A list of characters in Phantasy Star Online 2 belonging to the ARKS organisation or otherwise living on the Oracle colony fleet. To return to the main character index, click here.

ARKS (Artificial Relict to Keep Species) is the official military of the Oracle colony fleet, which houses over one hundred million residents. Their official mission is to act as a first-contact force for new planets, assessing its worth for possible colonization while defending themselves from hostile natives or terrain. However, their secondary purpose, and the true reason for their founding, is to combat the "Falspawn", an Eldritch Abomination race that infect and corrupt every living being and planet they come across. The members of ARKS are chosen for their ability to control and wield "Photons", an energy source that acts as the antithesis to F-Factors and grants each ARKS resistance to their corruption.

While "ARKS" is the name of the organization as a whole, the term can also be used to describe its operatives.

WARNING: Late-Arrival Spoiler for events up to Episode 1-3

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In General

The Oracle Fleet

Amazing Technicolor Population: Averted for Humans and Newmans, who are restricted to a realistic skin tone range. Deumans can select from red to blue, and CASTs can pick any color they want.
Artificial Human: The Newman and Deuman, being artificially engineered humans with added traits to increase their overall Photon affinity. Prior to them, ARKS in general was created by the Photoners as soldiers in the war against the Falspawn and Profound Darkness.
Back for the Finale: Nearly every named ARKS operative shows up in the finale of Episode 6 to help pave the way for the Guardians to break into Shiva's stronghold and strike her down.
Batman Can Breathe in Space: ARKS operatives show no issue at all breathing in space. While understandable for CASTs given their robotic nature, the Humans, Newmans, and Deumans have no such explanation.
Colony Ship: The Oracle Fleet in general. One ship alone is enough to house over a million residents, and there are over at least 128 ships^*Themis is Ship 128 in the fleet in total. This puts into perspective how large the fleet and its population is. In the anime Episode Oracle, the potential number of ships that the Oracle Fleet has goes up to over 408, nearly triple of the originally established number in the game.
Faster-Than-Light Travel: The fleet is capable of it through the usage of photons, allowing them to get close to any planet they've been previously to almost instantly.
Min-Maxing: The races (besides humans each have stat modifiers that put them slightly above the others in particular areas. CASTs have superior physical and ranged stats, while Newmans are Tech-oriented. However, over time, their photon affinities became more or less equal, allowing any race to specialize in any class that suits them. In-gameplay, this translates to the stat differences being ultimately nominal at best by endgame, especially when augments on weaponry and units easily overshadow any race modifiers.
Planet Spaceship: The Oracle Mothership. It's actually uses a planet as its core with the ship itself being more or less the armor that protects it and allows it to move. The planet in question also happens to be Xion herself, though after her death, she's replaced by Xiao and a new Mothership with him at its core.
Power Limiter: Aboard each ship in the Oracle Fleet is a special dampening field that weakens the ability of ARKS operatives to utilize photon arts and techniques. This is to prevent potential collateral from conflicts among its members, with not even the Council of Six being immune. However, it can be lifted during special emergencies. This is averted with the Protagonist and Matoi however as both of them are so powerful that they're effectively immune to the field's effects as seen when they fight against Mother Corps aboard the ARKS ship that was sent to Earth.
Space Navy: ARKS itself, being the military branch of Oracle that works to defend the Fleet and take out threats like the Falspawn while also exploring various planets throughout the universe, sometimes aiding other species if deemed necessary or allowable.
Square Race, Round Class: Newmans have statlines tailored towards being Squishy Wizards and CASTs are designed to perform as either physical or ranged attack classes. There's nothing stopping you from doing the inverse though, and several characters in the story, such as Saga, use weapons and classes that don't necessarily suit their race's natural statline.
Super-Soldier: The members of ARKS as a whole. As revealed by Luther, the original members were basically super soldiers meant to harness the power of Photons in order to better fight against the Falspawn. The Newman, CAST, and Deuman were also meant to be this, but over time the photon capabilities of regular Human ARKS increased to the point that the differences between the races became negligible for the most part.
Wave-Motion Gun: In Episode Oracle, it's shown that the Oracle Mothership is equipped with an incredibly powerful one that's capable of devastating effect at the cost of an exponential amount of photons. Regius makes use of it to drive back Dark Falz Elder after his awakening.

Races

Humans

The original and most populous race in ARKS. While they lack specialty in any particular field, their flexibility makes them well-sutied toward picking up any particular class.

Humans Are Average: Humans have no particular stat modifiers compared to the other races. So while they won't be topping the charts in raw growths, they won't be particularly deficient in any particular stat either.

Newmans

Newmans are genetically modified humans specialized in manipulating photons. As a result, they have superior affinity for Tech-using classes like Force, but suffer from lower health and dexterity as a result. They're easily identified by their pointy ears.

Pointy Ears: Newmans, being Space Elves, have these. These were originally designed to gather Photons at a higher rate of frequency than regular Humans, but by the 3rd Generation of ARKS, Photon research for Humans has advanced enough that the difference in Photon abilities between Humans and Newmans is largely irrelevant.
Space Elves: Newmans are easily identified by their pointy ears, which resemble that of a typical elf in a standard fantasy RPG.
Squishy Wizard: Newmans have superior T-ATK compared to the other races, but suffer form lower HP and DEX as a result.

CASTs

Individuals whose bodies were born too frail to withstand their own photon affinity can have their mind and some organic parts of their body transferred into a robotic chassis, producing the race known as CASTs. Thanks to their robotic bodies, they boast superior physical strength and durability when compared to the other races, but their affinity for Techniques is poorer than the others.

Cyborg: Regular CASTs are this, as they still have organic parts on the inside of their robotic shells. By taking DNA samples from said organic parts, it's also possible for CASTs to have children of their own.
Emergency Transformation: It's revealed by Lukot that it's common practice that those who become CASTs are turned into one right after birth in order to prevent any complications with the newborn infants due to poor health as mentioned above. The practice is common in fact that Lukot herself is considered a rare anomaly as she's the only CAST on record who was turned into one as a child when she was in grade school rather than as an infant.
Ridiculously Human Robots: In addition to regular CASTs, there also exists the Hi-CASTs whom are purely robotic but nonetheless are just as human as their counterparts. There are only two known Hi-CASTs in ARKS. The first is Xiera, whom by herself is actually comprised of a multiple individual units connected through the Xiera network, and the other is Ludmilla, an engineer and researcher in charge of AIS development.
Magically Inept Fighter: Downplayed. They have worse T-ATK and T-DEF growths than the other races in exchange for better HP, S-ATK, R-ATK, and DEX. But there's nothing stopping them from using Techs or specializing in Tech-based classes like Force.

Deumans

The newest race of ARKS. Like Newmans, Deumans are genetically modified for superior photon affinity, particularly in the use of Photon Arts. They have all-around superior offensive stats, but they suffer from low HP. They possess striking horns and dichromatic eyes that delineate them from humans and newmans.

Exotic Eye Designs: The Deuman have the spiral pupils available to them. The plethora of eye pattern unlocks that give the character these also qualify. Flowers, stars, swirls, you name it. Can overlap with Mark of the Supernatural.
Glass Cannon: Deumans have physical strength exceeding even that of a CAST and technical aptitude second only to Newmans, but are just as frail as the latter.
Horned Humanoid: Barring horn accessories that can be unlocked and worn, the Deuman race naturally has horns. The males have only one horn, while females have two, making the race similar to oni. Much like a Newman's Pointy Ears, the Deuman's horn acts as a receptor for Photons.
Remember the New Guy?: Originally the Deuman race didn't exist until their introduction in Episode 2. Haddred's death created a temporal anomaly that resulted in the cloth on his left horn to travel into the distant past which would be later discovered by the early Oracle Fleet. Scientists at the time then proceeded extract DNA samples from the cloth which in turn would result in the creation of the Deuman Race.

ARKS & Oracle Fleet Leadership

Xiao

Xiao as of Episode 5

Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (JP), Zach Aguilar (EN)

Introduced in Episode 2, Xiao is a mysterious young boy who proclaims himself to be the "younger brother of Xion". He is actually a copy created by Xion herself, brought into the fold to help take down Luther and reform ARKS into a better organization. To that end, Xiao enhances the Protagonist's ability to time travel which allows them to travel further back into the past, beckoning them to save key figures who would later become instrumental in Luther's downfall. After Xion's death, he and Mothership Xiao end up taking over her role as the Oracle Fleet's mothership.

In Episode 3, Xiao temporarily assumes leadership of ARKS and the Oracle Fleet after Luther's death. After the Profound Darkness is sealed away by Persona in a time loop, he relinquishes control of ARKS over to Ulku. Xiao then creates the Xiera Network to help manage the various ships within the Oracle Fleet, and afterwards bides his time within Mothership Xiao as he begins to research for a way to save Persona and vanquish the Profound Darkness for good.

He later returns in Episode 5, now with a teenage appearance and currently working as the Oracle Overseer.

Accidental Hero: Without even realizing it, Xiao more or less helped save Matoi's life and maybe the universe before Xion even brought him in. Had he not decided to have the Protagonist time travel and investigate what happened to her during the Falspawn Invasion of AP 228, she would have likely died in her fight against Apprentice the Vernal if not outright become the Profound Darkness considering the mass amounts of F-Factors she had been building up by killing so many Falspawn.
Accidental Pervert: As it turns out, Xiao is actually the one responsible for Matoi's rather revealing choice of clothes as he designed them in such a way that she could gather photons more easily the more skin she showed. He doesn't really take into consideration how embarrassing it would be for her or others.
Adorably Precocious Child: He certainly plays the part, but given his nature as a copy of Xion, he's actually well smarter and more mature than he appears.
Back from the Dead: He's able to wake up within Sara and used the shattered Kasheena's energy and the dragon crystals as his new body, being able to remotely linked to Lo Kamitsu and turned the tide against the Photoners.
Big Damn Heroes: Right when it seems the ARKS is done for, Xiao manages to pull another Oracle Mothership out of time and usurps control of the fleet from Luther, saving the entire organization at their last moments.
Big Good: Assumes the role by the end of Episode 2, taking over for Xion after her death and acting as temporary overseer of both ARKS and the Oracle Fleet during Episode 3. After the reorganization period, he's officially designated as the Oracle Overseer (much like Luther was prior) while ARKS itself is now lead by Ulku and Xiera.
Blue Is Heroic: Blue hair, blue eyes, blue clothes, and 100% on your side.
Brutal Honesty: He has a tendency to speak his mind even if he knows it will piss off the person talking to him. Most notably, he initially advocates for killing Matoi before she becomes the Profound Darkness, knowing full well that both he and the protagonist have grown attached to her. Lampshaded in Episode 5, when the protagonist calls him inherently sassy.
Changing of the Guard: Xiao takes over the Matter Board business for Xion after her death.
Character Tics: He has a particular habit of putting his hand horizontally in front of his face and slowly drawing it to the side while he's explaining himself. After aging himself up, he starts rubbing the back of his head when the conversation takes a turn for the uncomfortable.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: While Xiao acts a lot like the kid he projects himself as and is clumsier with his time-space powers than Xion, it doesn't change the fact that he has time-space powers. Most of the Protagonist's direct meddling in the timeline is done with his help, to say nothing about pulling an Oracle Mothership out of thin air to screw over Luther.
Deadpan Snarker: He calls the protagonist, Matoi, and Alma "freaks" for their prodigious powers and skill. When Maria asks if he's plotting something in Episode 5, Xiao sarcastically quips that his intentions and thoughts are nothing but pure.
Fanservice Pack: Male example. In his reappearance in Episode 5, Xiao decided to give himself a teenage body in an effort to appear more mature.
Foil: To Xion. While they're both omniscient beings of incredible power, Xion is frustratingly cryptic and passive, plays her cards close to her chest. By contrast, Xiao speaks his mind freely, even when others can hear him, and acts more openly and impulsively than she does. Xion's quiet stoicism and formal speech also stands in stark contrast to her "son's" quippy one-liners and tendency to get into pointless spats with Sarah.
Genius Loci: Like Xion, Xiao's human avatar is simply a terminal for him to interact with ARKS. His true form is the planet that the second Oracle Mothership is built around as of Episode 2. However, just like Xion, destroying his avatar will also result in his death.
Good with Numbers: Although he does not have access to the Akashic Records, Xiao can account for nearly every possibility by calculating the likelihood of anything happening, granting him a form of omniscience. That said, even his calculations aren't infallible, and he's always pleasantly surprised when the Guardians surpass all of his predictions and expectations. This calculation power is also what allows him to take over as ARKS Overseer after Luther's defeat, and he later hands the reins to the Xiera series, who are designed to have similar, if inferior, processing power.
Heroic Sacrifice: Pulls this in Episode 6, where Xiao protects Sara from being killed by Shiva's attack and is gravely wounded and goes into a coma as a result. Chapter 2 of Episode 6 deals with trying to resuscitate him on Amduskia and planning a counterattack.
- He's Back!: By the end of the chapter, he performed a Fusion Dance with Ro'Kamiz's vessel thanks to Sarah's help and is essentially reborn - with enough computational power to actually begin predicting and countering the Photoner fleets instead of being caught unawares like before.
Humanity Is Infectious: Lampshaded by Xiao himself. By spending so much time in the presence of people like Sarah, Matoi, and the Protagonist, he became much more sociable and empathetic of the people he works with unlike Xion who was disconnected with the Photoners and later ARKS and the Oracle Fleet.
I Got Bigger: He remodels himself during the interim between Episode 3 and 4 to an older, more mature-looking form to better understand the people growing older around him. It's met with a bit of awe from Matoi, but otherwise, it's business as usual for him. On the plus side, he cheerfully notes how he's tall enough to look down on Sarah and give her head pats to annoy her.
Impossibly Cool Clothes: That dark shirt he wears in the first three episodes? It flows like water!
Inadequate Inheritor: He admits that his calculation abilities, while immense, are still not as powerful as Xion's. He also lacks the ability to access the Akashic Records to gain true omniscience, merely calculating all of the most likely probabilities from scratch.
Like Brother and Sister: Xiao learned his social skills from interacting with Sarah. As a result, they treat each other like siblings and bicker constantly despite caring deeply about one another. He even calls the closest thing he has to family beyond the Xiera series and Xion herself and is disappointed when he discovers that his mental link with her isn't enough for Sarah to see Alma.
Meaningful Name: His name means "little" in Chinese and he introduces himself as Xion's younger brother. More accurately, he's an imperfect copy of Xion created by the latter, making him literally a "little Xion". Xiera also refers to him as Xion's son, making her, Xiao's creation, Xion's granddaughter.
Mission Control: Serves this role onwards from Episode 2, often guiding the Protagonist during story missions and giving advice when needed. He relinquishes this role to Xiera in Episode 4 as he goes on to become the Oracle Overseer.
Mr. Exposition: When he isn't Mission Control, he's usually this as he ends up providing the Protagonist with valuable information about various things.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Unlike Xion who bides her time and actions carefully to avoid attracting Luther's notice too much, Xiao plays his hand heavily in trying to counter the Photoner, including having the Protagonist travel back in time to save Ulku while he himself illegally hijacks their Auxiliary to help guide both. This plays straight into the hands of Luther who had been collecting evidence against the protagonist behind the scenes, allowing him to force Regius to enact a "Code ABYSS" and throw the whole of ARKS on your head. If not for Maria and Quna's aid they might have been completely screwed over.
No Social Skills: He's less accustomed to people than Xion, so he doesn't quite know how to be polite beyond Brutal Honesty. It doesn't help that most of his etiquette was learned from Sarah, which means the two regularly bicker like siblings. He gets better at it as the story goes on though.
Opposite-Sex Clone: He's an artificial copy of Xion, but less powerful and mentally male.
Physical God: He admits to not being as powerful as Xion, but as a copy of her he is able to pull off similar feats of messing with space and time, enhancing the protagonist's ability to travel backward in history, pulling a new Oracle Mothership out of another timeline to wrench control of the Oracle Fleet from Luther, among other showings of cosmic might.
Prescience by Analysis: Like Xion before him, he is able to accurately predict the future by constantly running high-speed calculations in his head, making decisions based on the probability of every outcome coming to pass. He's delighted when the protagonist and Matoi shatter his own predictions, proving that the future isn't set in stone.
Purely Aesthetic Glasses: As a living planet, Xiao doesn't need vision correction, but wears Xion's glasses in Episode 5 to show his new leadership role as the Oracle Overseer and to appear more mature.
Put on a Bus: By Episode 4, he has left control of ARKS to Ulku and gone off on his own to search for a way to erase the Profound Darkness from all space and time. He returns in Episode 5.
Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: In Episode 6, after Shiva takes over Mothership Xiao and destroys his human avatar, Xiao is forced to retreat within Sarah's body to stay alive and remains in a coma for part of the episode until he's able to construct a new body on Amduskia with Ro'Kamiz's help.
Strong Family Resemblance: He bears a striking resemblance to Mother, the first copy of Xion to ever be made. Mother herself refers to Xiera as her grandniece, making Xiao her nephew. Though a more accurate description would be that Xiao is Mother's younger brother as they were both born from Xion.
Younger Than They Look: Subverted. Xiao is actually as old as he appears in Episode 2 and 3, having only existed for over 10 years as he was only created by Xion after Matoi's disappearance in A.P. 228. By Episode 5 however, this is played straight as Xiao now sports a teenage appearance in an effort look more mature and serious despite chronologically being 13-14 years old at best.

Ulku

Ulku as of Episode 6

Voiced by: Mariya Ise (JP), Deneen Melody (EN)

A Newman civilian who possesses no photon-manipulating capability. Despite her inability to control photons, her dream is to join ARKS and fight to protect Oracle. She eventually gains a job within the ARKS and is rightfully overjoyed. However, she is killed in Episode 1 when her ship crashes during the Falspawn raid on Themis, and unable to wield photon weaponry, she is overwhelmed.

In Episode 2 it's later revealed she survived. After obtaining the power of Time Travel, the Protagonist and Xiao travel back in time to and rescue Ulku, discovering that her plight had been the result of sabotage by Luther. Ulku takes shelter with Sarah to hide her survival from the former, later reappearing aboard Mothership Xion to bring the insane Theodor back to his senses. In Episode 3, she takes up a position within ARKS working directly with Xiao to spearhead the internal reformation efforts following Luther's demise.

In Episode 4, Xiao leaves to investigate how to destroy the Profound Darkness once and for all. To this end, he leaves the organization in Ulku’s hands as the Supreme Commander of ARKS.

Adaptation Expansion: In the anime, Ulku is first encountered working as a waitress at Franca's Cafe prior to joining ARKS.
Ascended Extra: Goes from being one random civilian who laments her inability to become an ARKS operative to becoming the supreme commander of ARKS after spearheading its reformation together with Xiao.
Ascended Fangirl: Despite her lack of photon power, it was always Ulku's dream to join ARKS regardless. Come Episode 4, not only is she a member, but Ulku's become the leader of the entire organization itself alongside Xiao.
Badass Normal: While she lacks the ability to wield Photons and thus cannot fight, being able to take several Foies to the face from one of the strongest beings in the story and still stand is a feat in and of itself. By Episode 4, she has also succeeded Xiao and Regius as the head of the ARKS, which is an astonishing accomplishment all on its own. However, it was most likely due to her neutral stance in ARKS administration, and the fact that she had been groomed by Xiao to take over this position for the past two years.
- Episode 6 shows she can go on the offensive when she needs to, piloting a special A.I.S. to attack Shiva.
Big Damn Heroes: She and Theodor break into the Mothership Xiao in the nick of time to save your party from being obliterated by Shiva. Riding a custom color A.I.S., she subsequently throws it at Shiva and sets it to self-destruct, giving her enough time to invoke "Code ABYSS" and evacuate everyone on the Mothership.
The Bus Came Back: After the events of Episode 3, Ulku herself doesn't really make an onscreen appearance until the events of Episode 6.
Chekhov's Gunman: She's introduced as a rather inconsequential NPC that you can talk to every so often. It later turns out to be instrumental in getting Theodor to back down in Episode 2, depriving Luther of a powerful minion to use.
Commissar Cap: She wears one in Episode 6 in her role as ARKS Admiral.
Death Faked for You: Luther inadvertently does this to her—he signed her death record in anticipation that she would soon die, only for the Protagonist to save her. Because she's already reported as dead, she can't immediately return to official duty without tipping the hand of Xiao and his allies, so she ends up going into hiding with Sarah.
Faking the Dead: Like Zeno, the Protagonist goes back in time to save her. However, because they uncover evidence suggesting that her death was staged by Luther (so he could acquire Theodor as a minion), she goes into hiding with Sarah to prevent Xiao and the Protagonist from tipping their hand.
Fanservice Pack: Though she wore modest clothes, for the most part, her Episode 2 outfit is basically a jumpsuit with the zipper pulled down to show off her generous cleavage to the world. She returns to more modest clothing in Episode 6, wearing an Admiral's uniform befitting her status.
Killed Offscreen: Averted. She never actually died as the Protagonist and Xiao had rescued her before she could die and afterward faked her death to throw Luther off her trail.
Morality Chain: To Theodor. He completely loses it after he believes she "died" during the Falspawn raid of Themis in Episode 1 and sides with Luther as a result. It's only after she returns that Theodor finally calms down and goes back to being good.
Muggle: Ulku can't use Photons, a trait that makes getting into ARKS difficult. She does so anyways.
Put on a Bus: She and Theodor were both demoted from the main cast in Episode 4 and don't really return until Episode 6.
Rank Up: Ulku becomes the admiral of the ARKS fleet between Episode 3 and Episode 4, making her its supreme commander with authority exceeding Xiao's, though, she often looks to him for council given his omniscience.
Spell My Name With An S: Funimation's subtitled version of Episode Oracle parses her name as "Uruk", despite her name tag reading "Ulc" in Oracle text. In the game proper, her name is spelled "Ulc". In the North American release, her name is spelled "Ulku" with the second "U" silent.
Tactical Withdrawal: With the repurposed "Code ABYSS", she can instantly evacuate all ARKS operatives from an area if the battle becomes unwinnable. She uses it during Shiva's invasion of Mothership Xiao.
Workaholic: After becoming the admiral of the ARKS fleet, she begins working herself to the bone to keep up with her duties. It gets so bad that she collapses in the middle of a meeting with Theodor and the Guardians in Episode 6 and needs to be helped up. It takes a stern talking to from Theodor to get her to take some time to rest.

Theodor

Theodor as of Episode 6

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (JP), Michael P. Greco (EN)

A timid, unmotivated Force Newman. Despite his aversion to violence, he took the ARKS exam at the same time as his girlfriend Ulku; she failed, while he demonstrated a natural talent for controlling photons and was accepted. He eventually makes acquaintance with the player and meets them regularly over the course of their journey. When disaster strikes during a Falspawn attack and Ulku supposedly dies, the trauma he sustains leads to him becoming entangled in a web of deceit and conspiracy that goes far beyond what he could have imagined.

Thanks to Luther's technology, Theodor ends up changing into a Deuman in Episode 2. He then stands opposed to the Protagonist and Matoi, but later stands down once Ulku reappears to bring him back to his senses. Afterwards he works to help her out in reforming ARKS, and after the timeskip, is promoted to Ulku's adjutant.

An Ice Person: Primarily uses Barta techniques.
Ax-Crazy: Loses more than a number of screws after Ulku's "death", desiring to kill every single Falspawn in existence as revenge. Though it's natural for ARKS to consider them enemies, Theodor takes it to the extreme. He, fortunately, drops this attitude once Ulku turns up alive.
Brilliant, but Lazy: He is noted to have strong photon affinity. However, his timidness prevents him from utilizing said potential to its fullest. He's so good in fact that Luther decided he'd be a useful pawn and tries whatever method possible to get him on his side.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's introduced as a lazy, but good-spirited Force who doesn't like to fight. When he believes Ulku to be dead, however, he then proceeds to be a one-man Falspawn army destroyer.
Big Damn Heroes: Theodor comes in riding the shoulder of the AIS that Ulku is piloting and casts ice Techniques to createa smokescreen and stall for time while Ulku invokes Code ABYSS to bail all of ARKS out from Shiva's assault on the Mothership.
Bio-Augmentation: Originally a Newman, Luther's research results in Theodor transforming into a Deuman by Episode 2, losing his elf-like ears and gaining a new horn, paler skin, and his left eye turning red and gaining the signature Deuman marking. His general abilities have also been strengthened.
The Bus Came Back: After being absent throughout Episode 4 and 5 he and Ulku make a formal comeback in Episode 6.
Call-Back: The Weapon Camo you can get of Theo's Wand from Episode 2 can be applied to Swords, Partisans, and Wands, a reference to his boss fight, where it was a Mix-and-Match Weapon that could use Sword and Partisan Photon Arts alongside Technics.
Casting a Shadow: All of his attacks in his boss fight.
The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Theodor is extremely blatant about this, especially after he Turns Red. Chaining Assault Buster (a Partisan PA) to Tornado Fall (a Sword PA), canceling Tornado Fall with Megid, casting charged Technics and Photon Arts unrealistically fast, and so forth. What makes him this and not My Rules Are Not Your Rules is that, despite his Wand being also a Sword and Partisan according to the equivalent Camo, his Partner Card classifies him as a Techter/Force, so he can't do any of the nonsense his boss version does.
Cowardly Lion: The guy scares quite easily, can't deny that. As Episode Oracle shows, though, he's more than capable of fighting back when he really needs to, even if Falspawn understandably scares the crap out of him. He sheds this attitude when Ulku dies, being more than happy to kill any enemy that comes his way. He goes to a mix of the two when she turns up alive again.
Dark Is Not Evil: Once Ulku comes back he becomes this, still a Deuman thanks to Luther's machinations and with all the capabilities he had while serving him but now for good.
Drunk with Power: Compounded with Love Makes You Crazy, Theodor finally goes straight off the deep end once he gets a significant power boost courtesy of Luther.
Face–Heel Turn: In Episode 2, his already-shaky grasp on sanity is taken advantage of by Luther, who transforms him into a Deuman and has him serve as The Dragon for a brief period of time. Once Ulku comes back he surrenders and returns to the good guy's side again.
Five Stages of Grief: Zig-zagged. He starts with Anger by going on a rampage against the Falspawn, then Bargains with Luther when he offers a way to resurrect Ulc. After his boss fight, he drops into Depression upon realizing there is no way to bring her back. But despair hits him so hard that he experiences an inverted kind of Denial (with a touch of violent Anger) when he sees her alive, refusing to believe she is real. Acceptance is also inverted when he comes to terms with her survival.
I Just Want to Be Normal: He doesn't want to be a part of ARKS at first, only joining because he has the photon affinity for it and encouragement from Ulku. After her alleged death, he turns around and becomes a one-man Falspawn murdering machine at the cost of Sanity Slippage. When Ulku brings him back to his senses, he mentions a desire to go back to being a Newman out of fear that she'll dislike him until Maria talks sense into him. Finally, he's settles into his role as Ulku's right hand after her promotion to Admiral of the ARKS Fleet.
Insecure Love Interest: Following Ulku's return and the restoration of his sanity, Theodor becomes worried about whether Ulku will still like him after all the things he did as Luther's pawn and being turned into a Deuman. It takes a pep talk and a Dope Slap from Maria to get him to overcome these feelings.
Kill It with Fire: After he becomes a Deuman and goes ballistic, this is how he destroys things in cutscenes. In actual gameplay, he prefers Casting a Shadow.
Love Makes You Crazy: The off-screen death of Ulku, Theodor's girlfriend, is what caused him to start going off the edge in Episode 2. Episode Oracle makes it worse by having him witnesses what appears to be her burning corpse.
Magic Knight: In his boss fight, he combines Sword Photon Arts and Partisan Photon Arts with Megid Technics. This unfortunately makes for the fact that moving closer to or farther from him is the easiest way to get killed. Your best bet is to stay in mid-range, where his Photon Arts can't hit you but his Technics miss as well.
Morph Weapon: Luther gives Theodor a false Cosmogenic Arm in Reinolt the Shapeless, a unique weapon that can change it shape to act as a Wand, a Sword, and a Partisan. With it in hand, he's as strong as a member of the Council of Six, though he's still ultimately beaten back by the protagonist and Matoi. It's also available as a Weapon Camo from Zig in exchange for a Creator Emblem.
Rank Up: He goes from a wishy-washy new recruit to one of the highest ranking members of ARKS as Ulku's right-hand. His rank is only matched by the Guardians and the Six, who all answer to Ulku and Xiao.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Theodor falls into this when he finds out Ulku got killed in action by Falspawn. Sure he's less of a coward and is serious about destroying the Falspawn now, but just listening to the way he speaks in Episode 2 makes it clear that he's bordering on going completely batshit.
Put on a Bus: Due to being whisked away to the upper echelons of ARKS' governing hierarchy, he is not seen in Episode 4 or 5.
Sanity Slippage: Ulku's death did not do any favor's for his psyche and proceeded to descend into insanity within months. The only way he actually recovers is when Ulku herself shows up to calm him down and return him to his senses.
Shadow Archetype: He serves as this to Echo throughout Episode 2. Both have lost someone close to them, but where Theodor rapidly drops off in sanity after Ulku's seeming demise and is quick to accept Luther's offer for more power without thinking for himself, Echo works through her grief by trying to be something she wasn't to follow in Zeno's footsteps yet keeps her head about her even if only barely. Luther even considers her to have potential like Theodor, but she rejects his offer for power where Theodor simply wasn't stable enough to do so.
Spell My Name With An S: The English patch calls him "Theodore."
Took a Level in Badass: He was already considered plenty powerful but too timid to act on it. Once Ulku dies he shows off just how powerful he can be with how easily he massacres Falspawn. After Luther gets his hands on him and changes him into a Deuman, he later even takes on the Protagonist and Matoi in battle, while Luther explicitly modified him to be on par with the Six in power.

Xiera

Voiced by: Juri Kimura (JP), Karen Strassman (EN)

Created by Xiao, Xiera is part of CAST network that serves as the Overseers of the various ships in the Oracle Fleet. In Episode 4, she greets the Protagonist after they wake up from their cryo-stasis and brings up to speed of the events that have happened in the last two years. She then informs them of a new mission to investigate the appearance of strange ARKS operatives, leading the Protagonist and ARKS as a whole on a mission that leads them straight to Earth and a conflict with the organization Mother Corps.

Outside of her role as an overseer of Oracle ships, she also acts as the Protagonist's primary mission support during their adventures. She also has a habit of spying on people.

A-Cup Angst: One side event in Episode 4 is entirely focused on Xiera going on a tirade about her small chest, to the point where she attempts to make a formal complaint to Xiao about it. When she first mentions it to the player, they immediately turn around and try to walk away. Another side event in Episode 5, a sub story has the Protagonist ask potentially asking Xiera "... Did you get bigger?" to which, she immediately interprets this as a jab at her bust and is rather offended. It doesn't help that her personality mold is based on Ulku, who is quite well endowed, to the point where Xiera complains about basically having breast envy when talking to her, which drives her nuts.
Badass Family: Considers herself Xiao's daughter, which by extension makes Xion her grandmother. Something that she's very proud of. Considering that Matoi was created by Xion, she could be considered family to Xiera as well.
Bad Liar: Played for Laughs. Xiera and the protagonist use ARKS' communication network to spy on Hitsugi's daily life in hopes of getting a clue of why exactly Earth is able to access the Oracle dimension. As a result, they learn a lot of intimate details about Hitsugi that she's surprised to hear they know about when she arrives on the ARKS ship. Both Xiera and the protagonist can't keep a straight face whenever the topic comes up, and the only reason why Hitsugi doesn't learn about their spying is because she's too stressed out to press them on it. Lampshaded by Risa in Episode 5.
Risa: HeeheeHEE! Oh, Xiera! Your poker face is terrible.
Covert Pervert: If her reaction to the bath scenes in Episode 4 is of any indication.
Date Peepers: After Kirito and Asuna's introduction in the Sword Art Online crossover story, Xiera immediately contacts the Protagonist and Matoi to notify them that they're not members of ARKS and are likely people from Earth much like Hitsugi, Kohri, and Enga. When Matoi asks how she already knew, Xiera accidentally reveals that she was spying on her and the Protagonist hanging out together much to Matoi's embarrassment.
Deadpan Snarker:
- She's less than enthused with the Intelligence Bureau's snooping and inability to share important information until it's well past due, taking verbal potshots at them whenever possible. Casra in particular is as much a sore spot for her as he is for Quna.
- In Episode 5, she's quickly fed up with Margareta's hot air and bluster, calling her the cutesy "Maggie" instead of her royal title as Divine Queen and taking every opportunity to make quips at her expense. She also calls the protagonist and Hariette "softies" for humoring her.
Exposition Fairy: Literally in Episode 5, when she takes the form of a fairy to better blend in with Omega's fantasy culture. Also downplayed, as a lot of the exposition regarding Omega's history is left to its locals. She does, however, exposit to the Protagonist what the Oracle equivalents are or might be—for example, the status of Ephemera as crystallized F-Factors.
Fairy Companion: Within Omega she takes the form of a fairy as part of Alma's attempts to help her fit in.
Family Theme Naming: Just like Xion and Xiao, Xiera's name starts with "Xi-" as well.
Girlish Pigtails: She has blonde pigtails that emphasize her exuberance and femininity.
Good with Numbers: She and the rest of her series are explicitly designed to have extreme processing power beyond that of a normal CAST. While Xiera admits that she's weaker than Xiao in almost every regard, her ability to process data and information is what lets her take over as ARKS Overseer.
Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Effectively her reaction after the second bath scene^note, realizing what she and the Guardian just saw would get them into severe trouble with basically everyone if it was found out. Well, that and her A-Cup Angst flaring hard after seeing Phaleg in a towel makes her want to forget she witnessed it.
Me's a Crowd: Every ship in the Oracle fleet is overseen by a Xiera unit. The character in the story is the one on the Protagonist's ship.
Mission Control: She's assigned by Xiao to be the Protagonist's personal operator from Episode 4 onward. That said, she makes regular announcements on the ARKS Ship as Overseer, so she does this to everyone to an extent.
Ms. Exposition: She's very "explainy". A number of cutscenes consist purely of her rattling off exposition while you, Hitsugi, and Aru stand and listen. This aspect is later toned down in Episode 5 in favor of having other characters do the explaining in her place.
Mundane Made Awesome: She makes... quite a big deal out of being able to walk outside of the Bridge for the first time. It takes the player and Matoi quite a bit before they realize what she's so excited about.
Nice Girl: Xiera's personality is modeled after the ever-cheerful and optimistic Ulku, so she's always ready to lend a hand with a smile, though she's not above snarking at the expense of her coworkers.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Together with the Protagonist in Episode 5, the two inadvertently awaken Oracle Luther's memories within Omega Luther by mentioning the former's Dark Falz name.
Oh, Crap!:
- This is her reaction in Episode 4 when Mother invades the ARKS Ship that she and the Protagonist are stationed at and completely overrides Xiera's control with her superior processing power, leaving the ARKS ops on the ship helpless against Aratron and Ophiel until Matoi arrives.
- During the Deus Esca Urgent Quest, she's horrified when it destroys the moon in a last-ditch attempt to wipe out everyone on Earth during the final phase of the fight.
Ridiculously Human Robots: She is a Hi-CAST, a special type of CAST created by Xiao. She exhibits more human traits than normal CASTs and lacks the robotic echo that most CASTs speak with, but has unique functions and possesses overall the most direct control over the ARKS Ship.
Suspiciously Specific Denial: It's not being The Peeping Tom when she watches recordings of what's going on in Hitsugi's daily life, it's purely for investigative purposes! The Protagonist can ruthlessly and repeatedly pull a Lampshade Hanging on it every time it comes up, and even she tries to avoid bringing the subject up around Hitsugi.
Younger Than They Look: Despite her appearance and behavior similar to that of a young girl in her teens, Xiera is chronologically only two years old, having been created by Xiao not long after the Protagonist and Matoi went into cryosleep after the events of Episode 3.

The Council of Six

A group comprised of the six most powerful and highest ranking operatives of ARKS. They are currently comprised of Regius, Maria, Casra II, Zeno, Klariskrays III, and Huey. They also have a secret 0th member in the form of Quna.

To find out more about the group, see here.

The Guardians

The Protagonist and Matoi. After helping save the day from the Falspawn time and again, the two were given the rank "Guardian", which was specifically created for the two as an acknowledgement of their importance to ARKS and the Oracle Fleet as a whole.

To find out more about both, see here.

ARKS Operatives

Afin

Afin as of Episode 3

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (JP), Khoi Dao (EN)

A rookie Newman who participates in the same graduation exam as the Protagonist and subsequently becomes their close ally. Afin is on a mission to find his lost twin sister, who mysteriously vanished one fateful day ten years ago. To this end, he joined ARKS despite his reluctance to fight, and pushes through thick and thin in search of his past.

Adaptation Expansion: While the game gave him very little relevance outside of the Dark Falz Apprentice subplot, Episode Oracle greatly expands his role in the story, accompanying Ash and Matoi often on a variety of expeditions.
Adaptational Attractiveness: Due to early facial limitations, his in-game model makes him look rather plain in comparison to other ARKS members. Episode Oracle turns up the Bishōnen on him to make him appear more youthful and cuter.
Badass Cape: His second outfit features a distinct blue flowing cape.
Badass Normal: Despite his self-esteem issues, Afin is an exceptional ARKS. He was granted access to in-verse restricted areas such as the Quarry, was among the first responders to Operation: Demise, have no issues insulting and picking a fight with a Dark Falz, and is implied to be an excellent tracker in the game, able to find anything he puts his mind to. He unfortunately uses the Protagonist as a measuring stick for his abilities and thus considers himself perfectly normal even after surviving things that would spell certain death for most ARKS operatives.
Big Brother Instinct: Inverted. His love and devotion towards his older sister Euclyta is what motivates Afin into joining ARKS so that he could find and rescue her.
Brainwashed and Crazy: Episode Oracle's version of the Mothership raid has Afin being forced to fight Ash under the effects of Abyss.
Boyish Shorts: Both Afin's outfit have him wearing tiny shorts with exposed thighs, and he's one of the youngest male character during earlier episodes. He's also initially presented as an inexperienced Everyman compared to the Protagonist, and his shorts is also a reminder of his status as the younger brother to Euclyta.
Bring Me My Brown Pants: During one of the epilogue cutscenes with him, Afin reminisces back during the tutorial mission, about how the Protagonist is very brave and eager into action while he's "wetting his trousers". But during the tutorial mission itself, nothing happened except Afin being deathly afraid of the Falspawns, so his statement may be purely figurative.
Butt-Monkey: In Episode Oracle as a result of his character being played up for comedic effect. He often gets teased, has funny events happen to him, and also doesn't get treated as a "Senpai" by Io.
Costume Evolution: Receives an updated outfit by the end of Episode 3.
Cowardly Lion: Compared to the Protagonist, he's rather easily scared (with a bit of a comedic streak in the anime) and would rather avoid conflict altogether if possible. However, this doesn't stop Afin from fighting on the front lines when lives are at stake. In addition, it was shown that he eventually outgrows this trait, actively pursuing a known Dark Falz, and moving around in restricted areas.
Determinator: Despite 10 years having passed since her disappearance, this doesn't stop Afin from joining ARKS and to try to find and bring back Euclyta himself. Even after discovering that she had been turned into a Dark Falz doesn't stop him from trying to bring her back.
The Everyman: Afin is initially presented as just another unremarkable rookie ARKS operative, needing this explained to him, having no notable traits aside from his friendship with the Protagonist. But as the story goes on, it's clear that he's a subversion, as he joined ARKS to get an opportunity to search for his missing sister Euclyta, and is willing to pick a fight with Dark Falz Apprentice to get her back.
Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inverted. He fights as a Ranger/Gunner, while his sister is a Gunner/Ranger. While both of them are technically shooting, he's shooting from further away with his Assault Rifle while she has to practically get into melee range to effectively deal damage with her Twin Machineguns.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde hair and is a caring person towards the people around him.
Heroic BSoD: Finding out that Euclyita became Apprentice's current host hit him pretty hard. This doesn't stick for long however, and after realizing that she still has memories of her previous self, Afin then decides to do what he can to save Euclyta regardless.
I Will Find You: Towards Euclyta . It doesn't matter how long it takes, Afin won't stop searching for his sister and try to bring her back. When she finally does come back, Euclyta notes that this desire is one reason why she's so grateful towards Afin because he never gave up on her.
Image Song: Shiny Shiny rainbow.
Improbable Use of a Weapon: He blocks with his rifle in one cutscene, which is impossible to do in-game.
Nice Guy: One of the friendliest ally you'll have on ARKS, especially during the earlier portion of the story.
No-Respect Guy: Played for Laughs. He's on the receiving end of this from Io in Episode Oracle. Whereas she addresses senior ARKS operatives such as the Protagonist with respectful terms such as "Senpai", she refers to Afin in a casual manner which annoys him enough even during the heat of battle.
Out of Focus: He drops out of the limelight following the events of Episode 3, only occasionally popping in during cutscenes to comment on the going ons while he stays with Euclyta to help restore her memories. He returns to the fray in Episode 6.
Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Wears blue to contrast his sister's red.
Platonic Life-Partners: With the Protagonist. Afin calls them "Mate"^*"Aibou" (partner or buddy) in Japanese almost every chance he gets and the story more or less paints him as one of the Protagonist's closest male friends.
Potty Emergency: Two instances in the anime:
- In Episode 3, Afin wakes up early to relieve himself at a nearby tree, but is interrupted by an explosion.
- Once again, in Episode 16, when the party visits Lillipa, Afin retreats for a bathroom break. He returns just in time to meet his sister Euclyta, who has become Dark Falz Apprentice.
Reluctant Warrior: He doesn't really like to fight and mostly joined ARKS in order to search for his missing sister. That being said, he's still more than willing to put his life on the line to protect others.
Sibling Team: With Euclyta after she's rescued and subsequently joins ARKS. Best seen in Episode 6 when the two of them team up to take out several members of Shiva's army.
Unexplained Accent: Has a British accent in the NA version, while his sister does not. They did spend 10 years apart, but that has nothing to do with it since a cutscene of them as children shows them speaking with the same accents they have as adults.

Echo

Echo as of Episode 3

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (JP), Larissa Gallagher (EN)

A Force Newman who acts as Zeno's partner and foil within ARKS. She often has to nag Zeno to action; ironically, she has a nasty habit of getting separated from him during missions and lacks confidence in her own skills. Despite this, the two are essentially attached at the hip, and Echo views Zeno as her trusted partner and ally no matter what situation she finds herself in. Like Zeno himself, she sees herself as a senior figure to the player and Afin, and tags along on a variety of missions.

Action Girl: She sees a lot of screentime on the battlefield alongside Zeno. As a Hunter... not so much.
BFS: As a Hunter, her primary weapon of choice are Swords.
Childhood Friend Romance: With Zeno. The guy can't really see it himself, though.
Cool Big Sis: As with Zeno, she's this towards the Protagonist. After Zeno is labeled MIA, Echo takes it upon herself to help look after her junior. Not even a "Code ABYSS" order, which forcefully brainwashes ARKS operatives into absolute obedience, is enough to make her go against the Protagonist.
Costume Evolution: One of the few characters in the game to receive at least three distinct outfits. Starting with her initial Force attire "Ballistic Coat", she switches to a Zeno-themed Hunter attire "Raid Sfdia" for Episode 2, then switching to a Zeno-themed Force outfit "Magia Savior" for Episode 3. Word of God states that this was meant to represent her evolution as a character.
Cute Clumsy Girl: According to Echo's Partner Card, her personality is labeled as "Clumsy".
Deal with the Devil: Averted, Luther tries to offer her power like Theodor, but she rejects the offer with the reasoning that Zeno would hate her if she did.
Demoted to Extra: Her role in the story is drastically neutered after Episode 2. She becomes little more than a side character in Episode 3, and is Put on a Bus in Episode 4. She returns in Episode 5, but only briefly as part of a subplot where Xiera convinces her that she and Zeno should marry.
Foil: To Theodor during Episode 2. The two of them both lost someone important to them to the Falspawn in Episode 1. However, rather than lose herself over it, Echo decides carry on as an ARKS operative under the belief that Zeno would want that and he will also come back someday which he does. In addition, Echo was also scouted by Luther for her latent power, however, unlike Theodor, she refused the offer.
Girlish Pigtails: Throughout the first two episodes. She ditches them for a single ponytail by Episode 3.
Happily Married: To Zeno, as of Episode 5.
Heroic Second Wind: Subverted. Casra's "The Reason You Suck" Speech gets Echo going again for a counterattack, but Casra promptly shuts her down to hammer his point home, which cues Zeno's Big Damn Heroes moment.
Heroic Willpower: For some reason, Echo is completely unaffected by the Code ABYSS order and helps the protagonist and Matoi in spite of orders, without even having to be affected by the latter. It's zigzagged when it's implied that a certain someone tampered with the ABYSS order on her so that she could decide for herself - which still meant that she chose to go against all of ARKS for a friend in need even with full awareness of her lacking qualities as a Hunter at the time.
Magic Knight: As of Episode 3, Echo's class settings is Force/Hunter, and carries both a Rod and a Gunslash. Since Force is her main class, she is moreso Magic than Knight.
No-Sell: She ignores the Code ABYSS order, and how she was able to do that is never adequately explained. Every other character who does resist the order has some explanation; either they're the target, not in ARKS, aligned with Xiao, a member of the Council of Six, or released from the order by Matoi (and later Quna). Echo is none of those, yet still defies the order and aids the Protagonist. It's actually because Zeno used a second Code ABYSS on her, overriding the first, and then ordered her to act of her own free will.
Maria: Code ABYSS hasn't had any effect on her? I think we might have found us someone special.
Power Limiter: In Episode 2 she limits herself by changing class to Hunter despite the fact that she lacks the photon affinity for it. It is believed that the reason why she is weak is because of her self-esteem issues and general reliance on Zeno, especially when Luther himself acknowledges that she has potential but lacks the ability to tap into it.
Red Is Heroic: Like Zeno, all her outfits are colored red and she's as much of heroic as person as he is.
Shock and Awe: She favors Zonde-type technics.
Stepford Smiler: In Episode Oracle. She puts on a brave and cheery face in front of Ash after Zeno goes missing, but the moment Ash is out of earshot she breaks down crying. Subsequent episodes show her being unable to move on from the event and desperately searching in the meanwhile.
Take Up My Sword: In Episode 2 she becomes a Hunter despite lacking the photon affinity and personal disposition to do so. She goes back on it after Zeno returns as a Council of Six member, receiving a new outfit but restoring her position as a Force. Her Episode 3 incarnation retains the Hunter background as a subclass, however.
Took a Level in Badass: Subverted, she goes through all the usual motions but as a Hunter she just can't keep up with everyone else. Justified in that her photons are most suited for support roles and as a Hunter she is way out of her element. As a Force, she is implied to be powerful, however, due to her reliance on Zeno, she was not able to grow into her powers until he disappeared.
Training from Hell: She forces herself through this in an attempt to keep up with Zeno. Several of her Client Orders involve you helping her out in this. Her training with Maria after Zeno's return is literally this, as they have to be trained by a partisan-wielding battle maniac who is seemingly trying to kill the both of them.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Zeno early on as the two of them tend to snark and argue at each other but remain close nonetheless and even get married in Episode 5.

Sarah

Sarah as of Episode 4

Voiced by: Kana Ueda (JP), Kaitlyn Robrock (credited as "Elizabeth Simmons") (EN)

A young teenager conducting her own secret investigation into the activities of Luther. She is a devoted pupil of Maria, #2 of the Council of Six, but is not officially affiliated with ARKS itself. During the Falspawn Invasion of Themis in A.P. 228, she was assaulted by Apprentice the Vernal but was saved when Klariskrays II linked her life to the Clarissa.

However, her exposure to the Clarissa attracted the attention of Luther, who spirited her away to the Central Research Department and used her as a test subject in his experiments would eventually serve as the basis for his Klariskrays III clone project. Sarah was eventually discarded onto the streets once her purpose was fulfilled, but was later rescued and informally adopted by Maria.

After the internal restructuring of ARKS following the events of Episode 3, Sarah officially joins the organization as Maria's second-in-command in the General Affairs Bureau.

Action Girl: Action enough to go toe-to-toe with Shiva, of all enemies. Briefly, anyways.
Aloof Big Sister: To Klariskrays III who was cloned from Sarah. Sarah feels guilt over her part in Klariskrays Clones creation and usage as tools by Luther. Thus, she can't really bring herself to face Klariskrays and tends to run off when confronted. She eventually drops this attitude and becomes closer to her after they're forced to team up by Huey, Maria, and the Protagonist.
Art Evolution: Her character's facial model undergoes a slight revamp in Episode 2 Chapter 6, as it switches from the Baby Face model to the Sharp model instead.
Ascended Extra: She first appeared in Episode 1's EX Chapter as one of the Partners you could attend the ARKS Grand Championship with. She eventually gained greater importance in future Episodes.
Badass Normal: Despite her inability to use photons, Sarah shows no issue keeping up with the Protagonist and other members of ARKS in combat and is a very capable fighter in her own right. This is all thanks to training she received from Maria after being adopted by her.
Big Sister Worship: Towards Matoi. They're not actual siblings, but Sarah respects Matoi a lot for saving her back when she was a kid and has a desire to be close with her much like Klariskrays does. She even sometimes calls her "Onee-chan" in the original Japanese script which is an affectionate way of saying big sister.
Brought Down to Normal: Thanks to Luther's experiments on her, Sarah is unable to use Photons at all which effectively makes her a regular human among the operatives of ARKS like Ulku.
Charles Atlas Superpower: Shows this in Episode Oracle. Despite being a human who's unable to utilize photons, Sarah shows no problem at all in using her wired lances to throw an Orgbran around like a ragdoll.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Despite trying to deny it, the Protagonist can call Sarah one after she feels left out when Matoi and Klariskrays are bonding with each other.
Dark and Troubled Past: It's revealed in Episode 2 that Sarah was a survivor of the Falspawn Invasion of Themis in A.P. 228 where she had been personally attacked by Apprentice until Matoi rescued her. She then would find herself in Luther's hands who went on to experiment on Sarah after noticing her latent capabilities and later used her DNA to create Klariskrays III. After this, he'd later leave her to die after the experiments costs her the ability to use photons, but Maria would soon find her and take her in as her own.
Eating the Eye Candy: Despite being embarrassed at seeing a half naked Ash and telling him to put on a shirt, she takes a moment to actually peek while he's changing.
Happily Adopted: Was basically adopted by Maria and has no real issues with the arrangement other than being exasperated by the former's behavior from time to time.
Have We Met Yet?: With Ash in the Episode Oracle anime. She treats him like an acquaintance at certain points but forgets that their association only really begins after he time travels back into the past to help save Zeno in Episode 11.
Heroic BSoD: In Episode 6, she's the one who takes Xiao's "death" the hardest. She eventually snaps out of it thanks to Alma's encouragement.
Locked into Strangeness: She originally had red-orange hair and blue eyes, like her clones. It can be inferred that the experiments done to her permanently changed her hair and eye color.
Spell My Name With An S: The "h" is dropped in the translation patch.
Tomboyish Ponytail: In Episode 1. She changes it to a side ponytail in Episode 2, but returns to a standard ponytail come Episode 4.
Training from Hell: Considering that Maria is basically her guardian, she was likely subject to this after being taken in by her. The results show, as she's able to fight even without the ability to use photons.
Tsundere: A classic example. She tends to deny feelings of affection towards Klariskrays and Xiao, feeling embarrassed whenever the topic is brought up such as when she feels left out when the former is bonding with Matoi and feels lonely with Xiao being busy with his research.
Un-Sorcerer: Luther's experiments left her completely unable to use Photons.
Unwitting Test Subject: Became one thanks to Luther. His experiments cost Sarah the ability to use Photons, and not only that, but he also took samples of her DNA and used it to create the Klariskrays III clones to form as his own personal army.

Pati & Tia

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pati_and_tia_pso2.png

Pati (Right) & Tia (Left)

Pati voiced by: Kana Asumi (JP), Julie Maddalena (EN)

Tia voiced by: Yuka Iguchi (JP), Tara Sands (EN)

Two twin Newman girls who act as knowledge brokers within ARKS. In truth however, Pati is just a massive gossip and Tia goes along to keep her sister in check. Despite this, they impart valuable information to the Protagonist about the backstory of ARKS. By the end of Episode 1, they become good enough at their "job" to uncover some of the darker secrets buried within ARKS, such as the existence of the "Death Squad" and "Void".

Action Girl: Naturally, being ARKS operatives, they're both capable of fighting with Pati being the more physical combatant between the two while Tia focuses on techniques.
Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: Basically their shtick. Pati is the boke while Tia is the tsukkomi.
Bust-Contrast Duo: Pati is the shortstack of the duo compared to Tia.
Butt-Monkey: Pati. She often gets called out on her idiocy and one sub story in Episode 3 even has the Protagonist, Tia, and Io outright leave Pati by herself after getting fed up with her. And much like with Afin in Episode Oracle, Io also doesn't treat her as "senpai" much to her annoyance.
Exposition Break: While several others engage in this, these two excel. While everyone already knows what they're talking about, you're generally treated as Locked Out of the Loop, so most stuff they tell you is new, sometimes interesting, and occasionally relevant.
Girlish Pigtails: They prominently sport them.
Hidden Depths: Tia might just have a thing for Meido and cosplay, when Pati decides to blurt out a little too much during an interview with Lukot.
Identical Twin ID Tag: They have identical faces, but otherwise it's easy to tell them apart through mild differences in their hairstyles along with the clothes and accessories they wear. Pati also has more curvier body than Tia, and the weapons they use respectively are a double saber and a talis.
Image Song: Star Quality Twins.
Knowledge Broker: Although they never actually sell any information to you, thanks to Pati's motor mouth. Their actual role ends up being something closer to a Private Detective. By Episode 4, they deemed the Protagonist as their sole, exclusive contractor, in other words, they will not sell any information to anyone other than the Protagonist.
Polar Opposite Twins: Pati is the more energetic of the two, while Tia’s more level-headed.
Spell My Name With An S: The original Japanese version has their names as “Patty” and “Tiea”, while the official English translations spell their names "Pati" and "Tia". The ARKS-Layer Fan Translation, meanwhile, calls the latter "Tea".
Stealth Pun: The name of their "company", PaTia, is a portmanteau of both of their names.
Took a Level in Badass: When you first meet them, most of the information is As You Know levels of common knowledge. Yet over time they actually become good at gathering obscure information, to the point where the Protagonist commissions them to investigate the darker elements of ARKS and they deliver. Considering that some of these "darker elements" have been known to assassinate people who snoop around, this is no small feat.
Twin Banter: Pati and Tia engage in this often, with Tia snarking at Pati due to the latter's tendency to run her mouth off and spouting well-known information she heard from other people.
Walking Swimsuit Scene: Pati gets one in Side Stories, where the twins head to Wopal and Pati changes into a bikini top and shorts.

Melrandia

Melrandia as of Episode 2

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (JP), Maureen Price (EN)

A young Newman who initially went by the name Melfonseana. She is Gettemhult's compatriot who follows him wherever he goes. Although the two are always seen together, Gettemhult treats her crudely, often verbally abusing her whenever she makes mistakes. Despite this, Melfonseana appears to tolerate her partner's nasty attitude, albeit submissively. She never forgets to put manners first, always remembering to greet fellow ARKS no matter who they may be. However, even she hides secrets of her own, secrets closely intertwined with the trauma that befell both her and Gettemhult ten years ago...

In truth, her real name is actually "Melrandia", the younger sister of the real Melfonseana who died during the Falspawn Invasion of Themis in A.P. 228. Melrandia took on her sister's name out of guilt and in hopes of helping Gettemhult recover from the loss, but it unfortunately only made things worse for both. After Elder's death and his final words to her, she decides to finally abandon the name Melfonseana and return to her old name of Melrandia.

Blow You Away: Primarily uses Zan Technics for her attacks.
Boyish Short Hair: Sports it as her primary hairstyle. She cuts it even shorter once she receives her second outfit.
Character Name Alias: Melfonseana isn't actually her name. Her real name is Melrandia.
Day in the Limelight: Episode 2 Chapter EX^note is all about her past and her unusual relationship with Gettemhult.
Demoted to Extra: After her role in Episodes 1-3, Melrandia's importance in the story severely drops and she doesn't really get featured much afterwards outside of a few sub stories in Episode 5 and 6.
Green-Eyed Monster: Her reason for being with Gettemhult isn't all sunshine and rainbows. She ended up growing increasingly jealous of her sister, to the point where she wished she could replace her. After she was killed by Falspawn, Melfonseana becomes convinced her jealously cause her sister's death, and is consumed by guilt over this and Gettemhult's consequent insanity.
Human Sacrifice: Gettemhult uses her as one at the end of Episode 1 Chapter 8 to help break the seal containing Dark Falz Elder. Considering how Melrandia was his closest companion at that point, it only further shows how far gone Gettemhult was in his insanity. Fortunately for Melrandia, she actually survives this albeit barely, eventually recovering enough to fight on the front lines again.
I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Has tried to stay by Gettemhult's side to fill the void in his heart, but it hasn't really worked so far and if anything made things worse.
I Owe You My Life: Her reason for following Gettemhult to the ends of the space despite his abhorrent attitude.
Image Song: The Darkness Between the Fighting, with Gettemhult.
Important Haircut: After Episode 3 Chapter 4 where Elder sacrifices his life and gives her words of encouragement to move on with her life, she trims her bangs, shedding her old identity of Melfonseana and returning to her original name Melrandia.
In-Series Nickname: Gettemhult calls her "Seana". A couple characters, like Afin, also call her this. She's also called "Dia" when using her real name.
Japanese Politeness: She always exits with a bow, and always refers to her superiors, especially Gettemhult, with -sama. Post Episode 3 Chapter 4, this is one of numerous character traits she drops.
Morality Pet: To Gettemhult. While he treats her badly, she's one of the few people that he bothers to really hang around with and look out for. The moment he decides to sacrifice her in Episode 1 shows how far gone he is. After Gettemhult returns in Episode 5, it's shown that she's still this to him as he thinks about her wellbeing and humurously doesn't want Zeno to tell her anything embarrassing about him.
My Master, Right or Wrong: Despite Gettemhult having many, many, many screws loose, Melfonseana is willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. This eventually comes to a head in Episode 1 Chapter 8, where she lets herself be killed so Gettemhult can summon Dark Falz Elder. Fortunately, she survives the ordeal.
Only I Can Kill Him: What it comes down to for Melfonseana, as Gettemhult (through Dark Falz) tells her that she must kill him herself if she wishes for his freedom. She never gets to do so, though, since he performs a Heroic Sacrifice in Episode 2.
The Quiet One: Like Marlu, she's not very talkative, though she will go through her proper farewell routine when leaving. Completely dropped after Episode 3 Chapter 4, where she becomes more outgoing.
Spell My Name With An S: The ARKS-Layer English patch renders her name as "Melphonsina" and her nickname as "Sina". It also gives the spelling of her real name as "Melrondia".
Survivor Guilt: She feels immense guilt for her sister's death and Gettemhult's corruption, to the point where she believes anyone who gets close to her is doomed to die.
Team Mom: Her final cutscene reveals she has become a counselor for the younger ARKS operatives.
You Remind Me of X: During Episode 5 she finds herself reminded of Gettemhult when seeing the Protagonist as a result of them absorbing Gettemhult's essence in Omega.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/io_pso2_episode_4.png

Io as of Episode 4

Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu (JP), Erika Harlacher (EN)

A young Deuman first introduced in Episode 2. Io's class is Braver and she specializes in the Bullet Bow. She gives players Client Orders based around performing Perfect Attacks to defeat enemies, and tells you what little she knows about the shady events surrounding the creation of Deuman. In Side Stories, is teamed up with Azanami as her foil.

Butt-Monkey: She's constantly getting roped into advertising new classes against her will, and even gets roped into being the third member of PaTia at one point.
I Call It "Vera": Uses the Bullet Bow, in stark contrast to Azanami's Katana. Her bow in particular is the "Edel Io".
Clingy Jealous Girl: To an extent when it comes to her role as the Protagonist's junior. She takes issue when others try calling the Protagonist "boss/senpai" as seen with Hitsugi when she tries it once in Episode 4.
Chuunibyou: Played for laughs in Episode 6. Having become so used to having the class trainers roping her into helping them promote their respective classes, Io actually ended up practicing promoting the Phantom class in advance by learning Kyokuya's way of speaking complete with gestures, assuming she was going to get roped into advertising this class too. Kyokuya tells her that he has no interest in advertising his class, though he does compliment her performance. Io then laments how she wasted her time reciting such embarrassing lines in the plaza.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Downplayed. She just decided to braid a part of her hair but outside of that looks relatively the same.
Image Song: kitty girl.
Mark of the Supernatural: Part of being a Deuman. Her left eye is yellow, and has a vortex to contrast her blue eye.
Nice Girl: Generally sweet and has a hard time saying no to people asking for her help with something.
Old Shame: How she views the times she spent promoting the Braver and Bouncer classes, reacting with immediate embarrassment the moment Stratos brings them up.
Only Sane Man: Frequently plays this part whenever the class trainers inevitably get her entangled within their harebrained schemes.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Io's conservative, blue-haired, Bullet Bow-wielding blue to Azanami's red.
Remember the New Guy?: Invoked by the game itself. Io, along with her race the Deumans, never existed prior to the events of Episode 2, but after Haddred's scarf, which contained traces of his DNA, got sent back in time to the early days of ARKS, it resulted in the Deuman race being created with only the Protagonist and Xion knowing the truth.
Tsundere: As stated in her partner card.

Euclyta & Aurora

Euclyta

Voiced by: Mariya Ise (JP), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (EN)

A female Newman who disappeared during the infamous Falspawn Invasion of Themis in A.P. 228. She is the older twin sister of Afin. She was spirited away by Dark Falz Gemini and raised to believe she was Dark Falz Apprentice for years until Afin and the Protagonist track her down and convince her otherwise. Afterwards, she became an operative of ARKS with her main class being Gunner.

She later returns to prominence in the EX Chapter of Episode 3, butting heads with a mysterious little girl named Aurora, a Photoner who reveals herself to be the original Dark Falz Apprentice. After coming to terms with one another, Aurora transforms herself into the Cosmogenic Arms: "Aurora the Skydancer" for Euclyta to wield.

Action Girl: Definitely. She's more prone to action than her brother Afin even they were kids. When summoned to Omega as one of the four Apprentice Guardians, she and Aurora are the only ones to put up an actual fight against the Guardian as a Cutscene Boss in a duel full of Teleport Spam and Gun Fu. They only "lose" when the Guardian's purification powers kick in after striking Aurora in her gun form, turning her back to normal. A tap on Euclyta 's head does the same for her.
Affectionate Nickname: Afin refers to her as "Eucie". In the original Japanese script, he calls her "Euc-nee" instead. She's also referred to as "Euc-chan" by Aurora.
Animals Hate Him: She naturally scares Lillipans, mostly due to the fact that she attacked them during her stint as Dark Falz Apprentice.
Badass Cape: Her outfit has one with red gradient. Fittingly, it contrasts with Afin's Badass Cape, which has blue gradient.
Brainwashed and Crazy:
- Happened to her as a kid. She was never actually Dark Falz Apprentice as the original Apprentice at the time died before she could full posses Euclyta . Afterwards she was raised to believe that she actually was Apprentice herself. Afin and the Protagonist eventually snap her out of it.
- A second time happens in Episode 5. No thanks to Margaretta, she is transported to Omega as one of the Four Heavenly Apprentices and becomes one of the enemies that the player must face to liberate Epic. She is eventually defeated as a Cutscene Boss and returns to normal.
Brother–Sister Team: With Afin.
Day in the Limelight: Episode 3 Chapter EX is all about her and her relationship with Aurora.
Dope Slap: She does this to Aurora frequently.
Guns Akimbo: Twin Machineguns. After making peace with Aurora, the latter transforms into Aurora the Skydancer, a Cosmogenic Arms in the form of twin machineguns.
Heel–Face Turn: It takes a while but she's eventually convinced that she's not actually Dark Falz Apprentice and afterwards she sides with Afin and ARKS.
I Owe You My Life: Towards Afin and the Protagonist as she's thankful that they, Afin especially, never gave up on trying to get her back.
Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Wears red to contrast her brother's blue.
Polar Opposite Twins: While Afin is cheery, upbeat, but a little cowardly, Euclyta is stern, aloof, and prone to Brutal Honesty. This is even shown by their choice of classes. Afin chooses to stay out of the thick of it as a Ranger while Euclyta gets right in the enemy's face as a Gunner.
Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Inverted. Euclyta's outfit as an ARKS Operative is far more revealing than the outfit she wore as Apprentice II.
Spell My Name With An S: The translation patch gives her name as "Yucreta", or "Eucrita", in the official PSO2 website, her name is spelled as 'Euclyta'.
Stripperific: Her outfit, Crimpiacio, is fairly revealing, compared to a lot of other characters.
Tsundere: She acts like one towards the Protagonist and Afin, often behaving in a serious and aloof manner towards them both, but is otherwise incredibly grateful that they went out of their way to save her from her fate as a Dark Falz. She mellows out somewhat after the timeskip.

Aurora

The First Apprentice

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (JP),

A mysterious child introduced in Episode 3 who claims to be the original Dark Falz Apprentice. She holds beauty to an absolute ideal and detests what she considers to be the ugly state of the universe. She's the photonic spirit of a long-dead Photoner, and is indeed the person whose rampant vanity and loathing corrupted her into the first Dark Falz Apprentice. At the end of Episode 3, she transforms herself into the Cosmogenic Arms: "Aurora the Skydancer", a pair of Twin Machineguns, for Euclyta to wield.

Equippable Ally: Serves as one for Euclyta, transforming into the twin machinegun Cosmogenic Arms: Aurora the Skydancer.
Flower Motifs: She wears flowers as hair decorations, and flowers appear on her dress.
Heroic BSoD: She has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Xion is dead.
Immortal Immaturity: Despite her age and attempts at sounding mature, she tends to act very childishly to which Euclyta often has to reign her in when she does.
Impossibly Cool Clothes: She has the same "cosmos" design as Xion and Xiao going on in her hair decorations, ribbons, dress, and even her gloves.
Infinity +1 Sword: Aurora can turn into a Cosmogenic Arm for Euclyta to use, putting her in almost the same weight class as the Council of Six. She even puts up a good fight against the Guardian as a Cutscene Boss, though she's quickly purified.
Older Than They Look: Being a Photoner, she's several hundred if not thousands of years old compared to everyone else. About the only other person who'd be as old as she is Luther, with only Xion herself being older than both.
Pink Means Feminine: Her hair is a pale shade of pink, and the roses in her hair are bright pink.
Proud Beauty: Shows pride in her looks even with her childish form. Aurora admits that she was even more vain in the distant past.
Stepford Smiler: To an extent. Though normally friendly if a bit arrogant, brief snippets throughout the EX Chapter of Episode 3 make it clear that Aurora isn't exactly thrilled to be in a world where the Photoners and any traces of their culture and society are all gone. She also shows traces of regret and guilt over the Photoners misdeeds and for her part as the first Apprentice.
Token Mini-Moe: Is one of the youngest looking characters within the game with behavior to match.
Too Much Alike: After she and Euclyta get pulled into Omega, she ends up getting into an argument with Margareta. Another character compares the conflict as "arguing into a mirror", and it's an indication that Margareta is the one who is fated to become Dark Falz Apprentice in Omega.

Aika

Voiced by: Mao Ichimichi (JP)

A cool and collected Newman introduced in The Animation who works as an agent of the ARKS Intelligence Bureau. She has mastered every Tech-based class and mostly operates as a Summoner. In A.P. 240, she worked undercover as "Aika Suzuki" in Tokyo to investigate and counteract the Falspawn' targeting of photon-sensitive Earthlings. During her time there, she befriends Itsuki and Rina while attending the same school as them and the three would go on to become close friends.

At the climax of the operation to contain Dark Falz Apprentice, she inadvertently absorbed its essence through Casra II's Cosmogenic Arms. As a result, she had to be purified by Matoi before she turned into a Dark Falz herself. Having recovered from the ordeal, she then returned to active service and helps with the investigation regarding Mother Corps.

The Ace: She is known to be a master of Tech classes, having mastered the Force, Techer, and Bouncer classes. She has also cleared every Extreme Quest.
Affectionate Nickname:
- Marika, Riko, and Yurika bestow upon her the nickname of "Aiai", using the first character of her first name. Of course, this being SEGA, this also brings to mind a certain ball-rolling monkey.
- Thanks to her giving Kouta a Monomate drink during the ARKS Fan Festa, Kouta now refers to her as "Monomate Girl" when he sees Aika's avatar, due to not knowing that it's actually Aika.
Aloof Ally: She acts on her mission and her mission alone, and is very distant towards those unaffiliated with her goals.
Badass Adorable: Her Rappy Pet, who is a very powerful creature able to wipe Falspawn in a flash.
Blow You Away: Her element of choice is Wind.
The Comically Serious: She treats everything with complete and utter seriousness. When told that she'll be the "main attack force" of Seiga Academy's maid café, she immediately begins discussing actual military formations to her peers' confusion.
Demoted to Extra: After her stint as a main character in The Animation, Aika's importance drops severely and she doesn't really do much in Episode 4 itself aside from helping provide background information in several scenes.
Determinator: Once she has her sights set on an objective, she will accomplish it, no matter the odds.
Foreign Exchange Student: Passed as one during her time in Seiga Academy while undercover.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: She is known to be able to handle Compound Technics well, despite Compound Technics only being available to players who Main Class Force or Techer and use a dedicated weapon.
Meido: Dressed as one for the Seiga Academy School Festival for her class's maid cafe. She'd rather keep that stint a secret, especially when Quna brings it up to the Protagonist.
Going Native: She comes to consider Earth her second home after spending enough time there hanging out with Itsuki and Rina and going to school with them as well. As such, she's incredibly protective of the planet and asks the Protagonist help save it from whatever trouble comes its way.
Hero of Another Story: She's one of the main characters of The Animation where it details what Aika was doing on Earth while the Protagonist was still in cryo sleep.
Informed Attribute: Despite her supposed skill, Aika has trouble taking on Corrupted Falspawn in the The Animation whereas Matoi is able to handily take out several with a single attack. To be fair to Aika however, Matoi is exceedingly powerful and only surpassed by the Protagonist themselves. Anything short of a Dark Falz would pose no real trouble for her.
Shameless Fanservice Girl: Bathes with Itsuki in episode 6 of The Animation and shows no embarrassment over giving him an eyeful of her nude body and doesn't appear to care either way.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: She wields a Rappy as her Summoner Pet.
Sealed Evil in a Can: She canned Dark Falz Apprentice using herself several months prior to the start of Episode 4. This is reflected in the tips of her hair being the violet color it turned when she was possesed by Apprentice. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep it canned during the Time Skip, forcing Matoi to work her magic and purify Aika.
The Stoic: Is rather serious for the most part and not really keen on being too emotive.

Other Operatives

Fourie

Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto (JP), Rebecca Davis (EN)

An energetic Ranger CAST who becomes fascinated by the Lilipan race after they save her life. To this end, she strives to become good friends with them and even learn their language. Don't let her friendly demeanor and outgoing disposition fool you, however; when she gets serious, this girl can pack a punch with her trusty Launcher.

BFG: Launchers are her weapons.
Demoted to Extra: From a notable speaking role in multiple parts of EPISODE 1, to basically becoming yet another hub face for nearly the rest of the game by EPISODE 4, Fourie was hit by this hard.
The Empath: It's implied that a major reason why she's able to communicate with the Lilipan, besides taking the time to understand their language slowly but surely, is because she has a natural talent for reading the emotions of others for interactions. Talk to her at the end of EPISODE 5, however, and this becomes very apparent when she says she could feel Shiva's vengeance and despair just by looking at her, something which unsettles her deeply and that other characters don't pick up on until after reveals start taking place in EPISODE 6.
Genki Girl: She's very peppy, even as far as other characters go. She's not above partaking in Risa's borderline-sadist antics, though.
Hold the Line: She, alongside Marlu, Oza, and Risa stays behind to help fend off Falspawn on your tail during your mission on the Mothership.
Image Song: homing friends.
Put on a Bus: She has no story scenes whatsoever after EPISODE 3, although she does appear as one of the NPC allies during the raid on Mothership Shiva.
Small Role, Big Impact: Fourie is regulated to a B-plot, and eventually a C-plot that disappears later in the game, but it's thanks to her that the Guardian is able to find a piece of the Clarissa and that Rojio manages to find a place to lay low after digging too deeply in ARKS information. She's also one of the characters most emotionally impacted by the Code ABYSS order, highlighting that the ARKS operatives do not consent to it once they're freed as well as being the character players would empathize with most on the matter.
Speaks Fluent Animal: She eventually (somehow) learns to understand the Lilipan language. For the record, said language consists entirely of Pokémon Speak.
Spell My Name With An S: Officially "Fourie". The translation patch calls her "Fourier", due to it being a legitimate name in French. The official English translation still pronounces it as "Fourier" despite the spelling.
Taking the Bullet: She takes a punch to the torso from Gettemhult in a Lillipan's stead. While it doesn't kill her, the blow she took could've potentially turned the Lillipan into a pile of mush.

Aki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aki_pso2.png

Aki

Voiced by: Kumiko Watanabe (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)

A scientifically-minded ARKS member conducting an independent investigation into the Dragonkin race and the effects of the Falspawn invasion upon them. She is not without ulterior motive, however; Aki is haunted by her past as a researcher, and will do whatever it takes to atone for her sins, or die trying.

The Atoner: Her reckless disregard for ethical procedure eventually has her research stolen by her superiors and used to create Haddred.
Catchphrase: "I see, I see."
Death Seeker: Upon revealing her indirect involvement with Haddred's creation, she was willing to stand in danger in hopes of getting killed. She eventually goes back on her death wish.
For Science!: Can sometimes be obsessed with her research much to the chagrin of Wright.
Insufferable Genius: Has traces of this attitude though is usually nice.

Wright

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (JP), Joe Zieja (EN)

An extremely cowardly Force Newman, and Aki's assistant in science. If given the chance, he'll run from combat any day and just hang out where it's safe. Aki's adventures to Amduskia do not help him in the slightest. His position as Aki's assistance appears to not be entirely of goodwill, though; there may be more to him than meets the eye.

Character Development: By the end of Episode 3, he finally gets over his fear of Dragonkin.
Shock and Awe: Likes using Zonde technics.
Spell My Name With An S: Of the Japanese Ranguage variety. Spelled as "Right" in Japanese credits, "Light" in the translation patch, and "Wright" in the official translation.
Vomit Indiscretion Shot: The game's cutscenes lack any vomit-like gestures, but he gets audibly nauseous on-screen when Aki examines a dragonkin corpse.

Zig

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zig_pso2.png

Zig

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (JP), Cam Clarke (EN)

A former weaponsmith who has fallen from glory, and can now only reminisce of the good old days, having lost his spirit and drive. When shown the pieces of a mysterious Rod collected by the Protagonist during their adventures, he sets his sights on repairing the artifact, his smithing spirit reinvigorated with curiosity and wonder.

After the events of Episode 2 where Regius lost the Yonohate, Zig forges him a new Cosmogenic Arms called the "Blade of Genesis". He later does the same for Matoi, crafting for her "Clarissa III: the Bright" as her replacement weapon after the original Clarissa is lost once more at the end of Episode 3.

Brilliant, but Lazy: He has the skills to craft the greatest weapons, but he's in a disgruntled slump when you first meet him. It takes the Clarissa to reignite his smithing spirit, to which he will repair the broken weapon at no cost.
Cool Old Guy: Though a tad grumpy, Zig is quite friendly and the one responsible for the creation and maintenance of the Cosmogenic Arms that the Council of Six all uses. He's also over 75 years old at the start of the game which makes him two years older than Regius.
Half the Man He Used to Be: In Episode Oracle the thief brute forced their way to grabbing the weapon and bisecting Zig by the waist to get it. Thankfully, it's a simple repair job for a CAST like him.
Old Friend: To Regius. The two have known each for years, with Zig himself being the one responsible for crafting both of his Cosmogenic Arms. He's also good friends with Maria, but the two are constantly at odds over her treatment of Labrys, with Zig lamenting Labrys' constantly wrecked state because of her reckless handling while Maria bemoans how easily Labrys breaks, wondering if Zig is cheaping out on her.
Spell My Name With An S: ARKS-Layer's patch renders his name as "Zieg", while the subtitles for the anime shows spell it "Jig" but ultimately the North American game translation went with "Zig".
Ultimate Blacksmith: He is the one who created the Cosmogenic Arms, the most powerful photon weapons ever made. You can also visit him to craft the strongest pieces of equipment in the game, provided you have the materials.

Ludmila

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ludmilla_pso2.png

Ludmila

Voiced by: Rie Takahashi

The researcher in charge of A.I.S. development. She makes her debut in Episode 6, tasked with upgrading the mechs to combat Shiva's forces.

Absent-Minded Professor: When Matoi and the player first meet her, she's so engrossed in her research that she doesn't even notice them and ends up barreling right into the latter.
Day in the Limelight: The Evangelion collaboration event gives her a lot more screentime than in the main story, interacting with the EVA cast frequently and taking charge when the 6th Angel, Ramiel, makes a surprise appearance on Oracle.
For Science!: Ludmilla is so dedicated to improving ARKS' tech that she doesn't really care much for the nitty-gritty details, like whether or not her test subjects are willing to help her. In the epilogue of Episode 6, she signs you up for high-impact weapons resistance testing, having noticed that your defensive stats are through the roof. She's baffled when you make a hasty retreat.
Motor Mouth: She speaks very quickly.
Ridiculously Human Robots: She's a Hi-CAST like Xiera, built as a living repository of all of ARKS' scientific knowledge.

Chroto

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (JP), Keith Silverstein (credited as "David Keefir") (EN)

A Human Gunner who hangs out on the second floor of the ARKS Lobby. He provides extremely lucrative Client Orders for players so they can buy new costumes and weapons. You may meet him on the field occasionally, where you'll generally see him musing about deep topics.

Arbitrarily Large Bank Account: The guy never seems to run out of money. Justified, since the Meseta is generated, but still... His client orders were, in the early days of the game, generally considered one of, if not the best way to get money.
Bling-Bling-BANG!: His weapon is the Klothov M238, a pair of Twin Machineguns that look like golden revolvers. They even use Meseta as ammo!
Cool Shades: They're technically goggles, but they're reflective like actual sunglasses.
Get-Rich-Quick Scheme: If you need money, this guy's your man.
The Gunslinger: It's in the Gunner's job description.
Older Than They Look: Despite his young appearance he's actually 28 years old in Episode 1.
Money Mauling: Again, his guns use Meseta as ammo.
Space Western: His design definitely evokes it.

Lavere

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa

A frosty Newman fighter who harbors a deep-rooted hatred against all Falspawn. Her Client Orders are all based around the extermination of various Falspawn enemies.

Big Ol' Eyebrows: While not INCREDIBLY huge, they are abnormally thick for this cast.
Conveniently an Orphan: Bonus material reveals that Lavere's intense hatred of Falspawn stems from the Falspawn attack 10 years prior to the start of the story, in which her family was killed by Falspawn.
Defrosting Ice Queen: One of the few Non Player Characters whose Relationship Values with the Player Character start in the negative. If you complete enough of her Client Orders, you can get her to open up and eventually give you her Partner Card: eighty-five, to be exact.
Spell My Name With An S: The Arks-Layer translation goes with "Revelle".

Filia

Voiced by: Kana Ueda (JP), Cindy Robinson (EN)

A nurse who works at the ARKS medical bay. After the Protagonist finds the amnesiac Matoi and brings her aboard the Oracle Fleet, they leave her in Filia's care who proceeds to help Matoi adjust to life among ARKS and the fleet.

Cool Big Sis: Towards Matoi, acting as her primary caretaker throughout Episodes 1-3.
Doctor's Orders: Often pulls this on Matoi whenever Filia feels she's overworking herself, even asking Sarah to remind her to take a break once in a while and go through a check up. She also reminds the Protagonist themselves to do the same.
Hospital Hottie: Fits the bill as an attractive young woman who works a nurse.

ARKS Trainers

Basic Class Trainers

Risa

Risa as of Episode 6

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (JP), Kira Buckland (EN)

A CAST who acts as the trainer for rookie Rangers and Gunners. Risa is a highly-proficient sniper, yet has quite a few screws loose and talks vividly about her love of riddling anything that's not an ally with bullets. Despite her "quirkiness", the reason behind her existence hides many secrets of its own, and when it comes down to it, she's much more than meets the eye.

Risa additionally appears in IDOLA: Phantasy Star Saga as a crossover character, where she appears in her Episode 6 design.

Ascended Extra: Originally a minor side character, Episode 6 eventually promoted her to a major supporting character as a wielder of not just a Cosmogenic Arms, but as Hariette's host in the Oracle dimension.
Awesomeness by Analysis: A side event in Episode 4 reveals that Risa possesses acute analytical sense; she can tell that Enga wields Assault Rifles simply by looking at his hands.
Ax-Crazy: Downplayed. Though she takes pleasure in shooting just about anything that moves, she does have her limits and will not shoot allies even if she does make the suggestion every once in a while.
Black-and-White Insanity: Risa sees everything as either white, meaning "don't shoot", or black, meaning "shoot a lot".
Big Damn Heroes: In The Stinger of Episode 5, Risa saves the party from Shiva's onslaught using some timely intervention with her newly-acquired Cosmogenic Arms: Harriet.
Color-Coded Eyes: Her eyes turn from red to blue when Harriet is in control.
Cute and Psycho: She's... unhinged, to say the least. Some fans have mistaken this for Yandere but she loves shooting things a great deal more than the player.
Don't Think, Feel: A variant in Episode 6: don't feel, see. With Shiva's forces able to resist, absorb and disguise themselves from Photons altogether, this is completely anti-thetical to the entirety of ARKS relying on Photons to their own detriment. Risa gets around this by fighting and working practically, seeing with her own eyes and natural senses so that she Fights Like a Normal not unlike Sarah. It isn't enough to tip the scales even with a Cosmogenic Arm of her own, but it is enough to be a great aid in holding Shiva off.
Early-Bird Cameo: Her other personality emerges to briefly talk with the Protagonist in Episode 3. One wouldn't think much about it other than Risa being Risa as usual, but it turns out that said personality is Hariette who in the Omega dimension ends up becoming the leading heroine of Episode 5, and later becomes Risa's personal Cosmogenic Arms in Episode 6. This made even more apparent in Episode Oracle, where Risa's eyes and the red lights on her body turn blue when speaking much like in Episode 6, hinting to the audience that there's a lot more to her than just being a quirky CAST.
Foreshadowing:
- Besides her O.O.C. Is Serious Business moment in Episode 3, there's also the time she recognized Enga having a talent for firearms simply by looking at his hands, and she has a strange fixation on taking things at a practical first glance that amounts to a highly-specific Sherlock Scan. That's because unlike almost the entirety of ARKS, Risa has actually been focusing on seeing and fighting with own raw skills rather than relying on Photonic energy the entire time. It's not that she can't sense, so much as she knows it's a crutch - which pays off when Shiva appears.
- When meeting Hitsugi and Al for the first time in Episode 4, one dialogue option has the Protagonist comment on how Risa hasn't really changed in the past two years. Risa then replies that people don't really change much over two years to begin with or even a "hundred". This brief comment isn't much on its own until Episode 6 reveals that Risa is actually the first CAST to be ever created, meaning she's well over a hundred years old if not older.
Friend or Foe?: The only way Risa can tell which is which is if it's explicitly outlined for her. This leads to problems in Side Stories when she mistakes Lillipans as enemies.
Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Risa is almost completely unhinged, going on and on about how much she wants to riddle everything with bullets. Her constant wide-eyed look of excitement and manic energy only adds to her creepiness, but it's all Played for Laughs except for the one time when Code ABYSS is used to turn all of ARKS against you.
Hold the Line: Does so with Oza, Marlu, and Fourie during Episode 2, holding off various Falspawn while the Protagonist and Matoi go on ahead in order to reach Mothership Xion's core. In the anime, she does the same but with Afin and Io instead.
Image Song: Bullet Showtime.
More Dakka: Favors Assault Rifles, and her justification is that it allows her to kill her targets slowly and painfully. After the events of Episode 5, she gains Hariette the Celestial, an assault rifle type Cosmogenic Arms as her main weapon from then on.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Risa has unusually high photon affinity and a keen ability to detect atmospheric photons, immediately sensing that something is different about the protagonist after they absorb the power of Dark Falz Elder. She's also able to sense Alma's presence, even though no one save those related to Xion should be able to detect her.
Older Than They Look: As a CAST, she doesn't visibly age, so she looks much younger than she actually is. In fact, it's heavily implied that she's the very first CAST, despite her lacking the aged voice of other first-generation CASTs like Regius and Maria.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In the final chapter of Episode 3, she gets a moment of downright serenity where she encourages the Protagonist for their upcoming fight to save Matoi. She immediately goes back to normal afterwards and dismisses any implication she was acting "strangely". As it turns out, this is Hariette's influence asserting herself over her, a bit of Foreshadowing that would come to a head in Episode 5 and Episode 6, when Hariette's ascension to the goddess of Omega restores her consciousness in the Oracle dimension along with releasing Shiva.
Properly Paranoid: By virtue of sharing a body with Harriet, Risa knows more about the Profound Darkness than even Xiao does. But she remained silent because she didn't trust ARKS], viewing them as no different than the Photoners - and considering ARKS was under the command of Luther, the last living Photoner, her assessment wasn't wrong. The Guardian's actions and Luther being ousted softens her stance.
Psycho Prototype: Risa was actually the very first CAST, and the imperfection of the early conversion process took a dire toll on her sanity.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes are a dull red. It adds to everything else that's unsettling about her.
Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Of all the places Oracle Harriet's soul could end up...
Sherlock Scan: Risa is scarily perceptive and can instantly tell if someone is lying by minute changes in their body temperature and skin color. She also possesses very high photon affinity, and is immediately able to tell that there's something different about the protagonist after they absorb the power of Dark Falz Elder from Gettemhult in Omega.
Sociopathic Hero: To the letter. The only reason she doesn't go on a murderous rampage is because she hates Falspawn more than she hates every other race.
Sharing a Body: With the aforementioned Hariette.
Spell My Name With An S: While official translations use "Risa", many sources, including the ARKS-Layer English patch, give her name as "Lisa" due to L/R confusion. It's worth noting that Risa is a legitimate Japanese given name, so both are valid interpretations.
Super-Reflexes: She's fast enough to shoot enemies before they actually spring up on ARKS' radar. According to her, this is because she uses her eyes rather than relying on her photon sensitivity like the rest of ARKS, which is why she has no problems fighting Shiva's subordinates and the Luminimechs, since even the Guardians were reliant on Xiao's data and their powers more than their own senses.
Third-Person Person: Which serves to further accentuate her insanity.
Took a Level in Kindness: This is Risa after taking a level. As Ax-Crazy as she already is, she was worse before bonding with Harriet.
Uncanny Valley Girl: Risa looks and sounds cheerful, but she is a bit too enthusiastic when talking about how she turns others into beehives.
Vague Age: Her official age is marked as "??". She's actually older than even Regius and Maria.

Oza

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oza_pso2.png

Oza

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (JP), Khoi Dao (EN)

A boisterous man who acts as the trainer for rookie Hunters and Fighters. He has a particular dislike of Forces and their evasive way of fighting.

Hold the Line: He, alongside Marlu, Risa, and Fourie, stays behind to help fend off Falspawn on your tail during your mission on the Mothership.
Mistaken for Romance: With Azanami, by Marlu, which leads to a lot of tension between him and the Force.
Perspective Reversal: He starts out voicing his dislike for Forces, but after being paired with Risa, he confesses that he'd rather be paired with a Force.
Present Company Excluded: In one of his conversation events he takes a moment from his anti-Force rant to clarify that he doesn't mean you if you happen to be one yourself.
Spell My Name With An S: Officially "Oza". The translation patch gives it as "Ohza" and there are those that use the phonetic spelling "Ooza".

Marlu

Voiced by: Mai Kadowaki (JP), LC Curci (EN)

A quiet young woman who acts as the trainer for rookie Forces and Techers. She has a particular dislike of Hunters and their unpredictable way of fighting.

Battle Couple: They don't start as one, but late into Episode 2, it's revealed that she's secretly developed some feelings for Oza. She also mistakes Oza and Azanami as one, which creates a lot of tension between her and the Hunter.
The Berserker: In a pair of conversations between her and Oza, it's revealed she prefers close-range combat in spite of being a Squishy Wizard due to it somehow maximixing her DPS (in spite of this having no basis in the gameplay mechanics), much to Oza's dismay. Also, while her partner character AI usually fights at mid range with Grants and Foie (mostly Grants), she also occastionally uses the close range Gigrants.
Hold the Line: She, alongside Oza, Risa, and Fourie, stays behind to help fend off Falspawn on your tail during your mission on the Mothership.
Light 'em Up: Light is her element of choice. Notably, in the very early days of the game, she was the only one that gives you the Grants and Gigrants discs.
Perspective Reversal: She starts out voicing her dislike for Hunters, but after being paired with Risa, she confesses that she'd rather be paired with a Hunter.
Spell My Name With An S: Her name is officially rendered as "Marlu" (the second "r" is apparently silent). The translation patch spells it as "Marlur".
The Quiet One: She doesn't talk as much as most other characters.

Azanami

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (JP), Lauren Landa (EN)

A vigorous young woman who invented the Braver class and (thus) acts as its trainer. She was trained in the use of the katana by Regius, #1 of the Council of Six, and considers him her mentor. In Episode 3, she gets into a misunderstanding with Marlu when the latter believes that she and Oza are in a relationship, but Azanami realizes this and helps clear things up. In Side Stories, she is paired up with fellow Braver Io as her foil.

Cool Big Sis: Acts as such to Io, and is also responsible for getting rid of the tension between Oza and Marlu.
Fiery Redhead: Azanami has striking red hair, and she's really eager into action and training. This is best seen in her Boot Camp dialogues.
Genki Girl: She's pretty cheerful and energetic. Amongst all the class trainers, only Stratos beats her in this department
Iaijutsu Practitioner: Her fighting style, and by extension the creator of the Braver's combat style.
Mistaken for Romance: With Oza by Marlu, which leads to a lot of tension between the Hunter and Force later.
Nice Girl: One of the nicest of all basic class trainers, if her dialogues with the player are any indication. She even pushes both Oza and Marlu to reconcile with each other after two episodes long of tension.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Azanami's energetic, red haired, Katana-wielding red to Io's blue.
Space Pirate: She dresses the part, at the very least.

Katori

Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (JP), Lizzie Freeman (EN)

An elegant young Newman with a lazy streak who conducts herself as if she were royalty. Together with Saga, both were introduced in Episode 3 and serve as the trainers for the Bouncer class with Katori specializing in Soaring Blades. She often gets into arguments with other class trainers when she feels they're stealing a march on the Bouncer class.

Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite the bickering and snark, Katori really does care about Saga and is taken aback when it looks like he's leaving her so that she could find another person to partner up with. She then tries to convince him otherwise such as promising to train harder wit him. Saga was betting on this, and proceeds to intensify her training regiment much to her dismay.
Brilliant, but Lazy: Despite being one of the trainers for the Bouncer class, she absolutely hates putting in any actual work beyond advertising the actual class to others. Saga muses that had Summoner came before Bouncer, she would have taken the class and never look back. That being said, she's nonetheless stays with the Bouncer Class and feels threatened when another class looks to overshadow it.
I Call It "Vera": Her personal pair of Soaring Blades is the "Kasentori Haruka".
Damned by Faint Praise: In Episode 4. While busy with trying to advertise the Bouncer Class to Hitsugi and Al, Saga states had Katori had an "influence" in getting the Bouncer Class up and running. She initially takes it as a compliment but realizes that he's essentially saying she barely did anything while he and the Guardian did most of the work.
Dragged by the Collar: Often on the receiving end of this by Saga.
Dual Wielding: Comes in part of wielding Soaring Blades.
Image Song: Glamorous La Vie en Rose.
Irony: As mentioned in Kick Chick below, she refuses to wield Jet Boots because it'll show her "overexposed" legs. However, the Bouncer's poster girl, who wields Jet Boots, wears the exact same outfit as hers, and gets a good amount of Leg Focus during the Episode 3 cinematic intro.
Kick Chick: Subverted! While Jet Boots is one of the Bouncer's weapons, she's primarily wields Soaring Blades. She claims that Jet Boots show too much leg for what she wears.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The Energetic Girl to Saga's Savvy Guy.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Saga. Katori is often put off by his strictness but considers him a dear enough friend that she decides to stick by him even when Saga suggests they look for different partners to work with.

Saga

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (JP), Joe Hernandez (EN)

A CAST introduced in Episode 3 who serves Katori's partner and fellow trainer of the Bouncer class. In contrast to his partner, Saga is a fairly serious individual who has little patience for Katori's lazy behavior and often looks after her to ensure that she doesn't cause any trouble. He primarily teaches others in the use of Jet Boots.

Animal Motifs: He looks like a rabbit. A rather appropriate design considering he uses Jet Boots, and therefore fights primarily by jumping around and kicking things.
Crocodile Tears: He doesn't actually fake cry about it, but he pulls a similar move on Katori by faking wanting to leave her which causes her to ask him otherwise. He then uses it to his advantage to put her through even more intense training.
Deadpan Snarker: Towards Katori. There's never really a moment where Katori speaks and he doesn't say something just to snark at her.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: To put it bluntly, he's not a lax teacher to Katori.
Extremity Extremist: He fights with Jet Boots, which heavily utilizes kicks.
Irony: The fact that a CAST is using a technique-inclined weapon and not the physical Soaring Blades is not lost on him.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The Savvy Guy to Katori's Energetic Girl.
Straight Man: Oftentimes this for Katori.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Katori. The two often snipe at each other for the way they act but it's clear they care for one another. Saga in particular could just find another partner who's easier to work with, but decides to stick by Katori regardless.

Pietro

Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi (JP)

Introduced in Episode 4. Pietro is a rather melodramatic Deuman who serves as the trainer of the Summoner class. Despite he, ironically enough, cannot get his Pets to like him and remains rather oblivious to their feelings as he tries to shower them with his affection.

Affectionate Nickname: Has one for all of his Pets. Unfortunately, his Pets don't exactly like him.
And Call Him "George": He is far too affectionate with his Pets. While it isn't physically harmful to them, it does piss them off, which is why they constantly beat the crap out of him to try and get him to back off. He doesn't get the hint, however.
Animals Hate Him: His Pets do not return his affection, often attacking or biting him constantly. However, he thinks this is just how they show him how much they love him (which is true, just not in the way he thinks).
The Beastmaster: He's this, being a Summoner.
Cap: Besides standing around and handing out Client Orders, he has an additional function that other Trainers don't: if you have a Pet of higher than 10★ rarity, he can "limit break" your Pets, which will allow them to surpass the Lv. 100 cap.
Gratuitous English: In the original Japanese script, he's a huge fan of this. His Affectionate Nickname for you is "my friend" in Engrish, and all of his Pets' names are English in origin (European, at that).
Gratuitous French: The English-dub counterpart to his sprinkling English in Japanese dialogue, such as referring to you as "mon ami" in place of "my friend".
Ignored Epiphany: At one point he starts to consider that maybe the reason his Pets attack him so viciously is because they actually dislike his constant smothering of affection and wonders if he should dial it back a bit. He quickly dismisses the idea as ridiculous and comes to the conclusion that the attacks are merely their way of expressing affection to him.
Iron Butt Monkey: Despite getting beat up by his Pets constantly, he shrugs it off as affection and is no worse for wear.
Running Gag: Pietro suffers a comically high amount of physical abuse from his Pets. The only Pet that doesn't actively abuse him is his Viola, who is pretty insufferable on her own.

Scion Class Trainers

Stratos

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura

The trainer of the Hero class. A young and energetic member of ARKS who's the rising star of the Combat Bureau and the young protege of Huey. She is one of three members of a Childhood Friend trio alongside Kyokuya and Lukot, of whom the latter's mysterious disappearance four years prior to the events of Episode 6 eventually puts great stress on.

The Ace: She mastered the fundamentals of all classes available, then smushed them all together into a new class that uses three different types of weapon at once.
Ascended Fangirl: She named her class "Hero", and is super polite after realizing just who you are. Taken further when it's revealed, and outright shown in the Episode Oracle, that it was the Protagonist who was responsible for saving her, meaning she's now working alongside the very person who inspired her to become an ARKS operative and later create the Hero class.
Back-to-Back Badasses: Stratos, Kyokuya, and Lukot are among the ARKS operatives to break into Mothership Shiva to help pave a path for the Guardians to face her down personally. They get an entire cutscene devoted to their teamwork as they mow down Luminimechs en masse.
Badass Cape: The Helios Mantle, which the player can also purchase.
The Cameo: A younger version of her appears briefly in Episode Oracle as one of the civilians Ash rescues during the attack on Themis.
Childhood Friends: She and Kyokuya have known each other since they were kids.
Cute Bruiser: Short, adorable, excitable, and kicks ass.
Dynamic Entry: A character quirk she picked up from Huey.
Endearingly Dorky: Stratos is almost painfully polite and has a habit of saying, "I'm eternally humbled" both when she feels honored and when she feels ashamed. Her first instinct after attacking you by accident is to get down on her knees and beg for forgiveness, and she fangirls when she discovers that you are the Guardian. Huey finds this enthusiasm of hers endearing and is why he took her under his wing, asking you to do the same.
Establishing Character Moment: Stratos makes her entrance by throwing a Talis and teleporting behind you in hopes of catching you in your blind spot. She's then astonished when you stop her attack anyway, only to realize her error when she takes a second look and notices that you are not Huey, immediately prostrating herself and begging for forgiveness. This scene touches on every aspect of her personality, her energy, her dorkiness, and her eagerness to please.
Genki Girl: She is eternally enthusiastic.
Knight in Shining Armor: Evokes this in her mannerisms and outfit. The concept is deliberate as well; she created the Hero class and named it as such because she wants to be a hero for someone in the same way an ARKS operative saved her during the Falspawn attack of Themis in AP 238, later revealed to be the Protagonist themselves.
Minidress of Power: Helios Dilua, Stratos and Hero Class' iconic female Basewear is this.
Ms. Exposition: One of her dialogue options when you meet with her in the Lobby allows you to get an explanation of the Hero class from top to bottom.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Stratos is the trainer for one of the strongest Classes in all of ARKS, but stands shorter than Io.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Averted. She has red eyes, and she's certainly a formidable fighter, but she's about as, well, heroic a person as you'll find.
Red Is Heroic: Her Hero outfit is primarily doned in red.
Sdrawkcab Name: Her name is a palindrome in Japanese: ストラトス
Walking Armory: She uses Swords, Twin Machineguns and Talises.

Kyokuya

"Black Wolf"

Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa (JP), Bryce Papenbrook (EN)

The trainer of the Phantom Class and Stratos and Lukot's childhood friend with rather exaggerated mannerisms. In spite his gruff exterior, he means well in regards to his friends and allies and looks out for them. He holds a grudge on Lukot for an incident that happened a few years ago before Stratos and Kyokuya joined ARKS.

Back-to-Back Badasses: Stratos, Kyokuya, and Lukot are among the ARKS operatives to break into Mothership Shiva to help pave a path for the Guardians to face her down personally. They get an entire cutscene devoted to their teamwork as they mow down Luminimechs en masse.
Badass Longcoat: What self-respecting chuuni edgelord would be caught dead without a long, flowing coat as black as their soul?
Beware the Silly Ones: Despite his Chuunibyou status, Kyokuya is still a superb fighter; he's the trainer of the Phantom scion class for a reason. He would have stabbed the Guardian In the Back if not for Xiera warning them in a nick of time and puts up a good fight despite the Guardian's prowess.
Casting Gag: Put him in a green coat instead of a black one and he'd be almost a dead ringer for Nagito Komaeda (if Nagito had the personality and mannerisms of Gundham Tanaka), who he shares his English VA with.
Childhood Friends: With Stratos.
Chuunibyou: A textbook case. He constantly makes grandiose poses and talks about the dark forces guiding him and so on. No one takes him remotely seriously. According to Stratos, he's been like this since they were kids, with his first nickname being "Astra Prime".
Combat Pragmatist: He outlines that all Phantoms must be this in the first Client Order he gives you. He also openly mocks Stratos' belief that even strong foes should get a fair fight, which is reflected in Phantom's emphasis on dodging attacks, enfeebling enemies with Jellen, and setting up traps and turrets.
Kyokuya: What is fair no longer concerns you. Focus now on controlled, swift decision-making, and the drive to attain your goals no matter the cost. Failure in any capacity will see you unfit to join the Phantom realm.
Cruel to Be Kind: He knew the harm Lukot risked causing by being tight-lipped about her disappearance, especially considering how suspicious the circumstances were. So he stages a surprise intervention where he ambushes and attacks her to force the truth out.
Dark Is Not Evil: Despite his all-black ensemble, and as much as he'd like you to think otherwise, he's not a bad guy.
Embarrassing Nickname: Stratos calls him "Kyokie". Since cute nicknames don't exactly mesh with the "edgy loner" persona, he hates it.
Evil Laugh: Indulges in this constantly as part of his dark and gritty image.
Foil: His cold cynicism and preference for Combat Pragmatism stands in stark contrast to the Knight in Shining Armor aesthetic and Hope Bringer status of Stratos and the Hero class.
Good Is Not Nice: He's a cold, sneering jerkass who mocks his own Childhood Friend Stratos for her idealism and prefers to stab his opponents In the Back rather than face them head-on, but he's still an ARKS operative working to fight for a better universe.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He doesn't mince words, sneers at idealism, and often goes overboard in his interactions with others, but he cares about both Stratos and Lukot.
Large Ham: He's incredibly over-the-top in both his speech and mannerisms.
Kyokuya: [giving you a CO for more skill points] Heh heh heh. How was your first glimpse into the abyss? That was but a mere glance at what lies truly beyond. Peer in any deeper and the shadows will swallow you alive. Are you ready to submit to them? Then cast aside all your worldly hopes and dreams, and step over... to the Phantom realm.
Mr. Exposition: Like Stratos, he can provide a detailed explanation of his class when spoken to in the Lobby.
Mystical White Hair: He has starkly white hair and is the class trainer for a Tech-heavy class.
The Napoleon: Downplayed. He's one of the shortest male characters in the cast and while he's nowhere near as foul-mouthed and ruthless as Gettemhult, he is still rather grumpy. His height is never brought up, however, so it's purely a result of his Chuunibyou mannerisms and frustration with Lukot's sudden disappearance.
The Nicknamer: According to Stratos, he's been like this since they were children. Aside from the nickname he gives himself, Kyokuya also likes to give other nicknames as well. In Lukot's substory, the two of them come up with the nickname "Pale Nimbus" for Lukot which is an update of his original nickname for her "Flowing Nimbus". He also gives Stratos the nickname "Sapphire Flash", though after trying it out, she decides it's too embarrassing.
Not So Above It All: Despite his aloofness and cynicism, he's not above appearing out of nowhere to join Stratos and Lukot's group pose. He's also as much of a goof as the other two are with his chuuni mannerisms and nicknaming sense.
The Scrooge: The 2019 Christmas event shows he doesn't think much of Christmas. This annoys Stratos.
Stealth Expert: Similarly to Quna and users of "Mai the Unseen", Kyokuya is able to cloak himself to the point that even ARKS' own sensors can't pick him up. This is reflected on his class' emphasis on dodging and its Stealth Charge skill.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Stratos said he was kind and sweet when they were kids, and is astonished to find that he's become cold, cruel, and ruthless since she last saw him.
Vocal Dissonance: Kyokuya's Japanese voice actor is Ryō Horikawa, who's best known for his voice acting work as Vegeta. Horikawa gives Kyokuya the same type of voice he uses for the former which contrasts highly with his teenage appearance and only adds to Chuunibyou persona.
Walking Shirtless Scene: He wears a jacket but no shirt to show off the tattoo he has on his chest.

Lukot

The trainer of the Étoile class. A CAST who works as a maid, she quickly latches onto the Protagonist as an "Ideal Master". She's a childhood friend of Stratos and Kyokuya who, prior to Episode 6 was thought to have died after mysteriously vanishing four years ago. Her sudden reappearance forms the crux of a major sub-plot among the Scion Class trainers.

The Apprentice: Much like how Klariskrays and Stratos are learning from Huey, Lukot was taken under Maria's wing, who sponsors her Étoile class.
Back-to-Back Badasses: Stratos, Kyokuya, and Lukot are among the ARKS operatives to break into Mothership Shiva to help pave a path for the Guardians to face her down personally. They get an entire cutscene devoted to their teamwork as they mow down Luminimechs en masse.
Child Soldier: Unlike Stratos and Kyokuya who only recently became ARKS operatives, Lukot's been operating as one since they were in still in grade school as she was forced to graduate early after turning into a CAST.
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Lukot and her Étoile class are gold to stand out against Stratos' red and Kyokuya's black and blue.
Dark Secret: She's overjoyed to see her friends Stratos and Kyokuya away, but has a secret so dark that she's afraid they'd hate her if she ever revealed it to them. She had been kidnapped by Void and forced to fight Falspawn endlessly to study F-Factor proliferation for years on end. By the time Maria discovered and rescued her, Lukot was a hairsbreadth away from transforming into a Falspawn. She was then placed in the then experimental cryosleep procedure to purify her, but she felt so tainted by he experiences and her inability to contact her friends that she became terrified that they would shun her.
Does Not Know His Own Strength: She apparently has trouble controlling her strength, as after she's done dealing with a Cychronada that attacked her, the broom she was using to sweep the Dragon Alter snaps in two, and she bemoans that it happened again.
Emergency Transformation: Underwent this when she was a child thanks to her enormous photon potential being too much for her body to handle. According to Lukot, she's likely the only CAST on record who became one while in grade school whereas most CAST turn into one at birth.
Glacier Waif: She's a tiny, dainty little thing in a CAST armor shaped like a maid outfit. She also reduces a Cychronada to a Twinkle in the Sky with one strike from a broom. She is also the advocate for the Étoile class, the tankiest class in the game bar none.
Good Is Not Soft: One of the sweetest trainers; does not hold back in dispatching Falspawn.
Meido: Her body resembles a maid's dress and she acts the part. She's first met sweeping the floor in the Dragon Sanctum.
Ms. Exposition: As with the other Scion Class trainers, when interacted with in the Lobby she can give a comprehensive overview of her class's abilities.
Ninja Maid: She's a maid and as the representative of a Scion Class an extremely competent combatant.
Unwilling Roboticisation: To an extent, she didn't really like the idea of turning into a CAST when she was a child because she was afraid of how Stratos and Kyokuya would be afraid of her. She eventually made peace with it thanks to their support.
Poor Communication Kills: The reason for Kyokuya's anger with her is his belief that she locked him and Stratos in a mansion and set it on fire with them inside. In truth, she had invited them so they could play inside after discovering the old building on the outskirts of town. She had no idea that it was a booby-trapped Void facility, or that Void was onto her investigation of them. So they kidnapped her and tried to burn down the building along with all the evidence, Stratos and Kyokuya included.
Rose-Haired Sweetie: Pink-haired (or more accurately pink-headed, being a CAST and all) and incredibly polite.
Spell My Name With An S: The ARKS-Layer translation spells her name "Lucotte".
Sweet Baker: She bakes "Makeup Cookies" whenever she, Stratos, and Kyokuya get into a fight and is a complete sweetheart.
Verbal Tic: She tends to end her sentences with "desu no" in the Japanese dub.
Younger Than They Look: As a child, Lukot's appearance as CAST was already that of her current look, meaning she looked like a teenager despite being a grade schooler at the time. This no longer applies by the present, though her polite and well mannered demeanor still gives her a more mature presence than Stratos and Kyokuya despite being the same age as them.

Other ARKS Trainers

Jan

Voiced by: Yosuke Akimoto (JP), Bryce Papenbrook (EN)

A veteran ARKS with a habit of droning on about his past glories for a little too long. He gives Client Orders based around teaching the Player Character about the basic mechanics of the game, such as forming parties and how to use the various facilities featured in the ARKS Ship Lobby.

Left Hanging: Every cutscene he appears in ends with the player eventually walking away while Jan is still talking about his exploits. Jan honestly doesn't seem to mind though, as he goes on and on and on...
Mr. Exposition: Loves droning on about mechanics and his adventures. Eventually he always gets left alone, but he's too busy reminiscing to notice.
Running Gag: His incredibly long stories, and the player walking away as he absent-mindedly continues to reminisce about days gone by.
Spell My Name With An S: "Jean" in the translation patch, likely due to its pronounciation in Japanese matching that of "Jan" exactly.
Vocal Dissonance: For some reason, the NA release decided to give this crusty old man the voice of Bryce Papenbrook, who is typecast as young characters for a very good reason. He does still sound old, but doesn't hit the low tones as deeply as his appearance implies.

Barbara

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa

A veteran CAST who gives advanced weapons training to the Fighter, Gunner and Techer classes.

Former ARKS Members

Gettemhult

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (JP), Ben Lepley (EN)

An immensely powerful and notorious member of ARKS. Once recognized as amicable, if rough-around-the-edges, a fated encounter ten years ago irreversibly changed him, and now he stands today as one of the most feared entities in the entire fleet. Gettemhult travels the universe wherever the winds of combat take him, taking out his anger and rage on any Falspawn he sets his sights on. He perceives Zeno as his greatest rival, and appears to share history with the Hunter. When Gettemhult catches wind of an enemy far stronger than any he's seen before, his lust for battle will lead him down a path to destruction.

And I Must Scream: Gettemhult is still completely conscious while being possessed by Dark Falz. He's just kinda sealed up and needs Dark Falz to communicate for him.
Badass Longcoat: His coat, Heretic Lord, is pretty kickass-looking.
Berserk Button: Zeno's presence tends to get this guy in a killing mood. And do not bring up Melfonseana. Just having to look at the Gemini twins inside the Guardian's mind silently triggers this button all the time, though they figure it's only right for him to be mad.
Blood Knight: So much so that he deliberately awakens Dark Falz Elder just because he wants to fight it. By himself. This is in spite of the fact that it took some of the most powerful members of ARKS to defeat Elder the last time he was active, and even then they couldn't kill him and only managed to seal him away. It actually says something that Elder somehow comes off as more sane than Gettemhult despite sharing similar lust for battle.
The Bus Came Back: After his Omega counterpart is absorbed by the player, his original version becomes a resident in the Protagonist's mind and bestows the power of Dark Falz Elder.
Dark and Troubled Past: He was once an honorable ARKS operative if a bit rough around the edges. Once Melfonseana died however, he slowly slipped into insanity and became increasingly hungry for battle wherever he went, even going so far as to discard the people he once he loved and trusted just for the sake sating desires.
Despair Event Horizon: Gettemhult had one upon losing his girlfriend, which turned him into the Blood Knight we know today. Melrandia has, unsuccessfully, tried to fill the void in his heart by staying with him no matter what.
Didn't See That Coming: He expected a good fight when he and Melrandia release the seal on Dark Falz Elder. He didn't expect Elder to take him as a host instead.
Early-Bird Cameo: He was a Fighter before Fighters were introduced into the game.
Evil Counterpart: For Zeno, to the point where they both have identical scars on their face, and a significant other that forms the crux of their morality.
Evil Is Not a Toy: Gettemhult is a Blood Knight who wants to unleash Dark Falz Elder just for the sake of fighting it. Elder's response is to turn Gettemhult into his new vessel.
Evil Laugh: Engages in this in his Image Song.
Fallen Hero: At one point in time Gettemhult was a good man who fought for the sake of others. Losing Melfonseana however took a toll on his sanity and eventually turned him to the Blood Knight that he is today.
Good Colors, Evil Colors: When he appears in your mind in Episode 5, his Elder outfit has blue accents instead of red.
Good Old Fisticuffs: He fights Falspawn with nothing more than a pair of knuckles and has no problems catching other weapons bare-handed.
He Who Fights Monsters: Losing Melfonseana eventually drove him to become one of the very things that ARKS as a whole fights against: a Dark Falz.
Heroic Sacrifice: Dies with Elder when Elder uses himself to protect Melrandia and your party from Gemini's onslaught. It's implied that this is actually Gettemhult doing the sacrifice thanks to Elder's words to Melrandia.
Image Song: The Darkness Between the Fighting, with Melfonseana.
It's Personal: With Gemini. They were the ones responsible for the original Melfonseana's death, which partially drives Elder to seek them out and fight them at the end of Episode 2. This carries on in his interactions with Florent and Fleur in Episode 6, where Gettemhult tries to reconcile his anger with the twins as he knows they're not the exactly same when they were Gemini.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After having his personality and powers as the host of Dark Falz Elder absorbed into the protagonist, Gettemhult showcases more of his hidden kindness without his Blood Knight tendencies getting in the way. He's protective of Melrandia when he worries about what Zeno might be telling her, gently comforts the Omega version of Melfonseana upon her death, and says that it's about damn time that Zeno and Echo got married when Everybody Can See It.
Sharing a Body: Gettemhult winds up being absorbed by the Protagonist in Episode 5. He's mildly amused by the irony of being absorbed by someone he once looked down on.
Sir Swears-a-Lot: Possibly the most foul-mouthed character in the game, it befits his super-blunt Blood Knight personality.
Spell My Name With An S: Officially "Gettemhult". The ARKS-Layer translation patch renders it as "Gettemhart".
Unwitting Pawn: In the anime, it's shown he was being subtly manipulated by Luther to aid in Elder's awakening.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He was once a respectable ARKS operative until Melfonseana's death turned him into the warmonger he is now.
Would Hit a Girl: Has no qualms of about giving Melrandia a wound that nearly kills her just so he could awaken Dark Falz Elder. In Episode Oracle, he handles Matoi no less roughly and has zero qualms punching an unarmed Echo in the gut.

Melfonseana

Melfonseana as she appears in Episode Oracle

Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Episode Oracle)

The real Melfonseana, Melrandia's older sister. She died over 10 years ago during the Falspawn Invasion of Themis in A.P. 228, her death driving Gettemhult to slow insanity afterwards.

She is also one of the main protagonists of Episode 0, where it details an alternate version of events that led to Melfonseana being a key witness in the downfall of Klariskrays II just before her own death.

Affectionate Nickname: "Seana" which was Gettemhult's personal nickname for her.
Ascended Extra: Despite never appearing in the main game (Omega version aside), she is adapted into Episode Oracle as part of the backstory by pulling elements of her manga counterpart and integrating them with the game's timeline.
Deader than Dead: The manga version of her death had it where giving up all of the Photons in her body to save Klariskrays II essentially causes her to disintegrate into nothingness. In the anime Episode Oracle, it's shown that she was disintegrated by an attack from Gemini.
Death by Origin Story: Her death plays a key role in Gettemhult and Melrandia's current characterizations, and thus makes her a central figure in Melrandia's subplots in both Episode 1 and Episode 2.
Doomed by Canon: Her fate in the manga is a given to anyone who's actually played the game. The actual circumstances behind it, however, are much different from the game or anime's version.
Heroic Sacrifice: The manga adaptation of her Falspawn Invasion of Themis ends with Melfonseana destroying herself from existence to halt Klariskrays II's Demonic Possession by the Profound Darkness. Doubles as a Senseless Sacrifice since it only ends up delaying the inevitable rather than the intended effect.
Posthumous Character: Long dead by the time the game's story takes place. Whatever's known about her is through Melrandia's descriptions of her backstory. Her character is only really explored in the manga Episode 0 which the anime Episode Oracle takes elements from and adds to its own lore.
Stripperific: Her outfit is the standard female Newman Hunter's gear, which to say the least shows a lot of skin.
Team Mom: As shown in the Episode Oracle anime, she played this role whenever Zeno and Gettemhult would argue in front of her. Pulling both their ears to get them to stop fighting.

Oracle

Xion

Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (JP), Cindy Robinson (EN)

An enigmatic woman who appears before the Protagonist to grant them the precognizant "Divergence Matrix". She seems to be trying to change the future, but fails to elaborate on why.

In Episode 2, it is revealed that Xion is actually an omniscient being: a planet that birthed an intelligence powerful enough to calculate everything within the universe and become the Akashic Records, the incarnation of knowledge itself. At her own request, the planet Xion was transformed by the Photoners into the core of the Oracle Mothership, and assumes a role similar to a central computer system. Luther's goal was to "hack" Xion and forcefully merge with her, thereby seizing her infinite stores of knowledge for himself. Though he manages to succeed, he inadvertently concentrates all of Xion's essence into one place, allowing her to sacrifice herself and deprive Luther of his omniscience forever.

In Episode 3, the remnants of her existence continue to remain dormant within the Clarissa's core. At the Episode's end, Persona calls upon her power as the Clarissa to absorb the corrupted photons from both the Protagonist and Matoi, purifying both and restoring the latter to her original form while transforming Persona into the Profound Darkness. She and Persona bid the two of you farewell as she dissipates from existence.

In Episode 5, it's revealed that Xion was never actually the Akashic Records itself. Alma describes her as being more akin to a librarian who simply had access to the information that the actual Akashic Records had.

All-Powerful Bystander: According to Luther, if Xion's power is as great as believed, she surely could have seen both the creation of the Profound Darkness and its consequences in advance, but stayed her hand on the matter despite being able to stop it. No one knows why she didn't do anything, but Luther, having been stuck in a Pocket Dimension for quite a while, presumes it was out of loneliness.
Astral Projection: The Xion that the Protagonist and Matoi talks to isn't actually the real Xion. It's just an avatar copied from a Photoner that Xion took a liking too long ago in order to communicate better with people.
Back for the Finale: Despite dying four Episodes ago, Xion returns to help the player, Persona, and the heroines destroy the Primordial Darkness forever.
Big Good: For the entire game in general. She guides the Protagonist throughout their journey and works behind the scenes in order to ensure Luther's downfall. Even after her physical death, she ensured that the Oracle Fleet would be taken care of by bringing in Xiao who serves as her replacement. The remnants of her consciousness that remain within Clarissa also work together with Persona to finally save Matoi from her fate.
Cryptic Conversation: Everything that Xion tells you throughout Episode 1 is incredibly strange and ambiguous. She's fully aware she's being frustratingly vague however and outright apologizes for it, but considers it necessary to hide her motives from her captor, Luther. By Episode 2 she gets less cryptic and more straightforward, since Luther has begun to make his move.
Genius Loci: Xion herself, being a planet made entirely of an living ocean that spent it's entire "life" calculating all that exists. The Photoners, with the exception of Luther, are later fused within her.
"Groundhog Day" Loop: Prior to the streamlining of past story content in Episode 5, the early plot actually had extra scenes where the Protagonist runs through the events, and then redoes them for a better outcome, and this was all part of Xion's machinations. Alma goes on to confirm this directly after those scenes were removed, in her attempts to understand the events that ARKS had been through as she directly views your past operation data.
Heroic Sacrifice: Xion and the spirit remnants of the Photoners get together at the last minute and restrain Luther the Fallen, allowing you and your party to escape unharmed. They are then subsequently consumed by Luther the Fallen when he transforms into Dark Falz Luther.
- What remains of Xion within the Clarissa ends up assisting Persona in their own Heroic Sacrifice, becoming a means for Persona to absorb the Profound Darkness so the protagonist can Take a Third Option and save Matoi from the Vicious Cycle of death. In the process, this is Xion's last act, having seen an impossible future that neither she nor Xiao could foresee - and the credits show the Clarissa and Xion's remaining crystal within it fading away to solidify a death.
Invisible to Normals: She cannot be seen by anyone except you and Matoi. This is due to her status as an Astral Projection.
Killed Off for Real: By the end of Episode 3 Chapter 7, she finally expends the limits of her power as the Clarissa, and disappears for good. Subverted however when she comes back again in Episode 6 to help rescue the Protagonist in the finale.
Luke, I Am Your Father: Though it's never really brought up, she's technically the mother of Matoi as Xion created her. She's also visibly touched when Matoi acknowledges her presence as nostalgic which allows the amnesiac girl to trust Xion despite having no memories of their past connection. She's also technically half-responsible for Shiva's creation alongside Luther, and then swiped his cloning projects from underneath his nose to create the protagonist herself, which also makes her the Guardian's mother equivalent.
Meaningful Name: "Shion" contains the character "shio", which means "tide". Xion's true form is that of an ocean planet.
Mercy Kill: After Luther absorbs Xion, this is Xion's final request to the Protagonist, as only her death will stop Luther once and for all.
My Greatest Failure:
- The cause of all of Xion's troubles is that she made the mistake of coming in contact with the Photoners, instead of observing them like she was supposed to. She's obviously kicking herself for this, and since she's a little tied up, she needs you to right the future for her.
- She also comes to regret what Matoi became as Klariskrays II, as all it did was create a girl who plagued by a heavy burden who didn't even know what it was like to live a normal life and only fought because she was told to rather than because she wanted to. Because of this, she's grateful for the Protagonist's influence and decision to stand by Matoi no matter what as their actions end up saving Matoi from her fate.
The Omniscient: Luther firmly believes her to be this, and the story does try to make it seem like this is the case. However, it's subverted; even with all of Xion's knowledge of the Akashic Records she doesn't predict every little thing that might happen. Luther gets one up on her with the creation of the Deuman race, for one example, and Persona's Heroic Sacrifice so Matoi didn't have to inevitably die actually satisfied her because it was a new divergence. She's as much a living entity that can make mistakes as anyone else.
Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Xion's human avatar is modeled after the first Photoner to encounter her. As a living planet, she really doesn't need them, and they vanish once the heroes enter the core of their being.
Retcon: Xion is referred to as the Akashic Records throughout Episode 1 and 2, but in Episode 5, this is amended to make her a terminal of the Akashic Records, akin to a librarian while the Akashic Records is the library itself.
Sealed Good in a Can: The Oracle Mothership's true original purpose was to act as a shield for Xion and allow her to move freely in space along with the Photoners, thus becoming her "can".
Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Xion's purpose throughout the game. Coming into contact with the Photoners indirectly caused the birth of the Profound Darkness, and one particular Photoner (Luther) is deadset on assimilating her and doesn't care about the coming apocalypse. She thus enlists the Protagonist to fix the damage.
Talking Weapon: The voice of the Clarissa, which is reputed to have this trait, is in fact Xion.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Just by meeting the Photoners in a sharing of knowledge to end her loneliness, she inspired them to attempt to recreate her in her entirety for their own ends. This leads to the Profound Darkness, the extinction of the Photoners, and ARKS being made in a Forever War with the resulting Falspawn. The story is ambiguous about whether she already had access to the Akashic Records at that point or not, but she very much cannot change what happened in the timeline like that; if she wasn't as unwitting as first thought, she still couldn't avoid it.
You Cannot Fight Fate: Deconstructed. The Akashic Records she reads from are the past, present and future, which means that technically speaking, everything has to happen from her meeting the Photoners to recruiting the Protagonist, and even beyond her Heroic Sacrifice. Despite this, Xion still feels guilt for what she caused, and Alma retroactively realizes that Xion had been looping various crucial events over and over to gradually influence things so that the heroes could eventually Screw Destiny, which actually does cause some changes in the timeline, some intended and some even she couldn't foresee. Because the protagonist has to inevitably end up at Shiva and become possessed by the Profound Darkness so they travel back to the beginning of time to become the Akashic Records, technically even Xion's interventions were all fated as one giant universe-long Stable Time Loop - but this is the loop that Matoi, Hitsugi and Harriet give that idea the middle finger and save the protagonist, finally breaking the eternal fate.

Luther

The former Overseer of both ARKS and the Oracle Fleet. He was later revealed to be a Dark Falz and tried to usurp ARKS from within, but was taken down through the combined efforts of the Protagonist, Xion, Xiao, and everyone else in ARKS.

To learn more about the character, see [[here.

Other Residents

Rogio

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pso2_rojio_5895.jpg

Voiced by: Tetsu Shiratori (JP), Michael P. Greco (EN)

A civilian geographer and biologist. He becomes suspicious of irregularities in the environment of Naverius, and hires the Player Character to gather data on his behalf.

Adapted Out: Despite being something of a relevant side character throughout Episode 1, he does not appear in Episode Oracle in any capacity.
Curiosity Killed the Cast: Rogio comes this close to getting assassinated by the Central Research Department for sticking his nose into where they think it doesn't belong; namely, the abnormalities of Naverius's environment. Thankfully, after Quna exposes Void and Luther is deposed]], he comes out of hiding safe and sound.
Non-Action Guy: He's not an ARKS operative and thus has zero combat ability.
Put on a Bus: He vanishes for most of Episode 2, except for an optional cutscene, for plot purposes. By the end of Episode 1, the Central Research Department was pretty much out for his blood due to his research, so he was forced to take shelter in the Tunnels of Lillipa with Fourie's help to escape assassination. By the end of said Episode, though, he's able to come back.

Franca

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki

A chef who resides in the Shop Area. She often gives players Client Orders regarding enemy meats or other things that she may be able to whip up a meal out of, or materials that she can use to fix up or replace her cooking utensils. She is often popular among the players for providing extremely high-paying Client Orders, provided the player has the patience or Meseta to pay for the goods she requires. She also is the owner of Franca's Cafe, where players can gather various ingredients for cooking dishes.

Ascended Extra: Due to being an Ensemble Dark Horse, she received an entire area in her name as well as a cute new outfit.
Cordon Bleugh Chef: She makes you get things like Vol Dragon and Org Blan meat. Sure, they might actually taste good in the world of Phantasy Star Online 2, but then she tells you that she wants them because she wants to find out if they work in dishes... This is also taking into consideration the fact that actual, human food exists, like the Naura Sisters' Strawberry Shortcake, and the numerous recipes available from cooking.
Costume Evolution: She started out with a plain civilian costume that didn't hint at all about her profession. She was later given a chef's hat and apron to distinguish her from other NPCs, and eventually received a chef's outfit that has orange highlights and fits nicer.
Frying Pan of Doom: The Franca's Frying Pan Weapon Camo, given as a gift by, well, herself. It can be used on Wands to add a layer of comedy to every fight.
Informed Attribute: Prior to some updates, Franca was originally dressed as a generic NPC, making her chef profession on the All There in the Manual side. One update made it more evident by giving her a chef hat and apron, and the Gathering system update promoted her to cafe owner, as well as revamping her appearance to boot.
The Speechless: In the sole cutscene she appears in, she has no voice.

Characters / Phantasy Star Online 2 - ARKS

Races

ARKS & Oracle Fleet Leadership

ARKS Operatives

Euclyta

Aurora

Fourie

Aki

Wright

Zig

Ludmila

Chroto

Lavere

Filia

ARKS Trainers

Risa

Oza

Marlu

Azanami

Katori

Saga

Pietro

Stratos

Kyokuya

Lukot

Jan

Barbara

Former ARKS Members

Oracle

Rogio

Franca

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Index

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Characters / Phantasy Star Online 2 - ARKS

Edit Locked

Races

ARKS & Oracle Fleet Leadership

ARKS Operatives

Euclyta

Aurora

Fourie

Aki

Wright

Zig

Ludmila

Chroto

Lavere

Filia

ARKS Trainers

Risa

Oza

Marlu

Azanami

Katori

Saga

Pietro

Stratos

Kyokuya

Lukot

Jan

Barbara

Former ARKS Members

Oracle

Rogio

Franca

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Index

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