Version 1.03 January 16, 2006 By Brian Nii (bnii at hawaii dot edu) Table of Contents ----------------- 1. Version History 2. An Introduction to the Monster Arena 3. Basics of the Monster Arena 4. Ranks 5. Monster Information 6. Special Teams 7. Acknowledgements O--------------------O | 1. Version History | O--------------------O Version 1.03 (January 16, 2006) – Clarified the location of Stoneman in the monster information section, since it seems a lot of people are having a hard time locating him. Also added more detail to Bishop's location. Version 1.02 (December 26, 2005) – Added the locations of Fletch and Snap Case in the monster information section. Apparently I forgot to add them in. Special thanks go to Albert Chu for pointing it out to me. Also added a popular team to the Rank S strategy section. Version 1.01 (December 18, 2005) – Updated the monster information section. It turns out that Curer and Sugi can be found in two locations, not one. I also clarified a bit on Skeledoid's location. Version 1.0 (November 28, 2005) – First completed version of FAQ. Completed the monster information section and corrected a mistake it in. Metabble appears after clearing the B rank, and not always available from the start. Version 0.2 (November 28, 2005) – Revised the rank section including in depth strategy for the S rank. Updated the monster information section, including all of the monster you can obtain after completing the game. Completed the special teams section. Version 0.1 (November 26, 2005) - First version of FAQ. O-----------------------------------------O | 2. An Introduction to the Monster Arena | O-----------------------------------------O Q: What is the monster arena? A: The monster arena is a special side quest/mini game in Dragon Quest VIII. You don't have to participate in it to finish the game. In fact you can ignore it completely if you like. However, there are several tangible benefits to playing and winning the contests in the monster arena, and it can be fun to boot. Q: Where is the monster arena? A: The monster arena is located to the southeast of Pickham. You'll probably come across it when you're making your way from Ascantha, but you won't be able to access it at that time. You can however start the side quest necessary to open the monster arena when you arrive there. Q: How do I open the monster arena? A: First of all, you'll need to talk to Morrie, who is in charge of the arena. Try to open the doors to the arena when you get there. You'll see Morrie standing on the roof (he looks kind of like Mr. Satan/Hercule from Dragon Ball Z). Go around to the right and up the stairs to the top of the roof. Go to Morrie and talk to him. He won't say anything to you at first. Attempt to leave and he'll talk to you. Afterwards, he'll give you three memos detailing monsters he wants you to scout for the arena. When you've collected all three of them return to Morrie and he'll let you into the arena. Inside he'll explain all the rules and give you a key so you can access the arena at any time. Q: Where are the three monsters and how do I scout them? A: All three monsters are relatively easy to locate, but you won't find the last one until much later in the game. Scouting them is easy. All you need to do is to defeat them in battle. Once you defeat them you can add them to your team. They are easy to spot, since they appear on the field walking around. Monster #1: Smiles (a.k.a. Slimy Smiley) Location: South of Trodain Castle. Description: A regular blue slime. Comments: Smiles is the monster in the first memo, but he's also the last one you'll scout. You can't miss him since he's right in front of the path to Trodain Castle. Smiles is tougher than the average slime, but that's not saying much. Monster #2: Lonely Joe (a.k.a. Hollow Knight) Location: Southeast of Maella Abbey, on the path to the ruined abbey. Description: A suit of knight armor with a sword and shield. Comments: You'll encounter Lonely Joe before you even get to the arena, but you can't recruit him until you talk to Morrie first. He'll put up much more of a fight than Smiles or Squiggles, but he shouldn't be too much of a problem to defeat. Monster #3: Squiggles (a.k.a. Squiggly Squiggler) Location: Beach south of Pickham, southeast from Red's house. Description: A pink squid with a shell wand. Comments: Squiggles is the easiest initial monster to recruit since he's near the monster arena. You should have no problems bashing him into submission since he doesn't put up much of a fight. Once all three monsters have been scouted, return to Morrie at the monster arena. He'll collect the three memos he gave you and allow you to enter the arena. You can save your game inside, and then head downstairs to the arena proper. There are several people there you can talk to. When you're finished talk to Morrie and he'll explain the basics of the arena. Q: I see other monsters walking around. Why can't I scout them? A: You need to scout the initial three monsters Morrie requested and get back to him before you can scout other monsters. While you can defeat the monsters they won't join you before that time. O--------------------------------O | 3. Basics of the Monster Arena | O--------------------------------O There are eight ranks in the arena from G to S. To win a rank your team of three monsters must go through three rounds of fighting three teams consisting of three monsters each. In other words, in the first round your team will fight against three other monsters, in the second another three monsters, and in the third and final round three more monsters. There are a few catches though. Your team of monsters does not recover any of their HP or MP between each match, and you must win all three matches consecutively to win the rank. Also you cannot control your monsters in any way during the battle, so they will fight and act on their own, for good or for ill. And finally, the monsters you'll be fighting against in the arena are much stronger than the versions that you fight against in the field and dungeons. You cannot change any of your monsters between each match, so the initial team will need to last through all three matches. You can only enter each rank after winning the rank before it. The first rank will be G, then F, and so on until rank A. Winning rank A unlocks the final rank S. Entering a rank costs a certain amount of gold for the entry fee, and winning each rank for the first time gives you an award. In addition, Morrie will give you an award as well for clearing each rank. Initially you can only recruit three monsters, but as you advance up the ranks you can hold additional monsters in reserve, and eventually you'll end up getting a second team. While you have no control over what your monsters do in the arena, there are some things you can take advantage of. Most of the monsters that you can recruit gain HP, MP, Attack, Defense, and Agility as your hero advances in level. If your monsters seem a bit weak for the rank, try to gain some levels and try again. While the improvements aren't drastic every little bit helps in the arena. Certain monsters do not improve at all no matter your current level, but they are exceptions to the rule (such as Talos). Note that all monsters that you can recruit in the field improve in this fashion regardless of whether or not they are in your team or reserves. Another thing you can take advantage of is that certain combinations of monsters can form special teams that give the team members bonuses and/or allow them to perform a special move. For example, if all the monsters on your team have swords, they will form "The Blade Runners" team and gain the special attack Triple Swords. If your team is composed of slimes, they will become the team "Slime Power!" and the max HP for each team member will double. In addition to these special teams, there can be sub teams within a special team category. For example, if your team is composed of all metal slimes, they become "The Metal Mob" and gain the special attack Multi Masher in addition to the double HP for being an all slime team. It is important to note that special effects such as Oomph (which increases attack), Kabuff (which increases defense), and Kasap (which lowers defense) carry onto the next match, which can be good or bad depending on the status effect. O---------O |4. Ranks | O---------O [RANK G] Fee: 100G Reward: Strength Ring (Accessory – Attack +5 – Equip: All) Morrie's Reward: Three additional reserve monster slots Round One: She-slime x2, Slime Knight Round Two: Frogface x2, Treeface Final Round: Hammerhood, Gorerilla, Bullfinch Strategy: This isn't a difficult rank to win, but your initial team leaves much to be desired. Get rid of Smiles and Squiggles ASAP and replace them with better monsters. Lonely Joe is a decent fighter for this rank, but you can recruit much stronger creatures in the field. I'd highly recommend scouting strong attackers like Hackzilla, Potbelly, and Snap Case. Brickman is a good choice as well due to his strong defense. If you get Brickman, don't release him and keep him in reserve. He'll play a big role later in the arena. Having Healer on your team keeps your monsters healthy, but at this point early in the game you'll probably want to stick to a totally offensive team. Winning this rank gets you the strength ring, but even better gives you the ability to hold three monsters in reserve, allowing you to recruit a total of six monsters (three in your team and three in reserve). [RANK F] Fee: 200G Reward: Bunny Suit (Armor – Defense +38 – Equip: Jessica) Morrie's Reward: Option to fight against your team Round One: Khalamari Kid x2, King Kelp Round Two: Dingaling x2, Jargon Final Round: Dancing Devil, Wailin' Weed, Redtail Hipster Strategy: The same team that you used in Rank G can take you through this rank as well. The main thing to worry about is the Redtail Hipster in the final round. It has a special attack that can hit all of your team members for major damage. Winning this rank allows you to fight against your own team in the arena, and causes new monsters to appear on the field for you to recruit. [RANK E] Fee: 300G Reward: Ring of Clarity (Accessory – Resist Confusion – Equip: All) Morrie's Reward: Call Team ability for hero Round One: Jailcat x2, Terror Tabby Round Two: Hipster, Minidemon, Witch Final Round: Magic Marionette, Tap Devil, Volpone Strategy: Now that you've cleared rank F there are new monsters to recruit in the field. Among them is Capers, a strong attacker that complements an offensive team well. Curer also becomes available, but you're probably not going to be able to recruit it until later in the game. If you do you'll add a powerful healer to the team. When you reach Orkutsk make sure to recruit Roborg ASAP to add a powerful attacker to your group. Winning this rank gives the hero the Call Team ability, which allows him to summon his monster team to fight in place of the party once per battle for a short time. [RANK D] Fee: 400G Reward: Mighty Armlet (Accessory – Attack +15 – Equip: All) Morrie's Reward: Three additional reserve monster slots Round One: Night Fox, Night Emperor, Night Sneaker Round Two: Skeleton, Walking Corpse, Mummy Final Round: Brownie x2, Hood Strategy: The main thing to worry about here is that in the final round the Brownies will raise their tension before they attack, which will most likely kill your weakened team members. Fortunately, they don't have much HP so strong attacks should take them out before they take you out. Winning rank D adds three more slots to your reserves, and causes additional monsters to appear in the field. [RANK C] Fee: 500G Reward: Saint's Ashes (Item – Used to remove curses in alchemy) Morrie's Reward: None Round One: See Urchin x2, Siren Round Two: Mecha-mynah, Hunter Mech, Clockwork Cuckoo Final Round: Fencing Fox, Bone Baron, Phantom Fencer Strategy: It's all about brute force here. The mechanical enemies in the second round are tough, so be sure to bring some tough monsters of your own. I'd recommend bringing Cybot (now available after Rank D) and Roborg (if you have it too) along to the party. I don't recommend another sword monster with them, as using the special attack will hurt you here more than it helps. Talos becomes available after rank D, and if you have the two killing machines and him in the party this rank should be a breeze. You don't get anything from Morrie for winning this rank, but he promises that he'll give you something good next time. [RANK B] Fee: 700G Reward: Bardiche of Binding (Scythe – Attack +83 – Equip: Yangus) Morrie's Reward: Second monster team Round One: Dragurn, Tyrantosaurus, Snapdragon Round Two: Stone Guardian, Boss Troll, Golem Final Round: Rockbomb, Stone Golem, Living Statue Strategy: And now for something completely different. There is a major difficulty jump between this rank and the last one. The enemies here all have powerful attacks and major HP (in the 400 to 800 range). You'll need to counter brute force with brute force here. I recommend bringing Roborg, Cybot, and Talos. Whichever team you decide to stick with, I highly suggest that Talos be a part of it. Not only does he do quite a bit of damage, but also his high HP and defense lets him stay in this fight longer than any other monster that you can recruit at this point. In the first match both the Dragurn and Tyrantosaurus have quite a bit of HP, and the Snapdragon can attack twice each round for loads of damage. In the second match you'll face three enemies with both loads of HP and defense. In the final match the Stone Golem will use tension (sometimes twice) to deal severe damage to a party member. Hopefully Talos will take the brunt of the attack while the other members of the team take the golem down. Winning this rank earns you a second monster team, giving you in effect another three monsters that you can have in reserve. Better yet, clearing rank B makes the final (and strongest) monsters available to recruit in the field. [RANK A] Fee: 1,000G Reward: Hero Spear (Spear – Attack +100 – Equip: Hero) Morrie's Reward: Unlock Rank S Round One: Frou-frou, Cyclops, Troll Round Two: Jumping Jackal x2, Great Sabrecat Final Round: Zombie Gladiator, Treevil, Bomboulder Strategy: It's very tempting to use the "My Three Golems" (Brickman, Goldman, Stoneman) team here. While Mazin can go through the first two monster teams like wet toilet paper, he might have problems with the last team. The reason is Mazin will keep killing the Bomboulder (since it has the lowest HP), the Treevil will keep resurrecting it, and the Zombie Gladiator will hack away at Mazin each round. Fortunately, I got lucky when Mazin took out the Treevil when it forgot to resurrect the Bomboulder. By the time Mazin took out the Zombie Gladiator he had less than 100 HP. So if you decide to use the all golem team it can be a bit risky. A good alternative to the golem team is the killing machine team (Roborg, Cybot, Nohi). If you decide to go with a rogue team there are several good monsters that you can use. Talos is still as strong as ever. Octurion is the best healer in the game. Pair these two with a strong attacker like Skeledoid or Steropes and you'll have a powerful combination. Winning this rank unlocks the final rank S match. [RANK S] Fee: 1,000G Reward: Dragon Robe (Armor – Defense +103 – Equip: Jessica, Angelo) Morrie's Reward: No entry fees, hero statue Round One: Goodybag, Mimic King, Mimic Round Two: Dullahan, Healslime, Gigantes Final Round: Liquid Metal Slime, Hell Gladiator, Cureslime Strategy: This is it. The final rank is, not surprisingly, the hardest of them all. Since this is the rank that's probably going to give you the most problems to clear, I've decided to go more in depth in explaining whom you're going to face, and the teams that can possibly beat this rank. Note that even with the optimal teams there is always a chance you'll get unlucky and get wiped out in the final round (or even the second round). In the first round you'll be up against a Goodybag, Mimic King, and Mimic. The main threat here damage wise is the Mimic King, since its hits deal roughly 100 damage. Sometimes it will also cast Fuddle. The Mimic can attack twice in a row and can also cast Whack, which instantly kills its target if successful. The Goodybag doesn't do much damage, but it can potentially be the most devastating monster of all if it casts Kasap to lower the defense of your entire team. Remember that effects like this carry on to the next match, which basically means a death sentence for most teams if they get hit with it. The second round is pure beat down. The Gigantes is the main threat here, since it can do a desperate attack that can deal 300-400 damage. If you're unlucky it will do this several times in a row. The Dullahan will spend most of the time building up tension, which will be devastating for one of your teammates when it finally attacks. The Healslime can be annoying but fortunately it doesn't heal much more than about 80 HP to a team member, if it decides to heal at all. The last round is the hardest of all, not surprising considering it's Morrie's team. The Hell Gladiator can attack twice each turn, and each hit can cause the target to fall asleep. The Cureslime doesn't do much in the battle, but it has a lot of HP, and will drive you nuts if it ends up healing the Liquid Metal Slime. Speaking of which, this one doesn't run away, but it still has its trademark metal defense, which causes virtually any attack to do 1 damage, if it hits at all. It also casts Kasizzle quite frequently. So there you have it. Three tough teams that you need to take on consecutively. How do you go about doing it? Here are some possible teams you might want to consider. Note that my testing was done with the hero at level 45, which is a relatively high level by the end of the game. [Triple Trouble (and why you shouldn't use them)] You might think that because of the way they handled rank B and rank A that rank S should be no problem, right? Unfortunately, this isn't the case here. The saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link applies here. The weakest link in this case is Roborg. While the Triple Trouble team can consistently reach the final match with its members intact, by that time Roborg is pretty much dead (if he wasn't killed in the last match already). And if Roborg (or any other member) of the team dies in the last round, you can kiss the Stream Killer Attack (SKA) goodbye. It should be noted that even the SKA deals at most 2 damage to the Liquid Metal Slime. Unless you get really lucky and the team focuses all its attacks on the Hell Gladiator, there's no way to keep your team intact since they'll divide their attacks at either the Liquid Metal Slime or the Cureslime (which has a large number of HP), while the Hell Gladiator kills off your team. The Kasizzle that the Liquid Metal Slime casts will also pretty much guarantee that someone is going to die fairly quickly. [My Three Golems (why you should use them and what to look out for)] Not even the mighty golem team is safe from rank S. The weakest link in this team is Goldman, as his HP doesn't increase much, if at all, as you gain levels. If a strong attack kills him before they can form Mazin it's all over. In the first round the only thing you need to worry about is Goldman dying as I mentioned previously. Once Mazin is on the field you've pretty much won the match, as he is immune to Fuddle and Whack, and the Kasap doesn't carry over to the next match when the team breaks up into individuals. The second round is another story. Even if you form Mazin early on, the Gigantes can perform a desperate attack that can knock off 300+ HP. If you're very unlucky he can perform it over and over again. I recall one time I ended the match with less than 100 HP. The final match depends on a great deal of luck (well, actually all the monster arena fights depend on luck, but this time in particular even more so). What surprised me is that Stoneman once performed a desperate attack against the Liquid Metal Slime that ending up killing it before they even formed Mazin. Even if by some miracle that does happen, you're not out of the woods just yet. The Hell Gladiator's attacks can put Mazin to sleep as a side effect. Since he can attack twice per round that doubles the chances of that happening. If you're unlucky (like I was) Mazin will keep falling asleep while the Hell Gladiator hacks him to pieces. If Mazin kills the Hell Gladiator with a desperate attack, you've pretty much won the match. The only remaining problem is dealing with the Liquid Metal Slime. Mazin's attacks deal 1 damage (if they hit at all) to the metal slime. His desperate attack will kill it instantly though. To recap, the golem team stands a very good chance of winning the S rank unless one of the following occurs: 1. Goldman is killed before Mazin can be formed. 2. The Gigantes does a desperate attack over and over again (super cheese!). 3. Mazin keeps falling asleep when the Hell Gladiator attacks. [Fight Fire With Fire] Okay. This isn't an actual team, but I got the idea by seeing how effective Morrie's team was in the finals. Basically what you do is duplicate the same team that Morrie uses. This means forming a team with a healer, an ass kicker, and a metal slime. I figured that if that team worked well for him, it might work for me as well (and it turns out that I was right). For the healer you can use either Curer or Octurion. I would highly recommend bringing Curer instead of Octurion. While Octurion has great healing spells, he tends to forget that he's supposed to play a supporting role and attacks over and over again with multi thrust, while his teammates are taking severe damage. Curer can sometimes act like this as well, but what really sets him apart from Octurion is his high agility. Curer does a great job at evading attacks. Not only does this keep him alive to heal everyone, but also it makes strong enemies waste their attacks (hence keeping your allies healthy) trying to hit Curer. For the ass kicker you have quite a bit of choices to choose from, but Morrie's choice is the one you'll probably want to use. Skeledoid is a Hell Gladiator just like Morrie's. It has the same two attacks each round that can cause its target to fall asleep. And yes, this works on the Hell Gladiator. Talos might work as well, but two attacks per round and sleep effects make Skeledoid much more attractive. For the metal slime you'll probably want to use Metabble over Metaly, since Metaly has half the HP and Defense that Metabble does. If by some miracle you have Hev in your possession (like I do) use him instead as he has 10 HP compared to Metabble's 6. It should be noted that the metal slimes that you encounter in the field have a defense score in the thousands (4000+ to be exact), while in the arena the defense tops out at 999 (for Hev). I actually had the Healslime hit Hev for one damage in the second round. How embarrassing. The main purpose of the metal slime is to divert attacks away from the healer and ass kicker. The metal slime will also join in the attack with offensive spells (Metabble casts Kasizzle, while Hev casts Kafrizzle). When the metal slime's HP gets low (about 50%) hopefully the healer (i.e. Curer) will take notice and restore them back to full health. I'll assume for example's sake that you'll be using Curer/Metabble/Skeledoid. The strategy for each round is pretty much the same. Skeledoid will attack twice each round, hopefully putting one or more enemies to sleep. Metabble will cast Kasizzle or attack. Curer will attack, do nothing, or heal a party member (or the entire party) with Multiheal or Fullheal spells. When the enemy team attacks they'll either target Curer (who will hopefully dodge) or Metabble (which will hopefully miss). It's not too much of a problem if Skeledoid gets hit since he has a decent number of HP. The real problem is if he gets killed with a strong attack (like the Gigantes desperate attack) it's game over. If Curer gets killed early on you probably won't make it to the final match. If Curer gets killed in the final match you still have a chance to win as long as the Hell Gladiator concentrates on Metabble long enough for Skeletoid to kill him. It's interesting to note that metal slimes seem to have an easier time hitting other metal slimes with their attacks. [The Popular Team] One of the most popular teams currently seems to be the combination of Talos, Skeledoid, and Octurion. While theoretically this is a solid team, personally I haven't won a single Rank S match with them. It could be due to bad luck, or it could just be me. As long as Octurion heals consistently, Talos and Skeledoid should have no problem beating the competition. Unfortunately, Octurion sometimes (or in my case always) forgets to use Fullheal and starts attacking with multi thrust instead. This of course results in him getting killed quite fast, and once your primary healer is dead your other teammates are in serious trouble, especially against the Skeledoid in the final round. O----------------------O | 5. Monster Locations | O----------------------O Note that certain monsters can only be found during the day or night, and some monsters appear in multiple locations. If you can't find a monster in one location try going to the next one. [ALWAYS AVAILABLE] These monsters are always available to recruit in the field regardless of which rank you're at. However, getting to some of them will require either a ship or the Godbird. ARCHER (a.k.a. Sharpshooter) Species: Bodkin Bowyer Family: Humanoid Experience: 46 Gold: 17 Coin: Copper Location: Between Maella Abbey and Ascantha Castle, area between two mountain ranges. Teams: The Angry Archers, Not Quite Human Comments: Archer is probably the best archer, but that's not saying much. While its multishot attack is useful, its only good for the early ranks. ARCHFIEND (a.k.a. Arch-archdemon) Species: Archdemon Family: Demon Experience: 466 Gold: 31 Coin: Gold Location: West of Tryan Gully, on the southwest bridge. Teams: Far From Heaven Comments: With over 900 HP and the ability to cast Kaboom and Insulate, Archfiend makes a good addition to most teams. ARGES (a.k.a. Big Blue Bully) Species: Cyclops Family: Demon Experience: 346 Gold: 66 Coin: Silver Location: East of Tryan Gully. You'll have to walk around counterclockwise from the bridge to get to him. Teams: Club Club, Far From Heaven Comments: Arges is a strong fighter to be sure, but by the time you can recruit him you can also recruit Brontes and Steropes, both of which are much better. BIG AL (a.k.a. Al Gee) Species: King Kelp Family: Aquatic Experience: 181 Gold: 33 Coin: Copper Location: Beach south of Argonia. (requires boat) Teams: The Psyche Wards, The Aqua Marines Comments: Big Al's primary attack is his song, which unfortunately only hits one enemy at a time. He's good for laughs but not much else. BLIZAG JR. (a.k.a. Cold Fire) Species: Frostburn Family: Elemental Experience: 224 Gold: 63 Coin: Copper Location: Northeast of Orkutsk. Teams: Demented Elements Comments: Blizag Jr. knows the Thwack spell, which can kill an enemy outright if it's successful. This can be helpful in the lower ranks, but this doesn't affect opponents in the higher ranks. Blizag Jr. can also blow icy breath on the entire enemy team. BONES (a.k.a. Old Soldier) Species: Skeleton Family: Zombie Experience: 173 Gold: 26 Coin: Copper Location: Southwest of the Dark Ruins. Teams: The Blade Runners, The Zombebops Comments: Bones is a pretty average attacker, alternating between swinging his sword or throwing his skull and casting Kazap on enemies. BRICKMAN (a.k.a. Bricklayer) Species: Golem Family: Material Experience: 275 Gold: 55 Coin: Silver Location: Southeast of Peregrin Quay near some ruins. Teams: My Three Golems, Materialistic Comments: Brickman is a solid defensive player. He primary serves to soak up damage for your team while they attack. Most of the time he builds tension, and can do some damage once he lets lose with his attack. One of the three members of the My Three Golems team. BRONTES (a.k.a. Gigantes Guardsman) Species: Gigantes Family: Demon Experience: 381 Gold: 75 Coin: Gold Location: West of Empycchu, east of the poison marsh. (Day only) Teams: Two Eyes, Club Club, Far From Heaven Comments: Brontes doesn't beat around the bush. He beats on people's heads. Pairs up with his stronger brethren Steropes to form the mighty Two Eyes team. BUSH-W. (a.k.a. Bushwhacker) Species: Berserker Family: Humanoid Experience: 326 Gold: 83 Coin: Silver Location: Small island in middle of lake north of the monster arena. Teams: The Hackers, Not Quite Human Comments: Bush-W. is a reliable attacker for your team, since that is pretty much all he does. CLIO (a.k.a. Colossal Clione) Species: See Angel Family: Aquatic Experience: 120 Gold: 40 Coin: Silver Location: Small island west of Empycchu, northwest of the poison marsh. Teams: The Aqua Marines Comments: With spells like Acceleratle, Multiheal, and Zing, Clio makes a great support monster in the arena. Unfortunately, its low HP makes it unsuitable for the middle and higher ranks. COWBOY (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill) Species: Bullfinch Family: Beast Experience: 42 Gold: 21 Coin: Copper Location: Road between Alexandria and the Tower of Alexandria. Teams: Just Beastly Comments: Cowboy is a fairly mediocre fighter. There are much better choices this early on in the arena. DOLLDRUMS (a.k.a. Puppet Pugilist) Species: Puppet Master Family: Humanoid Experience: 173 Gold: 56 Coin: Copper Location: East of Empycchu. Teams: Valentine's Day, Not Quite Human Comments: Dolldrums casts a lot of spells, but none of them are particularly effective. His HP are too low for any serious combat in the arena. DOUG (a.k.a. Mole Major) Species: Mad Mole Family: Beast Experience: 106 Gold: 32 Coin: Copper Location: North of Ascantha Castle, before the mole tunnel entrance. Teams: Just Beastly Comments: Doug alternates between building up tension and attacking. This would be effective if Doug were a strong fighter, but Doug's stats are rather weak. DUMBKING (a.k.a. King of Dumbira) Species: Notso Macho Family: Humanoid Experience: 206 Gold: 71 Coin: Copper Location: Southeast of Argonia, along the northern bank of the river near the outlet. Teams: The Blade Runners, Not Quite Human Comments: Dumbking is a fantastic addition to your team for the early and middle ranks. Not only can he perform a desperate attack, but he can cast the Oomph spell on your team members as well. FAT CAT (a.k.a. Death Tabby) Species: Jailcat Family: Beast Experience: 109 Gold: 38 Coin: Copper Location: West of Red's house, in the forest on the west side of the mountain range. Teams: Just Beastly Comments: Fat Cat will spend its turns rolling around the ground, purring, and licking itself. Needless to say, this is not a winning strategy in the arena. FAUNUS (a.k.a. Fertiliser) Species: Silenus Family: Humanoid Experience: 136 Gold: 66 Coin: Copper Location: West of the Seaview Chapel. Teams: The Fatal Attraction, Not Quite Human Comments: If you don't mind waiting a while to start the monster arena, Faunus is a great choice for the early ranks. He can put enemies to sleep, and his sheep attack does loads of damage to the enemy team. FLAMEMAN (a.k.a. Living Flame) Species: Dancing Flame Family: Elemental Experience: 164 Gold: 44 Coin: Copper Location: Near the Dragon Graveyard. Teams: Demented Elements Comments: As you might expect, Flameman attacks the enemy team with fire-based attacks. As an elemental he has good resistance to magic, with the exception of ice based attacks. FLETCH (a.k.a. Shortshooter) Species: Bodkin Archer Family: Humanoid Experience: 36 Gold: 8 Coin: Copper Location: Road west of Farebury, east of Trodain castle. (Day only) Teams: The Angry Archers, Not Quite Human Comments: Fletch is probably best as a part of The Angry Archers team, where his Buff and Kabuff spells can be put to good use. FOWL FOWL (a.k.a. Raging Rooster) Species: Fowlfighter Family: Bird Experience: 181 Gold: 33 Coin: Copper Location: Northeast of Baccarat. (Day only) Teams: The Blade Runners, The Avian Attackers Comments: Fowl Fowl is fairly weak as far as offensive monsters go, and is only good for the early ranks. He can attack twice in each turn and let out a war cry that can make the enemy party members lose their turn. GOLDMAN (a.k.a. Goldbricker) Species: Gold Golem Family: Material Experience: 121 Gold: 239 Coin: Gold Location: Neos, near town. (Day only) Teams: The Treasure Hunters, My Three Golems, Materialistic Comments: There isn't anything particularly special about Goldman, but as a golem he has high defense and resistance to most status effects. One of the three members of the My Three Golems team. HACKZILLA (a.k.a. Axoraptor) Species: Hacksaurus Family: Dragon Experience: 103 Gold: 31 Coin: Silver Location: North of Farebury. Teams: The Hackers, The Drag Racers Comments: Hackzilla is a fantastic monster to recruit for the early ranks, and the fact that he keeps on improving as you gain levels makes him a contender in later ranks as well. While his regular attack is strong, he can occasionally hit an enemy with a double strike, or breathe fire on the entire enemy team. His fire attack isn't as impressive in later ranks, but his physical attacks are solid. HEALER (a.k.a. Family Doctor) Species: Healslime Family: Slime Experience: 44 Gold: 26 Coin: Copper Location: Beach between the Tower of Alexandria and Port Prospect. Teams: Slime Therapy, Trauma Centre, The King and Us, Wizards o' Z, Slime Power Comments: As his name implies, Healer spends most of his time healing your team with Heal and Midheal. This can benefit any team, but works exceptionally well in an all slime team. HOODWINK (a.k.a. Hooded Hacker) Species: Hoodlum Family: Humanoid Experience: 213 Gold: 56 Coin: Gold Location: West of Argonia Castle, by the T intersection north of the lake. (Night only) Teams: The Hackers, Team Goodnight, Not Quite Human Comments: Hoodwink is a powerful, if unpredictable, attacker. He can attack several times per round, but spends most of them building tension or trying to blind the enemy team. HORI (a.k.a. Slime Creator) Species: King Slime Family: Slime Experience: 261 Gold: 103 Coin: Gold Locations: 1.West of Argonia, east of the lake. 2.North of Argonia, near road going to Arcadia. Teams: The Legends, Slime Power! Comments: Hori is a decent fighter with the ability to heal your teammates. One of the members of The Legends team. HORK (a.k.a. Old-school Drooler) Species: Walking Corpse Family: Zombie Experience: 102 Gold: 36 Coin: Copper Location: North of Red's house, southwest of the Swordsman's Labyrinth. Teams: The Zombebops Comments: All Hork pretty much does is attack. While his HP and attack grow along with your hero's, his defense sadly does not. JEWELBAG (a.k.a. Jewel Juggler) Species: Goodybag Family: Material Experience: 89 Gold: 261 Coin: Silver Location: Small island west of Maella Abbey. Teams: The Treasure Hunters, The Psyche Wards, Happy Together, Materialistic Comments: Jewelbag spends most of its turns smiling, and can occasionally do a dance that causes an enemy to lose its turn. Other than that, don't expect Jewelbag to do much in battle. KLUB KONG (a.k.a. Abominable Ape) Species: Gorerilla Family: Beast Experience: 128 Gold: 22 Coin: Copper Location: Southwest of Chateau Felix. Teams: Club Club, Just Beastly Comments: Klub Kong is a strong attacker. Unfortunately, he often spends turns doing nothing but scratching his butt. LONELY JOE (a.k.a. Hollow Knight) Species: Restless Armor Family: Material Experience: 56 Gold: 34 Coin: Copper Location: Southeast of Maella Abbey, on the path to the ruined abbey. Teams: The Blade Runners, Materialistic Comments: The strongest monster on your initial team, Lonely Joe is a decent straightforward fighter, but there are much better monsters that you can recruit out there. MCHAMMER (a.k.a. Mullet Mallet) Species: Brownie Family: Humanoid Experience: 53 Gold: 28 Coin: Copper Location: Southeast of Peregrin Quay. Teams: Not Quite Human Comments: McHammer alternates between building up tension and attacking. Unfortunately it tends to use this technique unwisely, such as attacking an enemy that's pretty much already dead. MECHABUBO (a.k.a. Automaton Aviator) Species: Mecha-mynah Family: Machine Experience: 36 Gold: 14 Coin: Copper Location: Southeast of Farebury, northeast of the bridge. Teams: Clank and Spank Comments: Although Mechabubo completes the Clank and Spank Team without Nohi, it's nowhere near as powerful as the Triple Trouble team. MOPPET (a.k.a. Punchin' Judy) Species: Puppeteer Family: Humanoid Experience: 116 Gold: 31 Coin: Copper Location: Southeast of Trodain Castle. Teams: Valentine's Day, Not Quite Human Comments: Moppet relies primarily on status effects, which doesn't work that well in the arena. Still, watching him tell a story with his puppets is good for a laugh or two. NIGHTWING (a.k.a. Nightstalker) Species: Night Emperor Family: Demon Experience: 166 Gold: 89 Coin: Copper Location: I shaped island east of Empycchu. (Night only) Teams: Team Goodnight, Far From Heaven Comments: Nightwing is one of the weaker demons in the game, but its special sweet breath attack can put the entire enemy team to sleep. ORCUS (a.k.a. Wild Spearman) Species: Orc King Family: Beast Experience: 151 Gold: 40 Coin: Copper Location: Area south of the Seaview Church across the river. Teams: The Javelinas, Just Beastly Comments: An average attacker. Great for the lower ranks, and he can cast Zing on fallen team members. PA TROLL (a.k.a. Troll Patroller) Species: Boss Troll Family: Demon Experience: 466 Gold: 79 Coin: Gold Location: Southwest of Dark Ruins, on high plateau. (requires Godbird) Teams: Club Club, Far From Heaven Comments: Pa Troll's 999 HP and high attack is balanced out by his dismal defense and agility. Still, if you start the monster arena late in the game (and I mean very late) Pa Troll can pretty much decimate the lower ranks. While he can perform a desperate attack, his attacks frequently miss. POTBELLY (a.k.a. Potty Dragon) Species: Jargon Family: Dragon Experience: 374 Gold: 53 Coin: Silver Location: Peninsula southwest of Trodain Castle. Teams: The Drag Racers Comments: Potbelly is a great monster for the lower ranks considering how early you can get it. It has a breath attack like Hackzilla, and can blind the enemy team with its sand attack. ROBORG (a.k.a. Roboster Mk I) Species: Killing Machine Family: Machine Experience: 351 Gold: 35 Coin: Silver Location: Ravine south of Orkutsk. Teams: The Blade Runners, Clank and Spank, Triple Trouble Comments: Roborg complements any offensive team well since it can attack twice in a row and is immune to many status effects. Among its many moves is a high- powered laser that can hit the entire enemy party, a powerful slashing attack, and an ice based slash attack. One of the three members of the powerful killing machine team. ROBSTER (a.k.a. Little Nipper) Species: Yabby Family: Aquatic Experience: 64 Gold: 27 Coin: Copper Location: Beach south of Ascantha. Teams: The Aqua Marines Comments: Robster's primary skill is its ability to drain MP from the enemy team. This is unfortunate, since Robster has no abilities or spells to use them with. SAGITTARI (a.k.a. Poisonous Sniper) Species: Bodkin Fletcher Family: Humanoid Experience: 83 Gold: 26 Coin: Copper Location: North of Arcadia on the road. Teams: The Angry Archers, Not Quite Human Comments: Sagittari's most interesting feature is that he can use a multishot attack that can possibly poison the entire enemy party. SALSA (a.k.a. Pelvic Thruster) Species: Redtail Hipster Family: Demon Experience: 116 Gold: 49 Coin: Copper Location: Southwest of Pickham. Teams: Far From Heaven Comments: Salsa has a spin attack that does loads of damage to the enemy team in the early ranks. Unfortunately, he's just as likely to do a dance that has no effect. SCORPIUS (a.k.a. Sand Slayer) Species: Scorpion Family: Bug Experience: 100 Gold: 16 Coin: Copper Location: West of Red's house, east of the mountains. (Day only) Teams: None Comments: Scorpius can poison enemies with its attack, which is great for the early ranks. SIPPY (a.k.a. Pain in the Neck) Species: Dracky Family: Bird Experience: 30 Gold: 3 Coin: Copper Location: Southeast of the lumberjack's cabin south of Farebury. (Night only) Teams: The Drack Pack, The Avian Attackers Comments: Sippy is just an ordinary Dracky, unless you combine him with Slurpy and Sugi to form The Drack Pack team. SLIME SHADY (a.k.a. Gloopy Groupie) Species: Slime Family: Slime Experience: 73 Gold: 1 Coin: Copper Location: Near the tip of the mountains at the midpoint between Rydon's Tower and the tunnel to Orkutsk (if you drew a line between the two). Teams: Slime Time, The Slime Squad, Slime Power! Comments: Will the real Slime Shady please stand up? Slime Shady is pretty much your average slime, unless you put him in The Slime Squad team. SLIMEHOPPER (a.k.a. One Knight Stand) Species: Slime Knight Family: Slime Experience: 28 Gold: 15 Coin: Copper Location: Northwest of the lumberjack's house south of Farebury, in the forest. Teams: The Fatal Attraction, The Nightriders, Slime Power!, The Blade Runners Comments: There isn't anything special about Slimehopper, except that he can mix and match between no less than four teams. SLURPY (a.k.a. All Day Sucker) Species: Dracky Family: Bird Experience: 138 Gold: 23 Coin: Copper Location: Near the Mystical Spring. (Night only) Teams: The Drack Pack, The Avian Attackers Comments: Slurpy is pretty much an ordinary Dracky, but he's also one of three members of The Drack Pack team. SMILES (a.k.a. Slimy Smiley) Species: Slime Family: Slime Experience: 40 Gold: 1 Coin: Copper Location: South of Trodain Castle. Teams: Slime Time, The Slime Squad, Slime Power Comments: One of the initial monsters on your team. Smiles has no special moves whatsoever and is very weak, but as a part of "The Slime Squad" team can transform into Ultrus, the ultimate slime. SNAP CASE (a.k.a. Man-eater Chest) Species: Cannibox Family: Material Experience: 110 Gold: 33 Coin: Copper Location: Area southwest of Trodain castle, area north of the southwest path leading to the castle. Teams: Materialistic Comments: Snap Case is great for the first few ranks since he has high attack and can attack twice each turn. His lack of HP and defense becomes an issue with later ranks though. SQUIGGLES (a.k.a. Squiggly Squiggler) Species: Khalamari Kid Family: Aquatic Experience: 48 Gold: 9 Coin: Copper Location: Beach south of Pickham, southeast of Red's house. Teams: Club Club, The Aqua Marines Comments: One of the initial monsters on your team, and sadly also the weakest in the game. Squiggles spends most of its turns doing absolutely nothing, which is rather detrimental to your team. TRICK BAG (a.k.a. Bundle of Joy) Species: Bag O' Laughs Family: Material Experience: 92 Gold: 32 Coin: Copper Location: Area northwest of the desert chapel. Teams: The Psyche Wards, Materialistic Comments: Trick Bag is a fairly weak monster that casts spells such as Frizz and Fizzle, and occasionally does a dance to drain MP from enemies. TWIGGY (a.k.a. Root of Evil) Species: Treeface Family: Plant Experience: 78 Gold: 39 Coin: Copper Location: Forest southeast of Simpletown, south of the road midway to the bridge to the east. Teams: None Comments: Twiggy can heal other team members by using a medicinal herb. He can also drain MP from an enemy by doing a dance. If you're looking for a support character there are much better choices out there. [AFTER RANK F] These monsters become available to recruit in the field after clearing rank F in the arena. CAPERS (a.k.a Fantom of Chopera) Species: Phantom Fencer Family: Zombie Experience: 219 Gold: 39 Coin: Gold Location: Southwest of Ascantha Castle, on the path to Wisher's Peak. (Night only) Teams: Team Goodnight, The Blade Runners, The Zombebops Comments: Capers is a solid attacker, and you can get him relatively early on. His special move is a powerful lightning slash. CURER (a.k.a. Angle of Curing) Species: Cureslime Family: Slime Experience: 309 Gold: 72 Coin: Silver Location: 1. Forest north of Arcadia. 2. Near chapel north of Rydon's tower. Teams: Slime Therapy, Trauma Centre, The King and Us, Wizards o' Z, Slime Power Comments: Curer is similar to Healer, except that he uses the more powerful Multiheal and Fullheal spells. Works well in most teams, especially with an all slime team. HAZEL (a.k.a. Femme Fatale) Species: Witch Family: Demon Experience: 188 Gold: 68 Coin: Copper Location: Northwest of Red's house, area north of the mountain range. Teams: The Fatal Attraction, The Psyche Wards, Far From Heaven Comments: Hazel has the unique ability to raise her tension to 50 in one turn. Unfortunately, she usually follows up by casting a spell like Fizzle, or doing the Puff-Puff. Hazel can complete two funky teams: The Fatal Attraction and The Psyche Wards. METALY (a.k.a. Quick Silver) Species: Metal Slime Family: Slime Experience: 135 Gold: 5 Coin: Gold Locations: 1. West of Alexandria south of bridge. 2. Area south of the Tower of Alexandria. 3. Area northeast of Alexandria. 4. Northeast of Port Prospect. Teams: Slime Time, Slime Therapy, Metal Power, Trauma Centre, The Metal Mob, Full Metal Power, Slime Power Comments: Catching Metaly can be somewhat of a pain since he runs away from you (rather quickly I might add) before the fight even starts. When you do defeat him you'll have a 3 HP metal slime on your team (with 400+ defense). If you have an all slime team Metaly makes a great addition since his HP doubles. ORRID (a.k.a. Ochre Ogre) Species: Buffalogre Family: Beast Experience: 261 Gold: 103 Coin: Silver Location: Southeast of Empycchu. Teams: The Dynamic Duo, Just Beastly Comments: Orrid is a powerful attacker and builds up tension to unleash a powerful blow. His defense is a bit too low for the upper rank competitions though. One part of the Dynamic Duo team along with Spike. SEASAW (a.k.a. Terror Talons) Species: Riptide Family: Humanoid Experience: 227 Gold: 80 Coin: Copper Location: Small island northeast of Farebury. Teams: Not Quite Human Comments: Seasaw is a decent attacker that can use a spin attack to hit the entire enemy team. He also can cast Whack to instantly kill an enemy. Unfortunately, this isn't as effective in the higher ranks, as most of the enemies there are immune to it. SPIKE (a.k.a. Muscly Mohawk) Species: Mohawker Family: Beast Experience: 199 Gold: 88 Coin: Silver Location: Area west of Red's house, west of the mountain range. Teams: The Dynamic Duo, Just Beastly Comments: The second half of the Dynamic Duo team along with Orrid. While not as strong as Orrid, Spike can cast Multiheal in battle, which is important since both of them have rather low defense. [AFTER RANK D] These monsters become available to recruit in the field after clearing rank D in the arena. BLADEWOLF (a.k.a. Loopy Lupus) Species: Jumping Jackal Family: Beast Experience: 216 Gold: 43 Coin: Silver Location: Small island in the southwest corner of the world map. (it doesn't show up on it) Teams: Just Beastly Comments: Bladewolf is a great offensive fighter to have for the middle ranks. Finding him can be difficult, since the island that he appears on doesn't even show up on the world map. CYBOT (a.k.a. Attack Bot Mk II) Species: Killing Machine Family: Machine Experience: 336 Gold: 121 Coin: Silver Location: West of Orkutsk. (Day only) Teams: The Blade Runners, Clank and Spank, Triple Trouble Comments: Cybot is the basically the same as Roborg with slightly better stats. If you pair him with his robot sibling you will pretty much decimate the lower ranks. Since Nohi (the final member of the killing machine team) isn't available until you've cleared rank B, try pairing Roborg and Cybot with another strong attacker (such Talos) for the rank B matches. DEADNOBLE (a.k.a. Occult Rider) Species: Bone Baron Family: Zombie Experience: 224 Gold: 89 Coin: Copper Location: East side of the island where the dark ruins are. Teams: The Javelinas, The Nightriders, The Zombebops Comments: Deadnoble is a decent fighter, but there are better options out there, such as Cybot and Talos. JACK FROST (a.k.a. Big Blizzard) Species: Frostburn Family: Elemental Experience: 328 Gold: 109 Coin: Copper Locations: 1.In front of the Herb Grotto. 2.Northeast of Orkutsk. Teams: Demented Elementals Comments: Jack Frost is a more powerful version of Blizag Jr., and can cast Thwack to instantly kill a target. JOCKEY (a.k.a. Bone Racer) Species: Skullrider Family: Demon Experience: 169 Gold: 108 Coin: Copper Location: Southeast of Dragon Graveyard. Teams: The Blade Runners, The Nightriders, Far From Heaven Comments: Jockey is a decent fighter that can attack twice in a turn. He can occasionally perform a fire slash, and sometimes causes an enemy to lose a turn. TALOS (a.k.a. Crazed Colossus) Species: Living Statue Family: Material Experience: 226 Gold: 109 Coin: Silver Location: Neos, south of town. Teams: Materialistic Comments: Unlike most monsters, Talos doesn't improve as your hero gains levels. On the other hand, Talos is great right out of the box so to speak. With 800 HP and high attack and defense, Talos will last a long time in the arena, even in the A and S ranks. Better yet, Talos does nothing but attack or stomp on enemies, so you can have peace of mind if you put him on your team. TORCHMAN (a.k.a. Living Torch) Species: Dancing Flame Family: Elemental Experience: 365 Gold: 123 Coin: Copper Location: 1. East of Desert Chapel. 2. South of Desert Chapel. Teams: Demented Elements Comments: Torchman is basically an upgraded version of Flameman. His fire attacks are much more powerful and can do some real damage to the enemy party. TORI (a.k.a. Slime Designer) Species: Slime Family: Slime Experience: 54 Gold: 1 Coin: Gold Locations: 1. North of Empycchu. 2. Southwest of Empycchu, south of the small lake. Teams: Slime Time, The Slime Squad, Slime Power!, The Legends Comments: Tori is a part of The Slime Squad and The Legends team, but other than that there isn't anything particularly exciting about him. [AFTER RANK B] These monsters become available to recruit in the field after clearing rank B in the arena. METABBLE (a.k.a. Metal Babble) Species: Liquid Metal Slime Family: Slime Experience: 1010 Gold: 18 Coin: Gold Locations: 1. Small island west of Maella Abby. 2. Small I shaped island east of Empycchu. 3. Area east of Godbird's Eyrie. (requires Godbird) 4. Southwest of Empycchu, west of the mountain range on small island (does not appear on map). Teams: Metal Power, The Metal Mob, Wizards o' Z, Mega Metal Maniacs, Slime Power! Comments: Good luck finding Metabble. He can appear in four possible locations, and sometimes he may not even appear at all. When/if you do get him on your team, you'll find that he can be quite useful. Metabble only has 6 HP, but that's more than compensated by his defense, which is 700+. If you can get him on an all slime team his HP jumps to a whopping 12. As you might expect from liquid metal Metabble is quite fast, attacking twice each turn. He can also cast fire-based spells such as Kasizzle, giving him some offensive punch as well. NOHI (a.k.a. Killer Director) Species: Killing Machine Family: Machine Experience: 496 Gold: 118 Coin: Gold Locations: 1. Area south of the Dragon Graveyard (requires Godbird). 2. Island in center of lake south of Ascantha (requires Godbird). In both locations Nohi only appears at night. Teams: The Blade Runners, Clank and Spank, The Legends, Triple Trouble Comments: Nohi is the final and most powerful of the killing machines. Paired with Roborg and Cybot to form the Triple Trouble team, the killing machine team is capable of taking on all comers in the arena. OCTURION (a.k.a. Octavius Maximus) Species: Octavian Sentry Family: Aquatic Experience: 289 Gold: 63 Coin: Silver Location: Beach south of Argonia Castle. Teams: The Javelinas, The Aqua Marines Comments: With the ability to cast Fullheal and Zing, Octurion can keep a team healthy throughout the toughest battle. Its special move is a multi thrust attack that randomly hits enemies. Be warned however that sometimes Octurion forgets to heal completely and keeps attacking in battle. SKELEDOID (a.k.a. Man-at-arms) Species: Hell Gladiator Family: Zombie Experience: 373 Gold: 99 Coin: Gold Location: Southwest of the Dark Ruins. He's in the west most valley on the island where the Dark Ruins are. Teams: The Blade Runners, Club Club, The Zombebops Comments: Arguably one of the best monsters in the game, Skeledoid is an offensive powerhouse. It can attack twice per round with its swords, and each attack has a chance to put the enemy to sleep. Its stats are great to boot, so it's a contender for the A and S ranks. STEROPES (a.k.a. Gigantes Gangster) Species: Gigantes Family: Demon Experience: 398 Gold: 103 Coin: Silver Location: West side of Princess Minnie's Castle. Teams: Two Eyes, Club Club, Far From Heaven Comments: Steropes, like Talos, is pure offensive goodness. His normal attacks are powerful and his desperate attacks are icing on the cake. He can form a special team with his weaker brethren Brontes. STONEMAN (a.k.a. Stonemason) Species: Stone Golem Family: Material Experience: 388 Gold: 63 Coin: Silver Location: Southwest of the Dark Ruin on hill. It's the same hill that you can find Pa Troll on. Pa Troll should be located on the southeast tip of that hill. If you look at the map you can see a circular plateau on that hill. From where Pa Troll is head northwest to that plateau and go around it counter clockwise. On the other side you should run into Stoneman. (requires Godbird) Teams: My Three Golems, Materialistic Comments: The final and strongest member of the golem team. You won't get him until much later in the game, but when you do you'll be able to form the My Three Golems team with Brickman and Goldman. This team is powerful enough to win the rank S battle, so if you're interested be sure to collect them all. SUGI (a.k.a. Shadow Conductor) Species: Dracky Family: Bird Experience: 345 Gold: 68 Coin: Gold Location: 1. Southwest of the Dark Ruins on a high plateau. (requires Godbird, Night only) 2. Area east of Godbird's Eyrie. (requires Godbird, Night only) Teams: The Drack Pack, The Avian Attackers, The Legends Comments: Sugi's main claim to fame is that he's a part of The Drack Pack and The Legends team. Other than that there isn't anything special about him. [CLEAR GAME] These monsters become available to recruit in the field after clearing the game. BISHOP (a.k.a. Wight Highpriest) Species: Wight Priest Family: Zombie Experience: 458 Gold: 103 Coin: Silver Location: East of Simpleton. If you look at the map you can see two roads leading out of Simpleton. The roads join together into one road to the east. Bishop is located near that eastern road to the north nearby. I think he was wandering about in a small depression. I've heard that he also might be located to the south of that road instead of the north, but I haven't confirmed that. (Night only) Teams: The Zombebops Comments: Bishop can cast the Kaboom spell, which can really do a lot of damage in the lower ranks. FRILLSAUR (a.k.a. Jumbo Dilophosaur) Species: Frou-frou Family: Dragon Experience: 471 Gold: 71 Coin: Gold Location: West of Tryan Gully, forest north of the bridge. (Day only) Teams: The Drag Racers Comments: Frillsaur is a strong attacker, but Talos has a higher defense, which makes him more attractive in the long run. GRYPHUS (a.k.a. Gryphon General) Species: War Gryphon Family: Bird Experience: 526 Gold: 59 Coin: Gold Location: West of Argonia Castle, northwest of the lake on a high plateau. (requires Godbird, Day only) Teams: The Avian Attackers Comments: Gryphus is definitely a team player and can cast Kabuff on your entire party, sometimes twice in a row. He can also breathe fire like Hackzilla. Gryphus' ability to boost the defense of your entire team goes a long way in the arena, since its effects last into the next match. HEV (a.k.a. Heavy Metal) Species: Metal King Slime Family: Slime Experience: 543 Gold: 165 Coin: Gold Location: South of Trodain Castle near the lake. (see comments below) Teams: The King and Us, Full Metal Power, Mega Metal Maniacs, The Metal Mob, Slime Power! Comments: Finishing the game is only one requirement on getting Hev to appear. When you load the clear game save a new area will become available on the map. It's located east of Chateau Felix on a high plateau accessible only by air. Examine the stone marker on the altar and you will appear in the land of Dragovians. It's an optional dungeon area that has many powerful enemies. If you manage to clear that you can access a secret town, where you can access yet another optional dungeon with even more powerful enemies. Survive all that and you have the pleasure of fighting an incredibly powerful boss. Defeating the boss allows you to access the "good ending" when you defeat Rhapthorne. But we're still not done yet. You can go back through the trial dungeon and fight the boss again. Every time you fight the boss he assumes an even stronger form. But each time you defeat him he will give you a special prize from a list. These include an upgrade to the alchemy pot that allows it to create items instantly, a unique sword for the hero that can be combined with the liquid metal sword via alchemy to create the most powerful sword in the game, a unique armor, helmet, and shield for the hero (which when all three are combines changes the hero's appearance), and last but not least a "Legendary Monster". That monster is Hev. Most people will choose to save him for last, but that means you need to defeat the boss in its most powerful form (well actually the second most powerful to be precise). While technically you can get Hev the second time you defeat the boss as the first prize you receive, you would have to be insane to pass up getting the upgraded alchemy pot. In terms of performance, outside of the arena Hev can create some of the most powerful teams using the Call Team ability, as they tend to deal loads of damage to your enemies. Inside the arena he can be useful as a buffer for your other teammates (he has 999 defense from the start) and casts Kafrizzle in battle. A word of advice though. Do not make metal slime teams to use in the arena, since their deathblows completely drain all of their MP. When this happens they spend most of their turns casting spells they no longer have MP for. MORNSTAR (a.k.a. Headless Flailsman) Species: Dullahan Family: Zombie Experience: 362 Gold: 93 Coin: Gold Location: Northwest of Rydon's Tower, in front of the tunnel that leads to Orkutsk. (Night only) Teams: The Zombebops Comments: Mornstar spends most of its time building up tension, and then unleashing a devastating attack. It can also cast Oomph on a team member, making it a welcome addition to any offensive team. SPOT (a.k.a. Greater Sabrecat) Species: Great Sabrecat Family: Beast Experience: 760 Gold: 104 Coin: Gold Location: A little southeast of Chateau Felix. Just take the road that you took to get to the Dragon Graveyard. He's along the way and you can't miss him. (Day only) Teams: Just Beastly Comments: Spot is a solid attacker with high attack and the ability to do a desperate attack. If you start the monster arena in earnest after the game, Spot can pretty much tear through the lower and middle ranks. O------------------O | 6. Special Teams | O------------------O Note that special team deathmoves and bonuses are cumulative if they meet all of the conditions. For example, The Metal Mob team has the deathmove Multi Masher (for having all the metal slimes) and Magic Burst (for having two metal slimes in the group), in addition to having the Slime Power! team bonus of double max HP (all three members are slimes). Name: Clank and Spank Description: All team members are of the machine family. Deathmove: Metal Panic – All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than normal. Team Bonus: None Possible Team Members: Cybot, Mechabubo, Nohi, Roborg Comment: If Cybot, Nohi, and Roborg are in the team, the team becomes the Triple Threat team instead. Name: Club Club Description: All team members have clubs. Deathmove: Mind Breaker – All team members attack one enemy, and that enemy loses their turn. Team Bonus: None Possible Team Members: Arges, Brontes, Klub Kong, Pa Troll, Skeledoid, Squiggles, Steropes Name: Demented Elements Description: All team members are of the element family. Deathmove: Elemental Storm – All team members and party members resistance to fire and ice damage increases, and a barrier reflects spells back to their caster. Team Bonus: None Possible Team Members: Blizag Jr., Flameman, Jack Frost, Torchman Name: Far From Heaven Description: All team members are of the demon family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: Team fights an additional turn with the Call Team ability. Possible Team Members: Archfiend, Arges, Brontes, Hazel, Jockey, Nightwing, Pa Troll, Salsa, Steropes Name: Full Metal Power Description: Team includes Hev and Metaly Deathmove: Magic Burst – Hev and Metaly expend all remaining MP to deal heavy damage to all enemies. Team Bonus: If the third member of the team is of the slime family, all team members' max HP is doubled. Team Members: Hev, Metaly Comment: This deathmove is quite detrimental in the arena, as it completely drains all the MP from both metal slimes. Outside of the arena it's quite effective with the Call Team ability. Name: Happy Together Description: Team includes Jewelbag and Trick Bag. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: None Comments: This particular team has no effect at all. It's just for the amusing description. =) Name: Just Beastly Description: All team members are of the beast family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: All team members attack is increased by 15. Possible Team Members: Bladewolf, Cowboy, Doug, Fat Cat, Klub Kong, Orcus, Orrid, Spike, Spot Name: Materialistic Description: All team members are of the material family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: Team fights an additional turn with the Call Team ability. Possible Team Members: Brickman, Goldman, Jewelbag, Lonely Joe, Snap Case, Stoneman, Talos, Trick Bag Comments: If Brickman, Goldman, and Stoneman are together as a team, they form the My Three Golems team instead. If Jewelbag and Trick Bag are in the team, the team becomes the Happy Together team. If Goldman and Jewelbag are in the team, the team becomes The Treasure Hunters team. Name: Mega Metal Maniacs Description: Team includes Hev and Metabble Deathmove: Magic Burst – Hev and Metabble expend all remaining MP to deal very heavy damage to all enemies. Team Bonus: If the third team member is of the slime family, all team members' max HP is doubled. Team Members: Hev, Metabble Comments: This deathmove is the same as the one used in the Full Metal Power team, except it deals much more damage. Name: Metal Power Description: Team members include Metabble and Metaly. Deathmove: Magic Burst – Metabble and Metaly expend all remaining MP to deal damage to all enemies. Team Bonus: If the third team member is of the slime family, all team members' max HP is doubled. Team Members: Metabble, Metaly Name: My Three Golems Description: All team members are golems. Deathmove: The Golemator – All three golems fuse into the mighty Mazin. Team Bonus: None Team Members: Brickman, Goldman, Stoneman Comments: While having three golems makes for a powerful defensive team the real draw here is their deathmove The Golemator, which fuses all three golems into the monstrous mega golem Mazin. Mazin has 999 HP, very high attack and defense, is immune to just about every status effect, and his critical attack can kill most enemies in one blow. The best part is that when Mazin wins the match, all golems on the team recover their HP in the next battle. If Mazin dies the entire team is defeated, but that's a small risk in comparison to the power that Mazin offers. If you're pondering which team to take into the final rank, consider what the golem team has to offer. Name: Not Quite Human Description: All team members are of the humanoid family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: All team members' max HP is increased by 15. Possible Team Members: Archer, Bush-W., Dolldrums, Dumbking, Faunus, Fletch, Hoodwink, McHammer, Moppet, Sagittari, Seasaw Name: Slime Power! Description: All team members are of the slime family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: All team members max HP is doubled. Possible Team Members: Curer, Healer, Hev, Hori, Metabble, Metaly, Slime Shady, Slimehopper, Smiles, Tori Comments: This is a very flexible team due to the fact that any team completely composed of slimes gains the benefits of this team in addition to any special team they might form. Works well with metal slimes due to their impressive defense but low HP. Name: Slime Therapy Description: Two team members from the list below. Deathmove: Multiheal – Restores about 100 HP to the entire team and party. Team Bonus: If all team members are of the slime family, max HP is doubled. Possible Team Members: Curer, Healer, Metaly Comments: Multiheal heals the party when used with the Call Team ability, so it's a great way to heal in the field or dungeons. Name: Slime Time Description: Team consists of Metaly and two normal slimes. Deathmove: Slime Spank – All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than usual. Team Bonus: All team members' max HP is doubled. Possible Team Members: Name: Team Goodnight Description: Team consists of Capers, Hoodwink, and Nightwing. Deathmove: Dirge – Reduces the defense of all team members and enemies to 0. Team Bonus: None Team Members: Capers, Hoodwink, Nightwing Name: The Angry Archers Description: All team members have bows. Deathmove: Harrowing Arrow – Arrows hit the entire enemy group. Team Bonus: All team member's max HP increases by 15. Team Members: Archer, Fletch, Sagittari Name: The Aqua Marines Description: All team members are of the aquatic family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: All team members' defense increases by 30. Possible Team Members: Big Al, Clio, Octurion, Robster, Squiggles Name: The Avian Attackers Description: All team members are of the bird family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: All team members' agility is increased by 30. Possible Team Members: Foul Fowl, Gryphus, Sippy, Slurpy, Sugi Name: The Blade Runners Description: All team members have swords. Deathmove: Triple Swords – All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than normal. Team Bonus: None Possible Team Members: Bones, Capers, Cybot, Dumbking, Foul Fowl, Jockey, Lonely Joe, Nohi, Roborg, Skeledoid, Slimehopper Comments: This might seem like a powerful deathmove, but in practice it's not all that it's cracked up to be. In fact if your team has monsters that can attack twice (like the killing machines), it's actually detrimental to use this team since they end up doing less damage than if they were allowed to attack individual targets. Name: The Drack Pack Description: All team members are drackies. Deathmove: Fat Drack – All team members fuse into Gracky, the Great Dracky. Team Bonus: All team members' agility increases by 30. Team Members: Sippy, Slurpy, Sugi Name: The Drag Racers Description: All team members are of the dragon family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: All team members' attack increased by 30. Possible Team Members: Frillsaur, Hackzilla, Potbelly Name: The Dynamic Duo Description: Team members include Orrid and Spike. Deathmove: Sapper Slapper – Orrid and Spike attack a single foe, and its defense is reduced. Team Bonus: If the third member of this group is of the beast family, all team members' attack increases by 15. Name: The Fatal Attraction Description: Team members are Faunus, Hazel, and Slimehopper. Deathmove: Love Typhoon – A pink whirlwind hits a group of foes. Team Bonus: None Team Members: Faunus, Hazel, Slimehopper Name: The Hackers Description: All team members have axes. Deathmove: Typhoeus' Maul – All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than normal. If the target is of the beast family, damage is doubled. Team Bonus: None Possible Team Members: Bush-W., Hackzilla, Hoodwink, Skeledoid Name: The Javelinas Description: All team members have javelins. Deathmove: Jolly Jousters – All team members attack eight enemies at random. Each attack deals 50% less damage than normal. Team Bonus: None Team Members: Deadnoble, Octurion, Orcus Name: The King and Us Description: Team members are Healer, Curer, and Hev Deathmove: Maximaster – All dead team members are brought back to life and all team members are fully healed. All team members' defense is increased and all enemies' defense are decreased. Team Bonus: All team members' max HP is doubled. Possible Team Members: Name: The Legends Description: Three of the team members below. Deathmove: Big Bang – An explosion hits all enemies for big damage. Team Bonus: None Possible Team Members: Hori, Nohi, Sugi, Tori Name: The Metal Mob Description: Team members are Hev, Metabble, and Metaly Deathmove: Multi Masher – All team members expend all remaining MP to attack 3 to 10 times at random. Team Bonus: All team members' max HP is doubled. Team Members: Hev, Metabble, Metaly Name: The Nightriders Description: All team members are mounted. Deathmove: Riders' Carnival – All team members attack a single foe, dealing double damage. Team Bonus: None Team Members: Deadnoble, Jockey, Slimehopper Name: The Psyche Wards Description: Three of the team members below. Deathmove: Tension Boost – All team members and party tension increase by two levels. Team Bonus: None Possible Team Members: Big Al, Hazel, Jewelbag, Trick Bag Name: The Slime Squad Description: All team members are normal slimes. Deathmove: Supersize Slimey – All team members merge into Ultrus, the Ultra Slime. Team Bonus: All team members' max HP is doubled. Team Members: Slime Shady, Smiles, Tori Name: The Treasure Hunters Description: Team members include Goldman and Jewelbag. Deathmove: Good as Gold – Goldman and Jewelbag attack a single foe, and the party receives gold equal to half the damage dealt. Note that this cannot be used in the monster arena. Team Bonus: If the third member of the team is of the material family, the team fights an extra turn when the Call Team ability is used. Name: The Zombebops Description: All team members are of the zombie family. Deathmove: None Team Bonus: All team members max HP increases by 30. Possible Team Members: Bishop, Bones, Capers, Deadnoble, Hork, Mornstar, Skeledoid Name: Trauma Centre Description: Team members are Metaly, Curer, and Healer. Deathmove: Omniheal – All team members recover all HP, and the party recovers some HP. Team Bonus: All team members' max HP is doubled. Team Members: Metaly, Curer, Healer Name: Triple Trouble Description: All team members are killing machines. Deathmove: Stream Killer Attack – All team members attack a single foe, dealing triple the usual damage. Team Bonus: None Team Members: Cybot, Nohi, Roborg Comments: Unlike the Triple Swords deathmove, the Stream Killer Attack is worth using since the killing machines already have a high attack. Unless you're in a high rank battle it's unlikely that any enemy will survive the attack. Name: Two Eyes Description: Team includes Brontes and Steropes. Deathmove: Sapper Slapper – Brontes and Steropes attack a single foe, and its defense is reduced. Team Bonus: If the third member of the team is of the demon family, the team fights an extra turn when the Call Team ability is used. Name: Valentine's Day Description: Team includes Dolldrums and Moppet. Deathmove: None Team Bonuses: All team members' agility is increased by 15. If the third member of the team is of the humanoid family, the team becomes the Not Quite Human team and all team members' max HP is increased by 15 (in addition to the agility bonus). Name: Wizards o' Z Description: Team members are Metabble, Curer, and Healer. Deathmove: Zingslinger – All dead team members are returned to life and all team members are completely healed. Team Bonus: All team members' max HP is doubled. Team Members: Metabble, Curer, Healer O---------------------O | 7. Acknowledgements | O---------------------O Special thanks go to Armor Project/Bird Studio/Level-5/Square Enix for making one of the greatest RPGs of all time. This document may 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 by the author. 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. Do not post this document on other websites without permission from the author. Copyright 2005 Brian Nii -------------------------------------------------------------------------------