STAR OCEAN: TILL THE END OF TIME
BATTLE SKILLS/HERALDRY FAQ
   (v2.0, 9-8-04)
by Edward Chang (chang dot 459 at osu dot edu)

Revision History
v2.0 (9-8-04)
   Changed JP names to NA names. Huge thanks to Allison L and her JP->NA
   changes FAQ (used WITH permission).

v1.0 (9-2-04)
   First version.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Battle Skills Data
   --Adlai Lasbird
   --Arbel Nox
   --Cliff Fitter
   --Fate Linegod
   --Maria Traitor
   --Mirage Coast
   --Nel Zelpher
   --Peppita Rosetti
   --Roger S Huxley
   --Sophia Esteed
   --Heraldry
3. Comparative Charts
4. Credits


1. INTRODUCTION

This is an FAQ for Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Director's Cut. It deals 
with each character's battle skills (as well as regular attacks), describing 
them each in both strict numerical and descriptive terms. At the end there 
will also be a list of comparative charts so you can tell at a glance which
battle skills are the most damaging, most hits, and so on and so forth.

This particular version of the FAQ is for the Director's Cut edition of 
SO3, which is the version that will be released in the United States
(just under the name "Star Ocean 3"). The Director's Cut has
a number of changes, including two new playable characters, and most of the
battle skills have been tweaked from the original.

At this point in time the names of all the skills are the Japanese names
of each skill; I'm currently working on revising them to use the NA names,
but in the meantime, please just use the level learned and descriptive
information.

The numerical data in this guide is drawn from the "SO3:DC Final Guide"
strategy guide published by Famitsu (ISBN 4-7577-1860-8). Descriptive
data is my own opinion. 

A standard entry looks like this:

Air Slash
2 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 100% HP; 20 HP, 10 Guts
Strong: 200% HP; 5% HP (42), 30 Guts
Sends a wave along the ground. This attack counts as wind-elemental. It
travels along the ground so you will have a hard time hitting airborne
enemies with it.

What this means is that the name of the attack is Air Slash; it takes 2 CP
to equip the skills (remember the max CP is 15, so if you equip this skill
you will only have 13 other CP to work with). This particular skill is
already learned when you get Albel. The weak version does 100% HP damage,
and costs 20 HP and 10 Guts to perform; the strong version does 200%
HP damage, and takes 5% of your HP (minimum 42 HP) and 30 Guts to perform.

"100%" means that on average the attack will do approximately (Character's
ATK value - Enemy's DEF value) x 100% in HP damage. This value is modified
by elemental strengths and weaknesses as well as other factors (whether your
character is Angered, has had Growth cast on them, and so on). Heraldry
is based on INT instead of ATK and will be thus noted in the description.
The amount of damage that a battle skill does goes up as the BS improves
in proficiency; any other changes to the BS will be noted in the description.


2. BATTLE SKILLS DATA

Data is arranged by character, in alphabetical order (so Adray is first and 
Sophia is last). The basic weak/strong attacks come first, then the universal 
skills (Charge and Aerial), and then each of the character's unique battle 
skills. Most Heraldry is shared by several characters so this is in its
own section at the end; however Adray and Sophia have the ability to set
some Heraldry in the same manner as Battle Skills. These will be noted
in their individual sections.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADRAY LARSBIRD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adlai can set the following Heraldry spells as Battle Skills: Firebolt,
Lightning Blast, Ice Needle, Earth Grave, Southern Cross. Setting as a
strong battle skill does 130% the damage normal.

Weak Attack (Short Range)
100% HP; 5 Guts
Adlai pokes at the opponent with his scabbard. Small reach and hard to use.

Weak Attack (Long Range)
15% MP; 5 Guts
Adlai fires a little bolt from his finger that does only MP damage.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
280% HP; 5 Guts
Adlai swings his sword downward in a large motion. Pretty good for a strong
attack. Can damage Guts.

Strong Attack (Middle Range)
280% HP; 12 Guts
Adlai takes a large downward swing with his fist. Rather slow, but has 
a chance of causing Guts damage.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
25% MP; 12 Guts
Adlai creates a large orb that does MP damage only to an opponent. Fairly
good move.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 150% HP + 10% MP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 15% MP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
A respectable Charge, with MP damage.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 22
Weak: 150% HP + 10% MP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 15% MP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Adlai creates a ground explosion that bursts upwards as an anti-air attack.
Not a bad attack, but not exceedingly great either.

Fatal Fury
5 CP
Learned: Level 20
Weak: 50% HP + 15% MP; 50 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 75% HP + 23% MP; 6% HP (120), 47 Guts
Adlai charges in with both arms raised, like a more-powerful Charge. Since
Adlai moves so slowly, you can also utilize the fast speed of this skill
for movement.

Titan Fist
6 CP
Learned: Level 30
Weak: 200% HP + 20% MP; 150 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 400% HP + 40% MP; 8% HP (320), 47 Guts
A dimensional gate opens and a large fist appears to punch the opponent.
Very damaging, and as the proficiency increases, it can begin to cause
status effects (Guts damage from 4-6, Confusion from 7-8, and Paralysis/
Petrify from 9-10; these all stack). Earth-elemental, the recovery time
is pretty horrendously slow, so you should cancel it into something else.

Water Gate
8 CP
Learned: Level 50
Weak: 150% HP + 15% MP; 200 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 23% MP; 10% HP (390), 52 Guts
Summons a large shark for a water-elemental attack. Not as damaging as
Titan Fist, and you probably won't use it as much. Large area of effect,
however.

Spicule
7 CP
Learned: From book (Urza Cave Temple)
Weak: (50% HP + 30% MP)x7; 200 HP, 26 Guts
Strong: (75% HP + 45% MP)x7; 10% HP (400), 55 Guts
Adlai leaps high into the air, charges up, then dives down headfirst to
cause a huge explosion for fire-elemental damage. Great damage - however,
Adlai recovers EXTREMELY slowly after the move, so be warned.

Emotion Torrent
8 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 156)
Weak: (100% HP + 10% MP)x4; 250 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: (150% HP + 15% MP)x4; 12% HP (460), 47 Guts
Adlai creates an orb over his head, then throws it to cause an explosion
for 4 hits. Does ok HP and MP damage, but the element of the orb is random
(between fire, water, air, earth, and null); this makes it difficult to
use effectively.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALBEL NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
60% HP; 8 Guts
A horizontal slash. You can keep pressing the attack button to add on extra
hits, though each additional hit takes an extra 10 Guts.

Weak Attack (Middle-Long Range)
100% HP; 5 Guts
Arbel shoots off a wind-elemental wave along the ground. You can press the
attack button again for a second wave (for another 5 Guts).

Strong Attack (Short Range)
200% HP; 10 Guts
A two-handed vertical strike; like most strong attacks, relatively slow. It
has a very small chance of causing confusion.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
280% HP; 12 Guts
Arbel sweeps back and forth from left to right until he approaches the
enemy. Has a chance of causing Guts damage in addition.

Strong Attack (Anti-Air)
200% HPx2; 10 Guts
As the name applies, this activates to enemies in the air (whether flying
or whether floated by another skill). Knocks the enemy down.

Strong Attack (Counter Attack)
60% HP; 10 Guts
If you press the attack button while an enemy is directly attacking, Arbel
will sidestep and perform this attack instead of a standard strong attack.
You can press the weak attack button to chain this directly into short-range
weak.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Level 32
Weak: 220% HP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 330% HP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
Standard charge attack. Arbel's Charge is the strongest in terms of pure HP
damage among the 8 characters, so it's worth using in some situations;
however like all charge attacks, it's very short range.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 29
Weak: 50% HP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 75% HP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Standard aerial attack. It has good reach (in other words, if the enemy is
knocked down before the attack completes it still usually hits), but it's
a little on the weak side.

Air Slash
2 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 100% HP; 20 HP, 10 Guts
Strong: 200% HP; 5% HP (42), 30 Guts
Sends a wave along the ground. This attack counts as wind-elemental. It
travels along the ground so you will have a hard time hitting airborne
enemies with it.

Shockwave Swirl
2 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 70% HPx5; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 84% HPx5; 5% HP (42), 47 Guts
Sends a crescent-shaped wave outward from him. This attack counts as
wind-elemental. In practice, you will usually get only 2-3 hits out of
the 5 unless the enemy is large.

Palm of Destruction
4 CP
Learned: Level 26
Weak: 250% HP + 10% MP; 25 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 325% HP + 13% MP; 5% HP (55), 47 Guts
Arbel sends a wave of energy out from his hand. Long-range, it has a chance
of knocking the opponent down, and it does a little MP damage as well.

Aura Wall
6 CP
Learned: Level 32
Weak: 3% MPx28; 50 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: 4% MPx28; 10% HP (230), 52 Guts
Arbel creates a barrier in front of him that lasts for 6 seconds. Opponents
who walk in continually take MP damage until they leave or the wall
dissipates. There is a small chance of causing confusion as well. Takes
awhile to set up, so don't use it too close to the opponent.

Double Slash
4 CP
Learned: Level 35
Weak: 70% HPx2; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 91% HPx2; 5% HP (45), 40 Guts
An upwards-downwards strike. It's very fast and easy to use, so well-worth
using it, and works well in combos.

Vampire Flash
6 CP
Learned: Level 40
Weak: (50% HP + 5% MP)xn; 500 MP, 20 Guts
Strong: (75% HP + 8% MP)xn; 20% MP (500), 40 Guts
Creates a field around Arbel; enemies will have their HP and MP drained and
Arbel will gain some back. You can continually hold down the button to make
it last longer, but it will consume more Guts (8 for Weak and 12 for Strong
per wave). This move has been altered drastically in the DC. First, it does
a lot more HP damage (the MP damage is still the same). Second, it now takes
MP to perform instead of HP, and quite a lot at that. Still, it's good in a
pinch.

Hand of Doom
5 CP
Learned: Level 45
Weak: (70% HP + 4% MP)x6; 120 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: (91% HP + 5% MP)x6; 10% HP (230), 52 Guts
Arbel attacks with his claw three times. The third attack does 4 hits for a
total of 6 hits, if the whole thing hits. Has a chance of Guts damage. The
amount of damage this move does has been dropped a lot in the DC, and the
CP has been raised to 5.

Dragon Roar
7 CP
Learned: Level 50
Weak: (30% HP + 3% MP)x18; 150 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (45% HP + 5% MP)x18; 12% HP (360), 62 Guts
Arbel summons out 6 dragon heads that dive towards the enemy. Each head
does 3 hits for a total of 18, but the attack area is so wide and each hit
has a chance of knocking down, so it is rare for you to get all 18 hits.
Like Hand of Doom, the amount of damage per hit has been reduced drastically,
and the CP has been bumped up.

Air Slash of Fury
6 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 6)
Weak: (60% HP + 3% MP)xn; 600 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: (78% HP + 4% MP)xn; 12% HP (1000), 47 Guts
Just like Air Slash, only it does less damage; however, it is non-elemental
and does MP damage. You can continually push the button for extra waves;
each extra wave takes an extra 5 Guts for a weak and 10 Guts for a strong
attack.

Double Slash of Fury
6 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 135)
Weak: 60% HPx2xn; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 78% HPx2xn; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
In technical terms the same as Air Slash of Fury, you can continuously press
the button for extra hits. Not as useful as Air Slash of Fury thanks to the
short range nature and the tendency of Double Slash to knock down the 
opponent, as well as lack of MP damage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLIFF FITTER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
60% HP; 10 Guts
A quick left jab; you can continuously press the button to chain in extra
jabs (no change in damage or Guts per hit).

Weak Attack (Middle Range)
100% HP; 10 Guts
A straight right punch. Has a chance of damaging Guts as well.

Weak Attack (Long Range)
100% HPx2; 10 Guts
Cliff rushes forward and then does a double kick attack. The second hit
knocks the enemy back.

Weak Attack (Anti-Air)
100% HPx2; 10 Guts
A jump-kick; pretty fast attack.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
280% HP; 15 Guts
An uppercut that floats the enemy high. If you press the button again, it
flows into the next entry's attack.

Strong Attack (Short Range 2nd)
200% HP; 10 Guts
A straight punch that knocks the airborne enemy down.

Strong Attack (Middle Range)
220% HP; 15 Guts
Cliff rushes in and hits the enemy with a side kick. Has a chance of damaging
Guts as well.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
280% HP, 15 Guts
Cliff rushes in and hits a high spin kick. It's rather slow so it's easy to
get hit during the period; in exchange it's very strong.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Level 17
Weak: 220% HP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 330% HP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
A fairly strong charge attack. It no longer does MP damage (as it did in the
original), but it now does a LOT more HP damage.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 21
Weak: 150% HP + 10% MP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 15% MP, 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Cliff jumps high and spin kicks. It's easy to miss smaller enemies and it
won't hit grounded enemies, so it's not that easy to use. However, it now
does MP damage as well.

Sphere of Might
4 CP
Learned: Level 4
Weak: 40% HPx4; 20 HP, 15 Guts
Strong: 60% HPx4; 6% HP (45), 35 Guts
Creates a giant ball of energy diagonally upwards from Cliff. It hits airborne
enemies as well, but it will completely miss short enemies. Does up to 4 hits.

Hammer of Might
4 CP
Learned: Level 10
Weak: (180% HP + 2% MP)x2; 15 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: (270% HP + 3% MP)x2; 5% HP (40), 47 Guts
Cliff jumps upwards and sends a 2-hit energy wave down at a wide area.
Effective at hitting a large group. The amount of damage has been raised
a lot, and MP damage has been added, making this move a lot more effective
in the DC.

Electric Fists
6 CP
Learned: Level 15
Weak: 70% HPx3; 20 HP, 9 Guts
Strong: 105% HPx3; 5% HP (42), 40 Guts
A 3-punch combo, the third hit downs the opponent. The time it takes to
activate depends on your current distance from the opponent.

Fiery Tackle
6 CP
Learned: Level 20
Weak: 160% HP; 20 HP, 12 Guts
Strong: 240% HP; 5% HP (42), 35 Guts
A pumped-up version of Charge, it has ridiculously fast speed. This attack
counts as fire-elemental. Even from across the field, you can activate this
attack, so it is also useful for getting close to the enemy quickly. The
amount of damage this move does has been raised a little.

Aerial Assault
5 CP
Learned: Level 25
Weak: 350% HP + 53% MP; 80 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 525% HP + 80% MP; 8% HP (190), 47 Guts
Cliff jumps into the air and dives foot-first at the opponent. If you press
the button a second time Cliff hits with his fist instead, causing an extra
hit, but each hit only does half as much damage (in exchange, the area of
effect goes up a lot). Does ridiculous damage, HP as well as MP;
you'll be using this move a lot.

Fists of Fury
6 CP
Learned: Level 30
Weak: 20% HPx21; 300 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 24% HPx21; 10% HP (500), 47 Guts
Cliff does a fast 19-hit punch combo, then an extra two punches. Great for
locking the enemy in place for awhile, although the last hit knocks the
opponent down.

Uppercut
6 CP
Learned: Level 40
Weak: 60% HPxn; 200 HP, 15 Guts
Strong: 90% HPxn; 8% HP (380), 35 Guts
The first hit is an uppercut on the opponent; then by continuing to press
the attack button, Cliff attacks with a series of spin kicks. It's rather
slow and hard to use, though you can get a fair amount of damage off of it.

Acrobat Locus
6 CP
Learned: Level 50
Weak: 40% HPx15; 400 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 52% HPx15; 10% HP (620), 50 Guts
Cliff floats the enemy with 2 hits, then proceeds to hit a long combo to
knock the opponent back down. Great for the last skill in a combo chain.

Infinity Kick
8 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 5 or Urza Cave Temple)
Weak: (40% HP + 5% MP)x11; 600 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (52% HP + 7% MP)x11; 15% HP (1400), 60 Guts
Similar to Acrobat Locus, though it has fewer hits but additional MP damage.
Quite a good skill, though overshadowed by some of Cliff's other battle
skills.

Max Shockwave
8 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 150)
Weak: (135% HP + 5% MP)x7; 700 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (203% HP + 8% MP)x7; 12% HP (1580), 60 Guts
Cliff charges up and send an energy wave far forward. The wave goes through
obstacles and other enemies. This move has been pumped up in the DC, doing
a lot more damage, three extra hits, and MP damage as well... it's still
pretty slow, though, and it overall it's fairly weak for an ultimate skill.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FATE LINEGOD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
100% HP, 5 Guts
A downwards strike. You can hit the button a second time for a return upwards
strike.

Weak Attack (Long Range)
100% HP, 5 Guts
Fate runs in with a thurst. You can hit the button a second time for another
hit; this has a change of doing Guts damage as well.

Weak Attack (Anti-Air)
100% HP, 5 Guts
Fate hits upwards; you can hit the attack button again for another hit. Both
attacks have a chance of doing Guts damage.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
160% HP, 12 Guts
A strong downwards slash. It's rather slow and easy to get hit out of.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
240% HP, 13 Guts
Fate runs in and sweeps the enemy upwards the float them. You can hit the
weak attack button afterwards for an additional hit.

Strong Attack (Anti-Air)
200% HP, 12 Guts
Fate hits the airborne opponent with a circle kick. It's fast for a strong
attack and has a chance of damaging Guts.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Level 9
Weak: 150% HP + 30% MP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 45% MP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
An OK charge, now does MP damage.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 4
Weak: 160% HP + 15% MP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 240% HP + 23% MP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Fate jumps up and swings his sword down at the opponent. Has MP damage, but
otherwise is just so-so.

Blade of Fury
4 CP
Learned: Level 2
Weak: (80% + 95% + 140%x3)HP; 20 HP, 20+5+5 Guts
Strong: (104% + 124$ + 182%x3)HP; 5% HP (40), 47+10+10 Guts
Fate imbues his sword with power and swings at the opponent. Keep pressing
the button for up to two additional attacks (the second of which does three
hits).

Blazing Sword
4 CP
Learned: Level 6
Weak: 60% HP + 15% MP; 10 MP, 10 Guts
Strong: 120% HP + 30% MP; 5% MP (30), 20 Guts
Fate adds fire-elemental damage to his sword for 30 seconds or until he
uses another battle skill. At max proficiency this extends as far as 60
seconds. The base damage per hit goes down, but it adds MP damage, so if
the enemy is low in MP or has a weakness to fire it's well worth it.

Side Kick
2 CP
Learned: Level 15
Weak: 80% HPx3; 30 HP, 10 Guts
Strong: 96% HPx3; 6% HP (50), 37 Guts
Fate sidesteps before diving in to kick the opponent. Good for avoiding
attacks, you'll probably be using this a lot.

Ice Blade
4 CP
Learned: Level 20
Weak: 100% HP + 13% MP; 12 MP, 10 Guts
Strong: 150% HP + 20% MP; 6% MP (35), 20 Guts
Similar to Blaze Sword, this adds ice-elemental damage and MP damage
for 30 (60 at max proficiency) seconds. The base damage per hit is not
reduced nearly as much as Blaze Sword so this is another bonus.

Shotgun Blast
4 CP
Learned: Level 25
Weak: 80% HPx5; 25 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 120% HPx5; 6% HP (50), 47 Guts
Fate creates a wall of fire in front of him. The enemy has to be a certain
distance away and it's a little slow, so this is somewhat hard to use.
However, it's been improved in the DC, doing more damage and costing less
to use.

Lightning Blade
6 CP
Learned: Level 30
Weak: 50% HP + 17% MP; 16 MP, 10 Guts
Strong: 100% HP + 34% MP; 7% MP (45), 20 Guts
Like the other elemental skills, this imbues Fate's sword with lightning
(wind) elemental attacks. As opposed to the original where this move
was worse than Ice Blade, here, the HP damage is worse, but the MP
damage is better.

Air Raid
7 CP
Learned: Level 40
Weak: 50% HPx7; 300 HP, 40 Guts
Strong: 75% HPx7; 10% HP (500), 67 Guts
Fate jumps and sends a wave of energy down, like Cliff's Might Hammer. Good
for hitting a wide variety of enemies, and also good to end combo chains.
Also knocks down the opponently fairly easily.

Dimension Door
6 CP
Learned: Level 50
Weak: (6%x7 + 330%) HP; 200 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: (9%x7 + 495%) HP; 8% HP (380), 47 Guts
Fate creates a zone of energy around him that damages all opponents around
him, then warps to the nearest enemy and slashes them. By holding down
the button (consumes an additional 4 Guts per tick), the zone of energy can
be made to last longer and therefore do more hits. This move has been
powered up considerably in the DC; the CP was reduced from 8 to 6, and
though the damage per hit of the wave was reduced, the final hit's damage
was more than tripled; it also occasionally causes paralysis.

Divine Blade
8 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 7)
Weak: 70% HP + 25% MP; 150 MP, 30 Guts
Strong: 119% HP + 43% MP; 15% MP (320), 70 Guts
Fate adds non-elemental magical damage to his sword, again for 30-60 seconds.
This move was powered down somewhat from the original version of the game.

Ethereal Blast
8 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 114)
Weak: (90% HP + 10% MP)x15; 500 HP, 70 Guts
Strong: (135% HP + 15% MP)x15; 15% HP (1200), 90 Guts
Fate jumps into the air, grows wings, then sends out a divine aura at the
opponent. The attack radius is large, but only the center of the beam will
do the full 15 hits. This move is slow and generally not worth using unless
you can get very far away; the amount of HP damage has been bumped up
considerably (the MP damage remains the same). Good damage, but not great.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARIA TRAITOR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
100% HPx2; 5 Guts
Maria dashes in for a two-kick combo. This doesn't take advantage of Maria's
range, so don't use it often, though it can be linked into her other close-
range skills like Trident Arts.

Weak Attack (Long Range)
100% HP; 5 Guts
Maria fires her gun once. Standard attack that you'll likely use a lot.

Weak Attack (Long Anti-Air)
75% HPx4; 5 Guts
Maria fires her gun four times at an airborne opponent. Great attack to use
since it does 4 hits and therefore lots of damage.

Weak Attack (Step)
80% HP; 5 Guts
If you press the attack button during a step and hold it, this attack
will activate. It's basically the same as her long-range weak attack; the
advantage is you can therefore step at short range and use this to override
her normal short-range weak attack and have her use her gun instead.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
200% HP; 20 Guts
Maria dashes in for a spin kick. Like her short-range weak attack, it's not 
terribly useful.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
200% HP; 25 Guts
Maria fires her gun from far away. Slower than the weak attack obviously, but
very useful.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Level 22
Weak: 150% HP + 15% MP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 23% MP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
Not very damaging, but it does some MP damage, so it can be useful.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 24
Weak: 150% HP + 15% MP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP +23% MP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Maria aims upwards and fires at the enemy. Using her standard long-range
weak anti-air is more efficient than this, but it does MP damage now, so
you might want to use it in some cases.

Aiming Device
2 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 120% HP + 16% MP; 8 MP, 25 Guts
Strong: 156% HP + 21% MP; 5% MP (18), 50 Guts
Maria uses a laser sight to shoot the opponent. Great for doing MP damage
early on; and quite easy to use. 

Scatter Burst
3 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 50% HPx5; 15 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 65%% HPx5; 7% HP (35), 47 Guts
Maria shoots a spread pattern of rays out. The number of rays as well as
the damage increases with proficiency, but if you're too far away not all
of the rays will hit. It starts at 5 rays; from level 4-7, it does 7,
and from level 8 upwards, it fires 10 rays.

Magnetic Field
5 CP
Learned: Level 28
Weak: 150% HP + 30% HP; 20 HP, 10 Guts
Strong: 300% HP + 60% HP; 5% HP (35), 27 Guts
Maria lays out a field along the ground that does a large amount of initial
damage. Wide range. This move now has a chance of causing paralysis.

Pulse Beast
4 CP
Learned: Level 32
Weak: 50% HPx4; 60 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: 65% HPx4; 7% HP (130), 50 Guts
Maria sends out a wave of energy pulse bullets. More bullets are fired as
the proficiency increases, making this move more and more effective.
It begins at 4 hits, goes to 8 hits at level 4-7, and finally goes to 12
hits at level 8 and above.

Crescent Locus
4 CP
Learned: Level 38
Weak: 60% HPx4; 50 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 90% HPx4; 5% HP (90), 47 Guts
A short-range attack, Maria hits the opponent with a crescent wave that
does up to four hits, the last of which knocks the opponent down. Good for
combo chains.

Triple Kick
5 CP
Learned: Level 42
Weak: 100% HPx3; 60 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 200% HPx3; 6% HP (125), 47 Guts
Maria does a 3-kick combo that hits a wide range thanks to the additional
aura. Knocks the opponent down and is good for combo chains.

Laser Blast
4 CP
Learned: Level 46
Weak: 70% HPx3; 80 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 91% HPx3; 6% HP (160), 47 Guts
Maria shoots a laser in a spread pattern around her for one hit; the pattern
then explodes upwards in a wall of fire for another two hits. Great when
Maria is surrounded by opponents.

Gravity Bullet
6 CP
Learned: Level 52
Weak: 25% HPx25; 300 HP, 40 Guts
Strong: 30% HPx25; 12% HP (670), 80 Guts
Maria shoots out a large, slow-moving bullet at the opponent. Does a crazy
amount of hits and is perhaps her best battle skill. Good for wrapping up
the opponent, use this in conjunction with Cliff's Flash Chariot for those
high-combo battle collections.

Energy Burst
8 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 3)
Weak: (50% HP + 10% MP)xn; 500 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (60% HP + 12% MP)xn; 10% HP (950), 60 Guts
Maria shoots out a large horizontal laser. By holding down the button, the
laser continues to shoot until her Guts runs out or its Protected against.
This move now does MP damage, and quite a lot at that. Combine this
with Critical MP as a support skill for a very effective move.

Radiation Bots
6 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 187)
Weak: (50% HP + 5% MP)x4xn; 150 MP, 50 Guts
Strong: (75% HP + 8% MP)x4xn; 15% MP (320), 77 Guts
Maria creates four drones around her. Everytime she attacks afterwards
for a short while, the drones also shoot for the indicated amount of damage.
The drones last for longer as the proficiency goes up, beginning at 4
seconds, and ending up at 12 seconds. This move now causes MP to use, not
HP as before, but its MP damage has been dropped a lot.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIRAGE COAST
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
60% HPx2; 10 Guts
A sweep then jab combination. Can be cancelled on the second hit.

Weak Attack (Middle Range)
100% HP; 10 Guts
A straight right punch. Has a chance of damaging Guts as well.

Weak Attack (Long Range)
100% HPx2; 10 Guts
Mirage rushes forward and then does a double kick attack. The second hit
knocks the enemy back.

Weak Attack (Anti-Air)
100% HPx2; 10 Guts
A jump-kick; pretty fast attack.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
280% HP; 15 Guts
A back kick that floats the enemy high. If you press the button again, it
flows into the next entry's attack.

Strong Attack (Short Range 2nd)
200% HP; 10 Guts
A straight punch that knocks the airborne enemy down.

Strong Attack (Middle Range)
220% HP; 15 Guts
Mirage rushes in and hits the enemy with a side kick. Has a chance of damaging
Guts as well.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
280% HP, 15 Guts
Mirage rushes in and hits a high spin kick. It's rather slow so it's easy to
get hit during the period; in exchange it's very strong.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 150% HP + 10% MP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 15% MP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
A standard charge attack, not as strong as Cliff's, but does MP damage as
well.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 120% HP + 8% MP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 180% HP + 12% MP, 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Mirage jumps high and spin kicks. It's easy to miss smaller enemies and it
won't hit grounded enemies, so it's not that easy to use. However, it does
MP damage as well.

Sphere of Might
4 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 40% HPx4; 20 HP, 15 Guts
Strong: 60% HPx4; 6% HP (42), 35 Guts
Creates a giant ball of energy diagonally upwards from Mirage. It hits 
airborne enemies as well, but it will completely miss short enemies. Does up 
to 4 hits.

Hammer of Might
4 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: (150% HP + 5% MP)x2; 15 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: (225% HP + 8% MP)x2; 5% HP (38), 47 Guts
Mirage jumps upwards and sends a 2-hit energy wave down at a wide area.
Effective at hitting a large group. Although most of Mirage's skills are
identical to Cliff's, Mirage's Might Hammer does less HP damage but more
MP damage than Cliff's.

Electric Fists
6 CP
Learned: Level 33
Weak: 70% HPx3; 20 HP, 9 Guts
Strong: 105% HPx3; 5% HP (40), 40 Guts
A 3-punch combo, the third hit downs the opponent. The time it takes to
activate depends on your current distance from the opponent.

Aerial Assault
5 CP
Learned: Level 41
Weak: 350% HP + 53% MP; 80 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 525% HP + 80% MP; 8% HP (140), 47 Guts
Mirage jumps into the air and dives foot-first at the opponent. If you press
the button a second time Mirage hits with his fist instead, causing an extra
hit, but each hit only does half as much damage (in exchange, the area of
effect goes up a lot). Does ridiculous damage, HP as well as MP;
you'll be using this move a lot.

Crescent Locus
4 CP
Learned: Level 45
Weak: 60% HPx4; 50 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 90% HPx4; 5% HP (85), 47 Guts
A short-range attack, Mirage hits the opponent with a crescent wave that
does up to four hits, the last of which knocks the opponent down. Good for
combo chains.

Triple Kick
5 CP
Learned: Level 49
Weak: 100% HPx3; 150 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 200% HPx3; 8% HP (350), 47 Guts
Mirage does a 3-kick combo that hits a wide range thanks to the additional
aura. Knocks the opponent down and is good for combo chains.

Acrobat Locus
6 CP
Learned: Level 56
Weak: 40% HPx15; 350 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 52% HPx15; 9% HP (580), 50 Guts
Mirage floats the enemy with 2 hits, then proceeds to hit a long combo to
knock the opponent back down. Great for the last skill in a combo chain.

Avenger Charge
8 CP
Learned: Level 62
Weak: 47% HPx11; 410 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: 71% HPx11; 10% HP (780), 55 Guts
Mirage attacks the opponent with a fast combo of fire-elemental attacks. The
damage is about the same as Acrobat Locus, but if you're up against
somebody weak again fire this is the one to use. 

Infinity Kick
8 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 5 or Urza Cave Temple)
Weak: (40% HP + 5% MP)x11; 600 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (52% HP + 7% MP)x11; 14% HP (1120), 60 Guts
Similar to Acrobat Locus, though it has fewer hits but additional MP damage.
Quite a good skill, though overshadowed by some of Mirage's other battle
skills.

Blazing Cannon
8 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 178)
Weak: 60% HPxn; 550 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: 80% HPxn; 11% HP (580), 60 Guts
Mirage floats the opponent into the air, then fires a number of energy
bolts at the opponent. By continually pressing the attack button you
can cause more bolts to be fired for more damage, though this takes an
extra 8/12 Guts per hit. Non-elemental, and very damaging; in terms of
sheer HP damage, this is perhaps the best battle skill in the game.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEL ZELPHER 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
100% HPx4; 10 Guts
Nel spins upwards. Rather strong for a weak attack, if you can get all 4 hits
to hit; however short enemies will not be hit by all of the hits. You can hit
the strong attack button afterwards to link into another attack. The last
spin kick knocks the opponent down.

Weak Attack (Short Range Special)
100% HP + 10% MP; 8 Guts
This attack triggers if 3 or more enemies surround Nel; she jumps into the
air a little and throws a bomb downwards. This attacks a wide range of
enemies and adds MP damage, as well as damages Guts; it's a good attack
but by its very nature it's a little dangerous to pull off.

Weak Attack (Middle-Long Range)
100% HP; 8, 5 Guts
Nel dashes in for a quick slash. The attack looks the same, but based
on whether you are at middle or long range the amount of Guts consumed
differs. The startup speed is very fast; however the recovery is rather
long for a weak attack, so you should always cancel into a battle skill.
Has a chance of damaging Guts.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
170% HP; 12 Guts
Nel jumps into the air and homes in on the opponent in a cannonball attack.
You can hit the attack button again to link to the Chain Special. Since it
homes, this is a great attack to use.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
200% HP; 12 Guts
Visually looks exactly the same as the Short Range version. It does more
damage; you can still link to the Chain Special afterwards.

Strong Attack (Chain Special)
100% HP; 5 Guts
After connecting with a strong attack (either short or long range), if there
is another enemy near Nel this attack will trigger. It counts as a weak
attack even though it uses the strong attack button, so it can be
Protected against.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Level 19
Weak: 150% HP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
A mediocre Charge attack. Probably not worth using, since by the time you
learn it you'll already have some excellent battle skills.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 6
Weak: 150% HPx5; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HPx5; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
The maximum number of hits has been reduced from 7 to 5 in the DC.
Still an extremely good Aerial attack; however normal sized enemies will 
only be hit 1-3 times, and only the biggest enemies will get hit with all 5.
Nevertheless, if all those hits hit, this is the strongest Aerial in the
game. Since you learn it so early, you'll have a wide variety of chances
to use it; it's especially great against flying dragons and other flying,
large enemies.

Shock Wave
3 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 40% HPx4; 12 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 52% HPx4; 5% HP (35), 47 Guts
Nel sends an energy wave forward. It runs along the ground so it's hard
to hit airborne enemies with this. This move has been a little improved in 
the DC, costing only 3 CP instead of 4 and costing less Guts for the strong;
you'll use it a goodly amount in the beginning of the game but that's about
it. 

Shadow Wave
3 CP
Learned: Level 10
Weak: (70% HP + 10% MP)x3; 12 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: (105% HP + 15% MP)x3; 6% HP (50), 47 Guts
Nel sends a crescent-shaped wave along the ground, hitting multiple
enemies for good HP and MP damage. This is even lower than Shock Wave,
so it will miss flying enemies. However, since it has MP damage, and hits
a wide circular range, it's infinitely more useful than Shock Wave.

Ice Daggers
4 CP
Learned: Level 15
Weak: 100% HPx3; 30 HP, 40 Guts
Strong: 130% HPx3; 6% HP (70), 62 Guts
Nel creates a series of water-elemental shards that she sends at the
opponent. It has a small chance of freezing the enemy, making this
an extremely good battle skill. The skill is extremely fast, making it
better than the other skills that can freeze (Souffle's Frozen Dagger
and Sophia's Deep Freeze). The best use for it is to stick it as a 
long range attack and snipe at the enemies while your teammates take
care of them. Cancel bonus'ed, it can also cause a goodly amount of
damage in its own right.

Poison Cloud
2 CP
Learned: Level 20
Weak: (30% HP + 10% MP)x3; 12 HP, 10 Guts
Strong: (36% HP + 12% MP)x3; 5% HP (30), 35 Guts
Nel sends a poison cloud forward. It's slow, but it has a chance to
poison the enemy, and it does MP damage as well as HP. If you're
going to cancel, make sure you cancel after the third hit. The
damage isn't spectacular but the HP and Guts requirements are also
quite low, and if you manage to poison an enemy, it can be great
for whittling down their HP, since poison does percentage of max
HP damage and enemies have no way of curing poison status.

Whirlwind
3 CP
Learned: Level 25
Weak: 50% HPxn; 80 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: 65% HPxn; 8% HP (140), 72 Guts
This creates a whirlwind around Nel that lasts for 3 seconds at first
but at max proficiency stays for 8 seconds. While active, Nel can move
around, and any enemies that get close will be hit by the whirlwind. It's
easy to get 50+ hits with this skill alone. Previous to the DC, the
weak version did a lot more damage than the strong version, but this has
been changed to a more 'normal' distribution in the DC. The attack is
wind-elemental. At level 10, the strong version of this skill has the
capability to do more HP damage than any other battle skill in the 
game.

Flying Guillotine
5 CP
Learned: Level 30
Weak: (30% HP + 5% MP)x7; 60 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (45% HP + 8% MP)x7; 7% HP (135), 67 Guts
This battle skill was so good in the original that it had to be toned down.
First, the CP has been bumped up from four to five; second, the MP damage
this move does has been dropped sharply. In compensation the HP damage has
been bumped up considerably, and the Guts requirements have been dropped.
This is still so good that once you get this you might not need other
battle skills; a Kokuyousen x4 combo will drop even the strongest enemies
rather fast.

Lightning Chain
4 CP
Learned: Level 40
Weak: 30% HPxn; 40 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: 36% HPxn; 8% HP (110), 62 Guts
Nel sends a wind (thunder)-elemental ray out that lasts from 3-6 seconds,
depending on proficiency. The amount of damage wasn't great, but it has
been dropped even further. The good part is its great homing capacity;
you generally will not miss with this move.

Mirror Slice
8 CP
Learned: Level 52
Weak: 60% HPx10; 100 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: 90% HPx10; 10% HP (190), 62 Guts
Nel attacks the opponent in a series of slashes; the "Mirror Slice" famous
from other Star Ocean games. Even though the animation has lightning and
fire, this attack counts as non-elemental. Great for combos. Knocks the
opponent down at the end. 

Divine Wrath
7 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 5)
Weak: 60% HPx18; 250 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: 90% HPx18; 15% HP (650), 50 Guts
Like a pumped-up version of Mirror Slice, the final purple hurricane can
hit a large area of enemies. This is another move that was so good it had
to be toned down. It's now 7 CP, meaning you'll almost definitely only want
to set it to one slot, and the damage, as with most skills, have been bumped
down. Still, a 250% or 300% cancel bonus'ed Divine Wrath will still
massacre most enemies you come across.

Splitting Sky
6 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 169)
Weak: (50% HP + 10% MP)xn; 160 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (65% HP + 13% MP)xn; 12% HP (380), 60 Guts
Nel floats into the air, surrounded by electricity, then sends out a large
wind-elemental ray that continues for as long as you hold down the attack
button (consumes an additional 2/4 Guts per tick). Good against those
weak against wind. As opposed to Divine Wrath, this move wasn't that great
before so now it's been improved. The CP consumption has been dropped from
8 to 6, and the amount of Guts consumption has been dropped drastically.
Still, its elemental nature and slow startup means you'll have to be
careful when using this. Damagewise, this is one of the best skills in the
game.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PEPPITA ROSSETTI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
100% HP; 5 Guts
A fast cape swipe that's easy to hit with.

Weak Attack (Middle-Long Range)
70% HPx2; 5 Guts
Souffle jumps and then homes in on the enemy, attacking with her cape.
Can dodge attacks easily with this.

Weak Attack (Counter)
(60% HP + 10% MP)x2; 5 Guts
Activates if you attack while an opponent is attacking. Souffle dodges
and sends the opponent flying upwards. Has a chance of confusing the
opponent and has added MP damage.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
280% HPx3; 12 Guts
Souffle jumps upwards spinning with her cape. Great damage, but slow
so it's easy to be interrupted.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
200% HP; 12 Guts
A double-handed cape attack. Has a chance of damaging Guts.

Strong Attack (Counter)
(150% HP + 20% MP)x3; 12 Guts
Like the weak attack counter, activates if the enemy is in the midst of
attacking. Does a goodly amount of MP damage and has a chance of
confusing the opponent.

Charge 
4 CP
Learned: Level 6
Weak: 100% HP + 10% MP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 150% HP + 15% MP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
A ho-hum charge attack, now causes MP damage.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 18
Weak: 150% HP + 10% MP; 10 HP, 10 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 15% MP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
An anti-air attack, Souffle doesn't actually jump. Drags the opponent to
the ground if it hits, and does MP damage.

Magic Hook
2 CP
Learned: Level 5
Weak: (150% HP + 5% MP)x2; 15 HP, 15 Guts
Strong: (225% HP + 8% MP)x2; 5% HP (32), 47 Guts
Souffle attacks with what looks like a fishhook, then charges the enemy.
Has a chance of damaging Guts as well as confusing the opponent, and now
causes MP damage.

Frozen Daggers
3 CP
Learned: Level 10
Weak: 80% HPx4; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 104% HPx4; 5% HP (25), 47 Guts
Similar to Nel's Touga, but slower, Souffle creates a series of ice spikes
that have a chance of freezing the opponent. Water-elemental.

Power Dance
6 CP
Learned: Level 15
Weak: -; 20 MP, 15 Guts
Strong: -; 6% MP (30), 35 Guts
Souffle creates an area along the ground. Allies in the area have their
ATK multiplied by 1.75. This increases to up to 2.85 with proficiency. The
effect lasts for an additional 30 seconds after Souffle stops dancing.
This move now costs MP instead of HP.

Instanto Blast
4 CP
Learned: Level 20
Weak: 60% HP + 14% MP; 50 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: 78% HP + 18% MP; 8% HP (120), 52 Guts
Souffle sends out an invisible blast that instantly attacks the opponent.
Good at medium range, and also does MP damage; one of her easier-to-use
skills. Has a chance of causing instant death, and when the proficiency
goes above level 4, also hits enemies close to Souffle.

Panic Dance
6 CP
Learned: Level 25
Weak: -; 20 MP, 15 Guts
Strong: -; 6% MP (32), 35 Guts
Creates an area along the ground that confuses enemies. However some enemies
are immune to the effect. Not really worth it, but the chance of confusion
goes up as the proficiency goes up, and this move now takes MP instead of
HP.

Kaboom
5 CP
Learned: Level 30
Weak: 60% HPxn; 100 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 90% HPxn; 10% HP (220), 47 Guts
Souffle creates a glowing ball that rotates around her, hitting all enemies
for a good number of hits and for good damage. Has a small chance of instant
killing the opponents, but this is rather unreliable.

Healing Dance
6 CP
Learned: Level 40
Weak: -; 100 MP, 15 Guts
Strong: -; 10% MP (220), 35 Guts
Creates an area along the ground heals allies that stand in it. The amount
of HP healed is pitiful at first but improves with proficiency, as does
the speed of healing. Now costs MP instead of HP.

Faerie Friend
6 CP
Learned: Level 50
Weak: (100% HP + 10% MP)x10; 80 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: (150% HP + 15% MP)x10; 8% HP (200), 47 Guts
Creates a large stuffed animal that attacks the opponent's mirroring Souffle's
actions. Good amount of damage, both HP and MP, but it is hard to get all
the hits. The damage has been toned down from the original.

Magical Dance
6 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 5)
Weak: -; 250 HP, 15 Guts
Strong: -; 12% HP (520), 35 Guts
Like Prismic Dance, only it restores MP. Not worth it unless you spend the
time increasing the proficiency to max.

Dream Hammer
5 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 126)
Weak: (80% HP + 8% MP)xn; 120 HP, 22 Guts
Strong: (160% HP + 16% MP)xn; 12% HP (250), 52 Guts
Creates a huge hammer; afterwards continue to press the attack button and
she'll swing it at the opponent. Does a lot of MP damage and can damage
Guts, perhaps her best skill.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROGER S HUXLEY
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weak Attack (Short Range)
70% HPx2; 12 Guts
Roger kicks up dirt at the opponent. You can hit the strong attack button
afterwards to chain into his special.

Weak Attack (Middle-Long Range)
100% HP; 12 Guts
Roger dives at the opponent with his axe. A little on the slow side for
a weak attack. Has a chance of damaging Guts.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
160% HPx4; 15 Guts
A rotating axe strike that does lots of damage, if you manage to hit with
all of them. Sadly, it's easily interrupted by the enemy.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
260% HP; 15 Guts
A diving axe attack that you'll use a lot. Like most strong attacks,
pretty slow, though the limited range makes it hard to hit fast enemies
with.

Strong Attack (Special)
280% HP; 15 Guts
A chained attack from the weak attack, Roger charges forward and hits the
enemy with a single strong strike. Worth using.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Level 12
Weak: 220% HP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 330% HP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
A relatively strong charge attack.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 21
Weak: 150% HP + 10% MP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 15% MP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Fairly slow for an Aerial, it at least is capable of hitting a large range
of enemies and has MP damage as well.

Fiery Axe
2 CP
Learned: Beginning
Weak: 150% HPx2 + 40% HPx2; 20 HP, 10 Guts
Strong: 225% HPx2 + 60% HPx2; 5% HP (40), 35 Guts
Roger powers up his axe and dives at the opponent for two hits. Rather slow. 
If you do it from far away, an additional explosion occurs that adds on 
another two hits.

Whirling Heat
2 CP
Learned: Level 10
Weak: 100% HP; 30 HP, 12 Guts
Strong: 130% HP; 5% HP (52), 42 Guts
Roger hits with a long range whip that spins the opponent around and causes
them to be unable to act for a short while. It also has a chance of confusing
the opponent.

Land Mines
4 CP
Learned: Level 15
Weak: (70% HPx2)x4; 25 HP, 15 Guts
Strong: (105% HPx2)x4; 5% HP (48), 40 Guts
Roger lays a series of earth-elemental mines on the ground. After a certain
period, or if an enemy draws close, the mines will explode, hitting for 2
hits apiece. As the proficiency increases, the number of mines laid also
increases: 6 at levels 3-5, 8 at levels 6-7, and 10 over 8. Has a small chance
of causing confusion.

Flying Torpedo
4 CP
Learned: Level 20
Weak: 200% HP + 20% MP; 50 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 400% HP + 40% MP; 6% HP (95), 57 Guts
Roger dives in with a headbutt. This move takes a long time to recover, but
the HP damage has been buffed up a lot from the original version. Has a chance 
of damaging Guts.

Piercing Claw
4 CP
Learned: Level 25
Weak: (70% HP + 7% MP)x3; 30 HP, 15 Guts
Strong: (84% HP + 8% MP)x3; 6% HP (64), 40 Guts
Roger attacks with a drill arm. Does some MP damage; can also damage Guts.

Fiery Fury
4 CP
Learned: Level 30
Weak: 60% HPx6 + 100% HP; 50 HP, 25 Guts
Strong: 78% HPx6 + 130% HP; 8% HP (120), 57 Guts
Sends out a series of earth-elemental beams, then a bazooka for additional
damage. Hard to hit airborne enemies with. If the initial beams do not
hit, the bazooka will not fire.

Shield and Cannon
8 CP
Learned: Level 40
Weak: 40% HPx3; 200 HP, 35 Guts
Strong: 52% HPx3; 10% HP (590), 72 Guts
Fires a series of three seeking missiles at the opponent. As the proficiency
increases, the number of hits increases (6 from level 4-7, and 9 above that)
and an enemies near Roger can be hit too from an explosion.

Raging Helmet
6 CP
Learned: Level 50
Weak: 70% HPx6; 250 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 112% HPx6; 10% HP (480), 47 Guts
Roger sends his helmet upwards, sending a series of lasers down in a dome
pattern. Hits a wide range of opponents for great damage; however if you
get Protected the move ends immediately.

Bug Triad
6 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 2)
Weak: (40% HP + 8% MP)xn; 300 HP, 30 Guts
Strong: (60% HP + 12% MP)xn; 10% HP (760), 65 Guts
Summons three separate animals that last from 6-12 seconds, depending
on proficiency. The third animal (the 5-hit one) is a fish that only 
attacks if Roger is attacked. Now does MP damage, making it better
than before.

Star Fall
8 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 202)
Weak: (33% HP + 8% MP)x5 + (22% HP + 4% MP)x10; 750 HP, 50 Guts
Strong: (50% HP + 8% MP)x5 + (33% HP + 8% MP)x10; 15% HP (1800), 92 Guts
Summons a series of meteors that rain down on the battlefield. This was
a ridiculously powerful skill before, so it's been toned down a lot. It's
now limited to 15 hits max, and the damage per hit has been dropped a lot.</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
Even more important, though, is that this move now counts as Fire-elemental,
meaning its liable to have its damage cut in half, or even absorbed, by
some enemies.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOPHIA ESTEED
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sophia can set the following Heraldry spells as Battle Skills: Firebolt, 
Lightning Blast, Ice Needle, Earth Grave, Gremlin Lair, Ifrit Sword, Thunder
Flare, Deep Freeze, Rock Rain, Ray, Explosion, Thunderstruck, Dark Circle,
Blood Scylla, Southern Cross. Setting a spell to Strong causes the spell
to do 130% damage.

Weak Attack (Short Range)
100% HP; 5 Guts
A staff swing that floats the enemy upwards. Since Sophia shouldn't be
anywhere near enemies, this is only for emergencies.

Weak Attack (Middle Range)
100% HP; 5 Guts
Sophia rushes in and hits the opponent with a sideways swipe. Again,
not terribly efficient.

Weak Attack (Long Range)
50% HP + 20% MP; 5 Guts
Sophia fires a pink energy ball at the opponent. The ball doesn't really
home so it's easy to miss; however it does a goodly amount of MP damage.

Strong Attack (Short Range)
280% HPx2; 12 Guts
Sophia throws her staff at the opponent. An extremely damaging attack,
though the range is short, and Sophia's ATK tends not to be so high.

Strong Attack (Long Range)
100% HP + 30% MP; 12 Guts
Similar to the weak long-range attack, with the same benefits and
drawbacks, though it's slower.

Charge
4 CP
Learned: Level 22
Weak: 150% HP + 15% MP; 20 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 225% HP + 23% MP; 5% HP (42), 42 Guts
A so-so charge, with added MP damage.

Aerial
2 CP
Learned: Level 26
Weak: 50% HP + 20% MP; 10 HP, 20 Guts
Strong: 75% HP + 30% MP; 5% HP (22), 42 Guts
Sophia fires energy upwards at the opponent. She runs a specific
distance away so it can be used for hit-and-run. This move now
does only one hit and a lot less HP damage, but has had fairly good
MP damage added.

Gremlin Lair
6 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 209)
Weak: (30% INT + 1500% Prof. + 120)x6 HP + (HP Dmg x 20%)x6 MP; 50 MP, 
30 Guts
Strong: Weak Damage x 130%; 6% MP (200), 60 Guts
Summons some small animals forward that attack the enemy. Earth-elemental.
The number summoned increases as the proficiency increases (8 at levels 4-7
and 10 above 8). There's also a chance per animal that it will do 3x
damage.

Blood Scylla
7 CP
Learned: From book (Cave of Trials, Floor 1)
Weak: (40% INT + 2000% Prof. +320)x3 HP + (HP Dmg x35%)x3 MP; 300 MP, 40 Guts
Strong: Weak Damage x 130%, 12% MP (720), 72 Guts
Creates a large field that doesn't do much damage, but it drains both HP and
MP to heal Sophia.

Meteor Swarm
10 CP
Learned: From book (Sphere 211, Floor 210)
Strong: (50% INT + 35000% Prof. + 300)xn HP; 15% MP (420), 96 Guts
Like Roger's Star Fall, summons a large series of meteors. Is no longer
Fire-elemental as it was before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HERALDRY
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adlai and Sophia have the ability to set some of these spells as Battle
Skills. In such a case CP applies. Spells set as Strong battle skills do 1.3 
times the damage indicated.

Healing
Learned: Beginning (Nel), Level 3 (Sophia), Level 5 (Adlai), From book
(Common Support Spell)
20 MP, 20 Guts
Heals about 35% of the target character's HP. This amount goes up as the
proficiency goes up. As if Nel wasn't good enough already, in the DC she
comes preloaded with Healing! You'll probably be using this a lot no matter
who you have using it.

Antidote
Learned: Level 4 (Sophia), Level 6 (Adlai), From book (Common Support
Spell)
10 MP, 20 Guts
Cures a character of the "poison" condition. Since poison does not wear
off over time, you'll need either this or an Aquaberry to get rid of
that condition.

Silence
Learned: Level 5 (Sophia), Level 10 (Adlai), From book (Common Support
Spell)
10 MP, 20 Guts
Prevents an enemy from using spells for a certain amount of time. The chance
of success depends on the enemy but goes up as proficiency goes up. Still
not that useful.

Firebolt
2 CP (Settable by Sophia, Adlai)
Learned: Beginning (Nel, Adlai), Level 5 (Sophia), From book (Common
Attack Spell)
(50% INT + 250% Prof. +30)xn HP; 10 MP, 20 Guts
Fires a number of homing fireballs at the target. At level 1-2, does 1
bolt; 3-5, 2 bolts; 6-8, 3 bolts; and above that 4 bolts. Not great, but
could be useful in a pinch.

Ice Needle
2 CP (Settable by Sophia, Adlai)
Learned: Beginning (Adlai), Level 10 (Nel, Sophia)
(30% INT + 450% Prof. +15)xn HP; 10 MP, 20 Guts
Fires shards of ice at the opponent. Faster than Firebolt, and has a small
chance of causing Freeze status. The number of needles fired goes up as
the proficiency goes up: 5 at levels 1-3, 7 from 4-7, and 10 above that.

Acid Rain
Learned: Level 12 (Sophia), Level 19 (Adlai)
15 MP, 20 Guts
All enemies caught in the area of effect have their defense reduced for a
short period of time. Chance of success depends on the enemy and goes up
with proficiency.

Lightning Blast
3 CP (Settable by Sophia, Adlai)
Learned: Beginning (Adlai), Level 15 (Sophia), Level 16 (Fate), Level 18 (Nel)
(40% INT + 1000% Prof. + 8)x8 HP; 10 MP, 20 Guts
Fires a long bolt of lightning at the opponent. Wind elemental, and
rather quick, but not that useful.

Protection
Learned: Beginning (Maria), Level 17 (Sophia), Level 23 (Adlai)
30 MP, 20 Guts
Boosts an ally's DEF by 50% for 60 seconds. The time effective goes up
as the proficiency goes up. An extremely useful spell that only gets more
useful as you face tougher and tougher enemies.

Earth Grave
3 CP (Settable by Sophia, Adlai)
Learned: Beginning (Adlai), Level 19 (Sophia), From book (Common Attack
Spell)
(50% INT + 800% Prof. +30)x3 HP; 10 MP, 20 Guts
Sends a large shockwave forward that causes rocks to shoot up from the
ground. Earth-elemental. The area of attack is very large, so this can
be useful for keeping enemies away.

Cure Condition
Learned: Level 20 (Sophia), Level 29 (Adlai)
15 MP, 20 Guts
Cures Poison, Paralyze, and Petrified status from an ally. Useful, though
there are also simple items that will do the trick.

Raise Dead
Learned: Level 22 (Sophia), Level 32 (Adlai)
60 MP, 60 Guts
Raises an ally from the dead, curing about 10% of their HP and MP. This
amount goes up as the spell gains proficiency. You might end up using this
a lot...

Growth
Learned: Level 21 (Maria), Level 25 (Sophia, Adlai)
30 MP, 20 Guts
Raises an ally's ATK by 50% for 60 seconds. The time effective goes up
as the proficiency goes up. Useful, but not as useful as Protection,
since the ATK ceiling of 9999 is easy to reach with equipment alone.

Ifrit Sword
5 CP (settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 21 (Adlai), Level 25 (Sophia)
(40% INT + 7000% Prof. +70)x4 HP; 35 MP, 30 Guts
Summons a large fire demon to attack the enemy in front of you with
a flaming sword. Very large area of effect, very quick. Pretty effective
as long as the enemy's not resistant to Fire.

Press
Learned: Level 29 (Sophia)
(100% INT + 1500% Prof. + 400)x2 HP; 25 MP, 20 Guts
Summons a large bunny-weight to fall on a wide range of enemies. Though
it may not seem like it, this is Earth-elemental, so be sure to take that
into account when casting it.

Thunder Flare
4 CP (Settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 27 (Adlai), Level 30 (Sophia), Level 35 (Nel)
((40% INT + 1200% Prof. +5)x5 + 1.5) HP; 40 MP, 30 Guts
Hits a large area of with a globe of lightning. This can lock down the
opponent for a long time and pretty much never misses, both excellent
points. A good tactic is to cast this spell to lock the enemy into place
and break their Protect, and meanwhile use a battle skill while they're
stunned.

Fairy Light
Learned: Level 32 (Sophia), Level 37 (Adlai)
40 MP, 20 Guts
Heals all party members for about 35% of their HP. This amount goes up
as proficiency goes up. An extremely useful spell you'll likely be
using a lot.

Deep Freeze
6 CP (Settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 30 (Adlai), Level 35 (Sophia), Level 38 (Fate)
(40% INT + 4500% Prof. +150)x4 HP; 80 MP, 30 Guts
Causes a large area to freeze, hitting all opponents in it for water-
elemental damage. Has a chance of causing Frozen status, so well worth
using just for that alone.

Reflection
Learned: Level 26 (Maria), Level 37 (Sophia), Level 39 (Adlai)
30 MP, 20 Guts
Cuts the damage received by Heraldry for an ally in half for 60 seconds.
This duration gets longer as the proficiency goes up. Since there are
very few ways to raise defense against magic, this is very useful.

Dark Circle
8 CP (Settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 35 (Adlai), Level 40 (Sophia)
200 MP, 40 Guts
Creates a large field of dark energy. Enemies have a chance of dying
instantly inside. The chance depends on the enemy and on how much
HP they have left. Probably not a spell you'll use much.

Rock Rain
5 CP (Settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 42 (Adlai), Level 45 (Sophia, Fate)
(50% INT + 3000% Prof. +150)x6 HP; 80 MP, 40 Guts
Creates a large area of falling rocks which does earth-elemental damage to
all enemies inside. The range is amazingly large, though it's not very
damaging. Still useful for locking enemies down.

Gravitation
Learned: Level 47 (Sophia), Level 48 (Adlai)
30 MP, 20 Guts
Creates a large area of gravitational energy. All enemies inside will have
their movement speed reduced considerably. Can be useful in a pinch, though
you probably won't be using this much.

Explosion
7 CP (Settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 45 (Adlai), Level 50 (Sophia), Level 60 (Fate)
(50% INT + 25000% Prof. + 200)/2 x 5 + (50% INT + 25000% Prof. + 200)x5 HP;
300 MP, 40 Guts
Creates a large globe of fire which descends onto the battlefield for some
fire damage that then explodes to hit a large area with more damage. Quite
a damaging spell.

Ray
7 CP (Settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 54 (Adlai, Sophia)
(50% INT + 10000% Prof + 200)x6 HP; 150 MP, 40 Guts
Sends an orb out that then shoots down many lasers, damaging a wide range
of enemies. It homes to an extent but very fast enemies might be able
to dodge it. It's non-elemental so that is one big asset.

Angel Feather
Learned: Level 45 (Maria), Level 57 (Sophia), Level 60 (Adlai)
30 MP, 20 Guts
Raises all of an ally's stats by 20% for 60 seconds. The duration goes up
as the proficiency increases. Can be somewhat useful, but Growth and
Protection are morth effective in the long run.

Thunderstruck
8 CP (Settable by Sophia)
Learned: Level 57 (Adlai), Level 60 (Sophia), Level 70 (Nel)
(50% INT + 1200% Prof. + 350)x8 HP; 300 MP, 50 Guts
The strongest wind-elemental magic in the game, this pretty much never
misses, and can hold the enemy in place for a good amount of time. Not as
damaging as some of the others, but still useful.

Southern Cross
6 CP (Settable by Sophia, Adlai)
Learned: Level 40 (Adlai), From book (Sophia, Sphere 211, 108th Floor)
(50% INT + 2500% Prof. + 200)x6 HP + (HP Dmg x 16%)x6 MP; 120 MP, 30 Guts
Creates a cross-shaped area of light on the ground that hurts all enemies.
This spell has been improved considerably. First, it's no longer wind-
elemental; second, it now does MP damage. Adlai learns it fairly early.


3. COMPARATIVE CHARTS

These charts compare skills by character.

MOST DAMAGING SKILLS BY CHARACTER (HP)
Adlai: Spicule (75% HP)x7 = 525%
Arbel: Dragon Roar (45% HP)x18 = 810%
Cliff: Max Shockwave (203% HP)x7 = 1421%
Fate: Ethereal Blast (135% HP)x15 = 2025%
Maria: Gravity Bullet (60% HP)x28 = 1680%
Mirage: Blazing Cannon (80% HP)x26 = 2080%
Nel: Whirlwind (65% HP)x50 = 3250%
Roger: Raging Helmet (112% HP)x6 = 672%
Sophia: Meteor Swarm (500% INT+ 35000% Prof. + 300)xn = ?
Souffle: Faerie Friend (150% HP)x10 = 1500%

The Bottom Line: Whirlwind is the most damaging HP skill in the game at level
10; however, it can sometimes get its damage cut in half by enemies with
protection against wind. Mirage's Blazing Cannon is the best non-elemental
skill.

MOST DAMAGING SKILLS BY CHARACTER (MP)
Adlai: Spicule (45% MP)x7 = 315%
Arbel: Aura Wall (4% MP)x28 = 112%
Cliff: Aerial Assault (80% MP)
Fate: Ethereal Blast (15% MP)x15 = 225%
Maria: Energy Burst (12% MP)x28 = 336%
Mirage: Aerial Assault (80% MP)
Nel: Splitting Sky (13% MP)x32 = 416%
Roger: Star Fall (8% MP)x15 = 120%
Sophia: Southern Cross (50% INT +450 MP)x16% x6
Souffle: Faerie Friend (15% MP)x10 = 150%

The Bottom Line: Splitting Sky is the most damaging MP skill in the game.
However, it is somewhat slow to start up and is wind-elemental. Maria's
Energy Burst is perhaps the best skill to MP kill with.

CHARGES
1. Arbel: 330% HP
   Cliff: 330% HP
   Roger: 330% HP
4. Fate: 225% HP + 45% MP
5. Maria: 225% HP + 23% MP
   Sophia: 225% HP + 23% MP
7. Adlai: 225% HP + 15% MP
   Mirage: 225% HP + 15% MP
9. Nel: 225% HP + 8% MP
10. Souffle: 150% HP + 15% MP

AERIALS
1. Nel: 225% HPx5
2. Fate: 240% HP + 23% MP
3. Maria: 225% HP + 23% MP
4. Roger: 225% HP + 15% MP
   Souffle: 225% HP + 15% MP
   Cliff: 225% HP + 15% MP
   Adlai: 225% HP + 15% MP
8. Mirage: 180% HP + 12% MP
9. Sophia: 75% HP + 30% MP
10. Arbel: 75% HP


4. CREDITS
Thanks go to:
tri-Ace and Enix for the best RPG I have ever played.
Allison L (Ammo) for the JP -> NA name changes.

This FAQ Copyright 2004 to Edward Chang. Redistribution in any form,
including reprinting in electronic or print media, without express
permission of the author is strictly forbidden.