New Game+

Ready for another run of Trails in the Sky SC? Learn how to best utilize New Game+ to carry over your progress, get powerful gear early, and tackle Nightmare difficulty with this expert guide.

So, you're thinking about diving back into Trails in the Sky SC for another playthrough with New Game+? Smart move! It's a fantastic way to experience the story again, maybe on a harder difficulty, or just to clean up anything you missed. Let's get you prepped so your next journey through Liberl is even smoother than the last.

First things first, if you're planning on replaying, do yourself a favor and dive into the game's folder. Find and run Config2_DX9.exe. Head over to the 'Display' tab, and about halfway down on the right, you'll see a 'Movies' option. Turn that off! Trust me, skipping those cutscenes will make subsequent playthroughs fly by much faster. It's a small tweak, but it makes a huge difference when you're trying to speedrun or just get back to the action.

Now, about starting the New Game+ itself: when you select 'Start' and choose your difficulty, the game will ask if you want to use 'SC Clear Data'. Say yes, and then pick the Clear Data file from your save files. This is where you decide what you want to carry over. You can choose to bring:

• Mira/Sepith: All your hard-earned currency and crafting materials.
• Items: Most items transfer, but not key items. This includes healing items, food, and ingredients. Just a heads-up, the special Dynatrad fish and the Master Fisher Card won't carry over, and neither will any Liberl Newspapers. Also, remember the '10 item limit' doesn't apply to healing items and food.
• Equipment: Weapons, armor, boots, accessories, and quartz all come with you. However, you can only carry over 10 of any single item type. So, if you had 30 T-Anklets from farming Shining Poms, you'll only start with 10. Sadly, any leftover ZFG from your previous run won't transfer either.
• Information: Your Monster Guide, Fishing Book, and Recipe Book progress will be carried over.
• Status: Your character levels, stats, and overall progress are preserved.

After selecting your SC Clear Data, you'll also be prompted to select your FC Clear Data again. Make sure you do this!

Once you're into the Prologue and reach Le Locle Lodge, head up to Estelle's room. You'll snag some goodies right away: your normal starting equipment and mira, a Zemurian Ore, and any weapons, armor, healing items, quartz, ingredients, and fish you had from your previous run. Later, when you head back downstairs and have that chat with Kurt about the new orbment device, that's when you'll get the FC Clear Data Save bonuses. It's just like starting a fresh New Game playthrough, so don't expect anything extra from Kurt this time around.

Keep in mind that you'll need to progress the story a bit to get your Monster Guide, Recipe Book, and Fishing Book back into your inventory. Just play until you reach the points where you'd normally acquire them.

Getting All Monster Guide Information (For Completionists!)

If you're aiming for 100% completion and want to fill out that Monster Guide, here's a crucial tip: equip the Heaven's Eye quartz on Estelle as soon as you gain control of her in the Prologue. Since she's in almost every battle, keeping it on her throughout the game is the smartest way to ensure you capture all the monster data. This is purely for completion's sake; there are no special achievements or bonuses for filling the guide.

Here's a rundown of missable monster entries you'll want to keep an eye out for:

• Sticky Slug and Ripple Frog: Get these unique entries during the full Tutorial sequence in the Prologue. Don't take the short version!
• Kurt: You can get his info in the Prologue. He drops the Heaven's Eye quartz, so make sure you get his full entry before that happens.
• Sasa Panda: This one appears rarely with the Roadrunner in Chapter One. If you've been following a guide, you might already have it since it drops a good weapon.
• Fly Skipper: In Chapter Two, this monster is called in by the Whale Frog (male) during the extermination request.
• Mueller: Make sure Joshua has his Information quartz equipped when facing Mueller in Chapter Five, and then win the fight! The other encounters in the Sky Bandit Stronghold are also exclusive, so grab their data then too.
• Photon Judges (x2): You'll find these in Chapter Seven, exclusively in monster chests within Esmelas and Amberl Towers.
• Steel Cougar: This one's wandering around the Jenis Royal Academy in Chapter Eight.
• Malga Mine Monsters: All monsters in Malga Mine are exclusive to Chapter Eight.
• Vogel 570, Port Seeker: In the Final Chapter, these appear wandering around on The Glorious.
• Spindoll: This monster appears in the Final Chapter as a Pale Apache transformation. Note that versions before the Final Chapter do not transform, so this entry is unique to the end game.

Advice for Your New Game+ Run

Alright, let's talk strategy to make this New Game+ run a breeze, especially if you're bumping up the difficulty:

• Cloak Quartz: Slot the Cloak quartz on someone as soon as you can. It's incredibly useful for survivability.
• S-Breaks: Don't forget to set everyone's S-Breaks to their best available options again.
• Early Game Powerhouses: Tita's Smoke Cannon and Olivier's Quick Draw 2 are absolute game-changers early on. Focus on boosting their STR, give them Gladiator Belts, and equip Strike 2/Death. Let them rip! If you're planning multiple NG+ runs, prioritizing their ultimate weapons will make things even easier.
• Chain Crafts: Use Chain Crafts liberally! They are especially effective on Nightmare difficulty and are a great way to conserve CP. Position your characters at the front of the Tactics formation so they can reach as many enemies as possible. Restore CP with sit-down meals whenever you can.
• Room-Wide Arts: Get those powerful end-game, room-wide arts on your characters. For Estelle, here are some top-tier options:
  • Geo Catastrophe: Requires Gold Gem, Septium Vein, Topaz Gem, Heaven's Eye. This is her hardest-hitting area-of-effect art and the second strongest overall in the game.
  • Grand Stream: Requires Gold Gem, Wind Gem, Wood Gem/Sleep 2, Septium Vein.
  • Abyss Fall: Requires Gold Gem, Onyx Gem, Wind Gem. While not as strong as Geo Catastrophe, no monster resists its time damage.
  • Lost Mobius: Requires Gold Gem, Wood Gem, Septium Vein, Ingenuity. This is actually the third strongest art in the game, hitting harder than Geo Catastrophe! No enemy resists space damage, though none are weak to it either. You can swap Septium Vein for Topaz Gem or a tier-two status ailment quartz to get Earth Wall, but you'll lose some water arts. Adding Sapphire Gem, Onyx Gem, and Cast 2 makes for a solid setup. If you're using this for monster info, remember you'll need to put Heaven's Eye on someone else.
  • Silver Thorn: Requires Gold Gem, Silver Gem, Yin-Yang.
• Agate's Might: For Chapters 1-3, Agate is a fantastic choice. Equip him with a Gladiator Belt and Gladiator Headband/Power Orb. His Dragon Dive art is devastating, especially during scripted fights and boss battles, even at 100 CP. Max out his STR and give him Strike 2/Death. Restore his CP with any remaining CP-restoring foods. If you're doing multiple NG+ runs, getting his ultimate weapon is highly recommended.

It's incredibly satisfying to breeze through areas you struggled with before, armed with the knowledge and power from your previous playthrough. Enjoy the ride!