-QUEST 64 ELEMENT FAQ
-V1.00 (08/02/08)
-By KIRBIX
DISCLAIMER:
This is property of KIRBIX (Sean D'Hoostelaere). This may be not be
reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may
not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without
advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a
part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of
copyright.
In plain English, this means that it is against the law for you to copy this
guide. If you want to print it out, that's fine, but I do not permit its use
anywhere on the web or for it to be used for anything profitable.
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|Table of Contents|
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TO USE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Along the right side of the table is a quicksearch reference. By pressing
Ctrl+F, you can bring up the search function. Input the reference numbers
along the right side without the parentheses to quickly scroll down to the
section that you want to read.
I. Version History................................ ( I. )
II. Quest 64, and its Spirits...................... ( II. )
III. Guide Breakdown................................ ( III.)
IV. Earth.......................................... ( IV. )
a. Skill Tree.................................. (IVa.)
b. Spell Explanations.......................... (IVb.)
V. Fire........................................... ( V. )
a. Skill Tree.................................. (Va.)
b. Spell Explanations.......................... (Vb.)
VI. Wind........................................... ( VI. )
a. Skill Tree.................................. (VIa.)
b. Spell Explanations.......................... (VIb.)
VII. Water.......................................... ( VII.)
a. Skill Tree.................................. (VIIa.)
b. Spell Explanations.......................... (VIIb.)
VIII. Heart (just kidding)
VIII. Builds......................................... (VIII.)
IX. Spell/Build Ratings............................ ( IX. )
X. Contact Me..................................... ( X. )
XI. Credits........................................ ( XI. )
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***** I. VERSION HISTORY *****
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1.0 (8/08)- Original, and probably only version
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***** II. QUEST 64, AND ITS SPIRITS *****
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Quest 64 is a truly magical game. That is, it's a game that focuses on the
wonderful magical powers that control the natural world of Celtland, the
world in which it takes place. You control Brian, and you get to tame these
magical powers, which take the form of spirits. Spirits, as you quickly
come to find out, are those wisps of purple smoke that you find all around
the world. By grabbing one, you can choose to strenghten your magical
prowess in one of the four elements. As your level increases, the damage
of your spells increase and the variety of spells you can cast increase as
well. Not surprisingly, it's in your best interest to make them as strong
as possible.
In this FAQ I'm going to break down the four elements. I'm going to talk
about what spells you can learn and when, and then I'm going to discuss,
spell by spell, the uses that they have for you. At the end, I'll even
throw in some reccomended setups that will get you through the game, as well
as some pointers for what spells should be a priority at certain points in
the game.
ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND:
These recommendations are only as useful as your own spirit elements are.
If you're reading about Large Cutter, and I declare it one of the best
spells (which it is) and you're getting the last crystal and you only have
25 in wind, you'll be very disappointed in the damage. Therefore you have
to make the assumption that in order for the attack spells I mention to be
as good as I make them out to be, the element must be appropriately leveled
up.
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***** III. GUIDE BREAKDOWN *****
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Before we begin, I thought it might be fair that I give a brief explanation
of things.
For the skill tree, The first skill is listed in the center on the far left.
From there, you have four skills, designated by up, right, left and down
C. That means if you pull open the spell menu and press the corresponding
button, that's the spell that will be called up. Next to the spell name
is a number: that is the level at which you'll learn the spell. All spells
in column 1 are 1 MP, all the spells in column 2 are 2 and all the spells
in column 3 are 3 MP. Simple enough, yes?
As for the explanations, each spell will have several statistics listed
above the explanation. They mean the following:
Spell Type: This one will pretty much speak for itself. It's either going
to be a damaging spell, a stat-boosting spell or some other
auxiliary spell.
Damage: The amount of damage that a given spell will do at level 50 to an
enemy that is neither weak nor resistant to the spell. I used Pale
Riders and Pin Heads for my calculations. Pale Riders for Fire and
Water, Pin Heads for Wind and Earth
The number is average, not exact- Spells do varying damage even to
the same enemy.
Range: Divided into short, medium and long. Short range spells are only
good up close- you'll pretty much be in staff range if you're using
these spells. Medium range spells are from about 5-10 paces away.
You're out of their reach, but still within definite walking
distance. Long is, well... long. You can pretty much walk your full
movement away and still attack with this spell.
Obviously, spells aren't so simply divided into three categories.
Practice using these spells to properly judge the distance. Some
spells only work from a distance, and so you need to learn yourself
just how much is enough.
Area of Effect: Divided into Direct, Cluster, Line and Nearby. Direct spells
arethe ones that hit an enemy and stop. Cluster spells hit
several enemies that are grouped together. Line spells will
hit the enemies in a line, in some form or another. Nearby
spells are the spells that will hit surrounding enemies
in all directions from you.
More specific details will be found with each spell.
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***** IV. EARTH *****
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The first element of interest is Earth. Of the four elements, I find earth
to be the most interesting. As far as damage goes, it's pretty weak, and yet
most of its spells are attack spells. However, earth is home to the three
defense spells, and magic barrier in particular is reason enough to use this
element (although avalanche is definitely another great reason).
Earth's direction in the C-pad is LEFT.
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~~~IVa. Skill Tree~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Up-C) - Rolling Rock 2 (39)
(Right-C)- Magic Barrier (36)
(Up-C) - Rolling Rock 1(10)
(Left-C) - Avalanche (24)
(Down-C) - Confusion (27)
(Up-C) - Magic Barrier (36)
(Right-C)- Weaken All (43)
(Right-C)- Weakness 1(13)
(Left-C) - Rock Shower (34)
(Down-C) - Weakness 2 (31)
Rock 1(1)
(Up-C) - Avalanche (24)
(Right-C)- Rock Shower (34)
(Left-C) - Rock 2(4)
(Left-C) - Rock 3 (16)
(Down-C) - Magnet Rock (19)
(Up-C) - Confusion (27)
(Right-C)- Weakness 2 (31)
(Down-C) - Spirit Armor 1(7)
(Left-C) - Magnet Rock (19)
(Down-C) - Spirit Armor 2 (21)
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~~~IVb. Spell Explanations~~~
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-ROCK 1
---------------
Level Learned: 1
MP Used: 1
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 150
Range: Medium
Area of Effect: Cluster
The first rock spell that you get is pretty basic. When you cast the spell,
a rock appears over your head and flies down in a rather large arc, crashing
down on an enemy.
Because it's the basic spell, it's use is limited. It's very hard to hit
more than one enemy with this spell- the rock has virtually no sideways
range. However, if they're REALLY close together (such as enemies in the
blue cave, for example), you can hit a couple, if you're lucky.
Aiming is pretty basic. It's medium range, so don't stand next to them or it
will go right over their head. Back up the recommended 5-10 paces and let
it fly.
It's useless once you have level 2 and 3. The only plus is the MP cost,
so if you're trying to conserve MP and it's only one bad guy, it's a good
fallback spell.
-ROCK 2
---------------
Level Learned: 4
MP Used: 2
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 160
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Cluster/Line
You'll notice that there is an increase in damage... by 10. It's basically
non existant, but it does seem to consistently do more damage if only
by that small margin. I'm not really sure what the developers were thinking,
but hey.
The big difference between levels 1 and 2 is the size of the boulder. While
the boulder doesn't fall in a different arc at all, it's a bigger rock,
which means three things. One, it now qualifies as long range because the
boulder's range is broadened. Two, it is MUCH easier to hit multiple
enemies with the same boulder- any grouping will get smacked by the rock.
Three, if the enemies are large, the rock can hit them on its way down,
effectively giving it a Line area of effect. It's harder with level 2 than
with level 3, but it can be done.
As with level 1, it's dwarfed by level 3 in its use, but it does conserve
MP and that does make it useful in its own right. All told, you're best
using level 1 for MP conservation and 3 for large groups.
-ROCK 3
---------------
Level Learned: 16
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 165
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Cluster/Line
As the weakest of the level 3 spells in raw damage, I often set this one
aside. However, if it hits 4 enemies (which it often can), it's easily one
of the most powerful spells you have.
As with level 2, it's just an even BIGGER rock than before. It's even more
effective at hitting clusters of enemies. You almost don't have to aim- with
a rock this big, as long as you're not directly next to them it's going to
hit them.
Ideally, position yourself to drop the rock so that it hits an enemy or two
on the way down and then hits another one or two of them on impact. It's a
great way to 3-round even the toughest opponents.
Use it when the situation arises that you want to do some huge area damage
from a distance. It's not a good spell up close, and some spells may do it
better. Still, absolutely a great spell.
-SPIRIT ARMOR 1, 2
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Level Learned: 7 and 21
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Stat-Boosting
Pretty simple spell; you cast it, and the damage done by enemies drops. The
amount is by various amounts; about 25% with level one, and
40% with level 2. Obviously, you are definitely going to use level 2 over
level 1 once you get it; no point skimping and just using level 1
It's a useful spell; great for boss battles and when you're first entering
a new area and aren't strong enough to kill the new enemies quickly.
However, in every-day use it's usually just as effective to just attack.
The damage you prevent is often just as much as you would have prevented by
killing them a turn sooner.
-ROLLING ROCK 1, 2
------------------
Level Learned: 10 and 39
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 140
Range: Medium
Area of Effect: Line
This spell is probably my absolute least favorite damage spell in the game.
Mostly because I can't seem to use it properly. The main reason is that I
find the range to be really hard to gauge. It's about as far as rock level
1, but not quite. It also doesn't seem to have great range at depth,
meaning that it's easy to have the rock roll in front of or behind the
enemy.
However, complications from that aside, it's a decent spell. If the
enemies are lined up, all you have to do is stand there and let it roll.
Level two just gives you a bigger rock to do damage with.
Once you get rock 3, this spell is pretty much overshadowed. Less damage
and a comparable area of effect just begs the question of why they even
included a second one if there wasn't going to be a damage increase.
-WEAKNESSS 1, 2, ALL
--------------------
Level Learned: 13, 31 and 43
MP Used: 2, 3 and 3
Spell type: Stat-reducing
Weakness is a spell that reduces the enemy's defense. This means that staff
damage and spell damage are increased. The damage increase isn't different
between the three spells. To my knowledge, the only real difference between
levels 1 and 2 is that level 2 is more accurate and lasts longer. Weaken
all of course hits every enemy in the battle.
As for the actual damage increase? Quite negligable. An attack that did 80
damage now does 90. That's it. It's a rather abysmal increas in damage,
and as with spirit armor, the damage you could have done in the turn you
spent casting that spell (which often misses, especially later on) is
almost always as much, if not more than, the extra damage dealt because of
the weakness spell.
Don't use it- there's really nothing to be gained from it.
-MAGNET ROCK
-------------
Level Learned: 19
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 120
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
Upon calling this spell, a whole bunch of rocks appear out of nowhere,
surround an enemy, and close on him. It hits one enemy and at any range.
You basically aim it based on what enemy you are looking at.
The damage is pitiful and the move seems to have a rather low degree of
accuracy. I can't imagine a scenario where rock 3 wouldn't do the job
better.
Don't use it unless you're watching the animation. I have to admit, it is
pretty cool.
-AVALANCHE
------------
Level Learned: 24
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 230 (multiple)
Range: Medium
Area of Effect: Random
This is the single most powerful spell in the game. There are some people
who won't use it because they think it's almost unfair how much damage it
does. The spell is powerful to begin with, but then it drops multiple
boulders. Each one is the size of the level 1 rocks. Some enemies can be
hit three or four times, and in a group of enemies, nearly every enemy is
guaranteed to be hit at least once. The two toughest enemies in the game,
pinheads and pale riders, are absolutely wiped out by this spell.
There's only one downside, and that is that the boulders drop in a random
pattern. That means that particularly on smaller enemies, you can
conceivably miss altogether. However, with some practice, you can usually
count on at least one hit, and with the level of damage it does, that's
good enough all on its own.
The boulders drop on enemies that are standing from your three o'clock
and counterclockwise to your nine o'clock (otherwise known as in front,
to the left and to the right of you) within that 5-10 pace range. If you
move correctly, it's not hard to hit every enemy on the field, assuming
you're lucky with the placement of the boulders.
It's worth getting 50 in rock just to have this spell. Definitely make it
your best friend and use it whenever you can.
-CONFUSION
------------
Level Learned: 27
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: auxiliary
This spell is really simple; by "confusing" your enemies, you gain 1 MP for
every 1 HP of damage they inflict.
This is a great spell if you're seriously hurting in MP and don't want to
down a mana recovery item. You've got a LOT more HP than you do MP, so you
can get your MP filled in a couple turns without a significant drop in your
HP. Especially since healing often leaves you with no MP, this can really
help you out.
However, like any spell that is designed to help you out at the expense of
taking some more damage, remember that (assuming you still have a little MP
left) you might be better off just attacking. A good and practical use for
this spell is when you've got very little MP at the end of a battle. Yes,
you'll take more damage- however, that damage is made up for in spades
by the extra healing you'll now have the MP to use once the battle ends.
As I sit here and write this, I admit I never used this spell... I may
start to do so in the future.
-ROCK SHOWER
--------------
Level Learned: 34
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 80
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Cluster
This spell does a pitiful amount of damage for a rock spell, especially
given that it's the last original attack spell that the Earth element has
to offer. So right off the bat, I can tell you it's really not that great.
However, its area of effect is MASSIVE. It hits everything, for the most
part. I've actually never had it not hit an enemy, and while I suppose its
possible, you can probably assume it will.
I kind of look at it as an Earth equivalent to the spell Ultimate Wind.
Given that this spell does twice the damage, it's twice as useful as
Ultimate Wind. However, also given that Ultimate Wind is the game's worst
spell, that's not really saying much, is it.
Use it when you're really far away from several enemies and you're not sure
rock 3 will cut it. Otherwise, you're probably not going to want this.
-MAGIC BARRIER
---------------
Level Learned: 36
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Stat-Boosting
Magic Barrier is a very simple spell. It does what the name implies: it
provides Brian with an impregnable barrier against magic. Put another way,
he takes NO damage from ANY magic while this spell is active.
Needless to say, this spell is a Godsend. I tend to try and learn this
spell as early as possible. Most enemies don't even have a physical attack,
so it renders them completely useless. It's terrific against the toughest
enemies, even against the bosses of this game.
The only two drawbacks to this spell are its accuracy (it misses a lot,
which can often mean the difference between life and death), and that it
lasts for only 2-3 turns. That means you'll be very liberally reapplying it
to your character to keep it in effect. Still, what a small price to pay
for invincibility.
Use this in every battle- I mean, why wouldn't you?
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***** V. FIRE *****
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Fire is the all-out attack element. With the largest number of damaging
spells, combined with spells that either raise your attack or lower that
of your enemies, it's clear that a fire user has only destruction on their
mind. Not surprisingly, the fire element is home to the death spell in this
game as well.
Fire's direction in the C-pad is UP.
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~~~Va. Skill Tree~~~
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(Up-C) - Fire Ball 3(16)
(Right-C)- Compression(19)
(Up-C) - Fire Ball 2(4)
(Left-C) - Fire Bomb(30)
(Down-C) - Fire Pillar(24)
(Up-C) - Compression(19)
(Right-C)- Homing Arrow 2(28)
(Right-C)- Homing Arrow 1(10)
(Left-C) - Magma Ball(36)
(Down-C) - Extinction(40)
Fire Ball 1(1)
(Up-C) - Fire Bomb(30)
(Right-C)- Magma Ball(36)
(Left-C) - Power Staff 1(7)
(Left-C) - Power Staff 2(22)
(Down-C) - Vampire's Touch(32)
(Up-C) - Fire Pillar(24)
(Right-C)- Extinction(40)
(Down-C) - Hot Steam 1(13)
(Left-C) - Vampire's Touch(32)
(Down-C) - Hot Steam 2(44)
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~~~Vb. Spell Explanations~~~
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-FIRE BALL 1
-------------
Level Learned: 1
MP Used: 1
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 110
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
Spells don't get a lot more basic than this one. Casting Fire Ball level 1
shoots one chunk of flame at your enemy. It (relatively) locks on to an
enemy, so aiming is pretty basic. It can only hit one enemy, and while the
range is long, it's not unlimited, so you have to be careful; fire it off
from too great of a distance and it will fizzle before it reaches them.
Like the other basic spells, don't use this once newer spells are available
unless you feel like saving an extra point of mana.
-FIRE BALL 2
-------------
Level Learned: 4
MP Used: 2
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 95, 2 hits (190 total)
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
Instead of shooting one fireball, you shoot two slightly weaker ones.
Their combined damage, however, easily outclasses the original spell.
The two balls fire in different directions, depending on your range. If you
are DIRECTLY (I mean close enough to touch them) in front of an enemy,
the spell will launch both balls at him. If you aren't, the second one will
seek out another enemy. Of course, if there's only one enemy, then they
will both seek out that enemy at any range.
Practice the range of this spell- there are certain angles and ranges that
don't quite work. What I mean is that one fireball will just aimlessly
fly past the enemy and not hit it. I basically learned that you either
needed to be right on top of him or far away to guarantee both would hit.
Of course, as with level 1, don't go too far or it won't hit at all.
Against fire ball 3, this spell is nothing impressive. Better than 1,
though.
-FIRE BALL 3
-------------
Level Learned: 16
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 80, 3 hits (240 total)
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
At 240 damage, this spell is a monster. It hits REALLY hard, and it makes
very quick work of most enemies. It heartily earns its spot at the top of
the fire ball tree.
Like fire ball 2, the balls will seek out enemies, and if you're standing
at any distance, each one will find a different one. Now, Fire ball 3
is not quite as consistent about this. There are times when two of them
will hit one enemy while the third hits a second enemy. That third enemy
is ignored altogether. I've then fired it again and had each one hit a
separate one, which little or no change in mine or my enemy's positions.
I don't know what to say about that- I guess you just can't guarantee that
it will ALWAYS do what you want.
In a one-on-one fight, this spell is nearly unbeatable. Due to its long
range, you can stay away from counterattacks, and thanks to the seeking
ability of the fire balls, all three should hit. Use it liberally.
-POWER STAFF 1, 2
------------------
Level Learned: 7 and 22
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Stat-Boosting
After casting this spell, your staff damage is increased by quite a bit.
Level 1 increases it by 50%, while level 2 doubles the damage! It usually
turns your staff into the strongest thing you've got.
Of course, the only problem is that the staff is so short-range. It leaves
you ripe for a powerful counterattack from the enemy. Plus, like always, the
increase in damage isn't necessarily any better than your strong spells.
It really depends on the scenario, in the end. First time through, I used
this spell religiously as a staff-user. Recently, I haven't. If the staff
is your weapon of choice, you can't really ignore this one.
-HOMING ARROW 1,2
------------------
Level Learned: 10 and 28
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 25 per bolt (3 bolts at level 1, 5 at level 2)
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
You'll probably recognize this spell from enemies more than you'll recognize
it from your own use. It's a pain in the neck to try and dodge this spell,
but as far as using it yourself, it's kind of lackluster.
It's a long range spell, which is nice- you can fire from far away and they
will home in and hit the bad guy. However, kind of like with fireball,
the arrows go all over the place to hit different enemies. Even up close,
they'll sometimes hit an enemy if it's nearby. I never got a discernable
pattern out of it: they have minds of their own.
You'll never use level 1... ever, most likely, and certainly not once you
have level 2. As for level 2's use, it's equally limited. You've got to be
pretty far away to need this spell, and with the damage it does... there's
likely to be a better option.
-HOT STEAM 1
--------------
Level Learned: 13
MP Used: 2
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 150
Range: Short
Area of Effect: Nearby
I love this spell- it's available early, and from the get-go it's going to
serve you well. While not quite as powerful against a single enemy as
fireball can be, it's devastating in groups. The range isn't great, but
it's not too hard to hit 2 or 3 enemies every turn with this spell.
The only problem is that it leaves you surrounded by them; if your defense
and HP aren't up to snuff, you're most likely done for. That being said,
this spell is a great way to get yourself killed in a new area. Of course,
once you've leveled up a bit, go to town; it's effective all the way through.
Fire Bomb and Hot Steam 2 are better, but this spell stands the test of
time better than almost any other.
-HOT STEAM 2
--------------
Level Learned: 44
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 150
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Nearby
As the last fire spell, you can imagine it's probably pretty good, and it
lives up to the expectation. It does the same damage as hot steam 1, but
the range is HUGE. Easy quadruple the total area of level 1. If you stand in
the center, it's really hard NOT to hit every enemy (and of course why would
you deliberaly avoid them). Of course, before I build up your expectations
too much- it's not as big as to be comparable to the range of fireball,
which can still hit from a farther distance. Still, for a "nearby" area
spell, it's the best.
As with Hot Steam 1, you can be a sitting duck if you put yourself in the
middle like that. However, with the range as vast as it is, you could also
stand in front of them and off in the distance a bit and probably STILL
hit them. This makes Hot Steam 2 more effectively defensive than 1.
Use this spell whenever you're dealing with large groups; it's the best
way to score a hit on all of them, and 140 damage per enemy really adds up.
-COMPRESSION
-------------
Level Learned: 19
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Stat-Reducing
Upon casting compression, a huge spiral hits the enemy, and if it's
successful, you will compress your enemy- look at how tiny he is!
This spell reduces enemy damage by 50%, which is higher than the reduction
by both level 1 and 2 spirit armor. However, on the flip side, it only
hits one enemy, while spirit armor reduces damage from all enemies.
Its use is about as much as Spirit Armor 2, except that it's best used
against one tough enemy rather than a group of them. Things like Wyvern
or Lamia, which can do some really serious damage even by themselves, are
good targets for this spell.
Even if you don't use it for the attack reduction, there's something really
fun about shrinking things down; definitely give it a try.
-FIRE PILLAR
-------------
Level Learned: 24
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 180
Range: Short
Area of Effect: Cluster
When I say the range is short, I mean very short. I'm talking the size of
water pillar 1 short. The enemies have to be RIGHT next to each other for
it to hit multiple people.
However, with damage that high, hitting two people is pretty significant.
If you level up fire quickly enough, it will one-hit the weaker enemies that
you encounter. You can trade off- it doesn't have the range of hot steam
and fire bomb, but it does hit harder.
There are situations where this one is used; they're rare, though. Use your
own judgement and decide when those situations are.
-FIRE BOMB
-------------
Level Learned: 30
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 155
Range: Medium
Area of Effect: Cluster
Easiest way to describe this spell is Hot Steam 1, in ranged form. Instead
of having to stand next to the enemies, you can lob a fire bomb and hit
the same number for the same damage. It stands to reason that unless you
have to, you shouldn't ever use Hot Steam 1 again once you get this spell,
unless the enemies begin the battle around you.
Of course, with Hot Steam 2, it becomes a question of distance. On the one
hand, this spell allows you to stay away from the enemies much better. On
the other hand, Hot Steam 2 will hit more of them. You make those judgment
calls yourself.
Fire Bomb will be your friend until the end- great crowd control spell.
-VAMPIRE'S TOUCH
-----------------
Level Learned: 32
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: auxiliary
This is the third staff spell, and this time it does what the spell name
implies. It sucks out approximately 25% of the damage you deal with your
staff. Combined with Power Staff 2, it's incredibly useful. Of course, inso
doing you're also wasting a turn.
It's a pretty good combo on bosses, if you plan to use your staff. It's
tough to really use effectively, though. Enemies are probably going to do
a bit more damage than you're going to leech away without power staff
activated.
-MAGMA BALL
---------------
Level Learned: 36
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 85 (3 balls, for a total of 255)
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Line
Magma ball releases three balls in three directions: they go at 11, 12 and
1 o'clock, across the whole battlefield. If released directly in front of
an enemy, it will hit them with all 3 of them for a MASSIVE 240 damage;
highest damage a spell does. Better yet, you can aim it so that it will
roll through the enemy and hit the ones behind it as well. You could
conceivably get another 240 if it was lined up just right.
Incredible range and the fact that it can hit multiple enemies makes this
one a great situational spell. If the enemies are at distance and far
apart, this is the spell for you. Otherwise, fire bomb is probably more
effective, since it'll do more damage to a group, usually.
Alternately, it's a great close-range killer for an enemy. But again,
Hot Steam may be better if they're not lined up right.
Since you get the spell so late, it's easy to just forget about this spell.
Don't- when the enemies are set up right, this is a great spell to let
loose with.
-EXTINCTION
-------------
Level Learned: 40
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: auxiliary
This is it- this is the instant death spell... and like most instant
death spells, it's kind of useless. It's not accurate, and it doesn't work
on most of the tough enemies, which are all you'll be seeing by the time
you even get this spell. It does work on Judgments, though...
More of a novelty than anything else, put it in storage and don't expect
it to get any real use.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \
\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/
*****************************************************************************
***** VI. WIND *****
*****************************************************************************
Wind is an interesting mix of spells. It boasts a couple of really awesome
spells from very early on, making by far the most reliable element of choice
from almost the very beginning. However, on the flip side there are also
tons of non-attack spells in the wind element. You get access to three
different defensive spells before level 10 with this element.
It is, by far, my favorite element. The diversity doesn't hinder its attack
spells, which rival fire in their use.
Wind's direction in the C-pad is RIGHT.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~VIa. Skill Tree~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Up-C) - Restriction 2(16)
(Right-C)- Large Cutter(13)
(Up-C) - Restriction 1(6)
(Left-C) - Slow Enemy(32)
(Down-C) - Ultimate Wind(47)
(Up-C) - Large Cutter(13)
(Right-C)- Wind Cutter 3(12)
(Right-C)- Wind Cutter 2(4)
(Left-C) - Cyclone(28)
(Down-C) - Wind Bomb(20)
Wind Cutter 1(1)
(Up-C) - Slow Enemy(32)
(Right-C)- Cyclone(28)
(Left-C) - Silence 1(10)
(Left-C) - Silence 2(42)
(Down-C) - Wind Walk(37)
(Up-C) - Ultimate Wind(47)
(Right-C)- Wind Bomb(20)
(Down-C) - Evade 1(8)
(Left-C) - Wind Walk(37)
(Down-C) - Evade 2(24)
_ _ _
/ \/ \/ \
\_/\_/\_/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~VIb. Spell Explanations~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-WIND CUTTER 1
---------------
Level Learned: 1
MP Used: 1
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 55
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
Despite being my favorite element, this is my least favorite level 1 spell.
From the beginning, it does basically no damage. A bolt of wind flies
out and loops around before finally hitting the enemy. There's no perfect
way to guarantee which enemy it will hit, either. As with fireball, the best
rule of thumb is that the closer you are to the enemy you want to hit, the
more likely it will hit them. However, due to the arcing nature of the
cutter, sometimes it'll just fly off randomly.
Conversely, don't stand directly next to a small enemy. You need to be a few
feet away. Otherwise it'll fly right past them. However, large enemies are
generally immune to this- it'll hit them regardless.
I can't imagine needing to use this spell, really. You get cutter 3 and
large cutter so early that I would imagine that you'd switch to them as
fast as you possibly can.
-WIND CUTTER 2
----------------
Level Learned: 4
MP Used: 2
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 45 (3 hits, 135 total)
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
As you can see from the fact that the damage more than doubles, this is a
HUGE step up from level 1. The rules of this spell are basically the same as
with level 1. Unlike fireball, all of the cutters go in the same general
direction. That means that if one will hit an enemy, more than likely all
three of them will.
To make the cutters hit multiple people, your best bet is to stand between
the enemies. Try and make the cutters hit the multiple enemies on the very
first pass. After that, they're all going to circle in on one guy.
Great spell, though once again, 3 and large cutter are better.
-WIND CUTTER 3
----------------
Level Learned: 12
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 35 (6 hits, 210)
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
And once again, the difference between these two is fantastic, making level
3 even better.
Also, there's really no new changes from level 2 to 3. Any strategies you've
developed for aiming its trajectory are held the same with this spell.
There's simply more of them to point in other directions.
Not much to say, really- up against large cutter, the damage isn't much
different. This spell is better for a single enemy while large cutter is
better for groups. Use accordingly.
-RESTRICTION 1, 2
------------------
Level Learned: 6 and 16
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
This is a really fun spell to use, and since you get it at a low level,
you'll have access to it during a period when it will still work. It's
a pretty simple spell- you cast it, and the nearest enemy is restricted,
which means he can't move or attack. It's a great way to whittle down your
problems so you can focus on enemies one at a time.
Level 2 is even better- it hits the whole field with this spell, and its
also a really early spell. Makes it even easier to pick and choose your
battles.
When you get it, make use of it. You'll notice it's less and less useful down
the road. For the early stages, use it and love it. One caution, though-
don't rely on it, because you'd hate to have it fail on a tough enemy when
you were really counting on it.
-EVADE 1, 2
---------------
Level Learned: 8 and 24
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Stat-Boosting
This will increase your agility. Agility does two things- one, it means you
get to move first (useless once you've started the battle), and more
important, which is where the spell gets its name, it increases the chance
of enemy spells missing. By how much?... I'll be honest, I'm not sure. Soul
Searcher doesn't say, and it's a hard thing to test, y'know? However, the
important thing is that it does increase evasion. Level 2 increases it by
more than 1, and again I don't know how much.
If you're using rock at all, you'll have spirit armor, and you'll get it at
about the same time. Compared with that spell, evasion isn't really that
useful. You can either guarantee less damage, or you can take a chance that
it MIGHT miss altogether. Could it work as well? Sure- however, I'm personally
more of a fan of reliable. That goes for levels 1 and 2.
-SILENCE 1, 2
---------------
Level Learned: 10 and 42
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
This comes a bit later than restriction, especially silence 2. The reason
behind it is that accuracy on silence is better than on restriction. Let's
face it- an enemy without magic is usually just as good as not moving,
which means that between the two, silence is actually a better choice.
Level 2 comes really late in the game for a reason- a more accurate
restriction is pretty dangerous, even late. The way I look at it is that
even if it only hits one enemy, at least it hit one.
Use this mixed with restriction. Starting at level 16, you get to choose
between a more likely hit on one person or a less likely one on everyone.
Come level 42, though... use this one.
-LARGE CUTTER
----------------
Level Learned: 13
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 195
Range: Medium
Area of Effect: Line
Best wind spell, in my opinion. This thing has a decent range, length wise,
but more importantly it's a really WIDE blade, which means that it hits a
bunch of enemies with every cast. This thing has a range that's as good as
most of the "nearby" spells without having to stand in the middle of them.
Oh, and did you notice that it does more damage, too?
Between this and Wind Cutter 3. Your bread and butter, basically. If there's
2 or more enemies, there's no other wind spell that you need.
-WIND BOMB
-----------------
Level Learned: 20
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 80
Range: Medium
Area of Effect: Nearby
Blech. I've just finished talking about a really great spell like Large
Cutter, now this spell is pretty lousy. The range is decent at best- not
as large as Hot Steam 2, and with one of the lowest damages of any final-level
spell in the game... well, I'm not sure what the designers were anticipating
this spell was gonna be used for.
There is absolutely NO use for this spell. Even if you hit an extra enemy,
so maybe 3 instead of 2, large cutter is still gonna do WAY more damage
overall.
In further testing, I forgot to mention that it also lowers agility. I
suppose that's worth something- you could follow it up with a move like
restriction or silence, and one would hope the lowered agility would make
them much more vulnerable.
Still... yeah, just don't bother.
-CYCLONE
--------------
Level Learned: 28
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 115
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Line
If you thought that wind cutter was long range, wait until you use this one.
This thing is indeterminably long. It'll hit anything, so long as it's in
the path of the cyclone. However, notice how much lower the damage is. In
small groups, large cutter wipes the floor with Cyclone.
This is a special situation spell. When enemies are spread across the screen
(Maybe you've killed all but 2 in a large group of fish men, or something),
launch a cyclone. It's more damage than wind cutter, as well as being
more damage than large cutter if large cutter can only hit once.
Of course, the scenarios like that are exceedingly rare, and you may find
that you never need to use it. Still, it's good to have, so don't forget about
it.
-SLOW ENEMY
----------------
Level Learned: 32
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Stat-Reducing
Pointless spell; lowers enemy movement. Given the lateness that you get the
the spell, most of the enemies have ranged spells by now. Its not like this
is going to do you a lot of good against big mouth, or even the Orks in the
Windward Forest; you won't have it yet.
If you can think of an enemy that will be made useless by this spell, then
use it. Me, I never did.
-WIND WALK
--------------
Level Learned: 37
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Stat-Boosting
Almost as bad as slow enemy, this one increases your own movement...
Why do you ever need to increase your movement? Especially if you're
wind element; you will ALWAYS have wind cutter 3 and cyclone, at any
range.
I guess if you REALLY needed to get out of the battle, and you somehow didn't
have escape available for you, this would work. Otherwise, it's another
pointless spell.
-ULTIMATE WIND
----------------
Level Learned: 47
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 50
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
As the absolute last spell in the game, and with a name like ultimate wind..
I don't think any spell disappoints more.
Yeah, it hits every enemy... for almost no damage. Compare it to any spell
you like, and it's actually doing less than ALL of them. You'd have to hit
5 enemies for it to outclass wind cutter 3, and if large cutter hits
even a second enemy, you've wasted your time.
I guess this spell has one redeeming quality- it's a quick and easy way to end
battles if you decide to fly back to Dondoran... It will one-hit all of THOSE
enemies, anyway.
UNCONFIRMED: Ultimate Wind doesn't miss. In the dozen times I've used it,
I've never seen it miss, but I don't actually know that- I suppose I just
had really great luck. At the very least, it's really accurate, though.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \
\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/
*****************************************************************************
***** VII. WATER *****
*****************************************************************************
Water is the backup element. With almost no attack spells of its own, and with
most of them being truly awful spells, it's the auxiliary stuff that makes
this element useful. If nothing else, it's the healing element, and you
definitely will be needing that.
Water's direction in the C-pad is DOWN.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~VIIa. Skill Tree~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Up-C) - Soul Searcher 2(33)
(Right-C)- Invalidity(46)
(Up-C) - Soul Searcher 1(10)
(Left-C) - Drain Magic(40)
(Down-C) - Walking Water(35)
(Up-C) - Invalidity(46)
(Right-C)- Return(24)
(Right-C)- Exit(19)
(Left-C) - Escape(23)
(Down-C) - Ice Knife(17)
Water Pillar 1(1)
(Up-C) - Drain Magic(40)
(Right-C)- Escape(23)
(Left-C) - Healing 1(7)
(Left-C) - Healing 2(25)
(Down-C) - Ice Wall(15)
(Up-C) - Walking Water(35)
(Right-C)- Ice Knife(17)
(Down-C) - Water Pillar 2(4)
(Left-C) - Ice Wall(15)
(Down-C) - Water Pillar 3(13)
_ _ _
/ \/ \/ \
\_/\_/\_/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~VIIb. Spell Explanations~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-WATER PILLAR 1
------------------
Level Learned: 1
MP Used: 1
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 170
Range: Short
Area of Effect: Cluster
As level 1 spells go, this one packs a punch. However, that damage comes with
a price. Fighting Big Mouth probably has already made you aware that the
range on water pillar spells is just pitiful, and he's using level 2!
I've missed with this spell while standing next to the guy because my aim was
just SLIGHTLY off.
I call it cluster, because i do believe that you can hit multiple enemies...
in theory. To be honest, I've never actually done it, but since it does have
SOME range, I suppose it could if you had some ridiculously close together
foes.
Never use this. Honestly, never. Just use your staff until you get level 2.
-WATER PILLAR 2
------------------
Level Learned: 4
MP Used: 2
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 175
Range: Short
Area of Effect: Cluster
MUCH better. While the range still isn't huge, this spell packs a decent
wallop, and it's actually likely to hit a second guy, provided he's in
range. Of course, it's still pretty lousy. When you look at what you can do
with rock 2, it's downright depressing.
It's better than 1, but has nothing on 3. Hell, it's even the same MP cost. If
you need it before you get 3, then fine- otherwise? Nah, there's really no
point to it.
-WATER PILLAR 3
------------------
Level Learned: 13
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 180
Range: Medium
Area of Effect: Cluster
Now THIS qualifies as a good spell. The range takes a HUGE jump, and it's now
about the size of the Rock 2 spell, except this one is right in front of you.
However, it still woefully lacks range in the grand scheme of things, and it's
no longer as strong as wind OR fire are.
It's a beefed up hot steam, or something similar. Use it as such- great for
groups in tight quarters.
-HEALING 1, 2
-----------------
Level Learned: 7 and 25
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
Damage: 35 and 55
Pretty straightforward spell, and by far the most useful one in the game. The
"damage" is of course not actually damage, but how much it will heal. Now,
just like any spell, this one has a huge fluctuation, so the number is subject
to change just like any other one.
Level 2, for the amount of extra HP, is more than worth the 1 point of MP.
Actually, level 1 is kind of useless after you get level 2, except in cases
where you don't have enough MP to use 2.
Use this often- you'll need it, most likely after every battle. It will
probably be the spell you use most in the entire game.
-SOUL SEARCHER 1, 2
---------------------
Level Learned: 10 and 33
MP Used: 2 and 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
Soul Searcher, when cast, opens up the encyclopedia on the enemies. You get
their HP, attack, defense and agility. You also get their element type,
which means that you can figure out the weaknesses from there. Remember,
Fire and Water, Earth and Wind- one is weak against the other. Level 2 just
hits every enemy.
If you're following a guide, this spell won't be necessary. However, if not,
it's a great way to start any battle in a new area; knowing their weakness
will be invaluable to you.
-EXIT
-------------
Level Learned: 19
MP Used: 2
Spell Type: Auxiliary
Water's an odd element; you learn this spell AFTER you learn one of its 3rd
tier spells, Ice Knife. That means you don't get access to the 2nd route
to that spell until then.
Anyway, this spell will take you from the middle of a dungeon, and back to
the entrance that you came from (meaning if you walk back in to the end of the
dungeon, exit will not warp you to the other end, unfortunately)
What qualifies as a dungeon, you may ask. Simple enough to figure out. Just
open your map- if you don't have a specific map of where you are, you're in
what qualifies as a dungeon. Towns are (of course) an exception to this, as is
Shamwood, I think.
It's a good way to get out of places, although I have to be honest- I prefer
to just die; that one takes me back to an inn, too.
-ICE WALL
-------------
Level Learned: 15
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 130
Range: Short
Area of Effect: Nearby
It's Hot Steam 1, but in exchange for a bit of damage, this one freezes
enemies. A frozen enemy can't move or attack (which is odd- YOU can still
attack when frozen), which makes them sitting ducks.
However, the odds of freezing aren't particularly high, so it's not a
conclusive reason to use this spell. However, it's certainly a plus.
I don't like water spells much to begin with, but this one's not bad. In
any situation where Hot Steam would be good, this one would be pretty
good in its stead.
-ICE KNIFE
---------------
Level Learned: 17
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 90
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Direct
This one, instead of hitting a small area for some ice damage, drops a
bolt of ice on one target. Generally, the AI picks the one you're the most
obviously facing, as it can hit from any range on the field. You'll probably
have already seen it before you get it yourself, anyway- you should know
what it looks like.
I feel like it has an increased chance of freezing, but I'm not a formula
guy, so don't quote me on that. Still, the damage is a noticeable drop from
any other water spell, and it can only hit one guy.
Use it if you absolutely have no other long range spells that will work.
Otherwise, this spell can really be left to rot.
-ESCAPE
------------------
Level Learned: 23
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
Another must-have water spell like Heal, this one allows you to run from a
battle.
The chance of escaping goes up as you get stronger relative to the enemies you
are fighting. I'm sorry to say that once again, I don't know the exact formula.
However, there's no non-boss that you cannot run from. Therefore (obviously),
running from a boss is not an option.
This spell can be a lifesaver, and at least it can help out in those areas
where there's just WAY too many random battles (Baragoon Tunnel comes to
mind).
-RETURN
----------------
Level Learned: 24
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
I guess this spell is technically Exit 2, because it shows up in the menu the
same way. However, it does a different thing than Exit, obviously. Exit takes
you back to the dungeon entrance. Once you step back outside, if you're not
currently in a town, it will take you to the entrance of the last town
that you visited. A combination of Exit and Return will get you out of there,
quickly.
-WALKING WATER
-------------------
Level Learned: 35
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Damaging
Damage: 120
Range: Long
Area of Effect: Line
Easiest way to explain this spell is that it's Cyclone for Water. A pillar
of water that's somewhere between Water Pillar 1 and 2 in size goes trundling
across the field, hitting anything in its path.
The range is about identical to cyclone, and it has a slightly higher damage.
So as long range spells go, this is a good spell.
However, the problem is that it comes REALLY late, as attack spells go. To
think that until level 35 you've got one crappy range spell and two REALLY
short-range spells, water really REALLY misses having this spell earlier.
Use it for distance work; up close, pillar will do better.
-DRAIN MAGIC
-------------------
Level Learned: 40
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
Damage: 80
Upon casting this, it looks like Brian is hitting the enemy with his staff,
but instead of doing damage, he absorbs MP. It's not limited to staff
range, either. The amount absorbed fluctuates hugely. I saw it as low as 60
and as high as 100. There wasn't a discernable pattern, that I could see.
It also missed a lot- at least half of the time.
In the end, it's a safer way to regain MP than Confusion, but since Confusion
always works, it's more reliable. You can decide between the risk of not
getting any MP gain and the risk involved in having to take a hit to get
the MP.
-INVALIDITY
-----------------
Level Learned: 46
MP Used: 3
Spell Type: Auxiliary
It's actually a fairly useful spell- it will wipe out any stat-reducing (as
well as stat-boosting) effects on you. The problem is that it's useless by
the time you get it. Very few enemies use stat-reduction spells to begin
with, and by the time this is available, there are very few of them left.
Furthermore, it heals the Frozen status, but it doesn't help against Silence,
which prevents you from casting anything at all. And frankly, there's no one
using ice attacks that late in the game anymore.
It's a spell that had a lot of potential, but it's WAY too late in the game
to be useful anymore.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \
\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/
*****************************************************************************
***** VIII. BUILDS *****
*****************************************************************************
Now for the part that any decent guide to elements would have- what are you
supposed to DO with all of these spells? I've explained their stats and
what they did, and I did give SOME opinion, but not enough for someone
to read and definitively know what they probably ought to be using. Let's
hope you get that here, instead.
First of all, something to know- you can probably expect to get 135 total
elements in this game, assuming you find all 98 floating around and you
fight most every battle. I usually get 140 because I like to level up at
certain points in the game.
With that in mind, there are several different "Builds" that you can shoot
for in this game. Each of them have their advantages and disadvantages,
of course.
----------
-BALANCED
----------
First there's the balanced approach. You put points into every element,
trying them all on for size and seeing what you can do with them. If you
stay totally balanced, you can expect to get 35 to 37 in each category.
PROS
*****
-Access to every element, and level 36 means that you have Magic Barrier,
as well as most of the really good spells; you aren't missing out on any
new spells that you're really going to miss.
-Weaknesses are covered; no matter what enemy you fight, you are guaranteed to
have the enemy weakness covered, and so you can hit on that.
CONS
*****
-Damage is pitiful. You'll always have a much lower leveled set of elements
than someone who doesn't balance. Your strongest attack will most often be
just the staff in your hand.
-Any really great spells that are best found early will have to be put on hold
until later, unless you want to really skew yourself for a while, which does
kind of defeat the purpose a little bit.
STRATEGY
**********
Use whatever spell the enemy is weak against. Use soul search a lot to make
sure which spells those are. With the damage you're doing, if you don't
hit the weakness you might as well not hit them at all.
Your staff will become your best friend- it ignores weakness and resistance,
and it gets stronger as your total element level gets stronger, no matter
where you put them.
I used this setup the first time I played through Quest, and needless to say,
I didn't play again for another 7 years... that should give you an idea of
how little I enjoyed playing this way. My spells always sucked, and I felt
like magic was just absolutely pointless. I do not recommend this unless you
are feeling up to a bit of a challenge, or if you just want to try every spell
for yourself in a single run.
---------
-FIRE
---------
Now, the more common approach is to focus on three elements rather than four.
Doing this means that you'll have an average of 45 or 46 in those three
elements. Or, as I prefer to do it, max one of them and have the other two
not quite as high. I usually go for 2 at 50 and 1 at 40.
Now, in the case of "Fire", my strategy is to use Earth, Water and Fire. Now,
in my opinion, you should ALWAYS use Earth and Water, so the question is
what should your 3rd element be? Either Fire or Wind, obviously. In this case,
Fire.
PROS
*****
-Damage is much higher than in balanced; having a strong fire element means
you will always have a really strong element to fight with.
-This element will overall do more damage than wind will.
-Strong from the start. Fireball and Hot Steam are staples from the beginning,
and when you get Fire Bomb and Magma Ball, they will only help to contribute.
-Vampire Touch is a pretty good spell to have for some basic healing purposes
within a battle, which wind does not provide in any way.
CONS
*****
-You miss out on all of those auxiliary spells that incapacitate the enemy,
some of which can actually contribute a fair amount to your fights.
-Most enemies at the end of the game are fire element, which means that most
of the enemies at the end of the game are resistant to your primary mode of
attack, which forces you to choose between uses a weakened set of spells,
or to switch to rock and water, which you may not be used to doing.
STRATEGY
**********
From the beginning, you'll want to pump fire first. Get Hot Steam before
Solvaring and you'll love how quickly it kills things. I try to get fire to
50 in the Dindrom Dries, while my only other 2 goals are to have Healing 2
by the blue cave and Magic Barrier before the Baragoon tunnel (Will-O-Wisps
are terrible to fight without it). Besides that, you make the call. I had
fire bomb in Blue Cave as well, which helped me a great deal.
As for how to use it, you'll use fire ball on one enemy, and also on enemies
that are far away. Up close, you have hot steam. Once you get fire bomb,
use that as well. It's a great way to stay out of the mess while still doing
some kickass damage. Fire Pillar is good, too- if you have a couple enemies
huddled together, walk up and set that off to quickly roast them.
Now like I said, later on the fire spells are much less useful. You have to
pay attention to what the enemy elements are- most of them in Dindrom Dries
and in the Boil Hole are red, as are both rose knights. This is where
Avalanche becomes a godsend. It's a REALLY good spell, and with practice it
will end many a battle much more quickly than you realized a spell could.
I like this setup. Hot Steam and Fireball give you some pretty good diversity,
and Fire Bomb and Magma Ball are just gravy. Hot Steam 2 is one of my
favorites, and it pretty much takes care of all of my non-red enemies.
Still, it's not as good as the Wind setup.
---------
-WIND
---------
This goes the other way. You'll still pump water and earth, but now your focus
is on wind instead of fire.
PROS
******
-Great damage. Large Cutter rips through a group of enemies in no time flat,
every time. If you're facing one enemy, wind cutter 3 does it even faster,
and you can stay WAY the hell away from them while you're doing it.
-Restriction and Silence are great to have. Fun, useful, the kind of spell
you kind of miss not having.
-It's pretty much always useful. There's never a large abundance of wind
elements, even in the windward forest.
CONS
******
-Slow starter. Until you get Wind Cutter 3 and Large Cutter, you won't really
use your spells at all. Not a huge problem considering how early you get
them, but it makes it easy to blow this element off altogether.
-Lacks a good "nearby" spell. Large Cutter is great, but only when you can
move yourself so that the enemies are in a position to get hit by the cutter.
That's a lot harder to do than with Hot Steam, where you simply stand in
the middle. Sometimes you don't hit all of the enemies that a nearby would
have, unless you use wind bomb, but... don't use wind bomb.
STRATEGY
**********
Same basic strategy as with fire. Get Large cutter before solvaring and go
to town. Wind cutter will mow him down FAST. Heal 2 in the blue cave,
Magic Barrier before Baragoon Tunnel.
There aren't any tough spots that I can recall- from battle to battle,
depending on enemy position, things get hairy, but that doesn't affect the
overall difficulty, which is low.
I use this one the most. You only need the two cutter spells, and with
Avalanche as a powerful backup, you are good to go.
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***** IX. SPELL/BUILD RATINGS *****
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Now, something that these guides also usually need are ratings. I figured you
might enjoy seeing this stuff compacted for you, so that a quick glance will
tell you what's good and what's not. Saves you the trouble of poring over
everything.
SPELLS
*********
Basically, make your main use of the great spells and supplement them with the
good ones. Leave the other two categories alone, for the most part.
GREAT: Great spell that you should definitely use
GOOD: Good spell; you'll be glad you have it
DECENT: Eh, you wouldn't really miss it
BAD: Don't ever use it
GREAT
-----
Avalanche
Magic Barrier
Heal (1 or 2)
Fire ball 3
Hot Steam (1 or 2)
Fire Bomb
Magma Ball
Wind Cutter 3
Large Cutter
GOOD
-----
Confusion
Rock (any of them)
Spirit Armor (1 or 2)
Rolling Rock 2
Rock Shower
Ice Wall
Walking Water
Water Pillar 2 or 3
Soul Searcher 2
Escape
Fire Ball 2
Power Staff (1 or 2)
Fire Pillar
Compression
Cyclone
Restriction 2
Silence (1 or 2)
DECENT
-------
All 3 Weakness spells
Rolling Rock 1
Ice Knife
Drain Magic
Water Pillar 1
Soul Searcher 1
Exit
Return
Homing Arrow 2
Fire Ball 1
Extinction
Vampire's Touch
Wind Cutter 2
Restriction 1
Evade (1 or 2)
Wind Walk
BAD
----
Magnet Rock
Invalidity
Homing Arrow 1
Wind Cutter 1
Wind Bomb
Ultimate Wind
Slow Enemy
ELEMENTS
*********
If I had to rate the elements, from best to worst, I'd go with this:
Wind > Fire > Earth > Water
Water: Great healing spells, but the attack spells just suck. You'd be
miserable trying to live on this one. Why can't we have Nepty's stuff?
Earth: A generally mediocre set of spells that has two great late-game ones.
Fire: All-out attack is brutal and effective, but late game ineffectiveness
makes it fall short of wind.
Wind: Two fantastic attack spells that will see you through anything, along
with a few other spells that are pretty good, too. The fact that you're
equipped to slaughter as early as 13 is gravy.
BUILDS
********
All-Around: 4/10. Your damage is gonna suck. I don't care if you can hit any
weakness- it's still subpar.
Wind Focus: 10/10. Anything Wind can't handle, Rock can. Covers its bases
very nicely.
Fire Focus: 8/10. SOO powerful, it's just annoying to have to stop using fire
for most of the endgame.
Water Focus: 5/10. Not covered in this FAQ because I'd pull my hair out being
stuck with those spells. However, you'll always be ahead of the
curve in healing power, so your durability is good. It's hard
to kill, but also hard to be killed.
Rock Focus: 7/10. Also not covered because Rock is equally tedious to use.
I've never liked rock for some reason; however, it does work
pretty well, especially on groups. And since you'd get avalanche
early on, well... that's the end of that, really.
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***** X. CONTACT ME *****
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I admit, I'm only one man- I'm sure this guide isn't perfect. My method of
figuring out damage was to keep attacking an enemy and look for a pattern.
I'll be honest, I checked it three times and each time got a different
result >_<.
I've also admitted on a few occasions that I don't actually know the formula,
for example what evasion really does to your speed stat.
This all said, I'd love feedback. I'm also open to suggestions on how to use
spells in ways I didn't think of. I'll plug you right into the FAQ with your
name and your reasonings, verbatim (provided I agree, of course).
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send them my way as well.
My email address is kirbix@gmail.com, and I hope to hear from you! Especially
if you can help me out!
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***** XI. CREDITS *****
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GameFAQs- Greatest gaming site out there. Kudos to you, SB! You inherited
something pretty amazing.
Copyright 2008 Sean D'Hoostelaere
