Tales of Arise, the latest entry in the long-running Tales series, is filled to the brim with content to dissect and explore to its fullest. With a world full of life, one that surpasses previous entries, there are plenty of secrets and treasures to uncover. As is the nature of the genre, the exploration-inclined player will have plenty to work with.
However, one thing that separates Tales of Arise apart from its predecessors is how much is hidden within the game that most players likely won't bother to mess with. If achievements are any metric to go by, even some aspects of the game that are explained to the player will remain unexplored. For those who want to make sure they don't miss a thing, there's always a little trick or secret around the corner to enhance the game experience.
10 Abuse Rinwell's Spell Fusion
Rinwell, the party's Quirky Mage archetype, shares a lot with her quirky mage siblings from previous entries. She has similar spells and also becomes the most powerful character in the game if properly equipped. Those who enjoyed demolishing enemies from afar in previous entries will feel right at home shredding targets with Air Thrust.
Rinwell does have one extra tool in her bag of tricks that separates her from her peers: spell stealing and spell fusing. Rinwell can store Arte casts in her book, unleashing them at the end of combos to keep chains going longer. If the proper elements are put together, she'll also fire Artes that are a step above what can be cast from her arsenal normally. The game alerts players of this technique but hardly elaborates any further. This trick also lets her get access to high-level Artes relatively early, which helps during the rough spots. There aren't too many spells to find, but it's still fun to experiment and discover what can be created.
9 Catch Fish, Make Easy Money
After completing the story arc in Elde Menancia, the party will be stopped for mandatory fun at a fishing pond. Kisara, the party's paladin and best girl, is a skilled fisherwoman and will fish anywhere, anytime, regardless of which areas of the world are on fire. Fishing minigames are divisive for some players, so it wouldn't be a surprise to find that a number ignored it entirely after the tutorial.
Unfortunately, those players missed out on the easiest way to make Gald without inserting an actual credit card. Fish can be sold at stores along with other collectibles, and the price tag on them is significantly higher than what can be shaved off the zeugles in the wild. They serve no other purpose, as they are separate from the fish used for cooking. It's a little time-consuming, but fishing is an easy way to make the gald needed to cover the expensive equipment costs.
8 Acquire Hourly Free Herbs
Speaking of Elde Menancia, the party will also get access to the Training Grounds in this area. As Arise's colosseum, the player will fight a gauntlet of battles with the promise of a prize at the end. There are three types of battles: group battles, solo battles, and repeatable battles. The first two provide an enticing prize for completion, so it's recommended to take those on. The prizes can only be obtained once, and the only reason to fight them again is for a better time.
The repeatable battles are an interesting twist. These also provide prizes, but the reward can be received once every hour of real-time. The early ones are for small cash prizes and typically aren't worth the effort. Later on, the player gets access to challenges that offer herbs as a reward. Herbs are rare stat-boosting items, and being able to farm them is a way to help generate either a bit of extra income or to simply inflate the stats of your favorite character. Either way, it's worth it to run back to get these herbs if the time invested feels worth it.
7 Make Friends, Unlock Upgraded Mystic Artes
Early on, the game establishes that Alphen can speak with party members when they make camp in the wilderness of Dahna. These camping spots are helpful respites early on in the game, but they become less useful as the game progresses. Despite that, it's still absolutely worth it to drop by the campsite and enjoy chatting with friends.
The first reason is to enjoy the skits, which are a fantastic part of the game. Tales games shine in how they depict the interactions between party members, and these one-on-one chats between Alphen and the others are a great break from the struggles of the world. The second reason is that, once all the skits for a specific character have been viewed, that character will unlock a powerful new Mystic Arte. These are harder to activate in battle but are vital to dent the absurd HP bars of enemies in the final act of the game. Don't skip out on these fun and useful events.
6 Deeply Customize Party Member's AI
In previous entries, the Tales series was known for provided surprisingly fun, if very janky, cooperative play. It varied between entries, but each of them allowed for the party to be controlled by other actual people. In some games, this was almost necessary, as sharp difficulty spikes can be overcome when there's another actual person at the wheel. This feature is sorely missed in Tales of Arise. The replacement, however, shouldn't be ignored.
Like previous entries, there are AI strategies to help keep your party in line. It can be a little overwhelming for beginners, but worth checking out. The base strategy and AI are sufficient, but those looking to optimize challenging fights can go and create custom strategies. The options aren't limitless, but the amount of customization the player gets for party AI is quite impressive. Brute forcing fights may be less annoying than spending hours in menus, but the option is a welcome addition.
5 Let The Game Play Itself
The Tales series is known for fast, fun action combat, and Arise offers some of the best. Each character is distinct, and none of them feel lackluster or mandatory to play. Despite that, backtracking through low-level areas can be painfully boring. Additionally, some players may want to enjoy the characters and story but aren't able to navigate the action combat. For both experiences, Auto Battle is the answer.
By default, the player is set to control the party leader's actions. However, by flipping a switch in battle, the experience can be turned entirely automatic. Combined with the fairly extensive AI customization, it's possible to create different strategies for different scenarios and switch between them on the fly. They even execute powerful Mystic Artes on their own! It's a completely different way to experience the game, but entirely valid.
4 Revisit Areas For Hidden Sub Quests
Tales of Arise is quite good at making sure nothing mandatory is hidden from the player. Sub-quests are not mandatory, and as such can sometimes not be immediately obvious. Most sub-quests appear on the map when they are available. This covers a majority of sub-quests and is nice for those without time to backtrack.
Despite that, there are still a handful of sub-quests that aren't on the map. Completionists should be prepared to thoroughly scan Dahna for all opportunities, particularly after major plot revelations. Those looking for owls, in particular, should double-check each of the areas, as one is locked behind a hidden sub-quest.
3 Battle Boss Fish
The fishing minigame in Tales of Arise isn't too special but is a step above other fishing minigames. It's certainly far from as unnecessarily as detailed as Final Fantasy XV's, but satisfying. After completing certain objectives, exclusive lures styled after mascots from previous Tales games are obtained. These can be used to lock on and battle Boss Fish.
Boss Fish are the same as regular fish but with double the HP and more erratic movement patterns. The basic fishing rod won't cut it to catch these bad boys. The music for fighting rare zeugles is even included for these battles of wits and patience, which is a nice touch. Plus, each boss fish comes with its skit, making them worth the hassle.
2 Raise The Stakes And Battle For Glory
Tales of Arise provides an adequate challenge, but some may find it lacking. Higher difficulties tend to simply increase enemy stats rather than provide any meaningful gameplay changes. Doing the same fight, but it takes longer, is hardly the thrilling gameplay experience veterans will enjoy. Those who want to push the limits and optimize their skill power may want to consider using the Hellmask Fiend Skull.
This item is an artifact obtained through completing Dohalim's Advanced Solo Battle in the Training Grounds. When it's enabled, it doubles damage output across the board. That's right, both the player and the enemies will be dishing out twice as much damage for the same effort. Those who enjoy playing fights on a knife's edge will get plenty of thrills with this artifact enabled.
1 Dress Up And Accessorize
The story in Tales of Arise is one of the best the series has to offer. A gripping tale that provides a number of surprising spins on the "overthrow an empire" JRPG trope, it's a wholly serious game. When it wants to get dark, it's not afraid to make the player feel like the odds are truly overwhelming. This is all delivered, of course, while Shionne has cat ears and angel wings during every serious cutscene.
The party gets access to various attachments by completing sub-quests and finding Dahnan Owls. These can be equipped to the player model, and they will show up in every single cutscene that's not animated, including skits. While it may ruin the tone of some scenes, it's funny every single time the wing attachments block the camera.