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Autolycus FAQ
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VERSION 1.3
A few quick notes before we begin... my name is, for these purposes,
Cypher. E-mail me at
[email protected].
XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and all related characters and properties are
owned by Renaissance Pictures. XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS -- TALISMAN OF
FATE is a product of Titus.
This FAQ is copyright 2000 by me. If you wish to use it on a website
or publish it in any other way, you must e-mail me to request permission.
Don't sweat it -- I'll probably tell you yes.
But I'll still seek action against you if you don't ask first.
It has begun...
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CONTENTS
I. Introduction
II. The Moves
A. Basic moves
B. Air attacks
C. Special moves
D. Combos
E. Throw
F. Taunt
III. Battle On!
A. vs. Joxer
B. vs. Ares
C. vs. Velesca
D. vs. Autolycus
E. vs. Caesar
F. vs. Callisto
G. vs. Ephiny
H. vs. Gabrielle
I. vs. Lao Ma
J. vs. Xena
K. vs. Despair
IV. Basic Hard Mode and Multiplayer Strategies
V. Update History
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I. Introduction
Bruce Campbell rocks. He's "Ash" from the EVIL DEAD series,
and you know what that means... he's groovy. Therefore, his
XENA character, Autolycus, must rock as well. And he does. In
fact, in the N64 incarnation of XENA, he may very well be one
of the best of the fighters in one of the best N64 fighting games
around. I'm here to provide you with some strategies that will
save your ass when the fights are goin' down.
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II. The Moves
A. Basic moves
LEFT-C : Left punch/slash, or weak punch/slash. Auto swings his
sword, quickly but with less force than a an Up-C slash. Fair
range. Great for close fighting.
DOWN-C : Left kick, or weak kick. Auto, well, kicks straight
forward. Faster but weaker than a Right-C kick. Short range.
Good for close fighting.
UP-C : Right punch/slash, or strong punck/slash. Auto swings
his sword, stronger but slower than a Left-C slash. Good range.
Good for short-distance fighting. As soon as someone is within
range, whap them with one or two of these. It's especially
great for opponents who are trying to jump in close. One swing
from this will knock them out from overhead and they'll hit the
ground flat on their back.
RIGHT-C : Right kick, or strong kick. Auto kicks up, stronger
but slower than his Down-C kick. Fair range. Not really too
good for close or distance. Probably your least useful
basic-button attack.
Holding AWAY from opponent : Blocks. This blocks upper-body
attacks and leaves you vulnerable to low attacks... unless...
Z + Holding AWAY from opponent : Ducks and blocks. Stops/avoids
basically ALL attacks. Only a few special moves can break
through it (Caesar's knock-down crowd yells, Callisto's flame
jets, and sometimes Ares' lightning, Caesar's boulders [but not
arrows], and Despair's boulders).
Z : Crouch.
R : Jump
Z + R : Spinning/flipping jump. Jumps a little higher/farther
than a regular jump.
Z + LEFT-C : While ducking, Auto slashes upwards. Short range.
Same strength as basic Left-C attack, which also applies to the
following similar three entries.
Z + DOWN-C: Auto slide-kicks and knocks an opponent off his/her
feet. The slide gives this great range! It's not too strong, but
it's perfect for an opponent who's only blocking his/her upper
body and thinks you're too far away to hurt them.
Z + UP-C: Autolycus leaps forward, head-butting the enemy!
This is a great, very useful attack. Outside of combos, it's
one of your best. The beauty of this attack is that it
automatically makes Auto lunge towards the enemy. As a result,
you can duck and block, yet continually use this attack at the
same time to keep advancing and attacking even while blocking
your opponent's attacks. A *great* strategy. Also fantasic for
hitting someone out of the air.
Z + RIGHT-C: This makes Auto spring back on his hands and then
launch forward, kicking the enemy. He advances very little, and,
basically, the range is piss-poor. This is almost always a
waste.
Hold Away + LEFT-C : A quick jab. Poor range makes it fairly lame.
Hold Away + DOWN-C : A straight, slow kick. Pretty good range,
but, for a weak attack, it's a little too slow.
Hold Away + UP-C : Straightforward jab! Great range. A nice
tactic to use if you just can't QUITE reach your enemy with
traditional attacks. It's strong too. It's slowness is its
only real weakness -- it takes a little while to recover from
this one.
Hold Away + RIGHT-C : Autolycus tries swiping out with a backhand.
Slow and poor range. Again, the RIGHT-C button fails to impress.
Hold Towards + UP-C : The only attack that changes by holding towards
your enemy. Autolycus does an upward slash instead of a downward one.
Not terribly different, but, sometimes, for some reason, it catches
the enemy off-guard. Still, largely it's not very useful.
B. Air attacks
Jump (R) + UP-C or RIGHT-C : Auto does a downward roll in the air,
spinning and slashing. Great if you're attacking an opponent on the
ground from the air. Not very good to attack someone in the air with
you.
Jump (R) + LEFT-C or DOWN-C : Autolycus spins around in the air,
slashing all around him with his sword. Great for attacking an
opponent who's in the air with you, but if you're trying to get someone
on the ground, you're liable to get knocked out of the sky first.
C. Special moves
Away, Towards + UP-C : Auto throws a grappling hook. This is his
fast projectile, and is very useful as a result. Still, no
projectile works well close up.
Away, Towards + LEFT-C : Autolycus once claimed he could kill a
man even with a toothpick. Here's your chance to make good on
that claim! Auto throws a toothpick with this attack. It's a
slow projectile, and as a result is almost worthless. Leaves
you VERY vulnerable to attack!
Away, Towards + RIGHT-C : Auto does a flying flip-kick. Not a
great range attack, but surprising effective at times.
D. Combos
"Combos" in XENA are not unblockable, super-complicated manuvers
that must be executed at the exact milisecond, as in other fighting
games. These "combos" are simply the result of hitting one button
repeatedly near your enemy. They ARE blockable, but are also
faster than other moves and therefore more difficult to block.
Your character will start to manuver differently for faster
repeated hits, and will execute some very cool-lookin' moves.
These combos are really the difference between life and death in
XENA... more often than not, they are your best attack system
against any given opponent. It's just a matter of finding which
ones work against which enemies.
Remember this: all combos automatically move you towards your
opponent while you execute them, in order to compensate for the
fact that your enemy is most likely being knocked backwards.
This is usually a great help. It CAN be a hindrance if your
opponent has a tendency to beat you to a pulp up close, or use
grabs/throws (i.e. Despair). Use caution.
Tap LEFT-C repeatedly : Here's one of your most effective combo
manuvers. Auto punches, then spins and slashes backwards, then
tops it off with a quick kick that sends the enemy flying.
Effective, plus it looks downright cool. Great for hitting
an opponent who's on his way down to you from the air. Three
weak hits.
Tap DOWN-C repeatedly : Auto gives a little one-two skip kick.
It's quick and dirty -- which is why it's effective. This is
your fastest combo. Give it shot when the going gets a little
rough. Two weak hits.
Tap UP-C repeatedly : Two overhead slashes, right and left.
Slower, but still good in some situations. Fairly effective
when trying to hit someone out of the air. Two strong hits.
Tap RIGHT-C repeatedly : Autolycus kicks a little high, then jump
kicks, then sweep kicks, all in one fluidly connected manuver.
Unfortunately, it's slow as all hell, and is nearly useless
because of it. Three strong hits.
Hold Away + Tap LEFT-C repeatedly : Punch-slash-punch! Say it
again! Punch-slash-punch! Um, yeah. Auto does this, in rapid
succession with alternating hands, while walking forward. Three
weak hits. The range is pretty bad, but the speed makes this
close to being as fast as the skip kick two-in-one combo,
Hold Away + Tap RIGHT-C repeatedly : Auto backhands the enemy,
then slashes once, then gives one last spinning backhand. Not
terribly fast, but not too bad, either. Still, not as useful as
most of your other combos. However, this is Auto's "Dizzy"
attack, which will leave your enemy stunned. That's worth
something. Three strong hits.
E. Throw
Towards + LEFT-C + DOWN-C : Hit all of these at once while close
to your enemy. If he has enough time to do so before getting
knocked away, Autolycus grabs the enemy by the ankles and spins
them around before tossing them across the arena. A very
powerful, though rarely useful move. Plus it looks great.
F. Taunt
LEFT-C + DOWN-C + RIGHT-C + UP-C : Hit all of these at once,
and Auto will turn around and wiggle his butt at the enemy,
complete with a hilarious sound effect. If you do this while
next to your enemy, the impact of Auto's rear will actually
register as a weak hit on your opponent! Still, I would never
recommend trying it, since it leaves you wide open for a beating.
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III. Battle On!
Before we begin, please realize that I know that not all of these
tactics work all of the time, and there may be some other tactics
that work some of the time. The computer A.I. may just surprise
you and me. With that in mind, here's the tactics that I find
most often apply to the enemies battling for the Talisman of
Fate.
A. vs. Joxer
A few skip-kick DOWN-C combos will work, but then he starts to
wise up and block them. Regular LEFT-C combos he can block
pretty well, too The AWAY + LEFT-C triple-punch works
better, even though it'll require you to get in close. Don't
worry too much about that, though. Even in close, Joxer often
pauses before slashing at you. Your best strategy is probably
to stand at a fair distance and then use AWAY + UP-C to poke
him from afar. The dope falls for it nearly every time. To
be honest, though, most strategies will pay off for at least
a while with this joker. A dangerous exception is the AWAY +
RIGHT-C manuver, which he'll nail you on practically every time
and pay you back for it in spades. Regardless of this, Joxer
should be a fairly easy fight for you.
B. vs. Ares
This is a joke. Some god of war he turned out to be. Almost
anything and everything works on this lamer. His primary
weaknesses seem to lie in the regular LEFT-C, RIGHT-C, and
DOWN-C combos, however. He climbs the walls fairly often
as well, and the same strategies as used on Joxer for this
particular problem apply.
C. vs. Velesca
Let her get close, then give her some UP-C slashes. The
DOWN-C skip-kick combo also works on occasion, but if she
starts to block it, UP-C is recommended. She's good at
blocking LEFT-C combos and projectiles, so don't play with
those. RIGHT-C is, as usual, largely worthless.
D. vs. Autolycus
What's with the doofy hat? Well, apparently, Autolycus' alternative
costume in this game is an episode-specific outfit related to a show
where our heroes travelled to a town where dancing was prohibited.
Xena dressed Autolycus up as a holy man who proclaimed that everyone
should dance. And this is Autolycus' "holy man" outfit. Thanks for
this information go to Hawkeye the Mighty (
[email protected]).
Anyways, when doing battle with yourself, the classic skipping DOWN-C
combo works wonders. Don't bother with your LEFT-C combo -- he'll
just block it, most likely. He jumps more than a lot of enemies as
well, so be ready to knock him out of the air with an UP-C slash.
E. vs. Caesar
This may well be your easiest battle. Other than through his
lone projectile (which you can anticipate from a mile away when
he yells "fire!" and run accordingly), Caesar has a very short
reach. You can beat him easily with your UP-C one-two slash
combo. As soon as he's within slashing distance, go for it. If
this doesn't work, go to the LEFT-C combo. He learns to block
this faster than UP-C slashes, however. Don't bother with the
other combos -- they either require you to get too close or take
too long. If you're resorting to projectiles, you're either
experimenting or doing something wrong.
F. vs. Callisto
She has a fondness for projectiles, but, if you keep ducking, you
can use projectiles on her as well. She seems to have a bizarre
weakness for the slow toothpick-throwing attack. On top of that,
approximately 3-4 character widths from her, she'll be too close
to try a projectile, but if you throw your grappling hook, she
won't be able to jump in time and will get hit on the way up.
Otherwise, fast left combo attacks work best, especially, yup,
you guessed it, your DOWN-C skip attack. Just don't use it more
than twice in a row before backing off, or she might get smart and
counter you, which she can do, make no mistake. If that happens,
it might be time for a LEFT-C combo or perhaps a few UP-C slashes.
G. Vs. Ephiny
Again, your best bet is the DOWN-C skipping technique. However,
oddly enough, RIGHT-C combos can sometimes prove to be quite
effective on Ephiny, and they certainly take off more life. UP-C
sword swipes can work as well. She often blocks the LEFT-C
combo, unfortunately, and is a little too spry for projectiles
to get you very far. Just remember, keep moving. She's fast
and attacks much more than enemies like Joxer and Ares.
H. vs. Gabrielle
Gabby is, more often than not, one tough mother. Almost any of
your most basic moves sets you up for a beat down. Her staff
is to be feared, as its range is fair and she can throw it fast and
often, so distance fighting is ruled out. Instead, get up close
and personal. To avoid Gabby going fully Darth Maul on your ass, use
your skip-kick DOWN-C two-in-one. Its her primary weakness, and,
unfortunately, she has few clear others, though anything else MAY
work from time to time. It's best to keep to the quicker, LEFT and
DOWN manuvers, though -- Gabby's far too fast to allow for you to
set up a slower, more powerful strike.
Incidentally, for those of you wondering why you fight someone that
looks exactly like Gabrielle that's named "Hope" when you play
through the game as Xena or Gabrielle, it's because Hope is the
demon spawn of Dahak, that Gabrielle gave birth to. She couldn't
believe that the child was evil, so she let her live, driving a
rift between Gabrielle and Xena for a time. The child, of course,
grew up fast, looks exactly like Gabrielle, and is now known as
the recurring villian Hope. And I never would've known that
without the glories of the Internet.
I. vs. Lao Ma
Though she sometimes falls for the mesmerizing toothpick, usually Lao
Ma is no fool on projectiles, so those are definitely not recommended.
And, unlike most of your enemies, she knows how to block that skippin'
combo! The plan is to use the UP-C slashes. Her reach is short, so
they tend to catch her off guard, even as she's trying to use her
speed to get inside and nail you with some hardcore combos -- and
trust me, she knows a lot. Sometimes, just one tap is best, because
having Auto perform the entire one-two slash may slow him down too
much, leaving you open for a counter-attack. If all else fails,
resort to the ducking UP-C tactic discussed below in the Xena section.
Lao Ma seems to have soft spot for it, too.
J. vs. Xena
Xena is too fast for your fastest combos, even for just one hit! This
concerning trend leaves you with two primary attack methods to rely on.
One is to use the 3-4 character width strategy mentioned in the tips
against Callisto. But your best tactic is to keep ducking and use your
UP-C jumping headbutt on her. Keep slamming UP-C. She'll block
sometimes, and she'll even try to get away by climbing the walls. But
you're almost sure to nail her eventually. There will still be times
when she will manage a counterattack, though. If you're getting
uncomfortable with repeated ducking UP-C attacks, a little ducking
DOWN-C slide kick often works well, especially when Xena's down. And
yet another great tactic is to use the BACK + UP-C distance slash to
take Xena down from a bit away. She's rather poor at stopping that
attack as well, and sometimes it works faster than the ducking UP-C
headbutt tactic.
K. vs. Despair
Here he is -- the big red cheese, and I don't mean DC Comics' Captain
Marvel. Projectiles are great on this punk, but be ready because
he'll use them on you as well, or try to. Before you try this
strategy, remember to maintain a safe distance by doing a flip-jump
for maximum distancing -- it's X + R. When he sends fire across
the floor, you can't duck it, outrun it, or block it -- only jumping
will save you. Jump once as it approaches and again on its return.
Though you won't see it returning most often, you'll have to guess
the timing initially, and you'll get it down fairly quickly with
a little experience. Once one of your projectiles is no longer
catching the demon off-guard (it's best to start with the grappling
hook), switch over to the other one. Surprisingly, the toothpick
actually will catch him off guard for a while. If neither one seems
to be going to plan, try tossing the hook from a distance of 6-7
character widths, so as to catch him right as he tries to jump over
it. Unfortunately, at this distance he'll still be trying his own
distance attacks on you, but the main goal in this fight is to
execute your own attacks while he's busy setting his up, which takes
him quite a while. If you want to try closer fighting, you can
resort to using UP-C slashes at the maximum possible distance.
Just remember, don't get in close to Despair! He's likely to grab
you and slam you with a headbutt, which takes off a huge chunk of
your life bar. Besides, any attacks you would perform any closer
than you would do UP-C slashes probably won't work anyway. He's
good at blocking all of your other closer attacks and combos.
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IV. Basic Hard Mode/Multiplayer Strategies
Here's just a few basic tips for survival in these modes:
Hard Mode features you battling not one, but TWO enemies in
each arena. And more often than not, they're some of your
hardest foes, like Xena herself.
For both hard and multiplayer, get used to hitting the A
button on the fly. Sometimes switching enemies in mid-jump
is a great way to catch them off-guard.
Don't bother with the toothpick in multiplayer mode. It
takes WAY too long to set up. It's largely worthless in hard
mode as well, because if you're wasting time setting up for one
computer opponent, the other is probably going to come and beat
you down.
The same goes if you're facing a seasoned opponent in Xena and
you plan on using a RIGHT-C combo -- not likely, friend.
An unseasoned opponent, however, may not know the importance of
blocking low. Get them blocking high with regular attacks,
then pull the rug out from under them with a sliding sweep kick.
Remember, in hard mode, you're probably not going to have the
leisure of taking out one of your enemies first and then
concentrating on the other -- both will probably be all over you.
If you're going to try anyway, choose the weakest to eliminate
first, then pummel your more difficult opponent. However, the
reality is that you're going to have to get used to hitting A
rapidly. Knock one enemy for a loop, then swat the other one while
the first foe is down.
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V. Update History
Version 1.0 -- The first. The beginning. The one.
Version 1.1 -- Added the update history section, and the information on
Autolycus' weird secondary costume (in the 'vs. Autolycus' section),
courtesy of Hawkeye The Mighty (
[email protected]).
Version 1.2 -- Information on Hope added to the Gabrielle section,
courtesy of AmazonBon's Xena Realm
(
http://members.tripod.com/~AmazonBon/). My e-mail address is also
changed.
Version 1.3 -- New sections in "The Moves" added for Autolycus' air
attacks, his taunt, and his throw. Also added more details on
the LEFT-C combo, the Z + UP-C attack, and the UP-C double-slash
combo. "Dizzy" combo status added to the AWAY + RIGHT-C repeatedly
combo.
Thanks for your time, and good hunting.
This FAQ is Copyright 2000 by Cypher.
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