Star Ocean: First Departure Character Recruitment Guide V.1.00 Introduction: Hello everyone!This is my first attempt at making an FAQ. I completed Star Ocean: First Departure on about 3-4 runthroughs, so I basically tried my best to do all the character paths I could do using Kouli's FAQ and the help on the board. However, I still keep seeing topics like "How do I recruit X" and similar topics on the board, so I thought I would just do an FAQ like this one, after trying to do a guide topic on the boards.To that end, I must thank fellow members who have posted comments on how to improve my guide on the boards, espeically members SoloAce00 and nogardrebyc. Thanks, really. I hope this new and improved guide will help everyone. Note that of course there will be spoilers across this guide, its quite inevitable. what this guide will do: -Tell you the requirements and procedures for each character. -Tell you what characters certain characters lock out. what this guide won't do: -Reccommend a certain party over another, since well that's very subjective. E.g I don't really like using Mavelle, but other people say she rocks, so yeah. cOTENTS: 1.1 Complusory Characters 1.1.1---Roddick Farrence 1.1.2---Ilia Silvestri 1.1.3---Ronyx J.Kenny 1.1.4---Millie Cliette 1.2 Optional Characters 1.2.1---Cyuss Warren 1.2.2---Ashlay Berndbeldt 1.2.3---Ioshua Jerand 1.2.4---Mavelle Foresson 1.2.5---Phia Melle 1.2.6---T'Nique Arcana 1.2.7---Pericci 1.2.8---Welch Vineyard 1.2.9---Erys Jerand 1.3 Dorne? 1.4 Credits 1.1 Complusory Characters I don't think I'm really going to go into detail here, since there's no way you can miss these four characters. [1.1.1] Roddick Farrence Your main character, If you don't get him, your game is glitched. [1.1.2] Ilia Silverstri Joins in Kratus, after the party reaches Roak in the past. The first party member to join you. [1.1.3] Ronyx J. Kenny The captain, he joins in Ionis on the continent of Van. The town is the 2nd you visit after Eckdart. [1.1.4] Millie Cliette Joins in either Eckdart, or Silivant. 1.2 Optional Characters On to the meat of this FAQ then. Optional characters, are like what the name says,optional. Depending on your choices, they can join, or not join you, and certain characters are locked out after you get certain characters. The power/usefulness of each character is debatable, so I won't recommend any single party setup. Part of the fun, is after all getting the characters you like and making your personal party. [1.2.1] Cyuss Warren How to Recruit: The son of famous war hero Lord Lias, Cyuss first appears when Roddick and Ilia appear in Haute. A wandering adventurer,he opts to do the Haute/Portmith Item delievery quest with Roddick and Ilia, which is a complusory quest. Go to Haute, go into the item shop,talk with the item shop owner, Badam, about the quest. He accepts your offer but Roddick has to get a weapon. So run to the bottom part of Haute and talk to the "Weapon Master"Say you would like to buy the sword for 20 fol, and Cyuss will come rushing to whack the master up. Go back to the item store, and there will be more discussion.Endpoint is Cyuss joins the party temporarily. Go accross Mt Meteorx, to Portmith, get the goods from the weapon shop in Portmith, and return to Haute. once the quest ends, you will get the option to keep Cyuss or not. There are three options: 1) Ask him to join you 2) Ask him about the treasure (after which you still have to make a choice) 3) Say good day and good bye to him (he won't join). And tada, if you choose 1, he joins you. Pretty simple. But..if you get him you can't get: 1) Phia in the early game 2) Ashlay 3) Erys(cause you need Ashlay for this) [1.2.2] Ashlay Berndbeldt How to Recruit: An aged veteran of the Demonic Wars, Ashlay appears in the arena in Tatroi if you did not recruit Cyuss. Go to the arena, go to the audience stands, and talk to him. He's pretty conspicous. He will make some remark about how the fighters are weak, etc and then he will leave. After that, clear an arena round, any rank with Roddick. Then, go down to the docks. The docks are at the right side of Tatroi, from the entrance. It's just below the stairs on the screen leading to the arena entrance. Go there, and Ashlay will talk about how Roddick has potential, etc and he will join the party. Ashlay will not join if: 1) You recruited Cyuss 2) Instead of going to the docks, you opt to go to Astral via the Astral Caves, in which case you're screwed no matter what and you can't get him. If you got Ashlay you will not be able to get: 1) Phia in the early game. And tada, you got Ashlay. Ashlay is absoultely necessary if you want Erys, so make sure you recruit him if you want Erys. [1.2.3] Ioshua Jerand How to Recruit: Ioshua is a featherfolk looking for his missing sister. To get Ioshua, you must first, after your adventures in Astral, choose to go to the Purgatorium when given the choice. In other words, you must visit Purgatorium ASAP. The first opportunity is after the incidents in Astral. Go to Purgatorium, and from the main entrance, go back to the world map and hug the mountain range to the right of Purgatorium, the one that leads to a dead end. It will eventually take you to the secret entrance of Purgatorium. Ioshua will then request your help, and join your party as you explore Purgatorium. At the end of the quest, you are given 2 choices after Ioshua says he's about to leave: 1) Ask him to join 2) See him off If you choose the first choice, he will ask you yet again. say that you want him to join, and he will say something about feeling the strong convictions of Roddick and join the party, and then join you. Ioshua will not join if: 1) You did not go to Purgatorium at your first chance. Ioshua is once again absolutely necessary for Erys. [1.2.4] Mavelle Foresson How to Recruit: Mavelle is a mysterious woman with a vendetta against the Crimson Shield, who first appears along with Ronyx/Millie on the Van Continent. In order to recruit her, you must have either Ashlay or Ioshua or BOTH in your party. After the party reunites and a night of drinking, she will join automatically. Mavelle will not join if: 1) You did not recruit Ioshua or Ashlay or both If you recruit Mavelle, and she is your 7th character, i.e you only have one slot left, you cannot get: 1) Phia late-game 2) T'nique Note: I've heard a lot about how players who did not recruit either Iohsua or Ashlay were able to recruit Mavelle, but this is not confirmed, so can anyone please tell me whether this is confirmed? Mavelle is once again, absolutely necessary for Erys, and the only bootable character in game, i.e you can dump her even if you acquired her. Booting Mavelle Mavelle is only bootable if you have Ioshua. To boot Mavelle, head deep into the Old Race Ruins which are North-East of Silvant, along the mountain range. The entrance is not visible from the world map. Head deep into the ruins, and eventually you will come across a room which houses the body of Erys. At this point, if you have Ioshua, he will freak out and try to free his dear sister. If you choose the option to help him, Mavelle is gone for good. If you don't, well I guess you get to keep Mavelle. If you have Ashlay with you at this point, you get Erys as well,if you choose to help Ioshua. NOTE: MAVELLE IS ONLY BOOTABLE IF YOU HAVE IOSHUA IN YOUR PARTY.If not, nothing will happen at the same place of the ruins. [1.2.5] Phia Melle How to Recruit: Phia is the Captain of the Astral Knights Corps and his the adopted daughter of Lord Lias, hero of the Demonic Wars.If the party didn't recruit Cyuss,they meet Phia first at Auantim, where she offers to escort the party to Tatroi.There are basically 2 ways to recruit Phia. First Way: If you failed to get both Ashlay and Cyuss This option will occur if you did not get both Ashlay and Cyuss. The event in which Lord Lias is injured by the fake Phia will result in Phia being jailed. Go to the castle and spring Phia from jail, and after completing the caves, she will join you and you all can go to Purgatorium or the other option. Second way: If you have either Ashlay or Cyuss This results in Phia not joining during the assasination attempt. Rather, when you return to Astral during the emblem quest, if you have 6 characters or less, i.e 2 or more empty slots, you will be given the option of recruiting Phia. Note that if you recruit Phia the first way, you won't be able to get her final SFT. So its really up to you. Note also that Phia will only join if you HAVE 6 OR LESS CHARACTERS in your party when you return to Astral. There's no other way around this. So if you want Phia in your party, find some way to do it. [1.2.6] T'nique Arcana How to recruit: T'nique's a boy who can turn into a werewolf. Yep that's really as much as his backstory reveals, at least as far as I know. To recruit T'nique, go back to the arena in Tatroi during the Emblem Quest. Clear the arena as far as Rank D. Or if you already have, the rank that you are at, eg Rank C or B or whatever. As far as I know, I did it with Roddick, but I think this works for other characters as well. For the final battle, T'nique will jump in from the audience to fight you. Defeat him in battle. If you have 6 characters or less, i.e 2 or more free slots, you will be given the option to ask him to join you, if not, nothing happens. Yeah that's basically it. T'nique's actually one of the easiest characters to recruit.Just make sure you have 6 CHARACTERS OR LESS. [1.2.7] Pericci How to Recruit: A lesser Fellpool(or catgirl, if you want to call her that), you first get to meet Pericci if you choose to explore the dungeons behind the Velkent Boss after defeating him. You then get to free Pericci, who when back at Portmith runs away from you. THIS IS IMPORTANT. AFTER SHE RUNS, SHE DROPS A SHINY OBJECT ON THE GROUND. MAKE SURE YOU GRAB THIS CHANCE TO GRAB IT AT ALL COSTS!! Its the Orcarina, which is necessary for getting her. Once the Emblem Quest starts, return to Kratus(the First village) and start a Private Action. Talk to Millie, and choose Pericci when given an option of 3 names in the conversation. Equip Roddick with the Orcarina, and play it near the cat. Pericci will then join, IF YOU HAVE 7 OR LESS CHARACTERS. i.e, you have ONE or more free slots. Note: A lot of people have complained about not being able to play the Orcarina near the cat..my advice is try try and try again. Can't see any other way around it. Note: Again I repeat myself, you WILL NOT be able to recruit Pericci IF YOU DIDN'T PICK UP THE SHINY ORCARINA AT PORTMITH after the Velkent Quest. [1.2.8] Welch Vineyard How to Recruit: Welch is mysterious and one of the funniest characters, considering her hilarious PAs. To recruit Welch, you must make sure you have the Silvant Emblem, which you acquire during the Emblem Quest. Then, from the town of Ionis, go in the direction of van City. Eventually, you will reach an area on the world map with two briges. Head to the forested area to the west between the two bridges and navigate through it to find a house, Welch's hut. Choose the first option to get Welch. She will only join if YOU HAVE 7 OR LESS CHARACTERS,I.E YOU HAVE ONE OR MORE FREE SLOTS. Note: Make sure you have the Silvant emblem or she won't show. [1.2.9] Erys Jerand How to Recruit: Ah, yes. One of the characters with the most requirements. To get Erys, you need all 3 of MAVELLE, ASHLAY AND IOSHUA. If not, you can't get her. To recruit Erys, go into the Old Race Ruins, Northeast of Silvalant. Go deep into the ruins, until you find the room with Erys. Pick the 2nd option when Ioshua goes crazy, and you will get Erys. Note that if you get Erys, you lose Mavelle forever. Note: MAVELLE, ASHLAY AND IOSHUA are needed. There's no way around it. 1.4 Dorne Murtough? YES! It is possible to get the butt-shaking Fellpool Dorne in Star Ocean, but only if you have CWcheat, a cheating device. Use the following code: _C0 Debug >open menu>up>accept _L 0x2011132C 0x2408000E And open the menu, press Up and you will get to the debug menu! Select Add party, and try until you get Dorne. I'm not really sure which one is Dorne, since hell all the names are in Japanese. Have fun..if you really love Dorne that much. 1.5 Credits: SoloAce00 and nogardrebyc cjayC, founder of Gamefaqs Kouli, for his great FAQ Damage_dealer, for his great FAQ too Tri-Ace, for creating such a great game.