Arte upgrade icon in Tales of Xillia 2.
Arte upgrade is a recurring concept in Tales series. It is a system that allows to improve artes independently from arte usage.
Appearances in Original Titles[]
Tales of Graces[]
In Tales of Graces, titles allow to improve artes, e.g. by increasing their damage multiplier, increasing effect potency, adding new effects, etc.
Tales of Xillia 2[]
In Tales of Xillia 2, artes can be upgraded via Allium Orb which require amassing Element Points in one or two elements assigned to the arte in Allium Orb. Arte upgrades come in four Mastery Levels and commonly include decrease in TP consumption, increase in damage dealt including linked artes that derive from base ones, chance to nullify AC cost, and others.
Appearances in Crossover Titles[]
Tales of the Rays[]
In Tales of the Rays, all artes, including mirrage artes, could be upgraded up to five times. A later update introduced an ability to upgrade standard artes up to level 6. The player was required to spend Anima Orbs, elemental Materials, and gald to improve the arte. Upgrades included damage increase, enemy's stagger time extension, HP recovery, and enabling aerial use of artes, among others. In battle, an upgraded arte was given a number of blue orbs under its banner, the number of which was equal to the current level of an arte, up to the maximum of 6.