A new Episode means three new chests for the player to plunder and more things to say by the resident Demons.
Note: Provided you haven't done so yet, enter the Dark Assembly to locate a bill called "More Expensive Stuff." This Episode has a tendency to pit the player against enemies with high HP, particularly the first Map. The basic weapons your characters are equipped with won't protect them from menaces later on. Pass the Bill at least twice before proceeding. Some Assembly bills have a chance to fail, so it's best to Save the game before proposing the bill. "More Expensive Stuff" usually falls between 50%-65% in terms of chance.
Speaking of the Dark Assembly, You may have unlocked bills such as "Make a Strange Old Man" or "Make a Busty Beauty." This unlocks more classes for players to create. These have a slightly lower chance to pass,but saving and re-loading will ensure an eventual approval.
Note: This Episode's enemies take a sudden jump in defense and equipment. It is highly recommended that you introduce yourself to the Item World. Talk to the Ghost next to the Director to receive a tutorial. The Item World allows one to enter any item, powering it up by progressing down it's floors. Players just starting out should follow these basic guidelines:
- No need to progress past ten floors until at least three or more troops have their attacking stats exceeding 400.
- No need to kill every enemy on a floor, though better rewards usually follow if you do.
- Enter any Yellow Gate you find. These are Mystery Rooms. The only rooms of interest for now are ambushes, Treasure Chest rooms, and Dragon-guard rooms. Denizens of any other type of Room are insignificant for now.
- If enemies are stronger that you, make entering a Red Gate a priority.
- Don't be afraid to throw allies into Red Gates if obstacles block normal movement.
- One can lift an obstacle, move an ally, then cancel the lift, as though it wasn't even there.
- A Fist-user is essential for knocking Gate Keepers off of Red Gates.
- Killing Item Generals is optional, but generally hazardous, as they are usually better-equipped than their minions. A Thief that knows Consciousness and/or Health helps.
The "Item World" section goes into greater detail.
Once any or no preparations have been made, speak to the Director to move on.
Stage 2-1: Desert Ballad
| Ghoul (x4) | Corpse | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Lv8 | Lv10 |
| Weapon | Wolf's Fang (Red) | Slime Juice |
| Armor | Buckler | Buckler |
| Special 1 | Zombie Juice | Zombie Juice |
| Special 2 | N/A | ((n/a}} |
Geo Symbols - Blue, Purple, Red
Clone
Move -1 (x2)
The odds are against you from the start. A massive field of Panels that not only lowers your Movement range, but spawns enemy troops every turn if something is in it. All the while, your army is assailed by enemies that can spread Poison. Peachy.
Needless to say, the Geo Symbols have got to go. But how to get across without activating the Geo Effects?
A throwing tower, of course! Get two characters with 5 TW to toss your strongest combatant to the other side of the field. Have your ace pop the nearest Geo Symbol to begin a Geo Chain that erases all of the ill effects. (Unfortunately, your throwers will take Chain damage, but a Healer can fix this) To destroy the symbol however, an attacking stat higher than 150 will be required. Hence, the recommendation to enter the Item World.
Upgraded equipment will also be useful against the Zombies, who have well over 300 HP (The Corpse has about 400!) and can fully heal themselves if an ally is killed with a regular attack.
The Zombies will also use Zombie Juice, which inflicts Poison. Poison takes away 20% of an ally or enemy's maximum HP each turn. Poison usually goes away after three turns if left untreated, though it is best purged from the outset with Fairy Dust items or the spell Espoir.
Zombies have moderate DEF but pitiful RES, making Magic effective against them. They also can't move very far, so long-range characters are relatively safe if they keep moving. Close-range fighting is doable as well, and is best used in tandem with long-range potshots. Fists and Axes will be very effective here, for Counter rate and Critical chance, respectively. Of course, Poison makes tanking somewhat of a non-option, as Poison ignores DEF.
As long as the player can mitigate Poison and activate the Geo Chain, this map will eventually be conquered.
4-2: Desert Ballad: Revisit
This map functions exactly as it did before with no changes.