[Gaffgarion]

Ok so ever since getting Balthier this game has become much easier. He's my new favorite character. But I was reading some threads on gamefaqs and gamespot and they say not to change his gun Ras Algethi. I know it's strong but why not change it for a stronger one?

[H.U.N.K]

Well you are not the only one who is confused about this. I have found many situations like this such as Agris being much weaker if you make her anything other than a holy knight. I dont think its true and if you find a better gun then go ahead and change it. I cant find anything stronger than Balthiers gun so I never changed it.

But I made him a knight and gave him chaos blade then use his barage attack, it will kill almost anything. MUHAHAHA!

[Gi1gamesh]

its took me well over a year to manage to get tactics working on my psp so havnt got that far yet, only just started the other day but is it easy to get balthier on the game? he was my fave character on 12 so was over the moon when i heard you can get him on tactics

[H.U.N.K]

Well here is what I tell my friends on all tactics games(PSX and PSP).

Just read all rumors and try to take all jobs.
If you already know how to get cloud then you should easily get Balthier. Plus I found the fight with Balthier as a guest to be very easy.

[T.G. Oskar]

Actually, last I recall Balthier is easier to get than Cloud. It involves some wandering around, though, and a bit of checking the rumors at the pub to get him.

The reason why people insist on NOT changing Balthier's gun is dual. First, the Ras Algethi is the strongest gun in the game, period. Second, the elemental guns (Blaze, Glacier and Blast) are too unreliable in terms of dealing damage (much like the flail weapons, who deal between 50% and 150% damage IIRC), and the Stone Gun petrifies the target at the beginning of the battle, so you need someone to use Esuna or a Gold Needle on him to proceed. So, barring changing Balthier to an Archer and give him the Aim ability, the best long-range weapon for Balthier is Ras Algethi. Also, remember that Barrage works best depending on the weapon damage, since it's roughly twice the amount of damage dealt with a single shot divided into four strikes of half damage each: sustained and high damage is better than unreliable damage. Finally, if an enemy is strong against a particular element, the magical guns lose potency; even worse if they have Arcane Defense innately or resistance to the element; regular guns are always useful no matter what.

[H.U.N.K]

Hold on for a second.

You say there is accually a stone gun???
How say, do you get it?

[T.G. Oskar]

It's on one of the fixed desert battles (not Zeklaus, but the other desert where you fight Balk/Baruch). One of the battles has a petrified Chemist; that Chemist is holding the Stone Gun. Usually, to steal the weapon, you need to de-petrify him first before attempting to steal.

I also recall it was either a Poaching result OR part of a treasure item, but I wouldn't trust those last two. The Chemist battle, though, is nearly 100% sure. It's a random battle, so there's a huge chance that you can get several.

[espritduo]

The battle that has the Chemist with the Stone Gun/Stoneshooter appears on Germinas Peak, not the desert battlefields. In that same battle are other Chemists and Mediators with the various elemental guns, too, so it's a smorgasboard of high-powered guns. The battle's kinda rare, though, and you have to approach the battlefield from the south on the map(the types of random battles that you can get on a given battlefield are determined by the direction you enter the area from).

And the other way to get the Stone Gun is by poaching a Dark Behemoth. It's the rare poach of a rare monster, though, so it's a toss-up on which method is easier.

Also, the Ras Algethi is not the strongest gun normal gun. The Fomalhaut is the strongest with 18 attack power. It can only be gotten through the rendezvous missions, though, so the Ras Algethi will be the best non-magic/petrifying gun you're able to get on single player.

[Suiko Jin]

I think I made Balthier into a chemist as a secondary job class. It was pretty awesome to have him nail people from afar and also to heal/cure/revive people from afar too.

One of my favorite new additions to the War of the Lions.