[Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven] 1st Playthrough, Original Difficulty Play Notes [2nd Emperor Chapter]

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About this article

Having played through "Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven" about five times, I have put together this chart to play efficiently from the beginning once more.

I hope to fill in the following as much as possible:

・Conquer all Sensei
・Dominate all regions (1st playthrough)
・Complete University problems (2nd playthrough)
・Complete Enemy Bestiary (1st, 2nd, and 3rd playthroughs)
・Complete Item Bestiary (1st and 2nd playthroughs)
・Complete Technique Bestiary (1st and 2nd playthroughs)
・Complete Spell Bestiary (2nd playthrough)

Since I do not yet know how to complete the Deflect Bestiary, I am skipping it for now.

Classes available at the start

・Imperial Heavy Infantry
・Imperial Light Infantry
・Imperial Ranger
・Court Mage
・Free Fighter
・Free Mage
・City Thief
・Martial Artist

For the 2nd Emperor, I chose Martial Artist -> Male Court Mage. The reasons are described in the 1st Emperor article.

What to do as the 2nd Emperor

From here on, the range of action becomes very wide. Basically, the focus will be on "collecting Sensei" and "collecting important synthesis spells."

I proceeded with the following steps, keeping in mind to reveal the Ice Ruins, skip Dantarg, obtain Lightning early, and get the Thomas ability without letting Cumberland fall:

・Report on Gem Mine -> To Ludon Highlands. Bookmark Aqua Lake and go to the Saigo Village.
・Clear East Dungeon, lose to Dantarg, report to the village chief, buy Sea Breeze Shell, and reveal Toba.
・Accept South Dungeon quest at Mu's Wintering Ground, clear South Dungeon.
・Pass through Nazelle Strait to Mu's Dwelling (do not report) -> Reveal Ice Ruins.
・Miramar
・Somon -> Miles
・Mobelm -> Reveal Haria Peninsula
・Toba -> Mermaid
・From Mermaid to Witch's Sanctum, then to West Meru Desert.
・West Meru Desert -> Teretuva -> Yuyan
・North Meru Desert -> Bihara -> Lake Wyringa
・South Meru Desert -> Sand Ruins
・Power leveling
・Miles -> Explore Steppe
・Steppe -> Explore Savannah
・Savannah -> Explore Salamat
・Moolie -> Tsukijima
・Yuyan -> Clear Chontou Castle
・Clear Hakuro Castle
・Clear Cumberland to trigger Time Jump

Member selection

After obtaining the Dragon Formation with Martial Artist Emperor Fritz, I add a Male Court Mage to the party, abdicate, and make the Male Court Mage, Sagittarius, the Emperor.

I selected Male Court Mage Emperor, Female Court Mage, Male City Thief, Male Free Mage, and Female Free Mage. The reasons are as follows:

・Female Court Mage, Male Free Mage, Female Free Mage
→ Because I am proceeding mainly with spells.

・Male City Thief
→ Because his ability is important. Also, to serve as support with small swords.

Formation

I will be using the Dragon Formation.
※Changed from Imperial Magic.

Always place a character with high speed, such as a City Thief, at the front of the battle. Any arrangement is fine for the spellcasters.

Characters with high speed at this stage in this generation are Male Imperial Light Infantry, Male City Thief, and Female City Thief. All are useful, so you can choose based on preference.

Equipment

The spellcaster group uses clubs, and the City Thief uses small swords and clubs.

Techniques

Basically, clubs are used for Skull Splitter. Everyone must raise it to level 5 and learn it. City Thieves should use Feint & Electric Shock. Even if you haven't learned them, you will learn them along the way if you keep using them.

Spells

City Thieves use Light Ball -> (once level 5) Moonlight and Cyclone Squeeze. The spellcaster group uses Air Screen, Moonlight 2, Sunlight, and Cyclone Squeeze. It is also fine to have them learn Water of Life.

Confirmation and Preparation

Confirm that the "Armed Merchant Fleet Problem" and "Imperial Succession Problem" have occurred in Avalon, and "Leon Bridge Construction" has occurred in Somon. If they haven't appeared, return to the previous emperor's save data and increase the battle count slightly. Use the Mijinko Dojo or farm Miton drops to adjust.

Check Gerard's portrait in your room to obtain the +1 to all stats ability.

In the Mijinko Dojo, raise the Heavy Infantry and City Thief (male) Club skill to 5 and Wind Magic to 5, and replace Light Ball with Moonlight. Mages should use Cyclone Squeeze as much as possible. The mage group should also raise Club skill to 5. Have everyone learn Brain Splitter. Once prepared, proceed with the scenario.

Gem Mine -> Ludon Highlands

Report on the Gem Mine that has been left alone for nearly 200 years. The Ludon Highlands will be unlocked, so enter it.

At the throne, Avalon's Garden will be proposed, so make sure to build it.

The mage group should use Cyclone Squeeze as much as possible. Everyone needs at least 10 in Wind magic before reaching the desert. The Free Mage (female) starts at 0, so prioritize her. For enemies that are a hassle, try using the City Thief (male)'s Electric Shock for paralysis or Brain Splitter for sleep.

The Ludon Highlands are quite vast with significant elevation changes, making exploration difficult, so just focus on grabbing the Pure Iron Ore, Sensei, and Aqua Lake for now.

Stop by Aqua Lake along the way to bookmark it. Head to the Saigo Village.

Collect Sensei in the Ludon Highlands. 8th one.

Saigo Village -> East Dungeon

Accept the quest for the East Dungeon at the Saigo Village and enter. Obtain the Seven Heroes' memory. Do not defeat Dantarg. The goal is to drag this out until the Last Dungeon to trigger Final Dantarg. Losing on purpose is fine.

After returning and reporting, talk to them again to purchase the Sea Breeze Shell. The 1st playthrough is the Sea Lord reconciliation route. Head to the Moo Wintering Grounds.

Obtain Hellfire in the East Dungeon.
Collect Sensei in the Saigo Village. 9th one.

Moo Wintering Grounds -> South Dungeon

Accept the request from the village chief and enter the South Dungeon. Dantarg is not here at this point.

Since I secured 1 million crowns early, I built the Leon Bridge. I wanted Hiraga's ability. Weapon development can be done later once I can earn money to some extent.

Obtain the important weapon Splasher on the way through the South Dungeon. Equip it on the City Thief (male) and swing it as much as possible to spark Molecular Decomposition.

Also, you can aim for Target from the skeletons here. They drop frequently if you come after getting the Drop Ring, so you can leave this for later.

Defeat the boss, Horn Lizard, report to the village chief, and head to the Nazelle Strait.

Collect Sensei in the Moo Wintering Grounds. 10th one, obtained Income UP.
Collect Sensei in the South Dungeon. 11th one.

Horn Lizard Battle

Use Cyclone Squeeze to stun them, then paralyze them with Electric Shock as soon as they recover. Brain Splitter's sleep also works. You can comfortably lock them down.

Nazelle Strait -> Moo Dwelling

Since the members learned abilities around here, I swapped the City Thief (male) for the City Thief (female). Equipment and magic are basically the same. I raised Club and Magic a little, then had them swing swords.

Head to the Moo Dwelling via the Nazelle Strait. Do not report to the village chief; just unlock the Ice Ruins. Next, head to Miramar.

Obtain Diamond Dust in the Nazelle Strait.
Collect Sensei in the Nazelle Strait. 12th one.

Miramar

Just collect Sensei and the treasure chest.

Collect Sensei in Miramar. 13th one.

Somon -> Miles

Take a ship from Somon to Miles.

Also, have the City Thief (female) carry the Rob Omen found in the treasure chest. Swing it to spark Mad Biter.

I will explore the Steppes later, so leave that for now.

Collect Sensei in Miles. 14th one.

Mobelm -> Haria Peninsula

Since you can go to Mobelm via the throne event, collect the treasure and Sensei, do not go to the Armed Merchant Fleet, just unlock the Haria Peninsula.The synthesis spell Saint Fire on the Haria Peninsula is weak, so there is no need to rush to get it.

Note: In a normal walkthrough, it is common to unlock the Haria Peninsula and Messina Mine and leave them, but here I only unlock the Haria Peninsula.This is because there are enemies that can only be registered by taking the Armed Merchant Fleet annihilation route. My goal for the 1st playthrough is to register these enemies in the bestiary.

Collect Sensei in Mobelm. 15th one, obtained Escape Pro.

Toba -> Mermaid

Take a ship from Toba to Mermaid. The Sea Swallow's Nest and Fairy Light can be done later.

Once you enter Mermaid, collect the treasure and Sensei, and listen to the story about the Witch's Sanctum from the woman in the house at the southern end. Be careful not to talk to any other residents. It will trigger the mermaid flag.

Collect Sensei in Toba. 16th one.
Collect Sensei in Mermaid. 17th one.

Witch's Sanctum -> Meru Desert West

Buy one medicine at the Witch's Sanctum and head to Meru Desert West. LP recovery medicine is recommended. BP is scarce because it's spirit wine. Obtain Seven Heroes memory.

Obtain Ghostlight.
Collect Sensei at the Witch's Sanctum. 18th person.

Meru Desert West -> Teretuva -> Yuyan

Get Solar Wind in Meru Desert West. It is a super important synthesis spell. However, the Bone Drake in front of the treasure chest is incredibly strong. It is easier to run away, open the chest, and escape immediately. Bookmark Teretuva, Desert South, and Desert North. Leave item collection for later.

Make sure to send Solar Wind to development immediately.

Take a ship from Teretuva to Yuyan. Since the Yauda event will be cleared later, just collect the treasure chest and Sensei for now.

Obtain Solar Wind.
Collect Sensei in Teretuva. 19th person.
Collect Sensei in Yuyan. 20th person. Obtain Tech Point bonus.

Meru Desert North -> Bihara -> Wailinga Lake

It is easy to get to Bihara if you head north from the Meru Desert West entrance side. The desert at this point is seriously tough, so running away from everything is fine. Leave item collection for later. Take a ship from Bihara to unlock Wailinga Lake.

Collect Sensei in Bihara. 21st person.

Meru Desert South -> Desert Ruins

Since firepower is not yet sufficient and HP is halved, let's run away often. Leave item collection for later. Bookmark the Desert Ruins.

Power Leveling

The preparation was tough, but it's time for fun power leveling. The location is the Desert Ruins. There are two Garm (dog) symbols on the outer perimeter, so just keep defeating them.

Garm is
・Low stats, not very fast, decent HP
・No resistances, susceptible to all status ailments. You can even use instant death.
・Always uses all-party fire at the start.
・Glimpse difficulty is also quite high.
・Gives decent experience points.
which makes itthe optimal character to hunt in the early to mid-game.

The companions aren't that strong either. Jinn drops Rubber Souls. Only the Lizard Lord is insanely strong, but if you run away and load the auto-save, the escape history won't be recorded.

Here, raise the mage group'sLight and Wind to about 25. Also, make sure to getFire to 20 or higher. Since there is a Sensei bonus, it shouldn't take that long. Raise about 3 mages at once. If the firepower becomes too high, reduce it to 2 mages and add members for skill training. You could also have Imperial Hunters learn abilities.

Regarding skill training, it is very efficient to use skills that "the character has no aptitude for and the master rank is currently low." This is because in this game,when the master rank increases, the levels of characters who have the corresponding weapon/spell skills will automatically increase.So it is more advantageous to raise the master rank with characters who do not have the aptitude. Here, I raised bows with City Thief (Female). Choose whichever weapon you like. Although they join later, I also recommend raising axes with East Guard or martial arts with Ninja.

Ultimately,if you aim for a master level of around 35 for weapon types, you can glimpse most skills.

The Albion Dojo at Wailinga is also open, so characters with a skill level of around 25 can go there to glimpse skills. This series of leveling will strengthen the party all at once.

Around this time, the national treasury will be flush, so let's build Leon Bridge in Miramar. You can get an ability from Hiraga. If it gets destroyed, head to Wailinga Lake and reconcile with the Ocean Lord.

Area Unlocking (Steppe, Savannah, Salamat, Tsukijima)

I unlocked each location because I wanted to collect Sensei early, but this can be done later.

The reason is that if you try too hard here, the number of battles will increase too much. It is ideal to end this generation with about 400-500 battles after fighting about 200 times, and if you go around the whole world at this stage, you tend to exceed that. Since Yauda and Cumberland are also coming up after this,

Once you have fought about 150 more battles than the previous generation, stop exploring and training for a while and head to conquer Yauda and Cumberland.

Steppe Exploration

Enter from Miles and bookmark the Nomad Village, Great Wall West, Great Wall East, and Savannah.

Keep battles to a minimum. Just pick up the Seven Heroes memory and Flame Wall. You can come back to explore the rest later.

From the Ogre Battler located right after entering from the Savannah side, you can get important club-type deflects andSledgehammer. You can come back to get it after you get the Drop Ring. You can also wait until the enemy level is higher for deflects.

Savannah Exploration

Enter from the Steppe and bookmark the West Village, (Bihara), South Village, and Salamat.

Keep battles to a minimum. There is nothing special to pick up, so exploration can be done later.

Enter from the Salamat side and head north; there is a Beast Mare beyond the ladder on the east side. It dropsMagic Boots, so you can come back to get it after you get the Drop Ring.

Collect Sensei in the West Village. 22nd person.
Collect Sensei in the South Village. 23rd person.

Salamat Exploration

Enter from the Savannah and bookmark Moolie, Yuyan, and Eilnepp.

Keep battles to a minimum. Make sure to pick up the Seven Heroes memory. Exploration for other items can be done later.

Complete only the event in front of the Amazon Village and pick up the Pure Iron Ore beyond the stone boat and pitfall. You cannot enter the village yet.

From the Black Widow located right after entering from the Eilnepp side, you can getMoonlight Robe. You can come back to get it after you get the Drop Ring.

Collect Sensei in Moolie. 24th person.
Collect Sensei in the Amazon Village pitfall. 25th person. Obtain Treasure Master.

Murie -> Tsukijima

Take a ship from Murie to Tsukijima. Ask the man to the immediate right after entering the inn about the location of Zemio.

Talk to the three residents with markers to ask about the location of the volcano.
※ I did not go there in this generation because I was worried about flags. I unlocked the volcano in the 3rd generation.

Explore Zemio by floating the stone boat. If you are aiming for Cat's Eye, listen to the story about the stone tablet in the library.

Collect Sensei in Tsukijima. 26th one.
Collect Sensei in Zemio. 27th one.

Yuyan -> Chontou Castle Clear

Listen to the residents in Yuyan and head to Liangshan. Start the Ninja event at the north end as well.

Talk to the residents and Sekishusai in Liangshan to advance the event. Head to Chontou Castle.

Explore Chontou Castle and head to the top floor. Complete the event, return to Liangshan, and talk to Sekishusai again to start the Chontou Castle conquest event. It is good to have the mages learn Sunray and the Emperor learn Life Drain.

Obtain Vortex and the Seven Heroes' memory at Chontou Castle. Ninja joins. Defeat the bosses Great and Sekishusai on the top floor. You get an ability when you defeat Sekishusai. After clearing, East Guard joins. Talk to the residents in Liangshan to make Hakuro Castle appear.

Collect Sensei in Liangshan. 28th one.
Collect Sensei in Chontou Castle. 29th one.

Great Battle

Excluding the Seven Heroes, this is one of the toughest bosses in the game. Although his HP is a bit low, he is a guardian who is extremely resistant to status ailments, immune to Sword Barrier, and repeatedly uses instant-death martial arts. Does that explain it?

He has no resistances, but his high stats make him hard to hit. Have a tank (I asked the City Thief female this time) spam Parry, and have the mage squad blast him with Sunray. All his martial arts are instant-death power, but you can heal everyone. It only becomes a very difficult situation when he spams Poison Mist...

Since the stun -> instant-death combo is guaranteed, it is also a viable strategy to unlock the Imperial Hunter male's ability to aim for stuns, and if it lands, aim for a combo with Splasher's Molecular Decomposition.

You can get a Power Belt, but there is no need to push yourself...

Sekishusai Battle

It is a one-on-one duel with the Emperor. Preparation is key. Recover your BP thoroughly and equip armor with high physical defense. Attacking with Life Drain is smooth and utilizes the strength of a mage Emperor. This is one of the few places where you can learn the Seiryu Sword deflect, so you might want to aim for it. If you learn it, the battle becomes a breeze. Deflecting Flowing Slash seems impossible. It is easier if you have learned Sword Barrier.

Molecular Decomposition also works, so you can use it when your HP is full.

To East Guard Emperor -> Reorganization

Since I have already abdicated once, I will leave only the Emperor and send them to Ludon.

I am aiming for the East Guard Emperor, but if there is a class whose formation you do not have yet, you can pick it up.

Also, since throne abdication resets when you send someone to Ludon, you can smoothly change generations by doing Ludon -> Abdicate -> Ludon -> Abdicate.

When abdicating, if you include the planned next Emperor in the party, they will definitely appear as a candidate.

Once you make them the East Guard Emperor, go to the training grounds andlearn one of the most important formations, Lightning.Lightning is

・The turn order of allies is fixed
・If you increase the action speed of the leader, everyone can basically act first
・If you lower the target rate of the leader, you can use the second person as a tank
・Shields can be used
・Since the firepower of the last person increases, it is perfect for finishing with a high-firepower area attack after everyone has acted
・Since the placement is spread out, it can handle both piercing and horizontal attacks reasonably well
It is
almost a superior version of Rapid Stream(though there are cases where Rapid Stream is better). Excluding Phoenix Formation in boss battles, I think it is the most user-friendly formation in this game (Dragon Formation has similar performance).The setup of placing a character with high speed (Jubei this time) in the lead, a tank like a Heavy Infantry in the second spot, a character you want to train or a character who performs status ailments in the third spot, and characters with high attack power who can perform area attacks (basically mages) in the 4th and 5th spots is extremely strong and can be used forever.

It becomes even easier to use once you can attach abilities like Target Rate Down, Hide Stance, Weight Purge, or First Strike to the leader.

This time, I formed the party in the order of East Guard -> Heavy Infantry -> Ninja -> Free Mage male -> Court Mage male. The Ninja will raise Axes, and the East Guard will raise Martial Arts. I raised the Ninja's Celestial Magic and Clubs to 5 to learn Brain Splitter and Moonlight (as is tradition).

Hakuro Castle

Obtain Flash Fire and Drop Ring at Hakuro Castle. Both are super important. Flash Fire is a high-firepower area spell with stun, and Drop Ring is a broken accessory that increases the drop rate of both consumable and rare slots. Keep it equipped at all times. This has the best synergy with the City Thief female's ability, Cunning Kitten. It is also useful for rare collection, of course.

Defeat Black Legion & Mystic at the deepest part, the Floating Castle will appear, and the Yauda conquest is temporarily finished. Challenge them after saving up your combo gauge.

Black Legion & Mystic Battle

They are quite strong enemies, especially the Mystic. Black Legion also has high firepower, but it falls asleep with Brain Splitter.

Deal with the Mystic, which has high firepower and high stats and is almost immune to status ailments, as quickly as possible with Sunray or Solar Wind. You will easily be instantly killed by the enemy's martial arts, but accept that to some extent, heal, and rebuild.

You can aim for drops like Mighty Helm, but you can get them later, so no need to push yourself.

You can learn martial arts from the Mystic and greatsword arts from the Black Legion. Don't push yourself here either. All of them are instant-death level.

Preparation for Generation Change

Collecting Arts, Spells, and Deflects

Since I will clear Cumberland next and trigger a time jump, I will collect the arts, spells, and deflects I want to carry over before taking on the Cumberland event. This time, I collected the following:

・Hell Claw Deflect
→ Sand Ruins Nightfolk
・Charge Deflect, Skewer Deflect
→ Wailinga Lake Albion
・Celestial Magic Sword Barrier, Wind Magic Life Drain, and some arts for each weapon
→ Wailinga Lake Albion

Item Collection in Somon

I think the City Thief female's ability is unlocked, so equip the Drop Ring and fight a Mimic to obtain 2 Adamantites. It will be much easier if you can pick up about 4. Also, since Stardust Robe can now be obtained from a treasure chest and the superior Moonshadow Robe is easy to get, you don't need to aim for it.

Use the Rob Omen you can obtain to practice and learn Mad Biter.

Party Reorganization

For mages, use Court Mage (Female) and Free Mage (Female) who can cast Flash Fire immediately. For the final battle, include an Imperial Heavy Infantry, and use the last slot for training.

Cumberland

Go from Somon to Douglas, talk to the King, and advance the Cumberland event. You can unlock Nerack Castle and Forfar by talking to people other than the King, but since the Cumberland destruction countdown starts the moment you enter Douglas, there is no need to skip the King at this point. It is faster to learn from the King. Obtain a Seven Heroes memory inside the castle.

After exploring Douglas and Forfar, talk to King Harold again and choose either Sophia or Georg. Afterward, the King will be assassinated, so talk to Thomas at Thomas's Hideout, accessible from the northeast of Douglas town, to advance the event. You will join up with Georg regardless of which destination you choose.

You will enter battle with minor enemies several times, but just push through by wiping them out with Flash Fire or Solar Wind.

Afterward, join up with Georg & Sophia and accept the defense of the Great Wall, then head to the center of the Great Wall. Proceed past the hole and defeat the Dune Worm. You can now access the Cumberland side of the Great Wall's West and East Gates.

Collect the Sensei at the West and East Gates, then return to Douglas and head to Seifried's Fort. Defeat Seifried to trigger a time jump. Obtain an ability from Thomas.

This time, I jumped after about 450 total battles and reaching enemy level 8.Anything is fine as long as the Coppelia event has occurred in Somon when the next generation begins.

Since the next generation requires a female Emperor, I will select the Imperial Ranger (Female).

Collect the Sensei in Douglas. 30th person, Development Speed UP obtained.
Collect the Sensei in Nerack Castle. 31st person.
Collect the Sensei in Forfar. 32nd person.
Collect the Sensei at the Great Wall East Gate. 33rd person.
Collect the Sensei at the Great Wall West Gate. 34th person.

Dune Worm Battle

Stun and Sleep work, so you can cheese it with Cyclone Squeeze or Skull Splitter. Fire is also a weakness, so you can brute-force it with Flash Fire. The first move is guaranteed to be Earth Splitter. If you have the Heavy Infantry learn the Earth Splitter deflect beforehand, it's a piece of cake.

Don't worry too much about drops. Consider it lucky if Messina Steel drops.

Seifried Battle

Seifried is susceptible to Sleep. The accompanying Killer Machines are strong, so prioritize taking them out. If the physical team spams Skull Splitter and the mage team spams Flash Fire, it should be over quickly.

You can technically aim for a Sage's Rod drop, but the event is long, so don't feel pressured. You can get it later.

Remaining Tasks

These are the tasks remaining after finishing this generation. It's a good idea to process these remaining tasks when you want to increase your battle count. It's even better if you can unlock abilities while you're at it.

・Coppelia recruitment
・Obtain Human-Powered Wind Blower
・Reconciliation with the Sea Lord
・Armed Merchant Fleet problem -> Garon -> Sunken Ship -> Ice Sea Subier
・Mermaid event
・Report at Nazelle Mu's dwelling -> Mu and Child Mu
・Collect items in Ludon Highlands
・Collect items in Steppe
・Collect items in Savannah
・Collect items in Salamat
・Collect items in Meru Desert (Pure Iron Ore, etc.)
・Gemstone Mine aftermath
・Land Battleship Bokhoen
・Exterminate Steppe Termites
・Explore Teretuva Tower -> Moving Lake Noel
・Tsukijima subjugation -> aftermath
・Poet event -> Poet's Cave
・Chikapa Mountain -> Forgotten Town
・Floating Castle Wagnas
・Open Forfar trade route
・Eilnepp Tower -> Eilnepp Temple -> Sunken Tower
・Explore Ice Ruins
・Explore Sand Ruins
・Explore Snow Ruins
・University Quiz
・Rare collection, etc.

Next time, 3rd Emperor Agnes Arc

[Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven] 1st Playthrough, Original Difficulty Play Notes [3rd Emperor Arc] | Chirore