Dying early and combining with no stat increases

[StraightWhiteMale]

Yo. Is this port broken or is it just me? I have played the original on the console for thousands of hours, I played thousands of hours on emulators over the years so I figure hey let me buy this on a whim on steam because I hate money and have too much free time sitting at my desk.and I noticed my MR1 monsters die EXTREMELY early, can't get anyone past 3 years 8 months without dying when I could get DINOs to live to almost 6 with ease prior to this. I have most monsters living to 2.5 to 3 tops. I also noticed that when I combine monsters there is no benefit of stat increases unlike playing it on an emulator or on the actual console. The only benefit I can find is that I can get any monster I want with the shrine now. I used to beat the game like it was nothing, now I find myself having to get to a certain rank, freeze that monster and only use it for certain battles so I can preserve their life.

[monsterfenrick]

MR2DX has the original Japanese lifespans (1999 English version had +100 weeks because of bugs that used up extra weeks). in MR2DX these bugs are not present, and when raising correctly, the original lifespans are hardly noticeable, if at all, when compared to the 1999 version with the extra 100 weeks.

**NOTE: If you are a PAL region player, "MR2 was released in PAL regions as just "MR" and never actually got MR1, so sometimes this can cause confusion as to which version of the game one is playing.

However, since you mentioned Dino, This sounds like you really are talking about MR1. MR1 doesn't have a different lifespan, it's the same lifespans and same mechanics between the original 1997 version and MR1DX.

Lifespans in MR1:
- Same mechanic and base lifespans. At the shrine, there is a chance to randomly get +0 to +100 extra weeks of lifespan per monster.
- The lowest Lifespan monsters in MR1 is baseline 200 weeks (before the shrine bonus, or lifespan extending items). Lowest lifespan: 4.1 to 6.25 years. Highest Lifespan: 6.25 to 8.3 years (with the full Shrine bonus)
- MEAT adds +1 week of lifespan. you should always be feeding meat to extend your monster's base lifespan by 25% when fed once per month over it's whole life.
- Monsters can be fed an infinite number of items per week, and can essentially be immortal with Gold Peach + Plant Egg, though just feeding only Meat as soon as possible is easily enough to beat the game and greatly extend your monster's lifespan.
- Every possible variant attainable from the Shrine in MR1DX is listed here: https://legendcup.com/faqmr1dxcdlist.php
- Raising tips here: https://legendcup.com/raisingmethodsmr1.php

Combining in MR1:
- Same mechanics apply between the original and DX. The process is known exactly how to get maximum stats for the combined parents. The Method and math are identical between games.
- You can read up on it here to see how to engineer your monsters for the best stat inheritance: https://legendcup.com/combocalc-mr1.php

Lifespans in MR2:
- If you're playing MR2 and just said "Dino" by accident instead of Zuum, then yes, be aware that MR2 does have a few whacky monster variants.
- there ARE some gimmick monsters with much lower than average lifespans, like the Prince Hare that starts with all 98 stats and only lives 98 weeks.
- Every possible Variant attainable from the Shrine in MR2 is listed here: https://legendcup.com/faqmr2dxcdlist.php

The original MR1&2 and DX versions are 100% solved. Mechanically, MR1DX functions identically to its 1997 counterpart (MR2DX has a few differences that change things up a bit though).

What went wrong for you? - I'd probably attribute your DX experience of low stat combo babies and of monsters dying early to:

1. Your memory is not as accurate as you thought and you simply got lucky with the Combining Lottery in the original game.
2. You've forgotten the importance of Taffy and Mint Leaf... even after several thousand hours of game play in the original game.
3. You played the original/emulated game with cheats keeping Stress/Fatigue always at 0, allowing you to bypass feeding Taffy/Mint for managing Stress or Fatigue to avoid additional lifespan hits, and never learned what these items do.
4. Something else

-- MR1DX plays functionally identical to MR1 1997 concerning Lifespans and Combining. There's something fundamentally different between what you were doing then versus what you're doing in DX now.

[Stray952]

Yeah it is definitely different. If you go to LegendCup online, they have different stats for the DX version than the console version. How different are they? Idk, but yeah I got a Gali from a disk and it died in like less than 2 years. I think my Zuums average about 3.5 even though I never work them to "seems tired" and treat with mint leaf. Their lifespan is supposed to be 450 weeks (~5 years)

I also find it hard to find a reason to combine my monsters. Even the combos in which the guy says it should work well rarely confer moves or more than ~100 total points over a starting monster.

Progress in this game is so obfuscated, it is hard to find a reason to play. There's nothing to really work for. You can pick up a monster at the market and train it to S class.... I haven't really found a Step 2 to that evolution. I can recombine my Zuum into a new monster that marginally benefits.... for some reason? The benefit is equivalent to a few weeks of training. My last one had been 4th generation combo of all monsters with over 700 STR... started with like 30 more STR. Its pointless unless you're going to ultra-meta game and savescum combos

[Gnasty Gnorc]

Originally posted by Stray952:

Yeah it is definitely different. If you go to LegendCup online, they have different stats for the DX version than the console version. How different are they? Idk, but yeah I got a Gali from a disk and it died in like less than 2 years. I think my Zuums average about 3.5 even though I never work them to "seems tired" and treat with mint leaf. Their lifespan is supposed to be 450 weeks (~5 years)

I also find it hard to find a reason to combine my monsters. Even the combos in which the guy says it should work well rarely confer moves or more than ~100 total points over a starting monster.

Progress in this game is so obfuscated, it is hard to find a reason to play. There's nothing to really work for. You can pick up a monster at the market and train it to S class.... I haven't really found a Step 2 to that evolution. I can recombine my Zuum into a new monster that marginally benefits.... for some reason? The benefit is equivalent to a few weeks of training. My last one had been 4th generation combo of all monsters with over 700 STR... started with like 30 more STR. Its pointless unless you're going to ultra-meta game and savescum combos

You literally just dont understand the game, my dude.

It's as simple as that lol.

[Stray952]

Originally posted by Havik:

Originally posted by Stray952:

Yeah it is definitely different. If you go to LegendCup online, they have different stats for the DX version than the console version. How different are they? Idk, but yeah I got a Gali from a disk and it died in like less than 2 years. I think my Zuums average about 3.5 even though I never work them to "seems tired" and treat with mint leaf. Their lifespan is supposed to be 450 weeks (~5 years)

I also find it hard to find a reason to combine my monsters. Even the combos in which the guy says it should work well rarely confer moves or more than ~100 total points over a starting monster.

Progress in this game is so obfuscated, it is hard to find a reason to play. There's nothing to really work for. You can pick up a monster at the market and train it to S class.... I haven't really found a Step 2 to that evolution. I can recombine my Zuum into a new monster that marginally benefits.... for some reason? The benefit is equivalent to a few weeks of training. My last one had been 4th generation combo of all monsters with over 700 STR... started with like 30 more STR. Its pointless unless you're going to ultra-meta game and savescum combos

You literally just dont understand the game, my dude.

It's as simple as that lol.

Weird because the guy above me states, as is common knowledge, that the lifespans changed between ports. I cited LegendCup but yup, i'm just making that all up. I'm going to see how many times a day I can get you to post some weird toxic aggressive ♥♥♥♥ on this forum. I'm pretty sure you'll show up if I literally say anything.

[Gnasty Gnorc]

Originally posted by Stray952:

Yeah it is definitely different. If you go to LegendCup online, they have different stats for the DX version than the console version. How different are they? Idk, but yeah I got a Gali from a disk and it died in like less than 2 years. I think my Zuums average about 3.5 even though I never work them to "seems tired" and treat with mint leaf. Their lifespan is supposed to be 450 weeks (~5 years)

I also find it hard to find a reason to combine my monsters. Even the combos in which the guy says it should work well rarely confer moves or more than ~100 total points over a starting monster.

Progress in this game is so obfuscated, it is hard to find a reason to play. There's nothing to really work for. You can pick up a monster at the market and train it to S class.... I haven't really found a Step 2 to that evolution. I can recombine my Zuum into a new monster that marginally benefits.... for some reason? The benefit is equivalent to a few weeks of training. My last one had been 4th generation combo of all monsters with over 700 STR... started with like 30 more STR. Its pointless unless you're going to ultra-meta game and savescum combos

Never said you made that specific thing up, but okay. I’m also not being toxic whatsoever, lmao. You’re over here slamming the game because you refuse to understand any of the mechanics, despite over 20 years of people gathering and posting their information on the game.

[Dragon Crisis Core]

My only ps monster rancher game was 4 on the ps2 i think there was a few on gameboy cant say for certain but yeah the monster lifespan was a sticker shock (so to speak) when i came back to this game. It just felt wrong and worse could not find a viable cheat for lifespan.

[monsterfenrick]

Originally posted by Dragon Crisis Core:

My only ps monster rancher game was 4 on the ps2 i think there was a few on gameboy cant say for certain but yeah the monster lifespan was a sticker shock (so to speak) when i came back to this game. It just felt wrong and worse could not find a viable cheat for lifespan.

You don’t need to cheat lifespan. You just need money to raise it properly with the right items along with the right drills.

With a proper raising schedule you can max out 3 to 5 stats fairly easily (depends on the monster’s gains) and certainly enough to beat the single player mode with. If you plan ahead for fusion you can start out with a massive advantage.

There’s a lot mentioned in this post that can help you. If you’re gonna cheat, cheat your money and read up on the raising/feeding schedules you can use (they differ per game) https://legendcup.com/faqsite.php

[Legion]

I do remember lifespans being a bit wonky when I was younger. Funnily enough, I had a disc that gave me 999 on all stats for a basic Seuzo. I attributed it to a glitch when I was younger as it would flat out die the day after I summoned it ever.single.damn.time. It's mostly just learning, and yeah things are going to be wonk at times :/ which is not a good feeling but it exists.

Kind of hope they do a remaster of 3 and 4 soon.

[monsterfenrick]

Originally posted by Legion:

I do remember lifespans being a bit wonky when I was younger. Funnily enough, I had a disc that gave me 999 on all stats for a basic Seuzo. I attributed it to a glitch when I was younger as it would flat out die the day after I summoned it ever.single.damn.time. It's mostly just learning, and yeah things are going to be wonk at times :/ which is not a good feeling but it exists.

Kind of hope they do a remaster of 3 and 4 soon.

This is a Sueki Suezo.
In the original game, this was generated using the Monster Rancher 1 disk. (unless you are in PAL region, which didn't have Monster Rancher 1, PAL region had some alternate title that would make it). In DX though, there are hundreds of entries that can make Sueki Suezo, and it's fairly easy to come across using the Random button at the shrine.

Sueki Suezo is great for making early game money since it can quite easily beat E and D class tournaments. Also it can usually beat the Free for All tourneys that yield 5k gold (Most difficult thing is Loyalty is 0 so it gets confused a lot).

Additionally, three monster unlocks require a death to occur. Sueki Suezo is a great use to trigger these events, since you won't have to sacrifice a monster where you committed a lot of time and money.

[Dragon Crisis Core]

Originally posted by monsterfenrick:

Originally posted by Dragon Crisis Core:

My only ps monster rancher game was 4 on the ps2 i think there was a few on gameboy cant say for certain but yeah the monster lifespan was a sticker shock (so to speak) when i came back to this game. It just felt wrong and worse could not find a viable cheat for lifespan.

You don’t need to cheat lifespan. You just need money to raise it properly with the right items along with the right drills.

With a proper raising schedule you can max out 3 to 5 stats fairly easily (depends on the monster’s gains) and certainly enough to beat the single player mode with. If you plan ahead for fusion you can start out with a massive advantage.

There’s a lot mentioned in this post that can help you. If you’re gonna cheat, cheat your money and read up on the raising/feeding schedules you can use (they differ per game) https://legendcup.com/faqsite.php

I usually play random shrine for the challenge, but my last game started with some crazy monster that you could feed candy, tablet, or meat every week and it would still slim down. The reason I want to cheat lifespan is the fact i feel like they put no thought into the lifespan of monsters, even the shortest lifespan expectancy of a dog breed is 5-6 years.

[monsterfenrick]

Originally posted by Dragon Crisis Core:

I usually play random shrine for the challenge, but my last game started with some crazy monster that you could feed candy, tablet, or meat every week and it would still slim down. The reason I want to cheat lifespan is the fact i feel like they put no thought into the lifespan of monsters, even the shortest lifespan expectancy of a dog breed is 5-6 years.

Almost everything in this statement indicates you're not aware of how the game mechanics work. In all honesty this is fine, however, the game is 100% solved, both the original and DX's changes. There are no mystery monsters that do weird and unexpected things, or items that behave differently somehow outside of their set attributes. Your experience can be explained (if you had a recording of what you were doing or weekly document etc.)

Maybe you're intentionally playing blind and/or remembering old or incorrect data etc. -- this can be a fun/challenging way to play because once you know how things work, its very difficult to forget it, and the game is played as a math problem rather than a pet sim.

There's cheats for the game, if that's your thing too, but it's not necessary is all i'm saying. You can raise a massively strong monster as a first generation with just a little bit of knowledge and specific feeding and drill schedules.

As far as thought, there's a formula for cross breeds of monsters. there's thought put into it. mixed baseline breeds get 60% of their Main Breed's base lifespan + 40% of their Sub Breed's lifespan, for example. However, DX also has monster variants where a given Pure breed (or mixed breed) has several different versions of itself that can have key differences from their original 1999 baselines, such as different Guts regen, largely different lifespan, starting attacks, nature and so on. (More than just "slightly different stat offsets")

[Erikune]

As someone who casually played the games back on the PS1, I seem to recall 3-4 years being pretty typical for a monster lifespan. It would be shorter if the monster was constantly going on the month-long training sessions and doing hard work, and I only had a monster live up to 7 years old due to it being a longer lived breed, having most of its moves at birth (so no extended training) and by feeding it peaches. Note that I wasn't using Mint Leaves and other items to manage stress, and was just using 3x work + rest routines.

Having a MR1 Dino live to 6 years is pretty exceptional, as unless you had a specific strategy for doing so I would not expect it to happen regularly. The current experience you describe is pretty much what I'm familiar with and what I've heard other people describe: Raise a monster up to B- or A-rank, freeze them, combine, and push further. Being able to grab a starting monster and clear all of S-rank from a new game sounds pretty exceptional, not something I would expect without some very specific planning ahead of time. It sounds like you might've ran across a modified rom that you were emulating to make the monster raising easier.

As others have said, MR1 and MR2 are both solved games. All the mechanics have been taken apart pretty thoroughly over at Legend Cup, and I'm sure they can go over exactly what would need to be done to beat the game that easily. None of the Monster Rancher games were ones where you were intended to just pick them up and clear S-rank with any starting monster; There was definitely an intent to make the raising and breeding very important to that success.

[Legion]

Originally posted by monsterfenrick:

Originally posted by Legion:

I do remember lifespans being a bit wonky when I was younger. Funnily enough, I had a disc that gave me 999 on all stats for a basic Seuzo. I attributed it to a glitch when I was younger as it would flat out die the day after I summoned it ever.single.damn.time. It's mostly just learning, and yeah things are going to be wonk at times :/ which is not a good feeling but it exists.

Kind of hope they do a remaster of 3 and 4 soon.

This is a Sueki Suezo.
In the original game, this was generated using the Monster Rancher 1 disk. (unless you are in PAL region, which didn't have Monster Rancher 1, PAL region had some alternate title that would make it). In DX though, there are hundreds of entries that can make Sueki Suezo, and it's fairly easy to come across using the Random button at the shrine.

Sueki Suezo is great for making early game money since it can quite easily beat E and D class tournaments. Also it can usually beat the Free for All tourneys that yield 5k gold (Most difficult thing is Loyalty is 0 so it gets confused a lot).

Additionally, three monster unlocks require a death to occur. Sueki Suezo is a great use to trigger these events, since you won't have to sacrifice a monster where you committed a lot of time and money.

I didn't get it from the MR1 disc, and I definitely wasn't on the PAL version of it. But TIL that it's intended and that's kind of neat.

[Erikune]

I think there were more than one version of the MR1 disc.

I did get the Sueki Suezo from my MR1 disc in MR2. The monster had 999 Life and 999 DEF, along with absurdly high stats. It's not 999 everything, but it's good enough for basically anything you could run into with your first week. And it does die in just one week. It looks similar to the regular Suezo, just a bit of a different color, so it's easy to not recognize it as any different unless you looked in the book and noticed the new monster entry.

I just checked, MR2DX will let you generate one. For the NA version, it's from the title "Monster Rancher" from Tecmo. There is a "Monster Rancher" from Koei Tecmo which generates a different monster (Arrow Head/Henger).

[Mr. Californication]

Just download a trainer and turn on infinite lifespan for monsters and stop dealing with that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥