************************************* Wizardry VIII v1.7 Walkthrough ************************************* April 9th, 2002 Written by: Jack Leung Email: bullions27@yahoo.com URL: http://jbullions.topcities.com Email Policy: (read before e-mailing me!) If you are going to email me about this game, please put Wizardry 8 as your email subject. Also please realize that I am not hiding cheats or any other information, i.e. everything I know about Wizardry VIII is in this guide. If you see any mistakes, or have anything that you want to add e-mail it to me. I will give you full credit for your addition. E-mail addresses are not posted in the FAQ, unless specifically requested to be. Also, if you have a BUG of some sort, try downloading and installing the latest Patches first. There are several of them out now on the web, so go through them all. For version updates, check below the Table of Contents. ************************************ Notes ************************************* You will find the most up to date version of this FAQ at: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ http://www.neoseeker.com/ http://jbullions.topcities.com You will find all the latest patches for Wizardry VIII at the Official Site here: http://www.wizardry8.com Or these other host sites: http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1009418133/ http://www.fileplanet.com/index.asp?scope=0&file=82895 This FAQ was created using Courier New. This Document is Copyright 2001-2002 by Jack Leung Wizardry VIII is Copyright 1999-2000 by Sir-Tech Canada Ltd. I am not affiliated with Sir-Tech or anyone who had anything to do with the creation of this game. This walkthrough may be posted on any site so long as NOTHING IS CHANGED and you CONTACT ME telling me that you are posting it. You may not charge for, or in any way profit from this FAQ. ******************************************************************************** Table of Contents: ******************************************************************************** A. Introduction B. Creating your Party C. Recruitable Player Characters D. Gameplay Strategies and Tips E. Pick-Pocketing F. Annoying Things and Gripes Wizardry VIII Walkthrough I. Lower Monastery II. Upper Monastery III. Arnika Road IV. Arnika-Trynton Road V. Arnika VI. Lower Monastery Re-Visited VII. Arnika-Trynton Road Re-Visited VIII. Trynton IX. Trynton Upper Branches X. Rattkin Tree XI. Swamp XII. Northern Wilderness XIII. Umpani Base Camp (Umpani HQ) XIV. Mine Tunnels XV. Lower Marten's Bluff (T'Rang HQ) XVI. Marten's Bluff (Western half of Fort) XVII. Lower Marten's Bluff (Continued) XVIII. Marten's Bluff (Eastern half of Fort) XIX. Trynton Upper Branches Re-Visited XX. Arnika Re-Visited Appendices 1. Bard Instruments 2. Gadgeteer's Engineering 2a. Component Locations Version Updates April 09th, 2002 - Version 1.7 - Added in Umpani Base Camp, Mine Tunnels, Lower Marten's Bluff, and Marten's Bluff. Made minor updates to Arnika-Trynton Road and the Appendices. April 03rd, 2002 - Version 1.6 - Added in Swamp. Minor quest updates on Arnika, Trynton and updated the Appendices. March 24th, 2002 - Version 1.5 - Added in Rattkin Tree. Updated Arnika. March 21st, 2002 - Version 1.4 - Added in Trynton Upper Branches. March 20th, 2002 - Version 1.3 - Added in some Tips and Strategies. Added in the complete Arnika-Trynton Road walkthrough including Graveyard and Trynton. Added in a couple of gripes about the game. Added in some Appendices. March 18th, 2002 - Version 1.2 - Minor corrections. Added in Tomb of Ceirdan. March 15th, 2002 - Version 1.1 - Added in two new areas, and more miscellaneous information on RPCs, and Tips. March 12th, 2002 - Version 1.0 - First walkthrough. ******************************************************************************** A. Introduction ******************************************************************************** "The universe is on the brink of change. Vast forces are preparing for the final confrontation. A small group of heroes from afar must plunge into this storm and uncover the long-hidden secrets of the Ascension. A new era is about to begin." Wizardry 8 Manual ******************************************************************************** B. Creating your party ******************************************************************************** The tireless question to every single RPG with the option of party creation. First of all, there is no one grand party you can create in the game of Wizardry 8. Each of the classes has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it's only what you need that your party composition will be dependant on. Saying that, this is about as generic of a line-up as you can get: One Tank - Fighter, Lord, or Valkyrie One Healer - Priest, Bishop, etc. One Spellcaster - Mage, Bishop, etc. One Long Range Specialist - Ranger, Ninja, Gadgeteer etc. One Thief - Bard, Rogue, Gadgeteer One Support - your preference You would want to have at least one dedicated spellcaster for Portal spells. It is a pain to cover long distances and portal spells are there for your convenience. Make use of them. Mix and match with other classes at your pleasure. Second thing, offensive damaging magic isn't as ridiculously powerful as, say, Final Fantasy stuff. In fact, from the start to even the late stages of the game, you will probably never use magic to damage enemies directly unless you're trying to wipe out a swarm of minute-HP insects. Magic is spent to disable enemies by either slowing, making them go insane, paralyze, poison, and so on, while also used to protect your party with defensive spells. So if you don't have an extra spellcaster handy to focus on direct damage spells, there is really no point using them. You would need to dial up the power, and spend a lot of valuable spell points, to gain any significant results. There are also two slots available for RPCs (Recruitable Player Characters, see below). People complain about the 25% or so experience they take away. ???? I don't see the problem there. You'll end up with plenty of experience and levels by the time you're hitting the critical stages of the game (and that is with hybrids as well which take longer to level). My suggestion is, whatever is your cup of tea. I personally take them along for their comments and they add color to your group. - MULTI-CLASSING The rules are fairly similar to AD&D Dual-Classing. You can switch to a different class at any point in your career if you have the bare MINIMAL requirements for the class you are changing to. There are some changes to take note when you do: 1) You no longer have any of the Special Skills of your old class but you acquire the Special Skills of your new class. E.g. you will lose Cheat Death if you leave your Valkyrie class. 2) You keep ALL of the skills you've learned from your previous class but you can only improve the skills your new class can learn from. 3) You don't begin with a new experience table when you change to a new class, unlike AD&D. You will start at Level 1 on your new class but the amount of experience required to go to the next level is equal to the amount of experience you had left to advance to the next level in your previous class. You pretty much pick up where you left off. - WEAPONS I'm going to make this plain and simple. The Swords in Wizardry VIII pretty much dominate every other close-range weapon and the others are built for off-hand usage so keep that in mind. When I created my second party, all of my primary melee classes use Swords in primary hand, and the other weapon skills for off-hand (i.e Mace & Flail, Dagger). Valkyries are the exception because they maximize the most out of their Polearm skill. ******************************************************************************** C. RPCS (Recruitable Player Characters) ******************************************************************************** Some RPCS will not follow you into certain areas. You can cheat them into it by several ways (Portal spells being the favorite), but they may suffer drastic stat penalties, and not to mention them bitching to you about it every couple of minutes. Smart move Sir-Tech. :) - Myles Level 5 Human Rogue Found at: Arnika Entrance Return Location: Arnika Entrance Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all T'Rang and Umpani controlled areas, Ascension Peak Myles will try to recruit you right from the start for a mission to rescue a woman at the Crash Site. Grade: D+ Myles will supplement the role of thief if your party lacks one. However, he will not travel with you anywhere beyond the confines of civilization (beyond Arnika and Trynton) except for Rapax Castle, and thus isn't worth keeping around as there are other RPCs with far more valuable skills who will travel with you. - Vitalia (Vi) Domina Level 6 Human Valkyrie Found at: Arnika (Crash Site) Return Location: Arnika (He'Li's Bar) Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Rapax controlled areas As a child, Vi Domina was taken into custody by the Dark Savant as repayment by the T'Rang. She is believed to come from the Cosmic Lord's Phoonzang's lineage and so earned interest from the Dark Savant. She grew up to become a fierce and capable warrior. Grade: B+ Vi has all the positives of the Valkyrie class with Polearm bonuses and the ability to Cheat Death. She makes a capable tank at handling damage and can wear some of the best armor out there. Her only flaw is that she won't travel with you in some of the more dangerous areas, like the Sea Caves and Rapax areas. She will, however, accompany you to both T'Rang and Umpani areas and most importantly, Ascension Peak. - Tantris Level 6 T'Rang Samurai Found at: Mine Tunnels Return Location: Mine Tunnels Uncorrected Bug: If you downloaded the latest patch, Tantris will forever vanish if you recruit and then disband him after. Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Umpani controlled areas, Ascension Peak Tantris will join you if you make your intentions of alliance to Z'Ant. Grade: C As with many RPCs, Tantris will not accompany you to some of the crucial areas in late game. He has the powers of the Samurai in Critical Strikes, and Dual Wield, and he begins with a fairly decent polearm. He will travel to Rapax areas though which is a big plus. - Private Sparkle Level 6 Trynnie Ranger Found at: Umpani Base Camp Return Location: Umpani Base Camp Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all T'Rang controlled areas, Ascension Peak Unlike the other RPC you can acquire there, Saxx, Sparkle will join you right off the bat. She is a Trynnie, eager to please, and training with the Umpani in hopes to help her kind defeat the Rattkin at Trynton (hint). Grade: C- She can play the role of Ranger or another bow if you need one, and she has points into Axe skill. You can give her the useless Beastslayer Axe. - Saxx Level 8 Umpani Bard Found at: Umpani Base Camp Return Location: Umpani Base Camp Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all T'Rang controlled areas Saxx will join you if you make your intentions of alliance to Balbrak. Grade: C+ He can play the role of Bard if you need one or another. He is also one of the few who will travel with you up to Ascension Peak. However there are others who will also and he is perhaps the weakest and most useless. His personal instrument is one of a kind and is worth to pickpocket. - Madras Level 8 Trynnie Gadgeteer Found at: Trynton Upper Branches Return Location: Trynton Upper Branches Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Rapax controlled areas, Ascension Peak Madras will join you if you complete his quest and clear out the Rattkin Breeders. Grade: C Madras is good to have with you if you're lacking a Gadgeteer and will follow you around the T'Rang and Umpani controlled areas. However, in more dangerous zones he'll leave making him pretty useless. - Urq Level 9 Mook Psionic Found at: Arnika (Mook HQ) Return Location: Arnika (Mook HQ) Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Rapax controlled areas, Ascension Peak Urq is part of the Mook exploration team from the ship Callisto. Grade: C- Urq wants to explore Dominus and will pay you 500 gold for each new area you take him. He won't follow you into dangerous areas so there isn't a whole lot of places you can take him. - RFS-81 Level 10 Android Monk Found at: Mine Tunnels Return Location: Wherever you Dismiss him Will not go to: Rapax Away Camp RFS-81 is a damaged Android you will find in the Mine Tunnels. His alliance is at Neutral, but will follow whomever that fixes him. Like the Terminator 2 movie. ;) Grade: A RFS-81 will follow you anywhere and everywhere (even underwater) except for the Rapax Away Camp when the quest is initiated. You have no choice really on that matter because you must have 2 free RPC slots. He complements your party with all the Monk capabilities except for magic which is really no big deal. He also has Android immunities (can not be poisoned, or diseased). - Sergeant Glumph Level 11 Umpani Fighter Found at: Bayjin Return Location: Cannot Dismiss him Will not go to: any T'Rang controlled area, any Rapax controlled area, Ascension Peak Sergeant Glumph was sent with a team of Umpani soldiers to explore the Sea Caves area. They were waylaid by Nessie and later Glumph was taken hostage by the Rynjin race. Grade: D You will find Glumph in one of the huts in Bayjin and will do nicely as a Fighter if you're fighting your way back. His only purpose is to return to General Yamir. He will threaten and warn you if you decide to take a stroll away from the Umpani area. Once you return him, he is gone for good. - Drazic Level 14 T'Rang Ninja Found at: Rapax Away Camp Return Location: Cannot Dismiss him Will not go to: none Drazic and his Umpani counterpart Rodan were both taken captive by the Rapax King. You must be at least Neutral to both races, you must have at least two of the artifacts, and you must be a Templar in order to reach them. Grade: B+ Bail him and his friend out and this will forge an alliance between the two opposite factions, the Umpani and T'Rang. He will follow you anywhere and everywhere until you destroy the Dark Savant's ship, and after that he is gone for good to help prepare for an assault on Ascension Peak. - Rodan Level 14 Umpani Lord Found at: Rapax Away Camp Return Location: Cannot Dismiss him Will not go to: none Rodan and his T'Rang counterpart Drazic were both taken captive by the Rapax King. You must be at least Neutral to both races, you must have at least two of the artifacts, and you must be a Templar in order to reach them. Grade: B+ Bail him and his friend out and this will forge an alliance between the two opposite factions, the Umpani and T'Rang. He will follow you anywhere and everywhere until you destroy the Dark Savant's ship, and after that he is gone for good to help prepare for an assault on Ascension Peak. - Sexus Level 18 Rapax Mage Found at: Rapax Castle Return Location: Rapax Castle Will not go to: Arnika Sexus is one of the Rapax Templars and is eager to go out to further their cause. Grade: B Sexus makes a more than capable mage but eventually you will have to lose standing with the Rapax and he will leave and possibly even attack you if you do that. ******************************************************************************** D. Some Gameplay Strategies & Tips ******************************************************************************** Save a Lot: ---------- The most important thing to remember in every RPG you can think of: Save often! Know it, learn it, live it. In general you should REALLY save before and after every major fight, save once before you enter a new zone, save in another file when you enter a new zone, and save before you confront a treasure chest. You will never know when suddenly your band is waylaid by some Uber mobs or you underestimated someone and they wipe you out. Always save. Make it a habit. Increase the Gamma/Brightness Setting: ------------------------------------- I find that increasing the Brightness setting from halfway to about two- thirds really helps me in seeing the environment and the horizon. There areas in the game that are VERY dark and VERY difficult to see what is approaching from the distance. Exploit Terrain: --------------- Monsters generally come in groups or more, and nothing is more frightening than to be surrounded. Always fight with a wall, or a rock, or any obstruction, on a flank or behind, or better yet, fight in a corner. If there is a doorway, fight under the door. Monsters will single file and you can fight them one at a time. Archers can still hit you (major gripe) but they may shoot their own friends (rarely). Mages will always hit you unfortunately. Buying/Selling: -------------- Your faction and Communication skill determines prices on items. Treasure Chests: --------------- This is probably my biggest gripe about the game. Items, within chests, are randomly generated from a certain large set when you first enter the area and will remain that way thereafter. Nothing is more frustrating than to fight many battles, come to a chest, and open it to find rocks and mundane arrows. Knowing this, you might want to make a save before you enter a new area, then a separate save while you're in that new area. Monster Generation: ------------------ Like Chests, each area or zone has a specific set of monsters it randomly generates from upon your arrival. Each monster has a specific level range of difficulty. The level of difficulty rises as your party becomes stronger. Skill Distribution: ------------------ There are two ways for you to gain skill points. One via gaining levels, and the other by using them constantly in real time. Points from gaining levels will only take your skills, magic and combat and excluding bonuses from items, up to 75. From that point on, the only way to increase them is by using them. Knowing this, you would want your primary skills to reach that 75 cap as quickly as possible. The faster you can reach that cap, the more time it has being exposed to consistent real life usage. Everquest Pulling: ----------------- If you played EQ, then you know what pulling is. When you agro monsters (they come chasing you), you can backpedal and lead them into an area where you want to fight (like an area with Friendly NPCS to help fight with). As long as the Combat doesn't come up, they can chase you around all day and night, unless you disappear from sight. This is a good tactic to use in Trynton and Arnika. Keep Protection Spells Active: ----------------------------- AT ALL TIMES. These include Armorplate, Enchanted Blade, Magic Screen, Missile Shield, Light, and X-Ray. No point in wasting a round casting them while in combat. I generally run them at Power 2 when I'm still low level, then progress up to Power 4 or 5 as I increase in Levels. If you have a Bard and Gadgeteer, their personal items which can also cast those spells, can help lighten the mana load on your caster(s). When Camping: ------------ I never once had to camp outside of Arnika, but if you have to, remember to camp in places you can fight from since monsters can and will hunt you down. These places include corner spots and rooms with doors. Formations (Good): ---------------- See below for bad. Need more characters to melee close-range? Simply get rid of the front rank, and just use center, flanks and rear. Fast Money: ---------- You can make money ridiculously easy if you have some sort of Alchemist in your party (true class or Ranger, Ninja). All you need is at least a Skill of 15 for Alchemy. Find shops that sell Potions of Light and Mod Healing (Arnika is a good place). Buy an equal amount for each type as much as you can afford. Have your Alchemist combine them to create Potions of Hv Healing. Sell them back for a hefty profit. Camp 24 hours for the shop to reset their inventory, then repeat. Higher skill levels allow you to combine better powders and potions which turn in a even larger profit. Fast Skill Building (Psionics/Music): ------------------------------------ Learn Mindread and Knock Knock as soon as possible. Once you hit Arnika, proceed to cast Mindread over and over on any talking NPC to build up your Psionics and Mental magic skills up. The room with the 10 tumbler lock is an excellent place to cast Knock Knock to progress Earth skill. The Viola D'Amore instrument can be used over and over like Mindread to quickly build up Music skill. A female Bard with two Necklaces of Endurance (both found in Arnika) can recover stamina extremely fast. ******************************************************************************** E. Pick-Pocketing ******************************************************************************** The latest patch, if installed, increases the difficulty of the Pick-Pocket skill exponentially. If you use earlier patch versions, you can pretty much Pick-Pocket to your hearts' content by doing the Save/Re-Load method when you fail. If not, it becomes a bit tricky. Results of Pick-Pocketing will stick in your game regardless how many times you reload over and will remain that way until a time period has passed. So if you fail, just reload, and don't pick-pocket the NPC for awhile. ******************************************************************************** F. Annoying Things and Gripes ******************************************************************************** Do Not Underestimate Initiative: ------------------------------- Nothing is more annoying than watching mobs of monsters make their move quicker than you. This is especially annoying against low HP mobs like Soldier Ants and certain Fishes in Sea Caves that can do high damage and have multiple attacks. You can fix initiative by working on your Speed attribute. Your Magic vs. Their Magic: -------------------------- Whereas your spells are limited by range, the same spells cast by your enemies are not. This is a major pain if you begin combat against spellcasters that are far away from you. Combat this by getting them hostile, then hide in a corner so they will come closer. Monsters Can Hit Through Wall Corners: ------------------------------------- They can hit you but you can't hit them. This happens in a few places but regardless it is annoying. Formations (Bad): --------------- Formations have no effect on enemy long range attacks. Archers, throwers, et cetera can hit any of your characters with no penalty. Anyone with common sense will find this very annoying. Speaking of long range attacks, enemy archers and throwers can fire THROUGH their friends to hit any of your party members with extraordinary accuracy. This is twice as annoying. Hence why Missile Shield is so invaluable. =============================================================================== WALKTHROUGH =============================================================================== This walkthrough was written on my second go-through of the game. When I refer to directions in the walkthrough, they are relative to your auto-map/radar screens. So when I say South Wall, I mean the wall along the south. Remember that this game is fairly non-linear, and you can really go where you please as long as you can find a way to Ascension Peak and stop the Dark Savant. This walkthrough chronicles the path I took in finding every item (or come close), and establishing everything the story has to offer. Follow it if you want do everything and find everything. My party for the second go-through includes: Gladiator - Loner Dracon Fighter - Dual Wield Berserk Mace/Mace & Bow Limbo - Intellectual Mook Ranger - Bow & Sword Adonai - Kindly Rawulf Bard - Dual Wield Sword/Dagger & Bow Magnus - Burly Dwarf Gadgeteer - Sword/Shield & Modern Weapons Sh'a Mir - Laidback Felpurr Samurai - Dual Wield Sword/Sword & Staves/Wands Joren - Aggressive Elf Bishop - Whip/Shield & Staves/Wands I WILL include RPCs in my party. The experience loss is extremely trivial. ******************************************************************************** I. Lower Monastery ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- The game starts with a fairly long intro that recounts all the events from the latter parts of the Wizardry series (namely the ones involving the Dark Savant) up to this finale. Your party chases the Dark Savant to the planet Dominus, but you are hit by several blasts before you can even land. Everything goes black. Surviving the crash, your hapless party emerges from the wreckage, and you find yourselves in a complete alien world. Let's begin! Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ Lower Monastery is split into 4 Sub Levels. You start at Sub Level 4 and move upwards. - OUTSIDE THE MONASTERY - CRASH SITE You'll immediately start at the beach. Have a good look around you. Get used to the controls, and set up your party formations now. Ahead of you, conveniently, is a treasure chest. Remember what I told you about chests at the start of this walkthrough (you did look, right?). Items are generated when you first hit the zone and will remain that way thereafter. This is a good opportunity, if you have the patience, to check the chest, and if you don't like the items, quit and reload a new game. Some decent items to look for would be bombs, and some armor (e.g. Leather Armor, Feathered Hats). Beyond the chest are three Level One CRABS with various HPs. None of them are too difficult to tackle. To the left are some Bullet Stones. You can also search for some more Stones near the reeds coming out of the sand. Far to the left, on the Southern wall, is a door which leads into the Monastery. We'll worry about that later. Once you're done with those crabs, take a dip into the waters and explore out. You may encounter more random CRABS here. If you're outnumbered, remember you can always draw them out of the waters to a place more convenient to fight. My suggestion, you can sandwich yourself between the large boulder near the door and the wall and fight them single file. Swim north, along the wall, until you come to a narrow strip of sand. Proceed up it slowly. There are two sets of Stones here. One is hidden. Inch your way around the corner, and you'll meet up with several SOFTSHELL CRABS. They are pretty tough. Again, back your way into a boulder to avoid being encircled. If you have a Bard, the Poet's Lute is pretty handy here. After killing them all, continue up and around until you reach a lookout tower. You will find these items: Battle Axe Sling Cherry Bomb You can also search to find Potions of Mod Healing and Cure Poison. Make your way back down, swim across the waters again, and now head for the door and proceed inside. - EXPLORING LOWER MONASTERY There's only one direction you can go so follow that. You may encounter a roaming Bat (easy monster). You will encounter a group of GREEN SLIMES waiting for you at the first ramp. Kill them, and continue your way. You will eventually come to another ramp which leads into Sub-Level 3. Go up the ramp and continue straight into consecutive small rooms. Fight and defeat the lone NOXIOUS SLIME (Level 3) here (be wary of its spit). Go into the Library to find a Book of Light and search for these items: Scroll of Haste Potion of Cure Poison You can read the diary on the desk for some insight of what's to come in this dungeon. Head back out and note the Iron Bar Door to your left. You can't go through there yet. Grab the Bundle of Arrows on the right, and proceed into the only other hallway. At the T-intersection, make a right first, and keep right until you hit a corner room. You may encounter some battles along the way. Remember to keep your back to a wall and strafe if you're cautious. Search the room for some Bundle of Arrows, Bundle of Quarrels, and some Sneeze Powder. Continue on down the new hallway. There are hidden Fire Stix on the left corridor on the way. Keep to your right, and you'll enter another corner room. Search the corner for some hidden Buskins, and nab the Potion of Light Heals on the desk. Continue on, and make a right at the T-intersection, and then make a left (East) to the Green Room. Be ready for another Slime encounter here. Kill it, and open the Chest for some items. Double back and now proceed to the right (West) instead of the left to the Green Room. In this new corner room, grab the Feather Darts on the table, and search for a hidden Short Bow near the crates. Continue on, be on a lookout for a hidden Potion of Mod Healing near a lone crate, and into some more rooms. There is a Poseur's Cap (crap item) on a table, and a hidden Book of Stamina by the bookcase. Leave, and continue onwards. You will eventually come to a 3-way. Check the dead body on the floor for some Feather Darts and Potions of Cure Poison. Take the right hallway all the way until you see a door. Open it, note the corpse, and loot these items: Leather Boots Ring of Protection A Tattered Note This is an excellent area to rest by the way if you need to. Leave, go right, keep right, and you will find a second door. This one is locked. Do what you must to open it, and fight three ROACHES. Check inside for some Bullet Stones and Potion of Cure Poison. Rest up now because your next fight is a good one. Tip: If you want, you can go back over the areas you've been through and catch more random spawns for more experience. Leave the room, and continue right, and then right again into the new hallway. Pick up the Knock Picks on the floor, and head down to find another locked door. Make sure your protection spells are up (e.g. Bless, Armorplate) and open it. Here you'll meet your first mini-boss, KING CRAB. Kill him. Careful though, he has Extended range. Mental spells and Itching Skin also work good here. After, loot the room for: Stink Bomb Bundle of Arrows Light Crossbow Potion of Cure Light Condition Short Bow Remember that Iron Bar Door? Well be sure to click the bar to unlock it, and open it. You might need it later. Rest here if necessary, then proceed up the ramp to Sub Level 2. There is a ramp that goes to the right (South) which leads to Sub Level 1. If you're feeling brave, you can go fight the second mini-boss now. If you need more XP and items, ignore that ramp and continue straight ahead. Grab the Sling, continue, and you'll come to a small lake with a steel bridge. To the left are some Bullet Stones. Ignore the button, and go across the bridge. Go right, down the small corridor, into a new room. De- TRAP the locked Chest for items, and look for a couple of potions (Mod Stamina, Ale, and Potion of Hv Healing). Leave the room, and back to the lake. Jump into the lake, and fight a group of TANIKA FISH. The northern end of the lake leads to a stream. Follow it until you come to the cave opening. Hop down for some invaluable Resurrection Powder. After, hop down again to end up back at Sub Level 4. Tip: If you want to avoid taking damage from the fall (this applies to most other falls as well but not insanely high drops), press and hold your back button as you begin to drop. Okay, make your way back inside the Monastery and go to the Iron Bar Door. Glad you opened it, right? Go back to the ramp, and now get set for your second mini-boss fight, GREGOR. He has multiple attacks, can Poison and Paralyze. He may also have buddies, like a swarm of roaches. If he does, draw them back into the ramp and fight them as they single file down. Beat him for a fairly large XP reward. Walk into the Courtyard. There are 5 doorways (SE, SW, W, E, NW). The West door is locked. We came in from the NE. We'll go to the NW one first. In here, you will find SIX COFFINS. The middle one on the left is TRAPPED and has nothing in it. The furthest one down on the right has an undead APPARITION that casts Terror. Use the POOL there to fully heal if necessary. Head on out and now take the SW path. Go in, ignore the right hallway, and you will come to the Statue Room. There are some Concussion Powder on the floor. Stay away from the center of the room, and click on the SKULL but not the statue. This will open a secret door on the eastern wall. Clicking anywhere on the statue will trigger a fall-away floor at the center of the room. Take the SAFE KEY, head on out and now go the right (West) corridor. Follow it around, fight a swarm of SPIDERS, and hit the button on the wall to open the West door. Head back to the Courtyard, and now go to the SE path to the crypt. You'll fight 3 groups of roaches here. Kill them for XP, and head around, go down the hallway (you'll pass the East door), grab the Potion of Light Healing in the small alcove, continue, skip the right passageway, and move on down. You'll come to a room with various items: Cleaver - save this for Antone's Custom Item Quest later Smelling Salts Various Potions of Light Healing and Cure Poison Use the Safe Key on the safe in the wall, and take the Resurrection Powder inside. Head back and go to the right passageway. When you come out, you'll notice a UNIQUE DOOR on the far right and that steel bridge below. Leave it as it is for now. Continue on, follow the serpentine path all the way until you come out to the open. Here you'll get to meet your first friendly NPC, a Trynnie Smuggler named Burz. Chat with him about some things like Monastery, ship, Arnika, and so on. Some of the important details requires a bribe. You can also sell and buy some items from him. De-TRAP his Chest next to him, loot it, and then when you're all set, head all the way back to the Courtyard, and exit through the West Door. Tip: At any point in your game you decide to be evil and go kill Burz, position yourself behind him, and against the wall. He will be unable to summon Woodland Spirits because you are standing right on their spawn spot. This works for any other spellcaster that summons. Killing Burz has no effect on any faction. Why kill him? Burz randomly drops a very good Enchanted Bow, Dragon Kite, and other assorted goodies. ******************************************************************************** II. Upper Monastery ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- You'll get a bunch of answers to questions about your journey in this area, although you'll also be getting a equal amount of more questions that need answers. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ - ROOM OF SUPPLY CRATES When you round the bend, you'll arrive at a large room with a bunch of crates packed in the middle. You should notice a stairwell to your left. Go up the stairs and immediately turn around to fight two RABID RATS. After you beat them, UNLOCK all the crates below for some armor and items. Then, go back up the stairs, around and into: - THE CONTROL ROOM You will fight three SEEKERS in here. They attack long-range. Kill them all and check around for some Feather Darts and Potion of Cure Poison. Two things of note here: One, you'll start to find a bunch ACCESS DENIED systems and computers. Don't worry. You can't do anything about that. Two, the glass and it overlooks the crates. You'll come back to this room later. Head back down to the crate room. Go to the back of the room (South) and take a left (East). You'll enter one of the Monastery bedchambers. Search for some Smelling Salts and Potion of Cure Poison. Open the only closed door in here. Here we find some kind of altar area and two HIGARDI BANDITS and a HIGARDI RAIDER. They may drop random good Bard weapons and armor. If you're the patient type, you can do the save/reload method to see if you can get some to drop. Wipe them out, and loot the room for a Quarter Staff, Potion of Mod Healing, and some Flash Powder. Go back to the bedchamber, and go into the other unexplored hallway. Follow the hallway to the Main Library. Be prepared for a large rat fight here, GNAWER RATS and RABID RATS. Stand by the doorway to get them to stack up, but don't step into the Library. This area NULLIFIES all magic usage including instruments and items so watch out. Clear them, then uncover all these items: Book of Traps Magnifying Glass - Gadget Book of Blessings Potion of Mod. Stamina Enter the back room for some Throwing Knives, Main Gauche, and another Cleaver. Take a look at the CONTRAPTION on the wall with a dial. Twist the DIAL all the way to the right, and hit the red button. It will explode, leaving you a Microwave Chip - Gadget. Leave. There's a locked door on the Eastern wall we can't open yet. Skip it for now. Head back to the crate room and take the opposite passageway (West). We're in another Monastery bedchamber. Check for some hidden Sandals and a Potion of Cure Light Condition. Now go through the South hallway, weave around, and you'll end up at the Monastery Lobby. You'll also be greeted by a group of thieving Higardi Bandits. These fiends have no respect for holy places. Kill them. Go South now, past the Phoonzang (Cosmic Lord) Statue, and down the stairs into a cellar. Here you can loot an Angel's Tongue - Bard Instrument - and de-TRAP a locked Chest. There is also a piece of good Samurai armor in a display case, but you can't get that yet. You will soon. Head on out, make a right (East) to a closed door. Get ready for a battle with more Seekers. Open it into the Monastery Garden. Follow the path to another closed door, open that one, and go in to meet Aletheides. Listen to his story. He'll tell you about the other factions that have also arrived here on Dominus, the Mook, T'Rang, and Umpani. Their true intentions are unknown still, but they share something with your party... to reach Ascension Peak. He will vanish once he is finished. Immediately after, you will be confronted with one of Dark Savant's minions. He'll spout some threats and some other bolognas to dissuade you from going any further. Whatever. He'll vanish, too. Check the back of this room for Magic Nectar and a Potion of Mod Healing. Search around the pews for a Cherry Bomb and some Smelling Salts. Go back to the Lobby now and go straight ahead, and look for a wooden ramp that climbs up on your left. Follow that up into the Monastery Assistant's area. You will encounter a random group of enemies here. Take the Smelling Salts, and open the Chest for a Crude Iron Key, a Lightning Rod - Gadget - and random items. Okay, we have a key! Head all the way back to the Main Library and use that key on the locked door. You will do battle with a large group of bats and some tougher DUST BATS behind the door. Remember you can't use anything magic while in the Library. Finish them off, then go inside. Look to your immediate left and you'll find a machinery with a dial. Like the other one, dial this up all the way to the right, and hit the button. Remember the glass? This will shatter them all. After ringing the bells, go on up the stairs to find another TRAPPED Chest. Loot this and head back to the Control Room. Once you're up there, take a look at the demolished window. There are three panes. Look at the middle pane and inch your way up to the glass shard with the 2 points. Look down, and hop down onto the crate below. Jump into the middle, unlock the last crate to get a Hunter's Cape. Climb up the plank, head back to the Lobby, grab the Tosei-Do from the display case, and head up to the Monastery Assistant's area, and loot the Fellowship Pass and a Shillelagh from behind the glass panel there. ... and that is that for the Monastery. Rest up, Save, and then go back down to the double doors and exit the area. ******************************************************************************** III. Arnika Road ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- From this point on it's really up to you where you want to go. Wizardry VIII does a pretty good job in avoiding a linear approach to the plot. Well ask yourself this right now. You are stuck in an alien world, and lost. What do you do? First thing we need to do is find some civilization and base your camp there to rest and gather info. You have several choices based on what Aletheides said. We could seek out one of the races that landed here (shouldn't do this yet) or visit the local inhabitants (do this first). Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ - EXPLORING ARNIKA ROAD As soon as you step out of the Monastery, you may encounter a large group of HARDSHELL CRABS (extended reach, high AC), or VENOM CRABS (low HP, randomly drops Venom Shells you need for Antone Custom Item Quest), or a combination of both. Remember to back yourself to a corner if fighting a large group. To your left (South) and along the wall you can find a hidden Granite Potion. Proceed straight ahead (West) and into the ravine. It follows a serpentine path (some Bullet Stones here) until a fork. There, make a left (South), and follow this new path. When you round a bend, you will be stopped by two HIGARDI RAIDERS or BANDITS. Kill them, then back yourself to the North Wall and move around the second bend. There you will find a Bandit Encampment with a group of CUTPURSES and RAIDERS. Some of them throw poisoned knives at you. Kill them all, and go to the back to find a TRAPPED Chest and these items: Awl Pike Shurikens Leather Leggings Inside the Chest you will find Piercing Pipes, an excellent Bard instrument, and random items. Go back to the fork and now take the other path (West) and leave the ravine. You will come to an open area. To your left (South) along the wall corner is a hidden Leather Helm. To your right (North) is the UMPANI GATEHOUSE you can't access yet along with a pair of some Bullet Stones. Monsters you may encounter here include WASPS (high Speeds), a new type of Higardi thief, ROUSTABOUTS (high HP, high damage, multiple attacks), and various plants (Crimson Poppies and Acid Vines). If you have Missile Shield by now, it is HIGHLY recommended you keep that spell up in the duration you are in this area. Continue westward onto a new road. There is a sign there which points Arnika-Trynton Road to the South and Northern Wilderness to the North. If you want to hit town immediately, follow the road south till you hit the zone and skip down to the Arnika-Trynton Road section. If you want more XP and more items, well read on. ;) First make a left, avoid the road, and follow the wall southwards. You will find an Amulet of Static (5% vs. Mental) on the ground. Enemies you may encounter include all previously mentioned ones and SOLDIER ANTS (annoying low HP mobs that can swarm you). Your new Piercing Pipes works wonders here. Once you've reached the sign that tells you're about to cross zone, swing around back (North) but this time follow the western wall. Items you will find following this wall all the way up North includes: Short Bow Chamois Gloves Somewhere north you will encounter a Neutral Hogar (yellow dot on your radar). The Hogar roams in a diagonal line up and down the road. It won't attack you unless you wander too close to it. Pick the optimal distance away from it and hold Shift to run past. If you do want to fight it, the Hogar attacks multiple times and can KO at a high percentage. Plus it has a lot of HP. Use Insanity, Itching Skin, and whatever you have to slow down the attacks. Anyway, you'll eventually come to another sign which tells you're about to cross to the Northern Wilderness zone. Go back to the eastern wall and you'll notice an inlet. Go in, follow it, and you will find a secret cave guarded by three SEEKERS. No problem. Kill them, and walk in. Be ready for another fight though. This time it's a large group of FOREST MITES (very high Speed score). Again, Piercing Pipes works good as with other area effect or cone effect spells. In the cave you will find: Woodsman's Axe - Fighter & Ranger only 2-Hand Axe Potion of Hv Heal Sparkle Stix Leather Cuirass Leave the cave, proceed back South by following the eastern wall. Skirt past the Hogar (if you didn't kill it). Along the way you will find hidden Skullcap and a Bundle of Arrows. Now go to the southern zone. ******************************************************************************** IV. Arnika-Trynton Road ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- This area is one of the largest maps in the game, and can be quite challenging in later levels. Most importantly, this map will connect you to your first town, Arnika. You should go there first. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ As soon as you arrive in zone, check to your right, near the wall, for some hidden Knock Picks. Along the eastern wall is also a visible purple Potion. Follow the road, and walk into Arnika. The rest of this map will be covered after the Arnika section down below. ******************************************************************************** V. Arnika ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- Arnika exists as only a shadow of its former glory since the arrival of the Dark Savant. Most of the citizens have fled (take note of the abandoned buildings), and only a few guards here and there are left to fight off the hordes of Higardi thieves and the machines. Companions: ----------- - Myles Level 5 Human Rogue Found at: Arnika Entrance Return Location: Arnika Entrance Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all T'Rang and Umpani controlled areas, Ascension Peak Myles will try to recruit you right from the start for a mission to rescue a woman at the Crash Site. Grade: D+ Myles will supplement the role of thief if your party lacks one. However, he will not travel with you anywhere beyond the confines of civilization (beyond Arnika and Trynton) except for Rapax Castle, and thus isn't worth keeping around as there are other RPCs with far more valuable skills who will travel with you. - Vitalia (Vi) Domina Level 6 Human Valkyrie Found at: Arnika (Crash Site) Return Location: Arnika (He'Li's Bar) Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Rapax controlled areas As a child, Vi Domina was taken into custody by the Dark Savant as repayment by the T'Rang. She is believed to come from the Cosmic Lord's Phoonzang's lineage and so earned interest from the Dark Savant. She grew up to become a fierce and capable warrior. Grade: B+ Vi has all the positives of the Valkyrie class with Polearm bonuses and the ability to Cheat Death. She makes a capable tank at handling damage and can wear some of the best armor out there. Her only flaw is that she won't travel with you in some of the more dangerous areas, like the Sea Caves and Rapax areas. She will, however, accompany you to both T'Rang and Umpani areas and most importantly, Ascension Peak. - Urq Level 9 Mook Psionic Found at: Arnika (Mook HQ) Return Location: Arnika (Mook HQ) Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Rapax controlled areas, Ascension Peak Urq is part of the Mook exploration team from the ship Callisto. Grade: C- Urq wants to explore Dominus and will pay you 500 gold for each new area you take him. He won't follow you into dangerous areas so there isn't a whole lot of places you can take him. Walkthrough: ------------ Use the Fountain there for some very minor healing if needed. - GREETING MYLES You will be greeted by MYLES the thief at the city gates. He has a mission to do and he needs some muscle to back him. Say YES when he asks for your help. Ask him whatever questions you want, although details will require bribes. Recruit him now if you want, and equip him with whatever you've picked up so far. He can throw things, and this early in game, he can be a good help. - MYLES' EXPOSITION At any point you dismiss Myles, or if you never recruited him, and run into him again, he may have additional jobs for you. Job One: This involves a recent heist at the bank where the thieves made off with an invaluable Diamond. Their hideout is located in the North Wilderness right near the bridge to the Umpani Base Camp. Kill the bandits and their leader, and loot the Diamond. You could return the Diamond to the Bank (give it to Lorrac) for 2000 Experience and 1000 Gold, or you can sell it to another merchant for more money. I've been offered 10,000 Gold from He'Li so up to you. Job Two: Myles will tell you that he needs to help the bank transfer some items from the vault out to another place. It's similar to the Rattus Rattus job. Don't bother with it unless you want to make enemies with Arnika. - SAVING VITALIA DOMINA First thing to do, head to the Crash Site. Go straight down the street, past the first intersection, until you come upon a flaming wreckage of a ship. You will probably be attacked by a large group of Higardi Raiders, and whatever random spawns are there. Tip: The Higardi Patrols and Temple Monks that wander in the city are your friends. They are the green dots on your radar and act as supplementary players (you can buff them, protect them with spells). They WILL assist you in fights without any experience penalty costs, and they CAN die if you let them get wounded enough. This also works in Rapax Castle, Trynton or any other area with friendly NPCs. Go into the wrecked ship, pick up the Copper Gauntlets, and search for a hidden Poignard. You will also find a damaged Black Box on the ground. At the end of the hallway, there are two rooms. The one on the right is empty and is a good place to rest. Get your magic ready, and open the left door. Here you'll meet VITALIA DOMINA and several SAVANT TROOPERS as well. Save Vitalia and help her kill the Troopers. She can hold her own but keep an eye on her health. After killing them all, talk to her and you will be rewarded with 500 Gold and 7000 Experience. Ask her about everything on your list, and then recruit her. Grab the Hinged Box - gadget - in the corner as well. Leave. The crates Northeast of the ship have some hidden bundle of arrows. Look directly South, see the Fountain with the Statue. Go there, pop the sign there for some random hidden potions and powders, and look West for He'Li's Inn. Go inside. - HE'LI'S INN & TAP Meet the proprietor of the establishment, He'Li. If you have Myles with you, she'll ask that you pay his long overdue tab. Do so for 500 Experience. If you have Vi, she will also give you 200 Experience and Ale. Chat with her about anything you want. She'll mention a certain character named FUZZFAS if you mention Trynnies and Trynton. Ask her about ROOMS. She'll rent you one for free if you go kick out the unruly Higardi Raiders upstairs. Sounds good. Go through the doors, and check both rooms on the first floor for a Viola D'Amore - Bard Instrument, a TRAPPED Chest containing He'Li's Bankcard and random items and another Chest for more random items. Go upstairs, open the door, and waste the Raiders there. De- TRAP the Chest there as well for some more gear. Rest here if you want, then go on down and out. Make a left (East), across the fountain, past the Temple (there are some Sneeze Powders on the barrels), into Antone's Armory. It's the Building with the blue banners. - ANTONE'S ARMORY Go inside, chat with Antone, and buy some good weapons and armor. He has a very good stock with fairly affordable prices. Talk to him about his CUSTOM items and he'll give you a list as follows: Beastslayer Axe: Piercer Modai Claw - off various Piercer Modai Wide Cleaver Blade - your basic Cleaver weapon Giant Picus Egg - off various Giant Picus Ebon Staff: Wood Spirit Staff - off various Wood Spirits, Oaklings Ebon Gem - found in Marten's Room, Lower Marten's Bluff Mummy Dust - dropped randomly off Mummies Zynaryx Plate: Venom Crab Shell - random drop off Venom Crabs Tomb Skull - found in Graveyard Spider Silk - random drop off various Spiders Steelhide Armor: Steelhide Croc Hide - dropped from Steelhide Croc in Swamp Poison Seeker Sac - random drop off Poison Seekers Iron Weed Thorn - random drop off Iron Weeds Check his bedroom and de-TRAP his Chest for Antone's Bankcard and random items. His room is also an excellent place to rest. - EASTERN HOUSES You can find some hidden Icicle Stix on top of a barrel near one of eastern houses. None of the houses however will have anything else. - ANNA'A MARINA AND BAIT SHOP Chat with Anna about Arnika and so on, details requires bribe as well, and buy items. Anna has much better stock of ammunition for bows and so on than Antone so keep that in mind. She also sells some Gadgets. Check the back of her place and de-TRAP her Chest for Anna's Bankcard and random items. Leave her place, and search around the docks for a hidden Porthole - gadget - and some Flash Powder. - NORTH WEST HOUSES Some of them are locked and need to be PICKED. Inside you will find a Doll - gadget - an Empty Bottle, and a hidden Book of Lesser Cures. Loot them all. - TEMPLE Now return to the Temple (it's Southeast of the Fountain), go up the ramp, and into the Temple. Descend down and talk with Braffit. He'll give you 500 Experience for saving Vi. Talk to him about the Ascension Peak, and anything relevant to the Cosmic Lord and the Dark Savant. You will find out that the Dark Savant has constructed some tower/bomb in the western part of the city, and has threatened to blow up the city if anyone interferes with him. We'll deal with that soon. You'll also hear about Marten, an ex- Higardi soldier that stole the Destinae Dominus and ran off with a bunch of followers. Braffit will direct you to the HLLL Building for more info on Marten. We'll do that later. Clicking the pool in his room will fully recover your Health by the way. Leave his room, and now find the ramp which descends further into the Temple. There are two outside which join up together in a T with another hallway which leads into the Inner Sanctum as I like to call it. Go inside. Click on the statue for some minor magic restoration, look to your right (South), go down that hallway and to a locked door. UNLOCK it, and enter the room and search for all these items: two Necklaces of Endurance - female only; great for Bards Ring of Protection Potion of Mod Healing Potion of Mod Stamina Potion of Cure Poison Potion of Cure Disease Pickmeup Potion Return back to the room with the magical Statue, and check out the door half-covered by a huge banner. UNLOCK that one, proceed inside. You will find another door. Get ready for an Undead fight. Open the door and you'll be confronted by two groups of Higardi Spirits (weak AC) and one lone Rebel Spirit (spellcaster) in the rear. You will probably catch just the Higardi ones if you don't rush into the room. Kill them all (Dispel undead is good here). Heal up, then cautiously approach the center pillar. Rush around, and attack the Rebel Spirit. He casts a variety of Mental spells (Sleep, Terror, Insanity) so be forewarned. Defeat him and grab the WHEEL KEY on the floor. This is used back at the Monastery. - ARNIKA COMMUNITY BANK Now it's time to visit the Arnika Community Bank and make use of all those Bankcards. The building is situated about West of the fountain. Go inside, and talk with Lorrac and tell her you want a WITHDRAWAL. Show her any of the Cards (apparently they can't tell the difference), and she'll open the elevator door for you. Go on in and click the button to go down. Well time to clean the place out. :) First move as you step out of the elevator, go left. Use Antone's Card to open his vault and grab the Bloodlust sword inside. It's a cursed weapon which grants wielder permanent Berserk attack mode for the sword only. Leave, go down the hallway, and use the other cards on their respective vaults and loot more items. Don't be surprised if you get crap. Continue following the hallway, and UNLOCK the vaults there for some more treasure. Be careful of the final Vault however. It's guarded by a tough Guardian Golem (a lot of HP, high AC and multiple attacks with high damage). Hit it with Blind by spell or by powder immediately and pummel it to the ground. Most spells are pretty ineffective against it. Once all done, head on up and out of the Bank. - JAILER'S STOCKADE It's directly straight ahead from the bank. Head on up to the door, and UNLOCK it. Go inside, and UNLOCK another door and go into the office. Check the lockers for Marten's ID Tag and some various items. Push the BUTTON on the wall to de-activate the force-field and walk inside the Prison. There are three Cells here blocked by fore-fields with corresponding controls at the end of the hallway. De-activate them all if you want. The center room is the one of interest only. You CAN kill the Higardi thieves locked up in the other cell however with relative impunity. Check the center cell, look at the floor with the odd coloring and click it to expose a fake floor. Drop on down. You'll be attacked by a SPEWING SLIME in the tunnel down here. Kill it, and continue onwards. It'll end with a high drop into a room. Drop down (you'll take damage here regardless what you do), and loot these items: Diamond Epee Oilskin Cloak Amulet of Stillness Hey, well we're underneath the bank again. This is where the other elevator door leads to by the way. There are only two ways out of here. One by picking the 10-tumbler lock on the door (which is a major task itself) and thus triggering an alarm, or step on the contraption by the corner and warp out of here. Do the latter. Tip: The locked door here is an excellent place to work on your Lock & Traps skill, and work on Earth magic by casting Knock Knock continuously. - HLL HEADQUARTERS Next stop, time to dig up some more info on this Marten character. Head to the HLL Building (the one with the Unicorns in front), let the eye scan you with the Marten's ID Tag. It'll think you're him, and let you in. Go inside, and make the first left. Follow it into a room with Star chart and lots of Lockers. Check them all. Go back, and take the right now. Find the floor lift in the last room, and go up. Talk with Tramain about Marten. He'll tell you that Marten stole the artifact, fled to Trynton, and then to an old HLL fort in what is now Marten's Bluff. Unfortunately, he vanished there at the fort before Tramain and his men could capture him. Looks like we'll have to travel to Trynton and the Bluff for some more clues. - DARK SAVANT'S TOWER Walk through the collapsed portion of the wall (west side of Arnika) and move around to the back of the tower. Several Savant TROOPERS and GUARDS led by a SAVANT ORB will threaten you and attack you. Teach them a lesson. One of the Androids will drop a NAS-81. Keep that. The Savant Orb will drop a bag full of random items. - UNITED MOOK ALLIANCE HEADQUARTERS Situated in the northern part of Arnika, you can't do much with the building at this point. The Mook Hologram will not let you in. However, if you have a Mook in your party, he is allowed to enter, but you can't control him. He'll be gone from your party for 8 hours. You can rest and wait for him. When he does return, you will be told that the Mook have with them one of the major artifacts, the Chaos Moliri. This will be continued in another part of the game... - SPACEPORT The Spaceport is at the Southern end of Arnika. Remove the sign there by viewing it, then UNLOCK the door. You may encounter a group of Savant Orbs, various Androids or Savant HENCHMEN (can Paralyze) here. Walk in. On the runway, you can find some Bullet Stones and the Mook Stealth Bomber called the Callisto. The ship was never really explored by Sir-Tech so it's not important. You can talk to it. Leave anyway, and go into the Building with the open door. Walk around until you come to a room with large Machinery. Check the back and you'll be told of a device nearby. Check it. Looks like you can fit a box in there. Take your damaged Black Box and put it in. It'll spit it back out after some garbled messages. Well now you know what to do when you find an undamaged one. Leave the building and go to the elevators, and go up. Nab the X-Ray Chip - gadget - on the left and check the device on the right. It's been vandalized by someone. That someone has also left a message, "THANKS FOR THE MAGIC BALL. BOBO WILL LOVE IT." Hmm... who's Bobo? The item needed here is the SHINY METAL BALL (tracking module) and that's found in Trynton. Re-installing it will allow you to contact or track ships around Dominus. This is required for a T'Rang quest later on. Leave the building, and go right, and check the two Hangars for these items: Empty Bottle Boom Bomb Potion of Haste Fire Stix Be sure to check between the two Hangars for some hidden Steel Gauntlets. You can also find a hidden Beanie at the Southwestern corner of the Spaceport. And that is all for Arnika, for now. With the Wheel Key in hand, you might as well return to the Monastery and make use of it. You get two good items and potentially more from the room it unlocks. ******************************************************************************** VI. Lower Monastery Re-Visited ******************************************************************************** - TOMB OF CEIRDAN THE SMITH Chances are you'll encounter stronger monsters with your better levels. Make your way back to the steel bridge, and activate it. Use the Wheel Key on the unique door. Fight and defeat the two SCREAMING HEADS that guard the tomb. Both of them are undead and hit you with a variety of annoying spells like Paralyze, Mind Stab, Insanity, and Sleep so be prepared. De-TRAP both chests for random items and loot the Coffin for more treasure and: Demonsbane - decent sword Demonsting - decent bow ******************************************************************************** VII. Arnika-Trynton Road Re-Visited ******************************************************************************** - EXPLORING ARNIKA-TRYNTON ROAD The road follows in a general eastward direction, and there is a fork about two-thirds of the way which splits South to the Graveyard. Follow along the Northern wall, and you'll find the T'RANG GATEHOUSE which you can only access from the T'Rang HQ. Inside you will find: Arresting Aria - Bard Instrument Electric Lamp - gadget Poison Darts Search northeast of the house, in the corner, you'll uncover a hidden Buckler Shield, and a Chain Hauberk. If you keep to the Northern wall, and keep moving eastward, you will find Fire Stix, and a Mace halfway through the map, and a small inlet of land which leads to a TRAPPED treasure chest. Directly South of the Mace and across the road, is a hidden Holy Water potion. Along the southeastern wall there also has some Feather Darts. Nearby, there is a Potion of Dracon Breath on the northern end of the road loop. Enemies you may encounter here include Soldier Ants led by one tough Queen Ant (her spit can cause Disease, Poison, Insanity and Paralyze), Piercer Modais (randomly drop the Claw you need for Antone) sometimes accompanied by a Sige (weak HP but has unlimited range in spells), various Plants with annoying area effect breaths (Caustic - Blind, Crimson - Sleep, Acid and Iron - Poison and Nauseate), Outlaw Trynnies (killing them won't effect your Trynnie faction), plenty of Bats (Vampire and Twilight), Picuses led by Giant Picus (high Initiative, multiple attacks, high damage for their level, Giant one may drop Egg needed for Antone), Juggernauts (stronger versions of Modais with very high AC) and plenty of Forest Mites. When fighting groups of these, Hypnotic Lure and Insanity are good spells to use against them. At higher levels, you'll soon be faced with high level Geomancers with an Earth Elemental pet in tow. They are extremely tough (high Initiative) that can cast Body of Stone and high damage Earth spells. Even with high Earth magic resistance, they can still do heavy damage (WTF?). Best tactic is to draw them close (i.e by hiding in corners) and hit them with Insanity. Silence does nothing to them. This same tactic is good for the Sige as well. - GRAVEYARD This part of the area is in the southern section of the map. You will be confronted by a Spirit Sige (casts Water and Mental magic) and a group of Trynnie Spirits near the entrance. After killing them, the graveyard will randomly spawn more Spirits of both kinds after a period of time. Kill them, and then go into the Graveyard. Keep walking south until you see a gate, and then go in. You will see a MUMMY not too far off. Start combat immediately from long range and hit it with Dispel undead (if you have a Priest or Bishop). Chances are you will paralyze him making combat easier. If not, he can attack you with disease form melee. He can't cast magic. After defeating him, he will drop some Mummy Dust needed for Antone. Check out the structure at the center. Near the corpse in front, you will uncover these items: Fuzzfas Fizzar Concussion Powder Stink Bomb Potion of Hv Healing Now go inside. Note another dead corpse that is hanging there over a pool. This is a tortured soul that needs to be freed. To do so, take the Holy Water and put it over your mouse and drop it into the pool. You will get 1000 party Experience. Also check out the room for these items and de-TRAP the Chest for more. Siren's Wail Skull - needed for Antone Custom Item Quest You'll probably notice some weird blue symbols on some of the headstones. These are markers that must be touched to trigger one of the three Retro Dungeons in the game. There are six total in the area you have to touch. Activate them all, and then go to the Southeastern corner of the graveyard (still inside the headstones area). You will need a DAGGER. Simply hold it on your mouse and click it anywhere at the corner. It will stab itself into the stone, and the dungeon will pop up outside, again at the Southeastern corner. This is by far the easiest of the three dungeons (level range 8-10 roughly). - RATTUS RATTUS' EXPOSITION Along the road east, you'll probably meet up with a roaming "friendly" NPC named Rattus Rattus. After some depreciation from him, he'll tell you that he has a job to offer if you're in need of some cash. Answer him YES for now. He'll give you a ZIP GUN with some ammo, and a RATTUS NOTE which he claims to be his check. He then tells you to take his check to the Community Bank in Arnika and make a withdrawal from his account. The check is actually a hold-up note if you read it. If you do decide to play dumb and go ahead and rob the bank, you'll end up back at the same room that you dropped down into from the Jailer's Stockade. So, lose the note, and just keep his gun. As tempting of a target he is, don't kill him. Rattus is aligned with RATTKIN RAZUKA faction and you don't want to lose that... yet. Once you leave, he will never appear in the game again even though he tells you that he will be waiting in Trynton. ******************************************************************************** VIII. Trynton ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- Our main goal here is to locate Trynton and find out as much as we can about this Marten. Listen to some of the comments your RPCs will tell you. Be sure to carry some cash as you might be spending a lot in Trynton. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ Enemies you may encounter here include Giant Spiders (randomly drop Spider Webs needed for Antone), various Hogars, and various Plants. There is a SWALLOWER (can swallow party members) guarding the eastern zone to the SWAMP area. It's fairly easy to beat, but we wary of any wandering Hogar that might come close and attack you as well. - SWIMMING AROUND Before you cross the bridge over, hop on into the river and follow it to the right (South) into a small lake with several cascades. Check the furthest left one for a hidden Ring of Protection. Next, follow the river back north, under the bridge, and approach the waterfall. Remember when I told you to hold your back button when falling down? Anyway, fall down into the large body of water below. You will encounter a large group of Tanika Fish here (at this stage of the game they are very weak). Kill them if you want, and follow the rocky cliff to your right (East). Skip past the rope dangling there and check the small inlet of water close by for some Potions of Hv Healing and Stink Bombs. Go back to the rope, and USE it to climb up. - CHIEF GARI'S EXPOSITION Trynton is a huge city of boughs built over several trees (like those dumb Ewoks from Star Wars). Find the main trunk by following the path south then east. When you see the totem poles, you're there. Find the entrance. You'll meet a frazzled Chief Gari by the entrance door. He'll go off on you thinking you're Rapax spies, but then he reconsiders his accusations. Good for him. He asks for your help in clearing out the Rattkins that have taken over their upper Boughs. Say YES and he'll tell you to go up and meet MADRAS. Ask him about Marten and so on and he'll give you his story and add that you should go talk to their SHAMAN. Okay. Walk by him, grab the Ale on the table, and find the first ladder. Go up, and immediately next to you is another ladder that does down. Descend. You'll be met by 3 VILE ROACHES guarding a Ring of Breezes and a bard instrument Snare of Delay. Grab them, and then go back up, into the next room, and take the next ladder. You'll find another Ale and two ladders. Take the one that goes down first. Creep around the corner and attack the 5 WOLF SPIDERS, and then grab the Tarnished Mail and the Forest Cape (ranger only) there. Go back up, and take the next ladder up. Here you will find a CRAWLING CREEPER, a high HP plant that can cause Irritation with its breath, and THREE LADDERS. Kill the plant, and then search for a Potion of Mod healing and Cherry Bomb at the crates. Take the right-most ladder first to find another Crawling Creeper and some Icicle Stix in the room. Go down, take the middle ladder for a hidden Cutlass and a fight with a DUNG BEETLE. Finally, take the left-most ladder, grab the bundle of Arrows, and then use the rope to climb up. When you emerge from the main trunk, climb the ladder on your left and check the Fountain. Be sure to save here. The fountain will randomly Hex you, fully restore Health, or fully restore Mana when clicked on. Leave, and now go right and follow the walkway. There's a brazier there that's Useable but it was never finished by Sir-Tech so don't bother with it. Proceed on until you find a house. Go inside, and uncover all of these items: Leather Greaves Potion of Dracon Breath Potion of Haste bundle of Barbed Arrows You can rest here if you want. When all done, go back to the walkway, and keep following it until you find the Lift which will take you up into the Upper boughs of Trynton. ******************************************************************************** IX. Trynton Upper Branches ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- This will be a long arduous trek up the boughs to reach Madras. You'll also witness how much of the city is ruined by the Rattkins. Companions: ----------- - Madras Level 8 Trynnie Gadgeteer Found at: Trynton Upper Branches Return Location: Trynton Upper Branches Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Rapax controlled areas, Ascension Peak Madras will join you if you complete his quest and clear out the Rattkin Breeders. Grade: C Madras is good to have with you if you're lacking a Gadgeteer and will follow you around the T'Rang and Umpani controlled areas. However, in more dangerous zones he'll leave making him pretty useless. Walkthrough: ------------ The Trynnies that wander here (champions and patrols) are more than willing to help you in combat. Keep that in mind. The two most difficult enemies located in this zone are both spellcasters, Leaf Sprites (stronger version of Tree Sprites), and the Oak Saplings. If you encounter Leaf Sprites, be sure to have Magic Screen up, and Elemental Shield. They have very low HP but they do have ridiculously powerful magic if you're not careful. Oak Saplings I will go into detail when they show up in my walkthrough. - SECOND BOUGH This is where we start. Leave the lift, follow the path which circles the trunk of the tree until you come to a T-section. Check the house on the right first for a Boom Bomb and a hidden Potion of Cure Disease. Rest here now if you haven't done it back at Trynton. Leave the house, and continue on. You'll discover a small Fountain at another T-section. Click it, and a voice will ask you a riddle of sort: "As time moves so it creates... the lessons learned and the ways of fate... I am each and one yet still more... all you've known, seen and done before. Tell me, what am I?" Answer with Memory or Experience, and you'll be rewarded with a permanent Intelligence bonus of 5, a Book of Detection, and 1000 Experience for each member. Go right now, and enter Fuzzfas' Potion Palace. Chat with him about Trynton and he'll mention the Seventh Bough. Ask him anything else you want. If you mention He'Li from Arnika, he'll tell you she's a good friend. Tell him she said hi and he'll give you Cherry Bomb, Fire Bomb, Sneeze Powder, Flash Powder and Pickmeup Potion. After trade with him if you need to. Be sure to buy a Mystery Potion (costs a pretty penny), and 4 Incense (not necessary but recommended). You will also find Orange and Glowing Goo which a Gadgeteer can combine for a Lava Lamp. Quest: If you have a BLUE FEATHER, give it to Fuzzfas and he'll concoct some Earthshaker potions for you to buy after 24 hours. Leave his shop, and go back to the Fountain. There is another building East. That's the Trynton Sanctuary. Be ready for a good fight with 5 TREE SPRITES (they cast Eye for an Eye and Haste immediately) there. Make sure you have Magic Screen up, then run along the edge of the walkway and try to initiate combat but be out of sight. Then on the next round, run at them and melee. If they have Razor Cloak up, make sure the weak HP characters use long-range attacks. They drop Feather Darts fairly common, and the Sprite Dagger as a rare drop. Kill them all, and check the altar inside. Grab two Short Gooda Vines off the wall, and combine them to make a Gooda Vine Rope. Then check the back of the room and click on the Lizard Head Mantle for gold and some various potions and powders. It doesn't hold any weapons or armor. Leave the building, then continue North, through the tree, and out. There is a Book of Healing inside the house on your left. Continue east, follow it around another tree trunk, and go into this next house. Search for hidden Magic Nectar and grab the Empty Bottle. In the next room has 2 Giant Spiders that randomly drop Spider Web if you haven't picked one up one yet. Leave this house, continue on, kill the Crawling Creeper in the alley with the Awl Pike, and now head up to the Third Bough. - THIRD BOUGH The Third Bough consists of the Zoo and the Rising Elms temple. When you arrive at the Zoo, you will see three LOCKED pens holding a variety of creatures. The Sprite Cage has four Tree Sprites and Faerie Dust inside. The Crocodile Cage has three Crocodiles and the Shiny Chrome Plate - gadget inside. The Hogar Cage has a hogar named Bobo and some Shurikens, Silver Sollerets, and Shiny Metal Ball we're looking for from Arnika. Now Bobo is pretty tough (all the abilities of Hogar and it's pretty damn fast). Here's what you should do: 1) Use the Dispenser near the Crocodile Cage to get ROTTEN MEAT and combine it with some Faerie Dust. This will give you DRUGGED MEAT which you dump into the cage by the feeding window. Bobo will come over, eat it, then pass out. This will net you 500 Experience. You can then go in, grab the stuff, and leave. Hitting him will wake him back up. If you do get into a fight, spells are pretty much ineffective against him although Insanity may go through. You may want to enlist the aid of some roaming Trynnie Champions by waiting for them to walk in, and then trigger combat with Bobo. You can also find some hidden Faerie Dust on the walkway between the Crocodile and Sprite Cages. Once all done, leave the Zoo and head on up to the large Temple building. This is the Rising Elms temple. Inside you will have to fight a group of Willow Saplings (randomly drops Spirit Staff needed for Antone) to get to the ZUZU PETALS. Kill them all, and grab the petal. Walk back outside and continue to your right. At the T-section, the house on the left is empty so go right and into that house you see. Inside you may encounter a random group of enemies. Grab the BLUE MARBLE from the table, and then check the wall for a secret door. Open it to reveal a balcony with a LOCKED treasure chest. Loot it, and then head out of the house, and then go right. You'll arrive at a 4-way intersection, North, South, East and West. We're coming from the South. The West leads to the Fourth Bough (go here first), the North leads to Madras, and the East takes you to the Fifth Bough. - FOURTH BOUGH Use the blue marble on the blue door to unlock it. You will be met by a group of random enemies (Sprites, Spiders, and so on). If you do fight Sprites, rush into the room and prevent them from leaving. The room nullifies all magic use (like the Library back in the Monastery) and this will make the Leaf Sprites fight easier one-thousand-fold. When done, use the Incense you bought from Fuzzfas on all four floating braziers. This prevents monsters from spawning inside the room if I remember correctly. The room here is joined by three other hallways, North, East and West. We came in from the South. NORTH DOOR - PAGODA ARCHIVES Go through here first. You'll cross a bridge into a ransacked room. Search for Scrolls of Armormelt, Fireball and Enchant Blade. Get your party ready and now walk into the other room. Here you'll find two Trynnie Patrols against four RAPAX SCOUTS. The Rapax will go hostile on you regardless, and don't worry about any lost faction with the Rapax for now. Kill the Scouts (randomly drops good Samurai armor and other plate pieces) and check the room for Potion of Hv Healing, Book of Portals, and a Sacred Tome. WEST DOOR - THE SEVENTH BOUGH Inspect the Sacred Tome and note the artwork it describes. Well put one and one together and you'll realize you need to drink the mystery potion and eat the zuzu petals. Do so here in the Seventh Bough. SHAMAN DAS will appear in your vision and he'll explain the entire Wizardry VIII plot to you. Intriguing. After he disappears, each of your characters will be rewarded with a whopping 25000 Experience. EAST DOOR - PAGODA ARMORY Possibly your biggest challenge so far in this zone. Get all of your protection spells ready and then head on in to take on three OAK SAPLINGS (randomly drops Spirit Staff needed for Antone as well). They cast Body of Stone and Earth spells freely. You have a couple of ways to handle this. You can try to draw them out into the no-magic room and fight them pure melee, or inch your way around the corner of the hallway until you get a profile of the Saplings, and hit them with Insanity or Noxious Fumes. If they come chase you, position yourself at the inner corner so you can only see one at a time. That way when one of them engages you in melee, the others are blocked and they can't see you to cast their magic. Beat them, and walk into the Armory. Search for a bundle of Fear Bolts and a Spiked Spear. Unlock the Vault there (5 tumblers) and de-TRAP both Chests for potentially great items (e.g. Stone of New Life, Cloak of Perception, Flynn's Cap), and then de-TRAP the other two chests on the table at the corner. - MADRAS' LABORATORY Check the first floor of his home for an Acid Bomb, a Giant Magnet and some Magic Nectar. Go up the ramp and look for some hidden Sneeze Powder and Potion of Cure Poison. Near Madras is an Empty Bottle as well. Talk to Madras and he'll tell you that the Rattkins have taken over the Sixth Bough. He'll ask if you're ready to take them out. Say YES and he'll give you Dust of Desiccation, Faerie Dust, and Flash Powder to help. He won't join you yet at this point. Rest here if necessary, then leave. - FIFTH BOUGH Take the Eastern walkway now to reach a ladder that will take you up to the Fifth Bough. When you go up, take the left door first, and cross the bridge there. You'll see a building with a LOCKED door that can't be open without the Marten's Idol (which we'll find later). Skip it and head into the only other building there for some Bows, various Arrows, Slings, Stones and some Smelling Salts. You will probably also encounter a GIANT BAT flying around outside here. It's a sight to see actually. It attacks with Terror screams and can Drain. There is a group of roaming Trynnies that walk through here if you need their help. Once done, go back to the ladder, and take the right door. Use your Gooda Vine Rope over the broken bridge to repair it, and then cross over to the next area, the Sixth Bough/Rattkin zone. ******************************************************************************** X. Rattkin Tree ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- This zone is where you will meet the Rattkin Razuka for the first time, and is also the holding place for the Helm of Serenity which you will later discover its significance in game. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ Welcome to the Sixth Bough. Leave the trunk and walk around the walkway. You may encounter random spawns here which include all types of Wasps, and Rattkin Patrols and Archers. If you haven't killed any Rattkin so far (like Rattus Rattus), they will be Neutral to you. The first house you will find contains a door you cannot open until you've met the Shaman Das a second time after you obtain the Marten's Idol. Skip the house. Keep going, skip the right path (East), and continue around the walkway. Eventually, the path will split left and straight ahead. The left leads to a Lift that will take you down to the floor below that has a zone to Trynton Upper Branches. Go there. When you do, come out to see a rope that you can lower to Trynton below. This will allow you to skip Trynton Upper Branches altogether if you need to come back up (and you will). The straight ahead path takes you to a House that has some Sneeze Powder. Return back to right path you skipped earlier and go there. Click on the rope near the post to climb down. The first House on your right has a 4 tumbler lock. UNLOCK it, and then go in. This house is connected to the house we couldn't go up above, and likewise, we can't do much here. However this is the safest place for you to rest in. Do so if necessary. Head back out the walkway, and take the first left, and then another left into another House. There is a room in there with several Neutral Rattkin Thieves. Don't kill them yet, but do plunder the room for these items: Bronze Greaves Potion of Hv. Stamina Leather Boots You will need to walk through the Rattkins (the middle of the line) in order to reach the items behind them. Leave the House, go back right, and now left (East), and follow the path down and around and go straight on into another House. In the first room you'll meet a Rattkin named Milano Calzone. Tell him you're looking for the Dark Savant. This sparks some interest from him and he'll tell you to follow him in to meet the Boss. We'll do that later. Milano makes a right at the hallway. Make a left, open the door, and go inside to loot RATT KEY and some hidden Throwing Knives. There is also a LOCKED Chest and a TRAPPED chest here you can loot. The Trapped one may hold some good items (Flynn's Cap for example). Okay, now go back to Milano and enter the door he opens to see his Boss. - DON BARLONE'S EXPOSITION Inside the room is a TRAPPED CHEST that is pretty tough to crack and contains not so great items. Talk to Don Barlone and hear his story. Apparently, the Dark Savant owes his crew some money and they're here to collect. Rather then force a fight and possibly end up with no cash, they want to a deal with you. They will steal the ASTRAL DOMINAE from him and then sell it to you. Since you have no way of obtaining it yourself (you have no idea where the Dark Savant is presently), agree to it for now. - BREEDER HOUSE Leave Barlone's House, make a right, follow that all the way up (the House on the way contains nothing but you can rest there) into the Breeder House. Make sure you are at full health and mana before you tackle this next fight. Get all of your spell protections and enhancements up. Now stand by the wall, and inch your way up to the door. Behind it contains 2 RATTKIN BREEDERS (multiple attacks, very high damage, drops Burning Spear) and 3 RATTKIN ARCHERS. Open the door with your Ratt Key, and creep close till you get a profile of a Rattkin Breeder. Hit it with Insanity (Siren's Wail works wonders), and if you have a thrower use some Flash Powder. Hypnotic Lure is handy here as well. If they come charging, Breeders are large enough to block the doorway so they only come one at a time. With Insanity, this fight is fairly easy. Kill them all and check the place for: Long Bow Filcher's Band bundle of Barbed Arrows Bundle of Arrows Well that is it for the Rattkins. You'll notice you're now hostile to Rattkin Common but not to the Razuka. That means Don and Milano are still friendly, but any Rattkin Patrol or Archers you come across from now on are now your enemies. Leave the Breeder House. You may encounter a random group of Rattkin Patrols, Archers, or both making their way up to you. Make your way back to Madras for 5000 Experience points and his services. Then return to Chief Gari for another 5000 Experience points for each of your members. From here on, we can go to Marten's Bluff to look for more clues. You will probably run into the T'Rang that occupy there already. You can ask them for help, or you can go the other way, avoid Marten's Bluff for now, and visit the Umpani for aid. Getting either of their help requires services to them in return. I suggest doing both to get the most Experience and potentially the most items. Unless you're burdened with treasure from the Trynton and Rattkin areas, hop on over to the Swamp area first and check it out. There is a quest item there used for Antone. Afterwards, you could then return to Arnika to sell/rest/contemplate and then decide where to go. You will be walking back and forth between the T'Rang and the Umpani controlled areas. To make things easier, start with the Umpani first. ******************************************************************************** XI. Swamp ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- This is an excellent area to fight for experience as the mobs here are generally higher level. You will find another Merchant here as well that sells some very good gear and items. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ Welcome to the Swamp. Be careful where you step here because there are hot spots (black blots shown on map) that will damage you and cause status ailments if your resistances are low. The Swamp is divided into two sections, a North and a South separated by a river in between. A wooden bridge near the cneter of the river connects the two areas. There are four zones here that connect to the Swamp. There is one which leads to Bayjin to the North, the Mine Tunnels to the Northeast, and finally Marten's Bluff and the South East Wilderness to the Southeast. - THE DARK SAVANT Some time after you agree to Don Barlone's deal, the Dark Savant will confront you near the first sign you see in the Swamp. He'll drop the ASTRAL DOMINAE (FAKE) after some threats. Pick that up. - LARGE TREE TRUNK The first trunk you pass under from the west has some hidden Devil Dust inside. - LARGE TAR PIT You will find this near the South Western part of the swamp. It's surrounded by skeletons of dead animals. Use EMPTY BOTTLES over the Tar Pit to nab some Cherry Bombs. - LOG BRIDGE This is located in the South Eastern portion of the Swamp area, and overlooks the zone to Marten's Bluff. There are ramps on both ends of the log which leads up. Inside the log itself, dwells a SLIME (very easy to kill) and has these items: Rousing Drums - Bard Instrument Blue Feather - quest item for Fuzzfas Ring of Sanity There are also some Feather Darts at the end of the eastern ramp that leads back down to the swamp. - CROCK'S SHACK Crock lives in a wooded area at the Eastern portion of the Swamp. You can't miss his shack. He sells very good weapons, cloaks, rings, gadgets and books. You may want to come back and check his inventory often for better gear. He has a room upstairs with a Treasure Chest which you can't get to without killing him. The chest itself MAY contain decent items at this stage of the game, but it's not worth killing Crock for and it's nothing you can't get later on. Be sure to buy a EAU D'RAPAX PERFUME before you go. - STEELHIDE CROC The crocodile lives inside a fallen log about west of Crock's House. It's located along the bank of a road. It has several hundred HP and attacks multiple times for high damage like the other crocodiles you will encounter here. However, the Steelhide is pretty easy to paralyze. Gadgeteer's Duct Tape works very well. Your reward is the STEELHIDE CROC HIDE needed for Antone's custom armor. - NORTHERN BEACH (CRASH SITE) There is a cave near the eastern side of the beach filled with Rynjin Thralls and an Overseer. Nearby that group is a powerful Rynjin Empath and more Overseers. If you're brave and attack, they attack with a variety of Mental magic and they are Monks so be careful. Along the beach, search and uncover these items: Throwing Knives Powerpaks Stun Mace Bullet Stones Spiked Stones Ankh of Healing Smelling Salts Magic Nectar Scroll of Resurrect Impaling Stones You'll wonder about the pieces of some ship that's also laying about the beach. Well that is in Bayjin, across the waters there and can only be accessed via the caves nearby or through Mt. Gigas. For now don't worry about it because the mobs are pretty tough there. - NORTHERN HUTS There are a pair of huts along the northern wall, east of the beach. Inside you will find: Poison Darts bundle of Quarrels Potion of Hv Stamina Chain Hosen Fire Stix bundle of Shrike Arrows Potion of Restoration Search behind the huts to find a hidden Kabuto (Samurai only). Following this wall east will lead to a hidden Potion of Restoration or Canned Elemental, and the zone to Mine Tunnels. - NORTH EASTERN POND A trail heading east will lead into this area. Search the water for: Shurikens Halberd Book of Corrosion Cure Paralysis Powder Bronze Cuirass You can find some Knock Picks lying about along the southern wall near the river. ******************************************************************************** XII. Northern Wilderness ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- The zone here contains another retro-dungeon like the one in Arnika-Trynton Road and it connects you to Mountain Wilderness, and the Umpani Base Camp. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ If you follow the wall on your right (Southern wall), you will find a Long Bow, bundle of arrows, and a Battering Hogar Cave. Following the northern edge of the map (near the first rock formation north west from where you zone in) will uncover some Bronze Greaves, Bullet Stones, and a Potion of Cure Poison. It will also take you to the bridge which leads to the Umpani Base Camp. Finally, there is another bridge to the far east where it will take you to the Mountain Wilderness. The bridge is guarded by a MARBLE GOLEM (mid-level Golem with high damage and can throw boulders). - BATTERING HOGAR CAVE Located along the Southern Wall. The Battering Hogar guarding the cave has about 300 or so HP and can be hit with Insanity, and other spells that cause status ailments. Kill the Hogar and check the cave for these items: Sneeze Powder Leather Helm Walriblade Poison Darts Scrolls of Slow & Whipping Rocks Book of Return Fire Stix Banshee's Howl - Bard Instrument - ISLAND Located on the eastern portion of the map. The lake surrounding the island is home to several Emerald Slimes. On the Island, you will find: Acid Bomb Buckler Shield Chain Hauberk Book of Frost bundle of Shrike Arrows You can also find one of the six runes you need to touch in order to activate the retro-dungeon in this zone. It's on one of trees. - MYLES' EXPOSITION (JOB ONE) This involves a recent heist at the bank where the thieves made off with an invaluable Diamond. Their hideout is located in the North Wilderness right near the bridge to the Umpani Base Camp. Kill the bandits and their leader, and loot the Diamond. You could return the Diamond to the Bank (give it to Lorrac) for 2000 Experience and 1000 Gold, or you can sell it to another merchant for more money. I've been offered 10,000 Gold from He'Li so up to you. - RETRO-DUNGEON There are six runes total you need to touch. They are all on the black trunks of trees with solid graphics. You can tell the difference between the two types of trees here in this zone. The first three runes are located just a bit southwest from the bridge to the Umpani Base Camp, near the Bandit Camp. Another two are found exactly northeast of this position and that last one is on the Island. All six runes are north of the road by the way so use that as a guide. Once all six are touched, place a Short Staff on the small boulder near the first three runes. You can tell which boulder it is by clicking your mouse over and checking if you can manipulate it. This will pop Retro-Dungeon #2. ******************************************************************************** XIII. Umpani Base Camp ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- The foot of Mt. Gigas is where the Umpani have set up their base of operations. Accessing certain areas in the Umpani base requires special Security Clearance cards which are issued to you as you complete their missions. Companions: ----------- - Private Sparkle Level 6 Trynnie Ranger Found at: Umpani Base Camp Return Location: Umpani Base Camp Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all T'Rang controlled areas, Ascension Peak Unlike the other RPC you can acquire there, Saxx, Sparkle will join you right off the bat. She is a Trynnie, eager to please, and training with the Umpani in hopes to help her kind defeat the Rattkin at Trynton (hint). Grade: C- She can play the role of Ranger or another bow if you need one, and she has points into Axe skill. You can give her the useless Beastslayer Axe. - Saxx Level 8 Umpani Bard Found at: Umpani Base Camp Return Location: Umpani Base Camp Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all T'Rang controlled areas Saxx will join you if you make your intentions of alliance to Balbrak. Grade: C+ He can play the role of Bard if you need one or another. He is also one of the few who will travel with you up to Ascension Peak. However there are others who will also and he is perhaps the weakest and most useless. His personal instrument is one of a kind and is worth to pickpocket. Walkthrough: ------------ Welcome to the Base. Northwest from where you came in spawns random groups of monsters. If you're feeling evil, you can initiate combat against mobs that can poison (like Iron Weeds, Acid Vines, Poison Seekers, etc.) from a distance and let the Umpani Privates charge them while being pelt with poison attacks. They may die from the poison damage overtime. They drop pretty good items. Anyway, we're here to see what the Umpani are about. Go to Private Panrack, the Umpani guarding the main entrance. Be logical and say NO to every question he asks you. He'll let you in. Behind Yamo's Road House on your right has these hidden items: 2 Empty Bottles Pickmeup Potion Scroll of Armorplate Go into the Barracks now and recruit Private Sparkle there if you want. The right hallway leads to the sleeping quarters of the Umpani with a plethora of locked Lockers and trapped Chests. Open them all. Among the good items found are Studded Chausses and Chain Hosens. The left hallway leads to Sergeant Balbrak, the recruiter. Chat with him and say YES if you're interesting in joining them. You will get 500 Experience and he'll tell you to go meet Sergeant Rubble for some STF training that all recruits must undergo. He will then give you the IUF LEVEL 1 SECURITY PASS. Leave the Barracks, go across the path to the Roadhouse bar. The left hall takes you to Kunar, the quartermaster of the Base. Go there. He doesn't have much to say to you but he sells pretty good books, and plenty of good ammo (rockets and musket balls). You can check his cash register for gold and random items. The locked door behind him leads to a T'Rang teleporter to Marten's Bluff. Kunar has the key on him so you can try to pickpocket it off him, or kill him and he may randomly drop it (I suggest NOT doing the latter). Be sure to buy an UMPANI FLAG from him before you leave. Now go down the right hallway and enter the Roadhouse bar. You can recruit Saxx here if you want. Talk to Bildublu about the Umpani. You can grab some Ale from the containers behind him. By the way, neither Kunar, Bildublu nor Saxx will deal with you unless you are recruited. Note: Saxx may make a comment if you talk to him about some of the bands here in reality. If you have an all-male party, ask him about the Backstreet Boys. Okay, it's time for the training mission. Walk to the northwestern building on the Base, and meet Sergeant Rubble. Grab the Icicle Stix and Enchanted Broadsword on the floor nearby. The training mission is composed of four obstacles you have to pass. There is no time limit but you will die if something goes wrong (impaled, fall into lava, et cetera). The first obstacle requires you to pass under the ceiling spikes without being impaled. The second obstacle has planks and a swinging platform over a giant lava pit you need to cross. The third obstacle has 6 TRAINING DUMMIES (very easy monks) for you to fight. Search the crate area for: Steel helm bundle of Arrows Musket Balls Boom Bomb Throwing Knives And finally, the last obstacle is a locked door you have to pick. Once all done, you'll be rewarded with 5000 Experience, Potions of Mod Healing, and the IUF LEVEL 2 SECURITY PASS. Go back to Balbrak and he'll congratulate you and give you your second quest that involves you to go confirm the T'Rang presence in Marten's Bluff. That's all we can do for now in the Umpani Base so leave. Make sure you have the Umpani Flag from Kunar with you. Next stop, Lower Marten's Bluff. You have a choice to either go through the Mine Tunnels, or Marten's Bluff to get there. I suggest going by Mine Tunnels first. Head back to the Swamp. ******************************************************************************** XIV. Mine Tunnels ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- There are two zones that connect to Lower Marten's Bluff where the T'Rang are located; one by Marten's Bluff, and the other the abandoned Mine Tunnels. This zone requires you to climb a fairly large mountain with plenty of monsters in the way, up near the T'Rang outpost, and from there, wind your way to the Mine shack. Companions: ----------- - Tantris Level 6 T'Rang Samurai Found at: Mine Tunnels Return Location: Mine Tunnels Uncorrected Bug: If you downloaded the latest patch, Tantris will forever vanish if you recruit and then disband him after. Will not go to: Sea Caves, Bayjin Shallows, Bayjin, all Umpani controlled areas, Ascension Peak Tantris will join you if you make your intentions of alliance to Z'Ant. Grade: C As with many RPCs, Tantris will not accompany you to some of the crucial areas in late game. He has the powers of the Samurai in Critical Strikes, and Dual Wield, and he begins with a fairly decent polearm. He will travel to Rapax areas though which is a big plus. - RFS-81 Level 10 Android Monk Found at: Mine Tunnels Return Location: Wherever you Dismiss him Will not go to: Rapax Away Camp RFS-81 is a damaged Android you will find in the Mine Tunnels. His alliance is at Neutral, but will follow whomever that fixes him. Like the Terminator 2 movie. ;) Grade: A RFS-81 will follow you anywhere and everywhere (even underwater) except for the Rapax Away Camp when the quest is initiated. You have no choice really on that matter because you must have 2 free RPC slots. He complements your party with all the Monk capabilities except for magic which is really no big deal. He also has Android immunities (can not be poisoned, or diseased, and so on). Walkthrough: ------------ Monsters in here spawn pretty damn fast near the foot of the mountain so be prepared. Among them include Tanto Wasps (randomly drops wings for Antone), Flesheater Slimes, Queen Ants with their entourage, assorted Crocodiles, assorted Bats (Vampire, Twilight, Dusk) and Blinding Wasps. Follow the trail and uncover some hidden Pandemonium Powder and Bullet Stones along the way. Swing around the lake and look up the hill. You will see a SAVANT GUNNER leading a group of five SAVANT TROOPERS and whatever random spawns that are there. If they are Tanto Wasps or any high level monsters, I would suggest getting them hostile then move your party to the giant boulder nearby for rear protection. Anyway, kill them all and head up to the camp. Inside one of the huts is the damaged Android, RFS-81. Friendly him when you are in conversation and then give him the NAS-81 from Arnika. If you don't have one, you can uncover a hidden NAS-81 from behind the hut on the left. You will receive 25000 Experience for repairing him, and he can now join your party. I suggest letting him join, ASAP. RFS-81 is arguably the best melee RPC in the game and unlike the other RPCs, is not a coward. The android will follow you wherever you go with the exception of the Rapax Away Camp. The other huts at the camp contain: Boom Bomb Empty Bottle Powerpaks - ammunition for certain Modern Weapons Mail Mittens bundle of Shrike Arrows The path to the right of the hill will lead to a small pond and a hidden and invaluable Amulet of Healing. Climb up the long steep path until you arrive at a fork. The right path leads to a hidden Chain Hauberk. Continue straight, wind around, and eventually you'll reach a clearing. There is a TRAPPED plate on the floor if you continue on (west). Rather then do that, inspect the large rock in the clearing and you will see you can manipulate it. Do so. It will open a secret door into the T'Rang Outpost manned by TANTRIS. Speak to him and he will tell you to go see Z'Ant. He will not join you until you do so. While we're here, check the southern wall for the 4 PINK BUTTONS. Press the top left one and it will open a map on the large console behind Tantris. The map provides directions how to reach the T'Rang HQ from the Mine Tunnels. Leave the outpost, hit the controls in the hallway to de-activate the force field there, and step out. You will probably be met by a large group of Bats (Vampire, Dusk, et cetera), or Wasps. There is usually a T'Rang party here that will assist you in fights. Anyway, check behind the rocks for a Cap of Wiles (cursed), and follow the only available path. You will run into more enemies like Poison Seekers and so on, and you can also pick up a Silent Lyre. At the end of the path is a Shack with the Mine Carts inside and a Hose - gadget- nearby. Pick it up and go inside. Inside the Shack, look on the wall and check out the dials. Each one switches the tracks for the mine carts to run on. We begin at the top left corner and there are four ROUTES total we can go to, North, South, East, and West. The directions back at the Outpost will take you south to the T'Rang HQ. Once you're done, hop on the middle cart, and throw the switch. Northern Route: Leads you back to the Outpost. Eastern Route: Leads you near the Silent Lyre area. Western Route: You will encounter two FLYING SERPENTS here that may drop Plumed Serpent Feathers used for Antone' quest, and you can also find a Granite Potion, Acid Bomb, bundle of thunder bolts, and another Silent Lyre among the crates. Follow the path around and use the lever to release the boulders so you can drop back down. Southern Route: Pick up the Impaling Stones, and the Giant Silver Nugget (used for Ferro's Custom Item Quest in Rapax Castle), and zone into Lower Marten's Bluff. ******************************************************************************** XV. Lower Marten's Bluff ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- This underground network of sewers is where the T'Rang have set up their base of operations. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ Walk down the corridor and defeat a group of Millipedes. Open the door and walk through. There are three locked doors on your left, one door straight ahead of you, and a hallway to the right. Check the three LOCKED DOORS first. The first room has another group of Millipedes to fight, some Concussion Powder, and a Flamethrower (Modern Weapon, requires Napalm ammo). The second room contains Copper Gloves, Oscillator - gadget, a Pulse Pick, Potion of Restoration, Potion of Hv Stamina, and Potion of Cure Light Condition. The third room contains some Bullet Stones, Bipennis, and a Bard Instrument, Jericho Horn. - MEETING Z'ANT Use the Pulse Pick on the panel near the fourth door (the one straight ahead of you when you came in), and go inside. Talk to Z'Ant there and say YES to the partnership he proposes. His first mission for you is to go confirm the Umpani presence in Mt. Gigas by bringing back a flag. Give him the one you bought from Kunar and he will give you 40000 Experience and 2000 Gold. He will then send Drazic to go scout for him, and you will be given your second mission. He wants you to go kill the Raven Rapax that has been hunting his race for some time now up in Marten's Bluff. Okay. Use your Pulse Pick on the other door in this room and head for the elevator inside this long chamber. It will automatically lift once you step on. ******************************************************************************** XVI. Marten's Bluff (Western half of Fort) ******************************************************************************** Synopsis: ----------- The zone here is dominated by a large fort that once housed Marten himself. It is split into two halves, with one half only accessible via Lower Marten's Bluff. Companions: ----------- None. Walkthrough: ------------ If you decide to go this route rather then the Mine Tunnels, then you will need to gain access into the Fort in order to reach Lower Marten's Bluff. Climb up the hill and you will be met by a group of POSION SEEKERS at the summit. Defeat them, and then check the nearby lake for a cave. Walk inside and defeat the two SHALLOWS DWELLER inside (multiple attacks, can nauseate). You will find these items inside: Potion of Mod healing Enchanted Mace Bastard Sword Boom Bomb Magic Nectar Leave the lake and continue South. You will probably fight a group of random enemies at the bridge. Cross the moat and approach the fort. - EXPLORING THE FORT There are two ways in. There is the front gate you can enter if the controls in the back to open/close are powered on (this might be random), the other method requires you to go around the fort. If you can't go through the door, head to the Western side of the fort. Note the catapult. Crank the arm back by clicking on the ropes and gears, and then release by using the lever. The arm will swing forward and collapse on the wall forming a sort of makeshift bridge for you to climb up. Do so. Make your way around the rooftop, and find the ramp down. When you reach ground level, look to your left and check the T'RANG CORPSE there stuck with arrows. Remember what Tramain said about the traps in the Fort. Anyway, approach the corpse carefully, and grab these items: bundle of Shrike Arrows red & yellow wires - required to repair T'Rang teleport Paper reading --0 - one of three numbers to a door combination T'Rang Arm - required to explore Lower Marten's Bluff The arrow trap is to your left as you look at the corpse. When done, double-back and go through the open gate into a courtyard, then a left. There is a group of SOLDIER ANTS guarding some Bronze Graves at the other courtyard straight ahead. To your right is a Battle Axe and a locked iron door that can't be opened from here. The elevator lift to the T'Rang HQ is on your left. - Z'ANT QUEST (CONTINUED) If you started with the Mine Tunnels, and you're on the Raven Rapax Quest. Here we go. Exit out of this room by going left (South) and then swing a right into the Control Room. The various controls here and in the other room on the opposite side power the doors and the trap here. Use the lever there to drop a RAPAX DUMMY. Go back to the room and use the PERFUME you bought from Crock on it. You will get a message that a Rapax is approaching. Run back to the Control Panel, and wait. Eventually, the Raven Rapax will show up. SAVE HERE before he enters the room. Once he walks inside, you can crush him by hitting the controls and trigger the trap (you will get 80000 Experience for this clever trick), or you can fight him (lousy Experience). He is a Samurai. He will randomly drop Samurai armor, an Ankh of Dexterity, and most importantly the only Bushido Blade in game. Save and reload if you have to. Once done, loot the Head of the Raven Rapax. If this is your first time up here, be sure to check the rest of the fort for the T'Rang Arm. When ready, go back down the elevator. Give the head to Z'Ant and he will reward you with 4000 Gold and an additional 10000 Experience. Your third mission now will be to retrieve the Chaos Moliri from the Mook in Arnika. He will give you the T'Rang-Mook Letter that will allow you to go in the building. How you obtain it though he leaves up to you. Before you go, he will also mention that Drazic has gone missing. ******************************************************************************** XVII. Lower Marten's Bluff (Continued) ******************************************************************************** Walkthrough: ------------ For simplicity's sake, I'm going to split the zone into two halves, East and West. If you came in from the Mine Tunnels, you would be coming from the East and we explored most of it except for the hallway. Don't go there yet. From the chamber with Z'Ant, head West and inspect the door. Use the T'Rang Arm on the panel to open it. Trying to do so without the arm will cause damage to your party and it will not open. Walk on in. - EXPLORING LOWER MARTEN'S BLUFF (WESTERN) You will come to a T-intersection. Inspect the painting there for some eerie foreshadowing and then head right. The hallway to your left leads to a Restrictive Area (one of two here) that you can not access unless you intend to side with the Umpani strictly and kill all T'Rang. If you're wondering about the items in the room there: Spiked Stones Gleaming Sword Book of Crushing Nothing spectacular. That room joins with the Transport Room from their Mothership, which also joins with the T'Rang Teleport. You can access the Teleport without the need of going through the T'Rang so no point piquing them off. Anyway, follow the right hallway into a room that splits left and right. There is a Dagger on the far wall. If you need to shop now, go right. If you don't need to, check the mural on your left. Go up the ramp, click on it and it will ask you a riddle like the one in Trynton: "Tell me this, who you be and then by chance your fortune see..." We are looking at a painting of Marten with the Destinae Dominus if you can't figure it out. Answer MARTEN, and a door will open. Walk down the steps. The first room on your left houses a large group of REBEL SPIRITS, and HIGARDI SPIRITS so be ready. Kill them all, and check the entire room for these items. Granite Potion Icicle Stix Potion of Cure Disease Boomb Bomb Bullet Stones Forest Cape bundle of Quarrels Heavy Crosbow Potion of Cure Light Condition Blarneystone Amulet - excellent misc. item to put on when shopping Leave this room and check the second room on the right for: Potion of Mod Healing Bascinet Book of Removal bundle of Viper Arrows Hammer Shillelah Leave this room and continue straight (West) and you will find Marten's old Room. Pick up the Ebon Gem, Potion of Superman, and the Renewal Potion on the floor and inspect the diary. Pay careful attention to the line that is all in caps. ETERNAL TRUST SURVIVES THE SOUL. This will be used later in Trynton. Leave this area now and go straight ahead (East). To the left leads to another supply room with these items: Spiked Stones Leather Leggings Leather Cuirass Brilliant Helm Bundle of arrows Potion of Razor Cloak Resurrection Powder Smelling Salts Cherry Bomb To the right will lead to SADOK'S room. Go inside and loot the Laser Pointer - gadget - on the floor. There are also Potions of Dracon Breath, Canned Elemental, and Magic Nectar near the vats. Speak with Sadok and buy some books and weapons from him. If he has a Stun Rod for sale, buy one. It's one of the most powerful polearms in mid-game with high percentage Paralyze and Drain Stamina. - EXPLORING LOWER MARTEN'S BLUFF (EASTERN) The first room on the left of the Northern hallway is locked. Open it and kill the lone THANATOPEDE (can kill with spit). There is a Mail Mitten, Mana Stone and a Pickmeup Potion inside. Continue down the hall. The corridor to the right will take you to two T'RANG SENTRIES guarding a door locked by a combination. They will tell you to leave at once. Unless you're planning on killing the T'Rang, leave. The combination to the door is 7-4-0. Each of the numbers you will find on a piece of paper that is randomly dropped by some of the higher level T'Rang NPCs here. Behind the door are some more T'Rang and a Mindblast Rod (weaker version of the Stun Rod) and Potions of Hv Healing, and Cure Poison. If you take the corridor to the left, it will bring you to a stairway that will allow you to access the other half of Marten's Bluff. There is a locked room in that hallway as well with a Round Shield, and some mundane ammunition (stones, arrows et cetera.). Do check the interesting graffiti on the wall though. The corridor straight ahead leads to the chamber containing the T'Rang Overmind. You don't have to worry about this area unless you plan on destroying the T'Rang. Rest if necessary, and then go up the stairs. ******************************************************************************** XVIII. Marten's Bluff (Eastern half of Fort) ******************************************************************************** Walkthrough: ------------ In the first room, search the crates for an Amulet of Healing, and the Dulcimer of Mending - great Bard Instrument. Make sure your protective spells are up because you may encounter powerful spellcasters here. Make a right, and then left. You may run into a group of HIGARDI SPIRITS or REBEL SPECTERS. The latter versions hit you with Slow, Blind, and Mental spells so Soul Shield is a must. Kill them all and walk into this new hallway. From here you will see another corridor straight and one to your right. There is a Potion of Razor Cloak, and Books of Haste and Portals in this hallway. Go to the right first. Take the Sneeze Powder, and carefully step into the room. Check out the pillar at the center of the room with the contorted faces. The mouth will spit arrows continuously so time your move. There is nothing here so make your way across the room. You will find another left and right. The left leads to stairs which will take you down to the T'Rang teleport in Lower Marten's Bluff. Go to the right, walk into the room, pick up the Bronze Curiass and Flash Powder, and throw the switch down on the wall. This will open the large iron door that you couldn't go through back at the courtyard. Now go back and head own the stairs. - T'RANG TELEPORT Walk down the hallway and you will find a 4-way here. Straight ahead is another set of stairs which will take you back up to Marten's Bluff, outside the Fort. The one on the right will lead to the Restrictive area. Go to the left, open the door. Check the console and use your red & yellow wires on it. This will allow you to control the teleport. Excellent! Each of the buttons on the console will activate the port to that corresponding area. If you have Set Portal by now, I highly suggest setting it here so you can access this room. BUTTON ONE - Northern Wilderness - near Umpani Base Camp BUTTON TWO - Arnika-Trynton Road - the T'Rang House BUTTON THREE - Rapax Rift - near the Mountain Wilderness zone BUTTON FOUR - Marten's Bluff - near the lake While you're here, you may as well hit button two and go to the house to pick up the items inside. Also, unlock the door there so you can make use of this house later. Once done, come back, and then return to the Fort. Make your way back to the first hallway, and head down the other unexplored corridor. Avoid stepping in the middle of the room, and skirt around the edge to pick up the Enchanted Broadsword, and Pot with Hinge - gadget. Now step in the middle, and it will drop you down to the moat. You will be met by several IRONSKIN CROCODILES and whatever random spawns are in the area. Return back to the courtyard, and go through the now open door. If you head up the right path, you will find a lone THRSHER APUS guarding some Magic Nectar, Potions of Hv Healing and Superman, and a Mandolin of Magus. Go left, and loot the Scroll of Whipping Rocks and Freeze Flesh. Pick up the Marten's Idol there and this will trigger a trap. There's no way to avoid it. Your party will black out for a moment and when you awake, one of your party members will be missing (completely random). Nearby are some Blue Flowers on the floor probably left by the kidnapper. You saw these at Crock's place so time to head back to the Swamp. - CROCK'S EXPOSITION Once you confront Crock on the matter, he'll play dumb and make up some bogus story about the T'Rang not trusting you and so on. He will offer to help you find your lost companion if you help him with a small favor. Apparently, this large frog called a Brekek has returned back to the Swamp and it's scared the bejeezus out of him. Say YES to the favor for now and head to the North Eastern Pond. The Brekek is a Level 9 Frog with about 500 HP. It has a poison-based spit that can affect your entire party and he can swallow. Kill him for 75000 Experience and loot the Giant Frog's Leg. Return it to Crock and he will miraculously whip out your companion from a room nearby. You can kill him if you want, but again, he sells powerful books and items so if you want to hold off on the revenge... Okay, now that we have Marten's Idol in our hands, it's time to go back to Trynton and meet Shaman Das again. ******************************************************************************** XIX. Trynton Upper Branches Re-Visited ******************************************************************************** Walkthrough: ------------ Make your way back to the Fifth Bough and return the hut with the wedding cake-like dais set before the locked door. Place Marten's Idol over the dais, and it will open the door. Go inside, check the two huts on the side for Mystic Spear, Wand of Static, Canned Elemental, Bracers of Defense, Mitre de Sanct, and a Renewal Potion. Walk straight and talk to Shaman Das. He will ask who sends you. Answer Marten. Then he asks you what message he has prepared for you to take to him. Answer him with the line from Marten's diary, ETERNAL TRUST SURVIVES THE SOUL and he will give you the KEY OF SERENITY. Interestingly enough, you can go ahead and kill Shaman Das without losing any Trynnie faction if there are no other Trynnies present other then the two SPEARMEN guards. In fact, the Spearmen will even assist you if they don't run away, heh. Shaman Das drops very good items including the most powerful off-hand weapon in the game, the Diamond Eyes. You will be able to find this weapon in another zone so killing him is entirely up to you. Shaman Das will no longer add anything else to the plot after you receive your key. Take the key now and head up to the Rattkin Tree zone. Go into the first building an dunlock the door you couldn't get to on your previous trip. You will be met by five RATTKIN THIEVES. Kill them all, loot the Leather Helm and Magic Nectar on the floor, and inspect the KNOWLEDGE sign laying there. Check it twice, and you will move it aside to reveal a section you can jump through. Fall in. Open the Chest and you will acquire the Helm of Serenity and other random items. You must wear this permanently if you get your hands on the Destinae Dominus. I suggest giving it to a Monk or Ninja as it is one of the best AC helmets they can wear in the game. We might as well take care of the Astral Dominae business with Don Barlone. Hop on over to his house and talk to him. Depending on your Communications skill, he will sell the artifact to you for a price range between 90K to 100K. $&&^%$-ing highway robbery this is. If you attack him, he is Level 20 with very high AC and high resistances, and Milano will attack you as well. I was able to defeat him with a level 12-13 party by casting Armormelt, and then give my team Superman and Haste while Bard/Gadgeteer string Heal All now and then. It took awhile but they went down pretty fast. Loot the Astral Dominae from Don Barlone. He may also drop an ass Faeries weapon called the Cane of Corpus. Once you have the Astral Dominae, the Dark Savant will send out groups of his machines led by Orbs to get it back. You will randomly run into them as you move around Dominus. ******************************************************************************** XX. Arnika Re-Visited ******************************************************************************** Walkthrough: ------------ - Z'ANT QUEST (CONTINUED) Talk to He'Li at the tavern and she'll tell you that it's pretty dangerous playing on both sides of the field. You will need to bribe her, even if you don't talk to her, to keep her mouth shut if you want to continue working for the Umpani and the T'Rang (roughly 1800 gold pieces). Bleh. Go to Antone and get some of the Custom Items ordered with the material you've discovered so far. Return back to the Mook HQ, and give the Hologram your T'Rang-Mook Letter. This will allow you to go inside. Talk with Screg and ask him about the Chaos Moliri. If you try to recruit him to join, he will recommend Urq instead who is upstairs. Pick up the Book of Portals on the floor here and then head to the back room. If you attempt to swipe the Chaos Moliri, a secret wall will open and a group of high-level Mook will engage you. If you don't put it back, they will attack. To counter this problem besides fighting them, switch the Chaos Moliri with your fake Astral Dominae. The Mook will leave and you can walk out. Go upstairs to grab a Scanner - gadget - and some Magic Nectar. You can pick up Urq if you want. Return back to Z'Ant (use the T'Rang house) and give him the Chaos Moliri. He will shower you with praise and hands it back along with 8000 gold, and 150000 Experience. Your fourth mission now will be to track the Dark Savant's Black Ship. To do this, you will need to find the original Orbital coordinates of the two vessels that were shot down by the Black Ship. They are logged in Black Boxes. We have one from Arnika. The other one is located in Bayjin. ================================================================================ APPENDICES ================================================================================ All the information I have about Bard instruments and the Gadgets of Wizardry VIII are down below. If you discover errors or have updates, let me know. ******************************************************************************** 1. Bard Instruments ******************************************************************************** Spell is the spell effect of instrument. Music is the skill requirement to use the item, and Level is the level requirement of your Bard to use the instrument. Effectiveness of spell is determined by level of Bard. Instrument Spell Music Level Location ---------- ----- ----- ----- -------- Poet's Lute Sleep 1 1 Arnika, He'Li's Tavern Angel's Tongue Bless 1 1 Upper Monastery Viola D'Amore Charm 5 1 Arnika, He'Li's Inn & Tap Piercing Pipes Shrill Sound 15 3 Arnika Road Siren's Wail Insanity 15 3 Arnika-Trynton Road Snare of Delay Slow 15 3 Trynton Mandolin of Magus Magic Screen 30 5 Marten's Bluff Silent Lyre Silence 30 5 Mine Tunnels, two of them Jericho Horn Armormelt 45 8 Lower Marten's Bluff Rousing Drums Haste 45 8 Swamp Soulful Sax Soul Shield 45 8 Umpani Base Camp, on Saxx Arresting Aria Freeze Flesh 60 11 Arnika-Trynton Road Banshee's Howl Hex 60 11 Northern Wilderness Dulcimer of Mending Heal All 60 11 Marten's Bluff Chaos Drone Pandemonium 75 14 South East Wilderness ******************************************************************************** 2. Gadgeteer's Engineering ******************************************************************************** Spell is the spell effect of gadget. Skill is the Engineering skill requirement to make and use the item, and Level is the level requirement of your Gadgeteer to use the Gadget. Effectiveness of spell is determined by level of Gadgeteer. Gadget Spell Skill Level Component A Component B ------ ----- ----- ------ ----------- ----------- Lightning Rod Energy Blast 1 1 none none Duct Tape Paralyze 1 1 none none Jack in the Box Terror 5 1 Doll Hinged Box Holograph Projector Guardian Angel 15 3 Large Prism Laser Pointer Noisemaker Sonic Boom 15 3 Empty Bottle Gunpowder Searchlight Detect Secrets 15 Magnifying Glass PTorch Forcefield Generator Armorplate 30 5 Voltage Amplifier Giant Magnet Lava Lamp Hypnotic Lure 30 5 Orange Goo Glowing Goo Port-O-Potty Noxious Fumes 20 5 Porthole Pot with Hinge Watchdog Alarm Shadow Hound 30 Loudspeaker Electric Eye Invigorator Belt Superman 45 Metal Belt Electrodes Magic Mirror Eye for an Eye 45 8 Shiny Chrome Plate Magic Polish X-Ray Scanner X-Ray 45 8 X-Ray Chip Scanner *Demon in a Box Psionic Blast 60 Jack in the Box Demon Doll Regenerating Stone Heal All 60 11 Lazurite Stone Electrodes Strobe Light Prismic Ray 70 14 Electric Lamp Oscillator Electro-Shocker Resurrection 75 High Voltage Transformer Electrodes Microwave Ray Gun Boiling Blood 75 Microwave Chip Broken Blaster Jackhammer Earthquake 85 Pendulum Chisel Negate Air Asphyxiation 85 Long Metal Tube Vacuum Pump Water Cannon Tsunami 85 Bellows Hose * = The Demon Doll was never implemented in game and must imported via Editor to complete item. Note: Some person claimed he found it in Rapax Castle but I've never seen it there. ******************************************************************************** 2a. Component Locations ******************************************************************************** Should be a fairly accurate and complete list of all components required to make gadgets. Component Location --------- -------- Bellows Lower Rapax Castle, kitchen Broken Blaster Bayjin Chisel South East Wilderness Doll Arnika, abandon house Electric Eye Lower Marten's Bluff Electric Lamp Arnika-Trynton Road, T'Rang House Electrodes Anna's Bait & Marina Empty Bottle found in various locations Giant Magnet Trynton Glowing Goo Trynton, sold by Fuzzfas Gunpowder Swamp, sold by Crock High Voltage Transformer Swamp, sold by Crock Hinged Box Arnika, crash site Hose Mine Tunnels Large Prism Swamp, sold by Crock Laser Pointer Lower Marten's Bluff, Sadok's Shop Lazurite Stone South East Wilderness Long Metal Tube Sea Caves Loudspeaker Mt. Gigas Caverns Magic Polish Swamp, sold by Crock Magnifying Glass Upper Monastery Metal Belt South East Wilderness Microwave Chip Upper Monastery Magnifying Glass Upper Monastery Orange Goo Trynton, sold by Fuzzfas Oscillator Marten's Bluff Pendulum Upper Rapax Castle Porthole Arnika, docks Pot with Hinge Marten's Bluff PTorch Mt. Gigas Caverns Scanner Arnika, Mook HQ Shiny Chrome Plate Trynton Vacuum Pump Bayjin Voltage Amplifier Swamp, sold by Crock X-Ray Chip Arnika, Spaceport ******************************************************************************** This Document is Copyright 2001-2002 by Jack Leung Wizardry VIII is Copyright 1999-2000 by Sir-Tech Canada Ltd. I am not affiliated with Sir-Tech or anyone who had anything to do with the creation of this game. This walkthrough may be posted on any site so long as NOTHING IS CHANGED and you CONTACT ME telling me that you are posting it. You may not charge for, or in any way profit from this FAQ.