Character Progression & Leveling

Maximizing your students' potential in Blue Archive is crucial for tackling challenging content, from the Main Story to Raids and Joint Firing Drills. This detailed guide will walk you through every facet of character progression, ensuring your students are always battle-ready.

Student Leveling: The Foundation

Your students' level is the most fundamental aspect of their strength. A higher level directly translates to increased stats like HP, Attack, and Defense. Remember, a student's level cannot exceed your current Sensei Level.

Experience Points (EXP): Students gain EXP by participating in battles. However, this is a slow method.
Activity Reports: The primary and most efficient way to level up students. These items come in various rarities, providing different amounts of EXP:
- Basic Activity Report: Small EXP gain.
- Normal Activity Report: Moderate EXP gain.
- Advanced Activity Report: Significant EXP gain.
- Superior Activity Report: Large EXP gain.
Where to Farm Activity Reports:
- Commissions (Base Defense): This is your daily go-to for Activity Reports. Prioritize clearing the highest difficulty you can consistently manage. The rewards scale significantly with difficulty.
- Lessons: Completing Lessons can sometimes yield Activity Reports as bonus rewards.
- Event Shops: Limited-time events often feature Activity Reports as purchasable items in their event shops. Always prioritize these when available.
- Total Assault Shop: Exchange Total Assault Coins for Superior Activity Reports.
- Tactical Challenge Shop: While less efficient for pure EXP, you can sometimes find Activity Reports here.
Leveling Strategy: Focus your Activity Reports on your core team first. Avoid spreading resources too thin early on. Once your main team is caught up to your Sensei Level, then consider leveling up students for specific content like raids or alternative teams.

Equipment: Boosting Core Stats

Each student can equip three pieces of gear, significantly boosting their stats. Equipment slots unlock at specific student levels:

Slot 1: Unlocks at Student Level 1.
Slot 2: Unlocks at Student Level 5.
Slot 3: Unlocks at Student Level 15.

Equipment comes in different tiers (T1, T2, T3, etc.) and rarities (Normal, Rare, Super Rare, Ultra Rare). Higher tiers and rarities provide superior stat bonuses.

Farming Equipment:
- Story Missions (Hard Mode): Specific Hard Mode stages drop blueprints for higher-tier equipment. Check the drop tables for the gear you need.
- Bounty: This daily activity is a crucial source of equipment blueprints and materials. Prioritize clearing the highest difficulty.
- Joint Firing Drills: These offer a consistent source of high-tier equipment blueprints and enhancement materials.
- Event Shops: Similar to Activity Reports, event shops are excellent places to acquire specific equipment blueprints and materials.
- Crafting Chamber: Once you have blueprints and materials, you can craft equipment here.
Equipment Enhancement: Use Enhancement Stones and Credits to upgrade your equipment. Each upgrade level increases the stats provided by the gear. Enhancement Stones are primarily farmed from Bounty and Joint Firing Drills.
Prioritization: Focus on equipping and enhancing gear for your main damage dealers and tanks first.

Skills: Unleash Their Full Potential

Students have four skills: an EX Skill, a Basic Skill, a Passive Skill, and a Sub Skill. Each skill can be leveled up to increase its effectiveness.

Skill Types:
- EX Skill: The student's ultimate ability, requiring EX Cost to activate. Leveling this often reduces cost or increases damage/effect.
- Basic Skill: Automatically activates at regular intervals during battle.
- Passive Skill: Provides a constant stat boost or effect.
- Sub Skill: Provides a conditional stat boost or effect.
Skill Leveling Materials:
- Skill Books: Specific to each skill type (e.g., Tactical Skill Book for EX Skills, Offensive Skill Book for Basic Skills). These come in different tiers (e.g., I, II, III).
- Tech Notes: General skill materials, also tiered.
- Credits: Required for every skill upgrade.
Where to Farm Skill Materials:
- Lessons: The primary source for Skill Books and Tech Notes. Each Lesson type (e.g., "Lesson: Trinity," "Lesson: Gehenna") drops specific types of Skill Books.
- Commissions (Base Defense & Bounty): Can sometimes drop lower-tier Skill Books and Tech Notes.
- Event Shops: Often feature a generous supply of high-tier Skill Books and Tech Notes.
- Total Assault Shop: Exchange Total Assault Coins for various skill materials.
- Tactical Challenge Shop: Another source for skill materials.
Skill Prioritization:
1. EX Skill: Always prioritize leveling the EX Skill of your main damage dealers and key support students. The impact is usually the most significant.
2. Passive Skill: A consistent stat boost is always valuable.
3. Basic Skill: Can be powerful, especially for students with frequent activations.
4. Sub Skill: Level this last, unless it provides a critical synergy for your team.

Eligma & Eleph: Uncapping Potential

Eligma and Eleph are crucial for increasing a student's Star Rank (rarity), which significantly boosts their base stats and unlocks their Sub Skill.

Eleph: Character-specific fragments. You need a certain amount of a student's Eleph to increase their Star Rank.
- Farming Eleph:
  - Hard Mode Story Missions: Specific Hard Mode stages drop Eleph for certain students. You can only clear these stages a limited number of times per day.
  - Recruitment (Gacha): Pulling duplicate students from the gacha converts them into Eleph.
  - Event Shops: Often sell Eleph for featured students.
Eligma: A universal currency that can be exchanged for any student's Eleph. This is invaluable for students whose Eleph is difficult to farm or for quickly boosting a new powerful student.
- Acquiring Eligma:
  - Recruitment (Gacha): Pulling duplicate 3-star students from the gacha converts them into Eligma.
  - Total Assault Shop: A consistent source of Eligma.
  - Tactical Challenge Shop: Another source, though usually in smaller quantities.
  - Events: Many events offer Eligma as rewards.
Star Rank Prioritization: Focus on increasing the Star Rank of your core damage dealers and tanks first, especially those with powerful Sub Skills that unlock at higher ranks.

Relationship Rank: Unlocking Memories & Stats

Increasing a student's Relationship Rank unlocks their unique "Moments" (story scenes) and provides permanent stat bonuses. These stat bonuses are crucial for maximizing a student's potential.

How to Increase Relationship Rank:
- Gifts: Give students gifts in the Cafe or during Lessons. Each student has preferred gifts that grant bonus Relationship EXP.
- Cafe Interactions: Students visiting your Cafe will gain Relationship EXP over time. Interacting with them also grants a small boost.
- Lessons: Students participating in Lessons gain Relationship EXP.
- Moments: Completing a student's Moment story scenes also grants Relationship EXP.
Cafe Strategy: Prioritize upgrading your Cafe's comfort level to attract more students and increase the rate of Relationship EXP gain. Research which gifts are preferred by your key students and stock up on them.

By consistently engaging with these progression systems, you'll build an unstoppable team of students ready to overcome any challenge Kivotos throws your way!