Chapter 19: the Dragonlord’s Castle and the final battle

Checklist

Getting ready

1. Things that make the castle much easier:
   1. The full Erdrick set you have so far (armour, shield, helm): the armour’s healing as you walk adds up in a dungeon this size.
   2. Holy Protection to keep weak encounters away, or switch to Dracky Quest difficulty for the walk and back to your usual setting at the final boss.
   3. Plenty of Magic Water and the Meditation skill for the final fights.

1F and the two short trips to B1

1. The marker is to the north. The chests in the north-west and north-east corners of this floor are empty, so don’t detour for them.

2. First trip:
   1. Head down the south-west hallway and take the stairs on the right. North at the fork, the centre of the floor plate hides a Steel Broadsword.
   2. Then go south and down to B1. The chest down the south-east tunnel is empty; instead, go to the far north dead end and examine its left side for a Cower Ring.
   3. Cast Evac and walk back in.
3. Second trip:
   1. Go west this time, down the right-hand hallway, then left down the stairs; at the fork, south and down to B1.
   2. The chest to the right is empty. From the stairs, follow the dirt path north-east to the end of its tunnel for a hidden Seed of Wisdom.
   3. Go back up.
4. On 1F, go south at the hallway fork, round the corner and north to the open area in the middle. On its left side, where the sunlight falls, examine the floor for Frazzled Feathers.
5. Go north to the throne, surrounded by electrified tiles, for a scene. Then examine the back of the throne: a hidden staircase leads down.

B1 to B3

1. This part of B1 has nothing. Go south, then south-west down a long tunnel to the far south, and take the stairs down (the east branch at the fork is empty).
2. B2:
   1. North into the open area, and north again for a chest with a Ruinous Shield.
   2. Go west and follow the tunnel north. Ignore the dead end to the east and keep north to the north-east corner. The right branch there ends at a chest with a Hapless Helm.
   3. Take the other branch south to an open area with several paths. The chest to the west is a Mimic that drops nothing; skip it if you like. Go south and down.
3. B3:
   1. At the first fork go west to two chests: 502 gold and a Medicinal Herb.
   2. Then east to the open area in the north-east corner. Quickly take the north-east stairs down to B4 for the chest on its east side: Hate Mail. Come back up.
   3. Go west to the staircase in the top-left corner, but first walk south past it to a chest that’s a Mimic (it drops a Sage’s Elixir).
   4. Then take that top-left staircase down.

B4 to B6: Erdrick’s Sword and the last medal

1. B4: go north all the way to another Mimic (Sage’s Elixir). Then come south and look at your map: there are two staircases in the middle.
2. Take the north-west one up and follow it all the way back to B1. At the end is Erdrick’s Sword, the last piece of the set. There’s a trophy/achievement for owning all four.
3. Return to B4 and take the central staircase on the east side down.
4. B5:
   1. Go north to a chest with the 40th Mini Medal.
   2. The path north loops back to the start. Take it, go up to B4, walk to its north-east corner and come down to B5 again by that other staircase.
   3. Follow the right-hand path south and then west to a dead end with the Double-Edged Sword.
   4. Go back a little, north through the gap in the wall, and west. At the fork, left and up leads to another Mimic (Sage’s Elixir).
   5. From the fork, go south and then east to an open area. The stairs on its east side lead down to the last floor.
5. B6: cross the bridge north. The room ahead is full of chests:
   1. A Dieamend, 500 gold, a Chimaera Wing, a Mimic (Sage’s Elixir), the Wasteband, a Prayer Ring, 420 gold, a Medicinal Herb and a Seed of Magic.
6. The rest of the floor is a straight walk through a poison marsh. At its end, a beam of light connects to the outside and lets you return to this point later.

Before the final battle

1. Use the beam of light to go out, then warp to the Citadel: with 40 Mini Medals you receive the last reward, the Gringham Whip.
2. Heal, save, warp back to the castle and take the beam of light down to B6. Walk forward to meet the Dragonlord.

3. There are two fights back to back with no healing in between. Go in with full MP above all — the second fight is the longer one.

Boss: Dragonlord

1. Keep Magic Barrier up and attack with Lightning Slash, which does more here than Dragon Slash.

2. Don’t use Wild Side in this fight. Every point of MP you save is one you’ll need in the next.

Boss: Dragonlord’s True Form

1. Use Dragon Slash, about twice as strong as a normal attack here, and keep Dodgy Dance up for the bites rather than Magic Barrier.

2. Two things are on your side:
   1. Blessings arrive often in this fight — regeneration and physical and magical defence — from Gwaelin if she’s with you.
   2. When your Gigaslash glows, hold the button to use its powered-up version. It does enormous damage.
3. Use Meditation and Magic Water whenever you need them, and heal on any turn you aren’t sure of. Taking it slowly is what wins.

The ending

1. After the scenes you’re back on the world map. You can visit other towns first if you want; then warp to Tantegel (Robbin’ ’Ood is waiting near the castle).
2. If you carried Gwaelin, the four chests on the west side of the castle’s ground floor are finally safe to open: 12,000 gold, an Elfin Elixir, the Headsman’s Axe and the Snoop Scroll. The scroll is needed for a trophy/achievement.
3. Then walk to the throne room for the final scenes. Which ending you see depends on your choices; see the endings page.