No-Spoiler Tips
ROMANCING SAGA 2 SPOILER-FREE PLAY TIPS / BEGINNER'S GUIDE
Playing RS2 blind for the first time is a unique experience, it really is!
So close this browser tab this instant and play the game!
If you still want pointers but no spoilers, there you are : )
First you might want to download and read the the official game manual in English from Square Enix.
Feel free to ask if you are lost (my e-mail address on every page in the side column).
Game Concept: Reincarnations & Time Skips
Contrarily to what happens in most RPGs, in Romancing Saga 2 your main character (the Emperor) and your party will change many times during the game, which will span several hundreds or thousands of years. It is perfectly normal to lose party members; even your Emperor is expendable! And they will all grow stronger little by little as they die, so there is no need to reload your saves every time one of your character loses one LP or their life. Some specific events will also trigger Time Skips, that also help you get stronger in several ways.
Gameplay
Other than that, RS2 is an open-world RPG: as you talk to people, as you complete quests, and as time passes, new areas will open, new quests will unlock, but mostly you are free to deal with the quests in any order you want - although there are a few urgent situations that may require your immediate attention.
Saving
In the Remaster edition, there is a convenient Auto-save (after every battle and room change). Nevertheless, save your game at regular intervals, and keep multiple saves, because things may and will go wrong from time to time (and more often than not, haha): RS2 can be very unforgiving!
Emperors
Your Emperor will change, and it is a good thing, because some come with perks or peculiarities, and sometimes specific Emperors are needed to trigger specific quests. So try them out!
Recruits
You can recruit among various classes of characters which have common traits, but each character is quite distinctive, especially regarding the weapon techs/skills they can spark.
Note that you cannot make a recruit leave your party. This is a very unconvenient and unfortunate feature.. If you want to get rid of someone (including your Emperor), you must LP-kill them in battle.
Early Game
The game fully starts once Gerard passes the torch and a time skip occurs.
At that time you will have access to all the features of the Castle of your home base Avalon:
- 1F (top-right) Formation Officer will register new formations that new Emperors show him.
- 1F (top-right) Skill Training Officers, aka the Dojo, will give you access to the weapon skills/techs/evades that you have sparked in the previous generations.
- 2F Throne: sit on it to trigger important contructions in Avalon (and a few events), when conditions are met, usually for a price.
- 2F (top-right) Warehouse is where all your items are stocked (and where they go when you throw an item away, or after each death or time skip).
- 2F (left) Treasury and Revenue Officials will tell you of your finances. Note that your revenue is the money you get every time you engage in battle.
- 2F (bottom-right) Information Official will tell you of some ongoing events, while the official nearby (Remaster Only) will disclose the number of battles you have engaged.
- Outer Wall (top-right) Workshop, where you can order new weapons or armor to be researched, for a price.
Battle Preparation - Formations - Magic
Equip your characters with weapons, armor, techs.
Important! The defense stat displayed for armor is only a fraction of the protection it grants you (namely, its defense against slashing attacks): there are other types of defenses (related to various physical and magic attributes) which are all invisible. Keep this in mind when preparing against enemies that seem to use a particular type of weapon or magic..
Some items (balms) are battle-usable and must be equipped (weapon slot) to be used in battle.
Always leave at least one tech slot empty, otherwise you cannot learn new techs.
Formations are important.
You get new formations by talking to the Formation Officer with specific Emperors.
Each formation give your characters various bonuses or penalties depending on their position.
You can change the position all characters except the Emperor.
Magic: Some characters come with some spells.
You will be able to teach spells to your characters once you build the Magic Research Facility in Avalon (Throne event).
Battles - Sparking Techs
RS2 battles are classic turn-based.
SP/MP can be recovered by staying at a town Inn. HP recovery can be achieved through usable items, magic spells and a few techs. There is no Heal-All tech or spell (with one exception: if you break certain rare weapons).
Not-so-classic are:
- The weapon skill/tech sparking system: your characters will sometimes devise (learn/spark/glimmer) new techs in battle. They also have a chance to gain Evade / Ward skills against specific enemy attacks.
Each specific character can only spark a fixed list of specific techs. To have a chance to spark a new tech, your characters need an empty slot in their tech inventory, and most of the time you must use a basic attack. Some weapons have built-in techs too. And roughly said, it is easier to spark techs against strong enemies, and top techs can only be sparked against endgame enemies.
- At the end of each battle, the characters still standing will gain Technical Points (TP = EXP, really), thanks to which their HP and weapon/magic proficiency can level up. Only the weapons or magics used in battle will benefit from this. Note that these TP will also benefit your general power (called Global / Master Levels = invisible general levels for each of the weapons and magics) that strengthen each new recruit.
At the end of a battle, if you are (very) lucky, an item can drop.
If you happen to face a boss you cannot seem to beat, sometimes it is better just to come back later, stronger, with a different strategy, and better or different equipments.
Grinding. Unlike other RPGs, it is not necessary to grind, and can be dangerous in the early game: every time you engage in battle (win, lose or flee), the chance of stronger enemies appearing goes up, and it can quickly become absolutely overwhelming.
If you are stuck:
Check your Imperial Log (Remaster Only), read it to see if you haven't overlooked anything.
Remember the main quest: to defeat the Seven Heroes.
Talk to everyone (some characters' dialogues change during the course of the game, and depending on your Emperor) to unlock new quests. There is always something you can do, so if you can't understand something (it may just be that it is not time yet for that event), just look for a different quest elsewhere.
If you are on the verge of rage-quitting, spare yourself and just have a look at the numerous sections of this site, accessible from the tabs under the title banner, on every page. Here is also the Index page.
Most importantly: Have fun!
QUICK LINKS
No-Spoiler Tips - Game Info - Gameplay - Characters - Techs - Sparking - Magic - Items - Monsters - Bosses - Maps - Trivia & Secrets
Walkthrough: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
ATTRIBUTIONS
Except where noted otherwise, everything here is my own work (including all screenshots, all maps, walkthroughs, translations & adaptations). The sources for all info & quotes are always mentioned. Please respect other people's work: kindly attribute to whomever. Thank you!
CONTACT
If you see a typo, an error or would like to make a suggestion, don't hesitate and contact me: romancingsaga3fan@gmail.com
See also --> ROMANCING SAGA 3 BLOGSPOT
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