++==============================++
||      Final Fantasy 13        ||
||                              ||
|| Item Upgrade Mechanics Guide ||
||                              ||
||          v 0.70              ||
++==============================++
Copyright 2010 Geoff Finger
GameFaqs User: Daetrinn
Contact: daetrinnn at yahoo.com
This guide may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide
on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly
prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
This guide is currently authorized for hosting at the following sites ONLY:
GameFaqs.com
Neoseeker.com
Supercheats.com
Final Fantasy XIII is trademarked and copyrighted by Square Enix.
===============================================================================
Table of Contents
===============================================================================
I've tried to organize this FAQ in order of least specific information to most
specific. As usual each heading has a key that you can use to search to that
section of the FAQ.
0. Introduction
0a. Foreword  -------------------------- [00a]
0b. Disclaimer ------------------------- [00b]
0c. Version History -------------------- [00c]
1. Getting Started
1a. Terminology ------------------------ [01a]
1b. Overview of the Upgrade System ----- [01b]
1c. Quick Start Guide ------------------ [01c]
2. Systems In Depth
2a. Bonus System ----------------------- [02a]
2b. Bonus Points List ------------------ [02b]
2c. Item Grades ------------------------ [02c]
2d. High Value Components -------------- [02d]
2e. Synthesis -------------------------- [02e]
2f. Accessory Level Stats -------------- [02f]
2g. Weapon Level Stats ----------------- [02g]
2h. Item Grade Experience Tables ------- [02h]
2h1. Garage ------------------------- [02h1]
2h2. Loot --------------------------- [02h2]
2h2. Loot Types --------------------- [02h2b]
3. Wrapping Up
3a. Tips and Tricks -------------------- [03a]
3b. Credits ---------------------------- [03b]
===============================================================================
0. Introduction
===============================================================================
+---------------------+
| Foreword ---- [00a] |
+---------------------+
As soon as the Upgrade System became available I became intrigued by the bonus
levels. I performed a couple of experiments and posted about the results and
immediately got a response thanking me for the help, which encouraged me to put
some more work into the project.
I might have stalled out right at the start when my initial guess of 100 Bonus
Points for the first Bonus Level started giving incorrect results in some
cases. However I eventually found a couple of Japanese message board posts that
seemed to indicate the first Bonus Level was reached at 51 Bonus Points. A
little experimentation confirmed that value, and I was on my way again. Thank
you anonymous Japanese message board posters!
Once I got a handle on the Bonus Level system, my interest quickly expanded to
the entire Upgrade System. This mechanics guide is the result of that.
===============================================================================
+-----------------------+
| Disclaimer ---- [00b] |
+-----------------------+
I'm playing FF13 on a moderately sized standard definition TV. Squenix either
did not test the game extensively on SD TVs to verify that all the fonts were
easily readable, or they just didn't care to correct the problem. For a lot of
the numbers the 6s, 8s, 9s and 0s all tend to blur together. I've done my best
to verify all my results, but if you find I've swapped a digit somewhere please
let me know.
===============================================================================
+----------------------------+
| Version History ---- [00c] |
+----------------------------+
Version 0.8 - 2010-04-16
- Acquired all the trophies except the "get every trophy" trophy and,
ironically, the "hold every item in your hands" trophy. (Since you need
to have them all in the same save I guess =)
- Added Bonus Point values for several Organic components
- Added several new Synthetic components, and added Exp values all the way out
to Grade K
- Added a table showing the Synthetic component experience progression
through the Grades.
- Added "Best Buy" guide for upgrading accessories, which lists the
cheapest store components necessary to upgrade each item.
- Added a prototype of the "Loot Type" table
- Halfway done with the weapons, they'll be in the next update!
Version 0.7 - 2010-04-01
- Finished the game (yay!) and in theory have access to all items now.
- Major revisions to the item tables. All the information about each item
is available in one place now.
Version 0.6 - 2010-03-23
- Finished Chapter 11 and collected a fair number of the optional items from
Pulse.
- Fixed a small error in Cie'th Tear BP value.
- Added "High Value Components" section.
- Added a placeholder for "Synthesis" section.
- Several formatting and grammar corrections.
Version 0.5 - 2010-03-19
I am currently partway through Chapter 11, which means I have access to the
majority of the items in the game, but obviously not the most powerful and
unique items. I plan to update this FAQ once I get further into the game,
however I'm currently time sharing my PS3 with my girlfriend, who has exercised
the right of eminent domain over it in order to play God of War 3 :)
===============================================================================
1. Getting Started
===============================================================================
+-----------------------+
| Terminology ---- [01a]|
+-----------------------+
In order to avoiding confusing the reader, I've tried to use distinct terms to
refer to different aspects of the upgrade system.
Item: The item being upgraded, either a weapon or accessory.
Experience Points: This is the point system shown to the player in the upgrade
process.
Component: The loot that gets combined with items in order to "buy" experience
points.
Item Level: Or just "level." How much the item has been upgraded.
Transmuting: When an item has reached its maximum level it can usually be
transmuted into a more powerful item using a special component.
Item Stage: Or just "stage." How far along the transmutation process an
item is.
Item Class: All the items in the same chain of transmutation. ex: all the
Bangles which increase your HP.
Item Group: All the items or item classes that affect the same kinds of
attributes.
Bonus Multiplier: The multiplier that will be applied to the experience
gained from any components you add to the item.
Bonus Level: Abbreviated BL. Each item has a bonus level, which determines
the Bonus Multiplier.
Bonus Points: Abbreviated BP. The point system that is hidden from the player,
the number of accumulated bonus points determines the bonus level.
Item Grade: Each item belongs to a specific category which determines how
much Exp it gains from each component.
Exp: Experience points. This is the abbreviation used by Final Fantasy 13 in
the upgrade menu.
===============================================================================
+------------------------------------------+
| Overview of the Upgrade System ---- [01b]|
+------------------------------------------+
When you first gain access to the Upgrade System the in-game tutorial informs
you that you combine components with weapons and accessories to give them
experience points, which raises their level and improves their stats. When
items reach their maximum level they can usually be transmuted into the next
version of the item.
This transmutation process is very linear (like the rest of Final Fantasy 13
*rimshot*) Transmuting an HP Bangle will always result in a slightly better
HP Bangle. You will never end up with a different type of item, and there's
no way to skip stages or go backwards.
The tutorial informs you that adding some components will result in a bonus
multiplier getting applied, and that some components will result in a
negative bonus getting applied. The user is then told to go forth and
experiment. If you don't want to figure it all out on your own, that's what
this FAQ is for.
The basics of the bonus system are as follows:
There are "cheap," or "Organic" components which provide positive bonus
points. These are the components usually dropped by "Feral" or "Militarized"
enemies, such as Fangs, Hides, etc. A subset of these components are
eventually found for sale in the "Creature Comforts" store. These components
are generally sorted to the top half of your component inventory if you sort
by "category."
There are "expensive," or "Synthetic" components which provide negative bonus
points. These are the components usually dropped by mechanical enemies, such
as Circuits, Conductors, etc. A subset of these components are eventually
found for sale in the "Lenora's Garage" store. These components are generally
sorted to the bottom half of your component inventory if you sort by
"category."
The catch is that the organic, positive BP components generally provide a low
amount of Exp, while the synthetic, negative BP components generally provide
a large value of Exp. So generally you want to use cheap components to
increase your bonus level and then use expensive components to take advantage
of the high bonus.
When you have added enough BP to an item via components a message window will
pop up telling you that the the Bonus Level has been advanced. It is important
to note that you DO NOT get a similar message when you spend negative BP
components and the Bonus Level is dropped back down. If you are using several
different stacks of expensive, and therefore negative BP components, it is
always important to double-check whether adding a stack has dropped the Bonus
Level down before adding the next stack.
The maximum Bonus Level you can reach provides an experience bonus of 3x,
three times the natural experience value of any components you add while it
is at that level. This bonus will be reflected in the predicted experience
value when you select the type and number of components to add next. When you
finalize your "purchase" the bonus level will be applied to that experience
before any BP from those components, negative or positive, are applied to the
bonus level. The experience value shown to you when you confirm the purchase
is the value you will receive.
You can continue to add BP after the maximum bonus level has been reached.
This will provide a buffer of positive BP that future negative BP components
will have to burn through before the bonus level is reduced again. It has
been claimed that the maximum number of BP possible is twice the amount
needed to raise an item to the highest Bonus Level, but I have not verified
that claim.
===============================================================================
+------------------------------+
| Quick Start Guide ---- [01c] |
+------------------------------+
So for everyone interested in simple results, the most efficient way to
upgrade your items without delving into numbers is to dump a lot of Organic
components into the item until you get a message saying the Bonus Level has
been raised to "3x." Then find whatever Synthetic component will give you the
largest amount of experience if you spend the whole stack, and use that. If
you want to spend more than that, check to see if the bonus multiplier is
still at 3x. You can see the multiplier in yellow text on the left side of
the screen, below the current stats of the item and the experience needed to
advance it to the next level. If that number has dropped below 3x, then add
more Organic components to get it back up to 3x before continuing to spend
more Synthetic components.
Despite the fact that the same component gives different Exp to different
items, when spending dropped components it doesn't make a great deal of
difference which expensive components you use on which items. If you want to
know why, see below.
If you want to buy components from the Garage, the short list as is follows.
For the first set of items, Polymer Emulsion is almost always the best buy.
When you get the second set of Garage items the Turbojet becomes a much
better purchase. When the third set opens up the Crankshaft is very
marginally better than the Turbojet. When the fourth level opens up the
Superconductor is almost twice as efficient as either the Crankshaft or the
Turbojet.
When you receive the R&D Pass (from Mission 7) you gain access to an
entirely new store with two new high value components.
The Particle Accelerator is actually a slightly worse buy than the
Superconductor. The Ultracompact Reactor is the best value you can get
from purchasable components. However because it provides 30-50k Exp
at a time, it is usually cheaper to get most of the experience using
Ultracompact Reactors and fill up the difference with Superconductors
rather than using an extra Ultracompact Reactor to go past the maximum
Exp needed.
If you just want to know how much experience you need to add to max out the
current stage of a weapon, I suggest you go check out the very informative
walkthrough/FAQs by Krysta84 or "IceQueenZer0 & Split Infinity" which are
also available on GameFaqs.
As for what you should be spending components on, weapons or accessories,
that's really a personal call. Since you keep finding better items (items
from a later upgrade stage) throughout the game but only ever find stage
one weapons, I feel it's a waste to spend components on upgrading an
accessory when you might find a better one in the next chest. Other people
feel that because weapons are so expensive to upgrade and accessories are
so cheap that you'll get more bang for the buck early out with better
accessories. It really depends on your personal outlook. Hopefully the
information in this FAQ may make that decision a little easier for you.
So, if you want to know more about the systems, the numbers behind them,
and the way to truly maximize your item leveling, continue on.
===============================================================================
2. Systems In Depth
===============================================================================
+-------------------------+
| Bonus System ---- [02a] |
+-------------------------+
Each component added to an item either adds or subtracts Bonus Points. There
is no way to tell exactly how many Bonus Points an item currently has, you
can only tell what Bonus Level it is at by checking the current multiplier
bonus.
--------+------+----------
Bonus   | Mltp | Bonus
Level   |      | Points
--------+------+---------
Level 0 | 1.00 | 0-50
Level 1 | 1.25 | 51-100
Level 2 | 1.50 | 101-200
Level 3 | 1.75 | 201-250
Level 4 | 2.00 | 251-500
Level 5 | 3.00 | 501-1000?
--------+------+----------
+------------------------------+
| Bonus Points List ---- [02b] |
+------------------------------+
===============================================================================
As stated before, the number of BP given by an organic component is a
constant, it doesn't very based on what kind of item you are using it on.
Available: Lists at which stage of the Creature Comforts shop the
component becomes available.
Buy: The price of the item in the Creature Comforts shop (when applicable.)
Sell: The sale price of the item in any store.
BP/Gil: How many BP will be gained per Gil spent on the component.
Exp: The base rate of Exp given by this component to an item with of Grade C
(See below for information about item Grades.)
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Component           | Available  | Buy |  Sell |  BP | BP/Gil| Exp |
====================+============+=====+=======+=====+=======+=====+
Begrimed Claw       |            |     |    15 |   4 |       |   6 |
Bestial Claw        | Creature 2 |  80 |    40 |  10 | 0.125 |  17 |
Gargantuan Claw     | Creature 4 | 150 |    75 |  15 | 0.100 |  37 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Shattered Bone      |            |     |    15 |   8 |       |   6 |
Sturdy Bone         | Creature 1 |  80 |    40 |  14 | 0.175 |  19 |
Otherworldly Bone   | Creature 3 | 150 |    75 |  21 | 0.140 |  38 |
Ancient Bone        |            |     |   110 |  31 |       |  62 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Moistened Scale     |            |     |    15 |   5 |       |   5 |
Seapetal Scale      |            |     |    40 |  11 |       |  16 |
Abyssal Scale       |            |     |    75 |  16 |       |  36 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Segmented Carapace  |            |     |    15 |   7 |       |   7 |
Iron Shell          | Creature 2 |  80 |    40 |  13 | 0.163 |  20 |
Armored Shell       | Creature 4 | 150 |    75 |  20 | 0.133 |  41 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Chipped Fang        |            |     |    15 |   7 |       |   7 |
Wicked Fang         | Creature 1 |  80 |    40 |  13 | 0.163 |  20 |
Monstrous Fang      | Creature 3 | 150 |    75 |  20 | 0.133 |  41 |
Sinister Fang       |            |     |   110 |  30 |       |  68 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Severed Wing        |            |     |    15 |   6 |       |   4 |
Scaled Wing         | Creature 2 |  80 |    40 |  12 | 0.163 |  15 |
Abominable Wing     | Creature 3 | 150 |    75 |  17 | 0.113 |  33 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Molted Tail         |            |     |    15 |   8 |       |   6 |
Barbed Tail         | Creature 2 |  80 |    40 |  14 | 0.175 |  19 |
Diabolic Tail       | Creature 4 | 150 |    75 |  21 | 0.140 |  38 |
Entrancing Tail     |            |     |   110 |  31 |       |  62 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Torn Leather        |            |     |    15 |   5 |       |   5 |
Thickened Hide      | Creature 1 |  80 |    40 |  11 | 0.138 |  16 |
Smooth Hide         | Creature 3 | 150 |    75 |  16 | 0.107 |  36 |
Supple Leather      |            |     |   110 |  25 |       |  61 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Gummy Oil           |            |     |    15 |   6 |       |   8 |
Fragrant Oil        | Creature 2 |  80 |    40 |  12 | 0.150 |  21 |
Medicinal Oil       | Creature 4 | 150 |    75 |  19 | 0.127 |  46 |
Esoteric Oil        |            |     |   110 |  29 |       |  68 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Fluffy Wool         |            |     |   110 |  27 |       |  50 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Murky Ooze          |            |     |    15 |   8 |       |   6 |
Vibrant Ooze        | Creature 2 |  80 |    40 |  14 | 0.175 |  19 |
Transparent Ooze    | Creature 4 | 150 |    75 |  21 | 0.140 |  38 |
Wonder Gel          |            |     |   119 |  31 |       |  70 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Fractured Horn      |            |     |    15 |   6 |       |   4 |
Spined Horn         |            |     |    40 |  12 |       |  15 |
Fiendish Horn       |            |     |    75 |  17 |       |  33 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Strange Fluid       |            |     |    15 |   6 |       |   8 |
Enigmatic Fluid     | Creature 1 |  80 |    40 |  12 | 0.150 |  21 |
Mysterious Fluid    | Creature 3 | 150 |    75 |  19 | 0.127 |  46 |
Ineffable Fluid     |            |     |   110 |  29 |       |  62 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Cie'th Tear         |            |     |    15 |  10 |       |   9 |
Tear of Frustration |            |     |    40 |  14 |       |  19 |
Tear of Remorse     |            |     |    75 |  24 |       |  38 |
Tear of Woe         |            |     |   110 |  40 |       |  70 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Red Mycelium        |            |     |    85 |  10 |       |   9 |
Black Mycelium      |            |     |   675 |  51 |       | 120 |
Dusklight Dew       |            |     |   850 |  42 |       |  40 |
Gloomstalk          |            |     |  1000 |  46 |       |  48 |
Moonblossom Seed    |            |     |  6000 |  55 |       | 105 |
Starblossom Seed    |            |     | 13000 |  91 |       | 368 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Chocobo Plume       |            |     |    20 |  34 |       |  10 |
Chocobo Tail Feather|            |     |    50 |  57 |       |  46 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Malodorous Fruit    |            |     |  4000 |  21 |       |  10 |
Green Needle        |            |     |  3500 | 100 |       |  90 |
Perfume             |            |     | 12500 | 120 |       | 240 |
--------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
The highest BP return for the investment on any item is 0.175. Three items
share that rate, Sturdy Bone, Barbed Tail, and Vibrant Ooze. All three of
them also give the same amount of Exp. Since Sturdy Bone is the first
one to become available for sale in the Creature Comforts that I will use
it as a reference in the other sections.
Other than those three components there should never be any need to buy
and other organic component.
You can reduce most of the Organic components to two different formulas.
Each type of organic component has 4 levels, which sell for 15, 40, 75
and 110 Gil.
Each of those types has a starting BP value which rises by a set increment
for each level. For about half the components the increments are 6 (15->40)
5 (40->75) and 9 (75->110). For the other half the increments are 6, 7 and 10.
|    |15-| 40-| 75-|
Type   | St | 40|  75| 110|
-------+----+---+----+----+
Claws  |  4 | 6 |  5 |  9 |
Bones  |  8 | 6 |  7 | 10 |
Scales |  5 | 6 |  5 |  9 |
Shells |  7 | 6 |  7 | ?? |
Fangs  |  7 | 6 |  7 | 10 |
Wings  |  6 | 6 |  5 |  9 |
Tails  |  8 | 6 |  7 | 10 |
Hides  |  5 | 6 |  5 |  9 |
Oils   |  6 | 6 |  7 | 10 |
Wools  |  7 | 6 |  5 |  9 |
Oozes  |  8 | 6 |  7 | 10 |
Horns  |  6 | 6 |  5 |  9 |
Fluids |  6 | 6 |  7 | 10 |
Tears  | 10 | 4 | 10 | 16 |
-------+----+---+----+----+
This implies that there should be a fourth kind of Shell, with a BP value
of 30.
===============================================================================
+------------------------+
| Item Grades ---- [02c] |
+------------------------+
You may already have noticed that different components provide different
amounts of Exp to different items. If you've experimented further you may
have noticed that certain Exp values keep popping up.
It turns out each item has a type, or "Grade," which determines how much CP
it gets from each component. In general, the first item in series will start
at a certain grade, and after being transformed into the next stage the
Grade will drop by one or two levels. Unfortunately there's no perfect way
to predict what the first Grade in an item series will be. The only sure
way to tell the Grade is by testing it with a component against a list of
known values, or checking this FAQ :)
I have identified ten Grades so far. Since they have no identifying
characteristics I've just assigned them letter values.
(I haven't gathered any data on Grade I yet except for the fact that
it exists.)
The short version of this chart is based on 4 values. Begrimed Claw,
Bestial Claw, Gargantuan Claw, and Polymer Emulsion. The first three
are the first three items in your inventory when sorted by category, two
of which can be purchased from Creature Comforts. The fourth item is the
first item you can purchase in the Garage. So even if you've used up all of
your original supply you can always buy more of three of them, and two of
those will automatically get moved to the top of your list if you sort.
-----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Component\Grade  |  A |  B |  C |  D |  E |  F |  G |  H |  I |  J |  K |
-----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Begrimed Claw    |  8 |  7 |  6 |  5 |  4 |  4 |  3 |  2 |  ? |  ? |  ? |
Bestial Claw     | 23 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 |  8 |  ? |  ? |  ? |
Gargantuan Claw  | 48 | 43 | 37 | 32 | 27 | 24 | 21 | 18 |  ? |  ? |  ? |
Polymer Emulsion | 96 | 80 | 72 | 64 | 56 | 48 | 40 | 32 | 24 | 16 |  8 |
-----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
This same pattern continues if you average out all the components. The
median starting Grade for item series is C, and if you normalize the average
of all components based on that value you get something pretty close to the
following:
-----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
Grade      |  A   |  B   |  C   |  D   |  E   |  F   |  G   |  H   |
-----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
Avg. Value | 1.23 | 1.11 | 1.00 | 0.88 | 0.77 | 0.66 | 0.57 | 0.50 |
-----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
The results are kind of a good news/bad news situation. The good news is
that it's very simple. A component that's good for one item grade is good
for every item grade. The bad news is that means there's no way to min/max
things. Low rank grades will get poor results from every component across
the board.
What's even worse is that transforming items to the next stage always
reduces the grade. So not only is the pure experience cost to level the
item up increasing, but the number of components necessary to purchase a
given amount of experience is also increasing.
This list is useful in that you can combine it with the amount of
experience required to max out an item to determine which will give you
the most benefit for your components. If one item requires twice as much
Exp to max out as a second item the difference might not be as big as it
seems if the first item is high rank and the second one is low rank.
Alternately it might be even worse than it looks at first glance if the
situation is reversed. This is especially important to consider early on
when resources are tight.
===============================================================================
+----------------------------------+
| High Value Components ---- [02d] |
+----------------------------------+
You may have noticed that several of the components in the BP List had very
high sale prices.
Let's take a look at a specific example, the Red Mycelium. It has 10 BP, but
you can sell it for 85 Gil. A Sturdy Bone only costs 80 Gil and has 14 BP!
But wait! You also have to account for value of the Exp the Red Mycelium would
give!
Using the median Grade C values (remember all items scale approximately the
same across the Grades) a Red Mycelium is worth 9 Exp. But a Sturdy Bone is
worth 19! That means that by selling a Red Mycelium and buying a Sturdy Bone
you make an "average" profit of 5 Gil, 4 BP, and 10 Exp!
I've created the following table which computes the average savings for
selling each of the expensive organic components and replacing the BP/Exp
lost by buying Sturdy Bones and either Superconductors or Ultracompact
Reactors to replace it.
Note that the numbers in the table are aggregate values. For example, it
calculates that you need to spend about 57 gil on Sturdy Bones in order to
make up the BP of each Red Mycelium. Needless to say that's rather difficult
to do if you have just one of them, but the number still indicate the best
course to follow overall. The table includes values for both Superconductors
and Ultracompact Reactors, since it's not economical to purchase Exp using
only Ultracompact Reactors.
The values used are:
Sturdy Bone: 0.175 BP/Gil
Superconductor: 0.762 Exp/Gil (Grade C)
Ultracompact Reactor: 1.040 Exp/Gil (Grade C)
The non-obvious columns used are:
BP Buy: The amount of gil that must be spent on Sturdy Bones to replace the
BP lost by selling the component.
SB Exp: The amount of Exp gained from the Sturdy Bones you purchased to
replace the BP. This value may be greater than the Exp of the original
item, which will be reflected as a "discount" in later stages of the
calculation, to reflect the extra Exp that you won't have to acquire
from some other source.
SC Buy: Cost in Gil to replace the Exp lost (or possibly gained) by
selling the original component and buy the Sturdy Bones.
UCR Buy: The same as SC Exp Buy, but using Ultracompact Reactors instead.
Total Profit: The total amount of Gil gained by selling the component and
buying replacement parts. Most of this value will be "cash in
hand," but a small fraction of it may be represented by future
savings on purchasing items for experience.
-----------------+-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------------+
Component        | Sell  |  BP | Exp | BP  | SB  | SC  | UCR | Total Profit |
|       |     |     | Buy | Exp | Buy | Buy |              |
=================+=======+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+==============+
Red Mycelium     |    85 |  10 |   9 |  57 |  14 |  -6 |  -4 |        32-34 |
Black Mycelium   |   675 |  51 | 120 | 291 |  69 |  67 |  49 |      317-335 |
Dusklight Dew    |   850 |  42 |  40 | 240 |  57 | -22 | -16 |      626-632 |
Gloomstalk       |  1000 |  46 |  48 | 263 |  62 | -19 | -14 |      751-756 |
Moonblossom Seed |  6000 |  55 | 105 | 314 |  75 |  40 |  29 |    5646-5657 |
Starblossom Seed | 13000 |  91 | 368 | 520 | 124 | 321 | 235 |  12159-12245 |
Malodorous Fruit |  4000 |  21 |  10 | 120 |  29 | -24 | -18 |    3898-3904 |
Green Needle     |  3500 | 100 |  90 | 571 | 136 | -60 | -44 |    2973-2989 |
Perfume          | 12500 | 120 | 240 | 686 | 163 | 101 |  74 |  11713-11740 |
-----------------+-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------------+
The short version is, all the items listed in this table will provide a net
benefit if you sell them off and use the proceeds to buy other components.
===============================================================================
+-------------------------------+
| Synthesis ---- [02e]          |
+-------------------------------+
Each accessory has a Synthesis attribute. With the somewhat obvious exception
of the attribute "None," equipping a character with two or more items with
the same Synthesis attribute will provide a "synthesized ability."
There are eight general Synthesis attributes. For each type I will list the
benefits for equipping two or more of that type on the same character.
"2+" indicates that there is a bonus for equipping two of that type, but
that the bonus does not increase if more than two of that type are equipped.
For the other types the bonus grows depending on the number of items with
that Synthesis type equipped.
-------------
Type: High HP
2+: High HP: Power Surge
"Increases damage dealt to enemies when HP is above 90%"
--------------
Type: Physical
2: Physical Wall 5
3: Physical Wall 10
4: Physical Wall 20
5: Physical Wall 30
"Negates the first [x] points of damage from physical attacks."
------------
Type: Low HP
2: Low HP: Power Surge
"Increases damage dealt to enemies when HP is below 10%"
------------
Type: Damage
2: Damage Wall 5
3: Damage Wall 10
4: Damage Wall 20
"Negates the first [x] points of damage from all attacks.
--------------
Type: Magic
2: Magic Wall 5
3: Magic Wall 10
4: Magic Wall 20
5: Magic Wall 30
"Negates the first [x] points of damage from magical attacks."
---------------
Type: Elemental
(Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Wind, Earth)
2: [Element] Damage +20%
3: [Element] Damage +30%
4: [Element] Damage +50%
"Boosts [element] damage dealt by [x]%."
------------
Type: Debuff
(Deprotect, Deshell, Slow, Poison, Imperil, Curse, Pain, Fog, Daze)
2: Debuff Duration -20%
3: Debuff Duration -40%
4: Debuff Duration -60%
"Reduces the duration of [debuff] by [x]%."
----------
Type: Buff
2: Buff Duration +30%
3: Buff Duration +50%
4: Buff Duration +70%
5: Buff Duration +90%
"Extends the duration of buffs like Bravery, Protect, and Haste by [x]%."
-----------
Type: Speed
2: ATB Rate +10%
3: ATB Rate +15%
4: ATB Rate +20%
5: ATB Rate +30%
"Increases the rate at which the ATB gauge charges by [x]%."
-----------
Type: Chain
2+: Random Instant Chain
"Occasionally fills the chain gauge of a target instantly."
===============================================================================
+----------------------------------+
| Accessory Level Stats ---- [02f] |
+----------------------------------+
Starting in version 0.7 I will be using a unified table format that collects
all the information about each item together in one location. Unfortunately
this means that it will be a little harder to navigate quickly through this
section. I've tried to provide obvious breaks between each item.
The general guidelines are as follows. Every time an item gains a level
the amount of experience necessary for the next level will be equal to
the previous amount plus a fixed amount that remains the same every level.
When applicable the bonus granted by an item will also rise by a fixed
amount.
When an item is upgraded to the next stage it starts that stage with
as much experience as the maxed out level of the stage it was just
upgraded from. You can not add extra experience before transforming
the item and any experience over the amount needed to max out the
level will be wasted.
The following headers are used within the tables:
Class: The kind of item, grouped by what items can be transmuted into what
other items.
Name: Name of the item.
Stg: What stage the item is in the transmutation process.
Grd: What grade the item is. (See Chapter 2c "Item Grades" for details.)
Synthesis: What synthesis effect the item gives.
MxLv: Maximum Level. The highest level this item can gain.
Final Exp: The total amount of experience needed to reach the maximum level,
starting from level 1.
StLv: Staring level. What level this item will have if upgraded from the
previous stage.
TransExp: How much experience this item will have if upgraded from the
previous stage. Identical to the "Final Exp" value of the
item from the previous stage.
Trans: Transformation item needed to upgrade this item to the next stage.
Stat: What stats the item effects (with an additional row to cover
experience.)
Start: What value the stat has at level 1 (Or for Exp, the number of
experience points required to reach level 2.)
Per:  How much the stat goes up every turn. (Or for Exp, how much is added to
the experience needed to go up to the next level.)
Final:  The value the stat will reach at the maximum level (Or for Exp, how
much experience is required to go from the second to last level to
the last level.)
Upgrde Start: What value the stat will have at the starting level if the
item was upgraded from the previous stage.
Sell: How much the item sells for in stores. (In Progress)
Buy: How much the item costs in stores, if available. (In Progress)
Store: Which store the item is available in, if any. (In Progress)
Dismantle: What this item will dismantle into at the maximum level. (Not
included for most items yet.)
Find: What monsters drop the item or what missions have the item as a reward.
(And occasionally what chests it can be found in.) (Not included for
most items yet.)
Upgrade: This section shows the cheapest way to upgrade an item _if_ you are
buying all new components.
Start: The cost and items needed to upgrade the item from Level 1
Trans: The cost and items needed to upgrade the item if it was upgraded
from a previous stage item.
Cost: The total cost of the items needed, using the cheapest combination.
Items: The cheapest combination of items to use for the upgrade.
When necessary to save space, the following abbreviations are used.
SB = Sturdy Bone
SCond = Superconductor
UR or Reactor= Ultracompact Reactor
Caveats:
1: The formula used _only_ considers Sturdy Bones, Superconductors
and Ultracompact Reactors. Values are included for all items for the
sake of completeness, however if an item needs a few thousand Exp or less
you're probably better off just throwing some spare components at it
rather than buying any Superconductors.
2: Note that the formula used to construct the list of most efficient items
assumed that Sturdy Bones would be added in the most efficient pattern:
4, 4, 8, 4, 16. In most cases it won't make much difference if all
Sturdy Bones are added at once, but in rare cases doing so could create
a deficit of up to 528 Exp.
3: The formula used also does not take into account the exact negative BP
value of a Ultracompact Reactor, so it assumes that the BP gauge will
be zeroed out by the Reactors and a full 36 SBs will be needed to get
the Bonus Level back to x3. If it actually takes less that 26 SBs to
get the x3 bonus the remainder of the SBs can probably be replaces by
an additional Superconductor for a small savings. Hopefully the next
version of the formula will calculate that savings exactly.
Many items can only go up one level, which has no effect on the item's
stats. In such cases the "Stat" part of the table will be simplified since
the rest of the information is unneeded.
=============================================================================
=============================================================================
++===================++
++===================++
|| Class: HP Bangles ||
++===================++
++===================++
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Iron Bangle         | 1 | A | High HP |  6 |     780 |  1 |      0 | Milerite
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |   100 |  28 |    212 | ------------ |
HP                  |    50 |  14 |    120 | ------------ |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
=====+========+=====+=======+=====+=======================+
Sell |    250 | Buy |   500 |Store|     B&W Outfitters    |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+======+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed | Cost | Items
========+============+======+==========+
Start   |        780 |  840 | 1 Superconductor
--------+------------+------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Silver Bangle       | 2 | B | Physical|  6 |    1560 |  4 |    780 | Rhodo
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |   200 |  56 |    424 |              |
HP                  |   100 |  16 |    180 |          148 |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
=====+========+=====+=======+=====+=======================+
Sell |    400 | Buy |   800 |Store|     B&W Outfitters    |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+=========+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed |    Cost |    Items |
========+============+=========+==========+
Start   |       1560 |    2000 | 4 Sturdy Bones, 2 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
Trans   |        780 |    1160 | 4 Sturdy Bones, 1 Superconductor
--------+------------+---------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Tungsten Bangle     | 3 | C | Low HP  | 11 |    7755 |  4 |   1560 | Cobalite
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |   330 |  99 |   1221 |              |
HP                  |   150 |   8 |    230 |          174 |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
=====+========+=====+=======+=====+=======================+
Sell |    750 | Buy |  1500 |Store|     B&W Outfitters    |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+=========+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed |    Cost |    Items |
========+============+=========+==========+
Start   |       7755 |    6240 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 4 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
Trans   |       6195 |    5400 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 3 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Titanium Bangle     | 4 | D |  Damage | 11 |   10340 |  9 |   7755 | Perovskite
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |   440 | 132 |   1628 |              |
HP                  |   200 |   8 |    280 |          264 |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
=====+========+=====+=======+=====+=======================+
Sell |   1800 | Buy |  3600 |Store|     B&W Outfitters    |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+=========+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed |    Cost |    Items |
========+============+=========+==========+
Start   |      10340 |    7920 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 6 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
Trans   |       2585 |    3160 | 8 Sturdy Bones, 3 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Gold Bangle         | 5 | E |  Magic  | 11 |   12925 |  9 |  10340 | Uraninite
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |   550 | 165 |   2035 |              |
HP                  |   250 |  10 |    350 |          330 |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
=====+========+=====+=======+=====+=======================+
Sell |   4500 | Buy |  9000 |Store|     B&W Outfitters    |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+=========+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed |    Cost |    Items |
========+============+=========+==========+
Start   |      12925 |   10440 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 9 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
Trans   |       2585 |    3800 | 16 Sturdy Bones, 3 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Mythril Bangle      | 6 | F | High HP | 16 |   34740 |  9 |  12925 | Mnar Stone
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |   720 | 228 |   3912 |              |
HP                  |   300 |  10 |    450 |          380 |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
=====+========+=====+=======+=====+=======================+
Sell |   7500 | Buy | 15000 |Store|     B&W Outfitters    |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+=========+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed |    Cost |    Items |
========+============+=========+==========+
Start   |      34740 |   27240 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 29 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
Trans   |      21815 |   18000 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 18 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Platinum Bangle     | 7 | G |Physical | 21 |   75390 | 13 |  34740 | Scarletite
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |   910 | 301 |   6629 |              |
HP                  |   400 |  10 |    600 |          520 |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Sell |  24000 | Buy | 48000 |Store|      Sanctum Labs     |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+=========+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed |    Cost |    Items |
========+============+=========+==========+
Start   |      75390 |   52880 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 1 Ultracompact Reactor
--------+------------+---------+----------+
Trans   |      40650 |   34800 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 38 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Diamond Bangle      | 8 | H |  Magic  | 26 |  143200 | 18 |  75390 | Adamantite
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+
Stat                | Start | Per |  Final | Upgrde Start |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
Exp                 |  1120 | 384 |  10336 |              |
HP                  |   500 |  20 |   1000 |          840 |
--------------------+-------+-----+--------+--------------+
=====+========+=====+=======+=====+=======================+
Sell |  36000 | Buy | ----- |Store| --------------------- |
-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-----------------------+
========+============+=========+==========+
Upgrade | Exp Needed |    Cost |    Items |
========+============+=========+==========+
Start   |     143200 |   96920 | 36 SBs, 1 Reactor, 36 SBs, 49 Superconductors
--------+------------+---------+----------+
Trans   |      67810 |   52880 | 36 Sturdy Bones, 1 Ultracompact Reactor
--------+------------+---------+----------+
====================+===+===+=========+====+=========+====+========+===========
Name                |Stg|Grd|Synthesis|MxLv|Final Exp|StLv|TransExp| Trans
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
Adamant Bangle      | 9 | I |  Damage | 36 |  331065 | 23 | 143200 |Dark Matter
--------------------+---+---+---------+----+---------+----+--------+-----------
====================+=======+=====+========+==============+