Star Ocean 2 Claude and Rena Solo Walkthrough By JustPlayItLoud dano_fan_o@yahoo.com First Off, Legal Stuff: This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. This FAQ Copyright 2005 Brett Horne As of the most recent update the only sites with the permission to have this FAQ are: www.gamefaqs.com www.neoseeker.com Contact me if you would like me to post this on your site, or if you think it would be of benefit to others for me to post it on another site. I don't want to have to send any nasty e-mails regarding plagiarism or copyright infringement, but I will if I have to. Chances are, if you just ask, you will get permission to use it. Also, if anyone reading this notices that this FAQ is in use on a site, or in any printed commercial format, please contact me so that I may take any action necessary. I personally verify that this document is made up of concrete facts, personal work, or properly cited work of others. Any uncited similarities to another work regarding strategy or any other non-factual, subjective topic are purely coincidental. If you feel that I have somehow plagiarized your original work, contact me and I will edit the matter in question or properly cite it. If you notice any errors on my part regarding anything, contact me. I will correct the error and give credit to the first, and only the first, person to bring it to my attention. I will also keep records of all correspondence for any purpose for which it is needed. Also, I apologize if any portion of this guide is confusing or hard to understand. I have a tendency to sometimes get carried away and type things in such a way that they are understandable to me, but are basically gibberish to anyone who isn't familiar with my haphazard literary style. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. In no way is this FAQ "official" or "authorized". In no way was I commissioned to create this guide by any institution, public or private. I am in no way affiliated with tri-Ace, Enix, Sony, or any other company. I am receiving no form of compensation for the creation of this guide, although donations are welcome. Updates: 7/23/05-Ver 0.61 I updated some stuff in the Miscellaneous section, as well as some minor things in the walkthrough that I had left out. I also fixed a minor idiotic typo. 7/21/05-Ver 0.6 I updated the Tips section and also the Miscellaneous section. I also created the Post-Fienal section and called it "Under Construction". Next update, start the Cave of Trials walkthrough, maybe some more crazy theories or other miscellany, and anything anyone sends me that is important. I also intend to make some of the strategy guides far more in depth 7/20/05-Ver 0.5 I decided to make the first version just go up to the end of the game the first time through. I will put the section on the Cave of Trials and Limiter Off Indalecio at, as well as some other stuff, like more tips, into later versions. Also, I intend to put a section on questions, theories, and other stuff relating to the Star Ocean world and not so much to game play. 7/18/05-Ver 0.1 This is the start of the FAQ. I plan to do this all at once then post it and then only update for corrections or if anyone brings up something important that I missed? Next to items in the Table of Contents is a keyword (in parentheses) you can search for to quickly jump around. Table of Contents -What is this? (WTF) -Tips and Suggestions (TIPS) -Walkthrough Disc 1 -Part 1: Beginning through Cross (CH1) -Part 2: Cross Cave (CH2) -Part 3: The Tragedy at Clik (CH3) -Part 4: Mars and the Heraldry Forest (CH4) -Part 5: Crossing the Ocean to Lacour (CH5) -Part 6: The Tournament of Arms (CH6) -Part 7: The Sanctuary of Linga and the Ancient Writings (CH7) -Part 8: The Assault on Lacour and the Hoffman Ruins (Ch8) -Part 9: Battle with Shin and the Crossing to El (CH9) -Part 10: Eluria and Meeting the Ten Wise Men (CH10) Walkthrough Disc 2 -Part 11: Central City and North City (CH11) -Part 12: The Nedian Nature Preserve (CH12) -Part 13: The Field of Intelligence (CH13) -Part 14: The Field of Strength (Ch14) -Part 15: The Field of Courage (CH15) -Part 16: The Field of Love (CH16) -Part 17: Marianna's Sacrifice, Heraldry Weapons Laboratory Mihne Cavern (Ch17) -Part 18: The First Three Wise Men (CH18) -Part 19: The Assault on Fienal and the next Six Wise Men (CH19) -Part 20: The Final Battle: Indalecio, Limiter On (CH20) -Part 21: Post-Fienal Star Ocean (CH21) -Part 22: The Heraldic Ruins (CH22) -Questions, Theories, and other Miscellany (MISC) -Thanks, Acknowledgements (THANKS) -What is this? (WTF) This walkthrough is clearly for Star Ocean: The Second Story for the PlayStation. I've been playing video games for fifteen years and I've been a diehard RPG fan for probably fourteen of those years. Both Star Ocean games are definitely in my list of all-time favorites, and I'm currently waiting for someone to finish a translation patch for Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, because I can barely read English, much less Japanese. Although I've heard some negative opinions, I also want to play Star Ocean: Till the End of Time if I can find a copy that's not $50. Anyhow, the purpose of this here walkthrough is to take you through Star Ocean using only Claude and Rena. You will recruit no other characters, and characters forced in your party will be removed from the active party so they cannot be used. It's basically information to survive the game with only two characters. I did this on the standard difficulty setting, so doing it on Galaxy or Universe will be decidedly more difficult. But most importantly, have fun with this challenge. It isn't insanely difficult, but is a challenge for anyone who isn't an Uber-Champion at Star Ocean. Also, this FAQ assumes you have already played through Star Ocean before, so I pretty much skip plots points and don't really detail what you have to do. For example, the description of the Linga Sanctuary isn't going to explain the difference between getting the two herbs, it'll just say "Go to the Sanctuary of Linga. When you're done, return to Linga". This guide doesn't intend for you to take some of the "shortcuts" to make the game easier. The main ones I'm thinking of are using the Treasure Chest or other item to get the Marvel Sword and using Radar to get the materials to make the Eternal Sphere on disc 1. Although these make the game easier, the first disc and the beginning of disc 2 are already pretty easy. By the way, this is my first FAQ, so if it sucks, oh well. I may do more or I may not. -Tips and Suggestions (TIPS) First off, I recommend you ignore Private Actions. PAs just take up time. Since there are no other characters, the endings don't really matter. Fighting with Claude and Rena all the time, they're pretty much guaranteed to end up together (surprise, surprise) unless you go crazy with Reverse Side or picking people's pockets. I recommend you never run away if at all possible. Being as you have only two characters, it's greatly to your benefit for them to have levels that are high relative to your position in the game. Fol will never really be a problem, since you find a lot of good equipment and you only have to buy equipment for two characters anyhow, but experience is pretty nice to have, as it turns out. Always have a stock of Resurrection Bottles. Until Rena learns Raise Dead, and even still after, you'll want to have Res Bottles. If Claude dies during a boss fight and you can't bring him back, you won't be able to rely on other fighters to finish the job. Plus Rena isn't a particularly good fighter and will likely be unable to take down a boss single-handedly. For pretty much the whole game, I used the Tri-Shift 1 formation. Formation isn't particularly important, but I thought you might like to know. Buy every skill set as soon as it becomes available. Money should be no issue, and doing so prevents you from forgetting to buy something. Then might get to Energy Nede and be stuck without a skill until you can return to Expel. It happened to me once. Alright, now tips on fighting with only two characters. First off, you basically have to change the way you think about the fighting system. Without other characters, a lot of things can go wrong. Before you have Bunny Shoes, there's really know way for a fighter to disrupt enemy spell casters, since Claude has no really fast long range attacks. Therefore, you have to learn to use Rena for this. Rena's Ray spell is perfect for this. It's quick to cast, has a low MP cost, and will disrupt and enemy spell, since it only takes one hit. Using the square button, you can see the entire battle field. Once you see an enemy spell caster start to charge a spell, switch to Rena and issue the command to cast Ray. Chances are, she'll fire it off before the enemy has a chance to cast the spell. And now, a tip for controlling Claude. With only two characters, Claude basically has two main objectives. One is to not get sandwiched between enemies, since there are no other fighters to draw away enemy attention. The second is to defend Rena, since she can't defend herself very well, and there are no other fighters to do it. Keep an eye on the enemies and if one gets too close to Rena, run after it. As far as battle strategies goes, I used the same two for the whole game. I didn't like Claude doing anything after I cast a spell with Rena, so I set him to "Do Nothing". And, because I made sure to always try to defend Rena, I just left her on "Recover Friends Only" so she would always be focused on healing. Regarding Killer Moves, I never much used them. I find Claude's physical attack to be generally more useful than his physical attacks, especially once you get the Eternal Sphere. I don't use them at all until I get Headsplitter. Then I use that occasionally until I get Ripper Blast. Ripper Blast is rather useful to keep multiple close enemies at bay. Once Claude learns Twin Slash, I ditch Headsplitter in favor of that. Then, once Claude learns Mirror Slice, I ditch Twin Slash and have the two Killer Moves I used for the rest of the game. For what it's worth, I put Mirror Slice on L1, and Ripper Blast on R1. -Walkthrough At the beginning of each Chapter, I will list the levels of Rena as they were in my play through, just to give you an idea of where I was at. I won't list Claude's levels, since they'll be almost identical except for the 18 experience I gained in the Salva Drift. Part 1: Beginning through Cross (CH1) Rena Lv.1 (Duh) Basically, this is the least important part of the challenge, since you can only have Claude and Rena through this part. First things first, since the only differences between each characters scenario are some story events and recruitable characters, it doesn't matter who you choose. If I happen to choose Claude (for this particular walkthrough I picked Rena for two reasons. First, and most important, I HATE Claude. Hate him, hate him, hate him. I'm not sure why. He is a great fighter though. Second, and not that important, I'm pretty sure Rena's scenario has a bit less dialogue in some parts) I usually rename him Crawd, just because. After sitting through the extended opening scenes, proceed with the saving of Rena and defeating of Alen-Tax as normal. Return to Arlia and set out for Cross. After meeting with the King, it's now time to meet Celine. Well, you're forced to accompany Celine to Cross Cave, so just let her join. After she joins, remove her from your active party. Buy new equipment in Cross, and stock up on healing items if you wish. -Part 2: Cross Cave (CH2) Rena Lv.4 Before heading to Cross Cave, I recommend you level up. I also recommend you build up your fol, just so you have it. There are two ways to do this. The first is to build up Rena's Chori skill, buy ingredients, and cook your way to fame and fortune, mostly fortune. The second is a bit harder, but more rewarding. Go build some levels outside Cross, then go to the mountains near Cross. The enemies here are though, but give a butt load of XP. With some luck, one of the soldier-type enemies will drop a Walloon Sword, the most powerful weapon Claude will see for a while. This will make the game easier. After you've bulked up, cross the mountains into the desert area. The enemies here will be tough too, but they drop rare minerals like orichalcum, which can be sold for a lot of cash. Hello, Bandit Glove. Once you've built some levels and made a veritable fortune, head to Cross Cave. Even without Celine, your high level characters should mow through the enemies. Even the boss here should be cake. Another thing, if you find the Lasguss mountains to be too difficult, head to Mars and train in the Heraldry Forest. As you start to level up, you should buy some skills. When you have enough fol, go to Herlie and Cross and buy the available skill sets. First, of course, max out Perseverance. Then Claude should max out Kitchen Knife. Herbal Medicine is also good. Both should invest in Biology. Mineralogy is good for Rena since it boosts her INT. Buying these skills will make life much easier. Also, once Kitchen Knife starts getting really expensive, Scientific Ability and Functionality will both boost Claude's strength. These skills early on can make the difference between doing 100 damage per hit, and 400-500 damage per hit, so I can't stress their importance enough. Once you've leveled sufficiently and cleaned out Cross Cave, bid Celine farewell, and hit the road for Clik. -Part 3: The Tragedy at Clik (CH3) Rena Lv.35 This isn't a very long event. If you want to pickpocket the Mischief (I didn't), now's the time. This is also the only PA you should watch until Energy Nede, so you can remove Indalecio's Limiter. Buy anything you need, then watch Clik get leveled. Once things are wrapped up here, hoof it to Mars. -Part 4: Mars and the Heraldry Forest (CH4) Rena Lv.35 At this point, you've a decision to make. Regardless of who you picked at the beginning of the game, you now are forced into a party with another character. In this guide, it is assumed you choose to use both characters. I did. You COULD try to complete the Heraldry Forest without using Celine or Dias, but I wouldn't recommend it. It will be difficult for Claude with neither a healer, nor magical support, and it will be nearly impossible with Rena. Anyhow, with Claude and Celine, simply have Claude attack and have Celine kick back and use spells. Turn off her crappy ones, leaving only her best single- and multi-hit spells. With Claude at a high level and Celine to keep the enemies off of him with spells, it shouldn't be too hard. Rena's scenario will be incredibly easy. Dias, being the powerhouse that he is, barely needs Rena's healing, plus, with Rena at the same level as Dias, it becomes even easier. If playing Rena's scenario, I recommend you remove Dias' armor after beating Azamgil and save it for Claude. As Claude, remove Celine's equipment so you can sell it. After finishing the Heraldry Forest and returning to Mars, it's time to take the short walk to Herlie. -Part 5: Crossing the Ocean to Lacour (CH5) Rena Lv.35 In Herlie, buy anything you want or need. Do the PA involving Zand and Yul if you want to (again, I didn't) and hop on the ship to Hilton. In Hilton, buy anything you need, buy new skills, watch the event with Claude at the inn if you want, and walk to Lacour. -Part 6: The Tournament of Arms (CH6) Rena Lv.36 Go and register, find the sponsor of you choice (I recommend the one that gives Claude the Long Edge, Knockout I think), and stay at the inn. The tournament shouldn't be very hard at all. Even on auto-pilot, Claude should win the fights with no problem. After the tournament, make sure you get the Sharp Edge so you don't miss out on the Eternal Sphere later. After getting the runner up prize from your sponsor, it's time to go get those Ancient Writings translated, so head for Linga. -Part 7: The Sanctuary of Linga and the Ancient Writings (CH7) Rena Lv.37 The Sanctuary is a pretty good place to build levels if you need to. Get either the Clairsage or the Dill Whip and head back to Linga. If you choose to take on the Vissayers, beware. This fight is rather tough, because if one of them eats Claude, the fight is pretty much over. Use his Killer Moves, and try to prevent him from getting sandwiched between two Vissayers, as that is pretty much a guaranteed ass kicking coming your way. Head Splitter and Ripper Blast are your best friends in this fight. Use Headsplitter to close the distance between you and the Vissayers, and use Ripper Blast to keep them at bay, because when they crowd together, Ripper Blast will hit multiple Vissayers even at 0 proficiency. If you haven't gotten it already, make sure to get the Might Chain in the Sanctuary. It gives Claude a nice attack boost and also increases his Stamina by 30. After you get back to Linga, give Keith the Ancient Writings and head to Bowman's house. Refuse his offer to join, and then head on back to Lacour. -Part 8: The Assault on Lacour and the Hoffmann Ruins (Ch8) Rena Lv.40 Once Leon joins up, unequip him and take him out of your party. Head to Hilton, stock up on anything you need, and head to the Hoffmann Ruins. None of the enemies in the Hoffmann Ruins should pose too much of a threat, except those damned Salamanders. They can easily wipe out your party, even with high levels. Their regular attacks can paralyze you quickly, and their fire breath will really do a number if you get caught in it. Use some caution and you should be okay. The boss here can pose a few problems. Try to keep them together so Claude can alternate his attacks to prevent them from casting Thunderstorm. Also, try to make sure that Claude doesn't get sandwiched between them, as they have a tendency to do this to you. They have a lot of HP, but you should be able to beat them without too much trouble. Get the mineral here, and head on back to Lacour. -Part 9: Battle with Shin and the Crossing to El (CH9) Rena Lv.43 Deliver the Energy Stone to the King, then head to the frontlines. While you're here, stock up on anything you need, and don't invite Dias into the party. Shin can present a problem to a party of only two characters, but you only have to survive for a minute, so it shouldn't be too hard. After the Lacour Hope crushes the monster horde, it's time to make the crossing to El so hop aboard, and get ready for another ass kicking from Shin. -Part 10: Eluria and Meeting the Ten Wise Men (CH10) Rena Lv.43 Interestingly enough, if you only have Claude and Rena in the party and are playing Rena's scenario, Leon will actually be there when Rena wakes up, and they decide to go together to search for Claude. Walk to the refugee camp. Rena will ask the leader to look after Leon, at which point, you'll be free to raid the armory, and I suggest you do so. After the guy there gives you the ID Card-o, it's time to head to the tower of Eluria-o. The monsters in Eluria can be pretty tough with only two characters, so I recommend that you take the time to gain a few levels here before attempting the ascent. Make your way to the top of the tower, see the event with Claude, then proceed to the confrontation with Shin. Shin isn't really difficult, so much as annoying. He's fast, hard to hit, and tends to drain Claude's MP. Use as many of Claude's Killer Moves as you can before he's drained. Then, dodge Shin's attacks and wait for him to start casting a spell. This is the best time to hit him. If you're lucky, you may even be able to hit him twice. After a while, you'll beat him. Then, head up so you can get your ass handed to you by Berle. It's actually pretty easy to survive Berle's attacks. Just have Claude get close to him, then start running. He'll stop to attack, Claude will move out of range, and Berle will start chasing Claude again. After surviving Berle, it's on to Disc 2. -Part 11: Central City and North City (CH11) Rena Lv.53 Head into the transporter and meet with Narl. After the conversation is finished, buy new equipment and supplies, and head to North City. The Synard shouldn't be too tough. If you bought an Ignite Sword at Central City, Claude should be dealing plenty of damage. I recommend using Twin Slash and Ripper Blast. If Claude has a Meteor Ring and a decent Parry skill, that should help. Just keep at it with Killer Moves and regular attacks and the Synard should fall quickly enough. Once you've beat the Synard go to Artis' office, then step in the transporter to the Nature Preserve. -Part 12: The Nedian Nature Preserve (CH12) Rena Lv.55 After barging into Noel's house, open the chests, unequip Noel, and take him out of the party. Then, after resting at Noel's house, it's time to head for the Deep Preserve. Head all the way to the bottom, save, and proceed to the boss fight. The boss here, shouldn't pose to much of a threat, just keep Claude attacking, and Rena healing, and try not to get Claude into any tight situations. Before this fight, I found a second mithril via the Trickster, so I decided that this was a good time to make the Eternal Sphere. This makes this section of the game A LOT easier, so I recommend trying it. Having the Eternal Sphere caused the boss fight here to last less than 30 seconds. Hop aboard your Synard and bid Noel farewell. Head back to Central City, speak with Narl, and get ready to tackle the Fields. At this point, although you will not recruit Chisato, you should take the time to go through the steps of recruiting her, then refuse her after all, just for sake of completion. I also think this may have some effect on unlocking the Secret Files, if you want to. Not sure though -Part 13: The Field of Intelligence (CH13) Rena Lv.57 The enemies in the Field of Intelligence shouldn't pose you much of a threat. Just make your way through, collecting items along the way. The boss shouldn't be too much of a threat either. Just have Claude run up to the main arm and have him jump attack repeatedly. The boss should essentially do nothing. After the arm is dead, just attack the other smaller portions until the fight is over. Next, is the Field of Strength -Part 14: The Field of Strength (Ch14) Rena Lv.59 The Field of Strength is a great place to build levels. The enemies aren't too tough, and they give great experience. As you make your way up, make sure to grab the Atlas Ring, and the Marvel Sword. The Marvel Sword is a great weapon if you haven't made the Eternal Sphere yet. Once you get to the top, save and prepare to fight the Guardian of Power. This boss isn't too tough in its normal form, but in its second form, it can really deal some serious damage, so beware. If you have the Eternal Sphere at this point, you should be able to keep the boss peeped for the duration of the fight. He shouldn't be able to change forms, or even hit you. Next comes the Field of Courage. -Part 15: The Field of Courage (CH15) Rena Lv.69 After beefing up in the Field of Strength, Courage should be no problem. This is another good place to level, if you think you need to. After finding the Warrior Statue and taking it to the basement, it's time for yet another Guardian. The same rules apply to this Guardian as did to the Guardian in the Field of Strength, but it should be even easier due to your increased levels. And now, last but not least, it comes time for the Field of Love. -Part 16: The Field of Love (CH16) Rena Lv.75 The Field of Love is another good place to gain a few levels. There is an ooze type enemy that has a ton of HP, but isn't hard and gives a huge amount of experience to only two characters. Save before the entrance to the altar, and go to face Lover. Lover isn't particularly hard. Take out the two enemies with him first, so they can't cast Star Flare, although it will heal Claude if he has the Eternal Sphere equipped. After those two are dead, go after Lover. Once he's by himself, Lover is pretty much helpless. It shouldn't take too long to pound him into the ground. By the way, doesn't Lover seem to be a woman? That's what I think, anyhow, but he refers to himself as a "manservant" to the Ten Wise Men. Whatever. Wrap things up here, and head back to Central City to speak to Narl. -Part 17: Marianna's Sacrifice, Heraldry Weapons Laboratory, Mihne Cavern (Ch17) Rena Lv.78 After speaking with Narl, head to L'Aqua and make the crossing to Fienal. After falling to Marsilio and returning to Central City, make your way to Armlock. Follow Narl to the Heraldry Weapons Laboratory, and learn about Rena's past and how to make Antimatter weapons. Next comes the Mihne Cavern in order to procure the LEA metal. In the Mihne Cavern, none of the enemies pose too much of a threat, just watch out for Star Flare. The fight with the Elder Barker isn't too tough either. Lost Patience will deal a lot of damage, but Rena's Fairy Light should keep you healed, and he doesn't attack that often. With the Eternal Sphere, he'll attack even less, since he'll be peeped some of the time. Take the LEA metal, and return to Armlock, because it's time to begin the destruction of the Ten Wise Men. At this point, if you don't have the Eternal Sphere yet, I would highly recommend you get it at this point. Having the Eternal Sphere makes the fights against the Ten Wise Men much easier, since the stars it shoots out when attacking do extra damage and have a high tendency to peep enemies. Also, if you want, you can get a pair of Bunny Shoes at this point if you haven't done so yet. Before delivering the LEA metal, go to Fun City. Give Rena Bandit's Gloves, or, better yet, a Magician's Hand. Also equip her with a Beret if you have one. Make sure her pickpocket level is 10 and she has the Dexterity talent, if not, use Metalwork to unlock it. Do a Private Action at Fun City, and go into the Bunny Races. Play the violin song Hail to the Goddess and try to pickpocket the bunny that sells tickets. If you succeed you will get a pair of Bunny Shoes. Equip them on Claude and the boost in speed will turn him into a killing machine. They also boost STM by a whopping 80 points, so he'll also recover a lot after a fight. -Part 18: The First Three Wise Men (CH18) Rena Lv.80 Head to Fun City with your spiffy new N.F.I.D. and go through the training exercises. Get the Antimatter weapons and Void Matter from Dr. Mirage. Train if you want, then continue to your encounter with Marsilio. This time around, Marsilio should pose little threat. He's actually rather weak. Just attack him with Claude and the Eternal Sphere should keep him peeped most of the time. He may still get to hit you with Cruelly Rushes or Eternal Slay, but his attacks are much less impressive than they sound. They should only do about 1000 or so damage to Claude if he's around level 80 with good armor. Marsilio will fall quickly enough. Leave the arena and head for the confrontation with Shigeo. Shigeo's super upbeat battle music lets you know right away that this guy has only one speed, crack fiend. He moves really fast, and without Bunny Shoes, he'll be able to get away again and again. Even with Bunny Shoes, he's still hard to catch. His attacks aren't powerful, so just run after him and keep attacking. Eventually you'll catch him and get some attacks in. If you manage to peep him, keep attacking and you can eventually force him against a wall. Once that happens, he'll have a difficult time escaping and you can pound him into submission. Now, head back to Armlock to help out Dr. Mirage by getting your rematch against Berle. Berle isn't nearly as tough now as he was when you fought him in Eluria. He's slow and his attacks don't deal too much damage. He can still be annoying because he loves to use Meta-Guard, which negates all damage for a certain period of time. Just wail on him with Claude, he's got quite a bit of HP, and he'll eventually fall just like the rest. Once Berle's dead, wrap up anything else you need to do, since Narl's messenger will arrive to tell you to head to L'Aqua, at which point you'll be heading to Fienal to finish off the Ten Wise Men. -Part 19: The Assault on Fienal and the next Six Wise Men (CH19) Rena Lv.82 Once you've done everything you want to do, head to L'Aqua then Fienal. The first fight is against the trio of Ruprecht, Jibril, and Nicolus. The main Wise Man of worry in this fight is Jibril. He has an attack in which he engulfs a character. He can do this to both characters for a quick, cheap win. Attack Jibril first and, once he's dead, the others will fall in short order. Expect to get hit with quite a few spells, mostly Noah and especially Thundercloud. Make sure none of them gets too close to Rena. If one does, run up to them and put on a thrashing. Their attacks and spells aren't super damaging, and none of them have a great deal of HP. All in all, this fight is pretty easy, even with only two characters. After taking the Ten Wise Men down to only four, start climbing Fienal. The only monsters to really look out for are the Weird Avia, whose Master Attack can own you rather quickly, and the two monsters that are palette swaps of the Vissayers. If they eat your party, it's all over. Proceed through Fienal until you confront Vesper and Decus, your next targets. Once you get to Vesper and Decus, get ready for the first truly tough fight so far. Decus's Spicule will deal massive damage to your whole party. Vesper can also poison and stone your party members, so a Stone Check might not be a bad idea. Just keep attacking Decus, and hope that Vesper spends most of his time doing lame attacks like Blood Sucker. Once Decus falls, and it'll take a little while, the fight is pretty much over. Without Decus, Vesper is a total sissy. After you beat these two continue your ascent until you encounter Cyril. Compared to Vesper and Decus, Cyril is actually quite easy. The stars from the Eternal Sphere won't do any damage to him at all, so it's difficult to peep him. Every time you hit him, however, he will try to teleport. As fast as Claude attacks, you can hit him before he finishes teleporting. The only thing you really need to worry about is Wind of Destruction. When he starts casting it, he becomes immune to all damage, so you have no recourse against this attack. Just make sure Rena keeps the both of you healed, and you'll have no problem surviving it. He has a whopping 300,000 HP, but you'll wear him down soon enough. Now, make the ascent to the top section of Fienal and prepare yourself for the fight against Indalecio. -Part 20: The Final Battle: Indalecio, Limiter On (CH20) Rena Lv.93 Once you reach the final floor of Fienal and save in front of Indalecio's chamber, you have a choice. You can either go ahead and fight Indalecio to beat the game, or you can go all the way out of Fienal in order to unlock the ability to return to Expel, as well as unlock Indalecio's more powerful form. If you wish to fight Indalecio now, this section will help you do so. If you wish to skip Indalecio for now and leave, skip to the next section. When you climb the stairs to fight Indalecio, get ready for quite a fight. Indalecio is fast, strong, and has a number of damaging spells. Just keep attacking with the Eternal Sphere so as to prevent him from attacking as much as possible. Once you've done about 250,000 damage and are at the halfway point, he will use Time of Truth and join himself with Filia. At this point, he will start casting Angel Feather on himself, and will start using two new attacks, Divine Comedy and Earthquake. Divine Comedy, in addition to being rather long, will deal a significant amount of damage to the party. Earthquake is even more powerful, and can wipe out both your characters even if they are at full health. Just keep up the onslaught and Indalecio should fall eventually. Then, enjoy the end of the game, as you've just completed the first half of the Claude and Rena Solo game. Now, watch the ending and get ready for the second half of this challenge, the Cave of Trials and Limiter Off Indalecio. -Part 21: Post-Fienal Star Ocean (CH21) This section will detail unlocking Limiter Off Indalecio, the super hard optional final boss, and also how to return to Expel and tackle the bonus dungeon, the Cave of Trials. After making your way out of Fienal, do the PA in Central City with Filia if you want. I did, since part of this guide is going to involve beating Limiter Off Indalecio. Also, I find that the Israfil's Tear accessory you get is pretty good to equip on Rena until you get Tri-Emblems and Angel Armbands. Then, head to the crazy virtual reality guy in Fun City, and return to Expel. -Part 22: The Heraldic Ruins (CH22) Rena Lv.95 This first section of the Cave of Trials isn't too terribly difficult. Just watch out for spell casters. The boss, Blackfeather, isn't to hard either. If you have Claude equipped with the Atlas Ring, it's likely that Daemon's Gate will deal 9,999 damage to him, so watch out. She has a weird animation on being attacked that sometimes makes it difficult to hit her with normal attacks. I found Ripper Blast to be my weapon of choice for this fight. Take out the two Weirdknights first. With the Eternal Sphere, Might Chain, and Atlas Ring, Claude should be able to take them out before Blackfeather can fire off more than one spell. After that, Ripper Blast as necessary. Equip Rena with the Bunny Shoes you get, and descend to the next level. -Part 23: Love Alley (CH23) Rena Lv.99 Again, another level with little to offer by way of challenges. The boss here is a total joke, and a bad one at that, when compared to Blackfeather. There is the slight risk of death by petrification, but it's unlikely. Part 24: Single Path Cave (CH24) Rena Lv.101 Make sure to get the Slayer's Ring from this level. That, plus the Eternal Sphere and the Atlas Ring makes Claude a powerhouse. This is the first level wherein enemies start to pose a serious threat. The boss here can be easy of difficult, depending on strategy. If the Dream Shades start using Dream Peace like crazy, they can finish you off with little problem. If, however, you have Rena continually casting Ray, the fight should be over quickly. Take your magical Drops as a reward and take the stairs. -Questions, Theories, and other Miscellany (MISC) This section is basically for things related to the Star Ocean world, and not so much related to actual game play. Also, I would just like to point out that this section is IN NO WAY required for a play through of Star Ocean, either with two characters or with eight. It is merely a supplemental section dedicated to things about the Star Ocean universe that have made me scratch my head at one time or another. Noel tells you he wants to fight the Ten Wise Men because he was a former partisan of the Ten Wise Men. Being partisan could either mean being in staunch support of, or in staunch opposition to, a certain party. Being a "former" partisan leads me to believe that Noel means he used to be a supporter of the Ten Wise Men. I wonder how that's possible. The Ten Wise Men were sealed away 3.7 billion years ago from the current time frame in which Star Ocean takes place, as said by Narl. Now, that could mean a couple of things. First, it could mean that Noel is 3.7 billion years old, which I doubt because if he could live that long, it stands to reason there would be other Nedians who were that old as well. Second, it's possible that Noel came to support them after they returned to Energy Nede. This also seems doubtful, since Noel is rather isolated and the Ten Wise Men immediately seize Fienal and isolate from the rest of Energy Nede right after their return. Plus, this would mean that Noel would support them, then have a change of heart and decide to basically become a pacifist in a matter of what I assume to be hours. The third possibility is that he was a member of some group or organization that was in support of the Ten Wise Men, despite their being presumably sealed away in the Eternity Space. Since it has been so long since the original defeat of the original Ten Wise Men, it would seem that the memory of the Ten Wise Men would likely have faded in nearly 4 billion years. In this situation, I could only think of one reason why such a group would exist. Although I don't have the information directly at hand, I'm relatively certain that in the game, it details the release of the Ten Wise Men from the Eternity Space as such. Dr. Lantis creates the first nice Wise Men as part of the Ten Wise Men Project, then creates a body for himself, assuming the alias of Indalecio. After igniting the war with the Nedians, he somehow "becomes" Dr. Lantis again. With Indalecio gone, the Nedians assume he has been killed somewhere, and Cyril assumes leadership of the remaining Wise Men. Then, Dr. Lantis, knowing the power of the Nedians, advises them to seal the Wise Men in the Eternity Space. They seal Cyril and the others, and, seeing the fighting stop, continue to assume Indalecio's death. Dr. Lantis then advises the Nedians to seal their evolution, give up much of their power, and destroy Nede to seal themselves away in Energy Nede. Then, at some point, Dr. Lantis would have faked his own death and gone into hiding. Then, at some point, he could assume yet another identity to garner support for the Ten Wise Men, although I can see no reason for that to be of benefit to him. Over time, he could continue to lead the faction by assuming new identities and faking the deaths of older ones. At some point, Noel would have been caught up in this, and then at some point been disillusioned with the faction, and left to watch over the Nature Preserve. This of course assumes that somehow Dr. Lantis would be able to enter and exit Energy Nede, since he is on Expel with the rest of the Wise Men. Then, at some point, figuring that the power of the Nedians had waned sufficiently, he would have left Energy Nede and released the rest of the Wise Men from the Eternity Space. Then, he would've crafted the Quadratic Key in order to help the weaker Wise Men make the jump to Energy Nede. He would only be releasing the Wise Men so as to use the energy of their life force to power of the Crest of Annihilation, since for some reason, Dr. Lantis/Indalecio desired to destroy the entire universe. Why? Perhaps he thought that the government established during the Planet Nede period was just a precursor to future wars and conflict, there is no way to tell for sure. This wouldn't explain why he would have created the group to begin with, unless he did it for no other reason than to feed his ego. Which brings me to my next point, why did he create Filia to act as a Limiter? The only reason that comes to mind was that, by limiting Indalecio's power, he would somehow still be able to retain his original identity. If that is the case, he most clearly failed. Even before removing his limiter, Indalecio seems completely immersed in the identity of Indalecio. He never truly acknowledges that he and Dr. Lantis are even the same person. Perhaps by becoming completely engrossed with the idea of having been created expressly for the purpose of something so monumental, with such finality, as destroying the universe, Indalecio essentially "forgets" the part of him that was once Dr. Lantis. He only thinks about who Indalecio is, and that Filia exists as a Limiter for him, so he has to erase her to unlock his full capabilities. Perhaps, being so self-absorbed, Indalecio would try to garner support for the Ten Wise Men during the period between the sealing of the Wise Men and the freeing of the Wise Men simply to feed his own ego. Perhaps it initially started as Dr. Lantis coercing people into stroking his ego as the creator of the Ten Wise Men, and it eventually developed into the psychopathic, omnicidal(I totally think I just made a word up) mania that was Indalecio. Which leaves one, minute question unanswered. What's up with Indalecio's death quotes? One potential quote is "Is it true that humans will destroy me? Then what is the significance of my existence?" This would indicate that Indalecio had become so engrossed in his mission with destroying the universe and his own god-like power, that he never considered the possibility of failure. Conversely, his questioning the significance of his existence in the face of failure indicates that there is still some part of him that is Dr. Lantis and that he questions for what purpose he created himself and the Ten Wise Men if mere mortal creatures could undue all his creation. The second potential quote is "Yes, thank you for stopping me. No need to put the light out yet." I don't know if you can get this with Limiter Off Indalecio, but I know you can with Limiter On Indalecio as you hear both he and Filia saying it. It makes sense why Filia would say it, seeing as she was basically created as a foil to Indalecio. But it would not make sense for Indalecio to say it, unless they had become fully joined, with Filia not actually being subsumed into Indalecio, such that she could speak for both parts of Indalecio, which would explain why both voices would use the pronoun "me". Also, I can understand Filia opposing Indalecio's mission, but, being created specifically as a limiter, it wouldn't actually explain why she was so opposed to the destruction of the universe. On this point, I basically have two theories. First, is that she was created by Dr. Lantis, with her personality being created by him. This would then indicate that Dr. Lantis did not actually wish the destruction of the universe. It would then seem that he did, in fact, wish to rule the entire universe and that is was Indalecio who wished its destruction. Then, as Dr. Lantis became almost completely consumed by Indalecio, his desire for domination would be forgotten as the desire to destroy became stronger. Though this leaves unexplained why Indalecio came to want to destroy the universe in the first place. My second theory on the topic is that Filia wasn't created. Possibly, she was a normal Nedian woman who was given the power to be Indalecio's limiter, much in the same way that Dr. Lantis created Indalecio and somehow transferred his consciousness. I would then assume that Filia was probably Dr. Lantis' wife or lover. In which case, it would make sense that she still saw a small spark of Dr. Lantis in Indalecio and, desiring that they be together again, she would not want Indalecio to destroy the universe and would try to hide from Indalecio so as to prevent him from erasing her within himself. So, sorry if you thought this was going to be a little more about Noel. Wow, I just looked up and saw how long this was. I knew I had put a lot of thought into the creation and purpose of the Ten Wise Men, but never had I realized just how much! Anyhow, this is all opinion and conjecture, supported only by one definition, partisan, and a couple of small facts that are presented within the game. Of course, some of those facts I don't have access to, and I could just be thinking that some of my own theory was actually part of the game. If you feel that I'm wrong on some count, or that I need to visit some other topic, or if you just feel the need to add something, e-mail me. If it's something important, I'll put it in here and give you credit for it. I always enjoy discussing these theoretical video game related questions. Anamnesis writes: "Also, about your conjecture on the possibilities of Dr. Lantis, the game itself actually explains a fair ammount of the information, but it's spread out, and dropped at odd times. Fillia, is in fact Dr. Lantis's daughter, who was killed in an attack while he was making the Ten Wise Men. He wasn't told of the information, 'cause of a military information blackout, so when he finally figured it out and snapped, changing the purpose of the Wise Men from "Defend Nede" to "Kill Everything, Mwahahahaha!". This would make it so that the Fillia you see in the game would've been a creature created in the image of his daughter (Who must have had lots of respect for life, and concern for innocents, etc.). But since she would've been manufactured like the Wise Men, her existence... maybe synced up with them, and that's why she became Incandelo's limiter. Both are strong opposing forces, one to protect life, one to annihilate it. In the end, Incandelo comes out on top, so his strength's unlocked. As for Lantis, his body was found in the Heraldry Weapons facility, and he had committed suicide. This was most likely out of equal parts guilt and insanity, realizing that he'd basically screwed over the universe." And also: "As for Noel... it's hinted at points that he was a researcher. Perhaps the project he was working on, indirectly aided the wise men in some manner, such as capturing Feinal. So, when he realized this, he took off, and went back to his love of nature, looking after the animals in the preserve." Also, thanks for pointing out that in the WTF section, I misspelled Star Ocean as Start Ocean. Ugh. So, it looks like some of what I said was right, to some degree, there was just information I didn't have due to my not knowing where my memory card wherein I had unlocked the Secret Files is. Oops, I totally just ended a sentence with a preposition. Whatever. Second question, what the hell happened to the Ancient Writings? You give them to Keith, he says he needs time to decipher them, then, the next thing you know, you're in Energy Nede! Did I miss something? Is there some point after you deliver them to him that you can go back and find out what was in them? Or were they just a plot device that took you to Mars, and then took you to Linga, and then took up time in Linga to essentially "make time" for Lacour to get attacked? I want to know what's in those writings! Help me out, Keith! E- mail me if anyone knows if you can find out what's in those writings from Keith, or if there is any other information somewhere else in the game that hints as to what is in the Ancient Writings. megaman_x88@hotmail.com sent an e-mail detailing the rumor that in one of Bowman's endings, he speaks with Keith. Supposedly the Ancient Writings details an ancient, advanced civilization, and Bowman guesses that civilization to be called Nede. Robert Brown also sent an e-mail regarding the same thing, so I'm pretty sure this is true now. If anyone out there has any screenshots or short video clips of these, I would greatly appreciate it. -Thanks, Acknowledgement (THANKS) Aside from the obvious, such as tri-Ace and Enix, and the sites who posted this FAQ, I would also like to thank the following: EChang's Star Ocean Character FAQ as found on www.gamefaqs.com for Indalecio's quotes. I Kelley's and Exdeath's Star Ocean FAQs for use numerous times in various play throughs, both this one and others. All the people mentioned elsewhere for contributing to the continued growth of this FAQ.