v 1.0
March 11, 2011
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Some of the mercenaries in this game are obviously bad, and some are obviously
great, but it is often hard to tell which of the good mercenaries will be more
useful. A large part of this is due to not being able to see future stat
gains, and future equipment possibilities, when you recruit a mercenary. This
guide is an attempt at providing an evaluation of which mercenaries are useful,
without unleashing a flood of data. I've tried to sort out the most relevant
information and put it in one place, so you can easily check out the available
mercenaries and decide which ones to hire.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[1] General Considerations
[1.1] Offensive Strategy
[1.2] Healing Strategy
[1.3] Buffs
[1.4] Utility Spells
[1.5] Stats
[2] Mercenaries
[2.1] Available at Start of Game
[2.2] Available at or around the Slums
[2.3] Available at Gloucester
[2.4] Available Soon after the Ancient Machine Sequence
[2.5] Available on Lennus
[2.6] Available at the Throne of the Immortals
[3] Acknowledgements & History
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
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Because you can use a number of different strategies in combat, one size does
not fit all. Therefore, I am beginning by talking about the strategies (and in
particular, the spells and weapons) that I found useful, since that has a large
impact on my evaluations of the mercenaries. If you really like spells that I
don't, take that into account when considering whom to hire. And if you just
disagree with me about stuff, well, that's cool too! This is a bit subjective.
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[1.1] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS -- OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
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In general, magic does a lot more damage than physical attacks do. Physical
attacks are only effective when you combine a weapon with many hits, with a
high Power character. Only a few mercenaries truly have this combination:
NIKITA = Fist of Fury (3-5x) & Fist of Rage (8-10x)
DARK = Fist of Fury (3-5x) & Fist of Rage (8-10x)
RANKAS = Multi-Shot (5x) & Light Bow (7-9x)
MYRA = Multi-Shot (5x) & Light Bow (7-9x)
FLASH = Multi-Shot (5x) & Light Bow (7-9x)
RICHJR = Gomutai (3-5x)
Most of the offensive magic spells are actually pretty bad. There are only
four that I found useful. SUZAN, KEKAN, and LELAN, despite costing just 9 HP,
can do more damage than any other spell. They are only single target, but the
damage is quite nice against vulnerable monsters: often 5000+ once your spirit
is maxed. Most mercenaries have access to at least one of these spells.
In general, I found LELAN to have somewhat fewer problems with enemy
resistance, and KEKAN to have somewhat more.
The other good offensive spell is GUBO. With a maxed spirit, GUBO does about
1500-3000 damage depending on Wisdom, and it does it to all enemies. Having
two GUBO casters will wipe out the majority of the game's random encounters
without breaking a sweat. About half the mercenaries have access to GUBO.
The group-target spells (like SUZUN) are weak and I don't find targetting
groups to be that useful. The hit-all spells (like SUZON) are also weak,
dealing about 20% the damage of SUZAN. The increasing-target spells (like
SUZODON) are better: with maxed spirits, they will do about 60% the damage of
SUZAN, and hit all enemies. However, I have been unable to find any situation
where SUZODON and its cousins can outdamage GUBO.
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[1.2] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS -- HEALING STRATEGY
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This is pretty simple. Of note is that, unlike in Lennus 1, Giga Bottles do
NOT heal the entire party. You need the BOTTLE spell to heal the whole party,
making it a valuable spell indeed. Only four mercenaries possess that spell,
and only one -- NIKITA -- has anything else to recommend her.
REVIVE is useful, but not great, since the revived character will be quite
vulnerable. Life Corsage (equipment usable by most females) is another good
way to heal people (and revive them) throughout random battles and even in boss
battles.
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[1.3] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS -- BUFFS
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Mostly only useful against bosses. WAY more useful with maxed spirits, when
one use will affect all party members.
ATTACK UP is huge if you are using physical attackers. DEFENSE UP is useful,
but not critical, in some fights. SPEED UP is not usually critical since using
a bottle gives you very good initiative. SKILLS UP is _great_, since it gives
you all three buffs at once.
GRAVA and SPELA are very, very useful damage sinks, for physical and magic
attacks, respectively. SPELA is easier to duplicate with items (the Sage's
Ring) than GRAVA is. Both spells are good to have.
The various wall spells will reduce the amount of damage you take from attacks.
In my testing, they reduced damage by about 200 HP per hit; I'm not sure if
this is actually a percentage-based reduction, but 200 HP gives you a good idea
of its value towards the endgame: not bad, but not critical. As far as I can
tell, all of these spells stack, and their effects are:
MgWall = vs all magic attacks
Suzowall = vs fire
Kekowall = vs lightning
Lelowall = vs wind
Barrier = vs physical attacks
Wall = vs physical attacks; reflects some damage to attacker
Debuffs (MOMRICK to freeze, SLOW to slow and SOFIE to reduce defense) I did not
find useful, especially since they fail on bosses. Likewise for GOGOBOL the
instant death spell.
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[1.4] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS -- UTILITY SPELLS
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Useless since cheap items will duplicate all their effects.
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[1.5] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS -- STATS
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Power is useful only for physical attacks, and physical attacks are only useful
if Power is high AND a weapon with lots of hits is available.
Speed is always good to have, but never important, since there are lots of ways
to raise it and using bottles gives you initiative anyway.
Stamina is important, since you get attacked a lot, and it really does reduce
damage. However, Stamina also varies less than most other stats.
Wisdom is really important, since it affects magical attack damage AND it
reduces the damage you take from enemy magic attacks. Unlike in Lennus 1,
spirit proficiency does NOT reduce damage from enemy magic attacks; Wisdom does
instead. This is probably the most important stat, although it doesn't really
trump spell and equipment selection.
HP is important for obvious reasons, but again, it varies less than most other
stats.
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[2.1] MERCENARIES -- AVAILABLE AT START OF GAME
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ZOCK, CHEST, JOAD:
* Each has two single target attack spells plus one attribute pumper.
* Zock has better HP, but lower Speed.
* Chest has higher Power, but lower HP and Wisdom.
* Joad has better Wisdom.
* Chest and Joad can also use boomerangs and whips, respectively.
YUMA, MELINA:
* Each has single and group attack spells plus MOMRICK (freeze).
* Higher Wisdom and Speed than the boys; much lower HP, Stamina, and Power.
RECOMMENDATION: Zock, Chest, Joad.
Being able to choose the more effective element to attack with is a lot better
than having a group attack spell. The buffs are also useful against bosses.
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[2.2] MERCENARIES -- AVAILABLE AT OR AROUND THE SLUMS
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CLAY:
* A money sink.
* More HP and a better physical attacker than the Terrans, but that's not
saying much.
* He does have the BOTTLE spell.
BAI:
* You can't stay at an inn, or he'll steal your money and leave.
* He also happens to have terrible stats.
MYRA (ORIGINAL STAT GROWTH):
* High Speed, very high Wisdom, low HP and Stamina, very low Power.
* Has ZUZAN.
* Useful, but her stat gains are much better if you wait to level her until
her second form.
* (Not sure if you have to recruit her to get her to return, also not sure if
she has to be in your party when you fight Gilray Zork.)
GOND:
* Very high Power, Stamina, and HP; very low Speed and Wisdom.
* Can use tool type weapons, which provide reasonable effects early on.
A good physical attacker for this early stage of the game.
RECOMMENDATION: Gond, Myra, Joad;
or if you intend to use Myra later in the game: Gond, Joad, Zock.
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[2.3] MERCENARIES -- AVAILABLE AT GLOUCESTER
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Note that a substantial portion of the game will be completed before more
mercenaries are available, so this is a good time to pick characters who will
really last!
CHECHE:
* Bad stats, but provides a 25% discount in stores.
BO, KARRAT, JENKA:
* Each character has one set of single and group attack spells, plus GUBO,
and GRAVA to boot. These guys are terrific.
* Bo has better Power and Stamina, but less Wisdom.
* Karrat has better HP.
* And Jenka has better Speed and Wisdom, but less HP and Power.
* Bo and Jenka can both use the very effective bow weapons (Multi-Arrow), and
Bo has enough Power to make them worthwhile, at least at this point in the
game.
IRIS:
* Like the three mercenaries above, but she has two elements to choose from
instead of one, in addition to GUBO (and GRAVA).
* You have to buy a lot of equipment for her, to recruit her.
* She starts at a crazy high level for the area and with okay stats, but her
stat gains are pretty atrocious. Excellent in the short term, not good in
the long run.
NIKITA:
* Very high Power, Speed, and Stamina, and good HP. Low Wisdom, sadly.
* However, Nikita can use martial arts weapons, some of which are very good
(Fist of Fury, available in the secret Gloucester shop).
* She also gets the BOTTLE spell, REVIVE, and a few useful wall spells. She
is by far the best mercenary who knows BOTTLE.
* Very useful during the long Gloucester story segment and at the end of the
game, when she gets her best weapon; a bit less useful in between.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Nikita, Jenka, Bo, Karrat, Iris.
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[2.4] MERCENARIES -- AVAILABLE SOON AFTER THE ANCIENT MACHINE SEQUENCE
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GOSSAM:
* High HP, Power, and Stamina, plus the BOTTLE and REVIVE spells.
* He can use tool weapons, but those become decreasingly effective around
this time.
RANKAS:
* Like Gossam, but with lower stats and better weapon options (bows).
* Instead of BOTTLE, he gets GUBO, but does not really have the Wisdom to use
it well.
GAN and LOVIE:
* Must be hired together.
* Gan has very high HP, Power, and Stamina, but very low Speed and Wisdom.
* His best weapons are tools.
* He gets GUBO, but his Wisdom is too low for it.
* This is a pity, because Lovie's great: she gets all three elements of
attack spells, and all three stat buffs, plus GUBO.
* Lovie also has good Speed and Wisdom.
MYRA (IMPROVED STAT GROWTH):
* Myra now has some of the best stat growth in the game: she has high HP,
Power, Speed, and Stamina, and very high Wisdom.
* She still has SUZAN, and gains SKILLS UP.
* She has access to bow weapons (Multi-Arrow, and later the stupendous Light
Bow), and now has the Power to use them well.
POLOCK:
* I'm not sure if Polock is available now, earlier, or later, since I haven't
been able to find him without a code, myself.
* He has insanely high HP, Power, Speed, and Stamina, which makes him a
physical force to be reckoned with even without good weapons.
* However, he has no spells.
* If you have him, he can probably be substituted for any PC I've
recommended, provided you make sure Farus covers the hole in necessary
spells that may leave you with.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Myra, Nikita, Jenka, Bo, Karrat.
Jenka's GUBO spell should now clear most fights on its own.
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[2.5] MERCENARIES -- AVAILABLE ON LENNUS
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LECTUS, ZANE, LUCAS:
* Much like Bo, Karrat, and Jenka, but with notably improved stats and
different spells (REVIVE and some Void spirit crud, plus SPELA instead of
GRAVA).
* Zane has better Power and better weapon options (the Zaygos Killer).
* Lectus has better Speed and Wisdom.
* Lucas is entirely interior to Lectus and also starts at a much lower level.
JOYNUS:
* Atrocious Power and Stamina, but great Speed and the highest Wisdom in the
game.
* Can attack with all three elements, cast all three stat ups and an array of
wall spells. Pretty good!
* Can equip bows, but is too weak to use them well.
DARK:
* Almost exactly like Nikita.
* A bit more HP, Power and Wisdom, a bit less Speed and Stamina...
* ...and no BOTTLE spell.
JOLT:
* Very high HP, Power and Stamina, and very low Speed and Wisdom.
* Uses tools, which are no longer useful weapons.
* No good spells.
FLASH:
* Fairly average stats.
* Has GUBO and can equip bow weapons, which are both good.
* (Despite all the fuss, his Speed stat is lower than many other PCs' Speed
stats!)
GRANT:
* Fairly low stats plus the BOTTLE spell.
* He can equip bows, but his Power is too low to make them useful.
CYRIL:
* Low to middle stats in general, very low HP, good Power.
* Gets the GUBO spell, but that's it.
* (Contrary to his claims, he does not actually have both the Fire and Water
spirits.)
MECHA:
* Their stats and equipment depend on the parts used to make them and they
can't be healed by normal methods.
* Using the best parts I was able to find in the game, my Mecha had about
8000 HP, and very high stats all around (even Wisdom).
* It also had useful equipment: one weapon did 5000 to a single target, the
other did 1800 to all targets. However, the parts needed for these weapons
are not available when you first reach Lennus.
* However, the difficulty in healing is a serious problem.
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[2.6] MERCENARIES -- AVAILABLE AT THE THRONE OF THE IMMORTALS
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RICHJR:
* Ahh, the mystery of Lennus 1's "ultimate mercenary" is solved: his name was
not Mouth, it was Richter, mistransliterated as Licker and then apparently
euphemized.
* RichJr is even better than Mouth: all his stats are very high;
* He gets SUZAN, KEKAN and LELAN along with the three stat up spells;
* And he is the only character besides Farus who can equip the game-best
Gomutai equipment.
Take RichJr and dump somebody else. This is about the time that GUBO stops
being amazing, so dumping Lectus or Zane is reasonable. RichJr also does most
of what Joynus does, better.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & HISTORY
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Acknowledgements:
Thanks to the users on the GameFAQs Lennus 2 forum who provided valuable info
about this largely unknown game, and encouraged my work on the guide.
