Star Ocean Till the End of Time - Battle Arena Guide
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Copyright 2004, Shadow47001
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Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Single Battle
A. Rank D
B. Rank C
C. Rank B
D. Rank A
E. Rank S
III. Team Battle
A. Rank D
B. Rank C
C. Rank B
D. Rank A
E. Rank S
IV. Ranking Battle
A. Teams
B. Reigning Champions
V. Credits
This is a guide for the Battle Arena in Gemity, which cannot be
accessed until disc 2. You can participate the moment you arrive,
and is a good place for exp and Fol depending on which battles you
participate in.
To access it: After arriving in Gemity, head as far north as you
can, and enter the teleporter. Then talk to the lady to start.
There are 3 modes of combat, Single, Team, and Ranking. The first
two require a small fee to enter, and must finish five rounds of
combat. The 3rd is the most difficult but is the most rewarding.
If you feel like sending in any battle strategies or tips, go ahead.
I'll see if I can add it somewhere.
As the name implies, you pick one of your characters to participate
in a single battle. There are 5 battles you must win, and if you
win all 5 rounds, you get a reward. Since you are by yourself, you
must be cautious against strong enemies.
There are 5 Ranks you can participate, which affect the difficulty.
Rank Fee Reward
D Rank 100 Fol Magical Berries
C Rank 300 Fol Mallet Charm
B Rank 500 Fol Bunny Shoes
A Rank 1000 Fol Star Guard
S Rank 2000 Fol Imposing Scroll
You can get the Rank C-D rewards more than once by using a different
character (one time per char), while you can only get the Rank S-B
rewards only once.
Tips:
- You should get the hang of using Cancel Bonus often, as that is
the key to quick easy victories. You'll be using it a lot, in all
the modes in the Arena, so better get used to using it.
- You can use a synthed weapon as well, to make the battles even
easier. On Rank S, a fully synthed weapon is recommended.
- Use items over Symbology, since it is faster. Use Physical/Mental
Enhancers, as you can simply buy them from the shops in Gemity.
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Info:
- This is a easy way to get Magical Berries if you need any.
- The first time you get here, this should be no problem for you.
If you're having trouble on this rank, either your lvls/equipment
are not good, or you need to play better.
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Info:
- If you haven't been Cancel Bonusing before, you should now.
- A synthed weapon isn't neccessary, but it helps.
Tips:
- He can paralyze you, so you may want to equip an accessory to
prevent that
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Round 5:
Master Demon
HP: 500,000 Exp: 13,000
MP: 30,000 Fol: 4900
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Info:
- Cancel Bonus is the key to quick victories here.
- First 3 fights are easy, difficulty increases a bit on last 2.
- This mode is good for some Exp for the char you're using.
Tips:
- Basically the same as the Chimera in Rank B, just less HP. Fight
him as you normally would.
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Round 5:
Render Tyrant
HP: 500,000 Exp: 25,000
MP: 13,728 Fol: 65,000
Tips:
- The Render Tyrant has an attack called Ice Beam. When he starts
charging up for it, move away from his front side, as that is
where he fires it. If you get hit, your HP will drop quickly,
unless you're strong enough to possibly take the hit.
- A synthed weapon is recommended.
- If you want, use a stun bomb to cancel his Ice Beam.
Just like Single Battle, except you can use your party. This is
actually somewhat easier, since you're really just fighting the
same groups of enemies. Some of them are in multiple groups, but
still no real threat as long as you know what you're doing.
Rank Fee Reward
D Rank 100 Fol Synthesis Materials
C Rank 300 Fol Tri-Emblum
B Rank 500 Fol Scumbag Slayer
A Rank 1000 Fol Star Splash
S Rank 2000 Fol Ring of Slaughter
You can get the Rank C-D rewards up to 6 times, while you can
only get the Rank S-B rewards only once.
When I list Exp/Fol values, that's for the individual enemy if
there is more of the same type, it's not combined.
Tips:
- Since you have a team, these battles aren't as difficult as
the Single Battles. Have someone be healer if needed though.
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Info:
- With 3 people, this isn't as hard as Single Battle. Have someone
be a healer and you should be all set.
Unlike the other modes, you register a name for your team, and
compete against 50 other teams. You only have to deal with one battle
at a time instead of five, which makes the beginning rather easy.
Here are the names you can choose from:
- Knights Between Time
- Steel Knights
- Arthur and the Knights of Teatable
- Rebels Without an Existence
- Arcane Warriors of the Black Brigade
- Mystic Dragon Eyes
- Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team
- Fayt and Company
According to EChang's PA Guide, your party members like certain names:
Sophia likes the 8th one best; Maria likes the 1st; Cliff likes the 2nd;
Nel likes the 4th; Albel likes the 5th; Roger likes the 3rd; Peppita
likes the 7th. Mirage doesn't like any one in particular, but the 1st,
5th, and the 6th raise her feelings towards you slightly, whereas the
7th one lowers them slightly. But other than this, it doesn't really
matter what you pick.
After registering your team name, a menu is brought up with all these
team names. Yours is at the very bottom. You can fight up to four ranks
ahead of you. You advance up by winning against teams higher rank than
yours. Each time you win you also get prize money based on the teams
you beat. If you lose a battle, your rank may drop by one.
Tips:
- When you first try this out, you should be able to get to Rank 20-30.
- At around Rank 15-20, battles will increase in difficulty (depending on
your lvl though). At this time, have synthed weapons to make it easier,
which should get you to Rank 5 or so, depending on equipment and lvls.
- For easy lvling and some quick cash near beginning, fight the
"Get Em! Twin Beast!!" team, as they aren't really hard but give a good
Exp/Fol amount, especially with the Triple Exp and Double Fol bonuses.
- The "Demon Lords" team is actually stronger than the "Dragoon Knights"
because of the way the Demon Lord fights. However, they give more Fol.
- If you have the "Enemy ATK +100% 10x Fol" factor, you can very easily
make millions if you face the "Dragoon Knights" team. Refer to Xythar's
Money Making FAQ for more info on this.
Upon winning these battles, you get a Fol prize. I put the Fol prize
next to the team name. I've arranged the teams as lowest Fol prize
and increasing. Do note this is basically how the rankings are
normally, difficulty increasing as you move up.
Tips:
- The Demon Lord is the main threat, try to take him out first.
- Don't have to, but you may want to keep someone far from the fight
to heal the others if needed.
- Try not to be grouped together, the Demon Lord can kill easily you
with some of his area-effect attacks.
- Stun bombs can cancel attacks for a short while. If the Demon Lord
is gonna use an attack like Sword of Darkness, just use a stun bomb.
Battle Strategy (from Master LL):
"{Sword attack}
Run away, then counter when the "burning field" is dissipating.
{Crimson Sword}
AAA, then counter attack
{Sword of Darkness (the summon)}
Run in a straight line in away from him, then a U-shape direction to
get behind him. The summon will move in a weird zig-zag attack
After getting away safely, you have a few seconds to recover. You can
also set up a high Cancel Bonus combo so right when the Demon Lord comes
out of the attack, he'll take full damage.
{Flashing Sword}
Teleport sword attack... AAA, then counterattack.
{AAA suggestion: Standard}
Stunning him will give you time to heal up quickly or anything else.
After AAA, wait till he has full Fury before counterattack... that way his
own fury will drop to 50% so he can attack and retaliate less."
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Dragoon Knights - 12,000 Fol
Tips:
- The Dragoon can be easily killed if you got a weapon with Freezing.
In fact, it's highly recommended, as the main focus of battle is the
Crystal Dragon.
- Equipment with Fire resistence (ex: the Reflecting Armor found in the
Maze of Tribulations) will nullify most of the Crystal Dragon's attacks.
Battle Strategy (from Master LL):
"Crystal Dragon - Slow as a turtle, he is extremely hard to prone and
stunlock at lower level.
His Howl of Doom is the biggest threat he has. It does a shield aura
around him dealing major HP/MP damage.
All his other attacks can be AAA. Even his Atomic Breath attack (a flying
firebreath attack which he only does when he's low on HP/MP).
Obviously his spells can't be AAA so run to avoid it easily.
The best tactic is to go after the Dragoon first. It's extremely wise
to fight the Dragoon far away from the Crystal Dragon to prevent less
damage (like from his Howl and Fire attacks).
{AAA Suggestion: Standard}
Again, great to interupt the attack. Counterattack only when his fury is
full... so you'll deal critical damage and drop his Fury by 50%
(thus he can counterattack much less)."
Once you've reached Rank 1, you'll get a challenge from the current
Reigning Champions. They are the announcers you've had to deal with
while you were at the arena: Dirna and Solon. These 2 are a good
challenge, and strong weapons and some good lvls (65+) is recommended.
Here are their stats:
Dirna Hamilton
Hp: 3,000,000 Exp: 110,000
MP: 500,000 Fol: 415,000
Drop: Spirit of Lilith
Tips:
- Solon may have low HP but he's rather strong. Should take him out first.
- If you use Stun bombs often on Dirna, she shouldn't be much of a threat.
Battle Strategy (from Master LL):
"Keep Dirna stunlocked. AAA if she uses her normal attack (she'll say
RUN!!) otherwise, avoid. Run like hell when she uses Explosion, Arcane
Stars or Fireball (can do up to 2000 damage).
Solon will auto-parry everything in front of him. His weakness is his
back... he's easy to kill if you have Cliff or a tanker in front of him
(distracting him) while you hit him from behind.
All of Solon's attack can be AAA except for his obvious strong attack."
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For defeating this duo, you get the Victory Trophy, an impressive
accessory with 8 factors that will make most battles even easier than
before.
Here are the factors the Victory Trophy has:
> -40% Battle Skill HP Use
> -2 Fury
> +10 enemy Fury reduction when guard broken
> 6% MP reocvery at intervals during battle
> 1/2 casting time
> Raises normal attack decision by 2
> Freezing (Attack effect)
> Shoots balls of light when attacking
Afterwards, you are free to do whatever you wish in the Arena, as you've
completed the Ranking Battle. If you still haven't did the Single/Team
Battles, do so now if you want.
