STAR OCEAN: TILL THE END OF TIME
SPHERE 211 FAQ
(v1.0, 9-2-04)
by Edward Chang (chang dot 459 at osu dot edu)
Revision History
v1.0 (9-2-04)
First version.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Floor Plan Listing
3. Bosses
4. Treasure Chart
5. Credits
1. INTRODUCTION
This is an expanded version of the Sphere 211 (Sphere Corporation) section
of my Star Ocean: Till the End of Time FAQ/Walkthrough. In my Walkthrough
I only listed the basics of the dungeon, as well as a quick listing of the
bosses in it; this FAQ will go into much more detail on the actual floor
plan of each level, the treasures you can find, the bosses and better
strategies on fighting them, and so on. Please note that there have been
minor changes to this dungeon from the original (non-Director's-Cut) version;
a few treasures have been replaced, some of the items the bosses drop are
different, and other treasures have been moved.
The North American release is based off the Director's Cut release, so this
is the proper guide to consult if you are playing the North American
release.
How do you access Sphere 211? After defeating Gabriel Celeste in the Cave of
Trials, he'll tell you that "the seal has been broken". What this means is
that you can now head to the Sphere Corporation for the secret dungeon.
(However, you might want to head to Urza Cave Temple first; there are some
items there that may help, and it's a nice transition dungeon between the
Cave of Trials and Sphere 211).
Head to the Sphere Corporation by first warping back to Gemity by taking
the warp point just outside Cirlsour in the Cirlsour Hills. Then take the
Gemity transporter station to the Sphere Corporation. Now work your way up
to the fifth floor. Whereas previously you could go to any floor from 6-100
via the transporter here, now you'll be able to go to 6-101.
You start at floor 101 and work your way up one floor at a time. As the name
implies, there are 211 floors, meaning that there are 111 floors total in
the "secret" part of the dungeon.
Unlike the Cave of Trials, the floors here repeat in pattern. Thus even though
there are 111 floors, most of them will have the same pattern. Giving a
floor-by-floor walkthrough would thus be pointless, so I'll just give a
general description of the floors here and point out unique floors below.
The enemies change every ten floors, starting with floor 112. Thus, from
101-111 you'll encounter one set of enemies, then from 112-121 you'll
encounter a different set, and so on. Obviously the enemies get MUCH harder
as the floors increase in number, and towards the top you'd do well to
consider pretty much every fight a boss fight. Running away is certainly
key in many situations, especially once you start encountering the
annoying Monjaragoras (similar to the boss you fought in the Cave of
Trials).
There are no save points in the dungeon save at the bottom. Luckily, once
you activate an elevator, you can use that elevator up to the floor you
were at. So if you take the elevator from floor 150 down to floor 6 (and
then walk from 6 down to 1 to save), you'll be able to take the same
elevator up as high as 150 again.
Treasure Data in this guide comes from Enterbrain's Final Guide mook
(ISBN 4-7577-1491-2), a highly-recommended strategy guide. Other information
is of my own devising.
2. FLOOR PLAN LISTING
There are eight general floor plans. In most cases you'll be able to
determine which floor plan a floor follows as soon as you arrive, based on
the surroundings of the entry point.
Plan 1
You enter into a cross-shaped hallway; the north corridor has doors
going both east and west. There are four potential treasure chest
locations: A - in the north corridor, going west; B - in the west
corridor, going south; C - right next to the exit point; D - in the
south corridor, going south.
Plan 2
You enter into a room with an exit only going east. There are four
potential treasure chest locations: A - right next to the exit; B -
right next to the entrance; C - after leaving the entry room, heading
south, then taking the southwest door and following the path; D -
after leaving the entry room, heading south, then taking the south
path and looping around noth.
Plan 3
You enter into a room with doors going both east and south. There are
five potential treasure chest locations: A - right next to the entrance;
B - going east two rooms from the entrance; C - going east two rooms, south
one, then east again; D - going south two rooms from the entrance; E -
going south two rooms, then east once.
Plan 4
You enter into a cross-shaped hallway with the south corridor branching
into southeast and southwest doors. There are five potential treasure
chest locations: A - in the west corridor, heading north; B - taking
the southeast door, then heading south, west, and north again; C -
taking the southwest door, then southwest again, southeast, then going
northwest in the next cross's west corridor; D - same as C, only going
east in the second cross's east corridor; E - going southeast from the
beginning, then south, east, and east again.
Plan 5
You start in a cross-shaped hallway with the north, west, and south
corridors all having doors going west. There are three potential treasure
chest locations: A - taking the west door in the north corridor and
following it; B - next to the exit; C - taking the west door in the south
corridor and following it.
Plan 6
This plan is indistinguishable from Plan 8 at first glance. You start
in a cross-shaped hallway, with the west corridor having a door going
southwest. Upon entering the door, if there are no enemies, the floor is
Plan 6. There are five potential treasure chest locations: A - from the
entrance, going: southwest, north, nortwest, northeast, north, west, south,
west, south, south; B - going southwest, then north, the chest is in the
west corridor; C - immediately north of the entrance; D - after going
southwest, going east in the next hallway; E - taking either the south or
east doors in the first cross-shaped hallway.
Plan 7
This floor starts in a single room with doors going west and south. There
are four potential treasure chest locations: A - going one room west; B -
going west, south, then south again; C - going south then south; D -
going west, south, south, south, then west.
Plan 8
This plan is indistinguishable from Plan 6 at first glance. You start
in a cross-shaped hallway, with the west corridor having a door going
southwest. Upon entering the door, if there are enemies, the floor is
Plan 8. There are five potential treausre chest locations: A - going
southwest, north, northwest, northeast, north, west, at the end of the
hallway; B - one room south from A; C - going southwest, north, northwest,
northeast, then southeast; D - going southwest, then east; E - immediately
north of the entrance.
Here are the quickest routes to get to the next floor. Keep in mind
that this may skip some treasure chests, so if the floor you are on has a
unique treasure (see below) you may want to comb the floor to find it.
1. Upon transporting in, check where you are.
A. If you are in a room:
I. If you can go west, take that door, then go west again, south,
then east. (Plan 7)
II. If you can go east and south, take the south, then south again,
then east, east, east, south, west. (Plan 3)
III. If you can only go east, take that door, then go northeast, south,
northeast, west. (Plan 2)
B. If you are in the center of a cross-shaped hallway:
I. If the hallway to the south splits into southeast and southwest,
take the southwest, then southwest, southeast, and then east in the
next cross's southern part. (Plan 4)
II. If the hallway to the north has a door going east and west, take
the east, then go south, and then loop around east again. (Plan 1)
III. If the north, west, and south hallways all have doors going west,
take the west hallway's west door, then go north, east, then loop
around west. (Plan 5)
IV. If the hallway to the west has a door going southwest, go in.
a. If there are enemies here, go north, northwest, northeast, north,
west, south, then west. (Plan 8)
b. If there are no enemies here, go north, north, east, and then
east. (Plan 6)
3. BOSSES
Approximately every ten floors or so, you will face a boss as you head
towards the exit. Some of these are unique bosses, and some are buffed
up versions of bosses you have faced before. In general they are all
rather tough, having both high HP and MP, but in exchange they leave
great items when dropped (by and large leaving the Ultimate Weapons for
each character - see my Item Creation FAQ for details).
Boss: Returned Norton 帰ってきたノートン
500000 HP, 100000 MP
Drops: Lilith's Kin
Battle Collection Opportunities: Beat Norton with Iron Pipe Only
Norton's attack patterns haven't changed at all, although his wild shooting-
type attack now does MP damage, so you may want to leave characters like
Roger and Cliff out. His attacks in general are fairly easy to avoid, and
he has no real wide-area attack capabilities, so just spread your characters
out and fight him normally. He does have 50% protection against elemental
attacks so stick to non-elementals and Heraldry like Ray. He'll go down
really quickly with a cancel combo'ed Kokuyousen chain.
To get the Battle Collection associated with this fight, you'll have to
equip Fate with the Iron Pipe (yes, his weakest weapon in the game) and
take on Norton with only Fate - the other two party members must be dead.
To make this possible, you'll have to upgrade your Iron Pipe considerably.
You'll probably want to put on several ATK +500 factors by Synthesizing
Orihalcon to it; in battle stick to non-elemental skills like Divine
Weapon or Vertical Airraid.
Boss: Enraged Crosel 激昂のクロセル
700000 HP, 100000 MP
Drops: Tenken: Ama no Ohabari
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
Crosel was tough, but this guy's not that much tougher. Like all the Sphere
Corporation bosses he's got a lot of HP and MP to whittle down, but he
doesn't have much you have to watch out for, especially if you have fire
protection, such as the Reflex armor from the Cave of Trials. Like Norton,
he has 50% protection from elemental attacks. He doesn't really do much other
than normal attacks, so try to keep your distance and attack with long-range
battle skills. He's also very very slow, so you should be able to take him
down (again, a cancel-combo Kokuyousen chain is easy enough) without taking
any damage. Also new from the original, he now drops the Tenken: Ama no
Ohabari, Adlai's ultimate weapon.
Boss: Shadow Dragon シャドゥドラゴン
1000000 HP, 200000 MP
Drops: Valor Gauntlet
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
He has two separate attacks (Fire Blessing and Aerial Blessing) that are
fire-elemental, so come prepared with armor or accessories that nullify,
or preferably absorb, fire-elemental attacks. Other than these two, the
other attack to watch out for is Doom Howling, which does a fair bit of MP
damage and also has a Sudden Death property. This attack can be Protect'ed,
so try to keep your Guts high. If you have a Tri-Emblem, you can cut down
fire damage and guard sudden death attacks at once, so he shouldn't
be much problem at all. He's not much faster than Crosel (despite his
boasts), so again a hit-and-run strategy is recommended. Although both
Cliff and Mirage equip the Valor Gauntlet, don't worry about trying to get
two from him with Get Item - Azazel and Beelzebub will drop another one
later. (However, if you get two now you won't have to wait for another
60 floors.)
Boss: Revenge-seeking Shelby 復讐に燃えるシェルビー
1500000 HP, 200000 MP
Drops: Death Bringer
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
Shelby almost exclusively uses close range attacks, so using Nel and Maria
to attack from afar is preferable. His Ice Breath is the biggest attack
to watch out for, as it causes large amounts of HP and MP damage, though if
you have protection/absorption against water-elemntal it's nothing to
worry about. He has 50% protection from all elements. Though he can move
somewhat quickly, just keep him busy with one party member while you snipe
at him afar with the others.
Boss: Frenzied Biwig 狂-垂ﾌビウィグ
2000000 HP, 300000 MP
Drops: Kirakuten Shell
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
The opposite of Shelby, he focuses on long-range attacks. You'll want to
keep close to him and keep him busy so he can't do much. He's no longer
weak against Earth like his previous incarnation, and indeed he now is
protected against all elements 50%. Once his HP dips below 60%, he'll start
using Enchant Rifle, which gives elemental effects to his attacks; however,
if you have protection against elements, this makes him actually weaker,
plus the fact that he's a total sitting duck while he uses the move. Just
keep on him and he won't be able to do anything. Not much to watch out for.
Boss: Monjaragreen モンジャラグリーン
2500000 HP, 400000 MP
Drops: Cross Helm
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
He's basically Bigfoot from the Cave of Trials with a different color. He
has the same sort of attack patterns; a close-range whirlwind that's quite
dangerous, and a long-range ice beam that can freeze your characters. Come
prepared with protection against water-elemental and/or freeze effects.
Conversely, he's weak against fire-elemental attacks, so come in with
Sophia's Explosion or similar attacks. Have at least one character at long
range that won't get caught up in the whirlwind in case you need to heal.
Though a little tough, he still goes down easily enough with some Cancel
Bonus comboes.
Boss: Archdemon アークディーモン
3000000 HP, 500000 MP
Drops: Dragoon Laser
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
He's got wide-ranging HP and MP damaging attacks, and his Yami no Maken
also has a chance for Sudden Death, so be sure you have protection against
that. He has protection against all elements, 50%, like most bosses, so try
to snipe at him from long range with non-elemental attacks. This is easier
said than done, since he can teleport as well, so make sure you keep moving
no matter what you do. Regardless this is where the bosses in Sphere 211
really start to get challenging. He drops the Dragoon Laser for Maria - if
you have the patience, I suggest trying to get an extra copy of it (via
Get Item) so you can have one as Maria's 'real' weapon, and use the other
to refine the Enemy Attack +100% / Fol x 10 factors onto it - this way
you'll have an easy way to make Fol for your future item creation.
Boss: Angered Azazel and Furious Beelzebub ご-ｧ のアザゼル&憤怒のベルゼベル
Azazel: 261030 HP, 11865 MP
Beelzebub: 3000000 HP, 500000 MP
Drops: Valor Gauntlet
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
Azazel is ridiculously weak; just hit him with a few Kokuyousens to get him
out of the way so you can focus on Beelzebub. Beelzebub has several nasty
tricks, including poison, petrification, and freeze-inducing attacks, as well
as a tendency to start sucking up your HP and MP when his health gets low.
You should probably be around level 200 by this point if you don't want a
long protracted fight, and make sure you have protection against status
ailments. Nevertheless, I didn't find Beelzebub as threatening as the
Archdemon.
Boss: Reckless Belial -ﾒ進のベリアル
3000000 HP, 500000 MP
Drops: Angelic Cape
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
He's not paired with Beelzebub, thankfully, but his missiles still hurt,
a lot. He'll also try to run away from your characters, so have at least
two melee characters to try and pin him down. He's lost his vulnerability
to wind-elemental attacks, unfortunately, so you'll just have to focus on
regular attacks. Have a third character at range that can heal, but make
sure it's a fast moving character (Nel or Fate) that can outrun the homing
missiles. He also has a tendency to do a quick invincible step, so stay
away from the multi-hit battle skills like Uraouka: Sakkou/Infinity Arts,
as he has a nasty tendency to just sidestep them and shoot missiles at you
while you attack empty air.
Boss: Super Brea ブレア超人
4000000 HP, 600000 MP
Drops: Demon Sword Levantine
Battle Collection Opportunities: None
She's got plenty of radius attacks around her, so try not to get too close,
or at the very least make sure whoever is is buffed up protection wise; Cliff
or Roger might want to use Balance Condition to preserve their MP. She uses
Thunderstruck a lot so you'll want to invest in something that'll absorb
wind-elemental attacks. Using Stun on your attacks is preferable as she
doesn't really stagger; Gravity Bullet is also great for lock-down purposes.
She's got protection against all elements so stick to non-elementals.
Boss: Lenneth レナス
7000000 HP, 700000 MP
Drops: Valkryie Garb
Battle Collection Opportunities: Defeat Lenneth, Defeat Lenneth Taking No
Damage, Defeat Lenneth in 10 Minutes, Defeat Universe Lenneth, Defeat Universe
Lenneth Taking No Damage, Defeat Universe Lenneth in 15 Minutes, Defeat FD
Lenneth, Defeat FD Lenneth Taking No Damage, Defeat FD Lenneth in 20 Minutes,
Defeat Lenneth Using Only Strong Attacks, Defeat Lenneth Using Only Heraldry,
Defeat Lenneth Using Only Charge, Defeat Lenneth Using Iron Pipe Only,
Defeat Lenneth Alone
Hey, it's Lenneth from Valkyrie Profile, only in ultra-cute chibified form.
Ridiculously tough. She uses both Rock Rain and Thunderstruck so you'll
want elemental protection of some sort. Nibelung Valesti's range is
ridiculously large; if she uses it in the middle of the battlefield, there's
almost nowhere to stand to avoid it. Come prepared with Stun Bombs, and try
to lure her to the edge of the field, so that Nibelung Valesti will leave
some open areas. On the plus side, she drops Valkyrie Garb, the strongest
armor in the game, equippable by Nel, Souffle, and Maria. If you're not
in a totally fatal fight against her, try equipping Get Item so you can
get two-three of them. You'll need to be pretty close to maximum level with
maxed out refined weapons to stand much of a chance, so return to the level
170s or so to level up if you need to.
Boss: Iseria Queen イセリアクイーン
10000000 HP, 2000000 MP
Drops: Lilith's Kin
Battle Collection Opportunities: Defeat Iseria, Defeat Iseria Taking No
Damage, Defeat Iseria in 10 Minutes, Defeat Universe Iseria, Defeat Universe
Iseria Taking No Damage, Defeat Universe Iseria in 15 Minutes, Defeat FD
Iseria, Defeat FD Iseria Taking No Damage, Defeat FD Iseria in 20 Minutes,
Defeat Iseria Using Only Weak Attacks, Defeat Iseria Using Only Counter
Aura, Defeat Iseria Using Only Battle Skills, Defeat Iseria Alone, Taunt
Iseria 10 Times, Defeat Iseria 5 Times
I actually found her a lot easier than Lenneth. For one thing most of her
attacks are linear, not circular, so they're a lot easier to avoid. Also,
her super technique (Celestial Star) doesn't have nearly the range Nibelung
Valesti does, and she can get hit out of Shin no Sabaki easily with a
Counter Aura. Watch out for Lunatic Field, which can trap your character's
in a gold aura that cannot be escaped or protected against. Nevertheless
she does have more HP and MP than Lenneth so it will take you awhile. You
can fight Iseria as many times as you want by coming back, so don't feel
the pressure to get as many battle collections as possible.
After defeating Iseria Queen, you're done with Sphere 211. Just like the
Cave of Trials, the building will now be cleared of enemies and you can roam
around as you wish. (Once you exit though, the monsters will be reset).
Iseria also drops a gem, which you can take to Crosel's Lair back in Urza
Lava Cave to find...
Boss: Freya フレイ
20000000 HP, 3000000 MP
Drops: Divine Weapon: Ether Frozen
Battle Collection Opportunities: Defeat Freya, Defeat Freya Taking No Damage,
Defeat Freya in 15 Minutes, Defeat Universe Freya, Defeat Universe Freya
Taking No Damage, Defeat Universe Freya in 20 Minutes, Defeat FD Freya,
Defeat FD Freya Taking No Damage, Defeat FD Freya in 60 Minutes, Defeat Freya
Using Only Weak Attacks, Defeat Freya Using Only Battle Skills, Defeat Freya
Alone, Defeat Freya 5 Times
She uses her special attack, Shinki: Ether Strike right off the bat, and it
hurts, a lot. Unlike the original, Ether Strike now counts as a strong
attack, meaning you'll have to be very careful and try to interrupt it at
all costs. She moves very fast, and also uses Thunderstruck and Rock Rain
like Lenneth, so come with items that'll soak that damage. Again, Stun Bombs
are the key to interrupting her special attacks.
After defeating Freya, she'll drop the Divine Weapon: Ether Frozen, a great
weapon for Sophia. (Too bad you couldn't get it earlier!) You can come back
and fight Freya as many times as you want, though you get nothing new for
it other than one BC, and as many Divine Weapon: Ether Frozens as you want -
you can Synthesize them to whatever you want for ATK +1000, though it's
a little late for that if you can defeat Freya in the first place.
4. TREASURE CHART
This chart will tell you what treasures are on what floor, and in what
location. Refer to the Floor Plan section above for what the Floor Plan
numbers and the Treasure Chest location letters mean. Many treasure chests
in the Sphere 211 dungeon are empty; I've left these off the list
completely. Finally, unique or excessively rare items are in ALL CAPS,
and new items that weren't present or have changed location since the
original version are in ***ALL CAPS AND WITH ASTERISKS***
**These treasures on floor 211 can be retrieved on your first visit to
Sphere 211.
5. CREDITS
Thanks go to:
tri-Ace and Enix for the best RPG I have ever played.
This FAQ Copyright 2004 to Edward Chang. Redistribution in any form,
including reprinting in electronic or print media, without express
permission of the author is strictly forbidden.
