The Crystarium system (クリスタリウム, Kurisutariumu?) is a character growth system from the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy subseries. Its most prominent appearance is in Final Fantasy XIII, where it governs the party's stat and ability growth. It is reminiscent of the Sphere Grid system used for Final Fantasy X.
Appearances[]
Final Fantasy XIII[]
The Crystarium system is the ability and statistics development system where each party member has a unique Crystarium. The Crystarium is fueled by Crystogen Points (Crystal Points in Japanese), which are won after every battle, and are spent to unlock nodes in the Crystarium. Summoned enemies and enemies not defeated by the party will not reward CP.
The system allows players to choose which bonuses their character gains, rather than automatic level bonuses. Players manually fill the experience gauge between bonuses, analogous to level gauges in previous games. Each character's Crystarium grows from their unique eidolith and branches out in six directions, with one branch corresponding to each role. The spatial layout of each Crystarium is different for each character. As the character levels up the grid grows increasingly elaborate.
Crystarium stage[]
Each character's Crystarium growth level corresponds to the progress of the story. After defeating certain bosses, the Crystarium levels up, enabling players to advance through the layout and possibly upgrade their stats and learn new abilities, but enhancing stats and learning skills is still dictated by each role's level. The player is limited to the abilities and bonuses within each Crystarium level.
The stat bonuses are Strength, Magic and HP; "Defense", "Speed" and "Evasion" only exist as passive abilities.
There are ten stages to the Crystarium and the stage is factored when calculating the Eidolons' ranks. The Eidolons have no Crystaria of their own and neither are their stats tied to the character's. Instead, the Eidolons' stats are determined by their rank, which is the sum of the summoner's Crystarium stage and the number of roles they have advanced to level 5.
Roles[]
Each character in the field can take on one of six roles in a paradigm; any combination constitutes a paradigm. Paradigms can be changed mid-battle with a Paradigm Shift.
Role | Description | |
---|---|---|
Commando (Attacker) Japanese name: アタッカー |
(COM) (ATK) |
Build attack chains more easily with enhanced Strength. |
Ravager (Blaster) Japanese name: ブラスター |
(RAV) (BLA) |
Charge enemy chain gauges with concentrated attacks. |
Sentinel (Defender) Japanese name: ディフェンダー |
(SEN) (DEF) |
Shield allies from enemy attacks with enhanced Defense. |
Saboteur (Jammer) Japanese name: ジャマー |
(SAB) (JAM) |
Enfeeble enemies while charging their chain gauges. |
Synergist (Enhancer) Japanese name: エンハンサー |
(SYN) (ENH) |
Support allies with an array of magical enhancements. |
Medic (Healer) Japanese name: ヒーラー |
(MED) (HLR) |
Focus on restoring HP and removing status ailments. |
Each character has three main roles, but a short way into Chapter 10, all roles are unlocked for everyone. The secondary roles can be used once the character learns at least one ability from that role.
Character | Primary Roles | Secondary Roles |
---|---|---|
Lightning | Commando, Ravager, Medic | Sentinel, Saboteur, Synergist |
Snow | Commando, Ravager, Sentinel | Saboteur, Synergist, Medic |
Vanille | Ravager, Saboteur, Medic | Commando, Sentinel, Synergist |
Sazh | Commando, Ravager, Synergist | Sentinel, Saboteur, Medic |
Hope | Ravager, Synergist, Medic | Commando, Sentinel, Saboteur |
Fang | Commando, Sentinel, Saboteur | Ravager, Synergist, Medic |
Each level of a primary role has branches that lead to additional skills and stat increases. Secondary roles have no branches and are restricted to fewer skills. CP costs for the secondary roles' nodes are much higher than those for the primary roles, despite having fewer nodes to activate.
Expanding the Crystarium[]
The characters' Crystaria expand to the next level after certain bosses are defeated:
- Stage 1 - Initial extent of Crystaria, as of the start of Chapter 3.
- Stage 2 - Defeat the Garuda Interceptor at the end of Chapter 3.
- The Synergist role is unlocked for Sazh, and the Saboteur role is unlocked for Vanille.
- Stage 3 - Defeat the Dreadnought during Chapter 4.
- The Medic role is unlocked for Lightning, and the Commando role is unlocked for Sazh.
- Stage 4 - Defeat the Aster Protoflorian near the end of Chapter 5.
- Stage 5 - Defeat Enki and Enlil near the end of Chapter 6.
- Stage 6 - Defeat the Havoc Skytank at the end of Chapter 7.
- Stage 7 - Defeat Barthandelus at the end of Chapter 9.
- Stage 8 - Defeat Cid Raines during Chapter 10.
- Stage 9 - Defeat Barthandelus near the end of Chapter 11.
- Stage 10 - Defeat Orphan at the end of Chapter 13.
Achievements[]
The player can earn achievements by completing the Crystarium role paths for a single character for each job. After activating all nodes in the Crystarium for all roles for every character the player earns the Master's Seal achievement.
Final Fantasy XIII-2[]
- For in-depth information about monster developing, see: Paradigm Pack.
The Crystarium system is the stat and ability growth system for Serah and Noel, as well as the recruitable monsters.
Each character can unlock other roles from the start, and there is no cap on the development. There is just one Crystarium grid and the player can unlock the nodes with any role. Each node yields a set stat boost, but large nodes also yield a bonus depending on the role used to activate it and which level it achieves.
When developing roles on larger nodes for Serah and Noel, the player can get:
- 2 points to Strength from upgrading the Commando role.
- 2 points to Magic from upgrading the Ravager role.
- 6 points to HP from upgrading the Sentinel role.
- 2 points to either Strength or Magic for upgrading the Saboteur role. Leveling up to an even level will give Strength and leveling up to an odd level will give Magic.
- Either 6 points to HP or 2 points to Magic for upgrading the Synergist role. Leveling up to an even level will give HP and leveling up to an odd level will give Magic.
- 6 points to HP for upgrading the Medic role.
With this knowledge, the player can min-max their way to optimal stats.
When the Crystarium expands, the player is free to choose one of the following options while developing Serah and Noel:
- Add a boost to each known role's bonus, up to two boosts per role.
- Add an ATB gauge segment, up to 2.
- Learn an exclusive skill (requires at least one ATB gauge segment and one Role Bonus Boost for the corresponding role to be "purchased").
- Raise Accessory Points by 20 twice, and by 10 once.
- Unlock either Saboteur, Synergist, or Medic.
The structure of the Crystarium takes the shape of the character's weapon and does not have tiers. Monster Crystaria take the shape of the creatures themselves, with the exception of DLC monsters, whose Crystaria are shaped like the Mog Clock, and Zwerg Droids', whose Crystarium is the shape of Spooks'.
While Noel and Serah's Crystaria are developed with the returning Crystogen Points (CP) and each of their roles cap at Lv.99, the monsters' Crystaria are developed with items dropped by enemies, found in the field, or bought from Chocolina, and have level limitations dependent on the monster.
Mastering a character's Crystarium to level 99 in all roles earns the "Supreme Being" achievement/trophy.
Final Fantasy Type-0[]
"Crystarium" is the library at Akademeia. The Altocrystarium system is used to upgrade the party's magic spells with phantoma. Magic can be leveled in several fields: power, recovery rate, MP cost, casting time, range, speed and homing.
Mobius Final Fantasy[]
Gallery[]
- Final Fantasy XIII
- Final Fantasy XIII-2
Etymology[]
The word Crystarium is a portmanteau of "crystal" and the suffix -arium, taken directly from Latin. The arium suffix denotes both a place associated with a specific object, or a device associated with a specific function.