The 13th Entity's Guide to: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.hack//G.U.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rebirth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ version 1.0 The author can be contacted at but, spam not the messenger nor yourself. \^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^/ < Itenuary (aka. Table of Contents): > < > < I. FAQ Info > < II. Controls > < III. Entity's Corner (Storyline in my words) > < IV. Walkthrough > < ______A. Deadly Terror's Shadow > < ______1. Welcome to The World > < ______2. Reset > < ______3. Quests > < ______4. The Watchful Raven > < ______B. Before Epitaph User's Awakening > < ______1. Pulled and Pushed > < ______2. The Guild and the Arena > < ______3. In Need of a Little Healing > < ______4. A Little Area Hopping > < ______5. Climbing Ranks > < ______C. Fighting Players' Playground > < ______1. To Awaken in Rage > < ______2. The Avenger's Descent > < ______3. Seventh Branch's Freedom > < ______4. Higher Levels > < ______5. Versus the Propagation > < ______6. War Against the Roses > < ______E. Azure Flame Colliding Onward > < ______1. A Kite Needing no Wind > < ______2. Terror Versus Death > < ______3. Whole From Holes > < V. Perfect Game Checklist > < ______1. Ryu Books > < ______2. The Checklist > < VI. Items And Moves > < VII. Q&A > < VIII. Legal Stuff > < IX. Many Thanks > /vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv\ To use this guide, you can use ctrl+F (or Command+F on a Mac) to search for the section titles as provided above. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I. FAQ Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ May 30, 2008 I hereby give to the GameFAQs community this guide for part 1 of the trilogy of .Hack//G.U. I've been a fan of the series since //SIGN, and wish to show this with my way of writing these three guides. Enjoy them. If you have a Clear Data from the previous games, you'll receive e-mails from BlackRose and Hokuto, which will be like collector's items for you. Also... "I wonder what 'The World' is going to look like in seven years from now." -- A-Kichi, //QUARANTINE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ II. Controls ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please read the manual if you've a copy of it. Otherwise: -------------Terms------------- GP - Game currency. You need this to buy stuff. Exp - Experience. It takes 1000 experience to get from one level to the next. Lv - Level. There are 3 types to look for. One is your character level which goes only as high as 50 in Rebirth which takes the 1000 exp from one to the next. Second is the Weapon Level, which is capped at 10 in Rebirth as well, and you level this by using your skills on that weapon or by using Beginners Texts or Books. Lastly, there are the Book of 1000 levels, and those go up as we do stuff in the game (See the checklist guide below for more details). Party - You play mainly as Haseo. You can have up to two characters from your member address list travel and battle alongside Haseo. Desktop - This game has two modes. One is the main where you walk around and interact with other characters in a simulated MMORPG called The World. The other is the desktop, which is like a big menu full of options for you to explore. This provides a number of things to help play the game. Affection - Each character you add to Haseo's address list has a gauge in the form of a sphere with up to five orbs around it (and as few as none). In this game, a character's affection ranges from a lonesome red sphere to a blue sphere with three blue orbs around it with the latter being high. As this grows, your trades get better, but this affects something else later in the series. Chim - As you kick most Chim Chims (normal, rare, and King) you gain some Chim Spheres. These are useful for opening doors, activating some warps, and rescuing Mecha Grunty each of 50 times per game. You can carry up to 99, but they're so very easy to replenish. Watch for for the Chim Assassins and for the stomping attacks of the King Chim. HP - The health your characters have. SP - Skill Points. The more you have, the more often you can use skills. P-ATK - Your attacks' damage is based on this. P-DEF - Your ability to resist physical attacks is based on this. M-ATK - Magic attacks are based on this. M-DEF - Resistance to magic attacks is based on this. Fire/Water/Wind/Earth/Light/Dark - These influence your attacks and defenses by adding these elements to both. I would love to help you with this, but it is my experience to keep opposites (Fire and Water, Wind and Earth, and Light and Dark) close enough to balanced. Feel free to play with these at your own leisure. Curse - Depletes SP gradually Poison - Depletes HP over time Sleep - Makes target unable to move until they are healed or hit. For this, I typically don't worry about it. A couple PKs and Arena fighters counter with this, but it's still hardly any trouble. Charm - Makes target attack his or her own allies. Endrance is the only enemy who does this, and there is no protection against it. Area and Arena Ranks - When you leave an area or an Arena Battle you are then graded according to your performance. * In an area, the ranking is based on surprise attacks, enemy parties you've beaten, Chim Spheres collected, chests opened, and objects destroyed. When you earn a rank of B or higher, you earn a nice prize such as a keyword or a decent item. * In the arena following a Limit Battle or Survival Battle, you are graded based on as little time elapsed as possible, enemies beaten, counter- attacks performed, and highest hits reached in a combo. The higher you rank, the more WP you gain. Area Level - When you select to go to an area, you see a large number over the picture of what the area will look like. That tells you the average level of the enemies you encounter. Item Level is shown in the +/- bar below that picture, and tells you how good or bad the items are in that area. * TIP: Just below the areas address you see two small icons with numbers by them. The left is a bunch of people, and the right is one person who hands a heart to another person. The former says how many people are in that area while the latter tells how many you have met. Use this if you wish to meet someone new, or if you wish to have a chance at meeting the Medic Union or a Battle Area with someone in it. You do this by highlighting/selecting the area or keyword, canceling out of one screen, and returning until you see numbers that you like. Server - This series' idea of a server is one of five roots to the many areas. In Rebirth, we have the Delta and Omega servers only. Each server has one root town from which we can visit other areas, though Omega has only the root town. So, really, each "server" is like another realm. Save/Load - Through Data Manager or a Save Shop in a town, you can save a file of your progress on a memory card. You can load through the Data Manager, but also load the saved file through loading up this game. Convert - When you start a new file of//G.U. Rebirth, you can choose to utilize a Clear Data from the previous games, or you can use vol.2 Reminisce Clear Data to give yourself a big level boost. The previous games won't give that boost, but you shouldn't need that boost anyways. But, you must have a Clear Flag Data on a memory card, and select Convert on the title screen to begin the process. -------------Movement and Interaction------------- Walk/Run - Use the left analog stick. Tilting it lightly causes slow motion. Examining/Selecting - X button. This only works if something to examine is within range, or if there is a choice to be made. Don't ask why you can't talk to an NPC on the other side of town when you aren't moving. Kicking - X button. This works when your target is a breakable object, a chest you are trying to open, a steam switch, or a Chim Chim. Again, it must be within range to even be a target. Trapped Chests - These look like normal chests except for the occasional shake. When you kick one open, you have -3 seconds- to put in the right combo of buttons. If you mess up, you have the time remaining to do the combo all over. If you fail, Haseo takes damage. If you succeed, the reward might even be a little better than the rest of the area. Target Toggling - When multiple targets are in range use the digital pad to switch from target to target. Cancel - Circle button. You do this to exit out of menus and such. Steam Bike - When in a town or field, as long you're not in a battle, and after you do the Guild Master event for Canard, you can toggle between sitting idly on a steam powered bike and walking by pressing the Square button. If you are moving on the bike, the Square button slows you until you stop. When on the bike, you move forward with X, and steer with the analog stick left or right. You can use the bike to surprise enemies as long as they do not see you by riding right into them, but WATCH OUT; big enemies will cause Haseo to bounce back into the wall of the resulting Battle Area. Camera Angles - R2 puts the camera in Haseo's perspective, but then you cannot move around more than Haseo's point of view. L2 quickly moves the camera behind Haseo so you can see what you're moving towards. The right analog adjusts the camera angle manually even while you move. -------------Menus and Such------------- Open a Menu - Triangle button. This works as long as you are walking around in a town, a field, a dungeon, or in a battle (not when you're being flung around or doing an attack). If you're in a menu, this won't work, so do not ask why you can't open the main menu while in the middle of a trade. Item Info - When you are highlighted over an item, press the Square button to receive info about that item. Store Menu - Talk to the NPC or character running the store, press X, and then select to view their wares. You will see price amounts. If you have the money to pay for the item you want, then press X while highlighting that same item. Item/Option Highlighting - Move either the left analog stick or the digital pad in the direction it takes to get from option to option. Chaos Gate Menu - While in a town, examine the Chaos gate. Select Warp Menu to see a bunch of options. If you already have an area bookmarked from the boards, emails, story events, or Quest Shop, you can select the area from the Bookmark list. Warp Record lists all areas visited in order from the most recent on earlier without repeating any areas. Random will give you a combination of keywords from your pool or collection. Area Word allows you to do what Random does, but manually. There are three pools: -1st Word -2nd Word -3rd Word * You gain these keywords from emails, forums on the desktop, and from when you learn area addresses as mentioned a moment ago. * The server you're on comes into play as well. You cannot access any areas from Lumina Cloth, but you can switch between towns with the Chaos Gate under the option "To Town." Trade - Talk to a character either walking around or that is in your party. If your party member isn't wanting to show the normal options, they will when you are in an area. Select to Trade. You will see your item box on the left, the other person's on the right, and an icon between them. Go into the other person's box to view their items, and select up to five types of items (five pieces of equipment, 3 pieces and 2 different items, etc.,) before you cancel out once to see that box filled with what you want. You then do a similar process in picking items from Haseo's inventory up to five types, and keep adding items until the Negotiate bar below fills. As long as the said bar is all red and says "Trade OK" you can select the icon in the middle to end the transaction. Gift - You can select Trade with your party members. There is no Trade window, but you do see your own list of items as to what you wish to give. This helps in the affection level just a bit. Rarity - Items are marked for their rarity. "1*" is your most common item, and "5*" is your item so very rare that you may wish to obtain it in this game for Item Completion purposes. Equipment - It is easy to understand that there are weapons, armor, and your accessories. Each piece has a minimum level you must be at in order to wear it. Each piece with a rarity of 4* or less can be customized with materials as long as there is a space to fill. In Rebirth, equipment have 1 material slot a piece in the early levels and two slots each later on. -------------About Battles------------- Yay, they're not random. The battles are in set places, though you COULD make and enemy party follow you to the other side of the map. There is a variety of ways to get into a battle: Story or Event - There's no avoiding or surprise in these battles. They will start after any number of scenes. Just Starting w/ X - When enemies in a field or dungeon see you, and you select X on the target that does, a battle will start. Surprise/Collision - When an enemy does not see you, and you're not on the steam bike, you will jump at the enemy in a surprise attack with X. When one enemy sees you, you can often toggle targets to one who does not. As for being on the Steam Bike, it is possible to collide with the enemy when it sees you, but you have to be close and fast enough for it to not matter. The collision still counts as a surprise. Arena - By selecting Survival Battle, Limit Battle, Tournament, or Title Match, you'll appear in the waiting room. From there, use the Warp Point to appear in the arena battle area. A scene usually starts you off here as well. Attack - Press X like you're interacting with an object or a character. Your equipped weapon has one of a couple attack patterns to it. You can always hold down on X to release a big attack, but Dual Swords and Broadswords work one of two ways each. One is the Hold and Release pattern, which is reliant on holding X, but you can still do a few quick hits by pressing X a few times. The other pattern is the rapid attack in which you can press X repeatedly after the first few attacks in order to add to your chain of hit combos. (I like the rapid on Dual Swords, and am easy on Broadswords) Skill Trigger - You can set these in the menu outside of battle. You start off with pressing R1, and you see one of four shortcuts to weapon skills as equipped to the X, Circle, Square, and Triangle buttons. You then press the respective button to use that skill. You then have to wait a couple seconds before the next Skill Trigger is available for use. Rengeki - When you have racked up the hit combos, colorful rings appear around a target for a short time. QUICKLY use a Skill Trigger on that enemy when those rings are still up to launch a Rengeki, which does more damage and adds to the Morale Gauge. Morale Gauge - This fills up by Haseo and members of your party doing something to cause any number of characters to speak out in battle (as it appears next to their stats on the bottom left of the screen). The Morale Gauge is in the top right. Once it fills, it will ring once, and flash for you to use the Square button. This stays full until you leave an area or once you use an Awakening. Awakening - In Rebirth, you have only the Beast Awakening. During the time you are in an Awakening (by pressing Square with a full Morale Gauge) you will deal more damage than usual. I suggest starting every Awakening off with a Skill Trigger, and then attacking rapidly until you can use another Skill Trigger. You cannot do a Rengeki during an Awakening, but you can rack up the hits enough to wear a Rengeki may follow the Awakening wearing off. In Arena Battles, the Morale wears twice as fast. Game Over - When you run out of health, you have to start over from the last place you saved. Items/Spells - To use these in battle, you must open the main menu and select what you want to use from there. The spells will be under Skills, not Skill Trigger. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ III. Entity's Corner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is an online game called "The World" built by a programmer who wanted to make the ultimate AI. "The World" was also based off the Epitaph of Twilight, an incomplete, epic poem written by the woman the programmer came to love. The epic came to life, sending many people into comas until the battle against the eighth, final phase of the cursed wave could be beaten. One kid who did wake up from the coma could no longer remember his days of playing "The World." He lived on without it for seven years, and a friend of his got him to try out the game during its most recent revision. Enter Haseo.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IV. Walkthrough ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * For the purpose of this guide (A) will be Delta, and (O) will be Omega. These are to help you know which server we're on, though there should not be a need for this until the next "server" is introduced in the following game. Then again, the Omega server has only Lumina Cloth. * Also, I will provide SOME maps. Here's the key for most of them: @ Platform for leaving area # The numbers will show which platforms connect when they go one way The # symbol itself will notate a chim door in dungeons o Warp points in (A) Lazy Advice's Exile and Job Extension quest I'll connect them by which direction they go (<, >, ^, or v) = Dungeon pathway between east and west I Dungeon pathway between north and south M General encounter spot for monsters B Boss ! If there is a "Battle Area" to look for, I'll try to note it C Generic chest (Safe if a capital C, but Trapped if lower case) S Altar (or chest guarded by enemies). Some contain the Symbol Fragments you need to unlock the Beast Temple in some areas. The capital S will be for the Symbol Fragments. Z Altar with trapped chest T Temple and main chest when on a field; main chest when in dungeon L Lucky Animal G Mecha Grunty k Such kick-able items as barrels and small mushrooms (Steam Devices are ignored to keep map clean) Y Tree or Big Mushroom with Chim Chims u Way up in dungeons d Way down in dungeons * You can skip scenes by selecting Start and then the respective option. -------------Deadly Terror's Shadow------------- ~~Part 1: Welcome to The World~~ Mac Anu-- Watch the scenes to temporarily get the member addresses for IYOTEN and Asta, and you will be walked through how to form a party and go into areas with the Chaos Gate. Don't worry about trading with anyone; you'll see why in a bit. Save if you wish, but the first area shouldn't be any trouble with these level 10 characters by your side. In any case, you at least need to press X at the Save Shop to continue (and can cancel out). (Delta) Courageous Engaging Daydream-- _____ _| | | S | |___ __| _____ || | |_ __||__ | @ | | |_ |___ __| |___ | || ___ |_S |_ __||__| | | | | |__| | |__ S -- _| |__ ___| |___| || __||__ | | | @T | |_ _| |__| You'll be introduced to the Area Map with the starting scene. You'll be told here about the different types of missions The World R:2 has to offer. For the area we're in now, it's about collecting Symbol Fragments--labeled by S on the map I drew above--to open the Beast Temple for the main treasure. After crossing the first bridge, you're told how to surprise an enemy, which will help you not only in advantages in battle, but surprise attacks will feed into a Ryu Book which I'll help you with later. The trick here is to not be seen by the enemy, sneak up close enough behind the said enemy, and press X to launch the assault. If you get low on health, then open the menu to find and use a Health Drink; you have 15 of these for now. Also good would be to get work done on building up your hit combos for the Ryu Books as well, but that may take a little practice/timing so you shouldn't worry about that just yet. * You'll be introduced to skills in the second altar. The Rengeki will be a great help in leveling up, so utilize that part of the system for more than Ryu Book bonuses. Just know that the Rengeki will end a hit combo. * Don't worry about the Morale gauge until a LITTLE later in the game. It'll also help. After the first chest, head east and north for the other two. Then cross all the bridges to enter the Beast Temple. Open the chest by the Beast Statue for a slew of scenes. ~~Part 2: Reset~~ * Haseo's data will be rebooted by the Data Drain. The Member Addresses are gone, much of what was on his system over the last 8 months is gone, and he'll be level 1 again. * Here's one of the deals about the .Hack games: The World is your main game while using Altimit simulates activity of Haseo's real life (when he isn't at school or visiting Shino in the hospital). When you are exploring Altimit, you can check e-mail, the message boards from the community, and also the sorta in-game message boards when you launch The World without actually logging in. Mind fried yet? First, try to check your e-mail to find it empty, and again to find a message from Ovan being . . . actually not as obscure as he usually is. Check the News Capture for some articles and an Online Jack episode. The Community Forum has many posts, and they're easier to file through with the View All selection which was missing in the previous games. * One board is called Apkallu. In it, people share their art, and you can download the art as wallpapers for your Altimit desktop. The way you do this is to view a post with ! next to it, press X again, cancel out of viewing the enlarged image, and wait a couple seconds for the download bar to finish. Sorry, this art was all pre-designed and put in the game for you to find. The World Board: (A) Buzzing Wrath's Shadow - added for where to get an Olm Shell Apkallu: 1 Wallpaper in "No Subject" 2 Wallpapers in "A refreshing breeze..." 1 Wallpaper in "A beautiful friendship" 3 Wallpapers in "There was this person..." 1 Wallpaper in "Chim Soccer" 3 Wallpapers in "JOIN!" * When you receive new wallpapers and BGMs, you can check them out in the Accessories option. * Select "The World" in the main options, and check the Official Forum. (A) Truthful Marble's Bum in "Soloing" (A) Upfront Blazing Camellia in "Soloing" New Keywords in "Soloing" as well: 1) Sacred, Warm, Croaking 2) Kourin's, Black 3) Pure Bred, Ocean, Blue Cloud, Cassiopeia * Log in when you're finally ready to continue the game. Mac Anu-- After a scene you finally get to walk around on your own. I'm not drawing a map for the towns, but head south to the blue circle on the map in the game. Continue to follow the southern path after the short scene. After the Harbor, keep going west into the Mercenary District. After a couple scenes, you will meet Gaspard and Silabus who will force their help and Member Addresses onto Haseo. Use the green platform to warp to the Dome, and save your game if you didn't do so already. You will receive the keywords to your second starting area. This time, you're able to select the keywords through the Bookmark option at the Chaos Gate. (A) Peaceful Leading Freedom-- _____ _____ B1 | | ___ | | ___ _______ ______________ | M |=| | =| M |=| |=| @ | <--START |@ |=| | |___| | | |___| |_______| |_d""""""""""""" |_____| |_ ___| _I_ | | |_ _| ___I___ ___ ___ | M |=| |=| | | M | |___| |___| |_____ _| _I_ | | |_ _| ___I___ | | | M M | |_______| B2 __ _______ ___ ___ | u|___________ | |#| |#| | |@ |=| M | | | | M| """""""""""""""" |_______| """"" """"" _I_ | | |_ _| _#___ _____ ___ __________ ___ ___ | M | | |=| |#| T| | |=| |=| | | | |___| |__________| |___| |___| |_M___| |_ ___| _I_ _I_ | | | | |_ _| |_ _| _#___ _I___ | | ___ |M | | |=| |=| | | C | |___| | M | | k c | | | """"""" """"""" * Go to Strategy in the Menu to set Gaspard to Free Will. This ounce of help in the damage department will make things tolerabley better. * TIP: When you're trying to get a surprise attack going, you might notice a ? over an enemy. That's a warning the enemy is aware of you being there, and a ! will start a battle. However, if you are close enough you should be able to tap left or right on the digital pad to switch your target from an enemy with a ? to an enemy with nothing over it. THAT'S YOUR CHANCE TO SURPRISE THEM. Head west, and you'll get into a battle you cannot avoid thanks to Gaspard. Be sure to use the skill trigger Gale Blade at least once for the better of two scenes to follow in my opinion. Along the northern walls you will notice some Chim Chims riding past steam devices. Use the devices to bring the little guys down so you can kick them. Shoot for getting about 30 of them. Head south if you want to clear the area as well work on the Ryu Books for when you finally get them. * The Chim Spheres have many uses through the three games. Stock up on them with almost every area you go to, and you should be fine. After clearing the enemies going south, head back north to go west. Beat the sixth enemy group to continue west to the path down to B2. Before reaching the first group of the second floor, you're told about the Awakening. This time, however, you can surprise the enemies. You will also notice a Chim Door to the east and in the room to the south. Each door costs 5 Chim Spheres to open. Once you've one all the way south, you'll receive a message prompt about the different items such as chests and breakable objects. With a Trap Chest, you have to tap the correct combination of buttons in the time you're given or the chest will damage you and give you nothing. A successful disarming of the trap will yield an item. Continue to follow the map I drew to the Beast Statue for the chest and a scene with Bordeaux and Pi. As you zone out you will notice the next part of this game's system. It will reward you as you leave most areas depending on how well you play them. If you did everything well enough to get a total rank of S, then you'll receive the better of possible rewards. Sometimes it can be a neat item or a common one, and sometimes it can be a keyword such as "1st Word: Heavenly." Also if you've taken on all the enemies as well as did enough Rengeki's you should be at level 4 by now. Mac Anu-- During a scene, Atoli will lecture Haseo and give him her Member Address. Once the others have left, log out. E-Mail: Messages from Pi, Silabus, and Gaspard. Respond with the friendliest of the two choices per message, which is the first for Gaspard and Pi, but the second for Silabus. Silabus invites you to do a quest with him and Gaspard. Apkallu Board: 1 new wallpaper in "Terror of Death" Log back in when you're ready. ~~Part 3: Quests~~ Mac Anu-- Instead of jumping straight into Quest work, let's do a somewhat quick area on the side. We have the keywords from earlier. Also, be sure you have enough items in case Gespard's heals aren't enough. (A) Buzzing Wrath's Puddle-- ______ | Y |_ | @T | |_ | | |_ | S L| |_ Y| |__M __| || __||_______________ _| ____ Y | |@ S _| s| k | | k | M | M | |_ k |_||___| k S _| |_! s ____Y_Y_| |__ __| || __||________ | M_____ Y | | |_ |@ | | - _| | |_ |___| _| |___M ___| || ____||______ | k_____ G | | | | | | |_ _| | |_ @|__- k _| |________| This is a mission for collecting Symbol Fragments. Also, kick open barrels you find, and you may obtain some Olm Shells for customizing your weapons. Be a little careful with the enemies since they're tougher than in the dungeon we were just at. You may notice that the enemies on the hill are trickier to get a surprise attack with, but you can lure them into the bottom of the hill, and then run around the hill for the assault from behind. When heading south to the second bridge, you will need to get just close enough where one enemy has a ? over it and you can switch to another target with your D-Pad for a surprise attack. The same goes for the end of the north-most bridge. As usual from here on, don't forget your Rengeki or to clear the field. You will want to level faster than the base EXP alone will grant you. You will meet the Mecha Grunty on the south island, and a Lucky Animal on the north isle. The Mecha Grunty needs 5 Chim Spheres for the first encounter, and then an additional sphere for each encounter after this. The Lucky Animal will grant you something upon kicking it, but a few may attack YOU instead. That won't do you any good to get hit, so be ready to run and kick. After claiming the Beast Statue's offering, use a platform to leave. For the Rank B-S reward, you get "1st Word: Elegant." Mac Anu-- * TIP: Sell the stuff you know you won't need. Save your money for when you need to buy something. Of course, if you don't know this from any previous rpg, then now's a good time to learn. However, do save your healing items and Olm Shells for now. * Also, try to hold on to some items for trading with characters you meet. Ultimately, we want to have at least one of every item in our hands at least once (for Ryu Book purposes, mostly). Go south-ish to the blue circle on the map. Once you've selected to talked to the Quest Shop npc, select "Accept Job" and then "Crown Quest." Before a scene you can easily skip, you get new keywords. Head to the Dome, save, and use the Chaos Gate. (A) Chasing Cupid's Phantom-- Upon entering you should be level 6 thanks to the last area. Thankfully, the enemy parties are few, though that also doesn't help you level too much. Save the southwest room for last. Once you kick the Nue, a King Chim Chim will appear. Kick it a few, run to dodge the king's assault, and repeat until the tenth kick. You should now be at 99 Spheres and have the Chim Crown. You will be warped out automatically. For the S Rank reward: a Water Wheel. Mac Anu-- After receiving a Text of Wisdom, you'll see that you got a new email. First, use a platform to each the Mercenary District, and enter the house found in the southeast corner. Talk to Dr. Kubo to start an event which will last either until completion or until the next game. For the Chim Chims you defeat, the data will go on record by total Chims and by types. You can receive some nice items for this. You can log out now. E-Mail: A message from BlackRose if you converted data from the previous games. Think of it as a collector's item. =) A message from Hokuto, the main supporting character of //AI Buster. Again, this is a collector's item. CC Corp informs you of the Chim Kicker campaign. Atoli invites you to accompany her to (A) Submissive Tragedy's 1000 Oaks. Already, you should have a nice keyword collection going. You're done already. Log in after you save. -------------Before Epitaph User's Awakening------------- ~~Part 1: Pulled and Pushed~~ Mac Anu-- Upon getting online you'll receive a scene with Atoli. Invite JUST her, and use the Chaos Gate. (A) Submissive Tragedy's 1000 Oaks-- _______ ___| ___ |___ _____ _| |_Z | k k | | |_ | S -__| |------| |_ | Y M ___ M |""""""| | |___ ___| |____| __| ___ | || ______| __| @ || ___||___ ___| _____S |_G _|| _| M | | M |_ k_| -___| _| | S | | -k - ______| | Y | | """"""" _| | M _| |___ _______| |___ ___| || ______ || ___||__| ____ | ___||___ | ______| || | | | | L || | @T | | """""""""||""| | | | M____| | | |___ ____| | | || |_ _| ___||___ |____| | | | | | @ | | | |________| * Clearing this field is actually optional since you won't get a reward for this one thanks to a short event at the end. After another scene, head north to begin your search for the Symbol Fragments. You should know what to do about your Skill Triggers, Rengeki, Surprise Attacks and so on by now. Haseo being level 6 or 7, and Atoli being level 4, there should not be a problem taking down the enemies. Remember to set Atoli as Free Will on the Strategy so you can get a chance for Rengeki. The Lucky Animal on the first hill is a Sleipnir, which will assist you with your five following battles (out of the ten total) by doing decent damage to all enemy targets as soon as the fights begin. That makes these battles even more of a breeze. Don't forget the Mecha Grunty either. With this being your second encounter, the help will cost you a measly six Chim Spheres. The second scene is between the Mecha Grunty and the third bridge. When you get the the second last island, if you wish to surprise all enemies, then first lean right from the bridge to take care of the Symbol Fragment first before going counter-clockwise around the island to the group south of the Chim Chim's tree and finally to the enemy group staring at the bridge we started from. When you're done clearing the field, head south to the Beast Temple. A scene will follow you grabbing the chest inside. Head back outside, talk to Atoli again, and keep following her to the source of the sound she's hearing. A scene will launch you to another area. Deadworld of Indieglut Lugh-- Just keep watching for a scene to do with AIDA, Endrance (formerly Elk), "Mia," Kuhn (formerly Sieg), and the summoning of an avatar. You'll get Kuhn's Member Address before regaining control. * Elk was playable in the older games, and Sieg was a support character in //Quarantine and //Liminality. Walk back through the tunnel into the darkness to reach another room. In the last room, you'll find a platform for gating out. After you do get back to town, log out. E-Mail: A message from Atoli. Of the responses, choose the option, "Sound," to increase the affection level a bit. 2 messages from Silabus about Skill Trigger setting, and also about when you're surrounded by enemies or knocked down; the other message is about customization of equipment. Hokuto apologizes for the email sent by her by mistake. Lastly, Kuhn's invitation to an @HOME. Log back in when you're ready. Mac Anu-- Head to the Mercenary District, preferably by the warp point outside the Dome. Approach Kuhn for a scene and a Raven Key to get into Raven's @HOME. From here you should examine the door, and select "Raven" to enter. You'll be introduced to The Serpent of Lore and to Yata (formerly Wiseman from the older games, the character Naobi in //Roots, and also currently another character elsewhere who we'll see later... the dude's got a lot of time on his hands). You'll also be told about AIDA, "Tri-Edge," and the Avatars created by a past project. After Kuhn talks a little bit about G.U. and Avatars, you'll see a prompt about shops opening that are run by guilds. From now until the end of this game you will have access to buying a few items not found elsewhere . . . once you have the money for it. This will be important for Ryu Books very shortly. Log out. News Capture: There are a few new articles, but nothing really important. News Board: A few new topics are up, but you don't have to read them. Rumors Board: One new topic. Maybe you want to read it, or maybe you don't. It's your choice. E-Mail: With the message from Kuhn, select the first response since that will help your affection. Official Forum: "still not happening" will give you: (A) Wealthy Daybreak's Globe, (A) Fly Away Military Resort (A) Wealthy Military Malt Town, (A) Fly Away Daybreak's Bodhi Tree, 2nd keyword Medium's, and 3rd keywords Whiplash and Fortune. Mac Anu-- Finally, let's do an event. Head to the center of the root town for a scene with Gaspard. Head to the Mercenary Dstrict to buy 10 Asian Mango from the Magic Item Shop, and then go to the Dome to buy 10 Caramel Sauces from the Kiosk. Head back to Center Square to talk to Silabus, and Haseo will be put in charge of Shop Acorn. Enjoy the scene. You'll meet Bo (the male half of the character Sakubo). Log out again. E-Mail: Kuhn will say he's waiting at the Chaos Gate. The World Board: Bo will thank "the nice guy at the shop" again. Save, and log in when you're ready. Mac Anu-- Once you also have Pi's Member Address during the scene, invite her and Kuhn to your party before using the Chaos Gate. (A) Great Cursed In-Laws-- _______ _______ _______ | k| | k k k| ______ ___ | | | M | | s | | | | |______ | @ |--| k | | | | |--| @ ____ | | |""| | |__ ___| | B |""| |_ | | |_______| |k | || |______| | - M| | ___| | __||__________ | """"""_| | ___k M _| |M ____ k| | | || s-| |---| Y| M | |----| Y | ||__- |"""| |_||_| |""""| s | |_________| |_____ k M | |________| |___ ___| || ___||___ | L | | s | | G | """""""""" * Here's your first field to have a boss on it. Instead of Symbol Fragments we're seeking one target on the whole map. However, unlike most of the field bosses in these games, you can't get a surprise attack on this one. So, your best bet would be to surprise the other 10 enemy parties. This field should not be hard. Haseo should be level 7 by now or very close to it, Kuhn starts off at level 13, and Pi is level 14. You may not have a healer in this party, but you shouldn't need one. The items will be enough IF you get in any trouble. Really though, there are enough enemies here to get Haseo to level 9 without a problem . . . and that's before the boss. * Also, if you still have a Life Scroll from earlier, then use it on Haseo so he can learn Repth. This will be a help. While clearing the field, don't forget the Mecha Grunty and Lucky Animal on the southern isle. When you get to the final island, a scene will occur, followed by the boss battle. ***Crumple Tree*** HP: 459 SP: 136 Lv: 11 It's best to go in at full health and full Morale. As soon as the fighting begins, use an Awakening with the square button so you can gain a further upper hand in this fight. Once the Awakening wears out the Morale Gauge, attack and heal as needed. Rengeki if possible, but the boss will likely go down too fast to worry about that. This guy drops a Dry Robe. Also, if you're less than 500 exp away from going up from level 9 to 10, then this boss will do it for you most likely. Simple, yeah? ***End of Battle*** When the boss goes down, you'll get a scene and go back to town. I got "3rd Word: Cat's Eye" for this area. Log out after the scene that follows. E-Mail: For the e-mail from Pi, answer with the "Comatose" option. Kuhn's e-mail will take the response, "Pi." CC Corp will tell you about the change of Canard's Guild Master to Haseo. This comes with the Canard Key. Silabus and Gaspard have sent messages about you being the new Guild Master. Log in. ~~Part 2: The Guild and the Arena~~ Mac Anu-- Head to the Mercenary District, and enter the @HOME for Canard. A scene will introduce you to Death Grunty. He'll put Haseo to the test for acceptance as the new Guild Master. Back out into town, let's find the three Grunties for their items. The blue circles on the map will show where they are. Wise Grunty at the Harbor will give you the Grunty's Brush, Melo Grunty on the rail of the bridge between the Harbor and the Central Plaza will hand you the Grunty's Shoe, and the Gao Grunty at the end of the Alchemy District will give you the Grunty's Hat. When you talk to Death Grunty again, he'll give you a Weird Black Tea and your second assignment, which is to sell the item at Shop Acorn. So, talk to Death Grunty again, bring up the Store Stock, and select the Weird Black Tea. You'll be able to put 4 other different types of items in addition to said item, but store wisely what you want to sell. Talk to Gaspard at Shop Acorn, and you get another scene with Bo. He'll buy the Weird Black Tea. Upon returning to Canard's @HOME, you'll get access finally to the Ryu Books as well as to the Alchemy Shop (not to be confused with shops in the district by the same name). Oh yes, and you get the Steam Bike now. That's good for going fast in towns and fields. * Here's why I said to do work for the Ryu Books from pretty much the start. What you do turns into points for the 8 books, and enough points will level up the books as well give you new bonuses. Every time all of the books reach at least a level . . . that is, when all eight books each reach level 2 or 3 (and further in later games) you can buy new features for Canard. The biggest pain will be the item collection, because some items are only available at certain times. When you're back out into town, you learn about the neat little bike system so far. The time you spend on it and the number of times you collide with enemies with the bike will go into Ryu Book VIII. Go ahead and ride around. Enjoy the sight of people jumping out of your way. =) You can log out now. News Capture: 1 new article. The World Board: In "Got Ganked," you'll learn a bit about Chaotic PKs. Try not to worry about them until your level is 42+ In "Anyone opening chests?" respond to the topic with "Area Word." "Red Mark" isn't important. News Board: In "Fun Internet Game" respond with "Not Now." That will immediately raise your affection with Silabus. In "Wanna buy an M2D?" it's the same deal with "I'll buy! I'll buy!" same deal with the affection. Rumors Board: There's a Doppleganger topic. I'll try to touch on this later. Just know there is an enemy by this name, and it'll be up to eight levels higher than you which makes being level 42+ a must. Apkallu: Three new topics, five new wallpapers with three on "Chim Chim!" E-Mail: CC Corp will inform you that access to the Omega server has re-opened so you can go to Lumina Cloth now. Official Forum: Of the two new topics, "Ninja Chim??" will serve as a warning of Chim Assassins. They'll attack at random when you're in an area away from town, but you need only act fast and kick them before they hit you. The reason for the Official Forum being checked after the desktop? Head back to the desktop real quick, and you'll see a few new messages in the Community Forum. The World Board: Check the topic you posted in for (A) Choosing Superior Offerings. News Board: Silabus has responded. That is all. Save and log in when ready. Mac Anu-- Short visit. Use the Chaos Gate, select "To Town" and "Lumina Cloth." Lumina Cloth-- You'll learn about the three palaces. This game will cover the Demon Palace, and you will see why during a scene about Endrance and Macha. Saku makes her first appearance here as well. * I'm sure anyone who has played the previous games will recognize Macha. After the scenes are finally over, head around to behind the arena by using the stairs to the east. When you reach the blue circle in the back, a scene will follow with Ovan, and another with Saku. Endrance will appear, ignore his main fan, and be confronted by Haseo about AIDA and the avatar. Haseo will choose to fight in the arena, Silabus will agree to help, but you'll need a healer. Go back to (A), and log out. ~~Part 3: In Need of a Little Healing~~ E-Mail: Respond to Gaspard with "Endrance" Atoli invites you to (A) Blurry Obsessive Slacker. Rumors Board: In "The mystery of The World," you can respond to it by now, but I'm sure none of them really help with affection or enhancing the story at all. I for one like to respond with "TriEdge?" Apkallu: 1 new wallpaper in "Endrance!" 2 more can be found in "Totally uber!" And 1 more new one in "I love Grunty" Log in when you're all set. Mac Anu-- Atoli will be waiting for you at the Chaos Gate. Invite only her, and select the area from your Bookmarks. (A) Blurry Obsessive Slacker-- * This place shouldn't be too bad since Haseo should be level 9 or 10. But, keep up the heals as necessary. During the opening scene, you'll get 3 Smoke Screens and 2 Return Feathers. You'll be forced to go north first. Atoli thinks this is a time for sight- seeing, and you'll notice Haseo get more frustrated with every scene. For this reason alone, don't worry too much about the bike ride just yet. The second scene is on the first isle. Continue east. When you do see a Lucky Animal, this will be the only time you see it here. Don't forget the Mecha Grunty behind the Beast Temple along with keeping in mind how close two enemy parties are. After grabbing the treasure from the Beast Statue, step outside again for a scene near the platform. Leave the area when you're done here. Mac Anu-- Head to the Canard @HOME for a scene, and log out. E-Mail: Silabus made a topic seeking a healer. The World Board: "Looking for monster!" has (A) Rough Song Vane Vagabond. "Where can I get Olm Shell" has (A) Overjoyed Ruined Scud Official Forum: Silabus' topic, and words being fed into Haseo's mouth Log in. Mac Anu-- Invite Silabus and Gaspard to your party. Save your game, and get ready to clear some areas from your Bookmark list. Yes, ignore the email for now. I'll list what we're clearing in order from lowest up in level of the area: * You don't need maps drawn for these. You know how to clear fields by now. (A) Wealthy Daybreak's Globe - lv.3, Defeat boss (A) Fly Away Military Resort - lv.4, Beast Statue in a dungeon * For this one, there is a room full of traps. Avoid walking on any obvious traps, avoid the lights, and just pass by the room with lots of care. * There is also is room where you get locked in. Find a corner in that same room to feed Chim Spheres into a device to open the door. * It's also just before you move to Block 2 that you're introduced to the Chim Assassins. Like I said before, act quick with them. You can tell when they're about to appear by dark brown Chim Spheres flying out of your character. (A) Wealthy Military Malt Town - lv.5, Beast Temple in field (A) Fly Away Daybreak's Bodhi Tree - lv.6, Beast Statue in a dungeon * Same deal here with a room of traps. Don't walk on a lit tile, and avoid being lit. Ignoring the Chim Chims in these rooms is a wise thing to do. * To the west of the traps room you have a chance of encountering a battle area. Remember to always start these fights with a Skill Trigger so you can stand a chance to save the player in need of help. Upon beating the PK or enemy causing the trouble, you'll receive a Coupon. Save those up for when we go shopping through the Central district of Mac Anu. Now, whenever you see a player on a field or in a dungeon, you can acquire Coupons from them. (A) Choosing Superior Offerings-- * SAVE BEFORE THIS ONE! Yes, your levels between Haseo, Silabus and Gaspard may be 11-12 by now, but let's play this one safe. While going west, clear the dungeon like normal. However, the last room will begin an event that ends post game. After the scene will come a battle. ***Wight Ride x3*** HP: 351 ea. SP: 108 ea. Lv: 11 The enemies starting close together is your chance for an upper hand by quickly launching attacks or skills on them. As soon as these guys break up, this will feel much like a normal battle. Watch out for Spore of Sleep, though it's a poison effect. Keep an eye on your health, the ability to do a Rengeki, and the possibility to do an Awakening in this fight. Even if you were level 12, this battle can give about 200 exp. ***End of Battle*** After the short scene, leave the area. Mac Anu-- Head to the Quest Shop in the Central Plaza. There are three new quests you can do now, but we're only worrying about two for now. First, let's take care of "Bikman's Art Supplies." (A) Creeping Fortune's Paradise-- You know the drill by now. Clear the field before claiming the Snow Stone. An effort can also be placed here to use your bike to collide with as many enemies as possible. It counts as surprise encounters, but it's more manual than the press of a button. You actually have to accelerate and ram into an enemy from behind without being spotted. There were enough enemies here for me to get out 3 Beast Awakenings and get the Canard trio to level 13. I'm sure you can too. * When you get close to the small hill in the corner of the U-shaped island, either stick close to the water or going back the other way, cross the bridge, and clear your way to the hill. Once the field is clear head back to the hill to claim the item you came here for. It's the glowy thing on the hillside. Yes, you actually have to examine the item to get it. Now, you have to walk (not ride the bike) back to the platform without meeting a single enemy, or you have to go all the way back to get another Snow Stone. Good thing we cleared then! Mac Anu-- After the scene that ends the quest, you'll have access to another event. In it, you must meet all sorts of players. You'll also get a Text of Sense, which will permanently raise your magic defense by 3 points. Use it. To get the new NPC to appear, log out to check your email, and then find him sanding around the Alchemy District. This finally begins the event by handing you a bunch of flyers to hand out. Already, it will count who you've met so far. To do this event, talk to everyone in town, field, or dungeon. * Speaking of events, how's your Chim Data collection going? Go to Dr. Kubo in the Mercenary district to find out. * Also, by now you should either be on the 3rd level of Ryu Book VIII or somewhere very close. That doesn't mean to stop with the bike for more reasons than one. You'll want to move fast in fields, and you also will want to get a head start on the next two volumes of G.U. One more quest, and then we'll continue with the story. Select from the Quest Shop "Steam Scientist's Invention." (A) Essential Idling Old World-- You have to set three wave devices to get the boss to weaken. To place them, fight the enemy parties on the three hills on the map. Don't forget to clear the field as usual. The Lucky Animal and Mecha Grunty are on the middle isle on the east side of the map. Watch out, though, because it CAN be an Unlucky Animal which you have to kick twice before it curses you. Also, it may be a little tricky trying to sneak past the boss to go west to the third wave device's hill. Travel along the shore, because a Smoke Screen will not work if you need it. Save your Morale Gauge for the boss. ***Knucklemann*** HP: 749 + Armor SP: 150 Lv: 15 Sorry, no surprising this boss. Your first enemy to have a layer of armor is this boss. Pop that Awakening if you have it, or get ready for a battle made long due to you having to break the armor with your attacks. This is gauged by the red line below his health. Now, once the armor is gone, and assuming the wave devices are in place, this should be easy. Attack and heal as needed to bring this boss down. Given that you should be level 12-13 by now, this should not be too hard. If you choose to do this without Rengeki, you can get over 50 hits with a combo. This should be enough exp to get everyone to level 14 or very close. ***End of Battle*** Mac Anu-- After getting a Text of Power, use it to boost Haseo's attack by 3. Head to the Harbor District and into Dr. Kepel's house to talk to the NPC. He'll tell you more about the Mecha Grunty. This begins an event we started work on long ago already. By now, we should have rescued it 9 times out of the 50. Log out. E-Mail: Silabus tells you somebody responded to his topic. CC Corp informs you of the campaigns for the two new MPCs. Official Forum: (A) Gallant Season's Drunkard is added by Silabus' topic. You are told to come alone. I'll let you guess who "SAKURA" is. Log in, save, watch the scene, and head to . . . (A) Gallant Season's Drunkard-- You don't have to clear here. Soloing against 16 enemy parties can be a pain even if they're 8-12 levels below you. Then again, by now you should be able to kill each enemy with one hit . . .. except for those Wild Kettles. They'll take four. Once you get to the Beast Statue's room, you'll get a scene. Atoli joins the guild Canard in the end. Finally, grab the treasure, and leave. Head back to your desktop. E-Mail: CC Corp informs you about Atoli joining Canard. Mac Anu-- Head to the Canard @HOME for a scene. BACK TO THE DESKTOP. E-Mail: Gaspard sends a message inviting you to do a quest with him. Silabus responds to your email from earlier. Respond again with the option "Resident of the Forest." Silabus also sends (A) Unseeing Marble's Bum to you so that the arena party (Haseo, himself, and Atoli) can level a bit. When you log in, head to (O) server. Lumina Cloth-- Save, invite Silabus and Atoli, and head to the blue circle (the Reception) to register the three of you. After you agree to fight in the arena, a scene will follow. Once you're in the Locker Room, make sure everything is to your liking as far as equipment and strategy goes. Select to Start Battle at the Warp Point. ***Arena Fight #1*** Midnight Head - Edge Punisher, lv.10 Iga - Edge Punisher, lv.10 Rudolph - Harvest Cleric, lv.10 First thing, you're told certain rules of arena fighting. Yes, the halved heal thing bothered me at first, after all we went through to get a healer, but having Atoli is better than having no access to heals since you can't use any items. As to counter attacks, you have to act fast with your Skill Triggers or an opponent will use a skill on you. On the other hand, when an enemy flashes yellow or red, that's a cue to quickly bust out a skill against them. That's your basic counter, and those count both in the Ryu Book and also when you do some matches in a bit. A good bet is to lean on their healer and their leader. A fallen healer makes this even easier, and a fallen leader ends this fight. Enjoy the ending scene. ***End of Battle*** Typically, you earn points for your battles depending on performance. Log out. E-Mail: Gaspard tells you about a topic we're about to look at. Rumors Board: "Come-on Tri-Edge!" has (A) Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. Sadly, we cannot save this if we wanted to. Crimson VS Board: In "Ranking," respond to the last post with Let's play some time." This raises the affection level with Gaspard. Apkallu: 4 new topics, 4 new wallpapers. My favorite of the Apkallu's select for Rebirth is in "No love for me? :(" News Capture: A couple new articles. Nothing special. Official Forum: A new post and a new topic, but nothing important really. Alright, we're off to . . . Mac Anu-- Nobody's available for an invite. (A) Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground-- Step inside for a scene with Piros, and you'll unfortunately get his Member Address handed to you. Why couldn't he have stayed gone after the older games? "I feel like I just shaved ten years off my life." -- Haseo Mac Anu-- From here, there are really two things to work on: leveling up and climbing the ranks in the arena to get going on the first official match. This guide will cover the leveling first, because you'll want to knock out the arena's ranks as fast as you can. Also, we'll want to be sure to have decent equipment for when we do fight in certain matches. ~~Part 4: A Little Area Hopping~~ First, we have more bookmarked areas to go to. This time, it's the arena party you want to form. So, add Silabus and Atoli. (A) Truthful Marble's Bum - lv.10, Beast Temple in a field (A) Unseeing Marble's Bum - lv.10, Beast Statue in a dungeon * On the second level you'll start to see some tougher enemies. Be ready, or the Angelic Gores will be harder than necessary. * When you've collected enough Chim Data, you will be given a Word of Vigor by Dr. Kubo. This can permanently raise HP by 25. I suggest giving it to Atoli as a gift, and then having her use it on herself manually since these items aren't used just by you handing them over. This'll help both your affection level and in keeping Atoli alive. (A) Rough Song Vegabond-- Yes I'm actually covering this area, and for two reasons. The first is the Goblin Mages. They can be a pain since they like to spam spells against you. So, the trick is to surprise them, start with a skill trigger, and block while you wait for the perfect chance to strike again with your skill. Once just one of the Goblin Mages falls, the battle should be simple enough. As for the second reason . . . there is a boss on the southern isle. ***Trainee Owl*** HP: 552 SP: 159 Lv: 14 It's big, it's bad, and it's not as tough as it looks. If you have your Morale built up, then feel free to use it. Rengeki when possible, heal as needed, and just all-around beat this monster silly. Your party's level range should be 14-15 (or higher) by now anyways. ***End of Battle*** Mac Anu-- Two more areas, both dungeons, until we switch out Atoli for Gaspard. (A) Overjoyed Ruined Scud - lv.13, temple dungeon with beast statue (A) Upfront Blazing Camellia - lv.13, cavern dungeon with beast statue * This one's got three floors, just so you know to be ready. * In either one you can be introduced to a flying enemy called a Chickie. They have a sort of armor to break like a boss we fought earlier, and though Gaspard and Piros are better against them right now, you will want to learn how to fight these things without them. Skill Triggers and timing your attacks are key. Once the armor falls, these guys also become unable to fly. Also, be warned that they can call for help when there are less than three of them. With those done, and your money now picking up, it's time to hit up the guild shops with those coupons in hand. Don't waste your money or coupons on any of the common items. Kestrel has a Seal of Ya Wang and Empireo has a Secret News Book. At least for the Ryu Book for Item Completion, you will want to grab these before Rebirth ends. Alright, before we do the quest, let's log out. E-Mail: With Atoli's "Re: Sound" respond with "You did well" With the email from Piros, the affection healthy response, if you can ever call it healthy with this guy, is "Tri-Edge." The other email from Atoli gives (A) Halberd Black Bodhi Tree. This is an area we can get to after the quest we're about to do. Mac Anu-- After inviting Silabus and Gaspard, select "Animal Mania" from the list. (A) Screaming Returning Princess-- So, we have to beat all the enemies to make the Lucky Animal appear. The types of enemies we encounter here are Angelic Gores and Chickies. You know how to beat them, and you know how to clear fields. Once the Black Sleipnir appears on the hill to the east, you have to kick it three times. This Lucky Animal is a fast one, so you'll want to know how to cut it off whenever possible. If you think you can do this with your bike, then all the better. In addition to completing this quest, you gain 2000 GP for kicking this Lucky Animal three times. Mac Anu-- You gain a Text of Stamina and two pieces of equipment. Before you use the Text of Stamina on Haseo, I suggest giving it to someone in your party, and then using the item from their inventory with Haseo as the target. The gift will help out with your Ryu Book for party members as well as the affection for whoever you give it to. (For that reason, I'd choose Atoli, but the choice is yours for who you give it to.) Dr. Pao's house is in the Alchemy District. Talk to him to begin the campaign for finding Lucky and Unlucky Animals. By now, you should actually have about 15/50 Lucky Data collected, and Pao will give you a couple materials for your armor customization. Alright, one more area to visit before we go to the Arena. (A) Halberd Black Bodhi Tree-- The only hard part to this small field is the Buster Kettle. The previous type of enemy to look like these guys were likely bothersome when you were their level, and now your level is around 17. These new Kettle guys can be trouble only if you are unprepared. You know the drill. Surprise, skills, heal, and Rengeki when possible. As you can see, this is also a field with a Beast Temple, and there are only three chests. Finding the Symbol Fragments should not be hard. By the end of the area, the Arena Party should be level 19-ish. If not, then you need to hit up the Chaos Gate for a random area around level 15 to get there. So, back to town. ~~Part 5: Climbing Ranks~~ Mac Anu-- As one last bit of preparation, let's go over a couple things. Canard's @HOME has a shop for making weapons stronger. The way this works is by having more than one of the same type of item plus 100 GP per increase. For example, give Silabus a Blade Thorns, and have 4 or 5 more Blade Thorns plus at least 400 or 500 GP you are willing to spend. Head into the back of the @HOME, select the option "Alchemize," and pay 100 GP to have one of your Blade Thorns added onto what Silabus has equipped. Do that three or four more times, and Silabus' weapon will have a damage rate of either 1.2 or 1.25. This may not seem like a whole lot, but it does add up when you're dealing more than 10 damage per hit for however many hits. Try doing this for the weapons you have equipped to Silabus and Haseo, but please be sure their weapons are as up to date with their levels as possible. Secondly, there is the customization. You can equip and unequip effects to any piece of equipment as long its rarity isn't ranked at 5 stars. For all three members of your Arena Party, I suggest putting Poison (Scorprion Tail) on the weapons, and then Counter Curse (Curse Plant) on their armor. As to the accessories, I put a Brave Bracelet on Haseo, Silabus was given a Seal of Ya Wang, and I gave Atoli a Medic Necklace. These will lower their SP costs when it comes time to use skills. Save, and head to the Omega server. Lumina Cloth-- Here's where things get really fun. You have to fight numerous times in the arena to build up WP so you can climb the ranks of the arena. You can either do one fight at a time, which has much more control over who you fight and how ready you are for it, or you can do the fights in a Survival Battle where your WP comes in faster, but you have no control over your opponent. Some opponents' levels will be set in stone with their levels, and some adjust to your own level. I suggested being level 19 thus far so you can sweep the ones set in stone during a Survival or Limit Battle, and also so you don't have as much to level by when it's time for the tournament (which is when you get to the top 16 ranks in WP). On top of the WP earned per fight, you are graded much like in an area, which is what'll net you your WP. Survival Battles are better for this because of increased opportunity to get things done. You're graded on Clear Time, your biggest combo of hits, Counterattacks, and how many opponents you defeat (like taking out full parties besides just the leaders). Also, between Battles, be sure to talk to people outside. This is a quick way to knock out Bikman's campaign. Saving's a good idea, too. Shortly after getting into the Silver Rank, you will meet Antares, who will say you have potential. The result is some new keywords, which we should take him up on. Please be sure to have some Smoke Screens. 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Now, this dungeon comes with a quick route and a long one. Another area we'll have to visit later has the same map, but I'll cover the longer route here. Also, you'll periodically receive short mail messages from Antares about this dungeon. Don't worry about them. After taking out the first enemy group, go south along the connecting path. Clear out the enemies, chest, and small mushrooms before heading back to where we fought the first group. From there, go west. Continue west a couple times while taking out the monsters, and ignore the warp point in the middle of one room since it would take you back to the start. At the farside room, grab the chests and kick the mushrooms before heading south for four more mushrooms. Stock up on Chim Chims if you need to (like for the area ranking) before heading east. I'm aware Antares' short mails may get a little annoying from room to room, but ignore them as you endure onward. Head north a couple times, beat up the enemies, and go north again. After you take out the enemy group, go east, clear the room, and go east again. There is another connecting path to the east; take it to claim more rewards and another enemy party by surprise before using the warp point to the south. We're in the final stretch. Defeat the enemies before heading west. Beat the last group before taking the warp point in the center. Follow the singular path for a scene. Grab the treasure, and leave. Mac Anu-- Chances are that your party is level 22 by now. Feel free to update any of the equipment you have on you, but don't worry too much about it just yet. Actually, now would be the time to hit up a couple random areas around level 23 so that you can get your Arena party to 25-26. THEN you can update as much of your equipment as you like. Also, check Moon Tree's guild shop for a Crown of Lu Ming. Buy it if they have it, and then store it. By now you should be able to find an Amber Dragon Eye in Empireo's shop, too. Lumina Cloth-- Save your game, and go back to building up WP as well as talking to any and all new people between Battles. For the purpose of progressing through the story, you'll want to get over 736 WP. However, you'll want much more for your Book of 1000 to get to level 3. If your party is at level 25, then all the opposing teams with set levels will be easy for you, and the others will only be as high as level 27. As long as your equipment is up to date enough, and you have the abilities customized onto your equipment, then you should have no problem while plow through the Platinum ranked teams. * TIP: If you want to go as much over 736 as possible, do Limit Battles from about 550-600 to 700-ish without hitting the mark. Save frequently. Finally, do a Survival Battle, and hope for the best. You can come back to this later, sure, but it's your choice here. As usual, Be on the lookout for Counterattacks and Rengeki. Use your Beast Awakening if you need the extra help. Once you get over 736 WP you won't be able to do more Arena Battles for WP until the tournament is over. So, log out. E-Mail: CC Corp will inform you of your ability to register at the arena for the tournamant. So, it's time to head over there to put your team up for the fight. -------------Deadly Terror's Shadow------------- ~~Part 1: To Awaken in Rage~~ Lumina Cloth-- Talk to the Reception, and select "Register" to get a scene. Log out. E-Mail: Silabus needs you to come to Shop Acorn. Mac Anu-- You'll be greeted by Kuhn as you log in. The scene continues at Shop Acorn as Gaspard tells about the attacks he and his customers have fallen under since Haseo joined in the Arena. Kuhn gives Haseo a Kestrel Key and the keywords to the next area. Invite Kuhn, and go to . . . (A) Sneering Failing Empire-- Climb up the stairs and toward the building at the top to get a scene. Gabi will show himself, and Bordeaux will make a deal with Kuhn and Haseo. Mac Anu-- Head to Canard's @HOME. Damn, Gaspard can be annoying.... So, Silabus won't be fighting for the first round, which will be a pain. The opponents in Bordeaux's team ranges from 25-27, and it'll be you and Atoli to take them on. We're going to level up a little bit before this fight. Log out. E-Mail: Messages from Silabus and Atoli about Gaspard's situation. Atoli says she'll stick by your side. Antares says he'll be waiting by Mac Anu's gate. With Kuhn's message, respond with "Gabi" The World Board: "Confusing Event" requires "more detail" as the response. Apkallu: 4 new wallpapers over 3 new topics. 2 are in "I got ganked." Boot up The World without logging in. Feel free to read the Q&A with Gabi, but go back to the desktop to pick up (A) Heartless Starting Pilgrim from the board named The World (where you had responded to the topic a moment ago). Log in. Mac Anu-- Antares, on the other hand, is an awesome old man. He'll tell you about the Job Extension quest and that he knows about Haseo's past a bit. You do not need to check your email since it only talks about what we're going to do in a bit. First, invite Atoli and Piros to your team. If poison gives you more trouble than you can handle, then grab some Antidote Sodas. (A) Heartless Starting Pilgrim-- Whether or not you kick open the mushrooms and gather Chim Spheres is up to you for this short dungeon, but the reason we're here is at the last room. ***Poisoned Dead x3*** HP: 561 ea. SP: 143 ea. Lv: 21 No surprise here, either. Start off with a Skill Trigger like you did before with a similar boss battle, and then fight like normal. These guys should not be hard for you. At level 25 you won't get much for this battle, but it is needed for the other two parts to this event. ***End of Battle*** Leave after the scene. Mac Anu-- Go to the Quest Shop once you've dropped your team, and pick up the quest "Pursuer of the Twilight." Once you've saved, it's time to go to the new area. (A) Pulsating Unlimited Metal Doll-- The map, enemies, and hints will be much the same as the place Antares sent us to not too long ago. However, Haseo is now alone and five levels higher. So, while you can take the long route if you wish, the short route will be covered here. From the first room with warp points, and beating down enemies if you are able and willing, go . . . West twice, north twice, east twice, south once, and west again. Hit up the warp point in the middle to find the path to the Beast Statue. All done. Mac Anu-- You will receive your first transformation, which looks different and gives you the ability to wield some heavy swords like an Edge Punisher does. Oh yes, and you are given a load of exp for doing this quest. * Don't sell your dual blades! While it won't happen just yet, we'll be able to switch weapons in the middle of battle, and also some battles can be prepared for by deciding which weapon is best for the occasion before jumping in. Or, just use what you are comfortable with. * Don't forget to put a Scorpion Tail on your Broadsword, too. Log out. E-Mail: CC Corp tells you the first match is about to begin. Lumina Cloth-- PLEASE be sure you're saved. Pick "Tournament" at the Reception to start this event. After one scene, select from the Warp Point to continue, and a scene will launch you into battle. ***Tournament Round #1*** Bordeaux - Blade Brandier, lv.27 Negimaru - Twin Blade, lv.26 Grein - Edge Punisher, lv.25 For the most part, these guys will target Haseo. Run around taking potshots whenever you can, and wait for openings to counter them (especially Bordeaux). Also, don't forget to block with the Circle button. Don't forget to use Beast Awakening when you are able. Really, you want to get Bordeaux down to half-health to end the battle with a few scenes. Skeith awakens! "Perfect weather for a picnic." --Gabi ***End of Battle*** After the couple of scenes, log out. ~~Part 2: The Avenger's Descent~~ E-Mail: Silabus asks you to swing by the @HOME News Capture: New Online Jack, if you want to watch it. Also, a video accompanies an article about a middle school student who fell unconscious while playing a game, but woke up a few hours after arriving to the hospital. (Yes, that's Bordeaux) Mac Anu-- Head to Canard's @HOME for a scene. Also, check with the Book of 1000 to see how things are going. By now, the only Book that should still be at level 1 is the one for monsters. But, that will change soon enough. Log out again. E-Mail: Yata - You're summoned to Raven's @HOME Piros - You and Gaspard are invited to do a quest with Piros Gaspard - "Good Luck" Silabus - "You don't need to know" Mac Anu-- First, go to Raven's @HOME and to the Serpent of Lore for a scene. Yata will explain about the Lost Ones, and send you to collect AIDA data from an area, which will be emailed to you. Invite Gaspard and Piros. Accept the "Defeat Gurugon" quest to receive some keywords, and then use the Chaos Gate. (A) Rising Love's Gate-- Piros plus Gaspard? I would not blame you to skip the scenes. ANYHOW, you are supposed to find the Fortress Stone to bring down a barrier so you can fight the boss. I say clear the field. A little exp won't hurt. Here, you'll meet Lizard Assassins and monsters called Goblin Abyss if you have not already met either. Treat the latter like you would a Goblin Mage at this level plus some knockback resistance. Use those Rengeki attacks, and save the Awakening for the boss. On the third island, the scene you see shows a player enjoying the graphics of the game. That, unfortunately, is all there is on that island. The Fortress Stone is on the last isle. Backtrack to the isle with that scene to cross the bridge to the force field. Thanks to Piros' idiocy, the battle starts without us getting to surprise the boss. ***Gurugon*** HP: 1357 SP: 106 Lv: 25 Beast Awakening. First thing. Then use attacks and Skill Trigger during that Awakening to give your party a nice edge over the boss. Then, keep laying the hits on this boss. Don't worry about Rengeki until either near the end or IF you need the help for whatever reason. With your party ranging from 24-27, the battle here will most likely raise your combo max. OR, you can go all out with your attacks to end this as fast as you can. Your call. Now, I doubt there will be a need to heal, but do keep an eye out for health. ***End of Battle*** With the Field Note won, you're done. Mac Anu-- You'll get another Text of Power. Give it to Piros as a gift, and have Piros use it on Haseo. With that done, log out. E-Mail: Antares summons you to Lumina Cloth. Lumina Cloth-- Head south to the large building. It's Icolo's @HOME. Enter after Antares gives you a key. During a scene you meet Sirius, Taihaku, and Alkaid. After this little trip, head back to your desktop. E-Mail: Yata says Pi will wait by the Chaos Gate in Mac Anu. Apkallu: Two new wallpapers in "Terror of Death" Mac Anu-- Once you've saved your game and invited Pi, head to . . . (A) Delicious Past's Weed Eater-- Head west until you reach the first AIDA signal. Here's your first avatar battle. ***AIDA (Anna)*** Alright, this is your basic, easy-enough avatar battle. Your smaller shots are fired with Square, they do a little damage, and have a chance to stun the enemy. Your stronger attacks are with X, but they work against the enemy when it is stunned and in close range, or against small targets/attacks sent out by most enemies. With Circle, you can dash either left, right, forward, or back depending on how you're tilting your analog stick; the dash is how you get near your enemy to attack it. Now, let's look at Annas' attacks. * Argol Laser needs to be dodged by dashing to the side. * Kobold Bullet is up to 3 shots you have to knock away with your scythe. * Normal Shot is a bunch of little, light orbs coming at you. Dodge again. Keep up your normal shots to stun, dash inward, and attack with the scythe. Once this enemy's health is down to nothing, you have 1 minute to data drain your enemy. You do this by having a Protect Break, holding down X, and only moving with the analog stick to let the gauge fill. If you are hit with an attack, the gauge loses some charge. If you Dash around, the gauge will not charge. It may seem a little tricky at first, but move or stay still as you need to until the gauge fills. Let go of X ONLY when the enemy stops moving. It helps to be kinda close but not too close. If you do it right, then the charge will turn into a sphere that hits the target, and the data drain is finally performed. ***End of Battle*** AIDA-011 is your prize for this, but we'll get to what that's for in a while. Instead, continue doing this dungeon like pretty much normal. The fourth room in, you get in another Avatar battle. ***AIDA (Anna)*** Same battle without the tutorial. Call it practice. Sorry, no Data earned by this battle, but it's needed to move on. ***End of Battle*** Keep on going like before. There's nothing in the southeast corner room, so go west when the path splits. Eventually,you see the third AIDA signal. ***AIDA (Anna)*** More practice for you. Enjoy. ***End of Battle*** When that's done, continue to the second floor/block. Here, you'll meet some Carries, who run around with their shells. Your broadsword can make dust of those shells. There's nothing to the north when the path splits, so follow the other path to the Beast Statue. You'll meet Zelkova and Kaede . . . sorta. Pi saves Zelkova, but becomes a host for AIDA herself. This causes her avatar to go berserk. ***Tarvos*** Her normal attack shoots out a bunch of bullets from her wings. Dash to the side to get away. Orb of Revenge is a Kobold Bullet on crack. One orb comes out, and you HAVE to hit it 2-3 times with your scythe to not take damage. Data Drain is something she may use against you. It will hit no matter what you do, but you can lessen its damage by pressing all your buttons rapidly, supposedly. I never really figured that part out right. Stake of Death will also hit you. She'll send out smaller shots at first which you can hit away with your scythe, but the main attack will strike. Luckily, that last hit which you can't evade or hit doesn't do a whole lot of damage. However many you do knock down with your scythe, though, will reduce how many stakes she hits you with. When it's time to data drain, she will likely close her wings as a shield. Hold your charge, and get close enough to where you can hit her when the wings open. Just hope the minute doesn't expire, or you'll have to redo half her health again. ***End of Battle*** You'll get the genome data Phase 7 Epitaph. Grab that treasure, and gate out. ~~Part 3: Seventh Branch's Freedom~~ Mac Anu-- You're told by the game about the Avatar VR system. Save your game, and head to Raven's @HOME to refight Anna and Tarvos. Doing so any time between now and the end of Rebirth will net you wallpapers. Waiting to Reminisce will only be worth some money. * If/when you decide to do the rematches, head to the Serpent of Lore, and use the device where Yata usually is to access the genome data as you collect it during your various avatar battles. Log out. E-Mail: Piros - "Rumors?" Pi - "Debt" Atoli - She needs to see you at Mac Anu's Chaos Gate. Mac Anu-- After Atoli's episode of being silly, invite her and Pi. (A) Setting Eternity's Night Moon-- Head through the doors. Once you use the warp point, you'll get a scene. You will receive a Text of Power. Back to the desktop. E-Mail: Gaspard sends you (A) Piling Red Plum's Twin Rocks to level up in before the arena match. CC Corp informs you that the 2nd Round is about to begin. Atoli - "Matsu" The World Board: "Where can I get Olm Shell?" has three new areas for you. (A) Rough Song Dusk's Hand Song (A) Graceful Humbling Holy Relic (A) Agonizing Friend's Nemesis Apkallu: 4 new wallpapers in three new topics. Official Forum: In "Moon Tree Contact Only" respond with "About Moon Tree" to bring up your affection with Atoli. Mac Anu-- We have some leveling to do. Invite Atoli and Silabus. * If/when you see the Medic Clerk by the guild shops, pick up a Medic Badge. It will go into storage, of course, but this should make one less item to worry about for Ryu Book IV. (A) Rough Song Dusk's Hand Song-- Clear as usual. I won't bother posting boss info about the Steam Shell, who's the REAL reason we are here, but I will say everything here is easy since your party should be more than 10 levels over the area level. Mac Anu-- Before the next two fields, you may want to customize everyone's armor so they won't get hit with Curse. Next stop . . . (A) Graceful Humbling Holy Relic-- This area has Carries and Fever Horses in addition to the boss. Build up your Morale for the boss, and use your broadsword to help remove the shells these little guys are carrying. Before you fight the boss, be sure you've equipped powerful dual blades to Haseo, because you will want your damage in the battle to come at a flow. Also, if you see a trio from the Medic Union by a platform, then hit them up for a heal and buffs before the boss fight. ***Baz Giant*** HP: 1492 SP: 219 Lv: 29 This guy is about the same level as your party right now. Use the Awakening to start off with an edge other than what little you gain from a surprise attack. After that, keep up your attacks, blocks, and heals. Look for a Rengeki and use it, as usual. If you do all that right, then his Shockwave attack will just be annoying if/when it knocks your party to the sides. ***End of Battle*** When you're done here, leave. For ranking high, you can get "3rd Word: Gold Bird." Mac Anu-- Check with Dr. Kepel if you've been keeping up with the Mecha Grunty until now, and check your Books of 1000. You SHOULD have everything at level 2 or 3 by now. If so, then you will receive an email from CC Corp that your guild has reached Rank 2. * At Rank 2, you can purchase more storage for your items, and also Shop Acorn will be able to hold/sell 7 different types of items instead of the default 5. That will make selling things easier for you. The Bronze Extension for storage costs 10k GP. I wouldn't worry about it too much just yet. (A) Agonizing Friend's Nemesis-- You know the deal. This is a field with three Symbol Fragments to find. Beat up all the enemies for some exp, and you should be very close to having Silabus and Atoli over level 30. Mac Anu-- Save your game, because the next area MIGHT be a little tough for you. Also, be sure to grab some Healing Rain for the boss. (A) Piling Red Plum's Twin Rocks-- I lied. These enemies are, for the most part, way easier than the Carries and Fever Horses. Fight these new enemies like normal, killing the armor on Ruby Cutters, and save your Morale for the boss. Again, if the Medic Union trio is here, then utilize their help just before the boss battle. * You should be level 32-33 by now. ***Elder Growth*** HP: 1881 SP: 210 Lv: 35 Surprise, Awakening, Rengeki, attacks, blocks, and heals like normal. This one may require you to help heal on occasion since Elder Growth likes to jump in the air and come crashing down. It hurts. Once you beat this guy, he should be worth 400 or more exp plus bonuses from the uses of Rengeki. ***End of Battle*** When you're done, go to town. Mac Anu-- Alright, if your characters are not yet level 33, or if you aren't confident enough in your level just yet, then do one or two random areas around level 31 to get there. Otherwise, upgrade your equipment if needed, save, and switch servers. Lumina Cloth-- You know how to start the match by now, right? Talk to the Reception, and then select "Tournament" to appear in the Waiting Room. Use the Warp Point. ***Tournament Round #2*** Matsu - Adept Rogue, lv.33 Bekunai - Tribal Grappler, lv.32 Yosuke - Tribal Grappler, lv.32 This one should not be SO hard for a handful of reasons. You have all three members, they're 33+ in level, and the opponents don't concentrate so heavily on Haseo. Also, it should be easier to knock out the Tribal Grapplers than Bordeaux's team, so knock them out to maximize your ease. Once you've knocked Matsu down halfway he'll interrupt the match to switch out his gun for his broadsword. As usual, watch for chances to counter, and act fast. ***End of Battle*** You'll receive the Flame Sword in a scene. ~~Part 4: Higher Levels~~ Desktop time. E-Mail: End of Gaspard Chain for Rebirth. Piros sends (A) Hidden Forbidden Bulwark Apkallu: 7 new wallpapers. 3 are among new posts in an old topic. Mac Anu-- Check Shop Acorn, and use it to sell your crap. (A) Hidden Forbidden Bulwark-- You'll first see Yata and Ovan talking a bit. After the scenes, leave, and log back out. E-Mail: You're summoned by Antares to Lumina Cloth. Lumina Cloth-- After the short scene you have to follow Alkaid down the stairs and to the back of the arena. You'll get another scene. Back to the desktop. E-Mail: Silabus invites you to go with him and Gaspard to a quest. Gaspard sends you (A) Counting Wrath's Generation CC Corp says the third match is about to begin. Mac Anu-- We will want to get the Arena Party to level 36 or higher. But, let's do the quest first. Save, though. Invite Silabus and Gaspard. This will be your party from now until it's time to do the match, as you'll see when you try to invite Atoli. Go to the Quest Shop to pick up "Underground Exploration." (A) Coiling Destiny;s Whicker-- If you want to clear, then go south when the path splits. There are few enemy parties here, so no worries. Consider them a way to get Gaspard up in level a little bit. Just be careful with the Fat Lancers. Save you Awakening for the second boss battle, though. As for the first boss . . . ***Skukumu and NeroNero*** I won't bother with the stats because this is so easy. Start with either of your Skill Triggers, and attack like mad with each one like a normal battle. ***End of Battle*** They'll run off to their "boss." Follow after them to a familiar character. ***Negimaru, Skukumu, and NeroNero*** Start off as before, and concentrate on Negimaru until he's down. Then, take out the other two PKs. A Beast Awakening will make this ridiculously fast. ***End of Battle*** Grab the Decaying Stone, and you're done here. Mac Anu-- Use the Text of Sense you receive. Check Canard's guild shop, too. (A) Counting Wrath's Generation-- Don't forget the Mecha Grunty on the first island, or the Lucky Animal behind the Beast Temple. As a fair warning, the Chickie Dadas are harder than the normal Chickie not just for the level difference. They have more health than they know what to do with. That is, they seem that way when you're only level 33-34. They're great for your exp, too. As a tip, knock out their flying/armor before you go to finish either one of them off, or you'll have them summon more and more. You also will encounter Goblin Abyss(es?) here. Enjoy. Clear the field to acquire loads of exp. There's no reason to not level up a fair amount by the end of this area alone unless you're already over-leveled. Once you cleared the enemies, Mecha Grunty, Lucky Animal, and Beast Statue, you are done here. Mac Anu-- Silabus and Haseo should be 35-36 by now. With that in mind, I hope you have the money because you will want for Haseo to have a Spin Axe (alchemized to +5) with Poison Attack on it and a Jiongjia armor with Counter Curse and a Turtle Shell on it. As for Silabus, you will want to give him a Blade Sun+5 to put his Scorpion Tail on, and also a Loose Plate (which you transfer the Counter Curse over to, and give him a Turtle Shell so you can customize Physical -10% into the second slot of his new armor) Whew, that was more trouble to write than it was to do. So, if you'd like, you can level further. Atoli will be with you for the fight, but you'd best be ready for one heck of a fight . . . well, with how it ends I mean. * If you decide to go with another area for more leveling, I highly suggest (A) Saddened Daybreak's Fortune if you have all the keywords for it. You should if you've been ranking a B or higher in every zone and reading all messages until now. There's a boss in this area. You should be able to handle it like always. Lumina Cloth-- Save your game, and go to the Reception. Atoli will show right before the match starts. Use the Warp Point to begin. ***Tournament Round #3*** Alkaid - Twin Blade, lv.36 Mika - - Twin Blade, lv.35 Luca - Twin Blade, lv.35 They're fast, and they like to pin you to a wall or break you for a Rengeki. Take some precaution by blocking and waiting to counter. Defeating Mika or Luca is useless during this battle, so concentrate on getting Alkaid halfway down in health. Once Alkaid is half-beaten, her team will use an Awakening, thus being why you defeating the other Twin Blades is useless, and hit your party very hard. The battle ends with a couple scenes. ***End of Battle*** ~~Part 5: Versus the Propagation~~ With Round 3 done, log out. E-Mail: Gaspard refers to a message on the Rumors Board. Mac Anu-- No need to invite anyone. Go to . . . (A) Hidden Forbidden Bulwark-- You'll see a couple scenes. Piros is asleep, and Sakaki is seeking the main body of something. Leave and log out again. E-Mail: Silabus sends (A) Fattening Military Pure Bread CC Corp informs you that your next match is about to start. The World Board: Two more areas in "Where can I get Olm Shell?" (A) Beloved Swift Alga Grass (A) Counting Heretic's Frog Lake Mac Anu-- With the new areas provided, we will need to level the Arena Party to 42 and up. The first stop should be sorta easy, but customize some Curse protection. (A) Counting Heretic's Frog Lake-- This is only a level 28 area, but do be careful with the Carries' skill which does Curse to you. Build up your Morale, and surprise the boss. ***Don Elephant*** HP: 1537 SP: 239 Lv: 32 You know the drill. The Spin Axe is better than your broadsword for this one. He shouldn't be trouble. ***End of Battle*** When you leave, a high rank can give you "1st Word: Playing." Mac Anu-- Use the Shop Acorn to sell stuff. (A) Beloved Swift Alga Grass-- Clear it like normal, beware of the trap room, and there is a chance to receive an Ill Axe from the Beast Statue. No worries if you don't get it. The Goblin Abyss is really more annoying than it's worth at this point, I know. I like to waste them with Awakenings whenever I fight two at once, but that'll only reduce your headache so much I'm sure. Mac Anu-- Sell, stock up, save . . . it's time to start leveling up. (A) Fattening Military Pure Bred-- Besides the Chickie Dadas you're used to by now, we have Holy Eaters and Zan Jugglers added to the mix. Beat all enemies, grab the treasure from the Beast Statue, and try to get a B Rank or higher. You can get "3rd Word: Phoenix." Mac Anu-- After doing what should be routine by now, hit up a couple more areas to get your party to 42 or higher. These areas should be level 39-40. * If Haseo is at least level 40 already equip him with a Simple Watch, which will boost his elemental attributes quite a bit, give it the Red Sun Stone and also an Amber Dragon Eye (buyable from Empireo's shop). With this, you exp will increase by a tenth. * (A) Counting Cursed Holy Relic is a level 40 area with two new enemies and barrels containing Amber Dragon Eyes and Gold Snake Skins. Oh, and it also has a boss in addition to all this, so you should save Morale for it. "1st Word: Closed" can be gained from the area. When you're finally ready, go to the Omega server. Lumina Cloth-- Head to the Reception to begin the tournament's next round. ***Tournament Round #4*** Kuhn - Steam Gunner, lv.41 Pi - Tribal Grappler, lv.41 Antares - Blade Brandier, lv.41 Run, block, wait to counter, and concentrate on Kuhn. There's really no use to bringing down his allies. A scene will interupt the fight when Kuhn is halfway down, and then another when he has about 90 HP left. ***Magus*** The battle turns into an avatar one. Kuhn's avatar has five attacks: * Normal Shot - evade like normal. * Leaf Guard - a shield that does damage if you get too close. Stay away until it goes down. (You should stay away until he's stunned anyway) Keep shooting at the shield with Square to bring it down. * Unforgiving Bud - Deflect the thorns to reduce the damage. * Flash of Green - Use your eye to judge where to dash to in order to not be hit by this. I notice that starting and never ceasing to dash to one side during this attack is a good way about such an evasion. Once you get Magus down far enough, the battle will end without you needing to do a Data Drain of your own. ***End of Battle*** Watch the scenes. Let's just say Haseo learns his lesson, and wins the match. ~~Part 6: War Against the Roses~~ Before logging out, you can grab the wallpaper from beating Magus in a rematch. E-Mail: Yata summons you to Raven's @HOME Piros - "Napping" End of Silabus Chain for Rebirth End of Kuhn Chain for Rebirth End of Atoli Chain for Rebirth Mac Anu-- Head to Raven's @HOME for a couple scenes. Pi and Kuhn will be available more often. Also, Yata pushes Kuhn's assignment onto Haseo. So, really very little has changed since we have to investigate Endrance and defeat him. Back to the Desktop. E-Mail: End of Pi Chain for Rebirth. Pi invites you and Kuhn to one quest. Kuhn invites you and Pi to another quest. Atoli sends (A) Dawning Kourin's Scud. CC Corp informs you that the Title Match is about to begin. Thw World Board: In "Found an irritating mob" respond ANY of the three ways possible. Boot up The World without logging in, and head back to the board to get (A) Entwined Joyous Venom Fang. Mac Anu-- We've got quite a bit of stuff to do. First, let's invite Pi and Kuhn. (A) Entwined Joyous Venom Fang-- As you've likely guess from the two previous parts of this event, this is short and straight-forward. Kick all the mushrooms, gather some Chim Spheres, and be ready to fight the boss at the end. ***Living Corpse x3*** HP: 1058 ea. SP: 191 ea. Lv: 40 Start off with a Skill Trigger. You won't have a healer for this, but you'll pack quite a punch. These guys can summon more to the field, but can also self-destruct. So, wear all three down enough at first to make the kills fast enough. If you see one enemy hunch over, move away! ***End of Battle*** Leave when you're done. Mac Anu-- Head to the Quest Shop. You can do the two new quests in any order. I choose Crab Monster Party first for this guide. (A) Disputing Gray Tiny Beast-- For this quest, equip the broadsword. Hopefully, you have its weapon level up high enough to do Armor Pierce. Set it to X for your Skill Triggers. * Yes, the reason I chose this was first was to see . . . nevermind. Let's move on. Alright, we're here to wipe out the enemies in this one-floor dungeon. First, when the path splits, be sure to go south and then east first or east and then south. Once both directions are done, go west for the third enemy group. After the second scene with Alkaid, continue west for the last enemy group before taking on the boss (south of the second scene). ***Great Jaws*** HP: 1522 SP: 265 Lv: 40 Use the Awakening as soon as you can. Alkaid will help deliver a few hits, and the shell will break in no time. Do a Rengeki about as soon as the Morale runs out. Keep on with the attacks until the battle is won. ***End of Battle*** When the scene is over, you'll go back to town automatically. Mac Anu-- Give the Text of Stamina to Pi to use on Haseo. Now for the second quest. (A) Crying Gambler's Footsteps-- Occasionally through this dungeon, there will be a scene involving Kuhn and you having to save a girl from some enemies. You can't smoke screen them, so clear the dungeon like normal besides. At the end is a boss. ***Scalvenger*** HP: 792 SP: 148 Lv: 37 Knock out it's flight armor, use an Awakening if your Morale is ready to go, and just kick this thing's ass. ***End of Battle*** Poor Kuhn . . . . Mac Anu-- Between Kuhn and Pi, whoever has the lowest affection should be given the Text of Wisdom, and have that person use it on Haseo. Finally switch your party's members around to Silabus and Atoli. At this point it may be wise to have a Simple Watch with EXP +10% and Poison Attack on it equipped to each of these 3 characters. Stock up and heal. Also, put on some Curse protection. (A) Dawning Kourin's Scud-- The first floor will have Holy Eaters and Gan Jugglers. The first floor also isn't too long. Starting on the second floor you will see Carriannes and the Lucky Animal. The Mecha Grunty and Goblin Knights can be found on the third floor. Clear this dungeon, and the 110% exp plus Rengeki bonuses should shoot your party to level 45 and then some. * Careful, Carriannes sometimes explode. Grab the treasure from the Beast Statue at the end, and leave when you're done. Mac Anu-- Finally, let's do the quest we've been leaving out all this time. Yes, "Bounty Hunter Test" is what I mean. (A) Dancing Mourning Masquerade-- You're supposed to take down the enemies at three altars. They should be easy. You also might as well clear the field. Leave when you're done. Mac Anu-- You receive a Text of Power. Bring in whoever has low affection at this point for the gift, and have that person use it on Haseo. Log out to get an email from CC Corp about the new campaign, and then head to the back alley of the Mercenary District of Mac Anu (which is reached by stairs next to the weapons and armor shop). The same email also gives you "3rd Word: Berserker" to use on this campaign. Talk to Dingo to get started, and you'll be rewarded based on how many PKs you've taken out. He'll also provide a list of Chaotic PKs that you have to find and defeat. You're certainly at the right level now. * For defeating all the Chaotic PKs you get the dual blades Ripper's Blade. For the normal PKs you beat, you earn money up until the 50th one. * For Haseo's weapon, the best broadsword is the Broad Wings. Get enough of them for a +4 or +5 bonus, and put on the Poison Attack and Critical +10% to make this a great weapon for raw power. So, you have a choice to level up some more or not, and also whether or not to work on the Lucky Data, Mecha Grunty, and Chase the Bounty campaigns. If not, then head to . . . Lumina Cloth-- Save your game. After the scene, head to the Reception. More scenes . . . ***Endrance*** He's a level 45 Blade Brandier who likes to move fast. The trick here is to guard and wait to counter his arts with your own. The other trick is Endrance's Charm. It'll cause someone in your party to deal damage to someone else in your party. That is maybe his worst ability. Once you knock Endrance down halfway, the battle changes over. ***Macha*** This is one of the two hardest fights in Rebirth. * Normal Shot - move to the side to dodge like normal. * Bewitching Wind - Summons a wind of rose petals to form a shield. He then dashes at you for an atack. When you see this, dash to the side to the end of this attack. You do not want to get hit by it. During this attack, he'll throw in Normal Shot and end with what looks at first like a Scratch Attack works differently. * Bolt of Love - Beams come out to hit you. Slash away the satellites that cause this. * Seductive Voice - Slows Haseo down by half. Start dashing about! You MUST avoid getting hit by this. * Scratch Attack - A 2-hit attack. Dash to the side to avoid it. * Data Drain - Smash all buttons rapidly to reduce damage. This may take one or three tries. Once you have the timing down for this guy, you should be able to take him now and with the rematch system back at Raven's @HOME. Good luck to you. Also, periodically through the fight, Endrance will lament about the real Mia from the past games, who isn't here in R:2 of The World. He will then reveal his confusion of AIDA as being the real life cat named after Mia returned to him. As a trick, charge the Data Drain by increments as much as you can before you have to dodge an attack. As soon as you evade a Scratch Attack, lay the Data Drain on him. ***End of Battle*** Watch the scenes. -------------Azure Flame Colliding Onward------------- ~~Part 1: A Kite Needing no Wind~~ Before logging out, grab the wallpaper from the Serpent of Lore by redoing that fight . . . minus all the scenes. E-Mail: CC Corp tells you about the crowning ceremony. Saku demands vengeance for you beating Endrance. You are congratulated by lots of people. Kuhn sends (A) Freezing Aster's Crawl Tree Atoli sounds a LITTLE weird in her email. Apkallu: 6 new Wallpapers. Mac Anu-- Head to the Harbor District. Head onto the ship where the blue circle is on the map, and talk to the NPC there. Select to set sail. Hy Brasail-- This place is like an extension of Mac Anu. Anywho, you'll receive the Spin Needle during the scene. Talk to everyone at the tables when the scene's over. Piros, Pi, Antares, and Alkaid can be found at the docks. Matsu is also down there sitting by the stairs; you MIGHT have to look for him a bit. * When you talk to each person, be sure to do so twice each before moving on to the next person. Upon talking to the last person for the second time, Haseo will wonder where Atoli is. Head to the balcony with the large gazebo on it for a scene. Talk to the Captain NPC to head back to town. Mac Anu-- Between now and when you log off you can invite anyone from your address list except for Atoli. There's no need. So, log out. E-Mail: Silabus writes about Atoli a bit. Yata summons you to Raven's @HOME. The World Board: "Where can I get Olm Shell?" has (A) Protected Cupola's Cathedral "Looking for monster!" has (A) Roaring Doomed Snow Caps Mac Anu-- Head to Raven's @HOME for a scene. Now, you can only invite Pi and Kuhn from now until after the credits roll. Yes, there's some post-game content to take care of. Now, let's invite them, and make sure both have Watches with the Exp bonus on them. We're going to visit some areas to get this party to 48-50. * You also can now do more battles at the Arena. Time to finish the Book of 1000 then. * Also, if you have LOTS of GP to spare, then head down the stairs next to the arena, and go all the way around the path instead of just to the back. When you reach the end, you'll find the Black Market, which has two items for 75k a piece that you won't get elsewhere unless you are lucky in your rewards for the coming areas. I say wait on the spending until the areas below are done. (A) Freezing Aster's Crawl Tree-- The first floor should be simple by now. The worst would be if you run into a Chaotic PK, but they're manageable still. The second floor is also easy. On the third floor, you'll see enemies that are still simple enough, but can some exp to help out Kuhn and Pi. Mac Anu-- Before the next area, I suggest taking on a random one around level 45. You will want Kuhn and Pi to level as much as possible before . . . (A) Protected Cupola's Cathedral-- The enemies here are the Fate Crab and the Gaze Knight. You've fought weaker versions of them already. As you can probably guess, the weapon of choice for this area is the strongest broadsword you've got. Also, this field is one with a Beast Temple. Heal as needed, clear as usual, and head back to town when you are done here. Kuhn, Pi, and Haseo should be level 49-50. You can also get a Divine Sheath for ranking high in this area. (Take off the item using customization to find one of those two items in the black market) Mac Anu-- Since Gaspard isn't at the shop, yo can put excess items into storage until he finally returns. Now, stock up and save for the next area. (A) Roaring Doomed Snow Caps-- Another field, but this one has a boss. Build up your Morale, and hope to find the Medic Union by a platform before you fight the boss. You should have your whole party at level 50 (and ready to level at the start of volume 2) by the time you reach and surprise the boss. * I suggest using the dual blades for this one fight. Also, don't forget to heal up right before. ***Dryas*** HP: 2234 SP: 242 Lv: 50 This guy isn't hard if you follow the usual routine with bosses. Awakening and Skill Triggers like it lasts, Rengeki after it ends, and continued attacks plus any other chance for Rengeki until the end. ***End of Battle*** When you're done with this field, leave. Mac Anu-- FINAL CHECK! (sorta) Be sure your characters are ready, and you're stocked up. Then save. (A) Hidden Forbidden Bulwark-- Examine the now glowing sign on the wall. Select to warp with it, and you will get a scene. ***Azure Kite*** HP: 2518 SP: 650 Lv: 47 This guy is a pain for a few reasons. His attack and defense are high, he has a field of blue fire around him that can knock you back for some damage every couple of times you hit him, and his most annoying attack engulfs Haseo in fire just before this guy splits into three to deal unavoidable damage. Joy. One one hand you won't have an Awakening to start off with. On the other hand, you are three levels higher, three against one, and can build your Morale as the fight progresses. Rengeki, attack, and heal as needed. You will need to heal more often in this fight than with previous bosses, and you will need to Rengeki against him a lot more often. If you can get in an Awakening, then use it. In any case, keep everyone's health over half. Once you get Azure Kite's health to 0, the battle changes modes. ***Azure Flame God*** This fight is longer than it is hard. The worst part about him is between his insane health and constant barrage of attacks. * Normal Shot - Dash out of the way. If you're confident, you can slip into a safe spot in the middle of the attack to continue your own shots. * Azure Fire Ball - Simply moving to the side starting at the right moment can be enough. Dash if you're having trouble. * Azure Tiger Claws - Deflect with you scythe * Azure Wildflower - Dash like mad to one side starting the moment you see the warning, and cease the dashing when AFG moves past you. * Data Drain - Smash those buttons. If you don't think you're doing it the the right way, then do your best here while avoiding all else. When it's time to Data Drain him, AFG will do his normal shots rabidly. Do your best to get between the fireballs while charging. When AFG's movement slows a bit, HIT HIM WITH THE DATA DRAIN. Good Luck, and congrats on beating the main story of Volume 1. ***End of Battle*** After the credits you have the chance to save your game. Do so. ~~Part 2: Terror Versus Death~~ E-Mail: You're congratulated on beating Vol. 1, and told about the use for this Clear Data we're playing on. CC Corp informs you of the Lord of the Dead quest, which finishes the Cernunnos event for Rebirth. We'll do this to grab two items we haven't acquired yet, and also to beat an enemy not found in any other dungeon. (Even in the other two volumes, he's counted as a different monster each time) News Capture: Online Jack #3 is up. Mac Anu-- You will notice you can once again invite whoever except for Atoli. This means Gaspard is back at the shop, and putting items on display won't cause those items to disappear. So, use this chance to start selling stuff at Shop Acorn once more. Finally, for this quest we're about to do, we will want a healer. Since Atoli can't help, bring Gaspard (who will somehow sell the items when he's with you in a dungeon). For your third you can bring whoever you like. Be sure your party has up-to-date equipment and custom abilities on them. I suggest you protect against Curse with those abilities. Go to the Quest Shop to select the only quest remaining in Mac Anu, "Lord of the Dead." (A) Endless Corpse's March-- Remember the bosses we fought having to do with the revival of Cernunnos? They are back as the lesser monsters of this two-floor dungeon. Whether or not you clear this whole dungeon is up to you. You're probably worn from clearing so many fields and dungeons for now. It won't matter if you build any Morale now or not since it won't carry to the boss. When you get to the last room, you'll be warped to what looks like Indieglut Lugh, and a scene follows before the battle. ***Cernunnos*** HP: 4145 SP: 426 Lv: 47 Remember when I said Macha was one of the two hardest fights in Rebirth? Well, here's the other one. Still, you should be able to handle this guy if you've prepared like I suggested. Weapon of Choice: Dual Blades (for fast hits and easy blocks) This guy loves knocking you back. For this reason alone it's good to have a ranged attacker such as Kuhn. Gaspard with "Life" as his Strategy and Haseo using items to back him up from time to time will probably be the key to you not losing this fight. Also, when you see this monster's fists in the air, you should block with Circle or use a Skill Trigger if possible. The latter will allow you to continue your hits without taking damage, but it's still risky. This guy can stand up to a lot of hits, too. It takes around 36 hits to get a single Rengeki going. Whenever you see a chance to use an Awakening, USE IT. During this time, bust out your strongest Skill Trigger once or twice in addition to your attacks. The boss has a lot of health, so I see little reason NOT to use it. That's what it is for. When you finally beat this boss, you'll get the rare Black Armor and 5000 GP. ***End of Battle*** After the scene you'll head back to town. Mac Anu-- Your rewards for this quest are the Word of Vigor, Word of Spirit, and the Text of Power. I suggest calling in Piros so you can hand these to him as gifts, and then use them all on Haseo. ~~Part 3: Whole From Holes~~ Finally, we're in the last stretch of Rebirth. We have campaigns to finish, Books of 1000 to fill up, and a Doppleganger to beat. Also, we have one more Avatar Rematch to do. Head to Raven's @HOME to fight Azure Flame God a second time. Once you get the wallpaper from that rematch, you may notice upon beating all rematches in Rebirth (while still playing said volume) that you'll receive an additional wallpaper. You should have beaten the Chim Data campaign ages ago, so I won't go over that one. I'll start instead by covering the Mecha Grunty Rescues and the Lucky Data at the same time . . . sorta. * Mecha Grunty appears in any field or dungeon not having to do with most quests. Each time you rescue him, the cost of Chim Spheres increases by 1. Rescuing him enough times can net you rare items when you talk to the Vital Vista NPC in the Harbor District of Mac Anu. Once you have rescued him the 50th time, Mecha Grunty will stop appearing for the rest of Rebirth. 5 (9 CS) - Simple Steam Ring 10 (14 CS) - Steam Plate 20 (24 CS) - Steam Bracelet 35 (39 CS) - Steam Armor 50 (50 CS) - Steam Suit * Lucky Animals are about the same as Mecha Grunties in terms of how often you can encounter them, but there may be one or two occasions more that you spot them (one being the Crown Quest). You have to kick the little guys to catch them, and they continue to appear even after you complete the campaign. The Vital Vista NPC is the one inside his own house at the Alchemy District (not the one by the fountain). 10 captures - Body Scale 20 captures - Dream Wood Leaf 35 captures - Fire Resist Seal 50 captures - Iron Shell 1 of each - Wild Robe (rare item) * There are quite a few types of Lucky Animals. They effect you in a variety of ways when you catch them (or when the cursed trio catches you). To not get cursed by one of three types, you have to kick it twice before it hits you . . . and then it leaves. * To fill up your list as to what types you've encountered, there were already some that either appeared randomly or set in provided areas. That is, a couple areas have set Lucky Animals, and some do not when dealing with story, quests, and places provided by email and messages boards. Below is a list of how to find non- quest-specific Lucky Animals. For instance, F9 means a Field with an area level with 9 as that level's second digit. D3 is a Dungeon with that second digit being a 3. - Gold Bird |F9 | Turn remaining breakable objects into chests - Moon Rabbit |F1 | Gives 200 Exp to whole team - Leviathan |F5 | Gives 3 Custom Items based on area element - Sleipnir |F8 | Halve enemies' health for next 5 encounters - Tsutsuga |F2 | Saves you from Game Over 3 times - Ganesha |F6 | Increase HP & SP of party for 5 battles - High Wolf |F4 | Gives you one of three item sets - Fate Worm |F0 | You receive 2000 GP - Totetsu |D9 | Turn remaining breakable objects into chests - Kudan |D1 | Gives 150 Exp to whole team - Tengu |D5 | Gives 2 Custom Items based on area element - Chimera |D8 | Halve enemies' health for next 4 encounters - Qi Lin |D2 | Saves you from Game Over 2 times - Tokoh |D6 | Increase HP & SP of party for 4 battles - Baku |D4 | Gives you one of three item sets - Ouryu |D0 | You receive 1500 GP - Nue |D7 | Summons Chim King - Two-Tailed Fox |F7 | Cursed - Malice Cat |F3 | Cursed - Dark Goat |D3 | Cursed * Black Sleipnir appears only in a quest, and gives 2000 GP. Nue also appears in a quest, but can be encountered again. As an extra tip, if you are wanting to collect as many keywords as possible a good guide to read would be the one from dothackersnet. They have a list of where to find all the available keywords in Rebirth. If you go to all those areas listed to get all those words, you can find Mecha Grunty plenty of times. I won't force you to do it, but it's a thought. Plus, it'd make things easier on us for the next guide. Next is the Bounty Hunter campaign. In this, you are paid by an NPC to take out PKs. You are also provided a nifty list of "Chaotic PKs" which appear in the order they appear on the list, and their appearances in areas are random. However, these appearances of the Chaotic PKs only begin after doing the quest that begins the campaign, and the Chaotic PKs are leveled over Haseo up until the game's cap. That's why I put off on the quest until right before we fought against Endrance. * When counting the number of PKs beaten, it does include the Chaotic PKs, and it also includes the multiple encounters you might have with one or more regular PKs. Don't worry if you don't get to the end of this one. 5 PKs - 400 GP 10 PKs - 900 GP 20 PKs - 1500 GP 35 PKs - 2000 GP 50 PKs - 3000 GP * And then the Chaotic PKs are where the money is. For them, you get more GP and a material which you can either keep or sell for more. The prize for beating all seven of these blacklisted PKs is an additional rare weapon the Ripper's Blade. Greedy Cervantes | Blade Brandier | 4000 GP, Olm Shell Genjo the Fatal | Steam Gunner | 5000 GP, Wing of Lufu Fiery Genie-Five | Shadow Warlock | 6000 GP, Soil Bug Antenna Magical Pokotan | Twin Blade | 7000 GP, Scorpion Tail Garden Michelle | Lord Partisan | 8000 GP, Midoro Flagellum Poison Lei Lei | Tribal Grappler | 10000 GP, Sleeping Powder Immortal Goriki | Edge Punisher | 15000 GP, Mantis Nail * To take on a blacklisted PK, be sure to save first and to equip the best weapons and abilities before going into an area. As soon as the fight starts, open up with a Skill Trigger. Better yet, if you have the Morale built up, then use an Awakening. As usual, pound away without giving the Chaotic PK any breathing room. The closer your level gap the better. Of course, you're 50 now so it hardly matters about there being a level gap. * One more thing . . . after beating all the Chaotic PKs, you may notice on "The World Board" in the "I Got Ganked" topic there are new posts about your accomplishments. The Doppleganger is supposed to be hard, but he's easily abused. Beating him just once in Rebirth gains you the "Own King" key item. Things you must know: * He appears in fields having nothing to do with the storyline or quests. These appearances are also NOT in dungeons. * His appearances are timed. About five minutes after entering the field or beating an enemy is needed, not including the time that passes when you are in a menu, opening chests, or kicking barrels open. * Once Doppleganger appears, he teleports around the field, walks slowly for a few seconds, and teleports away. You can tell he's near by a red arrow that appears much like when any other enemy has a blue or green arrow for being near. He can see far like a flying enemy, too. * The bike is your friend for four reasons. 1) It passes the time once you've cleared the field of the enemies. You can use this to work on Ryu Book VIII if it's not done for for some reason for volume 1, or to get work done for volume 2. 2) It's a little too fast for him if you approach from the side. You want to surprise him. 3) He has regen of SP and HP. The bike cancels that supposedly. 4) The bike can send him flying into the battle area wall for extra damage before the battle actually starts. * He is weak to Smoke Screen, meaning you can get away to collide your bike into him over and over if you need to. You don't if you're level 50. * He has no protection to status ailments. Poison Attack on everyone's weapon is a plus here. * He has the same weapon type as Haseo; Dual Swords for Dual Swords, and Broadswords for Broadswords. I suggest the former through this fight the whole way. It's all you'll need in strength, and the flow it brings is nice. * If you go without an Awakening, Skill Triggers are pretty much a must. He will smack you down without them. * Also, if you want, you can abuse the Sleipnir ability by kicking it after clearing the rest of the field, encountering Doppleganger, and then using a Smoke Screen after the damage is done by the Lucky Animal. * For my preferred method (below) I had Haseo, Pi, and Kuhn as my team. ***Doppleganger (my preferred way)*** Go into a field around level 45-47 . . . or higher if you're feeling like it. Beat all the enemies, and open all the chests, and kick all the barrels. Have your Morale filled up, too. Ride around on your bike for the five minutes or so, and then continue riding to find Doppleganger. Like I said, he'll warp around the field a lot. The red arrow will be your cue he's close. Ride toward him, get past the prompt about Doppleganger, and ride into him as long as he does not see you. That part may be the only real trick in this expedition. Once you collide and the battle starts, POP THAT AWAKENING! Start with the strongest Skill Trigger you have. I for one had a piercing skill for the Dual Swords at this point, and it's like a stronger version of Gale Blade. As the Awakening wears down, attack rabidly. The more attackers you have for this the better. Pi, Kuhn, and Haseo can keep up quite the hits. When you can use the Skill Trigger the second time during the Awakening, use it. -IF- Doppleganger still has health remaining when the Morale runs out, let Pi and Kuhn do the attacking as you quickly get behind. Don't rely on Rengeki like we did in the past. Keep attacking, and use skills like mad to get that last nub of health down to nil. For winning the first time, you get the key item Own King. It's for something we'll hopefully go over in Reminisce. ***End of Battle*** Finally, how are we doing on filling those Books of 1000? You probably still have a couple items left and a few monsters not yet encountered. Check the shops, guild shops, and trade windows of everyone you encounter for items you have yet to find. The main concern is to pick up all the rare items. As for the monsters, there are only a few not covered in my guide up until now. To organize this, I'll list a monster's name and the level and element to look for in an area. This can be either a field OR a dungeon, but I'll also note the bosses so you know which ones are in fields only. I'll even throw in an example for them (I'm sure some might match areas provided by others). * Goblin Sage - 46-48, Fire (A) Protected Wrath's Berserker * Rue Juggler - 41-44, Water (A) Concealed Marble's Alga Grass * Raven Claw - ~17, Wind (A) Screaming Humbling Alga Grass * Black Raptor - 47-50, Wind (A) Concealed Wrath's Two Wings * Vak Ziger - ~33, Fire (A) Saddened Swift Two Wings * Zan Ziger - 22-25, Wind (A) Warm Blazing Blue Cloud * Bravo Nose - Boss, 6-8, Fire/Wind (A) Elegant Bustling Fast Horse * Blaze Dragon - 44-46, Fire/Earth (A) Protected Wrath's Berserker * Drygon - Boss, ~23, Fire/Wind (A) Warm Blazing Blue Cloud * Hecaton Foot - Boss, 19-23 (A) Screaming Humbling Alga Grass * Horned Archelon - Boss, 47, Fire (A) Roaring Corpse's Pure Bred Once you have all the Ryu Books filled up as far as they'll go in Rebirth, you will receive an email saying Canard has gone up to Rank 3. With this, you can buy for 30000 GP the ability to access your storage items from the platforms found in dungeons and fields. As to Bikman's Campaign, whether or not to get every last name is your choice. The items you gain from it are common, though they help in earning money. That is the main reason I bothered telling you ways to complete it. When you're done with everything, be sure to save. This Clear Flag can now be used to give you the best boost possible (short of hacking) for volume 2. All your items, stats, etc., will transfer over. Enjoy. =) ***End of Walkthrough*** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ V. Perfect Game Checklist ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------Books of 1000------------- Also known as Ryu Books in the .hack series, these record your progress. As you fill them, Death Grunty will send rewards to your desktop. You start at 1st Rank with all books at level 1. The highest you can go in Rebirth, though this will still record your progress, is 3rd Rank which requires leveling all books to 3. Item Collection and the Monster List do not require ALL to be met, but it doesn't hurt to have those 3 or so items extra and 3-5 monsters beyond what Volume 1 needs. All this carries over to the next game, so why not start your progress already? That includes all the desktop stuff. Speaking of which, through these books you unlock 29 movies, 16 BGMs, and 20 wallpapers. Also, you are rewarded for every quarter of a level gained. That means to gain rewards with a Level 1 book, you need 200 points, whereas at Level 2 you need 250. A book levels up first at 800 points and ten at 1000. By the end of this first installment, each of the eight books should have 1800 points recorded, but more on the way from your continued efforts. (Below, "R/Q" means "Reward per Quarter, and applies most of the time with each book.) ~~Ryu Book I: Battle Records~~ R/Q - Greeting Card * Battles Won * Surprise Attacks * Rengeki Attacks The Rengeki has the most weight in the points received. However, if you are playing like I tried walking you through above, then this book will hit Level 3 by the time the first round of the tournament rolls around. ~~Ryu Book II: Party Interaction~~ R/Q - Movie * # of trades w/ party members * Party members (rather, how many times you're joined) * # of gifts to party members * Total GP worth of gifts given Again, following my guide hands you this book at Level 3 by the time you're at the first or second round of the tournament. An easy thing to do is, after you have one character's affection up just a little who has a Health Drink, invite that person, trade them their Health Drink for one of your own, and repeat the trade a few odd times. As for the gifts, what I like to do is give whatever stat boosting item (ie., Word of Vigor, Text of Power, etc.,) to a character with low affection, and then have that character use that item on Haseo. You can also give the characters you use more often valuable pieces of equipment with abilities customized onto it. I keep on with the gifts after filling up this book solely for affection with most of the characters. ~~Ryu Book III: Treasures~~ R/Q - Wallpaper * Beast Temple treasures opened * Treasure boxes opened * Trapped treasure boxes opened * Objects destroyed Honestly, this one also goes very fast as long as you keep clearing the fields and dungeons. After this gets to Level 3, your reasons for clearing areas are for your Item Collection and for areas that give new keywords upon ranking with a B or higher. ~~Ryu Book IV: Item Collection~~ R/Q - Wallpaper * Weapons (43 types) __Spin Gai Gu __Spin Kouga __Spin Man Que __Spin Rasetu __Spin Corpse __Spin Locust __Spin Ban Mu __Spin Piney __Spin Axe __Spin Needle __Ripper's Blade (!) __Broad Demon __Broad Wheel __Broad Maiden __Broad Legged __Broad Zhen __Broad Tu Wan __Flame Sword (!) __Broad Wings __Gun Steel __Gun Fu Yue __Water Bayonet (!) __Gun Waves __Gun Ocher __Gun Hong __Blade Guifei __Blade Fern __Blade Thorns __Blade Thread __Blade Sun __Tiger Fist (!) __Fist Altair __Golden Spear (!) __Lance Yantie __Lance Law __Spell Xialin __Spell Xinzhu __Spell Baiyan __Spell Omen __Magic Amber __Magic Hosei __Magic Nymph __Magic Crest * Armors (24 types) __Sub Gear __Sub Robe __Sub Gown __Sub Attire __Sub Yin Yang __Sub Garment __Wild Robe (!) __Loose Sash __Loose Guard __Loose Kimono __Loose Vest __Loose Plate __Loose Sheath __Rough Armor __Rough Shell __Steam Plate (!) __Rough Mail __Rough Defense __Rough Jiongjia __Steam Armor (!) __Rough Metal __Rough Alloy __Black Armor (!) __Steam Suit (!) * Accessories (23 types) __Simple Bracelet __Simple Necklace __Seal of Ya Wang (!) __Crown of Lu Ming (!) __Medic Badge (!) __1-Line Reference (!) __Secret News Book (!) __Simple Fire Idol __Simple Water Idol __Simple Wind Idol __Simple Earth Idol __Simple Steam Ring __Simple Gloves __Simple Earrings __Steam Bracelet (!) __Simple Pendant __Simple Fire Bell __Simple Water Bell __Simple Wind Bell __Simple Earth Bell __Simple Pouch __Simple Head Band __Simple Watch * "Items in Storage" or useable and customizable items (84 types) __Health Drink __Healing Serum __Healing Rain __Healing Rain __Sprite Drop __Sprite Rain __Weird Black Tea __Holy Potion __Antidote Soda __Stimulant Soda __Blessing Soda __Revival Medicine __Asian Mango __Caramel Sauce __Fire Storm __Tidal Wave __Tornado __Earth Spike __The Death __The Moon __The Devil __Warrior Blood __Knight Blood __Wizard Blood __Astrologer Blood __Warrior Seal __Knight Seal __Wizard Seal __Astrologer Seal __Smoke Screen __Fairy's Orb __Return Feather __Fire Mouse Skin __Olm Shell __Wing of Lufu __Soil Bug Antenna __Scorpion Tail __Midoro Flagellum __Sleeping Powder __Mantis Nail __Bear Paw __Turtle Shell __Turtle Crest __Cleansing Pill __Jinx's Bane __Caffeine Drink __Poison Leaf __Curse Plant __Dream Wood Leaf __Body Egg __Mind Egg __Body Scale __Mind Scale __Fire Resist Seal __Aqua Board __Calm Propeller __Dustproof Lens __Iron Shell __Iron Crest __Red Sun Stone __Blue Moon Ore __White Star Sand __Gray Comet Dust __Gold Snake Skin __Dowsing Rod __Amber Dragon Eye __Beginner's Text __Beginner's Book __Text of Power (!) __Text of Stamina (!) __Text of Wisdom (!) __Text of Sense (!) __Word of Vigor (!) __Word of Spirit (!) __Life Scroll __Antidote Scroll __Dawn Bird Scroll __Priest Scroll __Hellfire Scroll __Tidal Scroll __Tornado Scroll __Avalanche Scroll __Chim Crown __Coupon There, I even provided a checklist to help you. The ones with the (!) by them are the rare items you must get in Rebirth since they won't be available in Reminisce for the most part. A few of these can be found in the guild shops. Overall, it is possible to fill up this book to Level 3 before fighting Azure Kite, but you would be missing the Black Armor (and also the Word of Spirit). ~~Ryu Book V: Chaos Gate Records~~ R/Q - BGM (BackGround Music) * Play Time * Visits to fields * Visits to temple type dungeons * Visits to cavern type dungeons Just follow my guide. You'll have this book at Level 3 in no time. ~~Ryu Book VI: Arena Battles~~ R/Q - Movie * # of Arena matches * Successful counterattacks YOU have accomplished * WP (Winner Points) acquired Chances are that you'll be a little short on finishing this book once you have beaten Endrance. Once he is beaten you can do normal Arena matches again. The last couple hundred WP and last few counterattacks you need should be simple enough once you can invite people again (when you return to Mac Anu from the Demon Palace Crowning Ceremony). Easy, really. ~~Ryu Book VII: Monsters Defeated~~ R/Q - BGM * Ogre (14 types) __Goblin Rookie __Goblin Guard __Goblin Knight __Goblin Mage __Goblin Sage __Goblin Abyss __Gun Giant __Baz Giant __Gigamouth __Apititer __Wight Ride __Poisoned Dead __Living Corpse __Gurugon * Demon (7 types) __Carrie __Carrianne __Fat Lancer __Gaze Knight __Angelic Gore __Holy Eater __Cernunnos * Sea Monster (2 types) __Spear Fish __Lance Marine * Supernatural (8 types) __Vak Bezel __Rue Bezel __Zan Bezel __Gan Bezel __Vak Juggler __Rue Juggler __Zan Juggler __Gan Juggler * Avian (7 types) __Chickie __Chickie Dada __Raven Claw __Black Raptor __Trainee Owl __Hermit Owl __Scalvenger * Plant (4 types) __Onion Mash __Truffle __Crumple Tree __Elder Growth * Demon Beast (10 types) __Vak Fang __Rue Fang __Zan Fang __Gan Fang __Vak Ziger __Rue Ziger __Zan Ziger __Gan Ziger __Bravo Nose __Don Elephant * Mecha Beast (5 types) __Wild Kettle __Buster Kettle __Steam Shell __Metal Fist __Knuckleman * Dragon (6 types) __Lizard Hunter __Lizard Assassin __Fever Horse __Blaze Drake __Drygon __Dryas * Crustacean (6 types) __Ruby Cutter __Fate Crab __Hecatonfoot __Horned Archelon __Mad Jaws __Great Jaws * ??? (1 type) __Kite Before going off to fight Azure Kite, you should be able to find each other type of enemy except for Cernunnos and MAYBE Horned Archelon though that's not confirmed. You can actually go through the list I provided above for filling out the remains of this book, and be at Level 3 around halfway through the same list. This is provided you also went to every other area I mentioned. Nothing like having a head-start for the next game if you find every monster, yeah? ~~Ryu Book VIII: Steam Bike Stats~~ R/Q - Movie * Drive Time * Collisions (these count also as surprise attacks in Book I) Riding around town, riding into lots of enemies (10-20 times or more if you'd like), getting from one side of a field to another, and waiting and seeking out Doppleganger . . . by the end of Volume I you should have enough going for you here to fill up this book halfway in Volume 2. Of course, there will then be the addition of Bike Parts. Happy gaming. -------------The Checklist------------- __Have most of your characters at level 50 (and ready to level up) __Haseo's weapon levels for Broadsword and Dual Swords are around 10 each __Got Ryu Books and Canard's guild rank to 3 __Downloaded all 48 wallpapers so far from Apkallu __Acquired all 6 wallpapers from the five Avatar rematches __Collected all 74 Wallpapers __Completed Chim Data campaign __Completed Lucky Data campaign __Completed Mecha Grunty Rescue campaign __Beat the game's story mode __Beat Cernunnos __Acquired the "Own King" for beating Doppleganger in Rebirth __Completed everyone's email chain for Rebirth __Have almost everyone's affection (with or without Piros is your choice) as high as it'll go in Rebirth. __(HIGHLY OPTIONAL) Completed Bikman's Flyer campaign __(Highly NON-Optional!) Be sure you're saved after doing all that stuff. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VI. Items Uses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------Recovery Items------------- These can be used in a field or dungeon as well as any battle not in the Arena. * Asian Mango - Heal an ally's HP by 60 * Health Drink - Heal an ally's HP by 100 * Healing Serum - Heal an ally's HP by 200 * Caramel Sauce - Heal an ally's SP by 30 * Sprite Drop - Heal an ally's SP by 50 * Weird Black Tea - Heal an ally's HP and SP by 50 * Holy Potion - Heal all allies' HP and SP by 50 * Antidote Soda - Cure an ally's poison * Blessing Soda - Cure an ally's curse * Stimulant Soda - Cure an ally's sleep * Healing Rain - Heal all allies' HP by 100 * Revive Rain - Heal all allies' HP by 200 * Sprite Rain - Heal all allies' SP by 50 * Revival Medicine - Bring an ally back to life with 25% HP -------------Support Items------------- Below are items that boost your stats. Some are permanent, and a few are not. I will put a (!) by the items you cannot buy or sell since they are super rare. * Warrior Blood - Temp increase in an ally's Physical Attack by 3 * Knight Blood - Temp increase in an ally's Physical Defense by 3 * Wizard Blood - Temp increase in an ally's Magic Attack by 3 * Astrologer Blood - Temp increase in an ally's Magic Defense by 3 * Beginner's Text - Raise an ally's equipped weapon skill by 50 points * Beginner's Book - Raise party's equipped weapon skills by 50 points * Word of Vigor (!) - Increase an ally's health by 25 HP * Word of Spirit (!) - Increase an ally's SP by 25 * Text of Power (!) - Increase an ally's Physical Attack by 3 * Text of Stamina (!) - Increase an ally's Physical Defense by 3 * Text of Wisdom (!) - Increase an ally's Magic Attack by 3 * Text of Sense (!) - Increase an an ally's Magic Defense by 3 With the Beginner's Text and Beginner's Book, you can more easily level weapon skills (which need 100 points per level). One affects only one character for 50 points, and the other affects the whole party you're in by 50 points each person. For Haseo, this only affects the weapon he has equipped, so his Dual Swords will not level if you have the Broadsword equipped. * TIP: Corporal Yano and Henako--characters running around in towns--have these boosters to trade almost every time you come to town. If one or both of them is around, you can trade for whichever of the two items appears (sometimes one, the other, both, or neither) for some Custom Items such as Olm Shells. Two for the Beginner's Text and I think seven or eight for the Beginner's Book. -------------Attack Items------------- These deal damage, inflict status ailments, and debuff your enemies. * Earth Spike - Earth elemental damage on an enemy * Fire Storm - Fire elemental damage on an enemy * Tidal Wave - Water elemental damage on an enemy * Tornado - Wind elemental damage on an enemy * The Death - Poison an enemy * The Devil - Curse an enemy * The Moon - Put an enemy to sleep * Warrior Seal - Temp decrease in an enemy's Physical Attack by 3 * Knight Seal - Temp decrease in an enemy's Physical Defense by 3 * Wizard Seal - Temp decrease in an enemy's Magic Attack by 3 * Astrologer Seal - Temp decrease in an enemy's Magic Defense by 3 I typically sell all these either at a regular shop or through Shop Acorn when there's room. I'm not saying you won't use them, but I'm saying there's really no need even against Doppleganger or Cernunnos. -------------Skill Items------------- These items teach spells for healing or attacking. If a character already has a spell learned, then the scroll to learn it won't help. * Antidote Scroll - Learn Rip Duk * Dawn Bird Scroll - Learn Rip Mumyn * Priest Scroll - Learn Rip Maj * Life Scroll - Learn Repth * Avalanche Scroll - Learn Gan Bolg * Hellfire Scroll - Learn Vak Don * Tidal Scroll - Learn Rue Kruz * Tornado Scroll - Learn Zan Rom -------------Custom Items------------- These can be slapped onto and removed from any piece of equipment with a rarity value of 4 or less. 5-Star weapons, armor, and accessories cannot be changed with what ability is equipped. Also, what you can equip to your weapon, armor, or accessory depends on the type of Custom Item. I will split the list into three parts to help show this. Weapon Customization: * Fire Mouse Skin - Add Fire damage to a weapon's attack * Olm Shell - Add Water damage to a weapon's attack * Soil Bug Antenna - Add Earth damage to a weapon's attack * Wing of Lufu - Add Wind damage to a weapon's attack * Bear Paw - Deal much more critical attacks against an enemy's back * Mantis Nail - Increase your critical attack rate by 10% * Midoro Flagellum - Adds the Curse effect to your attacks * Scorpion Tail - Adds the Poison effect to your attacks * Sleeping Powder - Adds the Sleep effect to your attacks Armor Customization: * Body Egg - Increase HP by 10% * Body Scale - Increase HP by 50 * Iron Crest - Reduce Magic Damage by 25 points * Iron Shell - Reduce Physical Damage by 25 points * Mind Egg - Increase SP by 10% * Mind Scale - Increase SP by 50 * Turtle Crest - Reduce Magic Damage by 10% * Turtle Shell - Reduce Physical Damage by 10% * Aqua Board - Halve Water damage * Calm Propeller - Halve Wind damage * Dustproof Lens - Halve Earth Damage * Fire Resist Seal - Halve Fire damage * Caffeine Drink - Immunity to Sleep * Cleansing Pill - Immunity to Poison * Jinx's Bane - Immunity to Curse * Curse Plant - Counter with Curse * Dream Wood Leaf - Counter with Sleep * Poison Leaf - Counter with Poison Accessory Customization: * Blue Moon Ore - Reduce SP costs of attack spells by 10%, raise all other SP costs by 5 points * Gray Comet Dust - Reduce status effect spells' SP costs by 10%, raise all other SP costs by 5 points * Red Sun Stone - Reduce Reduce SP costs of arts by 10%, raise all other SP costs by 5 points * White Star Sand - Reduce healing spells' SP costs by 10%, raise all other SP costs by 5 points * Amber Dragon Eye - Increase exp rate by 10% * Gold Snake Skin - Increase GP rate by 10% * Dowsing Rod - Increase Item drop rate by 10% Yes, it is possible to have Exp +10% quipped twice on one accessory as long as the accessory in question has the two empty slots to fill it with. I wouldn't worry about this since you'll level fast enough at 110% exp. As for the Iron Crest and Iron Shell, you can nullify or cancel damage dealt if it is 25 points or less. Considering many enemies have multi-hit attacks that do up to 25 points of damage, all you really have to do is block to keep from being knocked around the Battle Area. That makes having just one of these on Haseo worthwhile. Combine this with the right equipment, a Text of Stamina or Sense, and a Turtle Shell or Turtle Crest, and your damage taken will be pretty much nothing. That is, pairing an Iron Crest with a Turtle Crest or an Iron Shell with a Turtle Shell makes a fine combination. Though, by the end of the first game, I'm usually fine with just a Turtle Shell. -------------Other Use Items------------- These items are helpful, but most of these deserve a list of their own. * Fairy's Orb - Reveal Chim Chims, chests, paths, and platforms/warps on a dungeon floor/block. * Return Feather - Return to last platform visited in an area. * Smoke Screen - Escape most battles. Does not work on bosses or Battle Areas you enter to try saving another player. * Coupon - Earned by meeting a player in an area. Each can reduce the price of a guild shop's item by 1%. (The max discount at such a shop would then be 50% since you can only carry up to 50 of each item) * Chim Crown - Dropped by the first Chim King and occasionally among them after that. For each crown you find, bring it to Dr. Kubo for some money. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VII. Q&A ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. How big is the dotHack merchandise? A. It is big and growing still. //SIGN, //I.M.O.Q. (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine), //Liminality, //Legend of the Twilight Bracelet (aka. //DUSK), //ROOTS, //G.U., and also the G.U. Trilogy movie) are a collection of animes, games, and a CG cinema around The World. There was also //Fragment, but that didn't do well. Also, there are the books and graphic novels which retell the stories of the games and other events. Q. Do I need to play the earlier four games or watch any of the animes to get //G.U.? A. You don't NEED to, but I still recommend it. You're welcome to look up the Epitaph of Twilight if you wanted to. I won't quiz you on it. Q. Who's your favorite character? A. Alkaid. Next question! Q. You listed a keyword I don't have. What do I do? A. When in doubt, go to and clear any number of random areas. Getting ranked with a B or higher will provide a chance for learning missing words. Q. Can I go to (Delta) Courageous Engaging Daydream again? A. No. That was a tutorial-only zone. Sorry. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIII. Legal Stuff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This FAQ is copyright material by me. GameFAQs and/or my website is/are the home(s) for where this FAQ may be found. So, please don't ask to include my work on your page. This includes quotes and/or plagarism . . . Just don't do it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IX. Many Thanks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks a couple FAQ authors for having guides which helped me get started in some areas. Thanks to those who read this FAQ and give it some thought. Thanks to the friends who cheered me on in writing this FAQ. Thanks to the boards for some info here and there. And, finally, thanks to GameFAQs for accepting this piece of work.