Since the Tales series launched in 1995, it offered players a solid action-based alternative to turn-based JRPGs in the 1990s. On the surface, the real-time combat appeared as if it had more in common with action arcade fighters. Look deeper, however, and one will find a deep and tactical fighter where the artificially controlled character's behaviors can be adjusted to their liking.

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Fast forward to the latest title Tales of Arise and it offers the player more tactics and AI adjustments to play around with. A character’s fighting style can be fine-tuned. This way, they can focus on attacking in unison or supporting their allies in battle. The best-supporting characters need to be ranked differently from the best player-controlled characters. Knowing which characters are better suited to supporting roles will go a long way into setting up the perfect team in battle. In Tales of Arise support comes in many forms whether it's Artes that heal, boost the party's stats, or weakening enemies.

Alphen

As a party member Alphen is invaluable as the main character. He also has incredible offensive abilities with Boost Attacks that use the Blazing Sword. Unfortunately, using the Blazing Sword comes with a drawback as it drains Alphen’s health.

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As a result, this means that support characters like Shionne will use up the party’s Cure Points to heal him. In addition, Alphen has no supporting Artes but he can turn the tide of a battle very quickly with his Boost Attacks. He was created and developed to be the lead character to be used by the player rather than function as a supporting party member.

Law

Despite having the best physical attack stats in the game Law’s defense is surprisingly low. As a martial arts fighter that uses his hands and feet, he needs to get close to his enemies. As a result, this makes him vulnerable. He does, however, possess the Artes to heal himself so the other characters aren’t inclined to keep healing him. Law's only support Artes is the self-healing healing ability Inspiration and Steel which raises his own [physical and elemental attack stats.

Law’s best party supporting ability is his Boost Attack called the Breaker Fist. It helps break down an armored opponent’s defenses so the rest of the party can finish them off.

Rinwell

Rinwell is the magic-casting member of the team and is capable of casting powerful Artes if there is enough space between her and the enemies on the battlefield. She has the highest elemental attack damage output in the game. In addition, she has the Magic Charging perk to increase her magic casting abilities. For support, she can cast Concentrate to raise a party member's Penetration by 30%. Rinwell can also cast Sharpness to raise an ally's attack and elemental attack by 30%.

Furthermore, Rinwell can silence and steal magic from the most powerful Artes-using monsters rendering them vulnerable. Unfortunately, her biggest weakness is the length of time it takes to cast her magic. This makes her vulnerable to attack. Rinwell will need backup and support from the fighters in the game to be effective.

Kisara

Kisara is the powerhouse of the team with her strong offensive and defensive abilities that make her a force to be reckoned with in Tales of Arise. She’s strong enough to use her shield to block most attacks on the battlefield and weather the storm from attacking enemies. This is a useful trait because she can draw all of her enemy’s aggro against her.

This will give spell-casters like Rinwell and Shionne enough room to cast their Artes without interruption. As a result, making sure that Kisara is front and center of a fight will prove invaluable for someone like Rinwell. Finally, she can cast the Guardian Field which is both an effective shield strike and a good way to restore an ally’s health.

Dohalim

Dohalim is a good all-around fighter on the battlefield that can attack at short and long-range depending on whether or not his staff has been extended. He has healing Artes that can help an ally in trouble and has good evasion abilities. Dohalim also has the Negative Gate Arte which round up all enemies into one spot.

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The downside to his healing Artes is that it can only be cast on one member of the party at a time. In addition, his healing abilities cost more Cure Points than Shionne’s. He will become very useful in some of the difficult monster hunts when fighting the Gigantes. As a result, it may be wise to assign both Dohalim and Shionne as healers and turning off their close-range attacks so they can cast from afar. If one is willing to look past the CP cost he's a powerful ally against tougher bosses.

Shionne

Shionne is the female protagonist in Tales of Arise and the first party member to join Alphen as their destinies are intertwined. As a result, they are designed to complement each other on the battlefield. With Alphen being a close-range swordsman having the support of Shionne to keep his health in check is always beneficial.

Shionne’s healing Artes don’t just extend to helping Alphen, however, as she can heal multiple allies at once with the Healing Circle and Revitalize. She can resurrect a KO’d ally with the Resurrection Arte and can heal any physical ailments with the Recover Arte. Shionne can group enemies with the Gravitas Field setting them up for her allies. Additionally, the Toxicity Gun Strike fires poisonous bubbles of water at her enemies.

Shionne is hands down the best character in the game to provide party support. Furthermore, if protected by Alphen and Kisana she's no slouch in a fight and fights well from long range with Blast Sniper attacks.

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