Random encounter Random encounters , also known as random battles , are battles that occur when traveling from place to place on foot , and have been a recurring tradition in the " Final Fantasy " series . They can occur at any time when walking on the overworld or in a dungeon . The enemies a player can meet vary both on where they are in the game and the terrain they are on . For example , the forest may contain enemies not found in the plains . Some enemies have a very low encounter rate , and thus are almost impossible to find . There are several ways to prevent random encounters . The player could reduce or eliminate random encounters entirely by traveling on an airship or chocobo , equipping an equipment piece e . g . Molulu ' s Charm in " Final Fantasy VI " , or learning an ability e . g . GF Diablos ' s Enc - None ability in " Final Fantasy VIII " . Some games also have methods to raise the frequency of random encounters , which is useful for level grinding . In the very early games of the series , whenever the player character takes a step , there is a small chance that a random encounter will initiate . With this method , there is a possibility that the player can encounter an enemy with each consecutive step . Conversely , the player can traverse an entire dungeon floor without encountering a single enemy . This was corrected in later games by using an algorithm that chooses a random number between two set integers after an enemy party is fought . This number is the number of steps the player character can make before encountering the next enemy party . Appearances . " Final Fantasy " . After each battle the game generates a random number between 50 and 255 . For each step taken the value counts down . When the number hits 0 a random battle begins . There are certain map squares where battles always occur . These are the fixed encounter s and fighting a fixed encounter does not reset the value . The number resets whenever it hits zero and a random battle occurs , or when a game is started or reloaded . The number is not reset by entering a town . " Final Fantasy II " . In the " Origins " version and possibly also other post - NES versions , the game calculates a given number of steps until the next encounter using a random element . This number decreases every step until it gets to 0 when the player has a random encounter . This number is permanently stored and is also stored within save files . This means that if the game is reloaded , the player will always have the same amount of steps until the next encounter . The number of steps until the next random encounter is calculated after a battle . " Final Fantasy IV " . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . Random encounters work the same way as it did in the previous game . In certain parts of the story the party will encounter boss es while walking in the dungeon ( after fighting them in a boss battle ) to either escape them or find another way to beat them . " Final Fantasy V " . " Final Fantasy V " again determines the rate of random encounters with the " random battle counter " by setting a random number between " n " and 255 . Each step subtracts " n " from the Random Battle Counter and when the counter reaches zero , a random battle happens and a new value for the random battle counter is set . Each area has four possible battles ( enemy formations ) that may happen and the game rolls a randomly generated number between 0 and 255 to see which of the battles is drawn up . There are two commonly occurring battles ( 90 / 256 ) , one slightly rarer battle ( 60 / 256 ) and one rare battle ( 16 / 256 ) in each area . In some areas the player can fight only one kind of monster , which means that all four possible battles are exactly the same , so it makes no difference which of the identical battles the game draws up . The Advance version adds some new jobs to the roster , and the new job Oracle learns the ability Read Ahead that lowers the chance of random encounters . Another new job , the Gladiator , learns the Lure skill that makes random encounters more frequent . Neither ability stacks , so it is pointless having multiple copies of the abilities equipped at the same time on different party members . The game has an encounter glitch that allows the player to avoid random encounters altogether . " Final Fantasy VI " . The game keeps a counter that increases each time a step is taken . Each step on the world map adds 192 to the counter ; walking in caves and other areas outside of world map where monsters can be encountered adds 112 . Each step , a random number between 0 and 255 is generated ; if the number is less than [ counter / 256 ] a random battle occurs . After each battle the counter is reset to 0 . A simulation gives an average number of 23 steps before each encounter ( smallest : 2 , max 92 ) . If the party member in lead has the Ward Bangle equipped the number added is halved . If Mog equips the Molulu ' s Charm the counter is not increased and no random encounters occur . A notable location of random encounters is the dinosaur forest north of Veldt . " Final Fantasy VII " . The game is divided into areas with different areas having different encounter rates . The world map is also divided into areas , and the player can see which area they are currently in from the menu . Each area can support up to six normal battles and four special formation battles ( Back Attack , Side Attack and Pincer Attack ) . World map areas can support a further four Chocobo battles . While moving on the field , a variable called the " Field Danger Counter " is incremented every so often . The higher the danger counter , the more likely a random battle is to occur . Some areas increase the danger counter at a larger rate than others . The difference is marked by a stat known as the area ' s encounter value . The danger counter is incremented every time a battle check is performed , which happens roughly three times per second when moving . Walking increases the danger counter by [ 1024 / Encounter Value ] per battle check and running increases it by [ 4096 / Encounter Value ] . Running is four times faster than walking , but while running the number of times the battle check is called is lower over the same distance , so one may find to have fewer encounters . A random battle will initiate if , during a battle check , a random number generated between 0 and 255 is less than [ Danger Counter * Enemy Lure Value / 256 ] . The Enemy Lure Value is a fraction between 2 / 16ths to 32 / 16ths , but is only altered through the Enemy Lure and Enemy Away Materia . The default value when neither is equipped is 16 / 16ths or 100 % . The Field Danger Counter is reset after each random battle and carries over from screen to screen . The world map has its own danger counter . The counter is incremented by [ Enemy Lure Value * 16384 / Encounter Value ] per battle check . The Enemy Lure Value is doubled if greater than 16 / 16ths , making enemy luring count for twice as much as it does on the field . Battle checks occur less often on the world map , but the higher increase of the danger counter makes up for this . Again , a random battle begins if , during a battle check , a randomly generated number between 0 and 255 is less than [ Danger Counter / 256 ] . Unlike the Field Danger Counter , the world map Danger Counter resets whenever the player leaves or enters the world map , which includes entering a town or dungeon or submerging while in the submarine . As soon as a random battle is going to occur , the following things are considered in order : On the world map the game first performs the Mystery Ninja check . If the player is in a forest there is a chance to face the Mystery Ninja as long as Yuffie hasn ' t been recruited . If the battle isn ' t a Mystery Ninja battle , the game next checks for chocobos ; if the player is on a chocobo track and has the Chocobo Lure Materia equipped , there is a chance to get a chocobo battle . The chance of a preemptive battle is worked out next . There is a base chance of 16 / 256 of getting a preemptive battle , but a mastered Preemptive Materia boosts this up to 64 / 256 . The maximum is 85 / 256 , roughly a 1 / 3 chance . If the area has any special formation battles ( Back Attack , Side Attack or Pincer Attack ) , the chance of getting them is calculated first ( after the Mystery Ninja and chocobo battles ) and the game will go through all possible special formation battles for the area in the following order : The game first checks for Back Attacks , where the enemy party gets the first turn ; then for the Side Attack , where the enemy is in the middle and the player characters on the sides ; and the final possible special formation battle is an Attack from Both Sides , where the player characters are surrounded by enemies . The game rolls a random number between 0 and 63 to determine if a special formation battle occurs and which of the special battles it is . If neither a special formation battle nor a chocobo battle happens then the normal battles are checked out of the possible normal battle formations , with one exception : If the player gets the exact same battle formation twice in a row the game will re - roll once for a new normal battle . If it ' s still the same battle no further re - rolls are done . The way encounters are decided on the world map is slightly different . Instead of a single random value being used for all types of special attack formations , they are checked individually . This means the chance of not getting a special formation on the world map is not the sum of the chances , but instead the three chances of not getting a Back Attack , not getting a Side Attack and not getting an Attack from Both Sides multiplied together . Random encounters occur generally all around the world map , except in the forest around North Crater , the forest around Bone Village , the coral area between the Sleeping Forest side of the Corel Valley and the Forgotten Capital , or on the bridges in Wutai . Random encounters don ' t happen if the player is riding a chocobo , submarine , Tiny Bronco or " Highwind " , but still occur while riding on the buggy . The player must travel a certain distance on the world map after an encounter or exiting a location before they can get into a random encounter . Encounters are divided by the world map area one is in ( displayed in the menu ) , and each area has four different sets . These sets are for grass , dirt or snow , beach , and miscellaneous . Miscellaneous terrain is often used for forests or deserts , though it is also used for the canyon terrain in the Cosmo Area and the Great Glacier Snow Field terrain considered a part of the Icicle Area . Due to the inescapable battles glitch , some random encounters are impossible to flee from . Battle encounters are skipped in the player opens the menu right when the battle was meant to initiate . This can lead to the repeating boss glitch , where the skipped random battle results in the player fighting a boss twice . Although not random encounter , if the player skips the Diamond Weapon boss , they will become stranded , unable to finish the game , as the scene where the Sister Ray is fired never triggers . Encounter rates were higher in the original Japanese version , and in future releases every area has had its encounter rate reduced by varying amounts . In later releases , random encounters have been removed from the square area of Sector 8 at the start of the game , and outside of Holzoff ' s cabin at the base of Gaea ' s Cliff . " Final Fantasy VIII " . Random encounters happen while on the world map and on the field and dungeons . While on the world map every step the player takes the game performs a check to decide whether a battle starts or not . There is a variable which increases each time the check is performed . If the variable + LocationMod is greater than a number randomly generated between 0 and 255 , a battle starts . LocationMod Diablos ' s Enc - Half reduces the encounter rate to a quarter ( despite its name ) , and Enc - None prevents all random encounters . The encounters with the UFO ? may look like a random encounter , but are in fact fixed . Therefore it is possible to trigger the encounters with the UFO even with Enc - None equipped . Generally the random encounters in forests are harder than the ones on the field , such as on the Balamb island T - Rexaur is only encountered in the forest near Fire Cavern and Ruby Dragon is only encountered in the forests of Centra region . In Ultimecia Castle the player can encounter most enemies fought throughout the game as random encounters . In Centra Ruins fighting Tonberries as random encounters is required in order to fight Tonberry King . In the Esthar region the enemies fought on the world map change : on the first visit the player fights Mesmerizes and Malboros , but after the Lunar Cry they have been replaced by Imps , Toramas and Behemoths . Some enemies are only encountered extremely rarely , such as the Chimera in the Dingo Desert . While on the world map the player can avoid random encounters entirely by walking on a road / railway track , taking a train , car , the mobile Garden or " Ragnarok " , or riding a chocobo . " Final Fantasy IX " . Unlike most previous games , the original version of " Final Fantasy IX " offered the player no ability or accessory to affect the rate random encounters occur . Many players wishing to acquire the Excalibur II , which can only be done in the first 12 hours of the game , will try to find ways to reduce the frequency of random encounters . One method is to tap the movement buttons in only small increments while walking on the world map , and one is unlikely to get into encounters . The possibility of random encounters on the world map is not eliminated this way , but is greatly reduced . Because the Ragtime Mouse encounters are unrelated to this trick , the player can force Ragtime Mouse encounters by tapping the button repeatedly while walking through forests filtering out regular encounters . Resetting the game when an unwanted encounter happens is another method that can used when not on the world map , as the chance to get into a random encounter is reset every time one enters a new screen , so whether or not one gets an encounter on one screen doesn ' t affect whether or not one will get one in the next screen . The 2016 re - release offers an option to turn off random encounters , making the previous methods unnecessary and greatly reducing the difficulty towards acquiring Excalibur II . The game has a few special type of random encounter , namely the encounters with the friendly enemies and the encounters with the Ragtime Mouse . These battles have a different battle music , and only occur under specific conditions . Friendly enemies are fought in certain areas only , and their appearance may be tied to whether or not the player has encountered the previous friendly enemies in the quest . Ragtime Mouse only occurs in forests , and has a limited number of appearances per part of the game or disc , so the player can ' t just battle around in forests and finish the quest on the first opportunity . Random encounters are avoided when riding Choco , the " Blue Narciss " or an airship . " Final Fantasy X " . Random encounter rate varies only little between areas and appears fairly constant throughout the game , unlike in most previous games where certain areas have noticeably more random encounters than others . Some enemies encountered randomly appear very rarely , such as Tonberry at the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth and Simurgh at the Djose Highroad , a feature of great annoyance to many players , as the Monster Arena quest requires the player to capture 10 of each enemy . It appears some enemies have a chance of being encountered in very specific parts of the area , and that the game resets the encounter order and frequency when a save is reloaded , letting the player battle some slightly different enemies if they try to reload their game . Random encounters can be avoided altogether with the No Encounters armor ability . It is especially useful when trying to dodge 200 lightning bolts on the Thunder Plains . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . Random encounters can be made more frequent with the Lure Bracer and be eliminated altogether with the Charm Bangle , although the Charm Bangle does not work in Via Infinito . The enemy groups possible to encounter depends on which chapter the player is in . Like in its predecessor some enemies only appear extremely rarely , making it difficult for players who want to Oversoul each enemy to complete Shinra ' s Bestiary . With the Lure Bracer accessory the base random encounter rate is raised by times 10 . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Random encounters return in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " despite having been absent from " Final Fantasy XIII " . Enemies appear on the field and engaging them begins a battle . If the player strikes the enemy on the field with their weapon , they start the battle in preemptive strike , gaining status buffs and first hit on the enemies , filling their chain gauges halfway . If the enemy engages the player on the field , the battle starts without any bonuses . If the player tries to run away by keeping distance to the enemy but runs out of time in the Mog Clock before they can get clear of the enemy , the battle starts without the player being able to use the Retry option . Certain areas are safe areas where there are no random encounters . Random encounters also don ' t happen during Live events . The Fragment Skill " Encounter Hunter " lets the player adjust the frequency of random encounters , and the Fragment Skill " Battlemania " increases the chance of encountering rare monsters . Enemies randomly spawn while traversing the terrain , and certain areas have higher spawn rates ( most notably in Chaos infusion s ) . If Lightning gets a preemptive strike , opponents start with 10 % less health when starting battle , or 25 % when performed unnoticed . Failure to get a preemptive strike results in the enemies starting with full health ( i . e . enemies strike first ) . There is a finite number of most enemies in the game , and they can be hunted to extinction . The last of a species is more powerful than the others of its type , and is known as the Last One . Different enemies spawn during different times of the day . " Final Fantasy XV " . While the majority of encounters are fixed , random encounters do still occur on occasion . Sabertusk s , Voretooth s , Saberclaw s , Havocfang s , Coeurls and Killer Bees will randomly attack depending on the player ' s location . Gigantoads will also randomly appear while it is raining in Duscae and Cleigne , though are slower to attack than the previous examples . Imperial dropships from Niflheim will randomly spawn and drop various troops and magitek armors at the party ' s location . These enemies will get progressively stronger throughout the game . The party will notify Noctis about incoming dropships , and they are slow to get to the ground , so they can easily be avoided most of the time . However , dropships can spawn while the party is already engaged in battle , distracting party members from notifying Noctis , and in general making the imperials harder to avoid . They can even spawn while the party is still fighting a previous dropship . Dropships can also drop their troops on the road , forcing the party to clear them if they want to drive past them . Dropship enemies will get progressively stronger as the player defeats them , eventually culminating in MA - X Angellus - 0 , a superboss that will only appear in chapter 15 . Most dangerous are the daemons that will randomly at night . While various daemons can spawn , the most common and dangerous are Iron Giants and later Red Giants . The Giants will regularly spawn in the middle of the road , forcing the party out of the Regalia . Iron Giants are level 30 and can appear as soon the game starts , all but forcing the player to rest for the night until they become strong enough to defeat them . Once the party has defeated an Iron Giant , Red Giants , some of the strongest enemies in the game , can start spawning in their place . It is also possible , while uncommon , for smaller daemons , such as Bombs and Tonberries , to spawn in tunnels on the road even in broad daylight , once again forcing the party out of the car . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . " Final Fantasy Tactics " has something akin to random encounters , even though it does not have dungeons or a traversable overworld . When the player travels over the world map they pass over the " dots " that signify battlefields . Traveling over those locations gives a chance of encountering a group of enemies in that location ' s battlefield . Each battlefield has unique weather conditions and possible enemy formations depending on the calendar and what chapter the player is in . " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . Random encounters occur on the world map . The player cannot flee from them , thus making " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " the first game in the series where the player cannot run from random encounters . The player can cycle through their whole sixteen member party however , and only gets a Game Over if everyone is killed . The player can avoid random encounters by riding on a chocobo . " Final Fantasy Legend II " . Like many other RPGs , the game features random encounters where the player will randomly engage into battles when traveling on the world map and through dungeons . " Final Fantasy Legend III " . The game features random encounters , the player will randomly battle monsters when traveling on the world map and through dungeons . The player is randomly thrown into battles when traveling through the world map and through dungeons . The Ninja class has abilities that can reduce the frequency of random encounters . " Bravely Default " and " " . The games features random encounters in the dungeons and world map , as well as when sailing the ship . Later revealed to be the power of the Celestial Being known as Altair , through the game configurations Tiz can alter the encounter rate . In " Bravely Second " , Vampire Castle , Dimension ' s Keep , Dimension ' s Cauldron , and Dimension ' s Hollow are the only locations where the encounter rate cannot be altered .