Trails FC's Battle System Explained

[@gnosis_gaming]

Check out my deep dive into Legend of Legaia on the PS1! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWXXo52uocd4d68si=_bPAX4ROSBXqXGo5

[@harveyboi3917]

The simplicity of FC’s combat works very well for it both gameplay wise and thematically, as Estelle and Joshua are just starting their journey so their skills and experience in more complicated fights aren’t quite there yet. Perhaps ironically the main battle theme is called “Sophisticated fight”

[@gnosis_gaming]

I agree - I appreciate that it's both simple and complex at the same time. Is the Sky arc your favorite?

[@harveyboi3917]

@@gnosis_gaming The sky arc is currently my favorite and I honestly don't see it changing. I'm 75% through Zero and while it is good I feel it still needs quite a bit more for me to put it on the same tier as sky. As for cold steel, while it looks fun ive also heard mixed things about it. But that's just comparing them to sky, I'm still looking forward to playing them as they are great games in their own right.

[@Random2960]

oh just you wait until azure@@harveyboi3917

[@sonictonic_]

I'm about halfway into this game (after entering this incredible franchise with completing Trails from Zero), and I just love it. This overview is a great explanation! Gonna share this with anyone I try and get into the series, too. :D

[@lukedelameter7961]

Honestly I do miss some of the good that later games add to the combat, but FC’s battles aren’t bad at all. It also made me realize that I was thinking about Arts the wrong way. Throughout my entire time with Cold Steel 3, I felt like the extra turn Arts needed was too much of a drawback for simple elemental attacks. Then I realized that arts allowed me to play with the turn order much more effectively than crafts could, and I started using them to push around my turns until my characters could line up with criticals or strength and sepith buffs.

[@gnosis_gaming]

I think this series always plays with turn order in a very interesting way.

[@fen6300]

In Cold Steel 3 onwards, i think you also don't lose a buff/debuff turn when you start casting an art (you don't lose a turn of STR UP/DOWN, but also you don't proc burn/poison so you might avoid dying from them and heal from it in the mean time).

[@megasoniczxx]

@@fen6300 This helps a lot when your trying to delay the deactivation of an order for a particular move too.

[@thenonexistinghero]

I think the combat system in the Sky trilogy is the best so far in the Trails franchise. I had to put a lot of thought into proper setups for all 3 games on their hard mode. For Zero/Azure I found that part to be missing. Didn't need to think much about setup, it was much easier to obtain certain results and combat overal was just much easier as well. Also most bosses were made immune to cancelling their effects or if you did it could often actually worsen the situation for you. Meaning that strategic element is mostly removed. Cold Steel games are make it even worse. No need to think anymore, you basically just directly equip most spells. And the games are also much easier. So basically, they just kept adding new mechanics in newer games at the cost of properly balanced combat. The Sky games have the perfect balance of overal combat difficulty and mechanics, IMO.

[@jesserivera2043]

I played all the Trails games through Reverie, and even when I played FC on a downloaded PSP game on my Vita, which didn't have a turbo option, It held up. A game oversight which I actually really enjoyed exploiting was the fact that chaos brand confused bosses for the most part, not counting scripted fights

[@obamabintrump-rb3nf]

I remember playing FC and tinkering with my quartz setup when it suddenly dawned on me that I could set it up in such a way as to obtain the art "Aerial". This one art was game changing: when you're finally able to use it, you actually feel that you have become much more powerful. The Cold Steel games, with all their new arts and quartz, never gave me such an experience. Furthermore, I remember that in Sky almost every new quartz I obtained mattered to such an extent that I could feel its effect in battle, whereas with Cold Steel it was more like quantity over quality. Granted, it's been a while since I've played any of these games, and especially Sky, but this is how I remember things.

[@gnosis_gaming]

@@obamabintrump-rb3nf I haven’t played Cold Steel yet but I really enjoy the combat in FC and SC

[@Sabin184]

I was sold at the fact cooking exist in this game.

[@Kitten_Party]

I just started with the franchise last week and am mostly done with Zeiss now. This video is amazing! So helpful as a newcomer. Very well organized and presented. I have been very impressed with the combat, like you say, strategic. I have wiped many fights but I always get them on the 2nd or third max retry and I’ve never had to reload a save! This is perfect difficulty, every encounter needs your attention but it’s never impossible, you don’t have to grind.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Absolutely. This game does what so many other JRPGs wish they could do. I'm glad you're having fun!

[@Konamalunu]

You remind me why the battles were more fun in the first 2.5D games. The more entries of the series came out, the less the positioning of your characters was a factor.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Oh really? That's too bad!

[@beetlehorn]

I like how all Trails games in general are never more complex than FFVII or X, and even as simple as Pokemon if you barely engage with orbments. It looks overly complex like some JRPG battle systems on the surface, but it's instantly understandable and rewarding.

[@Walamonga1313]

Idk about that, most FFs you are able to just spam Attack and heal accordingly. In Trails you are supposed to use Crafts or Arts more than Attack. Not to mention you can alter turn order and steal turn bonuses too with S crafts. I love FF games but their combat has never been as satisfying as Trails

[@Cyrus_Bright]

I really enjoy the combat of the older games but I do feel the Cold Steel games simplify and streamline things really well. I recently went back to Sky 3rd and forgot how clunky it felt scrolling through 30 arts trying to find a specific one in a fight. Granted it had been awhile since I played these ones so I forgot what half them did lmao I also really love what Kuro/Daybreak did with their battle system. Felt like a fusion between old and new quartz systems. Won't elaborate further just in case people consider that kind of talk spoilers :3

[@gnosis_gaming]

That's probably another reason it's good to play in order, because later games refined a few things that are inconvenient!

[@fen6300]

Sky theorycrafting is the best in the series, but QoL in battle get better with the series

[@dragonmaster1500]

Personally, I think that the Trails to Azure version of the battle system is the penultimate version of the FC combat system. I find that it leans towards more strategic thinking than the Cold Steel system, with regards to the way that Arts are gained by using the orbment. It does have a greater emphasis on using Crafts, but I prefer not having my arts using characters to feel so gimped. But maybe that's just me. Can't comment on the combat system for Trails into Dawn, because I haven't played it yet.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Is Azure's system close to Zero's? I played a lot of Zero before stopping myself and going back to the Sky arc.

[@dragonmaster1500]

​ @gnosis_gaming Pretty similar to Zero's but they also introduced the Master Quartz, which is a special kind of quartz which fits in the center slot of the Orbment. The Master Quartz is special for three reasons, the first is that it will give the equipped character a buff to all stats based on the specific master quartz and it also gains a percentage of the EXP received from battles and can level up to a maximum of Lv. 5. The second is grants two different types of Sepith Values (I.e. 2 Time + 1 water) which increases as the quartz levels up. And the third is that the Master Quartz will grant a unique ability which also get's stronger as it levels up. For example, the Canon quartz increases the amount that's healed by healing Arts such as Tear and Breath. Mobius (also called the ultimate support art) increases the effects of items used in battle and eventually grants items an AOE effect. Scepter gives a chance for enemies to drop Sepith when hit by an attack or craft, Magus will increase the damage of Arts while increasing the EP cost and so on. They really let you mess around with the team's specializations. Master Quartz are also part of the CS battle system, but I prefer the way they were used in Azure.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Oh nice, that's a nice addition!@@dragonmaster1500

[@TrailsToCompletion]

Yes, love to see more video essays on FC! I feel the combat music deserves praise too, some really catchy beats in there 🌟

[@gyiriiiii6900]

10/10 video! I just started FC!

[@Chumbv]

For me the best combat was either CS1 or CS2, I didn't like the break mechanic from CS3 onwards. Can't wait to try the changes that they made for Daybreak.

[@middle_pickup]

The battle system frustratingly close to greatness. As a lifelong Fire Emblem fan it's so easy to see the one thing the game is missing is the ability to move characters to a desired space and attack in a single turn. Moves like flicker or hurricane are not allowed to be utilized fully as is. Good luck getting the enemies lined up for the line attacks! The game could be so much more rewarding if we were allowed to implement more detailed battle strategies by fully positioning character attacks. I just entered the last chapter of FC, and hope this gets fixed in future games.

[@gullpayne]

Only played the first game but I really like The combat I would Prefer if the other chatacters that join you stay with you doh 😁 great video love this game

[@gnosis_gaming]

Any plans on playing SC?

[@swen1208]

I think the CS series really did the battle systems right, Sky Series was the great foundation for future games for the series. Azure almost did it but the balance of the Master quartz was an issue, like really Pixie having half fire when it's an arts based Master Quartz, I would have had it be half mirage or Space than Fire.

[@gnosis_gaming]

So CS perfected the Trails battle system?

[@swen1208]

@@gnosis_gaming to me it did. Brought more variety to the battle system. Sky Series: Heavily reliant on Arts Same with Zero but customization is limited But CS really allow so much variety when it comes strategy and charchter building. Arts Laura go ahead, Attack Emma fine by me. It allowed so much customization with Reverie being the pinnacle of that.

[@Natreg44]

The combat in Sky FC is a good evolution of the combat in the remake of Tear of Vermillion (Windows version) and Cagesong of the Ocean (Windows version). They kept the special attacks delays, and evolved the Resonant stones into what is now the orbment system. But the greatest thing they did was to change from the pseudo real time to the turn based system. The combat keeps evolving, and getting better up until Reverie, which is the best iteration of this combat system. Kuro 1 & Kuro 2 change things again (similar to how Sky FC changed combat from the previous games) and this version of the combat system has a lot of potential. The only issue with the combat system in the other entries of Legend of Heroes is that there is little challenge and you can't really use the combat system to it's best potential All that said, FC is usually criticized with being slow paced and with how simple the combat is. I disagree with both, and regarding the combat system, the simple mechanics it has in this installment makes the combat easy to learn, and hard to master. I recently finished Sky FC in Nightmare mode and it was quite fun, only the 2 dogs the mayor trhows at you and Lorence were really difficult.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Oh, you must be really great at this game to beat it in Nightmare! I had a tough time on Hard mode.

[@Natreg44]

​@@gnosis_gaming not really, Sky FC in nightmare is not very difficult. It's troublesome when you only have Joshua and Estelle, but anytime you have more than 2 party members, it's very fun. Sky SC on the other had... the prologue is brutal. almost Impossible if you don't know beforehand what's coming next. I'm actually at the last boss in the prlogue in that game in nightmare mode, and I had to take a break. I'll get to it at some point, but that nightmare mode is really difficult.

[@MasterLee2011]

Did you ever hear the Tragedy of The Mighty D, the True Wisdom?

[@Walamonga1313]

As a series? Probably the lowest one. The combat is fun but they kept improving it every game on. I think the Cold Steel games, though more specifically Reverie have easily the best turn based combat out there. A lot of people rave about Trails story telling and I like it a lot, but for me the best part of the games has always been the combat and the soundtracks. Trails has the best turn based combat imo

[@alexclaton]

confusion breaks the game, especially when combined with guard that said i found the system in the first few games to be a bit too simplistic for my tastes.

[@bw2082]

The arts and sepith system in the first 2 sky games was superior to all the following games through Reverie. I have not played Hajimari yet.

[@BradleytheDavis]

The aspect of the combat i disliked was how prety much any character could use any arts they wanted if they had the quartz for it. i would've pretty the characters being more unique in this regard. like restricting the elemental values for elements characters aren't aligned with, for example. whatever the case, i just wish it had been tweaked a bit. i didn't enjoy using arts as much as i enjoyed using Crafts. Something else is i dislike how a lot of the debuffs and status effects are worthless in the more major fights due to elite enemies and bosses being immune to nearly all of them. i get resists for deathblows or petrify, but Poison??? A status like that is totally pointless on most enemies you can inflict it on since most mobs die after a few hits, even on harder difficulties (assuming you have good equipment). anyway, that's enough complaining from me lol.

[@koro527]

Not really a fan of how CP works. Some Scrafts are blatantly OP making regular crafts a waste of turn. Of course there are situations like interrupting and blinding targets is necessary. Agate's wild rage ability is absolutely ridiculous haha.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Sometimes the CP is frustrating to fill up

[@niles8576]

i think fc's combat is the worst in the series but its still very fun and enjoyable after playing all of the other games that have been localized to english

[@niles8576]

its not pronounced sepith its pronounced sefith

[@gnosis_gaming]

I see, thanks for the correction 🙏