Stats, statistics, or status (ステータス, Sutētasu?) are used to represent a character's physical, mental, and metaphysical capabilities in the Star Ocean series. Stats are represented by numbers, and are used to determine the results of taking certain actions within a game, such as comparing an attacking character's Attack stat to their target's Defense stat to determine how much damage the target will receive.
Recurring stats[]
LV[]
Shortened from Level, it is the unit's defining point; it denotes how much a character or enemy has in the other stats. For example, a low level unit is considerably weaker than a high level unit. Levels require a certain amount of Experience Points to be gained before passing into the next level. As a character levels up, they get increases in each stat outlined below. In Star Ocean: Anamnesis, a character's max level is determined by their rarity (level 40 is the maximum capacity at 3★, level 50 at 4★, level 60 at 5★, and level 70 at 6★).
EXP[]
It is the number of experience points required for the next level, which is continuously updated after each battle: Enemies grant EXP to the party when defeated, and generally, bosses may either give a large amount. The amount required to go up a level is rarely constant, as it grows each time the character levels up, usually twice the previous amount. EXP received after a battle is usually shared by the whole party. It is accompanies by a Next stat which shows how many points are needed for the next level.
HP[]
In battle, Hit Points are used to determine if a character is able to fight. When attacked, the total damage dealt is subtracted from the current HP. If a character's HP falls to zero in a battle, they will be incapacitated. In the series, a character's HP bar can be restored via restorative symbols or certain items. In Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, HP (along with MP and Fury) is used to perform attacks. In Anamnesis, KO'd allies can only be revived with specific Rush Mode skills (e.g. Evelysse), else by continuing with gems where permitted.
MP[]
A character or enemy's Magic Points value is the total amount the character can spend to use symbology or Special Arts in battle. These two types of abilities require set amounts of MP to use, and neither can be used if a character's MP bar reaches zero. In Till the End of Time, there is the MP Death feature wherein characters or enemies alike will die if their MP bar is completely depleted. In Anamnesis, abilities cost AP (Ability Points).
ATK[]
The Attack (攻撃, Kōgeki?) parameter affects the damage a character deals when attacking. It is the base attack strength of a character's physical attacks (normal or Special Arts). Equipping a weapon increases the damage dealt to enemies.
INT[]
Intelligence (知力, Chiryoku?) is the parameter that affects the attack power of symbology and some Special Arts. The higher the value, the stronger the symbols casted. Equipping a weapon increases the damage dealt to enemies.
DEF[]
Short for Defense (防御, Bōgyo?). This parameter calculated the amount of HP damage a character receives when hit by an enemy's attack. The higher the number, the less damage incurred. Equipping armor or accessories will boost it.
HIT[]
The Hit (命中, Meichū?) parameter is somewhat less defined that the aforementioned stats, as its effect seems to slightly change throughout the games it appears in. In Star Ocean: The Last Hope, it dictates how easy it is for the character to attack through an enemy's defenses. It works directly with the enemy's GRD rarting to calculate its probability of guarding the player's attack. In Anamnesis, the parameter affects the damage modifier applied when an opponent guards against a character's attack, and has an impact on the chance of scoring a critical hit during an attack.
GRD[]
The Guard (回避, Kaihi?, lit. Evasion) parameter, called Avoidance (or AVD) in The Second Story and the remakes, has a different effect throughout the games. In The Second Story et al, a higher AVD value means a higher chance of avoiding attacks. In The Last Hope, it is the character's probability of guarding an incoming attack; the value is affected and modified by the enemy's HIT rating. In Anamnesis, the parameter affects the damage modifier applied when the character guards against an attack, and also has an impact on the chance of preventing a critical hit when struck by an attack.
LUCK[]
Also called LUC. Luck is, again, less defined in its effect. In the Star Ocean: The Second Story, the parameter affects Item Creation rate, skill success rate, etc., and can be raised by equipment. In The Last Hope, it indicates how 'lucky' the character is, affecting the rate at which characters score critical hits, and how often they are revived from incapacitation via Fury.
Game-specific stats[]
STR, CON, DEX, MAG, AGL, STM, GUTS[]
In Star Ocean: The Second Story, and the remakes Star Ocean: Second Evolution and Star Ocean: First Departure which use the same engine, there are several additional stats which reflect the character's innate values, which affect the usual stats outlined above. The usual stats (ATK, DEF, HIT, etc.) are calculated thus: the character's innate value (from below) plus the value of equipment. For example: ATK is a character's STR plus his/her equipment's ATK value.
- STR - The character's innate physical Strength and affects the ATK value.
- INT - Intelligence affects the MAG (or Magic) value.
- CON - The character's Constitution; it affects the DEF value. A higher DEF means less damage received; it is also called AC (Armor Class).
- DEX - A character's innate Dexterity; it affects the HIT value. This value determines a character's hit accuracy, and higher HIT means that attacks connect more often.
- AGL - Innate Agility, it affects the AVD (Avoidance) rate, called GRD in most other games.
- STM - A character's Stamina affects how much HP and MP they recover after battle. Stamina goes down if one attacks or uses spells in battle, and can recover itself by remaining still. It can be raised or lowered by equipment.
- GUTS - The Guts stat affects how often the character does critical attacks (this affects Special Arts and Symbology as well) or survive fatal attacks (with 1 HP remaining). It can be raised by equipment.
Critical[]
MEN[]
In Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, the Mentality (魔法防御, Mahō Bōgyo?, lit. Magic Defense) parameter determines the character's resistance against enemy spells.
Rarity[]
In Star Ocean: Anamnesis, all characters and items are classified from a value of one to six stars (★). The higher the rarity, the stronger (and better) the character or item as it determines its other stats and max level. Characters can advance their rarity to their maximum allowed through Augmentation, while items can be exchanged into certain higher rarity weapons or coins through Transmutation.
Trivia[]
- HP, MP (AP in Anamnesis), ATK, INT, DEF, can be enhanced with the use of starseeds in several games.