Possible to manually release Break Souls?

[Hexerin]

It releases when your SG bottoms out, but I'm curious if there's any other method.

[HylianLZ]

The longer it stays active, the faster your HP drops. When it reaches 1, it will drop out automatically. That's the only other way. Besides winning anyway. and it doesn't drop when your SG bottoms out, only when your combo finishes. I use it all the time with 0 SG to chain like crazy. That's one of the benefits.

[Hexerin]

Originally posted by HylianZ:

and it doesn't drop when your SG bottoms out, only when your combo finishes

Pretty sure that isn't the case, considering how many times I've completed my combos without Break Souls releasing. Unless I'm missing something about how combos work.

[Dregora]

Originally posted by Hexerin:

Originally posted by HylianZ:

and it doesn't drop when your SG bottoms out, only when your combo finishes

Pretty sure that isn't the case, considering how many times I've completed my combos without Break Souls releasing. Unless I'm missing something about how combos work.

It has to finish the entire chain.

[Hexerin]

Originally posted by Inférnum~:

It has to finish the entire chain.

Which as far as I'm aware, is four attacks.

[HylianLZ]

3 SG means you can use 3 artes in a chain. 5 means 5 artes. Once you do an entire chain, it will break. and it will auto break if you reach 1hp and stop attacking too.

If you don't believe us, go into a battle and start mashing a button to attack and watch your SG.

Edit: The blue diamond means you have one per. So if only 2 are blue, then you can only do 2 artes in that chain.

[Hexerin]

Combos have four attacks, which requires four SG diamonds to complete. While in Break Souls, I've (multiple times) put out four attacks while retaining Break Souls. If I start a second combo directly after, it'll release Break Souls though. That's why I've naturally assumed it requires your SG to bottom out. Would gaining an extra SG diamond from a status infliction cause this?

[HylianLZ]

A combo doesn't specifically refer to the artes you set in the artes menu. That's just the order in which they are unleashed. If you have 5 blue diamonds, then your full combo would be arte 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, stop, arte 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 stop. If you have 2, it would be arte 1, 2, stop, arte 1, 2, stop. See? If you use Break Soul you can extend the combo. For 5 SG it would go arte 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, Break Soul, arte 1, 2, 3, 4, break using special arte, effectively giving you a 10 arte combo. If you have 3 souls it goes arte 1, 2, 3, break soul, arte 1, 2, break using special arte.

Also, any extra SG you get can add to the total combo, and with break soul making your combo effectively limitless. arte 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, break soul, arte 1, 2, 3, 4 (enemy killed or status applied +1 break soul), break soul again, arte 1, 2, 3, 4, rinse and repeat.

I've done that during dangerous encounters agains hordes of weaker enemies until my hp almost instantly goes down to 1 making it very difficult to maintain, even though each break soul restores a bit of health.

Does that make more sense?

[Hexerin]

Originally posted by HylianZ:

Does that make more sense?

It does. Although it makes me wonder why the Artes menu is setup in such a simple way, when the combat system design would allow for so much more customization. Probably just an engine limitation or something.

[HylianLZ]

It's a complicated system compared to most other Tales games, that's for sure.

I think it would have been better to give us a slightly different system My idea is basically that Martial artes be assigned to A (down for kb/m) and Hidden artes to X (left for kb/m) and let us set up switchable combos. I hate having to switch my artes around for every set of enemies on a map and for every boss fight. I would rather just set (and name) my own combos for weaknesses and switch on the fly. But with every Tales game we get a slightly different battle system. It's one of the things I love about the series.

[Hexerin]

Originally posted by HylianZ:

But with every Tales game we get a slightly different battle system. It's one of the things I love about the series.

As an aside, it amuses me that you say this considering that very trait is one of the main things people hate about the Final Fantasy franchise.

[HylianLZ]

I like that about FF as well. Tales just seems to do it better in my opinion. Squenix seems to go too far sometimes (FFXV)