Found in a corner of the Cave to Rendarak, the Mad Cap cuts the MP cost of spells by 25%, making managing the resource much easier while making your spellcasters exponentially more powerful.
Some Quick Tips for those looking to get these items:
- Limited Resource: There’s only one Mad Cap, so you’ll have to decide who you’re giving it to.
- Quick Saving: This dungeon has plenty of pitfalls, dead-ends, and misleading paths.
- Beware The Upper Floors: Green Dragons and other powerful enemies roam parts of the Cave.
Path to the Mad Cap
The Mad Cap is a late game item, found in the penultimate dungeon, the Cave to Rendarak. Gaining access to this area requires having acquired all five of the Sigils scattered across the land, as well as the Eye of Rubiss and the False Idol.
Warning: As it’s easy to get lost in this area or lose progress by hitting a pitfall, it’s recommended you Quick Save every time you make it to a new floor.
From the entrance, head north and east around the upside-down cross in the middle of the room to reach the eastern stairs. If you happen to fall into a pit here, as there are several around the cross, simply take the closest stairs back up and continue from there.
On the second floor, head east. You’ll want to avoid the first two forks in the following corridor, then take the third one you see north to find some stairs. Making a wrong turn will leave you stuck in a looping version of this room, so don’t be afraid to reload a Quick Save if you feel lost.
On the third floor, head west into the dark room.
Continue west and head up the stairs you’ll eventually find.
On the fourth floor, you’ll be in a small room with a staircase heading up. The Mad Cap is close by, but so are some tough enemies. Here’s a shortlist of monsters to watch out for as you explore past the third floor of this dungeon:
| Name | HP | MP | Skills |
| Green Dragon | 70 | None | Torrent of Flames, Fire Breath |
| Berserker | 62 | None | None |
| Killing Machine | 55 | None | Attacks Twice |
| Tyrannodactyl | 95 | 30 | Snooze, Kasap, Fire Breath |
| Silvapithecus | 80 | 30 | Sizzle, Sickly-Sweet Breath |
Quick Save if you’re feeling precautious, then head up to the fifth floor.
Boons of the Mad Cap
With the limited selection of helms in Dragon Quest II (the only similar items in this game being the Iron Helmet and the Helm of Erdrick), the Mad Cap is the only headgear that the Prince and Princess can equip.
The Mad Cap grants a +8 bonus to defense, which is going to go a long way for the Princess and her sparse armor selection, but the real value is in its ability to reduce the cost of spells by 25%.
Of course, with two spellcasters in your party, you will most likely be thinking about who to give the only Mad Cap to. This guide recommends giving it to the Princess, for two reasons:
- The Prince will spend most of his turns in combat Attacking, rather than casting spells.
- The Princess has 3 spells that will get a lot of use in the endgame: Kaboom (8 MP), Kazing (15 MP) and Fullheal (8 MP). Reducing the cost of these incredibly powerful and useful spells is going to go a long way in DQII’s final stretch.
In short, while the Prince can wear the Mad Cap and get its benefits, the Princess is going to get the most use of this unique item.
