I've written this FAQ to help out players of Mystic Heroes who may have missed
some of the Runes that are scattered throughout the game, or just want a
resource to look at for choosing runes or the like. If you want to use it
elsewhere, permission is available by emailing me at the address provided above.
Mystic Heroes is (c)2002 Koei. All other copyrights and trademarks are
acknowledged unless specifically mentioned. This FAQ is (c) 2002 by me (Todd
Harper). All information not taken directly from the Mystic Heroes rune
dictionary is my own work.
Any commercial entity (including websites that sell advertising) are forbidden
from using this document, with the exception of www.gamefaqs.com (who is granted
express permission). This should never be used for money. For shame.
The short form is: I spent a lot of time working on this sucker. If you had too,
you wouldn't want people stealing it. Do unto others.
-------------------------------
| Table of Contents: |
| |
| 1.) Rune List |
| 2.) Spell Behaviors FAQ |
| 3.) Contact Information |
| 4.) Version History |
| 5.) Thanks and Credits |
-------------------------------
== (1) RUNE LIST ==
In "Location", if the sentence begins with "S/L", it refers to Shiga and Lani's
story mode. If it begins with "N/T", it refers to Nataku and Taikoubou's story
mode. For the 1-66 "normal" runes, the rune is in a breakable object like a
lantern or urn unless otherwise mentioned.
My Japanese isn't perfect, so some of the rune name translations may be wrong.
If you know a correction, check the contact info at the end of the FAQ to submit
it.
Random note: If you've seen the anime "Senkaiden Houshin Engi" (released in the
US as "Soul Hunter"), you may notice that some runes are actually named after
various paopei. Taikoubou's starting rune is Dashin, for example (Dashinben).
Meaning in Japanese: "Bakuya Cannon" (This is a reference to an item from the
book called the Holy Sword of Bakuya. It was the mystic sword used by Kou Hiko's
son Kou Tenka. In MH, Kou Tenka became 'Raja'.)
Description: "Lightning-Fire. Attack +5 means this rune does more than provide
you with spells."
Location: Finish stage 6 of Nataku/Taikoubou's story. (Normal)
Description: "Fire-Wind. One of the four Kenken Runes gives you Magic +60.
Another gives you Health +120."
Location: N/T -- In a pot on a high ledge in the middle of the map past the gate
and near the waterfall just to the east in 5-1. Need Nataku (Taikoubou cannot
jump high
enough).
[Spell Type] [Spell] [Element] [Level]
---------- ----- ------- -----
Direct Fireball +1 Fire 3
Target Meteor +1 Fire 4
Jump Tornado Wind 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will not be covering Sword Spells in-depth, as the behavior of each Sword
Spell is identical: The character swings his/her weapon in a pattern and deals
extra damage to the enemy, with a high chance of inflicting the element's status
(Fire: Burning, Ice: Frozen, Lightning: Slowed, Wind: Confused) on any enemy.
The "special" sword maneuver (many DW3 players refer to it as your "musou",
amusingly) is exactly the same, but you have no control over your player's
movement and are invincible while using it. It costs half your MP and can only
be used at full MP.
When fighting Brutes, who are immune to magic or physical attacks, sword spells
count as a physical attack and not a magical one.
Each character says the same thing when executing a "special" sword spell, and
it is dependent on the element of the spell:
Wind -- "Senkuu Reppa!" (Rending Gale Strike)
Fire -- "Bakuen Hazan!" (Exploding Flame Great Slash)
Ice -- "Hyoujin Reppa!" (Rending Frost Spirit)
Lightning -- "Seirai Koha!" (Divine Thunder's Light Wave)
[Wind Spells]
--Direct--
(Gale)
Fire Pattern: One 'bullet' straight ahead.
In-combo Pattern: Three 'bullets' in a narrow fan straight ahead.
Damage: Low
Speed: Fast
Add Status?: No
Travels: Midair
Comments: The better of the two Wind direct spells. It is quick, does decent
enough damage, and when used in a combo spreads out nicely to knock down foes in
front.
(Whirlwind)
Fire Pattern: Three 'bullets' ahead in a random spiral pattern
In-combo Pattern: Three 'bullets' starting at the user's feet and circling
Damage: Low
Speed: Fast
Add Status?: Confuse
Travels: Along ground
Comments: Although Whirlwind causes confuse and can hit more enemies, its "along
ground" random movement makes it annoying to use. However, it's one of the rare
few direct spells that hits multiple targets both in and out of a combo.
--Target--
(Twister)
Fire Pattern: One 'bullet' per target.
Damage: Low
Speed: Fast
Add Status?: Confuse
Travels: Along ground
Range: Short
Comments: Inferior to Windsnipe in almost every possible way. Twister doesn't do
significantly greater damage, is difficult to hit with at a distance, and is
nigh-unusuable in tight spaces thanks to the curving path the shots take before
heading toward their target. Its only saving grace is that, unlike Windsnipe, it
causes confusion and may hit a larger number of enemies en route to the target.
(Windsnipe)
Fire Pattern: One 'bullet' per target
Damage: Low to Medium
Speed: Fast
Add Status?: No
Travels: Midair
Range: Medium
Comments: One of the better target spells in the game. It fires a single bullet
at each target, and the bullets travel both far and fast. It is basically a
target spell version of Gale with increased range. However, Twister hits more
enemies at once, and Windsnipe rarely (if ever) causes Confusion.
--Jump--
(Tornado)
Fire Pattern: Four large tornados that spiral out from the center point.
Damage: Low
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: Confuse
Area of Effect: Very Wide, Circular
Comments: Not very strong, but Tornado can clear out enemies in a huge range
around the point of impact, and has a very high probability of confusing
enemies. Although Life Pulse is stronger, it doesn't hit as many enemies or
cause a status, so either spell is useful depending on your needs.
(Life Pulse)
Fire Pattern: One large 'bullet' firing directly forward
Damage: Medium
Speed: Very Fast
Add Status?: No
Area of Effect: Narrow, but the bullet travels a long distance
Comments: Stronger and much faster than Tornado, Life Pulse is probably one of
the better Jump spells, but it has serious limitations. The bullet is 'off the
ground', so very short enemies like Wolves might not even be hit by it. As one
of the level 4 jump magics it also requires considerable MP to use, and doesn't
inflict status. But the damage is good and enemies may be sent flying by the
impact.
[Fire Spells]
--Direct--
(Fireball)
Fire Pattern: One 'bullet' straight ahead, which eventually dissipates.
In-combo Pattern: Three 'bullets' in a fan straight ahead which dissipate.
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: Burning
Travels: Midair
Comments: A decent enough spell. It doesn't hit enemies very far in front of you
because of how quickly the fireball vanishes, but it has a wide contact area and
works very well in a crowd if you use it in a combo. The Burning added status
doesn't hurt either. A bit pricey in terms of MP cost, though.
(Comet)
Fire Pattern: Three 'grenades' in a wide fan pattern.
In-combo Pattern: Three 'grenades' directly at the user's feet.
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: No
Travels: High mid-air arc, eventually falling to earth.
Comments: Comet and Meteor are where Fire spells really shine. Comet is best
suited for close-range fighting in the middle of a combo; the 'grenades' it
fires explode on contact and the resulting flames cover a very wide area.
Although it doesn't set things on fire like Fireball, its damage and range are
considerably better.
--Target--
(Firestorm)
Fire Pattern: One 'bullet' per target
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium to Slow
Add Status?: No
Travels: Midair
Range: Medium
Comments: Like the rest of the fire magics, this spell is decent, but not
terrific. It flies fairly quickly, hits multiple targets, and is low on MP
drain. But it also doesn't do significant damage and it doesn't add a status. If
you can access Meteor instead, it's a much better choice, but there's nothing
wrong with this spell.
(Meteor)
Fire Pattern: One 'grenade' per target
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: No
Travels: Midair
Range: Medium
Comments: Essentially, Meteor is just a Comet spell you can target at a
distance. It acts in exactly the same way: medium-sized spheres that explode
when they hit something. If you have a large crowd at a distance, firing a few
shots of Meteor into it can really help soften them up for you, but it's not as
useful as Windsnipe or Hail (or even Firestorm) for distance combat.
--Jump--
(Volcano)
Fire Pattern: An explosion, centered directly beneath the caster
Damage: Medium
Speed: Slow
Add Status?: Burning
Area of Effect: Medium circular "explosion"
Comments: Jump spells are not Fire's specialty (probably because Nataku's magic
power is awful). Volcano acts a lot like Avalanche, but without the usefulness
of adding Frozen. However, it's the only Fire jump spell that's available until
you get most of the way through the game and acquire a rune with Hell's Fire, so
you'll have to make do.
(Hell's Fire)
Fire Pattern: Five "grenades" in an inverted V-shape directly ahead
Damage: High
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: None
Area of Effect: Once the "grenades" impact with something, explosive burst
Comments: Powerful but somewhat limited. Hell's Fire is basically five short-
range Comet shots that explode directly ahead of you. The damage is good, but
the range is awful, and as a level 4 jump magic it sucks up INCREDIBLE amounts
of MP (and if you're Nataku, MP is a scarcity). If you have to use a Fire jump
spell, use this one, but it's better to use a jump magic from another element
overall.
[Lightning Spells]
--Direct--
(Shock Orb)
Fire Pattern: One 'bullet' spirals ahead, and splits in three on contact.
In-combo Pattern: Three 'bullets' in a fan straight ahead which don't split.
Damage: Medium
Speed: Slow
Add Status?: Slow
Travels: Midair
Comments: Difficult to use, but incredibly fearsome if you can use it correctly.
Shock Orb isn't so great in a combo, as it doesn't hit the enemy you're
attacking and the orbs don't split. However, if you can fire off a number of
Shock Orbs into a dense crowd of enemies, you can just sit back and watch as the
continually dividing orbs juggle the enemies and slow them to boot. Although
Bolt is faster and cuts through enemies better, Shock Orb has its own uses.
(Bolt)
Fire Pattern: Many "lightning bolts" in a straight line pattern ahead.
In-combo Pattern: Three "lightning bolts" directly in front of the caster.
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: No
Travels: N/A
Comments: When it comes to cutting a path out of a group of enemies, Bolt is the
spell to use. Although it travels in a line along the ground, the lightning
strikes from above, negating the problems spells like Whirlwind have. Used in a
combo it's good for clearing out enemies in front, too. However, there's a very
good chance you'll zap your allies in the process of using Bolt, which isn't
very precise. A bit more brute force than Shock Orb, but still quite effective.
--Target--
(Shock)
Fire Pattern: One 'bullet' per target
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium (fires after a short delay)
Add Status?: No
Travels: Midair
Range: Medium
Comments: You'd assume a target version of Shock Orb would be good, but it's
really not. It's a little more precise than Lightning and costs less MP to use,
but otherwise isn't very remarkable. Still, if you seem to be frying your own
troops left and right using Lightning, Shock is still a decent spell to use in
its place.
(Lightning)
Fire Pattern: One 'thunderbolt' per target
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: No
Travels: N/A (Bolt simply appears at target location)
Range: Long
Comments: Along with Hail and Meteor, one of the best target magics in the game.
Lightning has the biggest advantage in that it doesn't "travel"; it just
*happens* when you let go of the button. This means no pesky things like cliffs,
walls, or other enemies will get in the way. It does decent damage and if you
target a cluster of enemies is almost as good as using Storm right in the middle
of them. However, it's easy to hit your own allies with this spell, and you can
break distant urns easily without thinking about it, as it's not very precise.
--Jump--
(Storm)
Fire Pattern: A number of lightning bolts centered under the caster.
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: No
Area of Effect: Very wide "thunderstorm" effect
Comments: One of the best jump spells in the game. The damage is good, it comes
out quickly (for a jump spell), and the area of effect is immense. The damage
isn't so hot and it doesn't slow enemies down like Pure Energy, but it has a
much more reasonable MP cost. For clearing out enemies directly around you if
you're feeling cornered, Storm is very effective.
(Pure Energy)
Fire Pattern: Three very large balls of lightning in random positions ahead.
Damage: High
Speed: Slow
Add Status?: Slow
Area of Effect: Medium distance around each sphere
Comments: Not that great. Like Shock Orb, Pure Energy is designed to clear out
crowds and give you time to escape. However, in execution it's not so useful.
The random positioning of the spheres means an enemy has to literally *run into
one* to take damage, and the slow effect doesn't last very long. It also burns
insane amounts of MP. It may have more strategic uses, but I have yet to
discover one.
[Ice Spells]
--Direct--
(Snowball)
Fire Pattern: One 'ice spear' fires ahead.
In-combo Pattern: A burst of cold energy directly in front of the caster.
Damage: Low
Speed: Fast
Add Status?: Frozen
Travels: Midair
Comments: Absolutely useless outside of combos, but in combos, a lifesaver
beyond compare. Used out of a combo, the ice spear is almost invisble and
practically impossible to aim. Inside a combo, however, the 'frozen burst' will
freeze most enemies directly ahead of you solid, allowing you to escape or keep
attacking to do major damage. Snowball's damage is low, but it comes out fast
and the freeze effect is well worth it.
(Icicle)
Fire Pattern: One 'grenade' bounces ahead.
In-combo Pattern: Three short ice 'pillars' at the caster's feet.
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: Frozen
Travels: Indirect arc (it bounces as it moves forward)
Comments: An interesting spell, a lot like Blizzard. Used outside a combo, you
fire an ice 'grenade' forward, which bounces along. Every time it impacts with
the ground, a short ice pillar is formed. If it impacts with an enemy, the enemy
is frozen and the grenade disappears. Any enemy who touches one of the ice
pillars is frozen, and the pillar disappears. The in-combo version skips the
grenade and simply makes the pillars. Not as reliable as Snowball in combos, but
still an effective "minelayer" spell for out-of-combo use.
--Target--
(Blizzard)
Fire Pattern: Successive "ice bullets" for each target
Damage: Medium
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: Frozen
Travels: Indirect arc; each bullet travels midair briefly, then falls.
Range: Long
Comments: A very quirky but surprisingly powerful spell. When you first fire off
Blizzard, you release a very large chunk of ice. That will either hit the target
or the ground very quickly, and then it bursts into smaller bullets of ice...
which then either hit the ground or a target, and burst into very small ice
shots ala Hail. The final shots even home in just like Hail does, though
slightly slower. The usage is a little strange, but since both Ice target spells
hit at a long distance and cause enemies to freeze solid, they're both wise
choices. Blizzard is better for crowds, while Hail is better against pinpoint
targets like bosses.
(Hail)
Fire Pattern: One "ice shard" for each target
Damage: Medium
Speed: Fast
Add Status?: Frozen
Travels: Midair
Range: Long
Comments: One of the better target magics. Hail will hit from an *incredible*
distance (almost as far as Lightning), travels through the air at breakneck
speed, and almost always freezes the enemy solid on contact. It's probably the
most precise target spell in the game and is excellent for use against bosses
(especially the Roc/Suzaku). However, for clearing out crowds from a distance it
isn't terribly effective because of how pinpoint accurate it is.
--Jump--
(Avalanche)
Fire Pattern: A burst of ice shards directly under the caster.
Damage: Medium
Speed: Slow
Add Status?: Frozen
Area of Effect: A small burst of ice shards.
Comments: Like Volcano, Avalanche is only for the desperate. It takes a long
time to use and hits very strangley: it's not the large ice block that does
damage, but rather the shards it breaks into once it hits the ground, and these
often won't even hit enemies sitting right next to you. However, it's light on
MP and it does cause Frozen if it hits, so it's not entirely useless, but if you
have access to Glacier Freeze, it's infintely better.
(Glacier Freeze)
Fire Pattern: A line of ice towers directly ahead.
Damage: High
Speed: Medium
Add Status?: Frozen
Area of Effect: A very narrow but VERY long straight line.
Comments: Perhaps because Glacier Freeze is my favorite spell it should be taken
with a grain of salt, but even without my bias it is clearly one of the most
effective jump magics. A straight line of very tall ice towers heads straight
out from the caster and keeps going for an incredibly long distance, ignoring
any height or geography changes in its path and freezing any non-boss enemy
solid. Because it ignores height and even gaps in the ground, it's great for
killing cannons from a distance. However, as a level 4 jump magic, it requires
an obscene amount of MP.
============================
== (3) CONTACT INFORMATION ==
You can email me at todd (at) chaoticblue (dot) com.
What should you email me with?
1.) Possible corrections
2.) Questions about the FAQ's format
3.) Questions about the FAQ in general
4.) Suggestions for a better FAQ
What shouldn't you email me with?
1.) Questions about the game in general. DON'T EMAIL ME FOR HELP WITH MYSTIC
HEROES. I will not answer. I will probably ignore any email from you in the
future too regardless of content. If you found this, you probably saw a lot
of other FAQs on this game. Try those.
=============================
== (4) VERSION HISTORY ==
0.75 -- First Update
Added a large number of runes, as well as the spell behaviors FAQ.
0.33 -- Initial Release
Covers all runes available through Shiga and Lani's Normal mode.
=========================
== (5) THANKS AND CREDITS ==
Thank you to following GameFAQs Message Boards users for their invaluable
assistance:
Sky Scorcher
MysticWeirdo
Freedom
They've all provided a lot of information on rune names and locations (even if I
don't have them all sorted out yet) and I thank them very much for their
assistance.
