Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose Walkthrough :
This walkthrough for Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose [Playstation 2] has been posted at 27 Oct 2010 by baby blues and is called "Xenosaga Episode ll Battle Mechanics Guide". If walkthrough is usable don't forgot thumbs up baby blues and share this with your freinds. And most important we have 10 other walkthroughs for Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose, read them all!
|
baby blues |
Walkthrough - Xenosaga Episode ll Battle Mechanics Guide_______________________________________________________________________________ =============================================================================== X E N O S A G A E P I S O D E I I J E N S E I T S V O N G U T U N D B O S E =============================================================================== Game: Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose Platform: PlayStation 2 Region: North American Release (NTSC) Guide Type: Battle Mechanics Guide Written by: Darrin Ackerman (VertigOne) Website: http://www.geocities.com/onevertigo1 Version: v1.04 - April 7, 2005 This document was written with the font Courier New, Size 10, 79 characters per line. Best viewed with Courier New, Size 10. Notepad, WordPad, Word, UltraEdit and any text editor/viewer work great for viewing. MINOR SPOILER WARNING: There are some extremely minor spoilers in this guide, however, they are spoilers nonetheless, so I felt it necessary to warn you. I talk about some Skills you can learn, as well as give some detailed information about characters and E.S. Robots. That's the total extent of the spoilers. You have been warned! _______________________________________________________________________________ =============================================================================== ==> i. L E G A L I N F O R M A T I O N SLI01 =============================================================================== First and foremost let's get the legal stuff out of the way. This document is a copyrighted work and is intended solely for PERSONAL USE. You may print a copy for yourself and you may give copies to your family and friends so long as you do NOT change a single thing. COMMERCIAL ENTITIES (INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS) ARE NOT PERMITTED TO USE THIS DOCUMENT FOR ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER BEYOND THE PERSONAL USE OF AN INDIVIDUAL. THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT TO BE INCLUDED AS PART OF ANY SOFTWARE, MAGAZINE, ON-LINE SOURCE OR ANY PART OR AFFILIATE OF ANY COMMERCIAL ENTITY. YOU MAY NOT REPRODUCE, DISTRIBUTE, MODIFY OR DO ANYTHING TO THIS DOCUMENT, BEYOND PRINTING FOR PERSONAL USE. DOING ANY SUCH ACTION IS A DIRECT VIOLATION OF COPYRIGHT LAW! _______________________________________________________________________________ =============================================================================== ==> ii. D I S T R I B U T I O N A N D H O S T I N G SDAH01 =============================================================================== Distribution and hosting of this document is limited to the following websites. Developers and/or publishers of the game are most welcome to host this guide and need no permission from me to do so. No other sources are allowed! -> GameFAQs.com (and its affiliates) -> neoseeker.com -> faqs.ign.com -> cheathappens.com -> supercheats.com -> xenolegacy.com If you would like to host this FAQ on your website, drop me an e-mail at the address listed above, and we'll see what we can do. You MAY NOT host this guide without being listed in this section or my written permission! -[ Hosting Rules ]- 1. The guide must be displayed in plain-text format. However, it can be wrapped in a frame, table, or whatever. This is primarily to keep the proper formatting of the guide. 2. The guide must be publicly available for FREE. No charges of any kind may be applied for access to this guide! NO EXCEPTIONS! _______________________________________________________________________________ =============================================================================== ==> iii. L A T E S T U P D A T E S SLU01 =============================================================================== Last Updated: April 7, 2005 ---------------------------- - Added website URL to the guide. I actually did this in the previous release, but it's finalized now. You can always find the latest copies of this (and any other guides I write) at the website listed at the very top of this guide. Other websites may or may not have the most recent copies (I try to update them all, sometimes I forget or have problems doing so). Be sure to check it out! - Added search code to the Movement section. Forgot to do it previously. Oops. - Corrected the Air/Down damage modifier details throughout the guide. I had incorrectly listed it as being 1.5x, when it is really 2x. (Thanks to Link_Aran32 for pointing this out!) - Updated the "Changes From Episode I" section with some new/revised info. - Updated the "Command Menu" section with some new/revised information. - Updated the "Event Slot" section with some new information. - Updated the "Information Window Details" section with new information. _______________________________________________________________________________ =============================================================================== ==> iv. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S STOC01 =============================================================================== Welcome to the Table of Contents! Here you can see a quick outline of all the sections in this FAQ. Each section has a Search Code, as does any of its sub- sections. To use the Search Codes, press CTRL+F and enter the code into the Find box that pops up. That will then take you right to the section! If CTRL+F doesn't work for you, use the Edit or Search menu, then Find. You may have a magnifying glass or binoculars button on your toolbar which works, too. Sec# Section Title Search Code ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i Legal Information SLI01 ii Distribution and Hosting SDAH01 iii Latest Updates SLU01 iv Table of Contents STOC01 I Introduction SI01 II Battle Mechanics SBM01 a. Changes From Episode I SBM01A b. Screen Layout SBM01B c. Command Menu SBM01C d. Action Sequence SBM01D e. Event Slot SBM01E f. Information Window Details SBM01F g. Basic Attacks SBM01G h. Zones SBM01H i. Movement SBM01I j. Weaknesses SBM01J k. Stock SBM01K l. Boost SBM01L m. Air & Down SBM01M n. Elemental Chains SBM01N o. Double Attacks SBM01O p. Special Attacks SBM01P q. Ether SBM01Q r. Ether Combos SBM01R s. Status Effects SBM01S t. Escape! SBM01T u. Change SBM01U v. Items SBM01V w. Tips & Tricks SBM01W III E-Mail and Submissions SEMS01 IV Version History SVH01 V Credits and Special Thanks SCST01 _______________________________________________________________________________ =============================================================================== ==> I. I N T R O D U C T I O N SI01 =============================================================================== Welcome to my Xenosaga Episode II Battle Mechanics Guide! This guide was written with the sole intention to bring you all sorts of knowledge about the battle system within Xenosaga Episode II (XS2). Since the battle system in XS2 is fairly new compared to that of XS1, there's much to be learned about it. The new system is far more complex and has much more depth than the previous iteration in Episode I. With that in mind, there's also a pretty decent learning curve with the new system. I've written this guide because of all the issues people seem to be having with the new system. While it's not overly complex, there's several elements that you absolutely must grasp in order to fully understand to make proper use of the new battle system. Since many of the elements present in the new battle system are totally different (or were simply non-existent) from Episode I, I felt a Battle Guide would be very helpful -- to those new to the series and to those simply having a hard time with the new system. This is my attempt at explaining the battle system in a complete and comprehensive manner. Some things I am not entirely sure of myself, however, in those cases I've made note of that. If anything you see here is incorrect, misleading or otherwise out of context, please do let me know so I can make the necessary changes! _______________________________________________________________________________ =============================================================================== ==> II. B A T T L E M E C H A N I C S SBM01 =============================================================================== Battles are a major part of XS2, as with many RPGs. You'll be doing battle throughout the game, so obviously you're going to need a good understanding of the battle system. I've covered (or attempted to, at least) every aspect of the battle system and the mechanics of it in this section. Everything from screen layout, to in depth analysis of every aspect of battle. You may want to have the manual handy as you read this. I can't show you screenshots to help you visualize what I'm talking about -- but the manual already has some fairly good shots for you to examine. Some of what's here is from the manual, in part or whole, but I've gone a step further to help clarify things I thought were vague, or just to simply add more information. There is far more information in this guide than in that piddly manual. Anyway, let's get on with it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-a. Changes From Episode I SBM01A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- While the battle system is fairly similar to the Episode I battle system, there are many changes and new additions. This section simply lists what relevant changes there are from Episode I to Episode II. -[ AP ]- AP is no longer, it's gone. Instead, each character can perform two normal attacks (or one single attack) each turn. However, there is a new feature called "Stock" which allows you to stock up attacks so you can execute up to 5 attacks in one turn. More on Stock, later. -[ Techs ]- Techs can no longer be upgraded or chosen. Each character has a set of Techs, and that's all they get. Techs are called "single attacks" throughout this guide. -[ Positions ]- Characters and enemies have slightly different positioning now. You have more freedom to where you can move on the battlefield. You (or an enemy) may have your back to another character or enemy (which could end up very bad or very good depending on who's back is facing whom). -[ Scope ]- There is no more Scope accessory or skill. You always see the enemy name and HP info now. -[ Boosts ]- Boosts are now shared between your entire party. There is only one Boost Gauge for your party, and so long as you have at least one Boost, anybody can take it. This also means that you'll generally get more Boosts and be using them more often. They still work the same as in Episode I. The character must NOT be in the Group Turn Window and nobody else can be Boosted. Also, enemies now have an onscreen Boost Gauge you can see (below the GTW). Now you can always tell how many Boosts an enemy has. These are also shared between all enemies on the screen. NOTE: The Boost Gauge maxes out at 3, however there are items you can use to increase it all the way up to 5. -[ Status Effects ]- Statuses are still here, however they come in three flavors now. L or "low" for weaker statuses, "H" for "high" or stronger statuses and S for "Special" statuses (buffs). This also means that there are now two types of ethers and items for removing statuses. More on Statuses later. -[ A.G.W.S. ]- The A.G.W.S. are also no more, having been replaced by E.S. Robots. These newer robots are much larger and piloted by 2 people (pilot and copilot). You cannot bring them in to a normal battle anymore. Rather, there are certain dungeons (and other points) throughout the game where you use them. -[ Event Slot ]- The Event Slot is back, but this time is slightly different from Episode I. It has the same three from Episode I (Crit up, boost up, points up) as well as 3 new slots: Ether damage up, turn cancel and reverse. More info on these later. -[ Elements ]- The basic elements are back: Beam, Fire, Thunder (Lightning in Ep1) and Ice. Spirit is no more, instead it's now called Aura. They all function the same, but now you'll need to pay attention to enemy weaknesses and what attacks your characters have. More than you would have in Episode I, for sure. Weaknesses, elements and attack types play a major role in battles now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-b. Screen Layout SBM01B ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The battle screen (the screen you see when in battle) is split up into eight different sections. It's very similar to the Episode I battle screen, with some minor changes. I've made up a quick and dirty diagram of the battle screen, though the manual has some nice screen shots which will make things easier for you to see (page 11). If you don't have the manual, my horrible drawings will have to be enough! Also, for reference, everything covered here is also covered a bit in the manual on pages 11-16. -[ Character Status Window ]- ------- HP xx/xx ------- HP xx/xx ------- HP xx/xx | Char | [============] | Char | [============] | Char | [============] | | EP xx/xx | | EP xx/xx | | EP xx/xx | Pic 1 | [============] | Pic 2 | [============] | Pic 3 | [============] ------- ST ---/---/--- ------- ST ---/---/--- ------- ST ---/---/--- -[ Information Window ]- -[ Status Info Window ]- -[ Main Battlefield Area ]- All enemies and players shown here. -[ Target Cursor ]- Displayed above head of currently selected target. -[ Attack Command Info ]- -[ Target Data Window ]- Buttons Attack Type Lists Name, HP, Statuses SS SS attack and Zone. ST ST attack TS TS attack [=======Player BG======] TT TT attack [Boosted] [Event] [ Group Turn Window ] O O attack [Person ] [Slot ] [ (Action Sequence) ] X Menu [Display] [=======Enemy BG=======] -[ Character Status Window ]- Along the very top of the screen is the Character Status Window (CSW -- also known as "status window" or "status bar"). This window lists character information for each of your characters (or E.S.) that are in battle. Information such as HP/EP and Stock is listed. -[ Target Cursor ]- The Target Cursor is the little arrow facing down above the currently selected target. This points at who the actions will effect. This also lists which direction the character or enemy is facing (Front or Back). If you attack an enemy with their Back to you, your hit rate rises to 100% (meaning you'll never miss) and the critical rate goes up by 50%. This also effects enemies if YOUR back is to them, so watch out! -[ Command Buttons and Attack Information ]- On the bottom left of the screen is the Command Buttons and the Attack Information for each of those buttons. This window lists which buttons you must press for an attack and what kind of attack it is. Pressing X brings up (or cancels out of) the Command Menu. -[ Command Menu ]- Pressing X brings up (or cancels out of) the Command Menu. Here you may perform several actions including: Stock, use an Item, use Ether, Move around the battlefield, Change a character out for one in Reserve and Escape. -[ Target Data Window ]- On the bottom right of the screen, the very top part of it is the Target Data window. This displays some information about the currently targeted character or enemy. Information listed includes: HP remaining, SC (status condition -- L, H or S [enhanced status] as well as Zone information. The Zone is only listed when you discover the right combination for the enemies weak zone. More on Zones later. -[ Boost Gauges and Action Sequence ]- Just below the Target Data is the Player Boost Gauge (PBG). The PBG is for your entire party, meaning as long as there's 1 Boost available, anyone in your party may use it. Below the PBG is the Action Sequence Window (ASW). The ASW lists the characters and enemies turn order. Enemies appear as icons either: M for mechanical, B for biological or G for Gnosis. The left-most character or enemy gets the next turn, while the one after goes next, and so on. Below the ASW is the Enemy Boost Gauge (EBG). This shows you how many Boosts the enemies have. Just like the PBG, all the enemies share one gauge. NOTE: The Action Sequence Window (ASW) is also referred to as the "group turn window (GTW)" or simply "turn window" throughout this guide. -[ Information Window ]- Displayed during battle, when you hit a target or are attacked. While in the command menu, the Status Window is displayed, if any statuses are on that character. The Information Window displays information about the attacks that are being performed. Zone information, evasion, guarding, elemental chains and any other attack-specific information is displayed here. -[ Status Effects ]- Just below the CSW is the Status Effects window. This window is only displayed when you enter the Command Menu, and lists any Status Effects the character may have on them. This window does not show up if the character has no status effects. -[ Event Slot ]- This shows the current icon for the current event slot. There are a total of 7 possible slots. For more information, see the Event Slot section below. -[ Boost Person Display ]- If anyone (player or enemy) has boosted, it will show the icon of the boosted person here. For enemies, it only shows the enemy type (B/G/M). Normal boosts are yellow, while counter and combo boosts are displayed in red. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-c. Command Menu SBM01C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can access the Command Menu by pressing X when your turn comes up. The Command Menu lets you perform several actions beyond the normal attacks. Here's a list of the following choices you have and what they do: Stock -- Build up one Stock. When operating an E.S., this builds up 100 EC. Defense is also improved while Stocking. Ether -- Use an Ether skill that you have learned. If you're operating an E.S., the E.S. Zebulun is the only E.S. that can use Ethers, otherwise this is unavailable. Double -- Perform an acquired Double Attack. Certain conditions must be met to execute these attacks (more on that later). Not available while piloting an E.S. Move -- Change the characters position on the battlefield. You can sometimes move behind enemies to gain a tactical advantage. Change -- change out the current party member for a party member in the reserve. (NOTE: once the Command Menu is open, you have to press right or left on the d-pad or left stick to see this option.) Escape -- Flee the battle. Some battles cannot be escaped from. Only Shion, MOMO and the E.S. Zebulun can perform this action. (NOTE: once the Command Menu is open, you have to press right or left on the d-pad or left stick to see this option.) Special -- Perform a unique attack (KOS-MOS & E.S. Robots only). Stock is required. When piloting an E.S., performs a special attack of your choosing, provided you have enough EC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-d. Action Sequence SBM01D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battles take place in a turn-based system, in which faster characters move first and more often, as determined by their Agility (AGL). The AS Window is in the lower-right corner of the screen and goes from left to right. Characters or enemies listed on the left go first. Characters have their portraits in the AS window, while enemies have icons representing what type of enemy they are. The icons are: M -- mechanical B -- biological G -- Gnosis The icon that is slightly raised is the currently targeted character or enemy. If no icon is raised, that character or enemy simply isn't listed on the AS window. NOTE: The Action Sequence Window is also called the "group turn window" or simply "turn window" throughout this guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-e. Event Slot SBM01E ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just left of the Action Sequence window is the Event Slot. This "slot" changes each turn and provides a random effect during that turn. Generally, the effects are beneficial to you, unless it happens on the enemy turn, but even then sometimes they are beneficial. The Event Slot has the following icons: -[ Normal Slots ]- Red. Plus sign with the letters "CTC" below it -- this is critical rate up, which gives you (or the enemy) a better chance of landing a critical blow. Purple. Three arrows pointing right with the letters "BST" below it -- Boost Gauge Up. Attack while this icon is displayed and your BG will fill quicker. Green. Fist with the letters "SKL" below it -- this is skill points up. Kill an enemy with this icon displayed and you'll get bonus skill points for killing that enemy (ONLY the enemy(ies) you killed while the icon was displayed!). You can get random values from x2, x4 and x10. -[ Random Slots ]- Yellow. Sphere surrounded by two crescents with the letters "ETR" below it -- ether up. Ether damage and recovery increased by 50%. Gray. A hollow rectangle with a solid rectangle behind with the letters "T-C" below it -- target will lose its turn if hit by an attack. Red (or pink). Curved arrow with the letters "RV" below it. Boost Gauge of target increases if attacked. Basically, if you attack an enemy on this slot, they'll get as much boost as you do. Same works if the enemy attacks you on this slot. Gray. Empty icon with the letters "NON" below it -- none. Nothing special happens. The order of the Event Slot is always the same. It goes in the following order: CTC -> BST -> SKL -> (random) ^--- II-h. Zones SBM01H ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, now, enough of the basic stuff. Zones are actually very simple to understand and grasp, once you've seen them in action. They are a new feature to Episode 2, and while adding some depth to the battle, they're not overly complex or anything. Since it's new, however, there's bound to be some hesitation. Zones are different parts of an enemy split into 3 main parts: A, B and C. A can be considered High, B is Mid while C is low. That is, when you're talking about the height. Zone C is someones legs/feet basically. Zone A would be their head while Zone B is their midsection. Almost every enemy has a weak zone. The weak zone is a combination of two or more individual zones. When you hit this zone, you will "Break" the enemy. While the enemy is in the "Break" state, they will take 1.5x damage. Which is very good. However, the Break state ends after the current turn. You must boost your characters to continue taking advantage of the Break state. I told you earlier that each of your attack buttons (S/T/O) correspond to a certain zone, and they do. You have to chain together S,T and sometimes O attacks in order to exploit an enemy's weak zone. But before I go too far, let me give you a quick look at what buttons are which zones: Button Zone ------ ---- O A, B or C (B more than A or C, depending on enemy) S B T C Now, when you press any combination of buttons, they will attack the zones of an enemy. For example, if you press S then T, you're performing an attack against the "BC" zone. If the enemy is weak against this zone, you'll break them. If you've Stocked and have multiple attacks available, you can press something like: TTOOO and that will be against the CCBBB zone. Generally, however, enemies are weak against two or three zones. Some bosses are weak against more, so you'll have to work harder to break them. As I said, enemies are generally only weak to 2 or 3 zones. This makes your job easier because every normal enemy can be broke with just one of your characters. Some 3 zone and all 4 zone enemies will need the use of two characters to break the zone. Some zones may require two characters to break it. For example, if an enemy has a BCBC zone, there's no way one character can break it. So in order to break this zone, you would have to start with BC (attack buttons S then T) and then boost another character to finish with the final BC blow. After that, in order to continue to take advantage of the Break state, you must continue boosting characters. I'll get into Boosts in more detail later, but there's one point I need to make. A turn is considered over when nobody boosts. If you boost your characters, it's all considered the same turn (even though it's really not). For all intents and purposes, when I talk about something happening when the turn ends, that means the turn ended, provided you didn't boost any of your characters. If you have boosted, the turn ends when the character finishes their turn. It may be confusing, and when I think about it, it is... but it's the games fault -- not mine. They describe it the same way I do, and for whatever reason, I don't know. Once again, once you've hit an enemy's weak zone and they are in the Break state (you'll see the word Break in the top-left corner). You must boost your characters to take advantage of this. If you do not, and the turn ends, even if one of your characters has the very next turn, the enemy will no longer be in a Break state, and you'll have to hit their weak zone all over again. Since every enemy has different zones, you will want to learn the Memory (1C) skill as soon as possible. Characters with this skill always remember the enemy's weak zones, so you don't have to waste time guessing and messing with attacks -- that is, once you've already figured out what the weak zone is. The weak zone is displayed in the Target Data Window on the bottom right of the screen (just above the turn window). Just remember, not every enemy has a weak zone. Some do not. The easiest way to tell is to look at the enemy info window. If the enemy has a weak zone, it'll either display the letters of the zone (provided you figured it out already) or it'll display a question mark "?" -- which means you haven't figured out the weak zone. If it says "Zone" with a blank, that means the enemy has no weak zone, so you can use whatever attacks you want. Finally, as you attack an enemy with the different attack buttons, the zones you are hitting will be displayed in the top-left corner (just under the left- most character portrait). Zones listed in Red are zones the enemy is weak against. White zones are the ones they are not weak against. So if you're experimenting and you hit BB, and it's displayed as Red B, White B -- you know the zone starts with B, since the first B was displayed in Red. Now, on your next turn, you try a different combination (BC) and they're both displayed in red. Provided the enemies weak zone is just "BC" you'll then Break them! Now, you may not totally understand all of this just yet, and that's okay. The only way you can really learn the battle system is to experiment. You should have a good understanding of zones now, and with that, you'll be able to exploit them in battle! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-i. Movement SBM01I ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before we get too in depth, I need to tell you about the Move command and what role movement can play in battles. Unlike Episode I, you have more freedom in movement than just front/rear of your line. You can actually get behind an enemy -- but they can get behind you, too! Moving is simple. You just open up the Command Menu, then select Move. A target cursor will appear and you can use your stick or d-pad to move it around the field. Select the position you want to move to, then hit O to confirm. The character will move there and then their turn ends. Unlike you, enemies cannot move. Wherever they start battle is where they'll remain until they die. Keep that in mind. The benefits to moving around the battlefield can be great. Normally, face to face battles don't require moving, and usually don't let you move. Pincer attacks (surrounded from both sides) are also fairly common, and either you or the enemy can be in the center. Instances like that are when you want to jockey for position. Moving gives you two real benefits: moving behind an enemy so you may hit them in the back and moving one of your characters so their back isn't to an enemy. Hitting something in the back (either you or your enemy) gives these benefits: - Up to 1.5x damage - Critical rate rises by 50% - Back hits cannot be evaded Alright, so what does all that mean? Well, first, to make things easier, everything I've said so far also applies to enemies. They get the same benefits you would when they hit your characters in the back. Remember that! Damage dealt can be up to 1.5x -- that doesn't mean every hit will be 1.5x damage, but it could do that much. Critical rate rises by 50% -- this means there is a 50% greater chance of a critical hit being dealt on a Back Hit. Back Hits cannot be evaded. Simple as that. Back hits always succeed. This should be obvious as the enemy's (or your) back is facing the attack, which cannot be seen. You can't dodge what you can't see! Often times you will not be able to move around the field unless you kill an enemy or two. Moving isn't always necessary so this isn't usually an issue. If you find yourself wanting to move, but cannot, kill an enemy or two and try again. Some battles do not allow the freedom of movement, so you'll be stuck where you are, regardless of how many enemies you kill. Moving can be very helpful in getting a tactical advantage in battle, but I find it's not needed very often. You may think differently, however, and that's fine -- play how you like! Just remember, you use up a turn just to move! Also, if anything, you should try to move characters with their backs to enemies. Sometimes this can't be avoided, so instead have them attack the stronger enemy so they face that one. Then their back will be to a weak(er) enemy, which will hopefully deal less damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-j. Weaknesses SBM01J ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Almost all enemies have weaknesses. These are the types of attacks that they are weak against. These attacks will do more damage, obviously, than attacks that they aren't weak against. Weaknesses (not zones) are combinations of physical and ether attacks, as well as attributes such as Fire, Ice or Thunder. Most enemies have multiple weaknesses, and the more of these you exploit, the more damage you'll do. The easiest way to find out what an enemy is weak against, is to use the Analyze (1C) ether to scan them. A window will pop up with some information about that enemy, which includes what they are weak against. Enemies can be weak against certain attacks (physical or ether), certain attributes (pierce, slash, fire, etc.) or a combination of both. When you scan an enemy with Analyze, you'll see what they're weak against. First, a quick diagram of the Analyze window: -------------------------------- | HP 9999/9999 | | W.ATK Physical/Ether | | W.ATR Au/Bm/Fi/Ic/Pc/Sl/St/Th | | EXP 999 | | S.Pt 99 | | C.Pt 99 | | Rare SomeRareItem | | Item SomeNormalItem | -------------------------------- Here's the information on "W.ATK" (attack type) and "W.ATR" (attribute type): Attack Types: ------------- Physical -- means physical attacks. Most of your characters have these types of attacks. Jr., Jin, KOS-MOS and Ziggy all have physical attacks. Ether -- means Ether based attacks. This isn't the same as Ether spells. Basically, some attacks are imbued with the Ether "spirit." Shion, MOMO and chaos have Ether-based attacks. Attribute Types: ---------------- Aura -- Listed as "Au" Beam -- Listed as "Bm" Fire -- Listed as "Fi" Ice -- Listed as "Ic" Thunder -- Listed as "Th" Pierce -- Listed as "Pc" Slash -- Listed as "Sl" Strike -- Listed as "St" When you've scanned an enemy with Analyze, let's say for example that under their weaknesses, you saw: Physical, Fire and Pierce. This means the enemy is weak against those three things. Physical being the attack type, while Fire and Pierece are the attributes. So if you use MOMO or Jr. (both have Pierce type attacks) you would be exploiting the Pierce weakness of the enemy. With the above in mind, let's say you use Ziggy to attack. His attacks are Physical and Fire, so you'd be exploiting two of the enemies weaknesses and dealing even more damage than you would if you used MOMO to attack. Since Jr. has Physical and Pierce type attacks, you'd also be exploiting two of the enemy's weaknesses. There are also Sword ethers which you can learn. When you cast one of these ethers on a character, they will gain an attribute on their attacks. They are: Flame Sword (fire), Ice Sword (ice), Thunder Sword (thunder) and Aura Sword (aura). The only characters that can use the Sword ethers are characters that don't already have one of these attributes on their attacks. Basically, Shion, chaos and Ziggy have no use for these as they already have one of these attributes on their attacks. chaos has Aura, Shion has Beam and Thunder and Ziggy has fire. Even if you cast a Sword ether on one of them, it wouldn't work. Now, keeping with the above example, let's say we're using Jr. to attack. We already know he has Physical and Pierce on his attacks, so he's exploiting two of the enemy's weaknesses. You can still exploit more! Cast Flame Sword on Jr. and now he also has the Fire attribute on his attacks. His attacks will now deal Physical, Pierce and Fire damage. When he hits this enemy now, he's exploiting three of the enemy's weaknesses and he'll be doing much more damage! Once again, you must learn what attacks your characters have. When you have this information memorized, and you know what weaknesses an enemy has, you will know which characters and/or Sword ethers to use to get the maximum damage out of all of your attacks. I simply cannot stress enough how important it is for you to exploit enemy weaknesses. It is one of the more vital parts to battle, and if you aren't exploiting weaknesses, you're going to dread battles. Weaknesses aren't different from Episode 1, or any other RPG. They are, however, much more important in this game than either Episode 1 or most other RPGs. The battle system is designed as such so that you really do need to take advantage of weaknesses in order to do well. For the most part, you can generally get away with not exploiting them, but this has its limits. Battles will also take substantially longer to finish if you're not exploiting weaknesses. Again -- last time -- learn to exploit enemy weaknesses. This means you must learn your characters attack types, and learn what enemies are weak against what. I know this may sound repetitive (I've said it, what, 3 times now?) but you seriously cannot ignore weaknesses. You'll be sorry if you do! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-k. Stock SBM01K ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A new feature to Episode 2 is the ability to Stock. To Stock is to simply save your current turn (hence, stock up) and use it later. You can Stock up to 3 times, and with that, you'll be able to launch 4-5 attacks in one turn. This is extremely handy, because most times you can break an enemy's zone with your first two attacks, then your remaining two or three will be dealing 1.5x damage (because of the Break). Stock is something you're going to need to do quite often in order to do well in battle. The way the battle system is designed is that you need to exploit weaknesses and break zones. Since there's a lot you need to do, you need multiple attacks to be able to do it. The normal and single attacks aren't going to cut it, you need more. If you want to Stock, you hit X to open up the Command Menu, then select Stock. Your character will Stock (basically, save this turn to be used later) and your turn ends. While Stocking, your character's defense will be raised a bit, so it's sort of like using Guard (from Episode 1) to save up AP. Same basic concept. While Stocking is basically "save this turn to be used later" -- to be more precise, it's more like "save this turn to be used as an attack later." By stocking you won't get more turns, but instead, you'll be able to unleash more attacks in one turn. Without stocking, you can either use a normal (S/T button combination attack) or single (O button attack) and then your turn ends. If you've Stocked before this turn, you'll be able to use a normal AND single attack, or two single attacks. With a maximum of 3 Stock, you can unleash up to 5 attacks in one turn (normal attacks are considered two attacks). There are two other ways you can get more Stock. There's an Ether you can use called "Stock 1" which adds 1 Stock to whoever it was cast on. The other method you don't have to do anything for. Sometimes, when you break an enemies zone, you'll see "Break Bonus" displayed. A Break Bonus gives you +1 Stock. It's completely random to get a Break Bonus. You may have already noticed this in battle. There are also two skills you can learn: "Break B10" and "Break B15." These skills will increase your chances of getting a free stock from a Break Bonus. Plus, if you learn them both, you get a +25% chance to get a free stock! If you've played Episode 1 and you are familiar with the Guard command (it gave you +2 AP), Stock is very similar to that. Instead of attacks using AP, they use Stock instead. You can even envision it like AP. Just think that each character always has 1 Stock per turn (but you can't see it, it's just there). This would be akin to the 4 AP in Episode 1 that you had per turn. While Guarding in Episode 1 would allow you to get 3 attacks at a maximum, Stock goes a step further and allows you to get up to 5 per turn! There are some useful skills to learn when it comes to Stocking. When you use the Stock command, your defense and evasion goes up slightly. This happens by default. I already told you about the two "Break B##" skills, which you should learn. But there are also three other very handy skills to learn. The skill "First Combo" gives you +1 to Stock at the start of battle. Very handy. There's also a skill called "Overload" which gives you a 50% chance to get 2 Stock (instead of the normal 1) when using the Stock command. Both of these skills are extremely handy and with them you could have full stock in one turn! How cool is that?! Finally, "Inner Peace" raises your Evasion quite a bit when you Stock -- with it, nearly every single attack (even from bosses) will be evaded while you are Stocking. Once again, to put it simply, Stocking is just saving your turn to be used later. This action is also very vital to battles. Enemies are stronger and faster in this game, and they will generally get more turns than you. So, if you can unleash 5 attacks in one turn, it's better. Just plain better. Now you also may be thinking, "but I'm wasting turns stocking!!" While this is true to some extent, you really aren't. Play a battle using just normal/single attacks, with no Stocking. It will take forever. Then, play a battle where all your characters Stock to 3. You'll see that while it took a few extra turns to Stock up, you were able to defeat the enemy much faster. Stocking, combined with zone breaks, weaknesses and Boosting is the real method for defeating enemies. The idea is, stock to 3. Exploit weaknesses (which means you may need to cast a Sword ether). Attack with everything, which will break the enemies zone. Then boost your remaining characters to take advantage of the zone break AND unleash their 4-5 attacks. With that style of attacking (it's basically a chained combo attack), you will deal immense amounts of damage to an enemy and dispatch them quickly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-l. Boost SBM01L ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boosting is the act of cutting in line and, basically, stealing the next turn. There are many uses to Boost, and it has many advantages for you (and the baddies alike!). Understanding what Boost is, how to use it and when to use it is extremely important. Earlier I said the real method to battles is: Stock, Zone Break, Weaknesses and Boosting. This is so true. You may not believe me at first, but trust me on this one, it's the way of the day. Everyone has a shared Boost Gauge (BG). This gauge is displayed at the top of the turn window (for you) and below the turn window (for the enemy). Your party shares the BG, as do all enemies on the field. This means that as long as you have 1 Boost, anyone in your party may use it. If the enemy has at least 1 Boost, any enemy on the field may use it. You get more Boosts by attacking. The more you attack, the more Boosts you get. Normally there is a maximum of 3 Boosts, however with items, you can get as many as 5. Furthermore, if you attack the enemy while the BST slot is displayed on the Event Slot, you'll get even more Boost for your attack. Each time the BG fills, you get 1 Boost. The number to the right of the BG is the amount of Boosts you have available. Remember, Boosting is simply the act of cutting in line and stealing the next turn. This is extremely handy, in more ways than one. You can chain together several attacks when you Boost your characters. Also, let's say you're about to die... have someone Boost and then you can heal before the enemy gets their next turn to smack ya more. There are 3 basic forms of Boost: The standard Boost which you must activate to use; the Counter Boost, which is only activated when you get attacked, and the Combo Boost. Combo Boosting is the act of boosting the character with the current turn. Basically, it let's you get two turns in a row. In order to Boost, you must have a BG of 1 or more. The character you wish to Boost must also NOT be displayed on the turn window (you can only cut in line if you're not already on line, basically). Finally, nobody (player or enemy) may already be boosted. Then you simply press and hold L1 or R1. A small window will pop up next to the turn window with portraits of your characters. Whoever is displayed here can be boosted. The colors of the boxes correspond to the colors of the buttons you need to press (Square, Triangle or Circle). Also, you can simply tell by their location. The left-most box is the Square button (which is also the left-most character displayed up top). The middle box is the Triangle button, while the right most box is the Circle button. Simply press one of the Square/Triangle/Circle buttons and that character will be Boosted. Then, they will get the next turn. Any boosts are displayed to the left of the turn window. For your characters, you'll see their portrait. For enemies, you'll see a gray box with either B, G or M (denoting their type). The word "Boost" displayed above the portrait lets you know what type of boost it is. Yellow is for normal boosts, while red is for Counter and Combo boosts. Counter Boosts can be done over normal boosts, and take priority. This means regardless of whoever boosted, if someone else counter boosts, the counter boost takes priority and will get the next turn. As I said, Combo Boosting basically let's you get two turns in a row. This means your current character (the one who has the turn right now) can actually boost themselves (normally this isn't possible). They'll get two turns (including the initial turn used to Boost). However, the enemy will be able to (and they will use it) early and often. So if you're wondering how the hell they're getting so many turns and boosting themselves, well, they're Combo Boosting -- not cheating. Though I guess you could consider it cheating, because you can't friggen do it until near the end of the game! Cheap, I know. There is also an Ether you can use, called "Boost 1." This ether increases your BG by 1 every time you cast it. This ether is extremely handy, because while you're busy stocking or whatever, you can still increase your BG. This is also extremely handy if you want to chain a bunch of attacks together. Stock to 3, cast Boost 1 a few times, then unleash your attacks and boosts and totally cream the hell out of the baddies. Though, for some, you'll have to do that quite a few times! Just remember, Boosting is simply the act of cutting in line and stealing the next turn. So many people seem to either not understand completely or totally misunderstand the concept behind Boosting. It's extremely simple, and now you should have a good idea of what it's about. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> II-m. Air & Down SBM01M ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Air and Down are both weaknesses, however to fully exploit them, you had to understand Stock and Boost. That is why I've separated them and we're going to talk about them now! Air and Down are things you can do to an enemy. To Air an enemy is to throw |
Comments
Sorry, to fulfil this action you have to be CheatsGuru User
|
Another Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose Walkthrough :
|
|
|
• Moshi Monsters cheats, Android • Plants vs. Zombies cheats, NDS, XBOX 360, PS3, IPHONE, Android • Pokemon Heart Gold Version cheats • Pokemon Soul Silver cheats • The Lord of the Rings: War in the North cheats, XBOX 360, PS3 • Shogun 2: Total War cheats • BioShock Infinite cheats, XBOX 360, PS3 • Darksiders 2 cheats, XBOX 360, PS3 • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 cheats, PC, NDS, WII, PS3 • Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim cheats, XBOX 360, PS3 • Torchlight II cheats • Borderlands 2 cheats, XBOX 360, PS3 • Temple Run cheats • Jagged Alliance: Back in Action cheats • XCom: Enemy Unknown cheats, XBOX 360, PS3
.