Charlotte Aulin

[Ren]

Intro

Widely considered one of the weakest and worst characters of the game. This guide will cover how to effectively play a good Charlotte, from getting started to advanced techniques, and even some cool tricks to get more fun out of your mage.

Book of Binding

Charlotte's main, and only weapon is the Book of Binding. To those who have played Portrait of Ruin, the book is actually a combination of the Tome of Arms books from that game. To those unfamiliar with the game, the book will basically extend out a small sword upon attacking. It has pitifully short range and lower attack.

After learning a couple of spells, the book will extend a small sword, with two axes on the sides. (Tome of Arms 2) The range is a big improvement over level one, and the damage boost is enough to get Charlotte by while waiting for an MP regain.

After maxing out all the main spells, the book changes to it's final form. A spear now extends inplace of the small sword, and the two axes are replaced with rather large spiked maces. (Tome of Arms 3) The improvement of range is slightly better compared to level two. With the final form, Charlotte is able to attack enemies through the ceiling from below if needed. It also serves as a rather functional shield. Simply attack as you jump, and the maces will destroy any projectiles/enemies in your way as you move. (Provided they can be destroyed)

Contrary to popular belief, Charlotte's Book is NOT effected by DLC spells. Only the original 22 spells will increase and level her book up. Set those as your priority.

Spells

The meat and potatoes of this guide. Charlotte is a spellcaster, so obviously her spells should be the main form of attack. Her hunter skill is to pull up a magical shield infront of her that'll absorb almost any magical attack sent her way. The shield costs 10MP to raise, and drains 1 MP per second for as long as you hold it up. The shield is how you'll be learning new spells. Everytime a spell hits your shield, you should or should not hear a 'tink' sound. If you do, you can learn said spell, and should continuously hold your shield up to absorb attacks until you learn the spell. (A message will pop up and Charlotte will exclaim that she's learned the spell)

Important things to note: You can only absorb a spell once from any enemy. After that you must kill the enemy and find another. In terms of bosses, you must replay the chapter to get copies. Another thing to keep in mind is that learning spells will indeed power up the damage of your other spells. One last thing to note is that LUCK affects the success rate of learning spells. Higher LUCK means a greater chance of success.

Let's start from Chapter 1 and onwards.

Fireball

Charlotte's starting spell. At the cost of 8 MP, it does exactly what you think it does...... casts a fireball. Bone Pillars are the only enemy to use this spell, but thankfully they come in mass quantity in various chapters. Fireball should be the first spell you max out.

That being said... Fireball isn't exactly Charlotte's best spell, obviously. Nearly all of the fire spells in this game will drown out Fireball completely. Replace it with another fire spell ASAP.

Raging Fire

Charlotte's second fire spell.... of the many. At the cost of 15 MP, Charlotte will fire a short burst of flame, akin to a flamethrower gun. Minotaurs, White Dragons, and Spittle Bones are the enemies that use this attack. Maxing out Raging Fire is relatively easy, if not a bit tedious, depending on the enemy you face.

Raging Fire is the worst fire spell in my honest opinion. Fireball would at least give you some better range and cost, whereas Raging Fire puts Charlotte dangerously close with a spell that can't do much damage. There's another close range spell that'll trump this in everyway. Never use Raging Fire. Shame too.... because Raging Fire was pretty damn good in PoR.

Splash Needle

Your first Water/Ice element spell. 12 MP will have Charlotte fire out bursts of needle-like projectiles. The Mermen are the only enemies who have access to this attack. Although it's relatively easy to learn, the lack of Mermen will undoubtedly take a few runs, even with the addition of Chapter 9. They must also be OUT of the water to fire the attack.

This is actually a pretty useful attack for long range sniping. It's also nice to have a spell that ISN'T of the fire element. Still, it's not something you'll be using for long, as it'll become outclassed very soon.

Summon Skeleton

At 12 MP cost, Charlotte will take off her blouse. Actually she'll summon a skeleton (1 at a low level, and up to 3 at the max) which.... throw bones? Guess where you absorb this 'spell' from.... yep, Gergoth.


.....Or a skeleton.


...What else can I say about this spell? It's not worth using.

Chapter 2[/size]

Acidic Bubbles

An amazing spell. With 15 MP, Charlotte will fire a stream of large green bubbles that float infront of her for a distance before popping. Chance of poison damage. Learn this spell from the Glasya Labolas.

This spell was amazing for Charlotte in PoR, and it's just as good here. It's damage output and range is far greater than Raging Fire, and the chance to poison enemies is a huge plus. 15 MP cost is just too generous for this awesome spell you get early. You'll be using it for a long time.

Demon Seeds

At the cost of 15 MP, Charlotte will release a number of seed into the air that'll travel 'slowly' ahead. Man-eating Plants are the only enemy to use this attack. Although thankfully they're easy to learn, you'll have to run multiple chapter trips to max it out.

That being said, the spell is alright at best. It has a plus of infinite range until it either hits the defining 'Fire and Forget' spell. Unfortunately it's a bit on the weak side, predictably. It doesn't help that the seeds are destroyed by most things your teammates can cast, or even your own spells. But then again.... who doesn't enjoy seeing Charlotte surrounded by seeds?

Ice Needles

15 MP cost. Charlotte will create four shards of ice that'll rotate infront of her, before firing off ahead faster than a speeding Grando. (Roughly) The Frozen Shades are the only enemy to learn this from. Sadly... it takes a LOT of effort to learn the stinking spell, and the shortage of 2 Frozen Shades per chapter doesn't help the cause.

Despite the trouble of having to learn it, Ice Needle is a very useful spell, if not her best Ice element. Not only can you snipe at long range with it, but simply having the shards infront of Charlotte will protect her for a time. Casting multiple times will raise a frightening shield of icy death infront of you.

Poison Spores

This costs 12 MP. Charlotte releases poisonous gas from her book. Moldy Corpses use this spell, although it's tricky with the insanely short range. My advice is to get the three corpses on the right side of the map, and lure them down into the little step that you enter the room from. (You'll have jumped up from the numbered rooms.) The Corpses can't climb the tiny step back up, but will still release gas that you can safely, and easily absorb.

......Soma says it best. "Crap!" There is absolutely NO reason to use this spell. Not only is the range shorter than the Book of Binding level 1, but the damage is worse. If you really want to poison the enemy, stick with the madly superior Acidic Bubbles.

Sickle Moon

Charlotte creates a large crescent-shaped blade infront of her, before firing it ahead. A low cost of 10 MP! The only trouble is.... learning it from the every annoying Imps. They're everywhere, so maxing it in a single run is possible, but actually getting the bastards to use the attack is the painful part.

Sickle Moon is very underrated, like Charlotte herself. For a cheap cost, it's fairly powerful and has the benefits of infinite range. Sickle Moon will also create a sort of shield infront of Charlotte, so using it as a mobile cover is nice. Give it a try I say.

Chapter 3

Flame Shot

Costs 15 MP. Charlotte fires a rather large and powerful looking fireball that explodes upon impact. The Fire Demons cast this spell.

Flame Shot is wonderful. It trumps the measly Fireball in everyway. The cost is hefty, but the damage and infinite range you'll get out of it is the payback you'll get for it. A lot of people love this spell, and it's a contender for the strongest fire spell in her arsenal. We'll get to that later.

Chapter 4[/size]

Energy Flow

At the cost of 12 MP, Charlotte will fire a tiny blue bolt that'll slowly track the nearest target. The beautiful and busty witches cast this spell to attack.

As Charlotte's first Holy spell, it warrants a bit of use. Not only can it deal some acceptable damage to enemies because of it's attribute, it won't be destroyed by flying into walls and through floors. Using Energy Flow to track down Harpies and Gaibons is recommended. That being said, the range is something to be desired. Don't expect to kill very much with this, and boss fights are usually out of the question.

Another thing to note is that your teammates can destroy your Energy Flow. Be sure to yell at Soma's who casually toss a Yorick skull around.

Ghost Chaser

15 MP cost. Charlotte fires a purple shot that travels up at an angle, then targets and enemy and speeds at it. The durable Dullahan's fire this spell, as well as Dracula's second form. It's an easy spell to max out, especially if you use Dracula.

Another rather underrated spell. Ghost Chaser doesn't seem to put out much damage compared to other spells, due to it being a dark element spell. It doesn't hit for much damage, and has a tendency to target the wrong enemy, and cancels itself out on walls and objects. So why do I say it's worth using? It's faster at tracking down a faster enemy, and has longer range than Energy Flow. It also has the benefit of NOT being canceled out by other projectiles, making Gaibon fighting easier on the soul. Give it a try.

Heal

Charlotte's most expensive spell. An MP cost of 50 will cover Charlotte in a sort've rainbow light, obviously restoring HP. The boobalicious witches use this spell.

The Heal spell is probably guilty of the most controversy in HD, second to Soma I'd say. Heal was insanely difficult to learn, due to how hard it was to trick Witches into using it without killing them. A common strategy was to lure them to ramps, and slide kick into them for one damage. MY advice is to bring a friend and have him jump kick off her breasts for minimal damage. The other complaint/praise was that Heal made Charlotte near immortal in the pre-patch game. With a maxed out Charlotte, you were able to heal back more HP then you lost with an Astral ring, and previously had invulnerability frames to go along with it.

Nowadays... Heal is a moderate spell. The benefit is that you can heal yourself and your partners, so they might be grateful. The problem is that you waste a lot of MP, and will likely sit out a bunch of battles, just to use up another heal from the damage you took waiting for more MP. I recommend that you avoid Heal.

Chapter 5

Deathscythe

The most expensive of the offensive spells. Deathscythe comes in at a total of 25 MP cost. Charlotte releases a flurry of death sickles infront of her that tear anything apart. Mr. Death himself uses this spell exclusively. It's important to remember that Deathscythe can NOT be gotten twice per chapter. His troll mode and boss fight mode count as the same enemy.

Being the first Boss spell you get, it's extremely good. Deathscythe will murder bosses, and it's Charlotte's best offense for most of the non-DLC chapters. Something has to be said of how good it is when I say that Charlotte's Deathscythe is superior to Soma's and even Death's version itself. DAMN! But unfortunately being a slash type spell, warrants very little use in DLC chapters, especially when there's a better version out.

Featherblades

For 10 MP, Charlotte will fire out three feather bullets in a spread. The lovable Harpies use this spell on occasion.

It's..... moderately bad. By Chapter 5, you'll be getting access to the nuke spells. Feather blades has decent damage and cost, but it can't stand up to the other goodies you'll get/have gotten by now. Max it and never use it.

Ice Fang

Costs 12 MP. Charlotte fire a tiny ice crystal that does no damage itself, but will explode into large shards of ice on the ground, or any surface it touches. Carlos and other Sea Demons use this spell.... just make sure you absorb the ice crystal, and not the actual stalagmites.

I LOVE this spell. It's my favorite spell, solely because Charlotte sounds sexy yelling Ice Fang! (loser) But other than my personal reasons, it's pretty damn powerful. Your ability to kill things may vary, depending on the enemy, but it does a lot of damage, and usually hits twice if the enemy is large enough. It's good for a quick, makeshift shield. Now whether or not Ice Needle is better is solely up to you. They each come in handy in different circumstances.

Nightmare

Charlotte will create a large ball of death for only 20 MP. The Malachi enemies use this spell.

It's..... bad. It certainly LOOKS all big and powerful... but it's a dark element spell, so your damage will suffer. Not only that, but it's rather slow and cancels out easily. It's also hella expensive. Experiment with it if you can, but I say max it and move on.

Piercing Beam

15 MP cost. Charlotte fires a purple laser infront of her. Nova Skeletons are the fellas chargin thar lasers. Bwaaaaaa. Just make sure you duck and shield to absorb them.

Piercing Beam is Charlotte's second, and only other holy spell. Unfortunately Piercing Beam sucks as a whole. It's interesting to note that Soma and Shanoa also have access to this spell, and it's just as bad for them. Unless you're playing single player, avoid this spell. It's stronger than Energy Flow, but that's not saying much.

Summon Gunman

For 12 MP, Charlotte will remove her skirt. Wait... I already did this joke, huh? Actually Charlotte will summon her own gunman/men (1 at low levels, 3 max) which fire straight ahead. The Gunmen are who you absorb this from. Easy to max out in a single run, as there are exactly 9 of these guys in Chapter 5. They don't aggressively attack and take turns reloading and such. Very easy.

This spell can clear hallways in an instant with BDC. Summon Gunman is a very good spell. Great damage, infinite range, and low MP cost. It's only drawback is being unable to hit flying targets, and sometimes getting them summoned inside the ceiling or walls.

Chapter 6[/size]

Thunderbolt

Charlotte will fire a large ball of electricity for only 15 MP. Thunder Demons use this spell, so it's easy to absorb.

The last of the three demon spells. Thunderbolt is sadly Charlotte's only lightning element spell of the game. (not counting DLC) Thankfully Thunderbolt is extremely useful. The damage you rack up with multiple hits per cast make this thing worthwhile, and although it pales in comparison to HOLY LIGHTNING!, it's still Charlotte's best method of dealing with enemies weak to lightning.

Hellfire

MP Cost 12. Charlotte will fire three small fireballs out. Absorb from Dracula himself. It's important to note that you can only absorb one of two Dracula spells per run. Keep that in mind!

Hellfire is insanely good. A contender for the best fire spell, and probably best offensive spell. It may seem like a triple version of Fireball, and to an extent.... it is. However Hellfire travels further than Fireball, does more damage, and hits the enemy thrice. It's may not beat out Flameshot in range and raw power, but Hellfire can meet the same damage with an overall cheaper MP cost. I suggest experimenting with it and Flameshot and use whatever you want to your liking. Just.... obviously not both.

Dark Inferno

15 MP cost. Charlotte summons a small meteor spell that steadily flies forward. Dracula's signature attack, and always a bitch to absorb. This one will take patience to max out.

The final spell of the main game. Dark Inferno is pretty damn good. It's slow to start, but can rack up damage fast if you cast it INSIDE an enemy. (Dullahan's before an aggro for example) Dark Inferno benefits from being a fire and dark element spell, so any enemy weak to both would crumble fast. It's also worth mentioning that Dark Inferno will not cancel out to a Guard status, and will keep damaging anything after it. Perfect for Dracula 3. I'd say give this spell a try, and keep it for enemies that are annoying to take down.

DLC Chapters[/size]

Delta Spark

15 MP cost. Charlotte will fire large green triangles of death in a spread infront of her. Higher levels will fire more triangles per cast. Absorb this spell from Astarte. It can be hard if you don't know. The trick is to get behind Astarte as she's jumping, and face AWAY from WHERE SHE LANDS while holding your shield up. You should get 'tink' absorbs while being unharmed.

Garbage. Delta Spark is garbage in Charlotte's hands. The main breaking point is that you can't cast this spell in the air, while Soma can. Normally this wouldn't be too much of an annoyance, but when you max out Delta Spark, more than half of the spell slams into the ground at Charlotte's feet and cancels out. The spell is essentially useless, and if you're really wanting to deal some lightning damage, stick with Thunderbolt.

R. Fireball

Costs 12 MP. Charlotte will fire 3-5 tiny fireballs out in a spread formation, Contra style. R. Fishmen, R. Dragon Cannons, R. Skele-dragons, and R. Phantom bats use this spell. Simple to max in a single run.

SHOTGUN! Charlotte's best fire spell by no contest. Maxed out, Charlotte is literally firing a shotgun of bullets infront of her. At close range, she can destroy things rather quickly. High damage and low MP cost. R. Fireball is easy to absorb, and extremely useful in a final Charlotte.

R. Summon Skeleton

Costs 10 MP. Charlotte will eat her hotdog slowly for you..... or summon an R. Skeleton to throw bones. Absorb the bones of the R. Skeletons to get it.

Unlike Summon Skeleton, R. Summon Skeleton is very good. Whereas the normal version simply summoned an army to throw single bones, R. SS summons one guy to throw multiple bones over Charlotte's head. It can be tricky to get some damage out of it without getting hit yourself, but the pay off is honestly worth it to earn Charlotte some strike damage.

R. Deathscythe

Costs 20 MP. Charlotte will summon retro sickles infront of her in a swarm, similar to Deathscythe. R. Grim Reaper uses this as his... only attack?

R. Deathscythe is similar to Deathscythe... and superior in everyway. Cheaper cost and greater damage. The cost is only 5 MP shorter, but in the DLC chapters, it makes the difference. Use this and destroy bosses easily! Use it!

Equipment

Charlotte set the standard for the casters by not having any unique drops to speak of. She also has the benefits of having the smallest drop pool for common rares, like the Winged/Sonic boots, or the Rings. If you're having trouble getting that pesky Miser Ring as Soma or Alucard, consider switching to Charlotte and taking advantage of her limited drop pools.

With the addition of DLC equipment, Charlotte gears can vary a bit. Below are two common setups for Charlotte's.

Pure INT/MP Regeneration
Head: Holy Veil
Body: Death's Robe/Robe Decollete(DLC)
Feet: Artemis Shoes/Sonic Boots(DLC)
Back: Blue Cape/Bishomen Rainment(DLC)
Accessory 1: A-Rings(DLC)/Chaos Ring
Accessory 2: A-Rings(DLC)/Chaos Ring

With the Artemis Shoes, A-Rings, and Blue Cape you Charlotte will have the max INT possible sans food. Although you won't be able to keep up with other people wearing speed shoes, use your raw power to your advantage and snipe enemies with long range spells, such as Summon Gunmen or Flameshot or Sickle Moon. By the time you run and catch up to the team, or split up from them, you'll have MP back for more destruction. Just make sure to pack powerful nukes.

With the MP regeneration set-up, Charlotte will rarely run out of MP unless you spam costly spells. Pack low costing, but useful spells, such as R. Fireball and Splash Needle to make yourself useful to the team. Having Heal along will greatly benefit the others as well, and not cripple you so badly.

Final Notes and Fun Things

Charlotte suffers from being one of the two characters in the entire game that cannot jump kick. Because of this, most Charlotte's and Yoko's get left behind by faster characters who can take shortcuts. This is why the girls are mainly scarce in the game when it comes to boss rushing.

Charlotte is the only character of the 12 who powers up by obtaining the same spells 9 times. Yes, Alucard and Soma power up their spells/souls by obtaining copies too..... but those don't affect the ATK stat. Charlotte's does. With this in mind, Charlotte can be the first character you max out, given enough dedication. She's a refreshing breath of fresh air after so many usage grinders.

Dual Crushes with Charlotte will almost always result in Phlagathon, a layer of fire covering the nearby surfaces. It's damage is somewhat moderate for DCs, but hitting things is the tricky part. It's also guilty of obscuring the view of teammates, so use it wisely. The only other Dual Crush unique to Charlotte only is 1,000 blades, which can only be done with PoR partner Jonathan. The important thing to remember about this DC is that the attack will always fire towards where Jonathan is facing. Whoever initiates it doesn't matter for this DC.

Charlotte's up taunt should be used whenever possible. Although it may not have an actual function like Shanoa's, she's one of three characters to actually have two taunts... and the best of the bunch. =w=

Ren's Builds

When the game gets stale, build your unique character set to certain spells or acts. Here's my Charlotte builds. Give some a try.

Emo Charlotte "Why are the nightmares my only comfort?"

Black Color Alt
B: Nightmare
^B: Ghost Chaser
>B: Sickle Moon
vB: Deathscythe

Back: Blood Cloak
Accessory 1: Fool's Tablet (DLC)
Accessory 2: Astral Brooch


My almost famous build. Emo Charlotte is my response to her lack of love and attention in DLC. All of your spells are notably of the dark nature. The three equipment options I noted are key for this set-up. The Fool's Tablet will put Charlotte under a permanent poison status. Astral Brooch will restore 3 MP per damage, and the Blood Cloak will restore 3 MP per damage. The result is that Charlotte's MP restores at an almost absurd rate, higher than the MP build. Any sane person could throw in a Heal and make this build almost an SSJ stand-in.... but I prefer to be demo and constantly dying.

Cold Charlotte "Get it? Cold Shoulder? Cold... nevermind"

Light Blue Alt
B: Splash Needle
^B: Ice Needle
>B: Ice Needle
vB: Ice Fang

The idea behind this is to use only ice spells. That's it. Use the Power Build.

Fire Charlotte "She expressed a lot of anger in PoR, so why not? Plus she's got 5 damn fire spells"

Red Color Alt
B: Raging Fire
^B: Flame Shot
>B: R. Fireball
vB: Dark Inferno

Fire Charlotte is what it is. Try to alternate between all spells, rather than just Flame Shot. Use the Regeneration build.

Holy Charlotte "Come back to me wearing 3 Nun items"

White Color Alt
B: Heal
^B: Energy Flow
>B: Piercing Beam
vB: Energy Flow

Exactly what it looks like. A Charlotte with only holy powers, being the good girl she is. Use the Regeneration build to account for Heal.

Belandes Charlotte "Technically, she's of the bloodline"

Normal Color
B: Raging Fire
^B: Ice Needle
>B: Thunderbolt
vB: Ice Needle

Power Build. Yes.... only three spells. The Belnades clan are supposed to have mastery over the three elements.... so that's what we're doing here. It's insanely fun when you're paired with a Yoko, and you're just comparing spells for the hell of it. It's really a lot of fun with a Yoko, so I suggest you grab a friend and try it out.




That's all for my measly Charlotte guide. I hope this will give you the push needed to pick up this under appreciated, yet great character and have some fun.