Level 99 trick + stat stone(magic) trick/recruiter lvl chars

[MegafaunaB.krieg]

Just to be safe, do any of the characters who are based on the recruiters level, join at a higher level than the recruiter?

I think I will get Chris up to 96-97 so I can still, in theory (I never will in reality) do the stat stone trick and have her MP max out. Also in theory if I do it with 1 character i'll want to do it with everyone, so yeah, does anyone in the game who has variable joining level join above the recruiters level?

Also the mp/mgc chart here stops at 255, is that the highest a stat can go? (I recall reading about people with 603 of a stat, though that could be defense, and or also, the person cheating their butt off).

Also, even while only gaining 5 xp per battle it seems to me like a 98 Chris would go to 99 by chapter 4? What level would you all suggest I stop leveling her at to keep the option open for using the magic stat boost on her? In general I don't flee from fights but I guess I could.

There is no super rare "limited time only" item that pops up in Chris' 1-3 is there? Super rare + Worth having? That I would have to farm 500000 battles to get, and then she gets level 99 and...etc.

P.S. Sorry for any grammar errors you may have noticed, English is not your first language.

[MegafaunaB.krieg]

Also;

Stones
Stone of Evasion
Treasure Chest: Flame Champion's Hideaway - Guardian: Azzodess
Stone of Luck
Treasure Chest: North Cavern - Guardian: Ghost Knight
Stone of Magic
Treasure Chest: Mountain Path - Guardian: Rock Golem
Stone of Magic Defense
Treasure Chest: Mt. Senai - Guardian: Ghost Knight
Stone of Power
Treasure Chest: Flame Champion's Hideaway - Guardian: Azzodess
Stone of Skill
Treasure Chest: Mt. Senai - Guardian: Nemesis
Stone of Speed
Treasure Chest: Mountain Path - Guardian: Ghost Knight

Pulled that from the misc. items list here. Does this mean the stones only come from the chest (not the boss itself) but only when that boss is guarding it? IE: You cannot get a stone of magic ever again after Chapter 3? Or do stones drop in the chest regardless of which boss is guarding it?

Also seriously, no random monsters drop stones even with hunter rune?

[KFCrispy]

i don't think there are any items limited to Chris's chapters.
i believe stats can go higher than 255 in this game. 255 was a stat in previous systems because how how data was stored. i think someone was testing maxing Juan's SPD and it was way beyond 255.

if you loaded the Suikoden II memory, it's possible some of the characters join above the recruiter's level
Viki (recruiter's level + bonus)
Belle (recruiter's level + bonus) - in my game she joined 2 levels below Chris, so you probably had to level Meg and possibly Gadget up a lot in S2
Gadget Z (Belle's level)
Sanae Y (recruiter's level + bonus? If she gets a bonus, is it based on Freed Y or Yoshino?)

For Chris alone, 97 is definitely safe enough for her. i remember getting her to 98 one time and after finishing her chapters she was still 98 (obviously i didn't waste hours running in circles fighting randoms). you can also keep in mind that with her high level, she can run from all random battles (unless her party is really low).


guardians never drop anything, you have to get the items from the chests. for these stones, they should appear after the first or second time you beat it unless they are unlimited randoms from the chest.... Ghost Knights are late-game bosses, but for the rest you should try to get the stones as soon as possible.

no random enemies drop the stones.

[eldrasidar]

Most characters join with a fixed level, but there's a few character's that do start a level based on the recruiting character's level(thomas, hugo, chris, or geddoe), but it's usually 1-2 levels more or less, with the sole exception to that being Belle, who if Hugo and only Hugo recruits, will be 15 levels higher instead.

As far as stats go, with the exception of HP, 255 is the highest a stat can naturally grow to, and I'm not sure you could raise them higher using stats stones or if there would be any noticeable benefit to doing so. Certainly, you would have maxed out the number of magic slots your character would have at 255, so you won't get any more slots from raising it higher. You may have seen higher stats in reference to Suikoden 5, which has a different stats system.

Keep in mind that the Chris level 99 trick only affects 16 characters out of the 108 stars of destiny, so if you want everybody to level up to 99, you're going to be spending a ludicrous amount of time grinding out levels, since even with a fortune rune, you're only able to easily get up to the mid 70's before you're gaining only 1 exp per monster per battle. You can feel free to do this, but the game is designed for you to end the game with characters in the low 60's, and so picking up a lot of levels beyond has very little impact on a character's abilities. I often just do the Chris leveling trick up to the point where she gain 101 magic, which is enough to open up all 4 levels of magic. As far as I know, there's no level at which a stat stone would stop working, so feel free to spend as much or as little time as you like leveling her.

I don't think there's any limited time items of note in Chris's chapters that cannot be obtained just as easily in another character's chapters.

[MegafaunaB.krieg]

The way the list is on here it sort of implies that the stones are only available during the time the listed boss is the guardian.

For example ummm, Stone of magic comes from the Mountain path while the boss is the Rock Golem, but the Stone of speed also comes from that chest, but while the boss is the Ghost knight. Does that mean that after Chapter 3 the stone of magic is unavailable? Or will the stone of magic continue to appear in the Mount Path chest even in chapters 4 and 5?

I made this handy little list by cross tabbing 5000 times between the lists here.

Stone of magic, Chris Chapter 3 Hugo chapter 3 Geddoe chapter 1-3 Mountain Path treasure chest while guardian is rock golem.

Stone of speed, Flame champion chapter 4 Mountain Path chest while boss is Ghost knight.

Stone of skill, Geddoe chapter 2 and 3, Flame champion chapter 4, Mount Senai treasure chest while boss is Nemesis.

Stone of power, Chris chapter 3, Hugo chapter 3, Geddoe chapter 3, Flame Champion hideaway treasure chest while boss is Azzodess.

Stone of m.def, Flame champion chapter 5, Mount Senai treasure chest while boss is Ghost knight.

Stone of luck, Flame champion chapter 4 and 5, North Cavern treasure chest while boss is Ghost Knight.

Stone of evasion, Chris chapter 3 Hugo chapter 3 Geddoe chapter 3, Flame Champion hideaway treasure chest while boss is Azzodess.

Is this correct? After chapter 3 no more stone of magic? Or are those just the earliest times they are available and they will continue to be available after that point?

[Punkaiser]

That's right, dude, some items like those or fire ring lightning ring... could be considered missables. Just keep in mind the rule: guardians never drop anything and different guardian will result in different treasure set found in their chest. Well, i recently missed the lightning ring, but i don't care one bit about it, brawn over brain as always =))

[eldrasidar]

keep in mind that the stat stone trick only requires you have a single stat stone of any particular type. also note that some items found in treasure chests are only found once, while others can be found repeatedly so long as the treasure boss remains the same.

[MegafaunaB.krieg]

Is there a complete list of what drops in each chest per chapter?
Also is there a missables list anywhere? Seems like this game is nothing but missables.

Does this annoying penchant for variable items also extend to NPCs who give you things? Are there any NPCs who like...will give you a rage rune but only in chapter 3, even though you can talk to the same npc in chapters 1-5? Or are things always available from the npcs so long as the town doesn't get blown up?

Also a lot of towns have "traffic" npcs who wander to one end of the screen and disappear(then come back). Any cool items on any of these people?

[KFCrispy]

there are a few possible missable things late game dealing with NPCs and shops.

if you make Chris the Flame Champion, she can't climb ladders. there are places in Chisa and Le Buque where you can get an item if you climb a ladder, so with Chris as FC you have to get them with Hugo or Geddoe when you are given small windows to use them again.

Chris has access to the Vinay del Zexay shops in the town hall area that sells the Rose Vase a a rarity and will add some high-level armor to your HQ's shop... so if you have Hugo or Geddoe as your Flame Champion, you'll need to remember to visit when you use Chris.

the NPCs standing around with recipes, scripts, and whatever will hold on to them for the entire game, so you don't need to worry about missing them. so if you spot them and you are trying to conserve inventory, you can Refuse the item and pick it up later -- i recommend doing this early game when you don't have access to HQ and haven't recruited the respective shop characters.

[gildedtalon]

if you make Chris the Flame Champion, she can't climb ladders. there are places in Chisa and Le Buque where you can get an item if you climb a ladder, so with Chris as FC you have to get them with Hugo or Geddoe when you are given small windows to use them again.

These items you speak of, they do not exist