___ _ _ ___ ____ ___ _ _ _______ / _ \ | | | | / _ \ | _ \ / _ \ | | | | |__ __| | |_| | | | | | | |_| | | |_| | | | | | | | | | | | | _ | | | | | | _ | | _ < | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |___ | |___ | | | | | |_| | | |_| | | |_| | | | |_| |_| |_____| |_____| |_| |_| |____/ \___/ \___/ |_| _____ _______ _____ . / ___ \ | _____| / ___ \ . /|\ | | |_| | | | | | | /|\ / | \ | | ___ | |___ | | | | / | \ / | \ | | |_ | | ___| | | | | / | \ / | \ | | | | | | | | | | / | \ / | \ | |___| | | |_____ | |___| | / | \ /_____|_____\ \_____/ |_______| \_____/ /_____|_____\ _____ __ __ ___ ___ ______ _____ _ _____ / ___ \ \ \ / / | \ / | | ___ \ / ___ \ | | / ___ \ | | |_| \ \ / / | |\ \ / /| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_| | |____ \ V / | | \ V / | | | |___| | | | | | | | | |____ \____ \ | | | | \_/ | | | ___ < | | | | | | \____ \ _ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | _ | | | |___| | | | | | | | | |___| | | |___| | | |_____ | |___| | \_____/ |_| |_| |_| |______/ \_____/ |_______| \_____/ With the extreme kind of powerleveler that I am, I knew that the Disgaea series would be my RPG dream game when I first heard about it. Right away, I began studying the game's mechanics to a fine degree of detail. This also includes the effects of geo symbols, pyramid-shaped objects frequently found in the item world. In this guide, you will learn everything there is to know about geo symbols - what they are, what they do, how to maximize color chains, and even how the randomization works (to the limit of my knowledge through observation). ___ ___ ___ _ _______ _____ ___ _ _______ ____ / _ \ / _ \ | \ | | |__ __| | ___| | \ | | |__ __| / ___| | | |_| | | | | | |\ \ | | | | | |__ | |\ \ | | | | \ \ | | _ | | | | | | \ \ | | | | | __| | | \ \ | | | | \ \ | |_| | | |_| | | | \ \| | | | | |___ | | \ \| | | | __\ \ \___/ \___/ |_| \___| |_| |_____| |_| \___| |_| |____/ ######################### #### #### # 0 Table of Contents **000000** # #### #### ######################### Tip: use control+F to use your browser's find feature to jump to the specific sections (the string you search for is in the "search" column). +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | Section | Title | Search | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 0 | Table of Contents | **000000** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 1 | Introduction | **010000** | | 1.1 | My history with Disgaea | **010100** | | 1.2 | About this guide | **010200** | | 1.3 | Reading the maps | **010300** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 2 | The basics of geo symbols | **020000** | | 2.1 | What are geo symbols and geo panels? | **020100** | | 2.2 | Adjusting the effects | **020200** | | 2.2.1 | Throwing to adjust | **020210** | | 2.2.2 | Making diagonal throws | **020220** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 3 | List of geo symbol effects | **030000** | | 3.1 | The bonus group | **030100** | | 3.2 | The offensive group | **030200** | | 3.3 | The defensive group | **030300** | | 3.4 | The damage group | **030400** | | 3.5 | The enemy-helping group | **030500** | | 3.6 | The random group (other types) | **030600** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 4 | Color chains - a rainbow in action | **040000** | | 4.1 | The rewards of color chains | **040100** | | 4.2 | Level 1: the easiest setup | **040200** | | 4.3 | Level 2: excess geo symbols | **040300** | | 4.3.1 | Only one color present | **040300** | | 4.3.2 | More geo symbols than colors | **040300** | | 4.4 | Level 3: sorry, no color change | **040400** | | 4.4.1 | A single no color change geo symbol | **040400** | | 4.4.2 | Multiple no color change geo symbols | **040400** | | 4.5 | Level 4: invincibility mayhem | **040500** | | 4.6 | Level 5: damage 120% | **040600** | | 4.7 | Level 6: no lifting troubles | **040700** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 5 | Randomizing geo symbols and geo panels | **050000** | | 5.1 | Important notes | **050100** | | 5.2 | The process of randomizing | **050200** | | 5.2.1 | Randomizing geo symbols | **050210** | | 5.2.2 | Randomizing geo panels | **050220** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 6 | Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | **060000** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ | 7 | Legal stuff | **070000** | | 7.1 | Contacting me | **070100** | | 7.2 | Copyright | **070200** | | 7.3 | Credits | **070300** | | 7.4 | Version history | **070400** | +----------+-----------------------------------------------------+------------+ _____ ___ _ _______ ____ ___ |_ _| | \ | | |__ __| | _ \ / _ \ | | | |\ \ | | | | | |_| | | | | | | | | | \ \ | | | | | _ < | | | | _| |_ | | \ \| | | | | | | | | |_| | |_____| |_| \___| |_| |_| |_| \___/ #################### #### #### # 1 Introduction **010000** # #### #### #################### ----------------------------------------- | 1.1 My history with Disgaea **010100** | ----------------------------------------- Since 2002, I've been actively playing RPGs, starting with Final Fantasy 7. With level 99 being too easy to get, limits on stats and even damage, and many other things that I see in other RPGs, I didn't get strongly involved with them. Through my numerous videos on YouTube, I read in some of the comments about Disgaea having a maximum level of 9999 and it being possible to do damage into the billions. When I saw that, I was stunned and knew I wanted to get Disgaea. And so I did, with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (PS2 version). Things started off very slowly as I was attempting to figure out what the specialists and things were. I was level 28 (Laharl only) about 30 hours in, real slow. This was before first reaching episode 3. I had the high level because I struggled with a certain area map in Vyer's Castle, due to "enemy boost x6" and "attacks+1". I thought it would've taken several years to reach level 9999. Since that day, I've really taken things to an extreme in the original Disgaea, even doing over 1 3/8 billion total damage*. This was all achieved in less than a year, racking up just 625 hours in 3 months and 850 hours in 5 1/3, an extreme that I've never encountered in any other game, not even close. Once I reached the start of episode 3, where the item world became available, all story progress stopped... for over a year. I especially enjoyed the part where my wizard did over 20 million damage to super heros. Not a single enemy in that game can withstand that amount of damage. Liking Disgaea 1 very intensely, I got Disgaea 2 a year after I got Disgaea 1 (PS2 version again). I didn't like it anywhere near as much, but, like with the first Disgaea, once the item world became available, I stopped all story progress and even with nearly 300 hours of play, I have never experienced the felony system or anything else that only becomes accessible. I've only seen Adell and Rozalin for story-base characters. Despite that, I'm already doing well over a million damage, even seeing 8-figure popups. Many of my tricks I've learned off Disgaea 1 also work in Disgaea 2. Many of these apply to the geo symbols as well, and setting of massive color chains. * Proof of claim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33Nbi5s3wAc ---------------------------------- | 1.2 About this guide **010200** | ---------------------------------- Upon seeing that Disgaea 2 didn't have a FAQ/guide on geo symbols, I figured that I'd write one. This guide has 3 key sections. The first section explains the basics of geo symbols - what they are and how to control their effects. I thought I'd also explain the mechanics behind them, to the best of what I'm aware of (from observation). ---------------------------------- | 1.3 Reading the maps **010300** | ---------------------------------- This guide uses maps with several markings. They are especially common in section 4. Here's an example: Ye Re Nu Ma Cy *MR* *En* Gr Ye Ma Re Nu Cy Ye Bl *Al* *En* Ma Ye Cy Nu Re Bl *OB* Bl /Gr\ /Bl\ Re Cy *BP* Gr Cy Gr Ye Ma Nu *Ne* *En* Ye Re Bl Re Ma Nu Gr Nu Bl /Ye\ Ye Gr Re Ma Nu Cy Ye Gr Nu *Al* *Ne* /Nu\ Nu Bl Cy Gr Cy Cy Ma Nu *En* *Al* Bl Re Ma Nu Gr Nu Cy Re /Ma\ *En* Re Bl Bl Ma Ye Bl Gr /Re\ *Al* Cy Bl *DG* Re *En* Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - Mana+50% /Re\ - ATK+50% /Gr\ - Enemy boost +50% /Bl\ - Warp /Ye\ - Critical /Ma\ - ATK-50% This looks like a mess and in the item world, it often is. Here's what each of the markings mean in the above sample map: The top half of each block (panel info): Nu - null (a panel without geo effects) Re - red Gr - green Bl - blue Ye - yellow Ma - magenta Cy - cyan (geo panels only) *BP* - base panel (cannot have geo effects) *DG* - dimension gate (cannot have geo effects) *MR* - mystery room (cannot have geo effects) *OB* - an obstacle (cannot go here) - any location with a height of 0 (cannot go here) The bottom half (objects on the panel) /Nu\ - null (transparent) geo symbol (can be of any effect) /Re\ - red geo symbol (can be of any effect) /Gr\ - green geo symbol (can be of any effect) /Bl\ - blue geo symbol (can be of any effect) /Ye\ - yellow geo symbol (can be of any effect) /Ma\ - magenta geo symbol (can be of any effect) *Al* - any ally *En* - any enemy *Ne* - any neutral object (specialists and chests, with yellow life bars) - no object is at this location At the bottom of the map, you'll see the list of effects present, along with the group type used (section 3 covers group types). For example, consider these 4 blocks from the map: Bl *DG* Cy Nu /Re\ *En* *Al* *Ne* Far left - indicates that the panel is blue and it has a red geo symbol on it. Center left - the dimension gate is here (used to skip floors in the item world) and there's an enemy on it (usually a hint to a gate keeper being present). Center right - a cyan-colored geo panel with an ally on it (it makes no difference what ally it is). Far right - a normal panel that has a neutral object on it, likely as a chest though sometimes a specialist (it doesn't matter in this guide). ____ ___ ____ _____ ___ ____ | _ \ / _ \ / ___| |_ _| / _ \ / ___| | |_| | | |_| | \ \ | | | | |_| \ \ | _ < | _ | \ \ | | | | _ \ \ | |_| | | | | | __\ \ _| |_ | |_| | __\ \ |____/ |_| |_| |____/ |_____| \___/ |____/ ################################# #### #### # 2 The basics of geo symbols **020000** # #### #### ################################# Geo symbols are all over the place, especially in the item world. Although the game covers them in the tutorial, this guide goes into much greater depth. Understanding geo symbols and how to control their effects took me nearly 50 hours of game play to fully understand what was going on (this was on Disgaea 1). I'll help cut this down to however long it takes to read section 2, and I'll even offer a little-known trick - throwing diagonally. ------------------------------------------------------ | 2.1 What are geo symbols and geo panels? **020100** | ------------------------------------------------------ Geo symbols are colored pyramid-shaped objects most commonly found in the item world. They come in 6 different colors: transparent (called "null"), red, green, blue, yellow, and magenta. Geo symbols provide various effects, a few good, most neutral, and some bad. When geo symbols are present, geo panels are also present. Geo panels are the random-colored panels that fade in and out on the area map. The colors themselves don't mean anything in particular, however, when a geo symbol is on a particular color, all panels of that color will be affected. When a panel does not flash, then it is not a geo panel, but a regular panel - no geo symbols can affect regular panels. To see what effects there are, press triangle to bring up the battle menu (where you see "end turn" and the related). In the top left corner, you'll see a list of up to 6 different colors (note that, instead of a transparent color, there's cyan) and what effects each color has. Don't understand? Let's consider a simple case - ATK+50%. If you were to move Adell, Rozalin, or whoever onto a geo panel with the ATK+50% effect, they will deal more damage to their targets, or heal more in the case of healing magic or skills. When not on such an effect, normal damage (or healing) is done. If the ATK+50% effect was provided by a green-colored geo symbol on a blue geo panel, all characters (and, unfortunately, enemies) on blue geo panels will deal more damage or heal more. All characters and enemies on all other colors without this effect will not deal any extra damage. The color of the geo symbol means nothing when determining the effect, it's the color of the geo panel that does. See section 3 for details on what effects all of the geo symbols have. --------------------------------------- | 2.2 Adjusting the effects **020200** | --------------------------------------- .................................... 2.2.1 Throwing to adjust **020210** .................................... Knowing how to adjust the effects geo symbols provide is essential. This is done with throwing. Now, let's say that an EXP+50% geo symbol is not on a geo panel and you want this beneficial geo symbol to take effect. To do that, simply move a human character to a panel that is adjacent to the geo symbol like this (any one of the four positions of the allies marked here (note that only one ally is needed), surrounding the blue geo symbol): Bl Gr Nu Re Nu Re Re Bl Nu Gr Re Nu Re Gr Bl /Nu\ /Gr\ Re Nu Re Re Re Gr Nu Re Gr Nu Gr Nu Re Re Nu Bl Gr Bl Re Bl Gr Bl Nu Bl Re Re /Re\ Gr Gr Bl Nu Nu Gr Re *Al* Gr Nu Bl Bl Nu Re Gr *Al* /Bl\ *Al* Re Nu Gr Re Nu Gr *Al* With the ally placed next to the geo symbol, select the "lift" command. The lift command will be grayed out if at least one of the following 5 conditions applies: 1. All surrounding targets are on a "no lifting" effect - see section 3.6 for details on this. 2. The ally is a monster. Monsters cannot lift or throw anything. 3. The ally is on the base panel (I hate the fact you can't lift anything when you're on the base panel especially when you're trapped). 4. The target is on the dimension gate or mystery room. No objects, even geo symbols (only when they move) can be lifted from such places. 5. All surrounding targets have too great of a height difference. For case 5, use this chart to determine the height ranges for each character type, which, surprisingly, is based on how far they can throw: +----------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+ | Throw distance | Throw height | Lift lowest | Lift highest | +----------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+ | 3 panels | 26 dm | 14 dm | 38 dm | | 4 panels | 29 dm | 17 dm | 41 dm | | 5 panels | 32 dm | 20 dm | 44 dm | | 6 panels | 35 dm | 23 dm | 47 dm | +----------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+ Thus, if you bring out Adell, who can throw 5 panels, the throw height is 32 dm and he can lift anything 20 dm below him and 44 dm above. Did you notice the difference of 12 from that of the throw height and that the throw height steps by 3 for distance (the formula is "17+ThrowDistance*3")? This is not always guaranteed though. It at least does explain why a heavy knight can lift something from so high up. Now, using that same character, choose "throw" (of which replaces "lift") and determine where you want to throw the geo symbol. You must throw it onto a geo panel so it takes effect. Choose a color where the most enemies are on. Once thrown, press the triangle button and you'll see that that color now has a new effect added (or the effect is amplified, such as putting an EXP+50% geo symbol on a color with EXP+100% to make it EXP+150%). Now, every enemy you defeat on that color will provide 50% more experience, making leveling up a bit faster. Simply holding the geo symbol causes it to take effect on the color the ally is standing on. Here's another example. Let's say that a blue geo symbol is providing "enemy boost x3" to all red geo panels. This is a very dangerous geo symbol. There are two ways to remove this effect. The easiest is to simply move it to a location that is not on a geo panel. This way, the geo symbol won't have any effect and is merely just another object. The second method is to simply destroy it. To destroy a geo symbol, simply attack it like you would with enemies. Geo symbols tend to have low stats making their destruction fairly easy. Be warned though that, by destroying a geo symbol, all objects (enemies, allies, specialists, chests, and even other geo symbols) on the color of the geo panel the geo symbol was on will take damage (or, in the case of geo symbols, get destroyed as well, setting off color chains (this will be covered in detail in section 4)). ........................................ 2.2.2 Making diagonal throws **020220** ........................................ In some cases, learning to throw diagonally will greatly improve the overall effectiveness of dealing with geo symbols. Yes, that's right, throwing diagonally. It's not obvious as the game makes you think that things can only be thrown in straight lines. However, if you turn after extending the range, you'll notice that the cursor location briefly highlights panels not in a straight line, but at a diagonal (extend out a throw 2 panels then alternate between 2 adjacent directions (such as up and right) and it's easier to see). If you execute the throw during this, you will throw the object at a diagonal. It's just a matter of learning the timing. Throwing with an offset of 1 is the easiest of the diagonal throws (such as 4 panels north and 1 panel east). More direct diagonals are more difficult to do (like 3 panels north and 3 panels east or 4 panels north and 2 east) as you need to be precise to within 2 game frames instead of about 5 or 6. Strangely, it's actually possible to get a knight to throw 7 panels instead of 6 or making Rozalin throw 4 panels instead of 3, but only when throwing diagonally and it's a very rare occurrence. A good place to practice diagonal throwing is "beginner's field", the first battle field you encounter after all tutorial levels. Take out a character that cannot counter but can throw far and lure the orcs away from the geo panels. Defeat all but one and end your turn. The best one is the one closest to the corner on the opposite side of the base panel. After the enemy's turn, throw the orc as close as you can to any corner and get as far away as you can and end your turn again. The orc should stay put if done right. Defeat the ghosts next and end your turn. The orc stays put. Now, move to where the "heal 20%" geo symbol is and throw it away from the orc. If the orc still stays put after ending your turn, now's your opportunity to begin practicing diagonal throws. Just keep distance from the orc and it will stay put turn after turn. If you've passed any "stronger enemies" bills, you might need to keep more distance, using 2 turns to lure the orc away further into a corner. This is due to the use of special skills. Early on, simply keeping 2 more panels more than the orc's move is sufficient enough. That is, since the orc moves 4 panels, keep at least 6 panels away from it (move the cursor to where the orc is and count 6 panels leading away, going in either a straight line or a diagonal). When you're done practicing, just defeat the orc to clear the stage. _____ _____ _____ _____ ___ _______ ____ | ___| | ___| | ___| | ___| / _ \ |__ __| / ___| | |__ | |__ | |__ | |__ | | |_| | | \ \ | __| | __| | __| | __| | | _ | | \ \ | |___ | | | | | |___ | |_| | | | __\ \ |_____| |_| |_| |_____| \___/ |_| |____/ ################################## #### #### # 3 List of geo symbol effects **030000** # #### #### ################################## Now that you know how geo symbols work, it's time to learn what effects they have. There are a total of 38 effects though up to 6 can be active at once. Each geo symbol has 4 attributes as I'll explain next: What it does: This explains what the geo symbol does, what effect it has. Allegiance: Does the geo symbol affect allies only, enemies only, or both? Effect occurrence: This explains the conditions for when the effect occurs. Strategies: These are various strategies to consider when dealing with this geo symbol. You may find other strategies, feel free to use whichever you prefer, depending on your style of play. --------------------------------- | 3.1 The bonus group **030100** | --------------------------------- These 2 geo symbols are the only ones that are actually beneficial for the player. 1. EXP+50% What it does: Defeated enemies are worth 50% more experience (EXP). Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Immediately upon defeating an enemy Strategies: This is the most useful of all the geo symbols and when involved in my primary method for leveling up, clone wars, it's far more valuable. Consider surrounding your characters by as many panels affected by this geo symbol as possible to gain experience very quickly, especially in clone wars. 2. HL+50% What it does: Defeated enemies gives 50% more hell (HL). Allegiance: Allies Effect occurrence: Defeating an enemy then clearing the stage (don't skip or enter the mystery room) Strategies: This geo symbol is only useful early on. When you begin to have clone wars with level 9999 enemies, HL by the tens of billions come in no time even without brokers, providing seemingly infinite HL. ------------------------------------- | 3.2 The offensive group **030200** | ------------------------------------- These 3 geo symbols make dealing damage and defeating enemies much faster and easier, allowing weaker characters to defeat higher-powered enemies more easily. When it's the enemy's turn, however, they're quite dangerous. 3. ATK+50% What it does: Increases base attack by 50%. By base attack, I mean the the average of ATK and SPD for fists; the average ATK and HIT for bows; ATK for swords, spears, axes, and staves; HIT for guns; and INT for staves. There is a bug present that makes magic attacks boosted by only 20% instead of 50%. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: This makes it much easier to deal big damage to enemies, making it easier for weaker characters to deal damage to enemies, leveling them up more easily. It's also great for showing off extreme damage and doing serious overkill. 4. DEF-50% What it does: Reduces DEF and RES by 50%. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: When this effect is present, it is strongly recommended to stay off such panels. With DEF-100% (from having two DEF-50% geo symbols on the same color), you'll always take damage no matter how high your DEF or RES stats are (except when "nick" occurs, from low accuracy, though special skills due to the skill mastery multiplier, can still override this). Moving high DEF or high RES enemies onto such panels will make them easier to defeat. Healing is not affected. 5. Attack+1 What it does: Grants one extra attack, repeating the same action. That is, if standing on "attack+1" and "blind" is cast on an enemy, "blind" will be cast twice instead of once. When stacked, such as standing on "attack+3", 4 attacks are made, of the same thing. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any action except lifting, throwing, and defending Strategies: These geo symbols are a handy way to build up big combos to quickly fill up the bonus gauge and also defeat strong enemies with weaker characters more easily. However, it's a very dangerous geo symbol when it's the enemy's turn. When combined with "invincibility" or "reverse damage" effects, these make skill mastery and weapon mastery go blazing fast. Spend several turns casting "blind" on something and watch as weapon mastery and skill mastery sky rockets! When showing off, for the highest total damage, these are an absolute must-have. ------------------------------------- | 3.3 The defensive group **030300** | ------------------------------------- These 4 geo symbols make dealing damage more difficult, but also makes it easier to survive a battle with tough enemies. 6. ATK-50% What it does: Reduces base attack by 50%. By base attack, I mean the the average of ATK and SPD for fists; the average ATK and HIT for bows; ATK for swords, spears, axes, and staves; HIT for guns; and INT for staves. There is a bug present that makes magic attacks cut by only 20% instead of 50%. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: Surrounding a character by panels with this effect without being on this effect will make it easier to deal with such enemies, especially counterattacks. Even with ATK-100% (from two ATK-50% geo symbols on one color), it's still possible to deal physical damage, but only with special skills and, perhaps, critical hits. 7. DEF+50% What it does: Increases DEF and RES by 50%. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: If enemies can barely deal damage, going on such a panel will almost certainly ensure no damage will be dealt. Thus, staying on such panels is a must, unless there's a better effect on another color. Moving enemies off of these panels will help make defeating them easier. 8. Heal 20% What it does: Restores 20% HP (floored - 513.6 becomes 513) Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns Strategies: This effect will help heal high HP characters very quickly when healing magic is otherwise just too weak (from a low RES stat). It can also be used to help ensure your characters stay healthy as they clear out enemies, without having to spend time healing. 9. Evade What it does: Cuts the accuracy of the one attacking something on such a panel in half. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: This is an annoying geo symbol. When you're trying to get things done, it often ends up causing more harm than good since it may prevent you from getting a green chest (missing out on a legendary item) or being unable to clear a path when surrounded at the base panel because you can't hit, leaving that character to face the enemies solo. Lifting things on such panels is not affected though. Still, it can help protect weaker allies, since they'll be much harder to hit. ---------------------------------- | 3.4 The damage group **030400** | ---------------------------------- This single geo symbol tends to be in large groups at times and it's quite common to see 6 of these together on one map. 10. Damage 20% What it does: Damages 20% HP (floored - 318.8 becomes 318) Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns Strategies: Obviously, stay off these panels. The only time you'd ever want to go on them is if you intend on going to the mystery room or dimension gate without ending your turn. Because they only take effect after both sides take a turn, they're completely harmless if you get to mystery room or dimension gate on that turn. ----------------------------------------- | 3.5 The enemy-helping group **030500** | ----------------------------------------- These 4 geo symbols are downright dangerous. When these appear, consider destroying them as soon as possible. 11. Enemy boost +50% What it does: Raises ATK, INT, HIT, DEF, RES, and SPD by 50% Allegiance: Enemies only Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: This is a relatively weak effect. Early on, it's quite troublesome. However, later on, it's not much of a threat. Destroy these when there are multiple such effects and/or you're dealing with fairly powerful enemies. 12. Enemy boost x3 What it does: Triples ATK, INT, HIT, DEF, RES, and SPD Allegiance: Enemies only Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: This is the most dangerous of all the geo symbols. Unless you've got an extremely high DEF and RES compared to the enemy, destroy these immediately! With 4 of these present together with 2 enemy boost+50% geo symbols, the greatest possible enemy boosting can be achieved - essentially 24 times the stats. 13. Ally damage 20% What it does: Damages 20% HP (floored - 432.6 becomes 432) Allegiance: Allies only Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns Strategies: Obviously, stay off these panels. This is essentially the same as damage 20%. 14. Clone What it does: Randomly chooses an ally or enemy (not bosses) and creates an new enemy clone in a random location on the same colored panel. Clones cannot have their equipment stolen or be thrown into each other. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns Strategies: Unless you want to have clone wars (a very effective, efficient way to level up, gain skill mastery, gain weapon mastery, obtain mana, and accumulate tremendous amounts of HL, especially early on), it's strongly recommended that you destroy these. When multiple clone geo symbols are on a single color, you'll only see "clone" appearing once, however, multiple clones will be created. By putting an ally without any equipment on such a panel, you'll get an idential copy of that ally, but the clone will be an enemy. Thus, keep all allies off such panels, unless you intend on putting an aegis knight or something on such a panel to start clone wars for rapid development. ------------------------------------------------ | 3.6 The random group (other types) **030600** | ------------------------------------------------ When none of the other groups are determined through the game's randomization process, you will encounter these 24 geo symbols in addition to any of the above geo symbols. I'll only list the extras that are exclusive to this group and I've listed them alphabetically so they're easier to find. 15. Critical What it does: Causes instant death (does not affect bosses, pirates, or chests) Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: These are extremely useful for getting very weak low level characters leveled up. By throwing a lot of enemies into a single enemy then having a weak character hit it, that weak character can gain tons of levels at once, especially useful for healers or characters lacking weapon mastery. Any enemy or ally on such panels will have a red number pop out with each digit bouncing individually. The value is equal to the amount of HP the enemy or ally had upon being hit. 16. Disperse damage What it does: Deals damage to other objects on such panels. For example, if 1000 damage was dealt to a single enemy on such a panel and there are 4 other enemies on that color, 250 damage will be dealt to the other 4. If 1000 total damage was dealt to 2 enemies on such a panel and 4 other enemies were present, 500 damage will be dealt to the others. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: Got a very powerful wizard? Use this geo symbol to quickly clear out numerous enemies at once. Enemies defeated this way don't give any EXP, but it helps clear boss floors in the item world faster, to accumulate "Mr. Gency Exit" items more quickly. Move this geo symbol to a different color and repeat to wipe out even more. Just be careful not to put your own allies on it. Also, if you need to bulk heal everyone, consider placing the allies needing to be healed temporarily on such a panel and heal one then cancel their movement and return to what you were doing. 17. Encroach What it does: Changes the color of adjacent geo panels to the color the geo symbol is on. Quite often, normal panels become geo panels, though not always. The spreading is based on the outer edges of all adjacent geo panels of the same color. Allegiance: Neither Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns Strategies: When there are dangerous geo symbols around, these can be troublesome. However, when there's beneficial geo symbols around, these can be beneficial. It just depends on what other geo symbols are present. However, their primary advantage is when it comes to color chains. When you've got all 6 geo symbols on a boss floor, especially boss floors since they're regularly very large in size, it's very easy to get a color chain well into the thousands thanks to these (a 5000 color chain wouldn't be all that unusual, potentially 7000 on the item god floor). However, you'll almost certainly have to wait several dozen turns for the maximum effect to occur. Here's an example of the effects it has: Turn 1 Turn 2 Re Bl Gr Bl Ye Re Bl Gr Bl Ye /Gr\ /Gr\ Re Re Bl Ye Gr Re Re Gr Ye Gr /Re\ /Re\ Ye Gr Gr Bl Ye Ye Gr Gr Gr Ye /Nu\ /Nu\ Re Bl Re Ye Gr Re Bl Gr Ye Gr Gr Bl Ye Gr Ye Gr Bl Ye Gr Ye Turn 3 Turn 4 Re Bl Gr Bl Ye Re Gr Gr Gr Ye /Gr\ /Gr\ Re Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr /Re\ /Re\ Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr /Nu\ /Nu\ Re Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Gr Bl Gr Gr Ye Gr Gr Gr Gr Ye Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - Encroach /Re\ - Enemy boost +50% /Gr\ - No color change Notice how the green spreads out? Remember, the color of the geo symbol means nothing when it comes to causing effects. On turn 3, green gains the "enemy boost +50%" effect and yellow loses it. On turn 4, you'll notice that only 3 colors are present when you display the battle menu instead of the original 4. On turns 5 and later, except if the geo symbol is moved beforehand to a different color, all panels will be green. On turn 5 and later, you could get a 150 color chain with this setup (see section 4 for details). One cool thing you can do with the encroach geo symbol is... paint a picture! 6 colors is a bit limiting, but still, you could create pictures with it, if you do it right, but it could easily take dozens of turns for even a rather small 10x7-panel image. 18. Enemy level up 10% What it does: Raises the enemy's level by 10% (floored - 42.9 becomes 42) Allegiance: Enemies only Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns Strategies: There are both benefits and downfalls with this geo symbol. When enemies are very weak, consider waiting a few turns for them to power up so they provide more EXP. When enemies are already quite strong, consider destroying this potentially dangerous geo symbol. When starting clone wars, it's a great way to get the enemy clones to a higher level so that you can level up even faster and also get more HL from each defeated enemy. When these clones get too weak, use it to raise the clone's level further to accelerate the rate of leveling up. This is crucial very early in the game, especially when combined with "invincibility" as leveling up is blazing fast. 19. Fire element +50% What it does: Raises elemental defense against fire by 50 percentage points. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: This is more of a defensive geo symbol, improving protection against fire-elemental attacks such as fire spells or big bang, reducing damage received by such attacks. It can also power up fire-elemental magic attacks for casters on such panels. 20. Fire element -50% What it does: Reduces elemental defense against fire by 50 percentage points. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: This is more of an offensive geo symbol, keep off such panels and strike enemies (except dragons) on such panels with fire-elemental attacks to maximize damage. It will also power down fire-elemental magic attacks for casters on such panels, useful when there's a red skull or red mage around. 21. Fusion What it does: Fuses 2 enemies together, combining their HP, SP, and level. This is essentially the same way as throwing an enemy into another enemy, except that this also works with clones and bosses as well. Allegiance: Enemies only Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns and only if at least 2 enemies are present on such a geo panel at once Strategies: Dangerous - destroy it immediately (it should take priority over even enemy boost x3). The exception is when needing to level up clones for clone wars or you're dealing with weak enemies. 22. Invincibility What it does: Negates all damage and negative effects, including ailments. It still permits healing and damage from color chains is still possible. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: Get on and stay on these panels. Even weak characters, through counterattacks and building up the stay-in-one-spot combo can eventually deal damage to enemies without any risk. Early in the game, without a high DEF and RES, this is a must for clone wars as, when combined with either "enemy level up 10%" or "fusion", you could go from level 10 to 200 in no time. For dealing intense total damage, this geo symbol is an absolute must. 23. Mana+50% What it does: Defeated enemies give 50% more mana (floored - 160.5 becomes 160) Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Upon defeating an enemy Strategies: Early on, mana is very important. Consider moving higher-level enemies onto such panels (provided there aren't any helpers for the enemy as well like enemy boost or DEF+50%) and defeat it. However, once you start dealing with enemies with levels well into the hundreds, mana is no longer a problem making this geo symbol of otherwise no use. The only time this geo symbol is of any real use later on is if you're using team attacks or tower attacks to provide massive amounts of mana to weaker characters so they get mana as well to make them be able to reach the higher tiers more quickly. A round of clone wars with level 9999 clones easily gives millions of mana very quick, even without managers (a specialist that provides up to 300% more mana) or this geo symbol, so much that it seems infinite. 24. Move+1 What it does: Increases movement range by 1 Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Upon selecting the "move" command Strategies: Even though this geo symbol is beneficial, it has surprisingly little use except early in the game. Even early in the game, it's usefulness is quite limited. Once you can gain access to angel's sandals or accelerators, these geo symbols are almost worthless. Early on, however, when movement is very limited, it makes it easier to beat a hasty retreat or get to a more optimal spot to use a special skill to bulk-erase enemies. 25. Move-1 What it does: Decreases movement range by 1 (minimum of 1 (?)) Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Upon selecting the "move" command Strategies: It's generally wise to stay off such panels. However, when a character is loaded up with angel's sandals or accelerators, late in the game, these have otherwise no noticeable effect. After you end your turn and you need to retreat from a far-moving enemy, consider throwing it on such a panel to make it more difficult for the enemy to reach your weakened ally. 26. No close combat What it does: Prevents objects 0 (self) or 1 panel away from being targeted Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: When surrounded by panels affected by this, enemies must keep a distance in order to attack. When on such a panel, it will prevent counter attacks, unless a weapon is equipped with a long enough range. Magic-users, like skills and mages, since they can strike up to 9 panels away (7 directly, but area of effect options indirectly extend it to 9), don't have problems with this, but, unless you've passed bills to increase the range of fists, swords, axes, or staves (if you use physical attacks with staves, as from running out of SP), physical warriors are at a huge disadvantage. When combined with "no range attack", it is impossible to do anything - getting surrounded by as much of this as possible makes battles so much easier. 27. No color change What it does: When destroying a geo symbol that is not one of these, color change effects will not occur. Color change effects will occur when these are destroyed, however, though the must be destroyed first. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Whenever a geo symbol is destroyed on nonmatching colors Strategies: Unless you're after setting up a color chain or need to bulk destory dangerous geo symbols, you can ignore this one. Otherwise, destory it first. See the "color chains" section, for level 3 for more details. 28. No entry What it does: Creates invisible, impassible walls, including that from throwing. Only ranged attacks (magic, special skills, or a long-range weapon like a bow or spear) can get through. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: During movement and throwing Strategies: This geo symbol only appears during story-based area maps, never in the item world. Chances are, you'll need to destroy it in order to get beyond a certain point. 29. No lifting What it does: Prevents objects on affected panels from being lifted. Lifting is still possible when the lifter is on such a panel. Allegiance: Allies only (enemies never lift things) Effect occurrence: Upon selecting the "lift" command Strategies: Unless there's several dangerous geo symbols around, you can ignore this one. No lifting geo symbols can still be moved, but only through the use of special skills like triple strike or cat kick. These maps help explain how this geo symbol takes effect: Lifting possible Lifting not possible Re Gr Re Gr Re Re Gr Re Gr Re /Nu\ /Nu\ Nu Nu Gr Nu Gr Nu Nu Gr Nu Gr Gr Re Gr Re Gr Gr Re Gr Re Gr *En* *Al* *Al* *En* Re Re Re Gr Re Re Re Re Gr Re Re Gr Gr Nu Nu Re Gr Gr Nu Nu Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - No lifting 30. No range attack What it does: Prevents objects more than 1 panel away from being targeted Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: Characters with fists, swords, axes, or staves (staves only if you use them for physical attacks, as from running out of SP) are not affected by this, except special skills. Special skills can still be used and take effect, but only targets that are 1 panel from the attacker will be hit. For the most part, stay off of such panels as they're mostly disadvantageous. When combined with "no close combat", it is impossible to do anything - getting surrounded by as much of this as possible makes battles so much easier. 31. No tower attack What it does: Prevents the use of the tower attack feature when attacking from such a panel. Allegiance: Allies only (enemies never lift things) Effect occurrence: Any attempt at doing a tower attack. Strategies: I've never used tower attacks at all. If my characters can defeat pretty much any enemy in one hit, there's otherwise no point in it so I find this geo symbol completely harmless. Of course, early on, it's a different subject. At least tower attacks can help level up weak characters later on, useful when having clone wars with level 9999 malchidaels to level up a level 65 character quickly into the 100's. 32. Reverse Damage What it does: Damaging attacks restore HP and healing does HP damage Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages or heals Strategies: This depends on what you're doing. For the most part, this geo symbol is rather annoying. However, if you have a powerful wizard that deals immense damage, consider moving a character on such a panel temporarily and have the powerful wizard cast damaging magic on him/her to quickly heal. In clone wars early on, this is a good replacement for "invincibility", provided that the clones you're dealing with do not have any healing magic. 33. Silence What it does: Prevents the use of special skills Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: When attempting to use special skills Strategies: With very rare exceptions, just stay off of these panels. They restrict characters to using only physical attacks. With high skill mastery, special skills can easily become very effective, doing far more damage than a normal attack could, even triple the damage, and special skills are the only way to eliminate multiple enemies at once. Surrounding your allies by as many of these affected panels as possible can offer considerable protection and makes counterattacks become more worthwhile. 34. Warp What it does: Characters and enemies will instantly appear in a random location on the same colored panel. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: After both the player and enemy end their turns Strategies: There are 2 main strategies. One of which is having your powerful characters remain in a corner and defeat the enemies near by then let this geo symbol warp them closer. The other is to have your characters go on an affected panel and quickly cross large areas without the need of a high movement radius. 35. Water element +50% What it does: Raises elemental defense against water by 50 percentage points. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: This is more of a defensive geo symbol, improving protection against water-elemental attacks such as ice spells or omega comet, reducing damage received by such attacks. It can also power up water-elemental magic attacks for casters on such panels. 36. Water element -50% What it does: Reduces elemental defense against water by 50 percentage points. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: This is more of an offensive geo symbol, keep off such panels and strike enemies (except aqua demons) on such panels with water-elemental attacks to maximize damage. It will also power down water-elemental magic attacks for casters on such panels, useful when there's a blue skull or blue mage around. 37. Wind element +50% What it does: Raises elemental defense against wind by 50 percentage points. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: This is more of a defensive geo symbol, improving protection against wind-elemental attacks such as wind spells or turbulence, reducing damage received by such attacks. It can also power up wind-elemental magic attacks for casters on such panels. 38. Wind element -50% What it does: Reduces elemental defense against wind by 50 percentage points. Allegiance: Both Effect occurrence: Any attack, magic, or special skill that damages Strategies: This is more of an offensive geo symbol, keep off such panels and strike enemies (except mystic beasts) on such panels with wind-elemental attacks to maximize damage. It will also power down wind-elemental magic attacks for casters on such panels, useful when there's a green skull or green mage around. ___ _ _ ___ _____ ___ _ _____ ___ _ ____ / _ \ | | | | / _ \ |_ _| | \ | | |_ _| | \ | | / ___| | | |_| | |_| | | |_| | | | | |\ \ | | | | | |\ \ | | | | _ | | _ | _ | | _ | | | | | \ \ | | | | | | \ \ | | | | | | | |_| | | | | | | | | | _| |_ | | \ \| | _| |_ | | \ \| | | |_| | \___/ |_| |_| |_| |_| |_____| |_| \___| |_____| |_| \___| \___/ ########################################## #### #### # 4 Color chains - a rainbow in action **040000** # #### #### ########################################## When a geo symbol gets destroyed like defeating an enemy, it can cause color change effects. When multiple geo symbols are destroyed at once, a color chain is formed. There are reasons why one would want to do this, very good reasons. This section explains why you should consider setting up color chains and, most importantly, how to maximize the color chain. --------------------------------------------- | 4.1 The rewards of color chains **040100** | --------------------------------------------- So, why would you spend an extra 3 minutes or so shuffling geo symbols around to create a massive color chain? The best reason is that it makes it very easy to obtain bonuses. Each point on a color chain grants 1 point on the bonus gauge. For every 100 points obtained on the bonus gauge, you'll earn another bonus, until the bonus gauge maxes at 9 (that's 900 points). An attack gives 1 point and defeating an enemy or destroying something (chests and geo symbols included) gives something like 20 points (I'm not entirely certain on this, but it's based on my observations). Combos double the defeated enemy score when such a combo defeats the enemy (or geo symbol or chest) and increase exponentially with combo counts that don't defeat or destroy the target. If you had a +3 combo and defeated an enemy as a consequence to this, you'll get 80 points for the defeated enemy. If it doesn't defeat or destroy the target, a +1 combo gives 4 points, a +2 combo gives 9 points, and so on. Do note that I'm not entirely certain on this, but it's based on my observations. It's entirely possible to go from a bonus of 0 to 9 on the first turn with all 10 allies. This video shows you how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNPLELLKXTY This method isn't always available, however. That's where geo symbols and color chains come in. It's a way to ensure you get that bonus gauge filled up. Each color chain point you get adds one point to the bonus gauge. In addition, a 20% bonus (not entirely certain on this) bonus is granted on the color chain if all geo panels are destroyed with the "null" geo symbol (the transparent one). Basically, a color chain of 879 or higher will guarantee that the bonus gauge will be maxed out. This reduces to a minimum of 733 when you get the all-clear bonus. It's often easy enough to set up such chains... if counterattacks didn't interfere. The following 6 subsections will explain in detail how to set up and maximize a color chain. They are sorted based on difficulty in the form of 6 levels. If you can consistently clear all 6 levels, you can consider yourself a true geo master. Maps are frequently included to help - section 1.3 explains how to read them. ------------------------------------------------ | 4.2 Level 1: Starting color chains **040200** | ------------------------------------------------ Re Bl Nu *En* Nu Nu Ye Nu Bl Nu Gr *Ne* *En* /Bl\ *En* Nu Ma Nu Nu Bl Gr Nu Ma Gr Nu *En* *En* Re Nu Ma *BP* Ye Ye Nu Bl Re Bl Nu *En* /Ye\ Nu Gr Ye Nu Nu Bl Nu Nu Ye Ma Gr *En* *En* Nu Bl Gr Bl Bl Nu Gr Ye Nu Nu Re *En* Re Nu Bl Gr Gr Nu Bl Nu Ma Ye Ye *Ne* Ye Gr Ye Ma Gr Nu Nu Ye *DG* Re *En* /Re\ *En* Gr Gr Nu Gr Bl Ma Re /Nu\ *En* *En* Bl Nu Nu Nu Re Ma Gr Ye Re Bl Re Ma Ye *En* /Gr\ Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - EXP+50% /Re\ - DEF-50% /Gr\ - ATK-50% /Bl\ - No tower attack /Ye\ - Warp This would be a pretty typical setup you'd find in the item world. The level 1 setup is the most common case you'll encounter as pretty much every geo symbol qualifies as level 1. If you get damage 20%, invincibility, no color change, or no lifting, then it will be level 3 or higher. The first step is simple - check what color geo symbols are present. To do that, choose the "character" option on the battle menu and scroll to the bottom of the list (it'll be somewhat random if you're having clone wars). Note the color of the geo symbol at the very bottom. Now check this against which colors are present. Unless you get the kind of floor in the item world with extreme enemy density in a small space, geo symbols and geo panels follow a fairly consistent pattern (though not always the case): +-----------------------+----------------------+ | Last geo symbol color | Last geo panel color | +-----------------------+----------------------+ | Null (transparent) | Red | | Red | Green | | Green | Blue | | Blue | Yellow | | Yellow | Magenta | | Magenta | Cyan | +-----------------------+----------------------+ I'll say, for example, that the character list has the yellow geo symbol at the bottom, meaning that you have the null, red, green, and blue in addition. Chances are, you'll have red, green, blue, yellow, and magenta-colored geo panels. Move all geo symbols, except the null, on magenta, the unused color (the one at the bottom of the geo panel colors list). Next, move the null geo symbol on any color except magenta. You should get a layout like this, at least for the geo symbols after throwing: Re Bl Nu Nu Nu Ye Nu Bl Nu Gr Nu Ma Nu Nu Bl Gr Nu Ma Gr Nu /Ye\ *Al* /Bl\ Re Nu Ma *BP* Ye Ye Nu Bl Re Bl Nu Nu Gr Ye Nu Nu Bl Nu Nu Ye Ma Gr *Al* Nu Bl Gr Bl Bl Nu Gr Ye Nu Nu Re Re Nu Bl Gr Gr Nu Bl Nu Ma Ye Ye Ye Gr Ye Ma Gr Nu Nu Ye *DG* Re /Re\ *En* Gr Gr Nu Gr Bl Ma Re /Nu\ Bl Nu Nu Nu Re Ma Gr Ye Re Bl Re Ma Ye *En* *Al* /Gr\ Last, destroy the geo symbol of the color that you placed the null on. If, for example, you placed the null on a green geo panel like this map originally had, destroy the green geo symbol first. You can destroy the others, except the null (the null only if all the others get destroyed first, but I'd highly recommend leaving it alone). Geo symbols do offer some experience, but very little. They do, however, offer the full amount of mana (a level 160 geo symbol will give 160 mana, before any managers or "mana+50%" effects extend that. Execute the action and watch the colors change. If you didn't destroy the other geo symbols, they will get destroyed instantly during the color change effects. While you watch the change, you'll notice that the panels begin changing colors going outward in a clockwise spiral pattern. I haven't been able to consistently determine which panel will get changed after the first one (the one the geo symbol is on is the first one). It's likely on the X-positive side. Due to the clockwise spiral pattern, the yellow geo symbol will get destroyed before the blue one. In this example map, upon destroying the green geo symbol, you will get a color chain of 662 and the special all-clear termination bonus. The bonus gauge should fill up to a little past 8 in this case, assuming it started from 0. Clearing out the enemies should otherwise max it out. Do be warned though that, when you do destroy a geo symbol, all objects on geo panels that change color will take some damage. Thus, before setting off the chain, move all allies off of geo panels so that they don't take damage. The formula to determine the damage is this: Damage = (GeoSymbolLevel*2+3)*ColorCombo; Thus, if you destroy a level 164 geo symbol and had a color combo of 1, you can expect 331 damage as demonstrated here: Damage = (164*2+3)*1; If the color combo was 6, the highest possible, and a level 9999 geo symbol was destroyed, the damage is 120,006 (causing a white "120K" to pop out), the highest possible damage that geo symbols can cause. When a geo symbol is hit, the damage equals the amount of HP the geo symbol has instead. If you can do this setup, then it's time for you to advance to level 2. ------------------------------------------------------- | 4.3 Level 2: more geo symbols than colors **040300** | ------------------------------------------------------- Level 2 is basically the same as level 1, except there are more geo symbols than there are geo panel colors. ........................................ 4.3.1 Only one color present **040310** ........................................ Re Re Re Nu Re *En* /Bl\ Re Re Nu Re *OB* Nu Re *Ne* *En* Re Nu Re Re *BP* Re Re Re Re /Ye\ Re *DG* Re Re Re Nu Re Re /Nu\ *En* Re Nu Nu Re Nu /Ma\ /Gr\ Re Nu Re Re Re Nu Re Re *En* Re Nu Re Nu Re /Re\ Re Re Re Nu Re *MR* *En* Effects present (offensive group): /Nu\ - ATK+50% /Re\ - Attack+1 /Gr\ - ATK+50% /Bl\ - DEF-50% /Ye\ - DEF-50% /Ma\ - ATK+50% Level 2 is basically the same as level 1, except there are more geo symbols than there are geo panel colors. A good example is only red being present but all 6 geo symbols are present. Another case is waiting several turns for an encroach geo symbol to turn all panels into one color. For this, things are a bit different. The most important one is the null geo symbol - keep it as far away from the other geo symbols as possible. Remember that, when a geo symbol is destroyed, the color change occurs in a clockwise spiral. Thus, if you group the other 5 geo symbols closely together and destroy the one furthest from the null geo symbol, you'll guarantee the maximum possible bonus. This example map has the null geo symbol pretty much right in the middle of the action and a few of the other geo symbols are not on geo panels. There is also no gate keeper either. This means you'll need to spare at least one of the enemies that can move. There are no islands either so trapping the lone enemy with geo symbols is a must (choose an enemy type that cannot go through geo symbols or allies, like the white dragons for example). This would be a good setup for this particular map, before the allies are moved to safety: Re Re Re Nu Re *Al* Re Re Nu Re *OB* Nu Re Re Nu Re Re *BP* Re Re Re Re *Al* Re *DG* Re Re Re Nu Re Re *Al* *Al* /Nu\ Re Nu Nu Re Nu /Gr\ *Al* Re Nu Re Re Re Nu Re Re /Ma\ /Bl\ Re Nu Re Nu Re /Ye\ Re Re Re Nu Re *MR* *En* /Re\ *Al* *Al* Note the enemy being trapped in a corner by the yellow and red geo symbols. Also, note that the null geo symbol is far from the others. The blue seems close to it, but, if you destroy the green, magenta, or yellow geo symbols first, the null geo symbol will still be destroyed last since the blue is closer to these than the null is. When in doubt, move the blue geo symbol closer to the others. In my case, for this setup, I'd drag out a wizard and cast a star-type spell on both the green and magenta geo symbols simultaneously to set off the chain. This map will yield a color chain of 756. With the all- clear bonus, this will guarantee that the bonus gauge will be filled to the maximum. One very important thing to note is, before setting off the color change, you can't just pick any of the geo symbols to destroy. In order for a color change to take effect, the color of the geo symbol you destroy must not match the color of the geo panel it is on. Destroying the red geo symbol here won't cause any color change effects to occur. The color of the geo symbol you destroy is what the geo panels will turn into. Red turning into red is pointless. However, if the magenta, green, yellow, blue, or null geo symbol is destroyed, a color change will occur. With area maps being as big as 48x48 panels, and all special panels (such as the base panel) unable to be a geo panel (the base panel and dimension gate are the minimum requirements), the absolute highest possible color chain is 48,384. It's rare to see much beyond 3000 to begin with though is most likely on boss floors in the item world when you have an "encroach" geo symbol present and all 6 geo symbols. .............................................. 4.3.2 More geo symbols than colors **040320** .............................................. Gr *BP* Nu Nu Bl Re Nu Gr Nu *En* *En* Nu Nu Bl Nu Nu Gr Bl Bl Nu /Gr\ *En* Bl Nu Re Re Nu Re Gr Re Bl Nu *En* *Ne* Gr Nu Nu Re Bl Bl Re Gr /Nu\ Nu Nu Gr Re Nu /Bl\ Re Bl Nu Nu /Ye\ Bl Gr Gr Nu Re Bl *En* /Re\ Nu Gr Bl Nu Re Nu Nu *En* Bl Nu Nu Gr Nu Re Gr *En* *Ne* Nu Nu Re Re Gr Nu *DG* Re *En* *En* *En* Effects present (bonus group): /Nu\ - EXP+50% /Re\ - EXP+50% /Gr\ - HL+50% /Bl\ - EXP-50% /Ye\ - HL-50% When there are more geo symbols than geo panel colors, like this map shows, then follow the usual procedure for level 1, but keep the extra geo symbols separate. This map has only 3 total colors (red, green, and blue), but there are 5 geo symbols present (null, red, green, blue, and yellow). There is no gate keeper, but at least there are enemies on an island - ignore the enemies on the island but eliminate the rest. Like with the level 1 case, place all geo symbols on the color at the bottom of the list (blue in this case). Similar to with the level 2 setup, keep the blue and yellow geo symbols as far apart from the red and green ones as you can. Have the null geo symbol, like the level 1 setup, on a different color. This way, the color chain will be maximized since the blue and yellow geo symbols will change all geo panels over instead only a portion of them. This would be an optimal setup for this particular map: Gr *BP* Nu Nu Bl Re Nu Gr Nu Nu Nu Bl Nu Nu Gr Bl Bl Nu Bl Nu Re Re Nu Re Gr Re Bl Nu *Al* Gr Nu Nu Re Bl Bl Re Gr *Al* /Nu\ /Gr\ /Re\ Nu Nu Gr Re Nu *Al* Re Bl Nu Nu /Bl\ *Al* Bl Gr Gr Nu Re Bl /Ye\ *Al* Nu Gr Bl Nu Re Nu Nu *En* Bl Nu Nu Gr Nu Re Gr Nu Nu Re Re Gr Nu *DG* Re *En* Note the use of a diagonal throw for the green geo symbol. Sometimes, there are cases where a diagonal throw helps considerably, so that fewer throws are made. This is the easiest of the diagonal throws you can do - 3 across and 1 down. Set the length to the full 4 to the right, press down, then press right. Very shortly after pressing right, execute the throw to move it here. With the red and green geo symbols otherwise right next to each other and the others far apart, it won't matter which one you destroy. Being this close together, I'd usually drag out a wizard and cast a star spell on both to ensure they go. This map will yield a color chain of 561, assuming the red is destroyed first like you should do (since that's what color the null is on). With the all-clear bonus, this becomes 673, enough to nearly get to item 7 on the bonus list. ------------------------------------------------- | 4.4 Level 3: sorry, no color change **040400** | ------------------------------------------------- When "no lifting", "invincibility", or "damage 20%" are not present, you have a level 3 setup. .......................................... 4.4.1 A single no color change geo symbol .......................................... Bl Re Gr Gr Re Ye *En* /Nu\ Gr Re Bl Ye Re *En* Bl Bl Nu Gr Re Bl Ye *En* /Gr\ Gr Gr Bl Nu *En* *En* Ye Gr Ye Bl *DG* Ye Re Gr *En* /Bl\ Gr Ye Ye Bl *OB* *OB* Bl Bl *En* *En* Re Ye Re Re *OB* *OB* Nu Gr *En* *BP* Ye Bl Re Ye Gr *Ne* /Re\ Ye Bl *MR* Re Bl *En* Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - No close combat /Re\ - No color change /Gr\ - Enemy boost +50% /Bl\ - ATK-50% A level 3 setup is essentially the same a level 1 setup, except for one crucial detail that must be considered. As described in the list in section 3 above, the no color change geo symbol means that you can't just pick and choose a color to place the null geo symbol on. It must match the color of the "no color change" geo symbol. That is, if "no color change" was a red geo symbol and the list stops at the blue geo symbol, you must move the null geo symbol on a red geo panel and destroy the "no color change" geo symbol without destroying any others. This map shows you what I mean: Bl Re Gr Gr Re Ye /Nu\ *Al* /Bl\ Gr Re Bl Ye Re Bl Bl Nu Gr Re Bl Ye *Al* Gr Gr Bl Nu Ye Gr Ye Bl *DG* Ye Re Gr /Gr\ *En* Gr Ye Ye Bl *OB* *OB* Bl Bl *Al* Re Ye Re Re *OB* *OB* Nu Gr *BP* Ye Bl Re Ye Gr Ye Bl *MR* Re Bl /Re\ *Al* Here, you can see that the null geo symbol is on red, which is also the color of the "no color change" geo symbol. With few places for allies t go that are not affected by geo panels, consider using tower lifts for all but the attacker. The base panel is also a safe place to be for the setting off of the color change, considering that the "no color change" geo symbol is also right next to the base panel. This will result in a color chain of 348. The all-clear bonus makes this 417. This isn't much, but there aren't many geo panels in this rather small map. At least it's enough to get 4 items on the bonus list. If the "no color change" geo symbol is the null geo symbol, treat it the same as a level 1 setup. When only one color for geo panels is present, things are different. If the null is the "no color change" geo symbol, you'll need to temporarily move it off of a geo panel. If the red geo symbol is the "no color change" geo symbol, then either destroy it and set off the color chain with what remains. ........................................... 4.4.2 Multiple no color change geo symbols ........................................... Bl Nu Gr Cy Ye Bl *En* Ye Ma Re Ye Ma *BP* Nu *Ne* Nu Ma Gr Ye Cy Ma /Gr\ *En* Bl Re Cy Ma Ye Bl Nu Ye Gr *En* /Re\ Cy Nu Cy Ma Re Bl Nu /Ye\ *En* *En* Gr Re Nu Gr Cy Ma *En* *En* Ye Nu Bl Gr Ye *En* *DG* Ma Re Gr Ma Re *En* /Ma\ *En* Ye Gr Cy Bl Nu /Nu\ /Bl\ Ma Re Nu Cy *En* Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - HL+50% /Re\ - No color change /Gr\ - No color change /Bl\ - Clone /Ye\ - Heal 20% /Ma\ - No color change What if there are, say, 3 "no color change" geo symbols? Combine the methods in levels 1 and 2. Move all "no color change" geo symbols close together and keep the others separate. As long as the color change destroys another "no color change" geo symbol, the chain will be preserved in tact. Should other geo symbols get included with other "no color change" geo symbols still on that color, they won't take effect, reducing the color chain amount and overall damage potential (and likely also preventing the all-clear bonus). Of course, if all else, put the "no color change" geo symbols on the other colors, the colors of the geo symbols that will be destroyed right away. Here's one such setup for this map, the level 1 and 2 combo approach: Bl Nu Gr Cy Ye Bl /Ma\ Ye Ma Re Ye Ma *BP* Nu Nu Ma Gr Ye Cy Ma /Re\ *Al* Bl Re Cy Ma Ye Bl Nu Ye Gr *Al* Cy Nu Cy Ma Re Bl Nu /Ye\ /Gr\ Gr Re Nu Gr Cy Ma Ye Nu Bl Gr Ye *Al* *DG* Ma Re Gr Ma Re *Al* Ye Gr Cy Bl Nu *Al* /Bl\ *Al* Ma Re Nu Cy *En* /Nu\ With few cyan-colored around that are close together, you'll likely need to manually destroy the others. First, destroy the red (that's what the null is on, right?). Then, have a wizard cast a star spell (or whatever your preference is) on the magenta and green geosymbols simultaneously (use the area of effect option 7 for that, provided the wizard casts from a height of 47 or lower (48 is not always guaranteed to work)). An alternative is to have the wizard cast on the yellow panel 1 panel north of the red geo symbol using the 6 area of effect to also target the magenta geo symbol. Another wizard or a spear-user could get the green geo symbol. A tricky diagonal throw is used to move the null geo symbol (2 west and 2 south). Another diagonal throw is used to move the lone enemy to trap it due to the lack of a gate keeper or islands. Why not have the ally go on the easier cyan 2 panels south to throw the null geo symbol? There's a clone geo symbol present, a dangerous geo symbol. Since it gets moved on cyan as well, you must be careful not to leave any allies on such dangerous effects because they'll get cloned as become another enemy (the clone will be the enemy, not the ally). In this case, if done right, you'll have a color combo of 749, assuming you use the second method. The all-clear bonus makes this 898, guaranteeing that the bonus gets maxed. ----------------------------------------------- | 4.5 Level 4: invincibility mayhem **040500** | ----------------------------------------------- Gr Re Cy Ma Bl *En* /Re\ Ma Nu Gr Ye Gr Re Bl Bl *En* *Ne* Ye Nu Ye Cy Ma /Ma\ /Nu\ Gr *DG* Nu Gr *En* Cy Cy *BP* Ye Nu *En* *En* Ma Bl Nu Bl Nu Cy Re Ma *En* *En* Re Ma Ye Bl Ye Bl Nu Re *En* /Gr\ Nu Re Gr Ma Re Cy Gr /Ye\ *Ne* Cy Cy Re Gr Ma /Bl\ Bl Re Ye Cy *En* Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - DEF+50% /Re\ - Move-1 /Gr\ - No range attack /Bl\ - Invincibility /Ye\ - Enemy boost x3 /Ma\ - DEF-50% If you don't have "damage 20%" or "no lifting", then you have a level 4 setup. This setup is troublesome, especially if only one color is present. This is because you cannot destroy an invincibility geo symbol at all through attacking, or anything that's on that color, including other geo symbols. Well, not quite. Invincibility geo symbols can be destroyed while on a geo panel. The only way they can is through the results of color changes. Thus, place all other geo symbols (besides the null of course) on the last listed color. Move the invincibility geo symbol on the color of any "no color change" geo symbols (pick any color if otherwise). Move the null geo symbol to the same color as the invincibility geo symbol is on, but keep the null far from the other geo symbols, much like the level 2 setup. For example, let's say the invincibility geo symbol is blue and all 6 geo symbols are present without any "no color change" ones. Place all but the invincibility and null geo symbols on cyan. Move the null geo symbol as far away from the others as you can. Now, destroy the geo symbol that matches the color the invincibility geo symbol is on. Here's an example of this in use: Gr Re Cy Ma Bl /Re\ *Al* Ma Nu Gr Ye Gr Re Bl Bl *Al* *Al* /Bl\ Ye Nu Ye Cy Ma *Al* /Gr\ Gr *DG* Nu Gr *En* Cy Cy *BP* Ye Nu /Ma\ Ma Bl Nu Bl Nu Cy Re Ma Re Ma Ye Bl Ye Bl Nu Re *Al* Nu Re Gr Ma Re Cy Gr *Al* *Al* /Nu\ Cy Cy Re Gr Ma /Ye\ Bl Re Ye Cy Sometimes, you may need to throw twice to get an optimal setup. The ally north of the previous location throws the blue geo symbol to the green panel 1 panel south of where the magenta geo symbol was. An second ally located where the magenta geo symbol was does a 5-panel diagonal throw. It's rare, but when there's little room to move, and the geo panels are not in optimal spots, sometimes, 2 throws are indeed needed. The green geo symbol is thrown diagonally (an easy one) so that it's near the invincibility geo symbol. This way, when the red geo symbol is destroyed through attacking or casting a spell on it, the green geo symbol gets destroyed first instead of the magenta one (it's 3 panels in a single direction instead of 4). Although the null is also on red, because the green one gets destroyed first and right next to the invincibility geo symbol, the invincibility one will get destroyed before the null does. This particular setup will yield a color chain of 758, becoming 909 with the all-clear bonus, of which guarantees that the bonus will be maxed. An easier alternative is to move the null geo symbol to a different color than blue or cyan and keep the colors of the geo symbols of the colors the invincibility and null geo symbols are on. That is, place the invincibility on red and the null on green. Move the red and green geo symbols as close together as you can get and keep the other 2 separate and destroy the red one first (since that's what invincibility is on). This works because, as the other 3 geo symbols (green, yellow, and magenta) are being destroyed from the color change effect, the invincibility geo symbol will get destroyed during color combo 2 (the initial start is 1) on the second color chain where the panels are changing to green. Because yellow and magenta were destroyed earlier, the green panels are changing to one of these which will destroy the null geo symbol last otherwise guaranteeing the maximum bonus. This is that same map with this method in use: Gr Re Cy Ma Bl /Re\ /Nu\ *Al* Ma Nu Gr Ye Gr Re Bl Bl *Al* Ye Nu Ye Cy Ma *Al* Gr *DG* Nu Gr *En* Cy Cy *BP* Ye Nu /Ma\ Ma Bl Nu Bl Nu Cy Re Ma Re Ma Ye Bl Ye Bl Nu Re *Al* *Al* Nu Re Gr Ma Re Cy Gr /Gr\ Cy Cy Re Gr Ma /Ye\ Bl Re Ye Cy *Al* /Bl\ Here, the arrangement is a bit different, but the idea is still the same. This time, the magenta geo symbol is closer to the red (for being on the same color geo panel) and thus, it will be destroyed. Destroying the red geo symbol will cause the invincibility geo symbol to get destroyed. With magenta destroyed second in the chain, the null will be destroyed as the geo panels are turning to magenta instead of red. Interestingly, this setup may yield a different color chain than the previous. Since the order of the magenta and green geo symbols are switched and they both have 8 panels of this color, the color chain is the same. If, however, there were 7 magenta and 8 green, the color chain will actually be lower, but only slightly. -------------------------------------- | 4.6 Level 5: damage 120% **040600** | -------------------------------------- Bl Gr Cy Ye Gr *En* Nu Nu Bl Nu Nu Re Ye /Re\ Re Bl Bl Gr Nu Nu *En* Cy Bl Nu Nu Ma Re Bl Re Ye *En* *En* *Ne* Nu Bl Cy Ma Bl Gr Nu Cy Nu Ma /Bl\ *En* /Ma\ Gr Ye Re Cy Nu Cy Nu *DG* Nu /Ye\ *En* *En* Ma Nu Ma Re Ye Re Nu Nu Ye *En* /Nu\ Gr Ye Nu Cy Ye Bl Cy /Gr\ Nu *BP* Ma Nu Ye Nu Gr *En* Re Cy Bl Gr Nu Ma *En* *En* Effects present (damage group): /Nu\ - Damage 20% /Re\ - Damage 20% /Gr\ - Damage 20% /Bl\ - Damage 20% /Ye\ - Damage 20% /Ma\ - Damage 20% 72 total panels Re - 8 Gr - 8 Bl - 10 Ye - 9 Ma - 7 Cy - 9 Nu - 21 You might be thinking that, when you get 6 geo symbols of the damage group (which is actually quite common), that it would be a level 1 type setup. Why is it considered level 5? Easy - enemies are surprisingly stupid! You also need to move the geo symbols in a way so that your own characters won't take damage. Because of the enemy stupidity, you'll have to go fast or they'll just end up dying from their own dumb and suicidal actions. If all enemies are defeated, the stage is cleared and you won't be able to get the bonuses. Thus, you have to be fast which is why it's ranked as level 5. If you have a gate keeper present, then it's much easier since the dimension gate cannot have geo effects. Unfortunately, the map in the example does not have a gate keeper, but there is an island, the next best. The island, however, has geo panels covering both possible places. Since all the damage geo symbols need to be on cyan and the island doesn't have any cyan, it's a great choice. An alternative is to, of course, trap the enemy by the geo symbols - the area on the west side looks like a promising spot due to the null spot (not affected by geo symbols). This will make dealing with this much easier. Not all maps give you these opportunities though and it's why it's level 5 - you have to be fast and careful (so counterattacks don't end up unexpectedly defeating the last enemy as you're trying to keep away from it). For the most part, you can treat it as a level 1 case - just be sure no one goes on any geo panels affected by it, unless you can, of course, move the geo symbol to get rid of the effect (or move the ally that's in potential danger). This is how you might consider placing everything: Bl Gr Cy Ye Gr Nu Nu Bl Nu Nu Re Ye *Al* Re Bl Bl Gr Nu Nu Cy Bl Nu Nu Ma Re Bl Re Ye /Bl\ *Al* Nu Bl Cy Ma Bl Gr Nu Cy Nu Ma /Gr\ /Re\ Gr Ye Re Cy Nu Cy Nu *DG* Nu *Al* /Ye\ /Ma\ *Al* Ma Nu Ma Re Ye Re Nu Nu Ye *Al* /Nu\ *Al* Gr Ye Nu Cy Ye Bl Cy Nu *BP* Ma Nu Ye Nu Gr *Al* *En* Re Cy Bl Gr Nu Ma That enemy is trapped on an island. With all geo symbols, except the null, on cyan and the null on red, they enemy won't take damage. Still, do beware of geo symbols moving - they can cause damage that way, another reason why this is level 5. This will give a color chain of 758, becoming 909 with the all-clear bonus, guaranteeing the bonus gauge will max out. ---------------------------------------------- | 4.7 Level 6: no lifting troubles **040700** | ---------------------------------------------- Nu Nu Re Nu Bl Nu Gr Bl *DG* *En* /Re\ *En* Re Gr Nu Nu Nu Bl *OB* *OB* Re *En* Nu Bl *MR* Gr Nu *OB* *OB* Nu Nu Re Nu Nu Gr Re Nu *Ne* Gr Bl Nu Bl Nu Nu Nu Nu /Gr\ *En* Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Bl *En* Nu Re Nu Nu *En* Nu Bl *BP* Nu Nu Nu Re *En* *En* Bl Re Nu Gr Nu Re Gr /Nu\ *En* Nu Bl Nu Gr Nu Nu *En* Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - ATK-50% /Re\ - No lifting /Gr\ - HL+50% 65 total Re - 9 Gr - 8 Bl - 10 Nu - 38 The title for level 6, the final level, can be read in 2 ways. One way is that it hints to having troubles with "no lifting" geo symbols. The other is that it hints to having no troubles with lifting. For this setup, you'll need a very weak character with a special skill that moves its victim. For starters, defeat every single enemy in the area except one as usual. If the "no lifting" geo symbol is not on the correct color, as per the level 1 setup, you'll need to move it. Trouble is, you can't lift a "no lifting" geo symbol when it's on a geo panel so it can't be moved. Or, at least, so you'd think. Let's say there are 3 geo symbols in this case - null, red, and green. The red geo symbol is on a a green geo panel and is the "no lifting". Trouble it, is needs to be on blue. How can it be moved? There is a way. First, however, move the null geo symbol to a different color, if not already on "no lifting". That is, if the null is on blue, move it first. Otherwise, you can leave it alone. In this example case, the null is on blue, so it'll need to get moved. Red is a good color to put it on. With the null taken care of, it's now time to deal with "no lifting". Take the weak character out (weak enough to not be able to destroy the geo symbol) and move him/her so he/she can use triple strike, rising dragon, cat kick, and other such special skills that move its target. It's the only way to move such a geo symbol. It's easier to move it onto a blank spot (not a geo panel) than it is to repeatedly move it with special skills. The exception is if it's possible to move that "no lifting" geo symbol onto the needed color first thing. If an "invincibility" geo symbol is present, move it onto the color that the "no lifting" geo symbol is on then have any character move the geo symbol, no matter how powerful that character is. Even 15 million damage on it won't destroy it, due to invincibility. In this setup, there is no invincibility geo symbol, but there is a blue panel nearby. Moving the weak ally to the null panel and using triple strike on the red "no lifting" geo symbol will move it onto a blue geo panel. Now, what if you need to get this weak character near the lone enemy? This place is a dangerous one for the weak character since it's only 3 panels away from the gate keeper and there are plenty of special skills that can get that far (magic has the furthest range, 9 panels (7 technically, but using area of effect options wisely can extend it to 9). Have a strong character around to throw the character moving the "no lifting" geo symbol via special skills after executing the move. Although "no lifting" is present on blue panels in this case, remember that lifting while on such a panel is still possible, just not anything already on it. This way, the powerful character can take the hit taking little or no damage but leaving the weakling unharmed when it could easily be defeated. Just beware of counterattacks though. Special skills and magic cannot be countered. Of course, if that character goes on an invinciblity panel, then there's no need for that strong character to come out. After moving the "no lifting" geo symbol to the correct color, move all other geo symbols following the usual method for level 1 and set off the color chain like you do in the level 1 setup. Here's the layout after all this is done: Nu Nu Re Nu Bl Nu Gr Bl *DG* *Al* *Al* /Re\ *En* Re Gr Nu Nu Nu Bl *OB* *OB* Re Nu Bl *MR* Gr Nu *OB* *OB* Nu Nu Re Nu Nu Gr Re Nu Gr Bl Nu Bl Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Bl *Al* Nu Re Nu Nu Nu Bl *BP* Nu Nu Nu Re /Gr\ Bl Re Nu Gr Nu Re Gr *Al* /Nu\ Nu Bl Nu Gr Nu Nu If you can master levels 3 and up (1 and 2 are the basics and don't really count) 10 times each you can call yourself are a true geo master. Congratualations! _____ ___ ___ _ ____ ___ ___ ___ _____ _____ _____ | _ \ / _ \ | \ | | | _ \ / _ \ | \ / | |_ _| |___ | | ___| | |_| | | |_| | | |\ \ | | | | | | | | | | | |\ V /| | | | / / | |__ | _ < | _ | | | \ \ | | | | | | | | | | | | \_/ | | | | / / | __| | | | | | | | | | | \ \| | | |_| | | |_| | | | | | _| |_ / /__ | |___ |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| \___| |____/ \___/ |_| |_| |_____| |_____| |_____| ############################################## #### #### # 5 Randomizing geo symbols and geo panels **050000** # #### #### ############################################## In the item world, pretty much everything is randomized. This guide will only cover the randomizing of the geo symbols and geo panels. The process of randomizing consists of 7 steps - the number of geo symbols to be present, the group of geo symbols to use, which specific geo symbols to use, which geo symbols will move on their own, how many colors to use for geo panels, the density of geo panels, and the randomization of the geo panel colors. --------------------------------- | 5.1 Important notes **050100** | --------------------------------- Without being able to look at the game's programming, I can only determine these aspects with close observation. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine some parts at the deepest level of detail on this front and thus, as a consequence, some of these details may not be entirely accurate. Being a game programmer myself, I do have knowledge in knowing how to go about accomplishing certain behaviors or effects. Logically, the randomization must start after the terrain is generated. This routine does make sense and fits the observations well. Probabilities are the main uncertainty I have. If you find any discrepencies or incorrect statements that differ from what you're seeing, E-mail me and let me know (see the legal section below for details on contacting me). Please do not relate to the PSP version of this game - this version and the original PS2 version are not the same thing. This guide is for the PS2 version. Most of my experience comes from Disgaea 1 (of which has 1200 hours of play compared to only 300 at Disgaea 2). Disgaea 2 appears to use the same rules so the experiences with Disgaea 1 are still valid. The addition of several new geo symbols and another group is really the only difference. ----------------------------------------- | 5.2 Randomizing geo symbols **050200** | ----------------------------------------- The process of randomizing the geo symbols uses the first 4 steps. Step 1: Number of geo symbols There can be anywhere from 0 to 6 geo symbols on a given map. From what I can tell, each quantity has an equal chance of occurring. Thus, there is a 1 in 7 chance that you won't see any geo symbols at all. This explains why geo symbols are so common in the item world. When 0 is determined through the game's randomization function, no geo symbols or geo panels are present at all and every other step is skipped. Afterall, what's the point of having geo panels without geo symbols? Except with floors where enemies are at a very high density, the order of the colors is always the same: null, red, green, blue, yellow, and magenta. The more geo symbols that are to be present, the further down this list they'll be. On the high-enemy-density floor type, the colors are actually randomized but only one unique color is allowed. I'm not entirely sure if this is the behavior in Disgaea 2 though. It's a fairly rare setup and I tend to destroy the geo symbols before I get a chance to investigate. Step 2: The group of geo symbols Geo symbols, as explained in section 3, come in 6 different groups. It also appears that each group type has an equal chance of occurring meaning that there is a 1 in 6 chance you'll get the useful bonus group and a 1 in 6 chance of the dangerous enemy-helping group. Step 3: Determine the specific geo symbols present Each group type only uses certain geo symbols. The bonus group always has "EXP+ 50%" and/or "HL+50%" present. The damage group only uses "damage 20%" geo symbols, which is why they tend to come in great quantities. When the random group is chosen, any of the game's 37 geo symbols can be used, chosen with equal chance. This step is repeated as many times as there are geo symbols. Thus, if 5 geo symbols are to be present, this step is repeated 5 times. Step 4: Setting which geo symbols will move This is a new feature in Disgaea 2 and thus, I lack details on this front at the moment. From what I do have, however, it appears that there is a 20% chance that a given geo symbol will be given the ability to move on its own. ---------------------------------------- | 5.3 Randomizing geo panels **050300** | ---------------------------------------- The process of randomizing the geo panels uses the last 3 steps. Step 5: Total geo panel colors From what I can tell, there is a 50% chance that the total number of geo panel colors will match the number of geo symbols. I'm not entirely certain on this probability though. If not, then the number of colors is randomized from 1 to 6. Step 6: Geo panel density Some floors have otherwise every panel affected by geo panels and others have very few panels that are geo panels. This hints to a density factor being determined. The probability that a panel will become a geo panel, when geo panels are to be present, appears to be X in 255 where X is a random number from and including 32 to and including 255. Step 7: Geo panel color determination This step has 2 parts. The first part is to check to see if the panel will become a geo panel at all, based on the density. If it will, then the color is determined through yet another random number. This random number is a value from 1 to however many geo panel colors there are to be. If the panel will not become a geo panel, then the second part is skipped. _____ ___ ___ | ___| / _ \ / _ \ | |__ | |_| | | | | | | __| | _ | | | | | | | _ | | | | _ | |_| |_ _ |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| \______| |_| ######################################## #### #### # 6 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) **060000** # #### #### ######################################## Here are some questions that may be (or have been) asked involving this. If you have any questions you'd like to ask, see the question at the bottom. Q. If you haven't advanced the story beyond chapter 1, how do you know of the existence of "no entry"? A. You'll see it in Cave of Ordeals 3 (Cave of Ordeals is unlockable after some time). Here, you'll see the path split in 2. One side prevents the use of close combat and the other prevents the use of ranged attacks. Separating these down the middle is "no entry". This geo symbol is also present in Cave of Ordeals 5 (I had to quit and reload realizing that I had no way to clear it because I didn't have 2 characters that could throw 6 panels). Experiences in Disgaea 1 have provided me with the most information about it. Q. Why haven't you advanced the story? A. I'm not the kind of player who plays RPGs for their stories. I play for the mechanics and extreme powerleveling. By the time I began advancing Disgaea 1's story, over a year later, I was doing 20 million damage to every boss in the game, with a few cases of Uber Prinny Baal thrown in. The more extreme I can obliterate bosses, the more entertaining it becomes to me. I don't intend on advanding Disgaea 2's story until I'm well into doing 8-figure damage consistently, like with Disgaea 1, and this may be another year down the road. Q. If the game provides only vague or unclear descriptions on certain geo symbols, like fusion or encroach, how do you know what they do to great degree of detail? A. Observations. Observe carefully and you can learn a lot. Q. What's this clone wars thing you keep mentioning? A. Clone wars involves endlessly defeating clones, usually high level clones, to level up, gain mana, gain skill mastery, gain weapon mastery, and obtain massive amounts of HL. There are numerous advantages to clone wars. The only disadvantage is that seeing the right geo symbols in the first place is rare. The perfect setup involves 1 clone geo symbol, 5 exp+50% geo symbols, and a small area map where, turn after turn, for every clone that appears, it can be defeated. This setup allows level 9999 to be reached in only 1 1/2 hours. Unfortunately, the odds of it happening are beyond astronomical - about 1 in 250 billion for Disgaea 1 (it's even less in Disgaea 2 because the geo symbols cannot move and with the greater quantity of them, even less yet). A good minimum that I prefer is 1 clone and 1 exp+50% or 2 clones. Later on, this may increase to 3 qualifying geo symbols, such as 1 clone and 2 exp+50%, 2 clones and 1 exp+50%, or 3 clones. The more clone geo symbols you have, the better the setup is for magic-users. The more exp+50% geo symbols you have, the better is it is for physical fighters. A huge range will greatly accelerate clone wars's effectiveness since, with a long range, it's easier to attack and defeat the clone that appears - you don't have to wait for movement or attack animations and eventual counterattacks. A high number of counterattacks will also further improve the effectiveness of clone wars putting fist users at a great advantage. With 250 hours of play, I've already got more than a quarter trillion HL. Only 500 hours into Disgaea 1 and I maxed the HL at 10 trillion, experiencing a bug with it (I'd have 30 trillion by now if it didn't max out.). These 5 videos explain how to set up clone wars (in Disgaea 1): Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpNVY9s4sy8 Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHM4pRHkAJ8 Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iofBvVfyazM Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McK64iQ5d20 Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJYpt2gV4QY This video has clone wars in action in Disgaea 2, using the island effect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EutVYfy5TEU The malchidael is a much better alternative than the aegis knight for exp, but since it has special skills, it's not a reliable choice outside the island effect. The top rank majin class (I've only seen these in the item world since I don't have access to them.) is the best of the best for having clone wars any time, anywhere. and I'm looking for a character class (that the game provides me access to) that doesn't have special skills. Characters without special skills (weapon-specific special skills are an exception - just unequip the weapon or steal it) are a must for clone wars in Disgaea 2, since characters with special skills only waste time and are more dangerous. Since special skills cannot be countered, this is even more troubling. The perfect setup for clone wars is having 1 "clone" geo symbol along with 5 "exp+50%" geo symbols laid out like this (using a spear with a 5-panel attack radius): Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re /Nu\ *En* Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re /Re\ Re Re Re Re Re Nu Re Re Re Re Re Re *Al* /Gr\ Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re /Bl\ Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re Re /Ye\ /Ma\ Re Re Re Re Re *BP* *DG* Re Re Re Re Effects present (random group): /Nu\ - Clone /Re\ - EXP+50% /Gr\ - EXP+50% /Bl\ - EXP+50% /Ye\ - EXP+50% /Ma\ - EXP+50% With a setup like this, every time a clone appears, you can always attack it without any risk of attacking the geo symbols. The lone enemy trapped by geo symbols is to allow the clones to appear. The null space in the middle is for the ally's safety, of which takes only 6 seconds per turn in Disgaea 1, 7 seconds per turn in Disgaea 2. Each argus clone in Disgaea 1 is 4.2 million EXP (without statisticians) making it possible to go from level 1 to 9999 in only 7778 seconds (calculated estimate; just over 2 hours). In Disgaea 2, a level 9999 malchidael clone gives about 4,955,458 exp (calculated estimate based on a level 3190 malchidael giving 6,323,797 as a normal enemy). That's about 18% more meaning that, it's just as fast (if only the turn banners didn't display for so long and could be shortened). Q. Geo symbols keep moving! How am I supposed to maximize color chains when this happens? A. This is an annoying feature in Disgaea 2 that makes me stay off geo panels any time dangerous ones are present (such as damage 20%, critical, etc.) that I can check (simply lift the geo symbol and see if the rabbit-like thing is present underneath). The only way to combat this is to take out more than one character or repeatedly end your turn until these geo symbols move to the correct colors. Throwing them on islands will also help, along with trapping them with your own allies or deep pits. Q. I can't reach a geo symbol because it's on an island with no place to throw to or the dimension gate, etc. is in the way. How can I maximize the color chain in this case? A. This will happen. It's rare, but it will happen. If you are a true geo master, you should be able to figure this out. Q. There is only one color present and an invincibility geo symbol. How I can I maximize the color chain here? A. Unlike Disgaea 1 where you can simply throw the annoying invincibility geo symbols at an enemy or throw an enemy on the geo symbol to destroy it, you'll have to move the invincibility geo symbol off of the geo panels. You'll have to sacrifice the color chain size though. Q. There's a legendary rank 39 item on the bonuses that I finally found, but I can't get it because there aren't enough geo symbols. Any ideas? A. There are 3 ways. The first works in all circumstances - take out several characters who can cast spells like "blind", "mind break", etc. and endlessly cast them on the lone enemy or even a geo symbol. Attack+1 effects will seriously hasten the accumulation of bonuses. This will create a huge combo count and will fill the bonus gauge. This method also works when there are no geo symbols at all. The second method, best when you're close, is to attempt the use of "geo change". This may not always work though. The third method works if you have a "clone" geo symbol present - deliberately let clones accumlate and defeat them. That bonus gauge will fill up very quickly. Q. Do you have any YouTube videos explaining this? A. Only for Disgaea 1 at the moment (this is the first of 12 segments - they aren't entirely correct as there are a few mistakes, but close enough for the most part): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vY9DtuPkZA Q. Wouldn't a case of having several "enemy boost x3" geo symbols be considered as a higher level than 1? A. No. The level is based not on enemy difficulty, but the difficulty of maxing out the chain and claiming the big bonus boost when you get it. Q. Are there any details you would like to know for adding? A. Several things. The points system for the bonus gauge, the actual bonus for the "all clear" (I'm close, but it doesn't always check out), and perhaps, a few others I can't recall at the moment. Q. I see a mistake or omission in this guide. Will you fix it and when? A. If you spot a mistake in this guide, let me know (see the "contacting me" section) and I'll fix it once I get my mind set at doing so. _ _____ ____ ___ _ | | | ___| / ___| / _ \ | | | | | |__ | | _ | |_| | | | | | | __| | | | | | _ | | | | |___ | |___ | |_| | | | | | | |___ |_____| |_____| \___/ |_| |_| |_____| ################### #### #### # 7 Legal stuff **070000** # #### #### ################### Legal stuff - it can be boring, but it's very important. ------------------------------- | 7.1 Contacting me **070100** | ------------------------------- If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or found an error, E-mail me at "ulillillia (symbol with a small a inside) hotmail spec com". The E-mail is "encrypted" to help prevent spam bots from picking it up and delivering dozens of spam messages. I check my E-mail once every 25 2/3 hours, occasionally twice a day 12 hours later, so you can expect a response within 36 hours (it's usually within 27 hours), provided there's something to comment on. The exception is if I'm unable to get online for some reason, though this is rare. In order of most common to the least common, this is due to: I'm on vacation without access to a computer, I get extremely involved a game and forget about my daily check, or my ISP is down for extended time (e.g. having major technical issues). The latter 2 cases are often combined. --------------------------- | 7.2 Copyright **070200** | --------------------------- This document is copyright (C) 2010 by ulillillia. It may not be placed on any Web site outside GameFAQs, my own at www.ulillillia.us, neoseeker.com, and supercheats.com. This guide may be printed, but only for home, non-commerial- use. Commercial use is commercially printed strategy guides, magazines, printing it and selling it for profits, and the related. ------------------------- | 7.3 Credits **070300** | ------------------------- Credits go to several sources: * This document was made by ulillillia. * This addicting and interesting game was created by Nippon Ichi Software. * Paladin_Breaker for providing me the details on how elemental-defense- adjusting geo symbols affect the casting of elemental spells. --------------------------------- | 7.4 Version history **070400** | --------------------------------- Version 1 - Initial release Version 1 is the initial release, detailing the most obvious elements needed to be covered. Version 1.1 - Several new adjustments: * Evade is actually a part of the defensive group. * I forgot about "mana+50%", "move+1", "move-1", and "silence". * I forgot about elemental resistence also affecting the amount of damage elemental attacks do. Thanks to Paladin_Breaker for reminding me and giving me details on this little-known aspect to me. I otherwise never use elemental attacks, always star spells, so it's otherwise unknown to me. With enemies being immune to certain elements, elemental magic just doesn't seem worth it to me. * 48x48 is the highest grid size present, not 32x32 (the limit in Disgaea 1). * Replaced the clone-wars-related video for Disgaea 2 with something much more up to date. * Added in several ASCII maps to better illustrate things. * Added details on how the randomization works (to the limit of what I can get from close observation).