Gambits

Oh, one more thing! If you don't want me to fight on my own, you can always turn my Gambits off. With my Gambits turned off, I won't do anything until you give the word. You should really think about using Gambits for yourself, you know. They can make managing a battle a lot easier.

Penelo

Gambits (ガンビット, Ganbitto?) are functionality of the Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings battle systems. Combat can be controlled manually and programmed via the use of gambits; manually entered commands take precedence and their immediate execution will interrupt gambit programming. The gambit system is similar to the Macro system found in Final Fantasy XI.

Profile[]

Like simple computers, the player can create a list of commands and dependencies to be carried out automatically by the characters to simplify the combat system. All commands relate to (are targeted on) the character, the character's allies, or the enemies on-screen.

Gambits are a targeted "if A, then X" conditional statement/expression; each gambit on the list is evaluated and the first gambit that has a met, actionable condition will be executed. Each time the character gets a new turn, the list is reevaluated, starting with the first gambit.

Gambits are available once Penelo joins the party, though the player has to wait until Balthier and Fran join to be able to customize gambits.

Functionality[]

Gambits are composed of a target (Ally, Foe, or Self), a condition, and an action to be performed on the target only if the condition is met. If the condition is not met, the next gambit in the list is checked, and so on. The list is not in order of which action is taken; for example, a gambit with the "Foe:Flying" condition at the top of the gambit list will only activate when the party encounters a flying enemy. Actions can be either the use of items or the casting of magick and Technicks. There is no action for Quickenings and summons, which must be activated manually.

In or out of battle, each character can have each individual gambit in their list turned on or off at the gambit screen. At the gambit screen or in the manual control menu, the current state of the gambit list as a whole can be turned off and back on. Gambits can be changed at any moment during a battle, and gambits can always be interrupted by manual input.

The characters start with no list of gambits, gain two automatically through the early game, and can buy licenses for an additional ten gambit slots in the Augments section of the License Board(s).

Action: No redundant actions[]

Gambits contain certain hidden conditions to be intuitive and functional. Enemies cease to be targets once they die, and the gambit mechanism will not revive a character who is not KO'd or recast a status buffer if the character still has it, e.g. a gambit for Haste will not be activated if the character already has the Haste status. The gambit mechanism will not have two characters simultaneously cast a status buffer or revive a KO'd character twice; i.e. if two characters have a gambit set-up to revive a fallen party member, either with a Phoenix Down or Raise spell, and a party member is KO'd, only one of the characters will have their gambit to revive them executed.

The exceptions to the above rules are: Steal, Poach, Drain, and Syphon, which will re-activate at every turn, even if the foe is immune, or has no more items/MP to steal. Foe: HP = 100% attached to Steal, and one blow from a manually controlled character, or another party member with a Foe: HP = 100% attacked to Attack at the top of their gambit list, will ensure that the stealer will look further down the list for something to do after their first steal attempt. Enemy immunity requires the offending gambits be turned off or commands be issued to the characters to override their gambits with manual control.

Action: Constraints[]

A gambit will not be executed if its action cannot be performed because of the normal game rules. For example, a gambit with the action to cast the spell Haste will only be done if the character has enough MP to cast it and is not under a restrictive status, such as Silence, Disable, or other that prohibits the use of magick.

A similar constraint applies to the use of items, i.e. a gambit calling for the use of a Hi-Potion will only be performed if there is at least one in the party's inventory.

Steal, Poach, Drain, and Syphon are not exempt from this condition as they are from the other.

Canceling[]

A character may cancel an action enacted by a gambit if a higher-priority gambit's conditions are fulfilled. For example, the character has a gambit, high on the list, to Attack the nearest foe, and one below that to poach foes with < 10% HP. If the party is attempting to poach a foe, and a higher HP foe comes near, the character will abandon their poaching, and rush off to Attack the new foe. This is also a good example of the difference between order of execution and order of listing (and therefore priority).

If the order of these gambits is reversed, canceling will not happen; characters will attack when enemies are first sighted, even though Attack is second on the list, the "Foe: HP < 10% - Poach" gambit cannot get in the way, because of its condition, and Poach will be activated instead of Attack as soon as and for as long as there is an appropriate target in range.

The exceptions to canceling an action due to priority are all commands the player inputs manually. Any command the player gives to the character will be executed if possible, regardless of gambits.

Character movement is not considered a command for the purposes of interrupting actions; spell casting in particular will root characters in place, and the only way to avoid characters beginning a spellcast is to turn off their gambits temporarily or to hold down to escape. This does not halt spellcasting already in progress.

List of gambits[]

There are many different gambits. Initially, the party starts with few to work with, but as the game progresses, the party can find or buy more.

In the original release, new gambits are available for purchase from both regular and specialized shops throughout the game after the following events:

Gambits are also occasionally found in treasure chests in this version.

In the Zodiac versions, all gambits are available for purchase after the player gets trapped in the Nalbina Dungeons. However, gambits are now only sold at specialized gambit shops, namely Yamoora's Gambits, Morning Star Gambits, Bashketi's Gambits, Lebleu's Gambits, and Waterfront Gambits. In addition, gambits can no longer be found in chests.

In both versions, Burrogh's shop inside the Barheim Passage carries a limited number of Gambits marked with an asterisk (*) in the tables below.

Ally Gambits[]

These gambits are under the blue tab of the gambit menu. All conditions require a party member to be under a certain condition.

Foe Gambits[]

These gambits are under the red tab of the gambit menu. All conditions require an enemy to be under a certain condition.

Self Gambits[]

These gambits are under the yellow tab of the gambit menu. All conditions require the user to be under a certain condition.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings[]

Gambits return, but the system is heavily simplified. The player can set one gambit per group leader, and once this is done the character will keep using the skill unless they are being directly controlled by the player. Gambits can be set in the Equip screen any time during battle.

Behind the scenes[]

Hiroyuki Ito was in charge of creating the battle system and his motivation for the gambit system was to create a "single-player online game" where the player would have independently acting party members who would still act the way the player wanted them to. The gambit system works on the same basic programming algorithms used for the monsters in the SNES Final Fantasy games.^[1] In RPGs with command-based systems; players would just press one button to grind through, and thus Ito thought that it might be more fun to provide a seamless, semi-automated battle system instead. The developers thus carried over the old Final Fantasy IV gambit prototype, made it more complex, and made it so users configure it with their characters. The reason the developers chose to use it for Final Fantasy XII in particular was because of the seamlessness they wanted to achieve with the game. Though purely command-based battle systems are simple on the development side, for a "single-player MMO" the player had to be able to move around while also performing an action.^[2]

Producer Hiroaki Kato has lamented that the gambit system is complex, and thus difficult to implement in other titles. Regardless, he would want to use the mechanics somehow, maybe in a different form, even if the system is difficult to develop around.^[3]

Automating stealing via the gambit system is something players strive to do, but the stealer will keep stealing even when the target has nothing to steal. Thus, many players opt to use Foe HP 100% gambit to only steal from newly met enemies. The developers have commented that they did not want to make stealing too convenient, and wanted to keep that element of trial-and-error and the "healthy player frustration" that "makes the game fun." Thus, the imperfect stealing with gambits has been left in the International and HD versions.^[4]

Satorua Koyama, the lead battle programmer for Final Fantasy VII Remake, stated that for the next game, he intended to create an AI that could surpass the Gambit system in terms of being able to juggle a variety of techniques and magic.^[5]

Gallery[]

Gambits menu in The Zodiac Age.

Etymology[]

[view · edit · purge]A gambit is a device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage.

Citations[]