Some people really love stat-raisers, while others find them to be very stressful or tedious. Personally, I Iove stat-raisers, but I am not the type of player that enjoys using a guide in order to get a good ending. I prefer to play through it organically, seeing where my stat choices will take me. I enjoy being surprised by the outcome, but not when it means I’ve cornered myself into a bad ending because I am a few points short.

I designed the stat system in The Radiants with all this in mind. I wanted an experience that offered a lot of variety and replayability, without forcing the player to keep a spreadsheet in order to achieve their goals. 

How will it work ? Well, first off, the stats do not affect your romance in any way. Nothing is worse than spending the entire game flirting with your person of interest only to have them reject you because you are a few points short in charm. That’s not very realistic, either. Instead, if you want to get cozy with a character in The Radiants, all you have to do is spend time with them and not treat them like dirt. Easy, right? 

So what DO the stats affect if not the romance? 

The most immediate affect you will notice is that weekend events will use skill checks to allow you to approach challenges in different ways. If you’re the charming type, you might want to talk your way out of a situation. If you’ve been working on your Force skill, you can use more physical means to handle it. Every successful skill check will earn your extra points in the applied skill, but don’t be afraid of failing a skill check. You will earn points in that skill even when you fail (though less than if you pass), so failing is it’s own reward. 

There are also some random skill checks sprinkled about the game, but these are not meant to punish the player for not maxing all their stats. Instead, they’re meant to provide a unique experience for the player based around the type of character they are trying to build. Different outcomes will occur, but there is no definitive BAD outcome.

The other most important thing that stats affect is your ending. Well, PART of your ending. In The Radiants, your ending is a combination of several different choices you make throughout the game. You choice of romance, several plot point choices, and your ending stats. But it is important to note that there is no “Bad” ending when it comes to stats, only a different ending. Your ending stats will determine what type of oracle you will become, and there are many different combinations. Think of it a bit like the endings in Princess Maker. 

Some players will want to achieve specific endings, of course, and for those types of players, we will eventually provide a guide. But for casual players that don’t want to have to plan out their every move, you will still have an enjoyable experience with The Radiants. So build your stats worry-free and have fun!!

Next time I am going to go into more detail on the Talents, which are a bit different from the skills.

What type of stat-raisers do you enjoy? What do you like or dislike about stat raisers?