A. Known Bugs
B. Misc Gameplay Tips
C. Unconfirmed Rumors
D. Control Pad Buttons
E. Dark Angel, Online
X. Copyright + Reproduction Guidelines
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1. Game Description
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Dark Angel (DA) is a straight-up action/rpg 'dungeon crawl' unlike anything
yet seen on the PS2. Unless you have the game-manual, you don't get any
details on 'who' you are, 'why' you are there, or 'what' you are doing. DA
just cuts right to the action and never lets up.
The goal of DA is to destroy the Shadow Lord, a "creature of legend" that
leads a hoard of monsters in the underworld against the people of Gothos. The
date shown in the bottom left of the 'world map' screen shows how close you
are to having the chance to fight the Shadow Lord. Precisely "one year"
after the game begins, a new area will open up on the world map and you will
be given the opportunity to destroy the Shadow Lord and win the game.
In a nutshell, you have a single year (game time) to get yourself powerful
enough to destroy the Shadow Lord, and get the townspeople powerful enough
to defend themselves from the onslaught when he arrives (the people will make
better quality weapons and armor as you help them become more independent).
You have one year to grow your character and the townspeople of Gothos by
any means necessary -- which means there's going to be a whole lot of
blood on your hands. (heh)
Just for posterity, the main character's real name is Anna.
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2. Getting Started (Crash Course)
==============================================
When you start a new game of Dark Angel (DA) it can be confusing. You will
instantly be thrown into the first town of Westhaven and be forced to defend
the humans from a group of vampires (and an occasional ghoul).
This first battle is very special -- first of all, you don't take any damage
from monster attacks so regardless of the sound effects and blood, you're not
actually in any danger. Secondly, the vampires say many scripted things such
as, "Humans must learn obedience" that you will not hear again while playing
the game. For this battle, just swing your sword and maybe shoot-off your
gun until all the monsters have fallen. There is no pressure to perform.
After the first battle, the game really begins.
Please note that there is no intro when you start a new game, no scripted
sequences, and no cinematics -- you didn't skip it on accident, so don't
bother looking for one. Who wants to watch a movie anyhow, eh? We're here
to play a game!
You can talk to the villagers by pressing 'x' when standing next to them.
Villagers with names floating above their heads are merchants that can
sell you items and/or supply you with random quests.
There are two main screens you'll be interested in from the very beginning:
1) Pressing START will bring up the World Map, where you can choose a new
location to travel to. The blue crystal is where your character currently is
located. Red flags are where current quests are located. Yellow (gold) dots
are locations you can visit (please see section 3, locations).
2) Pressing SELECT will bring you to the equipment/status screen. Moving the
cursor over an item in your inventory will show its current stats. Press one
of the four buttons (triangle, circle, square, x) to assign the item selected
to an 'action' slot at the bottom right corner of the screen.
Note that in the equipment screen, you can view a number of statistics about
your character by simply moving the cursor over the self-portrait on the
right-hand side of the screen.
And it begins... You're free to go wherever you wish for an entire year, but
I'd suggest getting quests before you do so. Getting a quest will reward you
with 'town' bonuses while also allowing you to treasure hunt and gain more
experience along the way. As I mentioned earlier, the quests are available
from the town merchants; but you may want to crack open the world map and
simply go rescue the two other towns in Gothos: Hom and Rygard.
Two of the greatest things about DA include: not being pressured into where
you have to go next; and learning about the game as you go.
The starting game-date is Jan 1st, 1670 -- and you have a single year to
help power up yourself and the towns of Gothos. Each time you die, you will
be returned to the last town you visited. The /only/ penalty for dying is
that a resurrection will take 3 days time. Which means that more you die,
the less time you will have grown as a character before the Shadow Lord
arrives.
What you do from here is entirely up to you. Good luck!
The types of locations you can visit are divided into three categories (towns,
arenas, and dungons) which I've detailed here:
TOWNS:
Westhaven (shrine: Tome of Knowledge)
Hom (shrine: Golden Statue)
Rygard (shrine: Life Chalice)
Each town has a shrine, two merchants, and a three villagers. The merchants
randomly re-populate their merchandise each time you re-enter the town
itself. Each villager will have something different to tell you every month,
but will keep saying the same thing until the month has passed.
The shrines (altars) in each town have a specific idol that accepts donations
of special-items found only within the dungeons of Gothos. Donating these
special-items will reward you with permanent statistic bonuses. Make sure
you search each floor of a dungeon thoroughly for these special-items.
Westhaven's Tome of Knowledge: special-item Potent Candle (Necropolis)
Hom's Golden Statue: special-item Power Ore (Lost City)
Rygard's Life Chalice: special-item Seed of Life (Ancient Forest)
ARENAS:
Tanglewood (generator: Volcanic Opening)
Badlands (generator: Stone Coffin Shrine)
Frozen Wastes (generator: Stone Tomb Gates)
When you visit an Arena location without having a quest to fulfill, you will
be attacked by a continuous onslaught of monsters until you destroy the
arena's monster generator (can you say Gauntlet?). If you've only come to
gain experience or hunt for treasure, feel free to leave when you're in
trouble since these monster generators will be rebuild when next you visit.
It's noteworthy to mention that if you have a quest associated with the arena
you're visiting, it's very unlikely that a monster generator will be present
for you to destroy.
DUNGEONS:
Necropolis (monster type: Undead)
Lost City (monster type: The Forgotten [Ancients])
Ancient Forest (monster type: Mutants)
This is really where the heart of the game is at -- the dungeons. If you
don't have a quest when you visit a dungeon, at least you make sure to
search all chests + breakable objects for the town shrine 'special-items'
that you can't find anywhere else (see: section 3, locations::towns).
Each floor in the dungeon is randomly generated, so it's going to be
different every time you descend (from game to game). DA does a great job
of saving your current progress -- if you kill a few monsters on a dungeon
floor and save your game, when you come back later the monsters will still
be dead. What this really means, is that it is very reasonable to kill
every monster on a floor and expect them to stay dead.
On the 100th floor of each dungeon is a foozle (the big bad monster). It
is not necessary to kill the foozle, but you're supposed to be rewarded with
special shadow weapons by doing so. The dungeons don't actually have a
bottom floor (far as I can tell), as you can continue your dungeon crawl past
the 100th floor.
Assassination targets, thieves, and mini-bosses will be displayed as a large
purple dot on your overhead map. Make these targets your top priority.
Some floors will have levers bound to sealed doors. The lever shows up on
your overhead map as a large yellow dot ... strike the lever with a weapon
and it will trigger the corresponding doors. If you have any trouble with
opening a door (ie: lever is behind locked doors), please see section A,
Known Bugs.
You will never be given a quest goal that is on the same floor as a lever.
When dealing with weapons, you have four potentials to consider: level,
monster-type, enchantment, and spirit-attack. The higher the level of weapon,
the overall better performance you'll get from it. As for monster-type, each
weapon has specific advantages against certain monster-types (sabre vs. the
undead, for example). Since weapons you find or purchase will be randomly
generated, there are a number of enchantments that could potentially be
imbued. Enchantments can include "Fire Damage" bonuses, a bonus to maximum
HP, bonus to item find, and more. Finally, the spirit-attack for each weapon
type is unique. For example: all scythes have the same 'slashing' spirit-
attack, while a mace's spirit-attack performs a special 'whirlwind' attack.
To use spirit-attacks, instead of pressing the attack button with a weapon
equipped, simply hold the button down. You'll see the blue bar in the bottom
left of the screen (your spirit meter, or MP) decrease the more you use your
spirit-attacks, but this can be replenished by talking to townspeople or by
drinking MP potions while in the dungeon.
SABRE: this is probably the very best 'undead' slaying weapon. The spirit-
attack is a very quick 'stabbing' attack that allows you to escape
quickly. Highly recommended for fighting the undead (especially Tanglewood
and The Necropolis).
BROAD SWORD: if you don't have a sabre, there's always a broad sword. The
spirit-attack for this one is very strong, but painfully slow. Not
recommended to anyone with a decent sabre.
VAMPIRE SWORD: your 'meat-and-potatoes' weapon. While it was really designed
for slaying Cerebri and Biomechs - the spirit-attack is absolutely
priceless. As long as your target is not UNDEAD, then the spirit-attack
will drain life from any monster that comes in contact with its blade.
Note that the life drained is given to you immediately, and is determined
by the amount of damage you inflicted on the target. This means that if
the target is many levels above you and your spirit-attack does not do much
damage, then the HP that you end up draining could be relatively
insignificant. You won't find a better all-purpose weapon than a
high-level vampire sword.
MACE: got spin? this is a great weapon to use for taking down Titans and
the fireball summoning Slayers. The spirit-attack is useful for many
situations because it puts you into an unstoppable whirlwind attack. This
weapon is a must have, since it's spirit-attack is invaluable and its bonus
damage to Titans makes short-work of those strong monsters.
AXE: the axe was built to take down Crawlers and Devolved, and its spirit-
attack looks like a hack-n-slash charge. Not a bad weapon, but I'd suggest
having a vampire sword instead for its regeneration spirit-attack.
SCYTHE: takes down Dragus and Hunters like they were butter. The spirit-
attack of the scythe had two phases: the first few attacks will be axe-like
swings of the scythe, the second attack phase will put your character into
a very devastating full-circle spiral attack that damages all monsters
around you. To take the spirit-attack into the second phase, keep
connecting with your phase-1 blows and phase-2 will kick in, then return
you back to phase-1. I personally 'love' this weapon, and find it
especially helpful for the Lost City dungeon. Highly recommended.
RUNE SWORD: consumes too much spirit. Wasn't designed for fighting any
particular monster type. Doesn't drain life like the vampire sword.
I don't consider this a good weapon, unless you're looking for a
novelty sword.
GUNS: the effectiveness of guns has eluded me entirely. You're going to have
to supply lots of ammo; you're not going to be doing very much damage; and
whatever monster has gotten close enough to shoot at, you can just as
likely swing a melee weapon at. Just to add insult to injury, instead of
having a gun in your character's action slot - you could've put another
bracer and received additional enchantment bonuses. Not only would I like
to recommend /not/ using or maintaining a gun, but I'd love for someone to
prove them worthwhile so that I might provide the information here in
this FAQ.
The greatest flaw in the armor system for DA is that you cannot see your
current defense rating to compare it against a new piece of armor. Here is
some quoted information about armor types from the Dark Angel FORUM on
metro3d's website. A metro3d employee alias 'LaChoppe' explained:
PLATE ARMOR: is best against melee, but has problems against lightning.
LEATHER ARMOR: helps you avoid criticals and gives you strong resistance
to magic damage, but is weaker against melee damage.
CHAIN ARMOR: has good melee blocking and helps avoid knockdowns, but still
takes some electricity damage (not as much as plate).
Thank you, LaChoppe. As a rule of thumb, go for the highest level of armor
that you have in your inventory that also provides reasonable enchantments.
I recommend you lean towards HP% bonus enchantments, because it certainly
pays off to have more hit points!
Action slots can be equipped with any combination of boots, weapons, items,
and bracers. You can equip yourself with four bracers, and receive all the
combined enchantments for them. Ideally, you will find yourself a great
pair of boots; a couple of quality enchanted bracers; and a great melee
weapon (like a vampire sword!).
BOOTS: boots have actions associated with them, on top of often being
enchanted with a number of bonuses. Standard boots will 'jump' when the
action (equipped) button is pressed, which will get you out of trouble if
you find yourself surrounded by monsters. There are variations of boots
that include actions which will "fly" (Fly), "attack+fly" (Reaper), and
"spin-attack" (Whirlwind). Using a boot's abilities to do more than
jumping will drain your spirit (MP) while you perform the actions. When
you run out of spirit, your special boots will only jump.
BRACERS: when used, the default action (equipped) button will make your
character 'block' an incoming attack, and cost you a small amount of
spirit (MP). I recommend trying to find some quality enchantments on
a great pair of bracers such as: a bonus to experience, bonus to MP,
or item/treasure find. There are special enchantments found on
bracers, just like boots including Dodge and CounterAttack.
BOMBS: these are very helpful for area-effect damage to a dense pack of
monsters. If you throw these while jumping, they'll go a little further.
Standard bombs work as flash (stun) grenades that do a small amount of
damage to the targets as well. You should match elemental bombs to the
monster types they do the most damage to. The manual suggests that Mutants
are vulnerable to electric damage, Undead to fire damage, and The Ancients
to poison damage. This elemental damage suggestion by the manual is
most profound when applied to your weapon + armor enchantments.
HP POTION: does exactly what you think it does. The potions are red.
MP POTION: same as HP potions -- equip to use. These potions are blue.
AMMO: used automatically when firing a gun. You aren't using a gun, are
you? Go back and read section 4 above ( Weapons::GUNS ).
Part of the fun in Dark Angel is discovering what monsters look like, and
practicing identifying them as they are encountered. Monster types are
divided into three categories listed below. Its noteworthy to mention that
while a single monster type can appear in different colors, sizes, and
textures; the core shape of the monster remains the same. A monster type
with four legs will always have four legs regardless of its color, size,
or texture.
The best tip to identify monsters on your own is to accept a quest that
requires you to kill a specific enemy. On the quest scroll in your inventory
you will be told what monster type your victim is -- so that when you finally
meet your target, you'll be able to identify that particular type of monster.
Undead Monster Types:
GHOST: looks like a low-poly Casper. Ranged lightning attack.
VAMPIE: humanoid, clean-cut, nice full-length cape, attacks in melee
range with a sword. Ranged lightning attack.
GHOUL: humanoid, raggy clothes, attacks in melee range with long claws.
Ranged lightning attack.
FIEND: walks on two legs, skinny waist, enlarged head and large droopy
arms. Makes squealing noises and does not have a ranged attack.
Mutant Monster Types:
BIOMECH: fat monsters that can grow quite large, they sometimes have ribs
protruding from their chest. Ranged poison attack.
CRAWLER: large single eye, spider like. Ranged poison attack.
DEVOLVED: four-legged, faceless dogs. Ranged poison attack.
CEREBRI: humanoid, two large spike protruding out of the backs of their
shoulders. Ranged poison attack.
The Forgotten (Ancients) Monster Types:
DRAGU: looks like a mini T-Rex, walks on two legs, Ranged fire attack.
HUNTER: fat elves with crossbows and light armor. Ranged fire attack.
TITAN: look like golems made of clay or stone. Ranged fire attack.
SLAYER: humanoid, hairless. They meditate and release five heat-seeking
fireballs as their ranged attack.
As a final note, you can tell from the description that each monster type
attacks using a single element. The undead use lightning, mutants use poison,
and finally The Ancients use fire. see section B for more information about
what type of element to use against which type of monster ( Misc Gameplay
Tips).
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A. Known Bugs
==============================================
BUG) Inaccessible Lever:
It is possible (although very rare) to encounter a dungeon floor that stops
further progress for that particular dungeon. This is caused by the map
generating a lever you must use behind a locked door. This has recently
been known as the 'Inaccessible Lever' bug.
If this happens, you have reached the farthest floor in that particular
dungeon that you will be able to reach during this game of Dark Angel.
Saving your game frequently will not subvert the problem, because the
bug is contained within the dungeon seed itself.
Here is a quote from "Suitcase", one of the metro3d FORUM monitors from the
company that developed DA:
"Dungeon levels are generated based upon a seed value set when a new
game is started. If your seed is going to generate a problem, then your
[save/load] solution will not be effective..."
This really isn't as bad as you might think it to, however. The good news
is that you don't ever have to return to this dungeon (during this game).
You /can/ actually finish the game regardless of this bug, so it's not really
a show-stopper -- all it really means is that you won't be killing the
100th floor foozle at the end of this blocked dungeon.
For a real challenge, after beating the current game you're playing, start a
new game and /only/ descend the dungeon you were previously locked out of.
You'll be missing out of a lot of experience padding by not simultaneously
traversing the other two dungeons. :)
BUG)
... end of known bugs
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B. Misc Gameplay Tips
==============================================
*) The military, economic and research variables measure the progress of each
village. As the stats increase, villagers are better equipped in battle
and the shopkeepers provide more and better items. (-LaChoppe, metro3d)
*) [When fighting the Shadow Lord, the recommended character level is] at
least 100. It is possible to beat him at a lower level, but it is balanced
for 100. (thanks for metro3d employee 'mark', metro3d FORUM)
*) When your character dies, three full days pass.
*) Note that there are two distinct enchantments: "Treasure Find" and "Item
Find". They are not equal, so be aware of what you have equipped. Item
Find enchantment increase your item-find rate, whereas Treasure Find will
simply increase the amount of gold you find.
*) Elemental damage on weapons work similar to using bombs of a specific
element. The manual suggests that Mutants are vulnerable to electric
damage, Undead to fire damage, and The Ancients to poison damage.
*) Be very careful /not/ to accidentally delete your saved game instead of
loading it from the opening menu. Hitting the wrong button at this time
can cost you a hundred hours or more.
*) Dodge and CounterAttack enchantments are passive and are performed
automatically. You can simply stand there are the enchantments will
activate on their own when you are struck by a monster. (thanks to
'whos2nd', GameFAQs FORUM)
*) The codes found online for Dark Angel: (MOUNTAINBIKING, COMPUTERS, etc)
are completely bogus. Someone posted the codes when Dark Angel hit the
shelves, and the internet quickly propagated the incorrect information.
Here is a quote from LaChoppe, from the metro3d DA FORUM: "There are no
cheat codes in Dark Angel. Somebody fabricated the codes..."
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C. Unanswered Questions
==============================================
*) There has been a claim that you cannot raise a cumulative bonus beyond a
total bonus of 100%. This is unconfirmed, as you can certainly raise your
HP bonus well beyond a cumulative 100%.
*) When you equip Dark Angel with a Vampire Sword and watch the animations
played on the equipment screen, she does a number of moves with the sword
that are yet unknown. Anyone with key combinations or required equipment
to perform these moves? Some of these animations are easily recognizable
as 'reaper' or 'whirlwind' attacks, while others are not.
*) Can NPC characters ever be killed permanently? When they are struck down
by monsters in either RESCUE or TOWN BATTLE quests, the victims always
appear to resurrect themselves when next you visit.
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D. Control Pad Buttons
==============================================
When I first played Dark Angel, I rented the game from Hollywood Video. As
most of you are aware of, certain video stores such at this take the liberty
to rewrite the game manual on the outside plastic box when you rent it.
Well, after purchasing a copy of Dark Angel for myself, I can honestly say
that Hollywood Video's Dark Angel controls were total bologna. Here is a full
map of the control pad keys just to rectify the injustice done by video stores
across the nation. Those bastards.
(TRIANGLE): action-button, top equipment slot
(CIRCLE): action-button, right equipment slot
(X): action-button, bottom equipment slot
(SQUARE): action-button, left equipment slot
(R2): change the zoom on the overhead map (dungeons or arena only)
(SELECT): equipment screen (inventory)
(START): world map
Yes, that is /all/ of the buttons. R1 and L1 do not actually do anything,
contrary to the folks at Hollywood Video (bless their naive hearts).
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E. Dark Angel, Online
==============================================
Online resources are slowly growing for Dark Angel (PS2), but the best
locations presently available (besides this FAQ) are the following forums:
1) www.metro3d.com (visit the Dark Angel FORUM)
2) www.gamefaqs.com (search for Dark Angel, then select "Board" or "FAQs" )
If you wish to make contributions to this FAQ, by all means send me your
additions and I'll be sure to give you credit! See the contact information
at the top of this document for getting a hold of me.
Thanks to Metro3d for making a great dungeon crawl for the PS2.
Thanks to the great people at Metro3d's forum, and for all their help.
Thanks to you, for reading this FAQ!
...
This document Copyright 2001 Eric Housden. If you wish to reproduce or
distribute this FAQ, you can request authorization at Eric's current e-mail
address of "steelcow@hotmail.com", which is the same contact information
listed at the top of this document.
