Most JRPGs treat titles like an afterthought. You equip "Hero," you get a +5 to strength, and you never think about it again. But if you’ve spent any significant time with the 2010 Wii original or the refined Tales of Graces f on PS3 (and now the Remastered version), you know that Tales of Graces f titles are the entire point of the game. They aren't just badges of honor. They are the literal engine of your character's growth.
It’s a weird system. Honestly, it’s kinda overwhelming at first. You finish a battle and suddenly five different icons pop up telling you that Asbel just earned "Lord of Lhant" or Sophie got "Crab Aficionado." If you're coming from Tales of Arise or Vesperia, the sheer volume of these things feels like spam. But here’s the thing: if you ignore these, you will hit a wall. Hard.
How Tales of Graces f Titles Actually Work
In most games, you level up to get stronger. In Graces, your base level is almost secondary. The real meat of your stats comes from "equipping" a title and feeding it SP (Skill Points) earned in battle. Each title has five ranks. Rank one might give you a new Arte—maybe Asbel learns Demon Fang. Rank two might give you a +2 to Accuracy. Rank three might be a "hidden" boost to your CC (Chain Capacity) recovery.
You have to constantly swap them. This is the part that trips people up. Once a title hits Rank 5, it’s "mastered." While you keep the permanent stat boosts and the skills you unlocked, the title itself stops growing. If you leave a mastered title equipped, you’re essentially throwing away SP. You’ve got to be a micromanager.
It creates this addictive loop. You aren't just fighting to see the story; you're fighting because Hubert is 20 SP away from learning a move that lets him shoot lightning out of his dual blades. It’s brilliant. It makes every random encounter feel meaningful because you’re always on the verge of a breakthrough.
The Complexity of Unlocking Them
The game doesn't just hand these out for hitting things. Well, some of them it does. You get titles for "Defeated 100 Wolves" or "Used Severing Wind 200 times." Those are the easy ones. Then there are the story titles. You can't miss those.
But the good ones? The ones that actually break the game? Those are hidden behind the weirdest requirements. Take the "Discovery" titles. You find a scenic view or a weird goat in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly the whole party gets a title. Or the "Itemist" titles where you have to craft specific food items using the Dualizing system.
There is a specific title for Malik called "Model Student" that you only get by viewing a specific skit in the orphanage. If you miss that skit, you miss a specific stat growth path. It’s that level of granularity that makes the Tales of Graces f titles system so deep, yet so punishing for completionists.
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Why the "f" Content Changed Everything
When the game moved from the Wii to the PlayStation 3 (the "f" stands for Future), Bandai Namco added the "Lineage & Legacies" epilogue. This wasn't just a two-hour victory lap. It was a massive chunk of content that introduced "Accels."
Accels are basically super modes. And how do you unlock them? Through titles, obviously.
The Accel titles are some of the most grind-heavy but rewarding elements in the game. They require you to use your character's unique mechanic—like Cheria’s time stop or Richard’s instant casting—hundreds of times. It forces you to actually learn how to play the characters. You can't just mash X and hope for the best. If you want Sophie’s "God-of-the-fist" vibes, you have to earn it through the title system.
The Stat Grind is Real
Let’s talk numbers. Each title gives a "Mastery Bonus." When you hit Rank 5, you get a permanent stat increase. It might be +1 to P.Atk (Physical Attack) or +3 to E.Def (Eleth Defense). That sounds small. It’s not.
There are over 100 titles per character. If you master 100 titles that each give +2 to a stat, that’s a +200 permanent boost. That is the difference between getting one-shot by a boss on Chaos difficulty and actually standing a chance.
The game basically encourages "Title Farming." You go to an area with high SP yield, set the difficulty as high as you can handle (because higher difficulty = more SP), and just rotate through your list. It’s a different kind of power fantasy. It’s not about finding a legendary sword in a chest; it’s about the fact that your Pascal is a powerhouse because you spent three hours making her master every "Staff" title in her inventory.
Misconceptions About Mastery
A common mistake players make is thinking they need to master every title the moment they get it. You don't. In fact, that's a great way to burn out.
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The smart way to handle Tales of Graces f titles is to prioritize skills over stats in the early game. Look at the ranks. If a title gives a new Arte at Rank 1, equip it, win one battle, learn the move, and move on. You can come back and grind the +1 Defense bonus later when you have the "SP Multiplier" food effects or better equipment.
Another misconception: "The DLC titles are pay-to-win."
Kinda. Sorta.
There are costume titles you can buy (or unlock in the remaster) that give massive boosts early on. But they don't replace the core titles. You still need the base titles to unlock the actual Arte tree. A fancy swimsuit costume won't give Asbel his end-game Mystic Artes.
The Hidden Depth of "Titles as Equipment"
Most people forget that the title you have currently equipped also provides a passive bonus. This is separate from the permanent bonuses.
If Asbel has "Starlight Paladin" equipped, he might take 10% less damage from dragon-type enemies. If Cheria has a healing-focused title equipped, her Nurse spell might cast 20% faster. This adds a tactical layer to boss fights. You aren't just picking your best gear; you’re picking the title that fits the specific encounter.
- Against a fast boss? Equip a title that boosts Accuracy or lowers CC cost.
- Against a magic caster? Equip a title with high magic resistance.
- Grinding for gold? There’s a title for that.
It turns the "Status" menu into a workbench.
The Specific Case of Richard
Richard is a weird one. In the original game, he’s barely there. In the f content and the Remaster, he becomes a fully playable powerhouse. His titles are specifically designed to make him a "glass cannon."
His "Vampiric" titles allow him to regain HP based on damage dealt, which is essential because his defense stats are garbage. If you ignore Richard’s specific title grind during the "Lineage & Legacies" arc, he will be useless in the final dungeon. You have to lean into his "magic swordsman" titles to make his casting speed fast enough to be viable. It’s a masterclass in character design through mechanics.
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Mastering the Title System: Practical Steps
If you're playing the Remaster right now, don't play it like a standard RPG. Play it like a collector. Here is how you actually dominate the system without losing your mind.
Focus on CC (Chain Capacity) first. Any title that mentions "CC +1" or "CC Recovery" is your top priority. In Graces, CC is your stamina. If you have no CC, you can't move. If you can't move, you die. Characters like Hubert and Pascal are CC-hungry monsters. Find the titles that boost their minimum and maximum CC early.
Abuse the Dualizing Book. There are books you can put in your Eleth Pot (the game’s auto-item generator) that increase SP gain. The "Book of Solitude" or the "Book of Gathering" can drastically change how fast you level up titles. Use them. Always have food cooking in the pot that triggers at the end of battle for extra SP.
Check the "Library" often. The game actually tells you how to unlock most titles if you look at the "Titles" sub-menu. It’ll say something vague like "Condition: Use X move 100 times." If you see a character is missing a huge chunk of titles, it’s probably because you aren't using their full move set. Switch to manual control for a bit, spam those moves, and unlock the titles.
Don't ignore the "Commoner" titles. The ones you get for just walking around or talking to NPCs often have the best hidden stat multipliers.
The beauty of the Tales of Graces f titles is that they reward curiosity. If you poke around the world, talk to the weird guy in the corner of the bar, and try out every weird item you dualize, the game rewards you with power. It’s a much more organic way of getting strong than just killing 10,000 slimes in a field.
To truly optimize your run, you should keep a mental checklist of which "types" of titles you're missing. If Asbel is tanky but can't hit anything, stop focusing on his "Warrior" titles and start looking for his "Scholar" or "Social" titles, which often govern Accuracy and Evasion. The game is balanced so that you need a mix.
Next time you open the menu and see a list of 300 unmastered titles, don't panic. Just pick one that has a cool-sounding Rank 1 skill, equip it, and get back into the fight. That’s the Graces way. You’ll find that by the time you reach the final boss, those tiny +1 bonuses have stacked into a literal god-tier build.
Stop thinking about your level. Start thinking about your titles. It’s the only way to play.