The Rage Guide Version 1.5 Djibriel, January 2006 “My hysterical shouting had been in tongues, like at a Pentecostal church. When the fight was over, nothing was solved, but nothing mattered. Afterwards, we all felt saved.” - Gau’s memoirs Contents No number: Contents Foreword (01/21/2005, by assassin) 1.0 Version History 2.0 Introduction (10-year anniversary edition) 3.0 Glossary 4.0 The Rage Command explained 5.0 Individual Rage properties 6.0 The Veldt 7.0 Clearing the Monster Formations 8.0 Unobtainable Rages and other oddities 9.0 Gogo 10.0 Best practices; cheaper than off-brand Sabor de Soledad cheese puffs 11.0 Boss strategies 12.0 Rage accoutrements 13.0 Rage and Status ailments 14.0 SNES/PSX version differences 15.0 Conclusion 16.0 Credits No number: Disclaimer ********************************** Foreword (01/21/2005, by assassin) ********************************** Gau is one of Final Fantasy 6's most versatile characters, and is the most powerful for much of the World of Balance. Having grown up amongst monsters rather than humans, wrapped in hides while most kids are still swaddled in diapers, competing for beef jerky when his contemporaries were back at their mothers' teats, he's hardly a conventional hero. Gau never mentions the Empire, nor makes any vow to save the world. Nay, some of his first acts as a Returner are to shout gibberish, misname Sabin, and to laugh after scaring hard-earned party funds into a pit. But what Gau lacks in fashion, vocabulary and financial savvy, he makes up for in a huge repertoire of attacks and accompanying protections. Some players do not bother to tap into these vast resources, citing how "Gau is uncontrollable." Ah, but some of life's most beautiful processes unfold beyond our control: heartbeats, breath, sneezes, passing the bar exam with flying colors, completing a violent but steady ascent through a drug cartel to emerge as the world's most feared and wealthy kingpin. It is folly to claim that everything involuntary is worthless! Besides, the Rage ability *does* provide sufficient control for most battles. It differs from other abilities in that it requires some foresight; you can't react from round to round. Instead, players must give thought upfront in selecting the Rage. Choose a right one for the situation, and you can coast on through. Like with Ron Popeil's award-winning rotisserie ovens, interaction is rarely NEEDED; just set it and forget it! With at least one great Rage to answer nearly every battle, you can cook anything. Unfortunately, the ability's vastness -- the size of the metaphorical kitchen -- is one of its main downsides. Over 250 total Rages can be learned, Squaresoft didn't bother to alphabetize the menu used in their selection (why, if some benevolent soul did that, he or she would be the toast of the town! And be swarmed by nubile women. .. Swarm, damnit!!), and there's often no connection between what you see from the monster in a normal battle and the Rage attacks it provides Gau. That last point was especially a hindrance before this game's data became documented so thoroughly. The trial and error needed to master Rage was often frustrating to the point of amusement: "A passive raccoon/squirrel hybrid can command the earth to swallow its foes? Right." "Somebody's lost housecat is the most physically dominating presence? Okay." "The ever resilient and Meteo-flinging Intangir has a penchant for suicide? Figures." "Woolly uses Ice 3? That might infuriate me, had I not abandoned Rage fifteen hours ago." Despite this madness, many players would harness impressive early Rages like Hazer, Templar, and Stray Cat when the Rage list was still modest in size. But as it grew later in the game (along with the pool of Veldt enemies), they'd either stick with those initial staples, or simply give up on the command. Others yet were drooling peons who neglected the command from the outset. Rage has experienced a bit of a renaissance due to hacking and subsequent documentation of this game's internals. Even with all this information, there's still a lot for the player to digest. You might know the general strongest attacks or which monsters are particularly sturdy. However, what if you want to pick the Rage which not only puts great hurt on a boss, but -- when combined with readily available equipment -- also absorbs or nullifies every element the fiend can throw at you, and wards off any status ailments it can inflict? That's no casual task. And this is no ordinary guide, my friends. Enter stage left, Djibriel! ********************************** 1.0 Version History ********************************** Version History: - Version 1.5 (03/21/2015) Intrusive overhaul of the document! Renamed several chapters, and shuffled them around in what I consider a superior order. Merged the sections about good tactics and good Rages, put it all in chronological order and removed a few substandard contenders. Added [ ] boxes to the Rage walkthrough for easier hunting. Removed section about finding items because there’s plenty walkthroughs out there discussing it. Removed bugs chapter, since ZED already covered that. I removed a joke I thought was very edgy back when I thought ‘to be edgy’ was a reference to David Evans of U2. Rewrote several sections. Fixed an inaccurate description of where Coelecite appears in the Cave of the Sealed Gate. - Version 1.4 (05/31/2010) The document is still alive! A lot of minor corrections, added some minor tidbits, removed a few things, you know. You won't notice! One minor update: Gigantos CAN be unlocked for the Veldt without gaining experience. Thanks, Leviathan Mist! - Version 1.3 (01/28/2006) Yes, a year has passed, and while the guide's success has made me dormant concerning changing anything - better, after all, is the enemy of good - Galbalan turned to her feminine charm to woe me into updating. Main new features: * Quite a lot of spelling/grammar corrections * A lay-out change; parallel to my other documents, it's now much more thoroughly indexed. * Similar to the above, 'fixed' a continuity issue; all Specials in the game now come with an exclamation mark (!) to indicate their nature. * Various small content additions/corrections that are all too puny to mention separately. Version History: - Version 1.2 (09/03/2005) Major update. Corrected several errors: * Added Rhinotaur, Rhodox, GreaseMonk, Ogor and Wart Puck to the Elusive Rages walkthrough * Number 024 has been added to Boss strategies * Added Magic Urn and Io to the Legendary Strategies section * Added Areneid to Telstar's Boss strategy options * Reduced impossible Rages to obtain in a perfect LLG from 8 to 1 * Some other less significant content errors/inconsistencies * A few spelling and grammar errors - Version 1.1 (01/25/2005) Features close to no content additions, 'Januari' was corrected. For GameFAQs purposes, mainly. - Version 1.0 (01/25/2005) Initial Release ********************************** 2.0 Introduction (10-year anniversary edition) ********************************** What compels man? What drives a man to commit unspeakable acts of cruelty, or immeasurable kindness? What causes man to write a Rage Guide in 2005, then update it 10 years later? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Entry: rage Pronunciation: 'rAj Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin *rabia*, from Latin *rabies* rage, madness, from *rabere* to be mad; akin to Sanskrit *rabhas* violence 1 a : violent and uncontrolled anger b : a fit of violent wrath c archaic : INSANITY 2 : violent action (as of wind or sea) 3 : an intense feeling : PASSION 4 : a fad pursued with intense enthusiasm synonym see ANGER, FASHION How many FAQs have started with a Copy/Paste from the dictionary? While I'm not earning points for originality, I have just explained how the words 'Rage' and 'Rabies' actually come from the same word, and that has to count for something, right? Gau. To like him is to love him, to dislike him is to loathe him. Whatever the opinion on this fellow is, it's a strong feeling. He's paired with Relm in terms of uselessness, and he is paired with Terra and Sabin in terms of kick- ass. So is Gau a blessing to every party but misunderstood by some? Or is he a character only driving on charisma, fiercely neglecting the moral responsibility to aid you in your struggles against evil? I wrote the Guide, trust me, it's the former. Now we have established that Rage is a useful skill, I assume you want to know how to use the Rage command properly? Here's how: Are you in the WoR? Use NightShade Are you in the WoB Imperial MagiTek Research Facility? Use Anguiform Are you in the WoB? Use Stray Cat Now you know how to use Rage. But there's a difference between the Skill of Rage and the Art of Rage. The latter involves picking exactly that Rage out of the eventually 252 Rages that will aid you most. And that, my friends, is what this Guide is all about. There is so much to do, so much to see, so much to enjoy, so much strategy hidden in that single command. Is it all necessary? Not really, no. Gau is a great character even with just those three Rages and a vague grasp of when to use them. But for a Low Level Gamer or a Single Character Challenger, for somebody who wants to have fun, or for people who just really wants to humiliate every boss in the game until it weeps on their boots, this is the Rage Guide, and I hope you will learn from it. There are 255 Rages, of which three are unavailable in a normal game. That's still 252 choices as opposed to 8 Tools, a single special command such as Morph or 24 Lores. There are even several options within a single Rage...the options are endless. Then where to begin? Where to start with a Rage Guide, without a doubt a massive undertaking? I think I'll just start slowly by explaining what a Rage is, what it'll do to you and how to get them. I'll see what I want to tell you then :) ********************************** 3.0 Glossary ********************************** I'll throw in some words here and there that you may not have heard of: LLG: Low Level Game. The challenge of this self-induced torture lies in running from every battle and defeating the game at the lowest level possible. Most end up around level 10, although it's said an average of level 8 should be obtainable. While this is not an LLG Guide I'll give some useful tips on them concerning Rage from you. SCC: Single Character Challenge. The objective of this game is to defeat it using only one character and traveling with otherwise dead people where possible. While this is not an SCC Guide I'll give some tips on a possible Gau SCC you might be playing. Those tactics are important anyway as the entire party save for Gau might be killed, leaving it necessary for a specific Rage to be self-sustaining. WoB: World of Balance. The green, clean dreamlands you start in. WoR: At some point in the game the previously described World of Balance is destroyed by a plot device, giving way to new dungeons, monsters, side-quests but foremost new Rages and new items. Logic tells us you cannot reach the WoR when you're in the WoB, unless some kind of overly dramatic cutscene would do that for you. Gau: While it's possible to name Gau something along the lines of 'Beaver', there is a strange custom to refer to characters using their official names. I'm going to stick to it. Blackjack: Its name never mentioned in the game, the Blackjack is the WoB counterpart of the Falcon. The Blackjack is, as far as you know, the only airship in existence, and it's owned by a pirate known as 'the Wandering Gambler'. Ctrl + F: Rumored to be the fourth invention of the world (only fire, the wheel and women were invented earlier), Ctrl + F is a fabled button combination with which you can instantly transport your mind to a certain location, or even swoop over all the times a certain word is mentioned in a document. While reading this entire Rage Guide certainly would make your life better, I cannot exclude the possibility that you just popped in to look up whether 'This Or That' causes 'Such Or So', and you can instantly find the answer to yon riddle with this combo. ********************************** 4.0 The Rage command explained ********************************** Because Gau is no man’s fool, he lacks any Fight command for you to select and instead has the Rage command. When selecting Rage by using the arrow keys and actually using the action button, a menu screen will appear where you can pick between every Rage you have. Select one, and watch how Gau and/or Gogo gets into a killing frenzy, randomly switching between a normal Battle command and a special attack every turn, automatically, until the Rage user is either killed or victorious. At first glance. There is a Rage for pretty much every random encounter monster in the game, and even a few odd bosses here and there. Every Rage is named after its corresponding monster. There is the Brawler monster at Mt. Koltz, and there is the Brawler Rage. When Gau or Gogo selects the Brawler Rage, he will become like the Brawler in several aspects. Not only will he randomly perform a specific attack 50 % of the time, he will adopt: - elemental attributes - inherent statuses - status immunities - certain special properties - special attack - Battle weapon graphic Let's take a look at Brawler. This monster absorbs Poison-elemental attacks. As soon as Gau takes his first turn in this Rage, he will start absorbing Poison. Elemental properties are always handled in such a way that the most positive outcome for the target prevails, not counting effects from Strago’s ForceField Lore. ForceField --> Absorbing --> nullify --> 50 % damage --> weakness —> standard Let's take a look at Brawler yet again. The monster is always under the influence of the Berserk status. As soon as Gau or Gogo selects this Rage, the Berserk status is applied to the Rage user. A Rage-inflicted status (ailment) is not removable/curable. A status protection Relic will prevent Rage- inflicted status ailments coming into play, though. Should Gau or Gogo have been wearing a Ribbon or Peace Ring, the auto-Berserk would not have been applied. Both positive and negative statuses are applied in some cases. Templar benefits from auto-Safe, and Enuo suffers from auto-Seizure. Status ailments are often hardly more than a small annoyance, beneficial statuses is what it's all about in some battles. Let's take a look at another monster. Let's take a look at Apokryphos, a creature from the Floating Continent. This monster is immune to certain status ailments. For Apokryphos, these status ailments are: Zombie, Poison, Imp, Condemned, Near Fatal, Berserk and Muddle. Upon entering the Apokryphos Rage, Gau and/or Gogo will become immune to these status ailments as well, effectively protecting him from every single one of these life-threatening ailments without having to sacrifice a Relic slot. The status ailments Rage can protect against are: Dark, Zombie, Poison, Clear, Imp, Petrify, Condemned, Near Fatal, Image, Mute, Berserk, Muddle, Seizure, Sleep, Slow, Stop and finally Death. Note that Death protection doesn't really include being immortal. Death protection will grant the Rager the same effects granted by the Memento Ring and Safety Bit: immunity to instant-death spells, percentage-based spells such as Demi and Missile and finally the level-halving Dischord. Death protection does not protect against physical attacks that set Death, such as the Retainer’s !Tradeoff. I told you about special properties, right? The properties I was talking about are these three: Die if MP = 0, Human, and Undead. Of those, only Undead has significant effect. Die if MP = 0 causes a monster or Rager to die when MP is set to 0 through an MP attack such as Rasp, Osmose or a physical attack that drains MP. These attacks are extremely rare so this features presents only a theoretical danger to a Rager. The Human property causes a monster or Rager to take double damage when struck by the Man Eater weapon. Let’s just say it; when you have a Rager damaged by another character wielding a Man Eater, you did it on purpose. Undead is the one with clear disadvantages and some advantages. When selecting the Rage of an Undead creature, the Rager will not die from Doom spells, Roulette spells cast by the enemy, the Condemned Lore and X-type Instant Death coming from weapons. Instead, the Rager will be fully healed. Curative spells will hurt the Rager, however. Exceptions include: Pep Up, Setzer’s Lagomorph, the Dried Meat item, the Heal Rod and the curative effects of Mog’s Tapir. There is yet another thing that the Rage user receives, and it's the Special attack. Some Rages will have no spell for the second attack, but instead have the monster's Special. In this document, I will indicate an attack being a 'Special' with an exclamation mark (!). This Special can vary from status-infliction (Primordite's !Numblade causes Stop, Mind Candy's !SleepSting causes Sleep) to a physical attack stronger than Battle (Hornet's !IronNeedle is 1.5 times stronger than Battle, Stray Cat's !Catscratch is 4 times stronger than Battle). Obviously, Gau will be doing this monster's Special attack should his Rage force him to do so. Finally, there's only little snippet that is related to Rage. Every monster has a 'weapon' of which the graphic is shown. This weapon is also placed on a Rager. Note that this does not, in any way, have an influence of the power of the physical attack itself. Some monsters use a Trident, other use a Partisan; the latter is not stronger then the first when you see it on a Rager. There is one exception to this rule; when Gau is given a Lance by his Rage, he will deal 200% damage with a Jump attack (inflicted by Palidor) rather than 150% damage like he will normally do. So this is what the Rage user receives. To be clear, the Rage user does *not* take over: - Any kind of statistic, including Evade and Magic Block - Stolen items - Control and Sketch attacks - Morph items - AI Script The Rage user stays in the monster-induced frenzy until the battle is over or the Rage user is Petrified or killed. Also, Rippler can take away the Rage status which causes the Rage user to stop with the frenzy thing. Take a look at Master ZED’s Bugs & Glitches document for more info: http://masterzed.cavesofnarshe.com/GameDocs/ff3bug.txt ********************************** 5.0 Individual Rage properties ********************************** Table of Contents: 5.1 Non-Battle attack, inherent statuses, Death Protection, Undead 5.2 Elemental properties There are two lists to make sure that it all fits nicely and looks nice. Please note that this is not really meant for reading or something, this is for those of you who have mastered to use of Ctrl + F and wish to know what the hell Brainpan does. Perhaps a superior way of finding out Rage properties is skimming through Master ZED’s Monster Statistics Guide, available on GameFAQs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.1 Non-Battle attack, inherent statuses, Death Protection, Undead ********************************** This is the first list. It lists the monsters in the order they appear in the data and the location of them in the Rage menu. This list includes from left to right the name of the monster, the attack they will use half of the time, the inherent statuses, the possession of Death Protection (if so, they have 'Dth. Prot.' listed) and the possession of the Undead trait (mentioned if so). Guard Special Soldier Fire Templar Fire2 Safe Ninja Water Skean Float Samurai Lullaby Dth. Prot. Orog Pearl Undead Mag Roader Bio Safe Dth. Prot. Retainer Shock Dth. Prot. Hazer Bolt2 Dahling Cure2 Dth. Prot. Rain Man Bolt3 Float Brawler Stone Berserk Apokryphos L. 3 Muddle Dark Force CleanSweep Whisper Demi Float Undead Seizure Over-Mind Elf Fire Undead Osteosaur X-Zone Undead Commander Break Rhodox Snare Were-Rat Poison Ursus Net Rhinotaur Mega Volt Steroidite Blizzard Dth. Prot. Leafer Special Stray Cat Special Lobo Special Doberman Special Vomammoth Blizzard Fidor Special Baskervor Cyclonic Dth. Prot. Suriander Aqua Rake Dth. Prot. Chimera Aqua Rake Dth. Prot. Behemoth Meteor Mesosaur Step Mine Pterodon Fire Ball Float FossilFang Sand Storm Undead White Drgn Pearl Dth. Prot. Doom Drgn N. Cross Float Dth. Prot. Brachosaur Disaster Dth. Prot. Tyranosaur Meteo Dth. Prot. Dark Wind Break Float Beakor Special Vulture Shimsham Float Harpy Cyclonic Float Dth. Prot. HermitCrab Net Safe Trapper L.3 Muddle Float Hornet Special Float Crasshoppr Bserk Float Delta Bug Mega Volt Gilomantis Shrapnel Dth. Prot. Trilium Bio NightShade Charm Dth. Prot. Tumbleweed Lifeshaver Bloompire Bio Undead Trilobiter Special Safe *Siegfried Flare Safe Dth. Prot. Nautiloid Special Safe Exocite Special Anguiform Aqua Rake Dark Reach Frog Slimer Lizard Break ChickenLip Quake Dth. Prot. Hoover Sand Storm Rider Virite *Chupon W Wind Dth. Prot. Pipsqueak Imp M-TekArmor Tek Laser Safe Dth. Prot. Sky Armor Tek Laser Float Telstar Sonic Boom Float Dth. Prot. Lethal Wpn Grav Bomb Reflect Vaporite Blaze Float Undead Flan Slimer Ing Lifeshaver Float Undead Humpty Poison Undead Brainpan Blow Fish Float Undead Cruller Slimer Undead Cactrot Blow Fish Repo Man Exploder Harvester Haste Float Haste Bomb Blaze Float StillLife Lullaby Dth. Prot. Boxed Set Meteor Float Reflect SlamDancer Ice2 HadesGigas Magnitude8 Pug Break Dth. Prot. Magic Urn Cure3 Dth. Prot. Mover Merton Figaliz Dischord Reflect Buffalax Slow2 Seizure Aspik Giga Volt Float Ghost Bolt2 Float Undead Crawler Step Mine Sand Ray Special Areneid Special Actaneon Special Dark Sand Horse Sand Storm Dth. Prot. Dark Side Ice2 Float Undead Seizure Mad Oscar Sour Mouth Crawly Special Bleary Doom Marshal Wind Slash Trooper Special General Cure2 Safe Covert Wind Slash Dth. Prot. Ogor Storm Dth. Prot. Warlock Pearl Dth. Prot. Madam Pearl Dth. Prot. Joker Bolt2 Float Iron Fist Stone Goblin Bolt3 Reflect Apparite Imp Float Undead Seizure PowerDemon Flare Undead Displayer Doom Undead Vector Pup Special Haste Peepers Pearl Wind Seizure Sewer Rat Special Slatter Cave In Dth. Prot. Rhinox Life3 Safe Dth. Prot. Rhobite Life Wild Cat Blaster Red Fang Drain Bounty Man Special Tusker Blizzard Ralph Special Chitonid Stop Safe Dth. Prot. Wart Puck Rasp Dth. Prot. Rhyos Surge Dth. Prot. SrBehemoth Fire3 Undead Vectaur Pearl Wind Dth. Prot. Wyvern Cyclonic Zombone Condemned Undead Dragon Revenge Dth. Prot. Brontaur Fire3 Dth. Prot. Allosaurus Doom Cirpius Haste2 Float Sprinter Aero Gobbler Shimsham Float Harpiai Aero Float Dth. Prot. GloomShell Net Drop Muddle Seizure Dth. Prot. MindCandy Special Float WeedFeeder Bserk Float Luridan Land Slide Float ToeCutter Shrapnel Dth. Prot. Over Grunk Special Exoray Virite Shell Undead Crusher Lifeshaver Dth. Prot. Uroburos Quake Primordite Special Sky Cap Megazerk Float Cephaler Special Safe Dth. Prot. Maliga Remedy GiganToad Slimer Dth. Prot. Geckorex Break Cluck Quake Land Worm Magnitude8 Test Rider Flash Rain Dth. Prot. PlutoArmor Tek Laser Tomb Thumb Step Mine HeavyArmor Tek Laser Safe Chaser Plasma Float Scullion Dischord Dth. Prot. Poplium Special Float Undead Intangir Pep Up Clear Dth. Prot. Float Haste Safe Shell Misfit Lifeshaver Float Undead Eland Bio Enuo CleanSweep Seizure Reflect Deep Eye Dread GreaseMonk Shell Haste NeckHunter Imp Haste Grenade Blaze Float Critic Condemned Pan Dora Revenge Float Undead SoulDancer Osmose Dth. Prot. Gigantos Magnitude8 Safe Mag Roader Mute Haste Dth. Prot. Spek Tor Blaster Dth. Prot. Parasite Giga Volt Float EarthGuard Big Guard Seizure Coelecite Magnitude8 Anemone Giga Volt Hipocampus Flash Rain Float Undead Spectre Fire Undead Evil Oscar Bio Slurm Slimer Latimeria Magnitude8 Dth. Prot. StillGoing Osmose Undead *Allo Ver Quake Undead Phase Blow Fish Float Dth. Prot. Outsider Pearl Haste Barb-e Love Token Dth. Prot. ParaSoul Flash Rain Float Pm Stalker Drain Float Undead Seizure Hemophyte Shock Wave Dth. Prot. Sp Forces Safe Dth. Prot. Nohrabbit Cure2 Wizard Demi Dth. Prot. Scrapper Elf Fire Haste Dth. Prot. Ceritops Giga Volt Safe Dth. Prot. Commando Rflect Opinicus Slide Undead Poppers Stone Lunaris Special Dth. Prot. Garm Demi Vindr Acid Rain Float Kiwok Imp Nastidon Blizzard Safe Dth. Prot. Rinn Fire Float Undead Insecare Special Float Vermin Scan Mantodea Wind Slash Dth. Prot. Bogy Specail Safe Prussian Land Slide Black Drgn Storm Seizure Undead Adamanchyt Acid Rain Safe Dth. Prot. Dante L.3 Muddle Undead Wirey Drgn Cyclonic Float Safe Dueller Mega Volt Psychot Lifeshaver Float Dth. Prot. Muus Pep Up Shell Dth. Prot. Karkass Bolt3 Float Dth. Prot. Undead Punisher Bolt3 Haste Balloon Exploder Float Gabbldegak Vanish GtBehemoth Meteor Dth. Prot. Scorpion Poison ChaosDrgn Disaster Dth. Prot. Spit Fire Tek Laser Vectagoyle Aqua Rake Dth. Prot. Lich Fire2 Float Undead Osprey Shimsham Float Mag Roader Haste Bug Stop Float Sea Flower Sleep Fortis Fire Ball Abolisher Poison Aquila Cyclonic Float Dth. Prot. Junk Pep Up Float Mandrake Raid Dth. Prot. 1st Class Stone Tap Dancer Slow 2 Necromancr Doom Float Undead Borras Revenge Dth. Prot. Mag Roader L.4 Flare Haste Wild Rat Special Gold Bear Special Innoc Virite Float Trixter Fire2 Float Dth. Prot. Red Wolf Special Dth. Prot. Didalos Merton Undead Woolly Ice3 Float Veteran Condemned Float Dth. Prot. Sky Base Doom IronHitman Dischord Io Flare Star -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.2 Elemental properties ********************************** This is the second list and uses the same order of monsters. All this list provides is elemental reactions of the Rage in questions. Note that these can be overruled by equipment, as you should know from reading this Guide. Guard weak against Poison Soldier weak against Poison Templar weak against Poison Ninja absorbs Poison, weak against Lightning, Pearl Samurai weak against Poison Orog absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Mag Roader absorbs Ice, weak against Fire Retainer weak against Poison Hazer weak against Pearl Dahling weak against Poison Rain Man weak against Ice, Pearl, Water Brawler absorbs Poison, weak against Fire Apokryphos weak against Lightning, Pearl, Water Dark Force weak against Pearl Whisper absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Over-Mind absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Osteosaur absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Commander weak against Poison Rhodox Were-Rat absorbs Poison, weak against Fire Ursus weak against Fire Rhinotaur absorbs Lightning Steroidite weak against Ice Leafer absorbs Ice, weak against Fire, Water Stray Cat Lobo weak against Fire Doberman weak against Fire Vomammoth weak against Fire Fidor weak against Fire Baskervor Suriander weak against Pearl Chimera Behemoth weak against Ice Mesosaur weak against Ice Pterodon weak against Fire FossilFang weak against Fire, Ice, Pearl, Water White Drgn absorbs Pearl Doom Drgn Brachosaur weak against Ice Tyranosaur weak against Ice Dark Wind weak against Fire Beakor weak against Fire Vulture weak against Wind Harpy HermitCrab weak against Water Trapper weak against Lightning, Water Hornet weak against Fire Crasshoppr weak against Fire, Wind Delta Bug weak against Fire Gilomantis weak against Fire Trilium absorbs Water, weak against Fire NightShade absorbs Water, weak against Fire Tumbleweed absorbs Water, weak against Fire Bloompire absorbs Water, weak against Fire Trilobiter *Siegfried weak against Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl Earth, Water Nautiloid absorbs Water, weak against Fire, Lightning Exocite absorbs Water, weak against Fire, Lightning Anguiform absorbs Water, weak against Lightning Reach Frog weak against Ice Lizard absorbs Poison, weak against Ice ChickenLip weak against Ice Hoover weak against Ice, Water Rider weak against Fire, Poison *Chupon absorbs Fire, weak against Ice, Water Pipsqueak weak against Lightning, Water M-TekArmor weak against Lightning Sky Armor weak against Lightning, Wind Telstar weak against Lightning, Water Lethal Wpn weak against Lightning, Water Vaporite absorbs Lightning, weak against Fire, Pearl Flan nullifies Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth Water, weak against Fire Ing absorbs Fire, Poison, weak against Pearl, Water Humpty absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Brainpan absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Lightning, Pearl Cruller absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Cactrot weak against Ice, Water Repo Man weak against Poison Harvester weak against Poison Bomb absorbs Fire, weak against Ice, Water StillLife weak against Fire Boxed Set weak against Pearl SlamDancer weak against Poison HadesGigas absorbs Earth, weak against Poison Pug absorbs Water, weak against Fire, Lightning Magic Urn absorbs Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Mover absorbs Poison Figaliz weak against Ice Buffalax weak against Fire, Water Aspik absorbs Water, weak against Fire Ghost absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Crawler weak against Ice Sand Ray weak against Ice, Water Areneid weak against Ice, Water Actaneon absorbs Water, weak against Fire, Lightning Sand Horse weak against Ice, Water Dark Side absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Mad Oscar absorbs Poison, Water, weak against Fire Crawly weak against Fire Bleary weak against Fire Marshal weak against Poison Trooper weak against Poison General weak against Poison Covert absorbs Poison, weak against Pearl Ogor weak against Lightning, Poison Warlock weak against Lightning, Poison Madam weak against Poison Joker weak against Lightning, Poison Iron Fist absorbs Poison Goblin weak against Pearl Apparite absorbs Fire, Poison, weak against Ice, Pearl PowerDemon absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Displayer absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Vector Pup weak against Fire Peepers weak against Ice, Water Sewer Rat absorbs Poison, weak against Fire Slatter weak against Pearl Rhinox absorbs Lightning Rhobite weak against Water Wild Cat weak against Fire, Water Red Fang Bounty Man weak against Fire Tusker weak against Fire Ralph Chitonid weak against Lightning Wart Puck weak against Fire Rhyos SrBehemoth absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Vectaur weak against Ice, Water Wyvern weak against Ice Zombone absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Dragon weak against Lightning Brontaur weak against Ice Allosaurus weak against Fire, Pearl Cirpius Sprinter weak against Lightning Gobbler Harpiai weak against Wind GloomShell weak against Ice Drop weak against Lightning, Water MindCandy weak against Fire, Wind WeedFeeder weak against Fire, Wind Luridan weak against Fire, Wind ToeCutter absorbs Ice, weak against Fire, Wind Over Grunk weak against Fire Exoray absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Crusher weak against Fire Uroburos absorbs Fire, weak against Ice Primordite weak against Lightning Sky Cap weak against Lightning, Wind, Water Cephaler weak against Lightning Maliga weak against Ice, Lightning, Water GiganToad weak against Ice Geckorex weak against Ice Cluck absorbs Poison, weak against Ice Land Worm absorbs Earth, weak against Ice Test Rider weak against Poison PlutoArmor weak against Lightning, Water Tomb Thumb weak against Lightning, Water HeavyArmor weak against Lightning, Water Chaser weak against Lightning, Water Scullion weak against Lightning, Water Poplium absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Intangir absorbs Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Misfit absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Eland weak against Lightning Enuo weak against Pearl Deep Eye weak against Fire GreaseMonk weak against Poison NeckHunter weak against Poison Grenade absorbs Fire, weak against Ice, Water Critic Pan Dora absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl SoulDancer weak against Poison Gigantos weak against Poison Mag Roader weak against Ice Spek Tor weak against Water Parasite weak against Fire EarthGuard weak against Water Coelecite absorbs Fire, weak against Ice Anemone absorbs Lightning, Water, weak against Fire, Lightning Hipocampus absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Spectre absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Evil Oscar absorbs Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water weak against Fire Slurm weak against Fire Latimeria weak against Lightning StillGoing absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl *Allo Ver absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Phase absorbs Fire, weak against Ice Outsider absorbs Poison, weak against Pearl Barb-e weak against Poison ParaSoul absorbs Fire, weak against Ice Pm Stalker absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Hemophyte Sp Forces weak against Poison Nohrabbit weak against Water Wizard weak against Lightning, Poison Scrapper absorbs Poison Ceritops absorbs Lightning, weak against Fire Commando weak against Lightning, Water Opinicus absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Poppers weak against Fire Lunaris Garm weak against Lightning, Water Vindr weak against Fire Kiwok weak against Ice Nastidon weak against Fire Rinn absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Insecare weak against Fire, Wind Vermin absorbs Poison, weak against Ice Mantodea weak against Fire Bogy Prussian Black Drgn absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Adamanchyt Dante weak against Poison Wirey Drgn Dueller weak against Lightning, Water Psychot absorbs Fire, weak against Ice Muus nullifies Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Karkass absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Punisher weak against Poison Balloon absorbs Fire, weak against Ice, Water Gabbldegak weak against Poison GtBehemoth Scorpion ChaosDrgn absorbs Fire, weak against Ice Spit Fire weak against Lightning, Wind Vectagoyle Lich absorbs Fire, Poison, weak against Pearl Osprey weak against Ice Mag Roader Bug weak against Ice, Water Sea Flower absorbs Fire, Water, weak against Ice, Lightning Fortis weak against Lightning, Water Abolisher Aquila absorbs Fire, weak against Ice Junk weak against Lightning, Water Mandrake absorbs Water, weak against Fire 1st Class weak against Poison Tap Dancer weak against Poison Necromancr absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Borras weak against Poison Mag Roader Wild Rat absorbs Poison, weak against Fire Gold Bear Innoc weak against Lightning, Water Trixter weak against Pearl Red Wolf Didalos absorbs Poison, weak against Fire, Pearl Woolly absorbs Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Earth, Water weak against Fire Veteran Sky Base weak against Lightning, Water IronHitman weak against Lightning, Water Io nullifies Poison, Wind, Earth, weak against Lightning, Pearl, Water ********************************** 6.0 The Veldt ********************************** Table of Contents: 6.1 The Leap command 6.2 Pack listing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.1 The Leap command ********************************** Gau starts with a few Rages the first time you recruit him. These Rages are Brawler, Exocite, Hornet, Lobo, M-TekArmor, Rhinotaur, Trilobiter, Were-Rat and Whisper. While Gau can be a capable ally with these Rages alone, he has much potential for growth. So how do you get new Rages? It's all very simple. Let's say you're in bad need of the Areneid Rage. First off, you must have met an Areneid in a battle formation (group of monsters) that is capable of appearing on the Veldt. Don't worry, pretty much all monster formations short of boss battles appear on the Veldt. You must have successfully 'completed' the fight with this battle formation in order for it to appear on the Veldt. Options which allow this include: - Winning the battle - Escaping the battle by any means - Losing the battle but not stumbling across a Game Over: this includes Locke losing a battle in his scenario, dying while trying to save Terra with the Moogles, dying while trying to prevent Kefka and cohorts from reaching Banon and dying vs. the rats in the Opera House while Ultros tries to crush Celes. And do not include: - Having the battle end with a scene fade-out - Not saving and resetting the game - Not saving and receiving a Game Over So you've cleared a massive amount of Rages. That means it's time to pay a visit to: The Veldt. During the WoB, it's a massive piece of land where Mobliz is located. It's accessible by jumping down Baren Falls, and you can leave it by jumping down the Serpent Trench. That's only smart when you don't have any kind of airborne transportation yet: I guess I should note that riding an airship is arguably the easiest way of doing it. Now that you are on the Veldt, there are two states you can be in: - You don't have Gau, and you want him in your party. - You have Gau, and want to have him Leap. The latter is easy. Just walk around until you meet a monster you want to Leap. Use Leap. Note that you won't be able to use Leap when Gau is the only character in the team, or if all other characters are considered defeated (KO, Stone, Zombie). There is a 5/8 chance that Gau will return, but there are certain conditions: - Gau will never return in a Back Attack, Side Attack or a Pincer Attack. In other words, your party must always be facing the left side of the battlefield. A Preemptive battle will allow Gau. - You must have three party members or less. If not, Gau would not be able to fit back into your team. Given the nature of the Veldt you should just stick to three members unless you have a specifically good reason not to listen to me here. - If this is the first time you’re recruiting Gau, he will only appear when both Sabin and Cyan are alive (and, of course, you’ll have to feed him Dried Meat, available for purchase in Mobliz). - Code-wise, Gau semi-holds the sixth Slot in a monster formation to return to your capable hands. There are quite a few monster formations that have monsters in this slot, effectively screwing you out of a well-deserved possibility of Gau returning. These monsters formations include: Hornet, Bleary, Bleary, Bleary, Hornet Leafer, Leafer, Dark Wind, Dark Wind Rhodox, Rhodox, Rhodox, Rhodox Rhobite, Rhobite, Rhobite, Rhobite, Rhobite Telstar, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier Actaneon, Actaneon, Actaneon, Aspik, Aspik Ghost, Ghost, Poplium, Poplium, Poplium Bomb, Bomb, Hazer, Hazer StillGoing, StillGoing, StillGoing Trooper, Trooper, Trooper, Trooper Mind Candy, Mind Candy, Mind Candy, Mind Candy Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak Sewer Rat, Vermin, Sewer Rat, Sewer Rat, Vermin Crawler, Crawler, Crawler, Crawler Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Bug, Bug, Bug, Bug, Bug, Bug ChickenLip, ChickenLip, ChickenLip, ChickenLip, ChickenLip Lich, Lich, Lich Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon Mesosaur, Mesosaur, Mesosaur, Mesosaur Delta Bug, Delta Bug, Delta Bug, Delta Bug Humpty, Humpty, Humpty, Humpty Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye Deep Eye, Muus, Muus, Deep Eye Anemone, Anemone, Anemone, Anemone Luridan, Luridan, Luridan, Luridan, Luridan, Luridan Vectaur, Vectaur, Vectaur, Vectaur Wizard, Wizard, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot Red Wolf, Red Wolf, Psychot, Psychot Psychot, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot Vindr, Vindr, Wild Cat, Crusher, Crusher SoulDancer, Wild Cat, Wild Cat, Wild Cat, Wild Cat Warlock, Cluck, Cluck, Eland, Eland Boxed Set, Boxed Set, Figaliz, Figaliz Boxed Set, Boxed Set, Boxed Set, Boxed Set Suriander, Pan Dora, Parasite, Parasite Reach Frog, Reach Frog, Reach Frog, Reach Frog TumbleWeed, TumbleWeed, TumbleWeed, TumbleWeed Sea Flower, Sea Flower, Sea Flower, Sea Flower, Sea Flower Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan Wild Rat, 1st Class, 1st Class, Wild Rat, Wild Rat Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak Mag Roader, Mad Roader, Mag Roader, Mag Roader (all red) Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon (forced Pincer anyway) Sky Baser, IronHitman, IronHitman, IronHitman, IronHitman Commando, Commando, Commando, Commando If these conditions are met, Gau has a 5/8 chance of popping up when you have defeated the enemy monsters. That’s 62.75 % of the time. You only have to wait a bit for Gau to give a little motivational speech and end the battle, but you can attack him for no reason if you like. This returning Gau has a few funky features: - Returning Gau is considered equipped with the items you sent him into the monster formations with. - Returning Gau will not load inherent statuses such as Wall Ring's Rflect and Thornlet it's Seizure. He will load their immunities though. - When you cast Stop on Gau, and you hurt him, he'll still run away if you wait for Stop to wear off. If you put him to sleep, however, and hurt him with a magical attack and wait until Sleep wears off, he can still join your party. If you do manage to hurt Gau while he's napping, he will be damaged upon entry of your party :) - He'll always appear in the Front Row when he returns, no matter what position he had when you told him to Leap. When Gau Leaps, he will obtain ALL Rages he previously lacked from the monster formation you use Leap on. If you killed one of the monsters already, Gau will learn the Rage of that monster anyway. If the monster is still hidden, Gau will learn the Rage of the hidden monster anyway. An example of this is the Chaser/ Pipsqueak monster formation, where the battle starts with only a Chaser. Should Gau use Leap versus the Chaser, he will learn Pipsqueak as well. While you're fighting formations and Gau stays away, Gau WILL NOT learn the Rages of the monster formations you defeat in the meantime. Some people may claim otherwise and even suggest hurting Gau whenever he returns to learn as much as possible in one go. This is false information. When Gau returns and you allow him to re-enter your party, Gau will learn the Rages of the monsters of the monster formation he returned in, including hidden ones. If you scare him off, he will NOT learn the Rages of that monster formation. Also, when you first recruit Gau with the Dried Meat, he will not have learned the Rages of that monster formation he appeared in. That's all there is to it. There is neither an improved chance of him showing up when you don't know the Rages of the monster formation yet, and there's no decreased chance of him showing up in a monster formation he knows everything about either. Gau isn't smart enough to notice the difference between the monsters, it seems. Those 'eyes shining of intelligence' never were more than hateful leers directed at party members anyway :P -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.2 Pack listing ********************************** Monster formations that appear on the Veldt do not appear random. There is a fixed pattern that you can use to your advantage if you know about it. Every time you fight a battle out of a certain Monster Formation Pack, you'll fight a random Monster Formations out of the next Monster Formation Pack. You continue down the list until you've reached the end, at which point you jump to Pack # 1 again. You'll never fight monster formations you haven't cleared yet. If you run into a monster formation pack that holds no monster formations you've fought so far, the game will skip to the next monster formation pack. pack 1: 0 Lobo 1 Lobo, Lobo 2 Guard, Guard 3 Bleary, Bleary, Crawly 4 Lobo, Lobo, Marshal 5 Hornet, Bleary, Bleary, Bleary, Hornet 6 Leafer 7 Leafer, Leafer, Dark Wind pack 2: 0 Leafer, Leafer, Dark Wind, Dark Wind 1 Sand Ray, Areneid, Areneid, Areneid 2 Sand Ray, Sand Ray 3 Areneid, Areneid, Areneid 4 Sand Ray, Areneid, Areneid 5 Hornet, Hornet 6 Were-Rat, Were-Rat, Were-Rat 7 Hornet, Crawly, Crawly pack 3: 0 Tusker, Tusker 1 Vomammoth, Lobo 2 Crawly, Crawly, Crawly 3 Rhinotaur 4 Rhinotaur, Rhodox, Rhodox 5 Rhodox, Rhodox, GreaseMonk 6 Rhinotaur, GreaseMonk, Rhodox, Rhodox 7 GreaseMonk, GreaseMonk pack 4: 0 Rhodox, Rhodox, Rhodox, Rhodox 1 Soldier, Soldier, M-TekArmor 2 Repo Man, Vaporite 3 M-TekArmor 4 Trilium, Tusker, Cirpius, Cirpius 5 Cirpius, Cirpius, Cirpius 6 Trilium, Trilium 7 Tusker, Cirpius, Cirpius, Cirpius pack 5: 0 Brawler, Brawler 1 Brawler, Trilium, Vaporite, Vaporite 2 M-TekArmor, M-TekArmor 3 Pterodon, Pterodon 4 Zombone, Zombone 5 Nautiloid, Exocite, Pterodon 6 Nautiloid, Exocite 7 Pterodon, Exocite, Exocite pack 6: 0 Empty 1 Lobo, Guard, Guard 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 Were-Rat, Repo Man 5 Were-Rat, Were-Rat 6 Doberman, Doberman 7 Actaneon, Actaneon, Actaneon pack 7: 0 Empty 1 Stray Cat, Stray Cat, Stray Cat 2 CrassHoppr, CrassHoppr, Stray Cat, Stray Cat 3 CrassHoppr, CrassHoppr, CrassHoppr 4 Rhobite, Rhobite, Rhobite, Rhobite, Rhobite 5 Beakor 6 Beakor, Beakor, Stray Cat 7 Beakor, Rhobite, Rhobite pack 8: 0 Rhobite, Rhobite, Rhobite 1 Beakor, Stray Cat, CrassHoppr, CrassHoppr 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 Empty 5 Telstar, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier 6 Doberman, Doberman, Doberman 7 Empty pack 9: 0 HeavyArmor 1 Ghost 2 Ghost, Ghost, Ghost 3 Actaneon, Actaneon, Actaneon, Aspik, Aspik 4 Ghost, Poplium, Poplium 5 Ghost, Ghost, Poplium, Poplium, Poplium 6 Whisper, Whisper, Hazer 7 Vaporite, Vaporite pack 10: 0 Bomb, Bomb, Hazer, Hazer 1 Apparite, Apparite, Lich, Lich 2 Whisper, Whisper, Whisper, Whisper 3 Over-Mind, Over-Mind 4 Bomb, Bomb, Bomb 5 Bomb 6 Over-Mind, StillGoing, StillGoing 7 Empty pack 11: 0 Whisper, StillGoing, Hazer, Hazer 1 Whisper, Hazer, Hazer, Hazer 2 Anguiform 3 Anguiform, Anguiform 4 Vomammoth, Vomammoth, Guard, Guard 5 StillGoing, StillGoing, StillGoing 6 Anguiform, Actaneon, Aspik 7 Rider pack 12: 0 HeavyArmor, Trooper, Trooper 1 Fidor, Trooper 2 Whisper 3 Trooper, Trooper, Trooper, Trooper 4 Bounty Man, Trooper, Trooper 5 FossilFang 6 Red Fang, Red Fang 7 Over Grunk, Vulture, Iron Fist pack 13: 0 Iron Fist, Iron Fist, Mind Candy, Mind Candy 1 Red Fang, Vulture, Red Fang 2 Over Grunk, Over Grunk, Mind Candy, Mind Candy, Mind Candy 3 Vulture, Vulture 4 Vulture, Iron Fist 5 Mind Candy, Mind Candy, Mind Candy, Mind Candy 6 HadesGigas 7 Crawler pack 14: 0 Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak 1 SlamDancer 2 SlamDancer, Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak 3 Harvester 4 SlamDancer, Harvester, Harvester 5 Harvester, Gabbldegak, Gabbldegak 6 HadesGigas, Harvester 7 Mag Roader (purple) pack 15: 0 Vermin, Sewer Rat, Sewer Rat 1 Sewer Rat, Vermin, Sewer Rat, Sewer Rat, Vermin 2 Crawler, Crawler, Crawler, Crawler 3 Garm, Garm, Commando, Commando 4 Garm, Garm, Commando 5 Mag Roader (purple), Mag Roader (red) 6 Trapper, Trapper, Trapper 7 General, General pack 16: 0 General, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak 1 Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak 2 Chaser, Trapper, Trapper, Trapper 3 Chaser, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak 4 Gobbler 5 Commander, Commander, Commander 6 Empty (Allo Ver would go here) 7 Empty pack 17: 0 Nastidon, Nastidon 1 Empty 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 Empty 5 Empty 6 Nohrabbit, Nohrabbit, Nohrabbit 7 Bomb pack 18: 0 Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb 1 Io 2 Maliga, Maliga, Maliga 3 FossilFang, FossilFang 4 FossilFang, Bug, Bug, Bug 5 Bug, Bug, Bug 6 Bug, Bug, Bug, Bug, Bug, Bug 7 Ralph, Ralph pack 19: 0 Ralph, Wyvern, Wyvern 1 Ralph, Wyvern, ChickenLip, ChickenLip 2 WeedFeeder, WeedFeeder, WeedFeeder 3 Ralph, Joker 4 Joker, Joker, Joker 5 ChickenLip, ChickenLip, ChickenLip, ChickenLip, ChickenLip 6 Zombone 7 Zombone, Ing, Ing pack 20: 0 Ing, Ing, Ing 1 Apparite, Apparite 2 Coelecite, Coelecite, Coelecite 3 Lich, Apparite, Coelecite 4 Lich, Lich, Lich 5 Sp Forces, Sp Forces, Sp Forces 6 Balloon, Balloon, Balloon 7 Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon pack 21: 0 Baskervor 1 Chimera 2 Cephaler, Baskervor 3 Cephaler, Cephaler, Cephaler 4 Adamanchyt, Slurm, Slurm 5 Adamanchyt, Adamanchyt 6 Slurm, Slurm, Slurm, Slurm, Slurm 7 Mandrake, Mandrake, Mandrake pack 22: 0 Mandrake, Insecare, Insecare 1 Abolisher, Abolisher 2 Gigantos 3 Empty 4 Empty 5 Empty 6 Empty 7 Sky Armor, Sky Armor, Spit Fire pack 23: 0 Sky Armor, Spit Fire 1 Behemoth 2 Apokryphos, Misfit, Misfit 3 Apokryphos 4 Ninja, Ninja 5 Wirey Drgn, Wirey Drgn, Wirey Drgn 6 Apokryphos, Apokryphos, Apokryphos 7 Brainpan, Misfit, Apokryphos, Brainpan pack 24: 0 Brainpan, Brainpan, Brainpan 1 Dragon 2 Behemoth, Misfit, Misfit 3 Behemoth, Behemoth 4 Ninja, Ninja, Wirey Drgn 5 Grenade 6 Chimera, Cephaler, Cephaler 7 Baskervor, Baskervor pack 25: 0 Peepers, Peepers 1 Peepers, Peepers, Peepers 2 EarthGuard, Peepers, Peepers 3 Black Drgn 4 Didalos, Veteran 5 Mesosaur, Mesosaur 6 Mesosaur, Mesosaur, Mesosaur, Mesosaur 7 Gilomantis, Mesosaur pack 26: 0 Gilomantis, Gilomantis, Mesosaur 1 Chitonid, Gigan Toad, Gigan Toad 2 Lunaris, Osprey 3 Lunaris, Lunaris 4 Osprey, Chitonid, Gigan Toad 5 Madam, Veteran, Veteran 6 Veteran, Veteran, Veteran 7 HermitCrab, HermitCrab, Pm Stalker pack 27: 0 Empty 1 Scorpion, Scorpion, Scorpion 2 Intangir 3 Pm Stalker, Pm Stalker, Pm Stalker, Pm Stalker 4 Vectagoyle, Vectagoyle 5 Buffalax 6 Buffalax, Delta Bug, Delta Bug 7 Bloompire, Bloompire, Lizard pack 28: 0 Bloompire, Bloompire 1 Delta Bug, Delta Bug, Delta Bug, Delta Bug 2 Bloompire, Bloompire, Delta Bug 3 Buffalax, Lizard 4 Maliga, Maliga, Nohrabbit, Nohrabbit 5 Cactrot 6 Sand Horse, Sand Horse 7 Sand Horse, Maliga, Maliga pack 29: 0 Latimeria 1 Latimeria, Nohrabbit, Nohrabbit, Nohrabbit 2 Doom Drgn, Doom Drgn 3 Land Worm 4 Humpty, Humpty, Humpty 5 Cruller, Humpty, Humpty 6 Humpty, Humpty, Humpty, Humpty 7 NeckHunter, NeckHunter pack 30: 0 NeckHunter, Cruller, Humpty, Humpty 1 Dante 2 Drop, Drop, Drop 3 Pugs, Pugs, Pugs 4 Harpiai 5 Hoover 6 Harpiai, Deep Eye, Deep Eye 7 Bogy, Bogy pack 31: 0 Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye, Deep Eye 1 Deep Eye, Muus, Muus, Deep Eye 2 Muus, Muus, Muus 3 Muus 4 Orog, Orog 5 Orog, PowerDemon, PowerDemon 6 Osteosaur 7 PowerDemon pack 32: 0 PowerDemon, Exoray, Exoray 1 Exoray, Exoray, Exoray 2 Mad Oscar, Exoray 3 Mad Oscar 4 Empty 5 Pug 6 Poppers, Poppers, Poppers, Poppers 7 Kiwok, Ceritops pack 33: 0 Kiwok, Poppers, Poppers, Poppers 1 Ceritops, Ceritops, Ceritops 2 Anemone, Anemone, Tomb Thumb 3 Anemone, Anemone, Anemone, Anemone 4 Ceritops, Tomb Thumb, Tomb Thumb 5 Luridan, Luridan, Luridan 6 Punisher, Scrapper, Punisher 7 Borras pack 34: 0 Borras, Ursus, Scrapper 1 Ursus 2 Luridan, Luridan, Luridan, Luridan, Luridan, Luridan 3 Ursus, Punisher 4 Toe Cutter 5 Toe Cutter, Toe Cutter 6 Rhyos 7 Vectaur, Vectaur, Vectaur, Vectaur pack 35: 0 Brontaur, Evil Oscar 1 Red Wolf, Red Wolf, Red Wolf 2 Test Rider 3 Nastidon, Red Wolf, Red Wolf 4 Wizard, Wizard, Wizard 5 Wizard, Wizard, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot 6 Red Wolf, Red Wolf, Psychot, Psychot 7 Psychot, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot, Psychot pack 36: 0 Mag Roader (yellow), Mag Roader (yellow), Mag Roader (brown) 1 Mag Roader (yellow), Mag Roader (brown), Mag Roader (brown) 2 Brontaur, Brontaur 3 Empty 4 SoulDancer, SoulDancer, Crusher, Crusher 5 Vindr, Vindr, Wild Cat, Crusher, Crusher 6 Vindr, Vindr 7 SoulDancer, Wild Cat, Wild Cat, Wild Cat, Wild Cat pack 37: 0 Dahling, Dahling 1 Nightshade, Nightshade, Nightshade 2 Still Life 3 Opinicus, Opinicus 4 Displayer 5 Opinicus, Hipocampus, Eland 6 Hipocampus, Hipocampus, Hipocampus 7 Hipocampus, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck pack 38: 0 Slatter, Warlock, Eland 1 Slatter, Slatter 2 Warlock, Cluck, Cluck, Eland, Eland 3 GtBehemoth, Vectaur, Vectaur 4 Doom Drgn 5 Goblin, Goblin 6 Goblin, Figaliz, Figaliz 7 Boxed Set, Boxed Set, Figaliz, Figaliz pack 39: 0 Boxed Set 1 Lethal Wpn 2 Enuo, Enuo 3 Enuo, Goblin, Figaliz 4 Boxed Set, Boxed Set, Boxed Set, Boxed Set 5 Rain Man, Rain Man 6 Samurai, Rain Man, Rain Man 7 PlutoArmor, PlutoArmor pack 40: 0 Barb-e, Critic 1 PlutoArmor, Sky Cap 2 Allosaurus, Parasite, Parasite, Parasite 3 Critic, Pan Dora, Pan Dora, Pan Dora 4 Allosaurus 5 Barb-e, Samurai, Suriander 6 Suriander, Pan Dora, Parasite, Parasite 7 Crawler, Crawler, Crawler pack 41: 0 Tyranosaur, Tyranosaur 1 Tyranosaur 2 Brachosaur 3 Mantodea, Sprinter, Spek Tor, Spek Tor 4 Reach Frog, Reach Frog, Reach Frog, Reach Frog 5 Mantodea, Mantodea 6 Geckorex, Geckorex, Reach Frog 7 TumbleWeed, TumbleWeed, TumbleWeed, TumbleWeed pack 42: 0 Sprinter, Sprinter, Spek Tor, Spek Tor 1 GtBehemoth, Evil Oscar, Vectaur 2 Evil Oscar, Evil Oscar, Evil Oscar 3 Harpy 4 Harpy, Prussian 5 Prussian, GloomShell 6 GloomShell, GloomShell, GloomShell 7 Empty pack 43: 0 Phase, Phase 1 Trixter, Trixter, Trixter 2 Phase, Parasoul, Necromancr, Necromancr 3 Trixter, Trixter, Necromancr 4 Sea Flower, Sea Flower, Sea Flower, Sea Flower, Sea Flower 5 Uroburos, Sea Flower, Sea Flower 6 Chaos Drgn, Uroburos, Sea Flower, Sea Flower 7 Aquila, Chaos Drgn, Chaos Drgn pack 44: 0 Empty 1 Empty 2 Ogor, Ogor 3 Covert, Ogor 4 Wart Puck, Wart Puck 5 Karkass, Karkass 6 Tap Dancer, Covert, Covert 7 Tap Dancer, Woolly pack 45: 0 Woolly, Woolly, Karkass, Karkass 1 Wart Puck, Ogor 2 Empty 3 Magic Urn, Magic Urn 4 Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan 5 Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan 6 Empty 7 Empty pack 46: 0 Rhinox, Rhinox 1 Gobbler, Rhinox, Gobbler 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 Empty 5 Empty 6 Empty 7 Empty pack 47: 0 Empty 1 Empty 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 Empty 5 Vector Pup, Vector Pup, Commander 6 Vector Pup, Vector Pup 7 Trilobiter, Primordite, Primordite pack 48: 0 Gold Bear, Primordite 1 Trilobiter, Trilobiter, Trilobiter 2 Primordite, Primordite 3 Dark Side, Dark Side 4 Dark Side, Spectre, Rinn, Rinn, Rinn 5 1st Class, Wild Rat 6 1st Class, 1st Class, 1st Class 7 Wild Rat, 1st Class, 1st Class, Wild Rat, Wild Rat pack 49: Empty pack 50: 0 Empty 1 Empty 2 Empty 3 Innoc, Fortis 4 Fortis, Fortis 5 Empty 6 Dueller, Dueller, Sky Base 7 Scullion pack 51: 0 Innoc, Innoc, Innoc 1 Junk, Junk, Junk 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 ProtoArmor, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak 5 Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak, Pipsqueak 6 Mag Roader, Mag Roader (both purple) 7 Mag Roader, Mag Roader, Mag Roader, Mag Roader (all red) pack 52: 0 Empty 1 Empty 2 Templar, Templar, Soldier, Soldier 3 Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon 4 Soldier, Soldier 5 Sky Base, IronHitman, IronHitman, IronHitman, IronHitman 6 IronHitman, IronHitman, IronHitman 7 Dueller, Fortis pack 53: 0 Commando, Commando, Commando, Commando 1 Empty 2 Commando 3 Empty 4 Empty 5 Empty 6 Empty 7 Empty pack 54: 0 SrBehemoth (The undead Behemoth only) 1 Dark Force, Dark Force 2 Retainer, Retainer, Dark Force 3 Hemophyte, Retainer 4 Outsider, Outsider, Madam 5 Mover, Mover, Mover 6 Steroidite 7 Didalos, Didalos pack 55: Empty pack 56: Empty pack 57: 0 Empty 1 Empty 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 SrBehemoth (The undead Behemoth only, the living formation is swapped out at battle start. Meeting it on the Veldt opens the possibility of encountering the SrBehemoth monster formation in Pack 54) 5 Empty 6 Empty 7 Empty pack 58: Empty pack 59: Empty pack 60: Empty pack 61: 0 Empty 1 White Drgn 2 Empty 3 Empty 4 Empty 5 Empty 6 Empty 7 Empty pack 62: Empty pack 63: Empty pack 64: Empty If you Save and Reset and either Load with the in-game option or using an emulator Save State, a number of 13 will be added to the monster formation you're going to fight. If you're fighting in Pack # 4, you should normally fight a battle out of Pack # 5 next. If you Save and Load/emulator Load from the Title Screen, you'll fight a battle from Pack # 17. This can be used to your advantage if you know what the Packs look like, as you can make large jumps towards the monster you really want to Leap. Now for some high-quality Veldt hunting! Let's say you want a rare Rage in a crowded Pack. Let's say you want to get Test Rider (Flash Rain looks so gosh- darn cool!). Now, just jump there using the above described trick and fight until you've fought a battle from Pack 34. Now, the next battle *could* be Test Rider. You try, yet see that it's Red Wolf x 3. Load again. Now every time you fight, it *will* be that same Red Wolf x 3 monster formation. There's only one way known so far to change the upcoming fight, and that's fighting a battle off the Veldt. That's right, either take the Blackjack/Falcon to some non-Veldt lands until you fight a normal random encounter, or (provided you're in the WoR), dive into the Cave of the Veldt to kill some Toe Cutters or, if you're lucky, Rhyos. Save, return to the Veldt and try another time. Missed again? Repeat. Using this strategy, you'll be able to actually pick Rages from the Veldt rather then having Gau Leap anything which happens to cross its path. Note that this is an emulator-trick only, as cartridge Save and Load screws with your location in the list. NOTICE: This behavior is exclusive to the SNES game. PSX and GBA readers, go find your own techniques, I'm too lazy. Finally a few tips: Make sure your entire party does not consist of people whose levels are divisible by 5! I cannot stress this enough. When you know that you could get into a battle with a Trapper or the like anytime soon you’re aware of the danger that Level 5 Doom will kill the entire party in one devastating hit, but that move can also kill you all in a single hit on the Veldt while your mind is elsewhere. Don’t let that happen. Equip a Back Guard. The use of it is obvious. It will disable any kind of coincidental back attack or pincer attack thus increasing your chance of having a battle suitable for Gau to come back in. Some battles are forced into a certain formation; (Guard x 2, Lobo and Tyranosaur x 2 are two examples which are both forced pincer attacks) and cannot be prevented by the Back Guard. Too bad. Gogo, Mog and Umaro. Gogo can use Rage and Dance, Mog's power is Dance, and Umaro will hit stuff until the battle ends. A Dancing or Raging character won't notice the difference between Returning Gau and a monster and won't hesitate to use violence against him. Gau will cry and run and you won't have gained your Rages. Refrain from selecting Rage and Dance on the Veldt when Gau can return, and simply don't let Umaro's huge Yeti feet touch the Holy Lands of the Veldt. Especially in the WoR you'll be simply plodding through massive amounts of weak monsters that aren't worthy of your time anymore. You'll want a quick answer to all of them. There's only two attacks which will take care of all of them, regardless of elemental properties, being Undead or doing the samba: It's the AutoCrossbow and Flash Tools. They're quick, painless (to you), painful (to the monsters), they don't use any MP, have no element, are not random in any way and the cursor will gladly stay on the Tool of choice when you select Options, Cursor --> Memory in the Menu. ********************************** 7.0 Clearing the Monster Formations ********************************** Table of Contents: 7.1 Rage walkthrough 7.2 Rage walkthrough notes for an LLG -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.1 Rage walkthrough ********************************** For the very specific monster formation locations, you can use my walkthrough as a supplement. You can find my walkthrough at my own site as well as GameFAQs. You can print this section out and keep checking the bosses once you’ve cleared them. [ ] Guard [ ] Lobo [ ] Vomammoth [ ] Repo Man [ ] Were-Rat [ ] Vaporite During what can best be described as the prologue of the game, you'll automatically clear Guard, Lobo and Vomammoth. Repo Man and Were-Rat can be found in the mines, and Vaporite can be found in the hall where the Esper is located. Lonely Terra escapes the Guards and doesn't meet any new material doing so, although you can meet Vaporite if you didn't before. [ ] Marshal Locke rushes in to save Terra after she fell down and rescues her from the Marshal. The walking monster formations all include a Lobo and a Vomammoth and have already been cleared; Marshal hasn't and the boss fight will do it for you. [ ] Leafer [ ] Dark Wind [ ] Areneid [ ] Sand Ray With Locke and Terra on the Overworld Map, you can clear Leafer and Dark Wind on the plains/in the forests, and Areneid and Sand Ray in the desert. [ ] M-Tek Armor You meet up with Edgar, and the very next day you're chased out of the castle by two M-Tek Armor. You fight and clear them. [ ] Bleary [ ] Crawly [ ] Hornet In the Cave of South Figaro, you can clear three bug monsters, being Bleary, Crawly and Hornet. Be sure to do so, as these monsters will later disappear from this area. [ ] Rhodox [ ] Rhinotaur [ ] GreaseMonk On the plains surrounding South Figaro, you can encounter Rhodox, Rhinotaur and GreaseMonk which you can all clear. [ ] Brawler [ ] Tusker [ ] Cirpius [ ] Trilium You climb Mt. Koltz with the three-headed party. You can clear Brawler and Tusker in the caverns and Cirpius and Trilium on the slopes. [ ] Exocite [ ] Nautiloid [ ] Pterodon You meet with Banon and ride the Lete River with him. You can and should clear Exocite, Nautiloid and Pterodon. A boss fight with Ultros (no Rage) ensues and Sabin will be gone. You can now choose between three scenarios. For Rage purposes it's most beneficial to do Sabin his scenario last. This way, you can collect more Rages in the first Veldt section. It hardly matters which of the other two you do first, so we'll start with Locke. [ ] HeavyArmor [ ] Commander [ ] Vector Pup As soon as you can move, pick a fight with a HeavyArmor. You'll lose if you fight him, so try to run. Note that even when you lose, you'll start the scenario over again rather then getting a Game Over; this means that even when the HeavyArmor kills you, you'll have cleared his Rage. Play through the tedious scenario until you have freed Celes. Clear Commander and Vector Pup during you escape and get out of South Figaro. [ ] Primordite [ ] Trilobiter [ ] Gold Bear The Cave of Figaro houses some new monsters, including Primordite, Trilobiter and Gold Bear. Clear them before you attempt to leave. When you have defeated the TunnelArmor, you're free to go and the scenario is over. [ ] 1st Class [ ] Wild Rat Edgar's scenario doesn't bring you anything new for a good while. More Lete River, more Overworld Map, more mines of Narshe with Repo Man and Were-Rat. When you pass the dungeon where you initially saved Terra from the Narshe Guard Marshal, you come in a dungeon where there are two new monsters: 1st Class and Wild Rat. Clear them both and continue to the next room. [ ] Dark Side [ ] Rinn [ ] Spectre There's a sparkle here. Follow the path of the light and you won't be bothered by a battle. Obviously you'll want to get a battle, as Dark Side is the monster you fight, a monster you can only clear here and which is pretty formidable with Ice2 and inherent Float. Although there's a 75 % shot at fighting two Dark Side monsters, there's a 25 % at fighting another monster formation. This one holds, next to a Dark Side, three Rinn monsters and a Spectre, two monsters you can only clear here. It may take a good while if you're unlucky, but don't leave until you have fought this monster formation. [ ] Beaker [ ] Rhobite [ ] Stray Cat [ ] Crasshoppr [ ] Soldier Sabin's scenario: Sabin wakes up next to a hut. Recruit Shadow if you wish and clear Beaker and Rhobite on the plains and Stray Cat and Crasshoppr in the forest. Continue down south and enter the Imperial Camp. After a scene you switch to Cyan. Fight one soldier to engage in a monster formation with oh horror, TWO Soldier enemies. You clear the Rage in doing so and only have to kill the leader, who is surprisingly called 'Leader'. [ ] Doberman [ ] Telstar [ ] Templar Back to Sabin. Loot the camp as much as you can. One chest is locked. Opt to Kick it!, and there's a 50 % chance on fighting two Doberman monsters. The other 50 % contains three Doberman monsters. You have cleared yet another Rage, and you may proceed. Cutscene, Cutscene, Cyan, Cutscene. Before you chase Kefka all the way, make sure you open the new chests available. One of them contains Telstar, which not only clears his Rage (the best status ailment-protector at that point), it gives you another reason to roam the Veldt. Green Berets are kickin'. If you're done, chase Kefka some more. You will clear Templar (and Soldier if you hadn't before) and can make your escape to the Phantom Forest. [ ] Ghost [ ] Poplium Ghost monsters a' plenty here, but don't leave until you've met some Poplium as well. Now board the Phantom Train. [ ] Whisper [ ] Bomb [ ] Hazer [ ] StillGoing [ ] Over-Mind There are quite a few new enemies here to be fought. Outside and on the roofs there's Whisper and Bomb, and inside there's Hazer and StillGoing. After you jump over a train car you can meet Over-Mind; the best odds lie in fighting battles in the first train car you walk through after the leap. Play through the scenario. When you exit you can still head back into the Forest if you missed Poplium, and you have another shot at CrassHoppr and Stray Cat on the plains if you haven't cleared those yet. Jump down the Falls and try to not die. This is vital! The Veldt. You can't clear any Rages here, but you *can* obtain them and I suggest you do just that. Feed Gau a Dried Meat you bought in Mobliz and he'll join your party so you can master the Leap command. A Kappa tries to do a man's job (explaining Rage) and fails miserably. When it's all over, get Rages until you're tired and/or satisfied. *Veldt moment one* [ ] Anguiform [ ] Aspik [ ] Actaneon Jump down the Serpent Trench and you should clear Anguiform, Actaneon and Aspik. Everybody's in Narshe again and everybody's happy. But then Kefka cometh! You retreat to the hills of Narshe where some people have already moved Tritoch, not taking into account there really wasn't any real reason to do so and it's still a ten-foot high massive block of ice. [ ] Bounty Man [ ] Trooper [ ] Fidor [ ] Rider A Save-Terra-from-the-Guards-esque game ensues where you fight monsters and make sure they don't reach Banon. The monsters to be cleared are Bounty Man, Trooper and Fidor. HeavyArmor also appears, should you have missed it in Locke's scenario. Just fight all groups to be certain. Heading to Kefka you see a single soldier racing around in front of him. This is Rider. Kill him to clear the Rage. Defeat Kefka and watch how Terra loses all her clothing. When the hentai ends you'll wake up in a new and improved Narshe which allows you in its walls. Just pick whatever team (you'd better take Gau) and make a trip with Figaro Castle to Kohlingen. [ ] Vulture [ ] Red Fang [ ] Over-Grunk [ ] FossilFang [ ] Iron Fist [ ] Mind Candy New Overworld Map monsters! There's Vulture and Red Fang on the plains, and Over-Grunk in the forests. FossilFang lives in the desert, but he's quite the opponent so you might not want to mess with him right now. Further down south there's Iron Fist and Mind Candy to be obtained. Travel to Zozo. [ ] HadesGigas [ ] Gabbldegak [ ] SlamDancer [ ] Harvester Inside Zozo, there are a lot of strong monsters (that is, compared to previous challenges). Clear HadesGigas and Gabbldegak outside, and clear SlamDancer and Harvester inside of the towering houses. Defeat Dadaluma and get a new mission from Ramuh. Although you might be too lazy to follow my advice, I suggest you head back to the Veldt to take horrible advantage of the new Rage options. There's a trip in the near future which will block you from Veldt entrance for a while, so this is the time. Here's how to get to the Veldt and back: Take Figaro Castle back to its former location. Through the Cave of Figaro, passed Mt. Koltz, there's the Returner Hideout. In the room where you first met Banon, there's an entrance to the raft. Jump on it. Ride the rapids, but this time it will make you take Sabin's route. From here on, you can just go to Baren Falls. You won't have to bother with the Imperial Camp or Phantom Train, thankfully. Jump down the Falls (no Piranhas) and you're on the Veldt. You can exit the Veldt by jumping down the Serpent Trench and taking the Nikeah ferry to South Figaro. You'll be smuggled out of South Figaro in a chest, which has brought a smile to the lips of many a mentally ill person around the world. Head back through the Cave of Figaro and you're at the castle again. Congrats, you just completed: *Veldt moment two* [ ] Vermin [ ] Sewer Rat In the Opera House, Celes will sing and Ultros will annoy. As soon as the comical squid is, comically, about to drop the comical anvil on Celes' head (the comedy!), open the door to the left with a lever to the right and enter the rafters of the Opera. There are rat formations here, and they all contain Vermin and Sewer Rat. Although it's said you can get by without fighting a single battle, this is pretty darn hard, and you want to battle and clear one group anyway. You foil Ultros' plan, proceed to beat him up and get the Blackjack for your troubles. [ ] Bug [ ] ChickenLip [ ] WeedFeeder [ ] Joker [ ] Ralph [ ] Wyvern A new Overworld location! Next to FossilFang (go clear the Rage if you haven't already), you can encounter Bug in the desert, ChickenLip in the forest, and WeedFeeder, Ralph, Joker and Wyvern on the plains. Go around collecting treasure and enter Vector. [ ] Garm [ ] Commando [ ] Pipsqueak [ ] Flan [ ] Trapper [ ] General [ ] Gobbler [ ] Rhinox Sneak into the MagiTek Research Facility. In the first few rooms there's nothing but Garm, Commando and Pipsqueak to be found. ProtoArmor as well, but as you are reading this guide I assume you know how this thing has no Rage. When you drop into the pit where Ifrit and Shiva were thrown in, you can fight Flan. Get the new Espers and continue up the stairs. On these stairs you can clear Trapper and General. In the room on the top of the stairs, there's Gobbler and Rhinox. Clear them and continue to watch some cutscenes. [ ] Mag Roader (purple) [ ] Mag Roader (red) When you've ridden the elevator, go use the Save Point. Talk to Cid and he'll push you into a mine cart. Several battles will pop up. If they're all big, purple Mag Roader go reset the game and change the leader of your party. Try until you also find a small red Mag Roader. Do the boss battle and you're outside again. [ ] Chaser Fight Chaser before Setzer picks you up, and you get another shot at Trapper as well. You flee and Kefka tries to stop you using Cranes, which turns out to be a complete waste of everybody's time. Tragic daddy issues rule the day when you have a chat with Terra, but you're rewarded with control over the Blackjack. [ ] Intangir [ ] Grenade [ ] Baskervor [ ] Cephaler [ ] Chimera Go to the triangle-shaped island. You will sometimes, among the Leafers and Dark Wind birds, meet an Intangir here, an invisible monster. If you want to kill it, use Gau's Rhodox Rage (Snare kills it without allowing its omni-counter Meteo). If you lack the Rhodox Rage, simply run from the vanished fiend. In a forest west of the Veldt, only two monsters appear: Bomb (en masse) and Grenade. The latter is basically a black Bomb which Rage you'll want to clear for purposes which include the word 'complete'. Travel to the last continent you haven't been on. On this piece of the Overworld Map, clear Baskervor on the plains and Cephaler and Chimera in the forests. And just like that, it's time for yet another... *Veldt moment three* [ ] Apparite [ ] Coelecite [ ] Lich [ ] Zombone [ ] Ing Dive head-first into the Cave of the Sealed Gate. It's near the Sealed Gate. In the very first room, you can fight Apparite, Coelecite and Lich monsters. Be sure to equip Wall Rings in this stage of the game as Lich will burn you badly otherwise. In the other rooms there's just Zombone and Ing. You can push a button to fight a Ninja, but this won't clear the Rage as it's not a valid monster formation for the Veldt. [ ] Sp Forces Esper Rampage and Imperial Apologies: The diplomacy-related part of the game now. Be sure to answer like a polite young man would, and be sure to pick a fight with the Imperial Officers like a complete idiot would. They're Sp Force enemies, and you clear their Rage. Not much else going on after that, so get Terra and Locke on their boat-ride. [ ] Balloon You do some stuff that's pretty obvious until you sleep at the Inn and a house presumably sets itself on fire using fire. Seeing as how you are intelligent, sane people, you get into the collapsing house to fight the fire using weapons. You're bound to run into at least one wandering flame which will trigger a battle with Balloons. Even if you somehow manage to elude them all, you'll still open a door which turns out to be filled with four of them, so no worries. Boss Battle! While the FlameEater can summon both Balloon monsters and a solitary Grenade, this is not a valid monster formation, and it won't make either monster appear on the Veldt. [ ] Slurm [ ] Adamanchyt [ ] Abolisher [ ] Mandrake [ ] Insecare With Strago, and later with Relm, you explore the spontaneously appeared new cave dungeon. There's Slurm and Adamanchyt in the caves, and Abolisher, Mandrake and Insecare on the slopes. Another Ultros fight, you meet the Espers, everything goes exactly how it wasn't planned and a continent is sent flying. [ ] Sky Armor [ ] Spit Fire Obviously, you go into hot pursuit. On the way there you are stalked by men in flying armor, and you clear the Rages of Sky Armor and Spit Fire. Another Ultros battle, and an Air Force battle, and finally you're where you wanted to be. [ ] Dragon [ ] Ninja [ ] Apokryphos [ ] Brainpan [ ] Misfit [ ] Wirey Drgn [ ] Behemoth [ ] Gigantos The Floating Continent houses a massive array of new monsters, all with their own Rage. The monsters here include Dragon, Ninja, Apokryphos, Brainpan, Misfit, Wirey Drgn, Behemoth and the monster-in-a-chest Gigantos (chests on the Floating Continent are blue orbs in the wall). When you are asked if you want to exit the Continent and jump down on the Blackjack, please do. The reward is a *Veldt moment four* Now travel back again. Like most storyline events, you are completely unable to do anything even remotely useful and the world is destroyed. [ ] Peeper [ ] EarthGuard [ ] Black Drgn Celes wakes up on a solitary island. You control the life of Cid for a while, but what's more: you can clear your first WoR Rages! Peepers on the main land, and EarthGuard and Black Drgn in the desert. The last requires an Amulet or Ribbon from Celes' side to prevent a Game Over. Take the raft to the main land and you've done the WoR prologue. [ ] Lunaris [ ] Osprey [ ] Gigan Toad [ ] Chitonid [ ] Mesosaur [ ] Gilomantis On the main land, there are Lunaris and Osprey on the green patches, and Gigan Toad and Chitonid on the grey ones. Mesosaur lives in the forests (although you might see some outside of it) and Gilomantis lives more to the north-east of this continent. Enter Tzen. [ ] Scorpion [ ] HermitCrab [ ] Pm Stalker Sabin is holding up a house and can barely last for much longer, so you go in. Inside there are Scorpion and HermitCrab to be fought, and very rarely a Pm Stalker. It's better to open chests until you fight a formation of four Pm Stalker, though. To be sure, and all. Get the kid, get out, get Sabin, and get Jiggy with it. [ ] Delta Bug [ ] Lizard [ ] Buffalax [ ] Bloompire Crossing the bridge to the east of Tzen, you're now walking on the Serpent Trench. On it there are new monsters. There's Delta Bug, Lizard and Buffalax, and in the forests you have a good shot at finding Bloompire monsters. Take a look in Mobliz, do your stuff, and leave again. On to Nikeah, the city of your hopes and dreams. [ ] Nohrabbit [ ] Sand Horse [ ] Maliga [ ] Latimeria You get a ferry to a new continent (yet again). On it there are Nohrabbit on the fields, Sand Horse and Maliga in the desert, and Latimeria in the forests. Clear them all, talk to Gerad in South Figaro and enter the Cave of Figaro which has had its final makeover in this game. [ ] Humpty [ ] NeckHunter [ ] Cruller [ ] Dante [ ] Drop Inside you can clear Humpty, NeckHunter, Cruller and Dante. Proceed to and through the castle until you reach the engine room. Linger before you talk to Gerad, there are Drop monsters here which are rare and elusive and all. After you've found those, do battle and ship Figaro Castle to the Kohlingen Continent. [ ] Muus [ ] Bogy [ ] Harpiai [ ] Deep Eye Get Setzer from the Kohlingen Pub and explore the new continent with a new four-headed team. There are Muus on the plains, Bogy to the north (this is also where the Colloseum is), Harpiai and Deep Eye in the forests and Black Drgn in the desert. You already could fight the last one, but you were just plain single Celes then who might've been afraid. Now's your chance if you didn't fight him earlier. [ ] Orog [ ] Osteosaur [ ] Exoray [ ] Mad Oscar [ ] PowerDemon Enter the Tomb! In the first room there's Orog and Osteosaur, and in this room only. When you've fought them, proceed. From here onwards you'll meet nothing but Exoray, Mad Oscar and PowerDemon. Finish the Tomb quest and you're airborne now. [ ] Cactrot [ ] Hoover [ ] Crawler [ ] Reach Frog [ ] Geckorex [ ] Sprinter [ ] Spek Tor [ ] Mantodea You automatically fly to Maranda. Land here and go fight. In the desert there are two monsters: Cactrot and Hoover. Kill the Cactrot using Dice and run away from the Hoover for now (you just cleared the Rage). On the plains, there are Crawler for a while until you reach Jidoor. There's Reach Frog, Geckorex, Sprinter, Spek Tor and Mantodea now. Back to the airship! [ ] Harpy [ ] GloomShell [ ] Prussian [ ] TumbleWeed [ ] Tyranosaur [ ] Brachosaur Fly to the continent in the south-east part of the map. Land to fight Harpy, GloomShell and Prussian. Back up in the airship. To the last unvisited continent with new Rage monsters: the one north of the Veldt (you'll recognize the Veldt). Fight TumbleWeed, Sprinter and Spek Tor. Save up and go for the forest. Use Smoke Bombs to run. You’ll encounter Tyranosaur and very rarely Brachosaur. You may want to come back later to unlock these if your level if higher. [ ] NightShade Head to Jidoor, then enter the big mansion up north. Examine the flower painting to fight NightShade enemies! This detour is just so you’ll easily encounter NightShade on the Veldt during the next Veldt moment. Off to recruit Gau! But you're with four characters, right? How can you lose a character? Normally you'd just talk to another character, but that's not an option. On the first continent you arrived on, there's a massive mountain formation on the north part. There's a little hole in it. Fly the Falcon over it and have your characters divide. Use either the Crane or a Warp spell/Warp Stone to get out again and you'll be just Setzer now, piloting the Falcon. Go below deck to get yourself a party of three and go to the Veldt. Find Gau, but before you have another Veldt moment, let's take a look in the cave. [ ] Toe Cutter [ ] Rhyos [ ] SrBehemoth To the Veldt now, but hold off getting Gau for now: enter the Cave on the Veldt. You'll fight more Toe Cutter monsters then you'll ever want to, but be sure to stick around until you've found yourself a Rhyos. Seeing as how Allo Ver won't clear anything for you, do whatever and find Shadow/Relm. Fight the boss battle (which will clear a Rage for you!) and you'll find yourself in Thamasa. Anyway, now you've cleared what just may be the most important Veldt monster formation in the game, I guess I can allow... *Veldt moment five* Having found Gau, there are multiple side-quests open to you. Each side-quest will give you some good Rages I may suggest in other side-quest boss battles. Now that you have a BehemothSuit, I suggest the first thing you do is obtaining a Snow Muffler and other items you may pull from the Colloseum. If it was Shadow you found in the Cave of the Veldt you should recruit him here by betting a Striker. [ ] Borras [ ] Punisher [ ] Ursus [ ] Scrapper [ ] Luridan Complete the Mt. Zozo quest. Doing so should clear Borras, Punisher, Ursus (inside) and Scrapper and Luridan (outside). [ ] Dahling [ ] SoulDancer [ ] Wild Cat [ ] Crusher [ ] Vindr [ ] StillLife Go to Owzer's Mansion in Jidoor. I have told you to fight NightShade earlier. Other cleared Rages include: Dahling, SoulDancer, Wild Cat, Crusher, Vindr and StillLife. [ ] Red Wolf [ ] Nastidon [ ] Test Rider [ ] Wizard [ ] Psychot [ ] Mag Roader (yellow) [ ] Mag Roader (brown) Go to Narshe and clear Red Wolf, Nastidon and Test Rider in the town. Take the hidden path you took in the Edgar scenario and you'll find Wizard and Psychot in the mines (and in the first room two new kinds of Mag Roader). Find Mog and pull the Moogle Charm from the place he was standing on. Get out and now enter the mines north of Narshe. You'll meet and clear two new kinds of Mag Roader here, a big yellow one and a small brown one, but only if you haven't already. Proceed to the Ice Dragon and Tritoch. Beat them both and jump down into the new Umaro dungeon. [ ] Ceritops [ ] Poppers [ ] Kiwok [ ] Pug [ ] Tomb Thumb You can open a chest for monster-in-a-box fight with three Pugs. While you clear their Rage you can never actually get it from the Veldt. Other Rages include Ceritops, Poppers, Kiwok and Pug. The last one is extremely rare, but keep trying until you meet him. In the room where you fight Umaro, Tomb Thumb can be found. [ ] Magic Urn [ ] White Drgn Fly to the tower surrounded by mountains you couldn't reach earlier. Bring Mog and Relm. Relm will unlock Strago, and Mog with the Moogle Charm should make your life a little easier while climbing this tower. Loot it. In the Air Anchor room (hit the invisible switch to the right of the first chest you encounter, then go out to see a new door), take the Moogle Charm off; you will only meet Magic Urn here, which have a Rage to clear. Do *not* take the Gem Box from the chest on the very top. To be more precise, don't stand in front of the chest, as even that will trigger a MagiMaster battle which you probably don't want right now. Find the White Drgn and defeat it. You just cleared its Rage. When you're done, leave. [ ] Karkass [ ] Tap Dancer [ ] Covert [ ] Ogor [ ] Wart Puck [ ] Woolly Now it's time to head to the Triangle Island. The Intangir are gone, but Zone Eater will be more then willing to annoy you. While they have no Rage (which is a sad fact given their respectable elemental properties), they will suck you into a new dungeon. Monsters you fight here are Karkass, Tap Dancer, Covert, Ogor, Wart Puck and the highly rare yet extremely useful Woolly. Get Gogo for his Steal and Rage abilities and get out. It's been a while, so might as well make some room for *Veldt moment six* [ ] Critic [ ] Pan Dore [ ] Allosaurus [ ] Parasite [ ] Barb-E [ ] Suriander [ ] Rain Man [ ] Samurai [ ] PlutoArmor [ ] Sky Cap [ ] Io Take Cyan to Doma and spend the night there with a four-headed party. Cyan won't wake up and you'll leap into his soul. And an LSD-induced experience it turns out to be. In the first dungeon, fight Critic, Pan Dora, Allosaurus and Parasite. Fight the brothers and proceed. On the train you'll find Rain Man, Barb-E, Suriander and Samurai. Proceed and you'll find yourself in MagiTek armor! Fight PlutoArmor, Sky Cap and the elusive yet nifty Io here, all to clear those Rages. Fight through the rest of the scenario without any new Rage-monsters. [ ] Enuo [ ] Goblin [ ] Figaliz [ ] Lethal Wpn [ ] Boxed Set Take Figaro Castle to the other side, and you'll get stuck! Exit and explore. In the underwater dungeon, there's Enuo, Goblin and Figaliz to fight. Proceed to the Ancient Castle. In here Lethal Wpn and Boxed Set will fight you. Do your stuff and leave. [ ] Eland [ ] Cluck [ ] Warlock [ ] Slatter [ ] Displayer [ ] Hipocampus [ ] Opinicus Take Strago and Relm to Thamasa and you'll get to see a cutscene which will open a new dungeon. It seems Strago has a tendency to change the Overworld Map, not unlike Kekfa. In here, fight until you have cleared Eland, Cluck, Warlock, Slatter, Displayer, Hipocampus and Opinicus. Slatter and Cluck will appear more often in the first room of this dungeon, so fight some battles there if you're having trouble finding them. [ ] Aquila [ ] Chaos Drgn [ ] Trixter [ ] Necromancr [ ] Phase [ ] Parasoul [ ] Sea Flower [ ] Uroburos Having obtained all characters but Locke, dive into the Phoenix Cave. You can fight a large array of monsters here, and most of them absorb fire. The to-be-cleared Rages are Aquila, Chaos Drgn, Trixter, Necromancr, Phase, Parasoul, Sea Flower and Uroburos. You find Locke and you're all set to go. [ ] Vectaur [ ] GtBehemoth [ ] Evil Oscar [ ] Brontaur [ ] Land Worm [ ] Doom Drgn [ ] Vectagoyle [ ] Outsider [ ] Didalos [ ] Mover [ ] Madam [ ] Hemophyte [ ] Retainer [ ] Steroidite [ ] IronHitman [ ] Veteran [ ] Dark Force [ ] Dueller [ ] Fortis [ ] Sky Base [ ] Scullion [ ] Innoc [ ] Junk At the end, the Final Dungeon. A lot of strong monsters with generally impressive Rages. Among the rubble, you'll find Vectaur, GtBehemoth, Evil Oscar, Brontaur, Land Worm, Doom Drgn, and Vectagoyle. The Imperial, metal-like parts of the dungeon contain Outsider, Didalos, Mover, Madam, Hemophyte, Retainer, Steroidite, IronHitman, Veteran, Dark Force, Dueller, Fortis, Sky Base, Scullion, Innoc and Junk. Just fight a few battles in every room you come and you'll see them all. When you're almost at Kefka's, warp out and take your final Veldt moment: *Veldt moment seven* You now have cleared all Rages excluding Siegfried, Chupon and Allo Ver, and can meet all of them on the Veldt. Complete your Rage list and smash the game. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.2 Rage walkthrough notes for an LLG ********************************** All Rages that can normally be acquired can also be acquired in a Low Level Game, but it may require some out-of-the-box thinking. HeavyArmor Pick a fight with one of the stationary MagiTek Armors in South Figaro during Locke’s scenario. If you lose the fight, you’ll respawn without a Game Over. Fidor, Bounty Man, Rider, Trooper & HeavyArmor Engage a soldier while trying to protect Banon in the corresponding battle sequence. Die. You'll have cleared the monster formation, but you won't receive a Game Over since your team will respawn near Banon with 1 HP across the board. Brown soldiers may spawn Fidor, Trooper and HeavyArmor, green soldiers may spawn Bounty Man and Trooper, and the brown soldier racing in front of Kefka will always spawn Rider. Sewer Rat, Vermin Engage in a battle on the rafters of the Opera House and lose on purpose. You'll be kicked out of the Opera House but won't receive a Game Over; it's not until you mess up four times you'll get one of those. Mag Roader (red) Consult Novalia Spirit's excellent Mag Roader guide for more information on this one. Find it at: http://www.gamefaqs.com/snes/554041-final-fantasy-iii/faqs/38658 For the lowest amount of exp, you'll want to meet purple Mag Roaders only, so in a perfect LLG, no red Mag Roaders for you. Sp Forces Engage in a battle during the Imperial Banquet. Let the timer run out; you'll have cleared the Rage but you won't gain any experience points. Also, you get no props for battling them like you usually do, so no Charm Bangle for you in this case. Gigantos You spawn this guy from a Floating Continent orb, and once the battle starts you can’t run. You must cast Muddle on a character about to use a Magicite item or Setzer about to execute the random summon effect from the BAR-BAR-BAR Slot combination when Gigantos is about to die from the Poison status ailment. If Palidor is summoned by the confused character, and Gigantos dies while in the air, you won't gain Exp. Good luck! Ninja Encounter the Ninja, Ninja, Wirey Drgn monster formation on the Floating Continent, a mere 1/64 chance. Kill the Ninjas, then run before killing the Wirey Drgn. Rhyos Set Poison on it. Seizure also works, but Poison is the easiest. Now, make sure it has very little HP and dies on the next turn (from the ailment). Have someone cast Palidor and muddle the caster so he makes Rhyos jump. If it dies in mid-air, you won't get any experience and you'll have cleared the Rage. Phase Encounter the Phase, Parasoul, Necromancr, Necromancr monster formation, kill the Phase, run. Covert Will always be encountered with another monster, either Ogor or Tap Dancer. Kill the Covert, then run. GtBehemoth Kill it and run, as it can only be encountered with Vectaur and Evil Oscar. Land Worm Utilize the same bug as used by Rhyos. Condemned also works in this case. ********************************** 8.0 Unobtainable Rages and other oddities ********************************** Table of Contents: 8.1 Allo Ver 8.2 Siegfried 8.3 Chupon 8.4 Marshal 8.5 White Drgn 8.6 Pugs 8.7 ProtoArmor There are three Rages that Gau has a place for in his Rage list that you can never obtain. These three are Allo Ver, Siegfried and Chupon. The causes are explained below. There are other oddities as well: White Drgn and Marshal are two bosses that appear on the Veldt and have a Rage. Pugs and ProtoArmor appear on the Veldt, but have no Rage. Not all enemies that appear randomly in dungeons or on the World Map appear on the Veldt. Randomly appearing enemies that have no Rage and do not appear on the Veldt are: All L. ## Magic enemies from the Fanatics Tower Mega Armor Naughty Prometheus Zone Eater -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.1 Allo Ver ********************************** All that's wrong here is a formation mix-up; formation 515 was used instead of 126. So what's the problem here? Well, 515 is not a formation that can appear on the Veldt, and you can only encounter Allo Ver once, which means Allo Ver is never an available Rage. Also, #515 doesn't give Magic Points, as it is incapable of doing so, so the bug also keeps you from your much lusted-after Magic Point. Allo Ver, being undead, would have given you the usual Undead attribute, weakness against Fire and Pearl and absorbing of Poison-elemental attacks. The listed second move was Quake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.2 Siegfried ********************************** First off, there are two Siegfried monsters. The one in formation # 479 is the one you fight in the Phantom Train. This battle formation doesn't show up on the Veldt, as it only contains the weak Siegfried which does not have a Rage. However, there is also another Siegfried. The strong version which appears on the Colloseum and one of the only true challenges there. You never fight this monster outside of the Coliseum, so even though this Siegfried has a Rage you can never get it as Colloseum battles don't count as far as the Veldt concerns. There's evidence the game designers definitely wanted you to fight him at some point in the game (battle text was programmed already), but it was never completed and this Rage isn't accessible. Death protection and a Flare spell aside, this monster has eight elemental weaknesses and wouldn't have been that good anyway, unless paired with a Paladin Shld. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.3 Chupon ********************************** Almost the same story as with Siegfried. There is a weaker Chupon out there which you fight in a normal battle (he's together with Ultros, as you should know). There's a stronger version in the Colloseum which you fight there and there alone. There isn't anything in the game which indicates that this Chupon would have ever appeared in a normal battle (his job is at the Coliseum, preventing you from betting cheap items), so if anything this would probably be a mix-up not unlike what happened to White Drgn. The Rage would have included W Wind. People often wonder if it's perhaps Sneeze, but that would simply have been too cheap (it wouldn't have worked in boss battles, by the way, as you can not set 'Hide' on a monster in a monster formation which doesn't allow you to run yourself). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.4 Marshal ********************************** Together with White Drgn and SrBehemoth, this is the only boss that appears on the Veldt. The Marshal is the leader of the Narshe Guards, and you kill him in the very start of the game. Unlike White Drgn nobody goes around claiming this guy shouldn't be on the Veldt period, but it doesn't make sense from a story- line point of view, and it's still one of the three bosses in the game that appears on the Veldt, so I list it here. And Wind Slash is still the best multi-target spell Gau can produce in a WoB Rage, so no whining has been detected so far. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.5 White Drgn ********************************** White Drgn is Rage # 37. Its existence in that specific place in the list has been debated quite a lot. That's because unlike his seven partners in crime, the White Drgn can appear on the Veldt and has a Rage. There is no logical explanation for this whatsoever. You cannot partly break the Dragon Seal without killing the unique White Drgn, so there is no narrative excuse for this baby to appear on the Veldt. Yes, measures have been taken to minimize the damage here. White Drgn doesn't just drop his special item like the other dragons, but it's given to you after the battle in the Fanatics Tower. But quite a few people, including me, are convinced this dragon has no business on the Veldt. Regardless, you can get this Rage, and since it's a rather good one - Death protection, Pearl, Pearl-element absorption - nobody's complaining all too loudly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.6 Pugs ********************************** Ah, Pugs. Monster # 255, thus the 256th monster (00 counts as one, you work it out). While this monster in fact has a Rage, the menu needs an 'Empty' slot for the game to work properly and this 256th slot remains empty. You can meet the Pugs monster formation on the Veldt, and you actually *do* get their Rage once you have Leapt them, but as it is unselectable under any circumstance (including Muddle/Charm or Berserk) these guys have no reason to be on the Veldt but to provide you with a potentially unlimited amount of Minerva armors, even though you'll never need more than two. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.7 ProtoArmor ********************************** ProtoArmor, like Pugs, appears on the Veldt. The monster formation with two ProtoArmors doesn't, but there is a monster formation where it is paired up with two Pipsqueak monsters. ProtoArmor does not have a Rage, and no matter how many times you try to Leap on it and learn its Rage, Gau will always come back without a ProtoArmor Rage. It simply doesn't belong on the Veldt. Take comfort in the fact that seeing as how all other machine-related Rages suck, it probably wouldn't have given you anything but Schiller or Tek Laser had it made the final cut :) ********************************** 9.0 Gogo ********************************** It's tempting to think about Gau only when doing a Rage Guide. After all, he's the embodiment of Rage, he's the only one who can Leap, has no other skills besides that, etc. But there's another character who can use Rage, and if you didn't know that is Gogo then you need to be smacked over the head with a rolled up New York Times. Differences between Gau and Gogo are statistic-wise or equipment wise: Statistic: Gau Gogo Gau, n.u.e.* Gogo, n.u.e.** Vigor 44 25 48 32 Speed 38 30 41 37 Stamina 36 20 38 27 Magic Power 34 26 34 45 Battle Power 99 13 99 181 Defense 44 39 250 202 Magic Defense 34 25 191 172 MBlock 18 6 36 86 * Normally Ultimate Equipment: Genji Shld, Red Cap, Snow Muffler ** Normally Ultimate Equipment: Magus Rod, Paladin Shld, Genji Hlmt, Tao Robe As you can see , I put the Paladin Shld on Gogo to make up for the lack of any kind of worthwhile stats. The reason of this is to see where Gogo could possibly outshine Gau when it comes to Rage. Vigor is still severely lacking, and with Gau easily reaching 255 in Battle Power with the Merit Award, it's obvious that Gogo will never quite use the !Catscratch like Gau will. Speed is comparable yet slightly less with Gogo. Stamina, for all what that's worth, is much less. But then we reach the statistic Magic Power. Magic Power is naturally higher on Gau, but he develops himself physically with his equipment, where Gogo is compatible with all sorts of magic-boosting armor. Even without the Paladin Shld he'll outshine Gau here, and I chose the Genji Hlmt over the Magus Hat here (the latter could've added 5 more to the Magic Power stat, bringing it to a very respectable 50, which is higher than equipment-less Relm). Battle Power is much higher here, because Gogo can equip weapons where Gau cannot. However, this is easily remedied with a Merit Award. In the Anthology version, Gogo beats Gau when it comes to physical hits (see the Anthology section). Defenses, both physical and magical are lacking compared to Gau. Gogo is the defensive WORST in this game, where Gau is the best because of the Snow Muffler. You see that Gau wants a Merit Award for offensive; Gogo needs one for defense. But Mblock...even with as many non-Merit Award Mblock-boosting equipment as possible, Gau will never equal Gogo in that aspect; Gau has the tank-ability going for him. He has 255 Defense, and physical hits are one of those things a Rage can't really protect you against. A strategy that relies on that 255 Defense will be wasted on Gogo as he'll take massive poundings from Honed Tusk, Crush and Havoc Wing. On the other hand, Gogo beats Gau with evasive maneuvers. Gau stands fairly powerless against a Charm spell; Gogo can simply avoid it in most cases. Also, strong spells such as Land Slide, Meteo and Shock will hurt a lot more coming from Gogo in this set-up. As far as physical attacks go, it depends on the version you're playing. A SNES game favors Gau over Gogo because of the Merit Award, an Anthology version will favor Gogo over Gau. Remember, Gogo can attach six elements (Fire, Ice, Bolt, Poison, Pearl, Earth) with corresponding random spell casting to his Battle attack, and do twice the amount of damage to human targets with the Man Eater, all without the Merit Award. Granted, the Air Lancer has the Wind element, but even doubled it won't reach the power of a non-super effective Pearl Rod. ********************************** 10.0 Best practices; cheaper than off-brand Sabor de Soledad cheese puffs ********************************** Table of Contents: 10.1 Wind Gods 10.2 Rage and Run 10.3 Best Rages in the World of Balance 10.4 Best Rages in the World of Ruin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.1 Wind Gods ********************************** Wind God Gau is the demon child of a simple overlook from Square. The Wind God is unique to the SNES game because it requires equipping the Tempest weapon in tandem with the Merit Award on Gau. Here’s how it works. The Tempest has a 50% chance of nullifying the damage done by a physical strike and casting a Wind Slash attack on all opponents. This can even happen if the physical strike misses. Normally, Wind Slash is a humble 48 Base Power magical attack. However, the 50% Wind Slash may also appear when Gau or Gogo uses a Special Attack through Rage, and damage bonuses applied normally to physical damage instead applies to Wind Slash. The strongest Special a Rager can use is !Catscratch, which quadruples the power of the attack, making Wind Slash a 192 Base Power attack. When teamed up with the Offering, this will produce four attacks of that 192 Base Power Wind Slash 50 % of the time. That's pretty close to four times Crusader at the enemy party only at NO MP cost whatsoever. The only downside of the Wind God is that it is, in fact, a Wind God. Monsters that are immune to Wind include Flan, Ifrit, Io, Muus, Naughty, Nerapa, Shiva, Tritoch and Zone Eater; monsters who absorbs this element include Atma, Evil Oscar, Girl (The angel head from Tier 3), Hidonite (Bottom left), Intangir, L.90 Magic, Larry, Magic Urn, Poltrgeist, Storm Drgn and Woolly. Final note: During a Wind God Wind Slash with the Offering, don't be surprised if the all-targets hitting Wind Slash suddenly skips some targets. After the physical strike has been rendered ineffective, the Wind Slash will only target those monsters that haven't been defeated yet. The monsters won't go until you completed all four hits, so should you use the Wind Slash against a group of four monsters, and the first hit kills one already, the next Wind Slash will only target the other three. When all monsters are dead the Wind Slash animation won't show up at all, only the ineffective physical strike. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.2 Rage & Run ********************************** Rage & Run is a technique that might not be the most fun way of dealing with some bosses, but rather essential when playing self-imposed rule games such as a Single Character Challenge or a Low Level Game. Rage & Run means exactly that what it says: you pick a Rage and start running. Why will this help you? Some bosses will cast spells you can protect against when they are at maximum HP, but start using Meteor or something along those lines when they reach certain low amounts of HP. In a game where Gau is only level 10, this is both unavoidable and deadly. After picking a Rage, for instance Magic Urn, you gain status protection and elemental attributes of that Rage...but you don't actually damage the opponent as you are running as opposed to attacking. After the boss has drained its own MP so he cannot cast the feared spells, you can stop running and start hurting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.3 Best Rages in the World of Balance ********************************** The following Rages are presented in Chronological order. Brawler Casts Stone, inherent Berserk Auto-Berserk is a good thing, but Stone is equally awesome. Not only is it the only non-elemental magical attack Gau will perform until after the Floating Continent, it muddles everything it hits (unless protected against said status) and will do 7.5 times the damage (!) when the caster's level and target's level are identical. Note that due to the equal amounts of Magic Power they possess, Gau will make as good a Stoner as Strago ever was. Which reminds me about that time Gau and Strago went to White Castle. Hazer Casts Bolt 2, weakness against Pearl Hazer is not Undead, contrary to popular belief. It doesn't make sense, I know. It just makes this Rage a little better. Bolt2 hits hard throughout the WoB, and it hits significantly hard before everybody else can touch it. Gets bonus points for being extremely useful in an LLG. Hazer becomes mostly obsolete by the time you obtain Aspik, but it’s a nice Rage to utilize until then, especially against a Veldt-roaming Telstar. Marshal Casts Wind Slash, weakness against Poison Wind Slash is a strong multi-target attack throughout the WoB, is the strongest multi-target attack when you get Gau right away and is simply illegally effective against the Imperial Air Force. Rhodox Casts Snare While Bleary uses Doom and Commander uses Break, there's no instant-death spell quite like Snare. It looks pretty nifty (especially when used on a large creature), checks fewer immunities than Break, stalls final spells for one turn, and it's more accurate than Doom. Generally hailed as the ultimate Intangir-Slayer, and not without reason. Stray Cat Uses !Catscratch No Death protection. No elemental absorbing. No status protection worthy of mention. No positive statuses whatsoever. What the hell is a normal Battle and Special WoB critter doing in the Legendary Tactics section? Stray Cat has a Special for a Rage, you see. The Special is called !Catscratch, and it's the strongest Special you'll see in the game performed by Gau. Many an inexperienced player clings to this Rage as he can remember at least a single Rage and what it does, and it seems to work brilliantly. You'll even find it here fairly often, as combined with the Merit Award and the right choice for weapon; it can exceed any magical attack. It's also a vital part of the Wind God, as it will make the Wind Slash attack reach 192 as opposed to the second-best from Gold Bear, which would make for a 120 one. That's an Alexander as opposed to a focused Crusader. The Stray Cat Rage is what you’ll want to use in tandem with the Merit Award to gain both the Wind God and other weapon-based shenanigans. Templar Casts Fire 2, inherent Safe, weakness to Poison Alternate Hazer/SlamDancer here, with a Fire-element this time. Are you a man? Do you have man’s needs, such as hiking and beer? Do you buy body wash for men as opposed to unisex body wash? Then Templar is the Rage for you. It burns your enemies to a crisp with Fire 2 and features inherent Safe for your sensitive skin. Trilium Casts Bio, weakness to Fire, absorbs Water Trilium can be picked up when you first encounter Gau, and features the Bio spell that deals super-effective damage to everything in Zozo. If you plan on taking Gau sight-seeing in the rainy city, Trilium is the Rage4You. Primordite Uses !Numblade, weakness against Lightning This Rage becomes obsolete once you learn the Stop spell, but several bosses are vulnerable to this status before you do so. Rider, Narshe Kefka, Dadaluma, and Opera House Ultros are all vulnerable to the ailment, which makes Primordite a valuable asset in those fights. Vector Pup Uses !Bite, inherent Haste, weakness against Fire When your level is decent !Catscratch may be overkill, and while !Bite won't hit nearly as hard, there's still an auto-Haste to consider. So if you're sick of that !Catscratch graphic you can...do something entirely non-Vector Pup as !Bite shares the graphic :( Anguiform Casts Aqua Rake, weakness to Lightning, absorbs Water For the price of traveling back to the Veldt prior to the Opera House sequence, Gau can pick up Anguiform so he has a 50% chance of performing Aqua Rake on the Southern Continent. Aqua Rake completely destroys anything in the MagiTek Facility and is a superior offensive Rage in other situations as well. Aspik Casts Giga Volt, inherent Float, weakness to Fire, absorbs Water Aspik is one of the first enemies you see after you leave the Veldt for the first time, which makes it necessary to make a special Veldt Trip for this Rage. It's all worth it, though. Giga Volt is the strongest single-target magical ability usable through a Rage in the World of Balance, and it's pretty impressive. Giga Volt can target both all targets and a single one. Has inherent Dark status but due to Dark immunity you'll never notice. HadesGigas Casts Magnitude8, weakness to Poison, absorbs Earth Magnitude8 is a more powerful MT attack than Aqua Rake when cast versus suitable targets, but beware Floating monsters since they’re immune. ChickenLip Casts Quake, weakness to Ice The ChickenLip Rage and its Quake spell can be an extremely powerful addition to your team, but you’ll have to be careful. Quake is a barrier-piercing Earth- elemental spell that hits both opponents and allies alike. All non-Floating targets on the battlefield are hit. Make sure your characters are either Floating or clad in Gaia Gear. Gaia Gear characters are even healed by Quake, probably to da max. Baskervor Casts Cyclonic, Death protection Cyclonic may not be the most accurate of spells, but it destroys 93.50 % of your opponents current HP. ALL the targets. As long as you make sure the enemies aren't immune to instant-death attacks and you have a good follow- up move you'll be more than fine. Chimera Casts Aqua Rake, Death protection Basically does the same as Anguiform, only has superior elemental attributes and status immunities. You can encounter this guy as soon as you get the Blackjack airship. Rhinox Casts Life3, inherent Safe, absorbs Lightning, Death protection Normally speaking there is no real reason to use Life3 in the World of Balance but Rhinox provides it anyway. It’s a unique feature and can be important in certain challenge games. In a No Magic Game, this is the only way to get the Life 3 status. Intangir Casts Pep Up, inherent Clear, Float, Haste, Safe & Shell, absorbs all elements, Death protection* Intangir was a massive disappointment for many, I suppose. A monster that is inherently invisible, has Float, Haste, Safe, Shell and Death protection, is immune to all status ailments and absorbs all elements. The ultimate defense Rage in the game. Too bad it casts Pep Up half the time, not only killing but also removing Gau or Gogo from the battlefield. Aside from having Gau teach Strago the Pep Up Lore, there is a way to use the Intangir Rage successfully. Mute Gau prior to Raging. Intangir is immune to the ailment, but if you cast Mute beforehand the Muted Intangir Rager cannot cast Pep Up. Note that due to a bug, the positive statuses won't be set if the first turn is the muted Pep Up attack. If the attack is the normal physical one, you'll have an almost invulnerable Rager on your hands. Behemoth Casts Meteor, weakness against Ice Behemoth always was a physical juggernaut in the Final Fantasy series, so why this Rage doesn't include the Take Down Special we'll never know. Meteor is multi-target, non-elemental, barrier-piercing and you won't see it beyond the Rage ability for well into the WoR. To use it in the World of Balance, you’ll have to leave the Floating Continent though, and it’s not particularly effective on the Floating Continent or against AtmaWeapon. Ninja Casts Water Edge, inherent Float, absorbs Poison, weakness against Lightning and Pearl The strongest multi-target Water-elemental attack in the game, inherent Float, and just being a kick-ass monster; it all comes together in the Ninja Rage. It's not specifically useful for anything in particular, mainly because there's a shortage of powerful opponents weak against Water, but it's still the only Item used in a Rage and I like that. It’s probably not worth leaving the Floating Continent. It’s slightly weaker than Aspik’s Giga Volt versus the AtmaWeapon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.4 Best Rages in the World of Ruin ********************************** The following Rages are described in something of a chronological order. Since the World of Ruin lacks a strict order, I chose to use the order I use in my walkthrough, carefully selected for narrative logic and gameplay ease. Deep Eye Casts Dread, weakness to Fire The Dread attack is a unique Stone-setting attack that is the only Stone- setting attack that does not check for Instant Death immunity. This means that Dread can one-hit KO certain monsters which you can't one-hit KO in any other way. The monsters in question: Hazer, Baskervor, Suriander, Gilomantis, Pug, Wart Puck, Vectaur, Brontaur, Cephaler, Gigan Toad, Spek Tor, Latimeria, Lunaris, Nastidon, Karkass, Borras Trixter, Dadaluma, Tentacle x3, Hidonite, Naughty Brontaur, Borras and Karkass are nice, but especially Pug is a great moment to pick a Deep Eye Rage. Dread will instantly slay the beast, though you’ll still have to deal with the inevitable Step Mine counter. Harpiai Casts Aero, weakness to Wind, Death protection Aero is the second-strongest guaranteed multi-target attack Gau'll get in this game, not counting the Merton spell which needs some items to make it work. Unfortunately no special attributes which make this Rage more interesting, but if you're still feeling sympathetic towards the old-school WoB Gau who sparkled because of heavy-hitting multi-target attacks, then you'll want to go with Harpiai, a Rage that can be unlocked as soon as you recruit Gau in the World of Ruin. Harpiai’s the one near Kohlingen! Mesosaur Casts Step Mine, weakness to Ice In a normal game Step Mine’s travel-based damage formula won’t outperform other powerful attacks, but in an LLG Rage provides an MP-free spell of which the damage is calculated independent of the caster’s level. Crawler and Tomb Thumb also cast Step Mine, but Mesosaur is encountered the earliest and has the best defensive properties. Prussian Casts Land Slide A lot of people prance around with the PowerDemon Rage because Flare is supposedly everything you'll ever want. Land Slide is unblockable where Flare isn't, is stronger, non-reflective and not vulnerable to Runic. It's simply better in every possible way, and Prussian and Luridan both use it. Luridan has some elemental weaknesses where Prussian hasn't, but either one is just fine. Tyranosaur Casts Meteo, weakness against Ice, Death protection Meteo provides barrier-piercing non-elemental damage to multiple targets, making it a Rage-induced destruction option somewhere between GrandTrain and Ultima in damage potential. Sadly, Meteo’s iffy Hit Rate makes it miss 20% of the time versus targets without Mblock. Meteo is to be used versus multiple targets only, since versus a single target it’s outperformed by Land Slide and likely Aero as well. Punisher Casts Bolt 3, inherent Haste, weakness against Poison Punisher is Hazer on crack, checking in with Bolt3 as opposed to Bolt2 and an inherent Haste status. There are quite a few Rages that use Bolt3, including the undead Floating Karkass with Death Protection (a rarity, an undead with that property), but I'm in love with auto-Haste and that's what you'll have to live with here. Also, it's an awesome property, so it's what is best for YOU. Rhyos Casts Surge, Death protection Where Gau was a multi-target spell killing machine in the WoB, worthwhile spells of this kind are rare in the WoR. Rhyos' Surge is one of them still, a multi-target Ice-elemental spell. It’s slightly weaker, but Rhyos’ Death protection and Ribbon-like status immunities provide additional reasons to use it. Toe Cutter Casts Shrapnel, absorbs Ice, weakness against Fire and Wind, Death protection Shrapnel is like a level 3 elemental spell, but without the element. Randomly switching from multi-target and single-target, you never know what you're going to hit with Shrapnel. But it looks cool and Toe Cutter has Death Protection and inherent Ice absorption, so it deserves its place in this list. Note that while Shrapnel looks like and seems to imply it's physical, it's as magical as Harry Potter's Magical Spell of Magic. NightShade Casts Charm, absorbs Water, weakness against Fire, Death protection The NightShade Rage is so blindingly cheap, easily accessible and downside- free you can seriously wonder if there never was supposed to be some kind of defense against it...which the game obviously lacks now. Charm has been discussed before in other FAQs - Assassin’s Lore FAQ, to name one - but for purposes of completeness I will explain it here yet again. Charm sets a specific kind of 'status' in which the affected targets acts like it's been confused by something like Muddle or Stray's Cat Rain. This effect does *not* go away when the target is struck by a physical attack, but while terribly convenient in its own right, this isn't why Charm is such a game-destroyer. Since it’s not an actual status, there can be no defense: Charm works *always*. On every boss, from the undead Hidon to the invincible Guardian, from the final Kefka to whatever part of the last battle. This could have been fun had it been extremely rare, such as Joker Doom. However, the NightShade Rage has a 50 % chance of using Charm, and with a Hit Rate of 80 (which indeed means a 4/5 chance of hitting the target) you'll be able to eliminate every challenge this game has with ease. Charm, to elaborate a little more, creates a 'bond' between the target and the caster. If either one dies the effects of the spell are over. If Gau or Gogo has Charmed one target he cannot Charm another one until the first target dies. If Gau has Charmed a monster which is then Charmed by Gogo, Gogo will successfully 'steal' this target from Gau, creating a new bond between them. Gau would then have a new capability of successfully Charming another target. Or steal that thing right back :) Finally, Charm can co-exist with Muddle, allowing both monsters and characters to use random moves out of their list against the proper party, as the spells are re-directed twice. Io Casts Flare Star, nullified Poison, Wind and Earth, weakness against Lightning, Pearl and Water Flare Star is a multi-target Fire-elemental attack that deals damage based on the target’s level, then divides calculated damage by the number of enemy targets. This makes it relatively weak versus multiple monsters, but it shines versus bosses since they tend to have high levels and operate alone. Here's a small list of the better boss battles to deploy Io in and the amount of damage Flare Star will do every time Gau casts it. Note that the + symbol indicates the target is weak to Fire and damage cannot be doubled with the Debilitator. - Doom Gaze 9999 + - Ice Drgn 9999 + - Tritoch 9920 + - Umaro 5280 + - Storm Drgn 5920 - SrBehemoth (Undead) 7840 + - SrBehemoth (Living) 6880 + - Chadarnook (Demon) 6560 + - Master Pug 5840 - KatanaSoul 4880 - Goddess 5440 - Atma 5360 - Guardian 5360 - Gold Drgn 4960 - Skull Drgn 9920 + - Kefka 5680 Woolly Casts Ice3, inherent Float, absorbs Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Earth, Water, weakness against Fire While not the best defensive Rage in the game, Woolly absorbs a striking number of elements while still rocking something of a dangerous spell in Ice 3. Woolly can be tough to track down, both inside the Zone Eater and on the Veldt, but once you have it, you have it. Sadly lacking the Death protection, but you can plug that Fire weakness with a Snow Muffler. Magic Urn Casts Cure3, absorbs all elements, Death protection Magic Urn is as tankish as you get without having to resort to the madness that is Intangir. With eight kinds of elemental absorption (all of 'em), status protection to everything that can be protected including from including Death and Cure 3 for attack, it's unlikely anything will be able to take down a Magic Urn Rager, especially when he's wearing a Snow Muffler. Magic Urn is simply the best Rage & Run Rage you'll be able to find. If Magic Urn doesn't protect you, nothing will. There's not really a lot to say about Magic Urn. It works like a charm, it can be obtained as soon as you get your hands on the Falcon (if you do so, you'll single out the Magic Urn monster formation in its pack, so you're bound to run into it on the Veldt in a short time) and Cure 3 is just nice to have, even if it does have to deal with uncontrollable healing issues (never the right one, never!). White Drgn Casts Pearl, absorbs Pearl, Death protection Pearl isn’t as powerful as Bolt3 coming from Punisher or Aero coming from Harpiai, but White Drgn has more status immunities and Death protection on the defensive side. Also, should the Rager encounter the Muddle status or a Reflective enemy, he’ll just heal himself with the spell. Brontaur Casts Fire3, weakness to Ice, Death protection Death Protection and Fire3. If you need a Fire-element this Rage is your best bet unless you are prepared to deal with the consequences of a Merton spell. Just plain a very solid contender without any gross downsides and a very respectable attack. Doom Drgn Casts N. Cross, inherent Float, Death protection Not quite as cheap as NightShade, Doom Drgn nevertheless gives us a move that will be of great help in every battle, having the power to stop every enemy in its tracks by giving it the Freeze status using N. Cross. Unlike Charm, Freeze wears off after a period of time (34 intervals using the same intervals as Condemned), and it's instantly dispelled when the target is struck by a fire- elemental move (If the Final Fantasy series have thought us anything, it's that Fire melts Ice). N. Cross has a Hit Rate of 90, which sounds a bit better that the Hit Rate of Charm. However, there is one major thing keeping us from adoring N. Cross, which is it's special effect. With 0% Mblock, there's a 10 % chance it will miss, which will give you that perky 'miss' message. But after the game has decided in your favor that the move *did* land, there's still a 50 % chance that it will not do anything. Even when the move doesn't do anything due to that there will be no such notification as a 'miss' message, and as Freeze has no visual effects on monster you can never be for sure it worked until you sit around and watch the target do nothing for a good while. Which you shouldn't be doing in a tough battle as there's still a 50 % chance he's about to pummel your asses all the way back to Switzerland :) NightShade can be encountered fairly quickly, Doom Drgn appears only in Kekfa's fortress. NightShade has, all in all, a 80 % chance of working, Doom Drgn only a 45 % one. And the results of Charm are better than that of N. Cross. I'll admit NightShade is the cheaper trick out of the two, but let me tell you something: had it not been for NightShade, this baby would have gotten all the glory. The glory it so rightfully deserves. Despite killing the challenge of the game, that is! Evil Oscar Casts Bio, absorbs Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth and Water, weakness to Fire If you have both Woolly and Magic Urn, Evil Oscar is somewhere in between. It absorbs Pearl-elemental attacks while Woolly does not and casts Bio, providing more offence than Magic Urn. It’s easier to encounter than Woolly as well. A primarily defensive Rage if you need one. Mover Casts Merton, inherent Float, absorbs Poison Merton is a barrier-piercing Fire/Wind-elemental spell. It's only inferior to Ultima in sheer damage and it's unblockable. The big-ass downside is the fact it hits every target on the screen, including your own party members. If this is something you prepared for using Flame Shlds and the like this will be a Ultima/full-party Cure3 all rolled into one wonderful move. If you haven't prepared, you die. Retainer Casts Shock, weakness against Poison, Death protection Stray Cat may be popular, but there is no Rage that has so many fans for a reason that's not necessary strategy-related as the Retainer Rage. From Martin Luther King to JFK, everybody likes dead people, and the late Imperial General Leo Christophe is no exception to that rule. His special skill was Shock, and that's exactly what Gau will do when using this Rage with Death protection. It’s like Harpiai’s Aero, only non-elemental. Vectaur Casts Pearl Wind, weakness against Ice and Water, Death protection If you need a regular healer then Vectaur is the Rage for you. Less competent Healing spells such as Cure2 tend to hit the wrong target(s), and with Pearl Wind you’re guaranteed to hit all your characters. Pearl Wind will heal the entire party with the amount of the caster's current HP, and with Gau's inherent tank abilities in the WoR I dare say it's a rare occasion that Gau's HP will be too low to make the Pearl Wind turn a wasted effort. Veteran Casts Roulette, Death protection Roulette is an oddball move that will, most likely, appear to you as yet another Lore which usefulness is in the gutter. On a Veteran Rager, however, it's pretty brilliant. Because Roulette is carried out differently when used by a character with auto-aiming (Sketch, Rage, etc.) Roulette simply transforms into an unblockable Doom spell. Heck, it's capable of killing a Cactrot! ********************************** 11.0 Boss strategies ********************************** Table of Contents: 11.1 Air Force, Laser Gun, MissileBay, Speck 11.2 Allo Ver 11.3 Atma 11.4 AtmaWeapon 11.5 Blue Drgn 11.6 Chadarnook 11.7 Chupon, Ultros 11.8 Cranes 11.9 Curley, Larry, Moe 11.10 Dadaluma 11.11 Dirt Drgn 11.12 Doom 11.13 Doom Gaze 11.14 Face, Long Arm, Short Arm (final battle, tier 1) 11.15 Gigantos 11.16 Girl, Sleep (final battle, tier 3) 11.17 Goddess 11.18 Gold Drgn 11.19 Guardian 11.20 Hidon 11.21 Hit, Tools, Magic, Tiger (final battle, tier 2) 11.22 Ice Drgn 11.23 Ifrit, Shiva 11.24 Inferno 11.25 KatanaSoul 11.26 Kefka (Narshe) 11.27 Kefka (final battle, final tier) 11.28 Master Pug 11.29 Number 024 11.30 Number 128 11.31 Poltrgeist 11.32 Presenter 11.33 Pugs 11.34 Red Dragon 11.35 Rider 11.36 Skull Drgn 11.37 SrBehemoth & SrBehemoth 11.38 Storm Drgn 11.39 Telstar 11.40 Tritoch 11.41 Ultros (Opera House) 11.42 Umaro 11.43 White Drgn 11.44 Wrexsoul -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.1 Air Force, Laser Gun, MissileBay, Speck ********************************** Enemies: Air Force, Laser Gun, MissileBay, Speck Attacks : Tek Laser, Diffuser, Atomic Ray, Missile, Launcher, WaveCannon Enemy: Air Force Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning, Water Status ailment weaknesses: None Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Laser Gun Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Slow, Stop Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: MissileBay Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Slow, Stop Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Speck Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Slow, Stop Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Runic Weapon: Not available This is one of the tougher battles in the game, and because this battle is all about being hit hard and hitting hard to answer the threat, many a Low Level Gamer or Single Character Gamer has been tormented by its very existence. The battle will start with Air Force and its two little helpers, Laser Gun (Tek Laser, Atomic Ray) and MissileBay (Missile and Launcher). As soon as one of the small guns dies, a Speck will be created that absorbs all spells vulnerable to Runic and the Air Force will gain Haste status and switch from its normal attack pattern to a countdown of 5, performing WaveCannon when it hits zero. WaveCannon is not your friend! Rhinox Life3 Rhinox is a tank in this battle, either being immune (Missile, Launcher) or absorbing (Tek Laser, Diffuser, WaveCannon) all spells directed at him. There are two downsides. First, this Rage has pathetic offense, so this will be a long battle for a Gau SCC. Also, Atomic Ray can still hurt Gau. Focus all your offenses where possible on Laser Gun. As soon as he's down, the battle is yours. You might want to grab a snack and discover the meaning of life while he's busy. Plenty of time. Intangir Pep Up Just a quick note on this awesome beast: if you have a character which can use Mute, do so on Gau and engage Intangir. Pep Up, while Muted, won't do anything for your fellow party members, but Intangir does everything Rhinox does *and* absorbs Atomic Ray. While technically protected against Missile and Launcher, the inherent Clear status makes sure they will still hit and damage. Not to worry, though: Intangir is immune to Seizure, so he won't die from it unless your HP ever reaches 1. Which it won't due to crazy constant healing from Tek Laser, Diffuser and Atomic Ray. Chimera Aqua Rake Chimera doesn't absorb anything, but he does have Death protection for the Missile and Launcher attacks, and has an offense which is far superior to Rhinox. Aqua Rake will do massive damage due to the Water weakness of all four monsters and can't be absorbed by Speck. Probably your best in a normal, functional team. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.2 Allo Ver ********************************** Enemies: Allo Ver Attacks : Doom, Condemned, Atomic Ray Absorbs : Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Petrify, Death, Condemned, Confuse, Seizure, Slow Special: !Dead End (sets Wound) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Fire Rod, Scimitar, Pearl Lance If there ever was a monster which is most likely to be fought with Gau, it's Allo Ver. You meet him right after you start exploring the Cave of the Veldt, guarding the Tiger Fangs. Allo Ver would have given you a nice Rage which I definitely would have advised against foes such as Hidon, but as a challenge he is laughable. Lich Fire2 Move the cursor over the Rage command. Press whatever action button of your choice. Find the Lich Rage, it's all the way at the bottom. Use the action button again using downward pressure of one of your fingers (which you had previously placed on the button). You just won this battle. Lich is healed by every single one of the moves Allo Ver uses. I can safely say that after engaging a Lich Rager, this monster's smoldering remains will be All oVer the place ;) Dark Wind Break Instant-death attack, lack of Death protection and Petrify protection, Hit Rage, etc. Dark Wind gets the job done. Atomic Ray shouldn't show its ugly face unless you're astronomically unlucky and you could always equip a Wall Ring if you're frightened about Doom. It'll heal and revive Allo Ver, but this Rage doesn't depend on the damage you're doing anyway, so it's no issue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.3 Atma ********************************** Enemies: Atma Attacks : Battle, Fire3, Ice3, Bolt3, S. Cross, N. Cross, Cleansweep, Quake, Meteor, Flare Star, Ultima Absorbs : Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Seizure, Slow Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Ragnarok, Wing Edge, Fire Rod/Ice Rod/Thunder Rod Atma is a totally optional boss, and I think it's sad there really isn't any point in fighting him whatsoever. Not even a rare item you couldn't get in another way than fighting this thing. But the sprite is neat, and so is the music, so we'll bother with him anyway. Atma absorbs any of the non-basic elements, so you're only bet is non-elemental damage and Fire/Ice/Lightning. There's little to say as the attacks he performs are great in number and versatility. Ultima stands out here. After he has been damaged 12 times he'll start pumping himself up for Ultima, so it's best to take him out as quickly as possible. Note that Atma, unlike AtmaWeapon, is *not* Floating. Woolly Ice3 Woolly is a Rage I'll be repeating a lot, as it's basically a lesser version of Magic Pot with a more offensive perspective on life. He'll absorb anything for you but Pearl (no special reaction) and Fire, which is the weakness. With the Fire element being Atma's favorite, this is *not* an option if you don't have a Flame Shld for Gau to equip. If so, then this is preferable over Magic Urn by miles. Magic Urn Cure3 Defensively, only Magic Urn comes close to full protection. Granted, you won't like Meteor, but you'll survive. If you get really unlucky, he might even use a Meteor and another Meteor on the next turn, but you should even survive that and you'll absorb the next attack no matter what. This Rage goes nicely with a Wall Ring as everything that can be reflected will hurt Atma. The Battle attacks might not be strong enough to finish Atma in 12 hits, so you could eat an Ultima with this Rage if you lack other characters. Thankfully, reflected spells don't add to the "12-hits to Ultima" thing, so combine this with the Rage & Run strategy for optimum results. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.4 AtmaWeapon ********************************** Enemies: AtmaWeapon Attacks : Battle, Special, Flare, Blaze, Bio, Quake, Meteo, Fire2, Mind Blast, Quartr, Rasp, W Wind, Flare Star Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Seizure, Slow Special: !Full Power (Battle x 2) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: Not available AtmaWeapon is the sum of all your troubles you met in the WoB. Gather ye the powers you gained over the first half of the game and display them here to take on your worst nightmare, my friends. AtmaWeapon has several nasty tricks in his arsenal, of which Death-based attacks, Flare and Fire-elemental spells are his favorite. Also, there's Mind Blast, an AtmaWeapon-exclusive move that can set a wide variety of status ailments, of which Zombie, Poison, Imp, Petrify, Condemned, Mute, Berserk, Muddle, and Stop are the worst. There's really no protection short of a Ribbon, so cross your fingers and hope you won't meet it. No such thing as Magic Urn yet, and no such thing as NightShade, or Doom Drgn. We'll have to *think* here. Or I have to do so, you can just read the bloody Guide, you lazy bastard. When HP is low enough he'll get flashy, self-apply Safe, Shell and Haste and use Flare Star and Mind Blast and the like. Rage & Run will protect you from these spells, but it's a tedious strategy. Finally, do note that Atma and AtmaWeapon share an exact same set of status protections :) Chimera Aqua Rake Aqua Rake is still a strong spell, especially when targeted on a single monster. Chimera has Death protection going for it, which should help against Quartr and W Wind. Not much to say, really. If you have Edgar there's a 25 % shot at nailing a weakness for this move, so give that a shot if you will. Wall Ring is a must here for Flare, Bio, Fire2 and Rasp. Ing Lifeshaver Ing hails from the Cave of the Sealed Gate, and absorb Fire rather than being weak to it. With inherent Float and Poison absorption, that takes care of five spells of Atma, including Flare Star. Lifeshaver sucks back any HP loss you might have when you cast it (it's insanely strong). A combo of Quartr and a physical attack can still do Ing Gau in, but together with a Wall Ring this Rage is a very good way of winning this fight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.5 Blue Drgn ********************************** Enemies: Blue Drgn Attacks : Battle, Acid Rain, Aqua Rake, Flash Rain, CleanSweep, Rippler Absorbs : Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Slow Special: !Hit (drains MP) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Thunder Rod One of the eight Elemental Dragons, the Blue Drgn is obviously the dragon of water. By far one of the easier dragons around, its attacks are all blockable and Water-elemental, save for Rippler which you don't have to worry about. Just avoid having the Haste status and it won't show up to steal your Rage from you, which it can due to a bug. Anyway, if you're playing a LLG get 128% Mblock and it won't matter what Rage you pick as long as it's not self- destructive or Water-elemental. Aspik Giga Volt Pick this Rage and you're set. It absorbs Water-elemental attacks and uses Giga Volt to inflict insane amounts of Lightning-elemental damage to wreak havoc upon Lightning-hater Blue Drgn. There's really nothing to it. Trilium Bio The ticket in a LLG, Trilium's Bio will poison Blue Drgn. With Water-absorbing evildom, you can just sit back and relax while seeing Blue Drgn engage his final battle with green goop. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.6 Chadarnook ********************************** Enemies: Chadarnook, Chadarnook (Starlet form) Attacks : Battle, Special, Bolt2, Bolt3, Flash Rain, Charm, Lullaby, Phantasm Enemy: Chadarnook Absorbs : Lightning 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Slow Special: !Hit (sets Condemned, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Chadarnook (Starlet form) Absorbs : Lightning 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Slow Special: !Doom Kiss(sets Condemned, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Pearl Lance Chararnook is a fiendish fiend who has taken over a picture of Starlet. The mission objective is simple. Capture the Radar Dome! But in the meantime, you still have a boss battle on your hands which can turn sour on those who don't quite know what to do when. If it isn't clear (it wasn't to me for some time), Chadarnook lives in the Starlet painting, which has also been given life like the other paintings in Owzer's Mansion. Now Starlet, while beating the crap out of you with sneaky spells such as Charm and Phantasm, is an expensive painting which you don't want to kill (ruin). So only attack when the Chadarnook demon comes out to inflict pain upon you. That should stop the Starlet painting from being alive and Charming! If you can't smell Rage & Run in the air, you haven't been paying attention. :D White Drgn Pearl This is quite possibly the best choice you have, provided you can back this up with a Thunder Shld. He'll absorb anything but Flash Rain (and either the Titanium or the Snow Muffler helps there). Lullaby will just put the Rager to sleep which is only dangerous if he can also hurt you while you're snoozing, and Charm...well, White Drgn absorbs its own attack. The physical attack will hurt the Rager, but not with a Pearl Lance or Pearl Rod equipped. On the offensive, any Pearl-elemental attack will heal Chadarnook (Starlet) and do massive amounts of damage against the demon. In an SCC, a Wall Ring makes sure that even while Gau is Charmed, he will be damaging Chardarnook. SrBehemoth Fire3 The alternative Rage. Being undead, this baby will eat Condemned for breakfast and will gain maximum HP from it again. Just like a real breakfast. Fire3 hurts both Chadarnook monsters, but that's not too bad. Caveat! There's Charm which will turn Fire3 against the Rager. And he'll be weak against it if he doesn't have protective gear of some kind! There's a Wall Ring for times like these, my friend. Fire3 will bounce off to inflict hurt upon the monster. I told you about Rage & Run...when the Starlet painting shows her pretty face, hold those buttons until the demon comes back. This one needs a Thunder Shld as well. Vaporite Blaze The same as the SrBehemoth, but it doesn't need that Wall Ring. Playing a "don't buy Wall Rings" game that is so shockingly popular these days? Might try this one. Do equip a Flame Shld should you find yourself in Blazes due to Charm. Rage & Run for Starlet, should you have forgotten it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.7 Chupon, Ultros ********************************** Enemies: Chupon, Ultros Attacks : Battle, Special, Fire Ball, Sneeze, Tentacle Enemy: Chupon Absorbs : Fire 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Ice, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Mute, Berserk, Sleep, Slow, Stop Special: !Imp Goo (sets Poison, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Ultros Absorbs : Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Slow Special: !OctopusInk (sets Dark) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available This is the last battle which features Ultros. Trust him. He's pathetic in this battle, both stat-wise and attack-wise. Chupon and Ultros complement each other nicely: Chupon absorbs Fire where Ultros is weak against it, and Chupon is weak against Water where Ultros is healed by it. Also note the sudden Poison-elemental weakness coming from Ultros, which he for no particularly good reason now has rather than a Lightning weakness. Not very logical. A mistake? Shmaybe, but it's not the point of this Guide so I won't address it after this. Except for taking advantage of it. >:) Mag Roader Bio This is the Purple one we're talking about, mind you, not the ever-elusive red one. Bio feeds off the poison weakness Ultros has, and this Rage also protects against the physical attacks with the Inherent Safe. However, there is a weakness against Fire to consider, and Fire Ball can take vicious advantage of that with you lacking any kind of Flame Shld or other goodies. Stray Cat !Catscratch (Battle x 4) PATHETIC defenses, these guys have. And Stray Cat is just the ticket to take advantage of that. A Stray Cat is pretty much always a good enough option, but with physical defenses like these, you'll be doing a lot of damage very quickly. No Safe, no absorbing going on, but it's !Catscratch and you love that. Coelecite Magnitude8 Should you have this Rage, it'll be nice to you. You'd think that at least Chupon would be Floating, but he isn't so Coelecite's Magnitude8, the strongest multi-target spell Gau can use at this point, will hit both for heavy damage. Also, Coelecite will absorb Chupon's Fire Ball. ChickenLip Quake Last suggestion, I promise. As neither Chupon nor Ultros is floating, Quake will connect and it will *hurt*. It will also hurt you, by the way, so unless you have Gaia Gear on everybody I'm not recommending this Rage. If you do have it, this is the best thing you can do as Fire protection is nice, but 600 HP worth of healing 50 % of the time Gau attacks beats Fire Ball-healing, and that's the way it is. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.8 Cranes ********************************** Enemies: Crane, Crane Attacks : Battle, Special, Fire, Bolt, Fire2, Bolt2, TekBarrier, Magnitude8, Fire3, Giga Volt Enemy: Crane (left) Absorbs : Lightning 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Water Status ailment weaknesses: Slow Special: !Iron Ball (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Crane (right) Absorbs : Fire 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Slow Special: !Iron Ball (Battle x 2) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available Caught in a nasty pincer, these two mechanical wenches show that yes indeed, machines can be powerful opponents. Not only do they pound you with fairly impressive attacks, they also charge each other to unleash attacks you *really* don't want to have directed at your party right now, being Fire3 and Giga Volt. Plus, there's Magnitude8, an attack that will connect when you don't have the Float status once the battle has reached 60 seconds of time. And finally there's TekBarrier, a self-targeted attack which sets both Reflect and Safe. It all sounds nasty enough, so can Gau help us out in this battle involving ....(drum roll)....Double Trouble? Anguiform Aqua Rake Risky yet AWEsome. I really wish I would have Chimera here for you, but you can't get that Rage until after you got your airship, and this battle is all about getting it in the first place. Anguiform will have to do. There's only one reason why you should want this Rage, and it's called Aqua Rake. Single- targeted and super-effective against both Cranes, it's a massive attack which - provided your level is decent - will kill a single Crane in one hit. But with this Rage comes a great weakness, and that's Anguiform's weakness against Lightning. The left Crane can target Gau with a Bolt2 and kill him in a single hit. Choosing this Rage will make sure the battle is over soon, at least that much is true. :P HadesGigas Magnitude8 The Cranes are not Floating, so this spell works wonders here. It'll hit for 100 Base Power where only Giga Volt surpasses that at this point, a Rage that's not very practical with the left Crane absorbing that spell and using it to charge up for its own Giga Volt. So yeah, it's not quite as strong as Anguiform, but quite a lot safer, especially if your level isn't that spectacular. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.9 Curley, Larry, Moe ********************************** Enemies: Curley, Larry, Moe Attacks : Battle, Fire2, Fire3, Ice2, Ice3, Bolt2, Bolt3, Slow, Mute, Stop, Delta Hit, Cure2, Rflect, Safe, Shell, Haste, Pearl Wind, Life2 Enemy: Curley Absorbs : Fire 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Ice, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Sleep Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Enemy: Larry Absorbs : Ice, Wind 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Death, Condemned, Mute, Muddle, Slow Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Enemy: Moe Absorbs : Lightning 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Berserk, Stop Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: Sniper A very fun fight indeed, this is. All three little incubus rascals live their lives with the Float status, so the Sniper is the perfect weapon to take horrible amounts of advantage out of that. There are two things to consider in this battle. If Curley is still alive and spots a brother biting the dust, he'll use Life2. If Larry takes more than 6 Magic hits and isn't in a formation of three (one is down), he'll flee. If he's the last monster, the battle is over; else he'll reappear after a while. Enuo CleanSweep If you look at the above stats, you'll see that the strongest of the three is Curley, who also happens to be the one you want down first. He has a weakness against Water-elemental attacks. Aqua Rake is not an option as it's both Water and Wind-elemental and Larry would absorb it. CleanSweep is the best bet, but there's more to Enuo: inherent Reflect takes care of the majority of the enemy offenses. Sadly Enuo is not protected against Petrify, so you might want to equip a Jewel Ring, Ribbon or Safety Bit for Delta hit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.10 Dadaluma ********************************** Enemies: Dadaluma, Iron Fist x2 Attacks : Battle, Special, Item (Tonic, Potion), Throw (Dirk, MithrilKnife), Jump, Safe, Shock Wave, Steal Enemy: Dadaluma Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Imp, Mute, Sleep, Slow and Stop Special: !Sweep (sets Seizure, Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Iron Fist Absorbs : Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Zombie, Poison, Clear, Imp, Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Mute, Berserk, Muddle, Seizure, Sleep, Slow and Stop Special: !Knee Kick (Battle x 2) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available Dadaluma is supposedly the leader of the Zozo gang of thieves and erotic dancers, and is a cross between a martial artist and a thief when you look at his moves. If you try to Steal from him, he'll try to steal right back (like the Harvester monsters), and with mainly physical attacks, Shock Wave and the ability to whistle for two Iron Fist buddies he seems like a Duncan student gone to the Dark Side. Taunt him enough and he'll slip three healing potions down his throat and cast Safe on himself, pumping himself up a little. But the real threat comes after either three Fight commands or two Magic spells, as he'll Throw two daggers your way which WILL kill you if you're not under the influence of Clear. One tip about the Dadaluma: assuming you have either Edgar or Gau in your party (and if you don't have the latter, why are you reading this?), try confusing some Gabbldegak monsters on your way to the final battle. They will cast Vanish on you, which is a great help as it will make you immune to everything but Shock Wave (which will get rid of the immunity, CLEARly). It'll be hard to get all four party members under Clear as Vanish on a Cleared target will lift the status again and you can't control what target the Gabblegak will pick. Be happy with three, that's not entirely out of reach :) Trilium Bio Bio is the second-best Poison-elemental spell in the game, and as the strongest one, Pois. Frog, is too elusive to make good use of, Bio will aid you throughout the game. And guess what: this spell is accessibly this early by Gau the Wonderchild. With Dadaluma's glaring weakness against Poison and it obviously ignoring Safe, Bio will destroy Dadaluma very quickly. It will heal Iron Fist monsters, agreed, but who cares about those zeroes? Areneid !Numb (sets Stop) You have no idea how disgustingly cheap Gau's Stop Specials appear to me while I'm writing this. Seriously, how much more Primordite and Areneid descriptions can I give? Either of them will Stop Dadaluma in his tracks, preventing any kind of dangerous moves from his side. It's a little iffy if you don't have strong characters to back Gau up on this one, but either Rage will prevent a Game Over. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.11 Dirt Drgn ********************************** Enemies: Dirt Drgn Attacks : Battle, Special, Quake, Magnitude8, Slide, 50 GS Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Wind, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Sleep, Slow Special: !Honed Tusk (Battle x 5) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: Sniper, Poison Claw (LLG), Blossom That Opera Stage background simply was too cool to only use for a single fight, don't you think? Square apparently did, as they stashed a dragon here for no apparent reason. Heck, what does it matter? You can win a Magus Rod, and Dirt Drgn is actually one of the tougher battles if you don't know what you're doing. If you *do* know what you're doing, this guy's easy. Let's get cracking. Harpiai Aero Aero is simply the strongest wind-elemental attack you're going to get on a Rage with inherent Float. Hornet comes to mind as a possible puny Wind God, but it's really not a fair match between the two. With inherent Float, 50 GS can't bring you down and Aero will hurt a bundle. The only thing standing between Gau and ultimate and guaranteed victory are Battle and Special attacks. Dirt Drgn has quite the devastating Special, but 255 Defense, something you'll have for this fight, will make sure it won't harm Gau whatsoever. LLG, NMG, you name it: Harpiai with a 255 Defense Gau is a strategy that's infallible in this battle. Ninja Water Edge If you happen to have missed Harpiai and you just can't find him on the Veldt, Ninja will do the trick just as nicely. Water Edge won't deliver as hard a blow as Aero will, but invulnerable is invulnerable and time isn't of the essence. If you hadn't figured it out already, Ninja has inherent Float, so with that 255 Defense you win. Water Edge still takes advantage of an elemental weakness. Mind Candy !SleepSting (sets Sleep, no physical damage) If you're keen on keeping your other characters alive as well, Mind Candy is a good option. Inherent Float = Yay, but it's Mind Candy's attack which will rule the day: It will use its Special, !SleepSting. Dirt Drgn will doze off, giving plenty of opportunity to kick in with your miscellaneous Bum Rush/etc. violence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.12 Doom ********************************** Enemies: Doom Attacks : Special, Ice3, N. Cross, Absolute0, R. Polarity, Targetting, ForceField Absorbs : Ice, Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Slow Special: !Demon Rage (Battle x 4, unblockable) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Wing Edge Doom is one of the three goddesses, and under normal circumstances the easiest opponent out of the three in my opinion. Her battle style is simple. She will start off by using two strong Ice-elemental attacks and N. Cross. When her HP is low enough, she will gain Haste, Image and Reflect status and will start nullifying random elements while Targetting a single character and following by releasing an unblockable physical attack. Ice-elemental and physical attacks, where's the challenge for a Snow Muffler Gau? Prussian Land Slide While you may want to take horrible advantage of the weakness against Pearl, keep in mind that not only will she give herself the Reflect status, she'll also try to nullify the element. Land Slide is a non-elemental, magical attack which'll push straight through both Image and Reflect. Combine it with the Snow Muffler you should be wearing and increase that defense to 255 and you cannot lose. Luridan Land Slide This Rage will perform like Prussian in every slightly relevant way in this battle. Land Slide, needs a Snow Muffler, etcetera. Toe Cutter Shrapnel Should you be pro-animal rights and/or simply thinking furries are disgusting, Toe Cutter will make for an Ice-element absorbing Rage which doesn't need the Snow Muffler. Shrapnel is weaker, yet non-elemental and magical. Too bad that Doom has a filthy high magical defense, but you'll survive long enough to see Shrapnel bringing her down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.13 Doom Gaze ********************************** Enemies: Doom Gaze Attacks : Battle, Ice3, Doom, L. 5 Doom, Aero, Escape Absorbs : Ice, Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Clear Special: !Bane Claw (sets Poison, no physical damage) Inherent Status: Float, Shell, Safe Weapon: Sniper, Pearl Lance, Valiantknife Doom Gaze soars through the sky and attacks you. It's your job to attack it right back. Attack it right in the eye! His battle pattern is very short, very easy to understand and very solid. He starts off with L. 5 Doom, uses two rounds in which he can use Doom, Aero or Ice3, and then he'll have a 66% at using Escape. If not, he'll do two more rounds, another chance at escaping, etcetera. As he has permanent inherent Safe, Shell and Float, he'll be hard to hit with a lot of force....but Gau can handle him. Io Flare Star Io is one of more popular Rages, but no matter how flashy Flare Star looks it's still not your best bet in practically any fight. Here, however, Io stands firm. Flare Star is a fire-elemental move of which the damage depends on the target's level. Then, the total damage is split between the number of targets, like GPRain. With Doom Gaze, the damage would be always 5440. Factor on his weakness against fire, and you'll have a 9999-damage attack at ANY level Gau casts it. Io nullifies Wind-elemental attacks as well. Combine with a Wall Ring for Doom and Ice3 and you're invincible. As long as L. 5 Doom doesn't kill you. Cephaler !Husk (Battle x 1.5) Cephaler doesn't have any elemental attributes which are relevant in this fight, nor does he have something that would really pin Doom Gaze down. But with Death Protection, the possibility opens to combine this Rage with a Thunder Shld and a Snow Muffler, making him immune to all of Doom Gaze's attack. Both of these items will make him unstoppable when combined with any Rage with Death protection, but should you have a Merit Award this might just be the most powerful one. The Sniper will take advantage of Float, the Pearl Lance will take advantage of the elemental weakness, and the Valiantknife will piece through the Safe which Doom Gaze has. Take your pick. Note that Red Wolf will work just as well here (Cephaler and Red Wolf are the only Rages who combine a Special with Death protection). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.14 Face, Long Arm, Short Arm (final battle, tier 1) ********************************** Enemies: Face, Long Arm, Short Arm Attacks : Battle, Special, Safe, Haste, Quake, Shock Wave, Dread, R.Polariy, Magnitude8 Enemy: Face Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : Earth Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Dark Special: !Slip Hit (sets Seizure, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Long Arm Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Wind Status ailment weaknesses: Petrify, Wound, Berserk Special: !Red Claw (drains HP, Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Short Arm Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Water Status ailment weaknesses: Mute, Berserk, Seizure Special: !VacuumWave (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Tempest, Wing Edge This is the first tier of the final battle, and while it looks like one massive demon you will actually battle with three targets. Face is obviously the head of the creature which is visible, Long Arm is the lower-left target and Short Arm is the lower-right target. Long Arm will just attack using physical attacks and the occasional Shock Wave, Short Arm will attack physically only, and the Face is where the brain is located: it will be mostly non-offensive for the first part of the battle, using R. Polarity and some Safe and Haste-casting on the Arms. At lower HP he will start using Dread and Magnitude8, and when he's the last one to fall he'll say goodbye with a Quake spell. Stray Cat !Catscratch (Battle x 4) A very quick mentioning of the Wind God possibility is deserved here, also because the next battle will suit a Wind God equally well. Three targets, of which one is weak against Wind-elemental attacks. Should you want to go for this option, you'll want to equip a Ribbon (also given the next battle). A Stray Cat Rage can also feature an Offering and Wing Edge combination, and given the fact that one part is susceptible to instant-death will make for one happy Stray Cat. Inferior to the Wind God, though. By miles. Use Float to avoid being killed by Earth-elemental violence. Woolly Ice3 Provided you're all Snow Muffler'd up, the physical attacks won't be a problem. Even without, they remain physical attacks that can be easily defended against (unless your name is Gogo and your handicap is not having a Merit Award). Shock Wave is simply too weak to worry about, so it comes down to Dread and the Earth-elemental attacks. Woolly has Petrify protection and absorbs Earth-based attacks, and Ice3 is a nice enough offense. More on the defense then Stray Cat is, but preferable on low levels. Vectagoyle Aqua Rake One hand is weak against Water, the other against Wind. If you have a strong Fire-elemental magic caster to back you up on Face Aqua Rake will put the hurt on this monster party. Vectagoyle, on the defense, is immune against Petrify. Cast Float to protect from Magnitude8 and Quake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.15 Gigantos ********************************** Enemies: Gigantos Attacks : Battle, Special Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Imp, Petrify, Death, Condemned, Mute, Berserk, Confuse, Slow, Stop Special: !Throat Jab (Battle x 5) Inherent Status: Safe Weapon: Not available You'd think that a monster with just two attacks up his sleeve, both physical, can hardly be a challenge. And you'd be right! Summoning Phantom before the battle renders you invisible and invincible, he dies instantly from every death-based attack including L. 5 Doom and he lacks any kind of worthwhile status immunities. What can Gau do? Dark Wind Break I've recommended it Allo Ver, and I'll recommend it on Rider. Break is the most accurate instant-death attack Gau can perform at the moment (and ever, actually), and because Gigantos both lacks Death protection and Petrify protection, Gigantos will quickly resemble the Colossus of Rhodos. Which lies in ruins, mind you. Mag Roader Bio This Rage has everything you can possibly ask from a WoB Rage against a monster such as Gigantos. Inherent Safe to absorb those physical attacks should you have forgotten to summon Phantom before the battle, an extremely strong Bio spell against a foe who is weak against the element, has exactly 1 Magic Defense and is vulnerable to the Poison status. With these kinds of defenses, Gigantos will quickly resemble Goliath. *After* he was slain, that is. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.16 Girl, Sleep (final battle, tier 3) ********************************** Enemies: Girl, Sleep Attacks : Battle, Special, W Wind, Condemned, Merton, Meteo, Pearl Wind, Train Enemy: Girl Absorbs : Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Status ailment weaknesses: None Special: !Calmness (sets Sleep, no physical damage) Inherent Status: Float Enemy: Sleep Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: None Special: !Calmness (sets Wound, no physical damage) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: Sniper This is the third tier of the Final Battle. Girl is the angelic head, Sleep the blue guy who'd do well in the era of Baroque. Girl absorbs all elements and can be very hard to kill provided you don't have the right stuff, Sleep pummels the party with spells such as W Wind, Merton and Train, an unblockable move which sets Dark and Mute. Girl will continue to heal the enemy party with Pearl Wind. If she's still alive when Sleep dies, she'll just cast Life2 on him. If you're confused by the fact that Girl is both absorbing as well as weak against all elements, that's to protect her from the Debilitator, which'll have no effect on her. Red Wolf !Rush (Battle x 1.5) I advised Cephaler earlier while mentioning that Red Wolf was just as good; Red Wolf is immune to Mute and Sleep and has Death protection. Combine with a Flame Shld for Merton, and you're aptly protected against most of the attacks sent your way. Use a Merit Award and combine with a Sniper to take advantage of both the targets their Floating nature. Sleep won't start using Meteo until he reaches 10240 HP, so Rage & Run is a godly tip for LLG players out there. Tyranosaur Meteo Like Red Wolf, only with Meteo rather then a devastating physical attack you can combine with the Offering. Meteo, on the other hand, will always target the entire enemy party and will target Girl more often. Girl has got to go first, so that's definitely a plus for this fight. Needs a Flame Shld just like Red Wolf does. NightShade Charm While being ALWAYS cheap, this Rage gets bonus points here for turning an instant-death Special against the enemy party. And it has all the required status protections and Death protection, only needing a Flame Shld to complete it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.17 Goddess ********************************** Enemies: Goddess Attacks : Battle, Bolt2, Bolt3, Flash Rain, Quasar, Charm, Love Token, Lullaby, Overcast Absorbs : Lightning, Pearl 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Clear Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Haste, Shell Weapon: Wing Edge, Valiantknife, Fire Rod, Ice, Rod Goddess is one of the most clever fighters out there. She knows that she can try and smother you in powerful attacks, but you'll just be absorbing them. Instead, she realizes the horrific potential of Charm and Love Token, not to mention the horror that is Overcast. All in all not a great problem if you can smack her very hard and very fast, but if you can't you're in for some major trouble. What can Gau do to relieve your misery? Note that R & R is very advisable in an LLG here; Rage and Run will outlive Quasar until she has no energy to cast it. Didalos Merton Combined with a Flame Shld, Merit Award, Wall Ring and Snow Muffler, the Didalos Rager knows no enemies in this battle. Quasar, while painful, will be outhealed right away. Didalos uses Merton, which hits all target on-screen. Also, it's barrier-piercing. It laughs in the face of Goddess her Shell, and even Charm cannot hinder it in hitting Goddess. Equip a Fire Rod on Gau so he will heal himself when he strikes himself. Finally, Didalos is immune to Sleep, so Lullaby won't be a problem. Note that because Goddess won't use physical attacks, the Imp's Armor grants superior defense in this battle. I debated a long time between Mover and Didalos, but in the end Overcast would heal Didalos and cripple Mover while there really isn't any reason to use curative magic in this battle. PowerDemon Flare PowerDemon with a Wall Ring and a Thundr Shld. That's all there is to it; this Rage will turn Gau immune to Overcast, will be reflecting Bolt2 and Bolt3 spells, will absorb Flash Rain due to the obvious Snow Muffler, Quasar can be outran if you want to and as long as you equip a Poison Rod and that Wall Ring you'll be healing yourself or hurting Goddess when Charmed. This Rage is inferior to Didalos yet more easily accessible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.18 Gold Drgn ********************************** Enemies: Gold Drgn Attacks : Battle, Bolt, Bolt2, Bolt3, Giga Volt, Reflect Absorbs : Lightning 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Water Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Berserk Special: !Hit (Battle x 4) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Trident This is a horrible, horrible battle. Gold Drgn's attacks are completely one-dimensional and Lightning may very well be one of the easiest elements to absorb, given the fact you can receive unlimited amounts of shields which will make you absorb the element and the possibility to equip these shields on everybody. Hell, even Umaro's Rage Ring will nullify the element. On the other hand there are multiple techniques for you to follow, which are all very slow and most likely painful. Evil Oscar Bio It inherently absorbs each and every one of Gold Drgn's attacks, and it makes the Rage user cast Bio. It's vulnerable against the Poison status, so this is the ideal Rage for a LLG player. There's little more to say. Woolly Ice3 If the slow HP-reducing Poison status is nothing compared to your sheer power and level, you might as well go with Woolly. It also absorbs the Lightning- element, but Ice3 hits quite a lot harder then Bio does, and that's a good thing. Note that this Rage will be just as effective, only slower, than Evil Oscar in an LLG. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.19 Guardian ********************************** Enemies: Guardian Attacks : Tek Laser, Missile, Atomic Ray, Diffuser, Launcher, WaveCannon, Entwine, Tentacle, Stone, Shock Wave, Throw (MithrilKnife), Throw (Ashura), Item (Tonic), Item (Potion), TekBarrier, Flare, Meteo, Flare Star Absorbs : Lightning 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Water Status ailment weaknesses: Slow Special: !Ink (sets Dark, Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Thunder Rod There's no monster who comes as close to Gau as Guardian. Practically unbeatable (in the WoB) and the ability to completely switch to another style of attack. Guardian has five battle programs. The basic program (Tek Laser, Missile, Atomic Ray), Ultros' program (Tentacle, Special, Entwine, Ink), Atma's battle program (Flare, Meteo, Flare Star), Dadaluma's battle program (Shock Wave, Throw, Item, TekBarrier) and Air Force's battle program (Tek Laser, Diffuser, Launcher, WaveCannon). Note that Dadaluma's battle program is simply called 'Battle program', but the pattern is recognizable. Such a great list of versatile moves...what Rage to pick? Ceritops Giga Volt This Rage scores very high indeed. It's immune to Missile and Launcher, will absorb Tek Laser, Diffuser and WaveCannon, will take less damage from Tentacle and the physical attacks due to inherent Safe and is protected from Stone's evil tendency to set the Muddle status. Combine with a Flame Shld for Atomic Ray and Flare Star, and use a Wall Ring for a possible Flare and your only worry is Meteo, which will hardly ever be used and even then will be quickly recovered from. And next to all that defensive goodness, Ceritops casts Giga Volt, a strong move which will feed off of the weakness against Lightning so many machines, Guardian included, have. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.20 Hidon ********************************** Enemies: Hidon, Hidonite, Hidonite, Hidonite, Hidonite Attacks : Battle, Special, Poison, Bio, Virite, Raid, ChokeSmoke, GrandTrain Enemy: Hidon Absorbs : Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl, Earth Status ailment weaknesses: Clear, Slow Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Hidonite Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Wound, Condemned, Mute, Muddle, Seizure, Sleep, Slow, Stop Special: !Mega Claw (Battle x 4) Inherent Status: Safe Enemy: Hidonite Absorbs : Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Earth Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Mute, Seizure, Slow, Stop Special: !PoisonClaw (sets Poison, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Hidonite Absorbs : Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Berserk, Seizure Special: !Confuclaw (sets Confuse, no physical damage) Inherent Status: Reflect Enemy: Hidonite Absorbs : Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Clear, Wound, Condemned, Muddle, Seizure, Slow, Stop Special: !Zombi Claw (sets Zombie, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Scimitar You came here to get Strago's ultimate Lore. Did I just say that? I meant to soothe his troubled soul. But obviously you also came here to clear some new Rages and to test Gau's strength against this guy. Hidon's a pushover, so no worries. But what's best? The lower right Hidonite absorbs all elements but Earth, and is reflective on top of that. Ouch. Hidon revives any fallen character and turns them into Zombies. And when he's alone, he'll use GrandTrain, a painful unblockable non-elemental barrier-piercing attack that you won't like until Strago starts using it. Cluck Quake Practically the only downside to this Rage is that you can only clear it in Hidon's own dungeon, meaning you'd have to meet it, visit the Veldt, get it, and return (which might take a good while). But that aside, the Cluck Rage is perfect for this battle. Quake hits all the little Hidonites and the big Hidon, nobody is healed, and as long as you combine this with the Float status you won't be troubled with it's tendency to hit you as well. Cluck absorbs Poison and is immune to the status, so next to GrandTrain there really isn't anything that can hurt you. Magic Urn Cure3 What the hell? What's Magic Urn doing here, for from the Legendary Tactics section where it's supposed to be? Quite simple: There's something extremely nifty about Magic Urn in this battle. Combine this with a Wall Ring. Hidon is Undead. With 255 Defense and Poison absorbing, Gau is only vulnerable to Raid and GrandTrain. And get this: not all of the Hidonites are Undead, so even though the battle may last for a long while in an LLG, Gau will never kill all Hidonites. Gau can't die = Victory. Brawler Stone Stone is a nice move that won't heal any monster in this battle, and can confuse up to two Hidonites. Meanwhile, you get to enjoy auto-Berserk and both absorbing of the Poison element and immunity to the Poison status. Combine with a nice weapon from the Merit Award for some icing on this cake and you're practically done before the battle starts. Not the fastest option but very sneaky. A tip for a Low Level Game. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.21 Hit, Tools, Magic, Tiger (final battle, tier 2) ********************************** Enemies: Hit, Tools, Magic, Tiger Attacks : Battle, Special, Haste, Haste2, Imp, Fire3, Ice3, Bolt3, Muddle, Poison, Drain, Bio, Dispel, Quartr, Rflect, Stop, Life3, Pearl, Flare, Rasp, Ice2, Sleep, Slow2, Flare Star, N. Cross, S. Cross, Tek Laser, Diffuser, Atomic Ray, Grav Bomb, Missile, Absoulte0, Delta Hit Enemy: Hit Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Berserk Special: !10 Hits (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Enemy: Tools Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning Status ailment weaknesses: Wound, Condemned, Slow, Stop Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Enemy: Magic Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Earth Status ailment weaknesses: Mute Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Enemy: Tiger Absorbs : Earth 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Ice Status ailment weaknesses: Poison, Seizure Special: !Doom Tusk (sets Zombie, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Sniper The second tier is obviously the most versatile of the four stages of the Final Battle, and that's partly because there are four parts to this fight. Tiger is the tiger head, Hit is the humanoid in to the far right, Magic is the humanoid to the far left and Tools is the faerie-like girl in the red ribbon in the middle. Their names teach you their fighting styles so I won't elaborate; what I will mention is that all targets but Tiger have auto-Float which you can take advantage of. Stray Cat !Catscratch (Battle x 4) None of these targets absorb wind, they're all strong opponents and it's tough VS tough. Why not call in the divine help of the Wind God to aid you in these struggles? You could combine this with a Wall Ring for instant retaliation for Magic casting. Evil Oscar Bio When combined with a Flame Shld, this Rage will take care of every elemental attack that's sent your way. On top of that, Tiger can be poisoned and Hit is weak the Poison-elemental Bio spell. The downside of this Rage lies in Evil Oscar lacking Death protection, and since moves like Launcher and Grav Bomb will be directed at your party, you'll kinda miss it. Goes nice with a Wall Ring. Magic Urn Cure3 Has the defensive power of Evil Oscar as well as inherent Fire-elemental absorption, protection from Tiger's Special Doom Tusk (causes Zombie) and Death protection. The usual suspect for the downside is the suck-ass offense. With a Sniper and either a Black Belt or an Offering, this offensive might not be so terribly bad. And with three other party members enjoying Cure3 in action, this might be a good choice. Don't do this if you have a Wall Ring, you don't want to heal the opponents, right? Chaos Drgn Disaster When combined with a Thundr Shld (and you still have the Snow Muffler), this Rage protect you from the basic three elements, nullify Wind (which isn't an issue in this fight) and provide Death protection. Its major quirk is the move it uses, though. While Disaster may be only half-way decent in most battles, it's Gau's best shot at taking advantage of the numerous status weaknesses of these monsters. Disaster sets Condemned on Tools and Mute on Magic, turning the latter one into a harmless kitten and making sure the first one goes bye-bye in, at a decent level, 20 seconds. The downside is, obviously, you're stuck with Disaster for the rest of the battle while it's completely useless, so should you want to do this you'll have to make a Magic Urn-esque leap of faith with the Battle attack. Renders a Wall Ring useless as there's nothing to reflect anymore. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.22 Ice Dragon ********************************** Enemies: Ice Dragon Attacks : Battle, N. Cross, Absolute0, Surge Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Mute, Berserk, Muddle, Seizure, Slow Special: !Hit (Battle x 2) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Fire Rod Remember Gold Drgn? This is the Ice-elemental version, and it has nothing on Gau. With the obvious Snow Muffler, all attacks will be absorbed and the physical strike will be a waste of this dragon's time. Even without the Snow Muffler, there are several Rages which'll make life easy enough to laugh to your reflection in the mirror. Leafer !Incisor (Battle x 1.5) Bunny VS Dragon, and I won't have to tell you that this game is more then capable of letting the bunny win. Leafer absorbs Ice-elemental attacks and uses a boring 1.5 Special. Combine with a Merit Award and Fire Rod for improved (read: faster) results, but you'll win even without. This dragon has nothing on a Leafer. Mad Oscar Sour Mouth With a Snow Muffler, this is the LLG pick you'll want. Sour Mouth will set Dark, Poison, Mute and Muddle on him. He'll start hitting himself, take damage from Poison and can't turn N. Cross and Absolute0 on you anymore (Surge is a Dance attack so he'll still be able to do that). Combine with an Ice Shld, a Fire Rod and the Back Row and I'll guarantee you a victory at any level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.23 Ifrit, Shiva ********************************** Enemies: Ifrit, Shiva Attacks : Fire, Fire2, Fire3, Blaze, Ice, Ice2, Rflect, Blizzard Enemy: Ifrit Absorbs : Fire 50 % damage : None Nullifies : Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Weak against : Ice Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Slow Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Shiva Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Slow Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available This is a pretty tough fight. Both Ifrit and Shiva have defenses through the roof and will only take damage from those elements they are respectively weak against. So how does the Wild Child handle his first Esper fight, being stuck in one? Brawler Stone Stone may very well be your best bet. It won't confuse anybody in this fight, but it's non-elemental magical damage that's otherwise pretty hard to come by. While the auto-Berserk isn't a very important issue when the target's Defense is higher then 200 anyway, Brawler's punches still hit a little harder than other physical attacks will. Stone may miss sometimes, but it's the only non-elemental attack that's worth your time. Should your level be 21, definitely take this Rage as Stone will do 7.5 times the damage if the target's level and caster's level is the same (and obviously both Shiva's and Ifrit's level are 21). Bomb Blaze This may confuse you. Doesn't Ifrit absorb the Fire-elemental Blaze? Here's the thing. You'll have won the battle if either one of the Espers is killed. You can spread the damage a little and go for Brawler, but you can take a hard turn for one out of two. The Espers will switch after you have damaged them five times. Bomb will absorb Ifrit's spells but heal him while dealing monster damage to Shiva. Note that Shiva's attacks, in turn, will cripple Gau very quickly, so unless you have a Wall Ring to avoid any danger besides Blizzard (which is a weak attack anyway), this is not a very smart option. Templar is worse on the offense and will have troubles with Celes' Runic (Blaze isn't vulnerable to the Runic blade while Fire2 is) yet is an option if you don't have Wall Rings. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.24 Inferno ********************************** Enemies: Inferno, Rough, Striker Attacks : Battle, Special, Shrapnel, Delta Hit, TekBarrier, Bolt2, Atomic Ray, Shock Wave, Bolt3, Giga Volt, Meteor, Enemy: Inferno Absorbs : Fire 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Slow Special: !Sobat (Battle x 3) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Rough Absorbs : Lightning 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Ice Status ailment weaknesses: Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Slow, Stop Special: !Rapier (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Striker Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Slow, Stop Special: !Slash (Battle x 2) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Wing Edge, Tempest, Stunner The main baddy in this fight is Inferno, a Number 128 palette swap who is not to be toyed with. All parts will continue to be a pain with nasty attacks, while the element one part is weak against the other absorbs, making it very hard to find a good offensive Rage for this fight. But I'm the Guru here, I'll find a way ;) Osteosaur X-Zone An alternate Spek Tor with three great changes (making it, actually, not quite an alternate Spek Tor). Instead of Blaster, there's X-Zone. This move is not only more accurate, but also always multi-target, where Blaster may or may not try to take out one target. Also, Osteosaur is Undead. In an LLG you can NOT risk a Meteor and will have to go with this Rage. Combine with a Thunder Shld to absorb Lightning and turn the Osteosaur Fire-weakness into a 50 % reduction from said element. Spek Tor Blaster Blaster will continue to take out Rough and Striker should they be revived, leaving only the main body at your mercy. Equipping a Thunder Rod in combination with this Rage is grand as you won't have to worry about the elemental properties of the arms and can just focus on the nice weakness of the main body against this element. And it gets bonus points for being a Stray Cat palette swap without actually being Stray Cat. Have to be original once in a while. You'll try to use Blaster one on the body now and again but it's really not too bad with other people helping you out with the violence thing. Primordite !Numblade (sets Stop, no physical damage) The death-based arsenal of status ailments on the arms seems tempting, but know that Inferno will get pissy once you've destroyed his arms and will use TekBarrier, which might not bode well for the Relms among your party. Also, poor Blasting may get you in a situation of one Inferno and one arm, allowing Meteor spells to happen (LLG slayer move). Remember the Number 128 battle? I said that because the blades grow back, you might as well Stop them using your Stop inflicters. Exactly the same scenario here. However, this time you can combo your Primordite or Areneid with a Merit Award and a Tempest to have a 50 % shot at inflicting Stop at all targets (Obviously Inferno is immune, but Rough and Striker will stop attacking). You'll hardly see Shrapnel in this battle. Or, to quote assassin,: "I hardly saw Shrapnel in this battle" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.25 KatanaSoul ********************************** Enemies: KatanaSoul Attacks : Battle, Special, Gale Cut, Fire Skean, Bolt Edge, Water Edge, Shock Wave, Blow Fish, Item (Imperial), Item (Ashura), GP Rain Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Muddle, Seizure Special: !SlayerEdge (sets Death, no physical damage) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Poison Claw Let's all agree on this one: if you ever want to become some kind of cool, not-bound-to-the-story demi-boss, you have to get your priorities straight. Muddle protection is a must, *especially* when you have an instant-death Special that you use when you're confused. KatanaSoul wasn't paying attention, apparently. It's a real damn shame, as KatanaSoul is by far the most awesome, interesting monster-in-a-box and even ranks, in my opinion, pretty high into the list of good battles. Had it not been for the glaring Muddle vulnerability, of course. Mad Oscar Sour Mouth Sour Mouth will set Muddle as nicely as Muddle itself will, and give Dark and Poison as an added benefit. Mad Oscar will also absorb any Water Edges thrown your way, should KatanaSoul be reluctant to kill himself (I'd be). Drop Muddle Drop is an elusive monster which you'll only find if you know what you're doing. That makes it all the more interesting to use it here, don't you think? Drop is the only Rage which will use the simple normal Muddle spell. Its weakness against Lightning won't like Bolt Edge, and inherent Seizure is not to be proud of, but Muddle will probably get the job done before either one can become a concern. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.26 Kefka (Narshe) ********************************** Enemies: Kefka Attacks : Battle, Poison, Ice, Ice2, Bolt, Drain, Muddle, Escape Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Slow, Stop Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available Narshe Kefka is the first boss fight you engage with Gau, and it's from a story-line point of view one of the most important battles in the game. Kefka, being a Magic-infused soldier, knows several spells and he will be directing this fabled power at you. What can Gau do? Areneid !Numb (sets Stop, no physical damage) You could have done Locke's scenario after Sabin's scenario and miss the shot for Primordite. Do not worry; Areneid will suffice as it's basically the same Rage when looking at offense. Areneid's Special attack, !Numb, will take advantage of Kefka's only significant status ailment opening and will halt Kefka in its tracks. While keeping Kekfa paralyzed you'll be frustrated with the many times Gau will attempt to use !Numb again and fail, but Kefka will snap out of the paralysis if you're not fast enough with destroying him so Gau's repetitive efforts won't be completely wasted. Note that sadly, Areneid is weak against the Ice and Ice 2 attack so pray that Gau won't take a massive one-hit KO beating from the latter. Still, this option is quite simply the best one if you don't have Primordite. Primordite is better, as it will only take double damage from Bolt which is far less life-threatening then Ice2. Should you lack both Areneid and Primordite, you still have an alternative in: Vaporite Blaze Blaze is one of the strongest magical attack you have at the moment. Since Vaporite is undead and has a nifty elemental absorption in Lightning, Vaporite will deal out respectable damage while absorbing Drain and Bolt. Blaze flies right past Runic so should you have Celes in your team, you can combine both strategies. Vaporite is undead, so be careful with your Cure spells and Potions. Over-Mind Elf Fire Over-Mind will absorb Drain and Poison, and Elf Fire is slightly stronger than Blaze. The undead nature of Over-Mind might prove annoying in this battle, but it's otherwise great, especially seeing how Elf Fire isn't vulnerable to Runic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.27 Kefka (final battle, final tier) ********************************** Enemies: Kefka Attacks : Battle, Special, Fire3, Ice3, Bolt3, Train, Goner, Revenger, Ultima, HyperDrive, Meteor, Fallen One Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : Poison Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: None Special: !Havoc Wing (Battle x 4) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: Sniper, Wing Edge, Man Eater The final Kefka, a glorious incubus, a devastating tenshi/akuma whose double creation strives to erase all creation whatsoever. A living paradox in all aspects, this is a Fallen Angel which fell upwards, tumbling from human to god, soaring upwards to full control of all that he despises. Final Kefka has smelled the aroma of complete power and is the Omega of this Epilogue, this dying world....a world which deserves preservation according to a small group of unlikely heroes. Kefka uses a large array of spells which cannot be protected against (or not by Rage anyway) including Battle, Special, Goner, Ultima, HyperDrive, Meteor and Fallen One. This makes this a tough battle to pick one Rage over the other, as all options will take considerable damage under the wrong circumstances. Magic Urn Cure3 This is the ultimate accomplishment the Rage skill. Defeat the final boss with a single character, no matter what level you're at! Magic Urn is the only strategy for all versions. These are the steps you'll need to follow. 1) Engage Magic Urn. Make sure you have 255 Defense. Every attack that Kefka will throw at you will be nullified or absorbed. However, because nastier attacks will be triggered in the future, run for now. Tape down the buttons and do something important while Kefka drains his own 38000 MP (!). 2) When he can't cast anything and has depleted his own MP, you can let go of those buttons and start using your violence to hurt him. Track the damage. THIS IS VITAL. 3) As soon as Kefka reaches 32640 HP, he will start using Goner, which is no big deal as he doesn't have MP to cast it. However, after he has less then 30080 HP, you'll be in trouble as now Kefka has a possibility of countering with the only attack that can hurt you now: HyperDrive. This will hurt for over 3000 damage and you will not survive it unless your level is very high. The chance of a HyperDrive counter is 1/3. Then how will we avoid this horror? Kefka will only counter when bit 0 of variable 0 is clear. And during the 32640-7680 period, variable 0 will be treated as follows: "The end comes beyond chaos" message Set bit 0 of variable 0 Display nasty face Wait a turn Goner Wait a turn Clear bit 0 of variable 0 Randomly use Havoc Wing, Train or Revenger Randomly use Havoc Wing, Nothing or Nothing Wait a turn Randomly use Train, Havoc Wing or Revenger Randomly use Havoc Wing, Havoc Wing or Nothing [Another turn will elapse before start of the loop is executed] In short, you're safe as long as you run while Kefka is casting 'normal' spells and attack when Kefka is charging for Goner/just tried to use it. Now keep this up for a disgustingly long time! 4) As soon as Kefka hits 10240 HP, Ultima will replace HyperDrive as a possible counter, and because Ultima costs MP he won't be able to use it. You cannot be killed now. I suggest you dance around like a little girl now, as you have been victorious. **Side Note**: 128% Mblock will do for you here what 255 Defense and Magic Urn will do for you, so if this is an option for you I suggest you try that. Your damage will be generally higher, and it's practically the only option for Gogo to do this. Woolly Ice3 Ironically, the fight to preserve the very essence of Life is one of the few battles in which Death protection isn't a significant factor as final Kefka doesn't use any Death-based attacks. Knowing this, Woolly springs to mind. Ice3 is a decent enough offensive without being overly spectacular, but when combined with a Flame Shld and a White Cape/Ribbon, Woolly is protected against everything he can be protected against. Train will make an Ice3- casting Rage without Mute protection miserable, so make sure that you have an appropriate status protection Relic for this Rage. Prussian Land Slide Provided you have Runic in action to protect against Fire3, Ice3, Bolt3, Ultima and HyperDrive (yes, they're all vulnerable), a Rage which is Runic- vulnerable by itself isn't your best option. Land Slide is a stronger attack against a foe like Kefka whose Magic Defense is very respectable, and Land Slide ignores the existence of Runic. Snow Muffler and Thundr Shld minimize the defensive holes. Stray Cat !Catscratch (Battle x 4) 'Tis a rare occasion I want to specifically name Stray Cat again. You cannot exploit any status ailment non-protections or elemental weaknesses. Kefka's attack pattern is simple and destructive to every Rage as it's mostly non- elemental of nature. Only offense really counts in this battle, and as said before: Stray Cat is the most offensive you get. With Kefka's Float status, the Merit Award and a Sniper (Offering?) you can kick so much ass it far exceeds a magical attack. Snow Muffler and Thundr Shld for protection where possible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.28 Master Pug ********************************** Enemies: Master Pug Attacks : Battle, Special, Fire3, Ice3, Bolt3, Bio, Pearl, Quake, W Wind, CleanSweep, Step Mine Absorbs : Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Sleep, Slow Special: !Cleaver (Battle x 5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Drainer Gigantos fell to freaking L. 5 Doom, Allo Ver could be instantly killed using Break, KatanaSoul can be easily led to kill itself....oh, great. Another monster-in-a-box. I'll use Mblock and W Wind to lower his amount of HP so I can be victorious. Wait, I died. With a devastating Special, strong spells of every element but Wind and a common Step Mine counter to any kind of damage (including MP damage and his own spells reflected back at him), this monster rises far and high beyond any other monster-in-a-box you'll see. That, and actual Death protection and immunity to all status ailments but a few minor ones. This battle is one of the tougher ones out there. Actaneon !Clamp (Battle x 1.5) Actaneon? We're going for the battle of the century and Djibriel, who is supposed to be this kind of guru on the subject, advises Actaneon? Hold on! I've given you Actaneon for a reason. We need some pieces of equipment here, as well as a respectable level (beyond 40). First, equip a Wall Ring. That takes care of Fire3, Ice3, Bolt3, Bio and Pearl. Now, engage in a random encounter and Rage a Float-inducing Rage. Hornet is one you'll definitely have. That takes care of Quake (Master Pug won't bother removing it). Actaneon absorbs CleanSweep; that leaves us with Battle, Special, W Wind and Step Mine. 255 Defense and/or 128 % Mblock takes care of the first two. W Wind is a rare oddity which you likely won't see (and will have a poor Hit Rate, even on a character with such poor Mblock as Gau). Now, equip that Drainer you have. Now any hit will drain back quite some HP. Vigor boosts from Espers are a huge plus, as is Berserking of Gau. This battle might take a while, but provided your levels are high enough the damage Step Mine will won't exceed that of the average of a !Clamp attack and a Battle attack. If your levels are low or you are extremely unlucky, a series of Step Mine counters combined with Battle attacks from Gau will cause death. Still, at high levels this is the best strategy I've found. Mad Oscar Sour Mouth Wall Ring, pre-battle Float Rage, Drainer...equipment choices should be the same with Mad Oscar as they were with Actaneon. The difference here is that while Actaneon went full-out offensive, Mad Oscar will bother with status ailments. Sour Mouth will set Dark, Sleep and Poison, of which only the latter two are important. Dual-Raging (for those not blessed by coherent thought: that means Gau and Gogo) is advised at low levels. The strategy is simple. Pray for a Sour Mouth. If it appeared, RUN! Don't hold back on the L and R buttons. Watch how Master Pug will roughly take two times damage from the Poison status before he wakes up. Release the buttons. Pray for another Sour Mouth to set the Sleep status again. Continue until Master Pug has died. If he manages to get in a WallChange, the chances you'll win this battle are extremely reduced (there's a 87.5 % shot he won't take damage from Poison anymore), so reset if this is the case in your SCC meets LLG. Stray Cat !Catscratch (Battle x 4) If you act in a normal party, have a decent enough level, have Wall Rings equipped, have everything poured into offense (Genji Glove + two non-elemental weapons), this Rage might just be the best. Don't give this asshole enough time to inflict pain upon your party. Defeat him, laugh in the face of the first, non-fatal Step Mine and know that he won't be able to use another one on that character before he has died. Magic Urn Cure3 If all else fails, Magic Urn out. Apply Rage & Run until he's out of his thankfully rather small stack of MP. If this happens, release the buttons and defeat the monster using your violence. Yes, it'll take a long time, but I'm only recommending this fool-proof strategy if the previous three don't work for you, in which case you must be playing a Low Level Gau Only Game. Meaning you have plenty of time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.29 Number 024 ********************************** Enemies: Number 024 Attacks : Battle, Special, Fire, Fire 2, Ice, Ice 2, Bolt, Bolt 2, Scan, Cure, Cure 2, Aqua Rake, Sun Bath, Cave In, Snow Rabbit, Acid Rain, Fire Ball, Magnitude8, WallChange, R. Polarity, Gale Cut Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Imp, Sleep Special: !Overflow (sets Confuse) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available The pain in the ass that is Number 024 isn't because he's very hard; in a normal game you can simply cast Imp and Sleep on him, in which case it's wisest to have Gau napping off somewhere as you'll just want to stick to magical attacks without having a chance of waking him up. Also, he uses WallChange, which randomly selects both an elemental weakness and an elemental absorption every time he uses it, so any kind of elemental Rage is out of the question. So how should we treat this bad boy? Aspik Giga Volt Yeah...after saying elemental Rages are out of the question, I advise Aspik. Isn't that nice. This one only goes for a Gau SCC, mind you. As several tests have proven to me, Stray Cat or any other non-elemental attack simply isn't going to get the job done before Number 024 gets HIS job done (killing. You.). Giga Volt is a gamble; if he WallChanges, there's a 87.5 % chance you'll pretty much have lost the battle. But if Gau gets in quite a few of these attacks (Earrings are a plus!), you can cripple the guy before he can cripple you. Aspiks inherent Float for Magnitude8, protection against Overflow and absorbing of Aqua Rake and Acid Rain are minor fringe benefits (after Acid Rain, Seizure will be set, though). Mind Candy !SleepSting (causes Sleep) When playing a normal game you're likely to have Sleep as a spell on you, so that makes Mind Candy more than redundant. However, in a normal NMG game, you don't, so here's Mind Candy for you. There will be times that Gau will punch # 024 out of the Sleep he himself has procured, but there's not a lot that can be done about that. Rage Mind Candy, and have all other character go with magical attacks. Mind Candy's inherent Float is a very minor thing which it has going for it (Magnitude8). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.30 Number 128 ********************************** Enemies: Number 128, Left Blade, RightBlade Attacks : Battle, Special, Shimsham, Ice, Net, Atomic Ray, Gale Cut, Blaster, Shock Wave, Haste Enemy: Left Blade Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Slow, Stop Special: !Slash (Battle x 2) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Number 128 Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Berserk, Slow Special: !Red Feast (drains HP, Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: RightBlade Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Slow, Stop Special: !Rapier (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available Number 128 is one of those boss battles in which you fight more than one opponent, and most of these battles are hard. This may be the hardest of them: physical attacks are usually very hard to protect from, and Number 128 will get significantly meaner when he's be himself, so be prepared. Templar Fire2 Most attacks, especially when the two arms are still there, will consist out of physical attacks. Templar has inherent Safe to protect against these attacks, and while Fire2 is an unreliable attack in this battle, it's strong and solid against these foes. It's very simple and mostly devoid of real strategy, but this battle's moves which can be protected against (Ice, Atomic Ray, Blaster) all require a Rage dedicated specially to them and physical attacks are simply much more often seen than Atomic Ray or Blaster are, dangerous as they may be. Primordite !Numblade (sets Stop, no physical damage) I had once listed Commander here, but I realized that even if you Petrify the arms, they will be regenerated later after a while where # 128 went into a frenzy because his arms were gone. Stop will also stop the attacks of the blades, and while they may make auto-aiming attacks sometimes hit the blades while that's hardly necessary, they won't make # 128 start to use the more dangerous moves. Commander Break It depends on your party, really. If you have Edgar next to Locke and Gau, he won't ever accidentally hit the blades and Primordite will definitely be your best option. If you have Sabin or Cyan, however, you have a character with you who'll hit a random target with their stronger skills. In which case it may be more beneficial to take out those targets which aren't as important. Break is the most accurate instant-death attack you have at the moment and while Gau will be wasting a few turns casting Break on the main body, at least Sabin and Cyan will be dishing out obscene amounts of damage. HadesGigas Magnitude8 You know the battle is mean if I bother listing more then two Rages for it, and four is the highest I'll get in this guide. Magnitude8 is a guaranteed multi-target hit for pretty high damage, and while HadesGigas lacks inherent positive statuses or provide status ailments helpful to the entire party, this attack will hit stuff and it'll hit hard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.31 Poltrgeist ********************************** Enemies: Poltrgeist Attacks : Battle, Special, Shrapnel, Stop, Blaster, Fire3, Aero, Flare Star, WaveCannon, S. Cross, Meteo Absorbs : Fire, Wind 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Slow, Stop Special: !Psygrip (Battle x 2) Inherent Status: Float, Haste, Safe Weapon: Poison Claw, Stunner, Sniper Poltrgeist may very well be the toughest of the three goddesses. A wide array of elemental spells, an instant-death attack in Blaster which follows a Stop spell, etc. Three beneficial statuses, absorbing of the most favorite element (Fire)...this girl is one though wench to do battle with. But hey, a Rager can do battle with anybody. Evil Oscar Bio Evil Oscar will absorb Wave Cannon and Aero, and you're a fool if you don't smell a Flame Shld coming here. That leaves Battle, Special, Shrapnel, Stop, Blaster and Meteo to hurt the Rager. Battle and Special are not worth your worries: if you're playing an LLG, go for 255 Defense. Equip a Wall Ring! Evil Oscar doesn't have Death Protection, and with Gau's usual poor Mblock %, he's almost sure to fall for a Stop/Blaster combo Poltrgeist often uses. Also, Stop works on Poltrgeist itself, so that's an added benefit. The occasional Shrapnel can hardly be avoided unless you totally go for an 128 Mblock strategy. The same goes for Meteo, unless you want to apply Rage & Run to avoid it from showing it's ugly barrier-piercing face. Finally, Bio will benefit from the elemental weakness Poltrgeist has, but the difference in damage with an Ice3 spell will be minimal, and in the advantage of the Ice3 spell. Which means that Woolly can be just as good. I was growing tired of advising him, is all. Areneid !Numb (causes Stop) Poltrgeist is vulnerable to Stop. Areneid inflicts just that. The sheer lack of any kind of inherent defensive points in this is less important in a battle where Poltrgeist simply won't attack. Requires a little luck to work, and I wouldn't recommend it in any kind of Gau SCC as it will take too long and there are simply too much spells which are close to lethal to Gau when luck is bad. Note that Primordite, while an option, is inferior due to Lightning weakness (WaveCannon). Retainer Shock "What the hell?", you say. As I'm writing this, the Guide hasn't been officially released and I've already taken some criticism from ignoring the Retainer Rage. I'll admit that I tend to do that: it uses the attack of the late General Leo Christope and for that it receives the love of all that is newbie. Shock is still a very decent attack and it even exceeds Land Slide in power in this fight. Thing is, it has nothing on defense. This is a Rage you can pick if you have 128 % Mblock or higher. Magus Rod (30), Force Shld (50), Bard's Hat (10), Force Armor (30) and you've reached 120. Gau is done by then, Gogo needs an extra White Cape to reach 136. Now, you avoid *everything* but Flare Star. Force Shld will give you only 1/2 of the normal damage, but if you're playing an LLG, that might be too much as well. In that case, Rages such as Parasoul and especially Phase (Blow Fish) might save you. Now, let's ignore the fact I didn't *really* recommend Retainer but I promoted Phase. I satisfied a lot of people who aren't reading bodies of text yet feel an undying love for Shock just now :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.32 Presenter ********************************** Enemies: Presenter, Whelk Head Attacks : Battle, Special (PetriBlast only, not Hit), Mega Volt, El Nino, Magnitude8, Giga Volt, Blow Fish Enemy: Whelk Head Absorbs : Ice, Lightning, Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : Poison Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Mute, Sleep, Slow, Stop Special: !PetriBlast (sets Petrify) Inherent Status: None Enemy: Presenter Absorbs : Ice, Lightning, Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Clear, Petrify, Wound, Condemned Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: None I'll admit it's highly likely you won't have a Rager when you fight this guy, but you *can* have a Rager there so I'll give strategies. A horrible Whelk rip-off, Presenter is not nearly as consistent in his don't-hit-the- shell program. He compensates with some strong spells though, so he still pretends he can harm you. Allow me to counter previously described piece of false information. Note that while the 'shell' part of the monster if Floating, the slug's head is not. That's some crazy stuff right there, sonny. Osteosaur X-Zone Osteosaur doesn't have any special protection against this dual-monster's attacks save for Petrify protection (which, admittedly, is a good one). However, the fringe benefit of this Rage is the spell it will cast. Kill either one of the two and you'll get a Dragon Claw. However, when you kill both at the same time, you'll get two of them. Seeing as how the Pearl element is often a weakness on monsters and hardly ever absorbed/nullified, the Dragon Claw is arguably the best Claw in the game. X-Zone will make sure that Gau will try to take both out at the same time. Use the Save Point if X-Zone misses one of them and takes out the other. Don't equip weapons or you might find yourself killing the slug too quickly. Lizard Break If you couldn't care less about those silly Dragons Claws and you just want to beat this guy, Lizard will be your ticket. Break is the most accurate instant-death spell you have at your easy disposal (don't get me started on Sabre Soul, Star Prism and Joker Doom there), and even when your Rager refuses to use it for some time, if you have a Titanium, you can protect your- self from El Nino and Lizard's immune to Petrification. Factor in a Cherub Down and a Thundr Shld, and this guy can't touch you. Bah, what am I saying anyway: Break will kill him before he has the chance to begin using any of these spells ;) You can equip any kind of instant-death weapon if you choose to do this. Break Blade, Scimitar, Assassin, Striker, Soul Sabre, take your pick. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.33 Pugs ********************************** Enemies: Pugs, Pugs, Pugs Attacks : Battle, Special, Pearl Absorbs : Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Imp, Mute, Seizure, Slow Special: !Knife (Battle x 8) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Sniper, Fire Rod If you think Master Pug and the normal Pug were bad, then you just might have bundles less trouble with these knuckleheads :) They will attack physically only (nearing you to execute a !Knife attack when they reach you), and will use Pearl as a counter to your Magic. Sounds like we can toy a little with these guys. Scrapper Elf Fire Really, any Rage works as you long as you have 255 Defense and/or are under the effects of Clear. I just happen like Scrapper because of Elf Fire and auto-Haste. Rage-triggered magical attacks will not be counted as Magic, so Pugs won't counter. Mag Roader Bio For any decent LLG, this is the ticket. 255 Defense or summon Phantom just before the battle and you're set. All you have to do is watch the Poison status slowly cripple these three modern-day fantasy creatures and you've won the day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.34 Red Dragon ********************************** Enemies: Red Dragon Attacks : Battle, Special, Fire2, Fire3, Fire Ball, S. Cross, Flare, Flare Star, L. 4 Flare Absorbs : Fire 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Ice, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Muddle, Seizure, Slow Special: !Eraser (Unblockable, removes 'Reflect', Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Ice Rod Red Dragon ain't got it easy. He represents the Fire element, the element most easily protected against by equipment. Red Jacket, Flame Shld are both easily available, and that goes without mentioning Minerva, Paladin Shld, Rage Ring/Blizzard Orb and the countless pieces of equipment which take only half damage from the element. Luckily for Red Dragon, Flare looks kinda Fire-elemental. At least the poor sap has that much going for him. Coelecite Magnitude8 Coelecite absorbs Fire and, unlike other Fire-absorbing monsters, actually has a non-Fire-elemental attack to dish out. Throwing its tempests of howling laughter straight in the face of its own wings, Red Dragon isn't Floating, so it should connect. There are four moves which Red Dragon can use to hurt you: L. 4 Flare, Flare, Battle and Special. The last two are weak and shouldn't pose a threat, especially with 255 Defense. L. 4 Flare can be easily avoided (If you're at a vulnerable level, just gain one) and Flare is Reflectable. Merit Award, Wall Ring, Ice Rod: Victory. Chaos Drgn Disaster Chaos Drgn will use Disaster, a move which sets Dark, Muddle and Float on this specific target. Using the infallible strategy from Coelecite (Chaos Drgn absorbs Fire), you can just wait until Gau causes Red Dragon to kill itself. An LLG tip. The downside of this is that Chaos Drgn appears in the very cave Red Dragon is located, so you might not want to collect it. Phase Blow Fish Another LLG tip: Blow Fish will deal 1000 damage regardless, and Coelecite's defensive strategy can be applied to Phase as well. Phase also appears in the Phoenix Cave, so it's up to you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.35 Rider ********************************** Enemies: Rider Attacks : Battle, Special, Virite, R. Polarity Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Clear, Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Mute, Berserk, Seizure, Sleep, Slow, Stop Special: !SilverPike (Battle x 3) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available Rider is Kefka's sub-commander, and he can be a surprising pain before you take him down. His Special, !SilverPike, kills people in the front row. Luckily there's a number of ways to dispose of him quickly and efficiently with Gau in your party. Dark Wind Break Of all the instant-death attacks Gau can use at this stage of the game, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Break has the best odds of doing the trick. Petrification is often over-looked because Break and Shoat's Demon Eye both check for instant Death protection next to Petrify protection, making it simply inferior to Doom in a normal game. It still has the best Hit Rate, though, and while Commander can do it too (you must have completed Locke's scenario before Sabin's if you want to obtain this Rage this early), Dark Wind is on the Veldt regardless of the order you completed the scenario's. Rhodox (Snare) and Bleary (Doom) are the next-best options for instant death. Trilium Bio If you can't be bothered with instant-death attacks (they're for sissies anyway), try going all-out offensive with Bio. There's a glaring elemental weakness and Bio is one of the strongest attack you have at that point. Two Bio spells coming from a decent level should be more then enough to defeat Rider. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.36 Skull Drgn ********************************** Enemies: Skull Drgn Attacks : Battle, Condemned, Elf Fire, Specter, Disaster Absorbs : Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Clear Special: !Hit (Removes 'Reflect') Inherent Status: None Weapon: Pearl Lance, Fire Rod Lich Fire2 Lich is protected against every status ailment Skull Drgn can throw at you with Disaster...every status except Condemned (which will heal you) and Muddle. You could opt to get yourself a Peace Ring or Ribbon to counter this problem, but equip Merit Award/Fire Rod and a Wall Ring and you'll just be either healing yourself or reflecting Fire2 at him. Lich absorbs, needless to say, Elf Fire so the only thing that can hurt Gau is Battle. The distant call of 255 Defense is heard among the foggy hills and you're truly invincible. It's just a curiosity, still, as with Elf Fire, Condemned and Specter all helping to keep you alive, Battle damage is quickly cured. SrBehemoth Fire3 Lich, for all its strategic niftiness, can be tedious. If you slap a Flame Shld on a SrBehemoth Raging character, you're done. He can't be Muddled, and all that Disaster will do is set Dark and Float on him. Fire3 hurts as much as it looks like it hurts and feeds off elemental weakness. And it's a boss monster, you kids these days think that's all cool and stuff. Right? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.37 SrBehemoth & SrBehemoth ********************************** SrBehemoth (living), SrBehemoth (undead) Enemies: SrBehemoth, SrBehemoth Attacks : Battle, Special, Imp, Ice2, Ice3, Pearl, Doom, Meteo Enemy: SrBehemoth (living) Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Imp, Slow, Stop Special: !Evil Claw (Unblockable, removes 'Reflect', Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Enemy: SrBehemoth (undead) Absorbs : Poison 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Pearl Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Wound, Condemned Special: !Hypno Gas (sets Sleep) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Scimitar, Fire Rod, Stunner, Scimitar This is a simple battle with a difficult obstacle to overcome for the best Rage. First, you meet the living SrBehemoth. Imp and Stop are its weaknesses. Then, when you defeat it, the undead SrBehemoth pops up to slaughter you. Note that Gau's Row does NOT change, even though it looks like it. However, Gau will now be stuck in a Rage meant for the living SrBehemoth. Neither Imp nor Stop work, and your Rage will turn from fantastic to crap in a matter of seconds, so we need to prepare for both brawlers. Let's rumble. Fidor Special: Pounce (Battle x 2.5) This is heavily equipment-dependant, but you'll still have major fun with it so that shouldn't be a concern. Combine this with a Merit Award, a Genji Glove, a Stunner and a Scimitar. The Stunner will randomly cast 'Stop', securing a very good shot at victory. Both weapons will obviously do monster damage. When the switch comes, Scimitar has a 25 % chance at total annihilation of the undead SrBehemoth. Note that any other instant-death weapon will heal it. Start in the Front Row, as the living monster is more dangerous than the undead one is. Sadly, you can't combine with Wall Ring against the Ice-elemental attacks, Pearl and Doom; if you have Fidor's Sleep protection will help in the second fight. Areneid Special: !Numb (sets Stop, no physical damage) Rhodox Snare What's this, TWO Rages? It's your choice and it's depending on the situation. If you have both Gau and Gogo at this point (which is unlikely but possible), I suggest you pick both. Areneid rocks the first battle, Rhodox can instantly end the second one. If it's just Gau (or just Gogo), use Areneid until the undead SrBehemoth comes around, kill him using your characters and commence Rhodox. Obviously not an option in an SCC, but this'll work very well in any other kind of game. Scrapper Elf Fire You're playing Anthology, so no Merit Award. And you don't feel like killing Gau in the middle of a battle. Then, a Rage for both must be found. Scrapper can do respectable damage with Elf Fire, there's inherent Haste, he's immune to the undead's Doom spell and he has elemental advantage on both targets. It sadly lacks elemental absorption of any kind and isn't immune to Sleep, but you can't have everything. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.38 Storm Drgn ********************************** Enemies: Storm Drgn Attacks : Battle, Special, Wind Slash, Rage, Aero, Cyclonic Absorbs : Wind 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Seizure Special: !Wing Sabre (Battle x 3) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: Thunder Rod, Sniper The Storm Drgn is more or less regarded as the strongest dragon of the bunch, and the fact that this is the first one you meet seems kind of backwards. Storm Drgn owes his difficulty to the Rage attack, which is both unblockable and non-elemental. It kills most LLG players if they're not prepared. That, and the Wind element can be difficult to protect against: only Thundr Shlds and Paladin Shlds will do that for you. And Rages, of course. Woolly Ice3 Woolly absorbs the Wind element, and Ice3 will take care of the offense nicely. Dual-Raging from Gau and Gogo is advised as he will stop using Rage when his HP reaches lower grounds. While Woolly is not a guaranteed LLG victory, it's the best LLG bet there is and in a normal game, Storm Drgn doesn't stand a credible chance. Io Flare Star Io nullifies the powers of the Wind element, so that's one character with Thundr Shld-esque effects without having to waste one on it. Flare Star doesn't benefit from elemental properties like as was the case with Doom Gaze, but Flare Star will still inflict 5920 due to Storm Drgn's impressive level. Punisher Bolt3 Punisher has inherent Haste, and Bolt3 will destroy Storm Drgn very quickly. The downside is the lack of elemental protection against Storm Drgn's attacks. Equip a Thundr Shld and you're set. This Rage knows neither mercy nor sophistication, only the crudest of violence and defense is combined here. Don't you love it? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.39 Telstar ********************************** Enemies: Telstar, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier Attacks : Battle, Special, Schiller, Tek Laser, Missile, Dischord, Megazerk Enemy: Telstar Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Lightning, Water Status ailment weaknesses: Slow, Stop Special: !SonicBlast (sets Muddle) Inherent Status: Float Enemy: Soldier Absorbs : None 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Poison Status ailment weaknesses: Zombie, Poison, Clear, Imp, Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Mute, Berserk, Muddle, Seizure, Slow, Stop Special: !Counter (Attack x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available While technically you won't encounter it with a Rager, you'll see it terrorize the Veldt only moments later, where it can still be a threat. You're bound to see it a lot, which isn't all bad (Green Berets are great at that point), so you'd best learn how to deal with it. Know that I initially didn't want to include this thing, but since I had the entire Guide finished and felt like doing one more, I did so anyway. The Rages here assume you're on your first Veldt trip, as after that your levels and available Rages will be so high this monster wouldn't deserve its own separate listing. Also, did you know that the "real" Telstar was the first satellite launched into space for communication purposes? The "real" Telstar was the first satellite launched into space for communication purposes. Hazer Bolt2 Bolt2 is the nastiest attack you can throw at Telstar for this part of the game, feeding off its weakness against Lightning. Hazer comes with Death Protection for Missile, which is also a good thing; just make sure that this Rager doesn't become the target of a SonicBlast, in which case you have a problem. M-TekArmor Tek Laser Yes, Tek Laser is a weak attack, but it takes advantage of a weakness here and the defensive properties are pretty good. Death protection against Missile and inherent Save for physical attacks sent your way by Telstar itself or any of the Soldiers it may call on you. And besides, having Gau use Tek Laser is neat, and this is really the only battle in which it's even remotely wise to do so. Areneid !Numb (sets Stop) Maybe Square just kinda forgot setting Stop is actually possible between this baby and the moment you obtain Phantom? Everything falls to it, including Telstar. A tad to boring for my tastes, but you can go right ahead and win the battle with Areneid. Primordite has a weakness to Tek Laser, by the way, so Areneid is the slight victor in this contest. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.40 Tritoch ********************************** Enemies: Tritoch Attacks : Ice3, Rasp, Cold Dust, Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : Lightning, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth, Water Weak against : Fire Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Seizure Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: Float Weapon: Valiantknife, Fire Rod "Ragers laugh at your Rasp and outdated helmet, perpetually frozen Serpent!" This is what assassin had to say on the subject, and he's really quite right. As you can see, Tritoch has an incredibly simple set of attacks, of which Ice3 can be easily absorbed, Rasp is entirely wasted on a Rage user and Cold Dust will just make the battle longer. While this battle is laughable from the start, Rage will make it even more so. Also note that this sucker is *Floating*. While taking advantage of it with the Sniper would be stupid with its 254 Defense, it's quite remarkable for a massive block of ice. Io Flare Star The ticket to a LLG, Flare Star enjoys elemental superiority over Tritoch and because it's based on the opponent's level rather then your own, it'll do monster damage. A constant 9920, to be exact. Snow Muffler should take care of Tritoch's entire offensive arsenal, so you're set. While Flare Star is probably the strongest even at normal levels (save perhaps Fire3-using ones), all flame-adoring Rages work with the Snow Muffler. Vaporite, Over-Mind, Scrapper, it'll work. Toe Cutter Shrapnel If you lack the Snow Muffler, the Toe Cutter Rage will absorb the Ice element for you. Shrapnel is magical and non-elemental, so while it by no means will do overly impressive amounts of damage, you have all the time in the world so it doesn't matter anyway. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.40 Ultros (Opera House) ********************************** Enemies: Ultros Attacks : Battle, Special, Fire, Drain, Mega Volt, L. 3 Muddle, Imp Song, Tentacle, Acid Rain Absorbs : Water 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Lightning Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Slow, Stop Special: !Ink (sets Dark) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Not available Ultros is probably at the peak of its glory in this battle: not only does he know some fairly respectable spells at this point, he's rewarded with a special Grand Finale tune for his performance so far. He's still a pushover, mind you, but he's the hardest one to push over you'll meet. Aspik Giga Volt Aspik will absorb Acid Rain, is protected from L. 3 Muddle even when the level is suitable and is immune to Imp Song. That's all nice and well, but the real glory of this Rage is Giga Volt. Giga Volt is already insanely strong at this point of the game, but it will *hammer* on Ultros' weakness against the element and won't take long to complete the battle, leaving you with plenty of time to come up with all sorts of lame jokes about the name of the Rage. :P Primordite !Numblade (sets Stop) It's said that even in an LLG, Giga Volt will be superior to messing with Stop. That might be true, but if you brought Edgar and Sabin you'll be doing quite a lot of damage so the Stop status ailment should come in handy. The main objective of this battle is for Ultros to move around, having its own amount of HP for every location on the battlefield. If he's Stopped, he can't move, and he'll appear to have far less HP than he seems to have in a normal game. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.42 Umaro ********************************** Enemies: Umaro Attacks : Battle, Special, Jump, Blizzard, Snowball, Surge, Lode Stone, Item (Green Cherry) Absorbs : Ice 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Fire, Lightning Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Poison, Berserk, Sleep, Slow Special: !Tackle (Battle x 3) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Fire Rod, Poison Claw Umaro is a soon-to-be party member who's generally considered the weakest character around. And with good reason. At least the monster version looks cool and has some attacks that could've been nice. But monster Umaro is as worthless a challenge as he is a character, so I'll give you some quick tips on how to defeat him and you can continue. Insecare !Wing Whisp (sets Berserk, no physical damage) With 255 Defense and Umaro vulnerable to the Berserk status, is there anything this Rage isn't good for? He'll make Umaro pound away, futile, while Gau slowly punches him to pulp. Sky Cap is a suitable replacement. Megazerk looks cooler anyway. Scrapper Elf Fire You know I'm a sucker for inherent Haste, and when an Elf Fire using Rage comes along with Death protection, I'll be damned if I don't put it under Umaro's battle. You'll need a Snow Muffler and preferably 255 Defense for optimal protection, but that's it. There's nothing strategic about this Rage, actually, but it's very well suited for a normal game where you don't really need to bother with status ailments. Brontaur has Fire3 and Death protection yet lacks the inherent Haste and you probably haven't met it yet. Mag Roader Bio (purple) Bio will take advantage of Umaro's elemental weakness, the Rage absorbs Ice, Inherent Safe is nice if you don't have 255 Defense (and that yellow aura is even nifty when it's useless). There's really not a lot to say about this Rage other then the fact it works. The Poison status is set so any LLG player will be happy to have this Rage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.43 White Drgn ********************************** Enemies: White Drgn Attacks : Pearl, Dispel Absorbs : Pearl 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : None Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Mute, Slow, Stop Special: !Hit (Battle x 1.5) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Wing Edge, Stunner You won't be fighting him with a Rage the first time you meet him, but he'll appear on the Veldt later on and can still put the hurt on you. No, setting Confuse on Gau won't suddenly make him use a Rage on the Fanatics Tower. That's not to say that White Drgn isn't easily one of less intelligent dragons, so you should not have any trouble whatsoever. White Drgn uses only one offensive spell, it's called Pearl, it's reflectable (so ANY non-suicidal Rage wins the day), and White Drgn can be muted. Mag Roader Mute (red) In an LLG, the reflected Pearl spells might heal more than you want it to. Mag Roader (red) will cast Mute to stop the Pearl spells. That's it, you're invulnerable. Inherent Haste to speed up the killing, that much is true, but there isn't anything else to say. Evil Oscar Bio Absorbs Pearl, winning the battle. Bio doesn't set any status, but it's more offensive than Magic Urn is and the Pearl element is the only element Woolly isn't protected from and which can't be absorbed with easily obtainable items (aka the Flame Shld). Goblin Bolt3 Inherent Reflect wins the day. Bolt3 will hurt quite a lot and unlike Enuo, there isn't any Seizure status to worry about. While on the subject of inherently reflective Rages: Enuo, Boxed Set and Figaliz are all inherently reflective and invulnerable in this fight. Enuo will take Seizure damage, Boxed Set's Meteor is inferior to Bolt3 in power and Figaliz' Dischord will simply be a wasted turn. If you have any of these yet didn't pick Goblin, by all means though: invulnerable is invulnerable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.44 Wrexsoul ********************************** Enemies: Wrexsoul, SoulSaver, SoulSaver Attacks : Cure, Reflect, Fire3, Ice3, Bolt3, Zinger Enemy: SoulSaver Absorbs : Fire, Pearl 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Ice Status ailment weaknesses: Dark, Clear, Petrify, Wound, Condemned, Berserk, Muddle, Slow Special: !MagicDrain (drains MP) Inherent Status: None Enemy: WrexSoul Absorbs : Fire, Pearl 50 % damage : None Nullifies : None Weak against : Ice Status ailment weaknesses: Dark Special: !KarmicBlow (sets Condemned) Inherent Status: None Weapon: Ice Rod When the blind, naked newborns first arrive to the game and witness Gau, their fragile minds explode in a vortex of questions. Overwhelmed by the choices, they ditch him in favor of Edgar's constant Chainsaw action. When they beat the game they take a look at the forums and see that Gau is carried on shoulders. They play the game again, using Gau. They remember the monsters this time, and learn from their experiences. But they haven't quite mastered the Rage command, and cry in the darkness because Rage can't be controlled. That's actually never a big issue. Except in this battle, where the Rage command *really* isn't all that helpful. It's not that you can't decide what attack you pick, but it's fairly worthless because you can't snap out of a Rage by yourself. WrexSoul can only be hit when the character he was 'possessing' receives the Wound status, and Raging characters can't hit themselves. That, and as soon as WrexSoul appears, you want to focus your attacks on him while you still can. Having your Ragers pound on the SoulSavers is something you don't want to see. There's still a number of ways to fight this battle, for various circumstances. Osteosaur X-Zone The ticket for a Gau SCC. X-Zone, if it kills both targets, prevents them from reviving each other and you'll have won the battle. Note that it's very obvious Square didn't want it to be this way, and while it's not branded as cheating as often as Vanish/Doom is, it's not very legal. Black Drgn Storm The ticket for a normal battle. You can immediately kill Gau with a Revivify if you want, and he'll be practically untouchable with a Wall Ring. Storm will kill SoulSavers when Gau's on a decent level (this helps in preventing attacks in the direction of people which aren't naturally superior, such as Shadow) and significantly hurt WrexSoul when he pops out. ********************************** 12.0 Rage accoutrements ********************************** Table of Contents: 12.1 Merit Award 12.1 DragoonBoots 12.2 Gauntlet 12.3 Genji Glove 12.4 Gem Box 12.5 Offering 12.6 Safety Bit 12.7 Marvel Shoes/Cure Ring/RunningShoes/Cherub Down/Guard Ring 12.8 Relic Ring -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.10 Merit Award ********************************** Gau can, due to an oversight from Square, equip the Merit Award. The Merit Award is a Relic that allows the wearer to equip almost any piece of Armor, and almost any weapon with these exceptions: Weapons: Atma Weapon (in FF3us) & Bone Club Girl hats and crowns: Hair Band, Tiara, Mystery Veil, Regal Crown, Oath Vail, Cat Hood Dresses and bustiers: White Dress, Czarina Gown, Minerva Animal suits: Tabby Suit, Chocobo Suit, Moogle Suit, Nutkin Suit, BehemothSuit Defensively, the Merit Award has little to offer Gau since his Snow Muffler already provides extremely potent defence. Combined with a Genji Shield and Genji Helmet he can reach 255 Defense, nullifying physical attack entirely. However the Merit Award does provide Gau with the option of 128% Mblock, giving him perfect evasion to both physical and magical attacks. Much more interesting however is the fact the Merit Award gives Gau weapons. With Gau having the astronomical base Battle Power of 99, strength of the weapon equipped only means so much. Once a weapon adds 156 to the Battle Power or more, the maximum amount of 255 has been reached and it won't matter if you equip a store-bought Falchion or the legendary Aura Lance...speaking of Battle Power, that is. No, you could buy a normal sword in the WoR and reach 255 in Battle Power, increasing the physical damage Gau does by 150 %. That's awesome in its own right, but we want the weapons for the special treatment it gives us, and for the warm feeling inside we experience when we equip a smart weapon on Gau. There's a close bond between spells used by weapons and the weapon attack itself. Spells used through weapons benefit from damage multipliers arguably only meant for the weapon itself. It will receive a 50 % boost from Jump, will only do 50 % damage when in the back row and it will do double damage when the weapon inflicts a critical hit. Special attacks caused by Gau inflict more damage than they do by using these same damage multipliers. This means that when Gau holds a Fire Rod, and he should use Fire2 after a !Catscratch, the Fire2 attack will be four times as powerful as it normally would be. The exception to this rule is Flare; barrier-piercing attacks don't benefit from damage multipliers and Flare is the only weapon-inflicted barrier-piercing spell out there. Scimitar Out of the instant-death weapons, the Scimitar is arguably the best one. Where all other instant-death weapons have massive trouble with the undead, this legendary weapon (don't let Ted Woolsey fool you, this is Odin's sword, the Zantetsuken) will slice and dice regardless of gender, color and the physical state of the opponents body, whether long since dead or alive and kicking (your ass). A very boring choice otherwise, though. Illumina/Ragnarok I very much doubt you don't have anything better to do with this thing, but as both of these swords go disgustingly well with whatever you do with them, I thought I should mention them briefly. The former grants 50 % Mblock, a +7 on all stats, a perfect Hit Rate of 255 (you'll be able to kill Cactrots with this!), same damage from the back row, MP-inflicted criticals and a random Pearl. IF you decided to stick with the latter for old time's sake, expect the same without the back row powers, 4 less points added to your Speed, only 30 % Mblock and a random Flare. These swords on Gau are a waste, to be honest. He'll use nothing but the added Mblock % and perhaps the MP-boosted Pearl attacks of the Illumina while somebody like Celes enjoys the whole thing. Don't be greedy and pass this sword up. It's too good for either Gau or Gogo :P Pearl Lance Should you want to attach a Pearl element to your physical strikes, this is the weapon to do it with. The Pearl Lance isn't the strongest Pearl-elemental weapon, but it's the best one which combines its Pearl-elemental nature with a random Pearl spell thrown in here and there. Should you lack this weapon, the Pearl Rod is not quite as good but good enough. Magus Rod Of all the weapons so far, the Magus Rod seems the most misplaced on Gau. And yes, you'll want to use it on Strago and Relm, bless their inferior hearts. But with quite a lot of Gau's Rages being magical half the time, that +7 on Magic Power doesn't hurt at all. And with Gau's Mblock% never coming even remotely close to the standard without the Merit Award, a 30 % Mblock is a blessing. Gogo can even equip it without a Merit Award, but that guy needs one anyway, so it's a non-issue. Note that if you feel they are better spent on somebody who's from Thamasa, the Enhancer is a very good alternative, giving the same + 7 and 20 % Mblock. Sniper A very boring store-bought weapon. But that's part of its charm! I highly doubt you'll have a Merit Award on a time when you don't have anything better to put on Gau then this Special weapon. However, next to the inferior Falchion it's the only store-bought weapon which effectively grants Gau his maximum in Battle Power. If you don't have anything better, smack this one on. And remember, it will randomly do 50 % more damage on non-floating target and 200 % more damage on floating targets. That's nice. Finally, same damage from the back row. Floating boss? Use Sniper. There's one oddity with the Sniper on a Rager. The game loads the graphic data of the shown weapon when it shows you the Hawk Eye/Sniper flying through the air, not the graphic of the equipped weapon. While this is normally the same, a Rager will take it's own weapon which belongs to the Rage. You will throw the Ice Rods and Tridents you were attacking with. Some Rages will make Gau attack with Fists or Claws, which have no Throw graphic. The same goes for Specials. For these things, the game just gives you Throw graphic # 00, which is that of a small dagger. Wing Edge The Wing Edge is an alternate Scimitar. The disadvantage over the Scimitar is that Gau will revive any undead monster he touches following normal procedure. But the fact it won't decrease in power when thrown from the back row is nice, let alone those stat boosts containing, among others, a +7 in Speed. And you probably won't be using it anyway. Valiantknife This thing won't give Gau his precious 255 on Battle Power, but that's okay. The Valiantknife is still a barrier-piercing weapon which includes the power of Revenge for every single strike. It's nice, but like with the Illumina and Ragnarok, this weapon is better used somewhere else. You know Locke needs it desperately to make up for the rest of the game, so why not give it to him? There are other options. In a Gau SCC, though, this weapon will rock your socks. Tempest See the Wind Gods section for what exactly this blade can do to your Gau. He'll be a boy no more. Fixed Dice Seeing as how Setzer can bloody well go without these, contrary to popular belief, Gau could equip these for massive damage when paired with !Catscratch. It *will* receive the damage upgrade for every Special. At level 1, a 6/6/6 roll combined with !Catscratch would do 9999 damage. Level 1. Ponder. At a decent level other weapons will have a much higher damage average, though. Note that the Dice graphic will *replace* the monster weapon graphic you were using. Drainer/Soul Sabre Both of them could have been a MONSTER in Gau's hands where it not for this one fact: The damage they do is restricted to that a amount the wielder can effectively replenish on itself. If Gau is 200 HP short of his maximum, the Drainer will do nothing but 200 damage. Now where the latter is useless (except perhaps for that random Doom, but there are countless better ways), the Drainer will ensure Gau reaching full HP at the end of every round, unless facing the undead. On a Rager this is overdone. You don't need the Drainer no more unless you know you are going to be hurting a lot, of which the battle against Master Pug is an example. Fire Rod/Ice Rod/Lightning Rod/Poison Rod/Gravity Rod/Pearl Rod Finally, the elemental Rods. I include the Pearl Rod and Poison Rod for the sake of completeness, but know that the Pearl Lance and Poison Claw are better if you have that choice to make. Is there really that much to say? Short of the Gravity Rod (which is here for its wacky earth-element anyway) each of these Rods randomly cast a spell of their appropriate element. This should provide 9999-topping damage if you're wise in you're choices. Gau can equip any kind of element, so pick the weakness of your opponent if you know what is coming. Man Eater Now it's fairly ridiculous to think that you weren't doing 9999 anyway, but let's assume you're level twenty or are Raging Red Wolf rather than Stray Cat. The Man Eater doubles the power of your physical attacks against all human targets, of which Kefka is one. And there's a nifty 10 % added to your Mblock to boot :) Thiefknife Useful in a Gau SCC, I imagine. Although self-inflicted torture isn't necessarily taken in consideration in the Guide, I want to name this Dirk for this special effect. And hey, its never hurts to have an additional stealer, right? Factor in an additional 10 % on Mblock and you'll realize it's quite a nifty weapon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.1 DragoonBoots ********************************** The DragoonBoots change the Fight command into Jump. While it may seem logical to think that all of Gau's normal physical attacks now become a Jump attack, guess again. Unlike with the Offering, the DragoonBoots doesn't change the nature of the attack, it changes the command. DragoonBoots, in short, have no effect on Gau whatsoever. Note that the Dragon Horn has effect: should Palidor's Sonic Dive be cast on Gau, he'll Jump multiple times. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.2 Gauntlet ********************************** The Gauntlet is meant to hold a weapon in two hands, thus increasing the power of it be 50 % while disabling the ability to hold anything else in the other hand. Gau does not have a weapon, unless he’s with the Merit Award. You can boost the power of a Merit Award weapon on Gau with the Gauntlet, but even in the WoR when you lack any kind of Merit Award there’s use for this Relic, and that’s in combination with the Imp Halberd. This combination will increase Gau his physical attacks by 50 %. Sweet. On Gogo, obviously, any weapon will work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.3 Genji Glove ********************************** The Genji Glove is practically the same story as the Gauntlet, as even with the Genji Glove, the game will not consider Gau’s empty Left Hand a weapon when he's unequipped in the Right Hand. You’ll need Two Imp Halberds for this. While this will decrease the power of the physical strike, you'll now get two of them. That means you can top the 9999 pro strike limit that any other physical strike will give Gau. In combination with the Merit Award, this works wonders. A Genji Glove/Offering/double Imp Halberd is the only ticket to a octaple !Catscratch. And while I'm not sure if 'octaple' is a word, it's too damn cool to delete :P -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.4 Gem Box ********************************** As with the DragoonBoots, the Gem Box doesn't change the nature of any spell, it just makes it so that you can select two of them in a row. Equipping this on Gau will have results for his Magic command (obviously), but his Rage will not be affected, and he won't cast two Bolt2 while Raging Hazer, let alone a double Acid Rain or Meteo, sweet as that may have been. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.5 Offering ********************************** Yes! This is a brilliant Relic to put on Gau. Obviously you already reserved this for Locke or the Fixed Dice/Offering on Setzer, and I can't disagree with either as you'll have to resort to the Dragon Horn for both should you want to deploy them in a significantly useful way. However, the Offering is great on Gau and should definitely be considered for a SCC or the like. Will it make his normal physical attack hit four times? Yes! Will it make his Special attack hit four times? Yes! The Offering will make the Wind God strategy exactly four times as cheap (that's four focused Crusaders), and it works brilliantly with the Sniper. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.6 Safety Bit ********************************** This Relic protects against instant-Death attacks. You'd say it's not directly the most useful Relic for Gau as he can give himself Death protection whenever he wants, but there's more to it than that and it gets nastier as well. The Rage Gau picks overrides the Death protection check. In other words, while wearing a Safety Bit and picking a Rage without Death protection, PowerDemon for example, Gau will *not* have Death protection. The Safety Bit isn't entirely useless, but it only lasts until Gau picks a Rage at which point it's overruled to the negative or becomes useless. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.7 Marvel Shoes/Cure Ring/Runningshoes/Cherub Down/Guard Ring ********************************* Inherent statuses are added to your self-applied amount of Rage-inflicted statuses, so any of these five will work. Obviously the Cure Ring, RunningShoes and Guard Ring are there for those moments you don't have the Marvel Shoes yet. In any boss battle, should I not have given you two Relic slots to fill, you could add one of two of these. There's only one thing to consider, and that's that Regen, which is inflicted by Cure Ring and Marvel Shoes, will hurt Gau if he's Undead. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.8 Relic Ring ********************************** Same as with the Safety Bit, I'm afraid. The Relic Ring will make the wearer Undead, a property that Gau can get himself at any given moment. Gau will be undead when his Rage allows him to be (Whisper, Over-Mind, etc.) but will lack the Undead property, even with the Relic Ring, should he Rage a monster who lacks this property. The Relic Ring is, like the Safety Bit, useful until he picks a Rage. ********************************** 13.0 Rage and Status ailments ********************************** Table of Contents: 13.1 Rage and Status ailments 13.2 Berserk 13.3 Clear 13.4 Mute 13.5 Petrify 13.6 Imp 13.7 Zombie 13.8 Poison 13.9 Near Fatal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.1 Rage and Status ailments ********************************** Rage and Statuses...that's more difficult combination than you might expect. Not only will some statuses have effects you hadn't really expected on a Rager, Rage-induced statuses may or may not be permanent. These inherent statuses are permanent from the moment you select a Rage with the status: Mute, Berserk, Muddle, Seizure, Regen, Slow, Haste, Shell, Safe, Reflect, and Float. Seems logical enough, right? Now, for the list of status ailments which are *not* permanent: Dark, Zombie, Poison, Clear, Imp, Petrify, Death, Condemned, Near Fatal, Image, Sleep, Dance You'll see that this is mostly hypothetical: only Dark, Poison and Clear are used as monster-inherent statuses and the rest is purely for trivia knowledge. Provided that the monsters don't have immunity to it, you can actually remove these statuses. You can lift Anguiform's Dark with a Remedy, you can cast Cure on Intangir to remove Clear and you could remove Buffalax' Poison with an Antidote. It won't really matter, however: while not permanent, these statuses are re-inflicted every time the Rager takes a turn. Clear will be re-applied, Dark is set again, Poison will proceed to take damage. Also note that it is possible to set a status which the Rager is protected against on the Rager by inflicting it and *then* select the Rage. Due to how immunities are treated, this status will also become unremovable by any means. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.2 Berserk ********************************** Contrary to popular belief, the Berserk status does more than just make the affected use Fight over and over again. Next to fight, Capture, Jump and Rage are allowed, as are MagiTek attacks and Umaro's rampage moves. So what happens when Gau/Gogo is affected with the Berserk status? If it happens before a Rage is selected, there's a 50 % chance that a normal Fight attack is carried out (this is for Gau; for Gogo there's an equal chance for every command of which the extra Fight command is one, and an equal chance for the moves listed under those commands). The other 50 % will have Rage being used. A completely random Rage is selected, and will be carried out normally. The second attack, be it !Catscratch, Shock, Acid Rain or Bolt3, it will be carried out 50 % of the time. Any physical attack will receive the Berserk Boost, including Special attacks. If it happens during a Rage, the Rage will just continue, but with the Berserk Boost on every physical hit. In other words, the Berserk status is just a positive thing on a Rager. Unfortunately some monsters, and thus some Rages, are immune to it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.3 Clear ********************************** This is largely a positive status, but possible to prevent a combo such as Vanish/Stone or Vanish/Meteo, some monsters were given Vanish immunity. I have not listed status protections as I consider them too much and too trivial to defend the space it will take. There's one monster with inherent Clear status: Intangir. There's something funky about it: have Gau execute Intangir. Assuming he doesn't take team spirit too far and destroys himself for the greater good, hit Gau with a magic spell. The Clear status will be lifted. However, as soon as Gau executes a new attack, the Clear status will be set again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.4 Mute ********************************** Even when Gau does not actually chant for his spells, and he does not use any MP either, the Mute status will still prevent Gau from carrying out normal spells. The only exceptions are those spells which would normally cost 0 MP. These spells are: *All spells available through Dance (Wind Slash, etc.) *Commands (Only Shock in a normal game) *Items (only Water Edge in a normal game) Some odd-ball attacks such as BabaBreath, Bomblet, Charm, Discard, Engulf, Escape, Gale Cut, HyperDrive, Revenger, Seize, Sneeze, Targetting, Tentacle, Train, WallChange and Zinger. Note that only Charm is used under Rage. The rest is for trivia knowledge :P -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.5 Petrify ********************************** When under Petrify, the character is considered dead and the Rage status is lifted. You can select a new Rage when you are free to move again due to a Soft potion or the like. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.6 Imp ********************************** When cast before the Rage is selected, the Rage command is grayed out, and you cannot select a Rage until you are freed from your water-spirit Kappa body. Get that Green Cherry over here and feed it to your Rage user. Assuming you're in a Rage which isn't immune to the Imp status, such as Guard, the Imp status will get the Rage user stuck inside the Rage status and will perform uncontrollabe Fight commands until he is either cured from the ailment or the battle ends. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.7 Zombie ********************************** Unlike Petrify and Wound, a Zombified Rager will continue with the Rage which was selected. He'll randomly switch targets between the enemy party and your own, so it's best to cure quickly. You really don't want Land Slide, Charm or a Wind God against you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.8 Poison ********************************** A Rage user will take damage from it just like any other character, but there is a nifty strategy with the Poison status involved. After you have been poisoned, Rage any monster which absorbs the Poison-element. As damage dealt by the Poison status is Poison-elemental by nature, the Rage user will start being healed by the increasingly high damage that the Poison status will inflict. It beats the Regen status by miles, and you can even combine them to make the Rage user an unholy tank of continuous restoration. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.9 Near Fatal ********************************** If the Rage user is Near Fatal before he selects his Rage, and selects the Rage of a monster immune to this status, he will remain Near Fatal even when his HP is brought back to the maximum. This means he'll always be guarded by a fellow party member with the True Knight. Sweet. Obviously this won't help a 255 Defense Gau, but in the WoB and on Gogo this can give you full-time physical protection by somebody else. Think of it as an alternate Golem. Consequently, Gau has no Desperation Attack and cannot benefit from it. Gogo, however, will have a 1/16 shot at a DA when he’s Near Fatal, and when he’s locked in that situation there’s a chance you’ll have him trigger X-Meteo even at full HP. ********************************** 14.0 SNES/PSX version differences ********************************** Three versions have been released so far. One in Japan for the Super Famicom called Final Fantasy 6 (often called Final Fantasy 6j to indicate it's the original thing), an American release called Final Fantasy 3 (often referred to as just Final Fantasy 6) and a recent release on the Anthology disc for America (the Europe version featured IV and V). There are two differences between the releases that concern Rage. In FF6j and Anthology: The Atma Weapon is now compatible with the Merit Award. I don't know what the hell they were thinking; as it was wise they left it out in the original game: as you can see in Master ZED’s Bugs & Glitches document, a damaging Special with the Atma Weapon in either hand will produce graphic glitches because it can't decide what length to choose, so it'll just take garbage from some foreign location. This can potentially crash the emulator if you play on one, so I'm guessing it could abort a PS game. Nothing as evil as Save State destruction has been reported, though. While the Atma Weapon wouldn't have been half bad on a Rager, the graphic glitches aren't worth it. Should you be playing the Anthology version, DON'T EQUIP IT ON GOGO. I say Gogo because Gau can no longer equip the Merit Award in the Anthology release. Bye bye Wind God Gau, we'll have to go with Wind God Gogo now. While Gogo can do in Anthology what he also could in the SNES releases, his Vigor is significantly worse than Gau's Vigor, not to mention his Battle Power wasn't meant to be a stand-alone weapon like Gau's Fists. Gau's massive potential with the Merit Award is but a dream, a vague memory of better times in Anthology. ********************************** 15.0 Conclusion ********************************** Question: So what's the conclusion? Answer: Conclusion? You want a conclusion? You want me sum up over 290 kB of info? I wouldn't know where to begin. I could start by giving you a couple of surprises I encountered while writing this Guide. I knew about Woolly, yet hadn't realized his potential. Red Wolf and Cephaler are two Rages I would not have thought would even allow the faintest shimmer of attention from my side, yet are very much represented here. The Sniper, for all it's simplicity, for it's lack of stat boosts and the fact it's store-bought, turned out to be perhaps the best weapon for Gau and Gogo to equip overall. Question: Did you have fun writing this thing? Answer: An absolute blast. FF VI is a great game due to its versatility...Gau is extreme in that aspect. In a way, the difference between a FF V Berserker and FF VI's Gau is a good example of the difference between this game and a lot of other ones. Question: Have you spent a lot of time fighting and testing these battles? Boy, you listed a *lot* of Rage recommendations for these boss battles, you must've spent hours and hours on even a few of them. Answer: Truth is, most Rage recommendations were given totally in theory. Very few have been actually play-tested. But don't think that decreases the credibility of this guide by one bit; both I and the various people I worked with have had years of experience with this game. If it's in the game, we saw it coming. And if Vaporite absorbs Lightning on paper, he'll absorb lightning in the game. Question: The toughest boss from an SCC Rager point of view? Answer: Master Pug. If a move cannot be protected against by any Rage, you can always drain its MP before it starts using these powerful spells. With Step Mine not only being available for the entire battle, but actually being a counter to everything Gau can do to Master Pug, I think this is about the only battle I don't have an almost fool-proof LLG and/or SCC strategy for. Question: Why did you start writing this Guide anyway? Answer: Multiple reasons. I enjoy writing in general. It's an exercise in the English language (which isn't my native one). I wanted a Guide with my name out there. But most of all, I think I thought I would learn in the process. And learning I did. Question: So? Answer: So what? Question: Is Gau the best character in this game? Answer: No, I don't think so. I think it's Gogo who is the best character in the game. But as far as Low Level Game strategies go, as far as Single Character Challenge strategies go, I dare say a *lot* of Gogo's merit can be explained by the Rage command. It's simply the best command there is. Question: I hear this game is popular among hackers...any patches on this subject? Answer: Quite a few, actually. Think it's a waste of time trying to find Lich in the Rage menu? Are you sick and tired of always having to scroll down endlessly only to discover that Templar is on the top of the list? Assassin's Alphabetic Rage Patch sorts 'em out so you can find Dark Wind just under Dark Force. Find it at http://www14.brinkster.com/assassin17/patches.htm Do you miss the Allo Ver Rage as much as I do? Think that for all it's flaws, the Siegfried Rage and the Chupon Rage would really help out this time? Terii's Patch clears a monster formation of a Siegfried monster and a monster formation of a Chupon monster after you fight them in the Colloseum. The patch also fixes the bug where Allo Ver is in the wrong monster formations, so you can now have a complete list of Rages. Currently available for half the price at www.rpglegion.com Question: So this is it? Answer: I'm afraid it is. I hope you had as much fun reading this thing as I had writing it...although I very much doubt it took you as long. Comments, feedback questions, a hot date; if you have something for me, don't hesitate to let me know. I can be reached a Djibriel at gmail dot com or make a topic at either www.gamefaqs.com or www.cavesofnarshe.com. This was written in the winter of 2004/2005, so if you're living in 2009 and robot overlords rule the lands with an iron (literally!) fist, the forums may pose a better solution as those tend to last longer. And even if I disappeared into the glorious orange sunset, there'll be someone there to tell you :) You know how to reach me, making our relationship a dual one. We'll meet in the future, maybe. Djibriel ********************************** 16.0 Credits ********************************** Credits in alphabetical order: Galbalan and Novalia Spirit for the corrections that made the 1.3 version. Galbalan especially prompted me to actually bother with the 1.3 release, which quickly turned out to be more of an overhaul than I originally planned :/ i90east for proofreading, and hosting the document on a website which isn't butchered by horrible, horrible hosting. Imzogelmo for some good, yet not always very clean, fun while writing this Guide, proofreading, and some random bits and pieces of feedback that are probably in this document somewhere. Master ZED for the countless times I checked up on his Monster Stats Guide and Attack Guide, not to mention the Bugs and Glitches Guide he allowed me to copy contents from for this document. Also, let's not forget he inspired me way back when even FF3ME was still a mystery to me. Imagine, I might've lived this life thinking Flare was Fire-elemental ;) Mnrogar for the delightful forums on which especially the Boss strategy section was debated quite a lot. Consider it the grounds on which this Guide was spawned. Novalia Spirit for proofreading this thing about nine months after is was released :D It was this guy who finally actually prompted me to give the update, so you can all be thankful. But most of all, it is assassin (yes, even defying the alphabetical order here) who deserves most credit 'mongst these people. He wrote the Monster Elemental Reaction document. He has passed countless bits of feedback, has helped out by multiple proofreadings and even had some tips concerning GameFAQs uploading up his sleeve. He was the best side-kick one could ever wish for. My hat goes to you, oh fellow traveler. You're brilliant. Further thanks to people with various tips and suggestions, including Hearn, ********************************** Disclaimer and legal necessities ********************************** This was written in 2004/2005, by Djibriel, and is copyrighted by me. You can contact me by sending some kind of electronic letter to djibriel at gmail dot com. You are unauthorized to present this document, partly or whole, as written by somebody else as the authors of the respective bodies of text. You are unauthorized to change anything in this document for any other purpose then personal use without my explicit permission. You are unauthorized to set me on fire without my explicit permission. All rights reserved.