Zwill Straightblade [dagger] Fomalhaut [gun]

* Orochi [ninja blade] Glacial Gun [gun]

* Moonsilk Blade [ninja blade] Blaze Gun [gun]

Blood Sword [sword] Artemis Bow [bow]

* Onion Sword [sword] * Gae Bolg [polearm]

* Francisca [axe] * Chaosbringer [fell sword]

Golden Axe [axe] * Arondight [fell sword]

* Nirvana [staff] * Balmung [fell sword]

* Vesper [flail]

SHIELDS:

* Reverie Shield

HEADGEAR:

* Onion Helm [helm] Cachusha [hair adornment]

* Acacia Hat [hat] Ribbon [hair adornment]

ARMOR:

Rubber Suit [clothes] * Brave Suit [clothes]

* Minerva Bustier [clothes] * Sage’s Robe [robe]

ACCESSORIES:

* Onion Gloves [gauntlets] Chantage [perfume]

* Empyreal Armband [armlet]

ITEMS:

Elixir [item]

Note that some of these items (like the Brave Suit) are quite rare, and you

won’t find them often even with all characters at level 99.

---Item Evaluation-------------------------------------------------------------

Of these items, the most valuable by far is the Brave Suit. This is the best

suit of clothes in the game; it boosts your HP and MP by quite a bit and gives

you a permanent Reraise like Chantage! This means you can finally have male

characters with a permanent Reraise. And, equipping a Brave Suit on a female

character frees up an accessory slot that otherwise might have gone to

Chantage. Unfortunately, the Brave Suit shows up quite infrequently.

Other good armor here includes the Acacia Hat and the Reverie Shield, which is

second only to the Escutcheon II amongst shields. (And since there’s only one

Escutcheon II, a supply of Reverie Shields is good to have.) In some cases,

the Reverie Shield can be even better than the Escutcheon II since it halves

all elemental damage, good for magick attacks you can’t evade (e.g. hydra

breath attacks). And while they’re not unique to Melee Mode, the plentiful

supply of Rubber Suits and Ribbons here is actually quite nice; the Rubber Suit

is the best alternative to the Brave Suit, and Ribbons guard female characters

against almost all status ailments!

The Orochi and Moonsilk Blade are the most powerful ninja swords -- the

Moonsilk is a bit stronger in raw attack power, but the Orochi drains HP. If

you use Ninjas, you’ll want to collect these up!

The Minerva Bustier is also good to pick up if you use Reis. Although not as

strong as some other pieces of armor, it’s the only body armor that can be

equipped by Reis’s Dragonkin job.

Finally, if you use Onion Knights, you’ll also want to grab the Onion Sword,

Helm, and Gloves here. (The Onion Armor and Shield are found in Rendezvous

Mode.)

Most of the other equipment isn’t that great; they’re either in unhelpful

weapon classes (e.g. axes) or are inferior to items available in Rendezvous

Mode.

%%%RENDEZVOUS MODE - GENERAL INFORMATION%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00ren0

The Rendezvous Mode is a two-player co-operative mode. It consists of 15

missions that two players tackle together. (It’s not possible to play these

missions with just one player.) Completing the missions earns you items,

including a number of rare items you can only find in this mode (see below for

details).

The later missions also make for a particular challenge for FF Tactics masters,

as they’re the toughest battles in the game.

---STARTING A MISSION---

Beginning midway through Chapter I, new Rendezvous Mode missions will continue

to become available as you progress through the single-player game. A mission

may be selected as long at least ONE of the two players has unlocked it, though

both players must have at least progressed through the first few battles of the

game to make the Rendezvous Mode option appear in a Taven.

To start a Rendezvous Mode mission, have each player go to the Tavern and

choose Rendezvous Mode and "Start a Mission." The hosting player (Player 1)

should choose to host a mission and the other player should choose to join.

Like Melee Mode, Rendezvous Mode can only be played over a local (ad hoc)

connection.

Each mission can be played an unlimited number of times, regardless of whether

you win or lose.

Unlike the Melee Mode, Rendezvous missions do not cost gil.

---MISSION DIFFICULTY---

The Rendezvous Mode missions that you can unlock as you play through the

single-player mode are appropriate for characters at that stage of the game.

So, the missions you unlock in Chapter II can be tackled while you’re still in

Chapter II, and so on.

The experience level of the enemies you face in Rendezvous Mode scales with

your own characters’ levels. So, simply leveling up won’t really help you win

the battles. Of course, learning new abilities, gaining equipment, and using

the stat-raising tricks described in the Level Downs and Stat-Grinding section

*will* help you. :)

---THE RULES---

Rendezvous Mode differs from single-player combat in several ways:

* You CANNOT permanently lose items or characters in this mode. Stolen and

broken items, and items consumed using the Throw, Iaido, and Items commands,

are restored to you at the end of battle. Characters cannot permanently die

because they simply teleport out of the battle when their KO counter expires.

(Since they’re not permanent deaths, these do NOT count as Casualties on your

Chronicle screen.) Anyone turned into a Malboro by Malboro Spores is turned

back into a human.

Note that this makes some abilities substantially more useful in the Rendezvous

Mode since you no longer have to worry about losing rare items. Elixirs are

great for restoring HP and MP, the Masamune and Chirijiraden Iaidos can be used

freely (Masamune casts Haste and Regen on a group!) and rare weapons like the

Chaos Blade can be thrown without losing them.

* You CAN keep items that YOU obtain from chests, stealing, and catching them

from ENEMIES using Sticky Fingers. You CANNOT keep weapons caught when your

partner throws them (which would otherwise allow you to easily duplicate any

weapon :P). You must win the battle to keep your gained items; they are lost

if you fail the mission.

* The Arithmeticks command is completely off-limits in this mode and cannot be

used.

* Monsters cannot be poached for items. Poaching a monster will still remove

it from the map, but no items will be added to the Poachers’ Den.

* While the Traitor status (from Entice or Tame) can still be used to recruit

enemies onto your side for the duration of the battle, they cannot join your

team permanently afterwards.

* Only JP, not EXP or levels, is earned. In addition to earning JP, you can

also learn and keep abilities from crystals. Magick that can be learned from

being hit with it (see Advanced Tactics) can also be learned and kept. You

must win the battle to keep your abilities; they are lost if you fail the

mission.

Since you cannot gain levels, the Wild Boar’s Bequeath Bacon is ineffective in

this mode.

* Bravery and Faith can be changed for the duration of a battle, but there are

no permanent changes.

* There are no traps and no items that can be found using Treasure Hunter (even

on tiles where there are traps/items in the single-player game).

* Your characters cannot be put under AI control.

* The game cannot be paused. (However, when one player is moving, the other

player can scroll around the map and looking at characters’ status.)

* Although Bonus Gil is earned after a battle, gil cannot be gained or lost

*within* a battle from Gil Snapper, Steal/Plunder Gil, or treasure chests.

* Enemies killed during Rendezvous Mode are not added to your Kills tally on

the Chronicle screen. I’m assuming this means they also aren’t counted towards

unlocking Dark Knight, but I haven’t confirmed this.

* This isn’t a Rendezvous Mode-specific rule, but it’s worth noting that all of

the multiplayer-exclusive weapons cannot be thrown with the Ninja’s Throw

command.

%%%RENDEZVOUS MODE - TREASURES AND RANKING%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00ren1

After winning a Rendezvous Mode battle, each player will be presented with a

ring of chests, and can open 1 to 5 of them based on your performance during

battle. (No chests are awarded if you lose.) Since these battles are a

cooperative effort, both players will always earn the same number of chests,

even if one player had his/her forces completely wiped out.

The NUMBER of chests you can open is determined by how well you fought. You

can open more chests when you....

1) Deploy fewer characters. Typically, you can deploy up to a total of 3

characters (i.e., one player deploys 1 character and the other deploys

2 characters) and still earn 5 chests, but this may vary a little from

mission to mission.

2) KO more enemies. Some missions don’t require you to KO every enemy, but

KOing more of them will earn you more chests.

3) Do not have any of your own characters get KOed. If characters are KOed

but later revived, this does not appear to penalize you.

The number of turns you take does not seem to be relevant.

The CONTENTS of the chests are determined by different factors:

1) The average level of your characters

2) Most missions have a "cap" on item quality. The tougher the mission, the

better the items you can get.

Note that the QUALITY and QUANTITY of items you receive are determined by

completely different factors! Even a poor performance on the later missions

will earn you a chance at rare items; you just won’t get as *many* of them. On

the other hand, blowing through early missions will not get you unique items,

no matter how efficiently you fight or how high your level is.

---RARE ITEMS IN RENDEZVOUS MODE---

A (probably incomplete) list of RARE items that you can win in Rendezvous Mode

is below. (I haven’t listed items that can also be bought in a store, though

you’ll often get these from the early missions.)

* indicates items that can ONLY be acquired in Rendezvous Mode.

WEAPONS:

Sasuke’s Blade [ninja blade] Ras Algethi [gun]

Nagnarok [sword] Fomalhaut [gun]

Materia Blade [sword] Glacial Gun [gun]

* Moonblade [sword] Blaze Gun [gun]

Defender [knight’s sword] Blaster [gun]

Save the Queen [knight’s sword] Yoichi Bow [bow]

Excalibur [knight’s sword] Perseus Bow [bow]

Ragnarok [knight’s sword] * Sagittarius Bow [bow]

* Durandal [knight’s sword] Faerie Harp [instrument]

Chaos Blade [knight’s sword] Omnilex [book]

Masamune [katana] Holy Lance [polearm]

Chirijiraden [katana] Dragon Whisker [polearm]

Golden Axe [axe] * Gungnir [polearm]

Dragon Rod [rod] Fallingstar Bag [bag]

* Stardust Rod [rod] Wyrmweave Silk [cloth]

* Crown Sceptre [rod] * Deathbringer [fell sword]

* Dreamwaker [staff] * Valhalla [fell sword]

Scorpion Tail [flail]

SHIELDS:

Kaiser Shield * Genji Shield

Venetian Shield * Onion Shield

HEADGEAR:

* Genji Helm [helm] Cachusha [hair adornment]

* Vanguard Helm [helm] Ribbon [hair adornment]

* Brass Coronet [hat]

ARMOR:

Genji Armor [armor] Mirage Vest [clothes]

* Onion Armor [armor] Rubber Suit [clothes]

Ninja Gear [clothes]

ACCESSORIES:

* Gaius Caligae [shoes] Invisibility Cloak [cloak]

* Genji Glove [gauntlet] Sortile’ge [perfume]

* Brigand’s Gloves [gauntlet] Chantage [perfume]

* Sage’s Ring [ring]

Of course, as noted above, not all of these items are available in every

mission. Again, the best items are only found in later missions, and your

characters must have a high level to have a chance of getting them.

In addition, there are also some items that only appear in specific missions:

MISSION ITEMS

The Guarded Temple Grand Armor, Fomalhaut

Nightmares Gungnir, Dreamwaker

Brave Story Crown Sceptre, Sage’s Ring

An Ill Wind Valhalla, Vanguard Helm

(Note that the Fomalhaut isn’t *really* unique to The Guarded Temple, since you

can get it quite easily in Melee Mode. But The Guarded Temple is the only

place the Fomalhaut shows up in Rendezvous Mode.)

---TITLES AND STARS---

In addition to treasures, you will also be awarded a "title" for clearing each

mission. For example, completing the Chocobo Defense mission earns you the

"Defender of the Wild" title. These titles don’t do anything, they’re just for

fun :)

Each title comes with a "level" or star rating, on a scale from 1 to 5. The

star rating is simply equal to the number of chests you were awarded at the end

of the battle. In the Tavern, the game tracks your highest star ratings for

each battle, so you can challenge yourself to try to earn 5 stars on every

mission!

%%%RENDEZVOUS MISSION STRATEGIES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00ren2

---Rendezvous Mission 1: Chocobo Defense---------------------------------------

AVAILABLE AFTER...: Visiting Gariland on the way to the Siedge Weald in

Chapter I

BATTLE MAP: Windflat Mill

YOUR FORCES: 1-3 characters per player, Chocobo [guest] x2

ENEMY FORCES: Squire [male] x4, Chemist [male] x3, Thief [male] x1

The goal in this mission is to defeat all the human enemies while keeping both

of the Chocobos from being KOed. If *either* Chocobo is KOed, you lose.

Both players start on top of the plateau with the Chocobos and the majority of

the enemies below. Player 1 faces away from the windmill, while Player 2 faces

down the stairs. Both players should put their mages, Archers, and Chemists

in the "back row" of their deployment screens and the fighters in the "front."

This will pack the weaker characters in the center, while the physical fighters

protect them from both sides.

Note that if Player 2 deploys any character in his/her two leftmost tiles,

they’ll actually start down on the ground and not on top of the plateau. This

puts them in a bit more danger, but can help you reach the enemies more

quickly. You’ll only want to do this with melee fighters, not rearguard

characters like mages.

Your success in this battle will probably depend a lot on what jobs you’re

using. If your characters are still Squires, this battle may be tough given

the large enemy party. However, if you change your fighters into Knights and

Monks, their superior Physical Attack will allow them to take out each enemy in

just a few hits. The Knight’s ability to equip shields will also be helpful in

this battle, as will the Monk’s Counter ability if you have it.

Black Magick is also quite powerful in this battle and sometimes gives you a

chance to hit more than one enemy at once. If you’re progressed far enough

that you can buy the Flame, Ice, or Thunder Rod (available after the Sand Rat’s

Sietch battle), using one of these rods will make the corresponding elemental

magicks even stronger. Just make sure that the Chocobos don’t get hit in the

effect radius of the magick! Before casting, check the Turn List to make sure

your planned target won’t have a chance to move next to the Chocobos before the

magick goes off.

Archers can also be useful; standing on the top of the plateau will allow them

to target almost the whole battlefield. They can often attack without having

to move, which will get them more turns. However, Black Magicks tend to do a

little more damage and are probably the better choice.

You’ll definitely also want to bring someone with the Items command (or White

Magicks) who can heal the Chocobos. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a full

Chemist so long as you assign the Items command as a second ability -- and you

may not *want* to deploy a full Chemist so you can pad your roster with

fighters instead. At any rate, you can use your Items freely; you get them

back after multiplayer battles.

When the battle starts, you’ll want to catch up with the Chocobos as quickly as

possible to protect them. Otherwise, the enemies will gang up on them. Most

of the action tends to take place at the bottom of the cliff, so try to get a

few close-range fighters down there quickly. (Mages and Archers can stay up

top where it’s harder for them to get attacked.) If the enemies aren’t

standing at the side of the plateau, you can jump down fairly easily, or you

can just have Player 2 deploy his/her characters so they *start* down there.

The Squire’s Move +1 ability and the Battle Boots accessory will both increase

your movement range, which helps a lot in this battle.

The Chocobos can use Choco Cure to heal themselves (and you!), but they won’t

*always* do so. They tend to only do it if one of the Chocobos or a human ally

is in critical HP (HP < 20% of max). However, even if a Chocobo isn’t at

critical HP, the enemies may gang up on it and KO it before it DOES have a

chance to heal! That’s where Items comes in handy; heal any Chocobo that has

taken a few hits and is vulnerable to attack. Another tactic: when one of your

characters is at critical HP, move him or her away from the battle. This will

often draw the Chocobo away from the enemies to heal him or her.

Watch out; the Squires may throw stones at the Chocobos even if they can’t

move in range for a physical attack. It doesn’t do much damage but can be

enough to finish off a weakened Chocobo! Keep them healthy.

Another very useful ability is the White Mage’s Protect magick; cast this on

the Chocobos and it will reduce the damage they take from physical attacks.

(Shell, which reduces magick damage, is really not helpful here as it’s

unlikely the enemies will have many magick attacks.) The Chocobos will

sometimes end up standing next to each other and this is a great opportunity to

cast Protect as you can target both Chocobos at once.

The enemies here have pretty generic jobs and few special abilities, there are

a lot of them. You’ll probably want to take out the Thief first since he’s

fast and can steal your equipment--it’s not lost permanently in multiplayer

play, but losing your gear still makes it harder to win! (The Chemist’s

Safeguard ability will also keep your equipment from being stolen.) You’ll

also probably want to defeat the two enemy Chemists early since they can

keep healing the enemies otherwise.

You may also encounter some of the Squires using a powerful second ability,

like Martial Arts. (The specific abilities they have are assigned at random.)

If you spot a Squire using a particularly nasty attack, be sure to KO him

quickly.

Depending on your level, the Thief may have a Blind Knife here. This weapon

can inflict the Blind status on your characters, which makes it easier for

enemies to dodge your attacks. This isn’t as bad as it seems since most of an

enemy’s evasion rate can be nullified by attacking him from behind, even if

you’re Blind. (See Evade Rates under Basic Mechanics and Tactics for more

info.)

On the other hand, if you’re using a shield, it’s not effective against rear

attacks, so try to keep your back protected from attack where possible. You

can use the side of the plateau or enemy bodies to guard your back.

In some cases, you may be able to leave a low-HP enemy for the Chocobos to

finish off, if they’re nearby.

Finally, when attacking the enemy, don’t forget that Zodiac compatibility

affects the damage you do -- you’ll do more damage to an enemy with whom you

have good compatibility. When picking the Chemists and Squires to target

first, it can help to go after the enemies with whom you have good

compatibility. You can defeat them more quickly.

While you don’t earn EXP and levels during multiplayer combat, you DO earn JP,

and you can also keep abilities from crystals and items from chests. So, after

you’ve defeated most of the enemies, you may want to hang around and let them

decay into crystals or chests. This is a good way to pick up some extra

abilities, if you don’t mind fighting with your friend over who gets to pick up

the crystals ;)

If you’re having trouble with this battle, progressing a little further through

Chapter I may help you out as you gain more abilities and can buy useful items

like the elemental rods. Or, team up with a player who’s already further

through the game :)

In this and all other Rendezvous Mode battles, you’ll earn more items if you

can win the battle using a smaller party of characters. Of course, this makes

the battle tougher for you. When you’re just starting out, you may want to

stick with a full party; assuming you don’t have any fatalities of your own,

you’ll still earn 3 chests per player. Later, you should have no trouble

reducing your party size and still winning.

TITLE AWARDED: Defender of the Wild

---Rendezvous Mission 2: Chicken Race------------------------------------------

AVAILABLE AFTER...: Start of Chapter II

BATTLE MAP: Tchigolith Fenlands

YOUR FORCES: 1-3 characters per player

ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male, undead) x3, Archer (male, undead) x2,

Black Mage (male, undead) x1, Time Mage (female, undead) x1, Revenant x3

This is the easiest of the Rendezvous Mode battles! Although there are a lot

of enemies, they’re ALL undead. This means that each enemy can be instantly

killed simply by throwing a Phoenix Down at it. And, since items you use in

Rendezvous Mode are restored after battle, you won’t even permanently consume

there!

However, you’ll need your Chemists to be sturdy enough to survive while they

throw Phoenix Downs. There are two good ways to do this: make the Chemist into

a Knight and equip Items and Throw Items, so that you have the Knight’s HP and

armor, but all the item-using abilities of a Chemist. Or, equip a Chemist with

the Knight’s Equip Heavy Armor ability and you can use good armor to boost your

HP. (You can swipe Gaffgarion’s good armor.) If you can’t do either of these,

you could also deploy one character as a healer while the other Chemists fling

Phoenix Down.

Throwing Phoenix Downs at the enemies as they come in range. The Knights and

Black Mage are the most dangerous, so target them first, followed by the

Archers. The Time Mage can be defeated last. Phoenix Downs are your best

weapon since they have a 100% hit rate and KO the enemy no matter how much HP

they have. You’ll need 10 Phoenix Downs between the two players to KO all the

enemies. If you run out, Hi-Potions are also reasonably effective (doing 70 HP

damage); you could also use regular attacks or White Magicks.

When possible, throw Phoenix Downs without moving; you’ll get new turns more

quickly when you don’t move. Sometimes, though, you’ll need to move,

especially if the enemies end up hiding behind plants. If you do need to move,

try to avoid ending your move in the swamp tiles, as doing so will poison you.

And definitely avoid standing in water with a depth of 2, you won’t be able to

take action at all there!

Since the enemies here are undead, some of them may start reviving if the

battle drags on. With 3 Chemists throwing Phoenix Downs, you can probably

finish the battle before too many have the chance to revive, though. The KOed

enemies can simply be redefeated; since they won’t come back with full HP, you

may be able to defeat them with a weaker attacks. Some enemies may crystallize

instead; picking up these crystals is a good way to heal or (in the case of the

human enemies) learn new abilities!

Later in Chapter II, Mustadio will join your team, and he makes this battle

even easier. His Seal Evil ability turns undead enemies to stone, which both

defeats them and prevents from reviving, and when it has a very long range when

combined with his gun.

You can probably clear this battle with a small number of characters.

Completing this battle with just 3 characters total will earn you five stars

and five treasures per player, and it’s not very hard to win even with just 3

Chemists.

TITLE AWARDED: Lionheart

---Rendezvous Mission 3: Treasure Hunt-----------------------------------------

AVAILABLE AFTER...: Start of Chapter II

BATTLE MAP: Dorvauldar Marsh

YOUR FORCES: 1-3 characters per player

ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x1, Archer (female) x3, Monk (male) x2,

Thief (male) x2, Thief (female) x1

This mission is a race for the treasure chest on the far side of the map --

whichever team picks it up first (your team or the enemy team) wins.

There are really two ways to play this battle. One is to make a beeline for

the chest and pick it up. If you do this, you’ll only receive a 1-star

ranking (because you didn’t KO any enemies) and each player will get to open

only a single chest from the ring of chests. But the player who grabbed

the chest gets to keep whatever’s inside it, and it’s usually a pretty high

quality item -- better than anything you can buy in a store or win from the

item ring at this point in the game.

The other approach is to play this mission like a conventional battle and KO

all the enemies. You’ll get to claim up to 5 chests after the mission this

way, but you won’t get the really good item in the battlefield chest. This

strategy is actually kind of pointless: You can earn items of equal quality

from the Chicken Race mission, and Chicken Race is much easier and faster to

win. The real reason to play this mission is to grab the battlefield chest and

claim the good item inside.

So, the way to go is to forget your ranking and just make a run for the chest.

(Since only one player gets to open the chest, the two players can take turns

being the one to open it.)

To reach the chest quickly, deploy characters with a high Speed and/or Move

rating -- Knights, Monk, and Thieves all fit the bill, as do Ninjas if you have

them. Assign a helpful to your movement ability. Teleport is probably the

best, as it lets you move through the enemy units and also gives you a chance

of extending your movement range. Where you don’t have that, Move +1 (or

better) is also quite helpful.

You won’t want to waste time fighting, so focus on equipping your characters to

dodge or survive lots of attacks. Heavy armor is a plus, as are good shields

and cloaks. Good reaction abilities are Archer’s Bane (which will help block

the attacks from the enemy Archers) or Auto-Potion.

Also, you should deploy 3 characters per player. If you’re going for the chest

and not playing for ranking, there’s no reason not to take as many characters

as possible.

During the battle, you’ll just want to run for the chest at the other end of

the map. Don’t attack enemies; if you only Move (and don’t Act), your CT gauge

will fill again more quickly and you can take more turns. If you’re using

Teleport, don’t forget that you can warp through enemy units. You can also try

teleporting 1 or 2 tiles beyond your usual movement range, but beware that

teleporting *too* far is likely to fail.

The watery tiles here are just regular swamp and NOT poisonous fen, so you

don’t have to worry about getting poisoned if you stand in them.

There are a lot of enemies -- too many to fight directly, generally -- so this

battle is mainly about surviving long enough to reach the other side of the

battlefield and claim the chest. One tactic is to designate one or two fast

characters as your main runners. Have them run for the chest, using only the

Move menu so they get more turns. Meanwhile, other characters can follow up

behind them, healing from a distance (using Throw Items or White Magicks) and

other support abilities such as Protect. Another defensive tactic is to use

characters with Archer’s Bane as defenders; put them in the way of the enemy