The NES version of Ultima Exodus and it's instructions manual are property
of FCI, copyright 1988, all rights reserved.
This FAQ is property of Aspie Giraffe, Copyright 3/1/08, all rights reserved.
Any relation to guide books or other websites dedicated to Ultima Exodus are
purely coincential, for this FAQ was put together by experience of playing
the game without any form of manual or other FAQs. Feel free to distribute
this FAQ or link this FAQ to your website. Just be sure to give the proper
credit where it's due.
I have removed my e-mail info, because I don't have time to answer questions
about video games anymore. You may best consult another FAQ if you have
questions regarding Ultima Exodus.
(SIGH) I'VE RETURNED...
I couldn't stay away from FAQs for very long, could I? Under a new name
(formerly Crazylaz,) I have returned to classic gaming to bring you another
FAQ. This one will certainly be a lot better than that Ultima Dungeon Guide
I submitted so early in my FAQ career.
WHAT IS AN EXPLOIT GUIDE?
Think of an exploit as a mistake. A mistake that may or may not have been
intended by the programmers which players can take advantage of. Exploits
come in many forms, rather it be the famous 'Great-As' of Master of
Monsters, or the Alchemy system of Morrowind. Once you discover it, you
can remove practically all the challenge in a game.
ULTIMA: THE GRANDFATHER OR EXPLOITATION
This exploit guide, is based on an old computer game from the early 80's,
ported over to the NES in '89. Ultima Exodus is one of the original RPG
series. Its strengths lie in the freedom of exploration. There is little
guideline to follow, so you can do practially anything you want. It's in
this power that also grants you the ability to make the game as easy or as
challenging as you so desire. In the case of this FAQ, it's to make things
easy...REAL easy.
EXPLOIT 001 -- LEVEL 1 PARTIES ARE OVERPOWERED
If you're starting a new game save, then create a party of four characters
of any kind (it doesn't matter who, as this is a temp party. I recommend
two characters who know wizard spells, and two that know cleric spells.)
This party's only goal is to commandeer a pirate ship, and this will
require level-building.
Go to the overview world and find monsters to destroy. Orcs and goblins
fall to the free-to-cost Repel spell, while ghouls and skeletons succumb to
the Undead spell. Hmph. You're Level 1, and monsters literally FALL before
you. Life is good.
EXPLOIT 002 -- OPEN SPELL IS YOUR THIEF
The low-cost Open cleric spell opens chests safely, so you don't get hit
by traps. Even the Thief can't open all chests with a 100% success rate.
Yes, the spell does occassionally fail, but it won't set off the trap. Use
this mighty spell to collect all the gold you acquire from monsters. DON'T
SPEND YOUR MONEY, not yet! Use only enough to buy food to scrap by. This is
only a temp party.
EXPLOIT 003 -- LEVEL-UP ONLY OCCURS WHEN YOU TALK TO LORD BRITISH
You'll want to stay level 1 until you have enough EXP to build a character
level to 5 (400 EXP.) That way, when you talk to Lord British, your
character goes to 5 all at once. This will especially be useful near end-
game.
EXPLOIT 004 -- WHO NEEDS COMPETITION? RULING THE HIGH SEAS
Once you have a character at Level 5, pirate ships will start appearing in
the seas. Keep entering and exiting Lord British's castle until one appears
just directly north of you. (BE CAREFUL of other monsters! Even though your
character is Level 5, you are no match for them!) Fight one with 3 Pirates
or less. (reset if you get more.) Fry them with Missile spells, then close
in for melee. Once you have captured the ship, you're finished with your
temp party. Time for a new party.
Reset, and create a new party of Level 1 characters (be sure to transfer
the gold you got from your temp party before deleting them.) When you exit
the castle, you will notice...
EXPLOIT 005 -- MONSTERS ARE ADJUSTED TO YOUR HIGHEST LEVEL CHARACTER
You still have your pirate ship, but because none of your new party members
are higher than Level 1, you still fight Level 1 monsters! (and at level 1,
there are NO monsters on the seas!) Enjoy exploring the world!
EXPLOIT 006A -- CREATING YOUR SECOND PARTY
I got a little ahead of myself. I mentioned creating a second new party, but
didn't state who to take for your second party. Here's some things you should
know.
EXPLOIT 006B -- SPELLCASTERS GET ALL THE PERKS
..Who needs a powerful weapon? While as the Mystic Weapon is the only
usuable weapon in Castle Exodus, what they don't tell you is that SPELLS
STILL WORK AS WELL!!! There are countless RPGs that tell you how 'weak'
the spellcaster is. But because of the leveling system of Ultima Exodus
(all characters get the same HP and level-systems,) and the fact that the
best weapon and armor can be used by anyone, I can finally boast that
spellcasters are better than fighter-classes.
(It wouldn't surprise me if the Mystic Weapon & Mystic Armor were an
afterthought, knowing how unbalanced Ultima's class/leveling system was,
they probably added these to make all classes winable. But I degress...)
Right off, I recommend three (yes, three) Fuzzy Wizards, and give them stats
of 25 INT, 20 DEX, and 5 STR. One reason: ROT! Rot is a spell that you'll get
once you build your INT to 70. It's 100% effective, and knocks all monsters
down to 1 HP! Fuzzies can also max out INT at 99, so even after a ROT spell,
they still have plenty of MPs leftover for clean-up work via Missile spells.
A steady supply of daggers are also useful in the beginning, because they
will also do the job of a post-Rot Missile spell.
But wait, there's more! Wizards also have a 'Cleric' spell, which allows them
to access cleric spells equal to their remining MP after casting. So, when
reaching the magic 99 MP plateau, Wizards are not only Wizards, but also half-
Clerics!
Translation: Wizards rock!
So you have three Fuzzy Wizards. Why not four? Well, it's not recommended. You
need at least one class who can cast Cleric spells in the beginning (After all,
Wizards can't cast CLERIC for free.) So with a fourth slot still vacant, who
should fill the void? Here's a breakdown of each class.
Fighters and Barbarains have no perks. They use weapons. They can't wreck
monsters, groups at a time. They suck. For once in the history of RPGs, I
can finally say the Fighter-class is also the weakest. Avoid.
Thieves are not necessary. The Open spell does the work of a Thief, but to
no possible chance of a trap-triggering mistake. In addition, the Wizard
class has ordinary Dexterity, meaning that he can also dodge a dungeon trap
like a Thief, if only once in a blue moon (With any luck, you won't have to
dodge dungeon traps at all.) Avoid Thieves at all costs!
You have Wizards, so don't waste time on Alchemists. They're Wizards without
all the cool perks.
Larks are not-so-useful either. They're a fighter-class (useless) with only
half the power of a Wizard. You already have three wizards.
So that leaves 5 classes remaining for the final slot: Paladin, Cleric,
Illusionist, Ranger, and Druid. All these classes can use cleric spells,
and you will need at least one who can. I've ranked them from worst to best
pick:
WORST: Illusionist. Only half the clerical power with no extra perks. I will
argue though, that the second half of the Cleric spell list is nothing to
rave over (the Wizard will have access to those spells later,) so you could
actually sub the Cleric for the Illusionist if you need a 'little' challenge.
SUGGESTED RACE: BOBIT
SUGGESTED STARTING STATS: 25 WIS, 20 DEX, 5 STR
BELOW AVERAGE: Cleric. The problem with both the Cleric and Illusionist is
a lack of a long-range attack, outside from a steady supply of daggers; this
will be a disadvantage in Castle Exodus, because your Cleric will be limited
to the Mystic Weapon. And again, the second half of the Cleric spells are
nice, but not essential. Most are dungeon-oriented, and you will only be in
dungeons for a short period of your quest.
SUGGESTED RACE: BOBIT
SUGGESTED STARTING STATS: 25 WIS, 20 DEX, 5 STR
AVERAGE: Paladin. These ladies with the pink heart shields are at least able
to use projectile weapons, which would sub for the lack of a Missile spell.
They're again handicapped to the Mystic Weapon in Castle Exodus.
SUGGESTED RACE: BOBIT
SUGGESTED STARTING STATS: 20 WIS, 20 STR, 10 DEX
ABOVE AVERAGE: Druid. Like the Wizard, they too, have ordinary Dexterity, but
can use both Wizard and Cleric spells. However, their MP is oriented towards
the STRONGER of INT and WIS, so Druids are a better choice over Rangers if
you're looking to build your party faster, or if you need those few extra MPs.
Being able to use Missile spells makes them perfect for mop-up work, in or out
of Castle Exodus.
SUGGESTED RACE: BOBIT
SUGGESTED STARTING STATS: 25 WIS, 20 DEX, 5 STR
BEST: Ranger. The jack-of-all-trades. These guys rock! They also get BOTH
Wizard and Cleric spells. They, too, have Ordinary dexterity, making them
able to occassionally dodge traps (but you probably won't have to,) and can
use weaker projectile weapons. However, their MP comes from the WEAKER of
INT or WIS, so you end up having to spend a lot more money to boost their
stats. To fully take advantage of a Ranger, you'd have to max all their
stats. (This takes a lot of time, but it's worth it.) And they're perfect
for the purist who wants at least 'one' fighter-style character.
SUGGESTED RACE: HUMAN
SUGGESTED STARTING STATS: 20 INT, 20 WIS, 5 STR, 5 DEX
Regardless of who you choose, the fourth party member is specifically there
as a chest opener and emergency healer. If you happen to choose one that can
also bat clean-up after a ROT spell, then bonus.
To make a long story short, the more Wizards in your party, the less
challenging the game will be. And when you're exploiting, we WANT to make the
game less challenging, yes?
No? Well, then remove one Wizard and sub for one of the above classes if
you wish. It's up to you how much time you want to spend character-building.
EXPLOIT 007: THIS IS NO EXPLOIT!
With your new party built, use the gold carried over from the temp party to
purchase food. Now, you're stuck REPELing/UNDEADing weak creatures to build
EXP and GOLD. This is the tedious part of Ultima Exodus. Use the gold to
purchase food and tools. (Keys, Gems, and Torches will provide the most use.)
The target goal will be to earn enough gold to max out one Wizard's INT.
One exploit that has already been well-known for years now, is that REPEL
and UNDEAD can work 100% of the time, depending on the animation of the
low-level monster. Since all characters and monsters have only two forms
of animation, I'll leave it up to you to discover which one works.
EXPLOIT 008: THE WHIRLPOOL APPEARS RANDOMLY EACH TIME YOU STEP OUT OF TOWN
When you have enough gold, it's time to visit Ambrosia. Keep entering and
exiting Lord British's castle. (if a monster steps in your way, mow them
down.) Eventually, the Whirlpool will place itself just above you. Use the
pirate ship you acquired with your temp party to enter it.
While in Ambrosia, be sure to pick up the flowers just NW from your starting
point. You will also have to fight Pirates a couple times: once to get to
the Shrine of Intelligence, and again to get to the exit whirlpool. (if you
need a map, use a search engine, like google.) The Inn is located in the
middle door, just before your encounter with the Pirate Ship near the
Shrine of Intelligence. You can save there, and reset your game if you
encounter too many Pirates. 3 to 4 is a beatable encounter.
In the Shrine of Intelligence, use your gold to max out one Wizard's INT.
Now you will learn...
EXPLOIT 009: RECOVERING MP IS A CINCH! JUST 'B' YOURSELF!
So you have 99 INT, but your MP hasn't got that far yet. No matter where
you are, just tap your 'B' button rapidly, and your MP will recover in no
time flat! (yet, another reason why spellcasters get all the perks!)
However, take note that THIS CONSUMES FOOD, so check your food guage
before recovering MP.
EXPLOIT 010: THE STRATEGY TO WIN ALL BATTLES
You're now ready to lay a beat down on any monster encounter. Set the
Wizard with the 99 MP in the leader position. The next time you face an
encounter (you will have a few on the way out to Ambrosia,) start with
casting ROT, then do clean-up work with your Missile spells. That's it.
(this is why I recommended a Druid or Ranger, over the other three
Cleric spell-classes.) You will need to use this strategy of ROTting/
B-Recovering to work your way back to the whirlpool.
When you return to the mainland, go to the Royal City and GIVE Sherri
your flowers. You will need her Compass Hearts for:
EXPLOIT 011: ESCAPING FROM EVERYTHING THAT GOES WRONG
You have 3 compass hearts to expend, but you will need the 4th Compass
Heart to get more flowers for Sherri. However, if you intend to use the
Compass route to return from Ambrosia, ***Make sure you entered the
whirlpool from a coastal square, so that you can recover your ship!!!***
If you return with a Compass Heart when your ship was in the middle of
the seas, then you'll have to build a new temp party and commandeer a
new one.
With your compass hearts, and your newly acquired ROT spell, you can now
start raiding for serious treasure! But before we can do this, we need
to start exploiting some dungeons.
Speaking of dungeons...
EXPLOIT 012A: TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL DUNGEON RAIDING
Though dungeons are an excellent source for treasure, the 'Maps' that
the gems provide don't tell you what's treasure or what's traps. (there
are a number of websites that provide detailed maps of each level
of every dungeon in Ultima Exodus.)
The best stuff is found on the bottom floor of all dungeons. But
sometimes, it can seem like forever to get there.
Have no fear, your Wizard(s) will save the day. He has two awesome
spells called ASCEND, and DESCEND. These will allow you to go from
level to level without exploring all that much. And your 99 MP Wizard,
with access to the CLERIC spell, will also be able to use SURFACE when
you're finished.
I should note though, that ASCEND and DESCEND land you on random
parts of levels. If you use a Gem and didn't like where you landed,
cast ASCEND and DESCEND again and use another Gem. Keep doing so
until you land pretty close to whatever target you're aiming for.
This is still the better alterative to exploration.
EXPLOIT 012B: DUNGEON MP RECOVERING: LEFT IS RIGHT. RIGHT IS ALSO RIGHT
I will warn you about dungeons. You will face powerful monsters, even
if you're level 1. This is why you need the ROT spell. This will
even the odds if you happen to hit a random encounter.
So if you do hit a random encounter, and you use your magic, what then?
B-Recovery doesn't work in dungeons! There's a variation of B-Recovery,
however. If you keep tapping LEFT or RIGHT on you directional pad,
you will recover your MP, and you won't fight random encounters!
(Won't...fight random encounters? ...BRILLIANT!)
That said, there's only 5 things of interest in Dungeons. And they are:
The four marks: Fire and Force in the Cave of Fire, Snake in the Cave
` of Sol, Kings in the Cave of Death.
The Silver Pick, in the Cave of Death (needed for the Mystic Weapon,
` but a three-Wizard party almost doesn't need it.)
That wasn't so hard, was it? With ASCEND, DESCEND, SURFACE, and LEFT
or RIGHT MP recovery, you don't need to explore dungeons, and any use
a Thief would've had becomes obsolete!
EXPLOIT 013: THE BEST THAT MONEY CAN STEAL!
You COULD raid for treasure in dungeons, but that again would require
consulting a detailed map. I know a better place to find gold in Ultima
Exodus, and it lies in Death Gulch. You can park your ship in the
little river that seperates Death Gulch from the mainland. The armorer
holds 46 treasure boxes (for a total of 1530 to 4556 gold per visit.)
It's a little tricky, and you will need at least one key and the Mark
of Fire, but there are plenty of maps out there on the net.) If guards
appear during your raid, ROT them, then MISSILEs away, followed by
rapid B-Recovery. (this is THE best way to build your experience and
gold, especially when your other Wizards become able to use ROT.) If
you get GUARDed again before your MP is fully-recovered, Compass Heart
yourself out of the battle.
After three visits, go back to Ambrosia and use the gold you stole to
build the INT of the other Wizards. Get more flowers, use your last
compass heart to return to the mainland, and use the flowers to get
more compass hearts. Keep repeating this tactic until you have 3 ROT
spells at your command.
(I will emphasize again, WATCH YOUR FOOD GUAGE WHEN RECOVERING MP!!!
And ALWAYS ENTER THE WHIRLPOOL FROM A COASTAL SQUARE!!!)
NOT-SO-EXPLOIT 014: THE REPETITION
From here on out, you will be spending the bulk of your time doing
Exploit 013. Keep doing this until you've maxed the INT of your Wizards
and/or the INT/WIS of your fourth character. You don't need to purchase
DEX or STR, because you won't be using weapons or dodging traps of any
kind. Magic is your friend.
---
And now, for the quickest second-half Walkthrough you'll ever see for
Ultima Exodus:
Town of Yew --> learn PRAY command.
South of Yew Shrine --> Circle of Light --> PRAY for Silver Horn
Ambrosia --> Visit and PRAY at all shrines --> Get four CARDS.
(Optional) Gold Pick from Dawn, Silver Pick from Dungeon of Death
` = Mystic Weapon & Mystic Armor.
---
When you're done all this, and you have all your marks, you're ready
for endgame. Remember all those experience points you earned during
your repetitive guard-killing? If all your characters have acquired
2400 EXP, you're ready to talk to Lord British. He will raise your
levels to the Max 25 (if you have the Mark of Kings.)
EXPLOIT 015: WATER CURES ALL WOUNDS
You're now Level 25, but your HPs don't say so. Have no fear, the
dungeons are here! You will visit a dungeon one more time and search
for a 'Delicious' fountain (Level 6 of the Cave of Sol has one near
the center ladder.) This will max your characters' HP. If you do this,
you're now ready for Endgame.
Take your ship to the snake and use the Silver Horn, and you have a
clear passage to Castle Exodus. (take note that if you forgot to get the
Mystic Weapon, you will be relying solely on your magic, so be sure to
B-Recover when you can.) Look at all those high-level monsters! Aren't
you glad you have 3 ROT spells at your command? You wouldn't have had
time to B-Recover if you had only ONE wizard! And with those Dragons
and Griffins and Wyverns and Belrons smacking you for 100 HP per hit,
getting as many as 5 HITS before you're in close-range, do you REALLY
think Fighter-type classes would stand a chance, even with the Mystic
Weapon & Mystic Armor?
Now, the floor tiles may be tricky because they're invisible. However,
Floor tiles get the same 8-unit formation and have the same AI as any
other monster. If you know the 8-unit formation for small monsters, then
you can dispose of them the same way as you do any other encounter.
That was STILL better than waiting around for them to attack you so that
you can use the Mystic Weapon.
I'll say it again, WIZARDS ROCK!
You'll have two floor encounters before the endgame sequence, so after
one battle, swap your leader Wizard so that you can ROT again, or
B-Recover before the next one.
The endgame sequence: PRAY at the altar, then Love, Sun, Moons, Death.
NOW, AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU USED WIZARDS?
Even with the fastest route to the end of Ultima Exodus, you realize
just how time consuming and repetitive this game became. Do you really
believe you could've finished this game, without losing your patience,
with a 'balanced' party? I couldn't, that is, until I discovered
Wizards.
OPTIONAL EXPLOIT: 4 WIZARDS IS BETTER THAN 3
If you have a little more spare time, you could, theoretically, train
a 4th wizard, then ditch your Illusionist/Cleric/Druid/Ranger/Paladin
before the endgame, since you won't need a healer or a chest opener in
Castle Exodus...but wasn't 3 Wizards overkill enough?
ANOTHER CHOICE EXPLOITIVE (A tip I almost forgot)
If you want to reduce food consumption on the overview world, but still
fight monsters, find an open area, and press the A button to cancel out
of the character menu screen when it pops up. Nearby monsters will home
in on you, and you will consume less food from not moving around.
SPECIAL THANKS
Gamefaqs for hosting this FAQ, and Earthshaker for the inspiration...
..perhaps FCI for porting the grandfather of freeform RPGs.
DISCLAIMER NOTICE
The NES version of Ultima Exodus and it's instructions manual are property
of FCI, copyright 1988, all rights reserved.
This FAQ is property of Aspie Giraffe, Copyright 3/1/08, all rights reserved.
Any relation to guide books or other websites dedicated to Ultima: Exodus are
purely coincential, for this FAQ was put together by experience of playing
the game without any form of manual or other FAQs. Feel free to distribute
this FAQ or link this FAQ to your website. Just be sure to give the proper
credit where it's due.
I have removed my e-mail info, because I don't have time to answer questions
about video games anymore. You may best consult another FAQ if you have
questions regarding Ultima Exodus.
