Board 8 > If you're playing an RPG for the first time, and you get stat-boosting items...

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm talking about the one-time use items, like the Seeds in Dragon Quest, or the Sources in FF7, etc.

Keep in mind, you might not know for sure what characters you'll take to the end game, if there are stat caps, etc. Each game is a little different, so I'm thinking of what your general plan is.

I feel like in most games I just dump them all on my main character. Sometimes I use them to try to maximize my party's best stats (giving all the strength boosters to my strongest fighter, the magic boosting items to my magic user). In the long run it might be better to increase the weaker stats of my party to even out their usefulness, especially if there turns out to be a stat cap, but that's much less fun.

Main character gets everything

Other: Dump them into my favorite character

Main character gets everything i want them to be strong in/generally good stats like defense or hp

Pretty much a hoarder. Between not understanding EVs/IVs in Pokemon and wondering why Carbos stopped working, and whatever game it was that gave you +1 Stat items that could later be turned into +3s or +5s, I tend to hoard until either the very end of the game when it doesn't matter or when I'm having like four or five restart from save moments and need to boost.

Depends on the game

If it's generally an easy game, then I'll often hoard until I hit a difficult section, or possibly just forget to use them entirely.

When using them, I'll generally favor attack boosts for the character that's attacking the most, similar thing with magic attack. I also indirectly favor the main character, since they're usually attacking the most.

Speed boosts will probably go to my strongest attacker, so they get more attacks.

For defensive boosts, I'm more inclined to cover weaknesses so that everyone can stay alive. Probably will favor the healer, particularly if the healer is the only one who can revive. If it's a strategy game, where I'll probably give it to the characters who are almost good tanks but not quite, rather than the best tanks who are probably doing just fine staying alive already. If it's a game where main character death is game over, but other characters are allowed to die with little consequence, I'll definitely favor the main character here.

Within all of these, I usually don't dump them all on one character but spread it around a bit. Just the ones I mentioned usually get first priority.

Usually save them until I'm working on a build to go after a superboss.

Hoard them and never use them like most items.

Unless it's Fire Emblem and I know what stats characters need.

Hoard them all and end up beating the game without ever using them

This just happened with Metaphor Refantazio, in fact!

When I do use them usually main character gets everything anyway

Generally use it to patch weaknesses

While I save some of those I get, the ones I do use I try to patch weaknesses on defensive stats and augment strengths on offensive stats.

Speed largely depends on what the stat does, which varies vastly by game compared to the other stats.

MysteriousStan posted...

Hoard them and never use them like most items.

this

If I deviate from that it's usually "everything to the MC unless it's like +MAG and they have no magic" kinda deal

MysteriousStan posted...

Hoard them and never use them like most items.

Unless it's Fire Emblem and I know what stats characters need.

The exception to favorites rule is Fire Emblem

Even then it's still favorites rule it's just split between favorites intelligently based on growths

Main character, as they're the only one I'm usually confident I'll be using for the majority of the game.

That said, I feel like most games either give you so few that it really makes no difference whether you use them at all, or they give you some way to get unlimited and you can max everyone if you want.

I hoard them like a dragon sitting on its pile of gold, waiting for the moment that signals to me clearly enough that I actually need to use them, when in reality I'm always going to assume that moment is still coming and that this particularly difficult part just needs to be managed better.

hoard and never use em

They go to my favorite character

Generally covering weaknesses (that make sense, I'm not gonna boost my mage's physical attack)
Bit of a bias towards my favorite party member, though.

The third option is usually a waste of time unless you can do something super specific with it

but the thing is examples are escaping me right now

anyways, option 1, main character

other team members are not guaranteed to be in your party

most games it just goes to the MC but hoard until i know is usually the answer, i just end up knowing there's no loss so MC gets buffs like that. CT and Metaphor are two good exceptions to the rule.

for CT this means speed and magic tabs into Robo because he gets hilariously busted in that game with them.
for Metaphor it's hoarding until NG+ because stat ups weirdly do not transfer over, yet items do.

D, but if I hit a wall in a place where I think that some stat boost will help me proceed beyond where I'm currently capable of, then I will use it at that time

Main character usually, maybe a favoured character if I have some confidence they aren't gonna disappear or become less used eventually

Sometimes like Fire Emblem I hoard though and don't end up using. Stat caps have really ruined this for me. Putting a stat increasing item on a character that ends up capping out that stat soon is infuriating.

we let random dot org dictate who is getting what boost

hoard em until close to the end of the game. never know whose gonna join or leave by then. like fuck Grandia and its rotating party and limited magic rocks or whatever

CoolCly posted...

Sometimes like Fire Emblem I hoard though and don't end up using. Stat caps have really ruined this for me

If you respect growths this generally shouldn't happen

Lopen posted...

If you respect growths this generally shouldn't happen

What do you mean by this? FE typically doesn't tell you what growth rates even are

MZero posted...

Hoard them all and end up beating the game without ever using them

True, I have way too many FE games where I hoard my stat boosters going "I'll give them when I get to end game" and then sometimes just forget even then.

CoolCly posted...

What do you mean by this? FE typically doesn't tell you what growth rates even are

You can kinda intuit it if you pay attention to what ticks up on levels and what the bases are. They also generally make sense for the unit archetype

Like give a thief type you like +2 str
Give a cleric type you like +2 def
Give a big buff dude +2 spd or +2 res
Give an axe user +2 skl
Give anyone +7 hp since there's never an attainable cap on that.

I've basically never hit a cap in Fire Emblem because of stat items. It can happen but if you just look at what the current stats are and what the growths likely are it's unlikely.