Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny, released in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Japanese developer Gust Co. Ltd. for the PlayStation 2. The game is the sequel to Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, although lore-wise is a prequel. Gameplay The gameplay in Atelier Iris 2 is an improvement over its predecessor in many aspects. The game is unique in having two playable, switchable characters: Felt and Viese. A large portion of the game is played using Felt, who focuses on exploration and combat. Viese meanwhile, can perform Synthesis to create items and plays more of a support role. Switching between the two is essential to progression and can be done at any save point. Characters can travel to different regions and towns on the over-world map and enter them for field exploration. Combat is turn based with a Time Gauge keeping track of player and enemy turns, with the Speed stat determining the order. Up to three active characters can be used in battle at a time with the ability to swap them with reserve members. In battle, the player characters can Charge Attack to gain skill points, Break Attack to delay enemy turns, use various items created through alchemy, defend or flee. The skill points gained can be used to activate powerful special abilities unique to each character. Delaying enemies and pushing their turns to a certain region of the time gauge will put them in a 'break' state, where they are slowed and an attack chain can be executed by the player, offering various perks. At the end of a battle, the party gains experience points and ability points to level up and learn new skills, respectively. Being the series' defining feature, Atelier Iris 2 has an item-customization and -creation scheme known as alchemy. By obtaining a recipe and the necessary ingredients, items can be synthesized. These are divided into three categories: consumables, equipment, and field items required to progress in the game. Depending on the ingredients used, various traits can be applied to items to improve their effects. While only Viese can perform synthesis at her workshop, when a consumable item is synthesized, the player is given the choice to update the item recipe. By doing so, items of the same type retroactively gain the new traits and can then be made by either character at any time, provided the player has