Marinara

I can't seem to find an answer in any documentation, and I am not 100% that I am using the damage calculator correctly, so I figured I would ask here. What are the exact mechanics for safe and shell? Doing some experimentation with Relm (casting Flare on Edgar, sorry friend), my best guess is that Safe/Shell reduce physical/magical damage by 25%, but I am not getting exact results and I am making a lot of assumptions. Is there a specific formula for damage reduction documented somewhere? Also, does Safe stack additively or multiplicatively with the back row reduction? Finally, it does not seem like Safe/Shell impact defense/magic defense ignoring spells and skills, but again I am not 100% positive on this. Assuming I am correct, is there any way to reduce the damage taken from an enemy attack like Meteor or Flare? Thanks for the answers! I have already beaten 2.0 but I absolutely love theory crafting

I see, glad to hear someone did the math. I will add then that since the DPS differential is so small, I would lean more towards +Spd since it means you have more turns to use/throw items as required. But I do think he is a well designed character in that you have at least SOME useful choice with his development

One part of Strago's kit that I think is underrated is the Shield spell. Buffing the entire team with Safe/Shell/Haste/Regen is not a requirement, but it makes later battles SO much easier. And with the exception of Zoneseek, this spell is the only method to cast safe on every party member. So having Strago on a team gives them access to 4 turns of buffs (or 4 relic spots) for the price of one.

Unfortunately for Locke, I think he contributes best as a dedicated healer vice a more exciting DPS role. This is less because he is limited by his damage options and more because he is arguably the second best healer (behind only Setzer), and I think you want every team to have a healer.

Edgar is such a beast with no ELs at all, but I think he truly shines as a Dragoon with maybe 10/10/5 Palidor/Golem/Unicorn. i only add in Unicorn because I appreciate the status resistance and bulk it provides, but I don't think it is strictly necessary. Except for maybe a small portion of the middle game prior to getting the Dragon Helm, I think it is superior to any magic/support build because he doesn't lose much magic-based tool damage by neglecting Siren. And I think using him as a pure support is a waste. He just seems to perform better as a hard hitting dragoon with the option to cast support spells vice a support character with the option for moderate AOE damage.

How can you NOT make Terra a mage??? Not only does it fit her thematically, but it just works for her on so many levels. 1) Her character locked esper gives her +25% magic damage 2) As you build +Mag with Maduin, you also build +Stam, which helps her Morph survivability 3) Being in the back row also helps her morph survivability and does not reduce her magic damage output 4) She has access to Ice/Fire/Bolt 3 and Break, so in almost every fight she can attack with an enemy weakness. Battlemage/Paladin Terra can be a amazing too I am sure, but it feels like such a wasted opportunity to not use her amazing spellcasting.

A few notes on my opinions of Shadow: 1) He finally becomes usable once you have Wall Ring and Guard Ring. IMO those are top tier relics for any character, but I find them a must for Shadow. 2) The fact that he does most of his damage from Mutsunokami cleave procs leads me to feel that a speed build is overall preferred to a vigor/stamina build. More speed also allows Shadow to support his team with support items more often at critical times in fights.