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LUKAHN'S
FF VII BATTLE SQUARE FAQ
Version 0.4
[email protected]
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WHAT'S NEW:
1/9/99
Everything! Just started it today.
1/10/99
Added the Secret Duel section, more handicaps, and the enemies section.
1/11/99
Added some enemy descriptions and the "forced hanicap" problem.
3/30/99
Finally updated again ^_^ Added the Low-Level Technique, more on how
handicaps affect BP, and the Thanks section is now up.
4/3/99
Added to the "How Handicaps affect BP" section.
4/4/99
Gave a rough explanation of how hanicaps determine BP.
Filled in more than half of the "How Hanicaps affect BP" chart.
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CONTENTS:
1. Battle Square
a. what is it?
b. before you start...
c. into the arena
d. terms of victory...or defeat
2. General Tips
a. suggested equipment
b. techniques
-1 the Mighty Technique
-2 the Low Level Technique
c. possible problems
3. Handicaps
a. what they do
b. how they affect BP
4. Prizes
a. consolation
b. trading in BP
5. The Secret Duel
a. how to access it
b. word of warning
c. special prizes
6. Enemies
a. normal battles
b. secret duel
7. Cheating Methods
a. beat the handicap
b. use broken materia - method 1
c. use broken materia - method 2
8. Thanks
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BATTLE SQUARE:
*************
What Is It?:
The Battle Square can be found at the Gold Saucer. For 10 GP, you can
fight a series of battles against randomly selected enemies. You
won't recieve any gil, experience, or AP, but you will be awarded
Battle Points (BP). You can then trade in BP for good prizes. We all
like prizes, so let's go...
*************
Before You Start...
This can be tough if you're not on a high enough level or improperly
equipped. Make sure you have a Ribbon, at least one character's
ultimate weapon, and enough materia to make you deadly. For these
reasons alone I don't recommend visiting the Battle Square until Disk 3
(except when you have to to advance the plot, of course). Also, if you
want W-Summon and Omnislash, be prepared to stay in the Battle Arena
for a long time.
*************
Into the Arena:
To enter the Arena, go to Battle Square and talk to the lady behind the
counter at the right of the back of the room. You will fight 8
consecutive battles every time you enter the Arena. After each round
you will recieve the message "Great!", and your current BP will be
displayed on the right side of the screen (you will rarely have more
than 1000 BP before the last round of combat). You will be asked if
you wish to keep going, and given 2 choices: Off Course!! (it's really
spelled that way, I didn't make a mistake), or No Way. If you choose
"Off Course!!", you will have to pick a handicap for the next round.
You can't learn Enemy Skills in the Arena. However, you can either
Morph enemies or Steal from them if you want. When you exit, your
Limit will remain at the level it was before entering, even if you use
it during battle.
*************
Terms of Victory...Or Defeat:
You will leave the Battle Arena when:
You win all 8 rounds
You quit after a round
You are killed by your opponents
You cast "Escape" or use an item that ends a battle
You run away
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GENERAL TIPS:
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Suggested Equipment:
I recommend using the Ultimate Weapon for whichever character you
choose to use in the Arena, because you won't gain AP for materia
growth anyway, so you might as well have high attack power. The armor
of choice is the Imperial Guard, for its high Defense power. Of course
, a Ribbon is ideal for the accessory.
As far as materia goes, use as little as possible. If your character
is particularly strong, equip them with Slash-All, Enemy Skill (with
Big Guard learned) or Time, and perhaps a HP Plus. That way, you'll
need only worry about the Break Yellow Materia handicap and the Break
Purple Materia handicap. If you rely on Summons and Magic, you'll be
crippled if you receive the Break All Materia handicap.
For a weaker character, allow some more materia, such as a strong
summon or Ultima, but don't expect to get the W-Summon prize with a
weak character.
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Techniques:
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The Mighty Technique
The first round is pretty important if you want the battles ahead to go
as smoothly as possible, because the enemies will be the weakest you
will face. First, cast Big Guard or Haste, whichever you have. This
will make your time meter fill up faster not just for this battle, but
for all the upcoming battles as well. Then dispatch your enemies with
a Slash-All. You should get 10 BP for the first round every time.
I've never gotten anything different, but that doesn't mean it's
impossible.
If you have a Ribbon equipped, try to time the handicap to hit an
abnormal status handicap (such as "Poison", "Miniature", or "Toad").
That way you'll suffer no handicap, plus you'll get a few seconds for
your time meter to fill up while you're covered in the orange mist
that tries to change your status. If not, try for the least severe
handicap given (except Cure, as you will receive 0 BP if you do).
From the second match on, you won't have to worry too much about
anything. Remember to use Big Guard or Haste if you are ever slowed
and use items to heal yourself.
*************
The Low-Level Technique
Of course, the best way to solve the problem of low levels is to get
level ups, but that can take a long time. Here are some alterantive
methods:
1.) Transfer all the materia and the best equipment to whoever is going
to participate in the arena.
2.) Set that character's Limit level back to 1. They will get limit
breaks more often that way, so you should be able to save yourself a
few times with a stronger-than-average attack.
3.) Make sure you have the appropriate Enemy Skills. Learn Big Guard
from the Beach Slugs near Costa Del Sol (You need to Manipulate them)
and White Wind in the area around Junon (I can't remember the enemy's
name, but it's a large animal with wings). Use Big Guard in the
beginning of the first battle and White Wind if you encounter any
status effect problems (you won't if you equip the Ribbon from the
Temple of the Ancients).
4.) If your attacks are still weak, rely more on magic and summons,
but you won't get as much BP if you don't destroy your materia.
5.) Don't equip unnecessary magic or summons. I would stay away from
them all together, if your attacks are strong enough. Use Independent
and Command materia as much as possible.
*************
Possible Problems:
In the first round it is common to encounter a silkworm-type enemy
called "Jayjujayme". Not a major threat, but he can slow you down with
Silk. In this case, kill the enemies and cast Big Guard/Haste in round
2.
You might encounter a small, hunched over enemy called a "Tonberry" in
the later rounds (6 or 7). Kill him as quickly as possible, because
his Knife attack automatically kills you. Use whatever means you have
to kill him before he reaches you, and don't be afraid of overkill; He
has over 30,000 HP.
Another enemy to look out for is the "Ghost Ship". He usually comes in
the 8th round, and he also has the ability to instantly end you. He
picks you up on his oar and throws you from the Arena. He generally
doesn't use this as his first attack, so use your most powerful attacks
and/or magic against him. He is a much larger threat than Tonberry,
because you'll get way less time to defeat him.
On occasion, you will be forced to accept handicaps. These are
usually going to be the hardest battles you will fight, as the
handicaps are almost always extraordinarily hard to recover from (ie:
broken accessory. If you're using a Ribbon, this can be devastating.).
The best thing to do is continue fighting until you can't survive
another round, then quit. You won't gain many BP, but it's better
than nothing...
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HANDICAPS:
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What They Do:
After each round of battle, you are asked to select your handicap from
a slot machine containing three choices. You'll have to pick 7 of them
for each time you go through the battle arena. Handicaps range from
physical damage to status ailments, to completely filling your HP!
They are as follows:
Description of icon - name of handicap - effect of handicap
Poison - Poison - You become poisoned
Frog - Toad - You become a toad
Small Cloud - Minimum - You shrink
Red Materia - Summon Materia is broken - you can't summon
Yellow Materia - Command Materia is broken - you lose special commands
Green Materia - Magic Materia is broken - you can't cast spells
Purple Materia - Independant Materia is broken - your stats are normal
Blue Materia - Support Materia is broken - other materia loses support
5 Materia - All Materia is broken - disables all materia of every color
Ring - Accessory is broken - you loose accessory benefits
Bag - Item command is sealed - Prevents you from using items
Lucky 7 - Yesss! No handicapp! - No handicap.
Boot - 1/2 Speed - Makes your Time gauge fill half as quickly
HP - 1/2 HP - Lowers your Max. HP by 50%
MP - 1/2 MP - Lowers you Max. MP by 50%
HP MP - 1/2 HP&MP - Lowers your Max HP and Max MP by 50%
MP0 - Zero MP - Empties your MP, but you can refill it normally
Sword - Weapon is broken - your attack strength is lowered
Bracelet - Armor is broken - your defense is lowered
Clock - Time X30 Damage - you take damage based on your time meter
LV v - Down 5 levels - Your current level is lowered by 5
LV V - Down 10 levels - Your current level is lowered by 10
Cure - HP restored - Fills up your HP to max.
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How They Affect BP:
I've done it! I know how they determine how much BP you get for each
handicap! The only problem is, it will take some time to get all the
information. If anyone is willing to help, e-mail me
(
[email protected]).
This is very cool, because I think I'm the first to figure it out (I've
never heard of anyone figuring it out before).
You would think that each time you get a certain handicap, your current
BP would get multiplied by a certain number. That's not the way it
works, though. Each handicap has a different number for each round
that gets added to your current BP. (Example: if you select "Toad" as
your first handicap, you will only recieve 6 BP, but if it is your
fifth handicap, you would recieve 130 BP.) Here is an incomplete chart
with each handicap's ratings.
Handicap: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Poison -- 4 - 6 - X - 16 - 33 - 82 - X
Toad -- 6 - 10 - 19 - 44 - 130 - 520 - 3069
Minimum -- 5 - 8 - 16 - 36 - 108 - 453 - 2940
Break Summon -- 37 - X - X - X - X - X - X
Break Command -- X - X - 17 - 41 - X - X - X
Break Magic -- 15 - 28 - X - 145 - 445 - 1755 - 9425
Break Independent -- X - X - X - 99 - X - X - X
Break Support -- X - X - X - 91 - X - X - X
Break All Materia -- X - X - X - X - 463 - X - 10000
Break Accessory -- 10 - 18 - X - X - X - X - X
Seal Items -- X - X - X - X - 355 - 1368 - 7200
No Handicap -- 7 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7
1/2 Speed -- 5 - 7 - X - 19 - X - X - X
1/2 HP -- 13 - X - 40 - 84 - 204 - X - X
1/2 MP -- 12 - 20 - 36 - 73 - 173 - X - X
1/2 HP&MP -- X - X - X - 94 - 244 - 775 - 3134
Zero MP -- X - X - X - X - 171 - 502 - X
Break Weapon -- X - X - X - 140 - X - X - X
Break Armor -- X - 17 - 33 - X - X - 654 - X
Time X30 Damage -- X - X - 26 - 54 - 130 - X - X
Down 5 Levels -- 5 - 8 - 13 - X - X - X - X
Down 10 Levels -- X - 16 - 28 - 53 - 118 - 308 - 968
Restore HP -- 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1
X = I haven't recieved that handicap yet for that round. I did all
these last night, so there will be many more additions later. If you
have any that I don't have, please send them to me.
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PRIZES:
*************
Consolation:
You will always receive a "Tissue" in the normal battles. This item is
absolutely useless, but you can sell it for 1 gil. Hooray!! You'll
be rich in no time selling these ^_^
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Trading in BP:
After you win all 8 battles or give up, you receive a certain amount
of Battle Points. These can be traded in for rare items at the machine
to the left of the entrance. DO NOT LEAVE THE BATTLE ARENA, or you
will lose all your BP. The prizes are as follows:
Disk 1
Phoenix Down = 100
Remedy = 200
Mimmet Greens = 400
Enemy Lure = 800
Bird Wing = 1600
S Wing = 3200
Pre-Emptive = 6400
Speed Plus = 12800
Championship Belt = 32000
Omnislash = 64000
Disk 2/3
Remedy = 100
Enemy Lure = 250
Right Arm = 500
Pre-Emptive = 1000
Regan Greens = 2000
Speed Plus = 4000
Stardust = 8000
Championship Belt = 16000
Omnislash (Limit 1) = 32000
W-Summon (Limit 1) = 64000
The only prizes you really need are Omnislash (Cloud's level 4 limit)
and W-Summon (Lets you summon twice in one turn). If you want more,
I recommend Enemy Lure, Pre-Emptive, Speed Plus, and perhaps Stardust
(casts Comet 2). So, in short, the only prizes you shouldn't get are
the Remedy, Right Arm, Championship Belt, and the Regan Greens. You
can either buy these or get them from enemies.
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THE SECRET DUEL
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How To Access It:
To access the Secret Duel, you have to trade in enough BP for the
W-Summon materia and Omnislash, and you need Cloud's ultimate weapon,
the Ultima Weapon, which you get from Ultimate Weapon (^_^). Cloud is
the only party member that can participate in the Secret Duel.
*************
Word of Warning:
The Secret Duel puts you up against Proud Clod with just one character.
In this set of battles, you should equip as much materia as you would
against a large boss. You might want to use Knights of the Round
against Proud Clod (if you have it, that is). I don't recommend using
it against any of the other enemies, though, or it'll take you half an
hour to beat the 8 rounds. I strongly suggest Magic Plus materia
whether you're using KOR or not. This will pretty much guarantee that
your spells are doing all the damage they are capable of.
Put on as many Counter Attacks as you have, plus Mime (if you have it).
That way you can mime however many counter attacks you've done. If you
have 4 or less Counter Attack materia, use 4X Cut instead. If you
don't have 4X Cut, I feel sorry for you ^_^
*************
Special Prizes:
The first time you beat all 8 battles, you will be given Final Attack
materia. This will allow you to use materia you link it to when you
reach 0 HP right before you die. You can hook it up to Revive or
Phoenix so that you will be brought back to life when you die. It's
pretty much required if you want to beat Emerald Weapon.
Also, you get handy "Dio's Diary" and "Dio's Autograph" consolation
prizes, which do absolutely nothing. You can't even sell them :(
I've read that you can also get Magic Counter materia from the Secret
Duel, but I've never recieved it. I think it's just one of those
rumors associated with FF VII.
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ENEMIES:
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Here is a list of all the enemies i have fought in the Battle arena.
If you know of more, please send them to me. (Note: If an enemy is
listed with a letter, there are more than one. Each letter represents
another enemy.)
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Normal Battles:
Round 1:
Foulander A, B
Garuda, Jayjujayme A, B
Dual Horn A, B
Razorweed A, B, C
Garuda A, B, C
Round 2:
Under Lizard
Under Lizard A, B
Tonadu
Slaps A, B, C, D, E
8 eye A, B
Acrophies
Round 3:
8 eye A, B
ToxicFrog A, B, Jemnezmy
Adamantaimai
Doorbull
Round 4:
Boundfat, Malldancer A, B, C
Jumping A, B
Hippogryph
Acrophies
Trickplay, Boundfat A, B
Ice Golem A, B
Round 5:
Lessaloploth
Lessaloploth A, B
Shred A, B, Frozen Nail
Frozen Nail A, B
Magnade
Round 6:
Cuahl, Headbomber A, B
Zolokalter, Headbomber A, B
Evilhead A, B, C
Stilva
Headbomber A, B, C
Round 7:
Malboro
Ironite A, B
Gremlin A, B, C
Blue Dragon
Gremlin A, B, C
Tonberry
Round 8:
Ghost Ship
Serpent
Sea Worm
Ho-chu
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Secret Duel:
Round 1 = Sea Worm
Round 2 = Ho-chu
Round 3 = Unknown 3
Round 4 = Serpent
Round 5 = Wolfmeister
Round 6 = Behemoth
Round 7 = Maximum Kimaira
Round 8 = Proud Clod
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CHEATING METHODS:
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Beating the Handicap:
As long as you have a Ribbon, you can easily get through an entire set
of 8 battles with only 1 or 2, if any, handicaps.
When the slot machine starts up, watch carefully for an abnormal status
handicap. Now keep hitting the Square button continuously. When you
are holding square, the dial stops spinning. Now all you have to do is
get in the position that the handicap before the one you want shows up
Quickly let go of Square and hit Circle. You should, with some
practice, be able to time it exactly so that you always get hit with
the desired handicap. Now you won't be hit with any handicap, and when
it tries to change your status an orangeish cloud will appear over you,
allowing your time gauge to fill up without being attacked. Fun, huh?
*************
Use Broken Materia - Method 1
If you have Mime materia, you can continue using materia after it is
broken. If you cast any spell or summon, you can mime it after that
type of materia is broken. For example, let's say you cast Ultima.
After that round, you select the "Magic Materia is broken" handicap.
If you use mime, you can continue casting Ultima.
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Use Broken Materia - Method 2
If you link Command Counter to any Command Materia, then select the
"Command Materia is broken" handicap, You may still use that Command
when you are attacked.
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This is the end of my Battle Arena FAQ, version 0.3. Stay tuned for
updates, as it is nowhere near completion. If you have anything to
add or a mistake to point out (or a compliment for a job well done),
send it to
[email protected]
Lukahn
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THANKS:
*************
Thanks to:
Square for making FF VII
[email protected] for asking how to beat the BA on a low level
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BTW, if you're ever in the mood to hang out with fellow Final Fantasy
fans, stop by Crescent Lake at
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/1277/Crescent.html
or search for Crescent Lake on the Yahoo! search engine.
