Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is a RPG video game published by Gust, NIS America released on June 28, 2005 for the PlayStation 2. Atelier Iris is the 6th game in the Atelier main series and the 1st game in the Iris trilogy. Atelier Series Description – RPG Revision You know what I said about the other Atelier games?

COMBAT SYSTEM, STRATEGIES, & CHARACTER PROFILESGalgazit Tactics: IntroIn Regallzine, 'galgazit' is the technical term for a professional monster hunter. It's a pretty good occupation for adventuresome types, so your party will end up doing a lot of monster-hunting over the course of the game. You'll also have to battle some enemies who are simply trying to stand in your way.

In this section, we'll break down the combat system for you, and tell you everything you need to know to become a truly great galgazit.Galgazit Tactics: BasicsLike most RPGs, enemy combats in Atelier Iris come in two flavors: random encounters, and boss battles. The two different kinds of fights call for very different tactics, and a character that is very useful in random encounters may not be very worthwhile in fights with bosses. Random encounters in Atelier Iris can sometimes be as difficult as the bosses, so don't be surprised if you find yourself in trouble the first time you enter a new area. Things will get easier as you level up and learn more about the kinds of enemies you can expect to face.

For bosses, you just need to make sure you're using the right tactics for that kind of fight. The basic tactics you start using against bosses at the beginning of the game will still work when you've reached the ending.In most RPGs, you can completely eliminate the weaknesses in your party if you just level your characters up long enough, but if you try to play Atelier Iris like this you are going to spend a lot of time getting killed. In Atelier Iris, each of the six playable characters has totally unique strengths, and also unique weaknesses that can never really be made to go away.

You need to make sure you use the Change command frequently once you've unlocked that option, so you're using the characters most suited to that situation.So how do you know which characters are the best for a given fight? It primarily depends on a character's speed, and what kind of damage they can do with their Skills. In addition to the speed types for skills that the instruction manual outlines, Skills that do damage can have Physical, Magical, or one of several Elemental Types. You can read a Skill's profile in the main menu to find out what kind of damage it deals.You'll generally want to keep your speediest characters, particularly those with the Fast Attack Skill or damage-avoiding Skills, in the default battle formation.

Character speed determines turn order during battle, and fast characters are more likely to get their turns before the enemies do. If it turns out that your active party's Skills are poorly suited to the type of enemy you're facing, then you'll be able to quickly rotate in other characters that will fare better. For random encounters, this will usually happen if you encounter enemies that are immune to Physical or Magical attacks. For enemies that are preparing to use Skills against you, you'll want to make sure you have your speediest characters rotated in to try and eliminate them before the Skill goes off, or at least score a Skill Break.Don't worry much about how Changing characters will affect your character's EXP gains. In Atelier Iris, EXP is divided evenly among every character in your party, including those who didn't participate in the battle.

The three characters that are on the battlefield will each get a full share, and then the remaining characters will get a half-share each. In addition, whoever dealt the last blow in combat will receive an extra +10% of their base share.

This formula makes it pretty difficult for any character to fall behind or over-level significantly, but if you notice this happening, just use the Change command before beating the last enemy in a random battle to manipulate the EXP gains as you see fit.You can often tell a lot about an enemy's properties just by looking at their sprite's shape. The enemies that share the Banshee, Elemental and Ghost sprites are usually immune to Physical damage.

Wood Man enemies will resist Physical damage and be vulnerable to Magical damage. All Lizard and Virum enemies will be resistant to Magical damage types. The Charon enemies are vulnerable to Physical damage and often reflect Magical damage back on the attacker. Sinister-looking enemies will be vulnerable to Holy Element damage, icy-looking ones will take extra damage from Fire Elemental damage, and fiery-looking ones will be vulnerable to Ice Elemental damage.These principles apply as much to bosses as to the randomly encountered enemies. Most bosses with unique sprites won't require juggling Physical and Magical damage types, but figuring out their Elemental weaknesses can help you kill them a bit quicker.

The main difference between boss battles and random encounters is that for bosses, you'll want to do as much damage to them as quickly as possible, using every Skill and resource available to you. For random encounters, you'll want to make sure you can win without depleting your elements or Mana Item reserves too much.Galgazit Characters: Klein KieslingKlein is the game's alchemist, so virtually all of his Skills relate directly to enhancing his alchemical abilities.

It also means he's the only character in the game that can use Mana Items. You'll begin the game with the Ice Bomb Mana Item, but will acquire more as the game progresses. Some you'll get automatically in story events, but usually you'll have to search for them in the various locations you visit during the game.

Mana Items appear in distinctive blue and gold treasure chests, and once you've found one, Klein will be able to synthesize up to eight more of them if he has the right Mana Spirit and enough mana to spend. While some Mana Items are obviously more useful than others, you don't want to miss out on any of them if you can help it.Mana ItemYou'll find it at.Heal JarKavoc – Mana Chest in back room of Lyla's General StoreHeal BulbFlawless Marvel – Mana ChestElixirLand of Mana – Speak to Mana Chief of WaterMana JarIris's Resting Place – Mana ChestAeroangelFort Galga – Mana ChestEther BulbZeldalia's House – Speak to Zeldalia after the event that introduces the Mana Bath. She'll offer you either the Ether Bulb or the Living Item Skill.

Whatever you don't select the first time she'll offer to you later in the game.MeteorGarden of Eternity – Mana Chest located in second forest areaHeaven GeodeTower of Marcus – Mana ChestFlameProselyte Encampment – Mana ChestDragon GemHome Base – Synthesized for you by Rurona (Event). After you've finished the Puni God dungeon and opened up the route to Ka Luda's Playground, speak to Rurona in the ‘Bell Tower' area of Kavoc. Make sure you do this before you speak to Rurona in the forest later in the game. Fight at least 20 more battles. Then go talk to Rurona again, wherever she is. After you open up the Path of the Heavens from Henmil's Gate, fight at least 10 battles.

Then go speak to Rurona – she should be back in the Bell Tower area of Kavoc. If you missed starting this chain of events earlier in the game, this will initiate the chain, and you'll be able to progress through steps 2 and 3 by fighting at least 20 battles, then speaking to Rurona. Fight at least 20 more battles, then speak to her again. This will trigger the cut-scene where she makes the Dragon Gem. This will consume one of your Dragon Horn Items if you have any, but the synthesis will work even if you don't.Bomb IceYou begin the game with itLightning RodSnowfield – Mana ChestDirkAvenberry – Mana Chest. Located at the top of the 2nd Avenberry mapObake BagUnderground Sewer – Mana Chest. You won't be able to get to this Chest until you have recruited DiemeaVamp FangsHeaven's Path – Mana ChestUnholy WaterPoto's Forest – Mana Chest on top of the large pumpkin outside of Zeldaria's house.

You won't be able to get to this Chest until you have recruited DiemeaSleepaidLake Forwel – Mana ChestBasilisk EyeValiant Path – Mana Chest. You will not be able to get to this Chest until you have Flight ability.Love GemPuni God – Mana ChestLaruba KeyMull's Dungeon - Mana Chest in plant areaCure JarIris's Resting Place – Mana Chest. You will not be able to get to this Chest until you have recruited Diemea.Herbal DropTower of Airfen – Mana Chest.

Teleport to the top of the tower.MovagainHome Base – Synthesized for you by Rurona (Event). After the event at the re-opening of the Mine, Rurona will approach you as you leave. If you agree to make the Movagain, she'll go with you to gather the ingredients. Go to Zeldalia's House in Poto's Forest to collect some soot.

Go to the Weapon Shop in Kavoc to get a bald man's hair. Go to the Town of Duran and talk to the red chicken to get a red feather. Finally, go to the Tower of Airfen and fight the boss monster Baal to get a bat's wing. After you've done all this, Rurona will synthesize the Movagain for you.UroborusSilencia – Mana Chest.

Look at the upper right platform on the fifth map, just before the end of the dungeon.NewlifePoto's Forest – On one of your visits to Zeldalia's house, after you've finished exploring the Cleft of Nelvia, she will ask you to deal with a wind spirit that's going berserk. Go to the circle of standing stones south of Zeldalia's house. Defeat the Jin Rider boss there and you will obtain the Newlife.RefractorAlexia Cave – Mana Chest located in a hidden part of the cave. It will open up when you go back to reignite the Furnace of Mercurius.DiselementLibrary of Iris – Mana Chest located in the second map areaDivine ShieldKavoc (After Invasion) – a Mana Chest located at the front of the first map section of the town. You must use the Flight ability to reach it.Courage MarkValiant Path – Mana ChestWeakness MarkKa Luda's Playground – Mana Chest, hidden in the terrace at the front of the game boardWeapon Type:Klein's weapon type is the Cane, but he can also wield Maces and some Staves. Maces will significantly reduce his magical and alchemical abilities.Skills:Skill NameLearning ConditionsMAX LevelTurn CostEle ExtractDefault31Mace AttackDefault41DelayLv211Wide ItemLv351Pass ItemLv2451Living ItemGiven by Zeldalia30.5Power ItemLv3051Magic ResistLv85-Strengths:Thanks to his ability to use Mana Items, Klein is both your strongest healer and best damage dealer.

His Ele Extract attack does damage over a wide radius and can hit several enemies at once, while his Mace Attack skill also lets him freely attack enemies who resist Magical damage. His best skills by far are Wide Item, Power Item, and Living Item. Using Power Item in combination with a damage-dealing Mana Item is the best way to inflict big damage on most bosses.Weaknesses:Klein is by far the slowest character in the game, which means he'll get fewer turns and go later in the turn order than other characters. Even equipping speed-boosting accessories won't do much to improve this. Since he's both your best damage dealer and your best healer, you'll constantly be forced to find ways for him to efficiently juggle these two roles in boss battles.

Klein will never be able to take as many actions during a boss fight as you'd like. In random encounters, he's best used as a character who can Change in and heal characters who are low on HP, or pick off enemies who can only be damaged with Magical attacks.Galgazit Characters: Lita BlanchimontWhen Lita first meets Klein, she's a skillful galgazit while Klein is a pretty pitiful fighter. But as the game progresses, it becomes obvious that her strength is hiding a terrible secret.Weapon Type:Lita attacks with massive Claws that she keeps concealed inside of her sleeves.Skills:Skill NameLearning ConditionsMAX LevelTurn CostClaw AttackDefault50.5Force BlastLv651Jump KickLv941Stone BlastRock Smash at Lv3Becomes Meteor Strike at MAXLv1450.5First AttackLv365-DodgeLv283-Pale WingGive Lita the Ruby Prism11Strengths:Lita can dish out devastating Physical damage faster than any other character in the game. Her Stone Blast technique can easily clear out huge groups of enemies in a single hit, and takes her off the screen for part of a turn. Her standard attack has a huge effect radius, usually able to hit about 5 or 6 enemies at once. When she's at her best, she's a character you'll always want on the front lines with you in a fight.Weaknesses:After Lita becomes reliant on Mana Protection, using her in random encounters becomes much more expensive than it's worth.

Since her specialty is Physical damage types and her Force Blast technique consumes a lot of mana, she's not the best choice to fight enemies that are primarily vulnerable to Magical damage.Galgazit Characters: DelsusDelsus is a monster hunter who hangs around Norman's bar, being seedy. He's too nice a guy for his own good, and joins the party to help Klein and Lita escape from the Alkavana Knights. Delsus likes to think he's a ladies' man, but for the most part the ladies aren't interested. Oh, he also has a secret in his past, but it's not at all what you think it might be.Weapon Type:Delsus hunts monsters with his trusty Crossbow, because that means he gets to stay out of attack range. He's the only character who can do full damage while on the back row.Skills:Skill NameLearning ConditionsMAX LevelTurn CostCrossbowDefault61First ShotLv2440.5Spirit BlastEvent - See Below40.5Dark ArrowLv1041Flare ShotLv3541Power ShotDefault41Feint ShotLv321-CounterLv1841Getting Spirit Blast:Settle in, getting this skill is a long and complicated process.

You can start trying to unlock Spirit Blast after the Event in Kavoc when the lady knight you've met before (Marietta) and your enemy Beggur have an argument.Head to Arcose and begin triggering events with Blaire. Each event will require an increasingly high number of, and you'll need to make sure you fight at least one battle between events. However, each event will also unlock new recipes for the bread store.After you've unlocked the recipe for Leftovers, trigger one more event by entering Blaire's shop. For the next event, go buy something at the Arcose general store, then go into the bread shop. After this, just repeat your original pattern of triggering an event, fighting a battle, boosting your friendship points with Blaire, and unlocking more events. This should eventually unlock the Secret Ingredient, RosieAnn BunA, Bun ala Fran, White Love, Wedding Cake, Bread Pants, Rock Bread, Smash Bread, and 12AlarmSandwich. When you do the event that unlocks the Caramel Cube, Salty Fries, Animal Crackers, Cheesecake, and Snickerdoodle recipes, you're done with all the Blaire events you need to get this particular skill.Now go to the village elder Zazzy's house at Lake Forwel.

Talk to him, and he'll send you off on some errands. Get the Fresh Milk item from the cow, and give it to Zaji. Then talk to Gemlis the fisherman to get the Lakefish Charm, and give that to Zazzy as well. Next, go talk to Norman to get the Herb Cocktail, and give that to Zazzy.

At this point, Zazzy will reward you with four Mana Stones (Green, Black, Silver, and Gold). This is nice and all, but not even close to the end.Now, you need to go talk to Veola at the magic shop in Kavoc. Make the Magoo Clothes item with her if you haven't already.

Make sure you've fought at least one battle since then, put Lita in your party, and then speak to Veola. If you have at least 50 friendship points with her, an event will happen that unlocks the recipes for the GoGo Suit and Fairy Clothes items. Make a GoGo Suit, then go speak with Zazzy at Lake Forwel again.Give him the GoGo Suit, and he'll send you off on another errand. Head to Arcose and mix a Snickerdoodle if you don't already have one, then go back to Lake Forwel and give a Snickerdoodle to Zazzy.

Finally, he'll reward you with the Spirit Blast skill for Delsus!Strengths:With tons of cheap Skills and his sniping Crossbow attack, Delsus is the absolute best character to keep in your party for random encounters. Once he has his Feint Shot skill, he'll be able to randomly intercept enemy attacks with his own counter-attacks, and his Counter skill will randomly counter-attack enemies who have damaged him. His default attack and his cheap Dark Arrow skill can multi-hit some enemies, and with Flare Shot he can do random damage to almost every enemy in a battle. His Spirit Blast technique is the single most powerful attack in the game if you have the patience to get it.Weaknesses:A lot of Delsus' most powerful attacks rely on dealing Elemental damage, particularly the Dark element.

He'll be somewhat ineffective if you run into the odd enemy with strong elemental resistances. While Spirit Blast is powerful, what kind of elemental damage is does is basically random.Galgazit Characters: NornA young sorceress apprenticed to the witch Zeldalia, Norn joins the party to study Klein's magical techniques. She isn't very happy about this at first, but comes to enjoy her adventures with the party. Zeldalia often uses Norn as a conduit for speaking to Klein and the others.Weapon Type:Norn is best when wielding a magical Staff.

There are a few Canes she can use, too.Skills:Skill NameLearning ConditionsMAX LevelTurn CostMagical StaffBecomes Witch Staff at Lv2Becomes Sorceror Staff at MAXDefault50.5IllusionSolve the puzzle with the black pieces at Ka Ludar's Playground51TelekinesisLv1851Turn 2 CandyLv1430.5Shrink (L)Becomes Shrink (M) at Lv2Becomes Shrink (S) at Lv3Default31SleepDefault30.5Magic ShieldLv2650.5Magic ResistLv205-Strengths:Norn is one of the best characters for dealing with enemies that are immune to Physical damage, especially after her Magic Staff skill has been improved to Witch Staff. Initially she can only hit single enemies at a time, but after her attack skill is improved she can start hitting two enemies at once if they're positioned closely together. Her default attack will also drain the enemy's mana points, which can keep them from using their Skills, and when fully upgraded she can drain enemy MP and add it to her own. This comes in handy for powering her Turn 2 Candy Skill, which you can use to get tons of rare items.

She's very handy to have out during random encounters.Weaknesses:Norn is not very useful at all in boss fights. She just doesn't hit hard enough to be worthwhile. Her physical damage skills are all fairly expensive, so it's not worth using her against enemies that resist Magical damage.

She also tends to take a lot of damage from enemy attacks. Don't use her outside of random encounters if you can help it, except maybe to cast Magic Shield.Galgazit Characters: ArlinArlin is yet another of the shady monster hunters that hang around Kavoc. Team buddies download pc. He's cold and remote, and has a single-minded obsession with killing the evil alchemist Mull. Despite being such a scary guy, Arlin also has a quiet respect for Klein's efforts to use alchemy for good. He'll join the party when it's in his interests to do so, but he'll also leave when it suits him.Weapon Type:As one might expect, Arlin uses Swords.

There are some blades intended for Marietta that he can't use, however.Skills:Skill NameLearning ConditionsMAX LevelTurn CostSword AttackDefault71Paralyze BlowLv2041Bull's EyeLv3610.5Mana BlowDefault31DoubleLv1731BerserkLv2630.5First AttackLv233-BlockingLv305-Strengths:With his Bull's Eye Skill, Arlin is the only character in the game that does as much raw damage per hit as Klein. He's also much speedier, with a Fast Attack skill to give him extra turns, and his Blocking skill helps him avoid damage. Anything that's immune to his Physical attacks, he can easily take down with his cheap Mana Blow Skill.Weaknesses:Arlin's skills are poorly suited to damaging multiple targets. He's not a good choice for battles where crowd control is a major element.Galgazit Characters: Marietta LixissMarietta is one of the Holy Knights of Alkavana, but she broke with the order after Mull's influence over it grew too great. She hates what Mull has turned the Knights into, and falls in with Klein's group despite Delsus' many heartfelt attempts to hit on her.She certainly doesn't end up developing a fondness for him. Not at all.Weapon Type:Marietta's signature weapon is the Whip Sword, a curious weapon that looks like a Zweihander but can actually extend into a long razor-edged whip.

She can equip most sword types, but there a few meant for Arlin she can't use.Skills:Skill NameLearning ConditionsMAX LevelTurn CostSword AttackDefault71HalberdDefault41HarkenDefault41DimenExtractLv5041BraveLv4841HealingDefault31Thunder GodDefault50.5CourageLv443-Strengths:There is very little that Marietta isn't good at. She's the only character in the game that can heal aside from Klein, and this alone makes her invaluable during boss battles.

Her Thunder God Skill dishes out heavy damage, and with Halberd and Harken she can hit lots of enemies with a single maneuver.Weaknesses:Marietta is one of the slower characters, and her Thunder God attack is too expensive to be worth using against enemies in random encounters who are immune to Physical damage.