Welch Vineyard is a playable character in Star Ocean: First Departure, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, Star Ocean: The Second Story R, and the spin-off Star Ocean: Anamnesis.
First Departure[]
To recruit Welch, the player must make sure to have the Silvant Emblem acquire during the Emblems quest. Then, from the town of Ionis, they must go in the direction of Van City. Eventually, the player will reach an area on the world map with two bridges, from where they must head to the forested area to the west (between the two bridges) and navigate through it to find a house, Welch's hut. The player must then choose the first option to get Welch. She will only join if the player has seven or fewer characters.
Welch is able to equip handy sticks, leather armor, and martial arts gis. Her movement speed is classified as fast (★★★☆).
Parameters[]
| LV | HP | MP | STR | CON | DEX | AGL | INT | LUC | STM | GUTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | ||||||||||
| 100 | 9377 | 593 | 549 | 189 | 360 | 116 | 386 | 192 | 72 | 121 |
| 255 | 9999 | 999 | 920 | 408 | 747 | 116 | 781 | 192 | 72 | 203 |
Special Arts[]
| Name | Details | Learned |
|---|---|---|
| Slap | Swat with a handy stick. | Default |
| Flick | Jab with a handy stick. | Default |
| Left Hand Rule | Lift and slam an enemy to the ground. | Default |
| Spinning Finger | Daze enemies by spinning a handy stick | Default |
| Distraction | Distract enemies with a handy stick. | Default |
| Iron Fist | Thrust with a handy stick. | Default |
| Slappity Slap | Swat an enemy in rapid succession. | Slap + Omega SFT |
| Rapid Flick | Jab an enemy in rapid succession. | Flick + Omega SFT |
| Mithril Fist | Delivers a huge shockwave. | Iron Fist + Omega SFT |
| Nibelungaling! | Jump up in the air and hurl down a handy stick. | Symbol of the Gods |
Talents[]
Welch can learn the following Talents (initial %, bloom %):
- Originality (20%, 50%)
- Taste (10%, 8%)
- Nimble Fingers (30%, 40%)
- Design Sense (20%, 30%)
- Composition (20%, 20%)
- Rhythm Sense (30%, 4%)
- Listening (5%, 8%)
- Love of Animals (30%, 15%)
- Animal Instinct (10%, 20%)
Second Evolution[]
Nibelung-something or other!
― Welch, upon performing Nibelungaling
Welch's weapons are "handy sticks", which are exactly as the name implies. It should also be noted that none of her handy sticks have elemental affinities or special powers. Unlike other melee female characters, Welch can actually wear heavy armor that many of the male characters do, making her quite resilient. None of her Special Arts are really notable, however her true power lies in her normal attacks, being very fast, making her excel against single targets. Her movement speed is classified as normal (x1.0).
Welch's secret Special Art, Nibelungaling!, can only be obtained near the end of the game. Once the player reaches the final save point, before facing Gabriel, they need to go all the way back out of Phynal. The player then needs to go to Fun City and find a Strange Old Man in the crowd of the battle arena, who gives the option of the party to back to a "virtual Expel". Once back to Expel, the player needs to travel all the way to the top of Eluria Tower, in the room where the Sorcery Globe resides. There the player will find a treasure chest, which contains an item called "Smooth Crystal", which must be used with Welch through the Crafting Item Creation, resulting in Symbol of the Gods, which teaches Nibelungaling!
The Second Story R[]
While Welch is still underwhelming in the early game, she becomes stronger as the game goes on. Her Slappity Slap and Rapid Flick have been vastly improved, with the former now dealing massive damage through various hits once fully upgraded, while the latter has the second highest Shield-damage multiplier (after Ernest's Thousand Tails), in addition to shooting long range projectiles. Mithril Fist now hits the entire screen, no matter where Welch is. Nibelungaling! can only be unlocked once the player actually finishes the game and make a save clear data, but it still deals massive damage in the entire screen.
Welch's new Ultimate Weapon is the Gutsy Handy Stick (acquired in the Maze of Tribulations), which gives Welch bonuses in battle depending on how many male characters there are in the current active party:
- 1: all attacks are guaranteed to hit
- 2: negates stagger from enemy attacks (constant super armor).
- 3: gain +3000 ATK (in battle, on top of the weapon's normal 2500 ATK).
When upgraded into its Desire form, its base power improves to 3000, its HIT and AVD bonuses both double to 100 and it provides an additional 20 LUC (to a massive total of 120), while also causing Welch to be immune to Fire and Water damage, and absorb Earth damage.
This weapon's very high power and ability to ignore accuracy allow Welch to easily deal the most damage out of any character in post-game when combined with the Earring of Frenzy, a "mature" female-only accessory (+200% ATK, but -50% HIT).
Parameters[]
| LV | HP | MP | STR | CON | DEX | AGL | INT | LUC | STM | GUTS | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gain | -- | -- | 1-4 | 1-2 | 2-3 | -- | 2-3 | -- | 0 | 0-1 | -- |
| 30 | ? | ||||||||||
| 100 | 9488 | 612 | 556 | 185 | 367 | 101 | 378 | 192 | 70 | 116 | ? |
| 255 | 9999 | 999 | 931 | 416 | 756 | 101 | 760 | 192 | 70 | 205 | ? |
Special Arts[]
| Name | Details | Learned |
|---|---|---|
| Slap | Swat with a handy stick. | Default |
| Flick | Jab with a handy stick. | Default |
| Left Hand Rule | Lift and slam an enemy to the ground. | Default |
| Spinning Finger | Daze enemies by spinning a handy stick. | Default |
| Distraction | Distract enemies with a handy stick. | Default |
| Iron Fist | Thrust with a handy stick. | Level 37 |
| Slappity Slap | Upgraded version of Slap. Swat an enemy in rapid succession. | Level 53 |
| Rapid Flick | Upgraded version of Flick. Jab an enemy in rapid succession. | Level 73 |
| Mithril Fist | Upgraded version of Iron Fist, inspired by an idea from Precis. Deliver a huge shockwave. | PA?? with Precis |
| Nibelungaling! | Jump up in the air and hurl down a handy stick. | Symbol of the Gods |
Talents[]
Welch can learn the following Talents (initial %, bloom %):
- Originality (20%, 50%)
- Taste (10%, 8%)
- Nimble Fingers (30%, 40%)
- Design Sense (20%, 30%)
- Composition (20%, 20%)
- Rhythm Sense (30%, 4%)
- Listening (5%, 8%)
- Love of Animals (30%, 15%)
- Animal Instinct (10%, 20%)
Anamnesis[]
Fear not, for the creator of the all-time greatest items is here!
― Draw success
Welch[]
Weepy Welch[]
Dream Welch[]
Twin Eclipse Welch[]
- Awakening
|
Genius Blacksmith II LV 2 - ATK +45%, and ATK +75% at 150 hits or more (party)
Explosive LV 2 - Adds DEF -40% (10 seconds) to Welch Rock Bomber
New: Accidental Resemblance? (
Gigantic Welch Impact LV 2 - ATK x 4500%
Summer Welch[]