STAR OCEAN: THE SECOND STORY

  Ultimate party FAQ



Part I:

 -FAQ History

Part II:

 -Why use this party?

 -How to get this party?

 -Recommended equipment

Part III:

 -Iselia-Queen battle strategy



PART I:

	Version 1.0 Added info about ultimate party,

	 recommended equipment and where to get it,

 	 mini-FAQ on battling Iselia-Queen.



PART II:

	While playing through Star Ocean: the Second Story,

I accidentally stumbled upon a battle party that is so powerful

that I was able to breeze through the game, the Ten Wise Men,

the Cave of Trials, and the Iselia-Queen like a hot knife on 

butter. Basically, this party is so damn powerful that it makes

the game boring (though I have yet to play Universal mode). Anyhow,

this party's offensive power is so great that I killed the Iselia-Queen

in about five minutes (that's 3.3 million damage in 5 minutes!).

However, sadly this party is only acquireable in Rena's scenario,

as Dias plays a vital role with his speed. 



	Here's what the party consisits of: Claude, Dias, Ashton,

and Rena. Where most people would say that, instead of three

swordsmen, you should use an attack magician, such as Celine or 

Leon, I completely disagree. While powerful early in the game,

attack spells are far less effective later on, as they take forever to

cast, and don't do enough damage (In the time it takes for Meteor

Swarm, you can attack almost 3 or 4 times). Here's a list of my 

team's settings, feel free to change them around as you see fit.



Claude

------



Strategy: Attack with all MP! (Claude's specialty is his high ATK and

	  AC ratings; perfect for getting up-close and personal with

	  enemies)

Weapon: Levantine Sword (this sword is MUCH better than the Eternal

	Sphere! It doesn't shoot sparks on its own, but couple it

	with an Angel Armband, and Eternal Sphere becomes obsolete)

Armor: Seraphic Garb (I like this armor because its defensive rating

	goes up as your HP goes down. It also raises your EVA rating,

	and protects you from fire and thunder)

Shield: Valiant Guard (high AC, high EVA, shoots sparks. This is the

	ultimate shield)

Greaves: Valiant Boots (these boots are awesome. It has a very high

	 AC rating, AND gives you the speed bonus of Bunny Shoes!)

Accessory: Atlas Ring (it doubles your strength. Coupled with the

	   Levantine sword, you WILL be doing 9999 damage per hit)

Accessory: Angel Armband (this little accessory raises all of your 

	   stats by a lot, protects you from all elements, and

	   absorbs star magic. It also gives your Levantine Sword

	   the ability to shoot stars. Sweet!)

Killer Move 1: Dragon Howl (this is great for flying enemies. It can

	       also cancel very quickly, so you can trap enemies on 

	       battlefield's boundaries)

Killer Move 2: Mirror Slice (9 hits x 9999 damage per hit = 89,991 

	       damage! Think about it)



Dias

----



(Same settings as Claude, and same equipment as well, for the same 

reasons. Dias' ATK and AC are a little lower than Claude's, but he

is much faster. Also, Dias' sword cannot shoot stars no matter what,

but the Angel Armband is still worth it for its defensive properties.

Yes, it IS possible to get multiple Levantine Swords and Angel 

Armbands. I will explain how later in this FAQ.)

Killer Move 1: Illusion (a very quick, multihit attack that does a 

	       lot of damage. It can do 39,996 damage in about half

	       of the time it takes Claude to do Mirror Slice)

Killer Move 2: Hawk Scream Blast (not very powerful, but it's very

	       fast, long range, and homing to an extent)



Ashton

------



Strategy: Attack with all MP! (Ashton has some very damaging killer

	  moves, but his tri-Ace attack cannot be dodged and hits for

	  9999 damage)

Weapon: Levantine Sword (the most powerful sword of all. This sword

	will make Ashton's killer moves forces to be reckoned with)

Armor: Seraphic Gard (I like this armor because its defensive rating

	goes up as your HP goes down. It also raises your EVA rating,

	and protects you from fire and thunder)

Shield: Star Guard (Since there are only two Valiant Guards, Ashton

	should equip Star Guard, which has the second highest AC

	rating of all the shields in the game, and 1 more EVA point

	than the Valiant Guard. It also has star-shooting properties)

Greaves: Bunny Shoes (some of Ashton's killer moves allow him to safely

	 attack from a distance, while Claude and Dias need to attack

	 from close range. For this reason, Ashton can use the speed

	 bonus of the Bunny Shoes, run to a safe spot, and cast 

	 tri-Ace)

Accessory: Atlas Ring (it doubles your strength. Coupled with the

	   Levantine sword, you WILL be doing 9999 damage per hit)

Accessory: Angel Armband (this little accessory raises all of your 

	   stats by a lot, protects you from all elements, and

	   absorbs star magic. It also gives your Levantine Sword

	   the ability to shoot stars. Sweet!)

Killer Move 1: Sword Dance (this move is similar to Claude's Mirror

	       Slice, except with more hits but less damage per hit.

	       With the Atlas Ring and Levantine Sword though, it is

	       VERY powerful. Possibly stronger than Mirror Slice)

Killer Move 2: tri-Ace (this move is pretty weak, but Ashton can use 

	       it from a distance and hit multiple enemies. This move

	       makes having attack magicians redundant)



Rena

----



Strategy: Aid Allies (with this setting, not only can Rena heal your

	  party members, but she can also strengthen them with spells

	  like Angel Feather and Anti, as well as cast her attack

	  spells)

Weapon: Fallen Hope (not her most powerful weapon, but certainly my

	favorite. This weapon will halve Rena's MP consumption)

Armor: Seraphic Garb (I like this armor because its defensive rating

	goes up as your HP goes down. It also raises your EVA rating,

	and protects you from fire and thunder)

Shield: Valkyrie Guard (this shield has almost the exact same 

	properties as the Valiant Guard, but it's for female

	characters)

Greaves: Valkyrie Boots (the female version of Valiant Boots. The only

	 difference is that the Valiant Boots have 10 more AC points)

Accessory: Angel Armband (this little accessory raises all of your 

	   stats by a lot, protects you from all elements, and

	   absorbs star magic. It also gives your weapon

	   the ability to shoot stars. Sweet!)

Accessory: Angel Armband (this little accessory raises all of your 

	   stats by a lot, protects you from all elements, and

	   absorbs star magic. It also gives your weapon

	   the ability to shoot stars. Sweet!)



*You can get additional Levantine Swords and Angel Armbands by fighting

the Iselia-Queen. Fight her over and over again to rack up EXP and

equipment. You will only have one Levantine Sword and one Angel Armband

until you fight Iselia-Queen a few times. Until you have 3 Levantine

Swords and 5 Angel Armbands, equip Dias and Ashton with Holy Sword

Farwells, and, except for Claude, equip Tri-Emblems (they work, but

to a lesser extent).



PART III:

	To get some of the things that I mentioned earlier, you will

have to defeat Iselia-Queen, the hardest boss of Star Ocean: the

Second Story. To get to her, play through the Cave of Trials (easy,

right?) and get the Silver Trumpet. Once you have that, compose with

it until you get 'The Evil Melody'. Play that song to be immediately 

taken into battle with the Iselia-Queen.

	There is a great FAQ written by WDang at www.gamefaqs.com that

tells you how to protect yourself from Iselia-Queen's attacks and

slowly kill her with almost any party. My strategy is different;

rather than defending yourself, you put on the offensive, and don't

even allow Iselia-Queen to do anything. However, my strategy only

works with the party that I specified (equiment may be changed, but

make sure Claude's weapon shoots stars). Here's a list of what you'll

want (or need, depending on your confidence level. I'll work some

of them into my strategy).



	-Care Tablets

	-Extention Card

	-Discovery Card

	-Blackberries



	Start the battle off by having Claude use a Care Tablet on

himself (this will protect him somewhat from Iselia-Queen's stoning

attacks). Meanwhile, Rena will cast Anti on your party to defend

against Iselia-Queen's magic attacks. Claude should then charge in 

and start swinging his sword at the boss. Dias will follow, while

Ashton will do tri-Ace from the back. Between swings, have Claude use

Care Tablets on everyone else in the party. Rena will continue to

cast status-raising magic and heal you when your HP gets low. When

everyone has taken a Care Tablet, have Claude use an Extension Card,

then a Discovery Card. When Iselia-Queen tries to do magic, run up

with your super speed and hit her to get in more damage. When she 

spins, chase her. Ashton will knock her out of her spin with tri-Ace,

allowing Claude and Dias to rush her. Keep an eye on Ashton's and

Rena's MP. If they get low, have Claude use Blackberries on them

when he isn't attacking. Sometimes, you may have to manually move

Ashton out of Iselia-Queen's area, as his AI is not very high (all

he does is use tri-Ace. He doesn't even try to attack or dodge). Keep

this up for about five or ten minutes (yes, with my strategy, you

can win in five to ten minutes! Not two to three hours!), and victory

shall be yours. For your efforts, you'll get 2,000,000EXP (1,000,000EXP

if you didn't use Extension Card), 50,000FOL, and either a Levantine

Sword or an Angel Armband (you might not get one if you don't use a

Discovery Card). Fight her over and over again to rack up your levels

and get some equipment, then feel free to go to Fienal and show a

pathetic Indalecio (limiter or not. No big difference) the meaning of 

pain!



LEGAL DISCLAIMER

----------------

No part of this FAQ may be reproduced without written consent by me, 

the writer.



Copyright © 1999, EK.

Written by EK (Cool4free@aol.com)