Primary Goals: Survive!
1 - I call the Thieves Passage a Crossroads because a total of 4 regions branch off from it: Lake Noel, the Village of Cason (leading to other regions), the High Elves Ruins (leading to other regions), and the Dwarves Cave (a single region). So once you are here, where you go is now totally up to you. Going through Cason will ultimately lead you to the Castle and the final battle, and a visit there is necessary to make the Ichrius Key. Going to the Dwarfs Cave gains you a few nice items and allows you to make Promeus Armor, but other pieces of Promeus must be found to make a complete set. Also, it is a source of Orladins Keys which help you finish up the Path of Poison. Going to the Ruins will lead you ultimately to gain the power of Orladin, but to get there you will have to have made the Ichrius Key. So here your path really diverges as the many quests become really open ended. You get to set your own priorities. Because by now you are growing close to the Excellector leveling up to level 3, it is probably a good idea to obtain the parts that make up the Ichrius Key as soon as possible. But that is entirely up to you.
I tend to prioritize the quests along these lines: 1)Getting all three parts of the Ichrius Key by the time the Excellector Sword become Level 3 (which also involves freeing Lord Veyrac in Cason so that you can get the Wings of Ichrius and soon learn the special uses of the Magic Swords in this game, visiting Lyn in the Frozen Plains, getting her key then visiting her old Shop in Ralugo, and tracking her into the Valley of Garan where the Crown of Ichrius is); 2) Getting Orladins Mail (Magic use 50%) and Guard (will alter to another look at Orladins chamber in the Place of the Beginning); 3) Getting the Ichrius key made; 4) Travelling to the Ruins of the High Elves in order to get to Orladins Maze temple and the Place of the Beginning; 5) Visiting Lord Veyrac before going to the Hill of Prayer so that I can get the Groundal Blade from him (You must be Level 50 to get it). Once these major events & specials are complete (or during them, either way), I can go visit the Dwarves Cave to get all of the pieces of Promeus Armor made. This can help a lot in the Passage of Death. THEN I can go to the Hill of Prayer and begin the final approach to finish the game.
And it all begins by clearing out the Thieves Passage. Easier than it sounds, believe me.
Items of Special Interest:
1 - The Thieves Passage is a series of Traps and tough monsters meant to kill off the traveler. Add to that there are 3 Save points that are hard to get to and not be hurt, and you have a tough assignment ahead. I will not attempt to walk you through it each step of the way. You must decide where YOU want to go and do and work to get there. How I present the next regions is a reflection of the direction I usually take and it is not meant to be followed step by step.
2 - The Primary Goal here is to SURVIVE. The only other items of real interest are the Silver Key and the Fire Mail.
3 - There are 2 rooms here that you can use to gain a good amount of experience: The Skull Master Rooms. The trick is to kill only the smaller skeletons. As long as the Skull Master is kept alive, the skeleton soldiers will respawn. But be aware that the spell cast by the Skull Master will drain your MP.
4 - Traps are common and will be noted by red 'zones' where you will find a mechanical trap.
5 - Moving slowly and methodically is a good idea here. Grow eyes in the back of your head. You will be surprised from behind several times.
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Items List: Earth Herbs Antidotes Power Fruit Herbal Liquid Moonstone (x3) Blood Stone (x2) Verdite Crystal (x2) Light Crystal Wind Crystal Dragon Crystal Arrows Light Arrows Sylviera's Key (x3) |
Equipment: Gold Ring Battle Axe Rapier Evil Crescent Blood Star Ryu-Jin Silver Arms Silver Boots Fire Mail |
* = Must come back later or satisfy some special condition to obtain; Will be described in the Walkthrough.
Some tips for different situations. The Puppets are located on a raised area in the far Northwest. If you approach from the west by heading west then north from the slime room (you will know it when you get there) you will face 2 of them. They like to hurl yellow crystals that gouge chunks of HP out of you. They have a pretty mean punch also. They take a lot of damage (magical also!) to kill, so hone your battle tactics before going after them. They are supported by 3 other Puppets in the lower region to the North of them. Use combinations of the most powerful spell you have and the best weapon, or if careful and accurate, use the Fire Rod a lot.
Scythes are the Skeletons with grim-reaper style scythes. The cast a paralyzing attack that also gives the Dark effect. Attack from range whenever possible, because to get caught in a group of these guys can be deadly. 1 or 2 keep paralyzing you while 1 or 2 others hack away at you.
There are opportunities to do some leveling up, but it will cost you a lot of finger exercise, healings and magic. There are 2 Skeleton Bosses, one in the middle South after heading all the way into the Southeast corner and walking back along the south wall. The other is to the South and then East of the Slime room. While the big boss lives, the 2 pentagrams will keep regenerating Skeletons after you kill each one off. Kill off the boss and you destroy the regenerating ability. Careful movement and tactics can net you some leveling up, but it can get expensive in healing and in magic items for regenerating MP's. They payoff in gold is minimal, so do this only if you are really good at controlling the movement and have the healing and magic to spare.
When you get to the path leading to the Ruins of the High Elves, head due South to the door locked by a Silviera's Key. Use a key here and unlock it so that you can now have direct access to the Ruins from the South without having to go 'the long way around' through the North. You can only get here from the North.
Since my gameplay usually takes me after the Ichrius Key, I will have this walkthrough take the direction that nets you those items first. But be aware. There will be a lot of jumping around from map to map from here on. For example, once you get to Cason and free Lord Veyrac, you will need to come back to him later in order to get 2 things. But you MUST have raised yourself to a certain point in experience for each one of those items. So you will have to return to Cason at least once, but probably twice more after you finish it off the first time.
So, I will head to the Village of Cason. Care to come along?