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Table of Contents
Introduction
In this guide for The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, I will be presenting you with information about
quartz and orbal arts. While the basic information for quartz combinations are listed in-game, it is still a
major mechanic that will often determine the game's difficulty. Trails in the Sky is very much a game
where you should use arts to the best of your ability. The quartz system is surprisingly flexible, allowing
characters to take on different roles at different stages of the game. In some parts, flexibility is actually a
requirement, because using certain character in the same role for the entire game can lead to frustrating
situations. Using the correct quartz combinations, you can get through any part of the game without
knowing much else, making exploration fun and exciting, not tedious.
Attack Arts
Before we do some analysis, here's the damage formula:
If Spiral Flare does 130 damage, then Volcanic Rave will deal 262 damage (+132 flat).
If Spiral Flare does 700 damage, then Volcanic Rave will deal 832 damage (+132 flat).
This is assuming neutral elemental effinity. As you can see, as your ATS increases, the percentage of
damage difference of higher tier arts and lower tier arts lessens. Before, Volcanic Rave did more than
double the damage of Spiral Flare. But after, it's only 19% extra damage. The magic number for me in
normal difficulty is 180 ATS. For most of the game, you don't need to worry about this. But for characters
with very high ATS such as Olivier and Kloe near endgame, the damage difference between Spiral Flare
and Volcanic Rave isn't that big.
You're probably asking why this matters. Normally, it doesn't unless you are low on EP on a high ATS
character, then you realize that you can still cast weaker arts for nearly the same damage as stronger
ones. But if you look at the quartz cost to obtain those arts, you can see the opportunity costs. Take
Spiral Flare, which requires 5 fire, 2 wind, 2 space. You only need 2 quartz to get Spiral Flare, Attack 3
and Scent. For Volcanic Rave, you need Attack 3 + Seal/Strike, plus Defense 3 which is an expensive
quartz, plus something else with space like EP 2. Those 2 extra quartz needed for Volcanic Rave restrict
your slots when you could put in more useful quartz such as Action 3 or Cast 2. So in short, Volcanic
Rave will deal more damage than Spiral Flare but it doesn't scale with ATS and takes up 2 more quartz
slots. This is simply not worth it.
It's important to notice in the damage formula that elemental weakness is multiplicative with respect to
ATS. This means that elemental weaknesses should be considered foremost when deciding what arts to
cast. Let's say an enemy has 100 fire affinity and 150 water affinity. I would rather use the basic Aqua
Bleed than the improved Flare Arrow. If we're in chapter 1, then they do similar damage; but in chapter 2
or 3, Aqua Bleed does more damage. You would also be saving 10 more EP casting Aqua Bleed for
equal or more damage.
Now let's talk about cast time. Usually, an offensive art has a cast time of 30. The Cast column in the
table indicates added cast time, so Napalm Breath has a cast time of 35. Compared to Flame Arrow, you
are dealing 231 - 99 = 132 more flat damage while taking longer. Is this worth it?
Let's consider all of the single target damage, assuming our enemy has neutral elemental affinity. For
casters, Flare Arrow is better than Napalm Breath as explained above. Note that Shadow Spear and
Petrify Breath have terrible damage per EP, and are only used for their status afflictions. So we're left with
Earth Lance, Blue Impact, or Flare Arrow. Earth Lance and Blue Impact are both better flat damage and
better damage per EP than Flare Arrow, so I consider those two to be the best single target arts in the
damage. Do note that Aero Storm and Hell Gate has the same damage as Earth Lance and Blue Impact,
but they are AoE and costs more EP. Therefore, unless there is only one or two enemies left, try to cast
AoEs instead. Of course, this doesn't apply if you're trying to target a specific enemy to kill.
Now, what about area of effect damage? First, note that some AoE arts are unit-targeted, meaning their
AoE is centered around an enemy unit you must select. Stone Impact, Fire Bolt EX, Spiral Flare, Volcanic
Rave, and Hell Gate has this mechanic. Other AoE arts are point-targeted, meaning you can target any
square and the AOE is centered around there. Diamond Dust, Aerial, Aero Storm, and White Gehenna
has this mechanic. It is easier to aim point-targeted AoE arts, meaning you can catch more enemies
inside the AoE. Therefore, wind and time AoE arts usually hit more targets than earth and fire AoE arts.
This alone makes Stone Impact and fire AoE arts not as useful as the likes of Aerial and White Gehenna.
Stone Impact is just terrible. It costs 50 EP, has low base damage, and no status effects. Diamond Dust
has a nice status, but its AoE is very small. We have already discussed why Volcanic Rave is not worth it,
and Titanic Roar is in the same category. Aerial is an amazing AoE. Not only can you get it early in
chapter 1, but it is a medium AoE with no extra cast time. Compare this to Stone Impact. You can
get White Gehenna pretty early also in chapter 2. Although it uses a lot of EP, it's point-targeted and the
Faint status is amazing. Later, you will get Aero Storm, which has a huge AoE that covers almost
everything you want to hit, for only 40 EP. Fire Bolt EX and Spiral Flare are usable before you get better
wind quartz, but they should be replaced with Aerial when possible. I didn't bother much with line AoEs
(Lightning, Plasma Wave) because they take more setup movement than I care for.
In summary, it's not as hard as I made it out to be. Focus on exploiting elemental weaknesses as your
first priority. Use Aerial and other AoEs arts or crafts to weaken targets, then use your single target
attacks to finish off stragglers. Don't try to get high level arts that takes too many quartz. Your bread and
butter will be Aerial, Aero Storm, White Gehenna, Earth Lance, and Blue Impact. I may sound like hateful
towards fire arts, but remember that it's only theoretical for endgame. You should use fire quartz while
traveling to exploit enemies with fire weaknesses, and so on. Time arts like Soul Blur are neutral, so it's a
good element to fall back on when an enemy resists many elements.
Clock Up and Clock Up EX is something I strive to have on most if not all characters. What this does is
increases how often you act on the timeline, and more actions means more damage for later on. Casting
this at the beginning of a boss battle makes it much easier in most cases, and in my final party, everyone
has Clock Up EX along with White Gehenna. That should tell you how much I value those two arts.
Earth Wall is basically overpowered. Notice that in Tactics, you are able to choose your starting position.
What I do is group everyone together, and have someone cast Earth Wall. Now all characters will
completely ignore one attack. If I just cast arts, then my characters don't move and I can reapply Earth
Wall over and over again. And that's what you should do. Start with Aerial or some other AoE, then when
some of the enemies die off, reapply Earth Wall if needed, then move out to pick off the remaining ones.
Put it on a hybrid character who doesn't mainly cast, so they can Earth Wall the party then move out for
physical attacks.
Anti-Sept All is immensely useful, but you can't get it for most of the game. What it does is cast Mute in
an AoE, which is very nice when you meet those pesky spell casters. You can get it with EP 3 + Action 3
+ Cast 2, or EP 3 + EP Cut 2 + Cast 2 + Action 2. Nevertheless, they are much needed in the final
dungeon when encountering those M-Series Doom.
Of course, I shouldn't have to mention it, but you will want healing spells. In a party of four, I usually have
one dedicated main healer and another backup healer. You should get La Tear as soon as possible, and
then aim for Teara when you can get those HP 2 quartz to drop from Wisdom or Giant Foot. Curia is very
useful, but you can just buy the right accessories to block the effects from certain bosses. Revive is not
really needed, since you shouldn't be dying a lot plus you can use items or food instead.
Chapter 1
Ravennue
ATTENTION
When killing the West Bose Monster (Thunder Quake), remember to reset until you get the Evade 2 drop.
This is very important for teaching another character Aerial.
Valleria Lakeshore
Chapter 2
Bose
Sapphirl Tower
Varenne Lighthouse
Mayor's Residence
Chapter 3
Kaldia Tunnel
Limestone Cave
Chapter 4
Grancel
REMINDER
After you finish equipping Joshua's party, here are the quartz you should have in your INVENTORY or
currently on Estelle which you cannot check (except by reloading a previous save):
One EP Cut 2
One EP Cut 3 (probably on Estelle)
One Action 2
Two Cast 2
One Defense 3
One Shield 3
One Impede 2
One Impede 3 (on Estelle)
200 Time Sepith
800 Earth Sepith
Sealed Area
I decided to go with Estelle, Joshua, Olivier, and Kloe, and you're probably asking why. Apart from the
two mandatory, Olivier is an easy third. Arts are extremely powerful this game and having a caster with a
huge mana pool and only one quartz restriction is amazing. Not to mention, he's ranged and has an AoE
S-Craft. So who should the fourth be? Zane and Agate are out because you can't make meaningful quartz
combinations with them. Tita has no HP.
So we're left with Schera and Kloe. At first glance, Schera is amazing because her quartz restrictions are
Wind and we all know Aerial/Aero Storm is amazing. And to be honest, I would have no problem
replacing Kloe for her. Kloe is worse than Schera from a quartz perspective because she has three
restricted slots to Water quartz, and we only need two for a good main healer. Plus, I prefer a damaging
S-Craft over her healing S-Craft. But what puts her over the edge for me is Kaempfer, her craft that
reduces STR and DEF, which can hit anyone in the entire field. This makes the other three S-Craft hit as
hard as if there were four, and weakens the boss' crafts significantly. I pick Kloe mainly because of
Kaempfer, which is just too good to pass.