Help FFXIII: Question about paradigm shifts and using crystalarium!

[faburizu]

Hello!


I'm new to FFXIII, it being my second ever FF game aside from X.


I'm confused as to how best to utilize this feature. For example, at this point I have the option to level up Lightning as a Commando or as a Ravager. Should I try to split my points evenly to attempt to level them both or should I pick one and stick with it for the game? I understand that paradigm shifts work differently for different battles. It seems I'm supposed to switch between two, so leveling both equally seems like the right decision to make.


Also, these are my ideas on the paradigm shifts. I'm early in the game so right now I have Solidarity and Relentless Assault. The way I see it now, I use relentless assault if I want to take out enemies quickly, and I use solidarity in case I may need the help of a healer, if it's a tougher battle or possibly a boss battle. Am I getting this all wrong? I read guides about which character suits the best roles, but I'm just confused about the overarching concept of paradigms. I cheated and looked ahead on forums and apparently I'll eventually have tons and tons of paradigms, so I want to make sure I'll be using the right ones!

Another question: is crystalarium infinite? So say, at some point in the game if I want to level a specific paradigm, all I have to do is grind in order to gain some or will it become harder and harder to gain it as I level up?

And, for example, if I gain some "extra powers" within the "Commando" grid, does that mean those effects will only apply to me when I use this character in commando mode?

I have a bad habit of leveling all of the wrong roles in games like this, and being stuck mid-game because I made some poor choices, so if anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[tiornys]

(This is mostly a cross-post from the other forum where you asked this question.)

It might be useful for me to talk a little theory here.

In most games with Job systems, you make a choice about which Job each character should have before you initiate battle (or in some cases, when you start the game). In this game, you dynamically switch Roles during battle as battle conditions change. The difference is subtle but has profound implications for strategy, both in out-of-battle preparation and during battle itself.

One of the main out-of-battle considerations is that it's strategically correct to develop all three of each character's primary roles instead of focusing on one (primary roles will unlock over the course of the next two chapters). This improves the flexibility of each character, which is important for reasons I'll be discussing shortly. Primary roles are also important because they give you large stat increases. When secondary roles unlock after several chapters, it's ok to ignore them until late in the game. They are very expensive to develop and offer tiny stat increases; the strategic flexibility they offer is still important, but it's probably not as important as the stats and powerful abilities you can get from primary roles.

The other main out-of-battle consideration--building and tweaking your paradigm deck--is closely related to the in-battle consideration. Because you can dynamically change your roles during combat, you can and should strive to have each of your characters in the best possible role for the current combat conditions, with different paradigms allowing you to change into different roles as combat conditions change.

Thus, when building your paradigm deck, you should try to anticipate the flow of battle and consider which combinations of roles you'll want access to under different combat conditions. Early on, your choices are limited so it's easy to explore a bunch of role combinations. In addition to the two paradigms you're currently using (Relentless Assault and Solidarity), here are some other paradigms that you might create:

Aggression (COM/COM/RAV)
Tireless Charge (COM/COM/MED)
Tri-disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV)
Delta Attack (COM/SEN/RAV)
Mystic Tower (RAV/SEN/RAV)
Diversity (COM/RAV/MED)
Thaumaturgy (RAV/RAV/MED)

Some of these paradigms are more useful and more versatile than others, but all of them are good in at least some situations. You might notice that I left out the rather poor paradigm Entourage (RAV/SEN/MED). This paradigm does have some niche uses, but they are few and far between.

As more roles become available, you will need to be more selective about which paradigms you use in your paradigm deck. At this point, it can be useful to think of your paradigm deck as a set of battle plans. If you feel strong relative to the enemies in an area, you want an aggressive plan with lots of offensive paradigms and only one or two defensive paradigms. If you feel weak, you might want a defensive deck with lots of SEN protection and only one or two offensive paradigms for use when you've taken control of the battle. Against a boss (or any particularly tough enemy), you can build your entire paradigm deck around the strategy you intend to employ against that enemy.

The skills of building a focused paradigm deck, tweaking your deck to improve your performance against specific enemies, and knowing which paradigm to switch to at each stage of a fight are some of the most important skills you can have for playing this game. The difference between a poorly built and poorly used paradigm deck and a focused paradigm deck used with well-timed paradigm shifts is the difference between tedious, lengthy, difficult fights and quick, engaging, masterful fights.

 

[Zeroxys]

Lightning as Ravager, Snow as commando or Sentinel, Vanille, Hope and Sahz all alternate as medic, ravager, Synergist. Fang go commando and sentinel. Those are everyones strongest attributes in my opinion. Thats the way i went & the way the strat guide told me to do it. i Messed it up real bad on my first playthrough, but it was really good on my 2nd playthrough of it. goodluck & have fun with it .

Oh an for regular monster battles, the best combo i found was Rav Rav Com. or if battles r still a lil tough for you (depending on where you are) go Rav Com Sent. still get the raw dmg from com, get the stagger bonus for rav & got the sent just acting as meat sheild

 

[faburizu]

Thank you so much for your responses, both of you!

I think I get a better idea of it now. I remember the nodes from FFX and I messed those up bad on my first playthrough, haha. It's good to have a clear idea on my first playthrough so I don't make any grave mistakes. I feel like I have a much better understanding now. Right now, Hope and Sazh aren't even unlocked for me yet, but I can't wait until they are because I look forward to using Hope as my medic and Vanille as some offensive position because she seems pretty strong. Thanks again!

 

[Tucker]

I definitely think it's best to split them evenly. Later on there's going to be times when you need 3 ravagers, and then you have to switch to 3 commandos and you can only do that if they've all leveled up in those areas. Later on you'll have the option to level the character up in any field (so Lightning can become a sentinel, Vanille a commando, etc.) So it's really not like any attribute is unique to them, so level them all up as evenly as you can.