~~~Upcoming updates and updates up until now~~~Spoiler!
YES. This is long overdue, I know, but hey, better (extremely) late than never, right? At any rate, here goes! I do hope this will be informative to anyone playing forces in both PSP2 (if there are any left) and PSP2 infinity. So, without any further ado...
How to be a better psycho-arsonist
What's a psycho-arsonist? (description of the Force type)
THEY'RE INSANE BADASSES WHO SET FIRE TO BUILDINGS WITH THEIR MINDS!! THEIR MINDS, MAN!!
...No, but seriously, forces are the mages of Phantasy Star. They use their mental abilities to manipulate the elements and harm enemies and support allies. They have high TEC and MST, and slightly higher than average EVA, while all the other stats are much lower than the other classes (in PSP2i, ACC is higher than the Hunters, though), making them quite fragile. They have a PA level cap of 30 for techniques (MAGIC SPELLS!!!!) and 15 for bullets and skills, making them obviously the best at using techniques.
1- Choose your race and gender
As with all Phantasy Star titles, there are quite a few races to choose from, and one can also choose their gender, which brings different pros and cons...Which most of you know already. But, if you don't know them, I'd refer you to The Noob Guide, written by Unionhack, which goes quite in detail into these pros and cons. But, being the magnanimous person I am (ego stroke count: 1), I'll summarize these racial and gender pros and cons here very quickly:
Races
Humans
Traits: Highest DFP, MND and STA, the rest are balanced, not being the highest or lowest. Can use mirage blasts and have exclusive access to the black mirage blast, which increase attack speed for a short while.
Pros: Their stats makes them one of the most durable of the races. The rest of their stats are balanced, making them able to perform decently in every class.
Cons: They can't be the best at anything. They're not Casts.
Newmans
Traits: Highest TEC, PP, PP regen (PP regen is the 2nd highest in PSP2) and EVA, 2nd highest MND. Also have high ACC. HP, ATK and DEF are almost the lowest of the low. Can use mirage blasts and have exclusive access to the White mirage blast, which raises the blast gauge of any ally in range (it is also rumored to have other effects besides that, though).
Pros: You've most likely noticed, they're the best forces out there. Their TEC allows for the most potent techniques and their PP allows them to use them more often than other races. Even though their squishy, their EVA allows for surprising survivability...Until they get hit with Diga behind the head (as with the other races too). Mirage Blast damage being TEC-based, they're also the best at using those. They also have nice pointy ears.
Cons: They're fragile and break like twigs. They can't be males and they're not Casts.
Casts
Traits: Highest ACC, 2nd highest HP, DEF and PP regen (was the highest in PSP2), as well as high ATK. PP and TEC and are the lowest of the low (their MND and EVA are also quite low, but not the lowest). Can use SUV weapons to mow down enemies or aid allies.
Pros: Their stats allow them to be the best with guns, being competent with melee combat as well as being quite durable. Despite their low PP, the regeneration rate of their PP bar is still fast enough to allow a decent use of PAs. Their SUVs allow them to have access to the highest level of buffs in the game. They're Casts, enough said.
Cons: They're the worst forces damage-wise. That's about it. Some people might say "CHIN STRAPS", but I think those things have their charm.
Beasts
Traits: Highest HP, ATK, and 2nd highest EVA (Newmen beat them by a tiny margin). ACC, TEC, MND, PP and PP regeneration rate are lower then most of the other races, with ACC being the lowest of the low (their PP regen is slightly higher than a Duman's). Can Nanoblast to transform into their giant beast forms, with different traits depending on their blast badges.
Pros: They're the best at melee and their high HP and EVA coupled with their decent DEF makes them very durable. Beast women are the best, too.
Cons: They're blind. Seriously. Using guns with them is quite an ordeal unless they're rangers. Their low PP regen forces you to pace yourself much more when using PAs. They're not great with techniques either. Not the worst, but still far from the power of the Newmen.
Dumans (PSP2I ONLY!!)
Trait: All offensive stats (ATK, ACC and TEC) are the 2nd highest while all defensive stats (HP, DEF, MND and STA) are the lowest of the low. Their PP regen is also the lowest. Can use an Infinity Blast that has a different animation depending on their current Type as well as different effects depending on their current Type level.
Pros: They will be the 2nd best at damage in every single type. Truly, they are remarkable offensively. They also have eye-patches and can become pirates in their spare time.
Cons: They're even more fragile than Newmen. While Casts had HP to somewhat make up for their low EVA, Dumans have both low HP and EVA, making blocking and dodging paramount for survival. Their PP regen also forces one to not abuse PAs too much and be mindful of their PP gauge. The males also have a horse face.
Gender
Males
Traits: Slightly higher HP, ATK, DEF and EVA. The rest (except STA) are slightly lower than the female's.
Pros: They're the best for melee. They also have cowboy hats.
Cons: None, really, unless you consider having certain stats being lower than the female's and not having curves a horrible thing.
Females
Traits: Slightly higher PP, PP regen, ACC, TEC and MND and have an extra hit with Twin daggers and Twin Claws. The rest (except STA) are slightly lower than the male's.
Pros: They're the best for attacking from afar with techs or guns. They can use PAs more often. They also have curves.
Cons: None, really, unless you consider having certain stats being lower than the male's and having too much skimpy/cutesy outfits as opposed to a more serious wardrobe as well as scary inertia for their breasts a horrible thing.
What brand of matches you should use to set fire to stuff (weapons you should look into)
This section contains a brief description of the weapons I find most useful for Forces. Weapons that aren't there are simply because I don't find them useful at all or because they're only useful for a niche crowd.
Notice: The PP costs listed for the ranged weapons are for PSP2. In PSP2i, a lot of them were reduced.
Swords
Spoiler!
Spears
Spoiler!
Double Sabers
Spoiler!
Twin sabers
Spoiler!
Twin daggers
Spoiler!
Twin Handguns
Spoiler!
Longbows
Spoiler!
Rods
Spoiler!
Wands
Spoiler!
Shields
Spoiler!
What accelerator you should use to set fire to stuff (Techniques)
This section has a description of the game's magic spells, the techniques, and my opinion on how they are best used.
-When I write "power", I'm referring to a technique's TEC modifier.
Linking techniques
Just like bullets and skills, techniques must be linked to a weapon to be used. Though, unlike the other two, linking techniques of the same element as the weapon increases the weapon's base TEC by 5%. This might seem small at first, but every little bit counts. Even ants can make a riverbank crumble with their tunnels.
Also, depending on the button to which you link a technique, it can either break the chain (triangle button) and thus strike for at least twice as much damage or add to the chain (square button) and strike for normal damage.
technique tier list by version
A quick list so you can quickly know what's best for each situation in each version. The techniques are separated into best chain-breakers (triangle techs) and chain raisers (square techs), and have a certain rank among each element, the technique at the top of the list for its element being the best in most useful in most situations in my opinion. There's also an extra category named "support" listing the techs I recommend for supporting a party. The techniques that aren't in these categories are either too horrid to be used or are too situationnal to be useful.
PSP2
-Chain breakers:
Spoiler!
-Chain raisers
Due to PP costs, only use them to raise the chain by a maximum of 5 on a group. For single targets, use weapons like Twin handguns, twin sabers, etc.
Spoiler!
Support
Spoiler!
PSP2 Infinity
-Chain breakers:
Spoiler!
-Chain raisers
(Note that Sabarta and Sazonde are above all the rest in terms or chain raising)
Spoiler!
Support
Spoiler!
Technique list
A description of the techniques as well as an explanation of my thoughts on them follows. Only read it if you really want to understand why I made certain choices in the tier list above.
Notices:
-I won't list the technique's PP costs here, since you can see them in-game, but you should know they were diminished by a LOT in PSP2i, making techniques easier to use. Their casting animations are faster too, making the usage of techniques to raise chains a viable option.
-In PSP2, the Ra- techniques can hit 1 more target (for a total of 4 targets) when they reach level 21+, while in PSP2i, their power was reduced by 20% and their maximum targets are restricted to 3.
~ Techniques
Spoiler!
Techniques
Spoiler!
Techniques
Spoiler!
Techniques
Spoiler!
Techniques
Spoiler!
Techniques
Note: Most enemies have high resistance to techniques, so technique as a whole aren't very useful outside of attacking Stateria.
Spoiler!
The Ra- tech targeting issue (mostly PSP2)
If you've ever used Ra- techs, you'll notice that often, even after locking on to an enemy, you'll completely miss your target. Well, that's because Ra techs seek their target differently. Note that this issue is less apparent in PSP2i.
Unlike most attacks that seek directly the target the player has locked onto due to the game's slight auto-aiming or the player pressing the L button, Ra techs don't take into account the player's target; instead, they register the last direction the user is facing and hit the first obstacle (solid object in the environment, enemy hitbox, etc.) they meet.
For example, let's say you're locked on to a distova, but it's running in circles around you. If you try hitting it with a Ra tech, you'll miss, hitting the area where that distova was when the technique was initiated. It's the same thing when you're trying too shoot a rappy running away in PSO. The game will show "MISS" because, when the shot reaches its destination, the target isn't there anymore.
This is why, with Ra techs, it's best to use the lock-on function sparingly and preferably "lead" your target (those who played any kind of game involving airplane dogfights will know what I'm talking about) into your barrage of techniques; plot your target's course in your head, face the appropriate direction and launch the technique ahead of your target, and voila! Success!
Vertical tolerance
Many forces have issues with flying enemies like Kutebobs and Shagreece, since they can't hit them with their techniques while they're flying higher than usual. There are two ways to solve this:
-Bringing them down with Noszonde
-Using techniques with high vertical tolerance.
But that does this "vertical tolerance" mean? That's just a way to tell the vertial range of the technique. For example, foie can only hit enemies on the same elevation as the user, since it travels in a straight line, thus, it doesn't have any vertical tolerance. Ra- and Gi- techs on the other hand have high vertical tolerance, so you can use them to hit flying enemies, even when they decide to fly higher. If you don't believe me, try it out; stand next to a Shagreece, wait until it takes more air and start using a gi- tech. It should take damage, and you should even hear the sound of the technique connecting. Ra-techs are a bit hard to nail on them though, since their trajectories involve a lot of curves and such. Still possible, though.
There are exceptions, though, like when Dimmagolus flies over the stage. I believe that in that case, only Noszonde can track it.
Any tricks I can use to burn stuff better? (useful abilities)
In both PSP2 and PSP2i, you have ability slots to which you can assign abilities with various costs in slots to boost your performance. Here are the abilites I recommend to forces:
-PP boost and PP Hi-boost: A MUST in PSP2, because techs suck your PP bar dry in seconds. Not so useful in PSP2i because of rebirth and the overall decrease in tech costs.
-Resist abilities (stun resist, freeze resist, sleep resist): Stun, freeze and sleep can spell doom for you, so it's obvious you need to either use these, or equip the corresponding slot units.
-"Element" advance abilities (fire advance, ice advance, etc.): These make you do more damage with the corresponding element. Obviously use them.
-Technique advance (PSP2I ONLY!!): This raise the power of all your techniques. For a measly 2 ability slots, you better use it.
-PP tech save: This reduces the amount of PP used by techs. In PSP2, it's somewhat useful if you manage to make space for it and lack PP-saving weapons like Psycho wand, despite the % of PP saved being so very low, while in PSP2i, it's utterly useless since techniques cost nearly nothing in that version.
-"Reverser" (the Katakana reads リバーサラー or, "Ri-Va(Ba)-Sa-Ra", so I took a little liberty in my translation) PSP2I ONLY!!: Allows Giresta (Regen in the Jp version) to resurrect incapacitated allies. Could be useful if you're going mostly for support, but considering people are usually always full on moon atomizers and scape dolls, and that, by the time you get that ability (Force level 40), people around your level should be dying occasionally at worst, I wouldn't go out of my way to use this. Then again, it only uses 1 slot, and you get more slots in PSP2i (12 at Type level 50), so what's the harm? If you have space, go ahead and use it.
Well, with all that know-how, you should be ready to burn down that building there (afterword)
Well, that's it. Was pretty lengthy, I know. I do hope people find this useful and if any of you have suggestions or corrections to make, then, by all means, please say so! With this...Have fun wreaking havoc with the power of techniques!
Special thanks
-Crystal_Shard for some suggestions and corrections
-Shakuri for the original post about useful techniques in PSP2
-RenzokukenZ for some corrections and additional information
-Dragwind for making this a floating sticky
-Saotome Kaneda for pointing out an error I made due to my bias as a Cast Supremacist
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