How the Skill Point economy works, what to buy first, every character’s folio nodes and Synergy Abilities, and the manuscript checklist that tops up your SP.
Spoiler level: names late-game abilities, Lv.3 Limit Breaks and manuscript sources. No plot. Import a save on the Save Import page and each character’s sheet shows which nodes you’ve unlocked.
How Folios work
Every party member has their own Folio — a branching board of Skill Cores (nodes) you unlock by spending that character’s SP.
SP comes from Weapon Level. Combat gives both character and weapon EXP; each Weapon Level is +5 SP. Levelling the character levels the equipped weapon alongside it, so SP just accrues as you play.
Manuscripts are the other source — each one is auto-consumed on pickup for +10 SP. Six per character on any difficulty (+60 SP); ten more are Hard-Mode only.
Party Level gates the board — raising it (Chadley intel, world activities) reveals deeper Skill Cores for everyone at once.
Respec is free and unlimited. Open the Folio, hold to refund a node, rebuild for the fight in front of you, rebuild back after. There is no cost and no cooldown.
Node costs step up as you go deeper: 5 → 10 → 15 → 20 SP. You cannot fill a folio in one playthrough without the Hard-Mode manuscripts.
The node types
■ Stat Boosts
Max HP/MP, ATB rate, elemental damage, guard & Limit passives. The quiet backbone.
■ Abilities
New ATB commands — no MP cost. Five per character, plus the Lv.3 Limit Break.
■ Synergy Skills
Free partner moves (no ATB) that build ATB fast. Three are folio-gated.
■ Synergy Abilities
Big two-character moves. Each carries a bonus: Limit +, Extra ATB, Unlimited MP, or Stagger boost.
What to buy first
Roughly the same order for everyone, then bend it toward the character (their sheet below spells that out):
Synergy Skills — they cost no ATB and generate it. Cheap, always on, and they unlock the pressure loop the rest of the kit runs on.
One Synergy Ability with the partner you actually field — the permanent effect (Limit + / Extra ATB / Unlimited MP / Stagger) matters more than the animation. Grab the United Refocus (Extra ATB) pair if you have it.
ATB nodes — ATB Charge Rate Up and Opening ATB Bonus set your whole combat tempo.
Core stats — Max HP for the front line, Max MP for casters, then the damage passives (Weapon Ability Damage Up, Elemental Damage Up, Combo Damage Up).
The Lv.3 Limit Break once SP is comfortable — 15 SP, and it’s a permanent power spike.
Everything else — situational guard / counter / debuff passives. Respec these per wall.
Manuscripts
One book type per character, 16 volumes each, 10 SP apiece, auto-used on pickup. Vols 1–6 are available on any difficulty; Vols 7–16 are Hard Mode only.
Character
Manuscript
Where the first six come from
Cloud
The Art of Swordplay
Moogle Emporium (ranks 1 & 4), GP Exchange, Battle Square / Colosseum, Odd Jobs
Barret
Sharpshooter’s Companion
Moogle Emporium (ranks 3 & 7), GP Exchange, Colosseum, Odd Jobs
Tifa
Way of the Fist
Moogle Emporium (ranks 1 & 4), GP Exchange, Colosseum, Odd Jobs
Aerith
Telluric Scriptures
Moogle Emporium (ranks 2 & 6), GP Exchange, Colosseum, Odd Jobs
Red XIII
Tale of the Red Warrior
Moogle Emporium (ranks 2 & 5), GP Exchange, Colosseum, Odd Jobs
Yuffie
Secrets of the Ninja
Moogle Emporium (ranks 3 & 4), GP Exchange, Colosseum, Odd Jobs
Cait Sith
Fortunes Untold
Moogle Emporium (ranks 4 & 5), GP Exchange, Colosseum, Odd Jobs
Hard-Mode volumes come from Chapter-boss first-clears, Chadley’s Combat Simulator (the Legendary Bouts open after Gilgamesh), and Classified Intel. The Combat Simulator Log tracks the fights; the Don’t-Miss Manifest flags the missable Odd Jobs.
Pick a character
Their sheet tints the page. Selection is saved on this device. If you’ve imported a save, unlocked nodes are ticked.