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                    Phantasy Star Online FAQ/Walkthrough
                        Episode I&II Gamecube Version
                   ASCII Title provided by ASCII Generator

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Terekane of Darkness (Version 1.2) June 13, 2005
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Finally though a strange twist of fate, Plus edition was released and I was able
to make walkthroughs for the four added quests. Sorry about the LONG wait for
these quest walkthroughs. You see, my character got erased so it took some time
to get him back. Thanks for your patients!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have bought Episode I and II Plus but still have
characters from the original, your old characters ARE FULLY compatible with the
plus edition. Thus if you wanted to grab plus for yourself but didn't know if
you'd get compatibility problems then don't worry.

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V_1.2  Added four new quests from Plus edition. Also did a tiny bit of general
       maintenance

V_1.1  Just added a few comments from e-mail-ers

V_1.0  Alright! Now it's done FINALLY! I've finished the basic Episode II
       stuff! Yahoo!

V_0.75 I Started Episode II and there's a bunch more Episode I quests to do but
       they'll be done in no time. (I hope)

V_0.50 All right! Educational stuff is done, and so is half of Episode I. I'll
       try to post this once Episode I quests are done...

V_0.25 I have begun the actual writing. I should get just want to get done the
       educational stuff for now. The actual Walkthrough is commin' I tell ya!

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SECTION A: BASICS

<A1> Author's Preface and Introduction
<A2> Characters and Classes and Section ID's
<A3> Game Modes
<A4> Fighting Basics
<A5> Items, Techs and Equipables
<A6> MAGs
<A7> Team/Multiplayer Strategy
<A8> PSO Plus, What's the difference?

SECTION B: WALKTHROUGH

<B1> Walkthrough Episode I
       <B1F> Forest 1-2
       <B1C> Caves 1-3
       <B1M> Mines 1-2
       <B1R> Ruins 1-3

<B2> Episode I Quests
       <B2-BT> Battle Training
       <B2-CS> Claiming a Stake
       <B2-MM> Magnitude of Metal
       <B2-VM> Value of Money
       <B2-JP> Journalistic Pursuit
       <B2-FY> The Fake in Yellow
       <B2-NR> Native Research
       <B2-FS> Forest of Sorrow
       <B2-GS> Gran Squall
       <B2-AF> Addicting Food
       <B2-LB> The Lost Bride
       <B2-WT> Waterfall Tears
       <B2-BP> Black Paper
       <B2-SD> Secret Delivery
       <B2-LL> Letter From Lionel
       <B2-SB> Soul of a Blacksmith
       <B2-GB> The Grave's Butler
       <B2-KH> Knowing One's Heart
       <B2-RH> The Retired Hunter
       <B2-OR> Dr. Osto's Research
       <B2-UD> Unsealed Door
       <B2-SS> Soul of Steel
       <B2-SP> Doc's Secret Plan
       <B2-SM> Seek My Master
       <B2-FD> From the Depths
       <B2-CD> Central Dome Fire Swirl*

<B3> Walkthrough Episode II
       <B3T> Temple Alpha, Beta
       <B3S> Spaceship Alpha, Beta
       <B3C> Central Control Area
       <B3SB> Seabed Upper and Lower Levels

<B4> Episode II Quests
       <B4-CT> Control Tower*
       <B4-SH> Seat of the Heart*
       <B4-WT> West Tower*
       <B4-ET> East Tower*

(*): These quests are only accessible online or in PSO Episode I and II Plus
edition.

SECTION C: EXTRA INFO

<C1> FAQs
<C2> Unconfirmed Rumors/Strange Things
<C3> Credits!
<C4> Legal Jazz
<C5> Contact Info

~There is a quick navigate function in this guide too. If you don't know how,
simply hold Ctrl+F and type the code that you are looking for

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<A1>----------Author's Preface and Introduction---------------------------------

Hello one and all! Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of Phantasy Star
Online otherwise known as PSO! This is my first guide (For GameFAQs) ever so if
it goes over well, I will continue to make them! PSO is a unique style of RPG
game that runs in real time like never before. Those of you who have played the
Final Fantasy Series, which includes most everybody then you will be very
familiar with the style of gaming. The only big difference is there are
absolutely no battle screens. Instead, the game is composed of levels that you
will revisit many times to increase you levels. All your battling is done in a
3rd person style where you use guns spells and a huge array of other weapons to
vanquish your foes. It is important that since the game lacks the turn based
battle system and resembles something like an adventure game like Quake or Doom,
the game can happen very fast. Also, this game doesn't have too much of a plot
(not like the FF series) and most of the fun comes from pure fighting and
finding new rare weapons and armour to increase you efficiency at blasting
enemies to bits. The game may seem very complex at first but it is nothing you
can't handle. While this game does have online capabilities, it is just as
exciting offline. I have never played the online game and I still think it is a
blast. This guide was meant to teach you strategies on how to become a more
deadly fighter and guide you through the levels. I also make comments here and
there about the running plot and I will give due warning before the terror of
spoilers. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact
me with. Without further ado, let's get started!

<A2>----------Character Classes and Section IDs---------------------------------


A popular new aspect of RPGs today is the ability to build your own character.
PSO lets you do just that and offers many character classes that you can select
and define to your personal likes. There are three basic classes and three types
of characters. Picking a character is very important because it will influence
your fighting style, what you can and cannot do and your overall outlook on PSO.
Before choosing, it is important to know what you are getting yourself into.
Make sure you know what you want because once you have created a character, all
you can do is make minor changes to their wardrobe. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
NOTE: All characters are generally called "hunters." They include all the
classes whether or not your character is of the Hunter class

      ~HUNTERS~
Hunters are your power people. They have high attack power and are pretty
balanced in all the other stats. They are great for beginners for that reason as
they are probably the least specialized of the classes.  You might consider
these guys to be the Jedi knights that bravely march up to enemies and dismember
them with a massive sword. I dunno, if you want power, here is where you stand.

HUmar (M-Human)
      Probably the most common and most balanced of all the characters the HUmar
has good power, magic, and defence. You could put this guy in any situation and
they would be able to fight themselves out. While they do lack the magic power
of force, they make up for it with their good attack power.

HUneweral (F-Newman)
      She lacks a bit in hp and strength but she makes up for it with great tech
power. Slightly less able than the HUmar in physical attacks but they make a
great magic hunter and they can even function as the team's "force" if none are
present.

HUcast (M-Android)
      Oh man. This guy kicks some serious backside. The HUcast is an android
that puts and end to all androids and came to define the words "attack power"
They have the highest attack in the game plus an awesome amount of defence. The
downside to all androids is they have zip mental strength meaning no techniques
(or magic) for them. They can however, lay traps.

HUcaseal (F-Android)
      She's right up they're in attack power and she has good accuracy to boot!
The HUcaseal doesn't have the ATP that a HUcast has but with all that accuracy
and good defence plus traps, they can be just as deadly.

      ~RANGERS~
The word RANGErs should tell you what they will be like. That's right. Rangers
are the sneaky ones with monstrous guns, half the size of them that can stand
way back and dish out the pain from a safe distance. They typically have amazing
attack accuracy meaning the word "miss" is something you'll rarely see with this
class. They also have really good defences making them excellent front-liners to
guard the rest. They start out the strongest and in my opinion, are the easiest
to use because of their great range. The only things is, they don't take much of
a liking to techniques (or techs) so don't expect much out of them in the magic
department.

RAmar (M-Human)
      I wouldn't be off by saying this is the most common ranger. They are very
balanced and have a decent knowledge of techs for a ranger. They are pretty
balanced and have good accuracy and have a wide assortment of gun weapons to
choose from.

RAmarl (F-Human)
      While she doesn't have the same raw power that the RAmar has but she is
the best in techs for the Ranger class. This doesn't give you any amazing
casting abilities but if you don't want to be a force or there is none on your
team, she can double as a fighter and the designated healer.

RAcast (M-Android)
      This thing is an absolute tank! That is about as clear a picture I can
paint you. Unlike the Hunter androids, this things is a massive pile of raw
power, accuracy and defence. They cannot cast techs of course but with that size
and awesome defence, they make excellent body shields. Strap on a good strong
ranged gun and you can pretty much let this guy do most of the work for you.

RAcaseal (F-Android)
      The RAcaseal doesn't really have any advantage over the RAcast. They have
slightly more HP and defence but that's about it. They can serve as excellent
body shields as well as great back row fighters. I personally like this class
because they make less noise when they walk. :)


      ~FORCES~
Last but by no means least are Forces. They are my personal favourite class and
I have three of them! Forces, just like the name suggests like to use lots of
magic and they have the advantage in that department in every way. Forces can
learn techs up to level 30, which is double of other classes. They also have
access to three Force-exclusive techs that are super helpful (save one). Forces
usually end up being "healers" which is probably they best they can offer at low
levels but when that tech power starts to strengthen, look out! They do have one
huge drawback: their physical stats. Their attack power, accuracy and defence
tend to suck big time but in their later development, you don't need defence. I
don't recommend a Force until you are an expert at the game.(You can really tell
that I'm biased.)

FOmar (M-Human)
      My personal favourite Force is the FOmar and this is why: they have great
battle skills. Despite being a Force, they have excellent attack power
(obviously not like a Hunter) meaning you'll want to conserve a bit of magic and
beat up the opposition with a good powerful weapon. On the other hand, they have
low health and are difficult to start out as because the use of a gun is a long
way off.

FOmarl (F-Human)
      The Ranger of the Forces, FOmarls have the highest attack accuracy of the
Forces, which isn't saying much. They don't posses the same attack power of a
FOmar but they can still brawl with some interesting results.

FOnewm (M-Newman)
      The only male Newman is the FOnewm. They have awesome amounts of magic
with great skills and speed. They lack attack power but you could brawl with
them if you level up high enough. Typically, you're going to start off using
just techs and later, you can worry about weapons.

FOnewearl (F-Newman)
      All I can say about her is she is the best tech caster there is! I have
one and she is awesome! They have the highest MST and TP of them all meaning
that weapons really have no use to her. The only drawback is she is probably the
weakest character in terms of physical stats and if any monster gets past the
flurry of techs you are casting, she can pretty much kiss her life goodbye.

These are the major classes but each character also falls into a type as well:

~Androids~
Androids cannot cast any techs. That you must remember. Zippo magic. They are
also the only type of character that can lay traps and they can also see traps
without the aid of a "Trap Vision." They usually have the highest physical stats
as well. No team is complete without an android.

~Newmans~
Opposite from the androids in every way, Newmans have very high TP and mental
strength. They are the most powerful with techs and their TP restores
automatically (after a very long time). They also generally suck in physical
stats and have low power and defence.

~Humans~
These guys are the "balanced" ones. They posses average skill in all aspects in
terms of their stats. Yu can count on them in all departments. They are
excellent for beginners and experts alike.

SECTION IDs

Once you create a character, you will be assigned a Section ID. What this
actually does I'm not too sure but after looking at the in-depth by Atax, they
are used to calculate how often you find a particular weapon and how skilled
with it you are. Your ID is completely decided by the name you enter, not by
your class but certain IDs would be useless for certain classes. For example,
the BLUEFULL ID, which finds many partisans would not be useful to a Force who
can't use them. This doesn't mean that will be all you will find, but it just
means you find slightly more of one type of item than others. For more
information on SECTION IDs, check out the in-depth guide.


<A3>----------Game Modes--------------------------------------------------------


~Single Mode~

This is where you will play most often. You pick whatever character you want and
you play through the game and you get the storyline on the way. There are 4
levels: The Forest, Caves, Mines and finally, the Ruins. Once you clear the
stages for that level, you must fight a boss. Once you defeat the boss, you must
go back to "The Principle" which is where you start. (You know, through the big,
obvious warp). To open the next level you MUST talk to him. Once you do, the
next level opens and you can continue. You can replay the same level infinite
times to build up your character's level. There are also quest you can do that
involve doing things in the regular levels. They can be found next to the level
warp in the "Hunter's Guild." In order to open levels in Multi-Mode, you must
have completed them in Single mode. Also, there are 4 difficultly levels:
Normal, Hard, Very Hard and Ultimate. You must clear the final boss to open up
the next difficult level and continue in the game.

~Multi-Mode~

Probably the mode with the most fun is Multi-Mode. You and up to three friends
can play simultaneously in a co-operative attempt to complete or "run-through"
the levels. All status in Multi-Mode is saved with your character and you can do
everything in Multi-Mode as in Single Mode except complete quests (which sucks).
Also, you can open up new levels in Multi Mode but they do NOT carry over. Say
you play for the first time and you beat the forest. You can then advance to
Caves but if you turn the power off, the next time you play, you have to start
at Forest again. The only way to save your progress is complete the levels in
single Mode. The level selection is always the current progress of Player 1.
NOTE: In order to enter higher difficultly levels in Multi-mode, you must all be
at a certain level. For hard, everyone must be at least Lv 20. For VHard, at
least 40 and for Ultimate, at least Lv 80. This does not apply to Single Mode
but you probably won't survive without at least these levels anyway.

~Challenge Mode~

This is a strange mode and you must play it in Multi-Mode. You and up to 3
friends are set back to Level 1 in the Normal Forest. You then progressively
clear the levels and difficultly levels like in Single Mode but if any member
dies, you fail and must start again. Note, any levelling, weapons or items are
NOT saved. Your progress will be saved however. Say you completed up to the
second level of Caves. When you go back next time, you can start here again.
However, you can only start at the progress of the lowest member of your party.
Say you and two friends got to the mines and you bring in somebody who only got
to the Caves. You have to restart at Caves again to continue. This is actually a
good idea so you can increase your levels and get new more powerful weapons and
spells. If you clear the entire of Challenge Mode you get a "free" (not after
all that work!) of your choice. (There is a list you have to choose from)
Challenge more is the ultimate show of teamwork. Item hogs will only lead the
team to fail.

**I will be putting in a guide to challenge mode here as soon as I beat it
myself so check back here at a later time**

~Battle Mode~

This should ring instantly in your head that it is going to be a Multi-Mode
option. Battle mode allows you to go through the regular levels the same way,
but you can also attack your friends. If they piss you off, you can now wail
away on them. This provides no real advancement but it is amusing to do.
However, Battle Mode really takes place by entering battles through the Hunter's
Guild. You can select one of many rules to fight and you duke it out on the
Episode II Spaceship. Usually, if you die in battle mode, you are levelled up 5
time. This levelling does NOT carry over after you finish the battle. Also, if
you die, you will drop the weapon you had equipped. Your foe can then steal this
weapon or you can go find it where you died. You can also steal it back.
Remember, battle is purely for fun and nothing is carried over to any other
modes.

NOTE: There is something to worry about here aside from your opposition and that
is there tends to be a Delsaber hanging around the battle arena. If you find it,
RUN! You will NOT be able to kill it but it will kill you in one hit (usually).
I suppose they're helpful if your MAG casts invincibility when you're low on HP
but otherwise, stay away from him! An additional note is this guy no longer
obeys the rules and will follow you through doors, halls, rooms, anywhere you
happen to be going so unless you're miles ahead of it, it'll just keep coming.
(Kind of like the Master Tonberry in FF7).

<A4>----------Fighting Basics---------------------------------------------------

So you want to know how to fight huh? Well that's a good thing as almost all of
PSO is fighting. If you can't fight, you don't play PSO. It is as simple as
that. Well, fighting starts very complicated but once you understand all the
menu basics, you can pretty much do the rest. However, there are many tips to
remember so I strongly suggest reading this section before you attempt any of
the levels. There is a lot to it and depending on your character, your strategy
will change. But, let's first get on with the basics.

~The Menus~

In single mode, your menu is very big and takes up a large portion of the
screen. In Multi Mode, it is smaller but the same commands are there. One thing
you must know is that you CANNOT PAUSE THE GAME AT ALL! NO! Opening your menu
does NO pause the game! You must either quit the game, go back to Pioneer II
(Which is like home base) or find and empty room and stay there. Anyway, with
that out of the way here are the menus:

Item Pack
   Equip - Here is the place that you can equip weapons, armour, Mags and units.
   Items - This is a list of all the items you currently have
   Mag   - Here you can feed your Mag and check it's stats (see {A6}).

Customize
   This is very important. When you start playing, there will be a small section
on the bottom-right corner of your screen. Here is where you place actions the
will happen when you press the action buttons. There are six possible actions to
place here, which are basic attacks, techs, traps and items. Whatever you set
for the buttons will happen when you press the corresponding button on your
controller. It looks like this:
       __________
      /     ___  |
     /     / X \ |
    /   ___\___/ |
   /   / A \    /
  / ___\___/   /
 | / B \      /
 | \___/     /
 |__________/

The top one happens when you press the X button. The middle one is A and the
bottom one is B. Also, when you hold R, it will shift and you can put three
more. Therefore R+A, R+B and R+X give you three more commands. Whatever you put
on the customize must be necessary for quick use like healing items, quick
spells and of course attacks. You can put whatever you want here though but be
careful, you should customize for useful actions for the situation you're in.
(i.e. Fire spells on the customize would be a good idea against foes that use
ice.)

Techniques
   Only Humans and Newmans will see this under their menu and it displays a list
of all your usable techs. While in a level, you can come here to use a technique
that is not on your customize pad but the existence of the Quick Launch Window
(see below) makes this menu option useless. For what it's worth, your spells are
divided up into categories. (See more on techs in {A5})

Chat
   This menu has absolutely no use whatsoever if you are not online. Here you
can modify many forms of communication that will appear on your screen from
little symbols to shortcut keys to say simple phrases. This really has no
bearing of the actual fighting of PSO.

Status
   In single mode, as soon as you open the menu, you can use L&R to scroll
through the basic status of your character that includes their level, stats
(duh!) and things like that. In Multi-Mode, you cannot see the status window
unless you select this option. You typically come here to see how much more EXP
you need to level up.

Options
   Map Direction - Indicates if either the map moves according to you or your
                   marker moves according to the map.
   Key Config - Lets you make simple changes to the control of the game Cursor
                Position - Whether or not the cursor will appear in the same
                position the
                last time you opened a menu.
   Message Speed - Speed at which messages are displayed (Never thought of
                   that...)
   Rumble - Switches rumble feature on or off (obviously doesn't work for
            Wavebirds)
   Auto Disconnect - Time after which you will automatically disconnect from the
                     network.
Quit Game
   In order to end your game and SAVE YOUR PROGRESS you MUST select the quit
game option. Every time you quit game, your stats are saved (except Hp and TP
which are refilled) for the next time you play. Don't forget to quit otherwise
you get to cry over all time you wasted by not saving your progress.
NOTE: I can't stress this enough: don't be a dummy and turn off the game while
it is saving! It happened to me (don't worry, I kick myself for weeks...) and
you really don't want to start all over again do you? Then again, if lightening
strikes your house and/or power-lines while it is saving and you file gets
erased, well, you were never meant to play PSO.

~The Quick Launch Window~

I don't care what it is really called but there is a super-handy little window
you can open by holding R and pressing Y. The first menu you see lets you equip
weapons and check their stats by pressing X. Press R with this window open to
view your items and use them if necessary. In the heat of battle, if you don't
have a healing item on the customize you are urged to use this handy window to
use said item lest you find yourself dead a I will just laugh at you. Finally
with one more push of R, you can see your useable spells or traps where
applicable. NEVER forget about this window because it makes everything so much
easier and faster in mid combat!

~Stats~

Like all RPGs PSO has stats for your character.  Most will increase once you
level up but there are many ways to increase your overall strength. Here's what
all those three-letter words are:

HP: Health Power -> This should be obvious to anybody who has played a video
game before (yes that's you) If this runs out, you're dead! What happens when
you die? The screen goes all red and you fall down with a small ball of light
above your body. If you are by yourself, you need an item called a Scape doll to
revive you or perhaps your MAG will do it. Recovering HP is done through the use
of Mate type items, the spell Resta or any hp stealing class of weapon. HP Max
will increase at every level. You can also increase it with an item called HP
Material or by wearing a HP boosting Unit (Section {A5}).

TP: Technique Power -> This is your magical energy. Every time you cast a spell,
you use up some TP. If it runs out, then no more spells for you! To replenish
TP, use a Fluid type item or use a weapon with TP stealing capabilities. You
increase you max TP as your MST increases which usually happens at every level.
(Obviously androids always have 0 TP) You can also use TP Material or a TP
boosting Unit.
NOTE: I'm rather hoping this is obvious but just in case, I'll spell it out: You
CANNOT use spells if you don't have ALL the TP needed for the spell in question.
If you have 7 TP left, you can't cast oh say, Grants. No, you must have all the
45+ TP required for usage. Unlike health, where an attack can use up more that
all the HP you have left (which you should probably expect to happen when you
die) you MUST have the TP requirement! If you don't you can't use that spell.
It's that simple.

Lv: Level -> Every time your character gains a certain amount of EXP
(experience) they will increase a level and all of the basic stats will increase
according to your character and class. Levelling is the absolute most important
way to boost stats efficiently because not only do most (not always do all yours
stats increase. The amount is dependent on your character and class) of your
stats increase, you increase by a decent amount and are PERMANENT! You can gain
extra EXP through the use of an EXP draining weapon and killing things, duh.
NOTE: Everybody who hits an enemy gets EXP from it when it dies. However, you
get slightly more EXP if you delivered the final blow. That goes for bosses too.

ATP: Attack Power -> While in Bio class ATP is Adenosine Triphosphate (I'm
actually more than 100% sure I spelled that wrong but I really don't care), ATP
in PSO is your raw power. This will increase with every level and determines how
much damage you will dish out. All sabre/sword/slicer type weapons have a
requirement of ATP that you must meet in order to wield the weapon. If at any
time you don't meet your weapon's requirements, you cannot use the weapon. ATP
has two parts the base and the actual. The number in brackets is the base and it
is how much power you do without a weapon equipped or the spell Shifta. All
weapons will increase your actual attack power. You can also do so with Power
Materials, and by wearing __/Power Units.

DFP: Defensive Power -> Defence's purpose is to decrease the amount of damage
you receive from enemies. It will increase with levelling, by equipping armour
or shields or by finding DEF materials or wearing ___/Body Units. You can also
increase you DFP by casting the spell Deband.

MST: Mental Strength -> MST acts in many ways. First, the more MST you have, the
more TP you get. It also is a requirement of all Cane/Rod/Wand type weapons.
also you need a certain amount of MST to learn new spells. MST also dictates how
much damage you will inflict with your spells. MST increases at every level
(except for androids) and you can increase it by using Mind Materials, equipping
___/Mind Units and cane/rod/wand weapons.

ATA: Attack Accuracy -> When you fight, there is always the chance that your
attacks will "Miss." When this happens, you do no damage. How frequently you
miss is dependent on how much ATA you have. Guns have a requirement for ATA the
you have to meet to use them. (I think that is really stupid as the reason you
use a gun is for accuracy...) ATA increases every level or so and you can
increase it by equipping ___/Arm Units.

EVP: Evasion Power -> Also know as speed, your evasion dictates how often an
enemy's attack will be blocked by your shield/barrier and do no damage. When
this happens (especially if you are almost dead) it can be a blessing and a half
so make sure to keep this stat up. It usually is pretty high for all classes and
will increase with levelling. Also, all armours and shields typically increase
evasion as do some weapons (for some unknown reason.) You can also raise this
stat by using Evade Material or by equipping ___/Legs Units.

LCK: Luck -> Is Lady Luck on you side? Well, only if you find Luck Materials
because that, and equipping ___/Luck is the only way to increase this stat. All
its exact functions are a mystery to me but I know for a fact that every now and
again while you attack, you will hear a different sound and two white rings fly
out of your enemy producing a 1.5x damaging attack often called a "critical
hit". Luck supposedly increases the chances of that happening. It may also
decrease the chance of it happening to you but I do not know for sure. I'll
leave it up to you to make up a pile of mysteries behind this stat.

*Elemental Resistances*
Found on the third page of your status screen all elemental resistances act as
extra magic defence against a particular type of attack. They never increase
through levelling (or at least in my experience if they do please e-mail me and
tell me differently) and the only way to get resistances is to strap on armour
and shields that have resistances. There are no materials but there are plenty
of Resist___ around so you can strap those on too if you're up against a Force
or a particularly magical foe. I normally find those Units to be a waste of
space but in certain levels they can be of help. All resistances are the same
for their category:
EFR - Fire Resistance
EIC - Ice Resistance
ETH - Lightening Resistance
EDK - Dark Magic Resistance
ELT - Light Magic Resistance
If you are going in a level like Ultimate Caves where you face many Dark
attacks, it might be a good idea to put on a resist dark but otherwise, it's up
to you and if you have a slot to spare.

~Status Defects~

All RPGs have 'em and you hate 'em right? Well PSO is no exception. While it
doesn't have the variety of defects like FF7, you are going to see them more
often. When your character has a status defect, it would be in your best
interests to cure said defect. Usually, you can cure them mid battle but if it
is only a minor one like poison, wait until after the melee or exit the room,
cure it and renter. Here are the defects:

POISON: Your character will emit green bubbles and your HP decreases very slowly
until this condition is cured or you die. To cure poison, use an Antidote or
cast Anti Lv1.

SHOCK: Your character will fizzle like in some cheesy movies when somebody
sticks their finger in a light socket. For a limited time, you cannot attack or
cast techs. You can still pick up items and use items. You need somebody to cast
Anti Lv2 on you to cure it or you can just wait until it wears off.

PARALYSIS: This is the absolute worst thing that can happen to you! Paralysis
looks much like Shock in that your character will buzz with orange sparks but
the bad thing is that this one NEVER wears off. You have to either use
Antiparalysis or get someone to cast Anti Lv3 on you.

CONFUSE: Possibly the most annoying status defect is confusion. Unlike other
RPGs this would cause you to attack random things but in PSO, walking properly
is impossible. It is like you took lethal amounts of rum in five seconds. (So
that's why the rum's gone!) You can still attack and cast techs but they will
shoot of in random directions. Cure this right away with Anti Lv4 or you will
get pissed off in a hurry.

SLOW: Not quite as annoying as confusion, slow does just that. Everything you do
is now slowed down by about half the speed. What makes this one such a pain is
that it will happen to you a lot and by the time you Anti Lv5 yourself, it will
have warn off. I suppose that's a good thing but this one is a real pain...

JELLEN/ZALURE: Only a few enemies cast it but it reduces your attack and
defensive abilities significantly. You won't see this much but it sucks when it
happens. They usually last for unwieldy amounts of time. You can cure this with
either Shifta/Deband (if it is strong enough to overpower it) or with Anti Lv6.

SHIFTA/DEBAND: Opposite of Jellen and Zalure, this increases you attack and
defence. Sadly, you're going to have to cast it on yourself if you want the
boost. Deband can screw up you attack patterns a bit because with the added
defence, you may not fall down anymore. Be careful of that. The only way to
"cure" this is to stop over at the Medi Centre on Pioneer II but if you really
want to cure these, kick yourself really hard.

FROZEN: The strange status defect that keeps showing up is freeze. For some
reason, being exposed to extreme cold has the ability to completely encase you
in ice. This could be considered the worst status defect because you are
completely immobile and your evasion hits zero instantly (meaning enemies can
really pile on the damage) but this defect wears off so fast it's not even much
of a worry. To increase the speed, mash the control stick back and forth as fast
as you can and you'll be free almost instantly. You could get someone to cast
Anti Lv7 on you but that would just be wasting their TP.

NOTE: You can cure all status defects with a Sol Atomizer with the exception of
freeze quite possibly because you are completely immobilized. Also, higher
levels of Anti still cure the preceding levels. Like Lv7 Anti still cures
poison.

~Attacking~

That was sure a lot of stuff to get through before actually attacking! Attacks
are only generated from the three red actions on your customize. You cannot
attack unless one of the three attack icons are on the customize! The quick
launch doesn't help you there! There are three types of attacks and how much
damage they do is directly tied to your stats, the enemy's stats and of course,
the weapon you have equipped. If you have no weapon equipped, your character
will perform a very limited "bare handed" attack. Typically you want some kind
of weapon and later, you will carry multiple for different situations. It is
important to remember that swords generally have the best ATP but the worst
range (maybe next to Force weapons). Guns have the best range and as an added
bonus, your character doesn't move when they attack. Force weapons in my opinion
suck but their main purpose is to boost said Force's stats. Anyway in order to
attack, you must be in range of your opponent. A cursor will appear that is
colour coded with the attack icon on the customize. That is if you have an
attack on the B customize space, the cursor will be red if it is in range.
Sometimes, even if your target is in range your attack will "miss." When this
happens you deal no damage. Try to use your attacks in a way to increase you
chance of hitting.

Normal Attack: This is you standard, most common attack. It is the most accurate
meaning you will be the least likely to miss with this one. However, it has the
least power. If you are far away or you are starting off a combo, use this one.

Heavy Attack: Twice as powerful your heavy attack should be on you customize
right next to your normal attack to string together an effective combo. It is a
great finisher but since it has a lowered accuracy, it will miss more often. Be
careful when you use your Heavy Attack because missing could cost you your life.
Also, your character has to "charge up" longer than the normal attack before
they let loose so enemies can hit you during this time. However, the other good
thing is a heavy attack will usually push an enemy back a short distance.

Extra Attack: This applies only if your weapon has a special power. For example,
a Fire Handgun will have an extra attack. The extra attack has the longest
charge up time and will usually do half the damage of a regular attack but with
the added effect (sounds like FF7) of your weapon's special power. With the Fire
Handgun, your attack will damage the opponent physically and add magical fire
damage as well. Don't expect anything amazing in the damage department out of
this attack. You only use it if your weapon has a worthwhile power.

~Combos~

It is possible to string together three attacks consecutively. They can be all
one type or a combination of all three. Remember that all attacks have a charge
up and wind down time during which you are vulnerable to attack. Combos string
together attacks and cut down on this time. They also look really cool and
happen faster than three regular attacks. When you make a combo, the first hit
has only normal accuracy. The second hit will have a slightly increased accuracy
and the final blow will almost always connect. This is why you usually want a
combo like weak + weak + strong. The two weak attacks ensure a hit with the
lower accuracy and the final attack is strong to take advantage of the chance of
hitting. You can also substitute your extra attack here if you like. When you
need serious power you can try a weak + strong + strong or even a strong +
strong + strong. Remember of course there is a higher chance of missing but it
does deliver extra damage if you have the ATA to support it. Also remember the
wind down time does not disappear. At the end of the third combo, there is a
time when you are vulnerable before you can start a new combo. A combo of two
generally has a shorter wind down time but not by much. To make a combo, attack,
then right after your character stops for their usual wind down time, hit
another attack button and they will perform the second set in the combo. Swords
combos can be a pain to master but once you do, it's easy.

~Do's and Don'ts READ THIS!~

If you are really far away from an enemy and they are pretty evasive, I would
recommend using a weak + weak + weak or weak + weak + strong to get the benefit
of the extra accuracy. If an enemy is closing in or there are multiple enemies,
you may want a weak + strong + strong or a triple strong because the closer the
enemies are to you the greater chance you have of hitting them. Besides, if they
are that close, you want to push them back with the strong attack so they can't
sneak in an attack before you can start a new salvo.

Later on, you will be up against some very powerful opponents whom will be very
fast. You may need to combo, then run away, turn around and combo again to keep
from being injured. I know it seems stupid but DON'T GET SURROUNDED! If you do,
when two enemies attack at the exact same time, the damage is multiplied by
however many hit you and you could be dead fast. The same is true if there are
numerous enemies coming toward you. If you are running out of room to run away,
try and lead the fight in a different direction. Also, enemies are dumb and
sometimes if one enemy can't get past another especially if they are all crowded
together, some turn around to get another vantage point. This is your cue to
attack either them or the ones still coming. This little minor miracle doesn't
happen often so take advantage of it.

Another thing is, some of your extra attack can cause status defects to enemies.
If you freeze, paralyse, or shock an enemy, the obvious thing to do would be to
attack it but DON'T! Go after the things still coming after you. You can usually
kill of two or three of them while the other one is immobilized and when the
effect wears off, you can have already cleared most of their friends away. The
only time you should attack an immobilized enemy is if you need to steal TP or
HP with an extra attack. Immobilized enemies have almost zero evasion giving you
a much better chance to steal HP or TP. Otherwise, just attack everyone else.

Another thing that will happen is when you take mondo damage in one blast; you
typically fall down. This can mess up your battle plans a bit but there is a
silver lining to this one. While you are on the ground and getting up, you are
completely invincible. You can't do anything but the second you stand up; you
are free for a second to cast a spell or attack. There is a real trick to
fighting and you must discover your style for yourself. It depends on the weapon
you use and how you add traps and techs into the mix. It's up to you but YOU
have to learn how to fight not me!

~Door Fighting~

A really helpful hint is fighting near a doorway. Doors act like impossible
divides in rooms. If you exit a room mid-battle, all the enemies you were
fighting instantly stop trod off to their starting point. You can then re-enter
the room and use the time as they trudge up to you again to eliminate more of
them. Then, when they get close once more, head out and wait again. Repeat until
everything is dead. Remember, you cannot shoot through a door but some techs
can. Please note that sometimes the enemies' start position is right next to the
door, which take away from the effectiveness of door fighting. You'll then have
to either cast an area tech or go find another door in the same room.

NOTE: Any experienced PSO player will tell you that sometimes enemies CAN break
through door divides. This usually happens with jumping enemies like Sinows or
Delsabers. This very rarely happens but do be wary of it. One other thing is
that Megid does NOT obey this rule and will keep going through doors until it
dissipates. In Ultimate Temple and Caves where you fight Ob Lilies, remember
that because their Megid could still kill you even when you leave so run and
keep running!

~Death~

Nobody wants to go there but it will happen a lot to beginners and to experts
who overestimate themselves. It happens obviously when your health runs dry.
Typically that will happen because you screwed up and instead of healing, you
attacked or cast a tech. Then an enemy swept down and nailed the last bit of HP
you had left away right? Well that happens sometimes too. So what happens when
you die? No, it's not game over but you will be completely immobile and the
screen goes red and you fall on the ground and stay there. If you are playing by
yourself, if you have a Scape Doll, you will be revived. Also you Mag might
revive you but what happens if you can't revive yourself? Well, you will be sent
back to Pioneer II. You will the wake up in the Medi Centre fully healed. The
downside? While the doctors were nursing you back to health, they couldn't
contain themselves and picked your pockets. Any money you had on you will be
gone. Also, the weapon you had will be unequipped (not lost). That's not much of
a big deal but when you forget to bank your money and you loose it all; that can
really suck. One final thing is whether or not you were revived in the level or
in the Medi Centre, you Mag will loose 5% Synchro. That's really it. So if you
died broke, you really didn't loose anything except your pride and you earned a
nice long walk back to where you died. This is why I urge you to periodically
place Telepipes in case you do die. Now, if you are playing Multi-Mode, you can
be healed the same way or you teammates may (it depends on how nice you were to
them doesn't it?) use a Moon Atomizer on you, which will revive you and replace
half your health. Also note that ALL status defects will be gone (including
Shifta and Deband). Also, if you are traveling with a Force, they can use
Reverser on you for the exact same effect.

~Using Techs and Traps~

This section is very simple. You can work your magic or traps into fights
depending on this situation. Realize that all techs and traps have charge up and
wind down times during which you are vulnerable. To cast a tech or use a trap,
either press your customize button or use the Quick Launch Window. Typically
you'll use attack techs and traps when you are surrounded or if you are in
trouble. Many techs have the capabilities to hit numerous enemies and so do
traps. If you're in trouble, bust out a powerful tech or a trap so you can
regain your positioning. This also goes for techs and traps that cause
immobilization like freeze or shock.

~General Tips~

1. Don't overestimate yourself. If you are only Lv20, don't going waltzing into
Hard Ruins. You will die very quickly and very often. If fact, you'll spend more
time dead and healing than actually fighting! That goes for minor
overestimations. If you are forced to heal five and six time in a room or
enemies are draining half you health in one smack, you are in over your head.
Buy some better armour or weapons, level up or cast Shifta/Deband on yourself or
Jellen/Zalure on everything if you must. Once you can at least survive in a room
without door fighting, stay there to get the experience. Otherwise, you're MAG's
synchro will hit 0% exceedingly quickly.

2. Don't underestimate yourself. Be realistic, if you are murdering your enemies
with one tech or a single combo, go to the next level. You're not going to be
levelling up in a hurry it you always stay in the forest. Also, bosses give you
a nice chunk of EXP as does running through the level. You should be levelling
up at least once per every 3-4 run through-s. If not, forward march!

3. This is obvious: DON'T CARRY MONEY ON YOU! If you die, it's gone. That
simple.

4. Make lots of Telepipes. If you have Ryuker, you can make them for free so put
them everywhere. If you die, you won't have so far to walk. If not, carry a
Scape Doll at all times.

5. Take trips to the Medi Centre. If you took a beating, you have run out of
healing items or your inventory is full of junk, go back to Pioneer 2, sell your
crap, buy items and heal up at the Medi Centre for the measly 10 bucks. If you
don't have 10 bucks, then sell this game right now.

6. Cast Shifta and Deband. If you can, do it! It is always helpful. Also, if you
are against a boss, Jellen and Zalure it. These spells last a long time and just
make your life easier. (I can't stress their effectiveness enough!)

7. Carry necessary equipment. If you've played a few times through a level you
know what to expect. Otherwise check my recommended weapons section on the Enemy
Breakdown. You should ALWAYS carry a gun of some kind for de-trapping and long-
ranged combat. You should also carry a Mechgun or Sword/Sabre type weapon for
dishing out big damage to the stage's difficult enemies.

8. CUSTOMIZE FOR THE LEVEL! If you know you'll be fighting lots of machines
(like say, in the Mines?) then place your best Zonde techs on the customize.
That also counts for weapons that have elemental specials and properly equipping
resistances too.

9. Read ahead. Know where you're going and what you're going to face. You may
need to change your customize and gear up to fit a certain crowd of enemies.

10. Carry 10 Sol Atomizers on you at all times! If you get a status defect, it's
no big deal but if you're out, or you don't have a powerful Anti, things can go
downhill for you. Even if you do have Anti, you can't cure some of defects like
shock yourself. Better to be safe than sorry.

11. DROP A TELEPIPE BEFORE YOU GO INTO A BOSS ROOM!!!! If you die, you will have
a very long distance to walk back!

~The End!~

Well, from here on, you have to learn by experience. After a few fights, you'll
get the hang of it.

<A5>----------Items, Techs and Equipables---------------------------------------

As you play, you're going to come across an infinity of items. They all come in
boxes and you can find them in boxes in levels and sometimes, enemies drop them.
Green boxes are items like recovery items and Materials. Orange boxes house
weapons and blue boxes have armour, shields and units in them. All rares come in
Red boxes so if you see one, GO GET IT! NOW!

~Items - The Green Boxes~

Mono/Di/Trimates - Androids will make a friend in these. Mates give you back
health. Monomates give you the least, Dimates slightly more and Trimates refill
all you health. If you don't have Resta on the customize, mates MUST be on there
somewhere. You'll find plenty of them and you'll usually be fully stocked. If
not, buy 'em from the store. They're not that expensive.

Mono/Di/Trifluid - Forces will use this stuff plenty. Fluids refill your TP.
That's a good thing. They are just like mates in that mono does crap all, Di
gives you a nice little boost and Trifluid (which is mondo expensive) refills
all your TP. If you're gonna bust out a Trifluid, do yourself a favour and use
up the rest of your TP.

Antidote/Antiparalysis - They cure status defects! I'm not lying! Antidote cures
poison (duh!) and I bet you can't guess what Antiparalysis does... I urge you to
carry a few of them on you at all times.

Sol Atomizers - PSO's equivalent of Cure-all type items. Sol Atomizers cure
every status defect on you except Freeze, Shifta and Deband. You MUST have some
of these handy or ELSE!

Moon Atomizers - Only helpful in Multi-Mode, they revive a fallen party member
and give he/she back half of their health. Non-Force characters are urged to
keep some of these on them all the time also. You wouldn't want to have to go
back to Pioneer 2 right in the middle of battle would you?

Star Atomizers - These are pretty rare and they act like a Trimate with Resta
capabilities. Star Atomizers fully heal you and make a pile of sparks shoot out
and heal teammates nearby. Androids, you'll need a few for quests.

Trap Vision - If you are not an Android, then you normally can't see the hidden
traps in rooms. With this item, all traps in your current range of vision are
revealed permanently. Obviously, Androids can see traps so these are no use to
them.

Disk   Lv_ - All techs need to be learned and you will find the "disks" to learn
them scattered about. Also, techs have a level, which indicates their power. So
if you have Foie Lv3 and you find Foie Lv5, you can use it. You don't need to
find Foie Lv4 first. In order to use disks, you have to have the required MST.
If you stop meeting the requirement, it doesn't matter, you only need the
requirement for the moment you use it.

Mono/Di/Trigrinders - All weapons (to my current knowledge) can be "ground" and
made more powerful by using grinders on them. Grinders are pretty rare so don't
go selling them. Every time you use a grinder, you gain a "+" point by either
1,2 or 3 respectively. All weapons also have a limit that you can grind them.
This limit changes from weapon to weapon. For every + point, your weapon gains 2
extra ATP.

___Amplifier - You find these occasionally and you use them like grinders but
they must be used on special barriers. Amplifiers boost the power of whatever
techs apply to them. In order to make an amplifier work for you, you must find a
BLUE, YELLOW, RED, SUPPORT or RECOVERY BARRIER and use the applicable amplifier
on it to create a merge. If you equip the merge, your techs will be stronger.

Materials - Power, Def, HP, TP, Evade, Mind and Luck Materials boost two points
of the applicable stat permanently. If you every played FF7, these are like
Sources.

~Weapons - Orange Boxes~

There are many basic weapons that you will find. Most can be used by anybody but
some can only be used by a certain class.

Sabre Type = Everybody
Slicer Type = Everybody
Sword Type = Hunters
Partisan Type = Hunters/Rangers

Handgun Type = Everybody
Mechgun Type = Everybody
Shot Type = Rangers
Rifle Type = Rangers

Cane Type = Forces
Rod Type = Forces
Wand Type = Forces

All weapons have a different grinder limit and they boost different stats
accordingly. Weapons have different charge up and wind down times as well as
different ranges. There are also many upgrades for the basic weapons. For
example, the Sabre type has many different forms in increasing power -> Sabre,
Brand, Buster, Palasach, Gladius. You can tell you're weapon's level by the
colour. They colours always go Green, Blue, Purple, Red and finally Yellow.
Also, higher level weapons have higher requirements. That is, if you can user a
Sabre, you may not be able to use a Brand yet. All swords have an ATP
requirement, Guns have an ATA requirement and canes have an MST requirement.
Weapons also have percentages on the their page of their stats. These
percentages are called Photon Efficiencies. There is a percentage for the four
types of enemies. The higher the percentage, the higher the damage it will do to
that class. There is also a "hit" percentage on some weapons, which obviously
increases accuracy. Weapon percentages should influence your decision of weapon
to use. If a weapon has percentages, the name will be green.

Some weapons also have special attacks. When you first find them, it will say
???? whatever. In order to use the special power, you must bring it back and
take it to the purple booth in the store called the Tekker. He/she will identify
the special power and you can then use it. Here are the classes:

Fire - Adds fire damage
Lightening - Adds lightening damage and may shock enemy
Ice - Adds ice damage and may freeze enemy
Dark - Can kill enemy in one hit (Small Chance)
HP Absorb - Steals health from enemies and replaces your own
TP Absorb - Steals magic from enemies and replaces your own
HP Sacrifice - Drains HP and does extra damage
TP Sacrifice - Drains TP and does extra damage
Confuse - May confuse the enemy
Paralysis - May paralyse the enemy
EXP Absorb - Steals experience from enemies
Charge - Drains money for extra damage
Devil/Demon - Cuts your enemy's HP in half or in a quarter (For FF7s, Demi 2/3)
Tech - Fires the designated tech

These special powers also have levels of effect. Personally I would only bother
to use the TP Absorb and Tech class but there are times when others are helpful.

~Armour - Blue Boxes~

In PSO, there are two types of armour you can wear: actual armour and shields.
Both will increase you defence and evasion as well as your elemental
resistances. All armour and shields have a required Level to use them (because a
required defence would be stupid). There are two types of armour: Frames and
Armour. Forces can only use Frames. Frames tend to suck more than armour for
this reason. Also there are both Shields and Barriers. They are just like Armour
and Forces can only use Barriers, which suck more than shields. Aside from their
actual defensive ability and resistances. You can also equip Units to Armour and
Frames. To do so, you need the armour to have slots. You can find this on the
second page of their stats. Armour can have up to four slots to equip units.

Units are like Materials but they are better and worse. First of all, they
provide big bonuses in all kinds of stats and there are many different units you
can equip. The down side is they don't do anything unless you equip them so make
sure you fill your slots with the best stuff you have. Also, never leave a slot
open! The nice thing about units is they have no requirements. (If they did,
what would be the point?) Both armour and units are necessary to be an efficient
fighter and they are uber-helpful to you so make sure to keep and eye out for
them. Also, armour tends to fetch a pretty penny when sold so if you are
grabbing stuff to sell, get lots of armour.

~Meseta - Your Cash!~

Found everywhere, the little yellow crystals are called Meseta. In the beginning
of the game you have very little and accumulating it can be a hassle. You will
use Meseta to buy stuff from the store, particularly healing items. You may also
find a helpful unit or armour at the store but after you get to be pretty
strong, money becomes so abundant that it's worthless. Also the store stops to
sell useful items around VHard mode so normally, you'll have tons of the stuff
to buy healing items. You can get lots of meseta from completing quests at the
hunter's guild.

~Rares...~

All I can say is they come in red boxes. You'll find them every now and again in
later difficulties. Some rares are overrated but there are thousands of rares
available out there. You just gotta go find them! (Real helpful advice huh?) I
have a bunch and soon you will too.

NOTE: Go to http://www.planetdreamcast.com/psoworld and you can check your
section ID. There, you can see the most common place to find a weapon you may
want. Every rare I've ever found is consistent with the guides there. Not only
that but they have good pics or rares etc. A real excellent site!

~Techniques~

All you Forces, you have unlimited access to techs! Techs are cool because they
do a lot of elemental damage and they can really help you out of a tight spot.
All techs have to be learned from a disk and they have specific levels. All
techs except for Anti have 30 levels and as you learn higher levels, they techs
get more powerful. Forces can learn techs up to level 30 but hunters and rangers
can only learn up to level 15. Also, only Forces can learn Grants, Megid, and
Reverser. The thing about techs that makes them really cool is they NEVER miss.
As long as they physically contact the enemy, it's going to strike.

Attack Techs:

Foie - A very basic attacking tech that deals with fire, which you should have
just gone ahead and guessed anyway. Fire techs lack one thing: status defects.
Zonde and Barta-type techs all have a possible status defect going for them
making them a little more appealing than fire. However, don't feel sad because
fire typically does just a little more damage than other techs and what's more
is they affect MORE of the population. Very few enemies have a very strong
resistance to fire. If you don't know what to throw at an enemy, go ahead and
pelt it with Foie. With that said, Foie itself is just a fireball. At low
levels, it moves slow and can be easily dodged. The higher the level, the faster
it moves and the more damage it does. You can use this one pretty much anywhere
for good results. By the way, while you can fire it at anytime, it works best
(and usually will only connect) if you target an enemy first. It is possible to
hit more than one enemy but unlikely.

Zonde - The lightening techs are the Zonde set. Zonde itself will strike an
enemy (1 that is and only 1) with lightening. What's cool about this is as long
as that enemy is in the range (which is all around you) the bolt will strike.
While it is considered a targeted attack, Zonde is an area attack because it
will hit even if the enemy is not targeted. For that matter, even if the enemy
is BEHIND you, as long as it is close enough in your range, ZAP! Higher levels
will improve the range (to an unreal standard) and increase the damage
inflicted. While I do consider it to be an area attack it is an oddball because
as I said, you can only hit ONE enemy. If you are hitting a Machine enemy, you
may even shock them which is excellent! (Some overloaded circuitry...)
Therefore, higher levels also improve the odds of short circuit.

Barta - Well, would this be the ice set? Naw... Well, Barta as you better have
guessed are the ice spells. They are, in my opinion, the best of them all. Ice
spells are very limited in range until you level them up and even then, they are
a pain but they have an excellent chance of freezing an enemy. This is great
news (however strange I find it). Barta itself creates a river of ice that
shoots out along the ground in front of the caster. It will damage anything it
hits. This attack is best used as a targeted attack but go ahead and let it rip
through a line up of baddies as it is an area attack in that respect. It can hit
many enemies but it will only hit them ONCE per casting. Higher levels make the
river extend further, does more damage and increases the speed of the tech.

Gifoie - The step up from Foie, it is much more difficult to use. It holds with
the Foie classifications too. The spell causes a fireball (2 at later levels) to
emit from the caster and spin in a large spiral around the caster. This tech has
a LONG charge up and wind down time so be very careful. It is an area attack
meaning you don't target a thing. As long as an enemy walks into the circle
where the fire is spinning, it will take damage. Note that the enemy does NOT
have to directly contact the fireball but it must be closer to you than the
fireball is (that is, in its range as it expands). Be careful, this attack will
only hit ONCE no matter how long the enemy stays in the flaming circle. It will
hit as many enemies that enter but as I say, only once a piece. Higher levels
increase the range, and fireworks involved. Also, it lasts longer thereby
hitting enemies as they spawn too. At Lv 30, it takes a freaking eternity for it
to wear off which is really cool.

Gizonde - Better than Zonde in every way except for one. Gizonde is a little
different from Zonde but still much the same. Every enemy that is in range
(which must, this time be in you sights. Alas, this is the lone disadvantage)
will be struck by lightening, which you seem to throw out of your hands. This
spell as I say has a smaller circumference of effect but it is better because
imagine 20 enemies packed in a group chasing you (which happens VERY frequently
believe it or not). That's right: "smite with lightening!" as a friend of mine
would say. Higher levels improve the range (once again to a stunning amount
allowing you to effortlessly toast an entire room) as well as damage and the
ability to shock Machine attributed enemies.

Gibarta - You will replace Barta on your screen once you get this in lieu of one
down side (to which there is always one but alas...) Gibarta basically creates a
small snowstorm in front of you that comes inexplicably from your hand. It is
much larger than Barta and will affect anything it touches with the powerful
ability to freeze the unlucky target. This one is a targeted attack, sorta.
Expect to see the best results from directly targeting enemies but here's the
catch: the flurry is fairly large and can affect a large number of enemies. Mind
you, they need to be packed together but that happens all the time. Higher
levels dish out more damage and give a better chance of inexplicably encasing
the target in solid ice. The only downfall is that it doesn't reach very far
unlike Barta, which can sail clear across an entire room.

Rafoie - The Ra techs are fun to use. They all have the "take this!" factor to
them. Rafoie is a targeted attack and a target is an absolute must for the tech
to launch. Once you've found a target, fire will explode into a burning sphere
around the target and every for a square mile around it! At higher levels, a
ring of fire will sprout out too. This ring will deliver the maximum damage to
everything it touches too. This is a great spell to use to dish out maximum
damage from a distance and affect everything following you. Levelling this one
up will increase the size of the ring, increase damage and give you more fun in
nuking whatever pissed you off. It's also a good desperation attack. Some
weapons can cast this as can some enemies but all you Forces, you know that
Rafoie Lv 30 is going to kick much more rear than freebies and enemy attacks
right? Right.

Razonde - This tech is simple: it creates a huge ring of lightening around you
for a second, which will damage (or shock) anything it touches. Once again, this
is purely a desperation attack and you will see its full use when you are
surrounded. If things are looking bad, bust out with this one, otherwise, just
use Zonde and Gizonde to get the job done. Higher levels will increase range
(once again to an incredible standard) and damage.

Rabarta - A small let down from Gibarta, Rabarta is just Razonde only using ice.
You can copy and paste everything I said up there here too. This one has a puny
range and it doesn't get any bigger. However, it does have a near 100% of
freezing whatever you attack so if you're in real trouble, unload this. Once
again, only use this if you get surrounded otherwise you'll waste about a 270-
degree radius of effect that could be concentrated with less TP cost using Barta
or Gibarta. Once again, higher levels improve damage and chance of freezing.
Have fun.

Grants - This tech is for Forces only. That being said, it is also the only
spell in the game that uses light. When you use it, one very unlucky target will
be subjected to thousands of tiny rays of light that will shoot in from all
sides. After this, a HUGE (at high levels...) fiery beam will toast your enemy.
Needless to say, this tech does extreme damage but be careful. A lot of enemies
have resistance to this tech so take care. However, to anything that does NOT
have a resistance to it, expect BIG damage. Mine can dish out almost a thousand
damage on my friend's Lv 80 Racast brining him down laughably in a single hit.
Use this on anything that pisses you off royally and say bye, bye.

Megid - Opposite to Grants, Megid uses the dark element. This would be the tech
that would define Terekane but alas, it was not meant to be. Megid is absolutely
useless. It will shoot a black cloudy thing at an enemy and works just like Foie
in that respect. When it hits, it will do one of two things. One, it can hit and
curse your enemy to death with a single blow (regardless of their health) or it
will do lots and LOTS of nothing. There are very few enemies in the game that
are seriously weak to Megid so most of the time don't bother trying. You can if
an Ob Lilly pisses you off royally but otherwise just brag about it to your non-
Force friends and tell them "its so good that it'd be like cheating using it all
the time" (yeah, right). Higher levels will increase the range and improve the
odds of killing your foe. It also increases the amount of TP you throw out the
window per casting.

Healing Techs:

Resta - Probably the most important spell of the works and if you don't have
mates on your customize, this should be there all the time! It simply recovers
your health and it usually recovers all of it. At level 3+ a pile of sparks will
appear around you and any teammates that touch them are healed as well. Higher
levels will increase the range of effect and the amount of HP healed. If you
have Resta, I recommend using it instead of mates unless of course your TP runs
dry.

Anti - What this spell does should probably be obvious. It is helpful, but only
at the higher levels. There are 7 levels of Anti: one for each status defect.
(see {A4} Level 2+ affect other party members. It is an absolute must for
certain quests where your teammates can get paralysed. The only downfall of Anti
is for most of the defects, you can't cast it on yourself; it only helps others.

Reverser - This tech is unfortunately, only for Forces and it works like a
reusable Moon Atomizer. Basically, you use it on the targeted friend and it
brings them back to life with half their HP filled. There are no levels to this
one. Once you have it it's at the highest level.

Support Techs:

Shifta - Gives you a statistical boost in ATP. (Sadly, it only boosts your
actual, not your base stat). Level 3+ will affect teammates and the higher the
level, the bigger the boost and the longer it will last. Once you start hitting
the Level 15+ of this one, you're never going to want to fight without it. (I
have been told that some classes cannot use this one aside from androids; I
don't know if that is true yet...)

Deband - Like Shifta, Deband gives you a boost in DFP. Level 3+ affects
teammates and the higher the level, the bigger the boost and the longer it will
last. Be careful, if you are used to hitting the ground from every attack, this
spell might stop that. While I think falling down screws one out of their entire
attack plan, to some people, hitting the ground might be a blessing. It's up to
you. (I also have been told that some classes can't use Deband either. I'll
check later if that's true)

Jellen - The opposite of Shifta, Jellen will lower that ATP of your enemies
significantly. It is possible to hit more than one enemy at once and nailing
bosses with this one plus Zalure is a great idea. The higher the level, the
greater the range and power down. Use this if you find yourself surrounded by
powerful foes.

Zalure - Just like Jellen, this lowers DFP of enemies. Also great for hitting
bosses with, Zalure's power and range grows with its level. You'll use this on
enemies you are having a tough time inflicting physical damage on.

** Note: Shifta and Jellen do NOT affect tech power so casting Jellen on a Force
is just a waste of your time.**

**Another Note: Deband and Zalure do not affect your magical defence
(resistances). In that case, Deband will do nothing when up against a magical
foe and again, if you are a Force, casting Zalure will not help you do more
damage with your tech. Sorry but TOO BAD.**

Ryuker - This very nifty spell creates a telepipe for a cost efficient 10 TP.
You can use it as many times as you want but only one telepipe will appear. Once
you cast it again, the previous one vanishes. There is but one level to this one
so nab it ASAP.

**NOTE ON ALL SPELLS: The higher the level, you obviously use more TP. Be
careful jumping from a Lv5 Resta to say, a Lv15 Resta. You will drain your TP
much faster than before and the extra boost in health may not be necessary. Wait
to use high level disks until you have the TP to fully support their use because
you can't go down tech levels.**

~Traps~

Alright, now it's time to talk about the Android's kind of magic. You see, they
can't perform techs but they do have a title of "master of all traps." Not only
can they see them at any time, they can set more, which, like magic, are
guaranteed to hit. There are three kinds of traps:

Fire Trap: Simply explodes after a while and damages everything nearby

Ice Trap: Probably the most useful, ice traps explode and freeze anything nearby

Confuse Trap: Not quite as helpful as an Ice Trap but Confuse traps confuse
anything they hit. Unlike when a hunter is confused, enemies will start to
relentlessly attack each other. (Mwa, ha, ha...)

Traps don't have a charge up and wind down time like techs but there is a small
time interval before you can place another trap. Also, traps take quite a while
to go off so you can speed up the process by shooting them. One final thing is
that just like techs, you won't trap your fellow players unless you are in
battle mode. But then again, why would you want to?

<A6>----------MAGs--------------------------------------------------------------

I know when I first started playing PSO, I wondered what the heck a Mag was.
When you first go to a level, you will notice a weird little thing floating
beside your head. That is your Mag. It is kind of like a virtual pet but it is
way more useful. Mags get their own place on the equipment screen and you can
have multiple Mags (you find them in blue boxes). At first, your Mag will do
absolutely nothing except exist. What you have to do is give it some of your
items and only edible items will do (Mates, fluids, antis, and atomizers). When
you give items to your Mag, its stats will increase according to what you gave
it. When one of the four bars fills up, your Mag's level will increase. There
are a number of benefits to feeding your Mag and it will help you later on.

~Statistical Bonuses~

When you feed your Mag and increase its level, you will also gain stat bonuses
from it. Here are your Mag's stats:

DEF: Defence - Level this up to receive 2 extra points of DFP per level.
POW: Power - Level this up with Mate type items for 2 points of ATP per level.
DEX: Dexterity - Level this up with Anti items for 1/2 point of ATA per level.
MIND: Duh - Level this up with Fluid type items for 2 points of MST per level.
*Note: Atomizers are like odd balls. Depending on the Mag, they will do
different things*

IQ: How often your Mag will help you out. Max is 200
Synchro: How fast your Photon Blast gauge fills up. Max is 120%
*Note: Every time you die, you loose 5 points of Synchro*

~Evolving~

When your Mag reaches level 10, 35 and 50, it will change form and acquire a
photon blast. When your Mag evolves, all of what used to give it stats before
will change so you must become accustomed to your new Mag as it evolves. What it
evolves into depends entirely on how the stats POW, DEX and MIND are in relation
to each other. Also, your character class  and Section ID will also determine
what kind of Mags you can get. When your Mag evolves, it will begin to help you
depending on your circumstance. Since there are many different Mags available
and what they do at certain circumstances, I'll just list what can happen and
when it can happen.

Death: 4
Photon Blast Gauge is full: 1,2,3
HP is 10% or less: 1,2,3
Entering a Boss Room: 1,2,3

1: Sometimes your Mag will cast a weak Shifta and Deband on you
2: Sometimes your Mag will cast Resta on you
3: Sometimes your Mag will make you invincible for a while
4: Your Mag may revive you.

These little bonus don't always happen. It depends on your Mag's IQ and how long
ago you last fed it.

~Photon Blasts~

You'll notice that surrounding your character's colour indicator is a little
ring with a number (usually 0) by it. It will gradually fill up to 100. This
will only happen once your Mag has reached Lv 10+ and your Mag acquires one of
its three possible Photon Blasts. What is a photon blast you say? Well when you
get hurt and when you attack, your Mag will charge up energy and fill the PB
gauge. When it hits 100 you can do a photon blast, which is like a souped up
tech with mondo amounts of power. There are 6 photon blasts but your Mag can
only learn 3 and which ones it learns depends on what you evolve it into.

Leilla - With lots of fireworks and the appearance of a strange looking thing,
you will have the amazing spell called Resta cast on you for absolutely free
(well except for all the PB energy you had) Wow... oh happy day. Unfortunately
all Forces are stuck with this one.

Golla - A moose appears and shoots electricity at ONE enemy for mondo damage.
This is particularly effective against LONE targets...like bosses perhaps?

Pilla - Possibly the most popular Photon Blast is Pilla where a butterfly
looking thing appears and makes a rain of blue beams come crashing down around
you hitting everything it hits for mondo damage.

Mylla - The amazing Photon Blast call Mylla casts a whole Shifta and Deband on
you. Isn't that grand? Isn't it? 0_o

Farla - A snake/serpent circles around you and hits everything around for big
damage.

Estlla - A dolphin that looks like it drank way too much Mountain Dew appears
and shoots out in the direction you were looking damaging everything it hits.

~Feeding and Raising Them~

To feed your MAG, in your menu, go to Item Pack and then MAG. Now select the Mag
you wish to feed. Select Give Items and then items from the list that you want
to give your MAG. You will see the bars rise depending on what you fed it. You
can't feed your Mag for at a few minutes after starting up the game. You can
only feed it 3 items at a time. After 3, it'll go back to being not hungry
again. After another few minutes, you'll be able to feed it again. You MAG will
gain a level when any one of the bars hits its max. After level 10, you'll be
able to check your MAG's photon blasts. You cannot use them on this menu though.
To use a Photon Blast, you hold R. You will see that all of your actions will be
replaced by your acquired Blasts. You have to use your Blast in order to remove
them from the customize but note, you probably want to save them for the best
time possible.

READ THIS! NOW!
There is a lot more to know about Mags and what I have here is only what I have
compiled from my personal experience and that of my friends. For lots of advice
on raising Mags, check out noZedive13's amazing Mag Guide in the In-Depth
Guides. Also to Mr. noZedive13, I did take a gander at your guide to remind me
of the photon blasts so thanks a lot. Also, I would never have figured out how
to raise a Mag if not for you so hats off to ya! (See, you can't tell me I don't
credit my sources.)

<A5>----------Team/ Multiplayer Strategy----------------------------------------

Let's face it. The most fun you can have with PSO is on a team with others. The
competing for items, all the different Section IDs, stronger enemies and just
surviving together is a lot more fun than just playing by yourself. If you have
the online capabilities then you virtually never have to play alone but
otherwise, you'll have to gather up some friends for some classic split screen
action! When you play multiplayer modes, there are a few changes. First, you'll
notice that you'll have access to fewer menu functions like area map, chat,
quest board etc. It's only obvious that this all relates to things you cannot do
in multi mode. Anyway, the biggest change is going to be your fighting style.
It's no longer just blitz the enemy until they die. You're more than likely
going to have many character classes and you'll all be at lower levels. Multi
mode is a great way to get really weak characters some big EXP. Of course, they
have to be at least the level requirement for a particular difficulty but
kicking the butt of stronger enemies, even if it's not the killing blow, will
yield much more EXP than previous levels. Also, as I mentioned, there's a mixing
of Section IDs and that can get you some different rares so playing with others
is just overall better.

~Tips For Forming Teams~

You're going to want some of everything. If you have a bunch of friends, then
keep in mind what classes they are. Having a team of 4 androids is great but if
you were to have just 3 androids and 1 force, things suddenly get a lot better.
In a team you generally want:
 - At LEAST 1 android to clear out traps and act as body shields
 - At LEAST 1 Force for healing, Shifta and Deband as well as Reverser
 - 1-2 Humans to protect everyone in every department
 - Try to have one of each class
You don't need all these characters but androids are uber helpful in disabling
traps and Forces are great to cast Reverser and powerful Resta. You defiantly
want some humans for their balanced traits to help out everyone and make good
spell banks as well as raw power. Of course, how you make you're team is
completely up to you but variety is king.

~Organization~

If you go running into a level and everybody splits up or goes searching for
items, you will have a dead team quickly. You want to stick together unless
you're in a level that's too high for you, then you'll just die anyway. Think of
PSO as a game of football or rugby. If everybody just runs rampant, you end up
loosing quickly, but if you assign roles and you cover each other's weaknesses,
you'll kick butt in no time. The same works here. Chances are you won't have a
team of all HUmars. If you do, go join another team. With the variety, everybody
has strengths that compliment the weaknesses of others. This is useful but it
still won't work unless you have some sort of strategy.

~Hunters~
The hunters, both android and not, should do what they do best: use WEAPONS. You
can cast spells too of course but still, you want these people at the front
lines because of their ATP. Then again, if you have a good gun, don't hesitate
to put them back a bit too but generally, these are your pain bringers so let
them to the heavy duty attacking. If you are a hunter, try and use a sword or
Mechgun type weapon because these lay down lots of pain. Also, don't hog the
EXP. If you're going to bust out a doomsday attack, tell you team to get in a
hit so they get some experience too. These people are good mostly everywhere.

~Rangers~
Just because rangers have good ATA, it doesn't mean you are limited to guns.
Rangers tend to possess unreal amounts of defence and that's good if you have a
few particularly weak players. The androids of this class make excellent body
shields for the vulnerable forces in the back. Also, they should stay close to
the forces to get healed up for more punishment. Don't forget, being a body
shield tends to make your photon blast gauge build up uber fast and you can then
unleash the storm on your rivals. What I personally like about rangers is their
ability to use the shotgun type weapons. They are excellent for impeding the
progress of enemies and make good cover fire. As a ranger, it is your
responsibly to play defence and to be the annoying pests that make it impossible
for monsters to get to you. Typically, you want to form a perimeter to protect
the Forces and Hunters when they need to heal up. Remember, you have a big
responsibility on your hands!

~Forces~
I hate to hand out the role of the "designated healer" but fellow Forces, let's
face the facts. Unless we want our friends to die quick and painful deaths from
relying on mates or the pathetic Lv15 Resta, it's going to be our job to provide
the second layer of defence. Since forces tend to have low HP, you typically
want to be at the centre of your group's formation. Here, you can be protected
by enemy hits hitting the rangers and hunters. That is why being the healer is
so important. It's like playing doctor dodge ball. Your friends will die. That's
a fact. You have to run out and Reverser them without getting killed yourself.
You also should keep an eye on everybody's health. If someone's getting low,
heal them. You also want to cast Shifta and Deband on everybody to boost their
powers of to better protect you. If you are a strong force, keep some big
Armageddon techs on you like Razonde, and Rabarta that not only clear out big
pile of enemies, they can inflict shock or freeze on them too. You also want to
net yourself some EXP so nail everything with a good Rafoie first before taking
on the individuals.

~Androids~
You are separate altogether. I need to stress the importance of de-trapping
rooms. Just because you can see traps, you're friends can't and if somebody
(worst of all, the group's force) runs into say a paralysis trap, that can suck
big time. The shot is great for clearing trapped hallways and for hitting traps
just about to explode. Upon entering a room, you're first mission should be to
remove the traps. You should also SET traps when you're team is in trouble. A
good freeze trap can screw the entire opposition out of their offensive and
gives you time to pick off a few.

~General Tips~

If you know how to fight, I can't really tell you anything big time different
but here are a few things to remember:

1. Don't be an item hog. Guaranteed, you'll have one ore two. Don't be one
yourself. Not only does it endanger your team and wreck your strategy, you also
look like a big idiot holding up a shiny new rare from a distant box while
everyone else is dead. That doesn't mean of course, that if an enemy drops one,
go grab it but don't leave the team for boxes. It's just not worth it.

2. Share the EXP. Powerful characters have a big advantage over the weaker
characters. If you are a Force with all Armageddon techs, let the weaker guys
get a few hits in before you end it. That goes for photon blasts as well.
Chances are, you'll kill everything. Let everyone get in a hit before you cast
it.

3. Don't leave your friends dead... Not only are they not helping your cause, it
is a real bummer to be lying on the floor when a rare appears and since nobody
healed you, you have no chance at it. Don't forget of course, just because that
person cuts down on your competition, don't expect them to heal you next go
round.

4. Share Rares and Materials. There's nothing worse than fighting through thick
and thin for your buddies and all the luck comes to them. It will happen when
all you find are Monomates and they keep finding grinders and materials. It just
makes everybody super happy when you give them the second DEF material you
found. Also, if you're, say a strong ranger and you find a Flowen Sword or
something. Don't keep it for your "second character," give it to the Hunter.
They might give you a Dark Meteor some day.

5. Don't split up. If you're party consists of all Lv200, obviously use your
judgement but you fight much better as a team with united strengths.

<A6>----------PSO Plus, What's the difference?----------------------------------

In response to the recent release of the newest edition of PSO: Plus Edition, I
have had a few questions and comments about what's different and compatibility
problems with the old version. This section is for people with questions or
comments about Plus edition and it's new additions. If you notice something new
in Plus edition that I don't have here, please let me know! Thanks!

*Contributed from SuperSigma:

Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2 Plus. First off, PSO Plus has 3 of the
Episode 2 quests on it: 'Seat of the Heart', 'East Tower' and 'West Tower'.
There's also the Ep.2 Challenge Mode for offline play (people who have the
original Ep 1 and 2 still have to play it online only). Episode 1 also has some
added bonuses. If you complete most of the Ep.1 quests, the quest 'Central Dome
Fire Swirl' gets unlocked. (I say most of the quests, because if you go down the
list of quests in order, it appears last, but I randomly jumped around the list
of quests, and I actually got Fire Swirl to open up while still having three or
four more quests to complete yet.). Also, you can activate the Gameboy Advance
downloads in the Ep.1 quest 'The Fake in Yellow' offline now. (Those who have
the original Ep 1 and 2 can only do this online).
     >Thanx for the contribution! Sorry it took so long to post!<

I do not myself own Plus Edition but a friend of mine does and he informed me of
the new quests for Episodes I and II and also the Episode II challenge mode.

I've already mentioned the compatibility issue with the Plus edition but I guess
I'll say it again just in case...
YES! All of your old characters/equipment/mags are FULLY compatible with the
Plus edition from the older version of PSO. Don't hesitate to buy Plus if you
were teetering because of this reason!

It is also important to note that in completing the Seed of the Heart, it is now
possible to obtain the 'Ragol Ring' rare as a quest rare. Cool. I'll have more
on this as soon as I get a hold of PSO Plus.

There are also some new rares, or so I have heard, in Plus edition so that may
invite a few of you to try out Plus.

Finally, I have heard a rumor that Galon's Rare Shop which was only available
online may have worked its way into Plus edition but I will have to confirm this
rumor to myself. For those of you out there who don't know, Galon's shop is
where you can exchange Photon Drops for rares that you cannot find on your own
such as the Photon Booster. Very cool but again, it's just a rumor. I'll update
this soon...

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=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=SECTION B: Walkthrough_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_
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~General Stuff!~

Every level is unique and will rearrange every time you play it. Every level has
a red and blue teleport. The blue teleport takes you backwards and the red
teleport lets you advance. At the end of the last level of each area is a
special transport, which takes you to the boss. Always place a telepipe before
entering a boss. I cannot stress this enough. Even if you know what to expect,
things can go awry and if you die, you have a LOONG walk back. Every time you
die, remember to replace the Telepipe you used to return.

Most rooms have enemies. The doors in a room will remain locked unless you
defeat all the enemies in that room. Sometimes, you'll have to walk around the
door or a specific area to make more appear. If a door is flashing red, there's
more "killing's" to be done.

Some doors won't open unless you track down the switch that opens the door. They
sometimes are placed right next to the door but other times, you'll have to
backtrack to find them. After the Forest, doors that are locked by switches
generally look different and you'll know what to look for. If you found a
switch, look at your map to see what door may have opened. Note that there are
two types of switches. There are some that are obvious and stand out and others
that are pads you must walk on. A lot of switches are fakes. Be careful, fake
switches have powerful traps above them. You should use a Trap Vision if you are
unsure.

Some doors require multiple switches to open. Remember, typically, 2-switch
doors are shortcuts back to a previous part of the level placed there in case
you die. 4-switch doors usually lead to many boxes and ultimately a dead end.
Leave these alone unless you'd love to waste your time...usually.

All levels also contain laser barriers. Most simply cover boxes by a few will
block the path to the exit. Finding the large laser switch that matches
deactivates barriers the colour. If you ever see a switch, make sure to
deactivate it.

The second level of ever area (eg Forest 2, Caves 2) has a large brown column in
it. It is usually not on your way to the exit so you'll have to hunt it down.
You MUST activate the column before you leave because unless they are all
active, you won't be able to enter the Ruins and you'll have to go back...you
know...that sucks. Every "2" level, do yourself a favour and find the column
before leaving.

Finally, one general tip for playing through the regular levels in Episode 1 is
that every now and again you'll come across small little red messenger things.
They, as you probably have suspected come from: SPOILER WARNING

Red Ring Rico herself. You see; they provide the actual meat of the storyline.
However, I'm not going to go and spoil the MAJOR plot of the game for you so you
can read 'em yourself or you can just ignore them.

Either way, these message things are always on the path to the exit so if you
see one, chances are you'll not only get some marginally-helpful info, you'll
know you're on your way to the goal.

NOTE ON THE WALKTHROUGH:
As I said, the level layout is random and is based on your Character's Section
ID, class and so on. You will come to recognize your layouts eventually but that
also means that I cannot tell you exactly where to go. Usually, though, certain
kinds of rooms or enemies will lead you there so I have place the general
directions here. By the way, as you progress you will encounter increasing
amounts of the above things. If you cannot access a door or you feel lost, whip
out your map and see which door you haven't entered yet and backtrack to go
through them. You may have missed a switch or another route. Anyway, without
further ado, let's go!

<B1F>---------Forest 1-2--------------------------------------------------------

Enemy Breakdown:
*All Enemies in the Forest have the Native Attribute*

Booma
HP: Low
POW: Med
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Fire/Foie
WEAPON: Gun/ Long sword

Probably the most generic, run-of-the-mill enemy you will encounter here in the
forest. The Booma looks like a strange looking bear with claws and is very
unwise. It will simply roar upon you entering the room and walk up to you very
slowly and swipe at you with its claws. They actually have pretty good power so
try an use a gun or a long sword to eliminate them with no threat. They have the
tendency to show up in great numbers so you may want something to clear out
multiple. If by some miracle you have Gifoie, use it by all means to dispense
with them quickly.

Gobooma
HP: Med
POW: Med
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Lightening/Zonde
WEAPON: Gun/ Long sword

Goboomas are just like Boomas but they are yellow in colour and are souped up
just a little. They have slightly more power and health and they also have a
weakness to lightening spells. They like to mingle with regular Boomas to screw
up your techs so make sure you know who your nailing with what. Otherwise, just
stay back and shoot them.

Gigobooma
HP: High
POW: Med-High
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Ice/Barta
WEAPON: Gun/ Long Sword

The final version of the generic baddy is just like the rest only with more
power and HP. They can be a pain to kill and with the addition of a third
weakness, tech casting can be a pain. Make sure you stand back and let them come
to you as they are very slow.

Savage Wolf
HP: Low
POW: Low-Med
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Fire/Foie
WEAPON: Anything goes

If only Koga was here... Anyway, the savage wolf is a joke and a half. It has
very little HP and isn't very powerful. That isn't what makes them so easy
though, it's their amazing resistance to attack you! They just walk around you
slowly and occasionally they will jump at you to attack but that's it! Most of
the time if you are really close to them, they won't even attack! Their chance
of attacking you increases if there are more of them but they make perfect
targets to walk right up to and beat senseless.

Barbarous Wolf
HP: Med
POW: Med
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Lightening/Zonde
WEAPON: Anything goes

I wouldn't call these "wolves"  either or even "dangerous" for that matter...
The Barbarous wolf is exactly like the savage wolf except they are blue. They
act a bit like the leader of the other wolves and if there is one around, they
typically attack more. Don't expect too much out of these things  either though.
They are just as resistant to attack. They have a bit more HP than the savage
wolf but you can still just walk up to them and slaughter them. One thing is
that once you kill one, all the other wolves will immediately cast Zalure and
Jellen on themselves. As if they needed to make themselves any weaker...

Monest
HP: High
POW: None
SPECIALS: Produces Moutments
WEAKNESS: Lightening/Zonde
WEAPON: Sword/ Mechgun

Theses strange looking sacks will descend on the battle field and piss you off
instantly. They produce these annoying little bugs call mothments. The nest
itself can produce an awful lot of them so take them out quickly. You are
advised to use a mechgun to lay down serious pain and don't worry: they can't
attack you. If you don't have a mechgun, just use anything.

Moutment
HP: VLow
POW: Low
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Lightening/Zonde
WEAPON: Handgun/ Sword

The little pieces of shit that come from the Mothments Nest fly around you,
block your path and poke you constantly with their little mosquito stingers.
They are pretty weak so getting rid of them shouldn't be a problem but if you
have Gizonde, you can toast their little behinds with due haste. Otherwise just
shoot them if they fly away.

Rag Rappy
HP: Low
POW: Low-Med
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Fire/Foie
WEAPON: Anything goes

The little too-cute-to-attack-you little yellow duck type creatures tend to
appear around the same place as actually dangerous enemies. They have very
little power but they can piss you off in a hurry so grab a gun and stand back
and pick them off one by one. They aren't much of a threat but they can be
annoying. Foie also toasts them efficiently too. Once you "kill" them, they lie
down and play dead. Once you're far enough away, they'll get up and run away. If
you're feeling mean, you can shoot them to get an item.

Hildbear
HP: VHigh
POW: High
SPECIALS: Foie
WEAKNESS: Ice/Barta
WEAPON: Any Gun

Hildbears only appear in Forest 2 and are giant gorillas that can shoot Foie and
kick you butt efficiently. They have mondo power and HP so things can get tough.
I strongly recommend a handgun so you can hit them from a distance and run when
they try to use Foie. Barta spells work nicely though too. The only good thing
is they usually only travel one at a time so don't expect to see many in one
place normally. They are very dangerous and you are advised to stand WAY back.
If you want to tango, let it attack AND MISS before you start a combo. Then
attack it from the side if you can.

@------------------0
|=====Forest 1=====|
0------------------@
Enemies: Booma, Gobooma, Monest, Mothment, Savage Wolf, Barbarous Wolf, Rag
Rappy
Size: 10%
Overall Difficultly: 10%

~Layout~
This level, as you might have guessed is a piece of hot apple pie with ice cream
and cinnamon and perhaps a gooey brownie. It just can't get any easier than
this. The level layout is absolutely simple. The level is tiny and what's really
cool about the forest is that you can easily memorize which rooms are where and
where you are in relation to everything else. The whole thing is built in more
or less a big squished circle, which means that you should pick a direction from
the starting point and keep heading either clockwise or anti-clockwise until you
run into the exit. The only real branch from the main path is in the huge room
with a crashed speeder and a river. Take care to enter the room in the southwest
corner because the exit is often there.

~Traps 'n Threats~
Zip, zero, nada and more nothing. The only possible thing to beware of is that
some boxes will cause enemies to appear when you break them but that's it.

~Enemies~
You won't fight too many enemies here. Most of the time, they'll come at you two
or three at a time. Don't expect to get surrounded or threatened in any way.
Obviously a gun would be helpful if you're not at a very high level but
otherwise, just use whatever you have to destroy whatever dares cross your path.

@------------------0
|=====Forest 2=====|
0------------------@
Enemies: Booma, Gobooma, Gigobooma Monest, Mothment, Savage Wolf, Barbarous
Wolf, Hildbear, Rag Rappy
Size: 15%
Overall Difficulty: 25%

~Layout~
The layout of Forest 2 is the same as Forest 1 except minus the brownie. Layout
wise, use the exact same strategy: go around in a circle. There is a small lake
in the middle of the level so you can see most things from the rooms that
surround the lake. There is only one deviation from the main path here too and
that is in the biggest room with the laser barrier. There are six exits from
this room so make sure to explore them all. The warp is typically in the red-
doored room at the northwest corner of the aforementioned room. Be careful not
to miss it. The boss transport is always in the same place but there is a little
green warp somewhere in the level that takes you there. It will move around.
once you've found it, expect a big fight and a few Hildbears. When you use the
warp, you're only two rooms away from the end. Also, the first big column will
appear here as well so make sure to clear the level until you find it. It's
position changes too but you'll find it in a hurry.

~Traps 'n Threats~
About the same as Forest 1: nothing: 0.

~Enemies~
Enemy wise, this level is a good bit more difficult than the previous level.
There are the big powerful Hildebears here. They typically only travel one at a
time but in the last rooms, expect to run into a couple. The rooms here are a
bit smaller so fighting gets more cramped. Hit and run doesn't work so well and
if you're level is low, you could take a beating. Try to group enemies together
and force them to attack you one at a time. This also leaves them vulnerable for
a good tech or trap. The enemies themselves have a bit more variety so you'll
fight wolves at the same time as Boomas. I still recommend a gun but a powerful
sword can prove to be an asset too.

 /#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=\
|*=*=*=BOSS: Dragon*=*=*=|
 \=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#/
Recommended Equipment: A GUN! Resistances to fire wouldn't hurt if you have a
few.
HP: Medium
WEAKNESS: Ice/Barta
Overall Difficulty: 25%

Description: The Dragon is a very large and ominous boss but if you have
adequate defence and a GUN, you will be fine. Be careful, this guy can dish out
some serious damage. He has several attacks. First, he will just walk around. If
he steps on you, you will take a good bit of damage. He will also spew fire all
over the place. The best thing to do to avoid this is to be very close to him:
just under his neck. The dragon will stop moving when he does this so if you are
close to his body, he will miss you completely. He will then start flying. He
will fly just overhead and spit fire at you. Keep running around in circles to
avoid that. When he lands, if he manages to step on you, be prepared for big
damage. Finally, once you hurt him badly enough, (he'll stop to roar to notify
you of the second phase) he will begin a different pattern. First he'll walk up
to you and spew fire. Then he flies up in the air and burrows underground
leaving a fiery hole. Don't touch that or you'll take damage. The Dragon will
then start to burrow in a line toward you. In the easy difficulties, he won't
move much from the straight line but later, his path will bend to try and get
you. The best way to avoid this is to open your Area Map and watch to see where
he's starting. Try to run behind him for the best results.

Strategy: As I said before, and now you know why, a ranged weapon is crucial. I
also recommend a weapon like a sabre to dish out some big damage. The first
thing you should do is attack his feet so run right up to him and stand under
his neck just in front of his feet. If he spews fire, it will miss you. Now
start beating on those feet. After a few good hits, the Dragon will "faint" and
put its head on the ground. It might hurt you when he puts his head down so try
to attack the feet from an angle. Now is your chance. Run over to his head and
bust out with the most powerful stuff you have. Barta spells, and powerful
weapons like swords can rack up big damage and with the Dragon immobile, you can
wail away without fear of attack. Once he raises his head, repeat the process
until he lets out a big roar. This will tell you that he's about to start
burrowing so shoot him a couple times if you can and get ready to dodge that
burrow attack or else you're gonna get nailed. When he resurfaces, try to attack
his face or his feet. Get in as much damage as you can before he flies off
again. Eventually you'll bring him down and you'll get your first chunk of EXP.
One last thing, if you have Shifta, Deband, Jellen or Zalure, go ahead and cast
them. The boss is much easier if it's weaker and you're stronger.

<B1F>---------Forest(Ultimate)--------------------------------------------------

Enemy Changes:

When you enter Ultimate Difficulty, the level is exactly the same except the
enemies look and sometimes act different. Most of the enemies simply have been
souped up with extra health and power but for some, resistances change. I will
note them here. Also note that everything is now ultra-fast so guns will be
you're friend.

Booma -> Bartle: Same
Gobooma -> Barble: Same
Gigobooma -> Tolara: Same
Monest/Mothment-> ???: Same
Savage Wolf -> Guglus: Same
Barbarous Wolf -> Gue-Gulgus: ??
Rag Rappy -> El Rappy: ???

Hildbear -> Hildelt -> Light/Grants

The Hildelt is uber-powerful and they will give you a rough time. They have
unbelievable amounts of power and health. They attack in exactly the same way as
Hildbears but now they shoot Gizonde, which almost always shocks you. Another
thing is they are no longer weak to Barta. In fact, they are strong to
everything except Grants. If you are a Force, then it is your lucky day because
Grants is very strong against this thing.

 /#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=\
|*=*=*=BOSS: Sil Dragon*=*=*=|
 \=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#/
Recommended Equipment: Any kind of gun. Ice Resistances work nicely too.
HP: Med-High
WEAKNESS: Fire/Foie
Overall Difficulty: 35%

Description: Our old friend the Dragon has now learned some new tricks. He is no
longer weak to ice and you'll find out why in 2.542 milliseconds. Instead of
heading under the dome, the boss transporter will take you somewhere up in the
mountains. (It's actually quite beautiful.) The Sil Dragon looks a lot different
but attacks in EXACTLY the same way. The only difference is that now, he shoots
ice at you, which has a very good chance of freezing you. Resist Blizzard would
be a good idea if you have one. If you have a Cure/Freeze, you can end the
battle before it even starts because you'll be more or less immune to him. You
will be very surprised to find the Sil Dragon is not that much more powerful
than the Dragon would be if he was here. Of course, getting frozen does leave
you somewhat unable to defend yourself so make sure to mash the control stick.
The only other difference is when this guy burrows, the final pass will be a
spiral from the outside to the inside of the arena. To dodge this, stand right
in front of the path. He will come right if front of you. When he passes by, run
forward or you'll be just a bit colder.

Strategy: I would approach the Sil Dragon in the same way as the dragon except
obviously you're going to be pelting him with fire. You will find though, the
Sil Dragon is twice as fast as the normal Dragon and that could screw you up big
time because it is difficult to get an attack on the weak head. Of course, you
should still go right under the beast but he might not stop walking and if you
get stomped on, you're almost guaranteed to get two consecutive hits so make
sure you're HP is high. Otherwise, just do what you're used to doing: kick its
rear. Oh, by the way, Megid, as you have probably already discovered doesn't
work too well on anything, let alone bosses so dark attacks aren't going to get
you anywhere in a hurry.

<B1C>---------Caves 1-3---------------------------------------------------------

Enemy Breakdown:
*All Enemies in the Caves have the Altered Beast (A. Beast) Attribute*

Evil Shark
HP: Low-Med
POW: Med
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Fire/Foie
WEAPON: Gun/ Ranged Weapon

If you remember the Booma, this is the Caves equivalent. It looks like a green,
lizard, shark type thing. It is exactly like the Booma in that it will just
meander up to you and attack with its claws. The Sharks are actually a good bit
more difficult than the Boomas but you should have levelled up a few times by
now so they will be like facing the Boomas all over again. If you have a Foie
spell, bean them with it, otherwise just stand back and nail them with a gun.
They can be a bit more evasive than a Booma but you'll soon find an auto gun to
compensate for that. If you want to use a sword, let them come up to you, Combo
and let them attack but move back a couple steps and combo again. The time it
takes for them to attack should give you time to start a fresh assault. Also,
Sharks move a bit faster than Boomas and they tend to appear more at the same
time so you may be fighting crowds of them. Since, you'll encounter these guys
the most, if you have Gi or Rafoie, just nuke them and you're guaranteed to kill
every one that it hits (in Normal that is). You may want to bust out a fire trap
or two as well.

Pal Shark
HP: Med
POW: Med
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Ice/Barta
WEAPON: Gun/ Ranged Weapon

The next step up from the Evil Shark is the Pal Shark. They'll start appearing
about half way through Cave 1. They are exactly like the Evil Shark and you can
deal with them in the same way. They have a tad more HP and power but if you
could deal with the Evil Shark, then you can deal with these guys. The only real
difference is that Barta is the key here.

Guil Shark
HP: Med-High
POW: Med-High
SPECIALS: None
WEAKNESS: Lightening/Zonde
WEAPON: Gun/ Ranged Weapon.

The final generic enemy in the Caves is the Guil Shark. They are rare compared
to the other two so don't expect to see lots of them until you get to Caves 3.
They are actually quite a bit stronger than the other two so you'll really want
a gun to take them out safely. They can also dish out lots of pain so beware
using a sword. The game loves to mix them with the other two so you can't just
cast Gi/ Rafoie toast them all at once. You're going to have to use lightening
on these guys. Then again, freezing them first might not be such a bad idea...

Poison Lilly
HP: Low
POW: VLow
SPECIALS: Can Posion/Paralize you
WEAKNESS: Ice/Barta
WEAPON: A GUN

These things are really going to give you a headache. They are these little evil
white flowers that cannot move (thankfully) and constantly shoot green crap at
you. If you get hit by the green crap, you will be poisoned. That isn't so bad
since you can simply Anti after the battle but any time you hit them, they
straighten up and cast Paralysis on anything even remotely near. Make sure that
if you're not an android, you carry some Antiparalysis on you. To take them out
safely, just stand way back and shoot at them or nail them with Zonde or Barta.
They are pretty weak so don't worry but they an be a pain in the rear. If you're
out of Antiparalysis, then just stand in front of one and let it poison you. For
some reason, that instantly cures the Paralysis. You can usually attack these
things last but feel free to Grants them if you get annoyed. They can hurt you
if you are a real dummy and walk right up to them. One last thing is once you've
removed most of their HP, they will start spinning. Don't get close because they
spray a pile of blue crap that paralyses you.

Grass Assassin
HP: High
POW: High
SPECIALS: Can Paralyse you (Sort of)
WEAKNESS: Fire/Foie
WEAPON: Sword/ Mechgun

I would call these things dangerous but they really aren't. They look like giant
grass hoppers and they walk very slowly up to you. They will then spit this
weird webbing at you. If you are a real dingbat and stay there, it will stick
your feet to the ground. You can still attack if this happens but you can't
move. It wears off pretty quick though. They can also smack you with those huge
slicers, which yields big damage. Sometimes, they will also scream and charge at
you like a nut job. They can nail you for huge damage there too. The only reason
that I consider them absolutely harmless is that they are laughably slow. It's
incredible how slow they actually move. I recommend leaving them until last so
you can remove anything that actually poses a threat. Then just whip out a sword
and walk right beside their body and beat the thing to death. You can cast Foie
at them if you want but why waste it on them?  They take lots of damage so it
may take you a while to beat them up but you're not going to get hurt.

Nano Dragon
HP: Med-High
POW: VHigh-Extreme
SPECIALS: Can Fly, and Shoot Laser Beams
WEAKNESS: Ice/Barta
WEAPON: Sword/ Gun

The Nano Dragon is a very dangerous foe. If you approach them the right way,
you'll be OK but if you're not watching it can be game over in a hurry. They are
actually pretty dumb enemies and they usually won't attack unless you're pretty
close to them. They can only attack via laser beams. The first is like a blue
pulse that will hit everything nearby. It is very hard to avoid but you can if
you're moving in a constant direction. Once you hit them a few times though,
they resort to this flaming blue laser beam that hits you for deadly damage.
This beam is pretty easy to dodge though if you're not in the middle of a combo.
It always fires in a straight line so when you see it coming, just move a step
or two away and it'll miss. The cool thing about Nano Dragons is that if you
walk right up to them, they won't attack, they'll just fly away. If you have a
Handgun, you can pick them off right then and there. If not, just shoot a Barta
spell at them or nail it with a sword. They will usually attack you after a
combo so be ready to dodge if you're not going to go right up to them. One last
thing that makes me wonder is that they will attack their friends too. If you
have a Poison Lilly bothering you, try to make a dragon go by it and it will
take it out for you. If it makes the final kill though, it will get stronger by
about 0.000000000001 ATP. (Seriously, the game makes you think that it's
something to worry about...phhft!)

Polifully Slime
HP: Med
POW: High
SPECIALS: Can shoot Fire and weird spikes
WEAKNESS: Fire/Foie
WEAPON: Sword

This enemy gets the Oscar for most annoying thing in the caves. If you thought
the Lilies were bad, then you've yet to see this thing. It moves on the floor
first as a blobbing blue...blob. It will soon materialize as a spiky blue sea-
horse looking thing. They actually aren't that bad but the second you cast any
magic on them, they'll divide, and divide up to four times for each one. Note
that once you split the original one up into four, those four can no longer
divide. What makes them such a pain is that they are completely invincible until
they materialize. When they do materialize, you can only hit them ONCE before
they go back to being invincible and blobbing along the floor. That means that
you're going to want to make every hit count so take out your most powerful
sword and nail them with the strong attack. The good news is that physical
attack don't usually make them divide, even in Ultimate. They can shoot blue
fire at you and these little weird spiky things but they're pretty easy to dodge
and you probably will hit them before they attack anyway but if two or three
show up at once and they start dividing... you can have 20+ on your hands before
you know it. Try to get everything else before going after these things.

Pan Arms
HP: VHigh
POW: Med
SPECIALS: Can cast Jellen/Zalure on you
WEAKNESS: Everything goes
WEAPON: Sword/ Gun

The Pan Arms can be a pain but they're not too bad. They usually first appear
underground so you're going to have to look at you map to see where they are.
The Pan Arms is actually very big and while it's whole, it is nearly invincible
to physical attacks. You can Zalure them if you want to land a physical hit but
if you have Zalure, that also means that you have other spells. Pan Arms are
weak to every spell you can cast so go nuts if you want to kill them right off
the bat. While it's whole, it will shoot a red beam at you for moderate damage
and a mess of blue beams for the same thing. After both sides gets a shot it, it
will divide into two halves with long swords. Now is your chance to hit them
with physical attacks. You'll want to take out the purple one first because if
it stabs you, it will cast Zalure and Jellen on you, which are unwieldy
powerful. The orange side has quite a bit of power but if you used a few spells
while it was whole, both sides will be pretty weak. Once you kill both sides you
will receive next to no EXP. That sucks!

@-----------------0
|=====Caves 1=====|
0-----------------@
Enemies: Evil Shark, Pal Shark, Guil Shark, Poison Lilly, Nano Dragon, and Grass
Assassin
Length: 30%
Overall Difficulty: 35%

~Layout~
All the caves are boring levels. They are long, not very colourful and you face
the same enemies over, and over, and over again. The only thing you're going to
be battling here is the overwhelming desire to snap the disk in half. The caves
are quite a jump from the forest and this is more or less where PSO actually
starts. You'll be receiving lots more EXP here as well so that's always a good
thing. The layout of Caves 1 is much different from the Forest because now you
no longer have easily recognizable rooms. They are just the same type of room
arranged in many different ways. Of course, as always, the exit is random so I
can't just say: go here, then here blah, blah, blah. Mostly, you're going to
want to head through those rooms that are more rectangular looking. You will
also come across this weird room that is very squarely shaped with a hole in the
middle of it. I like to call this place the battle dome because you'll run into
many enemies here. It is about halfway through the level. One last thing is
there are lots of doors that take four stand-on switches to open. Don't go
through them because they always lead to lots of enemies and dead ends.

~Threats 'n Traps~
The Caves now introduces a few new hazards. The first are traps that do not come
from Androids. They are the same thing but if you're not an android, you can't
see them. There are many different types. Most just explode but there are also
lots that cause status defects. There are a couple rooms that are filled with
traps. I would take a handgun with you if I were you because they are good to
pick off traps. You should also carry a few trap visions if you're weak and you
don't have an android handy. Some traps explode the second they let out their
little beep but there a few that don't. Be careful, some are powerful enough to
kill you outright. The game will also begin its favourite annoyance: trapped
hallways. Between rooms, there are often long hallways and some are packed with
traps. If you find one, the way to get down it is simple: open you're menu! Then
just run down the hall. You're character won't stop by each one anymore and you
won't get hit. You will also see these weird hydraulic presses. There is a
little pad underneath them. When it turns completely red, the press will come
down and flatten whatever happens to be there... like perhaps you? Naw, not if
you're dumb enough to just stay there and let it squat you. They usually appear
in the hallways but they aren't much of a threat. Finally, you may or may not
come across a room where the "Lights" are out. It will be completely black and
the only thing you'll be able to see are boxes. In these rooms, there will also
be a glowing switch, which activates the lights.

~Enemies~
The caves produces quite a few more enemies than the forest but it'll be the
same thing: a pile of them appear to attack you. Whoopie. Anyway, take out the
sharks first because they are the fastest. They go after those stupid lilies. A
also recommend a gun for this level to stand back and kill everything.

@-----------------0
|=====Caves 2=====|
0-----------------@
Enemies: Evil Shark, Pal Shark, Guil Shark, Poison Lilly, Nano Dragon, Grass
Assassin,
Poufilly Slime
Length: 35%
Overall Difficulty: 37%

~Layout~
The second caves is a lot different from Caves 1 and it looks a lot more...
alive. There are lots of very scenic rooms filled with water and lush
vegetation, which provides a nice change from the red lava rooms of Caves 1. The
rooms also tend to be a lot smaller here so combo and run doesn't work so well.
Anyhow, the layout is a lot like the previous caves in that it is a bunch of the
same rooms placed over and over. The large skewed rooms filled with water
usually have locked doors and the switch is placed on an inaccessible island. To
get to said switch, you'll have to either backtrack or head through one of the
other doors. These rooms usually point the right direction. You'll know when
you're nearing the end when the rooms become smaller and more bare. There is
also a room made completely of waterfalls. That is the halfway point. Finally:
DON'T FORGET TO HIT THE PILLAR BEFORE EXITING THIS LEVEL OR YOU'LL BE SORRY!

~Threats 'n Traps~
The same threats exist in Caves 2. I have never run across a dark room here
however but I'm sure there are plenty on other Section IDs. There are a few more
trapped hallways here so if one looks suspicious, open your menu and you know
the rest. There may be a few trapped switches as well so if you don't know what
one will do, whip out a trap vision or be prepared to take the beating (which is
usually intense.)

~Enemies~
Because the rooms are smaller, fighting can be a pain. There will be lots of
sharks packed into one room and they often appear in all the different corners
so if you don't look behind you, you'll be surrounded very quickly. There are
also lots of traps in the various rooms and if you get screwed up, they you can
pretty much prepare to die. Multi-enemy hitting weapons work exceedingly well as
do techs that do the same thing. Since Foie has a tendency to hurt everything,
go ahead and Gi or Rafoie big crowds of enemies. You will also notice that those
stupid flowers tend to show up less here than in Caves 1.

@-----------------0
|=====Caves 3=====|
0-----------------@
Enemies: All of Them!
Length: 52%
Overall Difficulty: 45%

~Layout~
By this time, you're going to be uber-sick of the Caves but don't lose hope,
you're almost there. Caves 3 has a large variety of rooms and I think it is a
lot more fun to play than the previous two. The level itself looks a lot more
ominous and it almost looks like you are in a huge deep freeze. What could the
government be up to? Anyway, there are lots of very small square rooms that have
a tendency to house many enemies. There are also lots of rooms with plenty of
space. You'll come across thousands of dead ends here so make sure to look at
your map to see which doors you haven't gone through already. The large square
rooms as well as the 'Y' Shaped rooms tend to lead to the exit so if you find
yourself in lots of tiny square rooms, head back to the last Y room and take the
other door. About half of the way there, you'll start to see long rectangular
rooms. If you see them, you know you're going the right way. Also, there are a
lot of 4-switch doors. As always, just avoid them unless you'd like to find a
very effective WOT. (Waste Of Time...WOT!)

~Threats 'n Traps~
There are quite a few trapped hallways and trapped rooms here so keep some Sol
Atomizers on you as well as Trap Visions. As always, a handgun is good at
removing surprise traps. If you find an empty room, you're more than likely
going to find lots of traps there. Also, the large square rooms usually have
traps in the corners. Remember, traps hit your enemies too so set one off by a
baddie if you can. Those hydraulic presses are here too and there a are quite of
few of them but you can avoid them easily. Also there are lots of dark rooms so
be prepare to find the switch before you go in.

~Enemies~
The large square rooms usually have LOTS of enemies in them so be prepared for a
fight. By now, you should be acquainted to the fighting style of the Caves so
just do what you were doing to get this far! Also remember that Pan Arms are
showing up. Since they don't appear until you march up to them, just save them
for last.

 /#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#\
|======BOSS: De Rol Le======|
 \#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#/
Recommended Equipment: A GUN is crucial and maybe some fire resistance
Weakness: Fire/Foie
HP: High
Overall Difficulty: 60%

Description: De Rol Le is the biggest pain in the neck since, ever. De Rol Le is
a giant worm that swims in the green sewer and he has mondo amounts of health.
This is going to be a LONG battle but you can't turn back now! De Rol Le has
many attacks, all of which are very dangerous to lower level characters. First,
he will swim by the "raft" you happen to be trapped on and shoot a mess of
purple balls at you. There are so many that you might as well just get Resta
ready. You can dodge them if you try really hard but you'll just get hit next
time anyway. He can also shoot little mines all over your raft. They cause mondo
damage so destroy one in the nearest corner and stay as far away from the others
as you can. He can also shoot three special ones that follow you around. Try to
get rid of one or two, then just open your menu and run around in circles until
the last one(s) blow up. Look out for those mines when De Rol Le is in front of
the raft and flicks his tail. De Rol Le also can place his head on your raft.
While it is there, he will try and prod you with his antennas. Once one has hit,
you have a few seconds before the next one does. This really screws up any kind
of attacks because you can only hit once or twice before you get nailed by
another one. Next, De Rol Le can swim behind the raft and when he sinks into the
water, look at the roof. He somehow has climbed onto the roof and is screwing up
the lights. When he climbs over the raft, look out for rocks from the roof that
fall down. To avoid them, go to the furthest edge of the raft as you can and
walk back and forth. This usually works but sometimes it doesn't. Now it will
get dark for a while and De Rol Le will unleash his last weapon, which is a
purple laser. You'll know it's coming when he stands up and somehow continues to
move forward. He will then charge up and let one beam go. Look forward to about
8 of these. Just run back and forth across the raft to avoid them.

Strategy: De Rol Le is horribly annoying because of his numerous attacks. There
is little time to actually begin an offensive but I would first Zalure and
Jellen him if you are able. They won't last the entire fight but you won't have
to cast it again for a while. Next, if you can, SHIFTA AND DEBAND YOURSELF! It
only makes sense to power yourself up. Now, De Rol Le is pretty much immune to
swords because you'll get very little chance to attack him with one. A g