B3) THE FIRST GATE (BEGINNING)
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Levels: 5
Monsters: 1-4: Slime, Dracky, Anteater
Boss: Healer (Hale)*
This gate is only five levels deep, total, and only three types of monster
that'll show up through the whole thing (aside from the boss). Obviously, this
place was made to be an experimental gate for you. It works that way, too.
Pick up all the items that you can when you're wandering about; you're going
to need them while you're doing your first battles with Slib. Use healing
herbs whenever Slib seems to need them; with only one monster with you, and
him not having any healing skills, he'll be needing them often. Fortunately,
it shouldn't take too long, hopefully, before you can capture a second and
probably a third monster. It's fairly common here for an Anteater and a Dracky
to join up with you even without the use of meat. Make sure you accept their
offer; they may not seem like much, but every little bit helps. The anteater
has surprisingly good raises in attack, and a fantastic skill called
'MetalCut'. While this skill isn't of any use right now, trust me: it'll be
very, very useful later on. As for the Dracky, it won't have anywhere near the
attack of the Anteater, but they will later gain the spell of 'Sleep'. This is
also extremely useful, if for a completely different reason. Don't be afraid
of using a WarpWing if you find one, especially if you couldn't catch any
added monsters. Get to the bottom (or as far as you can before your monsters
are dangerously weak), toss the wing, and be thrown back to the beginning to
head through again. This might be a little tedious, but it'll get some extra
levels for you, more herbs, and another chance at capturing monsters if you
had no luck earlier. In addition, if it seems like you're going to die, don't
be afraid to let it happen; at this point in the game, you won't have any
money to lose, and if you've properly used all your herbs to try and keep Slib
(and your other monsters) alive, you won't lose anything there, either.
BOSS BATTLE: Hale is a fairly annoying boss. His habit of healing himself will
make this fight longer than it needs to be, that's for certain. Plus, if all
you have on your team is Slib, he can do enough damage to make things
difficult. Be ready to drop herbs on Slib if you need to. However, if you have
your full team of three, or even just Slib and the Anteater, things should go
alright for you. Just don't be afraid to use herbs when you need them. Minimal
levels are needed here; don't worry too terribly much about leveling before
you face him, unless Slib is all you have. If he is, then try for level 5. And
whatever you do, when he asks to join you, *don't turn him down*. He'll
probably be one of the most important members of your party for a good, long
time!