Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key has tons of excellent Skills for you to spend your Skill Points (SP) on, making Ryza's Alchemy stronger, leading to powerful Gear and Items that will make her and her friends unstoppable in battle.
Like most JRPGs, there is a Skill Tree for you to follow, except this one has one caveat. You cannot see every available Skill until you acquire one, having it branch off into another one. And in some cases, these Skills might not even branch out, which can sometimes make spending your precious SP feel daunting. Fortunately, you can avoid that dread by sticking to a solid pathway to the good stuff!
Skills Overview
Before you can access the Skill Tree, you must first help Agatha by making her a pair of Onyx Blades. This is part of the Main Questline and will unlock automatically as you progress through the story. After you access the Skill Tree, you will see four directions the Tree can branch out, with one instantly being revealed whenever you purchase the Onyx Blade Recipe Skill.
We strongly urge you to get the three other Skills as soon as possible, as they will reveal even more avenues of the Skill Tree, giving you an idea of how big it is and what to expect when following each path. While every Skill is valuable in this game, some will provide instant benefits and help you tremendously in your journey. The section below will outline the best Skills you can obtain in the game and any prerequisites needed to acquire them.
Best Skills
As laid out above, all Skills will ultimately be useful and valuable to you in Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key, but the ones we're highlighting today should more or less be your top priority, as they will give you the most significant benefits early on, enabling you to get the most out of every facet of the game. This is only a tiny slice of the Skills available in the game, but they should give you an idea of what to expect when unlocking even more Skills in the Tree and following specific paths.
SP Gain +10 Percent
This Skill is crucial to get as soon as possible, as you will be visiting your Atelier throughout your entire playthrough and will constantly create new and better things early on in your adventure. Earning 10 percent more SP during Synthesis will have you rake in a considerable amount of SP, setting you up nicely for obtaining the other Skills outlined below. This is also the first Skill in the southernmost branch of the Tree, meaning you will only need 500 SP to acquire it!
Weapon Recipes 1
Despite being the Skill immediately after SP Gain +10 Percent, the Weapon Recipes 1 Skill should also be snagged as early as possible. While your default weapons can be improved with better materials, the Weapons you gain access to from this Skill are much better in every way and will prepare you well for a large portion of the early goings of the game. These Weapons will require better materials to make, but it is well worth the 1,000 SP cost.
Modify Core Crystals
Another Skill you must focus on getting early is the Modify Core Crystals Skill, as it will give you access to enhance every character's Core Crystals. This will allow you to make Core Items (Consumables) more potent and even let you begin encounters with more Core Charges (CC). However, before you can obtain this Skill, you must first acquire the Trio Craft Skill, which becomes available after you make the Onyx Blade for Agatha. This Skill will also run you 1,200 SP. You can also learn more about Core Crystals here!
Duplication
Next up is the Duplication Skill. This allows you to make exact copies of Items and Gear, saving you tons of resources, time, and effort to make something of similar quality or better for the rest of your party. The Duplication Skill is 1,000 SP and becomes available after you obtain the Medica Powder and Max Quality Up Skills in the northern portion of the Tree. To learn a little more about how Duplication works in Atelier Ryza 3, follow this link!
Quantity Up
Immediately after the Duplication Skill is acquired, you will have access to two Quantity Up Skills and should obtain both as soon as possible. This Skill will expand how many Materials, Resources, and Items you can use during Synthesis, meaning you can fill out more Element Values to make new Recipes through Items you already have access to. Having both of these Skills will also ensure you can create high-quality Items consistently, giving you even more SP in the long run.
Gathering Quantity Up
Gathering Quantity Up is the next Skill we're highlighting, as it will give you substantially more Resources and Materials when harvesting Gathering Nodes around the world. Not only does this make your Synthesis easier due to having access to greater volumes of Materials, but this also increases your odds of obtaining higher-quality Resources, especially if your Gathering Tools are up to date. This is the first Skill on the western side of the branch, so you will only need to cough up the 1,000 SP required to acquire it.
Emerald Band
After you unlock the Gathering Quantity Up Skill, the Emerald Band one will instantly become available and is one you should try to get as soon as possible. This Emerald Band will allow you to interact with the Ring Icons you probably ran into during your time in Karke Isle that said you needed a Rope to use it. Synthesizing the Emerald Band will allow you to pass over gaps and up specific cliffsides to reach Materials and Chests. For 1,200 SP, the Emerald Band is yours. And, seeing as it is a Survival Tool, you can learn more about it here!
Basket Size Up 1
Lastly, we have Basket Size Up 1, which becomes available after you acquire the Emerald Band Recipe. This takes your Basket Size from 300 to 400, allowing you to hold even more Materials and Resources than before when adventuring the vast open world. This is essential to get, as it prolongs the inevitable fast-travel back to your Atelier to store the items. Like the Emerald Band, this Skill also costs a steep 1,200 SP to obtain.