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Dark Cloud Weapons FAQ
Version 1.1
Last Update: June 22nd, 2001
Created By: Richard Trainham

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Table of Contents:

I.   Introduction
II.  Weapon Abilities
III. Weapon Evolution
IV.  Weapon Attributes
V.   Weapon Strategies

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I. Introduction
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This is not a general FAQ for Dark Cloud.  It only covers the development of
weapons during the course of the game.  I am making this FAQ since this
information is not readily available in Prima's Dark Cloud guide, or in any
existing FAQ that I have seen on the net.  The purpose of the guide is to
help others playing the game in developing their weapons more efficiently.

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II.  Weapon Abilities
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Some weapons in the game have special abilities when found, or gain special
abilities when the evolve.  These abilities can be passed on to other weapons
through synthspheres.  Some abilities will cancel each other out, and give a
weapon with neither ability.  From my experience the abilities that will
cancel each other are:

Quench  <-> Thirst
Durable <-> Fragile
Drain   <-> Heal
Poor    <-> Bigbucks

So far I have only found a dozen or so weapons with abilities. They are:

Swords
 Kitchen Knife     Quench
 Sand Breaker      Thirst
 Antique Sword     Stop
 Drain Seeker      Drain   (Gained when evolved into)
Slings
 Bandit Slingshot  Steal
 Hardshooter       Durable (Sometimes)
 Double Impact     Fragile (Sometimes)
 Angel Shooter     Heal    (Gained when evolved into)
Hammers/Axes
 Trial Hammer      Poor AbsUp
 Big Bucks Hammer  Bigbucks
Rings
 Bandit's Ring     Steal
Staffs/Polearms
 Scorpion          Poison

Note:  I have not found a weapon with the Ability "Critical", although this
ability is in the Dark Cloud manual.

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III. Weapon Evolution
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Weapons can be made stronger throught the absorption of synthspheres, gems
and attachments when a weapon is upgraded.  Most weapons can be evolved into
one or two other weapons when the attributes of the weapon they can evolve
into are met.  Following is a list of all the weapons I have seen as well as
what weapon they will evolve into.  The format is:

Name of Weapon   (Max Att/Max Mag) -> evolve choice#1/evolve choice#2

The first choice of the weapon to be evolved into is always the top choice
when you choose to try to build-up the weapon.  If the weapon only has one
choice into what it can evolve, then there will be no second choice listed.

The Max Att is the maximum attack value that the weapon can have, while the
Max Mag is the maximum magic value.  Sometimes I did not reach the maximum
value of the weapon, so I have entered in the maximum value I reached
followed by a "+".  So (30/40+) would mean a maximum attack value of 30 and
a maximum magic value of more than 40.

I have classified the weapons into "levels" which is a suggestion on their
relative strength.  When a weapon evolves, its evolved form is usually in
the next level listed.  Well anyways, on with the show:

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Swords:

Level 1:
Baselard         (??/??) -> ??
Crysknife        (40/38) -> Small Sword/Sand Breaker
Gladius          (37/36) -> Small Sword/Chopper
Kitchen Knife    (30/15) -> Chopper/Sax

Level 2:
Bone Rapier      (55/62) -> Evilcise
Buster Sword     (65/35) -> Claymore
Chopper          (65/43) -> Choora/Dusack
Sand Breaker     (68/45) -> Antique Sword
Sax              (65/41) -> Dusack
Serpent Sword    (70/55) -> Tsukikage/Evilcise
Shamshir         (60/39) -> Dusack
Small Sword      (60/60) -> Tsukikage

Level 3:
Antique Sword    (77/47) -> Brave Ark
Choora           (74/55) -> Heaven's Cloud/Maneater
Claymore         (68/45) -> Cross Hinder
Dusack           (78/45) -> Brave Ark/7 Branch Sword
Evilcise         (80/75) -> Drain Seeker
Macho Sword      (68/54) -> Aga’s Sword/Cross Hinder
Mardan Eins     (70/63+) -> Mardan Twei
Tsukikage       (68/68+) -> Heaven’s Cloud
Wise Owl Sword   (55/50) -> Lamb’s Sword

Level 4:
7 Branch Sword   (99/65) -> Atlamillia Sword
Aga’s Sword      (95/80) -> Atlamillia Sword
Brave Ark        (95/60) -> Dark Cloud
Cross Hinder    (110/60) -> Big Bang
Drain Seeker     (99/85) -> Dark Cloud
Heaven's Cloud (102/68+) -> Dark Cloud
Lamb’s Sword     (80/60) -> Atlamillia Sword
Maneater        (74+/63) -> Atlamillia Sword
Mardan Twei      (99/99) -> Arise Mardan
Sun Sword       (110/58) -> Big Bang

Level 5:
Atlamillia Sword (155/101) -> Chronicle Sword
Big Bang          (170/95) -> Sword Of Zeus
Dark Cloud        (145/99) -> 7th Heaven

Level 6:
7th Heaven       (240/110)
Arise Mardan     (250/120)
Chronicle Sword  (260/150)
Chronicle2       (350/200)
Sword Of Zeus   (199/108+)

Note: I accidently trashed the only baselard I got so I didn't manage to
get it's maximum stats or what weapon(s) it will evolve into.

Note: Lamb's Sword transforms into a more powerful form when it's Weapon
Points are low.  It will transform back when repaired.

Note: The Mardan Eins is a weapon that can be bought at any fishing area
after catching the Baron Garayan fish.  The conditions neccessary to
build up to the next level are not displayed like other weapons, so just
keep feeding it gems :)

Note: Chronicle2 is aquired after defeating the boss of the Demon Shaft.

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Slings:

Level 1:
Bandit Slingshot      (50/10) -> Hardshooter/Double Impact
Bone Slingshot        (35/10) -> Flamingo
Steel Slingshot       (35/10) -> Hardshooter

Level 2:
Flamingo              (55/18) -> Dragon’s Y
Hardshooter           (70/18) -> Double Impact/Matador
Steve                 (60/30) -> Super Steve

Level 3:
Double Impact         (88/30) -> Divine Beast Title
Dragon’s Y            (85/55) -> Divine Beast Title
Matador               (90/30) -> Divine Beast Title

Level 4:
Divine Beast Title (139+/43+) -> Angel Shooter
Super Steve          (130/80)

Level 5:
Angel Shooter        (182/99) -> Angel Gear

Level 6:
Angel Gear          (256/103)

Note: Steve and Super Steve both talk during battle with enemies.

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Hammers/Axes:

Level 1:
Frozen Tuna      (56/30) -> Turtle Shell

Level 2:
Big Bucks Hammer (80/30) -> Magical Hammer/Gaia Hammer
Trial Hammer     (77/40) -> Gaia Hammer
Turtle Shell     (78/25) -> Magical Hammer/Battle Ax

Level 3:
Battle Ax       (125/55) -> Satan’s Ax
Magical Hammer  (120/80) -> Gaia Hammer/Last Judgement

Level 4:
Gaia Hammer     (165/90) -> Tall Hammer
Last Judgement  (150/85) -> Tall Hammer
Satan’s Ax     (199/222) -> Inferno

Level 5:
Inferno        (350/300)
Tall Hammer    (260/200)

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Rings:

Level 1:
Thorn Armlet      (60/46) -> Platinum Ring

Level 2:
Bandit’s Ring     (38/55) -> Crystal Ring/Pocklekul
Platinum Ring     (50/65) -> Crystal Ring/Fairy’s Ring

Level 3:
Crystal Ring      (80/88) -> Goddess Ring/Satan’s Ring
Pocklekul         (66/70) -> Fairy’s Ring

Level 4:
Fairy’s Ring      (66/90) -> Destruction Ring
Goddess Ring     (95/128) -> Athena’s Armlet
Satan’s Ring     (95/128) -> Mobius Ring

Level 5:
Athena’s Armlet (128/220) -> Secret Armlet
Destruction Ring  (99/99) -> Mobius Ring

Level 6:
Mobius Ring      (99/250)
Secret Armlet   (155/300)

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Staffs/Polearms:

Level 1:
Halberd          (80/20) -> Scorpion
Javelin          (85/20) -> De Sanga/Partisan

Level 2:
De Sanga        (110/20) -> Cactus
Partisan         (95/30) -> Cactus
Scorpion         (99/30) -> Mirage/Cactus

Level 3:
Cactus          (155/30) -> Terra Sword
Mirage          (150/40) -> Terra Sword/Hercules’
Wrath

Level 4:
Hercules’ Wrath (256/50)
Terra Sword     (220/66) -> Babel’s Spear

Level 5:
Babel’s Spear   (321/80)

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Guns:

Level 1:
Jackal        (55/25) -> Blessing Gun/Swallow
Snail         (65/55) -> Blessing Gun/Hexa Blaster

Level 2:
Blessing Gun  (56/30) -> Skunk
Swallow       (72/30) -> G Crusher

Level 3:
G Crusher     (99/35) -> Star Breaker
Skunk         (72/55) -> Hexa Blaster

Level 4:
Hexa Blaster (128/90) -> Supernova
Star Breaker (120/45)

Level 5:
Supernova   (256/128)

Note: Star Breaker is a Machine Gun which can fire shots rapidly,
which makes up for its relatively low Attack power.

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IV.  Weapon Attributes
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This is a listing of all the weapons that I have aquired from sources other
than evolution.  They include all the starting attributes of the weapon as
well as the starting attack and magic values.  The reason behind this listing
is to help figure out how much you will need to build up a weapons attributes
to get to the next weapon by evolution.  For example the Antique Sword will
evolve into a Brave Ark.  By comparing thier stats:

Weapon Name      Att Mag Fi Ic Th Wi Ho Di Be Un Fl Fi Me St Mi Pl Ma
Antique Sword    37  25  6  0  0  0  20 20 0  8  0  0  0  10 10 0  0
Brave Ark        60  20  30 0  0  0  40 0  0  34 30 0  25 38 0  0  18

You will see that you need to increase your attack value to 60, Fire to 30,
Holy to 40, Undead to 34, Flying to 30, Metal to 25, Stone to 38 and Mage
to 18.  This will help determine whether to use a gem or just an attachment
depending on how close you are to meeting the required attribute.

Unfortunately, many weapons seem to only come by evolution, so they do not
have starting stats listed here.  I have yet to make a list of the minimum
requirement needed to meet all these weapons.


Swords:

Weapon Name      Att Mag Fi Ic Th Wi Ho Di Be Un Fl Fi Me St Mi Pl Ma
Baselard         8   4   6  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  10 0  0  0  0  0  0
Kitchen Knife    5   0   0  8  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  33 0  0  0  0  0
Gladius          10  6   0  0  0  0  5  0  0  15 0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Crysknife        12  8   0  0  0  0  8  0  5  5  5  0  0  0  0  0  0
Wise Owl Sword   30  12  0  0  0  16 0  0  12 0  0  0  0  0  0  12 12
Bone Rapier      15  30  0  5  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Shamshir         20  6   0  0  8  0  0  0  0  0  10 0  0  0  0  0  4
Small Sword      20  36  0  8  10 10 0  0  0  0  0  33 0  0  0  0  0
Chopper          30  15  0  0  10 0  0  0  10 10 0  0  10 0  0  0  10
Buster Sword     24  0   0  0  0  0  0  0  10 10 0  0  10 0  0  0  10
Sax              26  15  0  0  10 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  10 10 0
Sand Breaker     28  14  0  10 0  10 12 0  8  0  0  0  10 0  0  0  8
Macho Sword      43  20  0  0  0  0  0  0  12 0  0  0  0  8  35 0  0
Serpent Sword    22  8   0  0  14 12 0  21 24 0  23 12 0  0  0  23 0
Mardan Eins      50  50  5  5  5  5  5  10 0  8  0  10 0  10 10 0  0
Antique Sword    37  25  6  0  0  0  20 20 0  8  0  0  0  10 10 0  0
Lamb's Sword     45  20  0  0  20 0  20 0  35 0  35 0  0  0  0  30 0
Brave Ark        60  20  30 0  0  0  40 0  0  34 30 0  25 38 0  0  18
7 Branch Sword   65  35  20 20 20 20 20 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
SunSword         50  30  30 0  35 0  0  30 0  30 0  0  15 30 0  0  10
Cross Hinder     68  21  10 10 10 0  30 30 0  0  0  0  15 35 20 0  0
Chronicle2       199 110 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

Slings:

Weapon Name      Att Mag Fi Ic Th Wi Ho Di Be Un Fl Fi Me St Mi Pl Ma
Steel Slingshot  14  0   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  5  0  5  5  0  0  0
Bone Slingshot   8   0   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  12 5  0  0  0  0  0  0
Bandit Slingshot 30  0   0  0  0  12 0  0  0  5  12 0  0  0  0  0  5
Steve            16  0   11 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  30 20 0  0
Hardshooter      35  0   0  0  0  0  0  5  5  0  12 0  20 20 0  0  0
DoubleImpact     40  0   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  12 8  0  0  0  0  12

Hammers/Axes:

Weapon Name      Att Mag Fi Ic Th Wi Ho Di Be Un Fl Fi Me St Mi Pl Ma
Frozen Tuna      22  10  0  20 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  18 0  0  0  0  0
Trail Hammer     20  25  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  20 20 0  0
Turtle Shell     36  0   0  30 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  18 0  0
Big Bucks Hammer 40  14  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  15 0  0
Magical Hammer   62  25  30 20 15 5  30 0  0  0  0  0  0  5  18 0  20
Battle Ax        65  0   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  15 30 0  30
Last Judgement   99  55  10 10 10 10 10 0  0  45 0  0  20 0  25 0  20

Rings:

Weapon Name      Att Mag Fi Ic Th Wi Ho Di Be Un Fl Fi Me St Mi Pl Ma
Bandit's Ring    12  25  0  0  0  18 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Platinum Ring    17  40  0  20 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Thorn Armlet     50  35  15 10 10 10 10 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Fairy's Ring     35  65  0  0  0  15 20 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Crystal Ring     38  55  0  0  0  0  20 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Satan's Ring     40  60  55 25 18 18 0  30 0  0  0  0  0  0  30 0  0
Destruction Ring 50  65  30 30 30 30 10 0  0  0  0  0  30 30 0  0  0

Staffs/Polearms:

Weapon Name      Att Mag Fi Ic Th Wi Ho Di Be Un Fl Fi Me St Mi Pl Ma
Halberd          44  0   0  10 0  15 0  0  8  0  5  0  8  0  0  0  0
Javelin          38  0   8  0  0  12 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  5  0  8  0
Partisan         55  0   0  0  10 18 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  8  12 8  8
Scorpion         50  0   10 0  0  21 0  12 8  8  8  8  12 0  0  0  0
De Sanga         46  0   0  0  25 17 0  0  0  0  0  25 0  0  0  0  8
Mirage           63  10  45 0  0  20 0  16 16 16 16 16 16 0  0  0  0

Guns:

Weapon Name      Att Mag Fi Ic Th Wi Ho Di Be Un Fl Fi Me St Mi Pl Ma
Jackal           30  8   0  0  0  0  0  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3
Snail            34  10  5  5  5  5  5  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0

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V.   Weapon Strategies
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In this section I will share the strategies I have used to develop weapons
during my games.

1. Share many abilities on one synthsphere.

 Make a single synthsphere with all the good abilities that you have found
during your travels.  At the start just worry about getting the steal
ability.  Once you have a weapon with this ability, use it until it can be
made into a synthsphere.  Use this synthsphere with any weapon you are
currently using, and now everyone has the steal ability.

 Once you get a second good ability, say durable, use this weapon until
you can make it into a synthsphere, and allow the first synthsphere to be
absorbed into the weapon beforehand.  Now you can make a new synthsphere with
two good abilities that can be shared by all.  In this manner I was able to
make a single synthsphere with the following abilities:  Quench, Stop, Drain,
Steal, Durable, AbsUp, Bigbucks and Poison.

 (Note that I had to cancel out the Poor ability which comes with the AbsUp
ability of the Trial Hammer with the Bigbucks ability, then use a second
weapon with the Bigbucks ability to get both the AbsUp and the Bigbucks on
one synthsphere.)

2. Have your synthsphere have good attack and magic values.

 Having a synthsphere with a lot of abilities is nice, but what is better
is one that can also give a good attack and magic boost.  I would worry
about getting good abilities first, but later you will want to build up a
weapon with a good attack and or magic value.  I used a Battle Ax early in
my game.  I built the battle ax up to its maximum attack and magic value
and absorbed my ability laden synthsphere to make a new synthsphere with
good abilities, but also had a 75 attack value and a 33 magic value.

 Later I used a Arise Marden to have a synthsphere with a 150 attack value,
72 magic value, 59 in all elemental and creature attributes and 8 abilities.
This synthsphere allowed me to use any weapon I had at its maximum attack
and magic value usually, and let me see what they would buildup to next
without having to invest a lot of gems on a weapon that I may not want to
buildup.

 Having a single synthsphere this strong allows you to not have to build up
your main weapons so much, since the synthsphere will bump up your attack
and magic values a lot.

3. Use lots o' gems.

 During the course of making this FAQ I had to build up a lot of weapons,
and this meant using a lot of gems.  There are five ways to get gems.  The
first is from the few button-pressing action sequences in the game.  If you
complete one of these getting each button press exactly on time, you will
get a gem.  The second way is from fishing, 100 fishing points will allow
you to buy a gem of your choice.  The third way is from treasure chests in
the back areas of any dungeon.  The fourth way is from happy clowns, by
choosing the small box and getting lucky.  The fifth way is to buy them for
3000 each from the Fairy King in the Dark Heaven Castle.

 Of all theses ways, my most common method for getting gems was by fishing.
With the proper technique, you can catch fish 95% of the time.  What I would
do is wait until a fish started to bite then hit the start button to pause
the game.  Then quickly un-pause and pause the game until you 1) feel the
controller vibrate stronger, 2) see the fish vibrate its rear tail quickly,
3) see the side fins of the fish draw toward the body and 4) see the bob
dragged clearly underwater.  Once you feel/see these clues, un-pause the
game then quickly press the X button to catch the fish.

 The best areas to fish are Queens and Muska Lacka.  In Queens, you can
catch Kali which are worth about 40 points using the Petite Fish sold in
Queens.  In Muska Lacka you can catch the Marayan Garayan which are worth
about 200-300 points using Poisonous Apples.  No other fish is attracted
to Poisonous Apples in this area.  You can also catch the Baron Garayan
fish which are worth about 700-900 points.  They eat Potato Cakes, just
like other fish in the area, but are usually substantially bigger (150cm
to 200cm in length!).  They are quite rare, so be patient and repeatedly
try the pond over and over til you see a big fish.

 I also would only fish at Dusk in Muska Lacka, since I had heard the
Marayan Garayan only appears at this time, I don't know if the Baron only
appears at this time as well, but I didn't want to waste time trying, and
both fish were able to be found during this time.

4. Get lots o' Abs for your weapons.

 Finally in order to get Abs rapidly, there are two things to try.  One is
go to the Demon Shaft (if available) which has monsters which give you good
Abs and use a strong weapon to defeat an enemy, then switch to a weak weapon
as they are dying to give the weaker weapon the Abs.  This technique can get
tiresome, however.

 Another good area is the 17th Layer of the Shipwreck in Queens.  You can
buy Flapping Fish and Ice Blocks in Queens, which are the key to the back
areas in the Shipwreck.  The monsters in the 17th Layer of the Shipwreck,
as well as its back area are pretty easy to beat and give a substantial
amount of Abs.  You also get the benift of possibly getting gems from the
back area of the dungeon.  Once you have cleared the level and it's
back area, just teleport back to town, get another flapping fish with ice,
and go back again.  It's a good area to get Abs and random gems.  I did a
good amount of leveling up in this area during the making of this FAQ.

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Well, that's it for now.  I hope you find the
information useful.

Happy Gaming,
Richard Trainham

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Dark Cloud Weapons FAQ
Version 1.1
Last Update: June 22nd, 2001
This document Copyright 2001 Richard Trainham
Email: [email protected]

Any duplication in part or whole of this document is prohibited without the
direct consent of the author.

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