Time to enter Mountain Cave!
Dragon Warrior I Walkthrough
Version 1.0
Christopher Lee Boger
leslumens@yahoo.com
Note: This is only the walkthrough. For the remainder of the things such as weapon stats, spell charts, monster charts, etc., find the appropriate section which should be (or will be) located at the same place as this walkthrough. Text versions should also be available for download at the same location.
This walkthrough will contain story spoilers, so if you do not wish that, perhaps use the FAQs section found at the same address which offers varying degrees of explanation in order for you to beat the game more or less yourself, with the least amount of prompting possible.
Mountain Cave and the Fighter's Ring
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Before you go hunting for the
ring, build up the 1500 GP and purchase the Broadsword. You should be
close to that total already, anyway. Do this near Rimuldar, and don't
head too far South! Once you have the Broadsword, and it's 5 Attack Power
boost over the Hand Axe, head back to Tantegel. Restock your supplies and
save the game.
Now you want to go to Mountain Cave. You
reach this cave by heading toward Garinham.
Once you reach Garinham, head South. You
will cross a bridge, then pass a finger of mountains. Just past these is
a poisonous swamp in the East. Go East and skirt around the swamp and you
will find Mountain Cave.
Time to enter Mountain Cave!
-{ Mountain Cave }- Click to view Map
FIRST FLOOR:
Head North at the first opportunity once you
enter this cave and pop off a Radiant Spell. Then turn East and North
again. Now head West and follow the path as it turns North, then East.
(Pass the stairs, they are a dead end) Your goal is the path South you see
next. If you continue East, you can grab a Herb from the chest before you
go down, so long as you don't have a full 6.
There's nothing truly dangerous on this
floor, mainly monsters you have fought before. It shouldn't be too
dangerous. Grab the Herb if you want, then head down the stairs.
SECOND FLOOR:
On the second floor, you will need to beware
of Drakeemas with both the Hurt and Heal Spells. Warlocks also appear
here. Poltergeists, which possess the Hurt Spell, also appear on this
floor.
Head East. There's a chest just South with
some GP in it. Then head back North past the stairs. Head West when you
can and keep going that way. You will discover a torch and the Fighter's
Ring in two chests.
Go to the item menu and use the Fighter's
Ring the same way you used the Dragon's Scale to equip it.
There is one more chest in about the center
of the West side of this floor. You reach it from a path in the Southwest
corner. It contains a fairly substantial amount of Gold.
Now that you have proven your worth as a true
fighter, exit the cave and save your game.
Here's a neat trick. If you re-enter the cave, you can collect the gold chests, the Fighter's Ring, and the torch again. (The herb too, if you don't have max) Fighter's Rings are worth 15 GP at a General Store when sold. You can earn around 140 GP per trip from treasure here. If you sell a Fighter's Ring, make sure and use the one you are still wearing to make sure it is equipped. I stop keeping torches at this point, but you might want to keep 1 for emergencies.
Magic Keys and the Stones of Sunlight
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The Stones of Sunlight are in
Tantegel Castle, huh? Well, they must be behind some locked door. Time to
return to Rimuldar and purchase some keys.
You can carry up to 6 keys at one time, and
you're going to need at least two or three for the near future. I usually
buy all 6 before leaving Rimuldar.
Here in Rimuldar, behind two locked doors of
the Inn is a set of Wings. Who would want to go after them when it takes
two 53 GP keys to get one lousy 70 GP set of wings? The old man behind the
first locked door gives you an important clue, but I'll save you the GP and
tell you what he says. "4 steps South of the fountain in Kol thou shalt
find a magic item."
Head back to Tantegel Castle.
If you're tempted, the treasure room contains piddly amounts of gold, so
don't waste your keys. The guard in the room says, "Never does a brave
person steal."
Go around to the door where a nearby guard
says you must have a key to open the door and do so. There is a key cutter
behind the desk to the North, but his keys cost 85 GP. Talk to everyone
you see in this new area of the castle.
Use this door to reach the new area of the castle
The guard behind the barrier
give you a vague clue about the Grave of Garinham, to "push a wall of
darkness".
Head out by the key cutter's desk and follow
the outside wall and the waterline farther South to some stairs and use
them.
Heading toward the hidden basement
Here in a chest you will find the Stones of Sunlight, one of the three necessary items! The old man gets rude once you take the chest ^_^
Now go save your game. You
should be near level-11 now, so go ahead and earn it near Rimuldar. You
get a moderate increase in strength and speed, a pretty good HP increase,
and a nice MP increase at this level.
Once you've got your level, head to Tantegel
and save your game. Make sure you have a couple of keys on hand! I
usually stop worrying about Stopspelling Warlocks at this point. Keep your
HP above 30 while you're wandering about and they're not that dangerous.
You should be able to smash them in 2 blows most times now.
Rescue the Princess Gwaelin
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Seems there's been a
Princess in captivity the whole time you've been wandering around. Let's
to free her! Make sure you have a full load of six herbs (and a key),
then head for Swamp Cave.
Head to the East upon entering the cave and
try to stay near the Eastern wall while heading South. If you need to view
a map
Click Here
Beware when you see the path turn into a
single hall which can only be entered by passing over a single square, for
here lurks the Dragon!
One more step and you face the Dragon!
Cast Sleep immediately, this
Dragon is very susceptible to the spell. Once it works on the Dragon, heal
up with spells while it is sleeping. When you reach about 35+ HP, start
attacking until it awakens.
While the Dragon is awake and attacking, use
Herbs to heal and try to stay at 30+ HP. Use the Sleep spell again when
you get a chance (any time when you're around 25+ HP is good). Then try
to spell heal again while the Dragon sleeps. Once again when you regain
your strength, start whacking away with your sword.
It's a tough fight (in fact, you may end up
resetting and trying again a few times) but you can prevail. If you want
to come back and do this late, when you are stronger, you can. This is
just when I always do it. In fact, you don't have to rescue the Princess
at all if you want to be a real jerk ^_^
Once you've defeated the Dragon, head South
and open the door with your key. The Princess is very grateful, and you
carry her from the cave back to Tantegel Castle. If you're really weak,
use the Wings once you are outside. Talk to the King and earn his eternal
gratitude. You'll get a bit more than that from Gwaelin. (Stop That!
That's not what I meant you dirty minded fool!) The item Gwaelin's Love
tells you how much XP you need to reach the next level. It also tells you
how many squares, and in what direction, you are away from Tantegel Castle
while on the field. Very useful!
Now replenish your Herb and
Wing supplies, recharge your HP and MP, then save the game.
Your next goal is 3000 GP for the Plate Armor
and level-12. Without both, you're not going to get much farther. Do this
around Rimuldar, and restock your keys while you're there. Don't wander
too far South unless you are prepared to take on some tougher foes. As you
acquire one or the other of these goals, go back to Tantegel and save.
Level-12 offers a massive strength increase,
a good speed increase, a piddly HP increase, and a solid MP increase. You
also learn the Outside Spell which allows you to escape dungeons at a cost
of 6 MP.
The Grave of Garinham and the Silver Harp
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There's another town with a
locked door we haven't checked. Let's head to Garinham. Make sure you
have at least 2 keys and that your herb and wing supplies are restocked.
Once in Garinham, head for the locked door
on the North side of town. Enter this door and talk to everyone you meet.
People speak of Erdrick's Armor and a town in the South called Hauksness.
Save your key and don't enter the room with the two guards. They both just
say "Talk to the other guard, I'm busy!". The chests contain only minor
items, but grab them since you're here.
On the North side of the room, go three steps
from the West edge and then go North "into the wall of darkness". Head
East after you pass into the new area and go down the stairs you find here
into the Grave of Garinham.
-{ Grave of Garinham }- Click to view map.
FIRST FLOOR:
On the first floor, you'll encounter
Warlocks, Skeletons, and other creatures of similar strength.
If you head toward the Northeast corner,
you'll find some chests with some minor items in them.
Your goal, however, is to head North until
you can go East. Then head East until you hit the Eastern wall. Then turn
South and keep going until you find a door.
Open this door and follow the only path you
can until it terminates at a set of stairs. Use these stairs to reach the
second floor.
SECOND FLOOR:
The stairs right next to you are a dead end.
The stairs in the Northwest and Southeast corners both lead to a chest with
the Cursed Belt. DON'T use this item! It's worth 180 GP at the General
Store, however, and you can pick it up every time you enter the Grave.
Good place to build up GP! If you do accidently use this, go talk to an
old man in Brecconary living in a house. He usually says "Return here if
thou art cursed.". This old man will remove the Cursed Belt for you.
The stairs in the Northwest are closer to
this chest than the other ones. The stairs in the center of the floor are
a dead end.
Get the Cursed Belt, if you want. You might
want to skip it and head straight for the Harp. This dungeon is dangerous,
and you can always pick up the belt on the way out if you're strong enough.
The actual place you need to go on this floor is the stairs in the
Southwest corner. Take them down to the third floor.
THIRD FLOOR:
On the third floor you'll encounter Wolflords
with Stopsepll, Spectres with Sleep and Hurt, Droll Magi's, Druinlords with
Heal, and Wraith Knights.
Wraith Knights are extremely dangerous to you
at this point. Use your Stopspell immediately upon encountering them to
prevent them from casting the Heal Spell and undoing all your hard bashing
work. Be prepared to use some Herbs when you encounter one of these, as
they hit very hard and dodge with alarming frequency.
After coming down the stairs from the second
floor, head North. Follow the Eastern fork when the path splits just North
of the stairs. Then continue North and be on the lookout for a set of
stairs to the East. These stairs will take you down to the fourth floor.
FOURTH FLOOR:
Head straight for the stairs you see and use
them. Dangerous Wraith Knights are frequent here!
Take the Silver Harp from the chest and exit
the dungeon. You might want to use the Outside spell if you have the MP.
(If you don't have enough MP, it's likely you're dead meat!)
Your worthiness proven, obtain the Staff of Rain
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Go sell the Cursed Belt if
you have it, and recharge yourself. Then go save the game.
The Silver Harp, when played by using it from
the item menu, will cause monsters to automatically attack you wherever
you are standing while on the field or in dungeons. It's only slightly
less aggravating and time consuming than wandering around and waiting for
attacks. I usually just go get rid of it immediately.
Go back to the old man living at the bottom of the stairs near Kol. Talk to him and he'll vanish, allowing you to take the chest. You'll obtain the Staff of Rain, the second item you will need to confront the Dragonlord. Head back to Tantegel and save.
Now, it's a good time to
build GP again. A good place for this is the third floor of the Grave of
Garinham. Grab the Cursed Belt to sell again and stay near the stairs back
to the second floor.
Another place offers better prospects and
is actually safer. Head South Past Mountain Cave where you got the
Fighters Ring. Keep going until you come near another bridge. DON'T CROSS
IT!
Don't cross that bridge, stay in the woods!
Instead, go to the small
circular (actually, it's almost slime shaped) woods to the East of this
bridge. Wander around here fighting Wraiths (Heal Spell and dodges well),
Wolflords, and the grandaddy of all GP builders..... the Gold Man! Gold
Men hit hard, so you might be forced to use some Herbs on occasion.
They're only worth a few XP, but they clock in at better than 150 GP most
of the time!
Your goal is 7700 GP for the Magic Armor.
It won't take too long, especially if you're lucky with finding and
defeating Gold Men. Your next quest is to acquire the legendary Armor of
Erdrick. Thus, you may choose to brave the dangers of this journey in your
old armor, avoiding the GP buildup all together. It's up to you, but I
always go ahead and get the Magic Armor to make things easier. The
monsters you are about to encounter are nothing to sneeze at!
The Magic Armor is sold in Rhimuldar. This
armor recharges 1 HP for every 4 steps you take, very useful!
You should reach level-13 around this time.
This level brings a strong increase in speed, a good HP increase, some nice
MP, and the Return Spell. Chant this at a cost of 8 MP and you'll be
transported instantly back to Tantegel Castle exactly like the Wings.
While you're in Rhimuldar, restock your keys.
Now, before you go get the Armor of Erdrick, journey South from Rhimuldar
and cross the bridge you find here.
Old man in the Shrine
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Once you've crossed the
bridge South of Rhimuldar, beware Wyverns! They are fast, hit hard, and
are difficult to hit themselves. On the Southern island you should see a
set of stairs, use them.
Talking to the old man here only gets you
teleported out of the Shrine. You must be missing something.... The other
old man wanted the Silver Harp, so this one must want something as well.
It's a good idea to re-enter the Shrine and walk around to recharge your HP
with the Magic Armor, if you have it, before heading back.
An old man lives in a shrine South of Rimuldar
Now return to Tantegel Castle
and save your game. Restock all your supples first! Then head back toward
the small woods where I said Gold Men appear frequently.
This time, cross the nearby bridge. Almost
immediately, you should see a town in the middle of a desert. This is the
destroyed town of Hauksness, where Erdrick's Armor lies. Beware Wyverns,
Knights (Hit hard, use Stopspell), Demon Knights (Incredibly hard to hit!
Worth good XP and GP), and Rouge Scorpions (Hit hard).
Once you cross the bridge, if you choose to
enter Hauksness and try for the armor, skip ahead to part three for that
section and good luck! You're going to need it! The enemies in Hauksness
are vastly powerful.
I recommend you do go ahead and purchase that
Magic Armor if you have not yet done so. Odds are you'll need to power
up to level-14 to survive Hauksness anyway, so you'll surely have enough
GP for the Armor by then.
Odds are the first Demon
Knight you encounter will exhaust you of most of your herb supply. You
might want to do your power up in the woods with the Gold Men instead of
braving the other dangerous side of the bridge.
Since you should have the Magic Armor, you
can walk a bit North of the woods near a peninsula which looks like a
pointing finger. Here there are weaker enemies, and you can allow the
Armor to heal you while you walk in circles. Doing this can allow you to
remain in the field between returns to town for quite some time, and it
will take quite a while to reach level-14.
You might also consider the Southern island
near Rimuldar, however. Wyverns are worth around 5 more XP than most of
the comparable strength monsters which you can handle now. They are worth
a lot of GP as well.
Level-14 brings a massive power and speed
increase as well as good HP and MP improvements. All these are near
essential to surviving in the town of Hauksness. Return to Tantegel and
save, making sure your supplies are restocked, once you attain this level.
A good gauge of your ability to survive in
Hauksness is to fight Demon Knights on the field nearby. Keep yourself
near max HP in between fights. If you need to use more than one herb in
this situation, you might not be strong enough. If the Demon Knight dodged
a lot, or you were not near max HP, you could throw off the gauge a bit.
Try a couple of times to get a good gauge.
I am not affiliated with anybody who's stuff appears on
any of these pages. I do this for fun and to help people out.
Copyright 1998 Chris Boger
