User:Kenji Hiroshi


 * Success is not something you run after, but rather something you attract by the person you become.

Howdy everyone, I'm Kenji Hiroshi and I've been an active editor of the wikis for the better part of a year now. I enjoy football, rugby, anime and manga with a few hikes thrown in for good measure. I also enjoy the Gears of War universe. In terms of Golden Sun, I've owned and completed every game in the series multiple times now and still play them. I'm also known as Ken, Hiroshi or Kenji Strife, though the last is pretty long-winded lol. I'm also an administrator and bureaucrat on the Bleach Fanon wiki and an active editor of the Gears of War fanon.

Personality

 * Meh. Maybe later. - One of my favorite sayings.

I'd like to think I'm a calm, laid-back and mostly mature fellow, though when it comes to cracking jokes with my friends and annoying my teachers; maturity tends to fly out the nearest window and to hell in a hand basket. I seldom lose the head, though I've been known to do just that when the subject turns to my family or friends, so avoid insulting any of the above and you and me are sure to get on just fine.

Anyhow, I'm usually in the same mindset throughout the day, and thats pretty chilled and relaxed. I'm polite to people who are polite to me, and generally get on with the majority of the folks I've spoken to, both on this wiki and in real-life. I'm not the kind to get pissed off when someone criticizes my work, because I see critics as a helping hand to improve myself as a writer. Anyways, basic point is that I'm a pretty cool and laid-back guy.

Golden Sun
I loved the original Golden Sun. The equipment draw is fairly limited, especially compared to The Lost Age, but powerful equipment sets can still be amassed regardless.

Isaac.

The hardest decision as far as Isaac was concerned was body armor and arm wear.


 * Weapon: Gaia Blade.
 * Head: Warrior's Helm.
 * Arm: Spirit Gloves or Dragon Shield.
 * Body: Storm Gear.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.
 * Shirt: Running Shirt.

This layout takes advantage of Isaac's naturally high Attack stat with a small Agility boost. The Gaia Blade is the strongest Artifact available through conventional play, boosts Isaac's Venus power and Venus resistance and when combined with the Warrior's Helm, which also increases Venus power whilst offering a 10% boost to the Unleash rate, increasing Isaac's elemental power to 169 and gives him an Unleash rate of 57%. The Storm Gear capitalises on the Gaia Blades resistance boost to provide descent coverage across the board, which I ultimately went with over the Spiked Armor and its Unleash increase.

The Spirit Gloves or War Gloves provide similar benefits. The Spirit Gloves boost Elemental Power which, in this case, serves to marginally boost the Gaia Blade's Titan Blade or Isaac's Ragnarok, though War Gloves can easily provide a similar boost depending on equipment distribution, with the difference being Attack focused over Elemental power focused. Depending on the build used by Garet however the Spirit Gloves may end up on him. Despite what I've already said my backup for Isaac was the Dragon Shield. Although it lacked Defence in comparison it gelled well with the various resistances present on his other equipment and aided his staying ability in the final boss battles.

Garet.

Garet proved the hardest to optimise as I had a few builds in mind, though some ultimately meant I was impacting the other characters should I pursue them, so these were dropped. I ended up slotting Garet into various roles.

Unlike Isaac who has the Gaia Blade and Warrior's Helm which nicely compliment his Venus-aligned nature, not to mention naturally high Attack, Garet is harder to optimise. Even Ivan and Mia have drops that seem specifically tailored for them, namely the Feathered Robe or Oracle's Robe, while the one piece seemingly tailored for Garet, the Muramasa, is cursed and thus requires the Cleric's Ring to use effectively.

The builds I ended up using for Garet called for no cursed gear as my Thunder Crown and Cleric's Ring was safely equipped on Ivan to reap the PP restoration.


 * Weapon: Kikuichimonji.
 * Head: Lucky Cap.
 * Arm: War Gloves or Spirit Gloves.
 * Body: Spiked Armor.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.
 * Shirt: Running Shirt.

The first layout I used cemented Garet's place as an attacker. It capitalises on Garet's natural defence stat; the Lucky Cap and Spiked Armor aren't the best defensive gear available to Garet, but his natural sturdiness alleviates this particular issue, giving him an Attack stat almost equal to Isaac. The Spiked Armor maximises Garet's physical attack whilst giving him an additional 6% Unleash rate increase. The Lucky Cap provides a small PP regeneration of +2 PP per turn and an 8% Unleash rate increase. Coupled with the 12% Unleash rate increase from the Hyper Boots and Garet achieves the second highest Unleash rate of 61%. The Kikuichimonji's Unleash, Asura, has an additional chance to ignore 50% of the targets Defence stat, which is ultimately why this build doesn't call for cursed gear. The cursed weapons can inflict Haunting, Poison, or Venom to a target, but this isn't always guaranteed, just like Asura's affect isn't guaranteed either. My preferred build.

The gloves are interchangeable really. Both provide helpful benefits though I'd have to say the War Gloves are my usual choice, if only because the Spirit Gloves end up going to Isaac to boost his Venus power. Asura converts all damage to Jupiter damage and attacks with an additional 64 attack points. It also has a chance of ignoring 50% of the target's Defense, increasing the amount of damage done. The Jupiter damage is boosted by the Spirit Gloves, though the War Gloves boost Attack regardless. So, up to player preference, really. I ultimately went with the War Gloves and left the Spirit Gloves in Isaac's hands.


 * Weapon: Righteous Mace.
 * Head: Lucky Cap.
 * Arm: War Gloves.
 * Body: Asura's Armor.
 * Boots: Quick Boots.
 * Shirt: Running Shirt.

The second build cements Garet as a supporter and debuffer rather than a secondary attacker. It emphasises Garet's natural durability whilst addressing his lower speed. He has the highest HP regeneration possible at +11 per turn and likewise enjoys a PP restoration of +2 per turn. Asura's Armor also boosts strength and whilst the Righteous Mace is far from the strongest weapon available to Garet it does contribute to his HP restoration, and this build doesn't focus on attack at any rate. In this build the Lucky Cap is used more for its PP restoration than its Unleash boost of 8%. Supplementary affects and negative enemy affects, such as Protect and Debilitate, cost only 5 and 6 PP respectively to cast. His expensive multi-target Psynergy are also usable in this build due to the slight PP restoration helping to alleviate his poor PP and when PP does become an issue, the Djinn Ember is readily available for use. Despite not being my main build I have used it on occasion.

Ivan.

Nowhere near as difficult as Garet.


 * Weapon: Swift Sword.
 * Head: Thunder Crown.
 * Arm: Virtuous Armlet.
 * Body: Feathered Robe.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.
 * Shirt: Mythril Shirt.
 * Ring: Cleric's Ring.

This layout maximises Ivan's Jupiter power with a total bonus of +40. His Unleash rate rests at 47%, should he be used for physical attacks, and he is granted a PP recovery rate of 4 PP per turn. I use this build for multi-target attacks, which is why Ivan got the Thunder Crown in the end. He can get both higher PP restoration and better weapon damage but this would mean sacrificing his Jupiter power.

Mia.

Easiest build ever.


 * Weapon: Blessed Mace.
 * Head: Mythril Circlet.
 * Arm: Spirit Armlet.
 * Body: Feathered Robe.
 * Boots: Quick Boots.
 * Shirt. Running Shirt.

This layout provides a simultaneous HP and PP recovery of 2 and 3 respectively, whilst maximising her Mercury power. Pure healing build. Wish Well costs 10 PP per cast and if PP should ever become an issue during battle then Garet can alleviate it with Ember. Mia's low speed is addressed as well, which enables her to act before most opponents to heal the team to full.

Golden Sun: The Lost Age
The builds in The Lost Age are fairly simple -- increase the Unleash rate to ridiculous degrees for the Warrior-style Adepts and raise Elemental power and PP restoration for the Mage-style Adepts. Nowhere near as complicated as some of the builds possible in the original Golden Sun and this boils down to greater equipment options. Various monster drops -- and RNG manipulation -- allows for multiples of certain items to be easily obtained, such as the Unleash-boosting Myhtril gear or the PP restoring Psychic Circlets. Expect a lot of repetition.

My standard parties are as the game usually dictates; Felix, Jenna, Sheba and Piers in party one, followed by Isaac, Garet, Ivan and Mia in party two.

Felix.
 * Weapon: Sol Blade.
 * Head: Warrior's Helm.
 * Arm: Riot Gloves.
 * Body: Valkyrie Mail.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.

This layout gives Felix a 97% chance of Unleashing the powerful Sol Blade whilst providing a Venus power of 159. The ridiculous damage of the Sol Blade's Unleash trumps any other build. This build could actually achieve an Unleash rate of 99% with a Mythril Helm replacing the Warrior's Helm. Given that you only lose 2% with the Warrior's Helm, but gain an additional 10 Venus power, I ultimately went with the Warrior's Helm for a little extra power.

Jenna.

I've actually used two sets for Jenna. Given her Attack she can reliably serve as a damage-dealer, though I tend to relegate her to healing thanks to her Aura series.


 * Weapon: Atropos' Rod.
 * Head: Psychic Circlet.
 * Gloves: Big Bang Gloves.
 * Body: Ardagh Robe.
 * Boots: Dragon Boots.
 * Miscellaneous: Trident.

This layout maximises Jenna's Mars power and Mars resistance whilst providing a PP recovery rate of 12 PP per turn. Pure healer/multi-target damage dealer. Cool Aura costs only 4 PP per use and has a healing power of 400. The Atropos' Rod itself has an Unleash rate of 40% and Jenna's Mars power ensures this is reliably boosted should she be used for physical attacks, assuming the Unleash doesn't outright Down the opposing enemy.


 * Weapon: Atropos' Rod or Tisiphone Edge.
 * Head: Demon Circlet.
 * Gloves: Riot Gloves.
 * Body: Iris Robe.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.
 * Ring: Cleric's Ring.
 * Miscellaneous: Trident.

This layout is a mixture of healing and Unleash. It has the same PP regeneration as the first build listed, which sits at 12 PP per turn, and a sizeable Luck boost. Given that the Astropos' Rod has an Unleash rate of 40% this build yields a total Unleash rate of 87%. That's more than a 4/5 shot of hitting with an Unleash that has the chance to outright kill the target. Perfect for random battles. Should the Tisiphone Edge be used instead then she still has an Unleash rate of 82%, though the subsequent Unleash has a chance to triple the damage. The Iris Robe is chosen in the event healing is required but a set of Mythril Clothes will yield, depending on the weapon, an Unleash rate between 97% and 102%. Too powerful to ignore.

Sheba.


 * Weapon: Lachesis' Rule.
 * Head: Psychic Circlet.
 * Arm: Leda's Bracelet.
 * Body: Feathered Robe.
 * Boots: Dragon Boots.

This layout almost maximises Sheba's Jupiter power and Jupiter resistance whilst providing a PP recovery rate of 12 PP per turn. Pure damage-dealer/support. High Impact and Resist costs nothing to cast. Lachesis' Rule itself has an Unleash rate of 40% and Sheba's Jupiter power ensures this is reliably boosted should she be used for physical attacks.

Piers.


 * Weapon: Masamune.
 * Head: Mythril Helm.
 * Arm: Riot Gloves.
 * Body: Erinyes Tunic, Mythril Clothes or Triton's Ward.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.

Piers, alongside Garet, proved the biggest challenge in terms of optimising gear. This layout provides an Unleash rate of 94% whilst providing a slight boost to Attack. Designed to maximise the Unleash of the Masamune, which instead of possessing a 35% Unleash rate has the higher rate of 40%, whilst taking advantage of Piers' natural Mercury power. If the Triton's Ward is taken over the Erinyes Tunic a further boost of +30 to Mercury power can be achieved, though this lowers the Unleash rate to 84% and slightly reduces Attack. With the Mythril Clothes the Unleash rate can be pushed to 99%. Ultimately I went with the Enrinyes Tunic due to the extra attack boost, even considering the lesser Unleash rate. A higher degree of damage can be achieved should the Excalibur or Tisiphone Edge be equipped instead, but these are Jupiter and Venus-based respectively. The Masamune can reliably double the damage usually caused and is more easily supported by Piers' Mercury nature, hence why it was ultimately taken over the other potential weapons despite the smaller damage ceiling.

Isaac.


 * Weapon: Sol Blade -- second copy gained via a glitch.
 * Head: Mythril Helm.
 * Arm: Riot Gloves.
 * Body: Mythril Clothes.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.

This layout provides an Unleash rate of 94% from the powerful Sol Blade. Just like with Felix the Sol Blade's Unleash can't be beaten.

Garet.


 * Weapon: Excalibur or Tisiphone Edge.
 * Head: Mythril Helm.
 * Arm: Riot Gloves.
 * Body: Mythril Clothes.
 * Boots: Hyper Boots.

Garet, alongside Piers, proved the most challenging to optimise. Just like the original! This boiled down mainly to the absence of Mars-based Unleashes that matched those that outright triple the resultant damage. This layout provides an Unleash rate of 94% regardless of the weapon chosen. Despite the Excalibur and Tisiphone Edge being Jupiter and Venus-based respectively, the damage of their Unleash should the 3x effect kick-in far outstrips any weapon Garet can equip otherwise. Piers, at least, has the Mercury-focused Masamune. The strongest Mars-based Unleashes are from the Levatine and Fire Brand and whilst the Levatine may ignore 50% of the targets Defence the suggested weapons still outclass it damage-wise. Ultimately I found the Excalibur more useful. Late-game most of the enemies fought have a distinct weakness to the Jupiter element, thus ensuring even more damage from its Legend Unleash.

Ivan.


 * Weapon: Swift Sword.
 * Head: Psychic Circlet.
 * Arm: Leda's Bracelet.
 * Body: Feathered Robe.
 * Boots: Dragon Boots.

Identical to Sheba with the sole difference being the weapon, Swift Sword, which allows Ivan to maximise his Jupiter power. Provides a PP recovery rate of 12 PP per turn. Pure damage-dealer/support. High Impact and Resist costs nothing to cast.

Mia.


 * Weapon: Righteous Mace.
 * Head: Psychic Circlet.
 * Arm: Clear Bracelet.
 * Body: Triton's Ward.
 * Boots: Dragon Boots.

This layout maximises Mia's Mercury power and resistance whilst providing a PP recovery rate of 12 PP per turn. Pure healer. Wish Well is usually enough to cover one's healing needs and with the above layout it only costs 1 PP per cast and has a healing power of 320. Pure Wish, however, will only cost 8 PP per use and will have a healing power of 800. The Clear Bracelet lacks Defense but in this case what it brings in terms of Mercury power more than makes up the deficit in terms of HP restored per-cast. There are other weapons Mia could equip but since she won't be attacking, and thus Attack rating has to meaning, the 3 HP it gives her each turn is the more desirable option.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
There was more than simple changes to the Unleash system with the release of Dark Dawn. Certain equipment that was next to useless in Golden Sun and The Lost Age are usable in Dark Dawn. The downside? You can't abuse RNG to guarantee drops.

My builds in Dark Dawn tend to focus on all-around bonuses whilst considering the following party: Matthew, Karis, Tyrell and Amiti. My backup party is Eoleo, Sveta, Himi and Rief.

The equipment draw ended up being more similar to the original Golden Sun than The Lost Age. This allowed for more strategic uses beyond the "max Unleash rate" approach predominately used in The Lost Age.

Matthew.


 * Weapon: Sol Blade.
 * Body: Berserker Mail.
 * Arm: Air Bangle.
 * Head: Gloria Helm.
 * Feet: Knight's Greave.
 * Ring: Lord Sun's Ring.

Pure physical attacker. The Gloria Helm provides solid Defence whilst providing an HP restoration of +10 HP per turn.

This build gives Matthew a 67% Unleash rate whilst recognizing his high natural Attack stat. Megiddo is sufficiently boosted by Matthew's own Venus power. Two of the Unleashes, namely Centurion and Radiant Fire, can ignore 50% of the target's Defence stat. Centurion -- which otherwise is only found as the strongest Unleash of the Phaeton's Blade and Levatine -- is a Jupiter-aligned attack equal to the user's normal physical attack multiplied by 2.4. The Air Bangle further boosts this Unleash. Radiant Fire, meanwhile, can hit 3 targets simultaneously. The only Unleash not supported by this build is Purgatory.

Tyrell.

Unlike Garet, who has no reliably powerful Mars-based Unleashes, Tyrell does not have this issue.


 * Weapon: Levatine.
 * Body: Mythril Clothes.
 * Arm: Aegis Shield.
 * Head: Gloria Helm.
 * Feet: Hover Greave.
 * Ring: Zol Ring.

Pure physical attacker. The Gloria Helm provides solid Defence whilst providing an HP restoration of +10 HP per turn whilst his Agility is addressed. Expect Tyrell to act ahead of almost everyone.

This build gives Tyrell a 60% Unleash rate. Given the Levatine has only three possible Unleashes to choose from -- two having the effect of potentially ignoring 50% of the targets Defence -- the chances of scoring a powerful Unleash are higher than some other "ultimate" weapons.

Karis.


 * Weapon: Verdant Sword.
 * Body: Mysterious Robe.
 * Arm: Air Bangle.
 * Head: Jeweled Crown.
 * Feet: Ninja Sandals.
 * Ring: Lady Moon's Ring.

Karis is a pure healer. Her Jupiter power sits at 179 and her three non-Jupiter resistances are between 95-100. Healing Gust costs only 4 PP and her Mysterious Robe provides a sizeable HP restoration of +20 as well as a PP restoration of +10 per turn. As far as physical attacks are concerned she has a 50% chance to Unleash, with all the Verdant Sword's Unleashes being considered Jupiter considering its a Pure-element Weapon aligned with Jupiter.

Amiti.


 * Weapon: Sagittarius Bow.
 * Body: Triton's Ward.
 * Arm: Mythril Armlet.
 * Head: Demon Circlet.
 * Feet: Leather Boots.
 * Ring: Cleric's Ring.

Damage-dealer. Amiti has a 60% Unleash rate, all of which offer solid damage multipliers. The strongest of these Unleashes, the Mercury-based Blue Comet, is further enhanced by the Triton's Ward. Mercury power sits as 179. Amiti is the recipient of the sole Cleric's Ring and thus uses the Demon Circlet and Mythril Armlet to enhance his Unleash rate. This doesn't effect Sveta overly much and allows Amiti to equip the Triton's Ward to increase his elemental power.

Eoleo.


 * Weapon: Herculean Axe.
 * Body: Mythril Clothes.
 * Arm: Big Bang Gloves.
 * Head: Warrior's Helm.
 * Feet: Silver Greave.
 * Ring: Zol Ring.

Damage-dealer. Eoleo has a 60% Unleash rate and a +4 boost to Luck. Three of the Unleashes are Mars-based which are boosted doubly by Eoleo's natural Mars power and the +40 boost to Mars power from the Big Bang Gloves. The Warrior's Helm is used to support the remaining Unleash, which is Venus-based, whilst boosting the Unleash rate.

Sveta.

I'm ignoring final dungeon exploration as far as Sveta is concerned in regard to this build.


 * Weapon: Anpsi Knuckles or Mythril Claw.
 * Body: Mythril Clothes.
 * Arm: Big Bang Gloves.
 * Head: Lucky Cap.
 * Feet: Leather Boots.
 * Ring: Zol Ring.

Sveta has the fewest possible pool of equipment to draw from. Her only available pieces are those that can be equipped by everyone.

The above provides a 58% Unleash rate. The Anpsi Knuckles sport two Mars based Unleashes, which are reliably boosted by the Big Bang Gloves. Slight PP restoration to back up her single-target healing. The third Unleash, despite being Venus-based, heals Sveta should she land it. The Mythril Claw, however, is a solid competitor. Although slightly weaker it sports only two Unleashes; the first is Jupiter-based with a 1.5x damage multiplier and boosted by her own high Jupiter power, whilst the second is Mercury-based with a 2.1x damage multiplier. Both Unleashes also have a 50% chance to ignore the target's Defence stat.

Himi.


 * Weapon: Tisiphone Edge.
 * Body: Magical Cassock.
 * Arm: Spirit Armlet.
 * Head: Mythril Circlet.
 * Feet: Leather Boots.
 * Ring: Zol Ring.

Himi has a PP restoration of +5 per turn. Given her high PP levels this isn't a problem when casting Psynergy is concerned, and why the Iris Robe and Mysterious Robe have been equipped elsewhere. The Spirit Armlet, however, boosts Venus power by 10, and is the only Venus-boosting piece of equipment that Himi can equip -- the other three pieces include the Gaia Blade, Planet Armor and Warrior's Helm, none of which Himi can equip. For random battles, however, I prefer a Mythril Armlet to boost her Unleash rate to 45%.

Rief.


 * Weapon: Vajra Mace.
 * Body: Iris Robe.
 * Arm: Mythril Armlet.
 * Head: Alastor's Hood.
 * Feet: Leather Boots.
 * Ring: Heirloom Ring.

Healing build. He's got nothing on his mother. Rief can't max his Mercury power without impacting Amiti's damage potential or reducing Himi's Venus power, but his Wish Well costs only 1 PP to cast. Pure Wish costs only 8 PP. Best healer in the game. His weapon is chosen for Attack -- in Boss battles he won't need it. There are no weapons in Dark Dawn that provide HP restoration as there is in Golden Sun and The Lost Age hence why his weapon boils down purely to player preference.