Barrier/MBarrier

Sora_lion_heart

Sora_lion_heart

man of the shadows
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If you've played enough FFVII you may have used these spells. In my head the best way to do so is with the enemy skill "Big Guard". Now I know the haste is what makes me lose my buffs faster but its crazy how fast the protect and shell effect wears off. Also even without haste Barrier and MBarrier run out faster then any spell. I find it completely pointless as the protection they give isn't even all that great anyways.

What are you thoughts on this versions Protect/Shell system. I myself prefer FFXII's and they did what!? 10% damage reduction?
 
Have you ever equipped the Protect ring on a Character?
it endows the user with Auto-Protect and Shell but they run out:srsly:WTF?
Same as FFXIII they only last a short duration and when you utilize everything you can to make them last longer they only last 90% which is still only like 4 minutes.

On FFVII you can adjust the duration by changing the ATB type from active to turn based, but that slows the battles right down, and Im not sure but the speed of the ATB
may also effect the rat eat which they go down:hmmm:

But my overall opinion is, I like auto abilities and always equip them on my party members
they are just another way you can personalize your team and further define rolls, Fang from FFXIII has Auto-Protect active:ryan:
 
Are you sure the protect ring runs out? I thought it kept Barrier and MBarrier up permanently as long as it was equipped? It's been ages since I played though so I don't really remember.

I do remember when I played that Big Guard seemed to work quite well for protecting my characters. It's true the effect wore off pretty quickly but while it was active, it was good. I never really bothered actually buying the Barrier materia though.
 
All I know is that big guard is nice, but it only lasts half as long as Wall. I'd take advantage of Wall.. Shield is nice to_
 
Yeah pretty sure it runs out it doesnt regenerate either.

I equip it on RED XIII and use him as a cover for my other Characters and it runs out with in a minute.
 
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In my opinion they should have just gave it a 2-3 minute duration. Haste shouldn't take away your buffs, they should work well together. Haste even take regen away faster. For a game made with additional bars dedicated for these buffs they sure don't amount to much.
 
Yeah thats true if you dont have the bars filled up they are just a waste of space, thats why they got rid of the screen length info Window in FFVIII, Incase you guys wanna know you steal the Protect ring from one of the Heads on the 2 headed dragon typw dude in the Gaia Glacier.

Schizo I think his name is?
 
At one point, I tried keeping myself wall'd up during boss fights, but I found I spent every other turn having to recast it. it's just a waste of time imo
 
It's all about knowing when to use it and how. Big Guard is great later in the game when you really do need the extra protection and more turns. Yeah it runs out but you can always re-cast, even if you do find yourself re-casting often. Earlier on in the game though it's best to just use one of the protection spells without the other and Haste, depending on the enemy, as Big Guard can sap away a characters MP quickly. Eitherway that extra protection is vital especially if your not one to level grind too much and like to go through the game at levels that keep you on your toes. This is one of the true beauties of Final Fantasy, you really can make it as easy or hard as you like.
 
I wonder what a stop, wall, cover combo would do. If anything casting slow will at least increase the duration time on these spells. Can anyone think of a better way to use these spells other then recasting them every turn. In the end in my opinion they are useless. Shield is alright but not all that great either. I think a speed of 255 + Slow + Wall + cover + shield would be best. Too bad big guard will take the slow away anyhow.
 
I always favoured popping Big Guard right at the start of a boss fight, to give me a little extra edge right at the start. I have a bad habit of over-leveling, so I generally start wiping the floor with the boss regardless, and Big Guard just upgrades that. Honestly, if not for Big Guard, I never would have used Barrier or MBarrier even once. They're just a perk I get for that extra MP expenditure when I pop Haste via Big Guard.

Ultimately, the only useful barrier type spell in FF7 seemed to be Reflect (on your part, followed by using a powerful All-Spell on your party for triple cast). The game never seemed to demand the use of Barrier/MBarrier, unlike other entries in the series (where you needed it to survive).
 
I've always been all about casting wall on my characters, and before that, protect. The awesome thing about materia is the combinations you can make, so being able to protect everyone in one character's single turn is just fab!

Spells like that helped me a lot one my low-level completion of FFVII when I was a tiddly bit younger.
 
It's not really necessary for any reason other than big massive attacks that bosses tend to send (Supernova, Diamond Beam, Pandora's Box, Demon Rush etc) or getting a little boost at the beginning.

Also, change your ATB to "wait" - it doesn't REALLY slow down battles, all it does is prevent the ATBs from charging while you or an enemy are firing their attacks. It only slows it by the duration of an attack - and the attacks always last the same amount of time, so really your battles do as well.
 
Well I really dont know if it is useful or not but all I know is that I did not use them because of the duration.
 
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