Formations Table with pictures.
| Name | Picture | Comments | Obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free For All | https://imgur.com/Bnsz0Pn | Terrible formation only good at getting you cleaved. | Start |
| Imperial Cross | https://imgur.com/a6K6TiV | Line attack bait. Switch to a better one ASAP. | Start |
| Imperial Shield | https://imgur.com/xUznp9G | Marginally better than Imperial Cross, front row will get cleaved by Hell Claw. | Heavy Infantry |
| Imperial Attack | https://imgur.com/UJEpHqs | Very bad for survivability. | Light Infantry M/F |
| Imperial Ray | https://imgur.com/GtXn9M1 | One of the first decent tanking formations. Still suffers from column attacks. | Ranger M/F |
| Imperial Magic | https://imgur.com/xnqv73C | The magic version of Imperial Ray. Replace eventually. | Court Mage |
| Imperial Arrow | https://imgur.com/ODdN6VT | The best Imperial formation. Still suffers from column attacks, but results in a very survivable tank. Great speed. | Imperial Guard M/F |
| Imperial Force | https://imgur.com/8YVZa69 | An abomination of a formation guaranteed to get you killed on Expert difficulty. | Last Emperor M/F |
| Fanged Assault | https://imgur.com/b1F0WD7 | One of the first formations resistant to column attacks. Unremarkable. | Mercenary M/F |
| Witch's Cap | https://imgur.com/UKdMPkE | Magic version of Fanged Assault, can be painful if your back row gets cleaved. | Freelance Mage M/F |
| Free For All 2 | https://imgur.com/MUz7BFj | Frontline is too close together and will get hit even by columns. | Vagabond M/F |
| Iron Forge | https://imgur.com/4veNvr6 | Very strange formation which is somewhat resistant to AoEs. | Imperial Blacksmith |
| Rising Phoenix | https://imgur.com/S2eHHTu | A very strong formation for shield use (Willguard+). Quite AoE resistant. | Strategist |
| Dragon Stance | https://imgur.com/vAIV80I | Used for fixed order united attack parties. Awkward for tanking as the tail is vulnerable, hide it. | Martial Artist |
| Mu Rampart | https://imgur.com/rDiZQG9 | Always acts last, not viable for harder difficulties. | Saigo Clansman |
| Rapid Stream | https://imgur.com/NaIWfKA | Always acts first. Very powerful formation, as in the original, but kills shield blocking and is unsuitable for tanking strategies. | Corsair |
| Seer's Focus | https://imgur.com/nAarKzi | Not quite better than Witch's Cap as the backline is quite vulnerable, but it has fewer problems with AoEs. | Diver |
| Charming Drive | https://imgur.com/dysmDfj | One of the better tanking formations, AoE resilient and fast. | Dancer |
| Divine Wall | https://imgur.com/42DDVdS | Strong contender for the best defensive formation in the game. Back row is effectively under the effect of Mist Cover. | Crusader M/F |
| Whirlwind | https://imgur.com/KIrDzW0 | Almost strictly better than Hunter's Gambit in most ways. | Nomad M/F |
| Hunter's Gambit | https://imgur.com/rzIRaJp | Double defensive formation with a resilient frontline, but isn't very good at protecting the flanks. | Hunter |
| Amazon Raid | https://imgur.com/Ng35B9K | Unremarkable. | Amazoness |
| Desert Fox | https://imgur.com/XKI1AzA | A different version of Imperial Arrow focusing on offence rather than speed. | Desert Guard |
| Lightning Flash | https://imgur.com/mjpQREU | A slightly less awkward version of Dragon Stance which doesn't work too well if you need fast healers. | Levante Guard |
| Flying Sword | https://imgur.com/E8SuSbu | Good at building gauge, but not very good at tanking. | Ninja |
| Cosmic Ring | https://imgur.com/8YH3jPe | Enhances Cosmology and Umbrology, but frontline mages are generally a terrible idea and does not buff Cos/Umb defence. | Diviner |
| Volcanic Heart | https://imgur.com/U60SQWw | Gimmick elemental formation with 3 frontliners, quite awful compared to just using Fire Wall/Self Immolation. | Salamander |
| Twin Pyramids | https://imgur.com/oBEx0yI | Gimmick elemental formation. | Mole |
| Crescent Tide | https://imgur.com/s6Dp4G6 | Very weird shape. Only two party members seem to be protected from Hydrology, but may be situationally good vs Water enemies. | Nereid |
| Winged Quintet | https://imgur.com/RguYm8M | Provides decent Aerology defence for 4 out of 5 members, which can be good on dragons if you don't mind an entire column getting bolted. Aerology damage bonus is about 10-15%. | Iris |
| Puppet Army | https://imgur.com/ePjyh2u | Situationally useful, but I still got hit by ailments when trying it. | Puppet |
| Goblin Offense | https://imgur.com/qZ9vQQS | Weird formation with no real advantages other formations cannot give. | Chest |
IMO Rising Phoenix/Rapid Stream are the best normal use formations for harder difficulties, but Divine Wall is unarguably the best formation in the game for bossing on Romancing difficulty, especially if you have access to Dark Magic:
Divine Wall strategy:
Have your frontline tank use Wraith Form/Amethyst Axe's Phantom Chivalry or spam Shadow Servant while being equipped with elemental immunities (e.g. Fire Circlet, Elemental Benisons). The second frontline attacker should have Neither Seen Nor Heard to prevent targeting, and your third frontline character should either be your healer (Mist Cover it ASAP and then only use support magic) or use Amethyst Axe/Shadow Servant/Wraith Form.
If you do this, the enemy literally can only ever target your main tank and as long as you can handle party AoEs with some spot healing, most bosses are pretty trivial.