Part 67

Details on Cliff's Max Shockwave and Maria's various skills like Scatter Beam, Pulse Blast, and Gravity Bullet in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

Cliff Skills:

Max Shockwave

• Availability: S150
• Fury Cost: 12%
• MP Cost: 30/60
• Hits: 6
• Attack Speed: 1.5s
• Damage Type: HP MP
• Effects: 1.25x HP, 0.04x MP -> 1.8x HP, 0.06x MP, ~9 hits, 4s (2.5s start-up), 2.75s when canceled. Allows Cliff to deal great damage from a distance with great stopping power. The knockdown causes a loss of some hits. Has attribute transfer; cancel the blockable one quickly (to turn it unblockable) and the (real) unblockable late.

Maria Skills:

Normal Attacks

• Fury Cost: 5
• SR: t1 0.25s, t2 0.7s
• SS: t1 0.3s, t2 0.33s
• LR: t1 0.5s, t2 0.55s
• Ae: t1 0.5s, t2 1.75s
• Note: Pulling off skip-cancels from the sidestep attack is quite tricky, requiring quick and precise input.

Aiming Device

• Availability: Def
• MP Cost: 5%M
• Fury Cost: 25/50
• Hits: 2
• Attack Speed: 1.3s
• Damage Type: HP MP
• Effects: 1.26x HP, 0.165x MP -> 1.8x HP, 0.235x MP, float. Effect: Confusion. (1.64x HP, 0.215x MP -> 2.34x HP, 0.3x MP). Not bad, but cannot be used extensively.

Scatter Beam

• Availability: Def
• MP Cost: 7%
• Fury Cost: 20/47
• Hits: Lv1: 5 hits. Lv4: 7 hits. Lv8: 10 hits.
• Attack Speed: 3
• Damage Type: HP
• Effects: 0.525x (0.68x). Has the potential to do massive damage especially if leveled up, but has little stopping power and gets blocked easily. At Lv8+, the DPS is very high. One of Maria's two long-range options during the main game.

Protection

• Availability: Def
• Effects: Increase DFP by 50% for 60 -> 114 seconds.

Power Up

• Availability: Lv21
• Effects: Increase ATP by 50% for 60 -> 114 seconds.

Charge

• Availability: Lv22
• MP Cost: 5%
• Fury Cost: 20/42
• Hits: 4
• Attack Speed: 1.5s (0.8s)
• Damage Type: HP MP
• Effects: 1.5x HP, 0.15x MP, 0.8s. A good Charge, though too fast for Hyper Charge.

Aerial

• Availability: Lv24
• MP Cost: 5%
• Fury Cost: 20/42
• Hits: 2
• Attack Speed: 1.5s
• Damage Type: HP MP
• Effects: Damage is identical to Charge, but only hits flying/large enemies. Due to knockdown, can only be chained if combined with AD (Aiming Device).

Magnetic Field

• Availability: Lv28
• MP Cost: 5%
• Fury Cost: 10/27
• Hits: 5
• Attack Speed: 2.0s
• Damage Type: HP
• Effects: 1.57x, medium area. Slows enemies down and may inflict Paralysis. The field usually does one additional hit at about 1/6 damage. Low Fury cost allows up to 10 uses in a single chain, though practically 7 due to Maria stepping back.

Pulse Blast

• Availability: Lv32
• MP Cost: 7%
• Fury Cost: 25/50
• Hits: 4
• Attack Speed: 1.3s
• Damage Type: HP
• Effects: 0.525x, 1.75s. Lv1: 4x1 hits. Lv4: 4x2 hits. Lv8: 4x3 hits. A ranged attack with fair damage and minimal stopping power. Has trouble hitting most enemies. Getting 2 or 3 hits is common. Best choice for ranged HP damage in the main game. High block risk without skip-canceling. If Maria is AI-controlled, use IHPD instead until she can chain this more consistently.

Crescent Locus

• Availability: Lv38
• MP Cost: 5%
• Fury Cost: 20/47
• Hits: 4
• Attack Speed: 1.5s
• Damage Type: HP
• Effects: 0.63x -> 0.9x, 3 hits (4 in NTSC), knockdown.

Triple Kick

• Availability: Lv42
• MP Cost: 6%
• Fury Cost: 20/47
• Hits: 5
• Attack Speed: 2.0s
• Damage Type: HP
• Effects: 1.05x -> 1.5x (2.1x -> 3.0x), 3 hits, 1.75s. Good, but Maria cannot use it as effectively as Mirage due to limited speed.

Laser Blast

• Availability: Lv46
• MP Cost: 6%
• Fury Cost: 20/47
• Hits: 4
• Attack Speed: 1.3s
• Damage Type: HP
• Effects: 0.735x, 3 hits max, medium area. Fire resistance is common on Disc 2, making this less useful.

Gravity Bullet

• Availability: Lv52
• MP Cost: 12%
• Fury Cost: 40/80
• Hits: 6
• Attack Speed: 1.2s
• Damage Type: HP(MP)
• Effects: 0.255x, 25 hits max, 3.5s, juggle. Supports attribute transfer. Low force rating means the bullet can pass through enemies, resulting in few hits. May require floating the enemy first (block, AD). Good if you don't mind Maria's clumsiness in close quarters. Maria jumps back after firing, limiting chains to ~200% without skip-canceling and a Ring of Animosity due to high Fury cost. Can use MF (Magnetic Field) as fodder if support skills are dropped. Cannot use No Guard unless IHPMPD is used. For 300% kills, Maria's LR Confirm attack is likely needed for attribute transfer due to limited Fury. With LR Confirm, ~13 transfer hits; with LR Cancel, 14-15. Maria does not learn IMPD, but MP damage with GB is possible with a Mildewed Tome. No need to cancel chain for MP kills.

No Guard

• Availability: Lv58
• Effects: Not needed unless using Scatter Beam.

Energy Burst

• Availability: MoT5
• MP Cost: 10%
• Fury Cost: 30/60
• Hits: 8
• Attack Speed: 1.2s
• Damage Type: HP MP
• Effects: 0.525x HP, 0.1x MP -> 0.75x HP, 0.15x MP. Effect: Paralysis. (0.63x HP, 0.12x MP -> 0.9x HP, 0.18x MP). Devastating and simple to use. Will do 33 hits with full Fury. When chained with MF, can still get 28-30 hits.

Radiation Bots

• Availability: S187
• MP Cost: 15%M
• Fury Cost: 50/77
• Hits: 6
• Attack Speed: 1.5s
• Damage Type: HP MP
• Effects: 0.525x HP, 0.05x MP. Four bots follow Maria and attack. Needs to be leveled up for best results. At Lv1, lasts 3 seconds. High MP cost to reactivate. Late acquisition may make it not worth the effort. Use sidestep attack if using.

Peppita Skills:

Normal Attacks

• Fury Cost: 5
• SR: t1 0.4s, t2 0.6s
• SRc: t1 0.83s, t2 1.4s (1s invincibility, knockdown)
• MR: t1 2.0s, t2 2.1s (Fury dmg)

Magic Hook

• Availability: Lv5
• MP Cost: 5%
• Fury Cost: 15