Paper Mario: TTYD Help - Spoilers?

[Java]

I finally collected all the Crystal Stars and I made it down to the Thousand Year Door.

The door opened of course and I made my way into the Palace of Shadow.

The problem is that I can barely make it through.
All the enemies do waaaaay too much damage and I end up losing all my HP by like the second room.

Any tips on getting through the Palace of Shadow?

[shadowmarioguy]

Let's see...  What level are you at?  How much HP, FP, and BP do you have?  We'll start from there.

[Sgt.Chilly]

Things I would recommend to help someone struggling with the last stage.

1st: Power leveling
There three places to grind plenty of experience while still being relatively close to a safe area.

1st and foremost: Glitzville or Glitztown (can't remember)

Unless you have to do something else first you should be allowed to have as many rematches with Rawk Hawk as you want here.  You can heal yourself in between fights without dropping a coin and you can equip yourself with badges like Zap tap and Defend up to help make the fights easier. Yoshi and I think Bobbery can deal out the most damage throughout the match.

2nd more dangerous: The Pit of 100 trials.

Although a lot of the First Wave enemies aren't particularly threatening the Pit teaches players two things.  How to ration healing items and how to make the most of the dodge and style commands.  This is a great place to memorize attack patterns, practice style moves, and make the most of your inventory.

3rd little tedious:  The Amazee Dayzee

This creature is only find in forest a little before the Ghost house and it has about only 12.5% chance of appearing.  You'll have to be quick, decisive, and merciless.  It'll sometimes have friends and sometimes it won't but be warned it's not just hard to kill, it's hard to defend against.  It's Lullaby attack is much stronger than it's non Amazee counterparts and it has greater chance of inducing sleep.  You need to end the fight as swiftly as possible to grab the massive pile of Exp they drop.  It also a habit of running way after 1st turn.  Put your badges into bolstering your attack and adding your strongest Tech.  Return to the Ghost House and save after every Amazee Dayzee battle.

[Sgt.Chilly]

2nd Character checks.

Make sure all your characters have filled out their Special attack lists.

If you have trouble finding the Shine Sprites there's a fortune teller in the Sewers who will tell where to look for nominal fee.

Get Ms. Mowz.  The owner of a Badge Shop with some rare and useful badges is an optional member of your party.
Her Item Stealing and Recovery abilities are not to be passed up.  You'll need to take on a sidequest from the Trouble/Worry Center by a client called "???".  Get to her shop, and get to work.  You'll need Flurrie to find the item Mowz seeks.

[Java]

I didn't know Paper Mario was so complicated.
I guess I'm just not used to RPG's.

The problem is, I'm not very good with managing items or using badges correctly.
I tend to rarely use badges, which is probably a downfall.

I'll get back to you on what level I'm at and the HP, FP, BP.

I've already gone through Glitzville once after I got the Crystal Star there. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

I've actually never done the Pit of 100 Trials. I guess I'll try that.

As for the characters, all of my partners have been leveled up and I already have Ms. Mowz.

[shadowmarioguy]

I didn't know Paper Mario was so complicated.
I guess I'm just not used to RPG's.

The problem is, I'm not very good with managing items or using badges correctly.
I tend to rarely use badges, which is probably a downfall.

I'll get back to you on what level I'm at and the HP, FP, BP.

I've already gone through Glitzville once after I got the Crystal Star there. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

I've actually never done the Pit of 100 Trials. I guess I'll try that.

As for the characters, all of my partners have been leveled up and I already have Ms. Mowz.

Good, going through Glitzville again MAY have helped a little bit, though the enemies that fight there aren't too tough.  If you want to really level up a bit, try the pit of 100 trials.  The only problem there is that if you lose against [spoiler]the boss at the bottom, Bonetail,[/spoiler]any leveling up you did in the pit of 100 trials will be lost.  If you want to be safe and are feeling patient, use the pipe to get back to the top once you get to floor 90, save, and go back down through the pit again to make sure you're extra prepared.  Chances are, if you're having trouble with the first enemies in the Shadow Palace, you'll have trouble with [spoiler]Bonetail[/spoiler].  If this is one of your first RPG's, I can understand how you might think the Shadow Palace is hard.  The trick is that if you have the right badges, FP consuming badges pretty much become almost useless.

I recommend using only badges that boost your stats.  Equip any Power Plus or Power Plus P badges immediately, even though they heavily consume BP, they increase your attack by 1 and cost no FP.  There are two of each of those badges, and can be traded for about 15 star pieces each.  If your BP isn't too high, I suggest focusing on bringing that up.  Here's what you should have equipped:

Power Plus (2)
Power Plus P (2)
HP Plus P
Jumpman (+1 for jump attacks, but you can't use your hammer)
Spike Shield (I forgot the name, I think that's it.  It's the badge that let's you jump on spikey enemies.  This way, you won't ever need your hammer)
Ice Power ( Only use this if you see a flaming enemy)
All or Nothing if you are good at timing.  You won't have it yet, though, as it's deep inside the Shadow Palace.

These badges cost a lot of BP, but are worth it.  If you don't know where to find any of them, ask me or look up a guide.  ;)

I'd be happy to help out with any questions you have.  PMTTYD is one of my favorite games of all time.  ;)

[Sgt.Chilly]

I didn't know Paper Mario was so complicated.
I guess I'm just not used to RPG's.

The problem is, I'm not very good with managing items or using badges correctly.
I tend to rarely use badges, which is probably a downfall.

Okay you are never allowed to play any RPG by Nippon Ichi Software.  If this was your approach to Paper Mario then playing thru Disgeae or Phantom Brave would torture

Good, going through Glitzville again MAY have helped a little bit, though the enemies that fight there aren't too tough.  If you want to really level up a bit, try the pit of 100 trials.  The only problem there is that if you lose against [spoiler]the boss at the bottom, Bonetail,[/spoiler]any leveling up you did in the pit of 100 trials will be lost.  If you want to be safe and are feeling patient, use the pipe to get back to the top once you get to floor 90, save, and go back down through the pit again to make sure you're extra prepared.  Chances are, if you're having trouble with the first enemies in the Shadow Palace, you'll have trouble with [spoiler]Bonetail[/spoiler].  If this is one of your first RPG's, I can understand how you might think the Shadow Palace is hard.  The trick is that if you have the right badges, FP consuming badges pretty much become almost useless.

I recommend using only badges that boost your stats.  Equip any Power Plus or Power Plus P badges immediately, even though they heavily consume BP, they increase your attack by 1 and cost no FP.  There are two of each of those badges, and can be traded for about 15 star pieces each.  If your BP isn't too high, I suggest focusing on bringing that up.  Here's what you should have equipped:

Power Plus (2)
Power Plus P (2)
HP Plus P
Jumpman (+1 for jump attacks, but you can't use your hammer)
Spike Shield (I forgot the name, I think that's it.  It's the badge that let's you jump on spikey enemies.  This way, you won't ever need your hammer)
Ice Power ( Only use this if you see a flaming enemy)
All or Nothing if you are good at timing.  You won't have it yet, though, as it's deep inside the Shadow Palace.

These badges cost a lot of BP, but are worth it.  If you don't know where to find any of them, ask me or look up a guide.  ;)

I'd be happy to help out with any questions you have.  PMTTYD is one of my favorite games of all time.  ;)

What he said is true but you can exit the pit of 100 trials every 10 floors if you're dangerouslly close to death.

Now badges I think you should at least have (Even if you aren't going to use them all the time) include:

Protective Badges: These will help you fight longer and stronger.  Invaluable in large dungeons

Power Plus
Power Plus P
HP Plus
FP Plus
Spike Shield
Zap Tap
Feeling Fine
Happpy Heart

Offensive Badges: These give Mario special techniques and if you have multiples of any be sure to equip all of them as they boost the base attack of that technique.  These badges should be used sparingly however. Pick one or two badges you know you'll use often and efectively and stick with those.

Quake Hammer
Power Smash
Ice Smash
Piercing Blow
Multi-Bounce
Power Jump
Shrink Stomp
Tornado Jump

Other Uses: These Badges have one of kind effects and there's usually only on of them.  These badges should be clipped on once you're satisfied with the your stats and techs.

Chill Out - Prevents enemies from getting a first strike
Refund - Get money after using items in battle
Super Appeal - Boosts Star Power gained
Pretty Lucky - Bolster's chance of a randomly dodging attacks

[JrDude]

Level up and patern what you raise in the HP, FP and BP, I always do it in that order.