And this is why walkthroughs...

[Ender]

...are basically required fare for FF games.

I beat Zande yesterday (on the NES ROM). With Level 48 Warlock, Shaman, Karateka, and MKnight. Then when I tried to duel the guardians of the dark crystals and got slaughtered over and over and over again I think to myself...self, you need to level up a bit.

Well, the only realistic way to do that was to go back out where I could rest and heal in the Invincible, so I reloaded my pre-Sylx Tower save and proceeded to level up. During the process I sorta decided I should do the whole thing properly and level up so those annoying little FlameDevils wouldn't wipe out my party with ambush Flame attacks (I mean, the game is meant to be played so that you can't save on your way up Sylx and after Zande, so you technically should be prepared to handle three ambushing FlameDevils without resorting to a save-state). So I go to bed having reached Level 60 deciding that would be plenty enough, but also deciding to check a walkthrough to make sure I wasn't missing anything significant up to that point.

Of course, I only missed an entire level of the game with everything one needs to beat it...

I knew that I had yet to get the two best jobs and the level 8 spells, but I figured I was going to find them in the Dark World. Oh well.

At least I feel for having beaten Zande the hard way. But seriously, does anybody else feel walkthroughs are basically required for FF games?

Also, QUESTION:

I see that Sylx Tower is supposed to have the dragons that randomly drop the OnionGear, but I did not face a single one on my way to the top, even though I wandered around to collect the treasures along the way. Is there a particular place I need to look for them, where they appear more often, or are they just super rare?

Thanks.

[Paul]

i like to play through a game for the first time without a walkthrough, because some of the inevitable enjoyment is taken away by knowing what is coming up all the time. although you will definitely miss lots of secrets this way.

2nd time through i like to try and get everything, so i use a walkthrough.

also those dragons are super, super rare, but become less rare with each one you meet (i think the probability of meeting one is halved each time you meet one).

but still, way too rare for me to bother with that. you'd have to be insane.

[Zeromus_X]

The 50s is fine to beat the game.

And yeah, Onion Equipment is basically the precursor to future super-rare-to-the-point-of-insanity-super-equipment. Like Pink Tails, Dragon Lances, and so on.

[Captain Maxx Power]

also those dragons are super, super rare, but become less rare with each one you meet (i think the probability of meeting one is halved each time you meet one).

but still, way too rare for me to bother with that. you'd have to be insane.

The Dragons that drop the Onion Equipment, due to the way the game calculates enemy formations you encounter, will be encountered after ~128 battles, then 68 battles, then 9 battles, then 6 battles, then it will be reset again. Any of the Dragons can be found on Levels 2 to 7 of the Slyx Tower, however Level 4 and up is best for this since you will be less likely to encounter QumQum's, which are perhaps the most deadly enemy in the tower.

A dragon has a chance to drop any piece of the Onion Equipment and an Elixir. Which tile you end up standing on seems to affect what piece is dropped, so save state before you move and see what they drop. Incase you don't know, 2*Weapons > 1 Weapon + 1 Shield.

However as has been stated FEOK's (Fully Equipped Onion Knights) aren't necessary to beat the game. They can of course consistently deal 9999 damage at Level 99 to any target, are next to invincible, and generally take any difficulty out of the game.

[Crossblades]

I always like to play with a Walkthrough or Strategy Guide so I can get the full experience of the game on my first playthrough. I always feel I can enjoy the game even more this way


And yeah, those dragons are extremely hard to find. Consider yourself lucky if you even find one

[Captain Maxx Power]

And yeah, those dragons are extremely hard to find. Consider yourself lucky if you even find one

My post above outlines that finding the dragons isn't down to chance, it's down to inevitability. It takes a lot of fights to start finding them, before a long run of fights against them, before more long fights.

[DJZen]

Levelling up is the hard way. The easy way is to re-think your strategy.