Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions: Final Fantasy Tactics - War of the Lions Tweak

War of the Lions Tweak is a balance and quality-of-life improvement mod for Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, designed to make the game more fun and less annoying to play. This mod is not intended to create a wholly *new* experience - instead, its goal is an idealized version of the same game that we all know and love. Play this mod if you intend to replay FFT or experience it for the first time.

Version 2.50 was the first release to embrace game balance as a goal itself, rather than as part of QoL. It added several ASM hacks in order to even further enhance the game. V2.52 is a balance and bugfix update that adds additional optional patches as well!

The full mod source is included in the archive for those who would like to mod the mod or just snoop the ASM code.

Major features include:

[li]PSP spell effects slowdown fix
[li]Controllable "Guest" characters
[li]JP Boost always in effect
[li]Treasure Hunter always in effect and always finds the rare item
[li]No missable items or spells
[li]Multiplayer items are obtainable in the campaign
[li]All rare (but not unique) items can be purchased at the end of the game
[li]Broken and Stolen equipment can be repurchased at the Poachers' Den
[li]Poachers' Den now opens earlier
[li]Special characters can go on Errands
[li]Balance pass across the game - reduced difficulty spikes, increased chapter 4 and postgame difficulty
[li]Gender equality - female and male characters have the same stats and equipment access
[li]ASM weapon formula improvements (axes are no longer terrible)
[li]Quicker spellcasting speeds
[li]Spellcasting quotes reimplemented
[li]Endgame job prerequisites reduced
[li]Optional Feature: Only fight random battles when you want to
[li]Optional Feature: No random battle level scaling
[li]...and much more!

Please consult the readme file for the details and reasoning for every change!


- War of the Lions Tweak v2.52 - Help support the anti-ASCII art
- By: Tzepish movement!
tzepish at gmail dot com


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Readme Contents

A.) Introduction
B.) How to Patch
C.) Optional Patches, Spoilers, & Source Folders
D.) Version Changelog
E.) Complete List of Changes - List Only
F.) Complete List of Changes - Details and Commentary (long!)
G.) Special Thanks
H.) The End! (of the readme)


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A.) Introduction

War of the Lions Tweak is a balance and quality-of-life improvement mod for Final Fantasy Tactics: War of
the Lions, designed to make the game more fun and less annoying to play. This mod is not intended to
create a wholly *new* experience - instead, its goal is an idealized version of the same game that we all
know and love. Play this mod if you intend to replay FFT or experience it for the first time.

Arguably the mod has outgrown its name. "Tweak" may be a bit of an understatement at this point, I admit.
However, the soul of the mod hasn't changed - this is Final Fantasy Tactics, but better. With every
release I find myself pushing further against the boundaries of what this mod should be "allowed" to do.
But also with every change I've asked myself whether the game is still "Final Fantasy Tactics", and
whether the game would have been better if it were released in this form back in 1997. If the answer was
ever "no", then I didn't make the change.

If I went too far in one or two places, I hope you won't hold it against me. Final Fantasy Tactics is my
my favorite videogame, despite its (many) flaws. I can't help but wish it was even more perfect. I started
modding the game mostly as an excuse to spend even more time in its world. Years later, the scope of this
mod has expanded beyond anything I could have predicted.

I've played through Final Fantasy Tactics maybe about 50 times now, and I still take something new from
it every time. This game from 1997 still has so much to show us. I hope I've done the game a service and
made its world more welcoming and fun for newcomers and oldtimers alike.


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B.) How to Patch

Before you can apply this patch, you will need the following:

1.) An unmodified ISO of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (USA version).
I can't help you find this!

2.) A program such as PPF-O-Matic or UMDGen that can apply PPF patches.
You can download PPF-O-Matic here: https://www.romhacking.net/utilities/356/

3.) An emulator such as PPSSPP or a modded PSP or PSVita to play it on!
You can download PPSSPP here: https://ppsspp.org/


Once you have gathered those three things, here's how you apply the patch:

- Step 1: Open PPF-O-Matic.
- Step 2: Click the disk icon next to "ISO File" and point it at your FFT ISO file.
- Step 3: Click the disk icon next to "Patch" and point it at the wotltweakv2.52.ppf file.
- Step 4: Click Apply!


That's it! Your ISO file should now be patched and ready to play.
If you want to quickly verify that the patch worked, run the game and check one of the following:

* Loading a save file will ask "Load this data?" instead of "Load game data?".
* If you're starting a new game, you will be able to control ALL allied characters in the intro battle!
* If the game crashes on startup, you probably had the Euro ISO instead of the USA version. Whoops!
Get your hands on the USA ISO (somehow) and try again!


You can quit the readme now and start playing, but if you are interested in applying the optional features
and/or reviewing the list of changes, read on!


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C.) Optional Patches, Spoilers, & Source Folders

In addition to the main patch and readme, the archive contains the following optional material:

- Optional Patches folder:
This folder contains six additional patch files that each enable an optional feature.
See wotltweakv2.52_optional_features.txt (inside the folder) for details on each feature.

To apply an optional patch, repeat steps 1 through 4 above (under "How to Patch") for each optional
feature desired. Apply them over the already-patched ISO (stack them all onto the same ISO file).

- Spoilers folder:
This folder contains five additional text files that go into more detail about certain changes made
in this mod (for example, the locations of all 40 multiplayer items).
Feel free to consult these if you want to be spoiled!

- Screenshots folder (inside Spoilers):
This folder contains screenshots that show a bunch of mod changes to items and abilities.
Again, skip these if you want to avoid spoilers!

- Source folder:
This folder contains the source files for the mod. This is only relevant to you if you intend to
reverse-engineer, modify, or build on top of my work. A readme file inside this folder will tell you
how. If you aren't interested in modding the mod, then you can ignore or delete this folder.


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D.) Version Changelog

Here's a brief changelog if all you need is to get caught up on what's changed in the latest version. If
you're new to the mod, or if you want additional details on the changes, then you can skip this section
for the much more detailed and complete lists below.


v2.52 - Balance and Bugfix update:
- Bugfix: Agrias/Mustadio/Rapha can no longer join the team with the wrong version of their skillset
equipped in the secondary slot. If your save file already has the wrong version, you can fix it
by simply unequipping and reequipping it.
- Bugfix: Fixed Yardrow's treasure hunter items.
- Balance: Minor nerfs to Cloud's Limit Break range and damage, but increased vertical tolerance.
- Balance: The "Static Brave & Faith" optional patch now also buffs Steel, Praise, and Preach.

v2.51 - Balance and Bugfix update:
- Equipment: Attack power buff to Axes and Flails; Katana prices slightly increased;
Rune Armlet regenerates more MP.
- Abilities: Buffs to Doom Fist, Earplug, Wall, and Poison (the status effect itself).
- Abilities: Buffed high level offensive magic damage even more!
- Jobs: Bard, Dancer, and Arithmetician job prerequisites slightly reduced.
- Jobs: Minor speed nerf to Arithmetician (previous speed buff went too far).
- Scenario: Agrias now stays on your formation screen when she leaves the team briefly (note that
Rapha already does this). This is to prevent getting stuck in a bad state when she returns for her
"Protect Agrias" battle.
- Scenario: Belius slightly buffed (previous nerfs went too far).
- Scenario: The final boss slightly buffed to mitigate a lockdown strategy.
- Characters: Starting job levels for Reis and Meliadoul slightly reduced.
- Feature: Units are allowed more Faith (or less Brave) before deserting the team.
- Feature: Added a bunch of optional feature patches. Enjoy!
- Bugfix: The improvements to Protectja and Slowja now properly apply in all patches.

v2.50 - Major release:
- This was the first release to really embrace game balance as a goal in itself, rather than just as
part of QoL.
- Restored the US PS1 balance updates that were lost when the game was ported to PSP.
- Gender equality: female and male characters now have the same base stats and equipment access.
- Endgame physical attack damage nerfed so that not everything goes down in one hit.
- Various changes to make physical/magic "hybrid" character builds more viable.
- Tweaks to characters who are just better or worse copies of other characters. Now no character is
obsolete - each character has something that makes them unique.
- Standardized "Growths" so you can't be hosed by leveling in the "wrong" jobs.
- Various equipment-related ASMs for better damage formulas. For example, Axes are good now.
- Nerfed Arithmeticks (but buffed Arithmetician). Believe it or not, the class should be fun AND
balanced while still maintaining the "feel" of the vanilla class.
- Updated the multiplayer item distribution for a more satisfying progression.
- Sidequests are easier to activate / harder to miss.
- Broken/Stolen equipment can be bought back at the Poachers' Den!
- Increased Midlight's Deep difficulty!
- Tons of additional tweaks, which is why the version number went up by so much!

v2.01 - Minor Bugfix update:
- Made Smart Encounters an optional feature.
- Poach-only items can now be purchased at the very end of the game.
- Onion Knight, Mime, and Dark Knight job prerequisites reduced.
- Status effect spells have more vertical tolerance.
- Bugfix: Fixed the sidequests dialogue choice bug introduced in v2.00.

v2.00 - Major release:
- Introduction of ASM hacks to the project, thanks to Valhalla!
- All 40 multiplayer items are obtainable in the campaign!
- No missable items!
- Treasure Hunter always applies and always finds the rare item!
- Optional Feature: "Smart Encounters" - Fight random battles only when you want to!
- Quicker spellcasting speeds!
- Buffed endgame magic; nerfed special sword skills.
- Buffed hit rates for revive and status magic.
- Lategame characters join with more JP!
- Reis can use all of her skills on any ally (instead of only Dragons). Note this was overpowered, so
as of v2.50 this has been scaled back (they now have half power when used on non-dragons).
- Reduced difficulty spikes; increased chapter 4 difficulty.
- Too many additional changes to list - almost everything else in the mod was added in this update!
- Note this version introduced a nasty bug that could sometimes lock you out of the certain sidequests
by automatically picking the incorrect dialogue choices. This bug is fixed as of v2.01 and above,
so please upgrade!

v1.07:
- Optional Feature: "Encounter Unscaling". This feature locks random encounter monster levels in place
instead of scaling them up along with the player.

v1.06:
- Spellcasting slowdown fix included.

v1.05:
- Certain important rare items will now always be found via Treasure Hunter.
Note that as of v2.00 this has been expanded include *all* Treasure Hunter rare items.

v1.00 - Initial release:
- Controllable Guest characters.
- JP Boost always in effect.
- No missable spells (can purchase Ultima and Zodiark).


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E.) Complete List of Changes - List Only

This section quickly lists all the changes done in this mod by name only. The section after this one
contains the same list with details and commentary for each change. Refer to this section if you're
looking for an overview of all changes. Refer to the next section if you're looking for the details and
reasoning!


GENERAL GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) PSP spell effects slowdown fix
2.) Controllable "Guest" characters
3.) Quicker spell & skill casting speeds
4.) JP Boost always in effect
5.) Treasure Hunter always in effect & always finds the better item
6.) No missable items or spells
7.) Multiplayer items are obtainable in the campaign
8.) All rare (but not unique) items can be purchased at the end of the game
9.) Broken and Stolen equipment can be repurchased at the Poachers' Den
10.) Poachers' Den now opens earlier + rare item chance raised to 50%
Opt1.) Optional Feature: Only fight random encounters when you want to (Smart Encounters)
Opt2.) Optional Feature: Enemies no longer scale to your level (Encounter Unscaling)


GLOBAL BALANCE IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) US PS1 Version balance updates restored
2.) Gender equality: female and male characters now have the same base stats
3.) Standardized levelup Stat Growths + initial randomization removed
4.) More consistent critical hits + chance increased while invisible or near-fatal
5.) Knockback can only happen on the last hit of a combo (critical hits no longer cause whiffs)
6.) More consistent reviving + JP costs reduced
7.) More consistent status attacks; Status -ja spells buffed; Misc Status Effect buffs & nerfs
8.) Slightly reduced Zodiac effects + new Zodiac protection accessory
9.) More consistent weather effects
10.) Perma-dead units on the player team always crystalize (and refund all equipment)
11.) More powerful endgame magic damage (but lower MP maximums) + new MP regeneration accessory
Opt3.) Optional Feature: Start at zero MP and gradually regenerate MP per turn (FFTA2 MP System)
12.) Less powerful special character skills damage
13.) Less powerful melee Support ability damage
14.) Endgame weapon attack power values reduced across the board


SCENARIO & RANDOM BATTLE IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) Slightly easier/faster intro battles
2.) Your next world map objective now always shows as a red dot
3.) More varied monster innate abilities
4.) Monsters can now be weak to weapon types
Opt4.) Optional Feature: Undead Reanimation chance is 100% instead of 50% (Undead Always Reanimate)
5.) More relevant early and midgame Treasure Hunter items
6.) Random battles drop common items
7.) Slightly easier Golgollada Gallows battle (reduced difficulty spike)
8.) Human bosses are immune to fewer status effects
9.) Monster bosses have more HP/Defense; take less damage from Gravity & Drain; no longer have Swiftness
10.) Easier end of chapter 3 battles (reduced difficulty spikes)
11.) Rare battle friendlies can join your team
12.) Agrias's birthday sidequest is easier to activate
13.) Mustadio is no longer required to activate sidequests
14.) Removed "hose yourself" sidequest dialogue choices
15.) Chapter 4 sidequests are easier to find
16.) The Dark Dragon battle is less of a boring slog
17.) The Fort Besselat decision is less of a blind guess
18.) Harder end of chapter 4 battles
19.) Harder Midlight's Deep


UI & METAGAME IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) Humans (in addition to monsters) can be renamed in the Warriors' Guild
2.) Recruit better generic units from the Warriors' Guild
3.) Special (non-generic) characters can be sent on Errands + Errands take half as many days
4.) Less confusing shop inventories
5.) More meaningful choices to make in shops (price and availability rebalances)
6.) Spellcasting quotes reimplemented
7.) Consistent skill list ordering
8.) Consistent status effects ordering
9.) Unique names for modified Squire classes
10.) Consistent "Boost" ability names
11.) Updated disallowed Support Ability equips for every job
12.) Additional Reaction Ability animations
13.) Earned JP/EXP is no longer shown for enemies; enemies no longer "celebrate" job levelups
14.) Readable sound novels in the Chronicle menu
15.) Improved Select-button character tips and quotes
16.) Units are allowed more Faith (or less Brave) before deserting the team
Opt5.) Optional Feature: Units NEVER desert the team (No Unit Desertion)
Opt6.) Optional Feature: Disable permanent Brave & Faith alterations (Static Brave & Faith)
17.) Misc UI text improvements
18.) Known issue: the Battle Tutorials don't work properly


EQUIPMENT IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) Gender equality: female and male characters now have access to the same equipment
2.) Weapon evasion (Parry Rate) always applies; the Parry ability now doubles it
3.) Equip X ability improvements (and renames)
4.) Special Skillsets that require a Sword now function as "Equip Swords"
5.) Special Sword Skills can be used with a Katana equipped
6.) Knives, Bows, & Crossbows buffed (plus new endgame weapons)
7.) Axe/Flail Improved random-scaling & Available earlier in shops; Axes are no longer two-handed
8.) Knight Sword Improved Brave-scaling; Knight Swords are now two-handed
9.) Katana Improved Brave-scaling; Break chances INCREASED (but can be bought back from Poachers' Den)
10.) Fell Sword Improved AntiFaith-scaling
11.) Magic Gun Improved Faith-scaling and random spell selection (now they are proper weapons)
12.) Handbags Revamp: Reduced attack power and prices; Enhanced "accessory effects"
13.) Power/Speed and Power/Magick hybrid weapons round up when calculating damage
14.) Rod damage uses magic instead of physical attack power
15.) Pole damage uses magic and physical attack power instead of just magic (nerf)
16.) Innate: Haste removed - replaced with flat Speed bonuses
17.) Innate: Reraise removed - replaced with Initial: Reraise
18.) Weapon buffs: Sasuke's Blade, Materia Blade, Dragon Rod, Staff of the Magi
19.) Genji equipment buffs
20.) Midgame light armor buffs: Adamant Vest, Sorcerer's Habit (Wizard Clothing), Brigandine, Jujitsu Gi
21.) Midgame light armor nerfs: Power Garb, Wizard's Robe
22.) Accessory buffs: Battle Boots, Spiked Boots, Power Gauntlet; Red Shoes can be bought earlier
23.) Accessory nerfs: Bracer, Tynar Rouge
24.) Weapon & Shield battle sprites better match their UI icons + misc sprite changes
25.) Improved equipment descriptions
26.) Item Attribute & Inflict Status slot consolidation (for modders)


CLASS & ABILITY IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) Squire: Basic ability list revision; Defend buff; Focus raises both physical & magic attack power
2.) Chemist: Can now equip Crossbows; Reduced JP costs for Item skills
3.) Physical/magic hybrid builds are more viable
4.) Knight: Reduced Rend JP costs + increased success rates; Can now equip Axes & Flails
5.) Monk: Damage formula changes
6.) Monk: Martial Defense; Cyclone, Pummel, & Doom Fist buffs; Chakra healing nerfs
7.) Geomancer: Increased vertical tolerance for Geomancy skills
8.) Archer: Slight Speed buff; Reduced JP costs for Aim+ skills
9.) Thief: Reduced Steal JP costs + increased success rates; Steal Heart JP cost increased
10.) Jump+X movement abilities are available earlier & have reduced JP costs
11.) Dragoon: Jump skills simplification
12.) Samurai: Innate Doublehand + HP buff + Iaido buff
13.) Black Mage: Innate Arcane Strength + Nerfs to compensate; Improved Magick Counter
14.) White Mage: Innate Arcane Defense + Magic Power buff
15.) Spellcasting classes can now all equip Tomes (Books)
16.) Time Mage, Summoner, & Mystic: Improved Gravity & Drain spells
17.) Mystic: New Support ability: "Combat Casting" for casting in melee
18.) Orator: Can now equip Crossbows; "Beast Tamer" = all beast abilities combined + no range requirement
19.) Endgame job prerequisite reductions (Bard, Dancer, Arithmetician, Onion Knight, Mime, & Dark Knight)
20.) Bard & Dancer improvements + gender equality changes
21.) Arithmetician: Arithmeticks nerfs + Stat buffs
22.) Onion Knight improvements
23.) Dark Knight: HP buffs; new "Greatsword Lore" Support ability; misc nerfs
24.) AI Swiftness-related bugfixes
25.) AI equipment selection improvements
26.) AI ability selection improvements


SPECIFIC CHARACTER IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) Ramza improvements
2.) Lavian, Alicia, & Ladd improvements & changes
3.) Guest characters no longer reset their EXP and JP when they leave and rejoin the party
4.) Lategame characters start with much more JP
5.) Mustadio can equip Guns regardless of his class + misc improvements
6.) Luso improvements & changes; differentiation from Ramza
7.) Rapha & Marach improvements
8.) Agrias/Meliadoul/Orlandeau nerfs & buffs; Orlandeau differentiation from Agrias & Meliadoul
9.) Beowulf improvements
10.) Reis can use Dragon powers on non-Dragons at half effectiveness + misc improvements
11.) Cloud improvements
12.) Balthier nerfs & changes; differentiation from Mustadio; Barrage works with Doublehand & Dual Wield
13.) Byblos improvements


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F.) Complete List of Changes - Details and Commentary (long!)

This section lists all the changes done in this mod with details and commentary for each change. The
section before this one contains the same list, but with names only. Refer to the previous section if
you're looking for an overview of all changes. Refer to this section if you're looking for the details
and reasoning!


GENERAL GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) PSP spell effects slowdown fix:

- The PSP will no longer slowdown while spellcasting VFX are playing, so audio and visuals will
remain in sync!

(Thanks Archaemic and Eternal248!)


2.) Controllable "Guest" characters:

- "Guest" characters are now controllable by the player. No more AI allies ruining your strategies and
getting themselves killed!

In some cases Guest characters were left uncontrollable where it felt appropriate - for example,
when encountering friendly strangers and monsters in the wild who haven't "joined" you yet (such as
Boco). Also, characters you convince to join your team in the middle of battle (for example, with
the "Entice" skill) won't be immediately controllable.


3.) Quicker spell & skill casting speeds:

- Spell and skill casting speeds have been increased by "one step". For example, Curaja went from
Speed 10 to Speed 15. Anything that was already Speed 25 or faster was left unchanged (except in
cases where a speed up was needed to avoid a tie with a stronger skill).

This change is intended to make later game spells *actually usable* without having a large effect on
game balance. Personally, I almost never used anything slower than the -ra spells in vanilla FFT,
because the casting time just wasn't worth it. This change fixes that!

See wotltweakv2.52_skill_casting_speeds.txt (in Spoilers) for the complete list of casting
speed changes.

This change affects only player classes - not monsters or NPC classes (but enemies using player
classes benefit from it, too. So enemy Black Mages and Summoners are more dangerous than before).


4.) JP Boost always in effect:

- The "JP Boost" ability now applies at all times - you will always gain JP as if the ability were
equipped. I've also removed the actual ability from the game, since equipping it now would be
pointless.

JP Boost is one of those catch-22 abilities like Sprint Shoes from FF6 - you feel bad if you don't
equip it because you are leaving JP on the table, but you feel bad if you DO equip it because you
could have equipped something that makes you more powerful in battle instead. The game is grindy
enough already without inflicting this "no win" choice on the player!


5.) Treasure Hunter always in effect & always finds the better item:

- The "Treasure Hunter" ability now also applies at all times - you will always find the item when you
step on the item tile, as if the ability were equipped. And it will now always award the rare item
(instead of awarding you a garbage common item most of the time). In other words, there is no longer
a danger of getting a bad result on a unique item and having to reload your game!
(Thanks Xjamxx for the "Treasure Hunter rare minimum brave" ASM hack!)

Note that this applies only to human characters - monsters under your control still cannot find
items. Also, enemy characters will now never find these treasures (they will no longer rob you of
the chance to claim them yourself).
(Thanks Xifanie for the "Treasure Hunter is Player only" ASM hack!)

During playtesting, I found that making Treasure Hunter always find the rare item caused me to equip
it on all my characters at all times "just in case", so I ended up with the same catch-22 problem as
JP Boost. I felt bad for using the ability (because I could be using something cool that empowers or
differentiates my characters instead), but I also felt bad for NOT using the ability (because I'm
leaving items behind). It wasn't a fun situation, so it had to go!

Though it's no longer an ability you equip, the rest of this document will still use the term
"Treasure Hunter" (or "treasure hunting") to refer to finding items on the ground during battle.


6.) No missable items or spells:

- All the various missable items in the game are no longer missable*! You no longer have to remember
to use Steal or Treasure Hunter in specific, non-repeatable battles, or play the game with a
walkthrough handy just in case you miss something.

See wotltweakv2.52_unique_and_multiplayer_items.txt (in Spoilers) for the complete list of these
items and where they can now be found, if you want to be spoiled. Though these items are no longer
missable*, you will still have to go hunting for them, as they aren't on the critical path!

* Yes, you can still permanently miss items by dismissing Agrias, Beowulf, or Reis from your team.
You can also sell unique items, losing them forever. Don't do that!

- Oh yeah, the Ultima and Zodiark spells are no longer missable as well. They can now be purchased
with JP like any other skill (or you can still learn them the old way, if desired).


7.) Multiplayer items are obtainable in the campaign:

- All 40 items that were available exclusively in multiplayer can now be obtained in the campaign!
These items have been sprinkled across all the optional maps and quests in chapter 4. They are not
missable, but they ARE unique. In other words, there is exactly one copy of each of these items
obtainable in the campaign.

See wotltweakv2.52_unique_and_multiplayer_items.txt (in Spoilers) for the complete list of
multiplayer items and where they can now be found, if you want to be spoiled.
The short answer is: look for these items on optional, repeatable battle maps.

(Thanks Xjamxx for the "Treasure Hunter 9-bit rare items" and the "ENTD 9-bit equipment items" ASM
hacks!)


8.) All rare (but not unique) items can be purchased at the end of the game:

- You can now purchase items that were previously obtainable only with the Poach or Steal abilities.
These items appear at the end of the game, after the original final shop update (now there are two
more shop updates after it). They are distributed throughout the shops based on their item type (for
example, the Zwill Straightblade can be purchased anywhere other Knives can be). Also, their prices
have been reduced to be more balanced based on their power level (previously they were artificially
inflated since the player was only expected to buy them at half price from Poachers' Dens).

Of course, you can still get this stuff "early" by using Poach and Steal.

- The exception is the Defender, which was the only Knight Sword in this category. Knight Swords
aren't normally purchased in shops, so adding it felt like a super weird one-off. So instead, it
will drop as a war trophy after a particular chapter 4 story battle (against a foe who wields a
Defender). You will still need to use Poach if you want multiple copies.

In addition, some of these items will now randomly appear equipped on high level enemies at the end
of chapter 4 and in Midlight's Deep.


9.) Broken and Stolen equipment can be repurchased at the Poachers' Den:

- Equipment items that are stolen from you, thrown by you, or broken (either by enemy Knights or by
the Iaido skillset) will appear in the Poachers' Den, allowing them to be purchased back. Thus, you
no longer have to reset the game if you lose a unique item to an enemy Knight (such as my fricken
Genji Armor!!). As part of this change, all unique items have been given (super high) prices, so you
can't buy them back for 5 gil.

Note: Previous versions of this mod made AI Knights less likely to purchase the various Rend
equipment skills (such as Rend Weapon) so that the player would be less likely to be hosed by
them. This change has been removed now that equipment breaking only hoses you for the battle,
not permanently. Enjoy!


10.) Poachers' Den now opens earlier + rare item chance raised to 50%:

- The Poachers' Den now opens up in chapter 2 instead of chapter 3. Playtesting revealed that waiting
until chapter 3 was simply too long now that jobs open up faster (allowing you to unlock Poach
earlier - see "US PS1 Version balance updates restored", below), and now that broken and stolen
equipment items are added to the Poachers' Den (making you *want* access earlier).

- Also, the Poach ability will now give you the rare drop just as often as the common drop, so that
you'll get interesting and useful items more often throughout the game with this ability. Enjoy!


Opt1.) Optional Feature: Only fight random encounters when you want to (Smart Encounters):

If you opt in to this feature, you will fight random encounters only when you want to! Walking past
green dots on the map will never trigger a random battle, but stopping ON a green dot always will.
So if you want to fight a battle, click ON the green dot; if you don't want to fight a battle, then
click on a dot BEYOND the green dot to pass through it safely!
(Thanks Xifanie for the "Smart Encounters" ASM hack!)

The benefits of this feature are:
- It's entirely up to you when you want to grind vs when you want to advance in the story.
- You have more control over the difficulty. Story battles will be more difficult if you fight fewer
random battles (gaining less EXP).

If you want this feature, apply the wotltweakv2.52_opt1_smart_encounters.ppf optional patch file
(in the "Optional Patches" folder).

Yes, this means that they are technically no longer "random" battles, but the rest of this document
will still use that term.


Opt2.) Optional Feature: Enemies no longer scale to your level (Encounter Unscaling):

If you opt in to this feature, enemies will no longer scale to your party level in random battles.
Instead, they will have preauthored levels based on their monster type and the location of the
battle. For example, Chocobos in Mandalia Plains random battles will always be level 3.

The benefits of this feature are:
- If you are looking to grind, you can choose the level of your opponents.
- Random battles won't become harder than story battles, so story battles will feel more significant.

Note this does not affect multiplayer battles. This also doesn't affect "rare" random battles (such
as the all ninjas battle at Araguay Woods), which no longer felt special or interesting when I tried
them without scaling.

If you want this feature, apply the wotltweakv2.52_opt2_encounter_unscaling.ppf optional patch file
(in the "Optional Patches" folder).

See wotltweakv2.52_encounter_unscaling.txt (in Spoilers) for details on how levels were determined
for each monster type in each location.



GLOBAL BALANCE IMPROVEMENTS:

1.) US PS1 Version balance updates restored:

The US PS1 version of the game had additional balance updates added to it that, for whatever reason,
were forgotten about for the PSP version. If you originally played the PS1 version (which is
probably most of us), then these adjustments restore the game you're more familiar with. If you
didn't, then these adjustments make the game more playable and fair than you remember.

Below is a quick summary of the adjustments. Some of these will be repeated elsewhere in the readme
wherever they are relevant:

- Ramza, Delita, and Orran are slightly buffed
- Cloud is significantly buffed!
- Summon spells have much quicker casting times and deal more damage!
- Induration, Graviga, and Meteor have quicker casting times (and Meteor deals more damage)
- A few of the more infamous bosses are slightly nerfed; others are slightly buffed
- The final boss has slightly higher speed and slightly lower physical attack power
- Lower JP costs for several skills and abilities
- Lower JP requirements for job levels
- Lower job level requirements for job unlocks
(however, in this mod, the PSP version's higher enemy Job and JP levels are maintained)*

* Note: Reducing job requirements normally has the side effect of reducing AI character job levels,
because the game uses those prerequisites to determine job levels when generating characters.
However, one of the other goals of this mod is to increase the variety of AI skill and ability
use. Thus, an ASM edit has been added that causes the game to add +1 job level to each job
prerequisite and more JP on top of that when generating AI characters, in order to maintain
the PSP version's enemy job levels and skill variety.

There's one US PS1 change that was NOT implemented: the ability to steal Elmdore's Genji equipment.
Instead, the Genji equipment is a guaranteed reward elsewhere in the game (like all unique items,
they can no longer be permanently missed).


2.) Gender equality: female and male characters now have the same base stats:

The base game infamously made female characters much worse at physical classes and male characters
slightly worse at magic classes. This was theoretically "balanced" by giving Dancers exclusive
physical-enhancing abilities and giving Bards exclusive magic-enhancing abilities, but in practice
this was not enough of an incentive to "switch sides". In other words, if you had a female character
as a physical class like Knight, it was _always_ a better choice to have a male character there
instead.

This has been corrected by making the following adjustments:

- Female base stats gain +1 Power and +2 HP (to match male characters).
- Male base stats gain +1 Magick and +1 MP (to match female characters).
- Bards and Dancers now have access to both sets of stat-boosting support abilities.
- Female-only equipment is gone. Bags, Hair Adornments, Perfume, and Lip Rouge can now be equipped by
specific classes, like all other equipment (see "Gender equality: female and male characters now
have access to the same equipment", below, for more details).

The last bit of inequality has to do with the Steal Heart ability, which only works on opposite
gender characters. Since there were more male enemies in the base game than female enemies, female
characters could make better use of this ability. Thus, a few generic male enemies have been changed
to female in several battles to balance the gender ratio.

Note: Ramza previously had the best of both worlds (male Power and HP, female Magick and MP), but
now everyone has that. In order to ensure Ramza is a bit more special, his base stats have
been boosted. See "Ramza improvements", below.


3.) Standardized levelup Stat Growths + initial randomization removed:

FFTactics has a stat "Growth" system that is never explained to the player. Whenever you gain a
level, you gain permanent increases to your base stats based on the job you were using when the
level was gained. So far so good, but the problem is these bonuses are not intuitive (for example,
the Bard has terrible MP Gr