Wow, it's been quite a while since I last logged in. And it looks like the last post was mine, too. Apologies for bringing this one back from the dead, but the other DoS topic covers FF1, and I'm not sure whether it would take both games.
Anyway, I've been playing through the game again over the past few days,(A solo Maria) and thought of a lot of things concerning a run on this.
-Instant death attacks > Physicals > magic, for the most part. Most ID attacks are Matter elemental, and not many monsters resist it.(Only other one is Death, which is death-elemental) The earliest time to obtain one is at Salamand, where they sell Teleport. (Also useful to escape dungeons easily, but Cure may also be needed) The nice thing about this FF is that the ID attacks actually work. :P
-Solo or duo game is probably faster. Training is much quicker this way, and in a duo game, characters can be relegated to different roles. Either can work. (In my view, solo is fastest overall. Haven't tried a duo, but could work in theory.)
-Most important stats I've found are Spirit/Intelligence and Agility. Strength plays a role, though, in case enemies that resist the ID attacks are encountered. Maria seemed to have the best starting stats overall. HP shouldn't be much of a problem after the first few minutes.
-I don't know if Agility influences running success, but my guess is that it does. Any random encounter with a previous boss(Red Soul, Lamia Queen) is unrunnable, even if you kill them. Encounters with Adamantoise seems to be the exception.
-On that note, getting Fire may be a good idea, since most fights I couldn't run from were weak to Fire.(Mostly sets with Spectres) I remember getting one from a chest, so buying in Altair may not be necessary.
I also have a very rough outline for what to do, based on what I've played so far.
-Train in fists and/or swords. Knives(Particularly the Ripper) may be handy for fighting the Flans/Slimes/arbitrary gelatin desert with high defense of the day.
-Buy Teleport at Salamand. It's the earliest obtainable ID attack, and helps for leaving dungeons.
-Get Ancient Sword, and Diamond Shield as a drop from Adamantoise.(Not necessary, but it may be useful for evading stuff more often.)
-Ancient Sword is used for Red Soul.
-Get agility-boosting stuff. Gold Hairpin can be taken from Leila, and Black Garb can be found at the Cave of Mysidia.
-White Robe can be found early in the Mysidian Tower. It allows the wearer to resist Mind, Matter, Death, and Body elements, which pretty much means no more status ailments ever.
-Get Blood Sword.
-Pretty much set to the end of the game.
It's good? You've got to be jackin' me, Steve.
