Combat Bonuses

I really, really like the Combat Bonus system. It is such a simple mechanic, yet it can have a pretty strong impact on how you approach combat.

There are three types of Combat Bonuses, each with different rewards. Winning a battle in one turn gets you extra Exp. Winning without getting hit gets you extra JP. And killing an entire group with one move gets you extra PG (note, that is just the finishing blow, you can weaken them with other moves first).

The bonuses start off at a minor 10% boost. But, after sustaining the same bonus for 5 fights, it jumps to 20%. Yay. However, if you can continue to sustain the chain for 5 more fights after that, it boosts to the maximum value of 50%.

This is not an insubstantial number. 50% more spoils can be pretty hefty. So you constantly play to maintain the chains. While the safest way to take on a fight is probably to Default 3 turns, then steamroll everything, and still be able to take a turn afterward in case an enemy had defaulted or evaded and survived your onslaught, this will keep you from getting the boosted JP and Exp. So instead, you tend to rush battles, pushing to win in a single turn, before your enemy can move, and it can cost you.

What's more, however, is that even if the chain is broken, you don't mind too much. It's easy enough to build back up, so you don't worry or get frustrated by it. It really feels like a bonus, an optional extra.

That said, I don't think the system is perfect. I really think that the Sweeper bonus for getting extra PG is a little ridiculous. While you can achieve the others with pretty much any party setup if you play right, you need moves that hit multiple opponents to have a chance. But even then, variable damage, critical hits, differing resistances, and enemies of different strength make it a real pain to plot out. The PG bonus isn't worth the trouble you have to go through for that one.

The one other problem is that you can get your chain broken because of random luck. When the game drops an enemy sneak attack on you, you're going to be hit, and there's really nothing you can do about it. There is an accessory you can get to make these less frequent, but it still feels annoying to lose your JP boosting chain because the enemy gets the jump on you, and you are utterly powerless to stop it.

Still, apart from that, I like the system overall. I think it encourages aggressive play, has generally worthwhile rewards, and is overall a strong and pretty well designed mechanic.

Sweeper isn't something I every actually unlocked unintentionally. Later on there are skills that you can use to instantly kill all enemies under certain conditions. When I got to this stage and I was intending to kill all the enemies with one blow I finally unlocked Sweeper. Unintentionally killing all the enemies via magic for example is something that never actually happened to me during normal gameplay.

The other two are sweet though

Eh, I never cared for these kind of systems. It doesn't really take away from the game, but rewards you playing in more specific ways, in this case it rewards you for blitz tactics.

Yet say I like to play a more defensive game. I'm pretty much guaranteed to never get those bonus's, yet there isn't even so much as bonus for playing defensive compared to offensive.

Though as I said, this is pretty minor and doesn't really take away from anything, especially since I play for high damage output anyway. :p

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Originally Posted by NeoCracker

Eh, I never cared for these kind of systems. It doesn't really take away from the game, but rewards you playing in more specific ways, in this case it rewards you for blitz tactics.

Yet say I like to play a more defensive game. I'm pretty much guaranteed to never get those bonus's, yet there isn't even so much as bonus for playing defensive compared to offensive.

Though as I said, this is pretty minor and doesn't really take away from anything, especially since I play for high damage output anyway. :p

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I think it's rewarding a generally riskier way of playing. Blitzing is dangerous. I've seen plenty of blitzes fail because one enemy decides to Default, and your attackers get stuck trying to get through it. Playing things safe is less punishing on your characters. Thanks to Default's defenses, you still don't take a lot of damage, and you'll get through a lot of dungeons with fewer troubles.

If the bonuses weren't there, I think people would be more likely to turtle up. Which is problematic. For one thing, a lot of people are going to think it's ridiculous to spend the first three turns of combat Defaulting every time, feeling that it's needless busy work. It also ups the difficulty by making you choose a riskier tactic. You'll steamroll plenty of fights, sure. But when a Brave blitz fails, it generally fails pretty hard.

Yeah, it's to easy to blitz without worry in this game. One or two failures is enough to know not to either full brave with everyone, or use some of the many work arounds to Default, such as Gigong wave or Targeting.

Even if it weren't so easy to blitz through mook fights it doesn't really matter, because it's basically telling you to play a certain way to gain benefits, and that never sits well with me.

And if a lot of people think it's ridiculous to spend the first three turns of combat braving up, then they wont' do it. And even if it means they are more likely to turtle up, whats the problem with that? Over the course of the game they'll learn what works for them and play the way they want, if if they like to turtle up so be it. I just don't feel they should gain fewer bonus's as a result of playing the way the like too.

Also, even without the additional bonus's there is an advantage to choosing to blitz. That being you can clear fights and gain XP and JP faster, as well as kill enemies before you start getting hurt. Basically it carries all the natural risks and rewards a Blitz strategy always carries. :p

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Originally Posted by Mr. Shauna

Sweeper isn't something I every actually unlocked unintentionally. Later on there are skills that you can use to instantly kill all enemies under certain conditions. When I got to this stage and I was intending to kill all the enemies with one blow I finally unlocked Sweeper. Unintentionally killing all the enemies via magic for example is something that never actually happened to me during normal gameplay.

The other two are sweet though

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Ah, yes. Sleep + twilight. The bonuses just keep coming :)

I also really like the system. I don't think it really pushes you to play a specific way. When you get to some enemies you can't swipe, you don't care about them bonuses anyway, you just want to survive. This system rewards you for taking risks. Failing risks can cost you a lot, so it only makes sense that the reward for pulling it off is worth it.

Obliterate does kind of eliminate the challenge to these once you get it. Though you do need someone with Alarm Bells, as it doesn't work if you get pre-empted.

I like the extra rewards, but I don't go all out to get them every time. When I get them, it's cool, if not, it's cool. I think that was what they were meant for: an added bonus for finishing battles efficiently.