Few Question about BNW

Hello there, I am new to this board and made an account to ask a few questions.

I recently got the urge to play FFVI again, so I looked through mods for it and found this.
A lot of what this mod does is what I would have wanted to do(If I had the ability...), so I am rather stoked to play this. Lots of the choices remind me of the Etrian Odyssey games...

I haven't started to play so far, but I've got a few question regarding the mod - simply a few concerns or worries.

- Some characters sound incredibly squishy by nature(Strago, Shadow, for example). While evasion is fine and good, having a character on the team that gets 1-shot by everything that connects is kind of a liability, is it not? So my question is... How fragile are the fragile characters really?

- Many espers are only obtained very late in the game. This does hinder the growth aspect as well as spell selection of certain characters(Especially if you talk about Crusader). Question is if this has been taken into consideration and not have 1-2 characters that are very limited until near endgame. As far as I remember, most Espers are WoR and many are optional. If I need Crusader and Tritoch for a specific build, am I just out of luck?

- On the topic of Espers, I read the progression system has been fixed through some bank feature. Does that mean every character has access to their esper stat-boosts even if you do not have the Esper? Or do I still need to get them?

- On builds, I gather that many builds require specific gear/relics. Aren't some of those only gotten very late? I fear that the game experience and balance may have gone heavy into endgame, neglecting the way there(Happens a lot...), hence all these questions.

- I read about a respec option in WoR. Is it available quickly and easily, or does it take a considerable amount of time to get to? Also, what and how much does it cost?

- If an update comes out, can I just put it over an already started game without much trouble? I probably won't just raze through the game in a week and updates are always good. Should I possibly even wait for the next update to start my playthrough?

- MP seems to be made to gate spell use a LOT more. This is fine, in and of itself, but... Not using spells is also not fun. And random encounters tend to be plenty - going oom after a few spellcasts sounds simply annoying - mp management is one thing, but not using abilities is the opposite of "play". Of course, this would be alleviated if there is some kind of auto MP-reg feature after battle  and there are the mana-batteries(Edgar and Sabin, from what I've seen), but it worries me nonetheless. Some insight into the mp management(Especially on less MP-heavy characters like Locke) would be appreciated.

On a sidenote: If there is no reg after battle, it could be a consideration. Partial HP/MP reg after battle allows to make random encounters a tad harder - incentivizing more strategy. Full Reg can make random encounters very difficult without being a frustrating experience(Just don't make every thing a meatbag - fast and hard should be the name of the game). Full MP reg allows for much more intrinsic balance of MP reserves and can lead to a lot of cool stuff in terms of balance and strategy

- And lastly, any information on the overall difficulty level and strategy, especially for a earlier parts(pre-esper) of the game?

Thanks in advance for any reply, I am hoping to get at least some question answered ^^"

1. Strago and Relm both have passable magic defense and are at risk primarily from physical damage, which the game just so happens to give you lots of ways to mitigate, and good use of rage can protect Gau from a lot of magical damage. The only super serial squishy of the lot is Shadow: professional dirt tester.

2. BNW's espers are deliberately front-loaded with all of the important offensive bonuses: magic, vigor, and speed. Late-game espers provide defensive boosts (several of which would be overpowered early on) almost exclusively.

3. You still need to have the esper. You just don't have to play "magical magicite" with the party to make sure everyone's getting the intended bonuses.

4. Although a lot of the conversations around here focus on end-game builds when talking about them, there are only a few that really don't exist until then: Stamina Setzer (arguable), Magic Locke, and Crusader Celes. And unless you're one of those wackos who likes to run 25 Terrato Sabin (in which case there's an EL reset option), be assured that the entirety of the game was designed with builds in mind, not just the end of it.

5. Easy to find, costs some money the first reset and a LOT of money for any subsequent resets to prevent spamming it.

6. Minor updates don't require a restart, only major ones.

7. There is no short answer to this question, and it varies from character to character.

8. I'll let someone else answer this one. As the mod's designer, my opinion on its difficulty is somewhat skewed.

32 minutes ago, BTB said:

1. Strago and Relm both have passable magic defense and are at risk primarily from physical damage, which the game just so happens to give you lots of ways to mitigate, and good use of rage can protect Gau from a lot of magical damage. The only super serial squishy of the lot is Shadow: professional dirt tester

6. Minor updates don't require a restart, only major ones.

7. There is no short answer to this question, and it varies from character to character.

8. I'll let someone else answer this one. As the mod's designer, my opinion on its difficulty is somewhat skewed.

Thanks for the answers.

So, for Shadow, it is pretty much required to have cover/image/safe or whatever there is to keep him safe, but he rewards with big dps. Sound about right?
For Gau, I'm wondering... How exactly are his rages affected by backline?

Any major updates coming soon~ish?

Give me the long answer, if you don't mind. MP management is a rather important part of the game, after all(And something that can be a bit frustrating - games are more fun when you can actually use your abilities). Just the gist it should do it, though.

Well, as long as the difficulty curve is appropriate and battles don't take ages, I won't mind it too much. But if the mod is what it advertises(Not a "hardmode"), I am content.

Shadow is the highest potential DPS in the mod, not to mention excellent support. So, yeah, definitely worth the effort to keep alive.

No major updates are planned for any time in the near future. I have notes for a minor update, but even that is a ways off.

I'd give you the long answer if you hadn't caught me on my way to bed - I'm sure someone else will step in and elaborate.

Just now, BTB said:

Shadow is the highest potential DPS in the mod, not to mention excellent support. So, yeah, definitely worth the effort to keep alive.

No major updates are planned for any time in the near future. I have notes for a minor update, but even that is a ways off.

I'd give you the long answer if you hadn't caught me on my way to bed - I'm sure someone else will step in and elaborate.

Okay then, I'll wait patiently.

MP management is a big element to the game, certainly. However I think it largely depends on your playstyle. And there are a lot of ways to recover MP. Whether it’s items or Tools or Blitzes or attacks like Empowerer or Osmose (which is very powerful), there’s very few situations where you’re completely left without MP to do something.

The dungeons are designed to be a strain on your resources, but as long as you’re making good decisions you should be fine. Even if you’re making bad decisions, it’s not that punishing. 

Similarly boss fights can run a character low on MP if you’re using a lot of big spells,  and so that management becomes an element to the fight which was sorely lacking in the original FF6.  

I think the only time MP cost is used as a legitimate gate is early in the WoB when you first get a lot of spells.  By the time you get to the Floating Continent, this is a lot less of an issue. Especially with a small investment of MP ELs (Seraph, Carbunkl) and a 12.5 or 25% boosting item. 

26 minutes ago, Mishrak said:

MP management is a big element to the game, certainly. However I think it largely depends on your playstyle. And there are a lot of ways to recover MP. Whether it’s items or Tools or Blitzes or attacks like Empowerer or Osmose (which is very powerful), there’s very few situations where you’re completely left without MP to do something.

The dungeons are designed to be a strain on your resources, but as long as you’re making good decisions you should be fine. Even if you’re making bad decisions, it’s not that punishing. 

Similarly boss fights can run a character low on MP if you’re using a lot of big spells,  and so that management becomes an element to the fight which was sorely lacking in the original FF6.  

I think the only time MP cost is used as a legitimate gate is early in the WoB when you first get a lot of spells.  By the time you get to the Floating Continent, this is a lot less of an issue. Especially with a small investment of MP ELs (Seraph, Carbunkl) and a 12.5 or 25% boosting item. 

As I hear, the damage sponginess of bosses has mostly been fixed, so there's that. I wonder how available ethers or the like are in this game  - and how necessary.

As I saw in the leveling chart, mp start out slow and spikes per lvl at lvl 10, so by lvl 15, one should have enough MP available. If the progression to that point is well-balanced(Not too many enemies "requiring" use of magic) it should work out well enough.

Hm, a little question I just thought of: Do characters 100% share xp(Always on same lvl) or how is it handled(Especially as some characters can end up severely underlevelled rather quickly)? I like to use all characters and have them at the same level, personally.

- I'll also note that the squishies are harder to defend early on, when you have fewer methods by which to circumvent their squishiness. Shadow's still solid early on, but using him well in the Floating Continent might be tricky (don't forget to buy throwables & equipment beforehand). Thamasa Duo and Gau don't really come into their own until the WoR, but Relm and Gau still have neat tricks and uses to make them worthwhile, though again, it might be tricky to use them effectively.

- I fear that balance and experience has been weighted a bit too much towards the endgame, though work has been made in many of the recent updates to work on the mid-game as well. (Better early- and mid-game weapon options for Terra, Celes, and Edgar; new Cover and Counter mechanics; slightly earlier Mantra for Sabin; new early magics for Relm in 1.9). While more work can be done, don't take this the wrong way, as BNW still does well avoiding many common pitfalls.

- Major updates requiring restarts are very infrequent. Don't worry about it.

- Conversations on MP management are interesting and character dependent. It's possible to break the MP management game in the WoR through grinding Tinctures in the FT, though even mess Tinctures might not be enough brute force MP healing for Kefka's Tower. One of the major selling points of the support builds on the Figaro Bros. is MP restoration via skills. Outside of these things, it's character dependent:

• Terra & Celes were designed to use Status skills in randoms, preserving most of their MP for the big fights. Runic in the WoB and Soul Sabre in the WoR provide random MP healing. Terra shouldn't seriously be challenged with her MP usage in the WoB, unless you like spamming Storm, Break, and Cure 2 on every minor fight for some reason.
• Locke, unfortunately, is MP challenged in the WoB. (See above comment on builds). In the WoR, Phoenix ELs plus careful management should stretch his healing pretty far, provided you're not spamming his biggest stuff (Fire 3, Life 2, careless Cure 3 usage). X-Mage Locke will need Figaro Support or Mass Tinctures if he wants to go full blast, though X-Fire3 is amazing for Fire weak foes and X-Life2 is an unparalleled "get back on your feet" option.
• Cyan effectively has infinite MP, making him great for out-of-battle healing in long dungeon hauls.
• Shadow has limited MP, which can make spamming his magical support skillset tricky. Otoh, he is a high risk, high reward character.
• Setzer might as well have infinite MP, unless you just hate building Seraph on him for some reason.
• Mog is MP challenged. It doesn't matter for the WoB (use dances), but if you want to play X-Mog in the WoR, you'll want Figaro Support or Mass Tinctures. X-Mog's traditionally been a weak character, but I hear he's finally starting to come into his own as of 1.9.
• Strago has effectively infinite MP with proper Osmose / Raid use. That is, unless you like spamming Black Omen, in which case, you'll probably want a few extra MP ELs and to be a little more careful with Osmose / Raid use.
• Relm's traditionally had effectively infinite MP throughout BNW's life, especially when building Zoneseek. Osmose isn't quite as ridiculous now, but Relm still has plenty of options to not be totally dependent on MP support. Building Zoneseek is probably the safest option for keeping her self-sufficient MP wise, with Ifrit probably being the "higher risk, higher reward" option.

Forgot to mention that you'll also have plenty of Ethers for the endgame, provided you trade in stuff at the Colosseum and don't burn them too crazily throughout the game. Don't ignore them throughout the game though, as they're useful against foes like Atma and such. Just know that there's a good fat supply of them in the mid- / late-WoR, so play accordingly.

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I'll also note that the squishies are harder to defend early on, when you have fewer methods by which to circumvent their squishiness. Shadow's still solid early on, but using him well in the Floating Continent might be tricky (don't forget to buy throwables & equipment beforehand). Thamasa Duo and Gau don't really come into their own until the WoR, but Relm and Gau still have neat tricks and uses to make them worthwhile, though again, it might be tricky to use them effectively.

I'll keep that in mind. Using Gau with this mod should be a whole different experience anyway - and I look forward to it, despite the amount of options he has and info one needs to have still seems a bit overwhelming...
I looked a bit at the guide on here(Think you made one?) and use that as reference.

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I fear that balance and experience has been weighted a bit too much towards the endgame, though work has been made in many of the recent updates to work on the mid-game as well. (Better early- and mid-game weapon options for Terra, Celes, and Edgar; new Cover and Counter mechanics; slightly earlier Mantra for Sabin; new early magics for Relm in 1.9). While more work can be done, don't take this the wrong way, as BNW still does well avoiding many common pitfalls

Hmm, any pitfalls still in the game to watch out for? Only something a bit extraordinary in terms of balance inconsistency or whatever. I like the journey to the end and want to enjoy it, after all.

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Terra & Celes were designed to use Status skills in randoms, preserving most of their MP for the big fights. Runic in the WoB and Soul Sabre in the WoR provide random MP healing. Terra shouldn't seriously be challenged with her MP usage in the WoB, unless you like spamming Storm, Break, and Cure 2 on every minor fight for some reason.

I'd presume status skills are pretty cheap - which is good. It's fun to use grey magic. Those two can also at least attack decently enough and I hear Celes is rather bulky. I worry more about the Thamasa duo. Strago is much more of a pure mage and rod-use being affected by row(And front row sounds like a deathwish for him) might make him a bit clunky to use. Relm has Sketch, though... How well does that play out? Never used it much... Is it worthwhile? I heard horror stories about Quake...

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Locke, unfortunately, is MP challenged in the WoB.

So magic use on Locke is a pretty rare phenomenon till Phoenix. He is a healer and has fire damage, so I guess... just use his spells in critical situations.

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Setzer might as well have infinite MP, unless you just hate building Seraph on him for some reason.

Really wonder what I will do with Setzer. He seems a bit difficult in terms of build. Straight-forward, he is a healer.. And I probably have to get used to slots. I wonder, is he still useful as a backline attack user?

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Mog is MP challenged. It doesn't matter for the WoB (use dances), but if you want to play X-Mog in the WoR, you'll want Figaro Support or Mass Tinctures. X-Mog's traditionally been a weak character, but I hear he's finally starting to come into his own as of 1.9.

Jump and X-Magic seem pretty decent to me. I still wonder about dances(Never used mog much in the original - dances seemed so gimmicky to me and not particulary useful).

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Forgot to mention that you'll also have plenty of Ethers for the endgame, provided you trade in stuff at the Colosseum and don't burn them too crazily throughout the game. Don't ignore them throughout the game though, as they're useful against foes like Atma and such. Just know that there's a good fat supply of them in the mid- / late-WoR, so play accordingly

Mh, okay. I tend to get the "too-good-to-use"-syndrome rather quickly, but challenge tends to eliminate that.


Thanks for all the info, it is very appreciated.

6 hours ago, Vaylen said:

I'll keep that in mind. Using Gau with this mod should be a whole different experience anyway - and I look forward to it, despite the amount of options he has and info one needs to have still seems a bit overwhelming...
I looked a bit at the guide on here(Think you made one?) and use that as reference.

I made an initial one a long time ago, but other people have been the ones keeping it up to date. My build guides in the sub-forum should give a basic rundown and a mid-level analysis of what to look for. There's an in-depth spreadsheet somewhere here on the forums.

6 hours ago, Vaylen said:

So magic use on Locke is a pretty rare phenomenon till Phoenix. He is a healer and has fire damage, so I guess... just use his spells in critical situations.

Pretty much. Probably will ignore his Fire magic until the WoR honestly. Honestly, Phoenix is a very key esper for him. IMO, any build that ain't taking at least a few Phoenix ELs is doing something wrong. I would say at least a minimum of 5 Phoenix for Locke. Others disagree.

6 hours ago, Vaylen said:

Really wonder what I will do with Setzer. He seems a bit difficult in terms of build. Straight-forward, he is a healer.. And I probably have to get used to slots. I wonder, is he still useful as a backline attack user?

Setzer's easy to build. Give him 10 Seraph in the WoB, then decide whether to go for magic or stamina in the WoR. Slots are op early on, he's got some mid-game options, plus Fixed Dice near the end. Stam Setzer gets GP Toss.

6 hours ago, Vaylen said:

Jump and X-Magic seem pretty decent to me. I still wonder about dances(Never used mog much in the original - dances seemed so gimmicky to me and not particulary useful).

Dance is divisive in the BNW community. >_> vig Mog and Dancing on the Floating Continent are things everyone can agree on. Otherwise, you're going to have to experiment with Mog's many, many magical options (Dance, Rod, X-Magic) to see what you think works best.

7 hours ago, Vaylen said:

I'd presume status skills are pretty cheap - which is good. It's fun to use grey magic. Those two can also at least attack decently enough and I hear Celes is rather bulky. I worry more about the Thamasa duo. Strago is much more of a pure mage and rod-use being affected by row(And front row sounds like a deathwish for him) might make him a bit clunky to use. Relm has Sketch, though... How well does that play out? Never used it much... Is it worthwhile? I heard horror stories about Quake...

Strago is honestly more of a support character with good offensive capabilities. He only really shines offensively when striking a weakness. I had an enormous amount of fun with Rods + Black Belt on Strago in the WoR one run. I think it's actually a really solid strategy for him. Others are scared and/or find that Strago dies too much. I loved it.

I probably undersold Relm. She's good. Osmose was nerfed recently because she was too good. Just build Zoneseek and don't completely ignore MP management and you should be golden for using Flare/Meteor to your heart's content. Sketch is...iffy. Sometimes works fantastically well, sometimes is all right, often is a dud, and there's no way to predict, nor is there any info in the Printme. : / It's good on Atma and Inferno.

Quake is powerful, but it's finnicky in who it hits and requires set-up. Aside from a few bosses (tbf, this does include the first two tiers of the final battle) - honestly, possibly even including those boss fights - I find that Quake is mostly used when you've all ready got the boss on lockdown anyways and just want to speed up the process. The first X-Mog player of 1.9 who gave feedback disagreed and thought X-Mog was better. You'll probably have to fiddle with him to find out for yourself.

7 hours ago, Vaylen said:

Hmm, any pitfalls still in the game to watch out for? Only something a bit extraordinary in terms of balance inconsistency or whatever. I like the journey to the end and want to enjoy it, after all.

It's less a matter of pitfalls and more a matter of there being a sudden spike in viable options comes the WoR. It's a spike that tends to get smoothed out with each new version, like the revamped mid-game swords of 1.9. There's a few things I could note, but it sounds like you wish to avoid spoilers and I don't think the issues are "extraordinary", so I'll refrain from saying anything.

***

Enjoy BNW. It's a great mod.

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Pretty much. Probably will ignore his Fire magic until the WoR honestly. Honestly, Phoenix is a very key esper for him. IMO, any build that ain't taking at least a few Phoenix ELs is doing something wrong. I would say at least a minimum of 5 Phoenix for Locke. Others disagree.

I like well-rounded characters, so I probably will do that with Locke.
 

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Dance is divisive in the BNW community. >_> vig Mog and Dancing on the Floating Continent are things everyone can agree on. Otherwise, you're going to have to experiment with Mog's many, many magical options (Dance, Rod, X-Magic) to see what you think works best.

Mh, I am always that guy that likes to play things the "right" way. If a character has gimmick, I want to use it. So I'll probably try to make Mog dance dirty... Is that at all viable and~ any tips on using a dance-focused mog?

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It's less a matter of pitfalls and more a matter of there being a sudden spike in viable options comes the WoR. It's a spike that tends to get smoothed out with each new version, like the revamped mid-game swords of 1.9. There's a few things I could note, but it sounds like you wish to avoid spoilers and I don't think the issues are "extraordinary", so I'll refrain from saying anything.

Don't worry about spoilers, I'll still play the game like I want to and I played through vanilla ffvi more than a few times.
I'd guess the mod is doing fine. You elaborated on some concerns(pitfalls) a little, which is very appreciated. So far, it sounds like I really could get into it.

On a sidenote... How "never played a friggin game"-player friendly is the mod?

The less prior knowledge you go into this game with, the less misconceptions you'll have and the more willing you'll be to learn.

7 hours ago, Vaylen said:

any tips on using a dance-focused mog?

The Moogle Charm will prove very handy — I'll leave the pleasant discovery of why up to you :D. You'll want just enough Stamina in your build so that you can reliably hit the environment you want — mid-60s isn't bad. Forest Suite is handy for mitigating damage and status pressure, and will probably be a staple in your dancing kit. Earth Blues and Water Rondo are both potent offensive steps. Love Sonata will have some utility in topping up your MP if you find yourself switch-hitting with Magic enough to run out.

Outside of this basic overview, dancing relies heavily on knowing enemy weaknesses and resistances — there's a lot of dance steps with a wind or earth (or grounded) component that are common immunities later in the game, for example. Expect lots of trial and error on your first run until you get used to this. I don't remember if the printme has details on enemy resistances and weaknesses or not, but at the very least you should have the tools to minmax dance effectiveness by your second play through.

3 minutes ago, SirNewtonFig said:

The Moogle Charm will prove very handy — I'll leave the pleasant discovery of why up to you :D. You'll want just enough Stamina in your build so that you can reliably hit the environment you want — mid-60s isn't bad. Forest Suite is handy for mitigating damage and status pressure, and will probably be a staple in your dancing kit. Earth Blues and Water Rondo are both potent offensive steps. Love Sonata will have some utility in topping up your MP if you find yourself switch-hitting with Magic enough to run out.

 

Outside of this basic overview, dancing relies heavily on knowing enemy weaknesses and resistances — there's a lot of dance steps with a wind or earth (or grounded) component that are common immunities later in the game, for example. Expect lots of trial and error on your first run until you get used to this. I don't remember if the printme has details on enemy resistances and weaknesses or not, but at the very least you should have the tools to minmax dance effectiveness by your second play through.

Okay then, thanks for the overview. I'll just fiddle around with mog once I get him, see what happens.

13 hours ago, Vaylen said:

Mh, I am always that guy that likes to play things the "right" way. If a character has gimmick, I want to use it. So I'll probably try to make Mog dance dirty... Is that at all viable and~ any tips on using a dance-focused mog?

A dance-focused Mog has several options. Build-wise, you'll need to decide between Maduin or Shoat. Maduin is the "right way" because it provides stamina to reduce the stumble rate and strengthen the healing dance steps (Harvester, Sun Bath). Shoat works because Mog has enough stamina from base stats and equipment to make Dance work anyways, though you may stumble a little more lategame than you would otherwise.

Moogle Charm is advised. There are some cases where you can avoid it, but by and large and especially for a first play, Moogle Charm.

As for Dances themselves:

• Water rondo is a solid all-around damage dance for the mid-game. Still useful for hurting mechanical enemies later on.
• Earth Blues is your best single-target damage dance if there's no weakness to hit. Also comes with Sun Bath. This and Forest are perhaps the most general-purpose dances.
• Forest Suite provides the incredible Harvester (Cure 2 strength with Remedy effect on everyone) with goods odds, the best odds of healing of all dance (50%), and decent magical damage.
• Wind Song is weak damage, but provides your best odds for Sun Bath (Cure 3 strength on everyone, ignores reflect, clears freeze status) and is the home dance of the Floating Continent.
• Desert Aria provides some evasion / healing options with Mirage and Sun Bath, though the most common step is a weak AoE attack. Mostly useful as a back-up Image / healing source in case your primary one can't keep up.
• Love Sonata is mostly useful for (X-)Mage focused set-ups, since its main use is MP drain with some Fire/Holy damage. Definitely use with Moogle Charm.
• Snowman Jazz is the lategame AoE damage dance. Not so hot for Ice damage because most Ice-weak enemies null the secondary elements, but it's easier to use than Quake for AoE.
• Dusk Requiem is the "trash" early game dance, though Snare & Moonlight are quite powerful. Also the home dance of a lot of dungeons because the cave environment is used so much.

The healing (Harvester & Sun Bath) is really the main selling point of Dance Mog, with Forest Suite being the crown. Come the WoR, Dance Mog is support Mog. X-Mog and Dragoon Mog are far better for pure dps, and they're also "better" at quickly setting Haste on fellow party members.

13 hours ago, Vaylen said:

Don't worry about spoilers, I'll still play the game like I want to and I played through vanilla ffvi more than a few times.

I'd guess the mod is doing fine. You elaborated on some concerns(pitfalls) a little, which is very appreciated. So far, it sounds like I really could get into it.

 

Pitfalls are few and mostly minor. I'm not going to mention pitfalls that are really more about learning the game and its difficulty. I'll mention a few pitfalls related to purchases and builds.

• Don't buy a Dragoon Seal first thing. Wait until the Imperial Magitek Factory or the Floating Continent.
• Buy a Morning Star for Celes if you want her hitting things in Zozo and the IMF. It's her only real form of offense for that section of the game, though it is a good weapon.
• It's easy to forget about all the new purchases after the IMF, especially since you might not have enough money for it all.
• It's also easy to forget to buy Throwables for Shadow before the Floating Continent. Don't forget to purchase said Throwables in Jidoor. (Also, Albrook has Sakura knives for him).
• Avoid going all in with magic on Terra. I've seen a few advocates, but except maybe kinda-sorta for endgame Ultima or with heavy Figaro Support, you'll want more of a bulky mage.
• Stamina Sabin's main blitz isn't learned until lvl.25. Build accordingly.
• Vig Cyan, for the mid-game, is really more of a mix of Kirin (HP) and Bismark (vig). Respec him after clearing his soul if you want to invest more heavily in vigor.
• Avoid stamina Thamasa for your first run. Their use is questionable and the magic builds are easier to use. (Some veterans think they're useful. I & others think they're nuts).

Thanks for all the info. One question I have, though... Didn't you only get mog in the WoR? Maybe I am just misremembering something, though...

Mog is a hidden character in the WoB.

3 hours ago, Vaylen said:

Thanks for all the info. One question I have, though... Didn't you only get mog in the WoR? Maybe I am just misremembering something, though...

Poke around Narshe any time during WoB after gaining the airship.

On 5/24/2018 at 11:05 AM, Vaylen said:

Really wonder what I will do with Setzer. He seems a bit difficult in terms of build. Straight-forward, he is a healer.. And I probably have to get used to slots. I wonder, is he still useful as a backline attack user?

This might be a bit late, but Setzer is absolutely useful as a back line attack user. It's something he can almost always fall back on regardless of his build. Setzer has a special relic that makes the attack option more juicy, and can be an absolute tank if you want. The new cover/counter buffs is something he can actually take great advantage of thanks to a +2 stam esper and the type of equipment he uses. It likely won't replace GP toss or slots, but it's not bad damage.

My personal favorite way to play Setzer is angry dice throwing maniac. Dice always hit and ignore defense but the damage is a literal dice roll and only scales with his level. Well, that and berserk which gives a 50% damage boost right at the end. Rolled 500? Now 750. Rolled 6,666? Now 9,999. All ignores defense.  Between berserk and his special relic, his damage is much more consistent and can actually hit pretty hard. It also scales at the endgame with fixed dice which was already good damage without berserk. I usually have him married to the hyper wrist for the convenience of auto-berserk however black belt could be really good with his high stamina and proper support. It's not a build that blows things out of the water except on a good dice roll against tanky opponents or bosses. Unless the idea of tanky uncontrollable character doing semi-random damage is off putting to you, I suggest you give it a spin. I really hope I'm not the only one who enjoyed this so much.

1 hour ago, Shax said:

This might be a bit late, but Setzer is absolutely useful as a back line attack user. It's something he can almost always fall back on regardless of his build. Setzer has a special relic that makes the attack option more juicy, and can be an absolute tank if you want. The new cover/counter buffs is something he can actually take great advantage of thanks to a +2 stam esper and the type of equipment he uses. It likely won't replace GP toss or slots, but it's not bad damage.

 

My personal favorite way to play Setzer is angry dice throwing maniac. Dice always hit and ignore defense but the damage is a literal dice roll and only scales with his level. Well, that and berserk which gives a 50% damage boost right at the end. Rolled 500? Now 750. Rolled 6,666? Now 9,999. All ignores defense.  Between berserk and his special relic, his damage is much more consistent and can actually hit pretty hard. It also scales at the endgame with fixed dice which was already good damage without berserk. I usually have him married to the hyper wrist for the convenience of auto-berserk however black belt could be really good with his high stamina and proper support. It's not a build that blows things out of the water except on a good dice roll against tanky opponents or bosses. Unless the idea of tanky uncontrollable character doing semi-random damage is off putting to you, I suggest you give it a spin. I really hope I'm not the only one who enjoyed this so much.

That sounds like fun. I currently got him as a healer/tank with GP toss and built on stamina. GP Toss REALLY hits hard, gotta admit. But thanks for the input!

6 hours ago, Shax said:

This might be a bit late, but Setzer is absolutely useful as a back line attack user. It's something he can almost always fall back on regardless of his build. Setzer has a special relic that makes the attack option more juicy, and can be an absolute tank if you want. The new cover/counter buffs is something he can actually take great advantage of thanks to a +2 stam esper and the type of equipment he uses. It likely won't replace GP toss or slots, but it's not bad damage.

 

My personal favorite way to play Setzer is angry dice throwing maniac. Dice always hit and ignore defense but the damage is a literal dice roll and only scales with his level. Well, that and berserk which gives a 50% damage boost right at the end. Rolled 500? Now 750. Rolled 6,666? Now 9,999. All ignores defense.  Between berserk and his special relic, his damage is much more consistent and can actually hit pretty hard. It also scales at the endgame with fixed dice which was already good damage without berserk. I usually have him married to the hyper wrist for the convenience of auto-berserk however black belt could be really good with his high stamina and proper support. It's not a build that blows things out of the water except on a good dice roll against tanky opponents or bosses. Unless the idea of tanky uncontrollable character doing semi-random damage is off putting to you, I suggest you give it a spin. I really hope I'm not the only one who enjoyed this so much.

I ought try this sometime