Part 38: Post-Game 2 - The Force Metal Generator

Post-Game 2 - The Force Metal Generator



Now, you may have been wondering why I never really talked about the FMG, even though I unlocked it at the start of Chapter 5.

The reason is because I've barely touched the thing, which goes a long way to showing how useful it is. Since getting it, my only real uses of it were to craft some LE +500s to get Cinnamon out of Sunbursts' kill range against Rafflesian, and to make a bunch of Gain WE +10s near the end of Chapter 8. And the second use got rendered redundant five minutes later when shops started stocking them in Chapter 9. But, for the sake of completion, I'll go over everything that the FMG can make. I'll split them between FM that can be purchased in store, plus the cost for the component items compared to their shop price, FM that is FMG exclusive, and unrefinable FM.

Purchasable Force Metal

LE +100
Effect: Increase LE by 100.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 5
FME Cost: 100
Materials: Reboot, WE +5
Component Cost: 540z
Shop Availability: Chapter 3
Shop Cost: 300z
Notes: You can tell we're in for a fun time when the very first bit of Force Metal is cheaper to buy outright than it is to make.

LE +300
Effect: Increase LE by 300.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 500
Materials: Reboot, WE +5
Component Cost: 540z
Shop Availability: Chapter 5
Shop Cost: 1500z
Notes: No, those materials aren't a mistake, it uses the same items as LE +100.

LE +500
Effect: Increase LE by 500.
Erosion: 12
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: Fight 250 battles.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Backup, WE +10 x2
Component Cost: 5800z
Shop Availability: Chapter 8
Shop Cost: 4500z

WE +5
Effect: Increase initial WE by 5.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 5
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 50
Materials: Reboot, LE +100
Component Cost: 800z
Shop Availability: Chapter 3
Shop Cost: 80z

WE +10
Effect: Increase initial WE by 10.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 150
Materials: Reboot, LE +300
Component Cost: 2000z
Shop Availability: Chapter 6
Shop Cost: 400z

Gain WE +5
Effect: Increase WE Gain by 5.
Erosion: 10
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Play for 10 hours.
FME Cost: 1000
Materials: Backup, LE +100, WE +5
Component Cost: 5340z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 600z

Gain WE +10
Effect: Increase WE Gain by 10.
Erosion: 18
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Play for 15 hours.
FME Cost: 5000
Materials: Backup, LE +300, Gain WE +5
Component Cost: 7100z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 3000z

Power +1
Effect: Increase Power by 1.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 1
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 100
Materials: Boost Power, Speed +1
Component Cost: 320z
Shop Availability: Chapter 3
Shop Cost: 120z

Power +3
Effect: Increase Power by 3.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Deal 3000 damage in one turn.
FME Cost: 500
Materials: Boost Power, Speed +3
Component Cost: 800z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 600z

Power +5
Effect: Increase Power by 5.
Erosion: 12
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Deal 5000 damage in one turn.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Boost Power, Speed +5
Component Cost: 2000z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 1800z

Armor +1
Effect: Increase Armor by 1.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 1
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 60
Materials: Boost Armor, Shield +1
Component Cost: 280z
Shop Availability: Chapter 3
Shop Cost: 80z

Armor +3
Effect: Increase Armor by 3.
Erosion: 5
Level Requirement: 8
Recipe Unlock: Defeat 200 enemies.
FME Cost: 300
Materials: Boost Armor, Shield +3
Component Cost: 600z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 400z

Armor +5
Effect: Increase Armor by 5.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 16
Recipe Unlock: Defeat 400 enemies.
FME Cost: 1800
Materials: Boost Armor, Shield +5
Component Cost: 1400z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 1200z

Shield +1
Effect: Increase Shield by 1.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 1
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 60
Materials: Boost Shield, Armor +1
Component Cost: 280z
Shop Availability: Chapter 3
Shop Cost: 80z

Shield +3
Effect: Increase Shield by 3.
Erosion: 5
Level Requirement: 8
Recipe Unlock: Defeat 30 enemy types (excluding bosses).
FME Cost: 300
Materials: Boost Shield, Armor +3
Component Cost: 600z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 400z

Shield +5
Effect: Increase Shield by 5.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 16
Recipe Unlock: Defeat 40 enemy types (excluding bosses).
FME Cost: 1800
Materials: Boost Shield, Armor +5
Component Cost: 1400z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 1200z

Speed +1
Effect: Increase Speed by 1.
Erosion:3
Level Requirement: 1
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 100
Materials: Boost Speed, Power +1
Component Cost: 320z
Shop Availability: Chapter 3
Shop Cost: 120z

Speed +3
Effect: Increase Speed by 3.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 15 Main Weapons.
FME Cost: 500
Materials: Boost Speed, Power +3
Component Cost: 800z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 600z

Speed +5
Effect: Increase Speed by 5.
Erosion: 12
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 30 Main Weapons.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Boost Speed, Power +5
Component Cost: 2000z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 1800z

Protect +1
Effect: Increase Armor and Shield by 1.
Erosion: 4
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 80
Materials: Boost Armor, Boost Shield, Armor +1, Shield +1
Component Cost: 560z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 160z

Protect +3
Effect: Increase Armor and Shield by 3.
Erosion: 10
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Deal 60 hits in a single Final Strike.
FME Cost: 400
Materials: Boost Armor, Boost Shield, Armor +3, Shield +3
Component Cost: 1200z
Shop Availability: Chapter 5
Shop Cost: 800z

Protect +5
Effect: Increase Armor and Shield by 5.
Erosion: 16
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Deal 100 hits in a single Final Strike.
FME Cost: 2400
Materials: Boost Armor, Boost Shield, Armor +5, Shield +5
Component Cost: 2800z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 2400z

Full Specs +1
Effect: Increase all stats by 1.
Erosion: 6
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: Deal 7500 damage in a single Final Strike.
FME Cost: 300
Materials: Reboot, Power +1, Speed +1, Protect +1
Component Cost: 900z
Shop Availability: Chapter 5
Shop Cost: 200z

Full Specs +3
Effect: Increase all stats by 3.
Erosion: 15
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Deal 15000 damage in a single Final Strike.
FME Cost: 1500
Materials: Reboot, Power +3, Speed +3, Protect +3
Component Cost: 2500z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 1000z

Assassin Mind
Effect: Increase critical rate by 10.
Erosion: 15
Level Requirement: 13
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 1000
Materials: Boost Power x3, Eagle Eye
Component Cost: 880z
Shop Availability: Secret Shop
Shop Cost: 700z

Eagle Eye
Effect: Increase hit chance by 10.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 1000
Materials: Boost Speed x3, Assassin Mind
Component Cost: 1300z
Shop Availability: Secret Shop
Shop Cost: 280z

Light as a Feather
Effect: Increase dodge chance by 5%.
Erosion: 6
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Boost Speed, Build Speed, Speed +1
Component Cost: 320z, plus a 1% drop.
Shop Availability: Secret Shop
Shop Cost: 800z

Fire Guard
Effect: Increase Fire resistance by one step.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 5
Recipe Unlock: A party member suffers a Fire attack.
FME Cost: 300
Materials: Mega Fire x3, Protect +1
Component Cost: 640z
Shop Availability: Chapter 5
Shop Cost: 500z

Fire Resist
Effect: Increase Fire resistance by two steps.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: Cinnamon suffers a Fire attack.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Ultra Fire x3, Protect +3
Component Cost: 2600z
Shop Availability: Chapter 7
Shop Cost: 2000z

Water Guard
Effect: Increase Water resistance by one step.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 5
Recipe Unlock: A party member suffers a Water attack.
FME Cost: 300
Materials: Mega Blizzard x3, Protect +1
Component Cost: 640z
Shop Availability: Chapter 3
Shop Cost: 500z

Water Resist
Effect: Increase Water resistance by two steps.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: Cinnamon suffers a Water attack.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Ultra Blizzard x3, Protect +3
Component Cost: 2600z
Shop Availability: Chapter 8
Shop Cost: 2000z

Thunder Guard
Effect: Increase Thunder resistance by one step.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 5
Recipe Unlock: A party member suffers a Thunder attack.
FME Cost: 300
Materials: Mega Thunder x3, Protect +1
Component Cost: 640z
Shop Availability: Chapter 2
Shop Cost: 500z

Thunder Resist
Effect: Increase Thunder resistance by two steps.
Erosion: 8
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: Cinnamon suffers a Thunder attack.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Ultra Thunder x3, Protect +3
Component Cost: 2600z
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 2000z

Virus Protection
Effect: Increases resistance to Virus.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 3
Recipe Unlock: A party member resists Virus.
FME Cost: 80
Materials: Vaccine Program x3, LE +100
Component Cost: 540z
Shop Availability: Chapter 2
Shop Cost: 80z

Bind Protection
Effect: Increases resistance to Bind.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 3
Recipe Unlock: A party member resists Bind.
FME Cost: 80
Materials: Anti-lock x3, LE +100
Component Cost: 540z
Shop Availability: Chapter 2
Shop Cost: 60z

Berserk Protection
Effect: Increases resistance to Berserk.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 3
Recipe Unlock: A party member resists Berserk.
FME Cost: 80
Materials: Cooler x3, LE +100
Component Cost: 540z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 60z

Blind Protection
Effect: Increases resistance to Blind.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 3
Recipe Unlock: A party member resists Blind.
FME Cost: 80
Materials: Clear Vision x3, LE +100
Component Cost: 540z
Shop Availability: Chapter 4
Shop Cost: 80z

Resist
Effect: Increases debuff resistance by 10%
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Default
FME Cost: 1000
Materials: Rust Missile, Drill Missile, Melt Missile, Slime Missile
Component Cost: 10000z
Shop Availability: Chapter 7
Shop Cost: 600z
Notes: Ahahahahahahahahahaha it costs 16 times more to make than it does to buy!

Minus Metal -10
Effect: Reduces Erosion by 10 points.
Erosion: -10
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 10 types of Force Metal.
FME Cost: 1000
Materials: Self-Repair, Unlock Limiter
Component Cost: N/A
Shop Availability: Chapter 7
Shop Cost: 400z

Minus Metal -20
Effect: Reduces Erosion by 20 points.
Erosion: -20
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 20 types of Force Metal.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Self-Repair x2, Unlock Limiter
Component Cost: N/A
Shop Availability: Chapter 9
Shop Cost: 2000z

Decoy
Effect: Revives user with 25% LE on death. Decoy is consumed on use.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 2
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 30 figures.
FME Cost: 500
Materials: Reboot, Backup
Component Cost: 5500z
Shop Availability: Chapter 2
Shop Cost: 1000z
Notes: Here, pay five times as much for something you could buy since the second merchant of the game.

All of these are useless to make, as all but one cost more to get the materials for compared to just buying outright, and tend to either show up in stores when you might need them, like the elemental Resists, or show up before you can hit the level cap to make them, like Gain WE +10. And the ones you can make far before they show up in stores are the stat boosters, which just aren't worth a slot the majority of the time.

FMG Exclusive Force Metal

LE +1000
Effect: Increases LE by 1000.
Erosion: 20
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Fight 500 battles.
FME Cost: 30000
Materials: Backup, Build LE, Gain WE +10
Component Cost: 8000z, plus a 1% drop.
Note: By this point, LE boosts are only important if you ever fall out of Hyper Mode. I do not fall out of Hyper Mode.

Gain WE +25
Effect: Increases WE Gain by 25 points.
Erosion: 40
Level Requirement: 40
Recipe Unlock: Play for 20 hours.
FME Cost: 50000
Materials: Backup, Build WE, Gain WE +10, LE +1000
Component Cost: 8000z, plus a 1% drop, plus another 8000z and a 1% drop for the LE +1000.
Note: Probably the best generic Force Metal in the game, but I beat the game at level 37. By the time you get it, there isn't much left to use it on. What's worse is the sky high FME cost. Over the course of the entire game I've obtained about 250K FME, so between the 50K for this and the 30K for the component LE +1000, I can make a grand total of 3. And unlike zenny, there's no easy area that's made for FME grinding, so building up a stockpile has to be done the hard way.

Power +10
Effect: Increases Power by 10.
Erosion: 20
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Inflict 10000 damage in one turn.
FME Cost: 30000
Materials: Boost Power, Build Speed, Speed +5
Component Cost: 1800z, plus a 1% drop

Armor +10
Effect: Increases Armor by 10.
Erosion: 15
Level Requirement: 24
Recipe Unlock: Defeat 600 enemies.
FME Cost: 18000
Materials: Boost Armor, Build Shield, Shield +5
Component Cost: 1200z, plus a 1% drop

Shield +10
Effect: Increases Shield by 10.
Erosion: 15
Level Requirement: 24
Recipe Unlock: Defeat 50 enemies (excluding bosses).
FME Cost: 18000
Materials: Boost Shield, Build Armor, Armor +5
Component Cost: 1200z, plus a 1% drop

Speed +10
Effect: Increases Speed by 10.
Erosion: 20
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 70 Main Weapons.
FME Cost: 30000
Materials: Boost Speed, Build Power, Power +5
Component Cost: 1800z, plus a 1% drop

Protect +10
Effect: Increase Armor and Shield by 10.
Erosion: 30
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Deal 180 hits in a single Final Strike.
FME Cost: 24000
Materials: Boost Armor, Boost Shield, Armor +10, Shield +10
Component Cost: 400z, plus 2400z and two 1% drops for the Armor +10 and Shield +10.

Full Specs +5
Effect: Increase all stats by 5.
Erosion: 24
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Deal 100000 damage in a single Final Strike.
FME Cost: 9000
Materials: Backup, Power +5, Speed +5, Protect +5
Component Cost: 11000z

Full Specs +10
Effect: Increase all stats by 10.
Erosion: 40
Level Requirement: 40
Recipe Unlock: Inflict 200000 damage in a single Final Strike
FME Cost: 90000
Materials: Backup, Power +10, Speed +10, Protect +10
Component Cost: 5000z, plus 6400z and four 1% drops for the components.
Notes: This covers all the stat boosters. At this point in the game, a measly 10 points on Power, Armor, and Shield means nothing. Speed can be somewhat worthwhile, as Speed caps at 200 instead of 999, effectively making a Speed +10 worth as much as 50 points in other stats. Even then, just make a Speed +10 instead of a Full Specs, as it has as much Erosion as a Gain WE +25 and needs almost twice as much FME.

Virus Block
Effect: User is immune to Virus.
Erosion: 5
Level Requirement: 12
Recipe Unlock: A party member is hit with Virus.
FME Cost: 400
Materials: Virus Missile, LE +300
Component Cost: 1500z and a 5% drop.

Bind Block
Effect: User is immune to Bind
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 12
Recipe Unlock: A party member is hit with Bind.
FME Cost: 400
Materials: Tractor Net, LE +300
Component Cost: 1500z and a 5% drop.

Freeze Protection
Effect: Increases resistance to Freeze.
Erosion: 1
Level Requirement: 3
Recipe Unlock: A party member resists Freeze.
FME Cost: 80
Materials: Warm-up x3, LE +100
Component Cost: 540z

Freeze Block
Effect: User is immune to Freeze.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 12
Recipe Unlock: A party member is hit with Freeze.
FME Cost: 400
Materials: Cryogenic, LE +300
Component Cost: 1500z and a 5% drop.

Berserk Block
Effect: User is immune to Berserk.
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 12
Recipe Unlock: A party member is hit with Berserk.
FME Cost: 400
Materials: Cracker, LE +300
Component Cost: 1500z and a 5% drop.

Blind Block
Effect: User is immune to Blind
Erosion: 3
Level Requirement: 12
Recipe Unlock: A party member is hit with Blind.
FME Cost: 400
Materials: Smoke Missile, LE +300
Component Cost: 1500z and a 5% drop.

DOA Protection
Effect: Increases resistance to DOA.
Erosion: 2
Level Requirement: 5
Recipe Unlock: A party member resists DOA.
FME Cost: 10
Materials: Justice Missile, LE +100
Component Cost: 2300z

DOA Block
Effect: User is immune to DOA.
Erosion: 5
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: A party member is hit with Bind.
FME Cost: 500
Materials: DOA Protection x3, LE +300
Component Cost: 1500z, plus 6900z for the DOA Protections

Firewall
Effect: Increases resistance to all status effects.
Erosion: 15
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Unlock all 6 Status Block FM Recipes.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Liquid Suffocation, Chaff, Hacking
Component Cost: 3x 15-25% drops.
Notes: All of this is well and good, a nice big spawling list of status resists, but there's just one small problem:

Hyper Mode is immune to all effects, and cures any the user already has. You'll also have a chance to get into Hyper before any enemy can try and tag you with debilitating ailments 99% of the time, unless you get a back attack.

Useless, all of them.

Super Resist
Effect: Debuff resistance increased by 30%.
Erosion: 15
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: The party has been hit with debuffs 30 times.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Resist x2, Protect +3
Component Cost: 2000z
Notes: Everything I said about the status resist series, but now apply it to something that regular enemies almost never use. Even after beating the game, I still don't have the recipe unlocked.

Auto Sub Tank
Effect: Uses Life Gain 25 one time per battle if user's LE drops below 25%.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Sub Tank capacity exceeds 600%.
FME Cost: 1500
Materials: Build LE, LE +300, Vengeful Counter
Component Cost: 1500z, 1% drop, steal from a rare enemy.
Note: Useful if you're getting worn down over time, but it'll be more energy efficient to toss out larger heals if you're that low.

Auto Recover
Effect: Revives KO'd user at end of round with 25% LE.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Sub Tank capacity exceeds 800%.
FME Cost: 500
Materials: Reboot, Bait
Component Cost: 5000z and a 1% drop.
Notes: The wording on this is strange. If it works like a time delayed Decoy then it might be useful. If it revives people at the end of combat with 25% (they normally come back with 1 LE), utter trash. You already have to heal them anyways, might as well just use a Life Gain 100 and save a slot. Also, why the hell does the recipe that needs more Tank capacity have lower requirements than the one that came before it?

Auto Barrier
Effect: 10% to raise a barrier when attacked.
Erosion: 10
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Kill 3 enemies with counters.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Build Armor, Build Shield, Protect +3
Component Cost: 1500z and two 1% drops.
Notes: Barriers halve damage, so this makes you take effectively 5% less damage. Skip.

ZERO Shift
Effect: Damage under (level x5) is reduced to 0. (Zero only)
Erosion: 13
Level Requirement: 28
Recipe Unlock: Input 16 commands during Zero's Command Arts.
FME Cost: 7000
Materials: Liquid Suffocation, Auto Barrier, Protect +3
Component Cost: 1500z, a 25% drop, plus the materials for Auto Barrier.
Notes: Behold, the worst Force Metal in the game. If made at the earliest possible level, Zero can negate a whopping 140 damage, going up to an utterly titanic 495 if you grind all the way to 99. This is not a game where you'll get to 99 over the natural course of gameplay. And this 'negates' damage rather than reduces, so the moment Zero takes one point above his current limit he'll take the full hit. Skip.

Parry Impact
Effect: Each hit from an enemy attack gives 1 WE.
Erosion: 4
Level Requirement: 17
Recipe Unlock: Succeed at stealing 50 times.
FME Cost: 4000
Materials: Build WE, WE +5, Item Capture
Component Cost: 40z plus two rare drops.
Notes: The highest enemy hit count in the game is 9 hits, and that belongs to the bonus boss. Just use a Gain WE+ instead and save yourself an Item Capture. Hell, a WE +10 would probably be more impactful if a boss spreads his attacks around. Skip.

FS Canceller
Effect: Final Strikes cannot be used.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 7
Recipe Unlock: Use 50 Final Strikes
FME Cost: 300
Materials: Justice Missile, Eagle Eye
Component Cost: 2280z
Notes: You know what else stops you from using Final Strikes? The B button. Only more useful than ZERO Shift because you need one of these to make End to All.

End to All
Effect: User's attacks are unable to kill.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 19
Recipe Unlock: Use 100 Final Strikes.
FME Cost: 10000
Materials: FS Canceller, Justice Missile, Hawkeye
Component Cost: 2000z, 3% drop, 2280z for the FS Canceller.
Notes: Good for chasing the Final Strike damage/hit count recipe unlocks, but sorta eh otherwise.

Learning Aid
Effect: Increases EXP gain by 5%.
Erosion: 10
Level Requirement: 16
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 70000 EXP across the entire party.
FME Cost: 5000
Materials: Get EXP +, Item Capture
Component Cost: 7000z and an extremely rare drop.
Notes: Could be useful if you crammed X, Axl, and Cinnamon with them for a 55% boost, but needing an Item Capture for each one just makes it impractical.

Exodus
Effect: Fleeing always works.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 2
Recipe Unlock: Fail to flee once.
FME Cost: 100
Materials: Boost Speed x9
Component Cost: 1800z
Notes: If you couldn't be bothered to steal one in Chapter 4, at least it doesn't take much to make your own.

Attractor
Effect: Doubles enemy encounter rate.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 4
Recipe Unlock: Fight 30 consecutive battles without saving.
FME Cost: 100
Materials: Exodus x2
Component Cost: 3600z for the materials.
Notes: By the end of the game I was running from most fights just to save time. Skip.

Caution
Effect: Halves enemy encounter rate.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 30
Recipe Unlock: Flee from fights 10 times.
FME Cost: 2000
Materials: Neutralizer -10, Attractor
Component Cost: 900z, plus 3600z for Attractor materials.
Notes: Handy, if you didn't have to wait till Chapter 9 to hit the level requirement.

Good Luck
Effect: Increases drop rates by 3%.
Erosion: 7
Level Requirement: 10
Recipe Unlock: Open 100 item crystals.
FME Cost: 700
Materials: Gain Hyper, Item Capture
Component Cost: 1% drop and an extremely rare drop.
Notes: The only good Item Capture recipe. Just one of these quadruples the odds of you getting any of those 1% drop materials, and with two fixed Item Captures and a Good Luck in the game, you can jack that up to 10% total. Burn your Item Captures on these and let Marino do the stealing.

Cutting Edge
Effect: User gets first strike.
Erosion: 5
Level Requirement: 20
Recipe Unlock: Defeat a Mettaur Gigant.
FME Cost: 3000
Materials: Caution, Good Luck
Component Cost: 4500z to make a Caution, rare drops for a Good Luck.
Notes: The only way to actually hit a Metaroid, but not worth burning a Good Luck for.

Initiative
Effect: Doubles chance of a preemptive attack.
Erosion: 0
Level Requirement: 21
Recipe Unlock: Get hit by 30 enemy blitzkriegs.
FME Cost: 500
Materials: Caution, Cutting Edge
Component Cost: 4500z, plus 4500z and two rare drops for the Cutting Edge.
Notes: Again, useful, but not as useful as a Good Luck.

Self-Repair
Effect: Recover 1% LE every turn while in the back row.
Erosion: 5
Level Requirement: 15
Recipe Unlock: Defeat 15 types of Preon enemies.
FME Cost: 8000
Materials: Build LE, LE +300, Power Charge
Component Cost: 1500z, two rare drops.
Notes: 1%? 1%? If a boss fight goes over 10 turns I'm either fooling around or stalling to get attack footage. If you use it when dungeon crawling for free heals, why not use Cinnamon instead and heal them to full in one round? Skip.

Lucky Girl
Effect: Increases Zenny gained in battle by 10% (Cinnamon only)
Erosion: 5
Level Requirement: 35
Recipe Unlock: Create 30 kinds of Force Metal with the FMG.
FME Cost: 10000
Materials: Good Luck, Get FME+
Component Cost: 7000z, two rare drops.
Notes: See, while this could have been handy if it wasn't for the Good Luck, the level requirement means that you'll unlock it in Chapter 10, and by that point you're past any good shops. It isn't even useful in postgame, as nothing new gets added to shops, and you could always just hit up the Gimialla secret area for cash instead. Skip.

Monopoly
Effect: All EXP goes to a single character.
Erosion: 7
Level Requirement: 35
Recipe Unlock: Obtain 250000 EXP across the entire party.
FME Cost: 99999
Materials: Learning Aid, Cutting Edge, Get EXP +
Component Cost: 7000z, two god damn Item Captures.
Notes: Hey, did you know EXP in this game is split evenly across the party? Because the only time you could even possibly notice is if you go to an earlier dungeon with a full party, and by that point EXP requirements have grown so much that you'd never actually tell. Useful if you have a particular end team you want to level to 99, but nothing in the game needs that kind of firepower, so you'd be grinding for the sake of grinding. And, seriously, two Item Captures are you out of your mind.

30+ Force Metal that can't be bought (although a handful can be obtained from drops or steals). Of them, I'd only call Gain WE +25 and Good Luck genuinely great, with End to All, Exodus, and Caution being merely good. Most of them are brought down by punishingly rare drops or really bad scaling.

Unrefinable Force Metal

Reverse Fire
Effect: Absorbs Fire damage.
Erosion: 16
Obtained: Ulfat Factory Deployments.

Reverse Water
Effect: Absorbs Water damage.
Erosion: 16
Obtained: Melda Ore Plant Deployments.

Reverse Thunder
Effect: Absorbs Thunder damage.
Erosion: 16
Obtained: Gimialla Mines Deployments.
Notes: Want to shut down an elemental boss? Combine one of these with Bait.

Block All
Effect: Immunity to all status effects.
Erosion: 25
Obtained: Vanallia Desert Deployments.
Notes: This does the exact same thing as Hyper Mode, but costs 25 Erosion to do.

Infinite Resist
Effect: Immunity to stat debuffs.
Erosion: 25
Obtained: Tianna Camp Deployments, Gimialla Mines trading chain.
Notes: Like Block All, but even more niche.

Analyzer
Effect: Enables the Analyze command.
Erosion: 0
Obtained: 1000z in store, starting in Chapter 2.
Notes: Grab one, slap it on someone, never take it off.

Neutralizer -10/-20/-30
Effect: Reduces Erosion by 10%/20%/30%.
Erosion: -10%/-20%/-30%
Obtained: Secret Item Shop, for 900z/2700z/8100z.
Notes: Grab a full stack of each the moment you have the cash. These take a lot of bite out of heftier bits of FM.

X Heart
Effect: Revive from KO once per battle with 10% LE. (X only)
Erosion: 0
Obtained: Chapter 1
Notes: The first bit of Force Metal in the game. Revives with less LE than a Decoy, but is reusable. Still wondering why a Preon had this, though.

Bluff
Effect: Evades one attack per battle. (Spider only)
Erosion: 0
Obtained: Spider's initial equipment.
Notes: Worth keeping on at all times just to save on some incoming damage. Shame it becomes unusable after Chapter 6.

Massimo Plus
Effect: All stats +1, +25% counter chance. (Massimo only)
Erosion: 10
Obtained: Massimo's initial equipment.
Notes: Good when you get it, but quickly loses effectiveness when all your damage comes from ATs.

Fat Slicer
Effect: Evasion +10%. (Marino only)
Erosion: 7
Obtained: Marino's initial equipment.
Notes: Handy at the start to compensate for her lack of defenses. Becomes useless the moment Quicksilver boosts her speed to 200 and nothing else is allowed to move.

SFM fragment α
Effect: WE Gain increased by 50%, 10% LE regen.
Erosion: 99
Obtained: Great Redips, first phase.
Notes: With 75% base WE gain, hitting 100% per turn becomes a snap. The LE regen is a cherry on top.

SFM fragment β
Effect: Power/Armor/Shield +100, Speed +20
Erosion: 99
Obtained: Great Redips, second phase
Notes: A bit of a trap option compared to α, honestly. Sure, the stat boosts blow Full Specs out of the water, but having to invest 2 or 3 Neutralizers to get your Erosion down leaves no room for any form of Gain WE, when ATs are the majority of your damage anyways. I still use it, mind, I just use it for a laugh rather than any serious use.

Between extremely high FME costs, oodles and oodles of 1% drops, and the hell that is Item Capture farming, you can easily see why I never really bothered with the Generator. But with all that out of the way...





Let's see what's on the other side of this door, shall we?

Next time: