Gensou Suikoden IV

Gensou Suikoden IV
Level 99 Guide v. 1.02
by R. Choe (rchoe13 at hotmail dot com)

*** THIS GUIDE WILL CONTAIN GAME SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

*** This entire guide (with the exception of the character stats) was written
from memory, so if you find any problems with it, or have any other
tips/recommendations, please let me know by email. Thanks!

*** If you wish to post this guide elsewhere, please do so in its entirety.

VERSION HISTORY
------------------

05/02/06 (v. 1.04)
- Updated section I, part iv.

05/01/19 (v. 1.03)
- Added a HP section to section III of the guide.
- New information in section I, part v.

04/10/31 (v. 1.02)
- Added Reinholt's level 99 stats and adjusted section III accordingly.
- Added a credits section.
- Minor changes to some of the text and wording.

04/10/09 (v. 1.01)
- A few minor changes to the information, and some spacing issues.

04/10/06 (v. 1.00)
- The very first version of this guide.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
--------------------

I. Getting to Level 99
i. Requirements and Recommendations
ii. Getting the hero to Level 99
iii. Getting everyone else to Level 99
iv. If you have two Mother Earth Runes
v. Things to note
II. Level 99 Character Stats
III. Ten Best/Worst Characters
i. Strength
ii. Technique
iii. Magic
iv. Evade
v. Defence
vi. Magic Defence
vii. Speed
viii. Luck
ix. HP
IV. Credits

I. Getting to Level 99
-------------------------

Thanks to a training facility new to Suikoden IV, you can now level all of your
characters (except for Reinholt) to level 99 relatively easily. Each training
session consists of 5 continuous battles against other characters with no chance
of resting in between. However, healing support is still in effect between
battles.

First of all, I recommend you attempt this before you assault the last fortress
(after you retake Obel), and if possible, during your second playthrough.
Why? Because the Fortune Rune can help speed things up quite a bit, but it is
only found in the final dungeon. Once you're in the final dungeon, you can never
set sail on your ship again, and the characters you used in Eleanor's party can
never be used again. Also, if you want to switch characters, you'll need to
climb up the entire cliff and speak to Agnes each time. However, if you don't
have the time for a second playthrough, you can still level everyone without the
Fortune Rune (and before you assault the final fortress). It will take some more
time, but it's very doable.

i. Requirements and Recommendations
-----------------------------------

Required:
- Mother Earth Rune (Warlock has one)
- Rage Rune (Conrad has one)
- Wizard Rune (increases magic, halves magic defence)
- can be purchased at the Obel Rune shop after retaking it
- Speed Ring (x6)
- Ted (at level 50 or higher)
- Hero (at level 50 or higher)
Recommended:
- Yuu as support
- Fortune Rune
- Mother Earth Rune (an extra one can be found through treasure hunting)
- Earth Rune

ii. Getting the hero to Level 99
--------------------------------

The first step in getting everyone to level 99 is to first level up your hero.
Obviously, you'll want to do this in as few battles as possible. For this part,
your party will consist of only the hero and Ted. Fewer characters means more
experience, and these two are all you need to finish a training session.
Having a Fortune Rune equipped on the hero will essentially halve the number of
times you have to train. With a Fortune Rune, the hero will go up about 10
levels every 3 training sessions.

Hero's equipment:
- 3 speed rings
- any armour that increases speed
- Rage Rune
- Fortune Rune (if you have one) as soon as he gets his 3rd slot
Ted's equipment:
- 3 speed rings
- any armour that increases speed
- Mother Earth rune
- Wizard Rune, as soon as he gets his 3rd slot.
(I think by level 50 he should have it)

Now, onto the actual training...

At level 50, Ted should have 3 Lv.3 magic spells. Save these for the last 3
battles of training (remember that each training session has 5 battles). The
hero should have 2 Lv.3 spells, and 1 Lv.4 spell. Save the Lv.4 spell for the
last battle, and save the Lv.3 spells for the third and fourth battles. Here's
how you would do battle:
Battle 1: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 2: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 3: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.3
Battle 4: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.3
Battle 5: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.4

After each training session, go to the inn, rest, and repeat. As Ted and the
hero start to get more Lv.3 and/or Lv.4 magic spells, then you can start using
them in earlier battles.
For example, if Ted now has 4 Lv.3 spells, and the hero now has 4 Lv.3 spells
and 2 Lv.4 spells, you would do battle like so:
Battle 1: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Rage Lv.3
Battle 2: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.3
Battle 3: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.3
Battle 4: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.4
Battle 5: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.4

As soon as Ted gets 5 Lv.3 magic spells, simply have him cast Mother Earth Lv.3
each battle. For the first 3 (maybe 4) battles, the hero won't end up casting
anything because Ted will have already defeated everyone with one spell.
Just remember to use the hero's Lv.4 spells for the later battles and don't
accidentally use a Lv.3 spell that you still have remaining.

After about 15 training sessions (30 if you don't have a Fortune Rune), the
hero should reach level 99, and Ted should be at level 98 or 97. It may seem
like a lot, but each training session shouldn't take more than a couple of
minutes. Now you're ready to start leveling up everyone else.

iii. Getting everyone else to Level 99
--------------------------------------

Here's the most time consuming part. Konami set up a 10000 experience per battle
limit, so the most any character can level up in one battle is 10 levels.
Because of this limit, a Fortune Rune is not entirely necessary for this part;
its main use is in getting the hero to level 99 quickly. However, most
characters (at least level 32) can reach level 99 in just two training sessions.

If you don't have a Fortune Rune, take your characters who are below level 32
and level them up (ideally at sea, because it's quick) until they meet that
requirement. If you do have a Fortune Rune, this isn't necessary.

Remember to remove the Fortune Rune from the hero, if you used one.

Keeping the hero and Ted in your main party, add two characters. Make sure that
they are both at least level 32. If you have one Fortune Rune, you can have one
character below level 32 in your party, but just make sure to attach the Fortune
Rune to him/her.
Also, it would be efficient to add two characters who share a unite attack with
each other. Ted shares a unite attack with Aldo/Lo Haku and Flair/Frederica, so
you should also add them together.

Now, keep doing what you did above. Have Ted cast Mother Earth Lv.3 each time,
and have the hero using his Rage Rune accordingly. Go back and heal, and do one
more training session. The two other characters in your party should have
reached level 99, just like that. :)

iv. If you have two Mother Earth Runes
--------------------------------------

Every character should only require two training sessions, so it would be nice
if you could do two training sessions at once without having to waste time going
back and healing in between. Here is what I did to accomplish that. First, set
up the hero and Ted like so:
Hero:
- 3 speed rings
- any armour that increases speed
- Mother Earth Rune
- Earth Rune
- Weapon Lv.15 or 16 (as high as you can get it, ideally)
Ted:
- 3 speed rings
- any armour that increases speed
- Mother Earth rune
- Wizard Rune

Warlock comes with the first Mother Earth Rune, and the second one can be found
through treasure hunting (Map #29).

At level 99, the hero should have 9/6/3/2 magic and Ted should have 9/9/6/*.
Make sure they have this or it won't work. Ted only needs 6 Level 3 spells.
The number of his Level 4 spells doesn't matter.

Training Session 1:
Battle 1: This is the only battle where things might go wrong, but since it's
the first battle, the enemies are very weak. First, have Ted use Soul Eater
Lv.2. Next, have the hero use Rune of Punishment Lv.2. This should finish off
low-HP characters like the mages, but if you are facing three high-HP
characters, it would be better to have the hero simply attack and finish off one
of them instead of leaving them all alive. Use your best judgment here. But like
I said before, this is only the first battle, so no matter what happens, you
should always come out on top. Just make sure your other two characters are
defending.
Battle 2: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Earth Lv.4
Battle 3: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rune of Punishment Lv.2
Battle 4: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rune of Punishment Lv.2
Battle 5: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Earth Lv.4

Training Session 2:
Battle 1: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Mother Earth Lv.3
Battle 2: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Mother Earth Lv.3
Battle 3: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rune of Punishment Lv.2
Battle 4: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rune of Punishment Lv.2
Battle 5: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Mother Earth Lv.3

Now, you only need to heal after your other two characters have reached level
99. Switch in two new characters, do two training sessions, heal, switch in two
more, and repeat.

*** It's not necessary for the hero to have 9/6/3/2 magic. He can have only 1
Lv.4 spell and you can still do two battles without having to rest in between,
but make sure to equip a Rage Rune on the hero in place of the Earth Rune.
Ted must still have 6 Lv.3 spells available.

DeathOne from the board has come up with this alternate method:

Training Session 1:
Battle 1: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 2: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Rage Lv.4
Battle 3: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 4: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 5: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Mother Earth Lv.3

Training Session 2:
Battle 1: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 2: Ted - Soul Eater Lv.2, Hero - Mother Earth Lv.3
Battle 3: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 4: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Rage Lv.2
Battle 5: Ted - Mother Earth Lv.3, Hero - Mother Earth Lv.3

v. Things to note
-----------------

1) Characters in your two boat parties will not appear as enemies during
training, so use this to your advantage. There are a number of characters who
you don't want to face while training, so make sure you put them in your boat
parties.

Mizuki, Lo Fong - Their speed is high enough that they can sometimes get an
attack in before you. If they use a Lv.3 or Lv.4 attack spell, it's over.

Aldo - He has high magic defence and mid-range HP. He might remain standing
after two Mother Earth Lv.3 spells.

Tristan - Just slightly lower magic defence than Aldo, but much higher HP. He
has very high physical defence as well, making him a pain to face.

Gau - Insane amount of HP and as fast as Mizuki and Lo Fong.

The other three boat party slots can be filled with characters who you seem to
have trouble with. Some potential candidates are Dario, Eugene, Champo (high
MDF), and Cheepoo (high speed and super slow defeat animation).

* According to Lyrl Westrum, even with the hero and Ted at level 99 with speed
enhancing equipment, Viki will sometimes get in the first attack in the battle.
If she does, she can use her Blinking Rune spell that teleports enemies off
the battlefield. Putting her in one of your secondary ship parties will avoid
this.

2) I noticed that not everyone above level 32 will level up to 99 in two
training sessions. In my experience, characters at level 47 will get to level 98
with anywhere from ~600 - ~950 experience. I also had two characters at level
52, and one of them didn't quite make it to level 99 either. If level 98 isn't a
problem for you, then it's fine, otherwise you'll need to train them a third
time, or prevent it from happening by using a Fortune Rune. There may be other
levels which cause the same problem, but so far I've only noticed it with 47 and
52.

II. Level 99 Character Stats
-------------------------------

Stat increases during level ups are random, therefore, your level 99 stats will
not match mine exactly, but they should be similar for the most part. The main
point of this section is to give you a general idea of each character's
strengths and weaknesses.
These are the characters' bare stats (ie. they have nothing equipped).

Here is what the abbreviations stand for:
STR - Strength
TEC - Technique
MAG - Magic
EVD - Evade
DEF - Physical Defence
MDF - Magic Defence
SPD - Speed
LUK - Luck
WPN - Weapon Strength (sharpened to level 16)
RUNE - Free Rune Slots (H - Head, R - Right Hand, L - Left Hand)

Character HP MP STR TEC MAG EVD DEF MDF SPD LUK WPN RUNE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hero 608 9/6/3/2 161 152 162 181 140 121 154 103 255 H/R
* Rune of Punishment permanently affixed to left hand

Reno 617 7/4/2/1 205 128 104 92 178 116 120 134 250 R/L

Ted 519 9/9/6/4 119 178 227 154 83 188 178 113 245 H/L
* Soul Eater Rune permanently affixed to right hand

Tal 611 7/3/1/0 205 120 99 143 159 94 135 156 240 R/L

Isaac 597 7/3/1/0 191 98 97 129 173 103 100 140 255 R/L

Axel 611 7/4/2/1 171 114 113 138 158 110 135 143 255 R/L

Selma 602 9/6/3/1 129 190 159 124 134 109 142 142 255 H/R/L

Aldo 530 8/4/2/1 153 156 115 157 159 200 207 101 245 R/L

Reinbach 499 8/4/2/1 116 201 118 178 135 130 148 231 240 R/L
* Red Rose Rune permanently affixed to head
(damages one enemy, all allies become unfriendly, ie. no unite attacks)

Cheepoo 490 9/5/2/1 181 178 138 201 114 118 206 223 250 H/R/L

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character HP MP STR TEC MAG EVD DEF MDF SPD LUK WPN RUNE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paula 541 9/6/3/2 113 155 174 133 104 156 154 128 240 H/R/L

Kika 523 7/4/2/0 112 232 100 202 138 132 186 119 255 R
* Falcon Rune permanently affixed to left hand

Keneth 533 8/5/2/1 141 195 129 158 147 135 164 120 240 H/R/L

Travis 544 6/3/1/0 161 122 88 161 156 135 175 136 245 R/L

Snowe 528 7/3/1/0 223 183 97 151 109 100 177 66 240 R/L

Rachel 549 7/4/2/1 131 178 113 159 140 89 176 141 250 R/L

Helga 569 7/4/2/1 227 117 101 95 159 101 83 153 255 R/L

Gau 703 5/2/1/0 229 121 69 96 201 59 227 105 250 R/L

Gretchen 535 9/5/2/1 175 141 135 121 177 119 143 124 240 H/R/L

Conrad 459 9/7/4/2 73 143 183 152 94 172 97 137 200 H/R/L

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character HP MP STR TEC MAG EVD DEF MDF SPD LUK WPN RUNE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jewel 575 8/4/2/1 158 157 124 179 118 139 178 142 240 H/R/L

Katarina 459 9/7/4/2 114 130 176 158 73 176 120 81 200 H/R/L

Lo Sen 574 7/4/2/0 158 109 100 134 127 94 182 101 245 R/L

Shiramine 649 6/3/1/0 185 116 79 104 198 94 122 123 250 R/L

Lo Fong 492 9/6/3/1 123 156 159 127 144 148 222 201 245 H/R/L

Ugetsu 598 8/4/2/1 161 98 122 96 117 102 74 95 245 H/R/L

Lo Haku 499 8/5/2/1 136 176 132 150 136 99 205 100 245 H/R/L

Flair 504 9/6/3/1 115 205 155 182 102 163 201 160 245 H/R/L

Jeremy 639 6/3/1/0 184 159 81 135 156 104 150 146 240 R/L

Jeane 467 9/9/6/4 110 204 226 94 83 223 104 139 200 R/L
* Charm Rune permanently affixed to head (enemies will sometimes block
physical attacks for her)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character HP MP STR TEC MAG EVD DEF MDF SPD LUK WPN RUNE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sigurd 566 9/7/4/2 157 205 181 159 165 140 184 118 245 H/R/L

Harvey 601 7/4/2/1 196 136 108 177 138 119 201 159 240 R/L

Frederica 507 9/6/3/1 140 158 152 188 96 98 199 158 245 H/R/L

Bartholomew 639 7/3/1/0 231 105 99 134 172 82 59 89 250 R/L

Helmut 616 9/5/3/1 160 235 149 104 119 108 152 97 240 H/R/L

Pablo 460 9/6/3/2 65 179 171 92 84 137 156 202 200 H/R/L

Dario 640 8/4/2/1 209 96 118 98 157 151 82 100 255 R/L

Mirei 479 9/6/3/1 161 173 157 128 142 95 197 176 240 H/R/L

Reinholt 605 8/4/2/1 183 142 123 160 100 119 92 103 250 H/R/L
* Thanks go out to Blue Moon from GameFAQs for providing these stats.

Warlock 433 9/9/6/4 53 58 226 225 81 189 78 79 200 H/R/L

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character HP MP STR TEC MAG EVD DEF MDF SPD LUK WPN RUNE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akagi 597 8/4/2/1 156 138 117 225 139 159 202 133 250 R/L

Mizuki 581 9/6/3/1 118 160 159 207 157 134 227 110 250 H/R
* Shrike Rune permanently affixed to left hand

Ornan 607 9/5/3/1 138 156 143 93 148 159 173 175 245 R/L
* Waking Rune permanently affixed to head

Amelia 596 9/5/3/1 161 169 146 135 111 96 176 155 250 H/R/L

Wendell 460 9/8/5/3 116 132 200 227 105 97 175 136 250 H/R/L

Eugene 607 9/6/3/1 115 154 156 184 215 136 83 67 250 R/L
* Firefly Rune permanently affixed to head
(enemies will target this character only, if possible)

Mitsuba 655 7/4/2/1 186 101 103 104 114 140 101 206 250 R/L

Viki 423 9/8/5/3 97 192 200 150 75 170 102 82 200 H/R
* Blinking Rune permanently affixed to left hand

Kate 530 9/6/3/2 125 160 174 185 139 116 181 142 245 R/L

Charlemagne 562 7/3/1/0 156 179 99 109 101 115 102 114 240 R/L

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character HP MP STR TEC MAG EVD DEF MDF SPD LUK WPN RUNE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rita 499 9/5/3/1 113 183 149 181 126 136 140 224 255 H/R/L

Tristan 637 6/3/1/0 91 206 79 93 205 187 143 104 240 R/L

Narcle 491 9/5/3/1 160 138 140 195 137 133 193 133 250 H/R/L

Champo 540 8/4/2/1 113 179 115 173 110 184 180 117 250 R/L

Maxine 461 9/9/6/4 97 226 231 98 75 185 141 173 200 R/L

Carl 604 7/3/1/0 184 126 98 124 228 97 184 74 250 R/L

III. Ten Best/Worst Characters
---------------------------------

This is a listing of the 10 (sometimes more) best and worst characters for
each statistic. Reinholt may potentially be in some of these lists. If anyone
manages to level him up to 99, please email me his stats. Thanks.

i. Strength
-----------
231 Bartholomew 53 Warlock
229 Gau 65 Pablo
227 Helga 73 Conrad
223 Snowe 91 Tristan
209 Dario 97 Viki
205 Reno 97 Maxine
Tal 110 Jeane
196 Harvey 112 Kika
191 Isaac 113 Paula
186 Mitsuba Rita
Champo

ii. Technique
-------------
235 Helmut 58 Warlock
232 Kika 96 Dario
226 Maxine 98 Isaac
206 Tristan 98 Ugetsu
205 Sigurd 101 Mitsuba
Flair 105 Bartholomew
204 Jeane 109 Lo Sen
201 Reinbach 114 Axel
195 Keneth 116 Shiramine
192 Viki 117 Helga

iii. Magic
----------
231 (9/9/6/4) Maxine 69 (5/2/1/0) Gau
227 (9/9/6/4) Ted 79 (6/3/1/0) Shiramine
226 (9/9/6/4) Jeane Tristan
Warlock 81 (6/3/1/0) Jeremy
200 (9/8/5/3) Wendell 88 (6/3/1/0) Travis
Viki 97 (7/3/1/0) Isaac
183 (9/7/4/2) Conrad Snowe
181 (9/7/4/2) Sigurd 98 (7/3/1/0) Carl
176 (9/7/4/2) Katarina 99 (7/3/1/0) Tal
174 (9/6/3/2) Paula Bartholomew
Kate Charlemagne
* Pablo (171) and the Hero (162) also have 9/6/3/2 magic.
** Lo Sen and Kika don't get level 4 magic either. Both of their magic stats
are 100 (7/4/2/0)

iv. Evade
---------
227 Wendell 92 Reno
225 Warlock Pablo
Akagi 93 Tristan
207 Mizuki Ornan
202 Kika 94 Jeane
201 Cheepoo 95 Helga
195 Narcle 96 Gau
188 Frederica Ugetsu
185 Kate 98 Dario
184 Eugene Maxine

v. Defence
----------
228 Carl 73 Katarina
215 Eugene 75 Viki
205 Tristan Maxine
201 Gau 81 Warlock
198 Shiramine 83 Ted
178 Reno Jeane
177 Gretchen 84 Pablo
173 Isaac 94 Conrad
172 Bartholomew 96 Frederica
165 Sigurd 100 Reinholt

vi. Magic Defence
-----------------
223 Jeane 59 Gau
200 Aldo 82 Bartholomew
189 Warlock 89 Rachel
188 Ted 94 Lo Sen
187 Tristan Shiramine
185 Maxine Tal
184 Champo 95 Mirei
176 Katarina 96 Amelia
172 Conrad 97 Wendell
170 Viki Carl
* Frederica (98) and Lo Haku (99) also have below 100 magic defence.

vii. Speed
----------
227 Gau 59 Bartholomew
Mizuki 74 Ugetsu
222 Lo Fong 78 Warlock
207 Aldo 82 Dario
206 Cheepoo 83 Helga
205 Lo Haku Eugene
202 Akagi 92 Reinholt
201 Flair 97 Conrad
Harvey 100 Isaac
199 Frederica 101 Mitsuba

viii. Luck
----------
231 Reinbach 66 Snowe
224 Rita 67 Eugene
223 Cheepoo 74 Carl
206 Mitsuba 79 Warlock
202 Pablo 81 Katarina
201 Lo Fong 82 Viki
176 Mirei 89 Bartholomew
175 Ornan 92 Ugetsu
173 Maxine 97 Helmut
160 Flair 100 Dario
Lo Haku

ix. HP
------
703 Gau 423 Viki
655 Mitsuba 433 Warlock
649 Shiramine 459 Conrad
640 Dario Katarina
639 Jeremy 460 Pablo
Bartholomew Wendell
637 Tristan 461 Maxine
617 Reno 467 Jeane
616 Helmut 490 Cheepoo
611 Tal 491 Narcle
Axel

IV. Credits
--------------

- Gahleon, from the Suikoden IV board, for testing out this guide, and
verifying a few things for me.
- Blue Moon, also from the board, for providing Reinholt's level 99
stats.
- Matt620 from the board for giving me the highest/lowest HP lists.
- Lyrl Westrum for providing me with the information about Viki in
Section I, part v.
- DeathOne from the board for providing an alternate two-session method.

Copyright (c) 2004 by R. Choe

This entire document is protected by copyright and shall not be used for
commercial purposes.