"Might and Magic: Gates to Another World" for Sega Genesis
Stat Raising Guide, v1.5 (5/7/2011)
by Dammit9x
dammit9x at hotmail dot com
Copyright 2004-2011
This document may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on
any unauthorized web site or as a part of any public display is strictly
prohibited and a violation of copyright.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changed since v1.4 (5/5/2011):
* Fixed some things in ulillillia's guide
* Added more info on item enchantment and cursing
* Detailed the Ice Cavern treasures
* Correction on Bronze equipment and a note on item storage
Changed since v1.3 (6/20/2008):
* Corrected some small mistakes
* Added chart for number of hits per level
* Added a note about class-specific weapon accuracy
* Added ulillillia's extensive level-up scheme
* Added a note on beating the Ancient Dragon at low level
Changed since v1.2 (3/31/2007):
* Restructured guide and improved writing
* Added and improved many sections
* Verified some uncertainties
Changed since v1.1 (1/5/2005):
* Added section on the Frenzy glitch
***************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. STATS
1. ROLLED STATS
2. DERIVED STATS
3. TEMPORARY CHANGES
4. SECONDARY SKILL BONUSES
5. PERMANENT BONUSES
6. STAT TRADES
7. CLASS-SPECIFIC ITEMS
8. LUXUS B2 HP BONUS
9. CASTLE DUNGEON HP BONUSES
10. DRAGON'S DOMINION HP BONUSES
II. PLAYING THE GAME
1. CREATING A PARTY
2. FAST MONEY AND EQUIPMENT
3. CHOOSING EQUIPMENT
4. EXPERIENCE TRICKS
5. ALIGNMENT AND SEX CHANGES
6. ENCHANTING ITEMS
7. CASTLE DUNGEON PORTALS
III. ULILLILLIA'S MAX-OUT METHOD
IV. CHEATS AND GLITCHES
1. FREE ITEMS, GOLD AND GEMS
2. FREE TREASURE
3. REST TO TELEPORT
4. FRENZY
MY PARTY
CLOSING
***************************************
INTRODUCTION
This is not a walkthrough for Might and Magic II. Refer to Andrew Schultz's
guides and maps for that. This guide will help you I.) boost your character's
stats, II.) quickly get treasure and experience for your party and III.) apply
some cheats and glitches in order to exploit the game to the fullest. It is
written for the Sega Genesis version of Might and Magic: Gates to Another World,
which is Might and Magic II in the series. However, it is applicable to all
versions of the game.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. STATS
1. ROLLED STATS
Might: Causes more damage with both melee and missile attacks
Intellect: Determines max SP for Sorcerers and Archers
Personality: Determines max SP for Clerics and Paladins
Endurance: Determines the max HP gained when training (leveling up)
Speed: Determines order of action in combat. Faster monsters and characters go
before slower ones. When speeds are equal, characters go in the order of the
party arrangement. Higher speeds give a bigger AC bonus.
Accuracy: Determines the chance of hitting with missile or melee; However, it
is difficult to notice the difference when Accuracy is changed. The target's AC
also plays a role in determining hits or misses.
Luck: Possibly affects the chance that the party will successfully Hide from
combat and the chance of success for thievery. Luck may have other effects.
2. DERIVED STATS
Level: This determines max HP, max SP, spell level, thievery, the number of
attacks a character makes per round, and whether enemies try to run away in
battle. It is raised by gaining experience and then paying for training at
training center in one of the towns.
HP: Hit points. If they run out the character becomes Unconscious. An
Unconscious character dies if hit again. You can raise the HP of a wounded or
Unconscious member with healing items or spells. HP is refilled with Rest. There
are several ways to raise max HP, the most obvious of which is leveling up.
SP: Spell points. They are required for casting spells. The SP cost of some
spells is fixed, and with others it depends on the caster's level. SP are
refilled by resting and maximum SP is increased only by leveling up.
SL: Spell level. This determines which spells are available to the character.
Some spells need to be bought or found. SL = level/2 + 1/2 for Clerics and
Sorcerers or level/2 - 5/2 for Paladins and Archers.
AC: Armor class reduces the character's chance of getting hit. It does not
reduce the damage taken. AC is raised by wearing protective equipment and by
high Speed.
Thievery: This determines the chance of success when opening locked doors and
chests. Failure usually results in setting off the trap. Failures still occur
occasionally even with very high (>150) thievery. Thievery starts at 15 for
Robbers and 10 for Ninjas and increments by 1 for each level up. Certain
equipment increases Thievery, and it can be boosted to 50-59 in Sandsobar
dungeon.
AC/dmg HP per SP per
Stat Rating: Bonus: Level: Level:
0-13 0 3 3
14-15 1 4 4
16-17 2 5 5
18-19 3 6 6
20-22 4 7 7
23-26 5 8 8
27-30 6 9 9
31-45 7 10 10
46-60 8 11 11
61-75 9 12 12
76-90 10 13 13
91-105 11 14 14
106-120 12 15 15
121-135 13 16 16
136-150 14 17 17
151-175 15 18 18
176-200 16 3 19
201-225 17 3 20
226-250 18 3 21
251-255 19 3 22
AC/dmg bonus: The damage done by Attack, Fight and Shoot is increased by the
amount that corresponds to the character's Might rating. This bonus is added to
both the min and max damage. For example, a Holy Cudgel wielded with 50 Might
does 9-18 instead of 1-10 damage. Similarly, AC is improved by Speed.
HP per level: This is the number of max HP a sorcerer gains when training at
Middlegate with the given Endurance. Use the following table to make
adjustments for other classes and training centers:
Middlegate Sansobar Tundara Vulcania Atlantium MAX
Sorcerer +0 +1 +1 +2 +3 21
Cleric +1 +2 +2 +3 +5 23
Ninja +1 +2 +2 +3 +5 23
Robber +1 +2 +2 +3 +5 23
Paladin +2 +4 +4 +5 +7 25
Archer +2 +4 +4 +5 +7 25
Knight +3 +5 +5 +6 +9 27
Barbarian +5 +7 +7 +9 +12 30
Notice how by some oversight the HP per level resets to the minimum if you
exceed 175 Endurance. Don't let this happen. If it gets too high, you can reduce
it with the Intellect trade. (See section I.6.) The MAX is what a character with
151-175 Endurance gains from training at Atlantium.
SP per level: Unlike max HP, max SP is recalculated every time you rest. For
Sorcerers and Clerics, the max SP is your level times the number in the table
corresponding to Intellect or Personality at the time when you rest. For
Archers or Paladins, it is (level-6) times this number. For example, a level
10 cleric with 50 Per has 11 x 10 = 110 SP. A paladin with the same level and
Per has 11 x (10-6) = 44 SP.
The number of strikes attempted in an Attack, Fight or Shoot command depends
on level and a class-dependent parameter:
attacks = level/parameter + 1, rounded down
Parameter Class
4 knight, barbarian, paladin
5 archer, robber, ninja
7 cleric
10 sorcerer
Example: a level 21 knight gets 21/4 + 1 = 6.25 -> 6 chances to hit per attack.
3. TEMPORARY CHANGES
Certain events change stats of the whole party until the next encounter or
until resting:
Location: Effect:
B1 (11,14) Set Might to 40
D2 (1,12) Set Might to 200
B4 (14,9) Set Might to random number
B2 (8,8) Set Intellect to 65
D1 (13,9) Set Personality to 65
B4 (3,2) Set Personality to 75
A3 (1,13) +25 Speed
D2 (1,7) Set Speed to 200
C2 (1,13) Set Accuracy to 40
A4 (10,10) Set all stats to 100
E2 (11,9) Set all stats to 200 and Level to 50
A1 (2,3) Set Level to 25
C1 (1,11) Set Spell Level to 9
C4 (9,14) Set HP to 150
C2 (14,10) Set SP 20
C1 (1,5) Set SP to 200
D3 (3,14) Set SP to 200
Murray's Cavern (0,9) Set HP to 1 and SP to 200
Murray's Cavern (5,15) Set HP to 500
Potions serve a similar purpose and are more convenient, but costly.
Item: Buy at: Cost: Effect: Charges:
Force Potion Sandsobar 100 Might +10 3
Skill Potion Tundara 500 Level +5 5
MaxHP Potion Atlantium 4000 HP +512 2
The drinks in the taverns also give temporary bonuses. A character must keep
drinking the same drink without leaving the drink menu a number of times before
the benefits show. The stats reset if the character gets sick (poisoned) while
drinking:
Drink: Cost: Effect:
Orc Beer 5 +5 Might per drink after 2 drinks up to 99 Mgt
Straight Shot 5 +20 Accuracy per drink after 3 drinks up to 99 Acy
Id Elixir 20 +10 Personality per drink after 3 drinks up to 99 Per
Academic Age 20 +10 Intellect per drink after 3 drinks up to 99 Int
Rare Vintage 50 +3 Levels per drink after 3 drinks up to Lv 49
Mystic Brew 100 +1 Spell Level per drink after 5 drinks up to SL 8
Example: A level 5 character drinks Rare Vintage 10 times and goes to level 26.
5 + (10-3) x 3 = 26
Temporary boosts to Intellect, Personality and Endurance seem to be pointless.
These stats are only polled during level-ups, and the values that get checked
are the permanent ones.
4. SECONDARY SKILL BONUSES
Each character can have up to two skills from the table below:
Skill: Town: Cost: Purpose:
Cartographer Middlegate (0,15) 10 Add to the automap as you explore
Mountaineer Middlegate (3,12) 2000 Pass through mountains (need it twice)
Pathfinder Middlegate (1,9) 1000 Pass through forests (need it twice)
Crusader Tundara (2,14) 250 Can take quests
Merchant Tundara (5,13) 1000 Half buy price, double sell price
Navigator Tundara (8,13) 750 Won't get lost in the desert
Gladiator Vulcania (3,9) 500 +5 Might
Intellect Atlantium (8,4) 500 +5 Intellect; read runes at C3 (0,7)
Diplomat Sandsobar (3,4) 500 +5 Personality
Soldier Vulcania (0,3) 500 +5 Endurance
Athlete Atlantium (6,2) 500 +5 Speed
Arms Master Vulcania (15,3) 500 +5 Accuracy
Gambler Sandsobar (3,0) 200 +5 Luck
Hero/Heroine Atlantium (9,2) 1000 +1 Mgt, Int, Per, End, Spd, Acy, Luc
Pickpocket Sandsobar (0,5) 300 +5 Thievery (Ninjas and Robbers only)
Middlegate (12,10) 100 Remove both skills
The secondary skills that give stat bonuses don't do anything if the character
learns it when the stat in question is 50 or up. But removing the skill with
Brain Detoxification in Middlegate still deducts from the stats that were
supposed to be increased. I recommend not getting those skills except to give an
early boost to Speed or Endurance. Use the permanent method instead.
5. PERMANENT BONUSES
Character stats can be increased permanently at certain dungeon locations:
Cavern: Tile: +10 to: Combat required:
C3(1,6) Druid's Cavern (1,15) Might none; use Teleport
A4(13,10)Below Atlantium (11,15) Intellect none; use Teleport
B1(4,12) Ice Cavern (7,15)F Personality none; run away afterward
(8,15)M
E1(3,4) Below Vulcania (15,14) Endurance none; use Teleport
E3(5,5) Nomadic Rift (0,15) Speed none; use Teleport
A2(1,1) Pinehurst B1 (14,13) Accuracy several difficult battles
D4(3,7) Dawn's Mist Bog (12,7) Luck battle with Lucky Dogs
E4(4,10) Below Sansobar (0,12) Thievery none; use teleport;
700 gold required
Your stats can only be improved to 50-59 in this way. For example, if Might
is 49 or below, you get +10 Might from eating spinach, but if it's 50 or higher
you get nothing. For this reason you should remove stat raising equipment or
skills before getting the bonuses. Try to get the Thievery bonus before level 5
for Robbers or level 10 for Ninjas, so that they can benefit from it four times.
This effectively offsets the poor initial thieving ability of the Ninja.
The bonuses do not show up until you've rested or had an encounter. You may
recieve more than one bonus without resting or entering combat; the multiple
bonuses will just register all at once. However, the ceiling of 50-59 still
applies even if the bonus is not shown.
The event is spent after you visit the tile. To reset it you need to
leave the area and come back. Drop a Lloyd's Beacon when you reach the tile
for the first time. Cast Surface, or run away to the exit, then just return to
your beacon. Lloyd's Beacon is learned at (7,11) in Corak's Cave, C2(5,11).
Another way to do this is to bring the man at D3(7,13) a Cupie Doll, then
visit the fountain at E3(10,12). The circus which is open from day 140-170 at
B2(14,4) now raises stats by +10. You may repeat the process until you reach
50-59. To do this you would have to wait until day 140.
6. STAT TRADES
To raise stats past the 50-59 ceiling, you'll have to trade away other stats:
Dungeon: Tile: Trade: Combat required:
Hillstone B1 (0,0) +3 Mgt, -5 Int none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B1 (15,0) +3 Mgt, -5 Per none; use Teleport
Hillstone B2 (3,9) +3 Int, -5 End none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B2 (8,6) +3 Per, -5 Lck two battles
Luxus B1 (5,0) +3 End, -5 Spd none; use Teleport
Luxus B2 (15,0) +3 Spd, -5 Mgt none; use Teleport
Pinehurst B1 (2,7) +3 Acc, -5 Spd none*
Pinehurst B2 (4,15) +3 Lck, -5 Per none*
*Accuracy trade: Coming from the ground level entrance, Jump N at (1,10) to
avoid a battle. To get to the ground level stairs from the stairs to B2, get
into a battle then run away.
*Luck trade: Etherealize W from (6,9) and N from (5,10) to avoid battles.
These trades are better than they look. Unlike the bonuses, stats can be
brought up all the way to 255 this way with enough patience. The procedure
to raise Endurance, for example, would be to trade away Speed down to 5-9,
return to the Nomad's Cave to replenish Speed, then return to Luxus B1 and
repeat. Each round trip (10 trades) would and raise Endurance by 30.
If you try to trade when your stat is less than 5, you get nothing but the
stat is brought to 0. To avoid mistakes, use Exchange to put the member you
want to make the trade at the front of the party. Like the bonuses, the changes
aren't shown on the status screen until you've had combat or rested. Unlike the
bonuses, you can make the trade any number of times without leaving and
returning to the area. Teleport, Lloyd's Beacon, and the portals from area B2
can minimize the amount of time and combat required.
Take note of what trades require what. Try to first increase the stats that
won't be decreased later by other trades. For example, if you want to raise
both Speed and Accuracy, do Accuracy first because it requires Speed. If you
did Speed first all your hard work would be traded away when you did Accuracy.
Some stats must remain below the 50-59 ceiling to serve as the source for other
trades.
Don't get too greedy. 255 is the absolute max. That includes AC. If you
equip an item that would increase your stats past 255, only part of the bonus
is applied. When you remove it, your stats will be decreased by the full
amount. So if your Speed is 200 and you put on Speed Boots +60, Speed goes up
only 55, up to 255. When you remove them, speed goes down by 75, down to 180.
Also remember the unusual cap of 175 on Endurance.
7. CLASS-SPECIFIC ITEMS
Class: Item name: +15 to: Dungeon: Tile: Combat required:
Knight Ivory Cameo might Pinehurst B1 (11,13) several
Ruby Tiara accuracy Pinehurst B2 (2,13) none*
Paladin Agate Grail personality Pinehurst B1 (6,6) several
Opal Pendant might Pinehurst B2 (14,13) none*
Archer Topaz Shard accuracy Luxus B1 (0,15) none; use Teleport
Sun Crown intellect Luxus B2 (15,13) none; use Teleport
Sorcerer Amber Skull intellect Luxus B1 (0,0) none; use Teleport
Quartz Skull intellect Luxus B2 (14,14) none; use Teleport
Cleric Onyx Effigy personality Woodhaven B1 (4,4) none; use Teleport
Pearl Choker personality Woodhaven B2 (10,4) lots
Robber Sapphire Pin luck Woodhaven B1 (7,1) none; use Teleport
Amethyst Box luck Woodhaven B2 (4,6) lots
Ninja Crystal Vial speed Hillstone B1 (15,4) none; use Teleport
Ruby Amulet luck Hillstone B2 (4,0) none; use Teleport
Barbarian Coral Broach might Hillstone B1 (1,14) none; use Teleport
Lapis Scarab might Hillstone B2 (15,15) none; use Teleport
*Ruby Tiara: Etherealize W from (6,9), again from (5,10) and again from
(3,11). Do it one more time to get through the barrier.
*Opal Pendant: Etherealize E from (8,8), again from (9,9) and again from
(12,12). Do it one more time to get through the barrier.
They will not let you pick up a class-specific item if the class that can
use it is in the party. The obvious way to get around this is to leave a
Beacon one or two squares away from the item, then come back after dropping
the offending member off at the inn. You can leave and Beacon back to get as
many as you want. Like any other equipment, these can be enchanted to +63.
They cannot be duplicated, however.
8. LUXUS B2 HP BONUS
There is a guy at (0,15) of Luxus B2 who offers to sell a character all the HP
"you SHOULD have" for 1 million gold. This brings the maximum HP up to where it
would be if the character had done all level-up training at Atlantium at his or
her current Endurance rating. This negates the non-optimal HP raises derived
from leveling at an inferior training center or at a lower Endurance rating.
The seller can't help and won't take the money if the max HP is above the
point projected by the character's Class, Endurance and Level. Thus, to get
maximum benefit from Luxus B2, it's best to buy it after raising Endurance and
before getting the castle dungeon and Dragon's Dominion bonuses, especially
before the 1000 HP bonus. Likewise, it won't matter if previous level-ups were
bought at inferior training centers.
9. CASTLE DUNGEON HP BONUSES
Dungeon: Tile: Don't bring: Combat required:
Pinehurst B1 (14,5) Humans several
Pinehurst B2 (13,1) Humans none*
Luxus B1 (11,14) Dwarves none; use Teleport
Luxus B2 (8,11) Dwarves none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B1 (0,7) Elves none; use Teleport
Woodhaven B2 (12,2) Elves lots
Hillstone B1 (11,1) Half-orcs none; use Teleport
Hillstone B2 (10,7) Half-orcs none; use Teleport
*Pinehurst B2: Etherealize E from (8,6), again from (9,6) and again from
(12,4). Now Etherealize S from (14,4). Do it one more time to get through
the barrier.
These bonuses increase your max HP by 1-12. Each of them can only be accessed
once per moon phase. The moon phases are 60 days long.
10. DRAGON'S DOMINION HP BONUSES
The cave is entered from D1 at (12,14).
Tile: HP bonus: Limit: Combat required:
(0,0) +10 up to 200 HP 3 Earth Wyrms
(11,2) +25 none Armored Dragon
(7,14) +1000 once per character Ancient Dragon
+10 HP: From the starting point, Jump E from (2,8). Move E one step, S one
step, then Jump S from (5,7). Move S then W to (4,0). You have to face the
Earth Wyrms. After that, walk W through the walls to the fountain.
+25 HP: Jump E from (2,8), then (6,8) and (8,8). Jump S from (10,8). The
Armored Dragon is at (7,0).
+1000 HP: Jump E from (2,8), then (6,8) and (8,8). Jump N from (10,8) and
again from (15,12). The Ancient Dragon is at (15,15). You can try raising Luck
at the Greatest Fountain to improve your chances of hiding, or just fight.
I am told by false that since all it does is attack a single character, he can
be beaten with weak characters if you bring healing items.
The biggest point of interest is the one-time 1000 HP jackpot. The +25
fountain gives HP once per visit and can be used indefinitely, it seems. Lloyd's
Beacon, Time Distortion, and Surface don't work in this dungeon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. PLAYING THE GAME
1. CREATING A PARTY
Don't worry about rolling 21s for your characters. Just roll reasonable
numbers, because all stats can be raised. Speed and Endurance are most
important for weak characters. The six default characters are adequate if you
don't want to create your own.
You may wish to have a party of six characters and two hirelings that has one
representative from each class, or to take multiple characters of the same
class. But getting treasure will be difficult without a Robber or Ninja. The
spellcasting ability of at least one Cleric or Paladin and at least one Sorcerer
or Archer will help with getting around and fighting certain enemies.
Name can be changed from the View Char menu.
Race is permanent. It has a trivial effect on stats, and specific races are
barred from getting benefits from each castle dungeon. Thus, a racially uniform
party will be somewhat better able to deal with this problem.
Sex is permanent but can be changed (for the whole party) in two places. The
Personality boost in the Ice Cavern is sex specific, so a non-unisex party will
have to make twice as many trips to exploit it.
Alignment is permanent but changeable like sex. However, alignment can be
easily restored to its original state at a temple or with the Cleric spell.
Alignment determines whether a character can equip an item with +5 or higher
enchantment and may also determine whether the character can hit and damage
certain enemies.
2. FAST MONEY AND EQUIPMENT
The guardian pegasus Meenu is at B1(9,9). Tell him his name for 100,000 gold.
Path to avoid blizzards: (8,3) > (8,8) > (7,8) > (7,10) > (9,10) > (9,9)
No skills or magic are required, so a new party can do this.
B2(5,13) has a free Ice Sickle +2.
Buy the Merchant skill in Tundara(5,13) for 1000 gold and give it to whoever is
at the front of the party. With this done, you can buy items, use them
partially, and sell them back for the same price. (Plus you'll earn double from
selling treasure.) Buy a Witch's Broom in Tundara and a Teleport Orb in
Atlantium to use Fly and Teleport without a high level Sorcerer. These spells
will help get treasure quickly.
Teleport to (15,9) at Tundara and get the Emerald Ring. Run away at the (15,8)
encounter to escape without being thrown in jail.
Gemmaker's Volcano A4(4,7) has no encounters and lots of Fire-type equipment.
Make sure you have Levitate status to avoid the lava, either from the Levitate
spell or a temple blessing. Get 500 gems at (6,10).
Ice Cavern B1(4,12) has useful treasure lying around, especially the gems and
Speed Boots. Use Teleport to avoid traps and battles.
(0,15): 500 gems
(6,15): +5 Cold Shield
(14,15): +3 Giant Sling
(5,12): +3 Speed Boots
(9,12): +5 Looter Knife
(3,3): Ice Sickle & Cold Blade
(10,3): +15 Dagger
(12,0): 5000 gold
Dragon's Dominion D1(12,14) has four guarded but valuable caches.
(3,6): Broad Sword +5, Great Bow +5, Flamberge +5
(3,10): Great Shield +5, Helm +5, Plate Mail +5
(13,6): Titan's Pike +7, Photon Blade +7, Ancient Bow +7
(13,10): Gold Shield +7, G Plate Mail +7, Gold Helm +7
3. CHOOSING EQUIPMENT
Weapons: For fighting characters, go for maximum damage weapons. The stat
boosts are not as important. However, there is something to be said for using
a one-handed weapons over Titan's Pikes, because they allow you to equip the
Magic Shield.
ulillillia reports that some weapons give a better hit rate than others for
some classes. He says that the Titan's Pike is good for archers and bad for
barbarians, while the opposite is true for the Grand Axe.
Beware of elemental weapons such as the Flaming Sword. Some enemies are weak
to certain elementals, but many are immune to them. Elemental weapons are
troublesome when fighting strong monsters.
Missile weapons: It's not necessary to equip both a strong melee and strong
missile weapon. If one of them is much stronger, it can be used in combat while
the other can be used to raise some exotic stat.
Armor: Try for gold equipment. Bronze resists Poison, Iron resists Sleep, and
Silver resists Energy, all pretty much worthless. Whatever Luck does, it's
probably more helpful than those effects. When it comes to Gold or highly
enchanted non-Gold, keep the Gold because you can enchant it eventually.
Resistances: Poison, Sleep, Energy, Acid, Fire, Electricity, and Cold are all
worthless. These attacks are used against you rarely enough that it's not
worth wasting equipment slots on them. Magic resistance is good however, and
sometimes magic resistance encompasses the others, for example if the enemy
casts Fireball. You can determine a character's resistance stats from the scale
at (10,5) in Vulcania.
You can use unneeded characters and hirelings as mules to store extra items.
4. EXPERIENCE TRICKS
A nice quest for beginning parties is the Mark's Keys quest. Go to A2 (2,9)
and answer KEYS. Then bring them to C1 (1,1) for 10,000 xp. Don't go there
unless you have the keys or a character will die.
Try the quests for Hoardall, Slayer, and Haart. (You may remove an unwanted
quest at Hillstone(13,2) or Woodhaven(13,2). Don't waste your time with quests
lower than lord rank.)
Lord's Quest of Hoardall at Woodhaven(9,11) in C1(3,14): reward 100,000 xp
Sword of Valor at A2 (11,2) guarded by 6 Mountain Men
Sword of Honor at D4 (14,11) guarded by 6 Guardians
Sword of Nobility D1 (0,8) guarded by 4 Priests
Lord's Quest of Slayer at Hillstone(5,2) in D4(13,1): reward 1,000,000 xp
Dragon Lord at D1(10,12)
Queen Beetle at E2(11,6)
Serpent King at E3(5,6)
Quest of Haart at B1(5,5): reward 250,000 xp, 50,000 gold, 500 gems
Phaser at A1(11,2) in year 600 guarded by Spaz Twit and 6 White Knights
Loincloth at E2(4,5) in year 700 guarded by Long One and 30 Crazed Natives
It's possible to randomly find these items in treasure chests also.
The Epicurean quest requires eating all three meals at all five taverns for
each character who will get the bonus. It's best to do all the meals at once to
avoid missing any. Then visit A3(7,7) to get 100K exp. This doesn't work for
hirelings because they can't order at taverns.
There is a coin slot in Hillstone B1 (11,5) that gives 1 exp per gold.
Downstairs in B2 (9,15), a magical pit gives 3 exp per gold. These methods
require gold and don't work for hirelings since they can't hold gold.
A fast method is to fight the Cuisinarts at B2(1,9). If Speed is approaching
200, levels are high and weapons are highly enchanted, you should be able to
drop all three Cuisinarts before they can move, leaving 60 million exp, or 7.5M
to each member of a party of eight. The treasure is good too.
The Greatest Fountain at E2 (11,9) can solve the level and Speed problems, but
you will need to provide your own weapons. It's not feasible for low level
parties to kill them but it's still possible to beat them. Give each character
Magic Herbs and make them heal each other when the Cuisinarts frenzy. Some
members may still be alive once the Cuisinarts have killed themselves.
5. ALIGNMENT AND SEX CHANGES
Dungeon: Tile: Party becomes: Combat required:
Pinehurst B2 (5,1) Good none*
Woodhaven B2 (7,8) Neutral one large battle
Luxus B2 (5,11) Evil none; use Teleport
Hillstone B2 (0,8) Male none; use Teleport
Luxus B2 (4,8) Female none; use Teleport
*Good alignment change: Etherealize S from (6,6) and again from (6,3)
Often you will want to equip an item but have an alignment conflict. Use the
alignment-changing locations to correct this. You can get realigned at a temple
or with the cleric spell, if desired.
The only reason to use the sex change is to make the whole party the same sex,
in order to expedite the Personality-boosting process in the Ice Cavern. Sex
changes are permanent. To reverse them, bring the characters to the opposite
fountain.
The alignment and sex changes affect all characters present in the party.
6. ENCHANTING ITEMS
Ultimately you will want to complement your stats with the appropriate
equipment. All items can be enchanted to +63 with the level 9 sorcerer spell
Enchant Item, available in the Gemmaker's Volcano. If you want to start
enchanting without a level 17 sorcerer, rescue Mr. Wizard at D3(1,14).
The enchantment increases whatever bonus the item gives, so that +20 Speed
Boots give +35 speed. Magical armor or weapons that are enchanted get a bonus
to both AC/damage and the bonus feature, so a +20 Titan's Pike does 1-40 +20
damage (21-61 damage) and raises Might by +35. Most items become alignment-
specific to a random alignment at +5 enchantment or higher.
The spell costs 50 SP plus one per plus of the item. So enchanting a +50
item takes 100 SP. If you want to replenish your SP without resting, use the
fountain at C1(1,5). Get gems quickly at the Ice Cavern or the Gemmaker's
Volcano by using a Beacon.
Enchant Item will curse the item if you go from +63 to +64, but sometimes it
happens from +62 to +63. You get no notification until you try to equip the
item. The character becomes Cursed and the item cannot be equipped. The level 9
cleric spell Uncurse Item doesn't work. So save before trying to enchant
something past +62 and make sure it works before saving again.
7. CASTLE DUNGEON PORTALS
Stairs Stairs Teleport/ Area B2 Dungeon
Castle: Location: up: down: Etherlze: warp: warp:
Hillstone D4(13,1) 1F (10,13) Yes
B1 (8,15) (5,1) Yes (4,3)->(11,13) (15,15)->W(0,14)
B2 (0,12) Yes (7,10)->W(7,15)
Woodhaven C1(3,14) 1F (11,9) Yes
B1 (0,15) (13,13) Yes (4,1)->(0,14) (1,9)->P(0,15)
B2 (7,15) No, No (8,4)->P(7,7)
Pinehurst A2(1,1) 1F (11,2) Yes
B1 (0,15) (1,2) No, No (6,3)->(1,2) (12,8)->L(11,9)
B2 (7,7) No,Yes (8,6)->L(10,2)
Luxus E1(3,4) 1F (0,0) Yes
B1 (11,9) (13,5) No, No (6,1)->(9,8) (15,0)->H(8,15)
B2 (10,2) Yes (11,1)->H(0,12)
The table gives all the information pertaining to travel into and within the
castle system. Most of the important places for stat-massaging are located in
the castle dungeons. You will be spending a lot of time down there if you want
to raise them really high.
The Teleport/Etherealize column tells whether these important spells are
allowed on each floor. Without these you will have to fight to get anywhere.
Both floors of all the dungeons have links to other dungeons, indicated by the
Dungeon Warp column.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. ULILLILLIA'S MAX-OUT METHOD
ulillillia has sent me an elaborate procedure to obtain maxed out levels and
HP that relies on a glitch that allows you to Train endlessly if you have a
specific amount of experience points. I have formatted it and added some
clarifications but not tested it entirely.
0. This method is intended for low level parties but requires getting some money
and gems beforehand and not resting once begun. Resting will cause HP and levels
enhanced by potions to return to normal. Otherwise the effect is essentially
permanent.
1. Use Max HP Potions from the Atlantium blacksmith to bring everyone's HP to at
least 5000. Items found in chests also work and tend to have more charges. Going
up to 55,000 to 60,000 max HP is better, but too much and you risk variable
overflow after enough leveling up, especially on barbarians and knights.
2. Use Skill Potions from the Vulcania blacksmith to bring paladins and
especially clerics to close to level 200, but don't go over.
3. Go to the 200 SP fountain at C1(1,5). Two pathfinders can cut through the
forest and avoid a battle with ghouls at (2,6). Alternatively, eat the Soup de
Ghoul at the Middlegate tavern to make them leave you alone.
4. Cast Power Cure with the clerics and paladins to fill up everyone's HP. Each
cast will restore about 1000 HP and use one gem. Use the fountain to replenish
SP as necessary: simply turn away then back south. Repeat until the party's HP
is full as shown in the View Char menu. This way, a low level party can have
tens of thousands of HP. Save the game.
5. Starting from A1(13,3) (the tile in front of Tundara), go north to (13,14),
which requires two mountaineers. Go west to encounter two Air Elementals at
(10,14). Defeating them is easy with a party with lots of HP, even at level 1.
They give 360K exp total, plus treasure. To respawn them, go east exactly six
tiles, stepping one tile out of the mountains and into region B1. (If you take
seven steps you'll be blown away and hurt by a snowstorm.) This way you can
repeat the elemental fight with only 12 steps and amass exp early, quickly, and
easily.
6. Train at Atlantium and save.
7. Continue farming exp and treasure from the Air Elementals. Repeat steps 3 and
4 to replenish HP should it go below about 1000. Train at least until a sorcerer
gains access to level 9 spells at level 17.
8. Save. Activate Levitation, either by spell or temple blessing. Head to
Gemmaker Volcano to obtain Enchant Item. Etherealize north at (3,2) to reach it.
Party members will age 10 years when getting this spell.
9. Collect the 500 gem cache at (6,10) while at the volcano. Exit and reenter to
obtain more. At least 15K gems will be needed for enchantments, meaning up to 30
repetitions. Roughly 6000 more are needed for each additional item.
10. Buy a Defense Ring from Atlantium. The Invisocloak is better if you have it.
Buy a weapon that all classes can equip from the blacksmiths. These do not have
the alignment restrictions at high enchantment. Items found in treasures with an
enchantment of +4 or less also work. The dagger may not seem powerful, but when
fully enchanted, it is pretty much about as strong as any other.
11. Use the fountain at C1(1,5) as a source of spell points and enchant the
weapon and defense item to +63 with the sorcerer. (Save before going past +62
and verify that +63 doesn't curse the item.) Repeat for each item to be
enchanted. Get more gems from Gemmaker Volcano if necessary.
12. Duplicate the weapon and defense item for all your characters. Always save
before a duplication attempt and reset and reload if it fails. Repeat the
enchantment and duplication process for any other desired items, especially
the Speed Boots from the Ice Cavern.
13. Enter the Dragon's Dominion at D1(12,14) go straight east, fighting through
all the encounters. They should be easy with the enchanted equipment. There is
an Ancient Dragon at (15,8) and another at (15,15). Each gives 20 million total
exp and a fixed cache of 10 million gold and 1000 gems. With maxed-out Speed
Boots, they can be defeated before they get to strike.
14. Exit the cave, reenter, and repeat, earning about 40.5 million total exp, 20
million gold, and 2000 gems per cycle. When HP drops below about 1500, Train at
Atlantium. Save, restore HP, and keep farming the Ancient Dragons.
15. Once a character's exp and the total accumulated gold gets to about 4.6
billion, save. Reaching this from zero exp and gold takes about 172 Dragon's
Dominion cycles, which takes as little as two hours.
16. Train as needed and save. Write down exactly how much exp the characters
need upon reaching level 255. Make sure you have this much gold before
continuing, and avoid combat at this point to prevent exp from rising.
17. Go to Castle Hillstone at D4(13,1) and teleport to the dungeon entrance at
(10,13) to avoid encounters. In the dungeon, teleport to the secret room with
the coin slot at (11,5).
18. For one character, distribute gold so that the amount of gold carried is
equal to the required exp that was reported at the training center. If some exp
was gained since that time, you will need to deduct that amount from the gold
carried.
19. Have that character, and only that character, trade gold for exp. Town
Portal to Atlantium and visit the training center. The Train option should be
available. Training will cause HP gain as usual, but unlike before it's possible
to Train without end. Save and rest to remove the effects of the Max HP Potions,
which are no longer needed. Train until max HP is at 65,535 or about to go above
it. This will cost 150 to 300 million gold, depending on Endurance and class,
and take about 20 to 25 minutes, much less with a turbo controller. With that
kind of HP, HP bonuses are detrimental due to variable overflow. Endurance also
becomes worthless, so trade it off.
20. Steps 13 through 19 can be repeated for other characters, including new
ones. Hirelings can't use the coin slot because they can't hold gold.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. CHEATS AND GLITCHES
The following are curiosities specific to the Genesis version. They were not
intended by the game developers and may be considered cheating.
1. FREE ITEMS, GOLD AND GEMS
Choose "View Char" and at the "View which?" prompt, press C while holding A. A
nameless character with invalid stats will be displayed. You can take his stuff
by using the Trade command. Press left to view more characters. The set of
characters available depends on the last enemy or NPC sprite to be displayed.
2. FREE TREASURE
Choose a party of six characters and two hirelings and dismiss one of the
hirelings. Without moving, search to find a trapped chest. It will contain
84 million gold, 34 thousand gems and a Small Club. This can be repeated by
bringing the hireling back.
3. REST TO TELEPORT
In any dungeon where Teleport is forbidden, simply Rest to re-enable the spell.
This can be used to zip around otherwise dangerous areas. This also unlocks
other forbidden spells, such as Lloyd's Beacon in Dragon's Dominion.
4. FRENZY
Cast the Frenzy spell on any character in combat. With this done, the enemies
will lose all magic resistance and spells that never work, like instant kill
spells, will now work even on the strongest enemies.
This makes it possible to open up with Frenzy, revive the fallen character,
and then nail the enemies with your killer spells all before they get a chance
to move. Remember that Frenzy affects the character one slot above the
designated target, and be sure to deal with the Endurance penalty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY PARTY
This is to demonstrate what kind of party you can make with enchantments and
stat-boosting. All equipment is +62 or +63, and the party is so strong that
visiting the Greatest Fountain makes them weaker. The names will be familiar if
you've played the D&D arcade games.
Base stats for all characters:
Mgt 130-140
Int 55-59 (120-129 for spellcasters)
Per 55-59 (120-129 for spellcasters)
End 160-169
Spd 124-129
Acy 134-139
Luc 55-59 (124-129 for thieves)
Equipment-modified stats:
Mgt 200+ except sorcerer, archer, and ninja
Int 200+ for spellcasters
Per 200+ for spellcasters
End 160-169
Spd 200+
Acy 200+ except sorcerer
Luc 200+ for thieves
Crassus M/Good/Human/Knight+
Photon Blade (Might)
G Plate Mail (AC, Luck)
Silver Shield (AC, Energy)
Ruby Tiara (Accuracy)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Magic Charm (Magic)
Dimsdale M/Neutral/Dwarf/Barbarian+
Swift Axe (Speed)
Gold Shield (AC, Luck)
S Scale Mail (AC, Energy)
Lapis Scarab (Might)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Magic Charm (Magic)
Lucia F/Good/Elf/Archer+
Magic Sword (Magic)
Ancient Bow (Accuracy)
G Chain Mail (AC, Luck)
Elven Cloak (AC)
Sun Crown (Intellect)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Greldon M/Good/Human/Cleric+
Holy Cudgel (Personality)
G Splintmail (AC, Luck)
Magic Shield (AC, Magic)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Mgt Gauntlet (Might)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Moriah F/Neutral/Human/Robber+
Force Sword (Might)
Magic Shield (AC, Magic)
G Chain Mail (AC, Luck)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Stealth Cape (Thievery)
Syous M/Neutral/Human/Sorcerer+
Wizard Staff (Intellect)
Magic Charm (Magic)
Emerald Ring (AC)
Invisocloak (AC)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Ruby Ankh (Luck)
Sherman M/Good/Human/Paladin+ (hireling)
Thunder Sword (Might)
Ancient Bow (Accuracy)
G Plate Mail (AC, Luck)
Magic Shield (AC, Magic)
Agate Grail (Personality)
Speed Boots (Speed)
Nakazawa M/Good/Human/Ninja+ (hireling)
Sun Naginata (AC)
G Ring Mail (AC, Luck)
Crystal Vial (Speed)
Acy Gauntlet (Accuracy)
Castle Key (Thievery)
Magic Charm (Magic)
All characters have:
- one item that boosts speed, luck, and magic resistance, and two that boost AC
- one item that boosts accuracy (except the sorcerer)
- one item that boosts might (except the archer, ninja, sorcerer)
- one item that boosts thievery, for the thief classes
Other points:
- The sorcerer doesn't wear the stupid Padded Armor
- The knight, barbarian, archer, paladin and ninja use one class-specific item
- The knight and barbarian also get energy resistance
- The most reused item is the Speed Boots (6 times)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLOSING
References:
* "Sega Genesis Secrets: Volume 2" (ISBN 1-55958-125-5) by Rusel Demaria and
Zach Meston for info on the Greatest Fountain, Cuisinarts, and Dragon's Dominion
* CrazyLaz for the Frenzy trick
* radjenef for the free treasure and rest to teleport tricks
* Andrew Schultz for info on the HP seller in Luxus B2 in his guide
http://tinyurl.com/6chmsdo
* false for telling me about beating the Ancient Dragon at low level
* ulillillia for his exp/money method and other contributions
http://www.youtube.com/user/ulillillia
Watch the tool-assisted speedrun I made for this game at:
http://tasvideos.org/2015S.html
This document is my own work. Any questions, comments, corrections or
complaints should be addressed to the address below, with clear indication in
the subject line that the email is concerning this FAQ.
dammit9x at hotmail dot com
