Trying to pick up Shantotto as one of my many mains

[Reaperfan]

If you're looking for an overview of Shantotto basics, then PaperMoonLily wrote a nice wall of text in the FAQ thread that is the closest thing we have to a guide here on the Shantotto boards (can be found here, at the bottom of the page). It covers the uses of bio and bind, as well as the actual advantages you can gain from being hit by opponent's attacks (It is also probably the only place that you will read about stun being of any use ).

Gameplay wise, you'll want to keep on the defensive and utilize your crit boosting abilities. Utilize your block to its full potential, and learn how to punish the moves of every other character. Riposte makes Retribution and A Couple of Attacks do ridiculous amounts of damage, and I'm 90% sure that Sneak Attack will activate whenever Bio is sapping an opponent's brave. Also, Snooze and Lose is a must-have ability. It will force your opponent to make mistakes, and with Shantotto being such a punish-reliant character you will need all the openings you can create.

For her accessories, try various builds. She benefits greatly from anything that allows non-aggressive gaining of bravery as well as builds that increase the time she spends in EX mode so that she can abuse her Manafont. Some examples of builds that work well for Shantotto would be the popular perma-EX build, a build that gives brave boosts on dodges/quickmoving/stage destruction/etc, or some combination of the two ideas of EX and passive brave boosts (like the one I am currently testing that uses the Bravery Regen ability). Her equipment will want to compliment the accessories you chose to use. If using accessories for quick bravery gain, go with something like Claustrum for the brave boosts. If you work with her EX mode, go with Nirvana. Heck, if you have the spare CP, you could even go with the Equip *Insert Weapon Name Here* abilities to give her things like Heaven's Cloud, Excalibur, or Adamant Chains that could also benefit these ideas.

Summons also play a great part in Shantotto's game. Mostly I've found that the summons that benefit her the most are the ones that boost your bravery, with Ifrit, Bahamut, Pupu, Gilgamesh, Tiamat, Behemoth, and Titan being personal favorites . Some of the good defensive summons for her would be Demon Wall for bravery protection, Mandragora if you're using chip damage alot, or Malboro to force them to keep their distance.

Hope this helps!

[Scott]

O.o Please explain how you mean "annoying sterotypical MMO character". I don't understand.

The way she acts, the way she talks, it's all something that reminds me of crap fantasy, which, most MMO's tend to be. Crap fantasy includes things like Harry Potter and Twilight.

In short, and very simply put, I suppose you could say she isn't Japanese enough for my liking, but that would be a gross understatement of my true hatred for Shantotto.

Don't get offended though, crap fantasy is merely a term I use to categorise things of a fantasy nature which I purely don't like for one reason or another. I admit it's entirely bias and only my opinion.

The closest thing to a European style fantasy I like is Castlevania. I say the closest thing because it wasn't made by Westerners. I'm basing thing purely on what I have played, mind you. There could be some awesome western fantasy things I like, but I can't put my finger on any of them at this current moment.

[Björk]

"Isn't japanese enough"? Jesus Christ.

[UltimaFox]

Scott and Kumo, leave your opinions about Shantotto's character/personality out of the thread; he wants to know how to use her not your hatred for her.

I do what Maester does; wait for an opening and cast Bind then Bio. Following Bio, I cast either the Aero or Water family of spells. By that time, the enemy's Brave should be low enough to do negligible HP damage (if he/she decides to attack) and thus allowing Bio to Break the opponent. This will give you (probably) enough Brave to access Shatotto's 2nd Tier magic or possibly her 3rd Tier.

Another good way to build up Brave is to Bind and follow up with Bio (again) but instead of casting a HP attack, use Retribution. If you land the first part of the attack, you deal some decent damage as well as generating tons of EX Force. If the second part of Retribution connects, follow through with Chase (if you're comfortable with Chase).

[Jirachi]

Thanks for the comments guys! I do usually try to find an opening for Bind, but that's where I meet trouble. Unless opponents are using a really laggy attack or unless I can predict a dodge (which I can't do very well) Bind never seems to hit.

[UltimaFox]

What I find useful is to test Bind against the lag-time of attacks, like Rough Divide or Jecht Blade. Just before the end of the attack is the perfect window to Bind the opponent. Attacks that render the opponent a sitting duck, like Mystic Flurry or pretty much all of Terra's/Kefka's spells, are other ways to find the window of opportunity to punish with Bind.

[Maester]

aborted fetus of a cross breed between a dog and a man

Why, is something burning?

[Jirachi]

Mmm. Still, how do Shantotto mains beat Kuja? I can't even touch him while he uses Ultima.

[UltimaFox]

My only idea is to avoid Ultima, get close, then use either Bio or Retribution. Bind isn't going to punish Kuja unless if he's using Flare/Seraphic Star.

[Jirachi]

I do try and do that, but he just moves so fast...oh well, I'll manage.