How to heal in the best RPG of the year.
So many systems have been changed for the better in Tales of Arise, but better doesn’t necessarily mean easier. One of the biggest changes to the latest Tales game is the healing system. In the past, you could simply spam healing Artes to keep your party up and running, but no longer is that the case. In Tales of Arise, your healing is governed by your Cure Point pool or your use of items. Seeing as how your Gald or money is tough to come by in large quantities, you are going to be relying on your Cure Points on a ton. It’s an interesting game of resource management and risk vs. reward at play here and Tales of Arise manages that balance masterfully.
How to Heal in Tales of Arise
Not every character in Tales of Arise has the ability to use healing Artes, so who you build your party with can govern how often your characters will be healing. Early on, you will always have Shionne in your party and she will be the go-to source for both healing and reviving.
Later on, you will gain access to Kisara and Dohalim who both excel in healing Artes as well, so finding the right mixture of these characters can lead to a well-balanced team. You heal by using either healing Artes or through healing items. Healing items are readily available at every merchant, though they will cost a decent amount of Gald to buy.
How to Heal at Campgrounds and Healing Lights
Throughout the game, you will encounter various campgrounds and glowing circular areas called Healing Lights on the ground. These will both heal you completely as well as restoring your Cure Points.
The difference between the two is that campgrounds are permanent and can be rested at an infinite number of times while Healing Lights are temporary and disappear for a while after you use them. You typically see Healing Lights right before a huge fight, so be sure to take advantage of them when they appear.
How to Use Healing Artes
Healing Artes is the class of Artes that have restorative or support properties in Tales of Arise. Shionne, Dohalim, and Kisara all have Artes that can heal you during battle, though each one of their healing Artes carries a unique quality to it. For example, Shionne can resurrect people from the dead while Kisara can cast a gigantic circle that heals everyone that steps into it.
You use healing Artes in two ways, either by manually casting them or by using the strategy menu to direct your party to “Focus on Healing” as their main tactic. If you are using them manually, you must set a healing art to be bound to one of the face buttons on your controller. Pressing that button during battle will initiate a casting sequence and if you finish it without being damaged, the healing Arte will activate.
This will only work if you have enough Cure Points to cast the spell. You can also direct your party to use healing items as well. This is all done via the strategy menu and you can set your party to use healing items before Artes or vice versa.
What Are Cure Points?
Cure Points are the pool from which not only all healing Artes but all support Artes are drawn. Each Arte takes off a certain amount of the pool and once its gone, you are not going to be getting it back unless you find a rest stop or use an item. Cure Points not only cure you in battle via the use of Artes, but they can also restore your party out of battle as well.
In the Menu screen, you will see on the bottom left your source of points. It is here you will be given the option to restore your party in exchange for a portion of your Cure Points. Sometimes this isn’t necessary as another campground or Inn is usually just a Fast Travel away, but sometimes it can be really helpful if you aren’t in the mood to do some backtracking.
What Item Restores Cure Points?
Orange Gel is the item you need to restore your Cure Points. Unfortunately, unlike other items in the game, Orange Gel is generally not sold by merchants. You will obtain these by either finding them in the open areas or by defeating tougher enemies.
Increasing the meter on the battle chain increases the probability of rare items dropping, so hopping from one fight to the next can greatly increase your chances of one of these dropping. Keep in mind that Orange Gel does not refill the entire gauge, so don’t look at it as a fail-safe, but rather a last resort when you run out of healing items as well.
What Items Restore Health?
There are a variety of items that restore your health in Tales of Arise, but the two main ones that you find throughout the game are Apple Gel and Life Bottles. Apple Gel will restore a small portion of your health every time you use one and is found at every merchant in the game. They are not expensive, but due to how scarce Gald can be, it’s sometimes very difficult to get to the max limit of 15.
Life Bottles are even more valuable as they restore a knocked-out party member back to life along with a sizeable portion of their health. There are more items that restore your health and the health of the entire party, but those are generally found in the wild and there is no guarantee when and where they will pop up. Because of that, make sure you are always stocked with Apple Gel and Life Bottles.
Managing your curative items and Cure Points is one of the biggest micromanaging aspects of Tales of Arise and although it can be frustrating at times, keeping both in stock for big fights can be the difference between winning or losing.
Tales of Arise is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
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