Tales of Xilla: Milla Character Guide -------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS [ToC] -------------------------------------- 1: Table of Contents...............[ToC] 2: Introduction....................[Intro] 2.1: Contact Information........[Contact] 3: Version History.................[Version] 4: Milla FAQ........................[Milla00] 4.1: Milla basic breakdown.......[Milla01] 4.2: Milla Arte breakdown........[Milla02] 4.3: Milla Recommendation........[Milla03] 5: Legal Mumbo Jumbo...............[Legal] 6: Conclusion......................[Conc] -------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION [Intro] -------------------------------------- Hello, my user-name is dagoldenclip2 but everyone simply calls me Clip. I started playing Tales in 2003 with Tales of Symphonia, but I didn't gain higher technical insight until I started getting into solo and challenge runs. With many runs and character understanding under my belt over the years I've managed to gain a good grasp in terms of how to effectively master the vast amount of characters in the series. Many fans are average players who simply enjoy the experience and move on. However, there is a small fraction of the fan-base who engage in higher level Tales game-play. The wide-spread misinformation amongst the fan-base has slightly motivated me to correct this with character and mechanic guides to explain everything I learned over my development as a Tales player. This FAQ is here to specifically detail Milla and all of her capabilities. This FAQ is not here to debate between characters in this game or other characters in the series. It's here to guide new players or old who may want to get some understanding of how Milla plays. -------------------------------------- CONTACT INFORMATION [Contact] -------------------------------------- Considering I'm a human being (I think) there will most likely be mistakes. This is all of the information I feel is worthy to note so any additions you feel are necessary can be voiced in a PM sent on Youtube. www.youtube.com/dagoldenclip2 If you decide to PM me be clear in what you feel needs to be added or questioned. If you take the time to ask irrelevant questions you will be ignored. I ask that you title the PM "Milla Information" or something to that effect so I know what you're talking about. Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. My knowledge of ToX is stemming from 2011 for the most part. If you picked up a technique or have something of interest to add don't hesitate to say something. In that same breathe the insight I give here is from a solo perspective. -------------------------------------- VERSION HISTORY [Version] -------------------------------------- Version 1.00: Finished but subject for future updates -------------------------------------- MILLA FAQ [Milla00] -------------------------------------- Let's get cracking then. So you decided you wanted to step up your Milla or simply wanted to see more in-depth information on Milla. You're at the right place. If you want to see Milla in action I recommend you check out dagoldenclip2's Milla solo http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSeHNaASeaUq_xLU6LxRRJurU2H_JuXc4 -------------------------------------- MILLA BASIC BREAKDOWN [Milla01] -------------------------------------- Milla plays the role of the magic-knight for the party. While that class has blurred the lines over the years since Symphonia she still fits the rough qualifications for consideration. Milla is unique because her spells also can serve as physical artes. This gives her quite a healthy selection of artes to fit just about any play-style. Milla is very agile and spends a nice amount of time doing aerial work on enemies. Between her physical offense, casting, and speed she makes a very nice physical unit or can serve as magical support on the fly. A great unit overall. -------------------------------------- MILLA ARTE BREAKDOWN [Milla02] -------------------------------------- If you would like to get a visual of Milla's artes I suggest you check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_OWDP65ZlI This is the Tales of Xillia 2 Arte Exhibition, but outside of her new artes you can see what she has in ToX. I never did one for ToX unfortunately. I may use abbreviations of her artes here during the insight portion. They shouldn't be hard to figure out. My insight is based on solo usefulness. Just about every arte is useful in a party scenario as there are little risk. OTG = Off the Ground (Pick-up effect) AoE = Area of effect Universal Arte Changes ----------------------- 100 - Crit Occurence +3% 200 - Power +5% 400 - Link Gauge increment increase +20% 1000 - TP consumption is cut to 2/3 2000 - Power bonus is increased to 20% 4000 - Arte has 25% of not consuming AC while linked 9999 - Arte has 50% of not consuming AC while linked Shimmer Spin ------------- -Increased AoE after 100 and 400 uses -Speed increase after 200 uses Shimmer spin is one of Milla's first versatile artes gained in the game. It has great positioning due to the aerial set-up. This arte drags the enemy up with Milla towards the air, making it a great arte to follow-up with aerial artes. Whirling Assault ----------------- -Speed increase after 200 uses This is a great arte for tech-chasing. I personally like how Milla hugs the enemy close enough so the chances of dropping a combo are slim. There are cases where the enemy may slide to the left or right, but that normally happens if the arte is used on an enemy in the corner. Sigil Spear ------------ -Speed increase after 100 uses -Two extra hits after 400 uses S.S is an interesting arte. It has a very nice range and serves as a good utensil if you feel your combo may drop. The hit-box is rather wide when used in the air and has a slight juggle property; so take advantage of this. Best used in the air overall. Another note to mention is the long stagger. This is a great arte to use to quickly regain your AC and continue a combo since the enemy will still be staggered by the last hit. This is also the arte I use for grinding purposes. If you have a turbo controller Milla can abuse this arte for infinites. Blade Torrent -------------- -OTG after 100 uses -Speed increases after 200 uses A similar feel to S.S in terms of reaching an enemy while in the air. It's a safe arte to use for the purpose of hit confirm. I don't use it much, but it is a decent option if you find yourself on the tail end of an aerial combo. It has practical uses for more advanced combos if you're good at aerial dashing. Binding Sphere --------------- -AoE increases after 100 uses -Extra hit after 100 and 200 uses B.S is another great arte. It has many hits to hold the enemy down which makes it good for AC regeneration. I personally find this arte useful if I hit a mental block during combos. Strategically I found it useful on bosses if I wanted to cast spells. Throwing two or three B.S essentially make a wall to give me time to cast spells. Condemnation ------------- -Speed increases after 200 uses The explosion is good for combo purposes. Not much to really say about the arte honestly. Death Knell ------------ -Speed increases after 200 uses -AoE increases after 400 uses This is one of the few artes in the game that flattens enemies. By flatten I mean the enemy can't recover as they do from some knock-down/back artes. That alone makes the arte useful. Best used to bring an aerial combo back to ground level. I personally like to drop D.Ks from the air on unsuspecting enemies. Efreet ------- The OTG effect is great alongside the multiple hits. One of Milla's must-have artes when she regains the spirits. Undine ------- Another great summon. The last few hits of the arte pushes the enemy rather high into the air. Another must-have. Sylph ------ Again...haha. OTG and the postioning is great. Seriously, her summons are fantastic. Gnome ------ Mm...Gnome is an ok summon. Personally, I prefer to use grave as my earth-based arte, but Gnome works well for crowd control. The problem I have with Gnome is that Milla is vulnerable during the duration of the arte. This one is purely preference. It works in a party setting overall though. For the next section I will skip straight to the physical variations of Milla's spells. The spells themselves really lack much use from any insight. If the spell has anything worth noting I will do it under the physical arte itself. Flare Bomb ---------- Fireball -> Flare Bomb Flame Ring -> Flare Bomb Sunburst -> Flare Bomb Fireball's version is useless. Flame Ring's is the better choice overall for practical purposes. Sunburst's has a knockdown during the last hits which may or may not hinder Milla; depending on your taste that is. I personally go for flare ring's variation unless I specifically want to cast Sunburst. The knock- down can work if you play around with OTG artes. So it's really a coin-flip between F.R and S.B. They both serve their uses. Wind Blade ----------- -OTG after 400 uses Wind Lance -> Wind Blade Arrivederci -> Wind Blade Cyclone -> Wind Blade W.L is great if you want to OTG while remaining on the ground and serves well if used in the air as well. Arrivederci and Cyclone both add multiple hits that may or may not hinder Milla. Arrivederci simply adds another hit, but the second hit kind of pushes the enemy back. However, the second hit also puts Milla in the air so a combo may not be compromised. Cyclone is the better choice overall. It has OTG, knockdown and can be cancelled on the final hit. (When used on the ground) This way you get the best effects under your control. However, Cyclone does put Milla in the air like Arriverderci. Grave ------ -Extra hit and range increase after 200 and 400 uses Rock Trine -> Grave A great arte. The OTG is nice and being able to use it in the air works well for follow-ups on the ground. This arte is always best to use alongside air dashes. Using it on the ground is slower, but still works after a knock-down. Aqua Protection ---------------- -AoE increases after 200 uses Splash -> Aqua Protection Eh, this is overall a useless arte. Splash itself is a ridiculously useful spell so this option is always there. Lightning ---------- -Extra hit after 200 and 400 uses Bolt Strike -> Lightning Thunder Blade -> Lightning Personally they are both very similar when used on the ground and the air. However, Thunder Blade is the overall better spell so I use that variation. The lightning arc is a bit wider with T. blade vs B.S, but I believe B.S has a slightly further reach. Considering both have a nice range, I would go with the better arc coverage for crowd control. Radiant Rondo -------------- Divine Streak -> Radiant Rondo Shining Prism -> Radiant Rondo This is purely preference on your play-style. S.P's variation will add an addition streak that leaves her the air versus D.S that simply passes through the enemy once. Ironically, they both work really well together so I would suggest you work both into your arte list. Both are supreme for positioning and D.S's works for aerial tech-chasing really well. Cloud Pierce ------------- A great ougi. This arte takes the enemy very high into the air (hence the name "Higher than Sky" in JPN) and has a very large damage ratio. Considering this also serves as a requirement for Milla's hi ougi I suggest you find a slot for it. Outside of that it helps to use if you need to stall in the air or quickly escape an enemy. Works well as a positioning arte for aerial casting. Overdrive ---------- Either my memory is foggy, but I recall this arte doing immense damage and has a rather high guard-breaking property. This also serves as a quick aerial tech-chase arte too. -------------------------------------- MILLA RECOMMENDATIONS [Milla03] -------------------------------------- -It takes a little bit of practice to get the hang of Milla. She starts off rather basic so take the time to grasp her abilities before you gain skills. -With Jude she can gain access to pivot step which always help -Milla is an aerial character overall. Once you get aerial jump, back-step, and dash I suggest you practice getting the timing down. It opens up a wider meta-game for Milla. Mixed with aerial capabilities and OTGs she becomes quite the force on the battlefield. Also take note to practice with Quick Drop as well. -Aerial spell is great if you want to cast in peace. Use Cloud Pierce to position yourself quickly. -Jump cancelling is required for advance Milla gameplay. Between that and quick-drop you can reposition yourself quickly while the enemy is staggered. -It is difficult to pull off spells if you set her artes to arte-ball short-cuts. I recommend you put any magic-shift artes on neutral controls or arte-ball neutral controls. The short-cuts should be reserved for her regular physical artes. This way you can play Milla to her full extent without stress on your hands. -Sigil Spear is great for infinite combos if you want to quickly gain levels -Sigil Spear and Binding Sphere are excellent artes for A.C regeneration. Quickly guard and continue your combo. -Use Grave and Death Knell until you're comfortable with Quick-drop. Even if you're good at Q.D they still work well for chasing an enemy that was knocked to the ground. Sunburst's F.B and Grave have great synergy. Aerial back-step and dash work well with Grave as well. -Sylph and Cyclone's Wind Blade have great synergy with Shimmer Spin to get a more confident understanding of where the enemy is. -Use Radiant Rondo to quickly get behind an enemy. This arte and the other variation has great synergy with Sigil Spear and Blade Torrent. -Lightning is always a great arte to use in the air if you feel the enemy is slipping from your grasp. Overall Milla takes a skilled hand, but with a small amount of time anyone can pick her up. For advanced techniques you absolutely have to get a grasp of how she moves in the air. Her movement is fluid so there should be little trouble getting a hang of it. -------------------------------------- LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO [Legal] -------------------------------------- All characters and Tales material belong to Namco. The links provided in this guide belong to myself. The only site allowed to host this is Gamefaqs. Use of this guide for profit is plain crazy and just don't do it. Or face the wrath of Plantix. -------------------------------------- CONCLUSION [Conc] -------------------------------------- Special thanks to... Gamefaqs for hosting said guide. Aseliawiki for extra arte information. Kouli since his guides over the years kept me interested in the series. Namco for making said series and bringing this title over here. You for reading it. One