Ran'jit's strength makes no sense

[TankHunter678]

Compared to our strength I agree with you OP.

Pointless rant and possible spoilers ahead:

At this point in the story my willing suspension of disbelief is tossed out the window when characters like Ranjit can beat us. Especially in the method he did. We have tanked far more powerful attacks than his pathetic lightning both before and after fighting him. If characters like him and Zenos were introduced earlier in the story I could get behind a powerful foe that we need to get stronger and beat. But considering what he have under our belt at this point I can't accept some old man's power level is higher than ours comparing our feats and experience. I might be a bit unfair saying that but I did not and still do not accept how things went down with Ranjit. But whatever I will deal with it. Plus I will just pretend he did exploit the WoL 2 greatest weaknesses, unavoidable game mechanics and cut scene incompetence. /rant

Ran'jit's design is very much along the lines of an ancient master monk, including his abilities to seemingly sense the flow of energy around him in order to pierce through illusions (though this can be argued that due to him being part Sin Eater during the story he simply sees through most illusions by default) and be able to sense where to strike to disrupt the flow of energy in a person to incapacitate them. Which is precisely what he does when we first meet him and first fight him. We were basically beating him until he figured out how our energy flow worked which he commented on and then like as in a typical old martial arts movie or anime he struck us in the pressure point where he cut off the flow of our energy and incapacitated us.

It is not so much that he was actually more powerful then us, but rather his martial arts style was something that gave him an advantage. When we face him a second time Vauthry was using his control over Sin Eaters and partial Sin Eaters to basically override how they functioned normally as people. So Ran'jit was not even trying to figure out how to incapacitate us and fought us head on. So we just beat him like we should have beaten him back at Laxan Loft.

Though story wise it would have been better for Ran'jit to have died at the hands of Thancred. Thematically it would have been very fitting.

[LSSJGamer]

snip

I agree with you actually. Now that you explained it I am not as salty about it. Thanks for the explanation. Though my willing suspension of disbelief is still gone considering the type of attack we take in the 1st level of the new raid and we can still keep going. I think I will keep just a little salt... just a little.

[TankHunter678]

I agree with you actually. Now that you explained it I am not as salty about it. Thanks for the explanation. Though my willing suspension of disbelief is still gone considering the type of attack we take in the 1st level of the new raid and we can still keep going. I think I will keep just a little salt... just a little.

To be honest half the time we take those massive cinematic attacks and we survive I cannot help but think its like back in Preatorium where Hydaelyn basically buffs our defense so we can actually survive. Though its also worth noting that none of the primals or raid bosses actually try to figure out how to incapacitate us in a single blow unlike Zenos or Ran'jit.

[Big-Isaac]

The whole "Master Monk" trope is writ large, yes, but that by itself doesn't justify anything. Even before you take Hydaelyn's blessing into account, we're a soul that has been rejoined 7 times, meaning that we are supposed to be inherently superior to "normal" people. We see this again and again in every job quest line, with us eclipsing people who have decades of experience at a given job in mere days.
Us losing to Ran'jit is like current Goku losing to Master Roshi because the latter has "more experience"

[Zackneifein]

The whole "Master Monk" trope is writ large, yes, but that by itself doesn't justify anything. Even before you take Hydaelyn's blessing into account, we're a soul that has been rejoined 7 times, meaning that we are supposed to be inherently superior to "normal" people. We see this again and again in every job quest line, with us eclipsing people who have decades of experience at a given job in mere days.
Us losing to Ran'jit is like current Goku losing to Master Roshi because the latter has "more experience"

I don't see why people of the Source should be stronger than someone from the First or any other shard.

The reunion with Ardbert restore our soul and reinforce it enough to withstand the light, but doesn't mean we have any power up.
Ardbert and his companion was our equal (us with the Scion), and all of the Scion are elite fighter from the Source with 8/14 soul shards.

[LynMars]

Like many, I have issues with how Ran'jit was handled; it's one of the few missteps in the overall fantastic story.

There wasn't nearly enough information about him in the main story line to explain who he was or how his skillset worked, beyond he's been fighting sin eaters for decades and raised and trained multiple Minfilias. I don't even mind his power level or how his weird martial skill was unfamiliar enough to baffle the Scions for a time until we "figured it out", but the lack of info was more frustrating in this case than making him scarier. Possibly because of the issue with having had Zenos behave in similar fashions where we "have to lose the right way" as he consistently beat us over and over in Stormblood, and so Ran'jit felt like more of that same frustration.

I also feel like maybe Ran'jit started off decent-ish, but was hardened by the hopeless situation of the world, and his "love" for the Minfilias felt more like an abuser's; he trained them to fight and be vessels for the Oracle, not their own person, and Ryne he kept locked away, ostensibly to "protect her" but that in its own way was abuse. While some of the Scions (I think wrongfully) assumed Thancred couldn't tell between the Minfilias, it was Ran'jit who demonstrated in his dialogue the inability to see Ryne as her own person, separate from previous incarnations.

His popping up in the pyramid in Rak'tika also felt very plot-directed, rather than naturally written in; did he have a way to track us specifically, maybe some way to home in on Ryne? Because how could he get through not only an uncharted forest but also the maze and puzzles of the temple to meet us in time? And then again, more plot armor.

I too really think Ran'jit should have been defeated at the trolley duty in Ahm Araeng. He was Thancred's foil, Thancred's villain, and things were set up for it with Ryne's special cartridge she gave him literally just before the battle. The story was between these two men as her father figures from that first meeting in Laxan Loft. The duty in Eulmore felt tacked on, and only to satisfy the requirement of "it's the PC who is the hero and gets the kills" even though 1) the setup of this expac giving the Scions more agency and depth as party members works, and 2) we were controlling Thancred at the time anyway.

The Jesters could have been the dangerous enemy duty blocking the way to Vauthry, instead of doorstop sub-bosses. I felt like I killstole Ran'jit.

[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.

[shoobiedoobie]

I pretty much agree with the issues people have with Ran'jit's power level.

But more importantly, i want his second outfit for a glam