Contents |
Basic Information
Base Stats
Vigor | 36 | Battle Power | +30 | Bonus HP | +120 |
Speed | 36 | Def/M.Def | 36/36 | Bonus MP | +30 |
Magic | 36 | Block/M.Block | 12/6 | Run Chance | High |
Stamina | 36 |
Celes has the most balanced stats in BNW. Other than her evasion stats, everything is above-average, and she is one of the few characters to gain both a significant amount of Bonus HP and Bonus MP. While Celes lacks Terra's base Magic, she has an edge on Terra in Vigor, Speed, Stamina, and HP, making her a better fighter out of the gate. Of course, espers can change everything, but Celes has a great platform to launch her growth in any direction she wishes.
Special Skill - Runic
Celes's special ability, Runic, is a mostly defensive one. When activated, Celes will enter a Runic "stance" until she takes another turn. While Runic is active, the next spell cast by anyone (friend or foe) will not take effect. Instead, it will be "redirected" to Celes, who will harmlessly absorb it with no ill effect. In fact, she will gain MP proportionate to the cost of the spell that was cast!
There's not too much to say about Runic, as it's a fairly simple and passive ability. However, a few things are worth keeping in mind. First, Celes must have a sword-type weapon equipped in order to use Runic. She usually will, but keep it in mind if she's wielding something else. Second, bear in mind that Runic cannot absorb everything. It only works on actual spells, that is, things cast from the Magic menu and their equivalents when used by monsters. Anything that is not a spell (usually obvious, as it'll be prefixed with a colored dot) will bypass Runic entirely. This is bad if your party is oriented around casting a bunch of spells, but it can also be used to your advantage. If, say, Strago is in the party, he can cast his Lores with impunity because they aren't spells and aren't absorbed by Runic. Summons can also bypass Runic, allowing the party to attack with magic damage even while Celes is in her Runic stance.
Espers
Ramuh | Vigor +2 | Alexandr | HP +60 |
Siren | Magic +1 / Speed +1 | Crusader | Vigor +1 / Speed +1 |
Shiva | Magic +2 | ||
Phantom | Vigor +1 / Stamina +1 | ||
Seraph | HP +30 / +15 MP |
Celes has the unique distinction of being the only character in BNW who can raise all of her stats. Terra (who ties her in Esper access) can raise everything but Speed, so Celes not only has an edge on base Speed but also the potential to become even faster than Terra. Of course, she can do an awful lot more: She has access to +2 Vigor and +2 Magic, as well as a +60 HP Esper.
The only tricky thing about Celes is how certain stats are raised. Speed can only go up along with Magic through Siren, and Stamina is tied to either Phantom (and thus Vigor) or Crusader (and thus MP). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's something to be aware of; a Vigor-oriented Celes, for example, may have to make do with her base Speed or else put levels into something that gives +Magic instead of more desirable stats.
Spells
Cure | (Level 1) | Ice | (Level 6/Shiva) | Scan | (Level 9) | |
Cure 2 | (Level 18/Seraph) | Ice 2 | (Level 12/Shiva) | Float | (Phantom) | |
Life | (Ramuh) | Ice 3 | (Level 24) | Safe | (Level 21) | |
Rerise | (Seraph) | Bolt | (Ramuh) | Haste | (Siren/Phantom) | |
Remedy | (Level 15) | Bolt 2 | (Ramuh) | Bserk | (Shiva) | |
Regen | (Seraph) | Bolt 3 | (Level 30) | Mute | (Siren) | |
Demi | (Alexandr) | Dispel | (Phantom) | |||
Quatr | (Alexandr) | Slow | (Siren) | |||
Holy | (Alexandr) | |||||
Merton | (Crusader) |
Celes picks up a dazzling diversity of spell options. She has pure damage in all three primary elements (plus Holy), fractional damage in Demi and Quartr, direct Magic and Stamina-based healing, active and passive revival in Life and Rerise, a few negative status spells (including Slow), and a whole lot of buffs (including Haste).
There are some gaps in her arsenal, even so. She lacks direct Fire damage outside of Merton, which can be a very tricky spell to use correctly (but very powerful if you can use it properly, so don't be discouraged from trying!). She only learns Cure 2 and Life, unlike Terra, who picks up stronger versions of those spells. Also, while Celes has many potent buffs and several good debuffs, the majority are only single target. Sleep and Haste are extremely powerful, but Sleep X and Haste X are often even moreso, making Celes more of a secondary caster. Of course, in boss fights her single-target debuffs are usually no disadvantage at all, and having both Slow and Haste on a single caster is incredibly powerful.
Equipment
As equipment options go, Celes is more or less equivalent to Terra. She has access to almost all Heavy Armor (including the Minerva, which only she and Terra can use) and most Robes, all Helmets and most Hats (including the Circlet), and all Shields (including the Hero Shield). Her weapons include basically all Swords, Flails, and Thrown Weapons.
Celes does have some points that cause her gear selection process to differ from Terra's a bit, however. First, she lacks Morph, so she cannot multiplier-stack with things like Thrown Weapons quite as well as Terra. She also is more inclined to use Swords where possible because she needs one equipped to use Runic. On the other hand, since she cannot Morph, Celes is rarely taking as much damage as Terra, which allows her to be a spectacular tank with defensive gear. She's one of the few characters who doesn't much fear the front row, as she can acquire high physical and magical protection with ease.
Celes has a handful of unique relics. The Soul Box is like Terra's Gem Box, halving MP costs; this can be very handy, as Celes has incentive to run with powerful Vigor/Magic-stacking builds that Terra can't match and these builds might cut into her ability to raise her MP pool. The Soul Box and a Circlet can go a long way toward keeping her casting. She also benefits from just about any other Relic; Power Gloves can be handy with strong physical swords, but a Crystal Orb is handy when she's casting her potent spells or using swords that cast spells like the Illumina. Defensive Relics are extremely interesting on Celes; something like a Knight Cape and Black Belt combination allows her to cover for injured allies (a simple task given her bulk) and then counterattack the foe. What Celes wants will depend a lot on how she is built and what she's most needed for, but it also makes her very versatile and capable of shifting to a different role on demand due to her high resilience and great base stats. Think first about what Celes needs to do in a fight - Attack? Tank? Cast spells? Heal? - then give her what she needs to do it. And if you can't think of anything, make her tougher to kill, as that always plays to her strengths.
Availability
Celes first appears relatively early in the World of Balance, joining in Locke's scenario. She is immediately thereafter available for the Narshe Battle and Zozo sequence, and she is forced into the party that travels to the Empire, leaving toward the end of the IMRF sequence. In theory this gives her lots of time to stick around and be useful, but in practice it's mostly just an opportunity for her to gain Esper levels. Assorted plot contrivances keep denying Celes the opportunity to actually fight bosses: She's preoccupied against Ultros at the Opera House, available for Shiva/Ifrit and Number 024, but then ducks out for Number 128 and Cranes, probably the hardest fights of that sequence. She's then MIA for the Sealed Gate and Crescent Island sequences, but is back for the Floating Continent. The best thing to say for her WoB availability is that she has lots of opportunities to level up, but she isn't always as useful as other characters who stick around a bit more.
The World of Ruin is a completely different story. Celes is the lead from the start of the WoR, and she is available from the moment she awakens on the Solitary Island to the end of the game. She's not skippable and there's no way to avoid controlling her. As a result, Celes is involved in every mandatory WoR boss fight leading up to the recovery of the Falcon and is obviously available for every fight thereafter.
Build & Role Options
Build 1
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CRITICAL ESPERS - WoB Esper / WoR Esper
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USEFUL ESPERS - WoB Esper / WoR Esper
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Build 2
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CRITICAL ESPERS - WoB Esper / WoR Esper
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USEFUL ESPERS - WoB Esper / WoR Esper
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Build 3
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CRITICAL ESPERS - WoB Esper / WoR Esper
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USEFUL ESPERS - WoB Esper / WoR Esper
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