Reel Checks

While adventuring, you will encounter many Reel Checks that determine the success and failure of your actions. The nodes on the reels are not randomized, but rather taken from one of twenty different unique patterns, which correspond to the Reel's difficulty. Each pattern contains 32 nodes that will loop in the same order repeatedly. Which of the twenty difficulties is used for a Reel Check is determined based on the level of the character's Skill Panels or Levels compared to the difficulty level of the hazard or objective, depending on what kind of action is being checked.

Because Reel Checks use the same patterns and difficulty levels can be calculated ahead of time, it's possible to both predict which patterns will be possible and to plan when to stop the reel for a maximum chance of success before the reel even appears. Because of the Slip effect, the exact node the reel lands on is somewhat randomized, but you still will have at least a 50% chance of success if you stop the reel over a success node. In most cases, you can aim for a string of nodes to guarantee your success is at least 70-80%, or even 90-100% on the easiest reel patterns. It's also possible on a majority of the patterns to reduce your chance of a critical failure (bomb) to 0%.

This means, contrary to popular belief, the success rate with a Reel Check is mostly based upon the player's decisions and party's Skill Panels and Levels as well as the player's skill at timing the reel. With understanding of the reel, random chance is the smallest factor in the outcome of success. When performed properly, you are always guaranteed at least a 50% chance of success on even the most difficult reels.

North American European	Japanese Korean	Meaning
		Success
		Failure
		Critical Failure

Determining Difficulty Level

Except in the cases of breaking open chests, defusing magic locks, and using Quick-Fix, the difficulty of any Reel Check on the Adventure Map is determined with a single formula:

(TargetLevel / 10) - (SkillPanelLevel * 2) + 11 + Random1

Results are always rounded down. TargetLevel refers to the level of the target or obstacle. If there is no particular target (such as while using Aura in the Japanese version of the game), this value is 0. SkillPanelLevel refers to the level of the character's Skill Panel that was used to initiate the action. If the reel is not the result of using a Skill from a Skill Panel, this value is 0. Random1 is an additional 1 level that is added 50% of the time.

There are two modifications to this rule. When evading a trap without the Aura Skill active, the difficulty level is increased by 1 after the calculation. When using Defuse or Locksmith on treasure chests' traps or locks that have been identified by Sharpeye, the difficulty level is decreased by 3 after the calculation.

The difficulty level for Quick-Fix is simply:

10 - QuickFixLevel

Where QuickFixLevel refers to the highest level of Quick-Fix Skill Panel among the party. This means the difficulty of Quick Fix will always be between 5 and 9.

Breaking Open Chests

The difficulty of the Reel Check for breaking open treasure chests with Martial Arts or Weapon Abilities is different than the standard formula. There is a different formula used for each type of Martial Arts as well as a different formula for Weapon Arts. The Weapon Arts formula uses a different Ability Level based on the Weapon Ability used. The formulae used are as follows:

Punch	(Strength + Skill) / 40 + 1
Kick	(Strength + Endurance) / 40 + 1
Throw	(Skill + Endurance) / 40 + 1
Weapon	(Attack + Ability) / 25 + 1

Results are always rounded down. Strength, Skill, and Endurance refer to the current respective Ability Level of the character using the Martial Arts to break open the chest. For weapons, Attack refers to the used weapon's Attack Rating, while Ability refers to the character's respective Ability Level based on which Weapon Ability was used. Each Weapon Ability has a certain Ability Level that is used to determine the difficulty of the Reel Check as per the following table:

	Strength	Skill	Magic	Endurance	Spirit
Dagger Abilities	-	Quick Thrust Trick Shots Stunner	-	Speedy Bleedy	Knife Throw
Sword Abilities	Cross Slash Stardust Blast	Multi Blade	-	Rear Blade Slash	-
Axe Abilities	Woodchopper Hammer Bash	Time Lapse	-	-	Tomahawk
Staff Abilities	Slam Bone Crusher Coma Dose	Multi Hit	Earth Dragon	Roundhouse	-
Spear Abilities	Javelin	Flash Pierce Grasshopper Multi Poke	-	Charge	Aim
Bow Abilities	Multi Shot Power Shot	Quickshot	-	-	Warning Shot Random Arrowshot Sniper Shot
Gun Abilities	-	-	-	-	Shoot

Defusing Magic Locks

The formulae used to determine the difficulty of Reel Checks for defusing magic locks on treasure chests is also different from the standard. Which formula is used is based on the Element that the Magic Art being used to defuse the magic lock belongs to. The formulae used are as follows:

Fire Arts	(Magic + Fire) / 20 + 1
Earth Arts	(Magic + Earth) / 20 + 1
Water Arts	(Magic + Water) / 20 + 1
Wood Arts	(Magic + Wood) / 20 + 1
Forbidden Arts	(Magic + Fire + Earth + Metal + Water + Wood) / 40 + 1

Results are always rounded down. In the above formulae, Magic refers to the Magic Level of the character attempting to defuse the lock, while Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood refer to the Elemental Levels of the character attempting to defuse the lock.

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Reel Patterns

After using one of the formulae above to determine the difficulty of the Reel Check, the Reel Check will follow one of the set patterns below based on the chosen difficulty. Each pattern repeats the same 32 nodes in the same order.

Difficulty Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

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Reel Slip & Timing

When you press the Accept/Select button to stop the reel, there is a 50% chance that the reel will accurately stop on the node it was on when you pressed the button. The other 50% of the time, the reel will "slip" to one of the next five nodes on the reel, with an even chance of landing on any of the five. This means when you stop the reel, you have a 50% chance of hitting the first node where you stopped the reel, and a 10% chance of hitting each of the next five nodes after that.

Because of this behavior, it is a good idea to attempt to time the stop so that you stop over a "window" of six nodes so that you either maximize the chance of getting a success (green orb) or minimize the chance of getting a critical failure (bomb). To decide which is preferable, think about the consequence of a critical failure versus a normal failure (cross).

Reel Checks with a difficulty of 1 through 10 always start with a success node and have several success nodes in the first six nodes. If you rapidly tap the Accept/Select button so that you stop the reel on the first node, you have a 100% chance of success with difficulties 1 and 2, a 90% chance of success with difficulties 3 and 4, and an 80% chance of success with difficulties 5 through 10.

If you often use Quick-Fix before your durability is too close to zero, it may be beneficial to have only a Quick-Fix L2 Skill Panel as your highest level, as the first six nodes of difficulty 8 do not include a critical failure node and there is an 80% chance of success, so you can rapidly tap the button until your weapon's durability is 20 or higher.

Difficulties 1 through 4 all have at least six success nodes in a row in their pattern, so if you aim for those areas, you are guaranteed success.

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