Helmets
- Silver Hat (+27 DEF, +5 HP Regen) - Buy in the final shop in Gregminster.
- Horned Helmet (+35 DEF) - Dropped by the Elite Soldiers in Shasarazade.
There's not much variety in the way of headgear in this game; characters should be equipped with the Horned Helmet, if they can wear it, and if not, the Silver Hat. I would only deviate from this if you are going for an HP regen build (See Water Rune Piece at the end of the post).
Armor
- Guard Robe (+7 DEF, +15 MAG) - Buy in the shop in Kaku.
- Master Robe (+37 DEF, +5 HP Regen) - Buy in the final shop in Gregminster.
- Taikioku Wear (+48 DEF, +10 SPD) - Dropped by Rock Busters at Seek Valley.
- Master Garb (+55 DEF, +5 SKL) - Dropped by Earth Golems outside Moravia Castle.
- Windspun Armor (+63 DEF, +20 SPD) - Dropped by Ekidonnas inside Gregminster Palace.
A little bit more variety to choose from here. For the most part, go with the best your character can equip; the secondary effects make little difference for most characters. The only exceptions being: again, the HP regen build with the Master Robe, and the Guard Robe. Since female characters cannot wear the Emblem accessory that increases a character's MAG stat, the Guard Robe is a nice, but risky, way of boosting the stat. Female mages such as Sarah, Hellion, and Tengaar can benefit from the Guard Robe's magic boost if hidden in the back row and attempt to make up for the awful defense with 2x Crimson Capes for accessories. They should only be at risk against certain enemies that can physically attack the back row (Mirages, for example). Another character that can benefit from the Guard Robe is Ronnie Bell. Ronnie's MAG is one of the absolute worst in the game and without being able to equip Emblems to make up for it, she will take HEAVY damage from magic. Of course, equipping the Guard Robe over her usual Taikioku Wear, will make her a lot more vulnerable physically. Thankfully Ronnie has very nice natural DEF and you can offset this with Crimson Cape x2, or Crimson Cape and Power Gloves (Slightly more DEF than Power Ring) or Mangosh (Less DEF, but +SKL gives better chance to dodge and counter). If you go this route, I would suggest Water Rune Pieces for her weapon to increase recovery of the physical damage she takes.
Shields
- Earth Shield (+45 DEF) - Buy in the final shop in Gregminster.
No debates here; this is your only real option.
Accessories
- Crimson Cape (+21 DEF) - Dropped by Ninja Masters outside Gregminster at game's end.
- Speed Ring (+13 DEF, +15 SPD) - Dropped by Mirages outside the Dragon Knights' Fortress.
- Mangosh (+12 DEF, +20 SKL, Counter Increase) - Dropped by Devil Armor at Pannu Yakuta.
- Emblem (+8 DEF, +10 MAG, Males) - Buy in the shop in Kouan.
- Power Ring (+14 DEF, +20 PWR) - Dropped by Colossus' inside Gregminster Palace.
- Star Earrings (+8 DEF, +5 HP regen, Females) - Dropped by Hell Unicorns at Neclord's Castle.
- Gold Necklace (+25 DEF, Kuromimi and Gon only) - Dropped by Kerberos in Shasarazade.
The accessories you choose will play an important role in rounding out your characters. Generally speaking, you either want to use these to make up for a character's weakness or enhance their strengths. My personal choice is one accessory for each, but it all comes down to personal preference. Star Earrings are listed here only for use with an HP regen build. I also would only recommend Speed Rings for characters who are healers, as all the SPD stat does is determine what order you and your enemy attack, and thus wanting your healer to be quick to act. And although Mangoshs are a pain to get, the +20 SKL, which increases your rate of critical hits and dodging, also comes with an increased chance for you to counter an enemy's attack if you successfully dodge. You can combine Mangoshs with a Hazy Rune to vastly improve your chance to counter.
Runes
- Rage Rune (Fire) - Dropped by Elite Soldiers in Moravia Castle.
- Flowing Rune (Water) - Dropped by Sirens in Shasarazade.
- Cyclone Rune (Wind) - Dropped by Sunshine Kings inside the Dragon's Den.
- Thunder Rune (Lightning) - Dropped by Simurghs outside Gregminster at game's end.
- Mother Earth Rune (Earth) - Dropped by Colossus' inside Gregminster Palace.
- Resurrection Rune (Holy) - Dropped by Whip Wolf outside Warrior's Village.
- Counter Rune (Increased chance to counter when dodging) - Buy in shop at the Great Forest.
- Hazy Rune (Increased chance to dodge a physical attack) - Buy in shop at the Kobold Village.
- Sunbeam Rune (+5 HP regen per turn) - Inside a chest at the Dwarves' Vault.
- Killer Rune (Increased chance to land a critical hit) - Buy in the shop at Teien.
- Double-Beat Rune (Attack twice in one turn) - Removed from Eikei.
- Clone Rune (Critical hit, but loses next turn) - Inside a chest at Mt. Tigerwolf.
- Boar Rune (Critical hit, but loses next turn) - Dropped by Death Boars at the Dwarf Trail.
- Trick Rune (Slightly more damage than basic attack) - Dropped by Death Machines at Vault.
Rune selection is a very important part of your character's ability. In the original Suikoden, rune selection tends to be very basic unless you are going for a specific setup. Setups such as using the Sunbeam Rune for the HP regen build, or the Hazy Rune combined with Mangoshs for increased chances to dodge and counter the enemy. My personal opinion is: I give my character's either elemental runes for magic, or a Killer Rune for physical attacks. I feel like the Counter Rune is rather inferior to the other runes due to the fact you need to dodge first in order for it to have a chance to activate (Also the Mangosh accessory which does the same, but to lesser extent). Hazy is also a great rune for characters that suffer from low DEF, but need to be placed in the front row in order to be useful (Sansuke is a character that comes to mind). The Clone Rune is a decent option early in the game, but in my opinion, there is little need to use this once you are able to buy Killer Runes, but may attract some players as you can use this on a short ranged character to attack from the back row. Then there is the Double-Beat Rune; of which there is only one in the game. Choose your bearer wisely with this one. It allows a character to physically attack two enemies in one turn. Rarely, for a reason I don't quite understand, a character will attack a single enemy that is left, twice. There are also the Boar Runes (Morgan, Eikei) and Trick Runes (Meg) that may be of interest to you, but are limited to whom can use them and generally are not as useful as Killer or elemental runes.
Weapon Rune Pieces
- Fire Rune Piece (5% increase in attack damage) - Inside a chest in Lepant's Mansion.
- Water Rune Piece (+5 HP regen per turn) - Dropped by Killer Slimes at Mt. Tigerwolf.
- Earth (Wind) Rune Piece (+2 SKL) - Dropped by Black Wild Boar at Mt. Seifu.
- Wind (Earth) Rune Piece (+3 DEF) - Inside a chest at Mt. Tigerwolf.
- Thunder Rune Piece (5% increase to critical hit chance) - Chests at Mt. Seifu, Dwarves' Vault, and Pannu Yakuta.
The first thing to note about rune pieces is that these do stack, all the way up to 9 pieces. For example, for every Water Rune Piece you attach to a character's weapon, they gain an additional +5 HP regen. Another note is the Earth and Wind Rune Pieces have their names swapped for whatever reason; so they do the opposite of what they are suppose to do. This is very important to remember as the Earth Rune Piece provides +SKL and the Wind Rune Piece provides +DEF. Third, there is no reason not to attach a rune piece to a character as if an enemy is strong against such element, your attack will do normal damage as opposed to less like other games. For the most part, your options are limited here as all but the Earth and Water Rune Pieces you can only acquire a precious few of. The Fire Rune Piece should be given to a character such as Pahn, Valeria, or Juppo, whose special attack runes will benefit from the 5% increase in damage it provides; although it is tempting to give this to Alen for continuity sake. Most characters should have Earth Pieces attached unless a mage, already have an incredible amount of SKL, or vulnerable to damage in the front row. Nine Water Rune Pieces can be combined with a Silver Hat, Master Robe, Sunbeam Rune, and Star Earrings (For females), for a grand total of 65 HP regenerated per turn; not too shabby.
Tips on Farming Items
- Use fewer characters so that the victory screen goes by quicker. This is particularly useful when hunting for Earth Rune Pieces or low-level enemies.
- Bring a Holy Rune for dungeons and Stallion for the world map to move quicker, which in turn engages you in battles more frequently.
- When you get frustrated by the drop rate, return to your castle to rest and save, and then return to the location. Whether it helps or not, I have found this generally produces results faster.
- There are points in most dungeons, near the edges of walls and objects, that Tir can move extremely quickly back and forth between. It's a bit difficult to explain, but check out near the knight statues in the throne room of Pannu Yakuta and the grassy areas in Mt. Seifu near the summit and save point. This will result in higher encounters.
- You can hold down the L1 button with a Holy Rune or Stallion to run and use to L2 to select battle commands allowing you to play with one hand while doing something else (Be nice!).