Ancient Cave
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Did you think Daos was too easy? Well, here's where all the
difficulty went. The Ancient Cave is the single hardest thing I have ever
seen in a game. Since the Cave is random every time you enter, I can't write
a walkthrough. Instead, here are some general tips:
- You'll never be able to beat the Cave on your first visits. Instead, just
get some blue chests, find Providence, and leave.
- Providence is supposed to be on level 21, but I've found it as low as
level 25. If you don't get it on 21, don't give up, just keep going.
- Always open every chest, even the red ones. The Iris Treasures are found
in red chests.
- I have found the following blue chest items (but there's more): Water
Gaunt, Catfish Jewel, Snow Sword, Mega Ax, Mirak Plate, Sky Sword, Spido
Jewel, Camu Jewel, Bolt Shield, Ice Hairband, Blaze Sword, Mega Shield,
and Aqua Helm.
- On level 78, you start encountering Archfiends (or so I've heard; I've
never been that far myself). Hopefully you have Fry or Zap, because they
are very difficult.
- Stronger is a very important spell to get. Champion just cost too much
MP.
- Cut every bush. Occasionally you will find a healing tile (you can sort
of see the tile through the bush). There are no magic tiles.
- If you manage to make to B99, you fight a huge jelly. If you beat it, you
get the Key to the Dungeon, that lets you open the locked door behind the
old guy who gives you instructions (pick up the crate that's part of the
desk). The chests in there contain the Brill Helm, Light Jewel, and
Dragon Ring.
- If you're about to die, use Providence. Try to keep going for as long as
you can, though.
- MP is an important commodity. Try to save it for healing.
- It's tempting to avoid fights, but you do need to fight, especially early
on.
- Oddly, I've found you can take the Water Jewel into the Ancient Cave, even
though I didn't get it in a blue chest. I haven't found any other items
like this.
- The Ancient Cave is easiest in Gift mode, because then you can take Dekar.
I would recommend a party of Maxim, Guy, Dekar, and Artea.
- If you find a healing tile, be sure to kill all the monsters on that floor
for experience, since you can always come back for healing.
- When you find a room with lots of monsters and chests, go for the chests.
They usually have good stuff in them.
- Armor is very important. If you get armor early on, it's much easier.
- If you see Cores (they look like white cubes), chase after them. They'll
usually run away, but you can get great experience if you win.
- Flash is by far the best capsule monster in the Ancient Cave because of
his healing abilities. Feed him any equipment you're not using.
- Absorb is a very useful spell in the Ancient Cave, since it's hard to get
MP. If you get it, cast it when you're fighting weak enemies.
Thanks for reading this file. Since I probably helped you with this,
you could help me. I missed question #19 of the 64-Day Challenge on
Nintendo's website. If anybody knows the question, I would really like to
know what it is.