Monster Rancher Advance FAQ
By Windian Angel
[email protected]
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This is my first FAQ, so go easy on me!
Table of Contents
Section 1 - Getting started! (Basics)
Section 2 - FAQ
Section 3 - Creating your path of Champions
Section 4 - Secret monsters and Passcodes
Section 5 - Contact Information and Acknowledgements
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This FAQ is copyrighted to me. Don't even THINK about taking it for your
strategy guide. Yeah, you heard right, Game Cave. Back off. If you want it
on your site or whatever, just e-mail me. Chances are you'll get my
permission. Just give me the credit.
Latest version of this FAQ available at www.gamefaqs.com
Version 3: Finished the Creating Your Path of Champions section with
something truly grand: Got the traits you need? Got the monsters you need?
Now its time for the final challenge: Get a creature up to 999 in every
stat! This strategy was a result of the hard work between A Nelson (Spec
Mods man!) and Phildo. This is it. Ready to take the final leap?
Version 2.3: A contributor named A Nelson had offered a great addition to
the FAQ with a step-by-stepper to Spec Mods for a measley 800 G! He also
added that there is one more fatigue level... Eek... I always raised
(spoiled) monsters easily so I haven't seen it before. Sorry for the mishap!
Version 2.1: I added a small part in the Advanced traits area with a
step-by-step to getting Gold Gift easily. All you need is an eight letter
tablet, Zan unlocked, and 2,200 G. Also added a couple FAQ questions.
Version 2: I fixed the bad code on Durahan - I typoed and switched "Avenger"
with "Selvan". Enter in Avenger to get your special Durahan now! I also
updated the FAQ to include some thoughtful questions I got by e-mail that I
thought needed addressing. And... finally... *drumroll* I added a traits and
raising method section! Enjoy!
1.1 Background
Welcome to Monster Rancher Advance! This game is about raising monsters on
your ranch out in the boondocks and managing their growth from a just born
creature to an elder creature that can call upon the powers of Heaven and
Earth to wreck anything in their way. This series was inspired by the
creature raising simulator Tamagotchi-Digimon and many of it's nuances are
identical to Barcode Battlers. Pokemon did not come until a year later, so
put all thoughts of this being a Pokemon cash-in out of your mind. While
were at it, forget about Pokemon altogether - you're not going to be roaming
the land, solving puzzles or any of that. Heck, the whole game is played
from first person view and with menus. While the other Monster Rancher games
worked on generating creatures from CDs, this one is based on words up to
eight letters. Thats right, you can take every word in this FAQ and make a
monster out of them.
1.2 Story
Aroma and Zest are a brother/sister ranch team from Age Island in the
southern ocean of the Monster Rancher world. When their parents were alive,
the ranch flourished and they were able to make an honest living. But fate
stepped in and they lost both of their parents, leaving them to fend for
themselves and their ranch. Things went to hell for them quite soon
thereafter, and the ranch became run down and they were on their way to
poverty. Zest, in desperation, wrote a letter to a master breeder from the
mainland to come to their ranch and set them right again. That breeder in
question is you! At first the transition will be tough for you, but with
friends like Bolzoi, Mr. Mardoc, and Ayase, hopefully you'll fit right in
and set this ranch upon the path for greatness!
1.3 Lets look at the basics!
Raising a monster is actually much simpler than all the menus you see before
you would have you believe. It works like this: There is a time of month and
year. The game I believe starts on the first week of June. Most of the
commands on the menu before you are how you're going to spend this week.
Training is the option you'll find yourself using most, allowing you to
raise a monster's stats a bit. Rest will allow your monster to take it easy
for a week. Special will open up a Special Training menu, whereupon you sign
up for a month-long training session that may result in a new fighting
skill.
Battle will open up a calendar. Where the pointer is when you open it is the
current week. See how one horizontal bar on the calendar is highlighted and
the other bars are darkened? This reflects your monster's Class. You start
in D class and can only enter D class tournaments. Chances are, you don't
see a "D" anywhere on that horizontal line. Push R2 to scroll the calendar
ahead a month to take a peek to see if there are any battle events next
month. If there are and you want to sign up for one, just go over to the "D"
in that month and push the "A" button. Aroma will ask if you want to reserve
a place in the tournie. Say yes and she'll remind you a week before the
competition. If you open up the battle menu and there is a battle on the
current week thats in your class, you can go ahead and enter it.
Time passes just like this:
Enter command --> Monster carries out (or attempts to carry out) command -->
New week begins --> Aroma reports monster's status --> Enter command -->
Monster attempts to carry out command --> Etc.
Easy, right?
Push start and check the Monster data to get info on their stats, record,
moves, age, and traits. An area of special concern are the moves. There are
two movesets labeled in roman numerals. You assign the moves for those sets
from your total move pool. From left to right are your moves for near,
mid-range, and far away. Remember to take the time to set up your moves
every time you get a new one added to your pool from Special training.
1.4 Town
Welcome to Town! Here in this virtual monster mecca is the heart of your
monster organizing, experiments, and creation! You start here, so don't get
too panicked!
Best part about Town is that no time passes to visit or leave here and you
can do all the work here that you need done without worry. This is a
relaxation time, breeder!
Shrine: Here is where monsters are born. You can create a monster either by
Tablet (put in aforementioned words of choice!) or by the Book... (Hehehe, a
little breeder humor there). Oh yeah... they won't generate a monster for
you if you already have one in your current possession. But thats not a
problem since you have a Studio!
AGIMA: Don't worry about this place for now. I'll come back to it on the
"Creating your Path of Champions" section. Its also a place to ditch
monsters, if you're curious.
Studio: Here is where you store unused monsters. Your monster inventory, you
could say. If you're going to fight a human friend's monster, here is the
stock where you draw it from. You can have up to twelve at a time. Choose
"Freeze" to put the monster you currently have on ice and into one of your
slots. Choose "Revive" to bring said monster back (No "Encino Man" jokes,
please!). Delete to... well.... heh.... put the one of your stored monsters
to sleep. The BIG sleep. Combine lets you take two stored monsters and mix
them.
1.5 Monster care
As nice as it would be to train a monster without thought, the monster IS a
living creature before being your little battle beastie, and as such it has
it's limits! It will eventually tire out and it will need a good diet to
train well. Light drills, by the way, are Training that raises one stat and
Heavy drills are Training that raises one stat by a lot, one stat up by a
little, and one stat down by a little.
Train (Light drill): Go to next fatigue level
Train (Heavy drill): Jump down two fatigue levels
Rest: Jump up four fatigue levels
Battle: Jump down two fatigue levels
Special: Jump down three fatigue levels
Item: Free command (no time passes to visit shop or use items)
Town: Free command
1. Aroma: (monster) looks very energetic!
2. Aroma: (monster) looks pretty lively.
3. Aroma: (monster) seems to be in good shape
4. Aroma: (monster) seems to be a little sleepy
5. Aroma: (monster) seems to be tired
6. Aroma: (monster) is really worn out
7. Aroma: (monster) is exhausted
8. Aroma: (monster) is exhausted. If we don't do something soon....
9. Aroma: (monster) is about to collapse... *
* Don't let it come to this point!
Needless to say, you should not let it get down to 8 or your monster's
health will be in danger and they'll get sick. Also do not fight if your
monster's fatigue is 5 or below or their stats will drop drastically for the
battle. The more often you let a monster rest, the longer it will live. Rest
it too often and it'll get to be a weak, spoiled bum who doesn't work... but
it'll live long. Get too stingy with resting, and the monster will grow to
be a real bruiser but will die young.
Finally, is the issue of feeding the creature. This happens once in the
beginning of every month. Regardless of monetary concerns, you should feed
your monster the food that is the most nutritious for it (all four green
bars filled) but also something it can at least tolerate (at least two
orange bars). This will ensure the creature will get the most out of
training it can. After all, where would Jordan be without his Wheaties?
1.6 Battle Basics
One of the first questions one will probably find themselves asking when
they first battle is, "Whats going on?". Thats a good question. Don't sweat
it. Relax. First of all are the two lifebars. The one on the left is yours.
The one on the right is your enemy's. In the center is the time limit. Is
this looking like a fighting game yet? The center of the screen, where you
see yourself and the enemy is actually the LEAST helpful area on the battle
screen, so turn your attention to the bottom. You should see a little icon
of your monster and a little icon of the enemy monster and between them a
red bar that seems to get longer and shorter. The bar is your distance from
the enemy and vice versa. If that jerk has you up against the wall, pushing
left or right isn't going to do any good. If you and the enemy monster are
right up against each other, hit "R1" to back him off. Right under your icon
should be three other icons. Those are your moves. Remember how I told you
to set them up?
In the bottom middle area are "Guts" and "Hit percentage". Guts are whats
needed to make an attack and every move costs some from your pool. They
regenerate throughout the battle. The higher Guts you have, the higher the
Hit Percentage of the move highlighted and the lower damage the enemy will
do if they hit you... Not to mention higher Guts will also improve your
dodge rate. Whether to spend them as they come to try and attack or to save
up and use them strategically is the heart of the battle system.
Finally... to wrap up the basics... to get more moves you need to attend
Special training which I've mentioned in passing above. The Special training
will cost a month of your time. You have to fight a Teacher... Believe it or
not, you do NOT need to beat this teacher to get a new move. You need to
practice moves that fit the special training.
Power: Use your strongest Physical moves (Moves that appear in red) on the
Teacher
Sense: Use your strongest Intelligence-based moves (Moves that appear in
green) on the Teacher
Technic: Use your most accurate moves on the Teacher.
Speed: Dodge your teacher and use Guts frugally!
Tough: Use defensive moves and try to survive your Teacher's assault!
The better you do against your teacher will affect whether you get a move,
but as I said before, it is NOT a requirement to open a can on your sensei
if you're that powerful. In fact, doing that once during Tough training once
made me fail to learn a move. Finally, this battle will NOT go on your
win/loss record, so don't dampen your Hanes just yet.
You now know enough to jump in the game and know what the heck you're doing.
2 FAQ
"How do you save?"
I covered this, but it is still a frequently asked question and as such,
I'll answer it again. The game saves automatically when a week passes, or if
you go to Town or back to the Ranch from Town.
"What code word should I start with?"
Whatever you like. Don't sweat it with your first monster if you can help
it. "Pabs" will give you access to a rare monster early. So will "Ninja"
once you have five letters.
"Why is it telling me I can't raise this creature?"
You just found the code to a Zan, Durahan, Dragon, or Joker. You need to
earn those monsters in an Invitational Match which is basically a showdown
with the monster in question. Win it to earn the right to raise them. To get
an Invitational for Durahan or Dragon, hang around with an A class monster
and Bolzoi will drop by with the invitation. To get an Invitational for Zan
or Joker, hang around with an S class monster.
"Is the Special Training Camp the only way to get new moves?" - Ralf
Yes. Watch for what Francesca says about the possibility of your getting a
new move from whichever training.
"Can you unassign working coaches?" - Brendan
Yes, you can, all you need is a coach to replace the one in the slot yours
is. If its one of the AGIMA ones, it leaves forever - good riddance - but if
its one of yours, they immediately return the original coach to you. Not
that it should matter TOO much, because in VS battles against other humans,
your coaches are counted in your battle/trade stock!
"I ran out of money and can't raise my monster's rank! What do I do?!" -
Crazy Horse
Running out of cash in MRA (or MR3 for that matter) is no longer the end of
the world. It just means you're gonna have to climb your way back. Fighting
in AGIMA's official tournaments is the only way of raising your rank - do it
when the monsters on the level you're on provide absolutely no challenge and
not before then. This can assure you you'll make money winning fights. If
you're in a jam where you have to feed the poor thing and are broke, sell
some extra stuff or... wait until your monster gives you Elec Paint,
Tauparin N, or a Monol Frag and sell that for 3,000/4,000 gold. It should
put you back in the game in one shot.
"Oh no! I missed the invitational battle and it dissapeared from my
schedule! What do I do?"
Whoops. Bolzoi will come back again next year around the same time he gave
you the first invitational. Its not too late.
"I think 'Spyro' gives you a dragon." - Rachel
OK, its not really a question and I normally refuse password submissions,
but this was too cute to pass up. Yes, Spyro gives you a Tiamat -
Dragon/Pixie. Parappa gives you a Mogi type, as well as the Parappa CD
giving you a Mogi in MR3. Intentional? Maybe. Enter "DOA" or any of the
names of the Dead or Alive girls and you'll always get a Pixie. This is why
the code system, despite it's random nature, is fun nonetheless.
"Are there any expeditions in this game?"
No.
"Can a monster die?"
Not in Age Island it can't. They used to kick the bucket all the time in the
games before, but not here. They will grow too old to fight or train anymore
though.. The time now is to save them for VS human fighting, combine them,
or make them coaches. You can fight them a little longer, but they'll get
stat drops at the beginning of every battle (Not permanent drops)
"Why do my monsters seem to be at their limit barely after three years?"
This truly varies from monster to monster. Joker will hit it's limit much
quicker than Arrowhead. But general rules to keeping a monster active for a
long time is to feed it nutritious food it likes, scold it when it doesn't
finish training but let it go if it just didn't do well, rest it as soon as
it hits fatigue level four or five, and don't let it get KO'd in battle.
Battles make small cuts into their lifespan too, but unless they're tournie
beasties it'll be by a negligible amount. Try treating it occasionally to a
snack it likes if you're pleased at it's performance - it'll try it's best
to do it again!
"Is there any way to make more Freezer space? Is there a way to keep them
from getting old?"
As if this game isn't simple enough! No, and no. Use your monster storage
wisely - don't fill it up with barely-generated monsters. Your Book will
keep a close enough track of the monsters you can make. If you're gonna
fight other humans, your coaches can be used directly as well. And keeping
them from getting old? Tell you what pal, if YOU figure out the secret of
living young forever, e-mail me and it'll be our little secret.
(NOTE: That was sarcasm. I don't want your Gameshark codes)
"What is the best monster?"
I forget who said this, probably Lisa-san from MR Metropolis, but whoever
said "There are no bad monsters, only bad raising styles" is right on the
money. If a monster really turns out to suck, you either raised it wrong or
its just not you. Unlike many monster raisers, its actually deadly effective
to raise your favorites over what LOOKS to be the best.
"Does it matter if I combine monsters that have been raised?"
Yes, it does matter. A lot, in fact. Combine two monsters that haven't been
raised at all and you'll most likely get a monster that is weaker than
either parent or has stats 'typical' for it's breed. Don't combine your
champion with a fresh kid straight from the Shrine unless the kid has a
trait you're dying to have. Even then, its probably better the critter
first. There is no substitute for patience in this game. On the other hand,
if the two monsters you're combining are fully raised, you'll likely get
something decent from the combine. Try also to sort out the generations -
two fully raised first generations combine to a second generation. Raise two
more first generations and make another second generation. Raise the two
second generations to make a third. This third will likely have ungodly
stats for a starting monster.
"Isn't this game just a Pokemon rip off?"
....... I thought I cleared this up, but let me reiterate: MONSTER RANCHER
came a YEAR before Pokemon. If its ripping off anything, its ripping off
Barcode Battlers. Don't come playing this game thinking you're getting a
Pokemon-relive experience or you're going to go home very sorely
dissapointed.
"Can I fight Dynast more than once?"
Yeah, but beating him only gets the credits shown once =(
At least the battle music for him is pretty cool!
"What are some codes for this game? My Codebreaker won't work on it..."
I have no intentions of sharing codes. Not putting them on my FAQ, not
buying into them. If you find the codes, great, then you won't need this
rag... will you? You could just put in the "Beat Dynast and Conquer World at
push of B button" code and it'll be done, right? Then go ahead and make your
day.
########################################################################
"How do I get a Diva with Gold Gift?"
I cringed when I heard this question and I'm keeping the person who asked
anonymous, lest they be flamed by the anti-Special brigade. Its more trouble
than its worth. Diva is NOT the ultimate monster, just the best STARTING
monster. Yes, its possible, but its a LOT of work - collect every Hi-stat
trait giving item, erase both of Diva's original traits (One of which is
FAIRY KNOWLEDGE, which I cannot recommend deleting without good cause) and
then just stick all the Hi-traits on him manually. As you can see, its more
effort than its worth. A far better strategy would be combining Diva with a
descendant of the Bui from my Gold Gift step-by-stepper. No, it won't be a
"Special" monster, so don't even ask.
#########################################################################
"How come my monsters just don't seem to get strong? I can't beat
(whatever)!"
Good time as any to plug the next section: Creating your Path of Champions!
3. Creating your path of Champions!
This section is for those of you who are _REALLY_ stuck and need some help
in raising monsters. Are the ones you have just not cutting it? The quality
of road you take is as important as the road's destination!
3.1 Coaches
As Einstein had taught us, you do not need to grow in a perfect environment
with teachers willing to stimulate growth to become truly great. But it sure
as heck doesn't hurt. The first thing that will stunt your potential are the
Coaches AGIMA provides you. Don't rely on these rejects to help you raise
your champion! These guys all have "400" or less in whatever stat they're
training you in. To put your future champion in their hands is screaming "I
really suck!". As well as AGIMA's intentions were in giving you these guys
were, they're not going to raise you PvP worthy monsters. What to do then?
Believe it or not, putting these bums out of a job and usher in new
generations of champions is not at all hard. But it WILL be extremely time
consuming. If you're patient enough to see this through, every monster you
raise thereafter will likely grow to be excellent.
1. Choose the Light Drill you want to bump up to perfection
2. Generate a monster that is generally good in the stat you want (Example:
a Golem for POW)
3. Train your monster EXCLUSIVELY in that stat (yes, with the wimp AGIMA
sent) until it hits 999
4. Get it to B-class or higher... Go for the highest class you can. With a
999 stat, it won't be hard.
5. Continue raising it until it reaches it's limit.
6. Replace the Light Drill coach that even got him this far *evil grin*
Do that for all six Light Drill coaches. Now with all your Light Drills
being handled by 999 men, you'll already see a difference. You can stop here
if you want. If you want to continue, follow the steps again, except train
THREE stats as high as you can using your new Light Drill coaches. Set this
monster up for a Heavy Drill. Fill up all the Heavy Drill slots now with
monsters you trained exclusively for coaching. Now you're set - just about
any monster you raise should now grow to be a serious butt kicker.
3.2 Traits
Here are the basic traits
Act. View - Makes it easier to hit fast monsters
Suezo's natural trait. Very useful for almost any monster. If the computer
gets "cheap" on you way too often regarding dodging you, put this trait on
your shopping list.
Armor - Increased defense level, less dodge
Durahan's natural trait. It has the same description as Rock Skin and Hard
Shell, but its the strongest of the three with the biggest speed deficit.
It's abilities CAN be stacked on either one to create a near impenetrable
tank. More on that later.
Big Eater - Can eat two snacks a week
Yay. I can give it two snacks a week. This is only good if you plan to work
you monster to the bone - you can then give it two nitro berries to jump
start it. Not a trait I'd get much use out of.
Big Lungs - Improved Breath attacks
This trait is worthless on most monsters, but is a boon to a few. Pixie and
Dragon, who both can use Fire Breath, will get mileage out of it. Tiger
might too, if it's Blizzard/Ice Bullet count as a breath move.
Cold Proof & Cold Resistance - Better evasion/defense against ice
If you know your opponent is going to definately be a Tiger, you can use
these traits to prepare a counter for it.
Dark Aura & Light Aura - Better evasion/defense against Magic
The former is Joker's natural trait. Combining the two will get the Advanced
trait Dusk Aura, but regardless these are excellent to have together or
individually. If you know your enemy is to be a Joker or Pixie, this will
put a damper on their offense.
Earth Know - Improved Earth attacks
Psiroller's natural trait. Use it on a Psiroller, Golem, or Mogi. The latter
will probably get more use out of it, considering Rollers/Golems are rarely
raised for intelligence fighting.
Elec-Proof & Elec Resist - Better evasion/defense against Thunder
Elec Proof is Ducken's natural trait and Elec Resis is Tiger's. Again, good
if you know your enemy is a Tiger.
Fire Know - Improved Fire attacks
Like Big Lungs, this is good for Dragon or Pixie who uses Fire Breath a lot.
Fire Know combined with Big Lungs will make one nasty firebreather, if not a
one-trick pony.
Flex Tail - Improved Tail attacks
Zuum's natural trait. In all honesty, tail attacks suck in damage. If the
monster you're raising uses it's tail a lot and you're raising a turtle, it
might be worth something. Could also be used as a temporary boost for a
Dragon or Zuum when they're first starting out, but there are better traits.
Footwork - Improved evasion, but lower defense
Hare's natural trait.... if Tecmo only saw fit to include him! The other
side of the coin from Hard Shell/Hard Skin/Rock Skin/Armor. Like them, this
is stackable onto them as well, though most of the time the two cancel each
other out. If you're raising a speed demon such as a Pixie, its good - but
watch out, because its a double edged sword.
Grace Step - Improves Dance moves and increases evasion
Mogi's natural trait, appropriately. The evasion boost is negligible, but
its still nice to have. Mogi himself, obviously, will get the most use out
of this trait, but the evasion boost is still nice.
Hard Head - Improves Head attacks
Perfect for when you want to give the opponent some head *drum rimshot*. OK,
that was bad. Anywho, various monsters can make use of this, but I don't use
head attacks simply because of it's inaccuracy.
Hard Skin & Hard Shell - Improved defense, but lower evasion
Antlan's and Arrowhead's natural traits respectively. I'm pretty sure these
two offer the same level of trade-off.
Heatproof & Heat Resist - Improved evasion/defense against fire moves
Heat Resistance is Dragon's natural trait. Is your rival across the street
using my FAQ to build a Dragon/Pixie that is going to use that Fire Breath
with Big Lungs/Fire Know thing to you? Then put it on your trait shopping
list so you'll be ready.
Hi Power, Hi Sense, Hi Tech, Hi Tough, Hi Speed -
These each offer a small boost in training whatever stat. Combined they give
the rare trait Gold Gift! This'll make life easier for you.
Hi Resist - Resists status changes
Good on everything except Zan, who NEEDS a status change to make use of
Caution. Either way, if your opponent likes to Addle/Stagger you a lot as
their strategy, you'll need this.
Ice Know - Improved Ice moves
Did I say Tiger?
Iron Fist - Improved fist/punch attacks
Too bad Hare isn't in this game. He'd love this trait. Anyways, this is a
great general-purpose move for monsters that use their fists a lot such as
Antlan or Golem.
Iron Heart - Training doesn't cause as much fatigue
Great, great general purpose trait that will add 100's to your monster's
final stats. Combined with Gold Gift, it'll give you a shot at getting a
perfect monster.
Life Know - Improved Healing moves
If the monster you have, such as Pixie or Joker, gets a move that saps the
opponent's life, its a good trait to have. It'll mean that you'll do more
damage, as well as get more life from that damage. Hilarious when there is
five seconds left on the clock your life is in the orange, you do a life
drain, and the opponent is is in the red and you're back in the green.
Loud Voice - Improved scream moves
Mew's natural trait. I can't honestly say any monsters that do this come to
mind except for Lesione, Mew, and possibly Ducken. This trait isn't anything
to write home about.
Ltng Know - Improved Thunder moves
... Yes, I did say Tiger, didn't I?
Magic Resis - Better defense against magic
Combine this trait with Dusk Aura, and you'll be in a comfortable position
to fight enemy Jokers or Pixies.
Magic Know - Improved Magic moves
Joker. Pixie. Goodnight!
Mind Know - Improved Psychic moves
A must have if you're gonna raise a Suezo. It makes some of their stronger
attacks uber powerful. Fear the Suezo with Mind Know.
Rock Skin - Improved defense with lower evasion
Am I seeing a pattern here? Anyways, it's tradeoff is higher than Hard
Shell/Skin but lower than Armor. Golem's natural trait.
Sharp Bld. - Improved moves involving weapons
Hmm... What monster uses any weapons? Mocchi? Bah. Very, very obviously used
for Durahan's and naught else.
Sharp Claw, Sharp Fang, Sharp Horn - Improved power with moves involving
claw/fang/horn
Probably Tiger's good karma coming back for the many ways you can resist his
ice/lightning. Obviously other monsters such as Zan or Dragon can use Sharp
Claw, but this three-set was obviously made with Tiger in mind.
Sniper - Improved projectiles
A very cute trait. Many monsters use projectiles, so its worth something. If
you use a speed turtle, it might be good for annoying the enemy by shooting
stuff at them.
Soft Body - Damage to you is lessened
Mocchi's natural trait. Err... not much to say. Its why Mocchi is huggable.
Still though, less damage without strings attached is nice.
Soft Smell - Improved Charm/Guts Down moves
Pixie's natural trait. I won't lie to you - Soft Smell's original literal
translation is "Pheremone". Yes, Pixies use their female pheremone in
battle. Heh. I can't think of anything to say except that if you're gonna
use a Witherer, its a necessary trait.
Sweet Vox - Improved Sing moves
Maybe Jigglypuff could use it. But it isn't in the game. So the customers
looking to pick up this trait are likely all to be Mew trainers. If you rely
on Recital a lot, pick it up.
Water Know - Improved Water moves
I didn't see too many Water moves in the game. Lesione can keep it, I don't
think most other monsters will get much out of it.
Waterproof & Watr Resist - Improved defense/evasion against water
Lesione's natural trait. Unless your enemy is Lesione or you want to give
this trait to outside furniture, its not really worth it.
Wind Know - Improved Wind moves
A few monsters use wind moves, such as Dragon or Antlan. Wind moves are
accurate, but not powerful. Wind Know does do a lot for them.
Wind Resist - Better defense against Wind
Your enemy is using Wind Know to pump up their "gusty" monster? Better use
this as your storm shelter.
3.3
Advanced Traits
Make one or more of these a MUST HAVE on your traits-to-get list. They're
all very very good and I recommend them to most monsters. The only way to
get an Advanced Trait is to get the traits that I list next to each name.
The best, surefire way of doing this is through combining, but if you do so,
make sure that the new monster's traits won't be filled up - leave one extra
space - to ensure you get the move. Otherwise you'll probably fail. This is
the time to use those Lethe Rx items you buy from the store...
One more thing: Save some empty book entries. In other words, don't fill up
your book at the Shrine. If you get an Advanced Trait, combine it with
something you don't have an entry for and you can get an entry with an
Advanced Trait on it. Excellent.
Dusk Aura - (Light Aura + Dark Aura) Is rarely affected by non physical
attacks
If you're using a power-hitter monster with lower intelligence, you'll
definately, DEFINATELY want Dusk Aura. Its probably the easiest Advanced
trait to get, so go for it ASAP!
Spec Mods - (Fireproof + Coldproof + Waterproof + Elec-Proof) Rarely
affected by Fire, Ice, Thunder, or Water moves
Sweet deal. Good for the turtle in all of us. Was going to work up a guide
for this, but screw it now. A Nelson has one for ya if you go down a bit.
Fairy Knowledge - (Ice Know+Fire Know+Wind Know+Water Know+Earth Know+Ltng
Know) Improves the power and accuracy of any elemental move
Wow. What can I say? If you use any Int. type moves involving the elements
in some way, make this a must-get. It looks like an intimidating list, but
Fairy Knowledge is actually pretty easy to get - put in "Infinite" to get
Diva, the last boss, and he'll start with Fairy Knowledge, so there is no
excuse your INT type attacker shouldn't have it.
Gold Gift - (Hi Power+Hi Sense+Hi Tech+Hi speed+Hi Tough) - Easily raises
any parameter
One of the most talked/asked about traits in MRA lore. Extremely tough to
get, but it pays off in spades. I can brag that I have two book entries with
Gold Gift, one of which I gave a new player to start his game with. My Karma
is now balanced. The difference between a Gold Gifted monster and a non-Gold
Gifted monster starts small, but the monster so blessed will be worlds away
in terms of overall power.
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How to get Gold Gift: The EZ Way
Ingredients:
Able to use eight letters on the tablet
Zan unlocked
2,200 G
Some patience to see this through
Thats it.
Also when following this, make sure you combine IN THE ORDER they appear.
Remember, Tiger+Zuum is NOT equal to Zuum+Tiger. You could probably get
similiar results messing with this order, and if you do, thats great but
it'll be your fault if you mess up. Also, if you know a different approach
with different monsters holding the Hi-traits to combine, thats fine too.
But this guide is for the breeders who want someone to walk it through for
them, and I understand how they feel.
1. Revive Fankung with the passcode "Football"
2. Revive Kamui with the passcode "Papas"
3. Combine Fankung with Kamui to create Gullkung (100G)
4. Remove all traits from Lekkung except the Hi-traits using Lethe Rx items
bought from store except for it's natural trait (Elec-Proof) (600G)
5. Revive SilverFace with the passcode "Torble"
6. Revive a Lesione using the passcode "Tochikan"
7. Combine Lesione with SilverFace to create a Lebian (100G)
8. Remove all traits except for the Hi-traits and it's natural trait (Water
Resis.) (300G)
9. Combine Lebian with Gullkung to create Lekkung (100G)
10. Remove all traits except for the Hi-traits and it's natural trait
(Elec-Proof) (300G)
11. Revive a normal Zan with the passcode "98%SPEED"
12. Combine Zan with Lekkung to create Kagura (100G)
13. Remove all traits from Kagura except the hi-traits (Zan has no natural
traits) (300G)
14. Revive a Melon Suezo with the passcode "Cheese"
15. Remove Melon Suezo's Flex. Tail (300 G)
16. Combine Kagura with Melon Suezo to create Bui (100G)
17. Look at Bui's traits...... =)
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
Bui
Pow: 179
Int: 122
Acc: 202
Spd: 201
Def: 110
Life: 110
Traits:
Act. View
Gold Gift
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
There you have it. You have a Zan-type with Gold Gift, not bad starting
stats, and Act. View to boot. Combine Bui with a book entry you don't have
and.... you'll have a book entry with Gold Gift!
Enjoy!
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A Nelson's Guide to getting Spec Mods
Easy Spec Mods:
Need 800G and at least seven characters with Durahan unlocked.
1) Revive a Piyokkung with the password Strange, freeze it.
2) Revive a Lemlaria with the password Babbag, freeze it.
3) Combine the two with Lemlaria as the main monster to get a Wickerman
(100G)
4) Go to the ranch and use a LetheRx3 on it to remove Loud Voice. Back to
town to freeze it. (300G)
5) Revive a Lezaal with the password rmorsea, take it to the ranch.
6) Use a LetheRx2 on it to remove WatrResist, take it to town. (300G)
7) Combine Lezaal with the Wickerman to get a Kelmadics. (100G)
Kelmadics
Pow 171
Int 104
Acc 129
Spd 74
Def 198
Lif 123
Armor
Hard Skin
Spec Mods
Note from Windian Angel: Give A Nelson props for this! 800 G for a great
trait like Spec Mods is a great deal, plus the resulting Kelmadics is
nothing to sneeze at. The person who e-mailed me 'bout Spec Mods and anyone
who doesn't feel like collecting paint, here you go!
A Nelson:
[email protected]
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3.4 Raising strategy
Let me begin by clearing up a mistake that new players make all the time,
myself included.
Do not raise stats evenly.
Do not raise stats evenly.
Do not raise stats evenly.
Oh.... and...
DO NOT RAISE STATS EVENLY!
I know the reasoning for the impulse to do this - you want to work to get
every stat at 999. Noble, but its not likely going to happen! Most monsters
have certain "inclinations" built in that makes them more effective in one
kind of training and really bad in another. You do not have all the time in
the world to raise a monster. It starts with very small stat gains, they
slowly get bigger, they hit a huge jump at it's peak, then they slowly
decrease with age. That means you have a limited amount of time to get the
creature to it's full potential, so you need to play to the strengths of the
monsters while compensating for it's weaknesses. That is the way to win, no
two ways about it. You need to tell yourself this every time you feel
compelled to raise stats evenly. You need to take a risk, usually the payoff
is more than worth it. To help you, I'll include some formulas to give you
ideas. You'll need to find your own way of doing things. What I do is take
several methods, break them down, and combine them to create something
better, such as two types of Turtles. What are Turtles? Read on.
Finally, Gold Gift is not going to appear on any recommended traits. Why?
Because it kinda goes without saying.
Turtles:
Recomended Traits: Hard Shell, Hard Skin, Armor, Dusk Aura, Spec Mods
Raising a Turtle, the idea is to capitalize on defending yourself, not much
effort will be going into attacking powerfully or even accurately. It sounds
terrible on paper, but in practice it creates a consistently winning monster
because even the worst attacks done to it will rarely reach two digits.
Seeing-Eye Turtle:
In addition: Act View, Sniper
An Accurate turtle, focused less on the traditional Turtle approach and
daring to venture into fighting. Make sure Acc is high. You'll still win
easily because if you can hit the opponent once, you'll win... the opponent
will do nothing to you!
Suggested with: Antlan
Switzerland Turtle
In addition: Hi-Resist, Magic Resist
Raise only Defense, Life, and Intelligence. Forget about hitting the enemy
entirely. Maybe just smack him once or twice with an Int-type move and then
just kick back with a cocktail for the rest of the fight. Its extremely
unlikely the enemy will hurt you with anything, and even if they do, it'll
be the chip of a chip of your lifebar. With high Intelligence, you can
probably deliver a crushing Int blow as well!
Suggested with: Arrowhead, Joker
Mach Turtle
Omit: Hard Shell, Hard Skin, Armor
Focus on Speed, Defense and Intelligence or Life. Mach Turtles will drive
your opponent absolutely nuts, and very funny to use in a fight against a
human. You see, the idea is that next to nothing will hit your Mach Turtle
and what does hit will be negligible at best. Try raising a Mach Turtle if
you want to hear choice expletives from your friend.
Suggested with: Psiroller
Apocalypse Turtle
In addition: Iron Fist, or any move improving a physical hit of some sort
An Apocalypse Turtle is hard to raise, to say the least. Their accuracy is
probably going to be lower than other Turtles. Its highly recommended you
combine two Turtles before going for an Apocalypse Turtle. Anywho, to cut to
the chase, focus most on Power/Intelligence, Defense being secondary. See
where this is going? You may not be able to score as many hits with Accuracy
being neglected, but what does hit will _hurt_. In order to beat the Great
Three, you will have to deal with a nasty Apocalypse Turtle named Bastian.
Use him as an example to raise your own.
Suggested with: Antlan, Golem
Speed Demons
Recommended traits: Dusk Aura, Footwork, Spec Mods, Soft Body
Speed Demons are extremely risky, with Speed and Accuracy being the focus.
If the enemy hits you, its practically over. Speed Demons are still very
popular to raise because they're focused on taking the enemy down quickly,
accurately, and nastily. A Speed Demon's fame is sure to rise quickly, as
most of their fights shouldn't last more than twenty seconds.
Ninja Demon
In addition: Grace Step
Focus on Power/Intelligence, Accuracy, and Speed. Thats it. You're in deep
trouble if you get hit even once, but the idea is to take the enemy out
before they can hit you. Get the most powerful move you can and execute
ASAP. If you've been raising Power and Accuracy a lot, you'll likely get a
one hit KO. If not, the creature will be crippled enough for you to use a
low-guts-but-accurate move to dispatch them. A very popular formula, this
one.
Suggested with: Zan (he was built for it! "Zan" means to execute by
beheading), Tiger
Alakazam Demon
In addition: Magic Know/Mind Know, Fairy Know
Almost the same as above, but Intelligence instead of power. Alakazam Demons
are less at risk than Ninja Demons because if the enemy hits them with an
Int-type move, it'll be treated as though the Alakazam Demon were a Mach
Turtle! If you're a Pokemon player and felt most comfortable with a Psychic
sweeper like Alakazam, this is the setup for you!
Suggested with: Pixie, Suezo
Thats all for now. Raise a few monsters following the schemes I provided and
combine them. You'll surely eventually get one that'll wreck the opposition.
Of course, this'll only be for a generation or two you even focus on these
strategies. You want the ultimate creature? Now is the time.
3.5 The Ultimate Monster - Judgement Day has arrived (Even tougher than
Diva, so heads up!)
Basically, this section is about the final stretch of raising, and
potentially the toughest. It involves what A Nelson and Phildo call "Freezer
Training". To do this part, you need utter dedication and gobs of time and
patience. But if you have enough to see this part through to the end, you'll
have what you've been dreaming about since the beginning: A monster with 999
reading it's every stat. You'll be the envy of every weak-minded friend you
have. Here are the requirements to do this:
- Lots of time
- Lots of patience
- The monster you're doing this with having every trait you want on it.
Blasphemous as it sounds, you may actually want to forego Gold Gift in favor
of a combat related trait. You're not going to be doing conventional
training on this one.....
- Decent starting stats (A Nelson will go into specifics - if you don't meet
them, then you need to go back to the preliminaries)
Obviously if you're missing any of these requirements, don't read on.
Retrace a bit and raise a new creature. Keep in mind that you can get decent
overall starting stats by combining monsters that are completely different
from each other (Super intelligent defensive turtle with super accurate
offensive speed demon as an example)
Credit for this section is going straight to A Nelson and Phildo. What I've
mentioned above is merely supplementary.
Phildo's part first.
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Phildo:
If you have a lot of spare time, and don't mind being infuriated to the
point of tearing out every last hair on your head, feel free to try this.
All you have to do is have a monster that does nothing but fight. You freeze
it between fights, and whenever it says "It seems kinda sleepy" go ahead and
rest it. What you're basically doing, is raising it's stats with battle
experience. Some general guidelines:
You'll want to raise a few monsters normally, and then mix them together
once they stop gaining stats, rather than registering them as coaches. It's
important that you do this, because if you try this with a first generation,
(ie minty fresh out of the Shrine) monster, you'll be setting yourself up
for more frustration than it's worth. Now, the actual monster that you
should use is up to you, but be aware that special training is -not- an
option, so the moves that it starts with better be good enough to play all
the way through S class with, or you'll have a hell of a time making it
work. Anything with a move that has an S rating for accuracy is a good
starting point, or anything that starts with a move that does a lot of
damage. High Speed, Defense, and Life are also a huge bonus.
Now, you'll want to have it fight unofficial battles in D rank until it's
Loyalty is over 30. Now, once it gets to C rank, you'll want to keep it
there until it either has 100 Loyalty, or has it's main stats at 400+. But,
the faster you get to A and S class, the better. Once you get to A class,
fight the invitationals, turning off your GBA if you lose, and then cheap
your way through some wins until you get enough stat increases to
semi-reliably get your monster through the battles, and win. You want to be
in S rank by the time the Monster is a year-and-a-half old. This can be
tough, especially if it's a first gen monster, but everything that mine and
ANelson's research on this matter points to is the faster you get to S rank,
the better, and you want to enter peak prime sometime after you enter S
rank, so you can get +81 in your main stat per battle. Once you get to S
rank, you'll probably have to beat the Joker Invitational a few times to get
the stats necessary to beat the Official tourneys, but by 2 years of age,
your monster should be able to do pretty well in the Great 4 tourneys, and
at around 2-and-a-half years of age, your monster should have 999 in every
stat, or close to it. Even if they don't, it should be close enough now that
you can do your special training to top off the rest of your stats and learn
some attacks, but either way, now's when you do your special training until
you have all of your attacks. No hurry at this point, because you've beaten
your monster's biological clock all to hell. >:D You'll make a lot of money
this way, and you'll want to buy in order, the Aroma Pot, the Holy Cup, and
finally, the Bright Gem. Your first Freezer Trained monster probably won't
get up to 999 in every stat, but you should freeze it anyways so you can
combine it with your second Freezer monster and then hopefully have a baby
with 300-400 in all of it's stats. If you get that, you can win Official D
on week one, Rest on week 2, win Official C on week three, and then get up
to 100 loyalty on Rank B, and be WAY ahead of schedule on your stats. If you
do it that way, you can probably have 999 in every stat by around 2 years,
and be considered the awesome time waster.
[email protected]
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And of course.....
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A Nelson
To get 999 on every stat, you can easily do it with all stats starting ~250.
With both my Zankung and Pepe, I raised one of the two monsters combined to
have all the traits I wanted to start out with (things like Iron Heart to
keep at the beginning and be deleted later on). One of them I use the
only-battle technique to get the stats pretty high, they don't even have to
raise any bit evenly unless one's getting to 999, unless they started with
really high stats, they'll probably peek at an average of 850-875 or so per
stat. Then, you'll probably have plenty of money to do this, but you can
save a looot of time by making the next monster only trained through special
training. It's expensive overall, but should be able to get all the attacks
and 500+ on every stat (except maybe life, if it grows slowly). Combine the
two and you'll get a monster with stats better than Diva, all the traits you
want and probably a third attack.
For the first few months, I use Special training.... because frankly, even
the 4-Tier Elim. tournaments can be frustrating with 0 loyalty, and you get
more stats from special, especially if you win the match. Believe it or not
they don't take away from a monster's lifespan (which I learned from
training the only-special monsters), and will help out the sadly low stat
gains you'd get from the D tournaments. Do the official D immediately, and
you won't need too much time in C, even though the jump to B class might be
frustrating. Phildo's got it right about fighting those invitationals, when
you only need the one win, you don't even need a fair chance to sneak out a
win. Joker's nice because neither power nor defense are very high, so if you
stay close you can do heavy damage and not take much in return. The faster
you get moving through the classes, the more trouble you'll have with having
to reset, but the quicker you'll reach 999 everything.
And I suppose it might go without saying, but if you have any torles water
or nuts oil, use them as you can on your monster while they're getting the
wonderful +81 from battles. And, don't be discouraged if early on you see
your monster getting slightly decreasing stat gains, it's just a weird
lifespan fluctuation that proooobably means you're doing really well =)
[email protected]
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I'm going to ask nicely that you don't bug them if you follow this technique
and it blows up in your face.
Also, Diva is good for this strategy right out of the box, but even if you
do this, Diva will not likely have the proper mix of traits that could mean
the difference between victory and defeat in a serious PvP battle.
When you have your monster up to 999 stats, do the Special training at your
leisure and go to the trouble of getting every move for them too. If you
have 999 stats, every trait you want and a personally customized move list,
you HAVE the ultimate monster. There is absolutely nothing you can do to
make them better. Now, go forth and whip the Divas of N00Bkind.
As a wrap up, here are some Tag Team strategies to use with your ultimate
creature....
Ultimate Antlan - If you have both Meteor and Crescent out at different
ranges, you'll make the opponent sweat a good deal trying to avoid entering
them. Sucker them into walking into a well placed Fire Punch. If they get
the advantage on you, switch to Ultimate Zan or Ultimate Arrowhead
Ultimate Zan - Amazingly enough, the best use for Ultimate Zan is Caution.
As Zan cannot use Spec Mods, he'll be hard pressed to watch for Ultimate
Pixie or Joker's magic (Dusk Aura?) but.. Use Caution anyway. Caution will
make him even HARDER to hit than a creature at 999 speed. Can you say "1%"
opponent accuracy? Kill time and kill your opponent while your partner
rests.
Ultimate Octopee - Octopee is overlooked because of it's weird, even
juvenile appearance. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Octopee is the
"gunner" of monster. He also has an attack called "OctoBaloon" which does
S-level damage no matter which range its in. Whoa. Keep it on your second
menu and keep your opponent guessing. Tag your partner after catching your
opponent sleeping with it.
Ultimate Tiger - An ultimate shock troop, Tiger's accuracy and guts
regeneration is high even for an Ultimate creature trying to hit another
Ultimate creature. Hit them with cost effective moves and switch to Ultimate
Golem or Ultimate Arrowhead when he starts showing battle weariness. Use him
to wear your foe down.
Ultimate Arrowhead - Arrowhead's overall value takes a hit with the ultimate
creature rank comming into play, but he STILL has a natural defense.
Basically, use him as a punching bag while your partner recovers. Also
switch to him if you think your opponent is about to unleash a killer
attack.
Ultimate Golem - Similiar to Ultimate Arrowhead, though his Cyclone makes
him extremely frightening because of it's accuracy and power has the
potential of laying waste to even an Ultimate. Punching bag with a surprise,
you could say.
These are only ideas, of course. You'll have to figure the rest on your own.
Once you have the two Ultimates to compose your tag team, your truly and
completely done the game except for PvPing. You could also beat the stuffing
out of Dynast, but even the "frightening white dragon of legend" will be a
pansy on the level of that D-class Pixie in comparison to the ultimate
creature.
If you've gotten this far, congrats.
There is nothing more to teach you.
Thank you for using this FAQ!
4. Secret Monsters and Passcodes
All right... here you go. The rare monsters. Very good material to raise a
Coach for.
I got these codes from Monster Rancher Metropolis. Go to
http://www.monster-rancher-metropolis.com and give them a visit!
Asterisk means that they were a former enemy in MR2!
Pixie:
"Ultra" - Altima (From Final Fantasy Tactics to you!)
"Nature" - Nymph
Golem:
"Luminous" - Naskar
"Crystal" - Crystallia
Mew:
"Polar" - Polar Mew
"Paleo" - Ballad
Mocchi:
"Rouge" - Soft Pink
"Pabs" - White Mocchi*
Dragon:
"Infinite" - Diva (This is Dynast!)
"Kawrea" - Magmaheart*
Arrowhead:
"Torble" - SilverFace*
"Cyber" - Stalgunner
Suezo:
"Tesca" - White Suezo*
"ONLIGHT" - Jagandi
Ducken:
"Strange" - Piyokkung
"Football" - Fankung
Zuum:
"KEEPSLY" - Chrono
"Luxury" - Glarlie
Tiger:
"Leaf" - Remus
"Papas" - Kamui*
Naga:
"LIKETEA" - Punisher*
"Killer" - Dogmar
Octopee:
"Sausage" - Vienna
"Snow" - Yuppee
DJ Mogi:
"Jackson" - Thrillie
"WAKE UP" - Oricon
Psiroller:
"Cabbit" - Rabiroller (Ha ha ha -_-;;)
"MOTOGP" - Motoroller
Durahan:
"Avenger" - Selvan
"Paladin" - HolyKnight
Joker:
"Project0" - Gespenst
"MEGADETH" - Skull Gold
Momo:
"Citrus" - Valencie
"Santa" - Momorien
Lesione:
"SEAINSUN" - Irassie
"Jungle" - Grilief
Zan:
"Alien" - Ibuki
"Predator" - Setsuna
Antlan:
"Justice" - Moon Light
"Ninja" - Ninja
4. Contact Information
E-mail me at
[email protected] if you have any information or if you
have questions. If its a question I've already covered in much detail, you
can expect to be ignored, but if you need something clarified, just say the
word!
If I didn't say it before, I'm saying it now: Don't send me password
submissions saying you found some ultra-secret monster. I have all the
secret monsters right over this Contact Information. Your Tombstone is a
standard Joker/Golem. OK? And I don't care if you don't have the game yet,
its not my job to try passwords for you before you own it. Thats why the
game was made - so you can try all sorts of nifty words on your own.
Also remember to include a subject line! If I get an e-mail saying "(No
subject)" I have no way of knowing you're not an ad, or a virus or something
and I'll trash the sucker.
However, I will put in your additions to the monster raising formula. Got
something better than Turtles and Demons? I'll hear you out. If you want to
make a super special one that revolves around a specific moveset and trait
list, I might see fit to include it. If you do any of these, make your
creature unique so it'll be a joy for others to try your method!
Credits: Thanks to Fade for creating Monster-Rancher.com.
Thank you to Lisa Shock for establishing Monster Rancher Metropolis, which
is without a doubt the best place to look for detailed information on this
series.
Thank you to the Monster Rancher dot com EZ-board and thank you to the
Monster Rancher Advance board for supporting me as one of you.
A special thank you to Spinneroni for asking so many questions as to build
up my Guts in making a FAQ!
Thanks to Cjayc for giving me a place to post my FAQ
Thanks to the multiple people who noticed my stupid Selvan/Avenger typo!
Thanks to A Nelson for the mega-cool Spec Mods guide and offering groundwork
to the ultimate monster!
Thanks to Phildo for also contributing on how to create the ultimate
monster.
Finally, thank whatever deities created the Universe because its a
peripheral without which this game may not run!