Ran'jit's strength makes no sense

[Rasikko]

Regarding spoiler:

Emet-Selch stated in the ShB story that Lahabrea became weaker because he so often switched bodies, while Emet-Selch prefer being in one body for as long as possible, and in the same form. That might be why Zenos could overpower Elidibus so, but it doesn't really account for Zenos also having switched bodies, so I don't know. We'll have to wait and see in future story patches I guess.

Quote/banter during a MSQ:

I think his overwhelming power is augmented by his temperament. It is totally Luca Blight-ish.

[Iscah]

I had wondered that myself. Where is the Source's reflection of Ran'jit? Most of the recognizable alternate selves we've seen of people so far were actually pretty similar to their Source counterparts, so one would think we would know if we'd run into (or run afoul of) him.

The only recognisable counterparts we've met (aside of Ardbert) are also all "utility NPCs" and one step above being a joke character. They don't even try to separate Mowen's shop from Rowena's at a gameplay level - it all just gets filed under "Rowena's collectibles" and they somehow pay you identical currency.

I wouldn't expect to find a counterpart Ran'jit any more than any other character.

The true source of Ran'jit's power is definitely his eyebrows. By having those, he has proven to us that SE is indeed capable of giving us Highlander models with eyebrows. Cat's out of the bag.

If you look up his character data, he's not a Highlander - in fact it seems he's not an 'anything', just a custom model that integrates bits of Highlander NPC design. (I think he looks like he-the-person could be Highlander x Xaela.)

They've always had the ability to do a lot more with unique NPC faces than they can with giving extra modular customisation to players.

[Verlyn]

The Jesters could have been the dangerous enemy duty...

Oh man, I'd have been down for that.

The FF9 reference was so wasted with them ;_;. I was like, the whole time, "$@%# they gonna merge, they gonna merge . Meltigemini goooo!" and then we just kinda mowed them like a lawn and that was that.

[Frizze]

The FF9 reference was so wasted with them

Unpopular(?) opinion alert. I think any FF9 reference is a wasted reference. That might be the most forgettable game ive ever played. I didnt remember there were jesters until i read this. Even now, as im typing this, im having a hard time remembering anything after the prima vista leaves that first town. I know there was a 2nd(and 3rd probly?) disc to the game, and i dont remember anything that happens. Was there a final boss? Probably, but while i remember zeromus(who gets introduced basically when its time to fight him and is given no characterization in the game at all) and i remember ultimecia(similar situation with a late introduction and little interaction with the rest of the story and is additionally in a game i only ever played through once), right now i would have to look up who you fought at the end of 9.

[Cilia]

Unpopular(?) opinion alert. I think any FF9 reference is a wasted reference. That might be the most forgettable game ive ever played. I didnt remember there were jesters until i read this. Even now, as im typing this, im having a hard time remembering anything after the prima vista leaves that first town. I know there was a 2nd(and 3rd probly?) disc to the game, and i dont remember anything that happens. Was there a final boss? Probably, but while i remember zeromus(who gets introduced basically when its time to fight him and is given no characterization in the game at all) and i remember ultimecia(similar situation with a late introduction and little interaction with the rest of the story and is additionally in a game i only ever played through once), right now i would have to look up who you fought at the end of 9.

I have to disagree. While IX isn't without its problems (too much focus on Garnet, for one), it's still a very well-made and memorable game with a cast of memorable characters (mostly; again, Garnet gets too much focus at the cost of everyone else except for Vivi and Zidane).

There are 4 discs to IX like VIII before it. The final boss was Necron (or the "Darkness of Eternity"), essentially the concept of death, and is well-remembered for just how out of the blue his appearance is (he's never hinted at any point in the story before you have to fight him).

I'd suggest a full playthrough if you haven't done so yet. There are more similarities than just the jester duo; there are parallels between Garland's plot in IX and the designs of the Ascians.

[Berteaux_Braumegain]

Character limit

As much as I love the MSQ, the one thing that irritates me is Ran'jit's ability to for some reason beat us. I can kind of accept that Zenos can considering he has his own version of the echo and is known to be overwhelmingly powerful, but I can't really accept Ran'jit being even more powerful than the guy who singlehandedly(?) defeated Thordan and Shinryu possessed by Zenos, especially being backed by the scions. Heck you even fought Omega, you know, the guy who fought a calamity level Shinryu

He may be the general of the largest army in the world (A laughable statement since when we storm Eulmore we fight mostly civilians and maybe half a dozen or a dozen soldiers), but that's like saying you're the biggest goldfish in the bowl, it's a small world and even though it has its hardships I highly doubt such a guy would be able to defeat the WOL backed by the scions, disregarding how he one shots everyone by some bs. I like the story but I really wish they would leave out the forced defeats, he shouldn't even hold a candle to the WOL and if they wanted to create a believable antagonist they could have done something involving the light wardens

He didn't really ever "defeat" the Warrior of Light/Darkness, as I recall. He just kind of cutscene stunned them during the fight in Lakeland and then we never really fought him seriously at any other point because time was of the essence and/or keeping Ryne away from him was vital to the success of our mission. I don't see what he did the first time around as being much different from, say, Seiryu catching you in fetters for several seconds to hit you with his big water attack.

Also, keep in mind that the Warrior of Light/Darkness probably goes about fighting Primals/Auspices/Lightwardens in a different way from regular people. We've never hit a regular person with a Blade of Light, for example... unless you're a Paladin, I guess!

[YianKutku]

Also, keep in mind that the Warrior of Light/Darkness probably goes about fighting Primals/Auspices/Lightwardens in a different way from regular people. We've never hit a regular person with a Blade of Light, for example... unless you're a Paladin, I guess!

Come to think of it, that's true. The closest we (or rather, Alisaie) had were against the Warriors of Darkness in 3.4, and even then by that time Ardbert's crew were "like Ascians" (in terms of being souls possessing other bodies at will, like Minfilia said). Other than that, Blades of Light have always been used against Ascians, Sin Eaters, and their ilk. (Not sure if they'd even work on any other type of foe.)

Given what happened to Magnai, Y'shtola is significantly more brutal than us, in many ways. (And then there was Lyse popping out a MNK LB against Fordola.)

[Alleo]

He didn't really ever "defeat" the Warrior of Light/Darkness, as I recall. He just kind of cutscene stunned them during the fight in Lakeland and then we never really fought him seriously at any other point because time was of the essence and/or keeping Ryne away from him was vital to the success of our mission. I don't see what he did the first time around as being much different from, say, Seiryu catching you in fetters for several seconds to hit you with his big water attack.

I would have loved that fight much more if it ended with us "defeated" as in giving up the fight to protect the scions that were down. With that we could not do much and have to take attacks from him so that they wont hit them and then at a certain point Thancred will cutscene jump in and the rest happens as it did before. This way its not that surprsing that we can stomp him later on. We simply dont have someone to protect on our side and can go all out.

[Gemina]

I like scripted defeats when they are done correctly. The thing is though they already did this with Zenos in 4.0... twice. So having one come by way of Ran'jit was/would be rather stale. I don't even consider this part of the MSQ a scripted defeat. Plot armor goes both ways, and Ran'jit has a ton of it.

I did like that they went away from the possibility of another rival for the WoL, and more or less made Ran'jit Thancred's opponent. It has been established that Zenos is our rival, and I won't be having some stupid old man take his place!

[Raqrie_Tohka]

Yeah but can he win against Hildibrand Manderville's father, who is also ridiculously strong?