SYSTEMS

Cid: Ah, welcom Serge.
Serge: How did you know my name?
Cid: You'll find out more about me as time progresses. But for now, you must have many questions. I can't answer all of them, but I can explain to you all about 'systems'.
Serge: Yes, what are these systems everyone keeps talking about?
Cid: Well, let's start out by naming the system. First, you have the Crystal system, from FFV. Then you have the Esper system, from FFVI. Then you have the Materia system, from FFVII. You also have the Guardian Force (GF) system from FFVIII, and the Add-On system from FFIX. The Add-On system isn't being used currently, but I'll tell you about it should the day come that it gets put back up.
Serge: Crystal, Esper, Materia, GF, and Add-On.
Cid: Let's start with the Crystal system.
Serge: Okay, what are crystals supposed to do?
Cid: They give you Job Classes.
Serge: But... I'm already a Swordsman.
Cid: ::laughing:: Well... they can give you the power of new jobs. Like, Samurai, or Ninja...
Serge: Ninjas are cool!
Cid: There are 30 classes each character can master. One crystal gives you the power of one type of class. While training and battling, you receive the ABP listed. Each Job has a number of levels, and a number of AP needed to reach a new level. Each new level yields new abilities. Look them up in the magic section.
Serge: Okay. Do I get to keep these abilities?
Cid: In a way. There are two types of abilities you gain from Job Levels. The first is command abilities. These are symbolized with ! before the command (IE: !Summon). These give you new commands to use in battle. The second is individual or party abilities [IE: 2-handed (individual), or caution (party)].
Serge: So when I gain these abilities, do I keep them?
Cid: Of course! But you can only equip four abilities/commands at a time. And since your 1st and 4th slot are taken by !Fight and !Item by default, that leaves you with only 2 abilities that are customizable. Furthermore, while equipped with a class, there's a 2nd slot default (IE: Knight has !Guard as a default slot). So if you're equipped with a class, you only have 1 free slot to customize.
Serge: Sounds... limited.
Cid: Well, there are ways... When you master a class, and equip the Bare Class (for this game, your character's main class is the "Bare" class) certain individual and party abilities will be in effect automatically. Abilities with a * next to them means they need to be equipped to take effect even on your Bare class. But if you switch to the class that learned it, all those passive abilities take effect and don't need to be equipped. So if you had a Base Class of Black Mage, you would have the MP+30% ability equipped automatically, but if you switch to Monk, you would have the HP+10%, 20%, and 30% equipped all at once without having to put them in your command slot.
Serge: How long does it take to change a class?
Cid: 1 day. But it takes no time to change equipped abilities. Also, I need to tell you about the equipment that goes along with it.
Serge: Certain classes can only equip certain equipment?
Cid: Exactly. Some abilities allow you to equip heavier or different types of weapons and armor if you get high enough. Like if you become a Black Mage and wish to equip a Sword, your third ability slot should be the EqSword ability.
Serge: So what can the Bare class equip?
Cid: Every type of equipment. By the way, you'll have to buy new weapons and armor from me, and each equipment has a maximum upgrade. Both are listed on the Synthesis page.
Serge: What about classes where there's abilities to learn? Like a Black Mage or Engineer?
Cid: Some have it easier than others. You have to buy Magic and Summons, but skills you do not.
Serge: Pricy... What if someone steals a crystal you're working on?
Cid: If someone steals a crystal that you're trying to level up, you'll be reverted to your Bare Class. If someone steals a crystal that you're not equipped with, then you won't be able to change into that class until you get it back or find a new one. If you do find a new one though, you will still have the amount of AP and levels as you did the old one (so you won't have to level up a new class). They can't steal the crystal for your Bare Class, nor can you give that away. Once you have mastered a class, you no longer need a crystal to change into that class.
Serge: Alright. Let's move on.
Cid: Alright, I'll start explaining the Esper system.
Serge: Right, what's an Esper?
Cid: An Esper is a magical creature that can teach you all sorts of spells.
Serge: Hm, easy concept. How do you get one?
Cid: Well, you have to find one, and fight it, if it's not dead anyway. If you can prove to the Esper that you are worthy of its powers, then it'll turn itself into 'magicite' and allow you to equip it.
Serge: I take it different Espers teach you different techniques?
Cid: Correct again. Depending on the Esper, you'll learn different spells at different rates.
Serge: Rates?
Cid: When I say rate, I mean how quickly a spell is learned. Let me explain MP to you really quick. When you win a battle, you'll gain a certain amount of MP. This is multiplied by the rate of the spell you are learning. For example, you are learning Cure at a rate of x5, and you fight a monster that gives you 4 MP. The MP is multiplied by 5 to give you the number 20. This number is then added to the total rate you have learned that particular spell. So if you are just starting out with the spell, you will have 20% of it complete. Then you fight another battle, and get 5 MP, you'll have 25 added to your the completion rate of your spell, giving you a completion rate of 45%. When your completion rate reaches 100%, then you'll learn the spell and be able to cast it, at the expense of MP (Magic Points) of course.
Serge: Of course. Okay, is that all an Esper does?
Cid: No, you can also summon it, but it's not that powerful, and you can only do it once per battle. You should also know that different Espers will teach you spells at different rates. For example, one might teach you Cure x5, while another could teach you Cure x20!
Serge: Anything else on this system?
Cid: Yes, this system will also allow you to use your 'skills' commands, for you that would be Swdtech. One other thing, you can only equip one Esper at a time. Also, you can equip 4 relics, a weapon, shield, armor, and helmet.
Serge: Any other systems that can do that?
Cid: Just the Materia system.
Serge: Let's move on to that, then.
Cid: Right. Materia is basically a small piece of stone that gives you certain abilities. There are 5 types of materia: Magic, Command, Summon, Support, and Independant.
Serge: What's the difference?
Cid: Magic gives magic commands, such as Fire, Cure, Ice, or Lightning. Command gives you certain commands that usually don't cost MP, such as sense, steal/mug, manipulate, or morph. The exception to the no MP rule is Enemy Skill. This one you have to specifically learn each skill by finding the an enemy that can teach you a particular attack and using it on you. Anyway, Summon teaches you summon magic, such as Ifrit, Shiva, or Bahamut. These are powerful creatures that do a lot of damage, but at the cost of a lot of MP. Also, you can only summon them according to their level! You also have Support, which usually gives a little extra ability to one materia, provided the slots are linked. These include all, elemental, added effect, or HP Absorb. Independant materia is materia that gives YOU a special ability, such as HP Plus, MP Plus, or Counter Attack.
Serge: Wow. That's a lot. Okay, I take it these things level up too?
Cid: Yup. They level up through AP (The first AP listed on the bestiary/rewards). The AP gets added onto your [equipped] materia. Your materia will gain levels when it gains enough AP. When this happens, it will give you another spell, or ability, or its amount/power will be increased. For example, All's effect will be able to be used twice at Level two, or Shiva can be summoned three times at Level three. When your materia gains as many levels as it can, it will spawn off a new, Lv 1 materia of the same type. Example, Fire reaches Lv 4, it spawns off a new Lv 1 Fire.
Serge: Anything else?
Cid: Yeah, you also have growth.
Serge: What's growth?
Cid: Growth is put into your weapon or armband. Both your weapon and armband start out with one slot, and Single growth. Be thankful that your 'site master' didn't start you off with no growth. I think everyone should send him all of their money and worship him like a god for that...
Serge: What?
Cid: Err, nevermind...
Serge: I still don't know what growth it...
Cid: Uh, sorry. ANYWAY, growth is simply the amount of AP you get after battle. I mean, it's what the AP is multiplied by. If you have single growth, then it's multiplied by 1, if double, then by 2, triple is by 3, and quadruple is by 4. You can only go as high as quadruple. To gain growth, simply pay me a lot of money, and I'll have it done for you. But you must get growht consecutively, you can't go straight to quadruple. You must first upgrade to double, then triple, THEN quadruple.
Serge: Ohh. What're slots?
Cid: Slots are on your weapon and armband. Each slot can hold 1 materia. To get more slots, you must pay me to have it done. You can ONLY have up to 8 slots on your weapon, and armband. That's a total of 16 materia that can be equipped. AP is also divided by the total number of materia you have, so don't equip too much, unless you have extra growth.
Serge: Sixteen... There's more spells then that...
Cid: Well, there is also master materia.
Serge: Master materia, you mean when one materia gets maxed out in AP?
Cid: Well, when you have a complete type set of mastered materia, then you can bring them to me, and I'll fuse them into one piece of materia which contains all the spells/abilities/summons, etc. of the materia you have. For example, you have completely mastered all of the magic materia out there. You bring them to me, and I'll fuse them into one materia with every spell. However, you can ONLY fuse materia when you have a complete set, you can't fuse only two materia that are mastered.
Serge: Hmm, anything else?
Cid: Nope, let's move on to ::Shudders:: GFs...
Serge: Oh boy, I have a feeling that this will be a long one...
Cid: Yup, you'll have many, many questions for this...
Serge: All right, hit me with the basics.
Cid: Okay, first of all, before you can do anything, you need a Guardian Force. A Guardian Force, or GF, is a God-like 'friend' that you can equip, or 'junction', on you. When this happens, you will be able to do many things, depending on what it knows.
Serge: Okay, I get that, I think...
Cid: Anyway, a GF must learn 'abilities' in order for you to use them. This is done through AP (The second AP on the bestiary/rewards section). As you battle, you'll gain AP, which will teach your GF abilities. Naturally some abilities are already taught.
Serge: What's an ability do anyway?
Cid: Well, there are different types of abilities. You have Junction abilities, Command abilities, Individual Abilities, Party Abilities, GF abilities, and Menu Abilities.
Serge: Okay, what does each do?
Cid: Okay, Command abilities are commands such as magic, GF (summon), or Item. Every GF automatically knows Magic, Draw, GF, and Item. There are other commands, such as Recover, Treatment, Kamikaze, etc.
Serge: Basically like Command Materia then.
Cid: Right, except that you can only choose up to three commands at a time. You always have Attack, but the other three are your choice. For example, you may have Attack, Magic, GF, Draw as your commands, or you may have Attack, Treatment, Gf, Item, as your command.
Serge: Moving on...
Cid: Right, Individual Abilities are abilities that effect the individual that Junctions them. These would be like HP+40%, Mug, or Auto-Haste. Party Abilities are abilities that would effect everyone in your party. These would be like Enc-Half, Alert, Rare-Item. You can only equip up to 4 abilities at a time.
Serge: Only four, so I could only have say Auto-Haste, HP+40%, Alert, and Enc-Half Junctioned at once?
Cid: Right. You learn fast.
Serge: Okay, what about GF abilities?
Cid: These are always active once your GF learns them. These include the SumMag+10/20/30/40%, GFHP+10/20/30/40%, and Boost.
Serge: Okay, is that every GF Ability then?
Cid: Pretty much.
Serge: Right, let's move on to Menu Abilities.
Cid: Menu abilites are special commands that you do OUTSIDE of battle. Among them are the Refinements. When you 'refine' something, you basically change a specific item into a spell of some sort of element. For example, you have a fire stone, and Ifrit knows F-Mag-RF. You could then use that Fire Stone to Refine 100 Fires, 50 Firas, or 10 Firagas.
Serge: What other types of Commands are there?
Cid: Well, you have Call shop, which lets you call a shop so you can buy items from anywhere, and then there's Call Cid, which lets you call me from anywhere. You also have Haggle, which cuts prices by half, except with me. And there's also Sell High, which allows items to be sold at more reasonable prices.
Serge: Cool. What about Junction Abilities?
Cid: Before we get into that, I need to explain to you about Drawing magic first. Now, magic in this system, does not use MP. Instead, you stock it.
Serge: How do you stock magic?
Cid: Well, there are three ways. You can either Draw them from enemies in battle, which takes a little while, or you can Draw them from 'Draw Points' around the world. For either of these to work, you must have the Draw command Junctioned as one of your Commands in battle. Also, different monsters/Draw Points carry different spells, so you'll have to look and experiment in battle. The other way to stock magic is to Refine it from items.
Serge: What about drawing from other players?
Cid: Well, if the player is not on the GF System, then they don't have much to worry about. You draw from them as if they were monsters, as both have infinite stock in magic. However, if fighting against another player who is also on the GF System, then you will 'steal' their stock, but they can 'steal' yours too.
Serge: Interesting...
Cid: Now, one other trick in battle is that you don't necessarily have to stock up on a spell in order to use it. If you need to cast a spell that a monster carries right away, you can simply 'cast-off' of them. In other words, you take one spell from their stock, and cast it right away. The downside is that you don't keep it in stock.
Serge: Okay, I think that covers magic and stock, now what about Junction Abilities?
Cid: Okay, a Junction Ability is something a GF learns that allows you to Junciton Magic to a particular Stat. For example, a GF might have Str-J, which allows you to Junction Magic to your Strength Attribute. Now, different spells have different effects on your Stats, plus the more spells you have in stock, the better your stat is increased. Befor I forget, the maximum number of spells you may have in stock is limited to 100.
Serge: So Fire might increase your Str more, where as Cure would increase your HP more. I got it.
Cid: Good. Now, in addition to normal stat Junctions, you also have Elemental Attack Junctions, Elemental Defense Junctions, Status Attack Junctions, and Status Defense Junctions. While on the GF System, any elemental or Status Orb that has been forged into your weapon will be disregarded. So if you Upgrade your weapon with a fire element, then it won't come into effect while on the GF System.
Serge: Okay, I guess...
Cid: Anyway, you can only Junction one Status and one Element at a time. ST-J is Junctioning certain staus magic, like blind, to your attack. The more you have Junctioned, the more effective your attack will be. Same goes for Elem-J. You can have up to 4 St-def, or Elem-Def Junctioned to you, provided you have the proper ability. (St-Def+St-Defx3=3 things to your Def, not 4. St-Defx3=3 still, get the drift? Same goes for Elem-Def). As you may have guessed, this is your defense to a specific Element, or Status. The highest you can go for defense with Status is 100%, but Element is 200%. Anything below 100% will simply nullify that element by the % it measures. (IE: defense by 50% would half the damage for fire based attacks). 100% would completely nullify that element. Anything above 100% would absorb that much of the element. So 200% would completely absorb the elements damage.
Serge: That's nice.
Cid: One other thing, you can equip as many GFs as you want.
Serge: That's awesome!
Cid: Now there's more to GFs than just these abilities. Obviously you can summon them. However, you don't use MP on this system. So to bring forth a GF, you have to take a number of rounds to do it. Compatibility with a specific GF determines how quickly you call them. 1000 is the max compatibilty, which calls them out in one round. Now, using one GF could bring your compatibility with other GFs down. The compatibility's rise and fall is based soley on the element type of a GF.
Serge: Meaning if you have high compatibilty with Ifrit, chances are you'll have low compatibility with Shiva?
Cid: Yup!
Serge: Pretty simple.
Cid: Also, when calling a GF out in battle, it will take damage for you, but be aware that it has HP just like you. If it dies, then you'll have to revive it before you can use it. Your compatibility with a GF will only rise if you completely call it out and cast it. So if it dies, or the battle ends befoe you complete the calling, then you'll still be at the same comp. as before.
Serge: How does its HP rise?
Cid: GF level up like us. They gain exp. Their max Level is 100, and their Attack Power and HP rise as they grow. The gained exp. is divided among every GF you have Junctioned, so if you need to get one GF leveled up quickly, don't Junction too many other GFs on you.
Serge: Simple concept. Anything else?
Cid: ::Sighs in relief:: Surprisingly no. We've covered pretty much everything that I can think of right now. If you still have questions, ask Squall, he can answer them for you.
Serge: So now we should move on to the Add-Ons?
Cid: Yeah, I suppose so. All right, the first thing you should know is that in this system, a person's Job Class is very important to what they can do.
Serge: And different people have different Job Classes, right?
Cid: Yeah, of course. Anyway, there are many abilities that can be learned. However, you can only learn certain abilities in accordance to what your Job Class is. For example, a swordsman could learn an ability like Devil Killer, which allows for more damage to be dealt to devil type creatures, whereas a White Mage could learn Concentrate, which boosts their magic when casting white spells.
Serge: I see. How do you learn abilities?
Cid: You learn them through add-ons. Each person may equip up to two add-ons at a time. Think of Add-Ons sort of like Espers, in that you gain AP and learn everything that's on that Add-On.
Serge: What's the difference?
Cid: Well, some Add-Ons may contain abilities that you have no use for, like the Aquamarine contains HP+10%, which swordsman can learn, but also contains leviathon, which only summoners can learn.
Serge: Does that mean that swordsman can't equip the Aquamarine?
Cid: No, not at all. They can equip it, they just won't learn Leviathon.
Serge: What other differences are there?
Cid: Well, different people learn different abilities at a different pace. For example, one person might learn Auto-Aura only needing 25 AP, while another may need 255 AP!
Serge: AP?
Cid: Er, yes. I forgot to mention that you get the same AP for the GF system. Heres another difference than the Esper system: While you have the Add-Ons equipped, you can equip the abilities that you can learn from them as well! In other words, if you are in the process of learning Auto-Haste, even if you haven't actually received AP for it, then you can equip it and use it in battle.
Serge: That's convenient. But when you take the Add-On off, you won't be able to equip that ability anymore, right?
Cid: Well, you won't be able to if you haven't completely learned the ability yet. However, if you have acquired the necessary amount of AP for that ability, then you will no longer need an Add-On to equip that ability.
Serge: Cool! Now, what's the limit of abilities you can equip?
Cid: Well, you have these things called Magic Stones. Think of these as Critical Spaces or something to that effect.
Serge: Okay.
Cid: Each ability requires a certain number of Magic Stones in order for you to equip it. Some abilities may only require 1 or 2 Magic Stones, whereas others take 15 or more! Typically, the better the move, the more magic stones it requires.
Serge: Got it. How many Magic Stones can we have?
Cid: You start out with a set number, and that number increases as your level does. So the higher your level, the more abilities you'll be able to equip.
Serge: Okay, that's cool.
Cid: Summoners should take note here: Though you need ot learn summoning spells through Add-Ons, you DO NOT need to use any Magic Stones to use it. Once it is learned, you'll be able to cast it.
Serge: Anything else?
Cid: We're done with this system, at last. Again, any questions, ask Squall. Now, let's go over the differences with these systems to the systems in the actual game.
Serge: Okay.
Cid: Okay, to start things off, you get a lot more AP in this RPG than you would in the actual game.
Serge: Okay, noted.
Cid: Alright, the main difference with the Esper system is that you learn spells at MUCH higher rates than you would in the game.
Serge: And the materia system?
Cid: Well, elemental casting power is equal for all elements. This is to make it so that the damage dealt to a monster is based more on their elemental defense and stuff, rather than powerful elements. Although Forbidden is still the strongest elemental type in the game. This is true in any system, not just the Materia system. This mainly applies more to summoning than anything else.
Serge: Okay, understood.
Cid: Alright, the differences for the Materia system are mainly the fact that you do not need nearly as much AP to make them gain a level. Also, the enemy away materia has only three levels instead of five. The first one will always only half the amount of battles, and the second one will always eliminate battles completely. There are other materia that may have fewer levels than they did in the game. Plus, an AP Plus Materia was added. And, when a Materia that gives you some sort of skill levels up, you always have the choice of which skill you want to use. For example, Slash All: You can choose to attack one or all of your enemies at once. And when it levels up, you have the added option of using Flash.
Serge: Okay, what about GF.
Cid: Levels still exist, as does AP and stuff. However, some of the abilities were eliminated, as there were no need for them, or the site owner found them too hard to incorporate into this RPG. This, also, is true for certain abilities as well.
Serge: Okay, that's understandable.
Cid: Now, the big difference is that when a GF learns all of its abilities, another GF will spawn off of it, just like the Materia system. Other things include the Abilityx3, and Abilityx4 skills have been eliminated, because you will always be able to Junction 4 abilities. Also, the number of abilities a GF can learn has been extended to 24, instead of 22.
Serge: Add-Ons?
Cid: Mainly, some abilities Magic Stone requirements have raised, whereas others have lowered. Also, in the game, a person would learn their special attacks through Add-Ons as well, but in this RPG, they learn them though levels. High Tide's name was changed to Auto-Aura, and Auto-Shell has been added to the abilities list.
Serge: Anything else?
Cid: Aside of the fact that learning most abilities is through levels, same thing for Trance, no, there's nothing else. If you still have questions, ask Squall.
Serge: Okay, then I guess I'll be on my way.
Cid: See you around, Serge. Good luck finding your way home.
Serge: Thanks, good luck with your business and stuff.
Serge left Cid's house, met up with Cloud and Cait Sith, who told him some news about South Figaro, and they left for that together.