------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Star Ocean: The Second Story Spell combining FAQ Version 1.3(03/09/02) By AnotherGamer(gamer777@hotmail.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.Disclaimer: Use for whatever you want, as long as money isn't involved and I'm credited as the maker of this FAQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.Contents: 1.Disclaimer 2.Contents 3.Introduction 4.Pros and cons of combining spells 5.Notes on Motormouth 6.Rules for combining spells and list of combineable spells 7.Ratings for spell combinations and timing for them 7.1 Earth + Water 7.2 Earth + Light 7.3 Water + Fire 7.4 Water + Thunder 7.5 Vacuum 7.6 Fire + Vacuum 7.7 Star + Vacuum 7.8 Star 7.9 Star + Light 7.10 Star + Void 7.11 Light 7.12 Light + Darkness 7.13 Void 7.14 Void + Darkness 7.15 Void + Thunder 8.Credits 9.Version history ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.Introduction: "Combining spells? I've never heard of this before!" Indeed, the ability to have 2 spells combine into 1 more powerful spell is one of the lesser-known features of Star Ocean 2. It's not something that happens completely randomly and isn't mentioned anywhere in the game, either; with little practice, you'll be able to combine any 2 combineable spells 100% of the time. And for the record, this feature is mentioned in the game as well; if you read a book titled "Heraldry Arts System 1" in Elder's House in Mars Village, it mentions that "attack spells cast by allies will induce fusion the instant that they touch each other, resulting in much greater energy which attacks the enemy". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.Pros and cons of combining spells Pros: -The most noticeable pro in combining spells is the spell effect itself. Depending on the spells being combined, these effects can be either barely noticeable (Earth Grave+Star Flare) or they can fit in perfectly (Shadow Flare+Lunar Light). -In some cases, a spell combination can have much greater effects than just casting the 2 spells separately (More on this later). Cons: -Since the maximum amount of damage a single spell can do is 9999 (with one important exception), sometimes the spells could end up doing more damage if they were cast separately. -To combine spells efficiently, you should turn off Motormouth, which can be a pain for all the non-combineable spells you are going to cast. -There seems to be a small (5-10%) chance that spell combinations fail, only giving you the damage of the stronger spell if it was cast normally. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.Notes on Motormouth Like I mentioned in the previous chapter, you should turn Motormouth off if you wish to experiment with combining spells. "Why the hell should I do that?!", you ask. Well, the fact is that having Motormouth on when experimenting with spell combinations can be extremely frustrating. Why? Well, since Motormouth works randomly, you have no way of knowing when it's going to activate. And since it cuts the casting time next to nothing and combining spells is based on timing, it does more harm than good. Don't believe me? Here's an example: Let's say that Celine is casting Lunar Light and Leon is casting Shadow Flare. Without Motormouth, their timing is perfect, meaning that the 2 spells will combine. But, if either one of them succeeds with Motormouth, that person's spell will be cast much eariler than the other's, screwing up the timing. Sure, they both might get lucky and succeed in Motormouth, combining the spells successfully with less waiting time, but the chances for that to happen is half of just one of them succeeding in it. Besides, it's not like you need Motormouth that badly; you weren't planning on practicing combining spells on Iselia Queen, were you? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.Rules for combining spells and list of combineable spells First, you need to know what you need to be able to combine spells. No, you don't need a super-rare accessory that you need to equip on all your mages or anything like that; the truth is that the only thing you need is the spells themselves and a little bit of timing. The most important thing in combining spells is timing. I know, I said it already, but it's _that_ important. To combine 2 spells, you need to have the mages cast them _almost_ at the same time. If you are successful, you'll see something like "FriendLg -> Absorb ->FriendDk" in the lower right corner of the screen and see the 2 spells being cast simultaneously. Those are the basic rules for combining spells. But you can't just try to combine Fairy Light and Meteor Swarm and expect it to work. No, to be able to combine spells, they must fulfill the following rules: 1.Only mid-level attack spells may be used in spell combinations. That means that you can't use stuff like Wind Blade or Extinction in spell combinations. 2.To be able to combine these spells, they must: a)either have the same element or b)have compatable elements. Below is a list that explains what spells can be combined and their elements: Earth: Earth Grave Water: Acid Rain, Deep Freeze, Noah Fire: Eruption Wind: (none) Thunder: Thunderstorm, Thunder Cloud Star: Starlight, Tractor Beam Vacuum: Energy Arrow, Blood Sucker Light: Ray, Light Cross, Lunar Light, Star Flare Darkness: Shadow Bolt, Black Saber, Shadow Flare Void: Press, Gravity Press, Gremlin Lair As you can see, there are no wind-elemental spells that can be used in spell absorbtion. Too bad, I would have loved to see another spell combined with Magnum Tornado. And yes, you can combine 2 of the same spell. "Acid Rain?! Huh? Acid Rain isn't an attack spell!" Yes, you're right, but it has a very useful function when combined with another spell: it automatically makes any enemy hit by the other spell take 9999 damage. Very useful. The bad thing is that if the enemy is able to absorb the element you attacked them with, they'll instead get the 9999 HP instead. As for which elements are compatable, here's another list: Earth + Water Earth + Light Water + Fire Water + Thunder Fire + Vacuum Star + Vacuum Star + Light Star + Void Light + Darkness Void + Darkness Void + Thunder So, to sum it all up: the spells you're going to combine must have the same or compatable elements, must be from the above list and must be cast at the same time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.Ratings for spell combinations and timing for them Note: Be sure to put all your mages on manual control. They're not smart enough to combine spells other than by pure luck. Another note: I won't bother to list combinations with 2 same spells, since the animation doesn't change and the spell simply does double damage. Spells used: What spells you need to cast Name: A made up name for the spell combination, used mainly for reference Description: Brief description on spell effect Timing: How to time the 2 spells to get them to combine Comments: Self-explainatory Rating: *=useless, don't bother **=use only if you don't have better options ***=slightly useful, use if you want ****=quite useful, worth using *****=very useful, use it a lot ******=special rank reserved only for Gremlin Storm, as no other spell comes even close as far as damage is concerned 7.1 Earth + Water ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Acid Rain, Earth Grave Name: Acid Grave Description: Acid rains on opponents as jagged rocks skewer them Timing: Cast Earth Grave, wait ½ seconds, then cast Acid Rain Comments: The most useful Acid Rain combination, takes little MP and does 9999 damage while hitting all enemies. Rating: ***** Spells used: Deep Freeze, Earth Grave Name: Earth Freeze Description: Ice blocks rain on enemies, forming diamonds as jagged rocks skewer them. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Not all that good, doesn't do much damage and only hits on a certain radius around the target. Rating: ** Spells used: Noah, Earth Grave Name: Noah's Grave Description: A tsunami sweeps over the enemies as jagged rocks skewer them Timing: Cast Noah first, wait 1 second, then cast Earth Grave Comments: Doesn't do much damage, although it hits all enemies. Don't bother. Rating: ** 7.2 Earth + Light ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Ray, Earth Grave Name: Earth Ray Description: Rays of light hit the enemy as jagged rocks skewer them Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Looks pathetic and does hardly any damage. Don't bother. Rating: * Spells used: Light Cross, Earth Grave Name: Earth Cross Description: White lights sparkle over the enemies as jagged rocks skewer them Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Little damage as usual, not worth the trouble. Rating: * Spells used: Lunar Light, Earth Grave Name: Lunar Grave Description: Jagged rocks skewer the enemy, followed by a massive explosion. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait 1½ seconds and then cast Earth Grave. Comments: Does very nice damage but is kinda hard to pull off. Rating: *** Spells used: Star Flare, Earth Grave Name: Earth Flare Description: Cubes of light hit the battlefield and explode. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Yes, sadly you won't ever see the Earth Grave part of this spell, you only hear it. It does do semi-nice damage, though. Rating: ** 7.3 Water + Fire ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Acid Rain, Eruption Name: Acid Eruption Description: Acid rains on opponents as a fiery explosion rains lava on them. Timing: Cast Eruption, wait 1 second, then cast Acid Rain. Comments: Not as useful as Acid Grave, since it only affects an area of enemies and costs more MP. Still, useful on enemies you meet before getting Noel. Rating: *** Spells used: Deep Freeze, Eruption Name: Freezing Eruption Description: Huge snowflakes float around the battlefield as a fiery explosion rains lava on them. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Not all that useful. Only targets a group of enemies and doesn't do much damage. Rating: ** Spells used: Noah, Eruption Name: Noah's Eruption Description: A tsunami sweeps over the enemies as a fiery explosion rains lava on them. Timing: Cast Noah, wait 1 second, then cast Eruption. Comments: Kinda useful, hits all enemies and does nice damage. Rating: *** 7.4 Water + Thunder ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Acid Rain, Thunderstorm Name: Acid Storm Description: Acid rains on opponents as lighting bolts strike them. Timing: Cast Thunderstorm, wait 1½ seconds, then cast Acid Rain. Comments: 9999 damage on all non-thunder-absorbing enemies. Very nice. Rating: **** Spells used: Deep Freeze, Thunderstorm Name: Freezing Storm Description: Huge snowflakes float around the battlefield as lighting bolts strike the enemies. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. However, if you are too fast, the spells won't combine. Comments: Hits only a group of enemies and doesn't do much damage. Rating: ** Spells used: Noah, Thunderstorm Name: Noah's Thunder Description: A tsunami sweeps over the enemies as lighting bolts strike them. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Hits all enemies for a nice damage total, but costs a lot of MP for both Celine and Leon. Rating: *** Spells used: Acid Rain, Thundercloud Name: Thunder Rain Description: Acid rains on opponents as lightning bolts from a huge thundercloud strike them. Timing: Cast Thundercloud, wait 3(!) seconds, then cast Acid Rain. Comments: Hard to time, takes more MP and does the same damage as Acid Storm. Don't bother. Rating: ** Spells used: Deep Freeze, Thundercloud Name: Freezing Thunder Description: Huge snowflakes float around the battlefield as lightning bolts from a huge thundercloud strike the enemies. Timing: Cast Thundercloud, wait 1 second, then cast Deep Freeze. Comments: Does a moderate amount of damage and hits all enemies. Rating: *** Spells used: Noah, Thundercloud Name: Tsunami Thunder Description: A tsunami sweeps over the enemies as lightning bolts from a huge thundercloud strike the enemies. Timing: Cast Thundercloud, wait ½ second, then cast Noah. Comments: Does a semi-high amount of damage on all enemies. The weird thing is that all the enemies get damaged already when the Noah part is over (meaning that if they are killed, the game will still show the Thundercloud animation with enemies already dead) and the lighting bolts from Thundercloud don't create explosions. Rating: *** 7.5 Vacuum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Blood Sucker, Energy Arrow Name: Blood Arrow Description: Countless purple energy beams converge on the enemy as a green bubble appears on it, turns into smaller bubbles and converges on Noel. Timing: Cast Energy Arrow, wait ½ second, then cast Blood Sucker. Comments: Hits only 1 enemy and doesn't do much damage. The bonus is that Noel gets some HP back when it's cast. The weird thing is that it hits twice and is pretty much the same thing as casting the 2 spells separately (this also applies to all other spell combinations with Blood Sucker, except Bloody Star). This was probably done to prevent Noel from hitting several enemies with Blood Sucker or to get back as many HP as the spell combination did damage in total: both of these methoids would have made him able to gain back outrageous amounts of HP at a very small cost. Rating: * 7.6 Fire + Vacuum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Eruption, Energy Arrow Name: Eruption Arrow Description: Fiery explosion rains lava on an enemy as countless purple energy beams converge on it. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Does next to no damage and hits only 1 enemy. Pretty useless. Still, probably the strongest spell combination with Energy Arrow you'll see. Rating: ** Spells used: Eruption, Blood Sucker Name: Blood Eruption Description: Fiery explosion rains lava on an enemy as a green bubble appears on it,turns into smaller bubbles and converges on Noel. Timing: Cast Eruption, wait ½ seconds, then cast Blood Sucker. Comments: Like Blood Arrow. The bonus is that Noel gets some HP back when it's cast. Rating: * 7.7 Star + Vacuum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Starlight, Blood Sucker Name: Bloody Star Description: A group of stars flies towards the targetted enemy as a green bubble appears on it,turns into smaller bubbles and converges on Noel. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: I _would_ like to say it's useful early on, but seeing at which point you get Noel, that doesn't really apply. Minor damage, targets only one enemy. Seems to be the only spell combination with Blood Sucker that enables Noel to get back as much HP as the combination did damage in total. Rating: * Spells used: Tractor Beam, Blood Sucker Name: Blood Beam Description: A green bubble appears on the selected enemy, turns into smaller bubbles and converges on Noel as a rainbow-colored energy cylinder appears around the enemy, lifts it up and drops it on it's head. Timing: Cast Tractor Beam, wait 1 second, then cast Blood Sucker Comments: Same as other spell combinations with Blood Sucker. No damage increase in either spell. Rating: * Spells used: Starlight, Energy Arrow Name: Star Arrow Description: Countless purple energy beams converge on the enemy as a group of stars flies towards it. Timing: Cast Energy Arrow, wait 1 second, then cast Starlight. Comments: Next to no extra damage, as usual. Vacuum spells aren't really that great, huh? Rating: * Spells used: Tractor Beam, Energy Arrow Name: Beam Arrow Description: A rainbow-colored energy cylinder appears around the enemy and disappears as countless purple energy beams converge on it. Timing: Cast Tractor Beam, wait ½ second and then cast Energy Arrow. Comments: The second-strongest Vacuum combination. That's not saying much, though. Rating: * 7.8 Star -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Starlight, Tractor Beam Name: Star Beam Description: A group of stars flies up as A rainbow-colored energy cylinder appears on around the enemy, lifts it up and drops it on it's head. Timing: Cast Tractor Beam, wait 1½ seconds, then cast Starlight. Comments: Doesn't do much damage, as everything with Starlight. Rating: * 7.9 Star + Light -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Starlight, Ray Name: Star Ray Description: A group of stars flies up and shoots each enemy with a beam as yellow beams of light hit them from above. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: One of the earliest spells combinations you can do. As you can expect, it doesn't do much damage. It's useful early on, though. Rating: ** Spells used: Starlight, Light Cross Name: Star Cross Description: A group of stars flies up as white explosions rock the battlefield. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: You'll be able to use this pretty early too. At least it hits all enemies. Rating: * Spells used: Starlight, Lunar Light Name: Lunar Star Description: A group of stars floats towards the enemies and disappears, followed by a massive explosion. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait 1 second, then cast Starlight Comments: Does a nice amount of damage and hits everyone. Rating: *** Spells used: Starlight, Star Flare Name: Heavenly Flare Description: A group of stars floats towards the enemies and disappears, followed by several explosions. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Doesn't do all that much damage. Still, it hits everyone. Rating: ** Spells used: Tractor Beam, Ray Name: Ray Beam Description: A rainbow-colored energy cylinder appears on around the enemy, lifts it up and drops it on it's head as yellow beams of light hit it from above. Timing: Cast Tractor Beam, wait 1 second, then cast Ray. Comments: Only hits a group of enemies and doesn't hit flying enemies. Doesn't do all that much damage either. Skip it. Rating: * Spells used: Tractor Beam, Lunar Light Name: Lunar Beam Description: A rainbow-colored energy cylinder appears on around the enemy and disappears, followed by a massive explosion. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait for 1 second, then cast Tractor Beam. Comments: Nice amount of damage and hits all enemies. Rating: *** 7.10 Star + Void -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Starlight, Press Name: Star Press Description: A group of stars flies up and shoots each enemy with a beam, followed by a huge weight that falls on the enemy. Timing: Cast Starlight, wait ½ second, then cast Press. Comments: Only 1 hit and not much damage. Pretty useless. Rating: * Spells used: Starlight, Gravity Press Name: Gravity Star Description: A group of stars flies up as a swirling mass of black clouds drops countless 100-ton weights on the enemies. Timing: Cast Gravity Press, wait ½ second, then cast Starlight. Comments: Only hits a group of enemies and does next to no damage. Rating: * Spells used: Starlight, Gremlin Lair Name: Star Lair Description: A group of stars lands on the enemy as a gremlin appears, throws countless energy sickles and bites each enemy 4 times. Timing: Cast Gremlin Lair, wait 1 second, then cast Starlight. Comments: Ah, this is better. This is the weakest spell combination with Gremlin Lair and it already does almost 1000 damage per hit. Since the spell combined with Gremlin Lair increases the damage every hit does, this is THE spell to combine with other spells. Rating: *** Spells used: Tractor Beam, Gremlin Lair Name: Gremlin Beam Description: A rainbow-colored energy cylinder appears around the enemy and disappears as a gremlin appears, throws countless energy sickles and bites each enemy 4 times. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Oh, how the mighty have fallen...This used to be the most powerful spell combination, but Gremlin Storm gets that title now. Still, it's far from useless, and quite a powerful replacement for it if you never got Celine. Rating: ***** 7.11 Light -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Ray, Light Cross Name: Ray Cross Description: Holy explosions sweep over the battlefield as yellow beams of light strike the enemies. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Not very good. At least it hits all enemies. Rating: ** Spells used: Ray, Lunar Light Name: Lunar Ray Description: Yellow beams of light strike the enemies, followed by a huge explosion. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait 2 seconds, then cast Ray. Comments: Powerful, hits all enemies. But then again, all spell combos with Lunar Light do so. Rating: *** Spells used: Ray, Star Flare Name: Ray Flare Description: Yellow beams of light strike the enemies as cubes of light strike the battlefield and explode. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Average amount of damage, hits everyone. Rating: ** Spells used: Lunar Light, Light Cross Name: Lunar Cross Description: Bright lights shine all over the battlefield as a huge explosion strikes the enemies. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait 2 seconds, then cast Light Cross. Comments: Damaging as ever and hits everyone. Yay. Rating: *** Spells used: Lunar Light, Star Flare Name: Lunar Flare Description: Cubes of light strike the battlefield and explode, followed by a huge explosion. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait 2½ seconds, then cast Star Flare. Comments: Very nice damage. Looks cool to boot, too. Rating: **** 7.12 Light + Darkness -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Ray, Shadow Bolt Name: Shadow Ray Description: A black ring appears around the enemy as yellow beams of light strike it from above. Timing: Cast Shadow Bolt, wait ½ second, then cast Ray. Comments: Pat-he-tic. Probably the weakest spell combination in the game. Hits only 1 enemy and does next to no damage. Rating: * Spells used: Ray, Black Saber Name: Ray Saber Description: A black blade of energy hits the enemy as yellow beams of light strike it from above. Timing: Cast Black Saber, wait ½ second, then cast Ray. Comments: Hits only 1 enemy and doesn't do much damage. Rating: ** Spells used: Ray, Shadow Flare Name: Ray Flare Description: Yellow beams of light strike the enemy as black cubes of energy hit the battlefield and explode. Timing: Cast Shadow Flare, wait 2 seconds, then cast Ray. Comments: Does a medium amount of damage and hits all enemies. Rating: *** Spells used: Light Cross, Shadow Bolt Name: Light Bolt Description: A black ring appears around the enemy as holy explosions sweep over the battlefield. Timing: Cast Light Cross, wait ½ second, then cast Shadow Bolt. Comments: Weak as expected. Well, at least it hits all enemies. Rating: ** Spells used: Light Cross, Black Saber Name: Black Cross Description: A black blade of energy hits the enemy as bright lights shine all over the battlefield. Timing:Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Not all that good. Might be useful when you first get it. Rating: ** Spells used: Light Cross, Shadow Flare Name: Flare Cross Description: Black cubes of energy hit the battlefield and explode as bright lights shine all over the battlefield. Timing: Cast Shadow Flare, wait 2 seconds, then cast Light Cross. Comments: Nice damage, hits everyone. Rating: *** Spells used: Lunar Light, Shadow Bolt Name: Lunar Bolt Description: A black ring appears around the enemy, followed by a huge explosion. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait 2 seconds, then cast Shadow Bolt. Comments: Does hardly any extra damage, it's much easier to cast Lunar Light on it's own. Rating: ** Spells used: Lunar Light, Black Saber Name: Lunar Saber Description: A black blade of energy hits the enemy, followed by a huge explosion. Timing: Cast Lunar Light, wait 1 second, then cast Black Saber. Comments: Hits everyone, increases damage nicely. Can be quite useful when you first get Leon. Rating: *** Spells used: Lunar Light, Shadow Flare Name: Lunar Shadow Description: Black cubes of energy hit the battlefield and explode, followed by a huge explosion. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Does a ton of damage, which is not surprising, considering that Lunar Light and Shadow Flare are the most powerful combineable single-hit spells. Looks nice too. Rating: **** Spells used: Star Flare, Shadow Bolt Name: Star Bolt Description: A black ring appears around the enemy as cubes of light strike the battlefield and explode. Timing: Cast Star Flare, wait ½ second, then cast Shadow Bolt. Comments: As you can expect, Shadow Bolt doesn't add much damage. It isn't terribly hard to pull it off, though. Rating: ** Spells used: Star Flare, Black Saber Name: Star Saber Description: Cubes of light strike the battlefield and explode. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Like in Earth Flare, you'll never see the Black Saber part. Use the same way as Lunar Saber. Rating: ** Spells used: Star Flare, Shadow Flare Name: Shadowstar Flare Description: Cubes of light and darkness rain on the battlefield, creating multiple explosions. Timing: Cast Shadow Flare, wait 2 seconds, then cast Star Flare. Comments: Attack Of The Flares. Looks nice. Does relatively good damage too. Rating: *** 7.13 Void -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Press, Gremlin Lair Name: Gremlin Press Description: A 10-ton weight falls on an enemy as a gremlin appears, throws countless energy sickles and bites each enemy 4 times. Timing: Cast Gremlin Lair, wait 1½ seconds, then cast Press. Comments: The smallest damage increase of any spell. Too hard to pull off, too. Rating: * Spells used: Gravity Press, Gremlin Lair Name: Gravity Lair Description: Countless 100-ton weights fall on enemies as a gremlin appears, throws countless energy sickles and bites each enemy 4 times. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Nice. Seems to do the same amount of damage as Gremlin Beam. Rating: ***** 7.14 Void + Darkness -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Press, Shadow Bolt Name: Shadow Press Description: A black ring appears around the enemy as a 10-ton weight falls on an enemy. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at an enemy, press X and O in quick succession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Hits one enemy and does pathetic damage. Eww. Rating: * Spells used: Press, Black Saber Name: Black Press Description: A black blade of energy hits the enemy as a 10-ton weight falls on an enemy. Timing: Cast Black Saber, wait 1 second, then cast Press. Comments: Not all that good, doesn't do much damage. Rating: ** Spells used: Press, Shadow Flare Name: Press Flare Description: Black cubes of energy hit the battlefield and explode, followed by a 10-ton weight. Timing: Cast Shadow Flare, wait 2 seconds, then cast Press. Comments: Hits everyone for some damage. Rating: ** Spells used: Gravity Press, Shadow Bolt Name: Gravity Bolt Description: A black ring appears around the enemy as countless 100-ton weights fall on enemies. Timing: Cast Gravity Press, wait 1 second, then cast Shadow Bolt Comments: Only hits a group of enemies for some damage. Rating: ** Spells used: Gravity Press, Black Saber Name: Gravity Saber Description: A black saber fires as 100lb. weights plunge on the enemy. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at the enemy, press X and O in quick sucession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Not all that great, does pretty good damage in Disc 1, but when you get to Disc 2, forget it. Still, stick to better ones. Rating: ** Spells used: Gravity Press, Shadow Flare Name: Gravity Flare Description: Rains black exploding cubes of energy and countless 100-ton weights on the enemies. Timing: Cast Shadow Flare, wait 1 second, then cast Gravity Press Comments: Also know as "the spell that drops a ton of black stuff on the enemies". Looks nice and does a respecatable amount of damage to all enemies. Rating: *** 7.15 Void + Thunder -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells used: Press, Thunderstorm Name: Storm Press Description: Bolts of lightning strike all enemies, followed by a 10-ton weight being dropped on an enemy. Timing: Cast Thunderstorm, wait 2 seconds, then cast Press Comments: Hard to time and doesn't do much damage, but then again, same goes for all spell combinations that use Press. Rating: ** Spells used: Press, Thundercloud Name: Cloud Press Description: A 10-ton weight falls on an enemy, followed by powerful bolts of lightning hitting all enemies. Timing: Cast Thundercloud, wait 3(!) seconds, then cast Press Comments: Even harder to time, and does next to no extra damage. Not worth casting even for the animation's sake. Rating: * Spells used: Gravity Press, Thunderstorm Name: Gravity Storm Description: Bolts of lightning strike all enemies as a swirling mass of black clouds drops countless 100-ton weights on all enemies. Timing: Cast Thunderstorm, wait 1 second, then cast Gravity Press. Comments: Does a medium amount of damage to all enemies. Nice, but the fact that there's so many similliar spells reduces it's usefulness quite a bit. Rating: *** Spells used: Gravity Press, Thundercloud Name: Gravity Cloud Description: A black mass of clouds rains countless 100-ton weights and large thunderbolts on all enemies. Timing: Cast Thundercloud, wait 1½ seconds, then cast Gravity Press Comments: Quite a nice amount of damage, one of the most powerful Celine+Rena spell combinations. Rating: **** Spells used: Gremlin Lair, Thunderstorm Name: Gremlin Storm Description: Bolts of lightning strike all enemies as a gremlin appears, throws countless energy sickles and bites each enemy 4 times. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at the enemy, press X and O in quick sucession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Forget anything I ever said about Gremlin Beam being the "best spell combination in the game", this one is at least 2 times stronger! With 3000+ damage per hit, you'll break the 9999 barrier even if none of the energy sickles connect. That's reason enough to warrant an extra star, isn't it? Rating: ****** Spells used: Gremlin Lair, Thunder Cloud Name: Thunder Gremlin Description: Bolts of lightning rain as a gremlin shoots energy sickles. Timing: Immediate, select either spell first and when the cursor is pointing at the enemy, Press X and O in quick sucession, then cast the other spell. Comments: Not like the other Gremlin Lair spells, Thunder Storm hits but the Gremlin Lair effect never happens, although it is pretty cool to see ALL of the energy sickles go toward the enemy targeted, not much damage though, but it hits all enemies. The programmers probably thought that hitting all enemies for 4000+ damage at least 4 times would be too powerful, thankfully at least Thunderstorm works the way it's supposed to when combined with Gremlin Lair. Rating: *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.Credits STam: For his FAQ where I first learned about the lesser know SO2 feature of combining spells. I'd also like to thank him for allowing me to borrow his list of combineable spells and what elements are compatable. Aya Brea: For informing me of another working element combination and telling me that spell combinations have a small chance of failure. Brett Hitchcock: For informing me about yet another GREAT working element combination. Also for the info on Thunder Gremlin and Gravity Saber. SSJVegeta69: For informing me that Star and Vacuum spells can be combined Me: For writing this thing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.Version history 1.0 Initial release 1.1 Found out another compatable element combination, thanks to Aya Brea. Also added some info on failures. 1.2 Found out YET another working element combination which makes even the almighty Gremlin Beam obsolete. Thank Brett, everyone. 1.3 Seems like I'm not done yet. Another working element combination was found, thanks to SSJVegeta69. I also decided to clean up the formatting a bit and placed each element combination under their respective topic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF FAQ