_,-._
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=' '=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
| F O R G O T T E N R E A L M S |
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
<_`-.__/}_ _ _--. . ___ _--. ,--`_,
'-._ __'--. ,-'_'---.`. '. .', ,-` _ '-. `. '. | |
( ( '. \ ; ;' `--,_) } \ / | ; ,' `. \ } \ | |
{ { \ \ ; ;____ | \ / | ' / ^ '. : | \ | :
; ; ) ){ ____`, | |\ \ / { { ( <+> } | | |\ \| |
{ { ; / \ \ ` _ | | \ ` .`\ ' `. ' | , , | | \ ` .
| | / / \ `-._,' ,> | | \ | \ \ \ `. _.-' / | | \ |
_| \_.-' ; `-.__.-' ; | \ | \ '. '._`__.-' ; | \ |
<'__.-----' __ |\, /__| `| '-.' ` /__| `|
/`_ _`-' `------, '
__,---._'. ,----'` ___ _--. ,--`_, _
,'__,--, / , , ,-` _ '-. `. '. | | ,-'_'---.
,` ( `' ; ; ; ,' `. \ } \ | | ; ;' `--,_)
(_ `.__ | | ' / ^ '. : | \ | | ; ;____
`-._ `. | | { ( <+> } | | |\ \| :{ ____`,
`) ) { | `. ' | , , | | \ ` | \ \ ` _
_-' _/ | { \ `. _.-' / | | \ : \ `-._,' ,>
_.-' _.-' | `, '._`__.-' ; | \ | `-.__.-'
,-' _.-' '___> ` /__| `|
`-' '
===============================================================================
- -
= Forgotten Realms: DEMON STONE =
- a complete FAQ/Walkthrough -
= by ::~ Syonyx ~:: =
- -
===============================================================================
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ ~+~+~+~+~+~+~
TABLE OF CONTENTS GAME INFO
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ ~+~+~+~+~+~+~
1.0) Introduction Title: Demon Stone
2.0) Controls & Gameplay Platform: Sony Playstation
3.0) Characters Also on: Microsoft Xbox
3.1) Rannek, the fighter Genre: Action
3.2) Zhai, the rogue ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
3.3) Illius, the sorcerer # of Players: 1
4.0) WALKTHROUGH Developer: Stormfront
4.1) War in Damara Publisher: Atari
4.2) Descent into Gemspark Mine Release Date: 14-Sep-2004 (NA)
4.3) Attack at Cedarleaf
4.4) The Wizard's Tower ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
4.5) The Jungles of Chult GUIDE INFO
4.6) The Yuan-Ti Temple ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
4.7) Stand at Mithral Hall
4.8) Into the Underdark Author: Syonyx
4.9) The Dragon's Lair Version number: 1.2
4.10) The Lord of Chaos Initial completion date: 18-Mar-2006
5.0) Abilities & Upgrades Current version updated: 13-Jan-2007
5.1) Character Abilities
5.2) Character Equipment
6.0) Level Unlockables
7.0) In closing
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
- -
= 1.0) INTRODUCTION =
- -
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
Thank you for visiting my guide to Demon Stone. This game is at heart a
dungeon hack-and-slasher, albeit a more creative and varied one than most. Set
in the Forgotten Realms universe, you will encounter many races and creatures
while playing, most of which are hell-bent on destroying you and seem to come
in tremendous numbers. Controlling one of three unlikely heroes (and switching
at will between them at almost any time), you will partake in a quest to stop
two warring evil factions from achieving world domination. This guide will
provide a complete walkthrough to the game, including as many secret areas and
treasures as I have been able to locate.
The Forgotten Realms is a product of the Dungeons & Dragons pencil-and-paper
RPG system. It was created in the mid-1980's in order to have a game world
with a consistent, fully envisioned geography, history and chronology,
producing a believable living world, something that the previous D&D modules
were lacking. This world has been revealed since then through campaign sets,
novels, and video games. In Demon Stone, your heroes will travel to various
locations on the continent of Faerun and encounter legendary characters, such
as Khelben Arunsun and Drizzt Do'Urden, well-known to virtually all fans of
Forgotten Realms material. This source material has made for a compelling
story-driven fantasy action game, which I hope you will enjoy as much as I
have.
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
- -
= 2.0) CONTROLS & GAMEPLAY =
- -
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
~~ BASIC GAMEPLAY CONTROLS: ~~
(Note: I created this guide using the Playstation 2 version of the game.
However, my friend Robert Daltry was kind enough to send me the Xbox
control scheme as well. Thanks, Robert!)
====================================================================
| PS2 Command | Action | Xbox command |
====================================================================
| Left stick | Move character / change target when | Left stick |
| | aiming projectile | |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| X | Attack with melee weapon / | A |
| | ranged attack (with L1 held) | |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| O | Attack with fists or feet | B |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Triangle | Super attack (needs full Hero Meter) | Y |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Square | Block/shield (hold button) | X |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| R1 | Finish downed opponent | R trigger |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| R2 | Special ability (character-specific) | Black button |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| L1 (hold) | Ready and aim ranged weapon/spell | L trigger |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| L2 | Team Attack (consumes Hero Meter) | White button |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| R3 (click | Team Super Attack (requires 3 full | R stick |
| right stick) | Hero Meters) | (click) |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| D-pad up | Select Rannek, the fighter | D-pad up |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| D-pad left | Select Illius, the sorcerer | D-pad left |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| D-pad right | Select Zhai, the rogue | D-pad right |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Start | Pause game and open pause menu | Start |
====================================================================
~~ COMBAT COMBOS: ~~
The following are potentially available to all playable characters. Some are
accessible from the start of the game, others must be learned.
X: Weapon strike
X, X: 2-hit weapon strike
X, X, X: 3-hit combo, can hit multiple targets
O: Weaponless strike (fists or feet)
O, O: 2-hit combo, pushes back opponent
X, O, X: Trip combo, knocks enemy to ground (must be learned)
X, O, O: Bull rush combo, pushes back opponent farther (must be learned)
X, O, R1: Critical hit combo (must be learned)
Square, X: Riposte, counter-strike after blocking attack (must be learned)
(Rising) X: Attack from downed position (must be learned)
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
| PLAYING THE GAME |
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
'Demon Stone' is a third-person action game. You move your currently-
controlled character around the screen with the L stick and use attacks and
combos to hit the monsters that swarm around you. Most areas that you pass
through have a set number of enemies to defeat, while a few will release a
limitless stream of opponents as you try to accomplish a certain task. As you
fight, there are 2 meters to watch:
Health Meter: Colored arc around the rim of the HUD (heads-up-display, in
the lower left corner of the screen). The red one represents
Rannek's health, the yellow one Zhai's, and the blue one
Illius's. These meters are drained as the heroes take damage,
and are filled by finding pickups. If any character's health
meter reaches zero, the game is over.
Hero Meter: The center of the HUD, where the current character's head is
displayed, gradually fills with white as certain actions are
performed. When full, the circle at the end of the health meter
will also shine. A full hero meter is required to perform super
attacks, and all 3 hero meters must be full to perform a team
super attack. Each character fills their hero meter quickest in
different ways:
Rannek - continuously attack with melee combos, without
taking many hits yourself.
Zhai - make stealth kills and critical attack combos.
Illius - launch magic spells.
And of course, you can switch to controlling any of the three characters at
almost any time, using the D-pad. Occasionally, however, there are sections in
which only one or two characters are available to you, as the story events
demand.
The game is divided into ten missions, each representing a story chapter. At
the end of each chapter, the team receives experience points and gold based on
the number of enemies killed, pickups found and other events. Each party
member will receive the same amount of points and gold. These can then be
spent to upgrade your skills and equipment (see section 4, below). You will
need to improve your abilities throughout the game if you are to survive the
challenges to come. You are also given the option to save before starting the
next chapter.
~~ PICKUPS ~~
Some enemies drop pickups when defeated, and more pickups can be found in the
environment through a variety of means. You will come across the following
throughout the game, simply walk over them to gain the effect:
-Health Potions: Blue/purple round flasks, restores some health for the
character who picks it up.
-Health Scrolls: Rolls of parchment, the spells inscribed thereon restore
health for the entire party.
-Potions of Heroism: Vials of red liquid, these will fill the hero meter
of the character who collects them.
-Arrow Heads: Add to the collector's ammunition supply (Zhai or Rannek).
-Gold pieces: Add to the reward in gold that each character receives at
the end of each mission. Come in single coins or groups.
-Experience Tomes: These educational books add to the experience gained by
all party members at the end of each mission.
~~ DIFFICULTY LEVELS ~~
On starting a new game, you must select from Easy, Normal or Hard difficulty
levels. The differences between them are quite notable. If this is your first
time playing, I strongly suggest not choosing Hard mode (but neither should you
make it too easy for yourself if you're an experienced gamer). As the
difficulty level increases, enemies will require more hits to kill, cause you
more damage, and drop pickups less frequently.
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
- -
= 3.0) CHARACTERS =
- -
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-
| RANNEK, the fighter |
-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~
A human warrior, despairing over the destruction of his home town by a troll
invasion. A skilled swordsman, he will not hesitate to fight on behalf of the
defenseless. Voiced by Dan Riordan.
Melee weapon: Sword
Ranged weapon: Throwing axes (max capacity: 15)
Special ability (R2): Ground smash - destroys nearby obstacles and
can knock back some enemies.
Unique skills:
-Sword power-up: Hold X to charge, then release for a powerful
slash (must be learned).
~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-
| ZHAI, the rogue |
-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~
Half-wood elf, half-drow, all outcast. Not feeling at home anywhere, she roams
about trying to find a place for herself. Her unique parentage has provided
her with unique stealth abilities. Voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
Melee weapon: Twin daggers
Ranged weapon: Throwing knives (max capacity: 25)
Special ability (R2): Jump - lets you reach greater heights.
Unique skills:
-Stealth: Stand in shadows to briefly turn invisible. Effect
ends when you attack or take a hit.
-Stealth kill: When invisible, approach an enemy from behind and
press X to execute an instant kill.
-Jump attack: Press X while coming down from a jump to slash at
an enemy below.
~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~
| ILLIUS, the sorcerer |
-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-~+~-
Born to a long line of knights, he was disowned due to his predilection for the
arcane rather than martial arts. He sets out to learn from greater wizards and
hone his craft. Voiced by Chris Nissley.
Melee weapon: Staff
Ranged weapon: Spells (unlimited use)
Special ability (R2): Beads of Force - explosive beads, press R2
again once placed to trigger.
Unique skills:
-Charged ranged attack: Hold L1 and X until charged, then release
for a much more powerful attack.
-Sleep spell: Hold L1 and press and hold O to temporarily
immobilize a group of enemies.
-Shield spell: Hold L1 and press and hold Triangle to create a
temporary defensive shield around entire party.
NON-PARTY CHARACTERS:
~~ Ygorl ~~
Lord of the Slaad, a vicious race from the chaotic planes. He is a master of
destructive magic and seeks to become ruler of the Realms by force. He has a
special affinity with red dragons. Has been locked in battle with Cireka and
her forces for ages. The 'Y' in his name is silent. Voiced by Michael Clarke
Duncan.
~~ Cireka ~~
General of the Githyanki, a powerful militaristic race set to oppose any
competing force for domination of the Realms. Wields the legendary Githyanki
Silver Sword of Gith. Mortal enemy of Ygorl, whose brute strength is countered
by her speed and agility. Voiced by BJ Ward.
~~ Khelben "Blackstaff "Arunsun ~~
A mighty wizard and guardian of law and order across the Realms. When he first
recognized the danger that Ygorl and Cireka posed, and fearing that either one
should become victorious in their clash and then turn to conquering the Realms,
he locked them away in a Demon Stone, where their mutual hatred would keep them
trapped forever. Voiced by Patrick Stewart.
~~ Drizzt Do'Urden ~~
A legendary Drow dissident and warrior for the side of good on the surface
world. His skill with his twin scimitars, Twinkle and Icingdeath, is
unmatched. A noble and fearsome fighter. Voiced by Robin A. Dowes.
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
- -
= 4.0) WALKTHROUGH =
- -
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
This walkthrough was written while playing the game on Normal difficulty. When
playing on Hard, the same strategies generally apply, though you need to play a
little more defensively, and it will require more work to build up your hero
meters to use super attacks, since Potions of Heroism are not dropped nearly as
often. Whatever difficulty level you're playing on, be sure to set the sound
to Dolby Pro-Logic II for the best effect, assuming whatever system you're
using for sound can support it!
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.1) Chapter One: War in Damara
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
This is the obligatory training level, where you receive an introduction to
the characters and practice the basic hacking and slashing that will carry you
through most of the game. Please note that many of the initial skills cannot
be used in this level, including the super attack, R2 special abilities, or
team attack (which makes sense as you only have one fighter at a time).
Basically, you can move, block, use the most basic combos (X,X,X, and O,O), and
use your ranged attacks, but that is all.
~~ Rannek's Introduction ~~
After the gorgeous opening video, away you go in control of Rannek, the
fighter. Throughout this level, you will find masses of Orcs split into two
camps fighting each other. You always have the option of hanging back and
letting them kill each other off, then just stepping in to finish off the
survivors, but that can be time-consuming, and you're unlikely to get killed in
this stage. So feel free to walk up to the edge of a skirmish and start
hacking away at Orcs on the edges. If you find yourself surrounded, block for
a moment, then run out of the pack and re-approach from a distance. In the
first area, several waves of Orcs will enter the fray. Keep slashing until
they're all dead, at which point a brief cut-scene of Rannek opening the cage
to release the Wood Elves lets you know that you've done your job.
Move along the road to the right to reach the next skirmish. You can smash a
few barrels along the way, but they don't contain any pickups. After the
second group of enemies, the dragon flying about will flame the path ahead of
you. Keep moving ahead to reach another group fighting around a catapult, and
a cut-scene of a distant Orc catapult firing your way will play. Run in and
slash at the point where the catapult on your side is pegged to the ground to
release it and destroy the troops across the way, then continue slashing at all
of the Orcs around you.
Continue to the right to reach a fence. Some more Wood Elves in a cage will
shout for you to help them... then they get fried by the dragon. Whoops! Oh
well, continue breaking the fence barring the path anyway and keep fighting
those Orcs down the road. Eventually you reach a large wooden cart barring the
road. Note the lone figure in the cage ahead of you. Keep attacking and
waiting for the last groups of Orcs to rush into the fray. Once they're all
dead...
~~ Zhai's Introduction ~~
You can use the many shadows (dark areas on the ground with purple embers in
them) to turn invisible, then move behind any Orc and press X to execute a
stealth kill. Look, there's one just ahead in the rock archway! Zhai says
that she could do that all day, and you can indeed for most of her little solo
adventure here. When a group of Orcs presents itself, find a patch of shadows,
use it, run up and kill one, then go back to the shadows and repeat. You can,
of course, also take the Orcs head-on, but you're not quite as strong a fighter
as Rannek. Still, you're not likely to get killed unless you're careless.
Note that Zhai's defending move is to dodge attacks, rather than just block
them. Neat, huh?
At the first group of Orcs, hang back a bit until a rain of fireballs kills
most of them, then advance once it stops. You have to go up through the break
in the short rock wall. Take a right when the dragon knocks the wall down in
front of you. Fight some more Orcs (there's a patch of shadow on the bottom
that you can spot after the camera angle changes), then go up through the hole
made by the dragon's fire blasts. Here there are some brown Orcs that you need
to fight head-on. Slash the post of the catapult beyond them to stop the
troops in the distance from shooting hails of fiery arrows at you, then do the
same again a short distance ahead to the right. For the next larger group of
Orcs, there are several patches of shadow for you to use for the sneaky
approach. Watch out for the green Orc archers, try to take them out early so
that they don't turn you into a pincushion. This is more of an issue in the
next group of enemies, as two archers are holding their ground at the far end
of the field. Sneak up to them invisibly and take one out instantly, then
slash the other one to bits.
Move ahead just a little further and...
~~ Illius' Introduction ~~
With Illius, a healthy dose of ranged magic attacks is the way to go. Of
course, he is also a skilled melee fighter, so don't feel restrained. For the
first group of archers, except for the left-most one they will all ignore you
no matter what you do to them. Kill the first, with spell or staff, then take
your time on the rest. Practice cycling through targets with L1 held, shoot a
couple of them with simple and charged shots (just to compare for the sake of
your in-game education), and knock a couple off of the cliff with the O,O
combo. Move on to the next batch of warring Orcs. You can easily dispatch
them from a distance while they fight each other. Advance, and a last single
green Orc will emerge from the mine entrance on your right. Try a staff combo
on him, then continue up the ledge.
After you see a little cut-scene where Rannek and Zhai ask for you help, since
they're pinned down by archers, move ahead a little further and strike the
siege crossbow with your staff to fire it at the archers. Continue up the
road, shoot the Orc who runs ahead of you in the back, then run up to the large
battle ahead to join up with Rannek and Zhai. Kill the last of the Orcs to
complete the level.
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Notes on leveling up
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
After each chapter, you have the opportunity to spend your party's experience
points on new skills, and gold on better equipment. Since each party member
receives the same amount, you never have to worry about upgrading one character
while leaving another behind. Now, when it comes to choosing the order of
upgrades, I can't tell you what to do, since it comes down to how you want to
play the game. I can, however, make some helpful suggestions, and I will try
to provide good reasons for my choices, which tend to be based on the strengths
of each character and how I expect them to act throughout the game.
LEVEL UPGRADES:
Rannek is the fighter, and thus he will be the one in the middle of combat
most of the time. Because of this, he needs good endurance, and good
attacking power. I recommend starting by improving his Toughness, then
his Sword Focus and then add all of the attack combos as you can afford
them, starting with Bull Rush, so that you can knock enemies off of cliffs
as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
Illius, conversely, will be more often attacking from a distance, using
his magic. Upgrade his ranged attack whenever possible (starting with
Flame Arrow). Sleep and Protection from Evil are also useful, as he will
use these frequently when you are not controlling him, supporting the
other characters in combat quite a bit. You can give him the varied
attack combos later. They're not a priority, since they'll never do all
that much damage.
Zhai's a little more difficult to pin down, though she has a little less
to choose from at level 2, making the decision a little easier. I
recommend starting with Toughness again, basically to improve your
survival potential (this is a good thing with any character). Don't
choose the Acrobatic Attack yet, since you won't be able to jump until the
end of the next chapter. It then comes down to the three attack combos.
Bull Rush is always useful for knocking back enemies, but Zhai's Improved
Critical is also impressive and acrobatic, and fills her hero meter more
quickly. You may prefer to upgrade all character's combos in the same
order, so that you won't have to keep track of who can perform which as
you're switching between characters in the heat of battle.
ITEM UPGRADES:
Initially, you can't really afford to upgrade to more that the first level
in any category, unless you want to spend all of your money on one item.
So for Rannek, start with the melee combat essentials: Armor Enchantment
+1, Half Plate Armor, and Sword +1. Later on, try to go for the Amulets
of Health to further extend your endurance. I wouldn't bother adding
elemental effects to Rannek's sword unless you have money to burn, since
he does plenty of damage without them. Also, throwing axe enhancements
are next to useless, since you'll be using Illius whenever ranged attacks
are a necessity.
Illius will need improved defense, and enhanced magic ability, so focus on
the first upgrades in the armor category, and the Pearls of Power under
accessories. And though you can't really afford them now, make the
Amulets of Health a priority in another chapter or two.
Zhai can benefit from an early upgrade in her invisibility, so consider
purchasing Slick under the armor category. She'll need this skill in some
upcoming sections. Once more, basic armor upgrades are in order. For
Zhai, the status-effect weapon enhancements can be useful and suit her
character. A sneaky slash that leaves the enemy bleeding is right up her
alley.
Whatever upgrades you choose, remember that you will likely be able to acquire
most, if not all of them by the end of the game. Nevertheless, you always want
to make sure that you'll be able to survive the next chapter, so give it some
thought. Also remember that item upgrades are never really permanent, as you
can always move back down to a lower level of enhancement and get the price
difference back to spend on something else.
Now back to the game...
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.2) Chapter Two: Descent into Gemspark Mine
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
As the level loads, you get a lovely little HUD (heads-up display) explanation.
Thank you, game designers. When you start the level, press the D-pad left,
then right, then up to cycle through the characters before you go on your merry
way across the rock bridge. This is a good place to practice any combos you
purchased before the start of the chapter. They're not at all difficult to
execute, but at least you'll know what they look like.
~~ Into the Mines ~~
At the end of the bridge, smash the fence by attacking it with any character,
and the fun will begin. Start by killing the annoying archer in the left
corner. You have to smash the ore crates in front of him to reach him. After
that, go wild. Heed the game's advice to block, it'll spare you a lot of
unnecessary pain. There are also two places to quickly kill enemies without a
lot of slashing: the fire forge in the back, and the cliff to the right of the
forge, behind the large pillar. Force enemies into either for an instant kill.
The Bull Rush combo (X,O,O) is useful for this, but it can also take some
practice to line up your attack properly to push the enemy where you want it to
go. You can also send enemies into these locations with regular slashing
combos (X,X,X), available to all of your characters. Once you kill the Orcs
that come out of the cracks in the walls, another group smashes through the
wall in the far left corner. Watch for Potions of Heroism that are dropped and
switch to characters who have not already filled their Hero Meters to pick them
up. And be sure to smash all of the barrels in this area, many of them hold
Gold Coins!
Once all enemies are dead, go through the smashed wall and down the corridor.
As soon you turn the corner, an Orc archer will start firing, so use a ranged
attack to take him out right away as the other characters handle the couple of
melee fighters. Smash through the barrels and ore buckets for more Gold, then
watch as Crystal Spiders rain around you. They don't pose much threat; use
weapon attacks to clear out large swaths of them at once.
Cross the bridge, and switch to Illius to deal with the Orc archers in the
distance. To complicate matters, however, several Crystal Spiders also climb
over the edge of the bridge to attack you, and you can't fire ranged attacks
while you're being hit. Move Illius to the very end of the bridge so that your
other fighters will deal with most of the spiders. You may need to strike some
with your staff at times, but go back to killing the distant archers as soon as
possible. After you've killed eight or so of them, you are prompted to bring
down the drawbridge. Use a charged spell to break the chains (you may need to
do them one at a time, but if you have the Flame Arrow skill you can hit both
at once). Continue across the bridge, fight a few more Orcs (I suggest going
back to melee attacks rather than ranged ones for this group, as you need to
fight through several axe-wielding Orcs to reach the archers), then smash the
fence to the room beyond.
In here, you must fight Orcs on the ground as well as archers that stand on the
fallen pillar towards the back of the room. You can sometimes hit them with
melee attacks if you stand very close to them, bringing them down to your level
to finish them off. Alternately, ranged attacks are the way to go, if you can
get off a shot before you are hit by either an arrow or an axe. There are many
objects to smash in this room, yielding Gold, Potions of Heroism, and a Health
Potion. Be sure to pick them up quickly once they appear, or they may vanish.
Because of all of the hero potions, go crazy with your super attacks and team
super attacks, which are also highly effective at striking those annoying
archers on the fallen pillar. There's no point in saving up super attacks for
later; any time is a good time when there are several enemies around.
A cut-scene runs, and then Zhai is briefly on her own.
~~ Zhai's Solo Adventure ~~
Wait for the Orcs to turn away, then walk behind them and press X for a stealth
kill, then run to the next shadowed area, rinse and repeat. After three such
kills, smash the barrels and crates for some Gold Coins. Ahead, some Crystal
Spiders run into a hole in the wall as you approach, never to re-emerge. As
far as I can tell, this is just for atmosphere. I've tried throwing daggers at
them before they start scampering away to no avail.
Once you reach the room where Rannek and Illius are imprisoned, you must be
even stealthier than before, lest a horde of Orcs come to attack you. Wait in
the shadows for the far patrolling Orc to walk up to his companion, then as
soon as he turns away, run up behind the still one and kill him, then
immediately dash back to the shadows. Head back out to assassinate the second
guard once invisible again.
~~ Team Reunited ~~
With companions freed, several waves of Orcs emerge from various parts of the
room. Any of the cracked dark openings in the walls are fair game, as is the
edge of the cliff at one end of the room. For Orcs there, it's quite easy to
knock them back off of the edge with any kind of attack. For the rest, it's
the tried and true methods of constant slashing, super attacks, and team super
attacks. Don't be stingy with these, as there are many Potions of Heroism to
be found by smashing the crates and barrels around the room (there are also
many Gold Coins to be had in this way). Once one character grabs a potion,
switch to another and pick up another one to quickly return to a point where
you can execute another team super attack. Finish off the Orc minions, and
their noble leader appears, trampling down the hall.
==================
| Boss: ORC KING |
===========================================================================
| This is one tricky dude. When he first appears, have Rannek execute a |
| combo on him, then back off as he charges up and lets loose with some |
| magic attacks. He fires a ranged shot at your current character, briefly |
| paralyzing them, so switch to someone else and stay out of the way as the |
| King releases a ring of fire around himself. After that, you can move in |
| and try to hit him some more until he jumps to the top of the stairs. At |
| this point, you can't hurt him (note that his life meter vanishes), so |
| focus on the Orc minions he summoned instead. They're nothing special, |
| fight them as you normally would, and use any super attacks you have |
| stored up (they're virtually useless against the King, so make use of |
| them while you can). Once they're down, the Orc king launches distance |
| attacks from the top of the stairs, so have Illius hit him with charged |
| shots. You can continue to do this once he comes down and engages the |
| party again, at least until you get paralyzed. Keep repeating this, |
| through several rounds of Orc minions, who turn out to be useful for |
| dropping pickups. Be sure not to miss these, especially any Health |
| Scrolls. Avoid the King when he glows blue, as he's invulnerable then. |
| When he's on the ground and not launching spells, have Rannek combo him. |
| When the head-on approach becomes more hazardous, switch to Illius and |
| throw charged spells at him, which are surprisingly damaging. Just wear |
| down his health to zero and he'll fall in no special manner. |
===========================================================================
~~ After the Fight ~~
The team automatically collects some treasures from the fallen Orc King: the
Gauntlets of Ogre Power for Rannek, a Ring of Jumping for Zhai, and Beads of
Force for Illius. They can now all use their special abilities with R2 (on
PS2) or the Black button (on Xbox)! They must each do so to get through three
walls that only they can see (switch to a different character, and you only see
a stone wall). Have Illius approach the first, press R2 to lay down a bead,
then press R2 again to blow it up. Now it's Zhai's turn. Jump to the first
ledge on the left, then across to the one on the right, then back left to the
top and press X near the lever to activate it. And finally, Rannek gets to
flex his muscles. Hold R2 until he smashes the ground. Before you advance,
however, return to the Orc King's throne room, where you were just fighting a
minute ago...
!!SECRET!!
Use Rannek's Gauntlets of Ogre Power to smash the Ork King's throne in one
corner of the room. Switch to Zhai and have her jump up the stone ledges
behind where the throne was to reach a treasure chest. Smash it open to
receive some bonus Gold Coins!
Back in the mysterious tunnel, use Rannek's special ability again to smash the
rocks blocking the path, and walk forward to trigger a cut-scene. Oh no, what
have you done!?!
You now battle hordes of Slaadi minions, who just keep on coming. It's fairly
easy to knock them off of the cliffs all around, since it's a small area. It's
even easier to keep slamming them with team super attacks. Doing so yields
many pickups, including Potions of Heroism. Switch between characters to pick
one up, then switch again and get another, until the Hero Meters are all full
again, and you can unleash another team super attack. If there are less than 3
Potions, be sure to have Rannek grab one, because his meter is the hardest to
fill (until you've had more practice, anyway). Illius fills his the most
quickly by using charged magic shots, so back him up to a safe spot and let
them fly until a Slaad minion reaches you. Make use of the Health Potions that
also appear, and keep up the fight until Cireka is regenerated, triggering a
cut-scene and the end of the chapter. Thank goodness.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.3) Chapter Three: Attack at Cedarleaf
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
At the outset, you need to stop Cireka from fully opening her portal. The
quickest way to do this is to have Illius launch charged magic shots at her
until her 'stamina' bar in the top right corner of the screen reaches zero. If
you start right away, you can accomplish this very quickly, in four or five
shots (assuming you've upgraded your magic, anyway). This is assuming that the
Githyanki Warriors stay off your back for a moment. If they don't, take a
moment to block and attack your attacker a little, then move to a new position
and keep firing on Cireka. Afterwards, Ygorl appears with his Slaadi minions
to add to the chaos.
~~ Restore the Bridge ~~
You control Zhai and only Zhai here. From the shadows where you start, go up-
right along a path. Stay along the top edge and use your new R2 jump ability
to reach the first ledge, where a Githyanki awaits. Kill him, then jump up to
the next landing where a pair of Green Slaadi appear. Push them off of the
edge or otherwise take them down.
!!SECRET!!
Well, not a well-hidden secret for sure, but it's still potentially
missable. From the ledge with the two Green Slaadi, jump left and up
further (rather than just running right to the bridge control), and up
once more to find a treasure chest. Smash it to receive lots of Gold!
Head up to the bridge control room and Zhai will automatically activate the
device, so that all hell can then break loose.
~~ Rescue the Wood Elves of Cedarleaf ~~
Ygorl and Cireka are devastating the village as they battle each other. So
inconsiderate. It's your job to clear a path for the defenseless denizens of
the village to reach their portal to safety. Basically, this task involves
slaughtering a whole bunch of Slaadi and Githyanki warriors. Start in front of
the tree portal, killing all comers, then go right and have either Rannek or
Illius destroy the log with their R2 ability. Ahead, a lot more fighting
awaits. Keep in mind that the red-garbed humanoids are the Elf defenders of
the village, so don't try to attack them (not that you can hit them, there's no
ally damage in this game). Do hit everything else that moves, however. You
have to fight for a good while in this area until no more enemies appear, and
the fire that was blocking the log on the left side dies down. Smash it (with
Ogre Power or Beads of Force) to reach the next area of the village, freeing a
few more Elves along the way.
Repeat this pattern a couple more times, with only a few enemies to defeat in
each section, until a cut-scene of the two big bads fighting plays. Then, it's
more fighting yet again. Once the enemies are done, smash the planks on both
side of the house in the top corner with Rannek or Illius (R2, remember), then
fight some more enemies behind you and smash more planks blocking the bridge
above you. Follow the flow of villagers back towards their portal, fighting
whatever gets in your way.
Near the portal, you will fight while Ygorl and Cireka continue their epic
battle in the vicinity, which makes for a dramatic setting. Unfortunately, at
times the camera angle will be very wide to take in their battle as well as
yours, and at these times it's difficult to make out what you're doing. Just
keep slashing aimlessly or continuously hold block at these times, and try to
move right or left to get the camera to move to a new position. The fight in
this area lasts a long time. Use team super attacks judiciously, and keep an
eye on your fighter's health. When it gets low, try to grab one of the many
Health Potions that will appear as you conquer enemies (they occur more
frequently when using super attacks). Eventually, a cut-scene will take over
and the chapter will end as the big bad guys escape to other regions.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.4) Chapter Four: The Wizard's Tower
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
As the level begins, your trio is attempting to make their way down the tower
to reach Khelben's portal. Running around the first section, Bugbears attack.
Use Rannek to knock back their ladders before too many climb up. Use R2
between the pair of ladders to knock them both down at once. Keep moving ahead
and doing the same for the entire length of this corridor, then kill any
remaining Bugbears. At the end of the hall, enter the door on the right.
~~ Balconies ~~
Along the balconies, another series of Bugbears enter the fray via ladders
leading up to the windows between the suits of armor. Run ahead and knock back
all of these ladders. The R2 move is not necessary (nor does it hurt to use
it), you can simply strike the ladders with your weapon. Note that the statues
and the magical books at the ends will only strike the Bugbears, not your
party. Once the ladders are all down, finish off the Bugbears.
!! SECRET !!
Well, not much of a secret since it doesn't earn you anything, it's just
a fun little tidbit. At the desks along the walls piled with arcane
objects, have Rannek smash the ground in front of them. This will knock
many objects off the tops of the desks. Yup, that's it.
On the other side of this floor, a number of Red Slaadi will appear in waves in
front of the large fireplace. There are several ways to dispose of them
quickly: knock them into the fire, knock them off of the balcony directly
opposite the fire (the banister will break here), or force them to the right
side where a steady stream of magic books will pelt them from the shelves.
Once all of the Slaadi have been destroyed, the magical barrier blocking the
door on the left side will dissipate, so go on through there.
~~ Magical Traps ~~
Next, there is a trap-laden hallway to deal with. Only Zhai can get by, by
leaping over the magical blue flames. After the second jump, you get to fight
a Green Slaadi. Just knock him into the flames to make your life easier.
Another appears two jumps later. And finally, at the end, there's a Red Slaadi
for you to take on. Since there's only one, you could easily knock him off
with combos, but if you want to be quicker about it, step into the alcove on
the right with a shadow in it, then use a stealth kill to eliminate your
opponent. Actually, if you want to have a little fun, try engaging the enemy,
then run and hide in the shadows; he might go running into the flames looking
for a new target and kill himself. Stupid Slaad. Smash the chest for some
Gold Coins, then strike the glowing symbol on the wall with your weapon a
couple of times to deactivate the trap. Wait for the boys to catch up with you
and head through the door on the right.
~~ Pool of Death ~~
On this level, you can't help but notice the large pool that takes up a good
chunk of the room. Every time that an enemy falls in, a pair of symbols light
up over the pool. When the entire archway is lit, then a blast hits all
enemies and the symbols are reset. Continue to knock enemies into the pool
until three complete cycles are achieved, at which point the enemies will cease
appearing and the door on the left will be unsealed. You may at times have
trouble getting enemies to the pool, at times the AI controlling your other
party members leads enemies off to the far left corner. Switch players when
this happens and move around to a new spot. Archers that appear on the sides
of the pool are easy targets, just run up to the wall and hit them straight
into the water.
~~ Another Trapped Hallway ~~
This passage is more difficult than the last, due to a couple of double rows of
magic fire and seemingly tougher enemies. Be very, very careful not to touch
the flames, no matter what else happens, because they damage you quite a bit.
Use the shadowy alcoves on the right along the way to avoid initial detection
by the Slaadi. At the end, immediately run into the shadowy alcove on the
right, then run out and stealth kill one Red Slaad before turning on the other
one. Smash the chest for more Gold and attack the symbol on the wall again.
A short but foreboding cut-scene plays here.
~~ Ground Floor ~~
On this floor, Bugbears will climb up to where you are, and Bugbear axethrowers
will come through the windows to the far balcony. Have Illius throw charged
spells at the latter, while your other fighters take care of the enemies on
your side. There aren't many enemies to contend with in this section (at least
not compared to the hordes you face elsewhere). You'll know that you killed
the last one when you hear the creak of the next door opening.
!!SECRET!!
Beside the exit door on the far side of the balcony, in the top corner
you may notice a big crack in the wall. Use Ogre Power or Beads of Force
to blow this wall open, revealing Khelben's treasury. As Illius comments,
he would want you to have what's in there, so go and help yourself. Lots
of Gold and an Experience Tome await you.
Make sure that you also smash the chest to the left of the exit door before you
leave to receive a Health Scroll.
Through the door, a heck of a lot more Bugbears attack. There are more suits
of armor to help out here, but they don't do much. You can actually lead the
Bugbears back to the previous room, where you have more space to maneuver. Try
doing this with Illius so that he can get some shots off. Use any super
attacks that you have (don't bother saving them up for a team super at this
point), and go and help any character whose health is getting low and is under
siege by multiple enemies.
!!SECRET!!
At the end of the hallway with the suits of armor on both sides, go right
up the stairs and follow the landing behind the armor back to a chest with
some Gold Coins.
Go through the door on the left side at the end of the long hallway. More
Bugbears await in the next room. There are two pairs of ladders coming up to
the windows, one on each side, so destroy them post haste in order not to
prolong the battle. Lure enemies to the middle of the room where the magic
swords will fly off the wall to attack them. Thank you Khelben.
In the last room in this area, there are thankfully no Bugbears. Just be sure
to smash open all three chests on the upper level where you begin before going
down the stairs.
~~ Shield Guardian Assault ~~
Fun! Illius magically controls this giant warrior. The best approach is
basically to just keep plowing along, swinging that axe constantly. As you
move along the bridge, make sure to go to the sides and knock down the ladders
to stem the flow of Bugbears, and remember that there are ladders on both sides
of the bridge! Any stragglers who get by your guardian can generally be left
for Rannek and Zhai to deal with. Keep an eye on Illius' health, however, and
if it's getting dangerously low then you may want to turn around once in a
while and strike at any Bugbears that got behind you. But again, for the most
part just keep moving forward, going side to side to destroy the ladders, until
you reach the end of the bridge. At that point, along comes the dragon and...
so much for the shield guardian. Now it's boss fight time!
===========================
| Boss: BUGBEAR CHIEFTAIN |
===========================================================================
| This guy is big and mean, and has taken a page out of the Orc King's book |
| by using invulnerability and paralysis attacks to make your life |
| difficult. Basically, use any fighter and attack him with a combo, I |
| find that the Bull Rush (X,O,O) works best, and Rannek does the most |
| damage so favor him. Very shortly, however, the Bugbear will glow with a |
| blue light, at which point he is invulnerable, so stay away. He'll hit |
| first one, then another fighter with paralysis, keep switching to whoever |
| isn't hit and try to attack (if he's not still invulnerable). Keep your |
| distance and he won't get to you with his paralysis spell as quickly. |
| For this reason, Illius will end up doing most of the damage, with fully |
| charged magic shots from a safe distance, released when the Chieftain is |
| not invulnerable. When he gets paralyzed, switch to either other fighter |
| and try to get a couple of hits in. Watch the health bars, and when they |
| start to deplete smash one of the chests on the sides of the arena. They |
| contain helpful Health Scrolls to restore all characters. It's an |
| annoying fight, since you have to switch characters all of the time, but |
| it's entirely winnable if you take a bit of care. |
===========================================================================
~~ Opening the Portal ~~
Now, Illius must focus his concentration and power up the magical portal. This
takes time, time that Ygorl is not going to give you readily. Waves of Red
Slaadi will appear. It's up to Rannek and Zhai to keep them off of Illius'
back long enough for him to charge up the portal. The portal's energy is shown
by the meter in the upper right corner of the screen. Unlike in boss fights,
you want the meter to fill rather than empty. As either fighter, attack the
Slaadi nearest Illius. You don't have to cover him too closely, as the Slaadi
will attack any fighter based on whatever AI controls them. When they do hit
Illius, however, run to engage them right away. Use super attacks whenever
your hero meter fills, unless there's only one enemy currently on-screen.
Between waves of Slaadi, you have a very brief respite, so have Zhai stand in
the lines of shadow to turn invisible, then stealth kill the first Slaadi to
get too close to Illius. Fun! Once the portal is all charged up, the chapter
is complete. Thank goodness too, because this was a tough one, don't you
think?
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.5) Chapter Five: The Jungles of Chult
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
When the action begins, Illius is down. Though he has no visible health bar,
he can be killed, thus ending the game, so stick by him and fend of the Yuan-Ti
Abominations. They cannot be tripped, so don't bother with that combo. The
critical combo, on the other hand, is reasonably effective. These creatures
are tough, and even Rannek will have a hard time with them. The easiest way to
survive this section is to play as Zhai and use the shadows along the edges of
the clearing to go dark, using stealth kills to more easily dispatch the
Abominations. Note the glowing plant at the top of this area; hit it with a
ranged attack (or have Zhai jump and hit it) to release healing pollen that
will restore the entire party's health.
!!SECRET!!
Go to the lower right corner of this clearing and walk right-up into the
jungle to find a chest. Smash it to receive some gold coins. You can
come back here after Illius recovers and you move ahead if you missed it
while you were still fighting.
Walk through the jungle and use the healing plants whenever you come across
them. Just holding L1 will draw a line to the nearest one, so you don't even
have to search for them. When you meet a couple more Abominations, let Illius
kill them from afar with charged magic. Continue onward, fight some more.
Note the creepy face carved into the rock on the left side of the path. In
this area, there are shadows along the edges of the path for Zhai to use. Have
Rannek or Illius smash the large web ahead, then I suggest a super attack (team
or solo) to deal with the spiders and several Abominations that you must face.
Also, remember Zhai's shadows!
Walk up to the gates at the end of the path, and a cut-scene will have the
party enter the old wooden mill.
~~ The Water Mill ~~
Here, you start off with only Rannek free to fight. Make releasing your
friends, who are stuck to the wall on either side of the door, your first
priority. Smash the ground in front of them with R2 to release them
(alternately, you can just hack at the webbing, but it takes much longer).
With a little luck, no spiders will attack you while you're trying to do this.
If unlucky in this respect, you'll just have to keep hacking at them until you
can do a super to clear yourself some space to use your Ogre Power.
Once all three heroes are in the fight, you need to deal with the giant pods
that are placed around the room. Use Zhai or Illius (preferably the latter)
target them (cycle targets with the left stick) and fire on them until they
wither. Once they're all gone, the little spiders will stop coming, so all you
have to contend with are a few more large spiders. Keep killing them until the
party is over. The team will automatically descend the lift.
!!SECRET!!
Before the fight is over, control Zhai and jump onto the crate on the
lower right side of the room. Jump up to the stairs from there and run
around the upper ledge to find a chest containing Gold Coins. If it
seems to be not there, then you probably inadvertently smashed it while
trying to fire on all of the spider nests, and the gold vanished after a
short while. Be sure to try and collect it before the fight is over,
because afterwards the team automatically goes down the lift and you
cannot return.
Below ground, Yuan-Ti Abominations are fighting some spiders. Thank goodness
for that distraction, though it won't last forever. You need to knock the
Abominations upwards off of the edge so that they are crushed by the gears of
the mill. Also be sure to smash the several barrels on either side of the room
to recieve some Gold. Feel free to use team super attacks (in fact, I highly
recommend it) when things get hairy, and they will. The last few Abominations
may not be near the edge, so switch characters to increase your chances of
luring them over. Hack the last one or two to death, just to get it out of
your system.
Now the door opens and some proper Yuan-Ti come in. These snakemen are easily
tripped up and finished off on the ground with the X,O,X combo followed by R1.
Walk outside to face a few more on the river's edge. Here, it's easy work to
knock them back into the water. Use Illius to take out the Yuan-Ti Archers
that fire from across the river. He can also knock the Yuan-Ti on his side
into the water just as easily as the others, making him an excellent character
to use here. Illius is turning out to be exceptionally useful, isn't he?
~~ River Rafting ~~
Inadvertently cut loose, your team goes down the river. Rannek instructs
Illius to take out the archers, so why not do that? Stand away from any
Abominations that climb onto the raft and fire magic shots at the Abomination
Archers in the jungle along the river. When they're down, you can help knock
the Abominations off of the raft. Periodically, the raft will get stuck
against a large web across the river. Rannek or Illius has to blast through
these with R2 to get by (Rannek can also hack through them eventually, but it
takes much more time). Go back to Illius and take out the archers on the
bridge above, blow through the next web... you get the picture. Actually, if
you just keep firing continuously (normal, non-charged shots), you can kill
many of the archers before they even get to a spot where they can fire back at
you. After the third web, make sure to shoot the healing plants. You'll want
to be at full health for what's ahead.
~~ In the Spider Cave ~~
You enter an underground tunnel, sparsely populated with small spiders. As
Zhai says, 'Baby Spiders. Easy." Destroy the web when you stop moving, then
keep floating on down the river. Then, it's a classic horror movie type
moment.
=============================
| Boss: JUNGLE SPIDER QUEEN |
===========================================================================
| This fight is fairly easy, once you catch on to the pattern and tweak |
| your approach a bit to perfect it. The Spider Queen can only be hurt by |
| charged ranged shots. Anyone's can do it, but Illius will do the most |
| damage, and is the only one with unlimited ammo. So Illius is once again |
| your man. The Queen periodically fires off shots of paralyzing venom. |
| These are easily blocked, and you must block since they home in on you |
| (i.e. running around to dodge will not be effective). She will always |
| fire them at your active character (how does she know?), but the others |
| can get hit if they're in the line of fire. To avoid this, move Illius |
| to the edge of the raft closest to the Queen. There, defend until her |
| venom shot bounces off of your shield, then immediately charge up and |
| and release a magic shot. Block again as soon as your shot is away, then |
| repeat again after blocking her venom again. Since you're at the edge of |
| the raft, your allies are likely safe, and will be able to deal with the |
| minor annoyance of the smaller spiders that crawl onto the raft one by |
| one. Drain that Spider Queen's health meter down to nothing in this |
| manner, and you could potentially never take a single hit. |
===========================================================================
The party emerges out the other side of the cave, and the Yuan-Ti Temple is in
sight.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.6) Chapter Six: The Yuan-Ti Temple
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
~~ Infiltration ~~
You don't have to go through here sneakily, but it does make your life quite a
bit easier if you can pull it off. If any Yuan-Ti spots you, it will try to
ring a nearby gong, calling many more warriors out of the nearby holes in the
wall. To avoid this, kill each one in turn with a stealth kill. There are
shadows on both sides of most of the raised stones along the left edge of the
path. Move up them one by one to reach the guards. The first kill is fairly
easy. Wait in the closest shadow for the guard to turn away, then walk up
behind him and press X. Move up to the next one, who is backed up by a second
guard just ahead. Watch the patterns of their movement, and don't attack one
until the other has just turned away, so that they won't catch you in the act
before you can return to the shadows. At the first such pair, go around the
first one and stand in the shadows around the flaming sconce. From here, you
can easily walk up behind the right guard and slash him while the other guard
has just turned away. With one down, the other will be easy to approach,
especially since he stays turned away for a fairly long time.
Dispatch the next pair in a similar manner. Wait for the far Yuan-Ti guard to
have just turned away, then quickly step out and slash the other one,
immediately returning to the shadows. Sneak up ahead a ways further until you
can see the entrance to the temple. There are again two guards here to contend
with. Sneak left to the shadows directly down from the temple entrance, then
run up to the shadows in the upper corner, behind the patrolling guards. You
can stand here and kill the rear guard without having to move out of the
shadows, just make sure that the front guard has just turned away when you do
this. Congratulations, you're a master rogue!
!!SECRET!!
After clearing out all of the guards, keep going left past the entrance to
the temple. Jump up to either ledge beside the serpent statue, then onto
the statue, then onto either side high ledge, then to the top to find an
Experience Tome, Gold Coins in the chest, and a bag (whose effect I have
not been able to discern as of yet. Any takers?).
Walk up to the temple doors and you'll automatically enter.
~~ The Summoning ~~
In the main temple area, your presence is quickly detected. I guess the
stealth portion is over. Now, you have to fight a large number of Yuan-Ti. To
help you out, there is a pit in the middle to knock them into, and a cliff all
around. They're also not all that powerful, so you can kill them outright too.
Use any super attacks that you acquire. One fun thing to do is to smash the
supports of the rope bridges on one side of the arena, ideally with Yuan-Ti on
them at the time. Of course, eliminating these bridges doesn't stem the tide
of warriors coming after you, since there's a perfectly good solid path for
them to slither along, and they also come crawling up the sides of the arena.
All that you can do is keep fighting (block a lot, too!) and knocking snakes
off the arena floor until the next major event begins.
That event is the summoning of the Yuan-Ti god, Merrshaulk of the Eternal
Hunger (catchy name, don't you think?). Your job now is to prevent any of the
mind-controlled Yuan-Ti Abominations from reaching the monster, because if he
gets to eat them, his power will swell and he'll wipe you all out in one blow.
I'm sure that we don't want that to happen.
==========================================
| Boss: MERRSHAULK OF THE ETERNAL HUNGER |
============================================================================
| I'll make this easy for you: Use Illius. Position him at the start of the |
| path leading to the Yuan-Ti god, and kill off anything that moves from |
| there. Try both charged and uncharged magic shots to see which kills the |
| Abominations faster. For me, using the Cone of Cold spell, it was faster |
| to use uncharged shots, fired as rapidly as possible. Even when nothing |
| is visible on your screen, keep shooting (you can tell that you're still |
| aiming at something by the yellow dots). This fight will take quite a |
| while, but keep at it while the monster's health bar slowly drains as you |
| kill off his food. Eventually, his hunger will overwhelm him, and the |
| results are amusing. |
============================================================================
Okay, so you didn't kill the Yuan-Ti god, but you at least stopped him from
killing you. So far so good. But you still need to recover the Demon Stone,
and it's shielded. So here we go again...
============================
| Boss: DEMON STONE SHIELD |
============================================================================
| Not much of a boss, since Merrshaulk's still the real threat. Anyway, you |
| need to run up to the Demon Stone (which is right beside that giant snake |
| god, by the way) with Illius or Rannek and use their R2 attack to smash |
| away at the shield protecting it. To complicate matters, however, the |
| giant beast will periodically smash the ground, causing you heavy damage |
| if you're caught in the shockwave. So, first approach the god, then back |
| off until he smashes the ground, then run in and launch your attack on the |
| shield, then quickly run away again while he smashes the ground, then run |
| back in... you get the picture. The other characters will meanwhile be |
| fighting hordes of Abominations and Yuan-Ti warriors, so don't dilly-dally |
| about your task. When you run back away from the shockwaves, feel free to |
| knock any enemies near there off the nearest cliff. |
============================================================================
With the shield destroyed, you grab the Demon Stone and make a run for it.
Enjoy the fruits of your labors.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.7) Chapter Seven: Stand at Mithral Hall
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
At the outset of the game, a Troll shaman (or some other kind of mystic) casts
Dispel on your allies, rendering any magical flame enchantments on your weapons
useless. Throughout this chapter, remember that the Trolls can only be harmed
by fire. You can ignite your melee weapons in any brazier, and the effect will
last for a decent amount of time. Once any Troll is knocked to the ground,
waste no time in finishing them off with R1 while your weapon is ablaze. It
can get tiresome having to continually re-light your weapon, but no one ever
said that this game would be easy.
The Trolls are tough opponents too, able to take several combos before falling
over. Also watch out for their ground smash, which you can see them charging
up for as their hands glow blue. This attack cannot be defended against, but
it has a small range, so just run a couple of steps away while the Troll hits
the ground, then run back in and attack it again. On this stage super attacks
are still all well and good, but you still need to finish off the Trolls on the
ground afterwards. The only saving grace to be found here is that the Trolls
stay down for a decent amount of time, unlike some enemy types, giving you the
opportunity you need to kill them outright.
~~ Defend the Gates!~~
You start off fighting atop one of the side fort walls. Run for a brazier,
then fight for a few moments until Drizzt announces that the Trolls can only be
killed by fire. Of course, if you're reading this then you already knew that.
Fight for another minute or so, and Rannek will call his allies "To the tower",
and you will see some Trolls running there too. Go right along the top of the
wall and up some stairs at the end to reach the tower, where a gate control
wheel awaits. The Trolls will try to destroy it, and you must stop them from
doing so. There is only one brazier atop here, in the upper right corner, and
it's a pain having to constantly relight there, but what can you do about it?
Keep attacking any Trolls that are hacking at the wooden wheel (it has its own
health bar, in the upper right corner of the screen). You have to continue
defending it for quite some time. I prefer to use Rannek for this task, and
use a lot of Bull Rush and Critical combos. Remember to finish off any fallen
Trolls as soon as possible, too, because there is nothing worse than having to
kill the same Troll twice.
Once you finish them off... surprise, surprise! You get to control Drizzt. He
can use the two basic combos (X,X,X and O,O), and also the X,O,X and X,O,R1
combos, but these require very quick button presses and have identical effects
for him (i.e. they are not different combos). Use the first one (X,X,X) almost
exclusively, it's a dazzling display of swordsmanship. Just remember to block
once in a while too. You start off in front of the main gates, which now have
a health bar in the upper right corner of the screen, and you have to beat down
the many, many Trolls that are trying to smash it open. Remember to keep your
swords lit, using the braziers at either side of the gate. The Dwarfs will be
helpful here in attacking and finishing off Trolls, but they can also sometimes
get in the way when you're trying to move around.
After killing the majority of the first wave of gate attackers, a snowball-
throwing Troll will attack in a cut-scene. Afterwards, run to the right and up
along the top of the wall to reach him and other ranged Troll fighters. Make
your way left across that wall to finish this section.
~~ Jam the Gears ~~
Next, a Dwarf named Thibbeldorf runs to the North tower to jam the gears and
prevent the gates from being opened. You need to defend him from Trolls as he
accomplishes this task. Run all the way left and up the stairs to the gears,
then light your weapon(s) on the brazier in the corner here (do this even if
they're already lit to extend the effect, since you have a moment free). This
also lets you know where the brazier is, as you'll need to return to it often.
Stay near the poor little Dwarf and attack viciously at the nearby Trolls.
!!SECRET!!
Go down the stairs at the top of the tower (the ones next to the brazier)
and cross to the right to find the treasure chests that you probably saw
over the gate in a cut-scene. One of the chests contains a Potion of
Heroism, the other some Gold, and there's also one of those bags whose
function I haven't discerned yet.
Once that's finished, Drizzt announces that you must return to the gates, so do
so by going back along the top of the wall. As before, concentrate your
attacks on the Trolls that are actually attacking the gate before turning to
those on the sides. At some point, a snowball-throwing Troll will set up shop
on the left side, so keep an eye out for him and kill him right away. Then,
just keep working on the rest of the horde until this wave of the assault is
exhausted.
~~ Drizzt Enraged ~~
Solo fight! It's a tough one, be warned. Your primary goal is to defend the
wall, so to that end, the snowball-throwers need to be your main concern. Let
too many of them live for too long, and they'll destroy the gate (whose life
bar is still in the upper right corner), allowing the Hall to be overrun
(needless to say, this is a game over situation). But on the other hand, the
melee Trolls, if left unchecked, will make killing the ranged Trolls difficult
as they knock you around with 3-hit combos that are unblockable once the first
hit connects. So go for a balanced approach: Attack the snowball-throwers
while rotating around them so that your slashes can also catch the melee Troll
that is hounding you, killing two birds with one stone. Finish off any fallen
snowball-throwers (there's got to be a better name for these guys) immediately,
then move on to the next one (or two, since they're grouped together and you
can hit more than one at a time with your sword combo). Deal with all of the
ones in the front before moving up to the next line. You can use super attacks
fairly frequently, I recommend applying these to the melee Trolls to
temporarily get them off your back. The reprieve will be short lived, as
another enters the courtyard every time you finish one off. Overall though,
stay focused on the snowball-throwers and watch the gate's health bar. Enemies
will occasionally drop Healing Potions when your health gets lower, and there
are Healing Scrolls in the chests on either side of the courtyard (but I
recommend saving these for the next part of the chapter, coming up).
!!SECRET!!
I'm not sure if this really counts as a secret, but I noticed an
Experience Tome beside one of the chests on the side while Drizzt was
fighting. It was no longer there during the boss fight ahead, so grab it
if you spot it.
~~ Catapult and King ~~
Finally, some backup! What were you guys waiting for? Rannek and Zhai join
Drizzt on the ground, and Rannek's skills will be sorely needed as the Trolls
roll in a catapult. Rannek must use Ogre Power (R2) at three places on the
catapult: on both sides in front of the wood plank walls, and directly in front
of it. This last also releases another Troll who was standing inside the
catapult frame, so you might want to save the front for last, simply to avoid
adding one more enemy to contend with. If the Trolls aren't giving you enough
time to use your smash (and why would they?), hack away at them to make them
stagger back and immediately try again.
Once the catapult is destroyed, an old friend of Rannek's shows up...
====================
| Boss: TROLL KING |
============================================================================
| There's nothing fancy about this fight, it's more or less just a good old |
| fashioned brawl. The Troll King has the same powered-up fist smash that |
| the other melee Trolls did, so back away when you see that one coming, as |
| revealed by a glowing fist. He can also grab a character directly in |
| front of him by the head and toss them to the ground, stunning them for a |
| couple of moments. And of course, he has a regular old arm-swinging combo |
| for good measure. Avoiding all of these attacks with your current hero is |
| easy. Just don't stand in front of him, and move away when his fist |
| starts to glow. Note that the Troll King is invulnerable both while doing |
| his fist smash, and when holding an ally up by the head. Any other time |
| is fair game. If he does grab an ally, wait a moment beside him until he |
| throws them down to the ground before starting a combo attack, and always |
| attack from either his back or side. He's pretty tough-skinned and can |
| take a lot of damage. Drizzt seems to do the most damage with his swift |
| blade combo, while Zhai does very little damage at all. Rannek falls in |
| the middle, but he has a personal vendetta here, so play it as you will. |
| Be sure to grab the Health power-ups (scrolls and a solo potion) from the |
| chests on both sides of the courtyard as needed. |
============================================================================
Has anyone else experienced a sound glitch here? On one of my playthroughs,
the sound vanished when the Troll King appeared. No biggee, as long as you've
got the subtitles turned on. If this does happen to you and you can't read
what Drizzt is saying, he basically just gives Zhai a Wood Elf amulet. Captain
Picard then tells you all about it.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.8) Chapter Eight: Into the Underdark
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
~~ Drow Assassination ~~
Another solo portion for Zhai. As with the Yuan-Ti guards, the closest Drow
isn't always the first one you want to kill. This suggestion applies right
from the start here. Walk past the patrolling Drow and enter the shadows
behind the other Drow who is just standing there. Wait for the moving Drow to
walk away from you (move towards the bottom edge of the shadowed are to see
him), then kill the one right next to you. Now you can go down and take out
the patrolling one.
!!SECRET!!
After the first pair of Drow guards, jump up to a shadow-covered ledge on
the left wall. Jump up one more and smash the chest for some Gold Coins.
It's not over yet! Keep going up one more time, then jump sideways across
to another ledge along the right wall. Open the chest here for even more
Gold.
Actually, you have to do the secret above to continue in stealth mode, since
there aren't any more shadows along the ground before you reach the next Drows.
From the upper ledge on the right, drop down ahead along more ledges, and once
on the ground move up to the patch of shadow behind the rear guard.
Assassinate him, restore your invisibility, then move down on the left side of
the stream to take out the next one. Finally, go back up to the shadows and
run down again to the last oblivious Drow guard to finish clearing the way.
Of course, if you flub it, you can always take the direct approach and still
get the treasure chests afterwards.
~~ Ice Breaker ~~
As soon as you enter and the fight begins, a wall of ice goes up across the
middle pathway just ahead. Your team will need to work together to get through
here to Cireka. Use Illius to kill the Drow warlocks maintaining the ice
shield. They are standing in the distance, use charged magic attacks to get
them. Of course, you also have to defend against the other Drow attacking you,
so clear yourself some space as needed then turn to the warlocks again. To
complicate matters, new warlocks will replace the fallen ones after a while, so
you need to work quickly. Once all of the warlocks are down and there are no
more lines of power going across the ice wall, have Rannek move up to it and
Ogre Power the heck out of it. It will take several hits, and warlocks may
regenerate their protective shield, so return to Illius and repeat as needed.
!!SECRET!!
There's a trick to making this section easier, and it involves Zhai (see,
now all three heroes are contributing to this task). From the bridge
leading to the right, you can move down and thus go up a short rock ramp.
Jump up a couple of narrow ledges to the top, then run across to some
treasure. You'll need to jump up a couple more times to make it all the
way across. You find an Experience Tome, a bag of whatever's in there,
and some Gold Coins in the chest. But that's not all! Move to the symbol
in the little altar and Zhai will automatically press it, lowering walls
that block the warlock's spells, leaving the ice wall defenseless!
It will take several smashes from Rannek to break fully through the ice wall
(watch its health meter). When Drow are too close to let you smash freely,
have any character use a super attack to clear some space, then get back to
Rannek's smashing. Once the wall is down, you have to finish off the remaining
Drow before the door behind it will open.
~~ Stop Cireka's Portal! ~~
In the next antechamber, get the Gold from the chest. There's another such
chest in the next room to the right of the doors, which open as you approach
them. Inside, fight a few Githyanki Warriors. You can knock them over the
sides, but they're not difficult to kill outright either. The barrier on the
ground will vanish, and then the real fight begins.
It's Illius's turn to shine once more. Use charged magic shots to take out the
two Githyanki Warlocks on each side of the main platform, who are creating and
maintaining the barrier that blocks you from hitting Cireka. You have to shoot
the left ones from the left side of your platform, and the right ones from the
right, since the barrier will block any shots trying to cross sides. Each
warlock will take a couple of charged shots to eliminate, and you have
Githyanki Warriors to contend with also. Use a super attack to clear some
space as necessary. If your hero meters aren't charged, then just knock a
couple of them off the edge, then return to the warlocks.
Once all of the warlocks are down, the barrier drops and you can target Cireka
herself. I recommend using normal, uncharged shots, since the charged variety
don't seem to do much more damage, and it's a lot easier to fire single shots
before any Githyanki Warriors reach you. Move to a new position and/or clear
some space when there are too many enemies attacking you for you to target
Cireka. After you reduce her health by about a third, new warlocks will emerge
to regenerate the shield, and the cycle continues.
~~ Use the Demon Stone! ~~
Once Cireka is down to about one third of her health, Ygorl appears to throw a
wrench into the affairs. With them both together, Illius attempts to use the
Demon Stone to lock them away again. He will stand in the middle of the
platform and slowly charge up the Stone's energy, as indicated by the
increasing health bar in the upper right corner of the screen. You have to
defend him while he accomplishes this task. This is fairly easy to do at
first, since the enemies are divided into two warring factions, and will
generally just fight each other. Have Rannek simply stand by Illius, and don't
attack any monsters unless they come to attack Illius specifically. After a
while, another class of foe appears: Death Slaadi! These diminutive rocky red
creatures can be a big pain. Start using super attacks judiciously when things
get hairy around Illius, then grab any Potions of Heroism that appear and do it
again. Once the Stone is fully charged, the chapter is finished, though
perhaps not with the outcome that your heroes were hoping for.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.9) Chapter Nine: The Dragon's Lair
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
At the outset, you fight a mix of Red and Death Slaadi. Rannek says to knock
them over the edge, and this works, but since there are shadows all around, I
prefer to use Zhai and hit the Slaadi with stealth kills. This is especially
handy against the Death Slaadi, who can be quite a pain to fight head-on,
especially since they steadfastedly refuse to fall over the cliff edges. Move
up the path and see some more of Caminus and Cireka's fight (the dragon's name
is Caminus, by the way). Stay along the right side of the path, because
patches on the left will occasionally glow with flame, damaging all who step
into them. You can have Illius hang back here and support the others with
ranged attacks. Don't forget about your sleep and shield spells also, they're
very handy for helping out your allies when things get hairy.
Head inside the first castle remains (or whatever they are). Inside, a single
Death Slaad appears, along with a barrier preventing you from advancing until
you deal with him. Even three-on-one, in these close quarters he can be quite
a pain, exacerbated by his refusal to stay down long enough to finish him off
even if you manage to knock him off his feet. If you can, try to have Illius
shoot him from a distance, this seems to be the quickest way to kill him.
Inside the room, another Death Slaad again appears near the far corner. It may
be tempting to break out some super attacks, but I suggest saving those for the
section just ahead. Be sure to smash all five barrels around this room, as
each of them contains a Gold Coin.
!!SECRET!!
Have Zhai jump up the large blocks clearly visible in the middle of the
room, to reach an Experience Tome and a chest full of Gold.
The next section can be one of the most frustrating in the entire game. You
have to make your way up a long bridge filled with Green, Red, and Death
Slaadi, with a whole horde of archers above the doors at the end, who will rain
arrows on you over the last half of the bridge. Rannek seems to be the one who
is most likely to die here. The best way that I've found is to use Illius
initially. Have him stay at the start of the bridge and use charged magic
shots. Target the Death Slaadi first. Once the rocks blocking the path have
been smashed, your allies will move forward. Keep supporting them by killing
their attackers from afar until one of them reaches the doors at the end. At
that point, switch to that character and attack the doors relentlessly. You
don't need to use R2 attacks, just keep hacking at them and they'll break open
in short order. Run inside to the next doors, triggering a cut-scene and
activating the next continue point (and thank goodness, because it's a pain
doing that last section over and over again).
~~ After Cireka's Fall ~~
Make your way to the right across the bridge, smashing the rocks in the way and
dodging the dragon's occasional fireballs. Be extra careful to do that last
bit, because that fire really hurts. Just move when he shoots it to get out of
the way, and/or stay behind the taller sections of the wall along the upper
side of the bridge to block his fire breath. Illius is again useful here if
you're having trouble. He can kill Death Slaadi with a couple of charged
shots, and can also break through the rocks. Make this last your priority (the
Slaadi will never stop reappearing) and enter the next castle ruins. The rest
of your party will catch up in a moment, so just sit tight.
Inside, several Death Slaadi teleport in to attack. Illius, charged shots...
this guy has become quite the useful one, hasn't he? Smash the barrels along
the back wall for some Gold.
!!SECRET!!
Have Zhai jump up the wooden shelves along the top wall for a Health
Scroll and some Gold in chests.
And now, another bridge awaits, with a LOT of enemies, and for this game that
really means something. You have to defeat all of them to lower the barriers
that prevent you from advancing across the bridge. Judicious use of team super
attacks is in order here. I prefer to use Rannek, at least whenever the Green
Slaadi appear in the distance, having him run up to them side to side and slash
them up. He's the only one who can kill them quickly enough to not turn into a
pincushion. At other times, Zhai can be very useful due to the shadows that
lay about here and there. And I'll say it again - team super attacks! Switch
between characters to power them up as needed. Illius increases his hero meter
the quickest by firing charged shots, Zhai by using stealth kills, and Rannek
by picking up Potions of Heroism. Seriously, otherwise his is the hardest to
fill, as you have to continuously hack away at anything that moves while
avoiding getting hit yourself.
Eventually, you'll manage to reach the next indoor space. Inside, a few more
Death Slaadi await. When they drop Health Potions, make sure that the hero who
needs it most picks one up. Afterwards, continue into the building.
!!SECRET!!
In the second indoor room, Zhai can jump up the fallen blocks along the
back wall. Doing so nets you some more Gold in a chest.
Continue through the ruins to emerge at the final bridge, where you find the
dragon's treasure amongst the ruins of the portal. And guess who's there...
=================================
| Boss: CAMINUS, THE RED DRAGON |
============================================================================
| This battle again requires Illius' unique skills. You have to destroy the |
| mighty dragon's wings. This sounds easier than it is (or does it even |
| sound easy?). When Caminus is perched on one of the rocks around the |
| arena, charge up a magic shot, aim it at him, and let it fly. As you do |
| this, you also need to dodge his fire breath, which can be extremely |
| damaging. His breath will be blocked by the tall rocks around the arena, |
| so position yourself behind them as needed, then move out and target him |
| again. His breath is also blocked by any Red Slaadi in the way, which is |
| good since there's whole lot of them. Naturally, they also make your life |
| difficult. To clear yourself room to aim at the dragon, have any hero |
| with a full hero meter come to you and do a super attack. You can also |
| charge up your own hero meter to do this yourself by firing charged shots |
| at the Slaadi while waiting for a good shot at the dragon. Each wing has |
| it's own health meter. Once they're both wrecked, the fight is over. But |
| before this happens, make sure to smash the several chests around the |
| arena for some extra Gold. |
============================================================================
Wow, you felled a dragon! Oh, wait...
=========================================
| Boss: CAMINUS, THE RED DRAGON, part 2 |
============================================================================
| Now it's Rannek's turn to shine, with that special new sword of his. The |
| dragon will chase you as you run down the hallway. Don't run too far away |
| or the chase will just go on forever. Instead, wait for the dragon to |
| stop, and hang around as he dashes forward and swings his head around to |
| hit someone (he isn't partial to who it is). Now, when his head is down, |
| move Rannek in and do a sword combo on it. Rannek's the only one who will |
| do any appreciable damage in this fight. After a single combo, run away |
| as Caminus lunges forward again with a head attack, then hit him again, |
| then run back some more. If you stay in too close, he'll either smack you |
| with his head or pick you up in his jaws and spit you out. After you make |
| a couple of hits, he'll then back up a bit and throw up a fire wall |
| between you and him. Then, some Red and Death Slaadi 'port in. Stand |
| ready to attack them. When your health is getting low, at least one of |
| them usually drops a Healing Potion, so be ready to run to it. Once you |
| kill all of the minions or just when enough time passes, the dragon will |
| spit volleys of fireballs at your currently-controlled fighter. You can |
| easily avoid these by running from side to side, but your allies might not |
| be so lucky. If you want to protect them, stand to the side where they're |
| not, then run to the other side after the fireballs are launched. Caminus |
| will spit around four volleys (give or take, don't count on this figure), |
| then drops the fire wall and charges at you again. Stay back until his |
| head is down, attack, back up again, attack again, and continue until his |
| health meter drops to zero. This can take a while, so be patient and fight |
| conservatively. |
| |
| You actually seem to have to reduce his life bar a little bit past the |
| point where you can see no more red. You'll know you're there when Zhai |
| calls for Illius to "Bind him with a spell". It helps to have the |
| subtitles turned on at this point. Now, with Illius, walk up to Caminus' |
| head and press X. Next, control Zhai and walk up to the dragon and also |
| press X. Then, finally, have Rannek run up and press, you guessed it, X. |
| Why you press X is a little beyond me, and I think a bit unfair, since it |
| doesn't match up with the control scheme used in the rest of the game, but |
| it's the only way to finish the battle. |
============================================================================
After the chapter, a new suit of armor is available for Rannek to purchase: the
Red Dragon Scale Plate Armor, obviously crafted from the hide of his most
recent foe. Also note that Rannek receives back the money from the other
swords that he had purchased, providing him with quite a hefty bankroll. How
about investing in that Ring of Regeneration you've had your eye on? As for
the others, make sure to upgrade Illius to the Meteor Swarm magic attack if at
all possible.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
4.10) Chapter Ten: The Lord of Chaos
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
And naturally, to finish the adventure you have to return to where it all
began: Gemspark Mine.
You start in the throne room where you fought the Orc King way back when.
Here, you fight an awful lot of Red Slaadi. Rannek cuts a nice swath through
them with his spiffy new sword, and Zhai can use the shadows on either side for
stealth kills. Illius can do whatever it is that he always does. Go for the
team super attacks once again as they become available.
!!SECRET!!
In the top left corner, jump up the rubble to the ledge above to find a
valuable Health Scroll. I'm sure you could use it after the fight you
just had. This is the spot above where the Orc King's throne stood on
your first visit to the mine.
Enter the passageway on the left side of the room. As you approach the archway
on the far side, several Green Slaadi appear. Kill them with whomever you
prefer to use. Inside the next room, more waves of Red Slaadi come at you.
Use individual super attacks when surrounded, and be sure to grab the Potions
of Heroism that are frequently dropped as a result so that you can do it all
over again. After a couple of big rounds like this, some Green Slaadi archers
will appear in the distance. Have Illius magic the hell out of them. Shortly,
another wave of archers appear, so do the same again. Eventually, you'll
defeat all of the Red Slaadi, and then a few Death Slaadi appear all at once.
I recommend NOT using a team super attack just yet, but maybe one individual
super could be in order if you're in trouble. The reason you want to save your
team super is because once these Death Slaadi are defeated, an even larger
horde of both Death and Red Slaadi appear, and this particular chaotic section
is difficult to survive without those super attacks. If you're still having a
lot of trouble, Illius is useful when he moves to the side and just pelts the
crowd with uncharged magic meteors (assuming you made that final spell upgrade,
of course).
This last section is particularly difficult in Hard mode (who would've thunk?).
I found it very useful to have Rannek move up the ramp on the left side right
away, where you can keep your enemies all on one side of you, avoiding the
swarming problems that can plague you out on the main part of the battlefield.
Save your team super attack for after the Death Slaadi start appearing if
you're using this approach.
Once you've cleared that particular challenge, the team leaps into the portal
to Limbo to take on Ygorl on his home turf.
===============
| Boss: YGORL |
============================================================================
| There's nothing too special to this fight when it comes right down to it. |
| When fighting Ygorl, block until his 4-hit combo is over, then counter |
| right away. Rannek's sword does the most damage overall, at least when |
| Ygorl is nearby. He has this nasty habit of teleporting away and |
| attacking from a new vantage point, so always be ready to block. Illius |
| is also quite useful, especially with his charged Meteor Swarm. After a |
| bit of melee fighting, Ygorl will teleport to one of the platforms off in |
| the distance. There, only Illius can hit him. He'll fire two kinds of |
| spells from there: a triple missile which hits all three heroes, which can |
| be easily blocked, and one of those nasty paralysis spells, which can only |
| be blocked by Illius with a fully upgraded defensive shield, so use him. |
| If your character is hit, just switch to someone else until the first one |
| recovers. Now, this fight would be a breeze if it were just Ygorl, but he |
| frequently summons some of his Red Slaadi minions to add some chaos to the |
| battleground. These ones are also armored, but it doesn't make any |
| difference in how you fight them. Use any saved up super attacks on them |
| when you need to clear some space around Illius so that he can use his |
| magic on Ygorl. |
| |
| Once you reduce his health by about half, an inspiring cut-scene ensues, |
| after which the battle rages on. The second half is more or less the same |
| as the first, just with a couple of Death Slaadi thrown into the mix of |
| summoned minions. Illius proves quite useful at staying out of the fray |
| and attacking with magic. Watch your health and grab any pickups that |
| appear, and use any super attacks as soon as you earn them. It might be a |
| close call, but you'll take down Ygorl successfully if you defend as well |
| as you attack. |
============================================================================
And that's all there is. A pleasant closing cut-scene follows to tie up the
storyline. Afterwards, you can still upgrade your skills and equipment
further, and you can go and replay any chapters with your upgrades intact,
making them quite a bit easier than the first time through.
Watch through the awfully long credits for a little closing shot of the
development team if you like. Nothing too special, but if you enjoyed the
game, my policy is to give those who put so much work into it their due.
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
- -
= 5.0) ABILITIES & UPGRADES =
- -
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
At the end of each chapter, the party members will each receive the same amount
of Experience Points and Gold Coins. Experience can be used to learn new
skills (or upgrade old ones), while Gold goes towards improving your equipment
(weapons and armor) and purchasing accessories that provide various effects.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
5.1) CHARACTER ABILITIES
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
In order to learn a particular ability, the character must meet certain
requirements. They must have reached the appropriate experience level (as seen
in the character status screen after each chapter), they must have previously
acquired any required lower-level skills, and they must of course have enough
Experience Points to purchase the desired skill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ RANNEK'S SKILLS ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
===========
| LEVEL 1 |
==========================================================================
Note: These are all already known at the start of the game (but many
cannot be used in the introductory chapter)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basic Attack - Single sword strike. Use X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advanced Attack - 2-hit sword combo. Use X,X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Torm's Strike - 3-hit sword combo, hits multiple enemies. Use X,X,X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unarmed Attack - Punch with gauntlet. Use O.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Unarmed Strike - 2-hit gauntlet combo, knocks back enemy
slightly. Use O,O.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whirlwind Attack - Swing sword around in 360 degree arc, damages and
knocks back all enemies around. Requires full hero
meter. Use Triangle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coup de Grace - Finish off fallen enemy. Use R1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Block - Defend against all blows using your sword. Use Square (hold).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throw Axes - Throw axe at target. Use L1 + X. Hold X then release for
more power. Consumes axe inventory.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team Attack - Call another party member to your aid. Drains hero meter
slightly. Use L2.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Torm's Smash - Heavy smash to the ground that damages or destroys nearby
objects, and can knock back enemies but does little harm
to them. Use R2. Requires Gauntlets of Ogre Power.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 2 |
==========================================================================
Improved Trip Combination - 3-hit combo that lands enemy on the ground.
Use X,O,X.
Requires: None Cost: 325
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bull Rush - 3-hit combo that pushes enemies back. Useful for knocking
them off of a cliff. Use X,O,O.
Requires: None Cost: 325
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Critical - Heavy damage, 3-hit combo. Use X,O,R1.
Requires: None Cost: 325
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Attack - Hold X to charge sword, then release for a furious
strike.
Requires: None Cost: 400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sword Focus - Increases damage when using sword.
Requires: None Cost: 550
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing Axe Focus - Increases damage caused by throwing axes.
Requires: None Cost: 500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toughness - Increases Rannek's maximum health.
Requires: None Cost: 500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 4 |
==========================================================================
Riposte - Attack launched after blocking a blow. Use Square, then X.
Requires: None Cost: 1200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prone Attack - Attack while rising from fallen position. Use X.
Requires: None Cost: 1200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing Axe Specialization - Significantly increase damage caused by
throwing axes.
Requires: Throwing Axe Focus Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Toughness - Further improve Rannek's maximum health.
Requires: Toughness Cost: 1800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 6 |
==========================================================================
Sword Specialization - Increased mastery of the sword increases damage.
Requires: Sword Focus Cost: 2400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dwarf's Toughness - Adds further to Rannek's maximum health.
Requires: Improved Toughness Cost: 1800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giant's Toughness - Adds even more to Rannek's maximum health.
Requires: Dwarf's Toughness Cost: 2200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Torm's Vengeance - Increases damage caused with 3-hit sword combo.
Use X,X,X,
Requires: Torm's Strike Cost: 1600
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fists of Iron - Increases damage caused with 2-hit unarmed strike.
Use O,O.
Requires: Improved Unarmed Strike Cost: 1600
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Whirlwind Attack - Increases damage caused by super attack. Use
Triangle.
Requires: Whirlwind Attack Cost: 1800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 8 |
==========================================================================
Dragon's Toughness - Penultimate increase in Rannek's maximum health.
Requires: Giant's Toughness Cost: 2800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knock-down - Increases damage caused by trip combo. Use X,O,X.
Requires: Improved Trip Combination Cost: 2800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Bull Rush - Increases damage caused by push-back combo.
Use X,O,O.
Requires: Bull Rush Cost: 2800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Critical - Increases damage caused by critical combo. Use X,O,R1.
Requires: Improved Critical Cost: 2800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Power Attack - Increases damage caused by charged sword attack.
Use by holding X, then release.
Requires: Power Attack Cost: 3600
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
============
| LEVEL 10 |
==========================================================================
Titan's Toughness - Ultimate increase in Rannek's maximum health.
Requires: Dragon's Toughness Cost: 7000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Riposte - Increases damage caused by attack after blocking.
Use Square, X.
Requires: Riposte Cost: 7000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Rising Attack - Increases damage caused by attack after being
knocked down. Use X while rising.
Requires: Prone Attack Cost: 6000
==========================================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ ZHAI'S SKILLS ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
===========
| LEVEL 1 |
==========================================================================
Note: These are all already known at the start of the game (but many
cannot be used in the introductory chapter)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basic Attack - single dagger strike. Use X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advanced Attack - 2-hit blade combo. Use X,X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elistraee's Strike - 3-hit flashing blade combo, can hit multiple
enemies. Use X,X,X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rogue Unarmed Attack - Violent kick. Use O.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Unarmed Strike - 2-hit kicking combo, knock back enemy
slightly. Use O,O.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manyshot - Flurry of daggers thrown in all directions, causing heavy
damage and clearing space around Zhai. Requires full
hero meter. Use Triangle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coup de Grace - Finish off fallen enemy. Use R1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evade - Dodge incoming attacks. Use Square (hold).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throw Knives - Toss knives at target. Use L1 + X. Hold X then release
for more power. Consumes knife inventory.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team Attack - Call another party member to your aid. Drains hero meter
slightly. Use L2.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hide - Stand briefly in shadows (marked by glowing violet embers) to
turn invisible to all enemies. Effect is temporary. Effect will
automatically end when you attack or are hit by a stray enemy
strike.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jump - Powerful leap into the air, allows you to reach nearby ledges and
pass over obstacles. Use R2. Requires Ring of Jumping.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jump Attack - Blade slash while coming down from a jump. Use R2,X.
Requires Jump ability.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 2 |
==========================================================================
Improved Trip Combination - 3-hit combo that knocks enemy to the ground.
Use X,O,X.
Requires: None Cost: 400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bull Rush - 3-hit blade and kick combo that pushes enemies back, ideally
off of a cliff. Use X,O,O.
Requires: None Cost: 400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Critical - Heavy damage 3-hit acrobatic combo. Use X,O,R1.
Requires: None Cost: 400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toughness - Increases Zhai's maximum health slightly.
Requires: None Cost: 800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acrobatic Attack - Increases damage caused by jump attack. Use R2,X.
Requires: Jump Attack Cost: 300
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 4 |
==========================================================================
Riposte - Quick counter-attack launched after defending against a blow.
Use Square, X.
Requires: None Cost: 1200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prone Attack - Strong counter-attack launched while rising from ground
after being knocked down. Use X while rising.
Requires: None Cost: 1200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dagger Finesse - Increases damage caused while using twin daggers.
Requires: None Cost: 1400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Precise Shot - Enhances damage caused by throwing knives.
Requires: None Cost: 1800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Toughness - Increases Zhai's maximum health.
Requires: Toughness Cost: 1800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elistraee's Whirling Blades - Raises damage caused by 3-hit blade combo.
Use X,X,X.
Requires: Elistraee's Strike Cost: 1700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skill Focus: Hide - Increases the length of time that Zhai stays
invisible after leaving shadows.
Requires: Hide Cost: 900
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 6 |
==========================================================================
Circle Kick - Increases damage caused by 2-hit kicking combo. Use O,O.
Requires: Improved Unarmed Strike Cost: 1700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knock-down - Improved 3-hit tripping combo. Use X,O,X.
Requires: Improved Trip Combination Cost: 1700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Bull Rush - Increases damage caused by knock-back combo.
Use X,O,O.
Requires: Bull Rush Cost: 1700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Critical - Enhances damage caused by critical combo. Use X,O,R1.
Requires: Improved Critical Cost: 1700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skill Focus: Move Silently - Moderately increases the length of time
that Zhai remains invisible.
Requires: Skill Focus: Hide Cost: 1400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spring Attack - Moderately increases damage caused by the jump attack.
Use R2,X.
Requires: Acrobatic Attack Cost: 1400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 8 |
==========================================================================
Dwarf's Toughness - Increases Zhai's maximum health.
Requires: Toughness Cost: 3200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Riposte - Greater damage caused by counter-attack on blocking.
Use Square, X.
Requires: Riposte Cost: 2900
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Prone Attack - Increases damage caused by rising attack.
Use X while rising from fallen position.
Requires: Prone Attack Cost: 2900
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stealthy - Greatly increases length of time that Zhai stays invisible
after leaving shadows.
Requires: Skill Focus: Move Silently Cost: 2400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lolth's Venom - Greater damage caused by super action.
Requires: Manyshot Cost: 4200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
============
| LEVEL 10 |
==========================================================================
Rising Moon - Greatly increases damage caused by attack upon rising.
Use X while rising from fallen position.
Requires: Improved Prone Attack Cost: 6000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two Weapon Fighting - Greatly enhances Zhai's skill and damage caused
by twin daggers.
Requires: Dagger Finesse Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Two Weapon Fighting - Maximizes damage caused by twin daggers.
Requires: Two Weapon Fighting Cost: 7000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vhaeraun's Shadow - Further increases length of time that Zhai can
remain invisible.
Requires: Stealthy Cost: 3600
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Dwarf's Toughness - Greatly increases Zhai's maximum health.
Requires: Dwarf's Toughness Cost: 7000
==========================================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ ILLIUS' SKILLS ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
===========
| LEVEL 1 |
==========================================================================
Note: These are all already known at the start of the game (but many
cannot be used in the introductory chapter)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basic Attack - Single staff strike. Use X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advanced Attack - 2-hit staff combo. Use X,X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mystic Combination - 3-hit whirling staff combo, can strike multiple
enemies. Use X,X,X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unarmed Strike - Open-palm hit. Use O.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Unarmed Strike - 2-hit open hand combo, knocks back enemy
slightly. Use O,O.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mystra's Might - Electrified magical field surrounds Illius and slams
all surrounding enemies. Requires full hero meter.
Use Triangle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coup de Grace - Finish off fallen enemy with magical blast. Use R1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shield - Block incoming attacks with magical barrier. Hold Square.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magic Missile - Shot of magical energy is launched towards distant
target. Hold L1 and press X. Hold X to charge up
power, then release for greater damage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team Attack - Call another party member to your aid. Drains hero meter
slightly. Use L2.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beads of Force - Press R1 to place a bead, then press R1 again at any
time to detonate it, destroying or damaging nearby
objects. Will also knock back some enemies, but causes
little damage to them. Requires, well, Beads of Force.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 2 |
==========================================================================
Improved Trip Combination - 3-hit combo that knock enemy over.
Use X,O,X.
Requires: None Cost: 475
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bull Rush - 3-hit combo that pushes enemies back, ideally off of a
cliff. Use X,O,O.
Requires: None Cost: 475
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flame Arrow - Imbues ranged magic attack with elemental fire. Hold L1
and press X. Hold X then release for more power.
Requires: Magic Missile Cost: 500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Melf's Acid Arrow - Magical arrow made of acid. Hold L1 and press X.
Hold X then release for more power.
Requires: Flame Arrow Cost: 1200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burning Hands - Adds fire to open-hand attacks, igniting enemies who
will then continue to burn and receive damage. Use O.
Requires: None Cost: 325
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sleep - Freezes group of enemies in place for a short time. Hold L1+O.
Requires: None Cost: 375
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protection from Evil - Creates mystical shield around all party members
for a short while, reducing damage received.
Hold L1+Triangle.
Requires: None Cost: 375
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 4 |
==========================================================================
Improved Critical - Heavy-damage 30-hit combo. Use X,O,R1.
Requires: None Cost: 1400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prone Attack - Upon rising from fallen position, magical burst damages
and pushes back opponents briefly. Use X while rising.
Requires: None Cost: 1400
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fireball - Strong ball of fire launches towards distant targets.
Hold L1 and press X. Hold X to charge then release for more
powerful shot.
Requires: Melf's Acid Arrow Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lightning Bolt - Ranged attack is charged with electrical energy. Hold
L1 and press X. Hold X to charge then release for more
powerful shot.
Requires: Fireball Cost: 3200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poison Touch - Open-hand strike becomes poisonous to enemies. Use O.
Requires: Burning Hands Cost: 900
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minor Globe of Invulnerability - Creates stronger defensive shield
around all allies. Hold L1+Triangle.
Requires: Protection from Evil Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 6 |
==========================================================================
Cone of Cold - Ranged attack is imbued with sub-zero temperature. Hold
L1 and press X. Hold X to charge, then release for more
damage.
Requires: Lightning Bolt Cost: 4800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Otiluke's Freezing Sphere - Extreme cold beam that explodes on contact,
causing area damage. Hold L1 and press X,
or hold X then release for more damage.
Requires: Cone of Cold Cost: 6000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ghoul Touch - Open-hand strike imbued with negative energy. Use O.
Requires: Poison Touch Cost: 1900
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hold - Freeze enemies in place by magic. Hold L1+O until cast.
Requires: Sleep Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magic Circle vs. Evil - Powerful defensive shield envelops all allies.
Hold L1+Triangle until spell is cast.
Requires: Minor Globe of Invulnerability Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mystra's Power - Increases damage caused by Illius' super attack. Use
Triangle.
Requires: Mystra's Might Cost: 4800
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
| LEVEL 8 |
==========================================================================
Power Word Kill - Incredible attack spell that kills all but the
strongest enemies. Hold L1 and press X, or hold X to
charge and release for more powerful shot.
Requires: Otiluke's Freezing Sphere Cost: 7000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hold Monster - Freezes multiple enemies in place for a moderate amount
of time. Hold L1+O until spell is cast.
Requires: Hold Cost: 4300
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Shield - Surrounds all allies in magical shield of flame to reduce
all damage received for a short time. Hold L1+Triangle.
Requires: Magic Circle vs. Evil Cost: 4300
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
============
| LEVEL 10 |
==========================================================================
Meteor Swarm - Ultimate ranged magic attack, rains fireballs onto target
from overhead. Hold L1 and press X, or hold X to charge
and release to unleash most powerful blast.
Requires: Power Word Kill Cost: 12000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Major Globe of Invulnerability - Extremely strong defensive shield
protects all allies for a time. Hold
L1+Triangle until spell is cast.
Requires: Fire Shield Cost: 7000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mystra's Light - most power version of Illius' super attack, devastates
all surrounding enemies. Use Triangle.
Requires: Mystra's Power Cost: 8000
==========================================================================
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
5.2) CHARACTER EQUIPMENT
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
When purchasing equipment, please note that it tends to come in groups (e.g.
Armor Enchantment +1 to +5). The prices listed for each item in the group is
based on the cost over and above the value of any other item in the group that
is currently equipped. For example, Armor Enchantment +1 costs 1000G, while
Armor Enchantment +2 initially costs 4000G. If, however, you purchase the
first enchantment, then to upgrade to the second you only need to spend the
difference, i.e. 3000G. You can also choose to downgrade your equipment to a
lower level at any time, and you will receive back the price difference, which
you can then apply to a better purchase in another category.
The prices listed here are the base prices, meaning the cost for each item if
you are starting from having only the equipment that you already possess at the
beginning of the game. Different groups of equipment will be separated in the
lists below by a double line ('===='), while items within the same group are
separated only by a single line ('----'). Where more than one item is listed
together, they are interchangeable at no cost to you. These are usually weapon
enchantments with various elements or status effects.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ RANNEK'S EQUIPMENT ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==================
| Rannek's Armor |
==========================================================================
Armor Enchantment +1 - Imbues armor with light magical defense.
Base Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +2 - Imbues armor with moderate magical defense.
Base Cost: 4000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +3 - Imbues armor with medium magical defense.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +4 - Imbues armor with strong magical defense.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +5 - Imbues armor with maximum magical defense.
Base Cost: 25000
==========================================================================
Banded Armor - Dusty leather outfit, provides medium protection.
Base Cost: 0 (initial equipment)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half Plate Armor - Silvery plate mail, provides good protection.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plate Armor - Tempered steel plate, provides great protection.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mithral Plate Armor - Suit of rare metal, provides excellent protection.
Base Cost: 16000
==========================================================================
====================
| Rannek's Weapons |
==========================================================================
Sword +1 - A basic sword, magically blessed so that it never dulls.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sword +2 - A superior magical blade.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sword +3 - Forged by an Elven master blacksmith.
Base Cost: 18000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sword +4 - A well-constructed blade of Dwarfish making.
Base Cost: 32000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sword +5 - A plain-looking, but ancient blade enhance by powerful magic.
Base Cost: 50000
==========================================================================
Lesser Defending - Magical weapon enchantment that slightly increases
the wielder's defense.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defending - Enhanced enchantment that provides the wielder with moderate
defense.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater Defending - Strong magical enchantment that provides the wielder
with good defense.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Flaming Weapon - Lightly imbues sword with fire, sets enemies ablaze.
Frost Weapon - Lightly imbues sword with cold to freeze enemies.
Shock Weapon - Lightly imbues sword with electricity to zap enemies.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flaming Burst - Medium fiery energy engulfs sword.
Icy Burst Weapon - Medium cold energy engulfs sword.
Shocking Burst Weapon - Medium electrical energy engulfs sword.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flame Tongue - Powerful fire engulfs blade, set enemies alight.
Frost Brand - Powerful frost engulfs blade, freezing enemies in place.
Lightning Brand - Powerful electricity engulfs blade, zapping enemies.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Throwing Axe +1 - Moderately powerful magical throwing axe.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing Axe +2 - Superior magical axe.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing Axe +3 - Powerful magical mithral throwing axe.
Base Cost: 18000
==========================================================================
========================
| Rannek's Accessories |
==========================================================================
Ring of Regeneration - Restores lost health slowly over time.
Base Cost: 90000
==========================================================================
Belt of Giant Strength - Increases damage caused, especially when using
ground smash (R2). Only available after
receiving Gauntlets of Ogre Power.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belt of Greater Giant Strength - Same as above, but more so.
Base Cost: 18000
==========================================================================
Amulet of Health +2 - Increases Rannek's maximum health.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amulet of Health +4 - Greatly increases Rannek's maximum health.
Base Cost: 18000
==========================================================================
Gem of Contingency - Restores Rannek's life if he is killed in battle.
Base Cost: 16000
==========================================================================
Ring of Protection +1 - Adds a light deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +2 - Adds a moderate deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 4000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +3 - Adds a medium deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +4 - Adds a large deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +5 - Adds the maximum deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 25000
==========================================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ ZHAI'S EQUIPMENT ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
================
| Zhai's Armor |
==========================================================================
Armor Enchantment +1 - Imbues armor with light magical defense.
Base Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +2 - Imbues armor with moderate magical defense.
Base Cost: 4000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +3 - Imbues armor with medium magical defense.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +4 - Imbues armor with strong magical defense.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor Enchantment +5 - Imbues armor with maximum magical defense.
Base Cost: 25000
==========================================================================
Slick - Slippery enchantment on armor slightly increases length of time
that Zhai remains invisible.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Silent Moves - Magical sound-dampening field moderately increases length
of time that Zhai remains invisible.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stealth - Magical cloak of darkness greatly increases length of time
that Zhai remains invisible.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Hide Armor - Standard elvish clothing, provides moderate protection.
Base Cost: 0 (initial equipment)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leather Armor - Tough skins provide good protection.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Studded Leather Armor - Metal accents provide great protection.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elven Chain Armor - Fine chain links provide excellent protection
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor of Shadows - Dark magical suit provides unmatched protection.
Base Cost: 45000
==========================================================================
==================
| Zhai's Weapons |
==========================================================================
Dagger + 1 - Finely crafted Elven daggers.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dagger + 2 - Elven daggers made lighter with magic.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dagger + 3 - Magically sharpened blades with razor edges.
Base Cost: 18000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dagger + 4 - Powerful Dwarf-forged blades.
Base Cost: 32000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dagger + 5 - Ancient Elven daggers with great power.
Base Cost: 50000
==========================================================================
Lesser Defending - Magical weapon enchantment that slightly increases
the wielder's defense.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defending - Enhanced enchantment that provides the wielder with moderate
defense.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater Defending - Strong magical enchantment that provides the wielder
with good defense.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Blade of Cutting - Mild dark magic causes enemies to continue bleeding.
Blade of Darkness - Mild negative energy burns enemies.
Venom Blade - Mild poison slowly weakens enemies.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blade of Wounding - Dark magic causes enemies to bleed moderately.
Blade of Shadows - Moderate negative energy burns enemies.
Spider Fang - Strong poison steadily weakens enemies.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blade of Withering - Powerful magic causes enemies to bleed profusely.
Dark Blade - Potent negative energy severely burns enemies.
Snake Bite - Deadly poison greatly weakens enemies.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Throwing Knife +1 - Magically-empowered throwing knives.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing Knife +2 - Superior magical throwing knives for heavier damage.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing Knife + 3 - Powerful knives made of adamantite.
Base Cost: 18000
==========================================================================
======================
| Zhai's Accessories |
==========================================================================
Ring of Regeneration - Restores lost health slowly over time.
Base Cost: 90000
==========================================================================
Charm of Lolth - Heightens damage caused by jump attacks.
Base Cost: 8000
==========================================================================
Amulet of Health +2 - Increases Zhai's maximum health.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amulet of Health +4 - Greatly increases Zhai's maximum health.
Base Cost: 18000
==========================================================================
Gem of Contingency - Restores Zhai's life if she falls in battle.
Base Cost: 16000
==========================================================================
Brooch of Elven kind - Magical charm that increase the time that Zhai
remains invisible.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brooch of Lolth - Decorated with the Drow's spider emblem, greatly
increases the time that Zhai remains invisible.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Ring of Protection +1 - Adds a light deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +2 - Adds a moderate deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 4000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +3 - Adds a medium deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +4 - Adds a large deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +5 - Adds the maximum deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 25000
==========================================================================
Abyssal Sheath - Increases Zhai's throwing knife carrying capacity.
Base Cost: 8000
==========================================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ ILLIUS'S EQUIPMENT ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==================
| Illius's Armor |
==========================================================================
Bracers of Armor +1 - Magical arm bracers that add light defense.
Base Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bracers of Armor +2 - Magical arm bracers that add moderate defense.
Base Cost: 4000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bracers of Armor +3 - Magical arm bracers that add medium defense.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bracers of Armor +4 - Magical arm bracers that add strong defense.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bracers of Armor +5 - Magical arm bracers that add maximum defense.
Base Cost: 25000
==========================================================================
Robe - Basic traveler's garb, offers light protection.
Base Cost: 0 (initial equipment)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robe of Protection - Fortified magic cloth offers moderate protection.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robe of Blending - Arcane cloth provides good protection.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robe of Scintillating Colors - Strong magic enchantment provides
excellent protection.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robe of Archmagi - Worn by powerful wizards, it offers unmatched
protection.
Base Cost: 45000
==========================================================================
====================
| Illius's Weapons |
==========================================================================
Staff +1 - A fine magical staff.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff +2 - A superbly carved magical staff for greater damage.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff +3 - A masterfully honed staff with many enchantments.
Base Cost: 18000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff +4 - A staff created by a master Elven Druid.
Base Cost: 32000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff +5 - An Elven staff enchanted with mighty spells.
Base Cost: 50000
==========================================================================
Sonic Impact - Burst of intense sound startles enemies.
Pain - Inflicts minor pain on enemies.
Shock - Electricity shocks enemies.
Base Cost: 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic Burst - Greater burst of sound surprises enemies.
Wounding - Moderate pain lingers on struck enemies.
Shocking Burst - Strong electric field jolts enemies.
Base Cost: 8000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thundering - Massive thunderclap shocks enemies.
Agony - Intense pain grips enemies.
Lightning Strike - Electric strike severely jolts enemies.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
========================
| Illius's Accessories |
==========================================================================
Pearl of Power 1st level - Magical pearl adds light damage to spells.
Base Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pearl of Power 3rd level - Magical pearl adds moderate damage to spells.
Base Cost: 4000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pearl of Power 5th level - Magical pearl adds medium damage to spells.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pearl of Power 7th level - Magical pearl adds strong damage to spells.
Base Cost: 25000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pearl of Power 9th level - Magical pearl adds tremendous power to
spells.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Brooch of Windfall - Enhances defense against incoming missiles (arrows,
spells).
Base Cost: 2500
==========================================================================
Amulet of Health +2 - Increases Illius's maximum health.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amulet of Health +4 - Moderately increases Illius's maximum health.
Base Cost: 18000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amulet of Health +6 - Significantly increases Illius's maximum health.
Base Cost: 25000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amulet of Health +8 - Greatly increases Illius's maximum health.
Base Cost: 32000
==========================================================================
Ring of Regeneration - Restores lost health slowly over time.
Base Cost: 90000
==========================================================================
Gem of Contingency - Restores Illius's life if he falls in battle.
Base Cost: 16000
==========================================================================
Ring of Protection +1 - Adds a light deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 1000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +2 - Adds a moderate deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 4000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +3 - Adds a medium deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 9000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +4 - Adds a large deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 16000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring of Protection +5 - Adds the maximum deflection bonus to defense.
Base Cost: 25000
==========================================================================
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
- -
= 6.0) LEVEL UNLOCKABLES =
- -
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
After completing any chapter on any difficulty level, scroll back to it on the
chapter select screen and a new option will be available: view unlockables.
Press O (PS2) or B (Xbox) to see the list of available viewings. Each chapter
has a slide show of concept art set to theme music from that chapter, and most
of them have also have a little background story told by one of the main
characters. These are told while the camera slowly pans out on a still drawing
related to the story. These stories deepen your appreciation of the storyline
and give you a little more insight into the characters. The story "Ygorl and
the Dragon" from Chapter Eight is especially useful in better understanding the
arc of events leading up to its beginning, essentially forming a prologue of
sorts (but one that could only properly be told later in the game).
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter One
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
a) Introduction - the game's opening video.
"Indeed, I know precisely who you mean, although it's been a hundred years
since last I dreaded their escape. They are two monsters: Ygorl, the Slaad
Lord, and a Githyanki general named Cireka. They clashed across planes of
reality, each plotting an invasion of our world, each the only one standing in
one another's way. I came across the pair in Rawlinswood and knew that if
either one of them prevailed their army would lay waste to all Faerun. And so
I trapped them in a Demon Stone, where they would fight for all eternity. Now
you bring me word they've broken free, and villages lay in ruined in their
wake. They must be stopped, if we are not too late."
b) Battlefield concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter Two
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
a) Gemspark concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter Three
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
a) Zhai's Past.
Rannek: "Zhai... I'm so sorry"
Zhai: "Save it. You want to console me? Let's slaughter those two
things. That'll make me feel a whole lot better."
Rannek: "Are you sure your father was killed?"
Zhai: "I saw him. Drow aren't supposed to live among Wood Elves. And
they aren't supposed to fall in love with them! Drow are independent. They're
killers. They live below ground, in the Underdark. My mother was part of a
raid on the surface, when she got injured and was separated from her group. My
father found her, and cared for her, and eventually brought her back to
Cedarleaf. When I was little, the village was attacked by giants. My mother
fought beside the Wood Elves. She died protecting her friends, because they
weren't strong enough to protect themselves. That's what you get from making
friends."
b) Cedarleaf concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Chapter Four
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
a) Khelben's Letter.
"Dear Illius,
As I inscribe these words,
you and your party journey here, to me.
In my mind's eye, I've seen what has occurred.
I know the Gem is lost, and Ygorl is free.
So that you'd bring yourself before my gaze,
I planted thoughts of me inside your head.
But Ygorl speeds here too, his heart ablaze.
And likely, when you read this I'll be dead.
His rage obscures my vision like a cloud of smoke.
I can't foresee my fate.
An instant may be all we are allowed,
and the amount I have to tell is too great.
I'll use my time to send you on your quest to Chult
and let this letter say the rest.
I sense that you are now consumed by shame.
Refute it! It will only fuel his fire.
Besides, if any human is to blame, it's me,
for the events that have transpired.
I never should have trapped Ygorl in that mine
of magnifying quartz and hematite.
As if I aimed a glass upon dry pine,
the crystals helped his evil plans ignite.
Yet if indeed I've reached my final peace,
I'll sleep well, for I also know I've sown
a goodness strong enough to best this beast.
How proud of you I've been as you have grown.
Illius, you and your team face great travails.
Faerun depends on you. You must prevail."
b) Wizard's Tower concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Chapter Five
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
a) Illius' Youth.
"I come from a proud and ancient line of knights: the Silver Guard of
Silverymoon. My brothers, my father, and my father's fathers all served as
defenders of the court. The fact that I was different was a spike into my
father's heart. I was born with strong gifts of magic. Even as a child,
simple spells like frost or levitating objects came naturally. I tried to
impress my family -- show them what I could do. My father was furious, and
forbade me from ever "doing tricks" like a stage performer again. I tried to
comply. I studied martial arts, swordplay, tactics and strategy. And no one
could argue, I was a skillful fighter, and clearly my father's son. But I
always felt like I didn't belong. Then, a few years ago, a gnome came to
Silverymoon to sell dyes. I learned that he was a sorcerer and an alchemist.
Behind my father's back I began to spend time with him, learning to hone my
skills and asking questions about the world outside our land. When my father
found out, he exploded with rage. He gave me a choice. Put away magic forever
and be a knight as was my heritage, or leave. The gnome led me to Khelben, who
took me in and trained me in the ways of a sorcerer. But even though my mage's
skills have been with me since birth, I've never had the instincts of a wizard
like Khelben: the ability to reason, and read signs. I felt a pull to Gemspark
Mine, and felt it was my fate to avert a great disaster. Instead my presence
caused it. Now Khelben is likely dead, and I failed to stop that as well. In
my hands, magic is nothing more than a blunt weapon, something I strike my
enemies with. Perhaps it's because I was trained for so long to be a fighter.
Or maybe I've just been stubborn, and ignored my true destiny. When you were
born one thing, but led since birth to be another -- which are you, really?
b) Chult Jungle concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter Six
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
a) Nesme's Fall.
"It was a beautiful town, nestled here in the Spine of the World
Mountains. I was one of the Riders of Nesme, protecting our people from Orcs
and Frost Giants... and Trolls. We heard from a scout that a small clan was
heading our way, but he hadn't seen their true numbers, so we were quickly
overwhelmed. Then it was a blur -- I think I was hit from behind. Everything
went black. I don't know how much time went by. When my eyes opened, I was
pinned partly under a boulder and partly under one of my brothers in battle.
He was dead. I couldn't get up, and I could barely move my head. But I saw.
I watched as all around me the trolls slaughtered the proud Riders. My ears
filled with their screams while I couldn't fill my lungs enough to shout. And
then the king arrived. That was this clan's way. The grunts broke a town's
defenses, and once the victims were weak, the king swaggered in... and amused
himself. Anyone still moving, he tore apart. Injured soldiers on the ground
-- women and children. I wished that he would see me -- but I wasn't so lucky.
In time, everything faded again. When I woke, I heard the survivors had fled
to Mithral Hall, but I couldn't face them. I turned, and walked the other way.
And just kept walking."
b) Chult Temple concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter Seven
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
a) Prologue: Cireka's Vow (translated from Githyanki).
"I am Cireka, High Clanswoman of the Kith clan, General of the Guard of
the First City Tu'narath. Lord of the Qual'kith, Conquerer of the Lingering
Lands, and daughter of Na'kulith, daughter of Vlakith, she who watches over us
all. The path of the righteous is often bathed in the blood of lesser species
such as yourselves. But your minds cannot hold the glory that we Githyanki
have seen. The glory of perfection. Your lands will be conquered, your cities
occupied. and in their place, there will be order and there will be peace.
The ends always justify the means, and for this goal, there is no method beyond
our consideration. I am better than you. I am stronger. I am wiser. My mind
can hold such visions that would crush your pitiful skulls. I am your enemy
because you cannot see the clarity that I can see. If you were to have an
inkling of that vision, your race would surrender to us immediately. Some of
your kind will no doubt serve in this glorious order. It will be an honor for
you to serve us in our grand expansion, though none of you will be wise enough
to cherish the role you must play. When Faerun is conquered, and I have
delivered your species as slaves, it will be my great honor to sacrifice myself
to Vlakith, enriching her, and all my people."
b) Drizzt's Journal.
"Perilous forces are at work. The bards report that Khelben Blackstaff
has gone missing and that his tower lies in ruins. And I have received word
that Illius, his protege and my friend from Silverymoon, is headed here with
two companions: a human from Nesme and a half-drow female. Despite my concern
for Khelben and the danger these accounts foretell, I cannot resist a moment of
pleasure at the thought that Illius is coming to me for help. I remember the
trepidation in his eyes the first time we met. Well placed, I admit, when
confronted by a drow. For I cannot deny that my people have earned the
reputation that gives strangers pause. In Menzoberranzan, city of my birth,
far below the surface, treachery and murder are ways of life. Is it any wonder
that the elven gods long ago banished the drow? But Illius quickly learned
that he needn't be afraid. For though I share the same birthplace and blood as
the drow, I do not share their beliefs. Nor do I serve the Spider Queen Lolth,
whose tenets of enslavement and wanton destruction run contrary to all that I
hold dear. Indeed, I came to the surface world to escape that, to find a life
worthwhile, and I expect that Lolth is not fond of my work here. For with my
friends, Wulfgar, Catti-brie, Regis and Bruenor, I serve the way of community,
friendship and peace -- three causes that boil Lolth's ichor. Word has also
reached us of a Slaad lord or tremendous power moving through the East, and I
hear whispers underground of a fearsome Githyanki general making her way to an
ancient stronghold of her people. Somehow these events are all connected, and
their outcome will no doubt have far-ranging effects across the face of Faerun.
In my heart, I sense that the three travelers heading toward me are the key. I
cannot abandon my duties at Mithral Hall in this uncertain hour. But if those
travelers are searching for a way to find the Githyanki, then I must help
them."
c) Mithral concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter Eight
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
a) Ygorl and the Dragon.
"Caminus, mighty dragon. Forgive my intrusion. You will soon understand,
telepathy is the one means to reach you I have. I am Ygorl, the Slaad, the
Lord of Chaos. I call to you from my prison, a Demon Stone, deep in Gemspark
Mine. I've already arranged my escape; the gears of my plan have been turning
for years. But I need your help. If you will provide it, Faerun will be mine,
and I will reward you with limitless treasure. Despite my current state, I've
sent a gift to demonstrate my power. Right now, a young monk struggles up the
mountain that leads to your lair. His pack is brimming with gold. In his
delusion he though he brought food for his climb. ...food which, I expect, he
won't be needing after all. Controlling weak minds is just one of my skills,
but one that's proven useful from here. The wizard who trapped me here created
a cell that requires three people to broach. Decades ago, I set the parts in
motion to bring such a trio to me. I led a clan of trolls to sack the town,
Nesme, but leave one fighter alive with his shame. My eye found a half-drow,
unlike those around her. I made giants trample her village and slay her
mother, leaving her bitter and hating her neighbors. And I detected a mage in
a family of knights. I hardened the father's heart until he drove his son from
home. I created three orphans, made weak by their solitude, so that I could
lead them each to me with ease. And I did it all from inside this stone.
Imagine when I am free. Once I gate my Slaad minions in from Limbo, and I have
obtained a certain silver sword powerful enough to move matter between planes,
I will be able to ravage Faerun. Crush it under my rule. Redraw it in my
image. Today my three pawns will arrive at the mine. But now, two Orc armies
make war on the surface, over the riches the mine contains. Watch over my
trio, guide them through the battle, ...and then force them into the mine.
Once they've released me, the mine itself will be but a taste of your prize."
b) Githyanki Outpost concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Chapter Nine
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
a) Dragon concept art.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter Ten
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
a) Conclusion - the game's closing video.
The heroes return to Cedarleaf.
Wood Elves: "We could use your help. Over here." Rannek helps put a
large stone up on the wall being rebuilt. To Zhai: "It's so good to see you
home."
A nearby portal glows, and a familiar figure emerges.
Illius: "Khelben! You're alive!"
Khelben: "I bring you thanks from Gareth Dragonsbane, King of Damara and
its neighboring realms. Word of your triumph echoes through the land. You've
done very well. The King has also granted that you three rule the wild land of
Vaasa. The region is untamed, and perilous. But it's yours to master, if you
want it."
Zhai: "We can handle it."
Khelben: "Then I've one final word of caution for you. The Silver Sword
is revered by the Githyanki. It is an ancient artifact, and they will surely
come to take it back."
The heroes all look at each other.
Rannek: "Let them try."
b) Limbo concept art.
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
- -
= 7.0) IN CLOSING =
- -
==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=
Congratulations on making it to the end of the guide. I hope you had a fun
time getting here. I know I did. I am always open to receiving comments,
kudos, contributions, and intelligent criticism about my work. If you have
anything to share, please feel free to do so at:
[syonyx_faqs at yahoo dot com]
I am an avid video-game guide writer, and have produced over twenty complete
walkthroughs for a variety of games, mostly for semi-obscure Sony Playstation
titles. Obviously, this title doesn't fall into that category, but it's an
enjoyable game and there was a bounty prize available at GameFAQS for it, so I
took the plunge. I'm glad that I did, too, because I enjoyed the game
immensely and have now played it several times. Please peruse my entire body
of work at:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/35729.html
And please visit gamefaqs.com for all of your gaming needs, it is the most
comprehensive and easy-to-use gaming site to be found anywhere.
And the obligatory legal disclaimer: This guide is the intellectual property of
and copyright (c) Marc Lalonde, a.k.a. Syonyx, 2006-2007. It is provided for
free personal use only. Any use of this document in whole or in part for
financial profit or in hopes of such profit is expressly prohibited. Any
public display of this document must contain intact all original indications of
authorship. Webmasters wishing to post this guide may do so only if it is
unchanged in any way and only if it is available for unlimited viewing by non-
paying members to the website. Asking first would be nice too, but is not
absolutely necessary as long as adequate credit to me is given. That is all.
Peace out.
Syonyx 2006/07
© Web Media Network Limited, 1999 - 2024 This site is not affiliated in any way with Microsoft, Sony, Sega, Nintendo or any video game publishers.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.
Super Cheats is an unofficial resource with submissions provided by members of the public. These are not usually tested by us (because there are so many), so please use them at your own risk.
