What is Fatigue and Stress in MR2?
In this game series there's two "invisible" stats that you have to keep track of, Fatigue and Stress. No where in the game are these two totals displayed and the only way we know anything about them is thanks to the official strategy guide from the game.
The only time you're told about your Monster's fatigue is each week in vague terms by Colt and the only time you're told about your Monster's stress is when it's gotten so bad that your Monster becomes stressed out. In Monster Rancher 2 you NEVER want to let your Monster get stressed out or tired. If Colt tells you that your Monster is tired or stressed that means you are pushing him too far and too hard.
Now, every time you send your Monster on a Drill, to a Tournament, to an Errantry or on an Expedition you'll accumulate fatigue and stress. Depending on which of these activities you participate in will determine how much fatigue and stress you generate. Below is a list of each activity and how much fatigue and stress they accumulate for your Monster.
Light Drill: +10 Fatigue; +5 Stress
Hard Drill: +15 Fatigue; +12 Stress
Errantry (Per Week): +18 Fatigue; +7 Stress
Expedition: +70 Fatigue
With that out of the way, below you'll find some of the methods you can do to lower your fatigue and stress. This quick list doesn't include items currently, only activities you participate in with your Monster that advance time forward.
Rest: -33 to -47 Fatigue and -5 to -10 Stress
Tournament Win: +37 Fatigue; -75 Stress
Lose Tournament: +50 Fatigue; -62 Stress
Do Poorly in Tournament: +62 Fatigue; -50 Stress
As you can see, the only way to reduce your Monster's fatigue is through resting; but it doesn't reduce stress much at all. On the other hand, Battle reduces stress a lot but increases your fatigue a lot too. Rest, Battle and Mint Leaves are the only reliable ways to reduce your Monster's stress. Other items reduce it too, if you feed your Monster Tablets each month, they'll reduce stress by a little bit as well.
Now you're probably wondering, ok - well what will happen if I stress my Monster out too much or make him too tired? Well, worse case scenario your Monster dies. If you stress him out too much he can run away and be gone for weeks at a time. If you make him too tired he'll under perform on tasks, act like a brat and also perform very poorly in battle.
What's worse than these things is if you have constantly high fatigue and stress on your Monster you'll greatly reduce his life span. Almost all Monster breeds are meant to live until 5 years old, some of them 7 years old and a rare breed or two goes above 10 years old. When I first started playing Monster Rancher 2 almost all my Monster's died because I let them get too stressed out or too tired and it dramatically shortened their lives. That's why, the two most important things to remember while playing are...
If Colt tells you that your Monster is stressed out - you've let the stress level get way too out of control, your Monster's life is already being reduced by being too stressed out. Reset your game and feed him Mint Leaves.
If Colt tells you that your Monster is tired - he should have already rested. Never let your Monster get so Tired that Colt tells you about it. That means it's already shortening his life. Reset your game and Rest him sooner.
Since Monster Rancher 2 is built around a set time frame and you're expected to raise a powerful Monster in that time frame you need to take advantage of every single week possible to raise a good Monster. If you're playing on an emulator, use Save States, if you're playing on a console RESET every time you mess up. This is very important and not something you can be stubborn about.
Return to How to Raise a Monster Guide