An easily-overlooked activity in Princess Maker 2, visiting the palace pays off big-time for your daughter if you remember to do it regularly. Accessible via the bottom-left buttons on the menu above the Schedule button, the option to visit the palace will allow your daughter to meet the kingdom's most prestigious officials - assuming, of course, she minds her manners.
This guide will give you the lowdown on the various people you can meet in the palace of Princess Maker 2. First, though, an introduction to the topic.
Palace Basics
You can send your daughter to visit the palace as soon as you begin a new game of Princess Maker 2. Once there you'll receive a list of people whom she can meet, and you can choose exactly one person each month. Once your daughter has had a conversation - successful or not - you'll be kicked out of the palace until the next month.
You can speak to anyone on the list that you like. That said, there are two prerequisites in order to have a successful conversation with each person:
- In order to strike up a conversation at all, your daughter must first meet a Decorum requirement. If her Decorum isn't high enough for the official they will immediately brush her off. So much for that visit. You'll need to send your daughter to Manners classes to raise her Decorum.
- Once you've started the conversation, the official will expect your daughter to possess high numbers in another stat. Which stat they prefer varies from person to person.
Your daughter receives a bonus to her Connections stat whenever she successfully speaks to an official. The higher the desired secondary stat, the more Connections points your daughter will receive from the conversation. Each official has a set limit of Connections points that they can allot, so eventually it will be pointless to speak to that person again. You can view your daughter's Connections stat by checking her status menu (top-right corner of the main menu, above the Schedule button).
In the long run, there are two reasons to visit officials at the palace:
- First, raising your daughter's Connections stat will let everyone else in the kingdom know that she's important. This can lead to discounts when you try to buy items from merchants in town, up to 50% off.
- Second, speaking to two of the NPCs can lead to specific endings. We'll discuss those below, as they operate differently from the rest.
Palace Officials List
Below is a list of the officials whom you can visit at the palace. They are listed by order of 'difficulty' - in other words, how much Decorum your daughter needs before she can successfully speak to them. The two exceptions to the normal rules are at the bottom of the list.
Gatekeeper
Required Decorum: 10
Desired Stat: Elegance
Maximum Connections: 40
The bottom of the barrel. The Gatekeeper is likely the first person you'll befriend, and his Connections stat gets maxed out very quickly if your daughter has even a bit of Elegance. Manners class, or even Poetry classes, will get the Gatekeeper out of the way in no time. (Though you'll still see him every time you visit the palace.)
Imperial Guard Knight
Required Decorum: 30
Desired Stat: Elegance
Maximum Connections: 50
The Imperial Guard Knight is more or less identical to the Gatekeeper, only his standards are a bit higher. Keep taking those Manners classes. You'll see him again if you try to visit the King without enough Decorum.
General
Required Decorum: 50
Desired Stat: Glamour
Maximum Connections: 120
Despite his lower Decorum requirement the General can be a bit difficult to satisfy, as the only way to reliably raise Glamour early in the game is to attend Dancing class. If you aren't focused on Glamour you may want to save the General for later - though once you have a decent amount of Glamour, you can max out his Connections very quickly.
Minister
Required Decorum: 70
Desired Stat: Intelligence
Maximum Connections: 100
A great early official to go after if your character uses magic, the Minister places great stock in Intelligence. Since you can raise Intelligence well above 100 points you'll swiftly max out his Connections offerings. Try to get to him early if you've been taking any class that raises Intelligence (and there are a lot of them).
Befriending the Minister early also pays off if you intend to raise a dancer. The Minister is the primary judge for the Dance Party at the Harvest Festival, and if he likes your daughter enough he'll add some points to her score.
Bishop
Required Decorum: 80
Desired Stat: Faith
Maximum Connections: 120
The high Decorum stat issue aside, the Bishop makes a great social target when visiting the palace. Faith can rise quite high if you spend a lot of time working at the Church or in Theology class, allowing you to quickly max out the Bishop's Connections. Go after him as early as possible.
Favorite Mistress
Required Decorum: 85
Desired Stat: Conversation
Maximum Connections: 120
The King's mistress is one of the higher-ups in court, but for the most part she isn't worth your time. Conversation can only be raised by working at the Bar, and doesn't play a huge role in anything besides a few endings - including the Clown, which you'll find a bit further down. Save the Favorite Mistress for last, as it takes a while to get Connections points out of her.
Queen
Required Decorum: 90
Desired Stat: Personality
Maximum Connections: 160
Similar to the King's Mistress, the Queen is difficult to satisfy thanks to her desired stat, Personality. The only way to raise Personality is by doing Housework, and it is only used to make the Queen happy. You're better off making most of the other members of court happy before the Queen. Save her for last.
King
Required Decorum: 95
Desired Stat: Fighter Reputation
Maximum Connections: 300
The highest benchmark in the kingdom, the King is also a prime target for Connections. If you're heading out into the wilds often you'll quickly develop a high Fighter Reputation, and once you can speak to the King it will pay off in dividends, yielding tons of Connections points with only a few visits. Take advantage of the King's generosity as soon as you hit 95 Decorum and you'll find prices lowered all over the kingdom.
Clown
Required Decorum: None
Desired Stat: Conversation
Maximum Connections: None
The oddball of the court, the Clown has no Decorum requirement. Instead, he'll only speak to your daughter if she has a minimum Conversation score of 40. Every time you successfully speak to the Clown your daughter will gain some Sensitivity - and lose 15 Social Reputation. Ouch.
If you speak to the Clown seven times he'll visit your home. Speak fourteen times and he'll visit again, this time bestowing the Royal Harp on your daughter (+50 Art). Speak twenty-one times and you'll get one more visit from the Clown, after which point he'll disappear from the palace. Befriending the Clown unlocks an ending where your daughter can take his place at the palace - and you'd best accept it, as the hits to Social Reputation will end any thought of many other endings.
Young Military Officer
Required Decorum: None
Desired Stat: None
Maximum Connections: None
An occasional visitor to the palace, the Young Military Officer only appears on the list of palace officials during January. He has no Decorum requirement, and speaking to him is always successful. He'll ask your daughter to promise to see him again the next year. If she visits him every year - as well as ends the game with at least 200 Glamour, 250 Elegance, and less than 100 Sin - you'll unlock a special ending, as your daughter marries the Young Military Officer.