Developing Cai’s mounts: Find the target, reroll its abilities, then choose a classMinor spoilers
Gathering changes mount spawns. Confirm a target can be caught before rerolling its abilities. Feeding resets daily, and class choices need to balance growth with combat usefulness.
Original video: “Character development, class changes, and mount capture: Cai’s story,” Bilibili creator Dr__W. Watch the original video.
Choose a development path alongside the mount type
The special mounts 
Cai captures, including Ornius, horses, pegasi, and wyverns, give the corresponding mounted classes extra growth and abilities. You therefore cannot simply copy the other three routes’ paths onto Cai’s route. Choose classes together with the mounts you have.
First find the type you want, then confirm you can catch it, and finally choose its added abilities. Handle those as three separate steps.
Change the number of gathering actions to alter mount spawns
Capturing and gathering share random rolls, so gathering can change which mount appears next. Save at the capture location, then place bait and wait. If the target does not appear, change the result in this order:
- 1If the mount you want does not appear, reload, gather once nearby, then wait in the same sequence as before.
- 2If the result is still unsuitable, reload and gather twice, continuing to test higher gathering counts.
- 3After trying that bait type, switch to other bait.
- 4If none of the bait you carry works, return to the earliest save and gather several more times before placing bait.
You can usually try each bait type four or five times. Rarer bait is more likely to attract rare mounts and also has a higher capture rate. You can usually gather the corresponding high-grade bait nearby.
Confirm the mount stays before rerolling skills
Once the target appears, record the bait type, gathering count, and action sequence. Try catching it once to see whether it flees. That outcome is already fixed when the target appears; repeatedly reloading the same step will not change it.
After finding the target you want that will not flee, repeat the recorded actions to make it appear again, then save. This time you are rerolling the abilities after capture, because the added abilities are generated only after you catch it.
After capturing, you still need to feed the mount. Feeding refreshes daily. Stock enough feed, then spend several days in town feeding it to maximize affinity and obtain the full total of 25 extra growth-rate points.
Weigh both growth and combat performance for physical classes
At intermediate tier, 
Armored Ornius Rider and 
Charioteer have outstanding growth. Prioritize Armored Ornius Rider for standard damage dealers. Frontliners, or characters whose low Speed cannot realistically be fixed, can use chariots.
At advanced tier, chariot growth remains very high, but from Part 2 onward the class becomes increasingly awkward in combat. For general physical damage, 
Dragoon or 
Forest Knight are stronger recommendations, offering excellent growth and more weapon options. Reserve chariots for dedicated archers or frontliners whose armored abilities do not particularly stand out.
Consider the growth you want while leveling alongside the function you need in battle.
Separate paths for casting, Avoid, and hybrid damage
Female magic users can take a mobile flying path with 
Levin Sword at intermediate tier. Choose 
Shaman if you want to keep spellcasting; their growth is similar. Shaman is more straightforward for men.
At advanced tier, choose 
Caladrius for pure damage or 
Ovate to retain white magic. 
Troubadour has lower priority in this approach, mainly because it lacks doubled magic uses and has no growth advantage.
Avoid tanks and physical/magical hybrids can also develop through the special pegasus and Caladrius mounts on Cai’s route. Different mount growth means their final paths naturally differ from the gauntlet and 
Ranger plans used on the other three routes.