Leveling up fully restores HP and MP. Exploit this!

This mechanic is one of the most powerful at your disposal in Luminous Arc. By timing when your character levels up you can frequently, fully heal them. Doing this efficiently can trivialize MP management. It can also save you turns spent healing your characters. I can’t overstate just how huge of an advantage this is, and it can enable you to defeat enemies that are stronger than your own units.

Constantly gain EXP by taking redundant actions.

Compounding with the above tip, you can keep your levels high by taking unnecessary support actions when there are no enemies in reach. Support actions like healing, buffing, etc. only reward 5 EXP when used on yourself, but adding another unit (even an enemy) changes that to a whopping 30 EXP. Because your MP is restored upon leveling up, you can essentially only benefit from taking “pointless” actions that accrue EXP. Never waste a turn!

EXP does not roll over past 99. New levels always start with 0 EXP.

Simple as. If you have 99 EXP and earn anything above 1 EXP, that EXP is lost. I wouldn’t agonize too much over this, as EXP is plentiful in Luminous Arc, but since healing off of levels can be strategically beneficial, it can help to distribute big EXP gains evenly. Remember, low-level characters earn more EXP from attacking enemies of a higher level, with the gained EXP being greater with a larger level gap. There is a cap on how much “bonus” EXP can be gained per action from a level gap, but I don’t recall exactly where it stops.

Double-check targets and range using the L and R buttons.

The way Luminous Arc communicates in-range targets is somewhat unintuitive. Range is relative to the acting unit’s position, not to the epicenter of their effect. For example, if you cast an AoE spell in a cross pattern, you might logically expect the center to calculate the spell’s range, as that’s where the spell forms. But this isn’t the case. If you put a spell’s center on a high elevation, it will still miss any overlapped targets on too high of an elevation.

This can happen when the outside range of a spell overlaps with a target within your allowed elevation, but the center is on higher, incompatible elevation. Don’t mistakenly assume the higher elevation will land simply because units are within the target pattern.

That may sound confusing, especially if you haven’t experienced the situation I’m describing. In any case, all you need to remember is to verify affected targets. After confirming your action, you can confirm again to initiate it, but you can also use L and R to cycle through every affected target. Not seeing any units you expected? Then your action won’t affect them, so consider backing out and trying something else.

Flash Drives can be used for more than just higher damage.

That’s certainly their main benefit, but Flash Drives have their own properties and can offer unique advantages relative to the rest of a character’s Skills and Magic: range, AoE, added effects, etc. If a Skill or Magic technique doesn’t reach an enemy, try Flash Drives and vice versa.

Status effects aren’t… entirely useless.

If you reflexively assume status effects won’t be useful, you’re mostly correct. Even putting their individual effects aside, status effects tend to have low hit rates. If you use a technique that only inflicts status and miss, you just wasted a turn, which is extremely bad.

That said, you can raise those hit rates, because they’re influenced by TEC. Yes, this normally irrelevant stat actually has a function. Chance of inflicting status is calculated weighing the attacker’s TEC against the target’s RES. The larger the gap, the more likely it is to inflict ailments. Characters capable of inflicting status can equip TEC-boosting items to improve accuracy. Naturally, this comes at the cost of improving their general offensive stats.

Is that worth it? Well, some late-game enemies get beefy enough to stick around maps for a while, and each of their attacks can deal large damage. I personally had success using high-impact statuses like Charm to neutralize them, so consider using status effects.

Think Three Steps Ahead When Positioning

If you recall the tutorial, a unit’s directional facing determines how some damage is calculated. Physical damage receives an increase in both accuracy and power when attacking a unit’s side, and that bonus rises further when attacking their backside. That advantage is compounded with an elevation advantage; an attacker on higher ground performs better against a unit on lower ground. Magic is entirely unaffected by these positional modifiers.

Naturally, you generally want to change facing to avoid enemies attacking your sides, if possible. That’s simple enough. However, if taking a hit from the side is unavoidable, consider positioning yourself so that your back is facing nearby party members. Enemy AI has a massive bias towards attacking from the side, so by doing this, you can manipulate where enemies move and put them in the immediate attack range of other party members.

• There is a hard cap to the maximum number of items you can hold in each category (Weapon/Headgear/Armor/Consumables). I’m not certain what that number is, but you’ll receive a warning after map completion notifying you of a full inventory. Basically, don’t hold onto every piece of Equipment you find. You’ll never be able to have a complete set.
• You can’t view your Vitae inventory outside of the Workshop (unlocked as the story progresses).
• You can’t view your Equipment inventory outside of the Equipment menu, and you can’t view your Equipment quantity outside of a Shop (via selling) or the Workshop (via Imbuing).
• You can’t auto-sort any Inventory. Vitae are uniquely auto-sorted by default.
• You can’t unequip anything. You can only swap Equipment out for other Equipment. This generally doesn’t matter, but can be annoying early on regarding Accessories, since you won’t have many.

The overworld is connected via a series of nodes with two types: explorable regions and battle spaces (represented by an icon of two crossing swords). Explorable areas can contain NPCs to talk to, shops, and an option to progress the storyline. Some of these areas are remnants of previously-required story battles, and in those cases, there may not be anything to do other than select “return to world map.”

While it may not appear so, every battle space is optional. There’s a chance that crossing a battle space spawns a prompt asking if you’d like to fight or not. Naturally, refusing allows you to continue onward.

This prompt seems to occur at random, but I’m suspicious that whatever internal value is used to check whether to display the prompt is easily manipulated. In my experience, loading a save right after booting the game almost always results in being able to skip the next world map battle. It’s therefore possible to skip all of these by continuously saving and rebooting the game. It’s a tedious process, but compare it to the time it takes to actually complete these battles; especially battles where you have little to gain due to battling early, under-leveled enemies. If rebooting the game isn’t letting you skip a battle, try exiting that “screen” of the world map, saving, then rebooting again.

It’s possible to load a save file from the world map menu, which can save you time as Luminous Arc has no soft-reset function, but if my recollection is correct, doing it this way doesn’t guarantee skipping a battle. I think completely rebooting the game causes the memory to flush whatever value is checked for world map battles, and that value always defaults to whatever enables skipping. Let me know if you find a more optimized method!

All that said, I wouldn’t advise skipping every random battle. You may want to use the above exploit sometimes for sanity’s sake, because it seems that resetting the relevant value after starting the game is very difficult—you’ll be drawn into nearly every world map battle.

I think most players are best off completing every battle along the required route for the first time, then just skipping them when backtracking for whatever reason. While it’s easy to get EXP in Luminous Arc, you still want other resources like Rico (money), and without some optional battles, you’ll fall behind. Remember that the game developers likely didn’t balance anything with the expectation that you’d only complete required battles.

Lastly, shortcuts open up on the world map after certain points of progress. The final shortcut is unlocked shortly before the last battle. Some side quests have a limited timeframe to complete them, so don’t wait until all shortcuts unlock if you’re interested in doing those. You never unlock a way to warp around the world map, unfortunately.

Shortly after starting the game, upon completing maps, you’ll attain the ability to converse with any participating party member. In these Intermission sequences, you can only select one party member per victory. Party members don’t need to survive the map to be selectable; they merely need to have been present. Two-parter battles won’t allow you to select a party member until the second half of the map is complete.

Each party member has ten Intermission conversations that progress in a linear order and present you with one dialogue choice. Of the three options, one greatly improves your relationship with that party member, another mildly increases your bond, and the worst option doesn’t advance it at all. You have to guess at what each party member would like to hear based on context and their personality.

Your relationship progress is measured by a heart outline that fills up as you select positive responses. After all ten Intermissions have been seen, you no longer have a way to improve that relationship. Attempting to speak to that party member will have them recommend you speak to someone else, and you’ll waste your Intermission opportunity for that battle.

A maxed-out relationship is represented by a blue heart with an arrow through it. A blue heart with no arrow means you’ve seen all Intermissions, but didn’t pick enough optimal responses. A red heart with an arrow means you’ve achieved the maximum amount of relationship points, but still haven’t seen all Intermission scenes, thus you should continue talking to that party member.

Upon certain point thresholds, satisfied party members will give you items, which increase in value as you raise your relationship. Rewards typically begin as consumable items, then progress into rare Gems and equipment. Some rewards are very difficult to obtain extra copies of. Rewards depend on the character giving them, and they’re always the same. Lastly, there is no relationship “decay” mechanic. Your relationship points can never decrease.

If you fail to max out a relationship in your ten allotted Intermissions, you’ll have another chance upon completing the game and starting a New Game+. Your relationship progress carries over, but Intermission conversations reset from the beginning, giving you another ten chances to get points.

There is one exception to this.

Some party members have CGs during their final Intermission, which are viewable if you complete their Intermissions with the heart gauge at least half-full. Seen CGs can be viewed in a gallery via the main menu’s Extras option upon finishing the game.

Cecille uniquely has a CG that’s only available for part of the game, and it purportedly cannot be obtained once missed even on a new game+. Therefore, if you care about 100% completion on your save file, you should prioritize completing Cecille’s Intermissions immediately. Not getting this CG means that it’ll forever be marked with a question mark in your gallery.

Grinding Intermissions

If you want to view all Intermissions, you’ll inevitably have to grind. Therefore, a map that can be completed quickly is preferable.

The best map I’ve found for this is Leastre Bridge. Have a party member with a 4×4 diamond-shaped AoE spell (preferably Vivi, as she has the highest MOVE). Save beforehand, then enter the map with your magic user and whichever party member you want to build relationship points with. Bringing a larger party will slow you down as you’re passing everyone’s turns. Alph doesn’t need to be present to view Intermissions.

Simply have your passive character select “wait” while your offensive character attacks with their AoE magic. Enemies on this map commonly clump into groups of three or four, and their levels are low enough to where you can eventually defeat them in a single attack.

Luminous Arc has a few side quests and associated optional battles. These can only be found and initiated by viewing certain dialogue in specific areas after reaching the requisite chapter. Some are time-sensitive, meaning you can no longer complete them if you progress too far into the story.

These side quests are entirely superfluous, gameplay-wise. They offer no unique rewards (if any rewards), and the only thing you gain from them besides EXP is character development and worldbuilding. Some of it is humorous, some of it is interesting background info, etc. It’s up to you if you care about such things. There’s also nothing tracking side quest completion other than the initial dialogue trigger disappearing following the quest’s completion or time expiration.

Side quest progress resets on a New Game+. Cecille’s side quest, despite its time-sensitive nature, can be completed every playthrough, unlike her permanently missable Intermission CG.

Side quest battles can be difficult relative to when they become available. The minimum enemy levels are somewhere around 40. For perspective, endgame player levels should be around 50. For side quests that never expire, putting their battles off until you’re an appropriate level is no problem.

The same can’t be said for certain time-sensitive quests, and the worst of these is naturally the side quest that expires the quickest. This is Cecille’s quest, which pits you up against high-level opponents with only two party members. You can absolutely beat it on a first playthrough without grinding, but it will require some finagling.

After a certain, nonoptional point in the story, you’ll unlock the ability to customize and forge Equipment using the Vitae collected from battles and Intermissions. Vitae are the items with strange, short names you typically see following a map’s completion. You can’t see your on-hand Vitae outside of the Workshop.

You can only use Imbue and its associated functions at the Workshop, which there’s only one of in the game. Yes, you will need to crawl all the way back there whenever you want to Imbue. Refer to the world map section of this guide for tips on avoiding random battles.

To see a Vitae’s properties, they must be Appraised. The amount of Rico spent determines how many of a Vitae’s attribute categories are revealed. For instance, if you only spend 500 Rico, only one category will be revealed. Spending 2000 Rico unveils all three Vitae attributes. While the Vitae you receive from battles are random, a Vitae type’s associated attributes are always the same. The Workshop tracks which types of Vitae you’ve Appraised, so after finding and Appraising every Vitae type, you’ll no longer need to use Appraise.

You’re probably wondering to what degree you’re expected to “naturally” use Imbuing. Speaking personally, I completed the entire game without ever touching Imbue, so that should speak to how essential it is. I did look up combinations for unique Equipment on a New Game+, however.

The final two battles of Luminous Arc are particularly difficult, and optimal equipment would certainly help, but they’re not necessary (and neither is grinding). Decide for yourself how much Imbuing feels appropriate and what’s “fair” to reference guides for.

• Only Weapons, Armor, and Accessories can be Imbued. Headgear cannot be Imbued.
• Accessories cannot receive normal stat-altering Imbuements. They can only be used in the creation of new Accessories, which will always have the same, default statistics. For instance, you can’t slap an extra stat bonus on a stat-boosting Accessory.
• When Imbuing, there are three possible outcomes:
  • An incompatible combination of Apprentice/Equipment/Vitae results in no new Equipment and all materials being returned to you. You can’t suffer a net loss from Imbuing.
  • A normal, compatible combination of Apprentice/Equipment/Vitae applies an Element and stat bonus to the chosen Equipment. The resulting Element and stat bonus are exclusively determined by the chosen Vitae.
  • A specific, predetermined combination of Apprentice/Equipment/Vitae results in new Equipment with fixed stats (Vitae effects aren’t applied). Weapons and Armor created this way are always unique and can’t be purchased from Shops. New Accessories can be generic/purchasable, but many are also unique. Much of the best Equipment in the game is obtained via this method.
    • Alice and Therese’s dialogue upon selecting them contains hints to the Weapons/Armor and Vitae required for unique Equipment. They are essentially riddles. You do not need to have ever viewed, or be actively viewing, the relevant dialogue for your desired Equipment. Correct combinations always work.
• Choosing Alice or Therese only matters in regards to creating new Equipment.
  • If you don’t want new Equipment, you should use the opposite of the required vendor. If the Equipment and Vitae are otherwise compatible, you’ll receive normal, modified Equipment instead of new Equipment.
• Two Vitae must be used in every Imbuement.
  • The first Vitae chosen will only determine the output’s Element. The resulting Element is the selection list’s subsequent Element. If a Fire Vitae is selected first, the output Weapon or Armor will carry the Water Element, because Water Vitae are listed after Fire Vitae. This order loops around, with Neutral Vitae resulting in a Fire Element.
    • The rarity/power/stats of the first Vitae doesn’t influence the output Equipment, so the first Vitae should always be a common one you have many copies of.
  • The second Vitae applies its effect to the output Equipment. This is straightforward. If you apply a Vitae with the effect of ATK+15, the Equipment will receive an additional 15 ATK. To reiterate, this means you can’t “stack” stat boosts; you only get one boost, one time.
  • When creating unique Equipment, only the correct Vitae names are what matter, since unique Equipment has fixed stats. The Vitae order is irrelevant.
• Equipment can only be Imbued once. You will need a new piece of that Equipment if you want a different Imbuement.
• Unique Equipment created through Imbuing cannot be Imbued. Their statistics are completely fixed and forever unchangeable.

On a New Game+, a location north of your Chapter 1 starting point opens up. Accessible immediately, this is Mysteria Ruins, an optional 25-floor/battle post-game dungeon featuring the strongest enemies in Luminous Arc. It should be noted that while certain NPCs mention the Mysteria Ruins on a first playthrough, the location still won’t open up until a New Game+.

Five map layouts are presented in a linear, repeating order, with only the enemies changing between them, and every fifth floor contains a boss enemy. Upon completing floors, you’ll be asked if you want to retreat or continue. Retreating allows you to keep all rewards, but you will have to start from the beginning upon return.

While you can’t traditionally save, access Shops, and so on, you can use suspend saves mid-map like always to create checkpoints. It’s best to create suspend saves at the end of each map, not the beginning. Once the map is completed, select to leave, then save your game on the world map. Then, resume your suspend save and continue the Ruins. With this method, you always have a way out if a map proves to be too much to handle.

Enemy levels begin comparably to where the storyline ends, i.e. 50-52, but increase by roughly ten levels every five floors. Thus, you might begin the dungeon at an appropriate power level, but eventually find yourself outclassed. You won’t level up at the same pace enemies do. This isn’t to say the Mysteria Ruins can’t be completed as soon as it’s available, just that you should know what to expect.

On a New Game+, you have to progress in order to regain access to all Shops and the Workshop. This is tedious, so you may want to do your Mysteria Ruins prep before defeating the final boss. Buy what you need, do Intermissions, get the best equipment, etc.

Your reward for completing Mysteria Ruins is a Sleipnir Accessory, plenty of EXP, and the potential to find the best Vitae in the game. It’s a location to challenge your party and/or power-level them.

Am I Expected to Grind?

Are There Secret Party Members?

Do Any Party Members Permanently Leave My Team?

Is There Permadeath? What Are the Consequences to Dying?

Can I Change My Party’s Default Starting Positions?

Is the Sandals Accessory Useless?

Where Can I Get Sandals?

Can I Increase MOVE (Movement)?

• During action animations, the screen dims except for targets affected by the action to emphasize them. However, random unaffected targets are also highlighted for seemingly no reason.
• When Imbuing, Equipment in your possession sometimes won’t appear in the Equipment list, even when it’s compatible with Imbue.
  
  I’m unsure what exactly causes this. When I noticed it happening, I swapped Equipment among my party members to change my inventory list, and eventually what I was looking for showed up.
• Alkemion’s level three Flash Drive has a strange property where targets on certain map spaces receive minimal damage (a single digit). I have no idea if this is intentional, and if so, how you’re meant to know of it.