Mana series (Seiken Densetsu)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 5


Riesz's spear skewered the various bugs in Lampbloom Woods, but their boss Grapplavine had the power of bad coding on its side.  Its summoned Assassinants lived up to the name when they stung Riesz for 64 damage per hit with a Bulette Scale active!  For comparison, Ludgar the werewolf hit for less than 10 in melee without the Bulette Scale.


DEATH COUNT:  2


How did that happen?  After a search on the GameFAQs forums, I found the answer.  The user pokemeister said this:  "There's also a bug with elemental sabers.  If you use a saber on the corresponding elemental day (i.e. Fire Saber on Salamando's Day) then you'll wind up taking more damage for no reason at all".  In this scenario, Riesz used a Siren Claw on Sylphid Day.


Who knew that you had to keep track of the calendar when playing a variant?  The reason I never noticed this before was that some of the days are dedicated to mostly irrelevant Sabers like Luna and Dryad, and there's also a generic Mana Day for free inns.  Then again, there's probably someone on this forum who will use this glitch for a challenge run. . .


The next try happened at Level 24 on Gnome Day to avoid gaining a level in combat and having to reapply buffs.  After Drake Scale, Bulette Scale, Sahagin Chip, Siren Claw took effect, Riesz cast Defenseless, Weaken, and Enfeeble on Grapplavine.  One minor note:  Weaken is an Undine spell, and Enfeeble is Salamando based.  Players who overlevel their characters enough to promote at Gusthall may otherwise be confused as to why they aren't learning this magic.


Riesz's normal thrusts dealt 135, while her twirling spear dealt 244.  Assassinants barely pricked her finger for 1 or 2 damage now.  Poison Bubble was the main threat throughout both the "bud" and "dragon" phases, and popped for 68 and 125 respectively.  Hammer Bud was dangerous for other characters, but not for Riesz as she was only injured for 20s. . .after the 1st Hammer Bud reduced her magic stats.  Leaf Spine was probably more dangerous for its potential to cause seizures to 1995 kids than its damage output of 49.  Wall was pointless when Riesz had no offensive spells to reflect.  She outlasted the plant with 4 Chocolates.


(Both phases of the Grapplavine battle are treated as one enemy, so debuffs still remain.  Contrast this to Dangaard, who counts as a separate battle every time it changes the scrolling, down to reviving dead allies with 1 HP.)


After killing all the Rabite palette swaps in the Sanctuary of Mana, Riesz learned that Dark Majesty was the true villain and set off for Nevarl.  Diin sold the next tier of equipment, not the alleged "capital" Sirhtan.  Diin's shops were inconvenient in that the armor merchant was diurnal and the weapon merchant was nocturnal.  Riesz bought a +15 ATK Headpounder, a +15 DEF Eagle Vest, and a +3 DEF, +1 MGC DEF Earthen Brace.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 6


Riesz battled the ninjas and Tomatomen in Nevarl's castle until she was forced to hand the Sword of Mana over to Malocchio and Belladonna.  This is one "Holy Sword Legend" where the player character never gets to wield it, and in fact dooms the world to a 1000 years without magic because they pull it out of the tree.


Gusthall was a relatively safe place to level, so long as Riesz kept her HP above 220 or so when Copper Knights and their Spin Slash Class Strike appeared.  At 28, it was time to descend into Gem Valley Daria and fight Land Umber the Earth Benevodon.  With a Siren Claw, the Night Market stat increases, and her Rune Maiden spells of Defenseless, Weaken, and Enfeeble, it was "eaten bread".  Or "sewing and singing" if you prefer another Spanish idiom.


Riesz's spear shouldn't have done 259 normal damage and 448 Class Strike damage to a giant robot, but this is a fantasy game where medieval weapons are superior.  Iron Claw did nothing but put Riesz to sleep for a bit, temporarily switching control to Angela because she was still alive with 1 HP.  Altena's princess did nothing but walk around for a bit until an Earthquake woke Riesz with a 52 power headache.


Land Umber's other Earth spell Stone Cloud made Riesz choke on 91 power dust, but didn't petrify her.  A 154 Hammer Punch haymaker was more effective.  Land Umber tried to save itself with Protection, but Riesz laughed and cast Defenseless again.  Buffs and debuffs are binary in this game, not multiple stages like in Pokemon.  A Hyper Cannon blasted for 122 damage, but Land Umber was scrap metal shortly after.  Riesz ate 1 Candy and 2 Chocolates.


The cat merchants appeared for the first time after the first Benevodon was slain.  Riesz bought a +15 ATK Wolf Fang, a +2 DEF Horned Crest, a +16 DEF Druid Guard, and +2 DEF Rune Earrings.  (Very few items give a noticeable bonus to MGC DEF. . .)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 7


It must be a rite of passage for Trials of Mana solos to fall to Queeneeb's Light Lance spell in Wandara Woods.


DEATH COUNT:  3


Riesz had to leave Wandara Woods temporarily to ensure she wouldn't fight Mispolm the Wood Benevodon on Sylphid Day, since she was planning on using a Siren Claw again.  At Level 32 and with all the  stat modifications applied, Riesz stabbed the pumpkin for 315 normal damage and 530 Class Strikes.  


Mispolm launched Grumpkins at Riesz in the 60s range, though Poison Bubble for 156 and Barrage Sting for 145 were the truly dangerous Wood spells.  Sleep Flower sometimes left Riesz helpless for brief periods.  She ate 2 Chocolates and 1 Honey Elixir while uprooting the 2nd Benevodon.



Next came Fiegmund the Water Benevodon in Labyrinth of Ice when Riesz was at Level 32.  Fiegmund hardly attacked in the 1st phase of the fight, making for an easy buff and debuff setup.  With the power of the Cerberus Paw, Riesz scorched Fiegmund for 300 normal damage and 516 Class Strike power.


Icicle did nothing at all to Riesz but finally KOd Angela.  Spike Freeze chilled Riesz for 53, and a Mental Boost powered Frozen Crack gave her 185 damage hypothermia.  Cold Blaze built a snowman around Riesz's body for 95.  In case any readers believe Fiegmund was a challenge at this point, consider that Riesz only ate 1 Honey Elixir to win.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 8


Riesz thought it best to destroy the Moon and Light Benevodons next since they had no elemental weakness she could exploit.  She was able to fight some monsters in Chartmoon Tower such as the Succube vampires, but she retreated from any of the silver werewolves that knew Healing Light.


Dolan the goat rose to the challenge at Level 34.  Unlike earlier bosses, debuffs didn't concern the Moon Benevodon as much because its element governed Half Eclipse for 1/2 max HP fixed damage.  Howl was more of a whimper for only 7 power, Gravity Crush slammed the roof for 112, and Moon Spiral swirled for 103 and temporarily decreased Riesz's max HP.  Riesz's thrusts poked Dolan for 151 normal damage and 297 Class Strike power.  She had to eat 8 Chocolates due to all those Half Eclipses and Gravity Crushes. 


Once half the Benevodons were murdered, Riesz bought a +15 ATK Midhir Lance, a +18 DEF Rune Armor, and a +1 DEF Chess Helm from the cat merchants.  Her next destination was the Shimmering Ruins, where Lightgazer the eyeball monster awaited at Level 36.  It opened the battle with a Lucent Beam judgment upon Angela and Charlotte, which also smote Riesz for 29.  The single target version focused for 66.


Lightgazer's other spells included a 292 Gush Blast laser, a minor 15 Holy Bolt, and the threat of Shackles 157 damage and Moogle status.  Riesz regained her true form by eating Medical Herbs.  432 strength Healing Lights from the enemy was irritating.  But when Riesz was gouging Lightgazer with 196 normal attacks and 351 Class Strikes, it was no more than a minor annoyance.  Riesz ate 3 Chocolates, and 4 Drake Scales to restore her STR whenever Lightgazer decreased it with an unnamed move.


A Swordster palette swap of the Copper Knight did Riesz in with a Hollow Slash in Fiery Gorge when she was attempting to raise her level.  It was back to Gusthall for her! 


DEATH COUNT:  4


Once she ascended to Level 38, Riesz smothered Xan Bie's flames.  With a Poseidon Claw for the appropriate Saber, her normal attacks and Class Strikes gave Xan Bie 276 and 508 frostbite.


Xan Bie's Heat Beam charred Riesz for 175 and dropped her DEF, but this was a magically inclined boss anyway so it didn't matter.  Explode was a 31 power dud, Lava Wave singed her for 114, and Gigantaburn blazed for 137.  Xan Bie once hid in a rock to heal itself, believing that Riesz's spear couldn't reach it.  After 3 Chocolates, the only Benevodons remaining were Dangaard of Wind and Zable Fahr of Dark.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 9


It seemed that Riesz spent more time setting up stat modifications against Dangaard than she did lunging with her spear.  Each of the boss's 4 phases required reapplying Drake Scales, the Bearclaw for Earth damage, Defenseless, etc.  The results of all this planning reduced Thunderball to 97 damage, Thunderstorm to 13, Air Rush to 106, and Cyclone to practically nothing.  Riesz's thrusts dealt 321 while her Class Strikes pierced Dangaard for 552.  The fight was so easy that she only had to eat 1 Chocolate to stay healthy.


Riesz bought new equipment in Pedda on the pretext of learning Zable Fahr's location.  The aptly named Painlance gave +16 ATK, the Aurora Helm added +1 to DEF and MGC DEF, and Fang Armor bolstered her DEF by +19.  


Next came what I'd call the Long Grind, a part every solo character dreads.  The next boss is Level 46, and Riesz needs to be 1 level higher to dodge its instant death Annihilate.  This along with the Peeper enemy's Roulette Spin is the reason that a true low level solo is either impossible or takes too much luck to count as a true victory. 


Instead, I handicapped Riesz by refusing to promote her to a Level 38 class.  This way, she would have the stats of a midgame character while still being able to complete the game with her debuff spells.  Riesz had already maxed out her STR back in Wandara Woods, and there's no hope of her getting any stronger after Pedda unless a Gear Seed yields a weapon.  And none of the Gear Seeds I've tried have generated any spears.  Perhaps Gear Seeds only make the best weapons for characters who have changed class twice?


Dark Cavern isn't as deadly as Crystal Desert because there are no Basilisks with Stone Breath.  But Dark Assassins with Hawkeye's Split Slash can easily put Riesz at critical HP, and they often spawn with Beholders that cast Half Eclipse.  Jungle of Visions in Charlotte/Kevin's campaign is the easiest penultimate dungeon.  Currently, Riesz is at Level 44.  By now all she can only put points into useless DEX and LUCK, but she still gains HP at a decent rate.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 10


The most unusual defeat in any Trials of Mana playthrough occurred when Riesz opened a treasure chest and rolled Reaper.  Since treasure only appears after all enemies have been defeated, and thus Angela and Charlotte were revived, this was not a Game Over.  By variant law, this still qualifies for. . .


DEATH COUNT:  5


Besides the Beholders and Dark Assassins, Wolfiends were another major enemy in Night Cavern.  They had Seiryuu Strike (sp) which split the screen and much of Riesz's HP.  Still, Riesz grew to Level 46 and obtained a +12 ATK Blazespear from a Gear Seed.


Upon reaching Level 47, I noticed that Riesz had 691 max HP.  This makes me wonder if the "Level 50s Doldrums" for HP growth occur earlier for 2nd tier classes.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 11


Riesz was finally ready to challenge Zable Fahr, and surviving about 3 Annihilates throughout the battle proved the leveling was worth it.  Zable Fahr's 3 heads each had different abilities.  Center only appeared after Right and Left were defeated once.  To save some time, I'll group each spell and its damage output by head:


Right

Dark Force-136, Angela's 1st Dark class can cast it

Evil Gate-46 when used as attack, about 120s when healing enemy, Angela's base class has this

Dispel Magic-Removed all stat changes from Riesz, Charlotte's Dark/Light class can use it


Left

Diabolical Blast-335, and Riesz didn't appreciate being swallowed.

Dark Beam-73, and decrease to magic stats

Fetid Breath-163 and decrease to magic stats, a Dark/Light Charlotte spell


Center

Southern Slice-255

Gremlin-101, novelty summon used by Dark/Light Charlotte class

Annihilate-Instant death to anyone below Level 47, Angela can use this with Dark/Light


Riesz took out Right then Left, but Center revived them and exposed Zable Fahr's weak spot.  Riesz's regular attacks dealt 160, and Class Strikes hurt Zable Fahr's true head for 340.  Dark Beam and Fetid Breath were common enough that Riesz ran out of Sahagin Chips to restore her magic defenses.  Debuffs stuck no matter how many times Zable Fahr dispelled Riesz's stat increases, and with the power of 9 Chocolates, 1 Honey Elixir, and 1 Poto Oil, Riesz outlasted the final Benevodon.


Dark Majesty lost out on the minion auction compared to Dragon Lord and Masked Mage.  Both Heath and Crimson Wizard slung spells so fast that Angela, Duran, and Charlotte had to exploit their movement AI to get them stuck in a corner.  But Malocchio was so weak that he had to bring along two easily-defeated companions  called Queen Succube and Grislwolf.


After the usual exchange of stat modifications, Malocchio was as feeble as Enfeeble could make him.  Dark Force was weaker than gravity and only pressed for 45.  Dark Rain was a 9? damage drizzle.  Ghostleader's woodwind tunes were too much for Malocchio's lungs, and faded out for 89.  Another attack that looked like a palm thrust pushed Riesz for 230, but the text was too fast for me to see the name.


As Malocchio was flickering around the arena wearing a cheap Dracula costume, Riesz thrust at him with her spear for 155 power.  A twirling flourish pummeled Malocchio for 331.  He seemed to die like any other random enemy, with only 1 line instead of the speeches given by the other wizards.  Riesz ate 2 Chocolates to endure the last boss before Dark Castle.


Dark Castle itself had a knight palette swap that had the threat of Quakebringer, which sent Riesz into critical HP whenever it appeared.  Golden Chess was a generic physical enemy, while the Dark Wizards still cast entry level spells like Evil Gate.  My "early Level 50 Doldrums" hypothesis seems to be correct.  Riesz's HP at Level 48 is 692, only 1 more than Level 47.


The next post should wrap up this variant.


EDIT:  While looking up Trials of Mana information, I found out that Magic Shield does NOT stack with Sahagin Chip.  No wonder it seemed so useless in the Solo Charlotte challenge!

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Part 12


I lied about the next part being the last.  Dark Majesty deserves his own post since it would take so long to explain the final battle.


Like all the other final dungeons, Dark Castle recycled bosses.  First up was Fullmetal Hugger when Riesz was at Level 49 with 693 HP.  It had a ghostly translucent appearance this time, but that didn't stop Riesz's spear from piercing its corporeal form for 179 normal damage and 354 Class Strike power.  


Riesz had to beware the 105 Bubbleblast and 154 Dive Bomb, but Holy Bolt and Eye Beam dealt 1 at best after all the stat changes.  Still, Fullmetal Hugger used the first two attacks enough that Riesz ate 3 Honey Elixirs to be safe.


Zehnoa the demon door from Citadel Laurent was the 2nd rematch, and Riesz was still at Level 49.  Zehnoa might have been adversely affected by the stat changes, but these didn't apply to the many shapeshifting minions it summoned.  These bashed Riesz for up to 94 before the Bulette Scale reduced it to a "mere" 47 per hit.  


Zehnoa itself was pathetic with debuffs applied.  Its best spell was a 64 damage Trap 2, while Trap 1 and Fireball only bruised Riesz for 17 and 20 respectively.  Zehnoa cast the Fire type Dissolving Wave at least once, but I couldn't record the damage output because the battle was so hectic.  Riesz's normal attacks and Class Strikes inflicted 364 and 623 respectively thanks to the Poseidon Claw.  But good luck getting Riesz to hit Zehnoa instead of suddenly turning south and hitting one of the summoned enemies!      She ate 1 Honey Elixirs and 5 Chocolates.



Harcypete from Gusthall was the 3rd rematch, and Riesz was once again at Level 49.  Its "talon grab" move seemed to deal 250 before Weaken and a Bulette Scale reduced it to around 44.  (!)  Cyclone was no more than a zephyr.  Supersonic pounded Riesz's eardrums for 159, and Defenseless forced her to reapply a Bulette Scale.  With the Bearclaw, Riesz's normal and Class Strike damage was 346 and 606 respectively.  Harcypete had barely improved at all since the previous encounter, so Riesz ate 1 Chocolate.



Belladonna, the final boss of Dark Castle, was the easiest of them all at Level 50 and 694 HP.  So much "sewing and singing" that it felt more like Ezio punching a pope in the ridiculous Assassin's Creed 2 ending than a proper battle.  Weaken and Bulette Scale dropped her melee attacks to 1 power, and that's almost all she did for the whole fight.  The only exceptions were Change Form that the infinite Minor Mallet cured, and Moon Saber to make her melee heal her for about 2 HP per strike.     That was useless compared to Riesz's 148 power normal attacks and 324 Class Strikes, but the duel still took around 10 minutes because Belladonna had far too much HP.


Riesz leveled to 51 in the corrupted Sanctuary of Mana, and her stats looked like this:


HP:  695
MP:  80
 
STR:  16
DEX:  16
STA:  16
INT:  16
SPRT:  15
LUCK:  15
 
ATK:  254
DEF:  251
EVD:  34
MGC DEF:  134



Since I didn't show the last block of stats in the other playthroughs, let's compare it to Charlotte at Level 51 since her file still exists:


ATK:  246
DEF:  300
EVD:  32
MGC DEF:  142

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Riesz Victory


Dark Majesty is usually considered the hardest boss in Trials of Mana save the bonus Black Rabite.  It's easy to agree after the solo Riesz challenge.  The demon prince's first form had elemental forms corresponding to the color of his giant armor.  To save time, I'll list their attacks and damage printouts accounting for stat increases and decreases:


Earth

Earthquake-33
Stone Cloud-84
Hyper Cannon-144


Dark

Dark Force-57
Annihilate-0 because Riesz was Level 51
Southern Slice-75


Moon

Half Eclipse-1/2 current HP
Change Form-Mini status
Moon Spiral-134 and temporary max HP decrease


Wind

Thunderstorm-34
Stun Gust-86 and Silence status
Air Rush-139 and DEF decrease


Fire

Explode-34
Blaze Wall-85
Gigantaburn-140s, lowers magic stats


Fortunately, Weaken, Defenseless, and Enfeeble carried over between each element.  Dark Majesty never stayed in one form for more than about 3-4 spells, and always used the last in the list before changing.  This meant Riesz had to eat another Bulette Scale or Sahagin Chip after Wind or Fire appeared.  The sequence looked like this:


Earth, Dark, Moon, Wind, Dark, Earth, Moon, Wind, Fire, Wind, Fire, Moon, Earth


As you can see, Dark Majesty was hardy and attempted to win by attrition rather than overwhelming strength.  According to The Seikens website, Dark Majesty had 53,499 HP total compared to Riesz's 150 normal attacks and 324 Class Strikes.  Trials of Mana heroes have the power of Super Mario RPG characters, without the advantage of fighting Smithy's final form that only has 8000 HP.


Riesz ate 9 Candies, 9 Chocolates, and 1 Honey Elixir, but she was deceived by the "false hope" of having more HP than she really did.  A Hyper Cannon obliterated her although it seemed like she had a chance to heal again.  This was probably because I didn't remember that Gigantaburn decreased magic stats at the time.  Square should have slowed the text speed for stat changes a little. . .


FINAL DEATH COUNT:  6


Round 2 had a different sequence of elements:


Wind, Moon, Fire, Dark, Fire, Earth, Dark, Moon, Wind, Dark, Earth, Moon, Wind, Fire


Dark was welcome when Dark Majesty wasted his "turns" casting Annihilate.  Riesz intentionally kept her HP below a certain threshold to avoid wasting healing items if Moon and its Half Eclipse appeared.  Candies only restored 100, so they were perfect for HP management until Riesz ate all 9 in the ring menu.  She also consumed 7 Chocolates for 300 HP each.


It seemed that Dark Majesty had perished, but he was transforming into his last form.  Dark Majesty Mark II didn't cycle through elements, but made up for it with better moves.  A large blade often popped out of the ground and sent Riesz flying for 100 damage.  An unnamed spell with an animation similar to Shackles zapped her for 102.  Dark Majesty wagged his finger to summon a 82 damage Demon.  And finally "guns" emerged from Dark Majesty's body to shoot a 192 power Catastrophe.  Riesz had to keep her HP above 200 to stay safe.


Dark Majesty was still a master of buffs and debuffs, but Riesz's spells and items countered them.  Weaken and Enfeeble reversed Strengthen and Protection.  A Sahagin Chip cured Fetid Breath's magic stat drop, but not its 77 damage.  Drake Scales undid Demon Scream's STR decrease, though healing still had to make up for 58 damage. 


Riesz's spear pierced Dark Majesty Mark II as effectively as Mark I.  A Medical Herb cured Silence from a Stun Gust taken during Mark I so she could cast her debuffs, just to be sure.  The last 2 Chocolates, 9 Poto Oil (SPRT based HP restore), and 1 Honey Elixir saved Elliot and won Riesz the game!


This playthrough proves that stat decreases like Weaken, Enfeeble, and Defenseless are so effective that even a solo character that isn't fully promoted can clear Trials of Mana.  This was a fun challenge, even if the major differences from other playthroughs came at the end.


EDIT:  If you really want to see how much better a character is with debuffs, compare this Dark Majesty battle to the Light/Light Hawkeye on Page 5 of the thread.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Kevin Part 1


The only character who hasn't had his own solo playthrough so far is Kevin.  Another variant restriction is in place, and astute readers will notice it when the time comes.


Kevin escaped Duskmoon Forest while fighting a few wolves on the way.  Kevin bought a +5 ATK Iron Knuckle in Astoria which would last until Dwarf Village.  Angela waited outside Cascade Cavern's entrance, and Charlotte the other unwanted companion was hanging off a rock bridge inside.


Kevin has two large advantages over most other characters.  Like Hawkeye, each of his regular attacks hit twice.  Besides the extra damage output, he can use Class Strikes twice as often.  And the starter Class Strike also hits twice.  Kevin's unique trait is to become a werewolf at night, and a glitch gives him the +STR effect of a Drake Scale after he takes damage in this state.


Charlotte's hometown of Wendel provided a +7 DEF Leather Vest, a significant increase for Kevin's durability inside Cascade Cavern.


Fullmetal Hugger became crab legs for Kevin at Level 5.  Kevin's punches struck for 24 each, and Class Strikes mauled the boss for 49 per blow.  Fullmetal Hugger tried its best with 50 Bubbleblast pops, 30 Holy Bolt smiting, 19 Eye Beam zaps, and 62 Dive Bomb crashes.  Healing Light restored a subpar 88 HP, not enough to withstand Kevin's kickboxing.  Kevin ate 4 Candies to survive, and a point in SPRT from a level where STR/STA weren't available helped too.


Kevin bought a +3 DEF and +2 MGC DEF Bandanna from Maia, then pummeled enemies on the yellow brick road until nightfall.  At Level 6, he was ready to battle the Machine Golems, who were unusually aggressive this time.  They cast the 88 power Rocket Launcher about 3 times, forcing Kevin to unwrap 3 Candies.  Kevin's regular hits dealt 35, while Class Strike blows dealt 62.


Dwarf Village sold a +10 ATK Spiked Glove and a +7 DEF Fur Vest.  Hopefully that isn't wolf fur!  Players will also wonder why werewolves aren't harmed when eating Chocolate.