Welcome to my character guide.
Using it, you will be able to identify each characters' strengths and weaknesses, learn how to best utilize them in many situations, and how well they perform in certain roles.

Now, let's jump right into it.

• The benefits of doing well at every battle are increased TP regeneration, which enables you to use Summons and valuable techniques such as Libra more frequently, and an increased rare item drop rate. The latter is very important in the early game.
  
  
• You basically want to hoard as many components and gil-generating items as possible without spending too much. Winning battles through pre-emptive strikes and good tactics will let you obtain items such as Phoenix Down and Incentive Chips that sell for a high amount of gil.
  
  
• I would suggest skipping battles that do not net you good components or valuable items. Especially in the early Chapters prior to when you gain the Crystarium ability, there's no real point in fighting battles. It's just a waste of time, so skip them!
  
  
• To beat early battles easily, keep in mind a few things. For every other Paradigm shift you make, you get a full ATB bar. This lets you kill and heal at a far faster rate than simply waiting. So make sure you are frequently shifting, the game is designed around this pace!
  
  
• Do not ever set the battle speed to slow. Because "slow" does not give you more time to finish battles, you will simply end up hurting the chances for a five-star battle. Read the excellent "Game Mechanics" guide for more details.
  
  
• And finally, remember that your general goal is to stagger the enemy. Ravagers are your best option for this but their chain increases will deplete very quickly. So the goal is to start with a few classes that slow the chain gauge; Commandos and Saboteurs are best for this. Once you get in a few strikes, shift immediately to a triple or double Ravager setup to stagger.
  
  
• Do not underestimate how quickly the Ravager staggers compared to other classes! Once the bar is slowed, you should almost always be in a triple or dual Ravager setup. Once the enemy is staggered, Commandos do far more damage so feel free to switch.
  
  
• With Paradigm Shifts, you can basically start with something like RelentlessAssault (COM + 2 RAV) and immediately switch to Tri-Disaster (3 RAV) afterthe Commando gets his/her attacks in.
  
  
• Switching quickly to Tri-Disaster is often the fastest (and only) way to getfive-star rankings versus certain enemies.
  
  
• And finally, avoid farming for CP or gil until the end of Chapter 11. The enemies you meet there will give you thousands of Gil and thousands of CP per battle, making any farming you do in the early game a waste of time.

An Item has an actual Experience amount that you see and a hidden EXP amount that affects the multiplier. The maximum multiplier is x3 and you generally always want to obtain x3 unless the item requires very little EXP.

Organic components (such as Fangs and Tails) will add little actual EXP but add to the hidden multiplier. Non-organic components add increasing amounts of actual EXP but subtract from the multiplier.

The most efficient way to upgrade an item is to increase the multiplier then use as many copies of a non-organic component necessary to max the level.

51-100 = x1.25
101-200= x2
201-205= x.175
251-500= x2
501+= x3

In practice, you rarely know what each organic component adds. So you don't really need to know the exact value for x3. Just keep adding organic parts until the x3 is unlocked.

Sturdy Bone (+14)
Barbed Tail (+14)
Vibrant Ooze (+14)

You need 36 of one of these items to unlock the x3 multiplier. So simply buy them from the Creature Comforts shop and you're set. Once you get x3 on the item you want to upgrade . . .

Ultracompact Reactor (R&D Depot, unlocked after Mission 7 in Ch. 11)
Particle Accelerator (R&D Depot)
Superconductor (Lenora's Garage)

The Ultracompact Reactor is the best component in the game. Unfortunately, it often gives so much EXP that it's overkill on some of your accessories and tier 1 items. For those cases, you want to use Superconductors instead. Superconductors are incredibly useful because each item gives a small amount of EXP so you can basically come very close to maxing an item out each time without wasting a component.

While the table above includes the best GIL to EXP components, you *never ever ever* want to sell the components you obtain as loot. The reason is you only get a fraction of the item's price back, meaning they are actually more efficient to use than to sell.

Also, there are a number of items in the game that are intended to be sold, not to be used as components. Examples include:

• Green Needle
  
• Moogle Doll
  
• Incentive/Credit Chip
  
• Platinum Ingot
  
• Gold Nugget

Because of the way the game jumps from party member to party member, it's generally not a wise idea to upgrade Weapons in the early game. Rather, what you should do is save all your components and only upgrade the following items until Chapter 11.

This accessory reaches level 11 so x2 or x3 it.

You obtain this +Strength accessory early and won't find better until far later in the game. Keep it starred (maxed out) and de-equip it before each party switch so that you have extra muscle in the early game. You can tell when your party will switch because you have 1) defeated a boss and 2) there are no enemies in between that battle and the last plot marker that will end the chapter.

This accessory reaches level 11 so x2 or x3 it.

You obtain this +Magic accessory early as well and don't find better until far later. So keep it starred and de-equip it between party switches.

This accessory only has one level (don't x3 it)

You obtain this accessory in Chapter 9. Upgrade it immediately and put it on your best Synergist, Saboteur, or Commando. It becomes one of the best mid-game accesories in the game, Aurora Scarf. Aurora Scarf gives you a full ATB bar at the start of each battle. When you obtain more Scarfs at the Moogleworks shop or during Chapter 11, try to get three for each of your characters.

This accessory reaches level 11 (so you need to x3 it)

You obtain this in Chapter 9 as well. You don't necessarily have to upgrade it but the 15% net overall damage reduction is way better than any HP bangle for your fragile Hope/Lightning type characters. Use it if you find the battles tough.


Once you have upgraded these three (or four) items, save your components. Now you want to upgrade each of your favorite character's weapons until they reach max level. Once an item is "starred," you need a catalyst to upgrade it further. Feel free to use these catalysts if you have them.

View each Character's Equipment section to see what weapons I recommend.

Note that a lot of the weapons require Scarletite (or Trapezohedron) items to upgrade beyond level 1. Do not buy Scarletite or Traps. View the "Farming" section for where to obtain as many copies as your heart desires.

Once you have obtained a Trapezohedron and enough Gil, feel free to upgrade either Vanille's Belladonna Wand or Fang's Pandoran Spear to a starred Ultimate Weapon. Then, you can dismantle it to obtain 216,000 gil and 3 additional Traps!

If you feel like farming for the 6 Traps yourself though, you don't have to use this method and can simply continue killing Turtles.

In my playthroughs, I tend to finish Chapter 11 before beginning farming. The reason is it unlocks your second to last level of Crystarium and gives access to increased stat gains and powerful abilities. Once you have achieved this, let's look at the best farming spots.

Before you start farming, get a Collector's Catalog and a Connoisseur's Catalog as soon as possible. You can obtain both in Chapter 11. One is found at the Apex of Taejin's tower, for those who missed it. Interact with the statue after you beat the boss and take the elevator to a treasure sphere.

The other is a Mission 8 reward. These two Catalogs will increase your chances of obtaining valuable items.

This catalyst costs a lot of Gil but can be obtained rather easily. Finish Mission 63 and you will unlock the different "Gui" turtles that replace the "Adaman" turtles. The "Shaolong Gui" turtle has a 5% chance to drop Dark Matter (multiplied by getting 5 stars and using a Connuseir Catalog).

These are found off the Long Gui and Adamantoise/tortoise. I would recommend finishing Chapter 11 to obtain Vanille's Death spell as soon as possible. Then, as you're doing the missions, whenever you get three TP you can kill a turtle. The turtles also drop Platinum Ingots which sell for 150,000 gil.

These drop from the Sacrifice monsters in Chapter 12/13 (which also drop Perfumes, a valuable Gil component). Don't buy any and simply wait to reach these Chapters. Farm about 12 or more if you're going for the all items obtained Trophy.

This item, when starred, dismantles into Sprint Shoes (one of the best accesories in the game). It also sells for 40,000 gil. You can obtain multiple copies naturally (through the Chocobo treasure and drops) but you can also farm some very early by repeatedly spawning the Mission 7 boss. He drops the Tiara at a low rate and can be very difficult.


Method 1: Eden Hall
The first is at the end of Chapter 12. There are a bunch of packs of Sacrifice that conclude with a boss mob. You can clear the Sacrifices, reach the end, and hit "retry battle" to respawn the entire line (while setting up pre-emptive strikes). You should obtain lots of gil and CP this way. You can not return to this method after beating the game! (The respawn trick doesn't work).

Method 2: Orphan's Cradle
The second is at the start of Chapter 13. Just before the portals there are two packs of Sacrifice near a save point that respawn any time you move off screen. You can not return to this method after beating the game.

Method 3: Chapter 11
Simply kill an Adamantoise each time you build up three TP while doing your missions.

Method 4: Eden Hall
You can find an Adamantoise here in Eden Hall. There are soldier mobs nearby that allow you to build up three TP quickly if you equip the full Gestalt set (Energy Sash and Champion's Badge for starters).

Overall, I would recommend simply obtaining two Traps. Use one on each of Fang/Vanille's weapons then max them out and dismantle. This will give you Six Traps. Then farm Sacrifices for gil, which are far more efficient.

This section will be relatively short since most people have preferred or favored characters.

As a general rule, I find Medics, Saboteurs, Sentinels, and Synergists to be the more difficult classes to control. The reason is they frequently require you to press Circle to cancel queued actions and also often force you to pick Abilities manually rather than use the questionable auto choices.

So because of that, your leader slot should favor someone who has a good ultimate ability and good Commando/Ravager skills (so that you can manually input Area of Effect attacks).

Also, for most of the game you want to have some combination of the following:

• The ability to swap to three Ravagers
  
• At least one good Synergist
  
• At least one good Saboteur
  
• Preferably two Commandos
  
• Preferably one Sentinel
  
• At least two good Medics

Lightning, Sazh, Fang, Snow

Your leader should be one of these four characters. The reasons are their special abilities and Blitz. You should not pick Hope or Vanille because they are much better in support. That is, unless you are using Death with Vanille.

Hope, Vanille, Lightning

You have to get used to seeing Hope, Vanille, and Lightning in your game. The three are the best Support characters in the game. I would say basically every mid to late game party should use at least two of these three Characters. It's difficult to use expensive Crystarium slots for Sazh, Snow, and Fang on Medic upgrades.

In addition, you can't really use Snow/Fang, Snow/Sazh, or Fang/Snow in the same party until the end game because they're all bad Medics and Fang hasn't unlocked her Ravager abilities yet.

So pick your favorite leader, then use some combination of Hope/Vanille/Light. Which ones to pick? Look down below!

Lightning packs a unique combination of characteristics. I personally think she is the best character in the game. There are a lot of experts who will disagree with this, but try playing her using my suggested setup.

For most of the game, the point of the game isn't raw damage. The point of the game is to stagger as soon as possible. Once you remember this, you'll see why Lightning is so good.

Lightning is generally the second best Commando, best Ravager, best (or third best) Medic depending on how you look at it, best Sentinel, and makes a decent Saboteur/Synergist.

The reason for this is her Speed. The setup I will recommend for you basically makes her by far the fastest character in the game. This basically makes her the best leader AND the best support character you can put in.

When the enemy is being staggered, Lightning will input far more chain increases. And when the enemy is staggered, Lightning will pull off far more Commando attacks.

She also has the highest combined stats (1700 Str/1700 Mag, albeit at the cost of some HP.

To make things even more ridiculous, Lightning becomes unhittable as a Sentinel when unlocking Elude along with Nimbletoe Boots. If she does get hit, the Sentinel ability Reprieve will let you heal her up with no worries.

You basically want to follow this order with Lightning.

• Get all ATB/Accessory Slots
  
• Get Army of One
  
• Max out Commando/Rav/Medic role levels
  
• Pick up Elude in Sentinel tree
  
• Max out main 3 roles
  
• Pick up Reprieve (it's super expensive) in the SEN tree
  
• Max out Synergist/Saboteur

Versus strong single enemies, Army of One basically single-handedly breaks the enemy while slowing it down a lot. You want to start with a paradigm like Smart Bomb (RAV+RAV+SAB) and switch to something like Relentless Assault (with Lightning as the RAV) after your team finishes their attacks. Then, do it again and again until the enemy breaks.

With Axis Blade equipped, Army of One basically returns your full ATB bar when you start with Smart Bomb! With my equip set up, you have a pretty decent chance of getting an early break as well.

Versus groups of enemies, Lightning is unquestionably the greatest since Muhammad Ali in his prime. Start with a Paradigm like Bully (COM + SAB + SYN). Your teammate will haste Lightning while you should queue up a Ruinaga + Blitz. Once the attack completes, switch to something like Relentless Assault or Aggression (COM + COM + RAV).

Then, go to abilities and hold Right to Repeat your previous action. She will repeatedly perform Ruinaga + Blitz but Axis Blade will restore some ATB for each hit you land. So basically your ATB bar will recharge faster than you can spend it. You can get off 3 Ruinaga + Blitz's in one Paradigm Shift animation.

If you pick up random Synergist/Saboteur parts, Lightning can quickly buff those abilities. But generally, you want to use Lightning in her main three roles. The speed of Axis Blade + 10% ATB charge will allow her to get dozens of more abilities than your comrades in a long battle.

As a Sentinel, she basically becomes immune to Physical attacks. Multiple uses of Provoke will draw the attention so it's just up to you to kill kill kill!


Weapon: Axis Blade (upgrade to Enkindler ASAP)
Axis Blade is a lot better than other Weapons. While I was not a believer during my first play through, using Axis Blade in my second game converted me immediately.

You want to upgrade it to lvl 2 by buying Adamantite as soon as possible (probably after you finish Vanille's robot quest). It'll return more of your ATB bar at level 2.

Until it reaches level 2, feel free to use something else like Gladius. Once you have Enkindler, feel free to upgrade Lightning's Weapon to Ultimate last. She doesn't need it as badly as other characters do.

My recommended accessory slots go in order. So if you have three slots unlocked, use the first three and so on.

1- Strength Accessory
2- Speed Accessory (Sprint Shoes, Aurora Scarf)

You generally want to start with Blitz to soften each enemy up and slow down their chain gauge. Then feel free to swap to Ravager and start the staggering.

1- Energy Sash
2- A Catalog/Friend/Sash with Gestalt synthesis group
3- Nimbletoe Boots
4- Sprint Shoes

This setup will give you the "lucky break" ability. The Energy Sash will restore TP every time Lightning makes a kill (which is quite frequent as you will see). Army of One will have a small chance with each hit to early stagger as well.

Nimbletoe Boots is essential for the Sentinel role but also gives Lightning a +10% ATB boost in conjunction with Axis Blade. Sprint Shoes will bump to +20%, and by the time you unlock the Ultimate Weapon (which loses the synthesis group), Sprint Shoes and Nimbletoe will give you at least 10%.

Also, while I'm not prone to fits of hyperbole, this setup is probably the best leader or teammate setup for any character in the game.

1- Sprint Shoes
2- Aurora Scarf
3- Nimbletoe Boots
4- Magic Accessory/Boost item

Generally I don't like using STR or MAG boosting Accessories. They require you to have faster times to achieve 5 star levels. However, this setup already packs the three necessary Boost items (the fourth would be redundant and useless other than giving a 10% boost). So a MAG accessory seems strong in this slot.

Feel free to swap it for +HP or Damage reduction accessories if you want.

1- Lightning Accessory (Lightning Charm or the Rings)
2- Lightning Accessory
3- Lightning Accessory
4- Auto-Faith Accessory

This specialized setup is for farming in the Mahbara Mines. When you first enter the Mines, you can make a left turn to access a bunch of Pulsework and Cryohedrons that give incredible CP. Reach the Juggernaut at the end and retry the battle to respawn everything.

This setup gives Lightning increased damage from her Thunder spells. Simply start as a Ravager and spam Thundara/Thundaga to finish each battle inseconds.

Sazh is an interesting character. He is both very specialized and very underrated. Players will primarily use him for one of three things: Blitz in the Commando role, his amazing Synergist abilities, or his unique weapons.

Sazh is often derided for his lower stats. While this is a valid critique, stats aren't everything. Stagger duration and offensive buff durations are often far more valuable (while allowing you to take more time to reach a five-star ranking).

Sazh is the third best Commando, a decent Ravager, the best Synergist, a servicable Medic, and will never really be used for the other skills. However in some battles, Sazh becomes the best Commando to control.

As a Commando, Sazh's Blitz ability works slightly differently than the others. While Snow, Fang, and Lightning tend to create a swirl of impact that hits hits surrounding areas, Sazh fires multiple shots (like a machine gun) into the crowd. What this means is that against bigger targets like the turtles that are forced to absorb every shot, Sazh does the best single target damage in the game. Take a gander at some of his Youtube kill videos if you don't believe me!

Sazh is also the best synergist in the game. He receives the Spica Defenders, a weapon that belongs to the "Positive Effect" Synthesis Group. When you pair these with a Watchman's amulet/Shrouding Talisman, you get a 30% boost to buffs. Basically, a buff from Sazh using that setup will mean you can start as Synergist for a boss battle and be Hasted for the entire battle.

Finally, some of Sazh's weapons have unique effects that no other character can match. His best weapon, Procyons, increases enemy stagger duration by 30% at level 2. This type of amazing bonus will allow you to kill much stronger enemies by breaking them as soon as possible.

His other unique weapon is Antares Deluxe. Antares Deluxe increases Sazh's chain bonus. Using his unique ability, Cold Blood, Sazh can rapidly stagger as the leader or in a support role. However, I would not recommend this weapon. It is obtained in Chapter 12; I prefer to finish most missions before the end game.

Also, his extremely high HP total is very useful in the middle stages of the game. You will notice a difference running a party like Vanille, Sazh, and Snow over a party of Lightning, Hope, and Fang for certain.

You basically want to follow this order with Sazh.

• Get all ATB/Accessory Slots
  
• Get Cold Blood (if you plan to make him a leader)
  
• Max out Synergist/Commando/Ravager role levels (in that order)
  
• Pick up a few Cure spells
  
• Max out main 3 roles
  
• Work on whatever else

I wouldn't really recommend Sazh as leader unless you're planning on killing turtles with Blitz. But if you do use that method, make sure to use Sazh's Cold Blood to stagger the enemy. Three applications of Blitz, repeated over and over, provides incomparable damage.

Sazh is great in support, particularly for teams that use Lightning as a leader. Give him an Aurora Scarf (no need for Sprint Shoes) and start in a Paradigm that begins with Sazh as Synergist. He will have Haste up immediately.

Equipped with Procyons, he can contribute immensely to your party's overall damage. You may want to develop Sazh as a medic quickly though if you need some spot healing.

Weapon: Procyons

The problem with Procyons is that it requires a Dark Matter to reach level 2. Dark Matter costs almost a million Gil but is easily farmable later in the game. So you should probably hold off on upgrading Procyons.

In the meantime, I would suggest using Spica Defenders. It has a healthy STR bonus and allows you to chain Positive Effect, a bonus you will notice for the challenging boss battles as you approach the end game.


1- Aurora Scarf
2- Watchman's Amulet/Shrouding Talisman

Remember, for the portions where you control only Vanille and Sazh, that prior to obtaining Commando you need to slow down the chain gauage. Two Ravagers won't cut it so you should start most battles with RAV + SAB, even after unlocking Commando.

1- STR Accessory
2- STR Accessory
3- Auto Brave Accessory (Morale Talisman)
4- STR Accessory

When you first finish Chapter 11, Sazh won't have the necessary STR to defeat an Adamantoise. You need roughly 1000+ STR (on the safe side) to be able to kill it. I would suggest pumping his STR up immediately with these Accessories.

Then, use your Eidolon summon to bring the Tortoise to its knees. Make sure you are buffed with Bravery/Haste and then go to town building up the chain gauge and unleashing Blitz after Blitz.

1- STR Accessory
2- Auto Brave Accessory
3- Gestalt Synthesis Group (Sashes, Hunter's Friend, Survivalist Catalog)
4- Gestalt Synthesis Group

This setup gives Sazh the STR to take down turtles while also allowing each of his Blitzes the chance to instantly stagger the opponent.

1- Aurora Scarf
2- Player's Choice
3- Player's Choice
4- Player's Choice

Sazh is a very versatile character in support. While you should always give him a Scarf and begin with him as a Synergist, the other accessory slots should be based on your intended role for the man.

If you keep him with Spica Defenders, feel free to leave the Watchman's Amulet still in. If you use him as a chain-boosting Ravager or need a Medic, give him an auto-Faith or +MAG boosting accessory.

Snow is a rather unfortunately designed character. He is simply outclassed by Fang in every meaningful capacity. His Strength is slightly lower and then becomes far outclassed in the end game, his special "Sovereign Fist" does slightly less calculated damage than Fang's "Highwind" (before accounting for STR), and she makes a servicable Sentinel.

To survive on your roster, Snow has to adapt. He has to take advantage of what Fang doesn't bring to the table and adjust from there. So what do we have?

Snow actually brings a lot of interesting, unique value to the table. Note that there are only three viable Sentinels in the game, but only two at the start (Fang + Snow, later joined by Lightning). Snow is the best Sentinel.

There are only three SAB who learn the single target Daze. Daze is a unique debuff that lets the next direct attack deal double damage. Endgame farmers have begun using Snow in a party with either Fang or Sazh, simply using him as a Saboteur-bot that keeps refreshing Daze.

Unlike Fang and Sazh, Snow's Saboteur tree learns nothing that "Adaman" turtles are vulnerable to (Deprotect, Deshell, and Imperil). So essentially Snow can keep spamming Daze in fights where the enemy is vulnerable.

Finally, if you build Snow correctly, he makes a very servicable Medic (with access to Curasa. He also starts as a Ravager and his "Daze" ability is not too far down his SAB tree.

By the time other characters have started on their fourth tree, Snow will have become a servicable Ravager, Medic, Saboteur, while being an above-average Commando and the best Sentinel. Not too shabby.

For maximum effectiveness, I would suggest

• Get all ATB/Accessory Slots
  
• Get Sovereign Fist
  
• Max out Commando/Ravager role levels
  
• You can stop with Sentinel at Reprieve
  
• Grab Cura in the Medic Tree
  
• Get Daze in the Saboteur Tree
  
• Max out the three main roles, then everything else

Snow as Leader

Snow is basically Fang in the leadership role. His Sovereign Fist does almost as much damage as Highwind for most of the game. He also has a very fast attack speed and does solid damage.

Use him as a leader if you love his personality. I personally favored using Lightning, Fang, or Sazh for gameplay purposes.

When you finish up to step 6 in the Setup guide (this won't take that much CP), Snow will become a very effective support player. He will be a great Medic and Ravager while also working well when spamming Daze.

I usually much prefer having the AI control my Sentinels as well, but that's more of a personal thing.

Weapon: Wild Bear (unlike others, Snow's best weapon choice is debatable)

I generally try to keep Snow's stats balanced. While in my first playthrough I gave him Power Circle, I think Wild Bear is better if you're using Snow as a Medic. Cure spells are based on Magic.

If you are fully intent on simply spamming Daze, it may be better to go with Feymark. But Snow starts with 1500 Str/1200 MAG. Feymark gives 0 STR/1050 MAG while Wild Bear gives 717 of each. 1500/2250 or 2217/1917? Tough call.

Remember, Commandos use Ruin with high MAG and Ravagers use Strikes with high STR, so you don't necessarily need both stats. Simply focusing on one will still let your characters work their roles.


1- Strength Accessory
2- Strength Accessory

Snow begins as a physical beast. He has immense HP which means you don't need to use damage prevention accessories ever. Instead, feel free to boost his damage as high as possible and focus on stashing your filler Accessories (like the Catalogs) on him as well.

1- Player's Choice
2- Player's Choice
3- Player's Choice
4- Player's Choice

Snow is very low maintenance when it comes to Accessories. With high natural STR and HP, you don't really need to equip him with anything in particular. However, good choices include Auto-Bravery, Sprint Shoes, Aurora Scarf, and STR boosts.

Keep in mind, when calculating your battle ranking, the game takes the higher value of your character's STR or MAG and ignores the other. So feel free to put MAG boosting accessories on Snow if his STR would remain higher anyways.

Also consider making him your pack mule. Equip the different Catalogs.

1- Player's Choice
2- Player's Choice
3- Player's Choice
4- Player's Choice

Again, not much changes if Snow is a leader or a party member. Feel free to use the items that boost his role in your party.

1- Magistral Crest
2- Magistral Crest
3- Magistral Crest
4- Magistral Crest

If you equip four of these expensive items with Feymark, Snow will become immune to all Magic damage. This ability is of questionable worth, especially considering it's ridiculously huge cost.

Hope is one of the glue characters that will prove invaluable to your squad. Though I am not personally a fan of his personality, watching his transition from soft sissy to a power house is quite interesting.

In many respects, Hope is identical to Vanille. While she gets a slight edge from me due to being the best Saboteur, Hope ends up becoming a superior Ravager and a slightly better Medic.


Hope is widely considered the best Medic and second best Ravager in the game. He also makes a top defensive Synergist and a solid Saboteur with many AoE debuffs.

Interestingly enough, people tend to ignore the fact that he also becomes a top Commando! Indeed, Hope will spam Ruin as a Commando so feel free to unlock that role in the future.


You basically want to follow this order with Hope.

• Get all ATB/Accessory Slots
  
• You can ignore Highwind (unless you want to see how it looks).
  
• Max out Rav/Med/Synergist role levels and trees (focusing on HP as you go)
  
• Pick up Saboteur abilities if you need them
  
• Work on the Commando tree

I would not recommend using Hope as a leader under any circumstances. If you must, simply spam Last Resort on single targets and use his -Ga and -Ra spells on groups.

The AI generally does a great job of controlling Hope. Simply switch to whatever roles you require. Vanille generally makes the better Medic for most of the game, so if you're using both try to keep Hope as the Ravager in most instances.

Hope should generally always be a Ravager then Medic. With Vanille, it's the opposite. For long boss battles, feel free to create two Paradigm sets with Hope as a Synergist. Equip him with Vidofnir and a Positive Effect accessory for the boost. Your buffs should last for the entire battle.


Weapon: Vidofnir or Hawkeye

I think Defensive Synergist buffs are relatively underwhelming for the majority of the game. So I would generally lean toward Hawkeye (which gives you 200 more Magic).

However, until you reach the point you can upgrade weapons, I would suggest using Vidofnir in conjunction with the Watchman's Amulet for the Positive Boost. This will give you +30% duration on your buffs for the nonstop boss battles.


1- Watchman's Amulet/Shrouding Talisman
2- HP Boost/Royal Armlet

Keep Vidofnir equipped and dual shift to Hope Synergist at the beginning. He should basically put up a full set of buffs on the party that lasts for the entire battle.

I do not endorse this. Simply follow the teammate setup.

1- Sprint Shoes (if not using Sazh)
2- Royal Armlet/HP Boost
3- Watchman's Amulet/Shrouding Talisman (unless you remove Vidofnir)
4- Auto-Faith/Tetradic Crown/Aurora Scarf

You should generally put your Catalog accessories on your teammates with high HP. Hope needs every ounce of defense he can get, so focus on that. As a wise man once said, "A Dead Hope means no Hope."

Ah sweet Vanille. Most players tend to either love her or hate her. While I must admit she has quite an awkward running animation, the lovable Oerban has grown on me.

Vanille is my favorite glue character in the game. I think all parties could stand to use her. She fills an amazing amount of holes in your roster and does not have a useless role in her body.

She is also the best method of actually killing "Adaman" turtles the earliest. Each jump of 40,000 CP you obtain will be *very* noticable at that point in your game.


Vanille is the best Saboteur in the game. While many feel Hope is the best, Vanille is actually the better Medic. The reason is she obtains the important Cure spells earlier than Hope, who has to wait 'til deep into level 9 to get Cuaraja.

She also eventually becomes one of the best Synergists, a servicable Ravager, a decent Commando, and the *top* Sentinel (just kidding on the last one).

The importance of her Saboteuryness cannot be understated. For most of the game, she will be your only access to Deprotect, Deshell, and Imperil (huge damage boosts) and will also stick those debuffs far more consistently than other members!


You basically want to follow this order with Vanille.

• Get all ATB/Accessory Slots (get Death first though)
  
• Get Death
  
• Max out Saboteur/Medic/Rav Role Levels
  
• Get the important Rav abilities and max out Crystarium for the three roles.
  
• Work on reaching the offensive -Ra abilities in Synergist
  
• Fill out Commando, then the rest

You don't ever want to run Vanille as leader unless you're planning to bring stone Death to a sucka. Keep in mind Saboteur abilities are influenced by...

Vigiliance
Belladonna Wand (Marlboro Wand is better)
Debuffs on the opponent
Higher Saboteur Role Level for Vanille
Higher Saboteur Role Levels for teammates (and make them Saboteurs too while you're spamming Death)

1. Find a lovable Adamantoise or Adamantortoise.
2. I prefer using Vanille, Sazh, and Fang. Start with SAB + SYN + SYN. Immediately summon your Eidolon. Sazh should have given you Haste (put Sprint Shoes and a Scarf on him so he doesn't Haste himself first).
3. Start by sticking Deprotect, Deshell, and Imperil on the grounded turtle
4. Start shifting between setups with Vanille as Ravager. Build the gauge.
5. When the Eidolon runs out of Gestalt power, let it dismiss. When Fang and Sazh rejoin, switch to Rav/Rav/Sab (Fang) and stick a few more debuffs.
6. Stagger then start spamming Death with SAB + SAB + SYN.
7. Rinse and repeat.


Most of the same tips for Hope apply to Vanille. You should probably start with a Paradigm that features Vanille as a Saboteur though. For weaker enemy groups, don't bother. You can begin with COM/RAV/RAV or any other damage dealing team.

Weapon: Belladonna Wand

Vanille's weapons are interesting. Unlike other characters, Vanille suffers little to no drawback from using Belladonna Wand over her "MAG specific" weapon. Belladonna Wand is by far the best weapon, it only loses 105 MAG from the top weapon while providing an immense boost to her Debuffs.

You can also dismantle it for three Traps. There really is no excuse not to use Belladonna Wand. Upgrade it to Marlboro Wand as soon as possible.


1- HP Boost/Royal Armlet
2- Speed Accessory

Vanille actually has a surprising amount of HP. A lot more than scrawny Hope actually. So she can also serve as a holder of filler relics such as Catalogs.

1- Sprint Shoes
2- Aurora Scarf
3- Speed (even if it's redundant)
4- Speed (even if it's redundant)

This setup is for Death spamming. The 4 Boost accessories will give you more time to land more Deaths.

1- Watchman's Amulet* (special case, read below)
2- Sprint Shoes (with no Haste)
3- Auto-Faith
4- Player's Choice

Vanille is very flexible due to her high HP. Feel free to use whatever you favor accessory-wise.

* In the unlikely event you have built Vanille as a top Synergist without getting her ultimate weapon, Marlboro Wand is also a part of the "Positive Effect" class. So equipping a Watchman's Amulet will give her buffs an extra 30% duration.

Fang is widely considered the best character in the game. While I do agree she is in the top tier, and undoubtedly the best character at late end game, I give the overall nod to Lightning for flexibility and power in dealing with enemy groups.

Fang is a bit slow to reach her stride. While the end game creates a monster that works amazingly as Ravager, Saboteur, Synergist, Commando, and Sentinel (!), for the majority of the game Fang will be incompatible with Snow and Sazh.

The reason is she cannot become a Ravager or Medic without significant investments. And since you generally want to boost her Synergist skills early (she gets the -Ra buffs early in the tree), Fang requires a lot of CP to reach the peak of her powers.

That's not to say she's average though. She actually does the most raw damage as a Commando and can also Highwind the foo who gets in her way. She also works as a great Saboteur and Sentinel.

But try out the other characters! The only reason Light/Hope/Fang is considered the best party is that Light/Hope shore up Fang's weaknesses. Other characters can achieve considerable power over the course of the game as well.


When maxed fully, Fang is the best Commando and the second best Saboteur. But more incredibly, she is also a top Ravager, Sentinel, *and* Synergist. She's also a decent Medic in a pinch.

Fang's special ability, Highwind, does the most damage of any move in the game provided you have increased the stagger gauge to a high amount. Fang's COM/RAV strikes also consistently do more damage than others.


You basically want to follow this order with Fang.

• Get all ATB/Accessory Slots
  
• Get Highwind
  
• Max out Commando role
  
• Decide if you want to fill out her other roles or focus on stats for now
  
• Max out her main 3 Crystarium Trees
  
• Fill out Ravager/Synergist trees
  
• Fill out the rest

Along with Sazh and Lightning, Fang is one of the best leaders you can choose. For turtle farming without using the Summon, her Highwind ability will allow you to instantly collapse a leg upon staggering it.

Fang can set up immense damage with either triple Blitz or Blitz + Ruinaga. She can also start by AoE-debuffing an enemy group if you begin as a Saboteur.

Fang is also amazing as a support class. I prefer to keep her as support in most instances since I feel Highwind is better used for specialized cases (while Army of One and Cold Blood are immense stagger generators).

It's a bit frustrating at times being unable to move into triple Ravager for faster breaks with Fang. So I generally tend to get all her RAV abilities after maxing out the Commando role.

Weapon: Pandoran Spear, then Taming Pole

I would suggest using Pandoran Spear (since you get it early and could use its ability for bosses). Feel free to max it to Ultimate status, then dismantle it later for 3 Traps.

Her best "actual" weapon is probably Taming Pole if you plan on using any Medic or Spell abilities. If not, you can also use the Dragoon Lance for maximum STR. The Dragoon Lance is clearly a late end game item though (you don't even unlock it until you're almost done with the missions!)

The Punisher is an interesting weapon for the early game when you desperately need to fill TP each go-round to kill the Adamantoise. It also becomes three Traps when dismantled so feel free to upgrade it to max instead of Pandoran Spear.


1- Auto-Brave
2- Sprint Shoes

You likely won't be using Fang and Sazh in the same group. So since you probably won't have Haste, it's a good idea to give your best damage dealer automatic Haste abilities.

1- Energy Sash
2- Speed Sash
3- Champion's Badge
4- Sprint Shoes

You can equip this setup with a Taming Pole (which joins the Gestalt synthesis group). It will give you the Gestalt four piece set bonus, which gives you increased TP. Great for quickly generating three TP and killing another helpless turtle.

1- Auto-Brave
2- STR Accessory (preferably Kaiser Knuckles)
3- Genji Glove
4- Sprint Shoes

While I don't generally mention Genji Glove, Fang's damage maxes out so quickly that you might reach the cap by the time you obtain a Glove (Mission 51). Feel free to use it as soon as you get it.

1- Auto-Brave
2- STR Accessory (preferably Kaiser Knuckles)
3- Genji Glove
4- Sprint Shoes

I would not recommend dumping Catalogs and such on Fang. She is far too powerful and useful to waste slots on. Feel free to use either the above setup or the TP Regen setup based on your needs.

Thanks for reading!

The main goal is to help players new to Final Fantasy XIII realize what a deep and complex game it is. Hopefully this guide taught you a few things.