What is this?

Struggle for Freedom (SFF) is a difficulty/rebalancing mod for Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
(PC). Note that this patch is intended for English speakers, as there is a necessary file that only
works with the English version of the game. The ultimate goal of this mod is to create a more
challenging, rewarding FFXII experience where tactics are rewarded, and where battles are more
thrilling than ever.

To that end, enemies are tougher, faster, and hit harder. Ultimately, if you want to be free of the
Empire's grasp, you'll need to struggle for your freedom. Each party member has their own role to
play in the party, and each battle fought truly feels like a fight.

Are you ready to Struggle for Freedom? If so, carry on. A treasure trove of information lies within
this Readme, and it's well worth reading everything before playing to get a feel for everything so
that there are no surprises later on.

Thank you for playing! Please send any feedback, bug reports, or even just general comments on
whatever thread or board you found this mod on. I'll do my best to keep an eye on everything and
reply to feedback as it comes back!
 How to Install:
1. Go to your Steam folder and locate the .vbf file. This is the main game's file- make a clean copy of it
and keep it somewhere safe!

2. Go to the FileSizeTables folder and make a copy of the FileSizeTable_US.fst file and keep that
somewhere safe as well.

3. Replace the existing FileSizeTable_US.fst file with the the one included with the mod. Not doing
this will result in potential freezing with some text.

4. Download Draklab, found here.

5. In Draklab, select "Open VBF" and open the FFXII_TZA.vbf.

6. Once the .vbf file is selected, select "Add Mod", and select the mod folder, as seen below. Note that
this may take a moment.

7. Once the mod shows in Draklab, click it, and then click the green checkmark at the top of Draklab
and click "Apply Changes" at the bottom. Upon doing so, it may take a few moments for everything
to patch.

8. Once it says "Done", you're good to go! Launch the game through Steam and you're all set. Enjoy!
 How to Uninstall
1. Open the VBF file in Draklab.

2. In Draklab, select the mod you want to uninstall.

3. Select the Trash icon. That's it! Once it's done uninstalling, the process is complete.
 In a Nutshell, What Changed?
Struggle for Freedom has many changes to just about every facet of gameplay. The following pages
will go into more specific detail about what changed, but here's a quick rundown as to some of the
exciting changes you'll encounter in SFF.

• Each character has a unique Role and License Board, allowing each character to be balanced
and fun to use in their own way.

• There are two choices of License Boards for each character- a "Struggle" and a "Freedom"
Board. Struggle Boards are linear and have more controlled growth for more of a challenge,
similar to FFX's Sphere Grid, or FFXIII's Crystarium. Freedom Boards are more flexible,
with similarity to XII's original License Board.

• Each character has two unique Espers that synergize with their summoners, allowing for
more interesting Summonings.

• Espers are now truly unique, having myriad more abilities and entirely new Gambit sets that
allow them to coordinate perfectly with their Summoners.

• Enemies are tougher, and require a more firm strategy to deal with. Enemies generally have
2x HP and 1.3x stats. Their enhanced survivability means they'll get to use their attacks
more often, and they'll hurt more.

• Spells and weapons have been rebalanced, with there being more options in the way of Earth
and Water abilities, among many other changes.

• The "Invisible Equipment" can now also be obtained through the Bazaar.

• Certain Bazaar items for usable items can now be repeated infinitely, allowing the player to
cut the costs on certain healing items.

• Equipment is now far more tactical than in prior versions. Each weapon (with a few
exceptions) has some sort of tactical use compared to other weapons around the same tier,
and can be used with various builds.

• Previously overpowered weapons are now more balanced, with many late-game weapons
having different strengths to best suit a variety of different situations.

• Trial Mode is now much tougher, and is meant for higher-level parties.
 Licenses
Licenses are one of the biggest changes made to SFF. In Vanilla FFXII and IZJS/TZA, each
character could be customized to a wide extent, allowing for wildly different parties. SFF changes
things up a bit by giving each character a set role based on their canon jobs as seen in FFXII
supplementary material such as Revenant Wings and Final Fantasy Tactics A2. This has the benefit
of there being a balanced party accessible to the player at all times, while making each character
equally fun and interesting.

Each character has two versions of their Role- a Struggle and a Freedom version. Based on
feedback in regards to linear character growth, Freedom boards were designed for players who
prefer a little more flexibility with their License growth. Struggle Boards are linear, with
Quickenings acting as shortcuts on the board. Freedom Boards are more open, allowing players to
take on Licenses in whatever order they choose. Struggle and Freedom Boards both have the same
Licenses at the same LP costs for each character, so pick the one that feels right to you!

Gambit Slots are now more limited, with each character getting access to 4 Gambit slots for free, 2
via unlocking Espers, and 4 on their bonus boards (see below). As such, picking Gambits wisely is
much more necessary now.

Zodiark is a wild card and can go to any character, allowing them access to a bonus License.

On the topic of Quickening shortcuts, each board has a three-Quickening path that leads to a
miniature board. By choosing not to take Quickenings until the board is complete (Struggle), the
player can use the Quickening Bridge to access a variety of bonus licenses for each character.
Freedom Board players also have a three-Quickening path leading to the same mini-boards, but
there is no restriction on when those can be picked up. Note that by taking any Quickening on a
board aside from one in the three-Quickening bridge, you forfeit all of the licenses on the bonus
board. Pick up the cheap Quickenings early on for an early burst of power, or pick up the pricy ones
on the bridge for a late-game boost!

In a nutshell, here's what each character's role is like (next page):

 • Vaan is a speedy thief who excels at quick attacks and evading enemy blows. He uses
Daggers, Ninja Blades, and Light Armor to chop up the enemy. Daggers are fast and inflict a
variety of common debuffs, and Ninja Blades are stronger, are now one-handed, and offer
Vaan an extra boost to his Evasion. On his bonus board, Vaan gets access to a limited array
of late-game Black Magick and spells that augment his speed and maneuverability.

• Penelo is a healer who excels at using White Magick to mend her allies, buff them, and
remove debuffs from them. When she's not healing her allies, she can contribute to the
party's offense with strikes from Poles and Rods- the former being able to deal more
damage, with the latter buffing Penelo's magickal capabilities. On her bonus board, Penelo
gets access to Aero magicks as well as some crowd-control debuffing spells to lend to the
party's overall survivability.

• Balthier is an item specialist who excels at using Guns and Spears to slay flying foes, while
using Items to their greatest potential and Measures to buff his allies. Balthier acts as the
game's best revival and status-clearing specialist with Phoenix Downs/Remedies and access
to Pheasant Netsuke, all while being able to use Green Magicks and Measures to augment
the party. On his bonus board, Balthier gains additional HP as well as certain late-game
Black Magick and Achilles to slap an elemental weakness onto the enemy, allowing him to
aid...

• Fran, who is the party's offensive magick user, focusing on Black Magick to decimate
anything who crosses her path, aided by elementally attuned Staves. MP restoration
augments are far less prevalent now than they used to be, so when her MP is low, she can
switch to Bow attacks to damage the enemy. On her bonus board, Fran gets access to a wide
array of MP restoration augments to allow her to more easily continue her magickal assault
as well as much needed Gambit slots to easily target elemental weaknesses.

• Basch is the party's tank, specializing in using a variety of weapons and Heavy Armor as
well as White Magick to keep the party alive. Being able to choose between Swords,
Greatswords, Axes, and Hammers, Basch has a weapon for every situation. Shields and
Heavy Armor help keep Basch alive, and Greatswords each grant a status onto Basch to aid
in his defensive abilities. Basch can also use White Magick, with his focus being moreso on
buffs than healing, due to his low Magick. His bonus board gives him acecss to Spellbound
to augment the duration of his buffs as well as a variety of White Magick licenses, allowing
him to further contribute to the party's buffs and emergency healing.

• Ashe is the closest thing to an all-rounder, focusing on using Time Magick and Arcane
Magick to debilitate and damage the enemies, and Maces, Katana, Crossbows, and Hand-
Bombs to attack. Ashe's true strength lies in her ability to debuff enemies late-game with
potent Time Magicks, and she's the only party member capable of using the Genji Gear,
allowing her to potentially cut through enemies with long combos augmented by Haste. Her
bonus board gives her much-needed HP for up-close brawls as well as Swiftness to further
augment her speed.
 Vaan
Job: Sky Pirate

Espers: Adrammelech (Bestows Shields 3), Chaos (Bestows Guns 5)

Zodiark Bonus: Ribbon

Weapons: Swords (1-3), Daggers (All), Ninja Blades (All), Masamune

Armor: Shields (1-2), Light Armor (All Except 10-12)

Accessories: 1-6, 8-10, 12, 16, 18, 20, 22

Magick: Black Magick (7, 9), Green Magick (1-2), Arcane Magick (2), Time Magick (1, 4, 8)

Technicks: Steal, Libra, First Aid, Poach, Traveler, Sight Unseeing, Bonecrusher, Gil Toss,
Telekinesis

Struggle:

Freedom:
 Penelo
Job: Dancer

Espers: Zalera (Bestows Time Magick 1), Ultima (Bestows HP +435)

Zodiark Bonus: +500 HP

Weapons: Daggers (1), Rods (All), Poles (All)

Armor: Mystic Armor (All Except 10/13), Light Armor (1, 10)

Accessories: 1-2, 5-7, 13-14, 20, 22, Ribbon

Magick: White Magick (All), Black Magick (4, 8), Time Magick (9)

Technicks: First Aid, Charge

Struggle:

Freedom:
 Balthier
Job: Leading Man

Espers: Cuchulainn (Bestows Time Magick 5), Famfrit (Bestows Spellbound)

Zodiark Bonus: Time Magick 10

Weapons: Guns (All), Spears (All), Measures (All), Hand-Bombs (3)

Armor: Light Armor (All Except 11, 13), Heavy Armor (11)

Accessories: 1-3, 5-8, 11, 17-18, 20-21

Magick: Green Magick (All), Time Magick (7), Black Magick (12)

Technicks: Steal, First Aid, Poach, Charm, 1000 Needles, Achilles

Struggle:

Freedom:
 Fran
Job: Wood Warden

Espers: Mateus (Bestows Ether Lore), Shemhazai (Bestows Crossbows 3)

Zodiark Bonus: Warmage

Weapons: Bows (All), Staves (All)

Armor: Light Armor (1-2, 10-11), Mystic Armor (All Except 11-13)

Accessories: 1-3, 5-7, 12, 14, 18, 20, Ribbon

Magick: Black Magick (All), White Magick (1), Arcane Magick (2-3)

Technicks: Steal, Libra, Shades of Black, Charge, Achilles

Struggle:

Freedom:
 Basch
Job: Paladin

Espers: Belias (Bestows Green Magick 1), Hashmal (Bestows Accessories 9)

Zodiark Bonus: White Magick 10

Weapons: Swords (All), Greatswords (All), Axes/Hammers (All)

Armor: Shields (All Except Genji), Heavy Armor (All Except 11, Genji)

Accessories: 1-2, 4-6, 8, 13, 15, 18

Magick: White Magick (1-6, 8-10, 12)

Technicks: Libra, First Aid, Souleater, Revive, Infuse, Shear, Expose, Addle, Wither

Struggle:

Freedom:
 Ashe
Job: Princess

Espers: Zeromus (Bestows Shell Shield), Exodus (Bestows White Magick 4)

Zodiark Bonus: Accessories 22

Weapons: Swords (1-2), Maces (All), Katana (All), Crossbows (All), Hand-Bombs (All)

Armor: Shields (1, Genji), Light Armor (1-2, 10), Mystic Armor (1-9, 13), Heavy Armor (1-3, 11,
Genji)

Accessories: 1, 5-7, 15, 17-20, Ribbon

Magick: Time Magick (All), White Magick (1, 6), Black Magick (11), Arcane Magick (1-2)

Technicks: Libra, Charge, Horology, Numerology, Stamp

Struggle:

Freedom:
 Character Stats
As is befitting their new roles, each character has had their stats shifted around, ensuring that each
character's role is backed up by their stats, with things making a little more sense than they did in
Vanilla. For example, Basch now has higher Vitality, whereas Vaan has lower HP, but is faster.

This section of the guide will detail each character's stats and indicate where they rank in relation to
each of the other main characters. Character Rankings are determined by adding the value and the
modifier, and are weighed against each of the other main six characters. The lower the number in
the ranking, the better.
 Vaan
HP: 50
HP Modifier: 143

MP: 20
MP Modifier: 134

Strength: 25
Strength Modifier: 69

Magick Power: 18
Magick Modifier: 59

Vitality: 24
Vitality Modifier: 45

Speed: 24
Speed Modifier: 19

HP Ranking: 2/5 (Ties with Balthier)

MP Ranking: 4/6

Strength Ranking: 2/6

Magick Ranking: 5/6

Vitality Ranking: 3/6

Speed Ranking: 1/6

 Penelo
HP: 39
HP Modifier: 132

MP: 22
MP Modifier: 152

Strength: 22
Strength Modifier: 64

Magick Power: 24
Magick Modifier: 70

Vitality: 20
Vitality Modifier: 36

Speed: 23
Speed Modifier: 18

HP Ranking: 5/6

MP Ranking: 2/6

Strength Ranking: 5/6

Magick Ranking: 1/6

Vitality Ranking: 6/6

Speed Ranking: 3/6

 Balthier
HP: 46
HP Modifier: 147

MP: 21
MP Modifier: 128

Strength: 21
Strength Modifier: 68

Magick Power: 20
Magick Modifier: 63

Vitality: 26
Vitality Modifier: 47

Speed: 24
Speed Modifier: 16

HP Ranking: 2/6 (Ties with Vaan)

MP Ranking: 5/6

Strength Ranking: 4/6

Magick Ranking: 4/6

Vitality Ranking: 1/6

Speed Ranking: 4/5 (Ties with Fran)

 Fran
HP: 40
HP Modifier: 136

MP: 30
MP Modifier: 146

Strength: 20
Strength Modifier: 65

Magick Power: 21
Magick Modifier: 72

Vitality: 23
Vitality Modifier: 44

Speed: 23
Speed Modifier: 17

HP Ranking: 4/6

MP Ranking: 1/6

Strength Ranking: 6/6

Magick Ranking: 2/6

Vitality Ranking: 5/6

Speed Ranking: 4/5 (Ties with Balthier)

 Basch
HP: 61
HP Modifier: 148

MP: 18
MP Modifier: 117

Strength: 23
Strength Modifier: 72

Magick Power: 20
Magick Modifier: 56

Vitality: 24
Vitality Modifier: 48

Speed: 23
Speed Modifier: 16

HP Ranking: 1/6

MP Ranking: 6/6

Strength Ranking: 1/6

Magick Ranking: 6/6

Vitality Ranking: 2/6

Speed Ranking: 5/6

 Ashe
HP: 41
HP Modifier: 137

MP: 27
MP Modifier: 137

Strength: 24
Strength Modifier: 67

Magick Power: 22
Magick Modifier: 67

Vitality: 23
Vitality Modifier: 48

Speed: 24
Speed Modifier: 18

HP Ranking: 3/6

MP Ranking: 3/6

Strength Ranking: 3/6

Magick Ranking: 3/6

Vitality Ranking: 4/6

Speed Ranking: 2/6

 Espers
(Daring Attack = Less than 10 Seconds Remaining)

Belias:

Absorb: Fire, Weak: Water

Abilities: Painflare, Hellfire, Fira, Decoy, Cura, Esuna, Faith, Regen, Bubble, Shades of Black

Tactics: Buffs Basch- who can and should be tanking for Belias, will buff self with Faith and blast
enemies with Fire- if they're weak to it- or use Shades of Black to roll for high-power spells.

Adrammelech:

Absorb: Thunder, Weak: Ice

Abilities: Flash Arc, Judgment Bolt, Thundara, Hastega, Cura, Slowga, Blindga, Stop, Silence,
Float

Tactics: Augments Vaan's speed with Hastega while crippling enemies with Slowga/Blindga,
allowing Vaan to quickly overtake his enemies.
 Mateus:

Absorb: Ice, Weak: Thunder

Abilities: Flash-Freeze, Frostwave, Decoy, Reflect, Cura, Slowga, Sleepga, Addle, Shellga, Esuna

Tactics: Mateus defends Fran while softening enemies up to her offensive magicks, using Reflect to
defend himself and Fran from foul magicks, also allowing Fran to bounce multiple Blizzaras off of
them.

Zalera:

Abilities: Kill, Condemnation, Death, Warp, Bio, Reverse, Decoy, Toxify, Darkra, Vox

Tactics: Zalera keeps Penelo from being Silenced with Vox while immediately killing enemies
around them. Can use Darkra/Bio on resistant enemies, while being able to use Reverse to make
Penelo's healing magicks able to wound the target.
 Cuchulainn:

Abilities: Malaise, Blight, Scourge, Poison, Curaja, Toxify, Immobilize, Disable, Bleed, Confuse

Tactics: Cuchulainn blasts the enemy with potent magicks while keeping Balthier alive with Curaja,
all while Balthier is able to buff and support Cuchulainn while the enemy's life slips away due to
Sap/Poison/Disease.

Zeromus:

Abilities: Gravity Well, Big Bang, Blindga, Graviga, Curaga, Dispelga, Drain, Regen, Bravery,
Bubble

Tactics: Zeromus focuses on augmenting Ashe's physical prowess while removing any potential
defensive barriers the enemy may have. Zeromus is able to augment his own HP as well, bolstering
the power of Big Bang.
 Exodus:

Abilities: Comet, Meteor, Ardor, Flare, Curaga, Balance, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Oil, Faith

Tactics: Exodus focuses on augmenting Ashe's magickal abilities while bolstering his own, using
Oil to empower Ardor and targeting an enemy's elemental weakness to decimate them, while
restoring Ashe's HP at the end of each battle.

Shemhazai:

Abilities: Devour Soul, Soul Purge, Shock, Silencega, Renew, Faith, Shear, Achilles, Decoy,
Dispelga

Tactics: Shemhazai focuses on crippling enemy mages with Silencega and Shock while removing
enemy buffs and rendering them further vulnerable to Fran's offensive magicks.
 Chaos:

Absorb: Wind, Weak: Earth

Abilities: Whirlwind, Tornado, Aeroga, Firaga, Curaga, Graviga, Scourge, Reflectga, Sleepga,
Achilles

Tactics: Chaos casts Reflectga to protect itself and Vaan from enemy magick while targetting each
enemy's elemnetal weakness, and is capable of using Achilles to imperil an enemy to an elemental
weakness for it to target if the enemy doesn't already have one.

Hashmal:

Absorb: Earth, Weak: Wind

Abilities: Roxxor, Gaia's Wrath, Graviga, Bravery, Shellga, Wither, Expose, Bonecrusher, Protectga,
Berserk

Tactics: Hashmal focuses on buffing Basch and reducing the enemy's Defense, making them take
additional damage from Basch's and Hashmal's physical attacks. Hashmal is also capable of using
Protectga/Shellga to keep the party alive, allowing Basch to safely continue his assault.
 Famfrit:

Absorb: Water, Weak: Fire

Abilities: Briny Cannonade, Tsunami, Silencega, Protectga, Shellga, Regen, Esuna, Dispelga, Haste,
Bubble

Tactics: Famfrit focuses on buffing Balthier, allowing Balthier to safely assail the foe. Famfrit is
able to go on the defense with Regen/Protect/Shell/Bubble while blasting Water-weak foes with
Briny Cannonade.

Ultima:

Absorb: Holy, Weak: Dark

Abilities: Redemption, Eschaton, Holy, Dispelga, Renew, Bubble, Disable, Vanishga, Float, Decoy

Tactics: Ultima focuses on keeping Penelo safe while traversing the battlefield with Float/Vanish,
and in battle is capable of coordinating attacks with Penelo by blasting the enemy with Holy.
 Zodiark:

Absorb: Dark, Weak: Holy

Abilities: Banish Ray, Final Eclipse, Scathe, Hastega, Renew, Darkga, Faith, Bubble, Protectga,
Shellga

Tactics: Zodiark is a wild card, being able to fit with any Summoner. Zodiark focuses on buffing
himself and blasting the enemy with powerful magicks once he's fully buffed. As such, Zodiark is
best summoned before the battle begins so that he'll be fully charged and ready to go.
 Esper Augments
Each Esper has a group of Augments that best suit their roles. Using Espers strategically, especially
during late-game fights, is crucial to victory.

Each Esper has the Brawler, Null Vitality, Piercing Magick, and Ignore Traps Augments.

Belias:
Spellbreaker, Zero MP Cost, Null Weather/Terrain

Mateus:
Spellbreaker, Zero MP Cost, Spellbound

Adrammelech:
Parry, Zero MP Cost, Spellbound

Hashmal:
Adrenaline, Focus, Attack Plus

Cuchulainn:
Item Lore, Reverse Item, Resist Guns/Measures

Famfrit:
Spellbound, Damage Resist, Last Stand

Zalera:
Damage Resist, Zero MP Cost, Spellbreaker

Shemhazai:
Null Evade, Last Stand, Spellbreaker

Chaos:
Zero MP Cost, Null Weather/Terrain, Shift

Zeromus:
Damage Resist, Counter, Counter Plus

Exodus:
Zero MP Cost, Null Weather/Terrain, Spellbreaker

Ultima:
Magick CT Zero, Zero MP Cost, Damage Resist

Zodiark:
Magick CT Zero, Attack CT Zero, Damage Resist
 Magicks

A full Master Guide of Magicks can be found

in the "Master Equipment and Ability
Guides" folder found with the mod
Magicks, while similar to how they originally were in Vanilla FFXII, are now rebalanced. Many
spells are now more useful than their original counterparts, with some having completely new
effects. The following pages have detailed info on each spell, but here are some of the biggest
changes:

• Poison is now AoE.

• Toxify now inflicts Sap/Disease on a single target.

• Fire/Fira/Firaga are now single-target, with each level having an increased chance of
inflicting Oil on the enemy.

• Blizzard/Blizzara/Blizzaga are now the AoE Black Magick.

• Thunder/Thundara/Thundaga are now single-target, and being cast at twice the speed of
other spells.

• Aero/Aeroga are AoE still, but have reduced AoE and MP cost compared to Blizzard spells.

• Bio/Scourge are now single-target and Water Elemental.

• Shock is now on the same level as -ga magick in terms of power, but has a chance of heavily
debuffing the target.

• Poisona/Blindna/Vox/Stona/Cleanse are now AoE.

• Esuna/Esunaga now cures all the debuffs that Poisona/Blindna/Vox/Stona/Cleanse don't

(except Doom), as well as Berserk.

• Reverse can now only target enemies.

• Gravity/Graviga are now Earth Elemental and no longer do fractional damage.

• Flare is now the strongest single-target spell, Scathe is the strongest AoE spell, Ardor is the
strongest spell period with equipment that boosts Fire and/or if the enemy is Oil'd.
 Technicks

A full Master Guide of Technicks can be found

in the "Master Equipment and Ability
Guides" folder found with the mod.
In general, Technicks have been mostly unchanged from original FFXII, but many have been
revamped to be rebalanced or more useful. For example, First Aid now heals an ally's HP by 10%,
regardless of their current HP, making it useful between battles to conserve MP.
 Weapons
Weapons feel similar to how they do in the original versions of FFXII with some large differences.
Namely, weapons have been rebalanced in such a way that they all feel useful and unique, and each has
a different reason to be used.

• Swords, just as they were before, are a varied lot. Many have new elements now, and others
have changed effects, such as the Runeblade, or the Stoneblade.

• Greatswords bestow their user with an innate status, such as Protect or Shell, to help them stay
alive in battle.

• Katana have the highest combo rate of all weapons, allowing Ashe to chain together quick
attacks. Further, the Masamune is now one-handed, allowing it to be used with the other Genji
Gear.

• Ninja Blades are now one-handed, allowing them to be used in combination with Shields, and
give Vaan increased Evasion compared to his other weapon options.

• Spears are able to hit Flying enemies, and many late-game Spears have a variety of useful
elements.

• Poles, while not able to hit Flying enemies any longer, offer Penelo a large amount of Evasion,
giving her much-needed defense.

• Bows are Fran's go-to option when she's low on MP, and Arrows are able to still hit an enemy's
Fire/Ice/Thunder weaknesses.

• Crossbows are one of Ashe's ranged options, and they do steady damage while being able to hit
an enemy with debuffs.

• Guns are able to hit Flying enemies and, while slow, are able to pierce an enemy's Defense.
Further, Balthier can use various elemental ammunition to strike an enemy's weakness.

• Axes, compared to Hammers, have double the combo rate, albeit a slightly lower damage
threshold.

• Hammers are more powerful than Axes and can inflict debilitating debuffs, but are slower.

• Daggers are quick and are, for the most part, able to inflict a variety of debuffs very accurately,
useful against Marks and other enemies with high Vitality.

• Rods augment Penelo's MP and Magick, allowing her healing spells to be more efficient.

• Staves augment Fran's Magick and generally each boost an element she can use.

• Maces boost Ashe's magickal powers and can be used in conjunction with a Shield.

• Measures each bestow two positive statuses onto the target without fail.

• Hand-Bombs now have stronger ammunition, and can be used to quickly debilitate the foe.
A full Master Guide of Weapons can be found
in the "Master Equipment and Ability
Guides" folder found with the mod.
 Armor

A full Master Guide of Armor can be found in

the "Master Equipment and Ability Guides"
folder found with the mod.
Armor is mostly unchanged from the original FFXII, but has been generally rebalanced to be a little
more interesting in some cases. For example, the Gaia Gear now adds a bonus to Earth damage, and
most cases of elemental absorption have been changed to resistances for balance's sake.
 Accessories

A full Master Guide of Accessories can be

found in the "Master Equipment and Ability
Guides" folder found with the mod.
Most accessories have been rebalanced by having an elemental immunity removed, but given a stat
boost in return. Further many accessories have completely new augments attached that were
previously only seen on bosses. Those accessories lack descriptions, so please see the following
chart.
Bazaar Recipes (Weapons)
Bazaar Recipes (Armor)
Bazaar Recipes (Accessories)
Bazaar Recipes (Consumables)
 Tips and Tricks
• Steal from everything. Seriously. Fight everything and Steal from everything. You'll find
yourself needing to buy Potions and other consumables as well as better equipment
constantly, so you'll need every last Gil you can gather. Thief's Cuffs help tremendously with
this endeavor. Also, keep your party's levels as even as possible.

• Because Toxify now inflicts Disease/Sap, Disease is a more common status than ever.
Although there are no Accessories that directly resist Disease, having the Bubble status
prevents the buffed user from being hit with Disease. To that end, the Bubble Belt and
Ultima Weapon automatically prevent Disease, and casting Bubble on an ally beforehand
can prevent them from being hit by it.

• Buffs and debuffs are crucial now- use them! Even things that were previously not seen as
being very good such as Immobilize and Death can save you a lot of time and damage taken.
Ashe's Indigo Pendant makes her debuffs hit with 100% accuracy against foes if they're not
immune to the debuff, and Balthier's Nihopalaoa are great ways to cripple the now-buffed
enemies.

• Balthier is the best revival, MP restoration, and debuff curing specialist, Penelo is the best
HP restoration specialist, and Basch is the best buffing specialist. Use each one wisely, and
remember that a Protect/Shell spell is sometimes worth more than a Cure!

• On the topic of Shell, Shell also halves the accuracy of debuff spells hitting the target. This
is a great way of adding an extra layer of defense when you're facing enemies who love to
spam debuffs.

• Have a bunch of Potions, Antidotes, Eye Drops, and Phoenix Downs prior to Rabanastre
Palace. MP is limited early-game, so being able to use Items effectively is key.

• The Pheasant Netsuke is the key to getting the most out of Balthier. It's found for free in
Jahara in a treasure chest. Don't forget it!

• Oil is a very potent status. A unit afflicted with Oil takes 3x damage from any Fire attack, so
it's very potent- both on the foe, and on your party.

• Likewise, defensively, Slow, Silence, and Blind are also common enemy vulnerabilities. By
using these statuses, you're ultimately cutting down on how often an enemy gets to act, and
with what, reducing overall damage taken.

• Expose/Shear are great abilities to use on bosses before their HP gets to Critical. By hitting
them with those abilities, you're making them more vulnerable to damage throughout the
fight, making them easier to kill when they enter Super Angry HP Critical Boss Mode.

• On the topic of Super Angry HP Critical Boss Mode, it can be very tough to finish bosses off
when they get low on HP. They do more damage, attack more relentlessly, and overall take
less damage. A great way of countering this is using Quickenings. Quickenings come out
(almost) instantly and are a great way of getting some free damage in or, even better,
potentially just finishing the enemy off.
 Known Bugs
• A character wearing a Firefly will be immune to the Bubble status. This is because Firefly
technically bestows the character with the Safety Augment that bosses use, which grants
immunity to Bubble (likely meant to prevent AI errors, since many bosses have AI scripts
based on HP).

• A character with an Auto: Haste piece of equipment can still be Slowed. Same with Auto:
Regen and Sap. This existed in the Vanilla versions as well.

• A battle against a certain Judge in the Pharos has a minor animation glitch wherein he'll
strike a weird pose during his FMV attack.

• Exodus' AI also acts strangely at times, seemingly randomly not attacking. I vaguely recall
this being an issue in Vanilla as well, but I'm not entirely sure what's causing it. It's entirely
random though, and at points his AI script will correct itself and he'll continue his assault.

• Certain items don't properly display their effects. For example, Greatswords don't display in
the description what status they give, nor do the Accessories that have been given new
effects, and Measures only show one of the statuses they bestow. Check the Master Guide to
see what an item does with certainty!

• As with items, some Consumables, Magick, and Technicks do not currently have updated
descriptions. Check the Master Guide for accurate effects! This is because certain items
share descriptions with certain abilities, meaning that if the two are different, one is going to
be wrong.
 Credits
• Square Enix and Yasumi's Matsuno's team, including the incredible translators/localizers
who worked hard to bring the World of Ivalice to life in a mainstream FF title, and for
creating an amazing PC port that we'll be able to mod and enjoy for years to come.

• RaidenRipper for his amazing tools and patience. He's super talented and without him, the
FFXII PC modding scene wouldn't be as advanced as it is now.

• VaanSkyPirate for developing Draklab, which has revolutionized how people will be
modding FFXII PC. He's also responsible for the Zodiac Planner tool, allowing everyone to
make their own custom License Boards.

• Akita, for helping me test initial beta versions of Struggle for Freedom. Thanks to them, I
was able to find multiple small bugs and balance issues that I was able to fix prior to a
public release.

• Daedalus for his feedback and suggestions, as well as creating a mod that I used during my
testing to improve the quality of cutscenes.

• XaguraYiazmat and Tamadeeneko for their help and suggestions as well during the planning
process.

• M9l5t1 for his recreation of the PS2 License Board, included as an optional version with
SFF.

• Everyone else on the Discord, Steam, and other communities who've given insight and
suggestions on what they'd like to see in this mod.

• Easelgames and Barren for their playthroughs of SFF, which are crucial for helping me test.
Check out Easelgames' channel here and Barren's channel here!

• Ashe10, whose playthrough has been incredibly helpful for testing purposes. Visit his
Twitch channel here and his Youtube channel here.

• Bartz24 for creating the License Editor, allowing me to edit LP costs and what Licenses go
with which equipment.

• And lastly, you, for playing the mod and reporting any issues, bugs, and balance issues on
whatever topic/thread/board you found this on! Thanks a bunch!
 Feedback is a Gift
Did you enjoy this mod? Did you absolutely hate it? Either way, let me know! The only way SFF
can improve is by honest feedback, and I want to hear yours! I'm just a message/forum post away,
and I want to hear about your experience. Here's some of the various mediums where you can reach
me:

Message me on Discord:
eternal248#1817

Visit the Struggle for Freedom thread on Steam and leave your feedback.

Visit the Struggle for Freedom thread on NGPlus.

Visit the Struggle for Freedom thread on Reddit.

Visit the Struggle for Freedom forums on the Nexus.

Leave a review on the MODDB page for Struggle for Freedom.

Thank you for your feedback! It's greatly appreciated!

 Like this mod?
I'm not a professional modder by any means, but if you enjoy Struggle for Freedom, check out some
of my other mods! I enjoy remixing games to be fresh and exciting, and I welcome everyone to
check out some of my older projects as well.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Kind Of (PSX Version)

A mod that aims to rebalance the PSX version of Final Fantasy Tactics while keeping true to the
original spirit of the game, removing/changing only what's necessary while keeping the game's
difficulty and spirit intact.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Kind Of (PSP Version)

A version of Kind Of that's similar to the PSX version but specifically tailored for those playing
War of the Lions (the PSP version). Includes a fix for the slowdown as well as multiplayer options
and battles similar to the multiplayer battles, but for singleplayer mode. Works only on the EUR
ISO.

Final Fantasy Tactics WotL Slowdown Fix

A simple patch that removes the slowdown found in the PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics. Full
credit of the slowdown fix goes to Archaemic, who found and created the fix. I just made it into a
patchable version. Works only on the EUR ISO.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: Anarchy

A simple patch for FFTA that removes all Laws from the game, allowing the player to play through
the game as they see fit without having to worry about breaking Laws.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: Grim Grimoire

A gameplay mod for FFTA that focuses on rebalancing the game to feel more like FFT and Tactics
Ogre, making battles more tactical and less childish than before. Note that the current release is
somewhat buggy- I'm working on revamping this mod in the near future.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grim Grimoire

A sequel to the original, albeit with a different focus. Unlike FFTA GG, which focuses on
rebalancing gameplay, FFTA2 GG focuses more on fun, creating a variety of new and interesting
jobs that you wouldn't normally see. For example, FFTA2 GG has jobs such as Engineer which
involves Moogles using nukes and lasers and the Gourmand, a job that focuses on cooking and
baking items to have new effects. Currently still in development, but a stable release is out.

Final Fantasy VI Hardtype

The mod that started it all. My very first mod, released ten years ago, when I had no idea what the
heck I was doing. Certainly not my best work, but it inspired me to continue modding games.
Overall, it's a very simple mod that makes FFVI (SNES) more challenging while changing how
spells are learned, among various other changes. Suffice to say, with this being my first mod, it's not
very good, in my opinion, and there are far better VI mods out there. Instead, I would recommend
playing a different mod, Brave New World. It's an incredible mod and a great way to re-experience
FFVI.