suikoden_2_character_battle_ranges

Suikoden II Character Battle Ranges Reference & Modding Guide

In Suikoden II, every combat-capable character usable in regular 6-person party battles is assigned an attack range based on their weapon and combat style. This determines their positioning requirements and valid target rows during combat.

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⚔️ Combat Range Mechanics

Range	In-Game Notation	Positioning Rule	Target Rule
Short	S	Must be placed in the Front Row to perform regular physical attacks. Cannot attack from the back row.	Can only target enemies in the Front Row.
Medium	M	Can attack from either Front Row or Back Row.	Can only target enemies in the Front Row.
Long	L	Can attack from any row (Front or Back Row).	Can target any enemy row (Front or Back Row).

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🛠️ Technical Modding / Patching Reference

• Engine Hook: G2_SYS.G2_arms_range(int chano) in GSD2.dll returns the integer range code for any character:
  • 0x00 (0) = Short (S)
  • 0x01 (1) = Medium (M)
  • 0x02 (2) = Long (L)
• Mechanics Impact: Modifying this return value or character weapon data dynamically affects:
  1. Attack availability checks when placing units in battle formations.
  2. Targeting algorithms for AI / Auto-battle commands.
  3. Animation range triggers during physical attack sequences.
  4. Range display text in the Status Window UI.

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📋 Master Playable Combat Roster (70 Battle Characters Total)

🔴 Short Range (S) — Front Row Only (34 Characters)

#	Character	Weapon / Combat Style	Notes / Recruit Details
1	Anita	Falcon Rapier	Falcon Rune swordswoman
2	Badeaux	Beast Whip	Animal listener / trainer
3	Bob	Werewolf Claws / Fists	Rabble werewolf brawler (Rabid Rune)
4	Bolgan	Fire Breath / Fists	Circus fire brawler
5	Camus	Rage Sword	Matilda Knights Commander
6	Flik	Odessa (Sword)	Blue Lightning
7	Freed Y	Broadsword	South Window officer
8	Gadget	Mechanical Punches	Meg's barrel robot
9	Gantetsu	Iron Beads / Fists	Strength monk
10	Gengen	Longsword	Kobold Captain
11	Georg Prime	Katana / Zanbato	High-crit wandering swordsman
12	Hai Yo	Cleaver / Wok Ladle	Castle Chef
13	Hanna	Heavy Greatsword	Two-handed blade defender
14	Hix	Penal Sword	Warrior's Village youth
15	Humphrey Mintz	Dragon Sword	Heavy armor defender
16	Kahn Marley	Longsword	Vampire hunter
17	Kasumi	Ninja Kunai / Claws	Ninja recruit (Mutually exclusive with Valeria)
18	L.C. Chan (Long Chan Chan)	Drunken Kung-Fu	Martial arts master
19	Luc	Wind Rod	True Wind Rune bearer / Mage
20	Mazus	Magician's Staff	Late-game archmage
21	Miklotov	Knight Estoc / Lance	Matilda Knights Captain
22	Oulan	Bodyguard Fists	Martial artist
23	Pesmerga	Crimson Greatsword	Dark knight
24	Rikimaru	Zanbato / Greatsword	Wandering mercenary
25	Sheena	Rook Rapier	Lepant's son
26	Shin	Spider Katana / Two-handed Sword	Teresa's bodyguard
27	Shiro	Fangs & Claws / Bite	Kinnison's wolf companion (Front Row melee)
28	Sierra Mikain	Darkness Claws / Melee	Vampire progenitor
29	Valeria	Seven Star Sword	Toran general (Mutually exclusive with Kasumi)
30	Viki	Sneeze Wand	Teleportation mage
31	Viktor	Star Dragon Sword	Two-handed greatsword wielder
32	Vincent de Boule	L'Epee (Rapier)	Flamboyant nobleman swordsman
33	Wakaba	Martial Arts	Monk apprentice
34	Zamza	Fire Knuckles	Fire magic brawler

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🟡 Medium Range (M) — Front or Back Row (16 Characters)

#	Character	Weapon / Combat Style	Notes / Recruit Details
1	Hero (Riou)	Twin Tonfas	Main Protagonist / Bright Shield Rune
2	Jowy Atreides	Silver Staff	Main Story / Early Game playable
3	Tir McDohl	Heavenly Fang Staff	S1 Hero (Secret Toran Republic transfer recruit)
4	Abizboah	Kraken Tentacles	Large monster (Consumes 2 party slots)
5	Amada	Oar	Fisherman / Radat navigator
6	Chaco	Dagger & Flying Kicks	Winghorde thief (Flies across rows)
7	Chuchura	Kraken Tentacles	Small Kraken monster (Baby)
8	Futch	Dragon Cavalry Spear	Former dragon knight
9	Hoi (Hwai-Po)	Quarterstaff	Hero impersonator
10	Karen	Dance & Castanets / Claws	Castle dancer
11	Nanami	Flower Rod / Nunchaku	Hero's adoptive sister
12	Nina	Acrobat Whip	Greenhill Academy student
13	Rulodia	Kraken Tentacles	Kraken mother (Consumes 2 party slots)
14	Sid	Wing Sickles	Winghorde rogue
15	Tai Ho	Trident Spear	Fisherman & boatman
16	Yoshino Yamamoto	Naginata (Polearm)	Freed's wife

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🟢 Long Range (L) — Attack Anywhere (20 Characters)

#	Character	Weapon / Combat Style	Notes / Recruit Details
1	Ayda	Longbow	Forest guardian
2	Clive	Sniper Gun (Storm)	Howling Voice Guild gunner
3	Eilie	Throwing Knives	Circus knife thrower
4	Feather	Griffon Swoop / Barrage	Large monster (Consumes 2 party slots)
5	Gabocha	Slingshot	Gengen's Kobold admirer
6	Kinnison	Hunter's Bow	Forest hunter
7	Makumaku	Squirrel Cape Gliding	Green flying squirrel
8	Meg	Trick Gadget Gun	Juppo trickster inventor
9	Mekumeku	Squirrel Cape Gliding	Yellow flying squirrel
10	Mikumiku	Squirrel Cape Gliding	Pink flying squirrel
11	Millie	Bonaparte Slingshot	Ground monster sling
12	Mokumoku	Squirrel Cape Gliding	Purple flying squirrel
13	Mukumuku	Squirrel Cape Gliding	Brown flying squirrel
14	Rina	Throwing Tarot Cards	Circus card mage
15	Shilo	Gambling Dice Throw	Street gambler
16	Sigfried	Unicorn Horn Ray	Mythical beast (Consumes 2 party slots)
17	Simone Verdicci	Rose Throw / Rapier	Flamboyant nobleman
18	Stallion	Elven Bow	True Holy Rune bearer
19	Tengaar	Throwing Rings / Chakram	Hix's companion
20	Tuta	Medicine Bag Pebbles	Dr. Huan's apprentice

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🚫 Non-Party / War Battle Only Recruits

The following characters are Stars of Destiny or allies who cannot be placed in the 6-person party battle roster:

Character	Role	Notes
Ridley Wizen	War Battle Unit Commander	Tenko Star. Two River Kobold General (Major Tactical Battles only).
Boris Wizen	War Battle Unit Commander	Replaces Ridley on Tablet of Promise & War Battles if Ridley dies in Tinto.
Kiba Windamier	War Battle Unit Commander	Army General (War battles only).
Klaus Windamier	War Battle Strategist	Strategist (War battles only).
Hauser	War Battle Unit Commander	Army General (War battles only).
Jess	War Battle Support	War battle support (Evade).
Gilbert	War Battle Unit Commander	Mercenary unit leader (War battles only).
Maximillian	War Battle Unit Commander	Knight of Maximillian (War battles only).
Teresa Wisemail	Convoy / War Battle	Mayor of Greenhill.
Shu	Chief Military Strategist	Tenki Star. Devises high-level army strategies and commands units in War Battles.
Castle Facility NPCs	Castle Facility Staff	Barbara, Richmond, Lebrante, Alex, Hilda, Adlai, Emilia, Hans, Jeane, Raura, Templeton, Connell, Tetsu, Tony, Yuzu, Pico, Alberto, Jude, Tess, Gordon, Taki, Huan, Marlow, Fitcher, etc.

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⚙️ PKCore Character Battle Ranges Patch

PKCore includes a dedicated feature for customizing and modifying any character's battle range in Suikoden II (HD Remaster) via PKCore.Patches.CharacterRangePatch.

🎯 Default Range Enhancements

By default, the patch changes 7 key magic and agile combatants from Short Range (S) to Medium Range (M) so they can attack directly from the back row:

• Kasumi (S ➔ M) — Fast ninja wielder who can now strike from the back row without penalty.
• Luc (S ➔ M) — True Wind Rune mage now able to execute physical staff attacks from the rear row.
• Mazus (S ➔ M) — High-tier archmage equipped with medium-range staff reach.
• Viki (S ➔ M) — Teleportation mage who can now assist in physical attacks from the back formation.
• Gantetsu (Gentetsu) (S ➔ M) — Iron prayer beads spiritual monk able to fight from either row.
• Badeaux (S ➔ M) — Beast whip fighter able to strike and command monsters from the back row.
• Sierra Mikain (S ➔ M) — Progenitor vampire caster able to attack with darkness energy claws from the rear row.

📝 Configuration (BepInEx/config/faospark.pkcore.cfg)

Ranges can be customized at any time directly in your BepInEx config file under [05 Game : Suikoden 2] or via BepInEx Configuration Manager:

[05 Game : Suikoden 2]

## Enable custom character battle range overrides for Suikoden 2.
# Setting type: Boolean
# Default value: true
EnableCharacterRangeOverrides = true

## Comma-separated list of character range overrides in 'Character:Range' format.
# Setting type: String
# Default value: Kasumi:M, Luc:M, Mazus:M, Viki:M, Gantetsu:M, Badeaux:M, Sierra:M
S2CharacterRangeOverrides = Kasumi:M, Luc:M, Mazus:M, Viki:M, Gantetsu:M, Badeaux:M, Sierra:M

• Valid Range Values: S (Short), M (Medium), L (Long).
• Format: Supports character names (e.g. Kasumi:M, Badeaux:M) or numeric character IDs (e.g. 51:M, 72:M).

🔧 Technical Implementation

The patch synchronizes across both engine code and native memory structures:

1. Engine Range Evaluator: Hooks G2_SYS.G2_arms_range(int chano) in GSD2.dll to return the modified range integer (0=S, 1=M, 2=L).
2. UI & Formation Synchronization:
   • Updates fcommand.range (Field & Castle Tavern party formation screen yomipartykin, removing the red S / [X] balloon warning on back row slots 4, 5, 6).
   • Updates s_phase.arms_range (Tablet of Stars / Status menus).
   • Injects into BootProgram.arms_data, G2_SYS.G2_arms_data, and game_work.arms_data.
   • Hooks UIStatusWindow.UpdateStatusData to display "M" in the character status screen.
3. Dual ID Mapping: Maps both catalog master IDs and active party/battle IDs (e.g. Kasumi: 72/73, Luc: 53/139, Mazus: 50/61, Viki: 4/55) ensuring consistency across all game states.

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📐 Suikoden II Battle Position Adjustments

In vanilla Suikoden II, party members in the back row can sometimes visually overlap or obstruct front-row characters due to tight vertical and horizontal coordinate offsets.

PKCore includes BattlePositionPatch to adjust character placement:

⚙️ Configuration

[05 Game : Suikoden 2]

## Adjust the 6 character battle positions in Suikoden 2 so back row characters do not block front row characters.
# Setting type: Boolean
# Default value: true
EnableBattlePositionAdjustments = true

## Battle position preset for Suikoden 2. Options: 'default', 'wide', 'widest'.
# Setting type: String
# Default value: wide
S2BattlePositionPreset = wide

🎛️ Presets

• default: Original vanilla spacing and coordinates.
• wide (Recommended): Shifts the front row forward/left by -0.4f and staggers vertical offsets to ensure clean character silhouettes.
• widest: Shifts the front row forward/left by -0.8f with increased spacing for maximum party clarity.