Star Ocean The Second Story R offers players many different ways of cutting down on grinding and making leveling up much easier. While there is some give and take, the Train specialty is one of the easiest ways of increasing how much XP is earned from battles.
It’s best to unlock this Specialty on every character as early into the game as possible to maximize the bonus XP it provides and quickly have all party members high above the recommended level for any section of the game.
How To Unlock The Train Specialty
Train is unlocked by upgrading three different skills. The three skills are Determination, Resilience, and Effort, with the Train level being the average of the three. All three skills will need to be fully maxed out to reach Train level 10. By leveling up Train further, the percentage of XP will increase while the stats negation will also increase.
How To Use Train
Train can only be used on characters who have unlocked the Specialty, making it important to unlock it on every character to keep the party’s levels closer together. When active, this Specialty will lower the overall stats of the character but increase their earned XP by a percentage based on the Train specialties’ level. While the lower stats may seem like a bad trade, the difference quickly becomes unnoticeable by using this Specialty to level up way beyond the recommended level for a fight. I’ve gone through almost the entire game with “Train” active the entire time and have only ever felt overpowered due to the party’s higher levels.
To activate Train, head into the IC/Speciality menu and scroll down to Train. Selecting this option will open up the Train menu and list all the characters who have Train and can activate it on any character. Train can be activated independently for each character, letting some characters focus on getting XP while others maintain their usual stats. There is also the option to activate or deactivate all character’s “Train” Specialty to keep everyone equal in what they’re focusing on.