I. INTRODUCTION
What is Azure Dreams, and what is this document?
II. TRAITS IN FUSION
II-A. TRAITS IN FUSION 101
Guide to monster traits in fusion.
II-B. TRAIT CHART
A chart listing all the monster traits.
II-C. TRAIT DESCRIPTIONS
In-depth info on all the monster traits.
II-D. TRAIT THEORY
A few notes about the best ways to use traits.
II-E. SUCCESSFUL TRAIT COMBINATIONS
Several fusions involving traits that will serve you well.
III. MAGIC IN FUSION
III-A. MAGIC IN FUSION 101
Guide to spells in fusion.
III-B. MAGIC CHART
A chart listing all the spells and mixture magic spells.
III-C. MAGIC DESCRIPTIONS
In-depth info on all the spells and mixture magic spells.
III-D. MAGIC THEORY
Some notes about the best ways to handle magic.
III-E. SUCCESSFUL MAGIC COMBINATIONS
Several fusions involving magic that will serve you well.
IV. ADVANCED FUSION
IV-A. TIPS AND TRICKS
Little tidbits that help for fusion and gameplay in general:
-Limitless MP Trick
-Limitless MP Trick Addendum
-Pita Trick
-Spell Level Gain Trick 1
-Spell Level Gain Trick 2
-Spell Level Gain Trick 3
-Spell Level Gain Trick 3 Addendum
-Level Gain Trick
-Combat Maneuvers
-Automatic Spell-Casting
-Self-Healing Monsters
-Countering Status Ailments
-Enemy Weadog Tip
-U-Boat Scouting
-Seeds Warning
-Salamando Glitch Warning
-Keeping Traits and Spells, Again
IV-B. SUPREME COMBINATIONS
Some of the best overall fusions.
V. MONSTERS IN FUSION
Suggestions for fusing (and commentary on) every monster.
VI. THE USUAL FAQ ENDNOTES
Copyrights, credits, disclaimers, etc.
----
0. VERSION CHANGES
1.4, 2-24-02: Changes to the "unknown" traits.
-All right, I give up. I've gotten enough emails telling me one of my failed
theories for Growth Promoted isn't a failure now that I've decided I'm never
going to get the "real" answer--as in, one that will work on MY copy. Read
the trait description (in II-C) to find out more.
-In the same spirit, Atrocious's failed theories are gone, replaced for one
I've seen in several places that doesn't work for me, but may work for you.
Again, read the trait description for more info.
1.32, 12-30-01: One unfortunate change.
-I am now officially considering Excite's email dead and buried. I gave it
three weeks to recover, and it hasn't, so I'm closing the account ASAP.
(What a Christmas present. =/ ) So my email is back to Jjukil@aol.com.
It may go somewhere else soon, in which case I'll update it again. And if
you've sent me anything at the excite.com address in the last few weeks, I
haven't gotten it, so please send it again, to the new address.
1.31, 8-24-01: Format correction(used tabs instead of spaces for the Tips
and Tricks section). I hate it when I miss things like that....
1.3, 8-23-01: Minor improvements and tweakings.
-Level Gain Trick using Fusion added to Tips and Tricks, extremely
belatedly (like all of this update...sorry about that!).
-Tried to explain some things a little better for any newbies.
-Format tweaked a bit to match other FAQs and improve readability.
-Tips and Tricks indexed, to allow for easy searching; each now has a title
that can be found in the TOC.
-A few typo fixes here and there.
1.2, 4-24-00: Major format changes, and some misc. info added.
Thanks go to Nightwind for the first SEVEN changes:
-Weadog opinion changed totally.
-New Supreme Combination added.
-A new spell levels trick added! (See Tips and Tricks.)
-Rules for what survives revised.
-Golem opinion added to.
-Two warnings and a trick in the new Tips and Tricks section.
-Growth Promoted has one more failed theory.
-Trait Chart added.
-Growth Promoted has ANOTHER failed theory.
-Viper trait added to(but not re-evaluated).
-Some Trait Combinations deleted and others added.
-Magic Chart somewhat reformatted.
-Whoops. Poison costs 8, not 4. Sorry for getting your hopes up.
-A new, very annoying mixture magic family found.
-Magic Descriptions added.
-Magic Theory redone.
-Added that monsters (not you) CAN heal themselves, and when they can.
-Some Magic Combinations deleted and others added.
-Found out when familiars will use magic on their own. (Straightened out
the Picket combo once and for all.)
-Changed Supreme Combinations to Advanced Fusion and added Tips and Tricks,
which has some of the tricks you may have thought were removed and more.
-Some Supreme Combinations deleted and others added.
-Heavily condensed Monsters in Fusion.
1.1, 2-24-00: Minor improvements and tweakings.
-My email address is, until further notice, Jjukil@excite.com.
-I have decided to list clerically what has been tried and proven wrong
with the traits Growth Promoted and Atrocious. Growth Promoted has two
more failed theories(unfortunately), one thanks to Seamonkey. Read them
to find out what they are.
-Spell levels trick--see Magic Theory--thanks to Apollo.
-Now 100% formatted instead of 99.9%. (I missed a kinda crucial linebreak.)
-Rearranged and added a little bit to Magic 101 and Theory.
-Adjusted my Picket strategies, mainly the first magic combo featuring one.
-Added (to the Barong/Naplass mix) the max HP attainable--255.
-Killed (a little of) the Deo/amirror repetitiveness.
-Error in the Golem strategy--fusing a Golem with a Golem wouldn't improve
its defense, unfortunately =P I meant Block.
-Added Konami to the credits. (Oddly enough, nobody said anything about
this being missing! I'm kind of surprised.)
1.0, 7-18-99: Original document.
----
I. INTRODUCTION
Hello and welcome to the Azure Dreams Fusion FAQ. This project was my sole
obsession for several months, and continues to be something to dabble in
repeatedly today, and while it is not nearly as extensive or enduring as
some of the FAQs out there it should still have plenty of helpful material.
Azure Dreams is a very strange, very unorthodox, very good, and very old
RPG for the Playstation by Konami. In it you are confronted with the
Monster Tower, a monster-and-treasure-filled structure of who-knows how many
floors that the hero, Koh, is determined to get rich from. He will have
the help of Kewne, a faithful familiar with mysterious origins, as well as
monsters he raises on his own from eggs he finds in the tower. You are also
confronted with some real-life problems. The town the Monster Tower dwells
in, Monsbaiya, is extremely underdeveloped, and the residents crave culture
that goes beyond monster taming. The hero's house is also very meager.
Finally, the young lad finds several of the residents of Monsbaiya to be a
bit more...entertaining than others, and he'll want to spend a lot of time
with them. (In other words, he wants girls...and in this game, if you try
hard enough you're sure to find plenty! =)
I realized as I began this that this game is really quite old. I'm not sure
exactly how old, but it's copyright '98. But the strange thing about me is,
I like overworking myself =) If it's something I enjoy, anyway. So even if
no one reads this I'll be happier for having made it.
However, I hope people will read it, because of what it contains. This FAQ
is a treat for anyone who ever thought Azure Dreams's monster fusion could
be really cool, if only they could work it right. It explains all of the
facets of fusion, from the commonly discussed to the lesser known to the
as-of-yet unmentioned. It tells you how fusing monsters works, how to get
the best combinations you can, and what to do with each one of those crazy
familiars to make them better. Along the way, it gives you some tidbits
about monsters that can be useful in things besides fusion.
It also sometimes gets repetitive. This is either because A) I want to
drive a point home or B) I wrote pieces of the FAQ at different times, and I
didn't go through looking for repetitiveness much because I could pass it
all off as A. ...uhm...I guess that won't work as well now. =P While
making v 1.2, I tried to remove it somewhat, mainly in the Monsters in
Fusion section. This was either because A) I wanted to make the guide be
more comprehensive and have more quality or B) the file size got pretty
ridiculous with v 1.2's rough draft and I wanted to cut it down a little
bit. Take your pick. It was a little of both.
Another "flaw", in my opinion, is that this requires a fixed-width font to
read. It was formatted to fit in 640-480, because I didn't like resolutions
above that when I wrote it, because...well, I don't know why that one is.
You will need to view this in a fixed width font for the charts to look good
but it's otherwise pretty flexible.
Lastly...allow me to correct myself. This is probably NOT everything you
can do with fusion. It's just everything I've found so far. While I was
very thorough, and have hand-tested the vast majority of this document to
check its effectiveness for myself, I'm not perfect, and I probably didn't
think of everything that could be done. I will follow this by saying I am
not opposed to making a new version of this FAQ in the slightest. So if you
have some info you think I should see, send it to Jjukil@aol.com.
You can also send any questions you have about the FAQ, fusion, or Azure
Dreams in general to this address, as long as you do so without being rude
or incoherent. =) Once I garner enough cool info, I'll ship out version
1.4, and all the new stuff will be revealed. Sound fair?
Okay, let's dive right in, then, shall we?
----
II. TRAITS IN FUSION
This document was designed based on my belief that fusion helps your
monsters grow in two separate ways. You could probably tell what they are
through the Divisions above, but here they are again: magic and inherent
traits. I'll first cover inherent traits, which is the part I was more
familiar with when I started this FAQ. Then I'll cover magic, which I was
really finding out about along with you =) Finally, I get into the really
great combos and how to make your monsters the best they can be.
The first section is "traits" in fusion. This explains more about those
mysterious powers some monsters seem to have. Ever notice how hard it is
to kill a Block, or how easy it is for an Arachne to kill you? If so, I'm
sure you've noticed the Kraken's little treat. Well, they're all due to
inherent traits that are found in some kinds of monsters. Why are they so
important to fusion? Because they're not just inherent--they're
inheritable....
---
II-A. TRAITS IN FUSION 101
I will take only a short time on Traits in Fusion 101. Those of you new to
fusing, listen up. I intend to make this quick, dirty and helpful.
Many monsters you'll find in the tower (and later in your hatchery) have
special inherent traits. These range from immunities to a status ailment to
doing something special when attacking/being attacked to having one stat
doubled. These traits can be passed on by fusing monsters together--the
monster that comes out of the fusion will have the traits of both the
monsters that went in. The key to making your monsters as powerful as they
can be is successfully combining traits. A monster with one trait is
usually pretty cool because of it, but a monster with two traits is really
great. There are of course monsters that are great even without a trait,
but giving them a trait makes them even better. Additionally, if you
combine two bad traits or two traits that contradict each other, your
monster won't benefit much.
I'll now explain how trait passing works. Only one monster survives fusion,
but it has the original traits belonging to both of the monsters fused. But
what you have to remember is, this is ALWAYS true. You can only bring
together the traits the monsters you put in ORIGINALLY HAVE. You can't keep
adding traits to a monster until it has them all, and a monster will two
traits will lose its inherited one if it's fused to a monster with no
original trait.
If that didn't get through to you like that, here's an example:
-Fuse Dreamin with Noise. Result: Dreamin with Sleep-proof and Spell-
proof.
-Fuse this Dreamin with Zu. Result is NOT Dreamin with Sleep-proof, Spell-
proof, and Paralysis-proof. Result is Dreamin with Sleep-proof and
Paralysis-proof, because you just fused a Dreamin and a Zu, not a Dreamin,
a Noise AND a Zu.
-Fuse this Dreamin with Flame. Result is NOT Dreamin with Sleep-proof and
Paralysis-proof. Result is Dreamin with Sleep-proof, because you just
fused a Dreamin and a Flame, not a Dreamin, a Zu AND a Flame.
Did that help? I hope it did.
Next, I'll give you the simple rules for what survives. The general rule
is, the monster coming out of the fusion is the one with the higher
experience. However, giving a monster a Leva fruit makes it come out of its
next fusion no matter what you fuse to it (except Kewne). Fusing two
monsters with Leva fruits (or Kewne to one with a Leva fruit) is impossible.
Finally, if you fuse two monsters together of the same experience, the one
that would survive starts out as the one on the red collar, but alternates
every turn--as in, you go back to the Fuse option after one turn and the one
that will survive has changed. (Thanks go to Nightwind for helping break
my "totally random" theory.)
Finally, the genus the fused monster is in is the dominating genus of those
that went in. Fire beats Wind beats Water beats Fire, as it does normally.
---
II-B. TRAIT CHART
This is a chart of every trait in the game, followed by the monster that has
it, its effects and, because I'm feeling saucy, my rating for it. Some
traits I don't know the function of. I listed them anyway, for
documentation's sake. The chart is alphabetical because I still can't think
of a real theme, except for usefulness, which is really pretty subjective.
That's why it has the tacked-on role at the right that it does.
Name Monster Effect Rating
Atrocious Killer Increases rate of critical attacks? -
Blinder-Proof Unicorn Familiar is immune to Blind **
Electric Shock Kraken Attacks give attacker back 1/4 damage *
Growth Promoted Barong Doubles experience gained? -
Hard Block Familiar's defense doubles *****
HP Increased Naplass HP doubles *****
Lowering Atk Viper Attacks MIGHT lower target Atk. power *
Magic Attack Inc. Clown Spell levels double ***
MP Consump. Dec. Cyclone All MP costs are halved *****
Paralysis-Proof Zu Familiar is immune to Paralysis **
Poison-Proof Nyuel Familiar is immune to Poison *
Quick Picket Familiar can act twice per turn ****
Rust-Proof Stealth Familiar's weapons can't rust *
Sleep-Proof Dreamin Familiar is immune to Sleep **
Spell-Proof Noise Familiar is immune to status magic **
Strength Inc. Arachne Familiar's attack power doubles *****
Unbrainwashable Kewne Can't be brainwashed; can't be fused -
---
II-C. TRAIT DESCRIPTIONS
This section has in-depth information about each trait. It's meant to be
a companion to the chart. It gives you suggestions about which monsters
to put traits on and why I rated them as I did. It also explains the
unknown traits with more than a punctuation mark.
Atrocious: Killer trait. Technically an unknown trait, but several sources
now have told me this slightly increases how often your monster uses critical
attacks. I haven't noticed much of an improvement when trying this out, so I
can't tell if it's true or not, but most sources say it's pretty low anyway.
Just use Strength Increased instead for better results.
Blinder-Proof: Unicorn trait. Self-explanatory. Blind isn't much of a
problem if your monster's light--just pick it up until it wears off. If
you have a supercharged heavy character, you might want to keep them from
getting blinded, if they don't have a better trait already.
Electric Shock: Kraken trait. This is one of few traits that's very
obvious in battle--the Arachne might just have a high natural attack, the
Noise might just be lucky all those times spells miss it, etc. But you'll
know when you fight a Kraken that it's special. =) Every time you hit
something that has this trait it returns 1/4 of the damage you deal with an
electric shock, without using a turn of course. The problem is it takes a
lot of damage to make 1/4 of it count--damage you don't want your familiars
taking. This is better for the enemy than you. If you like it, give it to
monsters with high HP and low defense. Don't give it to a Block--it's
very futile.
Growth Promoted: Barong trait. This is technically an unknown trait, but
it seems it's common knowledge to everyone but me that this doubles gained
experience, or at least halves experience needed to gain a level. (In which
case the on-screen number wouldn't be any different.) This is NOT the case
with my copy; however, I've gotten enough emails that claim it now that I'm
starting to wonder. So I've decided this is another feature that's different
depending on what version of the game you have, like some of the glitches.
I'm not going to rebuild my FAQ based on info that may or may not work for
you, but I do think I should let you know about it at this point, so here it
is. You'll just have to try it out for yourself.
Hard: Block trait. This doubles a monster's current defense power
(everything it has and everything it gets). Use this on monsters with high
or low defense to maximize the effect. Note that only the MAXIMUM defense
power is doubled at first. This applies to the initial fusion and every
level--a familiar might gain 1 Def. point on a level-up, but the maximum
value will gain two. You can counter this by leaving the tower or using the
Shomoro herb, but that herb is remarkably hard to find, since it's only
useful for this situation and countering Ledown, a spell no enemies have.
HP Increased: Naplass trait. HP is doubled in the manner of other
doublers: all HP, old and new, is doubled, but only the maximum starts out
doubled. The rest must be recovered, although it's much easier with this
trait--HP is recovered by standing or walking around! Good for monsters
with low or high HP.
Lowering ATK (may not work): Viper trait. The most annoying and, for YOU,
useless trait in the game. Enemy Vipers are a pain on even the highest
power levels because with every attack they might lower your attack power,
making you weaker. However, when this trait is used against enemy monsters,
it has much less impact. Why? Because you're trying to live, and you're
trying to make the enemy die. If you're having success with these goals,
each individual enemy is going to feel the effect of having its AP lowered
FOR A COUPLE OF TURNS AT THE MOST, while you might be walking around with a
weaker attack for ten tower floors or more! That's why I hate this trait,
and I advise you never use it. But if you must, do it on a Picket. They
attack twice per turn, and that attack is worthless by itself. Of course,
their defense is too, pretty much...
Magic Attack Increased: Clown trait. This doubles a monster's spell
levels (all of them, not just attacking ones). You know what this talent
does as soon as you get a Clown--his LoDown level is twice his monster
level. Probably best used on things with DeHeal or DeoForth/DeaForth, since
this does not seem to greatly affect most mixed magic and healing magic is
used directly more often.
MP Consumption Decreased: Cyclone trait. This halves the MP a monster
uses--while walking, attacking, using mixture magic or even using direct
magic. This is great used on anything =) But if you want a real answer,
it's better used on things with high MP but really best on something that
uses commands or magic that suck up a lot of MP often.
Paralysis-Proof: Zu trait. The best status preventing trait, if you're
willing to give up one of the dramatic power-increasing traits. Several
things--traps, Blocks, Zus and probably more--try to paralyze you, but you
can stop them all with this trait. Best used on your main familiar if you
can afford replacing the secondary trait. (That's why I didn't use it on
Kewne--I liked MP Consumption Decreased too much.)
Poison-Proof: Nyuel trait. Poison will not work. This is not very good,
because Poison is only found once in a while, and in traps at that. It also
wears off rather quickly. You'd want this once in a blue moon.
Quick: Picket trait. Agility is doubled; the familiar moves twice for
every move most monsters make. Obviously this has its uses. However, it's
also very annoying, because it doubles agility, sure, but it also doubles MP
consumption! Best to save this for monsters with a lot of MP, which,
luckily, includes Pickets (see IV. Advanced Fusion for why 65 is a lot).
Rust-Proof: Stealth trait. Prevents weaponry from rusting. This would be
phenomenal for Koh! I wish he could fuse with monsters....As it is, it's
the second most useless trait in the game--that we know the function of,
anyway. Rust ONLY comes in traps, you find replacement Troll weapons lying
around in the tower, you can't train them, the best one (the Bow gun)
probably doesn't rust anyway(I don't know, I haven't stepped on a Rust trap
with a Troll at all), and Trolls aren't good monsters in the first place.
Sleep-Proof: Dreamin trait. Self-explanatory and not really useful--the
Dreamin itself is the only thing that actively puts you to sleep, and traps
are a matter of luck. Don't worry about using this on a Naplass--contrary
to popular belief, they do NOT fall asleep at the drop of a hat. (That's
just the computer AI being stupid. It often is.)
Spell-Proof: Noise trait. Magic will not work on the monster that receives
this. Note that this ONLY includes status ailment magic--something like
Rise can still cripple monsters, and something like DeHeal can still heal
them. Not very useful, as you face exactly three status magics in the tower
by my count and only LoDown works for more than 15 turns.
Strength Increased: Arachne trait. This actually doubles a familiar's
attack power. It's best used on something with strong attack power but can
be used to bring up a semi-weakling's attack power. Like with the Hard
trait, only the maximum attack power is doubled at first. The current
attack power stays the same until you leave the tower or use a Hazak herb
on the familiar; this applies to the initial fusion and every single level-
-you might only actually get 1 AP on a level, but when you come back you'll
have 2 like you should.
Unbrainwashable: Kewne's trait. Self-explanatory if you've fought a Blume.
I WISH you could give this to Killers! =) But, it's Kewne's trait so you
can't give it away. It's not good for more than four floors anyway.
---
II-D. TRAIT THEORY
One thing you're going to have to accept right now--I know I had to--is the
greatest of the traits are indeed everything that doubles one of the four
basic stats--HP, MP(halved, actually), attack and defense. These don't seem
like much sometimes, but they really are. Other traits cancel status
ailments or spells, and while that's nice it's not constantly useful. The
doublers are. Magic levels doubled is only great on occasion, mainly for
mixture magic that's purely magic. Quick is usually just annoying--the
monsters run out of MP TOO fast then. Everything else is unknown or
unnecessary. So we've established the general supremacy of doublers.
The question becomes when to double. Generally, don't double a mediocre
stat. If you've got a monster that has only ONE mediocre stat, then
doubling it might make it one of your best, but otherwise, you can usually
find a better solution. A better idea is to double a low stat; if you find
something with good defense but poor attack, double the attack and you have
a balanced warrior. (Note that poor does not include hopeless; do not
double a Picket's AP.) Finally, there is often a point to doubling high
stats. You get the most out of a doubler when it's doubling something
really high. Case in point: the Block. If you doubled a Pulunpa's defense
at level 1, it would have 8 defense, which is pretty high. But the Block's
defense is ALREADY 8. As a result of its doubler, its real defense is 16,
something phenomenal for level 1.
My general rule for trait-mixing is definitely to take opportunities to
maximize your power. Barongs have high HP, so double it for much more.
Golems have high defense, so double that. My secondary rule is if a
familiar has a need, cancel it. Barongs have low MP. Golems have low HP.
What you end up doing all depends on your style of play. You may even
prefer status prevention to doublers. It's your decision. You will,
hopefully, come up with your own style of play that suits you better than
mine does. It'll be more fun that way anyway.
---
II-E. SUCCESSFUL TRAIT COMBINATIONS
Now for some notable combinations. The first monster in each of these
should be the one that survives. Most of the time these are maximum
combinations(most HP, attack, etc.), but sometimes they're unique, just for
a theme or even for show. The descriptions will reveal all.
If you come up with any cool comboes, by the way, send 'em in to me at
Jjukil@aol.com. If they're good enough--or have a cool enough theme-
-they'll be in the next version of the FAQ!
Killer/Arachne: The most offensive combo in the game. Do this for 50
attack power before you reach level 10. It's a lot of fun for you, although
the enemies are sure to hate it. =)
Golem/Block: The most purely defensive combo in the game. Golem defense is
the best there is, but with Hard it's double the best. You still have the
Golem's fairly low HP though.
Barong/Naplass: The most durable combo in the game. Barongs have
disgusting amounts of HP, for reasons now unknown to us. The Naplass has a
disgusting amount of HP because its trait doubles it. Give that trait to
the Barong for a fast ticket to 255 HP, which WILL survive for most of the
tower if you can keep it fed for that long.
Barong/Cyclone: Those happy little Barongs also swallow items and spit out
different, sometimes rare ones, as you might know from floors 16/26/36 of
the tower. So once you get your own, consider making them spit out more
with this combo. Of course, you might also consider cheating, and getting a
LOT more items...(See Billy Sauls's Azure Dreams FAQ for more about this.)
Block/Naplass: A very protective combo. Blocks take 1 damage most of the
time, but sometimes magic will slip past this. So why not have a backup
plan? Sometimes the best defense is even more defense!
Zu/Dreamin: Another protective combo, but in a different way. With this
you get a good warrior that cannot be immobilized until it has 0 MP. It
can still be confused, unfortunately, but you can't prevent that. (At least
you can easily treat it with the Zu--see Tips and Tricks.)
Weadog/Picket: Here's another gem from Billy Sauls's FAQ. So far this is
the only combination that will only attack twice if the first hit is not
enough. Most monsters attack twice even if there's nothing left to attack.
It's pretty impressive, but it still runs down the MP faster than I like.
Block/Arachne: With this, you get the ultimate warrior--double attack and
double defense mean most anything it fights doesn't live. Even on Wind
genus it usually has no problems. It's quite powerful.
----
III. MAGIC IN FUSION
The next section explains how to handle magic when fusing monsters. Magic
is a great feature in Azure Dreams, but it is very limited by the other
things that use MP--namely, anything your familiar does. So the challenge
is finding good magic that's also economical. All the information you'll
need to do that--the basics of giving your monsters new spells, each spell's
description and mixture magic equivalent, a few advanced tips and some
successful magic combos--is in this section.
This section is much longer than the Traits one because there are so many
spells. But bear with it. You'll learn something.
---
III-A. MAGIC IN FUSION 101
Again, this is going to be quick, helpful and painful. Well, hopefully not
too painful.
Some of the monsters you'll find come with magic spells naturally. (Thus
they are deemed to have "natural" spells. They were in Billy Sauls's FAQ
too.) If these monsters are fused with something else, their spell is
available to the resulting monster, no matter which of the two survive.
Combining two monsters with a spell results in a monster with both spells.
Fusing a monster with two spells to a monster with no spells results in a
monster with those first two spells.
However, these spells start out in a certain genus, and if their genus is
changed, so is their look, along with their damage and/or effect sometimes.
Moreover, spells increase in level every time your familiar gains a level IF
they have a white background behind their icon--and that background is gone
if the spell is not in its original genus. It will not level up again until
it is. This holds true for mixture magic, too, but it's a fair trade more
often. Because sometimes the effect is BETTER on a different genus....
Most of the spells in the game are "natural" to some monster or another,
but some of them are not. Even though not all monsters have spells when you
get them, they all have spells. Most monsters' spells are hidden away,
though, and cannot be used immediately. To "unlock" these spells, all you
have to do is fuse the monster with something else that also has no spell.
This brings up the surviving monster's spell, starting it at level 1. So
any monster that has been fused will always have magic.
Finally, if you fuse a monster with any spell with a monster without a
spell, the resulting monster will have ONLY the first monster's spell. The
second monster's hidden spell has been overwritten, and it won't show up
anymore even if it survives. In some cases this is bad, but with clever
combinations it's very good.
---
III-B. MAGIC CHART
This is a chart of each magic spell and its effects, followed by its mixture
magics, for every genus. It also lists which monsters have the spell. I
did this to help both you and me in figuring out how to get the best mix of
spell and genus. Remember that the "subspells"--the ones with two spaces
before them--will NOT level up until you restore them to their normal genus!
Explanations:
T stands for Thunder so W can stand for Water. The "mix" column indicates
which mixture magic family the spell will yield by code. These codes match
up with those in the Mixture Magic chart. MP costs and family are the same
for each genus of a spell, so they aren't listed 3 times.
Most spells go outwards in a line, to varying distances. Some hit in
special areas, though, and these are marked both here and below. Poison
hits a point of impact like a wall and effects a 5x5 square with that point
as the center. This is marked with "Scr-hit". DeRock makes an obstacle
appear in front of the user in the direction it's facing. This is marked by
"Sg-fnt". Don't ask me why; I don't remember. =)
===Fire Magic==
Name Gen. MP Effect Monsters(Natural/Hidden) Mix
Breath F 12 Flame shower attack Dragon/Balloon & Maximum S
NeoBreath W Choking waterfall
NoaBreath T Sand storm
Brid F 10 Fire bullet attack Kewne/Troll & Weadog S
NeaBrid W Ice shower
NoaBrid T Thunderbolt
Poison F 8 Causes poison; Scr-hit [none]/Barong W
NeaPoison W Causes poison; Scr-hit
NoaPoison T Causes poison; Scr-hit
Rise F 16 Fire pillar attack Griffon/Naplass & Tyrant S
NeaRise W Ice pillar attack
NoaRise T Thunder pillar attack
Sled F 8 Fireball attack Flame/Volcano & Killer S
NeaSled W Chill runs over target
NoaSled T Mud slide buries foe
===Water Magic==
Name Gen. MP Effect Monsters(Natural/Hidden) Mix
DeForth W 16 Water heals HP-FULL [none]/Manoeva & Mandara S
DeoForth T Vortex heals 20+ HP
DeaForth F Fire heals 20+ HP
DeHeal W 10 Bubbles heal HP Nyuel/Pulunpa S
DeoHeal T Whirlwind heals HP
DeaHeal F Heat heals HP (slightly)
DeMirror W 8 Reflect all magic Arachne/Viper & Glacier B
DeoMirror T Reflect water magic
DeaMirror F Reflect wind magic
DeRock W 6 Ice obstacle; Sg-fnt [none]/U-Boat C
DeoRock T Wind obstacle; Sg-fnt
DeaRock F Fire obstacle; Sg-fnt
DeWall W 8 10 turn Fire shield Snowman/Blume & Kraken B
DeoWall T 1-2 turn Water shield
DeaWall F 1-2 turn Wind shield
===Wind Magic==
Name Gen. MP Effect/Area Monsters(Natural/Hidden) Mix
LoBind T 12 Paralysis by thunder Block/Golem N
LaBind F Paralyze Wind foe
LeBind W Paralyze Fire foe
LoBlind T 8 Blind target Unicorn/Stealth N
LaBlind F Confuse target
LeBlind W Confuse target
LoDown T 9 Lower target's level Clown/Picket & Garuda W
LaDown F Lower AP (recoverable)
LeDown W Lower DEF (recoverable)
LoGrave T 12 Tornado crash attack [none]/Cyclone & Zu F
LaGrave F Fire pentagram attack
LeoGrave W Meteor strike attack
LoSleep T 10 Wind puts to sleep [none]/Dreamin & Noise N
LaSleep F Heat puts to sleep
LeSleep W Water puts to sleep
===Mixture Magic==
This section changes a little bit. The first column is Family, which you
can match up with the spells above. This replaces the Mix column. The
monsters column has been replaced by the Spells column, which lists which
spells directly give that mixture. Some don't have any original spells--
to get these, change the genus of any spell in that mixture's family to a
genus that matches the one you want. Finally, there is one new range, for
Mt. Burn: it hits a 7x7 square that starts from just in front of where the
user's facing. This is marked with Dir-hit.
In case you're curious, the Family codes are Sword, Wave, Fake, Blade, Call
and Nuke. You'll see they're appropriate. Remember that mixture magic is
more powerful with wands!
Fam Name Gen MP Effect Spells
S Flame Sword F .5 Fire attack, single Breath, Brid, Rise, Sled
Flay Finger Same as above (alternate form when w/out weapon)
Blizzard Sword W Water attack, single DeForth, DeHeal
Ice Finger Same as above (alternate form when w/out weapon)
Wind Cutter T Wind attack, single None
Thunder Finger Same as above (alternate form when w/out weapon)
W Heat Wave F .75 Fire atk + Firebolt Poison
Snow Wave W Water atk + Water stream None
Thunder Wave T Thunderbolt LoDown
F Heat Wave F 4 Fire atk + Firebolt None
Snow Wave W Water atk + Water stream None
Thunder Wave T Thunderbolt LoGrave
B Burning Blade F .5 Fire atk + Blind 100% None
Aqua Blade W Attack + Ice shower DeMirror, DeWall
Thunder Blade T Wind atk + Paralyze 100% None
C Fire Shoot F 2 Sazaku's line attack None
Snow Shoot W Seiriu's screen attack DeRock
Gaia Shoot T Biakko's line attack None
N Mt. Burn F 4 Magma hill; Dir-Hit None
Aqua Wheel W Water wave screen atk None
Earth Shaker T Earthquake screen atk LoBind/Blind/Sleep
---
III-C. MAGIC DESCRIPTIONS
This section has in-depth information about each spell. It's meant to be
a companion to the chart and describes the spells in the same order. It
gives you the pros and cons of each, and outlines which ones are worth your
time when. Again, remember that subspells WON'T raise in level.
Breath: Dragon magic, hidden by Balloons and Maximums. This spell should
be a command, I think, but this does let more than one monster have it.
Breath comes out in a huge arc of flame that does respectable damage, but
it has a high MP cost that more than balances it out. There's no real
reason to give this to anything, even if you prefer its reliable mixture
magic set, the Sword spells--there are plenty of better options.
-NeoBreath: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
-NoaBreath: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
Brid: Kewne's magic, hidden by Trolls and Weadogs. This is a typical
fireball attack; graphically it doesn't suck. Otherwise it does, though,
because it's like Breath: a bit too high an MP cost for the damage done,
but with a good mixture magic.
-NeaBrid: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
-NoaBrid: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
Poison: Hidden by Barongs. This simply causes Poison, but with a nice
radius--the Poison cloud goes out 2 squares from the point the beam hits.
Note, though, that for any non-mixture status spells to work reliably your
familiar must be several levels higher than the target. If you do use this,
though, you get one of the better Wave family mixture magics.
-NeaPoison: Almost exactly the same as the original, graphics and all.
-NoaPoison: Almost exactly the same as the original, graphics and all.
Rise: Griffon magic, hidden by Naplass and Tyrants. This magic costs more
than any spell but DeForth, but it's almost worth it--it causes surprising
damage when powered up enough. If you really want something to have a high-
firepower Fire attack, this is your best bet (besides mixture magic). This
also mixes into the Sword family.
-NeaRise: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
-NoaRise: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
Sled: Flame magic, hidden by Volcanoes and Killers. In contrast to Rise,
this is your cheapest direct attack magic, but it's predictably the least
powerful. If you're on a budget, though, 8 MP isn't THAT bad if you need a
good long-range punch. It also gives you the cheap Swordspells when mixed.
-NeaSled: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
-NoaSled: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
===Water Magic===
DeForth: Hidden by Manoevas and Mandaras. This is probably the best spell
in the game: it restores ALL HP to the target! It's not hard to see the
use in this, but keep in mind it has the highest spell MP cost in the game
to go with it. That's not to say don't get it--just make sure not to waste
this magic. This gives the reliable Sword spells in mixture magic.
-DeoForth: This has a very different effect from DeForth--this restores
only up to a set number of HP, depending on its level. Looks different,
too. It becomes effectively DeHeal + about 20 HP. IF you power it up
enough, it should still cover you well enough for most floors.
-DeaForth: Graphically different, but effectively DeoForth.
DeHeal: Nyuel magic, hidden by Pulunpas. Bubbles pop up around the target,
healing a somewhat respectable amount of HP. The main advantage of this
over DeForth is the lower MP cost, but the cutback in healed HP can mean the
difference between life and death--the added healing for each added level is
VERY low. Still, worth sticking on your faithful, more MP challenged Water
familiars, at least for the lower floors. Mixes into the Sword family.
-DeoHeal: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
-DeaHeal: DeaHeal is even worse than DeHeal--the HP healed is halved!
Blame it on the offensive tendancies of fire, I guess. Stay away from this
one, unless you LIKE exchanging 1 MP for 1 HP...
DeMirror: Arachne magic, hidden by Vipers and Glaciers. This spell
reflects all other spells, for a limited time. This has several uses; it's
helpful against enemies like Griffons and Blocks, and it can reflect
familiars' healing spells so they can heal themselves at any time. The bad
part is, as always, the MP blown to do it. This mixes into the Blade family
of spells, the virtues of which are discussed below.
-DeoMirror: Graphically similar to DeMirror, this reflects all Water magic
for a while. Useful in exactly this case: one familiar has it and uses it
on Koh so another familiar can use a Water spell on itself. Otherwise it's
worthless--no Water spells cause damage. The mixture magic, however....
-DeaMirror: Graphically similar to DeMirror, this reflects all wind magic
for a while. This can help against Clowns, Blocks, and Unicorns. It might
be fair for a special case monster, if you want one.
DeRock: Hidden by the U-Boat. This creates a block of ice that serves as
an obstacle to monsters. This is great if you're in a narrow hallway and
being chased by a strong one. You might try it even if you're in an open
space against Fire ones, though--according to Nightwind, they'll actually
attack the rock instead! Wonder why, since they attack Water things for
less damage....This is the ONLY spell that mixes into the Call spells.
-DeoRock: Similar to DeRock, this makes a Wind-element obstacle instead.
-DeaRock: Similar to DeRock, this makes a Fire-element obstacle instead.
DeWall: Snowman magic, hidden by Blumes and Krakens. This creates a water
wall on the target, reducing Fire damage for exactly 10 turns. This is not
usually worth the cost, but if you're getting ganged up on by Fire monsters,
especially on the highest levels, it could easily be your key to survival.
This is a spell to consider. The spell mixes into the powerful Blade magic.
-DeoWall: This creates a wall that reduces Water damage...for 1 or 2 turns.
No, really. Obviously, this is useless. The monster usually outlasts the
shield. You might want the mixture magic, but never use the spell.
-DeaWall: Graphically different, this protects from Wind damage instead,
but is otherwise the same stinker that DeoWall is.
===Wind Magic===
LoBind: Block magic, hidden by Golems. This spell directly paralyzes an
enemy, but for a pretty penny in MP terms. For this spell to work your
monster should be at a higher level than the target--which usually means it
has a fighting chance against it anyway, unless it's Fire. A special case
spell at best, but with the powerful mixture magic family of Nuke.
-LaBind: Even worse, this has the same drawbacks as LoBind PLUS it only
works against Wind foes. This is even more of a special case than the
original.
-LeBind: This only paralyzes Fire foes. A bit more useful than LaBind,
but inferior to the original in effect AND mixture magic.
LoBlind: Unicorn magic, hidden by Stealths. It looks pretty cool,
actually, but it merely Blinds the target, suffering from the status spell
restriction. Takes less MP than any other Wind spell, though, and it can
help you out sometimes. It also mixes into the Nuke family.
-LaBlind: Strangely enough, this doesn't Blind anything--it confuses them.
Not just Wind monsters, either. At 8 MP, this would make a great special
case spell--if it weren't for that darned status spell limitation. You
have to REALLY power this up first to make it effective. I'd go so far as
to hatch a Unicorn in the tower and give it to something with a Leva fruit.
-LeBlind: Almost exactly the same as LaBlind, graphics and all.
LoDown: Clown magic, hidden by Pickets and Garudas. This drops a target's
level; low down indeed. This is another something thrown in for enemy use
and not yours--the decrease in power just isn't enough. Not recommended,
even for the mixture--it mixes into the weakest spell of the Wave family.
-LaDown: This lowers not the level of a target, but its Attack score.
This can cut a big threat's damage pretty darn well, actually, and if it
had a 100% success rate it'd be great. However, it doesn't, and it will
never level up again after it's converted.
-LeDown: This lowers a target's defense score. Less useful than LaDown,
unless you weaken it enough to be taken down in one shot, so don't bother.
LoGrave: Hidden by Cyclones and Zus. This spell is an attack spell,
actually, and it's along the same lines as Breath but with a bit more
damage. Alone it's not that bad, if you can take the MP loss, but this
is the ONLY spell that mixes into the Fake family, making it overall the
most expensive spell in the game. Not recommended unless you want a
wind-genus unlimited MP monster, which do have their uses(Nukes).
-LaGrave: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
-LeoGrave: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
LoSleep: Hidden by Dreamins and Noises. This, predictably, causes sleep.
It looks kinda cool, but it's very much like LoBind in all things, except
that it costs a tiny bit less MP.
-LaSleep: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
-LeSleep: Graphically different, but effectively the original spell.
===Mixture Magic===
Sword Family: Breath, Brid, Rise, Sled, DeForth and DeHeal mixture magic.
All of these spells have the same effect, and since there are six I'll just
describe them all at once. This casts a magic spell on your weapon,
multiplying your attack power by an amount that depends on spell level.
This is the most reliable mixture magic--low MP cost and the power always
increases at LEAST by a point. This is not the case with magic-only
mixtures. However, they're also melee attacks, which is also not the case
with some magic-only mixtures.
Wave Family: Poison and LoDown mixture magic. These spells fire long-
range attacks at enemies. They cost a bit more than the Sword family, but
let you pick off some enemies, mainly the ones weak to the spell's
elemental, before they even get to you.
-Heat Wave: This lets you attack, then throws a huge fireball at the enemy.
It's even more effective at short range. Comparable to Aqua Blade, but
with range and more cost.
-Snow Wave: Graphically different, but effectively Heat Wave.
-Thunder Wave: This just arcs a lightning bolt at the enemy; no melee
attack. Still a nice long-range Water monster killer.
Fake Family: LoGrave mixture magic. This family is just like the Wave
Family, spells, power and all, except for one catch: instead of 3/4 of an
MP, each casting costs 4 MP. If this is the first way you see the Wave
Family you get a pretty bad impression of it! In reality, the real deals
are very good, and these are the stinkers.
Blade Family: DeMirror and DeWall mixture magic. Like the Sword family,
these are melee attacks, and they cost a puny 1/2 an MP. However, unlike
the Swordspells, these do not add much power--they have effects, instead.
-Burning Blade: This adds the Fire element to an attack and makes it Blind
foes 100% of the time. You'll still take a hit, because Blind monsters hit
anything in front of them, but for half an MP this is still incredible.
-Aqua Blade: This adds Water to the attack, then showers ice particles on
the enemy in a second, magical attack. Good if your Attack score is low.
-Thunder Blade: The king of all mixture magic, this adds Wind to an attack
and makes it Paralyze foes 100% of the time. Everything is vulnerable (but
the Zu, of course), so this makes single opponents a snap.
Call Family: DeRock mixture magic. These spells summon monsters to do your
dirty work for you(for one attack--these aren't Fire Crystals). They aren't
terribly powerful, but they often hit harder than other spells, and they hit
anything in their path instead of just smacking one creature.
-Fire Shoot: This one summons Sazaku, who attacks anything in a line with a
strong Fire attack. The good news is it extends for 8 squares in that
direction, hitting anything in between! The bad news is it doesn't go UP
or DOWN even 1 square. Great in narrow corridors though.
-Snow Shoot: The original and best form, this summons Seiriu, which attacks
everything on the screen, give or take. Its range is quirky; it appears to
be five or less spaces away from the monster with DeRock in the hallways
and the entire room in one of those, but I'm not sure. If you can give me
a more reliable estimate that would be great. No matter how it attacks the
screen, attacking it for 2 MP is sweet!
-Gaia Shoot: Biakko's attack is graphically different, but effectively Fire
Shoot.
Nuke Family: LoBind, LoBlind and LoSleep mixture magic. These spells
attack a lot of stuff on the screen. They usually make a big hit, which is
good, since they take a pretty big hit on your MP too at 4 per casting.
-Mt. Burn: This takes a 7x7 square in front of the user(who is one square
before the center of one side)--going across black spaces if necessary--and
makes it erupt. The coolest looking spell in the game in my opinion, and
the most reliable Nuke but often the one with the LEAST range.
-Aqua Wheel: This hits an entire room with a Tsunami and damages any foes
in it, no matter what size the room is! The bad news is that if you're not
in a room, the range is cut to one square away from the user. This makes
for a pretty expensive single attack. Great for offense and defense.
-Earth Shaker: Graphically different, but effectively Aqua Wheel.
---
III-D. MAGIC THEORY
I am not as versed on the methods of giving spells to monsters as I am in
giving traits to them. This is still quality advice, but there are almost
certainly other methods that I haven't covered. You should definitely do
some experimenting with magic to find your own best combinations. In the
meantime, here's what I've found to be the truth about magic.
This time, what you "have to accept" is that spells generally aren't very
good at all. They'd be fine if they didn't use so much of your familiars'
precious MP. Too bad they do. The average cost for a spell is 8 or 10,
and some can be more than that but still not really do much. The cool part
of magic is mixture magic. Mixing spells with Koh's weapon increases the
power of Koh's attack, so you still do more damage. But half the "mixed"
spells use less than 1 MP, and none use more than 4. This is even better
than attacking with your familiar, much less using the actual spells.
One key to success here is combining two spells that aren't exactly the
same. For example, combining Brid and Sled would be totally useless--they
both mix to be Flame Sword and they're both similarly powerful fire attacks.
So it's like having a duplicate spell, really. Make sure that doesn't
happen to you; you definitely want two spells you use for different reasons,
with at least one powerful mixture magic.
As for which particular spells you want, you have plenty of leeway here.
Unlike traits, which are annoyingly straight-forward if you want real power,
magic can go in several ways. You should find out pretty quickly that some
monsters make better magic-users than others because of their MP. A Pulunpa
can use its DeHeal 4 times, while a Manoeva can use its DeForth 5 times--but
a Picket outdoes either of them, due to a quirk it has with MP. More on
this later.
For the lower MP monsters, your choice IS pretty simple: you should give
them a spell that mixes into a Wave, Sword or Blade magic. This lets them
keep going for much longer than before, and they're always there for
emergencies. Your best choice is almost certainly the powerful DeoMirror.
So, as soon as you can, nab DeMirror or DeWall, give it to your low-MP
familiar and change it to Wind genus. With that particular program even a
Pulunpa can get you far--especially if you always Command it to use the
magic, instead of putting it on AI level 3. (It doesn't do any more
damage anyway most of the time.) 40 to 70 MP on a monster generally means
it has low MP, btw.
For mid-level MP monsters, your spectrum is a little more broad. You still
don't have the MP needed for constant magic attacking, but you CAN have
great mixture magic or special case spells. Personally, I favor giving
these healing spells. "Nearly being dead" is a special case you'll see a
LOT =), and healing spells have a reliable mixture magic too. Other
special casers include any Water spell, a high-level La/LeBind and Sled,
the cheapest attack spell. As for good mixtures, Wave magic is probably
your best bet. It does what attack spells do--hit from far off--at a small
fraction of the cost. The Nuke family is good IF combined with another,
cheap mixture. If you do that, though, know that you'll probably end up
ALWAYS Commanding your familiar so it'll actually use the spell you want.
They're not smart about that--sometimes they'll nuke one enemy. 80 to 100
MP generally means a monster has med-level MP. (There are plenty.)
Note that making monsters good for healing has a bit of a quirk: magic
can't be used on oneself (via commands--monsters will heal themselves if
they are critical, which is at 1/5 HP or so). So that healing monster may
be unable to heal itself when it really needs it. There are two ways of
countering this. The Mirror shield reflects magic; this includes healing
magic. If you need to heal your healer, put on the Mirror shield, or take
it off for a second when you need to heal yourself if you normally use one.
If you don't have a Mirror shield, and you feel like spending MP, you could
give your healer DeMirror. Then you could heal Koh, cast DeMirror, and heal
your familiar. (Then you could give your familiar a Pita.)
For high-level MP monsters--meaning, limitless(see IV. Advanced Fusion)--go
wild. If attacking is what you want, slap LoGrave (or Rise, if you like,
but then one of them won't level up) and a Nuke-giving spell on it. If it's
defense you need, DeForth, DeMirror and LoBind or LoSleep help out more
often than others. The power-mixer can have LoSleep and DeoRock and be
ready for both corridors and rooms. But why mix when you can waste MP?
Magic IS fun when you can actually use it!
---
III-E. SUCCESSFUL MAGIC COMBINATIONS
These monsters have two good spells that either support each other or give
the monster several options. Remember that the first monster listed should
be the one that comes out of the fusion. This time around you'll see one
fusion then see "then " another fusion. Simply keep the first monster
listed and use it in the second fusion, making sure it survives again of
course.
Also remember that these are just my suggestions. Keep trying on your own,
and maybe you'll find something even better. If you do, send in that combo
to Jjukil@aol.com, so it can be in the next version of the FAQ!
Kewne/Clown: You know this combo's got to be good--it uses Kewne! =) But
seriously: this one doesn't have great spells, but it does have cheap
melee and distance attacks. This can majorly cut down on the threat from
some Wind monsters. For best results, use the shortcut version of Spell
Level Gain Trick 3(see IV. Advanced Fusion).
Blume(with DeWall)/Clown: This is similar to the above combo, but it
sacrifices power for the worthless DeoWall--and the very worthy Thunder
Blade. The best part of both comboes is how early you can get them. Just
don't actually CAST the spells. Of the four, only Brid isn't useless.
Nyuel/Arachne: Having DeMirror will let the Nyuel heal itself even if it
isn't "critical" and you don't have a mirror shield. It'll take a lot of
MP, especially considering DeHeal's weakness, but the Nyuel has it.
Block/Clown: This gives the Block two distance mixture magics. This is
especially good because the Block can act as a decoy and take the hits up
close while Koh pelts enemies from afar.
Picket/Manoeva(with DeForth), then Picket/Griffon: This should go back to
Water genus for best effect. This is a great special-case character. If
you need a distance attack, use NeaRise on something. If you need healing,
use DeForth. Just keep it out of the way of the enemies. Contrary to my
old belief this will NOT toss spells like crazy on AI level 5.
Picket/Griffon: HERE'S what goes crazy at AI level 5. As you'll see noted
later, monsters will attack with their spells IF they are in their original
genus. NeaRise doesn't qualify; Rise does. Thanks to their agility, even
Pickets can be hard-pressed to support all the spells they'll toss on AI
level 5!
Dragon/Barong(with Poison): This is like the Kewne combo above but better.
While Flame Sword will take a hit in power, Breath won't (noticably) for a
while, and Heat Wave will continue to level up and be useful for much
longer. So will the Dragon, thanks to its MP. These monsters are much
harder to come by than the Clown, though.
Block/Arachne: This is the best attacking combination. It gives you both
LoBind (Earth Shaker) and DeoMirror (Thunder Blade), spells with powerful
mixtures geared for totally different purposes. You will probably have to
do a lot of Commanding to make it work, but it's worth it.
----
IV. ADVANCED FUSION
This section is where everything else goes. Here magic and traits are
discussed together for the first time(officially). Other miscellaneous
info is here too, mainly in the first section, Tips and Tricks (brand new as
of v 1.2!). This section is not only meant to make your monsters better,
but to make you a better Azure Dreams player overall. (Mainly for the
monsters though. It's a FUSION FAQ after all.)
---
IV-A. TIPS AND TRICKS
-Limitless MP Trick:
First and foremost, you need to know about four monsters that you really
want to keep once you get. In Magic Theory, high MP monsters were
described as "limitless." This is just like it sounds--there are monsters
with limitless MP, IF you handle them right. There are four of these:
-Nyuel: Feeding one any herb will restore 50 MP to it.
-Picket: Feeding one just about anything will restore 50 MP to it. (Big
Pitas will restore 100 MP still.)
-Dragon: Feeding one anything metal (for example, coins) will restore 50
MP to it.
-Weadog: The quirkiest limitless option. The "Meat" command creates an
item that restores 10 MP. It costs 32 MP, but it can use it even if it
only has 1 MP left. This doesn't leave you much to work with--you should
really fuse it with a Cyclone--but if you mess up or cast a costly spell,
you can give it the 1 or 2 MP it needs to restore itself with any herb.
For these monsters MP is not a problem. Only the Dragon has a lot of
physical power, but all of them make great mages. Use them wisely.
-Limitless MP Trick Addendum:
Manoevas can share some of this limitless MP goodness. Just take the time
to copy a Nyuel, Picket or Dragon when you run into one and it'll have the
same feeding properties as that creature until it Returns. Similarly, if
you're really low on MP and on the Weadog's floor, copy one and Throw Meat.
-Pita Trick:
Another way to counter MP troubles is the Pita. Obviously it restores 50
MP, but if you give one to familiars when they're at full MP, their max MP
will go up 1 point. It does NOT, however, refill this point, so don't
plan on layering on 4 pitas at once.
-Spell Level Gain Trick 1:
Generally, it's a good idea to unlock monster spells as soon as you can so
they'll level up with it. But if you can't for some reason, your monster
isn't doomed forever: the spell will gain double levels until it catches
up. For example, unlocking a U-boat's DeRock when it is on level 8 will
produce the following levelups for the spell: level 9, spell lv. 3; 10, 5;
11, 7; 12, 9; 13, 11; 14, 13; 15, 15. Just make sure you don't wait TOO
long to unlock a spell--a level 32 monster won't balance out the spell
until it's level 48. Also make sure you don't fuse a monster out of its
genus, or its hidden spell won't level up at all of course. Thanks go to
Apollo for this trick.
-Spell Level Gain Trick 2:
Speaking of spells not leveling up out of genus, that brings up another
trick you can use to have higher spell levels if you've got LoDown, some
genus seeds and are on a high tower floor. LoDown will reduce familiars'
experience and spell levels, but will only work on the latter if the spell
is in its proper genus. So if you have LoDown on a limitless MP monster and
the right genus seeds, level your monster down, then back up to get
basically infinite spell levels easily. Thanks go to Nightwind for this
one.
-Spell Level Gain Trick 3:
It's also usually a good idea to give monsters OTHER spells early, so
they'll also level up with it. The above trick works for this and any other
spell, but there's another trick here involving the Leva fruit. If you have
a monster with a spell that you want to give to a different monster, you
might not want to immediately fuse them--there's a better way if you have a
Leva fruit. Get the monster with the spell to a really high level, then
give the weaker monster the Leva fruit and fuse them. The weaker monster
will absorb the high-level monster, and it'll get a high-level spell. You
can get basically infinite spell levels this way too, although it takes
longer.
-Spell Level Gain Trick 3 Addendum:
A shortcut way to do Spell Level Gain Trick 3 with a monster with a natural
spell is to climb to a high tower floor with Koh, then hatch it in the
tower. It would start out the same high level as Koh, and so would its
spell. Just make sure you fuse those monsters on the same tower trip you
hatch it in, or it will go away and you won't be able to use it.
-Level Gain Trick:
This is related to the last trick, and should've been discovered literally
years ago. Ah well. =P If you get Koh to a high level and hatch an egg in
the tower, the hatched monster will have Koh's level, but will not leave the
tower with you. However, if you fuse that monster to one of your monsters,
if IT survives, it will take the place of your old familiar in the monster
den. Meaning, it WILL come with you! This is an easy way to get high level
monsters if you have a fluff monster handy--Koh's experience goes up much
faster than any monster's. Remember, though, that if you unlock a spell
this way, it will start out at level 1, then gain 2 levels for every monster
level, just like any normal fusion. (So don't wait TOO long to hatch that
monster, unless you're not concerned about its locked magic.) Thanks go to
Biggiepapa for this one!
-Combat Maneuvers:
Here's a little tidbit that'll let your familiars live longer. You can
dictate when your familiars attack--as in, before or after enemies. If you
just take a step or press X and O to wait a turn as your familiar attacks
or does something, enemy monsters will be able to act before it. If you do
something too, your familiar will usually act right after you, and then the
enemies will. If you don't have anything to do like eat an herb or attack
as well, just attack the air. That counts as an action too!
-Automatic Spell-Casting:
You can command monsters to use spells whenever you want, but if you want
them to use spells on their own, keep in mind that monsters will only
automatically throw any spell if they're in its correct genus. This goes
for both healing spells and AI level 5, which makes monsters use anything
they can to hit enemies. For instance, Rise will be thrown in AI level 5,
but NeaRise won't.
-Self-Healing Monsters:
This has been mentioned before, but here it is again in case you've
forgotten: healing monsters cannot heal themselves unless A) they are
critical, meaning they have 1/5 HP or so, or B) they have DeMirror or you
have a mirror shield. You can't command them to target themselves--they
have to do that themselves. (Remember that monsters also have to be on
Water genus to automatically heal.)
-Countering Status Ailments:
This has also been mentioned before, mostly. Status ailments can be
crippling to your monsters, but several of them like Blind and Chaos can
be countered by simply lifting your monster. If your monster can't be
lifted, this doesn't apply, but some surprisingly good ones can be hefted,
like Kewne, Arachnes and Dragons.
-Enemy Weadog Tip:
Here's a little tip on handling ENEMY Weadog meat: don't let your monsters
just run for it--issue Commands to them each turn. They'll still obey them.
Do this until the enemies are dead, then Give one of them the meat!
-U-Boat Scouting:
U-Boats have the Scout command, which can make a map out of the entire
level. It's pretty expensive, though, but you can use it as much as you
like as long as you have an herb. Just like with the Weadog, if you give
the U-Boat an herb while it's out of MP, it'll gain an MP or two...it's not
very useful for battle, but it WILL be enough to Scout again! Thanks go to
Nightwind for this trick.
-Seed Warning:
Here's a warning about Hazak and Shomoro seeds, also from Nightwind: Do
not use them with your monsters IF their attack/defense power has been
weakened. (Weakened numbers are red.) If you do, you'll just increase the
value of the red number, not touching the actual maximum. This can be a
minor problem when fighting enemy Vipers...and a MAJOR one for any monsters
you have that use the traits Hard and Strength Increased.
-Salamando Glitch Warning:
By the way, here's another warning from Nightwind concerning game glitches.
When Salamandos (they come from Fire Crystals) kill things offscreen, the
game sometimes freezes. As with all the glitches in Billy Sauls' FAQ, be
careful about this. Test them all as soon as you can on your copy to see
if they're problems for you. (My copy has none of the reported glitches--in
fact, the only glitches I've ever seen were the ones that let you cheat with
Manoevas.... =)
-Keeping Traits and Spells, Again:
Finally, here are two easy rules that can be hard to remember about fusion.
-Any trait you've given a monster--one it didn't have before fusion--is gone
as soon as you fuse it with any monster.
-Magic DOES stay for more than one fusion, but a monster can only have two
spells--if you try to give it more, one of the old ones is gone. (And this
is never a spell it had before fusion. Sorry, everyone who wants to get
Magic Attack Increased without LoDown--it just can't happen....)
---
IV-B. SUPREME COMBINATIONS
These combinations combine trait success with magic success. Needless to
say these are some of the best monsters you're going to get. Some of them
take many fusions, so you may want to take those on in multiple tower trips.
Like before, make sure the first monster listed survives.
And, once again: if you have any great comboes that you'd like to see up
here send them as soon as you can to Jjukil@aol.com. I'd love to hear from
you!
MY FIRST MONSTER: Blume/Noise; Pulunpa/Pulunpa; Blume/Pulunpa;
Blume/Cyclone
This monster takes a full five eggs, but they are all relatively easy to
get, and the result will get you through more than its fair share of tower
floors. It has Thunder Blade for offense, DeoHeal for defense and halved MP
for both. It will eventually at least weaken, due to the weaker spell, but
this is all you need to get WAY too far too fast!
POWER SOURCE: Dreamin/Noise; Clown/Dreamin; Clown/Cyclone
This is one of the most powerful mixture magic attackers. It has LoDown,
which mixes into the distance attack Thunder Wave, and LoSleep, which mixes
into the screen attack Earth Shaker. Best of all, it can do both at double
power and half normal cost. Great until you hit those troublesome Fire
monsters....
ULTIMATE BOAT: U-boat/Pulunpa; Manoeva/Pulunpa; U-boat/Manoeva;
U-boat/Cyclone
Finally, use a Sea seed to make this Water genus. This takes five eggs as
well, but makes for a powerful and very versatile monster. It can heal,
summon Seiriu, Scout, sneak attack and attack, and all at half MP use. It
is best as a special case monster, though--if you try doing all of that at
once with it, it'll run out of MP very quickly.
STATUS KING: Mandara/Unicorn; Mandara/Block; Mandara/Viper
This monster can be an MP drainer, but very interesting. It can cause four
separate status ailments--Bind, Blind, Chaos and weakened attack. The last
isn't too useful, though, so you might want to replace it with Electric
Shock Body, which gives fair results with the Mandara and is a KIND of
status ailment =)
DEATH MAGE: Picket/Griffon; Picket/Unicorn; Picket/Naplass
For best results use the quick version of Spell Level Trick 3(see IV.
Advanced Fusion) on the Unicorn. Here's a Picket that CAN attack--with
magic, of course--and you can stick it out in front to do it, too! You'll
need a lot of refills, though--if you have too much trouble, use a Cyclone
instead. You'll also have trouble against Water familiars with this.
HEALTH PROMOTED: Mandara/Pulunpa; Picket/Mandara; Picket/Arachne;
Picket/Cyclone
Finally, use a seed to make it Water genus. Another five-egg monster, but
one of the best pure healers yet. It has a quirk that will serve you well:
it can use mixture magic, then heal Koh immediately after he gets hit! And
it can heal itself with DeMirror with no worries thanks to limitless MP.
Status ailments can cripple it and you, though, and don't try attacking!
FRIENDLY FIEND: Mandara/Pulunpa; Dragon/Mandara; Dragon/Picket
Then go back and make it Water genus with a seed. This is a more well-
rounded monster--it can attack with a vengeance AND save Koh when he has to
fight. It has its problems--it'll need a lot of refills, and it can't heal
itself--but Dragon stats help overcome them. This monster is your reward
for touring the tower: its eggs come from four distinct sections of it!
CAPTAIN DEATHSATAN: Block/Arachne
Simplicity in itself, except for getting the components, and yet probably
the best monster in the game. You get the two great traits of double attack
and double defense, making for a fine warrior. You also get a screen-killer
and a mixture magic wonder if you keep it on Wind genus. With these powers
combined, this is Captain Deathsatan. Just watch out for status ailments!
From Nightwind:
THE LONE WOLF: Manoeva/Pulunpa; Weadog/Manoeva; U-Boat/Pulunpa;
Weadog/U-Boat; Weadog/Cyclone
Finally, use a seed to make it Water genus. Now THIS one...THIS one
requires SIX eggs. Yes, Six. Both DeForth and DeRock are Hidden spells,
and with Weadog-style unlimited MP you'll want a cheap way of fighting off
multiple enemies and you'll need halved MP. But when all is said and
done, you've got a very powerful monster. It's like the Ultimate Boat from
above, but better. Weadogs aren't slouches in attacking and defending,
and these spells make for improved offense and defense when you need it.
The best part is you don't have to use items for extra MP--and if you get a
Leolam, it's a recharge for everybody!
----
V. MONSTERS IN FUSION
The last section covered in this FAQ is specific advice about every monster.
It's hard to decide what to do with some of those more obscure monsters like
the Glacier, the Stealth, and whatever. Hopefully these descriptions will
help you decide how to bring out their real potential.
This is done in a kind of crazy organization style, so let me explain it
briefly. I go by Weedy's monster book, but have scrapped the unnecessary
monsters like the Lazy Frog and the transformations some undergo at level
20. It ends up to being 36 different monsters. Interesting, huh?
I also included several statistics. First there's the stats of the monsters
at level 1, which is mainly for reference but sometimes to prove a point.
The spells the monsters have are also listed, and whether they start with
them (Natural) or have to have them unlcoked (Hidden). Light means they can
be lifted, and status ailments aren't as severe for them; Heavy means the
opposite. Finally, the commands are listed, with special notes if fusing
the monster with something will make them better(besides reduced MP usage).
By the way, I also realized something interesting as I was logging these
statistics: the only monsters with natural spells are those that evolve.
Crazy, huh? =)
1. Kewne
HP 12, MP 100; Brid, Natural
AP 6, DEF 6; Light
Kewne's MP is really high, so, like with other doublers, you can take
advantage of it with Reduced MP Consumption. He could be a mage pretty
easily, but you should really keep him in Fire genus so Brid works right.
He makes a good warrior too, with high Def. and higher AP to be doubled.
Overall, Kewne is pretty flexible, which makes him a great first monster.
2. Kid
HP 12, MP 60; Breath, Natural
AP 7, DEF 5; Light
Kids--aka Dragons--are also flexible, thanks to their limitless MP and high
stats, but the locked-in Breath spell weakens its use somewhat. Slapping
any doubler you can name on one still specializes it in that category. My
favorites to double are HP and agility, so I can add a better spell first.
That spell is usually Deforth or Wave or Nuke mixture magic.
3. Flame
HP 9, MP 80; Sled, Natural
AP 5, DEF 5; Heavy
Flames have a natural mixture magic and special case spell, making them good
starter monsters if you get 'em but limited in spell options later on. They
don't make good mages anyway, though. I suggest any physical doubler--AP,
Def or HP. Fusing Clowns or Cyclones with them can make their mixtures more
powerful or inexpensive, though, so they'll be around longer.
4. Griffon
HP 9, MP 80; Rise, Natural
AP 6, DEF 5; Light
The Griffon starts out like a strong Flame, but ends up like a weak one.
The same fixes apply, except that you'll probably prefer doubling AP or to a
lesser extent Def more than HP--it's weaker in those areas.
5. Troll
HP 6, MP 60; Brid, Hidden
AP 4, DEF 5; Light
The sad truth is, Trolls suck. Even with Crossbows--YOUR Trolls don't auto-
hit enemies at long range! That's why they're always at higher levels than
the enemies near them....If you just like the things, Doubling anything you
like will help, but try to go for low-MP options. Note that this is the
only monster Rust-Proof benefits. Also note there are better options.
6. Balloon
HP 8, MP 70; Breath, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 5; Heavy
Fly: Flies to the next tower floor(if its level exceeds the #), 32 MP.
Balloons, like many Fire monsters, have highish attack but nothing else
special. However, they have lower MP, so IF you want to use them (for Fly)
you'll have to compensate for that. Giving them LoDown or Poison then the
Arachne works well(keep 'em Fire genus), as it does for the Troll. This
is best as a special case monster or fluff, though.
7. Volcano
HP 9, MP 80; Sled, Hidden
AP 4, DEF 5; Light
Create a Rock: Makes an obstacle (like DeRock), 4 MP.
This monster is like the Flame, but with a locked-up spell and a special
case command. Ergo, totally average. There's no real reason to fuse this
at all, except for fluff. If you must, the same fixes that go for Flames
apply, except that you must unlock its Sled first. You don't HAVE to unlock
Sled, though, if you want to give it a set of spells you like better.
8. Barong
HP 6, MP 60; Poison, Hidden
AP 5, DEF 4; Light
Barongs are best as treasure boxes, frankly--they're not good warriors.
You can up that potential and lower its MP problems (some) with the Cyclone.
They do make good rocks, though--they can take a lot of damage. So you can
also fuse it with a Kraken, then send it out in front as you use Poison's
mixture magic to attack.
9. Weadog
HP 9, MP 80; Brid, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 5; Heavy
Throw Meat: Create Meat(restores 10 MP), 32 MP.
Contrary to my old belief, the Weadog has lots of potential! (That's
because I didn't realize it had unlimited MP. =) It has a pretty good
attack power; you can Double it for a great fighter that can sustain itself
easily. It makes a great healer too, though, if you fuse it with a Cyclone.
Nightwind's Weadog combo above is probably your best bet here.
10. Naplass
HP 11(22), MP 80; Rise, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 6; Heavy
Sleep: "Sleeps" to restore HP more quickly, free.
The Naplass is a great warrior without a limiting natural spell. One thing
to do is give it DeHeal and an Electric Shock Body. It'll take the hits,
dish out damage, and heal itself if something hits it too hard. A more
practical fusion is unlocking Rise, then giving it doubled Def, especially if
you use Spell Level Trick 3's shortcut on the Block. Lots of choices here.
11. Killer
HP 10, MP 60; Sled, Hidden
AP 8, DEF 5; Heavy
Get Serious: A forced critical attack, 8 MP. AP related.
Killers, of course, are good for Killing. This makes the obvious best
choice for fusion the Arachne. It has an MP problem, though, that you might
want to correct instead, because doubled AP is overkill on the lower floors.
You could try doubling other things on them instead, but I prefer other
monsters when I'm looking for balance.
12. Tyrant
HP 10, MP 70; Rise, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 6; Light
Go Berserk: Hits anyone near it for a bit more damage, 4 MP. AP related.
Tyrants are nothing special. Still, that doesn't mean you should overlook
it--the stats are good and they ARE Light familiars. Fusing one with a
Naplass or an Arachne makes it exceptionally strong for its size, and you
could use other things too, like the Balloon fixes. Still, it's not the
best monster out there. You might want to sell it--it's worth a lot....
13. Maximum
HP 16, MP 80; Breath, Hidden
AP 8, DEF 9; Heavy
Maximums have one crippling drawback: they take 2 MP to attack. If it
weren't for that, they would, obviously, be great. This is easily fixed
with the Cyclone and/or a cheap mixture magic that'll let you have it along
for backup instead of the main offense. Doubling its HP makes it a great
warrior, but plan to use it in only one section of the tower....
14. Snowman
HP 10, MP 90; DeWall, Natural
AP 5, DEF 5; Heavy
Break obstacles: Heavy damage(3x normal attack), 4 MP. AP related.
I love the Snowman! =) It starts with DeWall and high MP, so, fused with a
Cyclone, it can help you through a great deal of the tower. It makes a fair
mage with that MP but a better warrior, especially a heavy hitter. I like
fusing this with an Arachne and watching the bones break. Doubling anything
you like makes this one great, except for maybe speed. It's cute, too. =)
15. Arachne
HP 9, MP 70; DeMirror, Natural
AP 6(12), DEF 5; Light
While this is better fused into other things due to its trait, it DOES make
a good familiar, especially because it's light. Fusing it with a Block
gives you a stellar monster if either survives--if it's the Block, it's
Captain Deathsatan; if it's the Arachne, it's safer from statii. The
Cyclone works too, since it has lower MP. Either gives you Deomirror.
16. Nyuel
HP 10, MP 80; DeHeal, Natural
AP 4, DEF 5; Heavy
Another limitless MP monster, the Nyuel is unfortunately stuck with DeHeal.
That doesn't mean it can't help you out, though--it just means it's best as
a healer. Fusing it with an Arachne gets you a real battle cleric. DeForth
and/or Quick are also good options, as are screen killers for mixes. Don't
expect to heal AND use Fire spells, though.
17. Pulunpa
HP 8, MP 40; DeHeal, Hidden
AP 4, DEF 4; Light
Three words: Water Fluff Monster. Anything you get can be better than
this. ANYthing. Whether you unlock the DeHeal before you do it or not,
fuse this TO something. Don't fuse something to it.
18. U-Boat
HP 9, MP 80; DeRock, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 5; Light
Sink/Float: Sink to escape attacks, Float up to hit. Idle MP use doubles.
Scout: Make a map of the level, 16 MP.
The U-Boat isn't as good as I used to think it was, but it's strong and
versatile nonetheless. Its commands are good but expensive, so Reduced MP
Consumption helps that. It also has good attack power, which can be Doubled
to great effect. Other doublers help it out but aren't as useful. DeRock
is its best feature; it's a cheap screen-killer for Water familiars.
19. Blume
HP 9, MP 80; DeWall, Hidden
AP 5, DEF 4; Heavy
Brainwash: (Temporarily) make foes join your side, 16 MP.
Blumes start out ok, get great if you handle them right, but end up weak and
worthless. This is your earliest access to Thunder Blade, definitely its
best feature, so fuse it with a fluff monster and change it to Wind genus
as soon as possible. Otherwise, normal fixes will work, but they aren't
too good on the Blume, which has low Def. and a costly special-case command.
20. Manoeva
HP 10, MP 70; DeForth, Hidden
AP 5, DEF 6; Heavy
Transform: Transform into any monster or object but Koh or the last boss.
One word: Transform. Transform gives you temporary access to every command
in the game--not to mention letting you cheat! (See Billy Sauls's FAQ about
that.) Manoevas also have DeForth, so you might Reduce their MP use for
that. If you have and take a limitless MP monster, instead fuse the Manoeva
to an Arachne and Transform it into the other monster for a bit for refills!
21. Kraken
HP 8, MP 70; DeWall, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 6; Heavy
I HATE THIS TRAIT! I HATE it! Grr!!! Anyway....The Kraken itself isn't
that bad, but there are better monsters out there for you. It does have
DeWall, though, so you could unlock that for good mixture magic. Doubling
its attack would make it pretty dangerous and get you the same mixes. You
could also double its HP, making it durable enough for its OWN TRAIT....
22. Viper
HP 9, MP 80; DeMirror, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 5; Heavy
AAARRRGGGHHH!!! Anyway....The Viper itself isn't that bad, but there are
better monsters out there for you--ones that can't eat eggs to restore their
MP. Anybody see the point of this option? Didn't think so. If you doubled
its attack or speed, though, it would become a pretty good fighter and have
Thunder Blade with the latter. Vipers look cool on Wind genus, too. =)
23. Mandara
HP 11, MP 85; DeForth, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 6; Heavy
Spin: Confuse all enemies around, 12 MP.
Mandaras make great support familiars, but aren't game-breaking. They are
the less-useful source of DeForth, which you'll probably want at some point.
But they make good Water warriors with nice HP, so Doubling it would get you
something great. Reducing MP use works too if you're going to keep DeForth
(in its correct genus) on the Mandara itself.
24. Glacier
HP 10, MP 80; DeMirror, Hidden
AP 5, DEF 6; Heavy
Create Ice: Throws ice at an enemy to push it away, 8 MP. AP related.
Glaciers have great defense and good HP--so doubling either is a good
option--and a hidden DeMirror. Their best tack might be to unlock the
spell, THEN double their defense. Lowering MP use is good, too, because the
distance attack is less painful to use once in a while. This may not be a
Dragon, but it's not THAT bad. Don't ditch it if you get it instead.
25. Clown
HP 8, MP 80; LoDown, Natural
AP 6, DEF 5; Light
Clowns have a great trait, but it would be much better if LoDown didn't have
to come with it. Because their stats aren't that good, I usually keep this
egg, hatch it late in the tower, THEN fuse it to something with a spell and
a Leva. It gets double the REAL spell's power and a cheap distance mixture.
If you WANT to keep this, the Arachne's 2x attack and DeoMirror would help.
26. Unicorn
HP 9, MP 80; LoBlind, Natural
AP 5, DEF 5; Light
Unicorns start out as average monsters, and eventually graduate to become
below-average monsters. One has to wonder why the great monster tamer Guy
chose this THING as his familiar. If you want to follow in his footsteps,
Unicorns can be made unpathetic with either Magic Attack Increased(mixtures)
or Strength Increased(that and strength). Nothing else really helps much.
27. Block
HP 10, MP 80; LoBind, Natural
AP 6, DEF 8(16); Heavy
Here's the best monster in the game for fusion. They start tough, but get
tougher with any physical doubler and get more economical with a melee or
mixture magic(or the Waves). (The Arachne gives it both....) Once it gets
up to a high level, consider immunizing it to blindness so it won't strike
you down on accident. If you get one of these, consider yourself lucky.
28. Noise
HP 9, MP 70; LoSleep, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 5; Heavy
Play the Flute: Seals enemy magic, 8 MP.
Another average monster, except that this one has lower than average MP.
Don't even bother with the command. I MIGHT recommend it if it had a 100%
success rate. There are exactly two merits to this monster, and you should
fuse it TO something for both. First, it's your earliest access to the
Nuke mixture magics. Second, the trait's not bad sometimes, either.
29. Dreamin
HP 8, MP 70; LoSleep, Hidden
AP 3, DEF 5; Light
Hypnotise: Puts enemies to sleep, 12 MP.
I never really use these. Their command sucks, and so do they up close.
They could be good mages, but so could things with more MP. If you must use
this for some reason(perhaps you are at gunpoint), I'd suggest a fix similar
to the Balloon's--LoDown and Thunder Blade at either double strength or half
MP consumption. They aren't getting much better.
30. Cyclone
HP 9, MP 80; LoGrave, Hidden
AP 5, DEF 5; Heavy
Cure anorexia: Cures Anorexia, 4 MP.
Cyclones aren't that great. They have perfectly average stats, their spell
is an MP drainer to the extreme, and their command is useless. (If only it
were a status ailment you get from traps!) Better to fuse this INTO things.
They can be fair warriors with doubled HP, though, and they can use a cheap
mixture magic for eons. Of course, so can ANYTHING with halved MP usage....
31. Picket
HP 8, HP 65; LoDown, Hidden
AP 3, DEF 4; Light
Steal item: Swallows an item, 2 MP.
Throw up: Throws up a swallowed item, 2 MP.
This is another monster you'll never want to sell once you find. For one
thing they're part of the cheating formula! For another, Pickets are the
best candidates for using magic--they have limitless MP, no locked spell...
and no physical power whatsoever. With that said, give them any magic and
magic-related traits you want. They will serve you well.
32. Stealth
HP 8, MP 80; LoBlind, Hidden
AP 4, DEF 5; Light
Disappear: Become invisible.
Yuck. Another average monster with a fairly low attack and a very worthless
command. The computer can easily spot invisible monsters. So can you with
AI level 1. You can fix this as easily as you can fix a Volcano, I suppose,
but there's no point to it. This is worth more to you sold or fused into a
Troll with a +2 or +3 weapon.
33. Zu
HP 10, MP 80; LoGrave, Hidden
AP 6, DEF 5; Light
Roar: Paralyze monsters (lower your familiars' AI), 8 MP.
Zus make good Wind warriors, having some pretty high HP and attack power.
I'd suggest doubling that attack power for a great attacker and mixture
magic. Beyond that, it also has two open spell slots, so you could give it
a Wave magic as well, or a screen killer. You have free reign with this
one as long as you don't try to overwork its MP.
34. Garuda
HP 10, MP 80; LoDown, Hidden
AP 5, DEF 5; Light
Abduct: Takes target to a random spot on the map, 1 MP.
Garudas have fair stats (especially defense) and the interesting ability
Abduct, which is mainly interesting because you can Abduct YOURSELF to warp
all around the map! You can make them good warriors by fusing their
balanced stats with HP doubled or MP use halved, but they make great special
case monsters thanks to Abduct. I gave mine DeForth and DeRock as well.
35. Golem
HP 15, MP 70; LoBind, Hidden
AP 7, DEF 10; Heavy
Charged Punch: Winds up 1 turn, launches fist the next, 8 MP. AP related.
The Golem is really, REALLY begging to be fused with something. It has
great AP and phenomenal Def., so doubling either works well. But it needs
a good, cheap mixture magic or two, and probably reduced MP usage as well,
since it only has 70. Finally, giving it Quick runs its MP into the ground,
but makes its distance attack take only 1 turn if you can take it.
(Thanks go to Nightwind for pointing that out.)
|==========================================================================|
|WARNING: The following paragraph contains MAJOR spoilers! Reading it may|
| completely spoil the game! (No, really!) |
|==========================================================================|
36. Hikewne
HP 15, MP 120; Dark Wave, Natural
AP 7, DEF 7; Heavy
Experienced players will wonder why the heck this monster's here. Well, I'm
covering this just to burst your bubble if you really like this guy: it
can't fuse. Well, it CAN fuse, but it simply goes away, completely, as if
it had never been there and the receiver had never fused with anything. It
doesn't even unlock spells! As a monster, it seems to level up quickly and
has the same wacky stats as the Dragon--sometimes its MP will level up. Its
spells rock, too. But you can't double anything, you can't prevent any
status ailments, and you can't add spells. For that matter, you can't give
its spells to anything else. For these reasons, I don't use this thing
anymore. It got old real fast. Why did I cover it, then? Originally it
was to say, "Never ever fuse this, ever." =) But now it's to say that, if
you feel like being roundabout, there IS a way to fuse this! However, it's
not really profitable. If you take this monster's egg into the tower and
duplicate it (via the cheat--see the credits), then fuse two of them
together, the result makes weird things happen. First, the resulting
monster has absolutely no spells, which is insane. Second, if you fuse this
monster with another monster...it will unlock the second monster's spell.
However, under none of these circumstances will a Hikewne survive a fusion
with this second monster--it will always be absorbed. Quite an odd tidbit,
isn't it? I'll research it more, and, if I come up with something better,
put it in the next version of this FAQ.
---
VI. THE USUAL FAQ ENDNOTES
Credits
I am going to start these notes with a very large credit. Many MANY thanks
go to Billy Sauls. These thanks come for many many reasons. First, his FAQ
made my Azure Dreams replays much easier and fun. I didn't even know
what a Barong could do back then =) How ignorant I was! I'd also like to
thank him for letting me use his monster stats, so I didn't have to drudge
through getting them myself, and some various stuffs scattered about the
FAQ. Finally, I'd like to thank him for inspiring me to write an FAQ of my
own about Azure Dreams. I figured, if he can cover so much about the game,
I can cover that one part that I know about. Visit his website at
http://underworld.fortunecity.com/mario/728/faqs.html for his FAQs on Azure,
Legend of Legaia and some other stuff.
I'd also like to thank Brian Ross. His Fusion section reminded me of a
couple of things to add at the last minute. Visit HIS website at
http://home.beseen.com/teens/otherlife/. And Brian--thanks for updating! =)
Apollo, apollo43@hotmail.com, one of my real life friends, found a nifty
little trick about spell levels now relocated to Tips and Tricks. Thanks a
lot man!
Seamonkey, Seamonkey147@aol.com, who recommended that Growth Promoted might
double a monster's regeneration rate. To contact him, give him an Instant
Message (through AOL or AIM) at Seamonkey147--I'm not sure his mail works
right.
Nightwind, Nightwind292@hotmail.com, who is directly responsible for the
first seven parts of v 1.2 and indirectly responsible for the rest of it.
He also proofread it for me. He caught several...embarrassing mistakes...
and got me to rewrite small parts of it that needed work. He's a real Azure
Dreams expert. I'm trying to get him to do a walkthrough too =) Thanks for
getting me back into this!
Biggiepapa, who discovered the admittedly easily-discoverable level gain
trick. =) Thanks for alerting us to the great shortcut!
Neo987, Surya Nagara, and several other people whose names I've unfortunately
lost helped me with the unknown traits. Here's hoping your info answers some
questions I couldn't!
Finally, I'd like to give a big thanks to Scott Spencer and Adam Smith for
figuring out how to beat the system. These are the guys that unlocked the
game-busting cheats, which are how I managed to get all these monsters for
testing....See Billy Sauls's FAQ for info on these; search for their names.
Their email addresses are leusugi@hotmail.com and alsmith@umich.edu,
respectively.
Oh, yeah. And, uh, Konami. For stuff.
Seriously: for making not only Azure Dreams but about a hundred other
incredibly good games, Konami deserves a BIG vote of gratitude. Thank you!
Copyright
This FAQ is Copyright 2001, JJ Ukil(Jjukil@aol.com). I do not want bad
things happening to it without my knowledge. You may not publish it,
reprint it for commercial use, modify and redistribute or reprint it, or
use information from it in another document without my written consent.
I welcome and highly encourage its distribution, but only unmodified and in
its original form of an ascii text (.txt) document, unless written
permission to distribute a different form has been granted. I would also
greatly prefer you mention to me that you are distributing it. I have
found my work in odd places before, and it has made me unhappy. I've found
my modified work in odd places before, too, and that has made me very
unhappy. (Especially because the modification was horrible.)
Disclaimer
Finally, I'd like to say again that this FAQ has no chance of being totally
perfect. Doubtless there are one or more errors, and doubtless I have not
covered every single aspect of this part of the game. Should you find an
error or another strategy, please mail me at Jjukil@aol.com, and I will
add it to the list of improvements for the next version of the FAQ. If the
list gets long or meaningful enough, I will make that version. However, I
want any emails you send me to be polite, coherent, and, in the case of new
info, informative. Flaming me for no reason will get you nothing, and I
will tend to respect your opinion less (read: not at all) if your strategy
is phrased rudely. Remember: polite, coherent, and informative. Thank you!
=)
