http://taletalesource.blog69.fc2.com/blo...-3196.html
http://www.famitsu.com/news/201405/22053583.html
Some more info from Famitsu
It has been long since the former Monk disappeared. Its existence has been like a fairytale, but even so, the common people worshiped its deeds while the government thought it to be a bother. Aware and cautious of the newly vested Monk, Slay and his companion Alisha, the governing body summons them to the royal palace. It is here they find the "Defilement" in the "other half" of the human world, right before their eyes; that which the Monk cannot ignore.
Dezel: He has experience from spending several years with mercenaries in the human world.
Combat System:
Around Step:
When you successfully avoid an attack, the damage is reduced to 1. The enemy will falter, and your Spirits Chain will recover.
Blast Gauge (BG):
A gauge boosted from defensive maneuvers, such as guarding, evading, etc. Using this gauge can allow you to recover Spirits Chain, or blow enemies away. Looking at the screenshots, there is a "Blow Blast" effect visible.
Spirits Chain (SC):
SC can be consumed when using certain artes. The amount depends on the arte. You can use up to four basic attacks in combination, and with any remaining SC gauge, you can add more to the combo. SC will recover when not attacking. It can also recover when blocking, evading, or using movement. Its maximum value is 100.
The Weakness modifier returns from Graces and Xillia 2. The example shows a 1.25x multiplier, but this is likely based on the difficulty like in previous games.
The battle UI shows what is possibly the requirement of two humans and two Divine in the party. The UI displays the elements of the Divine on the cross between the paired characters. In one example on the website, it shows Slay and Lyla paired with no other characters in the field. The cross only shows a fire icon. In the second screenshot, Slay and Mikurio are paired, while Alisha and Edna are together on the other half of the UI. Earth and Water are displayed on the bottom.
Artes
Slay:
獅子戦吼 (Shishisenkou, lit. Lion Battle Cry, "Beast")
Lyla:
羽二重 (Habutae, lit. a fine Japanese silk)
懐紙 (Kaishi)
三番叟 (Sanbasou, lit. Third Elder)
ヒートレッド (Heat Red/Heat Lead, Pascal's Pyrogenic Ring)
ブリッツフレイム (Blitz Flame)
バーンストライク (Burn Strike)
Dezel:
嫉妬者（ジェラス） (Jealous, lit. Jealous Person)
異端（ヘレティック） (Heretic, lit. Heresy)
沽聖（ビニーズ） (Beneath?, ?)
ディバイドヒート (Divide Hit)
アベンジャーバイト (Avenger Bite, Richard's Vengeant Fangs)
ジルクラッカー (Gill Cracker)
Chief God and Attendant God (?)
Divine who have formed contracts with other Divine are known as Chief Gods. Their contractee must accompany them. The Chief God possesses a special power. They are unusual at this time.
Spirits Chain appears to be similar to Tales of Hearts 3DS's EG. Similar to CC and AC, it limits your actions and cannot be recovered by items. Its pool isn't significantly large to be constantly spamming, but its value is significantly higher than CC or AC, indicating a more varied weight to artes like Hearts' EG system. Hopefully, it will go better than Hearts 3DS which in my opinion, had a very poor resource system which facilitated infinite combos and single arte spamming. I haven't tried Hearts R so I'm not sure what they did to adjust that, but I've heard it is significantly better.
In the two combat screenshots available on the website, one shows Slay successfully Around Stepping. Lyla is his only partner. There is an additional number (9) beside the portrait, which is probably the Blast Gauge. The blue bar should be the Spirits Chain. Lyla is not in the screenshot, but her portrait and element are visible at the bottom UI.
The second screenshot shows a full party, with Slay & Mikurio, and Alisha & Edna. Edna is visible casting a spell, showing her magic circle and a casting icon with a progress ring. Mikurio and Edna's water and earth are visible in the UI. Lyla and Dezel's fire and wind are not visible, presumably because they are not in combat. This might hint to the return of Xillia 1's combat switching feature as well. If a human character is required to be paired with a Divine, this may imply a third human, as having only Slay and Alisha in the party at all times makes it rather monotonous.
http://www.famitsu.com/news/201405/22053583.html
Some more info from Famitsu
It has been long since the former Monk disappeared. Its existence has been like a fairytale, but even so, the common people worshiped its deeds while the government thought it to be a bother. Aware and cautious of the newly vested Monk, Slay and his companion Alisha, the governing body summons them to the royal palace. It is here they find the "Defilement" in the "other half" of the human world, right before their eyes; that which the Monk cannot ignore.
Dezel: He has experience from spending several years with mercenaries in the human world.
Combat System:
Around Step:
When you successfully avoid an attack, the damage is reduced to 1. The enemy will falter, and your Spirits Chain will recover.
Blast Gauge (BG):
A gauge boosted from defensive maneuvers, such as guarding, evading, etc. Using this gauge can allow you to recover Spirits Chain, or blow enemies away. Looking at the screenshots, there is a "Blow Blast" effect visible.
Spirits Chain (SC):
SC can be consumed when using certain artes. The amount depends on the arte. You can use up to four basic attacks in combination, and with any remaining SC gauge, you can add more to the combo. SC will recover when not attacking. It can also recover when blocking, evading, or using movement. Its maximum value is 100.
The Weakness modifier returns from Graces and Xillia 2. The example shows a 1.25x multiplier, but this is likely based on the difficulty like in previous games.
The battle UI shows what is possibly the requirement of two humans and two Divine in the party. The UI displays the elements of the Divine on the cross between the paired characters. In one example on the website, it shows Slay and Lyla paired with no other characters in the field. The cross only shows a fire icon. In the second screenshot, Slay and Mikurio are paired, while Alisha and Edna are together on the other half of the UI. Earth and Water are displayed on the bottom.
Artes
Slay:
獅子戦吼 (Shishisenkou, lit. Lion Battle Cry, "Beast")
Lyla:
羽二重 (Habutae, lit. a fine Japanese silk)
懐紙 (Kaishi)
三番叟 (Sanbasou, lit. Third Elder)
ヒートレッド (Heat Red/Heat Lead, Pascal's Pyrogenic Ring)
ブリッツフレイム (Blitz Flame)
バーンストライク (Burn Strike)
Dezel:
嫉妬者（ジェラス） (Jealous, lit. Jealous Person)
異端（ヘレティック） (Heretic, lit. Heresy)
沽聖（ビニーズ） (Beneath?, ?)
ディバイドヒート (Divide Hit)
アベンジャーバイト (Avenger Bite, Richard's Vengeant Fangs)
ジルクラッカー (Gill Cracker)
Chief God and Attendant God (?)
Divine who have formed contracts with other Divine are known as Chief Gods. Their contractee must accompany them. The Chief God possesses a special power. They are unusual at this time.
Spirits Chain appears to be similar to Tales of Hearts 3DS's EG. Similar to CC and AC, it limits your actions and cannot be recovered by items. Its pool isn't significantly large to be constantly spamming, but its value is significantly higher than CC or AC, indicating a more varied weight to artes like Hearts' EG system. Hopefully, it will go better than Hearts 3DS which in my opinion, had a very poor resource system which facilitated infinite combos and single arte spamming. I haven't tried Hearts R so I'm not sure what they did to adjust that, but I've heard it is significantly better.
In the two combat screenshots available on the website, one shows Slay successfully Around Stepping. Lyla is his only partner. There is an additional number (9) beside the portrait, which is probably the Blast Gauge. The blue bar should be the Spirits Chain. Lyla is not in the screenshot, but her portrait and element are visible at the bottom UI.
The second screenshot shows a full party, with Slay & Mikurio, and Alisha & Edna. Edna is visible casting a spell, showing her magic circle and a casting icon with a progress ring. Mikurio and Edna's water and earth are visible in the UI. Lyla and Dezel's fire and wind are not visible, presumably because they are not in combat. This might hint to the return of Xillia 1's combat switching feature as well. If a human character is required to be paired with a Divine, this may imply a third human, as having only Slay and Alisha in the party at all times makes it rather monotonous.