Game modes

This page is a mega work-in-progress - Sundark :>

After log-in and character creation/selection, players will be placed in the Visual Lobby, and may create a party at the counter to begin playing the game. Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst offers a variety of differing game modes and party creation options.

Types of game modes offered are divided into Episode, play type, and difficulty, and each are detailed below.

Episode

Episode 1

Episode 1 is the chronological starting point of the game's story, and considered the easiest episode.

Episode 1 contains the areas Forest, Cave, Mine, and Ruins.

Episode 1's story follows the player character's investigation into an explosion that destroyed the Central Dome, as well as the disappearance of Principal Tyrell's daughter, a renowned hunter named Rico Tyrell (nicknamed "Red Ring Rico").

Episode 2

Episode 2 takes place after the events of Episode 1, and is considered more difficult than Episode 1, as enemies will have more nuanced behaviors and more dangerous attacks.

Episode 2 begins with the areas VR Temple and VR Spaceship, which re-use enemies from Episode 1 in different arrangements. Episode 2 then introduces the unique new areas Central Control Area, which features its own sub-areas in Jungle Area, Mountain Area and Seaside Area, the "final" area Seabed, and the quest-only area Control Tower.

The story of Episode 2 follows the discovery of Gal Da Val island, and a pursuant investigation into the whereabouts and ultimate fate of Heathcliff Flowen.

Episode 4

Episode 4 is the final episode in the game, and was added with the release of Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst. It is considered to be the most difficult episode, as enemies feature even more nuanced behavior, as well as more unique characteristics such as immunity to player status effects, teleportation, and even character displacement.

Episode 4 only features two main areas, but the first area, Crater, is divided into five sub-areas. This division of Crater is different to that of Episode 2's Central Control Area, as each different Crater area is accessible from the Pioneer 2 teleporter directly, rather than being accessed from within an area. These areas are Crater (Eastern Route), Crater (Western Route), Crater (Southern Route), Crater (Northern Route), and Crater Interior. The individual routes are composed of identical rooms and geometry, but differ in their arrangements and monster placements, with Crater Interior being unique and the largest of them all. The second and final area of Episode 4 is the Subterranean Desert.

Episode 4's story follows the aftermath and investigation of a large meteor impact, including the involvement of the WORKS military unit, and the mysterious identity of a FOnewearl named Rupika.

Play type

Battle

Battle mode is a mode where players may engage in PvP gameplay against each other according to different sets of predetermined rules. Battle mode must be selected during party creation at the Visual Lobby counter, with battle rulesets being chosen at the Hunter's Guild.

At the start of each Battle round, the rules set by the party leader will be displayed, and each player will spawn in at one of four starting locations. Players then compete to defeat their opponents as many times as possible within the time limit. Depending on the rules, certain weapons, frames, barriers, Tools, Mags, and even Techniques may be unusable. A character is defeated when their HP reaches 0, and the defeated character will then respawn at a random location on the map. The round is over when time expires.

Battle mode rounds take place in the unique areas Palace and Spaceship, which were repurposed in later releases of the game into the VR Temple and VR Spaceship areas of Episode 2. In regular play, a select few custom quests (e.g. Random Attack Xrd Stage, Simulator 2.0) feature these areas, including their unique monster lists.

Challenge

Main article: Challenge

Challenge mode is a game mode available for Episode 1 and 2 where players must complete timed "stages" (composed of the various areas of the game) in sequential order by progressing through them similar to regular play, but under the following restrictions:

• Character level, equipment, and learned techniques at start are predetermined per stage;
• Returning to Pioneer 2 is not possible;
• Any player's death (without a Scape Doll in the inventory) will cause all players to fail.

Challenge mode must be selected during party creation at the Visual Lobby counter, with individual stages being initiated from the Hunter's Guild. Players who are able to complete every stage of challenge mode will receive rewards upon completion of the last stage, with the rewards varying depending on Episode cleared and total clear time.

Pages for individual challenge mode stages can be visited through the table below.

Episode 1	Episode 2
Stage 1: Forest	Stage 1: VR Temple
Stage 2: Cave 1	Stage 2: VR Spaceship
Stage 3: Cave 2	Stage 3: Central Control Area
Stage 4: Cave 3	Stage 4: Seabed
Stage 5: Mine 1	Stage 5: Tower
Stage 6: Mine 2
Stage 7: Ruins 1
Stage 8: Ruins 2
Stage 9: Ruins 3

Difficulty

Normal

Normal is the first difficulty available for characters to play on. Monsters are typically slow with low stats. Rare items are extremely uncommon on Normal mode.

Hard

Hard is the second difficulty available for characters to play on. Hard mode rooms may only be created or joined by characters of level 20+. Monsters are typically still fairly slow, but have increased stats. Rare items begin appearing infrequently on Hard mode.

Very Hard

Very Hard is the third difficulty available for characters to play on. Very Hard mode rooms may only be created or joined by characters of level 40+. Monsters begin moving faster, and have further increased stats. Rare items begin appearing frequently on Very Hard mode.

Ultimate

Ultimate is the fourth and final difficulty available for characters to play on. Ultimate mode rooms may only be created or joined by characters of level 80+. Monsters move much faster, have vastly increased stats (especially their EVP, requiring players to pay more mind to their character's ATA stat), and some will behave differently or begin casting new techniques. In Episode 1 (and the VR Temple and VR Spaceship areas of Episode 2), monster appearances change dramatically. Ultimate is where the vast majority of the game's best rare items are obtainable, though rates vary drastically.

Anguish

Main article: Anguish

Anguish mode is an Ephinea-exclusive additional tier of difficulties that can be accessed once a character has reached Ultimate difficulty (level 80+). Monster behaviors remain unchanged from Ultimate mode, but receive stat increases based on the level of Anguish selected. In exchange for stronger monsters, certain boosts (e.g. EXP, drop rate, etc.) are applied while playing on Anguish mode. Further details can be viewed on the Anguish page.