Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories/Episode 2: Rozalin the Liar

After the new Episode begins, all of the monster residents in Holt Village will have something new to say, so you may want to speak with them if it suits you. Be sure to look around the map for any chests that may have appeared around town, and buy more armor and items if your troops aren't optimally equipped. If you have a Thief character, be sure to pick up a stealing hand from the General Shop too. Once you've prepared, head off to the Dimensional Gatekeeper and head into the new area: Zenon's Palace.

Stage 2-1: Banquet Room
Geo Symbols - Green panels only
 * Null Symbol 'DEF +50%' on Green Panels

The Marionettes on this map will advance until one of your units wanders into their attack range. Take note of the four green Geo Panels in the map's center, with the DEF +50% effect. Take out any unit with high DEF and HP, and a large amount of Counters (the more counters, the higher your chance of counterattacking is). Adell or anyone equipped with Fist-type weapons would be best. If the selected character doesn't have three DEF-boosting armors, take some off your other characters and equip your "defender" with them. Move or throw him/her onto one of the closest green Geo Panels and wait for the Marionettes to attack. If you can, have a Healer cast Shield on your defender to increase their DEF even more.

When the Marionettes approach, they should only take a nip out of your character's HP, and your unit will most likely deal out a formidable counterattack. When it's your turn again, finish off or further weaken whichever monster you counterattacked, or just attack one of them if the counter failed. Have your character use a special move if they can, and you don't think a normal attack will do the job.

During the enemy's turn, both Ghosts will approach, although neither will be able to reach your character this round. Stay on the same tile and repeat the process of attacking and counterattacking. Even though the Ghosts can use Tie Down, they're more likely just attack your character, allowing you to deliver counterattacks. If your character is starting to run low on HP (a third or less of what you started from), you may want to consider retreating and bringing out other characters to attack. When the first two Marionettes are finished off and only Ghosts are attacking, it could be beneficial to send out a Thief to steal one or both of the Ghost's Common Orbs.

Once the Ghosts are defeated, neither of the two remaining Marionettes will attack until one of your units moves into their attack range. In the lapse of battle, send out a Healer to restore your defender's HP. If your defender was paralyzed by one of the Ghost's Tie Down attacks, just wait a few turns, it'll wear off soon. When you've prepared, move your defender onto the open green panel furthest from your base panel, and have any other characters retreat. Repeat the counterattack-attack process to finish the battle.

After the Battle
If you return to Holt Village to heal at the Hospital, you'll probably want to switch your armor back to normal. At this point, it might be time to consider going into the Dark Assembly and attempt to pass the "More Expensive Stuff" bill with your ex-defender (since they gained a good deal of mana from that last battle). This will add more valuable, expensive armors and weapons for you to buy in the local shops. Save before you attempt it, and just Quit if the Senators don't pass, then continue your game from the last save point and try again. The acceptance probability is most likely 60-80%, so you probably won't have to do that. For more in-depth information on the Dark Assembly, view the corresponding section of this guide.

If you get the bill passed, check out the new equipment in the shop and purchase anything that interests you.

Stage 2-2: Sanction Room
Geo Symbols - Purple panels only
 * Purple Symbol 'Enemy Boost +50%' on Purple Panels
 * Purple Symbol 'Warp' on Purple Panels

This entire map is covered with Warp and Enemy Boost +50% Enemy Boost panels, with Geo Symbols of the same color, meaning no Geo Effects for you. Execute a couple Base Panel tosses to get some units with ranged attacks to strike the two treasure chests at the end of the hall opposite of Tink, and receive their contents. If you feel like it, send out a couple more units randomly around the map, but far away enough from Tink that he can't attack this turn. End your turn.

If you're lucky, one of your characters will Warp near the two Geo Symbols. Be sure to destroy the Enemy Boost +50% symbol, as it'll take down all of Tink's stats to 2/3 of their current amount. You may also want to destroy the Warp Symbol if leaving things up to chance isn't your style. Destroying neither is an option, but the stage is easier if you destroy them.

Now simply focus all of your characters' attacks on Tink and build up strong sequence of Combos. Tower Attacks could also work, but you're more likely to take heavier damage in the form of Counter Attacks if you stand adjacent to your foe. In any case, try to avoid normal attacks, as Tink has two Counters and a comparatively high ATK. Tink shouldn't be too much of a challenge if you're ganging up on him with an army. Aside from his HP and ATK, his SPD might be a problem, so try to lower it with Gun attacks and special moves, and avoid low-accuracy attacks if you can (unless they're used to build up combos).

After this stage is complete, Rozalin will force Tink into your group.

Return Visits
If you come back to this stage later, the Warp Geo Symbol will be gone, but the Enemy Boost +50% will remain. In addition, there are no chests found anywhere on the map.

Orbs are arguably the best armor you can equip to Skulls, Mages, and Clerics, and are useful to other classes who use a lot of Special Moves. As stated before, you can't obtain them from the Armor Shop, so, you'll probably be wanting to steal those orbs whenever you see them until you have a surplus of them.

This battle is pretty basic and simple, but not very easy compared to how it was the last time you were here. The number of throws required to take out the Enemy Boosting Geo Symbol might not be worth it, as it will limit the amount of characters you can use to attack.

If you're still in the second or third episode, first use Team Attacks against the Ghosts, and cancel the moves of attack supporters so they can be used again. Ghosts have low DEF compared to their RES (and have particularly high RES here because of the Common Orbs), and don't have any Counters, so straightforward attacks are often the most effective method until you get more advanced Weapon Specials.

Remove all attack supporters and end your turn. You'll only have seven units left for the Marionettes, and they probably aren't your best. The enemy Marionettes won't be able to reach your defenders this turn if your units were adjacent to any of the ghosts. So, now just focus all your strong attacks on the Marionettes. Their RES and DEF are fairly close in this stage due to their Tunics, so magic and physical attacks are on equal grounds. However, it may be wiser to use specials instead of regular attacks, since Marionettes have a Counter of 2.

Stage 2-3: Room of Despair
This stage has no geo symbols, few geographical barriers, and minimal tricks, making for a very simple fight. If you stay out of the Fighters' and bow-Thieves' range, they won't attack you immediately, but you most likely won't be able to send a character onto the map without incurring the wrath of the gunning Thieves.

While you can attack the Thieves on the high walls with gun or magic attacks, you probably won't be able to finish off more than one, and your characters will most likely be killed off on the enemy turn. Instead, take out a character with high DEF (Adell, a Male Fighter, etc), and Defend on the panel between your Base Panel and the map's wall. Only two of the Thieves should attack your unit, and your bait should be able to survive. Take out more characters to hug that edge of the map and finish of the Thieves with as many units as it takes. Any units on an adjacent panel to the Thieves will be attacked by the other two gun-wielding Thieves on the next turn, so only use durable fighters on those panes. These durable fighters will also serve as bait to bring down the other two Thieves from their high wall hiding places. When the remaining two Thieves come down, you should be able to kill them off with two or three units taking on each. The remaining six units will not attack unless you enter their territory, so take this time to buff and heal your characters, if you need it.

It's impossible to bait one of the Lady Fighters or bow-wielding Thieves without being struck by both, so you may want to just attack head on. If you use enough combos and area attacks, you should be able to emerge victorious, but wounded.

A more efficient strategy to take out the last six is to form a defensive wall, baiting them all out at once. Take three durable units (Adell, a Fighter, and a Lady Fighter would be good), and position each 5 panels away from each enemy Lady Fighter. Your three units should be in a straight line, parallel to that of the Lady Fighers' line. Have all three units use the Defend command and face their foes, cast defensive buffs if you can. Line up mages, skulls, and other attacks behind your main force, they won't be able to be attacked this turn. Try to line up your extra characters so they can retreat after attacking on the next turn. After your turn ends, all six foes will attack, but no more than a single axe attack and a single bow attack will be launched on each of your linesmen. All of your frontline fighters should have at least half of their total HP.

Now that the foes are all close, prepare to counterattack. The enemy Fighters are much greater threats than the Thieves (as you must of witnessed in the previous turn), so focus your energies on taking them out first. Fighters have high DEF but low RES, so utilize your spell casters and try to attack their elemental weaknesses. If one of your characters has learned Blade Rush, use that on all three units at once. Remember to chain your attacks together in a combo for the greatest damage and accuracy. Don't worry about the bow-thieves, they probably won't be able to kill anyone unless they gang up on some of your weakest units.

Once the Fighters are gone, kill off the Thieves, they should be easier to defeat. Your units will probably have to be vulnerable for a turn before you can finish off the Thieves, but as said previously, they aren't too much of a threat in terms of the damage they can deal. Worst case scenario: one or two of your mages might be defeated.

Stage 2-4: Sealed Room
Geo Symbols - Green panels only
 * Red Symbol 'Enemy Boost +50%' on Green Panels
 * Blue Symbol 'Move -1' on Green Panels
 * Null Symbol 'DEF +50%' on Green Panels

This stage is not going to be an easy battle by any means, and there doesn't seem to be any beat-all strategy that can be used.

That Imperial Seal Axel carries can't be bought in any of the local stores, and increases all of a character's stats, so you may want to consider stealing it in the midst of battle if you can. The Fighter's Brawny Muscle is one of the few armors that increases total HP when equipped, and it also cannot be found in Holt's shops, so there's another option for greedy hands.

You may find it beneficial to take out the Geo Symbols on the far side of the field, so your foes will lose the 50% boost. However, you'll have to send out at least two units into harms way while to throw a unit over there, and Axel will be lured out to attack your units (who would have normally remained in his place).

If you choose not to destroy the symbol, your first course of action should be to send out any character onto your base panel. The Fighters and Skulls will approach, but not attack, as you're out of their range. Try to kill the Fighters first, using any means necessary, although spells will be more effective. Try to position most of your units along the first "wall" of Geo Panels, so you'll gain the defensive bonus. If you effectively use combos, you should be able to take out at least two of the fighters. If one remains, pick it up or toss it onto any character with a lot of HP, so it can't attack the next turn. If you end your turn now, most the Skulls will probably not attack. When your next turn begins, defeat the Skulls in any means necessary.

The last foe, Axel, should not have advanced yet. While he's formidable, he can easily be defeated when he's all alone. Just string as long of a combo as you can on him once or twice, and he shouldn't stand for more than one more turn. Try to avoid normal attacks, as Axel's counters have a high chance of activating and can deal great damage. In addition, try to avoid crowding your characters all around him at once, as his Shocking Soul special can strike units adjacent to him.

Return Visits
When returning to this stage in the future, Axel will be replaced by two Thieves.

The replacements actually make the stage more difficult, as you have to worry about their long-range gun attacks at the beginning of battle instead of being able to ignore the idle Axel. If you've advanced a few levels before returning though, they shouldn't pose much of a threat.