Cooking Recipes & Effects — Tales of Xillia Guide

Cooking Recipes & Effects

Cooking in Tales of Xillia is a vital mechanic that provides temporary stat boosts and beneficial effects to your party, making challenging battles and long dungeon crawls significantly easier. Unlike some other RPGs, cooking here is handled automatically when you possess the necessary ingredients and have learned the recipe. The key is to strategically select which recipe to "set" as your active meal, as only one food effect can be active at a time.

How Cooking Works

To utilize cooking, follow these steps:

1. Acquire Recipes: Recipes are found throughout Rieze Maxia and Elympios. They can be obtained from various sources:
   • Treasure Chests: Always keep an eye out for chests in dungeons and towns.
   • Side Quests: Completing certain sub-events for NPCs will often reward you with new cooking knowledge.
   • Shop Purchases: Some general stores or specialty shops will sell recipe books. Check every merchant!
   • Story Progression: A few recipes are automatically learned as you advance through the main narrative.
2. Gather Ingredients: Ingredients are plentiful and can be acquired through:
   • Enemy Drops: Many monsters drop specific food items.
   • Gathering Points: Sparkle points on the field often yield common ingredients like Wheat, Milk, or Eggs.
   • Shop Purchases: Most towns have vendors selling basic and some advanced ingredients. Stock up regularly!
   • Harvesting from the Cat Dispatch: Once unlocked, the Cat Dispatch system can bring back rare ingredients.
3. Set Your Recipe:
   • Open your menu and navigate to the "Food" section.
   • Select "Set Recipe" to view all available recipes.
   • Choose the recipe you wish to activate. The game will automatically consume the required ingredients from your inventory if you have them.
   • The chosen food effect will then be active for a set number of battles or a certain duration, depending on the recipe.
4. Automatic Cooking: Once a recipe is set, the game will automatically re-cook it after the effect expires, provided you have the ingredients. This makes continuous buffing seamless.

Essential Early-Game Recipes & Strategies

Focus on these recipes early on to gain a significant advantage:

• Omelet Rice:
  • Ingredients: Egg x1, Rice x1
  • Effect: Increases EXP gained by 10%.
  • Strategy: This is arguably the most important early-game recipe. Prioritize keeping this active at all times to accelerate your party's leveling. Eggs can be found from various bird-type enemies or purchased in Fennmont. Rice is a common drop from humanoids and can also be bought.
• Sandwich:
  • Ingredients: Bread x1, Lettuce x1, Meat x1
  • Effect: Increases HP recovered from healing items by 10%.
  • Strategy: Useful for sustained dungeon exploration. Bread and Lettuce are easily purchased in most towns, and Meat drops from many beast-type enemies.
• Mabo Curry:
  • Ingredients: Tofu x1, Curry Powder x1, Rice x1
  • Effect: Increases TP recovered from healing items by 10%.
  • Strategy: Excellent for magic users and skill spammers. Tofu and Curry Powder can be bought in larger cities like Hamil or Fennmont.

Mid-to-Late Game Powerhouses

As you progress, look for recipes that offer more specialized or potent buffs:

• Seafood Paella:
  • Ingredients: Rice x1, Shrimp x1, Squid x1, Tomato x1
  • Effect: Increases all elemental attack damage by 10%.
  • Strategy: Ideal for parties with strong elemental artes users like Milla or Rowen. Shrimp and Squid are often found in coastal areas or dropped by aquatic enemies.
• Fruit Parfait:
  • Ingredients: Milk x1, Fruit x1, Sugar x1
  • Effect: Increases critical hit rate by 5%.
  • Strategy: A great choice for physical attackers like Jude or Alvin. Milk, Fruit, and Sugar are generally easy to acquire from shops or gathering points.
• Steak:
  • Ingredients: Premium Meat x1, Garlic x1, Butter x1
  • Effect: Increases physical attack by 10%.
  • Strategy: The go-to for maximizing damage from your melee characters. Premium Meat is a rarer drop from stronger beasts or can be purchased from specialty vendors later in the game.

Maximizing Your Cooking Efficiency

• Stockpile Ingredients: Always buy ingredients when you're in town, especially common ones like Rice, Eggs, and Milk. This prevents your active food effect from expiring unexpectedly.
• Prioritize EXP Boosts: For the majority of the game, the EXP-boosting recipes (like Omelet Rice) are your best friends. Switch to combat-focused buffs only for particularly tough boss fights or challenging areas.
• Experiment with Effects: Don't be afraid to try out different recipes. Some might synergize better with your current party setup or playstyle. For instance, if you're struggling with status effects, look for recipes that offer resistance.
• Check Recipe Descriptions: The in-game descriptions clearly state the effect and duration. Pay attention to whether an effect lasts for a number of battles or a set time.

By mastering the cooking system, you'll ensure your party is always in peak condition, ready to face any challenge Rieze Maxia and Elympios throw your way!