HP: Lose these, and you fail at life. In-game, the stat goes up by taking damage
MP: Abilities consume these. In-game, the stat goes up by using abilities. MP is replenished when attacking an enemy. At endgame, the bonus is +14/hit or +42/combo. This could potentially be dismissed as a factor of the system and not the PCs.
Str: Physical (magical?) damage. Base+Equip Bonus.
Def: Damage reduction. Base + Equip Bonus.
Notes:
-Both PCs have equal defense. Both are assumed to have equal end-game HP/MP. Hence both are average durability. I have no reason to believe that they have different elemental resists.
-The base Str is 4 above what is natural. There is an easy item to grab in both quests that you can trade for 4 permanent strength points.
- I assumed supreme storebought equips. +24 to atk/defense.
-Damage tests were done on the "Evening Dew" enemy in the final battle. This enemy respawned eternally and had a good balance of defences, including elemental resists. Also, this was the only enemy Mint didn't overkill with her spells. The only issue with him was random invulnerability. But there is no other suitable test subject.
-There are no status effects in Threads of Fate. Hence no status blockers, etc...
-Damage for Mint is for a single spell casting. Damage for Rue is for a single combo attack.
-An important note about Mint. Her most damaging spells (Crystal, Force, and Fire Heart) involve casting a spell and standing near an enemy for the period of the spells duration. While they may or may not have been designed as offensive spells, they certainly act that way. A damage average without these spells is provided.
-An important note about Rue. He has a very large variety of forms to draw on, but most of them lack damage/durability due to being early and mid-game. He does have access to a plethora of elements through them, however. I took the three most common/useful endgame ones for these tests.
-Final note. Both Mint and Rue have bonuses that come into play for the final battle. Mint's is Valiant, a spell that does lots of damage, and is available in a new game+. Rue's is a super form that is available for the final battle and a mid-game plot fight only. Mint's Valiant was tested on endgame randoms, and Super Rue's is an estimate factoring in the final's defense compared to endgame average.
Best damage is in bold.
Mint: "World domination, baby!"
HP: 150.
MP: 150
Str: 28+24
Def: 16 +24
Combo: 45 damage over 3 hits. 42 MP restored.
Magic: Mint's magic is listed into colors (elements) and types. I won't list all the spells, just the most useful spells from each color.
Black:
Drill: 140 damage over four hits. (6 MP)
Shadow Strike: 50% CHP gravity damage. Works on the game's bosses. (50 MP)
Green:
Cyclone: 58 damage over 2 hits (3 MP).
Nightingale: Consumes all current MP (minimum 80). Grants invincibility for approximately MP/10 seconds. See comments for details.
Red:
Flare: 128 damage over 4 hits ( 6 MP)
Fire Heart: Consumes all MP. ~600 damage over ~27 hits at maximum MP (#hits decreases linearly for lower MP). Somewhat of an estimate based on the time it lasts and hit/time ratio, as there is nothing in the game with over 500 HP.
Blue:
Crystal: 288 damage over 9 hits (6 MP). Hits physical defense.
Cutter: 80 damage over three hits (4 MP). Hits physical defense.
Restore: Consumes All MP and restores HP by that amount.
White:
Spread: 90 damage over 5 hits. (4 MP) Hits physical defense.
Yellow:
Final Flash: Consumes All MP. Does 290 damage over 2 hits
Bolt: 65 damage over 2 hits (10 MP).
Force: 280 damage over 14 hits. (8 MP)
Gold: Questionable legality.
Valiant: 300 damage over 4 hits. (10 MP). This spell can act as a barrier that soaks up all damage, taking 1 MP damage per hit. Spell has issues hitting on some enemies.
Comments:
OPB overkill fire damage and solid 2HKO ice (physical) and lightning damage, combined with healing, MP restoration, and a weird Invincible trick. Elemental options are downright mean. A
Heavy, but not a stellar one due to average speed/durability, lacking status blockers, and her big damage being a commonly resisted element. She also has the interp issues with her spells.
*About Mint's Invincibility*. She can effectively restore enough MP while under it to cast it again when it wears out, but she can not cast spells while under it. This means that she is vulnerable when re-casting the spell for a brief period of time. How you interpret this is up to you. At 150 MP, Mint can get off about 4 combos before being vulnerable.
Rue: "It is my will to save Claire"
HP: 150
MP: 150
Str: 36 (+24)
Def: 16 (+24)
Combo: 95 damage over three hits. Restores 42 MP. (Its not an axe, its an "Arc Edge")
Monsters: unlike Mint, Rue can't have all his options at once. He can only keep four monsters at a time. The 3 most useful endgame ones are listed. Some monsters have superior defenses/elemental resists. Since almost all enemy damage in this game is horrid, you may not want to take a reduction from 12->1 that seriously.
Jinn: (Special note: Flying, immune to ground damage)
Combo: 111 (this combo is an aerial tailwhirl followed by two ground tail-whirls). Restores 42 MP.
Tornado: 40 green damage (18 MP).
Hellhound: (Special note: Fast movement)
Flame: 85 red damage (11 MP)
Ice Blow: 85 blue damage (9 MP)
Shaolan: (Special note: Physically tanky)
Lightning: 80 yellow damage (10 MP)
Thrust: 40 damage in 2 hits (1 MP)
Super Rue: Questionable legality.
Combo: 270 over 3 hits. (estimate)
Defend: Reduces all damage considerably while Rue is defending. He can keep it up while its not his turn in a straight slugfest due to the way it works, but how much you respect that is up to you.
Comments:
Rue comes off looking really bad in a DL setting. His damage is sub-par under almost any interp, which is pretty damning for a pure slugger. His elemental options are quite nice, however. And a few monsters have special traits that could prove useful. Still
Light, sadly.
Damage Average: 200
Geometric mean: 178
Average without Mint's multi-hit spells (Force and Crystal): 125.
Average with Super Rue and Valiant: 285
