RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

In Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume, the titular Plume refers to the Destiny Plume, which Wylfred can use to give a boost to his allies. This boost is pretty dang massive, doubling the character’s stats, granting them resistance to every element, and unleashing a powerful secondary effect that varies by character. Wyl can summon this secondary effect in battles on his own afterwards as a special skill, some of which can turn the tide of battle in an instant. The downside to all this, however, is that after the battle, the character dies a very permanent death. Given that the game doesn’t tell you which characters grant which skills, it can be a bit tough deciding who to sacrifice and who to keep. Therefore, this week’s Strategy Session is all about the best Sacrifice Skills!

A minor word of warning; in order to talk about Sacrifice Skills, we have to talk about the characters you get them from. For the most part, this isn’t a big deal, but there may be a few minor spoilers here and there. You have been warned!

The first skill Wyl receives, which is forced upon him by the game, is Vali’s Embrace. Given that this is the only superpowered skill you’re going to have if you’re playing through the A path, how and where you use Vali’s Embrace is incredibly important. The skill itself has a number of useful effects, including doubling all of your stats, including HP, allowing Wyl to go toe-to-toe with some of the most dangerous critters in the game. The second, and perhaps more significant effect, is that it entices all enemies within several panels to attack Wyl. Combined, these two effects allow Wyl to screen for his allies, take on Leader monsters all by himself, and deal a huge amount of damage with even basic attacks. The downside, however, is that Vali’s Embrace lasts only two turns — three if you count the turn it is used on. In many fights, especially on the A path, squandering Vali’s Embrace on minor enemies can lead to being overwhelmed later in the battle.

The game’s first Chapter introduces two characters with status-based skills; Cheripha and Lockswell. Both of these characters can be extremely useful, but Cheripha undoubtedly has the better skill to give, called Gleipnir’s Bonds. This skill fully Paralyzes every non-Leader monster on the screen for three full turns, and is perhaps the second most useful Sacrifice Skill in the entire game. With one activation, Wyl and his comrades can run roughshod over an entire battlefield for the duration of the skill without worrying about counterattacks or enemy movement. Given that Lockswell’s Vidar’s Hush skill only causes Silence, and is therefore very situational, Cheripha makes a much better sacrifice.

Gwendal, one of the Heavy Swordsmen available to you in Chapter 2, grants the skill Veigr’s Warcry. This skill can be insanely powerful depending on how lucky you are, as it adds a respectable chance to cause instant death with every attack. Given that you still get to attack the foe after instant death is applied, Veigr’s Warcry can be a great way to rack up huge amounts of Sin by easily bypassing the foe’s HP bar. The problem is… Well, it’s trading a character for the chance to cause instant death. The lack of reliability makes me question how worthwhile that tradeoff really is.

Mischka, another character available in Chapter 2, grants a skill similar to Gleipnir’s Bonds, called Avalanche of the Jotun. This skill causes Freezing rather than Paralysis, but has some secondary clauses which make it much weaker than Gleipnir’s Bonds. Its biggest issue is that Avalanche of the Jotun only works on non-human characters. Like Vidar’s Hush, this makes Avalanche of the Jotun exceptionally useful in some situations, but pointless in others. On the whole, if you’d prefer to keep Cheripha in your roster, Avalanche of the Jotun is a decent substitute for Gleipnir’s Bonds, but otherwise not particularly spectacular.

If you should choose to go through Camille in Chapter 2, you’ll have access to Earnest, a Lancer, and Natalia, a Swordswoman. While Natalia’s Hervor’s Blessings tactic, which halves the Reduce Damage stat of all enemies for three rounds, can be useful at times, it’s nothing compared to Earnest’s Hoard of the Dvelgar. This skill increases the number of Gems that enemies drop when attacked in the air, vastly increasing the number of attacks each character can whip off in a single encounter. The huge amount of damage you can deal with Hoard of the Dvelgar easily outpaces that available with Hervor’s Blessings, making Earnest a much better sacrifice, particularly if you’re building your team with an eye towards offense.

In Chapter 4, if you happen to be on the B ending path, you will have access to perhaps the best Sacrifice Skill of all: Fafnir’s Heart. This skill, which is acquired by sacrificing the Swordswoman Phiona, automatically revives any ally who falls in battle for three rounds. The damage output this grants you can be truly incredible, as you can now attack without fear of counterattacks. A good tactic is to simply wail on a foe with each character one at a time as you position them for a Formation, increasing the power of the attack as each character comes into range. Normally this would get characters slaughtered by repeated counterattacks, but since they’re going to be revived anyway, there’s no reason not to simply rush headlong into battle.

Of course, there are a wide variety of other Sacrifice Skills to be acquired, but I think you’ll find these to be the most broadly useful and overpowering. Keep in mind that given the way the plot shifts depending on how many allies you’ve sacrificed, you may not be able to get all of these skills, and using the Destiny Plume even once after you acquire Vali’s Embrace will change the ending you receive. So plan your battles carefully, and make sure you really want to sacrifice someone before you go for it!