Final Fantasy Type-0: Deuce Breakdown

Welcome to the Type-0 Breakdown. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be giving a rough breakdown on the characters and other aspects of Square Enix’s upcoming release, Final Fantasy Type-0. While these won’t be in-depth guides that will tell you how to gear or exploit the game, they will be brief introductions to the characters, as well as character stat rankings. I’ll be telling you what’s going to be good for beginners, a challenge for advanced players, and which character personality might drive you nutty. All of it will be spoiler-free, so fear not. This will just be a quick glance to get you geared up and pumped to play!

Please note that there is the possibility that abilities or other small changes may be made in the translation of the game. The information in the guide is based upon the existing Japanese terms and controls used. Very little is expected to change in the released game. 

In our last installment, we started with a brief introduction to the game, followed by a breakdown of Ace, the gambler. You’ll start to notice a trend as we get further with the characters: Each character is named after a value of a typical playing card. Today, we look at number two.

Meet Deuce, the bard.

Despite her amusing name, Deuce is our good girl of the bunch. Gentle and honest, she is a diligent worker who is utterly loyal to her duties in Class Zero. But like the best of good girls, she can be stubborn to a fault. Once her mind wraps around something, she refuses to budge.

I call Deuce the bard, and for very good reason: Her weapon is her flute. Moving passed the American Pie jokes, Deuce’s weapon grants her a rather unique play style. One of the biggest advantages of controlling Deuce in a battle is the fact that AI-controlled characters on your team will attack the same enemy she is targeting. Under normal circumstances, the AI-controlled team members tend to attack different enemies than the team leader. This makes Deuce very useful for hard missions that require a more focused tactic.

Deuce is the most difficult ranged character to control and should not be the first choice for new players unless you’re up for a challenge. Compared to the other ranged characters-Ace, Trey, Cater, and King- Deuce has the slowest moving projectiles, as well as a rather slow movement speed while performing her regular attacks. But one advantage Deuce has over other ranged characters is her honing: So long as distance is not a problem, Deuce will hit her targets. In order to play her offensively, players will have to risk moving her closer to her enemies, a large gamble in part due to the fact that Deuce has the lowest HP and second-lowest defense out of all of the characters.

Deuce’s attacks are all focused around playing some pretty notes on her flute. Her regular attack activates a bubble that hovers around her for a few seconds if unused, and can act as a protective shield that attacks enemies that come too close. The bubble releases smaller projectiles that will slowly float over to enemies to deal damage. Point the analog stick upwards, and Deuce performs a point-blank melody that actually deals some decent damage. Pointing it downwards will create a trap that damages enemies if they touch it. In order to land a kill site, she must run up close enough to her enemies for her projectile to hit them, which can be extremely risky.

But where Deuce shines is in her ability to buff her allies and debilitate enemies. Deuce has the following abilities:

• Concerto – This ability casts Aura and Protect on Deuce’s allies. This also causes allies to target the enemy that Deuce is attacking.
• Concerto ff – This ability casts Aura and Trance on Deuce’s allies. This also causes allies to target the enemy Deuce is attacking.
• White Serenade – Heals the party’s HP. If Ser Guard is learned, Deuce casts Protect on herself when performing White Serenade.
• Dissonance Sonata – This inflicts Stun on all enemies surrounding Deuce.
• Sound Mass Deployment Attack – Creates a ball of energy that damages the target, and may inflict Stun on enemies as well.

Deuce is often used as a support character in parties for her ability to both heal and buff her allies. Many of her other abilities strengthen her various abilities, such as Con Guard, which prevents Concerto from being interrupted if Deuce is attacked. Many of her abilities also revolve around her evasion, as playing Deuce requires the player to dodge constantly and time evasions moreso than other characters. She also has the second-highest MP of the group, coming only behind Rem.

Deuce’s stats are ranked as the following among all the characters:

• HP – 14th
• MP – 2nd
• Strength – 13th
• Defense – 13th
• Flame Magic – 2nd
• Cold Magic – 11th
• Lightning Magic – 13th
• Defense Magic – 2nd

Overall, Deuce is a useful character to have, but her low HP and defense, as well as her slow movement, may make her tricky for beginning players. However, she makes up for that with projectiles that never miss so long as they are in range, the ability to cause AI-controlled allies to concentrate efforts on a single target, and excellent support abilities. Taking the time to learn her complicated playstyle can definitely pay off in the end.

Stick around, because next time we’ll be looking at: Trey, the archer!

Checking out the Type-0 Breakdown for the first time? Here’s a list of everything you’ve missed!

• Ace, the Gambler
• Deuce, the Bard
• Trey, the Archer
• Cater, the Gunmage
• Cinque, the Tank
• Sice, the Reaper
• Seven, the Ravager
• Eight, the Monk

What else would you like to see me cover before the game’s release on March 17th (NA), March 19th (Japan re-release and Australia), and March 20th (Europe)? Comment down below and tell me what you would like to see covered after I tackle the characters! 

 

Kayla Swenson is an aspiring author and former DJ from Seattle, WA that procrastinates far too much with video games to get a book out. When she’s not gaming until carpal tunnel sets in, she’s working on dreams of being a voice actor as well as a published writer. Fond of RPGs, she will happily disappear into the void to tackle whatever bad voice acting awaits. Contact her at the email above, or on all major systems/networks as Beltravi.