                      Final Fantasy Tactics
                     Not So Common Knowledge 
                   written by DragonKnight Zero
               e-mail: dragonknight_zero@hotmail.com
                  Version 1.1 complete: 5-17-00

Contents
   - Introduction
   - Legal jazz
   - What's New
   - Making the most of your abilities
   - Special class notes
   - Info on status effects
   - Battle notes
   - Tough random battles
   - Extra battlefield hidden items.
   - Character strategies
   - Item duping for free
   - Playing hints
   - Shopping checkpoints
   - Did you know?
   - Challenges
   - I'm still confused.
   - Questions and Answers
   - Credits
   - Contacting me

Introduction:
     A collection of FF Tactics tips and information that I have not
seen anywhere else plus some other stuff that I felt was good to pass
on that I have only seen in one or two other places.  Most information
is based on my own experience.

NEW E-MAIL: For anyone who sent me messages after May 23rd, feel free to
resend them to the new address.  I haven't been able to access the old
account since then which is why I haven't replied to anything.

Legal jazz:
     Copyright 1999 by Erwin Lin.  This guide may be distributed freely
for non-profitable use as long as it is unaltered and includes this
copyright notice.  You are free to use any part of this guide in your
own works or webpages as long as I am credited.  This guide nor any
part of it may not be used for profit without prior written consent
from me.  If you want to make a profit off this work, I want a cut of
the profit.  This is MY work.  If you rip it off, there will be hell to
pay.

- What's New

v1.15 6/22/00 Rather small update: a new challenge, one more question
answered, and a few miscellaneous tidbits.  The main purpose of this
update is my new e-mail address.

v1.1 5/17/00 Fixed up something misleading for the Archer's skill
Concentrate, added two things to Did You Know, more Q&A

v1.01 4/12/00 Correction in Q&A section; I forgot that Orlandu can
equip katanas as a Holy Swordsman.

v1.0 4/10/00 Added a few things to Abilities section, removed some
things that are consolidated in Playing Hints, added more playing
hints, added some info on Reis in Special Class Notes, fixed some
errors in status changes, added some tricks for various battles, added
more challenges, added Q&A section, some cleaning up.

Making the most of your abilities:
     This is not a complete abilities list.  Instead, I list some
lesser known features, hidden properties, and ecentric uses of some of
the skills.

Squire

Dash: It's redeeming quality at the beginning of the game is that it
does not trigger the Counter reaction ability.  Nice since the game
seems to give all my characters this.  Also this skill has a 100% hit
rate.  Good for removing confusion or charm.  1.5x damage with a Monk
or Martial Arts.

Monster Skill: Error in the game.  Your ally monster must be right next
to the character with Monster Skill in order to use its secret ability.
Defend: Doubles evade percentages.  Kind of pointless when your C-EV is
5% with no shield or mantle.

Chemist
     Items can be used on units on an adjacent panel regardless of
height differences.  It does not matter whether the target is 12h
higher or if it is under or on top of an overhang.  Useful on MLAPAN.

Phoenix Down: Actual HP restoration is between 1 and 20.

Maintainence: Awesome against annoying Divine Knights.

Knight
     All break skills can be used on a sleeping, charmed, or confused
enemy without removing the status ailment unlike a normal physical
attack.

Magic Break: Two hits of this will bring any enemy down to zero MP
(unless the enemy started with more than 1998 MP).  Try this with a
Ninja or the Two Swords support skill.
Power Break: Useful for prolonged battles or when the enemy has
Maintainence.

All stat breaking abilites can be used on a character with Maintainence
with no penalty.

Archer
     Beware: When attacking with a Bow or Crossbow, the target's
character evade increases by 1/3.

Charge speeds
     The game doesn't say how fast these skills are even though they
are calculated in the same way as spells.  So here's my list.  It's not
complete and contributions and confirmations are welcome.  The Charge
set can be used to poach monsters when you have Secret Hunt set.

Skill       Speed

Charge+1    34
Charge+2    25
Charge+3    20
Charge+4    15
Charge+5    12
Charge+7    8
Charge+10   I'm guessing about 5
Charge+20   3 (the slowest thing in the game)

Speed Save: This is fun on buffed up females with a Chantage.  They
just get faster and faster and never stay down for long.

Concentrate: A must have for your designated stealer.  Only Blade Grasp
can decrease your chances of a successful steal.  Blade Grasp and Arrow
Guard are the only evasion factors that are active against Concentrate.

Monk: 
     Female monks can overcome the attack handicap of low brave by
equipping a bag.

Reapeting Fist: May push opponents back a panel
Earth Slash: Unblockable. Make use of it to heal allies with Earth
Clothes equipped,  The 11 Monks on Grog Hill will do it all the time
(see tough random battles)
Revive: Returns dead units with 20% of their HP

Hamedo: CANCELS the enemy's attack.  However, this doesn't work against
ANY monster abilities.  Use Counter instead for random battles.

Move HP-up: Restore Max HP/10 HP after a move.  The FFT Mechanics
Handbook got the recorery off.  No effect under Don't Act status.

Thief

Gil Taking: Steal (LV*Speed) gil.  High success rate makes it good for
building JP.  It can be useful in Chapter 1 when money is scarce.
Steal Exp: Can be used on allies; has it's ecentric uses.

Catch: A specialist, but a good one.  Try it in HORROR for freebies.
You can obtain rare weapons with this too.

Secret Hunt: A good way to kill undead without worrying about them
reviving.  Poached monsters (yours and the enemy) will not be tracked
under Brave Story.

Priest:
     Has a slight speed bonus that makes them more effective if paired
with built-up Math Skill.  

Raise: Restores half of max HP regardless of the caster's MA value
Regen: cancels poison
Shell 2: Would be more useful if it lasted the whole battle but it
doesn't so don't bother.  Protect 2 is probably the same way but I
haven't tested.

Wizard
     2nd and 3rd level element spells have greater vertical range than
the 1st level spells.

Frog: Ideal for crippling monsters so they're easier to poach.  Doesn't
wear off with time or death.

Counter Magic: I've found that this works against the elemental guns.

Time Mage
     Time Mages have slightly better MA strength than summoners.  I
find them ideal for using summon spells without the speed handicap that
summoners have.

Haste: Everyone knows the standard use of this.  Creative players know
that it can be cast on an enemy with a death sentence to make them die
faster.  Haste likewise increases the effectiveness of turn based
status effects.
Float: Actually quite useful in places like Zigolas Swamp and Bariaus
Valley which are waterlogged.
Demi 2: Calculate this one to instantly halve an enemy's (including
the Zodiac beasts) HP with no charge time or MP cost.  Otherwise, this
spell is useless.

MP Switch: This is the only way to survive unavoidable attacks that do
more damage than you have HP.

Oracle
     One of the most underrated jobs in the game.  I admit that I don't
use most of their spells but they are quite good as fighters once
Sticks become available.  Try them out with a Wizard Robe and Triangle
Hat midgame and see the surprisingly high amount of damage they can do.

Spell Absorb: Drains a third of the enemy's total MP.  Can be used to
scan the MP of bosses with hidden stats (does not need to be cast)
Life Drain: This is a boss killer.  It drains 25% of an enemy's HP
whether it has 80 or 800.  I recommend at least one character learn
this.  It will help out a lot at Velius.  While it doesn't do as much
damage as Lich, the spell has a quick charge time and makes the caster
able to handle himself or herself when it comes to healing.
Foxbird: Lowering brave jn general is effective against monsters.  If
nothing else, their counterattacks will be weaker and less frequent.
Silence Song: See playing hints.

Absorb Used MP: This ability also works with allied spells such as
Haste and Protect as long as MP were used in the casting.

Move MP Up: May work surprisingly well on characters with MP Switch.
I haven't tested it but it probably has the same properties as
Move HP Up (1/10 of MP with each move).

Geomancer
     I like this class later in the game because of their ability to
equip swords and shields and their move bonus.  Plus, they can reap the
stat bonuses of the lighter armor class.

Counter Flood: Works even if you haven't learned the attack for the
terrain yet.  Careful with this one; it can hit your own characters if
the enemy was next to an ally.

Lancer
     Straightforward.  Jump can be used to get consistant damage from
axes, hammers, and bags.  It's also a way of doing full damage with
katanas and Knight Swords.  Buy Horizontal Jump 2 as soon as possible.
If Jumping right next to a monster, it can counterattack when you land.
Also, you cannot use or be targeted by Jump if there is an obstacle
above you.

Summoner

Golem: Like Hamedo, it doesn't block monster attacks though it's very
effective against humans.
Cyclops: Definitely not sure about this one but I think it can punch
through Reraise.  Velius knocked down Agrias with this and the death
counter appeared even though I equipped her with a Chantage.

Mediator
     You can't use Talk Skill on a sleeping unit.  Go figure.

Invatation: Enemy have good equipment that you want?  Invite him or
her.  It's much quicker than stealing it if you have space in your
formation to spare.  There are some special foes that can't be
invited.  Invited humans often have better stats than your characters.
Threaten: Better than Foxbird because it doesn't depend on Faith.  It
also has over a 90% success rate most of the time.

Train: Only seems to work on monsters.  I have a very specific use for
it under Battle Notes.

Samurai
     Except for Kiyomori and Masamune, the effectiveness of Draw Out
depends on the character's MA stat.  Therefore, female characters are
better suited to using the action ability.  Essentially, Samurai is a
magic user class which can equip heavy armor.  Unlike other magic using
classes, high Faith is not needed to be effective.

Blade Grasp: Another game error.  Blade Grasp does evade arrow attacks.
It also avoids guns, Jump, and Thorw.  It is ineffective against the
Counter reaction ability though so don't go whacking a Dark Behemoth
with a staff thinking Blade Grasp will keep you safe.  Other things
Blade Grasp doesn't help against are Punch Art, Basic Skill (though
that isn't a threat), and monster attacks like Choco Ball, Turn Punch,
and Wave Around.

Ninja
     The FFT Mechanics Handbook got this wrong.  The range of Throw
depends on the character's move range.  Move+2 or 3 and Germinas Boots
are optimal for maximizing throw range.  Also, the damage seems to be
based only on the unit's speed and given attack power of thrown item.
Elemental atributes of thrown weapons (Ice Brand, Flame Whip, and a few
others) do apply, therefore making throwing swords and hammers useful.
Axes from the fur shops also are great for throwing before Yagyu
Darkness become available in Chapter 4.

Abandon: A personal favorite of mine.  Doubles evade percentages like
the Defend command but it is always active.  Works equally well on
characters with low brave and high brave.  Equipping a Feather Mantle
will give enemies no better than a 20% of hitting you from any side.
If you happen to have acquired the gold Escoutchen, Abandon will render
the character invulnerable to attacks from the front and side and
immune to magic that is avoidable (includes Dragon breath).

Calculator

Damage Split: No matter how the enemy damages you, this reaction skill
can always nail them.  If your brave is high, this effectively halves
damage from all attacks.  Have fun with this.

Bard

Angel Song: Quite effective if several party members are using MP
Switch
Life Song: This can heal Worker 8 and is quite useful for building JP
when he is in your party.

Dancer

Brave Up: (untested) Raising Brave without Mediators  The enemies can
even help out.  Too bad it's only available for females.

- Special Class Notes

Holy Knight
     The game screwed up again.  For all Holy Sword skills, the
elemental atribute is determined by the weapon.  Otherwise, they are
non-elemental.

Engineer

Seal Evil: Petrifies any unit with the Undead status and has a high hit
rate.  This also works against any unit that you cast Zombie on.

Steel Giant
     When Work is used, the HP lost is a fraction of the damage done.
It is different for each skill (not 1/4 for all of them).  Steel Giants
are weak against Lightning so keep Worker 8 far away from any Red
Dragons or he'll go down very quickly.

Destroy: 1/8 of damage
Compress: 1/6 of damage
Dispose: 1/4 of damage
Crush: 1/4 of damage

Beowulf

Zombie: Hits more often than the Oracle spell.  Use Zombie to keep a
Yellow Chocobo from healing.  Cast it on any enemy and have Mustadio
use Seal Evil.  Or cast it on one of your own characters to stop drain
type attacks.
Shock: Remember that it has a range of 8 instead of 4.  This has a 100%
hit rate, unlike Beowulf's other skills.

Reis (human)
     She has a very high HP base that transfers to other classes.  If
she's buffed up with Equip Armor, her HP total is higher than Orlandu.
She also has the highest MA, MP, and Speed out of anyone and her PA is
the highest of any female unit.  As a Dragoner, she also has inherent
Two Swords and Train but cannot equip Shoes, Armlets, or Mantles.

Apanda
     Weak against fire, even though the game doesn't say so.  This is
true of the Byblos as well.

- Stutus affects

Duration is how long the status effect lasts if untreated.  Cancelled
by indicates the various ways of removing the status effect.  All
status effects besides Petrify, Frog, Undead, and Reraise are cancelled
if the unit dies.

Poison: Lose about 1/8 of max HP at the end of every turn
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Antidote, Remedy, Heal, Esuna, Stigma Magic, setting]
Regen status, Choco Esuna, hit with Octogon Rod

Darkness: Physical evade percentages of target doubles.  If you would
have a 100% hit chance normally, the success rate will stay at 100%
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Eye Drop, Heal, Remedy, Esuna, Stigma Magic, Choco Esuna

Silence: Can't use any magic (includes Ultima and Talk Skill)
Duration: whole battle
Cancelled by: Echo Grass, Heal, Remedy, Esuna, Stigma Magic, Choco
Esuna, hit with Octogon Rod

Frog: Can't do anything escept attack or black magic Frog, attack
lowered greatly, sustain 1.5x damage from physical attacks
Duration: whole battle, not removed if killed
Cancelled by: Maiden's Kiss, Remedy, Esuna, Stigma Magic, Frog spell,
hit from Octogon Rod

Petrify: Unit turns into statue; cannot perform any action or take
damage
Duration: whole battle
Cancelled by: Soft, Remedy, Esuna, Stigma Magic, Choco Esuna, hit from
Octogon Rod

Sleep: while unit is asleep CT stops, all evade percentages drop to
zero, and a physical attack does more damage.  Success rate of Steal,
Battle Skill, and some other stuff increases by a few percentage points
Duration: long
Cancelled by: Remedy, Esuna, Stigma Magic, damage

Confusion: act randomly, hit rate drops as if affected by Darkness
Duration: battle
Cancelled by: Remedy, Esuna, Stigma Magic, damage

Oil: Unit becomes vulnerable to fire attacks
Duration: battle
Cancelled by: Remedy, hit from Octogon Rod, any fire attack

Charm: Unit thinks you are the enemy and vice versa.  You can walk past
a charmed enemy as if it were an ally.
Duration: short
Cancelled by: damage  Exception: Fairy Harp

Undead: Curative abilities hurt, unit may rise when it would normally
have crystalized or chestified, absorb any draining type attacks.
Duration: battle
Cancelled by: Holy Water

Blood Suck: unit is uncontrollable and will use Blood Suck on any
nearby character, turning them into vampires as well.  Monsters are
immune to this status.
Duration: battle
Cancelled by: Holy Water

Don't Move: Can't move
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Stigma Magic, Esuna, Choco Esuna, hit from Octogon Rod

Don't Act: Can't Act and evade drops to zero
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Stigma Magic, Esuna, Choco Esuna, hit from Octogon Rod

Slow: Speed drops by 50%
Duration: very short
Cancelled by: Haste

Stop: CT stops, evade drops to zero
duration: very short
Cancelled by: Choco Esuna, hit from Octogon Rod

Innocent: Magic used by or cast upon the unit will be ineffective
Duration: short
Cancelled by: nothing but it wears off on its own

Berserk: Unit madly attacks enemies without regard for its life.
Attack damage is increased
Duration: battle
Cancelled by: Stigma Magic, Esuna

Invite: betray allies and join enemy party
Duration: battle
Cancelled by: nothing. If this happens to your characters, that unit is
permanantly lost.

Death Sentence: starts at 3, counts down one each AT.
Duration: until death
Cancelled by: hit from White Staff (haven't seen it work, maybe it only
resets the counter)

Critical: Unit has less than 20% of its HP capacity.  Critical greatly
affects the AI of enemy and guest units and is a factor in several
reaction abilities and Train.
Duration: variable
Cancelled by: Any HP restoration or loss of armor that brings HP over
the 20% mark.

Dead: Unit has 0 HP and can't do anything
Duration: When the countdown reaches 0 and the CT reaches 100, the unit
will turn into a chest or crystal, never to return.
Cancelled by: Phoenix Down, Raise, Raise 2, Revive, Oink

Chicken: less than 10 Brave, unit will regain 1 brave point each turn,
can't perform any action, take 1.5x damage, success rate of Steal,
Battle Skill, and a few others increase by a few percentage points.
Duration: until brave reaches 10
Cancelled by: Praise, Cheer Up.

Protect: Reduces physical damage by about 1/3
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Shell: Reduces magical damage by about 1/3
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Regen: Recover 1/8 of total HP after each turn
Duration: longer than Protect, Shell, or Haste
Cancelled by: Poison status, Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Haste: Speed increased 1.5x
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Slow status, Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Float: Does what it says, unit avoids earth elemental attacks.  Useful
for traversing water without a movement penalty
Duration: battle
Cancelled by: Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Reraise: If killed, unit will rise with 10% HP on next AT
Duration: one use or battle
Canceled by: usage, Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Transperant: Unit cannot be targeted by enemies except for cancelling
abilities
Duration: until action is perfomed
Cancelled by: a new action, Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Faith: 100 Faith (?) Makes magic much more effective
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave, Innocent status (?)

Reflect: All Reflectable spells bounce off to a location based on the
unit's relative position to the caster.
Duration: short
Cancelled by: Dispel Magic, Odd Soundwave

Charging: charging ability, unit takes 1.5x damage from physical
attacks, evade is zero
Duration: until execution of ability
Cancelled by: selecting new action, moving if it is the Archer's Charge
skill (voluntarily or by force).

Defending: evade percentages double
Duration: until next AT
Cancelled by: nothing

Perfoming: Will use selected song or dance independent of user's speed.
Evade drops to zero.
Duration: N/A
Cancelled by: Choosing new action other than Sing or Dance.

- Battle Notes
    Things of unusual interest in some of the battles.  Also included
are a few uncommon or helpful strategies.  Fun stuff involving a
particular story battle also goes here.

Fort Zekaden
  Don't break Algus' weapon.  He's actually weaker because of it.  If
you corner him and he doesn't have Basic Skill or Punch Art, he'll be
unable to damage you if you keep your units inside or outside his
crossbow range.  The computer never uses the trick that allows you to
hit someone at close range with crossbows or guns.  Also, his dialouge
will be affected by what you chose back at the Mandelia Plains.
Breaking or stealing Algus' armor and helmet will be very useful.

Araguay Woods
     A way of making Boco leave the corner he'll usually hide in is to
cast a Cure spell within his movement range that won't execute until
after he moves.  It's an easy battle anyways.  You can do some poaching
here even though the Goblins don't give very good stuff.

Zirekile Falls
  Try bringing someone with Chakra to restore Ovelia's MP.  If her's
is in effect, she will MBarrier your teammates as her MP permits.  Of
course, you can usually complete the battle fast enough so that
wouldn't matter.
Beginners tip: Deequip Gafgarion of his equipment and skills and make
him something weak like a priest before the battle.  Or try this.
Equip Gafgarion with the best equipment you have.  Then steal them from
him during battle.  You will have a duplicate of what you steal.  To
clarify: best equipment is Cross Helmet, Gold Armor (borrow it off
Agrias), and Gold Shield.  Leave him weaponless as a Dark Knight.  He
can only punch for 15 damage so it won't be hard to strip him bare as
long as Delita and Agrias don't kill him.  You may want to cast some
Cures on Gafgarion until you steal everything.  These items are not
buyable until later in the game so it's worth your trouble.  Might give
some value to my Ovelia trick.  

Zigolas Swamp
     This is your first chance to recruit an Uribo.  If there isn't one
present when the battle starts, just reset until one appears.  The best
way to recruit it is to use a Knight or Archer with Train.  The rewards
for recruiting the Uribo here will pay off when Porkys and Wildbows are
bred.  Chantage will make the game a lot easier, and Ribbons and FS
Bags can only be obtained by breeding since Wildbows never appear in
random battles anywhere.  Do it early before your formation screen is
clogged with special characters.  Bring some people with Secret Hunt
here.
     If Train is being uncooperative, then Invite the Uribo normally.
That works too.

Golgarand Execution Site
     Although it isn't that unusual of a tip, this is the first place
where you can steal a non-buyable item.  Make sure someone has learned
Steal Weapon by this point.  Bring Agrias for some extra dialouge.

Gate of Lionel Castle
     If Ramza has Teleport, you can just let Gafgarion stew on the
other side of the gate until you're ready to go after him.  Riding a
Black Chocobo is another way of doing this.  If Ramza is a Pisces, make
him a Lancer with Move HP Up and just keep Jumping.  Weapon or Power
Break is almost essential if you want to take him out alone.  I did
this before I figured out you could open the gate during the battle.
     Another fun thing to try is giving your other teammates Teleport
so you can gang up on Gafgarion.  Then don't open the gate and assualt
the enemy on the other side with ranged attacks (magic, Earth Slash,
geomancy, Holy Explosion, ranged Jumps).  The only enemies who will be
able to hurt you will be the Summoner and anyone with geomancy.  Take
them out first and enjoy a turkey shoot on the remainder.

Inside of Lionel Castle
     Defense Rings, while normally not useful, are the ideal accessory
here because they stop sleep and death sentence.  Use Life Drain, mid
to high level Charges, Jump, and Holy (if you have it) to put this guy
down quickly.  This is one of the few times where a Priest may be
better than a Wizard due to their speed bonus.

Some of Queklain's stats: (party's levels 16-17)
HP: about 375 (Life Drain took off 94.)
MP: around 355
Speed: 9
Evade: 12%

Lesalia Imperial Capital
     Silencing Zalmo and breaking his weapon seriously impairs his
ability to annoy you.  Bring someone with Chakra to restore Alma's MP.

Yardow Fort City
     Mustadio's sniping skills work well on Malak.  If you have no idea
what the requirements for a Ninja are, recruit one here and go to the
Formation screen to find out.  Of note is that all the enemies start on
a height of 2 so Height, Prime Number, Holy can make the battle very
quick.

Yuguo Woods
     Poach the Ghouls and use Seal Evil on the undead humans.

Gate of Riovanes Castle
     The Knights have some nice equipment if you can steal it.
Invitation is a way of making this quicker.  I highly recommend
Nameless Dance in this battle. (frog archers are not known for being
able to snipe you).  If Rafa takes heavy damage, Malak will teleport
away.

Inside of Riovanes Castle
     The infamous Velius battle.  To end it quickly, be a Lancer and
Jump twice.  There are lots of strategies out there for this battle but
I claim to be the first to suggest Damage Split as a reaction ability.
As for Velius, connect 4 Life Drains to take him down.  If you have
one, you could use a Revenant.  Drain Touch drains 1/3 of a target's 
max HP.

Has anyone noticed that Wiegraf's secondary is Punch Skill instead of
Punch Art?

Some Velius Stats: (party's level 26-28)
HP: about 956
MP: about 276
Speed: I'm guessing 10
can be Silenced

Roof of Riovanes Castle
     It's not fair.  Celia and Lede equip the Barette and Cachusha as
their accessories.  This is not normally possible.  This is another one
of those battles where a Priest's speed bonus makes a significant
difference.

Bervania Free City
     Equip all your characters with Maintainence here.  Meliadoul isn't
even that dangerous with this strategy.  You can then focus on taking
out the other enemies while stealing her Defender and Chantage.

Finath River
     Another of those battles to try to poach all the enemies.

In front of Bethla Garrison's Sluice
     I have seen the Knights guarding the levers move off of them.  I
injured one to critical and he used a potion on himself and actually
left his post.  The other known method of making them move is to
inflict Confusion status on them.  Oh, and don't accidentally have
anyone move nest to them.  You can actually be stuck here if you
petrify the Knights on the switches and don't have anyone that can
cure it.

Posekas Lake
     Poach the monsters and use Seal Evil on the humans.  Yep, undead
army again.

At the gate of Limberry Castle
     To learn Ultima, make Ramza a squire and equip him with a Black
Costume and a N-Kai Armlet.  It's an almost sure thing that Celia will
cast it on him unless you've leveled up a lot and move Ranza out of
range.  If she uses stuff like Summon or Black magic instead, reset and
try again.  Learning Ultima here is almost a sure thing so don't miss
out.

Inside of Limberry Castle
     This is weird.  As Assassins, Celia and Lede are female.  However,
if you kill them, a female character can use Steal Heart on their
Ultima Demon forms.  Meaning that they're not truly female.  What was
going through the minds of the programmers?

Underground Cemetery beneath Limberry Castle
     Seal Evil again.  This is another place where a Priest's speed
bonus is quite helpful.  If you have a Mime by now, here's a dirty
trick.  Have a character with Math Skill (any class) calculate Demi2
on Zarela.  When the Mime mimics it, it's all over assuming it hit both
times.

Some Zarela stats (party's levels: 38-39)
HP: about 1152
MP: about 699
Speed: 10
C-EV: 24%

Igros Castle
     If the majority of your characters are Hasted when Dycedarg falls,
it's quite possible to kill Adremelk before he even gets a turn.  Math
skills are great to meet this end.  Check out Zalbag's status in the
first part of the battle.  Besides having different Reaction, Support,
and Movement abilities than other special characters; he also has the
Mime class available.

Adremelk stats (party's levels: 38-40)
HP: about 1500
MP: about 399
Speed: 10
C-EV: 19%

Morund Holy Palace: 1st battle
     This is the only story battle where the enemy uses Geomancers.

Morund Holy Palace: 2nd battle
     One of the only battles that can be won without the enemy even
getting a turn if your characters are at lv 35 or higher.  Have Orlandu
and a Chemist or Mediator or two focus on Kletian.  They should be able
to take him down before any opponent gets a turn.  If you feel that
stealing the Dragon Rod is a lofty goal (not necessary if you stole it
in the previous battle because it can be duplicated), make sure to
equip all your characters with Maintainence.  Bring Meliadoul to see
some extra dialouge between her and Vormav.

Colliery Underground Storage Third Floor
     Five Chemists.  Stealing or breaking their equipment will really
help out.  Something fun to try is equipping 3 or 4 characters with
guns, setting their reaction ability to Counter, and watching the shots
fly.  After all, this is the only place so suited to an old fashioned
shootout.  For even more fun, use Hamedo.  Hamedo with a gun is also
useful against Balk.

Passage Underneath Goland
     Whip out those Ice Brands and Blaze Guns.  All the enemies are
weak against ice (except the Archaic Demon).

Nelveska Temple
     Notable for being the only battle where if you manage to stay
alive long enough, Worker 7 New will kill itself.

END
     Cloud's Finishing Touch does wonders against the Apandas.  It is
also useful for stopping Elidibs if you need time to regroup.  As for
Zodiac, Elidibs only seems to use it on people he cannot take out with
one casting of Midgar Swarm.
     Oh wait, you're wondering how to survive Zodiac.  MP Switch.
That's all there is to it.

Elidibs Stats (party's levels: 48-49)

HP: about 2875
MP: 1161
Speed: 7
Vulnerable to Stop

Underground Book Storage: Fifth Floor
     Maintainence, maintainence, maintainence.  Can't stress it enough.
At this point, you can't go out to replace broken equipment.  Worker 8
is particularly useful due to the swarm of magicians and is immune to
Rofel's Mighty Sword abilities.

Graveyard of Airships
     Besides being the location of the final battle, this is the only
battlefield I know of with the Machine terrain.  Therefore, you can use
Lava Ball here. (not that it's of any use)

Hamshulan stats: (party's levels: 42-45 except for a Lv 51 Tiamat)
HP: about 1464
MP: about 700
Speed: 13 or 14

- Tough Random Battles

  These battles start showing up in Chapter 4 and are generally unfair
and much more difficult than standard random battles.  I haven't listed
any Deep Dungeon battles because those are hard in general.

Araguay Woods: I've never seen the 9 ninja battle some people have
talked about but I have run into 5 once.  Actually not too difficult if
you can keep them from getting too close.

Bariaus Hill: The tough battle here consists of one of each type of
dragon, one of each type of behemoth, a Hydra, a Hyudra, and sometimes
a Chocobo of random color.  You may have some help from up to two of
King Behemoth, Hydra, or Chocobo of random color.  Great poaching here
if you can survive.  I've run into this one at least 5 times and
Beowulf was almost always in my Attack Team.  Could there be a
connection?

Grog Hill: Here's the scene.  You're at the bottom.  11 Monks on top.
Within two or three rounds, they will be swarming around you.  Math
Skills with Height and Holy can take down more than half of them in one
shot if your magic strength is good.  Taking them down without Math
Skill is tough because they constantly heal and revive each other.

Finath River: Random battles here are tough in general due to the
terrain but there are two I've seen which stand out.  One was an army
of five Red Chocobos and a Black Chocobo.  Because they can take out
one or two characters a round, you'll have your hands full beating
them.  The other consisted of seven or eight Behemoths and a Pisco
Demon with a Goblin as a guest.  This one's not nearly as hard since
Behemoths have no long range attacks and can't enter water.  Just block
the crossing points they could jump and use ranged attacks.

Posekas Lake: A swarm of Behemoths of all types.  Not the toughest of
the tough, but quite a good deal harder than normal random battles.

- Extra Battlefield Hidden Items
  
     To the best of my knowledge, here are the hidden ithems that can
be found on the four battle maps that Prima's Strategy guide missed.  I
don't know of anyone who has this data yet.  I haven't worked out any
coordinates yet, but because the buried items are located under traps,
they shouldn't he that hard to find.  I've indicated which trap is in
the panel where the item is.  This section isn't complete yet and I
don't claim to be totally accurate.  Contributions are welcome.

Zeklaus Desert
Thunder Rod or Hi-Potion (no trap)
Blind Knife or Phoenix Down (Steel Needle)
Battle Boots or Echo Grass (Degenerator)
Iron Sword or Potion (Sleep trap)

Fovaham Plains
Silver Bow or Phoenix Down (Steel Meedle)
Night Killer or Echo Grass (Degenerator)
Battle Axe or ??? (Deathtrap)
Mythril Sword or Antidote (Sleep trap)

Bervania Volcano
Materia Blade (Deathtrap)
X-Potion or Fire Ball (Steel Needle)
X-Potion or Fire Ball (Deathtrap)
unknown

Comments: The Materia Blade is at the peak of the mountain.  A Jump of
4 or higher is required.  Unknown means I haven't ever found the fourth
hidden item panel.

Doldobar Swamp
I believe that all the items are either Elixir or Potion and there are
traps on the panels.  I can't remember which traps are where though.

- Character Strategies

Ramza (any class)
Action Ability: Guts  Reaction Ability: Blade Grasp  Support Ability:
Equip Armor  Movement Ability: Move-HP up or Move+3 if equipping a
Chaos Blade

This is my general configuration for Ramza for most of the game.  Move
HP-up allows him to use Wish more effectively.  Blade Grasp lets him
avoid many attacks and Equip Armor heeps his HP high.  In some cases
Auto-Potion or Damage Split make better reaction skills and if his
class already allows him to wear heavy armor, use a different support
skill such as Secret Hunt, Maintainence, Attack UP, or Two Swords.

Beowulf (Temple Knight)
Action Ability: Punch Art  Reaction Ability: Abandon  Support Ability:
Half of MP  Movement Ability: Move-Find Item
Equipment: Excalibur, Crystal Shield or better, Genji or Grand Helmet,
Light Robe, Germinas Boots

Quite possibly the best protected item finder you can make.  Excalibur
provides haste so he can turn enemies into chickens faster.  Abandon
will lower the chance of being hit to 20% or less.  Punch Art is there
so he can use Chakra to restore his own MP and as an ability set which
takes advantage of his high physical AT since his regular attacks will
be weak due to his low brave.  Because his Magic Sword abilities use
MP, it makes sense to halve his MP costs.  Move-Find Item is optional,
mainly intended for the deep dungeon because he has low brave.  Feel
free to substitute something like Move-MP up if there are no items to
be found.  The only weakness is that he's completely vulnerable in the
back but you can use a Feather Mantle if you want.  I just feel it's
advantageous that item finders equip Germinas Boots to maximize their
move range.  When you're done with item finding, pump his brave up and
his regular attacks will be potent.

Orlandu (Holy Swordsman)
Equipment: Excalibur, Thief Hat

As a Holy Swordsman, Orlandu can use any armor in the game except for
women's ribbons.  These two pieces of equipment will almost give him
two turns to everyone else's one if there isn't another character
equipped with an Excalibur.  I've left the abilities up to the player
to decide.

male Ninja
Action ability: Battle Skill  Reaction ability: Blade Grasp  Support
ability: Concentrate  Movement ability: Move+3
Equipment: Germinas Boots
This combination allows your ninja to throw stuff with the range and
accuracy of a gun.  If you prefer, move in close and break stats or
equipment with two shots of Battle Skill (one for each weapon).  By the
way, if you break the targeted equipment with the first attack, the
second one will do damage.  Blade Grasp provides protection for close
range fighting because of a ninja's low HP.  You could also use a
Feather Mantle with Abandon; that works well too.  Maximizing your move
range is the real key here.

Geomancer
Action ability: Item  Reaction ability: Abandon  Support ability: Throw
Item
Equipment: Nagrarock, gold Escutcheon, Feather or Vanish Mantle
Something that might be fun to play with.  This character has fully
functional Chemist abilities but has higher HP.  You can attack to try
to turn your enemies into frogs without fear of their counterattacks.
Dark Behemoth?  No worry.  This character is invulnerable to attack
from the front or side and attacks from behind only have a 20% to 30%
chance of hitting.  This character is also immune to almost all Black,
Time, and Yin-Yang magic that could be harmful.  The Kaiser Plate may
actually be better than the gold Escotcheon, because enemies don't try
attacks with no chance of success but they will try them even with less
than a 10% success rate.

Thief
Action ability: Throw  Movement abaility: Move+2 or 3
Throw is pretty much the best secondary skill for a thief due to their
high speed and move ranges.  Fill in the other abilities and equipment
as you see fit.

Knight
Reaction ability: Weapon Gaurd  Support ability: Two Swords
Equipment: 2 Defenders, Reflect Mail
An interesting alternative to shields.  Weapon Gaurd make up for the
lost protection of a shield that equipping a second weapon removes.
You stay heavily protected from physical attacks while dealing some
decent damage.  I recommended Reflect Mail as armor (if available)
because you have no magic evasion.  Why Defenders?  They have an evade
of 60%.  Actually, that's their purpose because you need really high
brave (90+) for a Defender to be stronger than a Rune Blade.

Female Monk
Action ability: Steal  Reaction ability: Speed Save  Support ability:
Concentrate  Movement ability: Teleport
Equipment: H Bag, Ribbon or Barrette, Chantage
  A great character to use when stealing stuff.  With Stigma Magic,
Chakra, and Revive, she can keep other characters alive while being
immune to negative status.  If she's hit, she'll become faster and
increase the chances of a successful steal.  The key item is the
Chantage.  If you don't have one, don't use Speed Save.  Use something
like Auto Potion, Blade Grasp, A Save, or Abandon with a mantle because
a unit like this is a damage magnet.  In some battles, you'll need
Maintainence to protect your equipment to prevent it from being broken.

- Item duping for free

  Most players probably know about the old item duplication trick: that
one which required Two Swords and you had to pay for the item.  It
really doesn't make much sense though as it costs 40000 gil to
duplicate a Defender but only 10 to dupe an Excalibur. 
  Anyway, Notti discovered a great duplication trick where you don't
have to pay for the item and doesn't require Two Swords.  The only
conditions are that the weapon or shield you want to duplicate is
stronger than anything the shop offers and that the character can
equip a weapon or shield sold in the shop.  Also the character's armor
should be better than anything the shop offers to it isn't replaced by
Best Fit. (No robes) To do this trick, equip what you want to duplicate
and go to the shop's fitting room.  Try on something in the other hand.
This should cause the item to be duplicated to disappear.  Choose Best
Fit and you should have your original equips back.  Select Fitting Over.
You should now have another of that weapon or shield.
  The only rare weapons that cannot be duplicated this way are the
Nagrarock, Healing Staff, and Mace of Zeus (grrr).  However, Notti's
Deep Dungeon FAQ has a variation that allows you to dupe these weapons.
I haven't tested this so just read it there.  It is found at GameFAQs.
Oh yeah, both dupe tricks are cheats; don't pretend they're not.

- Playing Hints

Your Attack Team, if not every character, should have both close and
long range capabilities.  I laugh when I see Knights with Item as thier
secondary.  It's not difficult for me to play keep away with them and
keeping my characters one space out of their reach.  Along the same
vein, have a diverse attack team.

Always bring at least one character who can heal or revive.  This seems
obvious but I've forgotten several times to do this.

To quickly kill off undead, use a Phoenix Down.  Any type of potions or
Cure and Raise spells will cause damage too.  Chakra and Wish will not
damage undead but they might be useful if the undead unit is on your
team.  Don't forget that you can make undead with Zombie and the Seal
Evil or Phoenix Down the unfortunate sap.

Don't use auto-battle.  Exceptions are if you're not familiar with Math
Skill yet and if you'd rather let the AI place your Archers.

Aaah!  It's too close.  I can't get a good shot, hey wait...
  You can hit enemies inside the range of a Crossbow or Gun.  Just aim
at a panel beyond the enemy so it's in the firing path.  There doesn't
need to be anything in the panel you aim at.

Don't complete story battles if you have anyone out on propositions.
If you don't think I'm serious, imagine not having access to 3 of your
best characters for the Velius battle.  I have not tried to find out
what happens in Chapter 2 if you take a proposition at Lionel Castle
and complete the Goug Machine City battle after which Lionel Castle
becomes a red dot.  One source suggested that you lose those units
permanantly.

Use propositions to gain job points, especially for jobs a unit doesn't
use often or very well such as a male Summoner with a faith of 47.

To poach a moster easily, kill it normally, revive it with a Phoenix
Down, then have a person with Secret Hunt slaughter it.  This can be
useful to avoid some long monster chases as long as it isn't the last
enemy alive.

When an enemy is in Critical status, it will run and hide and only
attack if you're within range.  This is true even if the enemy could
kill one of your nearby units or has enough HP to withstand another
attack (like Dark Behemoths or Tiamats with their 600+ HP).  You can
safely ignore them unless they have healing abilities or are healed by
allies.  Watch out though.  If all enemies are Critical or Dead, any
living enemies will bum rush you.

If a unit is pushed off a panel and falls a distance greater than its
jump range, it will sustain damage from the fall.  Use this to your
advantage when you can; it's lots of fun.

You can discover the elemental weakness and strengths of a monster by
opening its status screen and highlighting the unit type.  For a few
enemies, a weakness or strength might not be listed.

At times, you'll want to use a weak attack rather than a strong one.
Usually, this applies to your own units when you want to remove
certain negative status like Charm or deliberately triggering
reactions (Sunken State, A Save, Brave Up, Dragon Spirit, and more).
Weak attacks are also useful if you're trying to Train a monster.
Examples of weak attacks are Dash, Throw Stone, attack from a Ramouda
Gun or a rod, and Throwing Shuriken or Daggers.  Punch Art on a magic
user is also weak.  Weak attacks are also useful if you're JP hungry.

Stalling
     Stalling is keeping the last enemy alive until you have claimed
chests or crystrals from the others.  Enemy crystals are great for
powering up a character's abilities.  I've gotten over 3000 JPs worth
of abilities from a crystal before, no joke.  You can save several
hours of JP building by inherting abilities.  To make stalling less
painful, cripple the last enemy with Speed Break, Power Break, Weapon
Break, Mind Break on occasion and/or turn them into frogs or chickens.
Sleep works well too; it lasts a long time.  Keeping the enemy Charmed
or Don't Act (Arm Aim!) works too.  Don't Move is good if Sleep is not
available as it keeps the enemy from stealing crystals and chests.

Expanding spell ranges
  The idea here is that you cast a spell on one of your own units that
will not be harmed by it (such as Fire 2 on someone with a Flame Shield
or Silence Song on a character who doesn't use magic) and have that
character move next to an enemy before the spell is cast.  This is a
sneaky way to silence enemy Summoners if for some reason you cannot
bring them down while they are charging.
  Dirty application: Cast a spell on a character on your team who will
go before it hits.  Have that character (Lancer usually) move next to
an unlucky enemy and Jump.  Word of caution: Be sure the enemy won't
move out the way before the spell hits.  Also be sure that the spell
will execute before the jumper lands or you'll be hurting yourself.

Hitting someone twice with the same spell
  One complaint I've seen quite often about this game is how useless
and weak magic is.  What if you could blast someone twice with the same
spell in a turn?  Wouldn't Stop be more useful if you had two chances
to hit with it?  How about doubling the effects of a Cure spell?  No,
I'm not talking about using a Mime.  Interested?  Continue.
  This trick is meant for reflectable spells with an effect area of 2.
The idea is to have a character with Reflect status and the target in
the effect area so that the spell hits the target once but is also
reflected off the other character so it hits again.  Positioning is
important.  Here's some diagrams.

C.RPT           CRT          .PT              
                             .RP              
                             C..              

C represents the caster.  R represents a character with Reflect status.
T represents the desired target.  P represents the panel to target.
A dot stands for a panel, empty or not.  In the second diagram, 
targeting the target keeps the caster out of the effect area while
targeting the character with Reflect makes the spell affect the caster.
I don't know how to help if you don't understand this.  It really helps
to see it in action. Anyways, play around with it and you may find
variants that I haven't discovered.

- Shopping Checklist
     As story battles are completed, new items become available.  I've
listed the events that trigger the new items and the new stuff that
will be for sale.  The items and equipment at shops depend on which
town you're in.  There appear to be only five different types of shops.
All shops sell all accessories and healing items as they become
available.  Any corrections would be greatly appreciated as I'm trying
to make this an accurate reference list.

Gariland Magic City: sells knives, rods, staffs, sticks, bags, clothes,
robes, hats, shuriken, balls and Broad Swords
Castles: (Igros, Lionel, etc...) sell swords, knives, bows, spears,
axes, shields,  armor, and helmets.   Depending on the castle, it may
also sell crossbows and hammers.
Trade cities (Dorter, Warijias, Zarghidas): sell katanas, ninja swords,
dictionaries, harps, cloths, hammers, rods, sticks, staffs, bags,
shields, clothes, robes, hats, shuriken, and balls.  Also contain the
fur shops
Goug Machine City: sells guns, crossbows, and balls
Other towns: usually sell rods, sticks, staffs, bags, clothes, robes,
hats, shuriken, and balls

Checkpoint 1: Gariland Magic City
Broad Sword, Dagger, Oak Staff, Rod, Clothes, Leather Hat, Potion,
Antidote, Eye Drop, Phoenix Down

Checkpoint 2: first meeting at Igros Castle (no battle)
Long Sword, Mythril Knife, Bow Gun, Escoutchen, Leather Armor, Linen
Cuirass, Leather Outfit, Leather Helmet, Bronze Helmet, Feather Hat,
Battle Boots, Soft, Maiden's Kiss, Echo Grass

Checkpoint 3: Sand Rat Cellar
Iron Sword, Long Bow, Blind Knife, Buckler, White Staff, Thunder Rod,
Ice Rod, Flame Rod, Bronze Armor, Leather Vest, Linen Robe, Iron
Helmet, Red Hood, Small Mantle, Hi-Potion

Checkpoint 4: Lenalia Plateau
Mythril Sword, Mage Masher, Silver Bow, Night Killer, Battle Axe,
Bronze Shield, Chain Mail, Chain Vest, Silk Robe

Checkpoint 5: Chapter 2 start
Ice Bow, Javelin, Round Shield, Mythril Vest, Mythril Armor, Barbuta,
Headgear, Spike Shoes, Leather Mantle, Shuriken, Holy Water

Checkpoint 6: Zirekile Falls
Coral Sword, Platina Dagger, Mythril Shield, Rainbow Staff, Poison Rod,
Cypress Rod, Plate Mail, Adaman Vest, Mythril Helmet, Triangle Hat,
Power Wrist

Checkpoint 7: meeting at Lionel Castle (no battle)
Lightning Bow, Cross Bow, Great Axe, Spear, Gold Shield, Battle Bamboo,
Asura Knife, Kotetsu Knife, Battle Dictionary, Ramia Harp, Ramouda Gun,
Gold Armor, Wizard Outfit, Wizard Robe, Gold Helmet, Green Beret, 
Rubber Shoes, Defense Ring, Defense Armlet, Wizard Mantle, Fire Ball,
Lightning Ball, Water Ball, Ether, Remedy

Checkpoint 8: Baraius Valley
Bizen Boat, Flail, Wizard Staff, Brigandine, Cross Helmet*, Diamond
Armlet

*Before you can actually go to Igros to buy the Cross Helmet, the
battle at Golgarand Execution Site must be completed first.

Checkpoint 9: Chapter 3 start
Ancient Sword, Mythril Spear, Mythril Bow, Poison Bow, Murasame, Hidden
Knife, C Bag, Ice Shield, Flame Shield, Twist Headband, Feather Boots,
Magic Gauntlet, N-Kai Armlet, X-Potion  Also, the fur shops open.

Checkpoint 10: Lesalia Imperial Capital
Sleep Sword, Main Gauche,  Slasher, Ninja Knife, Heaven's Cloud, Flame
Whip, Iron Fan, Monster Dictionary, Persia, Aegis Shield, Diamand
Armor, Judo Outfit, Chameleon Robe, Diamond Helmet, Holy Miter,
Germinas Boots, Jade Armlet, Elf Mantle, Magic Shuriken

Checkpoint 11: Orbonne Monestary
Diamond Sword, Orichiculm, Windslash Bow, Hunting Bow, Partisan, Short
Edge, Papyrus Plate, Wizard Rod, Gold Staff, Gokou Rod, Bloody Strings,
P Bag, Diamond Shield, Power Sleeve, White Robe, Black Hood, Magic
Ring, 108 Gems, Hi-Ether

Checkpoint 12: Yadrow Fort City
Platinum Sword, Ninja Edge, Kiyomori, Morning Star, Cashmere, Platina
Armor, Black Robe, Circlet, Platina Helmet, Gold Hairpin, Sprint Shoes,
Bracer, Dracula Mantle

Checkpoint 13: Chapter 4 start
Ice Brand, Assassin Dagger, Muramasa, Spell Edge, Platina Shield, 
Carabini Mail, Earth Clothes, Angel Ring, Yagyu Darkness

Checkpoint 14: Bethla Garrison
Rune Blade, Air Knife, Oberisk, Gastrafitis, Kikuichimonji, Octogan
Rod, H Bag, Crystal Shield, Crystal Mail, Reflect Mail, Black Costume,
Light Robe, Crystal Helmet, Flash Hat, Red Shoes, Feather Mantle

Checkpoint 15: Limberry Castle
Thief Hat

- Did you know?
  Random stuff that I didn't feel belonged in the Playing Hints
section.  Some of it might be useful; others are just trivia.

Casualties under Brave Story is mostly self-explanatory.  Injured
refers to the number of enemy units which have turned into chests or
crystals.  In other words, it refers to injuries YOUR party causes, not
what the enemies do to you.  Poached monsters, whether they be yours or
the enemy, do not count as injuries or casualties.  Therefore, feel
free to poach as many of your own monsters as you want without gaining
casualties (if having 0 casualties is important to you).

Also in Brave Story, anyone with an age given is still alive.  Even if
events or rumors in the game suggest that the character was killed, if
their age is given that means you'll see the character again.  If a
special character dies, Brave Story will record the person as having
been "killed in battle."

Cloud only shows up in Brave Story if you dismiss him.  (and maybe if
he is killed)

During battle, when you bring up the status screen for a character,
press the confirm button to see any status effects the character has.
With an ally, pressing confirm again will bring up their job screen
which you can use to see all the abilities the unit has learned.  This
is useful for seeing the abilities of guests who never join you such as
Olan and Zalbag.  This is also useful if you're trying to acquire
enough job points during the battle for a certain ability and want to
know how many more you'll need.

During battle, if you check an ally's status you'll notice a dashed
line below Cyclops in the Summoner ability list (unless you already
have Zodiac).  This is the proof that the secret ability exists, that
Alma can learn Ultima, and that Ramza cannot learn Ultima until Chapter
4 even though I've seen it cast on the Riovanes Castle Roof.

If you sell something in a fur shop, it will appear in its stock.  It's
useful if you need some quick cash but will want the item you're
selling later.  You can then buy the item back at the half the regular
shop price whenever you wish.  To my knowledge, this is the only
exception to the Pawn Shop rule of RPGs where if you sell an item at a
shop, you cannot buy it back unless the shop normally stocks it.

Regardless of how you adjusted Ramza's Brave and Faith in Chapter 1, it
will always default to 70-70 at the start of Chapter 2.

HP and MP totals of Zodiac bosses do vary each time you fight them.

The birthdate you enter for Ramza at the beginning of the game does
affect the game.  It is most significant when Ramza faces another
character solo but also affects the strategies you use against certain
storyline characters (whose Zodiac signs are fixed).

This is pure speculation but I think at one time Ultimus Bows were
going to be buyable after completing Bethla Garrison.  They have a
higher price than the Windslash Bow, one can be stolen during the
battle where you must open the floodgates, and Archers everywhere seem
to have them after they are at a certain level.

Traps are only found on battle maps where no story battle takes place.
There are actually 74 different battlefields normally.

Your starting location in random battles is fixed based on which side
you approached the battlefield from.  This does have some effect on
which random battles you might face.

C-EV of special characters 

Ramza: 10%                        Delita (Chapter 1): 5%
Algus: 15%                        Wiegraf: 10%
Gafgarion: 15%                    Agrias: 25%
Ovelia: 20%                       Delita (at Zirekile Falls): 10%
Mustadio and Balk: 18%            Olan: 15%
Zalmo: 9%                         Alma: 18%
Izlude: 10%                       Rafa: 10%
Malak: 8%                         Elmdor: 16%
Celia: 30%                        Lede: 28%
Beowulf: 14%                      Reis (Holy Dragon): 5%
Worker 8 and Worker 7: 0%         Reis (Dragoner): 7%
Meliadoul: 12%                    Orlandu: 20%
Zalbag (as guest): 10%            Dycedarg: 10%
Cloud: 20%                        Vormav: 25%
Rofel: 21%                        Kletian: 14%
Zalbag (in Morund): 22%           Byblos: 33%

Enemy spell descriptions
  To discover these without a Gameshark, press Select when highlighting
the spell in the AT list.  The ones I have here are ones I've seen
before but have since forgotten the game description.  One is filled in
to illustrate the idea.  If you want to contribute to this section, go
right ahead but this section is only for enemy spells.

Bio 3
Dark Holy: Magic damages by enveloping the enemy with the darkness of
space
Range: 4  Effect: 1  MP: 40  Speed: 15  Darkness elemental

Lifebreak: Attack enemy with the aftershock of death.  The lower your
HP, the more damage you can inflict.
Range: 4  Effect: 1  Speed: 25

Bio 2: Magic damages with filthy, venomous spirit
Range: 4  Effect: 2 Vertical 3  MP: 16  Speed: 20  Add: Pertify
(There are several varieties of this spell that will add different
status ailments.)

Flare 2
Sleep 2

Midgar Sworm: Attacks enemies by summoning a huge snake
Range: 4  Effect: 3 Vertical 3  Speed: 10

Grand Cross
Mute

Speed growth notes
  In general, most jobs will gain a speed point at levels 18, 35, 52,
69, and 86.  Jobs with slower speeds are Calculator and Summoner.
Priest, Monk, Thief, Ninja, Mime, and most special classes have higher
than base speed.  Jobs do matter.  If a character gains several levels
as a Ninja, it is likely that he or she will get the next speed
increase a level or two earlier in a job with normal growth such as
Knight or Chemist.

If a unit attacks an enemy and is killed by the counterattack, it gains
zero EXP or JP for the attack.

The AT list can track up to 39 turns or actions.  Anything that takes
longer than that to execute will have an infinity symbol under the
wait column.

- Challenges

Think you're good at Tactics?  Think you're REALLY good?  Then try
these challenges.  I thought I was pretty good until I thought some of
these up.  Oh, and no cheating.

On the roof of Riovanes Castle, steal the Barette and Cachusha from the
assassins and successfully complete the battle.  If that was too easy,
then do it without using Chantages.
Alternate challenge: Pick up all four buried items on the roof.  Go
right ahead and use another strategy guide to find out where they are;
it still won't be easy to live long enough to do it.

Try to steal all of the Genji equipment without anyone using a
Chantage.  Angel Rings are allowed.

In the Zalera fight, poach all three skeletons and win the battle.

Complete the Deep Dungeon in one game day with Zodiac and all 40 good
treasures (no Phoenix Downs).  People who have become dependent on Item
may have some trouble with this one.

What is the lowest Injured count you can win the game with?  Count kills
in the final series of battles at Orbonne.  My personal record is 110.

198 Elixirs (99 in your inventory plus 99 in Fur Shops).  It's not hard.
How fast can you do it?

Win the final battle against Altima using only charged abilities and no
casualties.  To clarify charged abilities: Black Magic, White Magic,
Time Magic, Yin-Yang Magic, Summon Magic, Charge, Truth, Un-Truth, and
Limit, Jump, Sing, Dance, and Ultima.  Nothing that executes
instanteously is used, not even for healing.

Complete Chapter 1 without using a potion.

Obtain a Mime in as little game time as possible.  Zalbag doesn't count.

- I'm still confused.

  If you have questions relating to FFT that this guide nor any other
seem to answer, E-mail me.  I'll do my best to answer them and put them
in the section below.  If you would rather not have your question show
up here, mention that in your message.

- Questions

  Look here first before e-mailing me because your question might be
answered here.  It's faster for you and I don't have duplicate
questions in my inbox.  These are questions that people have sent me
though I have edited some slightly to make them more readable.

How the @^$# do you get to be a Mime? 
~ Lv. 8 Squire, Lv. 8 Chemist, Lv. 4 Geomancer, Lv. 4 Lancer, Lv. 4
Mediator, and Lv. 4 Summoner

I have heard that you can get Ultima in fft is this true and if it is
how do you get it?
~ You must be in Chapter 4, Ramza must be a Squire, and he must be hit
by Ultima and survive.  You can learn it from Celia or Lede or an
Ultima Demon.  My recommended method is in the Battle Notes section at
the Gate to Limberry Castle.

I was raising Beowulf's faith really high by repeatedly Preaching to
him and after the battle it a window came up saying Warning and had a
dialog box with Beowulf saying "humans always confuse things, let God
handle this" or something. Is that bad? 
~ No, unless you count your increased vulnerability to magic.
Characters only leave the party if their permanant faith reaches 95 or
their permanant brave falls to 5 or lower.  Otherwise, they will not
leave (thanks to Notti's DD Guide for this one.)

do you know how to dupe samurai swords with the old dupe trick with
the 2 swords? 
~ Orlandu can if he's learned Two Swords.  His regular job allows him
to equip katanas.  Know that the old dupe trick is still cheating.

I've heard that Ramza (as a Squire)in different chapters and even with
different zodiacs signs gets different level bonuses depending on
these things(so it can matter what chapter you are in, or what your
birthday is, when you level up/down. Any truth to that? 
~ Possibly.  Ramza's Squire class does have different equipment
restraints depending on what chapter it is.  I don't believe there's
any change in the growth of his stats though.

I'm having a hell of a time trying to get a Rubber Costume from a
Hydra.  I have over 20 of the common item (cant remember it's name)
but I haven't gotten a Rubber Costume yet. Any suggestions? 
- If the monster is on your team, go to a battle near a fur shop such
as Sweegy or Zeklaus and poach it there.  Don't save yet.  Go the the
fur shop and see if the Rubber Costume is there.  If not, reset and try
again.  This tip also works with other monsters. (Thanks to Greg Cyr
for confirming that yes, this does indeed work though it may take many,
many tries.)

I have a question about Final Fantasy Tactics.  I need to know were can
I find these items: 
  Sorlin Shape - Poach a Plague
  Chaos Blade - Find in Deep Dungeon END, highest area
  Defender - Steal from Meliadoul and Dycedarg; Poach a Taiju
  Persus Bow - Find in Deep Dungeon VOYAGE, lower level
  Blast Gun - Find in Deep Dungeon TIGER, starting corner
  Dragon Whiskers - Poach a Red Dragon
  Javelin (II) - Find at Nelveska Temple; Bring Worker 8 or Reis and
use that unit to climb on top of the pillars.  Item finder must have a
Jump of at least 4.
  Chirijiraden - Find in Deep Dungeon END, same area as Chaos Blade
  koga knife - Find in Deep Dungeon Bridge, search high plateau.
Jump of 4 required or use Chocobo or stepping stone trick.
  Scorpin tail - Poach a Hyudra
  Kaiser Plate - Find in Deep Dungeon VALKYRIES, at second twist in
map
  Venetian Shield - Find in Deep Dungeon HORROR, lower level adjacent
to Grand Helmet.
  Escutcheon (II) - Find in Nelveska Temple on one of the pillars.
  Grand Helmet - Find in Deep Dungeon HORROR on the single panel that
bridges the starting point and the rest of the map.
  Maximillian - Find in Deep Dungeon HORROR at the bottom of plateau
that runs down the edge of the map.
  Vanish Mantle - Find on the peak of Germinas Peak

For all items that are found, you need low brave on the person with
Move-Find to have a good chance at obtaining the item.  If you find
crap like Phoenix Down, reset and try again.  All the poached items
are the rare ones so the poaching trick above may help.

I was reviewing your unique faqs on FFT the other day, and I wondered 
if you could answer a question for me. I know you said in your faqs
that you don't except GameShark codes, but I came accross something
unique in the Brave Story section of the game.  After I put in some
codes for the game, and went to the records of the brave story, I came
accross a cut scene called things obtained. It showed Ovilia in a
church scene like the one in Zeltennia castle. Delita comes into the
scene with flowers to give to her. Then, all of the sudden Princess
Ovilia stabs Delita, then in turn Delita stabs her. Is this scene a
normal part of the game? I couldn't tell, so I was hoping that I could
ask you for the answer.  Seems pretty weird though, judging how the
game's story runs. 
- Yes.  This scene is part of the ending after the credits.

I HAD HEARD YOU COULD GET A CHOCOBO AND OTHER MONSTERS IN THE GAME BUT
I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO. SO IF THIS IS TRUE PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW TO
GET THE MONSTER. 
- Have a Mediator use Invitation (usually takes several tries) or
anyone make use of Train.  There's also a story battle where you can
gain Boco the Chocobo.

Quick question... how exactly do you benefit from the secret clothes?
The only way they work is if you don't act or move, so the wearer of
the secret clothes is useless to your party, that is, unless you know
something I don't.
- Secret Clothes raise Speed by 2, something no other armor can do.  I
don't use them but if you've used the level up/down trick a lot and
have 999 HP without any equipment, you might want to use them.  I
believe you're allowed to move and stay invisible.  The other use I can
come up depends on whether you can pick up buried items (Move-Find) and
remain invisible.  If so, give Secret Clothes and Germinas Boots to a
Thief or Ninja and use him or her to find any items you've missed in
the Deep Dungeon.  Don't have that character perform any action.

Is it possible to poach the Holy Dragon?  If so, what are the common
and rare items that you can poach?
- Reis cannot be poached.

- Credits

FFT Battle Mechanics Guide: It helped my game a lot and provided a lot
of information that helped me write this.
Notti: Item duplication cheat, trick with Angel Song, some tips for
Lionel Castle Gate and Colliery Underground Third Floor, some info on
Reis, some other useful information that resulted in changes
ErgGibbon's FFT FAQ: Format for character strategies, info on Reis
Dragon Fogel: Trick where you steal Gafgarion's equipment at Zirekile
Falls to duplicate it
coco go: Some info on dealing with undead, reminding me to put in the
beginner's trick for Gafgarion at Zirekile Falls (though I like the
other one better)
All the people who send me questions.
Several people for politely pointing out that Orlandu can dupe katanas
with the old duping method.
Anyone else who deserves credit not listed above
(I really don't remember right now.)

- Contacting me
  E-mail address is at the top.  Feedback, suggestions, corresctions,
contributions, etc... go there.  Before sending me anything that you
think should be here, know what I will not add.

Walkthroughs: Plenty of those out there.  There isn't a need for
another.  I'll take battle strategies as long as their not well-known
or are unusual.
Equipment lists: Been done numerous times.  Common knowledge by now.
Deep Dungeon stuff: Same reason as walkthroughs.  Again, only unusual
stuff will be considered.
Mechanics information: Send it to FFT Mechanics Handbook people.  I
only put it mechanics things I find on my own.
The Auto-Potion trick or the old item duplication thing: Both are quite
well-known and the old duplication thing is obselete.
Hidden item information for any map other than the four I've listed:
Prima's guide does a better job than I ever could, a few FAQs already
have it, and everyone and her cousin has covered the Deep Dungeon.
Gameshark codes: Not every player has one; I don't have one; and I do
not believe in cheating to play FF Tactics.  Information discovered
with the help of Gameshark may be accepted but the codes have no
place here.
Poaching lists: Many good poaching lists exist at Gamefaqs and many
more are floating around the Net.  However if people want to see what
I consider worthwhile to poach, I might put my recommendations in.

Other suggestions and contributions are fair game for now.  That about
covers it.