This guide assumes the reader has some basic experience with the game
Unlimited Saga. I will show how the game calculates Panel Bonuses, how
these bonuses affect character's stats, and strategies for placing your
panels to get the most out of your character.
The various growth panels provided by the game can be divided into
categories depending on the picture shown on the panel. Throughout
this guide I will refer to various panel positions by number for ease
of reference. Since the game always lists skills in the same order, I
have chosen the following method to refer to panel locations:
[1] [2]
[3] [4] [5]
[6] [7]
Whenever the game displays a list of skills for a character, for
instance in the "Magic Tablet" Status screen menu or when viewing
skills from a town's Inn, it will display the skills in this same
numerical order. This can be used to visualize the actual panel
placement since you can't get to most status screens until you are
inside an adventure.
All panels that have the same picture can be made into combos, however
panels that do not have the same picture can not be made into combos.
For instance, Punch Kick and Throw panels all have the same picture on
them and can be part of the same combo. Sword and Spear, despite being
weapon/attack panels, cannot be part of the same combo since their
pictures are different.
There are 4 ways to achieve a Panel Bonus. The first 3 methods are by
placing panels in a certain formation, while the fourth bonus type is
awarded to characters who have a Finished Magic Tablet. When planning
a combo, you should know that formation bonuses cannot overlap each
other. For instance, putting the same category panels in Spots 1, 3,
4, and 5 would only result in a Line Bonus for Spots 3+4+5. However
since Finished Magic Tablet bonuses are not created by a formation,
these CAN overlap formation bonuses. If you had Tablets in Spots
3+4+5, you could get a Line Bonus in addition to a Finished Magic
Tablet bonus for each Tablet.
Stat increases from panel bonuses are solely determined by three
things:
- Type of formation
- Category of panels involved
- Level of panels involved (only if panels are the same level)
The type of formation acts as a multiplier, increasing in power from
Joint to Triangle to Line formations.
The category of panels involved will determine which stats are affected
by the combo and the base amount awarded to each stat. Note that the
location of your combo doesn't change any stat increases from a Bonus.
What this means is that a combo based on spots 6 and 7 can affect the
Strength and Skill stats even though those are located on the other
side of the panel grid.
Same level bonuses add a few extra points onto a combo equal to the
level of the panels. The level of the panels involved must be the same
for all panels in order to receive the "Same Level Bonus." This also
means the when combos have panels of different levels then the total
Panel Bonus is always the same. A combo with a Level 1 Punch and
Level 2 Kick panel will give you the same Panel Bonus as a Level 4
Punch and Level 5 Kick panel.
The various types of formation bonuses are as follows:
JOINT BONUS-
Formed by 2 panels on the outer ring of the grid that are placed next
to each other. Note that panels placed in the center (Spot 4) are
unable to be part of a Joint Bonus. Valid configurations for Joint
bonus formations are Spots 1+2, 1+3, 2+5, 3+6, 5+7, and 6+7.
The formula for a Joint Bonus stat increase is:
(Base Stat Value) x 1 + (Same Level Bonus)
TRIANGLE BONUS-
Formed by 3 panels on the outer ring of the grid that would create
points on an equilateral triangle. Note that Spot 4 is again unable to
be part of a Triangle Bonus. Valid configurations for a Triangle bonus
are Spots 1+5+6 and 2+3+7.
The formula for a Triangle Bonus stat increase is:
(Base Stat Value) x 2 + (Same Level Bonus)
LINE BONUS-
Formed by 3 panels creating a straight line through the panel grid.
This is the only formation that can/must use Spot 4. Valid
configurations for a Line Bonus are Spots 1+4+7, 2+4+6, and 3+4+5.
The formula for a Line Bonus stat increase is:
(Base Stat Value) x 3 + (Same Level Bonus)
FINISHED TABLET BONUS-
When a character learns every spell from a Magic Tablet, they get a
slight stat bonus for leaving the Tablet panel on their grid. Any
location is good for a Finished Tablet Bonus, but if you overwrite that
panel with something else you will lose the Bonus. Finished Tablet
Bonuses are unique in that they can be combined with formation bonuses
for an extra stat boost.
The formula for a Finished Tablet Bonus stat increase is:
Element increase equal to the Level of Tablet, Spirit increased by 2,
and Magic increased by 2.
However, there are tablets that do not follow this formula. Judy
starts her quest with an "Ancient Tablet L2" and can acquire a Level 3
tablet, both of which I'm guessing belong to the "Forbidden" element
category. They seem to raise only the Magic stat when completed, but
the bonus is higher than for regular tablets.
Each of the Panel Categories has different Base Stat Values that are
used to determine the Panel Bonuses. Here is a listing of the various
Panel Categories along with a description of the panel and the various
skills that are a part of the category. Not all skills are listed
under each panel since I have only listed the ones I have been able to
get. Panels that personally seem to be unusually rare to get from
completing an adventure will be marked with an asterisk (*).
Note: When playing as Judy, you can get 3 extra versions of familiars.
These familiars are treated differently than the regular ones.
Despite having the same graphic as the normal familiars, Judy's extra
familiars cannot be used in combos with the regular familiars. They
seem to have the same spells as their elemental counterparts, but
the Earth familiar (Atlas) has the Architect skill instead of Road
Guide. Also, their base stat values are different:
"Judy's Familiars" - Looks like a fish
Astraios (Judy Fire Familiar with Road Guide skill)
Aigaion (Judy Water Familiar with Cave Guide skill)
Atlas (Judy Earth Familiar with Architect skill)
Each weapon skill panel combines only with panels from its own
category, so I am placing all the various weapon panel categories here
for quicker reference. You cannot get Same Level Bonuses using weapon
panels since you can't have two identical panels on your growth grid.
"Axe"
Base stat value: 3 Strength and 1 Endurance
"Bow"
Base stat value: 2 Strength and 2 Skill
"Dagger"
Base stat value: 2 Skill, 1 Magic, 1 Endurance
"Gun"
Base stat value: 4 Skill
"Shield" *
Base stat value: 4 Endurance
"Spear"
Base stat value: 2 Strength and 2 Endurance
So how do you use the above information to figure out your stat bonuses
for various combos? Look up the category of panels that are being
used. Each category affects stats by a base value. Now take that base
value and plug it into the equation for the Formation of the combo, and
add the Same Level Bonus if your panels are at the same level. Here
are some examples:
You have a Joint combo of Level 4 Obstacle Crossing and a Level 4
Swimming. These panels are in the “Map” category which has a base
value of 2 Endurance and 2 Water. The Joint combo formula is:
(Base Stat Value) x 1 + (Same Level Bonus)
so, you plug each value in to get the results:
(2 Endurance) x 1 + (4) = 6 Endurance
(2 Water) x 1 + (4) = 6 Water
Here’s another example using a Triangle formation of Familiar panels.
Let’s say you have a Level 3 Fire Familiar, a Level 3 Earth Familiar,
and a Level 3 Water Familiar. These are “Familiar” panels so the base
stat value is 3 Magic and 1 Spirit. The Triangle combo formula is:
(Base Stat Value) x 2 + (Same Level Bonus)
so, you plug each value in to get the results:
(3 Magic) x 2 + (3) = 9 Magic
(1 Spirit) x 2 + (3) = 5 Spirit
Here’s another example using a Line formation of “Globe” panels. Let’s
say you have a Level 1 Arcane Tongue, a Level 2 Fortuneteller, and a
Level 3 Fortuneteller. The base stat value for these “Globe” category
panels is 3 Magic and 2 Fire. The Line combo formula is:
(Base Stat Value) x 3 + (Same Level Bonus)
so, you plug each value in to get the results:
(3 Magic) x 3 + (0) = 9 Magic
(2 Fire) x 3 + (0) = 6 Fire
FORMATION OBSERVATIONS-
Each of the Formations seems to have Pros and Cons; different combos
seem to be better for certain situations and or panel categories. Here
are a few of my observations:
Joint formation-
+Is quickest to create or change
+Uses few spots in the grid, so you have room for more combos
+Leaves the center spot free as a dumping ground for unwanted panels
-Lowest stat increases of all the combos
-Gives poor bonuses if you can't get a same level bonus
When making Joint combos, I try to build them using common panels so
that I can be assured of making a same level bonus. For a focused
approach, you can combine a Joint combo and Line combo. For a balanced
character, you can use 3 Joint combos to increase a mix of stats like
Strength, Skill, and Endurance.
Triangle formation-
+Makes combos of uneven levels stronger than Joint combos
+Leaves the center spot free as a dumping ground for unwanted panels
+/- Unique formation allows 2 Triangle combos
Triangles restrict you from using other formations
-Uses 3 panels so it requires more planning
-Doesn't maximize the bonus you can make with 3 panels
I haven't really experimented much with these, but I can see how they
can be useful for mages who don't need weapon panels to attack
aggressively. You could make a Triangle combo of 3 tablets and 3
Elemental-raising skills (or Familiars) and they can attack without the
need of weapon skill panels.
Line formation-
+Creates the biggest combo bonuses
+Same level bonus isn't necessary for great stat increases
+Allows room for Joint combos on either side
-Line combos require the center panel, so some characters can't (Kurt)
or probably shouldn't (Iskandar) use them.
-Uses 3 panels so it requires more planning
Line combos are the strongest, and I always try to create a Line combo
that complements a character's best stat. If you are trying to create
a panel combo using rarer panels, it's a good idea to go for a Line
formation since there's no guarantee that you'll be able to upgrade
your rare panels. Also, the rare panels tend to be in categories that
have a high Base Stat Values, and the Line formation acts as a tripler
for these values. This means that a Line combo made of "Body" panels
gives you a bonus of 12 to Endurance even with panels of different
levels.
DUMPING PANELS-
Q) Why use the center spot as a dumping ground when making combos?
Why even have a Dumping spot at all?
A) In the best of all possible worlds, you could have a character with
a Line combo and 2 Joint combos. Or you could have a full panel of
Joint/Triangle combos and use the center spot for Weapon Meister. In
reality, you will often end an adventure and have to choose between 4
panels that you don't really want. It then becomes important to plan
ahead so that you can place a panel that won't negatively affect your
combos. For fighter characters, I see 2 good places for creating a
dumping spot:
SPOT 4
Panels placed here will affect all your stats, but only slightly.
Therefore, placing a bad panel here won't change any of your
character's stats too much. This is the best dumping spot for making
characters have 3 Joint combos or 2 Triangle combos. The downside to
using this spot to dump panels is that you can't make a Line combo.
SPOT 6
In the lower left corner, this spot only affects the Magic stat and the
surrounding Elemental stats. This makes it a great dumping ground for
fighter characters with Line combos since it won't mess with their
other stats.
For Magic users, there is a lot more to take into consideration.
Elemental stats are in different places on different characters, and
you may want to increase each elemental stat as much as possible. Spot
2 can possibly be used as a Dump, since I think it only affects on
Element on a character. On the other hand, if this is your mage’s best
Element, then you’ll need to find another spot to use.
As a general rule for making combos, I try to set up combos that will
increase stats that the character is already good at. For fighters,
this usually means a Line of Melee panels, and for mages I try to make
some combo to boost their strongest Element. Since the categories that
affect elements don't seem to follow a pattern, here's a short list of
what Elements are affected by which categories:
Fire "Globe"
Earth "Key"
Metal "Tool"
Water "Map"
Wood "Talk"
An important note about these Categories is that "Globe" and "Tool"
categories are harder to make same level combos due to the rarity of
some of their panels. I'm pretty sure that "Tool" combos are easier to
make if you're using Mythe since you can get extra "Tool" panels with
the Weaponsmith and Accessory Smith skills. If you really want to
boost the element stats for Fire and Metal, you can make a Triangle or
Line combo to make use of the formation multiplier.
WEAPON SKILL COMBOS AND OTHER MIXED LEVEL COMBOS-
If you decide to make a combo with Weapon skill panels or categories
with rare panels, you'll have to work around the restriction of not
being able to receive a Same Level Bonus. Most fighter characters will
get a benefit from a Line combo of Melee panels, but the only other
easy combo options for boosting Strength seem to be awarded for using
Weapon panels in combos. The good news is that Weapon panels are
usually the best panels just for raising stats. When planning out a
combo that you know is probably not going to get a Same Level Bonus,
try to set up the panels so that the weaker ones will be in spots that
won't affect your stats too much and the higher level panels will
augment your strong stats.
For example, you want to set up a Triangle combo with Spear skills. If
you go with a 1+5+6 setup, then you can use Spot 6 for a Level 3 Spear,
while Spots 1 and 5 can get the Level 4 and Level 5 Spear spots. This
leaves the other Triangle spots open for a Melee combo or something
else. If you do a Line Combo, try making a 1+4+7 or 3+4+5 combo and
place the lowest level panel in Spot 4 while reserving the side spots
for the higher level panels.
This is a actually a good strategy to use even for Same Level Bonus
combos since all the panels in a category don't naturally raise stats
by the same amount. For instance in the Melee category, Punch and Kick
skills raise stats equally, but Throw is slightly weaker. This means
you might want to place Throw in a spot that won't affect your desired
stats as much, such as Spots 4 or 6. This works for several
categories, such as "Map" panels where Swimming and Obstacle Crossing
raise stats more than the various Guides.
NEGATIVE PANEL COMBOS - ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
Thanks to St.Ajora's experimenting and posting to the GameFAQs message
board, it seems that combos involving Negative Panels will offer the
greatest Base Stat Values out of any category in the game. If you can
live with a character who has a disadvantage versus certain monsters,
you could end up with a very strong character.
Also, combos with "Weapon Seal" panels aren't as difficult to use as
you might initially think. How often would you really need a certain
character to be able to use every weapon?
Gennojo - Without his copy of the game, I could never have written this
guide.
St.Ajora - Who dared to make a combo of Phobia panels and who could
probably write a novel with all of his helpful GameFAQs posts.
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This guide is Copyright 2003, Graham Fredrick
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