I enjoyed reading the LOTR party ideas and admit i tried a few myself(my very first party was LOTR) Some of the ideas were real good.
Someone mentioned a FF9 party, i didnt make one but had:

Beatrix, Valkyrie

I used the human girl with blonde hair and the metal mask.i think this suited her best and she was quite good.
I equipped her with a polearm but if NE1 has any ideas for weapons or other characters or parties please tell.

heres one rezdude03 helped with

dracon fighter
elf ranger
human samurai
mook psionic
mook bard
hobbit rouge

Beginner's party:

3 fighters, 1 bard, a priest, and a mage

Ranged party:

Fighter, Samurai, Valkyrie, Ranger, Bard, Gadgeteer

SPOILY ALERT!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Once your gadgy can make doubleshot and tripleshot crossbows, this party really is quite a menace. You have three spell schools covered, the best Psionic spells are covered by the bard and gadgy's instruments and gadgets. Not for beginners, though, since magic is weak. Beware of weight problems, you need to carry tons of ammo, since you will be firing so much per round. Later on, when you find the more expensive ammos, this party can be costly.

All-Purpose party:

Samurai focusing on STR and DEX, Monk focusing on STR and SPD, Valkyrie or Lord focusing on STR and DEX, Ninja->Ranger focusing on STR and DEX, Rogue focusing on SPD and DEX, and Bishop focusing on INT and SPD. This party does decent in melee, range, and magic, though not great at any one thing. Alternately, bard could replace rogue, though I prefer a rogue's better melee.

Magic-Heavy party:

Fighter, Bard, Priest, Mage, Alchemist, Psionic

Spoily space!!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


The bard should wield Bloodlust and a good shield. At range, she uses her instruments, so don't bother with bows. Very versatile character. The fighter should use a polearm and a ranged weapon, and is there to take down anyone that gets too close to the weakling casters. This party is all about damaging spells en masse. With the bard's piercing pipes, and the other four casting cone or area effect spells, most groups are torn up before they get to you. Probably the strongest party, but weak against boss types. I actually increase STR and DEX or SPD with my priest, who functions as a part-time fighter. My Alchemist focuses on STR and INT, and is decent from the back ranks with a staff. Basically, I blast the enemy from afar with attack spells, and if they get to melee range, I use the good selection of disabling spells available. Another plus is the fact that this party has no hybrids, so level ups are quick. The casters develop quickly into powerful attackers, so much so that my fighter is a little sub-par at melee! Make sure the bard is a female for the necklase of endurance, and try to make the psionic and mage faeries INT and SPD focused, so that they can get soul-shield and element shield up quickly. Don't worry about low strength, because you simply won't have that much weight to carry, since only one character uses ranged weapons, and ammo can weigh so much.

Edit: increased spoily space size

[ 09-28-2003, 03:50 AM: Message edited by: Cataephract ]

oooh! oooh! pick me!

thats me that posted the ff9 party. personally, i thought it was fun but kinda confusing getting it set up. check LOTR party posts for my suggestions.

One party I'm thinking of trying:
The Stark family, from A Song of Ice and Fire
All Rawulf:

Jon Snow--ranger (commander of the Night Watch)
Robb--lord (the Young Wolf, King of the North)
Sansa--bard (brought up in the courtly arts)
Arya--ninja (assassin)
Robb--bishop (wizardry and psionics)
Rickon--fighter (wild child)

I know I know a Watership Down Party they all could be Rabbits!!!

Oh? There are no Rabbons in this game. Damm!!

Final Fantasy parties almost always come into mind but FF9 was the easiest for me to make.

Zidane-rouge- he was part of a band of thieves. he even used twin daggers.
Steiner-fighter/lord-a master swordsman. he might even be a samurai since he could cast spells with his sword.
Freya-valkerie-no question. she was awesome with polearms and even learned some healing magic (reia's wind?)
Amarant-monk-altough he had claws, he fought with his hands. take note that he was a loner.
Dagger-preist(ess)-obviously she would have this profession. i would have used Eiko but none of the pics looked even close to her. besides, Dagger is more important (in case you were wondering, her full name is "princess garnet til alexandria XXVIII." "try saying that three times when your drunk")
Vivi-mage-skilled in black magic, this fits him perfectly.

An FF8 party could have all humans but...

[ 10-09-2003, 07:59 PM: Message edited by: Rezdude03 ]

FF8 would be kind of hard (it is my all time favorite game).

this is just an idea, probably not a good one...

Squall: Lord (with some modern weapon)
Zell: Monk (fists)
Selphie: Ninja (nunchaka)
Quistis: Valk (whips)
Rinoa: Gadget/Mage (modern weapon)
Irvine: Ranger (guns)

I don't know....

Squall has the gun blade(which would probably be a pretty good new weapon [if the creators of wiz9 can hear me now]). Modern weapon for the gun and sword skill for the blade.

Zell is obvious. Selphie is kind of the same, I mean se could just be another Valk (but couldn't use the nunchakas).

Quistis is really close. I mean the Valk can use mace and flail pretty well (like Vi) and the Cat'o Nine Tails is pretty much the same weapon that she uses.

Rinoa is a toss up. She fires a blade (like a crossbow). Modern weapon ...? Switch to Mage during the middle of the game. She became a sorceress and got the limit break of Sorcery. So I think Mage is a better second choice (good luck comming up with a first one) Or even a Ranger. I'm just throwing an idea out.

Irvine is another toss up. I mean he could also be a Gadgeteer (but so could Rinoa). Ranger could be pretty cool (and if he is a Gadgeteer then make Rinoa a Ranger). I just think that Irvine is a Ranger because rangers are sort of Loners (like he was or claimed to be "lonely") and can also use the Modern Weapon skill (so you can use the Zip Gun or Musket as one of his weapons). Rangers also have the accuracy for long range weapons (and Irvine was a great sniper).


This is the best I can do for right now, but I think a FF7 party would be even better...


Cloud: Lord/Human sword
Tifa: Monk/Human fists
Aeris: Priest (or Bishop)/Human (or maybe Elf because of being an ancient) staff
Barret: Gadgeteer/Human gun
Cid: Fighter or Gandgeteer (he did like machines)/Human polearm
Red XIII: Ninja/Rawulf fists
Yuffie: Ninja/Human shurikens
Vincent: Ranger/Human gun
Cait Sith: Monk/Felpurr fists
Sephiroth??: (this one is tough) Fighter or Lord/Human or Elf sword

See if that isn't better...

[ 10-10-2003, 10:19 AM: Message edited by: allstargoaly ]

For beginners at this game, I would strongly recommend against any repeating of characters, such as multiple Fighters in the party. The reason is fun. Several new players have been bored by such a choice, unnecessarily, and didn't enjoy the game.

Sometimes players do parties with multiples (like 6 Fighters or 3 Bishops) for a particular challenge, but that's different.

It is horrible advice, IMHO, to tell a new player to repeat characters in their party. There are also special items in the game that only certain characters can take advantage of, so by limiting characters, you end up playing less of the game than if you play a variety. Battle strategies become stagnant. I don't even believe the term "easy" should be applied to such a party when it's boring.

I have recently be thinking of having a party of four.

Fighter/Dracoon
Bard/Hobbit
Bard/Dwarf
Bishop/Elf

The fighter would be the front line. The bards would be on each side. And the bishop would be in the middle.

My question though, is this possibly smart or stupid? I want a fighter or heck even a samuri in front. I wanted a bishop because they can cast almost every spell. But the reason for the 2 bards is the following:

1. there are way to many instruments for 1 bard to carry
2. bards (usually for me) end up being the best all around characters
3. 1 would be focued on using all of the defensive instruments (angels tongue)
4. 1 would use all of the offensive ones (poets lute, piercing pipes)

I'm not sure if this is the way to go. I've beaten the game twice and I'm on my way to a third (Rapax Castle). Is this a good idea for a forth party......?


Edit: By the way Freeminded, what was your LOTR party (which characters/classes/professions)?

[ 10-10-2003, 01:04 PM: Message edited by: allstargoaly ]