_____ ______ _ ____ | __ \ | ____| | | |___ \ | |__) | _ _ __ ___ | |__ __ _ ___| |_ ___ _ __ _ _ __) | | _ / | | | '_ \ / _ \ | __/ _` |/ __| __/ _ \| '__| | | | |__ < | | \ \ |_| | | | | __/ | | | (_| | (__| || (_) | | | |_| | ___) | |_| \_\__,_|_| |_|\___| |_| \__,_|\___|\__\___/|_| \__, | |____/ __/ | |___/ __ __ ___ _ ( _/_ _ _ __ ( // _ _ _ _// _ /__)(_ /_| / /|/| _ _ '_ / '_ _ __)/(/\/(-_) |/|//)(-/ (- //)(- / ( /__( |(__ / |(/(//( (__/(-_) _/ {}TABLE OF CONTENTS{} _____________________ I. Legalities and such II. Introduction III. Overlaying Effects IV. Elements V. Transformers VI. The Totally Useless Items VII. Acquiring These Priceless Catalysts A. The Easiest Ones B. The Hardest ones C. Short-cut: Hidden Island D. Finding the Behemoths VIII. Acknowledgements IX. Contact Info {}LEGALITIES AND SUCH{} _______________________ I do not own any of the rights to any of the names of the characters, places, items, and such that are included in this guide except for the names of the staff-inherent spells which I came up with entirely by myself. The rest of the names are trademarked by Natsume and Nintendo. This FAQ is the property of Ben Showler ("Suffurix" on Gamefaqs, but either "Lethe Albion" or "Leithe Albion" on most other sites) and may not be reproduced without my permission. If you would like to post this FAQ on another website, please contact me first and let me know. Please feel free to quote from it, but don't take credit for it. And I don't expect you to fully remember my name and all my usernames and use them whenever you quote an official quote and yadda yadda yadda, but I DO expect you to clarify that you DID find the information from someone else's FAQ, and you did not come up with it on your own. As for the afore-mentioned staff-inherent spells, those are just nicknames for ease of speaking. They aren't copy-righted or anything so whatever. {}INTRODUCTION{} ________________ NOTE: Becoming an Arcane Smith should not be a decision you make until you are at or have beaten the fifth and final dungeon of the game, since you will need to do quite a bit of running around looking for items from dangerous enemies and bosses. Staves are perhaps the most powerful and versatile weapons in Rune Factory 3. While not providing much physical power, they phenomenally boost your magical Prowess when using spells and tomes. But what most people don't realize is that the true power of magical staves lies within the staves themselves. Or more realistically, the true power of magic lies within the inner energies of the world's comuponents. Namely, materials you can use to upgrade weapons. Staves are incredibly different than other weapons in several ways. Number 1: They give high magic attack rather than normal attack. Number 2: Starting at level 3, they have three charge levels. And number 3: The attacks released by charging them are different depending on what items you use to upgrade them. This third point is the crux of the true power behind the magic in Rune Factory 3. For instance: take someone who just picked up this game, and has played the two previous games. He knows that axes and hammers deal the most damage out of any weapons, so at the end of the game, when his forging level is incredibly high and he has access to a wide range of items and materials, he crafts the Saint Axe and upgrades it with 9 Red Dragon fangs, giving an extra hundred or two attack. Now he feels prepared to fight his way to the bottom of the Sharance Tree's dungeons. But when he gets there, he finds himself quite hard pressed at the lower levels due to the incredibly slow attacks of his axe. Now take YOU, who are reading this FAQ right now: at the end of the game when your forging level is ALSO very high and you have access to a wide range of items and materials, you craft the Magic Broom. Then you upgrade it with 7 Fire Dragon Scales, giving it an extra 144 magic attack, and a Water Crystal and Dragon Fin. Now what you have is a staff with incredibly high magic attack and the ability to fire a short ranged, sweeping water laser, a wider ranged and larger sweeping water laser, or summon two little water elementals that follow you around and fire powerful lasers at enemies. Now that you face the Sharance Tree's dungeons, you are infinitely more prepared than the person who tried to go it alone using a Saint Axe. The possibilitis with what you could do with the magic of staves in this game are nearly limitless. But just so you don't get a headache, here's how things work: {}OVERLAYING EFFECTS{} ______________________ The cardinal rule of staff magic is that effects do not stack. They replace each other. So if you have a fire elemental staff that at all three charge levels shoots differing amounts of fireballs and you upgrade it using a Bird Wing, you will now have a fire elemental staff that shoots fireballs at the first two charge levels, and a gust of wind at the third level (and it charges these levels about twice as fast as normal). But if you took the same staff and used a Bird Wing and THEN a Fire Crystal, the Fire Crystal would wipe over the Air Gust spell and the speed boost enchantment and leave it just like it was with only a few extra stat boosts from the two upgrades. So, with this knowledge, it is incredibly important what order you upgrade in. It would be a shame to use a Dragon Fin, think you're all finished, and then find a Small Crystal and decide to just give it some extra magic attack, thus replacing your Summon: Guardian Fins spell with a dinky Sealing Cloud spell. Now, onto a practical application: {}ELEMENTS{} ____________ When I say elements, I don't actually mean elemental affinities in the same way the game does, where using Fire abilities on a Water type enemy will deal more damage than usual. I use the term element simply as a categorizing tool. Because obviously there are no weapons in the game that deal Pirate elemental damage. Please note as well that Arrow and Leaf elements have the "fast" trait, which means they charge twice as fast as usual. Fire >>>>>>> 1: |Fireball| = Shoots two splitter fireballs 2: |Improved Fireball| = shoots three splitter fireballs 3: |Greater Fireball| = Shoots four splitter fireballs Water >>>>>> 1: |Aqua Beam| = Shoots water laser in small arc close in front of you 2: |Improved Aqua Beam| = Shoots water laser in medium arc further away from you 3: |Greater Aqua Beam| = Shoots water laser in giant arc far away from you Wind >>>>>>> 1: |Air Cutter| = Throws two curving wind blades 2: |Improved Air Cutter| = Throws four curving wind blades 3: |Greater Air Cutter| = Throws six curving wind blades Earth >>>>>> 1: |Rockwave| = Makes earth spikes rise up in straight line a short distance away from you 2: |Improved Rockwave| = Makes earth spikes rise up in wider range a medium distance away from you 3: |Greater Rock Wave| = Makes earth spikes rise up in very wide range a long distance away from you Dark >>>>>>> 1: |Death Leech| = Produces a darkness ball a short distance in front of you that floats slowly counter- clockwise for a few seconds 2: |Improved Death Leech| = Produces a darkness ball a medium distance in front of you that floats slowly counter-clockwise for a few seconds 3: |Greater Death Leech| = Produces a darkness ball a large distance in front of you that floats slowly counter-clockwise for several seconds Light >>>>>> 1: |Radiant Shell| = Makes two light balls appear around you and quickly spiral outwards 2: |Improved Radiant Shell| = Makes four light balls appear around you and quickly spiral outwards 3: |Greater Radiant Shell| = makes six light balls appear around you and quickly spiral outwards Pirate >>>>> 1: |Summon: Explosive| = rolls exploding barrel 2: |Summon: Improved Explosives| = rolls three exploding barrels 3: |Summon: Steel Urchin| = tosses a spikeball that sits on the field for several seconds Energy >>>>> 1: |Blast Wave| = Fires energy wave 2: |Improved Blast Wave| = Fires three energy waves 3: |Greater Blast Wave| = Fires eight energy waves all around Tree >>>>>>> 1: |Strangling Root| = Cracks the ground beneath an enemy and shoots a root out of the ground underneath them 2: |Crimson Circle| = Makes a ring of several apples that circle quickly around you and hit any enemies they collide with before dissapearing 3: |Crimson Volley| = Calls down large apples that fall in a row across the screen and then back the other way Arrow >>>>>> 1: |Summon: Projectile| = launches one arrow (fast) 2: |Summon: Improved Projectiles| = Launches two splitter arrows 3: |Summon: Greater Projectiles| = Launches three splitter arrows Ice >>>>>>>> 1: |Spiral Shards| = Summons four ice shards that slowly spin counter-clockwise inwards around you, then spiral outwards quickly (slow) 2: |Homing Shards| = Summons eight ice shards that slowly spin around the closest enemy before rushing inwards on them 3: |Massive Shard| = Summons a giant ice shard in front of you, and after one second, flies off in the direction you were facing Castle >>>>> 1: |Golem Finger| = Launches a spinning rock structure from above your current position that homes in on enemies and drills into them (Slow) 2: |Improved Golem Finger|= Launches a spinning rock structure straight out that homes in on enemies and drills into them 3: |Inferno| = Fires a spray of powerful but small fireballs in a wide arc Bane >>>>>>> 1: |Spark Mine| = Creates a lightning sphere that slowly follows enemies around electrocuting them (very slow) 2: |Acrid Vapor| = Shoots a ball of poison that splashes apart after a certain distance and sits on the battle field for a short while 3: |Summon: Storm Spirit| = Summons a ball of lightning that expands to a massive size and weaves back and forth across the screen Tempest >>>> 1: |Lightning Strike| = Calls down multiple strikes of lightning on one enemy (slow) 2: |Wrath of the Earth| = Summons Rock spikes around you in a circle, getting bigger each time, and traveling in a bigger circle each time 3: |Armageddon| = Calls down several giant meteors in a general radius around you Blaze >>>>>> 1: |Massive Flame| = launches a large fireball that expands to a massive size (slow) 2: |Blaze Vacuum| = Draws enemies inwards toward you while incinerating them with fireballs 3: |Vulcan's Rage| = Summons a column of flames, then four more surrounding you, then more and more in a further expanding square Dragon >>>>> 1: |Summon: Water Fins| = Fires four water fins behind you that fly around, colliding with enemies before disappearing (slow) 2: |Summon: Seeker Fins| = Fires four water fins behind you that ^^^ but fire a laser at enemies before disappearing 3: |Summon: Guardian Fins|= Fires two water fins behind you that follow behind you, occasionally firing lasers at enemies and damaging any colliding enemies {}TRANSFORMERS{} ________________ ::BASIC STAFF:: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: Base element ^3 ------------------------------------ Poison Powder >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Poison Cloud| = Green surrounding gas clouds (Add: Poison) Melee attacks Add: Poison ------------------------------------ Dragon Tooth >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Fiery Breath| = emits a close-ranged fire blast that lasts for a few seconds ------------------------------------ Strong Vine >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Ice PetalS| = Shoots off five bluish flower petals in an arc ------------------------------------ Plant Stem >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Forest Petals| = Two green petals shoot out and weave back and forth as they move away ------------------------------------ Panther Claw >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Panther Flash| = Three clawed flash rushes forward for multiple attacks (Add: Paralyze) [Acts as a physical attack] ------------------------------------ Fairy Dust >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Sleeping Cloud| = White surrounding smoke clouds (Add: Sleep) ------------------------------------ Bird Wing >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Air Gust| = Pushing gust of wind FAST charge rate ------------------------------------ Spore >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Spore Cloud| = Green-blue surrounding gas clouds (Add: Paralyze) ------------------------------------ Gunpowder >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: |Ignite| = Creates a column of fire directly in front of you that sits for a few seconds Charge 3: |Burning Pillar| = Creates a gigantic column of fire that rushes forward ------------------------------------ Proof of Warrior >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Summon: Flying Axe| = Throws an axe forward ------------------------------------ Small Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Sealing Cloud| = Black surrounding smoke clouds (Add: Seal) ------------------------------------ Chimera Tail >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Avalanche| = Spews a dozen or so giant bubbles SLOW charge speed Melee attacks randomly inflict Poison or Paralyze ------------------------------------ Blue Lion Fur >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: |Hurricane Shield| = Creates four tornadoes around you that slowly spread out Charge 3: |Hurricane Barrage| = Creates three tornadoes in front of you that rapidly fly outwards ------------------------------------ Red Lion Fur >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Sonic Wave| = Fires a sonic blast outwards ------------------------------------ Grimoire Scale >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: |Maelstrom| = Issues a wide blast of pushing wind and random boulders fly by Charge 3: |Great Tornado| = Creates a giant green tornado that slowly moves forward and stops moving for a few seconds after it has traveled a certain amount SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Dragon Bones >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Thunder Chain| = Creates a ball of lightning attached to a lighning chain that seeks out nearest enemies. Lasts for several seconds SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Ice Nose >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: Base element ^2 Charge 3: |Deadly Tundra| = Summons a field of ice spikes all around you in a huge area. SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Song Bottle >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Charge 1: Base element Charge 2: |Quadra Beam| = fires four water lasers out in front of you Charge 3: |Siren's Song| = Emits multiple various musical notes that damage enemies and inflict random status effects (sometimes will steal health, too. I have not yet determined the pattern to this effect. It may just be from having a Legendary Scale on the item) SLOW charge rate Melee attacks randomly inflict Cold ------------------------------------ Fire Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Fire= element ------------------------------------ Water Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Water= element ------------------------------------ Earth Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Earth= element ------------------------------------ Wind Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Wind= element ------------------------------------ Light Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =light= element ------------------------------------ Dark Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Dark= element ------------------------------------ Raccoon Leaf >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Leaf= element ------------------------------------ Moving Branch >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Tree= element ------------------------------------ Dragon Fin >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Dragon= element SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Ice Shard >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Ice= element SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Ammonite >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Pirate= element ------------------------------------ Chest Hair >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Energy= element ------------------------------------ Golem Slate >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Castle= element SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Electric Crystal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Bane= element SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Earth Dragon Scale >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Tempest= element SLOW charge rate ------------------------------------ Fire Dragon Scale >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Blaze= element ------------------------------------ Arrowhead >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ____________________________________ Add: =Arrow= element FAST charge rate ------------------------------------ {}THE TOTALLY USELESS ITEMS{} _____________________________ Though a great variety of components can be used to imbue your staves with wondrous powers, there are some that will only ever give them some extra stat boosts, status effects, status resistances, or are just plain crap. So here's the list of stuff that you will never have to worry about when becoming an Arcane Smith: Fleece Silk Cloth Strong String Quality Fur Hard Horn Tortoise Shell Hammer Piece Devil Horn Love Crystal Root Broken Hilt Scorpion Tail Insect Skin Magic Crystal Magic Powder Broken Box Hood Speckled Skin Devil Blood Insect Jaw Giant Fingernail Skull Legendary Scale Quality Cloth Wolf Fang Shoulder Piece Cheap Bandage Cheap Cloth Sparkle String Glue Giant's Glove Scorpion Pincer Wooly Furball Bull Horn Emeral Amethyst Sapphire Aquamarine Ruby Diamond Scrap Iron Iron Bronze Silver Gold Platinum Although, certain items like the Magic Crystal and Magic Powder DO boost the weapon's Magic Attack, so you may want to keep an eye out for them {}ACQUIRING THESE PRICELESS CATALYSTS{} _______________________________________ Well so far, it seems as if crafting a god-like wizarding weapon is as easy as beating a blind-man at throwing darts. But this is not so, my good friend. You see, some of these rare artifacts are not so easy to come by. And even with the proper ingredients, you will also have to have a high enough forging skill to be able to properly imbue the materials. First of all, as for forging: It really doesn't matter that you know the exact formula of how much skill you have divided by the forging level of the item plus the square root of pi times the forging level of the weapon and blah-dee blah-dee blah. It's simple: you go to the forge, put the weapon in the slot, put the component in the other slot. It'll then show you your chance of completing the enchantment. If it's anywhere below 20%, then make a cheap weapon and keep upgrading it with silver or gold, or at least some item that it has below a 60% chance of completeing, until you level up you forging skill enough to imbue your staff. The moment the chance gets to 20 or above, just go for it and keep hammering away 'til ya get it. But make sure to watch your RP and HP, since it's pretty easy to get distracted from pressing that A button so often. And if you're anywhere near the same point in your medical expenses as I am, then you should be greatly afraid of accidentally feinting. If you went through the game constantly forging better weapons for yourself along the way, then your forging skill should easily be high enough at this point. Now onto the meat of the process: The easiest transformers to obtain are as follows: *[The Easiest Ones] -------------------------------------------------- Poison Powder Dragon Tooth Strong Vine Plant Stem Panther Claw Bird Wing Fairy Dust Spore Gunpowder Proof of Warrior Small Crystal Fire Crystal Water Crystal Wind Crystal Earth Crystal Dark Crystal Light Crystal Arrowhead The reason for this list is due to the fact that all of these items can be found primarily by slaying a certain type of enemy. Or doing it the easier way by using a Beanling Magic Seed that turns enemies into items that they usually drop. The Dragon Tooth can be a little tricky, though, because the big green dragons that drop them are pretty tough cookies. But don't worry about that. You're already at the end of the game, remember? You ARE at the end of the game, aren't you.......??? As for the specifics of where to find such dainty trinkets, I have made yet another list: Poison Powder )))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Big Mushroom (Privera Forest) and Tricky Mushroom (Sol Terrano Desert) ------------------------------ Dragon Tooth ))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Droppedfrom Claw Dragon (Dragon Cave) Strong Vine )))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Leafball (Privera Forest), Flower Lion (Sol Terrano Desert), Planchoa (Oddward Valley), and Flower Crystal (Vale River) ------------------------------ Plant Stem ))))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Flower Blossom and Leafball (Privera Forest), Flower Lion and Tricky Mushroom (Sol Terrano Desert), Planchoa (Oddward Valley), and Flower Crystal (Vale River) ------------------------------ Panther Claw ))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Shadow Panther (Sol Terrano Desert), and Blood Panther (Dragon Cave) ------------------------------ Bird Wing )))))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Duck, Weegull, and Big Duck (Sol Terrano Desert), Cluckadoodle and Blackbird (Oddward Valley), and Penguin (Vale River) ------------------------------ Fairy Dust ))))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Faerie (Oddward Valley) and Death Faerie (Dragon Cave) ------------------------------ Spore )))))))))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Big Mushroom (Privera Forest), Tricky Mushroom (Sol Terrano Desert), and Death Fungus (Oddward Valley) ------------------------------ Gunpowder )))))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Orc Hunter and Orc Archer (Privera Forest), Goblin Sniper and Goblin Archer (Sol Terrano Desert) ------------------------------ Proof of Warrior ))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Orc Rider (Privera Forest), Goblin and Hobgoblin (Sol Terrano Desert) ------------------------------ Small Crystal )))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Slimes (Sol Terrano), Dark Slimes (Vale River), Little Wizards (Vale River), Little Mages and Little Emperors (Dragon Cave) [The Little Emperors are pretty deep down in the cave, so it'll take some time to get all the way there] ------------------------------ Fire Crystal ))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from defeating a Fire enemy portal (It's pretty deep red. It's NOT the slightly pinkish one, though. Those drop Love Crystals) Can be mined from rocks in Sol Terrano Desert (use a Silver Hammer or above for maximum efficiency) ------------------------------ Water Crystal )))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from defeating a Water enemy portal (I THINK it's the one that's sort of bluish-green) Can be mined from rocks in Vale River (use a Silver Hammer or above for maximum efficiency) ------------------------------ Wind Crystal ))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from defeating a Wind enemy portal (It'll look very green) Can be mined from rocks in Oddward Valley (use a Silver Hammer or above for maximum efficiency) ------------------------------ Earth Crystal )))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from defeating a Dark enemy portal (It'll look kind of brownish and yellow, and darker than the Light portal) Can be mined from rocks in Privera Forest (use a Silver Hammer or above for maximum efficiency) ------------------------------ Dark Crystal ))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from defeating a Dark enemy portal (It'll look dark and murky colored, and kinda purple) ------------------------------ Light Crystal )))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from defeating a Light enemy portal (It'll look bright white with a yellowish tint to it) ------------------------------ Arrowhead )))))))))))))))))))) ______________________________ Dropped from Orc Archer & Orc Hunter in Privera Forest [Stoneway/The Eye] ------------------------------ NOTE: These monsters will also randomly appear in the Sharance Tree's Dungeons. Now you know how to find some of the easier transformers. But per usual, the easier ones are never as good as the harder ones. Now we get into the slightly tricky part. All of the other transformers I haven't mentioned so far come from defeating bosses. And there is one for every single boss in this game. Which means you're going to have beat them. All of them. So get ready: The hardest transformers to obtain are as follows: *[The Hardest Ones] -------------------------------------------------- Chimera Tail <> Chimera Blue Lion Fur <> Amaranthine Red Lion Fur <> Crimsone Grimoire Scale <> Grimoire Dragon Bones <> Skelefang Ice Nose <> Crystal Mammoth Raccoon Leaf <> Raccoon Moving Branch <> Terror Tree Dragon Fin <> Aquaticus Ice Shard <> Death Wall Ammonite <> Octopirate Chest Hair <> Greater Demon Song Bottle <> Siren Golem Slate <> Golem Electric Crystal <> Bane Dragon Fire Dragon Scale <> Fiersome Earth Dragon Scale <> Terrable Each one of those items is dropped by defeating it's cooridinating boss. Be warned, though. They do not always drop it. So you may end wasting quite a bit of your time if you don't save before fighting them. But rest assured, 'cause they drop them about 75% of the time, so you should be fine. Now please realize, that this list is actually sort of a rule of thumb. Yes, in GENERAL, farming items from a boss of all things is going to be harder than farming it from a normal enemy. But if you heeded my admonition to be very near the end of the game before starting a hobby like this, then you already know that beating the Raccoon from Privera Forest at this point is probably easier than beating some of the normal enemies from Vale River or the Dragon Cave. With that being said, you may want to scratch these two from the list: Greater Demon Raccoon And depending on what level you're at, and if you did any power-leveling, you could even scratch these as well: Amaranthine Crimsone Octopirate Skelefang Death Wall These bosses are much easier to beat than most other bosses, IF you are at about level 70 or higher, and as such, you shouldn't worry too much about getting your hands on their items. The Death Wall might take a bit higher level though, and perhaps the Octopirate as well, if you have the proper equipment that is. The REST of the bosses are going to take some serious investment though. For now, let's review how to find the many lairs in which these lumbering behemoths reside... Actually, hold off for a minute. Detour Time *[Short-cut: Hidden Island] -------------------------------------------- Instead of actually chasing down the Greater Demon, Octopirate, Chimera, Grimoire, and Crystal Mammoth, there's an easier way to find them. Go to Privera Forest, and bring a Lily Pad Magic Seed. Go to a place called Stoneway, and there should be a little opening into the lake. Get on your Lily Pad and ride it out over the lake and to the big island on the right. This is called Hidden Island. Now, the first thing you should notice upon seeing this island is that there's some kind of giant creature on it, namely one of the five mentioned above. Now don't be too scared, since these versions are pathetically weaker than their original counterparts. I think the Greater Demon has around 3000 Hp or something like that, if that's any indicator of what I'm saying. At this point, it becomes very simple: Go in and out of that one screen 'til the boss you want to fight shows up, and then spank it hard 'til it cries. Then, reap your reward. Now if only the rest of the bosses showed up on this nifty little island. *Sigh*......that would be the day.......oh well. Moving on: How to find all the bosses *[Finding the Behemoths] -------------------------- Now for one of hardest quests you'll ever have to go through: The Sharance Tree. That's right folks. The secret to ultimate magical might lies right beneath your very floor-boards. But that's besides the point. On to the details: Inside your house there are two ladders, one to the right and one to the left. The left one leads down to the farm, and the right one to a sort of trophy room. Inside the trophy room there are two doors. The one on the left is the one you want. It will prompt you to pick either solo or multiplayer once you press A next to it. I HIGHLY suggest choosing multiplayer, and here's why: You can still choose multiplayer and play by yourself, so don't worry, 'cause you CAN do it. But you SHOULD do it because if you die in this mode, you will NOT be brought back to the apothecary and have to pay billions of gold for being resuscitated. You will simply be brought back to the menu for this mode. Going solo however WILL wind you up in a group home with no job. The only annoying part about this is that you can't press start during the whole ordeal, and the game is not paused while switching equipment, so battles tend to get pretty dicey. But silly me, you're still in the dark here. Or not, if you really are at the end of the game, which you SHOULD be......but anyways. This mode allows you to choose one of several levels made up of a series of interconnected rooms that you pass through by defeating all the enemies in each room until you make it to either the portal to the next layer of the level, or the boss of the level. Each one has a level suggesiton on it, being 15, 30, 45, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, and 220. This is basically an indicator of how hard each level is in general. The one you're looking for here is 140, being the 8th level (Dragon Ruins). This one contains six different bosses, each incredibly difficult, and each yielding one of the rarest magical components in the game. Now, the one catch here is that to access each level, you must have beaten the level before it. That and the order in which you have to fight the bosses is always the same. So if you lose to just one of 'em, then it's back to the beginning with ya. Now, I heard somewhere that it's best to be at least ten levels higher than the suggested level before attempting a level. I think this is generally a good rule, but then again, you can never be TOO safe. That being said, it is VERY important that you are as prepared as you can possibly be before attempting each level. And the reason is not because there's a huge penalty if you fail. It's because they're frickin' hard and you will NOT be able to make it to the Dragon Ruins without being almost OCD about your preparation. Unless you're like fifty levels above the suggested limit, you're gonna want to make sure you know EXACTLY what you're doing before entering a level in this place. Few key pointers: ================= NEVER use a long ranged lunging attack like Axel Disaster to propel yourself into a room. Here's why: because every so often, you'll come across a room with a bunch of treasure chests in it, either brown and/or blue ones. If you attack them, they become animate and will attack. Or will instantly die. THAT is a bad thing, since these treasure chests are easily going to be what keep you alive during the boss fights. By walking up to one and pressing A, it pops open and literally spews almost completely random stuff out. But there is a pattern to what it will give you. The Brown Chests usually give out either trash like cans and boots, ingredients like Dumpling Powder, crops like Cabbage, or meals, like Lampsquid Sashimi. THESE you are going to want to hold onto. Almost all of the cooked meals you'll find in these chests are INCREDIBLE. They heal a HUGE amount of HP and RP, and give large stat boosts. Now the Blue Chests are not really as good, in my opinion, even though they usually give you really rare equipment, such as the Gungnir that I got out of one once (which happens to be the best spear in the game). But you're not here to get free loot. Remember that. 'Nother pointer: ================ Come with your POCKETS FREE. Have plenty of space for food that you'll pick up along the way, because trust me, you are going to need all of it. And don't be frugal when you find those chests either. TAKE IT ALL. Final Pointer: ============== For equipment, you should never rely only on what you can forge by yourself, unless your skill is already maxed out. The best items in the game can all be found in the Sharance Tree dungeons. These would be found in the blue treasure chests I mentioned earlier that are found in the same rooms as the brown chests. Just spend some time in whichever dungeon your level is at or just below and look around for these rooms. For instance, from using this strategy, I first attempted the Dragon Ruins at around level 90 with a Magic Broom, Kalivarn, Magical Shield, Fairy Boots, Witch's Earing, and a Wind Ring. Needless to say, I was pretty well prepared, if at least at a basic level. Now, I could go into a great amount of detail of exactly how to beat each boss and what to use on them and whatnot, but you can easily ask a friend or use one of the general FAQs for that. I will give you a few hints, though: General Combat Tips: ==================== As soon as you realize you've entered the boss room, use Steel Heart (Actualy, make sure you BRING it in the first place). This will make you immune to flinching from taking damage. Essentially, you'll still take damage from everything the boss throws at you, but you won't be interrupted while charging a Staff Spell, eating some fancy-schmancy food, or using a Rune Ability. And it lasts for a WHILE. Not exactly sure how long, but you'll probably only need to use it once per battle, MAYBE a second time. But no more than that, unless you die or switch your weapon. Another thing to remember is that an incredibly useful tool is the Thunder Chain spell, imbued by the Dragon Bones. Combined with Steel Heart, you'll be able to charge it up, release it, and stand far away from the Boss while still racking up the damage, and charging another chain in the meantime. Please realize that certain bosses are very resistant to magic, so don't bring ONLY that one staff. The Grimoire, for example, is nearly immune to most magic (except, perhaps, to Earth magic). In this case, I find it useful to use a Longsword, and the Double Sword ability Rail Strike, or the Spear ability Axel Disaster. They both deal tons of hits, and they move you around the field somewhat (ESPECIALLY Axel Disaster). As long as you follow these guidelines and level like crazy, you should soon have your hands on the allmighty powers of the bosses of Rune Factory 3 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Well, the rest is up to you. You are now officially qualified to ATTEMPT to become an Arcane Smith. The choice is up to you what you do with your new magical knowledge. Should you use a Dragon Fin and then an Ice Nose so you can shoot off tons of Water Fins and also call upon a gigantic ice field? Or use a Dragon Fin and then a Bird Wing so you can charge up those Water Fins ridiculously fast, quite literally filling the screen with fluttering blue chaos machines? The combinations, again, are nearly endless. But choose wisely, and save often, since there is no way to UN-imbue an item. Once it's done, it's done. So have fun, and be creative, ya'll. {}ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS{} ____________________ Well......I didn't really use too many outside sources to make this guide, since I did it all by experimentation. But as for those who I did learn from: Freyashawk >>>>>>> For their FAQ on Dungeons and a Bestiary, and the names and locations of the enemies that you get the items from Zoel Giradel >>>>> For their General FAQ, which is how I found out in the first place that the super bosses could be found in the Sharance Tree dungeons. My Bro, Jordan >>> For assisting me with his higher-level character in making it through the Dragon Ruins at such a low level and nabbing those pricey items. ============================================================================== ============================================================================== {}CONTACT INFO{} ________________ If you have any questions, suggestions, complaints, or anything else you'd like to say, just shoot an e-mail over to "Leithealbion@gmail.com" Don't be confused by the spelling. Everyone does that. I WILL try to respond to every e-mail that I get, including hate-mail, unless this really becomes pretty popular, in which case I'd have to sort through the important e-mails to choose which ones to answer. But that'll probably never happen anyways. And you get bonus points if you know the reference within my email name. Hehe. (If you DO know, then don't be confused by the spelling, again. That "i" is not used in the original spelling. Someone else took the name I WAS going to use, so I had to improvise)