Apt to be the last place you visit during Errantry quests in Princess Maker 2, the Northern Mountain is the most difficult of the lot. This is not because of the normal enemies - they're about on par with those in the Western Desert, if not a little weaker - but because of one of the mountain's two 'bosses'. Your daughter will face the ultimate test of her combat prowess on the Northern Mountain, and you'll need to make her a mighty warrior indeed before she'll prevail.
To safely traverse the majority of the Northern Mountain you'll want to cover the following bases:
- Your daughter's Combat Skill stat should be as close to 100 as you can manage. The 90s are likely enough, but going straight to 100 can't hurt. You should also try to max out your daughter's offensive stats (Attack or Magic Skill / Magic Attack).
- Your daughter's Stamina should be well into the 300 range, if not up near 400. The Northern has a few powerful monsters, and you'll want lots of HP to make the most of your trip.
- Your daughter should have Plate Mail equipped at a minimum. Mithril Mail is preferable, if you can afford it. If you plan to fight with a sword your daughter should have the Mithril Sword equipped, or, again if you can afford it, the Katana.
Note that these recommendations are only for exploring the 'normal' areas of the Northern Mountain. If you want to take on the big boss - which we'll discuss more at the bottom of the guide - you'll want to raise your daughter's combat stats to their absolute maximum. 500 to 600 HP at a minimum is recommended, as well as around 300 MP, if you plan to use magic.
Traversal
The Northern Mountain is arguably the easiest of the four zones to explore, at least in terms of finding your way around. The majority of the area is a slog up the sides of the cliffs via stairs. The only new mechanic here - and it's not entirely new - is the ability to drop from higher areas to lower areas, by finding gaps in the geography.
As with the other Errantry areas, you can do a full circuit of the Northern Mountain and find an exit. Go north up the mountain, west along the top, then back down. Not too complicated.
Monsters
The run-of-the-mill monsters along the Northern Mountain are not a huge deal, if you can survive the latter section of the Western Desert. They don't throw any curveballs, and the strongest among them is more likely to run before you can take it down. The majority of monsters out here require 200 Sensitivity before they will talk to your daughter, though the Silver Wolf also requires 220 Elegance.
- Amoeba - Near entrances
- Drop: None
- Ice Ball - Anywhere
- Drop: Ice Shard
- Kidnapper - Near entrances
- Drop: Healing Pill
- Silver Wolf - Along upper ledges
- Drop: Silver Pelt
- Snow Orc - Along upper ledges
- Drop: None
- Wolf - Along upper ledges
- Drop: None
There are two drops of note here. First are the Ice Shards, dropped by the very-common Ice Balls. In addition to adding 10 Constitution and removing 10 Stress, Ice Shards sell for 300 gold apiece. Not a bad way to earn money. Second are the Silver Pelts dropped by Silver Wolves. These are much harder to get, as Silver Wolves often run before they're defeated, though if you do get one you'll receive +5 to your daughter's Magic Defense.
Events
Below is a list of the events you can find on the Northern Mountain. There are fewer here than some other areas, and you can only repeat one of them (which is also found elsewhere in the game).
Ket Shi
As with the cabin in the far west of the desert, you can find Ket Shi, the god of the Wildcats, on the Northern Mountain. He lives in an igloo on the west side of the mountain, as you're scaling back down towards the exit. Stick to your right as you descend to the south to find the igloo. You'll need a Cat's Eye to get Ket Shi to come out of the igloo.
Ket Shi will offer you something in exchange for the Cat's Eye:
- Raise your daughter's height
- Lower your daughter's height
- Lower your daughter's weight
Raising your daughter's height also raises the threshold over which she is considered overweight, so the results between that and lowering her weight are similar.
Accepting the offer will result in Ket Shi taking every Cat's Eye from your inventory, with the same results regardless of how many you lost. If you decide to not give Ket Shi the Cat's Eye he will rant and rave at your daughter... and then steal all of the Cat's Eyes from your inventory anyway. Make a different choice.
Bandit - Hurricane Castillo
The third (and final) bandit encounter in Princess Maker 2, Hurricane Castillo hangs out in a building on the west side of the Northern Mountain, a short ways northeast of the exit. Take a right once you're back on the brickwork bridges and you'll find the building. You'll need to defeat the other two bandits before Castillo will appear, and even then you may need to approach the building multiple times (or just wander the area for a while) before he appears.
Castillo starts off by attempting to bribe your daughter. If you agree he'll give your daughter 500 gold and disappear, which also gives your daughter 50 Sin. If you refuse your daughter will have to fight Castillo, and he's easily the strongest of the three bandits. Magic fares a bit better than melee combat, though you can make do with either if your daughter is well-equipped and generally strong.
You'll receive 386 gold and a valuable suit of Mithril Armor for defeating Hurricane Castillo. When your daughter returns from the adventure an official from the palace will give her an additional 3,500 gold, and her Fighter / Magic Reputation will go up by 30 points. If Castillo wins the fight and your daughter has a Glamour of 100 or greater you'll witness an extra cut scene, and your daughter's relationship with Cube will improve.
The War God
The final combat-related challenge in Princess Maker 2, the War God lives... kinda... on the Northern Mountain. Make your way to the west side of the mountain and you'll find a set of stairs leading up into the sky. Climb them long enough and you'll find a golden platform. Try to cross to the other side and the War God will emerge to battle you. If you speak or run you'll be allowed to flee; otherwise, the fight begins.
The War God has 780 HP and 999 Morale, making him easily the strongest enemy in the game. He also tends to hit hard regardless of your defenses, though not being prepared will ensure that your daughtrer gets eradicated. Here are some necessities for winning the battle:
- Get your daughter's Stamina up to 500 or more. The fight takes a while, and you'll need to outlast the War God. Healing Pills don't hurt, but they won't help that much either.
- If you plan on using spells you'll want to get your daughter's Intelligence up to at least 300, if not higher. Spells are the most effective way to defeat the War God, but you'll still need some time to chip through his copious health count.
- Equip the Mithril Armor. If you plan to use melee combat - not recommended - you'll want the Katana, which you can easily pick up on the Northern Mountain. (See below, under 'Chests'.)
- Boost your daughter's Combat Skill to 100, and get Combat Defense as close to 100 as you can manage. The War God only uses physical attacks so you don't need to worry about Magic Defense. You should also boost either your Attack or Magic Skill / Magic Attack to at least 100, so your daughter makes the most of every hit.
- Try to boost either your daughter's Fighter Reputation or Magic Reputation to around 400. This will give her a high Morale score that will keep her from trying to run away.
Once all that is done... try your luck! Even hitting these heights your daughter will likely still struggle a bit to defeat the War God, especially if he lands any lucky critical attacks. Be patient and try again if he beats you.
Your daughter will receive the War God's Sword for defeating the War God. It is the best weapon in the game, and will allow your daughter to utterly trounce any enemy. (Not that there's... anything she couldn't already beat, at this point.) Beyond the War God's platform you'll find your daughter's patron deity, and they will improve one of your daughter's stats by 100. Which deity you meet depends on when your daughter was born:
- Saturn - Dec. 22 - Jan 19 - Refinement
- Uranus - Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 - Sensitivity
- Neptune - Feb. 19 - Mar. 20 - Intelligence
- Mars - Mar. 21 - Apr. 19 - Morality
- Venus - Apr. 20 - May 20 - Charisma
- Mercury - May 21 - June 21 - Intelligence
- Moon - June 22 - July 22 - Sensitivity
- Sol - July 23 - Aug. 22 - Refinement
- Mercury - Aug. 23 - Sept. 22 - Intelligence
- Venus - Sept. 23 - Oct. 23 - Charisma
- Hades - Oct. 24 - Nov. 22 - Sensitivity
- Jupiter - Nov. 23 - Dec. 21 - Faith
After blessing your daughter the god will hasten her trip back to Earth. The stairs up will disappear, preventing you from returning to either the War God's perch or your daughter's patron deity.
Chests
- Near cave (climb north onto the mountain from the entrance, then go left and keep climbing stairs) - 400 gold
- Northern platform (drop off of the bridge in the far north, as you walk west - make sure you can see the top of the chest before trying to drop, or you'll land in the wrong place) - Katana
- Western ledge (down some stairs, to the south of the path to the War God's platform) - Ice Shard