_ _ _ _ ___ | | | | | | (_) |__ \ | |__ ___ | | _| |_ __ _ _ ) | | '_ \ / _ \| |/ / __/ _` | | / / | |_) | (_) | <| || (_| | | / /_ |_.__/ \___/|_|\_\\__\__,_|_| |____| _____ _ ______ _ / ____| | | | ____| (_) | (___ ___ | | __ _ _ __ | |__ ___ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ \___ \ / _ \| |/ _` | '__| | __/ _ \| '__/ _` | | '_ \ / _` | ____) | (_) | | (_| | | | | | (_) | | | (_| | | | | | (_| | |_____/ \___/|_|\__,_|_| |_| \___/|_| \__, |_|_| |_|\__, | ______ ____ __/ | __/ | | ____/\ / __ \ |___/ |___/ | |__ / \ | | | | | __/ /\ \| | | | | | / ____ \ |__| | |_|/_/ \_\___\_\ Version Ke- I-I mean, version 1.0 Authored by DBZFan102. ----------------------Table Of Contents--------------------------------------- 1. Introduction and Disclaimer (intr1) 2. How Does Solar Forging Work? (howt2) 3. Frequently Asked Questions (faqs3) 4. List of Results (list4) 5. Non-Solarforged Weapons and other miscellanea (misc5) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------Introduction and Disclaimer (intr1)------------------------- Hello, everyone! This FAQ was created to help all those fans of Boktai2 (some say Zoktai) who desperately want to understand Solar Forging. I have spent the better part of days forging a multitude of weapons, only to then use these to forge other weapons, so that I could forge yet more weapons - Anyway, you get the idea. I think it's a good idea to put all that knowledge to (digital) paper, to alleviate the frustrations of whoever decides to play this now 15- year-old classic. In fact, feel free to repost this guide wherever you see fit, as long as you don't forget to credit me! But enough talk... on to the guide! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------How Does Solar Forging Work? (howt2)------------------------ Solar Forging as it exists in Boktai 2 is a somewhat-simplistic minigame allowing you to forge stronger weapons than usual by talking to Smith after you rescue him. The minigame consists of you basically pressing A when the gauge reaches the correct temperature (represented by two black lines around the area in the gauge), then pressing A again several times just as the line reaches the center of that area. The speed (and thus the difficulty) of the minigame is determined by the amount of sun you're getting in the 'real world' (the yellow gauge at the bottom of the screen). Less sun means more time to get all the hits right... but it also means you'll get less chances to try overall. You should experiment to find what the best speed for you is! 'What about the weapons?', I hear you ask? Well, to Solarforge a weapon in this game, you need two other weapons. Two weapons of the same type results in a weapon of that type. Two different kinds of weapons will result in the other kind of weapon being created (e.g. a sword and a hammer being used results in a spear). Don't ask why it happens that way, it's just a game contrivance :) Even though you'll find quite a few weapons from chests and enemies throughout the game, it's better to use them to solarforge something stronger, since a Solarforged weapon is *by default* stronger than a regular one, so long as it's forged well. Speaking of forging well. How good the weapons are depends on 3 things: your proficiency with them, the level of the weapon, and how many 'GREATS' you got during the minigame. You can raise your proficiency with a weapon type by killing monsters with them. Low-level weapons will only get boosted attributes if you forge them, but stronger ones (starting from level 17) will gain SP effects if you forge them extremely well. Such as, "Increase damage with the flame property" or "Randomly paralyze enemies". They are QUITE handy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------Frequently Asked Questions (faqs3)-------------------------- Q. What determines the result of a Solarforging attempt? A. Firstly, the two ingredient weapons you choose at the start. Here are some ground rules: - Two weapons of the same type AND level will result in an identical weapon. E.G. Bastard Sword + Bastard Sword = Bastard Sword (SP if you're lucky). - Two weapons of the same type with different level generally results a new weapon, but this depends on the size of the level difference. So: 4-level difference = Stronger weapon. 8-to-12-level difference = Same as the higher-level weapon you used (so it's pretty useful to keep them from breaking!) 16-level difference and lower = weaker than the higher-level weapon you used. - Two weapons of different type will result in the third type of weapon, as stated above. This is useful if you have a lack of a certain weapon type but an abundance of the other two. Aside from that, this is a lot riskier, since it doesn't even tell you what the result will be. - None of this applies if you forge really, really poorly, which will just result in a terrible weapon. So practice! - Finally, certain weapon combinations have a small chance to result in R-rank (rare) weapons, which I will explain later on in the guide. Q. Light weapons? Dark Weapons? What are those? A. The Light weapon is strongest weapon you can get by regular forging. The Darkness weapon is technically a R-rank weapon. You have to get lucky with a certain weapon combo to get it (again, later in the guide). If you use them both to solarforge, there's a chance you can get the COMPLETE weapon, the strongest weapon of each type, period. Or you might just reforge the light weapon. You can't win 'em all. Q. What's this white gauge next to my new weapon's name? A. That, my friend, is the DURABILITY GAUGE. It determines how long you have until your fancy new weapon breaks and loses its Solarforged attributes, one by one. Don't worry, though, breaking only means it becomes and ordinary version of that weapon, but it's still devastating to lose your precious SP effects. Just wait till we get to Boktai 3, where you have to DELIBERATELY break one of your weapons to get the best sword, geez. If I didn't have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of norse mythology, I'd never have figured it out... Q. How do I get the R-rank and Darkness weapons? A. Well, fine then! You want to know so badly, I guess I'll just have to tell you! Here goes: First R-rank sword: Zweihander + Flamberge = Katana Second R-rank sword: Magic Sword + Bastard Sword = Muramasa Darkness sword: Bushido Sword + Blood Sword = Sword of Darkness First R-rank spear: Corsesca + Fire Paw = Rune Glaive Second R-rank spear: Ice Glaive + Partizan(sic) = Rune Spear Darkness spear: Blood Spear + Grand Lance = Black Queen First R-rank hammer: Axe + Maul = Heavy Mace Second R-rank hammer: Silver Flail + Battle Axe = Heavy Axe Darkness hammer: Bloody Mace + Morning Star = Twilight Q. What are Emblems, and how do you get them? A. Emblems are certificates of your skill with a weapon-type. There's information on how to get one in the 'cheats' section for this game. Q. I'm trying to forge a new weapon, but it says i'm not skilled enough! What gives? A. You don't have that weapon's emblem yet. Once you get 'em to level 99, talk to smith. He'll allow you to forge the strongest weapons of a certain type (you have to choose). Once you beat the game, talk to him again. He'll unlock the other two types for you. Now go kick that overgrown bat Shademan's ass! Q. Is it true that a weapon can 'inherit' SP effects from the ones used to forge it? A. Yes! In fact, this even applies if you use weapons of two different types to make it, so you can create weapons with effects they wouldn't otherwise have. Like a hammer that paralyses enemies... Don't waste too much time with this, though, since the final weapons of each line can only inherit the SP effects of the Light and Dark weapons. Q. These 'Blood' weapons with the mysterious effect... what do they do? A. Try using them, and find out! ;) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------List of Results (list4)-------------------------------- For now, only the results using same-type weapons are listed here. I'll add results you can get by using different types of weapons... some day. You know, there was this one time where I actually got a rare hammer by forging a sword and spear together, but I forgot which ones I used. If anyone knows, could you please tell me? I'd be very grateful! Remember, as a rule of thumb, the way to get the next level of weapon is by forging the two before it, so for the most part, you don't even need to read this! (there's a list of the weapons you've already acquired in the library, but it's ordered a little weird.) -SECTION 1: SWORDS- DULL SWORD: Level 1 (weak) Gotten by: Bad result with any sword-generating combination SP(?) Effect: Randomly nullifies defense power. GRADIUS(sic): Level 1 Gotten by: The first sword you find in the game. SHORT SWORD: Level 5 Gotten by: SWORD + DULL SWORD BROADSWORD: Level 9 Gotten by: SHORT SWORD + SWORD LONG SWORD: Level 13 Gotten by: BROADSWORD + SHORT SWORD ZWEIHANDER: Level 17 Gotten by: LONG SWORD + BROADSWORD SP effect: Randomly increases damage. FLAMBERGE: Level 21 Gotten by: ZWEIHANDER + LONG SWORD SP effect: Increases damage with the Flame property. KATANA (rare): Level 17 Gotten by: FLAMBERGE + ZWEIHANDER SP effect: Increases attack power based on Agility. (Can't inherit others) (A.N.: Am I reading this right? I use a L17 weapon and a L21 weapon to make... Another L17 weapon with just ONE SP effect? God. Every time I remember how to make R-rank weapons, I feel the need to double-check...) CLAYMORE: Level 25 Gotten by: FLAMBERGE + ZWEIHANDER SP effect: Randomly increases damage. MAGIC SWORD: Level 29 Gotten by: CLAYMORE + FLAMBERGE SP effect: Decreases magic cost for Enchantment Attacks. BASTARD SWORD: Level 33 Gotten by: MAGIC SWORD + CLAYMORE SP effect: Increases damage depending on the number of enemies defeated. (A.N.: It'd be great to know how this damage increase is calculated, but unfortunately the Boktai fandom isn't quite as invested as the Battle Network fandom. Oh, and while I'm talking about a Bastard Sword, a bit of trivia: There are two 'families' of swords in the real world, one-handed swords and two-handed swords. So what do you call a sword too big to be part of the one- handed family, but too small to be part of the two-handed family? A BASTARD SWORD! That's actually where they get their name from!) MURAMASA (rare): Level 33 Gotten by: BASTARD SWORD + MAGIC SWORD SP effect: Increases Attack power based on Agility. (Can't inherit others) GREAT SWORD: Level 37 Gotten by: BASTARD SWORD + MAGIC SWORD SP effect: Reduces damage to weapons. BUSHIDO SWORD: Level 41 Gotten by: GREAT SWORD + BASTARD SWORD SP effect: Increases attack power as Life diminishes. BLOOD SWORD: Level 45 Gotten by: BUSHIDO SWORD + GREAT SWORD SP effect: Defeat an enemy and... (A.N.: You get damaged slightly.) SWORD OF DARKNESS(rare): Level 53 Gotten by: BLOOD SWORD + BUSHIDO SWORD. SP effect: Increases attack power at night. VORPAL SWORD: Level 49 Gotten by: BLOOD SWORD + BUSHIDO SWORD. SP effect: Increases attack power during abnormal status. SOLAR SWORD: Level 53 Gotten by: VORPAL SWORD + BLOOD SWORD. SP effect: Increases attack power based on sunlight. GRAM(complete weapon): Level 57 Gotten by: SOLAR SWORD + SWORD OF DARKNESS SP effect: N/A -SECTION 2: SPEARS- QUARTER STAFF: Level 1 (weak) Gotten by: Bad result with any spear-generating combination SP(?) Effect: Randomly nullifies defense power. SHORT SPEAR: Level 1 Gotten by: The first spear you find in the game. GLAIVE: Level 5 Gotten by: SHORT SPEAR + QUARTER STAFF LONG SPEAR: Level 9 Gotten by: GLAIVE + SHORT SPEAR LANCE: Level 13 Gotten by: LONG SPEAR + GLAIVE CORSESCA: Level 17 Gotten by: LANCE + LONG SPEAR SP effect: Randomly paralyzes enemies. FIRE PAW: Level 21 Gotten by: CORSESCA + LANCE SP effect: Increases damage with the Flame property. RUNE GLAIVE (rare): Level 17 Gotten by: FIRE PAW + CORSESCA SP effect: Increases attack power based on Spirit. (Can't inherit others) BARDICHE: Level 25 Gotten by: FIRE PAW + CORSESCA SP effect: Reduces damage to weapons. ICE GLAIVE: Level 29 Gotten by: BARDICHE + FIRE PAW SP effect: Increases damage with the Frost property. PARTIZAN: Level 33 Gotten by: ICE GLAIVE + BARDICHE SP effect: Randomly paralyzes enemies. RUNE SPEAR (rare): Level 33 Gotten by: PARTIZAN + ICE GLAIVE SP effect: Increases Attack power based on Spirit. (Can't inherit others) THUNDER SPEAR: Level 37 Gotten by: PARTIZAN + ICE GLAIVE SP effect: Increases damage with the Cloud property. BLOOD SPEAR: Level 41 Gotten by: THUNDER SPEAR + PARTIZAN SP effect: Defeat an enemy and... (A.N.: You get damaged slightly.) GRAND LANCE: Level 45 Gotten by: BLOOD SPEAR + THUNDER SPEAR SP effect: Increases damage with the Earth property. BLACK QUEEN(rare): Level 53 Gotten by: GRAND LANCE + BLOOD SPEAR SP effect: Increases attack power at night. HALBERD: Level 49 Gotten by: GRAND LANCE + BLOOD SPEAR SP effect: Increases attack power based on Life. WHITE QUEEN: Level 53 Gotten by: HALBERD + GRAND LANCE SP effect: Increases attack power based on sunlight. GUNGNIR(complete weapon): Level 57 Gotten by: DAYBREAK + TWILIGHT SP effect: N/A -SECTION 3: HAMMERS- (A.N.: Most of these aren't even hammers! What, are there not enough types of hammers in the world to fill a list? And how does an AXE press a switch- oh, nevermind, it's just a video game contrivance.) POUNDER: Level 1 (weak) Gotten by: Bad result with any hammer-generating combination SP(?) Effect: Randomly nullifies defense power. CLUB: Level 1 Gotten by: The first hammer you find in the game. HAMMER: Level 5 Gotten by: CLUB + POUNDER MACE: Level 9 Gotten by: HAMMER + CLUB FLAIL: Level 13 Gotten by: MACE + HAMMER AXE: Level 17 Gotten by: FLAIL + MACE SP effect: Increases damage to beast monsters. MAUL: Level 21 Gotten by: AXE + FLAIL SP effect: Increases damage to material monsters. HEAVY MACE (rare): Level 17 Gotten by: MAUL + AXE SP effect: Increases attack power based on Vitality. (Can't inherit others) SILVER MACE: Level 25 Gotten by: MAUL + AXE SP effect: Increases damage to phantom monsters. SILVER FLAIL: Level 29 Gotten by: SILVER MACE + MAUL SP effect: Increases damage to Undead monsters. BATTLE AXE: Level 33 Gotten by: SILVER FLAIL + SILVER MACE SP effect: Increases damage depending on the number of enemies defeated. HEAVY AXE (rare): Level 33 Gotten by: BATTLE AXE + SILVER FLAIL SP effect: Increases Attack power based on Vitality. (Can't inherit others) WAR HAMMER: Level 37 Gotten by: BATTLE AXE + SILVER FLAIL SP effect: Reduces damage to weapons. BLOODY MACE: Level 41 Gotten by: WAR HAMMER + BATTLE AXE SP effect: Defeat an enemy and... (A.N.: You get damaged slightly.) MORNING STAR: Level 45 Gotten by: BUSHIDO SWORD + GREAT SWORD SP effect: Increases damage to Immortals. TWILIGHT(rare): Level 53 Gotten by: MORNING STAR + BLOODY MACE SP effect: Increases attack power at night. EARTHSHAKER: Level 49 Gotten by: MORNING STAR + BLOODY MACE SP effect: Increases attack power based on Life. DAYBREAK: Level 53 Gotten by: EARTHSHAKER + MORNING STAR SP effect: Increases attack power based on sunlight. MJOLLNIR(complete weapon): Level 57 Gotten by: DAYBREAK + TWILIGHT SP effect: N/A -SECTION 2: SPEARS- QUARTER STAFF: Level 1 (weak) Gotten by: Bad result with any spear-generating combination SP(?) Effect: Randomly nullifies defense power. SHORT SPEAR: Level 1 Gotten by: The first spear you find in the game. GLAIVE: Level 5 Gotten by: SHORT SPEAR + QUARTER STAFF LONG SPEAR: Level 9 Gotten by: GLAIVE + SHORT SPEAR LANCE: Level 13 Gotten by: LONG SPEAR + GLAIVE CORSESCA: Level 17 Gotten by: LANCE + LONG SPEAR SP effect: Randomly paralyzes enemies. FIRE PAW: Level 21 Gotten by: CORSESCA + LANCE SP effect: Increases damage with the Flame property. RUNE GLAIVE (rare): Level 17 Gotten by: FIRE PAW + CORSESCA SP effect: Increases attack power based on Spirit. (Can't inherit others) BARDICHE: Level 25 Gotten by: FIRE PAW + CORSESCA SP effect: Reduces damage to weapons. ICE GLAIVE: Level 29 Gotten by: BARDICHE + FIRE PAW SP effect: Increases damage with the Frost property. PARTIZAN: Level 33 Gotten by: ICE GLAIVE + BARDICHE SP effect: Randomly paralyzes enemies. RUNE SPEAR (rare): Level 33 Gotten by: PARTIZAN + ICE GLAIVE SP effect: Increases Attack power based on Spirit. (Can't inherit others) THUNDER SPEAR: Level 37 Gotten by: PARTIZAN + ICE GLAIVE SP effect: Increases damage with the Cloud property. BLOOD SPEAR: Level 41 Gotten by: THUNDER SPEAR + PARTIZAN SP effect: Defeat an enemy and... (A.N.: You get damaged slightly.) GRAND LANCE: Level 45 Gotten by: BLOOD SPEAR + THUNDER SPEAR SP effect: Increases damage with the Earth property. BLACK QUEEN(rare): Level 53 Gotten by: GRAND LANCE + BLOOD SPEAR SP effect: Increases attack power at night. HALBERD: Level 49 Gotten by: GRAND LANCE + BLOOD SPEAR SP effect: Increases attack power based on Life. WHITE QUEEN: Level 53 Gotten by: HALBERD + GRAND LANCE SP effect: Increases attack power based on sunlight. GUNGNIR(complete weapon): Level 57 Gotten by: DAYBREAK + TWILIGHT SP effect: N/A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------Non-Solarforged Weapons and other miscellanea (misc5)---------------- Hoo, boy. Now that that's out of the way, I guess I should talk about weapons you can't get with Solarforging... Mainly? GUNS! GUN #1: GUN DEL SOL SOL element. Can be charged for a bigger shot. You get this at the start of the game, and right out of the gate, you can tell it's way less useful than it was in the previous installment. No spread shot, no changing lenses... seriously, there's no reason to use it, especially after Smith breaks the energy efficiency. It's SO useless and it's SO unthinkable to keep using it after getting all your fancy new weapons, that there are some puzzles involving it that I (among others) spent several painful hours trying to solve without using it, because the thought LITERALLY DID NOT OCCUR TO ME! *Sigh...* GUN #2: GUN DEL HELL DARK element. Can be charged for a vortex shot. Marginally less useless than the Gun Del Sol is this... questionably-named gun wielded by Django's brother, Sabata. The reason why I say 'marginally' is because it's Dark elemental, meaning most mooks are resistant to it, BUT! It does technically have a spread shot, albeit one that causes you to spin with some mobility (like Sabata did in the Boss fights against him in Boktai 1! Ain't that neat?). Not as good as a regular spread shot, but still... GUN #3 MEGABUSTER!!! This last gun is acquired from good old Megaman.EXE, visiting Boktai as a crossover event! If you're wondering, Hideo Kojima, who is the director of this game, has a son who loves the Battle Network series. So this is something they did in his honor. (Is that also why Konami made Metal Gear Ac!d? I wonder...) Sadly, it isn't very useful. It's basically Gun Del Sol with better energy consumption. And I even have the crossover-only Mega Power protector that allows it to charge... still doesn't change the fact that it's a GUN, and in this game, say it with me, guys... GUNS! ARE! USELESS!!! ...Oh, well! It's still nice to have. It's not like I'm ever going to shove it in the warehouse and forget about it. I'm sentimental like that. OTHER #1: BARE HANDS. Your fists. AKA the only weapon you have after [SPOILER REDACTED] stole our Gun Del Sol. You get a sword right after, which might make you wonder what reason is there to ever use your fists again... Well, I'll tell you: Max out your Skill with using your fists, and you get the Heart Emblem by talking to Lita. This makes your attack power increase as you lose life! Not a bad thing to have! My advice: Go to the cave with 7 bats in the Ruins and keep killing bats until you max it out. It's... surprisingly easy. Just time-consuming. And there you have it! All the weapons in Boktai 2 (Zoktai), how to get them, how to make them the best way possible, and anything else you might want to know about Solarforging. I made this guide because I wanted to give back to the community that gave me so much. All those years, the only reason I was able to 100% Boktai games was because I read all these guides, guides made by dedicated people who love Boktai as much as me. Maybe I'll write some guides for Boktai 3 next... I know *that* game's page is in need of some TLC. But for now, this is goodbye. 'Keep the sun always in your heart!'