Certification exams

Raise level first, then skills

For Specialty and Advanced exams, reach the recommended level before improving skills. When you are underleveled, even high skill ranks and Luck cannot make up for the lost pass rate.

For Specialty and Advanced exams, calculate the skill score first, multiply by the level coefficient, then discard decimals.

1. Skill score = 100 − penalty per rank × ranks short + Luck / 2, capped at 100. Specialty exams and Advanced classes with one skill requirement line—Shido, Sniper, Guardian, Warrior—deduct 30 per missing rank. Advanced classes with two lines—Forest Knight, Bardinger, Dreadnought, Cataphract, Dragoon—deduct only 15 per rank.
2. At the recommended level, the coefficient is 1. At 1 level below, multiply by 50%; 2 below, 32%; 3 below, 18%; 4 below, 8%. The skill score cannot exceed 100, so neither extra proficiency nor extra Luck can overcome a level deficit. One level below means a maximum 50% pass rate.
3. To improve your chances, reach the recommended level first, then train missing skill ranks. Once your level is sufficient, each rank adds 30 points, or 15 for Advanced classes with two requirement lines. Half your Luck offsets part of the penalty.

Neither the game nor official materials have published this formula. It follows the structure of the Three Houses formula: subtract a fixed amount for each missing skill step, then add half of Luck, with recalculated coefficients. It matches all 54 class entries across 7 exam screens from three saves. Each attempt consumes a certification ticket, even on failure. The result is autosaved when you take the exam, so reloading cannot reroll it. Later sections cover tickets, unlock timing, and ways to save tickets.

Five worked examples#

• Theodora taking Warrior at Lv37 (recommended 35): 100%. Sword and Axe are both B, satisfying the one-of-three requirement. No missing ranks, and the skill score caps at 100.
• Bonaventure taking Bardinger at Lv36 (recommended 35): 50%. Riding D→C is two ranks, and Sword C→B is two more: 4 missing ranks total. Bardinger has two requirement lines, so each costs 15: 100 − 60 + 10 = 50.
• Nuzzuo taking Shido at Lv34 (recommended 35): 50%. Sword A exceeds B, so no missing ranks. Even 100 + 7 caps at 100; one level below applies 50%.
• Lilian taking Sniper at Lv33 (recommended 35): 32%. Bow B+ is sufficient, giving a skill score of 100. Two levels below applies 32%.
• Cai taking Light Cavalry at Lv17 (recommended 20): 18%. Spear C and Riding D+ both qualify, giving a skill score of 100. Three levels below applies 18%.

Both show 50%, but for entirely different reasons.

The “+10” in Bonaventure’s calculation is half his Luck. Luck is not visible on the screen, but adding 10 is the only way to match all seven other classes shown on that same screen.

Counting missing ranks#

• There are 12 skill ranks: E, E+, D, D+, C, C+, B, B+, A, A+, S, S+. Each adjacent step counts as 1 rank. D+→C is 1; D→C is 2; C→B is 2.
• Add the shortfall for every required main skill. For alternative skills, count only the closest one. Warrior requires B in any of Sword, Axe, or Gauntlet. One at B means no shortfall.
• Exceeding requirements adds no points. Nuzzuo taking Shido with Sword A is treated the same as Sword B.
• Count requirement lines at the bottom of the exam screen. One main skill or one line of alternatives counts as one line. Two main skills, or a main skill plus alternatives, counts as two. All Specialty exams deduct 30 per rank regardless of line count, including Armored Knight, Light Cavalry, and Charioteer.

One screen of Bonaventure at Lv20 taking Specialty exams (recommended 20, Luck 14, adding 7) demonstrates all these rules:

Class	Requirement	Ranks short	Pass rate
Myrmidon	Sword C (D+)	1	77%
Archer	Bow C (D+)	1	77%
Light Cavalry	Riding D (E+); Spear or Sword C (Sword D+)	2	47%
Charioteer	Riding D (E+), Bow C (D+)	2	47%
Pugilist	Gauntlet C (E)	4	0%
Armored Knight	Heavy Armor E+ (E); Axe or Spear C (Axe E+)	4	0%

One rank short: 100 − 30 + 7 = 77%. Two short: 100 − 60 + 7 = 47%. Four short: 100 − 120 + 7 is below 0, so the rate is 0%.

Classes calculated at 0% are grayed out. Even 1% remains selectable.

Coefficients below the recommended level#

Relative to recommended level	Coefficient	Matching screen
At or above	×1	Bonaventure Lv20, Specialty: 77%, 47%, 0%
1 below	×50%	Nuzzuo Lv34: Shido 50%, Sniper 38%, Guardian 23%
2 below	×32%	Lilian Lv33: Sniper 32%, Shido 26%, Guardian 7%
3 below	×18%	Cai Lv17: Light Cavalry 18%, Myrmidon 14%, Archer 8%
4 below	×8%	Theodora Lv31: Guardian 8%, Warrior 6%, Shido 1%

These coefficients equal 2 × (6 − levels below recommendation)²%. The coefficient multiplies the already-capped skill score. That is why Nuzzuo’s Sword A and Lilian’s Bow B+ still leave their chances limited by level.

Luck offsets skill penalties, not missing levels. Theodora at Lv31 (recommended 35, 4 levels below) has Luck 16, adding 8 to the skill score. For Warrior, one rank short gives (100 − 30 + 8) × 8% = 6%. For Forest Knight, Bow D is four ranks short, with two lines costing 15 per rank: (100 − 60 + 8) × 8% = 3%. For Shido, Sword D+ is three ranks short: (100 − 90 + 8) × 8% = 1%. On that same screen, fully meeting the skills for Guardian, Dreadnought, Bardinger, and Cataphract gives 100 × 8% = 8%.

How early can you change class?#

Certification Exams unlock in Chapter 4 of Theodora’s story and Chapter 5 of Cai’s, Dietrich’s, and Leda’s stories. Take the Beginner tutorial immediately; you do not need to train Commoner past level 5. Beginner 5, Specialty 20, Advanced 35, and Master 45 are recommended levels. Applying early means character level and skill proficiency affect your pass rate. Class changes retain your cumulative character level rather than resetting you to Lv1.

Exam tier	Recommended level	Entry conditions and unlock timing	Actual screen below the recommendation
Beginner	5	Protagonist Renown 1, Beginner License; exams unlock in Theodora Chapter 4 or Chapter 5 on the other routes	Leda Lv2, first Hunter tutorial: 100%
Specialty	20	Protagonist Renown 4, Specialty License; check once exams are available and Renown reaches 4	Cai Lv17: Light Cavalry 18%; Myrmidon/Brigand/Armored Knight 14%; Pugilist/Archer/Charioteer 8%
Ordinary Advanced	35	Protagonist Renown 8, Advanced License; complete any required instruction or quest unlock first	Nuzzuo Lv34 Shido 50%; Lilian Lv33 Sniper 32%; Theodora Lv31 Guardian 8%
Story-based Dancer qualification	35	From Leda Chapter 9, complete Great Dancer’s Successor and obtain Dancer’s Necklace	Leda Lv2 completes the quest and receives the qualification
Elephant Rider	35	Available after clearing Division 1 of the Promised One’s story; special license, recommended Riding C	—
Master	45	Ordinary classes unlock after Division 1 of the Promised One’s story; Master License, with temple quests for some classes	—
Divine	None	From Division 4 of the Promised One’s story, obtain the corresponding qualification item at Heaven’s Crown Temple; requires 100% pass rate, one character per class	—

You can change class after passing the Beginner tutorial. For Specialty, first check protagonist Renown 4; for Advanced, 8. Buy licenses from the seller beside the examiner. Base prices for Beginner/Specialty/Advanced are 300/500/3000G. Advanced licenses appear at the imperial capital in the chapter after reaching Renown 8. You can also obtain them at Megaira’s market or a chest in Giant’s Footprint Fortress. Master licenses cost 8000G before discounts and are sold by the imperial capital’s license vendor and restored markets in the Promised One’s story.

Budget failed licenses when changing class early. Cai’s 18% Light Cavalry chance at Lv17 means an 82% failure chance per attempt, and each failed Specialty exam still costs a 500G license. Shido at Lv34 has 50%, and Sniper at Lv33 has 32%; each Advanced failure costs a 3000G license. To gain class growths and skills early, check your target’s rate once Renown qualifies. When money and licenses are tight, training levels and skills costs fewer resources than repeated gambles.

Check qualification before spending a license#

Find the certification examiner on the upper approach in the imperial capital. Choose a character and target class, then check unlock requirements, pass rate, and tickets. Buy tickets from the nearby vendor; traveling merchants on the world map may also sell them. Classes in the same tier still need individual unlocks.

Master exams belong to Part 3 and have additional class unlock requirements. After passing, the character can switch through the menu to any class they have qualified for. Switching to an already-qualified class does not require another exam.

Route conditions can also block classes. Some Cai-route classes require instruction quests; some Theodora-route classes require military preparation quests; Part 3 has divine quests. If you see “???,” check the class unlock conditions rather than simply training more skills.

What does “you cannot reload to retry” mean?#

The game autosaves when the exam result is determined. Returning to the title screen and reloading after failure will not refund the ticket. Restart Chapter restores tickets and progress to the start of the chapter, but repeating the exam with the same actions and conditions gives the same result. Restoring resources and rerolling results are separate things.

If you want to test an exam below 100%, do it at the chapter’s start. Otherwise, replaying to restore one license also loses money, items, and levels earned later in that chapter.

How can cheaper exams advance past a failure?#

A recorded consecutive-exam experiment had Peter fail the target Specialty class twice and pass on the third attempt. Replacing those first attempts with two Beginner exams taken by Peter himself, then the target Specialty exam, also produced a pass. Another test had Cai take exams first, but Peter’s first two failures were not skipped. In this comparison, Peter’s own two cheaper exams advanced past the two target failures; Cai’s exams did not.

To save tickets, use the target character for preliminary attempts:

Cost of setup exams and later growth#

In an existing demonstration, replaying the chapter still left the original 56% exam as a failure. Taking another exam first could change the outcome. To save licenses, have the target character take cheaper exams before the target class.

After the same character takes one exam, subsequent level-ups appear to advance by one growth check overall. Passing or failing, and exam tier, do not change the significance of “taking one exam.” Cheap exams may therefore affect later growth as well as certification. Use the class growth simulator to compare training routes.

Relatively fixed outcomes within the same conditions are also called “fixed randomness.” One explanation is that exams consume a check, while changing class changes growth modifiers. This suggests trying an exam when a level-up is poor. Record exams and class changes separately.

Changing class and taking an exam are different actions#

One level-up preview comparison first checked the same character’s growth at the inn, then compared Diviner, Soldier, and Commoner. Diviner gained Speed and Luck; Soldier gained Strength, Defense, and Luck instead; Commoner retained Speed and also gained Defense. One explanation is that the same roll falls on different sides of the total growth-rate thresholds after changing class, producing different gains. Changing class may alter this level-up’s gains, but it does not permanently increase the character’s base growth rates.

The older interpretation was that random numbers became fixed on recruitment and only a new save could change them. A later update found that Certification Exams could change subsequent growth checks. Use the later finding: changing class changes growth thresholds; taking an exam changes the checks used afterward. Both actions can work together. The older conclusion does not establish that level-up rerolling is impossible forever.

Returning qualifications and retaking exams in Part 3#

One approach previews growth through Automated Activities and, if unsatisfied, relinquishes the qualification and retakes the exam for one-character qualifications such as Divine classes and Dancer. Another explanation is that relinquishing itself advances the random-number sequence, using a record of “+2 at a level, then +5 on the next attempt” to explain skipping an unwanted result. The first approach combines relinquishing and retaking, while the second also lacks a large sample log. It is still unclear which step changes the roll.

Setup exams cost licenses, and replaying does not reroll#