Lufia 2 Low Level Guide by DragonKnight Zero e-mail: dragonknight_zero@hotmail.com Version 0.9: 10/27/04 Contents - Introduction and Words of Warning - Legal Jazz - Updates - General tips - Walkthrough to Ancient Cave - Ancient Cave raiding - Walkthrough beyond Ancient Cave - Relnqshd's status protection list - TOP SECRET - Credits - Contacting me Introduction When I first started this crazy project, I couldn't find any information on doing a low level game in Lufia 2. So this guide is meant to be a resource to anyone who has the time and guts to try it. Besides, it takes a long time so most people would want to try no more than once. Following my guide, you'll achieve finishing levels of below 30 for Maxim, Selan, and Guy with Artea remaining at 38. Some words of warning before starting. - Complete the game normally before even trying this. A low level game requires a reasonable familiarity with the game. - The low level game takes a long time. Expect 70 hours or more depending on how much time you spend in the Ancient Cave and Forfeit Island casino. - Patience is a requirement. Some battles will take a good amount of luck to pull off low level style. Also, you'll be spending a good deal of time in the Ancient Cave gathering superpowered equipment to compensate for your low levels. Be prepared to reset once in a while. - You will be killing off your own teammates quite a bit. If that sort of thing bothers you, the low level game is not for you. - Everything in this guide is doable on the cartridge. No save states in the middle of battles here. - While not really enforced, a level cap of 38 was in effect for this guide that no character went over. An exception is made for Artea when shooting for lowest average levels. - While I won't purposely include story spoilers, I will not go to great lengths to conceal them. If you haven't completed the game yet, there's not a whole lot of reason to be reading this anyway. Miguel Raya has completed a low level game with the lowest possible average level of 20. The final levels are Artea 44, Selan 19, Guy 11 (He won't gain any EXP throughout), and Maxim at 6. Congratulations. While this guide is not specifically written with that goal in mind, the path is similar: the main difference being that the highest level character recieves EXP instead of the lowest. While it can be more challenging at times, it can actually be done without AC equips this way. Legal Jazz Copyright 2002-2004 by Erwin Lin. This guide is freeware but it's not public domain. This is my intellectual property and if anyone is going to profit from this, it had better be me. Actually, the addition of the status protection list means I may not profit either without relnqshd's OK. Terms of usage Website usage: It is not necessary to ask my permission to put it on a website so long as the contents of this guide are unaltered and the site is freely accessible to anyone with a working internet connection and compatible browser. In simpler terms, I should be able to access my guide on your site without inputting passwords, paying membership fees, or any other means intended to exclude certain users. This guide may be converted to HTML format. If you wish to use the guide under conditions other than those stated above, you must receive explicit written consent from me first. Personal usage: This guide or parts of it may be freely used for personal and private usage. Do not sell or publish without explicit written consent from me. FAQ writers: If you wish to use a part of this guide in your own works, give credit where it is due. If unsure, ask. - Updates v0.9 10/27/04: Redid first part of walkthrough as far as the AC. Some changes have been made past that as well though those are not yet fully implemented and there may be continuity conflicts. I've also added relnqshd's status protection list though the strats don't reflect this additional knowledge yet for the most part. There are no longer any battles where more than one character survives except in situations where the battle gives zero EXP. V0.8 1/29/03: Massive format rearrangement and fixing of many stupid spelling errors. New info on Venge Ghost and the Ghost Ship strategy has been completely changed. Impractical infinite money trick at Alunze Casino added. This update also deals with a few other issues I had with the previous version. General Tips Stuff to know about playing a low level game. If you want to try it on your own, these tips should help. It goes without saying: A low level game is done in regular mode. Following the guide in RETRY mode does not count as a low level game since your levels will be much higher with four times the experience points. What counts: The purpose of a low level game is to have the lowest possible levels for the final party upon completion of the last battle of the game. Tia, Dekar, Lexis, and all capsule monsters (except Zeppy who cannot be obtained before you have your final party) levels aren't counted for the purposes of this FAQ. For extra challenge, for purists, or for a perfect LLG (lowest average or not), keep everyone's levels at a minimum. I'll allow capsule monsters to gain EXP though; there aren't enough battles available where they might actually survive to gain it. Leveling and experience: Experience is only given to characters that are standing at the end of a battle. In addition, the EXP is not split between party members. All battles in a low level game will be won with only one character standing unless it can be completed with zero EXP gain. New characters join at a predetermined level. Nothing you do prior to a character or capsule monster joining will affect this. Consider yourself fortunate that Artea always starts at level 38. Making money: Since the levels of Tia, Dekar, and Lexis aren't counted for the purposes of a low level game, when you need to raise cash simply fight a bunch of battles with only them and your capsule monster. That assumes you choose to allow that though. If not, the AC and casinos are the only options. He who fights and runs away...: doesn't earn full credit. When fighting enemies in a dungeon, if you kill some but not all members in an enemy party and then run away, the ones you killed will stay dead when you confront the group again. This allows you to minimize the EXP gained from a compulsory random battle. This tactic applies mostly to the three towers near the end of the game. No, they haven't found a cure for death: Inns and HP spots in dungeons will not revive dead people. This makes it more convenient to restore a solo fighter without having to kill off everyone else again. Revival functions are performed by churches (the places where you save in towns) by selecting CURE and paying 10G * character's level. Characters revived this way come back with full HP. Churches will be the primary source of revival until Regains and Rally appear. If at first you don't succeed, try again: The fights are possible at the levels given. Dying is a matter of bad preparation and sometimes pure rotten luck. Be prepared to try some places multiple times before passing them. Also, while building up IP before major battles is almost always a benefit, it is not required unless stated otherwise. Pet care: Capsule monsters are essential to a low level game since they can absorb some hits for you. Fortunately, they are not needed in boss battles so it's not necessary to have any given capsule monster at a high level for a boss battle. In fact, a capsule monster that is too powerful might even mess up some battles in the late game. Extra mechanics stuff: - You can hit your own teammates with physical attacks. The only exception is if you're using a weapon that doesn't allow you to choose a target. Another side effect is that if a character using a weapon that hits all enemies is confused, they will only attack the enemy. - Dead people's equipment can be changed. You can also buy spells for a dead character. Naturally, they won't be able to cast them until they're revived. - You can individually select targets for spells rather than one or all. In battle, select a target and tap A only once. Move the cursor to a different target and tap A once to select a third target or push the button twice to cast. Allies and enemies cannot be targetted simultaneously in one casting. In the menus, use the X button to select characters individually to cast a spell upon. The process is really easy after a few tries. - When running, it appears the game takes the AGL of a random living member to determine whether enemies and your capsule monster act before escaping. A solo Tia or Artea escape nearly anything unscratched while sometimes your final party can take a beating from the same enemy party when everyone's alive. I think the game has a higher chance of using the lead character's AGL but I am not sure. - There are rows in this game. On the status screen, the two people on the top are considered to be in the front row while everyone else is in the back row. When in the back row, characters take and give less damage with physical attacks. Expect to do 1/4 less damage from the back row. If the party has only one or two members, they are automatically front row. Enemies have rows too. Back row enemies are set farther back. The same reduction in physical attack effectiveness applies to enemies too. If all enemies in the front row are defeated, back row enemies immediately take front row damage. In this guide, I've left row configuration up to the player. Weird as it may seem, the reduction in attack damage applies to IPs that reduce a target's HP by a fraction. Moral of story: When using Dekar's Fatal Blow (damages for 1/2 current HP) make sure he's in the front row. - The switching character positions option (the up and down arrows) does not use up a battle round. In a back attack, it's often best to restore characters to their usual row positions. Walkthrough to Ancient Cave This walkthrough primarily covers specifics to a low level game. For more detailed information on the dungeons and whatnot, consult Iron Knuckle's guide (also at GameFAQs). rpgclassics.com has visual aids for puzzles in it's Lufia 2 section. I assume that the player knows how to solve the puzzles and reach all the items. Buy two boomerangs and nothing else. Go to the secret skills cave. Secret Skills Cave: Required battles: 3 Anyone who needs a walkthrough for this dungeon is not ready for a low level game. All enemies but the second red jelly must be fought. Anyway, when finished head back to Elcid. Talk to Tia and watch the scene. When you leave the shop, a villager will announce that monsters have infested the cave to Sundletan and taken the key. Guess who has to go clean them out? Don't buy any equipment yet; the money will be put to better use later. Head off to the cave and run from any random battles you get into. Cave to Sundletan Required battles: 2 + Lizardman In the cave, be sure to obtain the Life Potion before dealing with the room with blocks and enemies encased between them. Two fights are compulsory in order to clear a path to the stairs. I chose the mushroom and lizard; there's not much difference in the EXP gained and they may give items. Pick up the Power potion and hit the switch with your sword before jumping down to the lower level. A concealed passage will lead to Hide Armor and a Magic Jar; pick these up. Go down the stairs to the save point, use the life and power potions on Maxim, use the restoration tiles, save if desired, and then go to the next room to fight the boss. Lizardman HP: 80 Maxim LV 2: small knife, hide armor Use two boomerangs and it's over. Easy, huh? Anyway, after killing it and recovering the key, walk on out. Remember to use the recovery tiles. Go through the locked door to the town of Sundletan, again running from any random battles in the overworld. Decision time: Either buy a battle knife or 5 boomerangs and a Small Shield. Spend remaining cash on potions. You could scrape up the change for the Strong spell but having at least 15 potions will be key for beating the Catfish later on. Sell the cloth and maybe the Escape if needed to purchase the needed potions. Lake Cave Required battles: Catfish + 2 afterwards Acquire all treasure besides the Insect Crush and Speedy Ring. Those who find the Catfish too frustrating can wimp out and pick up those items as well; the requisite battles will raise Maxim to LV 6. Big Catfish HP: 200 Maxim LV 4 knife, small shield, hide armor Either use boomerangs or the battle knife's IP to attack. I used the boomerangs because they do more damage. Use potions as needed. What's annoying is that the boss will usually go before a LV 4 Maxim but not always. The conservative approach is to attack only at 90% to full HP and use a potion on any other round. That way, it only takes a little luck to win. Once the Catfish is baked, return to the save point and make your way to the Insect Crush puzzle room. There will be two more compulsory battles that you cannot run from. They're trivial, heal only if you won't survive the next battle round otherwise. After these fights, Tia joins. Use the MP restoration tile and make your way back to Sundletan. Buy a Whip for Tia but don't bother with the other equipment. Now that Tia is in the party, it's possible to make cash. Enter a battle somewhere, kill off all but the weakest enemy, then kill Maxim and have Tia finish the battle. After that, go for Jelze as his attacks will really aid Tia's lack of physical strength. Battles with solo Tia are a matter of judgment. Her AGL is high enough to escape fights unscathed nearly all the time. When in battle, I tend to slug it out with physical attacks and use IP for healing. As long as Tia is equipping an item with a HP restoring IP, she's fairly self-sufficient and can go far without using MP, recharge tiles, and inns. Avoid too many fights with enemies that call for the use of spells to defeat unless you're near a free MP recharge source. Don't be ashamed to run sometimes; some battles are too much for Tia to handle alone. OK, back to the game. Spend some time raising cash and Tia's level if you'd like, and then make your way to Alunze. Go to town and buy a Long Knife and a Mini Shield. If you need money, you know what to do. Optional at this point is to raid Alunze Cave. The Jet Helm requires bombs (which you don't have yet) and I would stay away from the three chests next to each other but the other stuff can be acquired now without having to fight any resistance. The Horse Rock is nice as its IP gives Tia extra punch and for the extra defense. There are also those two chests which require the Hammer. Whether you go here or not, Alunze Castle is the next destination. Don't bother buying any other equipment yet. Have a chat with the king, then make your way to the castle basement. It is possible to make unlimited money without battles thanks to the slot machine on the second floor of the inn. The process is extremely tedious as one must win enough coins to buy Statues and sell them at a shop for a paltry 1 gold. At an absolute minimum of a 10 G investment, it will take 2000 coins just to recoup the initial investment. I don't even want to get into the untold millions required to cover money needs for the game, so while the opportunity is there, it's not worth it except for the questionable necessity of Flame Charms. Alunze Castle Basement Required battles: 4 Tia and Jelze are capable of handling all the fights themselves. A bat party must be defeated to gain access to the healing tiles and save point; this is not counted as a required battle. An enemy that must be defeated for the light knife is also not counted as required. It's possible to gain zero EXP from the three Cobalt fights by reducing their numbers in each fight to one, then re-encountering and allowing the last one to escape but isn't necessary in the context of this guide. Retrieve the crown and go talk to the king. Choose nothing as a reward to gain 3000 gold. Now is a good enough time to buy Maxim a Short Sword. Make your way to Alunze Cave. Alunze Cave Required battles: none really besides Regal Goblin. In the cave, pick up any treasure you don't have already. There's that set of three chests that lock you in with a bunch of enemies after opening one of them but using an Escape (or Reset) will allow you to bypass them if you'd rather not battle them. After retrieving the treasure, head back to Alunze to revive Maxim. Equip him with all the gear from the cave if you haven't already and make your way to the boss room in the cave. Save beforehand. Regal Goblin HP: 500 Maxim LV 6: short sword, light armor, jet helm, power brace, speedy ring, horse rock Tia LV: 10: long knife, coat, mini shield, headband, witch ring Fight the Regal Goblin as you normally would. Maxim attacks and Tia heals. Simply kill off Maxim when it's down to one of the companions. Take the key and make tracks to Tanbel. No need to revive Maxim at all. At Tanbel, talk to Hilda. Tour the town, upgrade Tia's equipment, and save. It's possible to go to Tanbel Tower now and pick up the chests that are behind where you fight Camu. When you're ready talk to Guy and choose yes. An intruder appears and leaves some flunkies to fight. Kill one, kill Guy, and finish the other. You'll probably need to raise more cash to upgrade everybody's equipment. Only one hide helmet is needed but otherwise it is advisable to have the best equipment available as there's a hard-hitting boss coming up. When you have 200 gold, revive Maxim and Guy, use the free inn, and make your way to the Southeast Tower, running from any random battles along the way. Tanbel Tower Required battles; 1 + Camu There's a goblin sitting on a switch that must be defeated. To gain zero EXP, a Cobalt must appear in the enemy party. Kill all but one Caobalt, run, and encounter again. Let it run away on its own. Pick up the Jute Helmet and use the recovery tiles before fighting the boss. Camu HP: 1500 Weak Vs Thunder From here on out, I'm not going to list every piece of equipment, just the ones important or crucial to my strategy. Maxim LV 6: Tia LV 14: witch ring Guy LV 11: kukri Very much the same as fighting him normally except be more diligent about healing. Use the Witch Ring's IP on the slaves to silence their healing spells after Camu summons the second one. After that, Tia will probably need to devote herself to healing until Camu falls. Maxim and Guy simply attack and use the Kukri's IP every chance they get. Once Camu is down, kill off one slave before killing Guy and Maxim. Have Tia finish the last slave alone. You'll automatically wind up in Tanbel after this. Use the inn without reviving the guys. Make your way towards the tower again and climb all the way up to Camu's room and pick up the chests. They contain some equipment that will be useful later on. Head for Clamento afterwards. In Clamento, talk to Rochy to initiate the next fetch quest. There's some shopping to be done before the next dungeon. Buy the Bravery spell for Maxim and buy about 6-8 mystery pins and a few awakes (3 should be enough). Buy armor for Tia if you want. No other weapons or armor are needed here; there's better stuff in the upcoming dungeon. Ruby Cave Required fights; Tarantula I'd suggest grabbing items and Blaze first then going back to Clamento to revive the guys when ready to fight the boss. There's a skeleton that might trap you in the key room; lure it several paces away from the door to prevent this. Save point and recovery tiles behind vines as usual. Tarantula HP: 2000 Weak Vs Fire Maxim LV 6: Tia LV 16: pearl brace Guy LV 11: fire dagger, camu armor Have Maxim cast Bravery on the first round, Tia use the Lightbulb IP to boost her intelligence, and Guy attack. Use the Fire Dagger's IP whenever possible. The first priority until the Tarantula dies is staying alive, second is curing paralysis and sleep, and third is attacking. Tia should be the primary medic; have her cast Spark if she's not occupied in some other way. Once the Tarantula is gone, Tia can finish off the last Web Spider easily by herself. Flame Charms from Alunze's casino will also speed up the battle. Go into the next room after winning. Head back to Clamento after acquiring the Ruby Apple. Talk to Rochy again. After some scenes, you will be able to proceed onto the next town. Drop by Parcelyte town, and then visit the castle and talk with the king. Selan joins at this point. She starts at level 16 (and will remain at that level for a long time.) At this point, I took the time to upgrade my equipment. There is a round shield, anger brace, and cold rapier in the Treasure Sword shrine so buy what else you'll need. Be sure to pick up at least six Regains, nine if you plan on not reviving anyone in Parcelyte. Treasure Sword Shrine Required battles: boss fights only Standard enemy dodging except after you find the key and go through the key door near the entrance. To avoid contact with the enemies that rush out from behind the pillars, step forward until the enemy appears, walk a step or two back until it's vertically aligned, then turn around by holding R and stun it with arrows. Take care to re-stun enemies as you pass them as they will chase from behind. Making it to the save point won't be much trouble after this besides the puzzles. Be sure to pick up the Mind ring on the way. (stats apply whether fighting for first or second time) Pierre HP: 1200 Weak Vs. Ice, Water Resists Fire Danielle HP: 1200 Weak Vs. Fire Resists Ice, Water Maxim LV 6: cold rapier, speedy ring, catfish jewel if available Tia LV 19: aqua whip, mind ring Guy LV 11: fire dagger, undead ring (for MGR) Selan LV 16: anger brace Tia should have at least 78 Agility for these fights. Use a rock with an AGL bonus or level up. While the battles are still winnable without making Tia faster than the bosses, it will require some blind luck. For the first fight against these clowns, have one person healing every round until Maxim can use the Speedy ring's IP enough times so that Tia is faster than the boss. Keep track of damage. Once you've done about 1100 HP damage, keep Tia alive and allow the others to die. For Pierre, have Tia attack with the aqua whip for the finishing blow. For Danielle, cast Spark. Use Regains and the healing tiles between battles. After fighting each once, your party will discuss strategy. Use the healing tiles and revive everyone with Regains, you'll fight the bosses with two characters apiece. First, it's Maxim and Tia against Pierre. Have Tia healing every round until Maxim uses Fake enough so that she's faster. Then you can have her attack at times. Do about 1100 damage, allow Maxim to die, and finish with the aqua whip (attack or IP) Guy and Selan have it more difficult. Since Tia isn't around to take the EXP, I chose to give it to Guy. Anyway, Selan casts Strong every round and Guy attacks. After doing enough damage so that one attack from the Fire Dagger's IP will finish Danielle, Selan should switch to healing Guy only while Guy defends until Selan falls. Then kill the boss. My Guy limped out with 22 HP so there's no need to be shocked. If you want to risk a battle lust on Guy, be sure to do so while your capsule monster is still around. Go to next room. Pick up Treasure Sword. Leave. The strategy for avoiding enemies in the pillar room works on the way out as well. Go to the castle and speak with the king. After some dialogue, the path to Gordovan Tower opens. Go to the castle basement for the Holy Wings before leaving. If you run into any Wispies on the overworld, run. Solo Tia doesn't stand a chance. Gordovan Tower Required battles: none really besides Gades Gordovan Tower has no compulsory random battles. There are a few baddies that may obstruct the way to some of the items. Obtaining the hookshot makes the Water Jewel in Alunze and the Dragon Egg in the cave to Sundletan available; return for them whenever you'd like. I went back right away but that's just me. Gades awaits at the top. Gades HP: does it really matter? You're supposed to lose. At levels as low as these, there's no hope. If there's anyone crazy enough to try by buffing Tia up with mass levelling and Power Potions, they're welcome to try. Everyone's revived here. The least bothersome course of action is to continue through the story and run from all fights. Keep this up after Guy leaves (make sure he is not equipping the mind ring). Stop by in Merix to upgrade armor. Also take note of the spell shop. It's not essential to buy any spells as of now though the Fireball and Trick spells may be of interest. Conduct whatever business you want then hit the road for Bound Kingdom. When you enter the cave that leads to Bound Kingdom, you'll find the bridge is down. Guess why the carpenter can't fix it. If you guessed monsters you win free passage AFTER you eliminate the source. In the room with all the monsters, creep your way to the one parked in front of the black ball thingy. Kill all but the weakest one then kill off Maxim and Selan so that only Tia gains EXP. Smack the ball with the sword (arrows or hookshot should work as well) and all the monsters vanish. Take the stairs out. After the bridge is fixed, you can return to Merix and talk to the carpenter's kid for a dragon egg. Then it's off to the next fetch quest, er... castle. The routine should be familiar by now. Upgrade equipment as desired and talk to king to initiate a next quest. Do not buy a Bronze Sword though I'd suggest upgrading armor. Stock some Regains and Mystery Pins too. Buying Tia Fireball is completely optional. North Dungeon Required battles: boss only: 2 back to back fights My first trip here was to bring out the Deadly Sword, Thunder Ax, and Thunder Ring. Uncurse the sword and revive and restore everyone if you haven't already. Avoid all battles in the search for the overconfident prince. Flash, another Dragon Egg, and a Life Potion await discovery. Be sure to use the save point. The next battles may take several tries because plenty can go wrong. 4 Mummies HP: 150 each Weak Vs fire, water, light Immune to dark Maxim LV 6: fire dagger Tia LV 20: aqua whip, pearl brace, speedy ring, eagle rock Selan LV 16: thunder ring Boosting Tia's speed is the way to go here. The difficulty comes from two battles in a row without a chance to heal or revive. For the first part, hack away and heal only if needed. Have Tia's health as high as reasonably possible before killing the last mummy. 3 Trolls HP: 200 each Weak Vs fire Ouch. These guys can paralyze with their regular attacks. Two dead people and one paralyzed one are soon followed by a game over. The Pearl Brace provides immunity to paralysis though. With the above setup, Tia should be faster than the trolls. Revive Selan and go to work. Tia does necessary healing and Selan attacks with Spark or Bolt from the Thunder Ring. It's best to focus on one troll at a time. Kill off Selan when only one troll remains and have Tia finish it off. Flame Charms from Alunze casino, Fireball magic, or some extra levels for more AGL for Tia help if you're having too much trouble. You're done here so make your way back to the castle when you regain control of your party. Inside the castle, strip all of Tia's equipment and make sure Selan doesn't have the mind ring equipped before talking to the king again. The women will leave and Guy and Dekar will join up. Before doing this, it's an option to fight with Tia to make more cash. Time to go shopping. You'll probably need some more cash to outfit your team for the next dungeon. Solo battles with Dekar are easier due to his high strength. Fight with regular attacks and use the IP of the Mind Ring (and later Metal Mail) to heal. Check your stock of Regains and Hi Potions as well and have at least 6-10 of each just in case. There's a Fayza shield in the Ancient Tower but otherwise upgrade to the best armor available, especially for Dekar. Buy Maxim the Trick spell if you fancy. Whenever you're ready, head off to the Ancient Tower without reviving Maxim and Guy. Ancient Tower Required battles: 4 + Gades Several battles are compulsory but Dekar should be able to handle them. Run from King Frogs unless you feel lucky though; their confusion attack can mess you up badly. Besides fighting with only one character, it's much the same as normal play. Be sure to reveal the healing tiles. Reviving Maxim and Guy before Gades is optional. Gades HP: 3000 Weak Vs light Maxim LV 8: protect ring Guy LV 13 Dekar LV 22: mind ring It's really simple for Dekar to take out Gades. Have him use the mind ring IP whenever Gades could kill with two attacks and attack the rest of the time. It's easier than the mummies and trolls earlier. If you bother to revive Maxim and/or Guy before this fight, have them boost Dekar's DFP and ATP. More stuff to do that don't require new strategies. Be sure to pick up the Magic Bikini. There are some cut-scenes that follow and everything's fine and dandy until Idura the babynapper shows up. Well he picked the wrong parents to piss off. Equip Selan and talk to the king before leaving for the lighthouse. Doing so seem to trigger a flag that makes the Inn in Parcelyte free after whacking Idura in the lighthouse. Lighthouse Required battles: Idura Onto the lighthouse. The good news is that there are no required battles. The bad news is that you won't be able to gain levels at all and still be doing a low level game. Be sure to find the Bee Rock before challenging Idura. Filling up Maxim's IP to 70% would be ideal though not necessary. Idura HP: 1500 Weak Vs. ice Resists thunder Maxim LV 6: cold rapier, fayza shield Selan LV 16: scimitar, magic bikini, anger brace, bee rock What used to be a very hard battle is made easier by Idura's weakness to sleep. It still requires luck with Drowsy's hit rate but is no longer a duanting task. Maxim should be faster than Selan. Boost his DFP as much as possible too. If Maxim dies or Idura summons a Groupie at any time, reset. In round one, have Maxim cast Bravery and Selan cast Drowsy. Have Maxim throw on a Trick spell unless Selan has the IP and a free turn to Battle Lust him. Have him attack after that. Selan should cast Drowsy on any turn where Idura isn't asleep. Have her heal, Battle Lust, or bombard with Gale any other time. The whole battle boils down to keeping Idura in slumber while hacking away at him. When his HP is reduced enough to where Maxim can kill with the next move (a Tricked Glacial Blast does over 300) kill off Selan and claim. Just be sure Idura is asleep on the round which Selan will suicide. The real challenge is manipulating the random number generator to serve up a winnable sequence and not the battle itself. It's quite something to see Maxim go up six levels in one battle. Make your way to Bound and continue to the transporter in the east. Guy and Dekar join. Continue on to Aleyn. I'm not sure which person to talk to in order to trigger the next quest so just talk to townsfolk to find out about Jyad. Phoenix 1911 informs me the person to talk to is a blue haired guy who asks your party about ships. More specifics to come in a future version. Buy spells and equipment. Make sure to give Selan the Stronger spell and buy Rally for at least Maxim and ideally Selan as well. If you need money and don't know the drill by now, then whose low-level game are you playing? Revive everyone when ready for the next dungeon. Phantom Tree Mountain Required battles: 2 Lions All fights are avoidable and there isn't much treasure of interest. Oh yeah, there's the boss. Four characters makes for an easier fight. 2 Lions HP: 1000 each Maxim LV 12: bee rock Selan LV 16: magical bikini Guy LV 13: thunder ax Dekar LV 23: mind ring Selan is the medic whose main job is casting Stronger for the first two or three rounds. For an easier time, work on one lion until it dies then move on to the next one. Use the magic bikini's IP for MP restoration. With the mind ring, Dekar should not have problems taking the last lion out solo. And if nothing else is working, the lions can be paralyzed by the bee rock IP. More story related stuff follows. Kind of interesting how the entire party has zero HP without a game over. Anyhow, you now have the choice of sailing to Gruberik or Narcysus. I'd suggest Gruberik. Ancient Cave sighted. - Ancient Cave raiding This is not a strategy guide on playing the cave itself. Besides, I'd just be repeating what other FAQ writers have already stated. The objective of the Ancient Cave in the low level game is equipment. Completing the Cave isn't required although I recommend it anyway as the Brill Helm and Dragon Ring are both nice. There are some blue chest equips I consider absolute essentials. I'd recommend leaving the cave immediately the first time you find these items unless you're on B98 with a clear path to the stairway. I consider these equips essential because completing a low level game without them may very well be impossible. Flame Shield - reduces damage from fire attacks. Handy against the Fire Dragon. Cryst Shield - reduces damage from ice attacks. It's almost required to beat the Tower of Truth. Dragon Spear - the +50 AGL saved my tail end a lot of trouble. Twist Jewel - the +35 AGL is helpful in some fights and any character can equip it. The following items are highly recommended as they'll make the low level game a good deal easier. I'd also recommend leaving the Ancient Cave the first time you find one of these. Unlike the previous equips, I don't consider these absolutely necessary to complete a low level game. Engage Ring - When equipped, all shops charge half price, including spells. This is very useful. Fry Sword - a lot of later bosses are weak against light. Being a light elemental weapon, this should prove effective. It also provides good stat bonuses. Blaze Sword - also light elemental Bolt Shield - reduces damage from thunder attacks. Idura is cake with this (explanation is later on in the FAQ) Sizzle Sword - the Stone Rose is weak against fire. Mirak Plate - the strongest armor for Maxim and Guy for quite some time. Its IP is handy to have in a pinch where someone needs MP. Ruse Armor - provides much-needed defense for Selan and has a nice IP that can revive everyone in the party at once. Agony Helm - defense and fire reflection IP. Boom Turban - the only blue chest helmet that Lexis can use. Water Guantlets - the only blue chest shield for Lexis other than the Dark Mirror. Aqua Helm - an extra +10 AGL for insurance. Ice Hairband - helps Selan's poor defense. Also useful against the White Dragons in the Tower of Truth. Water Spear - the only blue chest weapon Lexis can use. Dia Ring - its IP is the Zap spell. There are several more blue chest items that are nice to have even if they are hardly essential. Dark Mirror - the cursed version has the highest defense of any shield in the game. Gorgan Rock - has the highest defense of any rock or jewel. I haven't determined if the +20 MGR is really a necessity though. Spido Jewel - three uses of this will reduce any enemy's speed by 70%. Snow Sword - +50 to defense and MGR if you want it. The weapon works well on the Fire Dragon too. The Ancient Cave will remain accessible throughout the game so it's not absolutely necessary to acquire everything before proceeding on. - Walkthrough beyond Ancient Cave Sooner or later, one will have to snap out from the Ancient Cave induced trance and proceed on with the game. You can always go back later for more. Before trekking off to the next dungeon, take a sidetrip to Karlloon and buy the Metal Mail for Dekar. Equip it and replace that Mind Ring with something more useful. Tower of Sacrifice Required battles: Idura. For those who choose to fight, Dekar can handle most battles by himself. Avoid the flying skulls though, as they use instant death attacks. Don't bother with Pugs either if you can't kill one with each attack. While they can't damage Dekar when he's equipping a Flame Shield, they'll call reinforcements faster than he can kill them off. A new capsule monster can be found here. Cruise to the save point. There is a choice of ways to tackle idura: round two. First though: stats. Idura HP: 2500 Weak Vs ice Resists thunder Maxim LV 12 Guy LV 13 Selan LV 16 Dekar LV 26 The easy way is to equip Dekar with the Bolt Shield and Metal Mail and go one on one with Idura. With an Agony Helm as well: Plasma Blaster does nothing, physical attacks from Idura do single digit damage, and Idura Thunder can only take off around 60 HP. Simply use Metal Mail's IP when your life is low and hack away with any non-thunder weapon. (Fry Sword is best) Idura's flunky will cast Stronger to undo some of the damage you do. Ignore it until Idura's down; the flunky soon runs out of MP. This strat can work without a Bolt Shield, but with greater risk. It may be safer to use the whole party. Using the whole party? Then you'll need to revive and restore everyone to full strength (use potions to fill up HP). Dragon Spear, Boom Turban, and Twist Jewel are highly recommended for Selan. I suggest giving Maxim the cold rapier and Guy the ice ring. Selan will be tied up with healing, especially if Idura is faster than her. Split Strong or Stronger between Maxim, Guy, and Selan instead of the whole party to increase their chances of survival. Have Dekar use Sacred Song on himself whenever his HP falls low. Hopefully, you can take down Idura before he kills enough people to wipe out any survivors with Idura Thunder. I'm unable to offer much else in the way of strategy for this method as I used the other one in my game. Checklist: Before proceeding to the next dungeon, be prepared because you won't have an opportunity to fight random battles for some time after it's completed. Magic: Selan and Maxim should both have Rally. Selan should have Stronger. One should have Poison. Blizzard and Fireball are optional. Stronger is optional for Maxim though it's a good idea as its HP restoration to MP cost ratio is better when INT is below forty. Absorb is optional too. Items: 10-15 regains, 6-8 mystery pins, about five awakes and shrieks, and 10-15 hi-potions will work. Money: It depends on how much blue chest equipment there is available. 40000 will do if Maxim, Selan, and Guy are fully armored with blue chest equips. Raise more cash to cover the costs of new equipment if needed. I'd recommend a stash of about 100000-150000 before moving on. Equipment: There will be a compulsory boss battle to deal with so characters (especially Selan) should have adequate defense. Hunt for armor in the Ancient Cave if needed. Speaking of which... Ancient Cave: Now would be a good time to defeat the Master Jelly if you haven't done so already. Although reaching it is easiest with Artea as the fourth character, having Dekar makes it the easiest to defeat the Jelly. Karlloon Shrine Required battles: Idura There aren't any compulsory random battles in the Karlloon Shrine. Dekar can handle most enemies. Stay away from the Dark Skulls though: instant death attacks. It wouldn't be wise to tangle with Medusas either without a Bolt Shield. Utilize the recovery tiles and save point to prepare for yet another encounter with Idura. Idura HP: 3200 weak Vs. ice resists thunder Dekar LV 30: Maxim LV 12: Guy LV 13: Selan LV 16: Now he's pissed. id software rejected him for a role in Wolfenstein and Idura the wannabe decides to take out his frustrations on Dekar and co. Two possible ways to battle him, each calling for different methods of preparation. I prefer the solo Dekar assault if he's equipped with a Bolt Shield. If you want to use the Dekar Blade, come in with full IP to halve his HP at the start. Other than that, hack away. Only worry is that Idura can confuse the entire party. I believe he's more likely to use it if people are using blue chest weapons. I used the Dekar Blade and never saw that attack. Waste Idura and his groupie and move on. If no Bolt Shield is available, then do the same thing as the previous battle. Go nuts on offense, have Selan heal, and hope to take him down before he does the same to you. If anyone's confused, cure it immediately. With luck, Selan won't die early. Kill off everyone but Dekar after main boss dies and have him take out the flunky: yadda, yadda, yadda. It's not necessary to revive anyone yet. If you're this far, I don't believe I need to give directions. Remove Dekar's equipment upon arriving at the room with the magic sealing device. Marvel at the corny plot device. Whatever you do when you regain control of the party, do not immediately run out to the overworld without saving or reviving someone. When you run into a random battle, instant game over. So revive at least Selan before moving on. Proceed on with the story running from any random battles. After meeting with Lexis, warp to Aleyn and talk to Jaffy. Warp back to Treadool "Would you like a flower? It's only one gil, er.. gold." Doesn't this flower girl remind you of anyone? Aeris form Final Fantasy 7 perhaps? Maxim and company offer to go pick the flower so that flower girl won't run off and kill herself. Flower Mountain Required battles: Rogue Flower Guy may have been hoping for a break but guess what? Flower Mountain is crawling with monsters. All fights are avoidable here. Pick up the Burn Sword for sure if you don't have a Sizzle Sword. Do remember to use the save point. Now with a name like Flower Mountain, any guesses on what the boss would be? Why an oversized, mutant, carniverous flower of course. Rogue Flower HP: 3000 weak vs fire resists water Maxim LV 12: sizzle sword or burn sword, mirak plate, agony helm, flame shield, protect ring, twist jewel Guy LV 13: light jacket, agony helm, bolt shield Selan LV 13: dragon spear or twist jewel, ruse armor, ice hairband, cryst shield The equipment listed is simply what I remember using. Most of it is only for the defense though it is also important that Selan be faster than the boss. Maxim's weapon and protect ring are also important. The flower is vulnerable to sleep if its physical attacks become a bother. Anyway, this is actually an easy fight assuming the boss's Seedspreader attack doesn't wipe out Selan. Two uses of Bravery or one of Courage will reduce damage greatly. Have Selan do necessary healing and whack away at the boss. Cure paralysis and sleep if any party members are hit by those statuses. When the boss is down to 300 HP or less, kill off Guy and Selan and have Maxim finish the Rogue Flower off. Looky, another four levels. Ahem. Pick up the flower then walk or warp your way to Treadool. Give the flower to the flower girl then go find Lexis. Upgrade Lexis' equipment and pick up the Strong and Absorb spells for him. Stop by Forfeit Island if you want. When ready, head for Dankirk Castle. Buy Silver Mail for Lexis. The magic shop also sells the Courage and Shield spells which will be useful later on though you might as well skip them now. Talk to various folks until the Ruby Icon turns up missing. Warp to Clamento and speak with Jaffy. Take the replica icon to Alex. After more scenes, the Dankirk dungeon is open for exploration. Buy Courage for Lexis before setting out. Dankirk Dungeon Required battles: 1 minimum plus 4 Soldiers The first time through the dungeon, avoid all fights and proceed to the hidden room with the figgoru and dragon egg. The ninja will be blocking the way out so use the Escape spell or item to leave. Or just cast Reset. Heal up and return. Avoid all fights until you reach the bridge with a Shadow patrolling it which you must defeat. You can cross without fighting the ninja. Stand one step to the right or left at the top and stun the ninja when it's vertically aligned with your character. Cross and stun it again when you're next to it. Continue to the stairs. Be sure to save because the stretch to the next save point is tricky. Bypassing the green things is easy when you realize that they move in the opposite direction that you're pressing, even if you're against a wall. The shadow maze is the main tricky section. The idea is to stun them when they're not on the path and bypass them. Odds are that two or three will not move away and force a battle. Hope they don't wipe out Lexis with an instant death attack or constantly call companions. Reaching the end is simple once you're past this. 4 Soldiers HP: 400 each Maxim LV 16 Guy LV 13 Selan LV 16 Lexis LV 28: figgoru, bee rock If Lexis is equipped with both water gauntlets and boom turban, he may have enough defense to take on the Soldiers solo. Cast Courage and attack until they're defeated. Otherwise, revive someone before the fight to help draw some of the attacks and kill off some of the enemies. I used Selan. This could hardly be called a boss battle. Even with non-AC equips, Lexis can still win solo by using Immobilize and being lucky enough to paralyze at least two enemies. Since everyone is automatically revived, I chose to progress through the story. Sail to Ferim. The Magic shop has Champion and Firebird, remember for later. Proceed with the story. When Hans leaves, the North-east Tower will open up. Northeast Tower Required battles: none No boss. Avoid fights. Go up tower. Watch stuff. Go down tower. There are some points of interest worth a detour before proceeding through the story. - Barnan equipment shop: good though not as good as AC equipment - Capsule monster Darbi - Portravia magic shop: Valor (and Thunder for those who want it) Also, become familiar with solo battling with Lexis. I mostly stuck with attacking with the Figgoru, first because I didn't have a Water Spear and second because if he's confused, he won't hit himself. Use Strong for healing and Absorb for keeping MP up. Against stronger foes, a casting of Courage can provide extra insurance. Perhaps because of my average levels being so low, I never ran into the majority of the more dangerous enemies that can appear on the open seas. Once you complete the Mountain of No Return and Lexis leaves, there will be no other source of cash other than bosses and finding and selling blue chest items from the Ancient Cave. So before completing that event, make sure the party is prepared for the remainder of the upcoming challenges. Spells: Both Maxim and Selan should have Valor. Selan should have Champion and Firebird. One should learn Courage while the other picks up Shield. Absorb is optional for Selan and unneeded for Maxim. Both should learn Stronger as well. Might as well pick up Poison and Trick for someone while on the subject of spells. Mirror can be useful. Items: Shrieks will become necessary in future battles so stock about 15. Keep some Awakes and Mystery Pins handy too, 5-7 of each will work. Buy the Jewel Sonar too. 20 Regains should be enough and the unsure can build a stash of Hi Potions and Ex Potions at this time. I didn't have to resort to potions so I make that part optional. Money: With an Engage Ring, 500,000 will be sufficient to cover future needs without having to make sidetrips for cash purposes. My save file at the end has about 400,000 gold so even 150,000 plus engage ring might be enough with all characters outfitted with blue chest equipment. Double the totals if no engage ring is present. Increase the stash if you'll need to buy extra equipment. Powering up: Last chance to level up capsule monsters or win the proper fruits. I've pretty much forgotten they are there so it's overkill to power any of them up to obscene levels. When ready to go on, enter the Mountain of No Return. Progression is fairly straightforward. Once you've navigated the large room full of horse statues and a treasure, prepare for a boss battle. 4 Gargoyles HP: 1000 each Maxim LV 16 Guy LV 13 Selan LV 16 Lexis LV 37 I fought this battle with only Lexis and Guy as my Lexis wasn't strong enough to win this solo. Healing Guy may not be needed though be sure he's alive until at least two of the gargoyles are down. Cast Courage on Lexis for extra insurance and whack away. This battle should not be any trouble at all. Lexis leaves the party immediately after the battle. His equips can be bought at the Forfeit Island pawn shop. Outfit Artea, though there's no need to buy new equipment. I would purchase the Strong, Rally, and Stronger spells for him. Shield, Courage, and Absorb are worthwhile purchases as well. Zap is a must-buy but it's not available yet. Buy an Evening Gown from the armor shop now or later Go to divine shrine. Divine Shrine Required battles: none There are no required battles in the Shrine so run around snagging treasures and making liberal use of arrows, hookshot, and hammer to avoid battles. The Iron Gorems are a little trickier to avoid because of their movement patterns. Artea is fast enough to escape unscathed as long as the enemies don't land a surprise attack. There's no boss either. The room which Karyn guards contains a tile which will increase all non- derived stats (all but attack and defense) by about 5-7%. It's not necessary to use the stat boosts now and it's more profitable to wait until the last possible moment. Every little bit helps though. Not knowing at the time, I claimed the boosts right away. There is a choice to be made here. For a lower overall average level, one could dump all future experience on Artea. You're on your own if you choose this path. I find it more important to field a strong team and have written the rest of the strategies splitting all required EXP across the entire group. After revisiting Eserikto, go to Portravia for the sub. While Barnan's the next stop as far as story progression goes, there's some sidetrips to make. Use the sub to reach the village of Chaed. Buy the Rune Rapier if you like though the real prizes are on Dragon Mountain. Raid the place for treasures. Also, complete the World's Most Difficult Trick. The Legend Helm is almost absolutely essential and the other items are useful too. It is possible to grab all the treasures without fighting anything though it takes persistence and luck to pass some of the enemies in the big lava room. Those items can be skipped as they contain rings and jewels that I never actually used. Do remember the Magic Scale though; besides, there are no enemies guarding it. Optional sidequest: Capsule monster Zeppy I assume you know where to find it. Requires sub Optional sidequest: Dragon Eggs This is the most convenient time to do the Dragon Egg sidequest as Artea will be the only standing character. I believe the Dragon Eggs' location is randomized whenever the Egg Dragon hides them. If you don't want to fight at all, simply save before giving a set of eggs to the Egg Dragon. If an Egg ends up in a chest inaccessible without a battle, reload and try again. If that method is too much trouble, simply have Artea absorb any necessary EXP. Use the trick about minimizing the enemy party to one, running, and killing the lone member to minimize EXP gain. Having up to 30 of each stat potion as extra insurance is nice. Do have the Jewel Sonar before even attempting this sidequest. If you decide not to engage in the hunt, give the first eight Dragon Eggs to the dragon, take the Ancient Shield, and be done with it. The shield's IP will come in useful later. Doing this sidequest is highly recommended for those who choose to dump all future EXP on Artea. On to the Shrine of Vengeance. There aren't any required fights and it's easy to navigate. Only two potentially tricky spots. For the chariot guarding a weak wall hiding the Bright Armor, stun it when it is not blocking the path and make sure to stun it again before going for the treasure or it may block the way out. Also in the long corridor, be sure you stun the chariot in a position where you can walk around it. Use the save and healing tiles and prepare for a boss. Optionally, fill up Selan's IP to about 55%, Guy's to 65%, and Maxim to 90% Venge Ghost HP: 7500 weak Vs. light, healing resists ice Maxim LV 16: heal armor guy LV 13: fry sword, bolt shield, legend helm Selan LV 16: blaze sword, power robe Artea LV 38: dragon spear Ooh, this might be difficult. The Venge Ghost uses Doomcry, which randomly kills people, and level 3 magic: Thunder mostly. The boss can be damaged by healing spells and IPs. I'm not sure how much Sacred Song and Rebirth will damage the boss at these levels though they will make the battle much quicker. Have Artea use Shield on the first round just in case. If Selan dies from an attack that does more than her max HP, don't bother reviving her. Artea heals (don't skimp), others attack. When weakened enough, have Guy use the legend helm's IP, kill the others, and finish in safety. Leave and go to Barnan. After Selan's very unwarriorlike display, the game prompts you to go to the tower of truth. Revive and recover your team and go to Durale to buy the Zap spell. The Tower of Truth awaits. The Tower of Truth has no required fights. In the room with the lone Seiren, stun it and walk around to exit without battle. Use the save point; this next boss battle is dangerous. 3 White Dragons HP: 550 each weak Vs. fire Ice elemental resists ice Maxim LV 16: lizard blow or sizzle sword Guy LV 18: Selan LV 16: sizzle sword, cryst shield, ice hairband Artea LV 38: dragon spear Don't bother with Shield or Courage here. Have Artea cast Firebird on a single dragon right off to wound or finish it. They'll fire off their attacks next unless you've pumped folks full of Speed Potions. If all three use Cold Stream or Ice Valk you will likely lose Maxim and Guy. If not, regular attacks from them will finish the first dragon and injure a second. Healing may not be necessary though have Artea handle it if desired. When down to one weakened dragon, Selan should have no trouble finishing it off by herself since the dragon will have trouble damaging her at all. The Ice Hairband isn't even necessary though its IP guarantees Selan's safety if she's attacked with Ice Valk. (Spells on single characters hurt, even with the appropriate elemental shield.) If a fire elemental weapon isn't available, substitute with lizard blow or Firebird. Selan will finally gain some EXP for the first time in the game. Up 3 levels and HP finally over 100: nice. Dragon Mountain is where the next challenge lies. Do heal up as full power is called for at the next boss fight. To easily reach the boss without battles, go through the World's Most Difficult Trick room and head left along the bridge when you enter the big lava area. It will break in the middle, dropping you next to the stairway that leads to the Fire Dragon. Fire Dragon HP: 7500 weak Vs. ice Fire elemental immune to fire Maxim LV 16: lizard blow, flame shield, agony helm Guy LV 18: flame shield, agony helm Selan LV 19: snow sword Artea LV 38: dragon spear, old shield Equipment makes or breaks the battle here. If you don't have at least one flame shield on hand for Maxim, this will be a very uphill and possibly downright impossible fight. With both Maxim and Guy protected, it's rather easy. I only had to retry once and it was because I accidentally killed it with three people standing. Heh. On the first round, I had Artea cast Shield and Selan cast Courage. The others attacked. After that, Artea acted as the healer while the others focused on attacking though I had Selan add a second casting of Courage. If Selan loses her full HP, don't bother reviving her; she's not really needed once stat ups have been cast. Do keep her alive before then as her Snow Sword can take off 300 HP or so per hit. If Drowsy puts someone other than Selan to sleep, use an Awake. If Artea falls to Bite, revive him at once unless the boss is already on the verge of death. After hacking away around 7000 HP, refrain from further attacks until Maxim is alone then have him use either the Agony Helm IP and regular attacks or the Lizard Blow IP to deal a finishing blow. Maxim will shoot up five more levels after this fight. While what to do is straightforward, there are a few issues to take note of. If you want a Rune Rapier (so Artea can have a light-elemental weapon), buy it now. I shouldn't need to remind anyone to visit Preamarl's equipment shop, though just in case anyone hasn't bothered to visit shops. Since blue chest items outclass buyable equipment for most of the game, the shop items are offering improvements over other stuff by this point. If you've used up all your shrieks, buy a few more just in case. Also fill up on IP. Guy needs around 90%, Selan and Artea 55%, and Maxim can get by with around 30%. For more overkill, retrieve a tough hide from the pawn shop. There isn't even a dungeon before the Ghost Ship. So commence beatdown. Save beforehand. Ghost Ship HP: 10000 weak Vs fire, healing resists ice Maxim Lv 21: tough hide, rocket ring Guy LV 18: heal armor Selan LV 19: evening gown Artea LV 38: power robe Since the Ghost Ship summons other monsters, the idea is to defeat it as fast as possible. Since healing IPs will do the most damage, those will be the tactics of choice. If the boss does something other than summon a deadly sword, reset. Do the following (all targeting the boss) Artea: Sacred Song Maxim: Re-energize (or whatever) Selan: Sacred Song Guy: Rebirth The Ghost Ship should die after this assault. If everyone's faster than the boss, have Artea hold back initially to allow it to summon a sword. This shouldn't be the case unless you've used a lot a speed potions. Dump the EXP on Selan for this fight. In practice, I used 10 shots of Valor with some attacks thrown in so the boss summoned three enemies instead of one. I also didn't reset after the ship summoned flaming skulls, so I gained some 3500 EXP more than necessary. I also gave the EXP to Guy instead of Selan so my character levels will reflect that. It is possible to leave this area so if Selan wasn't the sole survivor, go out and revive her. Also, this is the last chance to buy a Rune Rapier. Proceed to the underwater shrine in which there is little of note gameplay-wise. After Daos reduces Chaed to ashes, all living characters' IP will max out. Go to Portravia next. Before leaving for Gratze, keep in mind that you won't be able to leave the dungeon until beating the tank. Gratze dungeon Required battles: 2 of 4 soldiers each + Tank Gratze is likely the most annoying dungeon in the game due to the only save being at the beginning so if you mess up, you have to go through the entire place again. I wound up replaying this area far too many times for my liking. Only Dankirk's North Dungeon could compete in annoyance factor. There're recovery tiles and a save spot at the beginning of the Gratze dungeon. I'd recommend using a separate slot to save in unless you're daring or know you'll be able to beat the tank. There is a compulsory battle with four Soldiers. Easy stuff: whip them and give Selan the EXP. There's one tricky spot in the dungeon. If you want to make it out with the Miracle, it will be necessary to lure the eyeball far enough to the left so that it doesn't charge you the instant you come back out of the lower left door. The room in question is past the area with the basement key. All fights are thankfully avoidable (they are difficult, damaging enemies). The boss fight is actually two back to back fights so I'll give the setup beforehand. For emulator users, a savestate before the battle will cut down on the frustration of retries. Maxim LV 21: rocket ring Guy LV 22: fry sword, legend helm Selan LV 20: blaze sword, ruse armor or ghostclothes, twist jewel Artea LV 38: If you've followed my recommendations earlier, Guy will be at LV 18 and Selan somewhere around 22-23. These are just from my game. First you fight four Soldiers. Selan shouldn't have any problems taking them out by herself when you cast Courage straight away. Before killing the last one, make sure Selan's IP is full. Tank HP: 10000 weak Vs. light Although the tank is resistant to all forms of damage, light elemental weapons and magic do more damage. Simply killing the tank is easy, it's doing it with a single survivor that drove me crazy. Right away, have Selan use the Regeneration IP. This will revive the whole party. Cast Courage so the tanks multihitting attacks aren't much of a threat. It has attacks that will surely kill at these low levels but those power attacks only hit single members. So simply revive them and continue to hack away. It's a simple battle, plus half the time, the tank just sits there while you beat on it. Perhaps the most tricky aspect of the fight is keeping track of the damage done. After doing 9500-9700 damage, have Guy activate the legend helm's IP and kill off everyone else. This will make winning easy; giving another character the kill will be more difficult (especially with Selan). Thanks to the magic of plot devices, the engine that Guy was so intent on, ahem, stealing remains intact. Now that the airship is ready, fly to Narvick. Do upgrade armor; at least one Zircon Armor will be needed. Be sure to speak with the elder before leaving for the first tower. There are compulsory fights in the towers so don't go until directed to. There are two required fights that open up essential stairways. All others are avoidable. Also, these battles reset if you leave the tower. For the first, if a Nosferato doesn't appear with the Leech (Lich?), exit the tower to try again or reset. Kill all but one Nosferato and have it alone at the start of a round. It will summon Vampires. Kill all but one Vampire, run, and encounter again. Have Selan be the one to gain the EXP. This method only gains the EXP from the single enemy. Repeat the procedure with the Black Dragon(s) later on. As before, run after one is left, then have Selan gain the EXP for the single enemy. There's a save spot near the top and then it's boss time. Revive and restore Maxim's HP and prepare. Gades HP: 7500 weak Vs. light Maxim LV 21: Everyone else is immaterial What a wuss. With the strongest armor, Gades can't do much damage at all after one or two castings of Courage. Maxim can take down Gades singlehandedly here. Cure if his HP falls below 70 and attack constantly. You may even have to go to the trouble of killing Selan yourself before Gades expires. Using everyone speeds up the battle though it isn't necessary. Next. Back to the Narvick elder, then on to the next tower. Have some Shrieks on hand. The enemies that guard the stairways in the second tower are of the same type as those in the first. So do the same thing as in the previous tower: kill all but one, run, and come back and finish. Give the EXP from the Nosferato and the Black Dragon to Selan. If you want to be safe, save in a separate file at the save spot. Revive and restore everyone this time. Amon HP: 10000 weak Vs. light Maxim LV 24 Guy LV 23: fry sword, bolt shield, legend helm Selan LV 25: blaze sword Artea LV 38: dragon spear or arty's bow, aqua helm, and twist jewel After all those easy battles, the game dishes out a hard one this time. Artea must be faster than Amon to have a fair chance. Amon uses all level 3 magic but seems to favor Thunder so the Bolt Shield might save Guy's rear. First time I tried, Amon went before everyone. Splat. When Artea is faster, the fight is amazingly simple. Shield once and courage twice. Artea heals; others attack. Have Maxim use the Zircon Armor's IP to keep up Artea's MP if the need arises. Do not skimp on healing; full HP is needed to survive some of Amon's attacks. If someone is confused, use a shriek immediately. If it's Artea who's confused, have Selan cast Champion to cover and have another use the shriek. If two or more are confused at once, just do your best to recover. Whittle away 9000 to 9500 HP, then have Guy do that Legend Helm thing to win safely. In practice, I misjudged and Guy took the full force of a Thunder Spell. Luckily, he lived with 8 HP (thank you bolt shield) to deal the killing strike. Leave and return to Narvick. Speak with the elder once more. Do anything you need to do now. Have at least 8 Shrieks, 5 Awakes, and 5 Mystery Pins. Buy some ExPotions if you'd like and at least one Regain. Save now. This is the last official save point of the low level game. These are the character levels from my game. Artea; LV 38 Guy: LV 26 Selan: LV 25 Maxim: LV 24 For those who followed my recommendations, your levels will actually be around 24-25 for Maxim, Guy, and Selan. Artea will still be at 38. Time for the final stretch. The required fights in the last tower are actually different. The first one is with a Gorgon. If it doesn't appear with a Basilisk, reset or leave and try again as Basilisks give less EXP. Kill all but one Basilisk, run, yadda yadda. Give Selan the EXP here. The second fight is with a Leech. Artea should be able to absorb the EXP from a single enemy and still need over 50000 for a level up. If you wish to use the save point at the top, I highly recommend using a separate file. Some more neat story sequences later and it's off to the Doom Island showdown. Doom Island has no wandering enemies to speak of. There just a dozen Miracles and all important HP and MP restoration tiles that are accessible after beating Gades. All characters start with full IP at the beginning of each battle. On with the show. Savestates help here to prevent replaying completed battles. Gades HP: 7500 weak Vs. light I'm not going to give out levels here because he's ridiculously easy with your powerful equipment even at LV 24. Beat him down and force the EXP on Selan. Amon HP: 10000 weak Vs. light Artea LV 38: old shield, at least +45 AGL from equipment Guy LV 26: fry sword Selan LV 28: blaze sword Maxim LV 24: dual blade Amon is exactly the same as in the previous battle. The only thing different is giving the kill to Artea. Weaken Amon to where a single Zap spell will finish him (<600 HP remaining). Allow the others to be weakened enough so one attack from Amon will kill while keeping Artea at full health. Activate the Old Shield IP. Use Zap on the next battle round when the others are down. Erim HP: 15000 (???) weak Vs. light Artea LV 38: Guy LV 26: fry sword, legend helm Selan LV 28: blaze sword Maxim LV 24: dual blade, zircon armor I don't care what the FAQs say; her HP is closer to 12000. Besides that one of her spells may cause instant death, she's really straightforward. Shield once, courage twice, Artea on healing duty. All those light elemental weapons will cause damage to add up fast. Maxim should be the main MP restorer with the zircon armor's IP if needed. When Erim is close enough to death (11000+ damage), have Guy use the same legend helm tactic he used at the Venge Ghost and the Tank to clean up easily. Daos HP: 20000 (???) weak Vs. light Artea LV 38: Guy LV 26: fry sword, zircon armor Selan LV 28: blaze sword Maxim LV 27: dual blade, pearl helmet, rocket ring FAQs say 20000 HP: it feels more like 15000 to 16000 though. Daos has two attacks worth mentioning. One will randomly inflict negative status on people. Removing them is a priority after healing. Dark reflector turns the next attack directed towards Daos against the user. Unless everyone is faster than Daos, someone's likely to hit himself or herself a few times during the battle. However, most spells besides HP restoring ones are reflected by Dark Reflector, even stat up spells and Absorb. Shield once, Courage twice as before. Have Maxim use Wave Motion right away. This will make him faster than Daos. Weaken Daos to within 800 HP of death, then have Maxim use the pearl helmet IP and kill everyone else. If Daos uses Dark Reflector while Maxim is alone, cast Bravery or Absorb on Daos to nullify it. Brilliance should last long enough for Maxim to win with regular attacks with Dual Blade. This could be done with Guy but it's much more fitting for Maxim to emerge the victor. Congratulations, this is the end of the low level game. Artea should still be at LV 38 while the others are around 27-28. Here are the final levels from my game. Artea LV 38 Guy LV 26 Selan LV 28 Maxim LV 29 - Relnqshd's status protection list Hate losing a battle to a negative status at a bad time? Believe it or not, some equipment can block one or more bad statuses. As one might guess, this information was discovered by relnqshd and I claim no credit for its discovery. Makes the Egg Ring even more cheap than ever. Reli's site: http://www.geocities.com/bernardalgain/index.html Protection against Poisoning: - Bright armor (All) - Bright cloth (Lexis only) - Bunnysuit (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Camu armor (Guy, Dekar) - Crystal mail (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Crystal robe (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Holy robe (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Holy wings (Selan, Tia) - Lab-coat (Lexis only) - Old armor (Guy, Dekar) - Pearl armor (Maxim only) - Pearl brace (Selan, Tia) - Quilted silk (Selan, Tia) - Royal dress (Selan, Tia) - Seethru cape (Selan, Tia) - Seethru silk (Selan, Tia) - Silk robe (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Silk toga (Selan, Tia) - Silver armor (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Silver mail (Maxim, Guy, Artea, Dekar,, Lexis) - Silver robe (Selan, Artea, Tia) Protection against Silence: - Bunnylady (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Hairpin (Selan, Tia) - Long robe (Selan, Tia) - Mage shield (Maxim, Selan, Artea, Tia,, Lexis) - Old shield (Guy, Artea, Dekar) - Pearl shield (Maxim only) - Royal dress (Selan, Tia) - Rune gloves (Artea only) - S-myst ring (All) - Seethru cape (Selan, Tia) - Seethru silk (Selan, Tia) - Silk toga (Selan, Tia) Protection against Instant death: - Bright cloth (Lexis only) - Bunny ring (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Dark mirror (uncursed) (All) - Ghost ring (All) - Holy robe (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Holy wings (Selan, Tia) - Jute helmet (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Pearl armor (Maxim only) - Ruse armor (Selan, Tia) - Undead ring (All) Protection against Paralysis: - Bright armor (All) - Bunnysuit (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Holy robe (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Magic bikini (Selan, Tia) - Mirak plate (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Old armor (Guy, Dekar) - Pearl armor (Maxim only) - Pearl brace (Selan, Tia) - Seethru cape (Selan, Tia) - Seethru silk (Selan, Tia) Protection against Confusion: - Brill helm (All) - Bunny ears (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Ghostclothes (All) - Jute helmet (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Legend helm (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Old helmet (Guy, Dekar) - Pearl helmet (Maxim only) - Power brace (Maxim, Selan, Artea, Tia,, Lexis) - Safety hat (Lexis only) - Seethru cape (Selan, Tia) - Seethru silk (Selan, Tia) Protection against Sleep: - Agony helm (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Anger brace (All) - Boom turban (Selan, Artea, Tia, Lexis)) - Bunny ears (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Fury helmet (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) - Fury ribbon (Selan, Artea, Tia) - Ice hairband (Selan, Tia) - Mystery ring (All) - S-myst ring (All) - Seethru cape (Selan, Tia) - Seethru silk (Selan, Tia) And finally, equipment that gives elemental protection when equipped Fire: Flame shield (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) Ice: Cryst shield (Selan, Tia) Light: Apron shield (Maxim, Guy, Dekar) Neutral: Mega shield (Guy, Dekar) Shadow: uncursed Dark mirror (All), Brill helm (All) Thunder: Bolt shield (Guy, Dekar) Water:Water gaunt (Selan, Artea, Tia, Lexis) - TOP SECRET: Stat potion gathering I chose to remove from the main walkthrough all mentions of one of the legal loopholes which can be used without affecting finishing levels but makes the game really easy. There is no limit, unless self-imposed, to the quantity of stat potions that may be used on any character. In addition, an unlimited quantity of any type can be obtained without a member of the final party gaining a single point of EXP. This is mainly for reference purposes because abusing stat potions to raise stats to max is extremely cheap. I made it with the few that appear normally and 30 of each from the Egg Dragon; should be more than enough. Also, having 999 HP, STR, and AGL will suck all the challenge out of the game, regardless of the level. Still, for completeness' sake, here are places to harvest the various stat potions accessible in a low level game. Power Potion: Defeat Big Crabs Found in Tanbel Tower and overworld around Clamento Life Potion: Defeat Spinner Found in Ancient Tower Speed Potion: Defeat Stinger Found on Phantom Tree Mountain and overworld around Aleyn and Narcysus. Brave: Defeat Medusa Found in Karlloon Shrine and overworld around Dankirk. Notes: Not worth it. Those Bolt spells are hazardous to single players, Absorb makes Lexis helpless, and they're strong against non-attribute weapons. Mind Potion: Defeat Necromancer Found in Flower Mountain. Notes: A health hazard because of instant death attacks. Spell Potion: Defeat Bone Gorem. Found in tower NE of Ferim. Notes: Resistant to everything except thunder. - Credits First the contributors, Phoenix 1911: Pointed out the Venge Ghost is hurt by healing and provided the tactic of using healing IPs on such enemies. Also was generous enough to proofread this FAQ. Einstein X Mystery: Informed me how to select individual targets for magic in the menus. G'Paladin: Provided help on beating the Catfish at LV 4. (omitted): Suggested the use of Flame Charms. However, because of an arrogant attitude and deliberately insulting the FAQ author, he/she doesn't get the privilege of seeing his/her name in print. reliqsed: The source of all status protection info as well as pointing out Idura's vulnerability to sleep. Also for elemental protection and other bits and pieces. Miguel Raya: Final levels of lowest average level party, hints about where to use the Bee Rock and instant death IPs, Sleep on Rouge Flower, Nosferatu summoning Vampire, and other useful information. And references, Iron Knuckle's Lufia 2 FAQ: Where I found out about using healing magic on the Ghost Ship. I also verified various boss stats with this guide. Beastman's Ancient Cave guide: Not directly used in the making of this FAQ. Provides good coverage on completing the Ancient Cave. Most of the tactics I could provide would just repeat stuff from Beastman's guide anyway. - Contacting me My e-mail is at the top of the document. If you have a tip that would help other players and don't want to wait for me to update, I will scan the GameFAQs Lufia 2 message board on occasion for low level game topics. If I use something from a message board post, I'll credit the poster's handle unless otherwise indicated. Here's some stuff I'm looking for in particular. "Format and Layout" Still accepting suggestions. "Gameplay" Found a way to achieve even lower levels than what I've laid out? Beaten Erim or Daos without resorting to invulnerability IPs like I did? If you've managed something I haven't, send it in. "Perfect Game tips" Keep Tia, Dekar, and Lexis at minimal levels. Don't fight unless required or when it's possible to obtain zero EXP for the battle. I'm aiming to change the FAQ eventually so that the strats are viable for this more challenging run. Send in strats or money management tips. Questions, comment, etc... If you're stuck somewhere, ask and I'll try to help. No guarantees though. Do use coherent spelling and grammar when e-mailing me. If it's a pain in the rear to read, I'm unlikely to respond.