~INTRO:
Be sure to button mash quickly during the opening text conversations, there are key points when you have to mash instead of holding the A button to speed up the text delays, this can save up to 10 seconds.
~DHARM:
Go to the Magic Shop on the West side of town and buy one Ice1 Spell. Go to the menu and give the spell to Curtis, then move the Radar Unit to bottom of the item menu, as it will not be used at all during the run. Go East and North to the small house and go into the back of the room to use the Battle Simulator to take encounters and reach level 4. Use Weapon attacks with Arthur, Myron and Sharon, use Ice1 with Curtis and Gloria. Try to not waste any turns or actions to save time and only heal with Myron's Cure1 Spell out of battle if absolutely needed. Every menu not required saves time by skipping. Once you reach level 4 with all 4 characters, use the Inn and leave Dharm.
~TO NORTH TOWER:
Go North to the Tower, taking all encounters. If possible, from this point until you enter the South Tower in the Present, you want to get the following meat drops on the following levels for Sharon: If Sharon is ODD level: Worm, Wolf, Fungus, Fighter and Kelpie (Earth Types). If Sharon is EVEN level: Broomer, Thoth, Wisper, Witch or Baby-D Meat (Fire Types). Make sure you keep track of levels, as she can level up from odd to even or even to odd after the fight but before the meat drops. This will ensure you get the correct Beast type for her for the remainder of the speed run. On the 3rd Floor of the Tower, get the Leather Glove, and on the 4th Floor get the Float Spell. Then go back down and take the hole on the left to the 2nd Floor. Go left and jump over the hole down to get the Shell Spell, then fall down the hole you jumped over to go down to the 1st Floor. Try to take encounters here until everyone reaches level 5, then leave.
~TO ELAN:
Give Float to Arthur and Shell to Curtis, then use Float to fly over the water West and South to the cave city of Elan, taking encounters along the way if you get them. Go South and then West to the Armor Shop and buy 4 Plumes, then South to the Weapon Shop and buy 4 Psi Daggers. Then go East and South to the house with the bridge to talk to Cronos and get the Past Unit. Leave Elan and once outside, go to the menu and equip the Plumes and Psi Daggers to everyone, and equip the Leather Glove to Gloria. Use Float and then Save. Fly East back past the Talon Shrine to Dharm and re-enter the Battle Simulator if you have not yet reached level 6 until you do reach that level. If you are already level 6, save in front of the Water Hag now guarding in front of the Talon Shrine and fight it.
~WATER HAG BOSS FIGHT:
Try and avoid the Unexpected Attack but do not worry too much if it happens. Have Arthur, Myron and Sharon use Weapon attacks, Curtis and Gloria should use Ice1. Should only take 3-4 rounds to finish off the Water Hag. If you end up losing someone do not worry too much as this boss has a very low EXP gain for beating it. Use Myron's Cure1 Spell to heal everyone to full after the fight.
~TO THE PAST:
Go into the Talon Shrine and board the Talon. A cut scene will trigger with Myron when you go to enter the Talon, be sure to button mash at the proper intervals to speed up the text. Walk up to the view screen to connect the Past Unit. Go to the Warp option and select the Past to warp, then leave the Talon Shrine. Once you are back outside, use Float and then Save before moving. The chances of getting Unexpected Attack or Can't Run are higher in the Past given your current level and Agility. The enemies here are also quite a bit stronger and take longer to finish off, which is why we did the level 6 grind earlier. If you get a Strike First, take the fight, and fly South and West to the village of Lae, surrounded by mountains.
~LAE VILLAGE:
Use the Inn on the west part of town if needed. Enter the Magic Shop and sell extra equipment, like the Long Sword, Battle Hammers, Axe and any extra Leather Gear you have or the enemies may have dropped. Then buy 2 Aero Spells, 1 Spark Spell and 1 Venom Spell. Give Aero to Curtis and Gloria, give Venom to Arthur and give Spark to Sharon. Afterward, go East and then North to the back of town to find the Item Shop. Go into the shop and talk to the Water Hag shopkeeper to get the Flushex Unit. Then buy max Cure2 potions (9) and at least 5-6 Relax Potions, at this point you should have enough GP for all of these purchases. When you have all of this, leave Lae.
~TO SOUTH CAVE:
Use Float and then Save. Fly South below the mountains of Lae and then East to South Cave. Take any encounters that you get a Strike First. On the 1st Floor, go East, then South, then West to find Granny. Talk to Granny then go down stairs to the 2nd floor. On the 2nd Floor go West then North past the stairs on the right, then go East to that staircase. On the 3rd Floor go East, then South slightly, then West to take the staircase on the far left side of the floor. On the 4th Floor, walk up to Lara and then push start to go into the menu. Save here and you should not need to heal unless you were taking encounters to get the proper meat drop for Sharon, in which case you should use Cure2 potions to heal. Talk to Lara to start the battle.
~LARA BOSS FIGHT:
Avoid the Unexpected Attack by resetting if needed. Use Weapon attacks with Arthur and Sharon, and use Ice1 with Curtis and Gloria. It should only take 3-4 rounds to finish and awaken Lara. All 4 MUST survive here, and should reach level 7 after the battle. After the fight, heal everyone to full with Lara's Cure1 Spell, then save and continue the path behind Lara to the next floor. Walk up to Dogra and push start go into the menu when in front of him and Save, then talk to Dogra to start the battle.
~DOGRA BOSS FIGHT:
Reset if Unexpected Attack. For Turn 1, have Lara use Lit1 on Dogra, Curtis uses Aero on Witch1, Gloria uses Aero on Witch2, Arthur uses Weapon attacks on Dogra, and depending on if you have already transformed Sharon into a Beast or not, use her Talent physical attack or Weapon Psi Dagger attack. Both Witches must go down on turn 1, reset if this does not happen or you risk getting confused. From turn 2 onward, continue using Weapon/Talent attacks with Arthur and Sharon unless healing is needed. Designate Sharon as your healer and have her use Cure2 potions on anyone that needs them. Curtis and Gloria should use Aero and Lara should use Lit1. If Dogra uses Bite it can Paralyze the targeted character and also does a lot of damage, use the Relax potions you got earlier with Sharon or someone else if Sharon gets paralyzed to heal the status, and make sure to also use a Cure2 Potion to heal the damage. If Dogra uses Wind Up it will most likely fell the targeted character in one blow. If this happens early in the fight, reset. If it happens later in the fight, from turn 4 onward, depending on how much damage you have done or how many times your attacks or spells missed, consider continuing the fight. If Arthur or Sharon goes down you MUST reset as they greatly need the EXP after the battle. If Curtis or Gloria goes down you can still recover from it, but not if both of them go down. Ideally you want everyone to survive, but this is quite rare and you most likely will lose at least 1 character unless you got lucky with critical hits or Dogra missing/defending. You must win the fight with at least 3 of the 4 main characters alive, and 2 of them MUST be Arthur and Sharon. Surviving characters should reach level 8. If you get the Witch meat drop after the battle, and have not yet transformed Sharon, give it to Sharon and consider yourself very lucky, she should transform into a Fairy.
~LEAVING SOUTH CAVE:
Save and Heal everyone to full HP or close to it with Lara's Cure1 Spell or any remaining Cure2 Potions you have after Dogra. Skip the box Dogra was guarding as the Rover Unit is not required for this speed run. Take encounters as you backtrack on the path out of the cave and make use of Lara's remaining Lit1 Spell. Continue to take encounters until you reach level 9 and if you have not yet transformed Sharon, try to get Fire type meat drops from the aforementioned enemies. If you are unlucky and not getting them, keep walking around and get the Iron Nunchucks and Plume on the 1st Floor for extra walking distance to increase chance of getting the proper encounter to obtain the meat drop. If you already have her transformed to a Fairy or Warrior, skip these two items and leave the Cave. If not then walk or fly West and North back to Elan then go to the house in the South with the bridge to talk to Granny and get the Dive Spell. If you have transformed her by the point you leave the cave, use the Float Spell and fly directly East and then North and West back to the Talon Shrine, then board the Talon and you will be automatically warped back to Elan to talk to Granny and get the Dive Spell. At this point stop taking random encounters further by running from battle or save scumming to avoid Can't Run or Unexpected Attack. There will be no more random encounters until after you warp to the future from this point, IF you got the meat drop and transformed Sharon. If you did not get the meat drop yet, then continue to take encounters and try to get the correct meat drop until at least 3 out of 4 of your party members reach level 9. Return to the Talon Shrine and board the Talon.
~BACK TO THE PRESENT:
Warp back to Present by going to the view screen and selecting the Past Warp option, then leave the Talon Shrine and the Elder scene will trigger automatically and you will be warped to Dharm. Use the Inn on the way out and leave Dharm. Go West and use Dive on the coast, then submerge underwater and go North to the Wrecked Ship, save scum to get TearGas from the center box, but skip the other box, avoiding encounters, then leave and go West to the underwater city of Muu.
~MUU CITY PRESENT AND RETURN TO ELAN:
Go West to the Magic Shop, buy three Cure2 and two Lit1 Spells, leave the Magic Shop. Go just East next door and buy 5 TNT's in Weapon Shop. Then go East and North to the Item Shop and buy at least 5 Softs, at least 1 Cure2 Potion if you do not have any left, and maybe 1 Elixir if you have enough GP. Leave Muu, surface and go South to Elan. Talk to Cronos to trigger the Chaos Castle scene and then get the South Tower Key from Cronos.
~SOUTH TOWER:
Use Float, Save. Then fly South and East passed Chaos Castle to the South Tower. Save scum often on each floor as the encounters here are difficult to run away from. On the 2nd Floor go West and jump over the hole to the North to get the B-Jack Weapon from the box, then go back to the East side and up to the 3rd floor. Skip the boxes on the 3rd Floor for now. On the 5th Floor, in front of Ashura, push start to go into the menu and give Cure2 to Arthur, Curtis and Sharon, then give Lit1 to Curtis and Gloria, then equip the B-Jack to Arthur. Ensure you are at least level 9 by this point before talking to Ashura and starting the battle, and be sure to SAVE.
~ASHURA BOSS FIGHT:
Avoid the Unexpected Attack by resetting. For turn one, Arthur uses Weapon attacks on Ashura, Curtis uses Lit1 on Warrior1, Gloria uses Lit1 on Warrior2, Sharon uses Talent/2 Swords on Ashura or if still a Human, uses Weapon attacks with Psi Dagger on Ashura. Make sure both enemy Warriors go down on the first turn or reset the fight. Use Cure2 Potions and Spells and prioritize Sharon as your healer while Arthur uses Weapon attacks with B-Jack, Curtis and Gloria use Lit1. Guard and Heal low HP characters with Arthur and Sharon if needed. All should survive, but Arthur and Sharon MUST survive. Surviving characters should reach Level 10 after the battle and Sharon should transform into the Pixie beast if you got the meat drops earlier. Get the Chaos Key after the battle and be sure to Save. On the way back out, get the TNT on the Western side of 3rd floor then take the hole you jumped over back down to the 2nd Floor, then the closest hole there back to the 1st Floor and out. Continue to save scum and avoid all encounters until you leave the tower.
~BACK TO DHARM:
When back outside, use Float, Save, then fly East and North to Dharm and use the Inn. Then leave Dharm, go to the Western coastline, use Dive and go South and West to Chaos Castle and submerge to enter it.
~CASTLE CHAOS:
LOWER CASTLE:
Continue Save scumming to avoid encounters. Get the Elixir from the secret room in the middle of the room, taking the 2nd escalator from the left on 1st floor. Then go back West, North, then East to 2nd floor. Navigate South, then West and up the escalator, then West and South further, skip box on far West side of room and jump over the holes to the 3rd floor access in the Southwest part of the floor. On the 3rd floor, navigate carefully to jump over the North hole and get the Gold Glove. Continue right to the 4th floor, jumping over the box. On the 4th floor go West then North up the stairs and use the Chaos Key on the door.
UPPER CASTLE:
Continue Save scumming UNLESS you still need a meat drop for Sharon. In which case you will want to avoid every encounter except the Horus enemy, which you should fight to try and obtain a meat drop for her. Horus is weak against Aero and will go down in one shot from Curtis or Gloria. If you get the meat drop, depending on her level Sharon will transform into a Pixie (Level 10), or Fiend (Level 11). The Pixie is optimal but the Fiend can also work if you had no luck with meat drops up to this point. Continue North up the stairs and waterway on Castle Floor 1 to Castle Floor 2, and then go East in the pillar room to a room with a box and get the Psi Armor, equip the Psi Armor and Gold Glove to Sharon NOW if you have not yet gotten the proper meat drop and transformation at level 10 to a Pixie type, or level 11 to a Fiend type. If you have those beast classes already, just equip the Psi Armor to Sharon. After you get the Psi Armor, return to the pillar room and go to the Northwest corner to find the staircase to the next floor. On Castle Floor 3, go East, then South, and then East again to find a box and get the Fire Shield. Then go down the stairs close by to the next floor. On Castle Floor 4, go East and then North to the next floor. On Castle Floor 5, go West and then South to find the central staircase to the pathway to Chaos. Follow the path North to Chaos. When standing in front of Chaos MAKE SURE you first of all have Sharon as a Pixie or Fiend. If you did not get a meat drop and transformation by this point it is highly advised to continue taking encounters to get the Horus meat drop, or reset the run, as your chances of survival against Chaos are minimal. Make sure Sharon also has the Fire Shield, Psi Armor and Gold Glove equipped, unequip the Psi daggers from all party members. Move the Psi Daggers to the top of your item menu list, then Soft Potions and Elixirs in that order. Equip the TearGas to Sharon and equip the TNT's to Curtis, you should have 6 of them by this point and be sure Arthur has the B-Jack equipped. Must be at least level 10-11. Save and engage Chaos.
~CHAOS BOSS FIGHT:
Avoid Unexpected Attack by resetting. On turn 1, Arthur Guards Curtis, Curtis uses Cure2 Spell on Arthur, Gloria uses Cure2 Potion on Sharon and Sharon Guards Gloria. On turn 2, Arthur uses Weapon attack with B-Jack on Chaos, Curtis uses TNT, Gloria uses Lit1 and Sharon uses TearGas on Chaos. From turn 3 onward, have Arthur Guard low HP characters or use B-Jack on Chaos. Be sure to Heal and Guard as needed, using Arthur and Sharon to Guard low HP characters. Sharon will resist Quake if you have her as the Pixie Beast. Arthur and Sharon MUST survive to get the EXP bonus after the fight. If Chaos uses Stongaze use Soft Potions to heal stoned characters. Prioritize Curtis attacking with the TNT if possible as it does the most damage and if you get lucky it will critical hit for 585 damage! Use any Elixirs you have to revive fallen characters as needed. If Curtis or Gloria gets stone gazed near the end of the fight, and you think you can finish the fight without one or both them, do so. This can save a lot of time later during a RNG grind by getting them a stone status now.
~LEAVING CASTLE CHAOS:
Re-Equip the Psi Daggers on everyone after fight and Save. Get the Future Unit in the box on the West side and save scum all the way until you are back outside underwater. When back to the Lower Castle, jump over the box with the Gold Glove and take the nearest holes thereafter for the shortest route to the exit.
~TO THE FUTURE:
When back underwater, surface and go North and East back to the Talon Shrine. Connect the Future Unit and Warp to Future. BEFORE you exit the Talon Shrine, be sure to SAVE. The enemies here are much stronger now and you will likely be getting Unexpected Attacks and Can't Runs, so use save scumming often. Fly West to Elan. Go to the Weapon Shop and buy 8 or 9 TearGas. Then go East to the Inn, use the Inn and then and talk to Granny in bed to get the Morph Spell. Equip the TearGas to Sharon and give the Morph Spell to Arthur. Leave Elan, use Float and fly West to Viper, then South to the village of New Dharm, do NOT take any encounters.
~NEW DHARM:
One of the Gravestones in the Northeastern part will move, revealing the hidden city of New Dharm. Go to the Magic Shop here, sell the B-Jack, Iron Nunchucks and any extra item drops you got from enemies. Buy 1 Stone Spell and give it to Arthur right away. Go to the base in the North of the village and get the password from Myron "ERAUQS". Leave the village, use Float, Save and then fly North to Viper, continue not taking any encounters.
~VIPER CITY, PULCERS BASE AND PLUNDERING SHIPWRECKS:
Go straight to the base by taking the transport tube on the right. Get the Laser Sword from the box on the lower left (right side of room). Go up and Heal by talking to Dr. Belski if needed, then recruit Dion and get the Rocket. Leave and then go up via the transport tube and around to the central part of Viper to find the Armor Shop. Sell the Laser Sword, then buy at least 1 Geta Boot, or 2 if you can afford them, equip them to Sharon first, then Arthur if you were able to purchase 2. Take the tube South and leave Viper. Go to the coastline on the East and use Dive, submerge underwater then go North of Viper to find Dr. Pulcer's Base. Talk to Dr. Pulcer and get the Radio. Then leave and go East along the volcanoes, to the Wrecked Ships. Enter the Western Ship first and get the Thunder Staff from the box in the South, skip the one in the North. Then enter the Eastern Ship close by and get the Gold Nunchucks from the box on the East side, skipping the middle box. Then surface to move further East, and submerge once past the volcanoes to continue East past Muu to the shipwreck East of Muu.
~SHIPWRECK EAST OF MUU, STONEGAZE GRIND:
Take encounters in this Wrecked Ship until you get Evil Eye enemies. Have Arthur and Dion use Stone on any enemies that are not Evil Eyes in the enemy group, prioritizing the Fairy types first as they can confuse you and disrupt the battle. Have Curtis Guard Arthur and Gloria Guard Sharon while Sharon uses Parry. Curtis and Gloria must be kept alive and non Paralyzed to get them Stone status. This can be very annoying as the Evil Eyes will often not use Stongaze or miss them if they do use it. Have everyone Cure and or Heal Curtis and Gloria until they both are hit with Stone status, then just run away. A LOT of time can be lost here and it is highly variable upon the RNG if you can first get the Evil Eye encounter, and then on top of that, get stone status for Curtis and Gloria quickly. Be careful not to use a Stone Spell by accident on either of them as it will function as Soft Potions would and heal their stone status. Once Curtis and Gloria are both stonegazed, Save and leave the Wrecked Ship, but make sure that you first have the Geta Boots and TearGas equipped to Sharon, and then Geta Boots to Arthur if you were able to get 2.
~MORE PLUNDERING SHIPWRECKS, MEAT DROPS FOR ARTHUR, SHOPPING CHECKLIST AND LEVEL 17 GRIND:
Surface back above water and go Southeast to New Dharm. There are 2 more shipwrecks directly Southeast and due West of New Dharm underwater. Along the way, take any encounters you get, having Arthur Parry, Sharon attacks with TearGas and Dion should Guard Sharon. The enemy groups should go down in one round after the TearGas, but some may defend and survive, for those that do, have Dion finish them off with his Dragon Sword Weapon or if multiple survive, use his Quake Spell. Try to limit underwater encounters if possible by taking minimal steps underwater and lining up above water directly above or near where you need to submerge. Surface encounters will almost always yield more EXP and Gold. For the Southeasten shipwreck, skip the box on the way South and get the box in the South to find the Magnum Pistol. Then leave, surface, and go West of New Dharm to the other shipwreck, for this one, take only the box in the middle room to find the Sandman Helmet, then leave and resurface. Go North and West back to the shore of Elan. Move around Elan or the Pier North of the Talon Shrine taking encounters, be sure you are on the water with the Dive bubble as the best encounters to take here are only found in this way. Continue to Guard Sharon with Dion, have Sharon use TearGas and Arthur Parry. Cure Arthur and Sharon in between battles with Dion and his Cure2 Spell. Be on the lookout for the following meat drops for Arthur: If Arthur is an ODD level: Viking, Igasaur, Drainay (Water Types). If Arthur is an EVEN level: Griffon or Sylph (Air Types). This will give you the optimal Beast class for Arthur. If you make a mistake, you can return to the Talon Shrine and use the Flushex Unit to return him to a Human and try again, but you will lose some time. Be sure to check how many TearGas you have remaining on Sharon by going to her weapon in battle. When or before all the TearGases are gone, go back to the Elan Armor Shop and buy 2 Mage Armors and 2 Brooches, then sell the Magnum Pistol, Thunder Staff and Sandman Helmet for extra GP. Then go to the Weapon Shop and buy as many TearGas as you can buy (Up to a total of 9). Equip the TearGas to Sharon or Arthur if Sharon still has some remaining and equip the Mage Armor to Arthur. Leave Elan, Save, and if you have not yet got the Geta Boots for Arthur, go East to Viper to get them now and equip them. Or if you already have them for Arthur, then go to the coastline and use Dive. Stay in the area or go back to the Pier just North of the Talon Shrine and take encounters until you get at least 40k GP, then go back to Muu which is North of Elan underwater. Go to the Magic Shop, make sure you cast Morph before talking to the shopkeeper and buy 3 Fast Spells, then go to the Weapon Shop and buy 1 X-Kick. Then go to the Armor Shop and buy 2 Speed Helmets. Use the Inn if required before leaving Muu and return to the surface water to continue the EXP and GP grind. Equip the Speed Helmets right away, then continue to take encounters until you have only 2 TearGas left, or until you are level 17 and have a Loki and Medusa as your Beast classes. If TearGases run out before this, return to Elan and buy 3-4 more to ensure you reach level 17. Make CERTAIN that you have all of the following: 2 Speed Helmets, 2 Mage Armors, 2 Brooches, 1 X-Kick, 3 Fast Spells, 2 Geta Boots, at least 2 TearGas, have at least 30K GP, are level 17 and have the Loki and Medusa Beast types BEFORE you use the Rocket at the North end of the Pier to go to Floatland. ALL of this is critical to the success of the speed run.
~FLOATLAND TOWN AND RUINS:
Go to the Armor Shop and buy 2 Speed Armors and 2 Earrings, equipping them to Arthur and Sharon right away, equip the Earrings in place of the Belts, do NOT equip the Brooch accessories yet. Go to the Item Shop and buy at least 2-3 Elixirs, then use the Inn and leave town. Proceed North to the Floatland Ruins. Take encounters and use Arthur and Dion's Stone Spells, with Sharon's StonGaze to make quick work of enemies, do not use Stone on the Medusa enemy as it is immune. For larger enemy groups, use any TearGas you have in excess of the 2 required for the Maitreya Boss Fight and have Dion use Quake, if you only have 2 TearGas left, run from larger enemy groups. Go to the East side of the 1st Floor and hold right against the wall to find a hidden passage, take the hole to the next floor. On the 2nd Floor, go North and then jump over the gaps to the West side of the room and hold left against the wall to find another hidden passage with a box containing the Fire Bomb, go back to the right and then up and left to the next hole. On the 3rd Floor go West straight to the next hole. On the 4th Floor move straight to the West to tne next floor. On the 5th Floor go North then South and jump over the hole, then get the SMG from the box and then move West to find another box with the Remote. With Remote obtained, move back to the East and hold down against the wall to find yet another hidden passage, take the stairs to the next floor. On the 6th Floor move North and take the stairs back to the 1st floor. Pick up the ATM in the box here before moving or you might miss it, then go North and leave the Floatland Ruins.
~TO FLOATLAND MOUNTAIN AND TOWER:
Proceed East, then North and then East again to Floatland Mountain, continue taking encounters here and use your Stone Spells and Weapons for Medusa enemies. Do not worry about your MP as there is a restorative spring that will act as an Inn on the mountain. You will want to take encounters until you are level 18, Arthur will become a Medusa and Sharon will become a Loki at this point, take the Stone Spell from Arthur into the bag and give it to Sharon, so all 3 characters can keep using Stone attacks. You also want to check your remaining EXP needed for level up in the status menu, when you are almost level 19, stop taking encounters, but be sure not to get to level 19 yet. When you arrive at the mountain, first go up the left stairs twice and then go right and straight to the tower, no boxes will be collected here, be sure to use the aforementioned spring to restore your HP and MP, then Save right after. When you reach the tower, take the left path on 3rd Round Floor to get the Psi Gun, run from big enemy groups and focus on smaller ones if you still need to get to level 18 and the EXP needed to reach just under level 19. On the Fifth Round Floor, take the right path and get the Exit Spell, equip it to Sharon right away. When you reach the 6th Round Floor, before talking to the monster, Cure both Arthur and Sharon with Dion's Cure2 Spell. You will then fall back to the Fifth Floor and will have to climb back up to the 6th Floor and then go through the hidden door that Dion found earlier. Follow the path straight to Maitreya. When standing in front of Maitreya, go to your menu and give Fast to Arthur, Gloria and Sharon, then move the Remote up the item list to the top, equip the Psi Dagger to Sharon and TearGas to Arthur. Make SURE you are level 18 and almost have enough EXP to reach level 19, then Save and engage Maitreya.
~MAITREYA BOSS FIGHT:
Avoid the Unexpected Attack by resetting. For turn one, have Arthur attack with TearGas, which hopefully should paralyze both Lamia's. Sharon should use the Spark Spell on Maitreya until you get it to land. For turn two, have Arthur attack with the last TearGas and Sharon will Cure if needed, or use Fast on Arthur. This should take care of the Lamia's and hopefully they both were paralyzed in the first round so you did not have to Cure yet. For turn three, equip X-Kick to Arthur in battle and have him cast Fast on himself, Sharon should also use Fast on Arthur unless you need to Cure. Do not fall below 150 HP at any point during the battle if possible. For each additional turn, Cure as needed and continue stacking Fast on Arthur. Arthur and Sharon MUST survive. After the battle, both characters should reach level 19, Arthur should transform into a Soarx and Sharon should transform into a Lamia. Get the X-Plane Unit from the box and have Sharon use the Exit Spell to leave the tower. MAKE SURE you get the X-Plane Unit before using Exit. When back at the foot of the mountain, use the Radio, then use the Remote to trigger the cutscene back to Viper. Leave Viper, board the Talon, connect the X-Plane unit and use it to Warp to the Pureland.
~PURELAND:
Go North and East to the town of Darius, use the Inn, then go East and get the Firebomb weapon and Heal Spell from the 2 houses then go South to the Armor Shop. Sell the Firebombs, any remaining Leather gear, Psi Armor, Belts, Heal Spell, SMG, TNT's (if you still have some), ATM and Psi Gun, in addition to any drops you got from enemy encounters. Then buy 2 Diamond Shields and 1 Diamond Boot. Go to the Weapon Shop and buy 1 Smother. Go West to Item Shop and buy max Elixirs, you should have enough GP for all of this. Leave Darius then go West and South across the bridge to the village of Eitar. Avoid taking any encounters by running away and saving often, UNLESS you were unlucky and did not yet reach level 19, in which case Arthur should be using the Stone Spell and Sharon should be using Stonegaze, switch the Stone spell to Arthur if needed. When you reach Eitar village go North, then West and into the grassy area and look for the fence on the left side with the broken boards, you can pass through this and then go up North to the tree and check it to obtain the Catnip. Leave Eitar by going straight down once you have the Catnip. Then go North to find the Fenrir Prison.
~FENRIR PRISON:
Use the Catnip once inside to freeze the BlackCat sprites, you can now push them out of the way and jump over them. Save scum and or run from all enemies here. Go West under the grate, then up the stairs, East and cross over the grate, then go West and all the way up North to the next grate, pushing the BlackCat out of the way, you will find a box with the Wizard Armor behind it. Then go East and South to the central staircase and path to Fenrir. When standing in front of Fenrir, go to your menu, equip Smother to Sharon, Diamond Shields to both, Mage Armors replaces Speed Armors to both and the Brooch replaces the Plumes to both, also be sure Arthur has the Psi Dagger equipped. Save then engage Fenrir.
~FENRIR BOSS FIGHT:
There is no avoiding the Unexpected Attack here so you must take it, if Fenrir uses Kick on the first turn, reset and start the battle again. On turn one, use the Venom Spell with Arthur until it lands on Fenrir, this may take several turns, and have Sharon use Cure2 on whoever needs it most or use Fast on herself or attack with Smother. Keep HP as high as you can in this battle as Fenrir is fast and can often land critical hits, if someone falls use Elixirs to revive them right away. With any luck Fenrir will use Riddle or defend and you will get extra turns to stack Fast casts on Sharon. Using Venom on the first turn is important as it will deal 99 damage each round to Fenrir, and this can stack after each round, if it missed the first round, use it until it does hit Fenrir. Arthur and Sharon MUST survive. After the battle both characters should reach level 20, Arthur should transform into a Lamia and Sharon should transform into a Soarx. Get the Prison Key after the battle. Then go down and right under the grate to get the Fur Armor. Continue to the East and then North to find the prison door and go down the stairs to find and rescue Faye. Recruit her and then use Sharon to Exit out.
~RETURN TO DARIUS/VOYAGE TO KNAYA:
Return East to Darius, use the Inn. Go to the port in the Northeast of Darius and take the boat to Knaya. Go to the first shop on the left of the stairs for Armor and sell the Fire Shield, X-Kick, Fur Armor, Wizard Armor and Plumes. Buy 1 Scarf and 1 Mirror Shield. Then go to the far right Magic Shop and buy 1 CureA Spell. Switch the Stone Spell back to Sharon. Jump back over the shops and then go down to leave Knaya.
~TO MOUNT HASID:
Go South and West to find Mount Hasid. Fight Terrorist/DBone enemies on the way if you get them and use Exit or Stone on them. You will need to take at least 1 encounter before fighting Guha to reach level 21, Arthur should transform into a Siren, and Sharon should transform into a Liz Duke. When you reach Mount Hasid, go North and then East and North again to cross bridge and water, then North further to get the Cool Accessory. Go down from here and then right to reach the stairs to Guha, DO NOT go all the way up the stairs or you will auto trigger the Guha battle. Instead go to your menu while still on the stairs and give CureA, Cool Accessory (Replaces Earring), Psi Dagger and Mirror Shield to Arthur. Equip Sharon with the Diamond Shield. Save and then go up the stairs to fight Guha.
~GUHA BOSS FIGHT:
Try to avoid the Unexpected Attack but do not reset as the extra dialogue can lose time. On turn one, use CureA with Arthur if Guha attacked first with FireX, or use Faye's Cure3 Spell if Guha attacked a single target. If no one took damage or minimal damage, then have Arthur use Fast on Sharon, Sharon uses Blitz on Guha, Faye uses Fast on Sharon. On turn two and three, continue to use CureA/Fast/Cure3/Blitz as needed, you want at least 3 successful Blitz attacks to Guha to ensure your characters go first. On turn four onward, have Sharon attack with Smother and continue to use CureA/Fast/Cure3 with Arthur and Faye as needed. If Guha confuses anyone with Sneer, use an Elixir to heal them. Arthur and Sharon MUST survive. After the battle you should reach level 22, Arthur will transform into a Liz Duke and Sharon will transform into a Siren. Get the Durend Sword from the box and use Exit after to leave Mount Hasid.
~TO SOUTHWEST RUINS:
Use Sharon's Cure2 Spell to heal everyone to full. Move North and then West of Mount Hasid to find the Southwest Ruins. Do NOT take any encounters. When standing in front of Dahak, go to the menu and equip the Speed Armors to Arthur and Sharon in place of the Mage Armors, switch the CureA spell from Arthur to Sharon, equip the Durend Sword to Arthur and equip the Earring on Arthur in place of the Cool Accessory. Save before the fight.
~DAHAK BOSS FIGHT:
Avoid the Unexpected Attack by resetting. On turn one, have Arthur use Blitz on Dahak, Sharon uses Fast on Arthur, and Faye uses Fast on Arthur. On turn two and three have Sharon use CureA if Dahak used Shake, if not Sharon uses Fast on Arthur, Arthur uses Blitz and Faye uses Cure3 to heal damage or Fast on Arthur. Make sure to get at least 3 Blitz attacks to hit Dahak to ensure your party will act first. On turn four onward, use CureA/Fast/Cure3 as needed and use Weapon attacks from Arthur with the Durend Sword. Keep HP high as Dahak has a lot of HP and can critical hit. Use Elixirs to revive downed characters if needed. There is a small chance that you can end this fight very early if Dahak uses Swallow on the party and underflows its HP, this can save upwards of 5 minutes if you get very lucky! Arthur and Sharon MUST survive. After the battle, your characters should reach level 23, Arthur should transform into Mephisto and Sharon should transform into Naga. Sage Buzi will clear Dahak and you will be able to enter the ruins, skip the box behind Dahak with the Tablet as it is not required for this speedrun category.
~SOUTHWEST RUINS:
You should be able to run away from every encounter here so do not take any. Go down the stairs behind Dahak then go right through the bone tunnel to a stairway and up. Then go up to another stair leading back down. Then go up through the bone tunnel and then left through another bone tunnel to the first puzzle. Save before you move any of the stones in case you make a mistake and can reset, try to use optimal routing when solving the puzzles. When you are done and exit a puzzle room, push the A button repeatedly to cancel the quake animation and continue the path. Go back through the bone tunnel up and right, then up the staircase back to the surface floor. Then go left past the box between the pillars in the middle, go down and left then up to get the Wizard Armor from the box in the top left, then back down and get the box with the Smother Weapon. From there go down to find another staircase down. Then go left and up through another bone tunnel to find a box with the Warm Accessory, then right and up through another bone tunnel and to the top left corner to find another stairway down to another puzzle room. Save and then solve the puzzle carefully, then go back up and move right through another bone tunnel to find a box with a Drain Sword. The go back left and down through the last bone tunnel to the last puzzle room. Save and solve the last puzzle and you will automatically be transported out of the ruins.
~JORGANDR BOSS FIGHT:
Call the Talon with the Remote, use the Cure2 Spell with Arthur or Sharon to cure everyone to full HP. Board the Talon and depart, move exactly 4 spaces to the left, SAVE, and then hold up to fly between the two bones and enter the Tornado to trigger the Jorgandr Boss Fight. Hopefully you can avoid the Unexpected Attack but if not do not reset as you will lose time. On turn one, if Jorgandr Unexpectedly Attacked, use Faye's Cure3 Spell to cure whoever got hit, have Arthur attack with Durend and have Sharon use Fast on Arthur. If Jorgandr did not Unexpected Attack, have Arthur attack with Durend, Sharon uses Fast on Arthur and Faye Guards Arthur. On turns two and onward, Faye Guards Arthur, Arthur attacks and Sharon uses Cure2 on Faye or Fast on Arthur. If anyone falls during battle, use the Elixir to revive them. Repeat this for 4-5 turns and Jorgandr should fall. MAKE SURE to keep Arthur and Sharon alive so they get the EXP bonus from the battle. Use Faye to Guard to ensure that Arthur and Sharon survive. Arthur and Sharon should reach level 24 after the battle, Arthur transforms into Naga and Sharon transforms into Mephisto.
~TO TALONBURG:
Go North to Talonburg after battle. Do not take any encounters until you recruit Dion later. Go up to talk to Dr. Quacer and get the Talon2, then check the left room to get the Shield and Hover Units. Leave Talonburg, board the Talon2 and equip the Hover Unit via the Engine to speed up the Talon2 and Shield Unit via the Weapon to block all random encounters while flying in the Talon2.
~TO ZHAKAL TO GET XCALIBUR AND CIRRUS CITY:
Fly South slightly and then East to find Zhakal surrounded by mountains and ice on a small island, go straight up in Zhakal and have Faye draw Xcalibur. Then fly East to an island cave and then go directly South to Cirrus, the Cloud City. Go straight up to the castle, get the Laser Unit in left side of throne room in Cirrus, then talk to King Clamin to get the Pass. Go to the DEPT shop on the East side of town, find the Magic Shop, remove the CureA and Venom Spells from Arthur into the bag, then sell both Smothers, Cool Accessory, both Mage Armors, Wizard Armor, Warm Accessory, Drain Sword, CureA Spell and Venom Spell. Buy 1 CureB Spell and give it to Arthur use the Inn, then leave Cirrus.
~TO PORLE/UNDERWORLD:
Reboard the Talon2, do not worry about setting the Laser Unit as it sets automatically. Fly North and West to Porle, a village on a small island just West of Zhakal. Go to the center of town and talk to the Fishman to trigger a scene where Dion joins and Faye leaves. Enter the Underworld through the Whirlgate. Go South down the ladder, then West and North to find a Cave. Take an encounter or two on the way here or inside and either use Stone with Sharon or Xcalibur, Stongaze or Durend with Arthur and Stone or Weapon attack with Dion. The party should reach level 25 after one or two encounters, Arthur transforms into Succubus, Sharon transforms into Scylla. Take no more encounters after this until after Agron. Once inside the Cave, go North and then West past the 1st door to the 2nd door and leave the cave. There is a small chance you can randomly encounter another Jorgandr in here, which you cannot run from, so save often or you will lose time. It can be a rewarding battle for EXP and GP, but the time loss and risk is almost always not worth it. Once back outside the cave, go East and then North to find the Dwelg Town.
~DWELG TOWN AND FINAL SHOP:
Use Morph right away once in town and go to the Item Shop on the right side in the DEPT tower, equip the Scarf to Arthur in place of the Brooch and then the Psi Dagger in place of the Durend Sword, then buy max Elixirs and you only will need to buy 1 Tent from this point onward. Sell any extra gear you got from enemies, including the Brooch from Arthur which was just replaced by the Scarf. Go to the left side and in the Armor Shop, buy 1 Power Armor and equip it to Sharon in place of the Speed Armor, then sell the Speed Armor. If you got lucky with enemy drops, or did not have to use many Elixirs to revive after restocking at Darius, you will have enough GP at this point to buy Hermes Boots for 18000 GP. If you are close to this amount but just short, consider selling a couple Elixirs to obtain them, and equip them on Arthur. Then move Elixirs and Durend Sword to the top of the item list. Go to the North tower in town and talk to the Dwelg behind the fire, then leave town and go East then North and then West to find the guard Dwelg and ladder out of the underworld. Be sure to use Morph again before talking to the Dwelg to avoid a costly encounter. Go up the ladder and then leave the town by going to the West, but be sure to Save before leaving the town as you can get an encounter as soon as you leave, and the enemy groups are likely to Unexpected Attack and you Can't Run.
~TO BARRIER FORTRESS:
Go East and South to the Barrier Fortress, save scumming the whole way. Enter the fortress and continue save scumming. Go down then left, then up and under the bridge and grate to the right and follow the path to find Borgin. Talk to Borgin then Save. Then go down the stairs, and then up and right up the stairs, then all the way left and down to the next floor. Then go down all the way, under the grate path to the right and to the next stairs down. Then go left and up and right to stairs, then go up the stairs and follow the path left to find Agron and the Barrier Machine. Be sure to use Dion to Cure Arthur and Sharon to full HP and SAVE before the ornate tiles between the pillars or you will automatically trigger the Agron fight before being ready. Make certain you have the Psi Dagger, Mirror Shield, Hermes Boots or Geta Boots if you could not afford the Hermes Boots, and Scarf equipped on Arthur before triggering the fight, all of them are critical in increasing your chances of defeating Agron without having to reset.
~AGRON BOSS FIGHT:
If you get an Unexpected Attack, unless it is an Acid Critical hit, do not reset as you will have to wait out the dialogue and lose time. This fight is very straight forward. Arthur uses CureB and has the Psi Dagger equipped when either him or Sharon needs to heal, to maximize Agility and getting turn order before Agron and Sharon attacks with Xcalibur or revives Arthur with Elixirs. If you get a turn when CureB is not needed, Arthur equips Durend in place of Psi Dagger and attacks. Reequiping the Psi Dagger on Arthur before using CureB each time is critical to help Arthur act before Agron to heal. It is possible that Agron can go last one turn, and then first the next so you have to give yourself the best chance at using CureB as possible. Arthur will be immune to both StoneGas and Silence attacks due to the Scarf and Mirror Shield. Sharon will be immune to StoneGas due to her Scylla Beast class having innate resistance, and since she will not be using spells, if she gets Silenced it is not a big deal. Arthur and Sharon MUST survive. After the battle your party should reach level 26. Arthur transforms into Scylla and Sharon transforms into Succubus. Get the Soar Unit after the battle and then use the Exit Spell with Sharon to leave. Do NOT use the TENT after, just use Cure2 with Arthur or Sharon to heal to max HP if needed.
~TO MOUNT GOHT:
Call the Talon2 using the Remote and board the Talon2, Depart and then fly due West to Mount Goht. Take one encounter here, using the Mystic Swords and Borgin's White Spell to reach level 27, Arthur transforms into Sphinx and Sharon transforms into Liz King. Take no more encounters after this and use save scumming to avoid Unexpected Attacks or Can't Runs. Take the following path up Mount Goht. Up, left, up, right, down, far left, up, then follow this path to the restorative spring in the middle to trigger the Talon2 scene. Then when you are in the water go up and right then left and up through narrow path, then up and right to another restorative spring, Save, then down and cross the bridge into castle Goht.
~CASTLE GOHT:
Go to the Northwestern stairs then up. On the 2nd Floor go right and push the button, then go right and down, and carefully jump to get the Ribbons on left side of room. Then fall down center hole, then up, left, down and to the Southeastern part of the room to get 3rd Ribbon, save scumming is not required along the path as most encounters you should have no problems running from. Make sure you are level 27 and have the Sphinx and Liz King beasts BEFORE BALOR. Be sure not to walk up to him though as that will trigger the battle, stay at least one step away before menuing. Equip the Diamond Shield in place of the Mirror Shield and the Ribbon replaces the Earring on Arthur. Then give Sharon the Ribbon to replace the Brooch and unequip the Speed Helmet from Sharon. Give the Mirror Shield, Speed Helmet, Diamond Boots and Ribbon to Borgin. Ensure Durend is equipped to Arthur and Xcalibur is equipped to Sharon, in addition to the aforementioned equipment across the party, it is all very important in this boss fight.
~BALOR BOSS FIGHT:
Avoid the Unexepected Attack and reset unless Balor uses Dk-Virus or Magma. Arthur uses CureB as needed after Balor's Nuke attack or attacks with Durend. Sharon uses Blitz, Borgin uses White, Life or Cure3 as needed for at least 4 rounds, ensure that you get at least 4 or maybe even 5 Blitz attacks off on Balor to ensure your party will act first. Once you have landed at least 4 Blitz attacks on Balor, then Sharon can begin attacking with Xcalibur. After battle your party should reach level 28, both Arthur and Sharon must survive. Arthur transforms into Liz King and Sharon transforms into Sphinx. Do NOT use the tent yet but be sure to SAVE after the battle.
~PATH TO SOL/XAGOR FINAL FIGHT:
After the Balor fight, go up the stairs and then go left immediately in the next room to find a hidden path to the Nukebomb. Then continue up the stairs and along the linear path to the final boss fight. Do not go into the middle watery part of the room between the pillars or you will auto trigger the Sol battle. Go to one step before it, and then have Borgin use Heal on Curtis and Gloria to revive them. NOW use the Tent, but before saving, equip the Nukebomb to Gloria, then make your final SAVE! After saving, enter the final battle. For the first 5 rounds, Arthur uses Fast on himself, Curtis uses Shell on Arthur, Gloria uses Fast on Arthur, Sharon uses Fast on Arthur and Borgin uses Shell on Arthur. On rounds 6-8, Arthur uses Fast on Sharon, Curtis uses Shell on Arthur, Gloria uses Fast on Sharon, Sharon uses Fast on herself and Borgin uses Shell on Arthur. On the 9th round, Arthur and Sharon will attack, Curtis will use Shell on Arthur, Gloria will use Fast on Sharon and Borgin will use Shell on Arthur. On the 10th round, when Xagor appears, Arthur will use Blitz, Curtis uses Shell on Arthur, Gloria uses the Nukebomb, Sharon attacks with Xcalibur and Borgin uses White on Xagor. On the 11th round, Arthur uses Blitz or CureB, Curtis Guards Arthur, Gloria Guards Sharon, Sharon attacks with Xcalibur and Borgin uses White, CureA (If Xagor used Magma), or Cure3 (If Xagor single target attacked). Do not worry about reviving Curtis or Gloria after the Nukebomb has been used, simply use them to Guard. From this point on, Arthur must land at least 4-5 total Blitz attacks on Xagor to ensure your party goes first. If Xagor uses Flare, use CureB with Arthur, if Xagor uses DK Force on Arthur or Borgin, they should survive if at max HP, but Sharon will not. Once you have the 4-5 Blitz attacks done, Arthur attacks with Durend or uses CureB as needed, Sharon attacks with Xcalibur, and Borgin uses White, Cure3 or CureA as needed. Use Elixirs to revive or if you are out of them use Borgin's Life Spell. Hope for critical hits! The Power Armor and Fast buffs go a long way here and if you did everything correctly, both Xcalibur and Durend should be doing roughly the same abount of damage (1400-1500 per hit).
