URSUS QUEST: Shadow of the Towers can be played without a walkthrough, but it might be helpful for the secret things in the game. There is a SPOILER WARNING in effect, of course. If there's something that's REALLY a HUGE spoiler, I'll annotate it.
When you first begin, you'll be outside, in the Archaeon town square, among your 7 old battlemates. Across the fountain from you is a save point. Use that, and then pick your 3 teammates.
CHARACTERS:
TROY - Main character...auto joins in all games. He has skills like 'encounter-up/down' which help him be more useful.
BROGAN - (White-haired dwarf) He has the high ATT/DEF of a dwarf, with a healthy smattering of white magic. Yup, he's a Dwarf Cleric. The other dwarf is a 'tank', but Brogan's an ambulance. He works equally well on the front line, or as support (if you're using 3 fighters in addition to him).
ARATOS - (Long-haired mage) Aratos has the best magic spells, but strangely his M-ATT is not the highest...
He's definitely the most powerful mage in spite of that. Each of the 4 elemental magic types that he learns is strong against a certain elemental monster type. This really comes in handy in the towers, where the vast majority of enemies are of the same elemental type.
GABRIEL- (Old priest) Gabriel is the best healer, and he also has the best M-ATT in the group. Ironic? not really...he has a skill called 'Smite' which is one of only 2 offensive skills that he has...weak at first, it's INSANELY powerful once he levels, because it's linked to his M-ATT. His other attack is weaker overall, but really good against the undead.
LOREN - (Long-haired adventurer) He's the 'Guardian' character. At high levels, he has the ability to protect your status, and even NULLIFY any type of attack eventually. He even jumps in and takes damage for other party members quite often. While this can be annoying at first, he beefs up to a nice HP level fairly soon, so he can take more punishment.
KARL - (Bald monk) Karl is the 'Red Monk' character. Not only are his skills balanced, but they are a mix of offensive, defensive, support, and restorative skills...and here's the clincher...NONE of them require ANY HP to cast! Once he learns a skill, he can use it as much as he wants. He's also the fastest character. His weapons are ONLY found as random drops from a certain type of enemy.
JOSEPH - (Dark-haired mage) Joseph is a 'Dark Scholar', or in FF terms, he's a blue mage. Yup...he learns enemy skills! There are 15 different enemies throughout the game that can drop books which can teach Joseph new skills. The last one is only found after finding the other 15, and then doing something else... His skill list makes him the most versatile magic user by far, if not the most powerful (although LOOK OUT for his 16th spell.........) Joseph has the 'Escape' capability innately, which means that if he joins, the entire party can run from any battle that isn't a boss or story battle with 100% certainty. This comes in handy when you're trying to farm for skills for Joseph from a specific battle party, but also in lots of other ways. Joseph is only as good as the skills you find for him, so that makes up for it.
DUGGAN - (Dark-haired dwarf) This is more of a straightforward dwarf character...Best ATT, best DEF, highest HP...'nuff said?
He also learns exclusive skills like 'Dwarf Instinct', which springs traps for a while.
Use the above character descriptions, and when you have chosen all 3, the others will automatically go into your reserve team...you'll be able to access them later. The reason why I say to save first, is because once you say 'yes' to them, you're stuck with them unless you reset. However, you can say 'no' as often as you want.
Who you pick is up to you, but you might want to pick at least one character who can heal/cure your party, so you might want to consider Brogan, Gabriel, Joseph, or Karl. Of those characters, Gabriel and Joseph learn healing first.
CHAPTER 1 - ESCHELON (Part 1) -
Once you've chosen your party, you can spend your 100 gold coins on whatever you want. Since all characters begin the game with at least a few restorative items, you might consider weapon upgrades or equips...but that's up to you. I usually upgrade Troy's sword, and get him a shield. You should already have enough items to train up 2-3 levels.
Now, you can go outside and begin to train up a bit! You can go wherever you want, but you'll want to avoid the beach area in front of you until your party is at least level 3-4. It's usually best to just stick close to town, at least at first.
ENEMIES:
Rough Trader - Strong Special attacks - 50 HP
Soldier Hornet - Agile, yet only 15 HP each.
Kraken - Found on the beach area on the way to the Bandit's hideout. 200 HP.
Man o' War - Found with Krakens, each has 60 HP.
ENEMY SKILLS:
First Aid - Dropped by Rough Traders - heals slightly
Electrobiosis - Dropped by Krakens - Light damage to 1 emeny, but chance of causing 'STOP'.
ENEMY DROPS:
Bronze Sword - Rare drop from Rough Traders (Otherwise not available until the end of chapter 1)
Clover Ring - Rare drop from Soldier Hornets (Increases LUCK slightly)
Orange Keef - Rare drop from Soldier Hornets (FULL MP restoration)
Flashy Ring - Simi-rare drop from Krakens (Increases MAG-DEF slightly)
*NOTE* About 98% of the battles in SotT have a very rare chance of dropping a lucky ring, which maxes out a character's LUCK, makes the character SWIFT, and gives a slight bonus to every other stat. In 4 complete playthroughs, I found 1 twice...one of those times I actually found two. The more RE's you fight, the better your chances of getting one! Also, many of the early areas have enemies that drop magic/HP-restoring items. I didn't notate them seperately, but instead focused on the rarer drops for this walkthrough.
The Rough Traders you'll encounter on most parts of the Eschelon Islands have fairly powerful special attacks, but relatively few hit points. Just focus on one of them at a time, and you should be ok. These first battles can be tricky at first! Just be careful to keep people healed at least to half HP. at all times.
Once your party is at least level 4, call it a day, and return to town to save and rest at the inn. Before you begin the assault on the bandit hideout, buy some more equipment upgrades and items. Your first mission will not hold any new enemies, but there IS a boss, so be prepared.
Now begins the assault on the bandits' sea cave hideout! Just make your way to the sandy peninsula to the South of town, and beyond that is your next destination. Along the way, on the beach area between you and the sea cave, you'll encounter a couple of new enemies...the Krakens and Man o' Wars. These encounters are much tougher than what you've encountered so far, but they are do-able as long as you are at least level 4, and keep a close eye on your party HP. Be sure to get the enemy skill 'Electobiosis' for Joseph if you selected him (and even if you didn't)!
DUNGEON - Bandit's Hideout
Once you've made it across the beach, you can enter the sea cave, where the bandits have made their HQ. Be sure to open the chests to the right of the entrance for some restorative items, and some cash. The enemies here are just more Rough Traders, so no biggie...just be sure to wipe them out in one turn if you can (you should be killing them with 1 hit at this point), and you won't have to worry about maintaining you party's HP levels. Along the way, you'll see 1 path leading off from the main one to the right. Take this path for a Clover Ring and a Greek Fire (damages all enemies), and then go back to resume the main path.
At the end of this path is a chamber and a save point...use this before you do anything else! Once you've saved your game, you can open the 2 chests here for a Wind Crystal (warps out of dungeons), and some more low-level restorative items. Investigating the pile of gold on the other side of the save point will spark a boss battle, so be sure you're saved before you do that.
BOSS BATTLE - Ogre
Optimal party level - 8-9
HP - 1290
Rare Drop - Brotherhood Cup (Restores party HP)
Rare Drop - Meat Brasier (Unlimited-use encounter UP item)
This is the first boss battle, so he's a bit harder than what you've encountered so far, but he's not too dificult if you watch your party's HP. Just unload your best skills on him, and he'll go down without too much trouble. He has some rather powerful skills, one of which damages all allies, but if you're lucky he may not even use it.
After the battle, use the Wind Crystal to warp back to the world map. Return to town to save, rest, and update your equipment in order to prepare for the next part of chapter 1.
CHAPTER 1 - ESCHELON (Part 2) -
After making your preparations, leave town, and head north through the woods until you reach the ruins there. Before you leave, I strongly suggest that you buy some 'Smelling Salts' (recover from unconsciousness)! All enemies in the dungeon to come are of the 'undead' type.
DUNGEON - Ancient Ruins
ENEMIES:
Fallen - 230 HP
Gasp - 158 HP
Bloodybones - 200 HP. WATCH OUT for their 'Hell's Gate' spell...it damages the entire party, and has a chance of causing instant death.
ENEMY SKILLS:
Hell's Gate - Dropped by Bloodybones - Damages all enemies, and can cause instant death.
ENEMY DROPS:
Bear Ring - Rare drop by Fallen. (STR +5)
Intimidator - Sometimes dropped by Fallen (Eliminates random enemy encounters for a while)
There's a completely superfluous section of hallway near the entrance designed to thwart would-be intuders, but if you follow the map above, you should be fine. Just go left when you first can, and you can avoid the extra section of dungeon completely. If you do this, be sure to go right at the intersection first, then take another immediate right to enter a chamber with a chest containing a Rawhide Shield. Upon leaving this room, take a left, and then an immediate right until you reach a 4-way intersection. Enter the chamber directly in front of you first, and recieve a Wind Crystal and a Broken Hookah from the chests within. When you exit this room, go right first. At the end of this path is another treasure chamber...this time with an Ether and a Smelling Salts as a reward. When you return to the intersection, continue forward through it until you reach the ultimate goal of the dungeon: a chest containing a Goblin Key, and a Healing Herb.
Now you can warp out of this place, and return to town for some rest, equipment upgrades, and item re-stocking (if needed). The next dungeon leads to the lands of chapter 2, so you might want to get what you want from the shops before you leave to make things easier. You should have enough gold at this point in the game to buy everyone the best weapon (definitely), the best armor (possibly), and the 2 expensive rings (probably not). If you want, you can return after completing the next dungeon to buy what's left, OR you can farm for enough gold to buy everything before you leave, OR you can just move on. There is a point beyond which you can't return (until the last part of the game), but it's not until after chapter 2.
Which ever you choose, when you've made your preparations you should make your way to the northern tip of the island...that's your next destination.
DUNGEON - Goblin Cave
ENEMIES:
Goblet - 161 HP. High AGI
Atlas Ant - 132 HP. High DEF, can poison
ENEMY SKILLS:
None
ENEMY DROPS:
Ancient Urn 1 - Sometimes dropped by Goblets. (See 'SECRETS' section at end of walkthrough)
The enemies here are tougher to beat, but not really more dangerous unless you're careless. Their HP is actually a bit less than the enemies in the previous dungeon, but they're harder to hit (Goblets), or they have strong defenses (Atlas Ants). If you're using one or both of the Dwaves, you might consider using a mallet rather than an axe, because if you're having trouble hitting the enemies here, you might as well make each hit count. Anyway, a little bit of magic goes a long way in this place.
*WEAPON NOTE* There are 2 different types of weapon that dwarves can equip: Axes, and Mallets. Most shops will offer one of each. The axe has a higher ATT than the mallet, but ALL mallets (except for 1-2) have the 'SMASH' attribute attached...which means that they have a set probability of inflicting double damage. That, and the sheer volume of materials needed to make the mallets make them slightly more expensive than the axes, even though their ATT is less overall. Equip a Lucky Ring with a mallet...and look out.
When you enter the Goblin Cave, you will see two exits to the entrance chamber...one to your left, and one to your right. You'll want to go left first, as this path leads to a dead-end with a chest. In this chest are Smelling Salts and a Bronze sword. After getting these, go back to the entrance chamber, and this time take the right-hand passage. Immediately after taking this path, take the right you see there for another dead-end with a chest. This time, the chest contains a Magic Herb. (I know it's not a lot, but considering the amount of magic you'll probably be doing in this place, it will come in handy). After getting this, go back to the intersection and this time take the left passage.
This passage zigzags along, but it's fairly linear for a while. In this hallway are 2 chests containing a Bear Ring (ATT +5), and a Golden Oil (medium MP restoration item), in the order you'll encounter them. Soon you'll encounter a path to your right, in the wall of a long, straight hallway. This is the way you'll want to go eventually, but first go forward and then left for 2 chests which contain a Healing Herb, and an Ether. If you don't have a healer or medic with an antidote skill/spell, then this will come in handy in here, as the Atlas Ants can poison you.
When you've collected these first-aid supplies, go back to the hole in the hallway wall and enter it. The left path is a dead-end with a chest containing another Healing Herb and a Brotherhood Cup (Revives all unconscious allies). The way from this point to the exit of the dungeon is a bit complicated, but as long as you follow the compass and go south whenever possible, you'll find your way easily. When you reach a wall in front of you, go all the way left for a chest before you continue south to the exit chamber.
*VERSION NOTE* In the currently uploaded version, players will get a bomb from the above-mentioned chest that does heavy damage to a single target. In the new version, players will recieve a bomb which inflicts damage to all enemies. If you save this item for a boss (which is a sound strategy), it won't matter, since there will always be only 1 boss at a time, and both bombs do about the same damage anyway. The multi-enemy bomb exists in the current version also, but the single-enemy bomb has been deleted from the new version.
When you're standing right in front of the exit, you should be able to see 2 chests nearby. The one to your left contains a Healing Elixir (MAX HP restoration item), and the one just to the right of the exit door contains an Iron Ring (DEF +5). The Goblin Cave is now complete! Now you can either go outside, or use a wind crystal to go back to the entrance, so you can go back to town to buy anything you might want there. If not, then go through the exit, and emerge outside...on the island you probably saw before. In the center of this tiny island is a teleport, which whisks you away to the lands of chapter 2.
________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 2 - CALDERA (Part 1) -
ENEMIES:
Centaur - 342 HP (tough, but stupid...fortunately for you. When they get a clue they can hurt you, but they hardly ever do.
Salamander - 260 HP
Tooki Bird - 174 HP (Can revive other enemies)
Treant - 169 HP
ENEMY SKILLS:
Chiron's Revenge - Dropped by Centaurs (moderate damage to all enemies - chance of 'SLOW')
RISE! - Learned from Tooki Birds (Revive 1 fallen ally)
ENEMY DROPS:
Philodendron - Sometimes dropped by Treants. (See 'SECRETS' section at end of walkthrough)
Lunar Ring - Rare drop from Salamanders (MAG +8/M-DEF +8/AGI +8/LUCK +8)
Solar Ring - Rare drop from Salamanders (STR +8/DEF +8/AGI +8/LUCK +8)
Skill Ring - Sometimes dropped by Centaurs (AGI +10/LUCK +10)
Opal Ring - Rare drop from Tooki Birds (MAG +30/M-DEF +30/LUCK +30 - Restores MP)
Brotherhood Cup - Rare drop from Treants
When you arrive at your new destination, you'll see the remains of a smoldering volcanic crater. This is the reason why the place is named the way it is...'Caldera'. You will see the steam rising from several places also, where molten lava has reached the seawater. The MAIN thing you will see, however, is the Amber Tower in front of you...the first tower in your quest! In spite of this place's proximity to the sea, the element of the area (and thus the tower within it), is FIRE. This being the case, all of the enemies within the Amber Tower are of the FIRE element.
*VERSION NOTE* In the new version, there will be an elemental system. Aratos the elemental mage has 4 elemental magic types, and each one is strong against an elemental type found in the towers (and also elsewhere). This system is an add-on, and that's fine...it's not meant to be a fundamental change in the game mechanics, but rather just an added facet to it.
But first things first, make you way down through the rocky passageways to the grassy area. Once here, remain to the right to find the passable slope leading down to the lower areas. Once on the sandy area, you can go left to investigate the steam vents. There's no real point of going here, but the Salamanders which love the hot water here can drop some nice items.
To your right is the Amber Tower, for which you lack the key, then a pyramid-shaped building (The Tower Complex), for which you ALSO lack the key, then further up the opposite end of the vocano rim is the town of Uldrea. Head here first to rest up and restock your supplies. The amount of money you have at your disposal after resting and grocery shopping will vary from game to game, depending on how much you trained, how many chests you found, and your previous shopping choices, but you should still be able to afford many nice pieces of armor and new weaponry in the shops here.
Once you've bought the best equipment that you currently can, you can return outside to train and farm for exp/money/items/skills much more easily...and safely. That's why I said to just bypass everything and come to Uldrea straight away. You'll be traversing the western end of the island several times through the course of chapter 2, so there's no real need to farm unless you're about to end the chapter and you still haven't found something that you really want, or can't afford something that you want in the shop yet.
Once you're satisfied with your visit to Uldrea, or your hay fever from all those damn flowers is killing you, head out for your first mission in Caldera. But where to go? There's only 3 places here: the tower, the pyramid, and Uldrea...and the pyramid and the tower are both locked. Well, since the pyramid is called the Tower Complex, one can assume (correctly) that the key to the tower is locked away somewhere in there...but how do you get into the Tower Complex?
Well, the Centaurs here are the guardians of the tower. One of them has the key, and will drop it when you defeat him. It probably won't take too long to find the right Centaur. Some may fault me for having a story treasure only found as a random enemy drop, but who else would have the key?
In any case, after you've defeated the gatekeeper Centaur and won his key, you can enter the Tower Complex and begin your quest for the key to the tower.
DUNGEON - Tower Complex
ENEMIES:
Embalmed - 370 HP
Anubite - 625 (can heal 1 enemy)
King Spider - 250
ENEMY SKILLS:
None
*VERSION NOTE* In the current version, you can learn 'Ice Demon' from the Anubites here...a full chapter early. Oh well, enjoy the mistake in your favor, folks!
ENEMY DROPS: None. In my playthroughs, I always began to get an overstocked inventory at about this point, so items become a bit more scarce later in the game. Don't worry, though...there are still plenty of items to find, it's just that some areas have very few if any enemy drops. Later on, I solved the problem in other ways, as well...like replacing 1-use items with items that can be used 3-10 times to save inventory space. I may add some enemy drops here and there in the final version, especially since I ran out of room for chests...we'll see.
Use your Rusty Key to open the Tower Complex ruins, and if you're satisfied with the current state of party affairs, then go on inside (after you save, of course). Before you is a forest of pillars running the length of a long hallway, with 2 doors along the left wall (both open), 2 doors along the right wall (one of which is locked), and a locked door at the far end. Ignore the first 2 doors on either side, they are dead-ends. The layout of this place looks complicated, but it's really very simple. Through the unlocked door lies the key to the left door, and behind that door is the key to the bottom door.
Once through this door, you'll want to go West and then North, all the way up, until you reach a chamber with a teleport at its center. Take this teleport to another one in a similar chamber on the East side of the ruins. Follow this path South until it curves to the West, and you'll find your prize...the Amber Tower Key! Now use Egress, or a Wind Crystal to warp outside of the Tower Complex, and head back to town to prepere for your assault on the Amber Tower!
CHAPTER 2 - CALDERA (Part 2) -
Go to right in front of the Amber Tower and save your game.
DUNGEON - The Amber Tower
Floor 1 -
ENEMIES :
Fire Guardian -
Ember -
Red Asp -
Infernal Mage -
Amber Golem -
-
ENEMY SKILLS -
White Wind - Dropped by Infernal Mages on floors 8 & 9
ENEMY DROPS -
Open the locked door inside with your Amber Tower Key, and immediately after opening the door you'll see a statue directly in front of you, barring you from going further into the tower. As you probably guessed, this statue will attack when inspected closely. The statues on this floor of the tower guard the tower, but they also guard 6 treasure chests. Almost ALL of the chests in the towers are on the first floor, but the only enemies you have to deal with are the statues. There are NO random encounters on the first floor of any tower in Shadow of the Towers.
When you first begin, you'll be outside, in the Archaeon town square, among your 7 old battlemates. Across the fountain from you is a save point. Use that, and then pick your 3 teammates.
CHARACTERS:
TROY - Main character...auto joins in all games. He has skills like 'encounter-up/down' which help him be more useful.
BROGAN - (White-haired dwarf) He has the high ATT/DEF of a dwarf, with a healthy smattering of white magic. Yup, he's a Dwarf Cleric. The other dwarf is a 'tank', but Brogan's an ambulance. He works equally well on the front line, or as support (if you're using 3 fighters in addition to him).
ARATOS - (Long-haired mage) Aratos has the best magic spells, but strangely his M-ATT is not the highest...
He's definitely the most powerful mage in spite of that. Each of the 4 elemental magic types that he learns is strong against a certain elemental monster type. This really comes in handy in the towers, where the vast majority of enemies are of the same elemental type.GABRIEL- (Old priest) Gabriel is the best healer, and he also has the best M-ATT in the group. Ironic? not really...he has a skill called 'Smite' which is one of only 2 offensive skills that he has...weak at first, it's INSANELY powerful once he levels, because it's linked to his M-ATT. His other attack is weaker overall, but really good against the undead.
LOREN - (Long-haired adventurer) He's the 'Guardian' character. At high levels, he has the ability to protect your status, and even NULLIFY any type of attack eventually. He even jumps in and takes damage for other party members quite often. While this can be annoying at first, he beefs up to a nice HP level fairly soon, so he can take more punishment.
KARL - (Bald monk) Karl is the 'Red Monk' character. Not only are his skills balanced, but they are a mix of offensive, defensive, support, and restorative skills...and here's the clincher...NONE of them require ANY HP to cast! Once he learns a skill, he can use it as much as he wants. He's also the fastest character. His weapons are ONLY found as random drops from a certain type of enemy.
JOSEPH - (Dark-haired mage) Joseph is a 'Dark Scholar', or in FF terms, he's a blue mage. Yup...he learns enemy skills! There are 15 different enemies throughout the game that can drop books which can teach Joseph new skills. The last one is only found after finding the other 15, and then doing something else... His skill list makes him the most versatile magic user by far, if not the most powerful (although LOOK OUT for his 16th spell.........) Joseph has the 'Escape' capability innately, which means that if he joins, the entire party can run from any battle that isn't a boss or story battle with 100% certainty. This comes in handy when you're trying to farm for skills for Joseph from a specific battle party, but also in lots of other ways. Joseph is only as good as the skills you find for him, so that makes up for it.
DUGGAN - (Dark-haired dwarf) This is more of a straightforward dwarf character...Best ATT, best DEF, highest HP...'nuff said?
He also learns exclusive skills like 'Dwarf Instinct', which springs traps for a while.Use the above character descriptions, and when you have chosen all 3, the others will automatically go into your reserve team...you'll be able to access them later. The reason why I say to save first, is because once you say 'yes' to them, you're stuck with them unless you reset. However, you can say 'no' as often as you want.
Who you pick is up to you, but you might want to pick at least one character who can heal/cure your party, so you might want to consider Brogan, Gabriel, Joseph, or Karl. Of those characters, Gabriel and Joseph learn healing first.
CHAPTER 1 - ESCHELON (Part 1) -
Once you've chosen your party, you can spend your 100 gold coins on whatever you want. Since all characters begin the game with at least a few restorative items, you might consider weapon upgrades or equips...but that's up to you. I usually upgrade Troy's sword, and get him a shield. You should already have enough items to train up 2-3 levels.
Now, you can go outside and begin to train up a bit! You can go wherever you want, but you'll want to avoid the beach area in front of you until your party is at least level 3-4. It's usually best to just stick close to town, at least at first.
ENEMIES:
Rough Trader - Strong Special attacks - 50 HP
Soldier Hornet - Agile, yet only 15 HP each.
Kraken - Found on the beach area on the way to the Bandit's hideout. 200 HP.
Man o' War - Found with Krakens, each has 60 HP.
ENEMY SKILLS:
First Aid - Dropped by Rough Traders - heals slightly
Electrobiosis - Dropped by Krakens - Light damage to 1 emeny, but chance of causing 'STOP'.
ENEMY DROPS:
Bronze Sword - Rare drop from Rough Traders (Otherwise not available until the end of chapter 1)
Clover Ring - Rare drop from Soldier Hornets (Increases LUCK slightly)
Orange Keef - Rare drop from Soldier Hornets (FULL MP restoration)
Flashy Ring - Simi-rare drop from Krakens (Increases MAG-DEF slightly)
*NOTE* About 98% of the battles in SotT have a very rare chance of dropping a lucky ring, which maxes out a character's LUCK, makes the character SWIFT, and gives a slight bonus to every other stat. In 4 complete playthroughs, I found 1 twice...one of those times I actually found two. The more RE's you fight, the better your chances of getting one! Also, many of the early areas have enemies that drop magic/HP-restoring items. I didn't notate them seperately, but instead focused on the rarer drops for this walkthrough.
The Rough Traders you'll encounter on most parts of the Eschelon Islands have fairly powerful special attacks, but relatively few hit points. Just focus on one of them at a time, and you should be ok. These first battles can be tricky at first! Just be careful to keep people healed at least to half HP. at all times.
Once your party is at least level 4, call it a day, and return to town to save and rest at the inn. Before you begin the assault on the bandit hideout, buy some more equipment upgrades and items. Your first mission will not hold any new enemies, but there IS a boss, so be prepared.
Now begins the assault on the bandits' sea cave hideout! Just make your way to the sandy peninsula to the South of town, and beyond that is your next destination. Along the way, on the beach area between you and the sea cave, you'll encounter a couple of new enemies...the Krakens and Man o' Wars. These encounters are much tougher than what you've encountered so far, but they are do-able as long as you are at least level 4, and keep a close eye on your party HP. Be sure to get the enemy skill 'Electobiosis' for Joseph if you selected him (and even if you didn't)!
DUNGEON - Bandit's Hideout
Once you've made it across the beach, you can enter the sea cave, where the bandits have made their HQ. Be sure to open the chests to the right of the entrance for some restorative items, and some cash. The enemies here are just more Rough Traders, so no biggie...just be sure to wipe them out in one turn if you can (you should be killing them with 1 hit at this point), and you won't have to worry about maintaining you party's HP levels. Along the way, you'll see 1 path leading off from the main one to the right. Take this path for a Clover Ring and a Greek Fire (damages all enemies), and then go back to resume the main path.
At the end of this path is a chamber and a save point...use this before you do anything else! Once you've saved your game, you can open the 2 chests here for a Wind Crystal (warps out of dungeons), and some more low-level restorative items. Investigating the pile of gold on the other side of the save point will spark a boss battle, so be sure you're saved before you do that.
BOSS BATTLE - Ogre
Optimal party level - 8-9
HP - 1290
Rare Drop - Brotherhood Cup (Restores party HP)
Rare Drop - Meat Brasier (Unlimited-use encounter UP item)
This is the first boss battle, so he's a bit harder than what you've encountered so far, but he's not too dificult if you watch your party's HP. Just unload your best skills on him, and he'll go down without too much trouble. He has some rather powerful skills, one of which damages all allies, but if you're lucky he may not even use it.
After the battle, use the Wind Crystal to warp back to the world map. Return to town to save, rest, and update your equipment in order to prepare for the next part of chapter 1.
CHAPTER 1 - ESCHELON (Part 2) -
After making your preparations, leave town, and head north through the woods until you reach the ruins there. Before you leave, I strongly suggest that you buy some 'Smelling Salts' (recover from unconsciousness)! All enemies in the dungeon to come are of the 'undead' type.
DUNGEON - Ancient Ruins
ENEMIES:
Fallen - 230 HP
Gasp - 158 HP
Bloodybones - 200 HP. WATCH OUT for their 'Hell's Gate' spell...it damages the entire party, and has a chance of causing instant death.
ENEMY SKILLS:
Hell's Gate - Dropped by Bloodybones - Damages all enemies, and can cause instant death.
ENEMY DROPS:
Bear Ring - Rare drop by Fallen. (STR +5)
Intimidator - Sometimes dropped by Fallen (Eliminates random enemy encounters for a while)
There's a completely superfluous section of hallway near the entrance designed to thwart would-be intuders, but if you follow the map above, you should be fine. Just go left when you first can, and you can avoid the extra section of dungeon completely. If you do this, be sure to go right at the intersection first, then take another immediate right to enter a chamber with a chest containing a Rawhide Shield. Upon leaving this room, take a left, and then an immediate right until you reach a 4-way intersection. Enter the chamber directly in front of you first, and recieve a Wind Crystal and a Broken Hookah from the chests within. When you exit this room, go right first. At the end of this path is another treasure chamber...this time with an Ether and a Smelling Salts as a reward. When you return to the intersection, continue forward through it until you reach the ultimate goal of the dungeon: a chest containing a Goblin Key, and a Healing Herb.
Now you can warp out of this place, and return to town for some rest, equipment upgrades, and item re-stocking (if needed). The next dungeon leads to the lands of chapter 2, so you might want to get what you want from the shops before you leave to make things easier. You should have enough gold at this point in the game to buy everyone the best weapon (definitely), the best armor (possibly), and the 2 expensive rings (probably not). If you want, you can return after completing the next dungeon to buy what's left, OR you can farm for enough gold to buy everything before you leave, OR you can just move on. There is a point beyond which you can't return (until the last part of the game), but it's not until after chapter 2.
Which ever you choose, when you've made your preparations you should make your way to the northern tip of the island...that's your next destination.
DUNGEON - Goblin Cave
ENEMIES:
Goblet - 161 HP. High AGI
Atlas Ant - 132 HP. High DEF, can poison
ENEMY SKILLS:
None
ENEMY DROPS:
Ancient Urn 1 - Sometimes dropped by Goblets. (See 'SECRETS' section at end of walkthrough)
The enemies here are tougher to beat, but not really more dangerous unless you're careless. Their HP is actually a bit less than the enemies in the previous dungeon, but they're harder to hit (Goblets), or they have strong defenses (Atlas Ants). If you're using one or both of the Dwaves, you might consider using a mallet rather than an axe, because if you're having trouble hitting the enemies here, you might as well make each hit count. Anyway, a little bit of magic goes a long way in this place.
*WEAPON NOTE* There are 2 different types of weapon that dwarves can equip: Axes, and Mallets. Most shops will offer one of each. The axe has a higher ATT than the mallet, but ALL mallets (except for 1-2) have the 'SMASH' attribute attached...which means that they have a set probability of inflicting double damage. That, and the sheer volume of materials needed to make the mallets make them slightly more expensive than the axes, even though their ATT is less overall. Equip a Lucky Ring with a mallet...and look out.
When you enter the Goblin Cave, you will see two exits to the entrance chamber...one to your left, and one to your right. You'll want to go left first, as this path leads to a dead-end with a chest. In this chest are Smelling Salts and a Bronze sword. After getting these, go back to the entrance chamber, and this time take the right-hand passage. Immediately after taking this path, take the right you see there for another dead-end with a chest. This time, the chest contains a Magic Herb. (I know it's not a lot, but considering the amount of magic you'll probably be doing in this place, it will come in handy). After getting this, go back to the intersection and this time take the left passage.
This passage zigzags along, but it's fairly linear for a while. In this hallway are 2 chests containing a Bear Ring (ATT +5), and a Golden Oil (medium MP restoration item), in the order you'll encounter them. Soon you'll encounter a path to your right, in the wall of a long, straight hallway. This is the way you'll want to go eventually, but first go forward and then left for 2 chests which contain a Healing Herb, and an Ether. If you don't have a healer or medic with an antidote skill/spell, then this will come in handy in here, as the Atlas Ants can poison you.
When you've collected these first-aid supplies, go back to the hole in the hallway wall and enter it. The left path is a dead-end with a chest containing another Healing Herb and a Brotherhood Cup (Revives all unconscious allies). The way from this point to the exit of the dungeon is a bit complicated, but as long as you follow the compass and go south whenever possible, you'll find your way easily. When you reach a wall in front of you, go all the way left for a chest before you continue south to the exit chamber.
*VERSION NOTE* In the currently uploaded version, players will get a bomb from the above-mentioned chest that does heavy damage to a single target. In the new version, players will recieve a bomb which inflicts damage to all enemies. If you save this item for a boss (which is a sound strategy), it won't matter, since there will always be only 1 boss at a time, and both bombs do about the same damage anyway. The multi-enemy bomb exists in the current version also, but the single-enemy bomb has been deleted from the new version.
When you're standing right in front of the exit, you should be able to see 2 chests nearby. The one to your left contains a Healing Elixir (MAX HP restoration item), and the one just to the right of the exit door contains an Iron Ring (DEF +5). The Goblin Cave is now complete! Now you can either go outside, or use a wind crystal to go back to the entrance, so you can go back to town to buy anything you might want there. If not, then go through the exit, and emerge outside...on the island you probably saw before. In the center of this tiny island is a teleport, which whisks you away to the lands of chapter 2.
________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 2 - CALDERA (Part 1) -
ENEMIES:
Centaur - 342 HP (tough, but stupid...fortunately for you. When they get a clue they can hurt you, but they hardly ever do.
Salamander - 260 HP
Tooki Bird - 174 HP (Can revive other enemies)
Treant - 169 HP
ENEMY SKILLS:
Chiron's Revenge - Dropped by Centaurs (moderate damage to all enemies - chance of 'SLOW')
RISE! - Learned from Tooki Birds (Revive 1 fallen ally)
ENEMY DROPS:
Philodendron - Sometimes dropped by Treants. (See 'SECRETS' section at end of walkthrough)
Lunar Ring - Rare drop from Salamanders (MAG +8/M-DEF +8/AGI +8/LUCK +8)
Solar Ring - Rare drop from Salamanders (STR +8/DEF +8/AGI +8/LUCK +8)
Skill Ring - Sometimes dropped by Centaurs (AGI +10/LUCK +10)
Opal Ring - Rare drop from Tooki Birds (MAG +30/M-DEF +30/LUCK +30 - Restores MP)
Brotherhood Cup - Rare drop from Treants
When you arrive at your new destination, you'll see the remains of a smoldering volcanic crater. This is the reason why the place is named the way it is...'Caldera'. You will see the steam rising from several places also, where molten lava has reached the seawater. The MAIN thing you will see, however, is the Amber Tower in front of you...the first tower in your quest! In spite of this place's proximity to the sea, the element of the area (and thus the tower within it), is FIRE. This being the case, all of the enemies within the Amber Tower are of the FIRE element.
*VERSION NOTE* In the new version, there will be an elemental system. Aratos the elemental mage has 4 elemental magic types, and each one is strong against an elemental type found in the towers (and also elsewhere). This system is an add-on, and that's fine...it's not meant to be a fundamental change in the game mechanics, but rather just an added facet to it.
But first things first, make you way down through the rocky passageways to the grassy area. Once here, remain to the right to find the passable slope leading down to the lower areas. Once on the sandy area, you can go left to investigate the steam vents. There's no real point of going here, but the Salamanders which love the hot water here can drop some nice items.
To your right is the Amber Tower, for which you lack the key, then a pyramid-shaped building (The Tower Complex), for which you ALSO lack the key, then further up the opposite end of the vocano rim is the town of Uldrea. Head here first to rest up and restock your supplies. The amount of money you have at your disposal after resting and grocery shopping will vary from game to game, depending on how much you trained, how many chests you found, and your previous shopping choices, but you should still be able to afford many nice pieces of armor and new weaponry in the shops here.
Once you've bought the best equipment that you currently can, you can return outside to train and farm for exp/money/items/skills much more easily...and safely. That's why I said to just bypass everything and come to Uldrea straight away. You'll be traversing the western end of the island several times through the course of chapter 2, so there's no real need to farm unless you're about to end the chapter and you still haven't found something that you really want, or can't afford something that you want in the shop yet.
Once you're satisfied with your visit to Uldrea, or your hay fever from all those damn flowers is killing you, head out for your first mission in Caldera. But where to go? There's only 3 places here: the tower, the pyramid, and Uldrea...and the pyramid and the tower are both locked. Well, since the pyramid is called the Tower Complex, one can assume (correctly) that the key to the tower is locked away somewhere in there...but how do you get into the Tower Complex?
Well, the Centaurs here are the guardians of the tower. One of them has the key, and will drop it when you defeat him. It probably won't take too long to find the right Centaur. Some may fault me for having a story treasure only found as a random enemy drop, but who else would have the key?
In any case, after you've defeated the gatekeeper Centaur and won his key, you can enter the Tower Complex and begin your quest for the key to the tower.
DUNGEON - Tower Complex
ENEMIES:
Embalmed - 370 HP
Anubite - 625 (can heal 1 enemy)
King Spider - 250
ENEMY SKILLS:
None
*VERSION NOTE* In the current version, you can learn 'Ice Demon' from the Anubites here...a full chapter early. Oh well, enjoy the mistake in your favor, folks!
ENEMY DROPS: None. In my playthroughs, I always began to get an overstocked inventory at about this point, so items become a bit more scarce later in the game. Don't worry, though...there are still plenty of items to find, it's just that some areas have very few if any enemy drops. Later on, I solved the problem in other ways, as well...like replacing 1-use items with items that can be used 3-10 times to save inventory space. I may add some enemy drops here and there in the final version, especially since I ran out of room for chests...we'll see.
Use your Rusty Key to open the Tower Complex ruins, and if you're satisfied with the current state of party affairs, then go on inside (after you save, of course). Before you is a forest of pillars running the length of a long hallway, with 2 doors along the left wall (both open), 2 doors along the right wall (one of which is locked), and a locked door at the far end. Ignore the first 2 doors on either side, they are dead-ends. The layout of this place looks complicated, but it's really very simple. Through the unlocked door lies the key to the left door, and behind that door is the key to the bottom door.
Once through this door, you'll want to go West and then North, all the way up, until you reach a chamber with a teleport at its center. Take this teleport to another one in a similar chamber on the East side of the ruins. Follow this path South until it curves to the West, and you'll find your prize...the Amber Tower Key! Now use Egress, or a Wind Crystal to warp outside of the Tower Complex, and head back to town to prepere for your assault on the Amber Tower!
CHAPTER 2 - CALDERA (Part 2) -
Go to right in front of the Amber Tower and save your game.
DUNGEON - The Amber Tower
Floor 1 -
ENEMIES :
Fire Guardian -
Ember -
Red Asp -
Infernal Mage -
Amber Golem -
-
ENEMY SKILLS -
White Wind - Dropped by Infernal Mages on floors 8 & 9
ENEMY DROPS -
Open the locked door inside with your Amber Tower Key, and immediately after opening the door you'll see a statue directly in front of you, barring you from going further into the tower. As you probably guessed, this statue will attack when inspected closely. The statues on this floor of the tower guard the tower, but they also guard 6 treasure chests. Almost ALL of the chests in the towers are on the first floor, but the only enemies you have to deal with are the statues. There are NO random encounters on the first floor of any tower in Shadow of the Towers.
When I had to shave down my data size (I think the third time?) I took out all of the decorative displays in the dungeons. One of the advantages of that was that suddenly the processor lag was manageable. That's one of the reasons why I didn't put them back after making room later. Now when you first enter a complicated dungeon, there's some lag for a few seconds, but it goes away for the most part. Honestly I've pretty much gotten used to it. It's possible to encounter this in almost any dungeon, without regard to its complexity, anyway.
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