Help How should I set my characters up?

[chaosdazer]

By this I don't mean what Armour/weapons/ or anything, I mean one simple question.

I focus on Ash (magic user) Balthier(long range and Vaan (short range) My other 3 characters have no Armour and are about 10 levels behind or so. Do I need to level them up, or can I focus on my 3 mains?

 

[moogling]

I would level them up, but that's just me. It's good to have a backup party, because during boss fights you never know what's going to happen. I only left one character out to not be leveled up.

To be honest, I have almost all of my characters short ranged. I have a habit of overlevelling, so my license board doesn't focus one person on one thing, and when I buy a spell I usually have everyone purchase the license for it.

I know that you'll probably not want to over level, so I would suggest maybe switching out Vaan for Basch, I did that mid-game and he turned out to be much stronger. It really just depends on what's working for you and how you have your gambits set up.

To figure out my party (and what weapons/armor) to give them, I just went out levelling and switched out different weapons every now and then to see what worked best for who.

Right now, everyone in my party is a mage, but Fran can use it for less MP. Basch and Penelo are using axes, Balthier and Ashe using swords. I'm pretty sure I have Fran using a bow for one reason or another, but usually I have her using a pole.

Of course you could always have just your main party, but for me it came in handy to have a backup party.

 

[Icarus]

I agree; level them up. I think there's an accessory that shares Experience; otherwise, beat some monsters with a party of two weak characters and a strong one with a Gun or other Ranged weapon. Area-of-effect spells (Firaga, etc.) also work well.
Doing this can save your skin in a boss battle. But don't get them too leveled up, because then your party will become too even. The differences are what make your characters stronger.
And I know you said you have equipment all figured out, but try to get a Demonsbane from the Tomb of Raithwall if you're in levels 10-20. The Deathbringer and Cleric's Robes chests also provide very good equipment and are relatively easy to get to.

 

[Stoic Hero]

The characters in XII aren't predetermined for any roles, but they do have minor differences that can make a big difference if they play toward their strengths.
Vaan- Strength
Basch- HP/Defense
Balthier-Strength/Speed
Ashe- Speed/Magic
Penelo- Magic
Fran- Not good at anything, sadly...Still love her though.

I would level up your others, but that's really up to you. If you plan on fighting the secret bosses, then yes everyone should be at 99 before you try. Now, if you just plan on getting to and beating the final boss, then you really only need the three characters you have now. It all depends on what you want. I would recommend if you only use the three you have now though to give Vaan a very strong weapon like a Spear or Greatsword and give Balthier a greatsword as well (he sucks with a gun, which makes no sense) and then give Ashe a Main Gauche and a Shield. With that setup, you will be a beast in all of your battles and Ashe won't even be touched half the time because the Main Gauche is a knife with TONS of evasion. Good luck with your game! PM me if you need any other help.

 

[Busta]

I personally found magic or any kind to be somewhat pointless in this game since if you soup up your characters right, they can be hitting for high HP at decent levels late in the game. I went with 3 physical attackers, any of the 5 except Panelo, and just pummeled up on my enemies.

However, I would try to keep one person back like possibly Fran, Ashe, or Vaan to Heal up or cast status effects on enemies or my fighters when needed.

 

[FinalHeart]

I have Basch being the tank/short range damager. Balthier is using guns, and I forget why, but guns have some special property to them. Is it that they always hit, or do they always hit the same damage? I don't know, but Balthier also has quite a few white magic spells. Ashe is my all-around mage. Think a red mage, except with better spells. She knows all of the magic available at the moment (white, black, green, time, arcane... are there more?).

Then, in my back-up party, I have people to take up these roles. Vaan would take Basch's spot, Fran would take Balthier's spot, and Penelo would take Ashe's spot.

But I tried to be complicated on purpose. You probably could get through the whole game with two physical damage dealers and one dedicated healer.

 

[Stoic Hero]

Yeah, guns always hit and they ignore defenses. However, they're very slow and you'd be much better off giving Balthier something he can do a lot of damage with, since he's got the best speed besides Vaan. I'd recommend a greatsword, spear, or even a regular sword and shield. He's terrible with a gun, sadly. The worst actually. It makes no use of his talents whatsoever. Fran is worst with a bow. I guess Square wants us to experiment or something.