Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits FAQ/Walkthrough Version 2.04 12/8/03 by: Ryan Mack magus8472@sbcglobal.net ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Document Copyright 2003 Ryan Mack Unlimited copies of this document may be made SOLELY for the purposes of PRIVATE, HOME USE. This guide may in no way be published, altered, edited in any way, used as part of a public display or distributed publicly WITHOUT my knowledge AND expressed prior written consent. To do so would be a violation of copyright. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ All In-Game Content is Copyright SCEA 2003. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Contents: 1.0 - Intro/Version History 2.0 - Game Overview 2.1 - Cast of Playable Characters 2.2 - General Advice 3.0 - Walkthrough 3.1 - Kharg, Chapter 1: The First Battle 3.2 - Darc, Chapter 1: Awakening 3.3 - Kharg, Chapter 2: Setting Out 3.4 - Darc, Chapter 2: Ambition 3.5 - Kharg, Chapter 3: Conflict 3.6 - Darc, Chapter 3: Love and Hate 3.7 - Kharg, Chapter 4: Rage 3.8 - Darc, Chapter 4: Reunion 3.9 - Kharg, Chapter 5: Truth 3.10 - Darc, Chapter 5: Evolution 3.11 - Kharg, Chapter 6: Rivalry 3.12 - The Final Battle 4.0 - Sidequests, etc. 4.1 - Secret Characters 4.2 - Ancient Tablets/Spirit Dictionaries 4.3 - New Game+ 4.4 - Arenas 5.0 - Lists 5.1 - Item List 5.2 - Shop List 5.3 - Skill List 6.0 - Other 6.1 - Big Owl 6.2 - Pyron 7.0 - Closing 7.1 - Contact 7.2 - FAQ Locations 7.3 - Thanks ********************************************************** 1.0 - Intro/Version History I got rather annoyed at the sudden lack of a complete walkthrough for this game on GameFAQs, and decided to write one myself. I had a lot of fun with this game, so I don't mind a second playthrough for the purposes of writing this. The battle subtitles are my own, added because I felt like being whimsical. Note that I wrote this on my second playthrough, so my levels may be a good deal lower than yours, as I was speeding through the game. SPOILERS ABOUND. I also like to keep my characters' levels even, but you're under no obligation to do so, so level as you'd like. I only provide mine as a point of interest and/or comparison, if you wish. General information (statistics, game mechanics, etc.) is not listed. If you need that, the manual is where you need to go, it describes it all much better than I can. Also, all items listed as loot from stage destructibles may or may not vary: I'm not sure. Here's to putting off Suikoden III for another week. ---------------------------------------------------------- Version 2.04 - Checked my email for the first time in a month. Some submissions... (12/8/03) Version 2.03 - Submitted to Neoseeker. (9/11/03) Version 2.02 - Reader submission! Yay! (8/26/03) Version 2.01 - Modified the closer slightly. Added a reader submission I'd forgotten. Sorry, dude. (8/4/03) Version 2.00 - Skill List done. Pyron section done. Big Owl section done. I'm hanging it up here. There are still a few missing items, but I haven't a clue where to find them. A few figures may be off here or there. Walkthrough's 100% on the money, though. If you know anything or spot any errors, drop me an e-mail. Otherwise, this be the last update. This time I really did submit it to IGN. (8/3/03) Version 1.00 - Walkthrough done! Yay! Shop list done! Yay! Yet more items. Nifty. Edited the disclaimer. Who cares. Submitted to IGN. Added 'Other' section with subheadings. It's blank, for now. Added placeholder for Skill List. I have a little more planned for this one, obviously. (7/31/03) Version .90 - Walkthrough updated through Kharg 6. Just one chapter left. A few more items and shops. Character desctiptions finished. A few other minor edits. Whew. (7/31/03) Version .80 - Walkthrough updated through Darc 5. A few more items and shops filled out. Added the dates on my version updates. (7/30/03) Version .65 - Walkthrough updated through Darc 4. A few items added to the list. Character descriptions finished except secret characters. Getting there. (7/29/03) Version .50 - Orginal version. Walkthrough up through Darc 3. Sidequest section done. Shop/Item list partially done. Intro, etc. written. Outline firmly laid out. Section 2 started. About half done, on the whole. These things are hard. (7/27/03) ********************************************************** 2.0 - Game Overview ---------------------------------------------------------- 2.1 - Cast of Playable Characters ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTE: Here's a point of interest for you. We can only pin ages on four characters, the rest are left to guesswork alone. Kharg and Darc are 17, which we glean from Darc's comment in the game that it's been 17 years since he and Kharg were last together. Paulette is 18, since Kharg states she's a year older than him. Finally, Camellia is 200, according to herself. Everyone else is indeterminate, though we can make educated guesses: Volk and Ganz look about 30, Tatjana and Delma are probably about 22, Bebedora is at least 1500, etc. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ = Kharg Meleol Nidellia = Kharg's the first hero of the story, and, like other RPG heroes, he's average to above-average in every respect. Unlike other RPG heroes, however, his attack skills are nowhere near as good as those of the other people in his party until he hits his maximum class level. It's kind of annoying, considering his stats are so good, that he wasn't able to do as much damage as Maru or Paulette until the very end of the game. He gets some nifty healing magic, though, much better than anything else his group will have until Tatjana shows up. = Paulette, Guardian of the Prince = Quite frankly, Paulette's the best character in Kharg's party until the very end of the game. She has balanced statistics just as he does, but her early special moves are much, much better, doing more damage and hitting a larger area. With the right items, she can outclass Kharg in every way (except SPD and MOV) right up until the end, whereupon he'll start getting Special Moves that hit more than one person. = Maru, King of Chaos Forest = Maru is fast. Very, very fast. I've seen him hit 90 SPD at level 33. He'll often get two turns in the time it takes an enemy to get one. His Special Moves are nice, as well, from the early decent-radius plus bad status Venom and Binding Arrows to the late insane-radius Great Hunter. He can often fit several enemies into each physical attack, as well, even moreso if he has the Silk Bowstring. His only real problems are a low ATT and HIT, though the latter is fixed late in the game with the acquisition of the Weathercock. Note that Maru seems to take a harsher SPD penalty for items with them. = Ganz of Isulo Forest = Ganz is the polar opposite of Maru. He has terrible SPD and a tiny hit radius on his attacks, but ridiculous ATT and good HIT. His offensive Special Moves really suit him, as well, since they almost uniformly hit a decent-sized area around him, and he'll rarely find himself without a bunch of enemies clustered around him. He's also got the full gamult of status boosters, but they're self targeting only. Ganz's big problem is that his DEF is merely ok, not great as it needs to be. = Lieutenant Colonel Tatjana = Tatjana has something of an offensive deficiency. When you first get her, her ATT and SPD aren't that stellar, and her offensive Special Moves are limited, despite her extremely high MNT (best in Kharg's group, in fact, barring Diekbeck). She does have the very good Medicial Machine, though. As time passes, she becomes a bit more serviceable, though she'll still be in the Maru range of ATT and the Paulette range of SPD. However, once she gets Sigma Storm, she'll be endowed with a ridiculously powerful Special Move that goes a long way for making up for her faults. And there's always that nifty Mirage Field... = Samson (Wyse), Captain of the Fiona = Well, for the brief time you have him, he's basically a slower, more powerful Maru. He's great at the time, though, since you only have him and Kharg. Sharp Shooter's a ridiculously powerful Light attack.... = Darc the Drakyr = Darc is more along the lines of a traditional RPG hero. He's a powerhouse. Like Kharg, his stats are average everywhere, but unlike Kharg, he has effective Special Moves. At only class level 3 he learns Sword of Awakening, which hits a pretty large area around him for good damage, and it only improves from there. Late in the game, you can start tossing out Dragon Fang Swords and Air Blades (the strongest Wind spell) with impunity. The man is simply offense personified. Too bad his personality sucks. = Delma the Orcon Queen = Delma's got good SPD (not quite Maru SPD, but good) and ATT, but outright horrible DEF. She gets smacked around to no end. Everything else is out and out average. Her main strength lies in her magic. She's got a good variety of damaging, fire-elemental attack spells, and support spells to go along with them. Hell, she starts with Speed Up, which is useful for the whole game. Delma also serves as the party's backup healer, after Camellia. = Densimo the Orcon = For the short time you have Densimo, he's essentially a power tank. High ATT, High DEF, crappy SPD. What can you expect, really? You won't have him for too long, so magic is pretty well out of the question. He's good while you have him, I guess. = Volk the Lupine, the Avenger of Kin = As characters go, Volk is pretty blah. There's really nothing remarkable about him at all. He's pretty solid statistically, has decent abilities, and a good area of effect on his attacks, but nothing really stands out. He'll find himself outclassed by someone else in the party in every statistic. In other words, there's someone who's better than him at everything. However, if what you want is a solid, average character, Volk's your man. Actually, very late in the game, he can get some very, VERY good character specific items that turn the tide for him, but if you don't find those, he remains painfully average. = Camellia Rofeana Semalba, the Pianta Sage = I hate to say it, but Camellia's stats are absolutely horrible. The only thing she really excels at is MOV. In fact, she's the only character in Darc's party with maximum MOV. She also gets some nifty status effect weapon parts, but they either don't work all that often or can be found in items any character can use. However, she is far and away Darc's best healer, and eventually gets Vital Energy, which should be more healing than you'll ever need. That said, she's probably best used running around the battle map healing. = Bebedora the Puppet Master = Bebedora's interesting. Her stats are all above average (except for her sub-par MOV), thanks in no small part to all the good character specific items you can pick up for her, but where she really shines is in her magic. She's got extremely powerful Dark element attack magic, coupled with the ever-so-useful Mind Control ability, which takes control of up to two enemies at a time for a low Spirit Stone cost and with a good success rate. Easily Darc's strongest mage, especially when Dark Extreme comes along. It's a great feeling, Mind Controlling a Foot Soldier and then having him shoot and kill his comrade next to him. = Diekbeck = Diekbeck is a powerhouse, of course. He's got a good range attack, massive MNT, maximum MOV, and ridiculous SPD with the help of the Diek Screw. He's also got a myriad of great Magic and Special Moves to put his MNT to work. If you break everyone down, he's probably the strongest character in the game. = Choco = Choco's hilarious. I mean, just look at her. She backs it up with power, though. Like Diekbeck, she's got abnormally high stats, and can generally lay a considerable amount of smack down if she wants to. What else would you expect from a secret character, really? ---------------------------------------------------------- 2.2 - General Advice I reiterate most of these throughout the Walkthrough, but here's a list of good ideas: - Save often. I mean, seriously, if you die and lose four hours of progress, it sucks. I know. Save points in this game are floating green orbs. - In combat, ALWAYS attempt to attack enemies from behind, while protecting your back from their attacks. You'll do much more damage that way and take a lot less. - Keep a good supply of Herbs in everybody's inventory at all times. This will become less important once you start getting tons of HP and learn Healing Rain, but it could still come in handy. - Talk to everyone whenever possible. You'll get some nice character background and story info that way. Plus, it's just more fun. - Use Combination Attacks. They're really, really powerful, and can often allow you to kill several enemies with one regular attack. - Retreat hardly ever fails, so if you don't want to fight a random battle, run away. Simple enough. - Heal and refill your Spirit Stones before every battle. The game gives you an opportunity to do so, so take it. - When I refer to 'examining' something, I mean running up to it and hitting X as though you were attempting to speak to it. ********************************************************** 3.0 - Walkthrough ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTE: Some of the drop data may be inaccurate, as many things may or may not drop a variable amount of gods and Spirit Stones. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The game begins, like so many others have before it, with a confusing cutscene. A girl, dressed in the obligatory Red, White and Blue, sits around playing some strange light-harp, cradling a shining gray rock. She sees three airships in the distance, and immediately flees, but not without her harp. She puts her faith in the Spirits, which, from the title, are obviously the focus of the game. Cue cutscene number two. We pan over a dusty hamlet before focusing in on a sword. A battle ensues between a young boy with pointy ears and an old man with a big scar on his face. Elf-boy defeats scar-face, the nearby girl in red cheers, and the cutscene ends. ********************************************************** 3.1 - Kharg, Chapter 1: The First Battle Elf-boy is apparently named Kharg. He and the girl in red (Paulette) discuss things with scar-face (Lloyd), who happens to be both Commander of the Defense Corps and Paulette's father. They talk about Lloyd's impending retirement as Commander, Kharg's status as a member of the royal family of Nidellia, how Paulette and Lloyd are charged with Kharg's protection and how much Kharg has improved with a sword. Then, a man named Banjo wants to talk to Lloyd and you assume control of Kharg and Paulette. You can examine your characters' statistics if you wish, but eventually you should enter Kharg's house. It's the one closest to you. Kharg's mother does not appear to be home, but Kharg and Paulette hear a strange voice coming from her room. Kharg goes to check it out, but no one is there. You'll see a stone on the bookshelf. Go and examine it, and something calling itself the Spirit of the Wind. It quickly disappears, sparking another cutscene. This one's a flashback, and foscuses on Kharg's mother (Nafia) telling a young Kharg a story about the Spirits. This story is really a very brief synopsis of the first two Arc the Lad games, and explains the origin of the Deimos, whom the humans loathe. With that done, you're controlling Kharg again. Talk to Paulette. Kharg will tell her about the Spirit, but she doesn't really believe him. It was probably an illusion. Spirits only reveal themselves to chosen people. When you're back outside, you should make your way over and talk to Banjo. He talks about a suspicious fellow hanging around Scrappe Plateau, and Kharg volunteers to go investigate. Lloyd consents, gives Kharg 200 gods, and assigns Paulette to go with him. A bit more dialogue, and you have free reign of the town! YEWBELL ------- Finally, no more talking. Wander down the road, and enter the first door you find (the one with the sign next to it). This is the shop. The vendor on the top floor sells items (the obligatory healing herbs, revive items, and status cures) and Spirit Stones (which are used as MP and are expended by casting spells). Kharg and Paulette should have the full amount of Spirit Stones right now, but once you use a Special Move of theirs, the stones will begin to deplete. To refill them, you must either buy stones at a store, or win them in combat. The merchant on the ground floor sells Weapon Parts and Accessories, equippable items which characters can only use three of at any given time. That is, three weapon parts and three accessories per character. My advice to you now is to sell the Bomb in Paulette's inventory and purchase a Thorn of Revenge for Kharg (or Paulette, if you want), but it's up to you. Talk to the man in the brown armor (Defense Corps Member) for a further tutorial on Weapon Parts, or to Banjo for pointless chatter. Now, wander around town and talk to people. A point of interest is the pub, which doubles as Defense Corps HQ. It's the building with the teapot-looking sign above the door. Inside are some mostly pointless people. The lady in white by the door is the healer, who will charge you to completely heal your party. Make a note of her appearance, since all the other human healers look like her. You can ask around the pub, but all they do is refuse Kharg alcohol or chatter pointlessly. The man on the second floor simply refuses to talk to you. A little boy outside the pub will ask you to ask Duncan to give him the key to the Castle Ruins. Duncan, the man behind the desk in the pub, won't, for fear of a green monkey monster who's stealing food from the town. Oh well. Butch, standing in front of the building in the bottom left corner of Yewbell, asks you to go find Banjo for him. If you remember, Banjo's wasting time on the second floor of the shop. Go to him, and he won't move, but he'll give you a Knuckle Guard for your trouble, which is a pretty nifty Weapon Part for Kharg. Wander around and chat more to learn about the game world if you wish, but when you're ready to go, exit Yewbell via the arch to the left of the pub. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH ------- Take a minute to associate yourself with the map if you wish, but there's only one place you need to go, and that's Scrappe Plateau. Go there. SCRAPPE PLATEAU ------- Upon arrival, you'll see the aforementioned strange old man being mugged by a gang of squirrels. Showing his heoric nature, Kharg refuses to let the old man die, and starts.... ===================================== KHARG BATTLE 1: The Squirrels of Doom ===================================== Enemies: Suskle Squirrel Lv4 (x3) Suskle Squirrel Lv3 (x3) Objective: Get rid of the Suskle Squirrels! Loss: Entire party is disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Kharg - 3 Paulette - 2 Strategy: This is your basic tutorial type battle. Keep Kharg and Paulette together, attack the squirrels from behind whenever possible, and realize that by holding R1 and moving the yellow attack radius around a bit you can hit more than one target with a regular attack. You're much more powerful than these guys, so you should have no trouble. If you get low on health, use one of the Healing Herbs Kharg and Paulette start with, or use Paulette's First Aid skill. Also be sure to pick up anything the squirrels drop (Blue = Spirit Stones, White = Item, Yellow = Gods). Kharg and Paulette will go out of their way to explain most of the facets of the battle system for you. Be sure to use Combination Attacks to your benefit; always try to target more than one enemy when you can use one. And always, I mean ALWAYS attempt to attack the enemies from behind. You'll do MUCH more damage that way, and your hit rate will increase. The only time when you shouldn't do this is when doing so would expose YOUR back to a large group of enemies. On that note, also try to prevent the enemies from attacking your back, as they'll also do more damage that way. Just remember it. ===================================== Afterwards, the strange old man (Zev) identifies himself as an explorer. He's apparently just poking around the ruins out of curiosity. He also seems to have some odd interest in the birthmark on Kharg's shoulder. Odd. Feel free to poke around the ruins yourself. You'll find a machine that needs a battery and an airship part that's just out of reach. Other than that, there ain't nothing there, so head back to the world map. You need to go to Yewbell and report to Lloyd, but if you want to get some leveling in, check out the Garagne Hills. YEWBELL, PART 2 ------- Head straight into the pub to heal and find that Lloyd isn't there. Duncan says he went to Kharg's house, so head on over there. You'll hear a conversation about some Deimos-like creatures being spotted. Talk to Nafia, and she and Lloyd will hear Kharg's report about Zev, and tell him about some miners being late returning from Plumb Canyon, where the humans mine Spirit Stones. Lloyd says he'll set off to assess the situation personally, and Kharg asserts his desire to defend Nidellia before leaving to talk to Banjo. Banjo's in the refinery, the structure at the very bottom left of the town. There's a brief conversation on the finite nature of natural resources. Leave, head up the stairs, and view a short scene. Lloyd drags a wounded Defense Corps Member (Morth) into Yewbell. The Deimos are attacking the mine at Plumb Canyon. Paulette rallies the Defense Corps, while Morth is brought to Kharg's House. Lloyd and Paulette take the Corps to go reclaim the mine, but Lloyd and Nafia forbid Kharg to accompany them. He is given guard duty. Go and talk to Nafia. She still won't let Kharg go. Head into Nafia's room and talk to Morth. Kharg gets Morth to tell him that Nafia won't let him go because the Deimos that attacked the Canyon were Drakyr. Leave Kharg's house, and see a short scene with Zev. He wants you to get the Gate Key and let him into Yewbell. Duncan has it. Go to the pub and ask him about the Castle Ruins. He'll give Kharg the gate key when he promises to defeat the Wild Monkey Monster. Kharg is, of course, a master of deception. Head to the gate and open it. Zev goes to the pub, and you're free to leave Yewbell through the gate. Before you go, stock up on herbs, as Kharg doesn't know First Aid, and there are a few battles ahead. THE CASTLE RUINS -------- Run up the stairs, then up the left hand side of the spiral stairs. Go right, and down the unblocked set of stairs. Exit through the archway. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Head to Chaos Forest. CHAOS FOREST -------- You immediately encounter the Wild Monkey Monster, who immediately tries to shoot Kharg, and misses. Kharg uses his godly strength and accuracy to heave the arrow right back toward the Monkey Monster, who promptly falls out of the tree and reveals that he is just a boy with a green mask. He's apparently Maru, the King of Chaos Forest. When some monsters led by a wild Slothian attack, he bands together with Kharg to fight them. ====================================== KHARG BATTLE 2: The Wild Sloth Monster ====================================== Enemies: Wild Slothian Lv5 Suskle Squirrel Lv3 (x4) Suskle Squirrel Lv2 Objective: Defeat the Monsters! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Damp Tree (Good Herb) My Levels: Kharg - 3 Maru - 2 Strategy: The same basic rules from battle one apply here and in every battle after here except when otherwise noted. The first thing you should do is bust open the damp tree in front of you just as if it were an enemy in order to get the Good Herb inside. Take advantage of Maru's attack radius of a long, straight line to hit two or three enemies per shot. You shouldn't need to resort to his Venom Arrow here, but if you do, it's got a great hit radius, and does good damage at this point. Watch out for the Slothian's special attack, which turns the target into a Slothing for one turn. It's not that bad, but it stops you from doing anything other than attacking. Just stay healed and you'll be fine. ====================================== With that over with, Kharg and Maru converse. Maru is supposedly a prince of some far off land, which explains the crown around his neck. He wants to one day return to his homeland and become King. It's good to have goals. Despite the danger, Maru tags along with Kharg, seemingly out of pure boredom. They leave Chaos Forest. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Head to Plumb Canyon. You'll probably have a random encounter at The Edge of a Sea of Trees. Complete it for exp. Once that's over with, continue to Plumb Canyon. PLUMB CANYON -------- Kharg and Maru arrive to find the Drakyr attacking Lloyd, Paulette & Co. Paulette is in particular danger, so the pair leap to their defense. ================================ KHARG BATTLE 3: The First Battle ================================ Enemies: Wyvern Lv6 (x2) Drakyr Lv6 Drakyr Lv5 (x2) Objective: Defeat all enemies! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Wooden Box (100g, 11 Spirit Stones, Revival Medicine) Wooden Box (100g, Leather Armband) My Levels: Kharg - 5 Paulette - 3 Maru - 4 Strategy: Concentrate on the Wyverns first so you can group your team together. Don't keep them too tight, however, or else they'll all get hit by one casting of Wind Slasher from the Drakyr. You should be able to gang up on and kill the Wyverns before the Drakyr show up, especially if you use Venom Arrow to speed up the process. Once they're gone, the Drakyr should be simple, provided you use Paulette's First Aid to keep everyone's health up, as the Drakyr have a Wind Slasher spell that should be doing around 20-30 damage a casting at this point. Be sure to break open the boxes before finishing off the last Drakyr. ================================ After the battle, Kharg gets reprimanded for saving everyone's ass before Lloyd and Paulette leave to go scout the Garagne Hills. Once you regain control of Kharg, talk to Maru. Tell him you're going back, and they have a little conversation. They declare themselves friends, Maru joins up for good, and Maru demands food. After that, chat with the Corps members if you wish, and then leave. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Head to the Garagne Hills GARAGNE HILLS -------- You encounter Paulette and Lloyd in combat with an Unknown Deimos. The Deimos' wife and child fall dead at Kharg and Maru's feet. The Unknown Deimos flees at the sight of Kharg. Kharg introduces Maru to Paulette, not noticing Lloyd's silence. Lloyd dies, and all of Yewbell mourns. Kharg becomes resolute in his desire to protect humanity. End Kharg, Chapter 1 Save your game at the prompt. ********************************************************** 3.2 - Darc, Chapter 1: Awakening The chapter starts with a long cutscene. It's a flashback, that shows a young human woman (Nafia) and a young Drakyr man (Windalf) running from some other Drakyr, each holding one of their twin children. Each also has a half of a shimmering green stone around their necks. They come to a cliff face. Windalf wants Nafia to take the children and run, but before she can, the Drakyr come. They fire a bolt of energy at Windalf, knocking him to his knees and knocking Nafia off the cliff with her child (Kharg). Windalf keeps the other. Cut ahead several years. Windalf and one of the children (Darc) wander in the desert. Windalf is badly wounded. They make their way to some ruins, where Windalf gives Darc his half of the shimmering stone. He dies. Cut ahead to the present. There is lightning, a house, an old woman cackling, and a man screaming. Inside, we find Darc collapsed on the floor with the woman (Geedo) standing above him, giving him an order. She gives him 100g for Phoenix Blood. GEEDO'S HOUSE -------- Save your game. Take a minute to examine Darc's stats if you like. He can't equip anything at the moment, since he doesn't use a weapon. Head upstairs. You can't open the chest, so don't bother. Geedo will just yell at you, so don't bother. Leave the house, and exit to the map. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Head to The Church Ruins. You'll probably have a random battle at Subnak Forest. THE CHURCH RUINS -------- You'll recognize this as the place where Windalf died. Move up to that exact spot and examine the cairn there. Darc will briefly talk to himself, after which you're free to explore and leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Head to Orcoth. ORCOTH -------- Upon heading down the stairs, you'll be forcibly introduced to a pink-skinned Orcon Girl (Delma). She treats you with about as much contempt as everyone else. Walk around and chat and you'll know what I mean. Apparently, you can't buy your Phoenix Blood at present, because the Qurop (Deimos merchants) isn't in his shop. However, the healer Qurop is (blue skin, white hat). They function like the human healer. Mark its appearance, because they all look like that. When you're ready, enter the bottom right door with the clock above it to the Arena. You'll walk in on an old Orcon with long horns (Gorma) and a big one with yellow skin (Densimo) arguing about how Densimo is eating a valuable resource. Densimo asserts his authority violently. Talk around if you wish, then leave the Arena. Head into the train car and talk to Gorma. He's rather informative, but a little crazy. Ask about everybody, and Firbles. Then leave. The Qurop (orange skin, red hat) is back. Talk to it and buy the Phoenix Blood out of the Items menu. Ignore the health warnings (it's for Geedo, anyway). Try to leave Orcoth and you'll encounter Zoram and Zugalo. They insult Darc and demand that he give them the Phoenix Blood. When he refuses, they drag him to the Arena for a battle. ============================== DARC BATTLE 1: The Two Stooges ============================== Enemies: Zoram Lv5 Zugalo Lv4 Objective: Crush Zugalo and Zoram! Loss: Darc disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 2 Strategy: Charge straight ahead and pound on Zugalo with a casting of Wind Slasher, then attack him a few times and he should go down. Do the same to Zoram. If Darc falls below 50 or so HP, run away and heal. You should be done in no time. ============================== Delma shows up and tries to recruit Darc into Densimo's army, revealing the fact that she's his sister. Darc refuses, and she storms off. Talk around and you'll mostly meet exasperation at how you managed to beat Zugalo and Zoram. Use the healer Qurop, and spend whatever gods you have left on Spirit Stones to replace the ones you used in the last battle. When done, leave Orcoth. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Head to Geedo's House. GEEDO'S HOUSE, PART 2 -------- Talk to Geedo. Darc gives her the Phoenix Blood and warns her against drinking it. Unluckily for Darc, she doesn't. She dumps the Phoenix Blood in her chest and gives Darc a new task: catch Firbles. Knew they were important, didn't you? You still can't open the chest. Leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Go back to Orcoth. ORCOTH, PART 2 -------- Ask around about Firbles if you wish, then head over to Gorma's train car. Ask him about Firbles again, and he'll tell you to find marshlands. Good advice. Stock up on whatever you need if you can afford it and leave Orcoth. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Run, don't walk to Haystir Marsh via Geedo's House for minimum random battles, or via Varam Barrens for maximum random battles. HAYSTIR MARSH -------- Darc immediately spots a Firble. It looks sort of like an albino cross-breed between a seal and a fox. You then face a little minigame. WALK, don't run, up behind the firble and press X to catch it. If you run, it'll hear you and scamper away, forcing you to start over. It's always near one of the pools of water if you're having trouble finding it. Once you catch it, Delma, Zugalo and Zoram show up, also looking for Firbles. Darc, also a master of deception, manages to confuse Zoram and Zugalo and impress Delma so much that they leave without looking for Firbles. Darc takes the Firble with him and leaves for The Church Ruins on autopilot. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 2 -------- Darc places the firble in an empty nest right before Delma shows up. They chat a bit, as Delma is obviously interested in Darc. She runs away, so follow her up to the right hand platform. She agrees to keep Darc's secret if he flies her around. He takes her in his arms and they soar for a bit, but not before a Drakyr crashes the party. He wants the Wind Stone. =================================================== DARC BATTLE 2: At Least They're Not Flying Monkies. =================================================== Enemies: Drakyr Lv5 (x4) Objective: Do away with the Drakyr! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 4 Delma - 3 Strategy: The easiest way to accomplish this is to attack the Drakyr one at a time as they come up the stairs single-file. Don't be afraid to use Flaming Arrow and Wind Slasher if you have to. In fact, using them is a very good idea. Same as before, heal if your HP gets low. And it probably will, given their penchant for Wind Slasher. =================================================== Delma rationalizes her assistance of Darc when he begins to scream in pain. His collar is choking him. Apparently, it's something Geedo uses to control Darc. Delma suggests whacking her, but Darc won't hear of it, because he has a sentimental attachment to her. What an idiot. Delma takes off, and Darc is left alone. Leave The Church Ruins. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Head to Orcoth if you need/want items or Spirit Stones. Otherwise, head to Geedo's House. GEEDO'S HOUSE, PART 3 -------- Upon arrival at Geedo's, Darc is tortured mercilessly for his lack of Firble cargo. Isn't she great? After the beating, Darc has a vision of his father, telling him to save the Deimos from impending doom. After he awakes and contemplates his inadequacy, save your game and head upstairs. Geedo is gone, and you still can't open the chest. Leave. You'll run into Delma, who was worried about Darc. She wants to kill some Drakyr, so she joins up. Afterwards, leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Destination: The Church Ruins. Detour through Orcoth for supplies if necessary. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 3 -------- Walk up the stairs. The Wind Spirit speaks to Darc and Delma from the tomb. Delma comments that Deimos don't build tombs, and goes over to check the Firble. Follow her. Talk to her to see the Firble and its eggs. Delma discovers the beauty of happiness. Oh boy. Just then, a few humans show up to rob the tomb, but one of them leaves for for righteous reasons. Darc and Delma spring to the Church's defense. ==================================== DARC BATTLE 3: Kill the Man in Pink! ==================================== Enemies: Shotgun Hunter Lv6 (x2) Ludhi Lv6 (Drop: Confusion Firecracker) Rapier Lv7 (Drop: Revival Medicine) Objective: Defeat every last human! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 5 Delma - 5 Strategy: A quick Wind Slasher + Flaming Arrow should do Ludhi in. You'll then be able to phyiscally attack both Shotgun Hunters at once, since they'll probably bunch themselves up at the foot of the stairs. Once they're gone, Rapier will be easy fodder for more Wind Slasher + Flaming Arrow. If you want Rapier's Revival Medicine, keep a Shotgun Hunter alive while you kill him. ==================================== Darc ponders the greed of humanity while Delma introduces a novel concept: let's steal the dead mens' weapons! Darc refuses out of Deimos pride, so Delma suggests that they accumulate more allies out of necessity. She suggests Densimo, and apparently has a plan, so away we go. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Head on over to Orcoth, double time. ORCOTH, PART 3 -------- Head over to the Arena entrance and talk to Zoram and Zugalo. Delma barges her way in. Go and talk to Densimo. Delma will ask for his help. Though he initially refuses, Delma eventually taps into Densimo's Marty McFly complex enough to spur him into action. He'll help crush the puny Drakyr people provided Darc and Delma help him kick the humans out of the Zedora Abyss. He joins. Most everyone's dialogue has now changed, so talk around if you want. One of the pink Orcon girls will launch into an explanation of the Five Orcothian Wonders. If you hear her out, she'll ask you to tell her how many letters she's used at the end. Answer correctly (600-800) to recieve 10 Healing Herbs. Stock up on anything else you need and leave town when you're done. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Get on over to Zedora Abyss via Geedo's house. It's near Haystir Marsh. As a point of interest, if you take Densimo to The Church Ruins, Delma will distract him to prevent him from seeing the Firble. ZEDORA ABYSS -------- When you get there, Densimo examines the strange behavior of the humans, who appear to be mining Spirit Stones. Refusing to adopt any type of strategy, Densimo charges right in to battle. ============================================ DARC BATTLE 4: Take Off the Silly Hats. Now. ============================================ Enemies: Spear Hunter Lv7 (x2) Cathena Soldier Lv7 Cathena Soldier Lv8 (x2) Objective: Defeat every last human! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Damp Tree (Reiki Leaf) Wooden Box (80g, First-Aid Kit) Wooden Box (90g, 10 Spirit Stones, Bomb) My Levels: Darc - 7 Delma - 6 Densimo - 7 Strategy: First off, send someone up the hill to knock off the Damp Tree. I suggest Delma, since her movement and speed should be the highest you've got. Put your other two characters in front of the ramp leading to the Damp Tree. As before, take one enemy at a time and keep healed. The Cathena Soldiers do quite a bit of damage, probably more than you're used to at this point, so be wary. Wind Slasher is probably a must use. As always, combination attacks are helpful. Be sure to leave someone alive (I suggest one of the Spear Hunters) so you can collect the loot in the Wooden Boxes. ================================================== Densimo asks Darc to join with him so they can expand Orcon territory, but he isn't interested. He instead laments the stupidity of the Deimos. Whatever. Use the Reiki Leaf from the previous battle on Darc if you got it. Otherwise or afterward, simply leave the Zedora Abyss. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Go to Orcoth. It's a lovely place. ORCOTH, PART 4 -------- Darc and company discuss methods of fighting the Drakyr. Densimo quickly gets bored and suggests an invigorating bout of Firble hunting. Darc is worried about Geedo for some reason, so the party decides to look for her. Stock up if you wish, and talk to Zugalo for a report of a strange, flying, horse-headed Deimos. When you're ready, leave Orcoth. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Take this soul train over to The Varam Barrens. THE VARAM BARRENS -------- What do we have here but Geedo strung up in the sun. Darc and company have little time to wonder what's going on before a posse of very angry Drakyr show up. They try to trade Geedo for the Wind Stone, but Darc isn't buying. Upon your refusal, they sic monsters on you. =========================================== DARC BATTLE 5: At Least They're Not Drakyr. =========================================== Enemies: Wyvern Lv7 (x4) Objective: Rout the Wyvern! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Dry Tree (empty) Dry Tree (empty) My Levels: Darc - 7 Delma - 7 Densimo - 8 Strategy: First things first, Wyverns do a good lot of physical damage. Lucky for you, though, they're a bit slow and have no ranged attacks to speak of. That said, follow the tried and true pattern of isolating and killing them. Don't even bother with the stumps, as they're empty. =========================================== After the battle, there's a big cutscene. Darc and Co let the Drakyr get the drop on them. Densimo gets knocked out while Darc gets pinned to the floor. The Drakyr rip Darc's wings off for his refusal to turn over the Wind Stone before Delma tells them where it is for fear of Darc's safety. Secure in their info, the Drakyr knock Delma out before Darc faints. While down, Darc overhears a conversation between Geedo and the Drakyr. It seems she sold him out. Densimo wakes up quite angry and forces Geedo to tell him where the Drakyr went. When Darc himself awakes, he finds Delma unconscious and sets off to stop the theft of the Wind Stone. Exit the area. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Your destination here is The Church Ruins. However, I've got to warn you that the next battle is the toughest in the Chapter, and that Darc has to go it alone. I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle, but even so, you're probably gonna want to head to Orcoth first to heal and stock up on items and Spirit Stones. A full inventory of healing herbs for Darc is probably a good idea. If you're really paranoid, level Darc up, but anything beyond 10 is overdoing it. With that, head to The Church Ruins at your leisure. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 4 -------- Head up the stairs to find Geedo and the Drakyr clustered around Windalf's cairn. They unearth the Wind Stone just as Darc arrives, and say they must inform Droguza. When they notice Darc, Geedo tells him how she sold him out. Densimo, who has also sold Darc out at this point, appears. He's eaten the Firble. Darc gets a brief crash course in Deimos ethics before crashing into the bushes. Darc picks up the human sword and armor to kill his betrayers. ============================================= DARC BATTLE 6: Ding, Dong, The Witch is Dead. ============================================= Enemies: Densimo Lv? (Drop/Steal: Blood Anklet) Geedo Lv7 (Drop/Steal: Life Tree Berry) Drakyr Lv7 Drakyr Lv6 Objective: Defeat the traitorous Deimos! Loss: Darc disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 8 Strategy: Before the battle starts, take a look at Darc's skill menu. He'll have Special Abilities that you can learn now. First off, start by retreating from the stairs as far as you can go. If you're lucky, only Densimo will come out of the Church to attack you. If not, you may have to deal with Geedo and him at the same time. Wait for them/him for a few turns. Physical attacks are enough to kill Densimo, though Wind Slasher does good damage, as does Sword of Awakening if you have it. Once he's down, move to the foot of the stairs. Only Geedo should move toward you. Back away from the stairs again and wait for her. If she's already down there, just skip that. Claws of Rage and Physical Attacks are good for her. The choke attack can hurt, so heads up with the healing. Once she's down, the two Drakyr are nothing new. Heal, avoid Wind Slasher, and you're set. ============================================= Following the battle, the Wind Spirit appears to Darc. Darc, a Chosen One, is to find power to combat the coming darkness, and must find the 'one who shines.' Sounds like fun. Typical save the world stuff. Delma shows up a bit freaked out. She almost doesn't recognize Darc, and she certainly doesn't believe him when he says he killed Densimo. Darc then launches into a kind of a mad rant, talking about how there is nothing in the world but power, and how he will become King of the Deimos and wipe out the humans, as the chapter ends. End Darc, Chapter 1 Save your game at the prompt. ********************************************************** 3.3 - Kharg, Chapter 2: Setting Out The Chapter opens on Kharg's inauguration as Commander of the Defense Corps. It's a few days after Lloyd's death, which is more than enough grieving time. Kharg officially replaces Lloyd by being quasi-knighted by Nafia. Kharg then proceeds to give the lamest do-gooder speech in recorded history. YEWBELL, PART 3 -------- Talk to Nafia or Duncan once you gain control of Kharg. They'll clear out of the way, but not before Nafia says she has something for Kharg. Head down the stairs to run into Paulette and Maru. Paulette's donned Lloyd's big red shoulderpads. Since Kharg has pressing business, they can't patrol the town like Paulette wants, so she decides to go chasing after Maru. Run into town, but before you go see Nafia, go around and talk to everyone. They all have new dialog, including the Strange Man on the second floor of the Pub. He has a little (read: big) quest for you. He tells you he hid something in an old pot he buried under a rock at The Edge of a Sea of Trees. File that away in your memory while you finish your round of chatting and head up to meet Nafia. She's in her room at Kharg's house. Nafia warns Kharg about the dangers of unconditional hatred, but he's pretty set on doing everything he can to defend Yewbell. She then gives him half of the stone, tells him she split it with his father, and then is intentionally vague and avoids all of Kharg's questions. The Wind Spirit shows up immediately after Nafia leaves. Also a Chosen One, Kharg is, like Darc, tasked with saving the planet. Leave and go over towards the pub. Talk to Maru outside and he'll join up and tell you to go talk to Duncan. Do so. It seems a young woman has had her engagement ring stolen by a band of theives to the south....no, the north. The Scrappe Plateau. Right. She gives no other details. Accept the job, as you're stuck with helping her eventually. Get out of the pub, and try to leave Yewbell through the main archway. Paulette will come running up, saying Banjo needs your help at the refinery. When you get there, he asks you to go help Butch, who's late from returning from Plumb Canyon. Sound familiar? Accept, and get ready to leave Yewbell. You might want to give everyone an Antitoxic Nut or two to save yourself future trouble. When you're ready, exit via The Castle Ruins (not the main gate). WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Your first stop is The Edge of a Sea of Trees, UNLESS you want to skip the entire Spirit Dictionary quest. If you do, skip the next section, and head for Plumb Canyon. THE EDGE OF A SEA OF TREES -------- Go and examine the smaller rock in the upper right hand corner of the map. Kharg will unearth a pot and call down a horde of mutant squirrels upon him. ========================================= KHARG OPTIONAL BATTLE: No Mutant Bunnies? ========================================= Enemies: Suskle Squirrel Lv5 (x3) Kuskle Lv6 (x2) Kuskle Lv7 (x2) Objective: Defeat all enemies! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Kharg - 6 Paulette - 5 Maru - 5 Strategy: They're a lot stronger than they look, but have a predisposition towards clumping up. Use this to your advantage and squeeze two or more targets into every attack possible. Don't go charging ahead at the start of the battle, because they can kill you if you get surrounded. Special Moves are kind of a waste here due to the enemies' low hit points, but if you're tempted feel free to let off a Venom Arrow to thin them out a little. ========================================= With that completed, you're free to take the Old Pot with you and head out of the woods. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Plumb Canyon is up next. Go there. Quickly. You've got to eventually. PLUMB CANYON, PART 2 -------- Talk to Butch. He'll reveal a veritable legion of Dancing Shells milling about the Canyon floor. Kharg assigns Butch hiding duty, and charges in. Head down the ramp. ================================= KHARG BATTLE 4: Escargot, Anyone? ================================= Enemies: Dancing Shell Lv5 (x7) Dancing Shell Lv6 (x4) Objective: Eliminate all Dancing Shells! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Wooden Box (9 Spirit Stones, Anti-Poison Cologne) Gunpowder Can (empty) Gunpowder Can (empty) My Levels: Kharg - 6 Paulette - 6 Maru - 6 Strategy: Maru should move first. Have him whack one of the Gunpower Cans to make it explode and kill the Shell next to it. Maru and Paulette will warn each other about poison. It's a very sensible warning, since poison lasts a good five turns or so when used on your characters. Anyway, pick whichever way Maru cleared by blowing the Gunpower Can and charge down there with Kharg and Paulette. You're probably gonna need a Special Move or two to get through all the enemies that way, so don't be afraid to haul off and use Fang-Breaker Blade or Venom Arrow a bunch. There are 11 enemies on the map, after all. Once all the enemies coming from your initial direction are dead, turn around and face the others. They're probably in a big grouping, so Venom Arrow them before going in to finish them off. Be sure to open the Wooden Box before you kill the last enemy, but don't bother setting off the other Gunpowder Can, especially with a melee character, as it'll blow up in their face if you try. Note that, if you do get poisoned, heal it immediately if at all possible. If you don't have any Antitoxic Nuts and/or Maru doesn't know Antidote Treatment, just keep the poisoned character healed while it wears off. ================================= Apparently, the problem was that the machine was leaking oil. Butch figures to solve the problem by closing the open valve. Kharg assumes responsibility over valve-closing task and sends Butch away. Paulette compares oil to wine. Right. Walk over to the blue cyllindrical machine, and examine it. Turn the handle. The oil will seep into the groundwater before your very eyes. You're done here, so exit. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH --------- Powerwalk over to Scrappe Plateau. Stop in Yewbell for groceries if you need them. SCRAPPE PLATEAU, PART 2 -------- You'll see some thieves talking about raiding and plundering Yewbell. Typical thief stuff. Kharg shows up, tells the thieves who he is, and they laugh at him for being so young. Typical RPG stuff. Kharg gives them an ultimatum. Someone should tell Kharg those never work. ======================================= KHARG BATTLE 5: Dodging Assault Rifles. ======================================= Enemies: Bandit Lv9 (Drop: Gunpowder) Pugnacious Lv7 Pugnacious Lv8 (x2) Objective: Crush the gang of thieves! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Metal Drum (Bomb) My Levels: Kharg - 7 Paulette - 7 Maru - 7 Strategy: Thank the thieves for standing in a big group as you lead off with a Venom Arrow. You should be able to get three of them in one shot. That'll most likely knock the Pugnacious' HP down far enough that one physical attack will do them in. So, after all three of your characters have moved, they should be down to one healthy unit and one half dead one. Surround and attack those remaining, and you're set. The Bandit is a tough cookie, though, so you might want to Fang-Breaker Blade him on top of the Venom Arrow. As for the metal barrel, if a melee character attacks it, it will probably explode on them. If a ranged character does, it will take much longer to break, but it won't explode. ======================================= The thieves hand over the Stone-Carved Bracelet they stole, but claim they ain't got no ring. Kharg believes them, and lets them go with a promise to reform their lifestyles. Thick, isn't he? Anyway, you're done here. Exit. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Hop the first train to Yewbell. YEWBELL, PART 4 -------- Head into the Pub. If you got the Old Pot at The Edge of a Sea of Trees, head upstairs. If not, skip this paragraph. Talk to the Strange Man (Span), and he'll pull the Spirit Dictionary, Volume 1 out of the pot. He'll read it to you if you wish, and tell you that there are four other volumes of the Dictionary that he'd love to have. You'll, of course, be finding them. I'll, of course, tell you where they are. Span leaves with the book, but gives you the Old Pot as a gift. It turns out that there's also a Stone Holder in the pot. I put it on Paulette, myself. Walk over to Duncan's desk. It appears the young woman (Faora) faked the whole story so that her fiance wouldn't be mad at her. Just then, her fiance (Mutch) shows up and confesses that the ring was just an imitation to begin with. (Quite a web of deceit for such a small town.) It seems that Mutch had been working on a better gift, a bracelet hewn out of some shiny stone from Scrappe Plateau. The bracelet, however, really was stolen by thieves....the thieves Kharg just mugged. He forks over the bracelet, and this weird little interlude ends. Walk over and talk to Zev. He tells Kharg about an airship crash over at Dragon Bone Valley. Kharg wants to set out, despite Paulette and Maru's reservations. He has heroic tendencies, you see. Doesn't really care that it's Deimos territory. Anyway, take a bit to wander around Yewbell. The dialogue's changed again. Heal and stock up on items, etc. as needed. Also, take this time to look at your characters' skill menus. They probably had a class level up in the last battle or two, and have new skills available to learn. I recommend Steal for Maru, Power Shot for Kharg, and Antidote Treatment for Paulette. Get Sling Knife for Paulette as well, if you don't have it already. If you're looking for better equipment, I'd recommend a Thorn of Revenge for everyone and an Aiming Device for Maru. It lowers his speed, but his HIT sucks until you get the Weathercock much, much later. Anyway, when you're good and ready, leave Yewbell via the main archway. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Set course for Dragon Bone Valley. DRAGON BONE VALLEY -------- Head up the slope and examine the conspicuously dressed unconscious woman. Maru and Paulette search for other survivors while Kharg and the Girl from another land (Lilia) go over the basics. The crashed airship is empty, and the cause of the crash, according to Paulette, was gunfire. Lilia says she was taking her airship (Big Owl) to The Republic of Cathena all by herself, and was attacked by the Dilzweld Empire. Lilia is cryptic about the reasons for her journey, but Kharg is trusting. He's a bit slow, however, and the Drakyr get the drop on the party. ====================================================== KHARG BATTLE 6: What's With Their Harem Veils, Anyway? ====================================================== Enemies: Drakyr Lv7 (x5) Drakyr Lv5 NPC: Lilia Lv1 Objective: Protect Lilia from the Deimos! Loss: Entire party disabled OR Lilia disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Kharg - 8 Paulette - 9 Maru - 8 Strategy: Lilia's pretty inept, but she's not nearly as bad as some other NPCs in games like this (read: Rafa, Selye, etc.). The Drakyr are nothing you haven't already handled several times, so you should know the deal with them by now. Proecting Lilia is of paramount importance. Kill the Drakyr FAST, and keep them away from her. She'll charge right at them, so stay near her to distract the Drakyr. Luckily for you, they don't preferentially target her, so there's a good chance she won't be hit with three straight Wind Slashers as long as you keep someone near her. Be warned that she can't take more than a few hits. With that said, just kill the Drakyr the same way you always have. They'll probably even clump for you. ====================================================== WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- The game immediately dumps you to the map. Heal up, refill your Spirit Stones, and set course for Yewbell. You'll be stopped at Isulo Forest. ISULO FOREST -------- You're out of Drakyr territory, but still in the woods. An enourmous shadow coasts along the ground. It's the Dilzweld army, and they're after you. Head across the bridge. A very large and very angry man will come out of the bushes. He's real pissed about someone defiling the forest. Dilzweld troops from across the bridge shoot Lilia in the leg, and the Mysterious Large Man (Ganz) from the woods joins up to help you out. ================================================= KHARG BATTLE 7: You'll Be Seeing These Guys Again. ================================================== Enemies: Foot Soldier Lv8 Foot Soldier Lv6 Attack Dog Lv9 (x2) Attack Dog Lv8 Rifleman Lv7 Rifleman Lv9 Commander Lv8 (Drop: Amethyst Coating) Objective: Defeat enemies and destroy bridge! Loss: Entire party disabled Destructables: Damp Tree (Good Herb) Damp Tree (empty) Rotted Post (objective) My Levels: Kharg - 9 Paulette - 9 Maru - 9 Ganz - 9 Strategy: First, a note about the bridge. You MUST destroy the Rotted Post before you kill all the enemies. Otherwise, once the battle is over, you'll have to fight it all over again from the beginning. That being said, split your party in two. Move Ganz and Maru down to handle the Foot Soldiers and the Attack Dog, while Kharg and Paulette move up to take the two Attack Dogs and the Rifleman. Kharg and Paulette should have no trouble provided liberal use of Fang-Breaker Blade and Sling Knife, while Ganz is such an absolute powerhouse that he can take on two or three enemies by himself. Use Rolling Axe if Ganz is surrounded for pleasant results. Once the field is narrowed to just the Commander and the Rifleman, have Ganz make a beeline for the Rotted Post. Smash it, then kill the Commander to loot him. Knock off the Damp Trees before finishing up the last Rifleman. Of particular danger here is the ridiculous range the Riflemen have on their sniping attacks. They can only use it once, but the attack ranges about 3/4 this map. The attack dogs have high DEF, and the Foot Soldiers have high ATT, so plan accordingly. The Commander generally has high everything, but not so high that he's dangerous. Note that Foot Soldiers also have grenade attacks, but they use them so rarely you'll probably never see one. ================================================= After the fight, Ganz offers to take Lilia back to his shack for medical attention. Have Kharg talk to Maru and Paulette, then Ganz. Kharg will question him about his life, and you can ask for further elaboration if you wish. He's pretty obsessed with protecting the Isulo Forest. Anyway, heal up, fill your Spirit Stones, and leave. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Head for Yewbell again. You'll be waylaid by enemies at Scrappe Plateau, and must defend yourself. SCRAPPE PLATEAU, PART 3 -------- Lilia is reluctanct to bring peril to Kharg and company, but he won't hear of it. The group discusses Ganz and his ethics before getting jumped by some more Dilzweld. Oh boy. ============================================== KHARG BATTLE 8: More Frog-Men in Ugly Helmets. ============================================== Enemies: Commander Lv9 (Drop: Broken Sword) Foot Soldier Lv8 (x2) Rifleman Lv8 (x2) Attack Dog Lv8 (x2) Objective: Defeat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Metal Drum (Sleep Firecracker) Metal Drum (Super Bomb) My Levels: Kharg - 10 Paulette - 10 Maru - 9 Strategy: Generally, I offer the same warnings as before. Now, however, you should clump your group together to make killing the Dilzweld easier. At this point, they don't have any group attack Skills, so you can form a tight unit to make things simpler for you. There's nothing really different about this battle from the last one, so handle the enemies similarly. The Broken Sword the Commander drops is worth 1200g at a shop, so you might want to keep a Rifleman alive so you can collect it from him. ============================================== After the battle, Maru comments on how all the soldiers look exactly the same. Makes sense. Just then, soldiers start coming out of the woodwork, and surround you. A Female Commander (Tatjana) appears. Dilzweld doesn't seem to care about the rights of independent nations (sound familiar?), and appeals to Lilia's humanity to get her to surrender. She, of course, quickly renegs on the deal, and tries to execute Kharg & Co. As the soldiers cock their rifles, Kharg begins to glow blue, and a big freaking whirlwind erupts from him, blowing away everyone who doesn't have a name. Lilia rejoins the group as Tatjana flees. Paulette concludes that Kharg can use Spirit Magic. Maru concludes that he's a reincarnation of the Hero. Okay. You're free to control Kharg again. Before leaving, take a look at your characters' skills. Kharg can use Magic now, and everyone has probably gained a class level, so take a look at your new available skills. When ready, exit. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- You can now, finally, get to Yewbell. YEWBELL, PART 5 -------- Paulette seems upset. Go find Nafia, at Kharg's House. Kharg explains the story so far. Lilia claims Emperor Darkham Ekid na Bard of Dilzweld is out to conquer the world and needs a 'certain object' of hers in order to go about it. She still won't tell what it is, though. Nafia wants Kharg & Co. to accompany Lilia to The Republic of Cathena. He agrees, and they all go to bed. Nafia wakes Kharg in the night to tell him Lilia is gone. She sends him to look for her. Cruise around Yewbell if you want. You can talk to Paulette and a few other people. Lilia, however, is in The Castle Ruins. Go there. You'll run in on her playing her light-harp (an ortena) from the intro. Kharg and Lilia bond a little. She reveals that her mother is dead and she doesn't know where her father is. Afterward, she explains exactly what the 'certain object' is. It's the Light Stone, one of the Great Spirit Stones, like Kharg's Wind Stone. When he whips his stone out, the Light Spirit manifests. It wants all five stones to be brought together and saved from the darkness. Then, an infinite power will be born. Lilia reveals that Darkham already has the Earth Stone. For a quite stone recap, this means that the Water and Fire Stones have whereabouts unknown, Darc and Kharg each have half the Wind Stone, Lilia has the Light Stone, and Darkham has the Earth Stone. Kharg pledges himself to the defense of Lilia as Paulette spies on them. When you regain control, simply go back to Kharg's House and speak to Nafia. She gets filled in, but is still intentionally vague on the subject of Kharg's father. In the morning, go over and talk to Paulette and Maru. They take it upon themselves to fix the Big Owl. Head to the pub and speak to Zev. Ask him about the airship, then about the Control Parts. He suggests a salvage job over at Scrappe Plateau. Leave the pub. Take this chance to stroll around Yewbell. There's new dialogue. Buy whatever you want or need, and get out of town. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Scrappe Plateau, first and foremost. SCRAPPE PLATEAU, PART 4 -------- Head left and over to the airship. Examine it, and you'll see a part just out of reach. Go over to the control panel with the big red light on it and try the lever. Seems you need a battery. If you recall, there's one in Plumb Canyon, so let's go there. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Plumb Canyon, here we come. PLUMB CANYON, PART 3 -------- Go down the ramp and examine the big copper cyllinder embedded in the black rectangle stuck in the ground. Take the battery. Leave the area. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Head right back to where you came, Scrappe Plateau. SCRAPPE PLATEAU, PART 5 -------- Put the battery in the open battery case. The control panel will turn green. Examine it, and pull the lever. Examine the now-raised airship and take the Control Parts to end the latest fetch quest. Now all you need is someone who knows basic airship repair. That would be very useful. Leave the Plateau. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Mosey on over to Yewbell. YEWBELL, PART 6 -------- Go over to Kharg's House to walk in on another secret conversation. Nafia's worried about Kharg's magical talents. Collect Lilia and leave the house. Buy anything you need in Yewbell right now, because you won't be back for awhile. Once all your pressing business is over with, exit the area via the main archway. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Set course for Dragon Bone Valley, but be prepared to arrive at Isulo Forest. ISULO FOREST, PART 2 -------- Notice the lack of Ganz, and the recently repaired bridge. Cross it and leave. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Go directly to Dragon Bone Valley. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. DRAGON BONE VALLEY, PART 2 -------- Apparently, Kharg's going to attempt home airship repair. Brilliant. The team spots Ganz, and moseys over to talk to him. He wants to get to Aldrow himself, so he agrees to help with repairs in exchange for a one way ticket. You'll enter the Big Owl. BIG OWL -------- The open doorway on the Big Owl is the way out. The closed one in the back leads to free healing. The save point is in the corner. Use the latter two, and talk to Ganz. Tell him you're ready, and Lilia will spot Nafia coming up the path. Exit the Big Owl. There's a short and almost touching scene with Nafia. When it ends, you're back in the Big Owl. Talk to Ganz, and the control panel will light up. Go to examine it. Select Yes, then Move, and then Aldrow. You'll see the Big Owl taking off. When you control Kharg again, go and talk to Lilia. She'll talk about her personal history a bit, and Maru makes a snide comment, before the Dilzweld shoot down the Big Owl AGAIN. When you come to, Lilia is gone, but she's left a note saying she fled to avoid bringing Kharg & Co. any more danger. With that, heal, save and exit the Big Owl, in that order. ASHEEDA FOREST -------- No sooner do you get out of the ship than you are attacked by Orcon. ============================== KHARG BATTLE 9: Orcs & Humans ============================== Enemies: Orcon Lv13 (x2) Orcon Lv12 (x2) Objective: Defeat the Deimos! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None. My Levels: Kharg - 10 Paulette - 11 Maru - 10 Ganz - 9 Strategy: The Orcon can't do anything resembling interesting. The only stat they have a reasonable amount of is DEF. They're slow, weak, don't move far, and have no good magic. Take this opportunity to level Ganz up if he's way behind the rest of the party. If you don't want or need to do that, just bowl them over quickly. ============================== After the battle, head back into the airship to heal, and then go out and bear left and down. You'll hit a new screen. Walk a bit forward to meet some more Dilzweld. Apparently they haven't found Lilia, either. ============================================== KHARG BATTLE 10: From Greenskins to Greencoats ============================================== Enemies: Foot Soldier Lv10 (x4) Rifleman Lv10 (x2) Objective: Defeat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None. My Levels: Kharg - 10 Paulette - 11 Maru - 10 Ganz - 10 Strategy: Yay, more Dilzweld idiots. They're a bit stronger than before, but they don't act any different, and you're a bit stronger, too. By now, you should have a pretty solid idea of what to expect from these guys and what you have to do to beat them. Might help to divide your characters to deal with the spread-out enemies. Get to it. ============================================== Heal and recharge. Head back up to the Big Owl, then down from there and to the right. You should encounter more Dilzweld. If not, wander around a bit and get into a random battle before trying the bottom right exit from the Big Owl area. Once you do find the Dilzweld, you'll start... ================================================= KHARG BATTLE 11: From Greenskins to Greencoats II ================================================= Enemies: Commander Lv11 (Drop: Amethyst Coating) Foot Soldier Lv10 (x2) Rifleman Lv10 (x2) Objective: Defeat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None. My Levels: Kharg - 11 Paulette - 11 Maru - 11 Ganz - 10 Strategy: This is almost exactly the same as the last battle, only there are fewer Foot Soldiers in exchange for the Commander. Refer to the previous battle notes for this one. The Commander drops an Amethyst Coating, so don't kill him last if you want it. ================================================= After the battle, Tatjana shows up with six armed men. Thwarting your execution for the second time is a Strange Man (Samson), who comes out of nowhere with seven armed men. Tatjana takes a minute to do the math and runs away. Samson offers to send his henchmen (Boomer and Buster) off to look for Lilia while Kharg & Co. get some rest on his ship. When Kharg agrees, you're dumped to the world map. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- There's nothing at Crossell Springs. Unless you want to wander about the forest fighting some more, head to Wilbur Shore. WILBUR SHORE -------- Walk up towards the ship. Talk to the guy in front of the raised bridge and he'll demand a password. What you say is irrelevant, so once he drops the bridge, head on over. Admire the scenery and talk to the crew as you'd like. Samson is down the center stairway by the window. Save and talk to him. He knows a whole lot more than he's letting on, so Kharg's attempts to be evasive are futile. Kharg soon sets about trying to enlist Samson's help, but it's to no avail. Boomer comes in, and Samson tells you that Lilia's already at The Republic of Cathena, with Dilzweld in hot pursuit. You're done here, so leave the way you came. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Take a stroll down the yellow brick road towars The Republic of Cathena. Sometimes, it's totally obscured by a cloud so you can't see it, but it's there. THE REPUBLIC OF CATHENA -------- Ah, a new town. The shops are on Kharg's right as he walks into town. Take a bit to check out the new stuff. Charge up on your typical Herbs and Stones, and if you're looking for better equippables, Bone Armbands and Amethyst Coatings all around are a good idea. If you have a lot of gods to spend, get Maru a Napping Bell as well. Take the time to wander about and take in the local atmosphere. The building on the north side of town is World Alliance HQ. Down from there, along the water, is the bridge to the Arena. You probably won't be able to handle anything past the Road of Wisdom in there, but you're welcome to try. When you're ready to get on with it, head up to World Alliance HQ and talk to the guard. Kharg uses his mad skillz to gain entry to the not-as-secure-as-it-looks HQ, while Ganz takes off to look after the Big Owl. Inside, head up the elevator for some more local color. You can examine the telescopes for some sweeping views of the city. When you're ready, head in the big archway up the stairs from the elevators. You'll walk in on something resembling a disgrace to democracy. It appears Lilia really hasn't arrived yet. Samson hoodwinked you. Kharg won't be for for sitting around, and storms out of the council chamber. End Kharg, Chapter 2 Save your game at the prompt. ********************************************************** 3.4 - Darc, Chapter 2: Ambition Darc, newly enthroned King of the Orcon, is holding henchmen auditions at the Orcoth Arena. None of them impress Darc, who is not at all confident in his new underlings' loyalty. He can only trust Deimos strong enough to betray him. Much like Delma, who's now going berserk in the dungeon. ORCOTH, PART 5 -------- Take a look at the new shop inventory. They sell Weapon Parts and Acessories now, but it's all stuff a lot weaker than the things you've seen with Kharg. Don't waste your money, unless you need Herbs, but Darc probably has Cure by now. The Orcoth Arena is now open, so if you want to attempt it, talk to Zoram in the Arena. Talk around before heading down to the Dungeon. Delma's clamoring for Darc, so go talk to her. She still doesn't believe Darc's story, true as it may be, so head on out once she's done talking. Leave Orcoth. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Head for The Church Ruins. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 5 -------- Go over to the former Firble's nest. Seems one egg survived. Darc will set an annonymous Orcon to guard it for him, and then you're free to leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Take the last train to Orcoth. ORCOTH, PART 6 -------- Head over to the Arena. Zoram will meet you outside, saying a large Lupine has shown up in the Arena and defeated all comers. Darc jumps at the challenge. Buy Herbs if you want them, and enter the Arena. Walk over to the center of it to start a conversation. The familiar-looking Lupine tosses out the usual insults, and Darc tries to recruit him. The Lupine (Volk) is way too proud for that, so fighting must ensue. ================================= DARC BATTLE 7: Death to Teen Wolf ================================= Enemies: Volk Lv? (Steal: Balo Nut) Objective: Make Volk Surrender! Loss: Darc disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 9 Strategy: Charge straight toward him. He'll probably use his first turn to cast Heated Soul, so you'll get a free hit thereafter. The unpleasant effect of Heated Soul, however, is that it will make Volk much stronger. He'll probably do about 40 damage with a regular attack, so be sure to balance your healing with your attacks. He'll probably cast Water Crash a few times, which is a good thing, as that's a bunch weaker than his regular attack. Darc has a MUCH wider movement radius than Volk, so you can probably run endlessly from him if you need some time to heal up. That said, physically attacking Volk yourself probably isn't a great idea, so playing keep away and constantly casting Wind Slasher may be a good idea. You should be done with him quickly. TerranMarine99@aol.com tells me you're just as well off bumrushing Volk with Sword of Awakening, and Claws of Rage all in a row. It should work. Up to you, really. ================================= The defeated Volk tells Darc his story and why he wants revenge against all humanity. Darc easily convinces him to join up, and Volk pledges himself to serve Darc eternally. Leave the Arena. Talk to Zugalo in front of the dungeon. Delma wants to talk to you again. Head down. Talk to her, and Darc will send Volk away. In an almost-touching moment, Darc lets Delma out, and she joins up. Darc is convinced he needs even stronger allies, so the party decides they need a way to get off the continent. Save and equip your characters as you'd like before going towars the exit. Talk to the green skinned Orcon right in front of it and question him about the strange light he saw crash into Asheeda Forest. Volk will comment that it's probably one of the humans' great flying ships of doom, and must investigate. Leave Orcoth. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Asheeda Forest. You've been there before. ASHEEDA FOREST -------- No sooner have you arrived than you're thrust into battle with the Dilzweld. ======================================== DARC BATTLE 8: I'm Sensing a Theme Here ======================================== Enemies: Commander Lv10 (Drop: First-aid Kit) Foot Soldier Lv9 Rifleman Lv9 (x2) Objective: Beat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 10 Delma - 8 Volk - 10 Strategy: Same deal as with Kharg. This isn't even the largest grouping of Dilzweld you've fought. They just barely outnumber you. There's nothing new here. Commander drops a First-aid Kit. Get on it. ======================================== Darc has no time for talk. There are humans to find. Head over to the right and up. Move towards the Big Owl crash site. Once you reach the big Owl itself, there will be more Dilzweld. Darc discovers they're looking for a Lilia before they attack. =========================================== DARC BATTLE 9: I'm Sensing a Theme Here II =========================================== Enemies: Commander Lv10 (Drop: Stone Coating) Foot Soldier Lv9 Rifleman Lv8 (x2) Objective: Beat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 11 Delma - 9 Volk - 11 Strategy: This is almost the exact same battle as before. In fact, it's easier, as the enemies are weaker and clumped for you. If Darc has Tornado, you can probably kill three of them before they can move. =========================================== Darc figures it'd be a good idea to find the Lilia before the humans do. Bear down and to the right to run into another group of Dilzweld, this one led by Tatjana. Darc discovers the true nature of Lilia before they attack. ========================================= DARC BATTLE 10: It's Not Easy Being Green ========================================= Enemies: Tatjana Lv? (Drop: Gorgeous Ring; Steal: High Heels) Commander Lv9 (Drop: 376g) Foot Soldier Lv9 Foot Soldier Lv8 Rifleman Lv8 (x2) Objective: Beat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 11 Delma - 9 Volk - 11 Strategy: There's really nothing you can do to prevent this battle from turning into an all-out brawl. Go straight in, avoid clumping up, and smack as many enemies as possible with every attack. Tatjana's really not that much more powerful than a Commander, but her Special Attack is a bit better, and she can sleep you. Use any group attack magic you have to your advantage. This battle's really just a bigger version of the last two, nothing too exciting. Note that you CAN'T get both Tatjana's drop item and her steal item. The High Heels increase the attack range of Darc's secret character, while the Gorgeous Ring gives double gold drops in exchange for a speed penalty, and has a 12000g selling price. Up to you which you want. ========================================= Tatjana uses Mirage Field to escape, but Volk can still smell her and gives chase. Darc and Delma see Lilia in the bushes, and follow her to Crossell Springs. CROSSELL SPRINGS -------- Walk towards the water to start a scene. Darc stumbles upon Lilia, but before anything happens Delma comes up behind him and stabs him in the back. She's waited three long days to have her revenge, and leaves Darc to die. Lilia will have none of that. She cleans and bandages Darc's wounds, saving his life. Darc can't believe it, and demands to know why the Dilzweld are looking for her. The Light Spirit appears and gives a speech you've heard already. Darc deduces everything way too easily and takes Lilia with him. They exit. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Go back to Asheeda Forest. ASHEEDA FOREST, PART 2 -------- You'll hang around just long enough to meet up with Volk before you get dumped to the map again. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Back to Orcoth! ORCOTH, PART 7 -------- You'll show up just in time to find Delma bragging about murdering Darc. Move Darc down there. Delma will get scared half to death, and Darc will take her to the Arena. After an odd conversation, Darc makes Delma promise to kill him one day, and she joins up again. After an expected scene with Lilia, she gets tossed into the dungeon. Go down there. Delma and Volk will leave you outside. Lilia shares what she knows about the Great Spirit Stones and about Kharg. Darc leaves her locked up and leaves. For their quest for the other three stones, Darc & Co. need a method of intercontinental travel. Talk around town, they've all got new dialogue. Leave Orcoth. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- The Church Ruins, double time. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 6 -------- Head over to the monster nest. A Firble hatched from the egg. The plan is to raise it into a Pyron, and only Gorma knows how to do that. Leave the area. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- We're going back to Orcoth. ORCOTH, PART 8 -------- Go to Gorma's train car and tell him about the Firble. He'll give a basic crash course in how to raise a Firble into a Pyron. He says you need three kinds of feed, a Rebound Fruit, Phoenix Blood and a Fire Fragment. Ask him about all three, exit the conversation, check out the changed dialogue around town, and leave Orcoth. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- First, Geedo's House. GEEDO'S HOUSE, PART 4 -------- You can open the chest now. Inside is the Phoenix Blood (which you need) and Ancient Tablet #1. Kirjath the Fallen immediately shows up and begins a short (read: long) fetch quest: Find all the Ancient Tablets! Yay! You're done here. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Second, Tindalos Woods. TINDALOS WOODS -------- Just keep fighting random battles here against Crimson Rhokes. Eventually, after one battle, you'll get a little popup that says you now have a Rebound Fruit. It might take awhile. It only seems to happen with one specific type of random battle, too. You're done when you have it. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Third, The Church Ruins. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 7 -------- Go over and feed the Rebound Fruit and the Phoenix Blood to the Firble. Leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Go to Orcoth. ORCOTH, PART 9 -------- Go to Gorma's house. He isn't home. Wonderful. Ask the girl outside where he's gone. She doesn't know. Double wonderful. Head into the dungeon. Lilia's serenading about half of Orcoth. Darc puts a stop to it. Gorma says he left the Fire Fragment at the store. Talk to Lilia before you leave. Head up to the shop. Gorma did indeed leave the Fire Fragment there, but the Qurop is charging 500g for it. Fork it over, 'cause you can't really go anywhere if you don't. Leave Orcoth after doing any shopping you need. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- The Church Ruins, of course. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 8 -------- When you feed the Firble the Fire Fragment, it promptly passes out. Darc endeavors to go lay the smack down on Gorma. Exit. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Back to Orcoth. Again. ORCOTH, PART 10 -------- You arrive to find Lilia's ortena on the ground and Orcon corpses littering the streets. Head into the dungeon. You find Lilia gone, and Zugalo in her place. Zugalo quickly expires. Head upstairs. Go into the Arena. It seems the Dilzweld raided Orcoth, stole Lilia, and fled to the Varam Barrens. It's up to Darc to give chase. Walk around, take in the new dialogue, heal, stock up, and leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Varam Barrens, here we come. THE VARAM BARRENS, PART 2 -------- You'll walk in on the humans just after they've loaded Lilia onto their ship and left some contraption to deal with you. Battle is quickly joined. =============================== DARC BATTLE 11: A Head in a Jar =============================== Enemies: Argewalt Lv? (Steal: Life Tree Berry) Mandrake Lv12 (Summons) Witch Plant Lv13 (Summons) Objective: Destroy the Argewalt! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Dry Tree (empty) Dry Tree (empty) Dry Tree (empty) Steel Box (225g, 18 Spirit Stones) Steel Box (200g, Bone Armband) Steel Box (12 Spirit Stones, First-aid Kit) Steel Box (250g, Memory Cologne) Steel Box (12 Spirit Stones, Memory Cologne) Steel Box (200g, 15 Spirit Stones, Catfish Whiskers) Metal Drum (empty) My Levels: Darc - 13 Delma - 11 Volk - 12 Strategy: Start by cutting a blazing swath through the destructable stuff in front of you to clear the field. The Argewalt will use its turns when you're not nearby to summon Witch Plants and Mandrakes. They shouldn't be too much of a challenge for you, and they clump, so knock them off as they approach while you move closer to the Argewalt. You might want to have Delma cast Speed Up on the party to prevent the deluge of monsters from becoming something you can't handle. As you move closer to the Argewalt, she'll forego more summoning in favor of directly attacking you with an area-around-it effect confusion spell, and an area-damage spell. Once you get near enough to her, send Darc and Volk on opposite sides of her and start whacking away with your strongest stuff. Keep Delma back to heal Confusion if necessary and to take out the monsters the Argewalt still manages to summon. If they become too much for her, break Darc and Volk off to clear the field a little. Once everything's at a level you can handle again, move them back and repeat as before. The Argewalt doesn't have that much HP, so as long as you keep healed and hit it with a steady stream of damage, you'll be fine. Sword of Awakening does a whole lot of damage to the Argewalt, and you should have it by now. =============================== You defeat the Argewalt, but are too slow to stop the airship. Camellia, the Pianta sage, will pop out of the Argewalt and walk over to the party. They're understandibly suspicious, but Cameilla explains her story. She was captured and enslaved by the Dilzweld (specifically, by Tatjana), and tortured for information about the Miracle Stone. She says it's in The Throne Room of the Coleopt Shrine on Adenade. Sounds like a destination. Camellia kinda blackmails you into coming along. By now, everyone's gained another class level, so make sure you learn the new skills you want. Camellia comes with the very useful Healing Rain spell. You're done here, so leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- You've got a ticket to ride...to Orcoth. ORCOTH, PART 11 -------- Find Gorma. Talk. Darc yells at him before Gorma shares that the Firble was supposed to pass out. Thanks for telling us this now, old man. You're done in Orcoth for a long while at this point, so do anything here you want to do, 'cause the plot ain't bringing you back. When you're ready, leave. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- The Church Ruins is your goal. THE CHURCH RUINS, PART 7 -------- Apparently, the Firble is now a Pyron. Head up and to the right to find it. Is that thing weird looking or what? Darc tells it where he needs to go. It flies up into the air, quadruples in size, and comes back down. PYRON, ADENADE -------- Apparently, Pyrons can't stay far from wetlands. Convienient. Darc now has the ability to call down the Pyron in battle. It can only do so a few times before its energy depletes. You can recharge it via the Recover command in the new Pyron section of the menu. The Pyron learns new skills as you feed it food depending on the color of its body, which also changes depending on what food you give it. All in all, it's less complicated than it sounds, but is more annoyance than I care to deal with. Talk to NPCs for better info. Just like with the Big Owl, you can switch continents, heal and save by talking to the Pyron. When you're through taking it all in, leave. WORLD MAP, ADENADE -------- I recommend going to Rueloon first. However, you can go straight to the Coleopt Shrine if you wish. If so, skip the next section. RUELOON -------- This is where you want to blow your money. The little open-air stands to the left are the merchants. Buy up the stuff you need first, and then move on to what you want. If you've got the money, I'd suggest Thorns of Revenge for Volk, Darc and Delma, an Aiming Device for Camellia, Bone Armbands and Amethyst Coatings all around, a Heavy Blade for Darc, a Steel Spike for Delma, and an Armored Swallowtail for Camellia. I doubt you've got enough for that, so pick and choose what you want. In the tend immediately right of the entrance is a snake charmer that seems to serve no use whatsoever. Just past the shops and to the left of the stairs is a little alley. The brown stone in the grass is, in reality, Ancient Tablet #5. Take it, and continue all the way down the path. You'll find a Coleopt Woman who'll sell you Coleopt Froth if you inquire. Buy a few, they may be helpful. Up the stairs and straight ahead is the Rueloon Arena. It's pretty difficult, as Spirit Stone using abilites are banned. Try it, if you want. To the left of there is the pub, where the healer and the save point are. You can examine the statues for a little background. Explore the town a bit more at your leisure and talk to everyone. Leave town when you're ready. WORLD MAP, ADENADE -------- All roads lead to The Coleopt Shrine. Really, they do. THE COLEOPT SHRINE -------- If you were expecting immediate combat, you're out of luck. This is an actual town. Can't buy anything or heal, though. Just wander about to learn and laugh a bit before heading across the bridge. You'll be given an ultimatum. Since you can't exactly continue the game if you don't head on through, ignore it and go. ====================================== DARC BATTLE 12: The Obligatory Bug-Men ====================================== Enemies: Coleopt Lv13 (x2) Coleopt Lv12 (x4) Objective: Beat the Coleopt Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 14 Delma - 12 Volk - 13 Camellia - 14 Strategy: These guys are just like any other, except for one thing that Camellia will quickly warn you about. If you get ability drained from their special attack, only a Coleopt Froth can fix it. If you didn't get any in Rueloon, the Coleopt here will drop some when you kill them. Other than that, just treat these guys like any other monster. They're rather strong, but you're much stronger. Use Spirit Stones as necessary. Again, watch out for the ability drain, as the battle is much harder if everyone gets hit with it. ====================================== Head back into town. The dialogue has changed, and the woman who was selling Coleopt Froth in Rueloon has returned, with a larger shop inventory. No Herbs, though. Head back across the bridge and enter the shrine. A tentacle will come blasting out of the wall and warn you to leave. Not at all weird. It leaves as another explosion is heard -- apparently the Dilzweld have invaded as well. ====================================================== DARC BATTLE 13: Fancy Meeting You in a Place Like This ====================================================== Enemies: Commander Lv13 (Drop: Broken Sword) Rifleman Lv12 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv12 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv13 (x3) Objective: Beat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 14 Delma - 13 Volk - 13 Camellia - 14 Strategy: The only thing new about these guys is their strange formation. You should have a pretty good idea of what you're up against, so I'll just leave you to it. ====================================================== The Dilzweld Commander flees inside, so follow him. Camellia suddenly comes down with a terrible ulcer and can't follow, so go on without her. As you approach the Dilzweld, they brilliantly trigger a trap that strands you on a little isle. Camellia knew all this previously, however, and used it to her advantage, betraying Darc. Apparently, an ancient monster is sealed in the raised chest. Okay. It soon opens to reveal an oddly-dressed girl (Bebedora) who quickly possesses the Dilzweld officers and forces them to do her bidding. That is, of course, to kill Darc & Co. ============================ DARC BATTLE 14: I'm Bebedora ============================ Enemies: Commander Lv14 (Drop: Super Bomb, 273g) Rifleman Lv13 Objective: Beat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 15 Delma - 13 Volk - 13 Strategy: Oh, please. This is probably the easiest battle in the game. You ought to know what to do by now. Do it. ============================ No rest for the weary. Bebedora springs monsters on you. =============================== DARC BATTLE 15: I'm Bebedora II =============================== Enemies: Skull Warrior Lv17 (x2) (Drop/Steal: Jade Beads, Amethyst Coating) Objective: Defeat all enemies! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 15 Delma - 13 Volk - 14 Strategy: Bit tougher than the last one. These guys are no pushovers, but they start separated, have no special attacks, and you outnumber them. Pick one, surround it, beat on it, then move to the next. They're physical powerhouses, so prepare to heal. You should be done quickly. =============================== Fearing mind control, Darc doesn't want to get too close. He talks to Bebedora. Intrigued by his soul, she tells him how to escape. Go and press the lever atop the water-logged stairs when you have control of Darc. Bebedora decides to join up, bringing your party back to an even four. Head down the stairs by the switch. Open the chest. Head back up. Walk past Bebedora's chest, and move toward the stairwell to the right of it. Head down that flight and up the flight next to it. Walk down, away from the door, until you reach the place where you originally entered the room. Head left and go down those stairs. Open the chest. Head back up the stairs and go down the stairs opposite. Pick up the Ancient Tablet at the foot of the stairs. Head up the path. Open the chest. Distribute the Water Balms in that chest. You'll use them soon. Head up the stairs. Save, heal, and enter the door. You'll see Camellia being beaten on by tentacles. She suddenly has a change of heart, and appeals to Darc for help. Just then, the party realizes that they're in the egg chamber where all the Coleopt hatch. Oops. Battle is joined. =============================================== DARC BATTLE 16: Queen of the Obligatory Bug-Men =============================================== Enemies: Selkis Lv? (Steal: Nothing) Coleopt Lv15 (x4) Tentacle Lv1 (x4) Coleopt Lv13 (Summons) Coleopt Larva Lv1 (Summons) Objective: Defeat Queen Selkis! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 15 Delma - 14 Volk - 14 Camellia - 14 Bebedora - 16 Strategy: Start off by using the Water Balms you picked up earlier on the people you plan on moving close to Selkis. Once you're done with that, surround and begin to beat on the nearest tentacle. The tentacles will either sit still, attack or summon a monster. However, they've got horrid defense, so you should be able to take them on 5v1 one at a time. As they begin to summon regular Coleopt, take advantage of Bebedora and her new Mind Control ability to steal a few. That way, you can take advantage of the Coleopt Liquid Sphere for your own uses. If one of Bebedora's stolen enemies dies, just take another one. Bebedora's Black Out spell is also immensely powerful at this point, and can do around 90 damage to a tentacle. Take advanatge of these abilities now and in the future. Note that you can't mind control big enemies, which generally means stuff like the tentacles and Selkis here. When all four tentacles are done for, as well as the various summonables assocatied with them, charge toward Selkis. Don't go up the stairs for fear of her attacks. Instead, sit at the foot of the stairs and kill her Coleopt bodyguards just as you need the ones from the tentacles. Once they're dead, all that's left is Selkis. Make sure everyone you're moving toward her either has a Water Balm or Delma's Element Guard on them. She has two attacks; Blizzard and Sleepy Wind. Spread everyone out along her and let go with your strongest attacks. As earlier boss characters, she doesn't have the greatest HP total, so she'll die pretty quickly. Believe it or not, she'll also eventually run out of Spirit Stones and be unable to do anything. As for stealing from Selkis, I took a 74 MNT Darc into this battle and sat there, trying to steal from her. After about 30 tries, I gave up. If you know what she has, email me and I'll put it in. =============================================== Volk and Delma are set on vengeance, but Darc's more concerned with the Miracle (read: Water) Stone. The Water Spirit (of course) appears to Darc. It gives him warnings he's already heard and disregarded. With a grim acclamation, the Chapter ends. End Darc, Chapter 2 Save your game at the prompt. ********************************************************** 3.5 - Kharg, Chapter 3: Conflict Apparently, Kharg and the gang have been wasting time while Darc was off galavanting around the world. They looked for Lilia and......didn't find her. (Well, duh.) After a bit more bureaucracy, you'll gain control of Kharg. THE REPUBLIC OF CATHENA, PART 2 -------- Talk to the councilmen if you wish, then enter the door the Milmarnan Delegate (Savina) did. She fears for her country and, after Kharg's through explaining things, she figures her fears are justified. Savina shares an old legend from Epistia, a continent recently invaded by Dilzweld, about a Flame Egg hidden in the heart of a volcano. A soldier comes in with a report that the Dilzweld airship (the Megist) has just taken off from the Varam Barrens. This should give you an idea of what Darc's up to. The soldier also shares the fact that a girl fitting Lilia's description was taken onto the Megist. Kharg assumes they were headed to Epistia. Leave the room. Enter the chamber to the right of the main council chamber. (You just came out the one to the left.) Opposite the door, on the table, is a small green book. It's the Spirit Dictionary Volume 2, so take it. Leave the room, and head out of the building. The council tries to detain you, but pay no attention. Savina shows up and gives you the name of a contact in Epistia: Spencer. Leave the building. Talk to Ganz by the railing, and head into the arena. Talk to the two generic-looking guys off to the left. Ganz will be informed of the death of his friend, Rapier. (If you have total memory loss, it was Darc and Delma that killed him.) Ganz declares vendetta on Orcon in general, but joins Kharg rather than commit complete hari kari. Leave the arena. Walk around and talk, since the dialogue's changed. The shop inventory hasn't, though. Pick up what you need and head out. WORLD MAP, ALDROW -------- Ganz moved the Big Owl right next to Cathena for you. Head over there. Heal, save, and head over to Epistia. When you arrive, leave the big owl. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- You'll want to go to the Kassim Highway. KASSIM HIGHWAY -------- This is a Dilzweld checkpoint. Not good for you, but Kharg is a master of deception, after all. You should be fine, provided your supply of fake moustaches holds out. Talk to the troops as you make your way up the highway. You'll encounter a guy blocking the road. Talk to him, and he'll rattle off with a few questions. How you answer the first three is genuinely irrelevant. However, you must answer the fourth one correctly to avoid a battle. The correct response is the third one, Darkham Ekid na Bard. (The first, Darkham Entry Forbidden, however, is hilarious). I'll presume you avoided the fight here. Even if you don't, it's just against generic Dilzweld morons, so don't fret. You'll get dumped to the map afterward either way. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Go to Sulfas. SULFAS -------- You'll show up in time to watch a column of Dilzweld march out of town. You need to find Spencer, and are given control of the party. Enter the building with a flashing red sign and light pouring out of it. You'll see a Dilzweld officer yelling at the shopkeeper. You can't do anything, so leave. The Save Point is in the building on the other side of the large gate, for reference. Talk to the various citizens and occupation forces of Sulfas as you make your way to the upper left corner of the area. Enter the building there. Talk to the bespectacled man behind the counter. Kharg will question him about Spencer, in a very tactless manner. Talk to the guy reading the sign if you want, and leave the pub. Amble your way back over to the first building you entered. The soldier is still yelling at the shopkeeper. To save her from interrogation, Kharg employs his mad deception skillz. Thankful, the shopkeeper (Leonora) tells Kharg how to find her husband, who can help him find Spencer. She also gives him a password that you don't have to remember, 'The Dolban delight in dealing.' Leave the shop. Head down the short flight of stairs opposite the shop Talk to the man standing next to the barrel in the corner. Ask if he's Jaqual, and Kharg will give him the password. You can either buy something or ask about the resistance. He sells the generic Items and Spirit Stones, which have been given a price hike from here on out. If you don't want to shop or after you're done shopping, ask about the Resistance. He'll clue you in to a secret casino under the bar. Head back to the bar. Talk to the bartender again, and he'll throw an insanely easy riddle about dice at you. The man reading the poster conspicuously departs, leaving you an additional clue. Since the back and front of a die always adds up to seven, go over to the poster, and read the seventh rule. If you want, read the others for kicks. Press the button by the seventh rule. Head down the newly created stairs. You'll run into Spencer and, oddly, Zev. Run over and talk to Zev. He'll say he was looking for the Flame Egg, which prompts Kharg to explain the situation to Spencer. Since they can't launch an effective attack on The Mountain Stronghold without first liberating Sulfas, Spencer tasks Kharg & Co. with just that. In order to do that, the Main Plant must be reclaimed, and in order to do that, the Parenz Ruins and Viorav mine must be cleaned out. Sounds like Kharg's got a lot ahead of him. The guy behind the counter in this room will sell you some very good but very pricey Weapon Parts and Accessories. I reccommend Traitor's Souls, if you can afford them. Head out of the bar, and then out of Sulfas. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Head to Kassim Highway. KASSIM HIGHWAY -------- They dissed the threads, man. They gotta die. ====================================== KHARG BATTLE 12: Them's Fightin' Words ====================================== Enemies: Commander Lv12 (Drop: Rescue Kit) Foot Soldier Lv10 (x5) Foot Soldier Lv11 (x2) Rifleman Lv12 (x4) Objective: Defeat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Gunpowder Can (empty) Metal Drum (Confusion Firecracker) Metal Drum (empty) Steel Box (Reiki Leaf, 12 Spirit Stones) Steel Box (Guard Support, 12 Spirit Stones) My Levels: Kharg - 11 Paulette - 12 Maru - 11 Ganz - 11 Strategy: Man, there are a lot of these guys, but they are just ever so clumped. Maru should start. Have him run in and lay down a venom arrow. You should be able to hit six targets with it. After that, lay into them with the Special Moves. Get as many of them in each radius as possible. You should be able to knock off half of them within two turns all around. Don't be too zealous, however, if you want to break open all the destructable terrain objects. These guys are weaker than your average Dilzweld, and are easily breakable. ============================== When you're ready, leave the highway. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Head to The Parenz Ruins first. THE PARENZ RUINS -------- =========================================================== KHARG BATTLE 13: Generic Drawn-Out RPG Plot Quest Battle I =========================================================== Enemies: Commander Lv12 (No Drop) Shotgun Trap Lv9 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv12 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv10 (x2) Rifleman Lv11 (x2) Objective: Get the Parenz Ruins Back! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Scrap Mtn. (8 Spirit Stones) Scrap Mtn. (100g) Scrap Mtn. (80g, 11 Spirit Stones) Metal Drum (empty, explodes) Metal Drum (empty, explodes) My Levels: Kharg - 12 Paulette - 13 Maru - 12 Ganz - 12 Strategy: The only thing new here is the Shotgun Traps. They're much the same as Foot Soldiers, only they're slower, have no grenades, can't move as far, and are robots. Other than that, this is exactly the same as all the previous Dilzweld battles. Handle it in the same way as those, and don't forget to leave someone alive so you can get the Commander's drop and smash open all the barricades. =========================================================== Take a minute to check out everyone's skills, since they've all probably hit a class up recently. Feel free to wander around and look at the various broken televisions and refridgerators. You'll probably see something familiar. Before you go, look a little left of the broken television. You should see a big mass of rusted metal obscuring your view of a place you can walk within. Walk around over there pressing X until you enter conversation with Ziekbeck, a replica of Diekbeck, who you may or may not be familiar with. Don't believe him. You'll get a Shadow Talisman for your trouble, before breaking down. It's pretty well useless now, but it comes in handy later. Leave the ruins. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Next stop, Viorav Mine. THE VIORAV MINE -------- Be sure to heal before starting the battle. =========================================================== KHARG BATTLE 14: Generic Drawn-Out RPG Plot Quest Battle II =========================================================== Enemies: Gun Trap Lv13 Gun Trap Lv12 (x3) Gunner Lv12 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv12 (x2) Objective: Get the Viorav Mine Back! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Metal Drum (empty, explodes) Metal Drum (empty, explodes) Metal Drum (empty) Metal Drum (empty) My Levels: Kharg - 13 Paulette - 13 Maru - 12 Ganz - 12 Strategy: What you'll probably notice is that Gunners and Gun Traps have very little HP, like the Shotgun Traps. In fact, Gun Traps are almost exactly the same as Shotgun Traps, and should be handled accordingly. Gunners are basically faster versions thereof, plus they have a little long range snipe attack a la the Riflemen. All in all, an easy battle. Just move from enemy to enemy and smush them. =========================================================== No secrets here, I'm afraid. Head out. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Sulfas, STAT. SULFAS, PART 2 -------- The dialogue's changed, so talk around if you want. The doors to the Main Plant are wide open, so go in there when you're ready. Battle will soon follow. ============================================================= KHARG BATTLE 15: Generic Drawn-Out RPG Plot Quest Battle III ============================================================= Enemies: Commander Lv15 (Drop: Broken Sword) Rifleman Lv14 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv14 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv13 Foot Soldier Lv12 Gun Trap Lv12 Objective: Get the Main Plant back! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Steel Box (16 Spirit Stones, Rescue Kit) Steel Box (225g, 13 Spirit Stones) Metal Drum (empty) Metal Drum (empty, explodes) Metal Drum (empty) My Levels: Kharg - 13 Paulette - 14 Maru - 12 Ganz - 13 Strategy: Say it with me now. More of the same. Dilzweld must be cloning these guys. Anyway, start with the four enemies in front of you, then move to the four behind them. Use the same methods you've always been using. You can handle these guys by now. Go get it done, I'll be here when you get back. ============================================================= You've freed Sulfas. Yay. Time to go back to Spencer for more plot, but first there's something to do in the Plant. Head through the door to your left. Head up, toward the sparking panel on the wall. Examine and touch it three times. Nothing comes of it, but see how quickly Kharg backs down from Paulette. :) Anyway, head back towards the main causeway. Walk along it toward the left until you hit a wall. Turn Kharg to the left and continue walking. At the end of this path, you'll see a book on the floor in front of some barrels. Take it. It's the Spirit Dictionary Volume 3. Now you can leave the plant. The tool shop in the building with the save point is open for business now. It only has one new thing on sale, Sapphire Coatings. The same is true over at Leonora's Shop, the new thing there being Great Herbs. Buy as many of each as you want before heading down to the casino beneath the bar. Talk to Spencer. It's time to attack the Mountain Stronghold and its three giant cannons, but the resistance members think only they should be allowed to do so. Weird. They leave to go charge into the jaws of death, and Kharg gets charged with saving them. You're done here, so head out of the bar and out of the city. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Head for The Mountain Stronghold THE MOUNTAIN STRONGHOLD -------- You arrive in time to see the Resistance Members being blasted to bits by the two giant cannons. (Spencer's intel sucks.) Looks like it's time for some heroism. ====================================== KHARG BATTLE 16: Kharg to the Rescue! ====================================== Enemies: Fortress Lv? (x2) Gun Trap Lv15 (x2) Gun Trap Lv11 Gun Trap Lv10 (x3) Foot Soldier Lv14 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv12 Foot Soldier Lv11 Foot Soldier Lv10 Rifleman Lv14 (x2) Objective: Rescue the Resistance! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Resistance (objective) Resistance (objective) Resistance (objective) My Levels: Kharg - 13 Paulette - 14 Maru - 13 Ganz - 14 Strategy: The corpses, sandbags and giant freaking holes in the ground from before the battle are all gone, interestingly enough. Welcome to the first battle with an objective that doesn't involve killing anything. No, to win this one you need to walk up to and examine all 3 kneeling Resistance Members on the map. Take a minute to find them all. One's way in the back, up the ramp and next to a Fortress. You can't kill the Fortresses. Don't even try. They, however, can blow you up nice and quickly, so you'll have to be very careful about staying out of their range. As the battle starts, stay down the stairs while taking out the enemies there. The Fortresses can't reach you, and they're pretty weak down there, so you'll have an easy time of it. Don't move off of the dirt until you've killed everything down there with you. During this process, try to conserve Kharg's Spirit Stones. If at any point you accidently step into Fortress range, move away. You'll see why. The Dilzweld at the top of the stairs will probably become attracted at some point. Let them come to you, despite the fact that they'll be sniping you and such as they come. It's important to stay out of cannon range. Once they've come down to the dirt, finish them off in the usual manner. You should now be left with just the two farthest Gun Traps and the Fortresses. Once that happens, move everyone up the stairs. Don't go up the ramp, as it's too far around to be of any use. Avoid clumping as much as possible. Your character with the best MOV (Kharg) should make a beeline for the farthest Resistance member as your other three characters absorb Fortress shots, rescue the other two Resistance, and take care of the remaining Gun Traps. Kharg should cast Cure on himself as he runs so he doesn't die in a hail of Fortress fire. Keeping to this strategy, you should get all three Resistance Members without losing anyone. Remember, to rescue the Resistance members, just move up to them and examine them. That is, act as though you're trying to talk to them. Hit Yes at the prompt. This does expend the character's turn. ====================================== You're immediately dumped to the map. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Head back to Sulfas. SULFAS, PART 3 -------- Back into the secret casino with you. The Resistance Members are now much less snooty and much more thankful. Still, the cannons are a problem. Maru suggests an aerial bombardment, but the Big Owl isn't equipped for that. Luckily, the Dilzweld left a large beam cannon behind. Yay. Ganz takes off to bring the Big Owl to the Main Plant, and you're left to mosey over there. Go back into the room where the Spirit Dictionary was. Head down the main causeway to find Spencer, who must have known a shortcut. The Big Owl lands promptly. The beam cannon looks like it can be attached, but you need a Tele-Op to use it. You don't have one, so you need to build it, out of an Antenna, a Magnetron, and an Integrated Circuit. You also need energy for the beam gun to the tune of 200 Spirit Stones. This calls for a fetch quest! Leave the Plant, and leave Sulfas. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- As before, The Parenz Ruins first. THE PARENZ RUINS, PART 2 -------- Walk clockwise around the ruins. Stop first at the microwave. Examine it, take the Magnetron. Stop second at the radio. Examine to snap off the antenna. Stop third at the computer. Remove the integrated circuit. That's all you came for. Go to the exit to be ambushed by British ninjas. Apparently, you've trespassed on Shinobi Gang turf, and it's time to throw down. =================================================================== KHARG BATTLE 17: Are You a Bad Enough Dude to Rescue the President? =================================================================== Enemies: Supreme Ninja Lv14 (Drop: Stone Crusher) Ninja Lv13 (x2) Objective: Defeat all enemies! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Metal Drum (empty, explodes) Scrap Mtn. (Super Bomb) Scrap Mtn. (120g, Fire Balm) Scrap Mtn. (100g) My Levels: Kharg - 14 Paulette - 15 Maru - 13 Ganz - 14 Strategy: Bet you were waiting for the ninja to start showing up. Now that they're here, they're pretty much pushovers. It's 4v3, after all. They've got speed on their side, but not power. They're limited to normal attacks and a single Special Move. Nothing fancy, though they do have high AVO. Take them out. =================================================================== Ninja Vanish! Okay, you're done, leave. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Now for the Viorav Mine THE VIORAV MINE, PART 2 -------- Go to the descending platform oppostie the entrance. Once you're off of it, it's clobberin' time! ================================ KHARG BATTLE 18: Pretty Sparkles ================================ Enemies: Stun Smog Lv14 (x2) Stun Smog Lv13 (x4) Objective: Defeat all enemies! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None. My Levels: Kharg - 14 Paulette - 15 Maru - 14 Ganz - 14 Strategy: The only thing I have to say about these guys is to watch out for Paralysis. They tend to be liberal with it. Other than that, they have pretty uniformly low stats, so just beat the hell out of them and heal anyone who gets hit with Paralysis. ================================ Head up the stairs after the battle ends, and then up the left-hand ramp. Push the detonator you'll find there, and it'll start raining Spirit Stones. And they say mining is difficult. All you have to do is cause as many cave-ins as possible. Sheesh. You'll come up with 242 Spirit Stones for your trouble. Leave the mine the way you came. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- Walk, don't run, back to Sulfas. SULFAS, PART 4 -------- Back into the beam cannon room with you. Talk to Spencer, and you'll then have a beam-cannon equipped airship complete with remote control. The Big Owl will take off, and you'll be left with a singular destination. You won't be back to Sulfas for awhile, so do all the talking and buying of items you need for the time being before setting off. I recommend Aquamarines for everybody. WORLD MAP, EPISTIA -------- We're going to The Mountain Stronghold, one last time. (Perhaps.) THE MOUNTAIN STRONGHOLD, PART II -------- ======================================== KHARG BATTLE 19: Deja Vu All Over Again ======================================== Enemies: Fortress Lv? (x2) Gun Trap Lv13 (x3) Gun Trap Lv12 (x5) Foot Soldier Lv13 Foot Soldier Lv12 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv11 (x2) Rifleman Lv10 (x2) Objective: Destroy cannons. Defeat stronghold! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Gunpowder Can (empty) Steel Box (200g, Life Belt) My Levels: Kharg - 14 Paulette - 16 Maru - 14 Ganz - 15 Strategy: This battle is almost identical to the last Mountain Stronghold battle. There are only three differences; there are a few more enemies, they're all a bit weaker, and you can now destroy the Fortresses. You'll notice that Kharg now has a Big Owl Summon command located in his Special Moves menu like Darc's Summon Pyron command. The Summon Airship can hit anything on the map, so have Kharg use it on the Fortresses in his first two turns. They'll be gone after one hit each, and you'll be free to roll over the various generic Dilzweld and friends you've grown accustomed to killing by now. Don't waste the Big Owl's energy until you've blown up both Fortresses. Feel free to do so afterward, though. It's got a massive radius. ======================================== You'll now have an Airship submenu, located exactly where the Pyron submenu was. Use it to recharge the Airship and to affix new Airship Parts to it, in order to make the beam different and/or stronger. Check out any new skills you may have just gained before heading up the ramp walk up the stairs by where the cannon used to be. Enter the door at the top of the next flight. Walk straight ahead and you'll be ambushed. ========================================================= KHARG BATTLE 20: And Now For Something Completely Similar ========================================================= Enemies: Commander Lv15 (Drop: Sapphire Coating) Rifleman Lv13 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv13 (x4) Foot Soldier Lv12 (x3) Objective: Defeat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Metal Drum (empty) Wooden Box (90g, Fireproof Gloves) My Levels: Kharg - 15 Paulette - 16 Maru - 14 Ganz - 15 Strategy: Well, damn. You're surrounded. The good news is, these are the same guys who you've been mercilessly slaughtering for most of the game now. The best way to break the encirclement is to kill the four Foot Soldiers behind you quickly in order to allow yourself to present a unified front against the other six. All the old Dilzweld rules apply. The Fireproof Gloves in the Wooden Box are a pretty good Accessory for Paulette, so you might want to take the time to get them. ========================================================= The Commander passes out before warning you of the Deimos in the volcano. Zev shows up to tell you the volcano is about to erupt. Lovely. Kharg needs to get a move on. Head up the ramp and into the elevator. You'll be interrupted by a short scene involving Darkham and Lilia. Darkham seems to have full knowledge of the Fire Stone Shrine that Zev just informed Kharg of, so Kharg needs to be in even more of a hurry. When you regain control of Kharg, head down the path. Go right when it forks and open the chest. Head back to the fork and go left. Follow the winding road until you see an elevator and another chest. Open the chest. Equip the Red Charm you got earlier on someone who's not Paulette. Go up the elevator. ========================================= KHARG BATTLE 21: Ruthless Dungeon Combat ========================================= Enemies: Red Dragon Lv18 Red Dragon Lv17 Lakelta Lv15 (x3) Elemental Lv15 (x2) Objective: Defeat every last Deimos! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Metal Drum (empty) Metal Drum (empty) Gunpowder Can My Levels: Kharg - 15 Paulette - 17 Maru - 15 Ganz - 16 Strategy: New enemies, finally. These guys, obviously, are entirely fire-based. Equip any Aquamarines you have as the battle starts, they'll help. The enemies really aren't all that dangerous, especially if you've got Aquamarines on everyone. Like most other enemies in the game, they have horrible HP, and are slow. However, you still need to watch out for their super-duper fire magic on your unprotected characters. They can do a good amount of damage if you get too cocky. The Lakelta also have a little circle-effect tech (like Rolling Axe) that you should be prepared for. Also, the two Dragons can do decent physical damage. Anyway, heed my warnings and clean them up as you do everything else. ========================================= Oddly, you'll appear in front of the elevator you weren't fighting in front of. Head down the path to find the battlefield and the next elevator. Take it. Follow the winding path. Take the wood bridge next to the elevator and open the chest, then get on the elevator. =========================================== KHARG BATTLE 22: Ruthless Dungeon Combat II =========================================== Enemies: Lakelta Lv16 (x2) Lakelta Lv15 (x2) Great Phoenix Lv15 (x4) (Steal: Phoenix Tail Feather) Objective: Defeat every last Deimos! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Wooden Box (90g, Super Bomb) Wooden Box (110g, 10 Spirit Stones, Red Charm) My Levels: Kharg - 15 Paulette - 17 Maru - 16 Ganz - 16 Strategy: Just when you thought they were done with 'more of the same.' The Lakelta are exactly the same as before, and the Great Phoenixes are simply fire-elemental Rhokes. Beware the fire attacks and go for it. ========================================= Bear right and head towards the elevator. Take it. Walk down the path. When it forks, take the fork on Kharg's right (your left). Ignore the elevator shaft and follow the wood bridge all the way to the chest at the end of it. Open it and go back to the first fork. Take the path you didn't the first time. Heal and save your game. Go through the door at the end. You'll see Tatjana's company arrive and get quickly ambushed by some very large Deimos. They're the three Lakelta brothers (Fulkrum, Tsee, Tsaw), who don't hesistate to display their awesome verbal skills. Their intentions are obvious, however. Kharg arrives just in time to see everyone but Tatjana running for their lives. She's pretty well trapped. Though Kharg can easily use this to his advantage, his heroic tendencies kick in. Tatjana must be saved. Walk across the bridge. It's clobberin' time. ========================================= KHARG BATTLE 23: Kharg to the Rescue! II ========================================= Enemies: Fulkrum Lv? (Drop/Steal: Fire Talisman) Tsee Lv? (Drop/Steal: Heat Blade) Tsaw Lv? (Drop/Steal: Silk Bowstring) NPC: Tatjana Lv? Objective: Defeat the Three Laketla Brothers! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Kharg - 16 Paulette - 17 Maru - 16 Ganz - 17 Strategy: Yee haw. Okay, first thing's first. These guys can do some DAMAGE, and they're all faster than you. You're going to need to adopt a divide and conquer strategy, which is made a whole lot easier by the fact that Tsee blindly charges you at the start of the battle. Lay into him with all your strongest attacks. If Maru's got Binding Arrow you can probably Paralyze Tsee on his first turn. Just keep going at him. Ignore the other's attacks and Tatjana's safety, as the former aren't anything you can't heal and the latter is irrelevant. These guys have some pretty strong Special Moves, so keep healed and avoid clumping if at all possible. Once Tsee's down, the whole process becomes easier. Pick up his drop and move on to one of the others. I suggest Fulkrum next. Do the same to him as you did to Tsee, keeping all the same precautions. Then, move on to the last brother. If you want his item, have Maru steal it from him. If not, just kill him and be done with it. Notice Tatjana has a different character portrait when she speaks in battle. Hmmm....... ========================================= Predictably, Tatjana isn't very grateful. Follow her up the ramp, across the bridge and up the stairs. Go up to her. She can't seem to take the Fire Stone. When Kharg approaches, however, he lurches back in pain, and the Fire Spirit speaks through the stone. Kharg takes it, which prompts the Fire Spirit to manifest. It says nothing too remarkable. Darkham shows up and threatens to kill Lilia if the Fire Stone isn't handed over. Expert hostage negotiator Kharg makes his demands, while we see a Dilzweld Officer plant a bomb on the wooden suspension bridge. Walk down to the bridge. Kharg, in a feat of brilliance, hands over the Fire Stone first. The bomb explodes, Kharg gets knocked out, and the bridge collapses. Lilia is gone, unharmed, but you're stuck in the crater of a volcano that's about to erupt. Go around and talk to everyone, especially Tatjana. Afterward, go back down the stairs and talk to Ganz. Samson will show up and save the party. Go back for Tatjana. Kharg convinces her to come along. Head back to the rope ladder and climb. You'll be treated to a scene involving Darkham and an oddly familiar man. They have plans to acquire the Water and Wind Stones, and set course for Dragon Bone Valley. End Kharg, Chapter 3 Save your game at the prompt. ********************************************************** 3.6 - Darc, Chapter 3: Love and Hate You'll find yourself in Rueloon. Delma and Camellia will squabble for a minute before you're clued in to the fact that the Drakyr have found Darc. Darc gives everyone some R&R time. RUELOON, PART 2 -------- The shops haven't changed, but the dialogue has. Wander around and talk to the citizens and various members of Darc's party. You might learn something. Make your way into the bar when you're done conversing. Talk to the Balar at the foot of the stairs and take him up on his offer of a free night's sleep. Camellia and Volk can't seem to fall asleep. Volk goes to the bar for a drink, leaving Darc alone in his room. Camellia uses the opportunity to steal the Water Stone. She was headed outside. Follow the trail. Take the time to talk around if you want, but she went into the Arena, so go there. Camellia's engaged in a ritual attempting to reclaim her youth. This amounts to the perfect opportunity for the Drakyr, led by a Mysterious Deimos (Droguza), to rob her. When Darc shows up, they decide to make an attempt on the Wind Stone, as well. ==================================== DARC BATTLE 17: The Latest Contender ==================================== Enemies: Droguza Lv? (Steal: Swordsman's Blade; Drop: Nothing) Drakyr Lv13 (x2) Drakyr Lv12 (x2) Objective: Defeat Droguza and the Drakyr! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 17 Delma - 15 Volk - 15 Camellia - 15 Bebedora - 16 Strategy: I won't bother to explain the Drakyr. You've fought them before, you know what they do. Droguza is just above-average all around, and likes to cast Black Out. You shouldn't have any trouble with him. Concentrate on him first if you'd like. There's nothing too remarkable about this battle, other than Droguza's sudden appearance. ==================================== Darc lets Droguza escape, predictably. Darc leaves Camellia alone, for he's sick of executing traitors. Walk around and talk some more before returning to the bar and going back to sleep. Camellia explains that using all five Spirit Stones would result in evolution into the Ultimate Deimos. Nifty. Darc decides to head for the Drakyr homeland, on Ragnoth. Sounds like a plan. WORLD MAP, ADENADE -------- Go to your Pyron and take flight to Ragnoth. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- Walk past The Edge of a Sea of Trees to Drakyrnia. DRAKYRNIA -------- Surprisingly, you're not being accosted by hordes of rabid Drakyr. Head stright forward and into the doorway. This is the shop. The big piece of brown stone over on the right hand side is an Ancient Tablet, so pick it up. At the shops themselves, there are now Sapphire Coatings and some other fun stuff. If you've got more money than you can spend, Sleep Bug Eggs for Camellia and a Rabbit Stuffed Animal for Bebedora are good investments. Save and head out into the beautiful open air. Wander about talking to the Drakyr as you make your way over to the right. Head up the many flights of stairs. About halfway to the top, an Old Drakyr (Sagan) will stop you. He's a former servant of Windalf's, and recognizes Darc. Darc tries to pry information out of him, but he plays dumb, referring Darc to the Drakyr Elder (Williwo). Continue on your way and enter the door Sagan pointed out to you. Talk to the large Drakyr, Williwo. Learning of Wildalf's death, he casts one final insult his way. Darc questions Williwo about the whereabouts of Droguza and the Water Stone. Williwo says he won't tell, and that the Drakyr followers of Droguza had abaonded the Drakyr tribe years ago. He'll only tell Darc if he passes the Dragon Ordeal and becomes King of the Drakyr. Don't bother refusing, you won't get anywhere that way. The cave you must enter for the Ordeal is in Dragon Bone Valley, and the Ordeal is one Darc must endure alone. You're now primed to leave Drakyrnia. Darc really is going to have to do the Dragon Ordeal by himself, if you didn't believe Williwo. Buy herbs if you think he'll need them. WORLD MAP, RAGNOTH -------- I'll make this clear for you. The Dragon Ordeal is really, really easy if Darc knows Dragon Fang Sword. If you want a quick time of it, have him learn that before embarking. To Dragon Bone Valley with you. You know the way. DRAGON BONE VALLEY -------- It's under Dilzweld occupation. Wonderful. ======================================================= DARC BATTLE 18: Every Dilzweld Soldier is Named 'Steve' ======================================================= Enemies: Commander Lv17 (Drop: Broken Sword) Rifleman Lv17 (x2) Foot Soldier Lv18 (x2) Attack Dog Lv16 (x6) Objective: Beat the Dilzweld Army! Loss: Entire party disabled. Destructables: Steel Box (12 Spirit Stones, Revival Medicine) Steel Box (Power Berry) Steel Box (275g, 18 Spirit Stones, Life Ring) Wooden Box (empty) Wooden Box (80g) Metal Drum (empty, explodes) Metal Drum (empty, explodes) Metal Drum (Rescue Kit) My Levels: Darc - 17 Delma - 15 Volk - 16 Camellia - 16 Bebedora - 17 Strategy: Look, I'm not going to insult you by explaining this battle to you. It's more Dilzweld. This isn't the first time you've fought them, and, though I know you wish it were so, it's not going to be the last. Just take care of them the same as you have all the rest. ======================================================= Bebedora offers some cryptic and irrelevant insight as you regain control of the party. Head over to the cave, but don't go in. Look at the ground out in front of it and you should see a brown object. Go over and examine it, it's another Ancient Tablet. Be sure to GET IT NOW, because you can't come back for it later. When you've got it, go toward the cave. Give Darc all the herbs he can carry, and go in. Everyone else will wait outside for him When you're in, walk past the dragons and up the stairs. Take the crown at the top of them. Walk back down and out of the cave.....or not. The dragon statues spring to life on you. They identify Darc as a bearer of the crest of Will, and identify Williwo as the father of Windalf. Parentage isn't enough, though. This test requires a fight. ================================= DARC BATTLE 19: The Dragon Ordeal ================================= Enemies: Gold Dragon Lv? (Drop/Steal: Dragon's Wrath) Silver Dragon Lv? (Drop/Steal: Storm Talisman) Objective: Defeat dragon. Pass Dragon Ordeal! Loss: Darc disabled. Destructables: None My Levels: Darc - 17 Strategy: Though this doesn't look at all good for Darc right from the outset, there are a few things about the dragons that make it easier. One, they're not too powerful, and two, they only have about 150 HP each. As soon as the battle starts, they'll fly straight at you. You're going to want to unload your most powerful attack that can hit both of them (read: Dragon Fang Sword/Sword