But how do you equip more? Upon entering Mahag Saar for the first time you’ll unlock the Crocodile Crusher artifact. This doubles the amount of artes you can equip at once, from six to twelve.
Changing Artes
Changing which artes are equipped in Tales of Arise is very straightforward. Once you’ve unlocked more artes than you have room for in your primary character’s three starting slots, all you have to do is open the main menu. From there select ‘Artes’. This will open the Artes menu and display which abilities your characters currently have equipped. Ground Attacks are listed on the left and Aerial Attacks on the right. If you’ve unlocked a new Ground Attack that you like the look of, simply select one of the three Ground Attacks currently equipped. Then the full list of available Ground Attacks will display on the right hand side of the screen, replacing the Aerial Attacks. From here, simply select the arte that you wish to use & it will replace the old arte in the same slot with the same key binding.
Equipping More Artes
Upon starting a new game of Tales of Arise, many long standing fans of the series may be disappointed that the number of slots to equip artes is so limited. Particularly compared to previous entries in the series. In the first few chapters of the game, despite unlocking many artes very quickly, each character can only equip up to six artes each; three Ground Strikes and three Aerial Strikes. This will remain the limit for a while. The game doesn’t really provide any indication for the first dozen or so hours that you’ll be able to add more artes into your active rotation… But thankfully, that option does become available as you progress. Shortly after finishing the third realm, Elde Menancia, the party will have a conversation about artifacts as they’re heading into Mahag Saar for the first time. Dohalim will introduce the Crocodile Crusher, an arte aficionado’s best friend. In its description, the effect is simply described as ‘Arte Set +1’. What this means in practice is that it has doubled the amount of artes that each party member can now equip, up to six Ground Attacks and six Aerial Attacks, for a total of twelve. Artifacts and their effects can be found under the “Field Guide” section of the main menu. Note: Unlike most other artifact effects, once the party acquires the Crocodile Crusher, it can’t be toggled. It will always be enabled. To make use of this brand new Arte Set, return to the main menu and go into the Artes menu as mentioned before. Below the character’s name there will be a new option, labeled ‘Switch Set’. Pressing the associated button will bring up the new blank Arte Set, where you’ll be able to assign the second set of artes & double the number you have available. To use this second set of artes in battle, simply hold LT, L2 or CTRL (platform dependent). It will be the same button you use to select characters currently not in your active party. This will bring your second Arte Set to the forefront and allow you to choose those abilities instead of those in your original Arte Set. Note: When playing New Game Plus, you start the game with the additional Arte Set. The reason is because artifacts, including the Crocodile Crusher, are carried over.
