Playing the Game
As the game progresses, you will travel throughout the kingdom of Ivalice, visiting various locations and fighting battles.
β’
World Map: As you move between locations on the world map, you will sometimes face battle or be shown event scenes.
β’
Party Roster: Choose "Party Roster" from the World Map Menu to organize your party and prepare for battle.
β’
Battle: Lead your units into battle. A battle is won by meeting the objective shown beforehand.
β’
In Town: When in town, you can visit taverns, outfitters, warriors' guilds, and poachers' dens.
Starting the Battle
During battle, you can control the main character and the units under his command. Your first task will be to choose which of these units to send into the fray.
When a battle is encountered on the world map, you will be taken to the squad formation screen. The number of units you can place on the field will vary from battle to battle. In some cases, you will be required to form two squads of units.
Squad Formation
Select units from your party and place them on the available tiles. Press the START button when you have finished positioning your troops.
β’
Currently selected unit and key attributes
β’
Maximum number of squad members and remaining positions
β’
Tile: Units can be placed on the raised tiles.
Squad Formation Screen Controls
β’
Directional buttons: Move cursor
β’
START button: Confirm squad
β’
L button, R button: Cycle through units
β’
β button: Place, swap, or remove currently selected unit
β’
β² button: Jump to unit on currently selected tile
β’
β button: Display selected unit's status screen
The Art of War
Once you have chosen your squad members, they will move to the battlefield.
Fulfill the objective displayed at the beginning of the battle to claim victory for your squad. If you fail to meet the objective, the main character dies, or all your units are either petrified or KO'd, the game will end and you will be returned to the title screen.
β’
Objective: Protect Argath
β’
At Battle's End: When the battle is won, you will be rewarded with money (gil) and items, and all of your units' HP and MP will be restored.
The CT Gauge and Actions
A unit's CT (Charge Time) gauge must fill before that unit can act. Turn order is determined by the order in which units' CT gauges reach 100, with an "AT" icon appearing next to the unit who currently has the active turn.
A higher Speed attribute causes a unit's CT gauge to fill at a faster rate, allowing that unit to perform more actions than slower units. Speed affects the number of actions that can be performed within a given time-frame.
Turn Phases
When a unit's turn comes around, you will be able to control the unit's actions.
β’
1. Turn Begins: At the beginning of a unit's turn, the Battle Menu and the unit's status panel are displayed. An AT icon is displayed above the unit with the active turn.
β’
2. Issue Orders: You can select "Move," "Act," or "Wait" from the Battle Menu. During the course of one turn, it is possible to Move once and Act once, in whichever order you choose.
β’
Move: Move to a different position on the battlefield.
β’
Act: Attack enemy units or use abilities.
β’
Wait: End turn without taking any further actions.
β’
3. Choose Facing: After both moving and acting, or after choosing the Wait command, you will be prompted to decide the unit's facing. A unit's chance to evade attacks depends on the direction from which an attack comes, so always attempt to position your squad members in such a way that the enemy must attack them head-on.
Effect of Actions on CT
The commands you give a unit during its turn will affect its subsequent CT gauge value. Units that take fewer actions will find their turn coming around faster than units that perform all available actions.
β’
Both Move and Act used: CT drops to 0
β’
Move, then Wait: CT drops to 20
β’
Act, then Wait: CT drops to 20
β’
Wait only: CT drops to 40
The Battlefield
Battlefields are made up of various types of terrain. It is important to take the terrain types into consideration when maneuvering your units in battle.
β’
Movement range: Selecting a unit and pressing the β button will display that unit's possible range of movement in blue.
β’
Status panel: Units labeled with "Guest" in the upper left corner will move and act automatically during the battle. "Enemy" denotes hostile units.
β’
Tile height: The distance above ground level. A number representing depth is also shown for water tiles.
β’
Bridges and Movement: When a tile exists at the same coordinates both on and under a bridge, the cursor will automatically toggle back and forth between the two when placed at that position.
The Battle Info Menu
Pressing the β button will open a menu that allows you to view information about all units on the battlefield, as well as adjust various game settings.
β’
Turn List: Selecting "Turn List" from the menu allows