You never have to choose between which transformation styles you get, but you will have to spend your xp wisely. This makes them incredibly powerful as these forms are incredibly powerful and if you choose them wisely you can be immune to your enemies attacks. Except in this case you gain the attacks and special qualities of the form you're taking. Transformation styles can turn you into a demon, ghost, or golem and like other styles you get the set attacks of the style. Even more useful, I could always completely heal up after every fight by using spirit thief and a support style on the last guy standing.

Later support styles will actually freeze them completely and be incredibly powerful, you can destroy the last boss in the game and many others just by keeping them in paralysis or shock the whole time. Your first support style is going to be complete trash, it just slows enemies. Support styles slow, paralyze, shock and just make your enemies miserable and unable to fight you effectively. There are two more sets of styles which I'll discuss, support styles and transformation styles. My girlfriend went balanced and did just fine too. I went with pure physical and did fine, I had enough chi from spirit thief and enough focus from lightning style harmonizing blows. Gems are a matter of selecting the ones which give you the best effects. All techniques are permanently on, and all of them are helpful. Your attribute choices hardly matter that much because they'll all increase every time you level up and you'll gain techniques and gems to give you a boost. Magic styles cost chi every time you use them. I went with ice all the way since you can freeze any enemy tiype vulnerable to magic and then switch back a heavy damage fighting style and break them. Fire does more damage, ice freezes people solid for significant amounts of time.

Here you get to choose between ice and fire and you can save again so you can try them out before you decide. Weapon styles cost focus every time you use them.Д®ven further on you'll gain your first magical style once you complete the cave your teacher sends you to meditate in. My advice is to take the sword, its damage, reach and aoe swings will be an improvement on everything you have so far and it will work on everything except spirits and ghosts. The staff is faster and has a better reach, the sword does significantly more damage and swings in an arc hitting multiple enemies. Save the game at the blacksmith's and try each of them (sword and staff) before making your decision. Later on you'll visit a blacksmith and get your first weapon style and then get to try it out. I was these are very good styles when I bought the game, but I didn't just trust anyone's advice, so I tested the styles for myself. My reccomendation for starting styles is legendary strike or tiger claw. Just roll a character with one of each of the styles and try the sparring out in the begining area. If you choose a style that is completely opposed to your playstyle it can be a fun challenge, but its going to a more difficult one.

My reccomendation is to reroll characters at the begining and try every starting style until you get the one you want.

Jade empire sword or staff