New Game Plus

In each Tales game I have played, there has been an option in the Grade Shop called Combos, which cuts all regular earned experience down to 1, but increases the combo bonus. Has anyone played through an entire game with this option? If so, did you find the play through challenging or did the experience amount pick up once you were able to link combos together?

Kleaver of the original forums has done a challenge run of Tales of Symphonia with all the detrimental grade shop options (and without using items iirc). Combo experience was part of his challenge.

I've tried it myself once, with Symphonia as well, and I can tell you that it is not meant to be done alone, nor is it meant to be chosen as your only grade shop option. Eventually, you'll be a far higher level than you would be with 10x experience if you invest the same amount of time into the game.

However, it is extremely hard to lift it off the ground in the first place.

If you want to try it for yourself, I recommend playing with at least two people so you can actually combo enemies, and transferring artes (and titles) from a previous playthrough. You want to be able to use the multiple hit artes ASAP. Especially at the lower levels, having the proper titles equipped while levelling up is of the utmost importance (read: coliseum titles and Empty Soul).

Except, of course, you're doing a challenge run and like to get 1 exp for most of the game to see what the minimum level is you could finish the game at.

Funny story, I stumbled across this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w_M4XvSKhk and then I went here, and found this thread.

The video is for vesperia, but I assume the same thing that Bo mentioned is what's done here. That giant teddy-bear thing that falls down all the time, is that what's awarding that insane bonus xp? Also, what creature is that?

It's "Gold Cat", one of Rita's spells.

If I have my facts straight.

That giant "Teddie Bear" is indeed Gold Cat, a spell by Rita. I imagine the person in the video is using the Combo Grade Shop Extra.

On a semi-related note, I started a play through on Symphonia with the Combo Grade Shop Purchase. I feel that all the boss battles give you about the same amount of experience as playing the game regularly, but the regular battles vary.

I intend to get the title with Lloyd for being below a certain level after a certain fight, but I can also see how you could max out your level if you wanted to. I just wish I had a better idea of how I am getting the large amounts of experience when I do get them.

You don't need Battle Techniques to get tons of bonus experience from combos; it multiplies your bonus experience by 5, but from that video even without Battle Techniques they still would have gotten 660000 exp.

Bo, high combos in Symphonia are much harder than they are in later games, just because there aren't any easy cheat-like methods to rack up hits or other benefits like 1-damage weapons. You have to be able to get an enemy trapped in a loop in the air somehow, then stun them with Photon every so often. The way Shinryu had done his super-high combos wayyyy back when was going to Flanoir and getting an Ice Warrior stuck in a combo loop, using Photon to stun, and using Ice Tornado to heal it so it wouldn't die.

I wonder if I'll ever manage to do infinite combos. It's not a matter of having the right moves for me, it's about knowing what I'm doing, and having the patience to sit for 10 minutes wailing on an enemy