Part 7

Unlock the secrets of AI behavior in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time! Learn about self-preservation, mage AI, healing spells, and more to optimize your party's performance.

Hey there! So, we're diving into the nitty-gritty of how your party members act when you're not directly controlling them. This section is all about understanding and tweaking the AI settings in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. It can seem a bit complex, but once you get the hang of it, you'll have a much smoother time in battle!

AI Behavior & Self-Preservation:

When your characters have elemental weapons equipped, they'll generally attack enemies normally. If an enemy absorbs or nullifies their damage, the AI will still try to attack them, but it'll prioritize enemies that *aren't* resistant if any are around. That's pretty smart!

Now, for self-preservation: If your character is using an AI setting other than AWAYM, has Defense at Lv2 or higher, and their health drops below a certain point, they'll back off and avoid the enemy. They'll jump back into the fray after a minute, or if they get healed above that threshold. If the timer runs out, they'll stay out of combat unless they're healed above the threshold again. This timer keeps ticking even if you switch to control them, but changing any AI settings will reset it.

These HP thresholds are a bit fiddly:

• Below 17.5% HP.
• Below x+5% HP, where 'x' is damage received between 1/8 and 2/3 of their max HP.
• An MP threshold calculated as 0.05*HP + 0.0625*MP. At max level (255), this looks like:
  • ~3790 HP for Cliff and Roger
  • ~3500 HP for Mirage, Fayt, and Albel
  • ~3350 HP for Nel, Peppita, and Adray
  • ~3015 HP for Sophia and Maria
• The MP threshold can also be affected by damage taken: c + (dmg/MP - 0.05)*MP.

Just a heads-up, there's no real upper limit to that MP threshold, so it can actually go higher than your character's max MP, especially before you max out the MP skill. Honestly, I'd recommend keeping Defense at Lv1. This way, you can use skills like Well-Balanced or FYA without worrying about hitting those MP thresholds. The HP threshold can also be a pain. While it sounds good on paper, it's not always practical. Against weaker foes, you can probably heal them in time even if they don't disengage. But against tougher enemies, it's a real hassle trying to keep their health above those specific thresholds.

Also, if your character is using an AI setting other than AWAYM, they'll stop using Waza (skills) when they're below 20% HP, even if those skills don't use HP. That's a big limitation!

You can switch between controlling characters by pressing L1 and R1. The AI will immediately take over the character you switched away from, unless they're set to Manual or Do Nothing. Pressing R2 during battle lets you toggle between Manual (Do Nothing) and AI control for the currently selected character.

Personally, I often play large chunks of the game without using the AI at all. It's not just because the AI can be pretty ineffective below Attack Lv10, but also because it gives me more to do and makes the combat feel more active. However, I really wouldn't suggest this all-manual approach for your first playthrough, unless the guide specifically tells you to.

Mage AI Settings:

Mages have their own set of AI priorities:

1. Act in a well-balanced manner
2. Concentrate on healing/recovery
3. Concentrate on attacking
4. Support your party
5. Don't use symbology (or battle skills)

Keep in mind:

• Settings 3 and 4 won't use any healing or status recovery spells.
• Settings 2 and 3 won't use support spells like Power Up.
• On setting 3, the AI will prioritize casting offensive magic normally over using anything you've set as a battle skill.
• Mages don't have any special override variables when it comes to attacking.

Here's where it gets tricky for mages: If their Defense skill is Lv2 or higher, they'll try to move away from enemies targeting them (the detection range is about the size of Blood Scylla's AOE). If their Attack skill is also Lv2 or higher, they'll even try to sidestep to get away. Honestly, this isn't much of an improvement, so you might want to keep the mage's Attack skill at Lv1. The problem is, they can still get cornered against walls because they don't really try to circle around enemies. It's a mess!

On top of that, mages can get