Many people will be able to immediately take to Chained Echoes, but there will also be a few people who will struggle a little bit in the beginning. For those people, are some beginner tips that players should learn of before they start the game.
7 There is No Traditional Level System
Going into the game, players may expect a level up system similar to what most other JRPGs use. However, that is not the case in Chained Echoes. In fact, the game employs a rather interesting and unique system.
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Every time a player wants to enhance their characters, they will have to use Grimoire Shards, which are obtained by winning battles against powerful bosses. These items can be used to power up one of three categories: Action, Passive, and Stats Boosters. Action categories help when used in battle, Passive categories are abilities that occur at all times, and Stats Boosters — as expected — simply boost stats. Each of these categories will get more powerful when upgraded, such as Action skills doing more damage.
6 Get Crystals & Gear Upgrades
Crystals are going to be incredibly important during gameplay. They are used to boost the player’s stats, giving them higher attack, defense, and more. They can be found by gathering them from red crystal sources, which are scattered across the map.
Gear upgrades are also important, for the exact same reason as crystals: they are a quick way to boost a player’s stats. By upgrading the gear that players from fighting enemies, they will be able to take on particularly strong enemies — even without more Grimoire Shards.
5 Keep an Eye on the Overdrive Meter
Players may not initially realize the importance of the overdrive meter, which is used to get a massive upper hand in the battle. It serves as a way to see how the battle is going, which is especially important during stressful battles.
Keeping the meter in the green will halve the TP that players need to use to cast spells. Players will soon figure out that keeping the overdrive meter in the green is essential. One of the best ways to keep the Overdrive at safe levels is to use “X Overdrive” items, which can be found scattered through the world.
4 Switch Out Party Members When Necessary
Players are not limited to only having enough party members to fill out a team. There will be quite a few members that a player will meet and pick up along the way, and players can use to their advantage.
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Every party member will serve a different role. For example, one person may be tailored towards being a damage dealer, while another person may be a better healer. Players should not be afraid to mix and match for the best results. They can have up to eight people in the party at a time and can change it whenever they are not in a battle, so there is plenty of room for experimentation.
3 The Reward Board is Useful
During the game, players may come across the reward board, which is easily accessible in the main menu. While it might not seem like much at first, the reward board is an excellent way of gathering extra goodies, with only a little bit of effort.
Essentially, the Reward Board acts as an achievement system. A player will need to do a variety of things to get the titular rewards. Sometimes, they may need to open a certain amount of chests, while other times they have to explore a certain amount of an area.
2 Combine Crystals
Crystals have already been mentioned, but players should also know that they can combine their crystals together in order to make them stronger. They can unlock this aspect of the game at the blacksmith after playing through the first act. Combining crystals will enable the player to get better, stronger types of crystals, which are great for slotting onto gear. These crystals can be all sorts of ranks, from Rank I to Rank V, and their rankings will show how strong they are in battle.
There are a few limits to crystal combining, but it is easy for a player to get used to. Players just need to make sure that the crystal hasn’t been upgraded before, and it has the same type of crystal as the base.
1 Skills Can Interact with One Another
One of the main perks about the combat in Chained Echoes is that skills can actually interact with one another. This can lead to some fun combos in battle, which can do a great deal of damage.
For example, by using a water-based skill and then combining it with an electric based attack, players can deal extreme damage to enemies, because of the deadly way that water conducts electricity. It especially works if a player finds the enemy’s weakness — such as learning they are weak to fire, and making a combo with that.
Chained Echoes is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Linux, and Mac operating systems.
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