I bet you all thought I'd never actually continue with this series. However, I've finally cleared out all of the games that I just *had* to play this summer, and I'll be sitting back to Ranch for the next few weeks (occasionally switching off onto Dragon Warrior Monsters). And if I'm coming back, what better way than with strategies for the three most basic beasties in the game? That's right: Pixie, Golem, Mocchi, and much more are here in this extra-long make-up edition of my Battle Strategies.
*Pixie- Who hasn't raised a Pixie yet? With their high Intelligence, Skill, Speed, and Guts Regen, most new players will find themselves strongly attracted to the Pixie (*Beats off all the perverts misinterpreting that last sentence*). These little things are extremely versatile, too, having good representations of the different kinds of techs (except for Basic, and to an extent, Heavy, but I'll get into that in a moment). They even have a healing move and a drain move! There are a few difficulties with crowning this the queen of the monsters, though. First off, Pixies have NO short-range Int-based moves, and their only mid-range Int-based ones are relatively inneffective against fleet-footed foes. Kiss is a great withering move, but unfortunately it does no actual HP damage (and yet it still has a sharpness rating!?), so if you go that route it's best to throw in a Bolt or Pat somewhere. The Pixie's Heavy Techs leave a lot to be desired, too: they have neither the force nor the accuracy to be truly worthwhile by themselves, and will need to be chained together or outright replaced by Bang/Big Bang. And of course, while Refreshment and Life Steal sound great, if you're one of those people who maxes out three stats while ignoring the rest, you probably won't be able to survive the damage before you can heal it. Still, for those tough little Pixies out there, Life Steal is second only to the Plant's ability of the same name among the drain attacks in the game, since is has D-rank accuracy (instead of E) and only costs 40 guts (instead of 50+). The best overall strategy for the standard Pixie to stay the hell away from your opponent and continuously rain Lightning, Ray/Megaray/Gigaray, and the occasional Kiss down upon them. If you're wielding a Pixie/Dragon, you can also use the cross-over tech Fire Breath, which makes a great replacement for her Heavy techs (this move may also be available on other breeds, but I'm not sure). Special tip: Don't try to collect all of a Pixie's moves, as it is impossible without a gameshark. She has way too many cross-over techs, two of which are Specials learned only on different species, meaning that they can't be carried on to the offspring. Find the ones that work the best for you and stick with them. As a final note, it can be fun to raise a Power-based Pixie just for the hell of it, in which case Slap, One-Two Punch (need a Hare sub-type), and Phantom Claw (need a Kato sub-type) are for Hit techs, while Heel Raid and Death Final (need a Joker sub-type) are for Heavy/Withering purposes.
*Golem- The definitive Tank. Power, Defense, and Life are your best friends here, as well as all the luck you can get, because Skill is not their forte (unless you go with a Plant or Tiger sub-type). Their Guts Regen is also quite low, so this is the best place to utilize the Guts Miser strategy (see Battle Strategies #1 for an explanation if you don't know what I mean). This can be helped a great deal if you raise a Bad monster, as their battle skill "Anger" gives them a short-term Guts Regen boost. Although it comes with lowered accuracy, simply wait out the rage and then whallop 'em (Good monsters can't get Anger, only Power, a battle skill which a Golem has very little use for). When it comes to attacking, the battle strategy is only as complicated as choosing the most powerful move that has a chance in hell of connecting, crossing your fingers, and then throwing it. If it connects, the fight is over (or the opponent is so devastated that you can literally knock them over with one finger). If you strongly suspect that an opponent can survive multiple hits, make absolutely certain to try to land a hit tech early in the match (Slap, Heavy Slap, Charge, or even the Special move Fist Missile). This way, you'll ensure that you've inflicted a good deal of damage that the opponent is unlikely to match considering your Defense and Life. Charge is probably the absolute best fall-back move for the Golem, with its B-rank force and accuracy at a reasonable cost of 26 Guts. Tech Collectors will find themselves frustrated with this monster, however, due to its low Guts Regen, huge list of moves, tons of tech chains, and generally low pay-off (with the exception of Slap -> Heavy Slap and Fist Shot -> Fist Missile, of course). I mean, you really don't need Roll Assault, Cyclone, AND Diving Press (particularly not that last one, as it has a high chance of backfiring painfully), since they all have about the same stats (and yes, I know that Diving Press costs way less, but that's because of the gamble involved. Would you like to spend 50 guts missing, or 30 guts hurting yourself?). Its big moves are a real pain, overall, because all but Fist Missile have a poor hit rate, and unlike the Pixie, a Golem can't just afford to throw off a 50-guts attack with no pay-off. This is especially true because of the long animations that the Golem has, during which time the enemy is quickly building for their next move while you're stuck in limbo. And on a sidenote, while a Golem doesn't get bad Intelligence, it has very little use for it, what with having only one Int-based move that's more for show than actual usefulness. However, don't let your rock man's brain shrink too low, or his stoney skin will suffer a big Achilles' Heel to Int-based moves. This, by the way, is how you beat a Golem. All of the enemy Golems (except for Shing, who you won't see too often) have pitiful Intelligence, meaning that even if you're not using a terribly powerful tech you can still inflict good damage with Int-based moves. And an Int-based Heavy Tech (Oil Flame, Typhoon, Gigaflame, etc.) can send 'em packing. Speedsters should try to stay as far away as possible, where the Golem's only hope is Fist Missile (which I bet it doesn't have), and you may trick it into using one of its big-cost, low-accuracy moves. A fellow Tank doesn't really have any good places to hide, unless you know that the opponent doesn't have Double Palms (if so, hang out in mid-range). If he DOES, then your best bet is to stay in long-range (AKA Range 3), and hope for an unsuccessful Roll Assault or Diving Press. If that doesn't work, there's always the reset button...
*Mocchi- Just like Pikachu, this monster game's mascot is more powerful on the show than in the actual game, but don't count 'em out, either. Mocchis are gifted with incredible luck (which, unlike in most cases, actually applies to PLAYER Mocchis rather than just computer-controlled ones), and tend to dodge your attacks and connect with their own way more than their Speed and Skill should allow. They have a nice set of techs, too, but no single one really stands out as a dominating move. A Mocchi SHOULD work great a Combo King, but unfortunately its moves seem to be more expensive in terms of Guts than other, similar techniques are on other creatures. For instance, 1-2-Thrust, its best Hit Tech, has about the same stats as many monsters' Basic techs. The Press line of moves are probably its best ones, but the Mocchi Ray/Beam/Cannon work well, too. It has obligatory drain and heal moves which aren't too bad when compared to others, but not the best in the game, either. Dazzling Roll and Flame (for those Draco Mocchis out there) also make pretty nice moves, but overall...the majority of the Mocchi's moves suck. I don't use that word very freely, but it really is the truth. They just don't work well for any one purpose, making it very hard to customize your assault for the enemy's weaknesses. Hence, you're really forced to raise all the parameters of a Mocchi evenly to stand a chance. A Mocchi was my first monster in this game, and it had me thinking this thing was going to be a LOT harder than it actually turned out to be. If Most was a Zuum, Centaur, or any other monster but a Mocchi, he/she/it would be truly frightening. As it stands, you may have a chance even if it outranks you 100 stat points in each area.
Hmph...looks like I have to go now. I'll be back later tonight to finish this edition up with Baku, Jell, and a Zuum update.
By Nate Railsback on Wednesday, July 5, 2000 - 03:09 pm:
Before I get back into things, I should probably mention something I forgot from that last entry- how to beat a Mocchi! The key here is figuring out how to diffuse the annoying little critter's hearty supply of luck, and after spending awhile assaulting Most with various Hall-of-Famers last night, I think I've finally hit on something (besides him, heh heh). Now, I know this may sound like the mad raving of a man who actually CHOSE to fight the Mocchi from Hell for half an hour straight for in-game gain, but bear with me. It's my theory that a Mocchi's evasiveness is directly proportional to the Guts cost of the attack being used against it. Translation: The bigger a move, the less likely it's gonna connect. The Mocchi almost seems to be able to CHOOSE which moves it'll manuever around, and it always likes to make your misses expensive. A Kato might have an easier time hitting it with Oil Fire than Tornado Claw, simply because the latter costs twice as much as the former! Therefore, when fighting one, try to save up Guts for a bit (staying out of short range or else you'll be withered with relentless Slaps), and then go full Combo King on his butt with your cheapest Heavy/Sharp techs. If you don't have any moves under 20 Guts that register C-rank damage or more, use D-force ones. It sounds weird, but this has actually allowed me to stand a decent chance against Most since I figured it out, and I expect to have similar success stories against Lamsweet.
Anyway...
*Baku- Although statistically similar, Golem and Baku are actually very different monsters. In terms of stats, a Baku has lower Intelligence and better Life, while possessing the same high lifespan and low Guts Regen of its stone compadre. In terms of techs, however, a Baku is definately its own kind of creature. For one thing, Intelligence is actually useful for more than augmenting its Defense- the Roar series of moves are a good all-around batch of techs, as well as Hypnotism (although that last one seems to have lower accuracy than advertised, in my experience). Also unlike the Golem, the Baku has three moves with A-rank accuracy (Dust Cloud, Gust Breath, and Two Bites)! In fact, Gust Breath is probably its best overall move, able to deliver C-rank damage with great accuracy for only 19 Guts, and many uninformed people could be caught off-guard by a Tank monster having such a good back-row attack. A Baku definately can't work as an Antagonizer, though, considering the low accuracy and high cost of its withering moves (not to mention its slow Guts Regen). If you really need to knock the opponent's Guts down a few notches, use Three Bites, since it can deliver some painful damage along while taking down you and your opponent down about by about the same number of Guts. If you just need outright damage, however, Tongue Slap is that way to go (A/D/D/E for 25). Diving Press, while possessing better stats than the Golem's move of the same name, is still an extremely risky attack, and should only be attempted against a very slow-moving, high-defense monster (like Loveless), or else you'll end up dealing about 100 damage to yourself. But perhaps the biggest-potential technique a Baku has is its ability to Nap during battle. It's the cheapest healing move in the game, and if you have a really high-Skill Baku (Tiger sub-breed, definately), you can combine this move with the big dog's high Defense and Life to create a monster that's nearly impossible to KO. Deliver one good Gust Breath and then go defensive for the rest of the battle, and infuriate your opponents! Of course, if your friend tries to do this with HIS Baku, smack it around with highly withering attacks. Speed Demons can easily hide out between mid-range and long-range to make themselves harder to hit, while Tanks should stay as far back as possible, using a hit-and-run strategy against the mammoth canines. Unlike some monsters, the Baku seems to be far easier as a computer-controlled opponent than a human-controlled one, and you shouldn't have any problem with the rarely-sighted ones in the game.
*Jell- Once everyone clues in to these guys, Jell will ascend to the ranks inhabited by Phoenix, Undine, and Durahan (although thankfully there'll be more variety of Jells to choose from). Two words: Jell Copter. S-rank damage, A-rank accuracy, 50 Guts cost, and it's an unchained tech (although you might have to get Gatling Gun and Pyramid/Bloodsuction out of the way, first). Gatling Gun isn't bad itself, either (B/S/D/E, 45 cost), and both are Int-based moves, which should be just fine for the average Jell. In its pure form, it gets as high of gains as a pure Pixie in Intelligence and Skill, although unfortunately the similarities include Power as well. Life is pretty good, but Speed and Defense are surprisingly average (I expected it to be a low-Speed, high-Defense monster like in the last game). The Jell is far from dependant on these moves alone, however. For Intelligence-oriented ones, Cannon, Beam Gun, and Beam Cannon all make good additions to your list of moves, and Pyramid is a nice healing skill. Power-based ones (Golem and Naga sub-types work best) have a plethora of high-accuracy attacks like Two Whips, Jell Press, and Jell/Spiked Top. Suffocation also makes for a nasty short-range manuever (C/B/E/B for only 24!), Pierce is a good all-around attack, and Jell/Three Cubes are cheap but reasonably-damaging anti-Tank attacks. Fly Swatter is also a funny, quality Withering Tech, but Fly Smasher is perhaps a little too expensive and innacurate for my tastes. A Power-based Jell should definately turn to the Dark Side long enough for Bloodsuction, too (power-based drain move!). Really, the Jell's only useless attack is Slingshot, but no one's forcing you to use it. When dealing with an enemy Jell, however, you're not in too much danger unless it's about equal in Power and Intelligence (then you're just screwed unless you can strike first with a one-hit KO). Defending against a Jell is much more based around its stats than yours, because it has both heavy and hit techs in each range. All the Jell's Int-based moves are in the two back rows, and it has no Pow-based ones at farthest range, so I shouldn't have to tell you how to handle it from there. One other strategy that you might be able to use (depending on the breed of Jell you're facing) is to wither it so that it can't use its great moves, as a pure Jell has slightly below-average Guts Regen. Fortunately, any combination that would give it good Guts Regen would also reduce its Power down to pitiful levels, meaning that the role of Absolutely Almighty Monster remains unfilled.
*Ducken- See my Full Ducken Coverage in the Monster Rancher Archives, under Monster Types and Duckens.
*Undine- See my Undine Analysis in the same place, except the Undines section.
Hmm...well, I thought I had something to add to my Zuum summary, but I guess it really isn't anything I haven't covered before, except that no one should bother getting Dust Cloud, as it's really not worthwhile. Anyway, now I've started raising a cute lil' Hare for the first time in MR2, and I'll be certain to include him in the next additon (first week of its life it did Great on a Speed drill and got 13 points! Holy crap...)! Along for the ride will probably be Mew, Naga, and if I can stomach it....Gaboo. See you around! Well, I thought I had