Balthier (Final Fantasy XII party member)

Balthier is a playable character in Final Fantasy XII, who joins with his partner, Fran, in the first dungeon, Garamsythe Waterway; they are the first permanent party members to join Vaan.
He is the weakest male party member. Balthier's HP growth and Strength are good though lower than Vaan's and Basch's. His Speed is the highest of the six main playable characters. His MP and Magick Power growth are low. Balthier is well-suited for close combat. Conversely, his low magick stats suggest he is ill-suited for healing or using black magick. When he joins, his starting level is determined by Vaan's current level. Balthier, alongside Vaan and Basch, have the best combo speed with the high-combo weapons, and thus are good candidates for job combinations that exploit this in The Zodiac Age version.
Even though Balthier's default weapon is a gun and he has gun licenses already learned, Balthier has the slowest action time, together with Penelo, when using a gun—all the other characters' action time with a gun is faster.Final Fantasy XII: Battle Ultimania He can equip other weapons that make good use of his strength and speed stat, such as daggers, ninja swords, bows, greatswords, and spears.
However, any stat differences can be made up with gear and the animation speed differences are negligible. Balthier can be built in any way the player wishes without drawbacks.
After winning a boss battle the currently alive members of the active party perform a victory pose depending on what weapon they are equipped with.
==Final Fantasy XII original==
====Initial data====
Name 	Initial Stats
Level 	Vaan's level +1
LP 	[Vaan's total LP + Fran's total LP]/2 - 135http://youtu.be/17ME_DLnk3Q?t=2m30s - Fran's initial LP is Vaan's Total minus 120. As Fran's initial LP is 131, Vaan's Total is 251. Fran's initial LP (131) plus LP from starting licenses (155) equals 286. [(251+286)/2]-135=133.5 or 133 without the decimal, which is Balthier's initial LP.The Piggyback Official Strategy Guide erroneously indicates the formula as being "(Half of Vaan's LP) + (Fran's LP - 135)". Final Fantasy XII Piggyback Official Strategy Guide. p63.
Magicks/Technicks	First Aid
Items 	—
Gil 	200
Gambits 	1. Ally: any ⇛ First Aid2. Foe: nearest visible ⇛ Attack
====Initial licenses====
Name 	Permits use of
Steal 	Steal
First Aid 	First Aid
Guns 1 	Altair, Capella
Guns 2 	Vega, Sirius
Shields 1 	Escutcheon, Leather Shield
Light Armor 1	Leather Cap, Leather Clothing
Light Armor 2	Headgear, Headguard, Chromed Leathers, Leather Breastplate
Heavy Armor 1	Leather Helm, Bronze Helm, Leather Armor, Bronze Armor
====Initial equipment====
Category 	Name 	Effect
Weapon 	Altair 	Gun, Attack Power +6, Evade +10, CT 51, Critical% 5
Off-Hand 	Onion Shot 	Attack Power +1
Helm 	Headgear 	Magick Resist +5, Max HP +20
Armor 	Chromed Leathers	Defense +5, Max HP +20
Accessory	— 	—
====Stats====
Level	HP 	MP 	Strength	Magick Power	Vitality	Speed
2 	99-103 	20-22 	25 	17 	24 	24
10 	277-311 	32-41 	29 	20 	27 	25
20 	630-725 	51-75 	34 	24 	31 	26
30 	1,084-1,261	71-109 	39 	28 	34 	28
40 	1,513-1,768	95-153 	44 	32 	38 	29
50 	2,198-2,581	115-189	50 	36 	41 	31
60 	2,803-3,299	134-223	55 	40 	45 	32
70 	3,146-3,702	149-247	60 	44 	48 	34
80 	3,542-4,168	163-271	65 	48 	52 	35
90 	4,082-4,808	173-285	71 	52 	55 	37
99 	4,691-6,044	177-289	75 	56 	58 	38
==Zodiac versions==
====Initial data====
Name 	Initial Stats
Level 	Vaan's level +1
LP 	[Vaan's total LP + Fran's total LP]/2 - 56
Magicks/Technicks	First Aid
Items 	—
Gil 	300
Gambits 	1. Ally: any ⇛ First Aid2. Foe: nearest visible ⇛ Attack
====Initial licenses====
Name 	Permits use of
Command 	Attack, Items
Steal 	Steal
First Aid 	First Aid
Guns 1 	Altair
Light Armor 2	Headgear, Headguard, Chromed Leathers, Leather Breastplate
====Initial equipment====
Category 	Name 	Effect
Weapon 	Altair 	Gun, Attack Power +6, Evade +10, CT 51, Critical% 5
Off-Hand 	Onion Shot 	Attack Power +1
Helm 	Headgear 	Magick Resist +5, Max HP +20
Armor 	Chromed Leathers	Defense +5, Max HP +20
Accessory	— 	—
====Stats====
Level	HP 	MP 	Strength	Magick	Vitality	Speed
2 	101-105 	34-39 	25 	18 	24 	24
10 	278-311 	65-90 	29 	22 	27 	25
20 	629-723 	116-180	34 	27 	31 	26
30 	1,079-1,255	168-272	39 	31 	34 	28
40 	1,505-1,758	232-387	44 	36 	38 	29
50 	2,186-2,566	288-485	50 	42 	41 	31
60 	2,787-3,278	339-574	55 	45 	45 	32
70 	3,127-3,679	377-638	60 	50 	48 	34
80 	3,542-4,168	163-271	65 	48 	52 	35
90 	4,056-4,777	441-741	71 	59 	55 	37
99 	4,661-5,495	453-752	75 	63 	58 	38
==Quests==
Balthier joins in Garamsythe Waterway with Fran. He can be used as the party leader and thus directly controlled in dungeons and on the overworld, but only Vaan is controllable in settled areas. If the player makes Balthier the party leader in the Garamsythe Waterway as he joins, inspecting the body on the floor yields a different comment depending on who the party leader is. Though Balthier declares himself the "leading man", there is never a need to use him as a leader, or in the active party after the party reaches Bhujerba.
During the boss battle inside Lhusu Mines where the player is prompted to flee, Ba'Gamnan's gang will prioritize attacking Balthier. If the player defeats the bangaa rather than flees, a unique scene occurs where Ba'Gamnan curses ar Balthier getting away. During the optional rematch against Ba'Gamnan's gang in the Nam-Yensa Sandsea, if Balthier is in the active party, Ba'Gamnan will target him.
In the boss battle atop Draklor Laboratory, Balthier comments on the boss summoning minions if he is in the active party (Always hiding behind your precious toys. Pity if something were to happen to them.).
==Behind the scenes==
Balthier's hair, sleeves, and earrings are static in the PlayStation 4 version of The Zodiac Age. This has been fixed for the PC version, where they move in the wind.
==Citations==
Category:Character gameplay in Final Fantasy XII