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Dryad Spring
Gnome Shovel
Salamando Candle
Sylphid Boomerang
Luna Globe
Shade Sight
Lumina Lantern
Undine Flask
The Mana series has always been known for its staple use of elementals, whether as side characters in the story or decorative touches in secondary features like blacksmithing.
In Visions of Mana, however, the elementals provide Elemental Vessels to the party. These change a party member's class and can be wielded in battle with potent effects.
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Every Elemental Vessel has its uses, but, as is customary in JRPGs, a few always stand out and become mandatory in a player's arsenal.
Here, we highlight the Best Elemental Vessels in Visions of Mana and some interesting combinations to maximize their potential.
8 Dryad Spring
Wood Elemental Vessel
The Dryad Spring creates a healing zone that restores the HP of all party members within it. The catch is convincing your AI-controlled allies to stay in the zone, which somewhat undermines its purpose.
It's helpful in a pinch when everyone is grouped up or when your controlled character's HP is dwindling. However, it's not the most impressive Elemental Vessel.
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Moreover, the Wood Elemental Vessel unlocks closer to the endgame, by which point you likely already have more powerful alternatives. If only Visions of Mana had cooperative multiplayer as Secret of Mana.
Unless you're running a Wood Elemental class, there's little reason to use the Dryad Spring in Visions of Mana, especially in the late game.
7 Gnome Shovel
Earth Elemental Vessel
The Gnome Shovel operates similarly to the Dryad Spring. When used in battle, it raises a stone shield that protects allies within it from attacks.
The critical difference is that activating the Gnome Shovel near an enemy can deal damage and even shovel them away. This added offensive utility gives it an edge over the Wood Elemental Vessel.
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That said, the Earth Elemental Vessel is ultimately easily replaceable with more versatile options.
Again, you'd only see someone sticking with the Gnome Shovel if they're committed to using an earth-based class. Otherwise, we recommend swapping it out for a better option.
6 Salamando Candle
Fire Elemental Vessel
Now, we're entering the realm of more situational Elemental Vessels. Some shine against bosses or strong single enemies, such as the Salamando Candle, but don't thrive in crowd-control scenarios.
The Fire Elemental Vessel boasts one of the shortest cooldowns among Vessels, allowing characters to deal consistent damage throughout the battle. Additionally, its burning properties inflict fire damage over time.
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Plus, many fire-element classes are tailored to deal damage, further bolstering the Salamando Candle's offensive prowess compared to the more defensive Vessels above.
5 Sylphid Boomerang
Wind Elemental Vessel
The Wind Elemental Vessel is the first one players acquire in Visions of Mana, which might lead you to assume it's the weakest. That couldn't be further from the truth.
The Sylphid Boomerang's ability unleashes gusts of wind at enemies, trapping lighter foes in a whirlwind.
If one of these enemies dies, the Sylphid Boomerang continues to spread across the battlefield, seeking new targets to deal wind damage.
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Against bosses or single enemies, the Sylphid Boomerang isn't particularly effective. However, since much of Visions of Mana revolves around battling hordes, the Wind Elemental Vessel becomes an invaluable tool for mowing down enemies in droves.
4 Luna Globe
Moon Elemental Vessel
Those familiar with Visions of Mana might find it odd that I placed the Luna Globe here. Yes, the Moon Elemental Vessel is undeniably powerful.
When used, the Luna Globe remains stationary in the middle of the battlefield. If an enemy touches it, a dome forms, freezing time for all foes inside or slowing stronger creatures like bosses.
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Additionally, this temporal dome accelerates party members' casting speed, adding an extra layer to the already formidable time-stopping effect.
The power of the Moon Elemental Vessel is unquestionable. Freezing time allows you to unleash attacks on enemies or even top up your party members' HP.
However, its utility depends entirely on the strength of your party members. Freezing time is pointless if you can't deal enough damage. Plus, some of the hardest bosses simply ignore this effect.
Tip: Combining the Luna Globe with the Undine Flask or Salamando Candle creates a powerful chain effect. Both Vessels have strong AoE potential, and when enemies are tied together and immobilized, the damage multiplies exponentially.
3 Shade Sight
Darkness Elemental Vessel
We've reached the top three Elemental Vessels, starting with a combination I used throughout most of my playthrough of Visions of Mana, with only a few rare exceptions.
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The Darkness Elemental Vessel is the last one obtained in the game and initially seems underwhelming. Using the Shade Sight pulls smaller creatures toward your character or your character toward larger enemies.
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Even with its low cooldown, the effect alone feels lackluster, which leads many players to overlook it.
However, as the final Vessel obtained in Visions of Mana, its true strength lies in combos. The game hints at this through its narrative, stating that Darkness complements Light and vice versa. That's true, and I'll explain how in the next section.
2 Lumina Lantern
Light Elemental Vessel
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The Lumina Lantern is acquired somewhat unexpectedly in Visions of Mana, granting the party the power of the Light Elemental Vessel.
In combat, the Lumina Lantern links all nearby enemies, causing any effect one suffers to affect the others as well, albeit on a reduced scale.
However, this reduction doesn't apply to negative status effects or other modifiers, such as those from other Vessels. This is where the combo between Lumina Lantern and Shade Sight truly shines.
One character can use Lumina Lantern to link numerous enemies, while a second employs Shade Sight on any chained foe. Instead of the Darkness Elemental Vessel pulling just one enemy, it pulls the entire linked group.
Grouping all enemies into a small area sets the stage for using almost any other Elemental Vessel with heightened efficiency, from the Gnome Shovel to the Luna Globe.
But if you want to maximize your damage output, we suggest equipping the Undine Flask to a third party member.
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1 Undine Flask
Water Elemental Vessel
The Water Elemental Vessel is obtained in Visions of Mana after the events in Illystana. The Undine Flask fires water jets at enemies, trapping them in bubbles. Attacking these trapped enemies causes the bubbles to explode, dealing AoE damage.
On its own, the Undine Flask is already powerful. In addition to dealing damage, it knocks back smaller enemies, giving your team some breathing room.
While larger enemies and bosses can't be pushed, they're still encased in bubbles and take extra damage when the bubbles burst. There's virtually no scenario where the Undine Flask feels unusable.
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Now, imagine the Darkness, Light, and Water Elemental Vessels combo. By using Lumina Lantern and Shade Sight to group all enemies together, the last party member can wield the Undine Flask.
The water jets will hit all opponents, trap them in bubbles, and subsequently explode, dealing massive damage.
I relied on this combo throughout the majority of the endgame, and even in hard mode, very few battles lasted longer than seconds with this trio's devastating synergy.
Granted, it's less effective in boss battles, where solo-focused Elemental Vessels might be a better fit. But overall, I didn't find a better combination in Visions of Mana than these three elementals.
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