Phantasy Star Cave Message Board

Hi! I'm new here. I'm almost finished with PSIV. I've had a good time, but I am confused as to how people seem to understand details about the game's combat that, as far as I can tell, is explained nowhere. I've read through the original manual and the player's guide, and nowhere does it talk about elemental weaknesses, enemy types, stat optimization (via equipment), etc. I blundered through much of the game despite spending a fair amount of time reading different guides and FAQs. I had to create my own printout of all of the tech and skills in the game because it was completely impossible for me to remember them all. I carried it around with me and my Switch at all times. I guess what I'm wondering is what am I missing? Is the game as obtuse as I believe, or am I missing something obvious that would have helped? Has all of this knowledge simply been accumulated over the years by people playing? I love the combat in theory, but the obfuscation of the details or readily available information severely impacted my enjoyement. Thanks for your time.

This website does a good job of explaining the techs and skills:

https://shrines.rpgclassics.com/genesis ... ques.shtml

https://shrines.rpgclassics.com/genesis ... ills.shtml

As for enemy types, there are three main categories of enemy in the game:

Bio-Monsters - animal or insect-like enemies, more prominent in the early game.

Androids - mechanical enemies, often fought in hi-tech locations.

Evil monsters - mythological and magical enemies, often fought in dungeons.

All androids are weak to thunder, all evil monsters are weak to holy or light-based damage. Many bio-monsters are weak against fire and ice, depending on location, for example, enemies on Motavia tend to be weak to ice, while enemies on Dezolis tend to be weak to fire.

Gav the Monster wrote:This website does a good job of explaining the techs and skills:

https://shrines.rpgclassics.com/genesis ... ques.shtml

https://shrines.rpgclassics.com/genesis ... ills.shtml

As for enemy types, there are three main categories of enemy in the game:

Bio-Monsters - animal or insect-like enemies, more prominent in the early game.

Androids - mechanical enemies, often fought in hi-tech locations.

Evil monsters - mythological and magical enemies, often fought in dungeons.

All androids are weak to thunder, all evil monsters are weak to holy or light-based damage. Many bio-monsters are weak against fire and ice, depending on location, for example, enemies on Motavia tend to be weak to ice, while enemies on Dezolis tend to be weak to fire.

Thanks so much! These basic facts are so helpful, and they really should have been in the manual, or at least the guide. I guess players just figured it out over time.

@Gav the Monster - Oh hey, do you know if different status effect abilities have different effectiveness? And do they stack? For example, does Doran have same effect, statistically, as Illusion? And if I use both, would enemy agility be reduced further than just one? What if I use Illusion two or three times? Warla and Blessing is another example. Thanks again!

The games combat system honestly isn’t too complex, it’s just some stuff that kinda slips through the cracks.

I honestly wouldn’t bother with most status effect abilities - they can be useful but not for long. They don’t stack in any case.