With Coolon being our wings, we have quick access to most main areas of the world; although you'll have to swap discs to do so, unfortunately. For the first side-quest, fly back to Deningrad, then west to enter Kashua Glacier. Pass through the Glacier, continuing west to the Snowfield, and then further on to the Capital Vellweb.
Just a minor note I thought was a nice touch. If you go back to Dart's hometown of Neet, while not a scene, at the memorial monument, he will promise his mother that he will stop his father, Zieg.
You'll probably recall Shirley's presence in Vellweb from earlier, where she wanted Dart and Rose to return here and put to rest the souls of the four Dragoons from the Dragon Campaign that could not find peace. After meeting Shirley one last time before she finds her own peace, each time you return to this screen her remaining energy will fully restore the party. In case you're wondering, there is no follow up with Drake back at the Shrine of Shirley, unfortunately.
North of the save point, at the seven Dragoon towers, we'll move counter-clockwise around the towers, which, in my opinion, tackles the easier battles first. The first Dragoon tower in the center is Rose's, which is empty now since we took the Stardust there earlier, with the Jade Dragoon's tower to its left. Inside is Albert/Lavitz's predecessor, Syuveil, who is attached to this world by fear of the potential darkness that lies beyond death. Apparently, combat is the only way to free their souls.
Syuveil, uses the same magic as Albert/Lavitz, with Rose Storm noticeably absent. His weakness is, of course, magic, but you'll be surprised just how quick he is; which will repeat with the other Dragoons. Use Power Down, then Speed Down, and the Psyche Bomb X with a human character, while your other two transform into Dragoons. Unless you brought Kongol without an Angel Scarf/Spiritual Ring, you don't have much to fear from Syuveil's magic, although his summoning of the Jade Dragon is a lot stronger than you would think it would be. If you want, bring Kongol and have him activate the "Special" Dragoon command to really make this a lopsided battle.
For winning, the party receives the unique Jade Stone accessory that cuts wind elemental damage in half, along with a decent amount of EXP. Syuveil's soul will also finally be able to accept that there may be some light waiting for him at the end, fading away to the afterlife. After each Dragoon battle, make sure to go back to Shirley's area to heal and save along with raising your SP gauge levels back up.
Continuing left from Syuveil's tower, you'll pass by Shirley's empty tower, with the Blue Sea Dragoon's tower next door. Within is Damia, a product of a human and mermaid union, who is desperately frightened that if she passes away, that she will be left alone after a life of ridicule and solitude.
Dart, having the elemental advantage here, makes this fairly easy. Damia is entirely magical, and Speed, just like Meru. Same as Syuveil, stay in human form and use the Power Down and Speed Down items on Damia, with Power Up on Dart and, if you want to be conservative, the Magic Shield on him as well. You can then activate a fire aura with Dart's "Special" Dragoon form and cripple her with Final Burst with your other characters using their Dragoon additions. Damia won't heal herself with Rainbow Breath, so Diamond Dust is your biggest concern here, although if Dart gets hit with the Sea Dragon summon, he'll need to be immediately healed without his aura active.
Damia drops the Blue Sea Stone accessory for the party, that is one-of-a-kind, and cuts water-based damage in half for the equipped character. She'll then fade away to go and be with the other Dragoons, not alone.
Moving onward counter-clockwise from Damia's tower, you'll find Zieg's abandoned tower, with Belzac's Golden Dragoon's tower to the left of it. Belzac, who's concern in life was for the future of the world's children, is distraught to find out he is, in fact, dead and that Shirley, whom he tried to protect from a Virage attack, has died, also.
Belzac's a physical monster, but is sneaky quick, as well; and you shouldn't discount his magic spells, either. If you brought Albert/Lavitz, you can use their "Special" Dragoon command to gain the distinctive advantage, like usual, after using the Speed/Power Down items, and the Psyche Bomb X to exploit his magic weakness. If using Miranda/Shana, Meru, Rose, or Haschel, make use of the Material Shield to give them some protection against Belzac's overwhelming Dragoon additions. Defending against his Dragoon additions and using magic like Freezing Ring, Gaspless, and Final Burst, should be all you need to bring the big, former Golden Dragoon down.
The Golden Stone is your reward for freeing Belzac's soul to go and be with Shirley. This unique accessory cuts earth-based damage in half.
Just beyond Belzac's tower, and to the right of Rose's, lies Kanzas' Violet Dragoon tower. Rose has always had objections to Kanzas' murderous past, with the urge to kill even more keeping him from eternal rest.
We saved Kanzas for last because he is a total beast. He's ridiculously quick, and being thunder-based, has no weakness, with his physical and magic damage being above average, too. Power/Speed Down items, then the Psyche Bomb X immediately, with leaving one character in human form to disperse healing items. If you brought Albert/Lavitz, Rose/Blossom Storm can be a Godsend here. Deploy your Power/Speed Up items, along with the Material and Magic Shields with your human character, when not healing. Otherwise, try to fight defensively and survive his onslaught of offense.
Kanzas coughs up the one-of-a-kind Violet Stone accessory that drops thunder-based damage in half. Kanzas will also finally be able to rest, having wanted all along to be freed from his relentless pursuit of bloodshed. The side-quest now finished, there's no ultimate reward except finishing your collection of elemental accessories and the EXP.
For the second, and last, side-quest, we need to make use of all of the Gold we have been hoarding throughout the game. Fly back to Lohan and to the armory there. Hopefully, you have at least 30,000 Gold to be able to purchase three Legend Casques, which is the best helmet in the game for all characters, and is almost a necessity to defeating the upcoming optional boss. If at anything, make sure to take at least two Legend Casques, with an Angel Scarf serving as a decent enough replacement for your third character. If you need extra Gold, skip past the next side-quest, and I will detail how to farm Gold to supply your entire party with Legend Casques and Armor of Legends.
When you're outfitted, use Coolon to return to Deningrad and west, again, to Kashua Glacier. From there, climb your way back to the top of the Tower of Flanvel where you battled Lloyd. In the area with the save point, use the right-sided portal that, if you'll recall, you found a Therapy Ring and the apparition of Faust earlier. With the Vanishing Stone in your inventory, from having collected all 50 Stardust and given them to Martel in Rouge, the apparition guarding the way below will be dispelled allowing you access.
Using the guarded portal, you'll be taken further within to another set of pods with multiple telepads. Use the northeastern one, then either of the bottom portals to proceed onward. From there, southwest, then southeast down into another pod room. Northwest, followed by southwest to enter the above room with a save point, three telepads, and a chest containing your second, and last, Dragon Helm. If you've got a Legend Casque, you don't need this, but go ahead and equip this on any lady that doesn't have one as it is the second-best helmet in the game for them.
Even though there are only two screens for encounters in the lower levels of Flanvel, there are a surprising number of unique monsters to be found, which leaves me to wonder if they had bigger plans originally for this area. Despite this, there are no worthwhile drops to be had, except for maybe the Metal Fang enemy carrying Haschel's Beast Fang weapon, if you happened to have lost it; but even then, you'd be better off farming the Lizard Man at the Nest of Dragon for one.
To find the real Faust, our goal is to use the three portals in the center area to transverse to different sides of a circular platform below; where its supports will be rotted away one by one. To begin, enter the left-side portal by the treasure chest. Then: northeast and southwest to reach the first side of the platform, which will fall away when Dart gets near, then return to the center area. Next: enter the bottom-most telepad, followed with southeast, then southeast once again, to be at the second of three platforms that needs to fall, then jump back in the portal to return to the previous pod. Here: northwest, north, and northeast to be placed near the last bridge. Be prepared to fight Faust before proceeding to the center of the crumbling platform.
As Dart and Rose reach the epicenter of Flanvel, the circular column will give way and deposit the group deep below the Tower where they are confronted by the real Magician Faust. Faust, who is planning to rule the world when the Tower of Flanvel is reactivated once again, isn't going to let you leave alive, no matter what choice Dart selects, so you might as well stop him now.
Just to demonstrate how needed the Legend Casque, or at a minimum an Angel Scarf, is, I entered the battle with Miranda and Meru, who have the highest magic defense, and the best equipment you can obtain without Legend Casques or Angel Scarves. Also, keep in mind that my party is massively over-leveled with Dart being level 48 and the others at 41. In the above screenshot, Faust cast Gravity Grabber, with the resulting damage on my party. While manageable, you need to understand that he can act an upwards of four times in a row with additional magic spells; with even more powerful, unique ones. While it is definitely possible to defeat Faust without the above items, you're going to need a lot of Healing Rains, which can only be acquired through chests and exchanging tickets in Lohan right now, and a lot of luck.
Unfortunately (?), with the Legend Casques, just like everything else in the game, Faust is of almost no threat to anyone: even Kongol or Albert/Lavitz. Most of his magic will outright miss with the +50% magical evasion of the Casque, and if it does hit, minor damage will result. Faust comes with four druid-looking minions, but they are just for show and can't be targeted. As you might expect, don't bother with magic here and entirely focus on physical attacks. Use Speed/Power Down on Faust, then Speed/Power Up on a powerful character like Albert/Lavitz, Kongol, or Dart and have them preform their additions; whether Dragoon or not is up to the player. You'll have to watch Faust repeatedly hurl magic your way, while waiting for your next turn, but this is about the extent of the battles difficulty.
If you want a true challenge, and to fight Faust without the use of Legend Casques or Angel Scarves, I recommend a party of Dart, Miranda/Shana, and Albert/Lavitz or Meru, with the below equipment:
- Dart: Fairy Sword, Phoenix Plume, Red DG Armor, Magical Greaves/Bandit's Shoes, Blue Sea Stone
- Miranda/Shana: Arrow of Force, Magical Hat, Rainbow Dress, Dancer's Shoes, Sapphire Pin/Dancer's Ring
- Albert/Lavitz: Halberd, Magical Hat, Jade DG Armor, Bandit's Shoes, Golden Stone
- Meru: Heavy Mace, Magical Hat, Blue DG Armor, Magical Greaves, Red-Eye Stone
Whether use of Albert/Lavitz or Meru would depend on if Meru has maxed out her Perky Step addition, which has the highest damage multiplier in the game; although even then the spear users would deal significantly more damage than her, and they have Rose/Blossom Storm that help prevent additional damage. Dart and the other character will be your primary source of physical damage, while Miranda/Shana will need to cast Gates of Heaven almost every round. If you don't have a big supply of MP restoration items, I would give her the Sapphire Pin accessory over the Mage Ring due to Faust's constant barrage of magic, of which will restore 10 MP to her with each one that hits, rather than just 10 MP each time their turn comes around. If you have plenty of Sun Rhapsodies, and don't mind wasting a turn to use them, give Miranda/Shana the Dancer's Ring. If you'd prefer to gamble a little, consider the Spirit Cloak or Holy Ankh instead of the elemental stone accessories. Make use of the Power Up/Down items in subsequent turns to maximize your damage and also the Magic Shield on Albert/Lavitz or Dart, paired with casting Rose/Blossom Storm every three turns. Despite all of this, it simply will come down to luck and what spells Faust decides to use against you.
Your reward for defeating the game's toughest boss is a huge amount of EXP, 10,000 Gold you can buy another Legend Casque or Armor of Legend with, and the Phantom Shield accessory. Also for sale in Lohan for 10,000 Gold, the Phantom Shield cuts all damage against a character in half, so, if you want to pair this with the two previously mentioned pieces of equipment, it's near impossible to be damaged at all.
With Faust gone, Dart can plunder the three chests nearby. They contain your third, and final Magical Hat, which is the best helmet for males besides the Legend Casque, your second Holy Ankh, and a Dancer's Ring. To the north is a teleporter that will take you to the very entrance of Flanvel, but make absolutely sure you have opened the treasure chests, because you cannot return to this room once you have left.
With the Dragon Campaign Dragoon's souls laid to rest and the defeat of Faust, the only thing left for the group is to return to Mayfil and travel the road of souls to the final dungeon. However, before that, there are several things that need to be covered for completionists. Like previously stated, once Dart takes said road of souls, you can never return to Endiness, which means nearly every item in the game will become missable, including the Legend Casque and Armor of Legend. I will talk about the items later on, but for the moment, I want to talk about the best equipment, accessories, and the easiest way to farm the Gold to obtain the 140,000 needed to outfit all seven characters, or 180,000 if you have Lavitz and Shana, as well.
As I've stated numerous times throughout the guide, the Armor of Legend, purchased in Deningrad, and the Legend Casque, bought in Lohan, are the best headgear and armor for the entire party; no other piece of equipment can even be potentially justified when combined together. Let's look at the stats of the equipment up close:
Armor of Legend:
+127 Physical Defense
+50% Physical Evasion
+50% Resistance to Body Status Effects; Petrification, but not Instant Death
Legend Casque:
+127 Magical Defense
+50 Magic Attack
+50% Magical Evasion
+50% Resistance to Mind Status Effects
So, yeah, that's insanely overpowered! Kongol will have no fear of magic attacks, nor Miranda/Shana of physical ones with these equipped. Also, they make most all of the accessories we have been using up until now no longer necessary, which means we'll need to make some changes, but I'll cover that in a second. First, if we're going to outfit the entire party with this equipment, which has to be done before entering the final dungeon, we're going to need to do a lot of Gold farming. Below, in my opinion, is the best way in the game to acquire the most money in the shortest amount of time.
On the world map, on the road between Kazas and the path that use to lead toward Hellena Prison, you may recall the annoying 00PARTS monster that is frequently encounter here. Now that we have accuracy and Speed boosting equipment, we can make short work of him before he has a chance to blast us with his instant death attack and run away. To best achieve this, form a party of Dart, Miranda/Shana, and Meru with the following equipment:
Dart: Fairy Sword, Sallet, Bandit's Shoes, Wargod's Amulet
Miranda/Shana: Long Bow, Magical Greaves, Dancer's Ring
Meru: Dancer's Shoes, Wargod's Amulet
With this setup, after throwing the Magic Signet Stone item, you should have plenty of accuracy to land your attacks, but also enough turns to do so before the items wears off. For additional advantage, you can also use the Speed Down/Up items. 00PARTS will drop the party 600 Gold, which will grant you a new piece of equipment after every 17 battles, and with the frequency of the encounter, this is quicker than you think.
Of course, while the fastest, 00PARTS is not the king of money making: that would be the Red Bird found right outside of Deningrad. They drop 1000 Gold, plus Phoenix Plumes you can sell for an extra 300. However, you may recall the Red Bird is not only immune to physical attacks, but has a crazy high magical evade. You can equip females with the Tiara helmet along with the Wargod's Amulet accessory to increase their magic accuracy, but the chance of your magic missing is still fairly high. Then you have to take into account you either need to purchase magic items or use Dragoon magic, which will require frequent trips to town to rest/restock items and battles to rebuild SP, nonetheless the transformation and magic animations playing. It's for this reason that I recommend 00PARTS for Gold over the Red Bird.
Next, let's talk about the accessories to combine with the Legend Casque and Armor of Legend. Firstly, I'll remind you that you must purchase the Angel Scarf for 5000 and Ultimate Wargod for 10,000 in Lohan, since you cannot obtain these elsewhere; of course, theoretically, you could have got the Ultimate Wargod from the Phantom Ship chest, but that is extremely unlikely, so make sure you don't miss adding these to your inventory. Below, I will list what, in my opinion, is the best accessory for each character (The first), and after a few other choices you may consider. For a more detailed look at these choices, jump over to the chapter on Character Setups.
Dart: Therapy Ring, Attack Badge, Bandit's Ring
Albert/Lavitz: Bandit's Ring, Attack Badge
Miranda/Shana: Attack Badge, Amulet, Mage Ring
Rose: Magical Ring, Therapy Ring, Wargod's Sash, Dancer's Ring
Haschel: Magical Ring, Bandit's Ring
Meru: Mage Ring, Amulet, Therapy Ring, Wargod's Sash, Attack Badge, Dancer's Ring
Kongol: Wargod's Sash, Bandit's Ring, Attack Badge
We'll obtain the best weapons for Miranda/Shana, Rose, Haschel, Meru, and Kongol in the final dungeon. To wrap things up, I'll reiterate again that once you take the road of souls inside Mayfil, all towns and dungeons will be inaccessible, and the vast majority of items become missable. In fact, below is a list of the only items, that you have seen thus far in the game, you can still obtain in the final dungeon:
Healing Fog
Healing Breeze
Healing Rain
Sun Rhapsody
Moon Serenade
Angel's Prayer
Depetrifier
Mind Purifier
Body Purifier
Panic Bell
Poison Needle
Spirit Potion
Burning Wave
Frozen Jet
Flash Hall
Night Raid
Gravity Grabber
Spectral Flash
Down Burst
Halberd
Phoenix Plume (x1)
Rainbow Dress (Theoretically)
Red DG Armor
Jade DG Armor
Dark DG Armor
Blue DG Armor
Dancer's Shoes (Limited time)
Magical Ring
Spiritual Ring
Attack Badge
Guard Badge
Giganto Ring
Any item not listed here you will be unable to add to your inventory once you reach the final dungeon, so think long and hard how you want to round out your 32 item limit before proceeding to the end. For a more detailed item checklist, see the chapter on Completion Notes. It also doesn't hurt to leave a separate save file back in Endiness, in case you change your mind. When you've made your peace, leave for Mayfil and ascend the road of souls to the Signet Sphere.