Necessities
Due to its vastness, I felt a prequel chapter was necessary to cover
all options available to the player via the new game+, as well as advice
on how to prepare your current save file to expand over to a new, 100%
completion run. How deep you want to take your completion will be
determined by your own
preference, but whatever that may be, I've got you covered from the
start. If you're a new player to Tales of Symphonia, I would advise to
skip the following and move on ahead to the first chapter to avoid
potential spoilers, however, crucial gameplay mechanics will be
discussed below and may prove useful to you.
A minimum of three playthroughs is needed to reach 100% completion in Tales of Symphonia: two to complete the Monster List, and one additional to fill out the Collector's Book and obtain all of the character's costume titles. Of course, assuming all the right choices are made in each play. While three is a minimum, your file can expand to many, many more plays depending on your own definition of completion.
- You need to make a decision on whom your eighth character will be: Zelos or Kratos. Whoever that will be, you need to have selected their alternative, at least once, on a previous play to complete the Monster List. Selecting Zelos adds the Gatekeeper enemy, while choosing Kratos grants you Zelos' entry. Also, for these two unique battles, make sure to bring Raine to use a Magic Lens to completely fill out their Monster List entries. Zelos must be chosen to obtain a costume title for Colette, too.
- In the same vein, your choice also decides which of three unique items you will obtain. If selecting Kratos, your only option is to obtain the Kratos' Locket, with Zelos providing an opportunity to bag the Chosen's Orb or Snow Hare accessory depending on which character scene Lloyd selects to view.
- Of the Kratos' Locket, Chosen's Orb, and Snow Hare items, only one can be obtain each time you play, which is one of two reasons three playthroughs are needed.
- The second reason is the large number of character costume titles, of which only three, not including Lloyd, can be selected in each playthrough. After one play you will have four, then add an additional 3 on your next play, and finally, obtaining the last one in your third.
- Bring Colette into the final battle and have her steal an EX Gem Max from the boss' second, and final, form. While the boss will also drop one, you do not want to miss out on bringing two of these items over to your new file. This is your only, reasonable, option to obtain this item in the entire game. While I believe it is, theoretically, possible to find this elsewhere, take my advice when I say it would be faster to rush through the game to acquire these than the alternative. While not necessary to completion, some players, who want 4 EX Gem Maxes for their entire party, may need to do upwards of 16 plays.
- Speaking of the final battle, bring Raine with you, as well, and have her use a Magic Lens on both forms of the boss to fully complete their entries in the Monster List. Failure to use a Magic Lens, with at least one character, will prevent you from completing the Monster List.
One last thing to note, while not entirely impossible to do all in one play, you'd save yourself
a lot of trouble by dividing up some of the restriction-based character
titles over your three plays. They being the following:
- Eternal Apprentice (Lloyd): Lloyd can only equip the Wooden Sword weapon up until the Kilia boss battle in Palmacosta.
- Gung Ho (Lloyd): Lloyd, plus the three other active party members, levels must average no more than 36 when reaching the Rodyle boss battle at the Remote Island Human Ranch dungeon fairly late into the game. There is some wiggle room here, but I wouldn't push it.
- Brave Soul (Lloyd): Cannot have escaped from a battle up until the Yuan and Botta duo boss fight at the Tethe'alla Base.
- Friendship First (Colette): No party member can fall to 0 HP during battle up until the Iubaris boss fight at the Tower of Mana.
- I Hate Gels! (Genis): You need to have used zero Gel items up until the Pronyma boss battle in the Fooji Mountains.
Recommended File Preps
With the necessities out of the way, let's talk about optimizing your current save file in preparation for starting your completionists one.
- Sell ALL of your inventory, with the exception of EX Gems, and any recovery items you feel you may need to complete the final battles. With the exception of the Gems, your items do not carry over, but the Gald can. This is especially important for those that like to maximize their Gald stash.
- Take as much Grade with you as you can over to your next game. Besides the used Grade of your current play that will be returned to you, you can view how much Grade you currently have by visiting a Katz EX Gem exchange shop that are located in most towns. While the overwhelmingly best way to earn Grade is through multiple game completions, you can farm it through quick, easy battles in the Iselia Forest, but be prepared for this to be a slow process.
- Try to learn as many EX Skills for your characters as possible. Go ahead
and use those EX Gems you have in your inventory at the end of the game
since you, more-than-likely, will have to sell them (For 1 Gald, nonetheless) to open chests in your new game. If you want to know more about recommended EX Skills to learn, see the last chapter on character setups.
Titles for Optimizing Stats
Unlike previous Tales games where titles were merely cosmetic, in ToS your character's active title will provide a slight increase, +1 for normal stats, and +5% boost in HP and/or TP when the character levels up, but the mechanics of it are a bit wonky. Each title actually provides a certain % chance of that stat to increase; with very few providing a 100% chance of it happening.
While in the grand scheme of things, statistical gains from titles offer very little valued improvement in your character's performance, for completionists, this can be a very important aspect. For example, through titles is the only way to max out most character's Intelligence stat. With the exception of Luck, which is effected neither by items nor titles, there are no items in the game to permanently increase Intelligence, so if you are a player that likes to maximize your stats, this section is crucial. For the most part, HP/TP should be avoided, as they are the easiest to maximize on their own, while Accuracy and Evasion provide very little, if any, benefit to the character with their exact usage being mainly unknown to the community. Intelligence is important to all characters due to its providing resistance to magical attacks, just to note.
Another important point is, besides Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Kratos, and maybe, Raine, it's important that you select a proper title for your character to be equipped with when starting your completionists file. Whatever title they have equipped at game's end will decide their statistical gain up until they join your party. As you might imagine, this is very important for the likes of Zelos, Presea, and Regal. In the next section, I will go over which titles each character should carry over to their new game, along with my recommended default for completing your current file, so that you can properly tailor your character's statistics to your liking. The percentage chance, with said title equipped, of a statistic being increased are listed in parentheses along with the title. If you want to know more about recommended stat growth for individual characters, see the last chapter on character setups and completion notes.
Lloyd
- Eternal Swordsman: Gained automatically during the story.
- (HP, Str: 70%, Def, Acc: 60%)
- Gourmet King: From the Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def: 60%, Int: 40%, Eva: 50%)
- Midlife Crisis: Clear the Uncle mini-game in Triet under High-Speed Mode.
- (TP: 10%, Int: 60%)
- Sword of Swords: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Tactical Leader: Finish Party Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (TP: 30%, Int, Eva, Acc: 50%)
- Holy Sword: Lloyd reaches level 100.
- (Def, Eva: 100%)
- Combo Master: Land a 100 hit combo during battle.
- (TP: 50%, Acc: 100%)
- Brave Soul: See "necessities" section above.
- (HP, Str, Eva: 50%, Def: 40%)
- Berserker: Win 256 battles under either the Hard of Mania difficulties.
- (HP, Str: 100%, Eva: 60%)
Colette
- Spiritua Reborn: Gained automatically during the story.
- (HP: 40%, Str: 50%, Eva: 30%)
- Charismatic Chef: Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def, Eva: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Super Girl: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Angelic Maiden: Colette reaches level 100.
- (HP, Def: 100%)
- Little Pickpocket: Use Item Thief/Rover at least 400 times.
- (HP, Str, Def: 60%)
Genis
- Little Chef: From the Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def, Eva: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Figurine Collector: Harley in Asgard after completing the Figurine Book.
- (Str, Def: 100%)
- Ultimate Kid: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Mana Master: Gained from learning Meteor Storm in Heimdall end game.
- (Int, Eva: 50%, TP: 30%, Acc: 20%)
Kratos
- Gourmet Master: Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def, Eva: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Conqueror: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- War God: Kratos reaches level 100.
- (HP, Int: 100%, Acc: 50%)
Raine
- Passable Chef: Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def, Eva: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Gladiator Queen: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Professor: Raine reaches level 40.
- (Str: 80%, HP, Int: 40%, Eva: 20%)
- Wisewoman: Raine reaches level 100.
- (HP, Int: 100%)
Sheena
- Master Summoner: Make pacts with all summon spirits in the game.
- (Int: 50%, Acc: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Master Cook: From the Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def, Eva: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Treasure Hunter: From the Katz Village after opening all chests in the game.
- (Int: 100%, Str, Def: 50%)
- Rose of Battle: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Ultimate Summoner: Sheena reaches level 100.
- (HP, Def: 100%)
Zelos
- Gourmet Prince: Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Int, Acc: 50%, Eva: 40%)
- Grand Champion: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Elegant Swordsman: Zelos reaches level 100.
- (HP, Def: 100%)
- Gilgamesh: Equip the Excalibur, Golden Helm, Golden Armor, Blue Shield/Hyper Gauntlet, and Jet Boots together.
- (HP, Str, Def: 80%, TP: 10%)
Presea
- Empty Soul: Defeat the optional boss, Abyssion.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 30%)
- Master Chef: From the Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def, Eva: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Paw Mania: From a limited-time skit before completing Lightning Temple.
- (Int: 50%, TP: 10%)
- Bursting Girl: Presea reaches level 100.
- (HP, Str: 100%)
Regal
- El Presidente: Gained automatically during the story.
- (Str, Def: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Eternal Sinner: Gained automatically during the story.
- (Eva, Acc: 50%, TP: 20%)
- True Chef: From the Wonder Chef in Altamira after mastering all recipes.
- (Def, Eva: 50%, Int: 40%)
- Paw Dandy: Can only get after seeing Presea's Paw Mania skit, then it's received in another limited-time skit before completing Earth Temple.
- (Int: 50%, TP: 10%)
- King of the Coliseum: Finish Advanced Single Mode at the Coliseum in Meltokio.
- (HP, Str, Def, Int, Acc, Eva: 40%, TP: 20%)
- Battle Artist: Regal reaches level 40.
- (HP, Str: 50%, Acc: 40%)
- Perfect Battler: Regal reaches level 100.
- (HP, Str: 100%)
- Lloyd: Sword of Swords or Berserker
- Colette: Super Girl
- Genis: Ultimate Kid
- Kratos: Conqueror or War God
- Raine: Gladiator Queen or Wisewoman
- Sheena: Rose of Battle or Treasure Hunter
- Zelos: Grand Champion or Gilgamesh
- Presea: Empty Soul
- Regal: King of the Coliseum or El Presidente
The Grade Shop
EX Skills
While not necessary to select, this keeps you from having to "spark" character compound EX Skills by equipping various different skills together. If at anything, this will help you save on using EX Gems, but shouldn't be taken unless you've exhausted yourself unlocking them first.
EX Gems
Should no question be taken. The only way you can have EX Gem Maxes in your inventory.
Affection
This allows you to keep your character's relationship values to Lloyd. I don't recommend this as it's easier to just start from a clean slate and work up to who you want to be Lloyd's "soulmate". If you play with already high values, it can complicate your selection without lowering the values considerably. However, if planning to recruit Kratos, none of this makes much difference at all.
Increase Tension
Select this one, too. It increases the chance of a character entering "Overlimit" mode that boosts your statistics considerably for a short time during battle, along with making available a number of character skills. The most important aspect of this option is that Sheena will be able to use her summon skills more often during battle. However, there is a negative consequence to selecting Increase Tension: boss monsters will enter "Overlimit" mode more often, as well. Still, this should be taken anyways.
Play Time
Not necessary, but cheap to take.
Memory Circles
This one is important really only for item collectors. It leaves the memory circle save points unsealed in dungeons, so you don't have to waste the Memory Gem items found within to activate them; allowing you to keep them in your inventory.
30 Items
Great if you've managed to accumulate a lot of Grade to spread around. You can carry a maximum 30 of each item, instead of the usual 20.
Gald
Expensive, but you should select this if you have enough Grade. Starting the game with a high number of Gald really benefits you in two ways: you can buy enough ingredients to consistently prepare recipes in order to master each one with every character, and second, you can get a head-start in rebuilding Luin early in the game.
Recipes
Should always be taken, and is fairly cheap.
Cooking Ability
Absolutely! You don't want to all of your character's cooking skills resetting.
Titles
Should be everyone's first selection in the Grade Shop.
Figurines
Unless you've already completely filled all 288 entries to the Figurine Book, I wouldn't take this, personally. It's much easier to start completely from scratch to finish it.
Monster List
Impossible to complete the Monster List without taking this each play.
Collector's Book
You cannot 100% fill this book without choosing this each time you play.
World Map
For the small cost, take this, too. It allows you to keep all of the long-range monuments you activated (Where you can ride Noishe) and locations you previously visited will be automatically marked on the expanded world map (But not shop information).
Mini Game
This just keeps your high scores in the various mini-games. You still keep your titles gained from them regardless of whether you select this or not.
Battle Info
This one is a bit vague, but should absolutely be chosen. It carries over the number of battles your party has fought and your highest combo number, however, the most important aspect of this option is that it carries over the number of defeated monsters a character has which effects the power of their Devil's Arms weapons.
Tech
I may be in the minority, but I never choose this one. However, for those that want to keep, for instance, all of Sheena's summons or Genis' Meteor Storm spell, that are event-driven instead of learned by level, this could be of interest.
Yes! You absolutely want to select this each time. Not only is there a requirement of a set number of usage to learn certain character skills, as well as to activate hidden ones, but it has another importance, as well. Although the increase is VERY minor, with each 50 uses of a tech, it grows in effectiveness. This only applies to techs that are statistically based and not ones based off a percentage (First Aid/Nurse) or have a set effect (Sharpness/Holy Song).
Max HP
A waste unless you have an excess of Grade or are doing a low-level game, like attempting to earn Lloyd's "Gung Ho" title.
Min HP
Only for a challenge, I guess.
Combos
This one is interesting. Basically, it raises, or lowers, received EXP based upon how high of a combo you preform during battles. If you get 10 hits, you receive the base amount of EXP, but if you fail to get a 10 hit combo, the EXP received drastically lowers. 20 hits gives double the EXP, 30, triple, and so forth...So, it has the potential to be a huge EXP booster. However, it's going to require you keep someone like Lloyd, Sheena, or Regal as your main fighter to produce combos. I never take this, personally, but might interest some players.
1/2 EXP
If you want to make life harder on yourself, or don't want to have to avoid lots of battle while going for Lloyd's "Gung Ho" title.
2X EXP
While technically you don't need this, at a minimum, to reach the maximum level of 250, it sure makes things nicer. With Hard, and Mania difficulties, you don't have to worry about overleveling, either. You can "combo" this with the Combo option to make a better alternate, for the Grade, than...
10X EXP
3000 Grade, yikes. Of course, this will make approaching max character level much more manageable.
Grade
You always want to take this option as it increases the amount of Grade you earn in each battle.
