Chrono Cross Dario FAQ By neored13 2/27/2001, Version 1.0: And there was light. And it was kinda crappy. 3/2/2001, Version 2.0: Added "Who is Dario?" section, fixed my email address, corrected a few spelling errors, and added the phrase "crispy strips of hero meat." 3/10/2001, Version 3.0: Added section on battling Dario with Serge. Added a few notices, and one contributor. 3/19/2001, Version 4.0: Corrected errors, added another contributor's battle strategy, added answers to a few questions, and included their solutions in the main body of the FAQ. 5/11/2001, Version 5.0: Added chunk on obtaining Glenn in FAQ section, and a new strategy, removed the Yahoo! address, added new stuff for knowing about me. 6/16/2001, Version 6.0: Added clarification to FAQ, fixed some stuff, and changed email address. =============== Contents =============== 1. Why Dario? 2. Who is Dario? 3. Legal Stuff 4. About Me 5. Preparation 6. Battle A) With Lynx B) With Serge 7. SPOILS! (Not SPOILERS, what you win!) 8. Afterglow 9. Other Stuff =============== 1. Why Dario? =============== Well, I've seen a lot of requests for a Dario strategy out there, and I decided I might as well do something about it. Dario is the second hardest optional boss (IMHO) in Chrono Cross. On your first game through, and even your first Game +, he is HARD! However, the payoffs are extreme. (Not like Final Fantasy 8, where you got a lousy Three Stars and a special citation for beating OMEGA weapon) Please note, this guide does contain a few spoilers, but if you've played through to where you need this guide, they really aren't spoilers. =============== 2. Who is Dario? =============== Sun Tzu said, "Know your enemy." To defeat Dario, you must know Dario. Well, not really, but I figured you might enjoy a little history. Dario is the brother of Glenn and friend to Karsh. They all trained together as children, and that friendship remained into their adulthood. Riddel is... was Dario's fiance. Karsh, as well, vied with Dario for Riddel's affection. There is also evidence that Glenn adored her as well. When Dario announced his engagement to Riddel, jealousy sprung up in Karsh's heart. On their expedition to the Isle of the Damned, one story is that Karsh drew the Masamune and slew Dario because of the emotion-amplifying power of the Masamune. However, the story told by Karsh is that Dario drew the Masamune and tried to slay Karsh. Karsh, however, refused to kill Dario until the shade of Garai appeared and threatened to take the life of Riddel. I think this takes place in both worlds, which is why both remember it. =============== 3. Legal Stuff =============== You've probably read enough FAQs by now to know this stuff by heart, but I'm gonna say it anyway. DON'T STEAL MY GUIDE! Use it for any use other than personal gain on your own saved game, and I will hunt you down, beat you with a chocobo and rip your lungs out. Read it, recommend it to your friends, save it to your hard drive if you want, but DO NOT POST IT SOMEWHERE AND FOIST IT OFF AS YOUR OWN WORK! I shout too much, don't I? Anyway, this fic is copyright and sole intellectual property of neored13, yada yada yada. Just give credit where credit is due, okay? Here, I'll go first. Thanks to BRADYGames, for their helpful, if marginally incorrect, strategy guide. Thanks to lots of people in Yahoo! Clubs and FFO Forums for asking about Dario/giving your own strategies. Thanks to John K. for a few bits of advice. Thanks to Leebot (dashrlebot@cs.com) for telling me who said "Know your enemy" and for clearing up the world thingie. Thanks to John Lee for another strategy. Thanks to Grant Wu for a rather long e-mail converstaion about Glenn, Dario, the Einlanzer and other stuff. Thanks to Moocaw for yet another strategy. =============== 4. About Me =============== Yes, it's me. Doug Studdert, the marvelous, wonderful existence that brings joy to all who come into contact with me... NOT! I am known by many names. neored13 is my primary nom de cyber, and it's used on FFO and GSCCC Forums, FF: Worlds Apart forums, plus fanfiction.net, ign.com, ezBoard, LiveJournal and GameFAQs Message Boards. Anyplace else you see a neored13, it's probably me. My other names, sorted by site/game: Yahoo!: redxiii_real felignd turks_no_23 murasame_samurai minimog_da_cute Diablo: Neored13 Meggido_Warrior Pogo: felignd Heh, quite a list, eh? My online accomplishments to date (aside from this guide) include a fan fic on FFO, ezBoard, and Fanfiction.net: "Final Fantasy: The Darkness Rising" (As yet unfinished), a few poems, many ongoing fics, a couple more finished fanfics, and the beginning of a collaboration with many other writers to continue a rather famous fanfic writer's storyline. I live up in Alaska, and I have a lot of free time which I divide up between my daily chores, my wonderful cats, and video games/Internet. I had nothing better to do, which is another reason I wrote this guide. =============== 5. Preparation =============== So! Decided to take the big leap and confront this "Dario" everyone's talking about, eh? Or maybe you tried fighting him a few times, and he kicked your ass royally. Well, my friend, you've come to the right place. If you don't prepare thoroughly, Dario will turn you into crispy strips of hero meat. With this guide, you can't lose! (Note: Victory is not in any way guaranteed or implied by the use of this guide) This optional battle can be fought almost any time after Dark Serge and Kid attack the Burned-Out Hermit's Hideaway. To fight this battle, you need to have Riddel and the MementoPendant. Riddel will join in Hermit's Hideaway. To get the MementoPendant, you need to have Sir Karsh in your party. He will join you either in Termina when you go to rescue Riddel, or later on the Invincible. To start the MementoPendant sidequest, return to Viper Manor in Another World. NOTE: You need to have Sir Norris in your party to enter Viper Manor at first, since the Porre Army is still in control. So, your party to go and get the MementoPendant should probably be Karsh and Norris. Unless, of course, you don't like fighting with Norris. Of course, you will have Serge/Lynx. Go up to the throne room. On your right is a door that was blocked off previously. Now that you have defeated Guillot, you can enter the room. In the room are four viper statues, a table, and a scroll on the wall. The scroll says something about "Respect my behind." Push the viper statues into the proper niches (Just the nearest one will do) and a treasure chest will rise from the table. Approach it from behind and open it. Opening it from the front will just dump your party into the prison in the lower level. Inside the chest is a letter from everyone's two favorite gimboids, Solt and Peppor. They say that they have what was in the box, and they've gone to the Isle of the Damned. They also say to bring Karsh. Take Karsh to the Isle of the Damned and follow the same path you took to get the Einlanzer (Through the dragon's rib cage and through the mirror). You will be confronted by Solt and Peppor, who accuse Karsh of killing Sir Dario. After a bit of memory, you will fight the two. This time they don't fool around with slapstick Element tutorials. Peppor will use Strengthen and Pepporbox, while Solt will use LoRes and occasionally Sommersolt. Beware, both of them can cast ThundaStorm. Set a Trap Element to capture this lovely Element. When they are defeated, you gain Karsh's Lv. 7 Tech Skill, Axiomatic, and the MementoPendant. With the MementoPendant and Riddel on your side, you can confront Dario at any time. However, I DO NOT recommend taking him on right after getting them. The best time to challenge Dario is during or after the Dragon Relic Quest. Specifically, after the Black Dragon. Take Fargo into all your battles with Dragons and have him steal from them. They carry armor that, while not being very strong, has the ability to absorb Elements of that color. Make ABSOLUTELY SURE you steal the Black Plate from the Black Dragon! This armor is vitally important to defeating Dario. Wearing it will make life much easier for one character. To obtain this armor, you need to talk to Nikki on the Zelbess (Home World) after fighting the Sage of Marbule and agree to free Marbule. Irenes will then join your party. Then, once you have Fargo in your party, take him to the Zelbess and speak to the Fargo there. The Zelbess will move to Marbule, Nikki will play (Cool tune, BTW), and Fargo will obtain his Level 7 Tech Skill, Invincible. Allocate it. Then run around Marbule, defeating every single monster. Once this is done, you should hear a roar. The Black Dragon in Another World's Marbule is now awake. For Dario, I suggest your party be Lynx, Riddel, and your strongest PHYSICAL fighter, preferably Red Innate. Orcha is a good choice, but you should go with your own personal favorite. Riddel should have the Black Plate. Your other characters should have Stone equipment. Accessories are up to you, but I recommend Dragoon's Honor and Defender. Up Riddel's Magic and Defense as much as possible. HP for this battle is recommended to be around 400 or higher if at all possible. Note: Setup for this battle is a little different if you have Serge back. See section 6-B below. Now for Element allocation. Have Riddel with most, if not all, of your White attack Elements. Distribute your White attack Elements sparingly to your other fighters. Give your other fighters the majority of healing Elements and any attack Elements except Black or White, Red is best. + and -1s are suggested. You shouldn't need stat-affecting Elements like Weaken, Numble, etc. However, it is a good idea to have Strengthen, HiRes, Genius, and EagleEye. Nimble isn't necessary, since Dario has a high Accuracy and will generally have no trouble hitting you. Strongminded also isn't necessary, since all of Dario's attacks are physical Tech Skills. Revenge and SealAll are useless in this fight, so don't even bother. YOu might want to put in some Support Elements if you take him on later, when your Element Grids have filled out a little and you want to Summon on his behind. To start the fight, take Riddel to Forgotten Island. It's a small island to the north of Mt. Pyre. The Zelbess was docked just above it before you awakened the Black Dragon. There's smoke coming out of it. Land on the island and SAVE! Walk to the center of the island and press X to enter the shack. Head into the shack and speak with the man sitting at the table. This man is none other than Dario. Riddel immediately recognizes her long-lost love, and sets about trying to restore his memory. Karsh and Radius enter during this period. Dario regains some of his memories when shown the MementoPendant (This is done automatically), and tells Riddel to run. However, it is too late for our heroes. The Masamune appears and takes control of Dario. Karsh then explains what really happened on the Isle of The Damned. Dario drew the Masamune, and Karsh killed him in self-defense. Lynx forged the lie that Dario was killed fighting demons. The scene switches to outside the hut, where the party prepares to free Dario from the enmity of the evil sword. =============== 6. Battle =============== The battle with Dario is a tough one for those who haven't yet mastered the subtleties of the battle system. Fortunately, Dario follows a predictable pattern. He starts with a few physical attacks, then uses a Tech Skill. His Tech Skills are flashier Black versions of Glenn's Tech Skills. What do you expect, he is Glenn's big brother. However, his attack pattern changes slightly when you cast an Element on him. When you cast an Element on him, he retaliates with a specific Element of the opposite color. If you cast: He will use: Green LoRes Yellow BatEye Red Numble Blue Weaken Black RecoverAll White ConductaRod For god's sake, don't cast Black on him! He heals for about 300 HP! The safest Element to cast on him is Red (Inferno, MagmaBurst, Volcano, etc.), since he will only cast Numble. Do I need to tell you that ConductaRod HURTS? It's capable of wiping out any non-Black character, and taking a very hefty chunk out of a black character. BEWARE! Sometimes Dario will cast Upheaval or IceBlast instead of his usual Black Tech Skill. Just be prepared to heal. John K. tells me that Diminish will not cause Dario to retaliate with RecoverAll. Thanks, John. A) With Lynx: Have Riddel pound her love with White Elements. Since she has the Black Plate on, ConductaRod will HEAL her. Avoid using Lynx's Tech Skills. Orcha is a good choice because of his easily obtained Lv. 7 Tech Skill, his healing Lv. 3, and his Lv. 5 heals him and damages the enemy. Don't worry about Numble, since Dario has such a high accuracy that he'll have no trouble hitting you anyway. However, BatEye, LoRes, and Weaken can really ruin your party. Weaken doesn't matter so much with Riddel, since she's only attacking to build Element Power. Just focus on beating Dario down, healing whenever your other characters are hurt, and you should be fine. Just remember not to cast any Black Elements. If you don't cast a Black element on Dario, he will never heal. Just DON'T LET HIM TURN THE FIELD EFFECT BLACK! After the Dragon Battles, if you can manage it, turn the Field Effect all one color (With support and healing Elements) and cast a Summon. Don't use GrimReaper. Try and have Riddel cast Saints. If you use Orcha, Salamander is the order of the day. With Fargo, FrogPrince or BlueWhale. Just keep hammering at him and he should fall. If you run out of Revives and someone dies, RUN AWAY! Heal with Consumables and charge back into the fray. B) With Serge: If you wait until after the Home World Fort Dragonia, when you get Serge back, your fight will be even easier, believe it or not. You may think of two White chracters as a liability, but it actually helps. For my third character, I chose Glenn. Mainly for the Dual Tech, but also because he says some extra stuff when talking to Dario. Plus, he's just kickass with the Einlanzer. I was only able to use the one Einlanzer for the Dario fight, but immediately after, I went to the shrines in Termina and got the second one. For this fight, equip Serge with the Black Plate. Since he's probably currently your best fighter, this makes good sense. Since you now have your 35th Star, and some Level 7 Tech Skills, you should use FlyingArrow as soon as possible. With Glenn, use their Dual Tech (X-Strike). Dario will only cast Numble on one of them. Of course, it might turn out that you do more damage by using Dash&Slash and Dash&Gash seperately. Of course, using Glenn's Tech Skills will result in LoRes. As above, try using a Summon. Have Serge use Saints, and Glenn use Genie. Dario should fall like a wet noodle. Banish all thoughts of fratricide from your head, and just BEAT HIM DOWN! Extra: John K. suggests allocating only Diminish, Revive, and healing Elements to your characters. Then only use physical attacks. With this plan, it will take a while longer, and your team will be equipped differently. It really depends on your preference. I'm geared more towards Elements, some people might be more inclined to attack. Alternate Strategy: Toasty! John Lee suggests allocating mostly Red Elements. Then use the strategy where you use 6 Stamina points attacking, then cast a spell. This can be risky, since you are left without Stamina for Dario's next turn. Another Toasty strategy: Moocaw writes: (Edited for spelling) "The characters I would recommend using are, Serge (when you get him back), ZOAH, and of course Riddel. start by purchasing a whole load of MagmaBursts(Lv. 4 red elements) which can be purchased at Termina. I would buy about 30 of them, and I'm also hoping you have stolen some Infernos along the way (I had 7 of them but that many is not nesessary) then evenly equip them between your 3 characters using level slots 3 to 5, putting most of your Infernos on Serge. then equip Serge with the Black Plate and soup up your characters with your best accessories, you won't need any heal elements, you should only have red elements in your slots. You are now ready to start the fight, bring you first character up to the highest level with elements equipped (Lv. 5 is probably the best) and start casting red elements, Dario will retalliate with Numble everytime, and never attack you, just be careful and think out every attack so you don't always run out of stamina. He has 3500 HP so just work him, and in no time he'll be down maybe even with everyone alive... i'm telling you it was a piece of cake :)" Remember: HEAL! Character suggestions for this battle are based on my own personal favorites and their development. If you use Radius more than Orcha, go ahead and use Radius. If you use Pip... DON'T. You do NOT need three White characters in this battle. They will fall like grass before a WeedWhacker. Remember, it's your game, do what you want. =============== 7. SPOILS! =============== What do you get for winning this incredibly tough battle? Only the best weapon for Serge/Lynx in the game! When Dario is defeated, the Masamune is released from its former owner and focuses on Lynx. Normally, this would be bad news. However, there is no longer the slightest bit of malice in the Masamune. Apparently, Masa and Mune were asleep while the Masamune was doing all this evil stuff. Now they're awake, and decide to help Serge/Lynx. The Masamune merges with the Sea Swallow and forms the Mastermune. This weapon has excellent attack, just a few points less than a Spectra Swallow. However, this weakness is more than made up for by the fact that it does critical damage almost every hit! Plus, it just plain looks cool. For those that have played Chrono Trigger, it's roughly the equivalent of Crono's Rainbow. You also get Riddel's Lv. 7 Tech Skill, SnakeFangs. This awesome Element allows her to recharge some of your Elements in battle. I've never used it, but I suppose it has about the same effect as a Recharge Consumable, which recharges Elements of Levels 1 through 5. =============== 8. Afterglow =============== So, you beat Dario. Congratulations! Give yourself a pat on the back and move on. If you haven't beaten the Sky Dragon, The Mastermune is going to make it OBSCENELY easy. Most of your fights in the game will be considerably easier, since you now have a weapon more powerful overall than the Rainbow weapons. Dario is supervising the reconstruction of the destroyed Viper Manor. He's going to turn it into an orphanage for all the children who have been orphaned in the wars. This plan sees fruition in one of the alternate endings you can get in your New Game+. If you take Riddel and General Viper to talk to him, the conversation gets kinda personal. =============== 9. Other Stuff =============== Thanks for taking the time to read my guide. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, fan mail, tschatkes, marriage proposals, or other pieces of interest, please send them to neored13@pobox.mtaonline.net. Include the words "Dario guide" or something in your subject. If I use your suggestion, I'll give credit to you. I'd enjoy seeing feedback. This is my first FAQ/guide, and I'd like to know how I did. =============== 10. FAQ =============== Yes, there is a FAQ in this FAQ. It wasn't there before, since no one had frequently asked me questions, but here it is. Q: Why can't I fight the Black Dragon? A: You probably didn't wake him up. After you fight the Sage of Marbule on the Zelbess, go up to Nikki's room (Take the platform from the mast) and agree to help Marbule. Then, once you have Fargo from the Invincible on your team, take him to see Fargo on the Zelbess. Now, after the concert (You may wanna listen to it, it's pretty cool) head onto Marbule and beat down everything in sight. This includes the cave at the back where the Black Dragon is in Another World. After that's done, you should hear "A roar in the far-off distance" or something like that. The Black Dragon is now awake. Well, why are you still sitting here reading? Go fight him! Q: Dario killed me! A: Hey, that's not a question! Seriously, though. If Dario kills you, just try again. You DID save before you entered the island, right? If he keeps killing you, you might be doing it at too early a time, with the wrong third character, or you might be understocked on healing Elements. Change the third character, go buy some more Heals and RestoreAlls and HealAlls and Cures and Nostrums and... Whoa. A plethora of pills! Go! Shop! Win! Whatever works. Q: Here's another strategy I bet you never thought of... A: Actually, chances are I did. I played through that segment about 12 times, trying different things each time. A tip: Do not have your people wearing Bone Mail. It doesn't help. But go ahead and send in your strategies, too. Chances are I can rip them off and... Oops, I mean, "Include them and give you sufficient credit." Yeah, that's it... ;) Q: You say you can give Glenn two Einlanzers. How do I get Glenn and where are the Einlanzers? A: Ah, Glenn. Best fighter in the game, in my opinon. Magic's a bit weak, but he will R0><><0R the enemy. In order to get him to join your party, you must refuse to get the Hydra Humour to help Kid in Guldove. This means you don't get Korcha, Razzly, or Mel, but who needs a Speedo-wearing punk, a tiny fairy, and a little brat anyway? (Actually, Razzly is one member of the fabled Triple Tech DeltaAttack) If you decline to get the Hydra Humour, you can get Korcha's Mama, Macha (Rather powerful Red fighter, not so good with Elements), Doc (Fairly well-balanced White, but less powerful than Steena), and Glenn (Kickass Green!!!). After Macha rows you back to Termina, go to the entrance of town and witness Glenn's conversation with the flower seller. Now return to your boat and talk to Macha. Glenn will come up and offer to join your party to go to Fort Dragonia. There! You now have Glenn! And your first Double Tech: X-Strike. Very useful, especially on places like the Ghost Ship and Blue areas, since the Dual Tech is Red Elemental instead of Serge's White or Glenn's Green. Now, the Einlanzers. One is easy, you get it in the normal course of the game. When you go to the Isle of the Damned as Lynx, you must fight Garai for the Einlanzer. Beat him and you have the sword. Glenn is the only one who can use it, though. Once Serge regains his body and your old teammates come back, go to Termina in Another World and examine the Einlanzer on the grave in the shrines. Glenn SHOULD take it and wave them both around a bit. You may need to go do a few things before it works. I couldn't get the two at first, but then I went and beat Dario and got the second. Maybe you need to beat Dario to inherit the Einlanzer... Q: Do I have Glenn? A: How should I know? (Dontcha just HATE it when someone answers a question with a question?) Seriously, though. If you opted not to save Kid when she was poisoned in Guldove, then witnessed the conversation between Glenn and the flower seller (No, not Aerith, wrong game, baka!), and agreed to share a boat ride, you should have Glenn. If you did all that, and you don't have him in your party, check your lead guy. Is it Lynx? Okay. Continue with the storyline. After Serge regains his own body, all your old party members will rejoin. This is good, since Guile (If you chose him for the Viper Manor quest) and Sneff have a kickass Dual Tech. So do Nikki and Miki (Rather obvious, but hey). Sadly, Pierre has no Dual Techs. Ze French bastaird is unworthee of a Dool Tech! :)