Play guide (script)

This article describes the play guide viewed from the "My Room Help" menu of a vision phone. For a list of guides, see the guides category.

Your room

Each Guardian is assigned a room in the GUARDIANS barracks as their own private space. This is your room.

Each room contains a partner machine that provides various support functions to its assigned Guardian.

Your room's new functions

You can use new types of remodeling tickets added in Ambition of the Illuminus to access your room's new functions.

Bulletin board

This is a new function for the vision phone in your room. You can view, write and delete posts.

Jukebox

This is a new function for your partner machine that allows you to change the background music in your room.

You can add new songs to your jukebox by giving music discs to partner machine.

Customer service

This is a new function for your partner machine. It adds welcome messages and purchase messages that are activated when you open your own shop in your room.

Decoration management

Rooms remodeled using the new remodeling tickets added in Ambition of the Illuminus can have a wide variety of room decorations.

Types of room decorations

There are three kinds of room decorations: those you can place on tables or shelves, those you can place on the floor, and those you can hang on the wall.

Placing your room decorations

1. From the PM menu, select "Manage room decorations."

2. From the management menu, turn "Placement mode" to "On" and you can place your room decorations.

3. When you view your room, there will be places marked by red frames.

4. The red frames indicate locations where you can place your room decorations.

5. When you approach a red frame it will glow. When you press the O button you'll be shown a list of decorations you can place there.

6. Select an item from the list, and it will be placed.

7. To finish, use the PM menu to select "Manage room decorations" and set "Placement mode" to "Off."

Removing/rotating room decorations

Approach a placed decoration and press the "place" button, and the decorations menu will appear.

Select "Put away" to remove an item.

Select "Rotate" to rotate an item 90 degrees.

Room decoration points

When you place decorations, you will consume decoration points.

Small items are 1 point. Items on the floor are 2 points. Items hung on the wall are 2 points.

You can use a maximum of 40 points to decorate your room.

Partner machines

Partner machines have various uses.

Item synthesis

Partner machines have the ability to synthesize materials to create new items.

To synthesize an item, you must first insert a synthesis board, then place the necessary materials in storage.

Giving items

You can give items to your partner machine to help it grow.

It gets better at creating items, and it's synthesis rate rises.

Giving it items affects it's growth. As your partner machine grows, its appearance may change.

Opening a shop

You can use the "Open shop" remodeling ticket to sell items from your own room. Give items to your partner machine and set prices so that other players can visit your room and buy things from your partner machine.

Your partner machine will keep the Meseta earned in storage.

Remodeling

You can use remodeling tickets to remodel your room.

You can find remodeling tickets at places such as the room decorations shop on the 2nd floor of the GUARDIANS Colony.

Storage

Players can only hold up to 60 items at once, but you can give items to your partner machine to store for you.

Your partner machine can store Meseta for you as well.

The vision phone

The vision phone is a terminal which can access information, and search for other player's rooms.

Viewing information

You can view updates about newly available missions and events.

Going to a room

You can visit another player's room if you have their partner card.

If you want to limit access to your own room, you can set a password using the terminal next to the door.

Going to a shop

You can enter keywords to search for shops you are looking for, then visit those rooms.

You can also choose from a list of shops you have recently visited.

Viewing the visitors log

You can view the last several people who visited your room.

Help

You can view information about game controls, various systems, terminology that appears in the story, etc.

This information is updated from time to time.

Other equipment

Your room contains a few other functions besides your partner machine and vision phone.

Common box

You can use the common box to transfer items to another character in the same account.

Dressing room

You can enter the dressing room to change into different clothes or parts that you own.

Room decoration spaces

If you have room decoration objects, you can place them in one of the spaces as decoration.

You can also place objects in someone else's room, but you will not be able to remove them.

Lobby areas

Lobby areas

When you leave your room, you will enter a lobby area.

In lobby areas, you can meet other players and communicate with them via chatting and lobby actions.

You can also prepare for adventures by forming parties or stocking up on supplies.

Universes

There are multiple worlds with identical cities and fields--as many worlds as there are servers. The parallel worlds that exist on each server are called universes.

If two players are on different servers, they will not be able to meet, even if in the same city.

Moving between universes

When you connect to a server online, or if you go from your room to a lobby area, your player character will appear in a universe.

If you want to move to a different universe, you can use the trans- universe transporter in the lobby.

Field lobbies

There are lobbies out in the field, similar to those in the cities.

You can buy items and form parties in the same way as in cities.

There are mission counters as well, and you can accept new missions when they are available.

Types

Type select

Types support combat for individual Guardians.

Each type supports a style of combat, so you can choose the type that best fits your style.

Levels and mission points

Performing well in trials and earning mission points will gain levels in your current type, and your type limits will rise. Those upgrades will remain, even if you decide to change types later.

Basic types and advanced types

Gaining levels in the basic types (Hunter/Ranger/Force) grants access to the advanced types.

Parties

Parties

To play through a mission together, players should first form a party in the lobby area.

Up to six players can join the same party.

Each party has a leader, who is responsible for starting missions and managing members.

Forming a party

If you are alone, or if you are the leader of a party, you can invite players who are not part of a party to join you.

There are two ways to invite to your party. Walk up to them directly or use their partner card.

Join a party

When you are invited to join a party, an icon will appear at the bottom of the screen.

Press the L2 button and use the directional buttons to choose an invitation icon and then press the X button to join.

Missions

Missions

For each mission, you must first travel to the mission starting point, then work your way toward the mission objective.

There are a wide variety of missions, but most will entail combat with hostiles.

Mission Counters

All missions begin at a mission counter.

Counter locations

There are multiple mission counters within each lobby area.

Counters can be found inside transportation facilities, such as Linear Line platforms and flyer bases. They are also part of the reception areas of each GUARDIANS branch office.

Missions are generally started from the mission counter nearest the target area.

Selecting missions

Enter a mission counter and choose "Select mission" to view a list of missions available at that mission counter.

Only the party leader can select a mission from the list.

Mission prerequisites

In order to take on a mission, the party must meet the prerequisites for that mission.

The mission prerequisites are listed in the information window that appears when selecting a mission.

Abandoning missions

Only the party leader can abandon the current mission from the mission counter, or in the main menu by selecting "Community," "Party," then "Leader rights."

When a mission is abandoned, all party members in the field are transported back to the lobby.

Viewing mission information

View mission info from the mission board icon (press the L2 button, then select with the directional buttons and the X button) that is displayed next to your status during a mission.

Returning to lobby, mid mission

You can return to the lobby at any time during a mission.

In most cases, find where you first started, and go the other way.

If you return to the lobby, it will remain active.

Checkpoints

Each block has a checkpoint that serves as a beacon for other members.

When a checkpoint is activated, you can take shortcuts between blocks to cut down on travel time.

Trials

Trials

As you progress through a mission, trials will begin automatically.

At the trial start, the completion requirements will appear.

Fulfilling these trial requirements will become your primary objective.

Completing a trial

When you fulfill the trial requirements, the trial will end. You will receive a reward based on your performance.

You can view the results by pressing the L2 button and selecting the Receive Results icon next to Status with the directional buttons, then pressing the X button.

Trial failures

If a trial has failure conditions, you will fail the trial if you trigger one of those conditions. In most cases, the mission will end.

Equipment

The action palette

If you place your weapons in the action palette, you can use the palette to switch weapons.

• How to add to the action palette
• How to switch with the action palette
• End explanation

How to add to the action palette

1. Press the START button to open the main menu.

2. Open "Inventory" and select the weapon you want to place in the action palette.

3. Select "Add to palette" from the weapons menu, and place the weapon in the palette with the X button.

How to switch with the action palette

1. Press and hold the O button to display the action palette.

2. Press the up directional button or down directional button to highlight the desired weapon.

3. Release the O button.

Special combat techniques

There are two new special techniques you can use in combat.

Exact attacks

You can do up to three attacks in a series of striking attacks. If you press the button for the second and third attacks with the right timing, you can launch a critical attack for more damage.

Exact counterattacks

When you have a line shield equipped, depending on your evasive abilities you may be able to completely block an enemy attack.

Immediately after you block, if you do a striking attack with the right timing, you can cancel the blocking animation and counterattack quickly. This is called an exact counterattack.

Photon arts

Photon arts use your weapon's photon points to launch powerful attacks, or attacks with effects.

Learning photon arts

You can learn photon arts by using discs from the items menu.

To use a photon art, however, you will first need to link it to a weapon.

You can link photon arts by selecting a weapon from the items menu.

Photon points

Each time you use a photon art, you consume photon points (PP).

The amount of PP used will vary depending on the type of photon art, as well as the level.

PP will regenerate slowly as long as that weapon is equipped. Or, you can use photon chargers or PP recovery items to recharge your weapons.

Skills/striking weapons

A subset of photon arts, called "skills," are linked to striking weapons such as sabers.

Th linked skills can be used by pressing the triangle button.

Some skills evolve as they level up, adding more hits to the attack.

Bullets/ranged weapons

A subset of photon arts, called "bullets," are linked to ranged weapons such as handguns and rifles.

Ranged weapons consume PP even for normal attacks. These turn into bullet attacks when a bullet is linked to the weapon.

Use the square button for a bullet attack, just like normal attacks.

TECHNICs/magic weapons

A subset of photon arts, called "TECHNICs," can be linked to magic weapons, such as wands and rods.

Magic weapons are different in that they can only be used when linked to TECHNICs.

Wands can be linked to two TECHNICs, and rods to four. Use the square button and triangle button (also in combination with the the R1 button for rods) to use TECHNICs.