At long last after years of waiting NA fans of Phantasy Star Online 2 AKA PSO2 are going to get an official taste of what’s to come later this year when the long-running online RPG releases on the Xbox One. If you’re jumping into the closed beta blind, allow us to break down a few of the basics that you should be aware of.
Keep in mind that, obviously, this information is based primarily on the versions of the game that have existed prior to the NA version since, well, it’s not out yet. So the below information is subject to change. However, we keep it pretty focused on just the most simple and basic information just so you at least have some idea of what’s going on as you start playing your first character.
Stats & Important PSO2 Terms
Before we dive into classes, races, and what each of them offer in terms of strengths and weaknesses, it’s worth explaining a few of the important stats and other just general important terminology you should be aware of going into the Phantasy Star Online 2 Closed Beta this weekend.
There’s a lot going on in PSO2 and you don’t want to be completely overwhelmed or in the dark as you try and find a race/class combination that appeals to you. So let’s start by breaking down the most important base stats.
Note: In addition to the effects listed below, certain weapons, techs, etc. will require a certain base amount of one or more of these stats in order to be equipped.
Character Stats in Phantasy Star Online 2:
- HP: Determines the number of Health Points you have.
- PP: Determines how many Photon Points you have which are used to use photon arts and techniques/spells/techs.
- S-Attack (S-ATK): Higher S-Attack will increase the damage of your melee attacks and related striking Photon Arts (we’ll explain that below).
- R-Attack (R-ATK): Higher R-Attack will increase the damage of your ranged attacks and related Photon Arts.
- T-Attack (T-ATK): Higher Tech will increase the damage of spells (AKA techs) utilized by certain classes.
- S-Defense (S-DEF): Higher S-Defense will reduce the damage you take from melee attacks.
- R-Defense (R-DEF): Higher R-Defense will reduce the damage you take from ranged attacks.
- T-Defense (T-DEF): Higher T-Defense will reduce the damage you take from technique.
- Dexterity (DEX): Dexterity improves the minimum damage of all your attacks regardless of type (S,R,T) and reduces the maximum damage of enemy attacks regardless of type (S,R,T)
Some Other Important PSO2 Terminology:
- Ships: Phantasy Star Online 2’s term for servers.
- Meseta: Currency aka money.
- Team: Phantasy Star Online 2’s’s word for clans.
- Subclass: A class that can be joined to your main class to provide you additional stat boosts and some photon arts.
- ARKS Mission Menu: Where you can find main story missions to progress the game and daily missions that you can repeat for rewards.
- MAG: Support NPCs that provide various boosts to your character in battle. Can be powered up by feeding. Try to look up what you should feed your MAG for the character you are trying to build before feeding it just anything as the effects are permanent until you reset which is not easy to do.
- Skill Trees: Where you can map out your character’s build. Like MAGs, try to avoid mapping these out without looking up some ideas from experienced players first as these are permanent.
There is a lot more to learn, but we just want to provide you the bare-bones basic terms so you’re not too overwhelmed ahead of the beta and eventual day 1 full release.
