Help! It doesn't make any sense to me. (Chrono Cross)

[jrgen]

Ok, I've looked in lots of places without finding any answers.
I live in Europe, so I'm forced to play Chrono Cross using an emulator and a downloaded rom.
That means I don't have a manual.

What I don't understand is the "lvl up system".

When do your party "reach a new growth level"?
And when do single stats increase? Like only "hp+2" or "str+1".

And when you "reach a new growth level" the "X/X" increases with one.
Like if it says 9/9 and I "reach a new growth level" it changes to 10/10.
These number also appear on the top of the battle screen if you fill
the "elemental ring" with one color.
What does this mean?

I appreciate any help I get.

[Mr. Rothgar]

u gain levels by fighting bosses and getttin new stars--when uget to a high enough star u get new techs--which make u more powerful--the higher ur star is the higher ur stats wil be-- (theres realy no reason to gain levels)

also those stars are used up when u summon dragons later in the game

[jrgen]

Ok, Thanks.
You mean your party only lvls up when you fight bosses?
So there's no reason at all to fight regular enemies?

And what about the increase of single stats once in a while?

[Master.Pug]

Your single stats raise in normal monster battles (the first battles after you've gained a star level)!

And fighting monsters ist essentiel! You'll get some valuable stuff after a battle(btw. you can steal from those enemies too)!
You get material to forge better equipment or some elements, sometimes there are some nice drops (try to steal Earthquake from a Centaurpede in another's Hydra Marshes! its a rare steal but it works well, early in the game!)

[jrgen]

Your single stats raise in normal monster battles (the first battles after you've gained a star level)!

And fighting monsters ist essentiel! You'll get some valuable stuff after a battle(btw. you can steal from those enemies too)!
You get material to forge better equipment or some elements, sometimes there are some nice drops (try to steal Earthquake from a Centaurpede in another's Hydra Marshes! its a rare steal but it works well, early in the game!)
Thanks a lot for your help.
I will try to check back in Hydra Marshen sometime.

So this means after I've gained single stat increases, there is no use in fighting regular enemies.
That would save some time.

[ForeverZeroUltima]

that, or after you gain Serge's ultimate weapon, which i will not spoil for ya.

[jrgen]

Thanks, I don't like spoilers.

Anyway, Do the unused character improve their stats when you "reach a new growth level"?

[Sefie1999AD]

I think they do, because when I change to some character I haven't used for a long time, s/he will still have stats quite equal to my regular party members. It's just that I don't think unused characters get the minor stat boosts from regular battles. That's not really too big a deal, though, since the minor stat boosts are like HP+1 and Str+1.

[edczxcvbnm]

Those minor stat boosts you people are talking about are utterly useless. Because what minor bonuses you get are subtracted off of the over all gain you would get at the next star level.

That is why Serge will ALWAY have 850HP at the maximum level and so on and so forth. The only point of battleing is to get money(not really) and items to forge new weapons.

[Sefie1999AD]

Ah, I thought the minor stat boosts could be subtracted off of the overall gain you'd get after beating a boss, but I wasn't sure. That means you should only fight random battles if you feel like it yourself. Sure, you get money and items, but as far as I remember, I hardly ever used money for many things. You can find most of the elements in the game, including the healing ones, so you don't have to use consumable healing spells. Upgrading to new weapons and armor is also something I don't do all that often, and it's not expensive anyway. There's also many pieces of armor to be found in dungeons or by stealing from bosses.

[edczxcvbnm]

The only time you need the money is if you decide to get a lot or the final armors and weapons because they are very expensive. I think it is something around 20,000 per item. That doesn't include the pain in the ass items you have to get to make it either.

[jrgen]

Ok, thanks a lot for the help everyone.