EOIV Rantage!!

[Doktor_Q]

Well I just solved all my non-physical damage problems. Max Sharp Edge Impulse Edge Charge Edge Finisher Wide Effect Accel Drive and Follow Trace on an Imperial/Night. Holy crap is it effective. You can throw out Accel Drive about every 5th or 6th turn, with a chance of doing it again for free, or, if you need more TP, you can stay in the Sharp/Impulse combo. Power Boost, Imperial Proficiency, Element Boost, and Drive Mastery can improve your damage later, too.

Admittedly not quite the raw power of hitting a weakness, but it's pretty much never going to be bad, and Finisher/Impulse Edge make it feasible to fight random encounters too. Oh, right, and you can get the base skills maxed at level 40, even without retirement.

[Doktor_Q]

Which probably has a better chance of landing a Stun, assuming a stun-forged weapon-
1) An Arcanist/Dancer with maxed out Ailment Boost, Sword Dance, and Mist Dance, or
2) A Dancer/Arcanist with maxed out Sword Dance, Mist Dance, and Ailment Boost?

AKA, does ailment boost compensate for the loss of hits/mist dance levels, or vice-versa. Also, the difference in innate Luck, since Arcanists have a lot more.

[Snowdome]

[Doktor_Q]

Actually, you can do any boss at about 2 levels below the level of the guest they give you, though you'll be running down to the wire. This is largely because the guest party members always have exactly the skill needed to let you fight said boss- binds, ice/power/attrition, and massive any-element damage.
(25 for 2nd stratum, 35 for 3rd, 45 for 4th, not a clue on the fifth)

Also- any fighter + Bushi becomes hilarious, and Lands can even take advantage of Defiance+Weapon Parry to maximize the benefits of sub weapons.

[Doktor_Q]

No, hilarious as in "don't bother healing them." Blood Surge is okay, but Ferocity+Endurance is simply amazing. I'm honestly considering putting it on my medic to make sure they don't bite it themselves.

[Snowdome]

[Doktor_Q]

Erm.

I/N I/N I/N
M/F M/R

Does this sound incredibly pointless or incredibly terrifying? I can get rounded out builds for each of them around level 55, and enough healing power that I don't think they even COULD get TPK'd.

[Maxine MagicFox]

So... fighting the Golden Lair boss

[Wolkenritter]

[Maxine MagicFox]

[Maxine MagicFox]

DEFEATED!!! @#%@!@#$@

BLAH!! In retrospect, I could have done that battle a LOT better than I did... I did some stupid moves and as a result I just BARELY defeated him. ... Still :3 a win is a win! AND OMG ALL OF MY PARTY MEMBERS WERE ALIVE THIS TIME TO RECEIVE THE EXP!! O_O

[Liferake]

[Doktor_Q]

Bushi are just plain silly with how immortal they get. Blood Surge won't even deplete their TP at all if you don't bump it up a lot, given their class skill.

[Dangerus]

Classic

Though, it would explain my Landsknect/Bushi's TP being depleted after using Blood Surge one too many times...

[Doktor_Q]

Well, yeah, Blood Surge drains TP pretty damn fast, which is why I rarely use it on people who actually fight with skills. On the other hand, if you just bump up Deep Breath, you can take two turns to basically slap TP-regen on literally any class. Any class.