Tips and Tricks

Well, there's a lot of things you can try on this game, especially if you're wanting to gain a lot of EXP, items, Zenny, or FME. There's also a few fun tricks to try as well. If you've got any other tips or tricks that you'd like to send me to add to this part, just email me, and I'll give you credit. Now, it's onto the fun!

Exp Gaining Ideas:
Here's a few ideas concerning Exp gaining. Note that these are so far the only ones I've come across so far.
Regenerating Bad Guys:
There are several of these around, but the first ones you meet up with as X are the Preon Bitmaster. This foe can summon Bits to help it out in battle. However, if you destroy these bits before the Preon Bitmaster's turn comes up, it'll summon 'em again. What's so good about this, you might ask? Well, this is the very first area X is in, and he'll be alone for a little bit after this, so it wouldn't hurt to get his levels raised up. This is done by getting lots of Exp, and any enemy that regenerates battle partners (or "calls for backup" as is stated by weaker enemies) can be a very useful Exp mine til either they run away or until you destroy the main one. Here are a few other instances of regenerating bad guys:
* Dober Men (Tianna Island POW Camp)
* Rabbid (Guadile Laboratory)
* Dr. Psyche (1st form. Boss of Guadile Laboratory)
* Mach Jentler (Summons Preons. Boss of Ulfat Factory)
* Gold Blader (Summons Gold Mettaurs. Vanallia Desert)
* Preon S Botos (Summons Bits. Vanallia Desert)
* Botos (Summons Q-Bits. Boss of Vanallia Desert)
* Botos Decoy (Summons Big Bits. Melda Ore Mine)
* B Blader (Summons Deerballs. Redips Base)
* Redips Guard
* Redips (First Battle. Summons Red Hubcaps. Boss of Redips Base.)
* Eighttails (Special Section)
Note: The last one I put here (the Eighttails) is a pretty powerful Boss, so unless you're REALLY high-leveled and prepared for this battle (see the "How to Beat the Tails Clan" for more information), you'll be in a world of hurt. Also, once you get the Get Exp+ sub-weapon, you'll be able to get even MORE Exp outta these. Have fun gaining Exp!

Meltdown Mania:
Meltdown is a very dangerous enemy, as it can defeat your party on the third turn. However, if you have Axl on your team, there's a way around this (though only Axl will likely get all the Exp unless the other team members are pretty high-leveled.). When you see that Meltdown's clock has started, put Axl into Hyper Mode (hope you gave him several Build Hypers!) and keep pounding on him with all of your team. Likely if they're all high enough, you'll beat Meltdown before he self-destructs, but if you don't, Axl will survive if he's still in Hyper Mode, and all active members will gain the Exp. Sure it means KOing two characters, but then again, with 6000 Exp points, this is a good way to gain some serious levels... as long as Axl can survive the attacks, that is.

Easy LE Gaining Tricks:
Want to get your LE filled quickly without using up a Sub Tank or need to get Sub Tanks filled up for a Boss battle? Here are two tricks that you'll find very handy.

Calling Nurse Preon!
Here's a useful trick in the Ulfat Factory (and later the Vanallia Desert). You've likely come across bad guys with a Preon Nurse. While you're generally supposed to kill the healer of the group, this is the only exception (don't try this with the Preon Docs. They just attack you.). If you kill off the other bad guys before the Preon Nurse's next turn, it'll surrender and heal you. If you let it go after that, it'll escape with a "Thanks" and sometimes leaves behind the Injector weapon for Cinnamon. Consider this a useful enemy if you don't want to use up your Sub Tanks to heal before a Boss battle.

The Frozen Degravers:
In the Melda Ore Plant Exterior area, you've likely come across some Frozen Degravers. If you attack these while frozen, they'll attack. However, what happens when you use something to heal it (such as a Warm Up or Cure One)? Well, it doesn't attack. If you then guard til its next turn, it'll leave with a "Thanks". The good thing about this is that you get a 100 Tank Energy and a Beam Weapon S each time you do this, so it's a great way to fill up your Sub Tanks as well as get some nice selling fodder on those times when you need some extra cash.

Money-Making Tricks:
Here are a couple of ways to make it easier to get the items you need.

The Silver Mettaur Mine:
Silver Mettauars are one of the more annoying bad guys you'll face in the Gimilla Mines. However, even though it's tough, you can get some VERY good selling fodder from them. If you steal from them, you'll get Spider's Ace of Diamonds weapon from it, and if you defeat it, you'll get the chance to gain a Beam Miracle weapon for Marino from it. However, it has a high escape rate, but it's also weak to thunder, so shock it. Also, if you're good with Marino's Emotional Reels, use her "I'll Take That!" to get the Ace of Diamonds easier from it. Good Luck Force Metals can also increase the chance of getting the Beam Miracle from it once it is defeated.

In general: Any of the more powerful weapons will net you higher Zenny, but they tend to be a lot more difficult to get the enemies to drop or to steal from, so be prepared for some long hours trying to get some of these weapons from the bad guys.

Item Gaining 101:
For those of you trying to get enough Gain Hypers or other items to max out your party, here's a few tricks that might help.

Use the Good Luck Force Metal:
This might seem a bit redundant, but there are some enemies who have some really rare items that you need but can't get them to drop except for a slim amount of times. In those cases, you'll need the Good Luck Force Metal to get them to drop the items you need. Remember, if you put one or two Good Luck Force Metals on each party member, make sure you only use them during the weaker battles. I would not suggest doing this against Bosses.

The More The Better:
Some of the enemies that you'll face off against that have rare items on them will occur in groups. Good examples of these are the Bat Bones and Big Monkeys. However, when choosing which bad guy you'll be going after for a certain item, make sure to get the one that comes in more groups to get the maximum amount of chances to get the item needed. A good example is the Bat Bones of Lagrano Ruins. These tend to stick in groups up to four Bat Bones each. The good news about this is that's good because they carry the hard-to-find Gain Hypers (especially useful when facing up against the optional Bosses or Redips' final form). I managed to get 9 Gain Hypers from them in under a few minutes just by destroying several large groups of Bat Bones. Again, make sure to have Good Luck Force Metals equipped as well for the hard-to-get items.

Random Roulette Enemies:
Zennydroppers and Gift Boxes are two of the more annoying running enemies. However, depending on which turn you destroy them on, you'll get an amount of Zenny or an item. For these, make sure to have Hawkeye sub weapons equipped on your strongest members to take them out as soon as the turn of your choice comes up if you want the item and keep them from running away.

Fun Tricks:
These tricks are just for fun, but some of them can be pretty useful.

Using the Bait Sub-Weapon:
There are a few ways to use this weapon and keep your team alive. First, if you have Axl with a Bait Sub-Weapon and in Hyper Mode, the enemies will only attack him, but as we know, Axl can't be harmed while he's in Hyper Mode. I've saved my team's butt in many situations (most notably against the Tail Clan's fifth member who self-destructs at the end) using this technique. However, don't use this once the last turn of the Hyper Mode is up. It'll do more harm than good... Unless you're doing the second trick, that is.
The second trick involves using the Bait Sub-Weapon along with one of the Reverse Force Metals. Once again, the enemies will only target the one who used the Bait Sub-Weapon, and if their elemental type is the same as the Reverse that's on the character, the attack will heal them instead of harming them. Note that against ones like Incentas or the Twotails, this isn't a good idea, since they change their elements every turn.