The Nightmare of Druaga
-----------------------

(walkthrough, strategy guide)
by KurtKokaine4 - crtswlbrn@hotmail.com c/o Curtis Welborn

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Copyright Statement: This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except
for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise 
distributed publicly without advance written permission. 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.
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This guide is long overdue, and in my opinion, very much needed for this site.
The Nightmare of Druaga is one of the most difficult, and truly unforgiving 
games you'll ever play. This isn't an opinion. Why else would it take 5 years 
for someone to write a damn FAQ for this game. The purpose of this FAQ is to
provide tips/strategies to get through each and every dungeon with minimal
difficulty, with information on every single enemy in the game, and tips on 
every boss encounter. 

A word of advice. I strongly suggest that if this is your first time playing
this brilliant game, to please avoid using this FAQ unless you truly need some
advice. Me holding your hand through each and every level is not a fun way to 
experience this gem of a game. With that said, let the guide begin!! : )


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Game Basics, Tips & Stategies:
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*. This game is turn-based and played out on grids (when you're in the 
dungeons). Even though the dungeons are free-exploring, every move you make is
a move the enemy makes, even if you can't see them. So don't just randomly run
through dungeons, make precise moves so as not to get surrounded by enemies.

*. In town, you use the analog stick to move around, but in the dungeons, you 
must use the directional pad to move around. By holding down O and pushing the
d-pad in a direction, Gil will dash in that direction a certain amount of 
grids. This is a dangerous way to play cuz you could easily get swamped by 
enemies, but if you're re-doing earlier dungeons that have enemies weaker than
you, it's a good idea to use this method to get through the dungeons a lot 
more quicker.

*. The goal of each dungeon is to find a key, then locate the door to exit on 
to the next floor. Simple, right? If you say so. Oftentimes, if you rotate 
your map around (located at the bottom-right of screen (although this can be 
turned off in the options menu)), you can see the key (a tiny yellow dot) 
and/or the door (a small yellow square) off screen. This will obviously help 
you know the direction you need to be heading, although it won't determine the
best-laid path to get there.

*. When you reach a door with the key, after you go through it, you have the 
option of continuing on to the next floor. Doing so brings you to the results
screen that displays various information on what you did on that floor. You'll
also have the option to save and quit the game. Remember that saving and 
quitting requires you to turn off your PS2, so only use this option when you 
really want to quit. Also note that saving and quitting, then loading it back 
up will not put you back on the same floor you saved on. Instead, you'll have 
to start all the way back on the first floor of the dungeon you saved on.

*. As far as I know, this shouldn't be too big of a deal, but supposedly if 
you spend too much time on any one floor of a dungeon, you get a message 
stating that something different is in the air (or something like that). I'm
not 100% sure what this means, but I believe it means that a Will o' Wisp has
entered the floor. Strangely enough, I've seen this message only twice, and 
walked around trying to find it (or something different at least), and never
saw anything. So whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be too big of a threat.
Keep a feather on hand though, just in case.

*. Once you use a key to exit a dungeon, a special Bonus Dungeon will open up,
which will be available if you decide to go through the dungeon again. To 
access the Bonus Dungeon, simply find the key and the exit like before, but 
when you use the key, you'll be given a second option to "Break Down the 
Door". Choosing this option will put you in a very dangerous dungeon with lots
of goodies. The enemies are much, much harder in the Bonus Dungeons, but they 
also drop really rare items frequently. Note though, that you can't use a 
feather to escape a Bonus Dungeon. Once you enter one of these, you're in it 
for the long-haul. The only way out of one of these dungeons is to get the 
key, and locate the exit while doing your best not to be killed. My advice for
attempting these dungeons is to bring lots and lots of healing potions, and 
also consider storing some of your equipment that hasn't been inscribed. Yes 
it'll leave you a bit weaker, but it's better than losing them if you die. The
choice is yours. 

*. Use the Right analog stick to perform special moves Gil aquires by 
equipping certain weapons or gear. Use the Left Analog stick to cycle through 
and use any items in your inventory (potions, spikes, feathers, etc.)

*. To make quick and precise, diagonal moves, hold the R2 button while pushing
in said diagonal position.

*. Your carrying capacity for your weapons, gear and items are limited. So 
don't hoard everything you come across. It's up to you to determine what items
to save and what items you should use in order to have space in your inventory
to acquire more items. Every time you complete a dungeon, your inventory space
allows for ten more items (given to you by one of Kazam's deceased relatives),
maxing out at 99.

*. You should store away any and all items and equipment you don't think 
you'll be using in your next trek through a dungeon. You can store your things
with Gil's attendant, Nestom. He's a little boy dressed in blue that appears 
in most areas of your kingdom (The Town Hall, The Hall of Science, The 
Residential Area, and after completing the first dungeon, he'll appear in 
Gil's room). His storage capacity is 150 items and this never changes. So keep
that in mind when deciding what to store and what to sell.

*. You'll often acquire ??? items, ??? weapons or ??? gear. These are 
unappraised and you never know what they are until you appraise them in the 
Academy of Science in town (for a very cheap cost). You can't equip ??? 
weapons or gear, but you can use ??? items. Doing so is very dangerous though,
since some consumable items produce negative effects. 

*. Sometimes you'll acquire a Balance Arcanum in the dungeons. Use this item 
to immediately appraise a ??? item, weapon or gear while in a dungeon at no 
monetary cost.  

*. BE CAREFUL!! Always plot out your moves and actions in this game. Death
carries a severe penalty. Incapacitation (as the game likes to call it) will
result in the loss of every single item you have (unless it's been inscribed),
along with half of your Gold. And simply resetting the game and loading up 
your previous save will result in the same thing. It seems though, that you're
given a grace period as to when this takes effect though, so my advice, when 
you die, don't hit X to move on to the save screen, but reset your system. 
From what I hear of others, you're allowed up to 4 (maybe more) resets before 
Ishtar backs up her threats. Also note that in doing this, you'll have to go 
through a long scolding before returning to the game, but at least you'll have
all your items and money. If you do die and don't reset, note that even though
you lose all your items and half your money, your character level will stay 
the same. Ishtar then grants you your original Golden equipment that you
started out with.

*. You will ALWAYS be reduced to 1 HP before an enemy strikes you dead. This 
is extremely valuable information. As long as you have 2 or more HP left, an 
enemy cannot kill you when he hits you (exceptions being Knights with a faster
attack speed than Gil, who sometimes can hit you for double damage with one 
strike), although you'll want to most definitely be very careful with your 
moves at this point. It may be fun to see how far you can last before you know
you're going to die, but keep in mind that Ghosts (not to be confused with 
Spirits) are dangerous creatures that can put you to sleep and hit you 
mulitiple times resulting in a very disappointing death.

*. Always take note of the terrain in each dungeon. It's always better to 
fight on higher ground when encountering an enemy, as you dish out more damage
as well as take less damage. The same thing applies to the enemy as well, if 
he's on a grid that's at a higher elevation than yours, he'll do more damage 
to you, as well as take less damage from you.

*. What position of the body you strike an enemy will determine the amount of 
damage you do. Frontal attacks do the least amount of damage, while side 
attacks do slightely more, and back attacks do maximum damage. This applies to
where an enemy attacks Gil as well. Never let an enemy hit you from behind.

*. Enemies all have speeds faster or slower than Gil. A blue aura underneath 
an enemy indicates he is slower than Gil (meaning Gil will always attack 
first). Use this advantage to simply move around tough enemies without taking 
any damage. A red aura means the enemy will be faster (and always be the first
to attack). A nice tip to use for the faster enemies is to predict their next 
move, and attack that spot before they move there. Enemies like to move 
directly in front of Gil (although not always the case). So if a faster enemy 
is two blocks away in any direction, if he can get directly in front of Gil on
his next move, 9 times out of 10, his next move will be directly in front of 
Gil. So attack the empty space in front of Gil before the enemy gets there, 
and he will walk/fly right into your attack. (Don't try this with Ghosts or 
any enemy that can attack from two grids away). Always utilize this tip 
throughout the game, constantly trying to predict where the enemy will move, 
and attack first. Gil's speed is determined by the gear he wears. A weapon's
weight affects his attack speed, while an armor's weight affects his movement
speed. Check each gears weight stat before equipping, to ensure you don't 
become slower than every enemy in the game.

*. Besides enemy speed, there is also weapon speed. There is no color cue to 
determine if an enemy's weapon speed is fast or not, so you just have to learn
weapon speeds by experience. Weapon speed is dangerous in that even slow 
enemies can hit you if you just try to move past them without fighting. So 
it's best to stop and take care of any annoying enemies that have a fast 
weapon speed. The same is said for Gil too. If an enemy is trying to evade you
and you have a fast weapon speed, you can hit them before they move. Gils 
weapon speed is easily checked before equipping in the weight section of the 
weapon stats.

*. Enemies with no visible aura are temporarily neutral and will not attack.
You can choose to ignore enemies when they're like this or go on the offensive
since they can change from neutral to aggressive without warning. 

*. If you're in desperate need of healing, and want to conserve as much of 
your healing items as you can, remember that you heal automatically when you 
complete turns. So simply walking around or swinging your weapon will slowly 
heal you. The quickest way to do this is simply tapping the L2 button to 
complete a turn, but you may get the urge to hold down L2 to watch your life 
go up quicker. DO THIS WITH CAUTION!! Enemies are moving with every turn, and 
holding down the L2 button carelessly is a sure-fire way to take unneccesary 
damage.

*. The more moves you make, the more your Protection meter goes down. The 
Protection Meter is how much Gil's armor radiates light (a gift from the 
Goddess Ishtar). You can check how much Protection you have in the stats menu.
When your Protection reaches 20,the light in the dungeon will fade 
dramatically. Even moreso when it reaches 10, and absolute darkness when it 
reaches 0. To remedy this, you'll have to sacrifice items in your inventory to
Ishtar in order to raise your Protection meter. Every single item has a Rarity
rate, as indicated by how many stars are in its  stats. The higher a Rarity 
rate, the more Protection Ishtar grants you when you sacrifice said item. Keep
in mind that you shouldn't just sacrifice items with high Rarity rates, 
because those items are often the most valuable to you. So start out by 
sacrificing smaller, not-so-useful items and if you have nothing you want to 
get rid of, then look into sacrificing one Rare object as opposed to 2 or 3 
not-so-rare objects. A good tip is to buy a small handful of cheap spikes at 
the shop, and use them mostly for sacrificing.

*. In order to ensure you don't lose your most precious equipment, you'll need
to have them inscribed via Calindra at the Shrine. You can't do this at the 
beginning of the game, since you have to first rescue Calindra from the 
Dungeon. She will charge a fee for inscribing items (the fee depends on the 
item you want inscribed) You can only inscribe one item until you complete the
first dungeon. After that, you can inscribe two items until you complete the 
second dungeon, etc. etc. Also note that removing an inscription is free, in 
case you want to have something else inscribed.

*. Some dungeon floors have breakable walls. Breaking walls obviously makes it
easier to get to your intended goal, but every time you break a wall, it 
causes a certain percentage of damage to your HP. I believe the damage is 5% 
of your max. HP. So only utilize this feature when damage isn't much of a 
factor for you, especially if you're about to level up.

*. Some dungeon floors also have boxes that can be broken. Breaking boxes does
not affect your HP, so break them freely. Some boxes may contain treasure 
chests.

*. Be wary of traps in certain dungeon floors. They're not hidden by any 
means, and are indicated on your map by a small red x. Traps are grey, square 
tiles that cover an entire grid, and cause varying degrees of damage depending
on the trap. Spike traps are obviously physical damage, eyeball traps are 
elemental damage. There are other types of traps I haven't much experimented 
with, so try them out if you like. There may even be good traps, but I've 
never stepped on any. 

*. You'll eventually get to dungeon floors with moving tiles. These introduce 
a fun little gimmick of being transported along several grids in one turn, 
good for trying to outrun an enemy, or even catch up to an elusive enemy. They
play a bigger role in later dungeons, making it imperative that you pay 
attention to your map and the direction in which a moving tile will take you.

*. You'll also come across teleporting grids. Interesting at first, since they
teleport you to a completely different spot on the floor. Try to remember 
where each one teleports you, so you don't get too turned around. There's one 
particular floor in a much later dungeon that is very, very annoying due to 
these damn things.

* Watch out for those damnable status abnormalities. They really suck in this 
game. Poison drains your HP with every move you make. Panic causes you to lose
control of your character, so when you perform an action, Gil will do some 
random stupid s***, Sleep is brutal, putting you at the mercy of the enemy, 
and Guard Down, which really sucks later in the game, as it enables the enemy 
to hit you for maximum damage (although thankfully, this status effect only 
lasts about 4 or 5 turns). All status abnormalities disappear after a certain
amount of turns, but to ensure your safety, you should always carry a small 
amount of Anti-Panic and Antidote potions on you. 2 or 3 of each should 
suffice. 

*. Whenever you get into a bad situation and you suspect that you're going to 
die, USE A FEATHER!! You're always given a feather when you enter a dungeon, 
so unless you stupidly sacrifice it to Ishtar, it should always be in your 
possession. When you're in a hopeless situation, you MUST use a feather to 
escape or you will die. I've already explained the penalties for that. Using a
feather warps you back into town with all your items and equipment, a much 
better alternative than dying. Yes, you will have to start the entire dungeon 
over from the beginning, but hey, you're character level should be higher, so 
enemies should be easier to deal with. 

*. You can buy as many potions as you have the funds for, but Ability potions 
are never available in shops. Don't let this deter you from using your 
abilities often. You get plenty throughout the game, especially if you 
backtrack through already-completed dungeons.

*. USE YOUR ABLITIES!! They are a must in this game, especially later on. 
Always check a weapon or gears ability(ies) before equipping. (You don't want 
to equip a slightly stronger shield with a 2 or 3 point difference and no 
ability in place of your slightly weaker shield with a Sleep Smite ability). 
Abilities are very limited in use at the beginning of the game, but once you 
level up and grow out your AP gauge, your abilites really shine. Even though I
say use them, I don't mean just use them without reason. Again, you can't buy 
ability potions, so simply use logic to determine when to best use an ability.
Note that every time you level up, your AP gauge refills. Utilize this when 
you know you'll level up soon.

*. Every time you use an ability, that ability enters a boost phase indicated 
by the red coloring of the ability's name. This means that if you use that 
ability again while it's in the boost phase, it's effects will be more 
stronger (but will cost more AP). Boost phase lasts for about 5-10 turns, and 
gets less potent after each completed turn (indicated by the AP cost going 
down).

*. Spikes and Bottles are very, very useful commodities in this game. Use them
often. Spikes attack a single enemy, no matter how far away (as long as you 
can see them) in the direction Gil is facing. Simply face the direction of an 
enemy, select a spike from the quck-select (left analog stick), and use it. 
Gil will throw it smack in the bastards face. Bottles are even more effective,
causing widespread damage to multiple enemies at once. Whenever you get in a 
situation where a lot of enemies are together, quick-select a bottle and place
the damage cursor over the area you wish to attack, then watch the beautiful 
carnage. You can buy as many spikes and bottles as you like from the shop. 
Gems also do the same thing bottles do, and are much more powerful, but you 
can only find them in dungeons, so they're limited. Not too limited though, so
feel free to use them if the situation presents itself. 

*. Gems are elemental items that can be used in battle or placed on your 
weapons and/or gear. I personally prefer to use them mostly for attacking the 
enemy, but if you come across a level 4 elemental gem, and you have a certain 
weapon or gear you really like, then consider equipping the gem. Every gem has
a different effect depending on whether it's placed on a weapon or gear. Study
the effects before deciding, since once you place a gem, it cannot be removed.

*. Combining equipment is a useful way of getting multiple abilites onto your 
most-used weapon or gear, although it takes a while and a LOT of money to do 
this. Enter the Hall of Science and speak to the blacksmith to combine stuff. 
You have to combine a weapon or gear 15 times before you can transer it's 
ability to your favorite weapon or gear. So before doing this, locate a weapon
or gear that has an ability you want, then combine it with any spare weapons 
or gear you have that you won't ever use. After 15 combinations, go to the 
Town Hall and speak to the Ability Transer clerk. For a fee, she'll transfer 
the ability(ies) over to your main weapon or gear. This is a vital mechanic to
make your progress through this game much easier. Note that a weapon or gear 
can only have 5 ablilites, so if you're transferring abilites from something 
that has 3 abilites, and your main item already has 3 abilites, the two 
abilities that get transferred over are decided randomly by the game (which is
very tragic in my opinion). Instead of throwing away tons of money 
experimenting with this feature, I'll tell you what abilites you most 
definitely want to transfer over to your most used equipment. Keep and eye out
for these abilites:

Piercing Impulse - Allows you to hit and move directly behind an enemy. The 
damage you cause is barely noticeable, but the point of this ablity is to save
your ass when you're hopelessly backed into a corner by some very tough 
enemies. This ability alone is vital to this game.

Extreme Force - A very valuable ability. It allows Gil to strike for maximum 
damage (and the lower Gil's HP, the more damage unleashed). Very useful 
against Lizardmen and Knights.

Violent Twister - Valuable indeed. This awesome ability lets Gil attack all
enemies in his attack radius, making the enemies tactic of surrounding Gil a
foolhardy plan on their part.

Master's Skill - Another very neccessary ability. It allows Gil to strike an 
enemy one grid above him for maximum damage. This is vital since attacking 
enemies above you is never a good idea, with this ability, it's not a problem 
at all.

Sleep Smite - Not vital, but still very handy. Plus it offers a nice change of
pace than using Extreme Force on tough enemies. You can simply put them to 
sleep, and hit them til they're dead. Note though, that this does not always 
connect, but it does connect about 83% of the time.

Panic Smite - Has the same usefulness as Sleep Smite, causing Panic on the 
enemy. The only downfall to this ability is that the enemy can still move away
from you while you're trying to attack it. Still works great though.

Charge - Another equivalent to Extreme Force, although not as strong. It does 
cost less AP though so it earns its keep. To best utilize this ability, you 
need to activate it when you're two grids away from an enemy, then when he 
moves next to you, attack for a good deal of damage.

These are my favorite abilities, and I suggest transferring these if you can't
decide on anything better. It's an expensive process, but oohhh-so-worth-it.
I only wish it were possible to acquire all these abilities, but you'll only
be able to have five total. So choose wisely.

You can also combine weapons and gear to your main weapon and gear to make 
them stronger or to give them a certain elemental offense or defense. I 
recommend focusing on combining elemental weapons or gear with your favorite 
weapon or gear and everything else that you don't need to a weapon or gear 
with an ability you need. Only concentrate on combining for the sake of 
strengthening your stuff after you have 5 abilities transferred. Keep in mind 
though, that if you have a weapon or gear with a high elemental attack or 
defense, combining with one that has that elements weakness will lower that 
elemental attack or defense with little or no gain to its opposite element. So
be wary of what elements your combining with.

*. The Alchemy Shop in the Academy of Science is an interesting place to 
acquire some rare items. You have two choices in who you want to combine items
for you. The more experienced is Aziel, who'll always guarantee a better item 
than the two you combined (and she's cheap too). Sajia is a wild card. Not 
only does her efforts cost 600 Gold, but she sometimes goofs up and gives you 
a weaker item or even an absolute worthless item. But when Sajia does 
something right, it's worth it. You can get some very valuable and extremely 
rare stuff from her that Aziel just can't produce. So just randomly use them 
both, and you should benefit a great deal.

*. Side Quests in this game are acquired by entering the Town Hall and 
speaking to the Guild clerk. She'll provide you with a list of all the 
available quests. The more dungeons you complete, the more quests will be 
available. The annoying thing about these is that you have to unequip all your
stuff and store everything in your inventory with Nestom. It's very annoying 
to have to do this every time you want to accept a quest. The rewards are 
worth the effort though, so take quests as soon as they become available. When
starting out on a quest, your character level will always be reduced to 1 and 
your equipment will be replaced by your original starting Gold equipment. A 
very important tip for the Uninspired Poet quests, DON'T FOCUS ON LEVELING 
UP!! Try to level up to 3 or maybe 4, but try not to go beyond that. The 
higher your level, the stronger the enemies get, making the quest very, very
difficult to complete. Only focus on defeating the knights whose equipment 
you're trying to acquire, although you may want to take out some of the faster
enemies since they can hit you when you're trying to maneuver around the 
rooms. Extremely annoying quests if I may offer an opinion.

Also note, you can repeat Quests as many times as you want, with the rewards 
always staying the same. If time isn't a factor, you can easily stock up on 
Gold, although I wouldn't recommend this tactic, as Gold is easily acquired
by selling some of the stuff you find in dungeons.

*. Each floor of a dungeon has two hidden treasure chests. A silver and a gold
one. You can only unlock these by performing random acts. These acts are so 
bizarre that I don't know how anyone could figure them all out. But someone 
must have figured out most of them, since there's a pretty decent FAQ for 
these already (although not all the information in that FAQ is reliable). 
Also, you can't unlock the Gold treasure until you've unlocked the Silver, in 
which case, you'll have to re-do the floor again to get the Gold treasure 
chest. I'll have information on each hidden chest (that I know of) during each
floor in the appropriate sections of the FAQ.

*. After completing the game, you'll unlock a bonus dungeon The Tower Between
Heaven and Earth. It has 120 floors, and from what I understand, you won't 
find any portals to teleport back to town and save your progress. I haven't
made it very far into this thing, but after this FAQ is written, I plan on 
giving it a serious try. I also understand that there are boss fights on 
certain floors, so be prepared for those.

Needless to say, since I haven't progressed very far in this bonus dungeon, I
won't be writing a FAQ about it. This will change though, if I manage to beat
it somehow. Don't count on it though. Unless you make a habit counting on the
improbable. In that case, ummm...count all you like >_>.


Building the Ultimate Weapons & Gear:
_____________________________________

To help make your progress through this game infinitely easier, you'll need to
understand some key things on building up your weapon elemental properties. 
It's really quite simple, but you can easily mess things up if you're not
paying attention.

First and foremost, you need to have a Main weapon that you use all the time.
At the beginning of the game (after the first main dungeon - The Dark Ruins),
this weapon should be the Silver Sword you recieve after completing "The 
Exorcism" Quest. When you receive that (or if you decide to use another weapon
type), and have acquired an elemental weapon (which should be Thunder-based at
this point in the game), simply visit Osbald the blacksmith in the Academy of
Science (southeast of the Shrine). Ask him to combine some weapons/gear for 
you. Pay attention here though, cuz you don't wanna goof and lose your best
weapon. First you select your current favorite weapon as your Main weapon, 
then select the elemental weapon as the Sub weapon and combine. Simple as 
that. Your current weapon will now have a huge Thunder attack bonus. 

Now if you combine enough Thunder weapons (two should be sufficient) into the
sword, that particular element should be maxed out, so if you have anymore 
weapons of that element, don't combine them and definitely don't sell them.
Store them with Nestom and don't use them for combinations til much later in
the game when you're sure to get a much stronger weapon to combine them with.

That's the key here though, is to max out your current best weapon with an 
element, then try to get two more of that same elemental type weapon for 
storage to use later in the game. Since you can revisit old dungeons and still
get the Silver and Gold treasure chests to reappear, you should be able to get
a sufficient amount of elemental weapons/gear. If you have four of the same 
elemental weapon, even after your first combining, then you can even combine
another weapon mid-game, while still having two more left over for end-game
combining. 

All this applies to gear as well, except that it takes more combinations of a 
certain elemental gear to max out your current gears element, so you'll really
need to stock up on these for end-game combinations. This isn't as important
as weapon elemental combinations, but it can definitely make things easier for
you.

Now the most important thing to know here is that you can not max out all 6 
elements on any given weapon. So at least by the end of the game, you'll want
two weapons of your choice to use for your primary elemental weapons. You can
not have two opposing elemental properties on the same weapon (i.e. no Thunder
and Water weapon, no Fire and Ice weapon). So always know this, because if you
combine an opposing element to a weapon, all you're doing is reducing the 
element in that weapon with no gain from the opposing element, and this can't
be reversed, wasting the elemental weapon you combined. This works the exact
same way for your gear combinations too.

So by the end of the game, you should have one weapon with maxed out Fire, 
Thunder and Light, and one with maxed out Ice, Water and Dark. (Of course this
isn't exact, you could have a Fire, Water and Light weapon, just depending on
your choices). 

If this sounds confusing, just spend some time with the game, and you should
understand easily enough. 

One last thing, to really build up your weapon. When you have the your best 
end-game weapon and 3 of it's elemental properties maxed out, plus five
abilities transferred (ability transfers are discussed in my Game Strategies
portion of the FAQ), then it's time to focus of strenthening that weapon as 
much as possible. Simply combine any spare weapons to your main weapon, and
continue doing this for the rest of the game. There's a bonus dungeon that 
opens up after you complete the game, and you'll need your weapon to be as
strong as it can possibly be to tackle that bad boy.





The Sealed Tower:
_________________

B2F - This is basically a tutorial level, explaining the turn system, attack
speed, movement speed, breakable walls and finding keys and doors. The only 
enemy on this stage are Green Slimes, who only use weak physical attacks. 

B3F - The second tutorial stage, although more free-roaming. It explains 
camera rotation, healing/AP recovery items, abilities, HP recovery via
completing turns (L2) and unappraised weapons/items. Green Slimes return, and
Light Violet Vampires are introduced. They're obviously tougher than Green 
Slimes, but nothing special. Vampires do inflict status abnormalities (Poison,
Panic, etc.), but this shouldn't be an issue with this type of Vampire. A Blue
Knight also hangs around on this floor, although you may have to do a bit of
exploring to find him. All Knights only dish out physical damage.

As a side note, I find this particular floor very interesting, with the two 
areas of the floor consisting of nothing but broken walls. I can't help but
envision a huge battle taking place in this room, and Gil's just a johnny-come-
lately pickin' off the scraps.

B4 - No enemies here. Just move forward til a cutscene commences.

DUNGEON COMPLETE


Babilim:
________

After the cutscene, you are finally free to roam around your empire (of sorts)
and survey all that will be yours (when you become king ;). Your first order 
of business should be to get your weapon/item appraised in the Academy of 
Science (located southeast of the Shrine). You will now have a Sword, which is
only marginally better than your initial Short Sword. Equip it. You start the
game with 500G, but should have 480 -490G after the appraisal(s). This won't
get you very far, so I strongly suggest you consider completing the first 
Quest. Quests are little side missions you can accept, that offer nice rewards
upon completion. Enter the Town Hall (southwest of the Shrine) to do so. 

When accepting Quests, you must first unequip everything, and store all your
belongings with Nestom, Gil's attendant. He'll be the little boy dressed in 
blue. Afterwards, speak with the girl behind the counter on the right. The 
only Quest available at this point is "Father With a Request". It's simple
enough, so start the Quest if you choose to do so. 

"Father With a Request":
________________________

Every time you accept a Quest, your character level is reduced down to 1, and
your given your initial starting equipment of a Short Sword and Gold gear. 

After speaking with Begzibo, you can explore the town again before starting 
out your Quest, since all the townspeople have new things to say. If you don't
care about that, approach the guard to the right of the gate in the
Residential Area (just south of Begzibo). He'll open the gate for you to enter
the Quest dungeon. 

This dungeon is only 1 floor, so just because you find a key and the door,
doesn't mean you should leave. Again, this Quest is pretty simple. Enemies
aren't too tough, but you still shouldn't be careless. Your primary targets
should be the Black Knights, since they're the only spear-wielding enemy. The
drop rate is random, so just keep killing enemies (leveling up in the process)
and Black Knights til you acquire the first Iron Spear. I suggest equipping it
immediately, as it's pretty powerful and can strike an enemy two grids away.
Then continue the process til you find the second Iron Spear, prompting Gil to
leave the dungeon. 

After speaking with Begzibo, return to the Town Hall and speak with the Guild
clerk again to recieve your very nice reward (a Bronze Spear and 2000G). Keep
in mind that this spear isn't one of the Iron Spears, so it won't be that 
powerful. It's still a very good weapon and easily outclasses the Sword you 
may have found in The Sealed Tower. Don't forget you can repeat Quests as
often as you like, so that 2000G can easily be doubled or tripled, although
it's not really necessary to do this.

Now you should have 2480 - 2490G. A very nice start to this awesome game. 
Don't forget to retrieve your belongings from Nestom. Now you should consider
visiting the item shop in the Residential Area. The store owner is a hefty,
bug-eyed fella, so he's kinda hard to miss. Since you're journey through the
next dungeon will be considerably longer than The Sealed Tower, it's time to
make some prepartions. I suggest buying about 4 - 5 Healing potions, 2
Antidote potions, 2 Anti-panic potions, 4 - 5 Bronze spikes and 2 Squall 
bottles. This should be sufficient to get you through safely.

You can also get one of your weapons/gear inscribed with Calindra (the girl 
you rescued from The Sealed Tower) at the Shrine. I suggest against doing this
for two reasons. First, none of your equipment is "inscription-worthy" in my
opinion. Second, don't forget you seem to have a grace period to restart your
game if you die, before Ishtar backs up her threats. So if you do die, just
restart your game, and you'll still have all your belongings. Don't abuse this
though, cuz I believe you're only allowed about 4 - 5 restarts. When you die
though, you need to remember never to press the X button right after you die,
so the data won't save. Just get up and restart the PS2.

When you're business is done in town, enter the stairway under the Shrine and 
speak with Lumina. She'll open up a portal to the next dungeon.


The Dark Ruins:
_______________

B1 - A little bit more tutorial in this level, such as diagonal movements and
ability boosts. Nevertheless, it's time to get serious. Keep your wits about 
you at all times. I advise that you explore every dungeon floor you can for 
treasure chests. In doing so, note that you don't have to explore every nook
and cranny. Simply being in the vicinity of a treasure chest will make it pop 
up on your map (little blue dots).

You'll quickly be introduced to Light Violet Bats. They have a faster speed 
than Gil (as indicated by the red aura). They also use Dark elemental attacks,
although this won't be anything to worry about at this stage of the game. Bats
can also cause Panic, which causes Gil to not respond to your controls for a
set period of time. Use an Anti-Panic to cure this, but you may want to 
consider using a spike to kill the bat first, so as not to be Panicked again
right after curing yourself. Being Panicked does not seem to affect your item
usage, so spikes will hit their intended target. To minimize the threat of 
Panic though, use your newly-acquired Bronze Spear (if you completed the first
Quest in town) to strike from a distance, and don't forget that with faster
enemies, you can strike first if you attack the grid that you predict the 
enemy will move into, so he will move into your attack. (This is explained in
more detail in my tips & strategies portion of the FAQ).

Green Slimes and Light Violet Vampires also wander this floor. Try to kill 3
Light Violet Vampires to trigger the first Silver Chest to appear. It contains
a set of Clay Earrings that raises your max. AP 2 points, although it's real
attraction is its ablility (Anti-Poison 1). This gives Gil a 20% chance of 
warding off Poison. Very, very handy at this stage of the game. Equip them
immediately. Note that abilities you acquire from accessories are constantly 
in use, meaning you don't have to activate them and they don't cost any AP.

B2 - This floor introduces breakable boxes. Break them all to find treasure
chests. You're also introduced to varying levels of terrain. Remember, higher
is better. Green Slimes and Light Violet Vampires on this floor. Green Snakes
are introduced. Snakes inflict the nasty Poison status effect. If you become
Poisoned, I suggest killing off the Snake before curing yourself (unless you
have other enemies near you), since the Snake can simply poison you again
after you cure it. Don't forget, Antidote potions cure Poison. Green Snakes
are a bit more durable than you'd expect. Also, simply trying to evade a Snake
may not be wise, as they have an incredily fast weapon speed (hell, they 
attack by biting, you can't get a faster weapon speed than this), so they'll
still bite you when you move.

You'll need to kill 3 Green Snakes to uncover the Silver treasure chest (which
I'll simply abbreviate as S.t from now on). You'll need to backtrack through
the level to find enough Green Snakes. You'll be rewarded with a Sulfur Shard.
(Gems are discussed in my Game Basics section of the FAQ). This is a level 1
Thunder element gem. It's very handy for the boss fight at the end of this 
dungeon, so I suggest holding onto it til then. 

B3 - Plenty of breakable walls in this floor. Break them wisely, so as not to
deplete your HP too drastically. Green Snakes are here. If you run out of 
Antidote potions, simply use your Feather to warp back to town. You're only
three levels in, so it shouldn't be too big of a headache. Also note that if a
Snake drops an unappraised item, it's more than likely an Antidote potion. So,
use it if you need it. The Blue Knight also returns, but nothing special about
him. Dark Spirits are introduced. They're a bit tricky in the fact that they
can attack you through walls. Their attacks won't hit you if you're moving
around (unless you're too heavy), but they will connect if you use a turn to 
heal yourself or do anything else other than moving (such as attacking another
enemy). Spirits have the ability to heal themselves and any other enemy in its
vicinity. So take them out if they're healing an enemy you're trying to kill. 
Also note that Spirits can attack from two grids away. Light Violet Bats also 
roam this floor.

To get the S.t, you need to kill 3 enemies as fast as possible. Don't panic 
though, you should have enough time to kill 3 enemies. For your efforts, 
you'll get a new weapon, the Fleuret. It's easily stronger than your Sword,
but it's main attration is it's speed, lightweight and it's Piercing Impulse
ability. If you haven't found anything better, then equip this weapon. Once 
you get back to town though, I strongly suggest combining your non-elemental
weapons (that you never use) to the Fleuret 15 times, and transfer it's 
ablility to your best weapon (although you should wait til you get the Silver 
Sword, and transfer it to that weapon). 

B4 - The varying terrains play an important role in this floor. Pay attention
to enemy placement and terrain levels before engaging the enemy. To get the 
S.t, simply swing your weapon 30 times. I believe you need to swing it at the
air instead of an enemy. After breaking the boxes, don't go up the steps past
the boxes, instead take the steps back near where you started to prevent
having to go around this floor twice. When you get the S.t, you'll be rewarded
with a Scale Necklace. It raises your Defense by 4 pts. and your Intellingence
by 2 pts., so definitely equip it. 

Blue Knights and Green Snakes are back. Two new enemies are introduced though,
Thieves and Bone Soldiers. Thieves are quick enemies so attack before they 
move next to you. If they disappear before you manage to kill them, that means
they just stole something from you. As far as I know, they can't steal your
equipped weapon/gear, but you should hunt them down in any case if this 
happens. You can tell when a Thief has something in its possession by an icon
above the Thiefs name. Also, if you hear a sound that sounds like you just 
picked up a treasure chest, it means a Thief found one of the treasure chests
before you. Again, you can hunt it down and take the treasure once you kill 
him. Bone Soldiers are pretty tough enemies, worsened by the fact that they 
won't die outright. You'll need to kill them twice to be rid of them (as well
as get the exp.). It's not so bad though, since when they reform, their HP is
halved, so they'll go down quicker the second time around.

B5 - Oboy, time to be introduced to the Will O' Wisps. These are extremely 
dangerous creatures that can reduce your HP to 1 simply by touching Gil. Even
more threatening is the fact that you simply can't kill them. You should 
always avoid these bastards whenever possible. You'll know there's a Will O' 
Wisp on the floor by the dramatically oppressive music (I really love the 
constant screeching in the music's background). A Will O' Wisps color 
corresponds with its aggressiveness. Blue Will O' Wisps aren't too much of a 
threat (although they can still hit you regardless of speed, they're just not 
that aggressive). Red Will O' Wisps, just fughedaboudit. If you get near one, 
they will mess you the f*** up. Note though that a Will O' Wisp teleports to 
another area of the floor once it hits you, so you'll always have the chance 
to heal yourself once hit.

The key in this floor is out of reach, under the water at the beginning of the
level. You need to locate a switch and activate it to drain the water, then 
backtrack to retrieve the key. Blue Knights and Thieves roam this floor. Mage
Ghosts are introduced. Ghosts are very, very dangerous. They have the horrible
ability to put Gil to sleep, enabling them (as well as any other nearby 
enemies) to attack you multiple times in your defenseless state. What's worse
is they can inflict this status effect from two grids away, and EVEN THROUGH
WALLS!! These guys are dangerous, and I have yet to find a way to escape the
damnable Sleep status effect, so whenever you see one of these on a floor, you
should always make sure you have a substantial amount of HP to keep you alive
in case one decides to pull that s***. An important thing to take note of is
that Mage Ghosts utilize the Water element. You'll soon have the chance to 
acquire a Thunder element weapon, pretty much nullifying any threat these bad 
boys pose (at least in this dungeon). If all that wasn't enough, Ghosts also 
have the most annoying ability to teleport Gil to another section of the 
floor. Not much of a threat here, but in later, bigger dungeons, it really 
makes getting turned around unavoidable. Take these buggers out as fast as you
possibly can.

To get the S.t, you need to kill a Blue Knight, supposedly taking either
little or no damage. I'm not sure what this means, I only read it in another
FAQ. It should be either little damage or no damage, not both, but whatever. I
just prefer not to take any damage. The best way to do this is to check your 
abilities and see which one would be mose effective. Sleep Smite is useful for
this, as you'll put the Blue Knight to sleep, and are free to chop away 
without taking damage. Note that Sleep Smite is only about 83% effective 
though, so it may not hit, but it usually does. The safest way to kill a Blue
Knight though, would simply be to use a spike to weaken it, then move in for 
the final blow. You can also use your Bronze Spear. You'll be rewarded with a
Quartz Shard, a level 1 Light gem. I recommend storing this with Nestom when
you return to town, as it heals you for 200 HP, which can really come in handy
in later dungeons.

B6 - Green Slimes, Thieves and Bone Soldiers roam this floor. Two new enemies
make their appearance here. Green Oozes are not to be confused with Green 
Slimes. First off, they're faster, so attack before they move towards you.
Second, all Oozes utilize the annoying Guard Down status effect, leaving Gil
prone to taking excessive damage from enemies. Thankfully, this status effect
only lasts about 5 turns, so just walk around for a little bit to make it 
disappear. The Bronze Spear is very effective against these little bastards. 
Black Knights also make an appearance. If you did the first Quest, you should
be familiar with these guys. They use spears, and therefore can attack from 
two grids away. They're much tougher than the Blue Knights too, so be careful
when facing these guys. You'll need to kill 3 Black Knights for the S.t, and
get the uber-awesome Thunder Sword. Equip...It...Nao!!

The Thunder Sword gives you 100% Thunder attack element. It also has the 
Lightning Strike ability, although I've never found much use for this ability.
Key note here is, the Thunder Sword completely annihilates the Mage Ghosts, so
this sword is a must for this dungeon.

B7 - Green Slimes, Light Violet Vampires and Blue Knights are on this floor. 
You'll also be introduced to a very tough enemy, Green Ropers. Ropers are 
beatable, but it takes some effort. My advice, espeically at this stage of the
game when your character level isn't all that high, is simply avoid these ugly
freaks. As long as you're not weighed down too much, you can easily just walk 
around these guys without a worry. If you do choose to fight one though, well
you may be sorry, but here's some tips. First know that every time a Roper 
hits Gil, it absorbs a nice chunk of HP (a percentage of the damage caused to
Gil). So simply trading blows with this guy is NOT advisable. I prefer to use
Sleep Smite to get in a few good licks, then back away and throw some spikes.
Pretty much just do whatever you can to damage it without taking any damage
yourself. Sadly, defeating this jerk doesn't really merit a decent exp. boost,
so all-in-all, it's really not worth it. 

To get the S.t, you need to kill a Blue Knight as fast as possible, supposedly
under 100 turns (which is plenty). You'll get an Alabaster Shard, a level 1 
Ice gem. If you used up your Sulfur Shard, you really should hold onto the 
Alabaster Shard for the boss fight.

B8 - This is a pretty sizable level. Plenty of stairs, so you may get confused
as to where you need to go. Just explore around though, and you'll figure it 
out. This floor is populated by Green Slimes, Blue Knights, Black Knights and
Bone Soldiers. Another enemy type is introduced, the Mirror Knight. Mirror 
Knights are another fast enemy type. They're also very tough, and hit hard so
be on your toes. Keep in mind that all fast-type Knights can sometimes hit Gil
twice with one attack, so when confronting the Mirror Knight, make sure your
HP is considerably high.

You need to kill 10 enemies to get the S.t, which provides you with the Bronze
Ring. It'll raise your Attack 2 pts. and your max. HP 5 pts. I personally 
wouldn't replace my already-equipped accessories for this, but to each his 
own, especially if you missed one of the earlier accessories.

B9 - This floor is populated by Blue Knights, Black Knights, Mirror Knights,
Green Oozes and Mage Ghosts. You're also introduced to a nasty little bastard
called the Land Urchin. This little guy doesn't look all that intimidating, 
but don't f*** with it. One jab of it's sharp quills will severely deplete 
your HP, and if you have another enemy around when you're hit, you'll surely 
die very quickly. Land Urchins aren't very durable though, so it can be killed 
without much hassle if you utilize abilities or spikes/bottles. Just don't 
fight one up close if you wanna live to see your grandchildren grow up. Also,
they're easily avoided if you're movement speed is fast enough, so you can
simply ignore them if you wish. 

Kill a Mage Ghost to get the S.t, and the Thunder Blade. I'd suggest not 
switching this with your Thunder Sword if you got it earlier, even though it's
stronger. Blade weapons are two-handed weapons, meaning you have to sacrifice
your shield just to wield one. So it doesn't seem very efficient to me to give</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
up a good bit of your defense just for a few extra Attack pts. The Thunder 
Sword is more than enough to get you through this dungeon.

When you reach the door with the key, you'll be notified that something lies 
in wait beyond in the next floor. You can move on, and easily beat the boss 
regardless of your character level, but I would suggest exiting the dungeon
first (via a Feather), so you can go back and get all the Gold treasure 
chests. They're not necessary, but once you beat this dungeon, you won't be 
able to come back for a while (until you beat the next dungeon, which is 
considerably longer than this one). A lot of the gear you get from the Gold 
treasure chests will make trekking through the next dungeon much, much easier,
mainly the set of Aqua Gear you get, since there are Water elemental enemies
in the next dungeon. If you choose to just fight the boss, skip down to the 
boss fight. The next section will tell how to get all the Gold treasure chests
(referred to as G.t from now on), and what they contain.

B1 - Kill a Light Violet Bat, Light Violet Vampire and a Green Slime in this
order, to get the Aqua Shoes.

B2 - Get to exit without killing any Green Slimes. Note, Do Not Go For The 
Key. You can easily get boxed in by Green Slimes, forcing you to have to kill
one. Piercing Impulse would allow you to get behind them, but depending on 
your character level, you may still kill the Slime. So just head for the exit 
to get the G.t, then worry about getting the key. You'll get the Aqua Helmet.

B3 - Initially, don't break any walls. Kill a Dark Spirit, then immediately 
break a wall. You get the Aqua Gauntlets.

B4 - Get key without breaking boxes. You'll get a Spinel Shard, a level 1 Fire
gem.

B5 - Use 3 Healing potions, not Quality or Super Healing potions. You get the
Thunder Spear. Very awesome weapon if you like spears. Makes killing Mage 
Ghosts infinitely easier since you can attack them from two grids away.

B6 - On the west side of level, hit the pillar to the left of the bridge, and
you'll get the very, very awesome Amulet of Chaos. It gives Gil 25 elemental
defense pts. in Fire, Thunder and Darkness. Unfortunately if you're wearing 
the Aqua gear, instead of getting 25 Thunder pts., it'll take away 25 of your
Water pts., but that's acceptable in my opinion, for the small boost in the
other two elemental properties.

B7 - This one might be a bit scary, but it's very worth it. Just let your HP
get down to 15. It has to hit 15 exactly, so if you go below that, you'll have
to walk around a bit to heal up to 15. That's dangerously low, so heal as soon
as the G.t appears. You'll be handsomely rewarded with the epic Smash Hammer. 
Baddest hammer you can get this early in the game, not to mention the 
strongest possible weapon at this point. Don't forget you'll be without a 
shield if you equip this, but who needs a shield when one hit makes your 
enemies daddy cry.

B8 - On the second set of stairs on the way to the exit, there's a small 
alcove to the left of the stairs. Walk into the alcove to make the G.t. appear
and you'll recieve a Graphite Shard. It's a level 1 Darkness gem. It can be 
used against the boss of this dungeon.

B9 - Get the key without using any Healing potions and get the Aqua Armor. Now
you're really ready to finish off the boss and shut this pathetic dungeon down
for good.

B10 - BOSS FIGHT!

Primitive Slime:

Regardless of your character level, this fight is just way too easy. To save
yourself some damage though, just start out by throwing the rest of your 
spikes at the big Slime. The Primitive Slime has no discernible HP, and no
matter what you use, you can only cause 1 pt. of damage. So just keep hitting
it and after a few turns it'll dissolve into 8 regular Green Slimes. You can 
fight these off one by one, and make this fight a bit more difficult, but it's
not advisable, since the Slime Nucleus in the center of the Slimes will 
disappear and reform the Primitive Slime again after a few turns have passed.
So just pick one of your elemental gems to toss at the perfectly aligned 
Slimes and watch the beauty. Alternatively, you can use one of your bottles,
but a gem is more preferable since it does significantly more damage to the 
Slime Nucleus. After all the Green Slimes are dead, simply move in for the
kill. Depending on what abilities you have at the moment, you may want to 
consider attacking the Nucleus with a strong ability, like Extreme Force, cuz
it might take two regular hits to finish it off, and I believe it'll reform
after just one hit. If it does manage to reform, no big deal. Just repeat 
everything, and you can easily finish off the Slime Nucleus the second time 
around.

DUNGEON COMPLETE!


Return to Babilim:
__________________

After the lenghty cutscene, your next goal is to find an old, retired scholar
named Roa. There's actually quite a bit you should do before attempting the 
next dungeon. First and foremost, get your ??? items appraised, check every
weapon and gear's stats and see what best suits you for using in the next 
dungeon. By all means though, keep your Smash Hammer on hand, in case you feel
the need to smash some brains every once in a while. Next, if you have any 
alchemy items (leaves and roots), talk to one of the two Alchemists to combine
them for a fee. You can mix leaves with roots or with other items like healing
potions, spikes, etc. Remember that combining the same two items twice does 
not mean you will get the same item, so experiment to see as many possible
combinations as you can. Aziel guarantees a productive item every time, while
Sajia is a wild card, who sometimes makes awful items, but sometimes makes 
rare items that you can't get from Aziel. Use them both to get the most out of
item combination. 

Now you should look through all your equipment abilities to see if there's a 
particular one you want to transfer to your main weapon. I've posted a list of
my favorite abilities in the Tips & Strategies section of the FAQ. My advice 
for the moment would be to store everything and go do the 2nd available Quest,
which will give you the best one-handed weapon you can get at this point in 
the game, the Silver Sword, plus 3000G. Then use the Silver Sword for your 
main weapon to transfer abilities to. Combine every weapon you have (except 
elemental weapons and the Smash Hammer) into the Fleuret, until you make 15 
combinations, then go to the clerk across from the Guild clerk in the Town 
Hall to have her transfer the Piercing Impulse ability to your Silver Sword. 
Trust me, you won't regret this. As for your Thunder elemental weapons, 
combine them to your Silver Sword outright to get the Thunder element, which
should max out after two combinations, which should leave you with 1 Thunder
weapon leftover, which you should store with Nestom, saving it for later in 
the game. (Use this method for all elemental weapons/gear). Store your Fleuret
with Nestom if you haven't yet made 15 combinations to it. As for your gear, 
I'll leave the combination decisions up to you, but Sleep Smite is a very good
ability to transfer to your best shield if you have the funds. Otherwise, sell
most of your gear to get money for your weapon combinations. Obviously though,
keep your Aqua gear equpped for the next dungeon.

Next you can see what Quests are available. You have two new ones at the
moment, "The Exorcism" and "The Uninspired Poet 1", although doing the first
"Uninspired Poet" Quest will unlock part 2, which unlocks part 3, until you 
get to part 5. So if you decide, you can spend the next couple hours or so
just doing Quests (if your sanity holds out, that is). 

"The Exorcism":
_______________

After talking with the contractors in the Town Hall, head for the dock area 
and speak with Kood the boatman. He'll take you where you need to go.

Your goal here is to simply kill 20 enemies. Shouldn't be too difficult if you
focus on weaker enemies til your character level goes up some. Avoid Lizardmen
and anything else that looks intimidating. Your Cursed Sword has an 
interesting ability called Genocide Edge, but you won't be able to use it 
until you level up enough to get your AP gauge high enough. The three times 
I've played this Quest, I always completed it before I was able to use this
ability, which is unfortunate (although it does sound like a dangerous ability
to use ; ). Once 20 enemies have been slain, return to the Town Hall and claim
your reward, the Silver Sword and 3000G.

"The Uninspired Poet parts 1 - 5":
__________________________________

Ugh, I hate these Quests with such a passion. The completionist in me forces 
me to play these damn things every time I want to play this game again, and my
sanity is always being challenged with this s***. 

Anywas, each chapter of this Quest is the exact same thing, just with
different enemies as your focus. The first Quest, you need to acquire 5 pieces
of Blue Knight equipment, second Quest, Black Knight equipment, third, Mirror
Knight, fourth, Hyper Knight and finally the fifth installment focuses on the
dreaded Red Knight. 

Heed this warning, DO NOT FOCUS ON LEVELING UP!! This works against you in so
many ways, as all the Knights level up along with you, making them very, very
difficult and oh-so-annoying later on. In each of these Quests, your initial
focus is always to find a better weapon than that pathetic ass Short Sword Gil
seems to like carrying around with him. The problem is that a lot of the time,
there simply isn't any weapons available throughout the entire dungeon floor.
Now you can beat the first Quest and maybe even the second with your Short
Sword (although not without a headache), but the later installments seem too
difficult to utilize this approach. If you've searched the entire dungeon 
floor without any luck, your best bet would be to escape via a feather, and
have Kood take you to another floor. Doing this does not cost you any levels 
or equipment, so there's no penalty.

Okay, well other than that, you really only need to know that with each piece
of Knight equipment you collect, the more scarce that particular Knight class
becomes. Once you get four of the five pieces of equipment, ugh - you just
may literally spend up to and over an hour just looking for a stupid Blue
Knight or whatever Knight you're trying to find. In my last playthrough, on 
the Black Knight Quest, I swear it was like everything was working against me.
I only needed a pair of Black Knight Boots, and I spent little over an hour 
and a half avoiding every enemy I could, til I finally found the damn things.
You should also know that when attempting the chapter four (the Hyper Knights)
you will often have your weapon deflected out of your hands when fighting the
Hyper Knights. Hyper Knight armor seems to be really tough against weapons, so
be prepared to retreat and relocate your weapon on a regular basis.

*Sigh* - Well, your reward for completing each Quest will net you that Quests
complete Knight equpment (shield, helm, armor, gauntlets, and gloves). All in
all though, I don't think none of the rewards are worth all the anguish these
five Quests dish out, but it does feel good entering the next dungeon all 
decked out in Red Knight gear, so yeah, I do suggest you do these Quests. Good
luck with 'em though, you'll need it.


Babilim:
________

Now to prepare for your next journey into the dungeons. This second dungeon is
quite a bit larger than the first, so keep that in mine when shopping for 
items. Don't get carried away though, there's plenty of treasure to collect to
fill up your item space. Again, you should keep a couple Antidote potions and
Anti-Panic potions, and maybe about 5 Healing potions and a couple Fine 
Healing potions. Buy about four spikes and a bottle or two. Also carry a 
couple of your gems if you still have any left. Store away anything you don't
thing you'll need (like your level 1 Healing gem). When you're ready, go down
to the dock area and find Roa looking out to sea on the far eastern side. 
He'll give you the Coordinates Scroll to give to Calindra (who can now 
inscribe up to two weapons/gear now). Afterwards, enter the Shrine and speak
with Lumina to open a portal to the next dungeon.


The Underground Cave:
_____________________

B1 - You'll be introduced to different variations of a lot of the same enemies
throughout this dungeon (and the rest of the game). First up are Orange
Vampires. They have a higher chance of causing status effects than their
earlier incarnation. Vampires seem to have both Poison, Panic and Sleep status
effects, although some colors may use one more than the other. You also have
Green Slimes and Green Oozes returning, along with Blue Knights. Simply 
reaching the exit will make the S.t appear, but you'll have to backtrack to 
the beginning of the level to get it. You'll now have the Thunder Hammer. 
Nothing special compared to your earlier weapons, and certainly not as strong
as the Smash Hammer, but a nice alternative if you missed those weapons.

B2 - If you don't feel like exploring, then head left once you get up the 
steps. This level consists of Orange Vampires, Blue Knights and Black Knights.
Also, Black Slimes are introduced, but they're water-based, so they pose no 
possible threat to you if you're wielding a Thunder weapon. Elemental-type 
Slimes have the ability to cast their magic element from two grids away, so if
you're standing still trying to heal or whatever, you're likely to be hit by 
one if you're not paying attention. 

This floor introduces traps. They stand out visibly enough, so they're easily
avoided. It's important to know that the more "icons" on a trap, the more 
damage it will do. This floor only consists of 3-spiked traps and 1-eyeball
traps, but this differs greatly in later floor and dungeons. Unfortunately, 
you'll need to activate a spike trap on this floor in order to get the S.t, so
I guess you can go ahead and get a first-hand look at what traps do. Also note
that if you're standing on a trap and you heal or do anything that completes a
turn, you'll be damaged again. Always get off a trap if you want to heal 
yourself or attack an enemy. The S.t consists of a Wooden Ring. It gives Gil a
20% chance of avoiding Panic, but in my opinion, I wouldn't replace my other 
two accessories for this. 

B3 - On this level, you'll have to kill two of each enemy type if you want the
S.t. The enemies on this level consist of Blue Knights, Black Knights and 
Black Slimes. You'll also be introduced to Orange Bats, Blue Snakes and Alfas.
Orange Bats are Dark-based (as are all Bats), and like the Blue Snakes, are 
pretty much just slightly tougher versions of their earlier counterparts. 
Alfas is an upgraded version of the Thief. Again, just slightly tougher. Once 
you kill two of each enemy, you'll be given a Lapis Lazuli Shard, a level 1 
Water gem.

B4 - This floor mainly consists of lots and lots of Slimes. You have Green and
Black Slimes, and are introduced to Red Slimes. Red Slimes are Fire-based, but
should fall just as easily with your Thunder weapon if your level is high 
enough. Two hits maximum should do them in if not. Ropers return in this level
as well. There are two of them, and just like before, are best avoided. 
Although these Ropers do fall very quickly to the Smash Hammer. There is also 
a nasty litte surprise in the form of a treasure chest on this floor. When you
stand next to it, it'll transform into a Lesser Mimic. Mimics are not as scary
as they appear to be. I admit when I first saw one, I wanted to get as far 
away from it as I could. But they go down easy enough. Their one advantage is 
they are faster than Gil, but nothing else special about them. One thing to 
note though, there never seems to be more than one Mimic on any given floor.
I won't be able to list all the floors Mimics appear on, as they don't appear
right away. They only seem to show up after so many turns are completed. An 
easy way to know if a Mimic has shown up is if you spot a treasure chest on 
your map in an area that you've already been through. 

Once you get the key, kill four more enemies to make the S.t appear. It'll 
contain the final piece to your Aqua gear, the Aqua Shield. 

B5 - Lots of twisty-turny paths in this level. Just stay focused and head in
the direction of the key. Avoid the blue Will O' Wisp the best you can. He has
a nasty habit of showing up closer to you than you thought he was. Just keep 
your ears open for that intimidating little crackle noise they seem to make.
This floor also introduces a handful of new enemy types. You have Mages, Druid
Ghosts, Skull Soldiers and Arcious. Mages are Water-based, so they'll go down
epic-hard if you have a Thunder weapon equpped. Alternatively, if you're 
wearing Aqua Armor, their magic attacks won't be as threatening. They do like
to teleport all over the damn place though. Druid Ghosts are slightly tougher
iterations of Mage Ghosts and utilzie the Thunder element, which really sucks
if you've been relying on a Thunder weapon. They'll still go down with 2 good
hits though, so wail on these bastards when you see them. Skull Soldiers are
slightly tougher versions of Bone Soldiers, and they sometimes like to inflict
the Panic status effect. Their earlier incarnations, the Bone Soldiers may 
also have this attack, but I've never seen it, so I'm not sure. Either way, 
the newer Skull Soldiers don't use it all that often. Arcious is an upgraded 
version of a Dark Spirit. Nothing special. Watch out for its healing ability 
though.

You'll need to find a particular grid to stand on in order to get the S.t to 
appear. Follow these directions: Head to the far east side of the level, then
turn around (facing in western direction). Walk forward and to the left of the
dividing wall, and make a left turn in between the trees and the wall. Turn 
right and go all the way to the wall. The S.t will appear and you'll receive a
Chrysoberyl Shard, a level 1 Thunder gem.

B6 - Ooohh, snow. Pretty : ) - There are lots and lots of varying heights of
terrain on this floor. As always, be wary of enemy placement, and always get
the upper hand in any and all battles. Blue Knights are Green Oozes return.
Watch out for a new Blue Knight type though, the Blue Knight Retainer. He's
quite a bit tougher than a simple little Blue Knight. They carry hammers, so
their speed is much slower than Gil's (unless you have a heavy weapon equipped
on him). You'll also be introduced to Lizardmen. These are easily the toughest
bare-bones enemy you'll run across in this game. Their hide is thick and their
swingin' arm is primed. Avoid these if you can't afford to take much damage. 
If you utilize your abilities though, and use them at the right times, these 
guys can be dealt with easily enough. All variations of Lizardmen carry heavy
weaponry, so as long as Gil isn't too weighed down, you should always be able
to evade these big mooks if necessary. Black Oozes are also introduced, and
just like Black Slimes, they're Water-based. They're faster than Gil though,
like all Oozes, so don't let your guard down around them (haha, that's a
little joke, you know, cuz Oozes use Guard Down...*sigh*, what are you lookin'
at, that was a funny joke...>_>).

Simply break any one box to get the S.t to appear. You'll be handsomely 
rewarded with the best armor at this point of the game, the Granite Mail. 
Equipping this will remove a percentage of your Water defense if you were 
wearing the Aqua Armor, but that can easily be remedied by combining the Aqua
Armor to the Granite Mail next time you're in town.

B7 - This floor has a few diverging paths, so feel free to explore the area.
Green Slimes, Orange Bats, Blue Snakes and Blue Knight Retainers return. To 
get the S.t, you'll have to try and lure a Blue Knight Retainer towards a trap
and kill him while Gil is standing on a trap. Yeah, that's a bit random isn't
it? I suggest using a trap with one eyeball on it, to minimize your damage. 
Also, you should first weaken the Blue Knight Retainer before stepping on the
trap, since each time you strike, the trap will damage you. The S.t will
contain a Pearl Ring. Not a bad little accessory, since it automatically makes
Gil 10% stronger whenever his HP is low. I'm not sure if this means critically
low (flashing HP) or just low in general, so just experiment with it if you 
want.

B8 - Black Knights and Blue Knight Retainers return for this floor. You'll 
have to kill two Blue Knight Retainers in a row to reveal the S.t. This level
introduces the Stygian Knight. These guys are pretty tough. They favor whips 
and can hit Gil two grids away. Use caution with these guys, their weapon 
speed is pretty fast There's also a very nasty Land Urchin on this floor. He 
likes to hang out on the top of the stairway leading to the key, putting him 
at a higher elevation than Gil. This is bad since climbing up tiers slows down
Gil's movement speed, meaning the Land Urchin WILL hit you and ruin your day 
(especially if there are other enemy's nearby, which odds are there will be). 
You need to try to lure it down the path so you can safely climb up the steps.
You could also unleash some spikes on it, or bottles if you're out of spikes. 
NEVER climb up a tier if this guy is next to you!

If you manage to kill two Blue Knight Retainers in a row, the S.t will appear,
with the Ice Sallet inside. This has absolutely no use at this point, so store
it with Nestom next time you're in town. You could also combine it with
whatever helmet you're wearing, but if you have the Amulet of Chaos equipped
in your accesories, the added Ice element will only take away from your Fire
element, without adding anything to your Ice defense.

B9 - More than a handful of tough enemy types on this floor. You got both
Green and Black Oozes, Blue Knight Retainers, Skull Soldiers and Stygian
Knights. The Oozes like to use the low water in this floor for camoflage, so
keep your eyes open. Break all 8 boxes on this floor to reveal the S.t, and
receive the Selenite Shard, a level 1 Light gem.

B10 - This room introduces portals that will warp you back to town. No enemy's
on this floor. Just enter the portal, or grab the key and proceed to the next
floor. Yes, it's safe to leave. You will have the choice to return to this 
floor when you re-enter the dungeon. There's nothing new in town, no new 
Quests or anything, so just restock on supplies, store away items you don't
need, combine more weapons/gear and mess around with item combinations with 
the Alchemists a bit more. When you're ready, re-enter the Shrine and select
the 10th floor. You can also start from the beginning again if you'd like to
get the G.t's out of the way. I'll explain how to get them at the end of this
dungeon, so skip there if you'd like. 

B11 - Alas, returning from town only to be thrown into another Will O' Wisp
floor. Be careful here, as most corridors or narrow and it's real easy to get
a big whopping Red Will O' Wisp right in your face. This guy is devastating.

Metal Knights are introduced here. They're faster than Gil unless you have a
lightweight armor equipped, and very strong as well. Blue Knight Retainers,
Lizardmen and a Red Roper also wander this floor. 

To get the S.t, you'll need to pay attention to which side of the map you 
started on. This floor is divided into two sections, North and South. If you
start in the North, all you have to do is walk two grids west of the key. If 
you start in the South, from your starting point, walk all the way to the 
southern wall, then head east along the wall til the treasure chest appears.
You'll get a set of Ice Gloves. Again, you should store these with Nestom.

B12 - There's a bit of confusion here on how to get the S.t. Simply facing the
torch near your starting point, then walking a few steps away from it will 
make it appear, but I've also noticed that if you look in the direction of 
that torch from somewhere else on the map, the S.t will appear as well. Either
way, it's easy enough to get, I just thought this was interesting. Your reward
is a Marble Shard, a level 1 Ice Gem.

This floor consists of Green Slimes, Black Slimes, Stygian Knights, Metal 
Knights and Alfas. Simple enough floor.

B13 - Interesting level design here. Lots of high terrain, so be careful. 
There are Black Slimes, Red Slimes, Mages, Lizardmen and Metal Knights here.
Kill five Red Slimes for the S.t. This may take a while though. I found it to
be quicker if you head in one direction, til about halfway around the map, 
then turn back and retrace your steps. You'll be rewarded with a Carnelian
Shard, a level 1 Fire Gem.

The key and exit may be ranomized, but I'm not sure about this. If not, then
the key should be located down the Eastern stairway, and the exit should be
down the Southern stairway.

B14 - Another interesting level design here, consisting of Orange Bats, Blue
Snakes, Blue Knight Retainers and Skull Soldiers. You'll also be introduced to
a very tough enemy type, the Hyper Knight. This guys armor is so strong that
it can deflect your weapon out of your hand, leaving you bare-handed. You 
should know these guys if you did any of "The Uninspired Poet" Quests. The
good thing about Hyper Knights is their weapon speed is so slow, their too
easily evaded. So if you don't have the health to trade blows with one of 
these guys, then just ignore them. 

The key should be down the Southern path (again, this might be randomized, I'm
not sure). But before getting the key, make sure you break at least four boxes
first. Then when you get the key, the S.t. will appear. It'll contain a Silver
Necklace, which has the Anti-Sleep 1 ability, giving Gil a 20% chance of
avoiding the Sleep status effect. Obviously extremely hand on floors filled
with those damnable Ghosts. To get the most out of your accessories though,
don't equip this until you're on a floor with Ghosts. Then after that floor is
completed, re-equip whatever accessory you replaced it with. This doesn't take
much time, so utilize this for the rest of the game if necessary.

B15 - This floor introduces Moving Tiles. These are a fun little diversion
from the norm. Just step on one, and it'll move you forward so many spaces. 
You can utilize these to escape a persistent enemy or to catch an evasive 
enemy. You'll need to move along all these Moving Tiles to get the S.t to 
appear, although I think they may need to be done in a certain order. I could
be wrong about this, but one time for sure I walked along all the Moving Tiles
and nothing appeared. So just to be safe, move along the three near the key 
first, in order from right to left, then proceed through the rest of the floor
moving on them in the order they appear. The S.t will contain the Jagged 
Saber. This weapon looks real cool, but unfortunately it doesn't have much 
going for it in terms of power. It does have two neat abilities, Piercing 
Impulse and Parrying Attack, the latter which gives Gil a chance of parrying
an enemy's attack. So I guess I'd advise you to at least try this weapon out
and see how you like it. If you don't, I guess sell it unless you want the 
abilities.

You'll run across Black Oozes, Red Oozes and Stygian Knights, and also be 
introduced to Red Knights. Red Knights are intimidating enough, due to their
speed, plus their evasion rate, meaning your attacks can often miss, resulting
in Gil taking more damage from these annoying bastards. Also, as with all fast
type Knights, they have a chance of hitting Gil for double damage, which 
really sucks. As with the Hyper Knights, you should already know these guys if
you participated in "The Uninspired Poet" Quest. A good tip is to weaken these
guys with a spike or two to minimize the damage you take from them. 

B16 - This is a pretty tough floor. Plenty of narrow corridors, and is filled
to the brim with Druid Ghosts and Mages. Equip you Silver Necklace immediately
if you got it, as the narrow corridors mixed with all these Druid Ghosts (who
can attack through walls) can leave you in a state of Sleep more than you 
should be comfortable with. There is also a Green Roper and a Red Roper 
hanging around near the exit. Green Ropers have no element, but Red Ropers use
the Fire element. Hopefully you have the Piercing Impulse ability, just in 
case you get backed into a corner by one or both of these Ropers. 

To get the S.t, you'll need to stand in a corner located on the SouthEast of
the floor, that overlooks the stairway leading down to the key. You'll recieve
an Ice Shield. I recommend storing this with Nestom, since there aren't any
Fire-based enemies that pose a threat in this dungeon (unless you like 
tangling with Red Ropers you sick f***). 

B17 - Another very tough level. Plenty of real strong Knights wandering around
here, plus a nasty little Land Urchin. You have Blue Knight Retainers, Stygian
Knights, Hyper Knights, Metal Knights and Red Knights, so stay on your toes at
all costs. 

You'll need to kill a Hyper Knight, then a Metal Knight to get the S.t. From
my experience though, you can still kill other enemies in between, so you 
don't have to evade all the enemies hunting for a Metal Knight after killing a
Hyper Knight. You'll get a Lodestone Shard, a level 1 Dark Gem.

B18 - This floor consists of Skull Soldiers, Lizardmen, Hyper Knights and Red
Knights. You need to kill a Hyper Knight with your HP flashing red to get the 
S.t, so weaken one with a spike first so he won't kill you. An interesting
thing to note here, I got the S.t to appear by killing a Hyper Knight with an
Ice Gem when he was in a group of enemies (killing them all), and my HP was 
more than half full. This bears further investigation. Either way, you'll 
recieve a Lizard Belt, with the Auto-Stealthy Step 1 ability, giving Gil a 10%
chance of not taking damage from a trap. This can come in handy if you spot a
treasure chest positioned on a trap, although until then I wouldn't exchange
any of your other accessories for this.

B19 - Real simple floor. Black Slimes, Red Slimes, Mages, Arcious, Hyper 
Knights and Red Knights here. To get the key, take the left path up the steps
and head down the next set of steps. Kill three Mages for the S.t, containing
the Thunder Rapier, which you should store with Nestom if you've managed to 
maximize your Thunder element on your current weapon. When you reach the exit,
just like in the previous dungeon, you can move on or use a Feather to go back
to town, so you can go back through the dungeon again and go for the G.t's.
Obviously I recommend doing the latter, but the choice is yours. If you choose
to move onto the next floor, skip down to that portion of the FAQ. The next 
portion contains G.t information.

B1 - Kill two Blue Knights without killing Orange Vampires. This can be rather
annoying since initially there is only one Blue Knight in the level, hanging
around the exit. To get another one to spawn, you may need to backtrack to the
beginning of the floor and just fiddle around a bit, giving one time to spawn,
all the while with a hoard of Orange Vampires on your ass. All this trouble
will reward you with a Rough Aquamarine, the first of the 2nd level of Gems,
this one being a level 2 Water Gem. Just like level 1 gems, level 2 gems are
best used for attack purposes, so I advise against equipping these to your 
weapons/gear. 

B2 - Man, this one's a tough one. You need to have your Protection brought all
the way down to 0, and keep it that way for 50 turns. Seeing how this is only 
the 2nd damn floor, your Protection is probably pretty high, so this is the 
best method for accomplishing this. Move up to the top-rightmost corner from
your starting point, and with your back to the wall, hold down the L2 button.
Yes, this is dangerous, but it doesn't seem to be so dangerous on this floor,
as the enemies aren't too threatening, especially if you've went through all
19 levels of the dungeon beforehand. Just hold down L2, while staying very 
much on guard in case of any enemies showing up, whilst your Protection drains
very quickly. When it reaches 0 (maximum darkness), you can have some fun 
wandering around in the darkness, or continue holding down L2 til your 50 
turns are up. Your reward is a Rough Spinel, a level 2 Fire Gem. Immediately
sacrifice some items to get your Protection rate up after the G.t appears, cuz
0 Protection just plain sucks.

B3 - This one is a bit bizarre. More than likely, you won't be able to get 
this G.t til a bit later in the game. You'll need to get the key while having
50,000+ Gold on you (not stored in Ingots with Nestom). So whenever you manage
to get this hefty sum of Gold, return to this dungeon floor and get the key. 
It'll contain the Ice Mail. Like all Ice gear at this point of the game, I 
recommend storing this with Nestom for later use. 

B4 - You may need the Piercing Impulse ability for this one. You need to kill
the Mimic, but without killing any Green Slimes. The problem is that Mimics
always take a while before they show up, so you'll be wandering all over this
damn floor before the Mimic will even appear. So try not to get cornered by 
more than one Green Slime, or you'll be forced to kill one. As I said, if you
have Piercing Impulse, it would help you out of this type of jam, but this 
could be a problem if your character level is too high, as you may still kill
a Green Slime with the Piercing Impulse ability. So to be safe, just try your
best not to get cornered. After the Mimic appears, kill that chicken piece of
s***, and be well-rewarded with a set of Spiked Shoes. These will give you a
+2 Attack and +3 Defense over your Aqua Shoes (if you have them), so equip 
them. Yes, you'll lose some of your Water defense, but you can always combine
your Aqua Shoes to the Spiked Shoes when you go back to town. Also, the Spiked
Shoes have the Stealthy Step ability, lowering the chance of taking damage if
you step on a trap, useful for acquiring treasure chests lying on traps.

B5 - Ugh - this one is a bit annoying. First off, put it in your head to AVOID
the key. Next, you need to pay attention to how many enemies you kill. You 
need to kill 15 enemies and then get the key for the G.t to appear. This is 
annoying because of how long it takes to actually kill 15 enemies. You have
those damn Mages that teleport away, and Skull Soldiers that don't count as a
kill until they're reformed themselves and are killed again. Plus you have to
do all this while watching out for the Will O' Wisp. Just don't lose count
though, and you'll be alright. After you get the key, you'll get a Rough 
Sulfur, a level 2 Thunder Gem.

B6 - This one's easy enough. Simply kill 6 enemies, but don't break any boxes.
Quite an epic reward for such a simple task though, as you'll recieve the
Sarasvati's Tear. This thing will come in handy for a long time. It has the 
Risk Bonus ability, which gains your more exp. points if you kill enemies when
your HP is low. Don't equip this over your other accesories though, until your
HP is low, making a mental note to constantly switch these out depending on 
your HP status. It may seem annoying at first, but it will quickly become 
second nature to you. 

B7 - Another simple task. Locate the small hill in the center of the level, 
stand in the middle of the hill and raise your Protection to 100. You'll get a
Rough Quartz, a level 2 Light Gem. Store this with Nestom until your HP is 
high enough to merit using this healing gem.

B8 - This one may scare you, but it's not too terribly difficult. You need to
kill the Land Urchin to make the G.t appear. He's easily weakened by throwing
some Spikes at him, so do so and move in for the kill if you feel like you can
kill him with one blow. The reward is so worth it. You'll recieve the Tebutje,
another decent sword that you can use as your 2nd element weapon. Since you 
should already have the Thunder element on your Silver Sword, focus on adding
the Water element to the Tebutje, along with two other elements of your 
choice. Just don't mess up and add two opposing elements to the same weapon.
And also, for sure don't add the same element to both weapons. That just 
defeats the purpose of having two elemental weapons. Always carry both swords
with you through all the dungeons of the game. You'll run across plenty of 
different element type enemies, and you'll need to switch weapons on the fly
to best serve their purpose. The Tebutje also comes with the Piercing Impulse
ability, along with the Triple Slash ability, which allows Gil to attack in 
three directions, front, front left and front right. Just full of awesomeness.
(Oh yeah, did I mention how cool the Tebutje looks? If I didn't, well it looks
pretty effin' cool : )

B9 - Well, this one doesn't get much simpler. Just unequip your current weapon
and the G.t appears. Obviously you'll wanna reequip your weapon immediately
afterwards. You'll get the Fire Claymore. Pick one of your weapons to add this
Fire element to (when you're back in town of course).

B11 - This one can be pretty daunting. You need to complete 100 turns without
killing any enemies, and since Metal Knights and Blue Knight Retainers (which
have high weapon speed) roam this floor, you may take some damage. To minimize
this, I suggest not venturing too far out from your starting point. Just
wander up and down the corridor and explore a couple of the rooms to your left
while keeping your eyes open for enemy auras. This isn't as difficult as it 
may seem though, and the reward is most definitely worth it. The G.t will 
contain a Stone of Faith, which raises your Intelligence by 15 points, while
also giving you 30 Light defense points. Very awesome indeed. Note though that
if you replace this with your Amulet of Chaos, you'll lose your Fire defense,
but are now free to add your Ice gear elements you've been storing with Nestom
this whole time. Plus you'll trade your Dark defense for Light defense. I'd 
easily recommend making the change though. Intelligence points alone are worth
it.

B12 - Hopefully you didn't use all your Spikes, cuz you need to throw 3 of 
them to get the G.t. I hate wasting things, but I guess if it's for a reason,
then it isn't so bad. You'll recieve the Fire Axe to add to one of your 
weapons.

B13 - This can take a while. You need to kill 7 Lizardmen. Just like when you
had to kill the 5 Red Slimes on this level, head in one direction until you're
halfway around the map, then double back the way you came. This seems to make
enemies appear a lot quicker than simply circling the map 3-5 times. You'll be
rewarded with the very cool-looking Venom Blocker, a very decent shield. It 
comes with both the Panic Smite and Anti-Poison abilities. Panic Smite causes
the Panic staus effect on enemies (very handy) and Anti-Poison temporarily
lowers Gil's chance of being Poisoned.

B14 - You need to locate a lone tree in the Eastern part of the level, then 
stand directly in front of it and walk clockwise all the way around it. Simple
enough huh. You'll get a Rough Alabaster, a level 2 Ice Gem.

B15 - This one is more tricky than it seems. You supposedly need to last 15 
turns at full HP, but I've had trouble with this on several different 
occasions. First off, DON'T use L2 to heal, even if you only need to heal a
few points. Also, DON'T throw Spikes or Bottles at any enemies. I don't have
all the information about this, but these are things that I've noticed seem to
cancel out the G.t appearing. So just use a Healing Potion, making sure you're
at full HP, and just walk around in a square pattern sticking to the wall near
your starting point so as not to attract enemies. Also, according to the other
FAQ regarding the Silver/Gold Treasure Chests, you don't have to complete 15 
turns with full HP in a row, meaning you can take damage, heal yourself and 
finish up the remainder of the turns. I'm not sure how accurate this info is
however. Another thing to note, I sometimes noticed that after healing to full
HP, the G.t would appear after less than 15 turns. I also noticed on one 
occasion that your HP doesn't need to be completely full. This bears further 
study. When done correctly, you'll recieve the Aqua Mace to add to your 
Tebutje. Remember, don't combine this with your Silver Sword if you already 
have the Thunder element added to it. Water and Thunder cancel each other out.

B16 - Ugh - this one has managed to annoy me way too often. It just simply 
doesn't work sometimes. I can't figure out why. All you have to do is stand in
front of every single torch in the level. Based on my experience though, I 
believe you may need to face the torches from all possible sides, meaning if
there's an opening on two or more sides of the torch, you need to stand and
face the torch in those openings. This may not be completely accurate, but it
seems to work best this way. Another thing though, DON'T BREAK ANY WALLS!!

Here are the torch locations: 3 by the door in the NorhtEast (although you'll
need to circle around the map to face one of these, since you can't break any
walls, 3 in the NorthWest, 2 in SouthEast, 2 in SouthWest and 2 more located
near the key. Use Piercing Impulse if you get trapped by one of the Ropers.

There appears to be some action you shouldn't take, since I've had trouble 
getting the G.t to appear on multiple occasions. I have no idea what it could
be though, so hopefully someone else can fool around with this and fill me in,
cuz I've had it with this stupid level. You're reward is a Rough Graphite, a 
level 2 Dark Gem.

B17 - This one appears to be randomized, but it's easy enough. You need to 
stand on one of the grids 2-7 steps South of the exit and swing your weapon.
Just swing your weapon on each grid til the G.t. appears. It'll contain a Rose
Whip, a completely worhtless weapon IMO, but it has the mose awesome ability,
Violent Twister. Transfer this ability ASAP.

B18 - You need to reach the exit as fast as possible. This shouldn't be too 
tough if you just ignore all the enemies and the key. You'll have plenty of 
time. The G.t contains a Rough Agate, a level 2 Ice Gem.

B19 - This one is a bit tougher. You need to kill 7 enemies as fast as you 
can, and the time constraint is pretty limited, so don't f*** around. Head
down the steps and to the right for faster access to enemies, and use any
devastating abilities you have to kill tougher enemies quicker. I'm not sure
if using a Gem here would count, but you can try as it certainly would be a 
quick way of dispatching multiple enemies. If you were fast enough, you'll
recieve the Thunder Scale. You should store this with Nestom since you're
currently relying on Water defense, but it will come in handy later in the 
game when you come across some better armor to combine it with.

B20 - BOSS FIGHT!

The Chrono Orbs:

There really isn't a particular boss to fight in this stage, mainly just a
test of survival. The floor is swamped with tougher versions of enemies you've
faced so far. You have Green Slimes, Blue Knights, Light Violet Vampires, 
Black Knights, Hyper Knights and Lizardmen. DON'T be fooled by Blue Knights or
Light Violet Vampires! These guys have a higher level than what you're used to
and may take more than one hit to kill, depending on your character level. 
Anyways, all these enemies are easily avoided, just be careful of Black Knghts
and their damnable long-range spears.

Your targets here are the five Chrono Orb body parts. Four are in the four
opposite corners of the map, while the final one is in the middle, where you
started. The problem is you only one orb is active at a time, so you have to 
traverse the map trying to find the one active Chrono Orb. Chrono Orbs don't 
fight back though, so they pose no danger. Simply hack away at them when no
other enemies are near you. When one is destroyed, antoher Chrono Orb body 
part becomes active. Seach the map again, til you've destroyed the first four
Chrono Orb body parts. I'm not sure if the order in which they become active
is random or not. If not, then here is the order, to minimize your search
efforts. NorthEast, SouthEast, SouthWest then NorhtWest. Finally you have the
huge Chrono Orb Head in the middle of the map. It has 500 HP, but again, it
won't attack you, so keep enemies off your back and hack away at this big hunk
of jewelry til it cracks, completely nullifying the "evil" sorceress Skulld's
power. 

DUNGEON COMPLETE!


Return to Babilim:
__________________

You should have an idea of what needs to be done in town by now. First and 
foremost, there's a new Quest for you to take on. This one is my favorite of
the Quests in this game. It's quite long though, so don't attempt it if you 
don't have the time. Afterwards, consider combining any elemental weapons/gear
you've acquired thus far with a favorite weapon/gear. Nothing new here. Once 
you've done what needs doing, head under the Shrine where a new portal awaits
you. Before setting out though, remember this dungeon will be considerably 
longer than the previous dungeon.

HUGE TIP:

At this point in the game, you should seriously consider having a spare set of
armor that has a weight of 8 to equip on floors swamped with tough enemies. 
Nothing will save your HP more than simply evading those tough Knights that
will surely have their eyes on Gil's shiny, metal ass (Futurama reference 
FTW!). 

"The Thief in the Night":
_________________________

Well, there's really no reason for me to hold hands through this Quest. Here's
the basics. This dungeon has 15 floors, which I strongly recommend you explore
fully, in order to ensure you have the strongest possible weapon/gear you can
get. Don't be afraid to level up. Unlike other Quests, leveling up here is 
very beneficial. Just go through the floors like you would any dungeon, and 
when you reach the 15th floor, prepare yourself for a rather shocking 
encounter with a huge Knight, The Akynd Knight. As long as you spent your time
leveling up and acquiring the best weapon/gear in the dungeon, he should be no
threat, although you'll want to watch your back for any other evil threats. 
The Akynd Knight is a fast-type enemy and his huge size allows him to strike
Gil from two (maybe three?) grids away. Just wail on him and keep your HP at a
decent level and he'll go down rather quickly. Your reward for this Quest will
be a full set of Akynd Knight gear. 


The Deserted Holy Place:
________________________

B1 - You won't notice a change in enemy types for a few floors, so utilize the
same stragies as the previous dungeon. You'll deal with Red Slimes, Orange 
Bats, Blue Snakes, Orange Vampires, Blue Knight Retainers and Stygian Knights.
A very simple, straight-forward level. Kill four enemies as fast as possible
for the S.t. Nothing to panic about, as long as you move forward and kill any
enemy that you encounter, time isn't an issue. The S.t will contain a Chain
Amulet, which simply raises your max. HP 10 pts. Most definitely not worth
equipping, so sell it for some quick cash back in town. 

B2 - The S.t in this floor couldn't be easier to trigger. Simply raise your
Protection level to 100 for an Agate Shard, a lv. 1 Ice Gem. This is another 
simple, linear floor, consisting of some not-so-simple enemies. You have 
Arcious, Mages, Druid Ghosts, Skull Soldiers, Stygian Knights and Metal
Knights. Don't get overwhelmed by these mooks. 

B3 - You need to use two of the same type of Healing Potion to reveal the S.t.
It'll contain a Fire Whip. If your best weapon already has full Fire element,
then store the Fire Whip with Nestom in town, cuz you'll want it for later in 
the game. Apply this information with all elemental weapons/gear. 

The key and exit seems to be randomized here, but more often than not, you 
should take the right path to reach the key. You'll face Red Oozes, Alfas, 
Blue Knight Retainers, Hyper Knights and Lizardmen. 

B4 - This floor consists of Blue Knight Retainers, Hyper Knights and Stygian
Knights. It also introduces Red Slimes and Orange Snakes. Red Slimes use the
Fire element. Stand in front of every torch to reveal the S.t, which is much
easier to do on this floor than the one in the last dungeon. You'll recieve a
Moonstone Shard, a lv. 1 Light Gem.

B5 - At the loss of some HP, you'll need to break two walls to get the S.t,
containing a Rough Marble, a lv. 2 Ice Gem. This is another maze level and 
it's inhabited by Orange Bats, Red Oozes, Orange Vampires, Skull Soldiers and
two Red Ropers. 

B6 - This floor introduces teleporting grids, that once stepped on, will 
teleport you to another section of the floor. They can be a bit disorienting
in that once teleported, you have no idea where you are until you start to 
fill out the map, although this doesn't provide much trouble at this stage of
the game. The S.t on this one is kind of confusing. I can only assume that it 
appears after so many turns, because teleporting in and out of every room 
(like the other FAQ says to do) is most definitely NOT the catalyst. Every 
time I've played this floor, it just seems to appear out of nowhere, for no
apparent reason, so just wander around for a while til it appears I guess. 
You'll recieve a Belt of Bravery, with the Guard-Up 1 ability, which raises
your Guard 5% continuously. I guess this could be useful during a boss fight,
but certainly not worth changing out for progressing through the game.

Enemies consist of Red Slimes, Mages, Druid Ghosts, Alfas and Arcious. A good
tactic for dealing with enemies of floors with teleporting grids, if you 
teleport into a room with a good bit of enemies in it, stay on the teleporting
grid and attack an enemy that's standing next to you, and you'll hit him and 
teleport away before he can hit you. If the enemy has a higher movement speed,
then attack whatever grid you think the enemy will move into and if he moves
there, you'll hit him and teleport away. This hit-and-run technique doesn't 
seem to work so much on Knights with spears, who sometimes can still hit you
before you teleport. Also, if there are no enemies standing next to you, but</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
there are still a lot in the room, just keep swinging and teleporting until 
you can hit somebody. You'll save yourself a lot of damage this way.

B7 - Ugh, this floor can be pretty devastating, especially if you're under-
-leveled. There's a Will O' Wisp on this floor that usually spawns near the
key, which means it'll be trapped in that room until you break the boxes at
the entrance to that room. In other words, the Will O' Wisp shouldn't be a 
problem at first, although on rare occasions the Will O' Wisp must've spawned
somewhere else, since I've seen it before breaking down the boxes to that
room. Your main troubles are the enemies of this floor, lots of Red Oozes, 
Black Oozes, Lizardmen, Hyper Knights and Red Knights. Also, lots and lots of
boxes to break. Just keep your eyes out for those damn Oozes while breaking 
boxes, as they are not opposed to sneaking up on you. You'll have to kill one
Lizardman for the S.t, consisting of a Spinel, a lv. 3 Fire Gem. Lv. 3 and 4 
Gems are very rewarding and should examined in the stats to see what benefits
they would add to a weapon or piece of gear. Don't just blindly equip these 
Gems, always see what they'll add, as sometimes it may not be what you want.
Remember, you can only equip a very limited number of Gems, depending on the
weapon/gear, and once equipped, a Gem cannot be removed.

B8 - This is a pretty big floor, and if you don't get the key right away, you
may find yourself having to backtrack a pretty long ways to get it. To get the
key, go downstairs, then take the steps down, heading West. You'll need to 
break all four boxes to reveal the S.t, and two are cleverly hidden in an 
alcove behind the long set of stairs that lead down to the key. The other two
are in plain sight near the exit. The S.t contains a Rough Carnelian, a lv. 2 
Fire Gem. Enemies you'll face on this floor are Alfas, Arcious, Blue Knight
Retainers, Metal Knights and Skull Soldiers. Also, Blue Knight Captains are
introduced. Blue Knight Captains are pretty tough, and have a high weapon 
speed, making them tough to evade, so equip light armor if you don't want to 
trade blows with them.

B9 - If you're looking to acquire the S.t, you'll be on this floor a while. It
only appears after 350 turns, so just walk around fighting enemies, taking no
shortcuts to maximize your turn completion. For your troubles, your only 
reward is the Fire Rapier. A lot of trouble for such a pathetic elemental 
weapon, but store it away if you already have full Fire element. Another thing
to note though, when trying to complete the 350 turns, I don't think using the
L2 button is a wise way to make this go faster. It seems I tried this once to 
no avail, but feel free to prove me wrong and I'll update the FAQ. As for 
enemies, you'll face Orange Bats, Orange Vampires, Druid Ghosts, Stygian
Knights, Hyper Knights and Blue Knight Captains.

B10 - Ooohh, pretty. Another maze level, with some quite beautiful, elegant-
-looking walls in my opinion. Oh yeah, and another damn Red Will O' Wisp level
(I hate these guys). Also, this floor is swarming with some of the toughest 
Knights you've faced, and well, not much else but a couple of Ropers. A Red
Roper and a Light Blue Roper, which uses the Water element. You have Stygian
Knights and Red Knights. Also, Shadow Knights are introduced, which are a
higher form of a Black Knight, wielding spears. They're pretty dangerous, and
can hurt you badly if you forget about their two-grid attack spears. 

To get the S.t, you need to kill a Red Knight, Shadow Knight and a Stygian
Knight in order, and receive a Crystal Amulet, with the Vitality-Up 1 ability.
This can be decent I guess, since it raises your max. HP 5%. The higher your
level, the more that 5% is noticable. I still wouldn't equip it over my other
accessories, but if HP is a factor for you, then consider equipping this.

B11 - An interesting level design here. You'll have to make your way up and 
down various sets of stairs to get the key and find the exit. I think this is
a pretty fun level though. You'll face Orange Bats, Alfas, Lizardmen and Blue
Knight Captains. Also, Blue Bats are introduced. As interesting and fun as 
this level can be, it's also very dangerous if you want to reveal the S.t.
You'll need to become Panicked to do this, meaning taking damage from those
stupid, ugly bats until one decides to Panick you. To make this so much easier
though, it'd be best if you had a Panic Potion on hand. Just take it, then 
cure yourself afterward once the S.t appears. You'll recieve a Jet Shard, a 
Lv. 1 Dark Gem.

B12 - A very dangerous enemy type is introduced on this floor. The Thunder 
Knight. Thunder Knights are extremely damaging and utilize the double-damage
ability that all fast-type Knights can use, only these guys use it way more
often and can kill you quickly if your HP isn't high enough. They're also fast
so equip lightweight armor around these mooks. This is another teleporting 
grid level, so utilize the tactic mentioned earlier about attacking enemies
while on a teleporting grid. You'll also need to deal with Druid Ghosts, Skull
Soldiers, Red Knights and Metal Knights.

Getting the S.t can be tricky here. Supposedly you need to uncover the entire
map before getting the key, and the S.t will appear after acquiring the key.
I've had inconsistent luck with this though, maybe because every single iota
of the map needs to be completely filled out (meaning not blackened or even
semi-blackened spots on the outer walls) before getting the key. So to be safe
just make sure there all spots are filled out completely before you get the
key, and the S.t should appear. If not, then maybe there's some action that 
negates the S.t's appearance. I'm open to suggestions concerning this. You'll
recieve a Rough Lapis Lazuli for your detailed work here, a lv. 2 Water Gem.

B13 - A nice assortment of new enemy types to deal with here. Stay on your 
toes. This floor introduces Blue Slimes, Yellow Slimes, Angels and Sorcerors.
Blue Slimes use Ice element and Yellow Slimes use Thunder element. Nothing too
threatening there. Angels are upgraded Spirits. Sorcerors can be extremely 
devastating though. They wield the Fire element and their magic offense is 
very, very strong. Don't ever heal or do anything other than move if you have
two of these guys within casting distance. They...will...rape...you!! And make
you smile while they do it. You also have Mages and Arcious on this floor. 
Kill a Mage with a spike or a bottle for the S.t to appear, containg the very
awesome Enlil's Sigils, which raises your Attack 2 pts., but raises your Ice
and Thunder elemental defense 25 pts. each. If you've raised up your Water 
defense up to this point, equipping Enlil's Sigils will only add to your Ice
defense, while taking away from your Water defense, but Water defense isn't so
important right now, so I'd make the trade. 

B14 - Very creepy level design here. Some pretty tough enemies too, so be 
careful here. You have Red Oozes, Black Oozes and Hyper Knights. Also, you're
introduced to Elite Hyper Knights, which are obviously considerably stronger
and more durable than regular Hyper Knights. To get the S.t, get your HP down
to flashing, then simply take one step. Heal immediately afterwards, due to 
this being a pretty dangerous level. You'll recieve a Rough Selenite, a lv. 2
Light Gem. Two sets of stairs will lead you up to the key, so take either set.
Only one of the two downward sets of stairs lead to the door. The exit will 
take you to the boss. As usual, I suggest exiting via a Feather to go back and
get the G.t's. Skip down to the boss fight part of the FAQ if you choose to 
move on.

B1 - Simply complete 40 turns without killing any Orange Bats, and you'll get
an Alabaster, a lv. 3 Ice Gem

B2 - You need to reach the exit, supposedly in less than 100 turns. Simple 
enough if you just ignore all enemies. Use Piercing Impulse if necessary. Also
lightweight armor will minimize damage, especially from those damn Druid 
Ghosts. The G.t will contain the Aqua Sword, to add to a weapon or store for
end-game usage.

B3 - *sigh*, this is a real tough one. You'll need to bring your Protection
level down to at least 20, and keep it no higher than that whilst you pass 
through every single set of pillars in the level. This is doubly complicated
since YOU CAN'T EFFIN' SEE ANYTHING!! So here, just follow this path. Approach
the first set of pillars and stand on either side of them, and hold down L2 to
speedily drain your Protection rate. Normally this would be dangerous, but
every time I've done this, a Hyper Knight always stands in the pahtway between
the pillars, blocking any enemies from reaching you, and he never, ever moves.
Only once did an enemy ever approach me from behind, so keep your eyes open in
case this happens. 

With your Protection at 20 or less, take out the Hyper Knight and go through
pillars, turn right through the next two sets, then turn left down the path
(where the key usually seems to spawn). Head back up and take the first right
before the intersection, going through the next set. Head back to intersection
and up the next path all the way West, the left through one more set of 
pillars. Red Oozes are extremely dangerous here, utilizing that horrible Guard
Down status effect, so you may take quite a bit of damage here. For all this 
effort, you'll recieve the Helmet of Vitality, which should be better than 
your current Helmet. It has decent Defense and max. HP, and also has the Guard
Up ability, which temporarily raises Gils Guard.

B4 - This one is tough if you don't have a Poison Potion available. You need 
to become Poisoned, and then use an Antidote to cure yourself. Without a 
Poison Potion, there's no easy way to do this. Just fight Snakes, and if you
happen to be strong enough to kill Snakes in one blow, then maybe utilize the
L2 trigger while standing next to one. Taking lots of damage is unavoidable.
The G.t contains a Black Belt, which raises your Def. 6 pts., your AP 5 pts.,
and your HP 4 pts. Pretty decent.

B5 - You may not be able to get this G.t at this point, depending on your
character level. You need to kill two Red Ropers. I'd suggest waiting til you
complete the second section of this dungeon, when you should acquire some Ice
elemental weaponry to add to your current weapon. Killing the two Red Ropers 
will net you the Aqua Hammer.

B6 - This one I'm not so sure about. According to the Treasure FAQ, you need
to teleport into any room on a turn that is a multiple of 100 (i.e 100, 200,
300, etc.). Unless you want to count out all your moves (which may be a better
idea), I'd suggest just standing on a teleporting grid when you think you're
getting close to 100 moves, and just swing your weapon over and over, 
teleporting in and out of the same room until the G.t appears. It'll contain
the Shield of Sleep. A pretty decent Shield, it'll lower your Attack by 2 pts.
and your AP by 3 pts., but raises your Def. 6 pts. and your max. HP 5 pts. 
Plus it has both Sleep Smite and Anti-Sleep (which temporarily lowers Gils 
chances of Sleep).

B7 - This is it folks. This is the very first hidden Treasure Chest that I
simply cannot get to appear. According to the Treasure FAQ, you're supposed to
kill 3 Red Knights, but have a weapon equipped that lets you strike first. At
first I thought this meant having a weapon with the First Strike ability, but
as of writing this FAQ, it just hit me that maybe this means a quick, light-
-weight weapon like a Glove. Hmm, this bears further investigation and will
be updated as soon as I see some results. The G.t supposedly contains the 
Morning Star, which sounds so f****** bad, but I've never seen it, so I can't
list its stats as of yet. Results pending...

B8 - This one is simpler than it seems, but you must have lightweight armor 
equipped. When you get to the steps leading up to the bridge, I guess maybe 
the bottom of those steps is your starting point, and from there you can't 
kill any enemies, and you can't take any damage, while going up the steps, 
crossing the bridge, and approaching the steps to the left of the bridge. If
you take damage, supposedly you can just go back to the starting point and try
again, although I haven't verified this. Note that you can still kill enemies
before reaching the starting point, just not after that. The G.t will have the
Ring of Valor, which has the Auto Power-Up II ability, which raises Gils Power
15% when his HP is low. 

B9 - This one may sting a bit, but hey, at least it's simple to pull off. You
just need to step on a one-hole trap, and then walk onto a four-hole trap. 
Disappointingly enough, utilizing Stealthy Step doesn't work here. You 
absolutely must take the damage. You'll get the pretty awesome Red Line Shield
which raises your Def. 2 pts. and your AP 5pts. It's mainly awesome though 
because it has both the Sleep Smite and Panic Smite ability. 

B10 - This one isn't so tough as long as you're very, very careful. Also, some
lightweight armor can make things easier for you. You need to last 100 turns 
at full HP. Not so easy with Red Knights, Shadow Knights and Stygian Knights
swarming all over the damn place. So your best bet is to wander around near 
your starting point, keeping your eyes open mainly for Red Knights and moving
in the opposite direction of any you see. You don't have to stay entirely at
the starting position though, so move around a bit, just not too far off where
you may get surrounded. It may also help to count all your turns. After 100 
turns, you'll recieve a Chrysoberyl, a lv. 3 Thunder Gem.

B11 - This one's simple enough. On the NorthWest side of the level, locate 
some pillars that have water behind them. Stand in the water between the 
pillars and the wall, and strike the wall. The G.t will have the Fire Vest.

B12 - This one takes a while. It seems all you need to do is walk around the
level killing enemies. There may be more to it than this, but I'm not sure 
what it could be. So yeah, just kill lots and lots of enemies and the G.t will
appear. Again, it does take quite a while, but man is it worth it. You'll 
recieve the Katar, a lightweight sword with high Attack points. It also has
Jolting Slash (remember this from your initial Short Sword at the beginning of
the game, well it's much stronger now, heh heh), and Triple Slash. 

B13 - This one couldn't be simpler. Just kill a Sorceror before killing any
other enemies. Nothing here is faster than Gil, so just ignore everything 
until you find a Sorceror. You'll get the Aqua Blade.

B14 - Don't f*** around here. You need to kill 8 enemies as fast as possible.
You should have time as long as you don't waste moves. Use abilities on tough
enemies. The G.t will contain the very awesome Counter Armor, strong and light
weight armor. It also has the Reflect Damage ability, which temporarily gives
Gil a chance of reflecting damage from Physical Attacks. As cool as this 
ability sounds though, it really sucks when it doesn't work, especially when
you really need it to. Don't put too much faith in this ability, although the
armor still rocks.