Had this typed up for a week and then something came up which kept me occupied for a few days. This has been one that I've thought of doing for a while before sitting down and recording numbers. As a fan mod, the characters undergo a number of differences. It's no longer Rolf, Rudo, and a band of squishy scrubs here.
All due credit to twilktri and Reiska for detailed spell effects and other data used in putting this together.
To do list:
- Flesh out any notable alternate equips
Introductory notes:
- Levels were taken at 500k EXP. It's a nice even number that also incorporates the changed EXP curves after level 25. Some characters are unchanged, some level up very slow, others level faster like PS4.
- No shields. An arbitrary decision but I felt it was more true to the characters' base defense stats.
- Physical damage was calculated assuming 20 enemy defense. At first, I tried 10 but Nafoi being below average didn't sit well with me.
- The base stats were recorded directly from a playthrough and I made no effort to keep that stat growth close to average (or reroll if I got a low increase in a key stat). So if something seems suspiciously high or low, this may be the cause.
- I haven't factored accuracy into any of the numbers. Most key damaging abilities have an accuracy of 90% if that matters.
- I opted not to list every tech, to cut down on bloat. Anyone with a high level tech will also know the lower level ones with the exception of Amy, who gets Saner but not Ner. Mabye in a future revision, I'll add group stuff but not now.
- Unique equips: I allow them if there are equal or fewer users than the quantity available. So Crystal Chest is allowed but the other crystal body armor is not, as an example.
- Item casting is allowed if the character has the item equipped.
- I chose not to use the Easter egg items. They make equipment choices less interesting than they already are.
Stat explanations:
HP: Everyone knows what this does. Life meter, health, whatever the label... Need this to be above zero to act, game over if everyone in the party falls to 0, etc...
TP; It's MP but sci-fi. Needed to use magic aka Techs.
Strentgh: Does nothing and will not be mentioned any further
Mental: Also does nothing whatsoever
Agility: Determines how soon an actor takes its action in a battle round. Enemies use this as a factor in how often they avoid physicals but am not certain if that works properly.
Dexterity: Higher numbers make physical attacks more accurate. Or something to that effect. Suspected to overflow if it exceeds 255.
Luck: Every 50 luck improves chances of avoiding enemy special attacks. This is bugged though and in effect, it seems everyone is treated as having the best possible luck. It's a bit scary to realize the early game would be even harder than it is now if it worked properly.
Attack: Factors into the power of bladed weapons
Defense: More defense - less damage. Diminishing returns as numbers go up. Thus going from 50 to 100 has a larger impact than an increase from 250 to 300.
WP: The power of the weapon used for damage calculation. For guns, this is the base damage. Numan Revolution is a lot more sensible in how the Attack increase of guns correlates to their actual power, unlike the original game.
Shields and other alternate equips with multiple users:
Laconian Shield: 85 Def Rudo, Hugh, Kain
Laconian Emel: 68 Def Amy, Anna
Cyber Emel: 101 Def Nei, Shir
Shune Boots: 7 Def, 10 Agi Nei, Anna, Shir
Laconian Dagger: 44 WP, 22 Def Rudo, Hugh, Kain, Shir
Colorscarf: 23 Def, itemcasts Saner Nei, Anna
Our Heroes
Rolf Lv 29
225 HP
112 TP
118 Agility (125)
153 Luck
172 Dexterity
152 Attack
127 Defense (318)
Nei Sword 110 WP, 54 Def
Laconimet 34 Def
Laconchest 82 Def
RbticBoots 21 Def, 7 Agi
Attack: 141
Nathu: 150 18 TP
Nafoi: 130 12 TP
Nazan: 100 group 11 TP
Gigra: 40 all 10 TP
Gires: 60 HP recovery 7 TP
Brose: 50% instant death to mechs 7 TP
If facing an opponent who outright immunes physicals, Rolf can toss on 2 Ceramic Shields (39 Def each). He also has the option of the Crystal Chest (60 Def, itemcasts Gra) which gives him magic that cannot be silenced or MP busted, as weak as it is. Drops his defense by 22 though.
Rolf is mostly unchanged from his vanilla incarnation. He got slightly better stat growth in some areas, most notably TP. His Tech list is unchanged except for the addition of Brose, which he'll learn at LV 23 (same as Chaz in PS4, wink, wink). The Nei Sword got buffed big time. 110 WP is freakishly strong and he's got cast best Attack to make use of it. Low defense opponents will be smarting and higher defense/evasion opponents still fear his magic. Durability is cast best too. Even without Megid (Lv 35 is far away), damage racing him is not a good idea, better to go for crippling status or stat-downs as all PS2 characters share a lack of status protection.
Nei Lv 30
190 HP
77 TP
120 Agility (128)
109 Luck
138 Dexterity
98 Attack
84 Defense (224)
Lacon Claw 65 WP, 8 Def
Lacon Claw
LaconCrown 30 Def
Lacon Cape 79 Def
GardaBoots 15 Def, 8 Agi
Attack: 66 each
Nares: all HP recovery 13 TP
Shift: Att +20, Agi +20, Dex +20 self 5 TP stackable
Shu: Def +20 3 TP stackable
Deban: Halves all damage all 4 TP
Each cast of Shift adds 6-7 damage to each claw strike, affected by defense
One cast of Shu reduces damage by about 7%, less with each successive casting
Low defense but high speed and Deban tends to solve that plus she can use a shield if needed. Shift is an interesting tool in a duel since it boosts both speed and damage. Damage boost is mostly laughable but with the added speed giving her a bigger turn advantage... Along with Nares, she has quite a dangerous buffing game if not dealt with quickly.
Rudo Lv 27
215 HP
0 TP
90 Agility (97)
98 Luck
103 Dexterity
107 Attack
152 Defense (282)
Neishot 100 WP
Laconimet 34 Def
Laconish 75 Def
RbticBoots 21 Def, 7 Agi
Attack: 100 ignores def
Rudo can use Crescent Gear. For a loss of 8 Def, he gains a Gires itemcast. Probably wants this unless his opponent can outpace the healing without resource concerns.
Rudo appears unchanged in his stat growth. Then again, he was already great before and he still fills a niche of tank and gunning down high defense enemies. As a dueler, he's not as impressive. Rolf takes hits better and hits harder. Still Rudo gets very high defense despite gaining no increases from his hand slots (the only one of the cast to do so) which speaks well of his base stats. His damage will remain steady without resource concerns and pierces defenses. Not being able to do more than attack and use Crescent Gear to heal will get him in trouble with opponents with more variety.
Amy Lv 27
141 HP
132 TP
62 Agility (69)
129 Luck
132 Dexterity
52 Attack
57 Defense (250)
Venom Shot 45 WP, 90 Def
Jwl Crown 17 Def
Cyber Suit 72 Def
CyberBoots 14 Def, 7 Agi
Attack: 45 ignore def
Gifoi: 40 6 TP
Gigra: 40 all 10 TP
Nares: full HP recovery 13 TP
Shu: Def +20 3 TP Stackable
Saner: Agi +10 all 6 TP Stackable
Deban: Halves all damage all 4 TP
One cast of Shu reduces damage by about 6%, less with each successive casting.
Amy can use the Fire Staff (32 WP, 11 Def, itemcasts Foi). Two of them do more melee damage than the Venomshot (25 each) but will cause her defense to plunge. One staff and shield has lower defense than the Venomshot so unlikely to see use unless she really needs the itemcast.
Amy doesn't like losing the Nei Crown and the Snow Crown though her new equipment helps make up for that loss somewhat. Her raw damage is improved which is welcome in game though less useful in a duel setting. Lack of speed hurts her hard still. A heavy hitter could very well take her out before her second turn, Deban or no Deban. Still a lightweight but if she lives long enough, she'll have a chance to recover and get some buffing or offense in and her increased TP will give her more staying power.
Hugh Lv 29
164 HP
137 TP
66 Agility (74)
145 Luck
106 Dexterity
75 Attack
82 Defense (288)
Venom Shot 45 WP, 90 Def
Bio Transl 29 Def
Cyber Suit 72 Def
GardaBoots 15 Def, 8 Agi
Attack: 45 ignore def
Nathu: 150 18 TP
Res: 20 HP recovery 3 TP
Paral: 50% paralyze on biological 3 TP
Daze: 80% insanity on biological 2 TP
Mute: 100% silence on biological 6 TP
Vol: 60% instant death on biological 8 TP
SaVol: 70% instant death on biological group 13 TP
Hugh can opt for an Amber Robe (57 Def) Costs him 15 Defense but gives him unlimited Gires itemcasts. This sounds cool (and it is ingame) but his low speed hampers a stalling strategy.
I think I got high defense rolls for Hugh, was surprised to see how buff he became. He can conceivably sustain a hit now. He also has damage so instant death protection is no longer enough to make total mockery of him. Still lacks this thing called speed so Amber Robe healing won't keep up with fast damaging opponents. Likely to rely on his increased durability to damage race or land status. Daze's high hit rate can help with keeping physical pressure off at least.
Anna Lv 26
172 HP
58 TP
96 Agility (104)
89 Luck
154 Dexterity
92 Attack
96 Defense (235)
Nei Slasher 60 WP
Lacon Whip 58 WP, 15 Def
Laco Crown 30 Def
Lacon Cape 79 Def
GardaBoots 15 Def, 8 Agi
Attack: 59 and 58
Gifoi: 40 6 TP
Gizan: 30 group 7 TP
Fanbi: 40 draining 8 TP
Shift: +20 Att, +20 Agi, +20 Dex 5 TP stackable
Gires: 60 HP recovery 7 TP
Each cast of Shift adds 6 damage to her weapon strikes, subject to defense. 4-5 if using Laconian Slasher
If Anna wants a second MT weapon, that would be the Laconian Slasher with 42 WP.
Duels make Anna sad. In game, (on Dezoris) she gets her utility by slicing up groups and hiding in the back row where she doesn't get hit as often. Most duels are against a single target and there are no teammates to take hits for her. I think I got low Agility rolls for her too (calced base Agi in the unmodded game came out to be 112). Her damage is unremarkable unless she's dual wielding and the opponent has weak defense. In some fights, a shield might be enough for Gires to keep her afloat for a bit to buff speed so she has more options but has to act fast due to low TP pool. Speedy fighters with high physical damage essentially shred her for free.
Kain Lv 28
183 HP
98 TP
101 Agility (106)
147 Luck
149 Dexterity
82 Attack
70 Defense (248)
PhtonRifle 75 WP, 60 Def
Storm Gear 31 Def, itemcasts Gizan (30 all)
Laconish 75 Def
CmbatBoots 12 Def, 5 Agi
Attack: 75 ignore def
Nafoi: 130 12 TP
Nagaj; 150 on mechs 14 TP
Quiet: 100% silence on mechs 6 TP
Brose: 50% instant death on mechs 7 TP
Kain's still a straightforward slugger, he's just better at it. He has damage that doesn't require his opponent to be a mech and his regular attack is decent if he's silenced or MP-busted. As the only cast member with no access to healing, it's pretty much a damage race against most of his opponents.
Shir Lv 32
184 HP
86 TP
165 Agility (172)
106 Luck
126 Dexterity
78 Attack
98 Defense (251)
Lac Dagger 44 WP, 22 Def
Lac Dagger
Wind Scarf 23 Def, itemcasts Zan (20, all)
Cyber Suit 72 Def
CyberBoots 14 Def, 7 Agi
Attack: 40 each
Nafoi: 130 12 TP
Nathu: 150 18 TP
Nagra: 80 all 16 TP
Nares: all HP recovery 13 TP
Shir can put Truth Sleeves (57 Def) in one of her hand slots. This gives her 35 more Def than a dagger and also gives her access to free Gires castings that can't be silenced. She likes this since combined with her speed, gives her a high level of sandbagging potential. It's often worth the drop in physical damage.
In the original game, Shir worked OK as a speedy item monkey but had very little to contribute to offense. Her new spell list and speed turns her into a scary blitzer in a duel, capable of using turn advantage to shred average speed fighters before they can blink. Level advantage works to her favor in other ways; she's average in HP rather than below. Like Rolf, she'd usually prefer using Nafoi instead of Nathu due to cost/damage economy. More importantly, she can squeeze in 5 Nafoi and still have enough for 2 Nares for those damage races. More than anyone else, she's very vulnerable to running out of gas (non Tech damage is bad) and anyone capable of outlasting her assault will give her trouble. Don't count her out just yet though. Cyber Emel and Truth Sleeves boost her defense greatly and the Truth Sleeves combined with her speed give her great stalling potential. Wind Scarf gives a cost free chipping option until she works her opponent down into a range where she can win with a blitz. It takes more than obscene durability to mock her.
HP
Rolf 223
Rudo 215
Nei 190
Shir 184
Kain 183
Anna 172
Hugh 164
Amy 141
Average: 184
Defense
Rolf 318
Hugh 288
Rudo 282
Shir 251
Amy 250
Kain 248
Anna 235
Nei 224
Average: 262
Agility
Shir 172
Nei 128
Rolf 125
Kain 106
Anna 104
Rudo 97
Hugh 74
Amy 69
Average: 109
Damage
Rolf: 150 Nathu
Hugh: 150 Nathu
Shir: 150 Nathu
Nei: 132 Lacon Claw x2
Kain: 130 Nafoi
Anna: 117 NeiSlasher + Lacon Whip
Rudo: 100 NeiShot
Amy: 45 Venomshot
Average: 122
