Grab Some Combat Skills
Every character starts out with a few combat abilities, but you’ll want to buy some more before you really dig into combo creation. If you want some help with that, you should check out our guide to spending your Skill Points.
Once you have some combat skills to play with, you’ll want to go into the menus. Once you’ve selected the character you want to build combos for, select “Chain Combos” from the submenu.
How to Build Chain Combos
Once you’re ion the menu, you’ll see the combos you’ve already built. Each combo sequence is attached to a button, giving you three Chain Combos in total. Pressing the same buttons multiple times will perform the combo you’ve set up, but you can switch to another chain mid-combo by pressing another button. You can also assign one combat skill to a held button press, which grants you three skills in total.
Making combos is easy. Once you’ve selected the part of the combo you want to build, simply assign the skill you want. From there, assign the next skill, and so on, until your combo is completed.
How to Make the Best Combos
There are a few things to keep in mind while building combos. First, certain moves are best at being starters and enders, so you’ll want to put those moves in those slots.
Combat skills that make for good starters are usually marked as such, while enders generally have lots of startup or recovery, so you’ll want to use them to either end strings to reduce the risk of being hit before or after your skill comes out. The description of each move will usually tell you about these properties, so be sure to read them before you assign a skill to a slot.
The other thing you’ll want to take into account is a skill’s AP cost. AP determines what skills you can perform, so it pays to make sure you’re maximizing your AP use. Characters start combat with five AP, unless they land a blindside attack in combat. Once a blindside has been landed, characters can have up to fifteen AP at a time. For tips on landing blindside attacks, check out our guide.
As such, it’s best to have combos that cost five AP or less, which you’ll be able to use all the time, and other combos that cost more, so you can do more damage once you land a blindside attack. Each combat skill will tell you how much AP it requires, so be sure to check if you’re ever unsure. If you have skills that are useful, but don’t work super well in a combo, consider assigning them to a held button. That way, you can use them regularly without taking up a combo slot.
Creating chain combos is pretty easy, but maximizing their potential will take time and practice. If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll be creating exciting and useful combos in no time. Be sure to check out our other Star Ocean: The Divine Force guides for more tips.
