If you want to get that JRPG itch scratched, you shouldn’t look anywhere beyond Bandai Namco’s Tales of Arise. It’s a game if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy, Persona, Dragon Quest, and the like. Many critics praise the game for being a masterclass when it comes to JRPGs.
Even die-hard series fans have said that Tales of Arise is not just the best entry in the series; it’s one of the toughest games. Even those that have played all of the previous entries in the game required help in their Tales of Arise journey. If you’re one of those people that need a helping hand, here are a few tips and tricks that will help you throughout the game.
Always Eat
Early on in the game, Shionne teaches Alphen how to cook. This is a very important action. To cook, all you need are the ingredients you can pick up along the way and recipes you learn from completing sub-quests. Eating nets your characters important stat bonuses, which are helpful whether you’re facing a tough boss or grinding for materials.
You’ll be tasked with picking who to cook the dish with and always choose the character that specializes in that dish. Doing this will net you bonuses such as increased duration and stronger cooking effects. Some bonuses you can get from cooking include attack boosts, XP boosts, defense boosts, and even a luck boost that increases the number of items you get after each fight.
Don’t Spam Boost Attacks
Boost Attacks are your best weapons in the game. The boost attack meter automatically charges on its own, but you can also speed up the process by attacking. A common mistake newbies make when playing Tales of Arise is spamming the Boost Attack button whenever possible. However, it’s best to conserve these and only use them to counter specific enemies. To be more specific, here’s what enemies the characters counter:
- Shionne – Flying enemies
- Rimwell – Magical enemies
- Law – Shielded enemies
- Kisara – Charging enemies
- Dohalim – Fleet-footed enemies.
Alphen can immobilize any type of enemy with his Boost Attack. By conserving your Boost Attack, you can easily escape sticky situations. Keep in mind that Boost Attack meters also carry over after each battle.
Spend Your SP Wisely
SP or skill points are one of the most vital resources in the game. These are used to buy passive and active abilities for your characters on the skill tree. The problem is that earning enough points to unlock some of the skills can take a while. The good news is that there will always be a source of SP if there are enemies in the game.
Since it’s a scarce resource most of the time, we highly suggest spending it wisely. Focus on getting the free stat bonuses first, as these are all significant additions that can power up Alphen and the gang. If you look at each character’s panels on the skill tree, you can unlock special stat bonuses if you can unlock all five skills in one panel.
Complete Sub-Quests Whenever You Can
There are a lot of sub-quests in Tales of Arise, all indicated by a green star on your map. These quests involve completing tasks such as beating Gigants, hunting down a certain number of enemies, and even gathering items for NPCs. You’ll encounter a new sub-quest in almost every new area, and it’s impossible to miss out on these.
Finishing the sub-quest rewards you with many things. The most common rewards are SP and Gald. In some sub-quests, you’ll also be rewarded with items and recipes to cook. In some cases, you’ll be tasked with fighting enemies too overpowered in your current state. If so, try to grind for XP and SP first.
Check For Equipment Upgrades When You Can
In the game, Alphen and the gang can equip a weapon, armor, and an accessory. For the armor, you can either get these from treasure chests around the world or buy them from stores. You can’t craft armor in the game, which is good because all you need to spend to create new weapons is Gald.
As for the weapons themselves, you can craft these using materials gathered from beating enemies. You’ll also need Gald to create these weapons as well.
When you craft a weapon, DON’T SELL IT once you’ve found a new upgrade. Some weapons can be refined to become stronger later on in the game. Good equipment can make or break your battles.
Take Advantage Of Weak Spots
There are a lot of tough bosses and special enemies called Gigants in Tales of Arise. Despite their high stats, these enemies suffer from one main problem – they have a weak spot. Nearly all the major bosses and the Gigants in the game have a weak spot indicated as a glowing-orange crystal on their bodies. Focus your attacks on these areas as much as you can.
Aside from dealing heavier damage on these spots, there’s a chance you’ll trigger a Core Break. The weak spot shatters when this happens, and the enemy becomes immobilized for some time. After initiating a Core Break, there will be a short period before it reappears on the same spot on the enemy’s body.
Watch Out For Shiny Spots
You’ll be doing a lot of walking in Tales of Arise. You’ll see shiny spots on the ground and in the water along the way. Walking up to these spots and interacting with them doesn’t cost you anything. Doing so rewards you with materials for crafting and ingredients for cooking.
Alphen can hold up to 99 of each material and ingredient in the game. You have no reason to avoid interacting with those important shiny spots, as you’ll need the items you get from them later.
Fight Gigants
Gigants are optional bosses found throughout Tales of Arise. Intimidating they may be, you must fight these creatures when you can. You can net special crafting materials, high SP, and XP from them.
Most importantly, however, you can get Astral Flowers from beating Gigants. Astral Flowers permanently increase your CP by 10.
Customize Your Strategy
The game has preset tactics, but these aren’t ideal. You can only control one of the characters in the game. The rest of the party moves automatically, thanks to AI. While you can’t control them, you can at least customize your strategy so that they act better while in combat.
Don’t be afraid to tinker with the strategy section of the menu. Depending on what you need for a specific boss fight, you can change how each character reacts. We suggest stopping them from using items in the game, as the AI can be a bit of a hog when using the party’s shared inventory.
Manage Your Farm
Once you reach Elde Menancia, Alphen and Law can initiate a sub-quest that unlocks a very important feature in the game: farming. You’ll only need to spend CP to heal an injured NPC to finish the sub-quest.
The farm is a vital resource for meat such as chicken, beef, pork, and even a unique creature called rapping. You can’t easily find free meat across the map as you would vegetable and fruit ingredients. Make sure to manage your farm occasionally, as the rewards are worth it in the end.
To farm for livestock, you only need to pick an animal to raise. At first, you can only choose from cows, pigs, and chickens. The list grows automatically as your farm more. Next, pick a type of feed to give to the animals. Some feeds allow your animals to produce more meat at a faster rate. Lastly, put dogs and cats on guard so your livestock stays free from monsters and cats.
Master Dodging
In battle, only Kisara can block incoming attacks. This is a unique mechanic for any JRPG. Alphen, Shionne, Law, Rimwell, and Dohalim can dodge instead of block.
Dodging enemy attacks at the very last moment will initiate a perfect dodge. A perfect dodge allows your character to recover immediately and instantly follow up with an attack at the enemy. In the case of Dohalim, you can increase his critical rate and range if you initiate a perfect dodge.
Conserve Your Stones
Across the world, in Tales of Arise are stone resource points. By interacting with these, you can mine for all sorts of ore. Ores vary in rarity ranging from 2-4. The rarer the stone, the better. Selling these ores for quick Gald in case you need them can be tempting, but it’s best to hoard all of the ores you can find as these serve a very special purpose.
You can use ores to create accessories for Alphen and the gang. Now, you must keep your ores instead of selling them, as these can be used to power up the accessories you create. Moreover, each individual ore creates a unique accessory that has varying stat bonuses as well. These ores sell for a low price anyway, so it’s best to keep them on.
Tales of Arise may be difficult, but with enough grinding and hard work, each fight will feel much easier. With these tips, you can dominate the game easily. These tips can help you from the game’s beginning to end.
