Action Point Builds

Two AP Systems

City AP — Daily pool for exploration, work, training, and scenes. Covered in Action Points.

Combat AP — Per-turn pool in battles. Raised primarily by Agility, certain passives, and accessories. This page links city training to combat AP through stat breakpoints.

Investing city AP into combat stats has opportunity cost — fewer relationship scenes, less coin. Builds below assume Standard difficulty with timely companion recruitment from All Companions.

Core Breakpoints

• Insight 15 — Reliable clue checks chapter 2; Hills combo skills reach minimum damage on Audit Golem.
• Resolve 14 — Guard mitigates Wharf Enforcer smash below lethal threshold.
• Agility 12 — Extra combat AP every other turn via hidden rounding rule.
• Presence 16 — Skips one bribe check in noble infiltration; shop discounts compound.
• Vitality 18 — Survive Triad Phase C splash without Shelter if Suri busy.

Breakpoints are not hard gates but reduce reload frequency dramatically.

Early Game Build (Days 1–10)

Goal: Pass Wharf Enforcer and recruit Renna/Kael without stat checks failing.

Spend 40% training on Insight, 30% Resolve, 30% Vitality. Take Hills perk Measured Strike at level 5 for stable DPS. Companion priority: Renna Resolve gear, Kael Agility accessory from market.

Avoid dumping Presence until post-Day 10 unless pursuing Dorian early — Presence rarely affects first boss.

Mid Game Build (Chapters 2–3)

Goal: Shield break damage, cleanse reliability, delay chains.

Shift to 35% Insight, 25% Agility, 25% Resolve, 15% Presence. Perk Guard Pierce or Link + depending on Micoco Trust. Train Suri Insight for heal scaling; Dorian if recruited for Fracture Seal damage.

Pike players should invest crafting AP via gadgets instead of raw stats — see schematics.

Late Game Build (Chapters 4–Finale)

Goal: Meet True route thresholds while passing DPS checks.

Target Insight 22+, Resolve 18+, Agility 16+, Vitality 20+. Orin's Judgment Strike scales with Justice conviction — align dialogue choices per Requirements Checklist.

Ultimate charge rate improves with Presence 18 perk on Hills — optional min-max for Triad.

Companion Training Split

Companions earn less from city training than Hills unless you spend joint training AP (unlocked Day 12). Rule of thumb: joint train your tank and healer first, DPS second. Bench training is half effective — rotate before boss weeks.

Ability upgrades at affinity tiers often beat +1 raw stat — prioritize heart events when combat feels fine but utility lags.

Sample Weekly Schedules

Boss week: Mon train Resolve, Tue gear shop, Wed companion scene, Thu train Insight, Fri buff meal + save, Sat boss, Sun recovery/rest.

Recruitment week: Double social days, single train day, avoid night jobs that raise exposure per How to Protect.

Adjust using calendar markers from Walkthrough Hub.

Common Mistakes

• Maxing one stat pre-Day 10 while failing clue gates (Insight too low).
• Ignoring Resolve because heals feel sufficient — bosses one-shot through heal throughput.
• Skipping joint training then blaming companions on boss guides.
• Buying luxury gear before reaching Agility breakpoint for extra turn AP.

New Game Plus Considerations

NG+ carries encyclopedia and deluxe extras but resets levels and items. Build planning restarts; however conviction knowledge lets you route efficiently. Popular NG+ strategy: rush Insight to 18 via early training, recruit Kael+Renna only, blitz to chapter three, then backfill companions for loyalty achievements. AP costs do not decrease in NG+ — only player knowledge improves.

Perk Selection Reference for Hills

Level 5: Measured Strike (consistent DPS) vs Wide Slash (AoE). Level 10: Guard Pierce vs Link+. Level 15: Second Wind (heal on kill) vs Iron Poise (status resist). Level 20: Combo Master (ult charge) vs Field Medic (item potency). Synergize with main companion — Link+ weak if Micoco Trust low; Guard Pierce excels with Dorian Shatter setups.

Daily Training Action Math

Each training action raises one stat +1 (or +2 on critical success 15% chance). Joint training with companion costs 2 AP but raises both stats +1. Maximum efficient week: 3 solo trainings, 2 joint, 2 story scenes — mirrors Action Points templates. Training does not stack infinitely; soft cap messages appear if same stat trained three days in a row without combat application.

Companion Stat Targets Table

Renna Resolve 16+, Kael Agility 14+, Suri Insight 18+, Dorian Insight 16+, Pike Agility 12+, Vessa Agility 15+, Orin Resolve 18+ by chapter five. These are comfort zones, not hard requirements — but falling ten points short doubles average boss attempt count in player telemetry cited by developers on Release Hub FAQ.

Work vs Train Economic Tradeoff

Work actions fund items; training actions fund stats. Rule of thumb: if boss attempts exceed two, shift one work day to training. If coin below 300 before festival, shift one train day to escort work. Economic balance is half of action point combat readiness.

Log your stats at chapter end in a notes app — comparing runs helps you see which breakpoints actually mattered versus which training days could have been relationship scenes instead.