Chapter 2: Recapture Central Tower!

New Enemies:

Enemy	LE
Einhammer	1200
Mettaur	550
Preon Spark	1100
Sinedropper	200
Zennydropper	280

Item	Gem Color
Clear Vision	Blue
Vaccine Program	Blue
Build Power	Blue
Gain Hyper	Blue
100 Tank Energy	Yellow
Power Charge	Green
50 Tank Energy	Yellow
100z	Blue
Build Armor	Blue
Build Speed	Blue
100z	Blue
Gain Hyper	Blue
Mega Fire	Blue
100z	Blue
Tank Energy Recharge	Yellow
200z	Blue
Ultra Fire	Blue
25 Tank Energy	Yellow
Eagle Eye	Green
100z	Blue
Tank Parts	Pink
25 Tank Energy	Yellow
Backup	Blue
100 Tank Energy	Yellow

New Party Members: Spider

Boss: Wild Jango

When X wakes up, he finds himself in "New Hope", where the Resistance to the Rebellion (don't ask me how that works), hides out at. You can buy items from the girl here, and the bed recharges your LE, Hyper Modes, and Sub-Tanks, which is pretty handy considering there are random encounters just outside the door. Spend some time building your levels up and gaining some Zenny to buy some items before heading on. Watch out for the Wild Rescue Dogs, though, since they can restore their allies' LE.

The tower is just a counterclockwise spiral, so just keep heading up. If you head to the south, you'll find that the area is blocked off due to construction. Along the way, you'll find a Clear Vision, Vaccine Program, and a Build Power. If you head to the Air City Gate, you'll find some Reploids there but not much else, so head to Access Tunnel E-1 to find a Gain Hyper and a 100 Tank Energy.

Note: If you've got the PS2 version, this is where you'll find the X8 Trial Key, which opens up a trail demo of X8 on the title screen. However be WARNED that on the GCN version that sometimes it'll glitch and show that the X8 Trial Key is there as well. If you pick it up and head to where the construction is going on, it WILL give an "error" report, so be careful! My guess is that this is just a mistake on the programers' part, since X8 doesn't appear on the GCN.

Once you enter the next area, get set for a cutscene. Don't worry about what the warning says. The Reploids here won't report X. You can head to the south, but the shopping district is closed for now. Go to the north to find a save point. Save and then head to the next square.

Once you get outside, you're confronted by a burly Reploid who has reported X to the Rebellion. However, before the brute can do anything else, he's destroyed by a mysterious black-suited bounty hunter who wants to take X in for a pretty Zenny. Get set for a showdown!

*WARNING!* Spider

Spider can be pretty intimidating at first, since his Counter Card blocks all attacks, and his various card attacks can hit for multiple times. Thankfully, he's not as hard as he looks.

How to beat him:

The easiest way to beat Spider is to go into Hyper Mode and start pounding. The reason is that Spider is weak against Fire (which is what X Fire is). Note that when you see a star next to the damage, it means that the enemy is weak against that element. A green damage display means that the element healed the enemy. It also cuts through his Counter Card defense. Pound him into submission with a Charge Collider and a Shell Buster to send him packing, but this won't be the last time that you see him.

After Spider retreats, head into the northern door to find a vending machine and a Power Charge, 50 Tank Energy, and 100z. When you plug in the correct 8-digit password, you get an action figure. To start you off, plug in the following password to get the first X figure: 73001472. The doorway here leads back to the Air City Gate but on the opposite side of construction. There are also random encounters here as well.

When you get to the bottom and through a dark u-turn, you meet up with Aile, a top member of the Resistance and pretty dinged up, fighting off a squad of Preon Chasers. Aile is trying to find Chief R, who's been captured by the Rebellion, and figures that X will be able to get to him faster (well, he IS a Maverick Hunter after all, but Aile doesn't know that), so he gives him his ID and shoves X through the door before sacrificing himself to stop the Preons from following X and leaving X with Aile's ID. Bad news is that it also blocks X from getting back to the recharger bed back at New Hope, but oh well. Head forward. Inside this next area, grab the Gain Hyper and Mega Fire.

Note: This area has a LOT of Mettaurs (Mets) that are some of the most ANNOYING enemies on the game. They hide under their hats and take less damage from Shot attacks, like X's. In this case, use your Hyper Mode to knock them over before Cooldown and blasting them with an attack. A 100% Charge Shot will also knock them on the lids as well. Watch out for their Mattock Strike as well.

When you reach the next part of the tunnel, grab the 100z and the Full Tank Recharge. Level up first and use your Sub-Tank to heal before grabbing it though. In the next room, grab the Build Armor and Build Speed. The next area has a Save Point, and that can only mean ONE thing: trouble. Make sure to grab the 100z before you go.

The Reploid at the top of the ramp will ask X to save his friends who are being held hostage in the next room. Head inside and defeat the two Preon Chasers to free the hostages and gain the Security Card. The three Reploid girls will sell you Force Metals, Items, and Weapons. Before you leave here, buy a couple of Thunder Guards, Bind Protection, Virus Protection, Fire Missile, and Fire Buster. Trust me. You're going to need 'em. If you don't have enough Zenny to get all the items, use the random encounters outside this room to build up your Zenny and levels. Don't worry about getting too low on your LE or Sub-Tank energy, since one of the Reploids here will heal you back to full. When you're done leveling up and shopping, grab the 200z and Ultra Fire from the small side rooms.

The next room here has a 25 Tank Energy. The door to the east is a dead-end with a locked door. The west door has an Eagle Eye in the south of it.

At the end of the next area, X is confronted by Spider again. However, this time since X has got Aile's ID, Spider doesn't attack. However, he runs off to battle the guards that are quickly coming X's way leaving X alone once again. In the next area, X faces a Preon Spark. This type of Preon is weak against Fire, so I hope you took my advice and bought the Fire Buster, Fire Missile, Thunder Guards, and Bind Protection. Defeat it and rescue Chief R who thanks X. A cutscene happens where Spider confronts Jango. Following that is another cutscene where Jango now has kidnapped Spider and plans to destroy the tower! Guess whose job it is to stop him?

Note the timer at the bottom of the screen. It only counts down during the time that X is in the tunnels. It does NOT count down during battles. Make sure to use the dash as well. You can go to the west to get 100z, but wait and pick it up after you defeat Jango.

Head east, which is back from where you came. You'll be confronted by a pair of Preon Bitmasters, so get X's WE to 100% and let loose with a Charge Shot. In the next room, head east to face a pair of Preon Chasers. Take them out like you did the Preon Bitmasters. Make it to the locked door, and Chief R will unlock it for you.

In this next area, take out the two Preon Bitmasters and claim the Tank Parts in the room. Take the door to the east to the base entrance. Go north to get a 25 Tank Energy and keep going north. You can't go east or west just yet, so keep heading north. You'll then be confronted by a Preon Spark and two Preon Chasers. Take out the Spark first with your Fire Missiles and Fire Buster before nailing the two Chasers with a Charge Shot. After defeating the Preons, head to the end and hit the switch to stop the self-destruct.

Once you stop the bomb, Jango tries to escape. Time to go back to the Base Entrance and stop this kitty for good!

Back at the area with the locked doors, take the door to the east. Use the Save Point here. Head into the next room to get to the Heliport Access Tunnel and grab the Backup and 100 Tank Energy before heading through the large doors. In the cutscene that follows, X confronts Jango. After getting knocked down, Jango grabs Aile's Id from X. However, this infuriates Spider who tells Jango that he has no right touching it. After that, Spider joins up with X to take down Jango.

*WARNING!* Jango

Note: Jango is weak against Fire.

Jango is fast, and I mean FAST! He'll get even faster as the battle goes on, so you'll want to take him out quickly. He uses Thunder-based attacks and likes to inflict the Virus status on your characters. This is like Poison, so use a Vaccine Program or Cure One to cure it. He also has a move that'll reduce the Hunters' Speed and increase his Speed by 10. He can inflict Bind as well, so be wary about that.

How to beat him:

Thankfully, Jango's weak against Fire attacks, so if you got the items I suggested earlier, you're all set. Try out Spider's Get Item Sub-Weapon to yank the two items Jango has on him, and keep pounding away with X. Use Spider to heal when needed. Once Jango is down, he reliquishes a complete Sub-Tank and the Thunder Buster.

It turns out that Spider and Aile were good friends which is why he changed sides. Now that Chief R is free, the Resistance has new hopes to defeat Epsilon. Chapter 2 ends here.