Blitzball Mini-FAQ v1.0
by Jim Irwin
lirwin1@columbus.rr.com

********************************
|1. Intro and Table of Contents|
********************************
This is a guide designed to help guide you through the wonderful Final Fantasy X 
minigame that is Blitzball.  I enjoy this game much more than Triple Triad or 
Tetra Master so far, and hopefully this guide can help you enjoy it too :)

7/25/01 - Version 0.5 - Draft that I wrote from memory

7/26/01 - Version 1.0 - First version with the game available.  Fixed several 
errors throughout the guide and added the ability list

*******************
|Table of Contents|
*******************
1. Intro and Table of Contents

2. Learning the Basics
 2a. Player Parameters
 2b. The Blitzball playing field
 2c. Action menu - passing and shooting
 2d. Encounters - offense and defense
 2e. Status ailments
 2f. Team menu - manual play and team formations
 2g. Experience and levelling up

3. Managing your Team
 3a. Blitzball main menus
 3b. Pre-match setup screens
 3c. Special Abilities - how to learn and use them
 3d. Recruiting, scouting and misc.

4. General Team Strategies
 4a. Making a winning team
 4b. Manual play and formations
 4c. Special Ability setup
 4d. Tips for starting your team

5. List of Special Abilities

6. Closing and Copyright


************************
|2. Learning the Basics|
************************
This section basically covers the same stuff as the in-game tutorial, but in 
English for those of you who can't read Japanese.  I suggest you use this in 
conjunction with playing the tutorial since it's easier to see things in action 
than just read about them.  Even if you can't read Japanese, just press the 
buttons along with the things that appear on screen and you should be able to get 
through the tutorial just fine.

2a. Player Parameters
---------------------
Each Blitzball player has his or her own set of stats which determine how well 
they pass, shoot, tackle, etc.  When you play your first game in the storyline 
you won't be able to see these stats until halftime when you gain 
experience...more on that later.  On the player status screen each stat is 
abbreviated with 3 letters, while in the match each is abbreviated with 2 letters 
(listed in parenthesis).

General Parameters
------------------
Hit Points - HP (HP) - HP are best described as a player's endurance during a 
match.  Every action a player takes with the ball consumes HP, including passing, 
shooting, and even just swimming around.  Players regenerate HP automatically any 
time they don't have the ball.  Should HP happen to fall to zero, a player 
becomes basically useless...but that happens VERY rarely (ie never happened for 
me).

Speed - SPD (N/A) - Speed is how fast a player moves during the match.  High 
speed is a HUGE advantage in Blitz ball, since if your opponents can't catch you 
it can result in free shots on goal.  So far this is the only stat I've seen 
which does not go up when you raise a level.

Salary - Salary is represented by a number followed by "giru" (gil) and 
represents the amount of money you must pay the player for each game he or she 
plays your team.  See the Recruiting and Scouting section for more info.

Level - LV (N/A) - The player's current experience level.

Offensive Parameters
--------------------
Physical - PHY (PH) - Physical represents the amount of damage a player can take 
from enemy defenders while he has the ball.  A player with high Physical can 
break through several defenders to get a clear shot or pass if his Physical is 
high enough.  Physical is compared to Attack during an Encounter.

Passing - PAS (PS) - Passing determines how far a player can pass the ball.  The 
higher a player's rating, the further and faster the ball can be thrown.  Passing 
is compared to Cutoff during an Encounter.

Shooting - SHT (ST) - Shooting is a measure of how fast and powerful a player's 
shot is.  Having high Shooting is necessary if you want to stand a chance of 
scoring a goal.  Shooting is compared to the defender's Cutoff and the Keeper's 
Catching during an Encounter.

Defensive Parameters
--------------------
Attack - ATK (AT) - Attack determines how likely a player is to successfuly steal 
the ball from an opponent by tackling him.  High attack can stop an enemy player 
in his tracks and turn the tables for you quickly.  Attack is compared to 
Physical in an Encounter.

Cutoff - CUT - (CU) - Cutoff represents how likely a player is to intercept 
passes or shots from an opponent.  High Cutoff is important for defenders to stop 
shots on goal or intercept passes.  Cutoff is compared to Shooting or Passing in 
an Encounter.

Catching - CAT (CA) - Catching is a stat only used by Keepers, and is the only 
stat Keepers use during a match.  A Keeper with high enough Catching can stop 
incoming shots with ease even if an opponent breaks through the defense.  
Catching is compared to Shooting during a shot attempt.

2b. The Blitzball playing field
-------------------------------
The Blitzball playing field is a huge spherical ball of water, but for all 
intents and purposes of the minigame it's a circular playing field; there are no 
3D elements that I've found yet.

While playing there will be a circular minimap on the right side of the screen 
showing positions of both your and your opponent's players.  Each team has 6 
members: Left forward, Right forward, Middle forward, Left defense, Right 
defense, and Keeper (note that Keepers are not indicated on the minimap).  Your 
players are shown as green arrows while opposing players are shown as red arrows.  
The player who currently has the ball is indicated with an appropriately colored 
circle around him/her, and the screen follows that player around showing his/her 
offensive stats (HP, PS, PS, ST) in the upper right hand corner of the screen.  
Other notable things on the play screen include the score, time elapsed in the 
current half, and commentary about the match.

2c. Action menu - passing and shooting
--------------------------------------
Now that you know what the screen looks like, let's go into the action menu.  
When one of your players has the ball, pressing the Square button brings up the 
action menu in the upper left corner of the screen.  If an enemy player is too 
close to you when you press Square an Encounter will occur, but more on that 
later.  Assuming noone is near you, the menu presents 3 options from which to 
choose (from top to bottom): pass, shoot, or dribble.

Choosing pass prompts you to pick one of your teammates to attempt to pass the 
ball to and shifts the stats in the upper right corner of the screen to focus on 
your player's PS parameter.  The player you're attempting to pass to will have a 
circle around him on the minimap indicating his location.  Press the Circle 
button to confirm target selection and the pass will begin.  As the ball moves 
toward the target your player's PS will start dropping until the ball arrives.  
If the player's PS reaches zero before the ball reaches his teammate, the pass 
will fail and the ball will bounce away.  Usually the opposing team will recover 
the ball in such a case, but if noone is nearby your team can recover also.  The 
only real way to judge how far a player can pass is to just play the game and try 
passing around a few times.

Passing consumes an amount of HP equal to your player's PS parameter.  If you 
attempt to pass with less than that amount of HP, the player's PS will drop to 
the amount of HP he has left.

Choosing shoot moves your ST parameter into view in the upper right and also 
brings up the opposing Keeper's stats underneath with CA highlighted.  Once a 
shot starts your player's ST will decrease until the ball reaches the Keeper, at 
which poiny the remaining ST is compared to the Keeper's CA.  The amount of ST a 
Keeper takes off varies from 50% to 150% of his CA.  If any ST is left after 
subtracting the modified CA a goal is scored.  If the ST is reduced to zero, two 
things may happen; the Keeper may catch the ball, in which case he will throw it 
to one of his teammates automatically, or the Keeper may block the ball, sending 
it flying away much like a failed pass.  Again, the Keeper's team is more likely 
to recover the ball, but if noone is around your team may recover.  ST reduces at 
the same amount per distance as PS, so use that as a gauge of where to shoot 
from.  Try to get as close to the goal as possible to ensure a high chance of 
scoring.

Shooting consumes an amount of HP equal to a player's ST parameter.
If you attempt to shoot with less than that amount of HP, the player's ST will 
drop to the amount of HP he has left.

Choosing dribble allows your player to continue moving without taking any actions 
or consuming HP.

2d. Encounters
--------------
When an enemy player is close to yours when you open the action menu, or an enemy 
player makes contact with one of your players, an Encounter will happen.  When 
that happens all enemy players within the circle surrounding your man with the 
ball will jump in front of him and the Encounter menu will appear in the upper 
left corner.  In the upper right corner all opposing players' stats will apear 
below your player's stats with the stat currently being compared highlighted.

The first part of the encounter menu will have at least 2 choices and as many as 
6 depending how many opponents your player is facing.  The top choice moves you 
directly to the Action menu (see above) while the lower choices attempt to break 
past each enemy in sequence.  When you attempt to break through, your player's PH 
is compared to all enemy ATs one at a time up to the number of players you chose 
to break past.  The amount of PH taken off by an enemy is 50% to 150% of that 
player's AT.  If your player's PH is reduced to zero the opposing player takes 
possession of the ball and play continues.  If your player successfully breaks 
past all the enemies you attempted to, the action menu will appear.  Note that 
when the opposing players are listed, the player with highest AT is listed first, 
then the next highest AT and so on.

If your player broke past all the defenders the action menu functions exactly as 
normal and all the choices you make are the same.  If there is at least one 
defender left, you will not be given the option to dribble and must pass or 
shoot.

While passing or shooting with an opponent present, their CU is compared to your 
player's PS or ST depending on whether you choose pass or shoot respectively.  
The amount of PS or ST taken off by each defender is again 50% to 150% of their 
CU, although it IS possible for a defender to miss and take off no PS or ST at 
all.  If your player's PS or ST is reduced to zero the opposing player takes 
possession of the ball and play continues.  If there is any PS or ST left the 
ball continues and the pass or shot resolves normally with your player's 
remaining PA or ST.  Note that when the opposing players are listed, the player 
with highest CU is listed first, then the next highest CU and so on.

2e. Status ailments
-------------------
Sometimes during an Encounter your player may become affected by a status 
ailment because of an enemy ability.  There are 3 status ailments in 
Blitzball; Venom, Nap, and Wiser

When affected by Venom a player does not recover HP and cannot use any 
abilities until the venom wears off or the half ends.  A player affected by 
venom will have a green blob around him and his HP will also be green 
instead of yellow.

When affected by Wiser a player's stats will be reduced.  Any lowered stats 
are colored blue instead of yellow, and the reduction lasts a certain 
duration of time or until the end of the half.  A player affected by Wiser 
will have a yellow blob around him.

When affected by Nap a player will stop moving and become unusable, and his 
marker on the minimap will turn black to indicate he's asleep.  A player 
affected by Nap will have a blue blob around him, and cannot do anything 
until he wakes up.  Players wake up after a certain amount of time, if any 
goal is scored, or after a pass is made to them.  The pass will fail but 
the player will immediately wake up.  Note that if a Keeper is put to sleep 
he will NOT apply his CA to any shots attempted even though his CA appears 
when you go to make a shot.  I currently know of no way to wake up a 
sleeping Keeper other than scoring a goal or waiting the sleep out.

2f. Team Menu
-------------
Pressing the Triangle button during a match brings up the team menu.  If your 
team has the ball the menu will offer 3 options (from top to bottom): Auto, 
Manual A, and Manual B.  Auto is the default setting and lets the computer 
completely control the movement of all your players.  Choosing Manual A or B 
allows you to control the player with the ball.  The difference between the 2 
appears to be how the camera works with movement; in Manual A pushing left on the 
controller always moves you left from the perspective of the minimap, while in 
Manual B it seems that you move left from the perspective of what's on the game 
screen.  I personally find Manual A much easier to use.

After choosing that option (or if your team doesn't have the ball) the formation 
menu will appear.  Your team starts with 4 formations and can earn more as your 
team level increases.  The 4 standard formations are Normal (default), Mark mode, 
Right side and Left side.

Normal is basically a zone defense, where your players go after the man with the 
ball within a certain area.  Note that your forwards will chase the ball just 
about anywhere while the defenders tend to stay on your half of the playing 
field.  This formation seems to be just fine most of the time.

Mark mode has your players cover only the opponent you chose to have them Mark in 
the pre-match setup screen, regardless of whether that opponent has the ball or 
not  See section 3b for details on setting up Marks.  Mark mode can be very 
effective if you match your players with the enemy players carefully.

Right and Left side has your players play a zone defense on that respective side 
of the playing area leaving the other side relatively undefended.

You can also earn other formations by playing a lot of games and levelling your 
team up.  The new ones I've learned so far are:

Center Attack sends everyone towards the middle leaving the sides relatively 
unprotected.

All Def sends everyone back on your half of the playing field for a solid 
defense.  This makes scoring very hard since your forwards will never have any 
support if they manage to steal the ball.

Flatline sends everyone on a suicide offensive run leaving no defense at all.  I 
would only recommend this if you are losing and desperately need a goal.

Counter is a type of zone defense that has your defenders and middle forward 
patrolling in front of your goal while the other forwards patrol on the enemy 
side.  This seems to be a very effective formation if you're winning since it 
combines strong defense with an offense that can score if the opposing team makes 
a mistake.

2g. Experience
--------------
Players gain experience by doing just about anything; passing, shooting, breaking 
past or tackling opponents, etc.  After each half players receive experience 
points based on their performance and gain levels depending on how much 
experience they earned.  Each level up will raise HP and may raise other skills 
as well.  Try to keep your team members at similar levels or you may find it hard 
to earn experience with the weaker members of the team, especially defenders.


***********************
|3. Managing your Team|
***********************
After finishing with the story Blitzball match and exiting that town you will be 
able to choose a new option at save spheres letting you manage a Blitzball team.  
As manager you can enter the team in tournaments, leagues or exhibition matches 
and hire and fire new players.  The better your team does the better items you 
can earn, so try to do your best!

3a. Blitzball main menus
------------------------
To access the Blitzball menus either choose the second option at a save 
crystal or talk to the attendant at the shop in the town where you played 
the Blitzball match.  Once you bring up the menu the following choices are 
available:

League - start or continue a 10 game league season
Tournament - (not always available) enter a 3 game tournament
Exhibition - Play an exhibition match
Tutorial - Look through the ingame tutorial
Team Data - Look at your team members stats and special abilities
Cancel
Reset Data - resets the entire Blitzball minigame

In league and tournament play you compete for prizes which are awarded to 
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams at the end of the season or tournament.  
There is also a special prize if someone on your team scores the most goals 
for that particular season or tournament.  These items are usually very 
good and unattainable otherwise.  Tournaments are not always available, but 
if you play a few league games a new tournament should open.  Note that 
sometimes in a tournament you can get a bye in the first round and end up 
playing only two games.

Exhibition matches don't count towards your league record, but you also 
can't gain experience while playing.  You can still learn abilities 
however, which makes exhibitions a good way to get skills without the other 
teams levelling up on you.  When you choose Exhibition you will be prompted 
to pick your opponent before proceeding to the pre-match setup screens.

Tutorial allows you to see the ingame tutorial again to brush up on your 
skills.

Team Data brings up a list of your current team members and allows you to 
view their stats and what abilities they've learned, as well as their key 
abilities (more on that later).

Reset Data basically clears everything from your current Blitzball world.  
The only time you should use this is if your team is SERIOUSLY underpowered 
and the other teams are so strong that you stand no chance of winning at 
all.  Remember you can always hire new people or even other team's 
members...don't give up on your team easily.

3b. Pre-match setup screens
---------------------------
Once you've chosen to play in a league, tournament, or exhibition match the 
game will go to the first of the pre-match setup screens, the Team setup 
screen.

On the Team setup screen you choose what players play which position 
starting with Left forward, then Right forward, Middle forward, Left 
defender, Right defender, and Keeper.  The game will ask for confirmation 
and then proceed to the Ability setup screen.

On the Ability setup screen you can assign Special abilities to each of 
your players that are level 3 or above.  As your levels go up you can 
assign more abilities per player up to a maximum of 5.  To assign an 
ability choose a player and pick from his/her list of abilities.  To remove 
an ability either pick ---- or the 2nd choice from the bottom on the lower 
right of the ability subscreen.  To access the second page of abilities 
choose the bottom right choice on the ability subscreen.  Once you've set 
everyone up pick OK to continue to the Mark setup screen.

On the Mark setup screen your players will be on the left and the opposing 
players will be on the right.  Once you choose one of your players you can 
scroll up and down the list of opposing players looking at their stats and 
abilities.  Any abilities listed in green are abilities your player can 
learn.  If you hit Circle on an opposing player, your player will "mark" 
that player and can learn his/her abilities listed in green during the 
match.  (See next section for details).  Each of your players can mark one 
enemy player per half, and can switch their mark at halftime.  If you don't 
want to mark an enemy player, or want to cancel a mark choose your player 
and then pick the option at the bottom to cancel the mark.  Also note that 
when you choose "Mark mode" from the Team menu during the match, your 
players will follow the player they have marked whether or not that 
opposing player has the ball until you choose a different team formation.  
Once you've finished all your marks choose the bottom option to begin the 
game.  The game will ask for confirmation and then the match will begin.  
If you choose cancel it will take you back to the Team setup screen so you 
can reset your team, abilities and marks.

3c. Special Abilities - how to learn and use them
-------------------------------------------------
Now that you know how to setup your team and play a game I'll discuss 
Special abilities.  First of all a player has to be level 3 to even use 
abilities, so you may need to play a few games to meet that requirement.  
After reaching level 3 a ---- will appear below that player's name on the 
Ability setup screen (see above) and indicate that they are ready to use an 
ability.  Some players will already know abilities (like Tidus) and some 
will have to learn them all from scratch.  To check a player's abilities go 
to the Team data screen from the main Blitzball menu.

Once on the Team data screen choose one of your team members and press 
Circle, which will bring you to their stat screen.  There will be a green 
line of text in the lower right with 3 abilities listed below it.  These 
are that player's KEY ABILITIES.  Key abilities are very important, becase 
each time a player learns one of his Key abilities it unlocks many more 
abilities for him to be able to learn.  Key abilities must be learned in 
order, as the 2nd key ability will not be available to learn even if an 
opponent has it (ie it wont be green on the Mark setup screen) until the 
first Key ability is learned.  If you press Circle again it will bring up 
the player's Ability subscreen.  The subscreen has 2 pages which are 
accessed by pressing Circle.  Any abilities currently known will be listed, 
along with several ---- which indicate abilities that can be learned.

Learning Abilities
------------------
As mentioned above, if you mark players with abilities listed in green on 
the Mark setup screen your players can learn those abilities during a 
match.  To learn an ability, first the opponent you marked must perform it.  
While he's executing the ability, the word "Capture!" will appear in the 
upper left corner of the screen.  If you press the Circle button while 
"Capture!" is on the screen there is a chance for a player who marked that 
opponent to learn the ability.  If there is a rising intonation sound you 
have successfully captured the ability and will be able to set it the next 
time you're on the ability setup screen.  If the sound is a low monotone 
beep you have failed to learn the ability.  Capturing it not always 
successful, and if your player is too far below the opponent in level it 
may be impossible to learn the ability at all.  

Tips for successful captures:
First off, try to not set more than 2 of your players to mark an enemy, as 
only one player can learn an ability per successful capture.  Remember who 
you marked on the other team and try to go after them.  If you marked a 
forward trying to learn his "xx shot" make sure to let him shoot once or 
twice or you'll never get a chance to learn it.  In addition remember to 
take level into consideration...if you have a level 5 player trying to 
learn from a level 12 player, it's not going to ever work.   Also don't 
forget that the 6th player on the opposing team is the Keeper; Keepers 
don't use any abilities other than Keeper abilites even if they have them 
equipped, so don't mark an opposing Keeper expecting to learn some new 
tackle or pass.  And vice-versa, don't expect to learn Keeper abilities 
from a forward or defender.  Finally, note that the timing when "Capture!" 
appears on the screen is different for each ability, so pay attention.  At 
the end of each half any abilities your players have learned will be listed 
on the experience screen.

Using abilities
---------------
Once you have abilities learned and assigned you'll be able to use them in 
the game.  Different abilities do different things and are used in 
different situations.  Some are automatic, while some are defensive or 
offensive in nature.

To use offensive abilities like xx pass or xx shot simply choose the 
appropriate command from the action menu as usual, and an additional menu 
will appear with a varying number of options depending on your equipped 
abilities.  Any abilities available to use will show up with an HP cost 
next to them on this new menu.  If you want your player to simply pass or 
shoot normally choose the uppermost option.

To use defensive abilities (tackles) a new menu will appear when an 
opponent tries to break past your player if you have xx tackle.  You can 
select to have your player use the tackle or not with the HP cost 
displayed.

Automatic abilities trigger by themselves and there doesn't seem to be any 
way to control their activation.

For a list of special abilities and their effects see section 6.

3d. Recruiting, scouting and misc.
----------------------------------
Now that you know all about Blitzball it's time to make a team.  There are 
several players you can recruit in the first city to add to your team (listed in 
section 4d) as well as many others scattered throughout the world.  To recruit 
new players press the Square button instead of the Circle button when facing 
them.  If you can recruit them a screen will show up listing their # of games 
still under contract (if 0 it will say "free agent") along with their name and 
salary.  If the player is available you will be given the option to hire them and 
then asked how many matches you wish to hire them for if you say yes.

When the contract with a player runs out after a Blitzball match (league, 
tournament, or exhibition) you will be given the opportunity to rehire them on 
the spot.  If you decline but decide to rehire them at a later date you will have 
to walk back to where they are and press Square again.  Opposing teams also have 
to rehire players when the contracts run out, so pay attention if there's a good 
player you want with a few games left on his contract.  Teams don't always resign 
players and you can pick up premium ones if you pay attention to their free 
agents.

Team Level
----------
After playing a certain amount of matches your team level will go up.  Sometimes 
when your team level goes up you get a new formation for the Team menu (see 
section 2f) or your Scout level goes up.  Each time your scout level goes up the 
amount of information shown when you attempt to hire a player will become more 
detailed.  At level 2 you can see the player's stats, and at level 3 you can see 
what abilities he has equipped.  I'm assuming at level 4 you can see all the 
abilities he has as well.


****************************
|4. General Team Strategies|
****************************
This section will hopefully help you to make an unbeatable team to win the 
Blitzball leagues and tournaments...and grab some great loot in the process 
:)

4a. Making a winning team
-------------------------
The first thing to do when making a winning team is to know what it takes 
to win.  You win by scoring goals.  LOTS of goals.  So, I suggest you get 
at least 2 forwards on your team with high SHT.  Fortunately Tidus fills 
one of those roles, so you really only need to find one more high SHT 
forward.  High PHY helps a great deal as well, because it's much easier to 
bash down defenders instead of trying to shoot through them.  For Tidus 
this is not an issue, since his Jekt shot ability completely removes 2 
defenders which usually results in a free shot on goal anyway.  I suggest 
putting these 2 on the left and right forward positions.

For the 3rd forward I recommend someone with very high PAS.  If you charge 
in with this guy to draw off the defense and then pass right past them, 
your other forwards will be open for a free shot on goal.
I suggest putting this guy as middle forward so he can pass almost anywhere 
on the map.

On defense ATK and CUT are the stats of choice, in that order.  If you 
can't take out the opponent with your ATK, your CUT isn't going to do you 
any good since he'll just mow you down.  You'll always have the Keeper to 
back you up, so CUT isn't anywhere near as important as ATK on defense.  
Make sure at least one of the 2 defenders has a decent PAS as well, since 
stealing the ball is all well and good but if you can't dish it out to the 
forwards the ball will just get stolen right back.  The 2 defenders won't 
ever be shooting the ball, but a decent PHY is nice if you need to beat 
down the opposing forwards to pass the ball out of your end.  I suggest one 
defender have high PAS and the other high PHY...in addition to high ATK and 
CUT of course.  It also helps if your defenders have a higher than average 
speed to catch any forwards who might break through.

Keeper is pretty much a no-brainer...find the guy with the highest CAT and 
get him on your team.  The sooner you get Keeper skills for him the better, 
they can only help him do his job.  If you have a good defense this guy 
shouldn't see much action after your first 5 games or so.

Once you have a team set up make sure to spread the experience out.  Your 
shooting forwards are going to get a lot with all the goals they score and 
defenders they blow past, so make sure to spend some time with the 
defenders passing around or let the other team get the ball and tackle them 
to death.  Even let a few shots go here and there if you're sure the Keeper 
can stop 'em.  If you only level up the shooters you'll be sorry when enemy 
teams with 17 and 18 SHT come and ruin your day.

Now other than these recommendations I have one more:  Get fast guys!  
Speed is by far the biggest advantage you can have in this game.  If the 
other team can't catch your players, they can pass and shoot around all 
day.  Do not under ANY circumstances play anyone under 60 speed (except 
Keeper of course).  At least one of the teams in the league will have a 
fast shooter, and if you can't stop him you'll lose.  For a lesson in how 
important speed is, watch how well your team does against the Ronzo guys 
(the race Kimari is) when you play them.

Now, I'm not saying this setup is the end all be all of teams, but my guys 
are undefeated through 40+ games and they've been scored on 3 times TOTAL.  
My best game so far was 11-0 against the Ronzo team, so I do know a little 
of what I'm talking about :)

4b. Manual play and formations
------------------------------
Now, for playing the actual matches.  Rule #1 is always use Manual.  If you 
watch the computer play it does some dumb stuff...don't let auto ruin a 
game for you.  I personally prefer Manual A since you can just watch the 
minimap and see everyone, but if you're used to it Manual B can be just as 
effective I suppose.

As for the formations, Normal is just fine 99% of the time.  It's nothing 
special, but your guys cover their zones well and it works adequately.  
Some of the ones you earn from team levels seem kind of interesting but are 
mainly score specific.

But, for the 1% of the time that Normal won't work, you have to set up a 
Mark mode defense.  This requires very specific setup but works GREAT 
against teams with only 1 good shooter (who usually has SHT much higher 
than your Keeper's CAT).  Basically just find thier super shooter on the 
Mark setup screen and have 3 guys mark him.  Make sure to leave your other 
2 players unmarked so they will be open when you get the ball.  In the 
match once you set your formation to Mark mode, the guy will become 
useless.  With 3 people covering him at all times he won't ever get a clear 
shot or pass off, and the rest of his team cant score on you anyway.  As 
long as one of your shooters isn't covering him you should still be able to 
score relatively easily and win.

Another form of Mark mode worth using is if the opposing team doesn't have 
any abilities you want/need.  Just match up your team one by one with 
theirs and you can shut down their team pretty well.  Stick one of your 
shooters on a guy with low ATK and you'll almost always get a free shot if 
you pass to him.  Stick your guy with high PAS on a low CUT opponent and 
you'll be able to pass anywhere in the arena with no problems.  But, don't 
do this at a sacrifice to learning new abilities...only if you don't need 
the ones the opposing players have.

4c. Special Ability setup
-------------------------
Setting up and learning the right special abilities is just as important as 
having a team with good stats.  If your shooters dont have any xx shots, or 
your defenders don't have any tackles...what's the point?  Get the right 
skills for the right people and your team will be much more effective.  One 
note, get everyone to level 3 ASAP.  That should take about 1 game if you 
do it right, but remember people can't equip abilities until they're level 
3.  Then get everyone to level 7 ASAP to be able to equip 2 abilities.  
After that it's not such a big deal, as 2 abilities is usually adequate 
under normal circumstances.

Learning
--------
First, write down all the Key abilities for every player on your team and 
keep that list next to you when you play a game.  Always check on the Mark 
setup screen to see if you can get a Key ability.  If so, only use the 
player who needs the ability to mark the opponent who has it and note the 
name.  For most of the game go after that player to have him use the 
ability until you learn it.  Key abilities open up SO many more good 
abilities to learn they're worth losing a game to get, if you have to go 
that far.  Other than that, if there aren't any Key abilities to be stolen 
try to spread out your marks so many people can learn things.

If it's tackles you need send your high PHY shooter and run over the target 
a few times back and forth until you learn it.  Not only does this get you 
an ability but it gives experience to the shooter too.  If you need a pass, 
find the opponent with it and let him steal from you a few times.  Usually 
he'll try to pass away immediately and you can get it that way.  For shots 
I usually say skip 'em.  Unless it's an S or X level, or Sphere shot, I 
wouldn't let the other team shoot enough to learn it...work on getting 
other abilities instead.

Nap
---
Okay, Nap is the best thing ever.  Get everyone you can Nap tackle, even 
your forwards, unless their ATK is pitiful (like Tidus).  The next thing to 
do is get Nap pass on your high PAS player.  To start the match get him the 
ball and take him into a crowd of opponents.  Even if their CUT is huge you 
should be able to hit at least 2 of them with the pass, and if you're lucky 
it could even take 3 people out of play right off the bat.  3 people asleep 
= instant goal.  Lastly is Nap shot...while not bad, the point of shooting 
is to score, not to put the Keeper to sleep.  But, if the opposing Keeper 
has really high CAT that's the only thing you can do sometimes.  Since a 
Keeper hit by Nap can't defend your next shot is sure to go in.

Shots
-----
Obviously, the only people who need shots are your 2 shooting forwards, and 
Tidus already has 2 of the best shots in the game in Jekt shot and Sphere 
shot.  Jekt shot is almost overpowered, removing 2 defenders AND adding 5 
to SHT.  Just charge to point blank range and blast away...easy goal.  If 
you manage to get an open shot Sphere shot is excellent as well since it 
can add an insane amount to your SHT and evens you out against Keeppower 
that almost all Keepers get very early.
As I said before Nap shot is ok if you have to use it, but Wiser shot isn't 
that great unless you have S or X and Venom shot against a Keeper is just 
about useless.  Your forwards shouldn't need shots to disable defenders, 
they should be powering through them with their high PHY.  And using GOOD 
shots to score goals.

Tackle
------
I suggest giving everyone on your team a tackle, no matter what one it is.  
Anything that makes the other team think twice about breaking past your 
players is a good thing, and all 3 status tackles are worth it.  For Drain-
type tackles, Drain tackle X is good, but the other 2 don't drain enough hp 
to be worth it since they don't add a bonus to ATK.

Half the players on my team have Wiser tackle S, and it's great to see 
enemy players swimming around with 5 SHT or 4 PAS when they had 15 or 16 
just a second ago...and when you have over 500HP a piece, spending 120 is 
nothing :)

Pass
----
Like I said above, Nap pass of any kind with a high PAS guy is deadly.  As 
for the rest of the team I suggest giving the defenders a decent pass if 
possible so they can get the ball to your forwards ASAP once you steal the 
ball.  As for Tidus and the other forward I wouldn't waste a slot with a 
pass unless you have a free one since guys with high SHT and PHY tend to 
have a very low PAS stat...and should be shooting instead of passing 
anyway.

Keeper
------
Get your Keeper Keeppower as soon as humanly possible.  It adds a lot to 
CAT and basically has unlimited uses since Keepers don't use HP for 
anything else.  Other Keeper skills help too, but Keeppower is the top one 
I've seen so far by miles.

Others
------
I really haven't found many of the other skills yet so I can't recommend 
anything.  Any of the anti-status skills are about useless unless at S or X 
level so don't waste your time equipping the lower level ones.  Tackle 
kaihi (avoid) looks to be very useful at any level but I haven't managed to 
learn that one yet :(  Other than that I hope to learn more abilities soon 
to fill out this section even more.

4d. Tips for starting your team
-------------------------------
Well, the very first thing is to make sure you got the Jekt shot in Tidus' dream 
sequence.  If you didn't, reload or restart the game and get it...seriously.  It 
is THAT good.  If you're having trouble learning it, what you need to do is using 
the center of the screen as a reference point, push towards the words that appear 
and press circle at the same time.  You only need to get like 15 presses correct 
which is NOT hard, keep trying until you get it...but it is an excellent ability 
which is one of, if not THE best shot.

Now other than that, I've given tips on building a team and how to advance it, 
but who to use on it?  Below is a list of the people available to recruit right 
when you can play Blitz ball for the first time in the town.  I don't know if 
their stats are different from game to game, but these were their starting stats:

I personally recommend getting Wedge (17 SHT!), Zarits, and Jumaru to replace 3 
of your original team.

Name		HP	PHY	PAS	SHT	SPD	ATK	CUT	CAT	$$	LV
----		--	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	--	--
Nida		100	12	3	10	30	2	2	3	60	1
Zeb=Ronzo	230	12	7	11	52	7	7	1	150	1
Biggs		80	10	3	11	57	5	2	1	100	1
Shermie	100	11	5	10	58	4	2	2	100	1
Zarits	100	6	5	3	59	15	11	1	150	1
Jumaru	100	8	5	1	60	1	4	14	200	1
Shu		215	10	4	10	60	4	9	1	80	3
Wedge		80	9	3	17	65	6	5	2	160	1

These players are scattered throughout the town (and I don't remember where), but 
a short searching around should turn them all up with no problems.  Even after 
you hire them they don't move so you can always come back to find them easily.  
There are also two of the opposing teams' players at two of the ports in town, 
but you can't recruit any of them for like 20 games or more.  Also, your original 
team players are still in the room you prepared for the match in, if you ever 
need to hire them.

Now, obviously the team stats of Tidus' team will differ based on what you did in 
the story match, but here's what mine were:

Tidus		166	11	4	11	60	3	2	1	1000	3
Letti		125	7	11	4	60	5	5	1	40	2
Josh		167	9	8	1	63	10	5	1	10	3
Kippa		173	4	2	1	54	2	4	7	60	3
Dat		90	12	4	8	60	2	2	1	30	1
Pots		203	3	6	1	10	6	1	3	50	3

I replaced Kippa, Dat, and Pots with Wedge, Zarits and Jumaru and I'm 
almost using the same team now.  Wedge is an absolute monster as he levels 
up...starting with 17 SHT is good enough but on my team now he's at level 
30 or something with 35 PHY and 21 SHT.  He's at least 12 levels above 
everyone else on my team and walks through entire defenses to score 
goals...it's almost unfair :)  Oh did I mention he has like 20 ATK and 17 
CUT too so he can steal the ball to boot?  Add to that over 1500 HP...I 
just need to get him good X skills to use all those HP..the only good stuff 
he has is Nap shot and Nap Tackle :(

Ok enough bragging...good luck with your team and keep your eyes out in new 
areas for Blitz ball recruits.  If you pay attention during league play you 
may be able to snag up another team's good player if they don't rehire 
him/her.


******************************
|5. List of Special Abilities|
******************************
Starting in the upper left of the first Ability subscreen page and 
continuing down the columns from left to right.  All shots, tackles, and 
passes are activated in the corresponding menu during a match.  Other 
Abilites with an HP cost activate automatically or have a fixed % chance to 
active; when they do so the HP cost is applied.  Abilities with an "HP cost 
to equip" reduce the player's maximum HP by that amount but do not cost HP 
during the match to use.

Page 1:
-------
*Column 1*
Jekt shot -    120HP cost, +5 SHT, shoots through up to 2 defenders
????
Sphere shot -  90HP cost, +3 SHT, plus random SHT bonus
????
Venom shot -   20HP cost, +3 SHT, 40% chance of poison
Venom shot S - ?
Venom shot X - ?
Nap shot -     45HP cost, +3 SHT, 40% chance of sleep
Nap shot S - ?
Nap shot X - ?

*Column 2*
Wiser shot -   30HP cost, +3 SHT, 40% chance of CUT or CAT down
Wiser shot S - ?
Wiser shot X - ?
Venom pass -   40HP cost, +3 PAS, 30% chance of poison
Venom pass S - 120HP cost, +5 PAS, 60% chance of poison
Venom pass X - ?
Nap pass -     40HP cost, +3 PAS, 30% chance of sleep
Nap pass S -   ?
Nap pass X -   510HP cost, +7 PAS, 100% chance of sleep
Wiser pass -   40HP cost, +3 PAS, 30% chance of PHY ATK or CUT down

*Column 3*
Wiser pass S -   180HP cost, +5 PAS, 60% chance of PHY ATK or CUT down
Wiser pass X -   ?
Volley shot -    10HP cost, 50% chance of taking a free shot after a
                 ball is deflected (blocked shot or failed pass)
Volley shot S -  ?
Volley shot X -  ?
Venom tackle -   30HP cost, +3 ATK, 40% chance of poison
Venom tackle S - ?
Venom tackle X - ?
Nap tackle -     40HP cost, +3 ATK, 40% chance of sleep
                 Chance of sleep only if enemy PHY is reduced to 0
Nap tackle S -   ?

Page 2
------
*Column 1*
Nap tackle X -   ?
Wiser tackle -   8HP cost, +3 ATK, 40% chance of PHY PAS or SHT down
Wiser tackle S - 80HP cost, +5 ATK, 70% chance of PHY PAS or SHT down
Wiser tackle X - ?
Drain tackle -   40% chance of absorbing 30 HP
                 player must have at least 30HP max to use
Drain tackle S - 70% chance of absorbing 150 HP
                 player must have at least 150HP max to use
Drain tackle X - 100% chance of absorbing 500 HP
                 player must have at least 500HP max to use
Tackle kaihi -   40HP cost, automatic 40% chance of evading tackles 
                 Chance of losing balance after evading a tackle
???? -           ?
Antivenom -      5HP cost, automatic 50% chance of preventing poison

*Column 2*
Antivenom X -  ?
Antinap -      40HP cost, automatic 50% chance of preventing sleep
Antinap X -    ?
Antiwiser -    30HP cost, automatic 50% chance of preventing power down
Antiwiser X -  ?
Antidrain -    10HP cost, automatic 50% chance of preventing drain
Antidrain X -  ?
Spin Ball -    30HP cost, automatically increases chance enemy Keeper
               will deflect shot instead of catching it (if shot fails)
Sticky glove - 30HP cost, Keeper ability, automatically raises the
               chance of catching a successfully defended shot
Scout mode -   5HP cost to equip, increases sight range of cpu players
               allowing them to chase the ball more effectively
*Column 3*
More battle mode - 10HP cost, automatic 60% chance of increasing
                   range the player can Encounter
????
???? 
Regen -            50HP cost to equip, increases HP recovery
Mezamesukkiri -    180HP cost, automatic 50% chance of parameter up
                   when player wakes up
High risk -        300HP cost to equip, lowers all stats by half,
                   doubles experience gained
Kyouken -          ?
Gamble -           300HP cost, auto 50% chance of all parameters up
                   when player wakes up
Keeppower -        30+(random)HP cost, Keeper skill, 60% activation
                   Random CAT bonus, press Circle to stop the number
????

One of the ???? is Vile venom, but I don't know which one.


**************************
|6. Closing and Copyright|
**************************
Well, that's it folks.  I hope you found the guide helpful in playing this 
great minigame.  I've put the last oh, 7 or 8 hours into writing this so 
far, and I will probably spend at least that with all the updates to come 
and everything so please don't copy or steal the material in here...that 
would make me upset :(  All material printed within is copyright James 
Irwin 2001.

Unless some weird things happen the next update will probably be the last, 
since I won't have the game any more in another week.  Hopefully by that 
time I'll be able to complete the Ability list and possibly have a location 
chart for all the Blitz ball players you can recruit.

