Here is the first entry for breed unlocking -

Dragon - If you are Breeder Rank B or higher with a Rank B monster either on the ranch or in the freezer (I had a class E monster on the ranch, but a class B pixie in the freezer at the time), you will get an invitation in the mail on 1/1 (I got mine on 1/1 1003). The invitation is for a tourney on 2/3 against a Dragon. You will get a Dragon Horn for winning. (Unfortuantely, he cleaned my clock pretty badly...)
The Dragon's stats are all 350-450 with a strength of 550ish. My pixie was not up to the task, so I will have to wait another year. But I will continue to raise her to see what other class B tourneys pop up.

Dragon Stats -
Name - Doreora
STR - 504
Int - 212
SKill - 333
Speed - 365
Def - 455
Life - 412

In other good news, after beating the dragon, I was given permission to use the Handwriting regen method!!! I got 2 events. The first one said I could use 2 characters. Then another event immediately happened and it gave me permission to use 3 characters.

Congratulations!

It looks like handwriting recognition qualification is granted as you unlock monsters. We'll see how it goes on my end.

Another thing - I am now getting Subs of locked monsters in the writing section. I got a Golem/Durahan.

So...

My tree is full grown. I waited until August of 1009 to search the tree from the Beaclon like we did in MFDS1. I managed to get my obstinate pixie to get over there. The amber event crystal eventually showed.

As it was before, the crystal is very difficult to get to. I finally managed to get in there and the was a brown monster pecking at the tree. My assistant said "Hey it's a beaclon!!" and asked if I wanted to approach it. I said Yes and the monster noticed.

POOF! It wasn't a Beaclon! It's a Henger!!! This monster immediately fights my pixie. He is much stronger than me though. I survive long enough to lose by one tech. I haven't won yet, but will report what happens when I do.

Wow. Talk about a psych-out.

What were the stats like?

The only stat I can see is his life. (427)

His techs hit me hard and hit with a %90+ rate. He is a class A or S monster easily.

Update -

I decided that after failing 15 times to beat him that I will just wait a year. 2 weeks later was the tournament for the Ice Block (which I really need for the farm) and I went for it. I romped through that tourney and won all 7 matches by KO.

To give you an idea of what the strength of the Henger is, my best technique did 365 damage to him. As a measuring stick, I faced a couple of monsters in the Ice Block tourney that had stats of all 375+. My best technique did 1100 damage against them.

This indicates to me that the Henger is mighty strong and that his life of 427 is probably his weakest stat.

I think I will avoid the tree for a while...

The year wait paid off. I defeated him by simply being better able to survive a hit.

after he is defeated, I got a visit from the BOMBA guy. I the henger left a Henger Doll when it left.

Cool. I look forward to doing it myself with my next monster. I just started a new monster that is simply combining fodder for later. -And a moneymaker.

While this is wonderful and all, it leaves us with one big problem:

Where the hell is Beaklon?

No idea yet. However -

Xenon - (much like it was in MFDS)

In the Promiass Ruins (the pyramid) you can search for 2 Ancient Reliefs. When you have them both in your inventory, you will trigger an event crystal in the lower right area of the map. Here, your Relief items will active and summon a pure Xenon. You must fight this Xenon who is very tough. He had 899 life when I saw him and he hit me for 1096 damage. I didn't beat him, but I imagine that you will get the King's Crest when you do. This is a combining item to create a Xenon.

Phoenix!

In the Volco volcano, you'll find that the map is basically a spiral down to the center. Not 10 steps away from the start point is an event crystal. This crystal triggers an event where you look up to the sky and see a Phoenix arrive and start circling toward the center. Nothing else happens.

As you progress, you will come to an event crystal in the upper right corner of the map. This crystal creates a bridge across the small lava pool there and leads you to a small bit of land. There is a dead tree on the right side of the island. An event crystal is there and it trigger a large rock falling from the sky. Your monster will avoid the rock and find an item, which seems a bit unnecessary. However, on the left side of the land is another event crystal. This crystal let's your monster find a Golden Peach!!!

Progressing on, you will get to the lower right corner. In the middle of the road is an event crystal. Here you find the Phoenix from before. He appears to be injured. Your monster suggests that you give him the Golden Peach you just found. If you agree, the phoenix will heal and fly off. When it flies off, it drops a Flaming Feather. Congrats! You can make a Phoenix now!

(For the record, I officially HATE this expedition map. It is ridiculously difficult to navigate.)

Where did you find the ancient reliefs in Promiass, exactly? Are their locations any different compared to the previous game?

The locations were the same as MFDS1, i believe. At least, Relief #2 definitely was.

and now..

Zan!!!!

Zan is unlocked in the Forest (Class C required). To get Zan, you must play a game of Hide and Seek with a wild Zan. You will have to run around the map hunting for Amber event crystals. Each one gives you another glance at the Zan running away from you. You will have to backtrack to different areas since the last few crystals don;t open until you get the first few. The final one (which is the 7th one, I think) will open by the waterfall. The Zan will be tired and won;t run away. He will then give you the Ninja Sword so that you can make a Zan.

I went around the map in a giant circle 3 total times, covering every place I had already been. (3 of the gems were close to the waterdall in different places, but I got one on each lap). It seems to be the best way to get them.

By "forest", I mean the Kalaragi Jungle.

And the train kept a rollin'....

Durahan - This one is at the Papass Mountains. First, you must go to the western point of the map (If the map had a compass laid out on it, the wpoint would be due west). Here, your monster spies a durahan walking the cliff edge. Second, you must go to the tree located due north of the map. (This is the same tree that gave out golden peaches in MFDS1). Here you will find the Ancient Sword. Third - There is a crack in the ice that forms giant "L" shape. The point of the L is near the center of the map. You must go to the inside of the angle of the crack. The ground rises slightly. Here, you will find the Scabbard for the sword.

Part 4 coming soon.


This unlocking quest along with Xenon, Phoenix, and Zan all share 1 common characteristic - You must find the amber crystals in a specific order. The Zan one is doable if you circle the map in counterclockwise fashion. The Durahan works if you go clockwise. The Xenon isn't so orderly, but not too bad. The phoenix is on a map that is a giant spiral, so you have only one direction to go.

You seem to be finding lots of locked monsters on expeditions lately. You've gone through a few decent monsters already, and up 'till now you've had bum luck finding anything with them. Why do you think it took you your fourth or fifth one to find these guys?

Possible factors -

1) Breeder rank S
2) monster Rank S.
3) Doing things in the right order.

I still haven't found anything interesting on the Beach yet. There are chunks of silver, which makes good money, but nothing else so far.

Durahan Finished. Step 4 - go back to the spot you saw the Durahan on the ridge. He then puts the sword and scabbard together to give you the combining item.

Xenon finished - after defeating the ridiculously difficult Xenon, you get the King's Crest to make a Xenon. The difficulty of this monster may be scaled to your expedition monster. I am not sure.

After I unlocked Xenon, I believe I finished what I consider to be the 'first tier' of unlockables. When I got back to the ranch, I was given permission to have a 5th letter in the handwriting segment. Once that was added, I started getting subs of monsters I haven't seen yet. I tried the word DEATH and got a Zan/Naga (first Naga sub I have seen). I got lucky and used the word SMEXY to get a Deathwing. i tried to do it again but continually got Aquaknight (Durahan/Lesione). ABCD got me a dragon/beaclon (first beaclon sub I have seen). I also got an Abyss/Gali and a Tiger/Gali.

This leads me to believe that the act of unlocking these monsters - Dragon, Zan, Xenon, Durahan, Phoenix - triggers your ability to move up to the next tier of unlockable monsters.

I still have not acquired a single Special monster.

So by unlocking the rarest breeds with the highest innate potential, you're authorized to regenerate monsters with subs of a lower tier you haven't unlocked yet. That's very convenient.

By the way, is it any easier navigating the expedition maps with your experienced S Rank monster, or is it giving you just as much trouble?

Well, my Henger is a royal pain. He seems to wander a lot more than my Dragon ever did. (BTW, add Henger to the list of monsters above.) I have a hard time keeping him going where I want. He will also tend not to go in the direction I want him to. He will go in that general direction, but not directly most of the time.

This gives me an opportunity to air my beef about the Expeditions. Basically, you tell your monster which way to go, but if the monster touches any obstacle or wall, they instantly begin to wander. So if you are not extremely precise on the vector you give your monster, you will be fighting him the whole way. In the volcano, this is the absolute worst. The pathways are so narrow that it's near impossible to get a vector that will let the monster walk for long distances.

Anyway, to add t your initial statement above, I believe it works like this -

Breeder Ranks E-C - You can use the magic square and sound methods of regen. You can get monsters that have main and sub breeds within the 17 starting breeds.

Breeder Rank B-A - You gain the opportunity to unlock the Dragon simply by attaining this rank. (I believe that Henger must wait for Class A.) Unlocking the Dragon gives you the Handwriting regen method. Now, you can also regen monsters of any main breed you have unlocked so far plus find monsters with subtypes of the first tier of unlockable monsters.

Breeder Rank S - You can now find the remaining monsters in the first tier of unlockables. Attaining Rank S does not give you another square in the handwriting regen. However, if you unlock all 6 monsters of the first tier, you will then get permission for a 5th letter. When this letter opens up, you can now regen monsters of all your main breeds and also find subtypes of the top tier of unlockable monsters.


The big question mark is Phoenix. Phoenix requires Rank S because he is at the Volcano. It may be that Phoenix in not part of the first tier. The only way to find out is to see if any of you folks can unlock the rest of the monsters at Class A. (I believe I started a wrong path with my monsters. My first Ancient relief was found with a Class A monster, but I think that the monster had too low of a STR stat to find some stuff. I probably could have found the Zan as well, but my monster wasn't strong enough to break through the obstacles.)

To note - In the time immediately following the unlocking of letter number 5, I have managed to get subs of 5 out the 6 remaining unlockable monsters. The only sub I don't have is Centaur. I have Gali, Monol, Naga, Beaclon, and Joker subs.

Ok, since the Big 4 appears to be the way to get 4 of the last 6 breeds, I will list the big 4 and what breeds come from them.

1) 3/1 - Monol
2) 6/1 - Centaur
3) 9/1 - Naga
4) 12/1 - Gali

Also to note - The only 2 Expeditons that haven't given me any unlockable monsters have been the Road and the Beach. Saltal has demonstarted that the Beaklon is at the beach (apparently in august), but nothign from the Road yet. It has to be the Joker there.

And, I am right.

This time when I went to the Road venture, I had a fight with a joker on the other side of the two bridges. It left a Joker mask. Possible factors -
1) Breeder class SS or greater.
2) Monster class SS or greater.
3) Venture was in March.
4) Venture was in spring.

Ok, Beaklon confirmed. You wil find an Event crystal on the beach. You given a choice about approaching the Beaklon when he shows up. I tmay be a mock battle of similar, but there is a chance it does not result in getting the item. It does not need to be August, but it DOES need to be Summer. This leads me to believe that each of the breeds can only be found during certain times of year and that may be why I couldn't get many of them for a long time.

Ok, to the end of accurate research, please post the season and month you unlock your expedition monsters (those of you that haven't) I didn't mark them down because I was on a long roll. Beaklon proves that it can be seasonal, though.

The wiki states that the only monsters that are Seasonal are the Beaklon (Summer) and the Joker (Spring). They may not have confirmed others or they may not have a seasonal requirement.

According the wiki info (if I am reading it right), there are 12 Monsters that are "Zodiac" monsters. They are acquired by Events that occur after you win "The Big Bang Colliseum" challenge (the final tourney with the blue centaur on 6/4). Each month can unlock a different one. Most of them are found during expeditions, but one of them is found on the farm (the Special Henger). I will list them as I confirm them.

Suffice to say, the Beaklon that Saltal found is one of them. Now, there are special monsters in every breed, but these particular 12 can only be acquired by using the codes given to you by the events.

I finally got a Special monster. The characters I used were RI N RI N (in Katakana). If anyone who has 4 available characters and is lower than class SS can try it it a few times (it's REALLY picky), I'd like to see if it works.

I have unlocked half of the Zodiac Monsters so far. Please see the thread in the FAQ section for the most up to date info. I update it as I unlock them.

I finished off the Zodiac Monsters. I went back to town afterward and got an Event there. I couldn;t really tell what was going on aside from everyone telling me that I got all the Zodiac monsters. I was introduced to Holly in the event. I didn't get anything, but I may not have completed the event yet. (The Wiki says I should get a Golden Peach)

One question about the Phoenix you face in Volco. Is it really just called Phoenix, like the main breed? Isn't it the Blue Phoenix?

In English versions, The main breed 'Hinotori' is called Phoenix. 'Hinotori' is actually the name of a Phoenix-like god. The Blue Phoenix in USA is actually called just Phoenix in the Japanese game. If you look at it in the screenshots, you'll see that the Katakana merely says "Phoenix" (FeNikKuSu)

I have gone through and actually used the codes for the Zodiac monsters to get them into my book. Surprisingly, the input is fairly forgiving. Out of the 12 codes, I had trouble with only 3 of them. I screwed up the Beaklon code and actually got the Zodiac Dragon once (which saved me from inputting the Dragon Code).

The ones that are temperamental are the Beaklon (My solution was to make the symbol a bit larger in the box), the Joker (My solution was to take the four parts and separate them into the four quadrants of the square), and the Xenon (Clarity was the key).

Oddly, the most complex symbols were the most forgiving.

Makes sense. More lines need more leeway, after all.

It looks like you're right about the Hinotori/Phoenix thing. But since both monsters have appeared in an English MR game before, wouldn't it make more sense to use the localized names we already have? Otherwise we'd have to change Phoenix to Hinotori, and that would be fairly counter-productive.

According to the complete guide, in order to unlock Zan, Joker, Durahan and Henger, you must be at least Breeder Rank B.

Beaklon can be unlocked at any rank.

is there a specific Henger Date?

We don't think so. But, your tree may not be mature enough for a couple of years.

The earliest date you can get Henger is August of 1005. (only shows in August) You need a rank B or higher monster to inspect the amber crystal by the tree.

(Date is official, from the Perfect Guide on page 75)