Shining Force II: FAQ -- ver. 2.0
       FAQ Maintainer: [email protected]
       (formerly [email protected])

       Under construction!  Tips are solicited.

       Contents:

       I.   Items, and what they do.
       II.  Spells & Who gets them.
       III. Battles and battle strategy.
       IV.  People and where to find them.
       V.   Dumb secret stuff.


       I. Items...

                               Single-Use Items:

               Stat enhancers:
       Cheerful Bread - Increase HP (up to 4)
       Bright Honey   - Increase MP (up to 4)
       Quick Chicken  - Agility up
       Power Water    - Attack up
       Protect Milk   - Defense up
       Brave Apple    - Level up

               Stat recoverers:
       Medical Herb   - Recover 10 HP
       Healing Seed   - Recover 20 HP
       Healing Drop   - Recover 30 HP
       Healing Water  - Recover HP to full
       Healing Rain   - Casts AURA 4 (heals entire party to full)

       Antidote       - Negate poison
       Fairy Powder   - Negate stun
       Fairy Tear     - Recover MP

               Wierd Stuff:
       Dry Stone      - Use to get to Dwarven Blacksmith
       Mithril        - Forged into special weapons by Dwarven Blacksmith

       Shining Ball   - Damage enemy
       Blizzard       - Damage enemy

                               Special Items/Rings

       Name:           Normal Effect:          Special Effect (as an item):

       White Ring      Defense +10             AURA 3
       Power Ring      Attack +5               ATTACK
       Protect Ring    Defense +5              BOOST


                               Weapons

       Misty Knuckles  -- Absorb MP    (made by dwarven blacksmith)
       Supply Staff    -- Absorb MP    (made by dwarven blacksmith)
       Indra Staff     -- Absorb MP    (buy in N. Parmecia and beyond)
       Valkyrie        -- BOLT 1       (made by dwarven blacksmith)
       Halberd         -- BOLT 1       (made by dwarven blacksmith)
       Heat Axe        -- BLAZE 2      (find on enemies, and made by D. B.)
       Atlas Axe       -- BLAZE 3      (find on enemies)
       Wish Staff      -- ATTACK       (find on enemies)
       Mage Staff      -- BLAZE 2      (find on enemies, Chaz starts w/ one)
       Dark Sword      -- DESOUL       (Lemon starts with one)
       Holy Staff      -- Regenerate HP every turn; (find on enemies/ D.B)
       Mystery Staff   -- Regenerate MP every turn; (find on enemies)
       Supply Staff    -- Regenerate MP every turn; (made by D.B.)

       II. Spells...

       Leader - EGRESS / BOLT
       Sarah  - HEAL   / BLAST  / DETOX  / SLOW
       Slade  - KATON  / RAIJIN / ??
       Tyrin  - BLAZE  / FREEZE / SLEEP  / BOLT
          OR    DAO    / APOLLO / NEPTUN / ATLAS
       Taya   - DAO    / APOLLO / NEPTUN / ATLAS
       Frayja - HEAL   / AURA   / DETOX  / ATTACK
       Sheela - HEAL   / BLAST  / MUDDLE / BOOST
       Kazin  - BLAZE  / MUDDLE / DISPEL / DESOUL
       Chaz   - BLAZE  / FREEZE / BOLT   / DISPEL

       Spell    Max         Effect     Description
        Name     Distance    Radius

       EGRESS    N/A         N/A       Retreat party from battle
       BOLT 1    2           1         Damage 14-17
       BOLT 2    3           2         Damage 14-17
       BOLT 3    3           2         Damage 30-35
       HEAL 1    1           0         Recover 15-17 HP
       HEAL 2    2           0         Recover 15-17 HP
       HEAL 3    3           0         Recover 35-37 HP
       HEAL 4    1           0         Recover to max
       BLAST 1   1           0         Damage 13-15
       BLAST 2   2           1         Damage 13-15
       BLAST 3   2           1         Damage 30
       BLAST 4   2           0         Damage 45
       DETOX 1   1           0         Negate Poison
       DETOX 2   2           0         Negate Poison
       DETOX 3   3           1         Negate Poison
       DETOX 4   3           2         Negate Poison
       SLOW 1    2           1         Slow enemies (lowers defense)
       SLOW 2    2           2         Slow enemies (lowers defense)
       KATON 1   2           1         Damage 14-17
       KATON 2   2           1         Damage 30-35
       KATON 3   2           0         Damage 52+
       RAIJIN 1  2           2         Damage 30-35
       RAIJIN 2  2           2         Damage 45-50
       BLAZE 1   2           0         Damage 5-7
       BLAZE 2   2           1         Damage 12-15
       BLAZE 3   2           1         Damage 30-32
       BLAZE 4   3           0         Damage 45-50
       FREEZE 1  2           0         Damage ??
       FREEZE 2  2           1         Damage ??
       FREEZE 3  2           1         Damage ??
       FREEZE 4  3           0         Damage ??
       DAO 1     2           1         Total Damage 22
       DAO 2     2           1         Total Damage 45
       APOLLO 1  2           1         Total Damage 30
       APOLLO 2  2           1         Total Damage 62
       NEPTUN 1  2           1         Total Damage 40
       NEPTUN 2  2           1         Total Damage 76
       ATLAS 1   2           1         Total Damage 46
       DISPEL 1  2           1         Silence spellcasters
       AURA 1    2           1         Recover 15-17 HP
       AURA 2    2           2         Recover 15-17 HP
       AURA 3    3           2         Recover 30-32 HP
       AURA 4    N/A         N/A       Entire Party recovers to max.
       DESOUL 1  2           0         Instant-Kill Enemy
       DESOUL 2  2           2         Instant-Kill Enemy
       MUDDLE 1  2           1         Enemies fight each other
       MUDDLE 2  2           2         Enemies fight each other
       ATTACK 1  2           2         Attack power +15
       BOOST 1   2           2         Defense/Agility +10

       Effect radius of Zero affects one square only, radius 1 affects
       1 square away, 2 - 2 squares away, etc..

       III. Battles and Battle Strategy

       Especially difficult stages are marked with a * and some attempt at
       battle tips is provided.

       1.  Vs. Gizmos
               (stick close to the wierd decorative statues.  Replay
           This level 'till you're about 3-5th level for good experience.)
       2.  On the way to Yeel
       3.  On the way to see Hawel
       4.  On the way back
       5.  In Galam castle
               (the Knight is the leader.  Kill him if you want to win
           the battle without defeating everyone.)
       6.  On the way from Galam castle to Granseal
       7.  Vs. Evil King Galam
       8.  Vs. Monsters at tunnel
       9.  On the way to Ribble
       10. Hobgoblin Cave
       11. Vs. Cliff Monsters
       12. Battle to save Oddler
               (Avoid going straight down the steps into the middle of
           the enemy.  It works better to go around the church.)
      *13. Vs. Kraken
               (Kill enemies on Left side of the raft, then try to take
           on enemies one at a time on the right.  Hide weaker people on
           the left side after you've beaten the monsters on it.)
       14. Desert Battle
       15. In tunnel-cave.
       16. On the way to get the caravan.
       17. Vs. Talos
               (only the person with the Achilles Sword (i.e., your
                fearless leader) can hurt Talos.)
      *18. Fairy Special stage (optional)
               (prevent the enemies from appearing by standing on their
           spots)
       19. On the way to see the fairy
       20. Battle to save Elric
               (harpies can poison you.  Use archers against them)
       21. Outside Creed's mansion
      *22. Chessboard
               (do NOT attempt to charge them... take a defensive
           position in a corner and let them come at you.)
       23. Mice
       24. Outside blocked tunnel
       25. Inside blocked tunnel
       26. Battle to save Higins
       27. On the way to Tristan
       28. Bridge
               (the Worms are pretty powerful attackers.  Avoid taking
           them all on at once.)
       29. Mitula's courtyard
       30. Battle to free Mitula
       31. In Pacalon
       32. On the way to Moun
       33. In Moun
       34. At Nazca ship
       35. Battle at cape
               (Golems will appear when you go past the desert)
      *36. Geshp's trap - Prism flowers
               (stay out of a direct-line with the Prism flowers -
           they can fire in a straight line)
       37. Vs. Red Baron
       38. Vs. Geshp
               (burst rocks can't attack directly, but explode and hit
           anyone (including enemies) for about 12-15 damage.  Safely
           destroy them with archers, or kill them for good experience
           and heal later.  They appear when you walk past them.)
       39. Vs. Wiener Demons
       40. Vs. Odd Eye
               (Chaos soldiers can stun you, Odd-Eye's sword can put
           people to sleep.)
       41. On the way up the tower.
       42. Vs. King Galam
               (if you go to where King Galam is, more enemies will appear.)
       43. Vs. Zeon
               (not an especially tough level, defeat all the monsters
           without getting too close to Zeon, then send people to defeat
           the "Zeon Guards" (beefed-up Prism flowers)... you can attack
           a Zeon Guard from above or below it and it can't fire back.)
       44. Vs. all bosses
               (after all the credits, wait a few minutes at "The End" until
           a message pops up.  Press a button to fight the special bonus
           battle against all the bosses)

       Dumb, Generic battle strategy for every battle:

       1. Keep your leader out of the extreme front line unless you enjoy
          watching your GP halve itself.

       2. Some battles are worth EGRESSing and coming back for more
          experience.  Generally, if enemies are giving you 44-50 exp for
          killing them, EGRESS and come back until it's more like 15.

       2. Healers gain 10 experience for each HEAL spell they cast.
          (25 for each AURA)... I have mine cast a HEAL or AURA spell
          every round.  I ended up with a 85th level Master Monk (Sarah)
          a 99th Level Vicar (Frayja) and a 60th level MRMK and 35th level
          VICR (Sheela and Karna).  Around roughly level 50 or so, the
          defense ratings for Sarah and Frayja went off the scale.  At the
          end, Zeon himself was doing one (1) damage to them in attacks.
          (they would do 80-100 damage to Zeon, on the other hand - yes
          they were killing Zeon in about 4 shots (with some magic help))

       IV. People, and where to find them.

       Leader  - at Start.
         SDMN, promotion to HERO
        If he dies, you lose half your GP.

       Sarah   - at Start.
         PRST, promotion to VICR, or MRMK with vigor ball.
        Like all MRMKs, one of the best possible fighters in the game!
        I'd rather the leader married her instead of that princess...

       Chester - at Start.
         KNTE, promotion to PLDN, or PGNT with Pegasus wing.
        Slightly weak, but with good HPs.  Can use spears.

       Jaha    - after 1st battle when leaving town.
         WARR, promotion to GLDT, or RDBN with Warrior Pride.
        Good all-around fighter, slightly cooler than Gyan.  I use
        both of them in the final battle.

       Kazin   - after Hawel's death.
         MAGE, promotion to WIZ.
        Decent mage/wizard, OK sorceror, low movement rate.

       Slade   - after leaving Galam.
         THIF, promotion to NINJ.
        One of the best fighters, especially with the Gisarme.

       ?????   - In Granseal after coming back from Galam.
         TORT, promotion to MNST.
        Ok for a while, but really sucks after that.  Gets
        clobbered by most monsters in later levels.  Don't waste
        stat enhancers on him, good for caravan duty.

       May     - In town next to Bedoe.
         RNGR, promotion to BWNT.
        Decent ACHR no matter what the game calls her.  Like all
        ACHRs, keep her out of the front lines so she'll last
        long enough to be really useful.

       Peter   - In battle to save Oddler.
         PHNK, promotion to PHNX.
        One of the best fighters in the game, plus he can fly.
        Way better than the birdmen.

       Gerhalt - In battle to save Oddler.
         WFMN, promotion to WFBR.
        Very good all-around fighter.

       Luke    - After battle to save Oddler.
         BDMN, promotion to BDBT.
        Weak fighter, but can fly - which comes in handy at times.

       Rick    - In Hassan, after getting caravan.
         KNTE, promotion to PLDN.
        Decent fighter, good DEF.  Beef him up and he'll serve
        you well.

       Elric   - After saving him from a pond.
         ACHR, promotion to SNIP, or BRGN with Silver Tank.
        Fairly weak archer, don't waste the Silver Tank on him.

      *Karna   - Either when leaving Creed's mansion, or after nazca ship.
         PRST, promotion to VICR (or MRMK with the other Vigor Ball)
        She rocks.  Especially if she casts 1 heal spell per round.  Even
        better when promoted to MRMK.  Grab her out of the lineup!

      *Eric    - Either when leaving Creed's mansion, or after nazca ship.
         KNTE, promotion to PLDN.
        About as good as Chester, decent fighter.

      *Randolf - Either when leaving Creed's mansion, or after nazca ship.
         WARR, promotion to GLDT.
        Excellent fighter.  Good overall stats.

      *Tyrin   - Either when leaving Creed's mansion, or after nazca ship.
         MAGE, promotion to WIZ, or SORC with Secret Book.
        Eventually gets FREEZE 4 as a WIZ.  Give the Secret Book to Kazin
        instead.  Also gets Neptune 2 as a SORC.

       Janet   - After getting Astral, when leaving Granseal.
         ACHR, promotion to SNIP or BRGN.
        Decent archer... good to the endgame, esp with the Tank.

       Rohde   - After battle outside sealed tunnel.
         BRGN.
        Just as good as Janet.

       Higins  - After saving him.
         PLDN.
        Weak fighter.  Your other centaurs should be better.  Good
        candidate for caravan duty.

       Taya    - After rescuing Mitula, talk to a statue.
         SORC.
        So-so SORCeror.  Use Kazin instead.

       Screech - Joins after rescuing Mitula
         BDMN.
        You have to stand in the right spot in Bedoe after you
        fight the cliff monsters in order to get him later.  He's a
        fairly weak overall fighter, but can fly.

       Jaro    - On the way to Moun, in the middle of the battle.
         PGNT.
        Weak, but at least he can fly.

       Frayja  - After going to Moun.
         VICR.
        Eventually gets AURA 4!!  Good HPs and MPs.

       Gyan    - After winning battle in Moun.
         GLDT.
        So-so fighter, best with Rune axe, but could use some
        stat enhancers.

       Sheela  - Behind monk's Dojo on Grans island.
         MRMK.
        Just being a MRMK makes her one of the best fighters in the
        game!

       Zynx    - After talking to Petro in Roft.
         RBT.
        Weak movement range, but a strong fighter otherwise.

       Claude  - In hall of Ancients, give him his arm.
         GLM.
        A better version of ????, excellent DEF, horrible HPs,
        very poor move range.

       Chaz    - In Yeel, play the piano.
         WIZ.
        Fairly decent spellcaster, but may not be as good
        as your other ones by the time you get him.

       Lemon   - When leaving Yeel after getting Chaz.
         RDBN.
        Kicks ass.  You want him in your final battle.

       The Secret Items:
         The Vigor Ball (for Sarah) and the Secret Book (for Tyrin) are
         both in the Fairy town.  The Silver Tank is in the Hobgoblin cave.
         There is a second vigor ball (!) in a tree near the lake where you
         get Sheela.  Warrior pride (for Eric) is in Granseal, search the
         banner on the back wall.  In Pacalon you can find Pegasus wing
         by searching the wall south of the blue carpet.

       Mithril: There are 11 known pieces in the game.

        1. Wall just North of secret passage when escaping prison.
        2. Small hole near granseal castle steps in earthquake
        3. Top third of mountain range east of Ribble (east of bridge)
           (Mountain range is going North/South)
        4. Hole on Left side of wall in Hassan
        5. Barrels by dock in Hassan
        6. Chest in SE corner of elf village
        7. NE corner of battlefield near Creed's mansion
        8. Downstairs in Pacalon castle (go through left wall)
        9. Northern tip of mountains on the way to Tristan
       10. Mitula's shrine
       11. Right side of mountains near Ancient shrine

       V. Dumb Secret Stuff

       The Dwarven Blacksmith...
         is tricky.  The item you get depends on the person you pick to
         make it for, and about 25% luck.  Listed below are what you can
         get for different people, and comparisons to other weapons.

       Leader - Critical Sword (+32)
                Counter Sword (+39)
                Battle Sword  (+35)
       Luke   - Critical Sword
       Slade  - Critical Sword
                Katana        (+34)
                Ninja Katana  (+39)
                Gisarme       (+42/Instant Kill 25% chance)
       Kazin  - Supply Staff  (+32/Regenerate MP)
       Taya   - Great Rod     (+28)
       Tyrin  - Great Rod
       Frayja - Holy Staff    (+29/Regenerate HP)
       Karna  - Holy Staff
       Sheela - Misty Knuckles  (?? Better than Iron)
       Sarah  - Misty Knuckles
       May    - Grand Cannon  (+43)
       Janet  - Grand Cannon
       Elric  - Buster Shot   (+37)
       Rohde  - Hyper Cannon  (+40)
       Rick   - Valkyrie      (+33)
       Jaro   - Valkyrie      (+33)
       Eric   - Mist Javelin  (+39/+5 Def)


      Fairy Special Stage
       I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what the point of this stage is.
       To beat it easily, position people where the enemies would show up
       to prevent them from appearing.  You will obviously need flying
       people (3 is good).  Get to the stage from the fairy town, exit out
       of the Right, in the bottom-right corner.