, you will see it abbreviated as 'Br'. Brave is on a scale from 0 to 100; if you fall below 10 Brave, you'll be afflicted with the Chicken status ailment. Any unit except for Ramza or Guests that has a permanent Brave of 5 or less at the end of a battle will leave the party. - FAITH (Fa), listed on-screen next to Brave, is supposed to represent belief in miracles and supernatural phenomena. It factors into both magic damage and rate of success, and is an important stat for a mage. Like Brave, it varies from 0 to 100. Any character except for Ramza or a Guest that has a permanent Faith of 94 or greater at the end of a battle will leave the party. - To ADD a status change is to cause a unit to be affected by that status change. - To CANCEL a status change is to remove a status change that had previously been added to a unit. - To BLOCK a status change or element means that the status cannot be set on the blocking unit or that attacks bearing the element have a 0% success rate on the blocking unit. To inherently block a status or element is to be IMMUNE to that status or element. - The RANGE of an attack is the number of squares, counted in a straight line, that the attack has the potential to target (not counting the caster himself). It is represented on the screen when an attack is selected by red, glowing panels. Examples: (X = Caster) # # # ### # # ### ##### # #X# ##X## ###X### ###X### # ### ##### # # ### # Range 1 Range 2 # # Range 3 Range 3 (4 directions) Usually, Range is independent of vertical height, but for some skills (e.g., TALK SKILL), it can be limited by height difference. If this is so, it will be noted in the guide with a "vX" after the range number, where X is the vertical tolerance of the attack in height units. For instance, the range of 'Threaten' is 3v2. - The EFFECT AREA of an attack determines which panels will actually be hit by the attack. It's determined by counting the number of squares an attack can hit from the center to one corner of the effect area. Effect area is usually restricted by height. Height restrictions will be noted in the guide with "vX" appended on to the effect number, with X being the vertical tolerance of the attack in height units. For instance, the effect area of 'Haste 2' is 2v3. Examples: O O OOO O OOO OOOOO O OOO O Effect 1 Effect 2 Effect 3 A combination of range and effect area is used to determine the attack's firing range. We represent this in the guide as two numbers, the first being the range and the second the effect area. For instance, a spell with firing range {5/1} means it has a range of 5 and an effect area of 1. If there is an effect area greater than one, it can make the attack go further than the range. Special firing ranges: - for LINEAR firing ranges, the range is measured in the number of directions the line can go in. The effect area is measured by the number of squares it affects, and the number of directions in which it does so. For example, the 'Holy Explosion' attack is {4dir/5(1dir)}. - for AUTOMATIC firing ranges, the range and the effect area are always the same. This is denoted by {A/N}, where N is the number of squares, in a straight line counted from the center of the effect area, that the attack effects. For instance, {A/3} is illustrated below. If the attack is helpful, the caster will usually also be targeted; if the attack is harmful, the caster will usually not be targeted. X: caster #: panel in range O: affected panel O OOO O #O# O O O ##### O OOO #X# ###X### ###X### OOXOO # ##### # OOO ### # O # # 1/1 3/2 4directions/ A/3 3(1direction) (caster may or may not be affected.) - LINE-OF-SIGHT (LOS) means that the target of an attack must lie along a roughly linear path from the caster without any obstacles or other units intervening. For longbows, this path can be concave-down parabolic as well as linear (the arrow can arc). If an obstacle blocks the line of sight, a line-of-sight attack will fail. If another unit blocks the line of sight, the attack will be executed on the other unit instead of the intended target. This can be used to your advantage with guns and bows to hit targets that are closer than 3 panels (which can't normally be fired on): target a panel directly behind the unit you want to hit, and since he blocks your shot, you'll hit the intended target instead! Sometimes this won't work with longbows because the arrow will arc over the intervening target. _______________________________________________________________________________ [1.2] abbreviations & symbols ========================================================================= Listed below are abbreviations and symbols, both mathematical and game-related, that will be used throughout the guide. MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS ---------------------- ARITHMETIC We'll start with the basics: + means addition - means subtraction * means multiplication / means division Division gets a little more complicated. The PSX doesn't have a floating point unit, and so FFT uses integer division, meaning that it truncates all remainders. To emphasize this, I place instances of division within square brackets: [20 / 4] = 5 [21 / 4] = 5 [22 / 4] = 5 [23 / 4] = 5 [24 / 4] = 6 In other words, [x / y] means to divide x by y, keep the quotient and discard the remainder. Note that this differs from the greatest integer (floor) function in its treatment of negative numbers: [-19 / 2] = -9 while floor(-19 / 2) = -10. FFT uses truncation, not floor. The symbol [x * y/z] is short-hand for [(x * y)/z]. In a few instances, the game will round the result of a division UP instead of just dropping the remainder. To deal with this, I define the 'round-up division' function, RU{x / y} as follows: RU{x / y} = [(x + y - 1) / y] This is more intuitive if you think of it as dividing x by y and rounding up to the nearest integer. It's the same, trust me. :) MAXIMUM & MINIMUM FUNCTIONS max{x,y} = (x if x > y) or (y if y > x) This function means to take whichever is largest of the two options separated by the comma. min{x,y} = (x if x < y) or (y if y < x) Similarly, this means to take whichever is the smallest of the two options in the brackets. RANDOM NUMBER GENERATION (x..y) means that the game generates a pseudo-random integer between x and y, inclusive. I say 'pseudo' because no PSX random number generator is completely random, and it's possible that there are biases. There hasn't been a lot of study of this, though. HEXADECIMAL Where it is necessary for clarity, hexadecimal numbers are prefaced by a "$" character. So "$2710" means 2710 hex, or 10,000 decimal. GAME-RELATED ABBREVIATIONS -------------------------- a : can only target allies (in range/effect notation) A/2, A/3, etc. : automatic firing range 2, 3, etc. (see above) Br : Brave C_x : caster's (attribute x) CFa : caster's Faith CT : charge time CTR : clockticks 'til resolution CurHP : current HP (in HP 500/556, 500 is the CurHP) CurMP : current MP dir : directions e : can only affect enemies (in range/effect notation) Fa : Faith LOS : line-of-sight Lv : Level M.AEv : magical accessory Evade% M.SEv : magical shield Evade% MA : magical attacking ability MaxHP : maximum HP (in HP 500/556, 556 is the MaxHP) MaxMP : maximum MP P.AEv : physical accessory Evade% P.CEv : physical inherent Evade% P.SEv : physical shield Evade% PA : physical attacking ability R/E : Range / Effect area (= firing range) Spd : Speed (stat) T_x : Target's (attribute x) TFa : Target's Faith v : vertical (in effect area) WEv : weapon Evade% WP, WpnPwr : weapon's power XA : attack stat >> In the formulae, assume that any statistic is that of the user of the ability unless otherwise specified (e.g., 'Level' refers to 'caster's Level'). >> In this guide, commands and command sets are generally rendered in ALL CAPITALS. So 'BLOOD SUCK' refers to the command set, while 'Blood Suck' refers to the specific attack or status ailment. An "attack" is a general term, but "ATTACK" is the specific command used in battle. _______________________________________________________________________________ [1.3] signs of the zodiac ========================================================================= ******************************************************************************* For a very thorough discussion of Zodiac compatibility, including compatibility charts for all the game's bosses, see A. Robinson's excellent Zodiac Compatibility Guide on GameFAQs. ******************************************************************************* What would the Zodiac Brave Story be without Zodiac compatibility? Every unit in FFT has a Zodiac sign. The interaction of the Zodiac signs is almost always an effect in damage calculation. The few attacks which are exempt from Zodiac compatibility include (1) Damaging attacks where the damage is based on the current or maximum values of HP and/or MP. These attacks include the Bomb's 'Self-Destruct', the MAGIC SWORD attack 'Shock!', the Byblos' 'Shock', and the Archaic Demon's 'Lifebreak', among others. (2) The DRAW OUT attack Murasame, which restores (Caster's MA * 12) HP to all targets, regardless of Zodiac compatibility. This is probably a programming oversight. In general, the better the compatibility, the higher the damage or the success rate of attacks exchanged between two units. COMPATIBILITY CHART ------------------- Ar Ta Ge Cn Lo Vg Li Sc Sg Cp Aq Pi Se Aries O O O - + O ? O + - O O O Taurus O O O O - + O ? O + - O O Gemini O O O O O - + 0 ? 0 + - O Cancer - O O O O O - + O ? O + O Leo + - O O O O O - + O ? O O Virgo O + - O O O O O - + O ? O Libra ? O + - O O O O O - + O O Scorpio O ? O + - O O O O O - + O Sagittarius + O ? O + - O O O O O - O Capricorn - + O ? O + - O O O O O O Aquarius O - + O ? O + - O O O O O Pisces O O - + O ? O + - O O O O Serpentarius O O O O O O O O O O O O O O: Neutral +: Good -: Bad ?: Worst (same sex), Best (opposite sex), Bad (monsters) In general, the last step of calculating the damage from an attack will be multiplication. It is just before this final multiplication step that zodiac modifiers are applied. One of the two multiplicands, which we'll call XA, will be modified in the following way: 'Neutral' compatibility: XA_zodiac = XA 'Good' compatibility: XA_zodiac = XA + [XA / 4] 'Best' compatibility: XA_zodiac = XA + [XA / 2] 'Bad' compatibility: XA_zodiac = XA - [XA / 4] 'Worst' compatibility: XA_zodiac = XA - [XA / 2] The stat or stats contributing to XA varies depending on the damage formula for the attack. Zodiac modification is included in the detailed, attack-specific damage modfication algorithms given in parts 2 and 3. For attacks with a variable success rate, calculation of the success rate usually involves addition. To get the full Zodiac effect on the success percentage, BOTH addends are affected in the way described above for XA, even though typically only one is stat-dependent. For instance, for the TALK SKILL Death Sentence, base success% = MA + 30. Against a target with 'Good' compatibility, success is equal to (MA + [MA/4]) + (30 + [30/4]), or (MA + [MA/4] + 37). Note that truncation applies twice, so the results can be slightly different than calculating (success% + [success% / 4]), depending on the values of MA and of the attack-specific constant. Variable success rate attacks are often subject to evasion as well. An important thing to keep in mind is that ZODIAC COMPATIBILITY DOES NOT AFFECT EVASION; it can only affect the base success percentage of an attack. Since monsters are unisex, they are immune from 'Best' and 'Worst' compatibility. So, for a monster, any unit that would normally be 'Best' or 'Worst' is instead 'Bad'. NOTE -- some of the Lucavi beasts actually have their sex byte set to MALE and thus are not monsters even though they appear to be: Queklain ..... Male Velius ....... Monster Zalera ....... Male Adramelk ..... Monster Hashmalum .... Male Altima ....... Monster (both forms) Elidibs ...... Monster _______________________________________________________________________________ [1.4] evasion ========================================================================= When you attack a unit, it has a chance to dodge your attack with four parameters: (1) its class evasion (CEv); (2) its shield (SEv); (3) its accessory (AEv); (4) its weapon (WEv), if it has the reaction ability 'Weapon Guard' set. There are separate categories for physical (P.SEv, P.AEv, P.CEv) and magical (M.SEv, M.AEv) evade. Note that there is no magical class evasion. Weapon evasion only works on physical attacks, and for the purpose of these equations, WEv = 0 unless the evading unit has 'Weapon Guard'. EVADING PHYSICAL ATTACKS ------------------------ Physical attack evasion depends on the attacker's position relative to the target. These equations will produce a percentage from 0 to 100. 10^8 means 10 raised to the eighth power (= 100,000,000); 10^6 means 10 raised to the sixth power (= 1,000,000). from front: hit% = [(base hit%)*(100-P.CEv)*(100-P.SEv)*(100-P.AEv)*(100-WEv) / (10^8)] from side: hit% = [(base hit%) * (100-P.SEv) * (100-P.AEv) * (100-W.Ev) / (10^6)] from rear: hit% = [(base hit%) * (100-P.AEv) / 100] The above equations were designed with the constraints of FFT's math system in mind. Since we are capable of noninteger division, it may be easier to remove the final division by the large power of 10, and to think of each factor of (100 - P.xEv) as equivalent to (1 - P.xEv/100), in decimal form. The result will come out the same as long as you truncate the decimal left after the final multiplication. - To determine whether an attack is subject to evade, check out the information for the attack in question in Part 2 or 3 of this guide. - Unless it is otherwise noted, assume the base hit% is 100. For attacks with base hit% less than 100, the base hit% will be listed in the relevant section of part 2 or part 3 as "success%". - Even if you fire BATTLE SKILL attacks out of a gun, they are still subject to evasion. - MIGHTY SWORD has a 00% success rate if the target is not equipped with an appropriate item for the Mighty Sword skill to break. Consequently, all monsters are unaffected by MIGHTY SWORD. - What is considered the 'front', 'side', and 'back' can be confusing when dealing with ranged attacks like arrows and Wave Fist. The following diagram should help (thanks to Notti for giving me the idea to present the information in this way). ___________________ | | | | | | If the target is standing on the panel marked 'X' | S | B | B | B | S | and facing in the direction indicated by the arrow, |___|___|___|___|___| if you are attacking from a panel marked 'F', you | | | | | | are considered to be attacking from the front; if | S | S | B | S | S | you attack from a panel marked 'S', the game |___|___|___|___|___| considers you to be attacking from the side; and | | | || | | if you attack from a panel marked 'B', you are | S | S | Xv| S | S | attacking from the rear. Basically, the game |___|___|___|___|___| just decides whether your forward, sideways, or | | | | | | behind distance from your opponent is greater, and | S | F | F | F | S | takes that to be your orientation. In the event |___|___|___|___|___| of a tie, the foremost direction is the winner | | | | | | (front over side, side over back). Note that this | F | F | F | F | F | is independent of the relative panel heights. |___|___|___|___|___| EVADING MAGICAL ATTACKS ----------------------- any position: hit% = [(base hit%) * (100 - M.SEv) * (100 - M.AEv) / 10000] This applies to most magic attacks, whether they are status-inducing or damage-causing. - A unit will not try to evade attacks that are curative or that add helpful status. See the tables in 3.3, 3.4, or 3.5 to determine whether a magic attack is subject to evade. For an example of how evade percentages work (using the simplified versions of the equations that involve non-integer division), let's say Ramza attacks Algus -- who is equipped with a Crystal Shield (P.SEv +40%, M.SEv +15%) and an Elf Mantle (P.AEv +25%, M.AEv +25%) -- from the side. Inherent evade% (P.CEv) is ineffective from the side, but Algus' shield (P.SEv) and cloak (P.AEv) will give him a chance to avoid the damage: Orig% Shield Mantle Ramza's hit% = [100 * (1-.40) * (1-.25)] = [100 * .6 * .75] = 45%. And if Ramza now decides to cast Flare on Algus, Algus is also considerably protected due to M.SEv and M.AEv: Shield Mantle Flare hit% = [100 * (1-.15) * (1-.25)] = [100 * .85 * .75] = [63.75] = 63% If a target is somehow protected from a particular attack (for instance, if he has Rubber Shoes [block: Lightning] equipped and is targeted with Bolt 3, or is targeted with Seal Evil and is not undead), that attack will have a 00% success rate, regardless of zodiac sign, evasion multipliers, percentage multipliers, or anything else. The reaction ability 'Abandon' causes all of a unit's evasion percentages to be doubled for the entire battle (it does not require a trigger, despite what the in-game description says). The 'Defending' status causes the same effect temporarily. If a target evades an attack due to its CEv, a 'Missed!' message will be displayed. If a target evades an attack due to its AEv or SEv, a 'Guarded' message will be displayed. See section 6.12 for details. As mentioned in the Zodiac section above, Zodiac compatibility has NO effect on evasion percentages. For a list of SEv values for each shield, see section B.2. For a list of AEv values for each mantle, see B.5. _______________________________________________________________________________ [1.5] protect and shell ========================================================================= The 'Protect' and 'Shell' statuses can protect units from several attacks in a variety of ways. Here is a summary of the different types of defense afforded by these statuses. - If a physical attack does damage and the target has Protect, the attack stat (XA) in the damage equation will be modified such that new_XA = [XA * 2/3]. If a physical attack inflicts a status, the XA in the success rate equation will be modified such that new_XA = [XA * 2/3]. If a physical attack causes damage calculated from the max or current HP of the target (e.g., Mutilate), Protect will only affect the success rate of the attack, and not the damage. - If a magical attack does damage and the target has Shell, the attack stat (XA) in the damage equation will be modified such that new_XA = [XA * 2/3]. If a magical attack inflicts a status, the XA in the success rate equation will be modified such that new_XA = [XA * 2/3]. If a magical attack causes damage calculated from the max or current HP/MP of the target (e.g., Demi, Demi 2, Life Drain, Spell Absorb, Gravi2, Lich), Shell will only affect the success rate of the attack, and not the damage. Unlike Zodiac compatibility, Protect and Shell ONLY affect the XA for variable success rate attacks -- not the entire percentage. Consequently, with the exception of some (MA+K)%-based attacks of high-level monsters, Protect and Shell's effect on success rates of attacks is far less signficant than the effect of Zodiac compatibility. _______________________________________________________________________________ [1.6] the elements ========================================================================= There are eight elemental properties in the game: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Earth, Wind, Dark, and Holy. In turn, there are two separate effects that can be caused by an elemental attribute. They are (1) XA strengthening for a caster, and (2) damage modification for a target. If the caster of an elemental spell has equipment endowed with 'Strengthen: (element)', when he casts spells of that element, his strengthened_MA will be equal to [MA * 5/4]. Note that this applies to the MA of the caster, and not to the damage caused by the spell. Though this will increase the damage of most spells (e.g., Fire 4, Shiva, Holy), if the spell normally does damage that is independent of MA (e.g., Lich), it will do no more damage from the 'Strengthen' effect (the success percentage, however, which does depend on MA, will be increased). The 'Strengthen' bonus works the same for elemental weapons like Ice Brand and Holy Lance, except it is applied to the appropriate attack stat(s) of the weapon (these are the values of XA listed for each weapon in section 2.1). The target of an elemental spell can have a variety of properties that modify the actual DAMAGE dealt by the spells on that target (and not the caster's MA): 'Weak: (Element)' ... Damage from this element is doubled, even when the amount of damage is unaffected by other types of modifiers. In terms of the formula, the value of the NUMERATOR is multiplied by 2 just before the final division. Examples: - The damage equation for Fire 4 is damage = [(CFa * TFa * 32 * MA) / 10000] If the target is weak against Fire, then this becomes damage = [(CFa * TFa * 32 * MA * 2) / 10000] - The damage equation for Hurricane is damage = RU{(Target's MaxHP) * 34 / 100} If the target is weak against Wind, then this becomes damage = RU{((Target's MaxHP * 34 * 2) / 100} and Hurricane will remove 68% of the target's HP instead of 34%. Note that the success rate of Hurricane remains unchanged even when the target is weak against Wind. 'Half: (Element)' ... Damage from this element is halved. This takes the form of a factor of 2 inserted into the DENOMINATOR before the final division. Examples: - The damage equation for Dark Holy is damage = [(CFa * TFa * 37 * MA) / 10000] If the target is wearing an N-Kai Armlet (Half: Dark), then the equation becomes damage = [(CFa * TFa * 37 * MA) / 20000] - Similarly, the normal formula for Lich is damage = RU{(Target's MaxHP) * 50 / 100} If the target has an N-Kai Armlet, this becomes damage = RU{(Target's MaxHP) * 50 / 200} 'Cancel: (Element)' .. Attacks of this element cannot succeed (the prediction will just say 00%). To avoid a double meaning for 'cancel', I use the word 'block' for this effect. 'Absorb: (Element)' .. Damage from element is added to, instead of subtracted from, the HP total. Note that Weak, Half, Absorb and Cancel have no effect on the success rates of elemental attacks. For Geomancy, only MA is affected by elemental attributes, even though PA is also used to calculate the damage. The elemental affiliations of an attack are listed in its description (press SELECT), and also in the big list in section 3.3. Example of elemental effects: This example allows you to appreciate the subtle difference between the two kinds of elemental effects. Let's assume you have a Summoner with 20 MA and 70 Fa casting Lich on a target with 501 Max HP, neutral Zodiac compability and 60 Fa. Lich does damage equal to RU{TargetMaxHP * 50/100} with a success rate of [(Caster Fa)*(Target Fa)*(MA+160) / 10000]. Now envision some scenarios: 1. Normal. Lich does RU{501 * 50/100} = 251 damage with a success rate of [70*60*180/10000] = 75%. 2. The Summoner equips himself with 108 Gems, which strengthens Dark elemental. This means that wherever MA is considered, new_MA = [MA * 5/4]. Because MA doesn't determine the damage done by Lich, the damage is unaffected, and remains at 251. The success rate, however, increases slightly, because new_MA = [20 * 5/4] = 25. So the success rate is now [70*60*185/10000] = 77%. 3. Suppose the Summoner unequips the Gems, then the target equips himself with an N-Kai Armlet, which has the property 'Half: Dark'. Since 'Half' affects damage itself and NOT MA directly, this time the damage done by the spell will be affected, but the success rate will not. The damage will now be equal to RU{TargetMaxHP * 50/200}, or 126. The success rate, however, remains unaffected at 75%. Weather-related effects on magic -- such as the strengthening of Lightning during thunderstorms, the weakening of Fire during thunderstorms, and the strengthening of Ice during snowstorms (see 6.5) -- are effects of the second type, influencing the actual damage done by the spell rather than the caster's MA. Certain attacks -- such as ATTACK, CHARGE, BATTLE SKILL and HOLY SWORD directives -- are weapon-elemental, meaning they acquire the elemental properties of the weapon the caster is equipped with. If the caster's weapon has no elemental affiliation, weapon-elemental attacks will be non-elemental. In addition, physical attacks that are weapon-elemental only receive a bonus from the 'Martial Arts' ability if the caster is barehanded. _______________________________________________________________________________ [1.7] handling multiple instances of the same variable ========================================================================= A number of multipliers can act on the variables you'll find in the equations throughout this guide. In a few of these equations, the same variable appears twice; in these cases, it can be hard to determine where to apply the variable modifiers. Usually only one instance of the variable is modified. The list below shows these equations, with the modifiable variable marked with a "!". (This applies for caluclating alterations from Zodiac as well.) ATTACK barehanded Damage = PA! * [PA * Br/100] Monster attacks Damage = PA! * [PA * Br/100] Physical Gun ATTACK Damage = WP! * WP Spin Fist Damage = PA! * [PA / 2] Repeating Fist Expected Damage = 5 * (PA! + [PA / 2]) Wave Fist Damage = PA! * ([PA / 2] + 1) Earth Slash Damage = PA! * [PA / 2] TRUTH Damage = MA! * [(MA + K)/2] Snake Carrier Damage = PA! * [(PA + 5) / 2] Nanoflare Damage = MA! * [(MA + 5) / 2] Sudden Cry Damage = PA! * [(PA + 2) / 2] Turn Punch Damage = PA! * [PA / 2] Wave Around Damage = PA! * [PA / 2] Choco Ball Damage = PA! * [PA / 2] Triple Flame Damage = MA! * [(MA + 24) / 2] Triple Thunder Damage = MA! * [(MA + 12) / 2] Dark Whisper Damage = MA! * [(MA + 1) / 2] ________ _NNNNNNNNNNNNNL. JNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNL 4NNNN"` `NNNNN) `"` NNNN) .NNNNN) __NNNNNNNNN _NNNNNNNNNNNN" JNNNNNNNNN""` .NNNNNN"` .NNNNN` JNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN """"""""""""""""""""" D I R E C T C O M M A N D S _______________________________________________________________________________ [2.1] attack ========================================================================= The ATTACK directive is the most basic command in FFT. The following formulas prescribe how much damage an attack with a particular type of weapon can do. This damage is subject to specific modifications that are detailed in the next section. See section B.1 for a list of the values of WP for each weapon in the game. The ATTACK command is a weapon-elemental physical attack, unless it is executed with a magic gun, in which case it is a weapon-elemental MOD 5 magical attack (see section 3.2 for more details on this kind of attack). Here is a list of the damage formulas and values of XA (for determining damage modifiers) for all the different types of weapons. STRIKING WEAPONS | Range: 1v3 (from above) / 1v2 (from below) =============================================================================== Bare Hands**...... damage = [(PA * Br) / 100] * PA XA = [(PA * Br) / 100] Knife ............ damage = [(PA + Sp) / 2] * WP XA = [(PA + Sp) / 2] Ninja Sword ...... damage = [(PA + Sp) / 2] * WP XA = [(PA * Sp) / 2] Sword ............ damage = PA * WP XA = PA Knight Sword ..... damage = [(PA * Br) / 100] * WP XA = [(PA * Br) / 100] Katana ........... damage = [(PA * Br) / 100] * WP XA = [(PA * Br) / 100] Staff ............ damage = MA * WP XA = MA Rod .............. damage = PA * WP XA = PA Flail ............ damage = (1..PA) * WP XA = (1..PA)

Axe .............. damage = (1..PA) * WP XA = (1..PA) Bag .............. damage = (1..PA) * WP XA = (1..PA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** If a unit is barehanded, weapon-elemental attacks will receive the bonus from the Martial Arts support ability (they don't if the unit is equipped with any weapon -- see 6.2). For barehanded units, WP = 0 in any equations that use WP (e.g., BATTLE SKILL success rate). LUNGING WEAPONS | Range: 2v3 (line of sight) =============================================================================== Lunging weapons can only hit one unit at once -- if one unit is standing behind another, and you are in front of them both and target the further unit, only the closer unit will be hit. Spear ............ damage = PA * WP XA = PA Stick ............ damage = MA * WP XA = MA Cloth ............ damage = [(PA + MA) / 2] * WP XA = [(PA + MA) / 2] LONG-DISTANCE WEAPONS | Range: varies =============================================================================== All long-distance weapons require a line of sight to be open between the attacker and the target. For longbows, this can also be a concave-down parabolic path for the arrow to take rather than a direct line of sight. If another unit intervenes in the line of sight between caster and target, that unit will be hit instead. You can take advantage of this fact to shoot targets closer than the minimum range. RANGE min max --- --- Crossbow ......... damage = PA * WP 3 4 XA = PA Longbow .......... damage = [(PA + Sp) / 2] * WP 3 *** XA = [(PA + Sp) / 2] Gun, physical**... damage = WP * WP 3 8 XA = WP Musical Instrument damage = [(PA + MA) / 2] * WP 3 3 XA = [(PA + MA) / 2] Dictionary ....... damage = [(PA + MA) / 2] * WP 3 3 XA = [(PA + MA) / 2] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** Unlike with other weapons, ATTACKs with Guns are not subject to evasion. *** Max longbow range is equal to 5 + [(Caster's Height - Target's Height) / 2] MAGICAL GUNS | range: minimum 3, maximum 8 (line of sight) =============================================================================== An ATTACK with a magical gun is the only time the ATTACK command is magical. It's a MOD 5 magical attack (see section 3.2 for details) -- basically, a BLACK MAGIC spell with the WP of the magical gun substituted for MA: damage = [(CFa * TFa * Q * WP) / 10000] 60% of the time, the magical gun will deliver a level 1 spell (Q = 14), 30% of the time, it will deliver a level 2 spell (Q = 18), and 10% of the time, it wil deliver a level 3 spell (Q = 24). Magical guns cannot score conventional critical hits. ATTACKs with magical guns are not subject to the modifiers found in this section; instead, they are subject to those for MOD 5 attacks, where MA0 = WP. Like those with physical guns, magical gun ATTACKs ignore evasion. They are subject to Counter Magic, Counter Flood, Blade Grasp, and Hamedo, but do not trigger other Countergrasp reactions. CRITICAL HITS ------------- NOTE: This does not apply to magical guns. Approximately 5% of the time, the ATTACK command will deliver a critical hit. The sound of the hit will be more sharp and sudden, and the damage numbers will be animated slightly differently. Critical hits randomly modify the ATTACKing unit's PA, MA, and/or Speed (depending on what weapon the unit is equipped with) to increase damage. This modified PA, MA, or Speed is then plugged into the appropriate formula above to calculate the final damage. Critical hit bonus: modified_XA = normal_XA + (1..normal_XA) - 1 This equation is equivalent to modified_XA = normal_XA + (0..(normal_XA-1)) but I suspect that it is the first equation that FFT actually uses, given that in other cases it generates random numbers of the form (1..x) rather than (0..x). However, I don't know for sure. Regardless, the max damage a critical hit can do is equal to ((2 * normal_XA) - 1) * WP -- slightly less than twice normal damage -- and the least it can do is normal damage. Most often it will be between these two extrema. Critical hits will also knock the target back one square fifty percent of the time (assuming that there is an unoccupied square directly behind the target). DAMAGE MODIFIERS ---------------- NOTE: These modifiers do not apply to magical guns. For magical gun modifiers, see the MOD 5 subsection in section 3.2. Many factors -- including the attacker's abilities and status, the target's abilities and status, as well as Zodiac compatibility -- can affect the damage done by weapon attacks. The procedure outlined below is a summary of how to apply all these different modifiers. 'XA' below stands for whatever expression that the weapon multiplies by Weapon Power to get the final damage. For example, XA = PA for swords, XA = [(PA + Sp) / 2] for longbows, and XA = WP for physical guns. If there are multiple instances of the _same_ statistic in a damage equation (for instance, the non-magic gun and barehand equations), only modify _one_ instance of the statistic. See section 1.7 for a clarification on this. Let 'XA0' be the attacker's XA on the stat screen. 1. If this is a critical hit, then XA1 = XA0 + (1..XA0) - 1 else XA1 = XA0 (See section 2.1 for details) 2. If the weapon is endowed with an element, and the attacker has equipment that 'Strengthens' that element, then (XA2 = [XA1 * 5/4]), else XA2 = XA1 3. If attacker has Attack UP, then (XA3 = [XA2 * 4/3]), else XA3 = XA2 4. If attacker has Martial Arts and is barehanded, then (XA4 = [XA3 * 3/2]), else XA4 = XA3 5. If attacker is Berserk, then (XA5 = [XA4 * 3/2]), else XA5 = XA4 6. If target has Defense UP, then (XA6 = [XA5 * 2/3]), else XA6 = XA5 7. If target has Protect, then (XA7 = [XA6 * 2/3]), else XA7 = XA6 8. If target is Charging, then (XA8 = [XA7 * 3/2]), else XA8 = XA7 9. If target is Sleeping, then (XA9 = [XA8 * 3/2]), else XA9 = XA8 10. If target is a Chicken and/or a Frog, then (XA10 = [XA9 * 3/2]), else XA10 = XA9 11. Apply zodiac multipliers: If compatibility is 'Good', then (XA11 = XA10 + [(XA10)/4])) elseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then (XA11 = XA10 - [(XA10)/4]) elseIf compatibility is 'Best', then (XA11 = XA10 + [(XA10)/2]) elseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then (XA11 = XA10 - [(XA10)/2]) else XA11 = XA10 12. Apply weapon's damage formula using XA = XA11 (if there is more than one instance of XA, only set _one_ instance to XA11 and leave the other as XA0 (see above). The result of the formula is equal to damage0. 13. If target is 'Weak' against the weapon's element, then damage1 = damage0 * 2 Else, damage1 = damage0 14. If target has 'Half' against the weapon's element, then damage2 = [damage1 / 2] Else, damage2 = damage1 15. If target has 'Absorb' against the weapon's element, then damage3 = -(damage2) Else, damage3 = damage2 16. The damage done by the attack will be equal to damage3. Also remember that weapon attacks can be evaded. See section 1.3 for details. ______________________________________________________________________________ [2.2] charge ======================================================================== Damage from the Archer's CHARGE command is calculated using the normal weapon equations, with the following modifications. For Charge +K, damage is equal to: Bare Hands: [((PA + K) * Br) / 100] * PA Knife: [((PA + K) + (Sp + K)) / 2] * WP Sword: (PA + K) * WP Knight Sword: [((PA + K) * Br) / 100] * WP Ninja Sword: [((PA + K) + (Sp + K)) / 2] * WP Katana: [((PA + K) * Br) / 100] * WP Staff: (MA + K) * WP Rod: (PA + K) * WP Crossbow: (PA + K) * WP Bow: [((PA + K) + (Sp + K)) / 2] * WP Gun (physical): (WP + K) * WP Gun (magical): [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (WP + K) * Q] Flail: (1..(PA + K)) * WP Axe: (1..(PA + K)) * WP Stick: (MA + K) * WP Spear: (PA + K) * WP Musical Instrument: [(PA+K + MA+K) / 2] * WP Dictionary: [(PA+K + MA+K) / 2] * WP Cloth: [(PA+K + MA+K) / 2] * WP Bag: (1..(PA + K)) * WP CHARGE abilities are slow actions and have the following initial values of ctr: ATTACK NAME INITIAL CTR ----------- ------------- Charge +1 ... 4 clockticks Charge +2 ... 5 clockticks Charge +3 ... 6 clockticks Charge +4 ... 8 clockticks Charge +5 ... 10 clockticks Charge +7 ... 14 clockticks Charge +10... 20 clockticks Charge +20... 35 clockticks These ctr values are not affected by the 'Short Charge' or 'Non-charge' abilities. A CHARGE directive can only target a panel, not a unit. If the target of the CHARGE moves before the CHARGE is executed, the attack will fail to connect. If the caster of the CHARGE moves while charging or if his weapon is broken while he is charging, the CHARGE will be aborted. (Exception: The undead Archer's version of CHARGE does not have the latter restriction. If the charging unit's weapon is broken, the CHARGE will continue and will resolve as a fist attack, even if the original weapon was a long-distance weapon.) In terms of damage, evasion, and modifiers, CHARGE attacks are treated just like normal weapon attacks (see section 2.1 for details). CHARGE attacks are weapon-elemental. _______________________________________________________________________________ [2.3] jump ========================================================================= Damage from a JUMP is calculated as follows: If caster is equipped with any weapon, then damage = [PA * K] * WP If caster is barehanded, then damage = [(PA * Br) / 100] * PA where K = 3/2 if the caster is equipped with a spear K = 1 otherwise The JUMP directive will leave the caster in the air for a number of clockticks, ctr: ctr = [50 / (Jumper's Speed)] This ctr value is unaffected by the 'Short Charge' and 'Non-Charge' abilities. Haste status is ignored in this equation -- a Hasted jumper will land in the same number of clockticks as an un-Hasted jumper with the same Speed. While JUMP is charging, the jumper cannot be a target. A jumper's CT will still increase while he is in the air, although the counters on time-dependent status effects will pause. Normal jumpers will land with ~50 CT; Hasted jumpers will land with ~75 CT. The range of JUMP is determined by the specific Lancer abilities that the caster has learned: range/effect = XvY/1 where X = 1 if no Level Jump abilities have been learned X = 2 if Level Jump2 is the highest Level Jump ability learned X = 3 if Level Jump3 is the highest Level Jump ability learned X = 4 if Level Jump4 is the highest Level Jump ability learned X = 5 if Level Jump5 is the highest Level Jump ability learned . . . X = 8 if Level Jump8 is the highest Level Jump ability learned and Y = 1 if no Vertical Jump abilities have been learned Y = 2 if Vertical Jump2 is the highest Vertical Jump ability learned Y = 3 if Vertical Jump3 is the highest Vertical Jump ability learned . . . Y = 8 if Vertical Jump8 is the highest Vertical Jump ability learned The JP cost of these abilities is as follows: Level Jump2 ... 150 JP Vertical Jump2 ... 100 JP Level Jump3 ... 300 JP Vertical Jump3 ... 200 JP Level Jump4 ... 450 JP Vertical Jump4 ... 300 JP Level Jump5 ... 600 JP Vertical Jump5 ... 400 JP Level Jump8 ... 900 JP Vertical Jump6 ... 500 JP Vertical Jump7 ... 600 JP Vertical Jump8 ... 900 JP - - - - - MODIFIERS - - - - - JUMP damage is subject to several modifiers. Let PA0 be the jumper's PA as displayed on the status screen. 1. If target has Defense UP, then (PA1 = [PA0 * 2/3]), else PA1 = PA0 2. If target has Protect, then (PA2 = [PA1 * 2/3]), else PA2 = PA1 3. If target is Charging, then (PA3 = [PA2 * 3/2]), else PA3 = PA2 4. If target is Sleeping, then (PA4 = [PA3 * 3/2]), else PA4 = PA3 5. If target is a Frog and/or Chicken, then (PA5 = [PA4 * 3/2]), else PA5 = PA4 6. If caster is equipped with a spear, then (PA6 = [PA5 * 3/2]), else PA6 = PA5 7. Factor in zodiac compatibility: If compatibility is 'Good', then (PA7 = PA6 + [(PA6)/4])) ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then (PA7 = PA6 - [(PA6)/4]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then (PA7 = PA6 + [(PA6)/2]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then (PA7 = PA6 - [(PA6)/2]) Else PA7 = PA6 7. Damage = PA7 * WP (armed) or damage = PA7 * [PA0 * Br/100] (unarmed) Miscellaneous properties of JUMP: > Physical attack > non-elemental, regardless of weapon > Cannot be Reflected > Cannot be evaded > Triggers Countergrasp reactions > Triggers Counter Flood > Does not trigger Counter Magic > Affected by Protect and Defense UP > NOT affected by Attack UP or Martial Arts > Can only target panels, not specific units > The (PA * WP) component of the damage formula remains the same regardless of the weapon equipped -- even if that weapon does not use this formula to calculate its ATTACK damage (e.g. staves, dictionaries, knives, guns). > Jump +X and Ignore Height have NO effect on the JUMP command -- these abilities influence the Jump statistic, which is completely different from the JUMP action ability. _______________________________________________________________________________ [2.4] throw ========================================================================= THROW damage is calculated by the following equation. damage = (Caster_Speed * ThrownWeaponPower) 'ThrownWeaponPower' is the WP of the thrown weapon (see Appendix B for a list of Weapon Powers). The range and effect of THROW are M/1 (line of sight), where M is equal to your 'Move' statistic. In order to THROW a weapon, you must learn the Ninja ability corresponding to that weapon's type. These abilities are as follows: Shuriken ......... 50 JP; allows the unit to THROW shuriken Ball ............. 70 JP; allows the unit to THROW bombs Knife ............ 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW daggers Sword ............ 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW regular swords Hammer ........... 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW flails Katana ........... 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW katana Ninja Sword ...... 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW ninja swords Axe .............. 120 JP; allows the unit to THROW axes Spear ............ 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW spears Stick ............ 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW sticks Knight Sword ..... 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW knight swords Dictionary ....... 100 JP; allows the unit to THROW dictionaries - - - - - MODIFIERS - - - - - THROW is a physical attack, but oddly enough it is not affected by Attack UP. Below is a summary of the different multipliers that may be applied to it. The 'thrower' is the unit throwing the weapon, and the 'target' is the unit being attacked. Let 'Sp0' be the thrower's initial Speed, given on the status screen. 1. If target has Defense UP, then (Sp1 = [Sp0 * 2/3]), else Sp1 = Sp0 2. If target has Protect, then (Sp2 = [Sp1 * 2/3]), else Sp2 = Sp1 3. If target is Charging, then (Sp3 = [Sp2 * 3/2]), else Sp3 = Sp2 4. If target is Sleeping, then (Sp4 = [Sp3 * 3/2]), else Sp4 = Sp3 5. If target is a Frog and/or Chicken, then (Sp5 = [Sp4 * 3/2]), else Sp5 = Sp4 6. Apply zodiac multipliers: If compatibility is 'Good', then (Sp6 = Sp5 + [(Sp5)/4])) ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then (Sp6 = Sp5 - [(Sp5)/4]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then (Sp6 = Sp5 + [(Sp5)/2]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then (Sp6 = Sp5 - [(Sp5)/2]) Else Sp6 = Sp5 7. damage0 = Sp6 * (ThrownWpnPwr) 8. If target is 'Weak' against the weapon's element, then damage1 = damage0 * 2 Else, damage1 = damage0 9. If target has 'Half' against the weapon's element, then damage2 = [damage1 / 2] Else, damage2 = damage1 10. If target has 'Absorb' against the weapon's element, then damage3 = -(damage2) Else, damage3 = damage2 11. The damage done by the THROW attack will be equal to damage3. Evasion for THROW attacks works the same as it does for normal weapon attacks (see 1.4). Miscellaneous properties of THROW: > Physical attack > Acquires the elemental of the thrown weapon. THROW damage is not affected if the caster has an elemental 'Strengthen' attribute, but is affected if the target halves, blocks, absorbs, or is weak to the elemental of the thrown weapon. > Cannot be Reflected > Can be evaded > Triggers Countergrasp reactions > Triggers Counter Flood > Triggers Catch: If Catch succeeds, the THROW directive is aborted, a 'Caught' message is displayed, and the thrown weapon is added to the catcher's inventory. > Does not trigger Counter Magic > Affected by Protect and Defense UP > NOT affected by Attack UP _______________________________________________________________________________ [2.5] item ========================================================================= The Chemist's ITEM command allows a unit to use various curative items in battle. In order to use an ITEM ability, you must have at least one of the appropriate item in your inventory; each time you use an ITEM command, your stock of that item will be depleted by 1. The range and effect of ITEM are 4/1 (line of sight) if the item-user has the 'Throw Item' support ability (this includes all Chemists, which have 'Throw Item' inherently), and 1/1 otherwise. Here is a list of all usable items, their effects, their costs in gil, and the JP cost to learn the Chemist ability that allows you to use them in battle. NAME JP EFFECT / HOW TO OBTAIN ------------------- --- ------------------------------------------------------ [Potion] .......... 30 Restore 30 HP** (buy for 50 gil) [Hi-Potion] ....... 200 Restore 70 HP** (buy for 200 gil) [X-Potion] ........ 300 Restore 150 HP** (buy for 700 gil) [Ether] ........... 300 Restore 20 MP** (buy for 200 gil) [Hi-Ether] ........ 400 Restore 50 MP** (buy for 600 gil) [Elixir] .......... 900 Restore MaxHP & MaxMP** (poach Great Morbols) [Antidote] ........ 70 Cancel: Poison (buy for 50 gil) [Eye Drop] ........ 80 Cancel: Darkness (buy for 50 gil) [Echo Grass] ...... 120 Cancel: Silence (buy for 50 gil) [Maiden's Kiss] ... 200 Cancel: Frog (buy for 50 gil) [Soft] ............ 250 Cancel: Petrify (buy for 100 gil) [Holy Water] ...... 400 Cancel: Undead, Blood Suck (buy for 1000 gil) [Remedy] .......... 700 Cancel: Petrify, Darkness, Confusion, Silence, Oil, Frog, Poison, Sleep (buy for 350 gil) [Phoenix Down] .... 90 Cancel: Dead; restore (1..20) HP (buy for 300 gil)*** ** If the target is Undead, it will receive this amount of damage instead of HP restoration. *** On Undead targets, Phoenix Down will deal (CurHP) damage and will not cancel Dead. _______________________________________________________________________________ [2.6] elemental ========================================================================= Selecting the ELEMENTAL command will automatically use the ELEMENTAL command associated with the type of panel the caster is standing on. Here is a summary list: Topography | ELEMENTAL attack used | Element | Random Status =========================================================================== Natural Surface, Road, | | | Wasteland | Pitfall | none | Don't Move --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Waterway, River, Lake, | | | Sea, Waterfall | Water Ball | Water | Frog --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grassland, Thicket, | | | Water Plant, Ivy | Hell Ivy | none | Stop --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gravel, Stone Wall | | | Stone Floor, Tombstone,| | | Mud Wall | Carve Model | none | Petrify --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rocky Cliff, Lava Rocks | Local Quake | Earth | Confusion --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book, Tree, Brick, Moss, | | | Bridge, Furniture, | | | Iron Plate, Coffin | Kamaitachi | Wind | Don't Act --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wooden Floor, Rug, Box, | | | Stairs, Deck | Demon Fire | Fire | Sleep --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Swamp, Marsh, | | | Death Poisoned Marsh | Quicksand | Water | Sentence --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sand Area, Stalactite, | | | Salt | Sand Storm | Wind | Darkness --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snow, Ice | Blizzard | Ice | Silence --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roof, Sky, Chimney | Gusty Wind | Wind | Slow --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lava, Machine | Lava Ball | Fire | Dead --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As detailed in Part 3, each ELEMENTAL attack is magical and deals damage equal to [(PA + 2) / 2] * MA. The chance of each attack adding its status is roughly 20-25%. _______________________________________________________________________________ [2.7] math skill ========================================================================= The MATH SKILL command allows you to cast WHITE MAGIC, BLACK MAGIC, TIME MAGIC, and YIN-YANG MAGIC spells on many targets, instantly and without MP cost. When you choose MATH SKILL, you will be presented with three menus that you will use to set the parameters that govern the MATH SKILL attack. First menu: Here you set the criterion that will determine who the spell targets. The more Calculator JP you spend, the more options will appear here: CT 250 JP Target based on units' CT Level 350 JP Target based on units' Level Height 200 JP Target based on units' height Exp 200 JP Target based on units' Exp Second menu: Here you define the numerical properties of the MATH SKILL. Prime Number 300 JP Targets prime integers 5 200 JP Targets integer multiples of 5 4 400 JP Targets integer multiples of 4 3 600 JP Targets integer multiples of 3 By 'integer multiple of n', I mean any integer Z such that n * j = Z for some integer j, j > 0. Third menu: Here you select the spell you want to use. These are all marked as "CALC: +" in section 3.3, and are listed below. Cure Wall Ice Stop Zombie Cure 2 Esuna Ice 2 Don't Move Silence Song Cure 3 Holy Ice 3 Float Blind Rage Raise Fire Poison Reflect Foxbird Raise 2 Fire 2 Frog Demi Confusion Song Reraise Fire 3 Death Demi 2 Dispel Magic Regen Bolt Flare Blind Paralyze Protect Bolt 2 Haste Pray Faith Sleep Shell Bolt 3 Slow Doubt Faith Petrify The MATH SKILL will then be cast, using the parameters you selected from the first, second and third menus. The spell will not cost any MP, and will be executed instantly. Damage formulas, success rates, and evade percentages work exactly as if the spell had been cast by normal means. _______________________________________________________________________________ [2.8] mimic ========================================================================= A Mime will automatically mimic slow-actions and fast-actions (but not reactions) executed by any member of his or her team. There are some catches to this: - Only mimeable actions will be mimicked. Mimeable actions are all those accessible to generics -- action abilities from the following command sets: ATTACK PUNCH ART STEAL DRAW OUT BASIC SKILL WHITE MAGIC TALK SKILL THROW ITEM BLACK MAGIC YIN-YANG MAGIC MATH SKILL BATTLE SKILL TIME MAGIC ELEMENTAL SING CHARGE SUMMON MAGIC JUMP DANCE - Mimes won't mimic the actions of other Mimes. - A Mime can't mimic while afflicted by Dead, Petrify, Sleep, Stop, Blood Suck, Don't Act, Frog, Chicken, Confusion, or Berserk. If the Mime is Silence, he or she won't be able to mimic attacks that are prevented by Silence. The mimicked attack will have the same effect area as the original attack, and be directed to the panel that is in the same position relative to the Mime as the panel targeted by the original attack was to the original caster. However, casters will always turn to face their target before executing an attack, and it is THIS position (after turning) that the Mime will mimic. Because the target is always in front of the caster after turning, it follows that the Mime can only target panels in front of him or her. Here's a digram: _______________________________________ | | | | | | | |xxx|xxx|xxx| C = original caster | | | | 1 | | | 2'|xxx|xxx|xxx| M = Mime |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|xxx|xxx|xxx| ^ = direction caster is facing | | | | | | | | |xxx|xxx| before acting | | | | | | | 1'| |xxx|xxx| < = direction Mime is facing |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|xxx|xxx| | | | ^ | | | | | | |xxx| 1, 2, 3 = panels targeted by | | | C | | | | 3'| |<M |xxx| caster of spells 1, 2, and 3 |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|xxx| | | | | | | | | |xxx|xxx| 1', 2', 3' = panels targeted | | | | | | | | |xxx|xxx| by Mime when mimicking 1, 2, |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|xxx|xxx| and 3, respectively | | | | | | | |xxx|xxx|xxx| | | | 3 | | 2 | | |xxx|xxx|xxx| x's indicate panels the Mime |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|xxx|xxx|xxx| cannot reach with mimicry Here C is facing up before casting, and M is facing to the left. The panel targeted by (1) is considered to be in FRONT of C (using the same guidelines outlined for physical evasion in section 1.4), so when C casts (1), he doesn't turn. (1) is targeted 2 panels ahead and 1 panel to the right of C. When M mimics it, she places it 2 panels ahead and 1 panel to the right of her, on the panel labeled (1'). The panel targeted by (2) is considered to be to the SIDE of C [2 panels to the right and 2 panels backward -- it's a 'tie', so the foremost direction (SIDE) wins]. C will turn to the RIGHT before casting (2), making the panel (2) 2 panels ahead and 2 panels to the right of the now-turned C. When M mimics, she aims 2 panels ahead and 2 panels to the right of her, on the panel labeled (2'). Finally, the panel targeted by (3) is to the REAR of C, so C will turn to face DOWN before casting (3). After turning, panel (3) will be 2 panels directly ahead of C. So when M mimics, she aims 2 panels directly ahead of her, at the panel labeled (3'). To borrow an analogy from Notti, a Mime could be considered to radiate a cone of light in front of her like a spotlight. Only panels within this cone can be targeted. The (inclusive) peripheral limits of this cone are the squares along the front-left and front-right 45-degree diagonals radiating out from the Mime. A few more notes about Mimes: - Mimed spells use no MP and are always executed instantly. - Mimed ITEM, THROW, and DRAW OUT directives consume no items (mimed THROWs cannot be Caught). - Damage and success rate will be calculated based on the Mime's stats and abilities. The exceptions to this are attacks that use weapons, such as ATTACK, CHARGE, and JUMP. For these attacks, the weapon used by the original caster will automatically materialize in the Mime's hands, and its value of WP and its damage formula will be used. - Support abilities like Two Swords and Two Hands are NOT copied by the Mime. If, for instance, the Mime mimics a Two Sworded ATTACK where the original caster is equipped with Masamune (top hand) and Chirijiraden (bottom hand), the Mime will only attack with Masamune. - Charmed or Invited Mimes will mimic the team that Charmed or Invited them (Charmed Mimes will revert to their original team when Charm wears off). - If there is more than one Mime on a given team, each attack executed by that team will be mimicked individually by each Mime. - Mimed actions trigger reaction abilities just like normal actions; reactions are executed immediately after the mimed action, even if there are more mimes yet to mimic the original action. Reactions are the only thing that can interrupt the mime cycle (see A.3). For more details on the impact of Mimes on gameflow, see sections A.3 and A.4 of the gameflow appendix. ________. _NNNNNNNNNNNNNN. (NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN) 4NNF" `NNNNN (NNNN __NNNNNF (NNNNNNNNNN` (NNNNNNNNNNNL `NNNNL JNL (NNNN NNNNNN_ .JNNNNN `NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN` `NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN" `"""""""""` A C T I O N A B I L I T I E S _______________________________________________________________________________ [3.1] legend ========================================================================= What follows is a chart containing detailed information on the 356 action abilities in FFT that were not covered in Part 2. In this section is a key to the abbreviations that appear in the chart. [ xxx ] ..... The number between brackets at the top-center of each box is the index number for this attack, in hexadecimal. Attacks with an index number less than or equal to 095 can be Mimicked; those with an index number of 096 or greater cannot. The words in ALL CAPS in the upper-right-hand corner are the command set from which the attack originates. Some attacks are found in more than one command set; for these, only one set is listed. Abbreviations used in the list are defined below: physical .... This attack meets at least one of the three following criteria: (a) Damage or success rate is increased by the caster's having 'Attack UP' (b) Damage or success rate is decreased by the target's having 'Defense UP' or 'Protect' status (c) Success rate is decreased by the target's physical evade. If a physical attack does not meet one or two of these criteria, it will be noted in the attack description (or as EVD: -). magical ..... This attack meets at least one of the three following criteria: (a) Damage or success rate is increased by the caster's having 'Magic AttackUP' (b) Damage or success rate is decreased by the target's having 'Magic DefendUP' or 'Shell' status. (c) Success rate is decreased by the target's magical evade. Most magical attacks meet more than one of these criteria; if an attack does not meet one of them, it will be noted in the attack description (or as EVD: -). (In general, magical attacks that have beneficial effects, such as Cure and Protect, are not susceptible to 'Shell', 'Magic DefendUP', or magic evade.) neutral ..... This attack is neither physical nor magical. REFL ........ + This attack is redirected if target has 'Reflect' status. - This attack is unaffected by 'Reflect'. CALC ........ + This attack can be used with MATH SKILL. - This attack cannot be used with MATH SKILL. ELEM ........ Indicates the attack's elemental affiliation. See section 1.6 for more information. F = Fire A = Wind (Air) H = Holy I = Ice W = Water D = Dark L = Lightning E = Earth wpn = Weapon-elemental Weapon-elemental (wpn) attacks use the elemental property of whatever weapon the caster is equipped with (if the caster has two weapons, the weapon equipped in the top hand takes precedence). In addition, weapon-elemental attacks are not subject to any bonus from 'Martial Arts'. MOD ......... Indicates the type of damage or success rate modifiers that apply to this attack. See section 3.2 for details. CBG ......... + This attack activates Countergrasp reactions (see 4.1) - This attack does not activate Countergrasp reactions CM .......... + This attack activates 'Counter Magic' (see 4.1) - This attack does not activate 'Counter Magic' CF .......... + This attack activates 'Counter Flood' (see 4.1) - This attack does not activate 'Counter Flood' EVD ......... + This attack is subject to evade (physical if it is a physical attack, magical if it is a magical attack) - This attack is not subject to evade MP .......... Amount of Magic Points required to use this attack CTR ......... Number of clockticks that must elapse before the attack resolves. If CTR = 0, the attack is a fast action. If CTR > 0, the caster will be inflicted with 'Charging' status until the attack resolves or until the caster cancels 'Charging' by selecting another command during another AT. Exception: if the attack is a SING or DANCE attack, 'Performing' will be inflicted on the caster instead of 'Charging'. 'Performing' will not be cancelled unless the caster chooses another command from the AT menu on a subsequent AT; barring this, the SING or DANCE attack will continue to be executed every Nth clocktick, where N = CTR. JP .......... Job Points required to purchase this ability MATHEMATICAL SYMBOLS -------------------- [x / y] Divide x by y and take only the integer part of the quotient, discarding the remainder. For example, [12 / 4] = 3, [13 / 4] = 3, [-14 / 4] = -3, [15 / 4] = 3, [16 / 4] = 4. RU{x / y} This is defined as [(x + y - 1) / y]. Intuitively, you can think of it as dividing and, if there is a nonzero remainder, rounding up to the nearest integer. (x..y) The game generates a random integer between x and y, inclusive. OTHER ABBREVIATIONS ------------------- Critical hit possible .......... This attack has the potential to cause a critical hit. Critical hits will occur ~5% of the time. To calculate critical hit damage, see the procedure in section 3.2 under "MOD: 2". Drain ............. Damage from this attack is subtracted from the target's current HP or MP and then added to the caster's current HP or MP. Undead reversal ... If the target of this attack is Undead, then any damage done to that target will instead heal the target by an amount equal to the putative damage. In addition, if the target of this attack is Undead, any healing done to that target will instead damage the target; the damage will be equal in magnitude to the putative healing. C_x ............... "Caster's x" -- for example, "C_MaxHP" means caster's maximum HP. T_x ............... "Target's x" -- for example, "T_MaxHP" means target's maximum HP. LOS ............... Target must lie along caster's line of sight in order for this attack to hit; if another unit intervenes on this line between caster and target, the other unit will suffer the effect of the spell instead of the target. CI ................ Caster immune. If placed after the Range number, this means that the caster cannot target himself with this attack. If placed after the Effect number, this means that if even if the caster is within the effect area of this attack, the attack will not hit him. If an attack is CI in Range, it will always be CI in Effect, but this will not be explicitly listed. 4 directions ...... Range extends linearly in four directions: in front of caster, behind caster, and to both sides of caster. 3 directions ...... Effect area extends linearly in three directions: in front of caster and to both sides of caster. MaxHP ............. Maximum HP CurrentHP ......... HP currently remaining MaxMP ............. Maximum MP CurrentMP ......... MP currently remaining Sp ................ Speed PA ................ Physical attack power MA ................ Magical attack power Br ................ Brave CFa ............... Caster's Faith TFa ............... Target's Faith _______________________________________________________________________________ [3.2] damage and success rate modifiers ========================================================================= The attacks of FFT fall into several categories of damage & success modifiers. In the list below, they will be classified into 7 different types. To quickly jump back to these descriptions, Search for "[MOD n]" (without the quotes), where n is the MOD value for the attack you're interested in. [MOD 0] ~ immutable ------------------- The damage or success rate of these attacks is subject to no modifications -- it is not even affected by Zodiac compatibility. [MOD 1] ~ neutral attacks : success rate variable ------------------------------------------------- The success rate of these attacks is affected only by Zodiac compatibility -- nothing else. Let K be the constant component of the success formula. For example, for the TALK SKILL Death Sentence, K = 30. 1. Calculate Z (zodiac addend): If compatibility is 'Good', then Z = [MA / 4] + [K / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then Z = -[MA / 4] - [K / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then Z = [MA / 2] + [K / 2] ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then Z = -[MA / 2] - [K / 2] Else, Z = 0 2. Apply success rate formula: success% = (MA + K + Z) [MOD 2] ~ physical attacks : damage variable -------------------------------------------- XA below stands for the relevant attack stat for the attack in question. If there are multiple instances of the _same_ statistic in a damage equation, only modify _one_ instance of the statistic. See section 1.7 for a clarification on this. Let XA0 be the caster's XA on the stat screen. 1. If this is a critical hit, then XA1 = XA0 + (1..XA0) - 1. 2. If the attack is endowed with an Element, and the caster has equipment that 'Strengthens' that element, then (XA2 = [XA1 * 5/4]), else XA2 = XA1 3. If caster has Attack UP, then (XA3 = [XA2 * 4/3]), else XA3 = XA2 4. If caster has Martial Arts AND this is not a wpn-elemental attack, then (XA4 = [XA3 * 3/2]), else XA4 = XA3 5. If caster is Berserk, then (XA5 = [XA4 * 3/2]), else XA5 = XA4 6. If target has Defense UP, then (XA6 = [XA5 * 2/3]), else XA6 = XA5 7. If target has Protect, then (XA7 = [XA6 * 2/3]), else XA7 = XA6 8. If target is Charging, then (XA8 = [XA7 * 3/2]), else XA8 = XA7 9. If target is Sleeping, then (XA9 = [XA8 * 3/2]), else XA9 = XA8 10. If target is a Chicken and/or a Frog, then (XA10 = [XA9 * 3/2]), else XA10 = XA9 11. Apply zodiac multipliers: If compatibility is 'Good', then (XA11 = XA10 + [(XA10)/4])) ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then (XA11 = XA10 - [(XA10)/4]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then (XA11 = XA10 + [(XA10)/2]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then (XA11 = XA10 - [(XA10)/2]) Else, XA11 = XA10 12. Apply the attack's damage formula with XA = XA11. Call the calculated damage damage0. 13. If target is 'Weak' against the attack's element, then damage1 = damage0 * 2 Else, damage1 = damage0 14. If target has 'Half' against the attack's element, then damage2 = [damage1 / 2] Else, damage2 = damage1 15. If target has 'Absorb' against the attack's element, then damage3 = -(damage2) Else, damage3 = damage2 16. The damage done by the attack will be equal to damage3. [MOD 3] ~ physical attacks : success rate variable -------------------------------------------------- The value of K is equal to the constant component of the attack's formula -- for example, if the attack's base success rate is equal to (PA + 50), then K = 50. NOTE: For the equipment-breaking BATTLE SKILL attacks, both PA and WP are treated as independent XA's, and are both modified by zodiac compatibility along with K (step 8), though only PA is modified by steps 1 - 7. 1. If caster has Attack UP, then (XA1 = [XA0 * 4/3]), else XA1 = XA0 2. If caster has Martial Arts and is bare-handed, then (XA2 = [XA1 * 3/2]), else XA2 = XA1 3. If target has Defense UP, then (XA3 = [XA2 * 2/3]), else XA3 = XA2 4. If target has Protect, then (XA4 = [XA3 * 2/3]), else XA4 = XA3 5. If target is Charging, then (XA5 = [XA4 * 3/2]), else XA5 = XA4 6. If target is Sleeping, then (XA6 = [XA5 * 3/2]), else XA6 = XA5 7. If target is a Frog and/or Chicken, then (XA7 = [XA6 * 3/2]), else XA7 = XA6 8. Calculate Z (zodiac addend): For Head Break, Armor Break, Shield Break, Weapon Break: If compatibility is 'Good', then Z = [XA7 / 4] + [K / 4] + [WP / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then Z = -[XA7 / 4] - [K / 4] - [WP / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then Z = [XA7 / 2] + [K / 2] + [WP / 2] ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then Z = -[XA7 / 2] - [K / 2] - [WP / 2] Else, Z = 0 For all other MOD 3 attacks: If compatibility is 'Good', then Z = [XA7 / 4] + [K / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then Z = -[XA7 / 4] - [K / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then Z = [XA7 / 2] + [K / 2] ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then Z = -[XA7 / 2] - [K / 2] Else, Z = 0 XA8 = XA7 + Z 9. Apply success rate formula using XA = XA8. 10. Consider physical evasion multipliers, if applicable. Note that elementals have no effect on MOD 3 attacks, unless they also cause damage, in which case the damage is affected (in practice, there are no MOD 3 attacks that both cause damage and have elemental affiliation, though). [MOD 4] ~ steal --------------- Attacks of this type are all STEAL directives. The 'caster' is the unit executing the STEAL directive, and the 'target' is the unit being stolen from. Let Sp0 be the caster's original Speed as given on the status screen. K is equal to the constant component of the STEAL formula -- for instance, K = 30 for Steal Weapon. 1. If caster has Attack UP, then (Sp1 = [Sp0 * 4/3]), else Sp1 = Sp0 2. If caster has Martial Arts, then (Sp2 = [Sp1 * 3/2]), else Sp2 = Sp1 3. If target has Defense UP, then (Sp3 = [Sp2 * 2/3]), else Sp3 = Sp2 4. If target has Protect, then (Sp4 = [Sp3 * 2/3]), else Sp4 = Sp3 5. If target is Charging, then (Sp5 = [Sp4 * 3/2]), else Sp5 = Sp4 6. If target is Sleeping, then (Sp6 = [Sp5 * 3/2]), else Sp6 = Sp5 7. If target is a Frog and/or Chicken, then (Sp7 = [Sp6 * 3/2]), else Sp7 = Sp6 8. Calculate Z (zodiac addend): If compatibility is 'Good', then Z = [Sp7 / 4] + [K / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then Z = -[Sp7 / 4] - [K / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then Z = [Sp7 / 2] + [K / 2] ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then Z = -[Sp7 / 2] - [K / 2] Else, Z = 0 9. Success% = (Sp7 + K + Z) 10. Consider physical evasion multipliers, if applicable. [MOD 5] ~ magical attacks : damage variable ------------------------------------------- Let MA0 be the caster's MA on the status screen. 1. If caster has 'Strengthen: [element of spell]', then (MA1 = [MA0 * 5/4]) else MA1 = MA0 2. If caster has Magic AttackUP, then (MA2 = [MA1 * 4/3]), else MA2 = MA1 3. If target has Magic DefendUP, then (MA3 = [MA2 * 2/3]), else MA3 = MA2 4. If target has Shell, then (MA4 = [MA3 * 2/3]), else MA5 = MA4 5. Apply zodiac multipliers: If compatibility is 'Good', then (MA5 = MA4 + [(MA4)/4])) ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then (MA5 = MA4 - [(MA4)/4]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then (MA5 = MA4 + [(MA4)/2]) ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then (MA5 = MA4 - [(MA4)/2]) Else, MA5 = MA 6. Apply Faith modifiers: If this is an UN-TRUTH attack: If caster or target has Faith status, then CFa = 0 or TFa = 0, respectively If caster or target has Innocent status, then CFa = 100 or TFa = 100, respectively Else: If caster or target has Faith status, then CFa = 100 or TFa = 100, respectively If caster or target has Innocent status, then CFa = 0 or TFa = 0, respectively ** The next steps deal with elemental damage modification. This takes the form of a fraction, Frac = N/D, that is applied to the numerator and demoninator of the damage formula. Frac should be kept as a fraction throughout these steps, and not truncated. ** 8. a. If this is a snowstorm and the spell is ice-elemental, then Frac0 = 5/4, else Frac0 = 1 b. If this is a thunderstorm and the spell is fire-elemental, then Frac1 = Frac0 * 3/4, else Frac1 = Frac0 c. If this is a thunderstorm and the spell is lightning-elemental, then Frac2 = Frac1 * 5/4, else Frac2 = Frac1 Else, Frac2 = 1 9. If target is 'Weak' against spell's element, then Frac3 = Frac2 * 2 Else, Frac3 = Frac2 10. If target has 'Half' spell's element, then Frac4 = Frac3 * 1/2 Else, Frac4 = Frac3 11. If target has 'Absorb' spell's element, then Frac5 = -(Frac4) Else, Frac5 = Frac4 12. Frac5 should be a fraction with a numerator and denominator. Call the numerator N and the denominator D. Q is the constant found in the spell's damage formula. For UN-TRUTH attacks (see section 3.12 for a more detailed discussion and explanation of the formula), the damage will be equal to damage = [(CFM * TFM * [(MA0 + Q) / 2] * MA5 * N) / (10000 * D)] For all other MOD 5 attacks, damage is determined as damage = [(CFa * TFa * Q * MA5 * N) / (10000 * D)] [MOD 6] ~ magical attacks : success rate variable ------------------------------------------------- Let MA0 be the caster's MA as listed on the status screen, and Y be the constant component of the spell's success rate formula. For instance, for Death, Y = 100.

1. If caster has 'Strengthen: [element of spell]', then (MA1 = [MA0 * 5/4]) else MA1 = MA0 2. If caster has Magic AttackUP, then (MA2 = [MA1 * 4/3]), else MA2 = MA1 3. If target has Magic DefendUP, then (MA3 = [MA2 * 2/3]), else MA3 = MA2 4. If target has Shell, then (MA4 = [MA3 * 2/3]), else MA4 = MA3 5. Calculate Z (Zodiac addend): If compatibility is 'Good', then Z = [MA4 / 4] + [Y / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then Z = -[MA4 / 4] - [Y / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then Z = [MA4 / 2] + [Y / 2] ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then Z = -[MA4 / 2] - [Y / 2] Else, Z = 0 6. Apply the spell's success% formula as follows: success% = [(CFa * TFa * (MA4 + Y + Z)) / 10000] If caster or target has Faith status, then CFa = 100 or TFa = 100, respectively. If caster or target has Innocent status, then CFa = 0 or TFa = 0, respectively. 7. Apply any evasion percentages that the target has due to his equipment. 8. Some MOD 6 attacks do damage based on a percentage of the target's MaxHP. If we call the percentage Q (e.g., Q = 50 for an attack that takes off half the MaxHP), and calculate a value for Frac5 by using steps 8 - 11 of the MOD 5 algorithm above, and Frac5 = N/D, then the damage done will be equal to damage = RU{(TargetMaxHP * Q * N) / (100 * D)} [MOD 6a] ~ golem ---------------- Golem is a special case of MOD 6 where only the caster's stats matter, and Shell and Magic DefendUP have no effect: 1. If caster has Magic AttackUP, then (MA1 = [MA0 * 4/3]), else MA1 = MA0 2. Apply Golem's success% formula as follows: success% = [(CFa * (MA1 + 200)) / 100] If caster has Faith status, then CFa = 100. If caster has Innocent status, then CFa = 0. [MOD 7] ~ work attacks ---------------------- The Steel Giant's WORK attacks are neutral attacks that depend only on Zodiac compatibility. Let PA0 be the caster's PA on the stat screen. 1. Apply zodiac multipliers: If compatibility is 'Good', then PA1 = PA0 + [PA0 / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Bad', then PA1 = PA0 - [PA0 / 4] ElseIf compatibility is 'Best', then PA1 = PA0 + [PA0 / 2] ElseIf compatibility is 'Worst', then PA1 = PA0 - [PA0 / 2] Else, PA1 = PA0 2. Calculate damage using PA = PA1. _______________________________________________________________________________ [3.3] the big list ========================================================================= The list is in the following format: _____________________________________________________________________________ | Attack Name [ ### ] COMMAND SET | |=============================================================================| | phys/mag | CBG:+/-| MP: ## | Formula for damage and/or success rate; | | REFL:+/- | CM:+/-| CTR: ## | Additional information about the attack | | CALC:+/- | CF:+/-| JP: ### | | | ELEM:+/- | EVD:+/-| MOD: # | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: # / Effect: #v# | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The attacks are listed in order of index number; this is the bracketed number in the center of the top line of each box. To find an attack: use the Find or Search feature (often Ctrl + F), and search for "| Attack name" (without the quotes), where "Attack name" is the name of the attack you're interested in. Make sure to leave one, and only one, space after the "|" character. To find an index number reference from the chart or from elsewhere in the BMG, search for "[ xxx ]" (without the quotes), where xxx is the index number (in hex) of the attack. Make sure to leave spaces between the brackets and the beginning and end of the index number. And away we go.... * NOTE: Some formulas below are listed in forms that involve decimals because these are the easiest way to work with them on a calculator. However, FFT does not appear to use floating point arithmetic, and all division is integer divison. Here are the versions of the formulas as they are most likely passed to FFT's calculation system. In the decimal-form equations, the brackets [] signify truncation of the decimal. Each pair of formulas is equivalent because truncation is based on the divisor 10000 in both cases. MOD 5 MAGIC ATTACKS - LISTED HERE: ---------------------------------- damage = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * Q] IS EQUIVALENT TO damage = [(CFa * TFa * MA * Q) / 10000] MOD 6 MAGIC ATTACKS - LISTED HERE: ---------------------------------- success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + Y)] IS EQUIVALENT TO success% = [(CFa * TFa * (MA + Y)) / 10000] UN-TRUTH ATTACKS - LISTED HERE: ------------------------------- damage = [(1 - CFa/100) * (1 - TFa/100) * [(MA + Q) / 2] * MA] IS EQUIVALENT TO damage = [((100 - CFa) * (100 - TFa) * [(MA + Q) / 2] * MA) / 10000] _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Cure] [ 001 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 6 | Restore [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 14] HP | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 4 | If target is Undead, HP is subtracted | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 50 | instead of added. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 5 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 4 / Effect: 2v1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Cure 2] [ 002 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 10 | Restore [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 20] HP | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 5 | If target is Undead, HP is subtracted | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 180 | instead of added. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 5 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 4 / Effect: 2v1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Cure 3] [ 003 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 16 | Restore [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 30] HP | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 7 | If target is Undead, HP is subtracted | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 400 | instead of added. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 5 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 4 / Effect: 2v2 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Cure 4] [ 004 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 20 | Restore [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 40] HP | | REFL: - | CM: - | CTR: 10 | If target is Undead, HP is subtracted | | CALC: - | CF: - | JP: 700 | instead of added. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 5 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 4 / Effect: 2v3 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Raise] [ 005 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 10 | Cancel: Dead & Restore RU{T_MaxHP * 50/100}| | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 4 | Spell will miss unless target is Dead. | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 180 | If target is Undead, RU{T_MaxHP * 50/100} | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | will be substracted from its HP total. | |--------------------------------| If target is Dead and Undead, spell will | | Range: 4 / Effect: 1 | miss. Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 180)]| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Raise 2] [ 006 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 20 | Cancel: Dead & Restore (Target's Max HP | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 10 | Spell will miss unless target is Dead. | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 500 | If target is Undead, (T_MaxHP) will be | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | subtracted from its HP total. | |--------------------------------| If target is Dead and Undead, spell will | | Range: 4 / Effect: 1 | miss. Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 160)]| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Reraise] [ 007 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 16 | Add: Reraise | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 7 | If target is Undead, spell will miss. | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 800 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 140)]| | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 4 / Effect: 1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Regen] [ 008 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 8 | Add: Regen | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 4 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 170)]| | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 300 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 3 / Effect: 2v0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Protect] [ 009 ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 6 | Add: Protect | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 4 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 200)]| | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 70 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 3 / Effect: 2v0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Protect 2] [ 00A ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 24 | Add: Protect | | REFL: - | CM: - | CTR: 7 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 120)]| | CALC: - | CF: - | JP: 500 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 3 / Effect: 2v3 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Shell] [ 00B ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 6 | Add: Shell | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 4 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 200)]| | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 70 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 3 / Effect: 2v0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Shell 2] [ 00C ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 20 | Add: Shell | | REFL: - | CM: - | CTR: 7 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 120)]| | CALC: - | CF: - | JP: 500 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 3 / Effect: 2v3 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Wall] [ 00D ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 24 | Add: Protect, Shell | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 4 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 140)]| | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 380 | Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 3 / Effect: 1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Esuna] [ 00E ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 18 | Cancel: Petrify, Darkness, Confusion, | | REFL: + | CM: - | CTR: 3 | Silence, Berserk, Frog, Poison, | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 280 | Sleep, Don't Move, Don't Act | | ELEM: - | EVD: - | MOD: 6 | Success% = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * (MA + 190)]| |--------------------------------| Ignores Shell and Magic DefendUP. | | Range: 3 / Effect: 2v2 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Holy] [ 00F ] WHITE MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 56 | Damage = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 50] | | REFL: + | CM: + | CTR: 6 | | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 600 | | | ELEM: H | EVD: - | MOD: 5 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 5 / Effect: 1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Fire] [ 010 ] BLACK MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 6 | Damage = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 14] | | REFL: + | CM: + | CTR: 4 | | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 50 | | | ELEM: F | EVD: + | MOD: 5 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 4 / Effect: 2v1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Fire 2] [ 011 ] BLACK MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 12 | Damage = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 18] | | REFL: + | CM: + | CTR: 5 | | | CALC: + | CF: - | JP: 200 | | | ELEM: F | EVD: + | MOD: 5 | | |--------------------------------| | | Range: 4 / Effect: 2v2 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________ | [Fire 3] [ 012 ] BLACK MAGIC | |=============================================================================| | magical | CBG: - | MP: 24 | Damage = [CFa/100 * TFa/100 * MA * 24] | | REF