|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- TALES OF VESPERIA COLISEUM GUIDE --------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Platform: Xbox 360
Version: 0.982
Last Update: February 19, 2010
Email: [email protected]
Author: James00715


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- TABLE OF CONTENTS -----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

1. Legal Stuff                                                           [LGLS]
2. Revision History                                                      [RVSN]
3. Introduction                                                          [INTR]
4. Unlocking the Coliseum                                                [NLCK]
5. General Info                                                          [GNRL]
6. Monster List                                                          [MNST]
7. Rewards                                                               [RWRD]
8. Character Strategies                                                  [CHRC]
9. FAQ                                                                   [CFAQ]
10. Closing                                                              [CLSN]


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 1. LEGAL STUFF [LGLS] --------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

This document is copyright (c) 2010 Jared Cano (aka James00715, perfdark).

This guide is not to be used to make a profit of any kind. This guide may be
printed for personal use only. Any and all other means of reproduction are not
allowed without my express permission.

Websites with permission to host this FAQ:
www.GameFAQs.com
www.Neoseeker.com
www.SuperCheats.com

If you see or download this FAQ from anywhere else, please email me with the
subject 'Vesperia Coliseum Guide'. You may also send an email to request
permission to host the FAQ on your website.


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 2. REVISION HISTORY [RVSN] ---------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

v0.95 - February 1, 2010
- First version of the guide posted.

v0.98 - February 4, 2010
- Corrected KADFC's name in the Closing section.
- Added Shining Eagle to Yuri's 100-man reward and some more minor rewards.
- Added lots of character strategies from submissions by AmandaKimmel and
Phoenix~Lament.
- Added some missing monsters to the Monster List
- Added quantities for each monster in the Monster List
- Added some FAQ Q&As.
- Added minimum levels guesstimates for Hard and Unknown difficulties.
- Re-organized Closing section.
- The old time limits were taken at face value from a forum post (bad idea!).
They have been corrected.

v0.982 - February 19, 2010
- Added rita strategies from Ako
- Added some character strategies from Nilfalasiel


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 3. INTRODUCTION [INTR] -------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

The Coliseum minigame returns in Tales of Vesperia. This time it is split into
five versions: 30-, 50-, 80-, 100-, and 200-man melee. Each one is successively
harder. Not only do you have to fight more battles in the harder versions, the
enemies are also higher level and have better abilities.

Don't get too scared though. The bosses are usually toned down for one player
compared to the bosses for your whole party. The highest level boss mobs have
only 170,000 hit points compared to a typical boss for your entire party that
has over 400,000 hit points.

After beating the game, I went straight to GameFAQs to check out all the
sidequests and other stuff I had missed just playing it on my own. I quickly
realized that there wasn't a FAQ for the coliseum. In fact, I wasn't able to
find much at all about the coliseum anywhere, just a few quick notes here and
there. It was then that I decided to write my first FAQ to cover this sidequest
in Tales of Vesperia.

-----Important Note-----
There are some spoilers in this guide. Certain sidequests need to be completed
to unlock everything the Coliseum has to offer. There are also certain
requirements as far as where in the story you are at. Some of the monsters are
also spoilers. I only reveal what is necessary, but even the bare minimum has
some spoilers.


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 4. UNLOCKING THE COLISEUM [NLCK] ---------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Before you can use this guide, you need to be able to access the Coliseum.
Unlocking the Coliseum involves completing a number of sidequests in the game.
Finishing all five versions of the Coliseum is probably one of the last things
you will do on your first playthrough due to these requirements.


-----Unlocking the Coliseum------

The Coliseum first becomes available after you get Ba'ul. In addition, you must
have all seven party members. As the story progresses some party members come
and go. In these times, the Coliseum fighting options are not available. Most
likely you aren't strong enough yet to tackle all of the content, though.


------Unlocking 100-man Melee-----

Initially, you only have access to the 30-, 50-, and 80-man melee. Once Aurnion
is built (not fully completed), you can do the 100-man melee but will not
receive the best rewards for winning. You will also miss some unique enemies
for the Monster Book. There are three sidequests that must be completed to get
the best rewards out of 100-man melee. Each sidequest completed gives you a
Letter of Challenge.

Sidequest 1: Letter of Challenge (Flynn)
This one you get from an Aurnion guard after Flynn challenges you to a duel
outside Aurnion.

Sidequest 2: Letter of Challenge (H. Blades)
After Aurnion is built, go to Kiev Moc. A scene will occur. You get the letter
automatically.

Sidequest 3: Letter of Challenge (L. Claw)
Venture into Ehmead Hill after it is restored. In one of the offshoot paths, a
scene will occur with you receiving a Fire Lily key item. Next, go to the
entryway of Mt. Temza for another scene. You receive a Compact of Remembrance.
Now go to Capua Torim for a scene with Gauche and Droite. Whenever you are
ready, go to Zaude where you fought Yeager to start a battle with the twins.
Don't forget to steal their swords with Repede if you are going for Collector's
Book completion. You receive the letter after winning the battle.


-----Unlocking 200-man Melee-----

The 200-man melee has two requirements. First, you must have completed the 100-
man melee with three separate characters and with all of the sidequests done.
Then there is one letter you need to get, but that letter requires a lot more
effort than the sidequests you had to do for unlocking 100-man melee.

You receive it for killing the end boss in the Ex Dungeon, but you can't fight
the boss until you have collected 15 Fake Gald. You get Fake Gald randomly in
the Ex Dungeon from looting treasure chests and killing Memory bosses. The only
problem is that it is based on luck, so it can take a few runs through the
dungeon before you get enough Fake Gald. The end boss leaves behind the Letter
of Challenge (Legend).


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 5. GENERAL INFO [GNRL] -------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Here is some general information about the Coliseum and how it works in
Vesperia.

-----Suggested Minimum Level-----

Before you get to the detailed information, you should first check your
character's levels. If you are below these minimums, you will probably have a
tough time surviving or finishing in the time limit. These levels are based on
the highest level enemy you will face.

Normal difficulty
30-man  - level 35+
50-man  - level 55+
80-man  - level 60+
100-man - level 65+
200-man - level 75+

Hard
30-man  - level 35+
50-man  - level 55+
80-man  - level 65+
100-man - level 80+
200-man - level 110+

Unknown
30-man  - level 35+
50-man  - level 55+
80-man  - level 75+
100-man - level 100+
200-man - level 180+


-----Entrance Fee-----

Each Coliseum version also costs 100 times how many monsters you need to fight
as a fee to enter. The difficulty setting does not affect the entrance fee.
30-man  - 3000 gald
50-man  - 5000 gald
80-man  - 8000 gald
100-man - 10000 gald
200-man - 20000 gald


-----Time Limit-----

Each version of the Coliseum also has a time limit. These numbers look worse
than they really are. Depending on your level you may have trouble, but usually
you never get close to the time limit. The difficulty setting does not affect
the time limits.
30-man  - 5 minutes
50-man  - 10 minutes
80-man  - 15 minutes
100-man - 20 minutes
200-man - 35 minutes


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 6. MONSTER LIST [MNST] -------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

In this section I list all the monsters you face in the Coliseum. They are
listed in the general order that you will see them. It is set up where the
higher competitions use the same monsters from the lower competitions. For
example, 50-man melee uses the 30 monsters from 30-man melee plus 20 new
monsters. This continues all the way to 200-man melee, where the first 100 are
from 100-man melee and the remaining monsters are exclusive to 200-man. In the
list I will mark where one melee ends and the other starts.

Element Key
F  - Fire element
I  - Ice (and water) element
W  - Wind element
E  - Earth element
H  - Holy element
S  - Shadow element

After the name is "x N", which is the quantity you face. This is omitted if you
only fight 1. The "Scan?" column shows which monsters are only found in the
Coliseum.

+-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------+
| Name                        | Level | Resist | Weak | Notes         | Scan? |
|=============================+=======+========+======+===============+=======|
| Bandido x 4                 |    21 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Knight Halberd x 3          |    25 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Witch x 4                   |    22 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Hawk x 4                    |    26 | W      | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Filihelia x 4               |    20 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Black Bat x 6               |    17 | D      | H    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Wirbel x 3                  |    28 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Adecor/Boccos (Coliseum)    |    35 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
|===========================End 30-man, Start 50-man==========================|
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Predafish x 5               |    48 | I      | FW   |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Jet Balloon x 5             |    28 |        |      | Blow-up Stun  |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Square Shoulder x 2         |    36 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Soya x 3                    |    35 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Nan (Coliseum)              |    60 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Cockatrice x 3              |    34 |        |      | Turn to Stone |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Jun                         |    38 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
|===========================End 50-man, Start 80-man==========================|
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Snow Spirit x 3             |    47 | EWIH   | F    | Blow-up Stun  |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Fire Spirit x 3             |    31 | FEWH   | W    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Fire Bat x 4                |    31 | F      | W    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Ice Bat x 4                 |    32 | WI     | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Jun x 2                     |    38 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Skunky x 3                  |    48 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Tison (Coliseum)            |    60 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Uniceros x 2                |    41 | H      | D    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Aquicia                     |    46 | I      | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Superstar D x 3             |    38 | D      | H    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Druid x 3                   |    34 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Augusto                     |    50 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
|==========================End 80-man, Start 100-man==========================|
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Mandrawigle x 4             |    38 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Plomb x 3                   |    37 | D      | H    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Fer x 2                     |    39 | D      | H    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Gauche/Droite  (Coliseum)   |    60 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Wild Boar x 4               |    36 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Knight Fencer F x 2         |    34 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Knight Bishop x 2           |    37 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| October                     |    55 |        |      | See below     | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
|==========================End 100-man, Start 200-man=========================|
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Thunder Bat x 3             |    28 | FW     | EW   |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Skinny x 2                  |    50 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Bigger Balloon x 3          |    47 |        |      | Blow-up Stun  |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Ice Golem x 2               |    47 | I      | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Blade Murder x 4            |    44 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Firebird x 4                |    31 | F      | W    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Penquinest x 4              |    52 | I      | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Roctoise x 2                |    51 | E      | W    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Savage Helm x 2             |    75 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Leaf Bat x 4                |    19 | WI     | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Yellow Roper x 4            |    51 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Paincorn                    |    48 |        | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Deathseeker x 2             |    57 | D      | H    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Skunky x 3                  |    48 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Crystal Spirit x 4          |    53 | FEWIHD |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Seigle x 2                  |    60 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Druid x 3                   |    34 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Time Traveller              |    70 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Drillbeak x 4               |    39 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Jun x 3                     |    38 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Tweeny x 3                  |    42 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Gigafish x 4                |    48 | W      | IW   |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Grimza x 2                  |    57 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| July x 3                    |    53 | F      | W    |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Sorrowful Queen of Darkness |    70 |        |      |               | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Watergunner x 3             |    50 | I      | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Tiredillo x 3               |    55 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Greater Skunky x 3          |    50 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Cuivre x 4                  |    48 | D      | H    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Argent x 4                  |    50 | D      | H    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Savage Helm x 2             |    75 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Killer of Heroes            |    70 |        |      | No item use   | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Nuggethopper x 2            |    39 | E      | W    | Turn to Stone |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Piment x 3                  |    51 | I      | F    |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Giant Mantis x 2            |    63 | E      | W    | Turn to Stone |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Ex Unicorn x 2              |    61 |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Traitor to Heaven           |    70 |        |      |               | yes   |
+-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------+

+-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------+
| Replacements for October    |       |        |      |               |       |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Flynn (Coliseum)            |    68 |        |      | Only Yuri     | yes   |
|-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------|
| Nan (Coliseum 2)            |    65 |        |      | Only Karol    | yes   |
+-----------------------------+-------+--------+------+---------------+-------+



|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 7. REWARDS [RWRD] ------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

The gald you earn is equal to 200 times how many monsters you killed. Besides
the gald, you get a few generic rewards for all of them except 100-man melee.
Each character gets some unique items from 100-man melee that cannot be
obtained anywhere else. Many of the items are their best items for that slot.
The difficulty setting does not affect the rewards.


-----30-man Melee-----
6000 gald
and item set below

First win
Apple Gel x 6
Orange Gel x 6
Limit Bottle x 6 (occasionally)

Successive wins
Apple Gel x 3
Orange Gel x 3

-----50-man Melee-----
10000 gald
and item set below

First win
Herb Set

Successive wins
Apple Gel x 3
Orange Gel x 3

-----80-man Melee-----
16000 gald
and item set below

First win
Red Herb Set

Successive wins
Pineapple Gel x 3
Lemon Gel x 3

-----100-man Melee-----
20000 gald
and character specific reward (first win only)

Yuri
Shining Eagle arcane arte
Star Mail (strangely Karol's best armor, Yuri cannot equip)
Colossus
Hyper Armor (not shown in dialog, best armor)

Karol
Rending Drill Hammer
Brave Helm (best helmet)

Estelle
Magical Maiden title
Comet Light
Sanctuary
Star Light
Imperial Guard (best armor)

Repede
Aer Fragment (best armor)
Maximum Dog Symbol

Rita
Sacred Chain
Elemental Goggles

Raven
Celestial Star (best bow)
Glorious Helm (best armor)

Judith
Moonlight Talon base arte
Caduceus
Dragon Coat (best armor)


Successive wins
Pineapple Gel x 3
Lemon Gel x 3


-----200-man Melee-----
40000 gald
and item set below

First win
Unique title for whichever character beat it
Arredoval (Estelle's best shield)
Barbatos' Ring
Dhaos' Cape (turns Destruction Field into Dhaos Blast)
Shizel's Necklace

Successive 200-man wins
Unique title for the character if you haven't gotten it already
Lemon Gel x 6
Pinapple Gel x 6

|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- 8. Character Strategies [CHRC] ----------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

First of all, you can always make the Coliseum easy by leveling up your
characters really high. That means you can beat it with any character without
much trouble if you want it to be that easy. Along with this are the Fel Arms,
which can be powered as much as you want.


-----General Tips-----
-Use items as necessary. You can't really heal, so use them when needed. Saving
them for bosses is probably the best idea, except for Barbatos, Killer of
Heroes, who will hurt you badly if you use one.
-Mages are often problematic. Take them out ASAP.
-Take out any guppies before dealing with a boss character
-Rebirth Dolls come in handy later in the melee, so synthesize some. You will
need a lot of them for harder difficulties. They don't always get used up due
to skills, so every time you're resurrected, CHECK TO SEE IF YOU NEED ANOTHER.
-Don't forget to block and use Free Run
-Have a FULL (or near-full) Overlimit gauge when going in and the O.L. Boost
skill equipped.
-I recommend saving your OL for bosses. Using Level 1 OL against guppies is
okay if you're in a jam.
-Avoid using elemental-based weapons
-Several boss characters know First Aid. Don't let them use it.
-Watch out for things that can petrify you. The melee will end instantly if
you're stoned. Wait& that came out wrong. Use a Stone Charm accessory.
-You can change equipment mid-battle. Do so wisely, especially with accessories
- you want to keep your HP and TP as high as possible and you don't want to
die. Miracle Bangle and Rebirth Doll are the two of choice. A Final Symbol
works too, especially against the Killer of Heroes.
-Rebirth and Rebirth 2 are good skills for passive healing. Rebirth heals 1/2
the last damage received while Rebirth 2 heals 1/4 of the last combo damage
received. Both of them cap out at 60 HP per second for a total of 120 HP per
second free healing if when they are both triggered.


-----Yuri------

You are probably most comfortable with Yuri if this is your first playthrough.
He might also be your toughest character if you gave him all the stat boost
items like Sage. Because he is meant to be the character you play most of the
time, he is pretty well-rounded.

Given the multitude of foes, this will take a while. Azure Edge is always handy
due to its range. Prefer any speedy attack, such as Ghost Wolf, Dragon Swarm,
Tiger Blade, Frigid Blast, etc. over the slower ones, even in Overlimit.

Boss characters can get the excessive Overlimit combo treatment using Dragon
Swarm, Tiger Blade, Brutal Fang, Shining Fang, etc. an infinite combo works
well like Shining Fang > Dragon Swarm/Shining Dragon Swarm > Brutal Fang >
Shining Fang Drop. This is a 28-hit combo good enough to activate the first
tension skill (free Overlimit 1). Just make sure it's just you against them
before doing it, as guppies can interrupt your combos. Some bosses are still
quick enough to get out of the combo though.

Yuri also has Guardian Field, which means healing with him is relatively easy.
Using a Miracle Bangle is for the best. Also don't forget the Glory skill from
Last Fencer weapon. It makes Yuri immune to staggering when on the ground.

Divine Wolf (Flood especially) can get you out of a jam rather nicely. Try not
to get surrounded - Yuri has difficulty dealing with seven things surrounding
him if he can't enter Overlimit. Use your Limit Bottles wisely and you
shouldn't encounter many problems.


-----Estelle-----

Estelle is probably the hardest character. She attacks pretty slowly and can't
rack up big combos as easily as other classes. She has pretty good defensive
stats but bad offensive stats.

First, you should do the invincibility trick. You need the Eternal Support
skill for this. To get it, go to Relewiese Hollow with a level 4 Sorcerer's
Ring. Search the area for the Star Rod, which has the skill. Make Estelle learn
it. Be wary - having the Anti-Magic skill on any character in the party will
negate the effect. Go into battle and use Force Field until it takes effect.
The easiest way to do this is to Overlimit spam it. Success grants
invincibility for the entire battle.

For spells, you can just spam Holy Rain unless the monsters resist Holy.
Photon, Holy Lance, and Grand Chariot don't work very well with moving
monsters. They can easily walk out of range before the spell goes off. Since
Estelle is invincible you can taunt as necessary to fill the Overlimit gauge.
For the bosses and Holy resist monsters, do a simple melee combo with melee
artes. Her melee artes are kind of clunky though.


-----Repede-----

Repede is similar to Yuri. He moves fast and attacks pretty fast, but his artes
don't link as well as Yuri's. The one arte you should definitely use is Gale
Dog. This makes Repede invincible for a short time. What this means is you can
avoid pretty much every Mystic arte the bosses will throw at you. It also does
a good job of negating spells from enemy mages.

Repede is probably the best character to use if you are wanting that item scan
of Barbatos for your Monster Book. With Gale Dog activated, use a Magic Lens
during Barbatos' Mystic arte. It won't trigger his Berserk mode, because time
is frozen when Mystic artes are in process.

A good melee combo is Punishing Fang -> Shadow Fang Punishment. It does good
single target damage with the last hit doing some area damage. In general
Lightning Dog, Shining Fang, Hell Hound, Victory Light Spear, and Punishing
Fang are the best strike artes to use. Repede's normal attacks also do plenty
damage. As he's fast, he shouldn't have a problem dodging attacks from mages,
so take enemies out in any order you wish


-----Karol-----

Karol would be one of the easier ones except for the time limit. He is one of
the slowest characters to move around, his attacks also being slow. He does
have great healing artes and a recover, all of them instant cast "melee"
abilities.

Using Reaper Knock in (or even out of) Overlimit is a good plan, but since the
gauge fills slowly, you have to use other plans at other times. Reaper Knock is
also good for taking out mages, which really can hurt Karol. Use Nice Recovery
Smash as needed (mostly poison).

Destruction Street and Roaring Revolution are two of the most useful attacks in
addition to Reaper Knock. His Punishing series is great for crowds, as those
attacks hit multiple enemies. Comboing with Death Quake Spark and Ultimate
Divine Destruction is good against bosses. Since his TP disappears quickly, a
Miracle Bangle is necessary. Faerie Rings can be useful, too.


-----Rita-----

Rita is one of the fastest characters to get through the Coliseum because of
her famous Tidal Wave Spam. You can pretty much do the same thing as grade
farming with a few changes. Skills she'll need are Speed Cast, Spell End, Lucky
End, Endure, O.L. Boost, and OVL Bonus 1 and 2, to name a few.

Make sure you start with your Overlimit meter charged to 4. This will give you
ample time to get through all the enemies. The Miracle Bangle will heal enough
TP, you can use Overlimit 1 the whole time. Use Meteor Storm on enemies that
resist Ice/Water and Bosses. Even when bosses go into Overlimit, you should
still be able to cast enough spells to take them out before long. The only foes
to look out for are Barbatos and Kratos. Everyone else will go down easily, as
Tidal Wave restricts their movements. You might also try using her Levitate
skill to stay out of range of any melee monsters, but it consumes TP over time.

Now if you run out of Overlimit there are a few strategies to get back into
Overlimit. Let some monsters get close to you. Then spam Crimson Flare. With a
lot of monsters near you, it does a lot of hits filling the Overlimit gauge.
You can also try using an hourglass with Gold Cat on a big monster like
Aquicia, Rocktoise or Ice Golem. It will do up to 101 hits depending on how
much gald you have (max. 1 million gald). The hourglass keeps the monster right
under the cat maximizing the number of hits.

Other good spells outside of Overlimit include:
* Bloody Howling - With Shizel's necklace equipped (if you have completed 200-
man once with another character), it comes out almost as fast as Fireball. Only
it does a lot of damage and covers a nice area. Use it often with the easier
bosses like Nan and Tison.
* Flame Dragon - Same as Bloody Howling in terms of casting time. This one is
awesome to get an enemy off of Rita. Flame Dragon sends them flying away,
giving you time to cast something that hurts.
* Fireball - You can use this almost like a melee attack. Fireball can throw up
to 10 fireballs, and with some enemies it's enough to get a Fatal Strike in. It
also casts really fast so you can use it if you run out of OL against a boss.
Tidal Wave gives you a green FS, and so does Fireball, so you can get some hits
after using OL and before using a Fatal Strike to fill again the gauge. A great
spell to use against a boss (like Barbatos) in a last-ditch effort.
* Blade Roll - Not the best spell, but it has some use. After the spell is
cast, you can move around and the blade keeps spinning. This way you can move
to the center of the monsters or get into a better position to do damage. Of
course there is some risk, because any surviving monster will be almost in
melee range.


-----Raven-----

Raven feels like a hybrid character. He has a few ranged bow attacks, a few
melee dagger attacks, and a few spells. Overall, he is one of the harder
characters to play solo but he does have a healing arte.

Tempest is nice for groups of monsters but the casting time is very long.
Without a Spell End skill you also have to wait after casting to start another
one. The best time to use it is when bosses show up, and you are still cleaning
up normal monsters. It will kill the normal monsters quickly and also do some
damage to the boss. You pretty much need to be in Overlimit to use it though.

Some other good artes are Rainsong, Falling Stars, Azure Heavens, and Stop
Flow. Rainsong can be spammed in Overlimit to kill any single target quick.
Falling Stars is similar to Rainsong but has a slight knockback effect if you
are having trouble with monsters getting too close. Stop Flow works like the
hourglass item stopping all enemies but does have the downside of a huge TP
cost and short duration.

For killing all the weak monsters, I stuck with two melee artes. They are
easier to link together and don't knock down the enemies as much. That means
you can keep attacking the monsters instead of having to keep waiting for them
to get up off the ground. The easiest melee combo is Around -> Around and
Around. Very simple and pretty good damage.


-----Judith-----

The air queen and the mistress of the moon, Judith, is one of the better
characters to go solo with in the game. She's not exactly great in a team
setting - hence the reason why the Coliseum is truly a place for her to shine.
She is probably the hardest character to learn how to use properly, though.

Keeping in the air is necessary. Therefore, Manual mode is recommended to make
jumping easy. Moonbeam is a great Arte to use, as are Luna Talon and Luna
Crush. The more aerial skills Judith has - especially jump cancel stuff - the
better. Moonbeam is great for dodging spells and taking out static mages on the
other side of the battlefield. Chain Artes to avoid a lot of the enemies. Luna
Talon will drive Judith straight to the ground, thus helping her avoid frontal
attacks. Luna Rise is also useful to a certain extent. Judith's a monster in
the air, so try to keep her airborne. She'll get owned if she's not in the air.

If you don't know how to do good air combos with Judith, stick with an easy
ground-based combo like Moonlight Havoc -> Rising Luna Rondo or Thunder Moon
Rising. Use Moonbeam to take out mages. You might run into time issues towards
the end, though.


|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---- 9. FAQ [CFAQ] ----------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Q: How do I unlock the Coliseum in Tales of Vesperia?
A: First, you must be far enough in the game to have Ba'ul. The Coliseum is
available any time after that. At that point, you have access to 30-, 50-, and
80-man. 100-man is available after you fight Flynn. 200-man is available after
beating the final boss in the Ex-Dungeon and completing three sidequests. Refer
to Unlocking the Coliseum [NLCK] for more information.


Q: What cameo enemies are in the Vesperia Coliseum?
A: They only appear in the 200-man melee.
Time Traveller - Dhaos from Tales of Phantasia
Sorrowful Queen of Darkness - Shizel from Tales of Eternia (Destiny 2 in US)
Killer of Heroes - Barbatos from Tales of Destiny 2 [JP] (Not released in US)
Traitor to Heaven - Kratos from Tales of Symphonia


Q: Are there party or team battles in the Coliseum?
A: Unfortunately, Namco didn't decide to include team battles in the Coliseum.
It only has melee mode, which is one of your characters in an endurance match
against lots of monsters.


Q: Does the Coliseum stay open after beating the game?
A: Yes, it stays open forever after getting Ba'ul. The Letter of Challenge
sidequests are also available. The only thing you need to do is make sure you
activate the Ex Dungeon since it is required for the last Letter of Challenge.
Right before entering Vaude fly with Ba'ul back to Pharaoh's perch in the
desert. There should be a portal to enter that takes you to the illusion
Yormgen. Talk to the Elder in his house and stay the night.


Q: What are the Letters of Challenge needed to unlock everything?
A: Letter of Challenge (Flynn)
Letter of Challenge (L. Claw)
Letter of Challenge (H. Blades)
Letter of Challenge (Legend)

Q: What are the monsters only found in the Coliseum for my Monster Book?
A: Adecor (Coliseum)
Boccos (Coliseum)
Nan (Coliseum)
Jun
Tison (Coliseum)
Augusto
Gauche
Droite
October
Flynn (Coliseum)
Nan (Coliseum 2)
Seigle
Time Traveller
July
Sorrowful Queen of Darkness
Killer of Heroes
Traitor to Heaven

Q: Can Gauche and Droite's swords be stolen in the Coliseum?
A: No, they can only be stolen when you fight them as part of the Letter of
Challenge sidequest. If you missed them, you will have to wait until the next
playthrough.

|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----- 10. CLOSING [CLSN] ----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

-----Thanks-----
* KADFC for his Monster List
* chellerrific for her Collector's Book Completion Guide
* Arthaiin for his Sidequest/Secret Mission Guide
* AmandaKimmel for his Tales of Vesperia Board FAQ, corrections, and character
strategies
* Phoenix~Lament for character strategies and tips
* Ako for more Rita strategies
* Nilfalasiel for some character strategies

I hope this guide was useful in some way to your Vesperia Coliseum playing. I
would also like to thank everyone on the GameFAQs Tales of Vesperia boards for
answering my questions.


-----Submissions-----
Feel free to send me mistakes or additional information about any part of this
guide. The minimum levels for Hard and Unknown difficulties are guesstimates. I
have not played Coliseum at those difficulties and don't have any characters at
the right levels to do this without a whole new playthrough. If you have good
experience playing the Coliseum on harder difficulties, please let me know what
good minimum levels are. The Character Strategies section has been improved a
lot from recent submissions, but could always use more tips.

The subject line should have something like "Vesperia Coliseum Guide". Anyone
who helps improve the guide will be credited and thanked here.