Author Topic: Final Fantasy VII mechanics general questions  (Read 3588 times)

PetrucciJohn

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Final Fantasy VII mechanics general questions
« on: 2017-02-06 16:30:22 »
Hey, everyone. Since I haven't found a topic that covers all of that stuff at once, I'd like to ask a few questions regarding the inner mechanics of FFVII.

I am aware that each stat goes up to 255. So, that brings me to my questions:

1) How does Haste work, exactly? I am aware it makes your ATB bar fill twice as fast. Does this mean that it raises your Dexterity by 100%? If so, does that mean that if a character has 255 Dexterity, casting Haste is practically useless on them?

2) What are the mechanics of Dragon Force? I know it raises both your defenses by 50%, but does it cap at two times used (100%) or can you keep using it till your character's defenses reach 255? For example, if a character has a Vitality stat of 128, they'd need 2 uses to reach 255, but if they have anything below that, they'd need 3 and above. But can I actually use 3 on one character, or is the cap at 100% because the cap is placed on the skill itself and not on a character's stats?

I hope this is the right place to ask such questions. Thanks for any upcoming replies!
« Last Edit: 2017-02-06 19:27:50 by PetrucciJohn »

Sega Chief

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Re: Final Fantasy VII mechanics general questions
« Reply #1 on: 2017-02-06 19:29:46 »
Hero Drink boosts your Strength, Magic, Defence, and Magic Defence by 30% with a cap of 100%. The raised stats can go past the 255 cap for 510 overall though (so 4 Hero Drinks are needed overall to reach the 100% boost, and you need 255 as the base stat to reach the max of 510 with it). Dragon Force works in the same way as Hero Drinks, except it only affects Defence. It raises Defence and Magic Defence by 50% each time, again for a cap of 100% and 510 for the stat.

Haste only affects the ATB gauge; Dexterity remains the same, so evasion bonuses don't change under Haste. Whether the gauge is faster under Haste or not with 255 Dexterity depends on the formula used at the start of battle to determine how quickly party member's ATB gauges will fill relative to each other (and to enemies); this formula is derived from ATB settings and the party's NATURAL dexterity stat (this is Dexterity with all boosts from Sources and Equipment removed). Your ATB gauge speeds will be set based on this average, and then it'll be made faster than this average for an individual character based on their boosted Dexterity stat (with all the Sources and bonuses added onto it); so it is possible to have Haste make a 255 Dexterity character's gauge fill faster, but it's also possible (I think) to make it too fast so that it makes them slower instead or at least not of any practical benefit.

PetrucciJohn

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Re: Final Fantasy VII mechanics general questions
« Reply #2 on: 2017-02-06 20:14:56 »
Ah, thanks for the replies! So, can you stack up 4 Hero Drinks with 2 Dragon Forces on the same character? I had no idea that you can go past 255!

Sega Chief

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Re: Final Fantasy VII mechanics general questions
« Reply #3 on: 2017-02-07 03:11:54 »
You could, but there'd be no point; when the stats hit 100% they won't go any higher. So if you used one dragon force, then 2 Hero Drinks, you'd have 60% gain on Strength and Magic, 110% gain on Defence and Magic Defence (but capped at 100%).

So either use 4 Hero Drinks (or 3, you're only getting +10% from the 4th Drink) or 2 Dragon Forces if you only want Defence. It can be tough to juggle 3-4 Hero Drink buffs as the benefits are lost if the character is KO'd.

PetrucciJohn

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Re: Final Fantasy VII mechanics general questions
« Reply #4 on: 2017-02-07 05:03:05 »
Alright, I see. Thanks for the clarifications!