Tales of Graces f: Asbel Guide Created by: MagnusBlade Version: 1.10 Copyright 2013 Nicholas Dabney ________________________________________________ [Table of Contents] -------------------- 1. Introduction ----------------------------------------------- 2. Contacting me ----------------------------------------------- 3. Version History ----------------------------------------------- 4. Additional Guide Info. (Reference Videos) ----------------------------------------------- 5. The Basis of Asbel ----------------------------------------------- 6. A/B-Artes and how to properly use them ----------------------------------------------- 7. In-depth usage of each Arte ----------------------------------------------- 8. Usefulness of Quick Draw and Iron Stance ----------------------------------------------- 9. Using Spiral Surge (Accel Mode) ----------------------------------------------- 10. Optional, yet useful Information ----------------------------------------------- 11. Legal Information ----------------------------------------------- 12. Credits ----------------------------------------------- ===================================== 1. Introduction ===================================== Hey there! This guide will explain how to use Asbel properly to those who may have problems with using him at his full potential. Of course, one could easily say "He's the main character! How is it hard to master him?!", but think about how some hero/heroines in Tales games haven't been the typical swordsman characters and require some skill to use them well. In Asbel's case, his swordsmanship's a bit tricky to work around compared to the generic style you commonly see. I will break it down step-by-step, going from how his (and every character's basically) stat paramaters work all the way down to diving into the deep and more detailed information, such as his Artes. I hope you enjoy ths guide and that someone may find it useful. So for now, sit back and read away, but no worries...this guide isn't THAT long. XD ===================================== 2. Contacting me ===================================== If you require a little more explanation on a subject this guide has not touched up on entirely, any typos I've made, questions or concerns...anything relevant to the guide, just contact me. I have two ways that you can keep in touch with me. First way is by e-mail. The address I will likely check is "Megamanwiz (at) hotmail (dot) com" . Remove the quotations and replace (at) with @ and (dot) with . and do NOT include the spaces in between the address. The second method is via my YouTube channel, which I check every single day. If for some reason I don't ever reply by e-mail, you can catch me easily with a personal message to me on there, assuming you have a YouTube account. The URL to the address is: http : // youtube . com/user/Megamanwiz . Just remove the spaces in between the url when pasting it into the address bar. ======================================= 3. Version History ======================================= 07/31/2013: 1.00 - The guide was completed and submitted to GameFAQs! 08/21/2013: 1.10 - Fixed a typo on Sparrow Seal. There is no instant path to 4 CC artesafter it's alter into Bestial Roar. Also added in additonal information on Burial Blade and added an entirely new section on Asbel's Accel Mode "Using Spiral Surge (Accel Mode)"! (Thanks, GameFAQs users!) ===================================== 4. Additional Guide Info. (Reference Videos) ===================================== In order to make some of the aspects I explain within the guide appear more clearly and vivid in your mind, I've provided videos that I've previously created that in certain points in the guide, I'll point out which video I'm referring to within the guide and sometimes, the exact time. The links are below. Quick yet obvious note: Remove the spaces in between the urls for them to work! Here's the first video, a combo movie showing a compilation of Asbel combos I've created: http : // youtu.be /JGHgBReB_MQ And here's the second, a simple battle against Veigue, a cameo boss: http : // youtu.be /_ckt3fX-O74 (Let me know if any of these links do not work ahead of time, or if I've simply pasted them into the document incorrectly, for if the links do not work at all when you take away the spaces, those are the likely causes!!) ===================================== 5. The Basis of Asbel ===================================== It is commonly known that Asbel's most damaging artes are his B-Artes (Burst Artes), mainly because they use C. Atk (Cryas Attack) and the fact that it's his highest stat by default. Magical damage in physical attacks? Enemies with low C. Def (Cryas Defense) fall like the ducks in Duck Hunt (metaphorically, of course). He also has the highest C. Atk out of the entire cast. However, his A-Artes (Assault Artes) are just as equally useful. I'll get more deeper into his artes in the next section. In the meantime here, I'll be touching up on his stats and how they benefit/affect him during battle, etc. As stated above, C. Atk by default is his best stat, followed by ACC (Accuracy). As I've noticed, Asbel can easily stagger opponents well and rack up great damage because of his high accuracy stat. As you know, Accuracy represents the following: Dealing more damage against and staggering enemies who have low EVA (Evasion), and the rate at which the critical gauge fills. Most people do not realize it, but Asbel is a HEAVY critical hitter once he's all beefed up. This is why his high accuracy stat makes up for his average P. Atk (Physical Attack). His A-Artes use P. Atk, however they build his critical gauge quickly. Add that with high accuracy and the critical boosts he gains from titles, then bam...an Asbel who can technically critical hit after every other major hit if you use your guarding auras right. However, a character isn't without their weak points. The same stats he relies on is also ironically his worst enemy. Speaking more literally, Asbel suffers from terribly low C. Def and Evasion. Strangely enough though, his P. Def (Physical Defense) is quite average. But overall, Asbel's defensive parameters are quite garbage against high C. Atk and Accuracy opponents. Once he's hit, he's staggered...BOY is he staggered. His low Evasion makes it hard to recover from attacks, especially if a critical lands. If he takes a hard hit, chances are he will die from an enemy's chance to strike him again while he's stuck in place (I don't even have to mention if he gets crowded). Titles like Eleth Mod would benefit Asbel greatly if you're stuck and you need to recover fast. Of course, Hubert has the same problem since his Evasion is even lower, though his rather high Physical Defense helps him out there. However, this isn't a Hubert Guide (not like he of all people needs one), so I won't get into him much. =============================================== 6. A/B-Artes and how to properly use them =============================================== I've noticed that a lot of people primarily use B-Artes to rely on damage dealing. While that isn't exactly a bad thing, you're not making use of Asbel's full potential. The key to using him at his max is to maintain great usage between both, as well as switching between them during battle when the situation demands it. Sure, it's easy to just blast and slash away with Hubert without much of a problem, or flawlessly link A and B with Sophie, but Asbel takes a bit of effort to link them together. However, it's so much more rewarding when you get the flow down with him and can switch styles accordingly mid-combo. Asbel is one of the better characters to use when striking weak points as well, for his artes cover quite a lot of weaknesses. However, moving on... [Quick note: I use Asbel with the Manual setting on.] Let's start with A-Artes. They use P. Atk as mentioned earlier. They are great to start a combo, and most cases to finish them! Thanks to his accuracy, it's quite easy to stagger lock most enemies with his 2-3 CC A-Artes. In general, his arte execution speed is marvelous. Even his Bestial Roar is a tad faster executing than Sophie's Beast Charge A-Arte. While most of them aren't multi-hit heavy like Hubert or Sophie's, Asbel's prowess lies within his agility alone. Make use of quick-steps to stagger your opponents longer (but don't overdo it) and use your artes wisely. Sometimes, it's great to not pull off a full A-Arte combo. Instead, you can reset it if you use artes like Icedragon Flurry. I couldn't show it in the video with Veigue since he falls like a rock once lifted in the air, but I show it plenty of times in the very last combo of the Asbel combo movie. Icedragon Flurry lifts an enemy high enough for you to pause momentarily to recover about 3-5 CC (depending on your CC recovery speed) and restart the combo with a Quick Slash (the 1 CC A-Arte) and keep going until you feel comfortable with extending the combo until you get into the 4 CC A-Artes...or until you run out of CC. Here is a good example of a basic A-Arte combo that works on most of the enemies: Quick Slash -> Stagger Strike -> Dual Impact -> Icedragon Flurry [slight pause before enemy touches ground] Quick Slash -> Nimble Fang -> Bestial Roar [Frontward Quick Step] -> Burial Blade or Void Sword Burial Blade is good for lifting enemies back up on their feet while Void Sword is a great multi-hit arte. Void Sword is a nice follow up if Bestial Roar doesn't knock your enemy off their feet. You can even frontward quick step to keep it going afterward and start the whole A-Arte combo over if you have the CC for it. The frontward quick steps are necessary to increase stagger time. Just imagine if you have capped Minimum AND Maximum CC with him? You could rack up 50+ hits without even drawing your sword (You'll even have more to spare if you have the Stampede Strike 25+ hit Title). Not to mention if you gain the Reinforce skills from the Lookalike titles, your CC recovery rate will improve even more, even if each boost is only +4%. Also make use of Reinforce shards during dualizing. An even more powerful recovery boost. Now for B-Artes. Generally, they're a bit slower than his A-Artes, but most of them (save a few obvious ones) still execute quick enough for them not to be a hindrance. However, they are great combo finishers, as well as great for quick damage dealing if you want to strike an enemy's weak points more effectively. They are also nice for crowd control. Notable examples would be Moonlight Circle and Incineration Wave. His B-Artes cover decent range and protects him effectively. Though do note that some of them like Incineration Wave and Gale Maw aren't really meant for comboing (the latter, it sorta can, though it's best for ending a combo, or altering into Dragon Charge). It's also good to use them to save yourself by evading attacks with them. Gale Maw is the most useful B-Arte to use if you just want to get the heck outta there when there are simply too many enemies on you. The speed at which he dashes through the enemies and how far it takes him grants you great relief and enough time to re-think a new strategy. Also good at evading bosses during Eleth Bursts if you're afraid of getting clucked by a Blast Caliber (Mystic Arte. I like saying Blast Caliber more). Also make use of altered artes! The most useful alters when it comes to combos (as well as crowd control) would be Infernal Torrent altering into Void Sword and Plasma Shock altering to Sparrow Seal. They both grant an automatic sheathed sword and you could quick step afterward to start up an A-Arte combo! Gale Maw alters to Dragon's Charge (4 CC A-Arte), also granting you another chance at instantly switching to Assault style. You can look at an Arte's guide somewhere else to see which B-Artes have altered artes. Or you could just experiment yourself with the arte Adept/Master titles. But let's get into the real deal. If you try to use an A-Arte after a B normally, you're get that awkward monkey flip that's pretty slow...and by that time, your enemy might stop staggering. That's mostly why people who attempt to use Asbel get so frustrated...because they don't know how to switch properly. The flip attack has it's uses though. Take the 59-Hit combo I did to Veigue around 2:37 in my video above. After an attack like Divine Conqueror or Stampede Strike, the flip attack minimizes the amount of CC you could potentially waste if you sheathe the sword with an arte, for they're still airborne and haven't touched the ground yet (Stampede Strike, don't rely on it too often, as most enemies fall to their feet after it's done). But other than cases like that, do not rely on it to chain a combo...it'll sometimes get you killed. Sparrow Seal is a must if you want instant switch from B to A style through normal means. Compared to Aurora Lotus (which also sheathes your sword, but is of average execution speed and leaves you wide open at the end if your target Iron Stances or blocks), it's execution speed is amazing and when he rams the sheath into the enemy, it staggers them long enough for a quick step followed by a Quick Slash. Most cases, the quick-step isn't need. Take the combo I did during the Eleth Burst around 0:37 in the Veigue video for an example. Bosses like Veigue in general are VERY difficult to stagger (and he's not the best person in the world to try to combo either. He'll punish you for that outside Eleth Bursts), so outside Eleth Burst, that probably wouldn't have worked against HIM, but outside of it for other enemies, that entire combo could work flawlessly. However, it's best to have a lot of Maximum CC on Asbel (preferably the max, 30). You can always rack up the minimum during battle. If you use some of the late game weapons, their min and max CC are pretty good on their own. Though if you really like the weaker weapons, just dualize accordingly with Rise/Exceed Shards, or use the tougher method of raising the weapon's CC. I'll get into that later though. You get it now? I hope so. =) ========================================== 7. In-depth usage of each Arte ========================================== Asbel has a lot of useful artes, though some have specific purposes other than just dishing out damage or comboing. Though there are a few that's kinda meh and some are better over the others. But this is what this section is for. I'll start with the A-Arte tree first. -Quick Slash (1 CC): A nice little whack of the sheath. Nothing special to say about it. Though it's a nice follow up to Burial Blade when it knocks an enemy down and before they could fall. -Nimble Fang (2 CC): Mostly for combo purposes. It has no special use, though it's execution speed is nearly instant. -Stagger Strike (2 CC): Probably the best 2 CC A-Arte. As it's name suggests, it's the best when you want to stagger your opponent. While it's two hits compared to Nimble Fang's three, it links flawlessly with all of the 3 CC artes, since the enemies flies upwards a tad. -Wing Crush (2 CC): Wing Crush is good for aerial enemies, so it's more of a weakness-use arte. It's sorta average in executing speed, so it's best to rely on Nimble Fang or Stagger Strike generally. -Gush Stroke (2 CC): As the in-game description shows, it's strength lies within it's mobility. It quickly dashes Asbel to the right and can smack a whole line of enemies in his path. It's best to use this if surrounded, since Asbel blurs into motion and safely out of danger. You won't combo too well with this one though. Dual Impact/Phantom Pulse is a good follow-up though with a frontward quick step (sometimes the quick step is not necessary). -Demon Fist (2 CC): The first altered A-Arte that you have to hold X after any 2 CC A-Arte. Quite frankly, it's only good for smashing enemies around you to protect yourself. Other than that, it's kind of a waste of CC. Looks awesome though. -Dual Impact (3 CC): A VERY useful combo arte with little to say. This and Phantom Pulse are perfect for executing Icedragon Flurry. -Bestial Roar (3 CC): It's hard to say if this arte or Dual Impact are the best in the 3 CC tree, but who cares? The moment it's executed, the enemy is stunned until the beast is unleashed (careful with bosses though. Some can break out of it unless it strikes their weakness). However, be careful when using it in crowds of enemies. You're stuck in place until it finishes. -Wolfwind Fang (3 CC): It's execution speed is a little bit above average, but it's still useful for combos normally. Don't use this often against bosses though. It's just not fast enough and they'll block it nearly all the time...or break straight through it if they're Veigue. >_> -Phantom Pulse (3 CC): This arte is amazing against larger foes. Even on normal-sized enemies, it's got a nice hit box and deals the most hits out of the 3 CC tree. Perfect for Icedragon Flurry since it reels the enemy in like a gravitational pull. -Icedragon Flurry (3 CC): The second and last altered arte that triggers after holding X during any 3 CC A-Arte. My favorite A-Arte out of all of 3 CC A-Artes. Not only does it lift the enemy in the air long enough to reset combos, it also has a OTG effect (Off The Ground), meaning if an enemy is knocked down, the attack can rise them back in the air and continue the combo. If for some reason the enemy is downed, a Stagger Strike to Phantom Pulse combo is fast enough to make it in time for Icedragon Flurry to execute the OTG effect before the enemy rises. -Burial Blade (4 CC): Don't underestimate this arte just because it hits only one time. Even though it knocks an enemy off their feet (most of the time), it also has an OTG effect as well. It takes some speed on your end to catch the enemy afterwards though, as the enemy falls back down like a rock. This arte guarantees a 100% guard break as well, so it's especially useful for enemies who annoyingly block all day long. And to add even more to it's usefulness, it can be used from any distance on the field and since it whips out instantly, you can consider it one of the most reliable close/long ranged artes. -Dragon Charge (4 CC): It's mostly good for hitting weaknesses (obviously dragon enemies), though it's still decent with comboing. I'd recommend the Gale Maw altering to switch styles mid combo with this. -Heaven's Wrath (4 CC): Kind of like Hubert's Dualblade Dance, though not as wild. Outside of boss fights, this arte is absolute beast for the combo fighter inside you. Asbel is in constant motion with his attacks and circulates the enemy about 90 degress until the last kick. Might be good to end an A-Arte combo or draw the sword after the last kick though. It's stagger potential is kind of flawed against bosses. -Void Sword (4 CC): My personal favorite out of the 4 CC tree for combos. It executes with flashing speed and a frontward quick step will bring you back in action better than the rest of it's kind. Though watch it against floaty-like enemies. They tend to fly back pretty far. It also depends on the distance at which you use the arte. It'll require two quick steps to continue if any of those situations happen...and for some reason, the enemies stop staggering if you quick step twice. In some cases, it still works. Just try to use this as close to the enemy as possible if you're trying to combo with it. That's it for the A-Artes. As you can see, only about a couple of them aren't all that good, but overall, 90% of his A-Artes are marvelous. But now, it's time for B-Artes. This is where things become a little tricky, for quite a bit of them aren't combo-friendly and have a different use. Though if you're like me and want mostly combo artes and one or two support-purpose artes, you'd want artes that take no more than 4 CC. Let's take a look. -Lightning Strike (2 CC): The second fastest B-Arte. It whips out in a snap of a finger and if an enemy is hit by it fully, it'll deal three hits total. Probably the best 2 CC B-Arte to combo with. I wouldn't recommend using the extension of it too often, for the jump strike can get you in tons of trouble against bosses. Enemies simply recover too fast to quick step, for Asbel lands the moment they do. This attack alters into Moonlight Circle. -Demon Fang (2 CC): Demon Fang never changes from all it's appearances in the series. Just that standard, reliable one hitter. It's all personal preference on the 2 CC B-Artes. It's still a swift swipe and guaranteed to hit your target. Good for long-ranged combat, though only if you're not comfortable with the stronger, yet slower and wider ranged B-Artes. -Shockwave Slash (2 CC): It's a pretty nice arte that hits the enemy twice. If you don't like Lightning Strike for some strange reason, Shockwave Slash is a good alternative. It whips out pretty fast and it's extension isn't too bad to use either since he's just repeating the same strike at the same speed. Make use of it's alter into Phantasm Flash. -Frost Breaker (2 CC): I'd make this the third fastest B-Arte, though it has a tendency of having enemies break free mid-combo before the second strike hits. I personally ditch it for Diabolic Rage since that staggers longer. -Moonlight Circle (3 CC): This arte is good for both combos AND crowd control. It's execution speed isn't instant quick, but it's still amazing, especially since it deals 5 hits. It also protects him like Guardian Field and surrounding enemies are usually staggered for a while or are forced to block it. Enough time to get out of there if surrounded. This attack alters into Infernal Torrent. -Ruinous Bloom (3 CC): This one's...kinda wonky (getting too used to speaking like Pascal, sorry). It's more like protecting Asbel from enemies in front of him. It also executes at average speed similarly to Aurora Lotus. All in all, it's a bit too slow to combo with. Though it works otherwise against plant enemies for weakness purposes. It's also pretty good to use mid-range. However, this arte does alter into Gale Maw, so there's that to look forward to for some semi-mid range combat if you use Ruinous Bloom's extension. -Phantasm Flash (3 CC): A pretty sweet two-hitter. While it keeps it's target locked pretty good, it's downfall is that Asbel is pushed to the right far too much. The only arte I've managed to make work with this is Shockwave Slash combo-wise. The extension of this arte is good, but a waste of CC in the end. However, it's not a bad arte. It's execution and recovery speed is superb, so if you screw up a movement or your opponent blocks it, you'll be able to react accordingly to save yourself compared to most artes's recovery time. This attack alters into Abyssal Seal. -Concussive Bolt (3 CC): Just flat out using this move won't work combo-wise unless you start off a combo with it, which is usually unsafe. You can use the jump to evade attacks like incoming arrows or something. However, it IS the most useful OTG arte. Notice in the combo movie where I use it numerous times to lift the enemy back on their feet? Unless the enemies have Iron Stance on, the attack will lift the enemy back up. As a little tip, recover a bit of CC by just standing still for a second or two (depending on how fast the enemy can rise), then lift them back up. This move is a must if you like to extend combos after an enemy falls. And also if you like, Concussive Bolt's altered arte is Burial Blade, and do you know what that means? That's right, another way to instantly switch to Assault style. I'd recommend a frontward quick step to catch the enemy in time before they fall on the ground. -Gale Maw (3 CC): This high-speed rush is one of the most useful B-Artes. It's not too good for combos, but like I said above in another section, it's the best arte to use when the going gets tough or if you're surrounded. It covers great distance and guarantees Asbel's safety (sometimes the enemy might get lucky and whack you before he dashes through)...even if it's delaying your death for only a few seconds. It's mostly a strategic arte. Though if you truly want to combo with it, hold O to alter it into Dragon Charge and switch to Assault style. -Abyssal Seal (4 CC): This is a good combo arte if you like quick stepping a lot. Just don't use it on grounded enemies who can't be lifted. I find using this in combination with Concussive Bolt the best. As you may have noticed, Asbel smashes them down off their feet in the final blow. Do a quick step if he seems to be stuck in place (frontward or side steps work well too) followed by Concussive Bolt and your enemy is back on their feet. The extension is fun to use as well, very hit-heavy. -Infernal Torrent (4 CC): In the same case as Concussive Bolt, don't just flat out use this. It has a slow start up speed, though if you strike the enemy with something like Moonlight Circle or Shockwave Slash, it's a guaranteed hit! It works like Bestial Roar, not all that fast to execute, but the enemy is stunned once it's started if it's linked with a fast staggering arte. I'd recommend using this arte end-game, or especially for it's ability to alter into Void Sword when you hold O. Great crowd control as well. It's like a Quick Draw but with fire around it. -Plasma Shock (4 CC): This arte...is pretty much Sword Rain: Alpha. Sure, it's good for the first 9 hits, but the upper slash doesn't stagger the enemy very well. If you're lucky, the extension could fix that, but most enemies recover too fast. HOWEVER, if you hold O during the thrusting motions, you can alter it into Sparrow Seal to cancel out that terrible upper slash. I've played around with this alter quite a bit and while the cost is 4 CC to alter, it's not too much of a waste of CC, since if you use Asbel right, Sparrow Seal is a must for switching styles anyways. So yes, this is a great arte to combo with if you alter it. Otherwise, just drop it if you don't like using altered artes. Personally speaking though, this is the best hit-racking B-Arte to use for combos with it's alter. -Sparrow Seal (4 CC): Hands down one of the best B-Artes. It executes faster than Lightning Strike and it's the best sheathing arte. The very key to switching between A and B-Artes. However, it has high lifting strength and if you aren't careful, some enemies could fall down on their back before the sheath ram. Just watch when your enemy lands on the ground and you'll be fine. If that does happen, quickly draw and Concussive Bolt them, or hurry in a quick A-Arte chain to Icedragon Flurry (which spends more CC). Sparrow Seal also alters into Bestial Roar, which for some reason, the beast comes out slightly faster than usual. Also, watch it against bosses. Most of them can recover before the sheath ram. -Diabolic Rage (4 CC): A super version of Frost Breaker to be frank. Though it executes slower than it's weaker version, it staggers them WAY better and some additional hits from Asbel releasing the cross is good for combos. -Incineration Wave (5 CC): While the CC cost is pretty hefty, it's worth it if you need to fight long-ranged for a little bit. This attack is awesome though. While it's impossible to combo with (unless start a combo with it at mid to close range), it deals massive damage to mobs of enemies. Don't think it's a cowardly tactic to fend off foes from a distance. In some situations when enemies are too tough and all mobbed up, you just need to roast them until a few of them die. It's extension is pretty good for situations like that as well. You could dish out enough damage with this arte alone compared to a simple combo. That's why it can't be linked into anything. It'd be broken otherwise. -Aurora Lotus (6 CC): You've seen me mention this skill so many times and it's now time to tell you all about it. Yes, it's probably one of Asbel's most awesome-looking artes (seriously, one of the most badass artes I've seen in Tales)...though it's execution speed is the same as Ruinous Bloom and it's generally not too useful against bosses, for the final hits tend to be either blocked or the enemy simply recovers far too fast by the time Asbel sheathes the sword. It also takes 6 CC, which is a lot considering the max you can get is 30. Though for some reason, it doesn't continue the A-Arte tree where Asbel last left off, as it automatically starts up a Quick Slash. Sometimes a quick step MIGHT solve the problem, but I haven't used Aurora Lotus a lot in combos. It IS pretty good to end your combos though and go straight into a Blast Caliber, so there's that. Also something I recently discovered is that while it's not too good to use regularly, Aurora Lotus locks on and teleports Asbel to the enemy he's targeting...so if anything, this is actually a REALLY good escape arte if you're surrounded and you could get away by locking onto an enemy further out. It's better than getting destroyed by a mob of enemies. I still say Gale Maw is more reliable in this department though. Another thing I've recently discovered is that if you frontward quick step before using this arte, you have a FAR better chance in chaining it as shown in the combo movie. -Shattersteel Swarm (5 CC): This arte is pretty much the B-Arte form of Phantom Pulse, except it's kind of harder to hit with if you're trying to combo with it. Sometimes the first hit would fly completely over the target and make you a sitting duck, as the first hit determines where the rest of the spirit fangs will hit. However, I find it better to use as a long ranged attack than for combos. The attacks lock onto the enemy from a distance and works well if you are afraid of Incineration Wave's slow start up. I still prefer that arte though, as it's far more damaging than this one. Another use for this arte would be to hurt enemies who have the Spirit weakness. On the other hand, the extension for this arte is awesome for long range, as the spirit fangs gather and spread out to hit surrounding enemies. And there you have it. As an added bonus, I'll throw in which B-Artes I usually have set for my Asbel. Remember, this is MY moveset, so you do not have to use the same artes as I. Everyone's playstyle is different. For an example, Lightning Strike, Moonlight Circle and Infernal Torrent can all be altered together if you hold O during Lightning Strike...but I keep them all in my normal moveset because I use Infernal Torrent and Moonlight Circle for crowd control individually: -Lightning Strike -Plasma Shock -Moonlight Circle -Infernal Torrent Shortcuts: -Sparrow Seal -Concussive Bolt -Gale Maw -Incineration Wave I also do quite a bit of arte switching during battle. ^_^; ===================================================== 8. Usefulness of Quick Draw and Iron Stance ===================================================== Drawing your sword has uses other than being the hit that begins your B-Arte assault. As you know, drawing it gives Asbel Iron Stance, which makes him invulnerable to stagger as long as he's still flashing. He's an offensive character. As such, he needs effective means of staying alive and getting out of there when it gets too rough on him. The Quick Draw could be used if you're surrounded. The slash covers good range from all sides but from behind and with a few quick steps or Gale Maws, you'd be out of danger quickly thanks to Iron Stance. Playing with Asbel isn't always about staying in your enemy's face 24/7. You have to take into account that he can't take too many hard hits, especially if you're playing on Chaos Mode. I've solo'd the game with him on Chaos and I can not count how many times Iron Stance has saved my butt. Knowing how to take advantage of Iron Stance is essential if you want to stay alive...and getting the Steadfast skills from titles is a must to further increase the amount of hits he can absorb before the super armor wears off. Take for an example on how I use Quick Draw in the video against Veigue around 3:00. Veigue's attack patterns can be tricky to predict, especially when he enters what I like to call "Desperation Mode" and starts using his wider ranged artes. The Iron Stance gain in combination with blocking gives me the ability to back off until I can think of a way to re-approach him, as the arte he performed on me twice in the row comes out a little too fast to react to instantly to perfect evade with a backwards quick step (goodness, I said too many "to's" there). It's always good to think quick on your feet when situations turn for the worse like that. It's also good to draw your sword to interrupt an A-Arte combo and go straight into B-Artes. That way, if you use Sparrow Seal to switch back later on, Asbel will continue along on the A-Arte tree where he last left off, like what I did in the Eleth Burst combo in the Veigue fight when I did an automatic Dual Impact after Sparrow Seal. Another example would be if I did Stagger Strike and drawn my sword instead of continuing, I'd automatically be able to perform any 3-CC A-Arte to continue since I've previously interrupted the tree with the onslaught of B-Artes. It's also good to draw the sword during a combo and halt it completely if you see your enemy break out your A-Arte combo. Most of Asbel's A-Artes don't leave him ridiculously wide open save his 4 CC artes if they miss, so the Iron Stance from the draw will allow you to quickly evade the attack without taking too much damage. As I said before, the key to using Asbel is all about your speed. Always expect the worse case scenario and prepare to react accordingly. If you aren't fast enough, you will die. One last thing about drawing. Since the game's battle tips already tell you this, it's best to explain when it's appropriate to sheathe the sword. As you know, placing your weapon back in it's sheath by tapping the A-Arte button is what I like to call "Style Change". If you feel as though your B-Artes just aren't cutting it or if you're afraid of using Sparrow Seal when you know the enemy might break free mid-combo, just step back, gain a safe enough distance and sheathe. If you're still too close to your enemy, Asbel will perform his flip attack instead and leave you wide open for punishment. Why is this useful? Because of the HP recovery it also gives (the flip also recovers HP, by the way), depending on how many B-Artes you've successfully chained. Also take advantage of sheathing your sword after Blast Calibers or an Eleth Burst. Go nuts with B-Artes when one activates and if you unleash a Blast Caliber and sheath right after, you gain an enormous amount of HP back if you're low (wouldn't recommend Lunar Requiem, since it sheathes your sword and grants zero HP recovery). You won't realize how useful it is to sheathe and unsheathe unless you put it in action yourself. =========================================== 9. Using Spiral Surge (Accel Mode) =========================================== Asbel's Accel Mode is a lot more trickier to use compared to the rest of the cast's. At first, you'd have no clue if it has any kind of secondary use other than the purple flames surrounding you to deal extra damage + protect Asbel. But as you've seen plenty of times in my videos (If you've seen them), the flame can be used as a lifting effect (it has a secret OTG effect too... though the timing is EXTREMELY strict. Likely frontward step the MOMENT you activate it) to keep your enemy airborne while you're unleashing another onslaught of artes. However, you have to keep the attacks going, otherwise, you'll drop the enemy before the spiraling flame comes back around. And as you already know, Spiral Surge is awesome for recovering ALL of your CC you've lost with it's current bonuses received from critical hits. Think of Asbel's Accel Mode as his "Limit Breaker". Normally by himself, Asbel can only dish out about 70-80 hits before being drained of CC (that's only if you have 30 MAX), but using it right after hitting 0 CC, you recover all 30 and you can pull off just about any combination of attacks on non-bosses. (Careful with Aurora Lotus. Has the tendency of resetting the combo if the flame touches the enemy during the lightning strikes) If you want a better description...it's more like...going Super Saiyan! (I know, bad comparison... but you get it, right?) The flames juggling the enemy is also like some sort of Graces-styled aerial combat (which this game completely lacks), so for those aerial lovers there like myself, you've got yourself some "kinda" aerial fighting. Not Judith/Emil aerial combat, but it's something! It prevents the enemy from breaking out mid combo if they aren't touching the ground. Though a downside: Enemies that can't be lifted still can't be juggled... :( =========================================== 10. Optional, yet useful Information =========================================== It's good to help Asbel's prowess in battle with dualizing if you can and if you have the shards you want. Personally speaking, Asbel works well with extra chunks of Accuracy and a pretty good Exceed shard on your armor improve combo potential. You're free to build your Asbel however you see fit when it comes to dualizing your equipment, but from this point on, it's all personal preference that I'd like to share, as well as dualizing tips from frubam, a Tales Series forum user, that are absolutely marvelous. I've tested them out myself and they do indeed work very well. My usual set-up is having an AIM - RNFCE (Reinforce) Gem that's at least 6+ in level. Quickest, yet expensive way to do this is create the gem early on and when you do the Inn Request in Yu Liberte for Marian's lost tools, you can polish the gem and increase it's level. The other way is through gem fusion of the same type via dualizing, though it's more tedious unless you start off knowing what you want early game. Whatever you really want to put on the gem, you can still do it the same way. I'd recommend looking at a really good Equipment Dualizing Guide here on GameFAQs if dualizing gives you a big headache. I know it did before I got used to it. I won't link you to it out of fear of being blamed for posting a guide without permission, but it's very easy to find under the FAQs section. But onto the more useful way of dualizing of frubam's that I've tested out. As I stated above, Asbel works well with extra chunks of ACC. Normally, you could just set a maxed out Aim shard on your equipment, but if you are a little patient with dualizing repeatedly once your equipment tempers, you can gain accuracy boosts on the dualized weapon's base accuracy through qualities. Be sure to study the qualities well to see which ones give the best Accuracy boosts (which you can view all the ones you have available in the User's Guide under "Qualities" on the menu of the game). The rank 6 qualities do well in granting awesome base stat boosts all around, but their tempering boost % are the worst. But here's the fun part. The best quality to have on Asbel would be the rank 7 (cameo quality) Nanalystic, which you can unlock via the grade shop on a NG+. Not only does the base ACC boost is +15, but the hidden effect it has is that the weapon's accuracy itself is doubled. Your overall Accuracy stat will remain unchanged on the status screen, but the effect is still there; invisible. Be sure that before you finalize your weapon to where you see fit (though this is once again personal preference), you should have a Reinforce [6] or higher as a permanent effect. Reinforce as stated in an earlier section is great for CC recovery. If you take full advantage of the Reinforce skills, you can have +100% CC recovery speed by late game. Do NOT dualize anymore after you are satisfied with your weapon by endgame. For if you try to dualize something else, Nanalystic will always disappear and you'd have to work your way to have the quality reappear during dualizing. As for your other equipment, armor isn't really all that important, but if you want capped MAX CC, make use of Exceed shards on armor. If you're not on a NG+ file and didn't get the CC boosts from grade shop, you might want to make further use of Exceed. But with the Exceed skills from titles and grade shop boosts, you mostly only need one high-level Exceed shard ([6] or higher) to max out his CC on late game equipment. For Gems, it's best to make multiples of these. Be sure to make one you mainly use, like the AIM - RNFRCE shard I say I like to use above. But when you're forced to fight a tough boss, it wouldn't hurt to have some status effect shards on gems. Like having a gem called BURN - FREEZE. All enemies who are weak to burn and freeze will have that weak point hit all the time, same as for the other status effect shards. This works wonders against enemies who can be petrified (like Reala). Having a Petrify Shard on a gem could really help turn enemies to stone for a long time, depending on how strong the shard is. Switch the gems mid battle when the situation demands it. These are optional to do, but VERY useful. That concludes the most useful methods of dualizing. But if you simply lack the time to try and achieve the best equipment (which there is nothing wrong with that), here is a more basic and short way of dualizing: Be sure to take full advantage of Aim, Reinforce and Exceed/Rise Shards on your equipment and Gem of choice. Try to gain high level shards by endgame (or simply transfer over your leftover shards via grade shop) and place them on your weapon and armor. Also, be sure that whatever your gem is, polish it to a higher level with Marian's shop in Yu Liberte, or fuse gems via dualizing. ======================================= 11. Legal Information ======================================= This guide/document is properly Copyrighted 2013 by Nicholas Dabney. This guide is simply intented for the community and should not be altered in any way, shape or form unless for personal usage. Do not post this guide anywhere without my consent or try to claim it as your own, for doing so is in violation of copyright. However, if you WOULD like to have my guide posted somewhere, please contact me with the information in "Contacting me" section. These are the only websites that have my permission to post my guide thus far: -GameFAQs, of course -Neoseeker -Super Cheats -Tales Series forums (namco's website) Anywhere else, please contact me if you see any site that has this guide posted, regardless if they claim they've gained permission. Please do this with a level-headed attitude and do NOT contact said person/site who may have hosted the guide. This is to avoid needless conflict. Come to me ONLY. Any other copyrighted material or trademarks within this guide are owned by their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended during the making of this. ======================================= 12. Credits ======================================= I would like to thank the users at Tales Series forums for their helpful inputs, critiques and suggestions to this guide, as well has helping me with the decision to post this here. Special thanks from certain users from the site include (these are their username/screenmaes on the site): -DreamSword -fleish -frubam Then there were GameFAQs users who've also weighed in on corrections and additional information: -LightOfJudgment -NightmareGamma -ShinZachra -__You I would also like to thank NamcoBandai for making such an awesome game. And finally, I would like to credit you for taking the time to read my guide. Thank you very much and I hope that this guide has assisted you greatly!
© Web Media Network Limited, 1999 - 2024 This site is not affiliated in any way with Microsoft, Sony, Sega, Nintendo or any video game publishers.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.
Super Cheats is an unofficial resource with submissions provided by members of the public. These are not usually tested by us (because there are so many), so please use them at your own risk.
