Warning:  You may use this file for your own personal use, but to 
claim that you wrote it...well just kind of sad that that's your life, 
and you want recognition so badly that you have to steal FAQs from 
other people and claim it as your own.  Anyhoo.... 

This Faq is designed for players starting out in this game and want
a good idea of what skills they should take for their characters.  
There is allready a great Faq on the website breaking down the skills
they get and the points they need to get it, so I will not be wasting 
my time and putting it in my faq.  What I will give you, is my 
opinion that I will state as fact.  And being that I've played 
through this game with many skills, I believe I'm qualified to write
this for you.  

Also there are minor equipment spoilers throughout the guide so....
don't say I didn't warn you!

Section 1:  Myths and Legends
Section 2:  Skills
Section 3:  Builds

Section 1:

MYTHS AND LEGENDS!

Myth 1:  A hero with the Uber Falcon blade, falcon slashing the enemy
is the most powerful fighter in the game bra....

Truth:  Not exactly. If there are many enemies in a group and you want
to strike a specific one, then yes, you'd be right.  However, if you 
have an isolated enemy, Jessica using her Twin Dragon Lash and a spiked 
steel whip or better will actually do more damage than an uber falcon
blade, falcon slashing the enemy.  And if you're fighting just one enemy
like a boss, Angelo's multishot with an odin's bow, or great bow can 
also do serious damage.  

Myth 2:  Boomerangs Suck!

Truth:  Yes and no.  In the early game boomerangs are AWESOME.  It's 
about the time that you get to Argonia, that you may be kicking yourself
for putting points into them.  The problem is you don't get many very 
powerful boomerangs until the very end of the game where you have really
very little need for them.  They are a versatile weapon to have around 
however and for only investing 40 points, you get access to many of their 
key skills. It's up to you, I like having them around for large groups 
of enemies...

Myth 3:  Fisticuffs are garbage.  

Truth:  On Hero, Jessica, and Angelo I would agree.  BUT!  On Mr. Yangus 
they are FANTASTIC. Nothing like having a thin air attack early on.  And 
it sucks when Yangus goes blind....unless he has boulder toss!  Add on a 
little tension, and you have a devastating attack that does 200-300 damage 
on all enemies.  Yangus' natural strength really helps strengthen these 
attacks.  

Myth 4:  The specialty skills are garbage!!

Truth:  Yes except for Hero.  Courage gives you access to some GREAT spells
and lessens heros MP usage.  In fact I go as far as to say Courage is a 
Mandatory skill to get to 100 in ANY game.  Yangus' humanity has some 
useful stuff in it, but it's not worth wasting points you could be putting 
into Scythes/Axes/Fisticuffs.  Kerplunk is awesome, but it's use is limited.

Myth 5:  Hero and Yangus are the best fighters while Jessica and Angelo are
better casters!

Truth:  BWAHAHAHAHAHA, silly humans.  Once Jessica starts getting the more 
powerful whips she'll do more damage with her twin dragon Lash than the 
other characters.  Also you'd think that Yangus would hit the hardest, but 
he has very few skills besides Parallax (A strong reason to use axes 
with him) that amplify that stregnth.  Jessica has Twin Dragon Lash, and 
the falcon knife earrings, Angelo has Multishot and Falcon Slash, hero has 
multithrust and falcon slash.  In the later game however, Angelo should and 
will be regarded as primarily a healing character, due to the tremendous 
strength of the enemy, but tense him up and use that multishot, and they do 
not stand a chance.  

Myth 6:  Seeds of skill should be given to Angelo because you get him last.

Truth: Au contrair, mon frere!  Angelo has so few important skills to work
on, that it makes more sense to give them to someone who has skills you 
actually want (*cough* Hero *cough*). 

So now that I've debunked some popular myths and reinforced others, lets move 
on to a breakdown of each skill.

HERO:

Skill: Sword
Priority: Variable
Danny Says:  Decent

Swords are a complicated matter.  On the plus side, they are hero's strongest 
and most common weapon.  On the minus side, and this is a big minus, swords 
have some of the WORST skills in the game.  You really only need to put 66 
points into the skill just for the +25 attack bonus and Falcon slash.  
Miracle slash is pretty useless, and gigaslash can be obtained by getting a 
100 in courage so there's no point really to putting more points into it. 
Keep in mind the Uber Falcon Blade is the best weapon hero can use.... 

Skill: Spears
Priority: Variable
Danny Says: Good

Spears are pretty cool.  The really good thing about them is their vesatility 
of skills. you have multithrust, clean sweep, lightning thrust, and lightning 
storm.  Since you'll be pumping courage (You best be pumping courage boy) the
Mp that these skills require is cut in half!  (Lightning Storm is AWESOME). 
The downside to using spears is that at the end game they fall behind swords 
in damage, especially against monsters like bosses. Also, you cannot use 
Boomerangs with them, for if you do, you're probably gonna be sacrificing
the best boomerang or the best spear in the game.  

Skill:  Boomerang
Priority: Variable
Danny Says:  Decent

Ah the boomerang. Subject of much speculation.  While they seem very powerful 
in the beginning you will begin to realize that they become pretty weak 
compared to the spears and swords you can get.  However, if you put in just 
40 points, you'll get a +15 to attack power, and power throw. However, always
keep in mind that they should NEVER be considered the main weapon of the hero.
You'll be disappointed. They work well in conjunction with Swords.

Skill:  Fisticuffs
Priority: Variable
Danny says: Meh

Look, yeah Hero and Yangus get similar skills while using fisticuffs, so why 
Yangus and not hero? Cause unlike Hero, Yangus has very few skills worth 
sticking points into.  Besides the main reason you take fisticuffs is to
damage multiple enemies at once.  Hero already has boomerangs, and those
are stronger.  In short, don't waste points here.  

Skill: Courage
Priority: Mandatory
Danny Says: Great

Here's the bread and butter of the hero.  Tingle, Holy protection, Zap and 
Kazap, Gigaslash, and that silly little skill that allows him to use half 
the mp to cast a spell or use a skill...oh....and I almost forgot...
OMNIHEAL! In the late game this is the most useful skill you'll find. You
don't need to put points here for a while though.  Like I said Omniheal is 
great in the late game. I can't think of any reason not to max this 
skill out, no matter what weapon you use.  

YANGUS:

Skill: Axe
Priority: High
Danny Says: Good

Parallax, Axes of Evil and Helm Splitter.  Three good skills that really 
enhance the power of Yangus' weapon.  The truth is no other weapon that 
Yangus has, is worth wasting points on.  Executioner is another great 
skill if you're trying to kill metal slimes for experience. No need to 
put more than 82 points in here though, typhoeus maul isn't that 
impressive. Downside to axes?  Well Scythes have Yangus' strongest 
weapon so....

Skill:  Scythes
Priority: Variable
Danny says: Decent

If you wanna be stubborn and refuse to use Axes do yourself a favor
and take these. The stealing skills are basically useless in my opinion
but Grimmer reaper has it's moments.  Big Banga is great except it 
takes a LOT of Mp from Yangus. Scythes also don't have any impressive 
single attack skills, so you'll find them a little lacking in the end
game and against bosses.  

Skill:  Club
Priority: Low
Danny says: Ugh

Anything clubs can do, axes do better. Getting those penny pinching 
skills REALLY don't make up for the wasted points you spend in this 
group. You can't buy seeds of skill now can you?? Heart breaker 
doesn't work often enough, and parallax does the same thing but better!
Don't waste your time....

Skill:  Fisticuffs
Priority: High
Danny Says: Yay

In the early game, pumping fisticuffs is stronger than some weapons 
Yangus has.  In the late game, skills like boulder toss and thin air
will be extremely useful, in that they give Yangus some great multi-
Damage attacks. Downside is that you still need to put points into a 
weapon skill, because by itself, fisticuffs is not powerful at all
when it comes to single attacks.  

Skill:  Humanity
Priority: Low
Danny Says: Take it or leave it (leave it)

Besides kerplunk there are no truly important or useful skills in 
this skill set.  By the time you get midheal, both Angelo and Hero
have it, and you should not rely on Yangus for healing ever due to
his lack of mp.  Kerplunk also has limited use, so it's REALLY not 
worth sticking those points in there for it.  

JESSICA:

Skill: Knife  
Priority: Variable
Danny Says: Decent

Knife has some ok skills, but the fact remains that if you consider 
Jessica an attacker whips are a much stronger weapon.  But if you 
hate whips for some dumb reason, (I'll kill you), these are good.  
Jessica can use the Uber falcon blade which is nice, although you
probably wanna use that with someone who has Falcon Slash.  

Skill: Whips
Priority: High
Danny Says: Wheeeeeeee

Hands down this is the best weapon Jessica has, for one reason
only:  Twin Dragon Lash.  For a mere 23 points invested you get
this AWESOME skill.  It does more damage to bosses and isolated 
enemies than any other weapon in the game.  However beyond that
there aren't too many important whips skills.  Serpents bite, 
which you get when you max this, is good against groups, but 
you have to decide whether or not you want to invest that many 
points.  If you don't, 68 is enough to get the +25 attack bonus.

Skill:  Staves
Priority: Medium
Danny Says:  Put at least 31 points here

For a mere 31 points invested you get some GREAT spells for 
jessica including Acceleratle, Kasap and Magic Barrier.  But 
Max your weapon before you max this group.  The problem with
Staves is that while jessica gets a higher mp with it, she 
MUST be equipped with the staves otherwise she loses it. Also 
she gets Kazing when you max it, but since hero and Angelo 
both get that too, it's not too important to rush to get it. 

Skill:  Fisticuffs
Priority: Low
Danny Says: Don't bother

Magic burst is cool......except you lose ALL your mp.  
It's a desperation attack for a desperate time. It's very 
situational and certainly not worth ivesting 100 points to
get.  The rest of her fisticuffs skills suck.  

Skill:  Sex appeal
Priority: Low
Danny Says:  Eh...

Hustle Dance is good, except you can just give her a sages 
stone. The charm thing is ok to make your opponents lose 
turns justby jessica doing nothing.  If you wanna invest 16 
points to get it, it wouldn't kill you, I'd just rather invest 
the points into whips or staves instead.

ANGELO:

Skill: Sword
Priority: Low
Danny says: Not worth it.

Besides suffering from the same problem as hero (poor skills)
Angelo is not as strong as hero,he's better off with skills
that do multiple attacks against all foes. He can use 
uber falcon blade w/faclon slash, but again, since his 
strength is low,it's not nearly as spectacular as when hero
uses it. Better off with a different weapon *cough* bows 
*cough*.

Skill: Bows
Priority: High
Danny Says:  The only skill he really needs

Multishot, Seraph's arrow and shining shot.....three amazing
skills that you WILL use over and over again.  I never found 
needle rain to be all that useful, so you only really need to
invest 88 points into this skill.  Also, bows are angelo's 
strongest weapon. While he doesn't have any powerful single
attacks, against bosses, with a high tension, Multishot will 
do some SERIOUS damage.  

Skill: Staves
Priority: Medium
Danny Says: Take it or leave it.  

Meh...Kathwack and Oomph are cool, and since Angelo really 
doesn't have too many other good skills, you might decide 
to points in here.  However, I wouldn't until you've maxed
Either swords or bows first.  

Skill: Fisticuffs
Priority: Low
Danny Says:  Say no to drugs

Miracle moon has it's limited uses.  But angelo is not as
strong as Yangus or Hero, and REALLY poor skills compared
to their fisticuffs.  Really....please...don't bother.

Skill: Charisma
Priority: Low
Danny Says: Take it or leave it

A lot of skills, that are very situation based. Sarcastic 
snigger CAN be useful and you only need to invest 13 points.
Pearly gates can be fun but you gotta go all the way with 
Charisma to get it. And if you max either swords or Bows you 
get similar skills (Lightning Storm, Shining shot) Do 
yourself a favor and max Bows/swords first.  

SECTION III: BUILDS

This section will go over the different builds I recommend.  
I have put a * next to my favorite build.  

Hero:  

* Build 1:  Swords/Boomerangs/Courage  

Advantages: Versatility
Disadvatanges:  Takes a little longer to see the full strength
                Will want to use all seeds of skill on hero.

Begin by pouring points into Boomerangs, up until you reach 40.  
40 is the key number, cause you get a +15 to attack, and power 
throw which damages all enemies relatively evenly. Then switch 
over to swords.  Put points in here until you reach 66.  This gets 
you a +25 to attack and Falcon slash.  Then dump all remaining 
points into courage until it is maxed.  From this point on, put 
points into boomerangs.  Swords are just not worth putting more
points into. 

Build 2:  Spears/Courage.

Advantages: Spears are versatile
Disadvantages: Spears have poorer single attacks than swords at the 
               end game. 

This build is easy.  Put 77 into spears first.  This gives you an 
attack +25 for your spears.  Then dump all points into courage
and max it. Then finish spears, get lightning storm, and watch as 
all your enemies cower in fear as you do 200 damage to all of them
for a mere 11 mp!


Yangus:

* Build 1:  Axes/Fisticuffs/Maybe Humanity

Advantages: Both strong single and multidamage attacks.  
Disadvantages: None

Begin by putting 42 points into Fisticuffs.  This will get you a 
Thin air attack, which is great against many enemies.  From then on
put points into axes until you've reached 82, which gets you all the
useful skills, and +20 attack.  Then put all remaining points into
Fisticuffs until it is maxes. At this point you can just put points
into humanity and see what it gets you, or max axes, which is not 
really a big deal.  I never found Thphoeus' maul that big of a deal.  

Build 2: Fisticuffs/Humanity

Advantages: Will be a powerful multidamage character and healer.
            Will cost much less than other characters.
Disadvantages: Lack of powerful single damage attacks brings Yangus 
               way down the totem pole in terms of damage in the 
	       late game. 
	       Want to use a lot of magic seeds on Yangus.

The interesting part of this build is that it makes Yangus into 
something he seemingly is not meant to be.  You will realize
that you'll need to spend a lot of seeds of magic on him, and
that he'll never do powerful single strikes.  What do you get in
return??  A character than can damage all the enemies at once,
while tense, doing a tremendous amount of damage, or can heal 
characters (w/ tension) and if necessary revive the whole party. 
He can be a reliable asset in this role.  Also, you'll spend a lot 
less money on him allowing better equipment for other characters. 
Basically put 42 points into fisticuffs then 68 into humanity.  
Then Max fisticuffs and then max humanity. 

Jessica:  

Build 1:  Whips/Staves

Advantages: Will get Kazing with ease.
            Powerful attacks pretty early on.
Disadvantages: Unless the enemy is isolated, only magic single 
               attacks

This is a build for people who really want Kazing and Sepents bite. 
Start off by putting 23 points into whips.  This will get you the
Twin Dragon lash quickly. Then go ahead and put 31 points into 
staves, getting you some of the most useful support spells in the 
game.  Then Max your whips, and then max your staves.  

* Build 2: Knives/Whips/Staves

Advantages: GREAT versatility and attack ranges.
	    Great support spells.
Disadvantages: Difficult to get kazing unless you use a bunch of 
	       seeds of skill

If you don't care about serpents bite too much or Kazing, this is
a great build for you. They key here is to remember that twin 
dragon lash doesn't become truly amazing until the later game
when the more powerful whips become available.  Start off by putting
52 points into knives.  This gives you the ability to use swords, 
and attack +20.  Then switch over to staves and put 31 points in there 
to get the great support spells.  Then put 68 points into Whips, 
getting you the +25 attack bonus and twin dragon lash. At this point, 
you can go a couple of ways.  You can max staves to get kazing 
(recommended) or you can put 30 more points into knives to get the
+30 attack bonus.  I recommend kazing cause while you can give her
yggradsil leaves, or a staff of ressurection, the leaves are not
unlimited and the staff is not always reliable. also investing all 
those points for an extra +10 to attack on what should be your
non primary weapon just seems silly to me. 

               
Angelo:

Build 1: Bows/Staves

Advantages: Having a second caster with oomph is fun.
            Good multidamage skills.
Disadvantages: No powerful single strikes.  

Bows seriously are his best weapon.  You should bring them up to 88 first, 
then move on to the staves. (Never found Needle rain useful)  In this role 
Angelo is a great support character, but can be a HEAVY damage dealer. 
Against bosses, a tension filled Angelo using Multishot can dish out some 
serious damage, sometimes more powerful than Jessica (unless she has the 
Gringham whip).

*  Build 2:  Bows/Swords

Advantages: Both powerful single and multimdamage strikes.
            Lightning Storm/Uber Falcon Blade with Falcon slash
Disadvantages: Need to use seeds of skill with this build 
               
I know, I know I said swords suck on Angelo, blah blah blah.  Here's the 
thing:  If you're not gonna use swords with hero, Angelo should DEF be your 
man.  Why pass up the oppurtunity to use some of the best weapons in the 
game?  Odin's bow is more powerful than them, but with Swords angelo can
target specific opponents and hit them hard. Put 40 Points into swords 
first (Falcon Slash and +20 attack) then put 88 into bows, and then max the 
swords.  You can start on charisma after that.  

Hope you guys enjoyed this!  Any questions, complaints, feel free to email
me at [email protected]