Best Leveling Locations - Dark Cloud Guides
In Dark Cloud you don't level up your character in the traditional sense of the word, like you do in most RPGs. With this game you level up your character's weapon by defeating enemies and earning Abs for each enemy that you defeat. All of your offensive power comes from the strength of your weapon in this game. Leveling up your weapon in Dark Cloud is just as important as leveling up your character/party in other RPGs.
This page here will talk about the best locations in the game to grind for Abs. Before we dive into all of that information, let's go over some basic things you should be aware of first. On every normal floor of a dungeon there will be 15 enemies that spawn. Back Floors will only have 8 enemies in total and they'll always be buffed with Stamina.
Dark Cloud is also a bit unique in the sense that almost every floor of a dungeon is randomly generated; all normal floors (and most Back Floors) have a 'pool' of enemies to pick from and will pick a random amount of each to fulfill the quota. Let's use Floor 13 in the Divine Beast Cave as an example. Here you can get Cave Bat, Dragon, Master Jacket, Opar and Rockonoff enemies to spawn. You may see 5 Cave Bats, 3 Dragons, 3 Master Jackets and 4 Opar enemies in total.
Or, you may see 7 Cave Bats, 6 Dragons and 3 Master Jackets. Any combination of enemies is possible but you'll always get a total of 15 enemies one each floor. Back Floors change this up a bit, sometimes they follow the same logic and there is a 'pool' of enemies that they pick from. However, some Back Floors are unique and the always have a single type of enemy that spawns there. Usually these Back Floors are the best leveling locations in the game.
Additionally, each save file has different 'Limited Zones' in each dungeon. The only universal Limited Zones that are the same for everyone are the ones that require you to use a specific Ally on that floor. Sometimes you may end up with an Abs reducing Limited Zone on a floor that is great for farming Abs on - this happened to me in the Moon Sea on more than one floor.
For this reason you'll find that my list below has multiple floors mentioned for some of the later dungeons. Incase you're one of the unlucky people out there who are stuck with an Abs reducing Limited Zone on a floor that is good for Abs farming - at least now you'll have some variety and can choose someplace different.
With all that information out of the way there are 2 last things I want to talk about. The first of which - I used the Dark Cloud Training FAQ from Gamefaqs to compile a lot of the information below. Massive credit goes to the guy who made that guide, it lists every floor of every dungeon (including Back Floors) and how many Abs he got from each. For this guide I simply took the best locations from that guide, tested them myself and then listed here.
Last but not least, the final thing I wanted to mention are the 2 best locations for farming Abs in the game. When you google for best leveling locations for Dark Cloud you usually always find 2 Back Floors that stand out above the rest. After lots of farming I can concur that these locations are the best ones.
Best Abs Farming Location in Shipwreck
Best Abs Farming Location in Wise Owl Forest
Now that you know the best locations, let's take a look at every dungeon and which normal and Back Floors are the best to farm in each of them.
Divine Beast Cave Best Levels for Abs Grinding
(Normal Floor) Floors 13: About 57 Abs per clear. Cave Bat, Dragon, Master Jacket, Opar and Rockonoff can spawn here.
(Back Floor) Floor 11: About 59 Abs per clear. This is the best Back Floor in the entire dungeon, you can find Ghost, Master Jackets and Mimics here.
Wise Owl Forest Best Territories for Abs Grinding
(Normal Floor) Floor 16: About 105 Abs per clear. You can find Earth Digger, Halloween, King Mimic, Werewolf and Witch Illza enemies here
(Back Floor) Floor 10: 192 Abs per clear. The only enemy that spawns here are Werewolfs; this location is one of the best grinding spots in the game. For more information check out my Wise Owl Forest Abs Farming Guide.
Shipwreck Best Layers for Abs Grinding
(Normal Floor) Floor 17: About 96 Abs per clear. Captain, Corcea, Pirate's Chariot are the enemies here.
(Normal Floor) Floor 11: About 90 Abs per clear. Corcea, Gyon, King Mimic and Pirate's Chariot are the enemies here.
(Back Floor) Floor 14: About 192 Abs per clear. This is one of the best locations to grind in the game and I have a full write up for it! Check out my Shipwreck Abs Farming Location.
Sun & Moon Temple Best Floors for Abs Grinding
(Normal Floor) Floor 17: About 174 Abs per clear. There are Blue Dragon, Dune, King Mimic and Steel Giant enemies here.
(Back Floor) Floor 17: About 192 Abs per clear. You can only find Blue Dragon enemies here. Check out my Sun and Moon Temple Abs Farming Youtube Video for more information about this Back Floor.
Moon Sea Best Craters to Grind Abs
For this dungeon I am going to list multiple Back Floors and normal floors since there are many Abs reducing zones and which floors they affect are random depending on your save file.
(Normal Floor) Floor 7: About 124 Abs per clear. Moon Bug, Moon Digger, Vulcan and White Fang enemies are found here.
(Normal Floor) Floor 13: About 169 Abs per clear. Arthur, Crescent Baron, Moon Digger and Vulcan enemies are here.
(Normal Floor) Floor 10: About 170 Abs per clear. Titan, Vulcan and White Fang enemies are found here.
(Normal Floor) Floor 14: About 191 Abs per clear. Arthur, Crescent Baron, King Mimic and Titan enemies are all found here.
(Back Floor) Floor 2: About 216 Abs per clear. Here you'll find Titan and Arthur enemies. For more information about this location check out my Best Moon Sea Abs Farming Location Youtube Video.
(Back Floor) Floor 10: About 192 Abs per clear. Exclusively Vulcan enemies spawn here.
(Back Floor) Floor 11: You get 240 Abs per clear. Only Arthur enemies will spawn here.
Gallery of Time Best Floors to Grind Abs
(Normal Floor) Year 225: About 237 Abs per clear. Alexander, Black Dragon, King Mimic and Lich enemies spawn here.
(Normal Floor) Year 238: About 176 Abs per clear. Alexander, Black Dragon, Blizzard and Evilbats spawn here.
(Normal Floor) Year 340: About 209 Abs per clear. Alexander, Black Dragon, Joker and King Mimic enemies spawn here.
(Normal Floor) Year 382: About 206 Abs per clear. Alexander, Black Dragon, Blizzard and Lich enemies spawn here.