Full Gauge with a 180% fill rate.
The Bonus Battle Gauge (ヒートアップゲージ, Hīto Appu Gēji?) is a feature in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time that increases the spoils of war after battles are won. The Battle Bonus Board, an evolution of the gauge, is used in The Last Hope.
Successfully attacking enemies fills the Battle Gauge. Its rate fill is determined by the strength of the party versus the enemies: the stronger the party is, the lower the rate at the start of battle. The rate steadily decreases by 10% over the course of the battle until it reaches zero percent. Completely filling the gauge initiates a Bonus Battle (戦闘ボーナス, Sentō Bōnasu?), guaranteeing one of four bonuses after battle. The gauge breaks if the player character dies, receives a critical hit, or escapes from battle. To prevent this from happening, the player can change to longe-range character such as Maria.
The final blow that fills the gauge determines which of the four bonuses applies.
- Minor Attack - Triplicates experience points earned.
- Major Attack - Double the amount of fol.
- Symbology - Increase chances for items dropped.
- Battle Skill - Increase recovery rate upon win.
Maintaining the gauge increases the Chain by one every battle. Every five battles, another bonus is randomly applied until all four are active at once. There are seven battle trophies that can be earned with these chains: trophies #022 to #028, with the highest being achieving a chain of 500.