Division Rankings rambling.

Because I'm too lazy to get on GameFAQs and find the Contenders topic or whatever. I just finished writing the FF12:RW stat topic, so it's on my mind and I wanted to ramble about Divisions.

Due to the RTS recharge times on the PCs, they're basically all coming into fights with a bunch of OPB skills and hoping that it's enough to take out their opponents before their reduced to using physicals. With creative equipment and passive-skill choices, most of them can muster up a decent strategy.

Vaan - When I first looked at him and saw TimeSlip, I thought he'd just be a Stop status-whore, but Stop's duration is so short (less than a 'turn'), it just isn't worth it. Instead, he's relying more on his Damage+Stat-Steals for a fun buffing game that adds up quickly. Dervish doubles his already gamebest-speed (not quite that good in practice), so he's basically a fast debuffer with decent durability. Obviously, his damage is better after debuffing, so he's better in a longer fight. He can also hit all the main elements with his weapons, so he's probably a High Middle.

Penelo - Penelo is... interesting. She has one damage move, Holy, that she can use once every 25 seconds. In a game where one 'turn' averages out to 2.7 seconds. Along with her lolwhut Speed and Durability, she's obviously a Light. But she's got a few things in her favor. She can buff Holy up to some pretty respectable damage with Mystic Dance (247 damage just barely makes a OHKO with the 2.5x average is 245). She gets 1.8x damage against Flyers. She also has 100% Disable status, which lasts 10 seconds, possibly allowing her the time to recharge for a second Holy if need be. Also... Infinite Healing~! Though the actual unlimited spell, Cure, is pretty meh Healing (20%-ish) and slow. But she immunes Silence! Still, could make a High Light.

Kytes - Kytes is Vaan's little orphan friend. He actually appears in FF12 (it's okay, I forgot that too until I looked it up). He's also got more damage options than anyone in the cast and it breaks the 3-turn averages. Flare->Firaga->Thundaga->Blizzaga->Stonega->Bio is pretty ridiculous, especially considering that Flare can just break the OHKO mark with the right equipment set-up. Though it's not particularly speedy. He also has the best selection of status options in the game, but Silence is the only one really helping him. Complete glass cannon though. Status-bait too. Probably a mid-range Heavy.

Filo - Vaan's other, more annoying orphan friend. Another fast debuffer, though not as good as Vaan. She doesn't absorb the stats that she debuffs, after all. Not a lot of status or elemental options either. Only thing in her favor is that she does 1.3x damage to Melee fighters (and takes less damage from them too!). She's made of tissue paper to ranged fighters though. High Light/Low Middle.

Llyud - Guy with wings. Literally had his personality stolen. He's this game's take on a Dragoon. Lancet's HP-draining is pretty meh, but it's there. His skills recharge fast, so he might get a few more of them off than the rest of the cast. Especially if turtles for a while with Vanishga (can't attack, can't be attacked, but his recharge meters keep ticking!). Has the advantage against Melee-types like Filo. That's it! The better speed and durability make him a more solid Low Middle.

Balthier - Fast! Durable-ish! Auto-wins against pure Melee-types due to re-applicable infinite 100% Immobilize. Average damage, some buffing, and 2-turn 100% Disable status. Immune to Blind! Spoiling Melee-range fighters alone nets him High Middle.

Fran - My kneejerk was 'Man she sucks'. But that's mostly just her status-game. Kytes just does it better. All of her status requires her to use a 'turn' to add the status to her weapon and -then- she can apply it 100% with her slow-ish physical until it wears off. And none of the statuses are all that great or long-lasting. However, she can pull near-OHKO damage off in turn 1 with Barrage+Hunter's Monograph (241), so she's a Heavy. Crazy. She also has a shot of near-full Healing to outlast most of the cast. Durability's not great. Low Heavy.

Ashe - Cast-best dueller. Due to the weird RW damage formula, if she equips the FullForce passive (increased Str/Mag when at full health), she can do crazy overkill damage with an opening Pyrotechnics attack. However, she's also the lucky PC who got the Ribbon, so it's quite possible she'll need to opt for Monarch's Monograph for status immunity instead of FullForce. She's the only PC who can hit Physical and Magical defenses with any decent proficiency. And all of her attacks are innately GT. She also has Hastega and Regenga to balance out the skillset. She's fairly average durability/speed though, and if something pokes her before she can use Pyrotechnics+FullForce, then she's doing about half the damage. High Heavy/Low Godlike.

Basch - It's Captain Basch! Physical durability of the gods + Protectga/Shellga/Regen! He also gets damage that actually registers with his basic physical, though it's thunder-reliant. Alternately, he can spam Flash of Steel fairly regularly (once every four turns!) with some awesome front-ended damage from Shining Ray if he forgoes the Tyrfing for the non-elemental Excalibur. His speed ends up pretty average in practice, so he's not too bad off. He also has the '1.3x Str when user's HP is below 25%' passive ability to deal with stallers. Just lasting long enough to get off more than one use of Shining Ray is probably enough to get to Heavy.