Star Ocean The Second Story R: All Factors Listed

Factors are the backbone of every build in Star Ocean: The Second Story R. These special passives give any item an extra ability that sometimes can be the main difference between a broken character or a mere weakling in your team, and you’ll see all of them here.

What Are Factors in Star Ocean Second Story R?

Factors are special effects added in this game version that can be obtained whenever you craft or find a new item. They are indicated by the “+” next to the item’s name and range from simple “STR + 5%” buffs to things like “MP costs are reduced by 50%”, making them one of the most important parts of your characters.

You can add or change an item’s Factor through the Remaking Super Specialty by using a Re-Creation Gem which is sold by merchants. There are three different types of Factors you can get: Buff (Simple stat increases), Support (defensive or offensive passives), and Special (usually a mix of both).

When Remaking, you have to add some items to increase the chances of adding a Factor to 100% because even 90% will fail you a lot in this game for some reason. But reaching 100% is not enough as there’ll be a split chance of getting your desired Factor type, indicated by the bars on the right corner of the screen.

Using different types of items will increase a different bar accordingly, and you must fill the bar you want to the maximum to guarantee a desired Factor type.

The Factor Energy item (also sold at merchants) is perfect for that as it automatically gives you 100% chance of success, assuming your Remaking Super Specialty is at Level 10. After using it, it’s just a matter of adding the appropriate items and start rolling for the Factors you want. Items with the Masterwork Factor will add a significant bonus to the success chance.

Another easy way to fill these bars is by using an item with the High-grade factor attached to it, as it increases the chances of getting a new Factor by 50%.

Some Factors are designed as “Rare,” and they’re drastically stronger but will have a lower chance of appearing. They are bolded in yellow instead of white and are the endgame goals you should be using during the later portions of the game. Using the Masterwork item will do wonders for getting them.

All Star Ocean Second Story R Factors Listed

There’s a total of 82 Factors available in the game. Weapons, Armor, and Accessories have a different Factor list, but some of them are shared between all three types of equipment.

All Star Ocean Second Story R Buff Factors Listed

Buffs are the simplest Factors of them all, but they can be quite helpful regardless of that. The 20% is always the Rare version and the one you should be going for (except for GUTS and STM, which increase by a flat 30 on the Rare Factor due to their different scalings).

Weapon Factors

Factor Name	Effect
ATK UP	Increases ATK by 5%/10%/20%
INT UP	Increases ATK by 5%/10%/20%
CRT UP	Increases ATK by 5%/10%/20%

Armor Factors

Factor Name	Effect
DEF UP	Increases DEF by 5%/10%/20%
AVD UP	Increases AVD by 5%/10%/20%
GUTS UP	Increases GUTS by 10/20/30
STM UP	Increases STM by 10/20/30

Accessory Factors

Factor Name	Effect
HP UP	Increases HP by 5%/10%/20%
MP UP	Increases MP by 5%/10%/20%
HIT UP	Increases HIT by 5%/10%/20%

All Star Ocean Second Story R Support Factors Listed

Support Factors, on the other hand, are more utility-focused and can be a lifesaver when in a pinch.

Weapon Factors

Factor Name	Effect
Add Dark	Adds dark element to a weapon.
Add Earth	Adds earth element to a weapon.
Add Fire	Adds fire element to a weapon.
Add Light	Adds fire element to a weapon.
Add Water	Adds water element to a weapon.
Add Wind	Adds wind element to a weapon.
Instant Death	Adds a chance to inflict instant death when attacking.
HP Drain (Rare)	Converts 20% of damage inflicted to HP.
MP Drain (Rare)	Converts 5% of damage inflicted to MP.
Paralysis	Adds a chance to inflict paralysis when attacking.
Poison	Adds a chance to inflict poison when attacking.
Scum Slayer (Rare)	Instantly kills all enemies with “scum” in their name.
Silence	Adds a chance to inflict silence when attacking.

Armor Factors

Factor Name	Effect
CRT Energy	Critical hits restore 1% MP.
CRT Heal	Critical hits restore 1% MP.
CRT Super Boost (Rare)	Critical hits restore 2% HP/MP.
Emergency Measures (Rare)	Restores 10% HP when blocking enemy attacks.
Full Reset (Rare)	All negative stats are removed after 10 seconds pass.
Metabolism	Poisoned status is removed after 10 seconds pass.
Rally	Revive at 20% HP just once when HP reached 0.
Super Rally (Rare)	Revive at 40% HP just once when HP reached 0.
Quick Fix	Restores 5% HP when blocking enemy attacks.

Accessory Factors

Factor Name	Effect
Break Up	Increases depletion of enemy shields by 10%
Coercion (Rare)	Inflict a random status ailment when breaking an enemy.
Fast Reflexes	Extends the perfect counter window by half a second.
Fishing Slayer	Deal 150% damage to enemies encountered while fishing.
Leader Slayer	Deal 150% damage to enemy leaders.
Meditation	Recover 3% MP for every 3 seconds spent motionless in battle.
Temporary Measures	Recover 20% HP and MP with each successive battle.
Repose	Recover 3% HP for every 3 seconds spent motionless in battle.
Spheres Up	Increases chance of getting bonus spheres by 10%.

All Star Ocean Second Story R Special Factors Listed

Special is a mix of both, being simultaneously aggressive and defensive. These are factors that can get you out of some nasty situations.

Weapon Factors

Factor Name	Effect
Adversity	ATK, INT and DEF increase as HP gets lower (max 15%).
All for One (Rare)	Deal 5% more damage per number of party members other than you.
Backstab (Rare)	Guarantees critical hits when attacking from behind.
Birds of a Feather	When 3 of the same factor are set, the shields of any enemies damaged will not recover for 5 seconds.
Cancel Boost	Special art power increases by 15% when canceling out of a normal attack.
Factor Activator (Rare)	All factors on equipment are 1.5x more likely to activate.
Fight or Flight	ATK, INT and DEF increase as HP gets lower (max 30%).
Gathering Stars (Rare)	When 3 of the same factor are set, ATK, DEF, HIT, AVD, and INT increase by 20%.
High-grade	50% of adding a factor when equipment with this factor is used as extra material.
Hurricane Strike	The first attack when Godspeed activates deals 150% damage.
Lone Wolf	ATK, DEF, HIT, AVD, INT increase by 15% when fighting alone.
Masterwork (Rare)	10% of adding a rare factor when equipment with this factor is used as extra material.
Mental Focus (Rare)	Attacks cost 10MP but always hit the target.
Reckless Magic (Rare)	Spend 15% more MP in exchange for INT increasing by 30%.
Revenge	The last damage received is added to the next damage inflicted.
Steal	Attacks have a 5% chance of stealing the target’s drop item.

Armor Factors

Factor Name	Effect
Adamantine (Rare)	Negates damage below 10% of max HP.
Back from the Brink (Rare)	Become invincible for 5 sec after resuscitation
Back Guard	Reduces back attack damage by 15%.
Birds of a Feather	When 3 of the same factor are set, the shields of any enemies damaged will not recover for 5 seconds.
Blue Dragon	Converts 10% of symbology damage taken to HP. Also converts physical damage if paired with Red Dragon.
Cast-iron	Negates damage below 5% of max HP.
Defensive Stance (Rare)	30% chance of the bonus gauge not breaking when missing a perfect counter.
Gathering Stars (Rare)	When 3 of the same factor are set, ATK, DEF, HIT, AVD, and INT increase by 20%.
High-grade	50% of adding a factor when equipment with this factor is used as extra material.
Lucky Guard	20% chance to negate damage when taking critical hit from enemies.
Masterwork (Rare)	10% of adding a rare factor when equipment with this factor is used as extra material.
Narrow Escape	If reduced to 0 HP by an attack when HP is at 40% or more, survive with 1 HP.
Red Dragon	Converts 10% of physical damage taken to MP. Also converts symbology damage if paired with Blue Dragon.
Symbology Field	DEF 10% up while casting.
Ukemi	10% chance of the bonus gauge not breaking when missing a perfect counter.
Ultra Symbology Field	DEF 20% up while casting.

Accessory Factors

Factor Name	Effect
Birds of a Feather	When 3 of the same factor are set, the shields of any enemies damaged will not recover for 5 seconds.
Bomber (Rare)	Bomb items deal triple damage.
Economizer	15% chance of keeping items upon use.
Full Bonus (Rare)	120% bonus effects when the bonus gauge is full.
Fury	When angered after an ally is incapacitated, enemy attacks will no longer cause recoil.
Gathering Stars (Rare)	When 3 of the same factor are set, ATK, DEF, HIT, AVD, and INT increase by 20%.
High-grade	50% of adding a factor when equipment with this factor is used as extra material.
Item Master (Rare)	20% chance of negating item cooldowns.
Loving Care	30% chance of halving assault gauge consumption when using Assault.
Masterwork (Rare)	10% of adding a rare factor when equipment with this factor is used as extra material.
Morale Booster	Fills the assault gauge of all assault members by 25% when battle starts (does not stack).
Righteous Fury	Rage duration is doubled.
Press the Advantage	Enemies broken while afflicted with status ailment or debuff stay broken for 30% longer.
Steel Will	50% chance to negate damage, but only when escaping.
Uptrend	150% more bonus spheres appear for 10 seconds when a bonus triggers.
War Cry (Rare)	ATK, DEF, HIT, AVD, and INT increase by 5% with each successive battle.

Getting good Factors can be challenging, but getting the perfect combination is even harder, so get ready to spend some hours doing this stuff. It can be hard to reach that sweet spot with your full party, but it’s more than worth it in the long play.