Vagrant Story v1.1

by Samdelazie.   Email : [email protected]


================
Revision History
================

21/5/00  Version 1.1
          - Added a section under Weapons and Armors - Basic Idea
            in Combining
          - posted the map for 'Snowfly Forest' as requested by some.

20/5/00  Version 1.0



=================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================

Disclaimer

About the Game

Game Progress

General Instructions * please read

Weapons and Armors
- Forging Powerful Equipments
- Choosing Weapons
     i) Dagger
    ii) Sword
   iii) Great Sword
    iv) Axe & Mace
     v) Great Axe
    vi) Staff
   vii) Heavy Mace
  viii) Polearm
    ix) Crossbow
     x) Unarmed
- Basic Idea in Combining

Break Arts
(to be updated)

Battle Abilities
- Chain Abilities
- Defense Abilities

Magic
(to be updated)

Boss Strategies
- Raging Combo!
- Phantom Menace

Leveling Up?
- Increasing Basic Stats
- Building Up Powerful Equipments

Miscellaneous
- Analyzing Enemies

Walkthrough
     i) Wine Cellar
         - Minotaur
         - Dullahan
    ii) Catacombs
         - Ghost
         - Lizardmen
   iii) Sanctum
         - Golem
         - Dragon
    iv) Town Center West
         - Duane
     v) City Walls West
    vi) Abandoned Mines B1
         - Wyvern
         - Fire Elemental
         - Ogre



==========
Disclaimer
==========

Copyright Samdelazie 2000

 This FAQ cannot be reproduced and can only be used in its
original form.  Do not use it to gain profits of any sort because
it was not meant to be used like that.  This FAQ is by gamer for
gamers.  It is also my way of expressing appreciation towards the
game and I will not tolerate any misuse of this guide.

 Permission for any commercial use will definitely be denied but
other reasons may be considered.  You may get my permission
by sending an e-mail to [email protected] and receive a
reply, stating permission is granted.





==============
About the Game
==============
  I am not going to write about how wonderful -Vagrant Story- is, which
it is.  I think the 'professional' game reviewer will do a better job.
I just want to say that this game might be one of the few games that can
be classified as HARD in the recent years.  This is indeed quite
unexpected from Squaresoft.  I guess that Squaresoft CAN make insanely-
difficult-to-beat games; it's just that they choose not to.  Another
surprise is that the only FMV so far is the intro.  I bet the game is
from the same developer of -Final Fantasy Tactics-, which BTW is my
favorite of all time.

  As I've said, this game can be tough.  One friend of mine just dismiss
the game simply because he cannot 'chain'.  I'm telling you this : there
are not many people out there who have this 'gift to chain'. Frankly,
I don't think it's something gifted either but rather it's by the
experience with Tekken, Dragonball Z and dancing games. Don't just give
up like that!  The game doesn't require you to do a 20 chain every time.
I have covered around the first half of the game and I can truly say that
if you can do 1 chain confidently, it's already good enough. The timing
for defense is more important.  I hope this will help the beginners to
stay on with the game.




=============
Game Progress
=============
  I have covered up to the point where the 'teleportation' magic is
made available.  Then it has become impossible to go on when I meet the
..-Dark Phantom-.  I hate to say how great he is but I must admit I'm
no match for him.  Ashley has been great all this while: literally
having dragons for breakfast, collecting skulls as hobby and seeking
pleasure in seeing the knights suffering a slow and painful death; but
now..
  I'm writing this guide based on the second game.  If you have any
problem or stuck, you can reach me by ([email protected]).  Updates
may be a bit slow because I'm not a full-time gamer..yet.



====================
General Instructions
====================
  Read the tutorial in the game.  Squaresoft has done a great job with
it.  My knowledge was solely based on what is written and this FAQ will
not repeat what's already in there.  So, I would assume that you have
read it and possess some basic knowledge about EVERYTHING.

  In this guide, I will not direct you to go back and save your
progress.  But that does not mean it is not necessary.  Save your
progress regularly, especially before boss fight.  You may run a chance
of getting killed or perhaps the bonus you get after the fight is not
of satisfactory (if you're a perfectionist like me!).

  The same applies when you encounter a workshop.  Always remember to
REPAIR all your weapons.  A weapon with DP approaching 0 will decrease
tremendously in performance.  The next time you meet a boss and you find
that your weapon is doing 0 damage to him,  check the DP.  You will be
saying to yourself "Why so stupid?!".

  My final instruction is that this FAQ is and will NOT be a COMPLETE
guide to the game.  The way to use this FAQ/Walkthrough or whatever you
call it, is to complement it with other wonderful FAQs on the internet,
which will cover all subjects in much greater depth.



==================
Weapons and Armors
==================

---------------------------
Forging Powerful Equipments
---------------------------
 I will not explain how exactly 'combine' works, as I'm still
experimenting. The only known positive combination is with bronze and
iron, which will produce Hagane.  You can even use combine to 'evolve'
your weapon, that is, by changing the weapon type. This is very useful
especially when you have gained all BREAK ARTs for a weapon type and you
wish to change into using another, while retaining the stats.

 When combining, try to make weapons and armors that bear unique names
such as -Awl Pike-, -Mjolnir-, -Francisca-, -Basinet- etc.  Most of
these equipments are already at its best and will degrade when combined
with any other regular equipment.  I forgot how I got those , but I
think is by combining the regular ones.  For more superior equipments,
I think the next step is to combine uniques.  If at one point you find
it difficult to go on with the game, try to do some 'combining' with
the weapons and armors in your inventory.  Trust me, it DOES make a
difference.


---------------
Choosing Weapon
---------------
 One thing may not be clear in the tutorial is about CLASS growth.
It is stated that as 1 CLASS increases, the CLASSes below it decrease.
But, how MANY CLASSes below it decrease?  By the example given, it may
seems that only 2 is affected.  So, I would assume that a weapon can
actually be used for two CLASSes:

         HUMAN  / PHANTOM
         BEAST  / DRAGON
         UNDEAD / EVIL

 So, it would be a norm to carry 3 weapons at all time (I carried 6
for my first game, URRRGH!).  But don't take my word for it,  verify it
for yourself by turning on the WEAPON STATUS and ARMOR STATUS in the
options.

 As you may already know it from the tutorial, there are 10 weapon
types(including unarmed) and 4 break arts for each.  Things to be
considered include the STRENGTH, INTELLINGENCE, AGILITY, RISK and
RANGE. Str, Int and Agi are quite obvious and need no explanation, but
RISK and RANGE are the attributes that's often neglected. No use of
having a weapon that has 40 in str but has 1 in RANGE and 3 in RISK.
Get what I mean?

 Also, all one-handed weapons will receive a bonus for they allow the
use of SHIELD.  The defense bonuses received from shields are too great
to be ignored.  It can reduce magic spells damage from (((50 to 60) x 5)
= you're dead!) to (((5 to 10) x 5) = no sweat!)), provided that you
have the right gems attached.

 This is not verified - it seems that when you cast 'Heal', in battle
mode holding a two-handed weapon, the effectiveness is increased by
150%-200%.  If it is so, then two-handed weapon should receive a bonus
too.  Maybe this is to make up the losses of not being able to hold a
shield.

 The type(blunt/edged/piercing) however does not play a vital role in
the game, even though there ARE preferences.  From the information that
I found from analyzing enemies, it may seems that HUMAN and UNDEAD have
different resistances toward weapon types, being the 'edged' as the
neutral. This is because most HUMAN and UNDEAD can wear armors that
will modify these values.  So, 'blunt' weapon may not NECESSARILY be
the best weapon against UNDEAD.  The 'edged' is preferred against
HUMAN.  But there is one thing I'm sure about is that most BEASTs in
the early stages is less resistant towards 'piercing' weapon.
The conclusion is all 'piercing' weapon should receive a bonus against
BEASTs, at least in the early stages.


 DAGGER
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : one-handed piercing
   RANGE : horrible!
   STRONG : undead
   WEAK : beast, evil, phantom

   COMMENTS : The result was based heavily on RANGE.  Many of the
              BEASTs and EVILs are of flying type, and you won't be
              able to EVEN scratch them with that dagger of yours.
              As for PHANTOMs, the word 'teleport' says it all.
              However you get the 'Soul Kiss' quite early in the game,
              which is a powerful dagger against UNDEAD.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------



 SWORD
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : one-handed edged/piercing
   RANGE : average
   STRONG : beast, undead, evil
   WEAK : none

   COMMENTS : You can't go wrong with -Fandango- (one-handed edged
              sword). As the default weapon for Ashley, -Fandango- is
              indeed the most well-balanced weapon, if you discount
              the str of it.  The piercing Sword, like -Rapier- will
              have advantage against BEAST.  If you take BREAK ARTs
              into consideration, the fourth BREAK ART has light
              affinity - great against UNDEAD and some EVIL.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------


 GREAT SWORD
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : two-handed edged
   RANGE : good
   STRONG : none
   WEAK : none either

   COMMENTS : I like Great Swords actually.  They all look great.
              I'm developing one right now: it's called the
              'Executioner', so not much can be said about Great Sword
              at the moment.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------


 AXE AND MACE
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : one-handed edged/blunt
   RANGE : average
   STRONG : none
   WEAK : none

   COMMENTS : Another well-balanced weapon and you get -Tovarisch- at
              the beginning of the game.  This will be the weapon that
              you will develop besides the Sword at the beginning.
              But there is one advice - always pick Axe(edged).  The
              first two BREAK ARTs will have 'blunt' attacks.  So, now
              you can have two alternatives to attack - edged, blunt.
              Come to think of it, the Axe may be better than the
              Sword after all!  At first, I thought that this is the
              IDEAL weapon for UNDEAD.  But after developing until the
              fourth BREAK ARTS - which is of Dark affinity, I dismiss
              the thought.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------


 GREAT AXE
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : two-handed edged
   RANGE : good
   STRONG : human?
   WEAK : none

   COMMENTS : This gruesome head-chopper would REALLY put some fear in
              the Knights. For some reason, I can normally do 10 chains
              with the Great Axe especially against the Knights.  The
              only weakness I see in the Great Axe is that you will
              need a considerable wide space to make a full swing. If
              not, you will attack at a slower rate.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------


 STAFF
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : one-handed blunt
   RANGE : average
   STRONG : undead, evil
   WEAK : none

   COMMENTS : Staff is usually used by priests, so it is expected to
              deal extra damage against the dark ones.  Take -Magnolia
              Frau- for instance. It comes with +20 against UNDEAD and
              +5 against EVIL.  The attack comes out quite fast too!
              This is by far the fastest weapon in the game.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------


 HEAVY MACE
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : two-handed blunt
   RANGE : good
   STRONG : human, undead
   WEAK : none

   COMMENTS : I have this -Mjolnir- in my inventory and it says - it
              is used to crush armored knights.  So I guess Heavy Mace
              was meant to hammer the Knights, giving them a dizzy
              blow!
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------


 POLEARM
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : two-handed piercing/blunt
   RANGE : good
   STRONG : beast
   WEAK : none

   COMMENTS : Go for the 'blunt' polearm if you have one.  This is
              because the first two BREAK ARTs are of 'piercing'. The
              only one I've seen so far is the -Scorpion-.  The
              polearm has good range, but the attack is hard to time.
              Doing even 1 chain can be a problem, at least to me.
              I guess if I can solve the timing problem, it can be a
              very powerful weapon indeed.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------


 CROSSBOW
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : two-handed piercing/blunt
   RANGE : excellent!
   STRONG : anything!
   WEAK : none

   COMMENTS : There is no other way to put it.  The Crossbow is the
              best weapon in the game! It beats any other weapons in
              terms of RANGE.  It's the easiest weapon to time - I
              can always do 16 - 18 chains each time: making it the
              best weapon to level up in battle abilities.  It's so
              easy I can even do it with my eyes closed!  The BREAK
              ARTs pushes its potential even further, as if the
              Crossbow isn't good enough.  Well, despite all, it does
              have tiny little flaws.  The RISK to handle all
              Crossbow is high, with the minimum of 2 even for the
              weakest and the Str is relatively lower also compared to
              other two-handed weapons.  Other than that, Crossbow is
              simply amazing.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------


 UNARMED
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
   TYPE : one-handed blunt?
   RANGE : what range?!
   STRONG : Huh?
   WEAK : everything!

   COMMENTS : From the best to the worst.  I'm sorry to say that you
              shouldn't go Unarmed in anytime at all. But I will not
              intimidate the limitation of going Unarmed any further
              as I'm leaving it to the possibility that I just have
              not discovered its potential.  However, you can still
              use a shield and it does have some cool looking BREAK
              ARTs (all BREAK ARTs look cool BTW). The third one is
              of light affinity. It may be useful against UNDEAD and
              the almighty -Dark Phantom-.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------


-----------------------
Basic Idea in Combining
-----------------------
  The main idea about combining is to experiment.  It's meant to add
some fun factor in the game.  I can assure you that the results will
not be dissapointing.  I would suggest that you try to combine shields
first as it is the easiest to do. Weapons are better if found rather
than forged.

  Every time you do combining, it's hard not to have some sort of
hierarchical charts on your mind.  I will try to map it out in a simple
and visible form.

  Regular : Short Sword, Chain Leggings, Gauntlet
  Special : Mjolnir, Missaglia, Rondanche

  It is assumed that you are combining with the same equipment types
(helmet with helmet, sword with sword).  Combination of different types
is allowed but it requires more analysis.  This holds true when you want
to 'evolve' your weapons.

  You would probably need at least three regular ones for each, and of
course if you have some special ones, it's even better!

  Regular (a) + Regular (b) = Special (c)
  Regular (a or b) + Regular (d) = Special (e)
  Special (c) + Special (e) = Special (f)
  Special (f) + Special (c or e) = Special (g)

 This is a loop, as Special(g) at some point will be a regular(g)
again.  It will becomes clearer with the example given.  I forgot the
exact combination. I only thought of experimenting at that moment and
did not make any notes, so pardon me for any mistakes.

  Spiked Shield + Kite Shield      = Heater Shield
  Spiked Shield + Circle Shield    = Casserole Shield
  Heater Shield + Casserole Shield = Oval Shield
  Oval Shield   + Heater Shield    = Knight Shield

 Do you get the idea?  Of course, when you have found a couple of
Knight Shields, then the Knight Shields will become regular shields. I
think the Knight Shield can be further upgraded if you can find another
Oval Shield.

 I will not advise you to follow exactly the example given.  It was meant
to give you a rough idea on how combining works.  Discovering some special
combinations can be satisfying.  I'm not going to rip you off that
satisfaction.  Explore for yourself!



==========
Break Arts
==========
 (to be updated)



================
Battle Abilities
================

---------------
Chain Abilities
---------------
 Using chain abilities raises your risk.  So, even though you can
easily pull a 15 chains on average, use them sparingly.  The speed
of the attack depends on the risk it inflicts:

        RISK 1 - fastest (a quick swing)
        RISK 2 - slowest ('sucking' motion)
        RISK 3 - medium  (a twist)

 The number beside the ability are its level.  You start with
abilities level 0.  When you first level up in battle abilities,
you get to choose from level 1 abilities.  The next time you level
up, you can choose from the rest of the level 1 abilities OR from
level 2 and so on.

0)  HEAVY SHOT - inflicts an amount of additional damage equal to 70%
                of damage dealt (RISK 1).

0)  GAIN LIFE - regenerates an amount of Ashley's HP equal to 30% of
               damage dealt (RISK 2).

0)  TEMPER - inflicts an additional 40% of damage on foe and repairs a
            small amount of weapon DP (RISK 2).

1)  MIND ASSAULT - reduces foe's MP by an amount equal to 30% damage
                  dealt (RISK 1).

1)  GAIN MAGIC - regenerates an amount of Ashley's MP equal to 30% of
                damage dealt (RISK 2).

1)  NUMBING CLAW - adds numbness to attack (RISK 3).

1)  SNAKE VENOM - adds poison to attack (RISK 3).

2)  DULLING IMPACT - adds silent to attack (RISK 3).

3)  INSTILL - inflicts additional damage equal to 10% of damage dealt
             and adds that amount to PP (RISK 1).

4)  RAGING ACHE - inflicts an amount of additional damage equal to 10%
                 of the damage Ashley has sustained (RISK 1).

5)  MIND ACHE - reduces foe's MP by an amount equal to 20% of the MP
               Ashley's has used (RISK 1).

6)  PARALYSIS PULSE - adds paralysis to attack (RISK 3).

7)  CRIMSON PAIN - inflicts additional damage equal to 100% of damage
                  on foe and deals 30% of base damage to Ashley
                  (RISK 2).

8) *PHANTOM PAIN - inflicts additional damage equal to the total
                  accumulated Phantom Points in Ashley's weapon
                  (RISK 3).

     * you have to obtain all abilities(level 0-7) in order to get it.
       So, this has to be the ULTIMATE chain ability.

[ Level up ] : get to 'Paralysis Pulse' as soon as possible, as it is
one of the most useful chain ability in the game. Then you can resume
to develop the defense ability.

[ Usefulness ] : As I level up in chain abilities, I really do hope for
an ability that can reduce RISK.  If such ability exists, it has to be
the most useful ability in the game.  But unfortunately, it doesn't.
So, be content with what you have.  'Paralysis Pulse' is the best for
regular combat, 'Raging Ache' for boss fight, 'Dulling Impact' for
mages and 'Heavy Shot' for general purpose. See -Combo- to learn how to
utilise these skills effectively.


-----------------
Defense Abilities
-----------------
 Don't underestimate defense abilities!  I have defeated bosses by
using ONLY defense abilities.

 The number beside the ability are its level.  You start with
abilities level 0.  When you first level up in battle abilities,
you get to choose from level 1 abilities.  The next time you level
up, you can choose from the rest of the level 1 abilities OR from
level 2 and so on.

0)  WARD - successful use of this ability prevents paralysis and
          numbness (RISK 1).

0)  REFLECT DAMAGE - reflect 40% of damage. Does not reduce damage
                    received. Effective versus non-magical attacks
                    (RISK 2).

0)  IMPACT GUARD - reduces physical damage by 50% (RISK 4).

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