Abilities
While +stats gives you your ability names and costs, it doesn't go in depth about what your abilities do. This is the job of +abilities (or, alternately, +attacks)! It provides a handy reference list to not only names and costs, but also elements, attack levels, and any special added effects.
Provided here is a sample ability list.
Abilities are listed in the following order: the name of the ability in white, a four-letter abbreviation of the attack type, its element(s) and power level(s) in yellow, and its cost in cyan. On the next line in yellow are any effects the ability may have (if none, the entire line is blank).
The four attack types are as follows: Phys (Physical, which runs off the character's averaged STR), Magi (Magical, which runs off the character's averaged MAG), Heal (Healing, which runs off the character's averaged MAG and never misses, used only for healing abilities), and Pass (Passive, which are abilities that are always 'on' or work according to a probability that requires no direct selection by the user).
Ability costs, which are the numbers in cyan, are determined by the power levels of the element(s), along with any added effects. Both of them can be looked up under elements and effects, respectively. The general rule of thumb is that the higher the power level, or the higher grade (or count!) of effects, the more the ability will cost.
Every character in the game, regardless of being a Persona user or not, has at least two abilities. The very first one listed is a character's basic attack, which is marked as FREE in the effects line underneath it. These are universally physical in nature at power level 3, and cost no SP to use. These represent a "normal" attack in many RPGs, using the weapon stated in a character's profile. They are virtually all of the Pierce, Slash, or Strike element, with very few exceptions.
The second ability from the top is the character's special ability, and is marked as SPECIAL in the effects line. These are like abilities you would find on a Persona, except the character can use this while equipped with any Persona (or, in the case of those who don't use them, without one) and carry significant SP cost reductions. They don't have to be straight-up offensive abilities - they can even be supportive in nature, whichever fits the character's personality and style. The catch is that they can only be used once per battle.
The total number of abilities available depends on the Persona you are using. Those with 'None' only have the basic and special abilities available. Nearly all 'Main' (slot M) Personae have ten abilities on top of the basic and special abilities. Most general Personae, unlocked through Social Link accumulation, have eight. There are exceptions, but they remain few and far in between.
