Hints with gameplay (Minor Spoilers)

I write this section myself based on my beta testing of this translation, but many information are obtained from other FAQ's written by others obtained from http://www.gamefaqs.com. See the Credits file for a whole list of FAQ's that I have read. Readers should refer to those FAQ's for some complete information, though the English names they use may not be the same as the ones I translate.

The section contains hints on playing the game, and focus mainly on game strategy and skills. If you have problem about solving specific quests or want more details about the way to complete the game, see the Walkthrough FAQ.

1. I have just finished the prologue portion and I'm now in Mules/Zweig. What should I do next?
   
   That's the beginning of the free scenario portion of the game. Some characters have a task at hand (like Thomas, Katarina) and most don't. Do whatever you see fit. I know somebody does not like this, but in this game how rich the story is depends on how hard you dig for the scenarios. Or you will just become a fighting machine trying to raise levels. (The story is pretty rich, actually, but connections between the storylines are not very obvious unless you try to accomplish everything, and to complete the game using different characters.)
   
   Some suggestions are:
   
   • Find some partners and train yourself up. You can't challenge some harder quests until you have 300HP or above.
     
   • Try to explore new cities. Many cities can be triggered to appear on the world map by talking to various people. Others can be reached by ship in Pidona. Pidona has at least 3 different quests to do with different difficulties, so it is a good starting place.
     
   • Buy equipments when affordable. Better equipments make a huge difference at the early stage of the game. Money is not very easy to find by fighting monsters. You basically earn income by 1) Completing certain quests that reward money; 2) Sell items obtained from monsters or treasure chests.
     
   
   
   See the Major Spoilers section if you really want to know the details.
   
   
2. Whom should I have in my party?
   
   DShort and Daniel Thomson have written a very nice and detailed description on each playable character. Please refer to their FAQ for strength and weaknesses among the characters and how to find them (have spoilers, though). You can get their FAQ at http://www.gamefaqs.com/. The translation may be a bit different from my current ones, but they should be close enough to figure out.
   
   Here are some of my suggestions in choosing characters:
   
   • At the beginning, don't fix on using certain characters. Some characters will bring new formation and techniques when you join them, so try them out. Some better characters may not be available at the beginning of the game.
     
   • Try not to train too much on Sara if she is not your main character.
     
   • Several characters cannot be sent away at the pub, so think before you join them. They are Tatyana, Poet and Herman. Herman is particularly hard to get rid of, and he is very weak.
     
   • Determine whether you want to focus on magic or tech before you form the final team and train them through.
     
     
3. How do I learn new tech?
   
   The answer to this question will only focus on single techs. For multi/group techs, see question 6 and 7.
   
   There are two types of techs. The weapon techs (like Sword, Broad Sword, Axe, etc.) are learnt when you use a certain type of weapon again and again in battles. Then by chance you will learn a new tech during a battle (light bulb will appear). The evade techs are learnt when the enemies attack you with a certain technique (like Hypnotize), and by chance you will learn how to dodge it (light bulb appears as well as you learn how to dodge the tech). With an evade tech is equipped, you have 100% evade rate for that particular attack. Also, some evade techs represent the ability to evade a group of attacks instead of a specific one. For example, if you learn Random Arrow evade tech, you can dodge both Random Arrow and Random Dart. The Earthquake evade tech allows you to dodge Earthquake, Crack, etc. If the enemies use the tech Crack on you and you learn the evade tech Earthquake, it is normal.
   
   On the more complicated side, there seems to be other rules that govern this tech learning process:
   
   • Weaker techs are easier to learn than the stronger techs. This looks like common sense, but the point I want to make here is that there is no particular order that one will learn the tech. Although the chance is small, one may learn stronger techs before weaker techs. Of course, the next few rules must apply.
     
   • The total number of techs the team can learn is correlated to the team's experience. Apparently, more techs can be learnt if the average "experience" of the whole team is high enough. If one's "experience" is too low, you won't be able to learn many techs no matter how strong the enemies you try to fight. If one wants to learn all the techs, one has to have a huge amount of "experience", which is very tedious to get. The only problem is that "experience" is not displayed explicitly in the game, so a good indicator is the HP of your characters. If you raise them to 999 HP, your "experience" would probably be high. But remember, HP and "experience" are not equivalent. There are still some uncertainty here, as I don't know whether you need to hit something to increase this "experience" counter. And I'm not sure if weapon skill level also play a part here.
     
   • Fighting stronger monsters increases the chance of learning better skill. Provided one's experience level is high enough, it is easier to learn good skill with the strong monsters. I'm not sure, but may be some of the best techs can only be learnt by fighting the strongest monsters. See other FAQs for recommendation of strong monsters.
     
   • One cannot learn new techs if he/she has already equipped 8 techs in his/her tech slots (see section 3.2 for details of tech slots).
     
   
   At the even more complicated corner, the weapon techs can be divided into 3 subtypes:
   
   • Techs that can be learnt by simply attacking with the weapon. You can do a simple attack or use a tech with the weapon, and you can still learn the tech by chance. This is the most commonly seen, especially for the first half of the game.
     
   • Techs that can be learnt by using a specific tech during battles. An example will be the Axe tech "Megahawk", which can only be learnt by using "Tomahawk", a weaker Axe tech. These are very likely for the best techs, and are usually very hard to find out. See Dshort's FAQ for more details on this if you want to.
     
   • Techs that can be learnt by using a specific weapon. I call these weapon-associated techs. These techs can only be used when the weapon is equipped, even after you learn it. Not all weapons have associated techs, but there are still quite a few. If you see a special weapon (like one of the Holy King's weapons), it is likely to have one or two built-in techs. The way to learn a new weapon-associated tech is the same as learning the first and second type of weapon/normal techs other than that you have to use the specific weapon during the battle. However, these techs cannot be mastered and they won't appear in your tech slots. Some weapon-associated techs can shatter the weapon, so be careful. Once you learn a weapon-associated tech, other identical weapons can be used by other party members with the tech learned. (e.g. If Julian learn Scare Voice with a sword called Screamer, other players can pick up any Screamer sword and use the Scare Voice tech.)
     
     Also note that each character has a build-in ability to learn and master techs. Some learn quickly but master slowly. Some do the opposite. Also, each character is particularly good at a certain type of weapon that enables him/her to learn techs on that weapon type faster than the others. For the main character, this corresponds to the weapon type you select when the new game is initialized.
     
   
   
4. What is mastering a tech and how do I do that?
   
   When a new tech is learnt, it is automatically equipped in one of your tech slots. If you look at the new tech in the menu screen, it is red in color. This means that the tech is not yet mastered, and if you remove it, it will disappear completely (until you learn it again in the battle as a new tech). Also, other characters cannot equip the new tech.
   
   To master a tech, simply use the tech again and again in battles. Imagine a hidden experience counter on each new tech you learn. The more (and stronger) monsters you beat, the more "experience" you get, and eventually the tech will get mastered when enough "experience" is earned with that particular tech. Some best techs need quite some "experience" to get mastered, so you need to fight some strong monsters over and over to master those techs. However, it has nothing to do with your weapon skill level and "luck" is not needed as in learning new techs.
   
   In case it is a parry tech or an evade tech, you have to wait for the enemy to hit you quite a few times on the character who is using the tech. The experience rule still works, but it only counts if the enemy attacks that specific character while the character is using the tech in the battle.
   
   Once a skill is mastered, it can be equipped and removed by any party member any time. It will be yours forever.
   
   
5. How do I learn magic?
   
   Magic can be bought from the light-blue-hair guys (and from some special people as well) who appear in many towns. Each one sells different types of magic, so you may need to travel a few towns to collect the magic you need. They are quite expensive, and once you remove a particular magic, you have to buy it again.
   
   You can only choose 1 from the 4 basic elements (Wind, Fire, Water, Earth) plus 1 from the 2 other elements (Sun, Moon). You cannot have more than 1 element from the same group. Buying another magic element while equipping another magic element in the same group will only delete all the magic purchased previously.
   
   If your Max MP is 0 when you purchase magic, it will become 5. That's why sometimes one will lose the crown on Tech when one purchases magic and his/her TP is not high enough.
   
   
6. What is multi-tech?
   
   It's a name I give to the techs that require more than 1 character to execute. These techs can only be used in Commander mode (see section 3.2 for details). It includes both physical attacks and magical attacks, and they are usually more powerful than a single tech or magic used in normal mode.
   
   A multi-tech requires 2 to 5 characters to perform. If less than 5 characters are required, the remaining characters will perform their normal attacks (which include the plain attack, single tech and single magic).
   
   
7. How do I use multi-tech?
   
   First select Commander mode in your menu screen (see Basic Game Instructions for details). The formation you choose determines the selection of multi-tech you can use. All the techs available at the moment will be shown during the battle. Just choose the one you want to use. The first tech which has the same name as your formation is considered a normal attack, which often leads to single plain attacks for each character (there are exceptions). If you have more than one option in your tech list, the remaining ones are most likely multi-techs.
   
   If you can't see a list of multi-techs in Commander mode, it may be because:
   
   • You choose a formation, but your magic users or weapon holders are not standing at the correct positions (see examples below).
     
   • You don't satisfy conditions like having a Fire magic user and Moon magic user, which is required to perform certain multi-techs.
     
   • You haven't learnt new multi-techs yet (not all multi-tech needs to be "learnt", but some do)
     
   
   Some group attacks will be learnt automatically if you satisfy certain conditions. E.g. in the Tri-anchor formation, if all 3 characters at the front row are using a weapon (not bare hand or bow), they will use the Group attack Dinofang automatically when you select the Tri-anchor normal attack. Other multi-tech can be used if you put the characters to stand at specific locations within specific formations (usually have to be roughly aligned and symmetric). For spells, one may also need specific magic user. E.g. to cast the 2-P spell Rising flame, one must have at least 1 Fire magic user and another magic user. In many cases, they have to stand at the top end and bottom end of a formation in order to cast the spell. Also, their magic level has to be high enough in some cases.
   
   Multi-techs take up group points (GP) when used. The group point starts at 1 in each battle, and increments 1 each round. Weaker techs usually use 0 or 1 GP to cast, so they can be used every round. For multi-techs that require 2 or more GP, you will have to use 0 GP tech until the GP is accumulated to the necessary amount. Notice that GP is free, so you won't lose any TP or MP if you simply use multi-tech in the battle. However, if some of your characters use normal tech or magic during the battle, their TP and MP will still be consumed, even in Commander mode.
   
   Many details can be found in Dshort's formation guide in http://www.gamefaqs.com/.
   
   
8. How do I learn multi-tech?
   
   There are basically 3 types:
   
   • Tech/magic that require a certain type of weapon holders/magic users standing in a symmetric fashion within the formation. See question 7 for two examples. Once your characters have equipped with the correct weapons/spells and standing in the right position, the multi-tech will be available for use. There is no way to check whether you have done the correct arrangement until you actually try it in battles. So this is basically a trial-and-error process (or a look-into-walkthrough process J).
     
   • Some multi-techs are actually learnt during battles. Examples are Marvelous Cannon attack and Shinryu Dance. These can be learnt by chance when the characters are doing normal attack in the Commander mode. I suspect the overall HP affects the chance of learning as well.
     
   • Secret techniques can be found within the maze where the four Devil Lords reside. When you find one in a treasure box, it will tell you the necessary formation and magic users etc. to cast the spell. In case you forget, you can always go back to get the information from Anna in Lance. These spells are special that you cannot use it before locating them in the treasure chests, even if you know the correct formation and magic users needed to cast the spell.
     
   
   
9. This Commander mode is a bad idea. I have no control to the characters, and they do weak attacks all the time. I never use it and I still finish the game! Besides, the multi-tech is not interesting at all, and I got so few multi-techs that are not even useful.
   
   Well, don't be too pessimistic. Indeed, one can finish the game without using Commander mode at all. However, even if Commander mode is slightly weaker, it is pretty useful if you get to learn a few multi-techs and have the correct formations. Here, let me list some advantages of Commander mode that you may miss. I don't even need to count the "interesting" and "rare" techs that you get to see only in Commander mode.
   
   • Multi-tech cannot be countered, and a few of them are actually quite strong. The typical ones are the "big four" that are found in the dens of the four Devil Lords. Galaxy, for example, can give 5000+ (depends on your magic level) damage to all enemies. For people not doing multi-techs, you can always equip them with strong single techs and choose the "Power tech" command. Later in the game, 3 single techs may end up stronger than 1 multi-tech, which only does 9999 damage maximum, but it is still quite strong.
     
   • You don't need to consume TP/MP to do multi-techs. This is good for fighting long dungeons with nasty enemies.
     
   • The party automatically recovers HP and status change (except poison and petrified) every round. Status attack almost means nothing to you. And even if 4 out of 5 characters run out of HP, they will stand up again in next round so you still have full attack power to hopefully finish the enemy next round.
     
   • You can choose any formation during a battle. Being ambushed will not force you to use Free Fight formation any more.
     
   • There are many extra favors that you can add to battles, like adding stun effects to your attacks, or get the first attack once in a while.
     
   • Yes, the Commander mode is harder to master than the Fighter mode. However, once you get hold of the techniques so that you fight as good in both Fighter mode and Commander mode, you can probably get more fun and satisfaction from the game.
     
   
   Characters will learn new techs and power up in either modes, too. But mastering techs is better done in Fighter mode, because you can't let a character use a certain technique as frequently and appropriately in Commander mode. Also, characters tend to lose LP more frequently because healing and attack is not as easy to balance as in Fighter mode. Thus sometimes one has to take the risk of being killed again in order to do a big multi-tech that will destroy enemies in one round.
   
   Learning multi-tech is indeed a nuisance as it is not as obvious as learning single techs. Maybe someone can eventually set up a table to include the ways to learn the multi-techs. But right now I don't have enough information.
   
   
10. How do I learn new formation?
    
    Specific characters have knowledge of special formations. Just join them once and you will automatically learn their formation. You can then kick that character away and still keep the formation. (Some characters cannot be readily kicked away, though.) I think including Free Fight, there are 11 5-P (5 players) formations. And if you learn all the 5-P formations, you will get all the 4-P and 3-P etc. as well.
    
    Again, see DShort's formation guide.
    
    
11. How do I increase Max HP, Max TP, Max MP and Weapon/Magic skill?
    
    Just fight battles and win to get level up. If you choose to do physical attack, you will have a chance to get a Max HP and/or Max TP increase. Max TP increases at most 1 point in each battle, but the amount of Max HP increase depends on your character's stats, your current Max HP, and the level of the monsters you fight. If you have a low level and you are fighting relatively strong monsters, you will be likely to get a better raise of Max HP each round.
    
    To increase Max MP, you will have to cast magic during the battle. For the Weapon and magic skill, there will be a chance to level up after each battle if you have used a particular weapon or magic during the battle. The chance of getting one seems to be related to the amount of experience you get (imagine a hidden experience counter). As the skill level increases, you will have to fight stronger monsters in order to get them level up.
    
    Note that it is possible to have all of these level-ups in one battle, if you have used both physical and magical attacks during the battle.
    
    
12. What is the little crown beside the Tech points or Magic points?
    
    A crown beside the Tech points means that you are specialized in techs. In this case, you consume 1 less TP to use any tech. It may not be very significant to just change TP requirement from 12 to 11, but it means something to change TP requirement from 3 to 2 or from 1 to 0, especially when one can only have a few TP at the early stage.
    
    To get the crown on tech, the Max TP must be much greater than the Max MP. If Max MP = 0, you will get a crown on techs when Max TP = 45. If your Max MP = 10, you will need Max TP > 100 to get a crown. As the Max MP is large enough, the crown on tech will never appear. I'm still looking for the exact formula, but the rule of thumb is that don't let the Max MP be too large if you want a crown on techs. (This also means that one will never see crowns on both tech and magic.)
    
    The crown on magic has the similar idea. Just have the Max MP >> Max TP.
    
    
13. How do I recover HP, TP, MP, LP?
    
    Outside the battle, the best way is to go to an inn, which is pretty cheap. HP automatically recovers after each battle, so you don't need to do anything. If you are deep within the dungeon, you can use items like:
    Tpotion (1, 2, 3): recover TP
    Mpotion (1, 2, 3): recover MP
    Herbs, Life potion: recover LP
    Various special items can recover both TP/MP at the same time, or can be applied for the whole group.
    
    During a battle, TP, MP and LP cannot be recovered. You can recover HP by using Potions, tech, magic or special items (like Life Cane). If the main character's LP becomes 0, the game ends even if other characters are still standing. If other characters' LP becomes 0, they will disappear from the team.
    
    
14. How can I run like Ellen in the game's intro?
    
    Press and hold the Y button when walking. Remember that this button also allows you to jump over some gaps, which is required in some scenarios.
    
    
15. Why am I always be ambushed by monsters?
    
    There are two conditions that you will get ambushed. The first case is when a monster reaches you from your back. The second case is when you are running/dashing and bump into a monster. If you like running a lot, you will be ambushed a lot as well.
    
    On the other hand, it should be noted that you would enjoy a similar advantage if you walk (not run) into the back of the monsters. It's called a "Back attack" and the monsters won't do anything for 1 round.
    
    
16. What is the penalty of getting ambushed?
    
    The speed of the party in first round will be greatly reduced, so you'll probably have to endure their attacks before you can move. Also, the formation will become Free Fight in this case.
    
    
17. Any hints on the Battle/War game?
    
    Here are some basic rules that may help:
    
    
    • Attack power and mobility are affected by the number of soldiers, the form and morale. So one should attack enemies when his/her own morale is high and the enemy's morale is low.
      
      
    • Your morale will decrease if
      a) Enemies attack you while you defense (slow)
      b) You attack the enemies (fast)
      c) You perform charge attacks to enemies (very fast)
      The speed of morale decreasing also depends on the number of soldiers on each side and the attack and defense power on each side. If the enemy is stronger, your morale will decrease quickly, and vice versa.
      
      
    • Your morale will increase if
      a) The whole army moves back (towards the right)
      b) Soldiers rest at the back rows (for soldiers at the back row only)
      c) Some soldiers reached and exit to the left edge of the screen.
      d) Special skill is used to recover morale.
      e) Both armies are not attacking, and are staying away from each other.
      
      
    • Soldiers on horses have high attack power and mobility, but their defense is weaker than that of the walking soldiers. The armored walking soldiers have the highest defense, but they are the slowest.
      
      
    • If your attack power/mobility is higher than the enemies, try pushing them toward the edge and they will die very soon. If you move back to recover morale, don't move too far to the right or you will be crushed by the enemies instead.
      
      
    • You can imagine that each soldier has his own HP and attack power (as they are not displayed explicitly). Do whatever you think will keep the soldiers' morale high and HP high. The bottom morale meter is only reflecting the morale for the soldiers at the front row. Soldiers at the back row will always be recovering morale and HP. The meter may not show the real situation. And if HP is low, the soldiers can die even if their morale is high.
      
      
    • Some special skills (like All Charge attack) can only be used once per battle. Save them as late as possible.
      
      
    • Try not to move around too much to keep your formation neat. Note that slower soldiers will have a tendency to be left behind. When this happens, it means that the number of soldiers fighting at the front row will be decreased, and they become susceptible to attack.
      
    
    Special techniques, formation, battle commands and tactics in specific battles will be covered in another FAQ.
    
    
18. I'm bored on that business game and try to do the Rat's cave quest. But somehow the Mayor keeps giving me the business game menu instead of leading me to the Rat's cave!
    
    You will have to finish the business game first, or you can quit the business game by selecting the right option on the business game menu. Once you quit, you may not be able to restart the game.
    
    
19. What are the maximum stats?
    
    Max HP: 999
    Max LP: fixed for each character
    Max Tech points: 250 (I've only seen 160 or so in my game)
    Max Magic points: 250
    Max Weapon skill level: 50 (I've only seen a max of 42 in my game)
    Character's stats: basiclly fixed for each character; may change when wearing certain equipments
    
    
20. All of a sudden I can't heal or resurrect my character!
    
    Certain equipments have this kind of effect when equipped. Some obvious ones are the Death Bow and Death Ring. Also, Characters who have equipped the Devil King shield/armor/helmet cannot be healed by normal methods. So beware. The robe worn by Leonid also have this effect, but it only affects Leonid.
    
    Devil King shield/armor/helmet also have an unwanted effect which doubles the amount of TP and MP you need for performing techs/magics.
    
    
21. I seem to have stopped leveling up for a while. After each battle only a couple of my characters gain 1 or 2 HP, and the other takes a LONG time to get a level up.
    
    In many places, monsters that appear depend on the overall experience level of your party. If you have some new party members having low experience, the members with high experience will not level up, as the monsters are too weak for them. An observation is that the members with lower HP will tend to get HP increase instead of other kinds of level up. This will last until the HP/experience difference among the characters is minimized, or when you fight some monsters that are strong enough for the the other characters (in a special quest for example). Especially later in the game, if all your members have 800+ HP and you get a new character with 500 HP, it will be a headache to train the character up because not too many monsters are strong enough. So the best way is to avoid too much training until you have decided the team members whom you want to raise their levels for the last battle.
    
    Still, leveling up in RS3 is one of the most tedious things to do.