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Vagrant Story    
Sqauresoft 2000
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FAQ Written By:  Raffaele Saccucci
Date Written On:  May 22, 2000     
E-Mail:  shingo@canada.com
Version Number:  1
FAQ Type:  Strategy Guide
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Table of Contents

DISCLAIMER
STRATEGY
  - Minotaur
  - Dullahan
  - Important Note:  Difficulty
  - Important Note:  Training Dummy
  - Ghost
  - Important Note:  Workshops
  - Important Note:  Lizardman Duo
  - Golem
  - Dragon
  - Important Note:  Workshops... Again
  - Duane and his 2 Knights
  - Wyvern
  - Important Note:  Weapons
  - Fire Elemental
  - Ogre
  - Important Note:  Knights in the Town!
  - Giant Crab
  - Earth Dragon
  - Dark Crusader and Grissom
  - Important Note:  Keane's Workshop
  - Important Note:  Rosencratz
  - Dark Elemental
  - Air Elemental
  - Earth Elemental
  - Sky Dragon
  - Important Note:  Junction Way
  - Important Note:  Your Choices...
  - Important Note:  Harpy
  - Night Stalker
  - Lich
  - Important Note:  Tearose Sigil
  - Wyvern Knight
  - Iron Golem
  - Important Note:  Minotaur Zombie
  - Important Note:  Tieger and Neesa
  - Water Elemental
  - Ogre Lord
  - Snow Dragon
(to be updated)
MATERIAL
CREDITS

***********************************************************************
DISCLAIMER

First off, this FAQ is by no means a section by section guide of how to 
get each item, in each room, in each dungeon.  It is mainly a boss 
strategy guide, but also has some hints of what you should be doing to 
progress further in the game, as well as some key things that should be 
mentioned lest you get stuck unknowingly.  Someone out there will 
definitely be making a guide of each room (good luck to you...) and if 
that's what you need, then my guess is you'll have to be patient, 
because there are hundreds of rooms in the game and someone will be 
taking a good while to get every room down.  Regardless, once again, 
this FAQ is mostly information on how to kill every boss (when I kill 
every boss) and some of the very key things to know or have done before 
you go further.  I will be constantly upgrading this FAQ to be more than 
a Boss Guide depending on the demand of the people, the information I 
receive from other players, and the amount of similar FAQ's on 
www.gamefaqs.com.

This FAQ is purely my property, and all strategies and tips within are 
things which I have discovered with the help of a few friends and 
asscoiated credits mentioned at the end of the FAQ.  If you wish to use 
this FAQ for your website (I don't believe in magazine writers wanting 
my FAQ, although I think it is magazine-quality material, I just doubt 
that I'll ever be asked or see this FAQ in exact words in one) just e-
mail me.  I always give thanks to those who help, and I always provide 
my information to those who ask.  I'm not a mean bastard who won't share 
his information, else I wouldn't be posting this thing on 
www.gamefaqs.com, now would I?  Also, do not alter any of the major bits 
of information without my knowledge.  If you see a flaw in my strategy 
or the order of the bosses, then e-mail me to let me know and if it's 
strategic information, please explain it throughly to me.  You'll go 
written down as a credit.  Anyway, read on, enjoy, hope this helps with 
some of the difficult battles.  

***********************************************************************

STRATEGY

Minotaur

The Minotaur is something to get worked up about, but is really nothing 
too threatening.  At this point in the game, there really isn't much 
strategy in killing it, since you have so few options being without 
Battle Abilities and unless you bothered to walk back and forth using 
the Fandango or some other weapon killing bats and wolves, you likely 
don't have any Break Arts either.  The Minotaur is in a large pit in the 
middle of the room, while you start up on the higher ledge.  Your first 
major battle for this game, and believe me, compared to some of the 
enemies you'll be up against, the Minotaur is truly nothing to fear.

Use the Seventh Heaven for easy sniping from the upper ledge.  Note that 
this doesn't mean the Minotaur can't hurt you, because it can.  It has 
an incredible range with it's Hammer.  Killing the Minotaur is as easy 
as hitting the "Attack" button and aiming for the head.  The head is the 
weakpoint and it takes about 5 good hits to kill it off.  If you're 
using the Tovarisch or the Fandango, you'll have to wait for it's head 
to be at the lowest point before being able to strike it.   You'll be 
able to use Battle Abilities after winning this battle, and with Battle 
Abilities comes strategy to your bosses, not to mention, you get the 
"Heal" and "Degenerate" spells.  As well, you can practice your Chain 
Abilities on the practice dummy in the room just before the Minotaur.  
Practice well, because one of the best Chain Abilities ("Crimson Pain") 
is closest to the end of the list.  With "Crimson Pain" and "Raging 
Ache", you can combine some SERIOUS damage into the chain combos.

***********************************************************************

Dullahan

Undoubtedly the coolest opening video for a boss from the bosses I've 
fought up to now.  Dullahan is a nuisance.  You'll be on the floor, near 
the centre of the room, and Dullahan starts close to you as well.   A 
large percentage of players use the standard one-handed sword for 
playing throughout the game, and the Rapier is a good choice.  I HIGHLY 
recommend not exiting battle mode just to climb up to one of the four 
corners of the room, not even for the tempting treasure chest.  Collect 
it AFTER the fight with Dullahan.  Being without weapon and shield makes 
the damage you suffer higher than normal.  Dullahan also has an annoying 
frequency of critical hitting for 90-100 damage.  The reason I recommend 
you don't bother going up to one of the corners is because Dullahan can 
jump up to you anyway, so sniping is not an option.

Chain Abilities (if you've practiced, you have a few good ones right 
now, but the base Abilities ["Temper", "Gain Life" and "Heavy Shot"] are 
effective enough) will be tremendously helpful to you in the coming 
battles, beginning with Dullahan.  Regain Life deals no damage when 
chained, but simply restores any lost health to you.  If you're at full 
health, just switch back and forth between chaining "Temper" and "Heavy 
Shot".  If you've spent up a good deal of time, you might even have a 
Break Art by now.  The Fandango/Rapier's "Rending Gale" is quite 
effective, as is the Seventh Heaven's "Brimstone Hail".  Make sure you 
make proper use of the Defense Abilities when Dullahan attacks.   Use 
"Reflect Damage" instead of "Impact Guard" when he hits you.  You'll at 
least reflect back 20HP worth of damage (40 if he criticals) when he 
hits you instead of regaining 25HP that could be regained by using the 
Chain Ability "Gain Life".  For winning, you get the "Spirit Surge" 
spell, and a couple of Elixirs (the only OTHER way to raise stats 
without that annoying roulette style bonus from killing a boss.)

***********************************************************************
Important Note:  Difficulty
From this point on, you should seriously consider spending some time 
builing up Battle Abilities on the Training Dummy in the room before the 
Minotaur (make sure you check your PTS needed, when you need 0 PTS, kill 
one enemy and you'll gain a new Ability) as well as work on obtaining 
some Break Arts for your favourite weapon(s).  This will make battling 
bosses and some normal enemies with 250+HP a much easier experience, as 
well, you'll gain some practice on the timing of different weapons when 
chaining hits. 
***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Training Dummy
It IS possible to destroy the Training Dummy before the Minotaur's Room.  
When you do, it gives you a Vera Root and a Cure Root (whoopie ^_^) but 
it also never comes back.  If you destroy it and it's been some time 
since you saved (It happens, trust me.  Requiring 500 accumulated 
chained hits takes a long time, and sometimes, you simply forget) a 
second Training Dummy appears in a few rooms after Dullahan's after you 
defeat the Golem.  The first Training Dummy counts as a Human opponent, 
while the second counts as an undead opponent.  This is important 
because if you have a weapon that is low on either Type, work on the 
Dummies to raise the Experience on the weapons.  I have a Human 
Mutilating Fandango which came in handy in MANY situations, while my 
Rapier is well balanced.  The Soul Kiss makes a great Undead Slayer.  
Killing the Undead Training Dummy gives you a Cure Potion and Mana 
Potion, which is quite nice.
***********************************************************************

Ghost

The Ghost is practically not even a boss, but if it weren't for the fact 
that it gives you a bonus stat roulette after defeating it, I wouldn't 
bother with a strategy write-up for it.  Well, since it is a pseudo-
boss, here's the rather unimportant write-up for it.  When you first 
encounter it, you have exactly 60 seconds in which to defeat it, but if 
you play your cards right, you can defeat the thing in 3 seconds... 
depending how buffed out you made yourself to be.  Still, 60 seconds is 
REALLY being generous.

When you first encounter the Ghost it will either attack you (always 
through magical means, so have "Reflect Magic" equipped as a Defense 
Ability) or VERY rarely, it will just disappear.  If it attacks, it will 
teleport away elsewhere.  Just after it attacks, you have a fraction of 
a second to make your own tactical decision.  This means either wiping 
out the 75HPs it has with a few Break Arts, casting "Spirit Surge" twice 
or simply using a Chain Combo.  Keep note that when you're in your 
attack sphere, time stops, and even when going through the animation, 
the counter is still frozen, this is how you can kill it in 3 seconds.  
If you miss your chance to attack, and it DOES teleport away, fret not, 
stand still, and it will teleport more or less to the same location you 
left it at.  Just watch it phase in, and get in your attack before it 
can.  

The Ghost's magical range is just as far, if not slightly farther than 
the Seventh Heaven's range, so if you don't feel very brave, use the 
Seventh Heaven for attacking, although you're still in range for it's 
magic to strike you, at least you don't have to rush in and watch it 
cast a spell on you.  For the brave/foolish, use that close range 
weapon!  I've NEVER let the counter drop all the way to zero, though I 
imagine that the earthquake that happens after you kill the Ghost and 
leave the room will happen in that very room, and you'll either die, or 
lose the stat roulette bonus.  Anyone ever let the counter drain down, 
let me know.  Make sure you grab the stuff in the chest before leaving 
the room, because when you leave, the earthquake takes out the middle 
section of the floor, and it's not passable except by going the long way 
around.

***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Workshops
There is a Workshop called Work of Art in the Withered Spring room.  The 
workshop is important because it allows for the working of Wood, Leather 
and Bronze items to be combined.  At the point I'm at, it is the only 
one that allows for working of Wood and Leather.  While Leather and Wood 
sound like nothing to be worried about, I used this shop to combine a 
Bronze Breastplate with my first Leather Cuirass to make a Bronze 
Segmentata armour, which is quite nice at this early stage in the game 
(15STR, 14INT, -3AGL).  After the next 2 boss fights, you'll have access 
to a new Workshop which works on Bronze and Iron items.  Use the 
Workshop to upgrade Equipment before squaring off with the Golem.
***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Lizardmen Duo
The Lizardmen, while providing important items (like a Sigil, and the 
"Antidote" spell) are not counted as bosses, even though they have a 
special video sequence to themselves.  I found that odd because the 
Ghost was considered a boss, yet the Ghost is really a snap while the 
Lizardmen have the smarts to actually gang up on you, and have a high 
rate of critical hits.  You'll fight these two in order to get the Sigil 
which opens the double doors near the Workshop.
***********************************************************************

Golem

This is one of those annoying fights I mentioned earlier.  I could say I 
was lucky, and this is about the only strategy I've found that works, 
though I'm more than certain that a different strategy could be used for 
beating up this boss, and by strategy, I mean something a bit more 
tactical than successfully chaining 10 rounds of about 7-12 Chained Hits 
together.  Anyway...

The Golem will strike you down with his stony hand if you're in close 
range, while at far range, it can cast an Earth Attribute spell that 
hurts for 40-60HP.  Cast "Degenerate" on it (it helps, he was hurting 
for 30-40HP before "Degenerate".  After casting, he was doing less than 
10HP) and use your strongest Break Art on it.  I say I was lucky for 
beating it because I was crazy and killed enough enemies to get the 3rd 
Break Art, "Cherry Ronde" for the Rapier.  It was dealing 35-40HP on the 
Golem, and took only 7 hits (so I assume it has about 250-280HP).  

For winning the battle, you receive an Elixir of Dragoons (AGL+) as well 
as the VERY IMPORTANT "Prostasia" spell.  With "Prostasia" the next 12 
or so boss fights are made easier, until you get "Herakles" (when you 
get "Herakles", battles are MUCH easier).  Also, you can now proceed 
across a large gap that was previously impassable.  Naturally, across 
the gap is your next big battle.

***********************************************************************

Dragon

For some ODD reason, this fight was a HECK of a lot easier than the 
fight with the Golem.  Then again, I was prepared for what I was facing, 
but nonetheless, I was amazed that I didn't need to use Break Arts to 
deal the heavy damage.  Being prepared for this fight means having a 
weapon that has had at least some experience in battling dragons, so 
fight a few Lizardmen that are in the area.  Also, if you've found the 
Dragonite Gem, equip it on a weapon.  This being a dragon fight, 
NATURALLY, have "Fireproof" learned from the Defense Abilities list and 
make it a button on the Defense Abilities for a good portion of the 
game.

The Dragon has a couple of methods of attacking, and this includes one 
physical and one elemental attack.  The physical is a tail attack that 
smashes on Ashley's head for 60-70HPs, while the Fire Breath attack can 
damage each body part for 20-30HPs.   Naturally, when you see Fire 
Breath building up, get ready to press the defensive button you have for 
"Fireproof" to regain some of that lost health.  I don't recommend 
"Reflect Damage" because you could drop below your HP total when hit by 
the Fire Breath, but with the regained health, you could, in essence, be 
saved from death.  When I was attacking the Dragon with the Rapier (I 
LOVE this weapon!) I was hitting it for 20-25HPs per hit, and with 
"Crimson Pain" and "Heavy Shot" Chain Abilities bouncing the damage back 
and forth, by the time I hit the 20th consecutive chain, the Dragon was 
dead and I did 40HP to it on the final hit.  Mind you, a good deal of my 
hits were being blocked by the Dragon's superior defense, so I had a few 
missed hits in there.

For winning the battle, you get some FRESH AIR... and some items.

***********************************************************************
Important Note:  Workshops... Again
The second Workshop, Magic Hammer, is in the village just beyond the 
Save point in the Square.  This new Workshop can combine some Iron and 
Bronze together.  If you got lucky enough to find some Iron stuff while 
down in Catacombs (you will have gotten an Iron Spear from the Lizardmen 
Duo no doubt, and have the Rusty Nail from earlier) you can combine 
these two together into a Hagane Spear, as well, I had an Iron Rapier, 
which I combined with the Bronze Rapier, Cross Guard and Braveheart Gem 
to make a Hagane Rapier that had somewhere around 19STR, 3INT and 2AGL 
bonus.  I also made a Hagane Chain Sleeve from combining the Iron 
Knuckle with a Bronze Ring Sleeve.  There will be plenty of new Bronze 
toys from the Goblins in the section coming up, as well as a few random 
Iron items.  These items will make your stats soar, with proper 
experimentation.
***********************************************************************

Duane and 2 Knights

This is a boss fight, and one that isn't that fun but it's not as 
terrible as some of the later boss fights go.  You have 3 knights, one 
is a Spellcaster (that's Duane), one is a sword fighter, and the final 
is an axe knight who gets stupid and stays behind with Duane.  Duane 
hides in the back, and usually the Axe Knight guards him.  Stay hidden 
by hiding behind the wall on the lower half of the ledge.  Let the other 
two sit at the upper portion, so you can deal with them later.  Kill off 
the Sword Knight first, as he is closer to you.  Use the weapon with the 
highest Human proficiency on all three knights.  After the Sword Knight 
dies, lure the Axe Knight into the same spot you were hiding and then 
take him out much the same way (Chain combos, of course).

When it's down to you and Duane, feel free to have "Reflect Magic" as a 
Defense Ability on.  Duane will frequently cast "Poison Mist" and 
"Explosion Lv.1" if you let him.  The spell is similar to "Fire Breath", 
in that it hits multiple sections of your body for 15-25 HPs so you'll 
want to avoid this at all costs, but if you do get hit, try to reflect 
some of the damage back to Duane.  Since he's all alone, the fight with 
him won't be long at all.  

For winning, you get some of the equipment the Knights were using, as 
well as an Elixir and the "Explosion Lv.1" spell.

***********************************************************************

Wyvern

By far the most annoying fight I had come across, and I was prepared for 
it as well, but it still seemed to be a difficult fight, despite the 
fact I was fighting with my Hagane Rapier with the Dragonite Gem 
equipped, and it was at 18 Dragon Experience.  It was at this battle 
that I learned how great the "Prostasia" spell is.  

The Wyvern uses "Fire Breath" as it's long range attack, so you'll 
definitely want to move in close.  Cast "Degenerate" on it then 
"Prostasia" on yourself.  When in close, the Wyvern will just use a 
basic bite attack.  I HIGHLY recommend using "Reflect Damage".  The 
damage I did when reflecting was sometimes more than any hit I did 
normally on it!  Break Arts were usually blocked by the Wyvern's bloody 
annoying Blocking frequency so I wouldn't recommend wasting the HPs to 
use them.  All I can say is chain back and forth between "Heavy Shot" 
and your next best damaging Chain Ability (use "Crimson Pain" if you 
have it).  If I did a critical hit, I was happy as it meant doing double 
damage and saving up on Vera Roots.  30HP and chaining up to the 12th 
hit, it did 48HP.  At this point, I used a Vera Root (the Stirge enemies 
cough up Vera Roots like blood) and then redid the Chaining process.  It 
takes a few Vera Roots sometimes, depending on how annoying the Wyvern 
wants to be to block your attacks.  

For winning this incredibly annoying fight, you get the "Pyro Guard" 
spell which you'll need for the somewhat annoying Boss, along with the 
usual Elixirs and items.

***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Weapons
By now, you have a large variety of weapons, and you know which ones you 
like, and which ones you don't bother spending any time with at all.  
Put all of the items that you don't waste your time with into the 
container that is normally near most save points, or in Workshops.  You 
can always go back and grab them from the container if you need them 
again at some point (like finding an Iron counterpart to a Bronze 
weapon, so you make a Hagane weapon).  Also, make sure you have at least 
one weapon with an ungodly amount of Human Experience (my Fandango has 
75 Human Experience) and an all purpose weapon, that will definitely end 
up being more proficient in some areas than others, but that's ok (my 
Rapier has 25 Human Exp, 35 Beast Exp, 20 Undead Exp and 7 Dragon Exp.  
The Phantom Exp is -16 and the Evil Exp is 0).  For the weak areas on 
some of your weapons, have a third weapon that already begins with high 
proficiency in them.  The Magnolia Frau or Soul Kiss work well for me, 
since both began with 15 Phantom Exp because of the Silver material.
***********************************************************************

Fire Elemental

At first, this boss was annoying, I first encountered it a bit 
unprepared.  Later on, I made sure I was prepared and it wasn't all that 
bad.  It does have a difficulty about it that makes it special, but at 
least it's NOTHING like the Wyvern battle.

For starters, have the Undine Jasper equipped on your weapon, and the 
Salamander Ruby equipped on the Shield.  Use a weapon with a high 
Phantom proficiency and, have "Fireproof" and "Reflect Magic" as Defense 
Abilities.  The Fire Elemental uses the spells "Fireball" and "Flame 
Sphere Lv.1" to attack you.  "Flame Sphere Lv.1" is exactly like 
"Explosion Lv.1" except that "Flame Sphere Lv.1" does Fire-based damage.  
Cast "Frost Fusion" once the battle begins, because it helps increase 
the damage you'll do.  It's up to you to use "Fireproof" or "Reflect 
Magic" when you get hit by the spells.  I recommend reflecting the 
damage from "Fireball" while absorbing 50% of "Flame Sphere Lv.1", as 
the regained health could save you from death.  If you're using the One-
handed sword weapons, by now you SHOULD have the "Cherry Ronde" Break 
Art.  This is highly effective on the Fire Elemental, but your regular 
hits with Chained combos deal a higher amount of damage on average, 
about 20-25HP per hit, non critical.  Depending on how good your weapon 
is against the Phantoms (did you fight a lot of Ghosts near the Withered 
Spring room?) your attacks will be more stronger than mine were.  You 
shouldn't need to cast "Prostasia" for this battle.

For winning, you get the "Flame Sphere Lv.1" spell, an Elixir and a Mana 
Tonic. 

***********************************************************************

Ogre

This battle is a snap if you know just how to handle it.  Even though 
the Ogre is classified as a beast, I used my 75 Human Exp. Fandango to 
slaughter the Ogre.  The Fandango seemed to do more damage than my 
Rapier (believe me, I was surprised considering how buff I made my 
Rapier).

Cast "Degenerate" immediately on the Ogre, then cast "Prostasia" on 
yourself, so the Ogre's attacks do somewhere between 10-20HPs, while you 
own hits will do much more.  If you find it necessary, use some Break 
Arts.  Interestingly enough, I had gained the 4th Break Art for the 
Rapier, the Papillion Reel, and it did LESS damage than Rending Gale 
did!  Rending Gale was whipping out 65-70HPs a hit while Papillion Reel 
would only do about 5-10.  Anyway, this battle is very easy considering 
how much you've progressed.  This battle should not cause problems at 
all.  Again, use only the strongest Chain Abilities and for Defense 
Abilities, use "Reflect Damage".  The HP's regained from "Impact Guard" 
can be restored even more easily by using the "Gain Life" Chain Ability.

For winning, you get to go back into town, and thankfully, use the 
Workshop, but of course, you get the usual basic items as treasure.
***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Knights in the Town!
Doesn't sound very important, does it?  But it is.  The knights here can 
pop off some nice Bronze and Iron Equipment, and you can reach the other 
side of the town by going to the screen where you fought the Three 
Knights earlier.  A cloudstone will now be activated (it was always 
there, but previously inactive) and it will allow you to cross back and 
forth across the small stream.  With the new Equipment, you can upgrade 
all the pieces of armour you own, not to mention some of the weapons 
you'll be getting in areas to come will come in very handy soon enough.
***********************************************************************

Giant Crab

This is a joke of a battle.  After all the tough stuff the game gives 
you, it gives you a relatively simple boss.  Technically, depending on 
how you powered up your weapons, every boss could be a joke, but the 
Giant Crab was just a laugh to kill considering some of the enemies I've 
run across.  You don't even NEED spells to win here, just the proper 
weapon, but still, to have as good a laugh as I did, just follow the 
instructions.

Take out the Beast Slayer (the weapon with highest Beast proficiency) 
and cast "Degenerate" on the Giant Crab, then "Prostasia" on yourself.  
Then (assuming you're using the one-handed swords, and have Break Arts 
for it) use "Vile Scar".  Not only does it do INSANE damage (compared to 
"Cherry Ronde" or "Papillion Reel" if you have those two), it can also 
poison the Giant Crab!  I recommend using the "Vile Scar" because using 
"Snake Venom" as a Chain Ability is just a waste of time.  Now, the 
Giant Crab does 1-5HPs a hit, or, if it wants to be mean, will cast 
"Aqua Bubble" which is the only attack that hurts you at this point, for 
40-50HPs, but you can counter this by adding the Undine Jasper to your 
shield, and if you want to be REALLY mean, equip the Salamander Ruby on 
your weapon.  The Giant Crab will drop in about 8-10 hits, Combos or 
using "Rending Gale" which does the same damage as "Vile Scar".  While 
the Giant Crab CAN block, it's not that annoying, especially if you lay 
off the Chain combos so your risk builds with only the initial hits, 
keeping the hit percentage high.

For winning, you get to wander around an annoying as hell forest (hope 
someone makes a guide through that nightmare, it's tough!) and the "Luft 
Fusion" spell, along with the same old items.

***********************************************************************

Earth Dragon

The Earth Dragon is not a bad enemy.  When I first encountered it, I 
never cast "Prostasia" and I beat it still.  Of course, with "Prostasia" 
the battle is much easier.  Anyway, the only dangerous thing about the 
Earth Dragon is that it uses "Acid Breath" which does about 30-40HPs a 
hit, on all parts of your body.  This could very well kill you if you're 
not prepared.  For this battle, I definitely recommend using "Impact 
Guard" rather than "Reflect Damage".  If you find it necessary, cast 
"Prostasia" or "Luft Fusion" for added damage.

Once again, just like the Wyvern battle, you will be relying more 
heavily on Chain combos than Break Arts to kill the Earth Dragon.  Have 
your Dragon-slaying weapon at the ready to dish out all the damage.  
This battle is no less harder than the battle with the Wyvern, so if you 
had an easy time with it, you'll have almost as easy a time as with the 
Earth Dragon.

For winning the battle, you get to stick around in the forest a bit 
more, and you gain the usual Elixir and items.

***********************************************************************

Dark Crusader and Grissom

An upgrade of the Dullahan enemy, and a slightly tougher one simply 
because you have to deal with two opponents in this battle, but you have 
some backup too... Sydney!  That's right.  For this fight, Sydney is a 
friend, while the Dark Crusader and Grissom are your enemies.  Grissom 
will cast some helpful spells on the Dark Crusader then buff himself out 
with spells before running off and attacking you.  Sydney will start the 
battle casting some helpful spells on you, then himself.

Use a weapon with the a high Phantom/Evil proficiency to get rid of the 
Dark Crusader quickly.  Try to hit the Dark Crusader before he gets 
"Prostasia" cast on him by Grissom, just so you have an early lead on 
the damage dealt.  The Dark Crusader is really simple, with the help 
from Sydney's "Prostasia" spell.  The Dark Crusader does the usual 
"Drain Heart" spell and can cast "Vulcan Lance" for kicks.  Grissom can 
cast "Degenerate" and some other attack spells which are just annoying.  
Once the Dark Crusader goes down, which could take a while, depending on 
how much of a pain it feels like being by blocking your hits, Grissom 
can be killed by your highest Human proficient weapon in few quick hits.  

For winning the battle, you get to leave the forest!  Don't forget to 
pick up the treasure chest in the south-western corner of the room... 
consider the items within a bonus in addition to the normal stuff you 
win from this battle.

***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Keane's Workshop
A third Workshop becomes available to you now, and this one can work all 
that Hagane stuff you gained back in the Snowfly Forest, and any of it 
you made back at the "Magic Hammer".  You're also in a new section of 
the town, and knights wander around here too.  These new knights carry 
some new Hagane and Iron equipment, some of which will make your current 
armour look like garbage.  Stick around the town for a while after 
beating up Rosencratz, who is only a few steps away from the exit of the 
Workshop, so make sure you upgrade your Equipment now, before taking him 
on...
***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Rosencratz
While not a boss fight, he is technically a boss.  You meet him just 
after coming back into town from the Snowfly Forest.  He uses the One-
handed sword and can use the "Rending Gale" and "Vile Scar" Break Arts, 
as well as restore his HPs with Cure Roots and Bulbs.  He's also got a 
high blocking percentage, so he's a bit of a tough cookie, because his 
critical rate is also quite high.  Still, just use "Reflect Damage" as 
the main Defense Ability, cast "Heal" to restore the lost HPs instead of 
relying on "Regain Life" and cast "Prostasia" while equipped with your 
Human Killer to make the battle easier on you.  Don't bother with 
"Tarnish", the spell you gained after the Dark Crusader fight.  After 
winning, you DON'T get a stat roulette, but you learn quite a bit about 
Ashley's past...  and don't worry about the chest in the room.  It's 
locked, but you'll be back.
***********************************************************************

Dark Elemental

Another Elemental, and this is no tougher than the fight with the Fire 
Elemental.  By now in fact, with your new equipment, the fight is going 
to be much easier.  The same rules apply to beating the Fire Elemental 
as with fighting the Dark Elemental.  I love the "Dark Chant" spell it 
casts, though... some cool sound effects when you hear it.

Have "Demonscale" as a Defensive Ability, as it absorbs the damage dealt 
from "Meteor Lv.1" or if you prefer, just use "Reflect Magic".  
Wandering in the Snowfly Forest, you should've gotten two Demonia Gems 
(one Gem comes equipped on a weapon).  Use one of them on your weapon to 
increase the Evil proficiency, even though the enemy is labelled as a 
Phantom.  Just attach the Gem to your weapon with the highest Phantom 
experience, and the Evil experience will just be added on as extra 
damage.  Now that you're prepared to deal the damage, equipment wise, 
cast "Prostasia" and then let loose with damage.  You don't need to 
bother with Break Arts, because the Elemental dies pretty quickly from 
just taking the normal hits from your weapon, and it doesn't have that 
high a blocking rate anyway so Chain combos are the way to do this 
battle.

For winning, you get the "Meteor Lv.1" spell and the usual items.  
Depending on the route you chose, this might not be the boss you'll deal 
with first.  There were two separate routes to take that lead to other 
bosses.

***********************************************************************

Air Elemental

Just like the other two elementals, this one is annoying because it's 
purely magical, but again, with your new equipment, you should be able 
to handle it without problems.  You may be fighting this boss before 
fighting the Dark Elemental, which is no problem, because if you beat 
it, you're simply locked out from progressing further into this dungeon, 
so you'll have to head back to beat the Dark Elemental first.

The same idea is behind this Elemental as the others.  Have the weapon 
with the best Phantom proficiency equipped and have the Sylph's Ring 
equipped as an accessory.  Also, use "Windbreak" for a Defensive Ability 
when it casts "Thunderbolt", and use "Reflect Magic" when it casts 
"Thunderburst Lv.1".  Cast "Soil Fusion" for your weapon to deal more 
damage to the Elemental, and you really shouldn't have much problem with 
it.  It can block hits with annoying frequency because of it's high 
speed, so don't Chain combo much, just use the initial hit with the 
highest hitting percent.

For winning, you'll have to run a maze of caverns in under 3 minutes to 
get to your next boss... and the usual stuff, including "Thunderburst 
Lv.1".

***********************************************************************

Earth Elemental

Another Elemental boss fight, but you should really be used to the 
tactics of handling Elementals by now.  All the same rules apply here as 
with the previous boss fight.

Just use the weapon with the greatest Phantom proficiency and cast "Luft 
Fusion" instead of "Soil Fusion".  Use "Earth Ward" for Defense from 
"Vulcan Lance" and "Reflect Magic" for "Gaea Strike Lv.1".   Have the 
Gnome Bracelet equipped for this battle for added defense from Earth 
spells.  The Elemental blocks attacks quite well, so just stick to using 
a single hit per round, especially if you have plenty of time left on 
the timer.  

The hardest thing about this battle is that you are still under the time 
limit you had when you first started running through the caverns.  The 
Elemental itself is quite easy to beat, but because you're pressured by 
the time, and depending on the amount of time you had when you first 
arrived here, you might not win in time.  If time runs out, you have to 
run the caverns all over again, starting at the save point before the 
door.

For winning, you get to save, finally, and fight another Dragon!  The 
item package still remains, and you get "Gaea Strike Lv.1"

***********************************************************************

Sky Dragon

They're cramming too many Elemental enemies into the same area all at 
once.  But no matter, you've dealt with Dragons before, and you've dealt 
with an Air Elemental, so you can already guess at the strategy to use, 
but if you haven't...

Whip out good ol' Dragon Slayer (the weapon with the most Dragon killing 
Exp.) and feel free to equip the weapon with the Dragonite Gem (do you 
have a Knuckle Guard for a one-handed sword?  If so, use it, because you 
can place two gems onto your sword!  I recommend the Braveheart Gem and 
any other Gem that will suit your current battle surroundings).  Cast 
"Soil Fusion" on yourself, and "Degenerate" on the Dragon.  Have the 
Sylph's Ring equipped for Air protection, and use "Windbreak" for 
magical defense from "Thunderbolt".  Your attacks are now set to deal 
maximum damage to the Dragon, so it shouldn't have much chance of 
winning against you.  Simply be wary of the high rate of blocking this 
dragon has.

For winning, you get all the usual items, and a Sigil which opens a door 
from waaaay back.  Plenty of backtracking to do now.  Oh yeah, a new 
Workshop is available now... the best one by far!

***********************************************************************
Important Note:  Junction Way
This is a Workshop that requires you to have a Sigil to open, and there 
is another Workshop in the area, but I'm assuming that you don't have 
very much Silver or Damascus equipment at this point.  I sure don't.  
Besides the fact that Silver is kind of weaker compared to Hagane (the 
only exception is that all Silver Equipment comes with a +20 bonus to 
Undead, +15 to Phantom, and +5 to Evil)  Junction Way is the game's best 
Workshop at this point, as you can work on Wood, Leather, Bronze, Iron 
and Hagane all in the same place.  The second Workshop can only work on 
Silver and Damascus.  There are also knights in the area that pop some 
sweet Hagane and Silver Equipment, and the occasional Bronze or Iron 
piece.  Use this opportunity to once again work out the kinks in your 
Armour and improve on any areas.  It's possible to get this kind of 
Equipment (at least, it's what I have right now):
(Weapon)Hagane Weapon - whatever you like.  You should've made this a 
while ago actually...
(Shield)Hagane Knight's Shield (2 Gems equippable - Nightkiller and 
Manabreaker...)
(Bracers)Hagane Rondanche x2
(Helmet)Hagane Basinet
(Armour)Hagane Plate Mail
(Boots)Hagane Missaglia
With this kind of equipment, the next batch of boss fights will be no 
problem.
***********************************************************************I
mportant Note:  Your Choices...
You now have a choice of paths to take, though you'll end up in the same 
area at some point, back on track, you have an option of fighting some 
bosses in a different order.  You can go out of this order if you want 
to, but I recommend going in this way, since you won't need to worry 
about being in a dead end.
***********************************************************************
Important Note:  Harpy
You'll be coming this way, fighting the Harpy if you unlocked a door 
with a Bronze Key.  The Harpy has a short little video sequence, but is 
not actually a boss (it's too freaking easy to be a boss).  It has 250HP 
and can be killed in 3 swift hits to the head with your Beast killer.  I 
labelled it as an Important Note because it gives the "Herakles" spell 
and an Elixir.  Also, you'll have to deal with 2 other bosses in the 
nearby area.
***********************************************************************

Nightstalker

Another Dullahan looking opponent, and depending on how long you spent 
to beef up your equipment, this will either be an easy battle, or a VERY 
easy battle.

I recommend using your best Evil weapon, and if it isn't yet, equip it 
with a Demonia, or 2 if you want to be an Overlord.  The Nightstalker 
can block hits better than it's weaker counterparts, but it is still not 
that bad when it comes to being hit.  It does the same strategy of 
casting "Drain Heart" but also knows "Fireball".  Have "Fireproof" or 
"Reflect Magic" (I recommend "Reflect Magic", just because it ignores 
the other Elementals, and reflects all damaging magic) and cast 
"Herakles" now that you have it.  Then, proceed the smiting procession 
and watch him disappear in a cloud of black vapour and white wispy 
stuff.

For winning, you get a Sigil, a spell, and you'll need to stick around a 
bit more, because you need to fight a boss to learn the most useful 
spell in the game (next to "Heal" of course).

***********************************************************************

Lich

The Lich is like fighting the Dark Elemental.  Exactly the same 
technique, except for one very important one.  The Lich teleports around 
the room, unlike the Dark Elemental.  This makes the Lich easy, because 
you can wait for it to teleport right beside you and then slay it on the 
second it reappears.  

The Lich can block your attacks, but it doesn't have as high a frequency 
as one of the bosses to come.  Have the Phantom slayer at the ready, and 
have "Herakles" cast when the battle begins.  Wait for the Phantom to 
teleport beside you (or just reappear, if you're using a crossbow.  The 
crossbow has a nice range to attack it without being in the range of the 
Lich's spells) and then attack with all your might.  There really isn't 
much more strategy to explain because if you really need help, just 
refer to how to beat the Ghost or Dark Elemental.

For winning, you get the usual item pack, and Teleportation Magic, which 
allows you to Teleport from any save point (Circle of Magic, the game 
calls it) to any other save point you've stepped on.  It costs more and 
more MP the further away you want to go, but it saves on travel time and 
you can always regain your MP by exiting Battle Mode and letting it 
regenerate by time.

***********************************************************************
Important Note:  Tearose Sigil
This is one section where it could've been a dead end had you 
encountered the Wraith guarding the door locked by the Tearose Sigil 
earlier, but you've had the Tearose Sigil for a while, and now would be 
the time to go through the short dungeon (Iron Maiden B1) to collect the 
Sigils needed for the next section (the Quarry Mine).  The worst part 
about the Iron Maiden B1 dungeon is that there isn't a single save point 
down there.  You have to walk in and out to save, so if you plan on 
ripping off the stat roulette bonus, forget about it unless you like 
wasting time and have plenty of patience.  There's also a semi-tough 
puzzle to solve involving the magnetic blocks, and be prepared with some 
Faerie Wings from the Snowfly Forest... you have been warned.
***********************************************************************

Wyvern Knight

This is a battle as annoying as the Wyvern battle, but made even worse 
by the Wyvern Knight's high HPs and even higher blocking frequency.  It 
does of a lot of damage physically, so cast "Degenerate", but you might 
be tempted to cast "Leadbones" on it instead, so you have a higher 
chance of hitting it, and it has a lesser chance of blocking.  It still 
does have "Flame Breath" and it does 30-40HPs per area on your body, 
unless you've added a Salamander Ruby to your shield, and are equipped 
with the Salamander Ring.  This doesn't mean that you should cast "Frost 
Fusion", however.  It makes no difference in this fight.

It is also up to you now, if you want to cast "Herakles" for added 
damage, or "Prostasia" for added protection.  Personally, I'm an all 
offense and half defense kind of person, so I used "Herakles" and relied 
on my Defense Abilities to help block some damage.  Not to mention, with 
the Knight's Shield equipped with the Nightkiller and Manabreaker Gems 
(20% to avoid non-magical and magical attacks) I had some luck in 
completely avoiding some hits from "Flame Breath" and "Tail Attack".  
Whenever the Defense Abilities failed me, I just cast "Heal", which is 
the smart thing to use anyway, rather than rely on "Gain Life".  In 
fact, from now on, don't rely on any Battle Abilities to restore HPs.  
Use "Heal" all the time.  Your Chain Abilities should look like "Crimson 
Pain", "Raging Ache" and "Heavy Shot".  All three together make your 
damage soar!  Anyway, use that Dragonslayer you've been holding onto for 
just such an occasion, and have it equipped with the Dragonite Gem for 
added damage.  Hopefully, you're NOT dealing 0 damage when it shows the 
chances of hitting the target.  Anything better than 0 is good.  I was 
dealing about 12 on average.

For winning, you'll need to stay down here a while longer, as there is a 
sigil you require, but now you have the Chest Key, so use it in the room 
close to the Wyvern Knight's room, the room just outside of Keane's 
Workshop where you fought Rosencratz, and one more in the dark 
underground town.  Teleport to Sunless Way, because I believe that is 
the closest location to the chest.

***********************************************************************

Iron Golem

A simple fight compared to the Wyvern Knight.  This is the same strategy 
as with a regular enemy, except you'll actually need to cast something.

Cast "Herakles" then take out the weapon with either the best Human or 
Evil proficiency, and proceed to wail on the Iron Golem until he's scrap 
metal.  As easy as that.  Kind of... just stay near him so he won't use 
"Gaea Strike Lv.1"  and (assuming I remember correctly) you can't cast 
"Degenerate" on him which is why there is very little strategy, but the 
Iron Golem is truly not that difficult.  The more difficult task for me 
was figuring out the magnetic block puzzle you need to solve in order to 
escape the dungeon.  

For winning, you get a Sigil which unlocks a door needed to get the 
third Sigil you need for the Quarry Mine and you can exit this place 
now.  At last!  A much needed save point!

***********************************************************************
Important Note:  Minotaur Zombie
While not technically a boss, and not even an enemy you HAVE to face, 
since he has NOTHING to do with progressing further in the game, I'm 
bringing him up because you now have the Stock Sigil, which unlocks a 
door in ... the Wine Cellar???  Thought you cleared out the Wine Cellar, 
didn't you (Wine Cellar is the first area in the whole game) and you 
did, but at some point in the game, not sure when or where, the room 
where the original Minotaur was has locked up again.  This is where you 
use the Stock Sigil.  Fighting this Minotaur is tough.  It has a RUDE 
amount of strength and the sad part is, NO spells work on it!  So the 
best you can do is "Herakles" yourself, pull out the Beast killer and 
begin hacking away at the Zombie Minotaur's head.  The Zombie Minotaur 
has a VERY high rate of blocking attacks, not as much as the Wyvern 
Knight's, but almost at that level.  At least it doesn't have tough 
defense, or else I wouldn't even recommend fighting this creature at 
all.

For winning, you get an Elixir of Queens, a potion, and a nice 
accessory.
***********************************************************************
Important Note:  Tieger and Neesa
These two are not bosses, but you need to fight them because they accuse 
you of killing Grissom... which has showed up here (in the dark blue 
underground town section) instead of at Snowfly Forest.  How'd Grissom's 
corpse move from the Snowfly Forest, you wonder?  You'll see after you 
beat them, and they're really easy.  All you need to do is beat one or 
the other (I beat Tieger, because Neesa ran around to the back and I 
would never hurt a lady...).  Pull out the Human slayer and cast 
"Herakles" before Tieger gets you with his Axe Break Art which causes 
the "Curse" status ailment.  If he curses you, all the magic you try to 
cast will have a 0% chance of hitting, including on yourself.  If you're 
not cursed, you can't even hit either of them with "Degenerate" or such 
attribute affecting spells.  Just beat one, and the battle will end, no 
stat roulette bonus, no items.
***********************************************************************

Water Elemental

Now that you're in the Quarry Mine,  you get to go back to the usual 
routine of elemental boss fights, beginning with the Water Elemental.  
This actually requires some strategy, because you don't have spells 
which fuse your weapon with the fire element, or any spell which 
protects from the water element.

Instead, you'll need to rely on your gems, or cast "Flame Sphere Lv.1" 
for the best results.  If you've gotten a lot of MP bonuses throughout 
the course of the game, you could probably cast the spell twice and kill 
the Water Elemental without using a single Mana regenerative item.  I 
just cast "Flame Sphere Lv. 1" once, and used the Ifrit Carnelian Gem on 
my 3 Gem Rapier (Braveheart and Hellraiser are always on the weapon) for 
the best damage I could do, after casting "Herakles".  This Elemental is 
nothing to fear, as it's blocking percentage is also quite low.

For winning, you get the "Avalanche Lv.1" spell, and you get to continue 
further, assuming you have the proper Sigil to open the door.

***********************************************************************

Ogre Lord

This boss gets the award for the coolest death sequence.  Anyway, the 
Ogre Lord is no problem, as it's pretty much the same as the Ogres 
you've been killing in the Quarry Mine (you get locked in a room with 
them occasionally, instead of with Dullahans).

"Degenerate" it, and "Herakles" yourself so you get maximum damage out 
of the fight, and bring out the Beast or Human killer for it.  Attack it 
by chain combos, but don't bother continuing if he blocks.  It's just 
wasted time and raises your Risk unnecessarily.  I recommend doing a 
single Chain hit, so if he blocks, it's no big deal, but if he doesn't, 
you did some damage anyway.  This is pretty much the best way to kill 
the Ogre Lord, unless you want to waste some Vera Roots and Bulbs by 
continuing to Chain combo after he's blocked 4 or 5 hits.

For winning, you get to keep going onward in the Quarry assuming still 
you have the Sigil to open the door, and the same old items.

***********************************************************************

Snow Dragon

Once again, like the Water Elemental, you're fighting a boss which you 
cannot damage by magical means because you don't have a spell which adds 
the Fire element to your weapon.  The problem here is that although you 
may have found a second Grimoire of Flammes (which should give you 
"Flame Sphere Lv.2") it doesn't come in handy at all.  The Snow Dragon 
is too large to hit every part of the body successfully, and the damage 
dealt is low anyway.

To win, you need to equip the Dragonite Gem and Ifrit Carnelian Gem on 
the weapon with the best Dragon experience.  Equip a Salamander Ruby if 
you feel you're not doing enough damage to it.  Cast "Herakles" on 
yourself, and "Degenrate" on the Snow Dragon so you deal the most damage 
to it, or switch "Degenerate" for "Leadbones" if you're hit percentage 
is too low.  Now you should be able to deal more damage than 1 for a 
base hit, but the Dragon still has the high blocking percentage that all 
dragons seem to have.  Once again, like the Ogre Lord, just do a 1 Chain 
combo so you keep your Risk at a low.  The Snow Dragon doesn't have all 
that many powerful attacks, except "Frost Breath" which it uses if 
you're too far away, so stay beside the head, or just underneath it's 
head.  

For winning, you get the "Aqua Guard" spell and the usual package of 
items.
(To be updated... which should be soon.  I play this game like crazy)

***********************************************************************

MATERIAL

This is stuff that I need to know, or small little unanswered questions 
that I've had and kind of would like answered.  

- Copy Gems:  Squaresoft is infamous for various copy item tricks in 
their games, Final Fantasy 8 being the only one I remember that didn't 
exactly have one.  Vagrant Story, however does... I think.  I'm sure 
I've copied some Gems, and I think it involves the container which 
requires you to save if you mess with it.  I'm pretty sure I didn't find 
2 Bravehearts, or 2 Sylphid Topaz Gems or 2 Dragonite Gems, etc... if 
anyone has any further information on this, let me know.

- Items List:  I'm sure someone will release one in the VERY near 
future, but I might consider placing an items list in a separate FAQ, or 
just include it in this one.  What I'm missing are the names of certain 
wines of Lea Monde.  They're just like Elixirs, but are named according 
to the stats they increase (Valens which sounds like Valiance gives 
Strength).  If you've got the names of 4 other wines, (Int, HP, MP and 
AGL) then send it on over to me via e-mail.

- Locations of Dummies:  There's the Human one before the Minotaur's 
Room, the Undead one just a few rooms after Dullahan, and a Dragon one 
near the Time Attack rooms.  Looking for the other 3, and when I find 
them out, I'll put their locations in this FAQ.  If you've already got 
all 6 locations, mail them to me, along with the items each one gives 
when it is killed and at what point in the game they appear at their 
locations.

- Magic -20%:  This was something weird that happened and I can't 
explain it.  At the beginning of the game, no matter what, you can cast 
"Heal" and it's 100%.  Now, for some reason, unless I have the 
Hellraiser Gem equipped, whenever I cast "Heal" in Battle Mode, it is 
80%.  If anyone can explain this to me, it'd be much appreciated.

- Evolve, or DIE:  This, of course, refers to particular puzzle rooms 
where you are shown the average time taken to complete that puzzle.  
I've never completed them in under the average time (there is one puzzle 
in the Iron Maiden B1 where you need to complete it in under 5 seconds!)  
If anyone has achieved beating the time, could you e-mail to me what 
happens, if anything special at all?

***********************************************************************

CREDITS

- Squaresoft, for making this brilliant and addictive game.  A game 
where the characters have feeling and it is FUN, not -just- graphics!
It has replay value!  Anyway, thanks ^_^

- My friend, Itseamyeah, who let me borrow his copy before buying me my 
own copy.  Without his purchase, I'd have never found so addictive a 
game.

- CJayC for giving us FAQ writers a place to share our information to 
the rest of the gaming world so that none of us go crazy because they 
got stuck in a game somewhere.