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Natalia L.K Lanvaldear Guide

by Estellus

Tales of the Abyss (applicable for both US and JPN versions)
In-depth Character FAQ: Natalia L.K. Lanvaldear by Estellus
- Email: [email protected]
Feel free to contact me with questions regarding this FAQ or even the game,
however, please avoid spamming. E-mails regarding personal questions will be
ignored, so hopefully readers will respect this�`

This  may  be not  be  reproduced under  any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It  may not  be placed  on  any  web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright.

-----------------------
 = Table of Contents =
-----------------------
- Introduction
- Creator's TotA Background
- Aims of the Guide
- Character Analysis
- How to use Natalia
- Piloting Natalia
- Which artes to use
- How to use Healing Artes
- Recommendations for Move List
- Natalia as the only healer: Problems
- Battle Strategies: With Tear
- Battle Strategies: Regular Battles
- Battle Strategies: Boss Battles
- List of Strike and Fonic Artes
- Learning Corner
- Equipment
- Capacity Cores and AD Skills
- A Challenge of My Own
- Credits & Ending

To facilitate your reading, simply use CTRL+F and type in the keywords of the
above to jump to the section.

Before beginning, please ensure your page encoding is under [Japanese
(Shift_JIS)]in order to view this guide in its correct format. To do so in
Firefox, go to Character Encoding under View and select the aforementioned
format.

There are some forms of spoilers so I hope you've been warned! If you do not
wish to be spoiled, then do not start reading this!

-----------------
= Introduction =
-----------------
Tales of the Abyss was released for the Sony Playstation 2 as the 8th
mothership title for the Tales of RPG series on the 15th of December 2005 as a
commemeration of it's 10th anniversary. The US version was released on the 10th
October the next year.

------------------------------
= Creator's TotA Background =
------------------------------
I've played this game five times, the first two times on the actual PS2, but
ever since I've gotten a PS3 I've rarely touched my PS2. I played the other
three times on another system. The first two playthroughs on the PS2, I played
as Tear. At that time, I was fairly new to the Tales of series(only played
Eternia when I was young, and replayed it recently as Farah) and wasn't
comfortable with using a Strike arte user yet so I took on a more supportive
role, since I do that in MMOs as well. On my other three playthroughs, I used
Natalia and have fallen deep in love with how she works so I decided to share,
since most of guides out there always have negative comments on Natalia, or
hardly ever use her.

On my final playthrough, only a few days ago, my record on using Natalia is at
76% while Tear is at 32%. And have beaten the game on Unknown whenever
possible. Finished the Nebilim side quest and The Abyss. On all my
playthroughs, I had AD Skills Rebirth, Angel's Tear, Resurrect, Auto Aid turned
on for Natalia. Resurrect and Rebirth for Tear. Dash Guard and Step Away for
Guy only. Glory is turned off on everyone. This is mainly just to increase the
difficulty of the game as a challenge for myself.

-----------------------
= Aims of the Guide =
-----------------------
This guide is meant to elaborate on the intricacies of everything about
Natalia, from her attack pattern, to her Strike Artes and to her Fonic Artes.
This does not include on how to combo(insanely), since learning how to chain
combos isn't neccessary to using her properly and there're guides out there
which already teach so. Additionally, I will not be talking about things like
the character's personality or development in this guide since well, the
overall aim is to explain about her gameplay. There are plenty of guides or
wiki on the Tales of series and she's in there as well for reading pleasure.

-----------------------
= Character Analysis =
-----------------------
Natalia has the farthest attack range of all the six characters and is the
healing counterpart to Tear, who unlike Natalia, specializes in Healing Artes
that cover an area of effect. Alongside her healing capabilities, Natalia also
possesses the ability to increase the parameters of her allies temporarily in
battle with access to skills like Barrier and Sharpness. Her style of fighting
uses a bow, and thus meaning she is safe out of reach of melee enemies,
allowing her to support as a follow-up for Luke, Guy or Anise. Her Strike Artes
primarily consists of barrages of arrows that hit multiple enemies or enemy for
multiple hits to stagger or break their guard. They however, do not do as much
damage as the other characters' Strike Artes. Natalia's base stat growth boasts
the second highest P. DEF and the third highest F. DEF of all the party members
while having moderate P. ATK and high AGL, only second to Guy. Natalia joins
the party as the last member and has very low TP as a result, therefore any TP
increasing herb should be given to her until she reaches a same level as Tear
in order to fulfill her role as a healer. In fact, she will need more TP as she
uses Strike Artes very often as well.

Short Summary on Natalia's Parameters
P. ATK ����������
P. DEF ����������
F. ATK ����������
F. DEF ����������
AGL    ����������

-----------------------
= How to use Natalia =
-----------------------
Unlike any of the party members, Natalia is a mix of a Strike arte and Fonic
arte user and unlike Anise, she cannot solely rely on her Strike artes in order
to be used to her full potential. Using Natalia means having to strike a
balance between attacking, supporting and healing. It should be clear that
Natalia's purpose is not to deal damage despite being fully capable of doing
so, and that she is more of a follow-up attacker for allies using close combat
while serving as a vanguard for the supporting casters at the rear.

Players should be used to toggling between Manual and Semi-Auto control modes
as it's very difficult to control Natalia with Manual only, but in Manual mode
she's able to shoot from extremely far behind. Attacking while holding the left
and right buttons will cause her to shoot in a slightly elevated angle, and
holding up will result in a 45 degree north west/east angle. Holding down will
shoot arrows that fly close to the ground, allowing Natalia to hit enemy
targets that're small or short. Her jump attack deals more damage than a
regular attack, though she can only do that once until she learns the Landing
and Jump Combo AD skill.

It is very difficult to hit small targets such as the Chirpee family or the
Filifolia family of monsters. For the former, it requires Natalia to land her
first hit, followed up by attacking with the down button held. Artes other than
Star Stroke will most likely whiff the bird which means breaking their guard is
nowhere as easy. For the second, the same stays true but all of her Strike
Artes but Star Stroke will probably miss the plant unless the player controls
Natalia through Manual mode.

* I've received e-mails asking for a section on how to deal with the Screechits
in the Advanced Singles Coliseum battle. The battle is actually pretty simple
with Natalia, especially if you have AD Skill Glory turned on. Once you're able
to land a hit on the bird, things should become relatively easy. Aerial Laser
is very good at dealing with them since being melee, the chances of missing is
much lower. If AD Skill Glory is unavailable or switched off, simply use
Cavalry and attack or heal whenever needed. When the opportunity for a Mystic
Arte arises at any point, round up the flock and try to land an Astral Rain on
multiple of them. The AI of the birds will move towards you once you target
them, target each of them once and all of them will start moving to Natalia.
With appropriate P. ATK, Astral Rain can easily wipe out a Screechit on its
own. Power Charge and Sharpness can also be used to boost P. ATK.

One should set a strategy that has everyone targeting different targets so that
when a caster is targeted by an enemy, the player(Natalia) can switch to that
strategy and get the enemy's attention while the frontline continues their
assault. Her ability to tank due to her high P. DEF is good for taking enemy
aggro off the casters as well, so there's no fear of dying too easily.

Also, due to the limited slots on the move list, the player should be adept at
manipulating the AI of characters to use Natalia easier. When you wish to cast
Barrier or Sharpness, but they aren't on your move list, you don't have to
switch them in, you can just cast them by accessing the Artes menu, then
switching to Auto and selecting the arte from there. Though you should quickly
toggle back to Manual/Semi-Auto so they don't use Magic Guard when they detect
an enemy Fonic arte near them. This is useful if you want to grab an FOF
quickly for the support artes. Make sure to finish the animation of attacking
before switching to Auto, if not Natalia will pace back like all other AIs when
they finish attacking. This pacing cannot be cancelled and can the cause of
death for her or other members.

One thing that Natalia really fails at is sustaining a combo by herself since
her arrows take some time to reach her target, and her attacking animation has
a short start up. So if enemies are right in front of her and she readies an
attack, chances are she'll be staggered if she doesn't have the AD skill Glory.
Moreover, Natalia's FOF changes in her Strike Artes result in a very
conflicting manner of fighting. Usually staying in the rear and providing
back-up support, most of her FOF changes require her to be right in front of
the enemy, and the FOF Artes are often nothing like their original arte. Such
as Storm Edge and Blast Edge, losing the concentrated far range barrage and
changing it into a close ranged concentrated barrage.

The player should hold back their full combo when attacking with allies and
then prepare themselves to attack between the time the AI of allies take to
decide to attack again. The important part here is to NOT use more than 2
normal attacks and then quickly chain a Storm Edge into a Storm Edge. This will
stagger almost any enemy including bosses. Players can also attack the enemy
until the enemy is just about to be staggered. Most bosses take 7 hits to
stagger, so Natalia can prepare 4�`5 hits which will lead to a very quick
stagger once everyone pours on the assault.

When taking on a healing role, Natalia should have all the AD skills that
reduce casting time or deaths will be inevitable. She isn't that much different
from Tear when it comes to healing despite their different styles, when enemies
target an ally, you should be able to tell from the direction they're facing
and prepare healing when an ally is at 75% HP and about to take another hit.
Heal would be most appropriate at that time, although this depends on the P.
DEF and P. ATK of your ally and enemy respectively. If the incoming damage is
going to be high, then prepare Cure, if not Heal will suffice even when allies
are in the reds(this is especially true since Heal is much faster).

Note that it is possible to solo heal with Natalia on a first playthrough,
without acquiring the AD skills that reduce her casting time or a Mystic Symbol
through most bosses or battles. I've never used a single Apple, Lemon or Life
Bottle in all five of my playthroughs unless by accident through ally requests.
Although there are certain fights where using Tear or both Tear and Natalia is
extremely useful such as the showdown with the three God Generals at Mt. Roneal.

---------------------
= Piloting Natalia =
---------------------
Arguably one of the most difficult character to control, Natalia's Manual mode
is a nightmare for many players old and new alike. With the introduction of the
Free Run feature, hitting a target with a line-based attack is even more
difficult. Thankfully, there're a bunch of techniques which makes controlling
Natalia much easier.

The Select button
Using this in battle toggles between Auto, Semi-Auto, Manual. Most players have
this in Manual when using Luke, Guy or Anise and perhaps in your mind using
anything other than Manual is unacceptable. And the fact that using Manual
allows Natalia to attack from across the battlefield makes it ever so true, but
that's a wrong mentality to adopt. Natalia should always be on Semi-Auto mode
because the AI will use the most balanced attack range to keep the intervals
between each hit regulated. If the player tries to provide back-up to melee
characters with Manual from across the screen, most of the time the attacks
will miss the window of time given to continue staggering the enemy.

There are times where I use Manual like during battles with Largo, because with
Semi-Auto's range, Beast will still hit Natalia and that'll ruin the formation
for the rest of the battle. And Largo likes to start the battle with Beast most
of the time. Manual is also very useful when you're too far after a backstep to
attack and yet the stagger is about to end. Hit Select once after backstepping
and continue the assault from where Natalia lands. Star Embrace is also almost
impossible to use with Semi-Auto solely because of the difference in range,
players will observe that the arrows land behind the enemy unless they have a
large hitbox. Although players should avoid Star Embrace unless dealing with
enemies that share that trait to begin with.

AD Skill: Backstep
One problem with using Natalia on Manual is having to turn after running away
from the enemy which can be very difficult to get right and many times you'll
find yourself attacking the wrong direction. The player should start getting
used to not having to run too often in battle and using backstep to position
themselves instead, this allows for instant retaliation with AD Skill Back
Action without having to turn. Using this to help with aiming makes using
Natalia on Manual mode tremendously easier. When dealing with enemies alone,
simply run towards them to lure out their attack and backstep before being hit
and attack after. This requires precise timing, but with practice is very
simple. If AD Skill Step Away is switched on, this is made even easier. When a
huge spell is about to land, usually Explode, a backstep simply will not cut
it. When this happens, run back a short pace and then into a backstep.

AD Skill: Landing and Jump Combo
With this, players might not have to use Manual mode as often than they would
like to. To attack from a far distance, simply jump and attack and continue
after landing, though this will require both AD Skills for this to work. Not
much time is wasted if players are used to jumping. To do so in Semi-Auto, push
the Analog-Stick up or the up botton on the D-Pad while guarding. Players can
also do a Critical Guard into a jump if an enemy is about to hit you before you
can jump in time, this is very practical when bosses have minions.

Basically the things to keep in mind are to: Keep running to a minimum and use
backstep more, but not in consecutive successions. Use Manual only when enemies
have a certain arte that you need to keep away from, or if their attacks are
just too overwhelming(Largo; Fyr Bronc and Nebilim on Unknown). Jump Combos can
be used to create a pseudo-Manual effect.

-----------------------
= Which Artes to use =
-----------------------
For Natalia, she has a very small arsenal of Strike Artes, but each have their
own uses. Against large enemies such as the Fyr Bronc or Replicantis, Star
Embrace and Blue Embrace are your best friends since it's possible to have all
of the hits connect which deals insane amount of damage and stagger them,
especially big enemies that fly, like the two aforementioned monsters. For
smaller enemies, Storm Edge into Gallant Barrage is the best way to go, and
another Storm Edge if Natalia has learned the AD skill Ability Plus.

Storm Edge should be used often for breaking guard or causing instant stagger,
even if it means skipping regular attacking. And although three hits might seem
better than one, Piercing Line actually deals more damage than Storm Edge
would, so if the enemy is already staggered and is being assaulted by fellow
party members, you should use Piercing Line instead of Storm Edge, then Gallant
Barrage into another Piercing Line, or Storm Edge to sustain the combo. Star
Stroke is very useful for dodging attacks while maintaining the offensive, and
it also dishes out good damage. Additionally, since Star Stroke's arrows pierce
through targets, they can be used to deal area of effect damage in a small
intersection, and if regular attacks can't get to the target, Star Stroke will
since it shoots from above.

When dispatching enemies by herself, Natalia should replace Gallant Barrage
with Aerial Laser. Aerial Laser with a mastered Cobalt Chamber will lift them
up to fit nicely into the trajectory of arrows from a following Star Stroke,
allowing for a combo of Aerial Laser, Star Stroke then Storm Edge/Piercing Line
or Storm Edge, Aerial Laser and Star Stroke. Aerial Laser should be used in the
combo whenever the enemy gets too close to Natalia to keep a distance, the
combo should start off with Aerial Laser without regular attacks(unless AD
Skill Glory is switched on) to avoid being staggered from an attack. Players
should avoid Aerial Laser when attacking a single target together with the
team, as it usually breaks combo and requires Natalia to be in melee range,
meaning she can be staggered and will be unable to provide ranged support.

As for her Healing Artes, she should always have Heal equipped, and Cure if
she's the only healer, Revive, and another support arte(usually Scare Bane for
me). Always keep an eye out for Earth FOFs when it comes to healing. One should
note that for certain artes to work its fullest, Natalia is required to have
certain AD skills and the correct FSC applied to the corresponding artes.

-----------------------------
= How to use Healing artes =
-----------------------------
For those who have never noticed or tried, if you cast a Healing or Support
arte, the 'Target' cursor appears below their status interface in battle. The
interface 'Target' is under will be the target of the applicable arte. Simply
change targets by moving the left or right directional pad or left Analog
stick. I personally recommend the D-Pad so scrolling is more controlled.

The crux in mastering this is to know the appropriate time to heal. To make
things easier, the player should look to bolster the P. DEF of allies through
Barrier and defensive accessories to reduce incoming damage.

On Unknown mode, most monsters do 1000 damage with even the slightest touch and
bosses have no trouble killing someone with a single combo so the player should
be ready to heal once the HP of an ally nears 60%. This is entirely situational
though, as mentioned, it depends on the P. DEF of allies as well as factors
such as Calamitous Bane which reduce the P. ATK of enemies, Carmine Chambers
which increase the potency of her Healing artes, elements that decrease casting
times like a Mystic Symbol or Enhance Cast.

However, in most circumstances, a Heal should be prepared when someone's HP
reaches 60% and is about to take another hit. When do we use Cure which has a
huge cast time of 7.5 seconds though? When an ally is at 80% HP and about to
take a huge combo from a boss, a good example is Sync's Stone Dragon Ascent. On
Unknown, it easily takes off 60% or more of an ally's HP so Cure would put them
back at a healthy level.

Revive takes 10 whole seconds to cast, and its animation has to finish for it
to take effect, meaning at least 12 seconds for Revive to set in, most of the
time, the target is already dead. I rarely cast Revive one by one unless I have
Enhance Cast with a Mystic Symbol and wait for an Earth or Darkness FOF to show
up to cast Angel's Breath to heal/resurrect instead. The only time I would
consider casting Revive would be when only one ally doesn't have it on, usually
the caster at the rear, or when Natalia is serving as a back-up healer for Tear.

----------------------------------
= Recommendations for Move List =
----------------------------------
These are the usual artes I have on my move list:
Circle: Piercing Line
Up + Circle: Gallant Barrage/Star Embrace/Aerial Laser
Down + Circle: Star Stroke
Left/Right + Circle: Storm Edge

Up Analog-Stick: Heal
Left Analog-Stick: Scare Bane/Barrier/Sharpness/Resist/Healing Force
Down Analog-Stick: Cure
Right Analog-Stick: Revive

On battles that stretch over 10 minutes, specifically the Replicantis on
Unknown mode, I have a slight modification in my shortcuts.

Circle: Piercing Line/Storm Edge
Up + Circle: Barrier
Down + Circle: Resist
Left/Right + Circle: Sharpness

Up Analog-Stick: Heal
Left Analog-Stick: Scare Bane
Down Analog-Stick: Cure
Right Analog-Stick: Revive

All of the changes have the same FOF changes to the corresponding Strike Artes
from the usual set-up which might help with remembering them. The player should
aim to change the three Support artes into their FOF changes and have them on
every ally. Piercing Line is replaced by Storm Edge on Circle for staggering
purposes due to the lack of Strike Artes when using this composition of artes.
Piercing Line should be reinstated when the player wishes to use Noble Roar.
Once each Support arte is on every character, switch it back to the usual
set-up.

-----------------------------------------
= Natalia as the only healer: Problems =
-----------------------------------------
The main problem players including myself face is the fact that Natalia cannot
revive others unless she has access to an Earth FOF. And Natalia is unable to
create one on her own, unless the player doesn't mind using Life Bottles, she
will face many problems when she's the only one left alive with the enemy. I'll
list some solutions to this problem.

Luke can provide Earth FOFs through Slag Assault, this Arcane Arte is acquired
through his Albert Style side quest after Lightning Blade at the man on the
right side of the counter at the Keterburg Hotel. The only problem with this is
that it provides a 25% charged FOF, meaning 4 uses are required to have a fully
charged Earth FOF. And the FOF doesn't last more than 3 seconds and is
extremely small, meaning its reliability isn't the best. If Revive has a
mastered Sunlight Chamber equipped to it, things are made easier but if Slag
Assault was used on a large target, the FOF will be inaccessible. In situations
like this, the player should control Luke with Manual and use Slag Assault near
or under Natalia.

Tear has all four elemental invokes, and that naturally includes the Earth
element. However, that is her only way of providing an Earth FOF and requires 2
uses for a 100% charged FOF. Though with Tear around, this isn't an issue to
begin with.

Guy has no way of providing an Earth or Darkness FOF as far as I know, so if
he's the only one left alive, you'll have to read on.

Jade has two Fonic artes which will leave behind Earth FOFs, them being
Stalagmite and Ground Dasher, with a Sunlight Chamber, Natalia can easily use
the FOF created by Stalagmite, or if Stalagmite is used twice since each makes
a 50% charged FOF.

Anise has two artes that creates an FOF that Natalia can use to cast Angel's
Breath and they're Bloody Howling and Negative Gate. The latter can do the same
thing but will need two casts to make a fully charged Darkness FOF while Bloody
Howling only needs one. Though Bloody Howling is acquired much later, it is the
fastest way Anise can provide Natalia with a Darkness FOF. Sunlight Chambers do
not work for Light or Darkness FOFs that're not fully charged. Though all this
isn't an issue if the player has stolen the Time Traveling Girl doll from
Arietta during the Mt. Roneal showdown. It grants Anise the Fonic arte
Resurrection. Making Anise quite a very valuable party member to have in
important battles with Natalia, able to revive while dishing out good damage,
unlike Tear.

Asch has Stalagmite like Jade, but unless the player has equipped Revive with a
Sunlight Chamber, it will require two casts in order to invoke a fully charged
Earth FOF. Sunlight Chambers aren't available yet if you're on your first
playthrough when Asch joins you for a boss battle where you'll need reviving.
However, at that time you'll be the only healer for sure since Tear will be in
Yulia City with Luke. FSCs can be inherited on a second playthrough or further
by purchasing it in the GRADE shop.

* Some sources have said that Asch cannot learn the Albert Style artes Luke
can, this includes Slag Assault, and some sources state that if you've learned
it on Luke on your first playthrough, Asch will have them naturally when he
joins the party. I didn't check on my first, but he had them on my second
playthrough onwards. So I'm uncertain if this is valid.

If every ally is knocked out but Natalia, hopefully the boss is one of the
following: Abaddon, Sync, Largo, Repair Fonbot, Van, Gigant Mohs or Nebilim.

These enemies all use Fonic artes or Arcane Artes that leave behind FOFs that
Natalia can use to cast Angel's Breath, most of them being Negative Gate and
Ground Dasher. Some use Stalagmite and Bloody Howling. The Repair Fonbot will
not use earth elemental Fonic artes if the player has deactivated it through
the puzzles in Meggiora Highlands. There is no choice but to wait for them to
cast these spells, Van and Sync will stop casting Ground Dasher and Stalagmite
once their HP goes too low. For Largo, he only uses Stone Beast occasionally
and that leaves behind a 25% charged Earth FOF. Be sure to make use of that
small frame of time before the FOF dissipates.

Also, pray hard that while casting Angel's Breath, you don't get interrupted
through an Overlimit. And if you do when you're nearing the end of the
incantation, chances are you'll miss the next cast due to AD Skill Spell Save.

Another problem with Natalia is her dire lack of TP. With Strike Artes that
cost high TP which requires multiple uses in a battle, along with TP intensive
Healing and Support artes, she unlike Tear will use up TP much faster. When she
first joins you, she can barely cast 5 instances of Heal before all her TP is
expended, leaving no room for additional Strike Artes to support melee allies.
This will be not much of a problem if AD Skill Mind Up was inherited from a
previous playthrough, otherwise it will hinder her ability to heal alone
especially with a boss battle coming up at the end of the Abandoned Factory.

To solve this, players should give any Savory or Red Savories they get to
Natalia until she reaches 50�`100 more TP than Tear or Jade. One might think
Tear uses much more TP since most artes that use huge amounts of TP are her
Healing artes, but she has intervals between each cast unlike Natalia who has
to devote some for Strike Artes as well. She also has a low beginning TP pool
like Luke and Anise, but her artes cost much more to use.

On Unknown playthroughs, there're even more incentives to level up at the area
near Keterburg when you're allowed to go there since Natalia makes it easier
with Barrier, though Tear might also be needed to ensure everyone stays alive.
The Filifolia variation there, Microcalyx, drops a Red Savory at a 2% chance,
with AD Skills that boost drop rates, getting it is a little easier. It may not
drop often but it gives 30 TP with each use, and you really only need three to
five of them.

---------------------------------
= Battle Strategies: With Tear =
---------------------------------
Certain battles make it impossible to just have Natalia as the only healer
since a defining trait of her Healing artes are that they're all single
targeted by default. Due to such, she's often unable to save one because she's
healing another. Of course, if the consistent use of Life Bottles or
resurrecting through Angel's Breath is not a problem to the player, Natalia is
still able to handle the situation. To avoid multiple deaths in a boss fight
such as the Mt. Roneal showdown with the God Generals or the cameo battle at
the coliseum, unless the player has the characters overleveled, Tear and
Natalia will be needed to do so.

Before we begin, the player should set the battle strategy of Tear to 'Artes
Only', TP Usage to 100% and Item Usage to 'Watch TP'. Overlimits to 'Do Not
Use'. Her target should be the same enemy and her starting position should be
way at the back on the top or bottom row because many enemy bosses like to
start with a cheap attack that travels in the main row(Reid Hershel, Van) and
on Unknown modes, this will most likely spell death for Tear. The reason for
Item Usage to be set to 'Watch TP' is basically just to serve as a reminder for
the player that she's low on TP. When she requests to use a TP recovery
item(she'll only use Orange Gels since TotA AI isn't as well developed as in
Vesperia), simply cancel it by pressing L1 and then use a more potent TP
recovering item instead.

Disable her Strike artes, along with Healing Circle, Charge, Enhance Cast, the
four elemental invokes, Nightmare, Force Field, Holy Song and Grand Cross.
Disable Judgment if there is only one enemy on the field.

Justifications: By disabling her Strike artes and with Artes Only, she'll check
the HP of all allies and if none are below 75%, she will attack with Eclair de
Larmes, Holy Lance or Judgment. If any ally has HP lower than 75% nearing 50%,
she will cast First Aid on them. The reason for disabling Healing Circle is
because if she is at near half HP, she'll use it on herself which wastes a lot
of time, and Healing Circle has the potency to miss a lot. First Aid with a
Carmine Chamber can easily restore what Healing Circle can. This also prevents
the constant chain where she repeatedly casts Healing Circle until she hits the
ally with it.

There are some occasions where she has casted Charge on allies with low TP,
which was really pointless so disabling that is self-explanatory. Enhance Cast
is a vital arte to have on your casters, but Natalia doesn't necessarily need
it on all the time so players should manually cast it depending on the
situation, Tear should always have it on. Also, her AI does not check if she
has Enhance Cast on, it all depends on her liking if she wants to cast this or
not, the inconsistency is what we're looking to delete here. If the party
consists of Jade, then also have Enhance Cast established on him as second
priority.

Also, by removing the moderate healing arte she has, Healing Circle, she has no
choice but to either cast First Aid, or Revitalize. She will do the latter when
two or more allies have lower than 50% HP and are within the area of effect of
Revitalize. If they were not in the area of effect, Tear will cast Holy Song
over and over until everyone reaches above 75% HP, and Holy Song is the
equivalent of a First Aid, but with two or more times the casting time.
Therefore Holy Song is disabled, and like Enhance Cast, Tear does not see to it
that the Defense and Attack buff is constantly on allies. Players should be
casting Holy Song manually whenever its effects wear off.

Nightmare should be self-explanatory since it deals pitiful damage and has
almost no effect in large scale boss battles, not to mention it has a very long
incantation for its worth. Force Field is great to have, but only if you're
using Tear. And without a Cobalt Chamber, Force Field is really worthless and
the AI of Tear will use this if she doesn't choose to attack. Force Field has a
long incantation, animation and short effect without the correct FSC, and also
has the possibility to miss. There will be times where she repeatedly casts
this for no apparent reason as long as the HP of allies are healthy. Grand
Cross is disabled simply because it breaks combos by lifting enemies, and then
knocking them down with the final hit. Also, if it doesn't stagger them, it
deals lesser damage than Eclair de Larmes would have done.

With that done, Tear will never ever step forward to attack and will remain in
one spot forever casting artes over and over. Players should look to begin the
battle with her Overlimit at maximum and save Fortune's Arc(Second playthrough
or further) when things get rough. Should enemies get knocked towards or target
Tear, the player should look to get their attention by going near or switching
strategies to attack them ASAP.

Finally, Judgment is disabled in battles where there is only one boss simply
due to its erratic pattern. If multiple bosses are in a battle, usually the
ones against the God Generals or the cameo team, Judgment becomes a viable
Fonic arte to cast.

Now onto the actual strategy for Natalia, after Tear has Enhance Cast on
herself, she should cast it on Natalia and once it has been established, the
players should look towards casting Revive on the frontliners while having
Resist/Anti-Magic whenever possible. Barrier and Sharpness isn't necessary with
Holy Song cast everytime its effect ends. You only really need Heal and/or
Healing Force when it comes to healing with Tear, keeping the latter on allies
in front while casting Heal whenever Tear takes too long or is staggered
somehow.

If both frontliners(Luke, Guy or Anise) are K.O'd, have Tear cast Invoke Ground
and use Revive in it to create Angel's Breath. This is much better than having
Tear cast Resurrection twice, only to have them at 50% HP. This also helps
Natalia recuperate all damage she received while casting this. While the
incantation of Angel's Breath is going on, the player should have Tear already
casting Holy Song. The party will be fully healed, with Revive on them and have
the effects of Holy Song applied.

It is important to avoid overlapping Healing artes on the same character and
making the most of each cast, sometimes when one ally is at red HP, Tear will
begin casting Revitalize, but it'll obviously be too long and he'll be dead by
then. In situations such as this, it'll be best to begin casting Heal on him as
Natalia, and commanding Tear to cast First Aid on the same target as well. What
this does is having First Aid to buy some time before Heal is applied after.

The player should make sure to keep Tear at a healthy level of HP or if she
drops too low, she'll start casting Revitalize just for herself. When such an
occasion ever occurs no matter the reason, just access Tear's artes menu and
have her cast a spell you want her to, she'll drop her current action to do it.

Note that this strategy only really applies to hectic boss battles, usually the
ones that involve multiple bosses in a single battle or if players are having
trouble dealing with bosses that're too strong for them, like Nebilim and maybe
even Fyr Bronc or Van. Tear should be allowed all of her artes but the four
elemental invokes, Charge and Force Field in regular battles. This is entirely
up to the player's style of playing or party composition.

--------------------------------------
= Battle Strategies: Regular Battles =
--------------------------------------
There isn't much difference with using Natalia in this scenario, since regular
enemies don't require much of a strategy, you're free to go on the offensive
and heal when needed, and perhaps using Scare Bane now and then on enemies with
high P. DEF and/or HP.

------------------------------------
= Battle Strategies: Boss Battles =
------------------------------------
Once the battle begins, the player should quickly help with staggering the
enemy and then proceed to cast the required Support artes(usually Scare Bane
first) while allies pour on the offense, and then if it is still continuing
after she is finished casting, help maintain the combo until allies start
attacking again. At one point the boss will eventually stop from being
staggered or go into Overlimit, or get knocked down. During this, the player
should quickly heal if needed or cast support buffs such as Barrier. If FOFs
corresponding to them are available, don't be afraid to rush into the fray to
get them since Natalia has very high P. DEF and F. DEF. It is crucial to get
Revive on the frontlines after a minute of battle since by then, it's most
likely when the Mystic Artes of the boss start coming out. Also
Resist/Anti-Magic and Revive is good on the supporting casters since some
bosses are programmed to target them with Fonic Artes(Van, Sync).

* There are certain bosses or stages of a boss(Van) where they will begin the
fight with an Overlimit, Mystic Arte(Nebilim on Unknown) or Divine Skill(Reid
Hershel), or a debilitating move(Mint Adnade). Simply cancel their action with
an Overlimit of your own and they will not do it again unless it is triggered
by losing a certain percentage of HP or reaching a certain threshold of HP. To
cancel Mint's Acid Rain, just begin the battle with a quick Mystic Arte. Noble
Roar is a great choice since it has no maximum range meaning you can cast it
from whatever position Natalia starts in. Mint will never use Acid Rain again
after her first attempt.

           -------------------====-------------------
                 List of Strike and Fonic Artes
           -------------------====-------------------
Below is a list of all her Strike and Fonic Artes, they will include an
in-depth analyses of each arte and their individual properties.

Base Artes/���Z
Name - TP Cost - # of Hits - Damage (%) - Prerequisite - FOF Change

Piercing Line/�s�A�V�X���C�� - 5 - 1 - 170 - Default - Voltaic Line
Fires an arrow that, unlike her regular shots, travels across the battlefield
in a perfect line; able to pierce through multiple targets. This does not
knockdown the target. Players should use this as their main DPS when it comes
to Base Artes. Unless looking to stagger targets, they should stick with
Piercing Line especially if multiple enemies are between the aim of the main
target. This arte has difficulty hitting short targets on the ground.

Voltaic Line/���H���e�b�N���C�� - 5 - 11 - 70/7 + 240/4 - Use Piercing Line in
a Wind/Light FOF
Takes 2 seconds to charge up a bolt which is then fired similarly to Piercing
Line. Travels across the battlefield and pierces through all enemies in its
wake. During the charge up, it does 7 hits using 10% of Natalia's P. ATK each
to whoever is in front of Natalia in melee range. Its damage might be low, but
the use of it is to hold the target in place since this arte has a slow start
up or to be used for guard breaking or staggering the enemy. Does not knockdown
the enemy. Wind elemental damage.

Storm Edge/�V���g�����G�b�W - 9 - 3 - 150/3 - Acquired at level 11 - Blast Edge
Simultaneously fires three arrows at her target; they disappear once they hit
an enemy even if they are not the target. Useful in staggering the enemy or
breaking their guard. This does not knock the enemy down. Carmine Chambers are
recommended for this arte. Players should look toward this arte when trying to
stagger or guard break quickly.

Blast Edge/�u���X�g�G�b�W - 9 - 5 - 300/5 - Use Storm Edge in a Fire/Light FOF
Charges up her bow for 2 seconds and then releases five arrows in a fan which
travels for a short distance before they disappear. The charge up deals no
damage and requires Natalia to be in melee range in order to hit all five
shots. Does not break guard or stagger enemies as well as expected. Neither
does it knock the enemy down. Fire elemental damage. Requires back up support
or Natalia having the aggro of the enemy to ensure the full damage to be dealt.

Aerial Laser/�G���A�����C�U�[ - 7 - 4 - 90/3 + 110 - Acquired at level 23 -
Astral Laser
Creates a vortex around Natalia using her bow dealing three hits and propelling
targets away, and then fires an arrow upward in the direction she is facing.
Useful when surrounded but utility is limited. This has no knockdown
properties. Deals three hits which do 30% of her P. ATK each, followed by
another which deals 110% of her P. ATK. A Cobalt chamber should be equipped to
this arte.

Astral Laser/�A�X�g�������C�U�[  - 7 - 5 - 150/3 + 100 + 140 - Use Aerial Laser
in a Wind/Light FOF
Creates a powerful vortex which sweeps all enemies around Natalia into the air
and then follows up with a powerful shot upward in the direction she is facing.
Unlike Aerial Laser, this does not propel enemies away. Initial vortex consists
of three hits which deal 50% of her P. ATK, then 100% from the follow up, and
finally 140% damage when it explodes. This does not knockdown the enemy nor
does it deal Wind/Light elemental damage. This is her most powerful arte in
terms of offense but needs Natalia to be in melee range.

* Note that both Aerial and Astral Laser needs the target to be staggered or
near to deal the full damage since it lifts the target. Using them without
meeting this condition will result in some hits being omitted. Mostly applies
to enemies that require more effort to stagger such as bosses.

Cavalry/�L���o�����B - 14 - N/A - N/A - Acquired at level 50 - Phalanx
Essentially an active version of the AD Skill Glory which lasts for 10 seconds.
Should a Grass Chamber be equipped to it, it gains a healing property which
recovers 8% of Natalia's max HP each time this is used. This does not improve
her P. DEF or F. DEF in any way. The duration of this arte is enough for
Natalia to finish casting any spell of hers.

Phalanx/�t�@�����N�X - 14 - N/A - N/A - Use Cavalry in a Fire/Light FOF
A 30 second variation of Cavalry. This does not heal Natalia even if a Grass
Chamber was equipped to Cavalry, neither does this improve her P. DEF or F. DEF.

            -------------------====-------------------

Arcane Artes/���`
Name - TP Cost - # of Hits - Damage (%) - Prerequisite - FOF Change

Star Stroke/�X�^�[�X�g���[�N  - 14 - 3 - 255/3 - Acquired at level 35 - Quake
Stroke
Natalia does a single jump and fires three arrows downwards at a set distance.
This does not break guard as well as Storm Edge despite consisting of three
hits as well, though this is especially useful at dealing damage while evading
melee onslaught. Its ability at staggering still stands firm. Arrows from Star
Stroke pierces targets which means it has potential for a small area of effect
and does not knockdown the enemy. Useful when many enemies are in the way of
the target enemy as well since Natalia attacks from an elevated angle. Star
Stroke is also the fastest and strongest Arcane arte Natalia has, unless
Gallant Barrage is used in melee range, but will result in awkward pauses
before the next Base arte should the player decide to link one after with AD
Skill Ability Plus. This can be curbed with higher AGL.

Quake Stroke/�X�g���[�N�N�G�C�J - 14 - 7 - 100 + 270/6 - Use Star Stroke in an
Earth/Darkness FOF
Natalia jumps and charges up her bow for a short moment to release an arrow
into the ground at a set distance, inducing a tremor in a small area of effect.
This arte has a slow start up and long intervals between each hit, however is
one of Natalia's only way to deal consistent damage in an area. The first shot
to trigger the tremor deals 100% of Natalia's P. ATK and then the subsequent
hits deal 45% each. Charging the shot takes about a second, which means Natalia
will hang in the air and be safe from ground attacks for the duration, however
this can easily miss the enemy if there is no one staggering them or if Natalia
is too close to the target. This does not knock the enemy down, deals Earth
elemental damage. Quake Stroke has trouble hitting enemies too close to
Natalia, meaning enemies usually need to be away from the FOF, but FOFs are
usually under the enemy from an ally's spell. To overcome this problem, Aerial
Laser can be employed to throw enemies away to chain into Quake Stroke.

Star Embrace/�G���u���X�X�^�[ - 18 - 5 - 225/5 - Acquired at level 42 - Blue
Embrace
Releases five arrows into the air which lands in front of Natalia at a set
distance, the way the shots land is random each time. This arte has a high
potential to miss the enemy most of the time, especially if they are small
targets and this occurs even more if the player is not controlling Natalia
through Manual. Extremely fast start up, but the shower of arrows take some
time to reach the target location. And due to its nature, guard breaking,
staggering and making combos with this arte is not as potent as it should be.

Blue Embrace/�G���u���X�u���[ - 18 - 17 - 1030/17 - Use Star Embrace in a
Water/Darkness FOF
Natalia fires an arrow into the heavens which calls down a barrage of icicles
in an area around her after 2 seconds. Do not be fooled by the damage done by
this arte since it requires all 17 hits to connect in order to do that damage,
and this arte has trouble hitting even once most of the time. Much like Star
Embrace, the way the icicles land are extremely random and the size of the
enemy has a large influence on the effectivity, and each hit only deals a
measly 60% of her P.ATK. Though should all 17 hits connect, one can expect
damage amounting to a Mystic Arte. No knockdown capabilities and deals Water
elemental damage.

Gallant Barrage/�u���C�u�t�B�[�h - 20 - 8 - 200/5 + 90/3 - Event - N/A
Fires a set of five arrows in a fan and then a concentrated shot of three
arrows forward, this Strike Arte is one of Natalia's most versatile artes as it
possesses two different patterns of shooting in one. Using it at a far distance
will ensure it covers a wide area through the spread shot, staggering enemies
surrounding her melee allies, while focusing the main enemy with the
concentrated barrage. Using it at close range will deal a total of 8 hits which
staggers or breaks guard very easily, and also deals a good amount of damage.
This arte has no FOF change, and does not have knockdown properties. Pairing
this with a Carmine Chamber is recommended. The player should be careful when
using this arte, since it is acquired at a fairly early stage of the game, 20
TP is a lot on her small TP capacity. Overusage of this arte can result in lack
of TP to cast Healing and Support artes. Even so, Grass Chambers are not
recommended.

           -------------------====-------------------

Fonic Artes/�������p
Name - TP Cost - Cast Time (s) - Prerequisite - FOF Change

Heal/�q�[�� - 20 - 6 - Default - Healing Wind
Recovers 50% of an ally's max HP instantly. Equipping a Carmine chamber
improves this by 10%(60%). This is Natalia's most frequently used Healing arte,
it is TP intensive and will prove to be a problem early on(unless you're on
your second or more playthrough and have learned AD Skill Mind Up) so equipping
a Grass Chamber is recommended until her TP pool is decently large. It takes a
while to cast, but once Natalia learns the AD skills that speed up
incantations, it is only slightly longer than First Aid.

Healing Wind/�q�[���E�B���h - 20 - 6 - Default - Use Heal in a Wind/Light FOF
Recovers 50% of an ally's max HP in a small area of effect, this heals 5 times
for 10% each over a duration of 3 seconds. This is recommended only when
allies' HP are above 60% as it can miss or not heal fully should allies run out
of its area of effect, and also because it takes a short time to heal the full
50%. However, do note that this is Natalia's most effective and efficient way
of healing multiple targets.

Barrier/�o���A�[ - 16 - 6 - Acquired at level 16 - Aqua Protection
Temporarily increases an ally's P. DEF by 10% for 60 seconds, this stacks with
a Carmine Chamber, boosting an ally's P. DEF by 20%. A Cobalt Chamber increases
the duration by 25 seconds. This is very useful when your party is trying to
level up at difficult areas(like the area near Keterburg when you first arrive)
and bosses, not so much in short battles though, as expected. Leveling a
Carmine Chamber and a Sunlight Chamber on this arte is recommended, Carmine for
regular fights/bosses and Sunlight for certain bosses.

Aqua Protection/�A�N�A�v���e�N�V���� - 16 - 6 - Use Barrier in a Water/Darkness
FOF
Creates a shield of vapor that consistently repairs itself around the target,
this increases their P. DEF by 20% for the entire span of the battle unless
they are K.O'd. This is basically Barrier with a Carmine Chamber, and a Cobalt
Chamber on steroids. Though its effect is limited against enemies who possess
Mystic Artes on Very Hard and above difficulty, it is best used in long fights
against bosses who have consistent attack patterns with no Mystic Artes since
they do over 9999 damage most of the time should someone take the full brunt of
it.

Recover/���J�o�[ - 10 - 5 - Acquired at level 19 - Purify
Heals both Physical and Magical status ailments of an ally, gains a healing
property when equipped with a Grass Chamber, healing 8% of max HP as the
ailment is removed. Though 8% may seem like it mayn't matter, it is good enough
to offset the two ticks of damage accumulated through poison. And if it wasn't
enough, well, why didn't you cure it faster?

Purify/���L���y���[�g - 10 - 5 - Use Recover in a Wind/Light FOF
Heals both Physical and Magical status ailments in an area of effect. This is
probably the least used FOF in Natalia's arsenal as even battles plagued with
status ailments only require a few casts of Recover. And FOFs are difficult to
wait for when life depends on cleansing the ailments.

Sharpness/�V���[�v�l�X  - 20 - 5 - Acquired at level 28 - Blaze Emitter
Temporarily increases the P. ATK of an ally by 10% for 60 seconds. When paired
with a Carmine Chamber, it increases P. ATK by 20%, a Cobalt Chamber will
improve its duration by 25 seconds. Using this in situations where the enemies
are in large quantities is more efficient, since there is another Support Arte
which is better for increasing damage output on single targets. Naturally, a
combination of both will yield the best results. Similar to Barrier, mastering
this arte in a Carmine and Sunlight department will be very useful.
Prioritizing allies who are in Overlimit or the nearest to will be most
effective since they might use a Mystic Arte if their Arcane arte hits, this
applies to Blaze Emitter as well.

Blaze Emitter/�u���C�Y�G�~�b�^�[  - 20 - 5 - Use Sharpness in a Fire/Light FOF
Embeds an undying flame into the weapon of an ally, permanently increasing
their P. ATK by 20% for the rest of the battle until they are knocked out.
Essentially Sharpness with a Carmine Chamber equipped. This FOF change is
rarely used on multiple allies in normal battles since the DPS(damage per
second) would be so high the battle is already ended, thus is better suited for
boss battles that takes a long time to finish.

Resist/���W�X�g  - 18 - N/A - 5.5 - Acquired at level 30 - Anti-Magic
Temporarily raises the F. DEF of an ally by 10% for 60 seconds. Equipping a
Carmine Chamber on Resist will increase it's effect by 10% which increases the
total F. DEF of an ally by 20%. Cobalt Chambers will increase the duration by
25 seconds. Not many enemies have Fonic Artes but a few and bosses, therefore
this Support Arte doesn't come into play often. Though when it's actually used,
it will prove extremely useful when your characters stay alive with a bit of HP
from that Fonic Arte which would've otherwise killed them. Using this with a
Sunlight Chamber is most recommended since it's rarely used in regular battles.

Anti-Magic/�A���`�}�W�b�N  - 18 - 5.5 - Use Resist in an Earth/Darkness FOF
Fortifies the F. DEF of an ally by surrounding them in a neutralizing crystal,
which increases their F. DEF by 20% for the remainder of the battle. This is
basically Resist with a Carmine Chamber that lasts forever, if you've mastered
Resist with a Sunlight Chamber, you will be seeing this often in boss
battles(though you'll only use it four times). It is very helpful on allies
with poor F. DEF and even more so on allies who already possess high F. DEF,
such as Natalia herself.

Scare Bane/�X�P�A�x�C�� - 18 - 6 - Acquired at level 33 - Calamitous Bane
Temporarily reduces the P. DEF of an enemy by 10% for a duration of 60 seconds.
A Carmine Chamber will increase the potency of this arte further by another
10%, a Cobalt Chamber will increase the duration by 25 seconds. This arte
should be commonly used on targets that take more than the casting time would
take to kill it, only then will it be worth it to use this arte on them.
Especially useful when used in conjunction with AD skill Power Charge,
Sharpness/Blaze Emitter, then a Mystic Arte. A Carmine Chamber or a Sunlight
Chamber should be applied to this Support Arte, preferably the first since the
FOF change can never reach 20% reduction in P. DEF. Players should cast this
whenever they can in boss battles once they feel the effect has worn off, best
used when the enemy is in Overlimit since they can't be staggered.

Calamitous Bane/�J���~�e�B�x�C�� - 18 - 6 - Use Scare Bane in a Water/Darkness
FOF
Drains the vitality of enemies in an area of effect by reducing their P. ATK
and P. DEF by 10%, this is the only arte in the game that reduces the P. ATK of
an enemy, essentially making it a pseudo-barrier on all your allies and the
effects can be observed easily when used with Barrier. Stacks with Scare Bane.

High Fonic Artes/�㋉���p
Name - TP Cost - Cast Time (s) - Prerequisite - FOF Change

Cure/�L���A - 48 - 7.5 - Acquired at level 46 - Restore
Heals 75% of an ally's max HP instantly. A Carmine Chamber will raise the
effects of this arte by 10%, healing a total of 85% of an ally's max HP. Cure
will usually heal a target to their max HP as long as they're above the reds.
Even at the level you get this arte, 48 TP a cast is still a lot and the
whopping 7.5 second cast time can prove to be fatal. Early on, a Grass Chamber
is definitely a must if Natalia is to be the main healer of the party and a
Carmine Chamber can be used instead at later stages of the game when TP doesn't
prove to be a hindrance.

Restore/���X�g�A - 48 - 7.5 - Use Cure in an Earth/Darkness FOF
Completely replenishes the hit points of an ally and also removes all status
ailments they have. This Fonic Arte is the strongest single target Healing arte
there is, the only thing that hinders its function is the long cast time, which
even with AD skills that shorten it can still be long, and that it doesn't
resurrect the target since Cure already heals 75% HP. Therefore making this
quite a redundant arte since there're very few occasions when an ally is in
need of a full heal and status clearance at the same time. Though at later
stages of the game when the max HP is at 9999, this can be useful as allies
will be able to tank a little longer for the arte to be finished casting.
Certainly has it uses, but a Sunlight Chamber for Cure just to get this arte is
not recommended.

Revive/�����@�C�u - 64 - 10 - Acquired at level 54 - Angel's Breath
Places a positive status effect on an ally which heals them for 25% of their
max HP when they're knocked out(this means they didn't die at all), and then
creates a Light FOF when the animation is finished below the target at where
they are currently. This arte is the only way Natalia can produce a FOF, and
her only way to "resurrect". Although you should have already noticed the 10
second cast time, even with AD skills it'll be around 5�`7 seconds, and not to
mention the animation has to end before the status effect is applied, which
means another 2�`3 seconds. When used as an off-healer, this will be the only
Healing arte Natalia needs to help Tear with healing since they'll never die
with Revive constantly used on them whenever they are removed while Tear heals.
Definitely, definitely, definitely equip a Sunlight chamber on this Healing
arte. Note that should a character die during a Mystic Arte, Revive will
activate and they will not die from it. After a character is revived, they have
a short moment of invincibility.

Angel's Breath/�G���W�F���u���X - 64 - 10 - Use Revive in an Earth/Darkness FOF
Possibly the most broken Healing arte in the game, Angel's Breath resurrects
fallen allies in an area of effect to their maximum HP while placing the effect
of Revive on them, this also fully restores allies that're alive and heals
their status ailments in its area of effect. And due to its animation, Natalia
can even afford to lose her life in order to cast this as long as one member of
the party stays alive(usually the Fonic arte user at the back), and easily turn
the tides of the battle with two lives on multiple allies. And the TP cost
doesn't even change. When using this to resurrect someone, move the 'Target'
cursor to them and then move a little with the right Analog stick to select
where the area of effect will be at, if you do not move to select an area, it
will cast on Natalia since the target is considered to be dead.

Healing Force/�q�[�����O�t�H�[�X  - 36 - 8 - Event
An odd Healing arte that has never surfaced in the Tales of series before,
Natalia gains this arte through her special arte event as the final arte, and
at the time she gets this, Healing Force seems to just lack something to hold a
slot in her move list. Though this does have its usefulness since it's never
bad to have regeneration, the only problem is having to cast it. If it hits at
least three members of the party, then it would've been worth it, but if didn't
then it was a complete waste of time as you could've prevented damage being
done through staggering an enemy or doing an actual heal. Situations where this
comes useful is when allies regenerate through attacks from bosses such as
their Arcane Artes, Mystic Artes or even regular attacks. I've seen this heal a
small 300 HP to save lives on multiple occasions but still, casting this never
really seem to be worth it to me. Works best when used in conjunction with
Barrier and Calamitous Bane, though casting all of it would take over a minute.
Equip a Carmine or Cobalt chamber to this, it really doesn't make much of a
difference until AD skill Stat Boost is learned.

* This is a very potent arte when used while Tear is in the battle as the
primary healer, this allows Natalia to provide assistance in healing without
having to sacrifice time to cast an arte.

             -------------------====-------------------

Mystic Artes/�鉜�`
Name - TP Cost - # of Hits - Damage (%) - Prerequisite

Astral Rain/�A�X�g�����E���C��  - None - 14 - 50 + 600/12 + 300 - AD Skills:
Special & Overlimit

In order to activate Astral Rain, Natalia must be in Overlimit mode and hold
onto the 'Attack' button after using an Arcane Arte or FOF change. Note that
the final hit of each do NOT have to connect to activate her Mystic Arte. She
can simply use Star Stroke on the ground, or Star Embrace and activate Astral
Rain before the arrows even land. Astral Rain never misses and should the
target die before the rain is summoned, Natalia will change to a new target.
Astral Rain also has the capability of hitting multiple enemies in an area of
effect. The area of effect is the glyph below the primary target, so for
players on their second playthrough or further, they should discern between
which is better, an Astral Rain on multiple enemies or Noble Roar on a single
target.

* Only the first individual hit of Astral Rain is Fire elemental. This makes
absolutely no difference to the damage even if the target is weak to it.

Noble Roar/�m�[�u���E���A�[ - 100 - 18 - 400/8 + 1200/8 + 200 + 600 - AD Skill:
Overlimit, Piercing Line used over 150 times. Elven Bow must be equipped.
Second playthrough and onwards.

Natalia's second Mystic Arte, Noble Roar, is activated by using Piercing Line
while in Overlimit mode when she has the 'Elven Bow' equipped. Noble Roar has
incredibly high accuracy, though if the target is knocked out of the
trajectory, a few hits of Noble Roar will miss, particularly the piercing shot
and the initial fonstone barrage. Contrary to popular belief, this can be used
multiple times in a battle and has no insane condition to activate. However,
you DO have to be on your second playthrough and onwards to use this. Note that
Piercing Line has to be used over 150 times and 100 TP is needed in order to
use this. Using this in the same fashion as when using Piercing Line to hit
multiple targets would be a smart thing to do, and although the piercing shot
only seems to reach the target, it actually travels beyond and hits all in the
line behind the target. This Mystic Arte, like most of Natalia's Strike Artes
suffer from the same fate where it can miss small or short monsters like
Chirpees.

Both of Natalia's Mystic Artes have knockdown properties, and are the only two
artes she has that possess such properties. One thing to note about her Mystic
Artes is that they hardly ever miss, even if the first hit of Astral Rain
misses, the follow up will still hit even if the animation does not show so.
Same goes for Noble Roar, however, in this case, majority of the hits will miss.

           -------------------====-------------------

--------------------
= Learning Corner =
--------------------
Small Explanation on Fonic Artes and Fon Slot Chambers (FSC)
This applies to all Fonic Artes of each party member, not just Natalia. Carmine
Chambers increase 10% of the effectiveness of the arte is it equipped to. This
means what it does, so for example, Enhance Cast would reduce casting time by
another 10% for a total of 30% when equipped with a Carmine Chamber. Grass
Chambers reduce TP cost by 25% and Cobalt Chambers produce a similar effect to
AD skill Magic End, where recovery time after casting is close to none or
enlengthens the duration of a Support Arte's effect. Sunlight Chambers are the
same as of Strike Artes. These do NOT apply to FOF changes, a Carmine Chamber
will not increase Aqua Protection's 20% P. DEF boost to 30%.

Small Explanation on maximizing area of effects.
Also, the AOE(area of effect) can be targeted by moving the right Analog stick,
and as a healer, especially Tear, this is extremely important to master. For
Healing Wind, Angel's Breath, Healing Force, Healing Circle or Fairy Circle, it
is best to center the AOE in front of where the enemy target is, where your
allies will go to to attack them, this way you can make sure it heals the
allies you want it to. Though this is completely situational and the player has
to be able to perceive where is best to place the AOE at that point of time.

--------------
= Equipment =
--------------
This part will mostly talk about the accessories which are useful for Natalia.
However, there will be a short portion talking about certain weapons she can
have.

For her weapons, I particularly like two of them a lot. They are the Ether
Slash and Full Metal Fang(made at Din's Shop or the blacksmith at Sheridan),
they both add P. DEF when equipped, 30 and 50 respectively. She is the only
person in the game which has weapons that add P. DEF, and the amount it gives
isn't low either, equivalent to wearing another piece of armor/accessory. On
lower difficulties, you can even have Ether Slash equipped until the end of the
game or until you get Full Metal Fang, which has 600 P. ATK, her best weapon
only has 720 P. ATK, the Celestial Star from winning the Advanced Singles
coliseum match. However, on Unknown or Very Hard, doing that will be very
difficult. I had Elven Bow equipped ever since Mt. Roneal's God General
Showdown(though I equipped it to use Noble Roar only, if not I had Killer Bow
equipped) until the end of the game, and that still did very low damage to
Nebilim on Unknown mode.

Nevertheless, should the player ever have problems dealing damage with Natalia,
she has a few hidden weapons stashed away that can only be accessed when you've
unlocked Mieu Fire 2 and/or Mieu Wing. They can be gotten at times when weapons
only give 300�`400 P. ATK, when they provide over 500 P. ATK at that time. The
Merciless Bow at Shurrey Hill and Cator's Bow at Theor Forest. And if the
player is having trouble dealing damage when you first get Natalia at the Oasis
on an Unknown playthrough, you can visit Search Point 6 and collect Scorpion
Stingers to make a Killer Bow. It gives 500 P. ATK which is almost triple the
amount her regular Bow or Steel Bow would give. Also, at Daath before the
second visit to Mt. Zaleho you can purchase the Clay Arrow over at the weapon
shop. I'm not sure if this is available during your first playthrough but I
only noticed this on my third playthrough with the mentality that Daath doesn't
upgrade weapons much.

As for the accessories to equip on Natalia, I had her using the Cape family
accessories. Cape, to Leather Cape, Elven Cape, then the progessive elemental
capes: Flare Cape, Aqua Cape, Wind Cape and Earth Cape. Elven Capes resist
Fire, Water and Wind elements and raise AGL slightly, so it is one of the
better accessories out there for all characters until later on in the game.
Earth Capes can be bought at the end of the game before entering Eldrant at
Chesedonia from the merchant that likes to rub his jar and is the strongest
cape available providing 45 P. DEF and 20 F. DEF while resisting Earth. Flare
Capes are also very useful in the cameo battle since Phillia enjoys using Flare
Tornado and Eruption as her main offensive spells. This applies for all
characters as well for Flare Capes.

In battles such as with the Replicantis or God General battles, Mystic Symbols
are best to use and if they aren't available, expect to have to use Angel's
Breath quite often. Spirit Symbol can also be very useful in battles where
she's dedicated to healing but deaths are not imminent. If you prefer using
Natalia as a Strike Arte user with Tear as the primary healer, you can even
give her the Boots family accessory, Persian Boots being the best, granting 300
AGL. This helps her chain her Strike Artes better and provide decent P. DEF.

Towards the end of the game, if the player isn't afraid of trouble, they can
create an Effecti Ring at Din's Shop. What it does is that it reduces incoming
damage by 15%. It is the best Defensive Ring type accessory and can only be
made at Din's Shop. There is a guide on GameFAQs as well with detailed
explanations on using Din's Shop so go check it out if you're interested. With
high P. DEF and F. DEF, the Effecti Ring is very strong on Natalia.

There are circumstances where switching in a Rebirth Doll is very useful. There
are many times while I was in the middle of casting Angel's Breath and was
about to die as the last member of the party standing. I just switched in a
Rebirth Doll and let it work its magic.

---------------------------------
= Capacity Cores and AD Skills =
---------------------------------
On my first playthrough, the Capacity Cores (C.C) I assigned to her was her
default C.C, Scild. Then I gave her Scild Forte once we reached Yulia City,
then Balla Forte. Although none of Natalia's Fonic Artes damages the enemies
directly, she still needs a decent amount of F. ATK. This isn't absolutely
necessary but will help a lot to facilitate healing alone. Balla Forte, Nocer
Maggiore(gotten from Din's Shop), Nocercido can be used to get there. They also
provide a substantial amount of points into F. DEF and everything else. You
should work towards getting her P. DEF and F. DEF high while getting any points
in AGL and ENH whenever possible.

In a Normal or Hard playthrough, there is no urgent need to boost her P. ATK
abnormally high. The weapons she equip is more than sufficient to deal decent
damage on the bosses. Scild Maggiore is one of the better C.C for Natalia and
is gotten rather early in the game, it gives 3 P. DEF, 1 F. DEF and 1 AGL,
although you should avoid giving her this for too long as it creates an
imbalanced P. DEF and F. DEF. Once you've gotten the important AD Skills from
the AGL and ENH departments, you should work on her P. ATK while maintaining P.
DEF and F. DEF boosts. Lebhaft is a very good C.C once you acquire it from the
Isle of Feres. If at any time her F. DEF is too low, Marcato or Lunatito is
excellent at making up that difference, and the latter also adds a lot to other
stats but is gotten very late in the game.

For playthroughs on Very Hard or Unknown, she will need P. ATK in order to deal
decent damage. At the time she joins the party, you'll find she deals 1 damage
to even the weakest enemies in the Abandoned Factory.  She didn't start doing
more than 10 damage until she was in the level 20 range with Tutti on the whole
time, and her weapon upgrades in the beginning is one of the lowest among the
characters. I also had to level up for quite a bit up to level 35-ish to have a
fair fight with the God Generals in the Zao Ruins using only Natalia as a
healer.

Due to the C.C I assigned to her, she will always most likely be the first
character to get Angel's Tear, Rebirth, Auto Aid, Resilience, Magic End and
Glory, which in all fairness is more important for her than Tear since she is
always in the front. I suggest learning most of her AD Skills in the first
playthrough, and then maximizing her stats in the most optimal way without fear
of missing AD Skills for players intending to do a second playthrough. AD
Skills and C.C can be purchased to be inherited onto the next playthrough in
the GRADE shop.

On Unknown, I had Tutti on her for a long time, in fact, I had it on her
throughout the entire playthrough and she still did low damage to Nebilim so if
you're planning to play on Unknown, you should be adept at switching Tutti
between each member. If I couldn't have Tutti on her, I always had Grandioz to
compensate. She was always my third priority in getting the better C.C since
Anise has naturally high P. ATK and dolls to boost her attack power, Jade and
Tear rarely attacking physically. If Luke and Guy had Tutti and Grandioz, I
would have Lebhaft equipped on Natalia, which is also the default C.C I have
her on whenever she doesn't have Tutti or Grandioz on.

The important stats for Natalia (First playthrough, this is for players who are
planning to play this game once)
P. ATK ����������
P. DEF ����������
F. ATK ����������
F. DEF ����������
AGL    ����������
ENH    ����������

The important stats for Natalia (On second playthrough, for players planning to
take on Very Hard or Unknown)
P. ATK ����������
P. DEF ����������
F. ATK ����������
F. DEF ����������
AGL    ����������
ENH    ����������

The crucial AD Skills Natalia need in order to fulfill her role.

Mind Up/�����^���A�b�v - ENH 60
Natalia is possibly the most TP intensive character among the six members since
she has to cast spells often, and despite small costs on each Support Arte,
they have to be used multiple times in a battle. Her Arcane Artes also cost a
lot of TP compared to the other Strike Artes of other characters.

Magic End/�X�y���G���h - F. ATK 20 + AGL 30
Having no recovery time after casting a spell allows her to save a lot of time
when casting Support Artes like Barrier and Sharpness. Imagine having to wait
for it to end after each time you cast Sharpness on someone, the total time
taken to cast the next three would've resulted in the first instance of
Sharpness ending.

Rhythm/���Y��  - F. ATK 20 + F. DEF 20 + AGL 20
Rhythm isn't necessarily required but it's good to have, it no matter what, as
long as you push the X button over and over during the incantation, it will
reduce the time taken to cast by at least a second or two and when it comes to
Healing Artes, they matter.

Speed Cast/�X�s�[�h�X�y�� - F. ATK 60
This one should be self-explanatory. A faster cast is always better, more time
to cast other artes or help attack.

Resilience/�O���C�X - P. DEF 60 + F. DEF 60 + AGL 40
Since she already has Cavalry, she doesn't really need Resilience but it's nice
to have nonetheless, having to cast Cavalry each time can result in the FOF
disappearing or lives lost, and sometimes she can be disturbed while doing
Cavalry's animation. Not to mention Cavalry also takes quite a bit of TP to
cast for something that has to be used often.

* On Unknown Mode
EXP Plus/�d�w�o�v���X - ENH 90
To deal at least decent damage to the Liger Queen, Arietta and Kaiser Dist R,
at least level 20 is required and by the time you reach the Abandoned Factory
where Natalia joins the party, the party is likely to be in the level 30 range
whereas Natalia will only be level 10. Also, because she joins at that level,
those 10 levels would have been levels without attack boosts from her C.C since
Scild gives P. DEF and F. DEF. EXP Plus is very useful in catching up with the
other party members, Anise and Natalia will be the ones using this often since
they joined the party late, and will have occasions where they are not in the
party for bosses. The player should switch this off on overleveled characters,
and have it on for characters rarely used as well to close the gap between
levels.

AD Skills that help facilitate the use of Natalia, but are not mandatory.

Rebound/���J�o���[�A�^�b�N - P. ATK 20 + AGL 20
When knocked back by Overlimit or any attack, Tear and Natalia are the only two
who really need AD skill Rebound, or rather, can use it effectively by
attacking while recovering from the fall. Other melee characters are unable to
do so since they would be out of range by then. Basically it allows Natalia to
resume the attack.

* Players should be able to judge when it is better to fall to the ground or to
recover from the fall. This is with regards to AD Skill Recovery. Sometimes
falling is better since players can manipulate the invincibility frame while
the character gets up from the ground, allowing them to survive an otherwise
lethal attack. This is also very useful when AD Skill Blood Spirit is acquired
where sometimes simply falling is better.

Jump Combo/�n�C�R���{ - P. ATK 30 + AGL 30
Most of the time I like to jump and attack as Natalia because sometimes enemies
are in the way of her aim so jumping allows her to hit certain enemies, jump
attacks also do a little more damage than a regular attack, but without AD
skill Jump Combo, she's unable to continue the assault after landing resulting
in overall loss in DPS. Also, when in Semi-Auto mode, this allows the player to
attack from wherever she lands in cases where the usual Semi-Auto AI would move
her forward to get in range.

Aerial Jump/�G���A���W�����v - AGL 90
Allows Natalia to take a better aim and attack from extremely far without fear
her arrows will land on the ground too early. Jumping twice and then attacking
will result in her landing in her original position and this means she can
resume attacking while casting Healing or Support Artes from behind.

Long Step/�X�e�b�v�����O - P. DEF 20 + AGL 20
Maintaining distance between her enemies is important when using Natalia, so
Long Step is especially important for her. Though one can argue every character
can use this as well, it is more effective on Natalia overall.

Back Action/�o�b�N�A�N�V����  - P. ATK 25 + P. DEF 25 + AGL 10
Players should be able to see why this is useful, because unlike other
characters, Natalia's attacks can reach far and therefore she can resume
attacking from her position after a backstep, so this AD Skill is very useful
in her case, and unlike Tear she need not worry about being out of range.

Counter/�J�E���^�[ - P. ATK 30 + P. DEF 30
C. Combo/�J�E���^�[�R���{ - P. ATK 40 + P. DEF 40 + AGL 20
Natalia uses guard and Critical Guard a lot, so Counter and C. Combo can be
very useful in immediate retaliation, since her attacking animation has a short
start up where she winds her bow, it's better to just guard through the attack
and retaliate afterwards.

Reducer/���_�N�V���� - F. ATK 30 + F. DEF 30
While not being necessary, it's always a good thing to have. Helps save TP per
cast which results in an overall increase in effective TP capacity.

TP Recovery/�s�o���J�o�[ - ENH 80
Basically grants an allowance for her to use her TP in each battle, at 999 TP,
characters heal 114 with the two AD skills that heal TP after a battle. This
means each battle, Natalia can afford to use about 150�`200 TP without worrying
about the next battle.

Ability Plus/�L�����Z���[ - P. ATK 80 + AGL 80
This should be simple to understand, allowing two chains of Base Artes results
in more hits, allowing her to break guard or help stagger much easier. Storm
Edge into Gallant Barrage into Storm Edge results in 9 hits quickly and with
decent AGL, she can chain them easily without awkward interruptions between, or
two Piercing Lines with any Arcane Arte between can raise DPS a lot.

Super Chain/�^�[�����X - P. ATK 60 + AGL 60
Sometimes Natalia needs to use certain artes immediately but it conflicts with
the players mind since we always want to do a maximum combo, so this allows
Natalia to use the Arcane Arte first, then resume a normal Base Arte combo. For
example, if enemies are about to hit the frontline attackers, a Gallant Barrage
is needed to stagger multiple of them, so there's no fear of losing an
opportunity to combo in doing so.

--------------------------
= A Challenge of My Own =
--------------------------
To make things more fun and challenging for myself, I had Auto Aid, Rebirth,
Angel's Tear, Resurrect, Step Away, Dash Guard, Rear Guard 2, Neutralizer,
Nullify, Endure, Immunity, Resist, Void Attack, Life Healer, TP Recovery and
Glory turned off for each character.

I gave Natalia Auto Aid, Rebirth, Angel's Tear, Resurrect, Rear Guard 2,
Neutralizer and Nullify, Endure, Immunity, Resist and Void Attack. Tear
Rebirth, Resurrect, Neutralizer, Nullify, Immunity and Resist.

Guy Dash Guard, Step Away, Flash, Void Magic, Void Attack and both Neutralizer
and Nullify. Luke had Rear Guard 2, Neutralizer, Nullify, Void Attack, Endure
and Life Healer. Anise had the same but not Life Healer or Landing.

Jade had Nullify, Dash Guard, Anti-Element, Void Magic, Resist. And for my
first playthrough, I didn't have Item Thrower either on most of my characters
like Tear, Jade and Natalia(until the end where her P. ATK was higher). It was
a good thing because sometimes I wanted to give in and throw Life Bottles, but
this stopped me from doing it.

TP Recovery was given to all characters capable of using Fonic artes, and Life
Healer was given to all characters capable of using the Seventh Fonon: Luke,
Tear and Natalia. None of the characters had Glory.

For more difficulty, you can try turning off Resilience on Natalia on the
entire playthrough and use Cavalry. I had this in my mind but I felt it was
annoying to dedicate a slot in the shortcut list just for Cavalry. Maybe
someday I'll give it a try myself.

---------------------
= Credits & Ending =
---------------------
Well, this is my first FAQ and I kind of wrote it on a whim yesterday. I didn't
spend too much time on it and wrote by what came to mind and things I've
observed while playing this game so much. Hopefully players will find this
useful when they read it. Certain things in this guide might not be accurate
and if anyone finds a mistake, please point it out to me on
[[email protected]]. I don't think I'll ever create another FAQ unless
I decide to import Tales of Vesperia, or if the patch team out there
miraculously finishes it. I hope you've learned something while reading and
will give Natalia a try in a playthrough. She definitely deserves the attention
she failed to receive from many players. Thank you for taking time to read this!

Websites used in the making this FAQ:
http://aselia.wikia.com
http://toawiki.com/

Websites authorized to host this guide:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com
www.supercheats.com

4/12/2012