Part 13

Explore character pros and cons and how the Battle Bonus gauge works in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Learn about movement speed and ultimate weapons.

Character Pros and Cons:

• Fayt: Fastest movement speed, fast item user, effective Air Raid. Cannot use Air Raid as effectively in NTSC-versions due to lack of skip cancels. Ultimate weapon obtained very late in post-game.
• Cliff: Lowest MP. Mid-range Confirm attack always deals Fury damage but has the hardest skip cancel timing. Doesn't have any low CP cancel fodder. Can deal great MP damage with Aerial Assault (mainly of use on Disc 1). Infinity Kick is almost unusable due to high CP cost. Ultimate weapon obtained early in the Sphere.
• Nel: Longest flinch of all fighters. Doesn't learn No Guard until Lv40. Third slowest item user. Mid-range Confirm attack has a fair chance of dealing Fury damage, long range always does. Can do juggling with Kyoumensatsu and long range HP and MP damage with Kokuyousen. AI cannot properly use her long range skills. Only fighter who can cast Healing natively (unless you count Adray). Strongest main game weapon is elemental. Ultimate weapon obtained fairly early in the Sphere.
• Roger: Lowest MP. Slow movement speed. Second shortest flinch of all characters. Fastest item user. Mid-/long range Confirm attack has a decent chance of dealing Fury damage. Charge is his only attack worth using until he learns Raging Helmet (Lv50), which is very good. Has two cancel fodder moves with special stun (Whirling Heat and Flying Torpedo). Weapons have the highest ATP.
• Maria: Lowest HP. Slowest movement speed by far. Shortest flinch of all characters. Fastest spellcaster. Has ranged DPS options the AI might use. Using ranged attacks isn't very exciting. Learns Protection, Power Up and Angel Feather (supplement with a Decrepit Tome). Weapons have the lowest ATP. Ultimate weapon obtained fairly late in the Sphere.
• Albel: Second slowest item user. SR skip cancel tends not to work if the enemy doesn't flinch. Mid-range Confirm attack and best cancel fodder are Wind-elemental, preventing AI chaining when the enemy takes no damage from Wind. Only has one consistently effective move (Goumashou / Hand of Doom (Lv45)) even in manual control. Solid character overall.
• Sophia: Lowest HP and DFP. Slow movement speed. Longest flinch of all characters. Slowest spellcaster. Doesn't join until Disc 2. Has healing spells, but the AI cannot be trusted to use them effectively. Offensive magic deals moderate HP damage at best, and most spells are elemental. Offensive magic is good for long range interruption (especially Thunder Flare).
• Peppita: Low DFP, especially later in the post-game. Slow movement speed. Fast item user. Doesn't join until Disc 2. Can drastically increase the ATP of the entire party with Power Dance, which can break the game. AI cannot chain any dances. Only character with counters/reversals. Her two best moves, Kaboom and Faerie Friend, both have issues. Strongest main game weapon cannot be obtained reliably (without Bunny Racing). Second post-game weapon obtained very late with only 5 empty slots.
• Adray: Low DFP. Slow movement speed and godawful acceleration. Wazas allow for good MP damage from a distance, but all are elemental. Has healing spells, but the AI cannot be trusted to use them effectively. Can only set 5 spells as battle skills.
• Mirage: Short flinching time. Slowest item user. Doesn't join until late in the game. Mid-range Confirm attack always deals Fury damage but has the hardest skip cancel timing. Doesn't have any low CP cancel fodder. Can use Triple Kick in a defensive Homing setup. In the post-game, can do juggling with Infinity Kick for good HP and MP damage. Ultimate weapon obtained early in the Sphere. Hot.

Battle Bonus:

Landing hits on an enemy increases the battle bonus gauge. The growth rate, a value between 0-300% divisible by 10, drops by 10 points every 3 seconds. The starting rate depends on the level difference between your active party and the enemy. For every level you are above the enemy, the default rate drops by 10%. If the enemy is higher level, the default rate increases:

• 4+ levels above: 110%
• 8+ levels above: 120%
• 12+ levels above: 130%
• 16+ levels above: 140%
• 20+ levels above: 150%
• 24+ levels above: 160%
• 27+ levels above: 170%
• 31+ levels above: 180%
• 35+ levels above: 190%
• 39+ levels above: 200%
• 45+ levels above: 210%
• 54+ levels above: 220%
• 62+ levels above: 230%
• 70+ levels above: 240%
• 79+ levels above: 250%
• 87+ levels above: 260%
• 95+ levels above: 270%
• 104+ levels above: 280%
• 112+ levels above: 290%
• 120+ levels above: 300%

At a 100% rate, it takes 50 physical hits or 100 magical hits to fill the gauge. With a +5 bonus factor, it takes 26 physical hits or 35 magical hits. Hits that deal no damage do not increase the gauge.

When the gauge hits maximum, you obtain one of four beneficial variables depending on the last attack type:

• Confirm attack: Triple Exp
• Cancel attack: Double Fol
• Confirm waza: Increased chance of item drop
• Cancel waza: Double post-battle recovery

The support skill Lucky Star can also be used to fill the gauge. Fighting 5 battles while keeping the gauge intact adds another bonus at random until all four are obtained.