nightmaresfear: (pic#4993541)
Riku ([personal profile] nightmaresfear) wrote in [community profile] revenance_comms2012-11-08 12:34 pm

second dawn - Dream Eater Guide

[Riku's sitting on a rooftop, the bright neon lights around indicating that he's in the Fifth District. Bram, his Komory Bat, is perched on his shoulder, wings folded.]

I've noticed a lot of people have questions about Dream Eaters. Since it seems like we're all gonna be stuck here for a while, I've tried to summarise what you should know about them. Sora's added some notes of his own, too. We've both got experience with handling them, and we figure you guys could use the extra help. [He reaches up and rubs Bram behind the ears, who gives a contented squeak and closes his eyes.]

I'm attaching a text post to this message, so if you need it, you should keep it on your communicators as a reference.



WHAT IS A DREAM EATER?

Dream Eaters are beings produced by darkness, who exist only in the dream world. They're split into two categories: Spirits, the friendly kind who help and protect us. They consume Nightmares and replace them with good dreams. Then there's the Nightmares, which are the opposite, eating good dreams and replacing them with bad.

It's easy to tell the difference between Spirits and Nightmares by their symbols:



[Riku's attached roughly-sketched pictures he drew himself. He's no artist by a long shot, but the symbols are recognisable enough.]

Spirits are brightly coloured, while Nightmares are usually dark colours, with red eyes, and will always attack on sight. If you can't protect yourself, raising your Dream Eaters to be strong enough to protect you instead should be your priority.

CARING FOR YOUR DREAM EATER

If you want your Spirits to grow strong, you'll need to look after them, just like pets. And just like pets, they need a lot of care and attention. That includes feeding them, playing with them, and petting them to keep them happy. The more they like you, the better they do in battle, so there's no reason to neglect them.

There's five types of food, and here's what I've noticed each one does:
Shield Cookies boost defence.
Confetti Candy boost strength.
Block-it Chocolate boosts magic defence.
Ice Dream Cone boosts magic.

Royal Cakes are the most rare, and you can't buy them from moogles, but they strengthen your Dream Eaters the most. You might find them scattered around the dream world.

Usually Spirits aren't picky and will eat anything. But, what to feed which Dream Eater should be common sense. Don't waste Confetti Candy on a Dream Eater that specialises in magical attacks, for instance.

(Sora's note: Spirits really can eat anything. Not just nightmares and the five sweets here. You can feed them sandwiches or noodles even. They might prefer the sweets though.)

Aside from food, the moogles also sell training toys, which make your Dream Eaters happy and strengthen them.
Balloons make them happy.
Water Barrels make them stronger. (Sora's note: The water barrel does help make them stronger, but I don't think they like it much.)
Treasure Goggles let you see treasure that might be lying out of sight to the naked eye. Just direct your Dream Eaters over to wherever it is, and they'll pick it up for you. (Outside of training toys, your Dream Eaters are still perceptive, and might find hidden passages and alcoves for you while you're exploring. Keep an eye out for any odd changes in their behaviour.)

You'll notice that when you pet your Spirits, sometimes their eyes might change colour. Don't worry about it being anything bad -- it just changes their dispositions, which means they'll behave differently in battle. They might be more aggressive and use lots of attacks, or they might fight smarter and use status effects. Or, they might focus on supporting you with boosts and healing. Try different things and see what works for you.

(Sora's note: They do like attention, but what they like and don't like depends on their disposition. Like a Komory Bat's eyes are green, they like it when you pet their ears, but not when you poke their ears. When its eyes are blue, it doesn't like it's ears being petted and doesn't seem to care about them being poked. All Spirits seem to like being painted, no matter what their disposition is, though.)

GETTING MORE DREAM EATERS

Some of you have figured this out by now, but sometimes when you defeat a Nightmare, it'll leave behind something called a "Dream Piece". If you gather enough of these and put them together, you can make new Dream Eaters. The more Pieces you put into one Spirit, the stronger it'll be -- so, you can stock up on Dream Pieces and have very few but very strong Spirits, or a lot of weaker ones to choose from. And if you experiment, sometimes you might get a different Dream Eater entirely to the one you expected to make. It's all down to chance.

An advantage to having lots of Dream Eaters is that you can choose from them strategically, because each has its strengths and weaknesses. For instance, my Komory Bat is darkness-aligned, and it can give me boosts to drain my opponents' strength and make me attack faster. Or, it can confuse enemy Nightmares and make them attack each other, or send them to sleep. The downside is that while it's strong against darkness, light-based attacks are its weak point. Another good example are Hebby Repps: they use fire and are strong against it, but they're weak against ice, and especially against water. Don't send your Dream Eaters up against the wrong kind of Nightmare if you think they can't handle it.

If your Dream Eater is defeated and you can't rescue it in time, it'll split back into Dream Pieces and you'll have to create a new Spirit from scratch. So be careful and make sure you keep an eye on them in battle and keep them healed. If you don't know healing, Potions from the moogles will do the trick.

So, I think that's everything. If you have more questions, just ask me or Sora, and we'll do our best to answer.
raisethemoon: (Do not go gentle)

[text]

[personal profile] raisethemoon 2012-11-08 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
So...Nightmares are not Spirits who have become corrupted somehow. Is this correct?
raisethemoon: (Default)

[text]

[personal profile] raisethemoon 2012-11-08 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well that's a load off her mind.]

Thank you. That was most helpful.

[It's a lot easier to use modern language when she actually has to stop and think about what buttons to push. Maybe she'll do this more often!]
raisethemoon: (Full of stars)

[text]

[personal profile] raisethemoon 2012-11-08 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
We shall indeed!

[All it takes is a little precision telekinesis. She only almost broke it once!]
skysmirror: (Almost there)

[personal profile] skysmirror 2012-11-08 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[After reading the text message, Xion looks between her two Spirits.]

So do Meow Wows and Hebby Reps like different treats?

[They seemed to use magic more than anything else, but one could never be sure.]
skysmirror: (Default)

[personal profile] skysmirror 2012-11-09 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Xion nods in confirmation. No worries, Riku, she's got that memorized.]

Thanks, I'll make sure to remember that.
colorbymemory: (Default)

[personal profile] colorbymemory 2012-11-08 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you, Riku.

So they like being painted?

[Why no, she doesn't have a very green Batty looking over her shoulder and a nearly all-blue Meow Wow named Spot trying to sniff at the communicator screen.]
colorbymemory: (Happy)

[personal profile] colorbymemory 2012-11-09 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Namine's smile is slightly sheepish, but only slightly so.]

The Moogle said that was what the paint was for, so I thought I'd try.
colorbymemory: (Default)

[personal profile] colorbymemory 2012-11-09 04:11 pm (UTC)(link)
If you decide you want to, I can help.

[Not totally PR for her little business; Namine genuinely likes helping with this sort of thing.
colorbymemory: (Default)

[personal profile] colorbymemory 2012-11-10 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
You're welcome.
unrecovered: (Let me think about that one)

[personal profile] unrecovered 2012-11-09 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
You know, this is probably the most useful post I've seen since I got here.

And seriously, what the hell is the water barrel? [Who knows, maybe he'll get an answer this time.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-09 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
You know, I'm... really not sure how it works.
allfunandgamesuntil: (Default)

[personal profile] allfunandgamesuntil 2012-11-09 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
Well, there's one way to find out. Wash, think we could get North to help out with that?
unrecovered: (Yeah and?)

Not Here

[personal profile] unrecovered 2012-11-09 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sorry, he's turned his communicator off and gone to obtain one for himself, just to see how it works. Because why not.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-09 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
We probably should have done this a lot sooner than we did.

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-09 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
This is true.

[For what's worth, Sora agrees with that. Something is odd. If they're really in the realm of dreams, where are the Spirits that helped them before?]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-10 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, this is backwards.

[He's amused now though. He needed that.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-11 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Okay. But just because one of us is being cheerful doesn't mean the other one has to be all grumpy or depressing.

[You know what he means, Riku.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-11 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[Insert mischievous grin here.]

Uptight? Dour?

[Yes, he's messing with you now, Riku.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-11 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Still a wise guy, though.

[He's just playing around anyway. That Riku's playing along is a good thing.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-11 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I do spend a lot of time with you.

[Best friends do these things to each other.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-13 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
You're not that much of a downer. Besides, you'd be off brooding somewhere if I let you.

[He would be poking you if this conversation was in person Riku.]

[personal profile] dork_of_keys 2012-11-16 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
Sometimes.

[Poking Riku is fun. Besides, Sora never had the best manners.]
brodakota: (Default)

[personal profile] brodakota 2012-11-09 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks. This is pretty handy.
brodakota: (Default)

[personal profile] brodakota 2012-11-12 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
Sounds like you've had lots of experience with these guys.
brodakota: (Looking right)

[personal profile] brodakota 2012-11-12 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
That's a bit disappointing, but who knows, maybe they'll show up.

So, is this your home world or something?
brodakota: (looking up)

[personal profile] brodakota 2012-11-16 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Can't say I've heard of it, sorry.

So, if the world's asleep, the people in it don't know? Are they asleep to?
brodakota: (Default)

[personal profile] brodakota 2012-11-17 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
So people are just trapped in a loop in a sleeping world?

And I kind of got that impression.