Might and Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven (PC) written by: Thomas A Complete FAQ on how to Fight Q Version 1.0 FAQ Began 7/1/2003 Might and Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven: Fighting Q FAQ. Chapters: I: Introductions II: Why this FAQ III: General FAQs IV: Getting started V: Getting to Q VI: Fighting Q VII: Those darn chests VIII: Thanks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Introduction Welcome to my Might and Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven FAQ on how to kill the enemy Q. I hope this guide will serve some purpose in help for any of you that happens to be stuck at this optional side-"boss". Please bear with my lack of knowledge of ASCII to make this look like a fancy-type FAQ. Chapter 2: Why this FAQ? I wrote this FAQ for a few reasons. One, I had such a hard time trying to fight this guy the first time out. Two, there didn't seem to be any FAQs on just him. Three, and more importantly, I knew how much of a pain this guy was and if I had that much problems with him, so many other people did also. Chapter 3: General FAQs Q: Who is Q? A: Q is an inside joke that the creator's of Might and Magic VI put in. They love them some Star Trek and as you can see if you've played the game at any length, they put a TON of Star Trek References in this game. To get back to the question though, Q is one of the toughest characters to fight in the game and one of the longest battles you'll ever fight. Q: He keeps saying something like.. "DIE!", What does it mean? A: Whenever you hear anyone scream "DIE!", it means that they have cast Finger of Death. Very very nasty spell. If it works, you're Eradicated. Q: He's that tough? A: To coin a phrase from Good ol' J.R., "That man is tougher than a $2 steak." Actually, he can be down right a pain in the arse. But if you follow my guide, he's a pansy. Q: You had to do that to beat him? Ha! What a wuss, I did it head on! A: Good for you. I hope you enjoyed the wasted potions and lengthyness of your battle. Q: I beat him! However, all I got was this stupid horn? A: Ahhh yes! The Horn of Ros! The strategy guide lists it as "A horn that doesn't seem to work". It works, alright. It shows you the numerical HP remaining when you view an enemy's health bar. Very useful! Q: I try to open the chests, but I take massive damage. Why? A: It'll be explained below. Patience, young one. Chapter 4: Getting started. Before you go trekking off to fight Q, there's some things you need in order to beat him with the least amount of problem: A: Be at a level to where you can finish off the rest of the Temple of the Snake before going in search for him. The last thing you need to worry about is having some Medusa follow you and then you'll have to fight off both Q and the Medusa. I gain levels alot in RPGs, I don't think I went through the Temple of the Snake any earlier than level 30-35 to start with, but I also didn't fight Q until I was about level 60+ (the first time, because I didn't know he was around at that time). I suggest maybe going after Q when you get level 30-ish, but you can do it whenever really, just as long as you are strong enough to clear the temple. B: Have at least Expert in Spirit Magic and the spells, Heroism and Bless. They increase the damage and the chance you have of hitting him. Ring of Fire is another useful spell to have. C: If it's possible, try to have the best elemental enchanted weapons you can find. Of Thunderbolts and Of Inferno are some of the better ones to use. Of the Dragon also does wonders, giving you not only Fire damage, but also adds to your strength. Also, make it a note to try to have a mastery in the Dagger skill with all who can learn it. With Dagger mastered, you have a chance to do triple damage. Always a good thing when fighting hard enemies. *note: You don't NEED to use Ring of Fire for this battle, but it helps sometimes. Chapter 5: Getting to Q. Chances are you've cleaned the Temple of Snake out, but you still see that your stones are yellow. (Aware that there's still something there) Everynow and then you hear the phrase "DIE" when you cross a certain path. If you haven't cleared this place yet, then clear it out first before attempting to fight Q. I'll explain how to get there using both methods. *note: I will not list the enemies along the way, so always be prepared! Not Cleared: Turn the corner, then the next corner. You'll come across a "slow" trap on this hallway. Turn right and then when you get to the intersection at the other end of the room, turn left. Go around the corner, down the hallway past the first nook on the right. Turn left into the big area with a door. There should be a switch on the left side of the wall for it. Press it and go through the door. Turn to the right and go down that hallway into the big area. When entering here (and after clearing out the enemies around) you should hear the phrase, "DIE!" a few times. Search the entire east wall until a secret door opens. Now, allow me to walk the others who HAVE cleared this place first to the room, and then I'll hold both of your hands and walk you through this. I'll be back, I promise! Cleared the Temple: Take the left turn at the entrance. Go down the hallway and down the Elevator. Go straight down this hallway until you enter the big area at the far end. Search the east wall until the secret door opens. Man, that was easy! Well, here's the hard part coming right up... Chapter 6: Fighting Q. How would you like it if I told you you could fight Q, without taking one hit? You'd love it right? I knew you would. Before entering this room, take the time to cast all the protection spells you can. Mainly Bless and Heroism. Also, equip your best weapons for this fight. Now here's the tricky part. Q is behind the wall to your left. You have to lure him to the edge of the wall, but be far enough "inside" to where his spells hit the wall. Sound complicated? It can be, but it's really not. Get to where you're "peeking" around the corner. (Try looking at an angle and then edging your way to the corner until you can see him.) If he casts a spell and it hits the wall but not you AND you can physically hit him "through" the wall, you've got it made. STAY IN THAT POSITION! Q NEVER physically attacks you, which is a good thing. Now unload on him. He'll continue to cast Finger of Death and other spells at you, but because you're behind the saftey of the wall, they'll not have any effect on you. This is a long battle, as Q has a LOT of hit points. I don't know how many exactly, but I believe it to be around 50,000 or more. (Although it could be 10,000) I fought him for about 25-30+ minutes. Keep recasting Heroism and Bless as needed. Also if your characters become weak, cure that. Q will NEVER move also, as he is Suicidal. So you don't have to worry about him running away and then zapping you with any Eradication spell. Keep attacking until he falls. Your reward? The Horn of Ros. *note: The reason I don't know how many HP Q has, is that I've not seen the Temple regenerate after beating Q. Although, that may just be MY game, as for every time you start a new game, the internal clock is set which randomly inserts when places regenerate. Which is usually 6 months to a year in game time. Chapter 7: Those darn chests. You may have noticed some chests laying around. Well, before you go out and open them right up, take this in mind. These are extremely trapped chests. In the end you may wonder if it's worth it at all. It could be, but only if you're into getting 100% of the game completed. If you're hell bent on getting these chests, follow these important guidelines: A. SAVE YOUR GAME!! This is really important. Save it, now. Mainly because you don't want to die and fight Q all over again. It's not that he's hard, it's just the fact that it's annoying. B. Try to have Mastery in Disarm Trap and have everyone have Mastery in Perception. I am not sure if you can successfully disarm these chests, as I've never had any success in doing so, but I guess it can be done. The Mastery in Perception is because I *have* had one or two people dodge the trap when it went off. C. Heal AND save after you open each chest. These are not some lightweight traps. They are nasty and they mean business. I've had people with HP of close to 1,000 get knocked down to the yellow when opening these. Your reward for getting these open? High spell level Dragon Claw Wands. Not many charges to them at all. After you open them, you'll then try to entertain the thought of wethere or not it was worth this trouble to get the chests. viii: Thanks for taking the time ro read my FAQ. If you have any questions, I can be reached at: shadowdagg@yahoo.com. I hope it was of much help and understanding to you all. please do not steal this FAQ. AXE ME FIRST!! I'll more than likely give you permission, but you know, it's just nice to ask. Might and Magic is a trademark of New World Computing and Mandate of Heaven is a trademark of NWC and 3DO. (C) 1998