Quick Links
Crystar has a lot of interwoven elements, whether that be Spectres and Revenants, Torments and Memoirs, or Sentiments and Fusion. Combat in Crystar may be a bit on the basic side from time to time, but the systems that feed into it are so much meatier.
Whilst Crystar does have an extensive tutorial system, text pop-ups are far from ideal when the game starts throwing ambiguously named jargon. That being said, this is one of the most important systems in the game. If you want to hit harder, survive longer, and delve deeper, getting to grips with it is almost mandatory.
Where To Find Sentiments
Before you can fuse anything, you need to acquire Sentiments. Sentiments are, in layman's terms, equipment. These can be weapons, armor, or accessories, and keeping your Sentiments up to date, like with any JRPG, is pretty important.
Sentiments in Crystar are only obtained by defeating Revenants (the neon reskins of regular enemies). Every Revenant will drop a Torment, and this Torment can be purified back at home base (Rei’s Room) to create a Sentiment. All you have to do is go to Organize and hit Purify Torments. You can only hold 10 Torments at a time, so make sure you are purifying every time you finish an Ordeal (mission).
How To Fuse Sentiments
Fusing Sentiments is as easy as going to the Organize menu whilst hanging out in Rei’s Room. Select Fuse Sentiments, and you can get to work. A few things are required to fuse Sentiments, with the obvious being, well, Sentiments.
To Fuse a Sentiment, you will need to have two identically named pieces of equipment, for example, Regret Drop 1. Combining two Regret Drop 1s will turn into a Regret Drop 2. If you want to use Fusion again to power up your Regret Drop 2, you will need a second Regret Drop 2.
There are a few things to bear in mind when Fusing Sentiments. Firstly, the Sentiment you first select for Fusion will be the Sentiment that is being powered up. This is important since some Sentiments have Modification Slots. You want to have as many slots as possible, so ensuring you use a slotted Sentiment as your base is a must.
Secondly, every Sentiment has a maximum number of Fusions it can undergo before it reaches its maximum potential. In the case of the aforementioned Regret Drop line of Sentiments, it will turn into a Regret Drop End once you have fused two Regret Drop 2s. Stronger Sentiments can undergo more bouts of Fusion.
What Are Fusion Materials
Whilst Sentiments serve as the primary Fusion material required to, well, fuse two Sentiments, there are additional requirements before you can seal the deal. These come in the form of Thoughts.
As you progress through Crystar, you will accrue Thoughts from item containers and defeated enemies. These Thoughts are then used in Fusion. There are different kinds of thoughts, each represented by an emotion, such as Broken Thought Joy, or Broken Thought Anger. Each Sentiment will require different Thoughts, in different amounts, to successfully fuse your gear.
You can also buy Thoughts from the Peddler in each level, with her inventory expanding to hold more valuable thoughts as you make your way through the game. These can get quite expensive - especially when bought in bulk - but they are well worth the investment.
How To Modify Sentiments
The final piece in the Fusion puzzle is Modification. Like with Purifying and Fusion, Modify Sentiments can be found in the Organize menu whilst in Rei’s Room. Modifying Sentiments can give you an extra edge in combat by granting passive bonuses to your gear.
There are a few catches when it comes to Modification, however. The most obvious is the need for Modification Slots on your Sentiments. These can be painfully hard to find, and finding a Sentiment with multiple slots is like winning the lottery. Each slot can hold one Modification, and Modifications can greatly increase your efficacy in combat.
The downside to Modification is that it requires Fusion Materials, and these, like previously stated, are rare and/or expensive. To make matters worse, Modification is completely random. You can’t decide what Modification you want in any given slot, you just have to roll the die over and over again hoping for a good result.
As powerful as Modification is, the cost and randomness involved make it a rather unreliable mechanic that should probably only be used if you have the spare resources early game, or if you are building an uber Sentiment in the late game.
Don’t Get Too Hung Up On Fusing The Best Gear All The Time
The biggest thing to remember is that you don’t need to be too hung up on Fusion for every character, and every piece of equipment. As strong as the Regret Drop End may be in the early game, it is outclassed by the first rank of the next tier of equipment. This is common with every Sentiment in the game.
What this means is that Fusion, whilst powerful, is meant to give you an edge in one or two Chapters before being replaced. Because Fusion doesn’t drastically increase an item's stats, especially early game, you won’t be falling too far behind if you can’t keep all four of your characters equipped with top-of-the-line kit.
This isn’t even going into the power of each character as a whole. Rei and Nanana are by far the most useful characters in Crystar, so keeping them kitted out makes more sense than outfitting Kokoro or Sen.