[Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

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KFCrispy
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[Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

-Chris level 99 trick: Guide and Level 99 Trick benefits & initial levels

-Geddoe solo fight: solo the Mountain Path boss at the end of Chapter 1 / beginning of Chapter 2 and get to around level 45 - http://suikosource.com/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 5&p=125091


-Fortune Rune trick - getting characters to level 67+
During Chapter 4 and 5, with the Fortune Rune and just 2 characters (your hero and another), a level 47 character can be boosted to level 67 (57 w/out Fortune, which is still nice to achieve), and a level 50 character would still get to level 62. i haven't tested a level 51 or 52 character, but a lvl 53 will only get to 56. It's also possible for a level 48 character to get to level 68 because about 9.7 levels are awarded.. if your character is level 48 with over 600 exp, it *should* bring the character to 68.

note that this game's EXP is awarded by how many characters you are in your active party, dead or alive, so Character B won't get extra EXP if Character A is KOed at the end of the battle.

So anyway, go to the Flame Champion Hideaway with the 2 characters and just defeat an enemy party of 3 Copper Suns. There can be 0-2 Nariquas and it won't make a difference.

useful results (using 2-person parties unless otherwise specified; Fortune Rune will double the gain of course):
Flame Champion Hideaway (this can be done after agreeing to use Budehuc as HQ in Chapter 4)
level 47 character vs a party of 3 Copper Suns gets a 10 level boost
level 48 character vs a party of 3 Copper Suns gets a 9 (9.7?) level boost (it's possible a Fortune Rune would raise the character to close to 68)
level 49 character vs a party of 3 Copper Suns gets a ~7.75 level boost (w/Fortune Rune the character can reach 65)
level 50 character vs a party of 3 Copper Suns gets a 6 level boost
***For a 1-person party, a level 50 character vs 3 Copper Suns gets a 10 level boost***
***For a 1-person party, a level 51 character vs 3 Copper Suns gets 8 levels*** (The Nariqua may not impact EXP much)

Hugo & Sgt. Joe vs 5 Harmonian Soldiers at Brass Castle (Chapter 5)
level 49 character gets 10 levels
level 50 character gets 9.7 levels

Ceremonial Site (end of game... but you can boost your characters to level 69-70 w/Fortune)
level 49 character vs a party of 4 lvl 55 enemies (combinations of Azzodess & Rock Golem) + 2 Ghost Knights (lv 52) gets a 10 level boost
level 50 character vs a party of 4 lvl 55 enemies + 2 Ghost Knights gets 9.7 levels, close to 10 level boost - my character went from lv 50 and 628 exp to lv 59 and 328 exp--doubling the gain should have taken him just over level 70.
level 50 character vs a party of 4 lvl 55 enemies and no Ghost Knights got about 8 levels, so the Ghost Knights are significant in increasing the EXP.

Tips: if you're doing this without true runes like i did, the Thunder Rune level 4 spell will kill the Nariquas and leave each Copper Sun crippled (or dead, depending on your affinity/power). With a level 99 Chris, i learned Lightning Magic (C), equipped 3 Lightning Magic Rings (got affinity to A), had Jeane as support (she is necessary to get an A-Thunder Rune level 4 spell off before the enemies act), and the other character either attacked one Copper Sun to leave 2 standing or sometimes i used a Soaring Bolt scroll which allows any surviving Copper Suns to still act (but if the character survives, then you win). Other ways to have the 2nd character survive is to have him defend and/or equip a Sacrificial Jizo.

Getting the main character to level 50: this is achieved quickly in Cyndar Ruins if you go alone. i'm sure there are plenty of other ways, such as going in a full group to Flame Champion Hideaway...

Getting the second character to level 47: i found an easy way to raise the character to level 47 (in a 2-person party) was to fight in Ancient Highway in Chapter 4 and North Cavern in Chapter 5 as the 2-person party (North Cavern has "gentler" enemies). just save in case you over-level and don't use Fortune Rune. the enemies there have pretty low HP. i'd avoid an enemy party with more than one Siren if you're already at level 46.

Other notes:
-Your FC can go alone to Flame Champion Hideaway once you obtain a Fortune Rune to jump from 50 to 70.
-If Geddoe is not the FC, you don't get an opportunity to use Geddoe alone or in a 2-person party until pretty late game, after losing your True Runes in Chapter 5. To prevent him from over-leveling for the Fortune Rune trick, you can, of course, run from battles and have him KOed for any fights you have to win. After he's been KOed once, Blood Armor can keep him out if you wait it out on the first turn. didn't confirm--you can probably put him in a 2-person party early Chapter 4 if he's not the FC, just like you can with Hugo (and Chris?).
-If Hugo is not your FC, you can't use him alone or in a 2-person party until you get to his POV, where Sgt. Joe stays as a permanent character. However, these 2 characters get a unique opportunity to fight 5 Harmonian Soldiers as a 2-person party. A level 49-50 character will gain about 10 levels. I'm not sure if you can actually obtain 2 Fortune Runes so that both characters get the huge boost.. if you just have 1, you can plan ahead by raising one of their levels in Flame Champion Hideaway (if Hugo is FC he can go alone; if not, raise Sgt. Joe at the Hideaway).
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Celes
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by Celes »

There is a 10.000 exp cap?
eldrasidar
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by eldrasidar »

as a general thing, if you want characters to level up fastest, include as few characters as possible. the game has a negative modifier on experience gained based on the number of people in your party.
KFCrispy
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

CelesDestiny wrote:There is a 10.000 exp cap?
yep
eldrasidar wrote:as a general thing, if you want characters to level up fastest, include as few characters as possible. the game has a negative modifier on experience gained based on the number of people in your party.
yeah and i'm looking for the highest possible level you can read with this exploit. here are things i haven't tried yet:

-solo a group of enemies such as the 3x Copper Suns or perhaps a boss fight (Sarah in Sindar Ruins, Water Dragon). i am guess the solo character can be like level 51 or so and still get max EXP (10 levels w/out Fortune)

-Hugo and Sgt. Joe vs the set of 5 Harmonian Soldiers before he loses his true rune... i'm betting the Harmonians are higher level than the Copper Suns, and there's 5 of them for just 2 characters, so i suspect they can be close to level 55 and still get a max EXP boost.

-if he's not your FC, getting Geddoe this type of EXP boost can be tough because you don't get any opportunity to use him alone until perhaps the Ceremonial Site. i'm replaying from the beginning of Chapter 4 to see if there is any opportunity to add him to my party...

-i don't recall the Ceremonial Site's various enemy groups, but the Azzodess and Rock Golem are level 55 so there could be groups with at least 4 lvl 55 enemies.. if so, it should possible to get even higher than 67 w/a Fortune Rune.
eldrasidar
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by eldrasidar »

when you finish the battle at brass castle and everyone decides to move to Lake Castle, you can bring both geddoe and chris into your party, and they will stay there until you actually go to lake castle.
KFCrispy
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

hmm but no Fortune Rune until you have access to the Sindar Water Ruins...

also, if Hugo is your FC, Joe and Fubar are forced into your party when you pick a party to head to Budehuc.
i think for Chris, only Louis joins.. but at this point you're still without a Fortune Rune.
eldrasidar
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by eldrasidar »

true, but let's face it, most of the characters you want to use will probably be mid 50's by the time you get a fortune rune, at which point the fortune rune becomes less valuable to nearly useless, since most of the enemies you fight cap at mid 50's for levels, so the base experience drops fairly significantly.
KFCrispy
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

you can get the Fortune Rune when you finally have the HQ and the ability to form parties in Chapter 4. the first time you visit the skeleton bag it's an Old Book so you have to take it then let it respawn to start your attempts to get the Fortune... Thomas chapter characters were in the low/mid-20s, and many others have been left behind.. i checked my end-of-chapter 3s-save and pretty much everyone is below 47, even Geddoe and Hugo ended up at 47 & 46 after defeating the Fire Rune Incarnation and Luc & gang. with Hugo as FC, i had to fight some Harmonian soldiers during the Duck Village battle, but Hugo still ended up at level 46. the FC will also have the ability to fight solo with a Fortune Rune (except for Chris but you can get her to 99 instead), and that means his level can be higher, perhaps at 50 or 51, to get 20 levels - this part i'm trying to figure out right now.

the only characters who have higher levels are the Chris-99 characters and the 2 Vikis, and i can use them in the party to avoid all battles until i pick up Viki, little Viki, and the Fortune Rune. but even without high-level characters, you can Retreat your way to those characters and the rune.
Big Viki joins based on your character's level + a bonus from data... for my 46 Hugo, Viki was 51.
Little Viki always joins at level 50.

if this huge level boost could only be done at the Ceremonial Site, i would agree it's not practical... but for me it gives the rather dry (yet busy) Chapter 4 & 5 some new life since i can get great stats on everyone to see what they're made of.


regarding Ceremonial Site, there are at least 2 enemy configurations with 4 level 55 enemies: 3 Ghost Armor + 1 Azzodess, 2 Rock Golem + 1 Ghost Armor + 1 Azzodess
i won't be exploring this too much because the game is over by the time you get here...

i also found a solo character at level 50 will get 10 levels from a 3x Copper Sun battle while being level 51 gets about 7.5 levels... so it's possible to get Hugo or Geddoe to level 70 when they are your FC. now i want to try the Cyndar/Sindar Ruins battle vs Sarah then the Water Dragon battle to see how that works when going solo...
update1: solo battle vs Sarah with a level 51 gains practical no exp
update2: Water Dragon kicked my butt! the True Fire level 4 wasn't enough to take out the ice pillars, and i never saw them really attack, but 3 of them united to create a tornado snowstorm!! very cool....
eldrasidar
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by eldrasidar »

water dragon solo would almost have to be done with Geddoe as FC. Having that naturally higher MAG, plus easier access to S in Fire Magic makes it critical to use him. It wouldn't hurt to use a Thunder Rune as back up either, with Jeane in Support to help speed up both runes. I prolly do wizard hat, Custom Chainmail, lightning mag ring, fire mag ring, and a sacrificial buddha, True Fire, Thunder, plus whatever other rune makes sense(sunbeam, fury, wizard come to mind quickly). Neither Chris nor Hugo have the magic skills required to take out all the ice pillars, and still have enough high damage spells left to take out the dragon.
KFCrispy
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

i was using Hugo and it wasn't looking good. i then just decided to beat it with Fubar as assistance just to see if the EXP gain is even close to fighting 3 Copper Suns w/2 characters, and it turns out it's not... so while it's a great challenge, it's not a good leveling opportunity. next up: Hugo's fight w/Joe against 5 Harmonian Soldiers at Brass Castle...
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

ok i tested a level 51 Hugo and 45 Sgt Joe vs the 5 Harmonians.. Hugo got 7 levels (more like 6.5 because he had around 900 exp in change and ended up at level 58 w/400-500 exp.

i might be able to load up an older game to find the max level you can get in a 2-person party at the Ceremonial Site 4x lvl 55 enemy groups, but the most useful part of this trick is doing it early Chapter 4-- even though you need some patience getting that Fortune Rune and running away a lot to avoid overleveling!
eldrasidar
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by eldrasidar »

yeah, that fortune rune is kinda a pain to get, I mostly get Statues from the skeleton. Seriously, I did 30 times in a row, and I never got a Fortune Rune.
KFCrispy
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

save-reload could cut down the time! i don't think Fortune Rune is as rare as Barrier Rune. i've gotten a bunch of Water Magic Rings and Pale Gate Runes in my current game but not 1 Barrier Rune from that area!
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by KFCrispy »

hmm i realize i was testing Hugo & Sgt. Joe against my 1-party results of being able to raise a level 50 character to 70 against the Copper Suns--for a 2-person party, level 51 to 58 is better than a 2-person part against the Copper Suns! i should attempt this again, raising Sgt. Joe's level to 49 or 50 and see if he can get the 10 levels...
eldrasidar
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Re: [Guide] Leveling tricks / EXP distribution

Post by eldrasidar »

oh i know about the save reload trick; it hasn't helped. I also have never seen more than 1 Barrier Rune (although Barrier is kinda useless unless you combine it with someone with the magic repel skill, and other magic repel boosting items; I believe you can make Sasarai have 100% magic repel doing this). Along with Gale Runes and Taiyoku Tunics from their respective treasure bosses, these are probably the ultra rarest items in the game. (note, I realize you can grind with Thomas with Kidd to grad some Gale runes earlier, however it's really hard to get them from the treasure boss).
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