A Sky Pirate’s Life For Me! – Balthier vs. Vyse | PRELUDE

: Oh, piracy… What a sweet and simple life of danger, daring, swashbuckling, treasure-having fun!

: Pirates, swashbucklers who rule the seven seas with an iron hook! With their incredible ferocity, duplicitous tactics, and lust for doubloons, they send any and all who mark them to the shadows of Davy Jones’ Locker!

: All pirates except for the two we are talking about today. Lo, they may not retain their predecessors’ more common exploits like pilfering or pillaging, but they keep the traditions of suave swashbuckling and sail mighty, free vessels to travel the lengths of any sea!

: I think you forgot one other detail there Boss: Their sea is not a blue one. Our fighters are Sky Pirates, sailing over the white ocean up above!

: Yes, and who between these captains will outshine the other in this duel up high?

: Balthier, the gentleman sky pirate and the savior of Ivalice!

: Vyse, Captain of the Blue Rogues and the savior of Arcadia!

: He’s Lash Fittania, she’s Dylania Sandiss, and I’m the Boss, Barlow Solus, and we will evaluate their physique, techniques, and piracy pizzazz to find out who will win in the Clash!

* * *

BALTHIER

: Balthier, your discount fantasy Han Solo, flies the skies of Ivalice, searching for treasure and grandeur wherever he goes, fully believing himself to be, as he puts it, the “leading man” in his own story.

: To be fair, he was supposed to be the protag until some Aladdin/Luke Skywalker mofo named Vaan took his place.

: Born Ffamran mied Bunansa in the highly militaristic Archadian Empire to Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, or Doctor Cid, he had a prestigious childhood and was raised to be a skilled soldier.

: He was an intelligent kid, having grown up with a genius for a father, and he was no slouch in combat skill either. His skills, and his father’s prestige, led to his inauguration as a Judge at the young age of 16. With Judges being among the highest ranks in the military, second only to the Judge Magisters, all of which take the law into their own hands as jury, executioner, and, of course, judge, this was no small feat.

: Unfortunately for lil’ Ffamran, home life would get a lot more complicated. Doctor Cid, shortly after Ffamran’s decision to join the military as a Judge, had gone on an expedition to the Holy Realm of Giruvegan.

: Unfortunately for Ffamran, when his father returned, he acted unhinged, speaking to someone named “Venat” that nobody else could see. His father’s new imaginary friend helped him learn more about engineering with magic than he ever dared understand before, and Ffamran felt he had lost his father to his mad musings and imaginary friend.

: As anyone with daddy issues would do, Ffamran abused his power as a Judge and ran from Archades, abandoning his father as his father had abandoned him in the pursuit of science. He stole a prototype fighter airship and fled his old life.

: With nowhere to go and now a man wanted for stealing from and abandoning the military of Archadia, Ffamran made a new name for himself to go with his new identity as a sky pirate: “Balthier.”

: He even picked up his version of Chewbacca! Well, if Chewbacca was a playboy bunnygirl race known as the Viera and whose name is Fran.

: The two were indomitable partners and fast friends. They made countless heists and rustled enough feathers to become two of the most wanted sky pirates in Ivalice as a whole.

: And even though he was wanted by just about every nation, he still found himself seeking out new adventures. Such adventure-lust brought him to the Royal City of Rabanastre, in hopes of pilfering the Goddess’ Magicite held in the secret treasure vault in the royal castle.

: The very same place he met with Vaan, the guy who stole his protagonist role due to marketing shenanigans. You love to see it.

: And with that small interaction, Balthier was thrust into an adventure that would take him across all Ivalice and truly challenge his abilities and resolve as a sky pirate.

“I’m only here to see how the story unfolds. Any self-respecting leading man would do the same.” – Balthier

BACKGROUND INFO:

• Full Name: Ffamran mied Bunansa
• Alias: Balthier
• Occupation: Sky Pirate, Judge (Former)
• Origin: Archades, Archadia
• Age: 23
• Height: 6’0″
• Debut: Final Fantasy XII (2006)

: Alright, remember when we said Monster Hunter, Dovahkiin, and The Pyro have huge arsenals? Yeah, if we categorize them as A-Tier in inventories, Balthier’s going straight to SS-Tier.

: In Final Fantasy XII, there is a Zodiac Job System, where each party member can choose up to 2 different jobs that determine what equipment, magic, and techniks they can use. While it is usually up to player preference, we can determine the most likely loadout Balthier would have due to his history.

: We will give him the Knight and Machinist Jobs, due to his position as a Judge in the Archadian military and for his skill in gunplay and engineering taken up during his time as a sky pirate.

: And thanks to this, he has mastery over several forms of melee and ranged combat. He is vastly skilled in the use of Swords, Greatswords, Shields, Guns, Measures, and Hand-Bombs.

: Some of his best weapons include the Karkata, a sword with a blood-red blade that is guaranteed to inflict Confusion on the enemy on a successful hit. Then there’s the Ragnarok, a powerful greatsword that can inflict the Immobilize condition which keeps the target from moving.

: And his best greatsword, the Tournesol, just deals a lot of damage and has decent evasion stats. It’s such a revered sword that it resembles Gilgamesh’s Excalipur/Excalibur!

: His Mithuna gun is only as effective as the bullets he uses with it, and while it is a powerful, long-range weapon, he has to reload after every use like an old-fashioned blunderbuss. But with his variable ammo, he can inflict Silence, Blind, or Petrify, and can apply the elements of Water, Fire, Earth, Darkness, and Wind to his attacks.

: It’s a similar case for his Hand-Bomb, the Makara. It has munition that can inflict Poison, Oil, Stop, Confuse, and Sap on the foe as it blasts them to kingdom come. As for his Measures, these are a unique class of weapon.

: They are weapons that apply a buff to the target. Terrible weapons, but they make up for their uselessness against enemies by being extremely useful on allies and the user themselves. The Gilt Measure grants Protect, Arc Scale grants Shell, Multiscale grants Bravery, Cross Scale grants Vanish, Caliper grants Haste, and Euclid’s Sextant grants Bubble.

: Pfft. Sextant, heh.

: Charming. Thank you for that Dylania.

: It should be noted that there are a lot of unique conditions in the Final Fantasy XII universe. There’s things like Sap, which is a non-Poison health drain, Disease, which prevents healing and slowly reduces your Max HP to 1, Oil, which triples Fire damage, Disable, which just disconnects your brain so you can’t do anything, Bravery and Faith, which increase physical and magical damage output respectively, Decoy, which forces the enemy to target the conditioned target, Reverse which makes healing harm and harming heal, and Bubble, which doubles the user’s Current and Max HP for a short time.

: So yeah, Euclid’s Sextant can effectively double his durability in a fight. For free, he just has to boop himself on the nose with it. FFXII is weird.

: In addition to his protective equipment he also brings his Gendarme to battle, an invisible shield with incredibly high evasion stats for both physical and magical attacks, and absorbs any element used against Balthier, healing him instead.

: As for armor, he comes clad in the Renewing Morion and the Brave Suit, which grant him permanent Regen and Bravery respectively as long as he wears them. Free regeneration AND a free damage buff? Damn, that’s a steal!

: But his most prized pieces in his arsenal have to be the ungodly amount of accessories he carries. Honestly, he carries an accessory for nearly every occasion and can swap them out on the fly if needed. His Steel and Leather Gorgets vastly increase his physical and magical damage output while he is in a critical condition (HP<15%).

: With his Turtleshell Choker, he can cast magic with Gil, the world’s currency, instead of MP. With the Gauntlets, he can take half as much damage when he’s in critical condition. With the Thief’s Cuffs, he improves his chances to steal and the quality of the item he steals. With the… *huff*… The Jade Collar, he can improve his evasion of physical and magical sources by 30%… *huff*… How many more of these are there?

: Mmmmm… Let me see… 10.

: Fuck my life…

: Fine you big baby, I’ll do some. The Berserker Braces afflict him with Berserk, forcing him to attack a foe indiscriminately with an immense strength and speed boost, while his Sage’s Ring makes all his magic cost 50% less, as well as absorbs and heals Balthier when hit by the Holy element.

: Here, I’ll do some too. The Agate Ring nullifies terrain effects like sandstorms lowering ranged weapon accuracy and halves damage from the Wind element, the Ruby Ring grants a permanent Reflect buff as long as he wears it, and the Bubble Belt gives him a permanent Bubble buff and renders him immune to Disease.

: The Indigo Pendant improves his magic’s accuracy, and if the opponent has Reflect on themselves, he can wear the Opal Ring to pierce the Reflect. But, if he needs to hasten himself instead, he can put on the Hermes Sandals for a permanent Haste buff as long as he wears them.

: Alright, I think I’m good now. The Nihopalaoa extends to Balthier’s items, but reverses their effects. For example, wearing the accessory and throwing a Potion at an enemy would cause that potion to inflict damage on the enemy instead. Unfortunately, we won’t be giving Balthier, or Vyse for that matter, extended inventories due to player preference potentially muddying their loadouts.

: And then there’s the Ribbon, the ultimate accessory. While it may not have a unique use compared to a lot of the other accessories, it guards against all status ailments, except for instant-death ailments such as, well, Instant-Death. There’s others too, though! It doesn’t guard against X-Zone or Complete Petrification.

: It also grants a Regen and Libra buff so long as it is worn, with Libra giving insight about the enemy, such as weaknesses, current health, etc. With exceptions of course.

: Wow, all that and we haven’t even reached his magic or techniks yet.

: Dear god…

: While Balthier cannot access Esper Summons for this battle, as that would consist of outside help, if we are taking this character at his best, then we have to assume that he has all 13 Espers. While that does not mean that he can use them in this matchup, they do grant him access to magic and Techniks he otherwise would not have access to in his Job Boards, otherwise known as the skill point progression of this game.

: Let’s go through his available Techniks next then. Techniks are, in essence, techniques one can use without the need for MP. His first and most commonly used one, would have to be Steal, which is pretty self-explanatory.

: First Aid can be used to patch up wounds when he is in a critical state, Charm causes Confusion to an enemy, Stamp copies any abnormal status effects from the user onto a target of their choosing, and Gil Toss throws a maximum of 10,000 Gil at the enemy, with each Gil dealing 1 point of damage. Talk about a cut-throat coinpurse…

: Traveler deals damage based on the number of steps he’s taken since it was last used, Horology deals damage based on a factor of the time of day, and Numerology deals increasing damage with each successful attack, at the trade-off that its accuracy decreases as well.

: He can use Sight Unseeing only when Blinded, but can then dish out an attack that drops the target’s HP to single digits, Souleater consumes 20% of Balthier’s Max HP to inflict nearly twice the damage of a normal attack on the target, and Telekinesis allows his melee attacks to become ranged at will.

: Achilles can force the foe to become weak to a random element, whether it be Fire, Water, Ice, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Dark, or Holy, and, possibly his most powerful Technik, Infuse consumes all of his MP to increase his HP to 10x its maximum. Remember the Bubble condition? He has Bubble, he doubles his durability, and then he can increase it ten-fold after! He can just become as healthy as a god if he chose to, smh.

: And now we make it to his magic catalogue. Let’s begin with White Magic. He has Curaga to heal his wounds, Regen to recover HP over time, Cleanse which cures Disease, Esuna which cures all negative status ailments except Slow, Stop, and Disease, Confuse which inflicts the Confusion condition…

: Okay, hold the phone. He’s got a sword that inflicts Confusion. He has a ranged bomb that inflicts Confusion. He has an accessory that can reflect Confusion back at the enemy. He has a Tehcnik that causes Confusion. NOW, he has a piece of magic that inflicts Confusion? I’m getting confused myself, did I miss any? If he sneezes does he inflict Confusion? If he goes to Taco Bell and orders a Whopper, does he inflict Confusion? If you lock eyes with him, does he inflict Confusion?

: Very possibly to all of those. He’s a real charmer after all. I’m sure girls would be confused why they’re so drawn to him and men would be confused why their orientation is shaken to its core.

: Damn you Gideon Emery! How dare you give such a perfect vocal performance on this fine, intelligent himbo!!!

: Isn’t that an oxymoron?

: IsN’t tHaT An oXyMoRoN???

: Damn, you are aggressive today. Moving on…

: He can also use Bavery and Faith, as well as Curaja to heal himself for more than Curaga would.

: He also has two spells from the Green Magic tree: Decoy and Oil, which only apply their respective conditions. However, his most powerful magic comes from his access to Time Magic.

: He can use Vanishga to turn invisible, grant himself a shield that aims magic back at its source with Reflectga, hasten himself with Hastega, slow foes with Slowga, and can even halve the target’s HP with Graviga.

: But his strongest spell out of the lot is Warp. He essentially bends space-time to his will and just teleports the target approximately 1 “GTFO of this dimension” away. Personally, that’s my favorite unit of measurement when it comes to space-time shenanigans.

: Alright, that should be all of it, right? That’s all the magic, all the Techniks, all the accessories, and all the weapons, right?

: Yep.

: Oh thank god. I feel like butter spread over too much bread…

: Now it’s time for the Quickenings.

: …

: Just breathe Lash. It’ll be okay.

: If Vyse’s arsenal is this long, I’m going to quit. I swear.

: Anyway, Quickenings are a manifestation of Mist, which is the omnipresent magical energy in the world of Final Fantasy XII. Magic is one way to harness the Mist, and it can have adverse and harmful affects when in high concentration. It supposedly has ties to other dimensions and it is capable of controlling Espers, the children crafted by the Occuria, literal gods who ooze with Mist.

: In regards to the Party’s usage of Mist in Quickenings, it is comparable to, if not superior to the capabilities of several of the Espers, what with being able to FORM POCKET DIMENSIONS AND FREELY SHATTER EACH DIMENSIONAL LAYER THEY MAKE. Sorry for shouting, but when wacky stuff like this pops up out of nowhere, I get excited.

: The Quickening is the expulsion of an immense amount of Mist in the form of a deadly attack. Several characters have shown to be capable of shattering the very fabric of reality, shatter space between dimensions, and so on through the use of these Limits.

: Take Vayne Solidor or Basch fon Ronsenburg for example, where, through their Force of Will and Ruin Impendent respectively, they are able to shatter the very fabric of reality like a pane of glass. Even though one could dismiss these as illusions or purely cosmetic in effect, there are too many instances that declare otherwise. Especially so, since Mist has links to other dimensions as well, seeing as Espers, for rebelling against the gods, have been doomed to walk the Mist, stripped of their physical form in the mortal realm. Which is… A lot to take in.

: Truly insane power. If that isn’t enough to explain the phenomenon, in other Final Fantasy games, summons would literally drag their foes into a pocket or separate dimension where they can unleash the full extent of their power. This is all according to the Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Guide, though, but it does help explain why the battlefield gets all dark and foreboding and why they went from a cave setting to a cloudy nebula in a second, tops. Balthier’s Quickenings include his Flames of War, where he manifests six orbs of light and lobs them at his foe for them to detonate in a giant explosion.

: His Tides of Fate feature him calling a sea’s worth of a deluge into his pocket dimension to crash into the foe and drown them.

: And, get this, in Element of Treachery, he clones himself twice and then leaps into the sky and TURNS INTO A FUCKING METEOR AND BODY SLAMS THE FUCK OUT OF HIS ENEMY. WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. THIS. HOW THE FUCK IS THAT AN ELEMENT OF TREACHERY WHEN THE WHOLE DAMN METEOR IS FUCKING TREACHEROUS!?!!?!?!?!

: But, there’s more. The Quickening, if enough Quickenings are chained together that is, ends with the pocket dimension exploding with elemental fury. It can end in a surging Inferno, Cataclysm, Torrent, Windburst, Whiteout, Ark Blast, Luminescence, and even a Black Hole.

ARSENAL/TECHNIKS/MAGIC/QUICKENINGS:

• Likely a Knight/Machinist According to his History
• Karkata
  • Powerful Sword that Inflicts Confusion
• Gendarme
  • Invisible
  • Greatly Improves Physical/Magical Evasion
  • Absorbs/Heals from All Elements While Equipped
• Ragnarok
  • 25% Chance to Inflict Immobilize on the Target
• Tournesol
  • The Strongest Greatsword
• Mithuna
  • Grants High Evasion and Damage
  • Has Ammo that Inflicts Silence, Blind, and Petrify
  • Has Ammo with the Fire, Water, Earth, Dark, and Wind Elements
• Makara
  • The Ultimate Hand-Bomb
  • Carries Bombs that Inflict Poison, Stop, Oil, Confuse, and Sap
• Gilt Measure
  • Inflicts Protect (25% Less Damage from Physical Attacks)
• Arc Scale
  • Inflicts Shell (33% Less Damage from Magic Attacks, Instant-Death Magic is Harder to Land)
• Multiscale
  • Inflicts Bravery (30% Physical Damage Boost)
• Cross Scale
  • Inflicts Vanish (Invisibility)
• Caliper
  • Inflicts Haste (Increases Action Speed by 50%)
• Euclid’s Sextant
  • Inflicts Bubble (Doubles Current and Max HP
• Armor
  • Renewing Morion
    • Grants Regen While Worn
  • Brave Suit
    • Grants Bravery While Worn
• Accessories
  • Steel Gorget (Doubles Physical Damage Output when HP ≤ 15%)
  • Leather Gorget (Doubles Magical Damage Output when HP ≤ 15%)
  • Turtleshell Choker (Cast Magic with Gil Instead of MP)
  • Thief’s Cuffs (Improves Chances of Stealing and the Quality of the Item Stolen)
  • Gauntlets (Halves Damage Taken when HP ≤ 15%)
  • Jade Collar (Improves All Evasion by 30%)
  • Berserker Braces (Grants Berserk While Worn [Bloodlusted, Cannot Act Outside of Senselessly Attacking and Moving, 1.5x Physical Damage Boost, 2x Faster Action Speed])
  • Sage’s Ring (Halves MP Cost, Absorbs Holy Element)
  • Agate Ring (Immunity to Terrain Damage, Halves Wind Damage)
  • Ruby Ring (Grants Reflect While Worn)
  • Bubble Belt (Grants Bubble While Worn, Immunity to Disease)
  • Indigo Pendant (Improves Magic Accuracy)
  • Opal Ring (Pierces Reflect)
  • Hermes Sandals (Grants Haste While Worn)
  • Nihopalaoa (Reverses Item Effects While Worn)
  • Ribbon (Grants Libra and Regen While Worn, Immunity to All Statuses Except Insant-Death, X-Zone, or Petrify)
• Techniks
  • Steal
  • First Aid
    • Recovers a Small Amount of Health when HP ≤ 15%
  • Charm
    • Inflicts Confusion on an Enemy
  • Traveler
    • Deals Damage Based on the Steps Taken since the Previous Use of Traveler
  • Horology
    • Deals Damage Based on the Time of Day, with it Peaking at Every 9 Interval (i.e., 10:09am, 10:19am, 10:29am, etc.)
  • Numerology
    • Deals Higher Damage With Each Subsequent Use
    • Accuracy Lowers With Each Subsequent Use
  • Stamp
    • Inflicts the Target with the Same Status Conditions as the User
  • Gil Toss
    • Throws a Maximum of 10,000 Gil at an Enemy
  • Achilles
    • Forcibly Gives the Target an Elemental Weakness
  • Infuse
    • Uses All MP and Increases Max HP Ten-Fold
  • Souleater
    • Sacrifices 20% of Max HP to Deal 1.7x the Damage of the Next Attack
  • Sight Unseeing
    • Can Only be Used when Blinded
    • Reduces the Foe’s HP to the Single Digits
  • Telekinesis
    • Allows the User to Attack with Melee Weapons from a Distance
• White Magick
  • Curaga
    • Replenishes a Large Portion of HP
  • Regen
    • Condition that Heals HP Over Time
  • Cleanse
    • Cures Disease
  • Esuna
    • Cures All Ailments Except Death, Doom, Slow, Stop, and Disease
  • Confuse
    • Yet Another Thing That Inflicts Confusion
  • Bravery
    • Grants Bravery
  • Faith
    • Grants Faith (30% Magic Damage Boost)
  • Curaja
    • Heals a Large Portion of HP to All Allies
• Green Magick
  • Decoy
    • Grants the Decoy Condition, Which Forces Attention to Focus onto the Afflicted
  • Oil
    • Inflicts the Oil Condition, Which Coats the Foe in Oil, Making Fire-Element Attacks 3x More Effective
• Time Magic
  • Vanishga
    • Grants the Vanish Condition, Turning Allies Invisible
  • Warp
    • Instantly Transports the Target to an Alternate Dimension, Considered a Form of Instant-Death
  • Reflectga
    • Grants the Reflect Condition, which Bounces Magic Back at the User
  • Slowga
    • Inflicts the Slow Condition, Making Actions Take Twice as Long to Perform
  • Graviga
    • Gravity Magic that Halves the Target’s Current HP
  • Hastega
    • Grants the Haste Condition, which Halves Action Time
• Quickening
  • Phenomenon where One Harnesses the Extreme Extents of the Mist and Weaponizes it to Perform Deadly Attacks that can be Chained Together in Rapid Succession
  • Fires of War
    • Balthier Produces Six Spheres of Light and Lobs them at his Foe, Resulting in a Blinding Explosion
  • Tides of Fate
    • Balthier Whistles, Summoning a Deadly Deluge to Flood into the Space to Crash into the Foe
  • Element of Treachery
    • Balthier Duplicates Himself Twice, then Leaps into the Air, Taking the Form of a Meteor ato Crash into the Enemy
  • Depending on the Number of Quickenings Chained Together, a Concurrence, an Elemental Byproduct with Massive Scale, can be Generated, Such as a Blinding, Searing Light in Luminence or a Pitch-Black Void in Black Hole

: Phew, that was a rough batch of weapons. Got a good lung workout from listing off all of that stuff.

: Now it’s time for his physique.

: Hooray…

: Well, to begin with, his attack potency isn’t anything to sneeze at. He was able to defeat the Earth Tyrant, a tyrant monster whose presence caused a permanent sandstorm that covered the entire Dalmasca Westersand, which is a massive desert expanse.

: He has faced off against deadly foes like the Hell Wyrm, who was feared by the gods for its power and trapped underground with its wings shackled by magic.

: And he could overpower and defeat all of the Espers, superpowered beings crafted by the Occuria.

: Some of them have some insane powers too, especially when they channel the Mist themselves. For example, Belias the Gigas formed a miniature sun and opened a vein of magma, and Mateus the Corrupt froze the ocean itself. Such a feat requires -24844.65 Petatons of TNT, which puts Mateus around Multi-Continent Level!

: That’s not the end of it either. Adrammalech concentrated the power of a lightning storm on his foes once and destroyed a mountain, and Hashmal uppercut a portion of Ivalice’s crust from what looks to be either a magma vein or the planet’s core! Hell, Cúchulainn was able to expel literally all of intelligent life’s sins, corruption, and pollution into a bog potent enough to wipe out anyone with ease! We’re talking time immemorial, which is a lot of time and a lot of pent-up corruption. In fact, it turned the once proud, beautiful scion into a detestable, fat, green, putrid mess of a humanoid with a cross plunged through its gullet, the only thing keeping all that nastiness inside him.

: Zeromus’ Big Bang literally compresses his element of Gravity to the point where he fires out a black hole bomb that tears through dimensions, while Exodus can just summon a giant meteor to strike his foes. Meanwhile, Famfrit can casually overfill the ocean and drop tsunamis on people, no biggie.

: Ultima literally flies into space and fires an orbital cannon of pure light on enemies from above! Seriously, why doesn’t anybody talk about this installment in Final Fantasy’s lineage? This shit rocks!

: And then there’s Zodiark, whose immense power makes him into an egg. Yep. From that egg, he is reborn with the powers of a strange serpentine-fish-phoenix-thingie and he flies through dimensions until he flies into the foe and blows up, creating a big-ass supernova. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at some of these beauties’ final attacks:

: Oh, hey! More evidence for crafting whole pocket dimensions with their own observable star systems and planets after invoking the use of Mist! Yeah, Balthier defeated these baddies at their strongest in their own personal arenas, meaning Balthier is comparable to their status as Multi-Solar System Level fighters like Ultima and Mateus.

: But the rabbit hole gets DEEPER. Vayne Solidor is able to break through dimensional walls similarly to Zodiark, Basch fon Ronsenburg, Judge Magister Gabranth, and so on. However, after he ODs on Nethicite and the Occuria rebel known as Venat, a LITERAL GOD WHO IS CAPABLE OF STRIPPING THE AFOREMENTIONED DIMENSION CRUSHING ESPERS OF THEIR PHYSICAL FORM AND FORCING THEM INTO SLAVERY JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE BEING REBELLIOUS fuses with Vayne, The Undying is born, a being easily stronger than anything we’ve seen yet.

: Man, scaling this verse is fun, all y’all scaling Final Fantasy VII for the gazillionth time are missing out. In simple shows of strength, Balthier is no slouch either. He’s able to handle Seeqs, a race of pig-like humanoids with greater physical prowess, with ease, defeated the Pandaemonium, a Titantoise with a shell made of hardened lava, and easily outclasses other Judges and Judge Magisters.

: He’s quick as he is quick-witted too, able to outrun and keep up with in combat with Ba’Gamnan, a bounty hunter after Balthier’s head whose signature move is Shining Ray, which generates light blasts. Hell, we were just talking about how he has defeated Ultima, whose whole identity revolves around the element of light. He even keeps up with LITERAL EMBODIMENTS OF LIGHTNING AND LIGHT, easily putting his speed at the Speed of Light and higher.

: He can even avoid Holy magic, as well, and even reacts to and avoids lasers from all manner of foes, from simple ghosts using Maser Eye, to the Omega Mk. XII. He is even able to keep up with and outmatch Gilgamesh, from several Final Fantasy games’ fame. Gilgamesh, was able to keep pace with Bartz, who is calced at speeds of Massively FTL+ for defeating Neo Exdeath, a foe we’ll be getting into more at a later date. Maybe.

: And don’t think he’s a pushover when it comes to his durability like he’s some glass cannon. He tanked the heat from the Firemane’s “Wildfire,” which is said in its bestiary entry to be a heat that is so hot it’s immeasurable. He’s even tanked the mind-flaying powers of Mindflayers and even survived a Malboro’s Bad Breath, a feat in and of itself.

: But nah, I know this audience. They want something calculable to sink their teeth into. He’s survived Choco-Comets from the Trickster, a legendary, giant, white Chocobo, and he’s tanked the extreme elemental discharges of each Esper with ease. This includes Firaja, Blizzaja, Earthja, Thundaja, Blizzaja, Aeroja, Holyja, and Darkja, all of which hitting with the force of a Concurrence. If this overload of terms is too much for you, it’s that phenomenon at the end of the Quickening, which is basically Balthier’s Limit Breaks.

: Don’t worry, we get it. I do especially. It’s a lot to take in. This is possibly one of the most intricately crafted Final Fantasy games after all and they strayed from a lot of the core material featured in most games till this point.

: Regardless, Balthier’s durability can best be summarized by facing off against The Undying, that triple fusion between Vayne Solidor, a god, and Nethicite. You know, the thing that is Above Multi-Solar System Level?

PHYSIQUE:

• Attack Potency
  • Defeated the Earth Tyrant, who Caused an Eternal Sandstorm to Cover the Dalmasca Westersand
  • Defeated the Hell Wyrm and Yiazmat, Revered for their Immense, God-Challenging Power
  • Defeated all 13 of the Zodiac Espers, Who are Capable of:
    • Belias, the Gigas Formed a Miniature Sun and Exposed a Vein of Magma
    • Mateus, the Corrupt Froze the Ocean, a Feat Putting him at Multi-Continent Level
    • Adrammalech, the Wroth Collected the Lightning of a Storm and Concentrated its Fire to Blow up a Mountain
    • Zalera, the Death Seraph Used the Energy of Several Dead Spirits to Create a Storm of Death
    • Hashmal, Bringer of Order Performed an Uppercut, Possibly from the Planet’s Core, that Destroyed the Planet’s Crusts
    • Zeromus, the Condemner’s Big Bang Literally Compressed Gravity to Make a Black Hole
    • Exodus, the Judge-Sal Dropped a City-Sized Meteor on his Foes
    • Shemhazai, the Whisperer’s Soul Bolts Created a Massive Explosion
    • Famfrit, the Darkening Cloud Overfilled the Ocean and Dropped Tsunamis on his Foes
    • Cúchulainn, the Impure Formed a Bog Made of Mankind’s Corruption and Pollution
    • Chaos, Walker of the Wheel Made a Tornado in Space. Wat.
    • Ultima, the High Seraph Flew Into Space and Fired an Orbital Cannon on her Foes
    • Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts… Hatched from an Egg so Hard he Destroyed his Pocket Dimension, then he Flew into Another Dimension and Exploded with the Force of a Supernova. He’s a Fish Snake Thing btw. Multi-Solar System Level.
  • Defeated Vayne Solidor and Judge Gabranth, who each have Expressed the Same Dimension Shattering Abilities as Zodiark has
    • Also should Scale to his Allies Basch fon Ronsenburg and Penelo, who can do the Same
  • Capable of Harnessing the Mist to Form and Destroy his Own Pocket Dimensions with Observable Stars in the Background, Multi-Solar System Level
  • Defeated The Undying, a Fusion of Vayne Solidor, Nethicite, and the Occuria Venat, who is a God Whose Powers make Zodiark and the Other Espers Look like Children, Above Multi-Solar System Level
• Strength
  • Able to Easily Overpower Visibly Physically Superior Seeqs Barehanded
  • Defeated Pandaemonium, a Titantoise whose Shell is Formed from Hardened Lava, or Obsidian
  • Slayed Vinuskar, a Dragon Made of Nothing but Steel
  • Defeated Gilgamesh and Enkidu in Battle
  • Easily Outclasses Other Judges like Ghis, Bergan, and Gabranth
• Speed
  • Has the Reaction Speed to Fly the Immensely Fast Strahl
  • Keeps up with Literal Lightning/Light Elementals, Speed of Light
  • Outran and Kept up with Ba’Gamnan, whose Feature Move, Shining Ray, Takes the Form of Multiple Light Beams that Burn the Foe, FTL+
  • Keeps up with and Outpaces Literal Embodiments of Light and their Attacks, such as Holy Magic and Laser Attacks from Ghosts and the Omega Mk. XII
  • Comparable to Gilgamesh, who Scales to Bartz who Scales to Neo Exdeath, Putting him at Speeds of Massively FTL+
• Durability
  • Tanked the Inferno from the Firemane’s “Wildfire” Attack
    • States in the Bestiary to Have a Body that’s “A Heat Impossible to Measure
    • Unsure if this Means they don’t Have the Tech to Measure it, or it’s Hot Enough to be the Surface of the Sun if it Wants
  • Can Withstand the Mind-Altering Abilities of Mindflayers and the Bad Breath of Malboros
  • Survived Choco-Comets Entering the Atmosphere
  • Tanked Hits from Deadly Powerful Foes, Such as Hell Wyrm, Yiazmat, Fafnir, the Behemoth King, Deathgaze, and the Judge Magisters
  • Withstood Each Extreme Elemental Magic from the Espers, which hit with the Force of Concurrences, Multi-Solar System Level
  • Tanked Hits from The Undying, whose Power is Far Beyond that of a Simple Esper, Above Multi-Solar System Level

: Despite Balthier’s immense ability pool, his pretty stellar stats, and his disposition as the “leading man,” he tends to get into a lot of trouble as well. Especially when that trouble spirals into a quest that will lead you to save the world, reconcile your daddy issues, and all-in-all, have a fun adventure where you save the day at the last second and play it off like it’s no big deal.

: He comes off as charismatic, skillful, sometimes ruthless, and he’s a manipulative guy, maybe even to his own detriment, often letting his “leading man” mentality steer him directly into the riskiest path.

: Not to mention all those thirteen slaves he has for summoning are rendered unavailable for this battle. They are much too independent to be considered for this matchup, unlike how the Dremora Lords were for the Dovahkiin in The Final Quest.

: And though he has so many spells and effective means of combat, they are all with a very limited range, excluding Quickenings of course. Most of his Magic and Techniks are effective only within a few meters of himself. Granted, he doesn’t need to aim them since they home in on the foe, but that’s still a brutal drawback.

: He may be able to rely on Gil if he runs out of MP thanks to his Turtleshell Choker, but, ultimately, they are still finite resources. MP can replenish as he does and takes damage, but not nearly fast enough to feed his very expensive spells.

: And unlike me, this guy only accessorizes with one accessory at a time. So, he has to anticipate what the enemy plans to do and switch accessories in order to outplay his foe. While he has a keen insight and can easily keep his own cards close to his chest, if he does not have any idea what his foe may be able to do, that leaves him with few options.

WEAKNESSES:

• Prefers to Play the Part of the “Leading Man,” Even at Risk to Himself
• Has No Access to Espers for Backup in this Fight
• Though he Has Several Weapons, Spells, Techniks, etc., Each Has their Own Range, Usually Around a Few Meters from the User, Making Long-Range Combat Difficult
  • Exceptions Include his Mithuna and Quickenings
• Has a Limited Pool of MP and Gil for Casting Spells/Techniks
• Though he has an Accessory for Every Occasion, he can Only Equip 1 at a Time

: We need more pirates in WTC. I like this guy a lot.

: Don’t you have that one pirate matchup next season–

: Oi, don’t spoil the whole lineup now. I already hinted at an Exdeath matchup in this prelude. Let’s not make it a staple of Balthier vs. Vyse to hint at the future, capiche?

: Alright, alright.

: Though deemed a threat to society, he has saved it on many an occasion. He liberated Rabanastre and assisted in ending the long war between the Archadian Empire and Dalmasca, he defeated the Lindwyrm, rumored to be the “World-Destroyer,” slayed the Shadowseer, who read the fates of man with moon cycles, defeated his father and reconciled with him, if you can call that bittersweet end that, and defeated and inherited the 13 Zodiac Espers.

: Oh I get it now! Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age! It’s because the Zodiac is a prevailing theme! Man, that one eluded me for a while. But wait, aren’t there 12 Zodiac Signs?

: Yes, but Final Fantasy has a 13th named Serpentarius starting iirc all the way back in Final Fantasy IV. That’s what Zodiark is based on.

: Wait, the fish isn’t Pisces? Then who’s Pisces?

: Mateus.

: The one that moves around like a humanoid snake? That’s bullshit.

: *Ahem*

: Right, my bad, getting carried away with this tangent. Anyway, Balthier is one hell of a fighter and a dashing sky rogue. Hunt him down and you’ll get far more than you bargained for.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten my role in this little story. I’m the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man. He never dies.” – Balthier

* * *

VYSE

: Behold Archadia! I mean, Arcadia! Not the one with the ‘h’ in it. A world of sky with islands interspersed all over it! Legend has it, that the world-ending event, the Rains of Destruction, wiped out the surface of the planet, leaving naught but floating islands in its wake.

: *Holding a copy of Skyward Sword HD* So I take it we’re not talking Zelda, huh?

: In this skyworld, the Valuan Empire had a stranglehold over nearly everything. Their imperial values started to become a thorn in everyone’s side, and their drive for… *Sigh,* World domination… Drove them to subjugate the world and turn it into a lawless dystopia. At least, what they could get their hands on anyway.

: *Reading notes* Okay, I think I’m with this narrative now. Cue the Sky Pirates! Fearsome individuals who fight for freedom in opposition to the forces of Valua.

: One fateful night, a young woman by the name of Fina was captured by the Valuan Admiral Alfonso. All was going according to Valua’s plans, until Alfonso’s ship was boarded by a rash and spry Sky Pirate: Vyse of the Blue Rogues.

: He discovered Fina on his raid, and together with his compatriot Aika, the three escaped the vessel, taking their prizes. Returning home to… Pirate’s Isle… Real inconspicuous name… They took count of their haul and offered lodging to the terrified young girl they rescued.

: Thank goodness nothing bad happened to that precious girl.

: Except she informed them all that she was one of the last living Silver Moon Sages, her brother is evil and is helping Valua collect the Six Moon Crystals that will awaken Gigases with the power to destroy the world and summon the Rains of Destruction again. AND THE PROM IS TOMORROW!

: Why is it always the cinnamon bun, wholesome characters with the worst anti-forms… Oh. I think I inadvertently answered my question. But anyway, Vyse and Aika, like any good-natured folks who care deeply for freedom and friends, answered the call to adventure with gusto!

: And so Vyse embarks on his pilgrimmage with Aika and Fina, as well as other colorful characters like Drachma, Gilder, and Enrique, in order to find the Moon Crystals and save the world from the ambitions of the evil Valuan Empire!

“Impossible is a word that people use so they don’t feel bad when they quit.” – Vyse

BACKGROUND INFO:

• Full Name: Vyse (Vyse Inglebard in Valkyria Chronicles)
• Origin: Pirate’s Isle
• Occupation: Sky Pirate, Captain of the Blue Rogues
• Age: 17
• Height: 5’7″
• Debut: Skies of Arcadia (2000)

: Vyse is a skilled fighter, brandishing his iconic twin cutlasses in any bout. He wields one as a regular cutlass for assaults on his foes, while his other has an elongated hilt he grips like a tonfa for defense.

: His strongest dual cutlasses are the Sky Fang, a giant, immensely powerful sword and a sickle-shaped bladed tonfa. Rumored to be strong enough to split the heavens, it has ridiculously high ATK and Hit% stats.

: However, his weapons do have a unique feature to them. Based on the Six Moons that revolve around Arcadia, his weapon is able to change color in accordance to them at Vyse’s command. Each Moon represents a different element or aspect tied to it as well, which gives Vyse immense versatility in elemental combat.

: He has access to Green, which represents Nature, Red, representing Fire, Purple representing Ice, Blue representing Wind, Yellow representing electricity, and Silver which represents Life.

: Fun fact too: Each Moon’s characteristic influences the respective nation it hangs above. The Green Moon sits above a world of nature and greenery, the Red Moon sits above a scalding desert, the Blue Moon a mountainous set of isles connected by waterfalls, the Purple Moon is above a land of ice and ruins and is borderline uninhabitable, the Yellow Moon sits above Valua, the most technologically advanced nation, and the Silver Moon hangs above–

: A SPACE STATION IN THE EXOSPHERE ACCESSIBLE BY FLOATING ELEVATOR THAT HOUSES BORDERLINE ALIENS. I love JRPGs.

: And though the color theory involved with determining what is strong against what is difficult to determine, trial and error has led to a relatively helpful chart detailing each color’s strengths and weaknesses. Thanks goes out to Reddit user synbios16 for the posting of the chart.

: We can safely say that Purple (Ice) is most effective against Red (Fire), Red and Yellow (Electricity) is most effective against Green (Nature), Green and Purple are insanely effective against Blue (Wind), Red is most effective against Purple, and Yellow and Silver (Life) are equally slightly effective against each other. What all this means? There’s gonna be hella number crunching later, since the color Vyse takes on is equally represented as his element. Thus, if his weapons are Red, then Purple, or Ice, is most effective against him.

: But if his defense with a single colorful blade isn’t enough, he can rely on his other equipment to provide him an edge. His Eyeglass Eyepatch allows him to magnify distant objects, as well as see Moonfish, invisible flying creatures, his Silver Armor resists the Silver Element, while his Isulated Mail resists Purple. Man it is weird reducing elements to colors…

: And, similarly to Balthier, he has… A PLETHORA OF ACCESSORIES. *Glares at Barlow*

: Hm?

: *Gets up and Leaves*

: Nice going.

: Did I say something wrong? You guys had a lot of those last few lines.

: Anyway, oblivious boss not withstanding, Vyse, in addition to his copious accessories, can equip them on the fly as well. His ring, Warrior’s Heart, doubles the rate at which Spirit is generated, more on what Spirit is later, while his bracelet, Defensive Aura. increases Vyse’s defense and renders him…

: Immune to basic attacks. Excuse me, but what the fuck.

: Yeah. Anything that isn’t a special attack or magic, he is immune to as long as he wears that.

: Yeah, I’m calling that massive bullshit.

: Feel free. He’s also got an encrusted ring called the Constitution Ring which enhances his physical and magic defenses, as well as renders him immune to negative status effects like poisoning. Think the Constitution Ring to Skies of Arcadia is as the Ribbon is to Final Fantasy. Ah, and his Valuan Medallion gives him a boost to defense and magic defense while making him immune to Instant-Death.

: Now that’s getting unfair.

: *Muffled Screaming Outside*

: Y’know, I think I’m getting secondhand cottonmouth from Lash. Damn, I need to bring a bottle of water to work from now on or something, my mouth is getting dry listing off all these pieces of equipment.

: He also has a hat, the Captain’s Hat, which grants a massive physical attack bonus, and his goggles accessory, the Critical Vision, greatly improves accuracy, physical damage, and Will, a stat that influences the power of his magic.

: Much like Balthier, Vyse too has a large library of magic! However, we first have to talk about Spirit.

: Spirit is a resource with… Admittedly little information on what exactly it is. Based on what we see and how it is obtained, it appears to be a form of metaphysical energy separate from MP. It is stockpiled and generated by intense focus and holding one’s own in battle. Those who are fatigued, unconscious, or deceased are incapable of producing these points, and thus must be generated with conscious intent.

: Spirit itself, according to what is seen in the game, is a manifestation of intense focus, morale, and ambition, and thus is likely limited only by the wielder’s ambitions. While the elemental affinity for each Moon gives elemental capabilities to the Spirit to produce magic, the Spirit itself is some kind of manifestation of willpower.

: Kind of like a Stand?

: I’m gone for 3 minutes, why the FUCK are we talking about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure now?

: Well, in any case, Spirit, as well as MP, is necessary for casting magic. Such magic is based on the six moons too, so we have Green, Red, Purple, Blue, Yelow, and Silver Magic.

: Oh, you were talking about Spirit. Yeah, I have no clue what that’s all about, so I’m just gonna nod my head along with whatever you say it was as if I already know.

: As Green Magic is based around Nature, it has applications specifically in healing and poisoning. Sacri, Sacres, Sacrum, and Sacrulen all replenish progressively more HP, while the Noxi and Noxus line inflicts Poison on a single target or area of effect respectively.

: Since Red Magic is based around Fire, it inherently lends itself to more aggressive and combat-centric applications. Pyri generates an explosion of fire, while Pyres generates a flaming crater. Pyrum summons a rain of fire from the sky and Pyrulen generates a borderline nuke of fire! Hey, this naming scheme feels verrrrry familiar…

: And Vyse can rely on Increm and Incremus to boost his physical attack and defense by 25%. Never hurts to have access to a buff spell or two.

: Purple Magic is based around Ice and freezing, hence its applications in harming or stopping enemies. Crystali forms an ice chunk around the foe to deal damage, while Crystales generates a spire of ice. Crystalum forms an icicle that stabs the foe, and Crystalen bombards the targets with a rain of massive icicles.

: Then there’s Sylenis, which Silences the foe, rendering them unable to cast magic. There’s also Panika, which scrambles the targets mind to inflict the Confused condition. Confused. Condition. WHY IS IT SO COMMON.

: Relax Dyl.

: I swear, “Confuse” is going to be a trigger word for me that activates my PTSD from this Prelude. Future Pokémon and JRPG preludes! Beware! My face shall go blank and my knuckles will go WHITE.

: Blue Magic is based on Wind, storms, and water, effectively weaponizing weather for the enemy’s detriment or Vyse’s gain. With Wevli, Vyse can generate a vortex of wind, and with Wevlen, that vortex becomes a shower of water blades in a whirlwind. Wevlum is just a blast of wind accompanied by more water blades, while Wevlen is just three tornadoes coming in to ruin the target’s day.

: He can also use Quika to double his speed, dodge chance, agility, and the frequency of possible counterattacks. But if the enemy is insanely fast as well, he can rely on the calming powers of Slipara to put the target to sleep.

: Yellow Magic, or Electricity, is exactly how it sounds, which leaves little to interpretation. Electri fires out a weak line of lightning, while Electres is a more vigorous, potent bolt instead. Electrum, besides being a wholly underutilized and cool-sounding D&D currency, is a V-shaped lightning blast, while Electrulen fires two condensed lightning orbs in a wide burst.

: Oh, the V-shape for Valua! I get it!

: That… Wasn’t a pun? If anything, it may offer some strange insight into how Valua was pre-destined to be the nation under the Yellow Moon maybe?

: Welcome to the Skies of Arcadia Iceberg everyone.

: Anyway, Driln and Drilnos basically charge a static field around the the targets, decreasing their stats by 25%.

: And lastly, Silver Magic. As it represents Life, it makes sense that it would have domain over life and death. Curia forms a bubble that removes negative status conditions, Risan has a chance to revive a fallen party member, while Riselem is guaranteed to revive the fallen party member and restore them to full HP.

: And then there’s the dark side of the Silver Moon all about death and killing. Eterni manifests several glass-like silver shards and plunges them into the foe, which has a chance to Instant-Kill any foe, while Eternes manifests a silver orb over the foe and showers them with silver spears, which has a higher chance of Instant-Death.

: And finally, Eternum shrouds the foe with silver needles before plunging them into their body, which is a GUARANTEED Instant-Death attack.

: But wait, there’s more! We haven’t talked about his Super Moves yet!

: …So much for me saying finally.

: Vyse’s Super Moves are purely drawn from the party’s Spirit, and are extremely deadly to boot. He can use Cutlass Fury to fly to his foe and let loose a flurry of slashes, or he can use Counterattack to guarantee any foe who attacks him will get a taste of steel.

: He can use Rain of Swords to concentrate the energy of a lightning storm into several projectiles, while Skull Shield summons a deceased pirate to protect Vyse from all harm and counterattack in his stead for a short time.

: Oh damn, I guess Spirit IS like a Stand after all. Shit.

: But its presence is no different from a condition like Counterattack or Increm, so this summon is fair game.

: But his magnum opus is his Pirate’s Wrath.

: So yeah, Vyse CASUALLY CREATES A POCKET DIMENSION, THEN GATHERS A STORM IN HIS BLADE AND THROWS IT AT HIS FOE, WHICH DESTROYS THAT DIMENSION. BUT IT’S OKAY, I FUCKING GUESS, SINCE VYSE MAKES ANOTHER POCKET DIMENSION TO FOLLOW UP AND MAKE A SLASH THAT’S LIKE A JOLLY ROGER. I swear, JRPGs never get old with this shtick.

: And yes, this too would fall under the Multi-Solar System Level classification Balthier’s stuff falls under too due to the observable universe in the sky, which has all manner of stars.

: Man, this Spirit stuff is pretty potent.

: Yeah, I mean, when the party maxes out their Spirit Gauge, they gain access to the Super Move “Prophecy,” which involves them LITERALLY FLYING THROUGH THE SKY LIKE GODDAMN JINJOS FROM BANJO-KAZOOIE BEFORE THEY POSSESS THE MOON AND THROW IT INTO THE PLANET LIKE A BASEBALL.

: Awww, you stole my shouting thing.

: I know. It looked like fun so I wanted to give it a try. You can keep it though. Like a pygmy stallion, my throat’s a little horse.

: *Bashes Head on Table in Visible Agony* Ugh…

ARSENAL/MAGIC/SUPER MOVES:

• Sky Fang
  • The Most Powerful Cutlass Rumored to be Able to Cut the Heavens
  • Holds the Large Blade as a Cutlass in an Offense-centric Manner
  • Holds the Sickle-Shaped Blade as a Tonfa in a Defense-centric Manner
  • Can Freely Switch Between the 6 Elemental Colors, Though Based on the Color Selected, Vyse will be Susceptible to the Element’s Weaknesses
    • Green, Representing Nature
    • Red, Representing Fire
    • Purple, Representing Ice
    • Yellow, Representing Electricity
    • Silver, Representing Life
• Eyeglass Eyepatch
  • Can be Used to Magnify his Surroundings and Spot Invisible Targets, Such as Moonfish
• Silver Armor
  • Armor that Grants High Defense and Magic Resistance and Resists the Silver Element
• Insulated Armor
  • Armor that Grants High Defense and Magic Resistance and Resists the Purple Element
• Ring Acc. – Warrior’s Heart
  • Doubles the Rate at Which Spirit Generates
• Bracelet Acc. – Defensive Aura
  • Increases Defense and Renders Vyse Immune to Basic Attacks (Any Non-Magic, Non-Super Move Attack)
• Stone Acc. – Constitution Ring
  • Increases Defense and Magic Resistance and Renders Vyse Immune to All Negative Status Effects (Except Instant-Death)
• Hat Acc. – Captain’s Hat
  • Grants a Massive Boost to Physical Damage
• Goggles Acc. – Critical Vision
  • Greatly Increases Accuracy, Physical Damage, and Will (Magic Damage Output)
• Special Acc. – Valuan Medallion
  • Increases Defense and Magic Resistance and Renders Vyse Immune to Instant-Death
• Green Moon Magic
  • Sacri – Restores a Small Amount of HP to One Target
  • Sacres – Restores a Moderate Amount of HP to One Target
  • Sacrum – All Allies Recover a Large Amount of HP
  • Sacrulen – Restores All HP to One Target
  • Noxi – Inflicts Damage and Poison on One Enemy
  • Noxus – Inflicts Damage and Poison on All Enemies
• Red Moon Magic
  • Pyri – Deals a Small Amount of Fire Damage to All Enemies, Appears as an Explosion
  • Pyres – Deals a Moderate Amount of Fire Damage to All Enemies, Appears as an Open Vein of Lava
  • Pyrum – Deals a High Amount of Fire Damage to All Enemies, Appears as a Rain of Fireballs
  • Pyrulen – Deals the Highest Amount of Fire Damage to All Enemies, Appears as a Nuke
  • Increm – Buffs the Target’s Physical Damage and Defense by 25%
  • Incremus – Buffs All Allies’ Physical Damage and Defense by 25%
• Purple Moon Magic
  • Crystali – Deals a Small Amount of Ice Damage to the Target, Appears as a Coffin of Ice
  • Crystales – Deals a Moderate Amount of Ice Damage to the Target, Appears as an Ice Spire
  • Crystalum – Deals a High Amount of Ice Damage to the Target, Appears as an Giant Icicle
  • Crystalen – Deals the Highest Amount of Ice Damage to the Target, Appears as a Bombardment of Large Icicles
  • Sylenis – Inflicts the Silence Condition on the Target, Preventing them from Casting Magic
  • Panika – Inflicts the Confusion Condition on the Target, Forcing them to Mistake Friend and Foe
• Blue Moon Magic
  • Wevli – Deals a Small Amount of Wind Damage to the Target and Enemies Within a Radius of the Target, Appears as a Wind Vortex
  • Wevles – Deals a Moderate Amount of Wind Damage to the Target and Enemies Within a Radius of the Target, Appears as a Whirlwind with Raining Water Blades
  • Wevlum – Deals a High Amount of Wind Damage to the Target and Enemies Within a Radius of the Target, Appears as a Wind Blast with Water Blades
  • Wevlen – Deals the Highest Amount of Wind Damage to the Target and Enemies Within a Radius of the Target, Appears as 3 Tornadoes Closing in on the Target
  • Quika – Buff that Doubles the Target’s Speed, Chance to Counterattack, Agility, and Dodge Chance
  • Slipara – Inflicts the Sleep Condition, which Puts the Foe in a State of Inaction Until Awoken
• Yellow Moon Magic
  • Electri – Deals a Small Amount of Electric Damage to Enemies in a Line, Appears as a Weak Bolt of Lightning
  • Electres – Deals a Moderate Amount of Electric Damage to Enemies in a Line, Appears as a Vigorous Bolt
  • Electrum – Deals a High Amount of Electric Damage to Enemies in a V, Appears as a V-Shaped Vigorous Bolt
  • Electrulen – Deals the Highest Amount of Electric Damage to Enemies in a V, Appears as Two Orbs of Lightning
  • Driln – Debuffs the Target by Reducing their Stats by 25%
  • Drilnos – Debuffs All Enemies by Reducing their Stats by 25%
• Silver Moon Magic
  • Curia – Removes Negative Status Effects on the Target, Appears as a Silver Bubble
  • Risan – 50% Chance to Revive an Ally with 50% of their HP, Appears as a Heavenly Light
  • Riselem – Guaranteed to Revive an Ally with Full HP, Appears too as a Heavenly Light
  • Eterni – Has a Low Chance to Inflict Instant-Death, Appears as Silver Shards that Stab the Target
  • Eternes – Has a Moderate Chance to Inflict Instant-Death, Appears as a Silver Orb that Showers Spears
  • Eternum – Guaranteed to Inflict Instant-Death, Appears as Thousands of Silver Needles that Stab the Target
• Super Moves
  • Cutlass Fury
    • Vyse Rushes Forward, Slashing with his Cutlasses Multiple Times Before Ending the Attack with an Explosive Slash
  • Counterattack
    • Vyse Readies a Stance that Enables him to Counterattack his Foe Swiftly After they Attack
  • Rain of Swords
    • Vyse Leaps into the Air, Gathers the Energy of a Lightning Storm in his Swords, and Rains Energy Bolts on his Foes
  • Skull Shield
    • Vyse Calls Upon the Pirates of Old to Defend him and his Allies, Protecting them from Basic Physical Attacks and Responding with Deadly Shockwave Counterattacks
  • Pirate’s Wrath
    • Vyse Forms his Own Pocket Dimension with his Ambition Before Throwing an Explosive Blast at the Foe, Shattering the Dimension and Creating a New One, Where he Rushes to his Foe and Slashes the Shape of a Jolly Roger

: Well, if you thought Vyse’s skills are intimidating, we haven’t even started on his physique!

: He was able to overpower incredibly strong foes like Vigoro, whose personal cannon could fire giant flaming rocks that cause giant explosions, has defeated several foes around Arcadia, including vile bile-spewing sewer beasts and animated stone heads with the powers of duality, whatever that means, and managed to defeat the likes of Lord Galcian, the evil mastermind of the game.

: He is strong enough to use Terminal, a Super Move where he flies high into the sky and falls with such force that he annihilates an entire armada of airships and, upon landing, creates an explosion the size of the Flying Fortress Hydra. How this doesn’t destroy their battleground, the Flying Fortress Hydra, is beyond me though.

: But that’s nothing thanks to a late-game battle. Galcian’s right-hand and the true final boss, Ramirez, that brother of Fina’s we mentioned earlier, was able to fuse with the Gigas Zelos, and fought Vyse directly and losing badly.

: Alright, lots of term-drops there, let’s rewind a bit. Those Moon Crystals Fina informed Vyse and Aika about, those are integral to commanding Zelos, the strongest Gigas of them all. In fact, that was the Gigas responsible for the Rains of Destruction that wiped out the surface of the planet. Speaking of that, such a feat would put Zelos immediately at Multi-Continent Level.

: And thanks to Zelos being the penultimate Gigas, this means it’s easily stronger than the others, which are commanded with their respective Moon Crystals, such as Yeligar, whose electrical exertions can effectively wipe out any foe. Or Grendel, whose strength is their greatest feature, capable of picking up a boulder the size of a large building and throwing it with pinpoint accuracy.

: Not to mention that several of these fellas can use laserbeams to attack, but more on that in a few. Ramirez, an already Galcian-level threat, fused with the literal liquid metal robot god of destruction? Much more dangerous.

: And if you recall, Vyse’s Pirate’s Wrath is considered Multi-Solar System Level, but it should be noted that Ramirez can also somehow form a space-time portal to his own pocket dimension of pure blackness in a similar fashion with his Silver Eclipse attack. Fundamentally, it works very similarly to Vyse’s own Pirate’s Wrath, and so we can deduce that Ramirez should be at least somewhat capable of the same feat. Silver Eclipse is even considered an enemy “Super Move” after all, and such attacks require Spirit, the same means by which Vyse performs his own feat.

: Now pair that Multi-Solar System Level threat with the harbinger of destruction, and bam. Another mofo who is Above Multi-Solar System Level.

: He’s a fast fighter too. He is able to keep up with the edgelord Piastol and can react to and avoid Yellow Moon Magic from Valuan Soldiers. And, if we were to scale to Ramirez-Zelos again…

: And get used to it, cuz we’re gonna do it a lot.

: Zelos fired a laser straight to the Silver Moon in the boss fight. Since the time it took to reach the moon was one second, that makes its velocity stupid easy to calc. Putting that laser at a speed of 1.28c, or 1.28x the Speed of Light, which is FTL.

: Not to mention that several Gigases are capable of using laserbeams to attack, such as Recumen, Bluheim, and Yeligar. Bluheim was even able to generate a lightning storm in an instant, while Recumen and Yeligar fire rays all their own.

: As for what Vyse has survived, well he’s tanked just about everything. He can take electrocution, open lava, and frigid cold with ease, survived hits that pierce his airship, the Delphinus, such as attacks from Zelos, Yeligar, and even Admiral Vigoro’s Draco Cannon, which punched a hole straight through the Delphinus!

: He’s taken mass ice construct attacks, like Galcian’s Neglora or Ramirez’s Silver Tundra, withstood Galcian’s Terminal, and tanked attacks from the likes of the Lord Zivilyn Bane, whose Explosive Powder may as well be a portable nuke.

: And, of course, he’s tanked attacks from Ramirez-Zelos, who we’ve deduced to be Above Multi-Solar System Level.

: Not to mention he’s able to erect his own pocket dimension with an observable starry sky, and managed to shatter it moments later. That’s a classic example of physical ability translating to what he is able to withstand. After all, harnessing the power to destroy a dimension full of stars would require him to be durable enough to perform the feat, no?

PHYSIQUE:

• Attack Potency
  • Defeated Lord Galcian, who was able to Wipe Out an Entire Armada of Airships and Whose Terminal was Able to Create an Explosion the Size of the Flying Fortress Hydra
  • Able to Form his Own Pocket Dimension with a Starry Sky Through the Use of Pirate’s Wrath, Implying he can Create Multiple Stars, Multi-Solar System Level
  • Defeated Ramirez-Zelos, a fusion of the Gigas Zelos and Glacian’s Right-Hand Man Ramirez
    • As Zelos is the strongest of the Gigases, this Retroactively Means Vyse should be Comparable to and Have Greater AP than the Other Gigases
      • Recumen, the Red Gigas, was Able to Make a Desert Shake and Fired Rays of Energy
      • Grendel, the Green Gigas, was the Most Physically Adept of the Gigases, Literally Resorting to Fist-Fighting Airships
      • Bluheim, the Blue Gigas, was Able to Form Giant Storm Clouds with Ease
      • Yeligar, the Yellow Gigas, was Able to Fire Blinding Energy Beams and
    • Additionally, Zelos is the Cause of the Rains of Destruction, the Event that Destroyed the Surface of Arcadia Many Years Ago
      • Such a Feat Requires at Least 6.466×10¹⁷ Tons of TNT, which is Multi-Continent Level
    • Ramirez Alone is Able to Perform a Similar Feat, or is Wholly Capable of Performing a Similar Feat, as Vyse’s Pirate’s Wrath Through Using Silver Eclipse, Multi-Solar System Level
    • After Fusing with Zelos, this Puts Their Output at Above Multi-Solar System Level
• Strength
  • Swings his Cutlass with Such Force that he can Send Blade Shockwaves Through the Air
  • Overpowered Vigoro, a Valuan Admiral Revered for his Tank-like Toughness and Strength
  • Bested Black Marks such as Piastol, Daikokuya, Lord Zivilyn Bane, and even Vyse’s Own Echo Fighter
  • Overpowered Lord Galcian and Ramirez
• Speed
  • Kept up with Piastol
  • Avoided and Reacted to Yellow Moon Magic
  • Comparable to Ramirez-Zelos
    • In its First Appearance, Zelos Fired a Laser to the Yellow Moon, which, Assuming the Moons of Arcadia are an Equal Distance from the Planet as Earth’s Moon, Flew at a Speed of 13.7 Million m/s, Sub-Relativistic
    • In its First Appearance, Zelos’ Rains of Destruction Sent Fragments of the Yellow Moon Crashing into Valua, which Flew at Speeds of 48.05 Million m/s, Sub-Relativistic+
    • In the Boss Fight with Zelos, the Gigas Fires at the Silver Moon and Calls the Rains of Destruction, and the Beam Flew to the Moon in 1 Second, a Speed of 384.4 Million m/s, or 1.28c, FTL
  • Avoided Lasers and Other Light-Based Attacks from Gigases like Recumen, Yeligar, and Bluheim
    • Also Does so With Simple Fodder Enemies
• Durability
  • Can Withstand Electrocution, Exposed Lava, and Frigid Cold with Ease
  • Tanked Volcanic Rocks Lobbed at Him Fresh from Lava
  • Survived a Direct Hit from the Prototype Moonstone Cannon
  • Took on Galcian’s Neglora and Ramirez’s Silver Tundra with Ease
  • Survived Galcian’s Terminal
  • Withstood a Direct Hit from the Hydra and Draco Cannons
  • Tanked Hits from Every Gigas, Except the Purple Gigas Because that One is Sad
  • Survived the Lord Zivilyn Bane’s Explosive Powder
  • Tanked a Direct Hit from the Rains of Destruction, Multi-Continent Level
  • Can Channel the Force Needed to Shatter his Own Pocket Dimension, Multi-Solar System Level
  • Tanked Hits from Ramirez-Zelos, Above Multi-Solar System Level

: *Passes Lash a Folded Paper*

: *Unfolds and Reads the Note* Hm… True. Alright Mr. Solus. It’s time for your initiation.

: Huh?

: *Hands Barlow the Paper* Read it.

: …

: Well?

: I don’t get it, it says “initiation time” on one side.

: Pfft…! And on the other side?

: It says “Vyse may be a strong fighter, but every fighter has their fair share of weaknesses.”

& : PPFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTHAHAHAHHAHHHHAHAHAHAHAAAHAAHAAH!!!!!

: Hm. I still don’t get it. But it’s true. Vyse does have his fair share of weaknesses despite his immense power pool.

: Oh man, that was worth it! Hehe~! Anyway, *ahem,* though Vyse is an entirely capable young man, he is ultimately still quite young and naïve. He’s oftentimes running headlong into danger and while he does think about what he will do beforehand, he does have a tendency to overestimate his skills.

: Such as when he got between the Valuan Army and Rhaknam, the Purple Gigas, and lost Drachma as a result. Then, to add insult to injury, he got shipwrecked and stranded for a week. And there’s that time when he thought he could defeat Ramirez but failed to realize it was a scripted sequence and was forced to die. No, I’m never going to get over that, I sat there for 4 hours fighting him thinking it was a difficulty spike! Ugh!

: And though his magic is varied, the spells’ Spirit and MP cost combined make them a less effective method of combat compared to his Super Moves. And even then, Super Moves are extremely Spirit intensive too! Vyse can stockpile a maximum of 25 Spirit Points, where Pirate’s Wrath costs 21, Rain of Swords costs 14, Cutlass Fury is 7, and so on. At least Super Moves use renewable Spirit rather than finite MP.

: And much like Balthier, he can only equip one accessory at a time. He may be able to swap armor and accessories on the fly, but he has to anticipate his foe’s moves and equip the most effective accessories lest he make a critical error in a fight.

WEAKNESSES:

• Still Young and Naïve, Often Rushing Headlong into Danger and Taking on Enemies Far Above his Abilities
  • Such as with Ramirez when he Attacked Vyse’s Home Base, or when he Lost Drachma After Getting Caught up in a Skirmish Between the Purple Gigas Rhaknam and the Valuan Army
• Spirit and MP make Spells a Less Preferable Option to Super Moves
• Super Moves are Extremely Spirit Expensive, Especially Rain of Swords and Pirate’s Wrath
• Though he has a Variety of Accessories for Every Occasion, he can Only have One equipped at a Time
• Scripted Sequences

: All that said, Vyse has done some incredible things in his career as a Sky Pirate.

: He escaped Valua several times, discovered that the planet is round, became the most “Wanted” Sky Pirate, in more ways than one, brought down the Gigases and saved Arcadia, and even brought down all the Black Marked Pirates, from Piastol, to Lord Zivilyn Bane, to Daikokuya, to even the Blue Rogue Impostors.

: Can’t believe they got away with all they did. I wouldn’t trust them, they seem super sus.

& : …

: Yeah, no I felt that too. That one felt rancid. No need for the judging stare guys, I’m in enough discomfort.

: He’s Captain of the Blue Rogues and vanguard of free skies! When you see a blue flag in the sea-blue horizon, may your thoughts be filled with sky pirates!

“I’m Vyse, of the Blue Rogues. And I will be relieving you of all your treasures and valuables shortly!” – Vyse