Dragon Qeust Monster Joker Cheats (ENG) (DS) - DQMJ FAQ 2

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Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Nintendo DS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
[DQ1] Introduction
[DQ1A] Scouting
[DQ1B] Monster Rank
[DQ1C] Synthesizing
[DQ1D] Battle
[DQ1E] FAQ's
[DQ2] Walkthrough
[DQ2A] Get the Scout Pledge!
[DQ2B] Darknonium and Shrine!
[DQ2C] Visit Palish and Madame Rummy!
[DQ2D] The Sun Temple!
[DQ2E] The Moon Temple!
[DQ2F] Fert Isle & last Shrine
[DQ2G] Domus and Metal Menagerie
[DQ2H] Find Commissioner Snap!
[DQ2I] Into Tarturus!
[DQ2J] Ending, finally!
[DQ3] Post-story and Side quests!
[DQ3A] Advance Monster Scout Proficiency Test!
[DQ3B] Arena!
[DQ3C] Estark!
[DQ3D] Captain Crow!
[DQ3E] Seed Hunting!
[DQ3F] NPC List!
[DQ3G] Uncharted Islands!
[DQ3H] Heligator!
[DQ4] Wrap up and Credits!


Version History:
1.0 - Released draft.
1.1 - Added to the skill seed section and updated Introduction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legality
This guide is copyrighted to Thomas Gazay. If you would like to host it on your
site, please contact me at qwerty45230@yahoo.com
All outside sources which have contributed to the making of this guide in some
form have been cited in the last section of the guide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


[DQ1] Introduction
Name: Thomas J. Gazay
E-mail: qwerty45230@yahoo.com

NOTE: Please not e-mail me for help, advertisements, or anything other then
suggestions or notes you wish to share. Also, I will delete any e-mail I
receive from anyone requesting help.

Dragon Quest Monster fans rejoice! We have another game on our hands, though a
bit shaky on the storyline you'll find it both satisfying and ahead of its
competitors (namely Pokemon) by leaps and bounds. If your reading this guide
then you obviously made the right choice; read on fans of DQM read on!

For first timers who ask, what is Dragon Quest Monsters? You travel with your
monster party and beat up monsters and other people's monsters. Sounds like
Pokemon right? Well, technically they are similar but comparison wise you'd
find a lot of different things about it. The monsters are designed differently,
for one skill's and abilities and the way they are passed on.

By Synthesizing (we'll get to that later) you can give monsters the skills you
want and even make stronger versions of them. Unlike the pocket monsters, you
are not limited by four moves instead you can have a wide array of abilites at
your fingertips. Skills come in sets which your monster starts out with, along
with extra traits that are similar to abilities.

You can fight with up to three monsters at once with and assigned designated
tactics to their AI (did I mention you have the option of letting your monsters
Semi-Auto-Battle?) Instead of Elements there are families which monsters come
from:

@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
| Monster Family | Description |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Slime | Shapeless monsters with unmatched potential |
| Dragon | Fearsome lizard-like monsters |
| Nature | Monsters uprooted from the earth |
| Beast | Savage monsters who carry a feral power into battle |
| Zombie | Undead monsters that walk among the living |
| Material | Monsters that sometimes pose as lifeless objects |
| Demon | Unholy monsters from the underworld |
| Incarnus | A mysterious breed of monster relevant to the story |
@----------------+-------------------------------------------------------@

You do not win badges. Instead you travel to several Islands in search of items
that will help you complete the storyline (as little spoilers as possible.)
Synchronizing passes down skills and stats, that's right! This is where the big
differences are; depending on your level you could end up with a completetly
different monster stat-wise and skill-wise offering a higher level of
personalization then you could ever dream of!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[DQ1A] Scouting

Scouting is the bread and butter of DQM: Joker. With this easy to learn method
you can capture monsters in the wild and even from other trainers! Simply get
into a fight with a random monster or trainer and use the scout command to
attempt to win favor.

The percentage bar in the upper-left corner tells you how well you're doing
with your monsters. Ranging from 0 ~ 100 the game determines if a monster will
join you depending on how much the percentage rises. Your monsters psychical
strength is the key to a good Scouting.

Psyche is a trait you may be familiar with if you ever played Dragon Quest VIII.
If not here is a short introduction. Psyche is a trait only obtainable with
certain monsters. With the trait (not skill but trait) is that when using it
you can achieve a high level of attack power if you keep charging. Since using
Psyche will increase your attack power by the truckload why not use this power
to scout hard to get monsters? The problem is that once you use it you have to
charge all over again to achieve the same result.

5 -> 20 -> 50 -> 100

During those charge turns you can attack at anytime however know that you risk
exposing yourself to enemy attacks.

Attack increasing spells can have a dramatic effect when scouting. Spells like
Oomph can increase the power of the attacking monster temporarily, when
combined with Psyche it could turn the tables for any Scout.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[DQ1B] Monster Rank

Rank is the basic overall rating of a monster; for a small description here's a
table of the Ranks.

@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
| Rank | Description |
|~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Rank F | Super Weak |
| Rank E | Weak |
| Rank D | Bad |
| Rank C | Okay |
| Rank B | Average |
| Rank A | Above Average |
| Rank S | Super |
| Rank X | God-like |
@~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@

Rank F is the lowest ranking monsters and also the ones you start out with, as
time passes you will either synthesize those lowly F ranks into much higher
classes or discard them. However some monsters are not obtainable in the wild,
some need to be synthesized and others are so rare that they have special
requirements; all of them are X/S rank monsters though which aren't necessary
to beat the game.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[DQ1C] Synthesizing

Synthesizing has replaced Breeding in the last DQM (yes this is a sequel >.>
and with it many monsters (from other Dragon Quest games, including the final
bosses) have been unlocked. Basic Synthesizing takes place a Scout Base (which
are located on almost all islands.) In order to synthesize you must have two
level 10 monsters, other then that you're set.

Inheriting stats is pretty basic. Let's set an example:

Monster A (100 Att.) + Monster B (100 Att.)

Okay, let's say that you wish to synthesize 'Monster A' with 'Monster B' and
want to know what Attack Stat the new monster will receive. If both Monsters
have an attack of 100 you can expect that stat to be halved to 50 when it
carries over to the newly synthesized monster (stat growth is still the same.)

Inheriting Skills gets trickier, but easy once you understand. Each Monster is
capable of inheriting skills from the synthesized monster (grand total of
three.) Let's say for example you wanted to get a monster with Attack Boost,
how would you get it? The first step would be to 'Scout' a monster with Attack
Boost, if you want to go a step further you could synthesize that monster with
Attack Boost and the synthesized monster would inherit the skill. By choosing
Attack Boost in the skill menu you can actually choose which skills you wish
your monster to inherit? Sounds great because it is!

Going deeper into it, there are plenty of monsters in the game to synthesize, a
word of advice though, don't start too early. If you get caught Synthesizing
too much you'll end up with monsters with stats that could be better. Some
suggest waiting for awhile, while others say it's alright. The great thing
about this game is that either way you go it won't hurt you in the long run.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[DQ1D] Battle

Battling goes a little like this.

@-----------------------------------------------------------@
| Battle Preview |
|--------------------+--------------------------------------|
| Top Monster | Monster most likely to get hit |
|--------------------+--------------------------------------|
| Middle Monster | Monster less likely to get hit |
|--------------------+--------------------------------------|
| Bottom Monster | Monster even less likely to get hit |
@--------------------+--------------------------------------@

Like in Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King; the front one is more
likely to be hit by the opponent's monster.
Here is a layout of the menu:

@----------------------------------------------------@
| Battle Menu |
|--------------------+-------------------------------|
| Fight | Fights using AI |
|--------------------+-------------------------------|
| Give Orders | Manual control |
|--------------------+-------------------------------|
| Tactics | Change your monsters tactics |
|--------------------+-------------------------------|
| Scout | Scout a monster |
|--------------------+-------------------------------|
| Item | Use an item |
|--------------------+-------------------------------|
| Flee | Run away |
@--------------------+-------------------------------@

Easy as breathing; most of the time you just let your monster work on the AI.
Depending on what Tactics you give them...

@---------------------------------------------------------------------@
| Tactics for AI |
|--------------------+------------------------------------------------|
| Show No Mercy | Attack sparing no MP |
|--------------------+------------------------------------------------|
| Mix It Up | Fight using a variety of spells and abilities |
|--------------------+------------------------------------------------|
| Focus on Healing | Pay attention to party members HP |
|--------------------+------------------------------------------------|
| Don't Use Magic | Fight without spells and abilities |
|--------------------+------------------------------------------------|
| View Attributes | Views a monster's attributes |
@--------------------+------------------------------------------------@

You can customize your team's AI. This can be useful for tournament as you are
not allowed to give your monster's orders during battle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[DQ1E] FAQ's

Q: What is with the animation, did I walk into another DBZ?
A: The Dragon Quest series and Dragon Ball series was done by the same animator,
Akira Toriyama.

Q: How long does this game last?
A: Some clocked 30 hours just finishing the storyline; others choose to build
better teams which can clock in easily at 100+ hours. Seriously, you'll be
using most of that time to Scout Metal Slimes.

Q: How do I Scout a monster?
A: Like I said it's easy; just select the command Scout during an enemy
encounter. Depending on how much psychical power you have there are chances of
making the monster join.

Q: Why did they censor my monsters name!
A: Square-Enix doesn't like potty-mouths (probably the Enix part, blame ESRB.)

Q: What are Scout posts for?
A: Scout posts are literally the main base and the only place where you can
synthesize monsters, rest until night turns to day, and save your game. It's
also a good place to meet your fellow rivals and see who is ahead in the race.

Q: How can I make it night/day?
A: Resting at a Scout post can turn it either day or night. The reason why you
want this is because different monsters come out at night/day.

Q: Where do I buy items?
A: There is a machine in Scout posts that offer basic items and yes, weaponry
for your monsters. Eventually you will be able to unlock a department store on
Domus that sells scrolls, weaponry, and more.

Q: How does Storage work?
A: A very interesting difference between Pokemon and DQM: Joker is that even
stored monsters receive a small amount of EXP. To check your storage you simply
check with an attendant at the Scout post.

Q: How does Substitution work?
A: It's a sub-storage system that allows you to keep up to three monsters in a
separate but accessible container. In other words you can switch your monsters
with a substitute on the field without having to return to a Scout post.

Q: Where can I find all the Darknonium!
A: It's scattered around the islands. Know that collecting Darknonium is
literally 80% of the game, so don't rush it. Also, I'll mention a few places
where you'll find it, the rest are just common sense places you run into anyway.

Q: The Hero gets skills/spells?
A: Yeah, not grand spells since he cannot help in battle; however he can
eventually gain helpful abilities.
Here is a short list of spells:

@----------------------------------------------------------------------------@
| Skills Obtainable |
|--------------------+---------+---------------------------------------------|
| Skills | Shrine | Description |
|--------------------+---------+---------------------------------------------|
| Zoom | First | Returns you to Scout post last used |
|--------------------+---------+---------------------------------------------|
| Evac | Second | Returns you to outside of dungeon entrance |
|--------------------+---------+---------------------------------------------|
| Whistle | Third | Summons random monsters of the area |
|--------------------+---------+---------------------------------------------|
| Vanish | Fourth | Makes party members invisible |
@--------------------+---------+---------------------------------------------@


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


[DQ2] Walkthrough

Before we begin take a look at the location table example:

@-------------------------------------------@
| Location |
|---------+---------+---------+-------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|---------+---------+---------+-------------|
| (None) | (None) | (None) | (None) |
@---------+---------+---------+-------------@

Each will display the Island, the middle shows the Monsters, Ranks, Family, and
time of Day.

[DQ2A] Get the Scout Pledge!

CELL HQ
The game begins slowly, obviously it's not the perfect storyline but we're not
here for the storyline but the easy going game play. Starting in a small cell
you are jostled by a man named Black Jacques; opening your cell you arrive in
none other then 'your' father's office. Oddly enough he agrees to send you to
the Scout tournament on a mission. Mysterious, odd, and a bit confusing; its
just the way the story unravels.

Make your way towards the Jetty; here you'll learn basic navigation off the
maps. Remember the L button and the R buttons are your best friends; with the
navigation controls you can shift the camera in the 3D environment. From here
you can mingle with the random NPC's but really it doesn't matter.

You'll meet the strong-armed fellow by the Jetty, get used to these guys
because they are generic NPC's. Anyway, before leaving we come to a crucial
moment where you'll need to decide which F Rank Monster you'll begin with. They
are Mischievous Mole, Platypunk, and Dracky.

Mischievous Mole can be a great starter, as it has Psyche which comes in handy.
However it's not great for later Synthesizing. If you can ignore the fact then
Mischievous Mole might be the one for you.

Dracky was my choice, great if you want speed. Most people choose this one
because of the fact it can be synthesized with Komodo dragon to make Frou-fry
(the best F ranked monster.) Dracky has some okay skills as well; Dark Knight
is a great beginner skill. All and all, Dracky is a good all-around monster.

No one ever chooses Platypunk. Platypunk has Naturalist which is basic skills
101. He has no precious skills or potential since Frou-fry can be made from
Dracky. If you want a loner take Platypunk.

All these creatures and more can be found on Infant Isle. So no worries, it's
just a formality.

Domus Isle

@----------------------------------------------@
| Domus |
|----------+----------+----------+-------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|----------+----------+----------+-------------|
| (None) | (None) | (None) | (None) |
@----------+----------+----------+-------------@

Heading to Domus on the Jetty you'll be saddened to find out that the
tournament is not ready, getting the appropriate information, head to Infant
Isle where your adventure begins. You might want to visit the Scout base before
departing; take a look at the machine that sells you items.

@----------------------------------------------------------@
| Shop (Domus) |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Item | Price | Description |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Medicinal herb | 8 | Restores 30 HP |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Antidotal herb | 10 | Cures poison |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Moonwart bulb | 30 | Cures paralysis |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Chimaera wing | 25 | Teleports to Scout post |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Exodust | 50 | Teleports to outside dungeon |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Cypress staff | 150 | 4 attack |
@-----------------+--------+-------------------------------@

Medicinal Herbs are a must; you don't have a lot of money so just get a few of
those. You always want to have a few Medicinal herbs on hand. If you're done
with shopping, head to the Infant Jetty.

Infant Isle

@------------------------------------------------------@
| Infant (Peak) |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Slime | Rank F | Slime | Day |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Platypunk | Rank F | Beast | Day |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Mischievous Mole | Rank F | Beast | Day |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Gigantes | Rank A | Beast | Day |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Ghost | Rank F | Zombie | Night |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Dracky | Rank F | Demon | Night |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Stump Chump | Rank F | Zombie | Night |
|-------------------+---------+---------+--------------|
| Winky | Rank F | Demon | Night |
@-------------------+---------+---------+--------------@

This is where all beginners start, and for good reason. Infant Isle is the
easiest Isle to navigate hands down. Infant Isle works like a spiral going in a
counter-clockwise direction (right and keep going.) Make sure you get at least
one of every monster (going Noah.) If you want, at night go capture four
Winky's outside of the Monster Proficiency tent (it's the only tent on the
island, plus it leads to the upper ramp.) If you feel adventurous you can
experiment in synthesizing.

By combining four Winky's, by combine I mean synthesize two sets of two Winky's
and make an early C Rank monster known as Diemon. You can do this exact formula
to make King Slime as well which is a really early healer.

Getting back to the scene, go around until you see the tent (you might see a
bridge but there's no way you can get there right now.) You can go into the
tent and address the old man; here he'll give you a serious of mini-quests that
involve gathering monsters.
Here is a short list to the answers of Beginner's Monster Scout Proficiency
Test:

1. Slime Knight
2. Spitnik
3. Stump chump
4. Dragon family
5. E Rank monster
6. Living Statue
7. Dingaling
8. Jumping Jackal
9. King Slime
10. A Rank monster

Answers by arline6.

Before we leave take a look at the shop here in Infant, it's in the Scout post.

@--------------------------------------------@
| Shop (Infant) |
|-----------------+--------+-----------------|
| Item | Price | Description |
|-----------------+--------+-----------------|
| Medicinal herb | 8 | Restores 30 HP |
|-----------------+--------+-----------------|
| Antidotal herb | 10 | Cures Poison |
|-----------------+--------+-----------------|
| Copper sword | 270 | 10 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-----------------|
| Stone axe | 120 | 7 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-----------------|
| Oaken club | 90 | 3 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-----------------|
| Stone claws | 75 | 5 attack |
@-----------------+--------+-----------------@

Now we start our climb to the top. Head up the obvious ramp when you feel
prepared, now when I say prepared I mean you have at least three monsters in
your party. Slimes are okay but there are far better monsters (Dracky,
Platypunk, and Mischievous Mole) but you're free to choose. Okay, if you
followed the ramp upwards you should have ended up in a cave.

@-----------------------------------------------------@
| Infant (Cave) |
|-----------------+---------+-----------+-------------|
| Monster | Rank | Family | Day/Night |
|-----------------+---------+-----------+-------------|
| Dracky | Rank F | Demon | N/A |
|-----------------+---------+-----------+-------------|
| Lips | Rank F | Demon | N/A |
|-----------------+---------+-----------+-------------|
| Shadow | Rank F | Material | N/A |
@-----------------+---------+-----------+-------------@

Worthless, Dracky is the only monster worth recruiting in here (unless you are
seeking to complete your library.) And chances are you already have him, by now
your in a small area. This can be tough as it means a lot of fights; Lips will
try to attack you more then once out of nowhere. Find your way out of the cave
and proceed to the pixilated light and climb the rope.

@----------------------------------------------------@
| Infant (Peak) |
|-----------------+---------+----------+-------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-----------------+---------+----------+-------------|
| King Slime | Rank C | Slime | Day |
@-----------------+---------+----------+-------------@

King Slime is one of the first re-spawn monsters you can find. Of course there
are Slimes there when the King Slime is absent along with his party sometimes
being slimes. King Slime is different from Gigantes because unlike Gigantes you
actually have a slight chance of capturing it with the right strategy (Psyche
Moles.) King Slime is incredibly hard to recruit, however get used to it. For
if you get above 10% consider yourself lucky. This game requires a little bit
more dedication when it comes to hard monsters but you'll need strong monsters
to finish the game. However the first time you get up there head around to
witness a fight.

Oh noes! A mysterious creature called an Incarnus as described in the booklet
is fighting with another blue-haired angry looking girl (phew!) After the
Incarnus flees, she will introduce herself as Solitaire (another card name, how
original.) When the dime store dialog is over retrieve the odd Scout Pledge and
proceed to the neat shortcut that places you oh so near the Scout base.

Heal up and head back to Domus Isle when you ready.


[DQ2B] Darknonium and Shrine!


Wow, talk about generic. We're back in Domus with the ceremony about to take
place; take this time to examine your bearings along the mini-map. Just walk
around because the Islands are all attached Domus, it's kind of like the main
base of the islands and central HQ of the spectacle (because it is a spectacle.)

Anyway, after the opening ceremony remember the face of Dr. Snap as its
important to the storyline. After that you head towards the Monster Scout HQ,
it's not hard to miss. It's surrounded by water, yeah, great. Register with the
secretary here now you will be required to collect Darknonium, ten pieces to be
exact. Here we have the game in a nutshell; collect the Darknonium then 80% of
the game is done. Once you've finished this it's pretty much towards the end.
So enjoy collecting it or else you'll regret it.

Here the scene will open up, someone's complaining; we call this a head-
lamp/lantern (meaning the creators know the plot is bad but roll with it.) Now
actually quite limited; in fact the only place you can really go to is Xeroph
Isle. You can tell what Ranks the Islands are by running up to the Jetty and
checking. In this case you will need to head over to Xeroph, you can't really
do anything right now however you can purchase some items depending on how much
money you made.

Xeroph Isle

Let's take a look at the shop items here at the Xeroph Scout post:

@----------------------------------------------------------@
| Shop (Xeroph) |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Item | Price | Description |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Medicinal herb | 8 | Restores 30 HP |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Antidotal herb | 10 | Cures poison |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Moonwart bulb | 30 | Cures paralysis |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Chimaera wing | 25 | Teleports to Scout post |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Exodust | 50 | Teleports to outside dungeon |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Divine dagger | 530 | 13 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Iron lance | 310 | 11 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Woodcutter axe | 650 | 14 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Sludgehammer | 400 | 12 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Leather Whip | 380 | 2 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Cypress staff | 150 | 4 attack |
@-----------------+--------+-------------------------------@

Spend what you have and leave. Notice that there are certain weapons for
certain monsters; not all can equip the most powerful items. Load up on some
Medicinal herbs and a few Antidotal herbs in case you get poisoned by a
Scorpion.

@------------------------------------------------------@
| Xeroph (Outer Bowl) |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Healslime | Rank F | Slime | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Scorpion | Rank F | Nature | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Spitnik | Rank F | Material | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Crabid | Rank F | Nature | Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Fire Spirit | Rank F | Zombie | Night |
@-------------------+---------+-----------+------------@

Healie is here to save the day. Make room for Healslime as soon as you set onto
land. Scorpion is the first Nature monster you find, as well as Fire Spirit
being the first Zombie. Healslime is the first healer type monster you'll know,
battles will become a lot easier when you get him. Setting his tactics to Focus
on Healing and he will live up to his name.

Xeroph Island is also one of the best places to get Skill Seeds. They are Seeds
that appear only at night and re-spawn when you leave the island. Moving on, we
find the island is a bowl, right now we are on the outside of the bowl. First
after getting your Healslime (come on, you gotta be crazy if you don't) head to
the Scout base for some healing and a little shopping. Xeroph Island is the
earliest time to synthesize monsters so if you want to go synthesizing go crazy.
You might need to level to get it, which is when we proceed down into the bowl
itself.

@------------------------------------------------------@
| Xeroph (Inner Bowl) |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Komodo | Rank F | Dragon | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Dancing Flame | Rank F | Material | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Skullgon | Rank D | Dragon | Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Chimera | Rank F | Nature | Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Frostburn | Rank F | Material | Night |
@-------------------+---------+-----------+------------@

Skullgon is a re-spawning monster, meaning it appears rarely. Though its level
is 5 you have very little chance of scouting it without a gimmick (Psyche,
Oomph, any attack boosting power.) Also, Skullgon only comes at night, let me
repeat that, it only comes at night!

Komodo's are the best part of this place monster-wise, because there are so
many of them. Komodo's can help you with your first synthesizing, of course you
have to train hard but if you get Dracky and Komodo to level 10 you can
synthesize them to create Frou-fry, which I mentioned before is one of the
strongest F Rank monsters.

Moving on, lets look at the map. Do you see that blue chest in the bowl? Use
the L button or the R button to rotate the camera and find it. Rush over there
and recover your first Darknonium!

*Play hackneyed victory fanfare*

That was easy, maybe if you put a boss between it but oh well. Anyway, when you
feel confident (actually you should go to the scout post and save.) Observe
that swirling sand-trap, it's behind that tent. Without further ado let us jump
in!

Hey it's rover-I mean the Incarnus! Oh noes, it's an evil spear-wielding Orc!
Here we will be thrown into a boss battle! Your first Boss battle is with some
simple rules, first thing is that you cannot Scout them. And as any Boss battle
would tell you, you cannot flee, no flee for you. The Orc is evil incarnate
(whatever the heck that means) so watch out!

A good strategy is to bring Healie (the Healslime) and two attackers. Have
Healslime take care of the two, and if they are leveled enough then this battle
should be nothing more then a cake walk. Unfortunately you lack any means to
revive your fallen party members, which will make it harder (though you really
shouldn't use them until endgame anyway.)

If you prevailed then you will end up at the Scout post, if you failed then
reset your game (you lose money when you die.) If you lost try to train on
Komodo's or Scout one into your party, their not half-bad. When you boosted a
few levels try tackling the Orc again, and win!

Now then victor you're back at the Scout post with an injured Incarnus, but who
knows how to fix him? Is your Incarnus doomed to die!? No, but it would be an
unexpected twist, sigh... oh, who's that ugly old guy? It's none other then Dr.
Snap! Here the seemingly fine old man takes the Incarnus away to heal. After a
brisk talk head to the Scout Den and note the odd conversation between man and
Incarnus; then Dr. Snap leaves you with the Incarnus pup. And what a surprise,
he wants to join you! Making a deal that he receives the Scout's Mark when you
win, he joins your party and you must decide what to name him. As the Incarnus
is a major part of the story, he will often be the center of almost all dialogs
from now on. Be sure to name him something pleasant rather then something not
so (not that you can will the swear-ban.)

After all is said and done you will need to head back the sand-trap to reach
the other side of the island. Stock up on supplies as we will be spelunking
into our first Shrine! After you have lightened your wallet travel towards the
sand-trap and fall...

@----------------------------------------------------@
| Xeroph (Hidden Cavern) |
|-------------------+---------+---------+------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-------------------+---------+---------+------------|
| Winky | Rank F | Demon | N/A |
|-------------------+---------+---------+------------|
| Muddy Hand | Rank E | Zombie | N/A |
@-------------------+---------+---------+------------@

Muddy Hand is the new monster on the block, plus it's a rank up. Don't let the
rank fool you though, Muddy Hand is awful, terrible. Once again if you are only
interested in training here or getting a Muddy Hand there is no reason to
linger. Head towards the only path (it's not hard to miss) and after a few
monster battles emerge from the cave.

@----------------------------------------------------@
| Xeroph (Northern Cave) |
|-------------------+---------+---------+------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-------------------+---------+---------+------------|
| Demon Rider | Rank E | Demon | Night |
|-------------------+---------+---------+------------|
| Funghoul | Rank F | Zombie | Day |
@-------------------+---------+---------+------------@

You've ran into Funghoul in the Inner Bowl, I personally never used him other
then to Scout him to complete my library he is useless.

Demon Rider gives you a slight leg up, however if you plan on Scouting him try
leveling him a bit afterward. Demon Rider is blessed with Counterattack which
is a very valuable Trait (however traits cannot be passed down.) Demon Rider is
also pretty fast compared to your Infant characters, if after all this time you
have a creature left from Infant Isle (other then King Slime) it might be time
to replace it!

Now, do you see that Jetty? Take a look towards the coast and you should see a
wooden bridge, now? That's Palish; it's where we will be heading to next. Once
you've lowered the bridge near the brown chest head back to the Scout base to
heal up. We're suiting up for this next step, because there are very good
Scout-able monsters here. Once again head back towards the shrine or the "!"
dot on your map and into Xeroph Shrine!

@------------------------------------------------------@
| Xeroph (Shrine) |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Bag o' Laughs | Rank F | Material | N/A |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Hammerhood | Rank F | Beast | N/A |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Mummy boy | Rank E | Zombie | N/A |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Imp | Rank E | Demon | N/A |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Dessert Demon | Rank D | Demon | N/A |
@-------------------+---------+-----------+------------@

Hammerhood first of all, and foremost, is another monster with Psyche. There
are plenty of these guys, however they know how to use Psyche themselves so
watch out! Hammerhood is a must for a party that needs an extra edge. With any
Nature monster Hammerhood can turn into a Rank D monster Brownie (while still
keeping its Psyche Trait.)

Imp's aren't too bad, but they have amazing synthesizing potential! An Imp and
a Wax Murderer can create a Green Dragon! Imps themselves are little mages that
like to zap things like no one else. If you are looking for a caster then this
guy is the perfect starter.

Now we arrive at Dessert Demon. You probably noticed its Rank D, which means
it's even harder to Scout. When taking a wrong turn in the Xeroph Shrine a
Dessert Demon is there to greet you. Getting a Dessert Demon early is great but
he doesn't have an amazing amount of potential. In fact mid-game its better
left in storage, you can Scout it later when you're a higher level, it's easier.

Soon as you get in you'll notice a three doors on three separate floors. Which
one is the right door? Simply follow the + or - signs on the ground and it will
lead you to victory! If you 'accidentally' get lost you'll be face to face with
Dessert Demon and two Imps. It's an unavoidable fight however unlike a boss
battle you can flee if things get too rough (one of your monsters probably died
because you didn't listen to me right?)

When you feel like beating the place merely follow the symbols on the floor to
their respective doors and after a few fights with Mummy boy and Hammerhood
you'll be facing a Blue chest and a brown one. The brown one contains the
revival item (I can't spell that good... =0) and another Darknonium piece
making a total of two and filling up another piece of the storyline. If you
feel you need to go back and heal first then do so because the boss is Rank A,
Golem.

Golem is not what you would expect; he has Psyche but mostly likes to pound
your monsters randomly without much strategy involved. Crying shame to the rest
of the DQ series it does. The same strategy goes, have Healslime bathe the
party and hopefully you put some skill points in his healing ability. Or have
Imp totally rock him with a series of spells. Maybe you want to have a Psyche
contest with Golem with your new Hammerhood? Just remember a good training is
what they need before taking Golem on, I would suggest your Wulfspade if your
having trouble. Concluding this battle, you should be aware of Golem's
desperate attacks, they can do serious damage when he is backed into a corner
and pretty much can kill any weak party member.

After putting that monster of materials of... blocks in his place watch as your
Wulfspade becomes an unsightly freak of nature. Others call this form Hawkheart,
I call it dinner. WHAT IS THIS!? A book on how to Zoom! Sweet merry mother of
Goddess, you've found 'How to zoom' off the Golem. Huh? Well of course it's not
working; you need to actually access the book in your inventory. When you do
that, try to wrap things up in Xeroph. Our next course lay in Palish!

[DQ2C] Visit Palish and Madame Rummy!

As soon as you depart, you'll notice right away the "!" showing yet another
shrine. It's a bit further then you might think. Visit your friendly Scout post
and buy items (new weapons woot.)

@----------------------------------------------------------@
| Shop (Palish) |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Item | Price | Description |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Medicinal herb | 8 | Restores 30 HP |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Strong medicine | 50 | Restores 60 HP |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Magic elixir | 300 | Restores 30 MP |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Panacea | 550 | Cures all ailments |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Exodust | 50 | Teleports to outside dungeon |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Raiper | 840 | 18 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Pitchfork | 780 | 16 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Thorn whip | 1400 | 8 attack |
|-----------------+--------+-------------------------------|
| Rune Staff | 730 | 12 attack |
@-----------------+--------+-------------------------------@

Gather your bearings after you leave. It's not all too hard to navigate, but
gaze every so often at the mini-map to make sure you know where you are. I'd
like to note that Palish is another good place for gathering Skill Seeds, it's
also one of the best places you can visit for EXP (more on that later.)

After you exit the Scout post take a look below the large staircase to the
laddater. You'll need to lower that so remember that for later. Right now we
want to head up those massive stairs. As your walking, you face Madame Rummy's
palace (remember her name later for comic relief.) Very impressive right? The
person who owns this place must be rich, and gorgeous! Let's explore further
inside to find a man standing in front of an odd door. Here he'll give you a
chance to take Madame Rummy's challenge. We have to do this, but right now
let's talk to the lady.

Ewww... gross. Madame Rummy turns out to be rather 'unpleasant' to look at
(putting it mildly.) The woman seems to have no mirrors around, suspicious, I
think so. After talking with the 'unpleasant' woman go back down stairs and we
can start our little game. Yes, we have to play two ridiculously boring games.
It involves killing slimes and yes, they are really easy. So what is problem?
The time issues, as you receive a small amount of time to defeat a certain
number of slimes. In order to get to the shrine we must play two rounds to
unlock both parts of the garden.

Some tips are, don't use monsters with Double Trouble (it's a great trait that
you don't have so don't worry.) Double Trouble is a great ability except when
here; as Slime around here have an ability called Clang. Clang protects the
user from one turn from any attacks. With Double Trouble at work you could
waste time attacking a Clanged Slime twice. Secondly, it's not the best idea to
bring weak monsters because it really should take you one turn to down three
slimes (sometimes they come in two.) Also, the area is split into three, but
mostly you'll stay in areas one and two. It should be enough even if you want
to unlock Metal Menagerie (more later.)

First Round: You have 2 minutes and ten seconds to kill 9 slimes.

Second Round: You have 3 minutes and forty seconds to kill 15 slimes.

Remember this area as you'll be here really often (if you plan to get skill
seeds.) Anyway if you fail, it means you brought weak monsters. If you win it
means you're the man (or woman!) And you unlocked the garden which is sweet!

@------------------------------------------------------@
| Palish (Garden) |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Monster | Ranks | Family | Day/Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Capsichum | Rank F | Nature | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Sea Urchin | Rank F | Demon | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Dragonthorn | Rank F | Dragon | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Goodybag | Rank E | Material | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Khalamari Kid | Rank E | Nature | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Spike Hare | Rank E | Nature | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| King Kelp | Rank E | Material | Day |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Shell Slime | Rank F | Slime | Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Chainine | Rank E | Beast | Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Seasaur | Rank D | Dragon | Night |
|-------------------+---------+-----------+------------|
| Angel Slime | Rank D | Slime | Night |
@-------------------+---------+-----------+------------@

Capsichum is alright, he has some synthesizing potential as he can become a
Dragonthorn. You can recruit a Dragonthorn here but it's a re-spawn monster.
You might be better off capturing a Dragonthron. As for abilities Capsichum is
neither the cream of the crop (pun intended) nor a good party member.

Seasaur appears next to the ladder, in front of the Scout base. It's also the
place where you can get a Skill seed. If you want to capture use a Psyche, or
Oomph, or both strategy. Seasaur has excellent synthesizing potential (Octavian
Sentry, Abyss diver, Sea Dragon.) Seasaur also gets Dragon Lore and Artful
Dodger which are both really useful at this point.

Spike Hare gets Psyche, which if combined with Hammerhood can make an E Rank
monster Fencing Fox. Fencing Fox has the skill guerilla and can come useful
when facing later enemies.

At last we arrive with Angel Slime; Angel Slime can be combined to make Dragon
Slime, Green Dragon, and Red Dragon (which has MP regenerator.) Angel Slime is
probably the best thing you can find here; it can replace your Healslime in a
second. Try to capture this thing at night; it spawns randomly on one of the
pillars surrounding the garden. They have ladders attached to them so getting
up there is easy.

Eventually you'll make to an area of drawbridges, see that blue chest? I'll