Random tidbits of knowledge regarding general gameplay, mechanics, or PvP scenarios.
Last updated: 10/16/2024
Note: some terminologies are not the same as in WotL since this guide is based on the PSX version.
Qu_Marsh’s WotL guide is also handy for going over changes from the PSX version to PSP and contains the new terminology changes that happened in WotL: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/937312-final-fantasy-tactics-the-war-of-the-lions/faqs/50422
Rajinili’s BMG Errata that makes corrections to some of the data from the BMG and the WotL guide:
https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/BMG_errata
As a precaution: the FFT wikia can be edited and revised without full proof of changes. The BMG and the WotL guides have been thoroughly tested and are the best options for understanding mechanics.
For Tactics League PvP, the % chance for procs is 50%.
[Br / (Br + tarBr)]
chance to cause knockback if applicable.For Tactics League PvP, the critical hit chance is 10% and critical damage is strictly 150% of the normal damage.
Invisibility can be obtained via Ninja Gear (clothing), Septimé (accessory/perfume), Invisibility Cloak (accessory/cloak), and Vanish (Br% reaction).
Orochi
Moonsilk Blade
Francisca
Vesper
Nirvana
Gae Bolg
All Fell Swords (not learnable)
Onion Sword
As a side note, Atheist/Faith does apply to Marach’s Nether Mantra skillset, causing either 0 (Atheist) or 100% damage (Faith).
For Tactics League PvP, the Nether Mantra inverse is fixed where Faith is 0 and Atheist is 100% damage.
If a unit is Speed-tied with another ally, the unit that was placed first in the battle formation/pre-game screen when placing units will break the tie and will act first.
Regarding your opponent:
The “guest” player (the non-host) player will break Speed-ties first if Speeds match against an opposing unit.
This hasn’t been 100% confirmed, but from testing gameplay and observation, there is confidence in this answer:
Host player (player who selected “Host Melee Battle”)
Reduced tick rates for charge-time abilities, such as magicks or Bardsong/Dance. Jump is not considered for this benefit.
Guest player (player who selected “Join Melee Battle”)
Characters will gain turn priority when there are ties in Speed with opposing characters.
For example, if Unit A is 14 SP and Unit B is 14 SP and Unit B is the guest player’s character, Unit B will act first if both characters are at 100 CT at the same time.
Charge-Time Abilities (excluding Jump)
For short and optimal cast times (including Swiftness where applicable), make sure to avoid applying Haste status on your casters/performers, including units prepping to start a Bardsong/Dance. The positive, Haste status will increase the CT fill rate causing more frequent turns. The negative, it seems to increase the amount of time it takes to charge cast-time abilities, making certain strategic plays harder when relying on longer-tick abilities.
Regarding Bardsong/Dance, applying Haste after they are already in mid-performance seems to not negatively impact the current tick rate as the game looks at the number of turns needed when initially cast not afterward. However, changing performances after Haste should greatly increase the charge-time for performances to proc.
Br / (Br + tarBr)
] to determine if a knockback occurs or not.Note that in all other cases, Atheist always prioritizes over Faith status even if Faith is gear-sourced, treating the target’s Faith as 0. This is a unique case based on the formula used for Nether Mantra.
- Move Only: CT = 20
- Act Only (includes Reequip and Defend): CT = 20
- Move and Act (includes Reequip and Defend): CT = 0
- Wait: CT = 40
Using the Wait command more often can be useful especially for mid-to-late game because it can allow you to utilize the Turn Order to set up for more specific combos or back-to-back character actions that can help win games.
- The character cannot be targeted or affected by an ability or attack (since they are considered out-of-play).
- The clockticks of status effects that have a duration will pause, such as Slow. This means that time that passes while mid-jump does not reduce the duration of the negative effect on the character.
- The character’s CT will still increase while mid-jump.
- Swiftness support ability does not apply to Jump.
- Jump is considered a physical attack and is subject to physical damage reduction such as Protect, but cannot be evaded.
- The more Jump abilities learned by the character, the further the range can be selected to target for the ability.
Jump is affected by the character’s Speed stat. So the higher their Speed, the faster they can land and deal damage to the targeted tile. You should check the target’s Speed against your own to determine if you can land before they get a chance to act and move from their position. The formula to calculate the jump time is:
clocktick = 50 / Character Speed
Note: Haste is not applied to this calculation as Haste affects the CT gauge not the Speed stat directly.
- A character will land in approximately 50 CT.
- The jump time calculation ticks against each dead or alive character.
How to calculate Jump’s damage:
dmg = (PA * WP) * 1.5
, if equipped with a Polearm dmg = PA * WP
, if equipped with a non-Polearm weapon dmg = PA * PA * (Br / 100)
, if barehanded