BBBBBBB AAAA DDDDDDDD GGGGGGG EEEEEEEE BB BB AA AA DDDDDDDDD GGGGGGGGG EEEEEEEE BB B BB AA AA DD DD GG GG E BB BB AA AA DD DD GG GG E BB BBB AA AA DD DD GG EEEEEE BB BB AA AA DD DD GG GGGGG E BB B BB AAAAAAAAAAAA DD DD GG GG G E BB BB AA AA DDDDDDDDD GG GG EEEEEEEEE BBBBBBB AA AA DDDDDDDD GGGGGGGGG EEEEEEEEE PPPPPPP OOOO WW WW EEEEEEEEE RRRRRRRR PP PP OO OO WW WW EEEEEEEEE RR RR PP PP PP OO OO WW WW EE RR RR RR PP PP OO OO WW WW WW EE RR RR PPPPPPPPPP OO OO WW WW WW EEEEEE RRRRRRRRRR PP OO OO WW WW WW EE RRRR PP OO OO WW WWWW WW EE RR RR PP OO OO WW WW WW WW EEEEEEEEE RR RR PP OOOO WWWW WWWW EEEEEEEEE RR RR Next time I decide to do one of these things...stop me. Please? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Badge Set-Up FAQ V 1.62 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introduction: At the popular request of several of my peers, I have transformed a few basic badge set-ups into this set-up FAQ for the benefit of everyone to view at their leisure. I have encouraged many others to come up with their own ideas, and they have done so successfully. The following is the fruits of their labor... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Events: Reading through this guide so many years later, I see so many things I'd like to change, fix, update and tweak. Alas, it's much too late for that now. Of course this game is still near and dear to my heart, and I will continue to add most reader contributions as they come in. Though I haven't played The Thousand-Year Door in several years, I still work with badges and badge set-ups on the side. I still get the occasional e-mail, and as of this update, still frequent The Thousand-Year Door message board here on GameFAQs. That said, be sure to compare today's date with my last update. Hard to say where I'll be in a year or two. I wish you all a Happy *insert nearest holiday* and a good travels through your Mario Universe. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents: If you would like to jump to a particular set-up, press ctrl+f, and type out the set-up you would like to go to. I could give it little keywords, but that's no fun... I - Version History II - The Basics III - Standard Set-Ups ~Tank Mario ~Reckless Mario ~Partner Power ~Destruction Mario ~Stylish Mario ~Time-Bomb/Charger Mario ~Elemental Mario (created by the_peace_guy) ~Jumpman ~Hammerman ~Item Frenzy ~Stars' Might ~Spare Tire ~Danger Mario ~Pure Stats (created by Toad 004) ~Power Bouncer (created by jamescom1) ~Survivor (created by SoulAvenger69) ~Very Lucky (created by kirby_64) ~Poison Barb Mario (created by Squeakerson) ~Revenge Spike Mario (created by TheShiningNorth) IV - Special Purpose Set-ups ~The 30 BPer ~The 99 BPer ~Amayzee Hunter ~The Ultimate Pit Strategy (created by kirby_64) ~The Amazing Pit Set-up (created by Callee) V - Individual Boss Set-ups VI - Badges from Enemies VII - Mix and Match Set-ups VIII - Badge Listing and Advice IX - The REAL Fun Stuff: Contact, Legal, and Special Thanks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I - Version History: V 1.00 : 9/4/05 Finished composing and editing all invented and submitted set-ups. ~Danger Mario ~Tank Mario ~Reckless Mario ~Partner Power ~Destruction Mario ~Stylish Mario ~Time-Bomb/Charger Mario ~Pure Stats (created by Toad 004) ~Power Bouncer (created by jamescom1) ~Survivor (created by SoulAvenger69) ~Very Lucky (created by kirby_64) ~The 30 BPer ~Amayzee Hunter ~The Ultimate Pit Strategy (created by kirby_64) V 1.11 : 9/11/05 Fixed a very bad error in Tank Mario (thank you SoulAvenger69) Added "Badges from enemies" Section (Many thanks to jamescom1 for saving the list, which I had never heard of) Fixed exactly one minor typo V 1.16 : 9/12/05 Added list of Mix and Match set-ups. Specifics to come later Added a variation to the Special Notes of Tank Mario Fixed an odd error that prevented a phrase from showing up Fixed a technical error in Danger Mario involving Last Stand Proofread entire FAQ and corrected many things that confused me V 1.21 : 9/19/05 Finished off the basis for the Mix and Matches V 1.25 : 9/23/05 Added the Badge Listings and Advice Added a Status Effect... >_> V 1.30 : 10/4/05 Added the following set-ups: ~Jumpman set-up ~Hammerman set-up ~Item Frenzy set-up V 1.35 : 10/13/05 Fiddled with my ASCII "Art" Added an unnecessary, but hopefully helpful explanation to Danger Mario Credit to a Tank modification duly noted and fixed Added the following set-ups: ~Spare Tire set-up ~Stars' Might set-up V 1.36 : 10/14/05 Oops, fixed a problem in, where else, the Version History Proofread it again, and fixed various errors from typos to technical difficulties to set-up modifications Trashed plans for 99 BP versions of existing set-ups, but you can expect to see various set-ups built for those that have 99 BP V 1.37 : 10/28/05 Finally found time to add permission for neoseeker.com to host my FAQ Added the Current Event section right below the Introduction. Removed a no-longer necessary bit in the Version History, and added date to the above section... :P V 1.38 : 11/3/05 Added a rather unnecessary bit to the Special Thanks V 1.40 : 11/21/05 Pieced together a 99 BP set-up V 1.41 : 3/6/06 Some content and rhetorical revisions V 1.42 : 4/4/06 Fixed some minor error that screwed up a few words. It happens :P Updated contact information. I should be easier to reach, now Added my current set-up Stasisized V 1.43 : 5/13/06 Fixed a rather bad error in Item Frenzy Few spellings re-spelled Got a name for Dual Shooting Star. Yay V 1.44 : 6/14/06 Added some more badges and enemies to the Badges from Enemies list Fixed a detail in the Item Frenzy set-up Omitted a rather unnecessary sentence from First Strike description V 1.45 : 8/31/06 Added Elemental Mario V 1.46 : 1/14/07 Removed Under Construction sign Fixed a really strange grammar error Added to the Badge Drop list V 1.50 : 7/9/07 Minor update to Badges from Enemies list Un-noted some notes I thought were arrogant of me to make. Sorry, guys V 1.51 : 5/22/08 Addition to Badges from Enemies list V 1.52 : 8/25/08 Additions to Badges from Enemies list Interesting strategy involving damage return/Thorns added (check Reckless) V 1.55 : 9/15/08 Added the Poison Barb Mario set-up Modifications to Mix-and-Match, inspired by above Added more Badges from Enemies (without credits) Touched up a few notes on existing set-ups V 1.56 : 4/12/09 Fixed a math error that somehow survived since 1.00 Updated Badges from Enemies list V 1.60 : 5/11/10 Added The Amazing Pit Strategy V 1.61 : 8/1/10 Minor revisions to badge numbers and comments Moved and heavily modified Danger Mario Removed my personal set-up V 1.62 : 12/29/12 Added the Revenge Spike Mario set-up Coming up soon: ~More contributions as readers see fit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ II - The Basics Hopefully you know enough about the basics before looking through this guide so I'll just go over the generalities of certain things that I find pertinent to badges. HP - Heart Points - The life force of Mario and your partner. If your HP drops to zero, and you are not in posession of a Life Shroom, it's game over. If your partner's HP drops to zero, he/she is incapable of continuing fighting until he/she is healed. Certain badges can raise maximum HP of you or your partner, occasionally recover it, or drain (leech) it from an enemy. FP - Flower Points - FP allows you to use special moves (not special attacks, there's a difference), which have a variety of effects, such as freezing an enemy or damaging all airborne targets. Many of the partner moves also require FP. Like HP, there are badges that can raise maximum FP, occasionally recover it, or drain (leech) it from an enemy. Other badges can reduce FP costs of special moves and recover it when Mario is damaged. BP - Badge Points - BP allows you to use badges (duh :P). The range of effects that badges grant are too vast to mention here, but you can be assured it is vast. Yes, indeed. Each badge costs an amount of BP ranging from 0-7. The 7BP badges generally being the most useful, while the 0BP typically have little to no purpose. These are, however, generalizations, and it is not necessarily true, that Return Postage, a 7BP badge, is better than an All or Nothing, a 4BP badge, in all situations. And it is because there are so many ways to mix and match badges, that there is no such thing as a "most powerful badge". Even Quick Change can be used in tandem with a number of badges that would make it useless. Attack Power - This is Mario's basic attack strength. For mathematics' sake, we will look at Mario's basic basic attack power as zero. The normal boots gives him an attack power of one, and the normal hammer wields an attack power of two. The Super Boots have an attack power of two, whereas the Super Hammer has an attack of four. Ultra Boots boast an attack of three, and the Ultra Hammer packs an attack power of six. Various badges can add to and take away from his attack power, and the different strategies look at this stat with a varying degree of attention. Defense Power - This is Mario's basic defensive power. Mario's basic defense is zero, and it can only be improved or degraded by badges. That's right, there are no such things as Super and Ultra Overalls. Different strategies could care more or less about this factor. Status Effects - There are a number of Status Effects in this game, and the list I used to have here was far from comprehensive. Most of the Effects are pretty self-explanatory, but I will try to refer to the effects of any Status as they come up in this guide. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ III - Standard Set-ups The following badge set-ups all follow a certain format, that goes as follows: Set-Up name: My stupid little catch-phrase Suggested stats by level 30 : HP/FP/BP Targeted HP/FP/BP values by the time you reach level 30 to best complement the set-up. Exclamation points (!) indicate stats to focus leveling up on after level 30 is reached. Key Badges: The badges that this set-up revolves around. Without these, the set-up is considered broken and un-directional. Optional Badges: The badges that fall under this category are meant to complement the key badges as long as the player has enough BP to use them. They aren't really vital, but they help a lot. Special Notes: These are just my little notes that give you reasons for my decisions or add on extra little strategies or badges I haven't yet mentioned in the Key/Optional section. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tank Mario: Can't touch this, Na-na-na-n...OK I'll stop... Suggested stats by level 30: 75!/10/51 Key Badges: Defend Plus 2 P-Down D-Up 1 Damage Dodge 2 Total BP 16 Optional Badges: Power Plus P 2 HP Drain 1 P-Up D-Down P 1 Power Plus 2 Hammerman 1 Total BP 34 Grand Total 50 Special Notes: ~This Mario can be tough to use early in the game. Defend Pluses aren't exactly abundant, but this will keep Mario safe for a good while. Though it's certainly better in tandem with another strategy, such as Partner Power or Stars' Might, Tank Mario can be a solid stand-alone strategy for anyone who likes to play it safe. ~Following this set-up, you will have lost a bit of Attack Power. You'll need to come up with ways to counter-act this flaw. The best way is to beef up your bombardier so to speak. Since you're going to be sitting up front tanking, you might as well have someone arming the big guns. Give your partner some Power boosting badges and have him/her hammer on the enemy from the backfield. ~You'll find yourself using Power Lift frequently since it offers three main benefits to this set-up. It gives Mario an extra defensive boost, it gives him a leveling attack boost, and makes your partner stronger in the backfield. Keep your Star Gauge high while fighting. ~Unlike many of my set-ups, I actually recommend a healthy supply of HP. Mario will be taking a lot of hits, and though much of the damage will be deflected, he's still going to take some. ~Another variation of this strategy provided by Rayquaza418 focuses more on Partner defense. By boosting your partner's defense as much as you can, and equpping them with all available Damage Dodge Ps, you can set Bobbery up front and have him use Hold Fast. As long as you Guard, not Superguard, Bobbery should be able to retaliate two damage while taking none himself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reckless Mario: "Let's go sky-diving!" ^_^' "Mama Mi-AUGH-HA-HA-HA" >_<' Where's his parachute? Suggested stats by level 30: 100!/10/36 Key Badges: Power Plus 2 All or Nothing 1 Jumpman 1 Spike Shield 1 P-Up D-Down 1 Charge 1 Total BP 23 Optional Badges: Multibounce 1 Power Bounce 1 Return Postage 1 Zap Tap 1 Total BP 11 Grand Total 34 Special Notes: ~This Mario needs to be HP heavy, especially if you use Return Postage since you'll just be asking for loads of damage. If you're not using Return Postage, you may want Koops or Flurrie up front for most of the game. If you are going to use it, keep Ms. Mowz in the backfield ready to use Smooch and have a few Ultra Shrooms in supply. ~The idea of this set-up is to not rely on FP moves, but instead focus on using his normal moves with greatly boosted attack power. Though you shouldn't need much FP, once you have a good supply of HP, FP might be the next thing to level up. Power Smash, Power Stomp, and Multibounce could definitely help with the attack boost. ~This is one of the best set-up for returning counter damage. Zap Tap and Return Postage can be used together to give direct attackers a huge chunk of damage back. Mario will be taking a bit more damage than normal, so direct attackers will also be taking a bit more damage from the counter damage. Use this wisely and carefully. ~Thanks to a conversation I "overheard", cool540 pointed out that Double Pain, a 0BP badge is good for, in essence, doubling the damage Return Postage does, at the sacrifice of taking twice the damage. Be careful with this strategy. HP goes down much faster than you might think. ~wholigans87 also provides a nifty technique with my favorite concept: stacking. Using a Spite Pouch along with Return Postage will allow any direct attack to return a full 100% back to the damage dealer. Combined with Double Pain, there are few enemies in the game that won't simply destroy themselves by attacking. ~Some enemies are capable of rendering themselves invincible for a short while. Take advantage of their non-attack and turn it into a little extra power on your next move with a Charge. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Partner Power: Looks like Mario is sitting this battle out...again >_> Suggested stats by level 30: 10/70!/45! Key Badges: Power Plus P 2 Defend Plus P 2 Quick Change 1 Total BP 29 Optional Badges: Super Appeal 1 Unsimplifier 1 Flower Saver P 2 FP Drain 1 Hammerman 1 HP Plus P 1 Total BP 20 Grand Total 49 Special Notes: ~Mario has three jobs in this set-up, Star Powers, items, and holding the partners. Don't neglect either need and always keep your partner up front. ~It's generally a good idea to trade Mario's attack power for FP Drain and give him Hammerman so he can supply his partner with ammo as it were. Hammer will work better than Jump since Mario will end up with very little attack and the hammer is affected less by loss of power and enemy defense. ~The only good partner badges are the ones that modify stats and Quick Change. Quick Change, as stuyle31 points out, is basically turning all of your partners into one partner with 28 different moves. This is a critical badge and is almost guaranteed to land you in a good situation offensively and defensively. ~babooze812 points out that letting your partner attack first, then bringing out another one can provide a good offensive move followed up by defense. This also helps to spread around damage amongst your partners. Also keep in mind that a HP Plus P badge will boost your partners' overall Hit Points by 35. Well worth it if you have BP to spare. ~Super Appeals and Unsimplifier are great ways to boost Star Power gain. Super Appeal should be used up whenever the opportunity presents itself (Mario not needing to attack or use items) and the Unsimplifier is there in those times when Mario needs to start leeching FP for his partner instead of appealing. ~Yoshi is likely to be the greatest benefiter from this set-up, as most of his attacks do weak damage, but do it many times over. With every Power Plus P badge, his damage goes up greatly. Koops, Bobbery, and even Ms. Mowz with her defense penetration, are also very powerful with this set-up. ~The priority here is FP and BP, which both fuel the partners' moves. Without FP, you are limited to a choice of very standard attacks, and without BP, your partners' moves will be weaker, and worse yet, you might not have room for Quick Change, the backbone of this set-up. ~Any badges that will help your partners become damage efficient is worth using. (Flower Saver P, P-Up D-Down etc.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Destruction Mario: Look at the carnage! Suggested stats by level 30: 20/100!/30! Key Badges: Power Plus 2 Power Jump 1+ Power Smash 1+ P-Up D-Down 1 Total BP 14 Optional Badges: Super Appeal P 1 Charge 1 Charge P 1 All or Nothing 1 Zap Tap 1 Pretty Lucky 2 Lucky Day 1 Total BP 21 Grand Total 35 Special Notes: ~With every Power Jump (not Power Bounce) or Power Smash badge, the FP cost of the move will skyrocket. Eventually, this leads to this set-up's greatest flaws, efficiency. The power earned by adding extra badges, costing much more FP in the process only works to a certain extent. This Mario is very powerful early on, but as it goes down the road, should probably transition into a Partner Power since the stats are relatively the same by that point. Another option would be to trade out the multiples of those badges for singles of other move badges and become more of a Stylish Mario. ~Destruction Mario is a set-up that works well against one, big enemy. Although this looks very similar to Reckless Mario, there are two very distinct differences between them. First of all, Destruction Mario does not take advantage of the ability to return gobs of damage to enemies, but instead relies on the hope that he won't be hit at all. He instead (second reason) uses these spare BP to beef up his awesome attack power, and any spare FP to boost it further. ~You should use your partner with this set-up like you would use Mario in the Partner Power set-up. Using items and building up Star Power for the Special Moves, throwing out the occasional support move, such as Mini-Egg, Dodgy Fog, or Shell Shield. ~Charge for Mario will rarely be used unless Koops can buy him some time with Shell Shield, but Charge P should be used more often since there are times when the Star Meter is full and there are no items to use, and all that is left for your partner to do is attack. ~BP isn't a huge issue in this set-up, and neither should HP, but it helps to put a few levels there anyway. FP is very important since it is fueling all of your attacks that are doing your massive hoardes of damage. Without FP, Destruction Mario is at any enemy's mercy. ~The idea is to defeat enemies before they can attack you. If Pretty Lucky and Lucky Day isn't enough for you, consider a Close Call or two. They're extremely effective, cost very little BP, and take advantage of this set-up's low HP. ~Koops will be a favored partner here once he gets Shell Shield, since it will allow Mario to charge up more power to slightly counter-act his high FP costs. ~A great item to keep handy is a Jelly Shroom or Jelly Super. These save on the costs of Jelly Ultras, but have the same basic effects. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stylish Mario: Gee, what CAN'T that guy do? Suggested stats by level 30: 25/95!/30 Key Badges: Spike Shield 1 Power Bounce 1 Multibounce 1 Quake Hammer 1 Fire Drive 1 Total BP 12 Optional Badges: Charge 1 Charge P 1 Soft Stomp 1 Sleepy Stomp 1 Shrink Stomp 1 Head Rattle 1 Power Smash 1 Ice Smash 1 Tornado Jump 1 Hammer Throw 1 Quick Change 1 Total BP 18 Grand Total 30 Special Notes: ~This is not by any means a recommended set-up for beginners to go against the bigger enemies of the game. This is, however, an experimental, fun new way to look at it. It can also present a moderate challenge to experienced players. ~Looked at as a serious set-up: this is a great way to come into a battle always prepared to fight anything. With this many different ways to attack, there are won't be a single time where you're at a loss for what to do. ~The Spike Shield is moreover a way to get your effects carried by jump moves to spiky foes. Getting Ice Power for this purpose is pointless since flame enemies go down rather fast anyway. But if you insist on using it, sacrifice a 1 BP Hammer Move to make room instead of putting another level into BP. But once the need is over, switch back. ~Though it is obvious, I may as well point out that FP is your lifeblood. Every attack should consume FP unless it would be completely and utterly wasted (using Fire Drive against a Goomba for instance). ~One notable strength of this set-up is that it is very distinctive in how it grows ever stronger. And since these badges are cheap to get and wear and easy to find, the effect is almost instantly noticeable. ~Another thing to keep in mind is that with most of these badges, it is completely possible to get ahold of multiples of them. Multiples of these moves will either increase the duration of any status effects (Ice Smash, Sleep Stomp etc.), or increase damage done (Hammer Throw, Multibounce etc.) Use multiples as you see fit, by sacrificing other moves, or tacking on a few more BP. ~Charge is not there for any real purpose, but since it does add an option to the Tactics menu, it counts as a move. Charge P, however... ~By equipping all these badges, you have 52 different moves at your disposal, including the two Charges. ~Quick Change is a good way to make your partner as versatile as you have become. ~One last strategy to note: It is plausible, and probably even smart to change some of your FP level-ups into BP instead. Use the extra BP to throw on some Flower Savers, perhaps an FP Drain as well, depending on how much damage you're trying to do. This set-up is viable either way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Time Bomb/Charger Mario: Watch out! He's gonna blow! Suggested stats by level 30: 25!/35!/63 Key badges: Charge 1 Flower Saver 2 Power Plus 2 Power Bounce 1 Multibounce 1 Total BP 21 Optional Badges: P-Up D-Down 1 Defend Plus P 2 Charge P 1 Flower Saver P 2 Power Plus P 2 P-Up D-Down P 1 All or Nothing 1 Spike Shield 1 Jumpman 1 Ice Power 1 Total BP 41 Grand Total 63 Special Notes: ~This set-up can kick into its maximum necessary power almost immediately. The first Charge badge you can get is in Chapter 2 (Charge P in Chapter 3), and Koops is almost immediately upgradable (explained later). ~The more Charge badges you have, the happier you will be. Although the FP can skyrocket over time, the effects of the Charge with multiple badges can be staggering. To find multiples of these, fight Hyper enemies between Twilight Town and Creepy Steeple. ~Koops will be the favored partner here because of his Shell Shield move. It can buy Mario enough time to bolster his attack power. ~Goombella is a more aggressive approach to this Mario. You sacrifice a lot of defensive measures in favor of doubling the amount of times you can charge per turn. With this form, Flower Saver P, Defend Plus, and Quick Change may be a good idea. Shell Shield and Rally Wink are equal in terms of FP so it's all up to your playing style. ~You can also use some of the optional badges to give your partner (though Bobbery would seem most appropriate, Yoshi would be far more effective) a similar time-bomb ability. ~Happy Flower is a badge to consider. Since you're spending a little bit of FP per turn as opposed to mass FP every few turns, it all balances quite nicely. It goes unmentioned in the Optional Badges because it takes more of these than normally obtainable for it to be effective. ~You might consider having a few Hot Sauces on hand for your partner to use on Mario. These will add a little to his Charge without using FP. ~Defend Plus (P) badges can be life or death against some of the later bosses that have a habit of completely thrashing a low HP mario, notably Magnus von Grapple V.2. ~This set-up can make battles take a very long time, so Power Pluses can help relieve the time stress of fighting lesser enemies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elemental Mario (Created by the_peace_guy) The powers of earth, fire, ice, and wind at his fingers, he unleashes his fury! Stats by level 30: 50/95/36 Key badges: Ice Smash 1 Fire Drive 1 Ice Power 1 Tornado Jump 1 Quake Hammer 1 Total BP 9 Optional badges: Spike Shield 1 Power Plus 2 Feeling Fine 1 Feeling Fine P 1 Happy Flower 1 Pity Flower 1 Piercing Blow 1 Total BP 27 Grand Total 36 Special Notes: ~There are a lot of items that go well with this set-up that both stick to the elementalist nature of it, and benefit the Status Effect inducing nature of the elements. These include: ~Thunder rage ~Volt Shroom ~Thunder bolt ~Fire flower ~Ice storm ~Earth Quake ~This set-up is very Status heavy, and offensive in nature. Ice Smash is probably the best attack in Elemental Mario's arsenal, and is helped out greatly by supporting partners. ~Speaking of partners, your best options would be one of the defensive ones, or go with Flurrie and Vivian to round out the elemental theme. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jumpman: I sure hope he doesn't get vertigo... Suggested stats by level 30: 50/50!/39! Key Badges: Jumpman 1 Spike Shield 1 All Jump Moves 8 Total BP 16 Optional Badges: Power Plus 2 P-Up D-Down 1 All or Nothing 1 Ice Power 1 Zap Tap 1 Total BP 22 Grand Total 38 Special Notes: ~This set-up can be much stronger than this, but only if used in conjunction with other complementary set-ups as listed in the mix-and-match set-up section of this guide. I decided to bump this and Hammerman into this section as stand-alone set-ups because they are both very viable on their own. ~Due to Jump's ability to do much more damage than the Hammer, I will generally refer to Jumpman as the more offensive breed of set-ups (for each increase in damage, total damage done goes up by at least 2). The downfall of this set-up, of course, is enemies with obnoxiously high defense, but there are realistic ways to get around that. ~One of the better moves that you can get for this set-up is Soft Stomp. Using this will render an enemy's defenses slightly less useful for several turns. This may be one of the moves you'll want multiples of, so you don't have to worry about using it many times over the course of a long battle. ~Sleepy Stomp is another badge that is worth having multiples of. Its main function is to keep a backfield threat from doing anything for a few turns, as long as you don't attack them, since there is a decent chance that doing so will wake them up. ~It is absolutely essential that you have Spike Shield. There are too many enemies that make use of spiky heads that justifies the use of 3 BP to get this badge. You won't regret it. ~Fiery enemies, though far less common, still warrant having the cheap Ice Power on hand at all times. ~As I learned from Kirby5790, Zap Tap will allow Mario to stomp on enemies who have Electrified themselves, including Puffs and enemy Volt Shrooms. ~As I said before, Jumpman is offensive in nature, so any attack boosting badge you have will certainly help you deal major damage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hammerman: If he keeps twirling up like that, he might rip... Suggested stats by level 30: 45/50!/42! Key Badges: Hammerman 1 Hammer Moves 8 Total BP 13 Optional Badges A: Defend Plus 2 P-Down D-Up 1 HP Drain 1 FP Drain 1 Total BP 14 Grand Total 27 Optional Badges B: Power Plus 2 P-Up D-Down 1 All or Nothing 1 Total BP 18 Grand Total 31 All The Above 41 (after subtracting conflicting badges) Special Notes: ~Like the above Jumpman set-up, the Hammerman has its own right to life in the main set-up area. It can easily stand alone. Hammerman, though defensive in nature, can easily be used as an offensive set-up, due to it's excellent flexibility. ~Optional Badges A use Hammerman as a defensive set-up. Optional Badges B use Hammerman as an offensive set-up. ~The offensive style involves more focus on the power moves Power Smash and Piercing Blow. The second Fire Drive badge should also be equipped for added burnination. ~The defensive style is probably Hammerman at its peak. Since power increases for hammers are less effective than they are for jumps, it makes sense for a defensive build to use hammers, or hammers to focus on defense. HP Drain, FP Drain, and P-Down D-Up will drop attack by three, from 6 to 3 damage. Power Smash will bring that up to 5, and Hammerman brings it back to 6, so in essence, you really aren't losing anything. In exchange, you get some healthy defensive benefits that can carry you quite some way. ~Piercing Blow, Quake Hammer, and Hammer Throw are must have Hammer Moves. The latter two enable strikes to enemies that are in otherwise out-of-reach areas, such as the ceiling or in mid-air. The former is a move any non-Jumpman Mario should have anyway. The ability to disregard enemy defense for a nice, solid hammer whack is beautiful for dealing with Elite Wizzerds and Chain Chomps ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Item Frenzy: "You can't trust a hero that's always diggin' in his pockets!" Or can you?... Suggested stats by level 30: 50/65/33! Key Badges: Double Dip 2 Double Dip P 2 Item Hog 1 Total BP 15 Optional Badges: Refund 1 Money Money 1 Defend Plus 2 Total BP 16 Grand Total 31 Special Notes: ~It is 100% absolutely, positively, necessarily, essential to get the Strange Sack as soon as you possibly can (insert random, immature joke here). The more items you are capable of holding, the less urgent it is to save them up for a just-in-case scenario. ~The beautiful thing about having Mario and/or partner under the influence of "Triple Dip" is that between him and your partner, you can decide whether you want to use anywhere from 0 to 6 items in one turn, depending on how much Fire Power you have to spend, and are willing to spend. There are two of each badge that are relatively easy to attain. If you want locations, check another FAQ... ~Refund is an entertaining thing to keep on. Each time you use an item (whether you bought it or Item Hogged it, you get a fair amount of coinage, depending on the item you used). Money Money also keeps the cash flow up, as well as selling any item you Item Hog, but don't plan to ever use. ~Since you won't be doing much (if any) direct attacking, defense is essential to keep up, even if it means sacrificing attack to use it since Attack Power is moot when all you do is use items. ~Since the Strange Sack isn't an all-producing bag of goodies, it may help you a little to equip a Charge and a Charge P, just in case you run out of items in the middle of a big battle. ~Good items to keep in mind are: ~Zess Deluxe: a 40 HP/40 FP boost, and relatively cheap to make ~Maple Syrup/Jammin' Jelly: When used in conjunction with another item using Double Dip, the cost becomes invisible. ~Thunder Rage: Cheap (coinage-wise). Straight-forward. And a solid hitter. ~Shooting Star: A little more expensive, but slightly more damaging than Thunder Rage. ~Ice Storm: Very effective for getting a flock of enemies out of your hair for a few turns. ~Point Swap: You may find yourself running low on Hit Points, and may find it necessary to trade in Fire Power for some. Or, if you only have healing items that heal FP, and you need to replenish HP, use Point Swap and then a FP recoverer. (is that word even English?...) ~POW Block: For Koopas, Buzzies, and other flippables that you might find more convenient in an incapacitated state. ~Zess Dynamite: The most powerful attack item available, if a bit difficult to get ahold of. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stars' Might: The commander of the celestial heavens has a mission, a mission to defeat the shadows and save the pure one. ...Too serious maybe? Suggested stats by level 30: 90/5/45! Key Badges: Super Appeal 5+ P-Down D-Up 1 P-Down D-Up P 1 Total BP 9+ Optional Badges: Defend Plus 2 Defend Plus P 2 Total BP 20 Grand Total 29+ Special Notes: ~I try to avoid listing multiples in my set-ups, however Super Appeal is one you absolutely must have for this set-up. Do whatever it takes it get a good supply of Piantas at the Pianta Parlor and start hoarding those Super Appeals. ~Because this set-up is so self-reliant, meaning it can provide, use, and restock its own ability to attack in the midst of battle, there is little use for excessive Badge Power. There is also virtually no purpose for Fire Power, nor Hit Points. However, a high HP total will let you stand longer against big boss types. ~As in the Item Frenzy set-up, Attack Power is essentially useless, so the best opportunity for a defensive measure starts with the P-Down D-Up badges. Defend Pluses add to that measure. Tack on a couple Damage Dodges if you don't plan on Superguarding. ~Having almost too many Super Appeals is always a good thing when you're burning through Star Power at an ever-increasing rate. Over time, you may want well up to 20, 30, or more Super Appeals. I've heard from jamescom1 that each Super Appeal will add another 1/4 of a Star Power circle per Appeal. Theoretically, that means it would take 32 Super Appeals to get an Appeal that would max out your Star Power from empty. ~I also learned from Kirby5790 that if you abuse Stylish commands, then Super Appeal badges become less effective. So if you plan to let your partner attack, keep your hands away from the Stylish commands. ~Since there are so few Super Appeal P badges (comparitively), you may want to have your partner serve another function. Since you are already as fortified as he/she is, having him/her tank is rather useless. A better option would be to add on a miniature (or excessive if you have 99 BP) Partner Power to this set-up and let your partner mix it up in there as you are using and recovering Star Power. ~Always keep in mind your situation. Don't use Star Powers that will not work in a given circumstance. For example, use Art Attack for smaller, but high-HP/ Defense enemies, but save a Supernova for large packs of them, or bosses you aren't accustomed to Art Attacking. Power Lift for times when extra defense will keep you alive, or when your partner needs that extra Attack boost. The list goes on and on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spare Tire: If you keep rolling over broken glass and nails in the road, you'll need to tow and eighteen-wheeler behind you just for the tires... Suggested stats by level 30: 25/50!/54 Key Badges: Power Rush P 1 Mega Rush P 1 Quick Change 1 Damage Dodge P 2 Last Stand P 1 Total BP 12 Optional Badges: Power Plus P 2 P-Up D-Down P 1 Total BP 14 Grand Total 27 * - *correction* These are buyable from the Pianta Parlor. Get as many as you can. Special Notes: ~Multiple Power Rush P badges can be bought from the Pianta parlor. You'll want at least 10 of them. The more the merrier. ~This is a rather involved set-up, and I'll start by explaining little details you may have noticed: ~First of all, you may have noticed that I use Power Plus P's and a P-Up D-Down with no Defend Plus to counter it, yet I use a Last Stand and Damage Dodge P's. The reason behind this one involves the actual set-up of the strategy, so I'll answer that one later. ~Second, you'll notice that it looks "danger"ously similar to Danger Mario, but involving Partner Badges instead of normal Mario badges. Again, this is involved in the direct set-up of the strategy, so I'll answer that...now. (I apologize for the lame pun. I hope you understand) ~There are two ways to "activate" this strategy. The first would be to get your hands on a Trial Stew. Use it in a safe battle with the partner you intend to boost. From there you can run away or end the battle however you like. ~The second way would be to burn through your FP until you have only 1 FP remaining. Then, use a Point Swap on your partner, bringing him/her down to 1 HP, recovering your FP, and keeping Mario out of the exchange. ~Then, keep a separate partner out during your travels. When you get into a battle, Quick Change to your 1 HP partner, use an attack boosted by the Power Rush P's and Mega Rush P('s) *before* using up Mario's turn. Then, Mario can Quick Change out the 1 HP partner for a different one to take damage, do his own attack. Rinse and repeat. ~Hopefully now you understand some of the reasoning behind the badge choices, so just keep in mind that if, for some reason, your attacking partner gets stuck on the field at the end of your turn, the Last Stand and Damage Dodges should keep him/her alive, and if you want, add some Close Calls and/or Pretty Luckies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Danger Mario: Everybody's Favorite >_> Suggested stats by level 30 : 5/5!/93! Key Badges: Power Rush 5 Power Bounce 1 Multibounce 1 Spike Shield 1 Total BP 12 Optional Badges: P-Down D-Up 1 Damage Dodge 2 Close Call 2 Last Stand 1 Ice Power 1 Flower Saver 1 Flower Saver P 1 FP Drain 1 Quake Hammer 1 Total BP 20 Grand Total 31 Special Notes: ~First and foremost, I would like to state that I disapprove of the use of this set-up. It remains in this guide mostly because I don't want to receive e-mail regarding anything remotely similar to Danger Mario. Please, for your own sake, don't use this set-up to do anything in this game for the first time. It will take away all the fun of the game. ~By popular demand, I'm going to tell how to actually get Mario into the stats you need for Danger Mario to work. After you have Bobbery in your party, go to the sewers under the east side of Rogueport. Destroy the wall with the visible cracks and go down the pipe you just revealed. The house in the background is home to Chet Rippo, who is capable of trading one level's worth of stats for another (you can sacrifice 5 FP to get 5 HP), or can switch around partner rankings. Each of these services costs 39 Coins. To get permanent Danger Mode, simply trade 5 HP for either FP or BP (BP recommended). ~Though I only have 5 Power Rushes Listed, Danger Mario would be best used with somewhere between 40 and 55. Though Mario can't do more than 99 damage in one hit, the extra attack power will offset badges such as FP Drain and HP Drain. ~With Flower Saver and FP Drain, you can use Multibounce(in conjunction with Spike Shield and Ice Power) to effectively clear any battle stage without cost of FP. ~The partner is almost useless with this set-up, so choose one that fits the problems you are encountering along the way. If you have a ceiling full of bats you can't get down, switch out to Yoshi, Vivian, or Bobbery and clear the ceiling. If you need another chance to attack, keep Goombella handy. However, most of these problems can be fixed with the optional badges listed above (Quake Hammer and Multibounce/Power Bounce respectively). ~This set-up will stop working after level 72 (O.O), so beware. That is to say, once you level from 71 to 72, your FP and BP will be maxed out, and your only choice is to put points into HP, effectively killing Danger Mario. At this point, you could easily transition into another set-up (esp. Partner Power, Stylish, Destruction). ~Danger Mario is difficult to use unless you are already very skilled and rely a lot on your partners early on. Low HP means you'll die fast, and the best of this effect doesn't kick in until the Chapter 5 -> Chapter 6 Transition. Also, it takes a lot of patience to get enough coins/piantas for the 50 Power Rushes. ~The Spike Shield is a must. There are enough spiked enemies to hamper an un-shielded Danger Mario. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pure stats Mario/Pards (Created by Toad 004) Suggested stats by level 30: 25!!/15!/66 Key Badges: Power Plus 2 All or Nothing 1 Defence Plus 2 Power Plus P 2 Defend Plus P 2 Hp Plus P 2 Total BP 60 Optional Badges: Jumpman 1 Spike Shield 1 Total BP 5 Grand Total 65 This Mario is meant to use pure attack/defence and not need to use items, fp, or sp alot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Power Bouncer (created by jamescom1) He just keeps bouncing and bouncing and bouncing and bouncing and..... Suggested stats at level 30: 35/75/36 Key Badges: Power Bounce 1 Total BP 3 Optional Badges: Simplifier 2 Jumpman 1 P-Up D-Down 1 Spike Shield 1 All or Nothing 1 Flower Saver 2 Power Plus 2 Total BP 33 Grand Total 36 Special Notes: ~The All or Nothing is only for those that can get Power Bounce's final hit down to one damage. Otherwise, the loss of damage on the last hit is more than the damage gained throughout the attack. ~As a playthrough, the build is plausible since Power Bounce can be gotten ridiculously early. FP should be boosted quickly early on to allow for more than just a few Power Bounces until the next Inn or Heart Block. ~Goombella is the preferred partner, since her Rally Wink will allow for two Power Bounces in one turn. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Survivor (created by SoulAvenger69, and not the worn out reality show) How many more beatings can he take? Let's find out... Suggested stats by level 30: 25/25/72 Key Badges: Heart Finder 1 Flower Finder 1 Item Hog 1 Double Dip 1 Happy Heart 2 Chill Out 1 Lucky Start 1 Total BP 21 Optional Badges: HP Drain 1 FP Drain 1 Refund 1 P-Up D-Down 1 Damage Dodge 2 Happy Flower 2 Double Dip P 1 Pity Flower 1 Zap Tap 1 Flower Saver 2 Flower Saver P 2 Feeling Fine 1 Defend Plus 2 Lucky Day 1 Quick Change 1 Total BP 66 Grand Total 87 Special Notes: ~The Key Badges will never stand alone very well. And since the Optional Badges are very taxing on BP, it is important to pick and choose complimentary combinations of the Optionals to help you survive. ~P-Up D-Down, HP/FP Drain, Damage Dodge: As long as you successfully Guard every oncoming attack, this combo will basically give you a free HP or FP leech (assuming, of course, you aren't very good at Superguarding). ~Flower Saver (P), Double Dip (P): Double Dip is a tad pricey FP-wise, so cut down on it's cost so you won't be deterred from adding a little offensive flair to a recovery item. ~Refund, Double Dip (P): If you're going to be serving up Jelly Ultras and Shroom Steaks and other pricey items, you might as well get a little cash back. ~Happy Flower, Pity Flower, Flower Saver (P), FP Drain: Early on, when FP is in short supply, you'll need whatever kind of recovery you can get to keep it up. ~Zap Tap, HP/FP Drain: Because it's ironic that the only thing Zap Tap fully protects against are the enemies that drain your HP/FP. ~Many other optionals are good choices to mix in with others, and some even do well by themselves. It's all about finding what works for you, until you get 96-99 BP. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Very Lucky (created by kirby_64) Suggested stats by level 30: 25/25/72 Key Badges: Lucky Day 1 Lucky Start 1 Pretty Lucky X Total BP 11+2X Optional Badges: Pretty Lucky P Y Total BP 2Y Grand Total 11+2X+2Y (sorta algebraic, but you get the picture) Special Notes: ~Very self-explanatory: Get hit less, take less damage. ~Pretty Lucky Badges are pretty easy to find. Badge Bandits on Pit floors 51-59 generally hold quite a few. Spunias and Spanias also frequent those little blue beauties. (this set-up can hold 44, that's right 44 Pretty Luckies or Pretty Lucky Ps. I'm sure you could frustrate some enemies until their eyes pop out while you just laugh and laugh...) ~Side note: When saying in above Side note about this set-up, I was talking about if you achieve the maximum BP (99). 44 Pretty Luckies are equippable at 99 BP. 30 are equippable with the suggested 72. ~This set-up relies mostly on Mario's base power. So if you have some spare BP and not enough Pretty Luckies to use it up, drop in a few Power Pluses to ease the stress of battle. ~Zap Tap can make the rare hit scored by your enemy one not to look forward to. ~Better yet, Return Postage. ~Maybe both. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Poison Barb Mario: (created by Squeakerson) Suggested stats by Level 30: 90!!/30/27! Key Badges: Return Postage 1 Double Pain 1 Zap Tap 1 Fire Drive 1 Soft Stomp 1 Head Rattle 1 Sleepy Stomp 1 Shrink Stomp 1 Fp Drain 1 Flower Saver 1 P-Up, D-Down 1 Total BP 24 Optional Badges: Super Appeal 2 Super Appeal P 2 Unsimplifier 1 Double Dip 1 Double Dip P 1 Heart Finder 1 HP Drain 1 Happy Heart 2 Happy Flower 2 Pity Flower 1 Ice Smash 1 Total BP 28 Grand Total 52 Special Notes: ~This badge set-up is quite simple, though a bit... different. How it works is that you do not super guard. Then, assuming the enemy does not use an indirect attack they will get hurt every time they hit you! ~A combination of Return Postage, Zap Tap, and Spite Pouches should allow you to return *at least* 100% of damage dealt by direct attackers. Keep Spite Pouches handy, especially for boss fights. ~Of course, a large number of enemies in the game don't use direct attacks, but instead use some form of projectile that bypasses the Counter status. For these enemies, this set-up inflicts Statuses on the enemies to make their attacking less effective. Namely, Confuse and Sleep will be the most helpful at suppressing enemy fire. ~Flower Saver and FP Drain in tandem make the vast majority of the status moves free of charge, keeping your FP economy very manageable. ~Also, perhaps the best partners to have out with Poison Barb Mario are Vivian and Bobbery. All of Vivian's moves (except veil) can enduce a status effect and Bobbery has Hold Fast, which works a lot like Return Postage does. ~Poison Barb is going to lose a lot of HP fast. Fortunately, he doesn't have to use his turn to attack to deal damage. This frees up his turn to use a healing item or Sweet Treat or Sweet Feast. ~For bosses, it may be a good idea to remove Double Pain. Most bosses not only use indirect attacks, but are also very resistant to Status Effects. For these matches, rely heavily on Fire Drive and your partner. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Revenge Spike Mario: "I'll not only fight ya, but I'll bite ya, too!" Suggested stats by level 30: 70/50/27 Mandatory Badges: Zap Tap: 1 All or Nothing: 1 Spike Shield: 1 Power Plus: 1 Return Postage: 1 Total BP: 23 Optional Badges: Double Pain: 1 Power Jump: 2 Power Smash: 2 Total BP: 4 Grand Total: 27 Mario not only returns damage to his physical attackers, but he also has 2+ attack power to make a battle go by faster. This setup also works well with the Spite Pouch, so Mario can return full damage. This setup takes a LOT of HP because Mario will be taking damage frequently. ~ A simpler version of the Poison Barb setup, exchanging Status Effects for additional damage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IV - Special Purpose Set-Ups These following set-ups will no longer follow the same cookie cutter format, thought they will contain the same basic elements of the format. Each one of these set-ups was derived for a particular purpose in mind. The only real recommended stat is to have enough BP to use the particular set-up, which shouldn't be too difficult. If there are certain situations that none of these set-ups fit well with, and you can't think of one, contact me and I'll see if I can help you out. Better yet, if there is a situation that is not on this list (and that is a very easy one to do), and you HAVE come up with away to take care of it easily, contact me and it'll be up as quick as I can get it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 30 BPer Multibounce 1 Charge 1 Charge P 1 Jumpman 1 P-Up D-Down 1 P-Up D-Down P 1 Feeling Fine 1 Feeling Fine P 1 Power Plus 1 Quick Change 1 Grand Total BP 30 Special Notes: ~This set-up is directly engineered for those who lacked the understanding of the power tons of badges can give you. Fear not, for you are saved. Intended only for the Shadow Queen, the biggest problem these types of people face. ~I have calibrated the set-up so the Shadow Queen's hands don't pose too much of a threat, (a successful Multibounce will destroy the two hands and deal 5 base damage to the Shadow Queen herself). ~Feeling Fine offers a helping hand to make confusion and dizzy (the two major status effects the Shadow Queen deals) things of the past. ~It was very important to be able to squeeze in a Quick Change, because without a lot of BP, the partners become a lot stronger comparitively to Mario. ~I'm not 100% sure why I didn't try to squeeze in a few Damage Dodges, but you have 60 HP. Don't tell me you're not going to go for Superguards the whole time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 99 BPer Power Plus 2 Power Plus P 2 Defend Plus 2 Defend Plus P 2 Quick Change 1 All Moves 12 Charge 1 Charge P 1 Flower Saver 2 Flower Saver P 2 Spike Shield 1 Zap Tap 1 Ice Smash 1 Sleepy Stomp 1 Damage Dodge 1 Damage Dodge P 1 Grand Total BP 99 Special Notes: ~Ice Smash and Sleepy Stomp are technically listed twice. It's a good idea to have two copies of these badges to disable enemies even better. ~The first four entries, the stat boosters, will give a rounded out Mario base stats. +2 Attack, and 2 base Defense. A good foundation for any set-up in my opinion. ~To give each (Mario and partner) their own versatility, the Partners gain access to the Quick Change badge, and Mario gets Spike Shield and Zap Tap. This is about as different as the set-up gets in regards to Mario and the partner... ~I lied, Mario gets a healthy dose of added versatility via the Move Badges. They are hard to replace with only the basic moves Mario has at his disposal, and the extra badges in the two strongest disablers helps to eradicate nuisances. At least...for a while... ~Charging is a valuable tool, especially for attacks such as Multibonk, Power Bounce, and Stampede, which deals damage multiple times over the course of the attack. It drastically increases damage, and with the bolstered Defense, it is easy to find time in-battle to Charge up your power. ~You have 99 BP, and less than average HP and FP. What now? Reserve FP usage. Equip those Flower Savers. ~Yes, the lowly Damage Dodge has made the list. Why? I'm not entirely sure. However, with a successful Guard, you're shaving off a solid four damage, so don't overlook Guarding when in a tricky Superguard situation. (Experts at the Superguard can totally disregard aforementioned) If you come across some extra Charge badges, the Damage Dodges should be the first to go to make room for extra Charging power. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amayzee Hunter Key Badges: Power Plus 2 Power Plus P 2 P-Up D-Down P 1 Total BP 26 Optional Badges: Heart Finder 1 Flower Finder 1 Item Hog 1 Flower Saver 1 Flower Saver P 2 Total BP 21 Grand Total 47 Special Notes: ~With the Key badges an Amayzee Dayzee is simplified into a Spin Jump and a Yoshi Ground Pound or Stampede. Yes, there are other ways of simplifying the battle, but I think this way is a bit easier than, say, Spring Jump/Bob-ombast. ~The optional badges are to help recover any HP/FP loss during battles. ~There is constant rumor about that having a Golden Leaf in your inventory increases your chance of encountering an Amazy Dayzee. This has been mostly disproven, but I see it is something that doesn't hurt. Might even have a nice placebo effect for you. ~Remember, always do your Dayzee hunting under the effect of the Special Path curse. (No it does not effect Amayzee Dayzee occurences... :P) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ultimate Pit Strategy (created by kirby_64) Required Badges to round up: Multibounce Damage Dodge x2 Defend Plus Spike Shield Jumpman Power Plus Power Jump Power Bounce Power Plus Zap Tap Quake Hammer Piercing Blow Ice Power Ice Smash Feeling Fine Feeling Fine P Power Bounce Sleepy Stomp Floors 1-9 Multibounce-Large Groups-1 BP Damage Dodge-Gloomba's 3 ATK-2 BP Defend Plus-Gloomba's 3 ATK-5 BP For all but the Gloomba, simple jumps should defeat them. For the Gloomba, use Damage Dodge/Defend Plus and do a standard Guard to block off the damage. Floors 11-19 Spike Shield-Pokeys-3 BP Jumpman-Everything-2 BP Power Plus-6 BP Spike Shield is for Pokeys. Everything else boosts your power. Floors 21-29 Spike Shield-Spiky Gloomba-3 BP Power Jump-1 BP-Enemies with high HP. Power Bounce-3 BP-Self-explanatory Power Plus-6 BP-Boosting power Spike Shield works for Spiky Gloomba and any Spinies that appear. The rest are for inflicting heavy damage, because the enemies have higher HP. Floors 31-39 Zap Tap-3 BP-Flower Fuzzies Quake Hammer-2 BP-Everything Else Since all enemies can be flipped, use Quake Hammer. Zap Tap is for the Flower Fuzzies. Floors 41-49 Piercing Blow-High defense enemies-1 BP Spike Shield-Spiky Parabuzzies-3 BP Ice Power or Ice Smash-Lava Bubbles-1 BP Feeling Fine-Poison Pokeys-4 BP Feeling Fine P-4 BP-Poison Pokeys Floors 51-59 Power Bounce-3 BP-Badge Bandits with high HP Piercing Blow-1 BP-Moon Clefts and Red Chomps Zap Tap-3 BP-Prevents Badge Bandits from stealing stuff Power Plus-6 BP-Higher Attack Power Damage Dodge x2-4 BP-High attack power blocks Floors 61-69 Piercing Blow-1 BP-Dark Wizzerds/Dry Bones Power Bounce-3 BP-Dark Craw/Dark Lakitu Spike Shield-3 BP-Sky Blue Spinies/Dark Craw Damage Dodge x2-4 BP-Dark Craw/Guard against F. Piranhas Floors 71-79 Piercing Blow-1 BP-Wizzerds/Chain Chomps Spike Shield-3 BP-D. Koopatrols Zap Tap-3 BP-Swoopulas Ice Power-1 BP-Phantom Embers Floors 81-89 Spike Shield-Spunia/Dark Bristle/Piranha Plant-3 BP Sleepy Stomp-Piranha Plant (according to Wonky, they're easier to put to sleep) -1 BP Piercing Blow-Spunia/Dark Bristle-1 BP Power Bounce-3 BP-Arantulas/Piranha Plants Floors 91-99 Piercing Blow-1 BP-Elite Wizzerds/Bob-ulks Zap Tap-3 BP-Swampires Feeling Fine-4 BP-Poison Puff Feeling Fine P-4 BP-Poison Puff Supernova+Fiery Jinx/Shell Slam for Amazy Dayzees Bonetail-Floor 100 Feeling Fine badges help out a LOT. So do Power Bounce/Power Lift. Piercing Blow works well as does Vivian's Shade Fist. If you run low on HP, put Bobbery up front. Equip Power Pluses with your remaining BP. My notes: ~This is a great way to take on the Pit on a BP budget. At no point is it necessary to go over 17 BP. It can also be brought into play completely by the end of Chapter 7 (for the Feeling Fine badges). ~By constantly rotating through different badges, in-battle strategies shift, and it's important to remember that. If you set yourself up for one strategy but fight as though you're under another, you can land yourself in a pretty tight spot. ~If you do have extra BP available, you can put in badges that more appropriately fit your own style of playing, such as Defend Plus or Power Plus, depending on whether you're aggressive or defensive (not respectively of course) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Amazing Pit Set-up (created by Callee) Key Badges: Heart Finder 1 Flower Finder 1 Item Hog 1 Chill Out 1 Lucky Start 1 Hammerman 1 Piercing Blow 1 Hammer Throw 1 Quake Hammer 1 Ice Smash 1 Power Smash 1 Power Plus P 2 Damage Dodge 2 Pity Flower 1 Charge P 1 Total BP 42 ~~ Before Level 80: Money Money 1 Refund 1 ~~ After Level 80: All or Nothing 1 Damage Dodge P 1 ~~ Bonetail: Feeling Fine 1 Super Appeal 2 Grand Total 48 Special Notes: ~This set-up revolves around the badges that activate at the beginning and end of battles. Since there are at least eighty of them in the Pit, they become really powerful. Badges like Heart Finder and Item Hog to replenish you after the battle, and Lucky Start to start you off strong. ~As long as you have a strong partner, Mario's best plan of attack is using the hammer. Moves like Piercing Blow for Wizzerds and Chomps, Ice Smash for ones like Piranha Plants, and Quake Hammer for Clefts and Bristles. That way, Mario is a perfect support role to let your Power Plus P's take full effect. ~For the fights before level 80, the enemies are a lot weaker, so it's a good chance to build up some coins with the Money Money and by using items you get from Item Hog. ~Once you hit level 80, you might want to give Mario a little more power and the partner a little more defense. With only 6 BP, an All or Nothing and a Damage Dodge P work best. ~For Bonetail, you want to make sure nothing bad happens to Mario from Bonetail's status breath attacks. As long as he's okay, he can use Sweet Treat to cure the partner. ~As long as you have 48 BP, it doesn't really matter if you have more HP or FP. It should work just as well either way, though I'd recommend more FP. And, of course, if you have more BP, that's even better. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ V - Individual Boss Set-ups: I will not go according to my old format when discussing these bosses, instead I will give guideline badges on what you should aim for when equipping yourself for these battles. I leave it to you to find what works for you... Note: When I refer to an "attack booster", I'm usually referring to boosting the strength of a particular move. Aside from a P-Up D-Down or a Power Plus, a second copy of that move badge will generally work as well. (does not work on status effect inducing moves) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Blooper: ~There are tons of ways to mix and match that stylish new Power Smash badge. Experiment. Gold Fuzzy: ~What do you have? Power Smash, Multibounce, and Close Call? Hmm... Hooktail: ~Once again, not a lot of choice. If you plan on using th "cr" and "icket" badge, then use Power Bounce as your primary attack Badge. If you are not using the "cr" and "icket" badge, then Power Smash will probably work a bit better, unless, of course, you're some kind of Power Bounce fanatic... Close Call is handy, just in case you're having a bad day. Shadow Sirens: ~Multibounce and Quake Hammer are nice, if only for the ability to attack all three at once. Power Bounce is an effective finisher, though not really necessary. Sleepy Stomp (acquired either by purchase at the Lovely Howz of Badges, or at level 10 of the Pit of One Hundred Trials), is excellent to disable Marilyn, and then Beldam, while you tattle or prepare an offensive. Magnus von Grapple: ~Once again, center your attack around either Power Smash or Power Bounce. Multibounce is handy for the X-Fists so your partner still has a chance to attack. If you upgraded Koops after Chapter 1, consider a Shell Shield/Charge combo. Iron Clefts/Iron Adonis Twins/Armored Harriers/Paper Dog-Face Bros.: ~Since Yoshi is the only one that can harm them, it would be a good idea to have Mario tank out the twins' attacks. Since their attacks are armor piercing, Defense badges are largely wasted, including Damage Dodge. Happy Heart is also good if you want Mario defending instead of using Sweet Treat or items. Also, if you upgrade Yoshi before the fight (yes, you can do that), and equip the Power Plus P, you'll be able to defeat the cleft in front in one Gulp, leaving the one in back with 1 HP. Doing so skips the conversations about the Clefts' weakness, probably because that weakness is more than obvious by now. Rawk Hawk: ~Sleepy Stomp is pretty effective, as is Shrink Stomp. Perhaps you could try a Shrink/Sleepy Stomp -> Dual Charge -> Power Smash/Bounce combo. If you have the Power Plus P, and enough BP to use it, use it. Goes well with an upgraded Goombella, or an upgraded Yoshi's Mini Egg. Grubba: ~Yet again, Shrink and Sleepy Stomp are good for putting him out of commission, while you Charge up a Power Bounce or Power Smash. Power Plus P is good here, as is either Jumpman or Hammerman if you have them. ????: ~Same as Grubba, except Ice Smash/Hammerman can be used in place of Sleepy Stomp/Jumpman. Doopliss: ~The same thing, except now you can fight against your former allies. Damage Dodge might be a good idea since it may be slightly more difficult to Superguard your allies. Sleepy/Shrink Stomp are good to decommission the ally as you lay a beating to Doopliss, so no Hammerman this time. Cortez: ~Disabling Hammer moves such as Ice Smash or Head Rattle work well for his first form, but he seems more resistant to Status Effects in his 2 final forms. Since his final form isn't fun to attack without jumping, skip Hammerman. It would be a good idea to leave both Power Smash and Power Bounce on for this battle. Because Cortez's HP is so low in his various forms, offense is more important than defense, so exchange any Defend Pluses for Power Pluses, unless you have BP coming out of your ears. Lord Crump: ~A straightforward battle. It's a good idea to disable him so he doesn't incessantly call for X-Naut back-up. A good combo to have is Hammerman, any attack booster, Ice Smash, and Hammer Throw. This way, the various packs of X-Nauts can be dispatched quickly, leaving Crump to your partner. If you get a turn where there are no X-Nauts on the field, and Mario can still attack, use Ice Smash immediately. Use it again when it is about to wear off. Doing so will keep X-Nauts off the field until some various battle element allows him to call for them, regardless of any status effects. A Charge/Power Smash will allow you to clear the big field of X-Nauts Crump summons after you take him down for the first time. Smorg: ~Smorg seems immune to status effects, so focus mostly on base power and defense. Jumpman, an attack booster, and Multibounce allows Mario to take out all three of Smorg's tentacles right from the get-go, leaving Smorg vulnerable to any partner attack. Short of that, a Thunder Rage or an upgraded Vivian's Fiery Jinx will also take down the tentacles rather quickly. As for an actual attack against the Smorg body, Spring Jump will be preferred over Power Bounce, as it is much easier to rack up damage with it. Magnus von Grapple 2.0: ~If you can raise your defense by three, you're all set for this battle. If you can't, then set up offensively and use Power Lift before Crump can activate von Grapple's machine gun. Most of your damage should be coming from your partner, so Soft Stomp and Charge P, along with any partner boosting badges you can squeeze in should be used without question. Multibounce + 2 attack power lets Mario deal with the X-Punches himself, leaving your partner to deal more damage. Gloomtail: ~With Mario, you'll want to focus more on disabling Gloomtail than dealing pure damage. A cycle of Head Rattle, Soft Stomp, and Sleepy Stomp will disable Gloomtail leaving you to Charge up an attack. However, Sleepy Stomp is not always successful against Gloomtail, and neither is Head Rattle, so if disabling him isn't working, keep Power Smash/Bounce handy and just go for damage all through the battle. Setting up defensively is kind of useless, since most of his attacks are defense penetrating, so go as offensive as your badges allow, and make extra sure to heal when you're weakened. Sweet Treat is an inexpensive way to treat status effects, as well as slightly heal, so don't overlook it. Shadow Sirens - Vivian + Doopliss: ~Sleepy Stomp is once again helpful for disabling Marilyn and/or Beldam. With this battle, you can set up either offensively or defensively, whichever you prefer. Koops, Yoshi, Vivian, and Bobbery are excellent for this battle, since they are capable of dealing high damage across the board. One good strategy is to disable Marilyn and Beldam with Sleepy Stomp, then constantly have Yoshi Charge. After both are asleep, use Power Lift, and let Yoshi keep Charging. Knock Marilyn out again with Sleepy Stomp, and use a Power Punch next turn, ignoring the fact that Beldam woke up, and then let Yoshi loose with Stampede. Provided you used no attack boosters via badges, and scored only a +2 Atk on your Power Lift, you have dealt 75 damage to each Siren. That'll leave a mark. Grodus: ~Defense is largely wasted against this magic-wielding nemesis, so go for pure offense. Multibounce is very effective at clearing the Grodus X's, and if you have any attack boosters for Mario, you'll deal damage to Grodus as well as long as there are only two Grodus X's on stage. However, this task can be left to Flurrie, Yoshi, Vivian, or Bobbery, and have Mario Spring Jump, Power Bounce, Power Smash, or just plain smack his way to victory. Bowser and Kammy: ~Your first objective should be to take down the hag with a disabler. Sleepy Stomp doesn't seem to work, so Shrink Stomp should be fine. Using Spring Jump and any area effect partner attack should work well to bring her down. Soft Stomp is nice to have for Bowser. Looking back, Jumpman would be a good idea for this back-to-back battle ensemble special, but then again, Ice Smash is also nice for Bowser... Shadow Queen: ~I'm not even going to waste my time. This entire FAQ is devoted to tons of various set-ups, almost all of which are more than competent to take down the Shadow Queen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VI - Badges from Enemies The purpose of this section is to give locations to badges that may or may not add an extra little kick to your set-up. If your Tank Mario can't live without an extra Defend Plus, the following guide (to which I owe its creation to devoted badge hunters like you) will help you look for it. However, if you need to find the second possible Power Plus without hunting it down from enemies, check out the Badge FAQ, which should be directly above mine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All or Nothing -- Arantula (after battle) Charge -- Any Hyper enemy (after battle) Charge P -- Any Hyper enemy (after battle) Close Call -- Goomba family, Koopatrol Close Call P -- Goomba family, Koopatrol Damage Dodge -- Red Chomp Damage Dodge P -- Red Chomp Defend Plus -- Bob-ulk, Bulky Bob-omb, Chain-Chomp Defend Plus P -- Bob-ulk, Bulky Bob-omb, Chain-Chomp Fire Drive -- Ember Family / Hammer Bro / Koopatrol (all after battle) Flower Saver -- Dayzee Family (after battle) Flower Saver P -- Dayzee Family (after battle) FP Drain -- Dark Puff (after battle) FP Plus -- Poison Pokey (after battle) Hammerman -- Dark Bristle (after battle) Hammer Throw -- Hammer Bro / S. Buzzy family / Swoopula (all after battle) Happy Heart -- Koopa family Happy Heart P -- Koopa family Happy Flower -- Crazee Dayzee (after battle) Head Rattle -- Fuzzy (after battle) Heart Finder -- Shady Koopa HP Plus -- Dark Koopa family, Gloomba family, Magikoopa, X-Naut Dull Bones (after battle) HP Plus P -- Dark Koopa family, Gloomba family, Hammer Bro, Magikoopa HP Drain-- Swoop family (after battle) HP Drain P-- Swoop family (after battle) Ice Smash -- Ice Puff / Frost Piranha (both after battle) Item Hog -- Dull Bones (after battle) Jumpman -- Poison Puff (after battle) Last Stand -- Flower Fuzzy, Hyper Goomba family Last Stand P -- Flower Fuzzy, Hyper Goomba family Mega Rush -- Dark Koopa family, Hammer Bro Mega Rush P -- Dark Koopa family, Hammer Bro Money Money -- Bill Blaster / Dark Boo (both after battle) Multibounce -- Gloomba Family / Goomba / Parabuzzy / Swampire (after battle) P-Down, D-Up -- Dark Craw, X-Naut PhD P-Down, D-Up P -- Dark Craw, X-Naut PhD Pity Flower -- Frost Piranha / Piranha Plant (both after battle) Power Jump -- Buzzy Beetle (after battle) Power Plus -- Wizzerd family Power Plus P -- Wizzerd family Power Rush -- Koopa Troopa family, Shady Koopa Power Rush P -- Koopa Troopa family, Shady Koopa Power Smash -- Spania, Spunia (after battle) Pretty Lucky -- Bandit family, Gloomba family, Koopa Troopa family Spinia family Pretty Lucky P -- Bandit family, Gloomba family, Koopa Troopa family Spinia family P-Up, D-Down -- Dark Koopatrol, Elite X-Naut P-Up, D-Down P -- Dark Koopatrol, Elite X-Naut Quake Hammer -- Moon Cleft (after battle) Refund -- Badge Bandit (after battle) Shrink Stomp -- Buzzy Beetle (after battle) Soft Stomp -- Spiky Goomba (after battle) Super Appeal -- Dark Boo / Goomba / Magikoopa (after battle) Super Appeal P -- Dark Boo / Goomba / Magikoopa (after battle) Sleepy Stomp -- Boo / Dark Puff / Fuzzy / Paragloomba (all after battle) Tornado Jump -- Lakitu (after battle) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VII - Mix and Match Set-ups Are you tired of using these lame cookie-cutter set-ups that people like me have created? Do you wish your creativity could flow without doing all the work of figuring out what badges do? Well look no further, because here in this section lies many different miniature set-ups designed to fit together like... well... Analogies fail me at the moment, so let's move on shall we? The format is simple, Heading, brief Explanation, and Badges. The current list: (more for my own reference) ~Power~ ~Aggressive~ ~Defense~ ~Solidity~ ~Efficiency~ ~Stylish~ ~Specialist~ ~Charge~ ~Lucky~ ~Thorns~ ~Hammerman~ ~Jumpman~ ~Recall~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~Power~ Basic, but can add some much needed Attack boost to your set-up. Power Plus 2 Total BP 12 ~Aggressive~ For those of you looking for all out attack strength, this one's for you. Some would argue with me about the All or Nothing's placement between Power and Aggressive, so feel free to use All or Nothing in Power, while ignoring the defense dropper. P-Up D-Down 1 All or Nothing 1 Total BP 6 ~Defense~ Again, basic, but it can keep you alive that little bit longer you may need. Defend Plus 2 Total BP 10 ~Solidity~ If you want to sacrifice your power for rock-hard abs, go with this little grouping... And yes, you will want to Guard, not Superguard if you plan on using this one. P-Down D-Up 1 Damage Dodge 2 Total BP 6 ~Efficiency~ If you find yourself running out of FP too often, and you really, really need it. Flower Saver 2 Pity Flower 1 Happy Flower 2 Total BP 15 ~Stylish~ For those particularly interested in staying versatile through various battles without having to switch back and forth all the time. All Moves 16 Total BP 22 ~Specialist~ Found a really good move you like? Why not get more copies of it? Since many move badges are buyable at the Pianta Parlor, or can be found off of enemies, it can be very simple to get ahold of multiple copies of one good move. Note: Some badges do not have (probable) multiples. Any move badge 3+ Total BP Varies ~Charge~ Have a little extra time during battles? Utilize it and bolster your Attack power for very low FP costs. Charge 2+ Total BP 2+ ~Lucky~ Same as kirby_64's set-up, but if you don't have 44 Pretty Lucky (P)s, then you might as well use it with something else, so I'll just restate it here Lucky Day 1 Lucky Start 1 Pretty Lucky X Total BP 11+2X (yay! more algebra!) ~Thorns~ By increasing damage done to yourself, and equipping Return Postage, you can return the enemy's original damage back at them. Note: Only works against direct attackers Return Postage 1 Zap Tap 1 Double Pain 1 Total BP 10 ~Hammerman~ More of a defensive set-up than offensive, but also very versatile and easy to get going. Hammerman 1 Hammer Moves Varies Total BP 2+Varies (yay! weird algebra) ~Jumpman~ More of an offensive set-up, and can be rather taxing BP-wise to get going, but once it's at peak performance, nothing can stand in its way. Jumpman 1 Spike Shield 1 Ice Power 1 Jump Moves Varies Total BP 6+Varies (last of the algebra I think...) ~Recall~ If you are more of a Star Power person, you may want to suck it back up as quickly as you can. Super Appeal 5+ Total BP 5+ *More to come...hopefully* Just as some of these set-ups will work very well together, others completely contradict each other. Keep the following mix suggestions in mind: ~Power: Aggressive - For all out brawls and all around reckless behavior Defense - Works well for a balanced stat booster Solidity - Too many things cancel each other out for any real use Efficiency - Really only useful if you REALLY go all out using move badges and the built in moves Stylish - It gives many effect moves a much needed "UMPH" Specialist - Goes without saying. Saves a bit on FP in the long run Charge - It helps cut down on time and FP, but not enough to be necessary Lucky - The Power aspect shouldn't have to rely on dodging, and the Lucky aspect works fine without Attack Thorns - Not typically good for stable set-ups Hammerman - Hammerman was never intended for use with Power Jumpman - Depends on whether you're willing to sacrifice versatility for extra power Recall - With Power, Star Power usage will be minimal ~Aggressive: Power - Aggressive is top-heavy without Power as a base Defense - Once again, too many cancelations Solidity - This is pure canceling action. Run away Efficiency - Only if you plan on using moves. Otherwise not used enough to justify the BP cost Stylish - Power is probably a better option Charge - Like Power, cuts down on time, but Aggressive goes against a lot of standard ideals of Charge Lucky - Aggressive can really benefit from added dodging Thorns - An excellent add-on to punish direct attackers Hammerman - Once again, Hammerman is not meant to be offensive Jumpman - Like Power, it all depends on whether or not you want to sacrifice versatility Recall - As with Power, Star Power usage is minimal ~Defense: Power - Good for balancing stats, otherwise ignorable Aggressive - Cancelations, forget it Solidity - If you have other plans for dispatching foes, by all means... Efficiency - Useful since you'll likely be using more moves due to lack of Attack power Stylish - Helps counter the lack of Attack Power Specialist - Seems too contradictory to work well, but give it a shot Charge - Definitely helps to counter Attack loss, but there are better options Lucky - Helps bolster damage reduction, though not always necessary to use Thorns - Having defense diminishes Return Postage's effect Hammerman - This is good for getting that extra power you need without going all out on getting Power Jumpman - Jumpman is too offensive to use well Recall - Its okay if you constantly use Star Power to make up for lack of power, but once again, not 100% necessary ~Solidity: Power - Cancelations. Next! Aggressive - Painful cancelations. Next! Defense - Solidity is kind of silly without it, unless you're on a BP budget Efficiency - Now that damage is dropping, it's important to make up for damage using moves frequently. Efficiency can help pay for it Stylish - Once again, moves and effects can make up for lost damage Specialist - I don't know if focusing on one move with lowered Attack is such a good idea. Maybe it will work for you, but the FP cost can be rather steep... Charge - Definitely a good way to make up for lost Attack Power, and the added defense with Solidity will let you Charge longer Lucky - As defense goes up, the need to dodge goes down... Thorns - Useless. You shouldn't be receiving damage with Solidity Hammerman - A must-have. It makes up for a bit of Attack loss Jumpman - Mario has become too weak to Jump effectively, Hammer is better Recall - Since Star Power is another route to attack power with this set-up, Recall can definitely help out in attacking more often ~Efficiency: Power - It all depends on how many moves you plan on using... Aggressive - As above, except less picky about frequency since the BP cost for Aggressive is less Defense - More likely to be useful since moves help more on defensive set-ups than on offensive ones, but still your choice Solidity - I really can't think of a fourth way to say the first statement... Stylish - Takes advantage of reduced FP costs Specialist - Same, except more so since FP costs will be higher Charge - Once again. Efficiency brings down the cost of multiple Charges Lucky - I really see no connection between the two set-ups... Thorns - There is no explicit connection, since no piece of Thorns uses FP Hammerman - Sure, why not? Jumpman - OK, what would be the reason for not doing so? Recall - Well, it seems kind of appropriate that they would work in tandem ~Stylish: Power - Increases damage of all moves. Go for it Aggressive - Same as above, but only for those willing to give up defense Defense - I see no real reason not to... Solidity - Effects can easily make up for lost damage Efficiency - Should go without saying, since FP is the backbone of Stylish... Specialist - One interesting combo. All moves plus one or two extra beefy moves Charge - Kind of useless, but some effects can give more opportunities to Charge by disabling an enemy or five Lucky - They're compatible, but they don't really build off of each other Thorns - Works great with many Status Effects for hands-off damage Hammerman - For creating a single-minded attitude Jumpman - For inventing a one-tracked personality Recall - Star Power usage will be virtually nil ~Specialist: Power - A good way to tack on some extra power, but chances are the increase won't be noticed with all the extra Attack coming from the move badges Aggressive - If you feel confident with the defense loss, then this could actually be used in place of Power, instead of in tandem Defense - Maybe, though Specialists shouldn't have to rely on defense Solidity - A better option for defensive opportunities Efficiency - With the skyrocketing FP costs, it is pertinent to cut down on the costs Stylish - It's always good to add some versatility while maintaining a central power to dish out damage Charge - An interesting way to build up damage, but really needed Lucky - An offensive build should rarely have to deal with dodging, but there is always the possible necessity Thorns - Depends on your special. Fire Drive, yes; Sleepy Stomp, no Hammerman - If your specialized move is a hammer move... Jumpman - If your prioritized technique involves jumping... Recall - Star Power usage will be almost non-existant ~Charge: Power - A virtual neccessity to take out the small fries Aggressive - Defensive is the preferred route, but this could work with Thorns Defense - The more defense, the more you can Charge Solidity - Too much defense never killed anybody Efficiency - Helps to alleviate multiple Charge FP costs Stylish - Not useful since standard attacks accompany Charges the best Specialist - If you have enough FP, then go for it and use the move as an ultimate finisher Lucky - Greatly helps for decreasing damage received Thorns - The alternate strategy for Charge, giving bits of damage while building up a finishing attack Hammerman - If your ideal finisher is a hammer attack... Jumpman - If your dream ending move takes to the sky... Recall - Star Powers will be used sparsely, however, so will attacking. Use at your own discretion ~Lucky: I think I can safely say that no set-up is beneficial or detrimental to this set-up. It does, however, greatly give a good back-up plan to any set-up, while leaving no painful marks. ~Thorns: Power - Not your best option Aggressive - The better option. Increases Return Postage damage and normal Attack for the indirect attackers Defense - No. Just...no Solidity - If you thought Defense was useless here... Efficiency - FP typically isn't used in the base set-up Stylish - Some Status Effects work well to complement Thorns Specialist - Thorns is HP-heavy, Specialist is FP-heavy; to combine is to sacrifice BP, a plausible route for these low-BP badges Charge - One viable option for an indirect attacker backup Lucky - The very existence of Lucky makes Thorns unreliable, but not entirely useless Hammerman - Hammers are too defensive Jumpman - Helps with backup for indirect attackers Recall - Star Powers are great backup for Thorns, so Recall can rebuild it in the time you're waiting for a direct attacker to attack ~Hammerman: Power - Hammerman is too defensive for this to properly work Aggressive - Hammerman is overly protective for the idea to correctly function Defense - Helps bolster Hammerman's defensive nature Solidity - Assists to raise Hammerman's protective style Efficiency - Helps alleviate some Hammer move's FP costs Stylish - Kind of limited variety, but still works okay Specialist - As long as your special move is a Hammer move Charge - Well used with Specialist and Power Smash Lucky - Since Hammerman is defensive, more damage reduction is welcome Thorns - Hammerman is defensive. No thorns please Jumpman - You're joking, right? Recall - Since this is defensive, Star Powers can be used to deal some big damage ~Jumpman: Power - Jumpman is pure power. Go for it Aggressive - Do you want to sacrifice defense? Works well if you do Defense - Can't hurt if you have the spare BP, otherwise not needed Solidity - Not good for offensive set-ups Efficiency - To reduce FP costs of Jump moves Stylish - If you like the Jump moves Specialist - As long as your special move isn't a Hammer move Charge - Good for Power Bounce, otherwise moot Lucky - If you have the need to stay alive longer (don't we all?) Thorns - More effective than in Hammerman, but still not advised Hammerman - You're pulling my leg, correct? Recall - Star Powers won't be used to often, so not needed ~Recall: Power - Set-ups focusing on power should not use Star Power much Aggressive - Same as above Defense - It helps to use Star Powers when attack is lacking, and appealing while tanking out attacks to recover the Star Power Solidity - It helps even more since attack is actually lowered instead of compromised Efficiency - A tad contradictory, but they work well together if trying some Survivor hybrid Charge - Between Charging and Appealing, there is little time for attack, so if going for this type of combo, then it should be used with a defensive one as well Lucky - Star Power is one way to make up for lack of base strength, and the constant dodging gives plenty of time for appeals Thorns - Waiting for enemies to hit gives time for appealing, and Star Power is a good backup for indirect attackers Hammerman - Even though Hammerman is defensive, it's still too offensive to allow proper time for appealing Jumpman - Jumpman is too offensive to have time alotted to appeal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIII - Badge Listing and Advice In this section, I'll go through a brief run-down on all the badges in the game according to the order of the in-game Badge List according to "Type". Nothing too exciting or extraordinary, but it can get you some solid info on badges and uses. However, if you need the technical end of all of the badges, visit Fullgore EXE's Badge FAQ that should be right above mine. Note: This is primarily to help out those of you making your own set-ups. If you would prefer not to second-guess your own opinions of any badges you plan on using, then feel free to skip ahead to the fun part, section IX. Note 2: A lot of my P-version badges are taken with a sinister twist. I'm not huge on maintaining my partner at the cost of BP, but instead prefer rotating between them while maintaining a semi-stasis of their HPs. If you disagree with me on how useful the defensive P-badges are, just skip them. You're not gonna hear anything else from me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~Power Jump: Power Jump does the same damage a Power Smash would do (assuming no Hammerman or Jumpman, of course), which is great for a Jumpman that needs to get past a defensive enemy. ~Multibounce: It's difficult to use this without decent Attack, or multiples of these badges. Also, Danger Mario's primary weapon. ~Shrink Stomp: This and Soft Stomp work well together to bring a Wizzerd down to size. Also effective for non-Hammerman defensive builds. ~Sleepy Stomp: Nice to disable an enemy in the air or backfield, but Sleep is too easily broken to be as effective as, say, Ice Smash. ~Soft Stomp: Excellent for bosses or normal, high-defense enemies, such as Chain Chomps and Wizzerds. Especially helpful to give Yoshi a chance to mix it up. ~Tornado Jump: The effect is rather weak, especially for its BP cost, but multiples of these can raise the Tornado damage so it actually will start bearing an effect in battles. Otherwise, it is too weak for any real use. The magic Tornado damage is 5. Then it becomes a ParaBuzzy marauder. ~Power Bounce: The most over-used badge in my opinion, but it still deals a lot of damage and I must respect that. ~Power Smash: A good, solid, heavy hitting move, but costly in FP considering its minimal effect. Used with multiple Power Smashes and Charges, it becomes and excellent finisher for a series of Charges. ~Piercing Blow: A must-have for any defensive Hammerman set-up. Very useful for anyone to deal with Elite Wizzerds. ~Hammer Throw: Another necessity for any Hammerman set-up. It becomes the only way they can hit flying enemies besides using up valuable Star Power. ~Head Rattle: Nifty, but can only affect the front-and-center enemy. Infatuate works much better and really gives the Confusion a chance to shine through. ~Ice Smash: The best disabling move. While it can only be used against the frontmost enemy, it's next to impossible to prematurely shatter the ice. ~Quake Hammer: Its base attack power is always two, regardless of hammer type. However, unlike Tornado Jump, the Quake's power is affected by Mario's Attack Power. So, if Mario has a Power Plus equipped, then the Quake's damage becomes three. But, it is, of course, a double-edged sword, in that if you were to equip a P-Down D-Up, the Quake's damage would drop to 1. Not particularly effective with a defensive Hammerman, but the rare offensive Hammerman would treasure this one. ~Fire Drive: While it is effective to have for flame-weak enemies, the damage just doesn't justify the crazy FP cost. ~Charge: If you can collect several of these and bide your time in battle, it can unleash a devestating attack. A must have for any defensive set-ups. ~Charge P: Best suited for Yoshi, as his Stampede attack becomes insanely powerful after several Charges, a nice offensive Power Lift, and a Power Punch to top it all off. ~Double Dip: Great for builds revolving around using the partner as a bombardier. It's always good to tack on an offensive item after a healing item, or using two offensive moves, one right after another. ~Double Dip P: Same as above, except its more effective if Mario is the primary attacker, and the partner does all the healing. ~HP Plus: You shouldn't need this. Talk to Chet Rippo if you do. It is possible to use this badge to give Mario a buffer of temporary HP before beginning a long journey, but I'm of the opinion that keeping all of your more valuable badges on at all times will have the same effect of reducing the actual damage you take. ~FP Plus: The same exact thing as previously stated. ~HP Plus P: In combo with Quick Change, this can make your partners an unbelievably stubborn force. With each badge adding 35 HP to your partner total, it is well worth the 6 BP to use it if you plan on being some kind of Partner Marshall. ~Power Plus: Solid, raw power. The basis of any high-BP offensive build. Some may complain that the BP is too high for its effect, so judge for yourself. ~Power Plus P: Good to complement an offensive Mario, or to contrast a defensive one. ~All or Nothing: A.K.A., "The Power Plus that takes 2 less BP". Though it's undeniably "better" than Power Plus, I never use it. I have my off days, too. ~Jumpman: Basis of an extreme offensive set-up. MUST be used with Spike Shield, or else... ~Hammerman: Backbone of a solid tank build. Without it, it becomes more difficult to damage defended enemies. ~P-Up D-Down: For use in an extreme offensive set-up, or for adding effectiveness to the Thorns effect. ~P-Up D-Down P: Best used in parallel with any set-up involving Mario sitting up front, since the partners, as a generality, take less heat than Mario will. ~P-Down D-Up: You must have these for a good pure tank build. Multiples of these can be rare however, so leap on any opportunity to grab one. ~P-Down D-Up: If you absolutely need your partner to tank as part of your set-up. Less useful than the above three stat alternators. ~Damage Dodge: An iffy badge. It can shave off an extra point of damage or two, but you would have to sacrifice Superguarding to have it take effect. It's actually a personal favorite of mine. ~Damage Dodge P: This is objectively as useful as Damage Dodge, but because partners are more easily moved around, I don't recommend this one very highly. ~Defend Plus: The backbone of any defensive set-up. ~Defend Plus P: I could copy word-for-word the description of Damage Dodge P, changing of course "Damage Dodge" to "Defend Plus". ~Double Pain: Only to be used with Return Postage and very high Hit Points, or just for an extra challenge. ~Power Rush: Mainstay of a Danger Mario. Otherwise, it can fill up space for any other low HP set-up. ~Power Rush P: Must be used with Quick Change. A must-have for any Spare Tire-based set-up. ~Last Stand: Very helpful for Danger Mario and any other low HP Mario. Despite what this guide said before, Last Stand *does* stack, albeit in a rather convoluted way. I'm still trying to figure it out. ~Last Stand P: This is pretty helpful in keeping a partner out longer in a Partner Power set-up, and crucial for the Spare Tire I envisioned while typing up Power Rush P. ~Mega Rush: It isn't a good idea to let Mario be in Peril long enough to let this take any good effect. If you're Danger Mario only has 10-20 Power Rushes, maybe... ~Mega Rush P: Goes along well with Power Rush P, but not really as helpful or abundant as Power Rush P in the Spare Tire strategy. ~Close Call: A great low-level fallback badge. The chance of success on a Close Call is surprisingly high. ~Close Call P: Same as above, especially considering the low BP cost. ~Pretty Lucky: Best used en masse and spearheaded by Lucky Day. You won't be touched. ~Pretty Lucky P: Pretty much an All or None situation. If you want your partner to join in on the joys of luckiness, then stack them on. Otherwise they don't help out a whole lot. ~Lucky Day: It's like a bigger Pretty Lucky. And green... It is definitely worth the BP compared to Pretty Luckies. ~Lucky Start: This is a very all-purpose badge. Few set-ups can't find a place for this crimson beauty. Not entirely effective against long boss battles though... ~Happy Heart: For low HP set-ups, Survival builds, or the first 70 or so levels of the Pit. Also much better when used in large numbers if you can find them. ~Happy Heart P: A little less helpful, again because of the ability to swap out partners. But for any Partner Tank set-up, this could definitely help. ~Happy Flower: Good for survival builds, low FP set-ups, and for those where Mario doesn't do much of anything except use items. ~Flower Saver: Very nice to have for any set-up that uses moves often, but most notably the Time-Bomb/Charger. ~Flower Saver P: Even better than the above. There are many good, but expensive partner moves that you probably wish you could use more often. ~Pity Flower: If you need all the FP you can possibly scrounge up, and you have 3 spare BP for it, go for it. Because it has a chance for each individual hit, however, this makes a great badge against large groups and against enemies who deal damage over multiple hits in a single attack. ~HP Drain: Good for tanks. Best with Hammerman. ~HP Drain P: Easily built into any partner, but the return doesn't seem all that beneficial for a partner. ~FP Drain: Good for set-ups involving Mario as a support to the partners. With a side order of Hammerman. ~Heart Finder: Survival builds and Dayzee Hunter benifit the most, where it is a waste of 3 BP to anyone else. It produces a very large and reliable source of HP after battles, to be sure, but you won't find use for it against, say, a boss. ~Flower Finder: See above comment. ~Item Hog: Item Hog isn't quite as reliable as Heart or Flower Finder, but it can net you some good, free items. Personally, though, I'd recommend using Money Money instead, and use the money to buy the items you need. ~Ice Power: Good for 3 places: Pirate's Grotto, Palace of Shadow, and the Pit. Danger Mario should not take it off. ~Spike Shield: A must have for any Jumpman set-up. Any build that isn't Hammerman would treat this as a welcome addition to the team. Though it helps for Bristles on a Hammerman set-up, Quake Hammer is a much better move against them, and Hammer Throw is cheaper overall to use anyway. ~Zap Tap: A nice, cheap defensive measure. There really is no excuse to not give it a try in your set-up. ~Return Postage: Works best when used with Double Pain, P-Up D-Down, and Zap Tap. Yes, Zap Tap does stack to the damage done by Return Postage. ~Feeling Fine: Regardless of what the description says, Feeling Fine works seems to work against more than just Poison and Dizzy. This makes it a very valuable addition to any set-up, especially against certain bosses. ~Feeling Fine P: Feeling Fine P is kinda overshadowed by Feeling Fine. Feeling Fine protects Mario, which allows him to use Sweet Treat to heal HP and FP. As a side effect, it also cures every Status Effect on Mario and his partner. ~Refund: Nice if you are a huge item user, or just plain out poor, but it doesn't match up to Money Money. ~Money Money: Slap on a couple of these bad boys and squash some Goombas for some quick cash. If you run the Pit with just one, you're almost guaranteed to go from 0 - 999 coins in one run. ~Super Appeal: Like Pretty Lucky, best used en masse, and for set-ups that constantly use Star Powers. ~Super Appeal P: There aren't enough of these badges to make them worth while, but it never hurt to put on the two you have. It seems that, despite the partners' attack capabilities, they more often have waiting turns than Mario does, especially if you don't have Quick Change. Mario is also more often attacked than the partner, so Defend is less useful for a partner than an Appeal. ~Peekaboo: Though it seems to circumvent the need to Tattle, I'd recommend Tattling just the same to avoid eating up 2 BP to see enemy HP. However, this badge also lets you see HP's you normally can't, including Koops' Shell Shield. ~Quick Change: An absolutely awesome badge that basically melds all of your partners into one. It gives you a ton of in-battle flexibility, and every set-up, even those that use Mario as the attacker, can put this to use. ~Timing Tutor: Use to practice Stylish commands on the Petal Meadows Goombas. Take it off when you're finished. ~Simplifier: This is greatly helpful in set-ups like Power Bouncer, which require excellent timing. Also helps with some of the trickier Action Commands, like Shell Slam. ~Unsimplifier: A great way to get some extra free Star Points, as well as make the Action Commands more... interesting to do. ~Chill Out: We're not perfect. Especially in the later areas of the game, we're prone to messing up First Strikes. This is a nice cheap way to avoid taking cheap shots from enemies. ~First Attack: A cheaper Bump Attack with a higher chance of failure due to the fact you actually have to First Strike something in order for it to work. ~Bump Attack: When you don't want to deal with random encounters, equip this badge. Don't do this unless you've already beaten the game... ~Attack FX R: A.K.A. The "Cr" and "icket" badge. It turns Hooktail into a joke, if the sound is a bit annoying... ~Attack FX B: ~Attack FX G: ~Attack FX Y: ~Attack FX P: ~L Emblem: ~W Emblem: These badges basically just try to spice up the game to make it a little, with the exception of the L Emblem, which is actually needed to solve a Trouble. I personally don't use any of these, but many others do. ~Slow Go: Paraded as the game's most useless badge. However, it can help you deal with some of the traps and narrow walkways in the Palace of Shadow if you're a bit jumpy or impatient, forcing you to slow down. ~~~ Well, I guess that's it for this section. Sorry for the length, but it isn't my fault for putting so many badges in the game. Oh well, they're all special enough to get their own honorary mention. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IX - The REAL Fun Stuff: Contact, Legal, and Special Thanks Contact "Information" If you would like to contact me regarding my FAQ, feel free to e-mail me at: (jpkalauer yahoo com) ~~~ Legal "Information" This guide is Copyright (c) 2005-2013 John Krueger Although this guide was intended to be only posted on www.gamefaqs.com and its affiliates, I honestly don't care if you use this guide on your site, but do not change the content that lies herein. If you only want to use little sections of my guide in your own, I don't care either, but don't take credit for any ideas that I or one of my contributors made for yourself. Also allowed to host my FAQ: www.neoseeker.com ~~~ Special Thanks: Gamefaqs.com-------for providing people like me a place in which we can share ideas and information jamescom1----------for helping with details in some of my set-ups. Also for the Power Bounce set-up idea. And for saving the badges from enemies list. And for other various reasons... kirby_64-----------for his Pit Strategy and his Very Lucky set-up SoulAvenger69------for his Survivor set-up and endless support Fullgore EXE-------for his Badge FAQ that helped get a lot of information on solid badge quantities Rayquaza418--------for his Tank Variation involving Bobbery's Hold Fast Toad 004-----------for his Pure Stats set-up and endless support stuyle31-----------for putting Quick Change into perspective babooze812---------for pointing out a good Quick Change technique cool540------------for pointing out the Return Postage/Double Pain strategy I so bluntly overlooked Kirby5790----------for e-mailing me a list of little-known facts that proved rather handy Chaosmaster00------for maintaining an updated list of Badges from Enemies Iron Knuckle-------for providing a healthy chunk of Badges from Enemies Myself-------------for without, you would not have wasted all this time And the following for contributing to the badges from enemies list: GIR314159 lord ichmael jamescom1 CTrigger720 Orc babooze812 TyGuy5 kirby_64 jakestar0306 swordslicer Ganongeek wholigans87 Jimmy And of course, everyone who requested this idea be made into an FAQ, and any other readers who happened to drop by, because without you guys, this would just be another file taking up room on my computer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THAT'S ALL FOLKS!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~