Phantasy Star IV: Profound Distortion

Tips

Starting Out

Your party is most likely going to start out very weak and the location in which you start will determine how your route goes. Take a moment to view your surroundings and think of where you need to go. Some ideas on what you can do:

• Check out your characters:
  It is always a good idea to look at what characters you have and what they can do. If the party is heavy on physical damage, you may need to check out more item shops to ensure you have adequate healing later on. If you have someone with Hinas or Ryuka, then you can save on buying those items. If you have a really strong skill in Slot-1 for a character, you might consider fighting a boss early.

• Check out the shops:
  Looking at nearby shops, even if you don't have money to buy anything, can help tell what sort of seed you have. The type of shops you should keep an eye for are:

  • High-End equipment shops:
    If you don't find what you are looking for in chests, coming here to buy equipment is also a viable option.

  • Purfume shops (these sell Sol Dews, Moon Dews, Star Dews), and a Trimate Shop:
    If you end up not getting the right amount of healing abilities on your characters, knowing where this shop is can be vital.

  • Shops that sell Telepipes and Escapipes:
    After reaching level 12 and 13, characters will no longer be able to learn Ryuka and Hinas. Knowing where to buy these tools quickly will help speed up your run.

  • Buff-Item Shops:
    Sometimes you can get stuck on a boss if you don't have a way to buff your party. While the items aren't as strong as an ability later game, early game these items are invaluable. Knowing where to buy them quick in case you don't find them in treasures can be helpful.

  • Call Flute and Crystal Shops:
    If you need to grind a few levels to advance, having a Call Flute handy will help you out. Also, while the Crystal is very expensive, knowing where to find one just in case you need it is handy should your barrier options not be enough for the time. 

• Venture into the free dungeons:
  There are a number of dungeons that are free to enter and do not have a boss to fight at the end. Each of them also have a check at the end in which a key item might be laying in wait. The free dungeons are as follows:

  • Wreckage

  • Passageway

  • Hanger

  • Silence Temple

  • Tonoe Basement

  • Zelan, Kadary, Aiedo, Silence Temple, and Molcum (not dungeons, but do have a key item check).

Depending on what you find here can determine your next course of action.

Checking your Incentives

If you're doing a Hunter's Mark seed, you can easily check your incentives by choosing HUNT in the menu. 

• Look for your free marks first:
  If you have a mark that is free to enter with no boss, go for those first. The item you get at the end may help you unlock any other mark you might have.

• New Progression Items?:
  Did you find a progression item in your check? It might be worth checking out that new area next, especially if it is free of bosses. If not, you need to consider if it is worth going there at your current level and gear lineup.

• Do you have the Ice Digger?:
  The Ice Digger opens up the rest of Dezoris (minus Garuberk Tower). There are 4 free checks on Dezoris after you get the Ice Digger to add to your options:

  • Myst Vale

  • Esper Mansion's Sacred Sword Cave

  • Gumbious Temple

  • Weapon Plant's Burstroc Chest (right-side elevator)
    
    

Grinding

The Magic Lamp helps you grind for levels easily by forcing a battle. If you need a few levels to help overcome a boss to help you progress, then grinding can be a valid option. There are a couple of popular spots the community has come up with that are good places to start.

• Passageway: (Safe Strats, Lower Reward but consistent)
  Fighting anything in Passageway at level 1 can grant a couple easy levels if you have some better gear. Zol Slugs are the desired mob as if you get two of them alone, they can combine into the Meta Slug which give a good amount of experience. 

• Vahal Fort: (High Reset, High Reward)
  This is a bit more dangerous, but you can grind at the entrance of Vahal without needing the Vahal Key. At level 1, almost every mob will surprise you and most likely kill you. But, there are Vorpal Spheres (VOPALSPHRE) here that do not attack at all unless they are attacked by normal attacks. If you attack them normally, they will explode and instantly kill the target. But, if you have a strong skill, or found a Thunder Claw or Tornado Dagger, you can easily take these down. They give a ton of experience and can easily jump your levels up into the lower teens.

• Remembering the Mile Ranch, Monsen Fissure, and Anger Tower bosses: (High Reset, High Reward)
  Later in the game, you may need to grind a few extra levels, but even Vahal Fort can be time consuming. However, with the way the randomizer works and with the boss expansion, if you got a boss in Mile Ranch, Monsen Fissure, or Anger Tower that can be found in a normal batte, you can go to where they normally would be and grind them out for a ton of experience. However, keep in mind they will also have their stats from the place where they were seen. The Bosses page of this website will give details as to where bosses can be found normally.

• Dark Falz: (Very late game, a bit dangerous and could take more time than its worth)
  One more strategy is if you found Dark Falz in a spot with a lot of XP, you could go to the 2nd to last room of the Edge and hunt out this boss again, this time without the accompanying Shadow Mirages. However, depending on where he was found, it could take you even more time to kill it. This is great if you have a lot of Light or Holy-elemental attacks.
  
  

Boss Route

In the right circumstances, you may not need to grind at all. In which case, knowing how the stats scale in each boss location can help you determine a viable boss route without needing to grind can save time as well. While a little bit of grinding may not be bad in most cases, having the right set of gear and possible some strong Slot-1 skills might mean you don't need to at all.

• Boss Route based on level of stats Minor/Major bosses:
  Piata Basement -> Mile Ranch -> Zio's Fort -> Monsen Fissure/Climate Center/Ladea Tower -> Nurvus/Kuran-> Anger Tower/Air Castle Guards/Vahal Fort -> Air Castle King/Garuberk Tower/Rappy Cave -> Strength Tower/Courage Tower -> Soldier's Island
  
  

Legendary Weapons

Each weapon type (aside from Shotguns) has a Legendary weapon that is stronger than all others. These always are the Light element, which no enemy in the game is immune or resistant to (and many enemies are actually weak to, including the final boss). These weapons are invaluable and can turn even the weakest mage into a physical powerhouse.

• Elsydeon:
  Chaz should in MOST cases equip this as soon as he gets it. The ONLY instance in when you wouldn't want to equip this would be if Chaz has Slot-1 Rayblade, you have access to Mage Daggers, and you do not have Crosscut or Vision in the party. The other instance would be that the Guard Sword can be a better option for Paladin Chaz as it gives him a +10 strength, which will aid his Barrier casting.

• Victor Axe:
  In most situations, Gryz will be using this. If you have classes enabled, his magical classes may benefit more from shields.

• Silver Tusk:
  Most likely, unless you really need to dual-shield Rika, this should at least be equipped on her. 

• Photon Eraser:
  Most likely you will want to give this to an android who doesn't have a lot in the way of attack abilities. 

• Psycho Wand:
  Whether or not to equip this one will vary depending on your circumstances with Rune and/or Raja. While it does offer a good amount of mental and defense, both Rune and Raja are still very squishy and still benefit from a pair of light shields. But, if they have no other means of attack or reliably contributing to the team, putting them in the back row and giving them this weapon can be beneficial, especially if you can buff them up. If you have both Rune and Raja, note that Raja does have higher strength than Rune and will out-damage him.

• Mahlay Dagger:
  If you have Seth, you're giving this to Seth. Much like with Rune and Raja, some circumstances might allow for Hahn to use this effectively, but you still risk Hahn's survivability if you do so. On the bright side, the dagger can still be used to cast Nafoi in battle, so that is an option too.

• Moon Slasher:
  Unless you are going full-tank on Alys, you're more than likely going to be giving this to her. Its usefulness on Kyra will depend on whether or not she has Vortex and what other damaging abilities she has.
  
  

Amber Eyes and the Guard Equipment

If you come across an Amber in the game, you have the ability to trade in that item for the strongest armor in the game. There are 5 different locations, each offering a different piece of equipment.  

• The Guard Armor can be found by talking to Rocky (the Dog) in the town of Monsen (near the fence close to the fissure).

  • The dog in Krup is a fake. He is Rocky's brother Ricky and also likes Shortcake, but you'll never know that.

• The  Guard Mail can be found by talking to the Sick Kid in Torinco. His house is located all the way to the back of the town.

• The Guard Suit can be found by talking to Gyuna (the barkeep) in the tavern in Ryuon.

• The Guard Robe can be found by talking to the Girl inside of Zio's Church (located in Kadary).

• The Aegis can be found by talking to the Prison Guard inside the jail at Aiedo (located behind the Aiedo Mall).

Depending on the options you choose during randomization, you can get anywhere from 1 to 5 Amber Eyes in your seed, so you may not be able to get a piece of gear for every character. It is always worth weighing your options as to who needs a piece of gear more than others.