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===============================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Angelo Search Limit Break FAQ
GAME: Final Fantasy VIII
PLATFORM: Playstation
WRITTEN BY: DarkLordOfTheSith (Chris Greening) and Simjam (Simon Richards)
CONTACT:
[email protected] /
[email protected]
VERSION: 1.1
DATE: 8/5/2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
I: Revision History: -
---------------------------------------------
Version 1.0 (10/3/2002) - Original version of FAQ written by Simjam containing
the following core information: -
- Angelo Search item list.
- Conditions/Factors for Angelo Search to work.
- Strategies on how to perform Angelo Search.
- General questions about Angelo Search.
Version 2 (8/2/2003) - Edited version by DarkLordOfTheSith. This was a quite
a major re-write considering the original version was
lost. Now, there is a revised layout with some
sections re-written however the core of the
information is still derived from the original.
Certain sections have been edited whilst some have
been removed however fortunately to make up for this
the following has been added: -
- An empirics/manual searching section.
- A section on the advantages of Angelo Searching.
- More information about the conditions needed.
- Information about the "True" RNG.
- Theories about the occurrence of other items.
- More information about improving the search rate.
- More information about searching safely.
- A revised "Frequently Asked Questions" section.
Coming Soon (Hopefully) In the future we hope to extend the Frequently Asked
Questions and Manual Search Mini FAQ sections. Keep
on E-mailing us questions to inspire us along the
way.
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
II: Contents: -
---------------------------------------------
This FAQ has been split into the following sections: -
I. Revision history.
II. Contents.
III. Introduction/About me.
IV. Why Angelo Search is so great!
V. Learning and obtaining Angelo Search.
VI. Conditions for activating Angelo Search.
a. Introduction/ Basic Conditions
b. Other Timed Events
c. Status Effects
d. List of all conditions required.
VII. The items that you can receive!
a. Basic item List.
b. The "true" random number generator.
c. Other items you can receive.
VIII. Empirics/ Manual searching.
a. The Primary Mechanics to Angelo Search.
b. A guide to Manual Searching.
c. Mini-FAQ based on Manual Searching.
IX. Improving the rate of Angelo Search.
a. Factors that affect the rate of Angelo Search.
b. Factors do not directly affect the rate of Angelo Search.
c. Setting the ATB timer to the slowest.
d. Manipulating the monsters you fight.
e. Monster results - the best/worst to search.
X. Searching safely.
a. Defending yourself - rending enemies useless!
b. How to avoid killing your opponent.
c. Individual monster strategies.
XI. Frequently Asked Questions.
XII. Credits.
XIII. Contact information.
XIV. Copyright information.
And now we move on into the main content of this FAQ....
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
III: Introduction/About Me: -
---------------------------------------------
Hi! This FAQ is entirely dedicated to Rinoa's limit break within the game,
Angelo Search. This limit break when activated allows Rinoa's dog, Angelo to
search the battle field in order to discover an item that you can use within
the game. Up until now nobody has solved the huge mysteries surrounding Angelo
Search and this has caused frequent misunderstandings about the role of Angelo
Search within the game. Hopefully, thanks to this FAQ people baffled by Angelo
Search will have now have an in depth guide to help them.
Anyway a little about me (Simjam) and the history of this project - When I first
came to gamefaqs back in September 2001 I became obsessed with Angelo Search! I
hadbeen wondering how Angelo Search works and I was disappointed that nobody
haddeciphered the huge mystery behind this limit break. I was desperate to
unravel the mystery however therefore I decided to make a string of topics in
the Final Fantasy VIII gameplay board based around the phenomenon. With the help
of many dedicated members there we thoroughly investigated it through use of
overnight searches. It involved many months of hard work and dedication however
eventually the big break came and the hard work paid off when we discovered the
true mechanics behind Angelo Search.
Here in the first ever Angelo Search FAQ is a detailed guide on how to use
Angelo Search, and the mechanics behind it. I hope this will be useful to
you as it is certainly an interesting skill that can really help you
in the game. Enjoy!!
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
IV: Why Angelo Search is so great: -
---------------------------------------------
Hmm you are probably wondering "Why is Angelo Search so great that you spend so
much time investigating it?" Well this is asked a lot but there is one basic
answer: the fact that you have the possibility of getting extremely rare items
using it within the game. This rather secret skill provides the opportunity for
you to really complete your item list if you are a perfectionist like most
gamers are! It also provides an opportunity to learn some really rare abilities
in the game, which will turn you into a mighty hero in battle!
In section VII there is a full list for all the items, both rare and common
that you can obtain from Angelo Searching however here are some of the most
notable items that you can potentially receive: -
- Hungry Cookpot - without Angelo Search this item is one of the few that you
can only obtain once in the game with the Pupu alien side quest in the game.
This has limited many dedicated gamers considering the hungry cookpot item
is so useful by being able to teach the useful, and rare ability, devour. It
is also capable of refining into dark matter, which is one of the most sought
after items in the game! Many people conduct Angelo Searches simply to
receive this item only; I can tell you however that it is certainly worth
the effort!!
- Status Guard - Like the Hungry Cookpot this item is rather finite in the
game; there are only very limited opportunities to receive it without
the help of Angelo Search. Searching to obtain this very rare item however
is worth the effort as it teaches one of the most sought after abilities
in the game, Status Defense x 4, which really helps you in battle.
- Aegis Armlet - This item really is essential in the game considering it
teaches the evade-j ability, which boosts your evade stat considerably. This
stat is essential for defending yourself against some of the toughest
enemies in the game and without it you have a severe disadvantage.
Without Angelo Search you it is impossible to have all your
characters with a high evade stat unless you spend literally hours with
refining items. This is a very sought after item, and searching for it is
worth the effort!
- Healing Ring - This useful ability can only otherwise be obtained from hours
of tedious refinement - Angelo Search is a much more favourable option, at
least to me. It teaches the rare recover ability, which is very useful in
the game. As well as this, it helps to complete your item list!
- Gold Armour - This item is one of the rarest in the game considering you
have to refine 5 silver armlets (that are very rare drops from Snow Lions)
in order to get it. Some people don't actually realise that this item is
possible to obtain therefore Angelo Search will hopefully give them a nice
surprise!
- Hero - Although card refinement gives a good opportunity to receive this
item Angelo can also find it without losing a card in the process! This
item is extremely useful considering it gives invincibility in battle,
which really makes your life easier against the likes of Omega Weapon.
- Hero-Trial - This is the lesser version of the hero and although it isn't
directly useful in battle if you have one it really helps to complete your
item list. Unless you want to spend 5 or so hours collecting 1000 curse
spikes in order to eventually receive a hero-trial through lots of refining
I recommend that you use the easier and more enjoyable alternative Angelo
Search!
- Moon Curtain - This is a reasonably common item in Angelo Search whilst it is
fairly rare in the game especially if you dislike refining. This important
skill allows you to learn the ability auto-shell in battle, which is very
useful for protecting yourself. It also helps to obtain the spell, shell in
quantity that has useful defensive junction effects.
All these items are extremely rare and useful. As you will learn in section VII
there are many other very useful items that can be obtained, and this certainly
makes the skill essential - these items really demonstrate the potential
importance of Angelo Search in the game, and it gives a good reason for
perfectionist gamers such as myself to conduct lots of Angelo Searches!
As well as this Angelo Searching is quite a unique and enjoyable experience
within the game - as it has been secret up to now even most of the veterans
at this game haven't experimented with it. However now, they hopefully will
giving them more reason to play the game!! It really is worth the experience
of Angelo Searching both for fun and for game progression in my opinion! As
you will hopefully now see the effort has been worth it and Angelo Search
is simply great!!
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
V: Learning and obtaining Angelo Search: -
---------------------------------------------
Unfortunately you can only learn Angelo Search at a very late stage in the
game at the end of disc 3. This sadly limits the extent of enemies you can
search, particularly bosses. As well as this it is advisable to spend a lot
of time searching in disc 3 considering in disc 4 ideal monsters to search are
much harder to find considering you cannot enter cities!
However the process of learning Angelo Search is quite simple - it is like
learning any other of Angelo's limit breaks. Below is a simple
step by step guide as to how to receive Angelo Search:
1. Angelo Search is learnt from Pet Pals Volume 5, which can be obtained in
the Esthar pet shop in the Shopping Mall inside Esthar City. This can be
done straight after you've spoke to Odine on your arrival in Esthar. The
magazine costs just 750 gil.
2. However you have to wait even longer to learn Angelo Search considering it
is only after you visited the sorceress' memorial that Rinoa and Angelo are
reunited. After the visit to the sorceress' memorial go to Rinoa's status
screen and set Angelo Search as the skill you wish to learn.
3. Walk about randomly somewhere until you hear the chime that signifies you
have learnt Angelo Search. After that it is just a matter of activating it
in battle, which is a little harder....
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
VI: Conditions for activating Angelo Search: -
---------------------------------------------
a. Introduction/ Basic Conditions: -
====================================
In battle Angelo Search is triggered "randomly" within the game but only if
the conditions for Angelo Search are met. You do not activate it yourself
whilst at low HP unlike most limit breaks, although as I will explain later
manual searching is possible.
It can take a while for Angelo Search to appear in battle so you
need to wait very patiently for a search to take place. When the
game triggers the event Angelo will appear in battle, barks and then
digs up an item that he'll give to Rinoa to add to your item collection.
In order for Angelo to have the possibility of appearing in battle then Rinoa
needs to have learnt Angelo Search, and is present in battle with Angelo.
These are the most basic conditions required, however there is much more.
b. Other Timed Events: -
========================
Let's take this to a more complex level! There is an internal timer
within the game that increments during "dead time", in which nobody is
taking an action.
The events of Gilgamesh, Angelo Reverse, Angelo Recover and Angelo Search
are given a target number; if this number is reached an Angelo
Search will occur. A counter starts at 0 and after 13.3 seconds of "dead time"
this increases by one and there is a check to see if it has reached the
target number, or trigger. This continues every 13.3 seconds until it
reaches the trigger where the event will occur. The events that can occur
are: -
- Gilgamesh (if you have him and he hasn't shown up yet!).
- Angelo Reverse (if Rinoa is functional, the skill is learnt, and a party
member is KOed).
- Angelo Recover (If Rinoa is in the party, the skill is learnt, and a
party member is at low HP).
- Angelo Search (If Rinoa is functional, and the skill is learnt).
If the counter reaches the target number for Angelo Search, it will
only occur if the other events are not triggered as well. To
reduce the possibility of them being triggered you may want to consider the
following: -
- Waiting until disc 4 to obtain Odin as this will mean he will not change
into Gilgamesh, which can potential hinder the rate and overall success of
the Angelo Search considering Gilgamesh can potentially kill the enemy
you are against.
- If you have learnt Gilgamesh then you could wait until he comes up in
battle before searching although this is often unsuccessful!
- Not learning Angelo Recover or Angelo Reverse at all as these events
often prevent an Angelo Search from occurring, and against monsters who
can cast zombie for example they aren't very useful when searching either!
- If you have learnt Angelo Reverse then keep all characters alive and
manipulate the battle so they will not die during a search (see section IX)
- If you have learnt Angelo Recover then keep all characters at high HP
and manipulate the battle so they will not lose too much HP (see section IX)
Without the possibility of these events occurring then your search rate will
increase considerably due to Angelo Search being able to be triggered as well.
You may want to think ahead when you start the game about the disadvantages
learning and obtain certain skills will cause if you wish to gain maximum
success with Angelo Searching.
(Many thanks to Mercurius for the above information!)
c. Status Effects: -
====================
Rinoa may not be functional if she is under certain statuses. These statuses
mean she cannot control her actions so they must be prevented from
occurring within battle otherwise Angelo Search cannot occur. Rinoa must not
be under the following statuses whilst Angelo Searching: -
- KO (She cannot search if she is dead although Angelo Reverse can revive
her!).
- Petrify (She cannot search if she is stone!).
- Sleep (This will send her temporarily to sleep however in the long-term
this status effect doesn't matter!)
- Stop (This will mean she is temporarily immobilised so Angelo Search
cannot be activated).
- Confuse (Rinoa will not be able to control her commands, and may end
the search by killing the monster).
- Berserk (Rinoa will not be able to control her commands, and may end
the search by killing the monster).
- Angel Wing (This is an alternative limit break for Rinoa that sends her
into a berserking mode meaning she will soon kill the monster ending
the search, and Angelo Search cannot be activated if she cannot control
her commands).
Under all other statuses Angelo Search "can" take place - this includes
poison, slow, blind, silence, curse, and zombie. However many statuses
whether on Rinoa, an ally, or an enemy have some effect on Angelo Search.
Some of these statuses improve/worsen the rate of Angelo Search whilst
others can mean the party, Rinoa or the enemy can die ending your
search rather prematurely. Much of this will be discussed in sections
IX and X.
d. List of conditions required: -
=================================
Here is a small summary of the conditions required for the possibility
of Angelo Search being triggered: -
1. Angelo Search has been learnt (see section V).
2. Rinoa is present in your party.
3. Angelo is with her (you can't search in space!).
4. 13.33 seconds of "Dead Time" have past since the last timed event
has taken place such as an Angelo Search.
5. An enemy or party member is not taking a turn (i.e. there is free
time on the ATB).
6. Gilgamesh has not been triggered (possibly due to the conditions
required not being fulfilled).
7. Angelo Recover has not been triggered (possibly due to the
conditions required not being fulfilled).
8. Angelo Reverse has not been triggered (possibly due to the
conditions required not being fulfilled).
9. Rinoa is fully functional, and is not inflicted with the KO,
petrify, stop, sleep, confuse, berserk or angel wing status.
e. Overnight Searching: -
=========================
One of the best ways to search in quantity is by performing overnight
searches in which you leave the playstation/playstation 2 and allow
Angelo Search to take place during the nine hours or so you go to
sleep! This is much less tedious than watching a battle go on for ages and
it certainly gives you a nice treat to wake up to! However the main
advantage of doing an overnight search is the fact you get a large quantity
of items, both rare and common. Some searches have had as many as 100 items
found in one night although it generally averages out to be around 40
searches each night.
The overnight searching method is a very useful one, and it is how I
deciphered much of this mystery. However, if you are going to leave your
party in battle for a whole nine hours there is a lot of preparation to do
in order to search safely otherwise your battle will end prematurely by
you KOing. The risk of killing the monsters you are against in battle is
also one that needs to be minimised so you need to also consider this when
manually searching. In sections IX and X we hope to go into detail
about how to search safely, and get the most out of your search!
Many ask if nine hours searching will affect your playsation or not.
I, like many other searchers have done literally dozens of nine hour searches
and no damage has occurred to the playstation, however you must do it in
moderation by giving a few hours rest in between. Beware - squall20000's
record breaking 336 hour Angelo Search destroyed his playstation 2! It is
your own risk to take however - as long as you're sensible you should have
no problems but if you have problems then we are not legally responsible!!
Note that manual searching, which I will explain later in section VIII
is actually much quicker and more reliable than overnight searching
although it is a little more difficult to grasp!
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
VII: The items that you can receive! : -
---------------------------------------------
In Angelo Search you can obtain many items, both common and rare. The rare
ones in particularly make Angelo Searching worthwhile as you can see in
Section IV. One of the biggest mysteries that has been unraveled since the
history of this project was the probabilities of receiving each item, and
the mechanics as to why this is so.
Many thanks goes to Czardragon for all the information in this section, which
he discovered and compiled.
a. A basic item list: -
=======================
Below is a simple table that states the probability of getting each item from
Angelo Search. The odds are first of all in percentage and then out of 288.
Note that those with a (*) next to them are rare items that make Angelo
Search particularly useful.
In section VIII there is a lot of information about the empirics behind Angelo
Search, which explains these probabilities, and how to manual search as a
result of this: -
Odds : Item
----------------------------------
16.7% (48/288) : Potion
11.1% (32/288) : Mega Phoenix
7.29% (21/288) : Cottage
5.56% (16/288) : Potion+
5.56% (16/288) : Hi-Potion+
5.56% (16/288) : X-Potion
5.56% (16/288) : Phoenix Down
4.86% (14/288) : G-Potion
2.78% (8/288) : Tent
2.78% (8/288) : Cactus Thorn
2.43% (7/288) : G-Hi-Potion
2.43% (7/288) : G-Mega-Potion (*)
2.43% (7/288) : G-Returner
1.39% (4/288) : Protect Stone
1.39% (4/288) : Holy Stone
1.39% (4/288) : Jet Engine (*)
1.39% (4/288) : Sleep Powder
1.39% (4/288) : Curse Spike
1.39% (4/288) : North Wind
1.39% (4/288) : Steel Orb
1.39% (4/288) : Dragon Fin
1.39% (4/288) : Combat King 004
1.39% (4/288) : Occult Fan II
0.69% (2/288) : Elixir
0.69% (2/288 : Antidote
0.69% (2/288) : Hero-Trial (*)
0.69% (2/288) : Hero (*)
0.69% (2/288) : Shell Stone
0.69% (2/288) : Energy Crystal (*)
0.69% (2/288) : Gold Armor (*)
0.69% (2/288) : Adamantine (*)
0.69% (2/288) : Rune Armlet
0.69% (2/288) : Force Armlet
0.69% (2/288) : Circlet
0.69% (2/288) : Moon Curtain (*)
0.35% (1/288) : Pet House
0.35% (1/288) : Aegis Amulet (*)
0.35% (1/288) : Status Guard (*)
0.35% (1/288) : Magic Scroll
0.35% (1/288) : GF Scroll
0.35% (1/288) : Draw Scroll
0.35% (1/288) : Healing Ring (*)
0.35% (1/288) : Hungry Cookpot (*)
(Many thanks to Czardragon for creating this table)
As you can see, some of the best items like the status guard, hungry
cookpot, healing ring and aegis armlet are very rare, however they are
certainly worth searching for considering you might just hit lucky!
b. The "True" random number generator: -
========================================
Unfortunately the random number generator used for Angelo Search is badly
programmed meaning that there is a fairly limited collection of items you can
receive. It also means there is a lot of glitches as a result of this; one
good result of this bad random number generator however is manual searching.
If the random number generator were "true" then these are the items then you
would be able to acquire every item from Angelo Search instead of a select
few. However it would never have been possible to acquire a Friendship, a
Ribbon or a Moogle's Charm from Angelo Search considering these are only
ever obtainable from the pocketstation even if the random number generator
were programmed correctly.
To see a list and the probabilities of the items that could be received if
the random number generator were true then please check Czardragon's
webpage:
http://www.geocities.com/CzarDragon/Angelo.txt
C. Odd results - other items that we've seen: -
===============================================
It is possible that there are certain very rare items that appear in less than
1/288 of the time. In the history of Angelo Search the following items have
only appeared once however they have definitely appeared. These are: -
- Weapons Monthly 1st - against Adamantoise (This actually appeared twice)
- Pet Pals vol 5 - also against Adamantoise again.
- Phoenix Pinion - against Malboro
- Mega-Potion
However do not get your hopes up too high - these freak occurrences seem to be
largely one offs considering we have done literally hundreds of hours of
searching and not received similar results. It is still extremely unlikely that
items such as Dark Matters, Luck-J Scrolls, Rosetta Stones etc can be obtained
from Angelo Search - the items in Section a. are the only items you have a
decent chance of obtaining unless we decipher the glitch behind this mystery.
So why were these items received? Czardragon and Mercurius have put together
several theories: -
- One theory is that the items that are not listed can be triggered
by something random that can happen between the queuing of Angelo
Search and the execution. One possibility may be an enemy deciding what attack
to perform. The monster itself may not affect the Angelo Search but the
actions it chooses to perform will. Each can potentially waste a different
amount of random numbers between checks, some of which will be better than
others. It's theoretically possible that a monster attacking more frequently
could be better. Basically, if while consuming random numbers it were to
frequently land right before an Angelo Search index the overall rate should
increase so long as the attack animation wasn't insanely long. Random numbers
obviously are not wasted often therefore it must be triggered by special
attacks such as Adamantoise's "White Wind", which is known to cause many
glitches in the game.
- This leads me to the next point that the game programmers could have
programmed the game so that against certain monsters or in certain
battlefields you can receive potentially receive items that are not on
the original item list. It is remotely possible that some items can be
received in certain circumstances. This would make a different item list
from the original one that is above.
- Alternately, maybe it is something wonky with the Random Number Generator.
We know that with a decent RNG, Angelo Search could produce literally any
item in the game, except for Ribbon, Friendship and Mog's Amulet - the
limited nature of the current list is due to the terrible Random Number
Generator they used in the game. If this is the case, and a way could be
found to isolate and control this trigger, we might even be able to devise
a method to reliably access other 'lost items' like Pulse Ammo or Dark
Matter! Theadamantoise battles with the "White Wind" spell could be the
weird thing that triggers this.
- The other, more mundane possibility, is that Square realized the lousy job
they did with the RNG, and tweaked it in some versions of the game. Games
often change in minor ways between versions, particularly between Japanese
and American, and American and PAL. Perhaps something weird during those
battles somehow "kicks it over", into numbers that it normally wouldn't be
able to select.
However admittedly this is mainly speculation, although all these theories
are possible until we get more evidence these theories can neither be proved
or disproved. To help us to reach some conclusions then intense searching
against adamantoises is certainly needed. If anybody has had similar results
then please contact us at
[email protected] or
[email protected] as long as it is a legitimate claim!
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
VIII: Empirics/ Manual Searching : -
---------------------------------------------
This is the technical part of the guide, which is probably the most difficult
to understand however with a lot of re-reads you should eventually grasp it
considering I have tried to make it as easy to understand as possible. Here
you will learn about why each item has such probabilities, how to know when
Angelo will next emerge, and how to manual search.
a. The primary mechanics to manual searching: -
===============================================
This sub-section is dedicated to the information Czardragon found out by
hacking into the game, in which he discovered the empirics behind Angelo
Search. This provides much of the background to manual searching, which
will be explained a little later in this guide. The majority of this
information has been compiled for Mercurius' work so a lot of thanks
goes to him!
The mechanics behind the selection of these items is quite complex however
here is a basic explanation from Mercurius that is ideal for these
purposes: -
Whenever an item is found, that item determines how long it will be until
Angelo shows up again. Essentially, it sets a target number, and starts a
counter at zero. Every 13.33 seconds, it increments the counter (increases
it by one) and compares it to the target number. If it is the same, Angelo
Search occurs.
Below is a table created by Czardragon. Its columns correspond to the relative
frequency the items show up. This shows the odds of each item appearing out of
32 depending on which row they are in. These two tables were originally linked
therefore they follow on from each other! : -
-------------------------------------------------------------
|Row | Column 1 (16/32) | Column 2 (4/32) | Column 3 (2/32) |
-------------------------------------------------------------
| 1 | Potion | North Wind | Hero |
| 2 | Potion+ | Occult Fan II | Hero-Trial |
| 3 | Mega Phoenix | Sleep Powder | Elixir |
| 4 | Phoenix Down | Combat King 004 | Holy Stone |
| 5 | Hi-Potion+ | Cactus Thorn | Shell Stone |
| 6 | Potion | Curse Spike | Holy Stone |
| 7 | Potion | Dragon Fin | Protect Stone |
| 8 | X-Potion | Steel Orb | Protect Stone |
| 9 | Mega Phoenix | Cactus Thorn | Antidote |
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
|Row | Column 4 (2/32) | Column 5 (1/32) | Column 6 (7/32) |
-------------------------------------------------------------
| 1 | Energy Crystal | Aegis Amulet | Cottage |
| 2 | Jet Engine | Pet House | G-Hi-Potion |
| 3 | Jet Engine | GF Scroll | Cottage |
| 4 | Force Armlet | Magic Scroll | Cottage |
| 5 | Moon Curtain | Healing Ring | G-Potion |
| 6 | Circlet | Tent | Tent |
| 7 | Adamantine | Draw Scroll | G-Mega-Potion |
| 8 | Gold Armor | Status Guard | G-Returner |
| 9 | Rune Armlet | Hungry Cookpot | G-Potion |
-------------------------------------------------------------
Depending on which row the last item found was in you can then determine how
many more checks there will be until the next item is found from the next
row. This is done by cross referencing the row number with the corresponding
row number in the next table, also produced by Czardragon: -
-----------------------------------------------------------
|Row | Angelo | Item | Random |Checks until |Time until |
| | Value | Value | Index |next search |next search |
-----------------------------------------------------------
| 1 | 06 | F0 | 01 | 4 | 00:53 |
| 2 | 01 | C1 | 07 | 32 | 07:07 |
| 3 | 02 | 17 | 29 | 86 | 19:07 |
| 4 | 08 | 56 | 81 | 32 | 07:07 |
| 5 | 00 | 3B | A3 | 19 | 04:13 |
| 6 | 04 | E0 | B8 | 41 | 09:07 |
| 7 | 03 | 98 | E3 | 1 | 00:13 |
| 8 | 07 | F4 | E6 | 18 | 04:00 |
| 9 | 05 | FF | FA | 5 | 01:07 |
-----------------------------------------------------------
We are primarily concerned with the last 2 columns, which show the amount of
checks and time needed until the next search takes place, however it all
depends on the row number deciphered from the first table.
For example if in the last search we received a status guard we would find out
how much time it would take for the next search to take place by
cross-referencing the row number in the first table with the row number in
the second table. In this case we see that the status guard is in the 8th
row from the first table and by checking what it says in the eighth row
in the second table we find that there are 18 checks until the next search,
and considering each check is every 13.33 seconds this means it will take
4 minutes until the next search takes place.
However a more complex example to use would be an item such as Potions,
Mega Pheonix, Protect Stones, Holy Stones, Jet Engines, G-Potions and Cottages,
which have 2 or 3 possible places in the first table meaning that there are
are two or three rows to cross-reference to in the second table. This causes
two or three potential checks and times until the next check, and you
cannot be sure which one it will be! For example the potion, which appears
in rows 1, 6 and 7 could have 4, 41 or 18 checks until the next search.
This is another glitch with Angelo Search and it certainly makes manual
searching a lot harder as I will soon explain.
It is worth noting that if an item from row 1 were obtained from Angelo Search
(e.g. a North Wind) then the next item that would occur would be from row 2.
Similarly if an item was obtained from row 8 (e.g.a gold armor) then the
next item obtained would be from row 9. If a row 9 item were to be found then
the next item would be from row 1. This means that searching follows a chain
that repeats after 9 searches. This means that for every search there is
only a possibility of 6 items being obtained, with each probability of item
depending on what row they are in.
As well as this it shows that a hungry cookpot can only occur every
ninth search (at a probability of 1/32 considering it is in column 9).
Similarly a potion can only be obtained every 1st, 6th and 7th search
considering it is those three row. This is always at a probability of 16/32
considering it is always in column 1. Knowing this information makes it much
easier to predict the item your next search will be, if you are really eager
for rare items!
(many thanks to Ringworm for the above two paragraphs).
b. A guide to manual searching: -
=================================
As a result of the poor random number generator within the game it is possible
to perform something called "manual searching". The following information has
been interpreted from Mercurius' information so a lot of credit goes to him!
As we already know every 13.33 seconds there is a checkpoint in which the
counter value increases by one until target point is reached and Angelo
Search takes place. However instead of having to wait that long you can
manually cause the counter to increase simply by pressing 'circle' (O) in
order to miss a turn. Every time you press 'circle' then the counter
increases by one.
This means that if you know how many checks are left before the next search
you can simply press circle until it will reach the target number. This needs
to be done within 13.33 seconds considering the game makes a check to see if
the target number has reached at these intervals.
In order to see how many times 'circle' needs to be pressed then you can use
the cross-referencing method using the tables that I explained above however
thanks to Seibaby there is a compiled version of these tables that is easier
for quick referencing considering it is in alphabetical order and in one
table!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | Checks/time Checks/time Checks/time |
| Items List | until next until next until next |
| |(1st possible) (2nd possible) (3rd possible)|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Adamantine | 1 | 00:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Aegis Amulet | 4 | 00:53 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Antidote | 5 | 01:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Cactus Thorn | 5 | 01:07 | | 19 | 04:13 | | -- | --:-- ||
| Circlet | 41 | 09:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Combat King 004 | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Cottage | 4 | 00:53 | | 32 | 07:07 | | 86 | 19:07 ||
| Curse Spike | 41 | 09:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Dragon Fin | 1 | 00:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Draw Scroll | 1 | 00:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Elixir | 86 | 19:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Energy Crystal | 4 | 00:53 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Force Armlet | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| G-Hi-Potion | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| G-Mega-Potion | 1 | 00:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| G-Potion | 5 | 01:07 | | 19 | 04:13 | | -- | --:-- ||
| G-Returner | 18 | 04:00 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| GF Scroll | 86 | 19:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Gold Armor | 18 | 04:00 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Healing Ring | 19 | 14:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Hero | 4 | 00:53 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Hero-Trial | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Hi-Potion+ | 19 | 04:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Holy Stone | 32 | 07:07 | | 41 | 09:07 | | -- | --:-- ||
| Hungry Cookpot | 5 | 01:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Jet Engine | 32 | 07:07 | | 86 | 19:07 | | -- | --:-- ||
| Magic Scroll | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Mega Phoenix | 5 | 01:07 | | 86 | 19:07 | | -- | --:-- ||
| Moon Curtain | 19 | 04:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| North Wind | 4 | 00:53 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Occult Fan II | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Pet House | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Phoenix Down | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Potion | 1 | 00:13 | | 4 | 00:53 | | 41 | 09:07 ||
| Potion+ | 32 | 07:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Protect Stone | 1 | 00:13 | | 18 | 04:00 | | -- | --:-- ||
| Rune Armlet | 5 | 01:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Shell Stone | 19 | 04:13 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Sleep Powder | 86 | 19:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Status Guard | 18 | 04:00 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Steel Orb | 18 | 04:00 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| Tent | 41 | 09:07 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
| X-Potion | 18 | 04:00 | | -- | --:-- | | -- | --:-- ||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Many thanks to Seibaby for creating this table)
For example if the last item that appeared were an X-Potion then you can see
from the table that it requires 18 checks in order for the next Angelo Search
to take place. As a result of this you press 'circle' 18 times within the
13.33 seconds in order for the next Angelo Search to take place. If an
adamantine was obtained however you would only need to press 'circle' once
for Angelo Search to occur in the next checkpoint.
Items with double/ triple possibilities are covered below.
c. Mini-FAQ based on manual searching: -
========================================
The next section is dedicated to a mini-FAQ based on manual searching so it
is easy. If you have any other questions then please E-mail us at
[email protected] or
[email protected] so we sort out your
problems and add your questions to the Mini-FAQ!
QUESTION: What do I do if I can't hit 'circle' enough times during the 13.33
********* seconds?
ANSWER: As we can see on Czardragon's second table it is sometimes extremely
------- difficult to hit circle enough times during the 13.33 seconds
considering row 2 and 4 items require 32 hits, row 6 items require 41
checks, and row 3 items require 86 hits. However if you're too slow
try to compensate by skipping one turn less every time you let 13.33
seconds pass considering the computer increments one check every
13.33 seconds, too.
Some Examples: -
If you took too long looking up that Hungry Cookpot's information,
and 14 seconds have already passed, you'd only tap circle four
times, since the initial check already added one. Similarly, if you
get an Elixir (row 3, 86 checks), and it takes you 30 seconds to tap
that many times, you'd only do 84 taps total, since two checks have
already passed. Remember that whenever in doubt it is best to under
press considering you only have to wait another 13.33 seconds or so.
QUESTION: How do I manually search for items with more than 2 or 3 possible
********* target numbers?
ANSWER: The glitch that meant that items occur in 2 or 3 rows has caused
------- a lot of difficulty with manual searching in the past - Potions,
Mega Phoenix, Protect Stones, Holy Stones, Jet Engines, G-Potions
and Cottages are the items that you need to watch out for. Anyway
there are two methods available to solve this problem: -
Original Method (by Mercurius): -
*********************************
For items with two or three values for "Checks Until Next" you
need to be especially carefully with how many times you press circle.
Start by tapping circle enough to trigger the lowest of these target
numbers, then wait to finish the current 13.33-second interval. If
Angelo doesn't appear, add one to the current value (for the check you
just passed) and tap circle again to reach the next value (repeating
if necessary). If Angelo doesn't appear after three (or two) checks
then you must have gone wrong somewhere hence it is probably better
to wait for another natural search or end the battle.
An Example: -
Angelo digs up a Potion. This occurs in three rows on the chart: Row
One (4 checks), Row Six (41 checks) and Row Seven (1 check). So,
first I tap circle once, and wait. If it were the Row 7 Potion,
Angelo will appear again after 13.33 seconds. If not, there have
been *two* checks (one from my button press, and one from the game's
auto-check), so I press circle twice more. Now, if it was the Row
One Potion, I'll get another Angelo Search at the end of the next
interval (a total of 26.66 seconds). If not, the "check counter" is
now at five (two from time, three from button presses) so I can press
circle 36 more times, so it will reach 41, and trigger a Search at
the end of the next cycle. To avoid over pressing I would probably
only recommending hitting 'circle' 35 times to be cautious.
Alternative method: -
*********************
Probably the easiest way to know how many times you should press
the 'circle' button is by checking which row the item before the
last item you received was in. Considering if you get a search item
from one row, you will then get another search item for the row
after that it becomes quite easy to decipher which row you are on.
(It is much easier if you are using Czardragon's tables for this
particular method). If you have missed a search due to overtapping
however this method is less reliable.
Some examples: -
You have just received a Cottage that could be from row 1, 3 or 4.
However your last search that you found was a Pet House meaning that
the item before last was in row 2 hence this must mean the cottage
is from the next row being row 3 therefore you need to press it a
whole 84 times.
Another more difficult example would be if you were to receive a
Protect Stone from rows 7 and 8. However the item before this was
a Potion, which corresponds with both of them considering the
Potion could have been from row 6 or 7, which directly follows to
7 and 8 of course! To solve this you need to look back at what you
received before the potion. If it were a G Potion then the G Potion
must have been from Row 5 as the Row 9 onr cannot possibly correspond
with the Potions from rows 6 and 7. If it is from row 5 then the
Potion must have been from row 6 hence the protect stone must have
followed on and been from row 7. This means that the protect stone
requires just one press of the 'circle' button before the next
search is activated.
This method is easy as long as you know which row you at the whole
time so track the search carefully with the manual searching tables
otherwise it can potentially get confusing. You may wish to favour
the original method if you have got confused!!
QUESTION: Which is better Manual Searching or Overnight Searching? Which would
********* you recommend?
ANSWER: There isn't really a one way answer to this - both methods of
------- searching have both advantages and disadvantages. However personally
I would recommend Manual Searching considering it is more reliable,
and quicker.
However if you are a beginner, and cannot fully understand the
principal of Manual Searching then it is probably best that you stick
to Overnight Searching, at first. Here are the advantages and
disadvantages of them both: -
Manual Searching: -
*******************
Advantages - It is very reliable considering the search rate stays
fairly consistent.
- It is much quicker than Overnight Searching considering
it can take a minute to get a search as opposed to 20
minutes!
- It reduces any major strain on your Playstation.
- After time it becomes easy to do.
- It involves less concern about how to search safely and
how to achieve the maximum rate of searching.
Disadvantages - It takes a lot longer to learn that Overnight Searching
although with time this improves.
- It requires constant attention to your Playstation,
which can be time consuming.
- It is easy to make mistakes such as over tapping, which
are reasonably difficult to resolve.
Overnight Searching: -
**********************
Advantages - It is very easy to perform as long as you know how to</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
search safely and optimise search results.
- The search can be left for many hours without the need
for attention.
- There is less chance of errors occurring.
Disadvantages - It is a lot less reliable and consistent as some
searches fail completely!
- It requires a lot of setting up in order to search
safely and to optimise results.
- There is potential damage to your Playstation, if you
are extreme with its length.
- It is much slower considering the variable search
intervals.
- It is much more dangerous considering you can die in
battle with a bad set up.
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
IX: Improving the Rate of Angelo Search : -
---------------------------------------------
The next section is dedicated to how to improve the rate of Angelo Search
occurring 'naturally' without manual methods. This shows you what factors
affect the search rate, and how to manipulate them so you optimise the overall
search rate. This section is primarily to help overnight searchers achieve
the best results (see the above section on how to optimise Manual Search
results).
a. Factors that affect the rate of Angelo Search: -
===================================================
There are only a few factors that directly affect the rate of Angelo Search in
the game. These are: -
i. The amount of "dead-time" in the ATB timer: -
************************************************
This factor is the single most important factor to consider when optimising
your overnight search results. Angelo Search can only occur if there is free
time on the ATB timer (i.e. when a monster is not taking a turn, and neither
are you) so this factor is essential to consider. This part of the guide will
be mainly dedicated into getting the most free time on the ATB possible.
There are a lot of ways that you can do this, as I will explain.
ii. The occurrence of other timed events: -
*******************************************
As I explained in Section VI there are three other events that are checked
every 13.33 seconds as well as Angelo Search. These are: -
- Gilgamesh - If obtained, and if he hasn't appeared in battle already
(prevent by not obtaining Gilgamesh, or by waiting for him to appear
within the battle).
- Angelo Reverse - If learnt, and Rinoa or an ally is KOed (prevent by not
learning Angelo Reverse, or keeping all allies, and Rinoa alive in battle
by searching safely).
- Angelo Recover - If learnt, Rinoa is functional, and an ally or Rinoa is
low on HP (prevent by not learning Angelo Recover, or alternatively
keeping all allies at high HP).
If the conditions are correct every 13.33 seconds a counter will increment
by one up to the target number in which the spell will be activated. These
are ordered in preferential as to how they are activated in battle i.e.
Gilgamesh is optimised over Angelo Reverse, Angelo Reverse is optimised
over Angelo Recover, and finally Angelo Recover is optimised over Angelo
Search. This means that even when Angelo Search reaches its target number
for a search to be activated the other three timed events must not have
also been activated within the 13.33 second interval otherwise Angelo
Search will not occur in favour of another timed event. It certainly helps
if you do not learn any of these three moves, particularly Gilgamesh
considering it can significantly hinder your search by killing the monster
you are against, ending the battle!
iii. The threat of certain status effects: -
********************************************
As I explained in Section VI Rinoa needs to be fully functional in battle
in order to perform searches effectively. This means that she will not
be able to search if she is under KO, petrify, stop, sleep, confuse,
berserk, and Angel Wing. Sleep, stop, and confuse are temporary statuses
however they will still temporarily hinder you. If you are cast with
them at the start of the battle they can easily be prevented from
affecting your search rate with Esuna (or in KO's case a Phoenix Down).
Unfortunately you cannot get out of the Angel Wing status so it is
essential never to cast it if you want to continue searching!
It is most advisable to know your enemy before searching them in order
to search safely and optimise your search results. This means it is
essential to know what statuses they may cast, so you can build up
status defense for them to prevent them hindering you during an
overnight search. Individual monster strategies will be discussed later
in section X in order to help you.
Status effects have other effects too however these are the only status
effects that can directly hinder your search. However you can use
status effects against monsters in order to have more "dead time", or
alternatively in order to search safely. As well as this status effects
can work against you considering some such as poison can mean you die
in battle meaning your search ends prematurely at the game over screen!
This will be fully explained later in this section.
iv. Use of Manual Searching: -
******************************
By pressing the 'circle' button to skip a turn you essentially increase the
counter that activates Angelo Search by one. This basically means that you
reach the target number much quicker considering that without the use of
the 'circle' button you need to wait for 13.33 seconds of dead time for
the counter to increment by one. This affects the search rate severely in
your favour (as long as you do it correctly and do not overtap). However
during overnight searching this isn't a factor you should consider. Only
manipulate this if you are doing manual searching, which is explained
thoroughly above in Section VIII.
b. Factors that do not directly affect the rate of Angelo Search: -
===================================================================
The following factors below have absolutely no effect on Angelo Search
whatsoever, whether direct or indirect: -
- Location of battlefield - it was once theorised that the type of
terrain you fought in affected the rate of Angelo Search however this
has since been disproved considering there is no programming found
to show why it should affect it. As well as this search results have
shown any direct correlation no longer exists between search rate
and terrain type.
- Rinoa's speed - it has been proven that this does not affect the
search rate whatsoever.
However below are the factors that can have an indirect effect on Angelo
Search due to it affecting the four above factors that are directly
programmed to affect the rate of Angelo Search. Although these factors
only affect the rate of searching in certain circumstances they are
certainly worth manipulating to improve your search rate as I will
explain later: -
- Type of Enemy - The programmers did not directly programme it so each monster
you fight will have a different rate of Angelo Search. However as you will
learn below indirectly monsters have a very significant effect considering
their attacks dictate how much free ATB time you, what status effects you
are inflicted with, and the chance of Angelo Recover and Angelo Reverse
happening.
- Level of Enemy - Although it only has an effect in some circumstances the
level of the enemy often dictates what attacks are used against you as well
as their effectiveness. Consequently this has similar effects to the type
of enemy you search.
- Party's level - Your party's level dictates your stats, which sometimes have
an effect as I will explain below.
- Party's HP - This ensures you stay alive but if it is high it means it takes
longer for you to be in a situation in which Angelo Reverse or Angelo Recover
can occur and reduce your search rate.
- Rinoa's evade/luck stat - Although it doesn't have any direct effect
whatsoever these ensure you dodge attacks hence you maintain high HP and
there is less chance of Angelo Recover or Angelo Reverse occurring.
c. Setting the ATB timer to the slowest: -
==========================================
One of the easiest ways to maximise the rate of Angelo Search is by going into
the configuration menu and simply setting the ATB timer to the slowest. This
means that the monster(s) you are fighting against do not take turns as
frequently meaning there is more free ATB time. When you change the ATB timer
rate the game's internal timer that increments a counter every 13.33 seconds
does not change as a result. It remains the same even when the ATB timer is
changed allowing this method to be possible. It is an easy, and very effective
way of maximising the search rate; sometimes it can improve the search rate
by up to 60%!
NOTE: This does not work when an enemy is disabled (e.g. in the confused
turtapod battle explained below).
Other than that the only other ways of improving the search rate are not
taking turns yourself (obviously), and manipulating the enemy's turn rate/
speed as I will explain below.
d. Manipulating the monster you fight: -
========================================
The type of monster you fight dictates a lot about the rate of your overnight
search. It also determines how easily it is to search safely as you will learn
in the next section.
i. How monsters affect the amount of free time on the ATB timer: -
******************************************************************
Below demonstrates just how the type of monster affects the rate of Angelo
Search as a result of the amount of free time on the ATB timer: -
1. The slower the enemy the faster the search rate due to attacks occurring
less frequently meaning there is more free time on the ATB timer for
Angelo Search to be activated.
2. Monsters with short attack animations are generally best to search; these
are generally monsters that attack with short physical attacks. Monsters
that have long magical attacks (or long physical ones like Wendigo) are
not very good to search considering it significantly reduces the free time
on the ATB timer.
3. It is best not to search against double or triple monsters but rather
against single monsters. With more monsters there are more attacks meaning
there is less free time on the ATB timer. It is best to kill the other
monsters in battle if this is the case, leaving one left that is easiest to
search. The only exception is if the monsters do not attack at all (e.g.
against two confused turtapods or 2 disabled monsters) considering they
cannot hinder the search rate in the first place! (thanks to squall20000
for investigating this!)
4. Generally monsters with lower levels have a better search rate although
there are exceptions. This is due to monsters having different attacks
at different level intervals. Generally monsters at lv. 1-19 have basic
attacks consisting of short magic spells, whilst monsters at lv. 20-29
have more moderately lengthed magic spells. Finally above lv. 30 is
when most monsters usually use the longest, and most powerful spells.
ii. Getting the free time back from the monsters: -
***************************************************
In order to get the best search rate you will obviously need to manipulate
how enemies affect Angelo Search in order to create the most desirable
results. Below is a list of strategies that you can use to improve the
search rate against certain monsters: -
a. Choose the right monster to search - this is obvious! If you are looking
to achieve the best results then you should probably look at going for
one of the monsters I listed in part e. such as a confused turtapod,
or an iron giant. This is the single most important decision to make!
b. Leave only one monster in battle - kill off any others if necessary.
c. Level up/down your enemy if needs be - use GF Tonberry's lv. up or lv.
down abilities to your advantage. It generally helps if you have the
enemy at a low level considering there are little long animation attacks,
and it will also reduce the risk of KO in battle. Some enemies are
different however and are easy to fight at higher levels.
d. Use status effects to your advantage - as you will learn in the
individual monster strategies in Section X certain monsters are prone to
various status effects that will reduce their turn rate or the length
of spells they will perform. One of the best ways to do this is by
attacking the monsters with the status attack as opposed to directly
using spells. This is much more reliable however to avoid killing the
monster in battle whilst doing it you could combine it with an elemental
attack that would cure the monster. For example you could status attack
tri-face with sleep or stop yet constantly cure it with poison elemental
attack so the battle doesn't end prematurely! Considering certain
statuses are temporary then you could also cast berserk on one of your
characters (except Rinoa) using the above strategy. Although this will
waste some time on the ATB timer, it will waste time much less than
what really long magic spell animations would do if the monster wasn't
disabled.
Below is a list of statuses that you can use to your advantage with
status attack; the monsters that I have listed to use a spell against
are the recommended ones, although there are many more that are
vulnerable to certain spells: -
- Berserk - this is a particularly useful status to inflict upon an
enemy if they are prone to it. It means that the monster will simply
do physical attacks so there aren't any long magic spell animations
to wait through as a result.
(Use against: behemoth, blitz, buel, caterchipillar, grand mantis,
snow lion, thustaevis)
- Silence - this is extremely useful considering it prevents monsters
from using long animated magic spells, however berserk is better
considering that if the monster was silenced and tried to perform
a magic spell there is a lot of time wasted for the game to recognise
that it cannot be cast! Considering this spell dies off with time, you
will need to recast it, perhaps using the berserk strategy for a long
term effect! This is essentially the secondary option to
berserk.
(Use against: abyss worm, behemoth, buel, jelleye, lefty, thustaevis)
- Stop - this stops an enemy temporarily meaning that they make no attacks
whatsoever. However its disadvantage is that you need to keep on
continually casting it considering it is a temporary status. This is
best done by using berserk against a character using elemental attack
to cure the monster, and status attack to stop it!
(Use against: bomb, grendel)
- Sleep - this has a very similar effect to stop by disabling a monster
temporarily. Once again it is temporary so you need to keep on
status attacking it with sleep yet keeping it alive with an appropriate
elemental attack at the same time if possible.
(Use against: blobra, bomb, grendel, torama)
- Slow - This has some use in Angelo Search however the above status
effects are usually more effective if they can be cast against the
monster. However, nonetheless slow is very useful considering it
reduces the enemy's turn rate substantially meaning that there is more
free time between turns. However, it dies off after time meaning the
berserk/elemental attack strategy that I introduced above is needed
for maximum success. You should only use this as a status attack if
the above four do not work.
- Confuse - this can be used in rare situations to make an Angelo Search
successful by disabling the monster as long as the monster is not a
threat to itself whilst confused! It needs a lot of preparation
beforehand to ensure this is successful!
(Use against: blood soul, funguar, turtapod (see below in part iii.)
- Blind - by casting blind it doesn't help the search rate, however it
ensures you search safely considering physical attacks are unlikely
to kill you with good evade! Most enemies are vulnerable to this.
e. You could always render the enemy totally useless with gameshark codes
or alternatively do the turtapod trick (see below).
iii. The Turtapod Trick/Rendering Enemies Useless: -
****************************************************
One individual strategy that makes Angelo Search easy is the use of the
turtapod trick. This strategy enables a turtapod to be rendered useless so
it doesn't attack whatsoever leaving the ATB timer totally free. This
obviously increases the search rate substantially as a result of the
increased "dead" time, and it is also a very easy way to search safely.
Here is a simple step-by-step strategy to render them useless: -
1. Find a Turtapod - this is easy enough considering they are all over
Esthar!
2. If it is with any other monsters (e.g. an imp) then kill the other
monsters to leave the turtapod alone!
3. Cast scan to ensure the Turtapod is above lv. 30. If necessary use GF
Tonberry's Level Up command to get to the correct level.
4. Wait until it goes into defence mode (curls into shell).
5. Cast Confuse on it; this should render it useless so just leave it
alone for the night. If it didn't work then just cast esuna and
try again.
The great thing about this battle is it is one without no interruptions;
there is no Angelo rush, and no attacks although Gilgamesh will still occur
if you obtained him (which you shouldn't have done!)
This turtapod battle is the only battle that can possibly occur with no
interruptions with the exception of the battle against Odin, which sadly
can only last for a maximum of 20 minutes!!
However thanks to Seibaby we are able to compile some gameshark codes
that can render any enemy useless in battle so you have a battle with
no attacks, or interruptions just like the turtapod one. Here are the
possible codes you can use: -
Enemy Position 1: Can't Attack - 800ED3DC 0000
Enemy Position 2: Can't Attack - 800ED4AC 0000
Enemy Position 1: Paralysed and Sleeping - 800ED3D0 000F and 800ED3D4 000F
Enemy Position 2: Paralysed and Sleeping - 800ED4A0 000F and 800ED4A4 000F
Although these two codes are essentially the same for our purposes, you can
use either to fulfil your searching dreams!
iv. Preventing monsters from causing status effect/other time events: -
***********************************************************************
Monsters also affect what status effects you are inflicted with, as well as
the occurrance of Angelo Reverse and Angelo Reverse. These all significantly
inhibit the success of Angelo Search.
Before you search an enemy you need to assess the possibility of KO, petrify,
confuse, sleep, and berserk being used against Rinoa during battle considering
that if you are inflicted with these then you will not be able to search
whatsoever. Sleep and confuse aren't huge risks considering they are only
temporary, however they still hinder your search rate significantly. You must
also think about the effect of status effects on searching safely however this
will be covered in part e. of this section as well as section X.
Essentially you need to know your enemy before you search so you can change
your defence against its spells if needs be. For some monsters it is possible
to simply lower their level to prevent you being inflicting against statuses
that will hinder your search, however most require status defense to be
successful. Rinoa really must have learnt the ability status defense x 4 for
maximum success; you cannot survive against monsters such as malboro.
Keeping HP at a maximum is also essential to prevent Angelo Recover and Angelo
Reverse from occurring, as well as to ensure you search safely. In section X
there are individuals strategies on how to survive against each monster.
Essentially you generally require appropriate status/elemental defenses, high
maximum HP, high evade/luck stats, high vitality/spirit, and use of the
defend command.
e. Monster results - the best/worst to search: -
************************************************
Our search results over the many years of searching have shown that the
following monsters have all received very good results: -
- Turtapod (over level 30 - after being disable with the turtapod trick)
- Iron Giant
- T-Rexaur
- Geezard (under level 20)
- Behemoth
- Snow Lion
- Mesmerize
- Thustaevis
The best enemies to search are evidently those who are fairly slow but
more importantly they don't cast many long animated attacks, if any.
However certain enemies have been consistently awful! The worst is probably
wendigo that has never been successful in Angelo Search. Why though? Well
would you want to search in front of a headless gorilla?! No, seriously -
it is due to it being a very fast monster that has very long physical
attack animations. Poor Angelo doesn't even get a chance to look in....
Below we have compiled our results to show exactly which enemies
are best to search; the additional notes help to give a better incite into
how to search but the individual monster strategies are in the next
section: -
===============================================================================
| Monster Name | Searches | Additional Notes |
| | Per Hour | |
===============================================================================
| Abyss Worm | 3-5 | |
| Adamantoise | 3-5 | Received unique items against it (see VII c) |
| Anacondaur | 1-3 | |
| Armadodo | 2-4 | |
| Behemoth | 4-10 | One of the best monsters to search |
| Belhelmel | 0-2 | This is one of the worst. |
| Bite Bug | 2-5 | |
| Blitz | 2-5 | |
| Blobra | 2-3 | |
| Blood Soul | 2-4 | |
| Blue Dragon | 3-5 | |
| Bomb | 2-4 | Don't let it explode! |
| Buel | 1-4 | |
| Cactuar | ??? | Runs away before you have a chance to search. |
| Chimera | 3-6 | |
| Caterchipillar | 2-4 | |
| Cockatrice | 1-3 | |
| Creeps | 1-3 | |
| Death Claw | 2-4 | |
| Elnoyle | 2-3 | Use lv. down to get it below lv. 30! |
| Fasticalon | 3-6 | Keep in original form. |
| Fasticalon-F | 3-6 | Keep in original form. |
| Forbidden | 2-5 | |
| Funguar | 2-4 | |
| Gayla | 3-9 | |
| Geezard | 5-10 | This is one of the best to search! |
| Glacial Eye | 2-3 | |
| Granaldo | 0-10 | This one's pretty unreliable! |
| Grand Mantis | 2-5 | |
| Grat | 3-5 | |
| Grendel | 1-5 | |
| Hexadragon | 2-4 | |
| Imp | 1-2 | It's very awkward to search against. |
| Iron Giant | 5-15 | One of the best monsters to search. |
| Jelleye | 2-4 | |
| Lefty | 2-4 | |
| Malboro | 2-5 | Received unique items against it (see VII c) |
| Mesmerize | 3-8 | Remove horn to reduce attack animation time. |
| Ochu | 2-4 | These appear in Ultimecia's castle/steam room. |
| PuPu | 2-5 | It only appears once, unfortunately. |
| Raldo | 2-6 | |
| Red Bat | 3-6 | |
| Snow Lion | 3-10 | This can be a superb target! |
| Thrustaevis | 4-6 | This one is worth a try! |
| Tonberry | 5-8 | This is a good enemy to search with auto-potion.|
| T-Rexaur | 5-12 | One of the best monsters to search. |
| Torama | 2-4 | Use lv. down to get it below lv. 20! |
| Turtapod | 4-9 | Easiest/best monster to search (disable it). |
| Vysage | 3-5 | |
| Wendigo | 0-2 | Quite possibly the worst monster to search. |
===============================================================================
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
X. Searching Safely: -
---------------------------------------------
The next section is dedicated to how to prolong your overnight searches so
that your Angelo Search is not cut short. It can be cut short if: -
a. You win the battle by defeating the monster; this can be done
unintentionally due to Gilgamesh, Angelo Rush or counter attacks.
b. Rinoa becomes disabled in battle by being KOed or inflicted with a permenant
status that will mean she isn't functional (i.e. petrify, berserk or Angel
Wing).
c. Your whole party being KOed in battle (which will also lead to game
over...).
This section is dedicated to how to protect yourself in battle as well as how
to reduce threats such as Angelo Rush and Gilgamesh. You cannot be successful
in battle without it!
a. Defending Yourself - Rending Enemies Useless: -
==================================================
When we do an overnight search, we are intending to leave the battlefield alone
for a whole nine hours; obviously the monsters will quickly kill you if you do
not effectively prepare yourself beforehand. Here are a few tips on how to
survive the search! : -
a. Choose a good monster to search - obviously certain monsters are more
difficult to search than others because they have superior attacks. It is
much easier to choose a monster that is easy to immobilise rather than
a monster such as cactuar or malboro that need a lot of preparation and
manual assistance throughout! Be mindful to think of search rate as well
before choosing an easy monster to search. Some of the easiest as well as
best to search are: -
- Turtapod (using the confused turtapod trick - see above).
- Iron Giant (that is blinded).
- T-Rexaur (that is blinded).
- Behemoth (that is berserked/blinded).
- Snow Lion (that is berserked/blinded).
b. Ensure everyone is healthy - when you leave the battle alone for an
overnight search ensure that you are not taking any risks by leaving party
members at KO or low HP as well as under potentially dangerous status
effects. This obviously means that you will be defeated much quicker, and as
well as this, it means your search rate can be reduced due to Angelo Reverse
Angelo Recover occurring.
c. Junction so your HP is high - on some of the toughest monsters that you will
search you will undoubtedly take some damage, although it is unlikely to be
enough to kill you as a result! In order to be on the safe side it is quite
advisable to get your HP to 9,999 HP by junctioning full life to HP and
using the HP+80% ability too.
d. Boost your luck, speed and evade stats - these stats work together to
create the overall evade rating, particularly the luck stat. It is essential
that you use decent junctions for each of them, particularly the luck stat
so that you dodge most enemies' attacks. This is obviously necessary to
ensure Rinoa remains at high HP.
e. Boost vitality/spirit stats - it is important to have reasonably high
vitality and spirit stats to ensure that any physical or magical attacks
that aren't defended against fail. However using the defense command ability
or elemental defense then this isn't too essential!
f. USE THE DEFENSE COMMAND ABILITY - this is absolutely essential when fighting
against monsters that use physical attacks for two reasons: it keeps your
HP high, and more importantly it prevents Angelo Rush from happening, which
can easily kill the monster you're fighting against in battle. Use it on
Rinoa so that all physical attacks against her are just 0 HP!!
g. USE ELEMENTAL DEFENSE ABILITIES - it is equally important that against
enemies with magical attacks that you use elemental defense abilities to
defend Rinoa. You must know your enemy (check the individual monster
strategies below). It is so important as not only does it ensure you keep
your HP high, but because it prevents Angelo Rush taking place, which
can easily kill the monster you are fighting in battle. It is even better
if you can use elemental absorb considering this will help to cure any HP
lost by attacks that do cause damage against you.
h. Use status defense abilities to your advantage - many status can severely
hinder an Angelo Search so you essentially need to know your enemy
beforehand. If an enemy is able to cast the death, doom, gradual petrify,
petrify and berserk against Rinoa then it is essential that you defend
against otherwise no more Angelo Searches can take place. Similarly sleep,
stop and confuse can temporarily hinder you. Similarly, confuse can mean
that you kill yourself in battle, and more importantly the enemy. It is
essential that you also defend against poison considering that if it is
cast against Rinoa then she will eventually die in battle. If the monsters
that fight against you have the potential to cast these statuses then it
is essential you have 100% status defense against it otherwise you cannot
search safely whatsoever!
i. Change the monster's level if needs be - generally monsters at a lower are
easier to search considering they can't kill you very easily with minimum
stats. As well as this, monsters at lower levels usually have a better
search rate.
j. Use status attack to render enemies useless - in order to prevent monsters
from harming you then you can easily cast statuses against them to make
them useless. It can be done using two methods - the first is by casting
spells however the second more reliable method is by using status attacks.
To avoid harming the enemy then it is possible to do this in conjunction
with an elemental attack that they will absorb, and this means that if
you are casting a temporary status against them then it is possible to
cast berserk on an ally other than Rinoa so it continually is cast with
no harm to the enemy. Possible status effects to use would be: -
- Berserk - this only needs to be cast once, and it ensures the enemy
only does physical attacks against you that can be prevented with
defend and high evade. It has the advantage of also improving search
rate too.
- Blind - this is extremely useful against enemies such as T-Rexaur and
Iron Giant considering it means with decent evade, all attacks miss.
It is good to use in conjunction with berserk, and it also has the
advantage of only needing to be cast once.
- Silence - this is really useful if berserk fails. It prevents any
magic attacks taking place, meaning that it also helps the rate of
Angelo Search. It also helps to prevent the possibility of Angelo
Rush due to magical attacks, which are harder to block than physical
ones especially if they are non-elemental attacks. It wears off with
time though meaning the berserk strategy may be needed.
- Stop - this temporarily stops the enemy so you have no threats
against you. If you can continue to cast this with the berserker
method then you have no problems. The search rate increases if you
cast this, too!
- Sleep - this is the same as stop considering the enemy is temporarily
immobilised, but unfortunately you need to keep casting it. It really
helps your search rate too!
- Slow - this isn't the best to use but it essentially slows your death
against really difficult monsters. However, it can also help search
rate adding a double advantage. It is worth casting but only if you
can't cast others. It does wear off with time though...
k. Cast dispel on enemy - if the enemy you are fighting against has beneficial
statuses such as double/triple or haste. This will help your search rate
too!
l. Immobilise the enemy totally - you can do this either using gameshark codes
or alternatively the turtapod trick for this monster only. This will mean
that you are completely safe from any attack, and battles against
immobilised monsters are by far the easiest, and with the highest search
rate in the game. You can learn more about this in section IX d.
As you can see you have a lot of options, however it essentially depends on the
individual monster as to what method you use.
b. How to avoid killing your opponent: -
========================================
In the game you can kill your opponent unintentionally for quite a few reasons.
These are: -
- Due to Angelo Rush occurring as a counter attack.
- Due to Gilgamesh appearing as a timed event.
- Due to a counter attack occurring if you have the counter attack ability
equipped.
- Due to you becoming berserked/confused meaning that you kill the enemy.
i. Preventing Angelo Rush from occurring: -
*******************************************
Angelo Rush is probably the hardest to control within the game, however it can
easily be controlled by the following methods: -
a. USE THE DEFEND COMMAND - This ability also helps you to survive in battle.
It is useful considering that
b. USE ELEMENTAL DEFENCES - If you know what elemental spells you need to
defend yourself then you can manipulate your elemental defense abilities
to absorb these spells instead.
c. Use status attacks - Use status attacks such as berserk, silence, blind,
blind, and stop to prevent the effectiveness of certain attacks. (see
above for more).
d. Dodge attacks - this can be done by boosting the luck/evade/speed stats
to increasing evade particularly if it is in conjunction with blind. This
means that most physical attacks will miss so Angelo Rush will not occur.
e. Keep Rinoa's strength low - If you keep Rinoa's strength at the minimum
then it is extremely unlikely that Angelo Rush will kill the enemy unless
the enemy's HP is low.
f. Fight enemies with high HP - if you fight an enemy such as Elnoyle with
its 30,000 HP at any level it is extremely unlikely Angelo Rush will kill
it, particularly if it is just a 9 hour search and Rinoa's strength is low.
g. Fight an enemy with curative abilities - If you fight an enemy that can
cure itself after being attacked such as Adamantoise it is very unlikely
that Angelo Rush will kill it especially if Rinoa's strength is low.
ii. Preventing Gilgamesh appearing: -
*************************************
If Gilgamesh appears it is more than likely that the battle will end
particularly if he uses Zantetsuken. He occurs as a timed event just like
Angelo Search itself, and by appearing it hinders the rate of Angelo Search
slightly too as I earlier discussed.
The best way to prevent Gilgamesh appearing is by not obtaining him whatsoever
by waiting until disc 4 to get Odin. Odin is actually a better GF to begin
with anyway! Alternatively, if you have Gilgamesh then you can only be assured
that your overnight search will be a success if he has already appeared, which
unfortunately involves a lot of waiting.
iii. Preventing a counter attack: -
**********************************
Although you can prevent the counter ability from causing a counter attack just
like Angelo Rush, it is much easier if you simply do not junction the counter
ability in the first place; this really isn't hard to prevent.
iv. Preventing berserk/confuse: -
*********************************
If there is an enemy that can potentially cast berserk or confuse on you then
the easiest way to prevent it from hindering your search is by simply boosting
your status defence so that neither confuse or berserk can possibly occur.
Alternatively you could cast a status such as sleep, stop, berserk or silence
to disable the enemy from casting statuses if necessary.
c. Individual Monster Strategies: -
===================================
Below is a list of strategies that can be used against each enemy in the game.
The status defense and element defense columns are what you should junction
to status defense-j and elemental defense-j for protection. Those that are in
brackets are optional consider they won't hinder your search.
===============================================================================
| Monster | Status | Element | Additional Information |
| Name | Defense | Defense | |
|=============================================================================|
| | | | Can counter own attacks - may rise after |
| Abyss Worm | None | Earth | casting protect/shell. Prevent with |
| | | | silence (or it will unblockable saliva) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Three totally unique items have appeared |
| Adamantoise | Berserk | None | against this enemy; something is |
| | | | about this monster (See Section VII c) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Use defend to protect against squeeze/ |
| Anacondour | Bio | Poison | head bonk. If it is below 50% HP then |
| | | | it will use poison mist. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Vulnerable to most statuses - blind, |
| Armadodo | None | Earth | sleep, stop, berserk, silence. This |
| | | | will prevent earthquake. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | One of the most best monsters to |
| Behemoth | None | Earth | search - vulnerable to berserk, silence, |
| | | Wind | sleep and slow |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | Sleep | | Status defense depends on level. Sleep = |
| Belhelmel | Confuse | Thunder | lv. 1-19, confuse = lv. 20-29, berserk |
| | Berserk | | = lv. 30+. Consistently bad for searches |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | It's best to use bite bugs below lv. 20 |
| Bite Bug | Berserk | None | considering they cast less status |
| | Bio | | changing attacks. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Blitz | None | Thunder | Vulnerable to berserk. |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Blobra | (Slow) | None | Vulnerable to sleep. |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | Pain | | Status defense is essential - casts |
| Blood Soul | Zombie | None | zombie then cure magic. Cast sleep on it |
| | Berserk | | to hinder it - manual searching better. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | Death | | |
| Blue Dragon | Petrify | Poison | Use blind and sleep to hinder it. |
| | Bio | | Use lv. down to prevent serious harm. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Bomb | None | Fire | Vulnerable to sleep and stop. Never |
| | | | attack it or it will explode! |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Vulnerable to berserk and silence. It |
| Buel | (Death) | Fire | will use death as a desperation attack |
| | | Thunder | only - status defence not really needed. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Cactuar | None | None | It is vulnerable to stop but it will |
| | | | probably escape before you can search. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Cater- | Berserk | None | Berserk it to avoid any status effects. |
| chipillar | Stop | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | Petrify | Thunder | |
| Chimera | Confuse | Wind | It's good to search but it requires lots |
| | Stop | Water | of preparation. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Cockatrice | Petrify | Thunder | Vulnerable to sleep. |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Heartbreak is a non-elemental confuse |
| Creeps | None | Thunder | attack that cannot be stopped - Creeps' |
| | | | HP low so keep Rinoa's strength low too. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Use sleep and blind. Keep your evade |
| Death Claw | Death | None | high. Do not let its HP drop below |
| | Sleep | | 50% as it results in explosion attack. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Fight below lv. 30 considering there is |
| Elnoyle | Death | Holy | only a weak storm breath and physical |
| | | | attack. Will still survive Angelo Rush. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Don't do anything to them as their shark |
| Fasticalon | None | None | form is more powerful with its highly |
| | | | accurate non-elemental sand storm. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Fasticalon-F | None | None | Same as Fasticalon! |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | Pain | | |
| Forbidden | Death | None | Vulnerable to sleep. Beware of status |
| | Stop | | attack. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Funguar | Sleep | Poison | Cast confuse on it to render it harmless.|
| | Bio | Fire | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Gayla | Sleep | None | Gaylas under lv. 20 only use physical |
| | | | attacks. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | One of the easiest and best to search. |
| Geezard | (Slow) | Fire | Cast blind and silence to render them |
| | | | useless. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Glacial Eye | Silence | Ice | Just cast blind and silence. |
| | Petrify | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Vulnerable to berserk but immune to |
| Grand Mantis | None | None | blind - high evade and defend is |
| | | | necessary. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Grat | Sleep | None | Vulnerable to sleep. |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Grendel | None | Thunder | Vulnerable to sleep and stop. |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Immune to all statuses other than Vit 0. |
| Hexadragon | None | Fire | Breath is non-elemental so good defence |
| | | | is necessary. It's a nightmare to search!|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | Thunder | |
| | Berserk | Wind | |
| Imp | Confuse | Ice | For such a small enemy it is really hard |
| | Blind | Earth | to search against; use manual searching |
| | | Fire | if necessary or go for an easier option! |
| | | Holy | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | This has consistently been one of the |
| Iron Giant | None | None | best monsters to search. Just cast blind |
| | | | for a safe overnight search! |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | Fire | |
| Jelleye | None | Ice | Vulnerable to silence. |
| | | Thunder | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Lefty | None | Thunder | Vulnerable to silence. |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | Pain | | With high speed, high spirit and auto |
| Malboro | Confuse | None | haste it is certainly possible to search |
| | Berserk | | Malboro. It also provided a unique item |
| | Petrify | | (phoenix pinion) - see section VII c. |</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Despite its speed it is an excellent |
| Mesmerize | None | None | target! Break off its horn to reduce |
| | | | attack animation for faster search rate. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | It has highly accurate attacks. |
| Ochu | Sleep | Earth | Defend is a must for maximum success |
| | | | at overnight searching. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Oilboyle | None | None | Keep Rinoa's strength low against it. |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | This enemy only appears once and it is |
| PuPu | None | None | very easy to search against. However, |
| | | | its pleads have long attack animations. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Raldo | None | None | It only has a claw attack! Cast |
| | | | darkness! They're in Ultimecia's Castle. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | The status attacks only occur if they |
| Red Bat | Sleep | None | are attacked and somehow survive. |
| | Confuse | | They are immune to blind. Use defend! |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Only use two members in battle to prevent|
| Ruby Dragon | None | Fire | breath. Cast darkness to hinder it. |
| | | Wind | Its results are reasonable. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Snow Lion | None | Ice | Vulnerable to berserk. A superb target! |
| | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Vulnerable to many statuses. Worth a try!|
| Thustaevis | None | Wind | Use berserker trick if necessary as it |
| | | | absorbs wind. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Tonberry | None | None | A good target to search, however auto- |
| | | | potion with X-potion is necessary. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | Thunder | It's magic varies largely at each level |
| Torama | Death | Poison | a lot but low levels are safe (confuse, |
| | Break | Wind | thunder, and poison defense needed). |
| | Confuse | Holy | It's vulnerable to sleep. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | It is vulnerable to many statuses |
| T-Rexaur | None | None | including blind. It is a reliable, and |
| | | | easy monster to search! |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | It is vulnerable to blind. It only uses |
| Tri-Face | Poison | Bio | its acid attack as a desperation attack |
| | Confuse | | - no harmful statuses inflicted. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | This is the best and easiest monster to |
| Turtapod | None | None | search. Use turtapod trick on lv. 30 + |
| | | | by confusing a defended one. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | |
| Vysage | Confuse | Wind | Remove lefty/righty if both are with the |
| | | | Vysage to maximise search rate and ease. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | Save the worst to last! This is has |
| Wendigo | None | None | been the worst to search as it's fast |
| | | | with long, unavoidable attacks. |
===============================================================================
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
XI. Frequently Asked Questions: -
---------------------------------------------
In this section we hope to answer all those frequently asked questions that
people want to know about for Angelo Search. If you keep E-mailing us at
[email protected] and
[email protected] then we can hopefully
extend this section to help all those that are baffled in some way about
Angelo Search! Here they are: -
QUESTION: Can I get a Ribbon/Friendship/Mog's Amulet from Angelo Search?
*********
ANSWER: The simple answer to this is "no" - even if a better random number
------- generator were to be used these items would always have no
probability of occurring. Any claims that these have been found
to be unreliable! The only way you can get these items is with
the pocket station.
QUESTION: Why can't I start Angelo Searching earlier in the game?
*********
ANSWER: Pet Pals Volume 5 does not appear until disc 3 in Esthar - you
------- cannot learn Angelo Search if you do not have the magazine!!
QUESTION: Is it possible to use gameshark codes to enable Angelo Searching
********* earlier in the game?
ANSWER: I believe this is possible however it isn't really recommended
------- considering that you will not gain any more from Angelo Search
by searching early bosses, or any other enemy that doesn't appear
again after disc 3. There really isn't anything special about
them; this is because the majority of these enemies are likely
to have a fairly average search rate. It is much more beneficial
to wait and fight against the best enemies such as Iron Giant
and Turtapod.
QUESTION: Angelo Rush constantly hinders my searches. Is it possible
********* to unlearn it?
ANSWER: Sadly you can't - it'll hinder you from beginning to end.
------- However with defend and appropriate elemental defenses it shouldn't
be a problem. See Section X above for more details!
QUESTION: If I don't learn Angelo Recover and Angelo Reverse then will my
********* searches be better?
ANSWER: It will help your search rate to some extent if you do not learn
------- these moves however it is really no tragedy if you have already
learnt them! Angelo Recover and Angelo Reverse are triggered
instead of Angelo Search if the conditions are right however,
it isn't too difficult to control either! Sometimes Angelo
Recover and Angelo Reverse can be advantageous in battle so unless
you are doing a game specifically for Angelo Search then it isn't
a problem if you learn them! It's your decision, really!
QUESTION: What bosses does Angelo Search work against?
*********
ANSWER: Angelo Search can work against all bosses that you can fight
------- after visiting the Sorceress Memorial in Disc 3. These are: -
- Fuujin and Raijin (in Lunatic Pandora)
- Mobile Type 8 (in Lunatic Pandora - needs manual searching)
- Seifer (in Lunatic Pandora)
- Adel (in Lunatic Pandora - needs manual searching)
- "Sorceress" (during time compression)
- All Ultimecia Castle Bosses
- Ultima Weapon (needs manual searching)
- Omega Weapon (the ultimate challenge - needs manual searching)
- Sacred/Minotaur (wait till disc 3/4 to get them)
- Diablos (wait till disc 3/4 to fight it)
- Jumbo Cactuar (manual searching is generally necessary)
- Tonberry King (manual searching is generally necessary)
QUESTION: What bosses are best to search?
*********
ANSWER: Tri-Point is probably the best and one of the easiest to search.
------- You just need elemental absorb for thunder and you should be
fine! The majority of the Ultimecia Castle bosses receive fair
results.
QUESTION: Is it better to search bosses rather than normal enemies?
*********
ANSWER: No!! Generally bosses are much harder to prepare a decent search
------- against considering they use many non-elemental attacks that
are often unblockable. They are both difficult, and unreliable
to search against, and the majority of them require manual
assistance considering it is generally impossible to full prepare
an overnight search against them. However, it makes a fun
challenge!
QUESTION: Is high speed and luck essential for the success of your search?
*********
ANSWER: It certainly isn't! It neither promotes or hinders the rate of
------- searching although admittedly it helps to boost your evade stat
in order for you to search safely. However the defend ability
means you don't really need evade!! Don't worry about boosting
them.
QUESTION: How long should I wait to get a good item?
*********
ANSWER: If you are overnight searching then it is possible that you can
------- get a good item within the first 5 minutes however, this is quite
inprobable so a longer search period will certainly help. A
decent search time is about 9 hours, which is ideal for overnight
searching. It's all luck at the end of the day though!
QUESTION: What are the best items, then?
*********
ANSWER: The four best items are Hungry Cookpot, Healing Ring, Status
------- Guard and Aegis Armlet. That's why Angelo Search is just so great!
QUESTION: Is there a better chance of receiving better items against
********* certain monsters?
ANSWER: No - each monsters carries the same probability of receiving each
------- item with the potential exception of Malboro and Adamantoise in
which unique items have been received against.
QUESTION: Does the monster's location affect Angelo Search in any way?
*********
ANSWER: In spite of earlier theories Angelo Search is not affected by the
------- monster's location whatsoever. Many search results have disproved
this, and as well as this there has been no direct programming
found to show that it could affect it.
QUESTION: Does the monster's speed affect the Angelo Search rate?
*********
ANSWER: As I discussed in Section IX the slower the monster the better it
------- is to search due to free ATB time. However, the factor of the
length of the monster's attacks is much more important than this!
QUESTION: Will overnight searching affect your Playstation?
*********
ANSWER: If your Playstation is old then I daresay it could affect your
------- Playstation's life however, generally in moderation overnight
searching is fine. However, don't do a search insanely long
though!
QUESTION: Talking of which... What's the record for the longest Angelo
********* Search?
ANSWER: Squall20000's 336 hour search is the longest at the sacrifice of
------- his Playstation! Any challengers?
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
XII. Credits: -
---------------------------------------------
Over the years of Angelo Search we have been helped by a lot of dedicated
people who have made this guide possible! We would like to thank all these
people who have helped and hopefully will help in the future. However, here
is some special thanks to some of the most notable contributors to this
project: -
- Czardragon - His mighty hacking skills are what allowed much of the empirics
behind Angelo Search to be discovered. He is responsible for the item lists
and a whole lot of technical info that we wouldn't have ever discovered!
- Mercurius - His technical knowledge was essential for the success of this
project particularly regarding manual searching. The manual searching and
empirics section would not be possible without him. He deserves a lot of
thanks!
- The Admiral - His help with the FAQ was especially useful, and so is all
his technical info that he introduced to the project.
- Ringworm - His technical help has been a fantastic help, particularly with
manual searching. He was also one of the earliest contributors to this
project.
- Seibaby - It is thanks to him that we have the easy reference manual
searching tables, and the gameshark codes to disable enemies! Her help
has been much appreciated.
- Squall20000 - He is the proud record holder for the longest search, and
he has been a great help with the gathering of results!
- Priest of Gix - Your results and contributions were of great help to us
and we really appreciate them!
- Mr Doom - He's been a very active contributor with gathering results, and
he deserves a lot of recognition!
- Neo Granzon - He was a huge help in the early stages of the projects, and
he did a very impressive endurance search of 85 hours!
- DarkInsanity - Thanks to him for keeping the Angelo Search topics bumped
and full of life.
- CJayC and Gamefaqs - Thanks for single handedly running this site, and
for hosting this guide!
- Simjam - A special thanks from DarkLordOfTheSith for all your dedication
and effort into this project. You've been fantastic, and it's paid off!
- DarkLordOfTheSith - For re-writing the FAQ and staying dedicated to the
project!!
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
XIII. Contact Information: -
---------------------------------------------
In order to contact us then you can use either
[email protected] or
[email protected] - we will both be sure to reply and help you!
Contact us for the following reasons: -
a. If you want permission to host this guide (you must contact us)
b. If you want to provide feedback about the guide including ways on how to
improve it.
c. If you need help with Angelo Search in any way as long as it isn't already
in the FAQ in the first place! We are always pleased to help!
d. If you want to contribute to FAQ in some way with new information.
===============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
XIV. Copyright Information: -
---------------------------------------------
This document is protected by law. You cannot sell, trade,
offer as apromotion, or receive any profit directly or indirectly from t
he use ofthis document. It is for private use only and may be printed.
This document cannot be altered from it's original form in any manner.
If you wish to host this guide then you must contact me otherwise you will be
infringing copyright law, which is a criminal offence. Although we probably
would let you host this guide, it really is essential that you ask first!
Thank you for reading this guide - I hope it has helped and interested you!
Copyright 2003 Chris Greening and Simon Richards.
===============================================================================
