Dragon Quest 4 DS: Chapters of the Chosen Metal Slime Hunter's Guide Copyright 2008-2009 Ben Kline ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Section 1: Legal Stuff Section 2: Opening Comments Section 3: What are Metal Slimes? Section 4: How to beat Metal Slimes Section 5: The Metal Slime Family Section 6: The Big One Section 7: Closing and Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1: Legal Stuff This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site except GameFAQs or otherwise distributed publicly. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 2: Opening Comments Hello, I am Twilight_Shine of GameFAQs, and this is my very first guide. Dragon Quest 4: Chapters of the Chosen for the Nintendo DS has quickly became a favorite of mine in my video game library. I was unfortunate to not play the original version of this game back on the NES when it was released, but I'm glad I now had the opportunity to find out what I missed! This guide is to help out those who are in need of quick leveling up in the game, and like in many Dragon Warrior/Quest games that came before and after this one, the fastest way of leveling up is to defeat the enemies of the Metal Slime family. I hope you all make good use of my first guide, so please enjoy! If you have anything about this guide you wish to add or help me out with, contact me at twilight_prince1002@yahoo.com. Of course, any flamers, bad comments, etc. will be utterly ignored. Also, thanks to those who sent e-mails already for extra tips and strategies, and for those who said my guide was helpful! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 3: What are Metal Slimes? Anyone who has played a Dragon Warrior/Quest game should already know the answer to this question, but not everyone has, so for those who are unfamiliar with these metallic creatures, allow me to explain. Metal Slimes and their relatives are creatures who have obnoxiously high defense and agility ratings. They are also immune to pretty much all magic in the book. These creatures, if defeated, will drop insane amounts of EXP points, thus giving your team members a quick boost in their levels. The only problem with these creatures is that while they do hold these substantial EXP boosts, they are tough as all heck to defeat due to several things. The first was the aforementioned defense rating, which makes pretty much any physical attack against them either miss completely or do a single point of damage. To top this off, Metal Slimes are highly skittish, and they will almost always flee before you get the chance to try and take them out. I mean, if you knew you were holding such tremendous amounts of EXP, you wouldn't want them taken away, now would you? Also as stated, Metal Slimes are immune to magic, be it offensive or status or whatever. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 4: How to beat Metal Slimes So with all I've said about these guys, does that make these creatures impossible to beat? Absolutely not! While they do have all these boons, even they have weaknesses. The most obvious weakness they have is their low HP, most of them (with one exception) being in only the single digits. Of course, with you only being able to inflict 1 point of damage on them, those few HP can go a long ways! So how do you defeat Metal Slimes effectively? Well, there are three main things you can do. The first way is to score a critical hit on a Metal Slime. Since critical hits ignore any defenses and allow you to inflict the highest damage you possibly can, this will certainly kill any Metal Slime creature instantly. Of course, critical hits come at random, so the Metal Slimes may still be able to run away before you strike. The second method comes very late in the game. When you get Psaro to join your party in Chapter 6 (the after-game chapter), he learns the Metal Slash technique at level 40, which is an ability that makes it easier to do damage against these monsters, enabling usually 2 points of damage to them. Another thing that can help when fighting and hunting them are some certain weapons you can acquire, which are detailed below. The first of these weapons is the Falcon Knife Earrings, which you can buy in the town of Rosehill for 7500 gold. This item only gives an additional +5 to your ATK, but these enable you to do a two-hit physical strike. With these, you can possibly be able to inflict 2 damage on a Metal Slime. The downside to the Falcon Knife Earrings is that only the women of the party (Alena, Maya, and Meena) can equip them. Does that seem limiting if you're using an all-male group? Not nessecarily! While only equippable by the Hero, Ragnar, and much later on Psaro (he even comes with one!), the Falcon Blade does the same as the Falcon Knife Earrings, just not with such a lowered ATK stat (it has a +67 ATK). The difficult part is acquiring one of these blades, since the only way to get one other than the one Psaro comes with is by dishing out 65,000 tokens at the Endor Casino, which is NOT cheap at all. Double attacks, while not the most sufficient way to dole out damage, will still help if you have no other options open to you at the time. "Michel Lacriox" adds: "If you can get Pioneer Town to become a castle, which you can't before defeating Psaro, you can find a Falcon Blade outside of the castle, somewhere near the leftside entrance." I myself just found said Falcon Blade. Thanks much for pointing that out! A very good weapon you can acquire to help with hunting Metal Slimes is the Liquid Metal Sword, which is found in the Cascade Cave. I won't say how to get in that cave, as I'm sure other walkthroughs will tell how. Anyhow, this blade is not only one of the most powerful in the game (+130 ATK!), but it will also deal out a solid 2 points of damage against Metal Slimes. It's an effective weapon through and through, so when you're able to get it, get it ASAP. I should also point out that since Metal Slimes have very high agility ratings, it would also be wise to be able to be as fast as you possibly can, so if you equip accessories such as the Mercury's Bandana and Meteorite Bracer, you'll have a better chance to strike before the Metal Slimes can flee. Not getting many critical hits like you wanted? Well, the chance for criticals is determined by a character's Luck statistic. The higher the Luck, the better and more frequent chance of landing a critical. Alena by herself has a Luck rating that's through the roof, and good agility to boot, making her an ideal choice when hunting these monsters. A few accessories also boost Luck, such as the Bunny Tail (+8 Luck), Lucidia Shard (+5 Luck), and the Elevating Shoes (+50 Luck). The Gospel Ring also raises Luck by 50, but it also prevents monster battles, so it's not all too useful unless you combine it with Torneko's Whistle. "Matt Platz" states: "As a long time player of this game, I noticed one thing you missed. One other weapon which is great for metal hunting is the Poison Needle. While only Borya and Maya can equip it, it ALWAYS hits. So it's either a guaranteed 1 point of damage (which helps tremendously) or an instant kill (which is even better)." Playtested this, and it does work from time to time indeed. "Chris Schumacher" states: "In the original NES version of Dragon Quest IV, the preferred method for destroying Metal Babbles was using the spell BeDragon, which is called Puff! in the DS version. This is especially good since it is possible to destroy an entire group of Liquid Metal Slimes in one round. Only Maya learns this spell, and it will help to have her equipped with a Meteorite Bracer." This holds true to the DS version as well. The only downside to this little strategy is that the slimes may still run during the turn you use Puff!, since Maya won't be able to attack the same turn she uses it. Still, it's a very worthwhile mention. "Thomas Votik" and "Josh Einstein" state: "Another great weapon is the cursed Hella Hammer. It makes you miss a lot of the time but when it hits it's always critical. I have been killing 2 or 3 babbles at a time with this thing. It's hella cool! Of course to get it off you gotta uncurse which destroys it." Very true, though as they stated, the item is cursed, so be wary on how you use it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 5: The Metal Slime Family In this section, I will go into detail about each member of the Metal Slime Family, as well as their locations and efficient ways to beat them. Metal Slime: Max HP: 4 Max MP: 12 ATK: 20 Defense: 1023 (that's not a typo) Speed: 50 EXP: 1350 Gold: 5 Item Drop: Gold Tiara Attacks: Physical Attack, Flee, Frizz Locations: Chapter 2 Endor Area, Chapters 3 and 5 Cistern Chapel, Chapter 5 Last Chance Saloon area (south part) Pharos Beacon. Description: These are the first and easiest of the Metal Slime family, and you find them faily early on in the game, though even then they'll be difficult to defeat due to their high speed and them running off. Strategy: Early on, these guys are almost impossible to beat since you more than likely won't be fast enough to hit them before they run. However, once you get to Pharos Beacon, they start appearing in larger numbers there, and in my own personal experience, they were less prone to fleeing there. Basically, just hit them and hope for criticals or that you are able to pound them down before they flee. Liquid Metal Slime: Max HP: 5 Max MP: Infinite ATK: 65 Defense: 1023 Speed: 150 EXP: 10,050 Gold: 10 Item Drop: Happy Hat Attacks; Physical Attack, Flee, Frizz, Sizz Locations: Chapter 5 Femiscyra Castle area (South), Royal Crypt, Stairway to Zenithia, Nadira Watchtower. Description: The next step up in the Metal Slime family. These guys are three times faster than the normal ones, but offer tons of EXP upon defeat. These are possibly the most efficient ones to fight. Strategy: Royal Crypt is the best place to hunt these guys down, since when they show up there, they often will appear in large numbers, making it a bit easier to kill a few hopefully. The Liquid Metal Sword definitely comes in handy fighting these guys. Basically, just use the same strategy for the basic Metal Slime. Metal King Slime: Max HP: 7 Max MP: Infinite ATK: 140 Defense: 1023 Speed: 165 EXP: 30,010 Gold: 20 Item Drop: Liquid Metal Helm Attacks: Physical Attack, Flee, Sizzle Locations: Chapter 5 The Azimuth area, Stairway to Zenithia, Nadira Watchtower, Chapter 6 Fungeon. Description: The bulky blobs are a big step up from the previous two, and with slightly higher HP than the others, beating them is no easy task before they run. Strategy: These guys don't like sticking around long, and are pretty tough to locate as it is, since I've only seen them in pairs at most. Your best bet would be to score a lucky critical against these guys, then cheer for joy as you reap the rewards. If you're VERY lucky, they drop one of the best helmets in the game! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 6: The Big One Okay, so you've met and possibly defeated the three main Metal Slimes, right? If you have, congrats and keep hunting them for more EXP! However, there is still one other member of this group, and it is the elite of them all. Defeating this one requires a strategy of it's own calibur, so I had to divide this one into a section of it's own! Once you've beaten the main game and saved, you'll eventually be able to enter the game's bonus dungeon, Fungeon. In there you'll find the creme de la creme of the Metal Slimes... Platinum King Jewel: Max HP: 200 Max MP: 100 ATK: 210 Defense: 800 Speed: 255 EXP: 65,000 Gold: 700 Item Drop: Kerplunk Bracer Attacks: Physical Attack, Smother Attack, Flee, Dazzle Locations: Chapter 6 Fungeon, in the area right after the Pinnacle Chapel. Description: Hoo-boy...this one's the toughie to beat, but one look at the amount of EXP this guy gives you just makes you wish to defeat it more, am I right? However, with those stats, it's not an easy task... Strategy: Okay, this one has been play-tested by myself and it worked well for me, so I hope it will for you. Platinum King Jewels (which I will refer to as PKJ's from hereon) are rare and not to be trifled with. And I'm quite sure you're not going to let 65K worth of EXP run away, are you? Yeah, I thought not. PKJ's, as I stated, are only in the Fungeon dungeon (what a rhyme...) and only in the area just after the Pinnacle Chapel, which is all good since when you first get to that place, you can use a Zoom spell to warp right back there at any time! This makes it a bit more efficient to hunt them. To prepare yourself, be SURE to have Alena in your party, and make sure her Speed stat is capped off at 255 (the highest number for that stat). Since PKJ's have 255 Speed as well, they will almost always have the first attack, and will more than likely use it to flee! With Alena having that maxed Speed, she has an equal chance to hit first. If she's a little short of 255, give her a Mercury's Bandana to help her out. The other team members can be whoever you like, but make SURE that one of them is carrying the item known as the Sands of Time. I will explain why in a bit. With all that said, you should be in around your low to mid 40's by the time you wish to tackle this dungeon, which is fine. Go to the Pinnacle Chapel area and head out the northern exit there. You should come to a cave-like place where there are some gravestones. This is the area PKJ's are located, so walk around and wait for monster encounters. You can always speed this up with Torneko's Whistle or by bringing along some Musk. Now PKJ's as far as I've seen always come in singles, but paired up with three other monsters. So the battle starts, and you want that PKJ's EXP, don't you? To help simplify this strategy out, let's try a pretend battle here. Say the PKJ appears with three Juggulars. Okay, now the only thing you need to do is pray that Alena makes the first strike, and have her hit the PKJ, hoping for a blessed critical hit, which even though a PKJ has anywhere up to 200 HP, she still should inflict enough damage to destroy it. If this happens, then you have every right to celebrate...well, after you finish the other monsters off, of course. Now what happens if the PKJ gets to go before Alena? Well, in the worst-case scenario...it'll flee. Gone. Poof. However, should this happen, there is still hope! Remember when I said to have someone else be holding the Sands of Time? Well, after the turn the PKJ flees, have that person use the Sands of Time to start the battle over. And since it starts over...the PKJ will be back, as if it never fled, allowing you another chance to defeat it! Should it run again, just use the Sands of Time again until you finally finish it off. Of course, there's also the chance the PKJ may stick around and fight for a bit. In this case, it can attack one party member with its basic attack or its slightly better smothering attack. However, the PKJ has a nasty trick up its sleeve (...wait, does it even have sleeves?). It's a spell called Dazzle, which causes your party members to hallucinate and thus reducing their physical attack hit ratio to almost zilch! Should that happen, use the Sands of Time, because your chances of hitting it after it uses that are slim to none. By following this example, you should be able to K.O. a PKJ every time you encounter one, netting a hefty sum of EXP for your party! "Matt Benecke" also adds this very interesting tidbit of info regarding PKJ's. "Maya's Sliver Tarot Cards allow her to get a variety of effects when she uses them in battle. One of these effects is called "Star," which gives the party twice the amount of experience and gold for the battle. Using your Sands of Time approach for the PKJ slime, you might want to suggest that Maya is in your party and has both the Silver Tarot Cards and the Sands of Time. While Alena and Co. go to town on the PKJ, Maya can use the cards to hopefully get the Star experience boost. Granted, you run the risk of having her draw the Fool card (which would kill off the other members of the party but could be reversed with the Sands of Time item) or, worse, the Justice card which would cause all of the enemies to be blown off the screen. Either way, the chance to earn 130,000+ experience points in one battle is awfully tempting." Tempting indeed...I was actually bold enough to try this myself, and lo and behold, it works given the right circumstances! Thanks a lot for the info! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 7: Closing and Credits This is the end of my little Metal Slime Hunting guide, so it's time to thank some people. Special thanks to Yuji Horii for making the Dragon Quest games. To Akira Toriyama, for drawing such spectacular art for the series. To BradyGames, for stats on the Metal Slimes. To SquareEnix for making this wonderful remake. To my friend Wesley, who helped me get into Dragon Quest. To Matt Platz, Michel Lacriox, Thomas Votik, Josh Einstein, and Matt Beneke for all the new and interesting info on hunting these creatures. And finally to you, the reader, for taking the time to read all this. Happy Metal Slime hunting! -Fin