Kroitz

"Well, we do need a Ranger... It's just, I was hoping for a real one."

- Kroitz

Kroitz (クロイツ) is a childhood rival of Evann and currently supreme commander of the Nortis Army's operations to neutralize the Elemental Disorder. He is an excellent commander but lacks sympathy and is often too harsh or strict towards others. Though a commanding and powerful man he strives to be even greater, and holds contempt for those who are lacking in ambition.

Story and Character
Some time before the beginning of the story, Kroitz and Evann crossed paths and became adversaries. It isn't known what caused this, or why, but Evann's strong dislike for Kroitz persisted for a long time afterwards. At some point, Kroitz left the area in which they lived and enlisted in the army. He climbed the ranks through talent and prowess to become a Colonel at the young age of 23.

Kroitz is the antithesis and direct foil of Evann. He is greatly ambitious, whereas Evann leads a much more carefree lifestyle. Whilst Evann is overwhelmingly genuine and tends to say exactly what he means, Kroitz is underhand, manipulative and a pathological liar. Despite this they share a couple of similarities too; they both excelling at organising people, but are also impatient and incredibly short-tempered if things don't go their way. Their differening values cause them to consistently fail to see eye to eye, their conversations usually decending into the two of them bickering and berating each other.

The party consisting of Evann, Brandol and Carmyne encounter Kroitz early in the game in the Spiritual Atrium of the Land Ruins, where he and Specto explain to them the nature of the Elemental Disorder and how it can be stopped. Prior to that, Brandol and Carmyne discuss a "Colonel" with Diene a couple of times, but give no indication of who exactly he is; it therefore comes as a shock to Evann when it turns out someone he has despised since his childhood is leading the mission. Initially, Kroitz shrouds his ambitions beneath a noble facade and claims his ulterior objective is a peaceful one, ending the suffering caused by the Disorder. Though Evann doesn't buy into it, the other Nortis soldiers have already decided to back Kroitz's plan, and either brush aside his concerns or laugh them off.

It quickly becomes clear, however, that Evann was right all along. After Specto obtains the Elemental Slabs from the party, he and Kroitz open Starry Corridor and begin their pursuit of Quanlee. At this stage Kroitz no longer has to keep up apperances, becoming abrasive, callous and impatient. Evann and the others head down Starry Corridor, and into the Venom and Darkness Ruins to stop them from reaching Evol, but Kroitz manages to always stay one step ahead of them.

After obtaining all the required information on Evol from the Darkness Ruins, Kroitz launches a devastating attack on the ancient defense mechanisms in the Light Ruins, causing many casualties among the Nortis soldiers. He creates a diversion for Specto, who he instructs to find Evol whilst he fends off the party, still pursuing and trying to stop him. Defeated by Evann, he claims he didn't pursue Quanlee for greed, but because he believed it was a tool for progress, which was his true ambition. Evann still doesn't believe him, but leaves him in order to enter the Birthplace of Quanlee and stop Specto.

As Evol begins to explain the truth about Quanlee and the future of the world to Evann - after it is revealed Specto is his clone and everything was orchestrated to bring him to Evol as a messenger - Kroitz interrupts, demanding Evol tell him what has happened to Quanlee. Making the dangerous mistake of mocking him as he tells him the truth, Evol is impaled by Kroitz's sword, and quickly dies without having given clarity to his cryptic words.

Having been notified of his actions by Diene, the higher officers of the Nortis Army strip Kroitz of his command. He disappears for the seven days that follow, returning to Escarre on the day of Quanlee's arrival. Refusing to give up his pursuit of power, he attempts to attack and defeat Quanlee, but is captured by him in the process. Confronted by Evann after putting the whole of Escarre under mind control, Quanlee uses Kroitz as a mindless pawn in order to fend the party off. But Evann is able to stop him, to which Quanlee remarks that Kroitz is a "failure", and that Evann should end his life for him. Refusing, Evann takes an injured and unconscious Kroitz back to Locca, where he laments over not being able to fulfil his ambitions. Annoyed with Kroitz's self-absorption, Evann expresses his frustration with him one last time, before he leaves him alone in the barracks.

If the player returns to the room in the barracks before departing for Evolution Corridor, they will find it is already vacant. If the bed is interacted with, Evann will comment that Kroitz's injuries were bad, and that he was stubborn for leaving, but also predicts he will see him again soon.

Battle Strategy (Boss)
Kroitz - denoted as Colonel Kroitz in his initial encounter - is an incredibly powerful opponent. Similar to Lutina and her Arcada Soldiers, he is backed up by several Kroitz Guards; however, unlike her, he can bring more of them in if their numbers are dwindling. Like Evann, he wields a sword and uses a decent selection of magic. Being Evann's rival, he wields the dark counterpart to Sky Dragon Slash, Demon Slash. Similar to Melfice of Grandia II, his sword Crimson is an actual separate opponent, but it is near impossible to destroy through regular means due to its impeneterable defense.

It is ideal to take out his soldiers first. If they are not dealt with, they will pick your weakest characters off after Kroitz himself has cut their HP down with Demon Slash. They also have Poizn, which can be a struggle to cancel and recover from, when there's several of them on the IP gauge, and both Kroitz and Crimson need their actions cancelling as well. An early Sky Dragon Slash can cut the guards' HP down, if not wipe them completely, but this should be used with caution as depleting Evann's SP can come back to bite you when it's needed for X Slash. Well-placed range attacks such as Brandol's Spinning Slash, Carmyne's Shockwave and Myam's Hail Shower are useful alternatives.

Though both his components have relatively high ACT, once the guards are out of the way the battle becomes less of a struggle. Kroitz will tend to opt to call in more guards if all of them are wiped, but not always, thus continuing to focus on cancelling both him and Crimson is more important than jumping straight into dishing out damage. Crimson's defense can be removed with Giga Vanish, which leaves it vulnerable to being damaged like any other target would be, but this is not necessary unless seeking extra Skill Points from destroying it. Kroitz himself is resistant to Bomb element Moves and Magic, but any other elements will work fine. Opt for single target spells such as Burnstryke that have multiple hits, once he is backed far enough up the IP gauge that you are able to deal damage.

During his second encounter, Battle Kroitz, he is a victim of Quanlee's mind control over Escarre and is used by him as his pawn. In this fight he has access to new moves, including summoning a brand new version of Crimson.

Whilst it is not noted in any official guidebooks, Kroitz is able to cast Fiora (alongside Shhh!) in both his encounters. As the chance is incredibly small (<1%) it is likely he will run out of MP before being able to cast it.

Trivia

 * A sprite portrait resembling Kroitz exists in the game's data, unused in the game itself. It is unknown what the original purpose of this sprite was, as it is not grouped in with other character sprites (all of which are circular IP gauge portraits that face sideways), but battle menu items.
 * According to Anime News Network, Kroitz's Japanese voice actor, Takehito Koyasu, has the most casting credits of any seiyuu in the business to date. He is friends and bandmates with Evann's voice actor, Shinichiro Miki, who is also considered very prolific.
 * The katakana of his name (クロイツ) is identical to that used in the anime and manga series Weiss Kreuz (ヴァイスクロイツ), which was conceptualised and headed by Koyasu. His name may be a direct reference to Koyasu's work.