Elem Pedras are powerful magic spells, summoned by Magnus, that can deal considerable damage to the opposing forces. The damage bar thingy has to fill up three times in order for you to use one, and after you use it, you will not be able to use another Elem Pedra for another few game days, or until you beat the mission.
Elem Pedras can not be used in training, or in battles against neutral creatures. However, unlike the original Ogre Battle, if you use an Elem Pedra in combat, any enemies killed by the attack will give the unit experience, not Magnus. The damage dealt is based on Magnus's level, so when you first use it, it probably won't be strong. Fortunetly, by the time your damage meter thingy can fill up high enough to get to three (don't expect it to get that high until the late teens missions), Magnus will probably have considerable power.
Sometimes Elem Pedras will hit just one character, and sometimes, multiple. Generally, it focuses on the back-most characters, and if they are adjacent, they tend to have more of a chance in being hit.
From Water, Flame, Wind, and Earth, you chose one at the beginning. The other three are found by training with Magnus's unit at the areas of Mylesia, Gules Hill, and Mouth Ithaca. After battling for a bit, you should bump into a Dragoon, Dragon Master, Dragon Tamer, or another human character, with a high level dragon.
There are four dragon types you can fight. You can only get three Elem Pedras this way, since you already got one from the beginning. The dragons are as follow:
Ahza Dahaka: A Ground type Dragon. His attack, Earthquake, hits all non-flying characters, and lowers their power. By defeating him, you'll get the Pedra of Earth.
Quetzalcoatl: A Thunder type Dragon. His attack, Radiant Gale, hits all characters, and paralyzes them. By defeating him, you'll get the Pedra of Wind.
Hydra: A Water type Dragon. His attack, Clear Disaster, hits all characters, and puts them to sleep. By defeating him, you receive the Pedra of Water.
Flarebrass: A Fire type Dragon. His attack, Crimson Note, hits all characters for high damage, and sometimes lowers power. By defeating him, you get the Pedra of Fire.
You cannot fight a dragon whose element is that of one of the Pedras you have. If you chose Wind in the beginning, you will not fight a Quetzalcoatl.
"Man!! These guys are HARD! I can't win! Help me, oh grand-master Peppy!"
You can use a bunch of tactics to beat them. Pumpkinheads work well, but, well, they really can't stand up to the power of the dragon attacks. My favorite tactic is definitely to get a witch with Fire, Wind, or Water element (or give her one of those books), and put her in the bottom left hand corner. Well, top right, in the Character Selection Screen thingy. Put your characters to 'Attack Strongest', and pray she's quick enough. The Witch will hopefully put the dragon to sleep, or paralyze him. From there, set your units to attack leader, so she'll paralyze/put him/her to sleep, too. Ghosts work okay here, too.
This tactic doesn't always work, especially if you're not quick enough. What can help? Put characters in all four corners of the 3X3 grid. Dragon attacks hit the middle column and row hardest, like in a cross formation. Large characters can work cool, here. Don't really bother with Clerics or Priests, they probably won't be able to heal enough at a time.
After the battle, you get your... yay! Elem Pedra!
To get the Pedra of Bane, liberate the Highland of Soathon. After that mission, go to Jihad, where a boy or his mom will tell you about how the family lost a dog. :( Aww!! How can you help? By giving him/her a Hellhound, of course! ^^ One can be found around the town, but it can take game DAYS. I'd head back to a different level to find one. After you get one, put him in your party, and head for the town. The boy will greet you, and take the Hellhound if you say 'Yes', giving you the Pedra of Bane in return.
Pedra of Virtue... a neato Pedra. It can kill undead, which rules. After finishing Gules Hills, head for Muji, where a man will tell you about his daughter in Volmus Mine. Hm. Pay her a visit. Someone there will tell you she went to Mouth Ithaca. Why not stop by and give her a visit? In Cactovich, she'll give you the Pedra of Virtue. Oh, it's a happy ending, too. She ran away to help her dad, not, like, to escape from him. ^^
Ta da! And you're done. Nice job. ;)
© 2000 starpeppy@hotmail.com