--------------------------------------
WW - Watery Labyrinth Area
--------------------------------------
You enter this region facing W.
Now for one of the most irritating and challenging regions anywhere in the game. The acid on the floor of every room of this region means you will be constantly taking damage, except for the few places where there are islands of high ground. If there was any level where I recommend having a large stock of Hpotions prior to entering, this is the one. I STRONGLY recommend you take off your boots and go barefoot everywhere. Otherwise, you will go through all your boots before you are even one-quarter finished with this level. This is the level where Acid Vaccines are the RULE. Check your inventory. At this point, I think I had at most 2 Acid Vaccines. You will need them and possibly 1-2 more.
Having said that, my strategy for this level that I will share with you is to find the Save point first, then go to the room where you can obtain up to 3 more Acid Vaccines. The first goal is pretty easy; it is only 3 rooms away with a Smithy in the same room (thank goodness) and the second is done by running a gauntlet of opponents to find a room with a switch to throw which will grant you access to another room where you will find beneficial items to add to your growing collection.
Wherever possible, use the limited dry ground to fight from with magic and ranged attacks but be ready. Many of the opponents you face hurl acid at you. Constantly. Several of the opponents are real tough and the fastest way to take then down is with the Swing-Magic-Swing tactic. And even then, it is not so much important to just take your opponent out fast as it is the fact that your opponent is the first of 3 to 6 possible opponents who will keep appearing after you finish the prior one off. You will take a lot more damage from the constant ranged attacks that damage not only you but also your equipment and weapons (!) if you just stand off shooting arrows and spells at your opponent. It is necessary to engage them face-to-face to quickly prevent taking more damage than you can afford. And many of these opponents are as fast or faster than you.
This level will challenge you. The ground is also uneven, so sometimes just as you swing, you may slide a bit to the side and your swing will miss. As I said; it is a challenge. But I found it one of the most fun because of that very challenge.
Anyway, take off your boots, swallow the vaccine (yechhh) and walk down the corridor to the W. For ease of reference, I will simply name the rooms on this level by a single letter in capitals.
As you can see, the dry land has disappeared and the world of acid puddles dominates. Use ranged attacks from the dry land you are standing on against the HS and the Kabasaur if you want. This is the best tactic, since neither of these hurls acid from across the room. Then proceed through the other corridor in the W and go straight, ignoring the corridor going N for now.
Similar tactics as in Room A. Adjust them to fit your situation.
From this room, do not bother going W again. It leads to a locked metal door next to a window that gives you a view of the room that will be your second goal. Do not lose HP going to look, conserve it. Instead, take the N corridor from here and follow it into Room C.
Here, you can repair weapons and heal up, then save. Get some Mpotions only if you need them.
Now get ready for the gauntlet. You can just run the gauntlet straight or go to one room, clear it, return and save, and then go back out to the next room if you want. But be forewarned. Rooms E and G are TOUGH. And you have to go through these rooms to be able to get the other Vaccines.
Head back to the corridor between Rooms A & B and take the N corridor. You may encounter a Kabasaur in the corridor. I did once. As it heads N and enters Room D, there are going to be acid spewing Gaze Hoppers gathered to greet you.
Because they spew acid and will block your entrance into Room D, the Bow can be the best solution to these critters until they get YOUR range. Then you may as well grab steel and start carving. So take this battle as you encounter it. Arrows sometimes do not make it to their targets because of the effect of the uneven ground. Trial and error will help you to decide. Use a slashing weapon and tilt down to hit these creatures.
To the W of this room is a corridor that comes to a T and heads to Rooms I & J. Leave them be for now. Head E to the other corridor leading to (Gulp!) Room E.
These guys remind me of the creature from Aliens, with the tail bobbed off. And they attack with slashing attacks that HURT and with acid sometimes. They are VERY fast. This is a 'Big Gun' time. Wear the best of everything, even boots (you can repair them at the smithy later). If you can combine equipment to emphasize speed first, strength second, defense third. Their speed will get you dead real fast. You need to match it if you can and then Swing-Magic-Swing them. Frozen Hornet worked surprisingly well here. You must enter this room ready to fight. Watch your Hpoints carefully and be ready to use an Hpotion.
If you cakewalk over these guys, pat yourself on the back. You are ahead of the game. If it makes you grit your teeth but you win, you are just about right. If you keep dying and do minimal damage, go back through the upper levels if you can and kill EVERYTHING off, then come back here. Or else run through this room and then the next to the exit from this level and WARP to a new WORLD and Region where you can level up some. Then come back here and take these guys down.
Since I am taking you to a specific goal, bypass the E corridor to Room F for now and head into the N corridor. You may want to take an Hpotion before entering <<SHUDDER>> Room G.
To run the gauntlet, stay to the left and head for the corridor in the W wall. To fight, wear anything that gives you Acid Defense and increases your strength. Remember, you will not only be taking damage from the Koazuls to equipment and Hpoints but also from the acid on the floor. These guys constantly BATHE you in acid and gang up on you with slashing claws that penetrate. KEEP MOVING. The screen often became so green from the acid they were hurling that it was very hard to read my HP total. I'm not kidding. Bathe is the perfect word.
Use every combo that works for you best. It is hard to stun them, but I found that even low power Dark attacks seem to stun them. That Dark Ring you just picked up from the Gaze Hoppers? If you have anything that boosts your Dark Magic, equip it to increase the effect of this ring. You can try combining the equipment that will increase Critical Hits. Critical hits simply double the damage of the attack. Use whatever tactic you can that will shorten this battle. Once one dies, a new, fresh one takes its place. I have gone through 4 Hpotions in this room alone in order to survive.
That is why I save before coming to this room and why running through the first time is what I think is the best idea. Whether you stand and fight (and survive!) or run into the W corridor, proceed W. From that room there is also an E corridor that leads to the door to the next Area and the Boss of this World. It is better to clear this level and heal/repair up before going against him.
This looonng corridor will turn to the SW and then due S. It is at this turn that a Cune can be found on the floor. Then head into Room H (sigh).
In this room is a switch that will open the metal door to Room K. When finished here, head back to the save point and heal/repair up.
Now go to Room K, located to the W of Room B.
The frogs will not attack you. They are easy kills but it takes a lot of damage to take them down. And now you have the other Vaccines that will make surviving the rest of this level possible.
Now go back to the Gaze hopper room (Room D) and enter the W corridor. Head N and into Room I.
After finishing these guys off, head S into Room J.
Stop by the Room C (save) on your way back to the Slasher room (Room E) and enter the E corridor into Room F.
The Manna Pythons can only be hit at the very front and very back of the creatures. This makes it hard, because the Pythons can 'lean' into their biting attacks and essentially hit you 'at range'. And since you need to stand somewhat right in front of them...
Use Blaze at range to hit them with magic or Frozen Hornet up close. Keep moving and pick your shots/swings.
Once finished, go back and save, whether you are going to finish off the Koazuls or to leave the level. Yup. That's all, folks. Now go to the exit to the White Rain Area. But before you open the door, press the SQUARE key to raise the Shield you have equipped, preferably one that resists either Frost or Acid attacks.