Affinity

Affinity is a gameplay mechanic in Stella Glow, which serves as a representation of Alto's bond with a particular character.

Overview
Affinity is introduced in the second chapter of the game, shortly after Sense Data hands the Destiny Clock to Alto while also introducing the concept of time. Encouraged by the enigmatic individual to form bonds with his allies, Alto opts to speak to Lisette in the Knights Barracks.

After this event, the player is given the option to visit the Knights Barracks during Free Time to speak with any of the characters that have joined the 9th Regiment over the course of the story.

Upon speaking to a character for the first time, their Affinity Gauge is unlocked; depicted as a jewel-encrusted circle with a heart in its center. The heart and jewel slots in a character's Affinity gauge start off empty, which fill when the player speaks to them and views their sequence of events. The number of slots bordering the ring represents the number of events required to increase the character's Affinity rank (i.e. if there are two gems, it takes three events to reach the next rank). Upon reaching the next rank in a character's Affinity gauge, the heart fills by a certain amount, the character learns a new Skill or Ability, and the gem slots are emptied and increase by one.

Not all characters' Affinity gauges fill at the same rate, with a distinction in the number of events between the Witches and supporting cast, due to the former having a larger overall significance in the story. Overall, the Witches each have a total event count of thirteen and four Affinity Ranks; while the supporting cast each have a total of ten events and three Affinity Ranks (though with two exceptions).

Tuning
Tuning is an extra step that Alto must take when increasing a Witch's Affinity to the next rank. For every Witch accompanying Alto, Heart Chains will appear in the event preceding each rank up and will lock them from further conversation until they are tuned. Essentially, Tuning is a Witch-exclusive mechanic which replaces the standard event leading up to their Affinity ranking up.

Maximum Affinity
Besides learning Skills and Abilities, there are several minor factors that are influenced by having Maximum Affinity with a character:


 * Prior to the final series of battles on the Moon in Chapter X, Alto can choose to have a private conversation with one of his close companions before they embark on their mission.
 * Upon completing the game and watching the staff credits roll, the player will be given the final choice of selecting a character with maximum Affinity to view their individual ending.
 * When saving the game, characters with maximum Affinity will have a small heart in the corner of their portraits when displayed on the bottom screen.

Affinity Chart
Characters are ordered according to when they join the party. Skills and Abilities learned are in bold.

*Lisette's first event serves as an introduction to Affinity. **Klaus' Affinity only reaches a maximum of Rank 2. ***Popo's first event serves as an introduction to Tuning. ****Giselle starts at Affinity Rank 2. She does not learn any Skills or Abilities when her Affinity Gauge is unlocked; learning only Reboot through maximum Affinity.

Trivia

 * Nonoka is the only member of the supporting cast, who is not a Witch, to learn a Skill when raising her Affinity rank.