Date: Sat, 9 May 1998 23:57:03 -0400 From: ikelley@sas.upenn.edu (Ian Kelley) Star Ocean Skills FAQ v 1.0 One of the coolest things about Star Ocean is its great skill system. It's kind of complicated though, so I hope this FAQ can kind of clear that up. How the Skills system works: There are 4 types of Skills: Chishiki Kanren , (Knowlege-related) Kankaku Kanren, (Feeling/Sensation-related) Gijutsu Kanren, (Technical-related) and Sentou Kanren (Battle-related.) Each type of skills have 3 levels. Whenever you buy a level of a skill type, you get access to all the skills in that level. Each character can spend his or her skill points on any skill available. You gain Skill points every time you gain an experience level, and you also gain bonus points for acquiring a new Talent. (More on this later) You can gain up to l evel 10 in any given skill, then you have mastered that skill. Talents: Talents are innate skills that each character has, and what character has which talents is determined randomly at the beginning of the game. It is possible to gain new Talents th roughout the game, but this is rather difficult. By trying to use Tokugi (abilities) that require Talents you don't have, you can often gain the talent needed to make that Tokugi work effectively. Example: If your character doesn't have the skill of "Design Sense," yet continually practices the Tokugi "Art," he or she may develop Design Sense. Every time you gain a new talent, you get a bonus award of 50 Skill points. Tokugi: By learning different combinations of skills, you can learn Tokugi, a bilities. Tokugis can be anything from creating new items to playing music that has effects on your party. In order to use a Tokugi, you must learn all the component Skills. For example, if you want to learn the skill to temper your weapons, you nee d to learn metal-casting ability and mineral/ore knowledge before you can use it. Most Tokugis require at least one Talent to be work effectively, for example you need Design Sense to be an effective artist. The more skilled you are at a Tokugi, the more likely it is to work. The proficiency level of your Tokugi will be the average of the proficiency levels of the Skills required to use that Tokugi. The Skills: CHISHIKI KANREN LEVEL 1: Yakusougaku: (Study of Medicinal Herbs) Knowledge of medi cinal herbs and other plants. When a character skilled in Yakusougaku uses items that regenerate HP or MP, their effectiveness is increased by 2% times the Yakusougaku Skill level. Koubutsugaku: (Study of Minerals) Knowledge of minerals, metals, gems, and other such items. Recipe: Knowledge of various recipes for different kinds of foods. CHISHIKI KANREN LEVEL 2: Dougu Chishiki: (Knowledge of Items) Knowledge of Items, weapons, armor, and the like. Otamajakushi: (What language IS this?) Various m usical knowledge. Seibutsugaku: (Study of living beings) Knowledge of the structure and functioning of living beings. A character skilled in Seibutsugaku will have their maximum HP increased in increments of (Skill level x 20) -10 per Skill level rais ed. I.e 10 point HP increment from level 0 to 1, 30 point increment from level 1 to 2, etc. CHISHIKI KANREN LEVEL 3: Youseiron (Theory on Sprites, Fairies, etc...) Knowledge of Sprites and Homunculuses; on beings connected with the origins of life. Seishingaku (Spiritual Knowledge) Knowledge of spiritual and mystical powers. A character skilled in Seibutsugaku will have their maximum MP increased by (Skill level x 2) -1. I.e 1 point MP increment from level 0 to 1, 3 point increment from level 1 to 2, etc. Piety A deep devotion, and a knowledge of how to connect with higher powers. A character skilled in Piety will receive a Skill level + 2 intelligence bonus. KANKAKU KANREN LEVEL 1: Mekiki ("Effective Eyes," literally) The ability to sel ect good ingredients when cooking. Bitekikankaku (Aesthetic sense) A love of beautiful things, and a good eye for aesthetic beauty. Nintai (Endurance) A strong willpower to endure pain and sadness. A character skilled in Nintai will get a Skill level x 2 Constitution bonus. KANKAKU KANREN LEVEL 2: Kikenkanchi (Sense of feeling danger) The ability to sense danger in the surroundings, and a heightened awareness. A character with Kikenkanchi gets a Skill level x 4% lower chance of getting a surprise attack. Asobikokoro (Playing spirit, literally) A good imagination, basically; the ability to imagine supernatural- type things and the like. Konjou (Willpower) A strong willpower giving one the ability to stand up to anything. A character skilled i n Konjou gets a Skill Level x 3 Guts bonus. KANKAKU KANREN LEVEL 3: Kinoubi ("Functional Beauty") There's no way I can translate the name of this skill well, but it's basically the ability to sense a balance between beauty and functionality. Denpa ( Dissimination) The ability to sense and call forth the unknown. Doryouku (Effort) The ability to stick to a task and get it done no matter what the cost. The character skilled in Doryouku gets a reduction in the Skill point cost to increase your skill s, equal to the Doryouku skill level. In other words, if you have a Doryouku skill level of 3, all other skills will take 3 fewer skill points to advance to the next level. GIJUTSU KANREN LEVEL 1 Dash The ability to run really fast without getting t ired. A character skilled in Dash gets a Skill level x 4 bonus to their Stamina Houchou (Kitchen Knife) Why they picked such a weird name for this skill is beyond me, but basically it is skill with kitchen knives like a true cook. A character skille d in Houchou gets a Skill level x 2 bonus to their Strength. (BTW I am not making this up, this is the exact description in the game when you put your pointer on Houchou, and the Kanji is for Kitchen Knife so I am not mistranslating. ^_^) Dessin (Fre nch for "Draw") The ability to draw and make accurate reproductions of things on paper. Kuchibue (Whistle) The ability to stick your fingers in your mouth and blow a really loud whistle. GIJUTSU KANREN LEVEL 2: Craft Craftsmanship, the ability to wo rk items with your hands and create something with it. A character with Craft ability gets a Skill level x 2 Bonus to their Agility. Bunpitsu (Writing) The ability to write literature and to do research. A character skilled in Bunpitsu gets a Skill level x 4 bonus to their agility. Choukyou (Train--as in animal training) The ability to train animals and make them do things for you. GIJUTSU KANREN LEVEL 3: Kagaku gijutsu (Scientific Ability) The ability to work with chemicals and do various types of experiments. Ensou (Musical Performance) The ability to play musical instruments. Cast The metallurgical ability to cast metals. SENTOU KANREN LEVEL 1: Shougekiha (Attack wave) A character with Shougekiha has a percentage chance of attacking an enemy and making a critical attack; in that attack, the damage taken is as if the enemy's defense power was much lower than it is. Shinkuha (Vacuum Wave) The ability to attack an enemy and knock him far away with the force of the blow. Mekuri (Turnov er attack) A character with Mekuri will often dash behind an enemy and attack him from behind, making it impossible for him to block the blow with a shield or similar object. SENTOU KANREN LEVEL 2: Hangeki (Counterattack) A character with Hangeki wil l often immediately counterattack an enemy after being hit. Feint A character with Feint has a chance proportional to their skill level to make attacks that have 100% of making their mark. Renki (Continuous Spirit, literally) A character with Renki ha s a chance proportional to their skill level of making attacks with increased attack power. SENTOU KANREN LEVEL 3: Original Link Combo (Link Combo) A character skilled in Link Combo can perform from 2-4 consecutive Hissatsuwaza in one attack. (Specia l attack) You can choose from among each character's techniques which techniques to use and what order you'd like them to attack in. Hayakuchi (Fast Talking) A spellcaster skilled in Hayakuchi can reduce the time needed to prepare and cast a spell. The higher the skill level, the less time it takes to cast a spell. At skill level 10, there is no lag time at all between starting to cast a spell, and casting it. TALENTS Originality: Originality is originality; the ability to think up and make new things. Mikaku: (Gourmet sense) A special appreciation for food; the ability to judge and evaluate various tastes. Kiyou na Yubisaki: (Skilled fingertips) Good manual dexterity; the ability to work with your hands and perform difficult tasks that req uire precise movement. Design Sense: An artistic ability to draw, design, and create things. Bunsai: (Literary ability) The ability to put one's thoughts in words and put it on paper. Rythm Kan: (Rythm Sense) A comprehension and grasp of musical rythm . Onkan: (Musical Sense) The ability to understand and work with music, a musical sense and talent. Doubutsusuki (Love of animals) A love and appreciation of animals. Yasei no Kan: (Wild Instinct) A primitive instinct; a sixth sense. Mana no Shukufuk u (Mana Benediction) A supernatural power, a special magical ability. TOKUGI: Saiku: (Craftsmanship) This item creation is the skill to work with gems, minerals, and other similar items, and create special items. For the most part, the items created are equippable special items, but you can also create statues that you can sell, and other similar items. Saiku is a difficult skill to perform successfully, even with level 10 proficiency and the required talent. Skills needed to know to learn: Koub utsugaku, Craft, Bitekikankaku. Talents needed to use effectively: Kiyou na Yubisaki Chouri (Cooking) This item creation skill is used to work with various ingredients to make healing items. Depending on the type of ingredients used, you can make diff erent types of food. If a character is fed his or her favorite food, the healing effects improve drastically, and improve MP as well. Skills needed to know to learn: Houchou, Recipe, Mekiki Talents needed to use effectively: Mikaku Chougou (Mix) This skill is used to mix two herbs in your possession together to make a new item that you can use. The types of items created range from healing items to bombs you can use in battle. Skills needed to know to learn: Seibutsugaku, Yakusougaku, SeishingakuT alents needed to use effectively: Kiyou na Yubisaki Kantei (Appraise) A character skilled in Kantei can identify an unknown item using a spectacle. Unknown items look like bags with question marks on them, and have names like ?HERB and ?GUARD Skills n eeded to know to learn: Douguchishiki, Koubutsugaku, Yakusougaku Talents needed to use effectively: ??? (Not sure there is one) Customize Customize is the ability to take one's weapon (or another item) and, customize it to work most effectively with th e weilder's fighting techniques. This is probably the toughest skill to get off successfully. Skills needed to know to learn: Craft, Bitekikankaku, Kinoubi Talents needed to use effectively: Originality Art Art is the ability to "draw up" items. By dr awing on magic surfaces, the character skilled in Art can create items to be used in battle, or duplicate items already owned by the party. Magic Cards are used to create battle items, and Magic Colors are used to reproduce items. Skills needed to kno w to learn: Dessin Talents needed to use effectively: Design sense Shippitsu (writing) A character with Shippitsu can research and write books on various skills. Doing so requires a Research Pen. If successful, the character will write a book or manu al on whatever skill he or she chose to study. These books can be used to raise a character's skill level in the book's topic by one point without having to spend the necessary Skill Points to raise that level. Skills cannot be raised to a level hig her than 7 via books. Skills needed to know to learn: Bunpitsu Talents needed to use effectively: Bunsai Ongaku (Music) The character skilled in Ongaku can compose (Sakkyoku) and play (Ensou) pieces for various instruments. To compose a piece, you hav e to have a Creator Pen and the instrument handy. To play a piece, you don't even have to have the instrument. (I think) Instruments are really expensive, but once a piece is composed it can be played whenever you want, as many times as you want. Yo u can compose two pieces for each instrument. If you fail to play a piece correctly, everyone's HP and MP will slowly decrease. Here are the pieces you can compose and their various effects: Harmonica: Increases the chance of enemies attacking you. Harmonica 2 makes enemies attack more frequently than Harmonica 1. Clarinet Summons a predetermined monster. Clarinet 1 usually summons 4 Black Slimes, and Clarinet 2 summons 3 Hound Shapes and 1 Gabriel. Clarinet 2's monsters are harder to defeat (much harder) than Clarinet 1's monsters, but they give lots more experience and drop powerful weapons and armor. Trumpet Decreses the chance of enemies attacking you. Trumpet 2 makes you avoid enemies better than Trumpet 1 does. Guitar When a Guita r piece is played, all of the party's HP will slowly increase. Guitar 2 makes their HP increase faster than Guitar 1. Sax When a Sax piece is played, all of the party's MP slowly increase. Sax 2 makes the party's MP increase faster than Sax 1 does. Trombone Trombone pieces, when played, regenerate the party's HP and MP. Trombone 2 makes their HP and MP regenerate faster than Trombone 1. Violin When you're playing the violin, the chance of characters gaining new Talents is increased substantially . New Talents will come more often with Violin 1 than Violin 2. **BUG**BUG**BUG** There is a bug in Star Ocean when using Violin to gain new talents. As soon as you gain a new talent, the game will often freeze, making it so you have to reset. If you gain a new talent, this is a way you can avoid the bug. As soon as the game says "[Character]'s Hidden Talent [Talent Name] showed itself!" DO NOT TOUCH THE CONTROLLER. Wait until the "You gained a talent" music to end, then hit A to get the messa ge about you getting the extra 50 Skill points. There's also a slot for another instrument, but I've never found it. Has anyone? Does it even exist? I think it might be the Ocarina, but I'm not sure... Skills needed to know to learn: Otamajakushi, E nsou Talents needed to use effectively: Rythm Kan, Onkan Shugyou (Train) A character skilled in Shugyou, and training at the time, will receive extra experience points for each fight he or she participates in. The higher the Skill level, the more bone s experience points gained. Skills needed to know to learn: Doryoku, Konjou, Nintai Talents needed to use effectively: None Renkin (Alchemy) Renkin is the ability to turn Iron into other types of gems or metal ores. In order to attempt to make a gem, y ou need the item Iron. The higher your Skill level, the more different types of gems you can make. The more advanced types of gems to produce are extremely difficult to make, even with a skill level of 10 Skills needed to know to learn: Kagaku gijuts u, Youseiron, Koubutsugaku. Talents needed to use effectively: Mana no Shukufuku Oracle According to the game's description, this skill can be used to get messages from the game's makers to help you in your quest, but you'll notice you'll never learn anything no matter how skilled you are and no matter how many times you use it. Actually, this skill won't work until after you've cleared the game. Then it will come in very useful. ;) Skills needed to know to learn: Denpa, Piety, Asobikokoro Talent s needed to use effectively: None Katanakaji (Weaponsmithing) Someone skilled in Katanakaji can temper weapons with the various metal ores you can gather throughout the game, creating a new weapon. For the most part, the weapons created are stronger t han what they started out as, but if you use a weak ore with a strong weapon, you might end up with a weaker weapon. Therefore, before you test it out, save your game. Skills needed to know to learn: Cast, Koubutsugaku Talents needed to use effectivel y: Originality Dash When a character with Dash is in your party, you can run by holding the B button while moving. As long as you have a skill level of 1, you can dash whenever you want. Increasing Dash doesn't make you run any faster or longer, it only gives you the constitution bonus. Skills needed to know to learn: Dash Talents needed to use effectively: None Familiar Someone skilled with Familiars can send out carrier pigeons in the middle of a dungeon to go back to town and buy things for the party. Sending out a carrier pigeon requires a "Hart no esa." (Bird food) The higher your skill level, the more items you can have the pigeon buy. Also, with a low skill level or without the necessary talents, there is a very good chance the bird wi ll never come back after you let it go. Skills needed to know to learn: Choukyou, Kuchibue Talents needed to use effectively: Doubutsusuki Scout Someone with the ability "Scout" can change the frequency of enemy encounters. You can either choose not to do anything, to search for monsters, or to avoid monsters. The higher your skill level, the more effectively you will find or escape monsters. Skills needed to know to learn: Kikenkanchi Talents needed to use effectively: Yasei no Kan. Do not remove the following from this FAQ! ============================================================= For any additions, corrections, or questions, please email me at ikelley@mail.sas.upenn.edu. Thanks. If you want to put any or all of this FAQ on your page, please let me know first. I don't mind at all if you use this FAQ on your page, in fact I encourage you to do so if you wish, but if you let me know first I can keep a running tab on who's got it so I know who to email when I update it. Plus I can look at your page too. :) ============================================================= Do not use this FAQ for ANY kind of profit, be it selling it, using it as incentive to buy games, or anything else AT ALL! While it may be common sense that doing this is illegal, there are many people who will do it anyway. This is a warning to those people! 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