2. Tales of Symphonia General hints and tips

COMBAT

Use the block button! You can block forever, and it doesn't cost anything. Block after every combo, if several enemies surround you, basically whenever. It will save your life.

You can't free run - but the AI can. You move towards or away from whatever enemy you are targeting, but the enemies and your computer controlled allies can move around as they wish.

COOKING

You'll learn a variety recipes throughout the game that give various benefits, such as increased attack or curing ailments. You can cook at any time in the menu, or after a battle is complete. Cooking uses up food, but you can purchase as much as you need from cities. All of the recipes are collected in the guide during Playthrough #1, and should be carried through in the GRADE store until at least Playthrough #3.

EX GEMS

EX Gems are found throughout the game and come in five different levels: 1-4 and Max. Each level of gem has different effects depending on who equips them and certain combos will unlock new abilities for the character. For example, having Lv2 Vitality and Lv3 Eternal unlocks the Compound EX Ability Life Up, which occasionally increases a character's maximum HP. It is entirely possible to complete the entire game without engaging with this system at all, but I encourage you to test it out.

STRIKE/TECHNICAL

As you play, you may notice that characters are either S-Type or T-Type. This distinction, Strike or Technical, affects how the character behaves in battle, and what techs they have access to. This is affected by the EX Gems they have equipped, so you can force someone down a particular path by changing up their Gems. You can also find accessories that override the EX Gem effect, appropriately called the Strike Ring and the Technical Ring. You will need both rings to complete the Collector's Book, but what style any given character has generally does not affect your progress through the game. There are a few places in the walkthrough where I will suggest a path, but they are never necessary.

I recommend playing around with this system during Playthrough #1, finding what techs work best for your play style.

TITLES

Each playable character has a selection of titles that you can equip in the Status menu. Each title has an effect on which stats are upgraded upon level up. Some of these titles will unlock naturally during play, whether from leveling up or progressing through the main story, while others have very specific - and missable - tasks to complete. I am not going to list them all here (there are around 20 per character), but you can view all titles for all characters on the Titles page of this walkthrough. I also highlight in the main walkthrough when each title is available and how to get them.

WORLD MAP

Travel on the world map is done on foot, but as the game progresses you gain access to other modes of transportation. By finding Long Mode monuments, you can ride your mount by pressing [cn_square]. After gaining the EC vehicle, you can travel over the ocean via docks, by pressing . Once you gain an air vehicle, becomes how you fly.

While on the world map, you can press to adjust the zoom on the minimap. It starts off zoomed in to your current location, then swaps to a full view of the entire map. Pressing again removes the map from the screen.