------------------------------------------| | P H A N T A S Y S T A R O N L I N E | | | | E P I S O D E S I & II | ------------------------------------------ ____________________ / Game by SonicTeam \ / FAQ by DarkNightwing \ ------------------------ This FAQ is copyrighted by DarkNightwing, you can not use any part of it without DarkNightwing's express permission, this FAQ is not to be linked to, copied in whole or in part, or even profited from in any form. At the current time it is only ok for it to be posted at GameBunker, GameFAQs, IGN, PSO Hunter's Guild (http://www.psohg.ionichost.com/main.htm) and PSOLife.com and Ragol.co.uk and it will probably stay that way. If you have any questions feel free to ask DarkNightwing. V1.7 6/1/03 Changed some minor formatting issues on advisory on advice from GameFAQs members. Removed my AIM name and effectively closed my PSO help desk. V1.69 4/28/03 Added a tidbit to the credits section about the plagiarism of my FAQ. Also added a new site that is allowed to host my FAQ. New Olga Flow tips. New question in the FAQs section. V1.61 3/9/03 New Hints for Ultimate Mines and Ruins. Also some misc. Info. On a side note, I was in the Emergency Room yesterday getting an ultrasound. It looks like I may be ok, but I'm still a little shaken up. v1.6 2/16/03 More Olga Flow strategy. v1.5 1/9/03 Yet more FAQs, also some of the more commonly asked questions are going to now be addressed in multiple parts of the FAQ, since no one seems to read the FAQs section... New stuff in item descriptions, fighting. v1.4 12/31/02 More FAQs, Ultimate Caves tips. v1.3 12/29/02 More FAQs, I got asked a lot of the same questions, and the message boards are bombarded with the same things. v1.2 12/12/02 Tips on the Ultimate Difficulty's Sil Dragon, as well as some fixed information on the Luck Stat. A brief outline of character classes. v1.1 12/8/02 A lot of corrections mainly, but also new item stats and Gal Gryphon help for V.Hard. Added Credits section. v1.0 Full Walkthrough and Background on PSO Episodes I & II /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Table of Contents /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (1) An Introduction to PSO (Phantasy Star Online) (2) Game Modes (3) Fighting (4) Stats/Techniques/Items/MAG/Class Overview (5) Questing and Why You Don't Care (6) Walkthrough Episode I (7) Episode I Ending **SPOILERS** (8) Walkthrough Episode II (9) Episode II Ending **SPOILERS** (10) FAQs (11) About DarkNightwing (12) Corrections and Credits /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (1) An Introduction to PSO /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Phantasy Star Online is an RPG styled game that plays more in the vein of Diablo II or Everquest. Many people play the game online but it is just as enjoyable offline. The main goal is to 'train' your character and bash hordes of enemies as you pick up nice shiny items to taunt your friends. PSO was originally released on the Dreamcast, it had a sequel on that system and since then has had an incarnation on the Gamecube, XBox, and PC. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (2) Game Modes /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Phantasy Star Online can be played in 3 different modes, all of them can be played alone online or offline. Battle and Challenge Mode require other players to play. Here's a quick idea of what each mode does for ya. Normal Mode - The player progresses through the story and levels alone or with friends. Fighting hordes of enemies and chatting with no danger of being killed by fellow players. There are level requirements to advance to the next difficulty. The hierarchy is as follows: - You must be Level 20 to go into Hard - You must be Level 40 to go into Very Hard - You must be Level 80 to go into Ultimate These only apply when you're playing online, or with your friends offline. When you're alone level requirements are not in place. Battle Mode - Up to 4 players are pit against each other in organized battles, set up through the guild hall. Sometimes battle mode is used to enable Player Killing, when you go into normal levels in this mode other players can kill you and take the weapon you have equipped. Challenge Mode - This mode temporarily sets your level to a preset, and pits you and 1-3 friends against harder versions of the normal levels. Each Challenge is split up into 9 stages, depending on how fast you clear all the stages you will get rewarded with a better item of your choice to give back to your Normal character. If any of your party members die in this mode, the level ends, thus it's a challenge. ***SPECIAL NOTE ON LEVEL PROGRESS*** You cannot access the next stage in the series in multiplayer until you have beaten the preceding stage in singleplayer. For example you cannot go to Caves 1 without beating the Forest boss on your own and then talking to the principal. You can never start at anything but level 1 of each stage unless you are playing a quest. This means that every-time you play you have to beat Forest 1 and then Forest 2 to fight the boss, this way you can't just benefit from the thousands of experience points you'd get from an easy boss kill. It really isn't THAT difficult of a concept. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (3) Fighting (It's better you learn now than later) /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Since the bulk of the gameplay in PSO is the fighting a lot is expected out of you in terms of battle prowess. Instead of throwing you into my confused jumble of lingo, I'll lay down the ground rules of battling that I DEMAND YOU FOLLOW for your own safety and enjoyment. - Never bite off more than you can chew. If the enemies are knocking you off your feet everytime they hit you, backtrack and level up at least 5 times before you go back into that level alone. - Know the enemies. Most enemies are simple melee attackers than will lumber up to you and attack, you need to be aware of what enemies are capable of what. - Know how you can cure status defects. When frozen, alternately hit left and right on your control stick, if you complete this about 3 times you'll be free much faster than usual. For other conditions use a Sol Atomizer or a corresponding healing item; Antidote for poison, Antiparalysis for paralysis. In the forest use a partisan or another weapon that can hit multiple targets, you'll easy repel all of them at once since the only ranged attacker is Hildebear. In the caves be wary of the sharks they get extremely fast in hard difficulties. Also the lilies will paralyze you, just stand at a distance and wait for them to poison you, at this point you can cast Anti to reverse the poison and be back to normal condition. In the mines take out Sinow Gold's as fast as you can, they cause decent damage and can heal their friends. Dubchics won't die until you've taken out the Control Mine (which appears after seriously injuring one of them). Garanz bots' missiles can do insane damage, get them to chase you and then run the missiles right into the Garanz. In the Ruins be ready for the tough Dimenians they make the Sharks look weak. Take out the Chaos guys first, they can cause massive damage with their techniques and huge weapons. If the Chaos Sorceror freezes you in the middle of even 2 dimenians you are almost guaranteed to die. Episode II enemies are not incredibly different, they do use a few nasty tricks though, the biggest threat I noticed was that many of them can poison, freeze, or even kill you with a simple attack, always carry ample Sol Atomizers (it's a cure-all). - Worst case scenario you can't handle a certain enemy without healing yourself several times, when it comes to this, get a friend with a different character class to help you, even a buddy that's 20 levels lower will be a great help. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (4) Stats/Techniques/Items/MAG/Class Overview /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ [4A] Stats [4B] Techniques [4C] Items [4D] MAG [4E] Basic Weapon Stats [4F] Character Classes ------------------------- [4A] Stats ------------------------- Your character has the following stats that you need to keep track of: HP - Health points, these empty and you're dead. TP - Technique points, these empty and you can't cast anything. ATP - Your 'attack power', determines the weapons you can use, and how hard you swing them. ATA - Your attack accuracy, doesn't affect techniques because they always hit, but don't always damage. DFP - Your defensive ability, this reduces damages. EVP - Your evasion ability, helps you dodge attacks. MST - Helps you learn magic abilities and do more damage with them. LCK - Your luck, the lowest stat, very difficult to raise and very mysterious, apparently affects your chances at getting a 'critical' hit (more damage). ------------------------- [4B] Techniques ------------------------- You need to know what all items and techniques do, so when some clown is spamming a room demanding you Resta him you know what he is talking about instead of casting everything until he shuts up. Forces are the main technique users, although hunters/rangers can learn a vast array of techniques theirs are very limited. Techniques are broken down into 5 categories: Normal Attack Foie - A simple fire attack that shoots only one enemy. Barta - Ice attack that attacks a row of enemies directly in front of you. Zonde - Lightning attack strikes from the air, only hits one enemy but it hits them instantly. Medium Attack Gifoie - Fire starts from the caster and then spirals outward, hits multiple enemies. Gibarta - A flurry of ice is shot in front of the caster, hits multiple enemies and can freeze them. Gizonde - Chain lightning attack, attacks as many enemies as the caster is looking at instantly. Strong Attack Rafoie - Caster creates an explosion on one enemy that can hurt a few others. Rabarta - Aura of ice surrounds caster for a brief instant. Razonde - Aura of lightning surrounds caster for a brief instant. Grants - Force only tech that uses the light element. Megid - Force only tech that uses the dark element. Support Shifta - Boosts attack of caster and later on, his party members. Deband - Boosts defense of caster and later on, his party members. Jellen - Lowers enemy attack power (more enemies per level). Zalure - Lowers enemy defensive ability (more enemies per level). Ryuker - Opens a 'telepipe' back to the Pioneer 2, it stays open until the caster uses it to return to the level he left. Healing Resta - Heals caster and later on, his party members. Anti - Cures status defects for caster and later on, his party members. Reverser - Revives that bozo on your team that died kamikazing into the boss. ------------------------- [4C] Items ------------------------- The list of basic items is fairly compact, you need to know these definitions though to get through the game. Meseta - It's MONEY. Mono, Di, Tri - These are prefixes that go before a few items, mono is the worst, tri is the best. Mates - The primary healing item, they restore more HP depending on the difficulty and the prefix of the one you used. Fluids - Technique Point (TP) healing items, just like the mates, the healing is instant. These also come in Mono, Di, and Tri. Sol Atomizer - Cures status defects (shock, paralysis, poison, slow). Star Atomizer - Replenishes all of your HP and one party member. Moon Atomizer - Revives a party member who bit it. Antidote - Cures poison. Antiparalysis - Cures paralysis. Trap Vision - Shows all traps in the room (cause traps are normally invisible to non-Android characters). Grinder - Pumps up that happy + value at the end of your weapon name, each weapon has a different 'max grinder' but it's usually 30 or lower, for each point grinded you gain 2 ATP (Attack Power). Disk _____ Lv X - Teaches a certain technique of an X level. You don't need to know earlier levels of the spell to get the advanced ones, but you do have to have enough MST. There's been some confusion surrounding slot items as of late and I'm going to try to clear it up here. To find out if an item is socketed, simply pull it up on the menu (if you don't own the item, then just hit R while it is highlighted in the shop). Accessing the second page of the item's information will detail its stats for you, near the bottom of the second page is the text 'Slot' followed by a numerical value. This value can range from 0 to 4, 4 being the best. Each slot can store one item and one item only, the item can only be of the slot type *recognizable by an egg like symbol on the left of the name* ------------------------- [4D] MAGs ------------------------- You'll also notice when you begin you have this thing named MAG equipped, it's a little robot dealie that evolves like a Pokemon and eats like a pig. You feed it edible items, and it will grow stats accordingly. Certain items will boost certain stats. I only offer a generic listing here, because there is a very nice FAQ out already by noZedive13. It is for the Dreamcast version though, so maybe later I can collaborate with him. It's like this: Your MAGs different stats are POW, DEX, MIND, DEF, IQ, and Synchro. When he gains a level in POW, your character benefits 2 ATP points. When he gains a level in DEX, your character gets a half of an ATA point. When he gains a level in DEF, your character gains a DFP point. When he gains a level in MIND, you earn 2 MST points. According to Nintendo Power, a MAG requires 100 'points' in an area to get a level up for that area. Different items will give you different amounts of these points. The higher evolution your MAG is the more diversified the item intake's effect becomes. Meaning that a MAG centric on POW, is probably not going to want to eat MIND boosting items like fluids. For more MAG information check out the great In-Depth faqs on GameFAQs. ------------------------- [4E] Basic Weapon Stats ------------------------- A lot of FAQs are floating around with information on all the rare, hard to find weapons. Many times you find yourself using a basic weapon before you get these godly items. So it is for this reason that I bestow upon you, statistics on the basic weapons. I will list the item's family, its name then the stats it boosts and the stat it requires. Most items in the lists start out as green, then higher levels are blue, purple, red, and gold colored. I'll try to add another category for each update, I got many more written down already, just not the complete set, and I hate updating parts of a part. =[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[] Sabers - Saber ATP +45 ATP required 30 ATA +30 - Brand ATP +100 ATP required 90 ATA +33 - Buster ATP +160 ATP required 155 ATA +35 - Pallasch ATP +220 ATP required 233 ATA +38 - Gladius ATP +280 ATP required 296 ATA +40 =[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[] Daggers, pistols, mechguns, swords, maces and all other items are coming soon. ------------------------- [4F] Character Classes ------------------------- When you begin the game you're given a bunch of choices. You got 12 different possible classes to choose from, and a very common topic on the message boards tends to be "What Class should I use?" here I'll attempt to end these topics. If this section fails to aid you, go to faqs.ign.com for my class guides. Soon a complete compiled Class Guide will be posted at GameFAQs. --NOTE- The word Hunter in this FAQ and the game is used interchangeably with the name of the Hunter class and just being a player. All players of PSO are Hunters, regardless of them being in the Hunter class or not. -- Keep in mind these generic rules: - Androids can't learn techs, they can only use traps - Newman classes are the best in techniques - Cast/Caseal are the best in physical stats like ATP/DFP and max HP, since they are androids they make up for the lack of techs with these great stats. - Humans are balanced in all sorts of skills, but the scales are slightly tipped in favor of the major class they're in. (i.e. a HUmar is good with techs and normal weapons, but being a Hunter he is better off with a weapon) Hunters are the melee dudes. If you like being the guy that runs up to everyone and bashes them senselessly with a huge sword then you want a HUmar. In general they have higher HP/DFP/ATP but lower TP/MST. But they do have a certain aura of balance to them. HUmar - (Human-male) these are the most common class. If you want to be different this is not the way to go. The character is fairly balanced, while he has a proficiency in power he can also cast a fair amount of techniques, he CANNOT learn Anti above Lv. 5, Grants, Megid, Shifta or Deband, or Reverser however. HUnewearl - (Newman-female) HUnewearls sport the lowest HP of the Hunters. But as with all newmen they have a great understanding of techs. HUcast - (Android-Male) Highest ATP of all the classes. The final word in laying the smackdown when it comes to close up combat. HUcaseal - (Android-Female) More ability in ATA and EVP than ATP really, but having Hunter ATP with great ATA creates a healthy mix for those who don't like to miss. Rangers are supposed to be used for ranged combat (with guns and other 'ranged' weapons). But in many cases you'll find their high ATA makes them great for close combat if you need the extra damage. Worst for casting techs. RAmar - (Human-Male) Unlike some of the Hunters RAmar can use Shifta and Deband, this is great to have a passive ATP/DFP boost as you fight, but due to the lower MST of the RAmar you might consider being more dependent on healing techniques than support or attack. RAmarl - (Human-Female) Newman/earl are not in the Ranger class so that gives RAmarl the rank of best Ranger techniques. It's safer to use attack techs with them, but if you really want to cast a lot just use a Force. RAcast - (Android-Male) Best ATP of the rangers. And as with all Androids he's got good all round stats, he can take a beating and he can dish one out, but he can't cast a single tech. RAcaseal - (Android-Female) Best DFP of the rangers. More accurate, less power, and overall they just look less clunky. Force types are the uber magic users of the game. If you like the idea of chunking large balls of fire/ice/lightning at hordes of enemies then this is the class for you. You'll occasionally use other weapons but you're mostly going to be creating a light show, not beating someone with your cane. Overall they're bad in close-up fighting and have low HP. Forces learn techs far beyond the max levels of other classes. FOmar - (Human-Male) Bad DFP/HP. Great balance of slightly above average techs, also has melee fighting skills. FOmarl - (Human-Female) Better in support techniques like Shifta/Deband/Jellen/Zalure. Being a human they have acceptable ATP... for a Force. FOnewm - (Newman-Male) Very good techniques, but slightly lower max TP than the FOnewearl, the only advantage of FOnewm over FOnewearl is the slightly better melee powers. FOnewearl - (Newman-Female) Best max TP in the game. Probably the ultimate in casting classes. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (5) Questing and Why You Don't Care /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Phantasy Star Online has always offered a healthy about of side quests that aren't needed to beat the game. In the GCN game you have many of the quests from the Dreamcast Episode I. The Episode II quests must be downloaded. You're only going to need the quests for these reasons: - Quest rares (see the nice guide by LordKarasuman) - Quick Meseta - Offline you can use quests to refresh the normal levels. - To trade in Photon Drops for rares (Episode II, so offline people don't need them for the most part). If you really want to engage in some shoddily put up little quests that supposedly further the story, be my guest, but the most enjoyment I ever got out of them was filling my CheckRoom with precious MESETA. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (6) Walkthrough Episode I /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ [6A] Forest [6B] Dragon/Sil Dragon [6C] Caves [6D] De Rol Le/Da Ral Lie [6E] Mines [6F] Vol Opt/Vol Opt V2 [6G] Ruins [6H] Dark Falz *WHEW* I'm glad we're through with the educational stuff, by the time you're reading this I assume you know how to fight, train, feed your mag, and generally survive. If you have any questions please refer to the prior sections, although I will have special pointers as I go along. The game starts you off in the Pioneer 2, depending on whether you're going solo or with friends you'll start in the Principal's Office or the Hunter's Guild respectively. The ship itself has weapon shops, a tekker (who identifies items for you), a medical center, a CheckRoom (for storage), and a teleporting platform (for getting to levels). Your first goal is to go down to Ragol, through the portal that you find behind the large garage style door between the medical center and the guild. ***QUICK TIP*** A red portal takes you forward, as long as you step into the red portal you will never backtrack, a blue portal takes you backward, and a green one takes you to a different part of the same stage. ------------------------- [6A] The Forest ------------------------- From this point you'll be thrust into 'Forest 1' with your character class' standard equipment, although your character is a little weak, your weapons will not need replacing for awhile. The levels layout is simple, there are a few key things to look for in finding the goal: - Do not go to the bottom room on the map, its door is a barrier of lasers, if you want items then it's ok to go in there, but it's really just a waste of your time usually. - Walk up to locked doors. A few of the enemies that you need to kill to unlock the next area won't appear until you're in vicinity of the door. - The goal usually appears in the middle of the room with the river, if it isn't in there take the door on the shorter side, instead of the one the long ways across, because that just leads you back to the beginning. The only enemies here are melee attackers, the wolves can jump but since they take so much recoil from your attacks they're not even as big of a threat as a Booma. Difficulty: 1/10 Length: 1/10 Recommended Weapon: Use a gun, you can stay at a distance and slaughter EVERYTHING. Bottomline: This is the beginner level, even in the hardest difficulties the enemies do not pose the slightest threat. When you're just starting off though, it's ok to return to town to get more healing items. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][][][][][] Forest 2 believe it or not can give you some problems if you're not careful. You're going to run into Hildebears here, they have attacks that do roughly 3x the damage of the other enemies and they can shoot Foie out of their mouths. ***QUICK TIP*** For optimum safety, approach a Hildebear from an angle, get him to swing his arm at you, retreat, come back during the attack animation and get one normal attack in, repeat until you've killed it. Do not leave Forest 2 without hitting the huge brown column you see standing around. This thing is vital to your completing the game, it can appear in a few different rooms, but wherever it is, it will NOT be on your way to the goal. You simply have to clear the entire level. Make sure that you know the following: - The column can either be behind the light blue door (near central dome, it is a darker room you access from the huge area with 6 doors), or around the small lake. - Hildebears and GigoBoomas start appearing here, they will inflict more pain and take more damage than the enemies you're used to at this point, be prepared to hit and run if you're a little low on the experience points side of things. - The goal is always at the same place, but to get to it, you use a green warp, this warp can either be in the large room at the very bottom right hand corner of the map, or the room in the very bottom left. In both cases it will be behind a laser barrier within the room. Once you take the warp, you'll be on 'Central Dome', kill all the enemies in the immediate area, go through the only door that's there. You'll find 4-6 enemies in the next room, at least one is always a Hildebear so be prepared. When you've killed the 2nd group in this room, the red portal will be accessible and you can advance to the boss. Difficulty: 1/10 Length: 2/10 Recommended Weapon: Use a gun, you can stay at a distance and slaughter almost everything. Bottomline: This doesn't offer a great challenge either, just keep far from the hildebears and you'll be fine. ------------------------- [5B] The Forest Boss Dragon/Sil Dragon ------------------------- The dragon is the first boss you'll have to contend with, and although he may seem invulnerable to a first time player, I'll see to it that you can beat him down even at the lowest levels. His Attack Patterns: - Walking As the dragon walks he can and will step on you, the damage resulting is the next to worst he can do, so if you're taking 80% HP damage every hit you might consider training some more. Best way to remedy the dragon walking is to take it off its feet, by repeatedly attacking them. - Crushing When the dragon takes about 1/4 worth of his HP damage in his feet he'll fall to the ground. If you're too close you'll take damage, but it's the least he can dish out. - Walking/Spewing Fire If you're in the dragon's sight before he decides its fun to take off, he'll spread a continuous wave of flames over a large area. Just run away to avoid this one, straight flight, nothing fancy. The damage is average. - Aerial Stomp After flying around for a decent amount of time the dragon will stomp the ground. You'll receive a damage if you're within a few steps of his torso range, just stay at least clear of his wings, after he lands you can rush in for the attack. This attack is the dragon's most dangerous. - Flying/Spewing Fire When flying, the dragon shoots out 5 balls of fire in a spread fashion. They're fast and somewhat hard to dodge. If you stay right under him he won't have a chance to hit you, when his flight path starts changing get out from under him or you'll be in for a stomping. - Flying/Burrowing After taking 3/4 of his life away, the dragon will use a desperation attack, he starts flying but instead of lobbing fire at you, he's going to make a quick shift in speed and altitude, and then drop straight down THROUGH the ground. The ground will begin to shake and he'll dig in random directions. In mid movement he will change his direction to come towards you. Stay moving towards him, but constantly along the walls so you can avoid this one. This is the next to most damaging move in the dragon's arsenal. Your Attack Patterns: - Melee attackers should go for the dragon's feet, if they're out of reach go onto the defense until he lands again. - Ranged attackers can keep a constant stream of fire going at the dragon even while he's high above them, Zonde/GiZonde/RaFoie should make up the only techs you try to use on him. Even with the extra range, go for the feet, they have less defense. ((((((((((((ULTIMATE)))))))))))) - When fighting the Sil Dragon, it is very important that if you don't have a CURE/FREEZE slot item that you do not get hit. Every attack the Dragon does has a chance of freezing you, and as such will leave you in a spot to be hit again. Luckily his attack patterns are still very predictable and very closely follow the ones listed above. Just wait until he stands still to attack if you don't have a CURE/FREEZE. - Sil Dragon moves at about double the speed of the normal Dragon. - Sil Dragon's burrowing attack is slightly modified. After burrowing, he will leave an icy patch instead of a fiery hole, these patches can freeze you if you touch them... and then they can damage you as you stand frozen. - The burrowing attack zig-zags the room still but afterwards Sil goes into a fast spiral starting on the outside and working its way inward. After a few underground attacks have been launched stay on the inside and cross the dragon's path as he works his way in. If you can't pull this off, then just stay on the extreme outside of the level so you only get hit once. ------------------------- [5C] The Caves ------------------------- The Caves are almost universally the least liked levels of the game. They aren't that pretty and they certainly don't earn any points in the innovation category. Most enemies are melee, but there are a few curveballs here and there. - The blue blobs moving along the floor are enemies you can only hit them once before they return to their invincible state, this makes them very annoying to kill. ***ULTIMATE NOTE*** The slimes split in ultimate just about everytime you hit them, until you've split one slime into 4, you won't be able to kill it. - A rather wide enemy called PanArms is also found that is basically immune to physical attacks, fear not it will soon split in two and become vulnerable. - More dangerous ranged attackers are in the caves, the Nano Dragon gets stronger with every kill it makes, and the Poison Lilies will cause status defects. ***NOTE*** In ultimate difficulty, these Poison Lilies become Ob Lilies, who have the ability to shoot Megid, a one hit kill move. It fires quickly at you in the form of a purplish orb, you can dodge it much like the poison lily attack if you're paying attention, just get close in and they'll stop shooting at you. However if your combo doesn't do the job, you are likely to get paralyzed. - Grass Assassins and Poison Lilies have desperation attacks. When the Grass Assassin's head begins to glow get out of the way and attack after the charge. When a poison lily begins to spin, attack from a distance or face the consequences. - ***ULTIMATE*** Crimson Assassins are the upgraded Grass Assassins. When they spit their webbing at you, they're trying to freeze you, so be ready to hit left and right alternately very fast. Cave 1 is much larger than any of the Forest levels, many of the rooms look the same and this makes it difficult to guage where you are. Stay away from doors that you have no intention of entering, this way they won't get drawn onto your map and you won't accidentally skip them because you think you've explored them already. To get to the goal: - Pass through the large room with volcanic lava falls and a hole in the middle. - Find a green warp, kill the Poison Lily and the Grass Assassin, use the warp then walk to the right , inside the door is the exit. Difficulty: 3/10 Length: 5/10 Recommended Weapon: Have a gun ready for the nano dragons they flee a lot. Use your most damaging weapon on everything else. Bottomline: Long and exhausting, get through it as fast as you can so you don't bore yourself. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][][][][][] Cave 2 just like all the other '2' levels has a column. And since the column is always on a path alternate from the one that reaches the exit, it can be like dental surgery playing long enough to find it. Luckily, like all the other columns it will be placed out in the open. In this case it will be in the middle of a square room, or on a small inlet in a waterfall room. Other than that obscure detail, Caves 2 has nothing new to offer, you'll run into the same door lock mechanisms (life force and sets of switches). - Don't forget the column - You're getting close when the rooms start losing their happy organic look, and are getting smaller. Difficulty: 4/10 Length: 4/10 Recommended Weapon: Have a gun ready for the nano dragons they flee a lot. Use your most damaging weapon on everything else. Bottomline: Although not as long as Cave 1, you might get frustrated in here too, since there are more enemies amidst the maze. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][][][][][] Cave 3 isn't exactly a walk in the park on later difficulties. Its maze structure and awful size make it the most discouraging level to play in my opinion. Just know that a huge chunk of EXP is right around the corner when you take on the boss. Getting to the goal you should look for these things: - Y-Shaped rooms, you'll run into two before you get to the exit. - Long rectangular rooms, they throw tons of enemies at you, but the doors they unlock are the ones you need to go through to reach the end. - Stay away from doors that are already opened when you get there, they're just going to lead you to items, and every now and then more enemies. Difficulty: 5/10 Length: 6/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies is best, a partisan launcher or aura technique for example. Bottomline: GET OUT AS FAST AS YOU CAN, this level is TERRIBLE. ------------------------- [5D] De Rol Le/Da Ral Lie ------------------------- SonicTeam decided to keep the boss in trend with the level. Meaning that this boss is the cheapest little punk you'll have to fight in the game. He has several quick hitting attacks that you cannot dodge without completely interrupting your own attack patterns. A force with good Gizonde will have the easiest time. Del Rol Le and his later incarnation swim around the murky water while you try desperately to end your suffering from a raft. His Attack Patterns: - Beam Shooting He goes to the rear of the raft and shoots a purple beam at you about 8 different times. The damage he does with this attack is on level with all the rest of his attacks. - Side Spray As he splashes up and down on the side of the boat, he'll give a quick leap to signify that he's going to launch tons of purple projectiles at you. Because of the transparency effects used by the game it can be very hard to tell how to dodge this move. Since he shoots the missiles at 2 crossing angles, walk in accordance with each one alternately for best results. - Mines A With a thrash of his tail, several mines land on the raft and remain stationary. In normal you'll find them very difficult to destroy, but in later diffs they're HP isn't so high, destroy one of them in a corner, and then stand at the extreme corner to avoid all damage. - Mines B The tail whips again, and you're surrounded with 3 mines, they blow up in succession giving you a chance to take out each one in the order that they landed. - Antenna Poke When he rests his head on the raft, anyone standing still is in danger of taking a hard hit from the antennae, these hits usually, result in a knockdown, screwing melee players out of their only chance to hit him easily. - Rock Shower This attack is just cheap, you can't really judge where the rocks are going to fall because the shadows are late and the rocks spawn just above your head. Your Attack Patterns: - Gizonde! This is my favorite technique and after fighting this boss you'll see why. While he swims alongside you zap him a few times with this, you get whatever damage your gizonde does times the amount of parts you hit. You can usually get 8x your normal damage with this, and considering the amount of HP this dude has you're gonna want every bit of it. - Guns, lots of guns Range weapons aren't necessary, but they certainly do speed this up a bit, if you aren't packin' heat, be prepared to heal frequently. - Caution When his head is resting on the raft, attack until you notice an antenna moving. At this point cease the attack and retreat, immediately after impact start the offense again, but this time stop attacking when the antenna returns to a ready position from its stationary hold on the raft. ((((((((((((ULTIMATE)))))))))))) In Ultimate difficulty you're up for an even longer fight. Da Ral Lie attacks much faster than the versions of him in the easier difficulties. Keep these pointers in mind and you'll survive: - His Beam now shoots much faster, his quick successions will almost always leave you on the floor. Be ready to take at least one hit. - He can still sidespray. - He is immune to Gizonde, and resistant to most force techs (this is why it takes so long). Personally I'd use gi or rafoie instead. The damage is miniscule but you need to hit him with something. - His antennae strike earlier and faster than normal when he is resting his head, be ready to stop your attack. ------------------------- [5E] The Mines ------------------------- Well the bulk of your work in Episode I is over. The mines present a unique graphical style as well as several new fighting aspects. The Mines are divided into 2 levels. - Dubchics and Gillchics will fall down when attacked usually - Many enemies hit and run. This can get annoying, but it does mean you won't get too many crowds around you. - The red canadine's trigger self destructs in the normal ones, kill the red guy and then run until the others have exploded, it'll save you a lot of time. - If a Sinow Gold appears take him out fast, he can heal his fellow machines. - Uses Garanz's missiles against itself by running circles around it. - Keep trap visions with you, there are plenty of confusion and slow traps. ((((((((((((ULTIMATE)))))))))))) - Dubchic/Gillchic recoil from your attack on a basis of luck, no matter how hard you hit them they'll only fall back 20% of the time. - Sinow Blue/Red replace Beat/Gold. Blue/Red are more cowardly and will leap backwards after almost every attack they do to you, so be ready to use a ranged weapon. Red has the ability to cast Shifta and Deband as well as Resta. Mines 1 doesn't lead you into many alternate paths, just don't go through any doors that require you to hit 4 switches and you'll find Mines 2 with little more trouble than the oil stains you got from killing all those robots. - Avoid the 4 switch door. - Check the branched off doors, but if they're dead ends just keep moving on, the path is fairly linear. Difficulty: 4/10 Length: 3/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies is good but isn't really necessary since Gillchics which are the bulk of the enemy population, fall back when hit. Bottomline: Beware the Canadine and Gillchic attacks, you could easily be paralyzed or get into slo-mo. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][][][][][] Mines 2 unfortunately is a tad longer than Mines 1. It's also a smidgeon more difficult. But it is by no means on par with the horror that is the Caves. - The huge four pronged rooms signify you're on your way to the goal. - If you see a Garanz you are on the path to the goal. - The four pronged rooms' other paths usually lead straight to the column, which is easy to find as ever, this is the last column in the game, so you can breathe easily. - Dubchic will not die unless the weird floating mine is killed. The mine does not become vulnerable until one Dubchic loses its first set of HP. - Again keep some trap visions, you're going to go through a ton of narrow areas. Difficulty: 5/10 Length: 4/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies is good but isn't really necessary since Gillchics which are the bulk of the enemy population, fall back when hit. Bottomline: Try to line all the enemies up, there are a lot in here, but they're all fairly easy to kill, use Zonde techs for a chance at paralysis. ------------------------- [5F] Vol Opt/Vol Opt v2 ------------------------- Admittedly this boss intimidated me the first time I fought him with my little bro's RAmar in tow. Vol Opt goes through 2 stages, both of which are easy to fend off after you read the following notes. - In Stage 1 Vol Opt consists of several bonk a mole style columns popping out of random holes, an electric nozzle in the center of the room, and many computer monitors. The monitors are only vulnerable when they turn red. The nozzle is always vulnerable, as are the columns. - In Stage 1 hit the red column when you can, it'll prevent your electrocution. - In Stage 2 start running laps around the area when a laser sight is pointed at you. - In Stage 2 rip off the healing and missile launching sides of Vol Opt. His Attack Patterns (Stage 1) - Electrocution This is the only method of attack Vol Opt has in stage 1. It's instant and paralyzes you 90% of the time. Unless you have items to prevent electrocution you're going to need to hit the red columns to protect yourself. I suggest Sol Atomizers when you're a lower level, just to be sure you don't get stuck in long spells of paralysis. His Attack Patterns (Stage 2) - Healing The black bug shaped side of Vol Opt lifts up to heal the boss. The healing actually isn't that big of a threat since it is so weak. The part that activates the healing can be destroyed. - Missile Launch The largest side of Vol Opt Stage 2, fires rockets at you. This side is also easily torn off with enough damage, try to take this side out first so you don't have to contend with the high damage. - Column Stomping A red laser sight points at the player and 3 columns take turns trying to crush the hunter. Simple run a few laps around the boss and you'll make it, when playing with friends make sure you're all running in the same direction and at a distance from each other, or the trailing columns will smash your buddies. - Trap Beam The blue colored side shoots a green ball at you, if it manages to touch you (it usually won't it's VERY slow, just avoid the blue side of the boss) then you'll get trapped in a rocky barrier that prevents you from moving, attacking, and casting. You can use healing items still, and you'd better because this is the most damage Vol Opt can do. With buddies around, politely ask "SWEET MERCIFUL @#*&! HELP ME" since they can move, they can also destroy the barrier thus saving you from distentigration. Your Attack Patterns (Stage 1) - Columns Bash the red column with whatever you got, ignore the blue ones unless you absolutely cannot get to the red one in time. - I Like Blowin' Things Up Between Vol Opt's shock attacks, snipe out the TV screens with either a gun or a Gizonde tech. Gizonde lets you hit all 4 vulnerable screens at once, you'll pull massive damage and very easily move on to Stage 2. If you'd rather use a large sword, be my guest, but be aware you're more susceptible to shock if you're chasing down the red screens. Your Attack Patterns (Stage 2) - Break It Break the healing part of Vol Opt, it's black and somewhat resembles an insect. It's the weakest part and anything that gives you more room to maneuver is a plus. - Bash It The missile launchers can also be destroyed fairly easily, since they're the hardest attack to dodge, it's imperative you get rid of the launchers. If you'd like to attack them from a safe distance I recommend a long range melee weapon, this will let you hit 2-3 parts of Vol Opt by running right up to him. - Hit and Run As long as you're out of the laser sights and the Trap Beam's path, you can attack whatever whenever. ((((((((((((ULTIMATE)))))))))))) Vol Opt V2 isn't drastically different from V1. He is only different in a few ways: - His type alignment shifts throughout your battle. He can be using Foie attacks on you one minute and then Zonde the next. When he's using Foie, you should use Barta, when he uses Barta use Zonde, when he uses Zonde use Foie. If you're a melee character you'll be much better off just attacking him with a weapon than you will be with techniques. - In his 2nd form, the column smashing attack has a few variations. Now the columns (which have been replaced with claw like objects), can drop in a random order instead of being even spaced apart, they may all drop instantaneously. In another case, the infrared aiming beams won't target you, instead they'll spin around and just drop claws at random points. ------------------------- [5G] The Ruins ------------------------- The Ruins are in 3 parts, they involve a lot more enemies, and thus a lot more fighting. The levels are extensive but they seem longer than they are because of the amount of battle involved. Keep these universal hints in mind: - Sorcerors can heal themselves with Resta, knock you out with RaFoie, and freeze you with GiBarta. They are the #1 priority kill in these stages. - All the enemies with the except of Claw are extremely dangerous in this level. Claw are slow and do little damage, worry about them later. - Delsaber can only be hit from behind or while he is executing his own attack. - Belra gets dizzy if you stay behind him long enough, that's your best chance for a strike. ((((((((((((ULTIMATE)))))))))))) - Dark Belras are replaced with Indi Belras, they shoot off their arm cannons at about double the rate of the former. The arm shots can paralyze you. Simply dizzy Indi Belra for best results. - Gran Sorcerors have extremely deadly attacks: Grants, Megid, and a 800+ HP healing Resta. Ruins 1 is consisted of wide open rooms, look for the room with a large waterfall, once you get there you're well on your way to Ruins 2. Difficulty: 6/10 Length: 7/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies Bottomline: Group up the enemies, but take out sorcerers, belras, and centaurs first ***QUICK TIP*** There's a secret item stash behind the aforementioned waterfall. Inside Ruins 2 stay away from the 4 switch doors, and find the room with several warps and the very large room with 4 laser barriers, you'll be right at Ruins 3 when you've done this. If you're not sure about a set of doors, go through the door with the Rico message next to it. Difficulty: 7/10 Length: 7/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies Bottomline: Group up the enemies, but take out sorcerers, belras, and centaurs first Ruins 3 sports a more organic look, as if you were inside the heart of something of incomprehensible evil. The more red the place gets the closer you are. Look for larger rooms, you'll be about 4 rooms away when you find a really awkward little cranny with a crystal in the middle of the room and no enemies at all. When you do teleport to the boss area you'll find yourself in a happy field... but is all as it seems? Walk up to the shrine and accept your fate. Difficulty: 8/10 Length: 7/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies Bottomline: Group up the enemies, but take out sorcerers, belras, and centaurs first ------------------------- [5H] Dark Falz ------------------------- Well it all comes down to this. Falz has found a host body, and is using it to puppet this whole evil operation. Dark Falz goes through 4 stages of incomparable power before giving in. The 3rd stage does not appear until Hard difficulty. His Attack Patterns (Stage 1) - Darvants Weird little mines float around the area, there are easily hundreds of them, but only about 20 of them have purple cores, and since only the purple cored ones are vulnerable this is a little unfair. Strike down the purple ones as fast you can, it's your only line of defense. His Attack Patterns (Stage 2) - Pilla Similar to the Photon Blast, Pilla, Falz can call down a rain of damage that always hits. Even a strong character can be taken by surprise with this attack. He does it rarely luckily, as it is his most damaging attack. - Super Barta Most if not all of the arena's hunters are bombarded with ice and almost every single time he casts this infernal attack you're going to freeze. You can try and mash the controller to break free or you can carry anti-freeze items. When you're frozen there's no delay between the hits you take, so if darvants linger too close you could find yourself dead very quickly. - Darvant Frenzy The dragon like heads continually spit out more of these things, you can however destroy all of them now, but there's almost no point since they replenish so often. You do indeed get EXP from them. His Attack Patterns (Stage 3) - Pilla Similar to the Photon Blast, Pilla, Falz can call down a rain of damage that always hits. Even a strong character can be taken by surprise with this attack. He does it rarely luckily, as it is his most damaging attack. - Super Barta Most if not all of the arena's hunters are bombarded with ice and almost every single time he casts this infernal attack you're going to freeze. You can try and mash the controller to break free or you can carry anti-freeze items. When you're frozen there's no delay between the hits you take, so if darvants linger too close you could find yourself dead very quickly. - Quake Although not very likely, every now and then Falz shakes the ground, slowing you down, like most of his attacks there's no normal way to evade it, you'll have to use a Photon Blast to make yourself invincible for a few seconds. - Healing I've only seen it happen once, but in these unholy rare occurences, Falz heals himself, setting you back several thousand meseta worth of effort. His Attack Patterns (Stage 3 [HARD MODE AND ABOVE ONLY]) - Invincibility During and between his attacks, Dark Falz will turn himself mostly invincible. Force characters rejoice, you can still hurt him with elemental attacks (as well as Grants), in this stage. - Cheapness Dark Falz strikes you so fast that you have no chance to react, his claws do the same damage as his other Stage 3 attacks and that is not a good thing. If you keep moving you can avoid the claws but you won't be able to attack, it's better to sacrifice the HP here. - Geez that's cheap Well it's not bad enough that he's invincible, but every now and then our good buddy flies up and does a series of two attacks, first a barrage of twin blue spheres, about 16 in all. If you circle the arena you'll dodge them all no big deal. Next you get hit with yet another unavoidable attack (Grants), just be ready to heal afterwards so you can survive the quick claw strike he likes to follow up with. If you have the extra slots a Resist Light, Saint, or Holy might be worth it. In the harder difficulties preceding this attack with be a quick shot of Megid, it has a fairly low chance of killing you, and if you're moving you can eliminate that chance completely. - Sweet mother of cheapness Falz crosses a line, he makes a copy of your body, puts it in his mouth, and uses it to save him during his last 1/3 of HP. As long as he is red on the radar any and all damage you do to him, also gets dealt to you, so you have to heal yourself from the damage you did to him... all the while healing from his onslaught. ((((((((((((ULTIMATE)))))))))))) When you do decide it's time to fight Ultimate Falz, do yourself a favor and be at Level 120 at the VERY least. Dark Falz in Ultimate has only one new attack, but it's a doozy. In his next to last stage, he will create a green aura around you, and suck 50% of your HP and then he will heal himself 1200 HP. Keep these things in mind if you want to escape alive: - There is no benefit to beating Falz on ultimate except for the 39,000 experience he yields, so don't be in a rush to get to him. - Falz is still extremely weak to Grants, and vulnerable to techniques during his prismatic invincibility. - His Megid/Grants are of much higher level now. - His blue homing balls now make 2 dashes at you before disappearing, this means they'll change direction once before they're gone. It sounds bad because it is kids. Dark Falz is the cheapest enemy in the game. He's tough and can take an hour or more to beat, but the point is he is very mortal and as long as you follow my tips you'll come out alive every time. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (7) Episode I Ending /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ***BEWARE THE HORROR THAT IS A SPOILER*** With Dark Falz destroyed, immediately a red-headed female pops out, and flies off screen. Dark Falz had inhabited none other than Red Ring Rico, the Principal's daughter you were SUPPOSED to save. Well you failed... nice work man. There's no way to get her to survive so don't even try, just reap the benefits of the dead Falz and then watch the credits. The Credits last for a really long time and play some nice orchestrated music while a red ring (get it?!?!) spins around. The credits continue on afterward to show your character in different battle situations it's a humbling feeling especially to the great music. Everytime you beat Falz on a certain difficulty you earn access to the next one. But there is one other goal you must meet, the level requirement [see '(2) Game Modes' ] ***END SPOILERS FOR NOW*** /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (8) Walkthrough Episode II /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ An undisclosed time period after the incident on Ragol, our heroes return to the Pioneer 2. The military scientists have taken special interest in the happenings on Ragol, and have set up an area they call "Lab" from which to conduct their operations. They only want the best hunters to go down for them, so obviously a training exercise is required to test your skill. There are two VR Training Exercises they are both broken up into 2 levels, each level has a boss (remade Dragon, remade Del Rol Le). [8A] VR Temple Alpha/Beta [8B] VR Temple Boss [8C] VR Spaceship Alpha/Beta [8D] VR Spaceship Boss [8E] Central Control Area [8F] CCA Boss Gal Gryphon [8G] Seabed Upper/Lower Levels [8H] Seabed Boss Olga Flow ------------------------- [8A] VR Temple Alpha/Beta ------------------------- The Temple levels are best thought of as shoddily put together little filler stages. Basically enemies from Episode I are reused in completely unaltered forms. You'll find the following punk monsters from your early days: - Poison Lilies *ARGH* - Dimenians *DOH* - Rappies - Hildebears *yikes* You also have to contend with the crushing columns ala the Caves. Don't worry, just in case you were bored plenty of traps were added as well, now take all these happy elements and put them into one ultra cramped level with mainly small rooms, that are too identical for me to have many hints on where to go. This is the best advice I can offer: - Go in fully loaded, I'm talking 10 of whatever mates/fluids/atomizers you can get - Try not to go in alone there are high densities of enemies - Remember what I taught you in Episode I, if you can't the FAQ is always here - Don't try Episode II if you're already having troubles with Episode I in the same difficulty ................................................................................ VR Temple Alpha - Head towards the two interlocked S curve rooms, you're going the right way if you pass rooms with their columns marked as blank on the map - There are many rooms where instead of a doorway there are barriers that have to be smashed with 6 total attacks of any strength Difficulty: 3/10 Length: 6/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies Bottomline: Group up the enemies, but take out the lilies first ................................................................................ VR Temple Beta Difficulty: 3/10 Length: 6/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit multiple enemies Bottomline: Group up the enemies, but take out the lilies first ................................................................................ ------------------------- [8B] VR Temple Boss ------------------------- The boss of the temple is a remix of the old Caves boss Del Rol Le. Although he uses many of the same attacks, he seems easier somehow I guess he doesn't have as much HP. The major factor in his easyness is he doesn't have that forsaken antenna stab attack, so when he rests his head on your raft you can beat him senseless with no fear. His Attack Patterns - Weird Little Piglets Bizarre purple/blue pig like things crawl towards you on the raft, their damage is mediocre. If you have a large weapon you can swat all of them in one fell swoop. - Side Spray As he splashes up and down on the side of the boat, he'll give a quick leap to signify that he's going to launch tons of purple projectiles at you. Because of the transparency effects used by the game it can be very hard to tell how to dodge this move. Since he shoots the missiles at 2 crossing angles, walk in accordance with each one alternately for best results. - Antenna Poke He goes under your raft and stabs upward, the spears do little damage, but since they cause poison they can get on your nerves. Your Attack Patterns - Range Attackers can shoot him constantly, especially since he has fewer attacks than the original. When he gets under the ship though just be ready to cast Anti or use a Sol Atomizer/Antidote. - All characters best opportunity is to bombard the boss when he rests his head on the barge. ------------------------- [8C] VR SpaceShip Alpha/Beta ------------------------- This level as well as the temple is used for an arena in the multiplayer battle modes. Spaceship is fairly linear, has decent sized rooms, and yet another annoying combination of enemies. Expect these guys: - Wolves (both Savage and Barbarous) - Gillchic - Delsaber - PanArms (although he doesn't seem to be physical immune this time) - Garanz - Dubchic - Chaos Sorceror For strategies on each, look to their respective levels in the Episode I portion of the FAQ. .................................................................................. VR Spaceship Alpha - The light switch for the first dark room, is in the room reached by the adjacent hallway. - There is a switch to unlock one of the doors at the end of a deadend hallway. Difficulty: 3/10 Length: 6/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit quickly Bottomline: The enemies recoil a lot, so you don't need to try to fend them all off with one swing, you just knock back each individual one with a saber or something of good ATP .................................................................................. VR Spaceship Beta - Dubchics are in here, remember to take out the mine controlling them or you'll be fighting forever. - Chaos Sorcerors are top priority, they're too big of a threat. They cast Gizonde now instead of Rafoie, so you are at a high risk of being paralyzed. - When you find the room with the 4 switch door, you're well on your way, but as always take the doors that open when the enemies are dead and not the ones with more than 2 locks on them. - You don't have any messages from Rico to follow anymore, so follow the Data links, they're usually halfway markers for a level. - Watch your health, it's gonna start training fast near the end of the level, there's a room filled with poison gas, keep your health up. Difficulty: 4/10 Length: 5/10 Recommended Weapon: A weapon that can hit quickly Bottomline: The enemies recoil a lot, so you don't need to try to fend them all off with one swing, you just knock back each individual one with a saber or something of good ATP ................................................................................ ------------------------- [8D] VR Spaceship Boss ------------------------- Well the rehashing continues at this point folks, although the arena itself is much more detailed than the Central Dome of the past, the boss is not exactly a polygon count beast. Fortunately for all you readers that doesn't mean he's difficult in fact he's quite easy. It's time to kill this Dragon remix. His Attack Patterns - Stomp the Floor Well this is almost as dangerous as the stomp featured in Episode I Forest, except for the fact that it is much more obvious where the stomp damage is occurring because of all the floor panels shooting up. Just steer clear when he leaps into the air. - Spew The Gol Dragon can spew Barta, Zonde, and Foie attacks from its mouth. It uses a side to side spraying motion and it always cycles between the ice, lightning, and fire attacks in that order. You can be frozen/paralyzed from the Barta and Zonde techniques. - Spray Again using the 3 element cycle, the Gol Dragon leaps into the air, spins as if he were going into a dive but now random throwing tiny chips of Barta, Zonde, and Foie. You can be frozen/paralyzed from the Barta and Zonde techniques. - Split As a desperation tactic the dragon duplicates itself, forcing you to fight both at once, but since he isn't the speediest thing that ever lived, you will do fine. The clone dies really fast anyway. ------------------------- [8E] Central Control Area ------------------------- Technically this area is split up into 7 stages. But since the areas are so small the Lab only directly teleports you to the Central Control Area. All the sub areas contain plethoras of new enemies and super shiny graphics that make all the previous levels look like the garbage they are. You main goal is to go through the 3 sub levels, deactivate the security (through a computer at the end of the stage) and return to the small CCA stage, and then fight the boss. Here are some must knows for this area as a whole: - The new enemy attack patterns are more diverse than those of the Episode I enemies. - More and more enemies have the ability to freeze/paralyze you. - The stages themselves have very high densities of enemies, if you're anything like me you may accidentally skip a large group and have to backtrack, make sure an area is clear before you leave it, since the doors aren't as clearly marked as they were in Episode I you might actually get stuck here a few times, be on the lookout for logs and large deposits of water to be walkable ground. ------------------------- [8F] CCA Boss Gal Gryphon ------------------------- A Gryphon is a big ugly demi-bird with horns and hooves. And this particular Gryphon is quite nasty, he moves faster than most of the bosses you're used to, but he can be taken down fairly easily if you avoid his stomp attack. His Attack Patterns - Scamper Gal runs around for about 6 seconds in a small circular pattern. The damage is pretty scary, but the attack is very easy to dodge. - Wail After standing still too long, Gal transitions into a new attack by rearing back and stomping the ground impossibly hard. This is his most damaging attack, but it is also the easiest to dodge. Just keep out of his immediate area. - Head Beam Using those big ol' horns, Gal sprays a beam of nice looking electricity if you can stop staring at it long enough to attack his feet, you'll have no problem, he doesn't move at all during this attack, just fires a simple beam right in front of him. - Head Beam (Very Hard) In Very Hard, Gal's beam now covers some of his body as well as the area in front of him. The best way to avoid being hit while still attacking is to go for his heels on the back two feet. - ThunderStorm (Very Hard) When landing from flight in V Hard, Gal rains lightning everywhere, the damage isn't anything to ignore but the attack is fairly dodgeable, keep moving. - Wing Touch Before touching back down from flight, Gal tends to swoop low at you, if you stay near the sides of his torso you'll avoid the wings, if you stand anywhere else you'll probably be victimized by the large wing span. Only minimal damage. - Tornado! While in the air Gal fires these little pellets at you, they're easy to avoid but don't stand still between each evasion, because each pellet creates a small whirlwind that chases you around, just keep moving, you can attack later. Your Attack Patterns - Don't attack Gal when he's flying, even if you're weapon has ludicrous range. - When Gal lands, move in just before his 'Wail' attack animation begins. By the time you get into attacking range, he will have finished the move and you can get in 6-7 hits before he starts moving again. ------------------------- [8G] Seabed Upper/Lower Levels ------------------------- ........................................................................... Seabed Upper Levels Seabed uses a lot of mirror and water reflections to create a nice eerie destroyed ship look. The enemies are a lot tougher in here, and the cramped hallways and dozens of intersections make navigating repetitive. You're going to have a much tougher time here than you did in the Central Control Area. And here's why: - Dolmolm/Doldmarl are these squid creatures that move along at an average speed, they're the primary enemy so be ready to fight swarms of them. The best tricks are to strike them quickly, and run the second they surround you, because even the fastest weapons will be too slow to hit them before they attack you again. They whip you constantly with their tentacles so if you're alone you're gonna have to play the stamina game as if you were fighting a boss. - Delbiter this is a strange wolf like creature that moves very quickly, can shoot beams out of its mouth and wound you mortally with its extremely high ATP. They are the most dangerous enemies in the Seabed. - RecoBoxes create little bear like heads that bounce around the room, launching tiny explosive bombs at you. They're not incredibly dangerous but they do take a lot of damage. - Recons are the bear heads that come out of the boxes, they just get in the way of you unlocking doors, if you can't see the box they're coming out of, backtrack and work your way around to an alternate route, there are several times when the RecoBoxes will be on a lower floor. - Security lasers like the ones found in the Central Control Area will activate some very annoying trap turrets. They fire Gibarta and Foie at you, destroy them if the alarm goes off. You'll know you're nearing the exit as you pass datalinks and wrecked bridges. Difficulty: 7/10 Length: 6/10 Recommended Weapon: A high damage weapon Bottomline: Group up the enemies in front of you, don't get surrounded no matter how high of a level you are. Make sure you destroy every RecoBox so you can advance. centaurs first ........................................................................ Seabed Lower Levels The lower levels add a few more new types of enemies, the difficulty jump is enormous here, a character just getting into Very Hard Episode 1 is probably the lowest level character that should go in here. Keep these points in mind: - Gibarta turrets appear in some doorways even if an alarm is not set off - A new enemy called Morfos (dark) starts appearing in here. It resembles a large flying X. It will lob powerful beams at you that are impossible to dodge if you're taken offguard. - Two forms of Sinow robots appear here: Zoa and Zele. They can both cloak, look for their reflections in the water if you can't tell where you're being hit from. Watch your weapon, Zele will disarm you everytime it hits you, you won't drop the weapon to the ground, but you will have to open up your menu and re-equip it. Difficulty: 9/10 Length: 7/10 Recommended Weapon: A fast weapon Bottomline: Try to separate the enemies, be ready to heal at all times some enemies do huge damage. ....................................................................... ------------------------- [8H] Seabed Boss Olga Flow ------------------------- Inside the deep underground super secret Subject Disposal Area, your final challenge awaits. Two stage boss this time. His Attack Patterns (Stage 1) - Green Spray Similar to the balls shot by Del Rol Le and all his incarnations, Olga Flow shoots about 16 of these green orbs in different directions. They aren't very fancy and they aren't very dangerous, just know where they're gonna land. - Green Wave I haven't found a way to avoid this attack. However one of my readers has blessed us with a technique. When Olga Flow takes his crossbow like weapon and begins to charge, run to the edge of the platform, but hang around to one side of Olga Flow, then chase the beam until the attack is over. The actual attack unleashes an increasing larger beam on you, he then uses it to push you around the arena in a circular motion, this attack is pretty dangerous, the sooner you finish Stage 1 of the battle the sooner you can quit worrying about this attack. - Sword Swipe This is a quick strike that is difficult to see coming, the only real hint is that Olga Flow is upside-down, but since that's frequently, a bit of a problem is presented. The way to avoid it would be to stand farther from the boss, and melee characters don't have that option. Damage is moderate to low, and seems to be a desperation move towards the end of Stage 1. - Shockwave As a desperation move, just before you've finished Stage 1 Olga, you'll notice him falling for awhile creating blue streaks in his wake, this is your warning that a Shockwave is comin'. Next he'll float under the elevator you're standing on, and send light spikes up through the floor, the outer rim of the elevator is the safest place to be. - Light Blast A linear attack that comes unexpectedly, just have your health at full so you can survive. Your Attack Patterns - In-Betweener Most guns will reach Olga from wherever you are standing, get in shots whenever you can, you'll have plenty of opportunities. - Close-up Olga frequently comes up close to the platform, he doesn't look like he's in melee range, but he usually is. Any high power weapon will do, freestyle on his face. ............................. Olga has now fallen down the shaft, you find yourself at the bottom with him, and his spirit floats around the room aimlessly. Heal yourself now, then touch the spirit to trigger Stage 2. Olga Flow is now standing on his feet and similar to Dark Falz he will use some assistants. His Attack Patterns (Stage 2) - Pure Evil Olga Flow steals your body and places it inside his chest, he turns orange and transparent while you turn into a really old Heathcliffe Flowen. As with the Dark Falz move, everytime you hit the orange Olga Flow, you will take damage instead. This attack can last for unwieldly amounts of time, and the way to end it is not exactly clear. In my experience, if you sustain a lot of damage, eventually Olga Flow gives up (like he is taking damage from his own attacks). - Snakes Strange Claw like snakes float around the room dropping 'Giel' bombs than can paralyze you. You can kill all of the assistants, but they all can come back. Take out the Giel so you don't have to worry about paralysis everything else is no problem. - Quake 1/2 of the arena (from one side to the other) gets a fatal hit. The damage is almost always fatal (meaning your MAG or scape doll is the only way to survive it) and the only real ways to dodge the attack is to not be on that side of the arena, or to be behind one of the huge stones he's knocked down. Use the debris for cover and you're almost guaranteed to get out alright. This attack comes from his 'MAG' snakes. If they're dead he can't do this move. - Plasma Rain An exact duplicate of Dark Falz's rain attack. The radius is small for this attack and Olga will freeze for about 6 seconds before doing it, it's no threat at all if you're paying attention. When he begins to charge, just run. - Elf Shoes Those pointy shoes are the most painful boss attack I've ever seen. Melee attackers are in serious danger, they'll be attacking the feet all the time, just be aware that Olga thinks he's a professional walker. Your Attack Patterns (Stage 2) - Fancy Footwork While Olga flails around, get to his heels and unleash the fury of hell. Take a quick weapon that can only hit one enemy. Gun users won't have to contend with his constant stomping at least. There is never a time where Olga isn't vulnerable so just let loose. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (9) Episode II Ending /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ***SPOILERS AND DRAMATIC PARTING*** It has indeed been the government's own ambition that caused all this evil. Olga Flow drops its blade, which slowly disentigrates as a body (It's Heathcliffe Flowen, the hero that everyone wants back) flees the dead shell. How will life go on under the corrupt government? Will the hunters rebel? Will this game ever get a sequel? Chances are yes, because this game has always been popular. The ending does have a certain element of sadness to it though, because it is the end of my time writing this, my first FAQ and finally reaching out to the PSO community. ***CLOSE TEAR SESSION*** /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (10) FAQs /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ This is the section where I predict what kind of questions people might ask me, and with my magic crystal ball, I conjure up the answers. Q: What is the best way to get a certain Section ID? A: Take a name that ideally you want to use. Then go to ragol.co.uk's Section ID generator. As you're typing the name it updates with what ID that name will be. Add spaces or other characters after the name and you will cycle through most of the IDs. There seem to be exceptions to this rule, so if you find yourself in that situation, capitalize one of the original letters of the name; and then continue with the aforementioned process. Q: What is this Booma's Claw (or any other enemy body part) I found? And what do I do with it? A: Ah a common question. All "enemy weapons" are made from enemy body parts, and in many cases the body parts are a player's first rare. To convert your enemy body parts, you must have beaten all the quests, this will give you free access to the quest "Unsealed Door". Since you have beaten "Doc's Secret Plan" by this point, you can revisit "Unsealed Door" and find Montague in the lobby. Hold the items you want to convert, and when you talk to Montague he'll ask for one. Simply select the item you want converted and he'll give you the new weapon/shield immediately. Q: I remember a Dressing Room feature in the Dreamcast version of PSO. Is this feature still I the Gamecube game, and if so how can I access it? A: If you have more than 10,000 meseta that you're willing to spend yes you can access the Dressing Room. It allows you to change your hair type/color as well as your costume. Simply carry around the 10,000 meseta on your character, NOT your checkroom stash. Quit the game, and return to the character select screen, hit 'A' on the character holding the meseta. Alongside the "Confirm" message is a "Dressing Room" option. Enjoy! Q: Is there any truth to this Beat-Time-Rares business? A: Well I must admit I was very skeptical at first. But after numerous tests I can say that the time of day has at least some effect on the amount of rares you find. For instance, just before I finished this version of the FAQ I had done a Mines run with my Bluefull and my friend's Yellowboze. We had found only one or two rares in the last 5 hours of playing. But within 5 minutes of the Mines we found 6 rares! Shortly afterwards we were back to finding no rares again. This is more than enough proof for me. When I have some more concrete information, I'll post it here. Until then, feel free to reach me on AIM with your stories with beattime rares. Q: How can I tell if an item has slots? A: You cannot tell simply by the color of an item's text. You have to pick it up and examine its item screen's 2nd page. It will tell you plainly with this text "Slot #" When shopping the same process can be used. Q: How come I can't reach the next stage? A: If you beat a full set of stages (That means you have to beat ALL of the Forest or ALL of the Caves, not just Forest 1 or Caves 1) you talk to the principal and then you can advance. If you beat a set of stages in multiplayer, your progress through the stages is not saved. You have to progress in singleplayer to start at the later levels in multiplayer. Q: What is the fastest way to escape being frozen without items? A: I've heard all the theories too, but the one method that gets you out faster is hitting left and then right alternatively and repeatedly on your control stick. You can time it for yourself it helps a great deal, whereas ice duration is normally around 6 seconds, when hitting left and right you can get out in less than 1! Q: What does an Amplifier of Resta/Zonde/Foie/Barta/Anti do? A: These rare items have to be used in conjunction with corresponding merge shields. A zonde type amplifier needs to be used with a yellow barrier. Equip the barrier and then click use on the amp. Use Foie with RED, Barta with BLUE, it's pretty easy to figure out just kinda hard to get both the amp and the shield. Q: Are there new items in this game? A: Yes, there are lots of new rare weapons and armors and a few new items like the Amplifiers. Q: How come everytime I play I have to start over? It seems No matter how many times me and my friends beat Forest we always have to go back there. A: Level progress is not saved in multiplayer offline! You have to beat the levels on your own when you're offline for the progress to be saved. Also, no progress is considered to be made unless the boss has been killed. Thus you cannot go on to Caves 1 until you have beaten the Dragon (Boss of Forest 2). You always have to start at stage 1 of a level, you cannot just jump into 2. But you can go into the next SET of levels. Q: What is new in the GCN version as far as gameplay? A: This took some people by surprise, but you can hit the columns in mid level just like I instruct in the FAQ. In the DC version you had to beat the level before you could activate the column. Q: If a weapon has a max grinder of 30 how many Digrinders can I use on it before I hit the max? A: 15. The max grinder is the max grinder value, not the max amount of grinders you can use on the item. Q: Can I find rares offline? A: Yep, as far as I know there isn't a single rare that you can't find offline. Q: What do photon drops do? A: Using an online quest you trade them in for items, see the nice Photon Drop FAQ at www.gamefaqs.com Q: What color item boxes represent what? A: Armor, slot items, and MAGs come in blue boxes. Weapons come in orange boxes, even if they have to be identified to find out their mod. All rare things come in red boxes. Green boxes house disks, healing items, and grinders. Q: How come some weapons are different colors? A: Weapons colors display their power, in the beginning of the game you'll find green items, stronger than that are blue ones, and then purple, red, and finally gold. Q: Should I get this game if I'm not going to play it online? A: Definitely, I only play offline and it is a blast. Q: What can't I do offline? A: Download Episode II quests. Q: How come you left so much information out of your FAQ? A: Much of it was covered by other FAQs, but my updates to this one will fill in a lot of the gaps. Q: How long did v1.0 take to write? A: 3 days. Not bad, but I'm insanely addicted to this game so that made it easier. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (11) DarkNightwing /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ DarkNightwing is an aspiring game developer that owns more than 500 Nintendo products. And since he's me I can tell you he's a very nice man and likes to play games so much that his birthday parties usually end up being Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments. If you find any of your questions are not answered by this guide, please seek the aid of the wonderful in-depth faqs at GameFAQs: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/game/32498.html They have just about everything you can imagine listed there, MAG Evolution, Quest Listings, Rare Item stats. So check those out before you go pleading for answers. If you need to know how to find items check out the drop charts on: http://pso.wumarkus.com http://www.pso-world.com http://faqs.ign.com If you take any interest in other stuff I do, you might like to know I'm making a Zelda fangame. The website is closed now, but the game is still covered on http://www.zeldadungeon.com/ http://ncreations.topcities.com/fg.php /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (12) Corrections and Credits /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ [12A] Corrections [12B] Credits ------------------------- [12A] Corrections ------------------------- In v1.1 the following corrections were made: - Fixed really obvious numbering error - Fixed information on Dark Falz's invincibility - Changed 'spoiler' in Episode II to be correct - New information on Olga Flow's Quake attack - Changed Level requirement info's location and Ultimate's req to 80. v1.2 brought about these changes - Luck was confirmed to boost critical hits and not item finding %s. ------------------------- [12B] Credits ------------------------- Paul Johnson (PSO Life Webmaster) - for clearing up the little crisis we had with one "Vulcan T90" when he stole my FAQ and then emailed me with accusations saying that I stole HIS work, laughable. Without Paul's integrity this stunt would have still been going on. H24.X51 - For some Olga Flow strategy (dodging the crossbow beam) KI-Revenant - sent the most organized and helpful email I've seen in a while. He provided the info on Olga Flow's Quake attack, I confirmed this earlier the same night. He also invited me to a clan, you guys should check it out www.kaoticisland.com Hamm - For backing me up on the change from the DC version that lets you hit columns before beating a level. PSOGCN Board members - For being patient with me as I update, instead of trying to drag me down. HoorayforPunkRock - He's got a flamboyant personality but he keeps the PSO site I use most, check it out http://pso.wumarkus.com EVERY HUNTERS OF PSO FAQ is copyright DarkNightwing 2002-2003. Game is copyright Sega and SonicTeam.