Generation 11 Tips (Part 3) - Snakes. Why did it have to be Snakes?

Good news, if you're reading this you have already gotten past the "hard" part of the main arc and the end is nearly within reach. There is another extra mission though for those that love the babysitting castle run... extra annoying that is. :P

Showdown at the Castle (solo only)
You'll need to take care of some idiot python dudes first (beefed up but same AI is same AI), and I think you can call for dragon support to speed things up. You also have a big area to work with so archery skills are a bonus. Pick off those shamans first. Eventually the boss and his enterouge will spawn, deal with his minions first via range or lure the main guy away for one on one time. He should be easy enough to read to fend off until he uses his death shadow attack, which you strangely -want- to be hit by three times. you quickly use your shadow stone as soon as that happens though or you will really be dead. After that you will have perma-demi for the remainder of the mission and a new found (and very useful) power which you should use to slay the fool. Back it up with spears of light to speed things up but don't let him hit you with his shadow attack again.

Caliburn Pass (bring team)
With their leader dead, you should bring a team to chase down the remnants of the Python army. One NPC idiot will be with you and he needs to live against the huge number of baddies but this won't be so hard if you have a big group. This force is led by a python wizard (behaves like a shaman) has advanced heavy stander and cannot be knocked down/stunned so be careful when you final hit him as he can and will fight back. Use demi and trans as you see fit, and if you manage it you can also eliminate one wave using a dragon strike - just look out for friendly fire.

At least they're not on a Plane! (solo or with royal alchemist)
Now you have the finale - no not against those 4 shaman guys, against the 4 giant snake heads that appear after you kill them! I hope that by now you've got Rank 1 smash because that will come in really handy (and timely, you're on the clock) - in fact it is the only skill you need here. That's right, you just need to be the Hulk. Bring enough stam pots to let you keep using it along with the rest of your regular finale gear and try prioritize "downed" heads to deal real damage to them. The key to surviving is not getting hit! DUH. :P Fortunately the snakes follow a set pattern which should keep you ahead of their quite lethal breath attacks which come in two main variations:

Fireball - they launch projectiles exactly where you are standing. How to ever evade this? Oh yeah, just MOVE. Easy. May as well load up a smash while doing so, and if you feel like - sneak a smash in before the next attack begins.

Rivers of Fire - this is the one you really want to avoid as it is almost insta death to get hit. There are always safe spots to stand when they do this, it is just knowing where to be. They fire three of these in sequence (and I'm not kidding, it always follows the same sequence - after sequence III it goes back to the first one) so you can predict what's next. Generally it's not wise to attack them while they do this as you need to be thinking of the next safe spot to stand in.

General Behaviour:
Fireball (x2) . Resting (smash em) . Flame Throwing Pattern (see below) . Resting (smash em) . Fireball (x2)

Attack Sequence I: Circle, Cross, Circle
On Circle: Stand in the middle of the circle to evade.
On Cross: They are breathing at the head across them, so stand to edges of the screen not occupied by giant snake heads.

Attack Sequence II: Up or Down, Cross, Up or Down (opposite of 1st)
On Up or Down:  Stand on the left or right edges (remember the screen is at a slight angle) not occupied by giant snake heads.
On Cross: They are breathing at the head across them, so stand to edges of the screen not occupied by giant snake heads.
Recover: This is the only sequence where if you are standing on the left or right edges at the start, that you can get a breather to demi/trans or bandage as you don't need to move for the duration.

Attack Sequence III: Left or Right, Circle, Right or Left (opposite of 1st)
On Left or Right: Stand on the top or bottom edges (remember the screen is at a slight angle) not occupied by giant snake heads.
On Circle: Stand in the middle of the circle to evade.

Going for a Party Dress
After those giant snakes you may underestimate the little castle rats in this mission. They will be levelled to match you, so expect them to survive your first combo. Other than that, they're just rats. :P

Suspicious Rumor (solo or with royal alchemist)
Oh good, now you get to meet the 2nd most horrible "normal" spawn in the shadow castle (blinkers still worse)... sulphur spiders. These multi-aggro bastards are tough, do high damage, can take a beating, and enjoy spamming their deadly windmill. The non-colored ones are weaker, but tend to explode upon death. Be ready to heal/trans/and demi as needed, and use a shield if you are planning to use turtle defense. AoE summoned pets are also useful especially if they pin you to a wall.

Getting some Support (solo)
Just a really long castle mission here with nothing you haven't beaten before (no spiders, yay!). Bring gear to recover and look out for those wandering blinkers (damnit!).

Another Secret Experiment - Weapon X (solo with one NPC)
Oh man, you are really going to hate your stupid, suicidal friend here as he will probably die a bit to the many sulphur spiders in this mission. Just kill them as fast as you can and heal the fool when you are able. Say out loud the phrase in the secret note you found in the final chamber to access the second part. If you make it here then at least your pal will be fully healed and he actually does better against the enemies here (no spiders) but you should still help him out. Have the Brionac ready in your secondary slot once you reach the boss room because Deadpool (he's back!) can aggro you from very far away. Fastest way to beat him is to demi-god and spear of light him twice (with Brionac in your hands to increase damage). A drawn out battle is not good for the health of your allied NPC.

Generation 10 Tips - A Demigod is Born

Welcome to my quick guide for Generation 10! I am assuming you have read through the previous classes at this point which means you already have a good grasp of the majority of the enemies here. You've already survived G9 so you won't find G10 so bad. After the last quest line, the shadow forces are in withdrawal (I assume), but those pesky alchemists are still up to no good. Here are the spots I think may give you grief.

Survivor Rescue (solo)
Welcome to Shadow Tara! Ironically the first things you see will be some of the strongest bastards in this story arc. Those shadow ghosts are highly dangerous and for now it would be wiser to flank and avoid them to reach your destination. You will however need to fight some bone soldiers who are pretty much exactly like their shadow counterparts, so nothing new here.

Lezarro's Book (solo or with royal alch)
Standard fare of killing stuff in orb sections, just stick to the main roads. If you are having problems finding the orbs bring along some arat berries to radar them out until you get used to where they spawn. The boss room features zombie soldiers, who basically are just like the Tir Na Nog zombies. I hope you've been practicing your windmill - if not this could be a difficult fight and you may want to look for a royal alch to help you out. Or better yet, just practice windmill?

Lileas' Honey (solo)
Just want to point out your main target here are the honeycomb trees, not the bad dudes. You don't have to kill any of them.

Jousting Practice
The last bit of a large collection quest has you joust against an NPC in the arena. This is a pretty fun mini-game and it is worth paying the small amount of gold to get used to it even after you've completed this quest. You'll need at least a mid-level proficiency in it (reading NPCs) later on.

It's come a long way huh? :P

Cubic collection (fastest solo)
Getting you exploration up should be easy by now if you've been doing the Cor circuit. When it's time to get the cubic stuff just load up on passes before heading out. Fastest collection is by only doing the first 2-3 rooms, wiping out mimics, then leave and repeat until your collection book is complete.

Third Wheel in Maiz (as Arenren solo then as Voight and Isla - you need a friend)
If you haven't yet gone to get your Final Hit quest (humans) then there's a high chance you've not been in the Maiz Praire ruins before, and you are in for some tough opposition. When doing the 2 player version, Voight will be doing most of the fighting but Isla -MUST- still cover him. Use magic to buy him time to windmill or counter the multi-aggro mobs.

Slates
They behave like goblins but have very high protection (no passive defense though) and even higher damage. Using defense will probably still result in serious injury so windmill, counter, and smash if the opportunity presents itself.

Skeleton Ghost
Generally all ghosts in Mabi are bad news, at least this type has no passive defense. They do dual aggro quick and do very good damage in both melee and magic. Final hit may result in your death if two of them are on you, so you are better off luring one to a free corner and dealing with it the usual windmill, counter way. Be ready to take action if it charges up magic though as it will almost always move in for a melee swipe right after. They can also windmill.

Return to Longa (fastest with party)
Just variations of the critters you fought on your last run through here, the only thing new is the boss at the end - a familiar named alchemist. He tends to just behave like any other alchemist though, with the extra ability of healing to full if he yells "I am immortal!". Makes you wonder why he doesn't just keep doing it. Anyway, if you are solo just turn on trans and wipe the floor with him - get ready for the usual wind/water blast combo. If you have a group, just keep him on the floor so he can't do anything with smash-mill.

Fomor Mata (solo)
The fights to the arena should be nothing new for you, but when you get there your jousting skills will be put to the test against a fomor commander. Fail the joust and you fail the mission. Hope you've been practicing! Win the joust and then you have to beat him on foot. He is pretty much the same as the named commander in the previous story arc only in black armor instead of gold. Look out for his golems and his life drain and remember you can use the entire city to maneuver around if need be. Don't open with a smash as he has instinctive reaction. Poison may be useful against him if you or better yet, a pet has it.

Couracle's Heart Again, because you forgot to pick it up last time (bring full party)
Basically you'll be fighting a zillion baddies you've already fought before - just all at once. To this end bringing a full party is recommended. In the final area you'll be joined by NPCs from Tailltean who once again must survive the encounter. Don't worry, it's not as bad as the "Last Battle" in the previous story arc. Those shadow ghosts you avoided in the first mission will be here again, and this time you'll need to fight them. They have thunder (perhaps your first baddie with adv. magic) which can easily kill anyone and heavy stander so make sure they don't get to cast by standard gang smash-mill. One skilled person can disable the ghost long enough for his buddies to kill the rest then help out. Alternatively 2 should be able to take out a ghost directly by keeping it on its ass.

The only thing in your way is yourself (solo or with royal alch)
Before entering the shadow realm prep a cylinder in one weapon slot and your primary weapon in the other. Also prepare a hotkey for "life drain" even if it is at novice rank and move all your current life drain crystals to the top left of your inventory if you have any. The finale takes place in a very familiar place and has two stages. Your enemy will be using alchemy skills that you can use evasion to dodge plus demi god abilities which are evadable by just running around. Any damage you do to it will hurt you by 50% - but this is not a bad thing. Punch its face once (cylinder equipped) to injure yourself then evade like crazy. After it does the "area" attack (as opposed to the light spear attack) it will taunt you so use the music box to make it go crazy temporarily. As soon as this happens hit your life drain hot key and drain the bastard (if you brought a royal alch this is his job). To proceed to the next stage the life drain must restore you to full health, so you cannot be too injured (unless your life drain skill is unusually high) and not be on full health to start with. If you run out of dark life drain crystals or he kills you, you may as well restart the mission and save any nao stones you were planning on using for stage two.

Second stage has him summon some buddies but now you have the demigod power. Don't be hasty as it doesn't make you invulnerable! Your regen will be much higher now and you should be able to outrun all your enemies, but having HP and Mana pots in reserve is a good idea (you should know to be using mana shield by now). If you followed each story arc then the best thing to do now is stand in a clear side of the circle and call for a dragon strike on those bastards then work on slaying the main guy. He will resummon all his pals if you kill all of them, so if possible leave one or two far away so you can deal with the main baddie in peace. You can then go berserk using your new abilites on your foe to destroy it quicker. Ho ho ho, now you have demi-god mode. :)