=------------------------------------------------------= -=- Kingdom Hearts II: Gameplay Strategies -=- --=-- Version XIVa (63 Pages) --=-- ---=--- Started: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 ---=--- ---=--- Last Updated: Sunday, June 04, 2006 ---=--- --=-- Author: Ezekiel Lonewalker (PsychoZeke) --=-- -=- E-Mail: zekeunbound18@yahoo.com -=- =------------------------------------------------------= =----------------------= =- Table of Contents: -= =----------------------= I. Introduction and Copyright [inc] II. FAQ Backlog [ver] III. Tips & Tricks [tnt] i. Escaping Certain Death [ecd] a. Twilight Thorn [ntt] b. Demyx (2nd Encounter) [dem] c. Storm Rider [hsr] d. Xaldin [xal] e. Grim Reaper (2nd Encounter) [hgr] f. Xigbar [xig] g. Xemnas (Final Battle) [xfb] ii. Drive Forms [drf] a. Form Leveling Tips [flt] b. The Anti Form Process [ant] c. Recommended Keyblades [rkb] d. Drive Gauge Tricks [dgt] iii. When Item Hunting [wih] a. Dense & Twilight Materials [dtm] b. Mythril Materials [myt] c. Energy Materials [erg] d. The Element Materials [tem] e. Item Drop Rate [idr] f. Practical Items [pit] g. Final Note [fin] iv. Bulky Vendor [hbv] a. Worldwide Tour [wwt] v. Munny Short? [mun] a. Munny Spots [dot] b. Gambling with the Gamblers [gam] c. Endless Gamble [end] d. Jackpot Process [jpr] vi. Olympus Coliseum Missions [ocm] a. Phil's Training [ptt] b. Underdrome Cups [udc] vii. Level Up Trick [lut] viii. Gummi Ship Mission X [gum] a. Preparation [pre] b. Defeating Hunter X [dhx] ix. Useful Links [url] a. Sephiroth Videos [sev] b. Specific Boss Battle Videos [sbv] c. Gameplay Videos [gpv] d. Gummi Ship Videos [gsv] e. Miscellany Videos [miv] IV. How to Beat Sephiroth Guide [hbs] i. Foreword [int] ii. Adjustment [adj] iii. Action Abilities [aab] iv. Support Abilities [sab] v. Growth Abilities [gab] V. Miscellany [mis] i. Armor [arm] ii. Accessories [acc] iii. Keychain/Keyblade [key] iv. Items [itm] v. Shortcuts [cut] VI. The One-Winged Angel [owa] i. Stats [sts] VII. Know Thy Enemy [kte] i. Battle Spoils [bsp] VIII. Contact Information [inf] IX. Credits [crd] X. Final Words [fwd] =-------------------------------= =- Introduction and Copyright: -= =-------------------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [inc] Initially, this was a "How to Beat Sephiroth" guide that I decided to write given that a lot of "Help with Sephiroth" topics were flooding the Kingdom Hearts II GameFAQs message boards. I wrote it fairly fast, and it was also brought about due to two friends of mine (more on this covered at the How to Beat Sephiroth section), but, at the same time I uploaded the FAQ for evaluation, two were added to the Kingdom Hearts II FAQ page. I, stubbornly, kept trying my luck, but after four tries, it always ended up being rejected. I decided to follow megafierce's advice of expanding this guide to something more than simply Sephiroth: a tips and tricks guide. So, in conclusion, this guide was done mainly out of my free will and time, not to make profit out of it. It's content herein is copyright (©) of its author, PsychoZeke. This document is to be used strictly and only by the public itself and cannot be sold. This FAQ is for the sole purpose of being accessible to the web community and cannot be reproduced, retransmitted, rewritten in any other form unless acknowledged by its author; it cannot be edited by anyone else but the author, PsychoZeke. As any other form of literature, this is a brainchild, which is to be respected by any who has access to it. As of now, this FAQ is only available to: www.cheathappens.com www.1UP.com http://psychozeke.tripod.com/ NOTE: I think it goes without saying that this guide may contain some SPOILERS. =----------------= =- FAQ Backlog: -= =----------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [ver] Version I - Wednesday, April 26, 2006: The beginning of this guide, and its first release in the Kingdom Hearts II GameFAQ message boards (as How to Beat Sephiroth Guide). Version II - Thursday, April 27, 2006: Some new additions to the guide, with inclusion to an Introductory and Copyright section and some other specific and trivial supplements. Version III - Tuesday, May 2, 2006: Final proofread, as well as minor grammatical errors fixed. Version IV – Friday, May 12, 2006: Complete overhaul! New sections and boss strategies added and a bunch of other supplements. Version V – Saturday, May 13, 2006: Twilight Thorn and Demyx (2nd Encounter) strategies completed. Version VI – Sunday, May 14, 2006: Storm Rider strategy completed. Tips & Tricks section started. Links added to the Useful Links section. Version VII – Tuesday, May 16, 2006: Drive Forms section completed; When Item Hunting section started. Version VIII – Saturday, May 20, 2006: When Item Hunting section completed; Gummi Ship Mission X section started and finished. Version IX – Sunday, May 21, 2006: Began work on the Munny Short? section; fixed some minor errors in the Drive Forms section, as well as added a new Drive Orb strategy to the Master Form leveling strategy. Version X – Monday, May 22, 2006: Munny Short? section completed. Version XI – Wednesday, May 24, 2006: Began and completed the Bulky Vendor section. Version XII – Friday-Wednesday, May 26-31, 2006: Xaldin, Grim Reaper (2nd Encounter), Xigbar, and Xemnas (Final Battle) strategies completed; began and completed the Olympus Coliseum Missions and the Level Up Trick sections. Final FAQ revision and fixes – coincidentally the same day it got started. Version XIIa – Thursday, June 01, 2006: Fixed some minor errors in several sections. Added new links to the Useful Links section, as well as added a note in the Olympus Coliseum subsection regarding the Double- Score Mode. Version XIII – Friday, June 02, 2006: Altered the guide's format to fit GameFAQs' requirements, as well as incorporated the specific boss strategies to the Tips & Tricks section; and organized a few sections. Version XIV – Sunday, June 04, 2006: YAY! GameFAQs once again rejected the guide! But anyways, revised few sections of the guide, as well as new supplementations were added. Organized the URL addresses in the Useful Links sections, as well as new links were added. Version XIVa - Saturday, June 24, 2006: New strategy for the Cerberus Underdrome/Paradox Cup added, provided by darkeden53. =--------------------= =- Tips and Tricks: -= =--------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [tnt] In this section you'll find specific hints regarding various elements of the game, such as Bosses, Sora's Forms, Bulky Vendors, particular Item information, among other things. Their aim is to facilitate you, the gamer, a vast understanding on how to completely take advantage and grasp the full potential of the various elements detailed herein. These are merely suggestions of course. -----------------------. Escaping Certain Death: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [ecd] Here you'll find detailed strategies of some selected bosses that could be considered difficult. As a side note, most of these bosses have been chosen due to constant topics created at the Kingdom Hearts II message board by members that have asked for help or have expressed, in any manner, their frustration towards these bosses level of difficulty. They have also been taken to consideration after personally asking the members of the aforementioned message board. The strategies will be in the order you actually would fight these bosses, as well as they will be as concise and detailed as possible. Each boss entry will have a "Stats" appendage where HP (how many life bars the boss has will be enclosed in a parenthesis), Strength, and Defense will be detailed, as well as what attacks are most effective and a list of the bosses moves/attacks. =-------------------= =- Twilight Thorn: -= =-------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [ntt] This might be of a surprise to some, but Twilight Thorn has been a famous boss among the Kingdom Hearts II message boards, where many have expressed how difficult he is on Proud Mode. Now, personally, I find this giant pasty Nobody easy, both Standard and Proud Mode-wise. But, I can't dismiss this or play the sarcastic card and mock those that face some level of difficulty against this boss. ------. Stats: \_ =--------------------------------------------= =- HP: 300 (2LB) | Strength: 5 | Defense: 2 -= =--------------------------------------------= ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =-------------------= =- Standard Weapon -= =-------------------= NOTE: Magic at this point in the game is unavailable, so is pointless to address what type of magic is the most effective and which isn't. Either way, all magic damage dealt to Twilight Thorn would be halved. --------. Attacks: \_ - Combo Punch: A grab maneuver; Roxas is attacked 3 times consecutively. - Toss Up: Twilight Thorn bats Roxas to the air and then concludes by slamming him to the floor. - Light Ball: An energy ball where if Roxas falls into, damage is dealt. - Thorn Beam: An energy-based move where beams are released from each thorn. - One-Handed Sweep: A sidespin accompanied by a left-hand swipe that is deflectable. - Two-Handed Sweep: A clothesline follow-up that is deflectable. - Luminescence: Energy-based move that attacks through the floor. - Ultimate Beam: A succession of multiple Thorn Beams followed up by an explosion. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Key Counter: If performed correctly, will counter Combo Punch. - Lunarsault: A follow-up in which Roxas counterattacks during the Toss Up phase. - Break Raid: This is another follow-up where Roxas throws the Keyblade to destroy the Light Ball attack. - Reversal: If timed right, Roxas will air-dodge and literally ride through the air to reach Twilight Thorn's head. This Reaction Command is continuous. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ - HP +5 - Action Ability: Guard -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ N/A ---------. Strategy: \_ Twilight Thorn is in reality a pushover and shouldn't be considered hard at all. However, some of the attacks that compose his arsenal could be quite damaging and lethal if you can't manage to dodge them or miss any Reaction Commands. Essentially, the way to win this battle is to perform each Reaction Command as soon as prompted. Once the battle begins, Twilight Thorn will attack Roxas, imprisoning him in a set of Reaction Commands that are as straightforward as the battle itself. Time the Reaction Commands correctly and you'll easily avoid Combo Punch and Toss Up, which will be followed up by Light Ball, where another Reaction Command (Break Raid) will appear. This one will completely deflect the energy-based attack and stun Twilight Thorn in the process; once you land, lock-on to Twilight Thorn's head and do as much damage as possible. That is Twilight Thorn's weakness, his head – strike it every time he bents it low and starts swinging his hands violently. Reversal is another important Reaction Command that will be prompted whenever the giant towers Roxas, where beam-like currents will start to manifest alongside floating rings. Time Reversal correctly and you'll reach Twilight Thorn's head, after which it will egress from its "ring" form releasing an explosion onto the center of the stage. Watch out for Twilight Thorn whenever he tries to use his hands to strike Roxas, mostly whenever he back flips to the other side of the arena leaving his hands outstretched. These attacks are set patterns, and after Twilight Thorn ends swimming through the stage, he'll lower his head near floor-level, his limbs enclosed in a dark current. Perform each Reaction Command accordingly trying to land in a few strikes. In this particular phase, Nobodies known as Creepers will start manifesting, which serve as a great way to recoup your health if its low, as well as they provide experience. After a while, Twilight Thorn will revert to its first few attacks, repeating the initial Reaction Commands (these will be repeated throughout the whole fight if you take too long to beat him as well). Use Potions when necessary and remember that Creepers are a good way to replenish health. NOTE: Twilight Thorn's difficulty varies with the weapon you choose prior to the actual confrontation at the Station of Serenity. =--------------------------= =- Demyx (2nd Encounter): -= =--------------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [dem] The second time you encounter Demyx, this time in Hollow Bastion's Castle Gates, he seems to still be the same feeble punk as before, though this time around he spits out his newfound "bravado". There have been numerous topics created at the Kingdom Hearts II message board asking tips on how to defeat him, as well as it has been accepted as one of Organization XIII's hard-to-beat members, though not at the Xaldin or Xigbar level. Aside from still being pretty much Demyx, he proves to be a better fighter in this battle. ------. Stats: \_ =-----------------------------------------------= =- HP: 1005 (6LB) | Strength: 29 | Defense: 16 -= =-----------------------------------------------= ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =--------------------------= =- Standard Weapon | Fire -= =--------------------------= NOTE: Blizzard spells are ineffective, and any damage inflicted by any other spells will be halved. --------. Attacks: \_ - Water Dance: Demyx creates several water forms/clones for you to destroy in 40 seconds in the first round and 10 seconds for the next. - Water Column: Blizzard-based attack that creates water columns in three different patterns: horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. - Water Wall: Demyx encloses himself in a literal water wall, and attacks close targets with his sitar. - Water Column Dance: Demyx swings his sitar around to create water pillars. - Water Ball: Blizzard-based attack in which consist of exploding balls of water. - Rapid Water Ball: Demyx summons exploding water balls overhead the arena. - Rave: An attack in which Demyx runs up to Sora and lashes out with his sitar; this attack can't be deflected. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Wild Dance: Only prompted when Demyx does Water Dance, where Sora grabs one of the water forms/clones and swings it around 3 times. - Show Stealer: Sora interrupts Demyx's Rave attack to knock him away. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ - Armor Slot, Spell Upgrade: Blizzara (Sora) - Support Ability: Blizzard Boost (Donald) - HP +5 (Goofy) -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ No ---------. Strategy: \_ The beginning of this battle is identical to the one against Demyx in the Underworld, where you'll need to destroy several Water Forms summoned by him. This time around, though, you'll have to destroy 50 of them in 40 seconds. For this, obviously, use the Reaction Command Wild Dance to dispose of these nuisances by approaching a group and swinging away. Don't expend time trying to defeat them one-by-one with the Keyblade because odds are you'll fail and lose the battle unnecessarily. One good way to defeat these Forms is to stay in the center of the arena, where you'll be able to easily defeat them. Water Forms aren't your main concern here, though, since after you defeat Demyx's army, he'll start using a pattern of attacks that can easily confuse you and take away a good chunk of health. He'll slide across the ground, leaving a row of geysers as he goes; these can be easily avoided, but can still be a bother to fully dodge. But the way to understand Demyx's next move is to listen closely to his taunts. "Dance water, dance!" is an indication that he'll summon 10 new Water Forms for you to defeat in exactly 10 seconds (for this follow the same strategy used for the beginning of the battle). When he yells, "Come on. Kick to the beat!" a series of geysers will erupt all around him creating a Water Wall and the follow-up Water Column Dance. Be prudent in this phase, as you'll need to remain in and out, preventing any physical contact by jumping around Demyx (or you could resort to remain as far away as possible if you wish). Finally, "Water!" signals Demyx will begin his Water Ball and Rapid Water Ball assault, which preferably you must dodge since these aren't deflectable. Try to use Goofy's Knocksmash Limit whenever Demyx remains idle or he lines up close to Sora. It's recommendable to avoid using Trinity Limit, as this move is best suited for cluster of enemies. If you have good button-smashing skills, start a combo by casting Fira and continuing from there whenever Demyx is open for a combo. Don't waste time casting magic, though, as it is critically pointless. Either Valor or Master Form is very helpful in this battle, mostly because Forms allow for an instant HP/MP restoration ability. This battle is relatively easy if you follow Demyx's moves and don't waste MP and time. =----------------= =- Storm Rider: -= =----------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [hsr] Upon revisiting the Land of Dragons, you'll encounter this massive enemy outside the Throne Room at the Imperial Square. It has been labeled as a tricky boss fight by some, mostly due to the fact it is a primordial ground-to-air confrontation; Reaction Commands are a necessity in this one. ------. Stats: \_ =-----------------------------------------------= =- HP: 1216 (7LB) | Strength: 34 | Defense: 19 -= =-----------------------------------------------= ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =-------------------= =- Standard Weapon -= =-------------------= NOTE: Thunder spells are ineffective, and any damage inflicted by any other spells will be halved. --------. Attacks: \_ - Carpet Bomb: Storm Rider will swim through the air while releasing numerous bombs. - Thunder Bomb: While perched in the air, Storm Rider will release lighting blasts from his wings up the sky, which can be deflected or dodged. - Thunder: Standard Thunder spell. - Thunder Beam: Storm Rider charges up lighting-based energy to be released whenever aground, or if cornered. - Lightning Wall: Linked attack that occurs while Storm Rider performs Thunder Beam to limit characters' movement field. - Roar: A standard bellow that creates a shockwave, tossing any enemies back. - Low Charge: Storm Rider swoops down low along the ground. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Hang On: When mounted on the Storm Rider's back, this Reaction Command will be prompted the moment it begins to flip-and-swirl to toss Sora and Company off. - Let Go: Release and let go. - Slide: During Low Charge, Sora will slide under Storm Rider. - Vertigo Toss: Following Slide, Sora will strike Storm Rider from below, stunning the creature in the process. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ - Spell Upgrade: Thundara (Sora) - HP +4 (Donald) - Action Ability: Tornado Fusion (Goofy) - HP +25 (Mulan) -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ Yes ---------. Strategy: \_ As previously stated, this is a ground-to-air battle, so be sure to equip all of your aerial abilities before entering the fight. When the battle begins, you might believe the contrary since Storm Rider remains all the time perched up high – here's where your aerial maneuvers are put to test. The effective way here is to look for any of the whirlwind funnels that are scattered around the arena, hop into one and soar high into the air. While airborne, lock-on to any of the creature's horns and direct yourself towards it, paying strict attention to it alone. Once you're on Storm Rider's back, swing your Keyblade until you're prompted with a Reaction Command that allows Sora to hang on to a spine along its back. When on the ground, the Heartless will try a couple of times to swoop in and take Sora with him, in which case two new Reaction Commands will appear: Slide, followed up by Vertical Toss; do these two in order to stun the creature, giving you time to attack liberally. Once it recovers it will start to fly around, discharging electrical waves wherever Sora is located, so stay on the move to avoid these. Other times it will blast lasers at Sora, in which case you can avoid as well, or even better, use Reflect for solid protection. After Storm Rider gets bored of his light and beam spectacle, he'll dart horizontally releasing a copious rain of bombs. These are easy to dodge by staying outside his bombing range or hopping into any of the whirlwinds that swarm the stage. During certain moments in the battle, Storm Rider will set himself on the bridge in front of the palace, leaving himself open for attack. This specific move happens whenever two of his life-bars are depleted or whenever cornered. In either situation, take advantage of your Limits to take away as much health as possible – Mulan's Dragonblaze is a perfect choice in this scenario. Don't feel too comfortable, though; this brief moment of inactiveness from the creature isn't all to your advantage as he's prepping his Thunder Beam attack, alongside the hindering Lightning Wall. When the attack is launched, dodge by simply sticking to the sides as the beam scours through the center. If you time right each Reaction Command, use the wind funnels to your advantage, keep dodging all electrical discharges and using Reflect accordingly, you'll make a relatively long battle into a short one. As always use your MP and Limits wisely, and don't be afraid to use your Drive Forms; Master Form is actually a great choice for this brawl, but you'll need both Donald and Goofy. =-----------= =- Xaldin: -= =-----------= Ctrl+F (F3): [xal] Ah yes, Organization XIII's third member, Xaldin, who appears the second time you visit Beast's Castle. Xaldin is quite a difficult boss if you have the tendency of button- smashing or simply dishing out too much damage in order to do your own. Like the Dragoon Nobodies, Xaldin has the Learn and Jump Reaction Commands, which will make this battle a whole lot easier. This battle requires good evasive tactics and, above all, patience. ------. Stats: \_ =-----------------------------------------------= =- HP: 1155 (6LB) | Strength: 34 | Defense: 19 -= =-----------------------------------------------= ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =-------------------= =- Standard Weapon -= =-------------------= NOTE: All damage done by magic spells will be halved. --------. Attacks: \_ - Thrust: Forward spear jab, which usually leads to the Learn Reaction Command; can be completely interrupted. - Sweep Away: Up to 7 spear gyrations that can be deflected but not interrupted. - Jump: Xaldin warps high dropping up to 5 spears ending in a body drop attack. The spears can be dodged or deflected, but the finisher (being the body drop) can't be parried. - Wild Spear Dance: A straightforward, but deflectable, javelin combo. - Protective Wind: Xaldin casts an Aero-like spell, shielding its body with wind gusts. - Manipulative Wind: Usually done while Protective Wind is activated, Xaldin will release wind-based homing bombs at Sora and company, which can be deflected. - Wind of Despair: Xaldin's spears become an azure dragon moving out of harms way outside the bridge's reach where he preps and fires a wind- based blast. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Learn: While Xaldin performs his Thrust move, Learn will become available, which can be stocked up to 9 times. - Jump: Not a direct Reaction Command, but an attack following Learn. The Attack command will become Jump, which will do weapon-type damage, while the shockwave does other-type damage. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ - HP +5, Spell Upgrade: Reflega (Sora) - Support Ability: Auto Healing (Donald) - HP +5 (Goofy) - HP +25 (Beast) -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ Yes ---------. Strategy: \_ The sheer complexity of this battle can only be measured by Sora's current level due to the fact that most battles have a certain technicality where strength basically becomes obsolete and your resourcefulness is put up to test. That being said, this is one of those fights where you need to appease and forget about button-smashing an enemy to death, because Xaldin is no pushover. It's a good idea to have your Drive Forms leveled up considerably, at least Level 3 where you obtain each of their Level 1 Growth Abilities, which are as helpful as the Learn Reaction Command is. As soon as the battle starts, lock-on to Xaldin and peel your eyes open, and accustom yourself to Xaldin's speed. Xaldin's moves are solely long-reach, making them foreseeable to some degree and reasonably easy to block, mostly the Thrusts, which are the best way to stock up Learn Reaction Commands. Since it can be difficult to get in close quarters against Xaldin, stocking as much Learns as possible will help towards that goal. The Learn Reaction Command becomes available every now and then when Xaldin attacks, but is mostly available when he jabs his spears forward creating a Thrust. By stocking these, your Attack command changes to Jump, which will be accompanied by the amount stocked up so far (up to 9). Typically, you'll need to perform all the Jumps available in order to attack accordingly, but a good tactic is to Guard whenever Xaldin attacks to save the Jump for Xaldin's strongest moves. After these are unloaded, Xaldin will be knocked out of his stance, practically open for an aerial assault, so take full advantage of your abilities and aerial finisher. Quick Run becomes a necessity whenever Xaldin enters his berserk-like stage, where he glows green and his speed and strength increases considerably. If you don't watch out your movements, you'll get caught up in a corner where Xaldin will most likely spear you to death. While in this stage, Xaldin will sometimes move outside the bridge and transform his spears into a dragon where he'll scour the bridge horizontally releasing a wind-based energy blast. When this happens, move to the end of the bridge to completely avoid this attack. All in all, stocking up as much Learn Reaction Commands and knowing when to use Jump will make the difference between victory and defeat. Limits are a great choice to inflict damage, mostly Beast's Howling Moon, whenever Xaldin is caught off-guard or Goofy's Tornado Fusion. Drive Forms can help whenever Sora's HP and/or MP are critically low; Valor Form's extreme offensiveness could also help to inflict damage right after performing Jump. Know to keep your distance whenever Xaldin goes berserk and avoid any suicidal stunts, unless you have enough Jump commands available, and don't force Sora into tight spots. Remember, Learn equals victory. =--------------------------------= =- Grim Reaper (2nd Encounter): -= =--------------------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [hgr] Contrary to the first encounter in the Black Pearl, the fracas that stirs up at the Harbor can be a bit frustrating. This time around the Grim Reaper has become a ghoul thanks to the medallions, and the only possible way to win the battle is by using magic. Patience, as always, can be your best ally. ------. Stats: \_ =----------------------------------------------= =- HP: 790 (4LB) | Strength: 35 | Defense: 20 -= =----------------------------------------------= ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =-------------------= =- Standard Weapon -= =-------------------= NOTE: All magic spells will do a third of the usual damage. --------. Attacks: \_ - Sweep Away: Swings the scythe sideways – standard attack that can be completely interrupted. - Warp: A spinning attack combined with teleportation that can be deflected. - Evil Spirit: A standard swing of the scythe that can be deflected and interrupted, followed by a spirit attack that can only be deflected. - Dance of the Dead: An attack where spirits bop around; this move cannot be deflected. - Absorb Medallions: Grim Reaper releases some spirits to suck medallions from the chest. Deflecting their attacks, however, could halt momentarily the move. - Tornado: A whirlwind used primarily to gather in medallions scattered on the ground; it can be deflected. - Spirit Counter: Evil spirits are once again released, but only after performing the Loot Launch Reaction Command. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Replace: Deposits medallions in the chest. - Hinder: Thwarts the Grim Reaper from collecting medallions. - Loot Launch: Followed by Hinder, Sora will grab Grim Reaper and send it flying to make it spill medallions. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ - Spell Upgrade: Magnera (Sora) - Action Ability: Flare Force (Donald) - HP +5 (Goofy) - HP +15 (Jack Sparrow) -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ No ---------. Strategy: \_ Different to other fights, say Xaldin's for example, this particular bout with the Grim Reaper isn't that difficult, though it can be tricky. The strategy for this battle is straightforward with magic as the key. Since the cursed medallions protect the Grim Reaper from physical harm, you must use magic spells in order for it to drop these medallions, pick them up and return them to the chest. Knowing that be sure to have Donald as part of your party customized to Technic Attack, which will make the battle easier in the spell-casting front. When all the medallions are returned properly to the chest, the Grim Reaper will be vulnerable to physical blows, so be ready to button-smash away. Whenever the Grim Reaper approaches the chest, get close to it to activate two Reaction Commands that will thwart its moves and allow you to return any coins it might've sucked in. As far as its attacks go, they are as straightforward as the battle itself and aren't that difficult to deflect and/or dodge. Ordinarily, Limits are a great damage-inflicting source, but the Master Form could prove as beneficial. Remember, as long as one medallion is missing from the chest, the Grim Reaper will retain its ghoul aspect, prohibiting all sort of weapon-type attacks. Maintain the spell casting strong and try to follow the Reaction Commands when prompted to make the battle as short as the first one was. =-----------= =- Xigbar: -= =-----------= Ctrl+F (F3): [xig] The first boss you fight during your first visit to The Castle That Never Was, Xigbar shares the same level of difficulty of Xaldin, but has fewer attack patterns that are easier to deflect and/or dodge. The difficulty of the battle, though, falls in Xigbar's dexterity and ability to change the arena to his own advantage, not to forget his Ultima Shot attack. Again, patience is key. ------. Stats: \_ =-----------------------------------------------= =- HP: 1300 (7LB) | Strength: 45 | Defense: 26 -= =-----------------------------------------------= ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =-------------------= =- Standard Weapon -= =-------------------= NOTE: All magic spells will do a quarter of the usual damage. --------. Attacks: \_ - Aim: Xigbar retracts to a balcony where he snipes down below. - Shot: 4 standard shots that are completely deflectable. - Downward Shot: 4 standard shots from an overhead position that are completely deflectable. - Warp Shot: 4 standard shots from two parallel warp holes that are completely deflectable. - Teleport: Xigbar teleports around the stage, breaking your lock-on. - Charge Shot: A charged-up version of a Sniper's Light-Arrow attack, which can be deflected if timed right other than the Warp Snipe Reaction Command. - Stage Change: Xigbar changes the shape of the arena. - Ultima Shot: Massive bullet rain from different angles. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Break: Thwarts Xigbar's Aim attack. - Warp Snipe: Same as with Sniper Nobodies, Warp Snipe teleports Sora to shoot light-arrows back at Xigbar. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ - Spell Upgrade: Magnega (Sora) - Item Slot (Donald) - HP +5 (Goofy) -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ No ---------. Strategy: \_ Being the sniper he is, Xigbar initiates his turn in battle by teleporting high atop a balcony-like platform to attack Sora and company with his special Aim move. Use the Break Reaction Command as soon as prompted followed by Warp Snipe, which annuls the move and inflicts damage at the same time. Subsequently, Xigbar will return to the stage where he'll commence his shot barrage - four normal laser-like bullets at a time. During this phase, Xigbar will constantly teleport around the stage breaking your lock-on; it's crucial that you lock-on to him as soon as he reappears. Since Xigbar's main tactic is to shoot laser-like bullets at Sora, bounce them back at him with the use of Reflect magic. Now, regarding the Shot attack, it has three distinct patterns that you need to be aware of. The first pattern consists of the standard shot, which he constantly performs while he teleports around; the second one is a downward shot where he appears directly overhead Sora; and the third one consisting of two portals where light-arrows home in at Sora. All of these moves can be deflected back at Xigbar with the use of Reflect magic, except for Warp Shot. After two or three turns, Xigbar will retract to a safe place and reload his rifles; he'll announce this particular process by saying, "R for reload!" Lock-on to him and attack him before he teleports away to restart his Shot patterns. Xigbar will also alternate in between attacks to shoot charged-up light-arrows that will recoil around for brief amounts of time, which can be bounced back at Xigbar by using the Warp Snipe Reaction Command. However, you can stand in front of Xigbar while he's charging up and use Reflect magic before he releases them, bouncing them all back at him. As for the stage changes go, they aren't too drastic in a sense, but they can be a bit confusing. The changes vary greatly: sometimes the arena becomes a linear one, Xigbar at the end shooting double the rounds he would normally, other times a square-like labyrinth arena with Xigbar at the center. Even though these stage changes alter the perspective of battle, the battle doesn't change at all. However, when the stage becomes a small square, drastic is an overstatement; this time Xigbar means business, becoming temporarily invincible, prepping his Ultima Shot attack. During this phase, Xigbar will teleport to the sides shooting quick bursts that are best dodged by never stop moving. When these quick bursts end, more will be fired from all angles overhead the small arena. During this period, avoid the massive rain of bullets by running counterclockwise to where they began, never jumping or even stopping – Glide works extremely well here. Other strategy during this attack is to use Reflect as fast as you possibly can. However, it's essential to reiterate to NEVER jump during the burst barrage. In summation, keep Xigbar locked-on, reflecting all shots he fires back at him. Take advantage of all the Reaction Commands as soon as these are prompted; Limits could be a good source to inflict damage as well, but due to Xigbar's constant teleportation it will be a bit tricky to maintain them, unless he's reloading his rifles where he is entirely open for an attack. Drive Forms are extremely useful in this particular battle as well, and if you happen to have Final Form, you'll surely deplete at least three to four of Xigbar's life bars if you button-smash with good precision. =--------------------------= =- Xemnas (Final Battle): -= =--------------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [xfb] Xemnas' last confrontation requires lots of patience, mostly if you haven't leveled up Sora accordingly. Before entering Kingdom Hearts in order to reach Xemnas, equip good armor and accessories, as well as a well-rounded Keyblade, not forgetting Hi-Potions and the like just in case. Button-smashing definitely isn't a good option, so concentrate on maintaining Xemnas locked-on, as well as evading his countless laser shots. This fight could be tough, could be easy – it all depends on how well you deliver each hit. ------. Stats: \_ =-----------------------------------------------= =- HP: 1500 (8LB) | Strength: 45 | Defense: 26 -= =-----------------------------------------------= NOTE: Xemnas' strength and defense level are relative to Sora's level (if it is higher than Xemnas'). ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =-------------------= =- Standard Weapon -= =-------------------= NOTE: All damage done by magic spells will be halved. --------. Attacks: \_ - Thorn Beam: Energy-based attack that activates the Reversal Reaction Command. (This attack is much like Twilight Thorn's own Thorn Beam attack.) - Blade Attack: Xemnas' standard blade combo attack, which usually are 3 blade cuts or a 4-set maxi-combo. - Weapon Drop: Usually done during or after the Thorn Beam scenario, Xemnas knocks Sora's Keyblade off his hands in order to attack, leading to the Block Reaction Command. - Kick: Performed while doing the blade combo, Xemnas does a Roundhouse, a Foot-sweep and a Somersault. - Shot: Much like Xigbar's Shot attack, with the lone exception that this version fires more than 4 lasers. This attack has two particular patterns: single Shot attack of 3 lasers or numerous homing lasers - Spark Bomb: Xemnas positions himself near Sora to release 2 exploding energy balls. This is a dark-type attack. - Spark Wall: Xemnas raises a reflective wall that inflicts damage if approached. - Bind Attack: A special move in which Xemnas traps Sora dealing continuous damage. This move activates the Rescue Reaction Command scenario where you control Riku. - Multi-Shot: Xemnas' "last resort" move where Sora and Riku are enclosed in a dome-like field in which countless lasers are released, leading to the Reflect Reaction Command. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Reversal: If timed right, Sora and Riku will dodge Xemnas' Thorn Beam by sliding around it. - Block: Riku steps in to defend Sora, blocking Xemnas' attack while returning Sora his Keyblade. - Rescue: During the Bind Attack scenario, you'll take control of Riku in order to rescue Sora. - Reflect: During the Multi-Shot sequence, Sora and Riku deflect each laser aimed at them; you must press Triangle and X for Riku and Sora respectively. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ N/A -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ N/A ---------. Strategy: \_ Xemnas commences his turn in battle by grabbing Sora and throwing him into the air, initiating his Thorn Beam attack. Use the Reversal Reaction Command as soon as this occurs to avoid this attack. You can, however, connect a few hits to Xemnas while airborne, but be cautious while doing this since this could lead to the Weapon Drop sequence. Though the Weapon Drop sequence leaves Xemnas open if done accordingly. The whole fight with Xemnas is quite hectic due to his ability to warp around, which hinders you to connect successive hits. He tends to duplicate himself every now and again, so watch out not to strike the fake Xemnas because it sometimes leads to a Spark Bomb; you can tell, however, the fake Xemnas from the real one because the fake one looks closely to a hologram. And speaking of Spark Bomb, watch out for this attack as it can push Sora back, though Riku's Dark Shield Reaction Command becomes available, which serves as an extension to the Reflect spell. Fighting Xemnas on the ground will become even more strenuous when he initiates his Shot barrage, where he releases countless lasers at Sora and Riku. You have several options here: Air Dodge, Reflect, and Dark Shield. When Xemnas shoots exactly three lasers, time your jump with an Air Dodge to deflect them; when Xemnas releases fourteen lasers that surround Sora and Riku, you could either jump and maintain Sora airborne while pressing the Square button and air dodging as soon as the lasers spurt towards Sora or you can time a Reflect spell; and, lastly, when Xemnas retracts, carefully wait for him to shoot numerous lasers straightly at Sora, and either use Riku's Dark Shield or several, carefully timed Reflect spells. Avoiding the laser barrage is essential to keeping Sora's health at high numbers, so if you intent to glide around to dodge the lasers, be sure that you're at considerable distance because you could end up cornered within the stage's invisible walls. Lastly, avoid using Limits during this "laser phase". After the laser mayhem, Xemnas will start to leap and warp around anew, as well as he'll start to attack with his blades. Use Guard whenever possible followed by a Counterguard to have a clear shot at Xemnas, which you could even further with either Eternal Session or Trinity Limit. Xemnas will also use Thorn Beams, where if you follow each Reversal Reaction Command accordingly, you'll slide behind him. When Xemnas has taken significant damage, or in other words has about two to two-and-a-half life bars (or three), he'll capture Sora, applying his special Bind attack. While Sora's captured, you'll play as Riku where you must work your way to Xemnas in order to free Sora. Thing is that Xemnas will not make it easy attacking Riku with a clone of his; in this particular pickle you need to either use Dark Aura to push Xemnas' clone back or attack it to make it disappear, though another will materialize. This particularity is a thing of tastes, but sometimes attacking the clones' head-on works better. After you successfully rescue Sora, Riku will attack Xemnas, leaving him susceptible to any attack – if you have enough MP, use a Limit. Once you have depleted almost all of Xemnas' life bars, he'll use his "last resort" move, unleashing a salvo of lasers at Sora and Riku. This is basically the battle's most spectacular sequence where you'll have to deflect all lasers by rapidly tapping Triangle and X - any similarities to Star Wars is mere coincidence. After successfully finishing the Multi-Shot scenario, all there is to do is finishing off Xemnas. All in all, maintain Sora's HP at high levels and avoid button-smashing. Use Reflect and Guard whenever needed, and don't be shy to use the Weapon Drop sequence as a means to inflict damage to Xemnas after properly avoiding the subsequent attack. During the laser barrage concentrate on dodging them and avoid using Limits. The rest is a straightforward battle; so follow each Reversal Reaction Command accordingly whenever prompted, and once Riku rescues Sora, take full advantage of Xemnas' susceptibility. If your health is low, retract and use a Hi-Potion, or allow Riku to heal you. ------------. Drive Forms: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [drf] Surely you know how each Form works, mostly if you use them constantly. Each Form has its unique advantage, be it fast-paced attacks (Valor), strong frenzied magic usage (Wisdom), a mix of the last two with strong aerial force (Master), or just everything and then some (Final)...or the occasional black sheep (Anti), which isn't half bad if used right. The purpose of this section is to help you to develop these Forms' full potential, inside and outside of battle. NOTE: These tips are being based by two factors: 1) you're in the final stages of the game, or 2) you've completed all episodes in each world (or at least those that will be covered here). ------------------- Form Leveling Tips: Ctrl+F (F3): [flt] - Valor Form: This Form basically is the trickiest to level up, mostly to those that lack patience. C'mon, it's true! Still, it turns reasonably easy if you use weak Keyblades (i.e. Kingdom Key and Sweet Memories). Since Valor Form's experience is tallied by one (1) for each successful hit to the enemy, Assault Riders and Morning Stars are the perfect choice. Choosing which opponent to level this Form is up to you, of course; but Assault Riders are by far the best opponents for this task. Best way is to go to the Land of Dragons, and start the world from the Throne Room, move from there to the Antechamber, dispose of the seven (7) Assault Riders that spawn there continuing all the way to the Mountain Trail. Now, you can choose either to continue uphill or regress to the Throne Room – since you've traveled three (3) screens away after you originally left the Antechamber, all the enemies will spawn anew. The great thing about Land of Dragons is that it offers a considerable amount of Heartless where you can easily level up Valor Form without any worries or mishaps, even more since most Heartless will drop Drive Orbs after being slain (most notably the Assault Riders) that will help your Drive Gauge be at high levels. If you prefer another world to level up Valor Form, then Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden would seem feasible; Morning Stars abound there in healthy numbers and you'll find around ten (10+) of them throughout the different screens (Borough, Restoration Site, Ravine Trail, and Dark Depths). Morning Stars also leave behind Drive Orbs when slain, which will keep your Drive Gauge kicking. Overall, you can always have some Drive Recoveries at hand just in case; and don't forget to have Sora equipped with the Draw Support Ability and the Draw Ring, as well as you could omit using the Kingdom Key to use Follow the Wind instead (for third times the vacuum power). - Wisdom Form: Contrary to Valor, Wisdom Form could be considered the second easiest Form to level up: for each heartless slain, one (1) point of experience is gained. Still, rounding up Heartless to level up this Form could be a bit frustrating if you dislike casting spells, even more if you've accustomed yourself to button-smashing every enemy insight. Wisdom is all about spell casting, balancing each spell to your advantage; this Form's purpose is entirely derived towards magic and long-reach tactics. To level up this Form suitably, there are two places where a vast number of Heartless can be found: Timeless River and Land of Dragons. Timeless River is the preferred spot for most people as it offers an easy enough number of Heartless to take down, ranging from Shadows, Aeroplanes, Large Bodies, Hot Rods, and Soldiers. In total, there are around sixty (60+) Heartless that inhabit Timeless River, this of course counting the four (4) separate windows. It is a great place to begin the leveling up process, and it's a fairly easy world to navigate. However, there's also Land of Dragons, offering about a hundred (100+) Heartless alone. The difference between the two worlds derives from the stage progression, Timeless River being the shorter of the two. Even so, Wisdom Form could be leveled up right in Land of Dragons seeing as most enemies there drop lots of Drive Orbs and all you'll be doing is casting spells to easily gain experience – Magnet and Thunder magic for the win. Whichever world you choose, be sure to have a couple of Ethers and Drive Recoveries in your inventory; equip a Keyblade with decent magical attributes, such as Photon Debugger to up Thunder-based attacks, or even better, Ultima Weapon. The best tactic to level up this Form is by using Magnet and Thunder magic, and equipping Sora with the Draw Support Ability and the Draw Ring. - Master Form: Master Form, my personal favorite of the five! This one is by far the easiest Form to level up, which you do by collecting Drive Orbs: for each small orb you'll gain one (1) point of experience and three (3) points for every big orb collected. This being the essential leveling system, most people prefer to level up this Form by going to the Land of Dragons and destroying the carts in the Checkpoint area, returning to either previous screen, and going back to the Checkpoint to destroy the same carts. These carts give exactly seven (7) orbs without Jackpot equipped, giving one (1) big orb and six (6) small ones; it doubles if Sora has both Jackpot and Wishing Lamp equipped to exactly twelve (12), two (2) big orbs and ten (10) small ones. By doing this, you'll gain around fifty (50+) experience points. This is of course an easy route to leveling up Master Form, but there are more efficient ways to level this Form. Like with the other two Forms, Land of Dragons continues to be the best place to level up Master Form. The same strategy used for Valor Form's level up process applies to Master's: entering the world through the Throne Room, dispose of the seven (7) Assault Rider's that spawn in the Antechamber, continue outside the Palace Gates where eight (8) new enemies will appear: five (5) Nightwalkers and three (3) Assault Riders. After defeating the enemies in the Palace Gates, proceed to the Imperial Square where a batch of Heartless awaits, where you'll gain as much Drive Orbs as you did in the last two screens. You can easily continue towards the Village, enter the Village Cave and regress afterwards towards the Antechamber, or the Throne Room if you need to recharge your MP. If you follow this technique without missing a beat, you can level up entirely this Form. Another great place to level up Master Form is Beast's Castle, where big Drive Orbs abound - exactly 148 orbs. And that's without any Jackpot ability equipped! Certainly, equipping all the Jackpot abilities will make leveling this Form a breeze. To take full advantage of the Drive Gauge, start at the Parlor, head all the way to the Bridge and transform there, defeating the four (4) Crimson Jazzes that will appear. Move from the Bridge towards the Entrance Hall where two (2) new Crimson Jazzes and four (4) Morning Stars await, entering the Ballroom once these six enemies are defeated. The Ballroom holds a set of three heavy hitting trios: one (1) Crimson Jazz and two (2) Large Bodies, followed by one (1) Large Body and two (2) Morning Stars ending with a (1) Crimson Jazz and two (2) new Morning Stars. Once they're disposed of, move to The West Hall where you'll encounter nine (9) Crimson Jazzes and three (3) Morning Stars, heading afterwards to The West Wing where three (3) more Crimson Jazzes will spawn. Regress to The West Hall and enter the Secret Passage, home of three (3) Large Bodies; follow the passage towards the Undercroft continuing to the Dungeon to restore any lost HP and/or MP as well as to make the Heartless in The West Hall appear anew. Don't ignore the Gargoyle Heartless as they offer a reasonable amount of small Drive Orbs. Keep going back and forth and you'll surely level Master Form in a whim. As always, have some Ethers and Drive Recoveries at hand, and keep in mind that Drive Recoveries are a blessing when leveling up forms. Since you can equip two Keyblades when using Master Form, be sure to have Follow the Wind and Wishing Lamp, alongside the Draw Ring, the Draw Support Ability, and the Jackpot Support Ability respectively. Magnet and Thunder magic are always a great choice. - Final Form: This one is a bit tricky to level up, but not as tricky as leveling Valor Form is. To level up Final Form you need to defeat Nobodies, which are a scarce breed. The best places to level up this Form are: Twilight Town: Underground Concourse, Yen Sid's Tower, and The World That Never Was. The Underground Concourse is a great place to start the leveling process since it's a basic place to rummage around that has a considerable amount of Nobodies. Yen Sid's Tower is the place to continue once Final Form has reached a couple of levels, where you can find a good batch of Nobodies as you ascend the stairs. However, The World That Never Was is practically the best place to level up Final Form, not only because it's home of the Nobodies, but because you can zip through less screens in order to level the Form respectively. Start the world directly from Twilight's View (the room with the Moogle Shop), ascending the stairs towards The Hall of Empty Melodies, where you'll face Snipers. From there, proceed to Naught's Skyway and proceed to the next room while you defeat all the Nobodies. This is the best place to level up Final Form due to the vast number of Creeper Nobodies, and the easy MP Balls that you'll get by facing Samurais and Berserkers. After disposing of all the enemies, head to the next room, defeat the Assassins and Snipers, and head to the room called Proof of Existence to replenish any lost HP and/or MP. To make the Nobodies at Naught's Skyway reappear, simply, while you're in Proof of Existence, head towards the Havoc's Divide door (where you fought Luxord), either defeat the Nobodies there or exit the room as soon as you enter. Or you could use the Drive/Save Point glitch: before your Drive Gauge expires, go to any save point and exit the world, return to it and your Drive Gauge will be at max. The downside of leveling Final Form is that Nobodies only leave MP Balls when defeated, and the only way to help extend this Form's time is by equipping Oathkeeper, which has the Added Ability, Form Boost, as well as the Damage Drive Support Ability (if you're willing to let a Berserker or two hit you several times). Either way, Drive Recoveries are always there to help you out or the Drive glitch as mentioned above. Recapping: Having as much Draws as possible helps to prolong each Forms' time by gathering Drive Orbs; Jackpot helps to make more of them appear. Since you'll be casting spells to make short work of each enemy (not counting Valor Form), Drive Boost is a nice addition, as well as Damage Drive, both Support Abilities. Equipping certain Keyblades and Accessories also help whenever leveling a Form, like Oathkeeper when leveling up Final Form for example. Drive Recoveries are undervalued items that really make Form leveling a reasonably easy task. ---------------------- The Anti Form Process: Ctrl+F (F3): [ant] Anti Form is quite simple to estimate, though it could be unpredictable if you miss a number or two. Simply put, the more Sora turns into Valor, Wisdom or Master Form, there will be a chance he'll turn into Anti Form. These odds are dictated by an unseen equation called "Anti Points" that amounts each time Sora turns into either of the aforementioned Forms. These points are also affected by actions done by Sora and the situations under which he changes Form. And is also safe to note that this Form is not voluntary, and it isn't affected by the amount of damage sustained by Heartless enemies, as well that Sora doesn't learn any Growth Abilities from this Form. Disadvantages: Although this Form grants Sora with double speed and extremely fast-paced attacks with insane combinations, it also has its downside. For instance, attacks sustained during this Form are increased by 50%; Sora can't pick up HP Orbs while Drive Orbs decrease the Drive Gauge points. As an added side effect, Sora won't receive experience from slain enemies, and can't perform Reaction Commands. Also, the Drive Gauge will revert to zero (0) whenever you enter a new area. Anti Form Probability: 0-4 = 0% chance of turning into Anti Form 5-9 = 10% chance of turning into Anti Form 10 = 25% chance of turning into Anti Form +10 = +25% chance of turning into Anti Form Anti Point Calculation: Change to Valor, Wisdom or Master Form = +1 Change Form when an ally is stunned = 0 Change to Anti Form = -4 Change to Final Form = -10 Obtain a new Form Drops to 0 Odd Modifiers: Scripted Battle = x2 Versus Organization XIII Members = x4 Versus Armored Xemnas = x10 Non-Party Coop Battles = x0 ---------------------- Recommended Keyblades: Ctrl+F (F3): [rkb] For Valor Form: Rumbling Rose, Guardian Soul, Decisive Pumpkin or Fenrir For Wisdom Form: Photon Debugger, Bond of Flame or Ultima Weapon For Master Form: Fatal Crest, Sleeping Lion, Oblivion or Ultima Weapon For Final Form: Oathkeeper, Fatal Crest, Ultima Weapon or Fenrir NOTE: Oathkeeper works well with either Form, as well as Circle of Life. Oblivion is a great choice whenever leveling Forms, though at higher levels. Both, Follow the Wind and Wishing Lamp, are a great choice when leveling up all Forms. ------------------- Drive Gauge Tricks: Ctrl+F (F3): [dgt] Quick Refill: Go to Olympus Coliseum: Underworld Entrance and enter either the Pain & Panic Cup, Cerberus Cup, Titan Cup or Goddess of Fate Cup, quit it and you'll have your Drive Gauge refilled. Glitch: This is a perfect trick whenever you're leveling up Forms and your Drive Gauge is running low. Go to the nearest Save Point before your Drive Gauge depletes, exit the world through it and your Drive Gauge will be at its maximum again. This is also true with in-world gates, like the door to Timeless River located at Disney Castle and the 100 Acre Wood book at Merlin's House. Final Form Trick: When you complete the event at Memory Skyscraper, where Sora confronts Roxas, you'll gain the ability to turn into Final Form, but at randomly like Anti Form. To ease the random effect, go to Olympus Coliseum: Underworld Entrance, enter the Cerberus Cup and use either Form, and if Sora isn't wearing silvery garbs, press Start and Retry. Rinse and repeat this process until you acquire Final Form. ------------------. When Item Hunting: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [wih] Item hunting becomes a necessity when trying to synthesize some of the products listed in the Moogle creation lists, mostly when trying to complete Jiminy's Journal. The purpose of this section is to illustrate easy routes and ways to get certain materials to synthesize items like the Stat Boosts, Mythril ingredients and the Drive Recovery items, among others. To make item hunting fairly easy and a factor more towards your side, equip Sora, Donald, and Goofy with Lucky Lucky, as well as have either of them wear the Lucky Ring and their respective Lucky Lucky weapon (Sweet Memories for Sora, Meteor Staff for Donald, and Genji Shield for Goofy). Luck's factor will be altered this way, and you'll acquire rare materials like crystals with fair ease. NOTE: Just as a polite reminder, this isn't a complete list of all the synthesis materials, just the rare ingredients which purpose of being listed has been explained thoroughly. If you're missing certain shards, stones and/or gems, I recommend megafierce's Synthesis Guide for every one of those. ----------------------------- Dense & Twilight Materials: Ctrl+F (F3): [dtm] First in the list are the Dense and Twilight materials, which indirectly are essential ingredients for the Stat Boosts and Drive Recoveries. These are solely gained from certain Nobodies, and obviously, the best place to hunt for these materials is the castle over at The World That Never Was; and either you could start the world straight from The Brink of Despair or The Altar of Naught. Whichever you chose, it'll still bear equal results. - Dense Shard: This ingredient can be obtained by defeating Creepers and Dragoons, and once you have thirty (30) of them, they will be available at every Moogle Shop for 200 Munny. Its best going to Naught's Skyway and defeat the horde of Creepers that appear there, and afterwards buy the shards whenever needed. - Dense Stone: You'll only receive Dense Stones by defeating Snipers, which are somewhat scarce inside The Castle That Never Was. Overall, there are around ten (10+) Snipers roaming inside the castle – specifically in: Nothing's Call, Hall of Empty Melodies (both), and Ruin and Creation's Passage. Once you've acquired twenty-five (25) of these stones, they will be available at every Moogle Shop for 400 Munny. A good tactic when hunting for these stones is to head towards Ruin and Creation's Passage, defeat all the Snipers spawned there, head back to Proof of Existence and from there to the following room, Hall of Empty Melodies. Once you finish the two Snipers there, head back to Ruin and Creation's Passage and continue to go back and forth until you get enough stones. - Dense Gem: Gained by defeating Samurais, Dense Gems are a bit tricky to obtain due to the Samurais' dispersed appearances throughout the castle, appearing in: Crooked Ascension (via Twilight's View), Naught's Skyway, and Naught's Approach. Once you collect twenty (20) of these gems, they can be bought at every Moogle Shop for 800 Munny. The best way to collect them is by going to Naught's Skyway, defeat the seven (7) Samurais that can be found there, go all the way to Naught's Approach where you'll fight three (3) more and from there regress to Naught's Skyway. Keep going back and forth until you get enough gems. - Dense Crystal: Berserkers drop these rare materials, but they are actually easy to obtain. Contrary to the last three materials, you can't buy crystals in Moogle Shops, though if you could, you'll end up broke at 1600 Munny apiece. Naught's Skyway, Addled Impasse, and Naught's Approach is where Berserkers are, twelve (12) in total. The strategy here is to start in Naught's Skyway, go to Addled Impasse then head towards Naught's Approach where you'll collect a good amount of Dense Crystals. I personally don't leave the place until I have at least fifty (50) of these crystals. - Twilight Shard: Collecting this material is relatively easy, which you obtain whenever you slain a Dusk or a Gambler. It's better visiting the Mansion in Twilight Town for this one since a large amount of Dusks habituate there, as well as a considerable number of Gamblers. After you collect thirty (30) of these shards, they will become purchasable items at every Moogle Shop for 200 Munny. - Twilight Stone: Dancers drop these materials, but since they appear in small groups and they are one of the rarest Nobodies in the game, it's preferable to visit the Mansion in Twilight Town and keep your feet put in the Basement Corridor. It could take a while to gather enough of these stones, but once you collect twenty-five (25), you'll be able to buy them at any Moogle Shop for 400 Munny each. - Twilight Gem: If you had trouble getting Twilight Stones, then these gems will surely give you an ulcer. Assassins drop these materials, but there are only four of them in the whole game, in the Hall of Melodies specifically. Typically there would be a strategy for gathering as much of these materials as possible, but the best way to amass Twilight Gems is just as you go by collecting Dense and Twilight materials. A good example is while you go back and forth collecting Dense Crystals or Dense Stones. Most materials are best when acquired unintentionally, and Twilight Gems are the case. Once you gather twenty (20) of these gems, they will be available at Moogle Shops for 800 Munny. (I've always wondered why Assassins don't appear in Betwixt and Between – seems rather obvious and justifiable.) - Twilight Crystals: A la Dense Crystals, you can't collect a certain amount of these crystals for later purchase at Moogle Shops. Sorcerers drop these materials, and The Castle That Never Was is where you'll find them, exclusively at Nothing's Call and Ruin and Creation's Passage. Only four (4) appear in Nothing's Call, while eight (8) of them spawn in Ruin and Creation's Passage. You can follow the same strategy for the Dense Stones and you'll get a good amount of these crystals; inadvertently you will collect some of these when going back and forth collecting Dense Stones. As with Dense Crystals, I don't leave until I get at least fifty (50) of these. You could also try to gather some of these materials in Twilight Town's Underground Concourse and the Mansion as well or over at Yen Sid's Tower. Either way, here's a list of the number of each specific Nobody that appear in each of these places: ------------------------------------- Twilight Town: Underground Concourse: (In order of appearance) Dusk = 9 + 4* Gambler = 6 Dragoon* = 3 Total = 22 * These are found in the Tunnelway. ----------------------- Twilight Town: Mansion: (In order of appearance) Gambler = 12 Dusk = 21 Dragoon = 3 Dancer = 6 Total = 42 ---------------- Yen Sid's Tower: (In order of appearance) Sniper = 8 Dusk = 12 Samurai = 4 Dragoon = 5 Dancer = 5 Gambler = 4 Berserker = 5 Total = 43 -------------------------- The Castle That Never Was: (In order of appearance) Sniper = 13 Sorcerer = 12 Dragoon = 3 Samurai = 13 Creeper = 32 Berserker = 12 Assassin = 4 Dusk = 7 Gambler = 4 Dancer = 4 Total = 104 ------------------ Mythril Materials: Ctrl+F (F3): [myt] These materials can't be purchased but synthesized, and it is quite a chore at first, but turns out to be fun afterwards. There are a set amount of these materials as you play the game: thirty-seven (37) shards, twenty-six (26) stones, twelve (12) gems, and fourteen (14) crystals. You'll most likely end up needing solely gems and crystals if you aim to max-out Sora's stats, in which case the following list serves as a blueprint alongside the above Dense and Twilight Materials section. - Mythril Shard: To synthesize these shards, you'll need Dense Stone (1), Dense Shard (3), Twilight Stone (1), and Twilight Shard (3). Once the Moogle achieves level 5, all Rank C materials will be cut by half when synthesized, which gives Dense Stone (1), Dense Shard (2), Twilight Stone (1), and Twilight Shard (2). To further cut the materials needed in half, use an Energy Shard and all you'll need is one (1) of each material. Mythril Shards are found in: Twilight Town (Tram Common (2), Central Station, Sunset Terrace, The Woods, The Old Mansion, and Tower Entryway), Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden (Borough), Land of Dragons (Bamboo Grove, Checkpoint, and Mountain Trail), Beast's Castle (Belle's Room, West Hall (2), West Wing, Secret Passage, and Courtyard), Olympus Coliseum (Cave of the Dead: Passage, Cave of the Dead: Inner Chamber, Underworld Caverns: Entrance, Underworld Caverns: Lost Road (2), and The Lock), Disney Castle (Courtyard (2)), Timeless River (Pier), Port Royal (Town, Isla de Muerta: Cave Mouth, and Isla de Muerta: Moonlight Nook), Agrabah (Agrabah (2), Bazaar, Cave of Wonders: Entrance, and Cave of Wonders: Valley of Stone), Halloween Town (Graveyard), Pride Lands (Elephant Graveyard and Wastelands) - Mythril Stone: For this one you'll need a Serenity Shard, alongside the same materials needed for the Mythril Shard: Dense Stone (1), Dense Shard (3), Twilight Stone (1), and Twilight Shard (3). The materials needed will be cut by half once the Moogle's level is 5 and with the use of an Energy Shard. Mythril Stones are found in: Twilight Town (Mansion: Foyer, Mansion: Dining Room, and Tower Wardrobe), Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden (Corridors), 100 Acre Wood (Pooh Bear's House), Olympus Coliseum (Cave of the Dead: Passageway and Underworld Caverns: Lost Road), Disney Castle (Courtyard), Timeless River (Waterway), Port Royal (Rampart), Agrabah (Agrabah, Palace Walls, and Cave of Wonders: Valley of Stone), Halloween Town (Halloween Town Square, Hinterlands, and Candy Cane Lane), Pride Lands (Gorge, Elephant Graveyard, Pride Rock, Wildebeest Valley, Wastelands, and Jungle), Space Paranoids (Canyon), The World That Never Was (Fragment Crossing, Memory's Skyscraper, and Ruin and Creation's Passage) - Mythril Gem: Once you have twenty (20) types of materials, you'll earn Free Development 2 items, which include the ability to produce these gems. All you will need is Dense Crystal (1), Dense Gem (3), Twilight Crystal (1), and Twilight Gem (3). When the Moogle reaches level 6, all Rank B materials will be cut by half when synthesized, which gives Dense Crystal (1), Dense Gem (2), Twilight Crystal (1), and Twilight Gem (2). To use only one (1) of each material for these gems, use an Energy Stone alongside the materials needed. Mythril Gems are found in: Twilight Town (Undergrounds Concourse), Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden (Postern and Corridors), 100 Acre Woods (Piglet's House and The Spooky Cave), Port Royal (Town), Agrabah (Bazaar), Halloween Town (Candy Cane Lane), Pride Lands (Wildebeest Valley), Space Paranoids (Canyon), The World That Never Was (Nothing's Call and Naught's Skyway) - Mythril Crystal: Serenity Stones are required to produce these crystals along with the materials used for Mythril Gems: Dense Crystal (1), Dense Gem (3), Twilight Crystal (1), and Twilight Gem (3). The materials will be halved once the Moogle reaches level 6, as well as they can be further halved with the use of an Energy Stone. Mythril Crystals are found in: Twilight Town (Underground Concourse, Tunnelway, Sunset Terrace, Mansion: Foyer, and Mansion: Dining Room), 100 Acre Wood (Rabbit's House and The Spooky Cave), Space Paranoids (Pit Cell), Land of Dragons (Throne Room), Port Royal (Ship Graveyard: Seadrift Row), The World That Never Was (Fragment Crossing, Memory's Skyscraper, Naught's Skyway, and Ruin and Creation's Passage) ----------------- Energy Materials: Ctrl+F (F3): [erg] The Energy materials serve as special modifiers when synthesizing by reducing the cost of materials by half. They really come in handy when trying to save up materials such as gems. The following is a list of each Energy ingredient, where to find them and their use. - Energy Shard: These will help when synthesizing Mythril Shards and Stones, as well as Drive and High Drive Recoveries, and can only be obtained by defeating Bolt Towers, Nightwalkers, Gargoyle Knights, and Gargoyle Warriors. I usually "hunt" for these shards unintentionally whenever I'm short on munny or while I'm hunting for Energy Stones. Land of Dragons has the majority of Nightwalkers and a good number of Bolt Towers, while Beast's Castle has the majority of Gargoyle Heartless. You can easily get around fifty (50) of these shards in beast's Castle if you rummage the place enough times over an extended period of time. - Energy Stone: Energy Stones come in handy when synthesizing Mythril Gems and Crystals. These are a bit tedious to come by since out of the three enemies that drop them, Hammer Frames are basically the best to look for - Trick Ghosts (Halloween Town) and Lance Soldiers (Port Royal) also drop these, but they're few in the game. Beast's Castle provides thirteen (13) Hammer Frames, found at the Entrance Hall (3), West Wing (4), and Secret Passage (6). With a 4% drop rate, collecting Energy Stones (and any other Energy ingredient for the matter) tends to be a tad tiresome, even when the drop rate augments to 25% when the luck modifiers are equipped. The bright side of hunting for these in Beast's Castle is the munny that Hammer Frames leave behind. - Energy Gem: If you aim to synthesize lots of Elixirs, Ribbons, and Star Charms, Energy Gems will surely be a blessing. Emerald Blues (Land of Dragons and Agrabah) and Fortunetellers (Agrabah) leave these gems behind when slain. Personally, I prefer Land of Dragons when it comes to Energy Gems, where you can find twelve (12) Emerald Blues, found at: Encampment (4), Mountain Trail (6), and Village Cave (2). But of course you may prefer Agrabah; it's a thing of preferences as with everything. Either way, you can find nine (9) Emerald Blues and around fifteen (+15) Fortunetellers throughout Agrabah. - Energy Crystal: These materials are the greatest supplements when it comes to synthesizing the different Stat Boosts at the Moogle Shops. Bookmasters (Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden and Space Paranoids) and Shamans (Pride Lands) drop these crystals. Both are rather simple to find, mostly Bookmasters since ten (10) of them are right outside Merlin's House, while ten (10) Shamans roam the Pride Lands. The best place to look for these crystals is the Borough in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden by defeating the Bookmasters that appear there, heading to the Bailey afterwards all the way to the Postern, then regressing to the Borough to make more Bookmasters appear. By doing this "back and forth" technique, you will collect enough Energy Crystals. ---------------------- The Element Materials: Ctrl+F (F3): [tem] Aside from the Dense, Twilight and Mythril materials, there are other ingredients needed to synthesize the aforesaid items. These materials range from Blazing, Frost, Lightning, Lucid, Power, and Dark, and are a big requirement mostly for the Stat Boost items. What follows is a succinct list of where these materials can be found with strategies of how to gather them in an orderly manner. - Blazing Crystal: Dropped by Crescendos and Crimson Jazzes when slain, these crystals are a must for Defense and Power Boosts. The safest way to hunt for Blazing Crystals is by visiting Beast's Castle where you can find around ten (10+) Crimson Jazzes equally scattered. One good way to gather the crystals is when hunting for Energy Stones or munny since most materials are best collected involuntarily. Crimson Jazzes also appear in Olympus Coliseum and Agrabah, so it wouldn't hurt to ride the Carpet a time or two when visiting the latter. - Frost Crystal: Living Bones drop these crystals, which are exclusively found throughout the Pride Lands. Living Bones can be found in various places, but they mostly appear in the Elephant Graveyard, though it is actually a good idea to wander the whole world due to the good amounts of munny you can earn. The best way to collect Frost Crystals is by beginning Pride Lands from the Gorge, continue from there to the Elephant Graveyard to the Savannah where you'll find three (3) Living Bones, and from there head towards the Wastelands where you'll encounter four (4) new Living Bones. To make the Living Bones appear anew in the aforementioned places, go all the way to the Oasis, and from the Oasis to the Gorge again. Keep repeating this route until you get enough Frost Crystals. - Lightning Crystal: Space Paranoids is the only place where Lightning Crystals can be sought for, dropped by Devastators and Strafers. In truth, it is a relatively straightforward hunt given that Space Paranoids' an epigrammatic world. Starting at the Canyon and moving to the Dataspace room, you'll encounter six (6) Devastators and eight (8) Strafers. To make them reappear, go to the Simulation Hangar, enter the Solar Sailer then leave it, regressing to the Canyon and the Dataspace room. You could also ride the Solar Sailer and defeat the five (5) Devastators and seven (7) Strafers that spawn in it - whichever works for you best. Just keep going back and forth to gather as much crystals as possible. - Lucid Crystal: Exclusively dropped by Neoshadows, Lucid Crystals are one of those special materials that you'll definitely collect unintentionally while scavenging the game for other materials. Neoshadows are far and between, easily found in every world. A good option if you need some of these crystals is to visit the Pride Lands where there are twenty Neoshadows, and using the same strategy described for the Frost Crystals. - Power Crystal: Another exclusive material solely dropped by Morning Stars, these can mostly be found in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden, as well as in Beast's Castle, Port Royal, and Olympus Coliseum. Power Crystals are another of those materials that you'll find when hunting for other materials, mostly in the first two of the abovementioned worlds. Whenever you need these crystals, though, zipping throughout Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden for a while will surely amount you a nice number. More precisely, Morning Stars can be found in: Borough (3), Restoration Site (4), Castle Gate (1), Ravine Trail (5), and Dark Depths (3). Keep doing the "back and forth" technique to amass these crystals. - Dark Crystal: Yet, another exclusive ingredient that is only found whenever Air Pirates are slain. The catch is that there are only eight of them in the whole game, in Land of Dragons specifically. Since Land of Dragons is a very versatile world, you'll find yourself coming here quite often, mostly if leveling Forms, so you ought to gather some Dark Crystals. However, the best way to collect these, if that's what you only need, is to start the world either at the Village or Bamboo Grove. Starting from the Village head to the Village Cave, exiting it after defeating the enemies there towards the Checkpoint and then the Encampment; and vice-versa if you start in the Bamboo Grove. It will take some time, but you will collect a healthy number of Dark Crystals if you keep at it for a good while. Sometimes I wonder why Air Pirates don't appear in Port Royal, besides the first visit. --------------- Item Drop Rate: Ctrl+F (F3): [idr] I would like to know the exact formula behind the item drop rate when it gets modified with the seven luck modifiers, but it wouldn't be kosher of me to write some faulty theories or incorrect assumptions. However, as I've played through the game I've kind of gotten the "rhythm" behind each time I receive an item from an enemy with and without the Lucky Lucky abilities. The following list collects the drop ratios with and without the luck altering abilities, each deduced after meticulously playing through each level and paying close attention to how many times a slain enemy left an item behind. For example, there are thirteen Hammer Heads in Beast's Castle; after going back and forth defeating them with and without the luck modifiers, I saw a difference regarding the drop rate of Energy Stones: 1/13 without any set Lucky Lucky ability and 7/13 with the seven luck altering abilities. Meaning that out of the thirteen (13) Hammer Heads in the whole castle, I only received one (1) stone without any luck modifiers equipped, and seven (7) with them equipped. The list basically is conferred using that formula – if it could be considered as such. ------------------------------ | Common IDR: | Altered IDR: | ------------------------------ | 1% | 5%-6% | | 3% | 7%-16% | | 4% | 17%-22% | | 5% | 23%-27% | | 6% | 28%-33% | | 8% | 34%-44% | | 10% | 45%-56% | | 12% | 57%-66% | | 16% | 67%-88% | | 18% | 89%-99% | ------------------------------ * IDR: Item Drop Rate. ---------------- Practical Items: Ctrl+F (F3): [pit] What you have read thus far will serve to concoct the following items. As a note, when visiting worlds hunting for items, avoid using Forms as it reduces the Lucky Lucky abilities by one (1) depending on the Form used, which is also true for the Jackpot abilities. NOTE: Remember that the required materials needed to synthesize these items will be reduced once the Moogle levels up, as well as by the use of certain Energy materials. ------------- Multipurpose: Drive Recovery: Can only be synthesized when you give the Moogle the Recovery Recipe; afterwards it can be synthesized whenever the materials needed are available. When the Moogle reaches level 5 the materials will be halved, as well as an Energy Shard will further reduce the number of materials. * The Recovery Recipe can be found when you visit for the first time the Land of Dragons: Mountain Trail. ------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | ------------------------------------------- | Recovery Recipe | | | | Mythril Shard | 3 | 2/1 | | Dark Shard | 3 | 2/1 | | Frost Shard | 1 | | | Lightning Shard | 1 | | ------------------------------------------- High Drive Recovery: Can only be synthesized when you give the Moogle the Recovery Recipe; afterwards it can be synthesized whenever the materials needed are available alongside a Serenity Shard. When the Moogle reaches level 5, the materials will be halved, as well as an Energy Shard will further reduce the number of materials. ------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | ------------------------------------------- | Recovery Recipe | | | | Mythril Shard | 3 | 2/1 | | Dark Shard | 3 | 2/1 | | Frost Shard | 1 | | | Lightning Shard | 1 | | | Serenity Shard | 1 | | ------------------------------------------- Elixir: With the Star Recipe, you can synthesize Elixirs, which are quite handy. Once the Moogle reaches level 7, the materials will be cut in two, while an Energy Gem will further reduce the cost. * The Star Recipe is located in Disney Castle's Courtyard, at the very top of the building leading to the Gummi Hangar. There is a 5% chance that Devastators (Space Paranoids) and Living Bones (Pride Lands) will drop Elixirs when slain. ------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | ------------------------------------------- | Star Recipe | | | | Mythril Stone | 3 | 2/1 | | Power Stone | 1 | | | Dark Stone | 1 | | ------------------------------------------- ------------ Stat Boosts: Defense Boost: The Guard Recipe permits the synthesizing of this special item. Being a Rank S item, the Moogle must be at level 9 in order for the required materials to be cut in half, as well as an Energy Crystal to lessen the cost even more. * The Guard Recipe is part of the Spooky Cave inside the 100 Acre Wood book; you must play The Expotition mini-game in order to get it. The Torn Page that lets you visit the Spooky Cave is found inside the Throne Room the second time you visit Land of Dragons. --------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | --------------------------------------------- | Guard Recipe | | | | Mythril Crystal | 1 | | | Blazing Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Lightning Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Lucid Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | --------------------------------------------- Power Boost: The Guard Recipe permits the synthesizing of this special item. Being a Rank S item, the Moogle must be at level 9 in order for the required materials to be cut in half, as well as an Energy Crystal to lessen the cost even more. Serenity Crystals are also needed to produce Power Boosts. --------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | --------------------------------------------- | Guard Recipe | | | | Mythril Crystal | 1 | | | Blazing Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Lightning Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Lucid Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Serenity Crystal | 1 | | --------------------------------------------- AP Boost: The Skill Recipe allows the synthesizing of this unique item. Being a Rank S item, the Moogle must be at level 9 in order for the required materials to be cut in half, as well as an Energy Crystal to lessen the cost even more. * The Skill Recipe can be found in Ansem's Study during Hollow Bastion's third visit, precisely when you visit Space Paranoids for the first time. ------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | ------------------------------------------- | Skill Recipe | | | | Mythril Crystal | 1 | | | Power Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Dark Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Frost Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | ------------------------------------------- Magic Boost: The Skill Recipe allows the synthesizing of this unique item. Being a Rank S item, the Moogle must be at level 9 in order for the required materials to be cut in half, as well as an Energy Crystal to lessen the cost even more. As with Power Boosts, you'll need Serenity Crystals to properly synthesize this item. -------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | -------------------------------------------- | Skill Recipe | | | | Mythril Crystal | 1 | | | Power Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Dark Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Frost Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Serenity Crystal | 1 | | -------------------------------------------- ---------- Equipment: Ribbon: A tremendously helpful armor equipment, Ribbons can be synthesized with the Style Recipe, and once you've synthesized a Petit Ribbon from it. It gives the wearer a 20% resistance to all elemental attacks, as well as a +4 defense boost. * The Style Recipe is found in the 100 Acre Wood's Starry Hill. The Torn Page for this place is found in Agrabah, during your second visit. ------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | ------------------------------------------- | Style Recipe | | | | Orichalcum | 1 | | | Mythril Crystal | 3 | 2/1 | | Dense Stone | 1 | | | Dense Shard | 1 | | | Serenity Gem | 1 | | ------------------------------------------- Star Charm: The second strongest accessory in the game, Star Charms can be synthesized after acquiring the Moon Recipe, and once you've synthesized a Moon Amulet. It adds +5 AP, +2 strength, and +2 magic. * The Moon Recipe can be found at Hollow Bastion's Restoration Site, specifically when Hollow Bastion is under Heartless siege and gets renamed to Radiant Garden. ------------------------------------------- | Items Needed: | Quantity: | Halved: | ------------------------------------------- | Moon Recipe | | | | Orichalcum | 3 | 2/1 | | Mythril Crystal | 1 | | | Twilight Stone | 1 | | | Twilight Shard | 1 | | | Serenity Gem | 1 | | ------------------------------------------- ----------- Final Note: Ctrl+F (F3): [fin] Have in mind that some synthesis items listed here can be obtained a bit earlier during certain visits to some worlds, namely Twilight Town before Axel's demise. During this particular visit, Dusks, Creepers, Dancers, Dragoons, Snipers, Gamblers, and Samurais roam liberally everywhere; and since by then it's probable you'll have all Lucky Lucky abilities, you could take some time to gather some of the Dense and Twilight materials (particularly Twilight Stones). The following chart lists where and how to obtain all the Lucky Lucky abilities and the accessories with said ability imbued in them. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Item: | Obtain: | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | Level 41 (Roxas chose Sword) | | Lucky Lucky (Sora's) | Level 53 (Roxas chose Shield) | | | Level 99 (Roxas chose Staff) | |---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Obtained after beating the Heartless | | Lucky Lucky (Donald's) | that appear outside the Old Mansion | | | in Twilight Town. | |---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Won after defeating the Hyenas in | | Lucky Lucky (Goofy's) | the King's Den during your first | | | visit to the Pride Lands. | |---------------------------------------------------------------- | Lucky Ring | Reward after completing the Pain & | | | Panic Cup. | |---------------------------------------------------------------- | Sweet Memories | Prize for completing the Spooky Cave | | | mini-game (100 Acre Wood). | |---------------------------------------------------------------- | Genji Shield | Reward for completing the Titan Cup. | |---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Found inside a chest at the Ship | | Meteor Staff | Graveyard: Seadrift Keep during your | | | second visit to Port Royal. | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Happy hunting! -------------. Bulky Vendor: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [hbv] During the course of the game, while you're visiting certain worlds, you will encounter a special kind of Heartless that likes to play hide-n- seek and is impervious to all types of attacks. These are known as the Bulky Vendors, who can solely be defeated by the use of four separate Reaction Commands. The curious aspect of these little critters is that, while they are totally resistant to damage, their HP depletes at considerable rates while they hop and bop around. With the proper use of the Reaction Commands they leave behind lots of different orbs, munny and a specific Bright material, and in rare occasions, an Orichalcum. Being the rare Heartless they are, though, Bulky Vendors appear scarcely and once they do they won't appear in the same area for a certain period of time. However, you can keep netting prizes by continuously visiting the worlds they do appear in. NOTE: Bulky Vendors start to appear during the late stage of the game where you revisit each world. --------------- Worldwide Tour: Ctrl+F (F3): [wwt] Bulky Vendor encounter chart: --------------------------------------------------------------------- | World: | Area: | Quantity: | Reappears by: | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | Land of Dragons | Checkpoint | 1 | Destroy carts | | Beast's Castle | The West Hall | 1 | Destroy statues | | Olympus Coliseum | Cave of the Dead | 2 | Destroy candles | | Agrabah | Bazaar | 2-1* | Destroy stands | | Halloween Town | Candy Cane Lane | 2 | Spin carousel | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | Reaction Commands: | Remaining HP: | Prizes: | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Bright Shard (100%) | | Capsule Prize | 100%-75% | Orichalcum (10%) | | | | HP Orbs: 1(3), 5(1) | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Bright Stone (100%) | | Rare Capsule | 74%-50% | Orichalcum (12%) | | | | HP Orbs: 1(3), 5(1) | | | | MP Orbs: 1(3), 3(1) | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Bright Gem (100%) | | | | Orichalcum (16%) | | Limited Capsule | 49%-25% | HP Orbs: 1(3), 5(1) | | | | MP Orbs: 1(3), 3(1) | | | | Drive Orbs: 1(3), 3(1) | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Bright Crystal (100%) | | | | Orichalcum (18%) | | Prime Capsule | 24%-1% | HP Orbs: 1(6), 5(2) | | | | MP Orbs: 1(6), 3(2) | | | | Drive Orbs: 1(6), 3(2) | | | | Munny: 1(6), 5(4), 10(2) | --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Two Bulky Vendors appear in Agrabah, but one disappears. NOTE: Before starting to tour these worlds in search for the Bulky Vendors, be sure to have all seven Lucky Lucky abilities equipped to increase the Orichalcum's drop rate (because it never hurts to have an extra few). Searching for Bulky Vendors is pretty simple and can be done by going to the worlds in the same order listed in the chart; however, the order will get randomized after that and you'll have to guess where to go. Most of the time, though, one of the five worlds' Bulky Vendor rate will drop to zero, while the other four won't suffer any reduction; I have experienced that most of the time either Land of Dragons or Olympus Coliseum suffer from this reduction. Overall, there are eight Bulky Vendors in the whole game, but in truth there are seven since one of the two that appear in Agrabah's Bazaar area disappears as soon as you destroy the stands. I have tried to decipher how to prevent it from disappearing, but I still yet to find a way. Of course, if you know of a way, send me an email (credit shall be given). Finally, a strategy for the Bulky Vendors would involve the lock-on feature, which helps you to keep the camera angle at level with the Heartless and you. It's a good tactic to attack the Bulky Vendor to maintain Sora close to it, as well as it is a good idea to have Donald and Goofy customized to Sora Attack to keep them from obstructing your view, though this time is not as bad as it was with the White Mushrooms in Kingdom Hearts. Keep following it and keep and eye on its HP bars and wait for the perfect moment to grab it, since the less HP it has the higher the chances of netting an Orichalcum. They start to jump higher when their HP is low making them outright evasive, so try to corner them against a nearby wall or exit, mostly when there are two of them at the same time. -------------. Munny Short?: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [mun] I remember while playing Kingdom Hearts, I kept collecting munny without even actually having any use for it. This time around, though, munny actually has a purpose. The catch is that contrary to Kingdom Hearts, munny doesn't come in oodles. There are, however, certain places and tricks to gather as much munny as needed, and this section is dedicated to such endeavor. The following section lists exact munny spots, as well as the amount you'll gather in each specific area with the Jackpot Support Ability equipped to the whole party (Jackpotx3) and with Sora's Wishing Lamp Keyblade, which has Jackpot as an added ability (Jackpotx4). ------------ Munny Spots: Ctrl+F (F3): [dot] Land of Dragons: Ah, yet again Land of Dragons proves to be as versatile as ever. Land of Dragons is actually the place with the largest amount of munny in the whole game, which makes it the number one munny spot when that's all you're after. Like with everything else in this game, you'll gather enough munny unintentionally while searching for synthesis materials. --------------------------------------------- | Area: | Jackpotx3: | Jackpotx4: | --------------------------------------------- | Encampment | 325 | 390 | | Checkpoint | 75 | 90 | | Imperial Square | 600 | 720 | | Palace Gate | 250 | 300 | | Mountain Trail | 675 | 810 | | Village Cave | 235 | 282 | | Ridge | 200 | 240 | | Summit | 25 | 30 | --------------------------------------------- | Total: | 2385 | 2862 | --------------------------------------------- Beast's Castle: Doesn't strike as a surprise seeing as wealthy people own the place, right? Still, Beast's Castle is a great place to gather munny whenever needed, and what's great about it is that you'll collect it unintentionally while hunting for synthesis materials. Overall you'll earn a good amount of munny while zipping throughout these areas; so, whether you're item hunting or actually short on munny, you'll definitely fill your pockets if you stay for a good while. -------------------------------------------- | Area: | Jackpotx3: | Jackpotx4: | -------------------------------------------- | Entrance Hall | 250 | 300 | | Courtyard | 425 | 510 | | Bridge | 75 | 90 | | The East Wing | 300 | 360 | | The West Wing | 400 | 480 | | Secret Passage | 300 | 360 | | Undercroft | 350 | 420 | -------------------------------------------- | Total: | 2100 | 2520 | -------------------------------------------- Pride Lands: The second best place to look for munny, Pride Lands has two of the greatest enemies that give considerable amounts of munny when slain: Living Bones and Shamans. Starting from the Gorge and going all the way to the Jungle will earn you loads of munny to purchase those pricey gems. Of course, hunting for Frost Crystals and the like will ultimately earn you plenty of munny. ------------------------------------------------ | Area: | Jackpotx3: | Jackpotx4: | ------------------------------------------------ | Elephant Graveyard | 450 | 540 | | Savannah | 625 | 750 | | Wildebeest Valley | 400 | 480 | | Wastelands | 610 | 732 | | Jungle | 175 | 210 | ------------------------------------------------ | Total: | 2260 | 2712 | ------------------------------------------------ --------------------------- Gambling with the Gamblers: Ctrl+F (F3): [gam] If you don't feel like going to the three abovementioned worlds to collect munny, just because maybe you're not in the mood of whacking and smacking enemies around, Gamblers will become your new best friends. Be forewarned though, playing with the Gamblers kind of becomes an addiction... Take my word for it. Even though you'll encounter Gamblers in different areas within some worlds, the best places to look for them when aiming to get some munny are: Mansion: Dining Room and Yen Sid's Tower: Moon Chamber, and in some occasions Havoc's Divide in The Castle That Never Was. Either way you'll collect copious amounts of munny while continuously playing any of the two games the Gambler has. Gamblers have two particular Reaction Commands that initiate two singular games: Begin Game and Stop Dice. Begin Game is a card-based gamble that turns your menu command into a slot-like machine that spins three Xs and an O downwardly, where to win you must get the "O" before the menu stops. The best way to win is to rest the cursor on the second menu command, where Magic and the Summon command normally are, and wait for it to slow down a bit and press upon the fourth or fifth spin. The Stop Dice gamble is quite possibly the easier and the quicker of the two, which involves stopping a dice with the Triangle button by getting an "O". To know when a Gambler is going to perform either game, look for two distinctive traits: when the Gambler jumps around it signals the Begin Game gamble, while a Gambler using its cards to float overhead indicates the Stop Dice game. When either of these two games is won, you'll earn 100 munny for each Gambler onscreen. However, for this to happen either the accompanying Gamblers have to be idle (moping around) or in the midst of doing the same gamble the Gambler you're targeting is. --------------- Endless Gamble: Ctrl+F (F3): [end] Doing the gambling games will surely substitute visiting worlds for munny. As such, the best place to gamble with the Gamblers is at Yen Sid's Tower: Moon Chamber where you'll encounter four Gamblers. To take full advantage of this, have Donald and Goofy customized to Sora Attack with their Action Abilities unequipped. Equip everyone's Jackpot ability as well as Sora's Wishing Lamp Keyblade, and for precaution methods, equip Goofy with the weakest shield since he tends to inflict damage whenever he stumbles with any enemy. Finally, to ensure you collect each munny piece, make sure Sora has the Draw ability equipped, as well as the Draw Ring. When you enter the Moon Chamber, and the four Gamblers materialize, don't lock-on to any and let them mope around while you adjust the camera to keep them onscreen. Focus on whichever is prepping either game and follow it, forcing him to stay with the group so that you can gather the released munny with ease. A good way to ensure loads of munny is by having the four Gamblers hover around when you enter the room since the Stop Dice gamble is much quicker than Begin Game and allows you to keep the room's floor draped with munny heaps. (Exit the room and reenter it if they aren't signaling the Stop Dice Reaction Command; this is of course an optional strategy.) With four Gamblers in the same room, things could get a bit frenzied, mostly when trying to keep track on a single Gambler and the rest are ambling about readying their Spin Attack; and even though it's not something to worry about, it sometimes breaks a chance for a Reaction Command, so Guard when needed. In short, gambling isn't that hard if you keep on the move and maintain each Gambler close to each other or in the middle of the room. Never lock-on to any, focusing on one and then moving to another, while eyeing the others around to block a Spin Attack. If a Gambler is far away and you miss either of its game 1) Quick Run out of its reach to avoid its Card attack or 2) dodge his Dice attack, never reflecting it back, although sometimes Goofy might if he's too close to you. If, however, you lose any of the Gambler's two games, exit the room and reenter it, or you could have both Form Boost abilities unequipped and wait till Sora reverts back. If you accidentally eliminate the Gamblers, simply head all the way to the Wardrobe room regressing to the Moon Chamber to make the Gamblers spawn anew. Finally, here's a chart listing the amounts of munny you can collect from Gamblers with and without Jackpot: --------------------------------------- | Gamblers: | Jackpotx3: | Jackpotx4: | --------------------------------------- | 1 = 100 | 50(3) | 50(4) | | 2 = 200 | 50(3) | 50(4) | | 3 = 300 | 50(3) | 50(4) | | 4 = 400 | 50(3) | 50(4) | --------------------------------------- NOTE: Whenever you play Begin Game or Stop Dice, your chances of getting a Twilight Shard and a Nobody Guard increase depending on the number of Gamblers and the number of games you play successfully. ---------------- Jackpot Process: Ctrl+F (F3): [jpr] The following section contains a chart detailing the process behind the Jackpot ability: ----------------------------------------------- | Munny Quantity: | Jackpot (x3/x4) Addition: | ----------------------------------------------- | 1(2) | +1 for each enemy | | 1(4) | +2 for each enemy | | 5(2) | +5 for each enemy | | 5(4) | +10 for each enemy | | 10(2) | +10 for each enemy | | 10(10) | +50 for each enemy | ----------------------------------------------- Following the chart, let's assume we're in Beast's Castle, in the Courtyard specifically, where there are eight (8) Gargoyle Heartless and one (1) Neoshadow. The mathematical process behind the munny they give when slain would be 10(2) for each Gargoyle Heartless defeated and 5(2) for the Neoshadow. In other words: We take the 10(2) and multiply it 8 times, the former being the quantity of munny the Gargoyles leave behind and the latter the number of Gargoyles, which will confer a 160, adding up 5(2) for the additional Neoshadow, giving us a total of 170. By having the Jackpotx3 ability, then it will add +10 for each Gargoyle slain, giving us 10(8) x 3, 10 being the munny a lone Gargoyle drops and the 8 the number of Gargoyles, while the 3 is the number of Jackpots equipped, which grants us a 240, summing the prior 170 totaling to a 410, and a +15 for the Neoshadow since 5 x 3 = 15, ending the equation in a grand total of 15 + 410 = 425. If the additional Jackpot is equipped, then an additional 85 is added, which breaks up as 10 for each Gargoyle and a +5 for the Neoshadow, giving us a total of 510 munny. Jackpotx3: 10(2) x 8 + 5(2) + 10(8) x 3 + 15 = 425 Jackpotx4: 10(2) x 8 + 5(2) + 10(8) x 4 + 20 = 510 NOTE: This process is also true for HP, MP, and Drive Orbs. --------------------------. Olympus Coliseum Missions: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [ocm] This section, though not as detailed as the rest, will respectfully give specific pointers in regards of each of the missions that encompass Jiminy's Journal Olympus Coliseum entry. ---------------- Phil's Training: Ctrl+F (F3): [ptt] Maniac Mode seems quite impossible, but actually it isn't. The 1,000 points score truly is daunting, but if you equip Sora with the correct abilities and equipment, you can easily score a punctuation of 2,000 and even more. The best strategy for this mission is to have all aerial Action Abilities, as well as all Combo and Air Combo pluses unequipped. Have both, Guard Break and Explosion equipped, as well as Negative Combo, and in that vein, equip Sora with Fenrir. Lastly, to gather as much orbs as possible, equip the Draw ability alongside the Draw Ring. Overall, be sure to have the following: - Aerial Sweep, Aerial Spiral, and Aerial Finisher unequipped - Combo Plus and Air Combo Plus unequipped - Guard Break equipped - Explosion equipped - Negative Combo equipped - Fenrir unequipped - Draw equipped - Draw Ring equipped With the abovementioned setup, you will gather enough orbs. Best tactic is to destroy lone urns with Explosion, while pushing the big urns into the group of smaller urns with Guard Break to make bigger orbs appear. ---------------- Underdrome Cups: Ctrl+F (F3): [udc] Again, gathering the required orbs may seem daunting, but it can be achieved by taking full advantage of Magic spells and Summons. This section will cover both, the Underdrome Cups as well as the Paradox Battles. Pain & Panic Cup: The required scores are 2,000 for the Underdrome and 2,500 for the Paradox version. To ensure this cup, equip Sora with a strong Keyblade, while customizing Donald and Goofy to Sora Attack. Best way to gather orbs is by connecting the best combos you have, so make sure you have all combo abilities equipped – extending as much combos as you possibly can will activate the Double-Score Mode. Using Magnega is also a great way to gather orbs, specifically during Match 8. Also, this cup has Heartless that have Reaction Commands, so make sure to use them when prompted since this, not only confers more orbs, it could also activate Double-Score Mode. Cerberus Cup: The required scores are 1,000 for the Underdrome and 1,300 for the Paradox version. Gathering orbs in this cup is a bit tricky, so the best tactic is to use whichever Form you're more accustomed to use, and use their abilities accordingly. Activating the Double-Score Mode is a great method; so try to connect magic spells with a few Keyblade strikes. Titan Cup: The required scores are 5,000 for the Underdrome and 10,000 for the Paradox version. Here you have it won from the beginning since you can use Summons. To get the required scores, use Stitch when there are weak enemies and Peter Pan when there are strong enemies. Accordingly, use Ukulele while using Stitch and continuously use Tiny Fairy (tap X) when with Peter Pan. Assassins give lots of orbs when they're underground, so be sure to hit them with Tiny Fairy as much as you possibly can. Your Drive Gauge will be at its maximum at the start of every round, so summoning will be available in every turn. Goddess of Fate Cup: This cup is only part of the Underdrome matches, and the required score is 3,000. Before entering this cup, equip all the abilities you can because this cup is basically a free-for-all. Using Summons is best done when there are strong enemies, while the best tactic to collect orbs is to connect good combos to activate the Double- Score Mode. This time around there are candleholders around the arena, so try to break those to collect orbs; using Magnega will sometimes break all at once. It's best to avoid using Limits to save MP for tougher Heartless, as well as for the eighth match where Rapid Thrusters appear in clusters. Also, like with the Pain & Panic Cup, take advantage of the Reaction Commands some Heartless will activate. Hades Paradox Cup: This cup is only part of the Paradox Matches, which required score is 15,000. The score seems daunting, yes; but with 50 rounds, collecting orbs will be a breeze. Follow the same tactics detailed for each Cup. However, to collect as much orbs as possible, using Stitch and Peter Pan whenever you can is the way to go, but, during the twenty-ninth round, you can gamble with two Gamblers and collect 60 orbs with each successful game. If you have patience, you could easily collect, at least, 2,000+ orbs. Round 35 and 45 are the best to gather orbs since you can simply waste Magnega and replenish your MP with Ethers to continue the magnetic salvo. Be cautious, though, this Cup could become extremely exhausting. NOTE: As far as the Double-Score Mode goes, it is activated in very different and particular instances. For once, it's mostly activated when you defeat or damage a certain amount of enemies at the same time. Another way it's activated is when you connect successive combos, be it with magic, normal attacks or a combination of both. Triggering this mode with Summons is quite tricky, but it's possible. ---------------. Level Up Trick: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [lut] This trick becomes available when you visit the Pride Lands for the second time, though it is recommendable that you defeat the Groundshaker to avoid unnecessary run-ins with Scar's phantom. Basically what you need to do is lower Sora's health until its beeping, equipping him with the Gull Wing Keyblade and the Experience Boost ability, while customizing Donald and Goofy to Sora Attack without any Potions and Hi-Potions equipped (you can equip Ethers, though). Head to the Pride Rock and go all the way to the Peak where you'll encounter a swarm of Rapid Thrusters. Cast and keep casting Magnet spells until all Thrusters are defeated, and don't worry about MP since Thrusters drop 1 MP Ball, and 4 if you equip Jackpot to the whole party. Leave and return the Peak and defeat the new Rapid Thruster cluster – rinse and repeat until you have reached the level you want. Overall, be sure to have the following: - Sora's health at 25-30% - Experience Boost equipped - Gull Wing Keyblade equipped - Donald and Goofy customized to Sora Attack - Potions and Hi-Potions removed - Jackpot ability equipped - Magnet spell available NOTE: It's preferable to have Magnega since it's five times stronger than a normal Magnet spell. ---------------------. Gummi Ship Mission X: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [gum] In this section you'll find a brief strategy on how to beat Hunter X during the Assault of the Dreadnought, Mission 3. Have in mind that that's all you'll find here! If you have any other queries regarding Gummi missions, I suggest visiting The Wall Doughnut website, which has some nice strategies for everything Gummi-related. http://gummi.kou-net.org/ ------------ Preparation: Ctrl+F (F3): [pre] Assault of the Dreadnought's third mission is quite a hectic ride to say the least, and a frustrating one too if you don't have a decent ship. You know the mechanics of these third missions: watch the ALERT! warning popup on the screen, rotate the camera angle and shoot, rinse and repeat. It's a very nauseating trek just for the sheer laser siege you'll be under, but thankfully barrel roll (Circle) takes care of that feeling. And pressing the Circle button is what you'll be doing when the time to beat Hunter X comes...that is, if you want to survive. First off, be sure to make a good, all-around ship that can handle the trudge around Dreadnought's space – if it survives that, it will for sure Hunter X. Now, don't go all fancy-like and create a "ship", forget about cockpits, blocks and all that, just stick to raw power...and emphasize "raw". Since this isn't like Kingdom Hearts, ships don't need cockpits to actually fly. Hell, your ship could be just a weapon Gummi! So, knowing that, construct your ship using (at least) two (2) of the following weapon Gummies: Firaga Blizzaga Graviga Meteor With two of the abovementioned weapons, you can easily win any mission, as well as achieve Rank S+10. So to take full advantage of their power, distribute each weapon accordingly so that each shot hits something, keeping the Graviga weapons in the center of the Gummi ship for better exposition. After you add your preferred weapons, add all the neon orb and sticks you have – and I mean all of them. You could go stylish if you wish to and do some sort of form or design for your Gummi: here's when the Cost Converters come in handy, the least you'll need are Teeny Ships anyway. Once all neon items are in place, use the remaining cost points to add HP to your ship by adding square blocks to it or Gummi Lumps, if you can afford any. I've built countless Gummi ships to beat Hunter X and 50+ HP has been enough. Once you've completely built the ship, you must assign some abilities, because they're the ones that will help you get through this mission in one piece. The best abilities for this particular mission are: Draw Heal Upgrade Auto-Life Auto-Regen Auto-Counter Cost Converter Draw will be a blessing whenever HP orbs are a bit out of reach, while Heal Upgrade boosts the effect of those orbs. Auto-Life comes in handy during the Hunter X fight, while Auto-Regen and Auto-Counter work their magic. Cost Converters are a must if you want the ship at its full potential. ------------------- Defeating Hunter X: Ctrl+F (F3): [dhx] Once the Hunter X encounter begins, aim, fire and never let go. Barrel roll throughout the whole skirmish, dodging all lasers thrown your way: mostly the whopping barrage that tends to swathe the whole screen. Translucent cannon shots will roundup around the ship where you must keep its balance, mostly when they're accompanied by lasers. A pause means that Hunter X is prepping his big lasers, which will outshine the rest. Hug the outside reach of the laser in an 'X' pattern, while hugging the upper or lower corner of the laser in the shape of a '+'. These bursts are quite deadly if not dodged correctly. Keep using barrel roll to dodge as many lasers as possible and never seize fire. Let the Auto abilities do their work and Hunter X will be a breeze. Finally, I'd like to share a blueprint of one of my ships, which I have used to destroy Hunter X: Paint: Heartless Color Scheme Material Gummies: 6 Bevelled Gummies Weapon Gummies: 2 Firagas, 2 Blizzagas, 2 Gravigas, and 1 Meteor Optional Gummies: 18 Neon Orbs and 18 Neon Sticks Abilities: 1 Draw, 1 Heal Upgrade, 1 Auto-Life, 3 Auto-Regens, 1 Auto- Counter, and 2 Cost Conveners Stats: HP 55; Offense 660; Power 288; Mobility 0; Speed 0 -------------. Useful Links: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [url] This is just a little something I decided to throw in at the last minute – a little section with cool links regarding Kingdom Hearts as a whole. You'll find links to YouTube.com regarding fan-made videos of Sephiroth's encounter and some other stuff. So, if you have your own, or wish to collaborate with some links you've found, feel free to email them to me. ----------------- Sephiroth Videos: Ctrl+F (F3): [sev] - Here's a fan-made video of Sephiroth being beaten in less than 2 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeId8yjFXPQ - Here's another fan-made video of Sephiroth being beaten at level 44, in Proud Mode without the use of healing items and/or spells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnrhM8KbIek&search=No%20Heal - Here's, yet, another fan-made, no hit-video of Sephiroth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J54FQVugcE&search=No%20hit ---------------------------- Specific Boss Battle Videos: Ctrl+F (F3): [sbv] - A bonus fan-made video of Xaldin being beaten at level 35 in Proud Mode without the use of healing items and/or spells or Mickey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAcncxSiaw&search=No%20Heal - Another bonus fan-made video of Xemnas, the Memory Skyscraper battle, defeated at level 45 in Proud Mode without the use of healing items or spells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQs894iN1rI - In the "no heal" video vein, here's the final Xemnas battle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFvFhdLY5MM ---------------- Gameplay Videos: Ctrl+F (F3): [gpv] - A video by darksol1 showing one of the many possible routes to accomplish the Poster Duty mini-game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMZy9BZxxGU - Following the Poster Duty videos, here's one by chris123g showing another route, completing it in 24 seconds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZYskxa-MAQ - A video by azul86 detailing the Bulky Vendor hunting process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70yeO1__9_c ------------------ Gummi Ship Videos: Ctrl+F (F3): [gsv] - A fan-made video by Lorax86 completing Asteroid Sweep, Mission 3 with an S+10 rank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-jMpcszv_Q - A fan-made video by nunuu completing Stardust Sweep, Mission 3 with an S+10 rank (Japanese): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvPHTw__3P4 - A fan-made video by nunuu completing Phantom Storm, Mission 3 with an S+10 rank (Japanese): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHrURPy-vjQ - A fan-made video by nunuu completing Floating Island, Mission 3 with an S+10 rank (Japanese): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s82_2Bp4ra4 - A fan-made video by azul86 completing Ancient Highway, Mission 3 with an S+10 rank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkQVl9G6neI - A fan-made video by Lorax86 completing Sunlight Storm, Mission 3 with an S+10 rank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWNeD-IV_5s - A fan-made video by azul86 completing Assault of the Dreadnought, Mission 3 with an S+10 rank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrcoF_g3CRo ------------------ Miscellany Videos: Ctrl+F (F3): [miv] - Kingdom Hearts II opening movie (in English): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Suuc-Xi80 - As an added bonus, a video compilation of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories' complete story: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5734058952118350828 - The Deep Dive video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRpCgtEw7q4 - The scene, including the fight, with the Enigmatic Man (Xemnas), from Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (Japan release only): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxxg0wayfUI - And, a very special treat - Cloud vs. Sephiroth, Showdown of Fate I, straight from Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (Japan release only). It's subtitled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwKf2gB-Tho - Here's the beta trailer for Kingdom Hearts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ori-1zhIgcY =--------------------------------= =- How to Beat Sephiroth Guide: -= =--------------------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [hbs] This "How to Beat Sephiroth" section (originally a guide as already explained) was coincidentally brought about after having received a phone call at the unbelievable time of two o'clock in the morning by two friends of mine - an otaku couple interestingly. The call was a simple "I CAN'T BEAT SEPHIROTH!" line, followed by a subtle silence from my part; I mean - how many times do you receive such a boisterous call, at 2:00am, without so much of a "Hello"? I clearly felt as dry as a mandrill's cherry butt. I decided to pay a visit to them the following morning. They both had different personalities towards the encounter with Sephiroth: he was cocky while she felt insecure and doubtful about her abilities. So, what I pretty much did was sit and watch them play five times each, ten times in total. To my enjoyment, they both had their particular reactions whenever they got caught in a combo or were defeated, with a colorful language repertoire and all that jazz even. As you could've rightfully assume, they lost each of those five tries, so I just told them what not to do and what to avoid after taking to consideration the notes I had taken while watching their endeavors. Afterwards, at home, notes at hand, I decided to write a small "How to Beat Sephiroth FAQ" just to take that out of my system, and mainly because while participating in the Kingdom Hearts II message boards (at GameFAQs), some members kept asking for help with Sephiroth, or what was denominated the "Help with Sephiroth" topics. Pretty much this guide was concocted to help eradicate such topics in a peaceful manner. ---------. Foreword: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [int] Remember your first battle with Sephiroth in the first Kingdom Hearts? Maybe you struggled with him, having problems parrying his attacks or dodging his sword slashes; or maybe you fell victim to his Sin Harvest assault, which is literally that. I dare to say you did, and perhaps you didn't have that much of a struggle, but it's apt to attest that he can be a challenge, most notably to the inexperienced. Now, once more, you get the chance to brawl with Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts II - and a rather tumultuous brawl at that. But the good thing, contrary to the first, is that you can land string of hits to him whereas in Kingdom Hearts he tends to teleport away in the middle of a combo. This specific battle isn't like the first, which was a tournament at the Olympus Coliseum (Platinum Match), but it does share similarities such as a wide-ranged arena and the element of surprise and frustration (mostly if you tend to confide in overconfidence). And like in the first fight, it's practically safe to say, from the get-go, that Sephiroth knows how to use the arena to his advantage. So, on that note, let's get started. -----------. Adjustment: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [adj] Firstly, have in mind that to access this fight with Sephiroth you need to finish each world, in its first and second visit: this also includes the Disney Castle and Timeless River (which technically are done by default), 100 Acre Wood, Atlantica, and Space Paranoids (its first and second visit). Secondly, take to consideration that this guide is meant as a helpful way to beat Sephiroth; it is in no way a "how to beat Sephiroth in Proud Mode, with level 40 and with the Sweet Memories Keychain (or Keyblade for the "politically correct")". I am taking the notes I jotted down while "studying" my two friends' fighting strategies against Sephiroth to make this guide, so this is a recommendable set of abilities to use, including armor, accessories and items (though I prefer that you practice your own tastes when it comes to armor and accessories). Abilities are far and between, so be sure to equip those that can truthfully help you against Sephiroth; don't equip needless abilities that won't do you any good in battle. You cannot Drive, so don't equip Auto Valor/Wisdom/Master/Final; you cannot Summon, so don't equip Summon Boost, and so on. Don't be afraid to use some of those glorious AP Boosts you've collected so far from your adventuring, and try to equip AP-boosting accessories. What follows are recommendations of abilities, armor, accessories and such to equip. All abilities will be named followed by the amount of AP needed to equip them, which will be represented with a parenthesis and the amount required - (#). -----------------. Action Abilities: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [aab] - Guard (2) and Counterguard (4): Yes, these two. Contrary to what you might've heard, read or speculated you can guard against Sephiroth's attacks. If you have good dexterity, you can manage to guard against the ground combo by connecting a common Guard followed by a Counterguard. Of course, you can also guard with Reflect magic as well as by fending off Sephiroth's attack with your own while in the ground or in mid-air; thing is, his swings are faster and a bit fiddly to meet and connect. - Slide Dash (2)/Upper Slash (4)/Finishing Leap (5): These three here are best suited whenever you intend to go for an air-to-air combo. Sephiroth is always open for an air upper, which can help you greatly seeing as in the air he tends to be most vulnerable (which makes you ponder why the wings then...?). Slide Dash helps you to get in closer, but don't rely too much in it or you'll end up at the other end of Masamune. Slide Dash is best suited for when Sephiroth is idle (which is rarely) to slide in and connect your combo, followed either by Upper Slash or a Finishing Leap, which will knock Sephiroth into the air. The drawback of having Upper Slash and Finishing Leap at the same time is that you can't connect a long ground combo and then follow-up with Upper Slash; it always leads to a Finishing Leap. But seldom happens that you can do both at the same time - tends to vary with the way you connect each hit, I presume. - Aerial Sweep (2)/Aerial Spiral (2)/Horizontal Slash (2)/Aerial Finish (3)/Retaliating Slash (3): Here you have your air strike repertoire; your best bet (dare I say, even safe way) to knock the wind out of Sephiroth while keeping it safe. Following Upper Slash or Finishing Leap, rapidly tap X and let the hits fly: you can do a two-session of Horizontal Slashes following up swiftly with an Aerial Finish. The greatest thing here is Horizontal Slash, which quite frankly, helps greatly to keep the pace of each strike as you go since it reels Sephiroth towards with each hit, though it can also do the opposite if you connect the slash too late during the air raid. Retaliating Slash is there for whenever Sephiroth teleports behind you and knocks you into the air. Here you need to buckle up and lock-on (R1) to Sephiroth as soon as you see a black portal appearing behind or at the left/right side of Sora; but the thing is to keep a timing to it by not retaliating as soon as you get knocked, but right after Sephiroth appears, which, combined with the lock-on, will make Sora hit Sephiroth and you can follow quickly with an air combo. One thing that's advantageous of retaliating is that after clubbing Sephiroth, you can continue to land in new strikes, either on the air as he falls or once he lands on the ground, though the latter needs to be done as fast as possible (Slide Slash can be useful here). And, again, if you have good dexterity (which you can gain by leveling up or simply by entering the Underdrome tournaments and trying to eliminate enemies as fast as you can) you can follow a retaliating strike with a combo then another one and conclude it with Trinity Limit, which will take a good chunk of Sephiroth's life bar (depending in Sora's strength, of course). - Slapshot (2)/Dodge Slash (2)/Guard Break (3)/Explosion (3): The ground is covered with these four, with addition to Slide Dash of course. I would recommend not relying all the time in these as they can lead to a double-edged situation. However, there are safe methods to land soundly and connect ground combos to Sephiroth after dodging his on-ground slash combo, which is best avoided, for this particularly, by jumping followed by an air dodge, locking on to him and tapping X, which will make Sora do a "swirling" slash strike that will accommodate him with Sephiroth, landing, most of the time, behind him - cue for on-ground smacking. Ground combos are practically straightforward, and you'll most of the time connect both, Guard Break and Explosion; but if you wish to make it more interesting, again, testing your dexterity, follow it with a Finishing Leap and rapidly tap X and connect a string of hits while airborne. The latter strategy is pretty hard to pull off given that Sephiroth - most of the time - will teleport after the second or third hit, pulling himself away from the would-be combo (and always tends to teleport behind Sora and start his own air combo, where you can retaliate as previously mentioned). You can also utilize the Slapshot ability to parry Sephiroth's slash combo by connecting your own. Since Sephiroth lunges around 7 times, depending in your reaction time, Slapshot will most likely parry his attacks. - Trinity Limit (5): Pretty much you know what this ability is for and what it does. Try to connect it while in the end of a combo finisher; it's best when executed while ending your mid-air combo. Try to have finger #2 (the index finger) on top of the cross-pad to juggle the menu options to reach Trinity Limit. ------------------. Support Abilities: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [sab] *An ability enclosed in brackets ([]) isn't entirely necessary to have. - Scan (2): Well, it's not a bad idea to know how long till Sephiroth's demise. - Combo Plus (1)/Air Combo Plus (1)/Combo Boost (3)/Air Combo Boost (3)/Finishing Plus (5): These here are the backbone of your road to victory. If you have both Combo Plus and Air Combo Plus, don't hesitate to equip them as they can help much. The boosting supporters should be equipped so they can definitely give you an advantage over your finishers, which you won't have a problem with thanks to Finishing Plus. - Combination Boost (4): Granted for Trinity Limit - it's an essential nifty application. No doubt. [- Berserk Charge (5): This one depends primordially on Sora's level-up growth as he can learn this ability either at level 65 (Roxas chose the Sword in his "Dive to the Heart"), 85 (Roxas chose the Shield in his "Dive to the Heart") or 49 (Roxas chose the Staff in his "Dive to the Heart"). You can also obtain this ability through the Fatal Crest Keychain by winning the Goddess of Fate Cup at the Underdrome (Olympus Coliseum), which can be accessed after clearing all the other cups (Pain and Panic, Cerberus, and Titan) and completing the first battle with Xemnas (Memory's Skyscraper). This particular ability makes a combo go on forever until the MP bar refills entirely (also known as the MP Charge phase). So this, of course, like Combination Boost, is a nifty application after having used Trinity Limit.] - Item Boost (2): Since we're not covering a "Sephiroth Challenge" guide, equip this alongside Hi-Potions. Healing items of course are best used when truly needed; don't use a Hi-Potion whenever you get caught in a combo and you start hearing the "beeping" sound - if you time your movements right, you can keep fighting while in red and practically take two to three chunks off of Sephiroth's life bar. Unlike Cure magic, healing items combined with Item Boost is quite better given that Cure magic takes away your whole MP bar, which its best saved for the Trinity Limit move. And note that this ability DOES work in battle, contrary to its described function. - MP Rage (3)/Defender (3)/Second Chance (4)/Once More (4): These four are good supporters, mostly Once More since it protects you after a devastating combo attack and Second Chance, which permits you to remain at 1 HP after taking a strong blow. But have it clear: this doesn't mean you're going to be invincible. Got it memorized? -----------------. Growth Abilities: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [gab] - High Jump (2)/Quick Run (2)/Air Dodge (3): These three were the only Growth Abilities my two friends had (as well as I did when I defeated Sephiroth the first time). At that rate, they all are at level 2 (if you bothered to level your Drive Forms, of course), which is about enough to jumpstart a revolution. High Jump gives an upper hand when trying to dodge on-ground combos and Air Dodge helps more in trying to land behind Sephiroth or to prevent his Heartless Angel attack; Quick Run is best whenever he casts his Fire Pillar spell, as well as to avoid sword lunges and trying to get to him when he's open. Now, you can always wait to attain Glide (3) if you think you can't go against him without said ability, but in truth, it's not that necessary - believe me. But, if you happen to have it, take advantage of the ability and the arena, as well as it can help to avoid Sephiroth's Fire Pillar. =---------------= =- Miscellany: -= =---------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [mis] Now that covered my rundown in regards of each set of abilities, now follows a brief rundown of the possible miscellany to use. ------. Armor: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [arm] If you happen to have a Cosmic Belt (found in The World That Never Was: Twilight's View), Cosmic Chain (Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden: Heartless Manufactory) and a Ribbon (acquired through Serenity-synthesizing a Petit Ribbon), go ahead and equip those: you'll have +13 points for defense. But you can also go with a Buster Band (acquired through Serenity-synthesizing a Power Band) instead of the Cosmic Belt, a -1 defense point, but you're not losing that much. ------------. Accessories: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [acc] Cosmic Arts (found in Space Paranoids: Central Computer Mesa) or instead two Star Charms (acquired through Serenity-synthesizing a Moon Amulet); this of course if you've ventured deep in the game. If you don't have the latter, you can always go either with Fencer Earring (acquired through Serenity-synthesizing a Soldier Earring) or a Diamond Ring (acquired through Serenity-synthesizing a Garnet Ring). You will acquire +17 AP either way, the difference being a +6 in strength and magic contrary to +5/+6 strength and +3/+4 in magic. Of course, if you want +3 additional AP, a Cosmic Ring (found in 100 Acre Wood: Starry Hill) wouldn't hurt. ------------------. Keychain/Keyblade: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [key] This one is a bit on your personal style/tastes, but I can still give some recommendations. - Decisive Pumpkin (+6 - +1: Added Ability: Combo Boost): As far as power goes, this one is the perfect choice. Of course, the added ability helps quite a lot, mostly if you have it equipped as well. - Circle of Life (+4 - +1: Added Ability: MP Haste): I once used this one against Sephiroth, and the added ability does really help, mostly if you wish to do the Reflect strategy (to parry all of Sephiroth's attacks). - Fatal Crest (+3 - +5: Added Ability: Berserk Charge): Primordially, what makes this Keychain a good choice is its ability, which allows combos to go on forever during the MP Charge phase. This will surely add a couple of more hits to your combo assault after a good Trinity Limit. - Ultima Weapon (+6 - +4: Added Ability: MP Hastega): If you have it, then don't be shy to use it. It's strong, but you won't use magic, so going with Decisive Pumpkin works the same way, unless of course you're behind Ultima Weapon's ability. ------. Items: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [itm] Hi-Potions will work wonders combined with Item Boost. Equip the number you believe necessary, but of course, six won't hurt; but you can always add a few Ethers. Whatever your tastes are. ----------. Shortcuts: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [cut] Just for precaution methods, have Reflect and Hi-Potions in the shortcut buttons, the ones you feel most comfortable with. Now, if you want to play it cheap, you can equip six Elixirs (you can synthesize them, or try your luck with Devastator in Space Paranoids and Living Bones in Pride Lands since these two have a 5% rate of dropping the aforementioned item). With six Elixirs you can simply use Trinity Limit against Sephiroth, retract once it has ended, use an Elixir, repeat Trinity Limit, and so on. This is of course for the cheap at heart or if you just don't want the battle to protract. =-------------------------= =- The One-Winged Angel: -= =-------------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [owa] ------. Stats: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [sts] Now that every aspect of Sora has been covered, following now is a brief explanation regarding Sephiroth and his attacks. =------------------------------------------------= =- HP: 3000 (15LB) | Strength: 42 | Defense: 24 -= =------------------------------------------------= ---------------. Most Effective: \_ =--------------------------------------= =- Standard Weapon | Reflect | Magnet -= =--------------------------------------= NOTE: Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder magic is infective. --------. Attacks: \_ - Cut Combo: 7 consecutive forward sword cuts that can be deflected, but won't interrupt the attack. - Aerial Cut Combo: An upward slash followed by 4 consecutive cuts that can be deflected, but not entirely interrupted unless you follow the retaliating strategy previously described. - Moving Cut: A wide-ranged cut that's quick and pretty much precise that can still be deflected, but won't interrupt it wholly; tends to be used whenever a complete life bar has been depleted (if given the chance). - Flash: A charging slash attack of devastating power comprised of 13 hits - Block Reaction Command will be enabled. - Shadow Flare: A dark-based attack that will encircle Sora and practically follow him; these can be destroyed with the Keyblade, but its preferably best to use Reflect magic on them. - Fire Pillar: Fire-based attack that creates 15 pillars around Sephiroth, which consequently pulls Sora towards; other than Trinity Limit, which technically makes Sora invincible while the move is being performed, this attack cannot be deflected by any means. - Meteo: A straightforward rain of meteors lunged from high above, which isn't deflectable. - Heartless Angel: If it hits, it will drop Sora's HP to 1 and MP to 0; this attack can be interrupted prior to casting. ------------------. Reaction Commands: \_ - Block: Deflects the Flash attack. ----------------------. Victory "Get Bonuses": \_ - Drive Gauge +1 -------------. Mickey Saves: \_ N/A =-------------------= =- Know Thy Enemy: -= =-------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [kte] Sephiroth simply wants to test your fighting skills; it's an obvious gloat from his part. The battle functions in various ways, one of which is a total disadvantage for Sephiroth if you have good reflexes. Starting the battle, have your fingers ready to tap two buttons, R1 (lock-on) and Triangle (Block Reaction Command), just as soon as Sephiroth says, "Show me your strength." The whole battle consists of knowing how to keep Sephiroth locked-on, even though it can be a chore. The Triangle option will appear a couple of times in the remainder of the battle, and it is simply to block his Flash attack, which is basically an instant KO trick. After blocking said attack, the One- Winged Angel will be open for any attack - ANY. So be sure to lay waste and bat him into the air, following with an air combo and as soon as Aerial Finish concludes, press Circle to Aerial Dodge away since he will instantly teleport, either to any of Sora's sides (depending in the camera's angle), behind you or straightly a couple of feet away, sword prepared to hack through. Of course, keep Sora poised, and lock on as soon as he reappears to have a lookout for his movements. One way to keep on smacking with the Keyblade is to let Sephiroth approach you while you, at the same time, approach him with prudence. Now this is really risky, just know that right when he's at least two inches away from you, he'll lunge his sword at you, so be prepared to jump and get behind him while using Aerial Dodge and maintaining him locked-on. You will be able to deplete two to three, even four, of his life bars simply by sticking to normal combos. After that, Sephiroth will begin to cast black orbs around Sora, while lunging towards him as well. Your best ally here is Reflect magic or double jumping. Jumping is a good choice followed by Reflect given that the orbs may follow Sora. You can stick to the common strategy: keep your eyes peeled and your finger ready for the Block Reaction Command. Keep doing the same as you did prior to depleting his two to four life bars and accommodate yourself to the thought that as you keep depleting his life bar, the more vicious he'll get. As you delve into the fight, Sephiroth will teleport and appear beside Sora, meaning he'll cast the Fire Pillar. Now, I know that you'll instantly use Quick Run as soon as he appears beside you, it will be a natural reflex; so I advise to stick using Quick Run because this Fire Pillar is stronger than the one he used in Kingdom Hearts since this one has a gravitational effect, meaning it'll suck Sora towards it. Try to get the feel of the Pillar's timing since once it ends, Sephiroth is open for an attack, so, if you feel lucky, Slide Dash (depending in your distance) and combo away or go for the easy win with Trinity Limit. There will be a moment, like in Kingdom Hearts, where Sephiroth will teleport and seemingly disappear, but as soon as you hear the ominous sound of his teleportation reappearance, lock-on and run towards him, jump and smack away. This is his most devastating attack, which you'll know is an eminent threat when he calls, "Descend, Heartless Angel" – or Sin Harvest, whichever you prefer. If you manage to get across and prevent the attack, take full advantage since you can follow up your combo with another, and, if you have Trinity Limit available, let it rip. There's also another instance to watch carefully, which is when Sephiroth teleports away from harms way to prep up. You'll know right away since he will be covered by a pinkish aura; he's invincible in the very start of this phase, so don't waste time or your Trinity Limit. Instead, wait till the phase ends, and pummel away. This phase leads to an "omni-like" stage. Finally, like in the first, Sephiroth has a meteor shower, just that this time is a bit more focused on Sora - literally. When he casts this spell, simply double jump from side to side - left to right, right to left - until the attack ends; this one is quite easy to evade. The rest of the battle should just be a bit of every strategy used so far. He might teleport more than usual once he's in his last life bar, so watch out for erratic sword lunges; it's best to save a Trinity Limit just for this occasion. Remember to keep a lock-on on Sephiroth; have your eyes peeled and your reflexes up-to-speed for the Block Reaction Command. Keep dodging and parrying if you can, and connect all the combos you can, while on-ground and in mid-air. Use Hi-Potions when needed and have Reflect ready; it's not that hard of a fight if you simply concentrate on Sephiroth and avoid a desperate fit. --------------. Battle Spoils: \_ Ctrl+F (F3): [bsp] After successfully defeating Sephiroth, head back to the Marketplace at Radiant Garden where Cloud is hanging out, still in pursue of Sephiroth. Approach him and answer his question regarding Sephiroth affirmatively; he'll then leave to the Dark Depths where Sephiroth is. Of course, head over there once more and simply watch and enjoy the "Showdown of Fate II" scene. Afterwards, Tifa will approach Sora, thanking him with the Fenrir Keychain, basically the strongest attack-wise. =------------------------= =- Contact Information: -= =------------------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [inf] Making a FAQ isn't all joy and happiness to be quite frank since you pretty much leave yourself open to the immature people that roam the Internet with nothing else to do. I still will provide a contact address if you, the reader of this guide, have a doubt or question specifically about this guide - nothing else. I'm not going to be that pompous and give some strict guidelines, but I would like if you keep your emails specifically oriented towards this guide with a clear subject line as all the emails I receive (outside of personal addresses) end up in my junk file. A clear subject line will let me know that your particular email concerns this guide - it wouldn't hurt if you include "Kingdom Hearts II" or "Sephiroth" as part of the subject either. You can send your emails at my Yahoo! account, zekeunbound18@yahoo.com. =------------= =- Credits: -= =------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [crd] Not many people to credit, outside of Disney, Buena Vista Games, Square Enix, and Tetsuya Nomura for concocting this great game. - The BradyGames Kingdom Hearts II Strategy Guide, which served as resource material for several sections. - I would also like to thank Guerrero_Son for pointing out a nice tactic concerning the Slapshot ability. - megafierce, for the shared idea behind this guide's overhaul. And don't forget go check out his Synthesis Guide FAQ: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/kingdom_hearts_ii_synthesis.txt - uchihasasuke555 for pointing out King Mickey's save appearance in the Storm Rider's battle. The info was provided thanks to KH-Vids.net and Pazuzu. - sillyshahid for clarifying if King Mickey saved Sora (when knocked out) during Demyx's 2nd Encounter in Hollow Bastion. - You, of course, for reading and supporting this guide, which is always much appreciated. - Chibi Sari and Maxen, whom basically are the two driving forces behind the creation of this guide. Next time, though, be a bit more tactful and call me at a reasonable hour. Capiscι? =D - All the good natured and civilized people over at the Kingdom Hearts II message boards – you know who you are. =) - Chris and CheatHappens.com for hosting this FAQ. - Richard Li and 1UP.com for hosting this FAQ. =----------------= =- Final Words: -= =----------------= Ctrl+F (F3): [fwd] Well, this concludes this guide, brought to you by yours truly, PsychoZeke. If you would like to host this guide in your site, all you have to do is send me an email. Also, if you would like to contribute to this guide, in any respect, again, all you need to do is send me an email. That said, this is the first and final version of this guide, but it is still open for changes, editing and/or supplementation. Email: zekeunbound18@yahoo.com Now, if you have reached this particular part of the guide, and are still reading, you truly deserve a flawless victory against Sephiroth. Thanks for playing Kingdom Hearts II, and here's for another great installment coming the next. Thanks for reading. Copyright (©) 2006 Ezekiel Lonewalker (PsychoZeke) End of Document...