Growlanser II - Chapter 1: Officers' Exam

Welcome to Shaded Resolve's completionists guide for Growlanser II! Growlanser II at its core is a very simplistic and easy-to-play game, but yet, underneath the surface, is very complex in some of its systems and due to a general lack of popularity, many of these have been left to the unknown. Thankfully, through trial and error, I have some answers; so follow along with me on this new journey.

Before we begin, my gameplay will be through the New Game+ system, which will be required to truly reach 100% completion of the game. That being said, if you are a new player of Growlanser II, my stats and inventory will likely not reflect yours, but I will be giving battle strategies for new players that will not contain the advantages you would have through a New Game+.

 

The game starts without much fanfare, with a Commander of the country of Burnstein, Logan, greeting the main character, Wein, who has just taken the written portion of Burnstein's Officers' Exam. You'll be given a choice as to how Wein fared on the test. This will have an almost negligible effect on Wein's beginning statistics, but the choices provide the following results:

 
I am confident I did well: +1 MP
I did all right: +1 HP and MP
I didn't do very well: +2 HP

 

It would make sense that the first result would give 2 MP, but I tried this option many times and could never get it to produce more than a +1 to maximum MP. I always go with the +2 HP option, but in the grand scheme, it makes little difference. With this decision made, Logan will hand Wein a ring, which will be the basis of all character's weapons in the game; with a scythe being manifested for Wein.

The next part of the exam, the interview, is the most important part of the game. Your answers here will determine the makeup of Wein's statistics and abilities. For many years, this has been the most puzzling portion of Growlanser II; with the results being plentiful and without much logic. Unfortunately, I do not have all the answers, but I have spent many days, not hours, in trial and error to determine the best selections for Wein and I will provide them for you.

Before that, I'll talk a bit about the makeup of the selections. First: while some of the choices can directly effect Wein's base statistics, you will acquire gems for your ring weapons that will allow you to dictate your character's growth in any statistic; so your primary focus should be providing as many abilities for Wein as possible. This also allows you to customize him to either become a fighter or mage.

Wein's abilities are dependent upon seven areas that are ranked upon completion of the interview and then the subsequent battle. The higher the bar in a specific area (Not Str/Int/Dex), Wein gains skills from those the higher they become. These skills (Usually have to be maxed to acquire all) are gained through the below results with the first listed you obtain first, then the others as the bar grows longer. Keep in mind there are lesser skills associated with these, but you'd have to really try to get the result so low you missed them.

 

Reinforcement: Max HP Up, Penetration Attack, Perimeter Pulse
Special Attack: Poison Attack, Venom Attack, HP/MP Absorption, Paralysis, Petrify
Attack Magic: Strengthen Magic, Soul Force, Quake, Meteor
Dark Magic: Max MP Up, Death, Deadly Curse, Fatal Attraction
Sacred Miracle: Holy Cross, Raise
High Mobility: Thievery, Attack Wait Down
Battle Assist: Status Defense, Soul Focus, Quicken Aria (Tech)

 

Note: the Magic Shell and Invisibility spells can be added to Wein's skillset by selecting the option Battle Experience (Extra Int) or Decision Skills (Extra Dex) and then Defend and prepare to counter. However, it is really difficult to include this answer and not lose other vital abilities. Also, Wein learns these spells at high Intelligence: of which 200 is necessary for Invisibility, so it is doubtful you would ever get any use out of these during the game unless you greatly boosted his Int gain.

 

In my opinion, the most important of these for Wein are: Thievery, Attack Wait Down, Max HP Up, HP Absorption, with the remainder just bonuses. Particularly, in regards to Raise, if you take the Wolfgang path of the story, without the use of a vital gem slot, no character will be able to resurrect fallen characters if Wein does not learn it here. That being said, I have poured over the exam results tirelessly and have come up with two different builds for Wein that provide the maximum amount of abilities, while also positively effecting his statistical growth.

 

Interview Choices:

 

Battle Experience (Extra Int) or Decision Skills (Extra Dex)
Counterattack immediately
Lusting for the scent of the kill
Increase Might: Defensive Skill
Physical Might: Agility
Water
Aquamarine

 

Missing Abilities:

 

Death
Quake
Meteor
Paralysis
Petrify
Deadly Curse
Fatal Attraction
Magic Shell/Invisibility

 

This build is perfect for a fighter or mage Wein, but lacks the final two spells, Quake and Meteor. If you'd like, Wein can equip a late-game gem (Memory of Alviis) that will teach him Death, Quake, Meteor, Magic Shell, and Invisibility. Paralysis and Petrify are very nice skills, but a number of Wein's companions can learn these as well as you being able to grant their use to Wein via a gem (Dark Curse), as well. As for Deadly Curse and Fatal Attraction, these techniques are, for the most part, gimmicks and not of much use, and can be learned by other party members. This is the build I use for all of my games.

If you'd like to go fully mage with Wein (Recommended only for Wolfgang's path), I have provided another build just for it.

 

Interview Choices:

 

Charisma
Super Human Ability
Lusting for the scent of the kill
Increase Might: Defensive Skill
Physical Might: Agility
Water
Amethyst

 

Missing Abilities:

 

MP Absorption
Synapse Blow
Aria Disturbance
Penetration Attack
Perimeter Pulse
Fatal Attraction
Paralysis
Petrify
Magic Shell/Invisibility

 

In closing of the interview portion of the guide, this is hardly perfect, but the absolute best I have been able to come up with. Please feel free to contact me if you have achieved a result with more skills! There are still many unknowns contained within the results; one of them being Wein's starting elemental resistances. In Growlanser II, every character has a set, hidden, affinity for each element that determines the damaged caused when they are effected by it. This is the single determining factor in magic damage to a character (Not INT or DEF). You can, however, manipulate the resistances with gems.

With the interview portion out of the way, Logan will send Wein out for the Officer Field Exam where he is joined by Maximillian, his partner for the battle. Max will ask you a series of questions, but the most important one is to accept his offer to ask you ones of a personal nature. An important thing to note in Growlanser II is that your choices not only effect current party member's relationship to Wein, but will also influence later character's joining friendship levels. Friendship levels are important as they need to reach the highest level in order to obtain the ending for that character.

Once the pleasantries are out of the way, the battle will begin. This battle also has an effect on Wein's results along with his interview. There are three outcomes to battles in Growlanser II: Mission Complete, Mission Clear, and Mission Failed. You always want to shoot for Mission Complete, as not only does this provide you higher EXP and Elm (Currency) at the battle's end, but having enough Mission Completes under your belt will raise Wein's rank later on in the game. While this means nothing to Wein battle wise, it opens events you can only get if Wein achieves the highest rank. As for this particular battle, getting a Mission Complete boosts all aspects of Wein's results to higher levels, while they will slightly increase with Mission Clear, and you gain no bonus from Mission Failed (Time limit expires). To achieve a Mission Complete, Wein and Max must be the one to defeat every character on the field. This is not easy to do, but thankfully, we can save during battle, so I highly recommend opening the menu (Square) and saving your game before the battle gets underway.

 

When the battle opens, send Wein to attack Student 2 and begin casting Fire Arrow with Max. Student 4, the mage, will cast Ice Barrage on the approaching Student 5, halving his HP. Once this occurs, cast Fire Arrow on Student 5 to defeat him, then begin casting another round of Fire Arrow. Next, defeat Student 4 with the second round of Fire Arrows, then begin another. Afterward, Wein should have taken out Student 2 and you can direct him toward the two fighting near the top of the screen. There is a random chance that one of the fighting students will die before Max finishes charging Fire Arrow; if this happens, just reload your save and try again. Hopefully, Max will finish the charge first and he can cast it on the Student with the lowest HP while Wein approaches to take out the remaining Student. Max, out of MP, should make his way to the archer Student to the lower right and physically attack her, with Wein joining once his target his defeated. This will bring you a Mission Complete with several seconds left to spare. With the conclusion of the battle, Commander Logan and the Imperial Knight, Kenshin Reaves, will give Wein his exam scores which, if you followed along earlier, should match one of my above results screenshots.

You'll receive a bit of backstory on the original Growlanser, which was ongoing while Wein and Max were entering the Academy. The scene will then shift to an overlooking of the Burnstein Capital as Wein plays his ocarina. Max will join him and they will discuss their futures. When Max asks about Wein's dreams of becoming an Imperial Knight, select the first option, "Yes, it's been my goal for so long!" and the two will leave quickly to receive their next assignment to become Knights.

 

The Burnstein Commander will direct Wein and Max to the defense of Starkberg as a markshift final exam to become Knights. Make absolutely sure to select the third option, "I know these are difficult times...", in response to the Commander or else later party member's relationships will suffer. You'll then be out on the world map for the first time.

 

At the Burnstein Capital, select "Gather Information" to speak with the townsfolk. This will be extremely vital to items and sidequests throughout the game and I recommend you speak to everyone until all their names are greyed out. In particular, you want to talk to the Frightened Soldier. He will tell you that King Eliotte has gone missing. This is important not only for an upcoming scene, but will result in an item later, as well.

 

Go into the Capital's Kingdom Archives and choose to read about "Ring Weapons and Gems". Inside, listen to the explanation about "Ring Weapon Effects" and when Wein exits out he will receive a Lv2 Blood Blade gem, which he should go ahead and equip. If you're on a New Game+ and you already have 9 of these, you won't get anything at all. There's also a small armor shop in the Capital, but it's not of much use at the moment. If you're curious, the strangely named gems used in the demo are gems that later had their names changed, and you can't find anything by those name in the game.

Move from the Capital to the west for another scene between Max and Wein. Agree with Max that there is a place for those to prevents wars, not only fight them, to increase his relationship value to max. If you're new to the game, the relationship bar is in the status screen and represented by red, yellow, and green bars next to the resistance values. Once it reaches three green bars, you can unlock that characters ending, considering you meet the requirements. The highest value is actually slightly higher than the third green bar, and you will easily notice it by the smiling character portrait. Maximillian is, unfortunately, just a temporary character for the opening of the game, so his relationship values are of little use. Once this scene is concluded, "Gather Information" at this area and speak to the Officer who will show you the path to Starkberg as well as speaking to the Peddler who has lost his merchandise. Lastly, choose to "Walk to Lookout" for another scene with Wein and Max discussing what may be their final overlook of the Capital together.

 

Head south from there to North Clain Village and the duo will get chewed out by the Commander here for being in the wrong location. Speak to the Cadet who will tell you about the Peddler's lost merchandise. Return to West Burnstein and the Peddler will leave for North Clain, then give Wein 30 Elm for his efforts if you speak with him there with his merchandise reclaimed.

One final note before continuing on. In the status screen, if you press the Select button, a "..." bubble will appear near the character's icon. This will mute that character's voice during battle and can done with all characters except for the temporary Max. This is often not known by most players. With the Blood Blade gem equipped to Wein's ring weapon, move west to Starkberg.

 

Commander Logan is waiting for you at the gates of Starkberg along with the shady mercenary leader, Wolfgang, whom he introduces you to. After Wolfgang sizes up Wein and Maximillian, monsters will show up and Logan orders you to defend the townsfolk. When presented the option, choose for Wein to "Let actions say it all" to begin the next battle.

This is a fairly easy battle, but to defeat all the enemies with Wein and Max and collect as much EXP as you can, takes some planning. Open the battle by directing Wein to move toward the door of the house in the lower-left of the screen while Max charges Fire Arrow. Cast Fire Arrow on the Slime creeping up from the southeast to defeat it. We need Wein elsewhere and if you fail to kill it now, Wolfgang will end up doing it. Begin casting another Fire Arrow with Max.

 

Have Max wait with Fire Arrow ready while directing Wein to attack the approaching Slime to the southwest. The shadow-looking monster, Hyde, one of the mercenaries will attack and heavily wound. Once this happens, open the menu and direct Max to cast Fire Arrow on it to finish it off and collect the EXP and a ring drop. Keep in mind that in Growlanser II, drops are randomly determined at the start of battle, so you will likely not receive the same kind of ring I did. You can, however, change the battle drops by starting the battle over, but saving within it will not produce different drops. With the Hyde fallen, Max will level up; have him learn Critial Hit with his master points. Have Max attack the Slime to the north to kill it before Logan gets a chance to, then while Wein is attacking the lower Slime near the house, churn up another Fire Arrow and cast it on the Imp approaching from the west to wound it, then just have Max defend.

Another Yung will show up and begin beating down the backdoor of the house with civilians inside. Once Wein finishes the Slime, have him attack the Imp that is creeping up the side of the house. It will get off a casting of Stone Shot on one of the kids, but it won't kill them or effect your rank. Wein should defeat the Imp in one hit and then level up. Have him learn one of the elemental spells; I, personally, am selecting Wind Cutter, but you decide for yourself. While the kids flee towards the gate, have Wein cast magic three times on the approaching Yung, then attack to finish it off. Wein will level up again and I recommend learning Critical Hit this time. Two more Slimes will be coming from the north; send Max after the one nearest to the town and Wein after the other. Once they are defeated, just defend until Wolfgang appears and finishes off the Yung Logan is fighting to end the battle.

After the battle, Logan will ask Wein and Max to investigate to the west where the monsters are coming from and Hans, the boy from the house, will want to join, but the duo will blow him off, for now. Back out on the world map, make sure to stay at the inn to recovery your MP, and you can talk to the townsfolk and use the Ring Artisan to equip any new ring weapons you may have; there's also a new piece of armor in the shop here, but I wouldn't worry about it at the moment. In regards to rings, it's generally best to go with a ring with higher-level gem slots than one with better statistic increases. In Growlanser II, more often than not, your gem loadout will determine your success.

 

For New Game+ players, now is the time to start building Wein with stat gems. If you're attempting to learn every skill available to Wein, I highly suggest equipping him with two Mental Fortitude gems to give him an additional 2 master points per level. Attempting to do this without Mental Fortitude will take a lifetime, trust me. My personal build for Wein is Dexterity, for evasion, but if you'd like to know more about my suggested build and the order of skills he should learn, refer to the last chapter of this guide on Character Setups. An important thing to remember going forward with stat gems, as long as you trade the current gem, say Dexterity, with one of the others, like Strength, it will wave the requirement to need to level up twice before the gem starts activating each level. That being said, you should devote at least one slot for only stat gems and only change them if absolutely necessary to avoid having to skip a level to activate them. Also, just for reference, here is what each stat effects:

 

Strength: Adds additional HP, ATK, and DEF
Int: Adds additional MP and magic damage
Dex: Adds increase to move and hit stats, and increases evasion rate (No stat)

Move down to South Starkberg and Wein will bump into the missing King Eliotte. Select the choice "It's too dangerous out here!" and he will return to his castle. Continue south to Schwarzfals Village for a small scene with Wein and Max, then west of Starkberg to the West Starkberg Ruins.

 

Entering the Ruins, Wein and Max will have a conversation about Wein's missing father, then you'll be thrown into another battle. Battles in these Ruins are unique in the fact that you'll need to accomplish the goal of defeating all of the enemies before the spiked wall kills you. Start the battle with Wein and Max both casting their elemental spells on the sleeping Imp in the upper-right-hand corner to take it out quickly, then, begin casting Fire Arrow again while Wein goes after the nearest Yung. Fire Arrow should be cast on the fleeing Yung until Max only has one casting left. A Bone Golem in the upper-left will activate a switch that begins the descend of the wall down upon the party. Target this Bone Golem with Fire Arrow to kill it quickly afterward.

With the wall activated, Hans will run in and join the fray. Have him and Max target the nearby Bone Golem while Wein, after he defeats the Yung, casts an elemental spell on the fleeing Yung to finish him off. Lastly, send Wein and Hans after the final Bone Golem to receive a Mission Complete. Wein and Hans should have leveled up and I recommend Wein learns Shield and Hans puts points into Dash.

 

Hans will run off to join the Officers' Academy so he can fight monsters with you, leaving Wein and Max along in the Ruins. There will be an eerie mask levitating beyond a shield of light, of which the duo has no idea how to lower. Perplexed, they leave the Ruins and back to Starkberg.

Upon returning, Maximillian will have permanently left your party, but everything he had equipped will be placed in your inventory. In Starkberg, Logan informs you that while you were in the Ruins, the events of the first Growlanser game came to a close, bringing a temporary peace to the land. Logan will dismiss a disgruntled Wolfgang and order Wein and Max to return to the Capital. Replying to Max's suggestion that you two are finally Knights, select: "We can't relax...this is just the start".

 

Before returning to Burnstein, head back south to Schwarzfals Village to view a new scene with Julia Douglas, an Imperial Knight, and Charlone, whom you will be meeting soon. If you want, you can annoy the Commander near North Clain Village and talk to the soldiers there, but ultimately, return to the Capital to continue with the story.