Earth

Lore & Background

In the world of Tales of Arise, the upper world of Rena harvests energy from the lower world of Caelum, and the very land of Caelum is the source of its people's connection to Earth Arts. Dohalim, raised as a slave in Caelum's mines and forges, draws her power from the soil and stone she has known her whole life. Her Earth Arts are not ornamental; they are the same force that splits rock for ore and shakes the foundations of the mines where she was kept. When she finally wields them in combat, it reads as the land itself answering her call.

Shionne's relationship with Earth is more turbulent. Bound by a curse that marks her as a 'demon' in the eyes of Rena's society, her Arts carry a heavier, more volatile charge. The ground cracks and surges around her in ways that suggest her power is less a calm bond and more a suppressed fury breaking through. Her Earth Arts in battle often feel less controlled than Dohalim's, reflecting the internal conflict that drives much of her character arc.

Mechanically within the game's Tales-style combat loop, Earth Arts slot into the same charge-and-release system as other elements but with a distinct flavor: wider hitboxes, stronger knockback, and a slightly slower wind-up that rewards timing and positioning. They pair naturally with the game's dodge-and-counter rhythm, letting a player root an enemy in place with a heavy AoE strike before chaining a combo.

In Their Own Story

The cavern had no sky. Dohalim pressed her palm flat against the cold stone wall, feeling the faint vibration of the mine shafts three levels up—Rena's machines, always grinding, always taking. She had been a slave here for years, her hands black with dust, her back a map of scars. And yet, when the overseer's boot came down and she flinched, the floor beneath his heel simply… gave way. A crack split the rock like a vein. He stumbled. She did not look up.

Now, standing in the open field outside the resistance camp, she felt the sun on her face for the first time in months. The grass was soft. The earth beneath her boots was warm. She raised her hand, and the ground answered—not with the jagged, desperate crack it had given in the mine, but with a slow, rolling wave of green light that rippled outward like a heartbeat. Shionne, watching from the ridge, felt her own curse stir in sympathy. The two of them, bound to the same element, finally standing in the same sky.

Reader's Guide

Earth Arts in Tales of Arise function as area-of-effect elemental attacks that emphasize range, knockback, and heavy physical impact. They are not the fastest element in the rotation, but their wide hitboxes make them excellent for clearing groups of enemies and creating breathing room in tight spaces. You charge an Earth Art by holding the Arts button, building a brief meter before releasing for a more powerful version. The visual signature is a burst of deep green energy radiating from the ground, often accompanied by a shockwave that pushes nearby foes back.

Primary users: Dohalim (protagonist, available from the start) and Shionne (joinable early in the story). Both characters have access to multiple Earth Arts of varying tiers as they level up and unlock skill-tree nodes.

In-story justification: Dohalim's bond to Earth is literal—she grew up in Caelum's mines, her life defined by stone and soil. Her Arts are the land speaking through her. Shionne's Earth connection is tied to her curse; the ground surges and cracks around her as a physical manifestation of the turmoil she carries, making her version feel more volatile and less controlled.

Build tip: If you want to lean into Earth, prioritize Dohalim's defensive and AoE Arts in your skill tree and pair them with a dodge-heavy playstyle. Use a charged Earth Art to scatter a group, then follow up with normal-attack combos on the staggered enemies. Shionne's Earth Arts hit harder but with slightly longer wind-ups, so save her charged attacks for the moments when a boss is locked in a recovery animation. Keeping both Earth users in your active party gives you overlapping AoE coverage that no single-element team can match.

Did You Know?

• Dohalim's Earth Arts are thematically tied to her origins as a slave in Caelum's mines, making her combat style a narrative expression of the land she was forced to work.
• Shionne's Earth Arts are visually distinct from Dohalim's, with more jagged, crackling energy that reflects her cursed state and inner conflict throughout the story.
• Earth is one of only two elements (alongside Light) that Dohalim can use, giving her a unique dual-element identity compared to the other party members who are typically locked to a single element.
• The game's real-time combat lets you chain normal attacks and Earth Arts in the same combo string, meaning a well-timed dodge into a charged Earth Art can reset an enemy's attack pattern mid-sequence.