***This write-up is little more than a final inventory check; someone wanted meticulous notes, and they're getting them. Therefore, this may contain a lot of spoilers regarding equipment and abilities. Equipment and Skills have been changed to the point that even naming them may take away some of the surprise of finding/learning them, and I'd really hate to spoil anyone's fun.***
So, I've done all that I could find, besides some possible consumable farming I didn't care to look into. A big change to Steal was that I couldn't do something like grab 99 Elixirs from dying rodents, so I doubt I'd find any huge profits. That said, I'm also one cheap guy, so I've been scraping by in terms of purchases. Some farming on the Veldt helped, but it's tedious to make mountains of cash when you don't want to level up.
But I'm done making money, and about to tackle Kefka's Tower. Here's what I've got in regards to consumable items:
63 Phoenix Downs
76 Dried Meats
31 Tonics
14 Potions
17 X-Potions
32 Tinctures
03 X-Ethers
10 Elixirs
15 Antidotes
19 Eyedrops
45 Remedies
25 Revivifies
07 Magicite
11 HappyFunBalls
And for what matters...the teams. Unless an alternate piece of equipment is listed, everything is considered to be set in stone. Disclaimer: Not a heck of a lot of thought went into this. I mean, some did, but I have video proof that I'm not exactly a chessmaster.
Team 1
Terra Lv27
906HP/327(408)MP
Apocalypse/Crystal Kite
Oath Veil/Force Armor(Minerva)
Gale Hairpin/Death Ward
Vigor - 35(40)
Speed - 33
Stamina - 58
Magic - 63(61)
Defense/Magic Defense - 145/202(160/187)
Evade/MBlock - 26%/62%(36%/62%)
[HALF]Fire/Ice/Bolt/Wind([NULL]Fire/Ice/Bolt, [HALF]Wind)
-It's really, really hard to go wrong with her. Her Espers are heavy on Stamina, and so is she. Some MP goes a long way in having more spells to throw than Locke. Apocalypse is around to conserve MP in a counter-intuitive way. ~20 MP is a lot less than throwing Bolt 3s everywhere.
-If I still get a Minerva in this dungeon, Terra obviously gets it.
-I don't think she'll be dying often. Call it a hunch.
Edgar Lv25
940HP/144MP
Longinus
Dragon Helm/Power Armor(Force Armor)
Dragoon Seal/Atlas Armlet
Vigor - 65(60)
Speed - 42
Stamina - 15(12)
Magic - 33(40)
Defense/Magic Defense - 107/89(112/139)
Evade/MBlock - 26%/16%(26%/26%)
[NONE]([HALF]Fire/Ice/Bolt)
-Suicide Dragoons. You can't die if you don't get hit. He took some Unicorns levels to take at least one good hit. totally not because I forgot to grab Golem until after Thamasa. Nope.
-The Force Armor is a spare suit. Edgar's pretty much the only person who could really use it, so it's basically dedicated to him in case I need him on the ground or the enemy is particularly nasty.
Setzer Lv32
1146HP/222(333)MP
Avenger/Man Eater
Genji Helm/Genji Armor
Sprint Shoes/Daryl's Soul(Magic Cube)
Vigor - 65(60)
Speed - 35
Stamina - 39(34)
Magic - 52(59)
Defense/Magic Defense - 151/104(94)
Evade/MBlock - 52%/12%
[NONE]
-I like how the other suicide fighter happens to be a physical tank. If he ever needs a Shield, he has his pick among Flameguard, Aegis, Force, Diamond, and Crystal. I'm not that good at all with his Slots, but I gave him a ton of Magic so those occasional wins are jackpots.
-I'm leaving the option of a Magic Cube open in the event that Setzer needs to heal at the expense of attacking at all.
Gogo Lv26
877HP/229MP
Man Eater/Thunderguard
Circlet/Snow Muffler
Back Guard/Life Bell
Vigor - 29
Speed - 36
Stamina - 44
Magic - 27
Defense/Magic Defense - 134/174
Evade/MBlock - 44%/54%
[ABSORB]Bolt, [NULL]Ice/Wind
-Not much to say about Gogo. He's running with Lore/Magic/Rage, and he'll be doing anything from healing to buffing to Cerbreus/Dragon/etc. Rages. He doesn't have Daryl's Soul, so his shenanigans are limited, but one guy in the game with Lore is already too many. This guy's also not a fan of dying.
Overall, this team looks to be fun. It seems a bit unfamiliar(Edgar/Setzer have always been fillers for me), but anyone can throw a decent heal, and three of them can essentially cast Tent. Gogo should have no MP problems with Raid, and he has access to Safe, Image, and Magic, which should be enough for everyone else to loosen up.
Team 2
Relm Lv32
1062HP/521MP
Magical Brush/Iceguard
Cat Hood/Chocobo Hide
Crystal Orb/Guard Ring
Vigor - 24
Speed - 59
Stamina - 53
Magic - 56
Defense/Magic Defense - 119/176
Evade/MBlock - 52%/48%
[ABSORB]Ice, [HALF]Earth/Water/Wind
-A Mage in the purest sense. No elements, no fancy status effects. Just tons of healing and lots of raw damage. Osmose is helpful, too, even if she has more MP than Gandalf. She takes half damage from Ice/Earth/Water/Wind, and has a Guard Ring to augment her inferior Defense. It's not the lowest, and she's one of the more durable characters, but if she's not throwing a RegenX or Flare/Meteor every single turn because she managed to die, my fun levels drop. Funnily enough, she's only just on par with everyone else in terms of defense.
-I'm honestly surprised how well she turned out. She was part of my Regen party, which got all its healing from Regen ticks through obscene Stamina, and she got some Speed/Magic/MP on the side. It's lacking in damage, but it's a user-friendly build.
Mog Lv26
1327HP/153MP
Partisan/Diamond Kite(Aegis Shield)
Crystal Helm/Force Armor
Amulet/Spirit Ring
Vigor - 39
Speed - 36(43)
Stamina - 30
Magic - 49
Defense/Magic Defense - 170/180(160/175)
Evade/MBlock - 22%/32%(32%/42%)
[HALF]Fire/Ice/Bolt/Wind
-Possibly my worst character. He's not *bad*, but...he's not a god. And that's enough to suck. I didn't know what I wanted to do with him, and levels were running short before my soft level cap of ~30, so I gave him a handful of levels in HP, threw some awesome armor on him, and gave him two redundant status Relics for the Stamina more than anything else. His evasion is low, but it doesn't mean much with his overall defense.
-For the most part, he'll be on item duty, or using Dances for healing to free Relm up for Flare/Meteor.
-Most likely going with Aegis Shield for obvious reasons.
Locke Lv29
1176HP/300MP
Valiant Edge/Crystal Kite
Ninja Mask/Genji Armor
Rogue Cloak/Thief Glove
Vigor - 68
Speed - 53
Stamina - 30
Magic - 35
Defense/Magic Defense - 171/140
Evade/MBlock - 74%/42%
[HALF]Wind
-I took the Sword/Shield route with him for a couple of reasons. Setzer and Gogo do it better, and Valiant Edge works too well with Locke's equipment and natural Evade to not make heavy use of. If anyone is worth keeping close to death and reviving with a Phoenix Down half the fight, it's this guy.
-Locke's unique/semi-unique equipment has so much synergy. It bears repeating.
-Unless a choice Fire 3/Demi target shows up, Locke is more or less a Paladin. Taking out his Thief Glove for a Knight's Cape could be real classy, but the last thing his team needs is another tank with low damage.
Cyan Lv30
1418HP/189MP
Masamune
Diamond Helmet/Genji Armor
Atlas Armlet/Sprint Shoes
Vigor - 75
Speed - 22
Stamina - 38
Magic - 24
Defense/Magic Defense - 152/106
Evade/MBlock - 48%/6%(lol)
[HALF]Bolt
-Suicide Samurais. You can't die if you kill the enemy before it hits you. Still, he's no physical slouch, even if a magical sneeze could kill him. In the end, it's not bad for a guy without a Shield.
-This guy is either going to go VAE VICTIS, or die every fight. Time will tell.
On the whole, I'm looking at a magically defensive team(more like a team of tanks that also happen to deal damage) that may or may not have issues dealing a lot of damage. Relm may be the MVP here, and Locke may just take home the Utility Trophy if Mog has too much trouble starting up Dance.
Team 3
Celes Lv31
1690HP/472MP
Omega Weapon/Hero Shield
Genji Helm/Minerva
Sprint Shoes/Hero Ring
Vigor - 68
Speed - 46
Stamina - 42
Magic - 65
Defense/Magic Defense - 186/171
Evade/MBlock - 62%/36%
[NULL]Fire/Ice/Bolt
-I ditched her early into the WoR because she was too good. Her HP is high enough that Omega Weapon deals acceptable damage. Not amazing, but a little over 1.3k is acceptable for a Back Row defense-ignoring damage Fight command.
-Unlike Cyan, her Holy can actually deal damage. Ice/Bolt 3 and Merton are also nice. Merton is jokes, son. 9600 on Evil Oscars?
Gau Lv28
1030HP/213MP
Bone Club/Flameguard
Red Cap/Dark Gear
Rage Belt/Sprint Shoes
Vigor - 46
Speed - 61
Stamina - 53
Magic - 30
Defense/Magic Defense - 115/114
Evade/MBlock - 74%/38%
[NULL]Fire/Bolt
-I can't decide whether Speed or Stamina is needlessly high. His Esper choice is limited, so I can't possibly mess him up.
-Straightforward, more the most part. HasteX in battles that call for it, then it's one of a number of Rages. He's got a lot of good picks, whether it's Cerberus/Dragon for physicals, Harpy/Witch/Stray Cat/Albatross/Orog for elements, or any of a number of Rages with useful elemental immunities.
-When a physical goes through, or a not-blocked element hits him, it ain't pretty.
Sabin
1482HP/225MP
Stormfang/Stormfang
Red Cap/Royal Jacket
Ribbon/Nirvana Band
Vigor - 78
Speed - 46
Stamina - 64
Magic - 30
Defense/Magic Defense - 127/102
Evade/MBlock - 38%/22%
[NULL]Fire/Water
-Behold, the supporting Monk. He's got a lot of HP, but I'm constantly replenishing it. Chakra heals about 40-45MP, which is enough to be an infinite mana battery, being his biggest contribution to the party after his damage. Fight deals okay damage on non-weak enemies, and can deal a similar amount on Lightning-weak targets with obscene defense. Nothing like Blitz, but fight has no casting time.
-When he gets hit, it hurts.
-I decided +10 Speed and Super Effective vs. Mech types - for whatever that's worth - was better than a minor boost to some Blitzes. Took three Didalos fights to figure that one out. Celes may be immortal, but she doesn't kill fast.
Strago Lv30
948HP/666MP
Punisher/Iceguard
Circlet/Dragon Hide
Life Bell/Sage Stone
Vigor - 24
Speed - 24
Stamina - 76
Magic - 82
Defense/Magic Defense - 109/202
Evade/MBlock - 26%/58%
[ABSORB]Ice, [HALF]Fire/Wind
-He has as much mana as the Prince of Darkness.
-Life Bell is to keep Holy Wind strong.
-Iceguard is because Strago DGAF about Merton when he can pack another 5 Magic into his spells.
-Sage Stone because dualcasting Ice 2 at 82 Magic is like dualcasting Meteor on a Weak target.
-Strago takes less than 400 damage from Merton before Shell. If that stings, there's a spare Flameguard.
-GET HYPE
I originally just wanted a team that could allow for Merton, but any team with Strago is immediately more awesome than planned. Relm's team has no need for Shell, so Strago will have access to party Safe and Shell if I remove the Sage Stone, whereas Gau has HasteX for boss fights to speed up Sabin and Strago. Sabin will probably be supporting full time with Chakra, allowing Celes and Strago to throw spells out every turn. The best part is all of this can happen while Celes uses Runic.