Paradigm Pack



Paradigm Pack is a gameplay term from Final Fantasy XIII-2. It allows a player to examine and maintain monsters collected through battles.

Monster Crystals
You have obtained a monster crystal!

New functions have been added to Party Paradigms and the Crystarium, and you can now access Monsters in the main menu.

Select Paradigm Pack within Party Paradigms'' and choose monsters to add into your paradigms. Monsters can also be developed in the Crystarium. Press / and select Monsters to customize your monstrous allies.''

If you are not sure how to use these options, detailed information can be found in the Battle primers.

Paradigm Pack
''You can selects up to three of the monster crystals you obtain in battle to add into your paradigms. These three monsters make up a Paradigm Pack.''

To prepare your monster allies, open the main menu by pressing / and select Party Paradigms''. From the Party Paradigms menu, select Paradigm Pack, and then choose the monsters you wish to add to your battle roster. You can now create paradigms that include the creatures in that Paradigm Pack.''

''Execute paradigm shift during battle to change the summoned monster you wish to fight with. Learn to use your Paradigm Pack and defeat even the most powerful opponents!''

Monster HP and KO

''During battle, if your current monster ally is wounded and you call upon another using paradigm shift, the replacement monster ally will also be wounded. The same rule applies for status ailments and KO'd monsters.''

When you find yourself in a bind, make sure to heal your way back to health.

Obtaining Monster Crystals
It is possible to increase your chances of obtaining a monster crystal from battles.

''Enemies defeated using a monster's Feral Link ability are more likely to become crystals. The more successful you are in inputting the Feral Link ability commands, the higher this chance becomes.''

Don't be shy about using monsters' special attacks to obtain monster allies!

Monster Growth
''Like characters, monsters can be developed through the main menu. Press / to open the menu and select Crystarium. Use monster materials obtained from battles and other means to develop your monsters. Growth bonuses are directly related to the material used, so you can focus on raising a particular attribute.''

''Each monster has its own role and individual growth characteristics. The characteristics can be found under the status display on the right side of the Crystarium screen.''

Monster Growth Traits

The most important traits for monster growth are as follows:


 * Early Peaker: Maximum level of 20, but grows quickly.
 * Well-Grown: Standard growth.
 * Late Bloomer: Capable of reaching levels beyond 70.
 * Strong: Strength is easily improved.
 * Magical: Magic is easily improved.
 * Hearty: HP (Hit Points) are easily increased.

Keep your monsters' characteristics in mind when choosing which growth items to use.

Monster Growth Items

Items such as potent droplets, power droplets, mana droplets, and vitality droplets'' are used to develop your monster allies. There are different grades of items such as droplets, slivers, and orbs.''

''All monsters require grade-appropriate items for development. There are five grades, and the grade of each item will be shown in the description with this icon:. The required item grade increases along with the monster crystarium level.''

''Bots require different items than beasts. Use materials such as potent bolts, power bolts, mana bolts, and vitality bolts for development. Chips and engines are higher grade items.''

Whenever you unlock a crystal, you gain a particular growth bonus, such as a Strength Bonus or Magic Bonus'', depending on the material used. Decide which of a monster's attributes you wish to develop to make the most efficient use of the different monster materials.''

Obtaining
To obtain monster crystals, the player must defeat monsters in battle. If the player is successful in taming the monster, when it is defeated, its body will disappear with a glow, and a crystal appears in its place.

After the battle, the obtained creature is shown along with the items obtained during the battle. Certain creatures, such as Cie'th and bosses cannot be tamed, with the exception of Twilight Odin and DLC bosses from the Coliseum, like Gilgamesh or Omega. The chance of taming a monster depends on the individual monster, but the fragment skill "Monster Collector" adds 20% to the base probability. It is acquired by speaking to the Mystic in Serendipity after obtaining all fragments from the Vile Peaks in all time periods.

Some creatures are given a shortened name when tamed in battle; for example, when the Munchkin Maestro is tamed, it becomes Munchkin Boss. This is likely due to space constraints in the ally name field.

The player can acquire only one of each type of monster at a time; if the player wishes to obtain a new monster of the same type, one must release the previous monster, or infuse it into another monster. The sole exception to this rule are chocobos; the player can tame multiple chocobos of the same color. This may be because chocobos have another use than being used in battle; the chocobo racing minigame.

Not all monsters are obtained by defeating them in battle; some monster crystals can only be found by performing an advanced Moogle Throw in some areas. The crystal containing a Gold Chocobo is found in a treasure sphere in A Dying World, and Sazh can be recruited after completing the Heads or Tails downloadable content episode. All of these crystals are one-of-a-kind items, and therefore they cannot be obtained again if the player releases or infuses them. Twilight Odin is also one-of-a-kind, and the player cannot recruit another Gigantuar once the only three encountered in a playthrough are defeated.

Paradigm Pack
When making use of monsters in a party's Paradigm system, the player must place monsters in their Paradigm Pack before use. The Paradigm Pack may fit up to three monsters of the player's choice. Once the monsters are chosen, the player is taken to the Paradigm section to customize their paradigms.

Once customized, when in battle, the monster selected for that paradigm will appear in battle. If the player shifts to a paradigm with a different monster, the old monster will switch out and the new monster will take its place.

Feral Link
Each creature has its a Feral Link ability, comparable to a Limit Break ability, which may be used once the Feral Link bar is filled. The bar, located below the creature on the status list, gradually fills over time, but it can be helped along by building chains with the monster present.

If a creature's bar is filled, the borders of its picture on the right side of the screen will be orange. If the bar is filled, pressing the button on PlayStation 3 or the  button on Xbox 360 unleashes the ability, which can be powered by successfully filling out a given input mechanism. This bar carries over between battles, and if a creature has a full Feral Link gauge, its border in the menu will glow with varying green colors.

Crystarium
Each creature's stats can be increased via its personal Crystarium system. Instead of requiring Crystarium Points, items must be used on monsters to raise their role levels. Organic creatures require items such as droplets, slivers or orbs, whereas mechanical creatures require items such as bolts, chips, or engines.

Each such item has a prefix to determine which bonus the item gives in addition to increasing level. Power items increase a monster's strength, mana items increase its magic, vitality items increase its HP, and potent items increase all three stats. Unlike Serah and Noel, each creature's ability crystals are preset on their Crystarium, in addition to other crystals that grant bonuses to a certain type of defense for the monster.

As a creature increases in level, it gradually requires more items of each grade to level up. Once it makes its full way around its Crystarium, it gains a choice between a role boost for its role and an additional ATB bar. If the creature is not an Early Peaker, it then works its way around the Crystarium again with its grade increased.

Traits
Each type of monster obtained has a different set of traits unique to that particular species of monster and even creatures of the same general species and role can be different from one another.

There are four growth traits, each of which fall under one of these three types:
 * Grade: This refers to the level of items required to level up a monster, represented by a stylized monster face, from one to five. The lower the grade, the lower the quality of items required.
 * Level Trait: This trait shows how far a monster may be raised. There are three types; Early Peaker, Well-Grown, and Late Bloomer. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages, as the Early Peaker has a maximum level of only 20, but has fast growth, leading to its use in early situations.
 * Type Trait: This trait hints at the sort of upgrades or special traits a monster might find on their Crystarium. The table below displays type traits that can describe monsters' attributes in battle. Other type traits not listed below do not influence battle.

These stats are constant among a specific breed of monster, with the exception of the monster's grade, which rises along with their Crystarium.

Customization
The monster section of the menu allows the player to do a number of things, such as adding adornments to a creature or infusing its crystal and abilities with another monster. A creature's name may be altered as the player desires.

Adornments
Adornments, obtained in a variety of ways, allow for a player to decorate their creature however they like. The adornments are for aesthetic purposes only, and serve no role in combat.

Infusion
A creature may be selected to be infused with the powers of another creature. It acquires all of the Passive Abilities that the infusing creature possesses, except for abilities which are marked with a red lock symbol. Red locked abilities can not be acquired, and it follows that they can never be infused. If the monsters share roles, one Role Ability may also be chosen to infuse. If a creature is infused with 99 levels worth of creatures with a different role, it will learn a hidden ability. This operates in pairs: Medic monsters will learn their hidden skill if infused with e.g. two level 50 Sentinels, and vice versa. The other pairs are: Commandos with Ravagers and Synergists with Saboteurs.

There is a maximum of ten abilities that can be held by a monster at any time; if more abilities are infused, existing ones may be replaced. All abilities have a rank, higher ranking ones replacing lower. Red locked abilities can not be replaced by higher rank abilities, and of course since they can not be infused, they will never replace others. Unlike red locked abilities, abilities with a yellow lock symbol can be infused, and therefore replace others. If a particular ability is infused into a monster which already has an unlocked version of that ability, the ability will gain a yellow lock, which, like a red lock, will prevent that ability from being replaced by infusions of higher ranking abilities. If the same ability is infused a third time, the yellow lock will be removed, and the ability will once again be available for/vulnerable to replacement.

Release
If a creature is not desired, it can be released at any time. Only creatures which are not currently in a player's Paradigm Pack may be released.

Trivia

 * Human "monsters" are only available through downloadable content.