Defend Command

[UltimaCJ]

This will be a bit of a dumb question unless I'm just over looking it. We have ATTACK, ART, CRAFT, ITEM, AND RUN. Where is "defend" at? It's been three years since I played the first game in the series I forget if that game lacked that standard command also. There isn't defend yourself command to wait out a bosses buff or an upcoming attack? I searched in the forums first before posting, no results so I'm asking here.

thanks!

[Stabbey]

There is none. There is a DEF stat and it can be boosted, but there is no specific command to defend. If you just want to wait, use the "Move" command and then just stay where you are (or move).

If you want to stop a boss's upcoming powerful attack, or a cast of an Art (AKA magic) you want to use a Craft which has the word "Impede" in the description.

[UltimaCJ]

Weird rare to see an RPG NOT have a defend command like common sense 101 lol. Okay thanks for the info

[Berahlen]

The game actually has something way more powerful than defend anyway.

[Koby]

Defend is just a wasted turn. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[UltimaCJ]

Not really - I've always found it useful in every RPG I've played

[Koby]

There is always something more efficient you can do with your turn, like wiping the enemy out rather than throwing a turn away to let them beat on you.

[UltimaCJ]

Originally posted by Koby:

There is always something more efficient you can do with your turn, like wiping the enemy out rather than throwing a turn away to let them beat on you.

Actually the first boss did a massive defense buff which rendered physical attacks useless. While I KNOW you can use an EP attack to counter it, I've learned my lesson in the last game not to go overboard spamming EP spells. As resources are not cheap and neither is spending precious EP. So using Defend to wait off rather than moving around like a ninny would serve useful here.

[Berahlen]

I've played some RPGs where Defend was actually useful, but far and away it's just wasted turn economy and you're better off preventing damage from happening at all than partially mitigating it. This is very much one of those games, doubly so on anything higher than Normal -- damage flow is just too high to control by anything other than prevention and killing efficiency. You don't even get access to especially viable combat heals until a couple chapters in, and even that character is best used to nuke things before they can eat your face whenever possible.

Also get out of the habit of hoarding EP -- this is not a game where wars of attrition are a good idea. More often than not, dragging the battle out will just cause more resource waste to heal up the extra damage than if you just killed them faster. You get EP back on level up anyway.

[UltimaCJ]

Same with spells/orb ablities. You can't heal via sub menu (unless I'm over looking something!). You're forced to use items instead. You can only do it in combat.

[Berahlen]

You can definitely heal with spells out of combat. You want to prefer it if you're near a level up.

[UltimaCJ]

Where? Under Orbitals that just lets you equip and unequip them. Where can I use the spell 'Tear' in the submenu out of combat?

[Stabbey]

On the OrbMENT menu, right below "Slots" is "Arts". If the text on the art is white - which is only going to be for Tear/Teara/Tearal (Heal) and Thelas/Athelas (Revive) - you can use it.

Ignore the post below me. That spell can be good in a few difficult encounters, but you absolutely do not need to "spam it constantly". Certainly not on Normal difficulty. Dragon is really bad at the game.

[Dragon]

In Trails in the Sky games, they are designed so that you are supposed to have one or two characters spamming the earth wall onto everyone constantly.

That's the "defend command" in these games.

If they were also to make another, standalone defend command, then that would make the earth wall redundant, or vice versa.

[Koby]

Originally posted by Dragon:

In Trails in the Sky games, they are designed so that you are supposed to have one or two characters spamming the earth wall onto everyone constantly.

That's the "defend command" in these games.

If they were also to make another, standalone defend command, then that would make the earth wall redundant, or vice versa.

If you've got any jrpg turn-based experience, you would be decent enough of a player to not need to spam Earth Wall constantly. In fact I just recently replayed through SC, finishing it up just mere days ago... and I used Earth Wall a grand total of twice in the entire playthrough, both of which were done in the same boss fight.

[Berahlen]

If you're playing on Normal, sure. Good luck killing those HP leech guys in the schoolhouse on Nightmare without walling constantly.