Questions about Chrono Cross

[luigi bros]

I've recently started playing Chrono Cross. I have two questions that I can't find an answer to even after extensive research.

So my question is, when you use an element does it dissapear? I've seen some say "consumable" but do all disappear once uused? I'm asking because I don't see any MP.

And I used the healing function after battle, but it said something was used up. My second question is how does this work?

I've been able to find guides to elements in general, but not one mentions these two things.

[Acacia Sgt]

Elements can only be used once per battle (there are ways to get around this though), but the ones that say 'Consumable' are truly gone once used.

The healing function after battles works in that depending on the Elemental Levels of the characters, it'll search for any available healing Element to use. You can choose whether to use or not or only the consumable Elements, so in theory, you can heal completely after every battle with the proper planning.

[Celice]

Think of consumables as equipped items of an element. I don't remember the game much, but for example, there may be some plants or herbs that heal your characters, and they would probably be a green consumable, as they derive from the green element stuffs (or whatever color).

There may have been some bonus for using certain elements under certain conditions, like sometimes in battle, red elements may become twice as powerful or something (you can also manipulate elements in this way).

[Lord Glenn]

Here's the basic lowdown.

Elements like Tablet, Ointment, etc. are consumable. When you assign them to your Element Grid, they follow the same rules as regular elements like PhotonRay, in that they can only be used once per battle (i.e. that particular slot can only be used once per battle; you can assign two slots of Tablets and then be able to use two Tablets in a given battle). However, consumable items have a stock and when that stock runs out, you lose the elements. So, if you assign Tablet x5 to the Lv. 1 portion of the Element Grid, once those five uses are burned up, Tablet will be removed from the grid. Overall, regular elements don't wear out when cast. You simply have to build up your element level by connecting with Weak, Strong, or Fierce attacks, then use the element (which consumes 7.0 Stamina).

As for healing after the battle, if you have remaining element power left over, you can "cast" healing elements (with or without using consumables) after the battle to keep your party's HP up. For example, you have Serge kill off a Komodo by using 3 Strong attacks, giving him Element Lv. 6 (assuming he was at 0 before hand) if your grid were to go up that high; after the battle, if Serge had, say, Cure equipped to his Element Grid at level 2, he could spend two of his leftover 6 element levels to cast Cure after the battle and heal himself or another party member.

The bonus that Celice is talking about deals with when you have a full Element Field, denoted in the top left corner of the battle window. Casting consecutive elements of the same color such that the entire field is the same color strengthens those elements until an element of a different color is used. There are also specific elements that will turn the field a full color by just using that element, but they don't appear until later in the game.

There are also Trap Elements, which act like consumables, that you can "set" to the field. If an enemy tries to use the element that you've set a trap for, you'll steal their element.

[luigi bros]

Thanks for the help. I'm loving the game. It's also good to know I don't need to worry about using up my Elements :P