ZC Playing Tricks and Skills

[ShadowTiger]

... Yeah. Okay. this is ABSOLUTELY a thread that I want to see pinned / just pin outright, but we definitely also have to work on combining a few of these pinned threads into a General FAQ that everyone can use and be directed towards. Then, perhaps an announcement can be made (The kind that goes above the forum, above all the threads...) entitled "Have Questions? Go here:" and direct them towards that FAQ thread.

We really need to get started on that so we can pin a thread like this. Can't have a billion (Or like, .. twelve. :p ) pinned threads in one forum. There's no "General Hints and Tips" forum either, so...

Besides, a thread like this could live in both the ZC Discussion forum and the Custom Quest Discussion forum, though is no more helpful in one over the other, because people need help in the many custom quests, but the topic itself isn't about any particular quest. So I think it should be pinned here, in the ZC Discussion forum.

[elise]

Talking as a player I hardly visit this part of the forum
but I answere often questions about how to kill enemies in the custom question dicussion thread and in PM . Thats why I think it would be better there , it answeres alot of questions you can run into playing a custom quest .

[4matsy]

Other half of the enemy strats...

LANMOLA:

1. Both the red and blue kinds do 2 hearts of damage--the only difference is that blue is twice as fast. So don't underestimate the reds.
2. They ALWAYS come in from the middle of the third vertical column from the left. (Even if this is on top of a block, or in the water, or some other non-walkable thing like that. LOL. :p) If you know Lanmolas are in the next room, and you're entering from the left, try concentrating some attacks on that spot ASAP for quick damage.
3. For some reason, they seem to have trouble hitting you while you're using your sword repeatedly. So kamikaze slashing in one spot--preferably half a tile to the left or right, as they're moving vertically--might actually cause some decent damage on them.
4. The candle and book-enhanced wand work wonders on these guys, for some reason. :p
5. Especially against blues: The gold arrow, if fired from behind, and if they don't turn, will eat up the entire worm. Heh. :p

LEEVER:

1. For the 1s/reds, try to put your back to a wall so that they can't pop up behind you. If you have the wand BUT NOT THE BOOK, try to fire at a steady rate so that they all surface right into your beam--this somehow usually produces loads of cash.
2. For the 2s/blues, stun them. Early-game, if not stunned right after they surface, they usually move too randomly for you to get in all the required hits before they burrow back under.
3. For the 3s? Uh...keep your eyes open, and if you see one about to come up behind you, either turn and slash or get out of the way. :p Having your back to a wall helps here, too, since they're really just heavily upgraded 1s/reds.

LIKE LIKE:

1. Stun, then beat on. (You may need to stun more than once, especially early-game, since it has 9 health. ) As with most enemies, stunning it while it's switching tiles and hitting it from the side will prevent knockback, and is thus very effective.
2. Try to keep at least some space between you and him. Unless you know he's almost dead, you obviously don't want to risk touching him. :p
3. If you get eaten, you have about a second-and-a-half to get out before you lose your magic shield. If he's almost dead by that point anyway, you MIGHT be able to kill him in time to save your shield, but still...once you're out, face down immediately to check if you still have your shield. If you've lost it, and you're in a dungeon with plenty of sword-throwers (Stalfos, Lynel) or magic-shooters (Wizzrobes), you may want to consider quitting and using the RETRY option if it's available, or just resetting the game with the F7 key; in such a dungeon, the lack of a magic shield may very easily get you killed. :p
4. Like Like can NOT eat the mirror shield. This makes him more useful as cover from powerful enemies, as they can't hit you while Like Like has you trapped. :p Do note, though, that attacking the other enemies will still damage the Like Like as well, and eventually kill it, destroying your cover.
5. You could also use the boomerang (NOT FIRE boomerang!...and the hookshot doesn't work at all, oddly) while in the Like Like, to stun and clump together additional enemies, then use some high-powered weapons (bomb? gold arrow? :p) to kill them all.
6. If red Bubbles are around, avoid Like Likes at all costs. If you get hit by a Bubble AND THEN the Like Like eats you, you may be left with no way out, forcing you to reset.

LYNEL:

1. 1s/reds have 4 health and bump you for 1 heart, 2s/blues have 6 health and bump you for 2 hearts. Both kinds throw sword beams which drain 2 hearts--this is what you'll mainly be looking out for.
2. Preferred: Stun, then hit from the side to keep them from being knocked back. Sound familiar? :p
3. You could sword beam them (or insert other long-range attack here) head-on from a distance, if you're feeling lucky. Just pay attention: when they stop moving, they're gonna fire.
4. Red Lynels are kinda good for money later in the quest, while blue can drop bombs.

MANHANDLA:

1. Manhandla 1 is 3x3 in size, with 4 mouths; Manhandla 2 is 4x4, with 8 mouths.
2. Of course, the bomb is preferred. Wait till Manhandla is in a corner, then lay a bomb 1 to 2 tiles diagonally away. Likely, he'll run all four of his mouths right into the blast and die. :p
3. Door-snipe, if a door (preferably the one you came in) is open. The bow and wand are especially good for picking off mouths this way (2 hits each, at the most), although you may have to change sides of the room to get to the mouths on the opposite side...
4. As mouths are taken off one by one, Manhandla 2 speeds up at the same rate as Manhandla 1. This becomes a problem when fighting Manhandla 2, as he has twice as many mouths and therefore gets MAD fast at the end of the fight when only 1 or 2 mouths are left. At that point, it may be best to just stand in one spot and swing the sword repeatedly, as following him might not be all that effective since he's so fast. :p
5. Don't forget that super bombs have a bigger blast radius. Manhandla 2 could pretty easily qualify as needing one. :)

MOBLIN:

1. When attacking them from above or below, attack from half a tile to the right. Their spears are aimed too far to the left to hit you there. :p
2. Blue ones may drop bombs.
3. Not much else to say about these guys...they're really not a threat at all after the early game.

MOLDORM:

1. Quite threatening early-game in large numbers.
2. They're pretty slow, and always spawn in the same spot (top center of screen). Get there ASAP and drop a bomb for good results.
3. As with Lanmola, the gold arrow can take out most of a Moldorm, if shot at a large amount of the body from behind.

OCTOROK 1 and 2 (or RED and BLUE):

1. Nothing special, really. Take 'em out as you see fit, just pay extra attention to the fast blue ones very-early-game. :p
2. As with Goriya, when they shoot vertically, stand half a tile to the right to avoid being hit.

OCTOROK 3 and 4 (or FIRE and BOMB):

1. Now these are some...INTERESTING enemies. :p The fire ones have 4 health, bump you for 1 heart, stop occasionally to spit a cone of flames that does 1 heart, and explode into a ring of flames (that does 4 hearts ) when killed. The bomb ones have 10 health, bump you for 3 hearts, and stop occasionally to spit bombs that do 3 hearts. Also, both types are twice as fast as the original rock-spitting Octos.
2. The mirror shield isn't good at blocking the flames, due to the way it works. (You can only block flames if you run into them from the direction opposite the one they were fired from. Since Link can only move in 4 directions, you can't block flames fired at diagonal angles.)
3. You can't block the bombs, either--they'll just blow up on you. Since the Octo 4s can shoot you from clear across the room, stay out of alignment with them until you're close enough for stunning, or use arrows or some other long-range weapon.
4. Just because the fast Octo 3 finishes his firing animation, it doesn't mean he stops actually spitting fire. This often causes him to start moving again during fire-spitting, causing him to lay a wide swath of flames across the screen. Try to stun him when you can see him through the flames. :p
5. Use a long-range attack to deliver the killing blow to Octo 3s, obviously. :p

MAGIC OCTOROK (formerly the much-cooler-sounding OCTOROK ON CRACK):

1. Has 20 health, is very fast, bumps you for 5 hearts, and fires magic beams that do 10 hearts.
2. If you have the fire boomerang, whack him repeatedly with it. He IS still an Octorok, and so can still be stunned. :)
3. You could stun a bunch with the boomerang, clump them all together, then shoot 3 gold arrows into the stunned pack. Should kill them all, if you got the arrows off fast enough. :p
4. If you have the mirror shield, use it: his beam does the same amount of damage as his health, so it's a one-hit kill. :rofl:

OVAL, CIRCLE, and BS PATRA:

1. You must kill ALL the kids before the leader becomes vulnerable at all.
2. The oval and BS varieties don't present TOO much of a threat. You can just hack away at them from the left or right (as the width of their can-hit-you area isn't changing on those two sides, so it's easier to gauge where to stand, and also easier to hit them).
3. Circle type is another story. Get as far away as possible, and when you see it quit expanding, rush in and swing about 4-5 times with the sword or wand, then back off before it can expand on you.
4. Hammer is also kinda good, if you don't have the magic sword yet.

PATRA 2 and 3:

1. They have TWO rings of kids, and more health, and expand Circle Patra-style. Patra 2 has the leader shooting fireballs; Patra 3's leader doesn't shoot, but the ENTIRE inner ring does.
2. Sword beam until you get hit, then hack away. Especially important for health conservation against P3, who is one of ZC's hardest bosses.

PEAHAT:

1. THE BANE OF ALL ZELDA PLAYERS. RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!111oneoneoneunosingularit y (No, seriously, they're just too damn annoying to kill unless REALLY necessary. )
2. It has 2 health, and can only be hit at rest (Exception: super bombs can kill it while it's flying. But that's a pretty big waste. :p). So if one comes to rest far away, and you can't get to it in time to use the sword, then use an arrow.
3. The only thing that can stun it is the fire boomerang, although it won't do any actual damage. NEAT TRICK: if you have full life, equip the fire 'rang, fire a sword beam and then immediately throw the boomerang. (If the Quick Sword quest rule is off, you can just hold B as Link is swinging his sword...otherwise, you'll have to time the 'rang throw well. :p) Should your timing be correct, the sword beam will start to go through the moving Peahat as usual, but the tailgating fire boomerang will stun the Peahat while the sword beam is still over it, resulting in a dead Peahat. :rofl:

POLS VOICE:

1. Arrows are a no-brainer here, and ANY arrow will go through him, like the gold arrow does to other enemies. One or two wooden arrows is enough to clear almost an entire room of these guys. :p
2. Lacking arrows: sword beam from a distance if you can. PAY ATTENTION to any sudden direction changes they make, if you're close.
3. My favorite technique, as described in my previous post: Get to their left or right while they're moving left or right, stand half a tile above where they land on the ground, and sword beam away. If they get close, wait until they're almost on you, slash them, and run through them during their post-damage invincibility. :p

STALFOS:

1. Stalfos 1s are nothing special. Absolutely pathetic offense and defense, just slash away. Or use any arrows or the wand for one-hit kills. :p
2. Stalfos 2: The wussy stats of Stalfos 1, combined with Lynel's 2-heart swords. Watch for them to pause before they fire, so you can block. Stun them and kill them fast.
3. Stalfos 3: Has 6 health, bumps you for 1.5 hearts, and simultaneously throws 6-heart swords in all 4 directions. Stun him ASAP, then attack. If you can't stun, use long-range attacks, but MAKE SURE TO BLOCK THE SWORDS, DAMMIT.

SUMMONER:

1. He's only got 4 health, so stab or bomb him fast once you spot him. It's always important to cut off the enemy supply at the source ASAP before you get overrun, especially if you're locked in the room.

TEKTITE:

1. Just stab, really. Stun if their jumping annoys you. :p
2. The blue ones leave blue rupees more often, and jump less often. One of the few instances where the blue type is actually weaker than the red...actually, because of this, you may just want to avoid the reds entirely.

WALL MASTER:

1. Usually only a big problem early-game, when you can't kill him in one hit (only has 2 health). :p
2. Stand in one spot along the wall, with enough space to knock them back, and stab repeatedly. Easy kills. :p Just DON'T TURN AROUND, or you'll have to fight them off from both directions, which is harder thatn it sounds.

RED/TELEPORTING WIZZROBE:

1. Has 4 health. Warps to a location in line with and facing you, shoots a magic beam that does 4 hearts (), then disappears and pops up somewhere else. Only 1 heart if you bump into him. :p
2. Just stay out of alignment with him, really. Bomb him if you have some to spare, as he may drop some himself. :p
3. With the mirror shield, you can just stand there and let him suicide. :p

BLUE/FLOATING WIZZROBE:

1. Has 10 health. Walks around, shooting 2-heart beams rapid-fire if he lines up with and sees you. Sometimes phases through blocks and across holes; he can't shoot at you during this time, but you can hit him. :) 2 hearts contact damage. Drops hearts and fairies kinda often, though. :p
2. Ah, yes. Mr. Annoying himself. :p I usually use up bombs against him, swinging the sword only if I know he's close to dead or I still have full life and am beaming him from afar. He's just too unpredictable otherwise...this guy is the cause of more NES Zelda 1 deaths than anyone else.
3. If the room contains a long hole, and you can get him to phase across the hole lengthwise, stab at him while he's floating across.
4. If you have the mirror shield, you can stand on the opposite side of the room as him, line up with him (best to stand half a tile out of alignment so as to make an easier escape if necessary), and hope he notices you and starts the rapid-fire. He'll kill himself after 3 hits, though usually every other beam doesn't hit him before his post-damage invincibility runs out, so you'll have to survive around 5 or 6 beams to kill him in one go. Hopefully he's not coming so close by then that he'll run into you if you don't move...if you feel cornered, best to go ahead and run as soon as the next beam is blocked. :p
5. You could also use this technique with the magic shield and sword beams, if you have good timing. Block a beam, then IMMEDIATELY swing the sword. Hopefully your shield will be back in place before the next beam comes. :p
6. Got the slash move? Abuse the "corner" of the slash: stand a tile diagonally away from him and swing to hit him. Nice to know if nothing else works or can be used...

FIRE WIZZROBE:

1. Has 12 health. Walks around, throwing out rings of 2-heart flames randomly. Sometimes floats through unwalkable stuff like the blue/floating Wizz. Bumps you for 2 hearts.
2. Kinda the same strategy as blue/floating Wizzrobe, really. Bombs are probably more useful here, though, as the sword at close range becomes risky, as he can FIRE (lol, pun :p) at any time.

WIND WIZZROBE:

1. Has 14 health. Warps to a random location in the room (facing you), fires a tornado, then disappears and pops up somewhere else. The tornado does no actual damage, but it can't be blocked, and it'll send you back to the starting point of the area just like a Wall Master does. 1 heart if you bump into him.
2. For some reason, when authors put this guy into their quests, he often shows up en masse. Big numbers or not, the strat is the same: STAY OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH HIM until the tornadoes pass you, then stab at him if time is still left.

BAT WIZZROBE:

1. Has 14 health. Warps to a random location in the room (facing you), generates 1 to 3 Bats, then disappears and pops up somewhere else. 1 heart if you bump into him.
2. No-brainer. Ignore the Bats unless they get directly in your way, just kill the Bat Wizz before you get overrun with Bats...killing the Wizzrobe first leaves you with less Bats to clean up afterward.

MIRROR WIZZROBE:

1. Exactly like the blue/floating Wizzrobe...except that this badass has 96 health, every hit he gets on you is 8 hearts instead of 2, and none of your weapons affect him at all.
2. So why the name "MIRROR Wizzrobe"? Well, you have to hit him with a magic beam that's bounced off a mirror-type object. Could be a mirror combo somewhere in the room, or your own mirror shield.
3. It does NOT HAVE to be HIS beam--as long as it's reflected magic, it'll work. HOWEVER, the beams from Mirror Wizzrobe (and Magic Octorok), as well as Mirror Wizz's defense, are so strong that the damage from anything else (wand, red/blue Wizzrobe) is pretty much negligible. Hell, it takes 6 of the Mirror Wizz's own beams to kill him as it is.
4. If you have the mirror shield, basically just use the same technique I detailed for the blue/floating Wizz. If you don't have the mirror shield, you'll have to bait him into firing into a mirror; if magic-splitting prisms are also present, find a safe spot before having him shoot so that you can run for the safe spot before the magic fills the room. :p

ZORA:

1. She only has 2 health, but she regenerates it every time she dives back underwater. If you don't have either the magic shield or a weapon that can kill her in one hit, don't bother with her--just run. :p
2. If you have the magic shield, but only the wooden sword, here's a trick: get close to her when you see she's about to come up. Hit once as soon as she comes up, block the fireball, and quickly hit her again for the kill.

GANON:

1. Has 15 health. Fireball does 1 heart damage and can't be blocked. Contact does 4. Since he's invisible, this can be a severe problem in a low-items run. :p
2. Just follow the fireballs (the ones HE's shooting, NOT any others...his are the ones seemingly coming from the middle of the floor :p) and stab around randomly. You'll hit him eventually. :p Once he turns brown, use one silver or golden arrow on him for the win. Do it quick--if he disappears, he gets all his health back!
3. I think there actually was some sort of pattern/algorithm for determining where he'll go, but I forgot what it was. Probably because I've never needed it--you're usually so pumped up with good equipment by the time the Ganon fight comes around that it won't matter anyway. :p

[Nimono]

There's one thing about Boomerangs you forgot to mention: Depending on your keyboard/control layout, one or more of the directions you can throw the boomerang may be locked. I can't throw diagonally up-left, and I can't figure our why. Some people say it's my control layout (Ctrl is B and Alt is A), but... That makes no sense.

[_L_]

PEAHAT:
* THE BANE OF ALL ZELDA PLAYERS. RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!111oneoneoneunosingularit y (No, seriously, they're just too damn annoying to kill unless REALLY necessary. )

One of my incentives for implementing the Roc's Feather was to allow you to slash Peahats in midair. And you can, if you watch the shadows and get the timing just right.

[Triforce Seeker]

Wow all this information, I think my brain is overloading. :googly:

[WindStrike]

Noted...
*Wind finally starts to think up design plans for a training arena quest including many of these tips (been thinking about it for a LONG time... just never got to the design part)*

Just take in some of the more important/cheap ones first (like the whole sword hitblocks thing I noted especially when fighting darknuts) and use that when playing quests (Kamala's Tomb is a good playground for this stuff, considering the immediate difficulty of that quest).

I think my brain overloaded when I hit Saffith's creature database and the weaknesses of everything. But I'm starting to adjust to it... and that part with the Pols Voice saying the wand cannot hit it like a white sword can? Wrong - wand CAN attack the Pols Voice without magic... was practically forced to do so in some other quest that I've mostly forgotten by now. Just clearing that bit up.

[Dlbrooks33]

^
Thats a perfect layput, but make sure they are both on the left, cause its very easy that way.

Sword-Hammer
You have to do this at the perfect time. Swing the sword then the hammer directly after(if the rule quicksword is on) to do twice the damage depending on what wepon you used first

W.Sword Normal=x1
Double=x2

Hammer=x4
Double=x8

[ShadowTiger]

Hypercrash, you have just been elevated to the level of 'Demigod" in my book. Please select your tunic color, platemail armor, and that fluffy thing that you put on the end of your lightning bolt.

Guys, do me a favor and PM me with your vote: Should this be pinned in the ZC Discussion forum or the Quest Discussion forum?


Votes:
ZC Discussion
erm2003, WindStrike, Hypercrash

Quest Discussion
Elise, Zelda_Warrior

[Zelda_Warrior]

Some of these are pretty obvious, and am not sure if some of them have been posted (Yes, I read all of the posts but some of Hypercrash's posts wre pretty long and I skipped a few monsters.)

1. Boomerange spam. This one is pretty useful, but everybody probably knows it. For people that don't, it's when a quest is bad enough to give you the boomerange early (Like mine...) and then on goryias and stuff you throw the bomerang, slash it once, then repeat until it's dead and it'll never hit you.

2. Octoroks on crack are also defeated easily by simply reflected shots back at them (Also well-known.)

3. If a super darknut is in a room, then you'd probably know they run damn fast. This is usually hard to get a hammer hit in or a bomb, or get a back stab at them. If a block is in the room, Go to one side of it and most likely the darknut will turn at the corner and right before it completes the turn slash it or use your hammer, you'll be surprised you'll have enough time to use the hammer on one of these. You can clear about 5 of them like this at a time before it just gets too hard to stay alive...

4. If the current quest has swordbeams, use a swordbeam on a darknut (Unless it does 1/2 damage, which would be a wooden sword beams, because those are just too weak) And itll probably knock it back, then just keep doing it over and over again and it'll never get to you because it'll be a punching bag.

5. If a quest has a lot of enemies spawning nearby, just use the hammer if you have it. (Another obvious, but if you didn't know, hammer attacks are AoE.)

6. If you have enough hearts, just go "suicide mode". What I mean by this is,
in some quests even if you have a lot of hearts there will still be blue darknuts in the dungeons, but if you have enough hearts (total, not current)
just run like a madman swinging your sword and throwing bombs. This also works with big mobs of monsters, but make sure you have the hearts or you'll suicide...

Yeah, some of these are obvious or already have been posted, but some of them haven't, I don't think.