Am I fighting bad guys correctly in this game?

sensei_mike

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Hi Guys,

I've been working my way through FFXV (in chapter 3 at the moment) and still find myself a bit lost when it comes to combat. Some things I am not sure of:
-With Noctis I usually just lay into enemies pretty hard with whatever weapon I'm using until they're dead. I feel like the action is so fast paced that blocking (holding square on PS4) is impractical or unnecessary. As a result, I end up using several potions per fight as well (but potions are so cheap that it doesn't matter much). Does anyone else find this?
-With magic, because of how infrequently I use it and because of how easy it is to find magic draw points, should I be casting spells with close to or all 99 of my magic draws for each element?
-When party members die, how come sometimes I can use a phoenix down on them and sometimes I can't?
 
Holding square will give you the ability to dodge or parry which at most times is incredibly useful. Your party members have to be completely KO'd (all grey life gone) and dead on the floor to be able to use a phoenix down on them. You should be experimenting with different weapons too as the solution isn't to just mash sometimes. Holding the analog forward and circle will give you a powerful attack for example.
 
- You really shouldn't be using potions that often at that point in the game unless you are fighting targets a lot higher level than you. Dodging will be important later on, especially if you end up in an area where you aren't allowed to use items or get 1 - 2 hit from a target. I also don't recommend that you just use whatever weapon, unless the target has no weakness toward a particular type. If the damage you are dealing to an enemy shows up as an orange like color, that means the enemy takes more damage from the respective weapon type. Also, if possible you want to try and attack enemies from behind. Not only will this give you a 1.5X Blindside damage multiplier, but it'll also make it easier to proc link attacks with any of the Chocobros near by. Link attacks typically generate more damage. Doing such a thing will also help increase your finesse grade in battle.

- If you want to get the most potent results offensively then yes. However, you don't have to use 99 of each element and can use a higher number of items in your inventory instead. You can for example end up with a magic that will apply damage and some sort of debuff, or deal damage to foes but heal the other Chocobros in the area.

- Once one of the Chocobros reach 0 HP, they will go into a danger state. During that time period that will not be able to take any action. The longer they stay in that mode, the lower their maximum HP will become. You can have them get back into battle quickly be letting them use a recovery item or have one of the Chocobros put a hand on the danger state Chocobro. Danger state =/= Death.
 
I find that the tutorial before you begin the game really helped me understand the basics of combat. Like FinalxxSin said, always watch out for orange/purple numbers (damage dealt). Press R1+triangle to warp-attack towards enemy. Before I restarted the game (I was in Chapter Two and having a difficult time with it), I was just pressing triangle and wondered why I couldn't land a hit. :lew:
 
Warping is your friend in battles. Especially for big bosses/sub-bosses, as long as you have the stamina for it. (As for me, I have an outfit equipped that disregards stamina. Free warping and running, baby! :ohoho:)

Dodging is another friend, especially if you can "blink" properly. (With Ascension and/or equipment perks on top of that, it makes it even better for you.) Not dodging/blinking appropriately can definitely create some tough situations, especially in the late game (and definitely in post-game hunts/quests).

Don't be afraid to use elemancy/magic flasks. In general, they're amazing at big damage against foes. There are many different combinations to try, too, so make use of those flasks. :grin:

On a final note, tech abilities can be huge lifesavers when you're in a bind. (Especially Ignis's Overwhelm.) So unlock tech bar nodes in Ascension as soon as you can, and assign the abilities according to your play style.
 
On a final note, tech abilities can be huge lifesavers when you're in a bind. (Especially Ignis's Overwhelm.) So unlock tech bar nodes in Ascension as soon as you can, and assign the abilities according to your play style.

Oh yeah, that's actually a great point. I found Ignis' Mark and Prompto's Piercer to be really great options for most of the game. Piercer always does large amounts of damage to a single target, making picking off especially dangerous enemies (like Bombs) really simple. Meanwhile, Mark is a good way to take a breather, get in a bit of damage on several enemies at once, and get party members out of a bind, since most Techniques stop damage from happening to your party while it's active. Keeping the camera cuts on when characters use items and such can also be a bit of a boon, since lost health still goes up, as does the Technique bar when these cutaways happen.
 
While most questions have been answered pretty good here, I got one piece of advice that I got right after I beat the game and it changed how well I fought for the rest of the end game.

Go to settings and change your control type to Type C. It changes a few things around but more importantly it places attack to right trigger and dodge to left trigger. It could just be a preference thing as I didn't really have a problem with the default controls but I seen a lot of people saying CHANGE IT SEE WHAT HAPPENS! I changed it, I seen what happened and I couldn't believe it honestly. I was dodging properly for the first time in the game, swapping between blocking and attacking was much easier now and the rest of the buttons could be hit more fluidly with this control type. It took a bit of time to ignore my muscle memory and get use to what the other buttons did but it felt a whole lot more natural and I fought a hell of a lot better just by changing it.
 
I've no problem using the default setup. I guess attacking and dodging haven't been too much of an issue for me with this setup, honestly. ^_^

Nonetheless, now you guys have me curious. :lew:
 
I tried Type C...couldn't do it. :P Went back to default after ten minutes.
 
I tried Type C...couldn't do it. :P Went back to default after ten minutes.

I personally don't necessarily think it's definitively better or anything, so much as it just makes sense and is comfortable.

The other options feel like I'm playing an action game from 2003, lol.
 
Has anyone made a certain ring a part of their battle strategies? The only useful thing I could use from it was the "holy dodge", and only during the forced usage. After that, it just hasn't served me well. >_<

I think I'd read that SE is beefing this ring up at some point?
 
Has anyone made a certain ring a part of their battle strategies? The only useful thing I could use from it was the "holy dodge", and only during the forced usage. After that, it just hasn't served me well. >_<

I think I'd read that SE is beefing this ring up at some point?

Yes, the update coming on the 22nd is supposed to buff it if I recall.

Anyway, I personally haven't used it outside of the chapter it was obtained in. However, if you can get it off, the spell that decimates everything and uses all of your MP is rather useful. I used it in the room with the Iron Giants, as well as against a large group of Axemen. You just have to make sure it doesn't get interrupted... though I don't know if you receive experience or items by using it, or exactly what enemies it can and can't kill.
 
Yes, the update coming on the 22nd is supposed to buff it if I recall.

Anyway, I personally haven't used it outside of the chapter it was obtained in. However, if you can get it off, the spell that decimates everything and uses all of your MP is rather useful. I used it in the room with the Iron Giants, as well as against a large group of Axemen. You just have to make sure it doesn't get interrupted... though I don't know if you receive experience or items by using it, or exactly what enemies it can and can't kill.
I don't think I gained experience using the mass instakill ability? I could be wrong, but I just don't recall it.

A last piece of advice: absolutely do not put a lot of faith into summons in this game. Triggering them is usually a crapshoot, and thus unreliable, even with the massive damage they inflict.

Oh, and if you play on Easy mode and have a certain little creature getting you out of a jam, don't rely on him too much in the post-game stuff. He won't be available to save you with many tough fights/hunts/quests. (Had to test this out, to be sure. I play on Normal otherwise.)
 
I haven't played on easy mode at all, and I do remember him saying he would come help me out in a jam. I wanted to see my Blue Fix come in and do something(it's what I named him xD) Alas since I played on normal I guess I won't get to see him.
 
It's possible he might also show up in Normal if you equip the No Experience accessory being added in the next update. I'm going to assume this accessory will come with other inherent abilities like scaling damage and something that means you don't instantly die from late game bosses at level one all the time, similar to the No EXP abilities in the KH games. Carbuncle could be one of those buffers allowing level 1 runs to be possible.
 
Another tip with magic, creating magic with 2 high potions makes heal magic level 99, deals no magic, but it instantly heals your hp up for the damage it would of done, even heals blood damage 'or the damage that reduces your max hp'
 
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