Ragnarok[Sword] OR Ragnarok[Esper]?

[relm]

Just curious which you guys picked to have...
Would you rather keep the sword, Ragnarok?
Or take the Esper Ragnarok? This has always been
a tough choice for me, but I always ended up getting
the Sword.

It's a really strong sword, though not as strong as
the Atma Weapon, I just can't overlook the bonuses
it gives to the character that equips it. Trading it for
the Illumina is even better.

If you keep the esper you have an opporunity to get
some great items... See HERE. (item list)
However, to me it just isnt worth the uniqueness of
the Ragnarok Sword.

I always picked the Esper, to me it was better worth it in the long run. Like you said there is a better sword. Plus, I just have to have all the Espers or else I got mad.

[Sasquatch]

I usually take the Esper, too. The Illumina's great, sure, but the Atma Weapon is still better -- and I'm way too lazy to go through all the trouble to get the Paladin Shield to learn Ultima. I think the Esper is worth much more.

[Autumn]

Always the sword. Why? So I can trade it for the Illumina which gives 50% MBlock and Physical Attack Evade. It's a crucial item in making your team of four absolutely invincible. It's not as if you'd need to attack with the sword - I preferred magic and Edgar's chainsaw - I just had it equipped for the wonderful properties.

[relm]

I agree winter ^^
Illumina + Paladin Shield makes someone a god.

Illumina: +50% evade, +50% MBlock
Paladin Shield: +40% evade, +40% MBlock
Add Force Armour & Beads...
That's a +120% Mblock, +110% Evade Bonus!! O_O

[Omega]

I used to always take the Esper, but I think in the future I am going to take the sword. I understand the mentality of wanting all the espers, but Metamorph just sucks, and rarely ever works anyway. With that said, the Sword is much better and the Paladin Shield teaching Ultima is just as good as having a useless esper that teaches it.

[OneWinged Angel]

who needs an esper when u have a sword to finish them off on your own

OneWinged Angel (Sephiroth)

[Palazzo]

The Esper.

It teaches Ultima (the only other way is uncursing the Cursed Shield whick takes 255 battles!). I know your can get the Illumina by betting the Ragnarok sword at the Colliseum, but in my last game (and most of my games), my magic users did more damage than my physical attacks, so Ultima was worth more to me than the sword.

[relm]

Heh, well it seems that all who would pick the
esper either just want a complete collection of
all the espers, or are just too lazy to get the
Paladin Shield to learn ultima.

[Palazzo]

or are just too lazy to get the
Paladin Shield to learn ultima.

You got it.

[awall]

Originally Posted by relm

Heh, well it seems that all who would pick the
esper either just want a complete collection of
all the espers, or are just too lazy to get the
Paladin Shield to learn ultima.

Well, in that case I'll just have to make a case for the esper then, won't I?

Other than the fact that Ultima is by FAR the most effective offensive move in the game (huge damage, pierces magic defense, can't be evaded, non-elemental, hits all enemies, the works) Ragnarok has another use as well: Metamorph. I don't have a complete list of items, but I've seen some fairly decent stuff come off of this attack before. More importantly, this attack is a practically free instant-death move.

When I played FF6 Expert Version 2, physical attacks were all but worthless - having characters in the front row gave them very short lifespans (yes, I know that Ragnarok and Illumina hit for full strength from the back row, but very few other weapons do, which meant I couldn't use a Genji Glove). Furthermore, attacks tended to miss a large percentage of the time, and even when they hit, they didn't do spectacular damage. Magic, by contrast, was quite handy (especially since by the time you're this far into the game, most of your characters should know Osmose). Ultima, in particular, is the weapon of choice for almost every enemy in the game, and since it takes so long to learn (especially if you want it on several characters), it seemed to be worth my while to double my learning speed by equipping both the Paladin Shield and the esper Ragnarok.

EDIT: Whoops, completely forgot to make my point. The other advantage of esper Ragnarok (at least in EV2) was that there were a LOT of enemies that could give your party a run for its money - even random battle enemies. Death and X-Zone worked some of the time, but Metamorph had a much better success rate, and you really can't beat the price. Most of these enemies took a good minute or two to defeat if you didn't take advantage of instant-death moves.

Just my $0.02.

[relm]

yay thank you awall ^^
this is more of the stuff I was actually looking for~

First off, I put the Item List of Metamorph in the opening
post, but no one ever reads that anyway, so I'll post
it again here.

Since I've never ever taken the esper before, I find it
interesting how you saw Metamorph comparable to spells
like X-zone & Death, especially with the cheap cost of
Metamorph! From what I have heard (however), Metamorph
does not always have a good success rate. But I really
like that idea... never thought of that.

To add to what you said, I'm seeing an OK list of items
on the list that can be obtained through morphing enemies.
Exp. Egg, Ribbon, MegaElixir, Genji Glove; these are about
the best things I see that you can get.
BUT I also see that you can get infinite Genji Shields if u trade
Genji Gloves in the Colliseum. This might be the strongest
reason I would try getting the esper the next time around...
The thing is, you can only see these Genji Glove enemies in
Kefka's tower & Cyan's dream. Plus, I think Genji Gloves are
stealable >_> hm... I could look that up...

[Testbug]

I have take always the Esper because I want all the Espers but I never had all the Espers because I have found that damn castle where Odin and and that one dragon is. I haven't test that sword... is it powerful? I know that it can change stronger sword but I don't why I haven't test the sword? It is so powerful that it should take sword than Esper? Please tell me...