RPG strategies you like to use

[Sushi_b]

What areas in RPGs do you find that you lean towards using? Are you prone to physical attacks most of the time? Do you fancy beautifully cast spells? Do you use lots of items?


I know for myself, I tend to avoid using magic at all costs. I love to beat down enemies with brute force as much as possible. I am always worried about conserving items and magic for potential boss encounters later on in specific areas. I also frequently save my game. Because I like to grind a lot I find that I have lots of gold to purchase all the best equipment for the time and usually have extra gold left over for later.

What about everyone else?

[Cyrus the virus]

I used to play the exact same way as you, never using magic until the boss.

Recently, though, and especially with new RPGs, there tends to be a save point before every boss where I can fully restore my MP with a tent/whatever. So I'm now a lot more open to using magic.

So against large groups of enemies, I tend to use a hit-all spell and then pick them off with physical attacks. Against single mobs I'll sometimes use a weak magic spell to do more damage with my mage types.

[moogle]

AAAAAA, XXXXX, etc. has always been the strategy I'd use. Of course it will depend on the game, but that's often all it came down to for normal battles. In the beginning it was more worrying about using up magic/items/etc. but more recently it's just that it's often quicker and you don't have to think as much. I guess that's why I don't play RPGs that much anymore.

[Devil King]

Pretty much use what the individual character excels at, whether that be magic or brute force.

On a side note, my general "strategy" for RPGs is to level my ass off as quickly as possible.

[Tenacious P]

My rpg strategy is always to be 2-3 levels ahead of where I should be, always have the best weapons available, and always have a gigantic stock of items. I also like to keep all my characters within 5 levels of each other, even the ones I rarely use... in case I can't revive my "front liners" when they die. Nothing is worse than getting stuck in a dungeon, getting depleted, and then having to bust out your reserve characters when they are 30 levels behind.

[Trillian]

I can be really anal about using all the characters equally, I will force myself not to use my favourite character over and over again, simply because I will feel bad for leaving other characters out and not letting them "reach their potential." Yea... it's pretty weird. I think it's a fragment left from my childhood when I believed my stuffed animals all had feelings so I had to play with them all equally...

Annnyway, I always try to find out and remember what each enemy's weakness is and use it against them. Whether it's a type of magic, an item, or a simple attack, because I want my enemy encounters to be as short as possible. Although, when I first start a game I will lean more towards just physical attacks until I find out how sparse or plentiful magic and items are in the game. As I become more comfortable with how often you can replenish these things I will use them more often. I'm also anal about exploring every nook of an area... I do not necessarily beat every optional boss, but I usually know where they are (and avoid them). If there is a map that appears only as you walk around, I will make sure every part is filled in! I just like finding treasure.

[Sushi_b]

Pretty much use what the individual character excels at, whether that be magic or brute force.

On a side note, my general "strategy" for RPGs is to level my ass off as quickly as possible.

I some times use the characters for their specific actions but not that often. I think Tales of Vesperia is one of the few games that I actually did that. Partly because I'm not in control of all the characters at one time. Most of the time I try to make sure that my spell casters are strong enough to take out monsters of a certain area (with regular attacks) before moving on.

[Felwerk]

After 4 years playing WoW, 2 and a half of those as a priest, I can't help but feel an affinity for the healer in any rpg. I wish there was such a fun and compelling healing mechanic in offline rpgs. There's something satisfying after a frantic boss encounter in keeping everyone up and knowing I played a very integral role in a successful run.
As such, I try to emulate that in other games to what extent I can. For example, I'll play a cleric (usually two) in Icewind Dale, but it isn't the same because I still have to direct the rest of the party. I know it's ultimately futile since you can't really heal a mob to death and there will always be the necessity of damage dealers. But then again there were those videos of 40 priests taking on a raid level dragon back in the day and succeeding and I hold out a bit of hope that one day the healer won't be stuffed in some warrior's pocket, begged for but never aspired to, and we'll see more love directed our way in 'leading roles' if you will.

[scorpion]

I tend to use mostly phsyical attacks instead of magic because unlike magic monsters won't be able to absorb this damage. I do use magic for boss fights sometimes though.

[Sibek]

I hate using items. I also hate buying items.

They seem to be a bad substitute for trekking back to the inn and the cost of convenience doesn't seem to be enough over cheap inn rates and the ability to save. I'd rather spend my money on weapons and armor.

As far as gameplay. For the longest time, I used to be a tank. Better to outlast bosses and drain their magic. About when Disgaea came out, I've learned to fall in love with a sort of Blitzkrieg attack. Grab a bunch of gunners, fill them with glasses and lenses, send them out to destroy. Sure they can die in a single attack, but it's rarely often that they live longer than a couple turns.

[moogle]

I tend to use mostly phsyical attacks instead of magic because unlike magic monsters won't be able to absorb this damage.
Ah, but sometimes enemies are resistant to physical attacks. I want to say most RPGs have at least some enemies like that, especially if they have ones that absorb magic or take less damage for certain elements.

[Sushi_b]

Ah, but sometimes enemies are resistant to physical attacks. I want to say most RPGs have at least some enemies like that, especially if they have ones that absorb magic or take less damage for certain elements.

I really dislike it when a game has a boss that does this or has some sort of resistance to everything but one kind of element/attack. Usually this makes me really angry because I might die and have to restart a few times just to understand what is actually going on.

[Blackdragon]

Maxing out current skills, powerleveling, and accumulating as much gold as possible is how I play my rpgs. Combat wise I stick to physical attacks and low MP cost skills.

[freeflow^]

I hate to be obvious, but I have to say my strat depends greatly on the game. With rpgs like FFXII, money was in shortage, so I would rarely buy the best armour available. I would make up for that with leveling my magic and techniques. Games like Suikoden, Grandia and The Chrono Series made money widely available, since you either got a billion characters with a billion things to sell, or the battles were so profitable.

I'm usually below level, regardless of the fact people say leveling up is relatable to some sort ofdrug. I get by on my badass elemental and status tactics which pertain to most RPGs.

On a side note I played Fable 2 the other day... is it just me or did that game remind you of some sort of annoying Disney movie? I truly dislike that game.

[Cyrus the virus]

Fable II has some great moments and some good things going for it, but I find that it was crazy overrated by critics and gamers alike. It was not worth my money, the combat got really repetitive, the story was trite, and I didn't think any of the features went 'far' enough. It was fun to play but I should have made it a rental, certainly.

[Karsh]

I almost always use the badass, slow, heavy hitters. An example of course being like Auron. When faced with build-your-own-character RPGs, I tend to beef strength up first.

Another example of course being the guy in my avatar. I like to play it simple and just go with brute force killing machines.

[Sushi_b]

Fable II has some great moments and some good things going for it, but I find that it was crazy overrated by critics and gamers alike. It was not worth my money, the combat got really repetitive, the story was trite, and I didn't think any of the features went 'far' enough. It was fun to play but I should have made it a rental, certainly.

I can understand that feeling. There are some great ideas in the game and some are executed really well. The problem stems from the idea that Fable II is so much bigger then it really is. All those promises that can't possibly be kept.

Combat is pretty clunky for the most part and gets annoying at times. You really only have to level up magic and nothing else. The targeting is kind of sloppy in that you can't focus well on a single target all the time.

On the plus side, buying buildings for money (which you can get even when offline), the variety of items to obtain, and the overall atmosphere is pretty grand. Hopefully Fable III will again expand even more on some of the ground work from this one.

[Ges]

I would love Fable II if the story didn't suck so damn much.

Also, that dog is useless.

[Cyrus the virus]

Did anybody not think that old broad was secretly more than just an old broad?

[Atlas]

I use a combination of magic and strength. Leveling beyond necessity also improves chances of success. Using items when they need to be used is also a good strategy. Piling up on potions and such is good, but not using them may lead to defeat.

[Cyrus the virus]

Another good strategy: fighting when fighting is necessary. And getting new equipment when getting new equipment is necessary.

[Atlas]

I usually wait awhile to buy new equipment after it becomes available. If you can fight with sub-par equipment, you only better your odds with the new equipment.

[The Varsh]

The Varsh mostly eschews magic or techniques in favor of brute power. Anything The Varsh can get that will up a characters Strength stat is deliciousness for The Varsh! Magic can be pretty sweet but The Varsh feels that physical damage works better for his style.

[Trillian]

I'm all about defence. I always buy new armour before I buy new weapons. At the beginning of Kingdom Hearts I generally choose the shield. I think this a byproduct of being a small and weak person. Plus, I hate when I lose someone in battle and have to revive them.