[mistnacks]



each character has three mistnacks.
when a character obtains the first mistnack, the mp guage will turn yellow when his mp is full.
this indicates that his mist cartridge is fully loaded and ready to go.
one mist cartridge equals the character's maximum mp's worth of mp.
when a character obtains the second mistnack, he gains a second mist cartridge.
what this means is that the character's maximum mp will become double his maximum mp as stated by his status.
when a character obtains the third and final mistnack, he gains a third mist cartridge.

level 1 mistnacks require one mist cartridge full of mp to engage.
level 2 mistnacks require two mist cartridges full of mp to engage.
level 3 mistnacks require all three mist cartridges full of mp to engage.

confused?

let's say that your vaan's statistical max mp is 72.
with no mistnacks, his max mp is 72, and his mp guage is always blue.
after obtaining the first mistnack, his max mp is still 72, but his mp guage will star to turn yellow when he is full at 72/72.
the yellow guage (and the accompanying ding) indicates that his mist cartridge is now fully loaded.
he will be able to use a level 1 mistnack only when the mist cartridge is full (i.e. mp guage is yellow).
after obtaining the second mistnack, his max mp will be 144, as he gains a second mist cartridge of 72mp.
half the guage will be yellow if he has at least 72mp, and the guage will be completely yellow at 144mp.
he will be able to use a level 1 mistnack when he has one yellow guage (i.e. 72mp), but he won't be able to use a level 2 mistnack unless he two fully loaded cartridges at 144mp.
after obtaining the third mistnack and its accompanying mist cartridge, his max mp will be 216 (72*3), and the guage will turn yellow 1/3 at a time (i.e. after his remaining mp reaches 72, 144, and 216).
he will be able to use a level 1 mistnack at 72mp, level 2 at 144mp, and level 3 at 216mp(i.e. full).

all mistnacks hit only one target, but do lots of damage.
if you use one (or more) mistnacks in battle, your mp will be zero at the end of the mistnack screen.


vaan

level 1: red spiral
level 2: deep hazard
level 3: melt crimson


balflear

level 1: abduction compass
level 2: destiny bolt run
level 3: mutinious aspect


fran

level 1: raging life-splitting fists
level 2: strong armor-piercing kick
level 3: ice wolf biting wave


basch

level 1: impact of darkness and shadow
level 2: doubtless finale
level 3: sunlight searing hundred demons


ashe

level 1: north star bonebreaker slash
level 2: holy light explosive slash
level 3: heavenly drum thunderous roar lightning slash


panelo

level 1: death to life, give and abduct
level 2: cloud clearing, fog lifting
level 3: mountain's violets, clear as water


furthermore, you can skillchain mistnacks.
when you first select a mistnack, you enter the mistnack mode.
during the mistnack movie, you will have a timer counting down on the bottom left.
you also will have three random mistnacks listed at bottom right, labeled with the button icons.
the timer is the time limit for you to enter another mistnack to follow (skillchain),
and the three mistnacks showing are your options for the next mistnack (you hit the corresponding button to engage it as the next mistnack).
every mistnack skillchains with each other - the mistnacks are greyed out only if the character doesn't have enough mp to engage in that mistnack.
(e.g. ashe won't be able to use her level 3 mistnack if you entered mistnack mode right after she casted curada on basch!)
as long as you have time left, you can hit the button to switch to a different set of mistnacks (and perhaps find one that a character has enough mp to execute).
sometimes, the mistnack will read "cartridge" - this is a lucky roll, as selecting it gives you full mp just for the duration of mistnack mode.
(e.g. ashe got lucky with "cartridge" so she will be able to use that level 3 mistnack after all!)
the more you skillchain, the more damage you deal, and the less time you'll have to enter the next mistnack in the chain.
this means that a huge mistnack chain does great damage, but you need lots of luck (i.e. lots of "cartridge" rolls) to crank one out.

when a mistnack skillchain fulfills certain requirements, a skillchain effect will appear at the end of mistnack mode.
a mistnack skillchain effect not only does extra damage, but it has an area of effect, so if you're going to skillchain a mistnack, aim for the special effects!
when you meet the requirements for more than two effects, the higher level effect will show up.


level 1 effect: flame inferno (3 lv.1's)
level 2 effect: earth cactarasm (7 lv.1's)
level 3 effect: water eruption (2 lv.1's + 3 lv.2's)
level 4 effect: wind rupture (5 lv.2's)
level 5 effect: whiteout (5 lv.3's)
level 6 effect: ark blast (2 lv.1's + 2 lv.2's + 2 lv.3's)
level 7 effect: luminescence (3 lv.1's + 3 lv.2's + 3 lv.3's)
level 8 effect: black hole (4 lv.1's + 4 lv.2's + 4 lv.3's)