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Does anyone else agree with me that Charm is kind of a rough way to handle stealing? Maybe I'm more used to games that make stealing within reach, but it seems like it's a bit of a pain to have only a three-person party and then have only one character who can swipe items (and it costs MP to boot).

Maybe I'm a bit underleveled in my current playthrough, I dunno, but it seems like a waste of a turn in a lot of battles to go for a charm, and without the Charm Top I'm not getting much of anywhere with bosses. Seems like I'd have better luck if I could Charm and still stay ahead of larger battles simultaneously.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I found Charm to be really useful, actually. I ran a team with Robo and Ayla, so Ayla kind of took a back seat in terms of raw damage dealing. She basically just stole (or charmed, I guess) and healed when necessary while Robo brought the crush. You can Charm some really priceless equipment from some of the bosses (Speed Tabs, Prism Helm, Prism Dress, Mermaid Cap, Black/Red Mails, Haste Helmet, etc etc etc). I don't remember missing as much as you mentioned, R51, but it might be dependent on Ayla's level. Since she was always in my party, she was higher level.

Anyways, yea charming is really useful if you know who to charm and really just dedicate Ayla to that role, but if Ayla is the main breadwinner then it's not that great. All of those items can be obtained elsewhere (except Mermaid Cap, IIRC), although not always together (Prism Dress/Helms come to mind).

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Is PJ

Charm is so freaking useful. It gets you Tabs, it gets you great equipment at times (Mountain of Woe stuff, Prism Helm, Prism Dress, all four colorful Mails, Nova Armor, Gold Stud, Prism Specs in CTDS) and more. I only wish that other characters could use it, so you could have better party diversity. If you're having trouble charming with just Ayla, try using the Ayla/Marle Twin Charm dual tech.

PS: You can find a new Mermaid Helm and R'Bow Helm in CTDS, but not so much in the original. Those two have to be stolen in the SNES and PS1 versions.

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Quote (laszlow @ 10th February 2009 14:58)

If you're having trouble charming with just Ayla, try using the Ayla/Marle Twin Charm dual tech.

Ha ha, I read the guide. However, using a dualtech on it actually exacerbates one of my problems - that I feel it takes a useful party member out of the round. Dualtechs take two out, you see.

It's really just a nitpick, and it's probably more connected to my lack of patience with RPGs in general these days as opposed to any real flaw in the way CT does it.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

My only problem with charm is that it was given to a character who could be way more useful doing other things. I don't think it even approaches the irritation of playing, say, FFIX and having to reload because you killed the boss too fast, though.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

I've rarely, if ever, used Charm. When Ayla is in my party, it's usually to dish out massive amounts of damage as a main physical fighter rather than to act out the role of thief. I agree with Kara in that it's a skill that would've probably been better in the hands of a different character, though I can't really imagine which.

I imagine it must be relatively useful if it nets you that kind of end-game armor, accessories and weapons, but I never felt like I was so under-leveled or poorly-equipped that I needed to go about Charming for gear.

There have been much more frustrating versions of Steal, however.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

I think the only times I've ever used Charm are on Zeal's hands in that battle, and maybe on a Nu just to get a mop for fun.

Edit

Did I just see a chain of Marles from y'all mods?

Edit

Oh, I forgot. Thanks for the next post for reminding me. Slasher 2, Flea Vest, and OzziePants (two of them or so). And megalixirs from Zeal and the Mammon Machine and Ruminators. And something from some of the other late-game bosses (I think Son of Sun gives something nice, but I can't remember what it is).

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 4th April 2009 21:37

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One game, I made a point of charming a lot of stuff, and I was surprised by how happy I was with the results. Personally, I usually don't use Ayla, but I found, like Caesar, that Charm yielded all sorts of interesting results and goodies.

Other than that, on a typical play through, I only use it on Ozzy, Flea, and Slash the second time around to get their special items.

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
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Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

I find Charm super useful, and with the Alluring Top it's even better, but yeah, wasting MP to steal is stupid, I find it hard to believe that Crono and the gang didn't meet a single thief through their journey!

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PS3 tag: TipoDLuffy

"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made"

I barely used Charm at all on my first playthrough (SNES), but in the DS-version I've been using it a lot.. Very useful, indeed.

For a good 1/3 of my life (I'm necroposting because I wanted to write that) I ignored stealing when I played Chrono Trigger. I've given it a shot more recently and discovered all sorts of things that were new to me, which is cool. But I don't like how it almost locked me into having Ayla and Marle in my party at all times. I'm not very into exploits/power gaming, and I feel like the stat-boosting that's possible with heavy use of Charm gets too out of hand.

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"Cavefish is delicious, but only if cooked."