Wish Psynergy series

Pure Wish being cast in Dark Dawn

Wish (ウィッシュ, Wish), Wish Well (ウイッシュウェル, Wish Well), and Pure Wish (ピュアウィッシュ, Pure Wish) are a series of Mercury Psynergies featured throughout the Golden Sun series that are functionally identical but have different levels of power. The Wish Psynergies are among the most potent and effective methods available to players for healing the entire party at once and is available to a wide variety of classes.

Basic description

The Wish Psynergies restore Hit Points to all party members that haven't fallen; if used during battle, they only affect currently-battling party members. The amount of HP recovered depends on the caster's Mercury Power, as well as which Psynergy is actually used.

Wish

Mercury

9 PP

"Restore 80 HP to the whole party." (GS/TLA) "Restore at least 80 HP to all allies." (DD-present) (いのりの力で　ぜんいんのHPを80かいふく, Through the power of prayer restore 80 HP to all party members?)　(GS-present)

All currently-battling, non-downed party members recover around 80 HP.

Wish Well

Mercury

13 PP

"Restore 160 HP to the whole party." (GS/TLA) "Restore at least 160 HP to all allies." (DD-present) ) (いのりの力で　ぜんいんのHPを160かいふく, Through the power of prayer restore 160 HP to all party members?) (GS-present)

All currently-battling, non-downed party members recover around 160 HP.

Pure Wish

Mercury

20 PP

"Restore 400 HP to the whole party." (GS/TLA) "Restore at least 400 HP to all allies." (DD-present) ) (いのりの力で　ぜんいんのHPを400かいふく, Through the power of prayer restore 400 HP to all party members?) (GS-present)

All currently-battling, non-downed party members recover around 400 HP.

The visual effects vary from one stage in the series to another. In Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, each stage resembles a collection of white/blue energy orbs gathering into each recipient in order from left to right. Each stage appears slightly larger and has more energy orbs going into each recipient than the previous stage. As of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, the visual effects are more unique in between each stage:

• Wish appears as a small collection of light blue energy orbs gathering into each recipient in order. A small white/blue circle briefly manifests underneath each recipient's feet as they receive the orbs.
• Wish Well appears as a moderately large light-blue circular field that appears on the ground underneath the party's feet as though a large water drop made impact. At the same time, a fuzzy grayish-blue orb of light briefly manifests and remains stationary above the party. The moment the circular field fades out, the orb splits into smaller orbs and dissipates, then reforms into collections of slightly larger light blue energy orbs that gather into each recipient in order.
• Pure Wish is similar to Wish Well, but with a larger circular field on the ground, a trio of light orbs that rotate around each other above the party instead of one, and a faint blue spherical luminescence accompanies the light blue energy orbs that gather into each recipient.

Recovery calculation

As previously stated, the exact strength of the Wish Psynergies depend on the caster's Mercury Power. To be specific, the outcome can be represented with the following formula:

HP restored = Base HP recovery rating * (Power / 100)

The caster's Mercury Power is divided by 100 and multiplied by the base HP restored; the Power rating is effectively treated as an exact percentage. As a result, an Adept with less than 100 Mercury Power would heal less than the advertised amount of HP, while an Adept with more than 100 Mercury Power would heal more. If an Adept has 124 Mercury Power, the Psynergy literally heals 24% more than what is listed in the game. The highest any Power rating can reach is 200, so if the user has 200 Mercury Power, the healing potency of all stages of the Wish series is doubled.

Availability

Pure Wish being cast in the original Golden Sun

The Wish Psynergies are included in the arsenals of a wide variety of classes, and are available to all party members as a result. However, if all party members are left in their default classes, only Mia and Rief can cast this series. Being Mercury Psynergies, non-Mercury Adepts often require a decent number of Mercury Djinn set to access the Wish series.

Note: The following levels have not been confirmed for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

• The following classes learn Wish at level 8, Wish Well at level 22, and Pure Wish at level 46:
  • Water Seer class series, from the third stage of Cleric onward, which the Mercury Adepts Mia and Rief become when they have at least four Mercury Djinn set and only Mercury Djinn set.
  • Crusader/Swordsman (Venus) class series, from the third stage of Cavalier onward, which Venus Adepts become when they have at least four Mercury Djinn set, and which Mercury Adepts have partial access to when they have at least six Venus Djinn set.
  • Swordsman (Mars) class series, from the third stage of Cavalier onward, which Mars Adepts become when they have at least four Mercury Djinn set, and which Mercury Adepts have partial access to when they have at least six Mars Djinn set.
  • Seer (Mercury) class series, from the third stage of Shaman onward, which Mercury Adepts become when they have at least four Venus Djinn set, and which Venus Adepts have partial access to when they have at least six Mercury Djinn set.
  • Dragoon class series, which both Venus and Mars Adepts become when they have at least three Mars Djinn (for Venus Adepts), three Venus Djinn (for Mars Adepts), and three Mercury Djinn (for both Venus and Mars Adepts) set. Furthermore, as of The Lost Age, Mercury Adepts can access the Dragoon class (although not the more advanced classes in the series) if they have either six Venus and three Mars Djinn or six Mars and three Venus Djinn set.
• The following classes learn Wish at level 9, Wish Well at level 24, and Pure Wish at level 46:
  • Pilgrim (Mercury) class series, from the third stage of Ascetic onward, which Mercury Adepts become when they have at least four Mars Djinn set, and which Mars Adepts have partial access to when they have at least six Mercury Djinn set.
• The following classes learn Wish at level 12, Wish Well at level 24, and Pure Wish at level 46:
  • Hermit class series, from the third stage of Scholar onward, which Mercury Adepts become when they have at least four Jupiter Djinn set, and which Jupiter Adepts have access to when they have at least four Mercury Djinn set.
  • White Mage class series, which Jupiter and Mercury Adepts become when they have at least four Mercury Djinn (for Jupiter Adepts), four Jupiter Djinn (for Mercury Adepts), and three Venus Djinn (for both Jupiter and Mercury Adepts) set.

Analysis

General: The Wish Psynergies are by far the most potent group-healing Psynergies in the Golden Sun series, and easily the most practical, due partly to their low - arguably enormously undercosted - drain on the caster's Psynergy Point pool. The series' only flaw is its high Djinn requirements, leaving the Wish Psynergies unavailable until at least four Djinn of the same element are acquired. As Wish is available to nearly any class requiring four or more Mercury Djinn, as well as those classes available to Mercury Adepts that require at least four Djinn, it may be advisable to place Mercury Djinn on anyone besides the Mercury Adepts (for instance, putting Isaac or Garet in the appropriate Swordsman class series), as this will enable two party members to cast the Wish Psynergies. However, this setup trades availability for power, as an Adept's elemental Power is partly dependent on the Djinn set to them. Splitting Mercury Power between multiple Adepts reduces the effectiveness of each individual casting.

Golden Sun: If the game is being played with all party members in their default class series, Mia may spend most of her time after Altin Peak casting Ply, Wish, and her other healing Psynergies in lieu of her relatively weak offensive Psynergy. Trading Djinn with Ivan or Garet may be advisable, however, to put her in a more balanced class while retaining her access to Wish and opening the Wish series up for someone else as well.

Golden Sun: The Lost Age: None of the party members introduced in The Lost Age learn the Wish series in their default classes, although Jenna does have access to the weaker Aura Psynergy series. If players still wish to use Wish prior to the Reunion, though, it becomes available as soon as the party arrives in Kibombo: Piers has two Mercury Djinn with him when he joins the team and three Mercury Djinn can be acquired beforehand, more than enough to access the appropriate classes. Again, since the Wish series is unavailable to the new party's default classes, Piers must exchange Djinn with another Adept (Jenna or Sheba is advisable).

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn: Much like his mother in the original Golden Sun, Rief learns the Wish series in his default class series and, if the party is left in their default classes, will likely spend much of the game healing the party while Amiti provides stronger Mercury-based attacks. Since Djinn must be split evenly between party members, there won't be enough Mercury Djinn for Rief to cast Wish until reaching the Harapa Ruins (or later, if that Djinni is given to Amiti instead). Even before Wish becomes available to Rief, Karis has access to another series of group-healing Psynergies that, while nowhere near as powerful as the Wish series, have no Djinn requirements and will likely make do until enough Djinn are available to access the Wish series. In later stages of the game, however, players should consider shuffling Djinn around so that Pure Wish can be cast by multiple party members.

Psynergies cast by enemies

Like many Psynergies available to players, the Wish Psynergies can also be used by some enemies.

Golden Sun: When battling Saturos and Menardi atop Venus Lighthouse, Menardi may use Wish to restore HP to herself and her partner. It is strange that Menardi would have access to Mercury Psynergy, considering she is a Mars Adept. However, there are no Mars group-healing Psynergies in the first game, so the Wish series are the only Psynergies available to perform this task. This is rectified in the following game where Menardi's sister, Karst, uses the newly-introduced Healing Aura instead.