Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven | Formations Guide

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a game that’s very open-ended and requires a greater deal of strategy and thinking than most other games of the genre. You also have numerous ways of augmenting your retinue and emperor to specialize against enemies. One such way is the formations. These formations can specialize your party and ensure how the AI reacts, protecting your healers and more.

Formations essentially let you control how the enemy attacks you and also offer some minor stat boosts. The first formation you start out with is the Imperial Cross Formation. However, you’ll need to learn the rest of them.

The Training Hall is constructed after Gerard defeats the Vicar within the Canal Fort. After defeating the boss, time will shift by about 140 years, moving onto the Year 1141. Within the Training Hall, you’ll be able to learn registered techs and evasions to members of your party, but more importantly, develop new Formations.

The Formations are unlocked by speaking to one of the trainers within the Training Hall. To unlock new formations, you need to interact with the trainer with a new class of emperors. When you do so, the trainer will immediately unlock a new formation for you. These formations are range from a variety of options, from defensive, to offensive to ones that power certain abilities, spells or are just generally better for certain equipment.

Imperial Formations

Free Fight: The first formation you have at your disposal; there’s nothing much to speak of since it doesn’t provide any benefits of any kind. The retinue is lined up in a straight line and fights freely.

Imperial Cross: Also automatically unlocked via progression. The Cross creates a cross-shaped formation where one character is surrounded by the four others on each side. It’s the traditional Imperial Formation, making the character at the front more likely to be targeted, giving them higher physical and technique defense. It also makes the central and far-back characters difficult to target but reduces the quickness of the far-back character.

Imperial Shield: The Imperial Shield is unlocked after you have the Heavy Infantry Class. It makes the front row a chevron of three characters, and the two remaining characters are right behind the central one. All of the front-row characters have increased close-range attacks, but this makes them easier to target. The back characters are less likely to be targeted, and the quickness of the far back characters is reduced.

Imperial Attack: Imperial Attack is nearly identical to the Imperial Shield. It’s unlocked through the Light Infantry class, and it places a row of three characters at the far front and two behind the middle one. This is a very aggressive formation and brings the characters the closest they can go to the enemy.

Imperial Ray: Unlocked by the Ranger Class, it is the opposite of Imperial Attack. A back row of 3 characters that are difficult to target have lowered quickness but have higher ranged attacks. This means that there’s only one guy at the front and one at the center; the front character is the most likely to be targeted.

Imperial Magic: It is unlocked by the Court Mage. It is a strange formation with a central middle line where the frontal character is bound to be targeted while the central and back characters are harder to target, with the far back one having a lower attack. The middle row gets better magic damage and is harder to target.

Imperial Arrow: This is unlocked by the Imperial Guard and is a slightly modified version of the Ray. The only difference to the Imperial Ray is that the front character is the only one near the front, acting as the vanguard. They get higher defense and quickness but are likelier to be targeted. Everyone else is the opposite, with lower quickness but being harder to target. 

Imperial Force: This one is unlocked by the final emperor. It is a chevron shape with one character that is easier to target but has a drastically high attack and drastically low defense. The middle row has two characters that have counter-attacks but lower defense, and the far-back characters are harder to target and have better attacks than defense.

Boosting Formations

Fanged Assault: Unlocked by the Mercenary Class, the Fanged Assault is an angled formation with two forward and two back characters with a central character. The central character and the forward characters get higher physical attacks.

Witch’s Cap: The Freelance Mage Class unlocks this formation. Three characters stay at the back, and two stay at the front. The back characters have their magic damage increased and swiftness reduced, which makes them difficult to target. The front characters become easier to target, but they get higher defense.

Free for All 2: This is an improved version of Free for All 1. It is unlocked by the Vagabond and increases the quickness of all the characters arrayed in a line while one character stays at the back and has a higher physical and magic attack.

Iron Forge: Unlocked by the Blacksmith, the Hammer Formation increases defense and attack. One character remains at the center, while two stand at the front at each corner. Two stand back. Almost all the characters get higher Physical defense, except the front two, who get higher physical attacks.

Rising Phoenix: A square formation with one character at the center and four at either corner. This is unlocked by the Strategist. The central character is easy to target and has both physical and magical defenses. The corner characters lose swiftness but gain a higher shield activation rate.

Dragon Stance: Unlocked by the martial artist, it's an irregular formation with a wave of characters at the back and one at the front. This makes the front characters easier to target and allows the first person to act in succession. The front characters also get higher defense, swiftness, and close-range attacks.

Mu Rampart: Unlocked by the Saigo Clansman, this is a true and straight-lined chevron that assigns you to attack second but heavily boosts the defense of all characters. It’s almost like a shield wall.

Rapid Stream: The Corsair’s unlock, which is similar to the Free For All, has all characters in a line with one standing out in the front. It increases the swiftness of all the characters and decreases their shield activation. It lets you strike first and is the aggressive version of the Mu Rampart.

Charming Drive: Unlocked by the Dancer, it is arrayed in a rhombus shape with three characters at the front and two at the back. It increases everyone’s agility and makes them harder to target, except for the central front character. The front three characters get better defense while the back two get a better-ranged attack.

Specialized Formations

Divine Wall: Crusaders unlock the aptly named Divine Wall, which puts two people in the front row and three in the back. This makes the back row untargetable unless the front row is gone. The front row gets better defense, while the back row gets a better-range attack.

Whirlwind: The formation is unlocked by having the Nomad. Three people are concentrated on the front row at the center while two stay back in the wings. The front row gains quickness and better defense, while the back is harder to target and has increased ranged attack.

Seer's Focus: Unlocked by the Diver, it's a reverse chevron that makes the person at the back harder to hit while the flanks at the front are easier to hit. The back character has better magic power, making this the only formation to boost magic power. The flanks have better speed and can defend after action.

Hunter's Gambit: The formation keeps four characters at the front and one at the far back. The far back character gets a higher ranged attack and is very hard to hit, while the front characters either get post-action defense and higher quickness or a higher ranged attack.

Amazon Raid: Unlocked by having the Amazon class, it’s a chevron that makes the far front character easier to attack but makes them very fast and increases their close-range attack. At the same time, the characters beside and behind him gain a little boost to speed and close-range attacks. 

Desert Fox: Unlocked by the desert guard, this formation is a balance between counterattacks and normal attacks. It is shaped like a paw with three people at the front, all of whom get higher physical attacks and better counterattacks. 

Lightning Flash: Unlocked by the Levantine guard, this is a very irregular formation that creates a fixed order of action and makes everyone attack in quick succession. The last attack deals higher damage, and it is done by the emperor at the back, who gets a higher physical attack and magical attack.

Flying Sword: Unlocked by the Ninja, it increases cooperation and huddles everyone towards the back corner while the emperor stands alone at the far right.

Cosmic Ring: Unlocked by the Diviner, it boosts Heavenly attacks. The retinue is arrayed in a circle with the emperor at the front. The emperor has extremely reduced swiftness but has high attack, while the middle two people also gain reduced versions of these buffs.

Puppet Army: Unlocked by the Coppelia Class, the Puppet Army strengthens status resistance and creates a V-shaped formation.

Goblin Offense: A part of the "Goblin Hideaway Disturbance" Quest as a reward. It creates a line with two of the corners standing at the front. It increases the physical attack of the central three people and the ranged attack of the corner three.

Elemental Formations

Twin Pyramids: Unlocked by the Mole class from the Mole tribe. The Mole strengthens the attack and defense of the ground system. The retinue is arrayed in a rhombus with two people at the front and three at the back. The ones at the front gain ground defense, while the back ones gain ground attack. 

Crescent Tide: Another one of the irregular formations, this one of the elemental formations that boosts water attacks. The people either gain water defense or attack based on their location.

Winged Quintet: The formation of the air element, the Winged Quintet, is unlocked by the Iris Class; it gives either increased wind defense or attack.

Volcanic Heart: The final elemental formation, this one pertaining to fire. It strengthens fire attacks and defense. It is unlocked by the Salamander Class.

During a battle, you cannot switch formations, and only one Formation can be equipped at a time. It is worth it to switch up formations as some are wildly different and may be the perfect counters to certain bosses and enemies.

Check out our review and other guides on Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven below:

• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of The Seven Review
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Guide | How to Pass the Entrance Exam
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven | Regional Exams Guide - All Answers
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven | Beginner's Guide - Tips & Tricks
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven | Combat Tips & Tricks
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven | Abilities Guide