Photon Drop FAQ for Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 for Nintendo GameCube (Japanese and American versions) Copyright 2002 HoorayforPunkRock ++++++++++++++++ About this Guide ++++++++++++++++ This guide is intended to answer one of the most frequently asked and easily answered questions for PSO. That question is: What do I do with Photon Drops? +++++++++++++++ Version History +++++++++++++++ 11/02/02- Version 0.5 This is the first version, although few changes are expected. Later versions will clear up possible errors. At this point, only fine tuning is expected. +++++++++++++++++ Table of Contents +++++++++++++++++ 1. What is a Photon Drop 2. What do I do with Photon Drops? 3. How do I exchange my Photon Drops? 4. What happens if I offer more than one Photon Drop? 5. What are the prize levels? 1. What is a Photon Drop? A Photon Drop is an item found in boxes or left behind by dead enemies. It is a red item, meaning it is considered rare. You will learn, however, that as you play the game you will collect many. In case you are curious, you can carry a total of 198. To do so, keep 99 in your bank and 99 on your person. It is unlikely that you will find that many, but you should expect to find at least a dozen or so. Individual results will vary. For the record, the item description for a Photon Drop reads: "High purity crystal Photon. There is someone who needs this..." 2. What do I do with Photon Drops? You can exchange your Photon Drops for other rare items. To do so, you must play the game online. To clarify- there is no way to exchange Photon Drops offline. 3. How do I exchange my Photon Drops? Step 1: Create a game online in either Episode 1 or Episode 2. Make sure the game is Normal (i.e., not Challenge or Battle- difficulty is irrelevant). You can do this alone, or with other players in your group. Step 2: Walk to the Guild Counter, and select the "Shops" quests. Now, select the "Gallon's Shop" quest. The description reads: "The greedy merchant, Gallon, runs a shop. What lies within!?" and "This isn't exactly a quest...I just want to invite all you hunters to my shop. Those of you looking for a change..." Select "Yes" to load this quest. Step 3: Once the quest loads, make sure you do not forget to do one very important thing. MAKE SURE that you have the PHOTON DROP ON YOUR PERSON, meaning in your inventory and not in your bank. Otherwise, you won't be able to find the merchant. If you need to go get the Photon Drop out of your bank, do it now. Step 4: Descend the ramp in Pioneer 2 that is near the hospital and shops. Head straight down the ramp and immediately turn 180 degrees. Step 5: Looking back up the ramp, head to your character's right, to a small alley alongside the ramp itself. Step 6: See that Force standing back in the alley? Talk to him. Step 7: He notices the shiny object you have (Photon Drop), and asks if you want to meet his father. Say "Yes." Step 8: You are taken to another room, where the father explains that he collects Photon Drops and wants yours. He will offer you various items for it. If you do not want what he offers, just choose "No." You may need to visit him several times until he offers you what you want. 4. What happens if I offer more than one Photon Drop? Generally, the more Photon Drops you trade in at any given time, the better the prize. So, theoretically, handing over 50 Drops will get you a better prize than just handing over 1. But there is a trick, because there are different levels of prizes. The trick is to figure out the exact minimum number of Drops you need to offer in order to claim your prize. If you can get an item for 1 Drop, don't offer him 10 for it. If you can get it for 80 Drops, don't offer him 81. 5. What are the prize levels? How many Drops do I need to get certain items? The basic set of items are always available. As you reach various plateaus, new items are added. =========================== 1 to 16 Photon Drops yields: =========================== Monomate, Monofluid, Recovery Barrier, Assist Barrier, Add Slot ============================ 17 to 19 Photon Drops yields: ============================ Monomate, Monofluid, Recovery Barrier, Assist Barrier, Add Slot AND Beril Photon ============================ 20 to 29 Photon Drops yields: ============================ Monomate, Monofluid, Recovery Barrier, Assist Barrier, Add Slot, Beril Photon AND Blue Barrier, Parasite Cell D, Beril Photon, Magic Water ============================ 30 to 49 Photon Drops yields: ============================ Monomate, Monofluid, Recovery Barrier, Assist Barrier, Add Slot, Beril Photon, Blue Barrier, Parasite Cell D, Beril Photon, Magic Water AND Nei Claw, Yellow Barrier, Red Barrier ============================ 50 to 89 Photon Drops yields: ============================ Monomate, Monofluid, Recovery Barrier, Assist Barrier, Add Slot, Beril Photon, Blue Barrier, Parasite Cell D, Beril Photon, Magic Water, Nei Claw, Yellow Barrier, Red Barrier AND Photon Booster, Heart Key, Photon Blaster ============================ 90 to 99 Photon Drops yields: ============================ Monomate, Monofluid, Recovery Barrier, Assist Barrier, Add Slot, Beril Photon, Blue Barrier, Parasite Cell D, Beril Photon, Magic Water, Nei Claw, Yellow Barrier, Red Barrier, Photon Booster, Heart Key, Photon Blaster AND Photon Sphere **This data was collected from various web pages and bulletin board posts, as well as confirmed from personal experience. Of course, I have not confirmed all of it. If you find a mistake, please let me know. If you are an original author of this data, please let me know and I will happily credit you.**