• This walkthrough is for 100% completion of Star Ocean: The Last Hope for Xbox 360. Included are in-depth strategies for defeating enemies and bosses, guides to Item Creation and equipment, Private Actions and room assignments, harvesting and mining, and more.

• Combat actions are italicized below.

1. Directional Pad(D-Pad): Highlight selection; change control mode
2. Left Thumbstick(L): Highlight selection; move character; press in to toggle target lock-on
3. Right Thumbstick(R): Move camera; toggle camera mode; press in to center camera
4. Left Bumper(LB): Talk/examine; change character
5. Right Bumper(RB): Point camera north; change character
6. Left Trigger(LT): Toggle auto-run; activate Chain Combo
7. Right Trigger(RT): Toggle between walk/run mode; activate Chain Combo
8. A Button: Confirm selection; talk/examine; normal attack
9. B Button: Cancel selection; harvest/mine item; use Disintegration Ring; jump, blindside, rush
10. X Button: Sprint; activate Rush Mode
11. Y Button: Display main menu; display command circle
12. Start Button: Toggle map size; toggle battle map
13. Back Button: Toggle mini-map; toggle battle map

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• Star Ocean: The Last Hope
  
  
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• Star Ocean The Last Hope
  
  
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• Star Ocean: The Last Hope
  
  

• In the field, you'll notice several things - firstly, there's a mini-map in the upper right corner of the screen that contains icons to help you navigate through the field. You can expand the mini-map view by pressing Start.
• When you stand near an object or character that you can interact with, an action button appears in the bottom right corner of the screen. Press A or LB to perform the displayed action. Note that you need certain skills to interact with certain objects, such as Mining or Harvesting. Opening chests and using these command skills will earn you a small reward in the form of EXP and Party SP.
• While in the field, you'll also encounter certain objects that require Disintegration Rings to interact with. These rings are available in several elements with limited charge. To recharge a Disintegration Ring, talk to Ring Experts in town, or have Lymle learn the Charge Command skill to use Disintegration Stones to recharge the rings.

• You'll use the Calnus to travel to several different planets, as well as function as a stage for your main operations. You can also create items and perform Private Actions to start story events, rest to restore HP/MP, cleanse yourself of status ailments, and the like.

• Private Actions, or PAs, can be triggered by talking to a character while aboard the Calnus. You'll have a choice of replies that can either make the character like you or dislike you depending on your selection.

• You can assign rooms to your characters while aboard the Calnus. To do so, examine the room-assignment chart in the hallway of the living quarters. Note that a male and female character can not room together unless their affinity towards each other is high. Assigning rooms, like PAs, can trigger various story events.

• Item Creation, or IC, requires recipes. You can produce recipes by having Invention Sessions - divide your characters into groups to come up with new recipes. There is a cost of 1 Party SP per second of the Invention Session. Equipment recipes produced during Invention Sessions will always be one that can be equipped by one of the characters that participated in the session.
• Depending on the skills of your characters, new recipes may become available. After you've obtained the recipe, you'll need to find the required material in the amount listed to create the item. You can not fail at creating the item once you have the recipe and materials, so be sure to make items on a regular basis.

• To select the next destination for the Calnus, check the main terminal in the flight deck to view and travel to the available locations. New locations become available as you progress in the game.

• During the game, some NPCs will ask you to run an errand or do some other task for them in exchange for items, EXP, and Party SP. These quests are various, as are their prizes, and are detailed individually as they arise in the walkthrough.
• Merchants also give quests with their item ordering - when you talk to a merchant, you can look to see what items they are currently looking for. If you can give them the items listed in the appropriate quantity, you'll receive a cash reward, EXP, and Party SP.

• Each character can learn specific skills that relate to their abilities. IC skills relate to creating items - a character with enough IC skill will have better recipes, and will have access to more recipes during Invention Sessions. Command skills are used in the field(ie. Harvesting, Mining, Sprinting, etc.), and Combat skills are used during fights. To learn skills, purchase skill manuals.

• When you encounter a new monster, it is recorded to your database. You can view the data collected on a monster from the main menu by selecting Collections, then Monsters. There's a percentage under each monster's name - this represents the total data collected on that monster. Each monster you defeat adds 3% to this percentage, so defeating 34 monsters will net you the full 100%.
• Once you have 100% of the available data on a monster, you can transfer that data to a Monster Jewel, which can then be turned into an accessory with attributes based on the monster's data. More powerful monsters equal more powerful accessories, so be sure to check your Monster Collection regularly.
• For an example of the benefits of Monster Jewels, look at the Polyphage enemy. After defeating 34 Polyphages, you'll have 100% of the available data. Transferring that data to a Monster Jewel creates the Polyphage Jewel, which increases defense by 2 and gives an additional bonus of 100 to HP.

• There are two stages to fighting - encountering the enemy, and then releasing some devastating combos on it. Both are detailed below to help make combat more intuitive.

• To start a battle with an enemy, all you have to do is touch it. However, depending on how you touch the enemy and from where, you can start the battle with the advantage - or the disadvantage. How you touch the enemy to start the battle might mean the difference between winning and losing. There are three ways to initiate battle:

1. Preemptive Attack: If you touch the enemy from behind, the enemy will have no defense as you start the battle.
2. Surprise Attack: If you are touched from behind by the enemy, you'll start the battle surrounded by enemies with full Rush gauges, leaving you at the disadvantage.
3. Ambush: If you start a battle and there are other nearby enemies, they may ambush you as soon as you finish the first battle. For as long as there are enemies, you'll have to fight consecutive battles to earn any rewards - if you flee from any of the ambushes, you won't gain EXP or Fol. If you do win all the battles, you'll receive an EXP bonus relative to how many battles you fought, as well as a green tile for your bonus board.

• For the best instructions on fighting, check the in-game battle simulator available from the main menu. Below are explanations on a few of the basics for combat.

1. Attacking: Press A to attack; press it repeatedly to perform combos. Your attack will adjust automatically for flying or standing enemies.
2. Jumping: The game refers to an awkward-looking dash as a "jump". To perform this, hold B and press the Left Thumbstick in a direction to dash in that direction.
3. Jump Attack: Some characters can perform a Jump Attack, which is an attack during that dash. Press A or B mid-dash to perform it.
4. Guard: If you stay still, your character automatically guards against oncoming attacks. To be successful, your GRD rating must be higher than the enemy's HIT rating. There are attacks that can't be guarded against.
5. Rush Mode: When your Rush gauge is full, you can activate Rush Mode, which increases your speed, makes it impossible to be knocked back by attacks, and increases your chance to perform Critical hits. You can charge the Rush gauge by attacking enemies, being attacked, or holding down B. Enemies also have Rush Mode attacks.
6. Switching: The character you control is the party leader. To switch characters, press RB or LB. You can set battle modes for characters to "Auto" or "Manual".
7. Camera: You can rotate the camera using the Right Thumbstick to make it easier to see the current battle. Press the thumbstick in to lock it at that angle.

• The Rage Pointer will appear beneath an enemy, and indicates their rage against a character. If it is blue, it means that the enemy will probably switch targets to someone close to it. If it is red, the enemy has locked on to a character and will attack them while ignoring everyone else. You can have the Rage Pointer directed to you by attacking repeatedly, using Symbology, or using Special Arts. You can do this for the aggro Tank tactic.
• The aggro Tank tactic is to designate one of your characters the "Tank", and have them be the focus of enemy rage, or "aggro". This keeps the rest of the party safe from attacks and lets them land their attacks without taking damage. This is also useful with non-tank characters to keep an enemy from targeting an ally with low HP, or if you want to Blindside it.

• Blindside is a special command that can be used to break free from an enemy Rage Pointer lock on, get around it's line of vision, and attack it from behind. This is extremely helpful during combat, for obvious reasons.
• To Blindside, you need to have the enemy Rage Pointer locked on to you, signified by a red arrow. You can do this by attacking it repeatedly, or by using Symbology/Special Arts. When it's locked on, hold B to charge up your character, and when a targeting icon appears on your character, tilt L to perform the Blindside.
• If successful, your charcter will be behind the enemy. Attacks from behind have a higher chance of dealing Critical damage, but you can only get behind the enemy for an attack if you Blindside a short-ranged attack. Because the enemy will lose sight of you, the Rage Pointer will also be directed at one of your allies. You can perform a long-range attack Blindside, but your character will only evade, and the enemy will not lose sight of you. Each character has their own unique Blindside attacks, which can be further enhanced by ranking up B.E.A.T. Strike.

• Some enemies can cancel out your attempt at a Blindside and deal damage to you - you can still Blindside them by waiting for them to attack. Have them lock on, then wait until your targeting icon flashes before attempting to Blindside the enemy.

• You can switch a reserve character to the active party during combat, which is helpful for getting a severely wounded character out of the field. Take control of the character to be replaced, then open the menu(Y) and select the Switch option. Select the reserved member you want to take the current character's place, and you're all set. Note that it does take a few seconds for the new character to appear.

• You can assign symbols or Special Arts to LT and RT. Chain combos can be performed during a normal combo, and Rush Combos can be performed by entering Rush Mode while holding X. Follow the button combination that appears on-screen - your allies will join in with the attack to increase the total damage dealt.

• If you take a look on the right side of the screen during combat, you'll see what looks like a set of tiles. If you meet certain conditions in battle, colored tiles are added to this board, which is your Bonus Board. After a battle is finished, you receive bonuses depending on how many tiles are in the Bonus Board and what color they are.

1. Blue Tile: To obtain, finish an enemy with a Critical Hit. It increases received EXP by 10%.
2. Yellow Tile: To obtain, defeat multiple enemies in a single attack. In increases received Fol by 10%.
3. Red Tile: To obtain, defeat enemies by using special attacks or symbols. It increases recovery of HP/MP by 1%.
4. Green Tile: These tiles are obtained automatically when you're ambushed. It increases received Party SP by 1.

• For example, you have three Blue tiles, 2 Yellow tiles, a Red tile, and 3 Green tiles. At the end of the battle, you'll receive +30% EXP, +20% Fol, +1% HP/MP recovered, and +3 Party SP.

• The Bonus Board lasts throughout the game, but can be broken or reset by the following conditions:

1. If the party leader receives a Critical Hit
2. If the party leader is incapacitated
3. If the party flees from battle
4. If you reload the game
5. If a major story event occurs

• After you have filled the Bonus Board, no further tiles can be added, even if you meet the conditions. If you want to create a new tile set, save your game and reload it to start with an empty Bonus Board. If multiple tiles of the same color are next to each other, they begin to glow - if the leader receives a Critical Hit, you only lose half of the glowing tiles.

• Certain character skills and symbols can increase your stats temporarily. Icons signifying that this has occurred appear over the character portrait on the combat screen. You can only have four stat boosts per character at a time, and any new stat boosts that happen will replace the first one, taking effect immediately.

• B.E.A.T. stands for Battle Enhancement Attribute Type. This is considered the character's fighting style, and depending on which you select, the character will earn predetermined adjustments and special effects to skills. Two of the three styles can be ranked up by winning battles to increase the adjustment parameter boosts and special effects added to the character's skills.

1. S (Strike): Offensive fighting style that relies heavily on Blindside. ATK, INT, and HIT stats are increased, and extra Blindside effects become available while using S. Parameter boosts and special effects increase as you rank up in S.
2. B (Burst): Defensive fighting style that relies heavily on Rush Mode. DEF, GRD and MAX HP stats are increased, and extra Rush Mode effects become available while using B. Parameter boosts and special effects increase as you rank up in B.
3. N (Neutral): This style is a mixture of the offensive and defensive styles, and thus gets benefits from the character's rank in both Strike and Burst styles. There are no extra effects for Blindside and Rush Mode, and you can not rank up Neutral style.

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