To cap off my completionists guide, I'm going to take an in-depth look at Tales of Symphonia's characters and how, in my opinion, to get the best out of them. I'll also be covering the myriad of different options available to customize your save file in whatever way fits your view of "complete". One thing I'll go ahead and get out of the way are the character percentages found in the save/load screen in the screenshot above; which is a oft-asked question. It simply denotes the percentage of your battles that character has been apart of, however, on subsequent plays, carrying over your Battle Info from the Grade Shop, it begins to become really muddied and doesn't make much sense. For example, you can see my Lloyd has a 100% usage rate, which besides the fact that I never take Lloyd out of the party (Sorry, old-school rules for main characters here), a true 100% isn't possible when you think about battles Lloyd can't be apart of, such as the Meltokio Arena single battles, Sheena's Kuchinawa duel, or the times the party splits into two groups, although you, theoretically, could not take part in those and dodge battles with the alternate party to keep Lloyd's percentage at 100%. Anyway, the numbers aren't that consistent after your first playthrough is what I'm getting at, but it will give you a general idea of your character tendencies.
General Recommendations
- When it comes to weapon selection, there is little debate, besides Genis, and maybe Lloyd's special Material Blade, that the Devil's Arms weapons are the most powerful ones the character can wield once you've managed to reach a high number of kills. To this point, my character weapon suggestions will ignore these and focus on the other ones that are available.
- Although you can mix-and-match learning techs from both sides of the T/S line, I will recommend what, in my opinion, is the superior line to take. Personally, I like to have two saves files: with one Kratos and Zelos, and swap the character's tech lines for each one.
- If you're looking for purely offense, of which cannot be maximized, equipping two Extreme Symbol accessories cannot be bested. Early in the game, you can try to get two Guardian Symbol accessories from the Grab Bags in Palmacosta, and then once Rune Bottles become common around Tethe'alla, you can turn the Guardian Symbols into the Strength-boosting Warrior Symbol.
- On the reverse-side, two Blue Talismans are prefect for shoring up your Defense; much more than using Force Rings. Before Blue Talismans are accessible, you can use the aforementioned Guardian Symbols for Defense.
- Unfortunately, there is little you can do for Intelligence besides helmets, Rune Boots, and the Diamond accessory, but the Persian Boots and Reflect Rings can help defend against magic attacks. Conversely, the Magic Ring can be used to boost the effectiveness of your attack magic.
- For Luck, two Rabbit Feet accessories will do the trick. Most characters can purchase Luck-increasing weapons (Besides Kratos/Zelos and Genis) from a rebuilt Luin's weapon shop. The ladies have a number of Luck-based pieces of armor too, such as the Lunar Guard for Colette/Presea and the Bridal Gloves.
- You can virtually ignore the Accuracy and Evasion statistics, as they have been proved to offer none, or very little, benefit. Also, HP/TP are easily maxed at high levels, so I won't be referring to them, either, when discussing titles.
- For a nearly un-killable machine, you can stack HP regenerating armor and accessories to massive effect. For the men, equipping the Cleric's Hat provides HP regen, while the Holy Circlet does for the ladies. Add to this a combination of Holy Symbols, Turquoise, or the lesser Holy Ring or Yata Mirror, can regenerate up to 700 HP every 15 seconds. Kratos/Zelos can add another layer of regen with the Omega Shield, Raine can with her Holy Robe AND Holy Staff, as well as Genis and Regal with their Holy Cloak.
Strategy
The Strategy portion of the main menu is fairly self-explanatory, and very subjective, for the most part, but I just wanted to provide some guidance on what I use for my characters. For Colette, I highly recommend the Skills/Magic option as it will completely prevent her from using her nearly-useless basic attacks that lead her into danger with their long recovery times. Of course, you'll need to watch her TP with this option.
Lloyd
Weapon: I use the Material Blade as long as I have the Eternal Swordsman title equipped for Falcon's Crest, although honestly, properly equipped, you'd have to try to get his HP low enough to activate it. Otherwise, the Kusanagi Blade or Valkyrie Saber are Lloyd's best. I would go with the former due to the Slash, generally, being more effective, but don't sleep on using the Valkyrie Saber for Thrust techs like Sword Rain.
Armor: Nothing matches the Lloyd-only Mumbane for its Defense and elemental protections, even at maximum Defense. To the latter point, I suppose you could use the Rune Mail to supplement his Intelligence, but I think the elemental protections are best.
Helmet: Star Helm. This falls by default to Lloyd over the Golden Helm since Kratos/Zelos already have the fire-resistant Star Shield and Golden Armor and he could always use more. At 999 Defense, and the Star Gauntlet equipped, I would recommend switching to the HP-regenerative Cleric's Hat.
Arm: Star Gauntlet. By the time you get the Hyper Gauntlet, Presea should have the Prism Guard, a Reflect Ring, and possibly even the Star Circlet, and additional fire defense is hardly needed, but can still benefit Lloyd. At max Defense, the Claw or Rune Gauntlet could be considered for other bonuses.
Accessories: Most players will likely control Lloyd during battle, and if so, conservation of his TP is a top priority with the Faerie Ring, Turquoise, or Spirit Symbol as good choices. As stated, Lloyd has the worst Intelligence of all the characters, making him the ideal choice for the Persian Boots or, at a minimum, a Reflect Ring. When using the underwhelming Material Blade, the Extreme Symbol is a very nice supplement, also. The Diamond, Rune Boots, or Krona Symbol are good considerations, too.
T/S Line: Either, honestly, but Technical has a bit more upside. Particularly, you get Demonic Chaos that you can heavily assault from afar with and the combo-heavy Sword Rain: Beta, but you won't really be missing anything by picking either side. The Strike-side Hunting Beast is a personal favorite of mine.
EX Skills: Guard Plus, Add Combo, Follow-up, Ability Plus. In my opinion, your best option is to forgo any of Lloyd's compound skills and focus on his basic ones like Guard Plus, Add Combo, and Follow-up that are more useful than those created through combinations. These three will get you the decent Counter compound skill by default and you can further add C. Combo by the addition of Ability Plus that will allow you to combo with counters. Alternately, you can use Spirit instead of Ability Plus for the TP-reducing Technical compound. Other suggestions include: Phys. Status (Eternal, Immunity), Critical Up (Strong, Personal), and Aerial Guard (Guard Plus, Immunity, Sky Attack).
Titles: If you care about getting the most out of his bad Intelligence and plan to farm statistical items for his other stats, set Lloyd to Midlife Crisis and leave it for a 60% shot at a boost when he levels. Midlife Crisis has no other worthwhile bonuses, however, and you may consider Gourmet Master (40%, but 50% Def) or Tactical Leader (50% with Acc and Eva, too) instead. Otherwise, Berserker guarantees a bonus to Strength and is extremely difficult to max. Holy Sword provides the same guarantee, but to Defense, while Eternal Swordsman is a nice medium for Strength (70%) and Defense (60%). Sword of Swords is a middle ground between all stats if you don't care either way.
Colette
Colette's magical abilities is where she truly shines, though, in my opinion. Holy Song should be a constant during tough battles and Angel Feathers and the sometimes-unpredictable Judgment are great for back-end support (Make sure she always has the Angel Song EX Skill equipped, though.) Also, don't be afraid to use Sacrifice! It sounds dangerous, but you're just a Life Bottle away from her being back in the battle and it is generally very underutilized. Even better, the higher Colette's Luck goes (And meeting usage requirements), the chance she'll cast a combination spell, Holy Judgment, that is even more damaging than Judgment and casts Holy Song on the party.
Weapon: Angel's Halo, however, if you prefer to use Colette as a straight mage and not attack at all, the +50 Luck Tambourine is much more useful for her.
Armor: Elemental Guard. At max Defense, if she's using the Elemental Circlet, go ahead and give her the +20 Luck Lunar Guard for armor.
Helmet: Elemental Circlet. This is perfect for Colette, but if you only have one, it's a tough decision. If not, the Star Circlet, at least, for the Int bonus. With max Defense, try the HP-regenerative Holy Circlet if not using the Elemental one.
Arm: Shield Ring or Draupnir. With the Elemental Guard, and/or Circlet, she doesn't need the Star Bracelet. At 999 Defense, the +10 Luck Bridal Gloves are perfect.
Accessories: Because of Holy Judgment being Luck-based, I keep a Rabbit's Foot equipped on her at all times. My other suggestion is the Diamond, further boosting all her stats, including Luck, but tend to only equip her with this when I have Zelos instead of Kratos (Just a bias, personal preference). In that case, I use the Rune Boots to supplement her Intelligence, or you could use a Magic Ring, also. Other ideas are an Extreme Symbol, Blue Talisman, Mystic Symbol, or the Elven/Jet Boots.
T/S Line: Strike. Para Ball and Torrential Para Ball can be repeated over-and-over again for an incredible semi-ranged assault. On the Technical-end, Hammer Rain is nice, but her default Stardust Cross tech is just as good as it.
EX Skills: Magical, Lucky, Resurrect, Angel Song. This is another case of preferring basic skills over compound ones, mostly. Lucky is great, for obvious reasons, and the other three create the Resilience compound which prevents enemies from interrupting her magic. This is secondary, however, to the three skills that create it which are great. You can replace Lucky with Tough to get the rather sub-par Super Guard compound skill, if you want. Other suggestions include: Nullify (Dodge, Vitality), Life Thief (Vitality, Stat Boost), and Angel's Tear (Eternal, Resurrect, Stat Boost, Angel Song).
Titles: Colette's titles don't offer a lot of variety; particularly when it comes to boosting her Intelligence. I would suggest Super Girl for almost all of her levels for an even dispersion over all stats; and the highest for Int at 40%. You may prefer to throw in some levels of Little Pickpocket for Strength (60%, Defense, also) and Angelic Maiden for a guaranteed Defense (100%) bonus.
Genis
Weapon: One World, however, when Genis hits 999 Int, the +20 Defense Phantasmagoria becomes his best weapon. With 999 Defense, I suppose you could use whatever weapon you like unless you want to actually attack with his Kendama. If looking to take advantage of his lightning-quick Randomizer compound skill, use Genis' Disaster weapon to reduce his Luck into negative numbers.
Armor: Star Cloak. At max Defense, you could trade the fire resistance for the HP regenerative Holy Cloak.
Helmet: Aifread's Hat. Regal gets the Star Cap since Genis already has fire protection with the Star Cloak. You could give him the Star Cap if you move to the Holy Cloak at max Defense, alternately, he can use the Cleric's Hat for HP regeneration, as well.
Arm: Draupnir. With 999 Defense, maybe the Lapis Bracelet for a minor Luck increase.
Accessories: The decrease in spell casting time of the Mystic Symbol is a must. After that, I recommend the Yata Mirror or Spirit Symbol for TP regeneration. You could also supplement Genis' magic attack with a Magic Ring, as well. Early on, the Blue Talisman is a perfect accessory for our small friend, too.
T/S Line: Technical. There is little debate about this one; Technical is by-far the superior line. Genis' special tech requires the T-specific Indignation spell, Cyclone is invaluable and devastating, and a number of T-side spells can be combined with Raine's Ray spell for the great Prism Star Unison Attack. Strike does provide the light-based Prism Sword spell, but that is the only real positive of that side of the line.
EX Skills: Magical, Tough, Dash, Spell Save OR Rhythm, Speed Cast, Spell Save, Spell Charge. The former is my favorite, which I will explain, but the latter, which is probably most players preference, creates the Concentrate compound skill that prevents Genis' magic from being interrupted. Why do I prefer the first set instead? Well, Spell Save and Dash create the Reprise skill that, in the chance that Genis' magic gets interrupted, when he casts the spell again, it is drastically sped up, and if this continues, it will eventually be cast instantly, so it's a form of Concentrate, in a way. I also like the Magic Boost skill that is created through Tough and Magical that gives Genis a chance to further increase the damage of his magic. Another idea is to combine Tough and Rhythm to create Randomizer, which when Genis' Luck is negative (Through the Disaster weapon), he instantly casts magic, although like the name suggests, the spell is randomly chosen.
Titles: Genis will eventually max his Intelligence, so there's no need to specifically focus on titles that give bonuses to it. Ultimate Kid is probably best for most levels, giving an equal bonus to all stats, but you could switch to Little Chef to get a bit more Defense (50% to UK's 40%) along with Int and Eva bonuses. Figurine Collector provides a 100% chance for both Strength and Defense, also, if you preferred to focus on those, instead.
Kratos & Zelos
Kratos and Zelos, are, for the most part, mirror images of each other, but with some minor differences, including titles, their Personal skill, and Kratos having the additional Judgment light-based magic. They can excel at any task you set them to; whether it be attacking or magic, although the latter is a bit lacking, but still formidable, you need just arrange this to your preference in the Strategy menu. They also act as a secondary healer to Raine, making her not a complete necessity in every battle. The two really have no weaknesses, nor heavy strengths, but are the most versatile of characters.
Weapon: Last Fencer. Nothing else the two swordsman have is worthwhile, although the Crystal Dagger does have a slight TP regeneration.
Armor: Golden Armor, even when they max their Defense for the elemental protection.
Helmet: Golden Helm. They've already got two fire protection gear with the Golden Armor and Star Shield, so they don't need the Star Helm like Lloyd does. If 999 Defense is reached, I would equip the Cleric's Hat for HP regeneration, or consider the Rare Helm for thunder-based protection.
Arm: Star Shield. At max Defense, you might consider trading the fire and dark protections of the Star Shield for the HP regen of the Omega Shield.
Accessories: If Raine isn't in your party, I highly recommend the Mystic Symbol for healing. Otherwise, Kratos and Zelos really do not suffer from any negative properties, making accessory choice purely your preference. The statistic-boosting Diamond is great, as is the Extreme Symbol. Other possibilities include: Faerie/Reflect Ring, Holy/Spirit Symbol, Yata Mirror, Rune Boots, or a Krona Symbol.
T/S Line: Either; you can use one on each character, though. If I had to choose, I would go with Strike due to Light Spear Cannon being more useful than Victory Light Spear, in my opinion, however, I prefer Double Demon Fang (T) over Fierce Demon Fang (S).
EX Skills: Personal, Eternal, Slasher, Super Chain. Slasher is great, providing a fourth physical attack to your chain, but it prevents you from comboing techs with it. Thankfully, if you add Eternal and Super Chain, it creates the Super Blast compound skill that allows techs to follow your chain. Adding Personal to these three gives you the useful Over Limit skill, also, but you could use Guard Plus or Speed Cast, instead. Kratos/Zelos have the Concentrate skill, too, that is created through Super Chain, Speed Cast, and Spell Charge, but I highly recommend Super Blast instead.
Titles: Unlike Zelos, Kratos is very limited in his title selections. For Kratos, if you want to maximize his Intelligence at 999, you'll need to make use of his 100% Int bonus with War God. Otherwise, there isn't much reason not to stick with Conqueror, that gives an even amount of gains over all the stats, for most of the game. As for Zelos, he's a lot more diverse. Like Kratos' Conqueror, he has the evenly-based Grand Champion title, but perhaps his best is Gilgamesh with its 80% for Strength and Defense gains. You can, however, use Elegant Swordsman for a 100% chance for a Defense increase at the expense of losing the chance for Strength growth. For Intelligence, Zelos will need to rely upon Grand Champion or Gourmet Prince (40%, plus 50% Defense) for that.
Armor: Golden Armor, even when they max their Defense for the elemental protection.
Helmet: Golden Helm. They've already got two fire protection gear with the Golden Armor and Star Shield, so they don't need the Star Helm like Lloyd does. If 999 Defense is reached, I would equip the Cleric's Hat for HP regeneration, or consider the Rare Helm for thunder-based protection.
Arm: Star Shield. At max Defense, you might consider trading the fire and dark protections of the Star Shield for the HP regen of the Omega Shield.
Accessories: If Raine isn't in your party, I highly recommend the Mystic Symbol for healing. Otherwise, Kratos and Zelos really do not suffer from any negative properties, making accessory choice purely your preference. The statistic-boosting Diamond is great, as is the Extreme Symbol. Other possibilities include: Faerie/Reflect Ring, Holy/Spirit Symbol, Yata Mirror, Rune Boots, or a Krona Symbol.
T/S Line: Either; you can use one on each character, though. If I had to choose, I would go with Strike due to Light Spear Cannon being more useful than Victory Light Spear, in my opinion, however, I prefer Double Demon Fang (T) over Fierce Demon Fang (S).
EX Skills: Personal, Eternal, Slasher, Super Chain. Slasher is great, providing a fourth physical attack to your chain, but it prevents you from comboing techs with it. Thankfully, if you add Eternal and Super Chain, it creates the Super Blast compound skill that allows techs to follow your chain. Adding Personal to these three gives you the useful Over Limit skill, also, but you could use Guard Plus or Speed Cast, instead. Kratos/Zelos have the Concentrate skill, too, that is created through Super Chain, Speed Cast, and Spell Charge, but I highly recommend Super Blast instead.
Titles: Unlike Zelos, Kratos is very limited in his title selections. For Kratos, if you want to maximize his Intelligence at 999, you'll need to make use of his 100% Int bonus with War God. Otherwise, there isn't much reason not to stick with Conqueror, that gives an even amount of gains over all the stats, for most of the game. As for Zelos, he's a lot more diverse. Like Kratos' Conqueror, he has the evenly-based Grand Champion title, but perhaps his best is Gilgamesh with its 80% for Strength and Defense gains. You can, however, use Elegant Swordsman for a 100% chance for a Defense increase at the expense of losing the chance for Strength growth. For Intelligence, Zelos will need to rely upon Grand Champion or Gourmet Prince (40%, plus 50% Defense) for that.
Raine
Raine will be your primary healer, as well as support with statistical-boosting magic. Almost identical to her brother, Genis, you'll need to be headstrong in protecting her from monster attacks with your controlled character. Besides this, her light-based offensive magic will be incredibly useful and is the basis for several powerful compound Unison Attacks. Set Raine's Strategy and EX Skills perfectly, and you've got the keystone to every successful party. Also, Raine is the only character that can reveal a monster's location in the Monster List with a Magic Lens item, which is incredibly important to completely filling out the entries. Don't forget this when facing bosses!
Weapon: Heart of Chaos. Later, with 999 Intelligence, unless you want to attack physically with her for some reason, switch to the Holy Staff for the HP regeneration.
Armor: Spirit Robe. If 999 Defense is reached, you might consider switching to the Holy Robe that regenerates HP, also, but it just depends on if you would prefer this to the elemental protections afforded by the Spirit Robe.
Helmet: The Elemental Circlet or Star Circlet are best until the later levels and Raine maximizes her Intelligence. From there, I give her the Magical Ribbon and delegate the formers to other characters. If at 999 Defense, the Holy Circlet cannot be matched for its HP regeneration, especially combined with other Holy-type items.
Arm: Draupnir. At max Defense, you could enhance her elemental defense with either the Kitchen Mittens or Penguinist Gloves.
Accessories: Almost entirely the same as Genis. The Mystic Symbol to reduce spell casting times and either the Yata Mirror or Spirit Symbol to regenerate TP. A Faerie Ring to reduce TP consumption is nice, too, but I prefer regeneration, personally. A Magic Ring to increase the offense of her Photon Ray/Holy Lance spells is an option, and a Blue Talisman can bolster her Defense early on, too.
T/S Line: Technical. This is an absolute must. Not only does it supply multi-character healing spells, but statistical boosts for them, as well, although, not as powerful as the single-character ones provided on the Strike line. I would recommend you take the Holy Lance spell from the Strike line over the Technical Ray one, however, since it is more powerful, but you can use Ray for some compound Unison Attacks, particularly the incredible Prism Stars, so you decide for yourself.
EX Skills: Speed Cast, Spell Save, Item Pro, Happiness. This gives Raine the interrupt-proof Concentrate compound skill. Since healing is a necessity, I would not equip Raine with anything else, however, another decent combination is E. Guard, Neutralizer, Spell Save, Happiness. This gives three compound skills that have a chance to decrease elemental damage, TP consumption, or to cast a spell without a wait time at all.
Titles: Like Genis, Raine will reach 999 Intelligence easily, so there's no need to focus entirely on that with her titles. Instead, Passable Chef? (50% Defense, plus 40% Int, Eva), Professor (80% Strength, 40% Int) or the evenly-based Gladiator Queen should be your focus, primarily. If you prefer to get to max Intelligence quicker, you could use the 100% chance Wisewoman title, however.
Armor: Spirit Robe. If 999 Defense is reached, you might consider switching to the Holy Robe that regenerates HP, also, but it just depends on if you would prefer this to the elemental protections afforded by the Spirit Robe.
Helmet: The Elemental Circlet or Star Circlet are best until the later levels and Raine maximizes her Intelligence. From there, I give her the Magical Ribbon and delegate the formers to other characters. If at 999 Defense, the Holy Circlet cannot be matched for its HP regeneration, especially combined with other Holy-type items.
Arm: Draupnir. At max Defense, you could enhance her elemental defense with either the Kitchen Mittens or Penguinist Gloves.
Accessories: Almost entirely the same as Genis. The Mystic Symbol to reduce spell casting times and either the Yata Mirror or Spirit Symbol to regenerate TP. A Faerie Ring to reduce TP consumption is nice, too, but I prefer regeneration, personally. A Magic Ring to increase the offense of her Photon Ray/Holy Lance spells is an option, and a Blue Talisman can bolster her Defense early on, too.
T/S Line: Technical. This is an absolute must. Not only does it supply multi-character healing spells, but statistical boosts for them, as well, although, not as powerful as the single-character ones provided on the Strike line. I would recommend you take the Holy Lance spell from the Strike line over the Technical Ray one, however, since it is more powerful, but you can use Ray for some compound Unison Attacks, particularly the incredible Prism Stars, so you decide for yourself.
EX Skills: Speed Cast, Spell Save, Item Pro, Happiness. This gives Raine the interrupt-proof Concentrate compound skill. Since healing is a necessity, I would not equip Raine with anything else, however, another decent combination is E. Guard, Neutralizer, Spell Save, Happiness. This gives three compound skills that have a chance to decrease elemental damage, TP consumption, or to cast a spell without a wait time at all.
Titles: Like Genis, Raine will reach 999 Intelligence easily, so there's no need to focus entirely on that with her titles. Instead, Passable Chef? (50% Defense, plus 40% Int, Eva), Professor (80% Strength, 40% Int) or the evenly-based Gladiator Queen should be your focus, primarily. If you prefer to get to max Intelligence quicker, you could use the 100% chance Wisewoman title, however.
Sheena
The Mizuho ninja, Sheena, is the queen of combos. She doesn't hit hard, but instead, quick and often; some of her techs even lowering the attributes of monsters when they connect. If you adjust her EX Skills right, she can be a total force to be reckoned with offensively. She's also very versatile and can switch her equipped weapons to gain both offense and defensive elemental advantages. Of course, Sheena's bread-and-butter are her Summon Spirits, activated only when in overlimit mode, that each can be used for any number of battle scenarios. Being a battle mage, as one would expect, Sheena is a bit lower on the HP and defensive ends, though, so keep an eye on her HP at all times.
Weapon: Divine Judgment, although the +50 Luck of the Money Bag is great, too.
Armor: Shaman Dress or the Kannazuki. The latter has more Defense, and wind protection, but the former possesses elemental protection against both light and dark elements, which I tend to prefer.
Helmet: Elemental Circlet is best, but you may only have one if Zelos is in your party. Alternately, the Magical Ribbon or Star Circlet. Once at max Defense, the Holy Circlet for HP regeneration or you could supplement her Intelligence with the Rune Circlet.
Arm: Star Bracelet or Shield Ring. You could trade either/or between Sheena and Regal depending on your preference. If using Shield Ring, consider the +10 Luck Bridal Gloves at 999 Defense.
Accessories: Sheena is a personal favorite, so I always give her the HP/TP regenerative Turquoise, but just the Holy Symbol can be nice, too, supplementing her tendency to take damage. I also like the Magic Ring to further boost the offense of her summon magic. If you want to go pure offense, the Extreme Symbol can't be matched. Other considerations could be given to the Rune Boots, Blue Talisman, or a Reflect Ring.
T/S Line: Strike. Not really important at all, though. The "Absolute" techs on the Strike-side are a little better than their "Pinion" counterparts, and they can create some compound Unison Attacks with Regal, also.
EX Skills: Dash, Prolong, Add Combo, Guard Plus. This is all about enhancing Sheena's combo ability, creating the Hard Hit and Combo Force compound skills. Hard Hit causes the enemy to stagger for longer periods, allowing for longer combos, while Combo Force boosts the damage of them. Guard Plus is added on just for its usefulness. Alternately, you could replace Guard Plus with Tough to create the decent Jump Combo skill. Other ideas include: Critical Up (Sharp-eyed, Eternal) and Over Limit (Personal, Eternal).
Titles: Treasure Hunter, really, is all you need at 50% Strength, Defense, and 100% Intelligence. You could switch to Ultimate Summoner, occasionally, to get a 100% bonus to her Defense. Rose of Battle is for even gains, if you care about the other stats.
Armor: Shaman Dress or the Kannazuki. The latter has more Defense, and wind protection, but the former possesses elemental protection against both light and dark elements, which I tend to prefer.
Helmet: Elemental Circlet is best, but you may only have one if Zelos is in your party. Alternately, the Magical Ribbon or Star Circlet. Once at max Defense, the Holy Circlet for HP regeneration or you could supplement her Intelligence with the Rune Circlet.
Arm: Star Bracelet or Shield Ring. You could trade either/or between Sheena and Regal depending on your preference. If using Shield Ring, consider the +10 Luck Bridal Gloves at 999 Defense.
Accessories: Sheena is a personal favorite, so I always give her the HP/TP regenerative Turquoise, but just the Holy Symbol can be nice, too, supplementing her tendency to take damage. I also like the Magic Ring to further boost the offense of her summon magic. If you want to go pure offense, the Extreme Symbol can't be matched. Other considerations could be given to the Rune Boots, Blue Talisman, or a Reflect Ring.
T/S Line: Strike. Not really important at all, though. The "Absolute" techs on the Strike-side are a little better than their "Pinion" counterparts, and they can create some compound Unison Attacks with Regal, also.
EX Skills: Dash, Prolong, Add Combo, Guard Plus. This is all about enhancing Sheena's combo ability, creating the Hard Hit and Combo Force compound skills. Hard Hit causes the enemy to stagger for longer periods, allowing for longer combos, while Combo Force boosts the damage of them. Guard Plus is added on just for its usefulness. Alternately, you could replace Guard Plus with Tough to create the decent Jump Combo skill. Other ideas include: Critical Up (Sharp-eyed, Eternal) and Over Limit (Personal, Eternal).
Titles: Treasure Hunter, really, is all you need at 50% Strength, Defense, and 100% Intelligence. You could switch to Ultimate Summoner, occasionally, to get a 100% bonus to her Defense. Rose of Battle is for even gains, if you care about the other stats.
Presea
Presea is, arguably, the best character in the game. All of her statistics, including Intelligence, are, at minimum, above-average, with only the rather useless Accuracy and Evade stats suffering. Once she can acquire the Glory compound EX Skill, there is almost nothing that can stop her from rampaging around the battlefield.
Weapon: Gaia Cleaver. It's innate earth-based, but if you needed, you could change that by equipping one of the Summon Spirit accessories.
Armor: Prism Guard. The Prism Guard is outstanding with its elemental protections, but suffers from making Presea weak against darkness that you will need to supplement with an accessory.
Helmet: Magical Ribbon or the Maid's Hairband if you only have one Elemental Circlet. Once Raine hits 999 Int, I give her the Magical Ribbon and Presea the Star Circlet, but only if I have two Elemental Circlets, otherwise, I give the Star Circlet to Sheena and use the Maid's Hairband for Presea. Once 999 Defense is reached, Presea should switch to the HP-regenerating Holy Circlet.
Arm: Hyper Gauntlet. She's got the Prism Guard for fire protection and, more-than-likely, a Reflect Ring to make up for the weakness to dark attacks, so it's best she uses the Hyper Gauntlet and Lloyd gets the Star Gauntlet, in my opinion. At max Defense, you could use the +50 Attack Claw Gauntlet or the +10 Luck Bridal Gloves.
Accessories: Once she gets the Prism Guard, she should equip a Drain Charm to even out the weakness to darkness, then once inside the bonus dungeon and you can turn Protect Rings into Reflect Rings, she should get one of them. After that, like Kratos/Zelos, she has no true weakness, so you could go with just about anything Obviously, the Extreme Symbol will make her even more of a beast, but I like the Krona Symbol, personally, to keep her from status effects. Perhaps the Holy/Spirit Symbol, Faerie Ring, or even the Revive Ring for options, as well.
T/S Line: Technical. This is mostly due to Rising Punishment, which is incredibly useful, but neither side is bad, really.
EX Skills: Vitality, Endure, Guard Plus, Revive. This creates, arguably, the best compound EX Skill in the game, Glory, that prevents Presea from being staggered. This means she can consistently battle and not worry about being knocked out of an attack or combo, thrown backward, or knocked down. Along with the useful base EX Skills, I don't see any reason to use anything else.
Titles: You'll want Empty Soul, mostly, for an even disbursement along all the statistics. You can, however, use Bursting Girl to enhance her already ridiculous Strength at a 100% rate. If you want to maximize Presea's Intelligence, which is already fairly high, you'll require Paw Mania that has a 50% chance of a bonus (But nothing else), Empty Soul, or Master Chef (40% Int, but also 50% Def).
Armor: Prism Guard. The Prism Guard is outstanding with its elemental protections, but suffers from making Presea weak against darkness that you will need to supplement with an accessory.
Helmet: Magical Ribbon or the Maid's Hairband if you only have one Elemental Circlet. Once Raine hits 999 Int, I give her the Magical Ribbon and Presea the Star Circlet, but only if I have two Elemental Circlets, otherwise, I give the Star Circlet to Sheena and use the Maid's Hairband for Presea. Once 999 Defense is reached, Presea should switch to the HP-regenerating Holy Circlet.
Arm: Hyper Gauntlet. She's got the Prism Guard for fire protection and, more-than-likely, a Reflect Ring to make up for the weakness to dark attacks, so it's best she uses the Hyper Gauntlet and Lloyd gets the Star Gauntlet, in my opinion. At max Defense, you could use the +50 Attack Claw Gauntlet or the +10 Luck Bridal Gloves.
Accessories: Once she gets the Prism Guard, she should equip a Drain Charm to even out the weakness to darkness, then once inside the bonus dungeon and you can turn Protect Rings into Reflect Rings, she should get one of them. After that, like Kratos/Zelos, she has no true weakness, so you could go with just about anything Obviously, the Extreme Symbol will make her even more of a beast, but I like the Krona Symbol, personally, to keep her from status effects. Perhaps the Holy/Spirit Symbol, Faerie Ring, or even the Revive Ring for options, as well.
T/S Line: Technical. This is mostly due to Rising Punishment, which is incredibly useful, but neither side is bad, really.
EX Skills: Vitality, Endure, Guard Plus, Revive. This creates, arguably, the best compound EX Skill in the game, Glory, that prevents Presea from being staggered. This means she can consistently battle and not worry about being knocked out of an attack or combo, thrown backward, or knocked down. Along with the useful base EX Skills, I don't see any reason to use anything else.
Titles: You'll want Empty Soul, mostly, for an even disbursement along all the statistics. You can, however, use Bursting Girl to enhance her already ridiculous Strength at a 100% rate. If you want to maximize Presea's Intelligence, which is already fairly high, you'll require Paw Mania that has a 50% chance of a bonus (But nothing else), Empty Soul, or Master Chef (40% Int, but also 50% Def).
Regal
Regal is really a mixed-bag of a character. He's fine statistic-wise, although suffering on the defensive-end due to his equipment of cloak and hat-type armor he shares with Genis. He can combo incredibly; with few limitations unlike the rest of the characters that have to chain 1, 2, 3 level techs together and this is further enhanced by being able to use the Glory compound EX Skill just like Presea. So, what's the problem? Well, the AI doesn't control him nearly up to his potential, but even in your control, he is still rather clunky, but if you can master his movements, you can do great things with him. Also, make sure that you go into your Tech menu and turn off Regal's Healer-based skills. If not, he'll waste valuable time trying to drop back and use them to recover characters. These techs are still useful, however, but are better employed manually with an order.
Weapon: Dynast. No good alternatives, really, but the Glory Arts does have +30 Luck.
Armor: Mortality Cloak, although only for the extra Defense. Once maximized, switch back to the fire-defensive Phoenix Cloak or the HP-regenerating Holy Cloak.
Helmet: Star Cap. Regal gets the Star Cap since Genis already has fire protection with the Star Cloak. At 999 Defense, and using the Phoenix Cloak, you could equip the Cleric's Hat for HP regeneration.
Armor: Mortality Cloak, although only for the extra Defense. Once maximized, switch back to the fire-defensive Phoenix Cloak or the HP-regenerating Holy Cloak.
Helmet: Star Cap. Regal gets the Star Cap since Genis already has fire protection with the Star Cloak. At 999 Defense, and using the Phoenix Cloak, you could equip the Cleric's Hat for HP regeneration.
Arm: Star Bracelet or Shield Ring. This is a toss-up between he and Sheena. If using Shield Ring, at max Defense, equip the Lapis Bracelet for some additional Luck.
Accessories: It bothers me how slow Regal is during battle, so I prefer to give him the Jet/Elven Boots; which even helps with his Defense, but if the speed doesn't bother you, a Blue Talisman is a perfect fit. An Extreme Symbol will get the most out of his combos, also. Otherwise, a Reflect Ring is great due to his lack of elemental protection equipment. The Holy Symbol or Yata Mirror is an idea to make up for his fragility, too.
T/S Line: Technical. This is for Chi Healer, which is by-far his best Healer tech, but if you're not planning on using it at all, either side is fine and are both very balanced.
EX Skills: Vitality, Guard Plus, Guilt, Flash. Regal gets Glory too, but not only that, two other compound skills with it: Counter and C. Combo that I discussed in Lloyd's section. There's little reason to use anything else with Regal; unable to be stopped from performing his combos. He is missing the useful Add Combo, though. If you wanted that, you could use: Guard Plus, Add Combo, Flash, and Sky Combo. This will net you Combo Force, which is great, and Rebound and Aerial Jump which are decent compound skills.
Titles: El Presidente, with a chance of 50% bonus for Strength, Defense, and 40% Intelligence is likely your go-to for Regal. For even stats, King of the Coliseum, or you can get a 100% bonus to Strength by using Perfect Battler. If 999 Intelligence is your goal, you can get a 50% shot by using Paw Dandy, but nothing else.
Max Level (250)
If you've got aspirations of hitting the maximum level of 250 for your
characters, I hope that you, at least, invested in the 2x EXP option
from the Grade Shop; without it, be prepared to spend 100+ game hours
to get there. Even with the Grade Shop, it's still a steep climb as
your gained EXP after battle drops as the gap between you and your
enemy's level widens even futher. Thankfully, we were given the Forbidden
Anamnesis and its increased EXP floors to make 250 somewhat manageable for us to obtain.
Make sure that each character has their EXP Plus compound EX Skill active (Taunt, Personal, Eternal). Presea does not have this EX Skill, but another called EXP Plus ST (Personal, Endure, Revive) that boosts her EXP gains based upon how low her HP is when the battle finishes in what will actually work greatly to her advantage.
Next, you'll need to create Demon's Seal accessories and Krona Symbols (The Yasakani Jewel can be used in place of one) along with them for each of your party members, or just your active 4, if you prefer, from Dirk's customization shop. See the end of Chapter 24 on how to best go about farming the items needed to create these. Instead of the Krona Symbol, you should equip Presea only with a Drain Charm and intentionally let her be poisoned during battle by the Demon's Seal. With her EXP Plus ST skill, her poisoned condition will allow her to gain much more EXP than the rest of the party by keeping her HP low. If you don't want to be bothered with all of the item creation, you could settle for Dark Seals and Drain Charms, but to a much lesser effect.
Although it's entirely random, look for a green or blue-colored floor of the Forbidden Anamnesis that produces the increased EXP bonus when you enter. From there, with some luck, you'll encounter undead (Skull) icons, with battles containing Medusas, Samaels, and Doom Guards that will respawn. If so, you're all set to gain levels to your heart's content. In the screenshot above, is an average of the amount of EXP you will gain per battle (Flucuating based on Technical Smash and combo) that contains four of the previously-mentioned monsters. For some reason, the EXP floor bonus negates the usual decrease in EXP caused by the divide between the two adversaries' levels, so that will not be a concern. With strong Devil's Arms, these battles will be over quickly and you can simply stand on top of the respawning icon point to fight an infinite number of battles. I would highly recommend that, if you're playing on an actual Gamecube, that you leave the dungeon and save after every 10-15 levels just to be safe.
Maximizing Gald
Item Farming
When it comes to a monster dropping its item after battle, we are a little limited in what we can do to increase these odds. First, Colette has a compound EX Skill, Item Finder (Tough, Sharp-eyed), that slightly boosts your chances, but not nearly as much as you would prefer. Second, you can try for a high Technical Smash percentage during battle, but even then only provides a minor increase. Technical Smash is grown by defeating an enemy under a variety of circumstances such as: at the start of battle, in a single hit, in the air, killed in the same attack along with other monsters, and others, but these are the most common. Obviously, the Devil's Arms will work best at dispatching monsters as quickly as possible and you can use area techs to destroy multiple at the same time. Regardless, you'll remain at the mercy of the game's randomness to produce drops.
For stealing, the game has graciously provided Colette another compound EX Skill, Item Getter (Sharp-eyed, Magical, Lucky, Stat Boost), that guarantees her Item Thief/Rover will pilfer the enemy's item as long as they are not guarding. Outside of this compound Skill, theft is entirely dependent upon her Luck stat and the tech connecting with the monster. Equip Colette with the Tambourine weapon, Lunar Guard armor, Bridal Gloves, two Rabbit's Feet accessories, and the Lucky EX Skill for greatest effect.
Maximizing Stats
You've only got 250 levels to work with, so if you're hoping to maximize your character's statistics, you're going to need to do a great deal of item farming. By the time you reach level 250, every character will have maxed their HP and TP, respectively, at 9999 and 999, with Raine and Genis having reached 999 Intelligence, unless something went wrong. The following items, with locations, will be your source for statistical bonuses.
- HP: Red Sage. The Carnivorous Plants in the Torent Forest will drop them.
- TP: Red Savory. The childish Alraune can drop these also in the Torent Forest.
- Strength: Red Lavender. The Poison Lillies in the Latheon Gorge very rarely will drop these. Unlike the other stats, Strength maxes out at 9999 instead 999.
- Defense: Red Bellebane. Orcrots, the miniature cherry blossom trees in the Ymir Forest, drop them.
- Accuracy: Red Rosemary. No monsters, specifically, carry this item. You'll need to hunt Red Ropers in the Toize Valley Mine for the basic Rosemary item and use a Rune Bottle to turn it into the +3 Red variety.
- Evasion: Red Saffron. Look for the Killer Bees in the Ymir Forest to drop them.
- Intelligence: Besides equipment, there are no bonus items for it. You'll have to entirely rely upon title bonuses to maximize this stat. Even with titles, I don't think it is possible to reach 999 Intelligence naturally for Lloyd and Colette.
- Luck: A purely random statistic that you cannot control at all besides with a limited amount of equipment. Thankfully, besides being a factor in critical hit rate, some EX Skills and techs, and some other minor things, it's not that important. Each time the party uses a recovery place, like an inn or refresher, each character's Luck is randomized somewhere between 0-130, generally.
Farming Grade
Another option is to encounter monsters on the road area outside the SE Abbey (Dark Bottle); this always places you into a battle with the Bacura monster. Although winning guarantees you a solid 5 Grade, defeating the Bacura before it flees makes for a very difficult task, and is not very reliable, in my opinion.
Maximizing Devil's Arms
Once you've defeated the optional boss, Abyssion, the true power of the
Devil's Arms weapons becomes unlocked. The game keeps track of each
monster a character personally defeats and uses this number to calculate
the Devil's Arms power. This amount is also carried over via the Battle
Info option in the Grade Shop. Maximizing at 5000 kills, this is, unfortunately, not reflected in the game's menu, so you will have to judge during battle when the power of the Devil's Arms has reached full potential.
If you're looking for a place to best farm kills to increase the power
of your Devil's Arms, try the beaches near Thoda Dock in Sylvarant.
Encountering the large icons, they frequently produce the above enemy
set of five monsters. Change your party's Strategy to "Hold Position"
and butcher them up in anyway you see fit to raise your character's kill
count and the power of their Devil's Arm weapon. Keep in mind: the
enemy doesn't have to be defeated with the Devil's Arm equipped for its
power to increase.
Tech Usage
Most Tales players are familiar with your techs needing to reach a certain number of usages to unlock further ones, however, in Tales of Symphonia, not only does this apply, but the tech's power increases from this, too. Although the increase is VERY minor, with each 50 uses of a tech, it
grows in effectiveness. This only applies to techs that are
statistically based and not ones based off a percentage (First
Aid/Nurse/Healing Wind) or have a set effect (Sharpness/Holy Song/Guardian). Try for the maximum of 999.
EX Gem Max
My Record
