In Metaphor ReFantazio, you get to make a fair number of choices and personal decisions as a player. One of the earliest decisions you have to make is whether to attack the sleeping dragon in Nord Mines or to leave it be.
Here’s a breakdown of whether you should fight the Nord Mines dragon, looking at the benefits of fighting Fire Dragon Mauna compared to sneaking past it.
The Nord Mines is Metaphor ReFantazio’s first dungeon-like area. It allows players to experiment with their party builds in combat against soldiers and monsters. The zone is relatively linear, with a handful of treasures and useful items to pick up along the way.
As you reach the end of the Nord Mines area, your party will spot a sleeping dragon curled up next to some potentially valuable treasure. The group of frightened adventurers will heavily encourage you to sneak past it, avoiding the other enemies in the area by hiding behind crates.
Ignore your allies. It’s worth fighting the dragon to get a good chunk of experience alongside some valuable items and a weapon that’ll come in handy during the next sections of the game.
The dragon, which your party learns is actually Fire Dragon Mauna, does put up a hell of a fight and will require some effort to beat. It’s tempting to sneak past and avoid the conflict entirely, but it’s still absolutely feasible, even if your party members haven’t leveled up much yet.
You can buy items from the vendor before heading into this fight. Pick up some Ice Chunks (sell any spare items you have to get the extra money) to help your party out, as Fire Dragon Mauna is weak to Ice and these items make the fight a lot easier.
It’s worth picking up some extra healing items and burn heals, as this big lizard packs a punch with its attacks and can easily take out burnt party members. Burns mean that you take more damage in Metaphor ReFantazio—and as you might imagine, a fire dragon is quite fond of burn-inflicting attacks.
If you choose to skip the potential experience, gold, and rewards, make sure to take your time when going through the stealth section. There are plenty of crates and boulders to hide behind to avoid unnecessary fights, and there’s even an item or two to pick up as you go, too.
Bear in mind you can’t backtrack once you’re in the same area as Fire Dragon Mauna. Save, heal, and pick up items before moving on, as your next chance to rest and top up your party will be outside of the Mines.
The initial rewards from defeating Fire Dragon Mauna might not look exceptionally impressive, but what you’re looking for is in the nearby treasure chest.
After successfully taking down Fire Dragon Mauna, you get an Amethyst, 1K money, 1K MAG, and a chunk of both Archetype experience and regular experience. It’s not the flashiest of rewards by any means, but it’s still quite useful for helping your party members progress.
In the battle area, you can pick up Onyx, Glossy Fur, and Grand Iron, which you can sell for a nice chunk of money during your next encounter with a merchant or vendor. It’s not always easy to get money in Metaphor ReFantazio, so items like this are incredibly useful to have on hand.
Then, you can open up the red treasure chest that Fire Dragon Mauna was guarding. Here, you can pick up Dragon’s Indignation—a wicked greatsword with a 111 Attack stat and 95 Hit stat. It’s perfect for the Warrior Archetype, lending itself to the Slash attack and dealing a good chunk of damage.
Later on in the game, you can purify this weapon at a church, which has the potential to improve it and make it even more valuable in combat.
There aren’t too many opportunities to pick up a weapon of this quality early on in Metaphor ReFantazio, so the Fire Dragon Mauna fight is worth the time and effort. Take your time, pay attention to weaknesses, and watch out for your party positioning, too—being on the front and back lines makes a difference.
As you leave the dragon’s lair and start heading out to the next section, prepare to dash. There’s a chase sequence of sorts where you need to dodge as your party runs away, so don’t take your foot off the pedal until your party is outside Nord Mines and safely at camp.
