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The penultimate dungeon inSuikoden 1 HD Remasteris the Shasarazade base. This isn’t a particularly large dungeon, yet, it still manages to containtwoboss battles for you to face off against. Moreover, both of these bosses have powerful spells which can take out an unprepared party rather quickly.
Preparation is the name of the game here. It is quite likely that you will get a game over if you aren’t well-equipped for this dungeon. Thankfully, we can tell you all the steps you need to take in order to avoid that fate. We’ll even tell you how to recruit Sonya after you beat her.
Preparations For Shasarazade
There are two things you’ll need to know. This dungeon has two bosses, and you won’t be able to rest in between the two battles. So,you’ll want to have a ton of Mega Medicine on handbefore you push forward. Both bosses also have a magic attack that will hit the entire party. So, if you like, you can attempt to build a party around surviving these magic attacks.
Having a few party members with Lightning or Thunder runes is a good bet for coming out of the Venus Shell boss battle relatively unscathed. Characters like Luc, Crowley, and Tengaar have a large magic stat, which determines your magic defense. So, they make good choices. Additionally,any character with a lightning runewill be able to tank the Venus Clam’s attack, while anyone witha water rune will be able to tank Sonya’s magic attack.
Equipping the Flowing Rune on a party member with decent magic is a great way to give yourself an advantage, as it does have a spell for reviving party members. Youshouldhave acquired this rune from the Qlon Temple Cavern.
Shasarazade Dungeon
The actual Shasarazade dungeon is extremely abbreviated and straightforward. You’ll head down a set of stairs, get aChaos Shieldfrom a chest, you’ll continue down the path, head up and down another set of stairs, then head into another area with a treasure chest containing aGuard Ring, and then another holding theMaster’s Garb. None of these chests are hidden, they are all in plain sight.
The Master’s Garb is one of the best pieces of armor you can get in the game. So, equip this on McDohl.
You’ll head down another set of stairs, and be faced with a forking path. Head straight down the path heading west, and you’ll get someMega Medicinefrom another treasure chest. Backtrack, and head down the southern path, and you’ll be in the final room of the dungeon with a sluice gate.It is guarded by a massive clamshellboss: the Venus Shell.
Boss Battle: The Venus Shell
This battle is not a big deal, but if you approach it like any other boss, you’ll drain your resources and make the real boss of the Shasarazadefarmore difficult. So, for this fight, you want to hold off on using your big spells. Instead, we’re going to rely on unite attacks, attack skill runes, and good ol' regular attacks.
The Venus Shell itself has two attacks: it can fire a pearl at a single unit, or it can casta lightning spell that’ll hiteveryparty member. This means you’re going to want to load up your party members with Mega Medicine. You’ll need to do somewhere in the range of15,000 damageto the Venus Shell to kill it, so, you will want to have a few party members who can hit hard with Unite attacks.
A few great candidates are Ronnie Bell and Pahn and Tai Ho and Yamkoo. Both have hard-hitting unite attacks. While these unite attacks will leave units unbalanced, since you’ll want to heal up fairly frequently anyway, you’re able to just use them as healerswhilethey are unbalanced. Additionally,Tengaar and Hix are great here, as they have a unite attackand Tengaar is an incredibly powerful magic user.
McDohl has an unusually high resistance to magic attacks, so you don’t need to be as concerned about healing him nearly as much. He’ll take far less damage from those magic attacks.
Once you beat the Venus Shell, you’ll progress to the dam, shut it, grab theThunder Runefrom the chest,and backtrack your way through the Shasarazade dungeon, before General Sonya Shulen confronts you at the exit of the dungeon. Depending on how many times the Venus Shell uses its lightning spell, this is a pretty tough battle, as you’ll be worn down.
If you don’t take a step forward after defeating the Venus Shell, you can run back through the dungeon, leave, heal, and then come back. So, if things go poorly, and you need to use some of those level four spells, you’ll have the opportunity to back out and heal. As annoying as that is, it is better than going into a fight you can’t win with Sonya.
Boss Battle: Sonya Shulen
Like the Venus Shell, Sonya has two attacks. One is a physical attack that will strike one unite for a substantial amount of damage, and the other is awater magic attack that will hit the entire party. Additionally, Sonya isextremelygood at dodging, and counter-attacking, regular attacks.
So, the last thing you want to do is to attack her with a regular attack. Thankfully, there is one thing in your favor here:She only has around 8,000 HP.So, if you have all your level four spells, you’re able to do a number on her. McDohl’s Final Judgment spell, in particular, does a considerable amount of damage. She is seemingly resistant to most other magic types, though particularly strong mages will be able to punch through that defense and still deal some significant damage.
Beyond that, we’re only using Runes and Unite Attacks to deal damage.Don’t use regular attacks, unless you want to throw your life away! If you come into this battle low on resources, you’re going to have to pray that she doesn’t use her magic frequently. If youhave a Flowing Rune equipped on a party member that’s good for healing, plus it will make them resistant to her big magic attack.
Recruiting General Sonya Shulen
Once you’ve defeated Sonya, Viktor will prevent her from taking her own life. Some shocking events will occur, and you’ll end up back at your castle. However,you won’t have recruited Sonyayet. Though she will be in your castle.
In order to get her to join your army, head to the basement of your castle. Sonya will be in the jail cell down here. If you talk to her. While she’ll be pretty confrontational, if you choose the"I want you to join us"and"It doesn’t matter"dialogue options, she’ll join your army.
