Part 158: Common Passives

Game Mechanics: Common Passives

There are quite a few passive skills available to multiple classes in EO2U that give fairly minor but still nice bonuses. The rule of thumb with common passives (and passives in general), however, is to not invest in them early on unless they are a prerequisite for a skill that you want to take. Investing skill points in active skills will pretty much always give much better results than investing in passives. Once you have every active skill that you want out of a class, that's generally a good time to start investing more into passives.

Note that for a bunch of the common passives, there's no definite numeric data available, so you'll have to just make do with a description of what the passives do.

HP Up / TP Up
Available on: All classes



Increases the user's maximum HP or TP by a percentage of their maximum HP or TP before the bonus is applied.

There's a lot of classes that benefit from having more TP, so TP Up is a pretty safe investment in the late game and postgame. HP Up is a bit more situational; most of the front line classes benefit from it, but they'll probably want passives that give damage before HP Up. The only class I can think of that'd want HP Up really soon after they get all their active skills are Beasts, maybe Protectors if you're comboing them with a Survivalist using Scapegoat.


Phys ATK Up / Elem ATK Up
Phys ATK Up available on: Landsknecht, Dark Hunter, Medic, Ronin, Gunner, War Magus, Beast, Highlander, Fafnir
Elem ATK Up available on: Alchemist, Fafnir



Increases the user's Cut/Stab/Bash damage or Fire/Ice/Volt damage. Elem ATK Up does not give a bonus to untyped damage. If the attack used is a composite Physical+Elemental attack, whatever part of the composite type would deal more damage is used, and the appropriate passive is applied.

The ATK Up passives are pretty safe investments once you have all of the skills and non-common passives you want on a damage dealer. For Fafnir, given that he gets access to both, I'd personally prioritize Elem ATK Up.

Also, yes, that's not a typo, Medics get Phys ATK Up.


Phys DEF Up / Elem DEF Up
Phys DEF Up available on: Landsknecht, Protector, Beast, Highlander
Elem DEF Up available on: Protector, Medic, Alchemist



Decreases the amount of Cut/Stab/Bash or Fire/Ice/Volt damage the user takes. Elem DEF Up does not reduce untyped damage.

Beasts greatly benefit from both of these passives; if you can get a high-level Elem DEF Up Grimoire, you'd do very well to put it on a Beast. Aside from that, Phys DEF Up is a decent investment once you have all of a front line damage class's active skills and damage-boosting passives. Elem DEF Up is a shaky investment on Medics and Alchemists; their already high TEC stats give them good enough defense to elemental attacks.


Curb ATK Up
Available on: Survivalist, Dark Hunter, Hexer



Increases the user's chance at inflicting status ailments or binds. The increase is based on a multiplier applied to the base chance.

Curb ATK Up is a good investment on Survivalists and Hexers, and if you're running them without any kind of disabling support, Dark Hunters. A 25% bonus at 10 and 35% at 20 is a pretty considerable increase for most disabling skills.


Curb DEF Up
Available on: Hexer, War Magus, Sovereign



Decreases the chance that the user will be inflicted with status ailments or binds.

Curb DEF Up isn't that great of an investment on Hexers or Sovereigns, but on War Magi and a lot of classes it's not innate to (namely Protectors, Medics, and Beasts), it's a really great passive that can keep your key supports from being disabled at terrible times.


Speed Up
Available on: Survivalist, Troubador



Increases the user's action speed, non-base accuracy, and evasion.

Survivalists need Speed Up to unlock not only a few useful support skills, but Hazy Arrow, their best damage skill, as well. The evasion boost helps when using a Survivalist as a dodge tank with Chain Dance, as well. Troubadors, on the other hand, are already fast enough with higher levels of Song Mastery, and Speed Up only unlocks field skills of dubious use for them.


Take / Chop / Mine
Take available on: Medic, Troubador, Gunner, Sovereign
Chop available on: Dark Hunter, Alchemist, Hexer, War Magus
Mine available on: Landsknecht, Protector, Ronin, Highlander, Fafnir



Gives the user a chance to find extra materials from a particular type of material gathering point. Higher levels increase both the amount of materials the user can find, and the chance of finding uncommon and rare materials.

Don't invest in these. Just make a separate gathering party of Survivalists or Beasts instead.


Natural Instinct
Available on: Survivalist, Beast



Gives the user a chance to find extra materials from all types of material gathering points.

Don't invest in these on your actual combat Survivalist and Beast. Just level it up on your gathering party.