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RETURN TO MARTEN'S BLUFF
Eau D'Rapax Perfume
I travel from the south side of the swamp to Crock's shop on the east side. I fight several Bloodrinkers and Ironskin Crocodiles on the way. I purchase an item I had forgotten to obtain beforehand, the Eau D'Rapax Perfume. I'll need it when I return to Marten's Bluff.
I continue west along the road and fight more Blooddrinkers and Ironskin Crocodiles.
Ryu takes Elemental Shield on his 12th level-up. It's helpful to have multiple characters who can cast the spell, so that you have flexibility as to who needs to do what in a given round. Rothgar takes Cure Disease. Vi Domina takes Cure Lesser Conditions on her 11th level-up.
I continue west on the road, fighting a pair of Greater Seekers along the way, until I reach the west edge of the swamp. I rest up, put my buffs back up, and return to Trynton.
Bats and Wasps in the Rattkin Tree
I go from the east entrance to the long rope at 'Up x2', to reach the Rattkin Tree.
I leave from "Down" and use the Elevator at 'E'. I go around hunting for experience, including Swarming Wasps, Shrieker Bats, Twilight Bats, and Vampire Bats.
Zarax and Errol both advance another level. I go back down the elevator and long rope to return to Trynton.
Hogars and Poppies
Now I fight the odd Battering Hogar or group of Crimson Poppies and Rank Weeds.
I make my way to the west exit, rest up, and put my buffs back up.
No sooner do I do that than another group of Crimson Poppies, Iron Weeds, Rank Weeds and Acidvines approach. Chun-Li hits as many of them as she can with a Fire Bomb she had on hand. I enter the Arnika-Trynton road after that.
Juggernauts
I go west, but more on the south side of the road rather than the road itself. The reason is that I'm following a pack of Juggernauts. They're like Piercer Modais, but hit more often, and knock characters unconscious, and a good deal more hit points.
I get their attention and lead them back to a nook at the side of the road. That way they can't surround me, and can only attack me two at a time. I gradually kill them off one at a time.
I continue west and find another group of Juggernauts. I lead them to a different nook, on the north side of the road, and repeat the process.
Sige Spirit and Trynnie Spirits
I travel the road until I reach the cemetery on the south side. I don't have much trouble defeating the lower-level Sige Spirit and Trynnie Spirits that guard the entrance to the cemetery.
Mummy Dust and Siren's Wail
I enter the graveyard in the southeast corner of the cemetery, where I defeat a Mummy. It leaves behind Mummy Dust, which is the last ingredient I need for the Ebon Staff. I would have reloaded if I needed to.
A nearby crypt has a Skull, and the Siren's Wail. Errol will find it useful, as it allows him to use Insanity on monster groups.
I continue north and west along the road without further incident until I enter Arnika.
Ebon Staff
I make for Antone's shop in Arnika, and make sure he has a Short Staff in his inventory. I need it to enter one of the Retro Dungeons. I reload until he has it in his inventory and buy it form him.
Now I give him the Ebon Gem, a Spirit Staff, and Mummy Dust. He indicates that he'll need some time to put it together. I leave and fight a few Savant Drones.
Now I go to Lord Braffit. I buy a few potions of Cure Disease, combine them with Potions of Heavy Heal to craft Potions of Renewal, and then sell them back to Braffit for profit. I also buy some spell books from him. That includes Guardian Angel and Soul Shield for Rothgar and Cure Disease for Chun-Li. Vi Domina also gets Magic Screens, but she can't inscribe it just yet.
I next go to Anna's. I check to see if she has a Light Crossbow in her inventory, and buy it when she does. I'll need it for a special crossbow for Rothgar later on. I go outside where I fight a few more Savant Drones.
Vi Domina needs to raise her Divinity skill in order to inscribe the spellbooks I bought for her. So now I have her heal up everyone with power-level 1 castings of Heal Wounds. I foreshadow a skill grinding process I'm about to use soon when I let the party take some damage from the fire at the back of the crashed ship. That allows her to do some more healing.
Now I enter the Arnika Jail, descend into the tunnel, and make my way to the door with numerous tumblers. I also foreshadow another skill grinding process I will soon use. Ryu casts power-level 1 Knock Knock spells on the door, which have no chance of opening it, until he runs out of Earth Mana. Chun-Li does the same. I rest up, put my buffs back up, and take the teleporter to return to Arnika.
I repeat the process a few times. At one point both Terra and Chun-Li gain enough xp to reach their 12th level-ups. Chun-Li takes Toxic Cloud, which now provides her with a potent offensive option for when the party gets surrounded by monsters. Terra takes Razor Cloak. But she now also inscribes the Fire Shield, Fire Bomb and Acid Bomb spellbooks that she had been holding onto.
I now got to Atone, who has crafted the Ebon Staff (+2 to hit, +3 initiative, 7-18 damage, 10% chance of blindness on target, +5 Strength, +10 combat, +10% divine resistance). I purchase it from his store, and it will make for a decent interim staff for my Faerie Bishop.
3rd Tier Spells for Vi Domina
I go to Lord Braffit, and mix a couple more Potions of Renewal to sell to him. I also purchase a few more spellbooks, Cure Disease and Guardian Angel and Soul Shield for Vi Domina, and Remove Curse for Rothgar.
Now I go to the fires at the back of the crashed ship. I let my party cook a little bit on the fire and then get away from it. It's self-wounding that allows a divine spell caster to cast Heal Wounds at power-level 1 multiple times on wounded party members. I rinse and repeat the process until all of Vi Domina, Rothgar, Terra and Chun-Li are completely out of Divine Mana. Chun-Li trains her Divinity, Divine Magic and Power Casting skills all at once. The other characters will still train Divinity and Divine Magic even if they don't have the Power Casting skill.
I return to the Arnika Jail and go down the tunnel. Ryu and Chun-Li cast Knock Knock to power-level 1 multiple times on the multi-tumbler door. They both train their Power Cast skills.
I rest up. Chun-Li puts up the Armorplate and Magic Screen buffs. I allow Ryu to attempt maximum power-level castings of Detect Secret, Enchanted Blade and Missile Shield. Even if he fails, Chun-Li can put them up.
Vi Domina now has enough skill points in Divinity that she can now inscribe the spellbooks that she as been carrying around, Cure Paralysis, Cure Poison and Guardian Angel. She won't be able to inscribe Cure Disease and Guardian Angel just yet.
4th Tier Spells for Vi Domina
I won't show all of my grinding cycles in this walkthrough, just the ones where something significant like a character going up a level happens. RFS-18 goes up to his 12th level during the first cycle I show in this video.
Note that during battles I often hang back and let Ryu and Chun-Li use single-target damage spells in order to practice their magic skills.
I go to Lord Braffit, and reload until his inventory includes a Book of Resting that Vi Domina can inscribe to obtain the Rest All spell.
I then go to Anna and reload until she has a Book of Knocks that I buy for Terra. I want Terra to get in on the casting Knock Knock on the multi-tumbler door action.
I go on a few more cycles. I show the one where Vi Domina takes Armorplate on her 12th level-up. She now also incribes the spellbooks for Cure Disease, Remove Curse and Soul Shield she had been carrying around.
I go to Lord Braffit and reload until he has a Book of Resting in his inventory. I buy it and have Chun-Li inscribe it to learn the Rest All spell.
I complete the rest of the cycle and rest up, and buff up.
14th Level Fighter and Bard
I do a few more cycles. I show the one where Zarax and Errol advance another level. Zarax stops his Speed at 55, as his Speed will max out at 125 once he's under a Haste spell. He points his points in Piety and now Dexterity. Errol continues to max out his Strength and Vitality.
Note that Lord Braffit now has 15 Potions of Cure Lesser Condition. That's an even bigger score. I buy 30 Potions of Light Heal and 30 Potions of Moderate Heal. I combine 15 of each to get 15 Potions of Heavy Heal, and then merge them with the Potions of Cure Lesser Condition to get 15 Potions of Cure Disease. I craft another 15 Potions of Heavy Heal and merge them with the Potions of Cure Disease for 15 Potions of Renewal. And I sell those for a hefty profit.
The cycle continues again at the crashed ship. Note that I also now practice Charm on nearby Anna, and even now Mindread from Chun-Li, at some point where my Mental Mana has replenished. I round out the cycle at the multi-tumbler door.
13th Level Lord and Samurai
Rothgar and Ryu obtain enough experience to advance to their 13th levels on the next cycle. Rothgar takes Armorplate, while Ryu takes Fireball as an area-of-effect option.
13th Level Ninja and Bishop
I go through a few more cycles. I show the next one where a few more significant things come into place.
I of course craft and sell a few Potions of Renewal to Lord Braffit. But I also now buy a Book of Cure Paralysis and Book of Cure Disease, and have Terra inscribe them.
I next fight a pair of Savant Berserkers and a few Savant Gunners. Terra takes Elemental Shield on her 13th level-up, so I now have some flexibility about who protects the party against damaging spells when I need it. Chun-Li takes Heal All on her 13th level-up, which is an obviously useful spell for healing the whole party when needed.
Terra also reaches 100 Intelligence, so she can now start training her newly acquied Power Cast skill too as shown when I complete the rest of the cycle.
13th Level Monk and Valkyrie
I begin another cycle. I fought quite a few Berserkers and Gunners, so I almost but not quite obtain enough experience to advance both RFS-81 to their 13th levels. And there won't be anymore monsters spawning in Arnika for the next little while.
So I venture out onto the Arnika-Trynton Road just to find another group of monsters to get Vi Domina across the finish line. I run into six Juggernauts and a couple of Rank Weeds. I don't need the crook and niche tactic anymore. An Insanity spell or two, plus a Toxic Cloud from Chun-Li, helps me prevail even when surrounded by the Juggernauts. A Ring of Fire and an Acid Bomb from Terra helps as well. Vi Domina takes Silence on her level-up.
I defeat a group of Picuses led by a pair of Greater Picuses on the way back to Arnika. Being of higher level reduces the odds of getting blinded by the Greater Picuses, and thus reduces their danger considerably. Although I did have Rothgar and Vi Domina cast Cure Lesser Condition on RFS-81 when he got blinded, for the sake of practicing my Water Magic skills.
I return to Arnika and complete the cycle before going to rest.
15th Level Fighter and Bard
A few more cycles later and Zarax and Errol advance to their 15th levels.
Rothgar had beforehand obtained a perfect 100 skill points in Divine Magic. He gets 99 points in Divinity in the video. I'll no longer need him to train with Heal Wounds at the crashed ship once both skills reach a perfect 100.
14th Level Lord and Samurai
I go through several more cycles (not shown in the video), as the monster encounters slowed down and were lower level.
But now I get some Savant Berserkers and Gunners. Ryu, Terra and Chun-Li practice their magic skills on the Gunners with single-target damage spells. The warriors take out the Berserkers up close.
Rothgar takes Silence on his 14th level-up, while Ryu takes Iceball. Ryu also reaches 100 points of Dexterity, which unlocks the Reflextion skill for him. The AC bonus will be perfect for his role as a tank.
Vi Domina, Rothgar and Chun-Li practice their Mental Magic skills on Lord Braffit as the next part of the cycle.
I've made a lot of money on selling Renewal Potions, so now it's time to buy some armor pieces from Antone's. Rothgar gets a Heaume, and gives his Helm & Coif to Vi Domina. Zarax gets a Plate Mail (L) and Silver Sollerets. He gives his Sollerets to Vi Domina.
Now I practice Heal Wounds at the crashed ship. Note that Rothgar has by now obtained 100 points in both Divinity and Divine Magic. He doesn't need to practice anymore, as there's no longer any point. Leaving him out now helps the cycles go a little faster. He's also got a full healing reserve when I get attacked by monsters.
I complete the rest of the cycle, including practicing Mental Magic on Anna, and using Knock Knock on the multi-tumbler door.
14th Level Ninja and Bishop
I continue with more cycles. I show the one where significant progress occurs. I have groups of Berserkers and Gunners, which leads to Terra and Chun-Li advancing to their 14th levels. Terra takes Crush, which provides a good single-target option. Chun-Li takes Sane Mind, as restoring sanity to party members hit by the Insanity effect can be crucial.
I buy a couple more things from Antona, a Platemail (U) and a Heaume for Zarax.
I continue the cycle at the crashed ship. Vi Domina at this point has obtained a perfect 100 in both Divinity and Divine Magic. So now both Rothgar and herself no longer need to practice Heal Wounds at the ship.
I need just a little more xp to advance RFS-81, so I leave Arnika briefly to look for some monsters to kill. I soon run into several Juggernauts and a few Stalker Seekers. I put my back to the hall, and have Ryu, Terra and Chun-Li hit them with offensive spells for practice. Chun-Li's Toxic Cloud makes things considerably easier.
I return to Arnika, complete the rest of the cycle at the multi-tumbler door, rest up and then buff up.
Power Training a Bishop
Now I continue with another cycle. I still include Vi Domina and Rothgar casting Charm on Lord Braffit, as they can still train their Mental Magic skills on him. I also have Chun-Li cast Mindread on him, to train both her Mental Magic and Psionics skills.
I had a close call at the crashed ship. Some Savant Drones attacked me just as I got on the fire near the crashed ship. Luckily I managed to execute a "walk" to get off the fire before anyone died. I had Rotghar cast a full-powered Heal Wounds on Chun-Li, as she barely has any Hit Points. Vi Domina did the same for Ryu.
I blow the Drones away with offensive spells. Chun-Li finally reaches 100 points in Power Cast, which was one of my key objectives all along. And she no longer needs to practice Heal Wounds at the crashed ship, as she has perfected all of Divinity, Divine Magic and Power Cast. She lends her Brilliant Helm to Terra, who's the next in line for perfecting Power Cast.
I complete the cycle at the multi-tumbler door. Chun-Li still participates in this part of the cycle too, as she can still train her Alchemy skill.
Vi Domina's 14th Level
I continue to grind away with cycles. They're shorter now that only Terra needs to practice Heal Wounds at the crashed ship.
Vi Domina takes Whirlwind on her 14th level-up.
Swordsman and Poet
I begin another cycle. I fight a new monster, Savant Destroyers, which are more powerful versions of Savant Gunners. I afterwards fight several Savant Drones, Savant Gunners and Savant Beserkers.
It's a large amount of xp that leads to Zarax and Errol advancing to their 16th levels.
I then head over to Antone's, and buy a Plate (U) and Heaume for Vi Domina before completing the rest of the cycle.
15th Level Lord and Samurai
I continue with the cycles. At one point I gain enough xp to advance Rothgar and Ryu to their 15th levels.
Rothgar takes Sane Mind. He'll be a go to to cure insanity, especially once he trains his Iron Will skill that allows himself to resist spells that cause insanity.
Ryu takes Return to Portal, which also learns Set Portal at the same time. The use of portals will be part of my game plans in the future.
On that note, I now have Chun-Li set up a portal in the upper bed room of He-Li's Inn. Vi Domina will return to He-Li's if and when I dismiss her, or when she leaves of her own accord, so planting the portal here allows me to return here in a pinch to retrieve her.
I also buy Steel Gauntlets, Plate Mail (L) and Silver Sollerets. Zarax gets the Steel Gauntlets, while Vi Domina gets the latter two items.
15th Level Monk
A few cycles later and RFS-81 reaches his 15th level. He adds 1 point to max out his Speed at 100, and thereby obtains the Snake Speed skill. He thereafter piles up on Strength and Vitality.
Terra is herself getting close to maxing out her Power Cast skill, as she reaches 95 points at the end of this cycle.
15th Level Valkyrie, Ninja and Bishop
The next cycle begins with a fight against 3 Savant Berserkers and 5 Savant Gunners.
I go outside Arnika briefly, but not too far, to look for any monsters to help the grinding process along. I defeat a few Crimson Poppies.
I return for a fight against 5 Savant Gunners, and a new enemy, 3 Savant Slashers which are more powerful versions of Savant Berserkers.
I pretty much win the same way. My warriors take the Slashers head on, while my spellcasters in training take out the Gunners with single-target spells. I did have a close call when a Slasher nearly killed RFS-81, but I managed to heal him on the next round.
The experience is enough to advance all of Vi Domina, Terra and Chun-Li.
Vi Domina brings her Vitality and Piety to 97, closing in on the Iron Skin and Iron Will elite skills. She also takes Sane Mind, and again it makes sense for a character with Iron Will to be able to resist insanity effects and therefore be able to cast Sane Mind on party members who have gone insane.
Terra takes Body of Stone, which is an Alchemist only spell that reduces the damage taken by a single party member. She'll use this buff on Zarax frequently, with the idea that Zarax won't have great AC but have his damage taken reduced by the cumulative effect of both Body of Stone and his Iron Skin skill.
Chun-Li takes Firestorm, a Wizard-only spell that causes continuous fire damage over the course of several rounds.
I go to Antone's, and buy Steel Gauntlets for Vi Domina. I thereafter complete the rest of the cycle and rest up.
17th Level Fighter and Bard
The next cycle sees the forays outside of Arnika pay off, as I get to kill two groups of Juggernauts. I don't even have to bottleneck them anymore. The party can now survive getting surrounded by them, while I put spells like Toxic Cloud, Acid Bomb and Firestorm over them.
I return and defeat 5 Savant Gunners and 3 Savant Berserkers. Both Zarax and Errol advance another level, and I complete the rest of the cycle thereafter.
Paladin and Daimyo
I continue with the cycles, and gain enough xp to advance Rothgar and Ryu to their 16th levels.
Rothgar takes Heal All. He now provides an option to heal multiple party members. He also maxes out his Vitality to obtain the Ironskin skill.
Ryu takes Armormelt. It's an option to reduce the armor of a group of particularly tough monsters should that need arise.
I also buy Steel Gauntlets so that Rothgar has a pair as well.
Master Monk
A few more cycles later and RFS-81 reaches his 16th level. He continues to pile up on Strength and Vitality.
Also, since I've got a lot of cash now, I start buying up ammo from Anna like Barbed Arrows, Shrike Arrows and Hunter Quarrels.
Valkyrie Champion
Note that Rothgar a little while ago perfected his Mental Magic skill at 100, so he longer needs to practice Charm on Lord Braffit as part of the cycle.
A few cycles later and Vi Domina obtains her 16th level. She maxes out both her Piety and Vitality at 100, and thus obtains both the Iron Skin and Iron Will skills. She also takes the Heal All spell.
Master Ninja and Diocesan
I encounter several Savant Drones after resting following my most recent cycle and leaving the jail. That provides enough xp for Terra and Chun-Li to advance to their 16th levels.
Terra takes Toxic Cloud, so she now has that options as well.
Chun-Li takes Quicksand, which is an option for insta-killing several enemies, especially if they lack resistance against earth magic.
I have reached my objective, which is for everyone to be at 16th level before I enter the next dungeon. There's a specific reason why which I'll explain later.
Furthermore, the grinding has accomplished a lot. My spellcasters have advanced their spellcasting skills, with Chun-Li obtaining a perfect 100 for Power Cast. Ryu and Terra are very close too, at 93 and 98 respectively. But I can call it the day for skills grinding at this point with my objective of 16th level characters achieved.
I therefore leave Arnika for the next dungeon.
To the Cemetery Retro Dungeon
Now I start making my way back to the Graveyard in the Arnika Trynton Road.
I run into numerous monstesr along the way, including Crimson Poppies and Bats of various sorts. Zarax and Errol advance another level.
I also run into a group of 9 Juggernauts and 4 Rank Weeds along the way. Now I go back to my bottleneck strategy. I didn't mind letting Juggernauts surround me and then blasting them with spells when I was practicing my magic skills and could rest regularly. Going back to the bottleneck strategy signifies conserving resources in anticipation of an extended dungeon crawl.
The first step to unlocking the Cemetery Retro Dungeon is to click on 6 runes that can be found on tombstones in the Graveyard. These are indicated by 'r' on the Arnika-Trynton Road map.
The next step is to implant a Dagger in the southeast corner of the Graveyard. Double-check to see if the Dagger has ended up on the ground. You haven't done it right until you can see the Dagger sticking out of the wall. The location is marked by 'd' on the Arnika-Trynton Road map.
Now head I for the place marked 'Ring' on the Arnika-Trynton Road map. There, you will now find a mushroom ring. I only need to step on it to get teleported to the Cemetery Retro Dungeon.
