Weapon attributes
Attributes are a set of five statistics unique to each weapon. The first four attributes – Native, A.Beast, Machine, and Dark – increase a weapon's minimum ATP when attacking an enemy of that type (with some exceptions).
The fifth attribute, Hit, is "hidden," only being listed on a weapon's attribute page if it is present on the equipped weapon or the one being viewed. Unlike the other four attributes, hit being shown as a percentage is misleading--hit increases the ATA of the weapon by an amount exactly equal to the percentage listed (ex. 10% hit is 10 ATA). As a result, it is more effective against every enemy, and often more valuable than the others.
Every weapon can have up to three attributes, with the following exceptions:
- Sealed weapons (and their unsealed counterparts): The kill counter required to track the unsealing of items such as
Sealed J-Sword and Lame d'Argent is stored as part of the item's hex code, and for weapons, this data is stored in the same location as the third attribute slot. The data for the kill counter remains even after the weapons are unsealed into Tsumikiri J-Sword and Excalibur, respectively. - ES Weapons: ES weapons cannot have attributes at all as the data for attributes is used to store an individual weapon's custom name.
No attribute on any weapon can exceed a value of 100.
Attributes on found weapons
- Main article: Weapon attribute drop tables
When a weapon drops, it can have up to three attributes (with the exceptions of Sealed J-Sword and Lame d'Argent, as mentioned above). For each possible attribute, the game rolls between 1 and 100, with the resulting number deciding which attribute the weapon gets. If the same attribute is rolled twice, the attribute is instead set to 'No Attribute.'
Each attribute, when rolled, has a specific pattern (see the main article for pattern tables) against which the numeric value for the given attribute is further rolled, based on the area the weapon dropped at. The server rolls between 1 and 10,000 against the selected pattern to decide what the value of the attribute will be.
- Example: For a Gladius dropped in Forest 2 in Ultimate difficulty, the first attribute is rolled against Pattern 2, the second against Pattern 1, and the third against Pattern 0. Pattern N means no attribute is rolled.
For Episode 1 only, parties with a section ID of Yellowboze have a slightly increased chance for an enemy attribute, the attribute and bonus depending on area and difficulty.
Attributes for untekked weapons can be further increased or decreased by up to 10% via Tekking them.
Adding attributes to weapons
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If the player brings Paganini the data from the terminal in Seabed during 
The West Tower quest, the "Enhance weapon's Photon" option will be available in Paganini's exchange in Gallon's Shop for the character that completes this sidequest (which can be completed on any difficulty).
The "Enhance weapon's Photon" option allows the player to increase attribute percentages on their weapons in exchange for set amounts of 
Photon Drops, at the following rates:
| Cost | Increase |
|---|---|
| Photon Drop x4 |
+1% |
| Photon Drop x20 |
+5% |
| Photon Sphere x1 |
+30% |
- Note: The Photon Sphere option cannot be used if the attribute to be increased is higher than 70%.
The following restrictions apply to adding attributes:
- A weapon cannot have more than three attributes
- Sealed weapons and their unsealed counterparts may not have more than two, including Hit%
- Attributes cannot exceed 100%
- Hit% cannot be added to a weapon
- ES Weapons cannot have attributes
To unlock this option, a character must have already collected The East Tower data for Paganini (refer to adding specials to ES weapons for directions), then follow these steps:
- Start the quest The West Tower
- Talk to Hopkins in the lab (he is in the same place you would find him in Gallon's Shop to access Paganini)
- Traverse the Seabed Upper levels until you find and access the terminal containing the Research Data (you will receive a Quest Board item)
- Return to the lab and talk to Hopkins before ending the quest
Note: Unlike The East Tower, there is no easy way to check through Hopkins if you have already completed The West Tower sidequest, as Hopkins in Gallon's Shop will say the same "My father is working on a huge project right now." line, both before completing the previous sidequest as well as after completing this one.
Adding Hit to enemy weapons
It is possible to add Hit % to enemy weapons (and only enemy weapons) despite the attribute not being eligible for increase through Paganini's Exchange in Gallon's Shop. To add hit % to enemy weapons, a character must speak with Dr. Montague in the episode 4 quest Claire's Deal 5 after unlocking the feature through a sidequest present in the government quest 9-5:The Chosen (1/2).
Once the sidequest is completed, speaking to Dr. Montague in Claire's Deal 5 with an enemy weapon in the inventory will have him offer to further enhance the weapon through a process requiring Photon Crystals. This process involves giving Dr. Montague an increasing number of Photon Crystals (starting with one) for a decreasing percentage chance (starting at 100%) of adding 10% more Hit to the weapon in question each time, to a maximum of 50.
| Exchanging Photon Crystals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Success Rate | Total Hit |
| 1 | 100% | 10 |
| 2 | 80% | 20 |
| 3 | 60% | 30 |
| 4 | 40% | 40 |
| 5 | 20% | 50 |
To unlock this option, the player must follow these steps:
- Start the quest 9-5:The Chosen (1/2)
- Proceed through the quest as normal until the large, circular crater room in Desert 1
- In this room, all enemies must be defeated within five minutes of entering the room
- If done successfully, a cutscene will play showing Dr. Montague appearing, who must be spoken to
- Proceed to the end of the quest as normal, and speak to Dr. Montague a second time in the last room before heading back to Pioneer 2
