Is it possible to screw up the Crystarium?

This is really revamped from the way it worked in the first game, so here's a few related inquiries about how this thing actually works.

• Is the Crystarium infinite? Once I learn all the abilities, can I just keep increasing my stats forever?

• If it's not infinite, is it possible to max out all 6 roles? Possible to get all the Crystarium level bonuses?

• Are the max stats achievable fixed, or do I very carefully need to balance which sized nodes I give to which job in order to not screw up my stats for endgame?

Basically, "Do I need to very carefully plan my level ups in advance, or can I just spend my CP immediately without thinking about it?" I don't want to accidentally cripple my stats.

Solution 1:

It is possible to max out every role to level 99. Once you have done so you can't level up the Crystarium any further. And just FYI the last 100 or so levels of the Crystarium are exponentially more expensive. Something in the neighborhood of 2k per orb.

Your max stats are not fixed, so in a sense, you can screw up the Crystarium. If you'll notice, when you are on a large orb that isn't a skill you'll get an additional bonus depending on what role you level at that point. So let's say you're leveling Noel and you take a COM level at a large orb. You'll get a bonus to that particular role. So although every role can hit 99 if you want Noel to be a strong COM you would want to always level COM on a large orb. In effect the number of large orbs is fixed.

Hope that makes sense.

Solution 2:

I found this guide today and think it might be helpful to anyone coming back to this question. http://uk.ign.com/wikis/final-fantasy-xiii-2/Recommended_Crystarium_Growth

It also backs up what Yuck was saying about distributing the points amongst the larger spheres.