The 7th Saga/Characters



At the beginning of the game, you have to choose one of seven characters. Later on, a second character can join your main hero.

Character overview
The quotes below are what the characters say at the very beginning of the game.

Esuna Busy, the Elf
 * "I may not be strong, but I know how to use the power of magic."
 * The best spellcaster, she can learn 16 different spells from both white and black magic, but her equipment is very light.


 *  Attack: Her strength is the most limited, and her weapons (staves and knives) are light, too. She should attack primarily using magic.
 *  Magic: She has the best magic aptitude in the game, and a balanced set of spells. Her "MP-Catcher" spell is quite reliable, too. Near the end of the game, her attack spells become less effective than casting "Power" on herself.
 *  Defense: Again, her endurance is the meekest, and her armor (robes and headgear) is light, too.
 *  Speed: She's the fastest character in the game, and this sometimes compensates for her limited endurance.

Valsu Saizer, the Human
 * "My strength is the magic power of healing."
 * The white mage, he can learn 16 spells (15 white and 1 black), but has limited equipment. Late in the game he learns the Elixir spell, which completely heals Health and Magic Points, including its own casting cost!


 *  Attack: His strength is just a bit better than Esuna's, and he uses the same weapons. He's better at fighting by supporting his companion.
 *  Magic: As a cleric, his magic focuses on healing, support and disabling. Indeed, his "Power" and "Agility" spells can turn any companion into a powerhouse. Near the end of the game, his "Elixir" spell makes the final quest very easy.
 *  Defense: Again, his endurance is just a bit better than Esuna's, and he uses the same light robes and headgear.
 *  Speed: He's fast indeed.

Lejes Rimul, the Demon
 * "I don't work with anyone."
 * The black mage, he can learn 16 spells (14 black and 2 white), and also has a fair choice of weapons, but limited armor options.


 *  Attack: His strength is average; he can equip swords, but not the strongest ones (those are exclusive to Kamil).
 *  Magic: This attribute is somewhat average, too, but he has plenty of Magic Points. He can repeatedly cast powerful attack spells and several disabling spells; "Defense2" compensates for the lack of "Power". If he runs out of MP, his sword will be sufficient anyway.
 *  Defense: His endurance is below average, furthermore his armor is the most limited: he can wear the same light robes and headgears as Valsu and Esuna, but not the best ones.
 *  Speed: His speed is about average.

Kamil Dowonna, the Human
 * "I'm a warrior and the best suited for the mission."
 * The average guy, with good choice of equipment, and also 12 spells from both white and black magic.


 *  Attack: Average strength, he can equip swords.
 *  Magic: Average Magic and MP, he can cast both healing and offensive spells.
 *  Defense: Average endurance and HP, but he can wear the same good armor as Olvan.
 *  Speed: Average.

Olvan Jaess, the Dwarf
 * "I'm the strongest of us all, but I'm a bit slow due to my age."
 * A good fighter who can also learn 10 spells, mostly white.


 *  Attack: He has good strength and he can equip axes, which are the best weapons in the game
 *  Magic: Average attribute, limited MP and spells focused on healing and defense. After all, he can easily attack using his axe.
 *  Defense: A real tank, he has good endurance plus he can equip the best armor in the game.
 *  Speed: Below average, which is somewhat of a hindrance for his attack.

Lux Tizer, the Tetujin
 * "My body will transform when I need a weapon. I don't need a weapon for this mission."
 * A fighter with high endurance, i.e., top defense and HP growth, he also has a few black spells, but his magic power and speed are limited.
 * (Tetsujin means "Iron Man" in Japanese.)


 *  Attack: Very strong indeed, even if his choice of weapons is extremely limited.
 *  Magic: Very limited in both strength and selection. Note that his "Laser3" spell has an unusually high hit rate, useful against fast enemies.
 *  Defense: Very strong, and again his selection of armor is very limited.
 *  Speed: Unfortunately, he's the slowest character in the game.

Wilme Pelin, the Alien
 * "I don't need any weapons or armor since I have great physical strength."
 * A pure fighter with top speed and the worst magic; all his other attributes are otherwise high, but spells are few in selection. He cannot use any equipment, except for one sword found in chapter 9.


 *  Attack: At least as strong as Lux and not hindered by a low speed. He fights barehanded, but later on he can use a monster as a weapon.
 *  Magic: Useless: his offensive spells either miss or deal a minimal amount of damage, and he has no healing spells.
 *  Defense: Although he is naked, his endurance is far above the average.
 *  Speed: Above average.

Characters goals
The seven characters state their goal at the beginning of the game:
 * Wilme the alien: "I can't imagine the power I might have when I get the Runes."
 * Lux the tetsujin: "During this journey, I wish to find who built us Tetsujins and for what purpose."
 * Olvan the dwarf: "I'll be young again when I have the power of the Runes."
 * Kamil the human: "I'm the best suited for the mission: I'll prove it when I find the Runes."
 * Lejes the demon: "When I get the Runes, I'll be more powerful than King Lemele."
 * Valsu the human: "My goal is to find the Runes and drive all evil forces out of the world. I'm wondering why Lejes is involved with this mission."
 * Esuna the elf: "I can take care of myself." (She doesn't say much indeed.)

Character class triangle
Characters in most role-playing video games, including Elnard/7th Saga, can be classified according to three attributes, therefore using a Triangle Diagram.

Wilme and Lejes look slightly different in the game because the sprites used here come from the original Japanese version.



Legend:
 * TOP: characters with no magic powers;
 * BOTTOM: characters with great magic powers;
 * LEFT: characters with healing magic;
 * RIGHT: characters with offensive magic.

In this game, every character can use at least a little bit of magic, so the top corner is empty.

Experience levels
All characters follow the same experience–level curve.

Note, from the graphs below, that from about lv.35 to lv.60, it takes a similar amount of experience points to advance by one level; note also that after lv.60, it gets more and more demanding to level up. A game can be completed typically between level 50 and level 60.



Suggested teams
You are allowed one companion in your travels, and they become available in Bonro or Zellis (Chapter 2), after opening the Gate of Earth. To recruit a companion, you can speak with one of the six other apprentices. When you first encounter them, they may ask to join you, say nothing of consequence, or challenge you. If you've engaged them in the past, they will automatically attack.

They will change their reaction after you collect a set amount of experience (about 500). Therefore, if you want to join a specific character, leave town, fight a few battles and go back.

Your selected companion will remain with you during travel. Not all companion combinations are best, but you will want to have at least one magic specialist with a physical specialist, and at the same time one white magic user and one black magic user. In other words, two characters that are distant in the Character Class Triangle.

Alternatively, check the following table. A good team includes a healer and a physical fighter, but not two characters in the same column. A balanced team includes two characters in the opposite corners (e.g. Lejes with either Olvan or Kamil). Other teams make for a difficult game.

What's a bad team? The following sections describe a set of balanced teams that allow to use all characters in the minimum possible number of games.
 * Two attackers would have no healing skills;
 * Two wizards would have very light armor;
 * Two physical fighters would have limited support spells.

Wilme and Valsu
WILME is the strongest attacker, but his magic power is the weakest. VALSU is the best white mage, but his attack abilities are the most limited.

Simple strategy: Wilme attacks, Valsu defends and heals.

Lux and Esuna
LUX is a strong attacker, but his magic is very monotonous. ESUNA has the widest array of magic spells, but her physical abilities are weak.

If they both attack using magic, the monsters would hardly resist. Remember that Esuna should save some magic points to heal both.

Olvan and Lejes
OLVAN is a fighter with a good bit of white/healing spells. LEJES is a spellcaster with a lot of black/attack spells.

This team is quite expensive, because both require constant equipment upgrades; moreover, their equipment is different: Olvan equips axes, armor and shields; Lejes equips swords, robes and headgear. The player will need lots of grinding not only to earn the necessary money, but also to raise Olvan's healing magic abilities.

Kamil and...
KAMIL is the average guy who can do a bit of everything but does not excel in anything.

He can team up with pretty much anyone. He counts as a physical fighter, therefore it's a good choice if you pair him with a wizard. A team of Kamil with either Valsu or Esuna makes for an easy game, because all party members can use healing magic. The player could also try a solo adventure with Kamil, or change his partner whenever there is the opportunity. (The instruction booklet says he is best paired with a stronger ally, whatever "stronger" might mean: stronger attack? stronger defense? stronger magic? Never trust an instruction booklet!)

Duels
In some cases, you may encounter a challenge with a fellow apprentice. This is a one-on-one battle, and your companion will not assist. In addition, failing the challenge will cause the opposing apprentice to steal all of your runes, and requires you to hunt them down to get them back.

Challenges may occur if you accept it from an opponent, if you have a rune and they don't like you at that time, or in a rare case where your companion will turn against you.

These opponents are much stronger than you despite being scaled to the level of your chosen character—a result of the American release reducing the amount of stat points your character gains per level, while your rivals suffer no such reduction. As a result, the gap between you and them widens as your level grows. As such, you should use all the seeds on your lead character only, in order to close the gap and get even stronger.

The prize for defeating another apprentice is an amount of gold equal to 20 times your own level plus experience points equal to ~64 times your own level.

Betrayal
There is also a chance that your companion betrays and attacks you when you get a Rune. Lejes is the most likely one, while Esuna and Lux will never betray you. It is anyway better to keep your main character one or two levels ahead of the companion.

Plot differences
Each of the seven apprentices (except for Kamil the Human) has some specific plot events. Most of these are triggered only if the specific apprentice is the main character (or if the main character is dead); others only require the character to be in the party.


 * Esuna the Elf:
 * Esuna cannot be the traitor apprentice in Patrof (chapter 4).
 * In Bone (chapter 5), Esuna won't be given the Remote Control for the Cave of Milto: instead, she'll get free rides on the vessel between Bonro and Pandam (thus jumping to chapter 8).
 * In Ligena (chapter 10), Esuna can travel on the airship for free.


 * Lux the Tetsujin:
 * Lux cannot be the traitor apprentice in Patrof (chapter 4).
 * In Bone (chapter 5), Lux won't be given the Remote Control for the Cave of Milto: instead, he'll get free rides on the vessel between Bonro and Pandam (thus jumping to chapter 8).
 * In chapter 10, Lux can get "fixed" and obtain a big upgrade on all his attributes. This happens only if he's your main character, or if your main character is dead when you enter the laboratory.


 * Olvan the Dwarf:
 * In Bone (chapter 5), Olvan will be given a Key of Brilliance to access the Tower of Grime, thus obtaining the Illus. Shield (that can only be used by him and Kamil). After adequate grinding, Olvan will also be able to get through the two Towers (connected by a teleporter) and to the town of Padal (chapter 7).
 * Pang (chapter 7) is the Dwarves' hometown, where Olvan's friends and relatives live. One of the Dwarves will give him the password to access the treasure room in the secret Cave of Laosu.


 * Wilme the Alien:
 * Dowaine (chapter 5) is the town where Lemele met Wilme. The population there is still scared by the Alien, and the kid won't sell him his items.
 * In Ligena (chapter 10), Wilme is not allowed on the airship, and he has to stow away.


 * Lejes the Demon:
 * In Ligena (chapter 10), Lejes is not allowed on the airship, and he has to stow away.


 * Valsu the Human:
 * A weaponsmith in Belaine (chapter 6) sells the Muramasa sword, that is exclusive to Valsu (actually, three other characters can equip it, but they have better weapons by the time they get to Belaine).