Photon Drop
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Photon Drop, commonly abbreviated as PD, is a unique item that is used as a common, valuable currency between players. Photon Drops can drop from any enemy or box in the game on any difficulty. They can also be given to Paganini in exchange for items and weapon enhancements. Paganini will trade various items for PDs, at prices ranging from 1 to 99 Photon Drops; he will also add specials to ES weapons for set amounts of PDs, and he will add attributes to non-ES Weapons at a rate of 5% per 20 PDs.
Uses
In 
Gallon's Shop, talking to Hopkins with at least one Photon Drop on hand and selecting "Yes" will prompt him to bring the player to his father, Paganini. "Exchange for an item" is the only available option by default, but others can be unlocked after completing special prerequisites in other quests.
Exchanging for items
Selecting "Exchange for an item" will allow the player to trade all of the Photon Drops in their inventory for an item from Paganini; the selection of items he offers depends on the number of PDs in the player's inventory.
| # of PDs | Items Offered |
|---|---|
| 1 | AddSlot,  Assist Barrier, Recovery Barrier
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| 20 | Berill Photon, Blue Barrier,  Broom,  Flower Cane, Magic Water, Nei's Claw (Replica), Parasitic Cell Type D, Red Barrier, Yellow Barrier
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| 50 | Blue-black Stone, Magic Rock "Heart Key", Photon Booster
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| 99 | Photon Sphere
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Adding specials to ES weapons
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If the player brings Paganini the data from the top of the Control Tower during The East Tower, the "Modify ES Weapon" option will be available in Paganini's exchange in Gallon's Shop for the character that completes this sidequest (which can be completed on any difficulty). The East Tower
The "Modify ES Weapon" option allows the player to trade Photon Drops in exchange for adding a special attack to their ES weapon, with the available specials depending on the number of Photon Drops in the player's inventory and the ES Weapon in question.
Note that unlike Paganini's exchange, adding specials to ES weapons will only consume the indicated number of Photon Drops for the special added, rather than all Photon Drops carried in the inventory.
| Special Rank | Specials Offered | Photon Drops |
|---|---|---|
| D-Rank | HP Revival*, TP Revival* | 20 |
| C-Rank | Blizzard, Burning, Tempest | 30 |
| B-Rank | Berserk, Chaos, Geist, Gush, King's, Spirit | 40 |
| A-Rank | Arrest, Demon's, Hell | 50 |
| S-Rank |  Jellen (Lv. 21),  Zalure (Lv. 21)
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60 |
- * Note: HP Revival and TP Revival refer to passive recovery over time, similar to the
HP/Revival and TP/Revival units.
The following restrictions apply to adding specials to ES Weapons:
- ES Knuckle cannot receive HP Revival or TP Revival
ES Psychogun can only receive HP Revival or TP Revival- ES Windmill can only receive HP Revival, TP Revival, Jellen, or Zalure
To unlock this option, follow these steps:
- Start the quest The East Tower
- Talk to Hopkins in the lab (he is down the ramp from the shops to the left in the corner - the same place you would find him in Gallon's Shop to access Paganini)
- Kill Epsilon on the top floor of the Control Tower, then interact with the terminal (you will receive a Quest Board item)
- Upon killing Epsilon, player teleporters (via Telepipe or
Ryuker) can no longer be created, and any that are active will be turned off. The gate in the Lab leading to the Central Control Area will also become locked. If you use the provided teleporter before interacting with the terminal, you will be forced to redo the quest to complete the sidequest
- Upon killing Epsilon, player teleporters (via
- Return to the lab and talk to Hopkins before ending the quest
Note: Paganini will no longer be accessible in this quest for that character once you have done this, and Hopkins will only state that, "My father is working on a huge project right now.", which can serve as an alternative method of checking completion.
Adding attributes to weapons
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If the player brings Paganini the data from the terminal in Seabed during The West Tower quest, the "Enhance weapon's Photon" option will be available in Paganini's exchange in Gallon's Shop for the character that completes this sidequest (which can be completed on any difficulty).
The "Enhance weapon's Photon" option allows the player to increase attribute percentages on their weapons in exchange for set amounts of Photon Drops, at the following rates:
| Cost | Increase |
|---|---|
| Photon Drop x4 |
+1% |
| Photon Drop x20 |
+5% |
| Photon Sphere x1 |
+30% |
- Note: The Photon Sphere option cannot be used if the attribute to be increased is higher than 70%.
The following restrictions apply to adding attributes:
- A weapon cannot have more than three attributes
- Sealed weapons and their unsealed counterparts may not have more than two, including Hit%
- Attributes cannot exceed 100%
- Hit% cannot be added to a weapon
- ES Weapons cannot have attributes
To unlock this option, a character must have already collected The East Tower data for Paganini (refer to adding specials to ES weapons for directions), then follow these steps:
- Start the quest The West Tower
- Talk to Hopkins in the lab (he is in the same place you would find him in Gallon's Shop to access Paganini)
- Traverse the Seabed Upper levels until you find and access the terminal containing the Research Data (you will receive a Quest Board item)
- Return to the lab and talk to Hopkins before ending the quest
Note: Unlike The East Tower, there is no easy way to check through Hopkins if you have already completed The West Tower sidequest, as Hopkins in Gallon's Shop will say the same "My father is working on a huge project right now." line, both before completing the previous sidequest as well as after completing this one.
Availability
Enemy drops
All drop rates assume a drop anything rate of 100%.
| Difficulty | Drop Rate |
|---|---|
| Normal | 1/2000 |
| Hard | 1/1500 |
| Very Hard | 1/600 |
| Ultimate | 1/375 |
Black Paper's Dangerous Deal 2
Note that all rates are the chance of getting an item per Photon Crystal, not per roll.
| Quest | Difficulty | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Black Paper's Deal 2 | Normal | 1/9 |
| Hard | 1/16 | |
| Very Hard | 1/8.76 | |
| Ultimate | 1/8.76 |
Quest reward
Photon Drop can be obtained from the Lucky Roulette in Gallon's Shop. If the roulette lands on Paganini after obtaining both God's Shields from him, the player is rewarded a Photon Drop.
Photon Drop can be obtained from the gambling terminal in To The Deepest Blue. After every first-prize item has been won once, any additional first-prize wins will be rewarded with a Photon Drop.
Photon Drop can be obtained from the Beak's Cafe roulette.
Events
Photon Drop could be obtained from a Present on Normal difficulty in 2015, all difficulties in 2016, and Normal and Hard difficulties in 2017.
Photon Drop was given as a consolation prize for failing the 5-Egg gambles in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Egg Shops, as well as the 10-Egg gamble in the 2016 and 2018 Egg Shops.
