Noel Kreiss/Gameplay

Noel is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII-2 who also appears as a boss in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 he is one of two main playable characters, and can be used as party leader. If the two main player characters, Serah and Noel, become knocked out, it is Game Over. Noel prioritizes agility and strength and fights with dual swords.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
When used as the party leader the player controls Noel in battle and on the field. The party leader can be changed on-the-fly, but there are segments where Noel is not in the party. On the field, the main character can jump and use Mog's abilities.

Roles and stats
Each paradigm role can attain level 99 and the Crystaria for Serah and Noel have twenty-two stages at each a bonus is selected. Serah has the superior Magic growth and Noel has the superior HP and Strength growth. There are two types of node spheres: small and large. Small spheres in the same positions tend to give similar stat bonuses on each playthrough, while the large are role-sensitive.

Large nodes give certain bonuses depending on which role is leveled up:
 * Commando - +2 Strength
 * Ravager - +2 Magic
 * Sentinel - +6 HP
 * Saboteur - +2 Strength (going from odd to even level), +2 Magic (even to odd)
 * Synergist - +6 HP (going from odd to even level), +2 Magic (even to odd)
 * Medic - +6 HP

There are 197 large nodes that can be filled in each character's Crystarium. One recommended strategy is to use all the available large nodes to increase Serah's Magic and Noel's Strength. After maximizing those stats, the player can use the remaining large nodes to increase Serah's HP and Noel's Magic.

Doing so would give Noel 8,550 HP, 851 Str and 509 Mag.

Noel begins with the Commando, Ravager, and Sentinel roles. He majors as Commando and Synergist. As a Commando he learns Deathblow and Adrenaline that give him a boost in low and high HP respectively, as opposed to Serah's siphon abilities that boost her ATB gauge. Noel's full ATB skill is Meteor Javelin, a Commando ability that hits the enemy multiple times, but clears the chain gauge. The ability is thus best used when the enemy is about to recover from stagger.

As a Synergist he learns protective spells to take less damage from enemies' attacks. Noel is a good Medic, and he makes a good Sentinel for his high health stat. As a Sentinel he learns Mediguard that gradually recovers his HP while guarding, as opposed to Serah's Steelguard that takes less damage from attacks the more attacks hit. As Ravager he specializes in Ice and Wind magic as opposed to Serah's Fire and Lightning magic.

He is not as proficient as a Saboteur and he learns only a few spells for that role, but learns Deshell and Deprotect to cripple enemies' defenses.

Weapons


Noel fights with two swords, which he can combine into a spear to jab enemies, and throw it like a javelin. In Noel's memories it is revealed he chose to fight with two swords because he couldn't best Caius with a single blade. Some of Noel's swords, Exploda, Rune Tooth, Sargatanas, and The Tower, are references to Zidane Tribal's Thief Swords from Final Fantasy IX.

Downloadable content


Noel has downloadable weapons and costumes. His weapons Catastrophe Blade and Muramasa. Catastrophe Blade increases ATB gauge recharge rate and can be upgraded to "Catastrophe Blade Sigma", "Catastrophe Blade Omega" and "Catastrophe Blade Infinity". Muramasa boosts chain bonus and can be upgraded to "Muramasa Kiku", "Muramasa Sakura" and "True Muramasa". Downloaded weapons can be obtained at Chocolina's shop for free for the first unit.

Downloaded outfits can be found in the "Outfits" section of the main menu. Alternate outfits are used in real time scenes and gameplay. Noel's alternate outfits are Battle Attire that gives him a gold and red leather armor, Spacetime Guardian that is a blue and silver metal armor, N7 Armor that is based on the armor worn by Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed based on the costume worn by Ezio Auditore in Assassin's Creed Revelations, and Black Mage based on the iconic Black Mage job class from the Final Fantasy series.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Noel is fought as a boss during the main quest in Luxerion.

If the player waits until Day 8 or later to fight Noel, he will wear different attire, donning the Battle Attire DLC costume from Final Fantasy XIII-2 instead, and uses a new weapon, which he drops, the Endless Paradox. In this case, he will be called "Noel Kreiss+" and has increased stats.

Noel uses the same fighting style as in Final Fantasy XIII-2, landing multiple hits with a single attack. He is attuned to the Wind element, and thus is vulnerable to Lightning. Noel buffs himself with Haste, Vigilance, Protect, and Shell. When half of his HP has been depleted, he gains access to his Meteor Javelin attack, which deals heavy damage and knocks Lightning into the air when it makes contact with her, rendering her defenseless. If staggered, Noel cannot act and he can be staggered multiple times.

After the main quest in Luxerion is complete, the townsfolk will occasionally mention Noel fighting monsters, calling him the Blue Blaze. Noel can be found in the following locations across Luxerion under certain conditions:


 * Crossing the ticket barrier in North Station will result in Noel walking from North Station towards the city. This situation is available between 21:00 and 0:00.
 * Crossing the ticket barrier in South Station will result in Noel walking from South Station towards the Warehouse District. This situation is available between 16:00 and 19:00.
 * Walking by the stairs in Pilgrim's Passage will result in Noel appearing close to the Clock Tower. This situation is available between 3:00 and 6:00.