Tales of ARISE: Complete Guide

A player's guide to Tales of ARISE and its Beyond the Dawn expansion: how combat really works (AG, CP, Boost Attacks, Boost Strikes, Over Limit), party building, skill panels, cooking and crafting, side activities, the owl hunt, and endgame and achievement tips.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC update (December 14, 2023) and the Beyond the Dawn expansion (released November 9, 2023). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• CP is your healing budget, shared by the whole party. Healing artes cost CP, not AG. When CP runs dry, you can't heal except with items. Watch the CP number, not just HP.
• Rest at campfires and inns to refill CP and cook meals. Campfires are free; inns cost gald.
• Cook every time you rest. Meals give buffs that last for a while (extra EXP, more damage, CP recovery). Cheap, strong, and they level up the cook's skill.
• Dodge more, mash less. Perfect evades set up Counter Edge attacks and fill your Over Limit gauge.
• Use Boost Attacks constantly. Each party member has a Boost Attack that counters a specific enemy type or behaviour. The character you control only refills their Boost Gauge by attacking; AI allies' gauges fill automatically.
• Finish with Boost Strikes. When an enemy is staggered by a long combo, a Boost Strike prompt appears. Trigger it for a flashy, often instant, finisher.
• Spend SP on titles. Every character's skill panel (titles) gives stat boosts, new artes and passive bonuses. Complete titles for the mastery bonus.
• Talk to owls. 32 owls are hidden across Dahna; reporting them to the Owl Forest rewards accessories and costumes.
• Don't fight every enemy. Encounters are visible; you can avoid fields of zeugles when you just want to get somewhere.

Combat Systems

The core loop

System | What it is | Tips

AG (Arte Gauge) | Spent on artes; refills when you stop using artes | Chain artes and normal attacks, then evade to recover

CP (Cure Points) | Shared party pool for healing artes | Refill at campfires/inns and with CP-restoring items

Normal attacks | Basic combo | Mix with artes to build combos

Artes | Special moves, ground and aerial | Set a ground and aerial set per character

Boost Attacks | Character-specific interrupts | Your controlled character's gauge fills only by attacking; AI allies' fill automatically. Use them the moment their counter-behaviour shows up

Boost Strikes | Two-character finishers | Triggered when an enemy is staggered/low; often instant kills on regular enemies

Perfect Evade / Counter Edge | Dodging at the last moment | Leads to a counter attack and fills Over Limit

Over Limit | Temporary power state | Unlimited artes for a while, and access to your Mystic Arte

Mystic Artes | Cinematic super moves | Use during Over Limit for huge damage

Boost Attacks per character

Each party member's Boost Attack shuts down a specific enemy type or behaviour. Learn these and hard fights become much easier.

Character | Boost Attack is best against

Alphen | Downed enemies (trades some of his HP for extra damage)

Shionne | Flying enemies (guns them down and keeps them grounded briefly)

Rinwell | Enemies casting spells (interrupts the cast)

Law | Armoured enemies (destroys the armour, lowering their Defense and raising your crit chance)

Kisara | Charging enemies (stops them in their tracks and buffs party Defense)

Dohalim | Fast-moving enemies (traps them in vines for the team to punish)

The game tutorials spell out each character's Boost Attack when they join; watch for the on-screen prompt suggesting which character's Boost Attack to use on the current enemy.

Alphen's Blazing Sword

Alphen's special Blazing Sword artes cost HP instead of just AG. They do huge damage. Use them when you have healing to spare and let healers keep him topped up.

Party Building

• Six playable characters: Alphen, Shionne, Rinwell, Law, Kisara and Dohalim.
• You control one character at a time, but can swap freely. AI allies follow the strategy settings you set.
• Set a healer. Shionne and Dohalim can heal; keep one in the active party most of the time.
• Rinwell is your magic nuke. Her spells hit hard, especially elemental weaknesses.
• Law and Kisara are frontliners. Law is a fast martial artist; Kisara is a shield-wielding tank.

Strategy settings

• Set AI allies to conserve CP in easy fights and heal freely in bosses.
• Tell healers to prioritise the controlled character's HP.
• Tune who attacks whom (e.g., focus on the same target to stagger faster).

Titles and Skill Panels

• Titles unlock through story, side quests and actions. Each title is a skill panel with several nodes.
• SP earned from battles unlocks nodes: stat bonuses, new artes, and passive skills.
• Mastering a title (buying every node) gives an extra bonus.
• Prioritise titles that unlock artes and passives you'll use, then fill out stat nodes.

Equipment, Crafting and Cooking

Weapons

• Buy or forge weapons at blacksmiths. Forging needs materials from zeugles and ore. There's an achievement for forging 100 weapon types.

Accessories

• Accessories are crafted from ore and gems. Each gem's type decides the base skills.
• Craft often. Higher-tier ores give more skill slots and better bonuses. Crafting 30 accessories unlocks Jeweler.

Cooking

Tip | Why

Cook at every campfire | Buffs for EXP, damage, defence or CP recovery

Rotate cooks | Each character has different cooking bonuses and levels up individually

Collect recipes | 30 non-DLC recipes for Globetrotting Foodie

Astral Flowers

Found in the field; they permanently raise max HP. Pick up every one you see.

Side Activities

• Sub-quests: 70 main-game sub-quests for Problem Solver. Many unlock titles and gear.
• Owls: 32 owls hidden across Dahna, plus 6 special owls that bring the total to 38. Report them to the Owl King in the Owl Forest (reached via the Nevira Snowplains in Cyslodia) for items, costumes and attachments at set milestones (Owl Spotter at 13, Owl Scouter at 32).
• Fishing: catch every fish type and show your notes to the expert for Godly Angler.
• Ranch: raise animals and collect harvests (Novice Rancher and Veteran Rancher).
• Artifacts: collectible objects scattered across Dahna.
• Training grounds: group fights up to the Ultimate level (Elite Vanguard).
• Gigants: optional huge monsters. Slay 20 for Big Game Hunter.

Story Outline (Spoiler-Light)

Dahna has been ruled by Rena for 300 years. You travel through Dahna's five realms, each ruled by a Renan Lord:

Realm | Lord

Calaglia | Balseph

Cyslodia | Ganabelt Valkyris

Elde Menancia | Dohalim il Qaras

Mahag Saar | Almeidrea Kaineris

Ganath Haros | Vholran Igniseri

Each realm is a mix of towns, fields and a dungeon. The late game opens up with new areas and harder encounters.

Beyond the Dawn (Expansion)

• Released November 9, 2023. A separate paid expansion.
• Set one year after the main story, featuring Nazamil, a girl who is the daughter of a Renan lord and a Dahnan slave.
• Adds a substantial new story with new quests, dungeons and boss fights.
• Has its own achievements (for example, 12 character sub-quests, 40 sub-quests, weapon crafting with ryugola core fragments, and Ultimate training ground fights).
• Best played after finishing the main game.

Difficulty

• Several difficulty levels, and you can change difficulty from the menu at any time. Story or Normal for a relaxed first run; Hard if you want every fight to matter.
• Difficulty mostly changes enemy damage and HP. If a boss wall hits, lower it without guilt, then raise it back.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Running out of CP in dungeons. Carry CP-restoring items and rest before bosses.
• Ignoring Boost Attacks. They exist to counter the specific enemies giving you trouble.
• Not cooking. Meal buffs are free power.
• Forgetting to update strategies and gear after new party members join.
• Hoarding SP. Spend it; SP unspent is power unused.
• Button mashing. Evading and counter-attacking is faster and safer than face-tanking.

Advanced Tips

• Cancel arte strings with dodges to keep combos going while avoiding damage.
• Build combos before Boost Strikes. Staggering an enemy with a long combo triggers them faster.
• Save Over Limit for bosses. Unlimited artes plus a Mystic Arte is a boss's worst nightmare.
• Target elemental weaknesses with Rinwell's spells and element-matched artes.
• Use Counter Edge on bosses. Their big attacks are often easier to evade than to block.
• One-Hit Wonder (10,000 damage in one hit) is easiest with a Mystic Arte or a Boost Strike on a weakened enemy.
• Hundred-Hit Smackdown (100-hit combos) comes naturally in Over Limit with frequent arte chaining.

FAQ

How long is Tales of ARISE? The main story is a long JRPG, typically several dozen hours, and more with sub-quests; Beyond the Dawn adds a sizeable epilogue on top.

Is Beyond the Dawn worth it? Yes if you loved the cast. It's an epilogue with new quests, dungeons and bosses.

Can I change difficulty mid-game? Yes, from the menu.

Where are all the owls? There are 32 owls across Dahna (38 counting the special ones). Many are in towns and fields near landmarks; listen for hooting and use a checklist such as Game8's owl map.

How do I heal efficiently? Keep a healer, manage CP, cook CP-recovery meals and rest often.

What level should I aim for? Level 100 is the achievement milestone (Peak Strength). Endgame and post-game content get you there.

Is Tales of ARISE on other platforms? Yes, including PlayStation, Xbox and, since May 22, 2026, Nintendo Switch 2 as the "Beyond the Dawn Edition".

Sources

• Tales of ARISE on Steam
• Steam news (December 2023 update and Beyond the Dawn launch)
• Tales of ARISE Steam achievements
• Tales of ARISE on Wikipedia
• Official Bandai Namco page
• Game8: Boost Attacks
• Game8: Owl locations and rewards