Radiata Stories/Character Recruitment

Certain characters in Radiata Stories may only be recruited at specific times of the day or if Jack is a part of their faction (Human or Fairy). This page contains instructions on how to recruit all the characters in the game.

This page is divided into sections that correspond to sections from the detailed walkthrough. Those pages have links to the appropriate section of this page, which is usually how you will probably get here. If you want to know how to recruit a particular character, you can use the search or find feature of your browser to locate the character name.

Required Characters
The following characters are placed in your party at various times during the course of the game. You don't need to do anything to recruit them. There are other characters that you will periodically be forced to have in your party for short sections of the game. Those are addressed in the detailed walkthroughs.


 * Jack Russell
 * Jack is always in your party, and the only person you can actually control.


 * Ridley Silverlake
 * Ridley will be in and out of your party at various times during the game.


 * Ridley is part of your initial brigade while you are in the Radiata Knights


 * If you choose the human path, she will not be available after the split.


 * If you choose the non-human path, she will be available off and on during that portion of the game. She will not be available for the final fights, so you probably don't want to spend a lot of time leveling her up.


 * Ganz Rothschild
 * Ganz is the captain of your initial brigade while you are in the Radiata Knights.


 * Ganz is only available while you are a Radiata Knight, and off and on if you choose the non-human path.


 * Ganz will not be available for the final battles, so you probably don't want to spend a lot of time levelling him up.

Although Ganz and Ridley aren't available for the final battles, you will be forced to have them in your party at various times during the non-human path. So, while you don't want to spend a lot of time levelling them up, it might be wise to beef them up a bit if you are having problems staying alive when they are in the party.

Initial Party
In general, you should recruit characters based on which path you will choose. If you will be selecting the human path, then your early party should be all humans (with possible exceptions like Donkey based on skills the first time through the game.) If you are going to select the non-human path, then recruit and include non-humans in your parties as early as possible.

You can keep the same characters in your party as much as possible (until a stronger character becomes available), or you can select characters for specific tasks based on their capabilities (e.g., skills or types of attack.) I tend to keep the same people in my party because I have leveled them up so much, they outperform any other character that might have more appropriate skills, attacks, etc. In general, you always want to have a healer in your party. The other two can be another fighter and a mage.

If you are choosing the human path, then Flora is your best starting healer. You will automatically have Clive, but he isn't very good. If you will be choosing the non-human path, then recruit Romaria as your healer. Not only is she the best non-human healer (IMHO), but she is a decent fighter. I put Romaria in my party at the start of the game, and she was able to hold her own up through defeating Gabriel Celesta. She wasn't able to keep the party alive during the battle with the Ethereal Queen, however. For that battle, you want to have Kain in your party, since his spells affect all party members, while Romaria (and most other healers) can only affect a single character. Actually, I might be able to win with Romaria by having Jack stay in the background and issue commands.

A good starting party for the humans path is:


 * Jack
 * Lily (start with Alba or Cosmo if you aren't level 22)
 * Aidan (so you can get Cecil later)
 * Flora (The best human healer available right now)

For the non-human path, a good starting party is:


 * Jack
 * Martinez
 * Sanchos
 * Romaria (Keep her in your party for the whole game)

You probably want to "trade up" as stronger characters become available. At first glance, it might look like your current characters are the best available because you have leveled them up so much. However, you should consider the strength and defense of the characters, and the type and strength of any spells, rather than just HP.

Once Aidan reaches level 32, you can swap him out for his father, Cecil. I kept Lily in as the fighter up until I had Elwen and Nyx, and she held her own. You might want to replace the mage with Gerald when you recruit him (if you can stand him saying "What's wrong?" over and over).

Certainly when you get the heads of the guilds, you want to replace most of your party with them. If you are going to take the human path, you should at least recruit Elwen and Kain, who are the best fighter and healer available within the first part of the game. This means you want to recruit all of Theater Vancoor and all of the Olacion Order. Nyx is a nice addition, but not essential; you could probably keep your best fighter to round off the party. The reason for this is that in the post-game dungeon, when you get Valkyrie, you probably want to replace that character with her. If you want Nyx, however, you need to recruit all members of all the guilds, since you need to speak to Nyx with Elwen, Kain, and Curtis in your party to get him to join. This means that you only have to recruit all of Vancoor and Olacion in order to get Elwen and Kain, but all four guilds if you also want to get Nyx.

For the non-human path, put Gil in your party as soon as you recruit him. He is already at a pretty good level, and he has an attack that hit all enemies. When you recruit JJ, you probably want to include him as well. Ganz has to be in your final party, and he isn't available until later in the game. You can either take time to level him up when you get the chance, or you can just ignore him and basically fight with three characters.

Recruitment Requirements
There are actually two different "Friends List": one you can access from the options menu, and another located either next to Thanos in Theater Vancoor, or on a desk in Fort Helencia. The one in your menu is the total number of friends that you have recruited, including any previous games. The one on the desk is the list of people you can use for your party in this game. So, if you want to use a given character at some point in the current game, you will have to recruit them during this game, even if they appear in the friends list in your menu.

It is a good idea to check out who you have recruited already. every so often, especially before the game progresses. Go to the Friends List on the desk and click on L1 to sort the list alphabetically. Then look over the list of people who you wanted to recruit, and make sure they are all on the list. If you are trying to recruit several people at the same time, it is very easy to forget something, especially if you remember doing that in the previous game.

There are a number of requirements that can affect your ability to recruit a specific character. In every case, you will at least have to talk to them. You should continue to talk to them until either they join or they start to repeat themselves. If they repeat, then something isn't right and you can't recruit them at that time. Check all the requirements for recruiting them and make sure they have been done. Also, if the character is involved in a mission, they may not be available for the rest of the day. For example, after training the monks, you will have to wait until the following day before you can find any of them to talk to.

In most cases, once a character becomes available, they remain available for the rest of the game (or to the split). If you try to recruit someone, but you find out that you are missing something, do whatever you need to and go back and try to recruit them again. There are a few characters, though, that are only available for a certain period of time, and if you don't recruit them by then, you will not be able to recruit them during that game. On the recruitment wiki site, there is a list of these "missable" characters.

A number of characters are recruited by beating them in a fight. In most of these cases, if you lose, you can try again the following day. You can continue trying until you win a fight.

The criteria for a specific character can be any combination of the following conditions:


 * Major Game Events
 * A number of characters can only be recruited after some specific event has occurred in the game. For example, you can only recruit Flau and Rynka after you have received Ganz's letter. Some of the events will always occur (e.g., Link Tutorial), but others may not (e.g., Nocturn's letter to Gerald). If you don't cause an event to happen, then you won't be able to recruit that character until another time through the game.

Time of Day
 * Some characters can only be recruited between certain times in the day. Since each character has their own schedule, this implies it will happen at a specific location. In this document, if the time is important, I will usually tell you the approximate time range, and where it will take place. The actual time may be off by a few minutes, depending on when the character arrives and/or leaves. The official strategy guide gives their schedule to the minute, but I have found a number of cases where I think the times are close, but wrong.


 * If a character is involved in a cut scene and/or the plot events, then the character usually won't follow their schedule until their involvement is done. Obviously, if a character is in your party, they won't follow their schedule either, but of course you have probably already recruited them.

Character Level
 * You can only recruit certain characters if Jack's level has reached some criteria, either absolute (e.g., level 22 for Lilly), or relative (e.g., no less than 5 levels below Jarvis for Jarvis) Some characters can only be recruited after you raise the level of some other character. For example, to recruit Cecil, Aidan must be level 32.

Recruit Other Characters
 * Some characters will only join if you have already recruited some list of other characters. For example, to recruit the head of a guild, you must first recruit all the other members of the guild.


 * Sometimes the recruited people have to be in your party (e.g., talk to Cecil with Aidan in your party and at least level 32). Other times (e.g., guild leaders), you need only to have recruited them, but they don't have to be in your party at the time.

Sometimes recruiting will happen in several steps, possibly spread over a fairly long period of time. For example, a character will ask you for something, but you can't get it yet. You will just have to wait until the item(s) become available, and then finish the recruiting. In some cases, you can wait to talk to them after you have obtained the item they want.

Some recruiting has to be done over two days, like Alba, and others you want to take more than one day, like Joaquel. Since midnight is when the days switch, you can use this to your advantage. For example, Alba hangs out in the Void Community area all night. Speak to him just before midnight, fight him, and then just stand there for a few minutes until midnight passes. Then speak to him again, fight him, and you can recruit him. For Joaquel, when he asks you to guard the storeroom, do that just before midnight. As soon as he leaves, enter the room and take all the treasure. When he comes back, he will yell at you. Wait a few minutes until midnight passes, then talk to him again, but this time stay put and you will recruit him.

You can recruit one character at a time if you want, but you will find yourself doing a lot of running back and forth. I get a lot of enjoyment out of planning how I can recruit several characters in a group. For example, your initial human party should be Flora or Edgar as the healer, and Cosmo as the fighter. All of these are from the Olacion order. So, during the morning, go there and look for Flora. Talk to her and find out about her father, then look for Edgar cleaning windows. If he isn't there, remember you have to talk to him later. Go find Cosmo and talk to him. Run down to the clinic and get the picture, stop in Fernando's room to kick the waste basket and get the belt. Give the items to Flora and Edgar. You have just recruited three characters with basically one trip to the Olacion Order shrine.

Make a list of what characters you want to recruit next. Add any times of day and locations. Then plan your trip to get the most number of characters recruited with the least amount of running around. This is great practice for having to multi-task in real life.

=Before the Split=

The following characters are available at the beginning of the game. In general, you should only recruit characters that will be available through the entire game. That means, if you are going to choose the human path, don't worry about recruiting non-humans, but if you are going to choose the non-human path, then don't worry about the humans. The first time through the game, you probably want to recruit some characters based on the skill they have (e.g., Donkey for Absorb HP).

If you are going to choose the human path, you will want to have Elwen and Kain in your final party, since they are the best fighter and healer available. That means you want to recruit everyone in Theater Vancoor and the Olacion Order. If you want to recruit Nyx, you will also need to recruit everyone from the Vareth Institute as well as the Void Community.

Initial Friends List
Here are the characters you can recruit at the beginning of the game, grouped by categories:

Theater Vancoor Characters
If you want to recruit Elwen (the best fighter in the game), you have to recruit the rest of Vancoor. (Make sure you take Nocturne's letter to Gerald).


 * Aldo


 * Find the Book of Fairies near the house in the Septem Region. The monsters in this area are fairly strong, so you probably won't get him until later in the game during your first play-through.


 * Bruce
 * Talk to him when your HP is less than 50%
 * (You can get into a duel, and let the other person keep beating you until you get under 50% before you finish them off.)


 * Carlos
 * Enter the Path of the Spider (sewer) through far-right cell in the second basement of Theater Vancoor. Keep heading left, following the water flow to find his contact, then give it to him.


 * Dennis
 * Talk to him in the Triton Locker Room between 8 and 11 AM or 6 and 8 PM. He will tell you about a flower that glows


 * Take the travel pig at night to near the City of Flowers and go left to the end of the path to find the flower, then give it to him before sunrise.


 * Gene
 * Talk to his mother in the hotel just south of Theater Vancoor, and then talk to him until he repeats himself. Do that for five different days.


 * Gregory
 * Talk to him to find out he wants some elvin wine.


 * Take the journey pig to Earth Valley and get the wine from the bartender. (The one you helped out when a knight)


 * Paul
 * Paul is the guy who beat Lord Star during the Knight Trials. Talk to him with a female in your party. (Non-human females work fine.)


 * Rolec
 * Go into the bathroom when he is there. He should be standing in front of the mirror. Kick him, and he will join you (without having to duel him).

Olacion Order Characters
If you want to recruit Kain (the best healer in the game), you will need to recruit everyone from the Olacion Order.


 * Clive
 * Clive automatically joins your party by signing your friends list.


 * Cosmo
 * You have to be level 10 to recruit him.
 * Talk to him and he should join.


 * Edgar
 * Talk to him when he is washing windows outside the Olacion building (between 2 and 5pm) to find out he wants Fernando's old belt.


 * Enter Fernando's room and kick the waste basket to find the belt. Ask Fernando and he will tell you to keep it, then give the belt to Edgar


 * Once Edgar tells you about the belt, don't wait too long before you get it.


 * Eugene
 * Catch him drinking in the pub between 8pm and 2am. Keep talking to him until he joins.


 * Flora
 * Talk to her to find out her father's picture is missing


 * Talk to Synellia, the receptionist at the Morfin Clinic until she gives you the picture Give the picture to Flora


 * Lulu
 * Talk to her to find out that her cat is missing.


 * The correct cat is at the end of the path to the Void Community, on the trash heap that Zeranium checks each day. You will see a bunch of cats, but when you take most of them back to her, she will complain that it isn't the right one. Just ignore all the others.


 * If you check the sign near the Inn south of Theater Vancoor at different times, you will see it changes depending on where you are on this quest. (See *Signs and Posters* in Easter Eggs and Silly Things for more info.)

Vareth Magic Institute
If you want to recruit Nyx, you will need to recruit the heads of all the other guilds, which means all of their members. You can't recruit Curtis (the head) until all the other characters have joined.


 * Aidan
 * If you want to recruit Cecil (and/or Kain), you need to recruit Aidan early and keep him in your party until he reaches level 32.


 * To recruit him, just talk to him. If that doesn't work, recruit a few more people and try again.


 * Cecil
 * Talk to him with Aidan in the party at level 32 or greater


 * Christoph
 * Get 5 Gobpakken Seeds and 5 Pointura Threads. (The seeds come from plants near the City of Flowers, and the threads come from the spiders near the Dark Elf area.


 * Talk to them when they are alone in their room (between 11am and 2pm), and agree to give them the items.


 * Keep talking to Christoph until he joins, then talk to Jill (see Jill)


 * Claudia
 * To recruit her, you need to get a Blood Orc's horn. You can get these later in the game from Fire Mountain, but you can also get them during the training exercises for the axe. Blook Orc Horns don't carry across between games. If you also want to recruit Zida, make sure you show him the horn first, since Claudia will take it from you.


 * Talk to her in the bottom room of the Moon Tower between 5pm and 7pm. The first time, give her the horn, then return three nights. Each time you return, talk to the large glass tube (that originally read "Cautioin Do Not Touch") The first night, the body will twitch, the next night it will say "Clau", and finally "Claudia". (Apparently it is the body of her boyfriend who was killed.)


 * Cornelia / Rachel
 * This is a very interesting character. During the day, she is a very young girl, but in the evening, she is a sexy night club singer.


 * Once you have recruited her, her name will appear where Cornelia should be, but during the evening hours it will read "Rachel". If you have her in your party, she fights as a little girl during the day, and as Rachel during the night.


 * Talk to her when she changes personalities to the right of the lottery booth in the Void Community. You have to be talking to her when she does the actual change, not before or after, so keep mashing the circle button until you see her change.


 * Ernest
 * Talk to him and lend him "Earth Valley" or probably any other upbeat record.


 * Talk to him the next day to get your record back and to recruit him


 * Faraus
 * Talk to him in the infirmirary at the Vareth Magic Institute between 4am and 2pm or 7pm and 10pm to find out he left his medical text at the Olacian Order.


 * Talk to Kain and get the book, and return the book to Faraus


 * Jill
 * After Christoph joins, talk to Jill, who will also join.


 * Johan
 * Talk to him on five different days until he repeats himself. He will tell you big lies each time, but then finally will join you.


 * Marietta
 * Go to the bottom door in the Vareth Institute's Star Tower. You will see a bunch of boxes and somebody calling for help. Just keep clicking "X" and she will join.


 * Morgan
 * Contrary to the Official Strategy Guide, you must be level 32. You will need 43,000 gold to finally get her, but you can start with "only" 1,000. Talk to her and she will complain about needing money and ask you for a donation of 1,000. Come back the next day and she will ask you for 3,000. The following day she will ask for 9,000, and then finally 30,000. She might not ask if you don't have enough, so if that even happens, go out and make some more money.


 * You don't have to do this four days in a row. If it takes you a few days to get enough money for your next payment, that isn't a problem.

Void Community
If you want to recruit Nyx, you need to recruit everyone in the Void Community (as well as all the other guild leaders)


 * Alba
 * He is a decent fighter, and fairly easy to recruit, although it takes two days.


 * Talk to him each day until he challenges you to a fight. Defeat him on another day. You can fight him just before midnight, then wait a few minutes and fight him shortly after midnight.


 * Butch
 * Talk to him with Goyle in your party


 * Goyle
 * Talk to him in the Void Community Casin (between 9pm and 3am) until he fights you. Defeat him and he will join.


 * Jared
 * Talk to him the the Void bar between 8 am and noon. Keep talking (actually, listening) until he joins.


 * Lily
 * You have to be level 22 to recruit her. She is an excellent fighter, so even if you don't want to recruit Nyx, she is worth recruiting. I had her in my party from the start, and by the end of the game when it was Jack, Lily, Elwen, and Kain, Lily not only held her own, but actually dealt the final kill every so often.


 * Wait outside the chapel / devotional room in the sewer beneath Theater Vancoor. (Follow Elwen or Alicia into the sewers to find it. Elwen enters the sewers around 8am, so you can follow her the day you want to recruit Lily.)


 * When Elwen is sitting inside the room, Lily will crouch just outside from 1-3pm (this is at the base of the stairs, just outside the room). Keep talking to her until she fights you and loses. (A kicking duel won't count, nor will talking to her anyplace else)


 * Pinky
 * Pinky is the watchman outside of the Void club. Kick him when he is sleeping there between 9pm and 7am.


 * Solo
 * Talk to Felix in the Vareth Magical Institute Library between 10am and 3pm. (He is the feminie looking person facing you on the left under the stacks.) He tells you that somebody has been stalking him.


 * Solo is hiding near the stairs going up to the stacks. Talk to him and tell him Felix is a guy, not a girl. He will join you.

Non-Guild Humans
The only reasons to recruit these characters are either for a skill or because you want to recruit all possible characters (which will let you see a "special" picture on the Friends List.)

In some ways, these are the hardest characters to recruit. This is because of the small window of opportunity to contact them. In some cases, you can only talk to them for the brief time they walk from their house to their fields, and then when they come home for dinner. These periods can be as short as a few seconds that you have to talk to the character.


 * Dan
 * Talk to him in the Vancoor kitchen (in the back of the bar) to find out about a soup recipie. (He is there from 4pm until 9am.)


 * Go to Tria village and ask the elder's wife for the recipe, then return it to Dan


 * Garcia, Bran, Wal
 * Talk to Garcia outside the house just past Septem Cave between 7-10am or 5-10pm. He will mention his two friends are missing and wonders if they are in the cave.


 * Enter the cave, find the two men, and fight the moster. (You might as well finish your trip through the cave, it is a great place to level up.)


 * Talk to the three of them when they are outside their house. Talk to Garcia first, and then the other two until they all join.


 * Howard
 * Talk to him in Nuevo Village, just to the left of the houses, around noon, or around 8pm. He will tell you he wants Tria Milk


 * Recruit Tarkin and get Tria Milk, then give it to Howard


 * Gonber
 * Pass through Tria Village and find a man splashing in the water.


 * Keep talking to him until you rescue him


 * Leban, Keaton, and Wyze
 * Talk to Tarkin in Tria Village and learn that Leban is late Walk east until you find him (just past the travel pig) surrounded by monsters. Beat the monsters to recruit him.


 * Talk to Keaton after Leban has joined


 * Talk to Wyze after Leban joins


 * Mook
 * Mook's house is on the road to Earth Valley where you fought the Goblin Trio. Talk to him around 7am, noon, or 6pm to find out that a monster has been bothering him.


 * Take the side path near his house to the end and beat the monster. You should also open the chest for a Defense Berry.


 * Talk to Mook again, and he will join you.


 * Morfin
 * Talk to Morfin when he is in his clinic between midnight and 6am, or around 10am. Agree to try his medicine.


 * Go through the same thing on another day, and he should join


 * I usually visit him after midnight, since there are less other things to do then.


 * Nick
 * Nick is Bruce's son. Talk to him with Bruce in your party, and he will join.


 * You can find Nick in Vancoor Square during the mornings, and with Godwin and the other kids outside the Olacion Order Shrine. It is usually easier to talk to him in the morning, since there are so many kids close together in the afternoon, you have to keep moving around until you are able to talk to any particular kid.


 * Sarval
 * Sarval is the guy feeding pigs in your home town. Talk to him and find there are three piglets missing.


 * Find the pigs south of the Travel Pig, in your house, and north of the town at the top of the steps on the road towards Tria Village.


 * Stefan
 * Stefan is a big fan of vegetables. Impress him with your knowledge and he will join you. When he asks you questions, answer "yes", and then "no".


 * The best time to catch him is 4-8pm to the right of the houses in Nuevo Village. You can catch him when he first wakes up and goes to the field around 7am, but that is much harder.


 * Sunset
 * Sunset is the little kid in your home town that runs around with a butterfly net. Talk to him and he will join.


 * Synelia
 * She is the receptionist at the Morfin Clinic. Talk to her and take the Radiata Quiz and answer three questions correctly in a row.


 * If you miss a question, you can take the quiz on a following day. If you are in the middle of recruiting Flora, she won't ask you the quiz. Come back after you are done recruiting Flora.


 * Tarkin
 * He is the dairy farmer in Tria Village


 * Talk to him in the barn and agree to get him some medicine He is in the barn from around 8am until 3pm, and then from 6-8pm.


 * Talk to Nask in the Waldo General Store to get the medicine. (The store is near the gate south of the Olacion Order Shrine.)


 * Take the medicine back to Tarkin and he will join. If you ask him, he will also give you some Tria Milk, which you can use to recruit Howard.


 * Yack
 * Talk to him when you have a tsuchinoko dumpling. The easiest time is when he leaves his house in Nuevo Village around 7am, or returns around 10pm


 * I read someplace that you only need to have seen a Tsuchinoko, and didn't need to have the dumpling.

Non-Human Characters
If you are going to choose the non-human path, you want to recruit these characters as soon as possible so you can level them up. If you don't, then when the split occurs, you will have a lot of weak characters to work with. You can use them on any mission before the split, so there is no real reason to go out of your way to recruit a human chacter unless you need one of their skills.

The reverse is true if you will be choosing the human path. You will want to recruit some of these characters for their skills your first time through the game.


 * Chatt
 * Talk to Chatt, and he will lead you on a wild goose chase.


 * Talk to Chatt in the brewrey and agree to drink


 * Go to the store room in the Elder's room and defeat the "monster"


 * Hyann
 * Agree to gamble with him in the morning, making sure you have around 12,000 gold. Guess even or odd on each throw. If you win four times, he will give you back your money and join you.


 * If you do this early in the game, even, even, even, odd seems to work best. If you do it later, then four odds seems to work. The best approach is to save the game, take the Travel Pig and talk to him. If you lose too much, then reload the game and try again.


 * At other times, he does a lottery where you can buy a ticket. You can't recruit him that way.


 * Lufa
 * The Official Strategy Guide claims that PolPo's soup will carry over across games, so if you have done that, you can recruit her now.


 * See [gawain2] <#gawain2> for details on how to recruit her.


 * Martinez
 * You have to be level 22, and have completed at least one solo mission.


 * Give him a record (you won't get it back, so buy one from Chic Records), then talk to him on a following day.


 * Rika
 * Talk to her and take her music quiz. (The recruitment wiki site has all the questions and answers if you need help.)


 * Romaria
 * Beat her at a kicking duel and then talk to her until she joins. If you are going to take the non-human path, recruit her as early as possible and keep her in your party for all battles so she can level up with you. She is the best non-human healer, and a very good fighter.


 * Santos
 * Talk to him with Martinez and Rika in your party


 * Zida
 * Talk to him in the cellar between 1-4pm, and show him a Gobpakken Seed.


 * Talk to him and show him a Blood Orc's Horn


 * Note: Zida won't keep the horn, but Claudia will. So, if you want to use the same horn to recruit both characters, show the horn to Zida first, and then give it to Claudia.

First Missions
Having gone on your own mission opens up a few more recruits, or at least you can start recruiting them.


 * Anastasia (Olacion Order)
 * Talk to Anastasia in her room between 2-9pm to find out a key is missing. If she doesn't, make sure you have 10,000 gold and try again.


 * Talk to Lulu who admits she threw it out


 * Talk to Zeranium (the garbage picker) to find out that he sold it to Thyme at the Faid General Store.


 * Buy it from the store for 10,000 gold and return it to Anastasia


 * Dwight (Olacion Order)
 * Enter the confessional (the small door at the end of the hallway in the Olacion order where Dwight and Anastasia are located) between 6-10pm, and listen to Dwight confess to stealing the proceeds. (You have to enter the confessional during that time. You can't be wating inside or it won't trigger the event.)


 * Exit the Olacion Order using the nearby door, turn east to the next screen and enter the large door to catch Dwight in the confessional.


 * Keep talking to him until he joins.


 * Grant (Olacion Order)
 * After the Smilodon Mission, talk to Grant, who will ask you to deliver some church bulletins to the Void Community


 * Deliver them to the people who run the Mysterious Creatures Inn, Dead End Armory, Chic Records, the bar at Club Vampire, and the casino at Club Vampire.
 * Return and talk to Grant until he joins


 * Elef, Hip, and Ryan (Non-Guild Humans)
 * Accept the mission to defeat the beasts on the bridge. If you don't do this, you won't be able to get these characters, who are the workmen on the bridge.


 * Keep checking back at the bridge between missions until they complain about needing their spare set of blueprints.


 * Get the blueprints from the inn south of the Olacion Order Shrine (right behind the lottery stand.)


 * This recruitment will continue later, after the Large Man in Vancoor Square

To continue the game, enter your room during the day. Yuri will wake Jack up from a nap and take him to Vancoor Square. Defeat Sheila, and then return to Theater Vancoor to continue the game. This will open up a new mission concerning the rats in the magic institute (which is the final story for the sick kid.) Leave a space open in your party, since Daniel will automatically join you once you get there.


 * Elena
 * After you have told the sick kid all three stories, talk to Elena (his sister) and she will join


 * Adina
 * Speak to Adina with Elena in your party and she will join


 * Walter (start)
 * You can start to recruit Walter at this point, but you won't be able to finish until after the split.


 * Talk to Walter and he will ask you to look for his wife Sheila if you ever get into the castle. Tell him yes.


 * You won't be able to finish this until later on the human path

When you return to Theater Vancoor, you will be given a new mission with Jarvis and Daniel. This will be your last mission with the Hecton Squad. It is pretty straight forward: you are to escort the princess, who will be kidnapped, and you have to find them. Look in the abandoned house between the two gates near the Vareth Magic Institute and the Olacion Order. You will see a healing spot and a blue save flag, so use them both. There is a switch upstairs that will open a secret door. When you are in the sewers, take time to explore and collect the treasures that are available. When you are ready to progress the game, look for a large hole in the wall, which is a sewer pipe, that will take you to the Void Community. You get there by taking the "01" exit from the second square room. When the mission is finally completed (sort of), you will be made sergeant and have your own squad (i.e., your own party).

Jack's Promotion
After Jack is promoted, you can now recruit the following:


 * Gareth (Theater Vancoor)
 * Talk to him when training between 3-6am or 5-10pm. Defeat him and he will join.


 * Note: When you regain control after the Link tutorial, you will be in the training room with Gareth training, so recruit him right away.


 * Conrad (Theater Vancoor)
 * Talk to him, and he will join and give you 1,000 gold to buy better clothes


 * Daniel (Theater Vancoor)
 * Talk to him


 * David (Theater Vancoor)
 * Talk to him and he will ask you to deliver a letter to Mint


 * Give the letter to Mint, who is just west of the house in the Septem Region before 10am, and in Tria Village after 10am


 * Return to David and talk to him when he is not training until he joins


 * Eon (Void Community)
 * Talk to him in the Void Basement between 11pm and 3am. He will mention his rats are sick, and wonder if Morfin can help


 * Talk to Morfin, who refers you to the Waldo General Store (which is south of Morfin's clinic, near the gate.) (*Note:* This step is optional.)


 * Talk to the owner of Waldo General Store to get rat meds.


 * Give the medicine to Eon and talk to him until he joins


 * Franklin(Vareth Magic Institute)
 * Talk to him with a female in your party


 * Gordon (Theater Vancoor)
 * Talk to him and defeat him


 * Iris (Void Community)
 * Talk to her and double her pay (you will pay her 40,000 gold)


 * She is expensive to recruit, but she attacks groups of enemies, similar to a lance


 * Jarvis (Theater Vancoor), Giske (Non-Guild)
 * You can't be less than five levels below Jarvis. (Of course, I would be really disappointed in you if you are more than five levels below Jarvis.)


 * Make sure you have less than 5,000 gold. Buy the best armor and equiment available, and if you still have money, buy berries at Alkaico General Store in the Void Community. If you still have too much, get some strong cure medicines until you come under 5,000 gold.


 * Talk to Giske (the bartender at Carl's pub) who asks you to collect some tabs for him.


 * Talk to Jasmine in Sun Patty accessories (around the corner) who will give you the money.


 * Talk to Jarvis who will ask for more time. Agree to give him more time.


 * Note: make sure you don't have more than 5,000 gold. Report back to Giske. He will ask you to pay for Jarvis's tab. Since you don't have 5,000 gold, you can't pay it right then.


 * Go fight someplace to get at least 5,000 gold, and then give it to Giske. This will let you recruit Giske.


 * Speak to Jarvis, who will figure out you paid his tab, and you will recruit him.


 * Note: If you have already been told by Thanos about a strange man in Vancoor Square, it will trigger a cut scene when you attempt to go into Carl's Pub. Don't worry, you will still be able to recruit Giske and Jarvis once the cut scenes are over.

Large Man in Vancoor Square
Once you have finished the episode with the large man in Vancoor Square, you will be able to recruit (or shortly) the following characters:

Theater Vancoor

 * Caesar
 * Talk to him in Vancoor Square when he is staring at the fountain in Vancoor Square (between 6-11pm) with Gareth and Aldo in your party.


 * Gerald
 * Note: It is easy to miss Gerald, so make sure you start this before the game progresses.


 * Enter the Vampire Club in the Void Community. This will trigger a cut scene where Nocture will ask you to deliver a letter to Gerald. It will be pretty obvious what to do, although you will gain control of Jack a few times between the various cut scenes. You use this to go and save it you want.


 * Some time after Nocturne and Gerald fight it out, speak to Gerald, who will tell you that if you can beat him he will join you. If you lose, don't worry, you can try again (once per day)


 * One strategy I saw on the recruitment wiki was to poison Gerald and then run around avoiding him until he dies from the poison.


 * The method that I use was to equip "Full Power", which increases your volty strength, and equip the Rune Sword, which has a side effect of Petrify. Start the duel by hitting him with the sword. If you paralyze him, that is great, keep hitting him until he becomes unparalyzed. Lock onto him and use your volty.


 * If at any time, Gerald starts to sparkle, indicating that he will soon use his volty, immediately equip the "Fierce Defense" skill and use an herb to bring you to full HP. Then hold down the X button and wait for his volty. If you are at 100% HP and your Fierce Defense skill is up the whole way, you should have a few HP left after the volty attack. Quickly feed Jack an herb to restore his HP to max again.

Void Community

 * Nocturne
 * Talk to him with Gerald in your party. Then defeat him in a duel.

Non-Guild Humans

 * Bligh
 * This is a pain since it is hard to catch him. The actual recruitment is fairly easy, though. You can talk to Bligh when he first gets up around 6am. He walks from his house directly to the field, so be standing in the narrow passage way between the two houses. You can also talk to him after he comes home for dinner, from 6-10pm.


 * Talk to Bligh and find out his pipe is missing.


 * Go to the Goblin Village, walk through the town, and fight Brie. If you win, he will tell you he tossed it in the rubbish heap (which is inside the town)


 * Find the pipe (it will be sparkling), and return it to Bligh.


 * Finish recruiting Elef, Ryan, Hip (Non-Guild Human)
 * You had to have accepted the mission to defeat the monsters at the bridge.


 * You had to have gotten them the spare blueprints


 * Talk to them after the bridge is finished in their inn where you got the blueprints.


 * Lyle
 * Talk to him with Conrad in your party.


 * Tony
 * Speak to him after you beat the boss in the sewers beneath Theater Vancoor.

Non-Humans

 * Aesop, Gob, and Monki (Goblin Trio)
 * When you first cross the bridge into the Goblin country, you will meet them again. Beat them in a fight, and then decide to let them go, and they will join you.


 * Ben
 * Kick him three times when he is sleeping (9am - 3pm). When he sits up, talk to him. Answer "Sure" when asked, and then don't hit any buttons until he joins you. He is inside the Goblin Town near the fork in the path.


 * Brie
 * Apparently, Brie wants to be a mage.


 * First, you have to recruit Bligh,.


 * After Bligh has been recruited, talk to Brie with two mages in your party (magicians from Vareth Institute). If you haven't been recruiting any humans, Jill and Christoph are two easy mages to get, since you probably have five seeds and threads by now.


 * Den
 * You will find him wandering around on the platforms above the Goblin Town. Kick him a total of three times.


 * Donkey
 * Note: You want to recruit him during your first pass through the game so that you can get his /Absorb HP/ skill.


 * Buy all his records and he will join you.


 * During subsequent games, just remove the records from the player and have them in your inventory, so you don't have to buy them again.


 * Gabe
 * Gabe is a shop keeper in the Goblin Town. He will ask you to give him some items (50 panic powder). Buy them and give them to him.


 * Gobrey
 * He is a ghost who is looking for a Tsuchinoko Dumpling. Give him one.


 * Golly
 * Golly is Donkey's biggest fan. Talk to him with Donkey in your party.


 * Gonn
 * Talk to him five times in one day. (They can be right after another). The best way to do this is to talk to him when he is near the chest to the right of where you recruited the Goblin Trio. He is there between 5am and 5pm.


 * Goo
 * Talk to him when you have an empty bottle, and agree to give it to him.


 * Lin
 * Talk to him and he will ask you some questions. Answers are: "Handsome", "Responsible", and "Sergeant Lin". (Honesty is not always possible in RPG games. ;^)


 * Mason
 * Kick him three times, and then agree to play a game.


 * He has hidden three things, and gives you a peek at where they are. If you have explored the area much, you should be able to recognize the locations.


 * You might want to stand still and kick him each time he goes by rather than trying to chase him.

Ridley's Birthday Party
After Ridley's birthday party, you can recruit the following characters:


 * Elmo
 * Talk to him and defeat him.


 * Joaquel
 * Talk to him shortly before midnight when he is guarding a door in the basement of Club Vampire. Agree to guard the door while he goes somewhere.


 * As soon as he leaves, enter the room and kick things until you find the treasures, including a couple of berries.


 * Exit the room and talk to Joaquel, who will yell at you.


 * Wait until midnight passes and talk to Joaquel again. This time, don't move until he comes back. He will then join you.

Monks Trained
After the training mission, you can start to recruit more people. Avoid going into Jack's house during this time to prevent the game from progressing the game before you are done recruiting.


 * Achilles (Olacion)
 * If you beat all the monks during the training mission, you will have to fight Achilles. If you win, he will join.


 * Beating Achilles will trigger the duel with Rocky. The strategory guild claims it won't be available until after you return from Wind Valley, but I got it sooner. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure it was after the split.


 * Vitas (Olacion)
 * Speak to her after the training mission when she is training in her room (between 10am and 5pm). She will challenge her to a duel. Beat her and she will join.


 * Alvin (Olacion)
 * After the meeting in the castle, speak to Kain, who will tell you that Alvin has been assigned to you. Then speak to Alvin.


 * Miranda (Olacion)
 * After the training mission, talk to Miranda when you are less than 100% HP so she can heal you. Do that on three separate days. (You can kick somebody in the area and let them do some damage before you beat them. You could even duel Miranda, but I could never bring myelf to do that.)
 * As soon as you recruit Miranda, put her in your party in place of Flora. There are two reasons for this:
 * Miranda is a better healer than Flora
 * You need to get Miranda up to level 35 in order to recruit Godwin

=Human Path=

The following characters can be recruited after you have decided to take the human path.

Meeting at Castle
These characters can be recruited after the meeting at the castle.

You should visit Kain, Ortoroz, and Ray C. Ross (who is the owl in the president's office of the Vareth Institute). Each of them will assign two members to work with you. You should recruit them at this time, along with some additional characters that are now available:


 * Alicia (Vancoor)
 * Talk to Elwen when she is at the shrine in the sewer (from noon to 3pm.)


 * Talk to Alicia in the shrine (between 10 and 11pm.)


 * Godwin (Olacion)
 * Talk to him with Mirand in your party at level 35 or better.


 * Fernando (Olacion)
 * After you recruit Godwin, you should be able to recruit Fernando, assuming you recruited everyone else that you could.


 * You need to have recruited Fernando's people, which is basically everyone on the right side of the Olacion Shrine. They were probably recruited in the following order: Edgar, Flora, Achilles, Vitas, Miranda, Alvin, and Godwin.


 * Kain (Olacion)
 * If you have recruited everyone in the Olacion Order (except perhaps Rocky), talk to Kain. He will thank you for pulling the members together, and join you.


 * Derek (Vareth)
 * Speak to him after being told he will work with you.


 * Felix (Vareth)
 * He is another character from the Vareth Institute that will be assigned to you. Talk to him and he will join.


 * Herz (Void)
 * If you read the sign in the Void Community area, you know that Herz is a master of disguise. You have probably encountered her several times in one of her disguises. To recruit her, you have to uncover them by talking to her with the real character in your party. You can do this in any order, but each time has to be on a different day.


 * Go into Blade Pharmacy (near your house) between 4 and 6pm with Conrad in your party.
 * Go into Verontier Armory (in Vancoor Square) between 7-8pm with Caesar in your party.
 * Go into Carl's Pub with Alicia in your party between 8pm and 2am.


 * Just for fun, before you reveal her disguises, go into these stores during those times. If you stand outside before time, you will see Herz going into the store, then go inside and you will see the disguised character. If you are standing inside the store when she enters, you will see the disguised character enter.


 * If you remember, during the very beginning of the game, when you got kicked out of the Knights, and went into Carl's Pub with Ganz, you saw Alicia there. After you have discovered her disguise, when she goes into the store, she stays as herself.


 * Interlude (Void)
 * Talk to him after he is assigned to you. Keep talking until he duels you. After you beat him, keep talking until he joins.


 * Note: Make sure you keep talking to him. The first time I played this game, I stopped after the duel, thinking he had joined. It wasn't until I was most of the way through the non-human path before I discovered he was not on my friends list.


 * Ortoroz (Void)
 * Talk to him and he will ask you to find some meteorite fragments.


 * There are four of them, and they can only be found between midnight and 6am. Don't be standing in the area before midnight, or it may not be there. If that happens, try leaving the area and coming back.


 * If you have the feathered earing equipped, you can get all four fragments during a single trip.


 * Sonata (Void)
 * He plays hide and seek with you. Talk to him, and he flies off. Find him and talk to him again. He will be on the bridges outside of the following gates: Heliforde, Echinda, and Lupus Gate.

Leave for Wind Valley
Once you are ready to leave for Wind Valley, you can recruit these characters:


 * Star (Vancoor)
 * After the mission, talk to him.


 * Sebastian (Non-Guild)
 * Talk to him with Star in your party.


 * Ursula (Vareth)
 * Talk to her after the mission. (That would be after you reported back to Thanos, not just after the battle)

Wind Valley
When you arrive at Wind Valley and are about to approach the Wind Dragon, it will be your only chance to recruit Dynas:


 * Dynas (Non-Guild)
 * If you have an empty place in your party, Dynass will join you for the start of the battle (which will add him to you Friends List). He will be defeated before the second half, so if you already have recruited him from a previous game, you probably don't want to keep a space open for him.

Return From Wind Valley
After you get back after your fight with Sir Gawain after Wind Valley, the following characters are available for recruitment:


 * Ardoph (Vareth)
 * Talk to him after you get back from Fort Algandars


 * Dimitri (Vareth)
 * Talk to him after you get back from Fort Algandars


 * Leona (Vareth)
 * Talk to her in the Vareth Institute Library (noon-7pm) and find out she is looking for a book. Check with the librarian who tells you Aldo has it checked out. Talk to him and give it to her. (You can do this step earlier in the game.)


 * Next she is looking for the Book of Angels (that you got from the Algandars Castle) Give it to her and she will join.


 * Rocky (Olacion)
 * Note: Rocky doesn't have to be recruited in order to get Kain.


 * Go to the lake north west of the Dark Elves' place. You can take the Travel Pig, go east, and then south west when you get a chance. Talk to Rocky and defeat him.


 * On a subsequent day, talk to Rocky near the ruins beyond Septem Cave (the same place where you got the meteorite and/or tsuchinoko), and he will join.

Meet with Dynas
After the meeting with Dynas at the castle, the following characters are available:


 * Astor (Non-Guild)
 * He is the cook of the castle, and remembers when he cooked for your father. Talk to him and he will join. You can talk to him across the counter when he is in the kitchen, or while he is walking in the halls.


 * Charlie (Radiata)
 * Talk to him


 * Nina (Radiata)
 * Talk to her while she is training and agree to duel. Do this again on a following day and she will join.


 * Patrick (Radiata)
 * Catch him drinking in the dungeon watchroom around 8pm and promise not to tell. (If he isn't drinking when you go in, go back ount and try again.)


 * When done, go next door and recruit Putt.


 * Putt (Radiata)
 * Catch him sleeping one room to the right of Patrick around 9pm and promise not to tell.


 * The Official Strategy Guide claims he is in the watchman's room, but he is actually in the next room.


 * Walter (Vancoor)
 * After recruiting Patrick and Putt, find Sheila's cell and talk to her


 * Talk to Walter to give him Sheila's message.


 * Zeranium (Non-Guild)
 * Talk to Lord Larks until he tells you about a former fighter. The easiest way to find him is around 8am in the audience chamber.


 * Talk to Zeranium until he joins.

Meet Genius in the Sewers

 * Genius (Vareth)
 * When the cut scene is over, go back in and talk to him.


 * Curtis (Vareth)
 * Genius should finish out the Vareth Magic Guild. If you recruited everyone else, talk to Curtis in the Observatory from noon to 9pm.


 * Thanos (Vancoor)
 * If you completed all missions and reported back to him, he should join you at this point.


 * Elwen (Vancoor)
 * Thanos should complete recruitment of Theater Vancoor. Talk to Elwen and beat her in a duel. If you lose, you can try on another day (for as many days as you need)


 * Since Elwen has King of Day, fight her at night.


 * Nyx (Void)
 * Talk to him with Curtis, Kain, and Elwen in your party, then beat him in a duel. (I'm not sure what happens if you lose, so save before you fight him.)


 * Since Nyx has King of Night, fight him during the day.

Ganz's Letter

 * Flau (Void)
 * Talk to her.


 * Rynka (Void)
 * Talk to Cody and he will tell you he lost his mother's necklace


 * Find the neclkace in the Path to the Beast Pit (in the corner near where Rynka hangs out.) and give it to Cody


 * Talk to Rynka, who will thank you.


 * Talk to Rynka on another day, and she will ask you if you know what Cody (her son) wants for his birthday.


 * Talk to Cody in the Levante Store in the morning (7-10am). He will tell you he wants one of the swords there.


 * Talk to Rynka, and she will admit that she would rather not buy him a sword


 * Talk to Cody at least a day later.
 * Talk to Rynka until she joins

Fight at Lupus Gate
After the fight at Lupus Gate, the following characters are available:


 * Natalie (Radiata)
 * Talk to her


 * Leonard (Radiata)
 * Talk to him with Natalie in your party

End of the World

 * Adele (Non-Guild)
 * You can't recruit Adele until after your final duel with Gawain and you enter the End of the World.


 * Keep talking to her until she joins. She is pretty weak, so I'm not sure you will be able to use her, since it is so late in the game. But, if you want to recruit all the characters, it only takes a Travel pig to the Tria Area.


 * I think the idea was that you were to talk to her after a number of events and tell her what has been going on. The first time I played this game, I never talked to her much during the actual game, and Jack kept telling her all the things that had happened, one after another. So it may not matter if you talk to her on other times or not.

=Non-Human Path=

The following characters can only be recruited after you have chosen the non-human path.

Meeting with Parsec
After you have met with Parsec at Fort Helencia, the following characters are available:


 * Franz
 * Talk to him


 * Gil
 * Talk to him and beat him in a duel


 * Grigory
 * Talk to him. He is outside the fort drinking a lot


 * Keane
 * Buy 10,000 worth of items from him


 * Marsha
 * Spend 10,000 in her store


 * Naom
 * Talk to him. He is outside the council room.


 * Serva
 * Talk to him when he is training between 9am-noon, or 2-7pm, and agree to fight him.


 * Beat him on three different days and he will join.

Goblin Haven
After you arrive at Goblin Haven, the following characters can be recruited:


 * Ricky
 * Find and talk to Ricky to find out that he is missing Happy (his wolf. Ricky is a wolf rider). Find Happy near the bridge that you used to get to this area and give him an herb


 * Go back and talk to Ricky.


 * Technically, you can do this before you get to Goblin Haven, but it will probably be on your way there.


 * Remember how you found him, since you will have to find Dominic in the same location later with Ricky in your party.


 * Georgio
 * Talk to him with a two-handed sword equpped. (If you have something else equipped, he will mention a two-handed sword.)


 * Fight him and win.


 * Jan
 * Talk to him, then fight him and win. He will ask you a question before the fight.


 * Niko
 * Talk to him when he is spaced out (11am-2pm, or 10-11pm)


 * Pietro
 * Talk to him and then immediately defeat him three times in a row. (He isn't hard, but you can always save before hand.)

First Fight with Gawain
After the first time you fight Gawain, the following characters are available:


 * Danny
 * Danny is apparently bi-polar. Sometimes he is normal, and sometimes he is crazy.


 * Talk to him when he is spaced out On another day, talk to him when he is normal.


 * Danny sells Life and Mystery Berries between 7am-9pm.


 * Giovanni
 * Talk to him when you are wearing the recruitment suit you got from the Goblin Cemetery.


 * Luka
 * Talk to him while wearing the recruitment suit.


 * Sonny
 * Talk to him while wearing the recruitment suit

Defeat Gawain

 * Alan
 * Talk to him. He wants five Matango larvae from the Sediche Region


 * Find five larvae, then give them to them


 * Bosso
 * You will find him being attacked by two Matangos


 * Defeat the Matangos, then defeat Bosso in a duel


 * Gawain
 * He joins automatically as part of the game. (Similar to Ganz and Ridley on the human side.)


 * Note: If you don't have the King of the Night skill, fight enough link battles with Gawain so you can learn it.


 * Lufa
 * Lufa is the cook in the Dark Elf Village


 * Talk to her and learn she wants some of Polpo's soup


 * Give her some soup. You can get it from Polpo


 * Note: Polpo's soup is supposed to be one of the things that carry over from game to game. So, if you have previously played the non-human path, you can collect the soup, and then give it to her the next game after the Friends List is created.


 * Pitt
 * Talk to him


 * Polpo
 * Talk to him while he's cooking his soup, and find out he needs three Deathclover Larvae


 * Find them in the area outside of Goblin Haven.


 * Go back to Polpo and give him the larvae


 * Row
 * Talk to him and find out he wants a rainbow crystal


 * Give it to him. (It is in the Goblin Cemetery area if you don't already have it.)


 * Shin
 * Shin hates humans. You need to soften him up.


 * Talk to him and beat him on four separate days.


 * You can find him outside the house that is just before the Elder's house around 5am and several other times during the day.

Escort Gawain to Fort Helencia
Once you arrive back at Fort Helencia with Sir Gawain, the following characters are available:


 * Coco
 * Talk to him when you have an empty party (you are all alone)


 * Dominic
 * Talk to him with Ricky in your party. He will be at the same place you originally found them.


 * Fan
 * Talk to her near the entrance to the City of Flowers (9pm-2am) and agree to a race.


 * Run to the tree at the top of the hill outside of the Eastern entrance to Fort Helencia. If you don't normally have the Feathered Earing equipped, you probably want to put it on for this race.


 * (Fortunately, she doesn't travel during any fights, but you might want to clear out that path before you accept.)


 * Few
 * Talk to her when you have a party consisting of a dark elf, a green goblin, and a black goblin.


 * Mikey
 * Mikey is my favorite dark elf. He refuses to hate humans, even if you pick the Human Path.


 * Talk to him when he is reading in the brewery (10pm-2am) and he will ask for a story


 * Tell him a story. Repeat this on three separate days.


 * Clarence
 * Talk to him after you have recruited all of the dark elves

Fight Elwen
After the fight with Elwen, the following characters are available:


 * Dyvad
 * Talk to him.


 * Marco
 * Talk to him when he is reading (not selling) a book (10pm to 6am). Answer "Ignore it", "Save them", and finally, "That person is crazy."


 * The Official Strategy Guide claims you can't recruit him until after fighting Elwen, but I was able to do it before then.

Cross and the Fire Dragon

 * Doppio
 * Talk to him while you have a Kings Toadstool. Beat him in a fight. You can get a King's Toadstool from the Blood Orc's area. You can only carry one at a time. You can actually get one during the human path, but they don't carry over to the next game.


 * Drew
 * Talk to him when you have a Kings Toadstool and give it to him.


 * Galvados
 * Talk to him, agree to fight, and beat him.


 * Gruel
 * Talk to him after you have recruited all the Black Goblins


 * JJ
 * Talk to him and get the Blood Orcs to agree to join (and release the Green Orcs). After you beat Galvados, go back and tell J.J., and he will join you.

=Post Game=

After you defeat Valkyrie in the bonus dungeon, she will offer to join your party. She makes the rest of the fights easier. Make sure you learn her Tri-Ace skill, which will make subsequent games easier as well.