The 13th Entity's Guide to: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.hack//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~OUTBREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~ version 1.0 The author can be contacted at <duerkargenti@yahoo.com> but, please no spam. \^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^/ < Itenuary (aka. Table of Contents): > < > < I. FAQ Info > < II. Controls > < III. Entity's Corner (Storyline in my words) > < IV. Walkthrough > < ______A. Mending Broken Spirits > < ______1. The Few, the Fragile > < ______2. A Little Help TO My Friends > < ______3. A Wise Man and a Gamble > < ______4. Profit Versus Prophet > < ______B. Gathering World's Pool of Resources > < ______1. Oh Yeah . . . That Guy > < ______2. A Growing Shadow > < ______3. Lios the Ally > < ______4. Rumors and Mysteries > < ______5. For All That Comes Together > < ______C. Testing Contained Aftermath > < ______1. Planners and Schemers > < ______2. Wrapped for Containment > < V. Perfect Game Checklist > < ______1. Book of 1000 > < ______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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ July 17, 2009 Project .hack continues in more ways than one. The four-part series known as .hack//I.M.O.Q. is being covered by yours truly in its entirety. I mean for this to be a consistent and fully detailed enough where you can follow all four volumes from start to finish. //Outbreak is the third volume of this quadrilogy (let's pretend that's a real word). Just like how I wrote the guides for the G.U. trilogy, this guide will assume you have followed my guidance through the previous volumes and are using the Convert option on the Clear Data (aka. Data Flag). If not, then the game's gameplay shouldn't change too much until I call for using an optional character from //Infection or //Mutation. I aim to make this game as easy for you as possible, but feel free to add as much difficulty as you would prefer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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. The higher you get, the less Exp a monster will be worth until either you hit max level or until the monster you're comparing is worth 1 EXP a kill. Lv - Level. The max is 99, though we'll see as high as 70-72 by the end of the third volume. Maybe higher if you're patient enough. Party - You play mainly as Kite. As you gain Member Addresses, you can invite up to two more people at a time if they are available. 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 - Capped at 750 in Volume 3, this measures how much a character will like Kite. However, unlike in G.U., this will only affect the Ryu Books instead of leading to a big event in the end. Of course, it affects the email chains you get from Kite's friends as well. Higher affection will allow for newer messages to appear as long as there are messages to be received. HP - The health your characters have. It's Game Over if everyone is dead. SP - Skill Points. The more you have, the more often you can use skills. Attack - Your attacks' damage is based on this. Defense - Your ability to resist attacks is based on this. Accuracy - Your ability to hit the target, obviously. Evade - Raising this increases your chance to be missed by an enemy's attack. * Attack, Defense, Accuracy, and Evade each have two listings. The first is the Physical, and the second is the Magical. So, if you have 99 Physical Defense but like 1 Magical Defense, and a spell comes your way, then you can count on it doing damage to you big time. That is, unless your stat for that spell's Element is high enough. Element - Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, Thunder, Darkness, Spirit, and Body. The six excluding Body and Spirit are how efficient your attacks and defenses are in those elements. This will come in VERY handy this game. Body and Spirit will reduce your chances of being inflicted with status effects, but will not make you immune. The said effects (below) are split between physical and mind based, and thus call for one of two items typically. Curse - Depletes HP gradually; calls for Restorative Poison - Depletes HP over time; Calls for Antidote Sleep - Immobilizes you; calls for Restorative Paralysis - Immobilizes you; calls for Antidote Charm - Attack allies for a time; calls for Restorative Confusion - Attack allies for a time; calls for Restorative Speed Down - Slows your movement; calls for Antidote or waiting a few seconds. The other stats have their own versions of this as well. Physical stats can be cured with Antidote or beaten with a boost of the same stat. The Magic stats call for Restorative or the temp stat boost. Areas - Almost all areas in these four games are made up of a field and dungeon together. Depending on the server and the three words put in, you can choose the element and average level of monsters you encounter. The areas to do with story are pre-chosen, and I'll add some to help with finding items and monsters. Server - This series' idea of a server is one of five roots to the many areas. In //Outbreak, we have Delta, Theta, Lambda, and Sigma servers. Save/Load - Through Data Manager or a Save Shop in a town, you can save a file of your progress on a memory card. Use this file to load and continue your progress. Convert - As of Mutation, when you turn on the game, you will see an option for converting data from the previous volume. This allows for all characters, levels, and items to be transferred over. As I said before, this guide will assume that you converted the Clear Data from both //Infection and //Mutation. -------------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. Trapped Chests - These are the blue chests with random effects if you just open them. You don't get the better item that way. Carry Fortune Wires for a few of these, though it won't be TOTALLY necessary until an event at the end of QUARANTINE. 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. Camera Angles - L1 turns to look left, R1 turns to look right. The R3 (right analog stick) can zoom in or out. R2 resets the camera to default, and L2 toggles between 3rd person and 1st person views. This is important. If you never adjust the view, then you won't be able to target a monster just because it's not on the screen (mainly with skills). -------------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. Chat Command Menu - When in an area, press Square. It's through this menu you can select specific skills and strategies from your party members. 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, or story events, you can select the area from the Word List. Warp History lists all areas manually or randomly visited in order from the most recent on earlier without repeating any areas. Random will pull randomly from your pool of keywords. New Keyword allows you to do what Random does, but manually. There are three pools: -1st Word -2nd Word -3rd Word * The server you're on comes into play as well as these will alter the range of levels your Word pool is likely to play with. This will not be absolute, but it's the general rule. Gate Hacking - When it comes to areas to do with the story progression, there will be SOME instances where you will require Virus Cores to unlock the area. Some Data Bugs as bosses will provide what you need, and sometimes you'll receive a Virus Core through Email or someone handing one to you. Virus Cores A through L have to be gained through Data Draining enemies other than the predetermined bosses. * A-C: Delta/Theta * D-F: Lambda at lv. 31+ * G-I: Sigma at 51+ * J-L: See Quarantine As for the Gate Hacking process . . . You will see a big screen with a cross on the left side and a list of the Virus Cores you got on the right. You can turn the cross clockwise by tapping left on your d-pad, and you can turn it the other way by tapping right. When a side of the cross is pointing down that has holes in it, you will see a letter (the type of Virus Core needed) and a number next to it (the number needed). You add the Virus Cores by tapping up on the d-pad until the holes are filled. They can be subtracted as well, but that's kinda useless. Once all the holes are filled, you can press X to permanently open the area. * During each walkthrough, I will suggest how many Virus Cores to try and get AT MINIMUM while you are fighting the monsters regularly. While this might slow the Exp. growth just a little, it will help in the long run to have what you need before you need it. You don't want to be level 80 or higher and trying to get Virus Cores A-C. You also don't want to drop your game progression to find more Virus Cores. * Over the course of Volume 3, I suggest getting a minimum of 14 Virus Core G's, 17 H's, and 10 I's. Extras will carry on and likely be used in one of the following volumes. In fact, if you converted your clear data from both earlier volumes, then you should have enough A-F's. * If you're using a cheat device to always have Virus Cores, then only use Cores A-L unless the game has given you the other ones you'll need. For those of you who don't: kudos. The cheat won't be needed. Trade - Talk to a character either walking around or that is in your party. Gift - You can select Trade with your party members. This has 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. Don't try giving multiple items at once, because it'll just be counted as one item. Rarity - Items are marked for their rarity. Most of the time, you will just want to put these in storage. I'll note when they have their use. Equipment - Weapon, head armor, body armor, wrist guards, and shoes. You can only equip a weapon specific to your class, and any defensive piece as long your class isn't excluded. Map - In the top-right corner of the screen, you can see the map of where you stand. In town, a dungeon block, or a grove, you will have the option of having the map up when you are not in battle, or you can toggle it off by pressing Select. In fields other than groves, there's a little more to the map. You see, other than the typical field, you have just the one map size. With the fields, however, you can toggle between Default Map, no map, and Overall Map. Overall Map is good for seeing where the portals, dungeon, and Spring of Myst can be found, whereas the Default Map lets you see the formations where you could find Symbols or grunty food. -------------About Battles------------- Yay, they're not random. The battles are in set places, though you COULD be attacked by wandering monsters on the field. In a dungeon, you cannot leave a room with any monsters in it still alive because the doors stay closed until you are victorious. * TIP: Sometimes, on a field, you will see two portals too close together for comfort. The way around this is to get close enough to one to activate it, and then run away from it just far enough to separate enemy party from additional opposition. I hope this helps you. Attack - Press X like you're interacting with an object or a character. You attack with Twin Blades, and can keep doing so repeatedly. Game Over - When you run out of health, you have to start over from the last place you saved. Game Over also occurs if your Infection from Data Drain reaches 100%. Items/Spells - To use these in battle, you must open the main menu and select what you want to use from there. The skills and spells are all separated into different tabs, with the last being for your Data Drain. Items also are separated into tabs. When in battle, you'll likely be using them from the first two tabs. Beyond that, you'd have to go into Equipment to fix whatever weapon you have equipped depending on what a battle's strategy may call for. But, I will cover this when it comes up. Strategy - This one is a little more complex than it needs to be, and it could get you into trouble if you leave it alone. First, you have to set the battle formation, which will very likely switch between Wonder Battle and Union Battle most of the time. Second, DURING combat you can shout to one party member to do first aid through the fight or to do a designated skill one time. You can also have that specific character change equipment as long they are carrying alternative stuff, which YOU have to give them. Data Drain Infection - As you Data Drain enemies, your infection level will rise. The higher in level you are compared to the monster, the less you will get infected from one use. As you gain other forms of Data Drain, you should note that the original Data Drain infects Kite less than the others. An email from Helba claims that the less infected you are, the easier it will be to get a Virus Core from most monsters, but I have yet to confirm this. To bring DOWN infection, Kite must physically attack some monsters and DEAL THE KILLING BLOW. The way you can check the level of infection is the silhouette image that appears next to the skill tab for the Data Drain skills. You won't see the exact percent of infection, but you will see colors in that silhouette to give an idea of where you are. They are as follows: * White - 0% to 24% * Blue - 25% to 49% * Green - 50% to 74% * Yellow - 75% to 98% * Orange - 99% * Red - 100%; GAME OVER * Maybe it's my screen, but I've never been able to see a difference between the white and blue levels. Either that, or the blue looks green ONLY on the Infection Status Window. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ III. Entity's Corner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It started with a woman who decided to write an epic poem, but she never got to finish it. A programmer who knew her decided to make a virtual world to depict this poem, and FRAGMENT was born with a hidden purpose within it. Soon after, FRAGMENT was revised to The World, and all was well in the public eye. But, some individuals found out differently, and two heroes of a major event dared to investigate. One dared as well to invite a real life friend to play this game with him. This was Kite. In their first trip together, Orca did teach Kite how to play his favorite game just before things went wrong. Orca's player fell into a coma in the living world, and Kite's true adventure began. BlackRose, a middle school girl in a search for answers to why her own brother fell into a coma, teamed up with Kite as they both met many people . . . some knowing something is wrong, and some ignorant of it all. Finally, Kite had a showdown with the monster responsible for Orca's coma, but the monster's defeat was just the beginning. Kite and BlackRose soon found themselves stalked by the administrator Lios, who threatened them with character deletion before the hacker known as Helba talked Lios into giving them a chance to figure out the cause of The World's issues. Kite and BlackRose followed as it was their only lead on information, but then came another opporunity when they tracked down Wiseman about his knowledge of the Epitaph of Twilight. Wiseman directed our duo to find Helba at Net Slum, but Lios and Balmung took this chance to try to delete the trio. Fortunately, he was made unable to do this. Unfortunately, Magus had shown itself. A fight waged as victorious as against Skeith and Innis. Upon returning to town, Kite and BlackRose discovered that the problem had mutated to more than just players falling into comas. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IV. Walkthrough ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * For the purpose of this guide (A) will be Delta, and (8) will be Theta. (^) will stand for Lambda. Please do not confuse it for Delta's (A). (E) will represent Sigma. These are to help you know which server we're on. * Also, I will provide SOME maps. Here's the key for most of them: = Pathway between east and west I Pathway between north and south, or else a weird wall M Magic Portal (monster or chest spawn point) B Boss c Treasure Chest; CAPS for 2+ v Virus Crystal T Gott Statue and main chest of dungeon k Destructible items (ie., skeletons, boxes, etc.,); CAPS for 2+ P Random buff Symbol found in dungeon map g Grunty Food; CAPS for 2+ u Way up in dungeons d Way down in dungeons (or into dungeons in groves) @ Spring of Myst in a grove ^ Space, nothingness, or even a special boss when noted as such -------------Mending Broken Spirits------------- ~~Part 1: The Few, the Fragile~~ You can watch the scenes that summarize the events of the past two volumes, or you can skip wih the start button. After that, you will start on the desktop. In case you don't know for some ridiculous reason, .hack emulates an online game called The World, and the desktop is this series' way of emulating your actions in the "real world." News: CC Corp has issued a statement blaming Helba for a growing problem in The World. Kite will comment on it being a lie. Email: You are told about an upgrade in the system from //Mutation. Each grunty you raise can now sniff out things in the field depending on its type. This can save you Fairy's Orbs (maybe) and also time spent looking for grunty foods. Wiseman informs you that he will be unavailable for a short time. Select "The World." Before you choose to "Log In," enter the "Board." Board: More detailed info about the upgrade. Log in. Carmina Gadelica-- You will see a scene with Mia acting stranger than usual. When it is over, we have something quick we must do. Since you've converted this from the Data Flag of //Mutation, you should have all the grunties on this server. Bony and Snakey will each have an item--Golden Grunty and Silver Grunty respectively--on them. Trade for them using 13 Healing Potions each. Use both right away! Check your Ryu Books as well. Having carried over from before, you should get at least a couple things to add to your desktop. * Take note that The Hanged Man and The Moon are no longer sold at the Magic Shop. This is why I asked at the end of Mutation to store a bunch of The Moon scrolls in Elf's Haven. Log out when you are done with these few things. Email: A dumb message from CC Corp And Mistral wants to talk to you in Delta's root town. Board: In the thread "Phantom" you can get (^) Stalking Betrayed Nothingness from one post. We'll do this area later. When you log in, use the Chaos Gate to switch servers to Delta. Mac Anu-- Mistral is waiting for you, She tells Kite that she's been pregnant all this time, and she's a little too worried for her child to be online during these dangerous times. She'll leave and become unavailable until halfway through the next volume. She won't gain any Exp., either. You'll automatically appear in Lambda. Carmina Gadelica-- Kite and BlackRose talk a bit. Kite is beginning to have doubts. BlackRose storms off angry at Kite. Log out again. We'll go exploring soon, I swear. Email: CC Corp tells you that the Sigma server has finally been reopened. BlackRose tells you to call her anytime. Board: "To Orca" has (E) Chatting Snaring Twins Carmina Gadelica-- Use the Chaos Gate to switch servers again. This time, let's check out Sigma. Be sure to have plenty of Healing Potions and Mage's Souls. Fort Ouph-- Before we go off to the next area, go south to the Grunty Ranch. You should have more than enough grunty good to raise your first grunty. Talk to Little Grunty, and select Give Food. Give it something like 40 Oh No Melons to make the little thing grow into this server's Noble Grunty. Save your game. Kite has to solo this; even Ms. "Call me anytime" is unavailable. You will need a couple Virus Core E's, which should be in your collection from //Mutation. * Kite should be level 52 if you followed my .hack guides up 'til now. * Always bring Lucky Shoes from //Mutation without equipping them. They will be the Rare item we'll throw in every Spring of Myst, and their HP and SP regeneration spells will help from time to time. * For this area, bring a small bunch (around 15) of Wood spell scrolls. The Moon also works quite well on holding some enemies still. Carrying plenty of The Moon and The Hanged Man through the rest of the games is highly advisable. (E) Chatting Snaring Twins-- Unlocking Virus Cores: E x2 # of Field Portals: 16 # of Dungeon Portals: 11 # of Symbols: 1 Spring of Myst: n/a Monsters: Maxwell, Earth Maiden, Miasma Wyvern, /onB=ll^$&a (B), IronBall Titan (B) Earth Maidens are easy to kill physically if you have Ap Do on and aren't being hit with spells or skills every so often. They are even easier if you use Wood spell scrolls on them. Maxwell can be killed easily with Thunder Dance, which your Blades of Bond carry. Both of these enemies can be Data Drained for Virus Core G's, but keep down the Data Drain usage to once per three kills. Be sure that most of your kills are with physical hits. * Keep an eye on your HP. Use Healing Potions as needed to stay alive. * Your first Data Drain in this volume should give the ability to use 2128 Drain, which I'll have you use a little later. Stick to Data Drain for now so your infection level doesn't climb too fast. Miasma Wyvern is just big enough to gain a Virus Core H from it via Data Drain. If you aren't getting Virus Cores very easily yet, then don't worry. Just keep at it with patience starting now. Kite should be at level 53 when you enter the dungeon. If you want Root Vegetables, use Noble Grunty to weed them out. ___ | d | "I" ___ |c | | | | | | | | | | M | | | | | | | | | | | "I" B1 ___ |c | ___ ___| |___ ___ |KcK|=| M |=|KvK| """ """| |""" """ | | "I" ___ | k| "I" ___ | u | """ As soon as you enter, you hear some words about humans versus AI growth. The enemies are the same as with the field. In the breakable objects, you can gain Antidotes, Restoratives, Healing Potions, and Well Water. The latter will help with trades later on. It is also here that you will begin to find Virus Cores lying around for anyone to pick up. ___ | d | """ __ ___ __ |-ck|=| k |=|ck-| "I" """ "I" ___ ___ ___ |c k| |KvK| |g k| "I" "I" "I" ___ ___ ___ |k g|=| |=|c k| """ "I" """ ___ | | | | | M | | | | | B2 "I" ___ | u | """ More words. This time referring to an ultimate AI. Be sure to grab the grunty food on this block; they're a Golden Egg and an Immature Egg. ___ | d | B3 "I" ___ _____ |c | | c| _______ ___| | | |"" | M c|=| M | | M| | |""" """| | | |__ | | | | | | "I" "I" """I" ___________ ___ ___________ | c k | |KvK| | g k | | | """ | | | M | | M | | | | | | k c | | k | """""I""""" """""I""""" ___ ___ |c | | | | |___ ___________ ___| | | M |=|c M |=| M | """"""" """| |""" """"""" | | "I" ___ | u | """ Words about Earth, life, and death. Take out all the portals on this block. It's easy if you are prepared. Also, If you just get one Virus Core G and H, then that will be fine for now. It'll get easier to gain Virus Cores later in the game. The words now mention Morganna Mode Gone. The fourth block needs no map. Use Ap Do, and go north beyond the purple smoke. You will see Balmung fighting a Data Bug. ***/onB=ll^$&a*** HP: Inf. P.Res/M.Res: None Element: Earth Rec.Lvl: 53 Balmung will be attacking this thing, but you cannot heal Balmung. Not that you need to. This boss will be interested only in Kite. Fight this thing in melee combat, and keep Kite healed the whole time. When the Protect Break finally happens, use Data Drain. You'll get a Virus Core O. This thing will turn into a normal IronBall Titan. Easy, really. ***End of Battle*** In the scene that follows, Kite finally gains Balmung's trust. You gain his Member Address. In the second scene, you'll be told about a strange room that Balmung and Orca had seen one day. You'll be led there, receive Epitaph 02, and return to town automatically. Fort Ouph-- Sell your excess stuff. Log out. Email: BlackRose says she'll be waiting by the chained statue at (A) Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. When you log back in, switch servers to Delta. Mac Anu-- Before running off to where you'll be meeting BlackRose, go south, turn right toward the Magic shop, and head past it into the alley. Just past the bridge will be the first sighting. It will be like a ghost of Mimiru, and talking to it will cause her to repeat a quote from //SIGN just before she vanishes. You will gain Image 50 on your desktop and also a Healing Elixir. If you have any trouble seeing the ghost, then try going south a little more until the cursor picks up on a target. * Image 50 is an interesting one. It starts out with silhouettes of nine //SIGN characters. As you complete all the sightings for each ghost in the system, the characters are revealed. More on the sightings will be discussed later. (A) Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground-- Enter the building for a scene. BlackRose will finally explain about her brother. She confront's Kite about his doubt. Kite and BlackRose will agree to move forward because they're not alone in wanting to make things better. Mac Anu-- There's nothing more to do than logging out, for now. ~~Part 2: A Little Help TO My Friends~~ Email: Helba explains about Virus Cores G, H, and I. Sanjuro needs help at (E) Soaring Sky Madness Gardenia summons you to come with to (E) Dolorous Promised Clavicle Marlo is looking for the Necrotic Eye. We need to read this to make the corresponding topic appear on the board. Nuke wants you to take with to (E) Attracting Fated Ebb and Flow Wiseman wants to meet you in Sigma's root town. Reply with "About time!" to help Wiseman's Affection out a little. Everyone you have the Member Address of (minus Elk, Mia, BlackRose, Wiseman, and Mistral) will say they're all finally available. Board: "Play Knowledge" mentions the Necrotic Eye as being at (E) Spun Bloody Tragedy "Let's Play Tag Returns" will begin this volume's Golden Goblin event with (E) Detestable Gambler's Sunny Demon "I'm Terajima Ryoko" has (E) Cracked Worst Milestone for us to find our next character. Oh, and she's not in B1 . . . nor is she any higher than level 1. When you log in, go to Sigma. Fort Ouph-- Wiseman informs you that five more signs of the Epitaph are on the way, and then there's Cubia. He'll hand you a Virus Core O. Let's do the Golden Goblin challenge first. Kite needs to be alone. (E) Detestable Gambler's Sunny Demon-- First off, if this isn't available to you, then you need to complete the other two sets of challenges before this. Stehoney is ready. ***Stehoney T x3*** HP: 1170 each. P.Res/M.Res: None Element: Fire Rec.Lvl: 53 That's right, there are 3 of them. To make matters worse, they can now heal one another as soon as one gets to half health. Spells won't do you any good here as far as doing damage. They will even resist The Moon and The Hanged Man if you try using either. So, use Ap Do and Ap Corv. Zoom out a bit. A good way to start is to hit each one twice. Stick to the third. Once you get in the third hit on one of them, stay on him and quickly hit him a few more times until one is dead. That alone can be slightly tricky as you will have to cut turns to catch or keep up. Move on to the second Stehoney T, and kill him as fast as you can. Don't relax just yet. Take out the third one to finish this match. For winning, you get a Goblin Cap S. ***End of Battle*** There are Twilight Onions here. Use Noble Grunty, and press the triangle button to have it find as much as you want to collect. Fort Ouph-- Store the Goblin Cap S. For this next area, invite Wiseman and BlackRose. Be sure you've handed BlackRose the BL Yokohama from //Mutation. If Wiseman does not already have them, then buy the Imp Earrings and Priest's Stole from the Weapon Shop. You can either give them as a gift, or you can trade each one for 6 of any elemental item. We're doing this next area first so that Terajima can level a little over the course of everyone else's quest. (E) Cracked Worst Milestone-- # of Field Portals: 16 # of Dungeon Portals: 22 # of Symbols: 3 Spring of Myst: Grandpa Lv. 4 Monsters: Forest Hsien, Napylon, Astro Prince, Comad Goo, Skull Hero (D), Deadly Present (D), Gaia Turtle (D) Hit up the hard-to-miss Spring of Myst. Cast the Lucky Shoes. Then choose "Neither" to get it back plus both the Golden Axe and Silver Axe since Lucky Shoes is a Rare item. Since you have both Ap Do and Ap Corv, keep both up on your melee fighters wherever you go. Try not to leave Wiseman behind. He's our healer through the better part of this game. If you see a Symbol, use it when the whole party is in range. Napylon and Forest Hsien are both weak to Earth. Use Earth magic to bring down the Hsien as fast as possible. If you want to Data Drain one, however, then you will want to use another elemental spell to cause Protect Break. Napylons can heal themselves 400 HP at a time. You just have to be fast with them. If you Data Drain at least one Napylon, then it will turn into an Astro Prince, which has 1000 HP and can hurt you. Comad Goo is big enough to Data Drain for a Virus Core I. Wiseman should have the spell MeAni Kruz, which can shorten the battles against them by a fair amount. They can also be made easier with The Moon. Less need for heals. Clear the field of its magic portals since it's good Exp. Enter the dungeon when you're done out here. ___ ___ | d | |KKc| "I" "I" ___ ___________ ___ | | | k c | | | | |___ | | ___| | | M |=| M |=| M | | |""" | | """| | | | | g k | | | "I" """""I""""" "I" ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ |KcK|==|KcK|==| K| |KGK|==|KcK| """ """ "I" """ """ ___________ | k | | | | M | | | | k | B1 """""I""""" ___ | u | """ Proceed just a few feet for a short scene with Hybnos, who also came here in response to the board. Terajima is nowhere in sight. Skull Hero is a fast kill with Thunder Dance. Instead of Well Water, you can get Burning Oil here. Clear the portals. Don't forget the Bloody Egg or other grunty food. ___ | d | B2 "I" ___________ ___ ___________ | k c | | | | k c | | | ___| |___ | | | M M |=| M |=| M M | | | """| |""" | | | k | | | | g k | """"""""""" "I" """"""""""" ___ |KcK| "I" ___ | u | """ Deadly Present looks like a chest, it likes to confuse your party members, and it resists physical attacks. Because of them, and also because the Skull Hero can hit Wiseman pretty hard, be especially careful in the rooms with the two portals. Try to limit how many you activate at once by keeping some distance from the second portal while taking care of the first. Use Restoratives when someone gets Confused; it'll likely be BlackRose first. ___________ B3 | k c | _______ ___________ | | _______ | M c|=| d| | M M |=| M | | |""" """"""""""" | | """| | | | | k | | c| "I" """"""""""" "I" ___ ___ |KgK| |K K| "I" "I" ___________ ___________ | c k | | k c | | | ___________________________ | | | M |=|g M |=| M | | | """""""""""| |""""""""""" | | | k c | | | | k | """"""""""" | | """"""""""" | | | | "I" ___ | u | """ Keep up the portal clearing through this block. At the end, you will run into PINA for a short scene. She saw another player heading toward a lower level. The fourth block needs no map. Go east from the first portal to find a room with two more, and then north from the first to find a fourth portal and the stairs. Easy enough, right? ___ | | | | | |* | | | | B5 "I" ___ |c | ____ ___ ___| |___ ___ _________ |T |=|KgK|=| M |=|KgK|=| M c| """" """ """| |""" """ """"""""" | | "I" ___ | u | """ Save the northernmost room for last. Go west for the Gott Statue, and then east to finish clearing the dungeon. Or vice versa. You have a chance here of running into a Gaia Turtle, which resists physical attacks. It is also quite strong, so be careful with it. Enter the northernmost room, and approach the player standing there to meet Terajima. Kite shows her the way out. Fort Ouph-- Terajima gives you her Member Address. Switch out BlackRose for Terajima just so you can hand her such items as the Silver Scarab and Ivory Barettes. Switch her out for Nuke. Sell and restock. As a reference, your party should range in level from 54 to 56 by now. (E) Attracting Fated Ebb and Flow-- # of Field Portals: 16 # of Dungeon Portals: 9 # of Symbols: 4 Spring of Myst: n/a Monsters: Earth Maiden, Maxwell, Forest Hsien (D), Napylon (D), Wander Demon (B) Grunt Mints. The monsters should be nothing new. In fact, they should be much easier between the size of your party and the levels you've gained. You can hold the magic casting enemies still with Staccatto now. I recommend fighting enough enemies to get Nuke to level 55 before going into the dungeon. ___________ | k | | | ___ ___ | M M |=|KcK|=|KgK| | | """ "I" | g k | ___________ """"""""""" | c k | ___ | | B1 |d |=| M | """ | | ___________ | k g | | c k | """""I""""" | M | ___ ___ | | |KcK|=|KcK| | M | "I" """ | k c | ___________ """""I""""" | c k | ___ ___ | | |KcK|=|KcK|=| M | """ """ | | | k g | """""I""""" ___ | u | """ You can find Invisible Eggs here. The map explains this block well enough, right? Clear the portals. The second block needs no map. The rooms to the west and south of the one portal are storage rooms, and to the north is the stairs. ___ | | | | | B | B3 | | "I" ___ |c | ___ ___ ___| | |K K|=|K K|=| M | "I" """ """| | ___ | | | | "I" | T | ___ ___ _______ """ |k |=|K K|=| M c| "I" """ """"""" ___ | u | """ Take out the portals, and claim the Gott Statue's treasure, before heading to the boss. The boss is only a Wander Demon. Have Wiseman use a Water spell while Kite and Nuke melee the thing to death. After the short scene, you'll be back in town. * If you didn't get a Rod of Pattern back in //Mutation, then use 2128 Drain on Wander Demon. Problem solved. Just have Kite deal the finishing blow on the enemy. Fort Ouph-- Invite Marlo for the next one. Bring plenty (25) of Knight's Bane. If you have enough grunty food, then raise your Milky Grunty as well with: 3 La Pumpkin 3 White Cherry 2 Snakey Cactus 6 Invisible Egg 10 Golden Egg Trade with Milky Grunty for her Silver Grunty, and give it to Wiseman. She is also the one one this server that can track magic portals in fields. (E) Spun Bloody Tragedy-- # of Field Portals: 16 # of Dungeon Portals: 10 # of Symbols: 0 Spring of Myst: n/a Monsters: Gaia Turtle, Skull Hero, Hydrosaurus, Deadly Present (D), Comad Goo (D) When you see a Gaia Turtle, use a Knight's Bane on it. It should work fine. Hydrosaurus is an easy enough of a kill if you keep Wiseman on heals. Try to get Marlo to level 56 before entering the dungeon. The Virus Cores should be a little easier by now. You might as well clear the field of magic portals. ___________ | k | ___ | | ___ |d |=| M |=|KgC| """ | | """ | g k | """""I""""" ___ |c | ___ ___| |___ ___ |CKK|=| M |=|KKC| """ """| |""" """ | | "I" ___________ | g k | | | | M | | | | k g | """""I""""" B1 ___ | u | """ Deadly Presents have returned. Use your spare Knight's Banes on them. Just kill them with as fast as you can, and be ready with those Restoratives. ___ | d | | | | | | | | | "I" ___ |KcK| "I" ___________ | c k | ___ | | ___ |GCK|=| M |=| u| """ | | """ | k | """""I""""" ___ |KcK| B2 "I" ___________ | c k | | M | | | | M | | k c | """"""""""" Another easy block. Just be careful of the Confusion. ___________ | | | | | B | | | | | """""I""""" B3 ___ |c | ____ ___| | |T |=| M | """" """| | | | "I" ___ ___________ | | | k c | | |___ | | | M |=| M M | | |""" | | | c| | g k | "I" """"""""""" ___ | | | | | | | | | u | """ As usual, the northernmost room is being left for last. Clear the portals, get the Gott Statue opened up, and be sure Kite and Marlo are buffed up. Enter the boss chamber. ***Necrotic Eye*** HP: 4450 P.Res/M.Res: Magic Element: Fire Rec.Lvl: 56-57 Set Wiseman to First Aid, and keep on attacking. If Marlo has Glitter on him, then have him use Rue Crack on occasion. After a short while, this thing will try to heal itself for 400 HP at a time. It's an easy kill; no need for Data Drain. This will go pretty quick. ***End of Battle*** You'll learn what happened the last time Marlo fought one of these things just before his friends show up to apologize to him. You'll return to town. Fort Ouph-- Sell and restock. You'll need more Knight's Bane. Invite Gardenia. (E) Dolorous Promised Clavicle-- # of Field Portals: 16 # of Dungeon Portals: # of Symbols: 1 Spring of Myst: Monsieur Lv. 4 Monsters: Gaia Turtle, Sled Dog King, Comad Goo, Holy Knight (D) Sled Dog King can be Data Drained for a Virus Core H. By now, you should have at least three of each Virus Core G-I. A couple battles after Kite reaches 58, head inside. Feel free to grab some Mandragora. ___ ___ | d | |cGK| "I" "I" ___ ___ |g | | | | |___ ___________ ___| | | M |=|c M |=|c M | """"""" """| |""" """"""" | | "I" ___ |c | | | B1 | M | | | | | "I" ___ | u | """ Gardenia asks a question related to dying. Alright, Holy Knight's can resist