Equippable weapons: Knives, guns Jump height : 4
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 18%
Stats When Active Job:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: **** Speed: ****
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: *
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Aimed Shot--
Success based on user’s: Speed
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Leg Shot 0 Weapon Any Y 200 Causes Immobilize status
Arm Shot * 0 Weapon Any Y 300 Causes Disable status
Seal Evil * 0 Weapon Any Y 200 Turns undead to Stone
Aimed Shot fires twice per turn if combined with the Dual Wield support ability
and Dual Wielded weapons. (You’ll need to have Mustadio configured to use a
weapon type that CAN be Dual Wielded; neither knives nor guns can be Dual
Wielded.)
JP to master: 1750
--MY THOUGHTS--
With his Arm Shot ability and a gun, Mustadio can disable enemies from across
the battlefield. This is a great ability since it effectively stops enemy from
taking any kind of action for a few turns. You can Disable enemy mages to keep
them from casting spells while the rest of your team is trying to reach them,
or Disable a melee fighter and have the rest of your team pounce on him/her
without fear of reprisal. Or, when you’re just faced with a lot of enemies at
once, Disabling a few can make the crowd more manageable. Since Disable also
shuts down reaction abilities, you can also use it to stop monsters from
counter-attacking you or to keep humans from recovering from your attacks.
Towards the very end of the game, it becomes slightly less useful since many
human enemies are equipped with Thief’s Caps, which renders them immune to
Disable status.
Seal Evil is also useful: it turns undead enemies to stone, which not only
defeats them instantly, but prevents them from reviving. (And it has a high
hit rate!) Although you won’t face undead enemies in too many battles, it’s
quite handy in the ones where you do.
In order for Mustadio’s Aimed Shot abilities to keep their long range, Mustadio
needs to stay equipped with a gun. Once you’ve finished learning his Aimed
Shot abilities, you may want to consider switching him to a Chemist, another
job that can equip guns. This will let him supplement his Aimed Shots with the
ability to heal your teammates.
Once you get Balthier, though, Mustadio essentially becomes obsolete, since
Balthier has even more abilities and better stats.
---ASTROLOGER------------------------------------------------------------------
Used by: Orran Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Books Jump height : 4
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 15%
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Astrology--
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Celestial Stasis * 5 All foes! N 0 Causes Stop, Immobilize, or
Disable
Focus * 0 Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 0 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile; does
variable damage (may be more or
less than estimate)
Stone 0 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack,
may knock enemy back one tile;
does variable damage (may be
more or less than estimate)
Salve 0 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
JP to master: 1865
--MY THOUGHTS--
Orran is ludicrously powerful, thanks to his Celestial Stasis spell, which will
debilitate most of the enemies on the board every time he uses it and doesn’t
even cost any MP! Too bad he only shows up in one battle and you don’t even
get to control him :(
---CLERIC----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Alma Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Staves Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 18%
Stats When Active Job:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Holy Magicks--
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Aegis * 30 4 5/* 1/- Any N 0 Gives Reraise, Regen, Protect,
Shell, and Haste status
Dispelna 20 4 4/* 1/- Any N 0 Cures Stone, Confuse, Silence,
Vampire, Toad, Poison, Stop,
Sleep, Immobilize, and Disable
Ultima 10 5 4/* 2/1 Any N & Non-elemental magick attack
Chant * 0 1/3 1/- Any - 0 Restores HP, Alma loses HP equal
to 1/2 of amount healed
JP to master: 1050
--MY THOUGHTS--
Alma is almost identical to Ovelia, except that she has Chant. As with Ovelia,
Aegis is a great support spell, so she’ll be useful during the few battles
where you can control her. You can use Items to keep up her MP and allow her
to keep casting the spell.
It’s a good idea to de-equip Alma of her all gear before you go to Orbonne
Monastery in Chapter III, since most of it can’t be bought in stores.
When Alma rejoins during the final battle, it is possible for her to learn
Ultima from casting Ramza or Luso casting it on her, but you’re better off with
her Aegis spell!
---GAME HUNTER-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Luso Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, knight’s swords, Jump height : 3
flails Physical evade : 10%
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, helms, clothes, armor,
robes
Innate ability (as Game Hunter only): Poach
Stats When Active Job:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: **
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Huntcraft--
Damage based on user’s: Physical Attack (Rush/Stone)
Magick Attack and Faith, plus target’s Faith (Ultima)
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Focus * 0 Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 0 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile; does
variable damage (may be more or
less than estimate)
Stone 0 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack,
may knock enemy back one tile;
does variable damage (may be
more or less than estimate)
Salve 0 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
Tailwind * 0 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Raises speed by 1 for duration of
battle
Chant * 0 1/3 1/- Any - 0 Restores HP, Luso loses HP equal
to 1/2 of amount healed
Steel * 0 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Raises Bravery by 5
Shout * 0 Slf 1/- Self - 500 Raises Bravery by 10, attack and
magick strength by 1, speed by
1
Ultima 10 5 4/* 2/1 Any N & Non-elemental magick attack
JP to master: 4430
Ultima can only be learned by having Ramza or an enemy cast it on Luso; see the
"Learning Ultima" section under Advanced Tactics for more information on this.
--MY THOUGHTS--
Luso is basically a clone of Ramza, even down to his stats, and so has the same
strengths and weaknesses. Luso’s main distinguishing feature is his innate
Poach ability, which can be nice for hunting for the rare items you get from
poaching some monsters.
Overall, Luso’s OK -- but you already have one Ramza, and *that* Ramza is the
one you’re required to use in story battles. As a result, Luso is sadly pretty
redundant in most cases. Ramza’s abilities aren’t good enough that you need
two people in the party using them, not when you fill that slot in your party
with a character who has a different set of abilities.
If you’re trying to master lots of jobs for the purposes of powering up Onion
Knight, note that Game Hunter isn’t Mastered until Luso learns Ultima.
---SKYSEER---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Rapha Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Staves, poles Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 10%
Stats When Active Job:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: *
--Action Abilities: Sky Mantra--
Damage based on user’s: Magick Attack
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Heaven’s Wrath * 3 4/* 2/3 Any N 100 Lightning attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Ashura 4 4/* 2/3 Any N 200 Fire attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Adamantine Blade 5 4/* 2/3 Any N 300 Wind attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Maelstrom 6 4/* 2/3 Any N 400 Water attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Celestial Void * 5 4/* 2/3 Any N 500 Non-elemental magick attack,
strikes random tiles within
radius. Causes Blind, Confuse,
Silence, Toad, Poison, Slow,
or Sleep
Divinity 7 4/* 2/3 Any N 600 Earth attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Sky Mantra attacks do not take Rapha’s Faith or enemy Faith into consideration,
unlike most magick attacks.
JP to master: 3150
--MY THOUGHTS--
As you’ve probably observed during her time as a guest, Rapha’s Sky Mantra
abilities are pretty useless. They strike random tiles within their effect
radius, making them often as likely to hit your allies as your enemies, and
they don’t even do all that much damage anyway. (Plus, they take time to
charge.)
On the other hand, given her low Bravery, Rapha is a character that can easily
be made into a good Treasure Hunter. (You’re more likely to get good items
with Treasure Hunter if your Bravery is low.) And, if you’re planning to
tackle the bonus dungeon, you’ll definitely want a Treasure Hunter! Of course,
it’s not in any way necessary to specifically use Rapha for this; any other
character with low Bravery works fine. Rapha just tends to be convenient since
her Bravery is already pretty low to start with -- and you may want to lower
her Bravery even further with the Orator’s Intimidate to increase your odds
further.
---NETHERSEER------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Marach Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Rods, poles Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 8%
Stats When Active Job:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: *
--Action Abilities: Nether Mantra--
Damage based on user’s: Magick Attack & LOW Faith, plus target’s LOW Faith
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hell’s Wrath * 3 4/* 2/3 Any N 100 Lightning attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Nether Ashura 4 4/* 2/3 Any N 200 Fire attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Nether Blade 5 4/* 2/3 Any N 300 Wind attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Nether Maelstrom 6 4/* 2/3 Any N 400 Water attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Corporeal Void * 5 4/* 2/3 Any N 500 Non-elemental magick attack,
strikes random tiles within
radius. Causes Blind, Confuse,
Silence, Toad, Poison, Slow,
or Sleep
Impiety 7 4/* 2/3 Any N 600 Earth attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Nether Mantra attacks do increased damage to enemies with LOW Faith, and when
Marach has LOW Faith. This is the opposite of most magick attacks, which do
more damage when Faith is high. (Note, however, the Faith and Atheist status
conditions still affect Nether Mantra in the usual way.)
JP to master: 3150
--MY THOUGHTS--
Marach’s abilities are quite similar to Rapha’s in that they strike random
tiles. His main interesting feature is that Nether Mantra does more damage to
enemies with LOW Faith (the reverse of regular magick), with gives you a magick
attack that’s actually effective against low-Faith enemies. Unfortunately,
since Nether Mantra is so random, it’s still not all that useful.
While Rapha can easily be turned into a Treasure Hunter thanks to her low
starting Bravery, Marach has a pretty average Bravery and isn’t particularly
good for this. In other words: there’s generally not much of a reason to put
Marach in your party, and he’s usually considered the least useful of the story
characters. If you’re not set on having all the story characters on your
roster, you could even skip recruiting him--or sign him up, take his equipment,
and then delete him.
If you do want to use Marach, you can always switch him to some standard job
instead of relying on his Nether Mantra abilities. Of course, then he’s really
no different from any other generic character.
---TEMPLAR---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Beowulf Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, knight’s swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 14%
Stats When Active Job:
HP: **** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: *
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Spellblade--
Success based on user’s: Magick Attack & Faith, plus target’s Faith
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Blind 6 0 4/* 1/- Any N 50 Inflicts Blind status
Syphon * 2 0 4/* 1/- Any N 100 Absorbs MP from target (amount =
1/4 of target’s max MP)
Drain 12 0 4/* 1/- Any N 180 Absorbs HP from target (amount =
1/4 of target’s max HP)
Faith 10 0 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Faith status (character
has 100 Faith; both character’s
own magick and others’ magick
targeting the character are
maximally effective)
Doubt 10 0 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Atheist status (character
cannot use magick but is also
immune to others’ magick)
Zombie 14 0 4/* 1/- Any N 150 Causes Undead condition
Silence 16 0 4/* 1/- Any N 90 Causes Silence
Berserk 16 0 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Berserk
Chicken * 12 0 4/* 1/- Any N 500 Lowers target’s Bravery by 50
Confuse 14 0 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Confuse
Dispel 20 0 4/* 1/- Any N 300 Removes Float, Reraise, Regen,
Invisible, Protect, Shell,
Haste, Faith, Reflect
Disable * 14 0 4/* 1/- Any N 50 Causes Disable status
Sleep 20 0 4/* 1/- Any N 170 Causes Sleep
Break * 24 0 4/* 1/- Any N 300 Causes Stone
Vengeance * 20 0 8/* 1/- Any N 600 Deals damage = (Beowulf’s max HP
minus Beowulf’s current HP)
Spellblade techniques cannot be used unless Beowulf is equipped with a sword,
knight’s sword, or fell sword.
JP to master: 4340
--MY THOUGHTS--
Beowulf is essentially a Mystic on steroids -- like a Mystic, he specializes in
inflicing status conditions, but his abilities don’t need to charge and in some
cases cost less MP than the Mystic equivalent! Plus, with a knight’s sword,
he can be a pretty good fighter, and Templar has the highest MP of any job in
the game.
A trio of Spellblade abilities are particularly useful. First off, Chicken
drops an enemy’s Bravery by 50, which will turn it into a useless chicken in
one shot if the enemy’s Bravery is less than 60. It almost always has a
70-100% hit rate, and it only costs 12 MP! It’s a great ability for quickly
reducing the number of enemies you need to fight at once, and is also a pretty
good way of prolonging a battle (e.g. to hunt for items in the bonus dungeon).
Vengeance is also a great ranged attack that can do quite a bit of damage when
Beowulf is low on HP (and it has a fantastic range of EIGHT panels); the main
downside is that it’s useless at the start of a battle when Beowulf hasn’t been
harmed yet. Finally, Beowulf’s Break spell also has a pretty high chance of
turning an enemy instantly to stone.
---AUTOMATON-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Construct 8 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: none Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: none Physical : 0%
Innate abilities: Counter, Ignore Terrain, Ignore Weather#, cannot enter water.
Construct 8 is also immune to most status conditions, all elements except
thunder, and (by virtue of having 0 Faith) all magick. It’s weak to Lightning,
but only non-magickal Lightning attacks since it’s immune to magick.
# Since Construct 8 has no magick and can’t enter water, its Ignore Weather
would appear not to ever actually do anything. What in the world?
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Tasks--
Damage based on user’s: Physical Attack
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Destroy 0 1/2 1/- Any - 0 Physical attack; Construct 8
loses HP equal to 1/8 of damage
inflicted
Compress 0 1/2 1/- Any - 0 Physical attack; Construct 8
loses HP equal to 1/6 of damage
inflicted
Dispose * 0 8/* 1/- Any N 0 Physical attack; Construct 8
loses HP equal to 1/4 of damage
inflicted
Pulverize 0 1/0 1/- Any - 0 Physical attack; Construct 8
loses HP equal to 1/4 of damage
inflicted
All Tasks abilities cannot be evaded or blocked, but consume some of Construct
8’s HP when used.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Counter Automatically eqppd. Yes 0 Counter-attack with physical attack
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Defense Boost Automatically eqpd. 0 Lowers damage received from physical
attacks
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 0
--MY THOUGHTS--
Since Construct 8 is a special "monster," it can’t change jobs, use equipment,
or learn new abilities. That means it’s not a very customizable character and
has pretty much a fixed set of strengths and weaknesses.
One of Construct 8’s great strengths is its Dispose ability, which has a range
of 8 panels and never misses. It’s only moderately strong, but the range and
hit rate make it good for taking out enemy mages and gunners/archers.
Construct 8 is also great on defense, since it’s immune to magick and most
status conditions (Confuse being one of the notable exceptions). This makes
it especially useful in particular battles where the enemy relies heavily on
magick or status attacks. Plus, it has an inherent Defense Boost and Counter.
You can also use Construct 8 as a stepping-stool to help other characters
climb up to higher ledges. (Other large monsters have this ability as well.)
This is necessary to find the hidden items at Nelveska Temple, and can often
be handy in Midlight’s Deep as well.
The downside to Construct 8 is that it’s pretty slow and has a short move
range, so it’s pretty rare that you’ll actually have a chance to use its close
range attacks. It’s of course also immune to any POSITIVE magick you might
want to cast on it, like buffs or Cure spells. Using the Tasks abilities also
consumes some of its HP, but it’s not all that much, so this isn’t much to
worry about.
The biggest concern is that since Construct 8 can’t use equipment or change
abilities, it’s hard to upgrade. (The best you can do is gain levels and raise
its Bravery.) This means that it’s hard to remedy some of its weaknesses like
its short movement range, and that it eventually can’t keep pace with the rest
of your team. In sum, Construct 8 proves to be quite useful when you first get
it and remains very helpful in particular story battles (against enemies using
magick or status attacks), but its usefulness may start to fade as other
characters gain more and more abilities that Construct 8 can never have.
---SKY PIRATE------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Balthier Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, knight’s swords, Jump height : 4
bows, crossbows, guns, polearms Physical evade : 25%
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, helms, clothes, armor,
robes
Innate ability (as Sky Pirate only): Safeguard
Stats When Active Job:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: *****
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: **** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: *****
--Action Abilities: Piracy--
Damage/success based on user’s: Physical Attack & Weapon Strength (Barrage)
Speed (all others)
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Leg Shot 0 Weapon Any Y 200 Causes Immobilize status
Arm Shot * 0 Weapon Any Y 300 Causes Disable status
Seal Evil * 0 Weapon Any Y 200 Turns undead to Stone
Barrage 0 Weapon Any Y 1200 Use weapon 4 times in a row at
1/2 damage per attack; can’t be
evaded or blocked
Plunder Gil 0 1/1 1/- Foe - 10 Steal small amount of gil
Plunder Heart * 0 3/1 1/- Foe N 150 Inflicts Charm; only effective on
monsters and opposite sex
Plunder Helm * 0 1/1 1/- Foe - 350 Steal target’s helmet
Plunder Armor * 0 1/1 1/- Foe - 450 Steal target’s armor
Plunder Shield * 0 1/1 1/- Foe - 350 Steal target’s shield
Plunder Weapon * 0 1/1 1/- Foe - 600 Steal target’s weapon
Plunder Accessory 0 1/1 1/- Foe - 500 Steal target’s accessory
Plunder EXP 0 1/1 1/- Foe - 250 Steal target’s current EXP
Leg Shot, Arm Shot, and Seal Evil fire twice per turn if combined with the
Dual Wield support ability and Dual Wielded weapons. (Dual Wield has no effect
on the other Piracy abilities.)
Note that the Plunder abilities have a higher hit rate than the Thief’s
Steal equivalents.
JP to master: 6350
--MY THOUGHTS--
Balthier is an all-around great character, and quite versatile. As you can see
from his available equipment, he can function both as a ranged fighter or a
close-range one. Essentially, he’s a combination of Mustadio (he has all of
Mustadio’s Aimed Shot abilities) and a Thief ... except that he’s also
physically stronger, is more successful at stealing than a Thief, and has the
super speed of a Ninja. How can you go wrong with that? Once Balthier joins,
there’s not all that much use for Mustadio since Balthier has all of Mustadio’s
ability and then some!
Balthier’s one completely unique ability, Barrage, is also quite useful. It’s
similar to Dual Wield in the sense that is essentially doubles your attack
power, except that Barrage cannot miss and also lets Balthier still equip a
shield in his other hand. (On the other hand, if you land a critical hit and
knock the enemy backwards, all the other attacks will miss!) Since Barrage
counts as a regular attack, it can also be combined with Poach or Tame. In the
right circumstances, Barrage can also be used to attack multiple enemies in one
turn -- see "Shoot Enemies Next to You" under Advanced Tactics. Sadly,
Barrage CANNOT be combined with Dual Wield or Doublehand; it still does regular
damage if you have two weapons or one weapon in two hands. No Genji Glove +
Offering this time around :(
---SWORD SAINT-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Orlandeau Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight’s swords, katanas, Jump height : 3
ninja blades Physical evade : 12%
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, helms, clothes, armor,
robes
Stats When Active Job:
HP: ***** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: **
--Action Abilities: Swordplay--
Damage based on user’s: Physical Attack & Weapon Strength
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Judgment Blade * 0 2/* 2/0 Any N 0 Physical attack, causes Stop
Cleansing Strike 0 3/2 1/- Any N 400 Physical attack, causes Doom
Northswain’s Strike 0 3/1 1/- Any N 500 Physical attack, instant KO
Hallowed Bolt * 0 3/* 2/1 Any N 700 Physical attack, causes Silence
Divine Ruination * 0 4Dir 5/2 Any N 800 Physical attack, causes Confuse
Crush Armor 0 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Physical attack, destroys
target’s armor
Crush Helm 0 3/* 1/- Any N 400 Physical attack, destroys
target’s headgear
Crush Weapon * 0 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Physical attack, destroys
target’s weapon
Crush Accessory 0 3/* 1/- Any N 800 Physical attack, destroys
target’s accessory
Shadowblade * 0 3/* 1/- Any N 100 Absorbs HP from target
Duskblade * 0 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Absorbs MP from target
Swordplay techniques have a 100% hit rate. However, they cannot be used
unless Orlandeau is equipped with a sword, knight’s sword, or fell sword.
Damage from Swordplay techniques increases when you have a stronger weapon
equipped. When you have two weapons Dual Wielded, only the weapon in the
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