Feb. 2013
Kid Icarus Uprising
9.0 Intensity Guide Ver 1.25 by Reptobismol


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO Table of Contents OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Introduction]
[Int] About this Guide
[VH] Version History
[Prep] Preparing Yourself
[Prep1] Weapons
[Prep2] Powers
[Prep3] Problem Enemies
[Prep4] Miscellaneous Advice

[Walkthrough]
[Ch1] The Return of Palutena
[Ch2] Magnus and the Dark Lord
[Ch3] Heads of the Hewdraw
[Ch4] The Reaper�s Line of Sight
[Ch5] Pandora�s Labyrinth of Deceit
[Ch6] Dark Pit
[Ch7] The Seafloor Palace
[Ch8] The Space-Pirate Ship
[Ch9] Medusa�s Final Battle
[Ch10] The Wish Seed
[Ch11] Viridi, Goddess of Nature
[Ch12] Wrath of the Reset Bomb
[Ch13] The Lunar Sanctum
[Ch14] Lightning Battle
[Ch15] Mysterious Invaders
[Ch16] The Aurum Hive
[Ch17] The Aurum Brain
[Ch18] The Ring of Chaos
[Ch19] The Lightning Chariot
[Ch20] Palutena�s Temple
[Ch21] The Chaos Vortex
[Ch22] Scorched Feathers
[Ch23] Lord of the Underworld
[Ch24] The Three Trials
[Ch25] The War�s End

[Treasure Hunt Achievements]
[T1] Play a level on 9.0
[T2] Chapter 3 (with Blade)
[T3] Chapter 4 (kill 200 enemies)
[T4] Chapter 6 (with Bow)
[T5] Chapter 7 (450,000 pts)
[T6] Chapter 10 (kill 220 enemies)
[T7] Chapter 11 (with Arm)
[T8] Chapter 13 (with Palm)
[T9] Chapter 15 (with Cannon)
[T10] Chapter 16 (40,000 Hearts)
[T11] Chapter 17 (with Claws)
[T12] Chapter 19 (with Club)
[T13] Chapter 20 (with Bow)
[T14] Chapter 23 (kill 150 enemies)
[T15] Clear all levels on 9.0

[FAQ] Frequently Asked Questions
[Thx] Credits & Thanks
[Cinf] Contact Info & Legal Stuff


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Int] About this Guide OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


Well hello there! How are you enjoying the game? Finally adapted to the
control scheme, have you? Looking for a real challenge, or perhaps you�re
tired of clearing a level only to find that your spoils won�t even garner a
mere thousand hearts when crammed into the grinder with both hands?
Then, please do allow me to be of some assistance.

I realise that, having waited almost a year to begin writing this guide,
I�ve missed the opportunity to help an enormous wealth of people who bought
the game on its release and have long since accomplished the difficult task of
clearing every chapter on the hardest setting. Still, I love to write, and saw
that many gamers had only recently acquired the game on Christmas Day.
This new batch of (likely) inexperienced players gave me the incentive to
write a full-length walkthrough tailored to those that wish to test their
patience, the endurance of the L button, the distance they can hurl their 3DS,
and so on.

While many levels are very difficult on 9.0 intensity, if not obnoxious, they
can all be cleared with minimal frustration with a huge helping of intel and
strategic planning. This is exactly what I aim to give you, while keeping my
advice broad and concise to avoid completely alienating those without all of
the options another player might have.

Of course, you must still kill the enemies and bosses yourself, and intel
alone will not give you Matrix-caliber evasive skills. A few attempts may
still end in failure, but my guide should prevent quite a few painful lessons
and errors in judgment, often the main factor in a run going to hell on a
handcart. From there, your practice and persistance will see you through to
the end.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [VH] Version History OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(2/20/13): Guide is complete. Nothing to update at the moment.

(2/25/13): Something happened during the posting process on GameFAQs, and the
guide has been completely unreadable (clicking the link leads to a blank page,
and the file can't be downloaded) for a few days. In the meantime, I polished
the format a little bit and added a new FAQ, though I doubt anyone will have
noticed.

(2/26/13): Minor correction on one of Cragalanche's attacks.

(2/28/13): What's this? Idol Transformation actually serves a purpose? I only
just learned of this, courtesy of Primum Mobile.

(3/2/13): As it turns out, Guttlers at their largest size are red, not yellow.
I also realised I missed an enemy in my count for the Chapter 10 achievement.
(Gee, now which level I was playing when I learned about the Guttler?)

(3/5/13): Revamped a sizeable portion of Aurum Pyrrhon's strategy, encountered
something mildly interesting during the fight with Amazon Pandora, and made a
couple really minor corrections.

(3/7/13): A substantial edit to Ch24's air battle, which contained a bad
error. To quote Pyrrhon: "That is to say.. Oops. My bad." I also polished a
couple of tactics during the land portion.

(3/12/13): Provided an attacks list and method of battling Arlon without
Playing Dead, and reworded some things more to my liking.

(3/20/13): Corrected the trigger for a chest drop, courtesy of Kevin Werner.
Also edited Sinistew's entry in the Problem Enemies section and added another
method of heart farming to the FAQs.

(3/27/13): A couple more notices, grammatical fixes and minor corrections.
I also discovered that one of the more pathetic bosses, the Aurum Core, had an
attack I hadn't witnessed in all this time.

(4/2/13): A little tidying and polishing here and there. I also got the Aurum
Core and Generator's names mixed up. Ahem. Repeatedly. >________>

(4/5/13): Mistakenly said taking the Exo Tank ramps in Ch10 prevents the
enemies on the side from spawning. Changed that, plus the count.

(4/12/13): Couple additional bits of helpful info, primarily for Chapter 18.
For reasons I cannot explain (at the cost of my own life, you see) I've been
running through it again.

(5/11/13): A whole bunch of miscellaneous additions. Kevin Werner provided
some helpful corrections again.

(5/15/13): Hello again, Kevin. ..and it was in an obvious place all along?
Then why didn't someone tell me sooner?! ..I don't actually DO that to people,
it was a frigging JOKE!

(6/20/13): Found two small errors in Chapter 22's description, neither of
which affecting the walkthrough in any way. I'm just nitpicking.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Prep] Preparing Yourself OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


First and foremost, beat the game once on whatever difficulty you can manage.
I cannot recommend this highly enough. The vast majority of weapons are
unlocked by merely playing the game, whether it be defeating a boss or via a
somewhat simple Treasure Hunt achievement. I�ll cover some of those later.
But more importantly, by completing the entire game you�ll have amassed a
large assortment of powers from opened chests.

Since many players will likely struggle with a particular aspect of a level,
I�ve dissected each chapter by its segments and arranged them in the following
format, so as to allow easy jumping:

[ChX] The level name - Substitute X for the corresponding chapter number.

The cost in hearts.
Weapons more likely to be found inside chests, dropped from bosses,
Treasurefish, or between Mimicutie�s thighs.

My weapon of choice and any weapon traits I think you�ll find helpful.
My power set and where I use them, if applicable.

[NoteX] Notices - Particularly nasty enemies you must kill to proceed or spawn
a chest, powers I implore you to bring, things I strongly recommend not doing,
or otherwise info I want you to possess without needing to skim the
walkthrough itself.

[AirX] Air battle - Aggressive enemy placements and suggested special attack
usage aside, I am not often going to dissect these segments wave by wave.
The amount of content devoted to each chapter�s air battle will vary greatly.

[LandX] Land battle - Enemy placement and tactics for the clinical execution
of enemy mobs will make up the meat and potatoes of this portion. Food and
chest placement, as well as intensity gates, shall be the complementary
beverage.

[BossX] Boss battle - The final hurdle! Attack telegraphing and dodge timing
matters a lot more on 9.0 than on lower settings, so some of these may appear
to be written for a first-timer.


I�ll also use quite a bit of abbreviations when talking about weapons. If you
aren�t already well-versed in weapon mods, this will show you what I mean:

R - Range
M - Melee
V - Value

SCF - Standing cont. fire
DCF - Dash cont. fire
FDCF - Forward dash cont. fire
SDCF - Side dash cont. fire
BDCF - Back dash cont. fire

SCS - Standing charge shot
DCS - Dash charge shot
FDCS, SDCS, etc. - You get the idea.

MDA - Melee Dash Attack
FHB - Full-health boost
HB - Heart bonus
IPAB - In-peril attack boost
IPA - In-peril autododge
OD - Overall defense
SD - Shot defense
SR - Shot range
WS - Walking speed
RS - Running speed
RE - Recovery effect
ED - Effect duration

While there are many more mods, there�s not much point in including them if
I�m not going to be using them myself, is there?

Anyway, now that you�ve got a gist of the layout, let�s get you suited up!

----------------
[Prep1] Weapons
----------------

You�ll want to do a bit of grinding for hearts and weapons to use as fusion
fodder before you set out to clear every level on 9.0. While farming levels on
9.0 will eventually become your standard, farming for the purpose of being
able to do that is a bit different.

Play any level from Chapter 3 and later, at the highest setting you can manage
with your present favorite weapon and skill level, and continue to raise the
bar until you can make it through at intensity 7 or 8. Chapters 3 and 4 are
good for this because of the intensity gates, which tend to drop weapons at a
value respective of the intensity you chose.

If your loot has no mods you�d care to pass, grind it up. With all this
gameplay experience, you�ll collect in excess of 100,000 hearts, which is a
good benchmark for the pricing of high-end weapons in the shop.

Your first goal should be a weapon with 5 or more stars in the Ranged
category, without any dangerous negative mods, such as cuts to overall
defense. Additionally, your weapon should have a defensive property or
offensive mod that supplements one of that weapon�s more powerful attacks.
Of course, your comfort with the particular weapon type is just as important,
and you should stick with the type you liked using while reaching this point.

A weapon meeting this basic criteria should be enough to complete the first
five chapters on 9.0, at which point you�ll want to grind Chapter 4 repeatedly
for quality fusion material or even weapons worthy of being used immediately.

Chapters 6 and beyond take off the training wheels (barring some pathetically
easy segments of specific levels) and you�ll want a couple multipurpose,
well-rounded weapons stacked with at least two excellent mods.

-Clubs are strongly not recommended. Air battles are absolute hell without
continuous fire, and swinging the club incessantly to bat away shots will not
get you far enough much of the time.

-While Arms are nowhere near as handicapped as Clubs in Solo, I find their
downsides to be compounded by the combat settings and don�t generally
recommend using them without the Shot Range +3 mod (though Compact Arms will
usually rape the air battle segments and leave few to no enemies alive.)

-Palms and Orbitars are among the easiest weapons to use and often have
strong, rapid SCF, the most important attack in aerial battles.

-Claws are nowhere near the versatility of Palms or Orbs in the air, but they
happen to be extremely effective on land. This is partially due to their
naturally high stamina and speed (a stat some Palms and Orbs may also claim to
possess.) While most claws have substantially weaker SCF than the
aforementioned weapons, their rate of fire make up for it.

-Many players stress the need for high overall defense and/or health, but I
find both stats to become obsolete very quickly with some practice.
Aggression and raw power, on the other hand, are useful regardless of your
ability to dodge. You�ll be able to kill enemies before they can attack, and
most levels have a steady supply of food that will compensate for mistakes.
Still, high OD is invaluable for longer levels and newcomers, so it doesn�t
hurt to spend some time trying to fuse one.

Suggested weapons:

STAVES
Laser - Insane range, excellent rate of fire, damage does not scale
Rose - Very high damage overall, great range, doesn�t hurt mobility much
Dark Pit - Excellent damage and firing rate for SCF, insane DCF damage

BOWS
Darkness - Very high damage overall, great shot speed and mobility

CLUBS
Skyscraper - Yeah, we all thought clubs were the shit. ..while playing 2.0-5.0
Black - See above
Magnus - See above

ORBITARS
Fairy - SCF damage and rate of fire insane in the air, shots charge very fast
Aurum - Fairy Orbs on lots of steroids. Charge shots inflict retarded damage
Centurion - Trade mobility and firing rate for extremely strong attacks
Boom - Bad mobility and low rate of fire during SCF, but overall insane damage

BLADES
Gaol - Overall great damage output
Aurum - Great charge time, shot speed and DCS/DCF damage, but poor range

CLAWS
Artillery - Awful melee, incredible range damage that does not scale
Beam - Trades power for way more range and speed than Arts, very well rounded
Pandora - Well rounded, but feels too outclassed by the above
Viridi - Great mobility and damage output, particularly melee/DCF. Poor range

PALMS
Violet - Extremely versatile and strong overall, SCF incredible in the air
Pudgy - High SCF damage, DCS also powerful with great homing and charge time
Aurum - No homing, but great rate of fire, damage and charge time. Good in air
Viridi - Damage on par with Violet, awful range but excellent speed and homing

CANNONS
Predator - Okay mobility for a cannon, excellent overall damage, easy to use
Rail - Low mobility, excellent DCF, charge shots strike fast. Great in the air

ARMS
Compact - All about SCF with its rate of fire, damage and homing. Loves air
End-All - High overall damage, great in the air
Taurus - Insane melee and speed, decent range damage

To unlock Aurum Orbs, clear Chapter 16 with a pair of Claws.
To unlock Centurion Orbs, defeat the Chariot Master in Crisis Mode.
To unlock Boom Orbs, clear Chapter 25 in under 15 minutes.
To unlock the Aurum Blade, destroy 8 of the Aurum Core�s little turrets.
To unlock Viridi Claws, clear Chapter 22 without dying on 5.0.
To unlock the Aurum Palm, destroy the Aurum Generator without switching rails.
To unlock the Viridi Palm, you must have owned any five different Palms.

---------------
[Prep2] Powers
---------------

If you haven�t already unlocked these powers or found higher versions, I
highly recommend doing so while you go about crafting weapons:

Energy Charge: While you shouldn�t be bringing this if you haven�t already
played the level on 9.0 or aren�t too competent with dodging through attacks,
this is your best friend when replaying levels for better weapon drops.
During boss fights, I find pairing it with Bumblebee to work really well in my
efforts to avoid losing the charge. Also invaluable when you want to make
short work of Mimicuties, Reapers, and Clubberskulls, in close confines.

Autoreticle: This power serves one purpose: dominating Dark Pit and Arlon in
Chapter 13. The lv3 version provides three uses, which last long enough to see
you through to the end of the level (one use for Pittoo and two for Arlon.)

Super Armor: Its value lies in stacking nicely with high overall defense mods.
While I�d rather not use it in favor of powers that prevent damage altogether,
the lv4 version has an easy shape to fit onto the grid and lasts long enough
in one use to clear particular rough spots. In my case, those would be certain
waves of the Chaos Vortex land battle.

Brief Invincibility: Whether it keeps you alive in Crisis Mode, gets you out
of an undodgable situation, or makes killing aggressive enemies much easier,
this somewhat awkwardly shaped power has limitless potential. All you need to
do is be up shit creek without a paddle. Note that it is drastically less
effective in rivers or oceans.

Bumblebee: Dodge Tokens in power form, albeit with a far more limited number
of triggers. I often find it more useful during boss fights than enemy mobs,
but it�s still very useful for preventing being shot in the back.

Playing Dead: Playing dead, my ass. You scatter some feathers and then spray
the room with continuous fire, mowing down everything in sight. Unless you�re
using Claws, Pit�s Amazing Feather Trick will dupe enemies every time.
Guess Hades was right about their being idiots. All jokes aside, be very
careful about using it next to an enemy and accidentally attacking it with a
melee strike, which will waste the power. Also note that highly mobile bosses
will still scurry about and can keep themselves out of reach. Lastly, if you
plan to use them back-to-back (say, during a boss), keep your volume up so you
can use the alert that your power is about to wear off as an indicator.

Effect Recovery: Eggplant and Tempura Wizards. Enough said.

Celestial Firework: This power has one and only one immensely beneficial use
in Solo Mode, and that is during the battle with Hades� Heart. You get plenty
of uses and it makes stalling out the rampages or blocking an explosion you
can�t retreat from that much easier. Just take a peek in your inventory to see
if you�ve found one yet.

Idol Transformation: Provides the same protection as Celestial Firework- a
very brief but handy period of invincibility frames- but grants ten uses while
taking up half the grid space of Celestial Firework lv2 (just four blocks for
a perfect square.) And here we all thought it was completely worthless.

Trade-Off (Defeat 50 bosses): When your only issue with a level is a difficult
boss, this is the ace up your sleeve. Provided you have the rate of fire and
means to land your attacks, nothing will live long after you�ve said to hell
with your lifebar. With lv4 and at full health, you�ll get about 25 seconds to
rampage. It can also be used to keep yourself afloat while in Crisis Mode.
However, you are still vulnerable to status, which you will note with extreme
dismay should you ever become paralyzed. I�m looking at you, Phosphora.

Instant Death Attack (Defeat 3000 enemies): This power becomes drastically
less useful once you�re using a strong weapon loaded with damage mods, or
perhaps Energy Charge, but it still enables you to kill meatier enemies
quickly without charge shots. Its best application by far is during enemy
mobs, particularly when you must turn your back to threats. By using this,
you can immediately off your primary threat before they can act and then keep
everyone else on-camera. Most of the really nasty enemies are immune to it,
unfortunately, but Belunkas and Tortolunks are not, and they will often top
your To Kill list when facing waves of foes. Smite them. And, hey, why not
laugh maniacally while doing it?

If you�re wondering why certain powers are not on this list, the Miscellaneous
Advice section will likely shed some light on that.

------------------------
[Prep3] Problem Enemies
------------------------

Many enemies can be far more or less threatening depending on their groupings
or programmed AI. For example, occasionally you�ll face a Monoeye or Nutski
that shoots far more often than those you encounter elsewhere. This list takes
enemies that are universally regarded as very dangerous, and more often than
not fought by themselves within a level, simply for that reason.

--------------------
Underworld Monsters
--------------------

CRAWLER
Chapters: 1, 18, 19, 21, 23
Handling: First and foremost, don�t bring a slow, clunky weapon into these
levels. With the exception of Chapter 1, they are mandatory enemies.

As long as you can get behind them and stay there while they constantly rove
and turn, it�s just a matter of pelting their backside with SCF or DCF, and
avoiding their explosive shell. Once the sphere appears beneath you, the
attack will land in about three seconds, at which point you�ll want to dodge
to the side.

Playing with the volume up really helps you get a feel for the timing because
you�ll hear a distinct �ting� right before the attack (keep in mind that the
window between the ting and your successful sidestep is incredibly small.)
There is also an instantaneous flare from the top of the tank, though there
will inevitably be times you won�t be able to spot it.

These things usually appear with other enemies, and unless it spawns with its
weak point facing you, kill everything else first. Its purple arrows aren�t
difficult to run from or sidestep, though it takes a lot of speed to just run
away from the shell. They�ll also rumble in place, spinning wildly for several
seconds, or jet forward extremely quickly. These are used only if you are
directly behind or in front of it for an extended period of time.


REAPER
Chapters: 4, 5, 9, 24
Handling: Only the Reaper in Chapter 24 is a mandatory battle, but you should
definitely learn to fight them for their bountiful hearts. Of course, without
Energy Charge, they can withstand a lot of abuse, and if you�re facing one
inside a cramped passage, you�ll inevitably have to dodge its scythe.

The attack is easily telegraphed and has a delay, though. Rather than run far
away from it, let it approach you and be ready to flick the control pad down
as soon as it raises its scythe. Depending on the damage output of your weapon
and the size of the room, you�ll need to limit the distance you retreat to
avoid cornering yourself quickly.

With many Claws and Arms, you can safely dash attack through Reapers and
immediately spin the camera to keep them within your sight. This is usually
necessary without high damage output.

As far as killing them goes, aggress them with a dash charge shot and use your
DCF intermittently amidst barrages of SCF, which should immediately be
directed at Reapettes the moment they are summoned.

Once you�ve got a high-powered weapon, though, Reapers become little more than
an interruption to the level�s primary music track.


CLUBBERSKULL
Chapters: 4, 8, 9, 10
Handling: Bulkiest and strongest enemy in the game. While Chapter 9, the only
level with forced encounters, provides you with tools to make them far more
manageable, they can still give you hell.

Having said that, all Clubberskulls are encountered under very different
circumstances and settings, so broad advice is not terribly useful, except for
this: pissing off dormant skulls without Energy Charge in effect is a very,
very big no-no. Also, the sound wave produced by their emergence will hurt you
and remove your EC, so keep some distance.

Its Forces of Nature counterpart, the Clobbler, is also encountered in various
settings that change the way they must be fought. I�ll discuss killing these
behemoths as they�re encountered during my walkthrough.


SNONG
Chapters: 6, 8, 19, 23
Handling: The levels listed indicate Snongs encountered during land battles.
The key to defeating Snongs painlessly is to remember that their stomps will
increase in speed and number once they�ve taken a big chunk of damage, and
because of their high HP, you�ll want to kill their cohorts first.

To avoid their arms, don�t run; stand in place and flick the control stick to
the side as soon as the arm appears overhead. Repeat this until the stomps
cease, at which point you should unload everything you�ve got on it.
Stronger weapons can kill the Snong before it begins its attack, and if you�re
able to do so, focus on eliminating this enemy first in a mob.


SINISTEW
Chapters: 6, 9, 10, 23
Handling: Most players will not want to destroy these enemies, but simply
running past them once they�ve spotted you can be very risky, as their reach
is quite long and their grab is quick.

Position yourself to the left of them several feet away, and sidestep to the
right once that arm stretches out. You�ll now have a few seconds to either get
the hell away from it, or MDA through it twice (make sure the cursor indicates
melee range, because it�s easy to mistakenly FDCS as you come near.)

Melee combos are quite effective (and usually faster) with many weapons,
though you shouldn't be too greedy. While the Sinistew's slap is very quick,
it has a hard time readjusting to your position, which makes dash-arounds
extremely effective against it. Combo the pot once (or even twice if your
combo is executed quickly) and then dash-around; even if you've been behind it
for a full second or two, the Sinistew will slap the place you once stood.
If it retreats back into the pot and sticks its hand out again, back off and
be ready to dodge another swipe.

Repeat the process until they�re gone, which can take quite a while with
certain weapons that have bad melee and no stars. You�ll really only want to
kill them while attempting Chapter 10�s �220 enemies slain� achievement.


TEMPURA WIZARD
Chapters: 9, 10, 20
Handling: The real problem with these bastards is their erratic movement and
scattering of flour. Weapons with charge shots with high knockback are a big
help, because your best window to land an attack is during his intro, as he
lowers himself into the room. From there, hammer him with DCF until he dies or
begins to levitate wildly around the room.

Running except to get within strike range is a waste of time.
Instead, you should patiently charge up shots or direct SCF at him while you
wait for him to hurl batter. One of the batches will accurately target you, so
staying still gives you the best chance of spotting the attack and flicking
the control pad in time.

The first two encounters are fights to the death, and you�d do well to bring
Effect Recovery just in case.


ERINUS
Chapters: 9, 20, 23
Handling: This enemy is very aggressive when split in two and the top half is
both strong and fast. It doesn�t take a lot of abuse before splitting, but
avoiding the bum rushes is done the same as you�d avoid its shots; dodging
forward through the attack.

Try to keep space between yourself and the top. There�s a delay before it
rushes, but it covers the distance really quickly, and you want to give
yourself time to react. If the legs are right behind it when it charges, dodge
to the side instead, and immediately run away to avoid being kicked.
Always kill the top half first, to permanently confuse the legs.

When these appear with other enemies, save them for last. It�s important to be
able to keep your eye on the top half, and its projectiles aren�t problematic.

-----------------
Forces of Nature
-----------------

JITTERTHUG
Chapters: 11, 13, 14
Handling: If you are waiting for it to turn red, DO NOT SHOOT IT WHILE IT IS
GREEN, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. This is what causes it to launch three shots in
a row, which can be very difficult to avoid.

Otherwise, this fella is a piece of cake. Dodge forward through its little
fireballs, and after 4-5 shots, it�ll flip out. Most powerful weapons can
simply spam DCF and kill it before it can reach you, but a simple forward
dodge through its charge is all you need to get away from it.

By the way, attack items register as melee damage, should you pick up a
Boom Spear or Holy Hand Grenade. Toss �em at it while it�s green.


MEGONTA
Chapters: 12, 13, 14
Handling: Its hitbox is tiny enough that high-homing weapons easily target the
shell and not its underside, though disabling homing in the pause menu does
help with this (this is also handy for Girins.)

In the meantime, stick with SCF in order to flip them, so you can let go of
the trigger at a moment�s notice. Their roll should ALWAYS be dodged forward;
do not be fooled by the delay caused by rolling in place; this attack comes at
you extremely quickly and you should flick the control stick a second after it
curls up. Do not keep your back against a wall when fighting them.

It also launches a wave of four seeds and a single seed that detonates.
By standing still, you have enough time to spot these and dodge to the side.
Note that the single seed arcs and will leave your field of vision; the moment
it does, that is when you should begin your dash. The explosion shouldn�t
catch you within it.

While Chapters 21 and 24 have Megontas, they aren�t fought the same way and
are not remotely threatening.

-------------
Aurum Troops
-------------

DOHZ
Chapters: 17, 21, 24
Handling: The key to destroying this mothership-like enemy is patience.
Once it appears, launch a charge shot if you�ve prepared one, or let loose a
barrage or two of DCF, then stop. By now, the Dohz will have created the balls
of light that will soon be launching themselves at you in laser form.

It helps to try and keep a little bit of distance, so you can more easily tell
when the first laser has been fired. Regardless, it will cross any gap nigh
instantly and you must dodge three times to the side in quick succession, one
right after the other. It�s very easy to get into a rhythm of
flick-flick-flick and you should do this even if the lasers haven�t actually
targeted you (ie: Chapter 21.)

Rinse and repeat. After each barrage, fire your charged shot and whatever else
you�ve got until the spheres appear again.

Having said that, this really applies to the Dohz in Chapter 21. The one in
Ch24 renders this moot with its ridiculous speed and should be avoided or
aggressed while invulnerable, and the two Dohz fought during Ch17�s land
battle can be killed quickly through sheer aggression. The Chaos Vortex Dohz
has tons of HP and is fought under (likely) dire circumstances which makes
patience and caution a must.


XONEME
Chapters: 15, 16, 17
Handling: Without using Brief Invincibility to safely shoot them while the
barrier spins around, the safest method of killing them involves approaching
them to trigger the spin, and then immediately dashing backward. Spam SCF or
DCF to remove what little health they have. Most of these are optional.


SIO
Chapters: 15, 16, 17, 21
Handling: The most important thing is to avoid that black hole at all costs.
Your badly hindered vision is more dangerous than the pull itself, as it makes
it difficult to time a sidestep to its lightning-quick laser beam. These are
usually fought in very spacious areas, so use that to your advantage and be
running by the time they appear. During Ch21, make a beeline for a spring as
soon as you spot it, which will take you far away from the hole. They can also
be knocked down and are susceptible to freezing, but not instant death.


BAGLO
Chapters: 15, 16
Handling: If there isn't a safe corner immediately nearby for you to duck
behind, do not attack these things without Playing Dead. The two Baglos in
Ch15 are out in the open and will punish you dearly if you haven't defended
yourself appropriately (even with Energy Charge, it's not easy to kill them
before they can retaliate.)

Ch16 is a different story, as they're mostly tucked into alcoves for you to
stupidly run into while shooting at the first sign of foreign objects.
Because of this, you can blast them, duck behind a corner, wait out their
barrage (if you can see part of the Baglo, you will notice it close back up)
and repeat the process until they die. Like all Aggress At Your Own Risk
baddies, they drop plenty of hearts when slain.

--------------
Miscellaneous
--------------

CENTURION STRONGARMS
Chapters: 18, 20
Handling: If you�re facing them as Magnus, remember that he�s invulnerable
while performing a combo. You�ll want to be very patient and simply keep an
eye on them, until they abruptly turn to face you and stiffen up. This is your
cue to hammer on the attack button. Once the combo is finished, it�s back to
waiting; however, because it takes four combos to finish them, you can pretty
safely execute the fourth combo immediately after the third.

As Pit, they are drastically less threatening because you can keep your
distance and attack much more often. Don�t use DCF or any attack with cooldown
until they�ve charged and you can rest assured that they won�t rush again for
the time being.

They rarely use their dumbbell attack, but you can see it coming. As soon as
they heft one overhead, stop what you�re doing and be ready to dodge.

Always dodge their charging attack with a forward dash, as with most rushes.


MIMICUTIE
Chapters: 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, 24
Handling: Here are some things to remember when facing Miss Thunder Thighs.

-Weapons with high-impact charge shots will stall them and prevent them from
getting in your face when performing their flurry.

-Quick melee strikes will clash with their leg flurry and also stall them.

-Low mobility weapons should never dodge backwards, ever. Side dodges should
be avoided altogether regardless of weapon. Forward dodges are safest.

-Likewise, their cyclone kick should only be dodged forward, and you should
immediately rotate the camera 180 degrees and be ready to do it again.

-Freezing and Confusion work well, though you shouldn�t bring the powers that
add the attribute. It�s merely a nice mod to have.

Apart from Chapter 24, which forces you to kill three of them, you should not
set these traps off without a powerful or highly mobile weapon. With strong,
sluggish weapons, you should use your BDCS to nail the Mimicutie a second
after it rises; if it intended to use its flurry of kicks, it will do so
without rushing to your face, and you are free to do whatever. If you�re
unable to kill it then, wait for it to act again and dodge accordingly.

Several Mimicuties are guaranteed to drop items or weapons, so it�s worth your
while to practice facing them before tackling Chapter 24.

----------------------------�
[Prep4] Miscellaneous Advice
----------------------------�

-I suggest increasing the sensitivity of your reticle movement in air battles
by a little bit. Max speed is very unnecessary, but a little bit allows you to
quickly dart between targets without needing to move the stylus much.

-Many players like to complete levels on 9.0 by avoiding all but mandatory
encounters and sprinting as often as they can. I hate this play style for
multiple reasons, but primarily because many enemies can just as easily shoot
you in the back. I condone it at times, but rarely. This guide is meant for
players that plan to fight and score plenty of loot.

-Wean yourself off of Health Recovery while scaling the difficulty up to 9.0
and crafting your weapons. It�s awkwardly shaped and doesn�t squeeze in nicely
with a lot of really beneficial powers. On top of that, the frantic nature of
boss fights and some mobs make this power ineffective in a pinch. Most levels
have a steady supply of food that will keep Pit chugging along.

-Recovery Effect +2 is more than adequate in replacing Health Recovery, if you
absolutely must have some form of additional healing. At +2, Meat will restore
an enormous portion of your health bar; at least half. Recovery Orbs in air
battles will also be substantially more helpful following a rough segment.

-Don�t stop moving in circles during air battles, even during pauses in the
action, unless you know exactly what is coming up and where it will appear.
When enemies finally do appear and shoot, your risk of being hit goes way up.

-When using weapons that are drastically better on land than in the air,
you�re often much better off firing seldom, launching SCS at closer enemies,
and spending more time in your gliding state. This allows you to avoid shots
much more easily, especially when your weapon is lightweight and speedy.
Aurum Blade lovers, take note.

-Barrel rolling is very effective in dodging really accurate shots, and
doesn�t require gliding to do it, though you must not be shooting at the
moment. Flick the control pad in the opposite direction you want to go, then
immediately flick it in the direction you do. Use this when you find yourself
being hit at the same points in an air battle no matter what you try.

-I�ll occasionally use dialogue as an indicator of when something will happen
that you must be ready for, so I suggest keeping the voice acting enabled.

-I recommend adjusting your horizontal reticle speed to max under Land Battle
controls, which will allow you to pan the camera 180 degrees nigh instantly.
There are very many battles during which it's important to be able to do this.

-If you haven�t learned the basics of dodging through attacks instead of
running away, play Chapter 1 on 9.0 and use the three Monoeyes at the start of
the land battle for practice. Kill the Shemums and simply stand before the
Monoeyes, waiting for each one to shoot at you. Flick the control pad up or to
the side as each shot draws very near and repeat. You can practice with other
ammo types by allowing enemies further on to shoot at you, also.

-Great Reaper is an excellent boss for dodge practice, as well. His attacks
are very quick and strong.. ..in execution. The indicator for which move he�ll
use is blatantly obvious and you can spend the entire fight without needing to
move much or refocus the camera, which can overwhelm inexperienced players.

-Dash-arounds are by far the least useful method of evasion and if you find
yourself doing them often accidentally, get out of the habit of keeping your
stylus on the touch screen at all times. Having said that, for the few enemies
they are handy against, they are EXTREMELY effective in avoiding attacks;
those being Sinistews, Snowmen, and Igniots.

-Foxtrotting- that is, repeatedly initiating a dash without continuing your
sprint- can be very effective in avoiding attacks of which you have not yet
learned the timing. It�s also more effective than running for some weapon
types, but does deplete your stamina rapidly.

-Much of the time, dodging into the attack is the most ideal form of evasion.
Sidestepping is most useful when facing multiple ranged enemies and is easy to
chain when necessary (several incoming shots.) Backward dashing should be used
against melee attacks that won�t pass through you otherwise.

-Weapon versatility and experience with a weapon type matter a lot more than
stars and mods, so don�t be too quick to write something off as poor, just
because it lacks six stars or +4 mods. If you can clear levels with it, you�re
good to go.

-Likewise, there are some levels that really do not cater to particular
weapons or types, usually because of things like range or enemy speed.
It�s best to use two or three different weapons as you see fit; don�t discard
or fuse away a decent weapon just because you acquired something �better.�

-Crisis Recovery is worthless on 9.0 and space should not be wasted on it.

-Popping the cartridge immediately following your death, then hitting the Home
button when prompted, will preserve your hearts.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch1] The Return of Palutena OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 2960 Hearts

Common Drops: Fortune Bow, First Blade, Violet Palm, Twinbellows Cannon
              (Max of 2)

You�ll likely be caught off-guard by the severely jacked up enemy strength,
particularly Wave Gliders, as well as shot speed, but this level doesn�t offer
much in the way of enemies or danger and is perfect for getting your feet wet.

My weapon of choice:

Fairy Orbitars
R: 6
M: 0
V: 273
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

This weapon is actually fusion fodder and not typically something I�d use, but
it�s very basic and I wanted to tackle the first two chapters with something
simplistic to demonstrate the usefulness of solid weapons with merely average
strength. Fairy Orbs have a lot of neat features to compensate for generally
low-moderate damage output on land (these reign supreme in the air.)

As for powers, even if this is your first run of a level on 9.0, you really
only need to prepare for Twinbellows. Bring invulnerability-related powers and
perhaps Quick Charge or Libra Sponge if you want to make short work of him.
If you can�t make it to him in one piece, it�s a clear sign you need to
practice dodging a while longer. Use the Monoeyes for that.

----------------
[Note1] Notices
----------------

-If you had trouble getting behind the Crawler on difficulties as low as 5.0,
do yourself a favor and skip the midway intensity gate. You won�t miss much.

------------------
[Air1] Air Battle
------------------

Up until Medusa�s grand entrance, you�ll fight nothing but Monoeyes and a lone
Wave Angler. Roving in large circles is just as effective as it was in lower
difficulties, so don�t break the habit. While they do shoot much more
frequently, they won�t do so the moment they appear on screen, which is
usually when you�re at high risk of being hit. This won�t change until you
fly close to the ground.

Try not to position yourself in the middle of Octos� poison clouds, as this
often makes it easier to be hit by anything else, if not the cloud itself, as
the view can be very deceptive. This is much more important during later
levels.

Kerons (the chubby frogs) fire squirrely shots that aren�t always easily
dodged through circular movement, because they move slower and can be
intersected with. They�ll appear at the top of the screen following the Octos.

Ditto for the Gyrazers that appear immediately afterward, which stream some
constant laser beams toward the corners. Just stay still and kill them,
starting with the top.

As you soar above the town and the building comes back into view, among the
enemies will be a Wave Angler that will likely launch at least two of them at
you. Anticipate the horizontal one and stay on the opposite side of the screen
from it, high or low. Those waves inlict massive damage in the air.

I don�t feel compelled to use my special attacks for this, but I recommend
unleashing them on the Wave Anglers, if only to cancel their shots.

--------------------
[Land1] Land Battle
--------------------

Benign enemies ahoy! While Palutena yaks on, some Monoeyes will fly down over
the rooftops and position themselves, frequently shooting at you. Just pick
them off with standing charge shots, which allows you to dodge as needed.
Killing the Nettler will bring forth another Monoeye in the distance.

Your attention will be drawn to the grenade and likely the chest on your left,
but be mindful of the two Monoeyes that will appear and quickly circle around
the fountain. They�ll shoot repeatedly and will score multiple easy hits if
you make haste to the chest with your back turned. Stand by the grenade,
anticipate and slay. One of them may still get a shot off as a parting gift.

Should you go for the intensity gate on your right, stay left and sprint in,
stopping once you�re about even with the Crawler, in order to kill the Gyrazer
high above. Then move around the tank and kill the opposite Gyrazer.
Listening for the ting-ting-ting indicates that the Crawler will fire its
purple arrows, while rumbling in place means it will spin wildly.
Since I know you had the common sense to enter this room only with a weapon
granting agility, just get behind it and unload everything you�ve got,
worrying only about its shell. If that telltale glowing sphere appears, the
attack itself will hit after about three seconds of whirring.

With some terrible loot in your possession, you can head on to face one of the
meatier low-level enemies, Keron. These will not back off once you�ve been
spotted, but spend more time hopping toward you than anything else.
Still, landing on you will hurt. Their wobbly shots are simple to avoid on
land, but they may also crouch down and quickly lunge forward a great
distance. You�ll likely kill it well before it can do this, but run to the
side if that happens. Killing the next one and the Shemum Vase will produce
some fruit, should you have been hurt following the Crawler encounter.

Behind the chest in between the steps is a Wave Angler. These have quite a bit
of HP and fire spontaneously, making them very dangerous up close.
If your weapon isn�t quite strong, I suggest keeping your distance; otherwise,
bum rush it and you can kill it before it fires (there�s a lengthy window.)

Keep left of the staircase to avoid the wrecking ball, which will take out the
Ganewmede. Your final Keron waits at the top along with arrow-launching
Gyrazers, your first priority. Retreat from the Keron as needed, as it is not
shy and will fire more often than the others. Grab your Drink of the Gods and
boldly face your naughty puppy friend.

--------------------
[Boss1] TWINBELLOWS
--------------------

You�ll need to use Twinbellows� stance and lowered heads as a sign that he�ll
charge from now on, as the move itself is much too quick to avoid once he�s
already on the move. Because of his size, sidestepping is the best method of
avoiding all of his attacks, including his claw swipe.

Your best bet is to strafe (as Pit himself mentions) as needed to avoid being
directly in front of him. This gives you the best odds of sidestepping his
flame attacks. Twinbellows will reposition himself to face you as needed
immediately before attacking head-on, so use this sign to stop shooting and be
ready to dodge.

He�ll charge at you as many as four times before smacking into the wall, and
because he�ll repeatedly go off-camera, you should get into the habit of
sidestepping on instinct with about a 1.5-second pause in between each one.
Once you hear that telltale thud, resume shooting.

His heads are easy targets and of course should be aimed for whenever
possible. Because he attacks relatively quickly, save your DCS or any move
with substantial cooldown for the instances he stuns himself.

Since this level doesn�t warrant power usage, you should have a full stock for
the boss battle. Even with sloppy dodging, you should be able to tough it out.

Enjoy your sexy sub-200 value weapons! You earned �em!


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch2] Magnus and the Dark Lord OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 5410 Hearts

Common Drops: Insight Staff, Sagittarius Bow, Ore Club, Gaol Blade,
              Crusher Arm (Max of 3)

This chapter will also not yield good weapons on 9.0, but it also keeps the
training wheels on, so you shouldn�t struggle if you take each enemy one at a
time and leave yourself a window to dodge through shots. However, the air
battle will be quite a step up from the first level, and if your SCF is
terrible, you�ll realise it shortly after dropping beneath the clouds.

My weapon of choice:

Fairy Orbitars
R: 6
M: 0
V: 273
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv3, Playing Dead lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3

Provided the SCF or range isn�t too bad, melee-centric weapons can be very
effective, both for Gaol and the couple of Ganewmedes you�ll face. On lower
intensities I liked using an Ogre Club for that reason. Among the most useful
attributes is range, as Gaol�s room is extremely large and she is mobile,
which can be hell for weapons with neither foot nor shot speed.

Much like the first chapter, your power set should primarily be geared toward
helping you take down Gaol. Most of her attacks either involve projectiles or
damage within a fixed but large AOE, so Reflect Barrier and invulnerability or
evasion-centric powers are very useful. Hyper-aggression, however, works quite
well, and Energy Charge, Libra Sponge, and Trade-Off work great.

----------------
[Note2] Notices
----------------

-Specknoses can be pretty dangerous in close confines. Their bombs can and
will nail you in the back after they�ve bounced off a wall, so your best bet
is to face them with a clear radius around you. Your shots will detonate their
bombs, but they spread apart quickly and you�ll likely only shoot one of them.

-Shrips block shots that connect with their blades while they�re spinning, so
be mindful of that when trying to kill one as it�s winding up (on land.)

-Porcuspines have an incredibly fast counterattack that they�ll use once their
eye has turned to face you. If it�s already looking right at you, don�t use an
attack with cooldown, at least not close up, as it severely limits your
ability to sidestep the subsequent needle barrage. Keep in mind that Magnus
can trigger the counterattack himself, which will still hit you.

-Gaol�s reflector can be fatal if you�re hit by your own charge shot
(Flintlocks beware!) and quickly put you in crisis mode if you�re hit by your
own SCF barrage close-up. Be careful.

------------------
[Air2] Air Battle
------------------

Before long you�ll encounter Miks, now a mainstay in aerial battles, and one
of them will whip its tongue vertically down the right side of the screen.
This particular one is very easy to avoid, but from here on out you�ll have
run-ins with multiple Miks that swing their tongues simultaneously. On top of
being a lot more powerful than basic shots, they�ll often be in mid-swing once
they�re within your strike zone, so you�ll benefit from remembering where
they�ll pop up and killing them first.

The lightning bolts that sweep past will hurt you, but unlike later levels
with this hazard, your flight path will not play mind games with you.
Simply stay away from the portion of the screen they first appear, and they�ll
miss you. More importantly are the two Wave Anglers that show up; use a
special attack to null their shots for a few seconds, and try to kill at least
one of them in that time. If you can�t kill the second one, it�ll create two
or three waves. Don�t use your second special attack if you�ve got one, but
move high or low depending on where you were when they were fired.

As you spike sharply downward and level out with the canyon below, another
pair of Wave Anglers will appear that, again, will fill the screen with many
waves if you don�t shut them down. Keep your SCF directed toward the
center-right of the screen following the Wave Anglers; the Monoeyes that zip
onto the screen will be firing as soon as they appear and can score three or
more easy hits. There will be a few rounds of Monoeyes like this.

Once you get your Happy Trigger, be ready for the two Mik groups; a few of
them in each group will swipe their tongues after a moment if you don�t kill
them. At such close range, your charge shots should wipe out more than one per
use. If you fail to kill one once its mouth opens, move accordingly, and
hopefully you�ll have left a safe gap you can move into.

The Belunka that chases you will produce a few Monoeyes and Miks, and the
upper-right Mik will launch quite a few shots, so kill it first. The Belunka
will then barf up two Shrips on its left and right, and will be very close
to Pit; stay centered while you kill them and then polish off the Belunka,
unless your weapon sucks in air, which likely means it�ll crash into the
overhang and kill itself.

The wall may appear too close to make wide circles as it rushes by, but you
can do so without worrying about touching the jagged protrusions. Save any
special attack you�ve got stored up for when the couple Monoeyes appear and
begin shooting. Otherwise, your enemies will randomly be coming from both
sides and down the center, so keep the reticle back and forth to kill the few
Gyrazers that will concentrate lasers in your path.

Once over the canyon, a Shrip will show up on your right. Take this moment to
direct a charge shot and some SCF at about the 11 o�clock position; a Monoeye
will appear in the distance and launch four shots in rapid succession that can
score easy hits. If you have a special attack, go ahead and use it.
Beyond that, it�s smooth sailing, and you can waste the few batches of Syrens
that pop in from the right for easy points.

--------------------
[Land2] Land Battle
--------------------

Be on the move as soon as you drop down to the main entrance, as the two
Skuttler Cannoneers will perk up and begin shooting. They have low HP, so
SDCS from many weapons should take them out. The normal Skuttlers that waddle
down the staircase should be at floor level once the Cannoneers are down and
it takes next to nothing to knock them over and dispatch them.
Walking backward while shooting is effective.

With a long-range weapon you can nail the switch by the Boogity without
needing to fight it (though homing weapons will go for its iron backside.)
If you need to get close, save it for second, since the Handora�s attacks can
reach you from the other side of the room. I use a lot of weapons with
horrendous melee and prefer to ignore the spawned Ganewmede.

In the next area, immediately run into the corridor on your left and let loose
with a charge shot to dispose of the Cannoneer. If you want some hearts and
crap treasure, go ahead and engage the four Skuttlers in the adjoining room,
moving around the perimeter but taking care not to get caught against one of
the pillars, which will allow them to catch up and hit you. Once the chests
are open, if you�ve gotten an attack item from either chest, use it as soon as
you step back into the ambush room, prioritizing the Splin. With that out of
the way, the Specknose is easier to handle. Stay in the middle of the room.

As you cross the little bridge in the next room, you can avoid having to face
the Commyloose alongside the Zurret by staying on the bridge once the Zurret
appears. Send charge shots at it and some cont fire in between its shots, but
be ready to sidestep. When fighting any Zurret, don�t get close enough to put
the head off-camera, your indicator that it�s about to fire. Another Cannoneer
lies in wait down the stairs leading to the interior garden.

As with most teamups throughout this game, Magnus does little more than serve
as a meat shield, though this usually ends up being really helpful.
You�ll want to stay cornered much of the time, shooting whatever is facing you
and not Magnus, moving in case something spawns right next to you.
You can let Magnus kill the Ganewmede all by himself, but it will take a long
time. He also makes killing the Boogity a pain in the ass by attacking nonstop
and making its body turn every which way.

Your sources of damage during that little mob come in the form of the Shrip,
which is avoided by merely standing away from the angle it�s pointing;
the Specknose, which you should fight from the middle of the room, and that
Boogity, should you not have learned to dodge forward through missiles.
Running away is too risky.

Once you drop down again, you�ll likely be able to kill only one of the Miks
before the other fires, so be ready to flick the control stick once you see
its lips move. Magnus will be more than happy to melee the Corals that spawn
one at a time, and the Wave Angler that spawns by opening the chest will
launch a vertical wave, easily avoided by moving to the side while pelting it.

Save the Mega Marble for once the Shildeen appears, if you can.
Otherwise, move around the perimeter while blasting the Cannoneers. By staying
to the walls, you�ll lower the odds of being shot from an unseen angle.
I noticed that even when Magnus was engaging them, their missiles were always
directed at me. Be ready to dodge through them, though from a distance your
charge shots can blow them up.

The trap chest pits you against a beefy Belunka that spawns Handoras, one at a
time, two Specknoses (also one at a time), and then a Mik with a Skuttler and
Cannoneer. You have plenty of room to dodge the bombs. If 9.0 runs make you
nervous, ignore the chest, but I like me them hearts!

If you�re going to entertain the Boogity, kill the Handora on your right,
first. A Porcuspine will spawn following the Shildeen, and Magnus will
happily swipe at it, but the counterattack will still easily nail Pit if it�s
facing him. Let him wail on it, then simply sidestep right afterward if it�s
aimed at you, then shoot it yourself.

Have you got all your powers intact? Someone needs a spanking.

-----------------------
[Boss2] DARK LORD GAOL
-----------------------

The key to knowing when Gaol will attack and preparing yourself for it is to
watch for her fists to glow with energy. Two white fists means she�ll launch a
large ball that homes in on you, while one white fist held above her head will
be her vortex-like move that draws you in for a combo. Occasionally she�ll
send a few pellets your way, easily sidestepped, and if you�ve nailed her a
few times, anticipate her reflector coming up and stop shooting for a moment.
Her rushing attack isn�t particularly fast and is easy to sidestep.
Both her vortex and rush present great opportunities to damage her.

She�ll typically roll a few feet after completing each attack, so anticipate
that and hold your fire until she�s standing again.

As her HP is whittled down, she�ll focus on a few new moves, namely her laser
beam. Look for her glowing red fist, and be ready to dodge into it. This move
never seems to target your location from the get-go and will instead sweep
toward you, so as to allow you to dodge into it, apparently. This attack also
presents a great time to hit her, once the beam has moved past you.

She�ll also repeatedly summon Skuttlers, both swordies and Cannoneers, as the
fight goes on. Kill the Cannoneers as you spot them and just ignore the sword
users, as you�ll be constantly on the move and they trip themselves up too
much to be of any real threat. The problem comes when you�ve got too many
enemies nearby as she�s spamming that goddamn laser.

Lastly, you�ll want to keep a little distance and avoid standing even with her
to ensure you�ll avoid two rare, powerful moves: a thin line of dark energy
that stretches across the floor, and a quick explosive shockwave that emanates
a short distance away from her. The line attack is particularly dangerous
because it can paralyze you, as well. Like her vortex, she doesn�t move during
her shockwave and can be easily hit.

While she has a lot of strong moves, she�s beaten somewhat easily by good
old-fashioned rage and aggression. Whether you need to don an invulnerability
power first or set up Energy Charge, sprinting to within your weapon�s ideal
attack range and wailing away in between her post-attack rolls will take her
down quickly. Remember to keep at least some distance, and you�ll find that
her attacks are actually easier to avoid than Twinbellows�.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch3] Heads of the Hewdraw OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 6840 Hearts

Common Drops: Hewdraw Club, Standard Orbitars, Tiger Claws, EZ Cannon
              (Max of 3)

From here on out, you�ll be able to scrounge up some halfway decent loot from
chests. You�ll also be exposed to things in air battles that are much worse
than frenzied Monoeyes. Are you excited?

My weapon of choice:

Beam Claws
R: 6
M: 1.5
V: 296
WS +2
SDCS +1
SCF +3
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

Because of the kinds of enemies you�ll be facing throughout this level, namely
Wave Anglers, Stackjaws, Mega Mussels, Merenguys, and of course the Hewdraws,
you may like to try weapons that specialize in raw damage, if you�re having
trouble. Weapons that feature overpowered charge shots as their best traits
will kill these enemies very quickly and the pacing will allow you to keep a
charge ready and strike preemptively.

This isn�t a bad level to try and get to love Energy Charge. There are only a
couple of enemies that will begin attacking as soon as they�re on screen, so
you have plenty of time to get up close for a FDCS, or just stand there and
SCF them until they�re dead. The Hewdraw Head can be nailed with a preemptive
strike and have most of its health depleted as soon as it drops in. As for the
boss, it gives you ample time to safely charge one up in its downed state.
Quick Charge is a useful alternative if you just want help versus the bosses.

For other powers, if Merenguys give you grief or you�re using a weapon better
known for utility than damage, Instant Death Attack will suit you well.
Reflect Barrier, Playing Dead and Bumblebee have various uses, primarily when
dealing with Stackjaws and Hewdraw Reborn. In all, this level shouldn�t be a
drain on powers unless you have a miserable time avoiding Reborn�s frequent
homing scale spam.

----------------
[Note3] Notices
----------------

-Both the fruit sitting in a fenced-in area and the 7.0 intensity gate are
guarded by very meaty Wave Anglers. The first one isn�t too hard to dodge,
but when collecting the intensity gate loot, do a 180 and get the hell away.

-The Monolith that rapidly circles the food following the Hewdraw head can be
removed by progressing a little further into the level and destroying the
Stackjaw first. Return, and safely nab your food.

-Occasionally, during the Mega Mussel-Ganewmede x2 combo, your attack item may
be another Grenade and not a Rocket. This won�t necessarily kill the
Ganewmedes instantly and they�ll both counter which, if unanticipated, will
knock you onto your ass. And that ass will not be happy.

------------------
[Air3] Air Battle
------------------

This level introduces a number of enemies that will now be mainstays in air
and land battles alike. You would have already met them, so here�s some
preaching that I practice:

-Paramush almost always attack more aggressively than your typical shooter
goonies and should be at the top of your To-Kill List.

-Shooting corals is a gamble I don�t like to take unless they�re very far away
and I can see the shrapnel. While you may melee them in the air, they can
still make contact with you and explode. Because they appear alongside enemies
you�ll want to shoot, I recommend ignoring them.

-Specknoses encountered in the air should never be shot at from below or
otherwise close proximity.

Your new Paramush friends are introduced almost immediately, frequently
entering the screen from the upper left and right. The vast majority of
enemies will pop up in this fashion, and you can kill most Monoeyes and
shrooms right away by keeping your fire focused there.

The Komayto and Corals make their grand entrance shortly afterward, the latter
of the two by way of a Belunka. They�ll be positioned on either side of it, to
force you to shoot carefully between them in order to kill the Belunka without
making one detonate close to you. Following the drought of bloodshed from
Hewdraw�s distraction, you�ll then have to deal with more Corals trying to
intercept your fire as you kill some Specknoses and Syrens. The Specks take
quite a bit of abuse and are pretty accurate with those bombs, so you may want
to use a special attack to keep them out of your hair.

The three heads are quickly and easily slain, though their attacks pack a real
wallop. Kill one at a time, changing targets only if one of them is reared
back and preparing to spew a giant fireball (a huge field of red particles
will swirl around it.) When one is charging pink energy, a sign that a
sweeping laser beam is coming, keep your distance and simply move up or
underneath it as needed (the beam does not actively target you.) If its
chompers begin to nibble at the air, quickly move to the bottom of the screen
and to the corner furthest from the head. That�s really the only attack I have
problems avoiding.

If you�ve got only one special attack left after the fight, don�t use it on
the Komayto triplets you�ll spot as you nosedive; save it for when you�re
cruising above the ground and pass through the swarm of enemies. Your main
concern here is avoiding the two Miks that will swing their tongues as they
pass by, the first of which approaching from the left. Staying high and
opposite each Mik as it comes by is all well and good, but a ton of shots will
also be fired your way as you pick off whatever you can, and circling to avoid
them makes you an excellent target for a licking. Hence, saving at least one
special attack for this.

--------------------
[Land3] Land Battle
--------------------

The Monoeyes that intrude upon your picnic can and should be killed without
rounding the corner, as that triggers the two Gyrazers to strafe the walkway
with their lasers; otherwise, they pose no threat, either. Staying perched on
the edge of that walkway allows you to kill the two Commyloose while having a
surefire means of avoiding their missiles. Go get your treasure and Souflee.

Stackjaws are pretty simple to defeat if you remember to stand away from the
column of mouths as it first sprouts, and not to stay in place while you shoot
at the top. You�ll likely need to sidestep the wall of lasers at least once
while you whittle it down; once the final segment remains, if you don�t have
something strong to kill it immediately, instead wait for it to send some
arrows your way and dodge forward through them. That attack comes pretty
quickly, and you don�t want to be caught in a cooldown state.

If you botched toppling the Stackjaw and need more than the food it dropped,
the fenced-in food will probably leave you even sorrier, as the Wave Angler
that pops up to say hi will launch three very fast waves in quick succession.
You�ll get some easily-earned Meat soon enough.

I am often very unlucky when trying to melee combo Komaytos and will find
myself face-humped at least once, so I prefer to MDA the bastards.

Because of their constant rotation, it�s often easier to simply wait for
Monoliths to move completely out of your way before running by them; I still
manage to mistime my rolls and get nailed by the ass end of one from time to
time. Down the stairs is your tasty meat, albeit inside the giant Shemum.
Be sure to open the chest sitting at the end of this passage, be sure not to
linger on the platform with the Grenade, if you don�t intend to kill the
Daphne there, and be sure to save the Grenade itself for...

...one of only three Minos you�ll ever encounter on land, if I�m not mistaken.
Nail it along with the Shemum Vase, and once it inflates itself, immediately
backward dash with the offense of your choice in order to inflate it to its
bursting point without being near it. They aren't shy and will quickly rush at
you otherwise, ramming you in the process. You can�t hold both a key and an
attack item, not that you�ll likely be put in this conflict of options.

OM NOM NOM. Following the Hewdraw Head ambush are a triple pack of Miks, which
will not shoot at you unless you follow them around the corner and bid them
farewell as they sink into the horizon. Giving them five full seconds to back
away should suffice, if you don�t want to face them. You�ll want as little
company when you face your first Merenguy, anyway. Once you kill it, a Komayto
and Fire Wyrm will show up.

Don�t open that chest just yet! It often contains a Drink of the Gods, which
you will likely want before battling the Hewdraw Head. Instead, take to the
corner opposite it or retreat back into the alley from whence you came,
in order to avoid the Fire Wyrm prowling about, or rather, in order not to be
caught in its flight path if that Komayto successfully latches onto you.
Deal with the Komayto when the Wyrm is off to the side, then retreat into the
corner while pelting it in the head. With that done, it�s time to unlock the
gate; if you�ve got Energy Charge, now�s an occasion to use it.

Strong weapon or not, firing a charge shot a few seconds after Pit asks
�What just happened?� is an excellent way to begin the fight. From there, you
may want to take a moment to kill the Monoeye and Gyrazer that joined, an
unwelcome source of side damage and EC removal, unless you�re using something
like a Lancer Staff or Centurion Orbies, in which case you should just put the
poor bastard out of its misery. Otherwise, it'll do nothing but bounce around
two or three times, flip in the air, and then quickly hobble over to you.
Run and sidestep as needed, attacking whenever you�re able to face it and
it hasn�t just flipped. This thing doesn�t have a whole lot of health.

The Mega Mussel has quite some range, so don�t think retreating all the way to
the miniboss area will guarantee your safety. Face them largely the same way
you would a Stackjaw; keep moving and keep a bit of distance so that the much
faster purple shots can fly by, and stop shooting when the homing shots draw
near, in order to dodge into them. Focus on one orb at a time and don�t back
toward the circle of food, as you�ll likely be hit by the Monolith.

Run ahead and destroy another Stackjaw for some ice cream, then head back to
grab that food without needing to avoid the Monolith, and enter the 7.0 gate.
If you haven�t played this level at 5.0 or above before, a Gloomerang will
block your path to the sewers. They don�t have much HP and you can try to nail
their fleshy hand while the mask is still on, but it�s better to dodge through
the boomerang once it�s thrown (keep your distance and watch for it to take
off the mask first) and quickly shoot it before the return trip.

Try not to take damage in the sewers, since the chest spawned by destroying
the Shemum Vase may not contain food. Let the Komayto come to you on the
raised walkway, and don�t linger on the stairs, for a Gyrazer awaits above.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Komayto, Minos, Daphne (Grenade)
Wave 2: Mega Mussel, Ganewmede x2 (Grenade/Rocket)
Wave 3: Stackjaw, Syren, Merenguy (Back Shield)

Throw the Grenade at the Komayto immediately, and you�ll likely kill the
Daphne along with it and enrage the Minos. You know what to do from here,
though you may also need to anticipate the explosion and sidestep it.

If you got a rocket, plant it and then do nothing but circle the group until
it lands. You may need to run or sidestep a bit if a homing shot gets too
close. If you got a Grenade, target the Mega Mussel and hope for the best.
Be ready to dodge forward through the spiked balls if neither one is killed.

As soon as the second round is finished, grab the Back Shield and turn to face
only the Merenguy. You know how this works. Once it�s dead, wait for the
telltale ping of both the Syren�s and Stackjaw�s shots to harmlessly connect
with your shield, then turn around and focus on the Syren first.
Move clockwise or counter-clockwise to keep a bead on the Syren while staying
away from the Stackjaw�s little pellets, and sidestep the wall of lasers as
needed. Be ready to sidestep the whirlwind as well, though the Syren�s pause
before shooting is also the best time to hit it. With just the Stackjaw
remaining, handle it like the previous two.

If that mob left your lifebar looking pitiful, step forward to trigger the
Monoeyes, then immediately retreat into the fight area, as they will unload
shots onto you otherwise. Whether you kill them or give them a few seconds to
leave, it�s time for a Drink of the Gods.

-----------------------
[Boss3] HEWDRAW REBORN
-----------------------

This guy is potentially a complete joke if luck is on your side, by which I
mean the Hewdraw repeatedly produces orange fireballs, and immediately swims
under them for you to dunk. It�s possible to beat this guy before he�s so much
as launched a scale.

Let�s prepare for the worst, though. The first thing he�ll likely do is spew a
few fireballs your way, which you merely sidestep one after the other.
This will be followed by the first of many baths.

Both your charge shots and FDCF will dunk the fireballs, and you�ll want to
use whichever is available to you without going right to the water�s edge.
This makes it so much easier to tell when those purple scales are coming your
way, often in pairs or triplets. They�re not hard to sidestep, but being hit
by one usually means you�ll be hit by any that follow. Your charge shots can
destroy them, but don�t try to use them for that.

Once out of the water, you�ll have a good five seconds to unload on the head.
However, you can�t deal the final blow until the body is back in the water.
Once back in the water, he�ll either spew another round of fireballs, or begin
charging his laser and swerving about. You can get a free shot on the head,
and then try to dunk another orange fireball if one is present; otherwise,
you�ll want to use an evasive power to avoid the barrage of sparks that
follows. Playing Dead works for this, as well as waiting for Energy Charge to
activate, but Brief Invincibility is even better, as the attack is brief.

His tail swipe is a very rare move I�ve primarily seen when rebattling him in
the Underworld Castle, and really nothing to worry about.

If nothing but purple fireballs remain, you can shoot one to get rid of it,
but be ready to sidestep the balls of light that come racing your way. You may
need to do this a few times if no orange fireballs are present.

Apart from the scales, which can overwhelm you quickly if you�re blindsided by
them, and the potentially aggravating game of waiting for the head to swim
close to a fireball, this boss doesn�t put up much of a fight.
This is especially true if you went in with most if not all of your powers.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch4] The Reaper�s Line of Sight OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 9490 Hearts

Common Drops: Flintlock Staff, Darkness Bow, Great Reaper Palm, Ball Cannon,
              Taurus Arm (Max of 4)

This is among my favorite levels in the game, and by far my most played;
I�ve even managed to clear it with the No Damage bonus with seven different
weapons (150,000 pts.) Having said that, I do remember how difficult it seemed
at first, and the things I�ve learned in my experiences should go some way
toward getting you through it with fewer brushes with death.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv3, Playing Dead lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3

The Aurum Palm may not be the best Palm in any particular category, but it�s
by far my favorite and most used. I�ll be using one regularly throughout the
rest of this guide. This one is particularly useful for Reapers because it
freezes them quickly.

As for you, as long as you have a weapon with at least some movement speed
(be wary of Cannons and Staves) or range, this level and especially this boss
should be a cakewalk.

That is, if you also bring Playing Dead. I implore you to bring Playing Dead,
as will be explained in the Notices section. Instant Death Attack is strongly
recommended for weaker weapons, as there is a particular Tortolunk that must
be killed ASAP, to keep your attention safely focused on the Belunka and its
contents nearby. Nothing else is particularly needed, but EC is awesome.

----------------
[Note4] Notices
----------------

-Minos should always be your first priority when encountered in air battles.
That explosion as you rush past will roast you alive, believe me.

-Why the Playing Dead, you ask? Because fighting an Eggplant Wizard while
being shot at from all sides by Handoras is retarded and begging for trouble.
While this also applies to the Gloomerang and Handoras toward the end, it�s
especially important here.

-You may earn a chest in the room with a raised platform and some food on it,
patrolled by two Reapers, but.. Yep, you guessed it. You must defeat both of
those Reapers, first. If you�re not equipped to kill them easily, it�s best to
vamoose, but note that the first Reaper will peek behind him for a second as
you step into the room to reach the jump pad. Wait for him to do so first.

------------------
[Air4] Air Battle
------------------

Until you cruise at ground level, things are pretty uneventful. You�ll fight a
lot of Shrips with Miks directly underneath them, and can kill both at once by
shooting right where they meet. Most of the Miks will whip their tongues if
they get close.

Your first easy source of damage is the group of Monoeyes that move in from
the left alongside a string of Handoras. You�ll be able to rake the ground
with SCF and easily wipe out the Handoras, but some of the Monoeyes will be
shooting quickly at extremely close range, and one in particular can be pretty
hard to avoid. I suggest using a special attack once the first couple Monoeyes
show up, and the protection will last long enough to deal with the rest.
Once you begin flying in the other direction, another string of Handoras will
appear, but as long as you�re circling, you can safely focus on the Wave
Angler with them.

OSHI- ARE THOSE REAPER EYES

Into the ravine! Okay, NOW you have to really watch what you�re doing.
All of the diagonally-slanting links of stone between the sides of the ravine
can be smacked into, and the damage will add up quickly. I usually stay on the
left side and move up or down a little as needed; fortunately the enemies met
throughout this segment won�t really require you to move left or right much,
though there are a couple Monoeyes that will get a shot or two off if not shot
down right away. Keep an eye out for them from the left and below.

I usually will use another special attack once the camera shifts to the Mega
Mussel, since the homing shots can hit easily this time around. If a Minos
explodes right next to the orbs, those will damage them also. Otherwise, keep
your SCF concentrated on them, and it should be done before exiting the
tunnel.

That Treasurefish will drop a Happy Trigger, which is a must-have.
Stick solely to charge shots and keep sending them toward the bottom of the
screen, where your enemies will be appearing from. If you fire them off
relentlessly, you should be able to kill almost everything before it fires,
including the couple Miks that will vertically swipe their tongues. Get ready
to use another special attack once you reach the large, open area.

Unless you�re very familiar with the enemy placement and the order in which
they�ll fire, this is an excellent place to use another special attack, as
you�ll have baddies on all sides. Stay to the right once the pair of Daphne
show up, as their flowers will float on screen from the left. Once the Shrips
are disposed of, you�ll want to lay off the trigger and simply move to avoid
the shots from the Monoeyes in the distance, unless your SCF can reach from
that far away.

There are two different places you might want to use another special attack.
The first is the second of two tunnels you�ll enter following the Reapers
perched on tiny cliffs; there are quite a few enemies inside, and slower
weapons will find it easier to be hit; the second is the final open area
before reaching the castle exterior, with three Minos that will fly at you at
high speeds, and a Wave Angler. It�s possible to shoot the Minos from far
enough away that they explode before you rush past; otherwise, you�ll need to
swerve left or right to avoid the detonations. The Wave Angler WILL get a few
attacks off if it isn�t killed right away. While that isn�t a tall order in
itself, a special attack is still a good option for many weapons.

The first time I played this level, I thought those laser beams could actually
hurt me. Did you? No? Let us never speak of this again.

--------------------
[Land4] Land Battle
--------------------

You don�t need any food, either? Good stuff, bromos. Pop an Energy Charge, and
let�s go knock some Reaper�s shit sideways.

For everyone else, break the pots and nurse your wounds as best you can, then
creep through that door. If you�re not going to ruin that Reaper�s morning
(awwww, why nooot?!) then just remember that after turning around and walking
past the alcove you�re hiding in, they WILL quickly turn around for a moment.
If you do want to kill them but would like some pointers, see the �Problem
Enemies� section toward the beginning of this guide. Summarized, you must back
away while blasting relentlessly, but not so quickly that you corner yourself
before they can be slain (not a problem for most powerful weapons.)
Their scythe attack has a delay that is easy to spot and dash backward from.
And of course, kill summoned Reapettes immediately. Whichever you decide, dash
through that door and be ready to FDCS..

..the Specknose that will immediately spawn above you. You'll want to kill
that thing ASAP, before the Skuttler Mage on the other side of the area has a
chance to afflict you with Weakening, an awful status ailment to have on 9.0.
If the Specknose is able to attack anyway, dodge forward through the bombs and
continue to move away from the side you were on to stay away from them.
Being burned or poisoned is less of a concern, though you don�t want to leave
that Mage alone for long. With Energy Charge, this little mob is a snap.
Remember to melee Shulms, or give them a wide berth.

As an aside, the Weakening spell used by Skuttler Mages is avoided the exact
same way as the explosive shell used by Crawlers. Either wait around three
seconds to sidestep, or just run away from the sphere.

If you stay back in the little alcove closest to the Shelbo, its suction will
not pull you, allowing you to shoot it while waiting for the rotor blade to
leave the area.

Don�t forget to take the side trip to the boulder and treasure room, and
always dash backwards when a Zuree approaches you. Not doing so will all but
ensure you take damage and are afflicted with Shaking. As for the treasure
room, killing the Souflee (or letting it vanish) is what triggers the Orne and
Octos to appear, so either leave it alone or don�t kill it until you�re about
to step onto the jump pad to exit. The Orne will follow you up, so no
dilly-dallying.

If you plan to use Instant Death Attack, use it before you�ve hopped off the
grind rail, and after killing the Reapettes, so you have time to fully charge.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Tortolunk, Belunka (random combination of Skuttler Mage & Cannoneer)
Wave 2: Shelbo, Shulm x2

That area is too large to be able to keep an eye on the Tortolunk, especially
since you�ll want to notice when a Cannoneer has fired a missile at you.
With EC, a lot of strong weapons can kill it instantly, but for everything
else I cannot recommend IDA strongly enough. Even better, it allows you to
then turn and DCF the two Skuttler enemies as they�re popped out of Belunka�s
mouth, and then make short work of the Belunka itself. Otherwise, you have a
lot of frantic sidestepping and shooting to do. Those Skuttlers will keep
coming.

As for the second round, those Shulms will keep respawning until the Shelbo is
slain. Don�t run away from the suction, though. Simply DCF repeatedly with
your cursor over its eyeball, which should interrupt its attack sooner or
later. Shoot the lips whenever it tucks back into the shell, and note that you
have a small window to dodge backwards from its spinning attack, should the
Shelbo draw you close enough to use it.

As far as I know, that Shemum Vase will not stop producing snakes, hence the
lack of hearts. Kill them anyway while waiting for the large(er) gap between
the Ornes to align with the door, then dash on through.

If you brought Playing Dead, this is a cinch. Immediately use it and then
focus on the Eggplant Wizard if your SCF is very strong, or target the
numerous Handoras if your SCF is not. That way, after killing all the little
jerks, you have a much safer environment to tackle that meaty wizard.
Sidestep the bombs as they come your way, though plain �ol running works with
a lot of weapons if you move as soon as he throws them. Eggplant Wizards move
quite a bit and teleport, though they can be knocked down by powerful charge
shots and are held in place by SCF from weapons like Boom Orbitars. Be careful
not to run too far into the room and activate Playing Dead close to the
stones, as you�ll melee them accidentally and waste it.

Without Playing Dead, use a lot of side dashes and turn your camera often.
I hope you brought Effect Recovery. You�re in my prayers.

Don�t mess with the Clubberskull without EC and a power weapon. You CAN shoot
down from the above ledge and home in on it, but that takes forever.

When taking the elevator to the intensity gate area, always go to the right of
the elevator first. Focus on killing the Splins, not the Shrip (use SDCF until
they split, then finish the job ASAP with SCF), then take your chest contents.
If you got a Grenade, you can use it to make quick work of the Shelbo and its
Gyrazer pals; otherwise, quickly kill the Gyrazer on your left and DCF away
from the Shelbo like you did earlier. Once it stops, or is slain, have your
way with the other. The following passage gives you a generous amount of space
to kill the Reapers, but don�t back into the side of the doorway mistakenly!

You have much less space to kill the Reapers back on the normal path, but
these must be defeated if you want that precious loot. Otherwise, shoot at the
stone blocks from the ledge and drop down once you can tell the Reapers aren�t
near. If one sees you, no worries, as they can�t follow you through the door,
but a Reapette can. If you hear the music change, stop once you enter the next
room and shoot wildly behind you.

At this point, the chest in the adjoining area (remember the Gyrazer right
behind that door) often has a power or Cyclone, neither of which I want, so
I�ll skip it unless I haven�t found four weapons yet. Otherwise, grab it and..

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Paramush x3
Wave 2: Tortolunk, Octos x2
Wave 3: Gloomerang, Handora x3 (X-Bomb)

The Cyclone you may have gotten will pull those Paramush together and probably
kill them by itself, but you have more than enough time to shoot them before
they hit the ground. Aim for the little guy, not the cap. Grounded Paramush
are actually very annoying to fight, as they scurry about frantically and
shoot often, and are hard to hit. If you ever encounter this situation, stay
still and use standing charge shots, trying to get them when they pause;
otherwise, you should be ready to sidestep at a moment�s notice.

Without IDA, you�ll want to quickly turn and kill both Octos first, so you can
sidestep the Tortolunk and take your time with it. Staying still, both Octos
will be happy to line you up with the center of their rings and take care of
the evasion for you.

Feel free to use your second Playing Dead here, though this group isn�t nearly
as dangerous. Otherwise you�ll want to grab that X-Bomb and toss it ASAP,
so the explosion will work its way around the room and wipe out the Handoras.
Lone Gloomerangs are easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

If you left with an X-Bomb, it�ll do a number on the Reaper in the poison
spring, allowing you to easily finish it off. Save the Smart Bomb for the boss
room entrance, making sure to dash left and throw it as soon as you enter the
room, to avoid the Reapettes that will immediately pour out. You aren�t afraid
of what lies ahead, are you?

---------------------
[Boss4] GREAT REAPER
---------------------

Such a straightforward and easy boss. First things first, get on that jump pad
right behind you and stay up there. Until his eyes begin to spark, he�s got
only three very clearly telegraphed moves:

-Overhead scythe; three, count �em, three shockwaves. Run left or right.

-Sideways swipe; sidestep a second after he levels the scythe with you.

-Eye lasers; as soon as his head turns away, sidestep a split second later.

That�s all there is to it. Of course, the problems start when you, ah.. heh..
fail to dodge one of these moves, particularly the overhead and the lasers.
The shockwaves will put you in critical nigh instantly if all three of them
hit, and if the first one does, those that follow will, also.

The lasers, on the other hand, are not so dangerous for their damage, but for
the three Reapettes he�ll summon right afterward. He�ll continue attacking
like normal as they hover toward you, and paralysis in this fight is a death
sentence. If you brought Brief Invincibility into this level and are beamed,
use it while you take a moment to aim for the Reapettes.

Once you�ve poked those eyes enough, he�ll immediately go into his whirling
scythe attack, dodged the exact same way as the single sideways slash; only
now you must perform the sidestep four times in a row. Do your first one after
the Great Reaper has spun full circle once and the blade is in the three
o�clock position. Because this attack moves pretty fast, you can be pretty
early with your dodges and the attack will still whoosh overhead, using the
last of your invulnerability frames. Apart from that, he�ll speed up his other
attacks a little bit, as well.

Hit him with whatever will reach his eyes. His overhead attack will move him
farther away and the sideways attack brings him much closer, so take advantage
of these as they suit your weapon. With a good SCF, you can simply keep a
steady flow of shots right on his peepers until he goes berserk, and even
finish him off in mid-whirl, though I�ve just done this with Energy Charge.
An additional benefit to SCF is the very minimal cooldown, which allows you to
ceasefire in order to dodge his extremely quick gaze.

If your weapon has awful range, you can bring him right up to your ledge by
hopping off (don�t wander too far from the jump pad!) and baiting his stomp
attacks. Slower weapons really only have to worry about the shockwaves, and
you can hop off the ledge to get away from them, as well.

Because his attacks are so easy to predict and then avoid, there�s really no
need for evasive power usage, and relying on them will not prepare you for
fights with really precise timing required, such as the Phoenix. This level is
so good for farming that you should replay it often and gets lots of practice.

Enjoy the death scene. 2 Goddesses 1 Drink of the Gods Reaction Video!


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch5] Pandora�s Labyrinth of Deceit OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 8970 Hearts

Common Drops: Atlas Club, Viper Blade, Pandora Claws, Bomber Arm (Max of 3)

Here we have one of the easiest 9.0 levels in the game. The air battle can get
pretty hairy for some weapon types, but the land battle is very slow-paced and
easy, and the boss has so little HP, you can be very sloppy and still win.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

You�ll regret using a Club during the air battle, but ANYTHING can handle this
level. If you�ve made it this far, your current 9.0 weapon will be adequate.
That said, large charge shots and/or good SCF make the air battle much easier.

This is another excellent level to become a huge fan of Energy Charge, with
very few places you might lose it through unanticipated attacks, and I�ll be
telling you when to expect the Quick Draw McGraws.

----------------
[Note5] Notices
----------------

-Don�t be eager to run into the third room on land, with the Merenguy.
The door will shut behind you and force you to stare at its ugly face while
the two Monoeyes unload shots onto you repeatedly. Shoot the Monoeyes without
stepping into the room, letting the door shut in front of you to block their
pellets.

-Once inside the cylinder of rotating platforms, only jump when the edge of a
platform before you is green. Never try to jump toward a blue edge; you�ll
fall every time.

-Before antagonizing the Armin, kill the lone bouncing Monoeye immediately
following the platform you�re standing on, as it will eventually begin
shooting at you.

-The center chest behind the 4.0 intensity gate is a Mimicutie! It doesn�t
drop anything upon its defeat.

------------------
[Air5] Air Battle
------------------

You�ll notice that Komaytos need not be in tight groupings to be killed
simultaneously by a melee attack. Don�t waste your special so soon, though you
must stay in the middle of them to kill all three at once. So long as you move
in a nice, wide circle, you should also avoid the Monolith and its swarm of
trigger-happy Monoeyes completely.

Even if you stay low once the labyrinth stretches out before you, one of the
Komaytos will still latch on, so feel free to use a special now and wipe all
of them out. Duck under the red posts, but you must still move constantly to
avoid enemy shots, Gyrazer arrows in this case.

Once you head down, the Happy Trigger will be of great use, especially with
big shots, as the enemies will be in tight clusters or bouncing about madly.
When Palutena says she�ll let you decide where to go, hang a left and stay on
that side; otherwise, you�ll hit a dead end and turn around to face a pack of
Syrens that will quickly launch whirlwind after whirlwind. Should you meet
them, immediately use a special attack.

On the correct path, quickly move center, then low, to avoid the Monoliths,
then get back into your routine circle pattern to avoid the shots from a
Monoeye foursome that�ll soon appear. The room full of Handoras provide a lot
of easy kills and hearts, as will the Belunka, if you allow it to spit up a
bunch of smaller Belunkas.

Inside again. Hang a right as the split paths come into view to avoid getting
stuck in a dead-end and having to entertain a Ganewmede and Monoeyes while you
turn around. No one will shoot at you in the pillar room, though you�ll still
want to fly high to avoid Reapettes and Shulms. Simple stuff. You�ll also meet
no resistance in outer space, but most weapon types will want to take the left
jump pad once the arrow of Monoeyes appears.

The right path begins with several meaty Wave Anglers before devolving into
benign enemy fare and a Boogity; the left path consists of a ton of enemies
with much less health but more deserving of your special attacks, among them
a Minos and some Splins. The Gyrazers that pop out from behind the Monoliths
are no real threat, though if for some reason you had no specials when
entering the area, you�ll probably take a hit or three.

--------------------
[Land5] Land Battle
--------------------

The first handful of rooms can be pretty violent, but soon afterward you�ll be
taking a relaxing stroll to the boss room, trust me. Your food is immediately
right of you in the next area, as is a Skuttler Cannoneer, which should eat a
FDCS right away, to prevent it from getting away, let alone shooting at you.
Your next target should be the Cannoneer on the far left, though you must keep
the Bluster in your view, to spot its attacks and dodge accordingly.
Those bubbles will add up to tremendous damage; sidestep them in quick
succession. They can hit the midair platforms instead, but don�t count on it.

The first Cannoneer will be quick to fire on you, but you can kill it from
the doorway for your own safety, letting it shut in your face to block the
shot. The enemies� HP will reset when you do this, though, so you must kill
them instantly. You�ll want to take the second door from the right in both
this room and the next, though make sure you kill the two Monoeyes before
doing so! You only have a second to line up your cursor and nail one before
one of them fires, so open the door, shoot, and immediately step back to shut
it. You may need to fire toward the spot the Monoeye will be if your shots
don�t move very quickly. With those pests gone, kill the Merenguy at your
leisure and enter the second door from the left for some food. Trap doors can
be avoided by dodging backwards immediately upon hearing the buzzer.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Girin
Wave 2: Skuttler Cannoneer, Mik x2

Should a Girin ever manage to even attack, you merely dodge in any direction
once it lands. They don�t ever pose a threat at any point in the game, though
they can be annoying to kill with high-homing weapons that won�t go right for
the pincer tips poking up.

When the trio appears, immediately DCS the Cannoneer and step back from the
Miks, in order to tell when one will attack. Wait for them to bob high into
the air before dashing forward. Of course, with an Energy Charge active, you
can just as easily kill one before the other can do anything. Take too long,
and one might also swing its tongue at you. On land, you simply sidestep
toward the tongue once you notice it extend.

Aaaaand now we commence with our pleasant walk in the park, if you�d like to
imagine the labyrinth as a colorful landscape rife with foliage and fauna.
Which it basically is, well, minus the foliage.

Would a Pit Panini taste any better than Roasted Angel?

If you kill the enemies in the Exo Tank room on foot (which saves some time),
don�t be taken by surprise by the two Skuttler Cannoneers that�ll spawn on
either side of the center passage.

Remember: only jump toward platforms with green edges!

Once you bounce onto the platform following the bouncing Octos, two Monoeyes
and a Specknose will appear. They�ll fire on you one after the other, but if
you stand still and pick them off one at a time, you can easily dodge each
shot as it reaches you. Patience. Of course, large charge shots and EC will
just get rid of them all at once...

Kill the bouncy Monoeye, then torment the Armin for some food. These aren�t so
fun to fight in rumpus rooms with numerous distractions. At your first fork,
take a right and continue on to the 4.0 intensity gate. While numerous
Mimicuties will always drop items, the center trap is not one of them, so
avoid it (unless you prefer hearts.)

Continue right, kill the Specknose with no fear of retaliation, and then the
two Paramush before they land. While they�ll run off the ledge and kill
themselves, they�ll still shoot at you before doing so. Drop off the MIDDLE of
the left side of the platform beneath those enemies for an intensity gate.
Outside, the Reaper below and to the left should have reappeared; tease it.

You don�t want to dilly-dally on the trampoline with the Monolith, nor do you
want to let the nearby enemy morph into a Specknose.

Whether you leave a lot of roadkill in your wake or not, make sure you boost
off the ramp in order to score another chest. You may need to take a mulligan.

Shoot as often as you need to, to keep an eye on the invisible floors.
Don�t get too close to the second Girin in this area, or else you�ll trigger
the Shildeen and Handora; the latter of which will be happy to shoot at you
from a distance while you work on the Girin. Speaking of that Shildeen, a very
carefully-timed FDCS can kill it the second it drops in, before it can throw
up its shield. You�ll need to fire before it has spawned, so that your forward
sprinting causes it to land on the shot.

Note that a Mik will pop up to the right of the Leox near the Orne-guarded
chest, and will happily shoot at you from far away. Remember to kill it before
walking toward the chest.

Now, let�s watch Pittoo backhand Pandora in the face!

----------------
[Boss5] PANDORA
----------------

While her HP is extremely low for a 9.0 boss, her attacks will still amount to
quite a bit of HP loss if you�re careless, so while your victory may be quite
assured, let�s at least learn the timing for our brief rematch in Chapter 22.

Her most dangerous attack in this phase is her fireball spam, but you must
simply sidestep repeatedly until the last of them has passed. She�ll scatter
them in a sort of V-shaped spread before they begin to target you, so don�t
begin dodging until one has turned toward you.

When she burrows, simply dodge forward once she�s in front of you.
She might try to bounce toward you repeatedly, but you can simply dash
backward and avoid her tiny shockwave.

Don�t bother using melee attacks on her bombs, as your shots drive them into
her face just as nicely. She�ll show off the mirror in no time at all.

Speak for yourself, toots. Dark Pit will never land the finishing blow on her,
nor will he really make this go any faster, though he does make a great
distraction.

She�s now added two more attacks to her repertoire. Simply run away from her
suction; if she pulls you close, immediately do a dash-around before touching
her. Dodge into her discs as they reach your location. Quite simple, really.

I�ve never, ever found a real need for any powers during this fight, and I�ve
always killed her before Energy Charge is ready to go. Despite finishing her
so quickly, Pittoo is still unimpressed. =/


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch6] Dark Pit OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 7220 Hearts

Common Drops: Dark Pit Staff, Silver Bow, Gemini Orbitars, Ogre Club
              (Max of 2)

This level and its boss have the potential to be easy or very aggravating,
depending on both your luck and your power set. Luck is not TOO big a factor,
though not having to face DP or EZ Dark Pit will conserve your powers for his
actual boss battle, and won�t try your patience.

My weapon of choice:

Boom Orbitars
R: 5
M: 0
V: 289
Shaking +1
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
HB +2

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

I use this particular weapon and power set just because I hate Altar Dark Pit
so much and want to spend as little time on him as possible. Coupled with EC,
a FDCS defeats him instantly the moment he appears on the altar, giving him no
time to roll, let alone fire his Cannon. I have much more useful Boomers, but
have taken a liking to these for the heart bonus and SCF mod in solo mode.
They�re strong enough to do the job reasonably quickly.

As for you, the ideal weapon depends somewhat on the locations Pittoo chooses
to prowl around. Speed or long-range weapons are great for the cliffs, whether
you choose to quickly end it by racing to him or picking him off from afar.
Weapons with absurdly strong charge shots or fast shots with high knockback
are immensely useful for the altar (fast because he easily sidesteps them
otherwise.) The Cherubot and pitiful range game of the Ogre Club make the
other two versions of Dark Pit a complete joke.

Pittoo is vulnerable to all status ailments barring Instant Death, but don�t
let that dictate your weapon, unless you�ll be abusing freezing (don�t use the
Freeze Attack power in solo mode, at all. It�s not worth the space.)

If you just want to get this chapter over with, I cannot recommend bringing
Trade-Off or Libra Sponge highly enough; preferably Trade-Off. The land battle
segment is otherwise really short and presents little need for powers, though
Brief Invincibility is extremely useful for jogging to Pittoo on the clifftop
without fear of being sniped, and for avoiding the flashy arrow storm attack
during his boss battle (what about the jump pads? More on that later.)
Additionally, Playing Dead is good during his boss fight if you didn�t bother
with Trade-Off.

----------------
[Note6] Notices
----------------

-Snongs attack much more aggressively when they�ve been damaged. If you happen
to venture into the ruins, don�t shoot the Snong that greets you until it�s
executed its first three stomps, unless you�re sure you�ll kill it beforehand.

-Before approaching the altar to engage Dark Pit, make sure you spawn both
sets of Skuttlers (by killing the Handoras from a distance) and kill them.

-Don�t attack the Merenguy within its dance AOE unless you got a Back Shield
from the chest you stumbled across earlier.

-With some extremely long-range Staves, you can actually shoot at Dark Pit and
beat him without climbing much of the way.

------------------
[Air6] Air Battle
------------------

Once enemies begin appearing, ignore Dark Pit and focus on killing them.
He is the least of your concerns for the rest of the level, and shooting him
once he stops releasing hearts is just a waste of time (however entertaining.)

Splins can be pretty frigging annoying in the air, can�t they? If you know you
won�t be able to kill both before they rush the screen, just position yourself
opposite one (as in, high and right if one is hovering low and on the left)
and kill that particular Splin, then avoid the other half of the screen.

Vaklooms cannot quickly turn their mouths upward to fry you, so you can easily
kill them by drawing the head out and staying above it while pumping the head
full of ammo. By the time you draw the head out, some Monoeyes will have shown
up, so keep up the circular movement while staying above the Vakloom.

Eventually, you�ll zoom by some cliffs with Kerons perched at various points.
Once I spot the second one, I prefer to use a special attack. Because the
shots come from above and are squirrely, I find it tough to pass through
without any damage otherwise. I�ll use a second one shortly afterward once a
flock of Syrens show up.

As you pause in front of a wall of rock, three Gyrazers will lower themselves
from the right and rove their laser beams back and forth. Rather than use a
special here, begin shooting the lowest one immediately and work your way up.

Your last real threat comes in the form of a few more batches of Splins.
Remember that moving in circles doesn�t keep you safe against these things,
because their flight paths are scripted. It's best to kill one and then stay
in the area it was going to attack, which is the area opposite its starting
point.

--------------------
[Land6] Land Battle
--------------------

On the way to the fountain, your only adversaries will be a few Cannoneers and
Miks in single file, making for easy pickings. Because the treasure chests are
bound to the areas Dark Pit chooses to appear, there�s no point in venturing
into any area except the one an Underworld foe will raid ahead of you.
So, this level will be broken down by the enemy that appears and its
corresponding area (as seen from the first point you drop into the main area.)

***Monoeye***
Plains, lower-left
Dark Pit uses Violet Palm

This is by far the easiest run-in you�ll have with Pittoo in the game, unless
you somehow manage to get your Cherubot destroyed, possible only by stupidly
detonating those big crates while you�re nearby.

All you need to do is make a sprint for that Cherubot and keep a steady stream
of fire trained on Dark Pit. You�ll repeatedly knock him into the air and also
cancel any charge shots he sends your way. Keep shooting him even while he�s
airborne, though this is also the safest opportunity to quickly pick off any
Underworld troops that have spawned; just make sure to blast Ptooie again once
he lands. Don�t bother with stomping or melee attacks, though you can speed
the process up by detonating the crates while he�s close to them.

A lone Girin will spawn by the jump pad afterward; more Cherubot fodder.


***Specknose***
Ruins, lower-right
Dark Pit uses Ogre Club

The Snong that�ll say hello the moment you enter the ruins is a bigger problem
than Pit Stain could ever hope to be, with an Ogre Club, of all things.
Stay still and wait for its foot to appear, then sidestep. Repeat twice more,
then go all-out on the head, and you should be able to kill it before the next
round of stompings. Should you have attacked right off the bat, it�ll become
enraged and, if you weren�t strong enough to kill it right then and there,
it�ll rapidly plummet six appendages onto your head, and you�ll be very sorry.

Further on, there are two Zurrets to deal with, also, but with both of them in
your view, their shots are easy to dodge through. Keep your distance.

As for Pit Stain- er, Dark Pit, all you must do is keep a fair distance while
slowly retreating from him (as he�ll constantly be trying to close in on you)
and peppering him with SCF or DCF. He�ll launch charge shots at the speed of
molasses intermittently, and if he gets very close, he�ll run in for a melee
combo. If he gets too close for comfort, simply break into a sprint yourself.
This can be an annoying fight if your rate of fire is very low, as while he�s
not a threat offensively, he can still dodge like nobody�s business.
If your charge shots move extremely quickly, though, he�s easy to nail, and
SCF/DCF are unnecessary.

Some Zuree and a Sinistew will have responded to a distress call regarding a
domestic dispute, but there�s plenty of room to avoid their attacks.


***Mik***
Altar, upper-right
Dark Pit uses EZ Cannon

As you step onto that giant slope, three Miks will descend and begin hovering
left and right, remaining high enough and spaced far enough apart that it�s
difficult to keep an eye on all of them. You want to keep your health up for
what lies ahead, so the best course of action is to aggressively focus on one
from the start- wait for them to move once, to avoid whiffing- and then rotate
the camera to keep the other two in your sights. When they bob up from where
they hover, they�re about to shoot. Be sure to sidestep those tongues!

Also be sure to kill the two Handoras to the left and right of the altar from
afar, and the same applies for the two pairs of Skuttlers that spawn
afterward. Approaching the steps to the altar itself will summon Dark Pit,
and you really don�t need attacks from enemies alongside his cannonballs.

This is where fast, high-knockback weapons really, really, really help.
Not only is he adept at rapidly dodging attacks, his charge shots deal lots of
damage and will explode against the remnants of pillars and blocks scattered
about, so it isn�t always enough to just sidestep them, and you shouldn�t rely
on your ability to cancel them with your own shots.

The easiest hit you�ll land is the moment he drops onto the altar, so have a
charge shot ready, and be running toward the steps. Even if you lose an Energy
Charge shortly afterward, you�ll have taken that much more off of his health,
so use it if you�ve got it. Without a fast weapon, your best bet is to keep
moving left and right, while staying the hell away from rubble. Shoot him in
between his charge shots, and, if you manage to knock him down, approach him
with SCF or DCF.

Powers like Playing Dead don�t accomplish much, due to his reflexes, and if
this isn�t your second encounter with him, you should be wary of using up your
Brief Invincibility as it�s far more useful for the trail leading to the
cliffs, and for the end-level boss fight.

Remember to get the chest in the far left corner afterward and, if your health
is dwindling, to strafe the top of the hill and try to shoot the Handoras one
at a time. Back away from the slope in between shots, to ensure their pellets
miss you. They�ll never stray from their left-right movement patterns.


***Daphne***
Cliffs, upper-left
Dark Pit uses Dark Pit Staff

Ooh, this is an exercise in frustration, especially with a slow-moving weapon.
The moment you get close to that chest, you�ll be within sniping range, so
pick off the Zurret that immediately pops up without moving further, then step
forth to trigger Pittoo�s entrance, along with two Shrips. Retreat to the
pillar closest to the entrance to the trail, and kill those insects. As long
as you don�t line yourself up with those blades, they won�t hit you.

Hope that chest drops a Dodge Token, as it�s by far the most useful. Your plan
of action changes a bit depending on what you get, up until you�ve passed the
Merenguy and are rounding the bend (and your cover becomes much more scarce.)

Shrinky Bean- While DP can still see and shoot you, you�re also protected by
the shorter pieces of wall in between the pillar-like objects Pit must hide
behind. Simply run for it while staying behind these whenever possible.

Dodge Token- Simply run. Tokens have a really high success rate and, like
Bumblebee, will kick in whenever a dodge is still possible during your present
animation, be it running or SCF. Besides the Merenguy there�s really nothing
for you to attack that will put you in a vulnerable cooldown state.

Back Shield- Just move, stopping to regain your stamina behind pillars, just
to stay on the safe side. Once you reach the Merenguy, attack it right up
close, keeping your back pointed toward the cliff top.

If you got a weapon or power, well... you�ll have to make do with the pillars
and tall sections of wall. As long as you can obstruct your head while keeping
that piece of scenery directly between the two of you, you�ll be safe.
However, unless you�re very fast on your feet, be it via Claws or some speed
mods, you should foxtrot to your first piece of cover; Pittoo will be ready to
fire before you'll reach it, and a dodge is required.

Whichever item you got, try not to kill the Mik that buzzes around the area;
it�ll shoot at Pittoo intermittently and it provides some useful covering fire
to make your sprints to cover a little easier.

By the time the Merenguy spots you and begins to dance, you should be able to
shoot at it while standing right next to a tall portion of wall. While running
along the path, you can also take a moment to kill the Monoeye and Handora
that peek behind some rocks, as they will shoot at you, also, but you�ll need
to abandon your cover while you do so. Always wait for DP to shoot again
before doing this; it may take a few attempts before the Monoeye exposes
itself during DP�s downtime.

As you round the bend, your cover is spaced much farther apart. If you�re
using a slow weapon, you�re going to have to foxtrot, or use Brief
Invincibility or Transparency while moving. Notice how DP fires at you in
fixed intervals regardless of your being exposed or not; you can use that to
learn his timing and dodge while approaching him.

Once your cover isn�t spaced so far apart, be especially careful to keep DP
out of your field of vision by blocking his character with a pillar.
This ensures that his shots will continue to hit the scenery harmlessly.
As you get even closer, Pittoo will begin using SCF. From this point, simply
wait out his barrage before stepping out from behind your cover and unloading
on him with as many attacks as you can launch before it�s time to hide again.

He doesn�t have much health for this phase; if you can knock him down, you may
not even need to hide again, as another pummeling or two should do it.
Melee attacks are also effective, if your weapon is designed for them.

Another Zurret and a Daphne await at the beginning of the trail. Don�t count
on the rubble to nullify their attacks, though it can help.


Once that grind rail appears, CAREFULLY approach the Drink of the Gods so as
to collect it without carelessly triggering the grind rail instead.

-----------------
[Boss6] DARK PIT
-----------------

The good news is, he�ll make no effort to dodge your attacks. He also does not
have much health. Unfortunately, he attacks quickly and is adept at rapidly
chipping your health away. To make things worse, those jump pads tend to do a
lot more harm than good during this fight, especially when things are getting
hectic and you aren�t necessarily trying to use one.

His attack patterns are pretty simple; he�ll launch single arrows, barrages of
several arrows, and charge shots, each attack about three seconds apart.
You can easily anticipate these and simply be ready to sidestep. Do not,
however, attempt to cancel these shots with your own.

Every three to five attacks, he�ll either engulf his wings in energy and rush
at you, or the platform itself will be engulfed and pelted with teen angst a
few seconds later. Both these attacks have quite a delay and give you plenty
of time to react, though the platform-wide attack may not leave you with any
desirable options, pending your current power assortment.

It may be tempting to stay around the sides of the platforms, so as to beat a
hasty retreat if a rain of arrows is coming your way, but I strongly advise
against this. It is FAR too easy to mistakenly land on the jump pad and be
sprung right back into the frying pan and eat an attack which, in the case of
the rain of arrows, will probably put you into Crisis Mode if not kill you
outright. This is why I advise bringing Brief Invincibility, and using it
whenever he decides to use that particular move. Playing Dead is kind of
effective, though you run the risk of it wearing off immediately before his
arrow rain, and there�s no guarantee that Pittoo will be flying close enough
to be hit (his AI will not hold him in place, but instead cause him to buzz
about randomly and spam random moves, his rush among them.)

His arrow rain leaves him invulnerable throughout the attack�s duration, so
don�t waste your charge shots on him. It does leave him vulnerable for a
second afterward, though.

If you do drop to a lower platform, accidentally or otherwise, it�s always
better just to wait for him to come to you than to time your bounce to his
whiffed shots.

Really, this fight is little more than a brief endurance match, as neither of
you can sustain a lot of abuse. One little brain fart is all it takes to leave
you on the brink of death (like most of my LvD matches, seemingly) which is
why using Trade Off or Libra Sponge is such a good idea. If you�re not looking
to practice or even replay most of these chapters, they�re your best bets.

Without either of those extremely strong buffs, play very defensively, which
means attacking only right after he�s fired and whiffed. This removes any
chance of him hitting you during any moment of cooldown, and always leaves a
window open to sidestep. Running will inevitably lead to careless mistakes.

Did you even get two weapons? Chapters 1 and 2 aside, this is the absolute
worst level to farm in the game (well, actually, maybe that belongs to Ch18.)


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch7] The Seafloor Palace OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 9270 Hearts

Common Drops: Thanatos Staff, Meteor Bow, Eyetrack Orbitars, Poseidon Cannon,
              Volcano Arm (Max of 3)

The aerial battle will be wakeup call for weapons ill-suited for Solo mode.
Other mildly noteworthy tidbits include an intensity gate that may annihilate
you if you run in blindly, one of few bosses that presents an excellent
opportunity for HP Recovery, and my favorite land battle music in the game.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Orbitars
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 300
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
MDA +1
ED +1
HB +1

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

Aurum Orbs are second to none in terms of aerial SCF, trumping the almighty
Compact Arm, even. While the shots don�t home, they are extremely fast and
powerful, on top of having a very long range. On land, their charge shots are
also obscenely strong and will be handy for killing Snowmen quickly, as well
as ending Thanatos� forms soon after he takes them.

If your weapon falters in SCF, be it damage, range or speed-wise, there are a
few points you won�t be able to shoot without being hit, and should instead
be in a glide. On land, much like Chapter 3, raw damage output reigns supreme.
Range and speed are far less important, as the Rumpus Rooms you�ll encounter
(and the Snowmen within them) will not provide you with a great deal of room.

As for powers, unless you plan on bringing Energy Charge, you should take only
that which you plan to use against Thanatos. Contrary to most bosses, he has a
phase which is very conducive to leisurely aggression and presents a great
opportunity to heal, and you may prefer to use it. Brief Invincibility or
Bumblebee are very useful for particular phases, as well.

If Snowmen give you grief, Instant Death attack is a great asset to have, as
is Energy Charge, which also happens to be particularly easy to use against
Thanatos. Head shots are easy to land on Snowmen, also their weak point.

Lastly, Thanatos has a couple moves that can inflict Weakening. Because his
battle is more of an endurance match than anything, that status is your
biggest threat. Effect Recovery is cheap on space and generous with its usage.

----------------
[Note7] Notices
----------------

-Don�t use any special attacks until the sea opens (and even then, don�t use
them to kill Komaytos unless you are grabbed) because the first minute or so
of the ocean is also the nastiest.

-If you know you don�t have the firepower needed to kill the Zurees, stay as
low and right as possible to avoid the slashes of the first two, then QUICKLY
get to the far left. Even if you can kill them, do not fly in circles.

-Once you�ve entered the 9.0 intensity gate, don�t go for the Boom Spear.
Move to the left of the puddle (so that the Shelbo won�t suck you over it) and
immediately kill the Handora that spawns. This�ll make the ensuing fight much
less painful (though another Handora will soon take its place.)

-When you enter the elevator, walk straight to the back and turn 180 degrees.
Once Palutena says �now approaching the second floor� you�ll have a split
second to get the jump on the Handoras that will spawn, instead of being fired
upon immediately.

-The chest following the room with two Snowmen and a Frozum (right before the
trap door) is a Mimicutie! This one will not drop anything.

------------------
[Air7] Air Battle
------------------

The cruise over the beach is quite easy and uneventful; one thing to remember
is that the large wave of oncoming Monoliths can be avoided by staying low and
on the far right. You�ll learn to despise Commyloose in the air, and the pair
that assaults you from either side of an Octos are a headache. Try to resist
using a special attack and instead kill one before it can fire its missile.
If your SCF is quick or powerful, you can quickly blow the missiles up.

It may be tempting to use special attacks against the packs of Komaytos that
come your way, but you should use one only when a they approach with a pair of
Commyloose right behind them. It�s fairly difficult to position yourself for
melee strikes, and still destroy or fly around the missiles that�ll
immediately follow.

Despite being given a Happy Trigger, it�s easiest to clear the Zurret channel
by staying in a glide and doing barrel rolls (flick one direction and then the
opposite immediately.) You can do this in any direction, and should lure the
shots to a corner before rolling to the upper or lower corner. Only a few
weapons (read: Staves) can kill them before they fire at their distance.

The channel full of Octos and Gyrazers can be a real nightmare for poor SCF.
You should prioritize killing the Octos, because their clouds won�t vanish if
they launched one before dying. Your reticle will be going all over the place,
as they come at all angles. If you�ve no choice but to fly past two Gyrazers
and have a ring approaching, you might as well use a special.

Stay high when descending, to give yourself time to spot the Komaytos, and to
wait for the flashing cursor. Staying low will get you ambushed.

Once you encounter two screens of several enemies, the worst is over. Kill the
Minos first, in both instances, as they�ll hurt nearby enemies. If you have a
special attack and want to use it, unleash it on the first screen, which is
more dangerous. Once you swerve to the left, kill the Mik on the center-left
ASAP or stay high, as it�s a tongue-lasher.

Remember to stay bottom-right to avoid the slashings of the first two Zurees,
and to quickly switch corners to avoid the third. If you�re able to kill them
quickly, though, just stay low and right while shooting.

By the time the palace itself comes into view, you should have at least one
special attack ready. If your SCF doesn�t have great range, once the six
enemies appear at a great distance you should go ahead and use it. Otherwise,
the next best occasion to use it is immediately afterward, when the Commyloose
appear. Lastly, if your SCF or weapon speed is rather slow, you�ll be safer by
avoiding fire and gliding, than by trying to shoot the last couple packs of
Monoeyes.

--------------------
[Land7] Land Battle
--------------------

If you haven�t learned to deal with Wave Anglers, your run may not progress
much farther than this. The Angler you spot the moment you gain control of Pit
will begin shooting before you�ve so much had a chance to chew your food.
Horizontal, vertical, horizontal, forward dodge, sidestep, forward dodge.
The waves don�t move so quickly that you must anticipate them without seeing
them, but it won�t wait long before firing them again. I prefer to wait out
the first batch, then go all out on it.

I suggest going after the Zurret on the stairs next. As for the Snowman, it is
one of few enemies in the game that dash-arounds are very effective against,
because they�re able to turn their heads nigh instantly and graze you with
their breath, which covers a pretty generous width. Unfortunately, most of
them will be encountered in situations that make dash-arounds moot (ie: pairs)
so going all-out and killing one before it can fire, then trying to flee the
remaining Snowman�s attack will have to be your primary method.

Too bad this is the only 9.0 intensity gate, eh? 

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Shelbo, Handora x2
Wave 2: Shrip, Zurret

Ignore that Boom Spear for now and just get to the left of the nearest puddle,
killing that Handora as you do so. By the time the second Handora spawns, you
should have been able to interrupt the Shelbo with a barrage or two of BDCF,
and can kill the second before being pulled again. The Shrip and Zurret are of
little threat, though you may not be in a good position to hit the Shrip
without uselessly pegging its blade. Go ahead and spear that Zurret.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Wave Angler x2, Gyrazer x2, Treasurefish
Wave 2: Armin, Shemum Vase x2

With your Bolt of Judgment, this couldn�t be easier. Fry the bastards, picking
off the badly wounded Anglers if they somehow survived, then get to the raised
ledges to remain safe from the Armin while you kill the dozen Shemum that will
pop out of the vases (six each.) Do note, however, that if you stay too close
to the steps themselves, the Armin CAN make its way up there and ram you.

Take the middle grind rail and simply stay on the right, moving center when a
spark intercepts your path, then moving back. This keeps you safe from the
Shrip that�ll fly by, and gives you a good shot at the Souflee while dropping
you by the chest at the end.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Shelbo, Octos x2
Wave 2: Octos x2

There�s no need to approach the holes unless your weapon�s range is so poor
that your charge shots can�t reach the Octos. Otherwise, this is routine
execution and the Octos will be happy to line you up with their rings� holes.
Once the elevator takes you up, immediately move right toward the staircase to
kill that Skuttler Cannoneer, then put the camera back on those Miks to see
their shots coming (hiding under the walkway is effective.)

I suppose whatever is crushing Palutena�s wishes of having a skating rink in
her domain is the same force that only allows her to grant the power of flight
for five minutes.

While the little pillars closest to the door can provide some protection
against the icy breath, it won�t do much when two of them are around, and the
second will be about ready to fire by the time you�re able to kill the first.
While burning and poison can kill enemies (unlike you) the Flame Card doesn�t
do much, either. Just have a charge shot ready the moment you turn the corner,
spam DCF, and do your best to avoid the breath coming shortly afterward.
You�ll get some food, soon.

Remember, walk straight to the back of the elevator and turn around. Once she
tells you you�re approaching the second floor, the Handoras will spawn facing
each other and not you, giving you a precious split second to kill them before
they turn and open fire.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Snowman x2
Wave 2: Frozum

The exploding rock won�t be enough to kill either Snowman, but stronger
weapons will be able to use that added damage to kill both before they exhale.
I prefer to run straight into the room and unload on the Snowman directly
across from me, then turn and detonate the rock, using a SDCS to hopefully
finish it off. Frozums have a really long attack duration with a huge AOE,
which is all but guaranteed to freeze you if it hits, but... it�s extremely
weak. It�s also easy to knock down. It does take a little bit of abuse before
dying, but whatever.

If you need food, the little area to the left of that Shelbo has some fruit,
but a Pluton and two Shemums will immediately spawn. Just back into a corner
and spam BDCF to remove them. Feel free to ignore the Mimicutie.

You�ll likely have already found three weapons by this point, but the 4.0 gate
on your right (immediately before the hallway leading to bridges lined with
hearts) has a chest that you might as well open. You can kill the Frozum from
high on the slope, shooting just beneath the ceiling, while staying out of
their range; however, be mindful of the Bumbledrop that will spawn by the door
behind you several seconds after you enter. Wait for it to appear and kill it
first, taking note that they�re invulnerable while revving and flooring it.

If you want those hearts, slow weapons will need to dodge through those orbs
as they approach. Don�t jump the gun, though; the orbs are large and you�ll
want very little space between you before dodging, so they�ll clear your body
once the invincibility frames wear off.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Vakloom, Octos x2
Wave 2: Zik, Zak x4

Shoot the Octos from point-blank range, but not while any part of the
Vakloom�s opening is nearby (even if the Octos is between you) or else the
shot will be absorbed. With both Octos dead, destroying Vaklooms is just a
matter of sidestepping once the head pops out, as they will not turn to direct
the laser onto you. Once the Zik & Zaks appear, the basic tactic of retreating
while spamming BDCF works well, though you should dodge forward if you�re
sandwiched by two Zaks at a time. The Zik itself does not actively chase you
but will attack if you are next to it.

The platform ride can be a pain. Stay on the right side and strafe left once
the Handora is in sight, to kill it while avoiding its pellets. The real
threat is the Skuttler Cannoneer, as short-ranged weapons can�t kill it before
it sees you and fires; stay at the front end of the platform and move to the
left if it fires an arrow (be extremely careful not to dodge, as you�ll fall
off) or, if a missile is fired instead, retreat to the rear of the platform
and dodge forward through it. You can also try to blow up the missile before
it reaches you. Being shot by that enemy will likely knock you off the
platform.

As for the Bluster, you can avoid its attacks by hiding in the alcove, which
blocks them. If you need food, the nearby chest MIGHT have a burger.

Ah wa wa wa wa wa wa wa!

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Zik, Zak x2, Shemum x3
Wave 2: Skuttler Cannoneer, Stackjaw
Wave 3: Bumbledrop, Shelbo
Wave 4: Snowman, Frozum, Mega Mussel

You need not be told how to deal with the snakes, though try not to back into
a pillar by accident. The Zik will drop some food for you. Immediately move
toward the left of the carpet lining the center of the room.

One DCS is all it takes to kill the Cannoneer, and you�ll have a great shot
before it or the Stackjaw can attack. The Stackjaw is no different from the
ones you fought in Chapter 3; instead of using the pillars for cover, just
keep strafing and blasting the head while minding the relentless wall of
lasers. Remember that the lone head will fire some arrows very quickly once
it remains.

Once the Stackjaw is gone, grab the Impact Amplifier if your charge shots
happen to suck (avoid it otherwise, trust me), and sprint toward the left side
of the stairs and fire one at the Bumbledrop that�ll appear, hopefully
knocking it down. You have a few seconds to kill it before the Shelbo draws
you in from the other side of the stairs, and really should do so, as it�ll
easily hit you otherwise. The stairs themselves make a great shield against
the Shelbo itself.

Similarly, you�ll have a few seconds to kill the Snowman before the other two
become a threat, so go all out on it. The IA will still be of use here if it
hasn�t worn off yet. As for the Frozum and Mussel, keep as far a distance as
you can while still being able to hit the Frozum; this allows you to see every
Mussel shot coming and react accordingly. From there, approach the stairs
while relentlessly pummeling the Mega Mussel.

-----------------
[Boss7] THANATOS
-----------------

Thanatos doesn�t hit particularly hard, except in foot form, though you still
must be wary of his main and bat forms, which can inflict Weakening. The order
of his transformations is random, though you�ll have to inflict set amounts of
damage to trigger each one. The benefit to this is that you can immediately
end these forms if you hit them hard enough (read: overpowered charge shots.)

Main Form: All this clown does is send little purple fireballs and large
skulls your way. The fireballs target wherever you were standing when the
attack began, and are avoided simply by getting out of the way; sidestepping
them is unnecessary. The skull, on the other hand, will home in on you and
should be dodged through in the direction it approaches, most likely from the
front. It doesn�t move that quickly and is clearly telegraphed, so you have no
excuse for being hit! There�s no need to run at all and you have ample
opportunity to land easy hits after dodging each skull. If you�re patient, you
can easily maintain an Energy Charge and then run through his forms like a hot
knife through butter.

Bat Form: This one will give your camera a workout. When he�s in a vulnerable
state, he�ll send clusters of purple bats your way, which must be sidestepped.
Otherwise, he�ll morph into a few clusters of black bats and make a couple
passes at you. These chip very well and will nearly kill you if you�re hit
while weakened, so it�s very important not to battle this phase sloppily.
Fortunately, the bats don�t home in on you and can be run from if sidestepping
repeatedly isn�t easier. Just be sure to quickly rotate the camera 180 degrees
in order to spot the bats as they make their second pass.

Sword Form: While the spears do get in the way of your shots, don�t waste your
time trying to get the sword to hit them. Instead, just focus on launching
BDCS or BDCF as the cluster floats toward you, then be ready to dodge backward
once the blade itself rears back for a slice. Focus on retreating if you�re
close to the walls, and don�t keep your stylus on the screen when dodging, or
else the blade will nail you with its side swipes every time.

Foot Form: If you�re slow, Brief Invincibility will do you much more good than
trying to sidestep his pounds, since he will occasionally do three in quick
succession and they're hard to avoid without running. Otherwise, nail him with
your strongest charge shot as soon as the transformation is complete, and hit
him with everything you�ve got until the foot is close enough to be a threat.
Then you should run like the dickens or use an evasive power.

Doll Form: If you�ve got healing powers, hope he brings this form out when you
actually need it. The dolls will relentlessly hop toward you, but never at a
pace that makes them remotely difficult to move away from, and they�ll never
approach from more than one direction. Simply strafe in whatever direction is
clear while shooting the red dots with SCF or charge shots, then peg the tiny
Thanatos when he finally emerges.

Urn Form: Catch a few Zs my ass, buddy! This form is also very easy, but you
can take a lot of unnecessary chip damage (and lose your Energy Charge) by
carelessly using dash attacks while skulls are still rolling. Use MDAs on
rolling skulls only if you�ve got weapons that reach in front of you a bit,
such as Blades or Arms; otherwise, while you�ll still hit it back at the urn,
the skull will still register as touching you and hurt. This means that Palms
and Orbitars should merely roam about while the skulls are scattered, and then
approach one that is no longer moving, and melee it. You don�t have to be
facing the urn when you do this, either. Don�t touch the red skulls, period,
and five hits is all it takes to end this phase.

Once he reverts back to his main form, it can be easy to brain fart out of
nervousness when low on health, but his attacks are no faster or frequent at
this point. If you stick to standing attacks, firing primarily after dodging
through a skull, you�ll emerge victorious. CRUSHINGLY victorious, at that.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch8] The Space-Pirate Ship OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 13410 Hearts

Common Drops: Knuckle Staff, Royal Blade, Cancer Claws, Needle Palm,
              Kraken Arm (Max of 4)

Playing this level on 9.0 will make you appreciate the fact that the nastier
Underworld enemies are often fought one at a time, or drop food upon death,
or spawn along with powerful items, or alongside enemies that are one-shotted
by almost anything, so as to make them far more manageable.

tl;dr: Space Pirates are raving shitheads.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv3, Playing Dead lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3

Highly mobile weapons with quickly-charging shots (or, at least, lacking slow
charging time as a downside) make this level pretty manageable.

Space Pirates are really powerful and meaty on 9.0, and you�ll have the
displeasure of facing them in groups, often on either side of you. Until you
learn the enemy placement, weapons with high overall defense are extremely
helpful. While many seasoned players will tell you Shot Defense is generally
better for its cheaper value, it does nothing against the Pirates� melee
combo, which will do a number on you and completely negate the scarce amount
of food scattered about the level.

Having said that, this is one of those levels that gets easier with repeated
failure, simply because much of the challenge is averted by knowing enemy
placement and killing the pirates that spawn first, attack first, invade what
will become a safe zone, etc. To that end, Energy Charge works really well.

Playing Dead is extremely useful for the final rumpus room of this level,
especially if you don�t have Energy Charge, so I recommend it. Pirates are
vulnerable to Instant Death, and there are a couple rooms (as well as enemies
such as Snong) that are much less of a hassle with it.

Most people consider the Kraken a joke boss, which isn�t necessarily true,
though I would agree that powers are not terribly necessary for it. Still, if
I had to name one power that worked especially well, I�d say Reflect Barrier,
as the head uses almost nothing but projectiles.

You may find the food placement disproportionate to the instances you�ll
really need it, at least during your first attempt. Of course, if you reached
that point by nearly being overwhelmed by the pirates, Health Recovery won�t
do much for the amount of space it�ll use up.

----------------
[Note8] Notices
----------------

-Don�t use any special attacks until you�ve reached the starry sky and the
Remoblams & Remoblamlings have begun appearing.

-ALWAYS dodge forward through Space Pirate melee attacks. It�s especially
important to do this when one is rolling toward you.

-With the exception of the Clubberskull prior to the boss area, always kill
Space Pirates first when interrupting battles with Underworld enemies.

------------------
[Air8] Air Battle
------------------

Because most of the Octos� clouds aren�t moving straight toward you, it�s
often easier to avoid them by simply being on the other side of the screen.
This goes especially for the pairs of Octos that layer clouds together (firing
toward the middle of the screen can kill one if not both, before they can
produce the clouds.) Resist the urge to use any special attacks, because a
second one won�t be ready in time for...

...the swarms of Remoblams and their pals. Killing them as they come near is
worse than allowing them to live and possibly ram you, as the explosion will
still roast Pit. Because there are so many Remoblamlings, you want to try and
take out the Remoblams (two antennae) ASAP which, if done shortly after they
appear, will kill the �lings well out of range. If your weapon cannot reach or
a couple have managed to come near, the special attack is a lifesaver.
These are the positions of the Remoblams in each of the swarms:

-Bottom-right
-Top-middle
-Left-middile
-Top-right, moving left, following a Ganewmede
-Bottom-right, moving up; bottom-left, moving right

Be mindful of Monoeyes that will accompany these bastards and unload while you
focus on killing the leaders! Keep circling! For the last two swarms, the
bombs will quickly assemble in single file (on top of the former swarm having
some protection from the Ganewmede) so your special attacks are best used here
if the leaders can�t be reached in time.

Fortunately, that�s as bad as the aerial battle gets. Not much will happen
between now and the arrival of the Space Pirate ship, which is avoided by
staying in the top-left corner, though being hit by the ship is not a bad
thing provided you have good SCF; you�ll encounter several Daphne which take
too long to move into dangerous range, more Splins, and two Snongs, very bulky
yet nonthreatening, provided you nuke their HP before the arms slam together.

Assuming you�re above the Galactic Sea..

Once you encounter a trio of arrow-shooting Gyrazers, direct your fire to the
two o�clock position to kill a pack of Minos bearing down on you. You�ll be
facing more of them in this fashion, and must kill them before they can get
close enough to catch you within their blast radius.

More Commyloose. These bounce along the surface of the water incessantly and
launch missiles too close for most weapons to destroy, so use a special attack
and spare yourself the aggravation.. IF the Treasurefish doesn�t give you a
Power-Up Drop.

You�ll face a large number of Komaytos shortly afterward, though they�ll
approach one at a time and are simply a matter of waiting for the cursors to
blink. They�ll come from the left, so keep right.

Nothing else really poses a threat, though this air battle features an Orne,
just like the previous chapter. Keeping right will avoid it, though you must
to swerve left right afterward to avoid a wave of Monoliths.

--------------------
[Land8] Land Battle
--------------------

As soon as that door opens, run into the middle of the room and grab the Dodge
Token there. Now you�ll be equipped to handle the two Yellows and the four
Snipers arranged around the platforms. Kill the Yellows first, of course,
since their mobility makes them the biggest threat at the moment. Stick to
standing attacks so that the Dodge Token can do its job as much as possible.

The purple bomb will gravely injure the Yellow pirate that runs around the
corner, but you�ll have no such assistance against the Commando. Fortunately
their missiles and grenades are not very fast even on 9.0 and pose little
threat by themselves.

In the next area, stay toward the door when killing the two Yellow Pirates
(the latter won�t spawn until you kill the first) and then take the nearby
Grenade and use it on the two Snipers. If you�ve taken only a little damage by
this point, save the food for later, unless you don�t want to kill the next
batch of enemies for a chest; in that case, sprint for the door and don�t look
back. If you do want that chest, proceed to the final bend before the ground
floor, but don�t go down there, yet.

Turn the camera so that you�re looking up the slope, and proceed about halfway
down the ramp; this will spawn a Sniper and a Commando on the two flat
platforms above you, but will not take you by surprise, as you�ll be facing
the Sniper. Immediately dash forward and kill that Sniper, who you�ll have
noticed by now possesses an ounce of the HP that Commandos and Yellows have.
Killing it drops a Yellow onto the ground floor, but you first must deal with
the Commando. Pepper it with SCF until it poises to fire, then dodge (take
care NOT to roll onto the main floor) and then go all out on it. Killing it
spawns yet another Commando where the first piece of food sat, though it�ll
likely fall down to the ground level with the Yellows; otherwise, treat it the
same.

From the raised platform, you�ll have a bit of protection from the Commando,
whose attacks can harmlessly detonate against the walkway, and quite a bit of
protection from the Yellows, who are now wildly spamming rolls and Shoryukens
against the underside of the platform you stand on. They�ll run out into the
center of the floor, and can get onto the walkway if they�re at the bottom
when they roll, but will simply fall off again right after you�ve dodged.
Make sure you dodge onto a portion of this raised walkway when you do so, as
you don�t want to join the party on the floor, especially if a Commando is
still around. Once you�ve shot all of these assholes from the comfort of your
walkway, a chest will finally appear on the floor.

I recommend using Instant Death in this next room, if you�ve got it.
You�ll deal with a Yellow and Sniper simultaneously, and while the Yellow is
the bigger threat, the Sniper will shoot while you�re dealing with it and can
make for a conflict of evasiveness. IDA renders this moot (kill the Yellow
first, still.) If you don�t have IDA, hide on the far right, behind the glass
bubble there, which will block the Sniper�s shot.

If IDA is active, waste no time sprinting into the other half of this room,
where a Sniper and Commando await. No matter which you kill first, a Yellow
will spawn immediately afterward, so kill the Commando first (stationary
enemies are much less threatening when you can always see them.)

With your X-Bomb, step on the elevator and immediately move to the left side
(what would be left before you actually got on) and then turn slightly to face
the door you just came through. This position allows you to see the Yellows
that will join you; one drops onto the elevator itself, and the other will be
standing in the doorway. Throw the bomb right at the one on the elevator,
and the ring of destruction should catch the other inside it.

Don�t detonate that pink bomb yet; save it for the Belunka that spawns, as
it�s more useful against the minions it barfs up. Don�t forget the 6.0
intensity gate in that little alcove before the door, either.

Let the Snowman freeze the Commando before finishing both of them off.
Be warned that the two Monoeyes and Mik are feisty and will fire very shortly
after you�ve taken the jump pad, so quickly turn your camera toward them and
kill the Monoeye closest to you first, then the Mik.

Ignore the Snong while you eliminate that frigging Skuttler Cannoneer first,
which will spam arrows relentlessly. Try not to hit the bomb, which will only
enrage the Snong. Don�t just ignore it, as it will drop some food. Once you�ve
taken the next jump pad, ignore the Daphne for the time being and instead turn
left, where a Gloomerang as well as a burger await.

Collins are among the least dangerous enemies in the game, and as such can be
left alone while you chase down that little jerk Cannoneer.

Outside! You can easily roll off these edges if you�re careless, so try to
avoid attacks merely by strafing. You�ll immediately spot a Treasurefish or
even a Rare Treasurefish, and should not kill them until they�ve turned to the
left and are over the platform. If you hurry, you can kill the Shildeen and
two Daphne obstructing your path, and nail the fish before it flees. You may
want to kill a Rare Treasurefish ASAP, since dropped weapons take a very long
time to disappear.

Playing Dead or IDA work well in the dual switches room, since hitting the
switches while dealing with pirates is very irritating. Whichever you choose,
break both doors and then kill whatever pirates are left. If you have Brief
Invincibility, you can activate it once for each switch and just ignore the
enemies. They won�t follow you through the door.

Killing the Commando in the hot spring is easier if you wait near the edge,
until it fires its first shot. Remember to linger until a chest spawns nearby.

Deal with the Mega Mussel by constantly strafing along the path, dodging only
when a homing shot is coming your way, as you�ll be able to avoid it without
falling. Purple shots can easily knock you into the abyss, so keep moving.
A steady stream of DCF will kill the line of Shrips, and the Clubberskull will
kill itself after the Snipers are gone. Damage it once to earn the hearts.
The grind rail will drop you off into an immediate...

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Tortolunk, Space Pirate Commando x2
Wave 2: Belunka (Skuttler Cannoneer x2)
Wave 3: Collins, Mik, Monoeye, Gyrazer x2

Here is where Instant Death and Playing Dead really pay off. The Tortolunk
will ignore you until the Commandos are dead, and you should kindly help it
kill both of them. Whether you have Energy Charge or IDA going, run to the far
left and stand near the huge crack in the wall.

After a delay, that Belunka will begin spewing Skuttler Cannoneers and
steadily supply them as they�re killed. You don�t need multiple varied shots
coming your way, so off that behemoth immediately. If you just brought Playing
Dead, it�ll keep you safe long enough to kill it and deal with the Skuttlers,
as well.

The Gyrazers will enter through the crack after a moment, while the others
will spawn in the center of the room. If you�re still under Playing Dead, wait
for the Gyrazers and kill them first. Otherwise, you can either spin and
immediately kill the roundies, or run into the alcove the Cannoneers were
plopped into and wait for the Gyrazers there.

Before dealing with the Clubberskull and claiming its chest, first head to the
adjacent room and hit the rightmost switch for some more easily-claimed loot.
As for killing the Clubberskull, you should be able to finish it off with DCF
and charge shots by the time the Snipers are gone and before it reaches you.
Attack it relentlessly.

---------------------
[Boss8] SPACE KRAKEN
---------------------

You may need to rotate the camera quite a bit, and should do so in order to
keep as many tentacles in sight at a time, but ending this first phase is a
total breeze. Just keep strafing and firing the occasional charge, stopping
once you see a tentacle rear back, an indicator that it�ll be slamming down on
your present location. These attacks are quite sluggish and easily avoided
even without sidestepping, though not when you don�t see them coming, hence
the need to keep moving around and keeping as many in view as possible.

The head has four different attacks to contend with:

-Torrent; a huge blast of water that almost looks like a laser beam.
it�ll either sweep from the right or left, or straight ahead, from below
or above. Sluggish and easily sidestepped.

-Bubbles; it�ll launch six in quick succession, which you must repeatedly
sidestep, immediately flicking the control stick after each consecutive dodge.

-Eye darts; after a very quick sparkle, both eyes will shoot a rapid stream of
darts at your present location. These inflict SEVERE chip damage on top of
paralysis and are an express elevator to Crisis Mode. AVOID THIS ONE.

-Headdesk; used only if you�re right in front of its face. It�ll slam its face
onto the platform for an obscene amount of damage. Just don�t get too close.

The key to killing this monstrosity with a minimum of difficulty is to ALWAYS
be ready for its eye darts, which means a ceasefire as soon as it finishes any
other attack, to look for the sparkle. If those eyes shimmer, immediately
sidestep and you should be fine.

Otherwise, you can do whatever the hell you please during its torrential
blasts and have an easy opportunity to land charge shots before or after the
necessary sidestep. Avoiding needless moving will keep your stamina up, as
rapid sidestepping does consume quite a bit, and you�ll be spamming them
whenever those bubbles show up.

Should you have any evasive powers remaining, you might as well use them here.
You don�t have a lot of damage to inflict before the boss is Calamaried.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch9] Medusa�s Final Battle OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 16650 Hearts

Common Drops: Halo Club, Boom Orbitars, Palutena Blade, Bear Claws,
              Cursed Palm (Max of 6!)

One of the longer levels, and perhaps a bit difficult at first. But this one
is terrific for weapon farming, as it can drop six, yes SIX, in a single run.
Of course, you�re more likely to find only five, but that�s still awesome.
I hope you�re used to Clubberskulls by now! They�re eager to play with you!

My weapon of choice:

Boom Orbitars
R: 5
M: 0
V: 289
Shaking +1
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
HB +2

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

Your biggest priority is a strong charge shot. While the air battle is
difficult, gliding is extremely effective in avoiding the more intense
sections and you can get by without good SCF without TOO much trouble.
On land, though, you�ll face a number of very meaty enemies, and a wicked DCS
is necessary to take them down in as few as two hits, before they can pose
much of a threat.

Because of the level�s length, this is a prime candidate for weapons with high
Overall Defense (Shot Defense probably won�t cut it) though if this also comes
at the cost of a ton of power, you�ll still have a hard time dealing with
bulky enemies.

As for powers, you need only concern yourself with standard enemies, as the
boss rematches have greatly reduced health. To that end, Effect Recovery is an
absolute must. Three Eggplant Wizards plus a Tempura Wizard presents plenty of
opportunities to find yourself unable to attack.

Bumblebee does protect you from Ornes, whom you will be dealing with amidst
other enemies, and cannot necessarily keep your eye on them. It�s very useful.

If not for the entire level, Energy Charge DOES work wonders against
Clubberskulls, and you are forced to kill three of them in order to proceed.
If you can hold onto it long enough, it�ll be very helpful against the Wizards
and the Erinus right before the boss.

Almost all of the nastier enemies in this level are immune to Instant Death,
so don�t even bother. If Igniots frustrate you that much, pop a Brief
Invincibility right before one fires. That particular power does have a couple
other handy applications, namely the ambush immediately before Hewdraw Reborn.

----------------
[Note9] Notices
----------------

-This should go without saying, but, for the love of god, don�t use the Three
Sacred Treasures.

-Conserve your special attacks, but do use one once the Trailtails appear en
masse, as they�re accompanied by Komaytos. Kill all other Komaytos with melee.

-Stay at the top-left corner to avoid the first Zuree during the descent into
Shootfly territory, then immediately move to the top-right to avoid a second.

-Destroy the topmost and lower left & right �guns� on the Underworld
Gatekeeper first, as these launch the converging shots that are hard to avoid.

-Don't use SCF against Shootflies, no matter how powerful it is. They will
instantly change direction and target you again every time a single shot is
fired which, if the button is being held, amounts to many chunks being
torn from your healthbar.

-If you plan to kill the only optional Clubberskull in the level, backtrack a
bit and kill the Pluton that will spawn, first. It�ll get in the way of your
assault otherwise.

-Never kill the Eggplant Wizard before the Igniot once you encounter the pair.
An Orne will immediately spawn after either one is slain, and if the Igniot
petrifies you, the Orne will quickly approach and finish you off.

-The one and only Mimicutie you�ll encounter, by itself in the invisible
platform area, will always drop an item. Trigger it. You know you want to.

------------------
[Air9] Air Battle
------------------

If you did happen to enter without a weapon possessing good SCF, you�re much
better off gliding the entire time. You�ll even score several points toward
the various �narrowly avoided shots� achievements. Otherwise, quickly move the
reticle and zap the many Monoeyes and Paramush you descend upon. There are far
more shots fired than enemies present, you�ll notice. Once the Syrens appear,
stop gliding for a bit and kill whatever you can amongst those enemies,
especially the Octos/Commyloose combo, ceasing your fire once you resume your
descent over several enemies again. Don�t use a special attack, yet.

Once you enter the chasm and those Trailtails start zipping across, be ready
to use that special attack. Basically, you want to kill whatever you can with
your weapon, including the Komaytos, then launch the special once you start to
feel overwhelmed. This should make the most out of your invulnerability and
keep whatever is left of the section unclogged by webbing. Killing the
Komaytos is more important than the Trailtails, and you should stay on the
left side of the chasm instead of circling. Feel free to ignore any Trailtails
that aren�t obstructing the left of the chasm, if your weapon can�t keep up.

No matter how strong your weapon is, there are way too many Shootflies to get
riled up; only the Zuree will bother to attack you, so just leave everyone
alone, including the Souflee (if you can do the air battle without a reliance
on your special attacks, though, feel free to use one once the Souflee
pops in.) Stay in the top left corner to avoid the first Zuree, then move all
the way to the right to avoid the second, guaranteed.

There�ll be a couple more Trailtails and Komaytos to contend with, but nothing
that warrants a special attack. To avoid the packs of Ornes, stay on the far
left, dead center. All of them will look like they�re about to crash into you,
but trust me on this.

More mandatory gliding for shitty weapons. That Vakloom, unlike any others
you�ll encounter in the air, has plenty of distance to take advantage of; this
allows it to turn its laser beam and actually have good odds of hitting you,
especially since you have a large number of other enemies to deal with.
Use another special attack once you�ve triggered its laser. Some Gyrazers and
Octos will appear shortly afterward, and you should bother to kill them if
you�ve been gliding all this time. Try to kill the Octos in front of you, then
stay on that side to avoid the cloud of the other. DON�T stop circling, as
they are followed by Paramush that will quickly shoot.

Don�t waste your time with the Boogities, though you must kill the Gloomerang
and Gyrazers that show up. Once Pittoo shows up, you�ll want to have another
special attack handy, as more Komaytos and some Specknoses will arrive and
pose a serious threat much of the time. You�ll have a very small window to
melee the Komaytos (they appear top-middle, then from the left), but unless
you�re grabbed, save your special for the second Specknose to appear, as the
first one will be by itself.

Yet another Orne will appear, avoided yet again by keeping left; your last
enemy wave comes in the form of several Monoeyes that show up in a large
cluster, with a few more joining the fray. If you still have another special
attack, either use it here, or keep your reticle focused on the middle-right
for a Monoeye that will appear very close to the camera and is almost
guaranteed to hit you otherwise.

You may have extremely little health right now, but don�t worry about it.
The Underworld Gatekeeper deals little damage with its attacks, and you can
actually survive for quite a long time in Crisis Mode because of that.

The key to easing your misery, however, is to destroy the two topmost guns
first (use the cursors to locate them) and then the two on the bottom left and
right, at the inside tips of the �wings.� These four will fire those really
quick shots that converge on your location and can easily hit you.
Whenever that attack begins, stop shooting and just move in circles to
maximize your chances of avoiding them.

From there, destroy the uppermost left and right. Your second biggest threats
are the offscreen rush and the giant laser beam, easily avoided but also a bit
more likely to kill you in Crisis Mode. Avoid these simply by staying away
from the line it makes before dashing, and by staying away from the point the
laser makes on the screen, respectively.

Medusa�s monologue and the sheer amount of flying around you�ll do will build
up your special meter. Don�t be shy about using them!

Of course, destroy the green shields and red mines (the latter attack is
performed by the second set of guns) if they happen to show up. If you destroy
the guns in the order I told you, you�ll have made it easy to hold out until
Pittoo punts the thing in the face. Some weapons can take the guns out so
quickly that it has nothing it can do besides produce shields or charge, while
the arbitrary timer ticks down.

--------------------
[Land9] Land Battle
--------------------

I prefer tackling the level revisits in their original order, though if I had
to gauge the difficulty from easiest to hardest, I suppose I�d go with
Twinbellows, then Pandora, then Hewdraw (just because of the ambush.)

All these loading screens will eat your Energy Charges, so try not to use any
unless a particular section really gives you grief without it.

***That Old Town, Twinbellows Revisited***

You have plenty of room to kill the enemies leading to the fountain, and of
the assortment, only the Zurret poses any real threat. The Reaper won�t
register until you approach the fountain, anyway. Once you head inside that
door, turn around and walk down the passage while facing the way you came.
This allows you to immediately begin spamming DCF against that Clubberskull,
who you may notice has slightly reduced HP. Once you hear the telltale chirp
that you�ve picked up an item, stop dashing and use the Bolt of Judgment.
By the time you�ve reached the end of the passage, you�ll have killed it.
If your weapon wasn�t strong enough to do that, this level is going nowhere
but downhill for you from here.

Igniots don�t have THAT much health, but enough to live long enough to nail
you with that extremely fast laser beam. These three aren�t accompanied by
anything else, so you�ll take negligible damage. A well-timed charge shot to
their eye before it fires will also interrupt its attack and stun it. You can
use the couple of Bouncy Bombs behind the rubble (which is also a good hiding
place) to score some damage in safety. Don�t forget the chest along the stairs
patrolled by that Orne. Note the many puffs of smoke at the first landing,
which indicate those Gyrazers are firing arrows like crazy. Approach carefully
and strafe to the left.

You�ll want to avoid needlessly damaging your Exo Tank in order to use it
against the Clubberskull at the top of those stairs. At least, if you plan to
kill the Skuttlers and Nettler in your way. Otherwise...

Rumpus Room!
Clubberskull, Shemum x10

The Exo Tank makes very short work of that Clubberskull; all you need to do is
position it so that both lasers are hitting its body. Immediately back up as
it approaches you, and keep moving as it swings its fists around.

This iteration of Twinbellows has so little HP that you can just go nuts on
the guy. Or is it guys? Whatever. Stick with head shots to speed things up.


***That Burning Town, Hewdraw Reborn Revisited***

You�ll be immediately greeted by three Miks. Remember that bouncing high into
the air indicates an attack, and be especially mindful of those tongues.
You may need to sidestep repeatedly, as they can attack in quick succession.

Proceeding far to the left simply spawns more Miks and Monoeyes that are there
only as a distraction. Defeat the Mega Mussel (strafe in circles) on the
correct path to score some food, then bounce your way to an Aether Ring, and..

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Stackjaw, Gyrazer x2
Wave 2: Minos, Shemum x9
Wave 3: Zik, Zak x5

This is extremely easy. All you need concern yourself with is moving counter-
clockwise around the Stackjaw, killing the Gyrazers first, and staying ahead
of that wall of lasers; from there, just be sure the exploding Minos doesn�t
reach your Aether Ring. You�ll need it to grab the treasure in the sewers.

Destroy the two Gyrazers in the sewer immediately (sit in the water to avoid
the lasers), then carefully work your way along the raised platforms to that
chest. Once you reach that spring, if you�ve got Brief Invincibility, be ready
to use it.

Two Skuttlers, two Cannoneers, one Monoeye, one angel. You don�t have to kill
them to get into the boss room, but a Cannoneer is blocking the Drink of the
Gods, and the Skuttlers will be right in your face, anyway. By using BI,
you can safely deflect at least three of the ensuing attacks and spam DCF to
quickly eliminate at least three of them.

If Twinbellows was a joke, Hewdraw is a tired internet meme that makes you
want to castrate the guy who thought it was clever. Once you�re able to knock
it out of the water, the ensuing aggression should wipe all but its single
remaining HP, which can be removed once it�s back in the water. Powers are
unnecessary. This one does like to use its tail slap shortly after the fight
begins, though; sidestep it toward the left.


***Pandora�s Labyrinth of Deceit, Pandora Revisited***

The spikes straight ahead are fake, though you should wait a moment for the
Souflee to point this out for you, anyway, so you may kill it. SPRINT, don�t
walk, through those spikes, and keep to the left to round the corner there.
A Sinistew is in the center of the floor and can easily grab you, otherwise,
not to mention the couple of Gyrazers that can stall you with their lasers.
Now for some fun with teleporters!

Stay back in that alcove to kill the Daphne with some protection against their
flowers. Occasionally one may still float over to you, so destroy it or dodge.
As soon as you warp again, wait for the room to turn right-side up and
immediately sidestep left, to avoid the Gyrazer�s laer. Now you can kill them.

Once you�ve warped again, rather than proceed down the left and face the
enemies up close, wait for the Paramush to approach you (they�ll eventually
begin firing at you from a certain distance) and shoot once they�re in range
and coming right toward you. If you stay back far enough, the Syren�s shots
will harmlessly hit the edge of the platform. And, if your weapon�s range is
long enough, you can even kill the Paramush before they can land.

Through the phony spikes, you�ll need to hit a switch while fending off two
Zuree in close confines. Remember to keep your stylus OFF the screen when
attacking, to avoid inadvertently closing in for a melee attack and getting
yourself slashed.

As soon as you touch that warp pad once, it won�t matter if the Orne is right
on top of you; you�ll be safe. Make a mad dash for the pad as soon as it moves
away from the side closest to you.

That nearby pad leads to a chest, but you must fend off a Bluster for it.
Remember that its sound wave is extremely fast, but telegraphed and easily
sidestepped. Try to grab the loot and vamoose before it can use its clouds.
The food by the awaiting Cherubot is nice, but the mech is all the protection
you need. Let�s do this.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Nettler x5, Shrip x5, Gyrazer x5
Wave 2: Gloomerang, Snowman

Simply move in repetitive circles while focusing on one enemy at a time.
The flying enemies will drop into the chasm and die, more often than not.

Pandora is still just as easy peasy, lemon squeezy. I never bother with the
attack items they plant in the rooms to assist, though I guess they speed
things up for some weaker weapons. Boom Spears are great.


Okay, now the fun begins! Into the darkness we go!

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Collins, Skuttler Cannoneer x2
Wave 2: Igniot, Specknose, Shemum x2
Wave 3: Suit of Skuttler, Handora, Shootfly x2

The Cannoneers will irritatingly bob up and down as they float around the
room, so hitting them at close range works best. Be careful not to excessively
use moves with cooldown, as you still want to be able to dodge any arrows and
missiles that�ll come your way.

That Spike Ball will not only keep the Shemum at bay, but if you can get in
front of the Igniot with it before it can petrify you, it�ll kill the bastard
while you dash around it or shake out of your stony state. The Shemum will
continue to spawn until the Specknose is slain, and two pieces of food will
appear during this ordeal.

Shootflies may not deal nearly as much melee damage as some of the more
notorious melee enemies, but they amount to tons of damage when they land
consecutive hits. Having said that, kill the Handora first. The best way to
handle Shootflies is to fire at something and then immediately dash.
Shootflies only move in straight lines while converging at your location, so
if you know where they are before shooting, avoiding them is simple. To kill
them, use DCS at a comfortable range which allows you to move if you know
it�ll survive.

Hang a left at the first fork in the flamethrower area to get what�ll likely
be some Speed Boots, then proceed along to the incessantly burning
flamethrower. By positioning yourself carefully in front of the very end of
it, you can dash through safely even as it billows, and it may not even
register as a dodge. The Orne itself is avoided with a very carefully-timed
sprint. If you picked up a Centurion Assist, don�t approach the idle
Clubberskull until it wears off!

Magmoos take a little bit of abuse before dying, and hurt to the touch.
Their fireballs themselves are easily dodged via sidestep and arc slowly.
Feel free to kill the Souflee and set off the trap near the Clubberskull, but
don�t piss off the behemoth until you�ve backtracked and killed the Pluton
that will show up. I strongly recommend Energy Charge for this. Remember that
the shockwave produced by its roar will hurt you, too.

The Monoeyes moving along with the rotating flamethrowers WILL shoot at you,
but seldom. That door leads to a small, confined area, which screams...

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Skuttler Cannoneer x3
Wave 2: Suit of Skuttler

These Cannoneers are very trigger happy, so immediately begin strafing and do
not stop unless a missile is coming your way, in which case you dodge through
it or blow it up.

That Suit of Skuttler is annoying to kill in front of the door like that, eh?
The unlocked door immediately leads to this particular rumpus� afterparty.

Afterparty!
Wave 1: Eggplant Wizard
Wave 2: Skuttler Cannoneer
Wave 3: Suit of Skuttler
Wave 4: Clubberskull

The first three do not so much spawn in waves as they do at timed intervals,
so the Cannoneer can show up well before the Eggplant Wizard is slain, and so
on; make sure you don�t mistakenly run into the columns of light over the
elevator shafts, as they�ll halt your dash and can cause you to blow a dodge
and become eggplanted. Have your Effect Recovery ready.

Don�t use the Power-Up Drop or Atlas Foot until everything else is gone, and
you�re ready to take on that Clubberskull. Energy Charge is useful, but if the
Drop fulfills its purpose, you�ll still lose the charge. Retreat clockwise or
counterclockwise around the area while you spam DCF and don�t be afraid to
just sprint away if it gets close enough to use its spin attack.

Once that grind rail trip ends, immediately sprint forward and kill that Rare
Treasurefish before it flies away or misses the ground with its drop.
Note that there are two Shootfly nearby that will respond to this attack, so
keep moving. Be especially careful not to shoot too soon if your weapon can�t
reach it, yet! Kill the Shootflies before proceeding.

There are numerous enemies you�ll face in single file, but none pose any
particular threat, especially if you take the time to charge up shots before
proceeding. The two Boogities at the end of this area can be a real headache,
but just focus on dodging forward through their missiles, staying on the right
side of the platform, getting in whatever damage you can.

Be careful not to run along the invisible floor (drop off the forward end of
the platform you�ll come to, to continue) and kill that lone Monoeye quickly,
as rolling through its shot will likely send you into the abyss.

Rumpus Room!
Igniot, Eggplant Wizard, Orne

KILL THE IGNIOT FIRST. An Orne will replace the first enemy to die, and being
petrified with an Orne closing in on you is an easy game over. Keeping an eye
on a teleporting Eggplant Wizard and its bombs while also trying to detect an
Orne is easier said than done, but it isn�t nearly as dangerous. Try knocking
that Wizard over with your charge shots.

Quickly move along the series of invisible platforms to avoid the Handora
shots coming your way, and make sure to kill the Monoeye that appears while
doing so. That chest is a Mimicutie, but drops an item, so trigger it if
you�re confident in your evasiveness and strength. Don�t shoot during its spin
attack, because you�re in close confines and must keep the camera on it, ready
to dodge each time it comes near. Dodge forward through its flurry of kicks.

As soon as you jump onto that next platform, two Monoeyes and a Skuttler
Cannoneer will spawn, and all will soon shoot. Kill the Cannoneer first,
because its arrows will push you off the platform. You can sidestep all
attacks from that platform aside from the missile, and will need to do so at
least once. Take the left set of platforms to the next area.

Hopefully you still have an Effect Recovery. If that Tempura Wizard gets you,
the Boogity�s missile is a frigging nightmare to avoid, and the knockback will
allow the Wizard to catch up and finish you off. Energy Charge really helps
take this jerk down lickety-split, before he begins firing erratically.
Just be sure you�re also dodging through the missiles while dealing with him.

Once you drop off the platform, don't forget to take the chest and Drink of
the Gods to the left and right sides of the door. Easily missed if you're just
chugging along, though you can see them from the above platform if you're
close to the edges.

As you approach the forward end of that ledge, three Monoeyes will spawn and
eventually begin shooting. You must kill them all to materialize the floor.
From here, this final area is an enemy gauntlet that will produce more floor
as each enemy set is cleared. The first two platforms will also give you food.

1st platform: Gyrazer, Mik x2

Easy stuff. The Gyrazer will likely be the first thing you see and kill.
The Miks will prefer to attack from a distance, but will swipe those tongues
before retreating.

2nd platform: Shrip x3

While they�re arranged in a triangle, they don�t attempt to converge on your
point and you can stand near one (but not in front of it lol) to be safe.

3rd platform: Eggplant Wizard, Erinus, Orne

Okay, no more playing around. Use Bumblebee if you�ve got it, as it really
helps guard you against the Orne should you lose sight of it. Hammer that damn
Eggplant Wizard with everything you�ve got, but don�t waste too many resources
on it, because the Erinus that immediately takes its place is much worse.

Its shot spread is not hard to avoid, but damaging it causes it to split and
go batshit insane, rushing you at high speeds and carving off tons of HP in
the process. The legs are not as quick or strong, but will relentlessly hop
after you until the top half has been destroyed completely. Here is where your
weapon�s strength really pays off, as well as Energy Charge.

Don�t stay in one place, either, because that Orne is still there, but you
must still be ready to dodge forward through the bum rushes of the top half.
Note the bit of delay, as it flails in place for a second before rushing.

After all that, you could use a nice, easy boss battle, wouldn�t you say?

---------------
[Boss9] MEDUSA
---------------

It�s not even worth the time to delve deep into her first couple of phases
because, well, they aren�t.

-Destroy purple blobs, fly through gaps, destroy rubble.

-Don�t move except to position yourself between those... things, and shoot at
the little blobs that come your way.

Now that you�re much closer, she does have a few attacks, but takes so little
abuse before detaching her head. She�ll rapidly launch little shots from her
eyes (much like those from the Underworld Gatekeeper) and occasionally swipe
half of the screen with her claw. I�m sure she�s got more at her disposal, but
she�s never lasted long enough to show them off, and likely won�t for you,
either.

Now that the head is alone, you�re actually at some risk of being hit.
She launches small shots of her own that are even easier to avoid than those
used previously, as well as huge globs of poison and her own massive laser
beam which does not seem to target you very well, if at all. By circling
constantly, you can easily avoid the majority of her attacks, though may take
some poison damage on the side. The head will reattach itself in no time.

If you found this level to be easy, the next few ground battles will feel like
a walk in the park. If not, you�ll probably find them even worse! Whee!


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch10] The Wish Seed OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 14770 Hearts

Common Drops: Wolf Claws, Burning Palm, Leo Cannon, Phoenix Arm (Max of 4)

This level can feel nightmarish, especially given all the opportunities for
needless burn damage, but really is easy once you consider that most enemies
are quite slow to react, and many enemies only come into play when particular
enemies are slain, thereby allowing you to do a minimum of fighting.
But I don�t want to do that, so neither will you!

My weapon of choice:

Boom Orbitars
R: 5
M: 0
V: 289
Shaking +1
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
HB +2

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

Slow, strong weapons will suit you just fine, especially if their power comes
in the form of charge shots. Having said that, short range makes the boss much
harder than he needs to be, so you�ll want to shy away from Arms and some of
the shorter-ranged Palms. While slow movement is not particularly crippling,
slow shot speed will definitely cause issues, so avoid those, also.

As an aside, Recovery Effect is an extremely useful mod. Food will seem a lot
more scarce than desirable, but with at least RE +2, the Recovery Orbs during
the air battle will restore most of your health, and Meat items will restore
an enormous amount of HP (a little more than half.)

Effect Recovery is extremely helpful here as well, not so much for the burn
damage, but the Tempura Wizard you must tackle at the end of the level.
Save them for this guy.

Because many enemies are slow to react or fire, Energy Charge is easy to keep
going, and especially useful when you consider that many of these enemies are
also quite meaty. You�ll face plenty of Wave Anglers and Porcuspines.

Playing Dead is very useful against the Phoenix, but not if you�ve got poor
range or shot speed, in which case Bumblebee is the better option. Much like
Dark Pit, if the Phoenix is the only tough part of this level, you can bring
Trade Off and make short work of him, of course taking into consideration the
limitations of your weapon. You should really learn to avoid the Phoenix�s
attacks the old-fashioned way, though, as you�ll have to do this toward the
beginning of every Chapter 24 attempt, without wasting powers.

-----------------
[Note10] Notices
-----------------

-Be especially careful when circling in the lava geyser area, as you can
easily dip too far and take a lava bath for ludicrous burn damage. Stay high!

-Take the tunnel and not the upper route when prompted by Palutena. The tunnel
is easier, particularly because there are fewer opportunities to be burned and
it contains no Komaytos.

-Blowing up exploding rocks will still trigger a Porcuspine�s counterattack.
Save them, regardless, for the Petribombers.

-The Clubberskull encountered along the Exo Tank path will produce an item
when slain, a feat accomplished easily if your tank is intact.

-Likewise, the Mimicutie in the second hot spring area (behind the intensity
gate near the boss area) must be slain to earn an item drop.

-The chest in the room with your first encountered Suit of Skuttler will
trigger an ambush in the form of a Gloomerang, Monoeye and Petribomber.
If you go for it, immediately turn around and be ready for them (particularly
with a power such as Brief Invincibility, or some good sidestepping skills.)

-The two Wave Anglers before the boss may be killed by something really strong
without entering the area, to avoid facing both at once, but their shots WILL
go through the wall/door and can hit you if you aren�t ready. Anticipate them.

-------------------
[Air10] Air Battle
-------------------

While the eruptions are very large, you can easily avoid them while
maintaining the ever-useful circular flight pattern. Occasionally you may have
to cut one short and make a beeline for a gap, but otherwise keep the circles
going. I find it easy to be shot by one of the Monoeyes following the first
appearance of some Petribombers, as they�ll shoot while passing through a
narrow gap on the left of an eruption. Whenever passing a gap, at least be
moving up or down instead of just waiting to safely resume circling.

Following the Gloomerang and Fire Wyrm, you�ll have a brief window to kill a
Remoblam master in the center of the screen, off in the distance, positioned
just left of a thin stalagmite. If you can do this, a Souflee will spawn.
Also take care when dealing with the two Syren that show up right afterward.

The Vakloom will quickly sweep its laser beam across the bottom of the screen,
but you shouldn�t be down there, anyway, because of the lava. A lone Mik will
accompany it and should be dead by the time the Vakloom is ready to fire.

Don�t be shy about using special attacks in this area, as it�s easily the
hardest part of the aerial segment. I like to use one against the Monoeyes and
Syren that appear once the geysers cease, following the pair of Petribombers.

While you make the difficult decision of choosing to go left, you�ll entertain
seven Daphne that somehow thought this was a nice place for a flower to chill.

The direct route features Fire Wyrms, numerous Syrens, tongue-whipping Miks,
Komaytos, Petribombers and Shrips, not to mention the many lava eruptions that
will play mindgames with you as you rush past, trying to find safe positions.
Trust me, it is not worth the hassle.

As for the tunnel route, you�ll spend a few moments circling to avoid a ton of
Handora pellets, while destroying the occasional Magmoo (be diligent in
spotting and killing them, as they�ll easily hit you as you fly by otherwise.)

Once you reach the open area, direct your fire to the upper left and kill the
Paramush there, then carefully circle while ducking beneath or flying over the
eruptions from the wall (duck the first, fly over the second two.)
If you don�t circle, you�ll be easily nailed by the Paramush or Syrens.

You should have two special attacks by now, and should use them during and
after killing the huge Magmoo staring you in the face. This will eliminate the
numerous smaller Magmoos and the nearby trigger-happy Monoeyes as well.
It�s smooth sailing from here, as the only enemies left that will attack are a
foursome of Petribombers that will approach two at a time, after the volcano
erupts.

---------------------
[Land10] Land Battle
---------------------

If you aren�t in dire need of food, ignore the goodies dropped for you and
instead take a minute to kill the Magmoo and Petribomber that greet you, along
with the additional enemy each one will spawn once slain. Petribombers on land
can be a little bit of a hassle if you needlessly put yourself in a cooldown
state. If a charge shot won�t hit them as soon as they produce a rock, use SCF
instead as they fly about, then dodge forward through the rock. These bombers
will take a few seconds to throw, so eliminate the two Magmoo first, who will
attack sooner. Most weapons should not try to blow up the rocks in mid-flight.

Girins are just as easy to kill here, but you must take care to dodge in the
direction of the trail itself and not the edges. This goes for every enemy.
If you�ve got Energy Charge, let �er rip.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Wave Angler, Porcuspine x2
Wave 2: Tortolunk, Petribomber x2

The Wave Angler will appear near the door, so you should run toward it from
the right side of the room, to be able to kill it as soon as it drops down.
Porcuspines are a matter of patience. Use a SCS and then wait for the needles,
then finish them off.

Once the Tortolunk & Co. shows up, nail the turtle with a charge shot, then
try to set off those rocks, which will kill the Petribombers. Otherwise, dodge
forward through the oncoming spin attack and be ready to sidestep any rocks.
You should be able to get rid of them before the Tortolunk is upright.

Tanky Tiiime! Hopping into the tank is what�ll spawn the enemies, so get right
back out and begin shooting them. Use the tank primarily for transportation,
avoiding needless damage, as you must keep it intact for the Clubberskull.
As you run forward, have a charge shot ready to damage the Wave Angler that�ll
join the trio of Leox. It may take a few laps before the final Leox is slain.

Run forward again to trigger a Gyrazer from the right, then retreat to your
tank, triggering a Syren. Now, the idea is to gun it along the heart-lined
ramps, using your boosts once the Wave Anglers get in your face, but jumping
out of the tank before you sail off the bend at the end. It�s important to get
the Power-Up Drop from up there, which will deflect the shockwaves and shots
from the nearby Leox and Monoeye, whom you should kill before using the tank
to destroy that Clubberskull.

The very long path is not obstructed by much; a trio of Miks along with a Wave
Angler will appear, but are quickly shot down by your tank before they can do
anything else. The Gyrazers at the end will be spamming arrows from a great
distance, but your tank will easily outspeed them. Even without the tank, the
arrows are easily avoided just by moving.

Unlike the air battle of Chapter 8, it�s easier to kill Remoblamlings before
their master, just because they�re closer. This also gives you hearts, because
their self-destruct at the hands of the Remoblam will not count as a kill.
If one is close to you when it blows up, a simple backward dodge will suffice.
On the higher level, you can also drop back down to the ground if one is too
close. Be careful not to walk directly over a crack in the floor, as it�ll
explode. Once the platform sinks, you can kill a Mimicutie for a Killer Eye
item, which will not help you much in the area ahead, and can even shoot you.

Guttlers were obviously intended to be nasty enemies, but they really aren�t.
In spite of the NPC advice, you should always kill the little enemies nearby,
first, as you�ll get more hearts, and in some cases they are much more
dangerous than the Guttler itself (ie: Ch21.) It�s worth noting that Guttlers
do gain substantially more HP as they eat, and will somewhat quickly lumber
after you when you are its closest target, or there are no enemies left.
This has not been an issue for me at any point throughout any levels featuring
Guttlers. Rarely, they�ll even launch their little orbs at you.

Even if you don�t need healing, stepping into the hot spring is what triggers
a Power-Up Drop to appear on the rocks outside, so at least do that.

Killing that Shelbo produces a Gloomerang and Magmoo, but with the Power-Up
Drop, you can run to it to make it stop inhaling, then just continue to the
jump pad. Of course, killing them lets you safely grab the Grenade from that
chest, and use it on the Sinistew up there. If you have Energy Charge or Item
Attack mods on your weapon, the explosion should kill the Mik next to it also.

Destroy the Petribomber even if you plan to ignore the Sinistew. The Sinistew
will spawn a Tortolunk and Magmoo upon its destruction (to kill it, bait the
grab by standing at the left edge of the path, sidestepping once the arm
stretches.) Avoiding the spin attack on these narrow walkways is just a matter
of standing in an area with enough room to sidestep, and carefully timing the
maneuver. Ditto for the Magmoo�s fireball.

Elevator. Melee that Shulm before blasting the Leox, which will happily commit
suicide if you don�t, but will still create a shockwave before doing so.
A Petribomber will spawn once it�s dead. You can take the jump pad right away
and avoid numerous enemies, but you�ll also miss two chests. Otherwise, head
to the left to score some loot.

Kill that Wave Angler once it appears to avoid having to roll around on the
walkway and potentially bathe in lava. That Girin can actually be a threat,
should the Shelbo draw you into it, but otherwise this is routine execution.
For the final leg of this area, use the Power-Up Drop up there to run through
the lava and kill the enemies there without consequence.

Dropping off the ledge after grabbing that Meat will trigger a Wave Angler and
Skuttler, and killing the Sinistew will spawn a Porcuspine. Avoiding either
encounter is simple. That chest looks tempting, but will spawn a Monoeye,
Gloomerang, and Petribomber once you leap to it, so immediately turn and face
them. Try killing the Monoeye first, sidestep the boomerang and kill it next,
then deal with the flaming rock that�ll be coming your way. It may be easier
for some to just use Brief Invincibility.

The Syren just outside that door will not wait very long before firing, and
you�ll need to sidestep if you miss your shot. The Happy Trigger is useful for
the foursome of Monoeyes and Syren around that bend, but you should trigger
the Shulms that tumble over the side and kill them from a distance, first.
That Syren will also fire quickly, and stays well out of range for many
weapons while it�s flying around.

Don�t be too eager to jump onto the platforms by the door, as you can be
caught standing on the same rock as the Porcuspine, which deals steady contact
damage and makes its counter impossible to avoid.

Rumpus Room!
Skuttler Mage, Skuttler x2, Shulm x2

Charge straight into the room, past the Shulms as they drop down, and nail the
Mage for a quick kill. Avoiding any Weakening hijinx is your top priority; the
rest is nothing to sneeze at.

Afterparty!
Tempura Wizard, Suit of Skuttler

If you aren�t under the effects of Energy Charge, I would suggest firing it up
just for this asshole. Sprint straight into the room, using your FDCS as the
guy lowers himself in front of you, and then hit him with your next strongest
attack before he begins spamming that batter. The Suit of Skuttler is mostly
just... there, though if you keep it out of sight for too long, it WILL
eventually slam into you. Still, just do whatever you can to annihilate Mister
Shrimpy right away. Take the intensity gate for a well-deserved heal before the
final area.

Turning off auto-homing in the pause menu will really help you take down that
Girin, if your weapon has a remote degree of homing. This makes drawing it
out of the ground take much less time. Killing that Sinistew will give you a
less crummy vantage point for that Souflee way up on that ledge; finally,
destroying the Mimicutie in the small area off to the side (trigger it, use a
BDCS, then quickly retreat up the stairs) will earn you an item drop.
The Mimicutie�s auto-targeting will have no problem zipping it out of that
enclosed circle and getting right in your face, so don�t think you�re safe up
there. Relax if you need to, then head back to the final...

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Porcuspine, Wave Angler x2
Wave 2: Petribomber, Skuttler

If you can, try killing those Wave Anglers without entering the area itself.
This is easily done by a lot of FDCS, timed so that your dash stops you right
in front of the door, which will open, but still apply the momentum needed for
the shot to register as a FDCS. Should you fail to kill it, get the hell away
from there; a wave is soon to follow, and can still hit you from well beyond
the door. You�ll need to sidestep it.

Otherwise, use your FDCS and enter the room, and be ready to dodge through the
oncoming waves. The Porcuspine will waddle from the walkway into your area,
but otherwise isn�t a threat until you bother to shoot it.

The second wave appears far up on the path and doesn�t warrant a strategy.

-----------------
[Boss10] PHOENIX
-----------------

This guy really seems like a difficult boss, at first, but he follows a pretty
simple pattern and his attacks are easily anticipated, which makes them easy
for even slower weapons to avoid, like Staves. Well, actually, he technically
follows two patterns, and switches between them after using one of his more
grand attacks.

He always begins with a trio of fireballs, which spawn in the distance and
zoom in, soon converging on your present location. This is often followed by
the hurling of flaming rocks directly overhead, which also target your present
location. The sheer speed of the rocks means you must anticipate them and
immediately flick the control pad following your fireball dodge, but otherwise
this maneuver is easily done. Occasionally, he may hurl the rocks right away,
instead of the fireballs. You must be on your toes, though if the Phoenix is
far enough away, you can easily see the rocks arc through the air.

The Phoenix may repeat this anywhere from once to twice more, or he may skip
the rocks altogether (DO NOT plan for this) and go right into his flame 
charge, one of his most easily-avoided moves; he�ll engulf himself in flame
and, after a delay, rush toward you. Don�t ever try to use the jump pad to
avoid this, but simply roll forward as he nears, and you�ll go right through
him. Now you have a great opportunity to unload some charge shots and DCF.

That flame charge also indicates he switched attack patterns. Now, the Phoenix
will turn and face you and, after a quick shimmer of his wings, launch two
very quick projectiles that converge on your location. As long as you aren�t
in cooldown when this happens, you should easily be able to sidestep them.
Next, the Phoenix will slam his talons on the ground, creating three
shockwaves that race forward with a lot of room between them. These are easily
avoided through strafing alone. Like his first pattern, he is not guaranteed
to begin with one attack and not the other, and will use them anywhere from
one to four times.

Following these attacks will be one of two moves, which you should take care
to avoid; either his flame breath, or his whirlwinds. The flame breath must be
run from, though he can�t make sharp turns and will have difficulty hitting
you the closer you are. The whirlwinds, on the other hand, will scatter about
the area and will bounce off the edges to continue posing a threat. These will
also inflict the annoying Spin status if they connect. Dodge forward through
them, but keep moving about and turning the camera to spot any more that must
be sidestepped.

However, you have a golden opportunity to score some easy damage AND
circumvent this attack by knocking him out of the sky. This is done by
repeatedly blasting his noggin, most easily done during his shockwaves.
You won�t have very long to hit him, which may not allow you to fully charge a
shot, but he�ll revert to his starting pattern of fireballs n� rocks without
breathing fire or creating whirlwinds.

He will have shifted back to the fireballs �n rocks, now. Lather, rinse, and
repeat, though he does not have a tremendous amount of HP and can be killed
prior or shortly beyond this point, provided you landed a lot of your attacks.

If your shots lack range, don�t even bother shooting him until after the flame
charge, though you should be concentrating on spotting and rolling to avoid
his fireballs, anyway, and then those damned rocks.

Ah, yes, power consumption. I pop a Bumblebee first thing, then look for his
fireballs, dodge them as well as the rocks, then use Energy Charge. By the
time the charge kicks in, he�s usually about to launch the shockwaves, and is
soon to be plummeting to Earth and finished off shortly thereafter.

Your use of evasive powers depends on what you have the most trouble avoiding
but, like I said much earlier, you really should get in the habit of fighting
this guy without defensive power usage, as you won�t be able to rely on them
during your rematch in Chapter 24. I don�t use Bumblebee or Energy Charge
then, and use them here simply because I�ve got �em. Assurance and whatnot.

Should you have bothered to face all of your enemy encounters like a man, you
should be pleasantly surprised by your amount of hearts upon completion.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch11] Viridi, Goddess of Nature OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 11330 Hearts

Common Drops: Rose Staff, Divine Bow, Paw Pad Orbitars, Crusader Blade,
              Cragalanche Cannon (Max of 3)

This is another level that seems much harder than it is at first, but much of
the difficulty is averted by planning your powers around the segments that
give your weapon of choice a hard time. More on that in a second. With some
practice you�ll find this entire level to be actually very easy and lucrative.

My weapon of choice:

Boom Orbitars
R: 5
M: 0
V: 289
Shaking +1
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
HB +2

Powers: Energy Charge lv3, Playing Dead lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3

If your weapon lacks movement speed, then you want range, and plenty of it.
Boom Orbitars have more than enough to get by, as well as a fast-moving charge
shot that will be a great asset in the first of what amounts to two separate
(and potentially difficult) segments that your weapon must be able to handle:

-The long passage near the beginning, loaded with distant Nutskis
-The second and third waves of the Rumpus Room before Cragalanche

Some weapons have an especially hard time dealing with at least one of those,
which should be compensated by appropriate power usage. Playing Dead for the
Rumpus Room, if you�re unable to kill Bladers before they get in your face and
shred or blast your HP to a perilous amount; Brief Invincibility, if you have
speed but little range, to sprint through the Nutski Trail without wasting a
lot of time sidestepping over and over; Instant Death Attack is useful for
Hugworms and Jitterthugs when using weaker weapons, but there are easy ways to
deal with them (especially the former.)

Lastly, this air battle can be unforgiving on poor SCF weapons and you should
be gliding as much as possible unless directed otherwise. For that matter, you
should not be playing Forces of Nature levels with a notably poor SCF weapon.

-----------------
[Note11] Notices
-----------------

-Don�t move in circles when encountering Paragliders, as their shots do not
turn and can be easily flown into by accident. The swarms in this level make
very good candidates for your special attacks.

-There�s a useful trick for picking up an attack item, but killing other
enemies without throwing it yet. All you need to do is be shooting before
picking it up, and as long as you keep the trigger held down, you can continue
to use SCF and DCF until you�re ready to use the item.

-Be careful not to shoot the branch snaring the human from afar while shooting
your way past all the Nutskis toward the beginning of the land battle.
The Chocolate you�re rewarded with will disappear before you can eat it.

-Hugworms are like mobile Sinistews, but can be tricked into mindlessly
slithering against the edges of gaps while you shoot them from the other side.

-Shooting Jitterthugs while they�re green is what prompts them to launch three
balls instead of one. So, y�know... DON�T DO IT.

-------------------
[Air11] Air Battle
-------------------

While the Underworld Army portion is both brief and generally unnoteworthy,
crummier weapons should be wary of the clusters of Monoeyes, and I�ve taken to
using a special attack against the foursome of Syrens (the camera will pan to
them after you follow a pair of Miks) regardless of my weapon at the time.

Even if your weapon sucks during air battles, there�s not much to worry about
until you�re in the forest itself. Kill the Trynamites as you spot them, as
well as the Zerts, since their attacks are more problematic than the seeds.
Once you�re right in front of the forest, a Zert will soon appear top-center;
it can be a little hard to spot and, if not killed, will send a few lightning
bolts toward you at a weird angle and can score multiple hits.

Once you�ve entered the forest you�ll soon become acquainted with Paragliders,
which hit particularly hard, attack in large numbers, and don�t cater to
circling. They�ll come in from the upper-left (two sets) and then the
upper-right in single file, amidst a few other enemies. I often like to use a
special attack here, though they are easy to kill if you focus your fire where
they�ll enter and quickly shift the reticle to the other side.

It�s important to kill every Pew Pew, because if the camera pans away from one
as it�s making its �scary� face, it�ll still fire from offscreen, and those
explosives pack a wallop. Otherwise, they aren�t a problem, and you should
just be sure to kill any preparing to fire the moment you spot them.

Hope you get a Power-Up Drop from the Treasurefish. If you don�t, and your SCF
is poor, I hope you haven�t been firing, as you�ll need to be in a glide to
avoid the hundred seeds that row of Nutskis and Lurchthorn will be launching.
Once Viridi�s trademark ditty begins, the Paragliders will return, coming from
multiple directions, starting with the right. Focusing on one spot won�t work
here, so I�ll use another special attack (there are no other points during the
air battle worth saving them for.)

Once those two Bladers appear, unless you�ve got a Staff, you�re going to want
to glide. Weapons with charge shots with decent range can at least kill one of
them as it loops around, but once they�re way in the back, just stop. They�ll
unleash a large number of beams quick enough to graze you as you circle, hence
the need for gliding; once the last one has passed, you can resume shooting.

The way she says �C�mon out, Cragalanche!� just sounds extremely... English
dub Pokemon Trainer-ish, doesn�t it?

---------------------
[Land11] Land Battle
---------------------

That Nutski on your right is a real pain to approach if your range sucks,
I know. Get rid of the one on the left, first, then just creep forward and be
ready to sidestep those seeds while you get within killing range.
While you can easily take out the Pew Pews before they fire, get used to
dodging those explosives (any direction will work) as later ones will be much
more quick to fire. Urgles are quite easy to avoid by themselves, but make
sure you dash only once they�re right in your face, and not a moment sooner.
This first one, you can shoot from across the gap without consequence.

Unless you have a Staff, that Happy Trigger won�t do a whole hell of a lot,
since it�ll wear off too quickly. As for the Grenade, pick it up while firing
and don�t let go of the trigger; this way, you can kill the first Nutski
you�ll encounter along the trail and then throw the Grenade at the pair behind
it. If you�re using Claws, a Palm or an Arm, it�s often more worth your while
to simply gun it through this section and use up two Brief Invincibilities,
which will block the numerous shots to your back. While it isn�t terribly
difficult to proceed slowly and sidestep again and again and again, firing
only when it�s clear, it does take a while and there are plenty of
opportunities for mistakes. Make sure you kill the Pew Pew and Dibble Dops as
soon as they�re in range.

Once you�ve made it to that little tunnel, the two Nutskis that rush toward
you will quickly fire, so be ready for them.

Once you can see the red branches off in the distance, as soon as you enter
that wide area, you�ll have that orb to deal with. Ignore the Smart Bomb and
instead immediately get on the right side of that large hole on the right.
By this time, the first of potentially many Trynamites will have spawned,
but that aggressive Hugworm will have begun trying to get close enough to grab
you, also, and by being across that gap, it will just mindlessly slither into
its own side, in vain. Now you can leisurely destroy that orb while killing
the enemies it spawns. Of course, once you take down that Hugworm, a
replacement will spawn on the side of the gap you�re presently using for
cover. Get the hell away from there and repeat this tactic to safely kill the
other one. You may need to move around a bit in case the Hugworm manages to
work its way around the gap, but it�ll soon be caught on an edge again.

That Toxiecap will spawn from far enough away that it�ll likely fire before
you can do anything to it. It�s easier to run past the lighter-colored
triplets as they bounce high, and the single dark purple bomb should be dodged
right as it lands on you. Once you kill it, turn around, back into the chest
to open it, and be ready to shoot the Rare Treasurefish that appears in front
of you. As you move forward, an Urgle will spawn. These guys can be knocked
over fairly easily if hit before they perk up at the sight of you.

Be ready with a charge shot once you take the jump pad, as two Pew Pews will
be waiting for you. The second will fire before you can do anything about it;
it�s easier to just stand there and sidestep instead of running for the other
pad. At the top of this, immediately run to the left, to avoid the Lithinium
that�ll fire its laser the moment you land. The sound it makes is not very
loud, but audible enough that you can tell when it�s safe to step out and
shoot it.

Killing the flower spawns a Blader that mindlessly flies around shooting and
couldn�t care less about you, and killing the Nutski playing peek-a-boo will
spawn another Nutski that is also a huge fan of peek-a-boo. As you make your
way along these wooden walkways that would make Bob Vila proud, a few enemies
will spawn in your path; if you keep your weapon charged, they amount to no
threat. Step off the edges and drop down if anything gets too close for
comfort, namely the Zert that accompanies a Pew Pew. Note that at the top of
this area, a Zert will spawn right behind you as you�re greeted from the front
by a Trynamite. Don�t stand still, or back up, for that matter.

Kill the Dibble Dop near that chest (which often has a Grenade) before you go
after the Urgle, which should not perk up so soon if you don�t shoot at it.
Some people just run away from the Urgle and get onto the grind rail, since
killing it spawns a Jitterthug, but this enemy is really not a problem by
itself, provided you never, ever shoot them while they�re green. Single balls
are very easy to dodge through, and after patiently avoiding five of them, you
may unload on it. If you can�t kill it before it will ram into you, a forward
dodge will spare you, though they can turn around pretty quickly.
Remember that attack items count as melee damage, so that Grenade will hurt
the green form and knock it over.

Firing constantly ahead of you as you make your way down the slide will keep
the Aether Ring relatively damage-free. Once in the clearing, stay on the move
constantly to keep away from the Boom Stomper (I like to go onto the higher
ground) and its shockwaves. The sprout on its head is its weak point, though
you should kill the two Nutskis with it first, which will spawn a Lithinium on
the far end of the area. The flower won�t notice you from far away, so stick
around there while pummeling the Boom Stomper. Killing it spawns an Urgle,
which spawns a Blader upon its death. I like to kill the Lithinium as soon as
I�m done with the Boom Stomper. When all this is done, don�t forget about the
chest down some stairs to the right of the jump pad.

A Hugworm will already be in the hot spring, so use your strongest charge shot
and then repeatedly BDCF into the left corner until it�s gone. Their grab is a
lot quicker than Sinistew�s, and they won�t dumbly sit there after a miss, so
go all-out on the thing.

I always take the left side of the maze and keep left at each fork, though I
like to work my way around and kill everything. Note the Lithinium that spawns
high on the left as you move along (past that first Pew Pew) and also be ready
to unload everything you�ve got on the Lurchthorn by the end. Lurchthorns have
the potential to be really nasty enemies, as once their segments begin to
twitch, you�ll be bombarded by a steady stream of seeds and powerful missiles.
You�ll have a couple seconds to pound the head before you should take note of
the body segments. While you can destroy the segments, it�s easier to just
kill the head ASAP. This one isn�t quite as aggressive as in later encounters.

If you did take the left like I do, at least head right from the Lurchthorn,
to nab the Souflee right there.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Jitterthug
Wave 2: Nutski, Zert, Blader
Wave 3: Boom Stomper, Blader x2

No shooting green Jitterthugs, a lesson you need not learn painfully.

The Blader will appear right in front of the purple flame blocking you, and is
easily the biggest threat, so go right over there and kill it ASAP. The other
two are a piece o� cake, though you�ll want to quickly find that Zert and kill
it before it paralyzes you. Don�t sweat a single shot from that Nutski.
If you have Playing Dead, though, use it as soon as the Jitterthug is gone.

If you have Playing Dead and wait to use it once a Blader is present, it will
quickly run right up to you and stop once you vanish, which will force you to
melee it and waste the power if you attack right then. It�s much better to use
the power preemptively and keep them motionless.

As for the pair of Bladers, they�ll spawn on either side of the flame and go
nuts at your arrival, either by slicing your face or taking off right away and
spamming that laser, which�ll nuke your health bar in no time. Ignore the Boom
Stomper (but at least try to see what it�s doing, to sidestep shockwaves) and
just do whatever you can to eliminate the Bladers. They�re very mobile and can
be hard to hit once they�re in flight.

Boom Stompers by themselves are no challenge, though don�t assume you�re out
of its shockwave range.

---------------------
[Boss11] CRAGALANCHE
---------------------

Graveler- er, Craggy, has too many attacks to list, the vast majority of them
involving coming toward you and making direct contact. So, instead, I�m going
to give you a very simple method of fighting him, which has not failed me yet.

CRAGALANCHE CRUSHING 101:
1. Stand still.
2. SCF to face.
3. If he approaches for a direct attack, dodge forward through him, use your
BDCS on his weak point, then use BDCF to get a safe distance away.
4. After a few shots of SCF, stop shooting and be ready to sidestep a
shockwave or boulder hurled at you. If he produces a club, he�ll swing it very
quickly, so sidestep to the right once you spot it.
5. Rinse and repeat.
6. Once he begins spawning a wall of molten rocks, give it three full seconds
before dodging through them. This move indicates his HP is below half.
7. If the ground begins to crumble and split before you, dodge backwards once
the cracks reach you, as a huge eruption will follow (not to be confused with
Cragalanche burrowing underground himself, which looks similar.)

I�ll use this time to note a few changes to his attacks once his HP is low:

-His club, formerly swung toward your left, now comes from the right and has
much more of a delay, but covers a wide area. Sidestep to the right, still.
-He�ll create two sets of shockwaves, and the second set will converge on your
location. Avoid the first set simply by walking, then sidestep the second set.
-The boulder he tosses will be larger and harder to cancel (not that you
should be trying to shoot them out of the air, either way.)

You may need to walk a bit instead of just using BDCF if you can�t remain at a
safe distance otherwise, but the main thing is to move reactively and not to
run around. His attacks are spaced apart and really easy to dodge, much like
those of the Great Reaper; so long as you stay in one place and use charge
shots only right after you�ve dodged something, you�ll be fine.

If he rolls around while showing off his sweet cheeks, bonus. Take your free
shots (and enjoy the view, while you�re at it. Rrrrraaawwwwrrrr!)

There is no real use for powers during this fight, apart from Energy Charge
and perhaps Bumblebee for a little bit of assurance; however, using Playing
Dead has the potential to make him face away from you for a while, spamming
random attacks. This gives you plenty of free shots at his weak point.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch12] Wrath of the Reset Bomb OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 13540 Hearts

Common Drops: Skyscraper Club, Brawler Claws, Virgo Palm, Fireworks Cannon,
              Electroshock Arm (Max of 4)

Ugh, SKREETLES. If the previous chapter didn�t convince you that the Forces of
Nature have a lot of nasty enemies (even though several of them are just mild
tweaks to Underworld enemies in behavior) then this one will. Skreetles are
hyper-active little shits that pack a wallop and can be hard to hit.
Then, you have the Cacaws...

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv4, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

High Shot Defense and Recovery Effect mods are extremely useful here, given
the enemy assortment, placement, and pacing. Brain farts tend to be deadlier,
especially when up against an enemy like the Mudrone. Barring defense in the
durability sense, a strong charge shot is the next best thing.

I�ve never found the air battle to be difficult no matter which weapon I was
using, but the ground battle is loaded with nasty enemies; so long as your
charge shots or DCF have gotten you by up to this point, you�ll be fine.

It actually helps not to have good homing, as Megontas are much harder to roll
backward when your shots tend to uselessly donk the shell right above its tiny
weak point, though you can disable auto-homing, which also helps.

The only power I strongly recommend you bring is Playing Dead. One of the devs
thought it would be funny to pit you against a Megonta and two Cacaws
simultaneously; there are so many ways this can go foul in only a second, and
by immediately using the power, you can kill the birds without being confused,
and be able to properly avoid the Megonta�s attacks. Brief Invincibility is
another alternative, though less handy in that situation.

-----------------
[Note12] Notices
-----------------

-Much of this level�s difficulty comes from wandering into an area not knowing
what to expect and finding yourself quickly confused, or ambushed by Skreetles
or Nutskis, and repeatedly shot in the back. While I can�t dodge the attacks
for you, I can at least assure you that I won�t leave them unmentioned.
Have charge shots ready for the Cacaws in particular.

-Mudrones are pathetic until you make a simple mistake- say, firing your
charge shot before they�re vulnerable again- and lose 80% of your health,
because their beams require speedy and flawless sidestep chaining to avoid.
They are also a problem if your weapon is mostly defense and doesn�t deal a
lot of damage in few shots. Get on either side of them if this is the case;
though, this must be done after they�ve begun firing, as both the body itself
and beams will turn as needed on startup to keep you within range.

-Sprint through the circular enclosure with an Icy Aura sitting there,
ignoring the item, and don�t look back (at least not until you�ve rounded the
bend and killed the Nutski that pops up.) That item is not a reliable method
for dealing with the extremely erratic Skreetles and Cacaw that will join you.

-Taking a left at the first branching path while raiding the Depot Interior
eventually leads to a Mimicutie. This one frequently drops a weapon or power
when destroyed; while you can kill it from across the gap, a Skreetle and
Cacaw will spawn once you come very close to the chest and then approach the
jump. It takes careful and precise movement, but you can trigger the enemies
without activating the Mimicutie, which makes things easier.

-The final stretch of the Depot Exterior is a breeze if you can keep your
Cherubot intact. Do this by staying constantly on the move. There are a couple
attacks that will be impossible to avoid, such as a Meeba or Megonta�s tackle,
but the bot has enough health to at least shrug off a few of those.
Never stop shooting, and remember that you can knock problematic foes over.

-------------------
[Air12] Air Battle
-------------------

This is one of the easiest air battles in the game. Even when equipped with a
weapon that sucks during air battles, you can spend much of it just trying to
kill whatever you can. I will, however, recommend gliding once you first begin
speeding up, until the Trynamites and Nutskis have passed. You�ll have too
many shots to deal with if you�re not equipped to kill them immediately.
Resume shooting once the Badoots begin to approach.

You actually have full control over which points you're able to shoot at while
flying around the Reset Bomb. It isn�t quite as simple as holding a direction
to move to that point on the bomb, but it�s close. If no exposed points are
available, either begin to circle or hold a random direction until the bomb
begins to roll around in midair. Kill Nutskis and Bladers as you spot them.

Once the bomb is toast, poorer weapons will want to glide on top of using
their special attacks, once the Badoots begin approaching while current flows
between them. Not so much for them, but the shooting enemies that will join
them. Resume gliding once you behold the view of the Depot, as there�ll be
another storm of Trynamites and Nutskis.

Once you�re flying inside some corridors of some sort, your only threats will
be a few more single-file strings of Paragliders, and some Bladers that will
come from the right, close enough to melee you.

---------------------
[Land12] Land Battle
---------------------

Three Nutskis will appear on your left as you stroll along the path, and fire
once they�ve fluttered over to your right. You should be able to kill at least
two of them before that happens. Head into the little enclosure to meet your
first Bumpity Bomb. They�re knocked down pretty easily, but otherwise are fast
and pursue you doggedly; you�re basically forced to kill them before they
detonate in your face, which instead makes them detonate in midair harmlessly.
Do this by opening with a charge shot and then strafing or chaining BDCF.
Destroying the lone Bumpity Bomb will spawn a second, along with a Zert.

Once inside the Cherubot, your goal is to make it over to the chest on the far
end, without falling through any gaps into the rumpus already in progress.
Take out the three enemies up there (a Nutski will spawn behind you) and then
hop onto the platform that held the Pew Pew by building up your momentum from
the back of your own platform. If you try to jump without rolling for a
second, odds are you won�t make it.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Urgle x2, Skuttler x2, Skuttler Cannoneer
Wave 2: Zert, Belunka (Skuttler Cannoneer x2)

Your Cherubot won�t sneeze at any of these, and the Belunka will be slain well
before it can plop those minions onto the battlefield.

Don�t be afraid to destroy the walls blocking those Lithinium beams, but you
should only do so when you know the thing won�t turn toward you afterward, and
can kill it quickly. Really, going in all gung-ho with guns blazing is just as
effective as patience, if not moreso, but remember the two surprise Nutskis:
One spawns on the right, when meeting the first pair of flowers (you�ll turn
the corner and find two walls to hide behind;) another appears shortly
afterward, on the left, as you proceed to the wall that lies just beyond the
food sitting there. Go for the exploding seeds whenever you spot one.

Ah, the Mudrone. These things zap you for insane damage if you�re unable to
collapse them right away, but you can stay safe by immediately moving directly
to either side of its body (right next to the crystals) once those beams fire.
Fortunately, they�ll always drop food.

Take the right side of the electric fence and be ready to kill that Cacaw that
drops in 2/3rds of the way up. A Zert will have appeared on the other side.

See the Icy Aura sitting there? Ignore it and just run, run, run. A Cacaw will
drop in as you near the walkway on the other side, but ignore that, as well.
As you round the little bend, a Nutski will pop up on your left. Now it�s safe
to turn around and begin shooting, beginning with that Nutski, as it�ll shoot
pretty quickly. Hopefully the Cacaw and Skreetles haven�t followed you down,
because they�re the reason you ran like the dickens. Had you stayed and gotten
confused by the Cacaw, those Skreetles would have pummeled you relentlessly
while scurrying about, being nigh impossible to hit while confused. Should you
kill them, yet another two Skreetles will take their place. The safest way to
kill them (if you even want to) is to approach the circle slowly and shoot at
one as it stops moving, then immediately retreat, as those buggers stop moving
only so they can shoot! The Icy Aura is not reliable enough to warrant
sticking around, as you�ll be needing that health bar intact.

Don�t be eager to approach that Pew Pew, as a Cacaw will spawn on your left in
addition to the Bumpity Bomb that drops right in front of you. Simply retreat.
The middle fork will drop another li�l bomb for you to detonate.

Before taking the item from the rotating fence, quickly head left and kill the
Monoeyes engaging the Nutski, as they�ll see fit to shoot at you, also.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Boom Stomper, Skuttler x4
Wave 2: Captain Galaxy

The first wave is nothing you�re not used to. If you don�t kill the Stomper
right away, the Skuttlers will focus on it.

Now, Captain Galaxy. He doesn�t have much HP, but will disappear quickly (even
if you knocked him down) and warp to anywhere in the area until he attacks.
His comets are dodged similarly to that of a Bluster�s cloud attack or a green
Jitterthug�s projectiles, which as you�ll know is easier said than done.
Try having a charge shot ready when he appears, then immediately follow up
with DCF. Don�t stand in the middle of the room once he�s vanished, and even
though those comets move slowly, don�t try to just run away from them!

Down the elevator we go. As a rule, while most Underworld enemies will prefer
to target the Forces of Nature, you should give them a wide berth, as their
attacks can and will hit you instead. I refer to Daphne in particular.

As you enter the square, be ready to kill the Nutski to the left of the green
arrow, then immediately turn and take out the Nutski on the right. If you want
a shot at an item, take the path on your left, but be warned that it�s dropped
by a Mimicutie, who neither guarantees a drop, nor fights alone.

If you went for the Mimicutie, the other enemies won�t spawn until the trap
has been closely approached; the Smart Bomb won�t do much to the enemies, but
whatever. Try to kill that Cacaw right away, to allow you to freely sidestep
the Skreetle�s beam. Back to the main square, and take that arrow.

Another Cacaw will drop in as you approach the turn. The nearby Pew Pew is
only a problem if you managed to get confused. As you approach the spring,
you�ll interrupt another little squabble.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Pew Pew, Toxiecap
Wave 2: Meeba

The Pew Pew takes off more HP in less time, so kill it first. The Meeba is
more of an introduction and poses little threat; when it springs up, just move
to the location it jumped from and turn around, and shoot as it lands.
They can be knocked over like many enemies.

Yet another Boom Stomper to kill. Take the jump pad on your right and destroy
another Mudrone for a chest, then bounce back to the fork. The slide will plop
you right into an encounter with two Cacaws and a Megonta, so you had best be
ready for them. Playing Dead is the safest and most effective method, even if
you can only take down the Cacaws while under its protection. All three of
them happen to be vulnerable to Instant Death.

As soon as you take the jump pads up, you�ll be faced with a seed bomb, and an
assortment of enemies that spawn near it, including Bumpity Bombs and a Zert.
Immediately shoot the seed, which may not kill all of them; the survivors will
scatter and be easy pickings. The chest will drop a jump mat, and the pad that
appeared will bounce you right in front of a Nutski and Dibble Dop. Kill the
Nutski first, as it shoots faster, then run or sidestep as needed to avoid the
water bomb that was fired in the meantime.

Another fork; head left and deal with a few (non-problematic) Zerts as you
carefully make your way across that moving bridge to yet another chest.
The dark tunnel on your right contains a Lurchthorn. It is dealt with the same
as that which you fought toward the end of Chapter 11, and you�ll still have a
few seconds to safely unload on it.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Pew Pew, Dibble Dop
Wave 2: Boom Stomper, Monoeye x3

Another seed bomb, another short-lived enemy gang bang. You�ll earn some fruit
if you happened to need it. That elevator leads back to the surface, this time
for a REAL-

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Nutski x6, Dibble Dop x2, Zert
Wave 2: Meeba, Skreetle x2
Wave 3: Boom Stomper, Urgle x2

Immediately make a sharp left through that doorway and hop into the Cherubot.
Move in a clockwise motion along the perimeter of the room, gunning down each
little minion as you come across it, and you should easily lay waste to them
before they can shoot.

The second wave is the problem. Those Skreetles will continue to replenish the
fallen bugs until the Meeba is slain, and you can�t really do anything about
the Meeba�s charges, so just do whatever you can to get behind it and pummel
it relentlessly. You can knock the Meeba over, which leaves it stunned and
pretty vulnerable for a second. The Skreetles will vanish once it dies.

As long as the Boom Stomper isn�t too close once it lands, this is a piece of
cake. Focus on killing the Urgles, which won�t take long (they will be able to
move in close before dying, though;) aim for the sprout atop the Boom Stomper
once the two of you are alone.

Now, it was important to avert as much damage to that Cherubot as possible, as
it makes the path to the boss room so much easier. Do not stop moving for
anything, and continue to fire on your left, as two Nutskis and a Lithinium
will spawn and begin attacking. Grab the food if you need it, then move toward
the enclosure for an optional ruckus. If you don�t want the nearby chest or to
even deal with these guys, just make a beeline for the door and ignore them.

Afterparty!
Wave 1: Blader x2
Wave 2: Megonta, Lurchthorn
Wave 3: Captain Galaxy

The only real issue here is the Megonta x Lurchthorn; you�ll want to kill the
Lurchthorn first, before its segments can begin spamming missiles on your
mech, but this also means the Megonta will roll into you at the very least.
That inflicts substantial damage to the Cherubot, but if your earlier ruckus
wasn�t too sloppy, the attack shouldn�t even leave the Cherubot smoking.
Once you can focus on the Megonta, it�ll flip over in no time at all and be
killed very quickly. Captain Galaxy may warp quite a bit, but should not be
able to fire and, too, will die easily.

If you weren�t aware of the chest location, walk off the edge of the little
gap in this enclosure, and one will spawn in front of you.

Should you have found this level aggravating, rest assured, the boss will not
give you an ounce of the grief those Cacaws did.

------------------------
[Boss12] RESET BOMB POD
------------------------

Pop an Energy Charge and a Bumblebee if you�ve got �em, and just strafe.
Strafe like crazy. Strafe until the cows come home. Throw in some DCF or a
charge shot if you please, or spot one of the soldiers right by the edge of
the pit containing the pod. Once you�ve battered the minions around a bit and
have put one between you and the hole, it�s time to step up the assault and
hammer on that minion to increase the likelihood that it�s knocked into it.

Regardless, if you�ve got EC active, you can take down the exposed pod in just
a couple rounds of attacks, before it has a chance to re-shield itself.
Either way, this is not a difficult or time-consuming process to repeat.

If your weapon isn�t really suited for strafing, such as various Cannons,
you�ll need to resort to a bit of sidestepping and should avoid strafing
altogether, in favor of hitting multiple soldiers with your charge shots.
Slower weapons should avoid melee attacks by dodging backward, though you may
take a shot in the process; fortunately, their attacks are not hard-hitting.

Who was at the top of Viridi�s To-Kill list before this little escapade?
Was it Hades? Do you think he feels miffed, deep down, even though he
outwardly would appear as though he doesn�t care? Is Viridi so angry because
she�s so smitten with Pit that she can�t believe he would wreck something
belonging to his number one fan?


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch13] The Lunar Sanctum OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 14410 Hearts

Common Drops: Lancer Staff, Arlon Orbitars, Samurai Blade, Stealth Claws,
              Midnight Palm (Max of 5!)

This level is widely considered to be one of the most difficult in the game.
Its difficulty is pretty overstated, actually, though I will concede that
Dark Pit can be extremely problematic. Still, though, I�ve practiced this
level and beaten it on 9.0 many times, and I hope to use what I�ve learned to
make things go much more smoothly for you (Fun Fact: yes, I�ve had my fair
share of quick and embarrassing deaths while learning from my mistakes.)

It�s nice to be able to master this level, though, as it pays out quite a lot
in hearts, even without Heart Bonus, and often drops a lot of weapons.

My weapon of choice:

Boom Orbitars
R: 5
M: 0
V: 289
Shaking +1
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
HB +2

Powers: Autoreticle lv3, Quick Charge lv2, Brief Invincibility lv4,
        Playing Dead lv3

The stronger, faster, longer-range of your SCF, the better. Those are what
will ultimately be the deciding factor in the ease at which Pittoo and Arlon
are taken down. Fast and powerful charge shots will work for your
doppelganger, but Arlon demands a steady helping of that good 'ol SCF.

Even if you don�t have good SCF, I implore you to bring Autoreticle, as while
it serves absolutely no purpose anywhere else in the game, it makes Arlon a
thousand times easier. If you DO have good SCF, you also must bring Playing
Dead, without question. That should tell you how the boss fight is going to
play out, hmm?

Otherwise, I recommend Brief Invincibility, for the purpose of destroying the
very aggressive Lurchthorn right before the boss room, without taking any
damage; it also has some use in protecting you from the two enraged Clobblers,
should one come off the platform and get in your face. Of course, this is if
you decided to stay and kill them for a chest. I brought Quick Charge for this
purpose, given my Boomers� excellent DCS.

If you're hardcore or insane or practicing for Boss Battles and don't want
Autoreticle, then you should also pass on Playing Dead. Bring Energy Charge
and Bumblebee instead (good SCF is still a must, and high walking speed is now
crucial as well.)

-----------------
[Note13] Notices
-----------------

-Do not waste Playing Dead against Dark Pit. Not only do you need both of them
for Arlon, he sidesteps like a pro and you won�t get good mileage out of them.

-The second room of the moon surface motif immediately places two Pew Pews
before you. Do not kill them, as it�ll spawn a pair of extremely aggressive
Nutskis. Go around them without stopping, then turn to blast the Lithinium.

-Once you kill the Clobbler by the hot spring, a chest will spawn at the top
of that curvy slope, that the Lithinium sat upon. Extremely easy to miss!

-As mentioned earlier, killing the two Clobblers atop the spinning platform
spawns a chest, but this is more trouble than it�s worth for many weapons.

-You might want to go ahead and craft a 9.0-caliber Palm now, because there�s
a rather good possibility you will never want to play this level again.

-------------------
[Air13] Air Battle
-------------------

I�d rather hear Pit�s song incessantly than repeat the frigging Little Girl
and Dog segments of Chapter 18 each and every time I die.

The battle starts out simply and innocently enough. As Pit asks if Arlon is
one of Viridi�s commanders, fire a charge shot left-middle to wipe out a
triple-pack of Nutskis, and be ready to do the same on the right a few seconds
later. You�ll encounter Captain Galaxy in the air, now, and because he won�t
vanish, odds are you�ll have to deal with comets. They can be blown up just
like missiles, and it�s safe to try and do so with this one.

Keep your fire focused on the Sanctum itself, from which almost all enemies
will fan out. Also feel free to use both special attacks, as you won�t be
needing them again until the end of your trip. I typically feel compelled to
use just one, when Paragliders are attacking from multiple directions.

What worthless timing for those Recovery Orbs. You probably don�t even need
them right now, but whatever. You�ll face a few screens of Bladers, and should
be packing the firepower needed to take them down. Kill those closest to you
first; gliding shouldn�t be necessary.

As you fly over the moon surface, eventually you�ll encounter two Lithiniums
as well as two Captain Galaxies. Ignore the Lithiniums for now and focus on
the space dudes, the lower one first; if that comet isn�t quickly destroyed,
you may want to use a special attack. The lasers are easily avoided without
staying in a particular part of the screen (I never stop circling) though make
sure your flight path won�t intersect with the beams once they scroll up.

While I don�t think you should be here without great SCF, you�ll want to glide
while facing the two Mahva-Nutski-Trynamite clots if your weapon is lacking.
Once you enter the corridors, kill the two Bladers first, then try to pelt the
heads of the Lurchthorns. You�ll more than likely destroy most if not all of
their segments before you�re able to land enough headshots to kill them, but
no problem there. Another pair of Bladers will appear to interrupt, and while
you should punish their lack of manners, allow the Nutskis to slide until the
bony fish have exploded.

Once the camera pans behind you, give the Flage on the left a half-second,
then use a special attack. I find it quite difficult to kill both of them
before one can slash me, so I resort to exploiting the invincibility frames.
Keep firing as the camera pans back around, to net yet another Souflee kill.

Much like Chapter 4�s ravine, you can take lots of unnecessary damage from the
beams that stretch across. Stay centered (no circling) and simply lift up or
down to the floor as needed to avoid them. The enemies you encounter shouldn�t
require you to move left or right, but then, I�m equipped to kill them easily.

Until you�re about to fly through the weak spot on a gate, it�s safe to
circle, and you should do so when entering a passage with Nutskis. When you
fly through a gap situated at the top of a gate, have your reticle focused on
the bottom of the corridor, to quickly take out the two Pew Pews in the
following passage; when taking a hole in the right side of the gate,
immediately lower yourself to avoid the beam of a Lithinium situated directly
across from it. You may wish to use a special attack if you find yourself
overwhelmed, though you�re more likely to take damage via sloppy positioning
as you fly through the gaps.

As you enter the final area, be ready to destroy a comet from another Captain
Galaxy, and then a Pew Pew perched top-right. Feel free to use another special
attack, if you�ve got one.

---------------------
[Land13] Land Battle
---------------------

As soon as you drop down, unleash a charge shot and kill one of those Nutskis.
Begin shooting at the remaining one, but be ready to dash backward as that
Urgle rushes over to you (I hope you didn�t already back into the wall.)
As you run into the passage on your left, more Nutskis will hurry in and be
quick to shoot, so run in shooting, yourself. A FDCS followed by BDCF should
be an adequate counter.

In the room with that meteor, you�ll want to pan the camera above and to the
left of the meteor itself to catch a Nutski as it spawns along with that
Mudrone. However, if you miss, don�t go looking for it again until you�ve
collapsed the Mudrone, as the Nutski will inflict much less damage. If your
weapon isn�t equipped to down a Mudrone nigh instantly, don�t even look for
the Nutski to begin with. You have enough room to get behind or on the side of
the Mudrone if need be.

Fire a FDCS at the phony Pew Pew, because a real one is right on top of it.
Stand on its platform and try to kill the Flage from afar; if you shoot at it
and miss, it�ll notice you and begin to approach on its own, getting close
enough to shoot. To grab the chest behind that fake wall, don�t begin running
toward the wall until the moment you touch down on the sand (walk off the edge
of your platform normally; don�t sprint off of it.) This should allow even
slow weapons to reach solid ground before missing out on the chest. Pause at
the entrance to this alcove, afterward, and wait for a Souflee to zip past.

Some Nutskis will spawn to the lower-left of the grind rail, and will shoot,
but otherwise are not very threatening. As you ride around, shoot gems only if
they�re pink. The enemies situated about are also not a threat, though that�s
soon to come to an end.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Mudrone, Skreetle, Dibble Dop, Pew Pew
Wave 2: Mahva, Nutski x2

Once you collapse the Mudrone once, a Skreetle will drop into the corner
adjacent to it. The other two enemies will spawn as the one before it's slain,
and the object is to target and slay these enemies during the Mudrone�s
downtime, to prevent having multiple targets firing at once, and especially to
be able to focus on the Mudrone as soon as it�s active again.

I allow the Dibble Dop (corner opposite to Mudrone) to live long enough for the
Mudrone to rise and fall once more, as it has quite a delay before shooting.
The Pew Pew also appears near the opposite corner, but I�ll kill it as soon as
it spawns.

The Nutskis don�t make much of an effort to stay within the protection of the
Mahva�s shield, but they only shoot one at a time and spaced far enough apart
that avoiding them is just a matter of patience and diligence. You�ll get two
pieces of food in addition to the food dropped by the Mudrone.

Quickly hop onto the left grind rail and unload on the Lurchthorn�s head to
down it, then shoot only the first gem you come across to reach the door.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Toxiecap, Bumpity Bomb x2
Wave 2: Urgle, Pew Pew x2

The Toxiecap will spawn by the stairs and should be your first target, as the
bombs will be in your face and intercept all of your shots soon enough.
Once I�ve nailed the Toxiecap, I�ll spam BDCF and am usually able to kill the
bombs before they�re able to explode near me. If your weapon is weak, you
should instead try to keep them tumbling around with charge shots, which will
allow you to get away from them and attempt to stall out their fuses.
The Toxiecap will drop food.

Once the second set appears, I run toward the middle of the room and quickly
blast the Pew Pew by the stairs, then turn the camera to face the Urgle and
remaining cannon; more often than not, the attacks from those two coincide and
I am able to dodge both with a single backward dash, timed to the positioning
of the Urgle. If you�re close to the stairs, you should avoid them both.
Kill the other Pew Pew next. Yet more food will appear.

Remember the chest in the alcove on the left side of the first mirror room.
The two pieces of food in the third room are all you�ll get before facing your
bro Pittoo, so navigate the invisible platforms carefully.

Aaaaaand, here is where most Ch13 runs go to hell. Dark Pit is somewhat
aggressive, dodges like a pro, and inflicts tons of damage with his spammy
charge shots. The silver lining to this (I�m not going to even try to make an
atrocious pun for your reading pleasure, sorry) is that his shots have an
abysmal cancellation stat and are really, really easy to null. He also doesn't
have much health and can be quickly beaten through frenzied aggression of your
own, especially if you�re able to freeze him, or knock him down.

If you have a strong, rapid SCF, you can try using an Auto-reticle here, and
just keeping it focused on him (be wary of the reticle accidentally targeting
the control center as DP runs behind it.) Because his shots are so easy to
cancel, you�ll eat up the stamina of his charge shots quickly and pelt him
more quickly than he can sidestep. Feel free to add some DCF if it won�t spray
and hit the control center.

My favorite method, though, is to use powerful charge shots and simply nail
him at somewhat close range after he fires, ensuring hits, which knock him
into the air and allow me to pepper him with DCF. I stop shooting as he gets
up, then repeat the process. This works especially well with Cannons and
Staves, and is very effective with the Boom Orbs I�m using right now.

If you take the aggressive approach, at least make sure you sidestep his
shots while waiting for your own to charge. Damage is acceptable, but don�t
count on beating him before he can finish you if you play sloppily.
His charge shots do adhere to a predictable timing and you can make a habit of
firing as he does, nulling his shot and giving you a window to retaliate.
Either way, you don�t want to treat this like an endurance match and be too
patient with him, so pick a method of beating him and do it quickly.

There�s no need to be carelessly hasty with the control center, so just stick
to SCS and sidestepping as the counterattack approaches. Running also works.

Turn 90 degrees to your right when stepping onto the elevator, so you�ll be
facing the three Nutskis as you emerge. Be ready to sidestep, as they won�t
hesitate to shoot and will even be firing before the elevator has reached the
top. If you venture too far out, the Pew Pew will perk up and fire, so stay
back until the Nutskis are gone. Once Palutena sneezes, a Captain Galaxy will
appear near the location the meteor hit. Wait for it to appear (to not do so
will allow it to launch comets that WILL follow you and nail you in the back)
and go all out on the guy. Don�t worry about falling off the main columns.

If you grabbed that Boom Spear, you might as well use it on the Jitterthug
that will spawn at the top of the area, triggered by taking at least one piece
of food. The spear won�t make it launch three shots at you, so it�s safe.
Otherwise, kill it as you would normally, though be warned that you CAN fall
off the rear of this particular column; don�t retreat very far. Don�t forget
the chest opposite the door, by walking halfway around it.

The enemies in this first moon area do little other than move out of range of
your shots. Once you�ve killed the things you please, hop into the Exo Tank
and use it to effortlessly collapse the Mudrone. The tank is allowed through
all of the doors in this area, so don�t leave it.

Ignore the Pew Pews, as killing them spawns insane Nutskis that fire way too
often for your own good; instead, rove around them and begin shooting so that
your left shot nails the Lithinium. With it gone, quickly and carefully
position the tank so that it can go straight off the ramp (do not boost) and
land on the platform with the chest.

Continue straight beyond the chest, leaving the tank against the wall while
you dispatch the Bumpity Bomb and Boom Stomper yourself (which spawns two more
bombs a long distance away.) Don�t engage the bombs from here, as you run the
risk of perking up the Lithinium, which will be able to track you quite a long
distance with its laser. Back inside the tank, hug the left wall as you move
toward the door, making sure not to roll over the lenses in the ground; you�ll
have that Lithinium to kill as you turn around, this time pegging it with your
right shots. Without stopping, continue on to knock the Bumpity Bombs into the
chasm with a shot apiece, then quickly turn and kill the Trynamites before
they explode.

If your tank is smoking or destroyed, you can make a long walk back to the
start of this area and get a new one. I strongly suggest you do (destroy the
smoking tank with your weapon first, though.)

In the third area, leave the tank sitting on the edge while you carefully pick
off the two Zerts orbiting around the Megonta. The Megonta may notice you and
fire seeds or explosives, so be ready to sidestep them. When both Zerts are
down, get back into the tank, roll it off the edge, and immediately jump out
while it�s in midair. If you did as I told you, the tank will be safe as the
Megonta immediately turns and attacks, likely with a roll.

Killing that Megonta spawns a Lithinium on the slope, which you should quickly
turn and destroy with a FDCS. By not using the tank, you�ve ensured that you
have it intact for the one reason you took it all this way: easily killing the
Clobbler that drops in. Most players try to hide on the slope, but this is not
foolproof, or necessarily fast. The tank is both fast and extremely simple.
Just roll up to it, spamming your shots, and make slight adjustments as needed
to allow both shots to nail it. The Clobbler will puff up and die shortly
afterward. Wasn�t that so much easier?

Don't forget to venture up the slope on your right to grab the tiny chest at
the end, which spawned once the Clobbler was slain. Using my method of killing
the Clobbler, the chest is very easily missed.

The jump pad leaves you in a tight spot. While the Hugworm can cross the pool
of water even if you get out, you cannot, which means you�re going to have to
sidestep a grab attempt.. ..unless you can kill it in time, which is not too
difficult for certain weapons. My Boomers are able to (a BDCS and two barrages
of BDCF works.) If you know you can�t, rather than try to get out of the
water, shoot it once and patiently wait for it to swipe at you, which will
come from the left. Immediately sidestep once you see the body stretch out,
then resume shooting. Once you've dropped into the chasm, briefly hold back as
you fall, and then to the right.

Ideally, you will be standing on the right side of this hole, out of range of
the two Pew Pews positioned on the other side of the room. These will launch
explosives regardless of your position, so listen for the explosions before
stepping out from your cover. They�ll drop food when slain, but you should be
more interested in the item sitting in the alcove that was behind them.
Hopefully, it was a Dodge Token.

Facing two Meebas can be aggravating. Turn to the one on your right, first,
and approach as it charges, dodging forward through it. Whether it sprung up
or continued running, immediately turn and move toward it, blasting away (the
Meeba that was on your left should be charging now, take heed) and hopefully
killing it right then and there. The Shrinky Bean will be no help whatsoever
in this room, but the Dodge Token is a big help. Hopefully you aren�t rammed
at all, or at least only once, until one of them is killed.

Once your elevator ride stops, head down the stairs just enough to trigger the
enemies, then immediately go right back up. The Skreetle will not be able to
hit you from down there. Try to take out the Nutski to the right of the curved
surface as soon as you spot it; if you miss, forget about it for a second and
just be ready to destroy the Lithinium that spawns in the center of the curved
area. Once it and the Nutski are gone, you can carefully aggress the Skreetle.

Drop, don�t run, onto the spinning platform, and THEN begin running to the
other side. This makes it easier for slow weapons to cross without being
hung up on a mine, or inadvertently touching a Clobbler (which will still piss
it off.) If you plan to kill them, don�t just start shooting, but wait for one
to touch a mine; it will eventually. Then, go all out on it, using your most
powerful attacks, provided your most powerful attacks can take off that
boatload of HP in a short amount of time. While not as meaty as Clubberskulls,
Clobblers still take quite a punishment. Quick Charge is a big help for some
weapons, while DCF is enough for others. The Clobblers aren�t always able to
drop off of the spinning platform, but often will, which makes them a huge
threat; in this case, it�s best to immediately use Brief Invincibility, which
will protect you from the ensuing arm flailing for just a moment, and should
allow you to finish it off. If both of them are on that little strip, it�s
probably time to get the hell out of there (overpowered weapons can still
handle them, but it�ll require BI.)

One final hurdle, guys... Use a DCS to nail that Toxiecap, and do what you can
to finish it off before that Lurchthorn rounds the bend. Once that fish has
begun its turn toward you, it�s time to focus on it; use your remaining BIs,
if you brought them, to block the large number of missiles and seeds that will
be coming your way; strafe alongside it, pumping shot after shot into its
head, stopping only to replenish your invulnerability the moment it wears off.
The Megonta is not a difficult foe on its own, but the moment you step around
that center column, be ready to sidestep an explosive or wave of seeds bearing
down on you. You can�t fall off here, but the Megonta won�t roll off, either,
so be ready to dodge through its roll.

Don�t forget that intensity gate to the left of the boss room.

---------------
[Boss13] ARLON
---------------

The most stress-free method of taking down this snooty douche:

1. Keep your volume up.
2. Run to the center of the room and immediately activate Playing Dead.
3. Activate Auto-reticle right afterward, and begin spamming SCF.
4. Put the stylus on the touch screen only to quickly give it a little flick,
in the direction Arlon moves. The little special effect produced by your shots
hitting him will betray his location long enough to spot the direction.
5. With the sound on, you�ll be able to hear the first Playing Dead wear off;
..like you need to be told what to do next.
6. If your second PD wears off and he's still kicking, immediately use DCF
while under the effects of Auto-reticle, which typically finishes him for me.
7. If that still isn�t enough, you may need the second AR, and should now be
standing still, dashing only to avoid a shot that looks about to connect.

I have managed to defeat him without this tactic or being hit much, though it
must be said that I was using Artillery Claws, one of very few weapons
well-suited for the task. The excellent SCF and walking speed are what make
the fight manageable without resorting to cheese, though I also made full use
of Energy Charge and Bumblebee.

The best hit you'll land is with the charge shot you can plant on his noggin
the moment the fight begins. If this momentarily drops him to his knees, you
should follow up with two barrages of DCF at their ideal range. He'll then
rise, and likely kill the lights. From this point onward, avoid DCF unless he
is on his knees, as you must be able to sidestep at a moment's notice; many
of his attacks are incredibly quick on the draw. A brief rundown:

-Red darts: Dots appear at five points around his head and shoulders, then
immediately rush forward and converge on your location.

-Blue pellets: A cluster appears in front of him, then immediately rushes
forward. Unlike the darts, these have some limited turning ability.

-Chakram: A disc will appear overhead and is quickly thrown straight at you.
As his health dwindles, the chakram will split into three before launching;
apart from covering a wider spread, it's no more threatening.

-Satellites: I dunno what the hell these things are actually supposed to be.
He'll send three sets of three little blue balls shooting forward in a rather
wide radius, which then turn toward you. Very reminiscent of Pandora's
fireball attack, and avoided similarly by sidestepping over and over.

-Fireballs: Arlon will conjure a pair of fireballs in the sky, which then
descend while homing in on you, continuing the chase for several seconds once
they've reached the floor. He'll produce three once his HP has dropped below
half, and your charge shots will destroy them. Unlike his other attacks, these
move slow as piss, but then you'll have moves to contend with simultaneously.

-Starfall: Arlon leaps across the room, leaving three bright pink orbs behind
him, which quickly plummet to the floor and explode. Even in the dark, the
floor clearly indicates where they'll land. Whenever you see this move, you'll
easily be able to tell where he is.

-Crystal: A large radius of flaming energy twirls along the floor, homing in
on you, before a jagged crystal erupts from the center. Run away from it
instead of rolling through the flames.

-Laser: The only move I've seen him withhold until his HP is below half.
Arlon will simply create a laser beam which points upward at an angle, before
quickly arcing it straight down. While it will initially be right overhead, he
won't turn during its descent, so you must sidestep only once.

Quite a few attacks. While all of them are powerful, the darts and pellets are
easily the most dangerous, due to their speed and the amount of damage they'll
inflict even to high-OD weapons. As long as your SCF fires quickly enough to
hit him very frequently, you won't have a problem spotting his figure as it
darts amongst the shadows. Strafe clockwise or counterclockwise away from him,
though you're really just giving yourself enough room to spot danger.

While you should reasonably expect him to attack each time he stops moving, he
will often attack more than once per repositioning; keep your volume up to
hear his chuckling (still quite clearly heard over your conversation with
Palutena) and various grunts which indicate he will attack.

Remember, do not use DCF unless he's in his downed state. You have extremely
little time to react to some of his moves. While high walking speed is often
an adequate means of evasion, DCF forces you into a cooldown state and, should
you eat some darts/pellets, your lifebar will be in a sorry state afterward.
Do not be content with constant strafing, either, as numerous attacks
(especially in tandem with fireballs) will require actual dodges.

If this is your first attempt at a 9.0 run, or you're an inexperienced Palm
user going for the Treasure Hunt panel... trust me, just stick with the
Autoreticle + Playing Dead combo. Spare yourself the aggravation of failure
and wasted time, since I doubt you enjoyed the level leading to the boss.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch14] Lightning Battle OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 10910 Hearts

Common Drops: Phosphora Bow, Earthmaul Club, Shock Orbitars, Dynamo Cannon,
              Bowl Arm (Max of 3)

Some of the best music in the game, right here. Not a terribly difficult level
if you take it slowly, though the final third of the air battle can get really
nasty and leave you on the brink of death.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv4, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

Like Chapters 6 & 10, the boss battle easily makes up the most difficult part
of the level, and you may wish to gear up just for the purpose of smiting her
quickly and effortlessly. She has very little HP, and a method similar to
Arlon works really well.

Playing Dead and some solid SCF will down her in no time, though she does move
around quite erratically and may not be easy to hit. Trade Off should not be
used without Effect Recovery, as she can still paralyze you; Aeries Armor and
Libra Sponge are also quite effective.

The mobility my Palm offers gives it preference over my Boom Orbs. Those that
also do not plan on using the aforementioned powers will have a minimal amount
of headache so long as they�ve got a weapon with a good movement speed,
particularly walking, decent Stamina, and Effect Recovery. Bumblebee is also a
big help, and allows for a bit of sloppiness.

-----------------
[Note14] Notices
-----------------

-Be a little frugal with your special attacks; you want two of them stored up
by the time Palutena clears a path in the storm for you. It�s loaded with
Flages among other enemies, on top of lightning bolts, which make for a pretty
difficult flight.

-Once you�ve ascended the first staircase on land, shoot at the wall without
electricity coursing in front of it, which will crumble it. A chest lies just
beyond it, but is guarded by two Cacaws and an Urgle.

-The two chests found along the outdoor path (with the crumbling floors) are
both Mimicuties, that do not drop weapons or powers, but (rather meh) items.

-The second crumbling path you take will end with a Meeba charging at you as
you flee a portion of the destroyed floor. Be careful not to stop on or near
the soon-to-be hole as you make to avoid it, as being rammed and then falling
into the hole will be enough to kill you without a ton of HP.

-------------------
[Air14] Air Battle
-------------------

Things will be pretty smooth sailing until Phosphora finishes Thanatos off, at
which point the Underworld enemies will no longer be distracted by the Forces
of Nature. As long as you�ve been circling, the numerous shots launched by the
Monoeyes, Miks, Paramush and what have you should miss. The Lurchthorn that
appears midway may give weaker weapons some issues, as it flies in such a way
that makes nailing the head and focusing on individual segments difficult.
Resort to gliding if this is the case, since you won�t stop it from unloading.

Many more Paramush will quickly float in from the right and be dragged away by
the whirlwind, looping around if you�ve failed to kill them. They�ll soon be
accompanied by Paragliders and you don�t want to use a special attack here, so
do your best to pick everything off without help. Slower weapons should glide
once two Mahvas appear side by side, and resume shooting the moment Zerts
appear right in your face.

Once Syren-like shots begin bursting through the storm clouds toward you, stay
low and center to avoid those that come close enough to hit you. Some of them
will be carrying Nutskis, just for lulz.

Now that you�re flying through the storm itself, things will get pretty hairy.
The three lightning bolts that appear will pass on the far right, then the far
left, and then the far right again. Don�t stop circling as they near, but
simply cut your turn short and head the other way. The ideal occasions to use
your special attacks are at the beginning, with those Flages, and toward the
end of the third bolt, with several Bladers and more Flages to contend with.

As you near the temple, the only enemies following that last set of Bladers
will be Zerts, which appear very close to you and are easy to kill. There�s no
need to circle; you should just stay top-center while picking them off, which
will allow the beams from the tower to sweep harmlessly beneath you.

---------------------
[Land14] Land Battle
---------------------

Like Chapter 11, there will be some Nutskis just up those stairs that will
frequently pop into view and shoot, so tread slowly. If you give it a few
seconds, one will eventually flutter over the stairwell and shoot from up
close. Another Nutski will ambush you as you round that first corner.

As I mentioned earlier, that wall almost straight ahead, beyond those stairs,
can be destroyed, and an Urgle plus two Cacaws guard the chest beyond it.
Being confused isn�t a big deal as long as you can do something about that
Urgle, and you�re able to back out of the room once those enemies spawn;
I suggest trotting inside to trigger the enemies, blasting the Urgle, then
QUICKLY getting out of there. You've got a precious few seconds before one of
the birds shrieks, and they�ll be following you out into the corridor; keep
shooting while backing away, and you should remain unscathed. You�ll also have
enough room to dodge the Urgle�s flip, should it still be around.

While you were out here doing that, the red Jitterthug at the end of this
hallway was amusing itself; before you sprint to it, shooting, remember that it
may have gotten to the end of its red phase while you were farting around, and
will turn green in just a second. You may inadvertently piss it off and have to
deal with triple shots. Yikes. The Mega Marble there will make short work of
the Blader that accompanies it, and should be hit first thing, to kill it
before it takes off.

The damage from touching the sides of the elevator is quite menial, unlike the
beams of the Skreetles opposite you, so don�t be afraid to roll sideways into
the electricity while avoiding them. There�s some food just outside, anyway.

With your Happy Trigger, take the jump pad and immediately begin blowing
everything to smithereens. A total of six Trynamites will spawn before the orb
can be shot at your leisure; rather than focusing on the orb, I suggest
killing the Nutski and then choosing a side of the room from which to kill the
closest Trynamite and Zert, and then dealing with the rest. The Trynamites
will always spawn by the walls, so keep that in mind. DCF with multiple rounds
is effective in clearing a side of the room quickly, though SCS and SCF is
safer so as to allow you to dodge Trynamite shrapnel at a moment�s notice.

Leave room between you and the door to avoid the Urgle flip, and blow up the
train from the safety of the corridor. Notice the enemies buzzing around the
item that dropped, which means you go in shooting. Kill the Trynamite first.
Another will spawn a few seconds later, but should be alone by then.

Another train, another pair of Nutskis to kill right off the bat. Try to pick
off the Cacaw down there from this height, which will render it harmless.
As you approach those items, a red Jitterthug and two Flages will appear.
If you�ve got strong BDCF, just resort to spamming it, which will kill the
enemies without a headache; otherwise, make a beeline for that Spike Ball and
then treat the Jitterthug as you would normally. The Flages will be smacked
around by the item whenever they come near.

Before you work on that train, pan the camera left and kill those two Nutskis
by the tunnel exit immediately. As you wind your way up this path, destroying
each Bumpity Bomb will spawn another a little further on. You can�t fall off,
though there isn�t much need for dodging if you�re killing your enemies right
away.

Note that an Urgle will immediately rush you as soon as your rail trip is
finished. Killing the Toxiecaps from behind the corners will protect you from
the green bombs, but not the dark purples, as their blast radius is huge.
Remember to take the partially hidden path around the right boulder to a third
one, which is guarded by a lone Skreetle (that may annoyingly take refuge
behind the boulder itself.) When launched to the highest level, remember to
take out those Skreetles before you go around smashing crates! Grenades are in
the crate left of you, if you need one. Turn 180 degrees before dropping down
the hole.

If you turned around, you won�t be taken by surprise by the Lithinium that�ll
soon begin firing. Another will appear behind you and to your right.
The poor Clobbler there will be trapped by the overhang once puffed, allowing
for an easy kill.

As soon as you enter the next room, head right to spawn the Cacaw, and quickly
kill it. Do the same to the Nutski (it will likely be shooting by the time you
turn to face it, and it spams) and Dibble Dop on your left. On the far right
and left are Lithiniums you should destroy from down here. The alcoves are
safe from the electricity, but it�s just as easy to sidestep the currents.
Use the Grenade on the right side of the room against the pack of Flages and
Dibble Dop at the top, and the Dodge Token inside the alcove beyond the first
set of stairs will protect you further.

Around that first bend of the temple exterior is a Megonta, so be ready for
anything it dishes out, especially that powerful roll. It�ll drop some food.
Beyond it is a line of single-file enemies, easily dispatched before they have
an opportunity to do anything. The moment you spot cracked flooring, sprint.
You�ll have stored a charge shot by then, for the Trynamite at the end.

Beyond those Skreetles is a Lithinium, so be ready to quickly retreat into the
bend to wait out its laser. A Lurchthorn spawns once you�ve taken the jump
pad, but gives you more than enough time to kill it before it fires. Then come
the Mimicuties. Whether you trigger them or not, you�ll want to deal with the
Nutskis that�ll pop up and fire from a long distance away, and then the
Lurchthorn that spawns near the first trap once both are dead (this one will
not wait as long to fire, so shoot it from the front in order to notice when
the segments begin firing.) If you accidentally trigger a Mimicutie while
trying to nail the fish... have fun.

Three crumbling holes, three enemies. If you killed the second Mimicutie for
the Speed Boots it drops, you�ll cruise over the holes, and can take your shot
at the enemies as well; it�s safest to stick to the outside edge, though.
That Meeba has potential to be a real nuisance, but you�ll be safe as long as
you stop clear of the hole, and dodge properly. Don�t forget the tiny chest
behind the jump pad on the way to the boss!

-------------------
[Boss14] PHOSPHORA
-------------------

I�ll get the easy-peasy lemon-squeezy method out of the way first:

If you�re just going to pummel her with cheese, simply activate your powers of
choice and then unload whichever spammy move with which you plan to trounce
her. If you�re going to be using Playing Dead, at least run toward the center
of the room, first. She has very little health, though Trade Off users must
come prepared for paralysis, which will waste a lot of rampage time.

If you want to do this without much power consumption, she�s fought somewhat
similarly to Dark Pit, though she allows for plenty of strafing and SCF, and
will require you to rotate the camera frequently. All she�ll really do from
the get-go is create three sparks in a row, which will race toward you after a
split second; zip to a point on the floor and fire a straight line of small
bolts; and, easiest of all to avoid, a large pink ball of electricity, which
will home in on you.

If you keep a bit of distance, you can spot the spark triplets quickly enough
to stop shooting and roll, while the straightforward attack is avoided merely
by moving a little to the side as it�s fired. The pink ball of electricity can
easily be run from, as it is neither fast nor relentless. You may also shoot
it, but you should be saving your charge shots for Phosphora.

Rarely, she�ll launch five huge yellow bolts of lightning, which fan out from
her. At least three of them will quickly target you, and you should do your
best to sidestep them, as they�re quite strong and guaranteed to paralyze.

Once she�s taken a beating, she�ll add a few more attacks to her repertoire.
She�ll also speed up a bit, keeping you on your toes. That said, these moves
are not very complex or difficult to spot. A rundown is as follows:

-Charge: A literal charge attack. She�ll strike herself with lightning, and
then rush at you after striking a pose and twirling.

-Spark triplets 2.0: A fat yellow bolt of electricity will make a short arc,
then split into three sparks as it hits the floor, which target you.

-Thunderdome: Following a few seconds of charging inside a clearly visible
area marked on the ground, she�ll create a field of electricity within.

-Perimeter shock: Lightning will encase the room and a couple bolts will shoot
out from her, followed by shots from each point on the walls, which target
your immediate location.

While the spark triplets are replaced with the newer version, she�ll still use
every other move seen up to this point, which creates many possibilities;
that said, she�ll spam the triplets, straight blue bolts, and pink ball like
no tomorrow, so the other attacks won�t seem too common.

As for her big perimeter attack, try to sidestep as soon as you see the walls
covered in golden bolts, and again right afterward, as the shots will then be
fired from the walls.

Of course, the main thing that makes her a pain is her very quick, erratic and
near-constant movement. She�ll pause only briefly to attack, and then it�s
back to zipping every which way two or three more times, before using another
attack. It�s important to keep spinning that camera 90 degrees or however far
it must go to keep her within sight, as you won�t want to burn up those
Effect Recoveries too quickly through failed dodges. Bumblebee should last
plenty long as long as you�re diligent with your camera and strafing.

If your SCF is a little too slow or she isn�t being nice and using attacks
with a little more stationary positioning, using DCS will also work, though
you don�t want to get into the habit of running around the room while lining
up shots. Still, Palms and Claws give plenty of Stamina and there isn�t a big
risk of burning it all up so long as you give yourself a second or two to
replenish it every so often.

Her attacks are pretty fast, but clearly telegraphed nonetheless and are all
dodged with simple sidesteps. You can avoid the vast majority of her attacks
by merely flicking the control pad during each of her pauses, which will often
clear it. She�ll be helpful in keeping distance between the two of you, thanks
to her squirrely behavior, which makes attacks easier to spot in time.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch15] Mysterious Invaders OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 10420 Hearts

Common Drops: Aurum Club, Jetstream Orbitars, Aurum Blade, Artillery Claws,
              Cutter Palm (Max of 3)

While getting off to a rough start, this level quickly approaches joke levels
of difficulty despite the generally ramped up enemy strength. Unfortunately it
is not very lucrative despite its number of chests, two of which Mimicuties,
as we will later learn was a dick move by the Lord of the Underworld himself,
not about to let the Aurum steal credit for pulling a dick move. Speaking of
Hades, he also makes his priceless :O facial expression numerous times.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv3, Bumblebee lv3, Playing Dead lv3

This level has no Rumpus Rooms and mostly optional fights, so your powers can
be geared toward steamrolling the level, and rendering the joke of a boss even
less threatening than it is. The powers I�ve brought are all that are really
necessary to accomplish this, though you may like Brief Invincibility for the
purpose of killing Xonemes risk-free (should you plan to even fight them.)

However, I will say that weapons with good walking speed are a big help in
avoiding unnecessary damage, as the boss room features enormous portions of
damaging floor, which you may avoid without needing to stop shooting.

-----------------
[Note15] Notices
-----------------

-When you head inside a door for the first time, right around that corner will
be a Sio. Don�t walk around it, so as to block the black hole it�ll launch.

-The chest found inside the room with floors that rise to block you is not
only a Mimicutie, but setting off the trap will drop you into an enclosure
with Quoils, which inflict Spin and will be your death sentence if you're hit.

-Speaking of this room, the two items found within can be taken out of reach
by inadvertantly blasting the red switch nearby, and by approaching the hot
spring from the front.

-The chest sitting before the winding ramp during the Exo Tank segment is also
a Mimicutie.

-The Baglo found during the grind rail segment will spawn a chest once slain,
though you should use Playing Dead to safely kill it.

-------------------
[Air15] Air Battle
-------------------

The squirrely shots fired by Tribytes are almost as bad as Zurret shots in
midair, due to their squirrely movement. Wide circles are the safest way to
avoid them, though a fast weapon also helps. Jyoks provide the obligatory
missile attacks, but often appear in much larger groups than the other
missile-firing enemies do, so it�s important to have your reticle over the
cursors that will appear before the Jyoks themselves become visible and
vulnerable. Quoils in air battles simply rocket forward on predetermined
paths, but are easily avoided by circling and shooting right ahead of you.

As Pyrrhon makes his grand entrance and you zoom low over the island, you
won�t be in any danger of making contact with the structures, overhangs, or
floor, so keep moving in a wide, almost rectangular pattern. There will be a
ton of Tribyte shots coming your way, so regular circles won�t always cut it.

The Quoils coming out of the walls have little chance of hitting you, but
don�t let them obstruct your view of the Tribytes that�ll pop in and fire.
Since you likely had no reason to use a special up to this point, why not use
one now? Weapons with slower SCF will actually benefit from one right now.

Once you�ve passed the huge clusters of rubble, Blits will eventually take
positions on the sides of the screen and sweep their lasers to the other side;
kill them from top to bottom and stay up there. The Plixos (panels forming
abstract art of sorts) will disappear and leave clusters of Quoils in their
stead if you don�t destroy them quickly, but this won�t be possible for
shorter-ranged or slower weapons.

---------------------
[Land15] Land Battle
---------------------

Okay, these first few rooms can get pretty painfully messy. As you venture out,
Tribytes will begin moving in from the right, but the real nuisance here is
the Blit that will continue to spawn until the red core on that wall has been
taken out of commission. The Blit�s laser has a very long reach and will angle
itself toward you, requiring chained sidesteps to avoid. Try destroying the
Blit first thing, and then sidestepping the Tribyte shots, taking out whatever
you can until the Blit returns. Bumblebee lasts a really long time, and may be
of some use to you.

Destroying the Kolma in this area will then spawn a Xoneme; while they're very
annoying to fight, there�s another Blit that�ll spawn indefinitely until the
red core is destroyed, so it isn�t your only problem. Like the previous room,
try taking out that Blit first, then the Kolma (staying on its flat side will
help avoid its shrapnel) and then quickly take out the core. The Xoneme can be
run away from pretty easily, though don�t let it sneak up on you.

Either way, run into the next room shooting, as a few Tribytes will fly into
the center. You can score some food via the Treasurefish on the left.

By approaching those stairs, a Sio will drop down. As long as you stay beneath
this ledge, you�ll have a degree of protection against its lasers, but don�t
stay in one place, either. Strafe as you destroy the three enemies up there.

Through the door, stay still and kill the three Tribytes just ahead, then
slowly approach and see what the Sio is doing. The corner will block its
black hole, but it will still hover over the pit, past the corner, and can fry
you from there. An attack with knockback can make it drop into the chasm.

Zaurum will continue to spawn while that huge core is active, but if you took
out the two Tribytes first, they pose no threat.

Approach the jump pad to raise a section of the floor, but don�t destroy that
core! Carefully kill the Xoneme, and then you may bounce up and walk across to
the now-raised platform with your weapon, power, or Spike Ball atop it.
Ignore that chest unless you want to face a Mimicutie and Quoils for no gain
apart from hearts (you can trigger the floor and not the chest, to kill the
Quoils without having to deal with Chun-Li), then work around the right of the
hot spring, so as to nab the item sitting in the alcove behind the water.
Approaching from the front will raise the spring, blocking it off.

You can clear the ramp and get the chest on that platform without boosting, so
don�t bother with it. Either destroy the enemies you encounter on the ramp
right away or zip past them, as they�ll quickly blow up your tank if you idle.
Ignore the Claxis on the way to the intensity gate, for the same reason; also
note that a Xoneme will drop in while you plunder the chest inside.

I�m not certain that any of the enemies encountered on the grind rails can
hurt you, because I�ve never waited to find out (Quoils will follow you from
behind on the second rail.) Do kill that Baglo for a chest if you�ve got
Playing Dead, but ignore it otherwise. On the next platform, quickly blast the
Jyok right ahead of you and then spin the camera to locate the other one,
or rather, the missile it will have fired, had it not also already been in
your sights. At least you�ll get some food if you take a hit.

You�ll be safe from the Kolma�s rolling while atop this platform, but not the
Xoneme that will soon appear, which makes Brief Invincibility handy for this.
You can always make a beeline for the door, but killing every enemy will spawn
a chest, so it may be worth it. If you only want weapons and already have
found three, don�t even bother.

Once you pass the set of food that appears (currently out of reach) a Claxis
will be waiting nearby. These are capable of shooting everything in the Aurum
book at you, and will launch shots in sets of three in quick succession,
making them deadly for anyone bungling their sidesteps. You can collect the
food after killing it, and the rest of the level is quite tame from here;
you�ll have a Blit hiding behind a Rezda, but will give you a few seconds to
destroy its protection before it can fire. If you�ve got Energy Charge and a
lot of health, you can test your weapon�s damage capabilities against that
Baglo, then use the Drink of the Gods. Some weapons will be able to handle it
all right.

--------------------
[Boss15] AURUM CORE
--------------------

Your main sources of damage will come from the little shots fired by the
turrets that spawn by the core itself and along the back wall, and by the
floor itself (the sections that become heavily pixelated.) The turrets do not
have a lot of health, and the shots themselves are somewhat slow and easily
cancelled by your own SCF.

All you need to do is strafe continuously, firing at the core and making brief
detours with the reticle to pick off turrets and shots. If your weapon�s range
will allow it, stay toward the back of the room so as to more easily spot
turrets along the wall, as they'll otherwise easily nail you in the back.

Once the room begins flashing and the alarm sounds, the core will produce
three large balls that rotate clockwise around it. These explode on contact
and inflict moderately high damage, but move slowly and otherwise are not a
real problem.

If you�ve got Playing Dead, just plop down and fire away. You may need a quick
dash to the side to quickly get off of a pixelated piece of floor before it
damages you, and shots from behind will quickly eat your Bumblebees, but this
�boss� does very little and won�t deplete your health quickly unless you don�t
bother to cancel the shots.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch16] The Aurum Hive OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 14900 Hearts

Common Drops: Scorpio Staff, Aurum Orbitars, Optical Blade, Aurum Palm,
              Rail Cannon (Max of 3)

The air battle will be significantly more difficult than the previous chapter,
though the land battle is still extremely easy, featuring a boss that is even
less of a challenge than the Aurum Core. While the level features numerous
Rumpus Rooms, the most difficult one is optional and two of them are a breeze
with the Aether Ring intact. This level is great for farming hearts.

My weapon of choice:

Boom Orbitars
R: 5
M: 0
V: 289
Shaking +1
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
HB +2

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

Because the boss is on-rails, SCF or SCS will be your only method of attack.
You�ll also do a lot of fighting inside an Aether Ring or on a grind rail, so
your power set is not particularly important, though you might like
Brief Invincibility for the Xonemes, and Bumblebee for the Rumpus Rooms you
must face without your vehicle. Quick Charge may be useful for the Generator.

My Booms are much better at destroying missiles than my Aurum Palm, but there
is little to consider when choosing my weapon for this level besides its
general usefulness in Solo Mode. So, I�ve taken these for their HB mod and
increase in range and power, as mobility is often moot.

-----------------
[Note16] Notices
-----------------

-Taking the disappearing floor to the chest toward the beginning will always
yield a Power-Up Drop, which should be used to kill the Baglo nearby without
incident. That Baglo will usually drop a weapon or power.

-The final alcove in the room with the Aurum vehicle plowing everything in its
path (the second alcove you may enter by shooting a pixelated wall) contains
an Aurum Urgle. Don�t use it.

-The first grind rail on the left in a set of three will lead to the optional
Rumpus Room, difficult but containing a Treasurefish along with the enemies.

-Taklax won't open up during land battles if you are invisible, which wastes
your Playing Dead and forces you to brave its barrage of shots the manly way.

-------------------
[Air16] Air Battle
-------------------

Remember, wide circles along the edges of the screen for all those Tribytes.
Fortunately, they enter the screen in single file and are easily killed.
If your SCF can�t keep up, use a special attack once the Jyoks spawn en masse.

Rozzes fly on predetermined paths and inflict crazy amounts of damage if they
crash into you. They�ll bowl right past at high speeds, so you�ll need to know
where they�ll go ahead of time; stay at the bottom of the screen and swerve
left or right in rhythm, though after that fourth Roz (which you avoided by
moving right) stay over there, as the next one will still hit the left side.
Then continue swapping sides as normal.

Once the clones begin appearing, following those Rezdas will be some Miks that
swing around to the left and then approach, whipping their tongues once they
are within striking range. Have your weapon firing at the left-middle as they
come around and kill them before they come near.

You�ll need to move left and right to avoid the pixelated zones the clones
are produced within, and as Palutena says �Uh-oh� keep your fire directed to
the far left-center, as the enemies will approach from that side.

Ship weak points may be lucrative in hearts, but Pit�s vulnerable heinie takes
precedence. Don�t go for them while enemies are present and shooting. As Hades
mocks the Aurum, two Blits closely followed by two Claxis will be attacking in
tandem, and you may want to use a special attack here. You may also want to
use one against the Xoneme that follows, though this will almost certainly
prevent you from also destroying the weak points.

Glide from this point on if your SCF is poor, though you might not have even
made it to this point without it; the Taklax fires rapidly and is joined by
several other enemies. Maintain rectangular movement because of the Tribytes.

---------------------
[Land16] Land Battle
---------------------

Bwoo! Bwoo! Bwoo! An Urgle, two Skuttlers, and two Quoils will be behind that
gate and attack in unison, albeit at very different speeds. Your only threat
here is the Urgle, so stand still and wait for it to come to you. The Quoils
will continue to appear inside the gate and dart forward until they�re killed.

The Tribytes and Monoeyes behind the next couple gates can and should be
killed by abusing the tactic of shutting the doors to block their shots,
though you�ll also have to draw the Monoeyes out from some alcoves. Some food
is opposite the Baglo at the end of the corridor.

Aurum Shemums inflict paralysis instead of poison, but aren�t any stronger.
Pick them off as you see them while standing next to each vase with the Spike
Ball. The Miks ahead are no problem, though be careful not to roll into the
pixelated ground as you avoid their attacks (they�ll both shoot and whip.)
Run along the vanishing walkway unless your walking speed is sufficient, which
will allow you to pick off the Monoeye that passes for the hell of it. Use the
Power-Up Drop up there to kill the Baglo for what is hopefully a weapon.

Dropping down, you'll then meet the first of several Biotas. While Palutena
makes it sound like ranged attacks are ineffective, this is not true; hitting
the balls back at it merely speeds up the process. Be careful when using dash
attacks on the orange ones, as swinging too late will still hurt you.

Oddly, Quoils can�t be damaged until they�ve dropped and are spinning.
Speaking of spinning, those fans should be run past only when the gap is
completely flat because, despite there clearly being enough space to run
through, if an angled piece is still close to Pit, it likes to treat it as a
hit. Regardless, there�s plenty of food at the end, so don�t sweat any damage.
The fans will block the Urgle�s rush, but not cancel it, as you may notice.

I always skip the first two alcoves and go straight for the second one on the
left, which contains the wall you can blast away for a chest. Do the same to
the wall up a little ways from here, which will become your next safe spot;
I then run for the exit on the far left, rather than go for the alcove that
contains an Urgle, which will likely successfully ambush you. The Treasurefish
following the vehicle may take several attempts to shoot.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Blit x3
Wave 2: Kolma x2
Wave 3: Zaurum, Aurum Urgle x2

Two Nukleen will crash the party, but the waves themselves will spawn whether
they're present or not. Immediately hop into your Aether Ring on the left and
and get onto the spinning floor, which will take you under the Blits (and away
from their lasers, of course.)

The Kolmas are quite easy to nail in their sides now that your maneuverability
has vastly improved, but since this is the only Aether Ring you�ll get, avoid
moving in front of it to keep the shrapnel from touching it.

Urgles may not be knocked down by the shots, but you�ll move backward quickly
enough that they won�t be able to flip you. I try to kill the Zaurum first.

Once inside the room with transparent walls that open and shut, you�ll need to
get in the habit of quickly tilting in the opposite direction to kill your
momentum and keep from touching anything. Once you�ve reached the little
upward slant, wait on it for the closer of the two blockades to slam down and
lift, then floor it into the next room.

If you destroy the Nukleen during your descent, hug the wall (and don�t let it
sink too low before shooting) to keep its explosion from touching the ring.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Sio, Aurum Monoeye x2
Wave 2: Zrink, Quoil x4
Wave 3: Biota, Tribyte x2

There�s no need to move into the center of the room at all, and rolling over
those spinny things on the floor will hurt Pit directly. Just keep moving left
and right between the walls right in front of the door you just came through.

The black hole launched by Sio will have no effect on the Aether Ring. Whee!

Unlike in air battles, that Zrink will shoot at you, and fairly often.
It, too, will move left and right erratically much like yourself, but
nonetheless is not difficult to hit. With it down, you can carefully approach
the Quoils to bait them to come down.

Turn and kill both Tribytes as soon as they spawn, and then get back over to
your side of the room and resume the left-right movement, occasionally moving
toward the Biota to prevent shots from homing in on your side. The Aether Ring
will take many shots to destroy, but there�s no risk to yourself.

Grind rail time. While the Monoeyes will shoot at you if you don�t kill them
as you spot them, the real threat comes from the Blits that take cover behind
some Rezdas, once Viridi�s Bladers show up to help you kill them. You can jump
over the beams as they sweep across the rails (the front one moves left to
right; the one behind it sweeps right to left), but this takes careful timing
and is not easy to do. Strong weapons can kill them before this happens.
If you don�t want to face an optional, moderately tough Rumpus Room, stay off
of the leftmost rail.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Aurum Skuttler x4
Wave 2: Zaurum, Sio, Aurum Mik x2
Wave 3: Xoneme, Claxis

A Treasurefish will prowl the far end of this massive platform so long as
there are enemies. Don�t be quick to approach it, though, as you�re safest
while this far back.

The second wave is where you have to start paying attention. Kill that Zaurum
ASAP and then retreat again, to keep that Sio from perking up. Kill the Miks
patiently, then engage the Sio. You have plenty of room to run away from the
black hole, but must begin sprinting as soon as you see it fired. Try running
toward the Sio�s side, as the black hole does not loop around easily.

The Claxis will be very far back and, again, should not be engaged until it�s
the only thing left. The Xoneme will eventually make its way to you, and
you�ll have plenty of room to bait it while also retreating from its strike
zone.

Hopefully the two pieces of food will be enough to get you through the final
ruckus. As you ride that last rail, be ready to shoot the Rare Treasurefish at
the very end of it.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Xoneme, Tribyte x2, Blit x2
Wave 2: Nukleen, Zaurum, Tribyte x2
Wave 3: Rezda, Taklax, Biota

That GODDAMN Xoneme. They�re annoying enough on their own, but now you�ve got
other things shooting at you in a room that is not all that large. Try to stay
away from it while killing the Tribytes first thing; Brief Invincibility
really helps here, particularly if you want to get rid of the Xoneme ASAP.
The Blits will roll around in midair in cube form, before hovering a short
ways above the floor and firing straight down. They don�t pose much threat.

Try to save the Nukleen for last, if only because confusion will make it nigh
impossible to avoid the blast radius. Kill the Zaurum ASAP of course, and then
avoiding the Tribytes� squirrely shots is just a matter of seeing them coming.

That Taklax is your first target, and the Biota�s balls move so slowly that
you can easily deal with them following each Taklax barrage. Stand still until
it opens up, then be ready to sidestep five times in quick succession.
Right as it closes and opens are the best times to nail the thing with charge
shots. From there, the Rezda and Biota are sitting ducks.

-------------------------
[Boss16] AURUM GENERATOR
-------------------------

Most weapons will likely want to get onto the red rail from the get-go.
From there, simply put your reticle over the generator, and... shoot.
When the rail swerves and takes you out of range for a second (if at all),
you should be able to charge a shot by the time you�re back within striking
range of SCF.

You can shoot the large Tribyte-like things that spawn, but they do incredibly
little damage and will not delay the destruction of this thing. The walls it
throws up do next to nothing, also.

The conversation during this battle is very amusing, though, if the generator
lasts long enough to listen to all of it.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch17] The Aurum Brain OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 11250 Hearts

Common Drops: Laser Staff, Aurum Bow, Raptor Claws, Compact Arm (Max of 3)

My favorite of the Aurum levels, and one of my favorite levels, period.
This is a fun one, though you�ll come to despise it if your standard 9.0
weapon does not have extremely good SCF. The air battle gets very intense
toward the end, as does the last leg of the Centurion segment.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

Because the land battle is treated as on-rails, your weapon will have improved
attack capabilities, most notably its damage; with SCF that excels in air
battles, you�ll be at a great advantage, though you�ll need to know where a
bunch of specific enemies will appear and what they�ll do. Strong, long-range
DCF is also a huge asset on land, though weapons with slow DCF or fewer than
three shots per burst should not rely on it. The slower your shots, the more
important it is to fire preemptively.

As for powers, the cheesy way to beat Aurum Pyrrhon is to use Playing Dead
twice and then Trade Off, which will end this fight quickly and effortlessly.
Without them, a setup similar to mine will work well, as Bumblebee is very
helpful during his battle and Brief Invincibility has some great choice uses.
Energy Charge will make the land battle even more of a snap, provided your
weapon has a quick rate of fire.

While Bumblebee alongside Energy Charge and great SCF make you an extremely
strong and well-protected angel, I suggest you save all BB uses for Pyrrhon.

-----------------
[Note17] Notices
-----------------

-Sio are normally pitiful in air battles, until you face the one from far away
during Pyrrhon�s hostile takeover; if your weapon lacks the range to kill it
before it fires a black hole, you will be susceptible to serious damage from
the other enemies. Use a special attack if this is the case.

-Keep your volume up so you can hear Palutena warn you at the various points
enemies approach from behind or all sides.

-Do not try to roll through the lasers inside the hive; bounce over them.

-While many enemies will primarily target the Centurions during the final
stretch, Aurum Fire Wyrms will kill them nigh instantly. Target them with
extreme prejudice.

-When killing the Wyrm that flies in from the front and on your right, be
aware that a Xoneme will lower itself onto the platform immediately afterward,
and if you stay toward the front, you�ll be right in its strike range.
You won�t see it coming, either, for that matter.

-------------------
[Air17] Air Battle
-------------------

Until you behold the exterior of the Aurum Brain, there�s really nothing to
worry about; as Pit remarks on its massive size, though, a number of Blits
along with Claxis and Monoeyes will begin attacking. I typically have a hard
time avoiding damage, and prefer to use a special attack. Hold off on using
any more of them.

This level really picks up once you�re staring at the Brain. Forget about
shooting it; you�ve got enemies to deal with. Following the Rezdas will be a
few waves of Tribytes, starting from the hole in that little... rod... thing
poking out on the left side. Kill them as they approach, and then immediately
direct your fire to the right and top, where the next two waves will appear.
Remember to keep your circles very wide, but also be on the lookout for the
Blit that will appear top-center while you�re dealing with the Tribytes.

From the moment those two Taklax appear, you�re going to be under very heavy
fire from large groups of enemies, until the air battle is finished. Your real
problems come in the form of tongue-lashing Miks that�ll pop onto the screen
from the right, already swinging; they stay high, though, so instantly drop
the moment you spot them (though good weapons will remove them instantly.)
When you spot your first Mik in the center following those Taklax, that is the
time to move to the bottom of the screen. After the Sio spawns its black hole,
you�ll deal with tongues from both the right and left; the left one sweeps
low, and these are amidst enemy fire, so I prefer to use a special.

Apart from the enemies following the Sio (which is extremely dangerous for
weapons with very, very short range, like Viridi Palms) I also like to use a
special attack once Pit says "Yah! This is intense!" This is arguably the
easiest place to be hit during the entire segment, as three Tribytes will
appear along the top of the screen, in close proximity, and rapidly launch
shots.

You may also like to use a special attack against the large number of Jyoks
that appear and spam their missiles, once Palutena makes a failed attempt to
save Pit. If you�re using a weapon that destroys missiles very easily, such as
Boom Orbitars, this will be a walk in the park.

Things do get easier once Viridi drops a reset bomb on the exterior; if you�re
still moving in wide circles, the swarm of Tribyte shots aren�t an issue (lay
off the fire when you have four or more shots approaching, though. This tends
to be necessary to avoid all damage.) Large charge shots are very effective in
killing off entire packs of them at once, and this segment groups many of them
close enough to do this; Zrinks and Rezdas will leave really tight clots of
enemies when slain, and Tribytes will often appear in the center, in packs of
four or five.

Now, even if you�re clinging to a sliver of life, things get much easier from
here, and will stay that way for a while.

---------------------
[Land17] Land Battle
---------------------

While you scored only a measly burger and can barely move, the enemies will
appear in very small groups (aside from Quoils) and only directly in front of
you, making them very easy to kill before they can do a single thing. Do note
that even when rocketing into you, Quoils will now inflict Spin status. Try to
shoot Quoils in the order they appear while keeping the reticle straight ahead
of you. Speaking of shooting things in the order they appear, this also goes
for Blits, which almost always approach in their invulnerable cube form.

Even as your platform increases in size twice more, the flow of this level
does not change, and almost all of your enemies will not only approach from
the front, but give you enough time to kill them as they do so. It�s best to
use SCF as often as possible, to give yourself ample time to react and dodge,
though DCF should also be spammed on more distant and/or meaty enemies.

Rather than detail the land segment as one huge Rumpus Room, I�ll provide some
guidance on the less generic or simple encounters.

Almost as soon as you get a bigger platform, some ground enemies will appear
on it, namely a Skuttler and Zaurum, the latter of the two on your right.
It�ll confuse you very shortly, so be ready for it and kill it first.

You haven�t met many Jyoks on land up to this point, but missiles are among
the most powerful attacks that can hit you during this segment, and you must
kill them the moment you see those thin triangles appear. Two of them will
accompany a Biota shortly after you�ve killed the Skuttler/Zaurum combo.

Remember that Back Shields will protect your front during BDCF. It�ll come in
handy!

The Dodge Token dropped will be of immediate help, as you�ll quickly meet a
Taklax with a Mik on each side. The Taklax will already be primed to spam its
shots, so kill it first, but count on at least one of the Miks to swipe its
tongue; using DCF to kill the Taklax will put you in a cooldown state and may
leave you vulnerable by the time the tongue-lashing commences.

Dohz spheres that haven�t become actual lasers will still take form and target
you after the UFO has been destroyed, so be mindful of that. Despite the Boom
Spear found inside and your own barrage, it�ll likely produce at least one
before exploding. At close range, you don�t have a lot of time to react, so
count on sidestepping two seconds after spotting those balls of light.
You�ll get a shot at a Rare Treasurefish upon exiting the tunnel.

Palutena will warn you that enemies are coming from all directions as soon as
you�re outside again. That�s your cue to turn 90 degrees to the right and
greet the three enemies there, then turn another 90 degrees and greet a second
set. Turn 90 degrees right yet again, and one more set shall fly up, among
them an Aurum Specknose. There are no walls for their bombs to ricochet off
of, but they are still more dangerous than Tribytes. You can resume facing the
Aurum Brain, now.

As you�re sandwiched by the ships, a Rezda will take position in front; remove
it immediately, since a Taklax and two Tribytes will be right behind it.
Because the Tribytes will be quick to fire, you should kill them first.
This gives you freedom to sidestep the Taklax barrage without finishing your
maneuver right in the path of a squirrely shot. More pairs of Tribytes will
replace the fallen ones, but you should be able to kill the Taklax by then.

Pyrrhon Creed Number 427 is harmless so long as you�re not standing on the
sides of the platform, which will result in your being burned. Simply don�t
move from the center, and you�ll be fine.

This is where the land battle gets a lot tougher. Enemies will now target the
Strongarms almost as often as they target you, and will kill them quickly if
you don�t hang around up front and pick them off right away. You WILL get a
game over if you allow four of them to die. For the time being, things are
still pretty mild; you�ll encounter most enemies in pairs, from Monoeyes, to
Jyoks, to Kolmas, to Specknoses. Yet another swarm of Quoils will polish off
the set.

Once you�re inside the passage, Palutena will warn that there are enemies on
your tail. A Fire Wyrm is behind you and will soon be crossing on your left,
but before you unload on it, you should destroy the two Tribytes that appear
in front, and especially the Blit that will be happily frying your Strongarm
once it unfolds (don�t stand on the far left, which will also put you in the
path of its laser.) With those three gone, unload on the Fire Wyrm with
everything you�ve got before it turns.

The �obstacles� are a little deceptive; they�re essentially walls the platform
will crash through, but if you haven�t pumped enough shots into the centers by
the time you reach them, both you and your Strongarms will be hurt.
Stand between them and either use a barrage of SCF or a FDCS, followed by some
FDCF; there will be a huge thud as you slam into the barriers, but you won�t
take any damage, and your Strongarms will be fine. SCF is preferable unless
your shots both charge and fly quickly. Be very mindful of your weapon�s range
and don�t waste shots unless you know they�ll hit (a bigger deal for Arms and
Palms.)

Finally, a real use for that jump pad, albeit a forced one. You cannot roll
through those lasers, so don�t even try. As soon as Palutena warns you, get
over to the pad immediately and wait for the beam to close in. They�ll pass by
extremely quickly, so the little bit of hang time from the pad will help.
Remember not to jump for the second one.

Okay, final stretch. The first six waves will do everything they can to kill
your Centurions, while you are a bit of an afterthought. The last four will
figure that the Strongarms aren�t going anywhere, so they might as well focus
on you again. No sneaky attacks from behind, and while you do get some attack
items along the way (as well as another Back Shield), your weapon will be much
more useful.

The thing is, your flight path is timed, and so you can clear this segment
without killing everyone; however, you must at least clear the first six, lest
you allow your support to die; by continuing on to the final rounds, you also
spawn the Treasurefish that join them, and can earn more powers and weapons.

A quick rundown of the gauntlet:
1: Rezda & Monoeye x2
2: Blit
3: Fire Wyrm & Roz x2
4: Blit & Xoneme
5: Kolma & Tribyte x2
6: Claxis x2
7: Urgle & Skuttler x2
8: Zaurum & Jyok x2
9: Biota x2
10: Rezda, Tribyte, Dohz

The third wave happens to be the most dangerous. One Roz will come right down
the middle, while the second will bounce back and forth between the two walls,
eventually passing over the platform and being able to hit you; however, by
this time, the Fire Wyrm will have already flown right through your Strongarms
and killed them both. So what do you do? As soon as you�ve killed that Blit,
immediately get onto the right of the platform (which will dodge the first
Roz) and go nuts on that serpent.

As soon as it�s gone, back up (try to shoot that Blit while you�re at it) and
do what you can to get a shot through the gap in that Xoneme�s barrier as it
spins around.

The two Claxis will be a little below the edge of your platform and can remain
out of sight until they spin. Once you�ve finished the prior wave, move on up.

Try to kill one of the Skuttlers as they spawn, and be ready to dodge as the
Urgle rushes to you. I hope you�re not already at the edge of the platform!

The Zaurum will spawn dead-center at the front of the platform and, like the
others, will not wait long before confusing you.

By the time you get that Rezda and annoying li�l Tribyte out of the way, the
Dohz will likely have three spheres up and ready to go. You�ll be able to spot
them with the Rezda still there, anyway, so be ready for those sidesteps.
You�ll need to learn this timing now, because the Ch21 Dohz will not allow you
to be sloppy. Foxtrotting will help you get a feel for it.

If you killed them all quickly, there�ll be a lengthy delay between the
explosion of the Dohz and the spawning of your Drink of the Gods.

-----------------------
[Boss17] AURUM PYRRHON
-----------------------

Now�s the time to pop that Bumblebee, if you�ve got it. The green things you
must blast to destroy the chains are easily dispatched with a single FDCS, but
doing this often puts your camera at an angle that won�t give you a good view
of Pyrrhon, so some attacks may go unnoticed. He�ll use one of four moves
while any chain is still in place:

-Fireball: He�ll launch three, one at a time. Not all that fast, so they�re
easily spotted and sidestepped.

-Pyro snake: Exactly what it sounds like. The snake will first dart right
through you, which you must sidestep, and then the rest of the tail will
follow, lashing about. Just continue dashing to the other side.

-Flame ring: An orange ring will linger around the perimeter of the platform
and then close on itself after a few seconds. Keep your volume up and listen
for the little alarm-like sound it makes, then dodge immediately after hearing
the fourth one. The jump pad is unnecessary.

-Cluster bombs: This one can be nasty. Pyrrhon will toss a group of five small
bubbly things onto the platform, surrounding you, which may slide toward you a
little bit before detonating. Try to carefully get through a gap between two
before they blow up in quick succession.

The green things will also shoot single shots at you while you move about, but
they don�t move quickly and are easily dodged if Pyrrhon isn�t giving you
something to worry about simultaneously. It�s best to end this first phase
ASAP, so let loose with the charge you�ll begin the fight with and destroy one
chain right off the bat. You won't have too much breathing room between his
attacks, so quickly turn to the closest chain and destroy it after each one.

Fast charge times plus long range together make very short work of this phase,
as you need not wait for the counter-clockwise movement to bring you toward
any of the chains. If you've brought Brief Invincibility, you may wish to use
it, ignore Pyrrhon, and just knock out the chains one right after the other.
Fairy Orbitars are especially good at this (and one of the most advantageous
weapons you can possibly arm yourself with for this level as it is.)

Once all chains are gone, there�ll be several seconds before Pyrrhon is
released from the field and becomes vulnerable; once he is, he�ll also gain a
couple new moves, as well as speed up his previous ones (notably his flame
ring, which now closes extremely fast.) He�ll begin launching waves, very
similar to the Wave Angler, albeit incredibly slowly and laughably easy to
dodge through. He�ll also launch large, arcing fireballs through the air,
which target your present location and leave a large scorching area behind,
but these are also laughably easy to avoid.

If you packed Trade Off, spamming a few rounds of DCF will finish him lickety-
split. Otherwise, he will take a bit of abuse, but being a stationary target
makes the fight go quickly nonetheless. Hope he spams his pathetic wave attack
and unload your charge shots and DCF while waiting for the next move.

His attacks do pack a wallop, especially the flame ring and cluster bombs;
it�s important that you don�t chain too many moves with cooldown or even use
too many dashing attacks, as these can inadvertently send you into a bomb.

I wait until all the chains are gone before using Energy Charge, as it's far
easier to maintain once he expands his movepool to include pathetic attacks.
I've been able to maintain my Bumblebees throughout the fight, though this is
largely because I primarily use SCF.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch18] The Ring of Chaos OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 11480 Hearts

Common Drops: Magnus Club, Guardian Orbitars, Bullet Blade (Max of 4)

Easily the most hated chapter in the game for its obnoxious land and boss
battle.. ..which requires players to repeat the mandatory time-wasting scenes
beforehand, each and every time they fail. While there is still a large amount
of luck involved (enemies can�t be excessively spammy) Magnus at least has the
benefit of a metric ton of stamina to burn through, which enables him to
foxtrot like nobody�s business. He also cannot be interrupted during his
combos, which effectively grants him immunity to the Strongarm�s grab.

You can earn as many as four weapons with some luck, though nearly all of
these require you to contend with enemies you could otherwise avoid.
Let�s just get this miserable level over with, shall we?

My weapon of choice:

Midnight Palm
R: 6
M: 0
V: 322
OD +7
FDCS +1
SDCF +1
IPA +1
HB +1

My original 9.0 weapon, long since abandoned in favor of much more power and
less clutter by way of weak mods. Still, though, this weapon serves a purpose
when I need little other than defense, so I haven�t gotten rid of it.

As for you, you�ll do just fine with your own high-defense weapon, or at least
something that chews through air battles. The defense is nice to have, simply
because you won�t want to repeat the land segment once you�ve succeeded.

-----------------
[Note18] Notices
-----------------

-Abuse Magnus� incredibly generous supply of stamina as much as possible.
Rather than run toward a Centurion or swing your sword madly, foxtrot
(repeatedly begin a dash, but let go of the control pad and dash again once he
is upright.) You�ll get mileage out of his invincibility frames that way.

-While Magnus can�t be interrupted during his combos, attacking relentlessly
is careless and will often result in your taking more damage than you would
have if you�d dodged to get behind the enemy. Do this only when you have the
opportunity to kill multiple Archers at once, or a Strongarm is charging.

-By standing to the left or right of a Juggernaut�s head, right in front of
it, you can execute a MDA to get right behind it. This prevents it from
hitting you as well as blocking charges from Strongarms.

-The second alcove on the right side of the passage housing the level�s second
Juggernaut contains a Mimicutie. These always drop something, though they�ll
take some maneuvering before you can safely combo them up. Three combos will
kill them, and it�s best to do this from behind, during their kick flurry.

-Do not run toward Pit�s Body. Only foxtrot.

---------------------
[Land18] Land Battle
---------------------

I strongly do not recommend going for treasures if you�re just looking to beat
this level, as skipping them eliminates the risk of unwanted damage.
Sure, lots of chests are like that, but you�ve got ranged attacks and powers
on your side. I�ll outline the numerous treasure locations first; pursue these
at your own peril.

1. Destroy wall to the right of the fountain, down those stairs. There�s the
chest you ran right past as a dog. Two Centurions are here, and two more will
be by the fountain once you return.

2. 6.0 intensity gate, found by rounding the first corner on your right, once
you enter the room with a Monoeye being attacked by Centurions. As you make to
exit this room, two Skuttlers and a Skuttler Mage will appear by the door.

3. In the same room with the intensity gate, kill the three Centurion Knights.
Wait for them to attack and roll forward, then try to combo them from behind,
which bypasses the shield. You may also try sneaking behind them when they fly
into corners.

4. The Rare Treasurefish flying in the line of fire of the second Juggernaut.
This is sometimes a plain Treasurefish, but I�m not certain what triggers it.

5. The Mimicutie in the second alcove on your right, facing the second
Juggernaut. Better kill that Juggernaut first, and don�t attack it unless you
rolled behind it during its kicks. It resumes attacking too quickly after
standing upright for you to safely combo at that point.

All righty, now for your quick n� probably painful trek through town.

You can avoid being irresistibly tempted by the garbage by waiting by the
fountain until Pit makes his joke about the square looking rough. As soon as
he begins that line of dialogue, bolt for the passage ahead and don�t stop.

As Magnus, run past the fountain and into the little room ahead. You might as
well pick up the Back Shield over there, though the random enemy movement and
shooting may not mean it does much good.

There are a total of five Centurion Archers to defeat. Hopefully they�ll stay
in tight groupings, allowing you to kill more than one in one combo. While the
auto-homing with the first hit of your sword has some good reach, you should
approach distant Centurions with foxtrots and not dashing or MDAs. One of the
Archers within the second set will drop some Grapes when it is killed.

I�ve never found the Skuttlers or Mage to be aggressive or give me trouble,
though I prefer to bolt straight through into the next area, skipping the
gate, as the enemies are no problem if I run without stopping. Weave left and
right every few seconds in case an arrow was fired at you from behind.

A lone Strongarm. These things are cake, IF you are patient and swing once
they turn to face you, while stiffening up. You won�t be grabbed by surprise
this way. Four combos will do them in, and once you�ve made your third combo,
you may safely begin the fourth (that is, if you attacked them when I told
you to.)

Keep on running. Up those stairs, making a left around the fountain, slipping
past the doorway while that Knight is preoccupied with the Skuttlers.
Now, choose your favorite bit of profanity and get ready to abuse it.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Strongarm
Wave 2: Strongarm, Archer x2

Another lone musclehead; very easy. Remember, patience! Wait for him to turn
and face you before swinging, and you will never be grabbed during your
downtime.

With the two Archers present, you�d do best to kill them first, as your combo
will not prevent their damage from piling up. Attack madly once you are in
range, since you�re still vulnerable to being grabbed and must avoid that at
all costs. This goes without saying, but avoid that electric barrier.

Rather than taking the alcove via the hole in the wall, when facing your first
Juggernaut, it�s even easier to use a MDA to pass through the gap between its
head and one of its launchers. A Centurion Knight guards the path around it.
These are not a problem by themselves, as their attack has a slow buildup and
is easily spotted and sidestepped. I�m making sure you get through in one
piece, however, and that means fighting only what you must.

Second Juggernaut. If you want to remain completely safe, ignore the Rare
Treasurefish and simply get in front of the Juggernaut to destroy it, after
waiting out its barrage of fire. The first alcove on your right has some fruit,
which will spawn a lone Archer by the entrance once you exit. The second
alcove has that Mimicutie. It will drop a Spike Ball, weapon, or power.

Killing the Strongarm you�ll first spot in this area produces another
Strongarm up top; both drop pieces of Meat when slain. If you really need the
food, what you should do is foxtrot your way over to that Knight, which will
allow you to dodge the three attacks coming your way (one from the Archer,
Knight, and Strongarm apiece) and then kill the Knight and Archer quickly.
From halfway up the slanted walkway, you may bait the Strongarm�s charge and
slash at it with impunity. Do the same with the second one that spawns. Be on
the lookout for the rare dumbbell, and immediately sidestep once it�s thrown.

Those chunks of Meat will gear you up for the Crawler ahead. It�ll more than
likely kill the Archers plunking away at it, but you must deal with it up
close, leaving you especially vulnerable to its spin attack. You�ll need to
combo its rear three times to destroy it. You don�t need to run to get behind
it, but instead wait for it to pause before attacking; remember, it�ll charge
for three seconds before immediately launching its shell. The arrows are
extremely easy to avoid via foxtrotting, as is the shell, and its spin is
avoided primarily by backing off for a second in between combos, to see if
you�ve baited it.

Are you still wearing your pants? It�s time for the final hurdle.

Some players suggest not killing the Archer first, as it spawns a second
Strongarm and can be problematic, but I find it easiest to get it out of the
way immediately. This is in order to kill both Strongarms without being too
vulnerable to grabs, or the Juggernaut�s own attacks. So, foxtrot right up to
it and slash the bugger away.

What you want to do is run up to that Juggernaut and dash between its head and
launcher to get behind it, then wait for both Strongarms to charge into the
Juggernaut in a failed attempt to grab you. You may need to sidestep a huge
dumbbell or two while waiting, but you�ll see them hoist it over their heads
for a second before hurling. With both Strongarms in front of the Juggernaut,
combo like crazy. Hopefully you�ll have injured them badly enough that when
the Juggernaut explodes, they will only take one combo to finish off.

Really, the more you play this level, the more you notice that the final path
to the boss is the only really awful part of the land battle. ...well, aside
from the boss itself.

--------------------
[Boss18] PIT�S BODY
--------------------

Pit�s Body does not have a diverse array of attacks or patterns, and his AI is
quite simple. It�s just that his movement may not always cooperate with yours,
and all the foxtrotting you�ll be doing may wreak havock with your camera
angle.

My method to beating him, however, is simple, and is really a matter of
persistence:

1. Foxtrot toward him. In doing so you will dodge a charge shot or cont fire.
2. If you are close enough that his triangle flashes, begin swinging.
Otherwise, repeat step 1.
3. Your combo will send him flying. Walk toward him if he�s several character
lengths away, then foxtrot again once he back is on his feet. If you ran
straight to him, he�ll just combo you himself.
4. Rinse and repeat. The idea is to foxtrot until you have dodged his attack,
using side dashes if you are already close, and are close enough that your
first swing will carry you to him. If you swing as he was about to attack,
you�ll both clang. Quickly swing again.

If foxtrotting as an approach really isn't working for you, you can try
stepping back a little bit following a combo, which will put a sizeable
distance between the two of you. The idea here is that Pit will attack once he
rises, which you will avoid via forward dodge, which (ideally) leaves you
within striking range. While this is definitely easier than foxtrotting to the
side and frequently tweaking the camera, it also requires Pit to cooperate and
approach you himself, which he may not do. The most important thing is to play
defensively and reactively. No attacking until he's whiffed and you're close
enough to strike at that very moment.

While you can begin comboing him as he�s shooting and just plow through the
damage, it�s sloppy and you can�t pull that off excessively before winding up
in crisis mode, so don�t make a habit of it.

If you can keep that up, making nice, clean dodges, you�ll have trounced this
asshole before you know it. It takes six combos to defeat him.

-------------------
[Air18] Air Battle
-------------------

Ooh, six Recovery Orbs instead of four! Goody!

This air battle is little more than destroying a bunch of Centurions and the
occasional Juggernaut while avoiding large chunks of rubble that�ll pass in
midair. Most of them are rather small and/or pass you on the side, but the
large, partially demolished building will come toward you head-on and is
avoided by positioning yourself in the middle of the screen. This ensures that
the pillars will whoosh by on either side of you. When you first notice the
building fly off into the distance, there won�t be any dangerous enemies (but
keep shooting) so you may position yourself and stay there until it passes.

Eventually you'll notice two Juggernauts being swept around by a huge tornado
off in the distance. If your range is poor or shots weak, they can be a real
problem in tandem with the spammy Archers that will soon join them. You've yet
to have a real need for special attacks until now, so let one rip. Even if you
do take a beating, four more recovery orbs will soon follow.

Simple circle patterns of movement are just as effective as always, though
Knights can be a tad resilient with those shields. If your weapon can�t knock
them off before they�re ready to swing, use a special attack when facing them
up close, in groups of three. This occurs shortly after you behold the ruined
Skyworld; you�ll face one Knight up close, and then three shortly afterward.

The land masses Palutena hurls in your face do nothing but reflect poorly on
her maturity and kindness, and perhaps her ability to resist mind control.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch19] The Lightning Chariot OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 20610 Hearts

Common Drops: Ancient Staff, Babel Club, Centurion Orbitars, Ninja Palm
              (Max of 6!)

I�m not actually sure if this level is really that much longer than Chapter 9.
You certainly do more mindless walking, at least. While lengthy, this level is
not that hard apart from some of the Rumpus Rooms you�ll encounter, but I�ve
got some tactics (some involving powers) that will make �em a breeze.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Brief Invincibility lv3, Playing Dead lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3

Hitting extremely hard, or mobility and hitting only sort of hard? The choice
is yours. I�ve used Boom Orbitars to great success, but there are a couple
places I would have really liked to strafe, and so my Aurum Palm wins out.

Because of the length and large number of high-powered enemies, high overall
defense is especially helpful. Recovery Effect mods are also extremely handy
as food can sometimes feel scarce or wasted after a really bad encounter.

There are a couple really nasty enemy groups that make excellent targets for
Instant Death or Brief Invincibility. I recommend bringing one or the other.
You may wish to bring Aeries or Super Armor for the boss, or even Playing Dead
if your SCF is top-tier, to avoid coming all that way only to die from a few
sloppy mistakes. Having said that, the Chariot Master is not terribly
difficult, though a little insurance won�t hurt.

-----------------
[Note19] Notices
-----------------

-Sink the pillars holding up the Zurrets from outside the room before
entering. This way, once they spawn, you can immediately kill one and not be
taken by surprise by fire from high offscreen.

-Don�t throw the X-Bomb you�ll find outside the ice rink. I�ll explain why,
and how to keep it held while killing everything before using it, later.

-The hated wind room is not difficult at all if you remember to run TOWARD the
wind, instead of straight across the area you�re traversing. This is also the
only way slow weapons will make it across. Also, be careful not to roll or
sidestep toward the sides of the platforms when dodging attacks; you�ll fall.

-The scampering chest that spawns during the Crawler encounter will disappear
if it isn�t opened before the enemies are slain. Also be aware of the two
Plutons that will spawn while fighting said Crawler.

-------------------
[Air19] Air Battle
-------------------

Allow Viridi�s Flages to kill the few Komaytos in front of you, unless you
want to expend a special attack so soon. You can�t fend all of them off
yourself. Apparently Pit wanted her to withdraw her forces without actually
telling her, since you�re on your own from now on. Thanks, toots.

For the next batch of Komaytos, just shoot the Minos once they�re between all
of them, as the explosion will kill them along with it. Staying on the far
left will protect you from the Monoliths the Belunka barfs up, regardless of
their height, though they�ll be appearing right after you�ve dealt with many
Monoeyes that have been shooting, so don�t just stay in one spot. Should you
have failed to kill the Belunka (a real possibility if you are attempting the
Clubs Only Treasure Hunt panel) two more Monoliths will be waiting for you as
the screen shifts, amidst all that enemy fire. Yeouch.

Eventually, you�ll zoom low over a large batch of trees (a Souflee will be in
their midst) and encounter several Commyloose. Yes, I liked going a long time
without seeing any, also. Once the second one comes into view, I use a special
attack, as my Palm can�t destroy those missiles quickly enough. I use a second
special almost immediately afterward, once the Mega Mussel has opened and a
Ganewmede has positioned itself between us.

Aww, yeah. Good ol' Splins. This level has already brought back so many foes I
was content not to see again. If you can�t kill both, it�s always effective to
choose a side and kill only the one that�ll come toward you.

Following the tunnel with all those Monoliths are three Komaytos; whichever
way you prefer to deal with them, do it quickly, because a Remoblam and its
minions will approach you very shortly afterward, and you won�t have long to
kill the leader before its explosion is close enough to hurt you.

You�ll then meet your first Monomiknose. While three Monoeyes will dart in
from the left and be closer to you, it�s important to focus your fire on the
hideous abomination, as it�ll immediately come up to you for a bite, which
inflicts tremendous damage. If you were circling, the plain Monoeyes were no
threat, anyway.

Yet another level featuring lightning bolts during the air battle. None of the
bolts will strike the center, though you�ve also got Octos to deal with, among
other enemies. The bolts will target the side of the screen at which they
first appeared, so you won�t be mislead. Circle as usual (flying through
clouds if you must) and adjust your position slightly as needed.

Almost done. The string of Komaytos come with no distractions and are easily
struck with melee attacks as they come into range. Even better, the Splins
will go for the left side of the screen and then the top, which makes them
simple to avoid from the lower right corner.

---------------------
[Land19] Land Battle
---------------------

I think it�s easiest to break this level down into floors, with each floor
separated by the brief ascension to the next.

1st Ramp: Two Miks and a Skuttler Cannoneer. This is a good time to mention
that Cannoneers can�t aim downward, so at a low enough position on the ramp,
their arrows will sail harmlessly overhead.

1st Floor: Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Coral, Octos x3
Wave 2: Wave Angler
Wave 3: Mik x4, Souflee

Whack-a-mole! Your Dodge Token makes this an absolute joke, not that these
attacks in these combinations are at all difficult to avoid. The Souflee won�t
wait around to be slain, so nab those hearts while you can.

2nd Ramp: Six Monoeyes, two sets of three. The first set will be very quick to
fire on you before flying up the ramp, so rather than DCF, just sidestep each
shot and then kill them with their backs turned. The next set won�t do that.

2nd Floor: Ride the moving platform while carefully shooting the Cannoneers
without hitting the Ganewmede. Their arrows will all miss, as long as the
platform is moving. I�m able to kill them before they can fire while the
platform is stopped, but that is when you must be ready to sidestep. Nuke the
Ganewmede and don�t forget your chest.

3rd Ramp: A lone Bumbledrop. While it�s possible to avoid them by hugging the
far left, it�s much safer to dodge through them. Note their awkward shuffling
due to the ramp, and don�t jump the gun with your roll. That attack hurts.

3rd Floor: Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Splin x2
Wave 2: Shelbo, Zuree

Just keep an eye on those floors and switch sides as needed. Both the Shelbo
and Zuree drop food, so don�t worry about some damage here or there. It�s more
important to switch sides than it is to avoid being drawn close to the Shelbo.

4th Ramp: Three Miks, spaced evenly apart. Topple those pedestals from just
outside the door.

4th Floor: The closest pedestal to your right has a Zurret, which should be
your first target. Unload on it and try to kill it in time to turn and roll
through the shots fired by the one on your left. Otherwise, once the one
you�re attacking drops to your level, run behind it and you should avoid both.

5th Ramp: Two Wave Anglers. While not quick to fire, their shots move very,
very fast. They also will fire from offscreen and over your head, so you can
wait a good distance lower for them to pass.

5th Floor: First things first, stand just inside the door and on the left to
kill those Miks without being whipped as they come near. Step onto the pads
as the ball first hits the floor, then run for it. The third pad will not
allow you to get away with jumping the gun.

6th Ramp: You know, if the traps having no effect on Underworld troops is a
design flaw, how come so many of them rely on Underworld troops to be at all
threatening? (This ramp features zilch.)

6th Floor: Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Tortolunk, Snowman
Wave 2: Leox, Frozum

Don�t use that X-Bomb! Get right into your Aether Ring and kill the
enemies without it. The Leox will drop food, but when you get out of the ring,
make sure you�re holding your fire button and keep it held. This keeps you
shooting without throwing the bomb.

7th Ramp: There are no enemies to deal with, so just make your way along while
spamming cont fire. For Boom Orbs, you�ll have to spam FDCF.

7th Floor: Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Zuree, Syren x2
Wave 2: Shelbo, Komayto x2

Use SCF and DCF to kill the first wave, without ever letting go of L. You may
wish to move outside that little enclosure and past the bombs, which will give
you a little more room to avoid the whirlwinds if you don�t kill the Syrens
quickly enough.

Once the Shelbo appears, immediately get to the left, or close enough to throw
the X-Bomb at the Komayto that spawned on the left. It should immediately
detonate and kill both Komaytos with the explosion. Now that Shelbo poses very
little threat (less if you�re inside the enclosure still) and you won�t have
to use melee attacks on the Komaytos with a purely ranged weapon.

It may seem like a lot of trouble to go through, but horrid melee weapons will
really appreciate not having to deal with those Komaytos the hard way.

8th Ramp: Grind rail.

8th Floor: I kill the Reapettes without hitting the ball, because its
ricocheting presents needless danger. Don�t forget the treasure.

9th Ramp: A Belunka that�ll spit up a pair of Skuttler Cannoneers, and then an
Orne at the top of the ramp, should you fail to kill it by then. You have a
few seconds to do so before it produces anything, so I suggest going all out.

9th Floor: Ah yes, the wind. First, kill those Cannoneers and Monoeye quickly,
and remember NOT to dodge toward a side with an edge close by! They are not
solid and you WILL fall. Round that first bend as you enter, to give yourself
more room.

Otherwise, this is easy. Skip the Speed Boots if the chest drops them, kill
the lone Monoeye not being pushed by the wind (3rd floor) and remember to
always run diagonally, essentially sideways, facing the wind (turn your camera
toward it, also.) Let go of the pad once you reach the other side, to avoid
going too far and falling.

10th Ramp: Another grind rail, though now you get to kill two Cannoneers
standing there, amusing themselves by drawing graffiti.

10th Floor: A Shelbo will drop in, quickly followed by two Cannoneers. Try to
kill the Shelbo ASAP, as these Skuttlers will make full use of their missiles,
and you must be able to safely roll through them. A FDCS the moment the Shelbo
opens up should interrupt it, while some shots to the lips should finish it.

Remember that you must boost off of the ramp to clear the gap.

11th Ramp: This seems like another relaxing stroll, but two Skuttlers will
drop down about two thirds of the way up. Don�t run headfirst into them!

11th Floor: A Monoeye will come around the left side of that pillar, and
another will come around the right once you blast that jewel. The next jewel
brings a Mik (if you�re moving counter-clockwise, it�ll be extremely close to
you, so be ready) and the next, a Specknose. The next jewel drops the center
platform into place, and with it...

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Tortolunk, Snowman
Wave 2: Snong, Handora x2
Wave 3: Vakloom, Mik x2

If you�ve got Instant Death Attack, by all means, use it and off that Snowman
and its turtle pal right away. Or, you can wait for the Snowman to exhale and
use Brief Invincibility. Whichever, avoid being frozen at all costs, as the
damage that pair inflicts is severe. If you opt to get close to the Snowman
and dash-around, be very aware of the Tortolunk that will immediately follow
its exhale, and take your stylus off the screen to sidestep its spin safely.

With IDA still in effect, the Snong is nothing; otherwise, strafe and kill the
Handoras in time to sidestep the three stomps that will follow. You know what
to do with a Snong from here.

These Miks will both shoot and swipe, but as long as you�re not shooting them
from the side closer to the Vakloom, you can kill them without charging its
laser for it. If this happens, just immediately sidestep. These guys aren�t so
scary if you didn�t flub that first wave.

Loading screen. How are your hearts looking at the moment?

12th Floor: Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Syren x2
Wave 2: Shildeen, Handora x2
Wave 3: Igniot, Mik x2

Unlike the previous floor, you CAN dodge and inadvertently roll into the
abyss, so be extremely careful about your choice of dodge. Strafe while
shooting, but be careful about being caught off-guard by the Shildeen�s
barrier and strafing into it, as you can push yourself off the side that way,
as well. You can carefully DCF/DCS against the Syrens to kill them before
they fire, and should do so, as their shots can also knock you into the abyss.

The Igniot is the biggest problem. If petrified, you can roll off the side
once you break free, and the Miks will happily unload on you while you�re
still. I�ll use Brief Invincibility as it begins to launch its beam, blast
the eye to shut it, and then quickly finish it off. If you are close enough to
the Igniot before it rears back, you can easily dash-around to avoid the beam
without spending a power. The Miks aren�t so tough, then (they constantly move
clockwise), but remember to be really careful with your evasive maneuvers.
Hopefully you still have most of the life that Drink of the Gods restored.

12th Ramp: Yes, the floors precede the ramps, now. Not too confusing, I hope.
This one contains two Bumbledrops. If your charge shots can knock them down,
they won�t be invincible, unlike when they flop themselves.

13th Floor: A little maze! All you need to do is to tread slowly when blindly
turning corners, as numerous Girin and Igniots await close by. The Igniots can
be shot from over the walls, so long as you can see the cursor overhead.
Those pits CAN be fallen into, so be careful. Both the Treasurefish and
intensity gate will score you some loot, and don�t forget to make a detour for
three pieces of food, by taking the first left you find after meeting your
first Girin. Note that rounding the corner will put you in range of an Igniot.

13th Ramp: A Fort Oink that, like the Belunka, produces two Cannoneers. It has
too much health to prevent them from being spawned, but as with all Cannoneers
on ramps, their arrows will fly overhead if you stay low enough. Roll through
missiles as needed. Killing everyone spawns an X-Bomb.

14th Floor: Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Eggplant Wizard, Wave Angler
Wave 2: Guttler, Shemum x9
Wave 3: Crawler, Skuttler Cannoneer x2, Pluton x2

With your X-Bomb ready to go, immediately hurl it at the Wizard as it spawns
and let fly with a FDCS, which hopefully is enough to kill it. The Wave Angler
will not enter until a few seconds have passed, and another few will pass
before it begins launching its waves. Just get rid of that effing Wizard ASAP,
so you don�t find yourself eggplanted with no Effect Recovery, and large waves
flying at you... I�ve never suffered this fate, thankfully.

There are enough Shemums dropping in at a steady pace that it�s not easy to
prevent the Guttler from eating them, which substantially buffs its HP;
Shemums themselves are pitiful even en masse. The Guttler will drop food.

Okay, now is a good time to have a weapon with inherent agility. Seek out and
destroy the two Cannoneers, first, one of whom will drop food, and then do the
same with the annoying Plutons (you�ll face these guys one at a time.)

This Crawler is even easier by itself than the previous chapter, because you
can shoot it from afar. Don�t waste your stamina trying to run behind it; just
walk and dodge its attacks as you do so, which you would have been doing while
killing the little jerks beforehand, anyway. Remember, count to three and
immediately sidestep when it charges up its shell. Hopefully, it didn�t decide
to rocket forward while you were dealing with the other enemies. Make sure you
opened that running chest before killing the Crawler (while it usually has a
Boom Spear, it CAN hold a weapon), and another Drink of the
Gods is yours upon its destruction.

14th Ramp: Grind rail. Try to kill that Souflee in between those shutter doors
as you zip through them. If you do, a chest will be there to greet you at the
end of the rail. The other enemies are irrelevant, but go for the hearts.

15th Floor: Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Monomiknose
Wave 2: Reapette x12
Wave 3: Splin x5
Wave 4: Fort Oink (alternates between Monoeye x3 and Mik x3)

All fodder for your Cherubot. If you hop straight in, the Monomiknose will
likely bite it, but if you don�t, it�ll fire laser beams while cross-eyed,
which hurts about as badly as those of a Mudrone (read: extremely.)
Moving around the room as usual will keep most attacks from touching you, if
these enemies even live long enough to do anything.

15th Ramp: I�ve never actually bothered to jump the gaps while a Mik was
whipping its tongue, but I�d imagine it can actually hit you. The final gap
houses an Orne. Let�s not be stupid for the sake of satisfying curiosity.

16th Floor: That Bumbledrop only wants to be Bath Time Buddies, but you�ll
still kill it, won�t you? Linger in the water for a minute in order to score
some loot, hopefully yet another weapon.

16th Ramp: Exciting news, indeed!

17th Floor: Like Chapter 4, since you just had a hot spring, you�re expected
to have cleared the previous floor with full health. Even if there were no
enemies, yes, that was extremely presumptuous of them.

------------------------
[Boss19] CHARIOT MASTER
------------------------

Despite your regular movement being restricted to lane-changes of sorts, as
your chariot will only move a bit to the left or right when pressed, you can
still perform every single one of your attacks, as well as dodge normally.
However, if you brought Playing Dead, you may simply use both while holding
down the trigger, unloading SCF at often point-blank range, which finishes him
well before the second PD wears off. Since I can�t assume you will be doing
that, here�s a more conventional method.

He�s got a mere four attacks, though the ease at which they�re dodged depends
on a few things, namely the width of the track you�re on:

-Lightning bolt: Pretty straightforward. A bolt will strike a point on the
track and stay there, forcing you to sidestep it. Ride through it, and you�ll
be afflicted with Shaking status.

-Line bombs: Kind of like the bombs Aurum Pyrrhon used, only these are
arranged in a straight line. Simply move left or right to avoid them.

-Fireballs (Cross): These are tricky. A batch will appear on both sides
of the Chariot Master, then cross each other, turning toward you as they do.
If you�re between them while this is going on, you must quickly sidestep.
However, once they�ve passed, they will circle around widely, and may need to
be sidestepped again based on your position at the time.

-Fireballs (triplets): He�ll spawn a small row of three fireballs and
immediately send them rushing back at you, followed by a second set of three.
Two quick sidesteps will avoid them.

I suggest popping a defense buff (primarily for his fireballs) and using your
DCF or DCS every chance you get, following each of his lightning bolts or
bombs. His fireballs are indicated by a large blue flame held over his head a
moment before the attack is used, so keep an eye out for them. Stick with SCF
on the narrower straights, so as to give you more time to react.

His attacks are not all that powerful (apart from the bombs), so you can treat
this as sort of an endurance match. There�s no need to be really aggressive at
the expense of your health from all the sloppy charging headlong into attacks,
though high-powered weapons with an armor power can get away with this.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch20] Palutena�s Temple OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 9780 Hearts

Common Drops: Angel Bow, Capricorn Club, Burst Blade, Doom Cannon, Drill Arm
              (Max of 3)

This is the last easy chapter in the game (well, apart from the final boss, in
most cases) and a great level for farming weapons. It will take a few runs
before you�re comfortable enough to breeze right through it, but it�ll quickly
happen through persistence.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv3, Playing Dead lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3

Your weapon stats do carry over to the Lightning Chariot, so high stars and
SCF mods will still help. Otherwise, just about any weapon can clear this
level with due diligence on your part. Still, you should be careful about
weapons with large charge shots, or DCF that sprays.

There is but one instance where powers make a world of difference: the mob
right before the boss. Playing Dead and Instant Death Attack are invaluable.
The boss is pathetically easy and requires no powers, nor does the rest of the
level, though I do like Energy Charge to speed up the minor enemy killing.

-----------------
[Note20] Notices
-----------------

-Unless the RNG has been really stingy and not given you three weapons by the
time you�ve gone inside and opened the chest behind the 8.0 intensity gate,
avoid the chest in the prison. It almost always has an X-Bomb and the Komayto
and Pluton are not worth the trouble.

-Unless you�re packing Energy Charge and plenty of ranged damage, it�s not
worth taking on the Tempura Wizard and Erinus outside. Use the Dodge Token
and just run like hell, picking up the Grenade along the way.

-Hits landed on the Chaos Kin while it�s invisible and above Palutena will not
only deplete its HP, it can be finished off in this state. This is useful if
you�ve accidentally hit Palutena and are paranoid about finishing her off.

-------------------
[Air20] Air Battle
-------------------

The shortest air battle in the game, and one of the easiest, once you�ve got
the enemy placement down pat. It�s usually effective to just stay at the very
bottom of the screen and sweep left and right, blasting enemies as you spot
them, avoiding the occasional shot.

Once two Gyrazers take position in both corners, quickly swing to the far left
and kill the Monoeye that�ll appear there, then swing to the right and kill the
Gyrazer and other Monoeye. These are quick to fire, and accurate.

The Monoliths will force you to move up toward the top of the screen, staying
centered so that they pass beneath you. When there's space to move, position
yourself to kill the two sets of Handoras that will fan out.

Now, the Daphne. Be wary of those on the lower half of the screen, as it�s
easy to collide with their flowers. You�ll need to move up to let the flowers
pass, but the horses will kill the enemies on contact. If you were firing
incessantly, you�ll have wiped out the higher Daphne.

WAAAAAARRRRRP ZOOOOOOOONE! Ahem. You may kill every Gyrazer in a set with one
charge shot, even before they�ve produced their lasers, though it�s easier to
just move along with them until you�ve looped and have a clean shot.

Ah, the Fort Oink. The only source of grief for most players, but there�s an
easy way of dealing with its feared second wave, the Gyrazers. During the
first wave, you must kill the two enemies on your left and then immediately
swing far right and into the lower-right corner. When the Fort Oink produces
its Gyrazers, you'll kill the one that tries to get into the corner, which
will only leave distant enemies to fire at you. Move up along the right side
to avoid the first barrage of arrows, then quickly drop and sweep left to both
dodge another set, as well as kill the enemies above you. You'll need to move
to the right again to avoid a stray arrow from the far left, but by now you'll
be quite safe from damage overload.

The Fort Oink will then produce a couple waves of Minos that will spiral around
it clockwise (staying low and left or right, then moving up as they sweep from
the opposite side works well) and then a bunch of Shrips that spin straight
forward, if you haven�t destroyed it by then.

---------------------
[Land20] Land Battle
---------------------

Grab your food, then immediately head right and kill the two Archers that will
lower into view, then jog over to the left and kill the other two. These guys
are pitiful from afar, aren�t they? They�ll stick with slow, single arrows at
this distance, and it should take only a single charge shot to defeat them.
Don�t advance on the left side, though; move in from the right. The enemies on
that side are easier to deal with.

The Juggernaut will be preoccupied with two Gyrazers, so grab that Grenade,
toss it, and unload. It�ll kill both of them eventually and turn toward you as
soon as it�s finished, so don�t dilly-dally.

Inside, you�ll face a lone Strongarm. These are a complete joke with ranged
attacks, though you still shouldn�t carelessly spam dash attacks. Save them
for after you�ve rolled through its charge, and use SCF in the meantime.
Dumbbells are still very rare, but be ready for them nonetheless.

Skip the intensity gate for now; you�ll come back to it after grabbing another
chest. This ensures you�ll get your three weapons.

I prefer to run along the passage and kill the Centurions with my own charge
shots, but you can just as easily use the tank. Just be wary of that Knight,
as you can�t dodge attacks very easily while riding it. Get out and kill the
Syren yourself (from inside the tunnel, if possible) and then back up the
tunnel, to reset the Juggernaut and make it unaware of your presence.
This will prevent it from using its bullets as you approach. Shoot the
Juggernaut directly in its face. If it lobs some rocks, simply back straight
up, then move in again once they�ve hit the ground.

Hop out of the tank again and approach the ramp, killing the Daphne and two
Archers from afar. You may have three or more arrows coming toward you at
once, but they move slowly and are not hard to sidestep. With a clear path,
you can ease the tank over the ramp (boosting is completely unnecessary) and
open the chest. Proceed further just a little bit, enough to spot the cursors
over the two Knights waiting there. Kill them, but watch for a thrown lance.

Back to the intensity gate. Kill the two Syrens on your left, first, spamming
DCF until you notice one hovering, at which point it�s time to shift to SCF
and prepare for a sidestep. With them gone, you�ll have a Mega Mussel to deal
with; jump platforms as needed, primarily when a homing shot is closing in on
you, and sidestep whatever else you can. Be careful not to kill that
Treasurefish until you clearly see it over the platform, as it�ll drop your
weapon into the abyss. If you killed the two Knights, they won�t be waiting
for you here, though a lone Archer will drop in.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Archer x5
Wave 2: Knight x2

Easy peasy. Simply strafe around the room, clockwise, killing the closest
first. You don�t even need Energy Charge to clear the room before so many as
two or three have fired, but then, I�m assuming you�re using a weapon that
actually inflicts remotely good damage.

Dash charge shots quickly knock away the shields of the Knights, while
piercing charge shots like those of Aurum Orbs will continue on and kill the
Knights. You�ll have scored three pieces of food for your.. ..effort.

There are two Archers, two Monoeyes, and a Knight down here. The second Archer
and Monoeye will spawn after the first is slain, so keep track of what you�ve
killed to avoid being shot in the back by an enemy hiding in the corner (in
other words, if you see nothing, tread lightly.)

Drop through the center trap door, immediately fire your charge shot at the
Erinus saying hi, and set off the Mega Marble. That will almost always kill
it, but you should then launch some DCF to be sure and, if it�s still kicking,
just be ready for its attack.

Nab that chest behind the intensity gate in the cave area, then return to the
Erinus room (the other tunnel leads to a dead-end with two Archers) and grab
the key. The following cave-like area of this cellar leads to a switch which
opens to the Archer dead end I spoke of, while the remaining passage leads to
an Archer and Knight. Partially up those stairs, take your first right to a
jump pad and enjoy a quick bath if you need some health. The top of the stairs
spits you back into the main floor of the prison.

Get behind the Juggernaut and move along with it as it turns, clockwise, to
try and face you; kill both Archers on the sides while you do so, then finish
off the Juggernaut if you haven�t already. Yet more food. Why the hell wasn�t
Chapter 18 this generous?! Well, it kind of was, but we had to work harder for
it, damnit!

With your Dodge Token, book it. Quickly pick up that Grenade, and don�t look
back. I toss it at the pack of Monoeyes that pops in from the left, while
sprinting through the wind, as they�ll soon fire and I don�t want to take the
Dodge Token for granted all of the time (actually, because I bring EC, I stay
behind and take the time to kill the Tempura Wizard and then the Erinus.)

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Daphne x2, Shulm x3
Wave 2: Leox x2, Monoeye x3

I find it quicker and easier to stay out of the Exo Tank. The Monoeyes on your
left (if you stayed by the gate) will turn and fire after only a second, but
if you immediately turn and launch some DCF, you can wipe at least two of them
out and be standing up by the time the third one has fired.

As Viridi said, stop for nothing. The Monoeyes and Specknose will be happy to
attack if you linger, so just boost over both ramps and be done with them.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Strongarm, Archer x3
Wave 2: Archer, Juggernaut, Strongarm x2

The easiest, safest way to do this, and also the most strongly recommended, is
to run into the center of the room and immediately use both Playing Dead and
Instant Death Attack, then slaughter everything one by one with SCF or SCS.
During the second wave, you can get by with just targeting the Archer and then
killing the Juggernaut before your invisibility wears off, as Strongarms are
not very dangerous by themselves.

If you are using my method, but also a pair of Claws, this may not go very
smoothly, as enemies will still target you; this includes Strongarms charging,
which can make them stop and resume walking right in front of you, which may
cause you to inadvertently melee them and end your power prematurely. Or, even
better, the power can wear off in mid-charge and you can be grabbed and
piledrived for massive damage! HE HE HE

--------------------------
[Boss20] GODDESS PALUTENA
--------------------------

It�ll always begin by flying over Palutena in that purple mist, so loose some
charge shots to knock it out of the sky.

This �fight� is, when you get right down to it, pathetically easy. You just
need to keep some things in mind:

-Never shoot it from afar with DCF that sprays outward, or even moderately
large charge shots, as it is too easy to nail Palutena by accident. This also
goes for killing the minions she�ll summon, though they�ll appear in the
center of the room and are usually not an issue.

-If most of your attacks meet this criteria, just be patient and wait until
you can get the Chaos Kin far away from her, or right in its face.

Strafe at a safe distance until you manage to knock it out of the air, or find
it a long distance away (primarily following Palutena�s huge beam of light),
at which point it�s time to close in. When it�s just flying around, another
charge shot should down it again; though, if this will plop it right by
Palutena, it�s better to just pummel it with SCF.

Keeping a fair bit of distance when it�s unsafe to shoot is, of course, for
the purpose of keeping an eye on Palutena�s diverse pool of moves, and
sidestepping accordingly. Her homing orbs will inflict Weakening and it is
especially important to avoid them. Everything else is easily rolled through,
though keep in mind that her fast trio of shots (that launch from the balls
over her head) will be used three times in succession. The orbs she�ll create
that slowly move toward you while shooting can be canceled by your own shots.

Lastly, whenever you see light radiating from her, immediately spin the camera
out of view of her and listen for the burst that indicates her blinding light.

Palutena takes little to no abuse on 9.0, but the Chaos Kin takes very little
abuse, itself. So long as you aggress only when you�re positive it�s safe to
do so, this will be very quick and painless.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch21] The Chaos Vortex OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 13890 Hearts

Common Drops: Crystal Bow, Hedgehog Claws, Viridi Palm, Upperdash Arm
              (Max of 3)

Another one of my favorite levels, and can feel like one of the toughest, if
you don�t go about it methodically. Some of the nastiest parts are actually
really simple if you follow some strict guidelines and execute your foes
clinically, in the prescribed order.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Super Armor lv4, Playing Dead lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3

While I�ve beaten this level many times without any defense mods, I will admit
that this is still a really good chapter for high OD weapons (if you�re prone
to brain farts, shot defense just isn�t going to cut it.) Beyond that, high
mobility is the next most important attribute, and then, finally, your damage.

Having said that, while strength should take a backseat to protection, if your
weapon is too heavily skewed toward tanking hits, Instant Death Attack will be
essential in preventing particular waves from being a headache.

Playing Dead is for the third wave, which is just frigging evil, no matter how
many times I play. It also serves a purpose during the sixth wave, if I've
bothered to save some. Super Armor is mostly just there, though I have used it
at points during various runs, if I�ve brainfarted and am feeling paranoid;
otherwise, I�ll just use them during the boss battle, because, why not.

Bumblebee takes up too much space for how quickly you can burn through it, so
I suggest leaving it behind.

-----------------
[Note21] Notices
-----------------

-No matter which weapon you�re using, do not try to destroy the little
explosives the Chaos Kin launches while you�re chasing it. Simply glide, and
circle. More on this later.

-Learn to love the jump pads. They are your best ally until your juvenile
delinquent meat shield shows up, and should be kept nearby and used whenever
you feel the slightest bit threatened. There are a few points where they�re
pretty much essential in preventing things from going quickly haywire.

-Not only will Treasurefish vanish if they aren't slain before the final enemy
of a wave (which probably goes without saying), the item they drop will also
vanish if it isn't collected beforehand. I've learned this the hard way.

-Remember that Shootflies will change direction mid-flight and target you if
you continue to fire. Avoid using SCF against them, since it invites
consecutive hits and will cost a ton of health.

-Because the Dark Pit segment is drastically easier (well, usually) and the
boss battle is so easy, don�t hesitate to use almost all of your powers up
before the ninth wave. If you need something for whatever reason, just use it.
Of course, you also must make them count, so, know what you�re doing.

-You�ll keep the land battle from going to hell so soon (and wasting food)
by shooting the Corals first thing, but NOT the Shulms, as the two Boogities
will spawn once both groups are dead. Shulms are extremely benign and you can
safely kill the several waves of Tribytes and Monoeyes without being shot at
from an unseen angle.

-Even with no defense mods, Dark Pit�s shots will inflict very little damage.
However, they�ll still kill you at a sliver of life and are an unwelcome form
of damage, so avoid shooting him by accident; he will usually retaliate.

-------------------
[Air21] Air Battle
-------------------

Aaaaaah! The eyes are your cue to position yourself on the far left of the
screen, centered, and repeatedly tap the attack button. This will kill most if
not all of the Komaytos that come from behind, to avoid using a special.
Not that you have much of a reason to hold onto it, at this early point.

Following the two rows of Splins in the dark void will be wind, along with two
bouncy Rozzes and three Centurion Archers. Kill the Archers in the order of
top-right-bottom, while holding your position in the top-left corner, which
will avoid the powerful orbs.

Keep circling amidst the huge Monoeyes, which you cannot kill; fire constantly
at the number of Syrens that come into view, and feel free to use both special
attacks to avoid damage (though I am almost never hit here.) The Chaos Kin
clones don�t do anything that warrants saving them, nor do the...

...Shadow Pits. When you approach the rings made of rubble, you should already
be firing SCF and aiming toward your middle-right; that clone will be a Blade
user, the most dangerous of the four types. It�s close enough to force a melee
attack as you circle, hence the SCF. These guys are not a problem, otherwise,
and will always appear at the same three points in an inverted triangle
position. I�ve never found a real need for special attacks here, either.

Now, the chase! Players make this so much harder for themselves by shooting at
both the little explosives the Chaos Kin releases, as well as the benign
enemies scattered about. This is foolish and impractical.

By avoiding firing completely and staying in a glide, those explosives will
miss or slightly graze you for a tick on your �narrowly avoided shots� meter.
None of the enemies will attack you, though touching a stationary Splin or the
Brawny Claws will hurt; you can avoid them by readjusting your circling
position if need be.

However, there is a catch. You must inflict a bit of damage on the Chaos Kin,
because it has a meter that must be depleted by the time you have a clear shot
at it, or else it will escape. This is more health than you can hope to remove
in that little time, which means you must shoot it during the chase.

This doesn�t mean you have to be vulnerable to the nasty explosives, though.
The first three or four times it comes up close to launch waves or scatter
little shots, fire your charge shot at it and peg it with some SCF, and then
immediately return to gliding. You should be fine after three or four (use
your best judgment based on your weapon strength or lack thereof) and can
ignore the Chaos Kin for the rest of the chase.

As for when to use your special attacks, I leave that up to you. You don�t
really need them, though you can use them both when the clones return, to try
and score a 1000-point bonus; or, during the last leg, where there are far
more enemies about.

---------------------
[Land21] Land Battle
---------------------

This is really just one long Rumpus Room, so I will break it down as such.


Wave 1: Coral x4, Shulm x2, Boogity x2, Tribyte x8, Monoeye x10

If you�ve got over half your HP, ignore the food for the time being and just
move to the right a ways, and shoot every Coral in sight. Be very careful not
to hit any Shulms. Corals are the biggest threat here, due to their ability to
attack from any angle and their unpredictability.

By leaving the Shulms alive, you�ll prevent the Boogities from appearing,
allowing you to go nuts on the several waves of Tribytes and Monoeyes that
will sweep through. You�ll be able to kill most of them before any can fire,
provided you�re able to focus on them, which controlling the enemy spawns has
allowed you to do. Once you open the chest triggering the second wave, quickly
get to the outer edge of the island.


Wave 2: Rezda x3, Handora x3, Monolith, Orne

Immediately begin strafing clockwise, as the nearest Handora will likely form
a fist or send a shockwave your way. The others will spam their pellets, but
since you�re constantly on the move, they are of no threat.

Simply focus on whatever is nearest to you, which usually winds up being the
Rezdas. The Monolith slowly spirals outward and will eventually sweep along
the outer edge, so keep an eye on it if you�re taking too long.

If you plan to use Playing Dead for the next, quickly run into the center.


Wave 3: Tiny Cacaw x4, Tribyte x6, Treasurefish

Oh god. If you�ve got Playing Dead, by all means, USE IT. While being confused
is very bad, it inflicts but the tiniest nick of damage. The Tribytes are the
major source of damage, so focus on them, shooting Cacaws only when there are
no other targets within range.

Once it wears off, you may wish to use it again, or you may prefer to stay to
the edge of the island and pick off the remaining Tribytes from there. If you
do, don�t keep the camera focused on any one point, so as to better spot shots
that move in from the side. Pan left and right while strafing (be wary of
little Cacaws poking out from behind rocks!)

Remember that if you were holding the fire button down at the time you were
confused, and stay still, you may aim properly. You may also flick the control
pad to dodge, if you spot an incoming shot. It�s when you try to keep moving
or lay off the trigger that your controls become wonky.


Wave 4: Belunka (Armin x2), Belunka (Skreetle)

If you brought Instant Death Attack, use it on the way to the two pieces of
food that dropped near the center, and immediately fire a FDCS at the nearest
Belunka, which should be the one that spews Skreetles. If you were quick to
pull this off, you�ll have killed it before it could barf one up. Regardless,
do the same to the opposite Belunka (kill the Skreetle first if one appeared)
and then scramble to the nearest rock.

Do not let one chase you over to a rock, for they have some limited turning
ability and can follow you behind it, scoring a nasty hit. It�s much safer to
shoot one to get its attention, then to immediately move to a rock while it
still has a fair bit of distance to make up.

Use your jump pads in case you riled both of them up, as unless one is making
a beeline for a rock, you shouldn�t safely expect it to crash.


Wave 5: Shootfly x3, Pluton x3, Treasurefish x2

Ignore Viridi and shoot the bats down first. Line yourself up so that shooting
it will allow you to see the direction the others are moving when they take
off. Don�t shoot at point-blank range unless you know the shot will kill it
instantly, because you must be able to roll through its counterattack.
Don�t spam, as the bats will instantly change direction as long as shots are
being fired. Foxtrotting is effective in dodging multiple bats.

With them gone, find and blast the two fish, and then pummel the Plutons at
your leisure.


Wave 6: Tribyte, Boom Stomper, Bumpity Bomb x3, Sio

Here is where you�ll really need those jump pads. They�ll put enough distance
between you and the bombs that they�ll blow up before reaching you; but, more
importantly, they�ll get you the hell away from the black hole produced by the
Sio, which spawns immediately once the Bumpity Bombs are gone.

Try to kill the Tribyte on the way to the nearest jump pad, and make a beeline
for the pad again once the Sio comes into play. Being caught by that hole will
usually be your death sentence, as dodging the laser and shockwave together is
extremely difficult. If you have a second Playing Dead and are caught by the
black hole, go ahead and use it. Both the Sio and Boom Stomper drop food.

You may also lure the black hole behind a rock, which will block the Sio�s
lasers, though you must still be able to dodge the shockwaves.


Wave 7: Shildeen, Syren, Quoil x5, Monolith x2

The Monoliths are tied to the life of the Shildeen and will disappear once it
is slain. As for you, this wave is handled no differently than the Rezda &
Handora combo, though you must be aware of Quoils that may be coming toward
you from the sides. Staying close to the outer edge while you strafe works
best. Both the Shildeen and Syren will drop food.


Wave 8: Zuree x2, Komayto x4, Orne, Treasurefish

Should be a piece o� cake. Strafe the outer edge while waiting for the Zuree
to attack you, so you can deal with the Komaytos without (much) interference.

If your weapon can�t kill a Komayto in one combo, use MDAs exclusively, as
it�s not worth risking being grabbed (more for the damage, not the Orne.)
Always be mindful of that Orne, and constantly reposition yourself so that
your MDAs will leave you nowhere near it once the attack is finished. It�s not
very difficult to get both Komaytos in close proximity this way, either, which
allows you to kill them simultaneously.


Wave 9: Crawler x2, Urgle x2, Aurum Urgle x2

If you have over half your HP remaining, avoid the food for now and just focus
on killing the Urgles, which I�ve noticed will always make a beeline for
Pittoo. The Crawler likes to focus on him, as well, so long as he�s closer to
it, but you should always be ready for its shell attack. The second sets of
Urgles are also more apt to go after you. I never bother with the Icy Aura.
Be careful not to directly line yourself up with the Crawler�s face because,
if both you and Pittoo are there, you�re just asking for its rocket attack.

Now, getting behind the Crawler can be very annoying without the use of jump
pads, so don�t waste your time trying. Simply go for the nearest pad, which
should jettison you closer to its rear. The pads are also a surefire way to
dodge the shells, but you�re used to doing that the normal way, aren�t you?
Once the Crawler explodes, you get to repeat the process.


Wave 10: Guttler x2, Skreetle x3, Pew Pew x3

Ignore Viridi again and target the snacks with extreme prejudice. The smaller
enemies are much more dangerous than the Guttlers, who will almost always
munch on Dark Pit at least once, so you really can�t prevent them from bulking
up. Target the enemies closest to you, though Skreetles have a ton of range
and are no less dangerous from afar. Staying on the outer edge will also help
somewhat. Quick-charging weapons are really helpful, here, as the enemies
don�t have that much HP. Both Guttlers will drop food.

As a heads up, bright red (max size) Guttlers have HP similar to Clobblers and
will live through a ridiculous amount of abuse. Remember this when one of them
is quickly lumbering toward you, and have a jump pad you can use to escape.
I�ve never been hit by its projectiles, but being eaten by a red Guttler will
put you in Crisis Mode from full health, without fail. Nice work, Pittoo.
Way to feed him for a day. Real valuable life lesson you taught him, there.


Wave 11: Igniot x3, Monolith x3, Shrip & Gyrazer

The Igniots are what drive this wave, and the Shrips and Gyrazers will spawn
endlessly until you�ve killed three of them. The second Igniot is orbited by
a Monolith, and the third is protected by two of them. Because of this, you
won't be able to exploit dash-arounds. The third Igniot will also drop food.

I prefer to use Instant Death Attack again and make very short work of the
Igniots. The other enemies aren�t particularly accurate, but they get in the
way, and that petrification beam lasts long enough to get tiresome very fast.

Try not to get too close to the Igniots, as that tends to get you accidentally
shot by Pittoo.


Wave 12: Megonta x2, Trynamite x6, Shelbo

Stay around the rocks and focus on killing all of the Trynamites, which will
lower one at a time into the center, replacing those that just exploded.
Once a Megonta has been slain, a Shelbo will spawn, but is no different than
those you�ve killed up to this point. Rocks, as usual, make excellent cover.

Thankfully, the Megontas will do nothing but rhythmically slam down in that
circular pattern. Imagine facing two of them that rolled independently, all
the while launching seeds and exploding nuts. If you finished the previous
wave with IDA still intact, you can kill a Megonta right off the bat and maybe
even the Shelbo. You�d better kill the Shelbo right afterward, as there�ll
still be Trynamites showering you with shrapnel.


Wave 13: Monolith & Skuttler Cannoneer x4
         Giant Dohz & Snowman, Blader x2, Treasurefish or Rare Treasurefish

A bit of an explanation is in order. Monoliths carrying Skuttler Cannoneers
will whip around the island and pass through the middle two at a time, until
you�ve slain four. If you haven't earned more than one weapon yet, it seems
far more likely that a Rare Treasurefish will join the second phase. As for
the Giant Dohz, it will spawn Snowmen until you�ve destroyed the funnel on the
bottom. With its monstrous size does come quite a bit more HP, so be prepared
to plug away at it for a minute or two.

But first things first. Stay along the outer edge for the Monoliths, since you
have much less chance of being plowed over. The Cannoneers seem to stick with
arrows and are not terribly trigger-happy; try to accurately nail them with
charge shots as soon as they�re in range, by shooting in the path the Monolith
will take.

The second phase is where it�s at. You�ll have a little bit before the Dohz
busts out those nasty lasers, so do whatever you can to kill those Bladers
ASAP, especially before one of them can take off. Their own lasers chip your
HP away very quickly and are just a total pain to hit.

Dark Pit likes to hang around by the Snowmen and will bait their breath.
If you stay back far enough, you won�t be in danger of them, but that Dohz can
nail you from anywhere. Hopefully you�ve killed those Bladers by now, because
that UFO demands your full attention.

Be very diligent in spotting those spheres and stopping what you�re doing in
time to sidestep them. As soon as you see the first one move, flick the pad,
even if it ended up targeting Dark Pit. Repeat this movement twice more in
rhythm with the other two lasers, and you�ll assuredly avoid those as well.
Don�t trust the rocks to block them. You haven�t gotten any food for a little
while, and this is an awful time to be sloppy.

Occasionally I�ll feel like using my last IDA and taking out the Bladers and
Snowmen that way, but at this point I�m usually so caught up in what�s going
on that it doesn�t cross my mind.

-------------------
[Boss21] CHAOS KIN
-------------------

Because the Chaos Kin likes to repeatedly hop to the outer edge of the island,
I tend to stay around there, myself, though I will advance toward it. While it
does spam plenty of attacks, most of the challenge comes from just trying to
nail it solidly, as it moves very often and erratically. After each period of
fluttering, it�ll land, quickly attack, and take off again.

None of its attacks are to be feared, though it�ll now release two little
explosives that bounce outward, which will burn you and deal enough damage to
require you to spot and avoid them diligently. Its melee attack (rushing to
you and slashing once) also deals a little chunk of damage, but you can
interrupt it and knock it to the ground with a charge shot. Because it moves
so fast in general, it isn�t easy to tell when the melee strike is coming, but
then you�ll be trying to nail it every chance you get.

It will also use its slow but homing poison cloud very often, as well as fire
three small fireballs in quick succession. You�ve seen too many enemy attacks
like this by now, and avoiding them is no different.

If you have the pleasure of being in the right place at the right time and it
plops down right in front of you, go nuts in what little time you have.
Your charge shot plus a barrage of DCF will do. If you�re close to an Electro
Trap when it gets caught, it�ll be held long enough for you to do the same.

As I mentioned much earlier, I�ll use my four Super Armors here just because
they allow me to get a little sloppy. If you�re packing a tanking weapon, any
other form of protection is pretty unnecessary.

This little guy isn�t packing a lot of HP, so a handful of successful barrages
should do it. Most gamers will probably appreciate an easy boss to what may
have been an aggravatingly difficult level (though I�d like to think I told
you enough to prevent that.)

Keeping the cursor lined up with Dark Pit is a little harder than it was to
land on the platform in Chapter 17, but still is not a big deal. Once you move
inward, begin slowly rotating the pad to try and keep the cursors touching as
much as possible.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch22] Scorched Feathers OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 9000 Hearts

Common Drops: Hawkeye Bow, Fairy Orbitars, Viridi Claws, Sonic Cannon
              (Max of 3)

The mother of all air battles. Of all Underworld enemies to have appeared
during an aerial segment, only the Keron, Wave Angler, Coral, Shelbo, Magmoo,
Commyloose and Shootfly are absent. Everyone else is present and accounted
for; some of whom, you�ll note with some dismay, in great abundance; namely,
Splins and Syrens. The second half is incredibly difficult to run blindly,
especially with low range and/or shot speed, but with a good weapon and some
foreknowledge, the level isn�t nearly as tough.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Orbitars
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 300
RS +1
DCS +4
SCF +4
MDA +1
ED +1
HB +1

Powers: Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3, Playing Dead lv3

Aurum Orbs get my pick for the best aerial weapon in the game. Their shot
speed, range and damage are insane. On land, they charge quickly and their
charge shots hit like trains dragging a bunch of flaming petroleum cars.
The only reason I haven�t been using them religiously throughout this guide is
merely due to personal preference.

Now, then. SCF matters more than anything else. Most enemies pose no threat if
you�re killing them as soon as they appear, which a weapon geared for aerial
battles will do. Rate of fire is a little more important than power, followed
by range. If you have those three things in abundance, you may get away with
using a heavy weapon that hurts mobility somewhat (namely the Rail Cannon.)

Shot defense and recovery effect are your most useful attributes, for reasons
that need not be explained.

As for powers, Brief Invincibility is great for setting off trap chests and
looting the weapons inside, as I prefer to exit the level with more than one.
Bumblebee is very handy for avoiding Amazon Pandora�s hearts when caught off-
guard, though Effect Recovery is very important if you don�t have it. If you
are paralyzed by the first of Pandora�s hearts, BI will help greatly for the
rest (if you aren�t able to use ER right away) as your dodging will be poor.

Playing Dead is for Pandora�s fireball phase. You�ll deal much more damage to
her by shooting bombs back into her face, and she will spam that move if you
remain invisible. Of course, this also keeps your health topped up for the
real boss battle that follows. It isn�t very effective against her true form.

-----------------
[Note22] Notices
-----------------

-Killing the Soul-Eating Monster during the first or second pass by its mouth
will end the battle early enough for an extremely aggressive and bulky Mega
Mussel to spawn. Even when using a special attack it still requires a lot of
quick firepower to destroy it without taking damage. You�ve been warned.

-As the music resumes during the second half of the level, two Syrens will fly
in from the lower left and launch two very accurate whirlwinds. Even if you
can kill them from afar, it�s important to barrel roll Dark Pit sharply upward
from the bottom of the screen once the shots near; the great jump in speed and
height will be too much for the whirlwinds to turn toward, and they will
assuredly miss.

-Following those Syrens will be a Fort Oink, then a Vakloom, then a Snong;
while these three come in groups that look enticing for your special attacks,
you really should save at least one for the Splin & Ganewmede combo afterward.

-The Fire Wyrm you encounter during the final stretch will eventually bolt
through the left side of the screen and then return a moment later from the
right. It inflicts murderous amounts of damage and moves suddenly, so you must
be prepared for it well in advance. Keep both special attacks for this (more
for the enemies before and after it.)

-------------------
[Air22] Air Battle
-------------------

The Belunka on your right will immediately be joined by a bunch of arrow-
shooting Gyrazers, and spit up an Orne if not killed soon enough. Staying on
the far left will spare you from the Zuree that follows, though you probably
shouldn�t be here if your weapon can�t kill them before they slash.
The Monomiknose is no big deal so long as you aren�t afflicted with Shaking.

You must keep circling to avoid all of the pellets from those Handoras riding
atop the Monoliths, but you must also stay high, or else the platforms will
ram into you as they pass. The longer your weapon�s range, the better.

If you scored a Power-Up Drop from the Treasurefish, don�t even worry about
being grabbed by the Komaytos that follow, but save your special attack,
either way. The leftmost one will be ready to melee almost immediately and the
other two will be vulnerable a second or two later. The upcoming Zuree will be
in its vulnerable state well before it reaches you and slashes.

Staying low and to the far left following that Zuree will keep you out of the
Ornes� flight paths, though you will also be spotted by the Reapers, if you�re
not killing them in time. I move to the right after slaying the first two and
kill the third, then scoot over a little bit to stay clear of the next Orne.
The next Zuree will also be vulnerable well before it poses a threat, though
your bigger problem comes from the Miks that will swing their tongues as you
pass over or under them. Your first special attack may be of use, here, though
I�ve always been able to kill them all well beforehand.

As Palutena remarks that Dark Pit�s flight is unlimited, a Gyrazer will soon
approach from the bottom-right, constantly firing its laser; this is your cue
to stop circling, kill it, and then stay in that corner as the next two come
in from the top-left corner. A fourth Gyrazer will enter from the top-right.

Many trees abound (which you thankfully cannot crash into) and also the first
of many, many Syrens. These will launch their whirlwinds the moment they stop
gliding, so make the most of that little time. They�ll be joined by many
scampering Handoras, and another ideal occasion for a special will come up as
the camera first turns behind you.

If you have a slower weapon, circling may not squeeze you by both rocks hurled
by Petribombers, though barrel rolling will do the trick. They�re thrown from
far enough away that you can easily discern the line they�ll take.

You�ll have a special attack ready by the time that Mega Mussel finally opens
up, though weapons with large charge shots can just as easily abuse the Happy
Trigger granted by the Treasurefish. Either way, you�ll have a storm of shots
coming your way as it is joined by all the Handoras, so don�t let the Mussel
stick around for more than a couple seconds.

If you can kill every enemy in the following cubby-hole-like structure, you�ll
get a nice point bonus; either way, you must remove the Zurret quickly as its
shots will not be dodgable amidst the flaming rocks, pellets, etc. Kill each
enemy as it pops up, unless it is still around once the Zurret appears.
As you fly through the structure you just eradicated of pests, have your fire
focused top-center to detonate a Remoblam and its minions before you fly close
enough to be caught in the blasts.

Okay, now it gets pretty nasty. Because the normal Monoeye and Mik shots can
be avoided through circling, your priority is those Splins; unfortunately,
circling also increases the likelihood that Splins make contact.
Better weapons can kill them before they have the chance to split, but there
will occasionally be two at once, and attempting to kill one rushing at you
will usually allow fresh Splins to live long enough to split as well.
The occasional Mik will also lash its tongue at you, so don�t ignore them
completely, now. Use both special attacks, if you must.

The faster you defeat the Soul-Eating Monster, the tougher the remainder of
your flight becomes (up until the music resumes.) It takes a very fast rate of
fire and extremely strong SCF to expose the ball of light in the monster�s
mouth during the first pass along its body, but doing so will kill the monster
in time for a few sets of Shrips and Syrens to attack you amidst a whole swarm
of Monoeyes.

The bigger problem comes in the form of a Mega Mussel with very sturdy orbs
that will fire approximately once per second.. ..apiece. Avoiding every single
one of them is much, much easier said than done, but avoiding the Mega Mussel
entirely is not; simply wait until the THIRD pass along the Soul Eater�s body
to finally shoot at the ball of light. If you�ve skipped the Mega Mussel, the
only other enemies you must deal with are your typical Monoeyes and Miks, and
perhaps a stray Syren here or there (I always go for the Mussel.)

From here on out you will enjoy many opportunities to quickly plummet your HP
to zero, at least for the next couple minutes. Following the two Petribombers
will be two Syrens that appear far off, approaching steadily from the bottom-
left; they will launch two whirlwinds almost as quickly as they become
vulnerable, and are very difficult to avoid without barrel rolling. Do not use
your special attacks. Simply stay at the bottom of the screen and, once the
whirlwinds come near, stop shooting and twirl straight up. By shooting to the
top of the screen like that, neither shot can turn enough to reach.

By now you�ve got two special attacks. You should definitely save at least one
for the Ganewmedes and Splins, but the Fort Oink that will pop in is the next
best target. It�ll release Reapettes, but your bigger concern is the three
Komaytos surrounding it, along with the Miks alongside it, which will shoot.
To clear this without using a special, you should circle while killing the
Reapettes and then the Miks, letting go of the trigger every few seconds to
tap it and destroy one of the Komaytos (you will be able to spot the cursors
flashing very briefly.) By doing this, you may find yourself inadvertently
swatting the Mik�s shots back at them. Of course, if you manage to be grabbed
by accident, immediately use a special attack, as well as at least one F-bomb.

Once the Fort Oink has flown away or exploded, a Vakloom will move in from the
left, and some Daphne and Miks will soon join it. By flying close to the head,
this one is able to sweep its beam anywhere you can go, but cannot circle very
quickly. What you should do is focus your fire at the bottom-right corner to
try and kill the two Miks that will pop in, and then the top-right to deal
with the Daphne. Once the Vakloom has fired, avoid making small, quick
circles; its head moves much faster when you are close to it, and it�ll easily
catch up. Barrel rolling also works if there are no flowers to crash into.

The Snong is much easier to deal with than the previous two. You�ll have a
second to blast away before four Gyrazers join the scene; the two that first
appear on its left will spam arrows, so immediately kill them, and then the
one that moved beneath it to fire a laser. The last Gyrazer to appear will be
of the arrow variety, and by then, the Snong�s arms should be showing up.
Unlike land battles, they don�t pound away at you aggressively, and the attack
is easily avoided just by circling. You might even destroy it before the arms
even appear.

If you�re using a Staff or Cannon, I strongly recommend gliding once the first
two Shrips have flown by; four Paramush will quickly drop in from above and
spam enough shots to nail you if you aren�t moving at top speed. Any Shrips
that you failed to kill will loop around and come at you head-on, but there
won�t be anything else to dodge at the moment.

Here come those Splins, aaaaand... sadistically, Ganewmedes are sitting behind
them and getting in the way of most of your shots. Once the initial swarm
appears, I strongly recommend using a special. If you saved both of them, wait
a second or two for the next batch of Splins, then use another. The Ganewmedes
will fall easily to a couple pegs of SCF afterward. If you have no specials,
well... you�re going to get hurt. The question is, how much? By shooting
seldom, only when two Splins are rushing toward you, you can at least
minimalise the number of retaliatory spiked balls sent your way.

Exploding cannon shots can kill the enemies hiding behind the Monoliths, a
nice little perk if you�re using one. Either way, so long as you circle
clockwise and keep shooting at the left corners, you won�t be in any danger.
Resume your glide following the second round of Shrips, as they precede the
second round of Paramush. These Paramush will only fire once apiece, so go
ahead and shoot once they�ve done so.

This next section is actually pretty easy if you shoot preemptively and kill
most enemies just as they enter the screen, often mitigating the need to fly
in circles. As such, a simple breakdown is in order.

-Two waves of Reapettes from above. Quickly divert your fire to the three Miks
trailing the giant Monoeye, though, as they will soon fire. The Monoeyes that
trail the giant Mik will not fire until they begin moving sideways.

-Two Petribombers on the far right of the giant Komayto. After you kill them,
the Komayto should be about ready to melee, and two more Petribomers will
approach from the far right.

-Three Daphne from the far left-center.

-Reapettes at two o�clock.

-Monoeyes bottom-center, though you�ll inevitably waste some shots on the
three Monoliths that guard them. Circle to be safe.

-Reapettes at three o�clock.

-The giant Mik and Monoeye do nothing but distract you from the Reapettes
coming in at 12 o�clock.

Here we are, the final stretch! It doesn�t have to be the hardest, either,
unless you waste your special attacks. Hope that you receive a Power-Up Drop
from the Treasurefish, as it�s a very big help. Your main threats come in the
order of Syrens, then the Trailtails, then a lot more Paramush, then the
dreaded Fire Wyrm, and yet more Syrens. Remember the barrel roll if multiple
Syrens are firing at you, though these sets will be close enough to kill them
ahead of time (provided you go after them first.)

Once the Trailtails appear, your objective is to kill the one that zips across
the very top of the screen, from right to left. If you can do that, you can
get to the top of the screen and fly over the two crossing bands of webbing.
You may also duck the horizontal band and quickly lift yourself over the other
bands, but the timing is strict.

Whichever you do, Paramush will then immediately drop in and fire at you from
very close range. While raking the top of the screen works, another pair of
Syrens will accompany them and should be your first targets. This is not a
tall order if you killed the Trailtail earlier and have a clear shot at them
before the shrooms appear.

With the second set of Paramush comes the Fire Wyrm and yet more Syrens.
What I prefer to do is use a special attack and move to the right corner and
stay there, using a barrel roll to avoid the Syrens� whirlwinds if they were
able to fire before I killed them, and moving back to the left right after the
Fire Wyrm charges through it. I pelt the Fire Wyrm if there�s nothing else to
shoot, and am able to finish it off before it charges forward again, this time
through the right side. Naturally, yet another pair of Syrens shows up as it
flies back onto the screen.

Keep circling as you behold the Rewind Spring, while you wait for a set of
arrow-spamming Gyrazers to appear, your final hurdle before the loading
screen. Go ahead and fire once Viridi says �as the name implies..� keeping
the reticle on the upper-right corner, where the first one will appear; the
next two will be on your left, and then the final two on your right again.
If you have a special attack, you might as well use it.

------------------------
[Boss22] AMAZON PANDORA
------------------------

If you�re patient, Pandora�s fireball form is actually more difficult than her
Amazonian form, if only because there�s much more to dodge at a time and she
can rapidly deplete your stamina. However, with Playing Dead in effect, you
can end this first phase in as little as ten seconds. With quickly-charging
shots, it�s even easier. All you must do is stand there and pelt her, aiming
for her bombs every time she produces them; they will inflict much more damage
than SCF alone and, with PD in effect, she will not move around and get out of
the bombs� way in doing so.

Without Playing Dead, you have a looooot of sidestepping to do. Hope that she
uses her discs or little ramming attack more often than her fireballs, as they
require fewer dodges to completely avoid and provide somewhat larger windows
to shoot her. Have charge shots ready to hit multiple bombs back at her at
once. You may take a lot of damage, but shouldn�t sweat it. This fight is
essentially the same as her Ch5 battle, albeit with much more aggression.

The key to beating Amazon Pandora with as little frustration as possible is to
stay along the outer edge of the spring, to be able to take in as much of it
as possible. Her traps will not appear this far back, either, though she will
swat her bombs directly at you.

Apart from those bombs, which fly at you at high speeds, you�re primarily
looking out for her giant hearts. These will paralyze you, guaranteed, and it
is nigh impossible to avoid all of them if you�ve been paralyzed by one.
Fortunately, they only come one at a time and in an easily anticipated rhythm.
By staying far back, you can easily notice her teleport to a bomb or to a
random point on the spring, which indicates that some hearts are coming your
way. In between hearts, if there are bombs present, you should always expect
her to knock one your way.

The hearts that fan out from her as she feigns defeat will inflict Weakening,
so avoid them at all costs (sidestep the moment the music resumes; this is
easier to do at a large distance.) Also avoid getting too close to her, as you
will bait her blade attack; the blade itself will hit you for around half of
your max HP, while the five shockwaves that follow (if you weren�t quite as
close) will hit you for full damage, which amounts to about 90% of your health
bar. Instead, save your dash charge shots for her fourth heart or a bomb,
which presents a nice window to nail her.

If you are hit by a heart, use Brief Invincibility or Effect Recovery right
away as damage control. While I do use BI to set off trap chests, it�s still
risky and can often prevent me from seeing where she is; save your own BIs for
necessary protection unless you�re as greedy as I am. If you�ve brought
Bumblebee along and used it, avoid the chests altogether.

Should you be so careless as to step on her traps that hold you in place, use
an evasive power (Playing Dead will work, if you�ve got a second one) and try
to endure the punishment you deserve.

Keeping your distance is all you need to avoid her blade entirely, easily the
worst thing she can do, and you will also avoid triggering the summoning of
mirrors to reflect your shots. Very rarely, she�ll launch six hearts instead
of four, as well as a single, tiny heart, not unlike those during her feint,
which will also afflict you with Weakening; apart from that, the remainder of
the fight should be no different than before. Saving the cooldown-laden dash
shots for the moment she�s finished attacking will ensure that you win this
fight, even if her fireball form left you without much HP.

I once managed to beat her without triggering her feint of defeat, but I have
absolutely no idea what caused it. I was using a Pudgy Palm, and thought to
myself that she was taking way too long to enter her second phase, when
suddenly I heard the telltale "POW!" and the battle was over. I was still
playing 9.0, so lower intensity had nothing to do with it. Perhaps I inflicted
enough damage while she was in the middle of her bomb swat to avoid triggering
it? Or maybe it was a bug? If this happened to anyone else, I'd like to know
the circumstances.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch23] Lord of the Underworld OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 13410 Hearts

Common Drops: Somewhat Staff, Black Club, Aquarius Blade, Beam Claws
              (Max of 3)

So many people hate the boss of this level, and I can�t really understand why.
I can only deduce that these people either come unprepared, or come prepared
and waste their powers during the (admittedly difficult) Rumpus Room just
prior to the the boss room. Barring the effing Komaytos, I find this level to
be very enjoyable and only a tad on the difficult side.

My weapon of choice:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3, Playing Dead lv3

The decision behind your power set is simple: if you�re running a weapon with
high defense, bring Aeries Armor, Health Recovery and Brief Invincibility (you
can only fit lv2 BI with the lv4 versions of the aforementioned powers.)
If you�re running high offense, just bring evasive powers, those being PD,
Bumblebee, and your choice between BI, Idol Transformation, and Celestial
Firework. The fireworks and Idol Trans are really useful for blocking
explosions you have no hope of avoiding, as well as stalling out rampages with
its many uses (not that you shouldn�t use them very selectively.) Because Idol
Trans takes up less space and provides the same number of uses as Firework
lv2, you should take IT (unless you'll be using both.)

The air battle is kind of pathetic for this point in the game, so anything
that will do you well on land is sufficient, though you should preferably use
something with at least decent speed and stamina.

-----------------
[Note23] Notices
-----------------

-The first Cellular Sinistew you come to will be in front of some platforms
you must first lower to ascend. Do not try to board one and ride it up before
that hand tries to grab you.

-Once you reach two different platforms which will lift you once you stand on
them, the left one will bring you to a Cellular Gyrazer which drops Meat when
slain. However, this also spawns an Igniot and two Komaytos for you to face as
you drop back down. It�s not really worth it.

-Staying as far to the left as possible of the Cellular Shildeen�s barrier
will also keep you safe from the bevy of shots coming from its cohorts.

-Unlike the chests, the food that appears during the Rumpus Room will not
disappear in between waves. As soon as you eat one piece of food, the next
item will immediately appear. This allows you to repeatedly restore health as
you need it, so don't eat them unnecessarily.

-If the Rumpus Room left you with pitiful amounts of HP, proceed extremely
carefully down the hallway that opens. The first Handora is out in the open
and must be shot immediately, but the small bends in the corridor make a
decent cover from the others. You�ll still only have a small window to kill
them before they�ll resume shooting.

-------------------
[Air23] Air Battle
-------------------

There is nothing that may pose a threat to you while circling apart from those
Splins and, since you�ve got a special attack, why not use it? Well, aside
from not really needing it in the first place which, if you�re using the
weapon that got you through the previous chapter, you probably shouldn�t.

While that Mega Mussel will shoot somewhat rapidly, it is nowhere near as fast
as the one encountered during the previous level, and again doesn�t really
warrant a special. As you turn downward, center yourself and be ready to tap
the L button as soon as that cursor flashes, which should kill all three
Komaytos at once. Drop straight down right afterward and kill the topmost
Gyrazer first, then the two on either side of you.

Firing straight at the Fort Oink�s face will detonate the Shulms well before
they reach you. As you enter the tunnel, you�ll be pleased to note the lack of
Trailtails, though there are still a number of Komaytos to contend with.
Staying right will keep you away from the Ornes.

The rotation of the camera makes it kind of tough to tell exactly where those
blue.. things will be the moment you pass them, but they deal very little
damage, so don�t sweat it. Plus, the hardest is already over.

This segment is more known for its dialogue than anything else, and for good
reason; this is a complete joke. Once Hades retorts that his breath is really
the least of Pit�s concerns, begin shooting.

I�m sure this guy has more than two moves, but this phase is ended so damn
quickly that I�ve never seen them. You don�t need any strategy, either.
Circling alone will avoid most if not all of his fists and, should he
teleport and cause the camera to pan left or right, a barrel roll to the
opposite side of the screen (horizontally) will avoid his big slash.

---------------------
[Land23] Land Battle
---------------------

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Handora x2
Wave 2: Bluster, Handora x2

For once, you�re made to work for your food, but it�s easily earned, at least.
Step forward just a little to trigger those telltale purple flames, and with
them two Handoras; they�ll both drop Meat when slain. It�s been a long time
since you�ve fought a Bluster, but you can quickly blast away its cloudy coat,
leaving it to do nothing but afflict you with Shaking status. The attack moves
very fast, but you�ll know it�s coming by the Bluster drawing its head back.

Those three Monoeyes in the distance will not only fire aggressively, but your
charge shots can just as easily hit the pink fleshy wall behind them, and not
the enemies. Take cover on either side of the door and run back and forth,
firing a single dash shot into the doorway and waiting for any shots to come
your way, which you should be ready to sidestep. Try to kill two of them
before you enter the area to finish off the third.

I deal with the four Komaytos by luring them individually into the little
corridor behind me, and spamming MDAs to destroy them, though this is partly
necessitated by my weapon�s awful melee damage. Regardless, don�t put yourself
between the fleshy walls, or try to take on two at once (though it�s not that
difficult to do so, your next piece of food comes after something much more
annoying than this.)

As you approach the next fleshy wall, quickly shoot it and grab the Cyclone
item, then lob it over the wall at that clump of Monoeyes. Stay in that little
alcove, which should keep you safe 95% of the time; once in a blue moon, a
single shot will make it over the wall and hit me.

Use the cover of the intensity gate alcove to avoid Bluster and Monoeye shots
while waiting for a moment to pop out and shoot. Your first target should be
the tilting thing that spawns the Monoeyes (hopefully you�ve got the range to
hit it from atop the green sponge) and you shouldn�t venture into the area to
focus on the Bluster until it is gone.

The organ producing the Monoeyes will drop Meat, but before you can grab it,
you should carefully approach that bend and be ready to blast the three
Handoras that will ambush you. Dash sideways after killing whatever you were
able to, and don�t turn your back until you�re sure you�ve killed all three.

Use one of the Bouncy Bombs on the Komayto cluster, and save the other.
What you want to do is strafe while shooting, to avoid throwing the other bomb,
which will allow you to kill the giant Igniot and then the Handora around the
corner; stay back far enough to avoid the Sinistew�s hand, then quickly get on
the green sponge and ride it up.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Snong, Komayto x2
Wave 2: Handora

Toss the Bouncy Bomb at the Komaytos and be done with them, then deal with the
Snong as normal, though it�ll be pissed off and go for six stomps. If you have
a weapon that�s powerful enough, though, you can avoid saving the Bouncy Bomb
altogether and just unload everything you�ve got on the Snong, killing it well
before it even summons an arm. The lone Handora will spawn in the center of
the floor.

See that Handora in the distance? It�ll spot you as soon as you step off the
piece of flesh that carried you up. The Skuttlers will also come running,
though they�re no threat. The Handora will drop another piece of Meat for you.

Kill the Igniot from the raised platform with the Meat, and then that Monoeye
buried in the flesh, which will spawn a nearby chest. As you approach the
chest, some Gyrazers will appear in front of the passage in which the Igniot
stood. Once you kill the Gyrazer in the passage next to it, another piece of
flesh will lift you into an ambush of sorts, with two Handoras on your right.

Choose the floor that was behind the Handoras to be lifted up to a Skuttler
and two more Komaytos. Kill them quickly, and a Rare Treasurefish will drop
down in front of the nearby tunnel. In addition to being patrolled by a
Monolith, two Komaytos will also slowly be making their way down. If you want
to be assuredly safe, wait until the Monolith has entered your area, then get
in front of it and sprint, using a MDA to get past any Komayto in your way.

Once your grind rail trip is over, immediately get as far left as you can and
hold that direction while you pelt away at the Shildeen�s barrier. The next
rail will spit you out on a platform with a winding path behind it; the two
Gyrazers that will appear shortly afterward will spawn a Sinistew when slain,
and that Sinistew will spawn a Snong and two Monoeyes. You get no reward for
your efforts, so I�ve always killed the Gyrazers and then fled. If you hopped
back onto the rail and headed toward the Aquarius chamber, the enemies will be
replaced by a mere two Handoras.

And this little piggy had Skuttlers. Like the organ that spawned Monoeyes,
you�ll get a piece of Meat for destroying that one, as well.

Stay in the back of the area you�ll fall into, which Hades� punches will not
reach, and sidestep any shots that come your way if you couldn�t kill both
enemies before they fired. So Hades eats when he�s upset, eh? Grab the food
if you need it, then move to the rock nearest the Hamburger that will appear
(well, technically, the burger will appear before the rock, but whatever.)

RRRRRRRRRUMPUS ROOOOOOOOOM :D

Wave 1: Skuttler, Skuttler Cannoneer, Boogity
Wave 2: Tortolunk, Armin
        ~Slaying Tortolunk immediately spawns Erinus, Pluton
        ~Slaying Armin immediately spawns Bumbledrop, Specknose
Wave 3: Porcuspine, Gloomerang, Zik & Zak
Wave 4: Crawler, Skuttler Cannoneer x4

Hoo boy. Those second and fourth waves are a frigging doozy. Before I discuss
them, I should warn you that standing in the places rubble will drop WILL get
you hurt, and that the chests that spawn along with the enemies will disappear
if they aren�t opened before the next wave spawns. Avoid the Killer Eye during
the second wave, because its shots are indescrimenate and will hurt you, too.
As for the food, you�ll get four pieces, one after the other, which will pass
along with the waves; because of this, eat it only when you need it!

Use your stored charge shot to nail the Cannoneer, and you�ll have a clean
shot if you stood where I told you. If you miss or otherwise fail to do so,
just try to remove the plain Skuttler right away and keep that Boogity in your
sights. That missile should be approaching you by now. Save the Ice Card until
you�ve got just the Boogity to deal with.

I recommend killing the Tortolunk first because the Armin easily incapacitates
itself (don�t go too long without spinning the camera to check on it, though.)
Let the Erinus shoot while you target the Pluton and stun the Armin again, if
necessary, then go nuts on the ghoul. Its bum rush is the most powerful attack
you can be hit with during this rumpus, so avoid it at all costs. Foxtrot if
you haven�t yet learned the timing between its windup and its charge.

With the Armin by itself, things become much easier for a minute. All you must
do is keep an eye on the Bumbledrop enough to notice when it flops over, and
then stay out of its line. If you�ve got a piece of rubble behind you, it will
prevent the Specknose�s bombs from nailing you from behind, but then I prefer
destroying them with my charge shots right after they�re launched.

Save the Dodge Token until the last enemy remains, which should be the
Porcuspine. You�ll have enough time to kill the Zik and Zak before the
Gloomerang is ready to toss its mask, though I suppose more tanky weapons will
have to keep the camera toward the middle of the room to keep an eye on it.

The Crawler will drop next to the largest rock, facing the wall, and will have
its weak spot facing you if you�re standing on the other side. You can unload
on it, but any weapon that can�t kill it in those precious few seconds before
it moves should instead focus on the Cannoneers, which will attack frequently.

The Dodge Token will work only if you strafe, so stick with SCF or SCS unless
you know your charge shot will kill them instantly. Be careful when doing this
as the other Cannoneer or the Crawler can just as easily shoot you during your
downtime! With all four gone (they�ll only appear two at a time) you can face
the Crawler as normal, though you may not have your Dodge Token in effect by
this point. Still, you�ve encountered these bastards enough by now. The rocks
will block those arrows, but the shell must still be sidestepped. Wait for the
�ting� or the quick flare that appears before dodging.

Almost done... creep through the narrow passage very carefully, listening for
the gaps in between fire and stepping out from the bends to fire a quick shot
at both of the Handoras. The first one kinda requires you to hastily shoot it.

Are we to assume that the Lurchthorns and Captain Galaxies that fight for
Viridi weren�t depicted on the screens displaying her meddling, or did she
just think that Pit wasn�t worth more than a handful of basic units?

----------------------
[Boss23] HADES� HEART
----------------------

So much fuss over such a simple �boss.� The camera angle here is more an enemy
than anything else. All you must do is stall out three or four rampages (the
number depends on the amount of damage you inflicted before setting it off)
and then barrage it with fire one more time.

It�s easiest to do this by staying along the outer walls, especially in the
corners, which limit the directions the heart can tackle you. Of course, this
also allows the yellow clones to flush you out into the open, but you can both
see this coming as well as rely on your (hopefully un-depleted) stock of handy
powers to grant you imperviousness to damage.

Don�t bother running at all, unless it�s to escape an explosion (not while the
heart is chasing you) and you can round a corner in time. Instead, you should
simply parallel the heart as it mindlessly walks the maze, firing charge shots
and some DCF as it comes out into the open. The clones will only emerge from
the heart itself and cannot take you by surprise, so you can halt your offense
while you take a corner or two to get away from them. While they will try to
line up with you to some degree, they�ll root themselves and explode before
long and can be easily kept well out of reach just by maintaining a good
distance.

When you finally do piss the heart off, you should be in a corner. The heart
will make a beeline for you and then repeatedly try to pass through you while
making as few turns as possible, which is why cornering yourself is so
effective (no need to guess which way to dodge, even if you can�t see it.)
Always dodge toward the heart.

The only hiccup to this is when the heart creates a clone while it rampages,
which typically leaves you between a rock and a hard place, but that is where
Brief Invincibility, Celestial Firework, or Bumblebee comes in. If you keep
moving along the outer wall as you dodge, you�ll be able to more easily spot
the clones if one is spawned, and book it for a corner or use a power in time.

Playing Dead makes surviving the rampages so easy. Just piss off the heart,
and hide. If your weapon isn�t all that strong, you may need to set the heart
off four times instead of three, and should hold out for the third rampage to
use it.

When I played this stage often using my OD +7 Middy Palm, I simply tanked the
hits I failed to dodge and healed the damage with HR once I dropped below
half. Aeries Armor has a pretty nice duration, though not long enough to use
it and just dumbly follow the heart.

As a final bit of advice, don�t get close to the heart when it isn�t enraged,
as this is usually when it will leave a mine behind. The mines will inch
toward you a bit before detonating, though they may also be rolled through.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch24] The Three Trials OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 12500 Hearts

Common Drops: Palutena Bow, Orb Staff, Pudgy Palm, Predator Cannon,
              End-All Arm (Max of 3)

While it may not be as hated as much as Arlon or Pit�s Body, the Great Sacred
Treasure is widely considered the most difficult boss in the game, and the
level itself doesn�t hold back on the nastiness, either. Unfortunately, much
of this level comes down to your own ability, whereas weapon guidelines and
advice will only carry you so far. Having said that...

My weapon of choice:

Artillery Claws
R: 6
M: 0
V: 303
DCS +4
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Trade Off lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Playing Dead lv3

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the mother of all Solo Mode land battle
weapons... the infamous Arties. While a number of weapons are known for their
absurdly high raw damage, none of them also pack the ridiculous speed and
stamina of these babies.

Seriously, if this level is routinely stomping you and your typical 9.0 weapon;
if this is the last level you need to clear on 9.0; if this level has already
driven you nuts, then it�s time to get yourself a pair of Arty Claws. While I
have managed to also clear it with my Boom Orbs, they still were not as
effective as the claws.

While you may prefer a little more bulk than I have, I must urge you not to
settle for a pair of claws without at least a mod that buffs SCF or DCF.
Artillery Claws are renowned for nothing but their damage- massive,
long-ranged damage unscaled by distance- and so it is well worth your while to
buff it.

Many players swear by the Rose and Laser Staves, due to their excellent range
and damage. While that�s true, their crippling lack of stamina makes Pseudo
Palutena much harder than she needs to be (quite an easy boss with the Arts)
that I must still hype the claws for players having trouble.

As for powers, therein lies another huge divide between players. Myself, using
the Artillery Claws, have beaten this level using two power sets: the
aforementioned one, as well as Playing Dead, Super Armor, and Reflect Barrier.
Neither set has failed me once in the dozen-plus runs I�ve made of this level,
though the Trade Off set is easier. Most players will at least bring Playing
Dead, while the remaining grid spots are taken up by any of Energy Charge,
Reflect Barrier, Health Recovery, Tirelessness, Super Armor, Effect Recovery,
and Trade Off.

Tirelessness is used for the same purpose I use Brief Invincibility: that damn
overclocked Dohz along the way to Space Kraken Redux. I greatly prefer BI not
only because I am then able to destroy the Dohz for the chest it spawns, but
because Tirelessness does not stop the Dohz from shooting me in the back
unless I foxtrot the entire length of the staircase, which is bloody annoying.

Players unanimously agree that, Dohz aside, all of your powers should be
reserved for the Great Sacred Treasure. This means defeating Mimicuties
without any help whatsoever, and tackling the many bosses with a minimum of
sloppiness. Fortunately, failed runs of this chapter will still net you a lot
of practice, especially against the Phoenix, the first boss you�ll face and
easily the most annoying of the rematches.

-----------------
[Note24] Notices
-----------------

-Save your special attacks for the Monoeye and Mik duo following the
Monomiknose. They both have a ton of HP and are very mobile and aggressive.
Weapons with Freezing mods and Claws have a much easier time.

-If you�ve avoided Mimicuties entirely until now, just remember that you
should always dodge forward through them. Dodging backward to avoid their
flurry of kicks is not foolproof.

-Unlike the Phoenix and Cragalanche, the food given to you prior to the Space
Kraken is not dropped in a set before the boss room opens, but by individual
enemies; this also means you can needlessly take hits and waste much of it
before entering the room. Avoid recklessly spamming dash shots.

-Also avoid recklessly spamming dash shots against Pseudo Palutena, who is
adept at rapidly chipping your HP to zero and demands you be able to sidestep
at a moment�s notice.

-You will begin the GST fight well away from the left side of the area, which
is the only place safe from its instant death attack. Slow weapons like Staves
will want to gradually make their way over there while piling on damage.

-------------------
[Air24] Air Battle
-------------------

I�ve taken to using my special attack right off the bat against the enemies
playing Space Invaders, as the clouds and missiles are an irksome combination.
Avoid the right side of the screen when shooting the Pong imitators, as that
Pip has quite a bit of health and can easily hit you. Slower weapons will be
better off gliding when facing the number of fast-moving Bladers and Syrens,
which take a lot of abuse and fire frequently. Shoot the Quoils in the order
they appear, which is also the order in which they�ll dart at you.

While it looks like the huge swarm of Aurum Monoeyes is creating more by
cloning more off of the pre-existing ones, more will just appear out of
nowhere if you are somehow able to kill every Monoeye immediately present.

Somebody really likes putting Clobblers in air battles, because this is the
second time we�ve faced them without ground to walk on. Like Chapter 21, these
take very little abuse to defeat. The Captain Galaxies that follow will summon
Shootflies instead of comets, in a triangular formation.

Those Nutskis will turn into a Roz if you are unable to kill them before the
Monoliths shut in front of them; this requires a very fast shot and precise
aim, so you should always move to a corner that�s safe, regardless. The first
Roz hits the lower-left; the second, right-middle; the third, upper-middle;
and the fourth, lower-left again.

After you�ve dealt with the ring of Aurum Monoeyes, keep your reticle on the
upper-right and you should inevitably hit the two Minos which orbit the two
giant Nutskis that�ll appear.

Be firing as you enter the doorway to get a little jump on the swarm of
Reapettes. Unlike the first Juggernaut you encountered, this one will already
be lobbing rocks at you, so it�s important to maintain your circling. Once the
Juggernaut is gone, though, avoid the far edges of the room until the two
Ornes have begun moving forward, or else you can be smacked by an offscreen
Roz. Stay beneath the Orne on the left, and both Rozzes behind them will miss.

The best way to handle the meaty Monoeye and Mik is to use a special attack,
then repeatedly tap the L button to melee them as they fly past, which quickly
charges the special meter. Claws will have a full special after just one full
combo, that being five hits. If you�ve got powerful SCF, you can also simply
use both specials and freely blast away under its protection. Even better,
Freezing +4 will take effect nigh instantly and effectively neuter them until
the segment is finished.

Stay centered as you melee the lead in the Komayto quintuplets, then either
use another special attack or glide against the Taklax, which will fire more
rapidly than those found in the Aurum chapters. The Shulms bouncing back and
forth are more threatening than the Shrips spinning in the walls, but if you
fire straight ahead of you, the passage should be cleared (of Shulms) in time.

Stay in either bottom corner for the First Blades, then bottom-center for the
Tiger Claws, and then top-left or bottom-right for the Palutena Bow.

---------------------
[Land24] Land Battle
---------------------

Just avoid the path to the Zodiac chamber, as your return trip will pit you
against two Space Pirate Commandos and a Porcuspine, an annoying combination.

The tight Cellular/Monoeye/Aurum formation that greets you at the base of the
stairs will not shoot, and by leaving them alone, the second set will not even
appear; for that matter, a second Monoeye will appear only to replace the
specific one you had just slain. These will fan out and shoot somewhat
frequently, but are easily sent to their doom by shooting once they're
hovering beyond the staircase.

Further on, you�ll be halted by an Urgle, Centurion Archer, and Monoeye, but
should be able to kill or dodge the Urgle by the time there are shots to
sidestep. That Claxis ahead will be dormant until you get close, so take
advantage of that and have a charge shot ready.

The top platform will pit you against three Flages and a Captain Galaxy.
Spamming DCF works quite well, though the comets will still be able to hit you
on the stairs. Approach the middle of the room every so often to keep the
Flages around there, as they�ll also make their way toward the stairs.


***Phoenix Redux***

That Boom Spear will do quite a bit of damage to the birdie, though you should
wait for him to do his fried chicken attack before gunning for it, which
allows you to concentrate on avoiding his flaming rocks. Apart from vastly
reduced HP, this fight is no different than previously; if you�re only just
now learning to fight him without powers, consult my Chapter 10 walkthrough.


Don�t forget to kill Plixos at ground level for their treasure chests. You�ll
score another chest if you can kill that harmless Megonta before it rolls off
the edge, though of course you should kill the Miks, first, as they will still
attack. Killing both Bumpity Bombs yourself will create a piece of food
further up. As you reach the flat level beyond that Orne, two Nutskis will pop
in, but you�ll have a second to kill each one before it begins firing; DCF
that sprays outward is effective, as you need not have good aim.

Ah, the notorious Mimicutie triplets. Remember: Always dodge FORWARD. Save the
dash shots until you�re behind them during their flurry, and stick with SCF or
SCS until their next attack. This ensures you aren�t caught off-guard.

Stand by the door once the third Mimicutie is toast, which allows you to score
a back attack on the Reaper (kill the three Reapettes first.) There�s more
than enough room to avoid it; the Medusa Head will not be all that helpful,
anyway, due to its sluggishness and petrification halving your damage.
I wouldn�t bother with it.


***Cragalanche Redux***

An even easier boss, with patience. By avoiding sloppy mistakes, you�ll be
able to save the food at the base of the stairs until after you�ve destroyed
the Dohz, which is much more difficult to defeat completely unscathed.


If your weapon is quite powerful, which it should be, you should be able to
unload on the Dohz at close range and destroy it within 2-3 uses of Brief
Invincibility, if not one, or one use of Reflect Barrier; Staff users can
simply retreat to the main platform, which frequently causes the Dohz�s lasers
to harmlessly plow into the pillars or base of the steps. It�ll eventually
begin spawning Nukleens, but more often than not you�ll destroy the underside
well before that happens. Without destroying it, you�re basically forced to
use Tirelessness; it fires way too often to rely on your own stamina,
especially when foxtrotting, which is the only way to avoid being shot in the
back. You�ll earn a chest for doing so, anyway, so go for it!

The Aurum Shemum Vase up there will randomly produce five enemies, one at a
time, from an assortment of Urgles, Porcuspines, and yellow Space Pirates.
The vase itself has a ton of HP and takes forever to destroy with poor melee
weapons. Up ahead, that single Trynamite poses no threat, but the worst is yet
to come. See that Back Shield? Make a beeline for it.

Rumpus Room!
Wave 1: Juggernaut, Fort Oink (Trynamite x2)
Wave 2: Space Pirate, Nutski, Claxis
Wave 3: Monoeye, Souflee

The key to preventing the first wave from getting extremely ugly is to face
away from the Fort Oink and unload everything you�ve got on the Juggernaut,
rolling behind it if you must. You�ll have several seconds before those first
two Trynamites explode and, with a weapon like Artillery Claws, can even turn
around in time to safely kill them yourself. Remember that the shield will
protect the front of you during a backward dash! From there, the Fort Oink is
no problem and you can concentrate on eliminating the Trynamites until it
produces no more. Once the Fort Oink explodes, move toward the outer edge of
the platform to have a good view.

This should allow you to instantly spot the Claxis, which you should kill
ASAP, as it is very dangerous alongside the Space Pirate (both of which,
ideally, demand your full attention.) The Nutski can be merely swatted out of
the air. While the Space Pirate inflicts more raw damage than the Claxis, it
attacks less frequently and is easier to dodge, requiring a single roll; the
Claxis tends to launch a missile and then spam rounds of 5-6 energy balls.
Once you�ve shot at the Claxis, strafe with SCF while keeping an eye on the
Space Pirate (probably on your left), which will allow you to dodge as needed.
Once you've avoided its uppercut, go nuts with DCF and eliminate them both.

The Monoeye just requires patience. It has a ton of HP, but can be knocked out
of the air repeatedly. As long as you aren�t spammy with the dash shots, you
shouldn�t take any damage. Remember that a scampering chest also spawned along
with the Monoeye, but you don�t have to open it before killing it. The Souflee
on the other hand will leave once the Monoeye is slain.

The Space Pirate, Claxis, and Monoeye will drop food, and... that�s it.
Because of this, you can be excessively sloppy during the fight and waste most
of the HP you restored, which can make surviving the Space Kraken bout
unnecessarily difficult.


***Space Kraken Redux***

Remember to keep moving, and keep a lookout for tentacles folding at the tip,
which indicates one will slam down very soon. The grenade sitting on the side
can destroy two tentacles at once if aimed properly. Every time the head
attacks, anticipate those horrible eye darts afterward and sidestep them, or
you�re dead on the water. This means no dash shots until just after the darts.


***Magnus & Gaol***

The key to making this fight as easy as possible is to keep Magnus in a downed
state, which is done rather easily by charge shots with high speed and
knockback (such as, whaddya know, Arty Claws.) In doing so, you�ll also be
free to keep an eye on Gaol, who will send plenty of projectiles your way as
well as charge, but otherwise provides only a fraction of the difficulty in
this fight. You can focus on Gaol, who does not dodge, but this of course
allows Magnus to actually pose a significant threat and is not recommended.

Without knockback, this is a pretty difficult fight. Magnus is highly
aggressive and fast, dodges quite well, and deals a ton of damage with his
combos. While weapons with freezing and other useful status mods will
inevitably afflict him with them, it takes quite a bit of abuse to do this and
shouldn�t be relied upon.

What I�ll do is nail him with a DCS in any direction, sending him flying, and
then launch DCF or SCF at Gaol (range providing.) Once he rises to his feet,
he�ll be adept at sidestepping most of the shots, so I�ll charge another and
let him have it. With slower weapons, it�s important to stick exclusively to
charge shots, as you�ll want to have another one prepared once he resumes
trying to close in on you. The better your speed, the easier things get, as
you�ll be able to avoid Magnus without much hassle (aren�t Arty Claws perfect
for this level?) It�s especially important to keep your distance when he
twirls his blade overhead, as it'll draw you in for an absolutely brutal
overhead swing.

The first opponent you defeat will drop a Drink of the Gods, and the second
will fall shortly afterward (they appear to share an overall health meter.)


***Pseudo Palutena***

The first phase of this fight should be treated much like the Ch20 bout, only
without the Chaos Kin getting involved. Once she shows her ugly face, though,
things get much more hectic. She�s got a couple more attacks, and has beefed
up some of her earlier moves substantially. A quick rundown:

-She�ll produce two orbs that fire intermittently at you, instead of one.

-Instead of blinding you, she�ll fill the screen with a thick red haze.

-Just about everything she does is now drastically sped up, especially her
vertical laser beams and fireballs that inflict Weakening status.

-Red darts: She�ll spray a ton of pointy little things outward a decent width
from her, which deal quite a bit of chip damage but are highly inaccurate and
avoided via foxtrotting. Taking no damage whatsoever is not easy; though, the
farther away you are, the wider the gaps between some shots, which makes it
possible to safely stand between them. Still, I don�t recommend trying this.

-Guided laser: Used only when you�re moderately close to her, she�ll fire a
laser beam at the floor in front of her, which quickly traces a line straight
ahead; once the beam is level with you, it'll turn once toward your present
position. Because of its movement, this attack is extremely easy to avoid, and
it'll often cancel itself immediately due to your already being out of its
range. Once you spot the beam, moving backward or sideways a little will do.

-Staff: If you come within a few character lengths of her, this incredibly
powerful whack to your noggin will teach you the error of your ways.
She�ll run up to you to use this, but you must also be very close to her to
begin with.

Your stamina will be given a real workout, because she attacks almost
incessantly and will force you to sidestep a great deal. Having said that, you
can manipulate her moves somewhat by keeping quite a bit of distance, which
will cause her to use her vertical laser beams more than anything else
(usually the giant one that engulfs her and brings her closer.)

With Artillery Claws, strafing while constantly firing works really well,
while using DCF to destroy her shooting orbs. DCF from Arts can often be used
in lieu of conventional sidestepping, for everything except her trio of
vertical laser beams, and fireballs, but it�s easy to be greedy and careless.
There is no need whatsoever to run, and SCF will finish her before long.
Charge shots are generally unnecessary, though her laser and fireball attacks
will give you time to charge one, as you won�t be shooting.

With a Staff, try keeping at least a third of the room�s length between you
and using SCS if your SCF is not buffed. Your frequent sidestepping will not
change, though you�ll be far easier to hit and should not try to run unless
she is getting too close for you to adequately see her shots coming.

-------------------------------
[Boss24] GREAT SACRED TREASURE
-------------------------------

Palutena is quite right in telling you that running from the GST�s shots is
often more effective than trying to dodge the conventional way. Of course, if
you�re using a Staff, this just isn�t practical. What IS practical is a
healthy diet of Reflect Barrier, followed by a charge shot and some DCF.
Aside from Playing Dead, Reflect Barrier is arguably the best protection you
can have in this fight. Of course, the GST loves to rush at you full throttle
in between shots, so don�t ever get comfy standing behind your mirror.

If you brought Trade Off, you should simply begin the fight by using both PDs
and damaging the GST as much as possible until the floor begins to glow; at
this point, once it returns to the floor, immediately use Trade Off and finish
the job lickety-split. Even if you took a ton of damage beforehand, a strong
weapon should be able to clean up.

Without Trade Off, it�s safer to keep the Playing Deads until after the floor
is ravaged, and use Super Armor and Reflect Barrier until then. While hiding,
use Energy Charge or Health Recovery if you brought them.

When the GST is close by, it�s incredibly difficult to tell what kind of shot
it�ll use until the thing is pretty much going to hit you. With any luck it�ll
spend much of its time off the side of the level, which allows you to see the
attacks coming much more easily. The GST adheres to a pretty simple pattern of
charging, shooting three to five times (usually three) and then charging
again. If you can�t resort to running often and the GST is close, begin
foxtrotting whenever it lifts its gun arms.

Speaking of arms, I�ve noticed that its flame shots only come from its right
arm (on your left, looking straight at it) and, because they only cover a
narrow width, are relatively easy to dodge; with a high walking speed, you may
even strafe the entire time and avoid running or sidestepping entirely.
The other shots, those being everything from the right arm, all scatter or
cover a much larger width, which makes rolling forward through them more
effective.

Unlike the Phoenix�s whirlwinds, those of the GST will converge on your
location and won�t turn around to hit you, so rolling through them is quite
safe.

The GST gains a few more attacks following its instant death move, though it
will still happily spam its initial assortment of shots. Nonetheless, you now
must be on the lookout for:

-Vortex: Fairly similar to that used by Gaol in Chapter 2. It�ll draw you in
toward its damaging center, thankfully with much less suction than that of the
Aurum Sio; however, the GST will immediately teleport to another point in the
room and continue attacking, forcing you to spin the camera to locate it.

-Giant laser: Geez, who doesn�t have one of these?! Very similar to the
Kraken�s geyser which began from the floor and tilted upward, the GST will
fire an enormous laser along the length of the room before sharply tilting it
into the sky. It�s neither difficult to spot, nor avoid.

-Charged fireball: Launched only from the right-hand cannon, just like the
smaller burning shots. The GST will charge for a little over a second before
launching an exploding fireball at your immediate location. It�s dodged just
like you would a Crawler�s shell, but isn�t telegraphed quite as clearly.

Now is the time to bust out those Playing Deads if you haven�t already.
Aside from the vortex potentially screwing you by leaving you especially
vulnerable to a harder-hitting move, the GST�s additional attacks are actually
a pretty welcome sight, as they provide more windows to nail it with charged
shots or DCF. Your Reflect Barriers are more useful toward the beginning, when
the GST primarily uses projectiles which bounce back.

The damage from burns is pretty exaggerated, so I never really found myself
wishing I had Effect Recovery, though the boss� overall damage output is not,
which makes Super Armor extremely handy for softening the impact of dreadful
brain farts. Luckily, lv4�s four uses will stretch quite a long time.

You came fully stocked for this, didn�t you? This is the last real challenge
the game has to offer. You can do it with enough practice and persistence!


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Ch25] The War�s End OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cost: 8970 Hearts

Common Drops: N/A

When you consider all the time spent making halfway-decent weapons and trying
to clear every chapter on 9.0, this sure feels like a long game, doesn�t it?
Anyway, most players don�t consider this chapter to be particularly difficult,
but Hades does put up a much, much bigger fight than Medusa.

My weapon of choice:

Midnight Palm
R: 6
M: 0
V: 322
OD +7
FDCS +1
SDCF +1
IPA +1
HB +1

Handy weapon attributes, in order of usefulness:
-High overall/shot defense
-Six ranged stars
-Recovery Effect buffs
-SCF and SCS buffs

Your defense, of course, is what truly matters, though a pitifully weak weapon
will still make things a lot harder than they need to be; damage buffs really
bring out the most of the GST.

-----------------
[Note25] Notices
-----------------

-Avoid Hades� giant tornado by hugging the far left of the screen and staying
at least mid-height.

-------------------
[Air25] Air Battle
-------------------

This is a very brief segment in which your most basic assortment of common air
battle enemies will pop in to say hi; Monoeyes, Wave Anglers, some Belunkas
and so on. While they will shoot, I�m fairly sure they were included just to
give you the pleasure of annihilating a few waves of enemies with your GST,
which is overkill. Your SCF and SCS cover a huge radius, have long reach, and
pretty much kill everything instantly.

---------------
[Boss25] HADES
---------------

Until he creates that enormous tornado, circling as usual will be your best
form of evasion. He�ll use- gee, whaddya know- a giant laser beam (get used to
seeing those throughout this fight) that will trail you for a second, as well
as pound both fists together akin to aerial Snongs. The cluster of orbs he
spawns will scatter darts that peck you for pretty insignificant damage,
though you can blast them away, which will turn them into fireballs.

Now for that tornado. Just hug the far left of the screen and stay high, which
keeps you completely safe. Don�t bother shooting while doing this.

Make wide circles as Hades charges at you, firing charge shots at his face as
you do so, and you should avoid the majority of his shots.


***Pursuit Mode***

Hades will become airborne himself, and it�s time to go back to the constant
SCF. Destroy those little things in order from right to left, which seems to
be the order in which they�ll shoot, and every green barrier as it pops up.
Circling is still quite effective. Once he flips again, go back to charge
shots and gliding, which are better for avoiding the larger homing shots.

Once the faces appear, it�s safe to simply spam SCF to destroy them. While the
giant, glossy orb is the only thing you must destroy to end this phase, I find
myself taking far less damage by removing all of the turrets first. Be sure to
destroy any slow, bright red shots you see, regardless.


***Mech Armor Mode***

Your charge shots now fire a single, straight beam. Your SCF is preferable in
destroying his little armaments, particularly the flower-like objects, which
fire laser beams that linger for a while and get in the way. Focus on removing
them, first.

Once the first round of turrets is gone, focus on his palm while maintaining
your circles, and do the same to his opposite hand. While the palms draw you
into their vortexes, it�s harder to avoid damage by trying to stay far away
from them, so instead allow yourself to pass by and simply make circles on its
side of the screen.

Now we�ll be susceptible to a ton of damage, as there�s going to be shots all
over the freaking place. I prefer to destroy the three flowery turrets on his
chest and then focus on the glowing blue piece in the center, while making
small circles (as needed to avoid the flower�s beams); while I do get hit, and
plenty, this is no different than gliding, and it takes less time to finish
this phase by focusing on the blue portion than it does to eliminate the
turrets. They�ll gradually respawn, though by that point I ignore the flowers
and focus on the blue.


***Ultralight Mode***

Now your charge shots come in the form of vertical waves, much like shots from
a Hewdraw Club. You�ll also want to stick with them for damaging Hades, as SCF
can often accidentally hit purple orbs.

This is also where the fight gets pretty difficult. This is more easily
explained with a list of concise pointers:

-You MUST destroy blue orbs quickly, as they will automatically explode when
close enough.

-Don�t try to destroy the red barriers unless you have a good shot at them
immediately, as it�s easier to just avoid the fireballs.

-Eventually purple orbs will be behind the blue ones. After using your charge
shot, tap the L button to remove any you missed with a single shot.

-Fire your charge shot at Hades� stomach at every single opportunity you get!


***Final Strike Mode***

Yep, it�s one of those cursor-positioning games again. You know what to do.

Rather than frantically dragging the cursor onto Hades, repeatedly taking the
stylus off of the touch screen, I�ve found it more effective to make tight,
rapid circles over his head. Occasionally the reticle will be pushed far away,
but I�ll just drag it back over and resume the process. So long as the reticle
is yellow, you�re doing it right.

Now, we just survive. Carefully buzz your way around the screen, avoiding the
lasers around the points they are closer to the screen, as these are the only
points that will actually damage you. You don�t need to move incessantly, but
don�t stay still for more than a couple seconds, as you�ll need to diligently
look for openings you can squeeze through to keep as much distance between
yourself and the middle laser. Fire as soon as Viridi yells at you to do so.

Congratulations. You�ve beaten the game and, if you�ve played the levels in
order, have finished everything on the highest difficulty setting! Be sure to
tell your parents, friends, pets, boss & reflection the first chance you get!


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Treasure Hunt Achievements] OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Anyone who took the time to complete the entire game on its highest difficulty
setting will undoubtedly also be interested in satisfying the requirements for
the many Hades� Treasure Hunt panels that force you to play on 9.0.

While many of these are actually somewhat easily done just by playing the game
as you normally would, the weapon-specific panels can actually be very
difficult, especially if you dislike the type or have become unfamiliar with
the level layout.

Don�t stress yourself over creating high-end weapons for them, but stick with
the most basic attributes that make a weapon decent, those being some
semblance of defense and six ranged stars.

I don�t have an awful lot to say for several of these, though I can give you
quite a bit of advice for the more notoriously difficult/disliked ones.
The weapons I used were not exactly top of the line, either, which is
generally the reason I don�t have a few of them anymore, and can�t provide
their exact stat spread.


-------------------------
[T1] Play a level on 9.0
-------------------------

Oh god. Why does the first step have to be SO SCARY

-------------------------------
[T2] Chapter 3 (with Blade)
-------------------------------

I remember using an Optical Blade for this, though it�s long since been ground
or fused. I do recall that the level was not any more difficult, and no real
change of tactics are necessary. Aurum, Crusader and Gaol Blades are pretty
well-equipped to handle Solo mode, so I suggest trying one of them.

----------------------------------
[T3] Chapter 4 (kill 200 enemies)
----------------------------------

I�ve never failed to do this in any run I�ve made of this level, and typically
exceed the requirement by a large amount. Having said that, these sorts of
challenges usually require you to slaughter a very large number of enemies
during the air battles. Weapons with a good rate of fire or homing work very
well for this.

Reapettes, Shemums, and the Skuttler Mage and Cannoneer produced by the
Belunka will all respawn on a regular basis and add to your kill count, but if
you just make it a point to kill every single enemy you can face (and make
sure to enter the side areas, including the intensity gate) you�ll earn this
quite easily.

--------------------------
[T4] Chapter 6 (with Bow)
--------------------------

Try a Darkness Bow. It works incredibly well in single player, as it fires
very rapidly during air battles and its charge shots are extremely strong.
Dark Pit doesn�t fare too well against them even at close range, though his
boss battle is still pretty difficult if you aren�t used to his timing.

I have a pretty good recollection of the bow I used. It was something like:

Darkness Bow
R: 6
M: 2
Burning +2
Speed +4
DCS +4

A random drop from Chapter 20 that was immediately put to good use. While that
bow has very high damage output, the Darkness Bow in itself is so strong that
you can easily settle for six stars.

If Bows are not your cup of tea, I must recommend using Trade Off as soon as
the boss battle commences. He will fall in a matter of seconds despite your
awkward handling.

-----------------------------
[T5] Chapter 7 (450,000 pts)
-----------------------------

I suppose if you ignored most enemies during the air battle, it might be a
little tough to do this? I�ve never failed to break 450,000 points in any run
of this chapter, and as such I�m not certain of what I could be doing that
someone might not, which would kill their chances at breaking that milestone.

-----------------------------------
[T6] Chapter 10 (kill 220 enemies)
-----------------------------------

You need not do a very clean run of the air battle to pull this off, though
you must still kill a lot of the enemies. Always take the tunnel route instead
of the extremely hot and painful upper route, as there are far more enemies to
defeat.

The majority of enemies in this chapter spawn yet more enemies when slain,
which means you must diligently seek and destroy every one of them.
Sinistews are a pain to fight with many weapons, yes, but they too will
trigger more enemies, and so you must take the time to fight them.
Kill Remoblamlings before their leader (though the enemy placement makes this
likely, anyway) as their auto-self destruction does not count toward your
milestone. Try not to let Petribombers kill themselves, either, or enemies to
leave while riding your Exo Tank. 

Lastly, make sure not to venture beyond the Clubberskull when taking the ramps
to kill the Wave Anglers up there, because doing so prevents the Monoeye and
Magmoos from spawning on each side of the ramps. Once you reach the final
ramp with the chest, drop off the side well away from the Clubberskull, and
pick off the sizeable batch of enemies.

How tidy must your air battle be? Here is a list of all the possible enemies
you may defeat on land (excluding the Wave Anglers on the ramps, which you
should skip in favor of the large number below); count those you know you will
destroy, and then you�ll have the remainder that must be killed while flying.

Magmoo -> Magmoo (2)
Petribomber -> Petribomber (4)
Girin (5)
Wave Angler, Porcuspine x2, Tortolunk, Petribomber x2 (11)
Shelbo (12)
Skuttler x3 (15)
Wave Angler (16)
Leox x3 (19)
Gyrazer (20)
Syren (Backtrack around the left side of the area after spawning the Gyrazer)
Leox (22)
Wave Angler x3 (Take the Exo Tank ramps)
Magmoo (Between the first two Exo Tank ramps)
Monoeye, Magmoo x3 (On left side of Exo Tank ramps)
Monoeye, Magmoo x3 (On right side of Exo Tank ramps)
Clubberskull (35)
Monoeye, Leox x2 (38)
Mik x3 (41)
Wave Angler (42)
Gyrazer x2 (44)
Remoblamling x2, Remoblam (47)
Remoblamling x2, Remoblam (50)
Mimicutie (51)
Guttler, Petribomber, Shulm x2 (55)
Syren x2 (By Zodiac chamber)
Skuttler (In hot spring)
Shelbo -> Gloomerang, Magmoo (61)
Mik, Petribomber (63)
Sinistew -> Tortolunk, Magmoo (66)
Shulm (67)
Leox -> Petribomber (69)
Wave Angler (70)
Shelbo, Girin (72)
Porcuspine, Magmoo (74)
Suit of Skuttler (75)
Wave Angler, Skuttler (Drop off ledge with Meat)
Sinistew -> Porcuspine (79)
Gloomerang, Monoeye, Petribomber (Open the chest)
Syren (83)
Shulm x3 (86)
Monoeye x4 -> Syren (91)
Porcuspine (92)
Skuttler Mage, Skuttler x2, Shulm x2 (97)
Tempura Wizard, Suit of Skuttler (99)
Girin, Sinistew, Mimicutie, Souflee (103)
Porcuspine, Wave Angler x2 (106)
Skuttler, Petribomber (108)
Phoenix (109)

With a halfway decent weapon you should be able to kill 130-140 enemies during
the aerial segment, if not more, easily. It�s just a matter of diligently
hunting everything on land.

---------------------------
[T7] Chapter 11 (with Arm)
---------------------------

Because Arms typically have poor range, this one can seem very difficult.
I recommend trying a Compact, Electroshock or Taurus Arm; the Compact Arm will
serve you the best, overall, though Cragalanche can take a little while.

My setup:

Compact Arm
R: 6
M: 0
V: 299
Burning +1
SCF +4
DCF +2
FHB +6
HB +2

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

You may prefer Playing Dead over Energy Charge, mainly for the Rumpus Room
just before Cragalanche, and Effect Recovery really isn�t needed; it�s there
because this is my most oft-used all-purpose power set.

You do not NEED Shot Range mods to do this without a ton of hassle, but it
will make the long trail loaded with Nutskis toward the beginning very
annoying. Because Arms grant some very nice movement speed, I recommend
sprinting through it entirely without looking back, consuming two uses of
Brief Invincibility in the process, as they�ll be shooting you in the back.

The rest of my Chapter 11 walkthrough may be effectively applied to this,
especially the Cragalanche strategy (there�s no need to run amok, trying to
get behind him. Patience!)

----------------------------
[T8] Chapter 13 (with Palm)
----------------------------

The first time I cleared this chapter with a Palm, it was my OD+7 Middy Palm
and I thought the level was a nightmare. During subsequent runs I was using my
strictly offensive Aurum Palm, and found it so much easier. While I�ve posted
it repeatedly throughout my guide, here it is again:

Aurum Palm
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 295
Freezing +4
RS +1
SCF +4
DCF +4

Powers: Autoreticle lv3, Quick Charge lv2, Brief Invincibility lv4,
        Playing Dead lv3

Because the Aurum Palm doesn�t have high knockback and Pittoo somewhat easily
dodges its charge shots, I instead used Autoreticle and kept my SCF trained on
him, which canceled his arrows and steadily damaged him. I closed in while
doing this, and let loose a barrage of DCF once I was close enough that all
would hit (waiting for him to shoot first, of course.)

I strongly recommend the Aurum Palm if you haven�t been maining or dabbling
in them since you�ve begun playing higher difficulties. High defense is not
the key to surviving either boss fight, but damage. Pittoo hits too hard for
you to tank his shots as it is. Anyway, the Aurum Palm has the best SCF a
Solo Mode-oriented palm could ask for in terms of damage, rate of fire and
range (the latter of which, the Violet and Viridi Palms sorely lack.) The DCF
is quite strong and it charges quickly; attributes that will mow down the
lesser enemies without a great deal of fuss.

My walkthrough for the chapter will suffice for all difficulties you may come
across, especially considering that almost all of my practice for that level
was accumulated by use of that palm.

I've used a SCF/SCS-oriented Ninja Palm with WS+4 and FHB+6 and easily taken
down Pittoo and Arlon (while avoiding Pittoo's shots effortlessly) but even
with Energy Charge and SR+3, it was not as effective anywhere else as my
Aurum Palm.

------------------------------
[T9] Chapter 15 (with Cannon)
------------------------------

I recommend using the Predator Cannon, for its excellent damage output on both
land and in the air, as well as its slightly better movement.

Mine looked like this:

R: 6
M: 0
Confusion +2
RS +1
DCS +4
DCF +3

The large radius of its explosions and their excellent knockback made them
very good at killing Sios, the most annoying enemy in the chapter by far
(well, more notably for the knockback.) The explosions will also destroy
nearby turrets while damaging the Core during its boss fight.

Because there are no mandatory mob fights, you can be overwhelmed only by
allowing it yourself. The level itself is not paced quickly and you�ll be able
to proceed with charge shots at the ready. Quick Charge will also be handy
during the beginning, which has a lot of enemies to deal with, sometimes at
once (the Predator Cannon�s BDCS will arc over a Xoneme�s barrier and hit it
on its top. Handy.)

If your walking and running speed is very poor, you will have much less grief
during the boss battle by using Playing Dead and/or Trade Off.

---------------------------------
[T10] Chapter 16 (40,000 Hearts)
---------------------------------

To do this without Heart Bonus mods, you should bring a weapon with a high
rate of fire, which will be able to destroy the majority of ship weak points
during the air battle. You�ll also want to be sure to take the leftmost grind
rail in the set of three, to face the optional mob (where Viridi won�t admit
that she likes Pit.)

With even Heart Bonus +1, you may skip the optional fight, though your air
battle must still see to it that many ship weak points are destroyed.

If you enjoy grinding for hearts like many players, and have built weapons or
power sets to do just that, this is extremely easy.

------------------------------
[T11] Chapter 17 (with Claws)
------------------------------

I found that Beam Claws, a Solo Mode favorite, are much better for this level
than Artillery Claws; this is largely due to their more direct fire in both
SCF and DCF, which means that despite the overall lower damage output, you are
killing them more quickly (Arts will spray their fire and be wasted on distant
foes, which means more enemies will be able to shoot at you.) They also have
quite a bit more range, and are just as good as Arties in terms of mobility.

My own pair, listed earlier in the guide:

Beam Claws
R: 6
M: 1.5
V: 296
WS +2
SDCS +1
SCF +3
DCF +4

Powers: Energy Charge lv4, Brief Invincibility lv3, Bumblebee lv3,
        Effect Recovery lv1

My power set has not changed, nor have I ever wished I�d brought something
different. However, because Beam Claws are not remarkably better than most
weapons when it comes to air battles, the Level Infinity Epic Super God Plus
Aurum Pyrrhon segment is very difficult and may take multiple attempts.
My walkthrough is still as applicable as ever, though, and you may refer to it
for any difficulties you face.

I do not recommend using any Claws other than Beamers, Pandoras or Arts,
because they are ill-suited as ranged weapons, at least in purely aerial
battles (Viridi Claws are no slouch in the ranged department, on land.)

-----------------------------
[T12] Chapter 19 (with Club)
-----------------------------

While people have done this with Atlas and Magnus Clubs, if you want to do
this with a minimum of frustration, you�ll want a Capricorn Club. Trust me.

The fast charge time, coupled with its slipshot ability and acceptable range
and damage, are what make it the ideal club for this challenge. You don�t need
to stress yourself over bulking it on useful mods, either; just get some form
of defense on it, as well as a decent number of ranged stars (SCS and DCS mods
will also suffice for this.)

Mine was very simple and effective:

Capricorn Club
R: 5.5
M: 0
V: 264
SD +3
RE +2

Powers: Brief Invincibility lv3, Instant Death Attack lv3, Health Recovery lv4

The equivalent of OD+6 for projectiles proved to be quite sufficient for the
aerial segment, plus the charging time allowed me to kill a lot of the enemies
before they could overwhelm me. I made no attempts to bat most shots back at
the enemies, which you should not do, either.

If there is one enemy that makes this challenge a pain in the ass, it�s... no,
not the Crawler, not the Eggplant Wizard, not the Guttler...

Shelbo.

Those God. Damn. Shelbos.

Save two uses of IDA for the Shelbos in the electric floor room, and the
practice course for the chariot track. Save the third IDA for the Snong
later on; the Shelbo you face alongside the Komaytos is situated near a solid
piece that can be used as a defense from its suction (swing the club to kill
the Komaytos as they draw near.)

I used Brief Invincibility to block the beam of the Igniot fought immediately
after the loading screen, and later on as more protection against the Eggplant
Wizard.

The Guttler is actually a significant threat while armed with a club, but you
may kill it before it can eat you by focusing on it as it appears and, once it
notices you and comes over, launching BDCS each time the club is charged.

If you�ve been quite used to sidestepping Crawler shells, the one encountered
here is not a big deal at all, even with the sluggishness of a Capricorn Club.
Simply gradually make your way over, using the foxtrotting that�ll avoid its
arrows to get closer. Your charge shots can hit the weak point from just over
the tread if you aim carefully, though you must be able to see part of the red
poking out when launching.

Other than that, this level is actually very smooth sailing for a Capricorn.
Abuse the innate Slipshot whenever you are given an opportunity; of particular
mention are the enemies on the first floor, which hide inside holes; the Wave
Anglers, Skuttler Cannoneers and Bumbledrops that lurk at points on the ramps;
and, most satisfyingly, those Igniots inside the maze.

The Chariot Master is easy with any club, as you may simply spam powerful
charge shots and there aren�t any attacks that require frequent movement to
avoid. While I do recall using Health Recovery once, it was because I could,
and I hadn�t actually really needed it.

----------------------------
[T13] Chapter 20 (with Bow)
----------------------------

The Darkness Bow is also very effective here. Because of the overall ease of
this level, I don�t see why you can�t succeed with any bow, though you�ll
still really appreciate the effects of Instant Death and Playing Dead during
the final Rumpus Room before Palutena. Be sure to kill that Juggernaut first,
since the Strongarms by themselves are cake with or without IDA.

------------------------------------
[T14] Chapter 23 (kill 150 enemies)
------------------------------------

I�ve done this without trying, every single time, even without killing the
Snong and pair of Monoeyes that will spawn only when destroying the Sinistew
following the grind rails. I also won�t take the platform that earns me some
food, but forces an encounter with an Igniot and two Komaytos afterward.

Having said that, the organs that pop out Monoeyes and Skuttlers will be happy
to produce notches for your slain enemy count. I typically averaged about
75-80 enemies when using my Middy Palm, and 95 with my Aurum Palm.

Nevertheless, allow me to provide a list of your land battle encounters:

Bluster, Handora x4
Monoeye x3
Komayto x4
Monoeye x5
Bluster, Monoeye Generator
Handora x3
Monoeye (Embedded in tissue)
Giant Monoeye
Komayto x4
Giant Igniot
Handora, Sinistew
Snong, Komayto x2, Handora
Handora, Skuttler x2
Monoeye (Embedded in tissue)
Igniot, Gyrazer x2
Gyrazer, Monoeye x3
Gyrazer (For Meat)
Igniot, Komayto x2
Skuttler, Komayto x2
Komayto x2
Shildeen, Gyrazer, Monoeye x2
Souflee
Gyrazer x2 -> Sinistew -> Snong, Monoeye x2
Skuttler Generator
Monoeye, Gyrazer
Skuttler, Skuttler Cannoneer, Boogity
Tortolunk, Armin, Erinus, Pluton, Bumbledrop, Specknose
Zik, Zak, Gloomerang, Porcuspine
Crawler, Skuttler Cannoneer x4
Handora x3

Not including the generators, that�s a little over 85 enemies; you should have
no problem whatsoever, even when passing on the Sinistews and some Komaytos.

------------------------------
[T15] Clear all levels on 9.0
------------------------------

Finally beat the Great Sacred Treasure, eh? High five.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [FAQ] Frequently Asked Questions OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Q: Which enemies are immune to Instant Death?

A: This is not necessarily a complete list, but those I have confirmed for
myself or seen confirmed by other players:

-Shemum Vase
-Crawler
-Komayto
-Reaper
-Eggplant Wizard
-Clubberskull
-Sinistew
-Pluton
-Mimicutie
-Tempura Wizard
-Erinus
-Guttler
-Lurchthorn
-Clobbler
-Dohz
-Sio
-Baglo
-Juggernaut

As an aside, I was very surprised to notice that Megontas were vulnerable to
it, as it�s generally considered one of the top threats of the Forces of
Nature which, like the nastiest of Underworld and Aurum enemies, come
inherently immune to IDA. Mudrones may also not be immune.


Q: What is foxtrotting?

A: Well, I do explain this elsewhere in the guide, but, anyway: foxtrotting is
repeatedly initiating a dash and letting go of the control pad right away,
which quickly returns you to an upright stance, at which point you immediately
dash again, repeating the process until you've avoided whatever it was you
were anticipating. It's extremely useful for approaching some specific enemies
or when you haven't learned the timing for certain moves.


Q: Why isn�t Bumblebee or the Dodge Token working for me?

A: Neither will take effect while you�re in a prone position following a dash
attack of any sort; the former will only work if you are standing upright,
which means no running. They will work while you�re spamming SCF or SCS.


Q: Where is the best place to farm weapons and hearts?

A: The consensus is basically that Chapter 20 is the best farming level, for
both weapons and hearts, due to its ease, shortness of length, and the general
luck players have in scoring high-valued drops for fodder. Of course, players
that farm for hearts make use of the Heart Booster power, whereas I do not.
Myself, I preferred to farm levels that naturally dropped quite a few hearts,
particularly chapters 9, 10, 11, 13 and 16. Any chapter that can drop four or
more weapons is also very nice for farming; plus, it makes good practice.

If you're taking a potty break and don't have time to play a full chapter
(the President is awaiting his emergency heart surgery, or perhaps a megaton
bomb is minutes from annihilating the planet and you're the only one that can
stop it) you can also quickly amass hearts by abusing a handy trick in
Together Mode, though it requires weapons with absurdly powerful single-hit
attacks. I mean well in excess of 300 damage on their own, without powers.

This is indisputably the best setup for the job:

Upperdash Arm
R: 0
M: 6
V: Varies
Speed/Running Speed +4
Melee Dash Attack +4
Effect Duration +4
In-Peril Attack Boost +6

Powers: Energy Charge lv2, Lightweight lv2, Trade Off lv4

With Running Speed instead of the more costly all-purpose Speed, the value is
299 and not difficult at all to reach, though negative mods will speed the
process up.

Many weapons' charge shots, particularly Staves and Clubs, deal much more
damage than an Upperdash MDA. The key difference here is that those attacks
must be charged, whereas the MDA is easily spammed. Still, though, you may
still stockpile hefty amounts of hearts with such a weapon.

Play a Free For All match with these settings:

Players: 6 (5 CPUs)
Stage: Small Arena
Time: 1 Minute
Items: None
CPU Difficulty: 1
Handicap: Manual (CPU 10%)

The idea is to use Energy Charge, then Lightweight, then Trade Off, and then
sprint madly around the area, instantly killing everyone in sight with your
grossly-overkill MDA, which inflicts in excess of 2000 damage with everything
factored in (IPAB, EC, TO, etc.)

Excess damage is converted to hearts, so all of that overflow goes toward your
profits. Trade Off never replenishes itself after death, so playing for longer
than a minute is a waste (it is also the biggest boost to damage you've got.)
With the right weapon, you may easily earn over 10,000 hearts per minute.
Keep in mind that it helps to save Trade Off until your Energy Charge has
fully taken effect and you are pouring off energy.


Q: How do I fuse good weapons?

A: This is neither a good place to find fusion tips, nor am I a good candidate
to give them. I merely take my fodder and look at the Arms Altar following
every level, and see if anything decent can be made, which includes isolating
desirable mods. Once in a while, I�ll get lucky; the Aurum Palm I showed off
throughout this guide was one such byproduct of my immensely good fortune.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Thx] Credits & Thanks OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

This guide was made after a great deal of procrastination, largely due to the
fact that the game had already been out for over ten months. However, I had
become increasingly addicted to it and had always liked the idea of writing a
walkthrough geared toward Intensity 9.0. And so, with my other unbeaten games
failing to pull me away, I immersed myself further in the game and set out to
replay every single level, sometimes several times, if I was not satisfied
that I had found an acceptably non-aggravating means of clearing it.

..the most replays goes to Chapter 18, which I cleared on 9.0 four times in a
row, as I was repeatedly testing the success rate of my tactics.
I�m satisfied, but I still hate that level with a passion and still don�t feel
as though it�s remotely easy.

I learned quite a few things in doing this and consider myself even better at
Solo Mode than when I began writing the guide (which I would not have done,
had I not been confident in my ability to clear each level without dying or
going into Crisis Mode.) I hope I was able to make things significantly easier
for you the first time around than they were for me.


While I�ve received no help in the writing of this guide, I still have some
thanks to bring to your attention:

-Sakurai and his (now disbanded, apparently) team at Project Sora for this
absolutely wonderful game. It continues to be my favorite 3DS title.

-SBAllen, for hosting this guide and the forums at which I lurk. In addition
to learning things, the petty arguments (and raw emotions that burst forth as
a result) make for nice reading material during downtime.

-Primum Mobile, for telling me about the usefulness of Idol Transformation.

-Kevin Werner, for correcting the method of spawning a chest in Ch13. He also
gave me incentive to change my advice on handling Sinistews.

-KZ, the initials or alias of the fellow who made the extremely useful fusion
calculator I�ve used to research chains I can make with my fodder. It�s not
related to this guide, but it can�t be understated how helpful that tool has
been to me. The calc is presently located here:

http://fusiongroupcalculator.cixx6.com/Fusion%20Group%20Calculator.html

-Creative Japanese gamers, for discovering the Together Mode heart-farming
trick, and then uploading videos of the method for everyone to learn from.

-Dyntos, for making certain weapons feel very overpowered at times.
He understands our need for wanton destruction, and gives us the means. What a
bro, that guy. Instead of Dyntos, he should've been called Brometheus.
Then again, Chapter 24 was not very bro-like at all. Dyntos it is.

I hope to continue to update this list as little improvements are made.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Cinf] Contact Info & Legal Stuff OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I encourage anyone with questions pertaining to THIS GUIDE ONLY, or with
useful information I can update the guide with, to send me an email. I�ll try
to respond to them as quickly as I can. Please be polite and coherent in your
message, and include something along the lines of �Kid Icarus guide� or
�9.0 intensity guide� in your subject line, or I will more than likely delete
it without reading. There are plenty of common spam subjects with �Help!� or
something to that effect, so it must appear clearly relevant to this guide.
As I said, please be polite and coherent, as I won�t bother responding to
anything that doesn�t fall under either category.

Please do not email me asking for fusion tips, or to rate your weapons or
otherwise tell you if I think they�ll be sufficient for a certain level.
If a weapon has failed you repeatedly, it�s probably time to try a new weapon,
and I would only tell you as much. That, or �get better,� but it�s hard to say
that without sounding like an ass, so I�d simply ignore those messages.

Keep in mind that much of the work in clearing these levels on 9.0 is properly
dodging enemy attacks, and no particular power set or amount of power usage
will always compensate for horribly sloppy playing. I will not be giving
completely reworked strategies to people that cannot get by without Trade Off
and Pisces Heal, or other such tactics devoid of strategy or skill (even
though I do occasionally recommend them, I almost always prefer to do things
the less easy way.)

Having said that, there is always the possibility that in trying to find the
easiest way to do something (without cheap powers) I have overlooked details.
Your own boss strategies or methods for handling notoriously difficult enemy
sections are more than welcome, provided they didn�t involve Trade Off or
excessive power consumption. Creative uses for less common powers are
especially welcome, as I�ve always taken a basic tried-and-true approach.

Send your emails to slysludge(at)gmail(dot)com.

I am not taking any requests to host my guide on your website(s). The answer
is automatically no. Sorry. Having dealt with bad sites multiple times it�s my
opinion that I�m best off not allowing anyone else to host my work except
those that have already received my permission. Sites that are at present
allowed to host my work, on the condition that it is posted in full,
UNTOUCHED, with proper credit given:

-www.gamefaqs.com
-www.neoseeker.com
-www.gamerhelp.com
-www.gameplayworld.com
-www.supercheats.com
-www.1Up.com

*** www.cheatcc.com, Cheat Code Central, may not under any circumstances post
my guide or any of my work on their site. ***

This guide may only be used for personal, private benefit. You may not
reproduce or edit any part of this document at all, and it may not be
displayed anywhere other than the website(s) listed above. This guide
especially may not be used for monetary profit. If I find that you have
posted any portion of my guide and I have not given my approval, I expect you
to remove my work promptly upon my request. I will handle all copyright
violations and failure to comply with my guidelines with swift legal action.

Kid Icarus Uprising, 9.0 Intensity Guide Ver. 1.25
Copyright 2013 by Dave Baker �Reptobismol�


You know, I kinda wish more levels had Clubberskulls.

Current high score for Chapter 4: 704780

Current name on multiplayer: Gir

Scientists are presently studying what appears to be a very strong link
between remaining AFK on an online multiplayer game and being fucked in
the ass. They are not able to provide updates at this time, reportedly
due to their test subjects being fucked in the ass.