Mana series (Seiken Densetsu)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 4


In the Altenish town of Alrant, Duran purchased a +14 ATK Bastard Sword and a +12 DEF Plate Armor.  Then he slaughtered the local Wizards, Sahagins, Potos, among other monsters in the Frostbite Fields until he reached Level 18.  Duran entered the boss fight against 3 Machine Golems too early because I forgot where the room was, so he started at 243/316 HP.  That number was quickly reduced to 75/316 HP after an exploding pumpkin attack.


Duran ate 2 Chocolates and powered up with the usual Night Market items to deal 68 damage with regular attacks and 146 with Class Strikes.  At last, he reached the Labyrinth of Ice Mana Stone and could change classes.  Duran as an AI character in the non-variant Kevin playthrough became the Dark class Gladiator.  Solo Duran upgraded to the Light class Knight instead.  These are Duran's stats raised to the Knight minimum:


HP:  316
MP:  27
STR:  12
DEX:  10
STA:  11
INT:  8
SPRT:  8
LUCK:  8


Gladiator is probably the superior Tier 2 class because it has 1 more STR and the same spinning Class Strike that Copper Knights use against you.  In exchange for being slightly weaker and having only a single target Tier 2 Class Strike, Knight learns Healing Light.  Duran might find a use for SPRT points if only to make his one spell better. 


But the real reason I picked Knight is because it's a prerequisite to the endgame class I want to use.  If I get it right, then there will be a bonus post at the end of the playthrough. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 5


Duran learned Healing Light at Level 19 and fought the Mad Mallards, Tomatomen, and Bulettes in the Burning Sands.  He ran away from Eggatrices as he did on Beuca Island since he feared their petrification attack.


Healing Light was useful against the Bil and Ben rematch at Level 19, and even with his 8 SPRT it restored 200 HP.  Fire Diversion ninja magic reduced Duran's MGC DEF to the point that future Fire Diversions could hit for up to 110s.  Shurikens cut into Duran for 89, and the dreaded Shadow Menace dealt 145.  No wonder Duran had to cast Healing Light 4 times and eat a Chocolate.  Duran's own regular attacks cut each ninja for 84, while the basic Class Strike sliced for 145.  Bil and Ben were too smart to run in place against a while in spite of my efforts.


I suspect both Seaside Cavern and the first phase of Fiery Gorge were programmed very late in development because of the presence of healing save points, yet no boss battles in the rooms immediately after them.  Much of the effort was put into the late game Benevodon battles and the final dungeons, so I think they were made earlier.  Anyway, solo Duran fought monsters like Swordster knights and Evil Ninjas, only to see Belladonna get away in a cutscene.


The next stop is Duskmoon Forest, home of the werewolves.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 6


Duran sailed to the nocturnal town of Mintas and acquired a +13 ATK Silver Blade and +13 DEF Luna Mail.  The werewolves in Duskmoon Forest were more challenging than some of the bosses so far, and sometimes uppercut Duran for 124 with Abyssal Slice.


Ludgar the guard of Chartmoon Tower, however, was almost free experience.  With the Bulette Scale's DEF increase active, his punches only scratched Duran for 1.  His own Abyssal Slice rose to 103.  Ludgar's Moon Saber attached an HP draining property to his attacks, but did not enhance their power.  Duran's 78 power slashes and 170 damage Class Strikes were more than enough to overpower Ludgar's healing.


I got lost in Duskmoon Forest on the way out for a bit, which had the side effect of raising Duran to Level 21.  STR and STA were locked, so he had to take SPRT.  Healing Light restored about 220 HP in a test, suggesting that each point raises magical power by 10%.


Lampbloom Woods also had some dangerous encounters.  Ladeeb bees liked to cast Strengthen and Protection to buff their stats, complete with the animations of Drake Scale and Bulette Scale.  And one of them cast Lance Surge for about 152 damage.  Quilted Hoods occasionally made Duran snooze with Sleep Flower.


The elf town of Dior sold a +16 ATK Colichemarde, a +13 DEF and +22 MGC DEF Reflex Armor, and a +2 DEF and +1 MGC DEF Helm Visor.  One weird feature of the shops from here on out is that they also sell slightly cheaper weapons with slightly lower ATK.  In Dior's case, it was the +14 ATK Flamberge for 70 less GP.  Perhaps these weapons were meant to be locked to specific promotions at an earlier point in development?  It would explain why these start appearing in midgame towns like Dior.  Only Gear Seed equipment is class-specific in the final version.



Grapplavine had the honor of "first blood" for this playthrough, as its AI was clever enough to cast Poison Bubble while Duran had dozed off from a Sleep Flower.


DEATH COUNT:  1


Duran applied all the usual buff items, along with a Siren Claw for Wind melee.  He had to use them again when he leveled to 22 while fighting Silkspitter caterpillars.  Of course, he took STR.  Duran's regular attacks hit for 110 and his basic Class Strike slashed for 220 at the higher level once the "buff delay" expired. 


When Grapplavine's dragon head appeared, it spat Hammer Buds to decrease Duran's magic defense.  For whatever reason Poison Bubbles now popped for about 190 damage even after using another Sahagin Chip to restore Duran's stats.  The flashy Leaf Spine only exploded for 97.  Duran toughed out the battle with 5 Healing Light casts, 2 Candies, and 3 Chocolates.


It was interesting to see day change to night as the villain factions were flying to the Sanctuary of Mana during their cutscene.  Perhaps they coded it to work the same way as Flammie flight and Vuscav swimming.  Duran easily defeated the various Rabite enemies, got the Sword of Mana, watched the other villains die, and then flew to Altena to give up the Sword of Mana in exchange for Faerie's life.


In Altena, Duran purchased a +15 ATK Mythril Sword, a +14 DEF Pegasus Mail, and a +5 DEF and +2 MGC DEF Strong Armlet.  He had to wait for a long time to get something for his arm equipment slot relative to other characters.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 7


I was so confused at the layout of Castle Altena, Duran wandered around in circles and grew to Level 25 from fighting all the wizards and hostile chess pieces.  After he handed the Sword of Mana over to the Crimson Wizard like a dupe, Duran flew off to Gusthall and hunted the monsters to calm down.  His level rose to 28, and another SPRT point meant that his Healing Light could now restore about 242.  This seems to confirm my "stat points increase spell power by 10%" idea.


For some reason, the western part of Molebear Moors accessible only by Flammie had Level 7 Beelancers.  Perhaps this area was meant to be used earlier in the game during development?


Duran would have had a much worse time if he tried to grind at Gem Valley Daria instead.  Prime Slimes loved to decrease his STR and once cast a 230? power Poison Bubble.  If that weren't enough, Eggatrices were common and forced Duran to run to the next screen to avoid becoming the Dragon Lord's favorite sculpture.


Land Umber the Earth golem Benevodon entered the arena so slowly that Duran didn't even have to deal with "buff delay" with his combination of the Drake Scale and Siren Claw for Wind element.  Iron Claw was just a sleep move with an unconventional name.  Earthquake and Stone Cloud spells tore away 107 and 160 HP respectively.  Crushing Blow made Duran bounce around like a pinball for 250.


Duran fought back with 245 power regular attacks and 441 Class Strikes.  Remember, kids, only the basic Class Strike can be enchanted!  Duran stayed healthy with 4 Healing Lights, which seemed weaker than normal with only 192 power.  Does the Sahagin Chip mess with that somehow?  Land Umber fired a 202 damage Hyper Cannon, then immediately croaked.  Trials of Mana special moves have priority over death itself.
'

The cat merchants appeared at the surface since they were scaled to the number of Benevodons killed.  Duran bought a +16 ATK Várar Sword, a +16 DEF Leonis Armor, a +2 DEF Horned Helm, and a +1 DEF Knight Crest.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 8


Solo Duran's next opponent was Fiegmund the Water Benevodon in the Frozen Labyrinth.  Fiegmund rarely attacked when it was on top of the ice platform.  This made it easy for Duran to heat up his sword with a Cerberus Paw and cleave the boss with 287 damage regular attacks and 514 power Class Strikes. 


Angela survived with 1 HP well into the fight and tried to whack Fiegmund while it was walking underneath the platform with her staff.  Not that it would have done more than 1 damage because I never upgraded her STR or staff.  An Icicle pierced her skull, making it a true solo fight.


Fiegmund cast Spike Freeze to chill Duran for 120, and increased its INT/SPRT with Mental Boost.  A Frozen Crack snowflake animation appeared to late to save Fiegmund, who immediately perished afterwards.  Duran cast Healing Light 2 times during the battle, though at the reduced power of 192.  Is there some overflow/underflow error in the code concerning Healing Light and a SPRT buff?


Duran rode Flammie towards Fiery Gorge to fight the next Benevodon, Xan Bie.  The now-established tactic of using the Drake Scale and "elemental claw" before the other stat increasing items to avoid the "buff delay" worked.  The Poseidon Claw cooled Xan Bie with 283 normal damage and 506 Class Strike damage.


Xan Bie's own stat modifications were poorly suited for a magical boss.  The 163 power Heat Beam decreased DEF, and Strengthen powered up Xan Bie's nonexistent melee.  Explode burst for 108, Lava Wave scalded for some value between 100 and 200, and Gigantaburn blazed for 163.  Late in the fight, Xan Bie hid inside a rock across a gap and once healed itself with a Fire spell for 440s.  But Duran's sword was just long enough to reach Xan Bie and draw it out.  About 4 Healing Light casts were needed to withstand the heat.


Duran is currently at Level 31, a bit below the recommended range.  He'll probably catch up in the Shimmering Ruins when he starts whaling on Parpotos to look for ??? Seeds for his final promotion.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 9


Duran battled Dangaard the Wind Benevodon at Level 34 instead of saving the two-headed bird dragon for last like Charlotte.  Then again, Duran already had higher max HP at Level 34 than Charlotte would ever see.  With the tactic of setting up the "elemental claw" and Drake Scale first to avoid the "buff delay", Duran was smacking Dangaard for 287 with regular attacks and 513 with Class Strikes.


Duran needed to set up his stat increasing items 4 times because changing the scrolling from horizontal to vertical and vice versa counted as a separate fight.  Dangaard shot Thunderball for 238 damage, blew Duran around with a 118 Cyclone, caught him in a Thunderstorm for 186, and sent an Air Rush whirlwind for 219.  To endure these attacks, Duran needed to cast Healing Light 3 times and eat 4 Honey Elixirs.


(EDIT:  Forgot to mention equipment upgrades between Dangaard and Lightgazer.  Duran bought a +17 ATK Rapier, a +2 DEF Silver Sallet, and a +18 DEF Knight Mail from the cat merchants.)



Lightgazer the eyeball Benevodon of Shimmering Ruins was blinded at Level 36.  Duran had no way of enchanting his weapon with Dark element, so he had to make do with 183 power regular attacks and 346 strength Class Strikes.  Holy Bolt tickled him for 30, and Lucent Beam shined for 93.  This was probably because SPRT was his 3rd stat to prioritize after STR and STA, and SPRT governs the Light element.  Angela and Charlotte entered the battle at full HP because I saved at the healing statue, and they only died when Lightgazer beat them down with its physical attack.  Angela and Charlotte were useless as always with their 1 damage melee, and not a factor in Duran's victory.


High SPRT didn't save Duran from a Moogle transformation courtesy of a 208 power Shackles or a 318 Gush Blast laser, but about 7 Healing Light spells were enough to keep him alive.  One STR decreasing move forced Duran to set up Drake Scale again, and a couple of Medical Herbs cured Moogle status.


Duran is now at Level 37.  Just 1 more until his final class!


(Don't expect to see a El Planeta Más Extraño del Mundo post until Wednesday evening.  My schedule is too erratic right now.)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 10


Duran unexpectedly exploded in Wandara Woods when a Queeneeb cast some kind of Wood element spell.  It's killed other variant characters before, and the fact that it happened to Duran proves that there's no such class as a "tank" in this game.  High HP merely means you can sometimes take an extra hit.


DEATH COUNT:  2


The Healing Light game mechanic was so weird that I had to perform a test with and without a Sahagin Chip to find out if was an error.  Duran restored 320 normally, and 258 with the INT/SPRT increase.  Like Final Fantasy 1, the code of Trials of Mana is probably held together with duct tape.  DEX and LUCK fail to perform their main functions, critical hits never occur, and Duran's healing is actually weaker when buffed.


For those playing along, The Seikens class guide made a mistake regarding Duran's final Light classes.  The Paladin and Liege pictures are reversed. (Liege is Lord in the fan version.)  So I made a Collection of Mana save state before promoting to ensure that I got the right class.  Paladin was the one for this playthrough, and its portrait shows Duran pointing a giant shield at the player.  When Duran leveled to 39 and gained Holy Saber, it was a relief not to have to reset.  Anyone who's paid attention to the whole thread will know what I plan to use that spell for. . .


Werewolves in Chartmoon Tower are jerks no matter what character you're playing as.  Even with a Drake Scale, Duran was forced to run from the variety that cast Healing Light as he could not damage it quickly enough.


Dolan the goat Benevodon awaited Duran at the top of Chartmoon Tower.  No weakness because it was the Moon element representative, so Duran had to make do with 160 power regular attacks and 330 Class Strikes.  Dolan slammed the floor with a 150 Gravity Crush, reduced Duran's max HP with a 280 power Moon Spiral, and cast a fixed damage Half Eclipse that seemed to take away half his HP.  Half Eclipse must be the Trials of Mana equivalent to Demi from Final Fantasy games.


Without an "elemental claw" to exploit, Duran was forced to endure with about 15 casts of Healing Light and 3 Honey Elixirs.  Now the only remaining Benevodon before the endgame was Mispolm the pumpkin. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Part 11


Due to my weird schedule, I was away from home for much of the day, allowing me to play some Trials of Mana.  Duran harvested the pumpkin Benevodon at Level 42, after restoring his HP 6 times with Healing Light.  With the power of the Siren Claw for Wind element melee, Duran's sword slashes hit for 342 and Class Strikes for 640, nearly 50% stronger than Charlotte's mace.


Mispolm's Grumpkins were explosive vegetables that burst for 117.  Its thorns pricked Charlotte with a 216 Barrage Sting, and Poison Bubbles popped for 183.  Sleep Flower was mildly irritating, and Wall reflection was pointless as Duran had no attack spells.  For a final Benevodon in the non-linear sequence, it was an easy battle. 


(None of Duran's classes have offensive magic, not just my Light/Light version.  Other jobs have either different elemental Sabers, or Twinkle Rain to cure ailments.)


Defeating all but the Dark Benevodon unlocked the town of Pedda.  Duran traveled back in time to purchase equipment since the Dragon Lord had destroyed the place in the present.  Excalibur of all swords was for sale and granted +19 ATK.  No need to pull it out of a stone!  The Beryl Armlet gave +1 DEF and MGC DEF, and the Gold Armor granted +19 DEF.


Duran's Gold Armor became obsolete soon when a Gear Seed from the Crystal Desert yielded a Hero Armor that gave +24 more DEF.  Gear Seeds are NOT dependent on experience point total like ??? Seeds, so it's possible to reload Collection of Mana save states until you get something you want.


Our hero needed to level to 47 to avoid instant death from the Level 46 Zable Fahr's Annihilate spell, but the Crystal Desert was not a favorable place for grinding.  He could survive Spirit Slash from the ninjas due to his high HP, but Stone Breath from the common Basilisk turned the screen red and played depressing music.


DEATH COUNT:  4


Zable Fahr itself was easier than expected.  Normally one of the Dark Benevodon's heads likes to cast Dispel Magic to erase your buffs, but this only happened near the beginning in solo Duran's adventure.  Perhaps this was because his regular attacks and Class Strikes smote it for up to 417 and 726 with the combination of Drake Scale and Holy Saber.  It seemed that the Right head was the Dispel Magic part, and that died quickly.


Left head had Fetid Breath halitosis for 310s, which also decreased Duran's magical stats and forced him to eat another Sahagin Chip.  Its 265 Dark Breath was minty fresh in comparison.  When both Left and Right died, Center head resurrected them and exposed Zable Fahr's weak point.  Center cast Southern Slice for 361, Dark Force for 273, and summoned a Demon for a brief 292 attack.  Duran positioned himself in such a way that he could strike both Right and Center simultaneously.  Once Center appeared, the battle was over quickly.  Only about 2 Healing Lights and 3 Honey Elixirs total.




Duran was too stupid to realize his father was the Darkshine Knight even after the boss explicitly told him so.  Or that's the impression the dialogue gave me.  We may have to be lenient on him when he starts with 2 INT at Level 1!  Darkshine Knight was designed to trick first time players into casting spells or using high level Class Strikes, thus activating the boss's counterattack scripts.  But I had several playthroughs of experience, so abstaining from those meant all Darkshine Knight did was to slash normally for 30s damage.  He still hurt enough that Duran cast 4 Healing Lights to be safe.  Duran's Holy Saber was super-effective and dealt 394 normal damage and 710 basic Class Strike damage.



Dragonsmaw was a maze so I consulted a GameFAQs map.  A boss rematch guarded each section.  Harcypete was still vulnerable to Bearclaw's Earth element Saber, and took 418 regular attacks and 732 Class Strikes.  The harpy's Cyclone was so pathetic it only breezed past Duran for 64 at most.  A Supersonic broke the sound barrier for 322. . .about a second before the death animation.


Jewel Eater was next, and this time Duran had a Siren Claw to exploit its Wind weakness.  Regular attacks cut for 472 while Class Strikes tore away 789 HP.  Its Diamond Shards weren't as hard as advertised and stung for 64.  Hard Hit and Ground Slam were more respectable special attacks which wounded Duran for 210s-220s.  Two Honey Elixirs kept Duran healthy.


Last opponent in this session was Fullmetal Hugger.  No weakness that Duran could take advantage of, so he had to work with 212 regular attacks and 424 Class Strikes.  Bubbleblast blew for 154, but Duran's good SPRT blunted Eye Beam to 57 and Holy Bolt to 75.  Dive Bomb crashed for 298, a good reason for Duran using 8 Healing Lights and 1 Honey Elixir.  But even Fullmetal Hugger's own Healing Light could not add more HP than Duran could subtract.


Next update will probably be the final bosses!  And a bonus encounter if it's possible with a solo character at a reasonable level.


(No such thing as "low level solos" in Trials of Mana thanks to all the level-dependent instant death skills enemies have at the end.  The closest you can get is to refuse to upgrade to the 3rd tier class, which means lower stat caps among other things.  Perhaps Riesz could accomplish that if you pick Dark as her 2nd tier. . .)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran Victory


Fighting the two "random enemy gauntlets" in Dragonsmaw was a good source of experience for Duran.  Duran was off to see the Crimson Wizard at Level 50, who was almost as difficult for him as for Angela.


The Crimson Wizard must have been designed after some programmer asked "What if Angela had an actual HP stat and could cast spells faster?" He floated around the arena and started chanting the following spells:


Explode
Earthquake
Thunderstorm
Lucent Beam
Spike Freeze
Holy Bolt
Ice Smash
Cyclone


Lucent Beam shone for 148 since Crimson Wizard's SPRT seemed to be lower than his INT, but the others down through Spike Freeze had about 198 elemental power.  Holy Bolt lit up for 66, while Cyclone and Ice Smash chilled Duran for 110.  These damage values may seem underwhelming, but Crimson Wizard had an "ATB bar" like a Hasted Final Fantasy character and knocked Duran farther away with each spell.  When Crimson Wizard wanted Duran to die immediately, he dropped Ancient Curse meteors for 563.


Duran's only hope was to trap Crimson Wizard in the corner as Angela did and glitch him out to keep his mouth shut for a while.  Each regular attack cut him for 197 while the basic Class Strike bashed him for about 407.  When Crimson Wizard escaped the trap, Duran used his Paladin Class Strike out of frustration.  He lifted his sword into the air, light filled the screen, and Crimson Wizard lost over 800 HP and croaked.  I didn't expect that to work!  Duran cast Healing Light 3 times, and ate 2 Honey Elixirs and 7 Chocolates to survive.


Duran was forced to take SPRT when Crimson Wizard's death yielded Level 51.  By the final boss, a solo character will have maxed out all their useful stats and will never grow more powerful.  And some levels after that only give 1 more max HP.  Saves were reloaded until Duran grew a Brave Blade from a Gear Seed, which provided +21 more ATK than Excalibur.  Given Duran's phobia of Eggatrices, a Chicken Knife would be more appropriate.  Does Hawkeye get a Chicken Knife?  He IS the knife wielder. . .


The upgrade may have been necessary to survive the Dragon Lord.  He was so far superior to Masked Mage in the solo Charlotte playthrough, it only confirms my suspicions that Duran/Angela's endgame is "canonical".  Were the other routes added late in development?


Dragon Lord often changed the color of his scales whenever he needed to use different magic.  These were obviously meant for elemental properties:  Red was Fire, Blue was Water, etc.  Dragon Lord had no elemental weaknesses, so there was no point in setting up a Saber.  Between all the forms, Dragon Lord's attack list looked like this.  Numbers are damage ranges:


Crosswind-60s, used frequently

Frozen Crack-273, debuffed STR

Stun Gust-211, inflicted Silence, only used once

Air Rush-200s

Dragon Roar-153

Fury Fang-180, 300s while Duran's defenses were debuffed

Lucent Beam-154

Shackles-310s, inflicted Moogle status

Moon Spiral-345, decreased Duran's max HP from 765 to 612 temporarily

Gigantaburn-210, decreased Duran's magic stats

Cold Blaze-300s?, turned Duran into a helpless snowman, only happened once

Blaze Wall-230s?, only occurred once

Half Eclipse-One half of Duran's current HP

Unnamed "Headbutt"-305 normally, 507 (!) late in fight

Flare-420, only seemed to occur when Dragon Lord went from Bottom to Top of screen


Besides the color changes, Dragon Lord also flew to the Bottom of the screen and used different attacks like Fury Fang.  However, most of the time, the boss preferred the Top of the screen, and when he flew back, he cast Flare.  Cold Blaze during a Blue phase was one of the scariest moments of the fight since Duran could do nothing as a snowman and had to wait to be headbutted to return to normal.


Late in the battle, the music changed and Dragon Lord copied my usual solo tactics.  He increased his STR and DEF with Strengthen and Protection.  Duran's regular attacks and Class Strikes used to deal 200 and 427 respectively, and now they were blunted to 151 and 379. 


To give you an idea of how long and intense the final battle was, Duran ate 4 Honey Elixirs, 3 Drake Scales, 2 Bulette Scales, 2 Sahagin Chips, 3 Faerie Walnuts, and 3 Medical Herbs.  This was on top of 36 or so Healing Light spells. 


With the amount of healing required to survive with the hardiest character, I am confident that Angela cannot win in her native storyline unless you're obsessive enough to max out her level and collect every random debuff consumable item drop.  And even then I'm not sure.  Dragon Lord never cast Ancient Curse in the solo Duran battle, making me suspect it's a counterattack for spells.  So solo Angela would have to rely on melee instead of her spells, further decreasing her viability.


At last a Dragon Lord solo has been cleared!  There's still a bonus episode to come. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Trials of Mana Solo Duran BONUS:  Black Rabite


Trials of Mana has a "superboss" in the style of Omega and Shinryu from Final Fantasy 5, though you can only find it if you select Angela or Duran as your first character when beginning a new file.  No other route has a comparable opponent.


Black Rabite seems to be just another palette swapped version of the Mana series mascot, but once it takes the fight seriously, solo characters have no chance.  Black Rabite's 193 power multi-target Dark Force entrance was a sign of what would occur.


Duran started the battle with his usual cocktail of Drake Scale, Bulette Scale, and Sahagin Chip, and cast Holy Saber.  His regular slashes cut for 200, while the Class Strike gashed Black Rabite for 426.  Black Rabite played around with spin attacks and bites for about 15 damage per hit.  During this phase, Duran cast Healing Light about 4 times just in case the boss was up to something.


Once Black Rabite had enough of Duran's pretentions of defeating it, a series of magical combos ensued.  The AI routine worked like this:


Psychic Blast-255 damage


Flash-Moogle status

Black Rain-Heal boss for 246

Evil Gate-Heal boss for 189

Dark Force-Heal boss for 322

Either Barrage Sting for 250 damage or Moon Spiral for 345 damage and max HP decrease


This script happened every time Duran attempted to hurt the Black Rabite, ensuring his defeat after one Moon Spiral eclipsed him.


POSTGAME DEATH COUNT:  1




So ends the solo Duran challenge.  Chances are that no single character can inflict enough damage to outlast Black Rabite's healing, or survive its magical salvos after a Moon Spiral debuff.  Hopefully the Realms Beyond readers have enjoyed this playthrough as much as I have.