This planner uses the same player-facing Adventure Point rules described in the game and the official field guide. It does not predict combat outcomes or item drops. Its job is narrower: show whether the encounters you intend to take leave a useful AP margin, and make the cost of one defeat visible before it happens.
Build the AP budget
Enter the fights you expect to complete before the next checkpoint. A positive balance means the plan fits inside the stated AP budget. A balance of zero or less means the planned sequence would end the run unless another boss victory or a shorter route changes the total.
The plan finishes with AP to spare.
The plan reaches zero AP before all planned encounters.
- Regular battle cost
- −14 AP
- Boss recovery
- +6 AP
- Setback cost
- 0 AP
How the calculation works
Start with the AP currently shown in the game. Subtract one point for every regular victory. Add three for each boss victory. Finally, subtract four points for every defeat or retreat in Normal Mode, or six points for every defeat or retreat in Hard Mode.
The result is a planning margin, not a promise. Movement raises the encounter gauge, so the exact number of battles on a route can change. A surprise encounter can add another one-point win or a much larger defeat cost. The calculator is most useful when the plan includes a deliberate buffer instead of spending down to exactly zero.
Four examples that show where a run changes
Controlled early route
14 regular wins, 2 bosses, no setbacks
The balance is 22 AP: 30 − 14 + 6. The route creates progress and still leaves room for farming, a longer connection, or one failed fight. The useful lesson is not that 22 is always ideal; it is that the next choice can be made without immediate AP pressure.
One Normal Mode mistake
20 regular wins, 3 bosses, 1 setback
The balance is 15 AP: 30 − 20 + 9 − 4. A single defeat costs as much as four successful field battles. If those four battles were optional farming, avoiding the bad matchup would preserve the same AP while also protecting the run's momentum.
The same shape in Hard Mode
18 regular wins, 2 bosses, 1 setback
The balance is 12 AP: 30 − 18 + 6 − 6. Hard Mode turns one mistake into six ordinary victories of AP cost. A route that is comfortable in Normal Mode may therefore need stronger equipment, fewer optional encounters, or a larger reserve before the boss.
A plan that cannot finish
28 regular wins, 1 boss, 2 Normal setbacks
The balance is −3 AP: 30 − 28 + 3 − 8. The run reaches zero before every planned encounter occurs. The correct response is to change the plan: remove low-value fights, reach another boss earlier, or reduce the chance of a setback by upgrading first.
Reserve AP for the fight that does not go as expected
A route with exactly one AP left is mathematically possible and strategically fragile. The encounter gauge can fill before the desired destination. A recently unlocked enemy can be stronger than its neighbors. A boss attempt may begin before the build has enough damage or survival. Every one of those cases can turn a clean spreadsheet into a lost expedition.
A practical buffer is at least one full setback at the current difficulty: 4 AP in Normal Mode or 6 AP in Hard Mode. This is not a hidden game requirement. It is a way to compare routes consistently. If two paths offer similar rewards, the path that keeps the setback buffer usually gives more room to react. If a route spends that buffer, the expected reward should be specific enough to justify the risk.
Treat +3 AP as recovery, not permission to ignore preparation
A boss victory is the only encounter in the core loop that increases the AP total. That makes bosses both progression gates and sources of fuel. Reaching a beatable boss early can extend a run; forcing a low-probability attempt can erase the value of several ordinary victories.
Before adding a boss to the calculator, open the boss archive and compare its current mode, location, and drops with the build. Then use the item library to check whether a nearby equipment upgrade changes the matchup. The extra farming is worth its AP only when it raises the chance of earning the boss recovery more than it exposes the run to another avoidable setback.
After a boss victory, recalculate. The next region may have a different encounter density, a stronger enemy floor, or a shop tier that changes the best use of the remaining AP. A run plan should be a sequence of short decisions, not one prediction made at the first map.
Use the planner with the catalog, not in place of it
- Combat probability: the tool does not compare attack, defense, health, levels, or character multipliers.
- Encounter timing: movement and the encounter gauge determine when field battles occur; a map is not a fixed list of fights.
- Drop luck: an item chance is not a guaranteed number of attempts, and duplicate falloff changes the value of repeated farming.
- Route requirements: connected maps and defeated-boss gates still decide where the character can travel.
- Future balance updates: if the in-game AP rules change, the current build takes priority over this page until the planner is reviewed.
For those questions, continue with the world atlas, monster catalog, character roster, and release notes. The data methodology explains how those pages are exported and checked.
A five-step run check
- Name the next required result. Choose a boss, level, shop purchase, equipment piece, or route connection.
- Count only purposeful encounters. Add the regular fights likely to improve the chance of reaching that result.
- Include at least one setback. Use 4 AP in Normal Mode or 6 AP in Hard Mode when judging whether the route has breathing room.
- Verify the boss before counting its recovery. A projected +3 AP matters only if the current build can earn it reliably.
- Replan at every checkpoint. New drops, levels, map access, and remaining AP can all change the best next action.