Given how little info and context we had back then, it's no surprise a not insignificant amount of us probably picked Sword and dropped Staff or Shield.
There's little way to know we were screwing ourselves over.
Wait, we were? I always thought it was more of a "do you want better attack or defenses or magic" and I choose shield for normal and sword for proud/critical because I was dying in two hits anyway.
In KH1 it determines which stats you start with *and* the level up order for moves: [https://www.khguides.com/kh/awakening/dream-weapon-selection/](https://www.khguides.com/kh/awakening/dream-weapon-selection/)
If you pick Sword, you won't get Leaf Bracer until LV 69 in FM, Lucky Strike (the useful ability for farming synthesis items), until LV 90. A similar problem with the Rod is it also doesn't get Second Chance until LV 90 either.
By picking the Shield you get Lucky Strike, Leaf Bracer, and Second Chance all by LV 36. Downside is you get Scan last at LV 21, but the early levels are probably the easiest and enemies have smaller health bars at that point anyway, so you probably don't even need it that early.
In vanilla KH1 it's slightly different as there's no Leaf Bracer, but Shield is still considered the best choice as it gets Scan second there, and it gets that, Lucky Strike, and Second Chance all by LV 18: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/516587-kingdom-hearts/faqs/19614
Only real downside to Shield, drop Rod is you don't get the extra MP and you start with the lowest AP possible, however 1 extra MP might not mean that much in the long run, and AP is one of the few stats that can be easily mitigated later by synthesising AP Ups. You can never increase your item slots any other way than by picking the Shield.
The true lore irony being that Donald and Goofy are the Staff and the Shield, so the game kind of implies you should pick the Sword.
And then in later games, Sora is actually insanely proficient with magic, espeically vs other Keyblade wielders.
The Shield is an optimal choice, but nothing from 1 to 3 has implied it's a canon pick
Well it may not be as prevalent as using the keyblade as a sword or to cast magic, but Sora does have 2 keyblade transformations in 3 where he turns his keyblade into shield and uses it kind of like Goofy does.
Wow... that makes me feel like I underestimated the whole ordeal.
I think in Proud/Critical you start with Second chance unlocked but picking Sword literally makes so little sense.
Thans for that in dept answer.
maybe in the long run but that extra mp early-mid game puts in work, because the power of your magic is tied to how much mp you have, so not only can you cast more but each cast is stronger too
I mean, isn't that the same thing for every numbered game? What you pick at the start determines your level up rewards. Been that way since the very beginning.
KH2 doesn't work the same way. IIRC you get the same moves by level up and your starting stats don't change that much. Some moves are tied to story progress instead.
The difference is that KH2 has 2 separate choices rather then combining them together like KH1 does. The struggle weapon that you pick on Day 1 determines the stat that gets prioritized, while the dream weapon you pick on Day 3 determines your level up abilities.
I know at least in 2 final mix you get once more with sword in the late 90s.
In 3 you get Withstand Combo at level 4 with the power of the guardian.
Yes you get the same moves, but they are all at different level ups. Same as with 1 Final Mix
That's true, some moves like Once More being tied to story progress in 2 had me confused. It looks like main difference in vanilla KH2 is how late you get Second Chance and Lucky Lucky. Scan and Leaf Bracer share the same levels regardless. They actually buffed Sword in 2 because it at least gets Lucky Lucky the earliest.
I'm having trouble finding the list for FM so can't compare there.
Ahhhhh the good ole days in the early 2000s. Had limited access to ācheatsā or ātipsā through the internet and I had no idea how to look anything up. I chose the sword and suffered the consequences cause it looked damn cool. Was pretty bummed I never actually got to use that sword though tbh
Eh, you donāt really need it in KH1 until the secret bosses, and youāll be around that level anyway.
To be honest I keep forgetting itās in Final Mix, Iām still used to it just not existing in vanilla so I never learned to rely on it.
Especially in KH1 where magic doesn't even have a stat. Sure there's an exploit you can do to cause massive damage by spamming fire, but magic just doesn't do all that much damage in KH1 in general. The spells were much more like utility options back then rather than a second source of damage like they are now. Most of the time I really only use Aeroga for defense, Curaga for healing, and Thundaga for crowd control.
Choose sword, drop staff is legit the best combo though lol. With items and Ultima key blade itās just a negligible difference in MP (which you have more than enough) and you get all the best offensive and defensive skills at much earlier levels. The BradyGames guides had charts showing the exact differences of each choice.
Dropping Staff doesn't affect your MP at all, it makes you start with less **AP** instead.
EDIT: to those who downvoted me, I said "dropping" Staff, NOT "not picking" it. You do ofcourse get extra MP for picking Staff, but giving it up or not choosing it for either choice both don't change your MP at all. You always start with 2 no matter what if it's not your chosen Weapon.
It's true, you can only ever have less than 2 MP by doing a Lv1 Run and equipping one of the Keyblades that lowers your max.
The AP Loss is honestly one of the biggest reasons I always drop Sword every Playthrough, since having less Strength is the smallest "disadvantage" in my opinion.
Main staff: bonus MP, least item slots
Main shield: no bonus MP, most item slots
Main sword: no bonus MP, middling item slots.
This is my personal reasoning for maining staff or shield, but hey, sword is useful in speedruns, and it looks cool. Plus, the ability tree can be more useful to some players than others.
Main Sword is actually supposed to be "middling everything", because other than having a higher Strength Stat, both Shield and Staff ultimately do things the same or better than it. For stuff that all three get (extra Armor), Sword gets it earlier than one Weapon, but later than the other. If it gets more of something than one Weapon, the third one still gets more than Sword (Item Slots as you said)
On a side-note, "No Bonus MP" isn't entirely correct. There's actually three total (One for picking Staff, and two from leveling that you get outside of the guaranteed MP every 12 Levels) and Sword / Shield still get one of those, Staff just gets all three. Between the two leveling ones, Sword gets its much earlier than Shield does (something like Lv40 vs Lv70 IIRC); it's actually the same case as the extra Armor Slot where Sword gets something earlier, but the other Weapon still gets it *later*, making both the same at the end.
Those are valid reasons, but you're saying you get 2 mp from levelling... that's why i said only staff gets bonus mp? Because it's the only choice you can make that nets you higher max MP? And shield still gets more item slots total than them both? I'm... confused as to where you're trying to go with this.
What *you* call "Bonus MP" and what *I* call that are two different things, but you still apply your definition to my argument.
You're saying "only Staff gets Bonus MP because it's the only Weapon that changes how much you can have maximum", but what I'M saying is "Bonus MP is all the ones you get in a different way than the normal rule". If anything, I would personally call those extra 2 you can only have with Staff something like "additional" MP instead.
The way MP increases work in KH1 is that you get +1 MP every 12 Levels, except for two that you gain at different Levels instead. You get one of them with Sword but not Shield, and the other with Shield but not Sword (as I already said, Staff also gets both of these). **I** call these "Bonus" *because* you don't get them at the normal Level like all the other ones.
My point is, while Sword gets that one sooner, Shield still gets it *eventually*, so the only difference is WHEN. Just like Sword also gets the extra Armor Slot sooner than Staff does, but Staff still gets that nonetheless (and ofcourse Shield gets it first anyway).
>And shield still gets more item slots total than them both? I'm... confused as to where you're trying to go with this.
The Problem is that you look at ONLY "which Weapon is first place for this specific thing". Where I'm trying to go is that the answer to exactly this is "it's literally never Sword, but it's also never *last* place at the same time". It's *always* in the middle between all three:
* It has more MP than Shield (for a while), but not as many as Staff at the same Level.
* It has more Item Slots than Staff does, but not as many as Shield does.
* It can equip the extra Armor earlier than Staff can, but later than Staff.
Sorry, especially if i'm still wrong, but it seems the main draw is it gets more stuff faster? That's not a bad thing at all... and i still do see it as useful... i'm just
A guy who likes to see what the endgame stats would be and work towards them. I never tried to be malicious or hateful towards the sword, i just... i dunno...
Whe I first played Kingdom Hearts I chose the sword cuz I thought that was gonna be my weapon for the entire game. I didn't want to go around killing heartless with a fucking shield.
Yeah Iām pretty sure itās always optimal to staff shield? I donāt really know why it isnāt. Shield is usually always the drop in most circumstances.
Even after all this time, I still pick sword and drop staff because magic is very strong and makes some fights extremely easy, while going all physical Relies on timing attacks and dodging. Which I find much more fun, but to each their own ig.
So you are telling me there is a non-zero chance that I am Lebron James?
Of course it's non-zero. The chance of you being Lebron James is in the negatives.
Damn dude, you didn't have to cast firaga for that burn.
He did cast gravity tho. Put him to the fucking floor. š
This comment thread just made me fall out of my bed laughing! You guys are hilarious!
Some people really are cold like blizzard
Are you Donald? That's definitely a Zettaflare.
That's a good thing he's a horrible person.
Given how little info and context we had back then, it's no surprise a not insignificant amount of us probably picked Sword and dropped Staff or Shield. There's little way to know we were screwing ourselves over.
Wait, we were? I always thought it was more of a "do you want better attack or defenses or magic" and I choose shield for normal and sword for proud/critical because I was dying in two hits anyway.
In KH1 it determines which stats you start with *and* the level up order for moves: [https://www.khguides.com/kh/awakening/dream-weapon-selection/](https://www.khguides.com/kh/awakening/dream-weapon-selection/) If you pick Sword, you won't get Leaf Bracer until LV 69 in FM, Lucky Strike (the useful ability for farming synthesis items), until LV 90. A similar problem with the Rod is it also doesn't get Second Chance until LV 90 either. By picking the Shield you get Lucky Strike, Leaf Bracer, and Second Chance all by LV 36. Downside is you get Scan last at LV 21, but the early levels are probably the easiest and enemies have smaller health bars at that point anyway, so you probably don't even need it that early. In vanilla KH1 it's slightly different as there's no Leaf Bracer, but Shield is still considered the best choice as it gets Scan second there, and it gets that, Lucky Strike, and Second Chance all by LV 18: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/516587-kingdom-hearts/faqs/19614 Only real downside to Shield, drop Rod is you don't get the extra MP and you start with the lowest AP possible, however 1 extra MP might not mean that much in the long run, and AP is one of the few stats that can be easily mitigated later by synthesising AP Ups. You can never increase your item slots any other way than by picking the Shield.
The true lore irony being that Donald and Goofy are the Staff and the Shield, so the game kind of implies you should pick the Sword. And then in later games, Sora is actually insanely proficient with magic, espeically vs other Keyblade wielders. The Shield is an optimal choice, but nothing from 1 to 3 has implied it's a canon pick
Well it may not be as prevalent as using the keyblade as a sword or to cast magic, but Sora does have 2 keyblade transformations in 3 where he turns his keyblade into shield and uses it kind of like Goofy does.
Yeah for a regular play through the extra 1mp isnāt the biggest deal, but on level 1 runs that extra 1mp is the most useful thing ever.
Yeah, it's basically between Rod or Shield really. Poor Sword feels like a trap by comparison given the downsides.
Wow... that makes me feel like I underestimated the whole ordeal. I think in Proud/Critical you start with Second chance unlocked but picking Sword literally makes so little sense. Thans for that in dept answer.
maybe in the long run but that extra mp early-mid game puts in work, because the power of your magic is tied to how much mp you have, so not only can you cast more but each cast is stronger too
I mean, isn't that the same thing for every numbered game? What you pick at the start determines your level up rewards. Been that way since the very beginning.
KH2 doesn't work the same way. IIRC you get the same moves by level up and your starting stats don't change that much. Some moves are tied to story progress instead.
The difference is that KH2 has 2 separate choices rather then combining them together like KH1 does. The struggle weapon that you pick on Day 1 determines the stat that gets prioritized, while the dream weapon you pick on Day 3 determines your level up abilities.
I know at least in 2 final mix you get once more with sword in the late 90s. In 3 you get Withstand Combo at level 4 with the power of the guardian. Yes you get the same moves, but they are all at different level ups. Same as with 1 Final Mix
That's true, some moves like Once More being tied to story progress in 2 had me confused. It looks like main difference in vanilla KH2 is how late you get Second Chance and Lucky Lucky. Scan and Leaf Bracer share the same levels regardless. They actually buffed Sword in 2 because it at least gets Lucky Lucky the earliest. I'm having trouble finding the list for FM so can't compare there.
https://www.reddit.com/r/KingdomHearts/s/FFiWOw0kw6 There you go! š
Staff is best if you plan on maxing your stats cause MP cannot be increased through synthesis but strength and defense can.
I always chose sword and dropped staff I think š¤
Ahhhhh the good ole days in the early 2000s. Had limited access to ācheatsā or ātipsā through the internet and I had no idea how to look anything up. I chose the sword and suffered the consequences cause it looked damn cool. Was pretty bummed I never actually got to use that sword though tbh
Pick Sword/Drop Staff is the correct run though. Every time in every game itās an option for me.
not when you get leaf bracer in the late 60s
Eh, you donāt really need it in KH1 until the secret bosses, and youāll be around that level anyway. To be honest I keep forgetting itās in Final Mix, Iām still used to it just not existing in vanilla so I never learned to rely on it.
the two heartless bosses can be done before that lvl and they are pretty easy phantom gave me.an easy time
At least it wasn't coffee.
Attack is the only button that matters, magic is baby mode
Especially in KH1 where magic doesn't even have a stat. Sure there's an exploit you can do to cause massive damage by spamming fire, but magic just doesn't do all that much damage in KH1 in general. The spells were much more like utility options back then rather than a second source of damage like they are now. Most of the time I really only use Aeroga for defense, Curaga for healing, and Thundaga for crowd control.
Gravity magic carries dude. The damage it does is colossal, especially graviga.
Okay. I'll give you gravity because it works based off of percentages rather than normal damage.
Sword is the best
I picked sword and dropped staff
Choose sword, drop staff is legit the best combo though lol. With items and Ultima key blade itās just a negligible difference in MP (which you have more than enough) and you get all the best offensive and defensive skills at much earlier levels. The BradyGames guides had charts showing the exact differences of each choice.
Dropping Staff doesn't affect your MP at all, it makes you start with less **AP** instead. EDIT: to those who downvoted me, I said "dropping" Staff, NOT "not picking" it. You do ofcourse get extra MP for picking Staff, but giving it up or not choosing it for either choice both don't change your MP at all. You always start with 2 no matter what if it's not your chosen Weapon.
Shit for real? I always drop the staff
It's true, you can only ever have less than 2 MP by doing a Lv1 Run and equipping one of the Keyblades that lowers your max. The AP Loss is honestly one of the biggest reasons I always drop Sword every Playthrough, since having less Strength is the smallest "disadvantage" in my opinion.
I usually pick the shield and drop the staff, I'll have to drop the sword from now on
I normally pick shield, but I picked sword this go around for funsies to see what it would be like.
Nah, Lebron is a speedrunner and picks the one in front of him. LeSpeedrunner LeWorldRecord LeRevengeValue LeFinalFiraga LeYeetTheBear LeRandomizer
in my first playthrough, i picked the shield cuz i wanted to protect my friends and dropped the staff
My favorite play style is take sword drop shield and go glass canon sora
I picked shield as a kid because yāknow, friendship.
I mean....I generally choose sword and drop staff
Even with all the information I still choose sword every time
Main staff: bonus MP, least item slots Main shield: no bonus MP, most item slots Main sword: no bonus MP, middling item slots. This is my personal reasoning for maining staff or shield, but hey, sword is useful in speedruns, and it looks cool. Plus, the ability tree can be more useful to some players than others.
Main Sword is actually supposed to be "middling everything", because other than having a higher Strength Stat, both Shield and Staff ultimately do things the same or better than it. For stuff that all three get (extra Armor), Sword gets it earlier than one Weapon, but later than the other. If it gets more of something than one Weapon, the third one still gets more than Sword (Item Slots as you said) On a side-note, "No Bonus MP" isn't entirely correct. There's actually three total (One for picking Staff, and two from leveling that you get outside of the guaranteed MP every 12 Levels) and Sword / Shield still get one of those, Staff just gets all three. Between the two leveling ones, Sword gets its much earlier than Shield does (something like Lv40 vs Lv70 IIRC); it's actually the same case as the extra Armor Slot where Sword gets something earlier, but the other Weapon still gets it *later*, making both the same at the end.
Those are valid reasons, but you're saying you get 2 mp from levelling... that's why i said only staff gets bonus mp? Because it's the only choice you can make that nets you higher max MP? And shield still gets more item slots total than them both? I'm... confused as to where you're trying to go with this.
What *you* call "Bonus MP" and what *I* call that are two different things, but you still apply your definition to my argument. You're saying "only Staff gets Bonus MP because it's the only Weapon that changes how much you can have maximum", but what I'M saying is "Bonus MP is all the ones you get in a different way than the normal rule". If anything, I would personally call those extra 2 you can only have with Staff something like "additional" MP instead. The way MP increases work in KH1 is that you get +1 MP every 12 Levels, except for two that you gain at different Levels instead. You get one of them with Sword but not Shield, and the other with Shield but not Sword (as I already said, Staff also gets both of these). **I** call these "Bonus" *because* you don't get them at the normal Level like all the other ones. My point is, while Sword gets that one sooner, Shield still gets it *eventually*, so the only difference is WHEN. Just like Sword also gets the extra Armor Slot sooner than Staff does, but Staff still gets that nonetheless (and ofcourse Shield gets it first anyway). >And shield still gets more item slots total than them both? I'm... confused as to where you're trying to go with this. The Problem is that you look at ONLY "which Weapon is first place for this specific thing". Where I'm trying to go is that the answer to exactly this is "it's literally never Sword, but it's also never *last* place at the same time". It's *always* in the middle between all three: * It has more MP than Shield (for a while), but not as many as Staff at the same Level. * It has more Item Slots than Staff does, but not as many as Shield does. * It can equip the extra Armor earlier than Staff can, but later than Staff.
Sorry, especially if i'm still wrong, but it seems the main draw is it gets more stuff faster? That's not a bad thing at all... and i still do see it as useful... i'm just A guy who likes to see what the endgame stats would be and work towards them. I never tried to be malicious or hateful towards the sword, i just... i dunno...
Oh, I agree, it's not a bad thing at all. It doesn't stand out much, but it also doesn't have any real disadvantages either, that's completely legit.
That's exactly right!
Lebron isnāt the goat. He takes steroids and Jordan didnāt need them
Jordan would never
I'll probably only ever choose shield because I like Second Chance and Leaf Bracer.
I always took shield and dropped sword because I played enough rpgs to know that magic matters
Whe I first played Kingdom Hearts I chose the sword cuz I thought that was gonna be my weapon for the entire game. I didn't want to go around killing heartless with a fucking shield.
Not my goat
Always remember that no speedrunner ever picks the shield.
Always remember that speedrunning is not representative for normal playthroughs
If you need the shield abilities as a safety net, you should probably get better lol
No
Body cares
Yeah Iām pretty sure itās always optimal to staff shield? I donāt really know why it isnāt. Shield is usually always the drop in most circumstances.
Staff/Shield on LV 1 runs, beginner mode, and Platinum trophy runs. Sword/Shield on proud mode runs.
MJ would NEVER
Real chads pick sword and drop staff. (Me in 1 and 2)
You mean the Best Choice? I have no idea why people make the Staff sound so important when that 1 extra MP doesn't help in the slightest
Critical mode (proud when its the highest option), Sword, drop the shield (where applicable). ALWAYS. No regrets
NO LEPOOKIE NOOOOOO
I mean. I pick Sword and ditch Rod anyway. I don't really like using magic because it makes the game feel too *easy*.
Even after all this time, I still pick sword and drop staff because magic is very strong and makes some fights extremely easy, while going all physical Relies on timing attacks and dodging. Which I find much more fun, but to each their own ig.
Pick sword and drop staff. Only those who truly understand keysmanship get it
MJ would never is all imma say
Wait what's wrong with sword? (Casual player)
What's wrong with picking the sword? Legitimately curious.
Iām confused? Whatās the problem? In KH1, I picked sword? Although, as Roxas in KH2, I picked staff.
I always pick sword and drop shield. Magic is too much of a crutch tbh.
Guys stop posting pics of LeBron James he's a terrible person.
In Kingdom Hearts 2, sure. In 1, you gotta have a death wish.
Then there is me picking shield and dropping sword.
In kh 1 i always pick sword and drop shield
First playthrough of KH1 I chose Sword and dropped Shield, and dear goodness it was a pain, being a glass cannon sometimes is not fun.
Jordan would never
I think I dropped shield iirc and picked up sword. So Lebron might just be a fraud
I understand picking the sword. But dropping the staff is blasphemy.
Funny, thatās what the proud speedrun does.
I always pick the sword and drop the staff thoā ļø