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1. Introduction
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Ellen is the "first" campaign in terms of difficulty and presentation. We know
this because as we start her campaign, the opening credits roll... She
starts out with a level 3 force and a completely linear campaign with no frills
for the first several missions. There are also in-game control tips included,
but guess what: if you don't know the controls already, and haven't played
KUF: Crusaders, you are going to be quickly frustrated. Tutorial mode is not
included in Heroes, and the learning curve is steep indeed. If you aren't
a KUF veteran, I would suggest that you buy and play through KUF: Crusaders
first, especially because it's super cheap now that Heroes is out, and the games
aren't radically different except for the complexity and difficulty. Crusaders
gives newbies a much gentler learning curve, and KUF: Heroes pretty much starts
out where Crusaders left off, i.e., medium difficulty progressing
quickly to hard missions.
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2. Ellen
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Ellen is a mysterious female warrior, the only "good" female character
in the game. For those who played Crusaders, we know that Ellen eventually
becomes one of Gerald's right-hand officers, but she begins her campaign in
Heroes as an Ecclesian officer. As a figher, Ellen has quickness and relatively
good power. Her special attacks are arrow based, and somewhat lacking in power.
Because none of her missions are terribly difficult, she is a more than adequate
fighter for the challenges she will face. One of her best moves is the coup de
grace which allows her to finish off a downed enemy. This is especially useful
when using Mortars, Ballistae or Catapults that will knock down your enemies
as they fire into melee!
Combos: X X X Quick slash combo
X X -> X Quick slash + warp thrust
X X A Quick slash + upward slash
A A Heavy slash + spinning slash
A + X Finish downed enemy (coup de grace)
Y Y Y Y Rapid Shot
Hold Y Jumping shot
B X Evade + Riposte
B Evade
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3.1 Paltor|
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Paltor is Ellen's loyal and easy-going healer / archer adjutant. Because his
special ability is so lacking in combat (cover shot is not particularly
powerful), and Curatio is only usable outside of combat, you may want to switch
Paltor for another officer and give him his own troop of Archers. Replace him
with a Mercenary Mage with Holy skill and a staff or booster to cast Heal
during melee.
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3.2 Ebbard|
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Ebbard is Ellen's mage, and though he defects for a few missions (Pineth Cave
and Woodenshade), he is definitely the campaign MVP. Ebbard's ability to cast
Kaleidoflamma in combat will make him the biggest damage dealer in your
arsenal. Make sure to up his Fire skill and give him Fire boosting equipment.
After completing Woodenshade, try to max out his Fire skill to 25.
Special Ability:
----------------
Active: Fireball
Available: Required Skill
---------- --------------
Heal Holy 1 + Staff or Booster
Curatio Holy 1
Fireball Fire 1 + Staff or Booster
Kaleidoflamma Fire 5 + Staff or Booster
Meteor Fire 5
Electric Shock Lightning 1 + Staff or Booster
Lightning Bolt Lightning 5 + Staff or Booster
Thunderstorm Lightning 5
Chilling Touch Ice 1 + Staff or Booster
Ice Spear Ice 5 + Staff or Booster
Blizzard Ice 5
Poison Sting Earth 1 + Staff or Booster
Poison Gas Earth 5 + Staff or Booster
Vine Earth 5
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4. MISSION WALKTHROUGH
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4.1 Mission 1: West of Arein
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This mission begins with Ellen leading her level 3 Infantry force through the
forest toward Arein. Credits roll and witty banter ensues. We are introduced
to the worldly and sarcastic Paltor (a ranged and holy adjutant) and the
ascetic, mysterious Ebbard (your fire mage and Primary Offensive Option).
There will be instructions on how to move.
*TIP* How to Move: Most movement should be done from the mini-map - pull and
hold R, and use A to set the troop's destination. To set waypoints, pull and
hold L, and use A to set waypoints. You can also move using A from the field,
though it's difficult to accurately set the reticle.
Follow the path north using your newfound techniques.
You can't go any other way for some mysterious reason. You will trigger a
cut-scene and be attacked by a level 1 Orc Infantry troop.
Because your troop is so weak, these guys will take a while to kill. Because
they're so weak, they won't do barely any damage to your troop at all. Use
this opportunity to get used to Ellen's combos. X X X is a standard fast
combo. X X Y will give you a fast couple swipes and a spinning upward slash.
X X -> X will give two quick slashes and a warp thrust. You can also try out
your officer's special abilities by using the black or white buttons. Ebbard
has a fireball attack that does almost no damage (yet).
Paltor has a slashing charge that does even less. Ellen can use Y to launch
a special bow attack, but this is a waste of SP considering the lack of damage.
If you feel the need to blow through SP (and why not? you won't need SP for
anything else this mission), stick to Ebbard's fireball.
Once you're done hacking up Orcs, head the only way you can go - Northeast.
This will take you to Castle Arein and more credits and another cutscene.
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4.2 Base 1: Arein
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You won't be able to do much in Arein, aside from plot development.
Operations: Lonefield, of the Arein light elves, and Justino, of Ecclesia,
will negotiate to an impasse with Ellen present as a bystander. It seems that
Justino wishes to extend the services of the Ecclesian military to Arein's
defenders. Lonefield claims to see the angle, and doesn't wish Ecclesian
military inside of Arein for fear that the Eccelsians are simply maneuvering
for strategic military superiority in the area. They are at an impasse. The
interesting thing here is that Ellen refuses to remove her helmet in
Lonefield's presence, even after he calls attention to this fact. She claims
to have "an ugly scar." Hmm... Interessant, n'est-ce pas?
Barracks: Ellen simply doesn't have time to linger in the Barracks to level up
her troops. She does, however, have time to linger at the PUB! Lush...
Pub: Paltor, Ellen, and Ebbard discuss the situation. Paltor says that he
already knew the elves wouldn't take Ecclesia's aid.
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4.3 Base 2: Advance Base
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Operations: You apparently aren't cool enough to participate. High ranking
officers ONLY.
Barrack: First there's no time to linger, now Justino won't let you bug the
soldiers because they need their beauty sleep.
Pub: Paltor, Ellen, and Ebbard have another conversation. Paltor says that
Ecclesia is going to wait for the Dark Legion to overthrow Arein before
Ecclesia moves in to take over. Ebbard and Ellen don't seem to think so.
A week passes... Then Justino interjects that the Dark Legion is going to
launch a massive assault within a few days. He says that the Ecclesian forces
are to save Arein right before they fall. He also says that the mission is
secret, and not to be spoken of. After this point, all you can do is proceed
to the Main Gate to walk to the battlefield.
Justino doesn't want you freelancing... That's ok, the linear gameplay won't
let you! The Dark Legion is attacking Arein, and Justino says it's up to
Ecclesia to bail them out (at the last minute, of course).
Unit selection:
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Ellen Infantry - locked
This level starts with a cool cutscene of Arein's defenders engaging the Dark
Legion. Hey! It's Gerald! And he's got Rupert with him, too. Ecclesia
waits until Justino gives the word, then Ecclesia charges the battlefield to
give aid. You will be thrust into battle with another level 1 Orc Infantry
troop.
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Battle: 3 Orc Infantry lvl. 1
------------------------------
This battle is very similar to the first. It will take some time to hack
through all the orcs, but they won't damage your troop much. After you finish
with the first troop of orcs, you have the choice of moving North or South to
assist other units. As soon as you finish mopping up two more orc troops, the
first battle of the mission is over
A cutscene plays where Gerald and Ellen meet for the first time. Gerald thanks
Ellen for her help, and dismisses her. Ellen says she's just following orders.
Gerald runs off to fight more Dark Legion.
Paltor criticizes Gerald's troop selection; it seems he only has infantry to
fight with and no archer support. Then Gerald gives reason to question his
tactics as well. He runs headlong into some Orc Infantry backed by Scorpions.
Then he fails to eliminate the Scorpions first and starts to get spanked rather
embarrassingly
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Battle: 2 Orc Infantry lvl. 1
2 Scorpion lvl. 1
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Gerald's troops are tangling with the Orc Infantry while the two Scorpions are
hanging back, firing into the melee. A message pops up on screen telling you
to fight the Scorpions first. If you try to engage the orcs first, Ellen will
tell you to fight the Scorpions first. And if you DON'T fight the Scorpions
first, their shockwaves will tear your troop apart rather quickly. So run past
or through the orcs, and fight the Scorpions. They will die rather quickly, as
long as you use Ellen to target their head and front claws. If you attack from
the rear, you will do no damage with Ellen. It helps to use a spread formation
when running up to the Scorpions as they will do less damage to you with their
shockwave, and you will close the distance quicker.
*TIP* Scorpions are very vulnerable to fire. Use Ebbard's Fireball whenever
your SP are over 200.
After the Scorpions are dead, you will get instantly and mysteriously healed!
Hey now. Who needs Curatio?
Gerald's troop and his allied infantry will still be fighting the two Orc
troops. You can choose either to support, but I would recommend supporting
Gerald first, since his troop will kill more orcs, meaning less EXP for you if
you don't steal some of his kills. After you kill both orc troops, Gerald will
try to dismiss Ellen again. That's OK, because Ellen doesn't take orders from
Gerald... yet.
Follow Gerald North and turn the corner to go East. Once Gerald turns the
to go South again, he will run into 5 Dark Elf Fighter troops.
Engage one of the Dark Elf troops (it doesn't matter which). The Dark Elf
leader talks some smack to Ellen in Elvish. Ellen talks some smack back in
English. These Dark Elvish fighters aren't as tough as the orcs, and they'll
be a lot easier to kill. After you've defeated the first of the five troops, a
troop of wyverns will appear from the south. At this point, your archers will
appear, and you'll be instructed to run to the forest. If you choose to stay in
melee, you will be very badly damaged by the wyverns. Best to run to the trees
where Ellen's troop can take cover. Use the archers to shoot down the wyverns.
As soon as you're done shooting down these wyverns, MORE wyverns will appear.
Leave Ellen in the trees, and run the archers over to shoot down these wyverns
also. After all the wyverns are eliminated, move to mop up the remaining four
Dark Elf Fighters. Target the weakest groups first to maximize your EXP.
After all the Dark Elves are eliminated, Gerald will thank you for the archers,
but says he still doesn't need you. Then he walks into a box canyon with the
sun in his face and gets surprised by a group of archers on a ridge in front,
and Dark Elf Fighters running in from behind. Gerald is a walking lesson in
BAD tactics.
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Battle: 2 Dark Elf Fighters lvl. 1
5 Dark Elf Archers lvl. 1
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Send the Archers to the rear position marked on the map by using way-points (use
the L trigger to pull up the map to set way-points). Once the Archers are in
position, a cut-scene will play showing the Archers setting the ground on fire
underneath the Dark Elf Archers. The Dark Elf Archers will burn and die. After
this, all you will need to do is clean up the remaining two Dark Elf Fighter
troops. With the Archers supporting you, they will die quickly.
** Alternate Strategy **
Setting the ground on fire doesn't allow you to get EXP for killing the troops
individually. Since the Dark Elf archers aren't REALLY a threat once you get
into the trees, it's possible to run them down and engage them in melee with
Ellen. You can leave the archers in the field to support the Infantry and rack
up even more kills. I found that even though Ellen came under fire, her troop
took almost no damage once engaged in melee.
This mission nets a PATHETIC amount of EXP given the number of kills you should
have. You should end this mission with around 200 kills for around 130 EXP if
you don't use the alternate strategy. The alternate strategy nets you over
270 kills for around 165 - 170 EXP.
At the conclusion of this mission, Justino sends you North to look for
Lonefield's exiled sister, Snowstone. The idea is that Ecclesia will bring
Snowstone back to Arein, then install her as their puppet ruler of Arein. You
have the choice of going to Base to level, or to proceed directly to battle.
I would strongly recommend leveling up Ellen's troop before proceeding. From
here out, the training wheels are off.
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4.5 Base 3: Advance Base
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Operations: Justino tells you Snowstone is somewhere North of Arein, and that
the Dark Legion is also searching for her.
Barrack: Time to level up. There are a number of ways to level, but I would
suggest adding to Ellen's Melee ability (don't buy Scout yet since you won't be
able to use it on the next board). Also, I would give Allen
(the Archer officer) Holy, allowing him to heal, and upgrade his Range ability.
Holy is the single most important spell-casting skill, especially for ranged
units. You should never enter a battlefield without at least one ranged unit
that has Holy. When equipping units, try to buy items that have an added
ability. The best items are those that provide an EXP bonus, but items are
random, so you have to buy the best available for the unit at the time. Buy
weapons for first for Heroes and troops, buy defensive items first for Officers.
Your adjutant officers' equipment will not add any offensive bonuses, but their
defensive bonuses stack, meaning that your Hero's troop can have a total of
FOUR defensive resistance bonuses (one from your troop, one from the Hero, and
one from each adjutant officer).
Pub: Some of the soldiers have some moderately uninteresting things to say.
One wants to write a book about Elvish fitness, the others talk about the war
between Vellond and Hextor. Another criticizes the Ecclesian's dirty tactics.
Yet another compliments Ellen. Unfortunately, you can't hire any Mercenaries.
Apparently Glaucus was once the site of a castle, but the castle either lifted
off into the sky, or was destroyed by a meteor. Ancient History notwithstanding
you still need to find Snowstone. It's raining, by the way, so fire arrows
won't work as well on this board.
Unit selection:
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Ellen Infantry - locked
Allen Archers - locked
This board is very 3-D with high ridges along the North and South edges, and a
low river ravine in the middle. Archers will be most effective when placed on
high ground, so make every effort to station them on high points and use Ellen
to lure enemy units into melee in clear areas below the Archers.
You will start on the Southwest corner of the board, and will need to explore
to find several Dark Legion units. A lvl 6 Dark Elf Fighter troop and
lvl. 6 Orc Infantry troop are located in the Southeast quarter of the map.
After you engage your first Dark Elf Fighter troop and reduce it to half of
its HP, the leader will attempt to parlay by promising you "valuable
information." If you halt your attack, the enemy troop will attempt to run.
Engage a second time, and the leader will once again plead for amnesty,
promising to reveal to location of Snowstone (she's in the Northeast corner).
Disengage once more, and she will tell you this. you can choose to leave the
enemy troop (softie!), or better yet, kill it. This will net you the EXP for
the kills as well as a roleplaying bonus of 150 EXP (Ellen deeply hates Dark
Elves).
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Battle: 2 Orc Infantry lvl. 6
1 Dark Elf Fighter lvl. 6
1 Dark Elf Archer lvl. 6
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After you cross the river, you'll be met with some moderate resistance. There
are Dark Elf Archers stationed just a little to the Northeast of the river ford.
Resist the urge to charge in since you'll be getting charged very soon by Orc
Infantry, and you want to be able to protect your Archers. Try to stay in the
trees to miminize the effects of support fire from the Dark Archers. You won't
get charged by all three melee units at once, so stay alert to the mini-map to
make sure your Archers don't get caught in melee. If you have to, break Ellen
from battle to chase down any units that chase your Archers. Keeping the
Archers out of melee is critically important.
As long as you have given your Allen a bit of Holy skill, this battle is fairly
easy. Try to get the Archers to higher ground if you can to maximize their
effectiveness. And don't bother with the fire arrow skill since the rain will
prevent it from working.
After you finish mopping up, head Northwest. There aren't any enemies in this
corner, and you want to get to the highest ground possible before attacking the
enemies stationed in the Northeast corner. Once you reach the Northwest corner,
head East.
**Note ** Once I found Snowstone in the Northwest corner instead of Northeast,
though the Orc Infantry troop was still in the Northeast. I took out the Orcs
first, and then moved over to help Snowstone.
Snowstone is in melee with a Dark Elf Fighter troop, but let her be. There's an
Orc Infantry troop heading up from the South, and you'll want to intercept them
to prevent them from getting to the Archers. Once they're gone, eliminate the
Dark Elf Fighters to save Snowstone.
Snowstone knows you only want her as a puppet to rule Arein on Ecclesia's
behalf, but agrees to follow you anyway. She wants you to lead her to the
Southwest while she supports you with magic (and her magic is potent). Head
carefully Southwest, keeping the Archers well in the rear.
When you get to the river ford, there will be a total of four Orc Infantry
troops that will charge you. They are supported by Dark Elf Archers on both
sides of the ford. Draw the orcs uphill into your archer fire and away from
their support fire. Snowstone will fire off meteors that are devastating.
This battle is tougher than the other because you will have to face all four
Orc Infantry at once. Have the archers cast Curatio frequently.
After this battle is finished, there are no more enemies on the board. Lead
Snowstone to the Southwest corner of the board (or Southeast if she was in the
Northwest) and you will be finished. You should finish with around 240 kills
and 1000 - 1100 EXP. Lead Snowstone back to Arein for more level-up action!
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4.7 Base 4: Arein
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You have to go to Operations first so Justino can lecture you for not following
Snowstone into the castle. Justino dismisses Ellen back to Eccelsia now that
Arein is under Ecclesian control.
There is some confusing dialog between Ellen, Paltor and Ebbard, and some
Elvish girl. Ebbard has something to say, but then decides not to say anything.
This will become important later.
Operations: Justino tells you to go back to Ecclesia.
Barrack: Time to level up again. Get Ellen's melee skill above 10, then change
the troop's job to Heavy Infantry. Also, get Allen's melee skill above 3 and
Ranged skill above 7 to change the troop's job to Longbowmen. Don't give any
extra points to Ebbard on this level since you won't be able to use his skills
on the next board. Feel free to purchase equipment that's good since you should
have a fair amount of gold saved up. Investing in Ice Resistance might help
you on the next board.
Pub: Some of the soldiers have some more badly edited things to say. Nothing
consequential except for comments that Arein is now under Ecclesian control
by way of Snowstone. You still can't hire any Mercenaries.
Main Gate: The Main Gate will take you to Ecclesia.
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4.8 Base 5: Ecclesia
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Operations: Apparently you're here for an equipment inspection.
Barrack: You can do any leveling up you didn't accomplish in Arein. More than
likely you will not need to. You should notice that Ebbard is missing from
your troop. As you leave, the Ecclesian guards will try to detain Ellen.
Something happens to the guard (Ellen kicks him in the nuts?) and Ellen calls
Ebbard a fool.
Pub: Same dialog here as you saw in Arein. But now you can hire mercenaries!!
You won't need any for the next mission, though, nor can you afford to spread
your resources thin at this point. If you've already visited the Barracks and
the guard tried to detain Ellen, Paltor and Ellen will have a conversation in
which Ellen reveals that she's a half-elf, and that she needs to flee Ecclesia.
Paltor insists on following.
Main Gate: Paltor brings Ellen's troop to follow Ellen to the cave that leads
to the South. Hooyah.
Unit selection:
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Ellen Infantry - locked
1 Free
Overview:
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This is a snowy board where the sun sits at a low angle in the West. Facing
away from the sun is critical in this board, so hug the Western edge and work
West to East when possible. The object is to get to the area at the Northern
edge of the board and find the cave entrance (at the top edge, just West of the
Northeast corner.). This is more of a search and destroy mission, where you
should send out a scout and either lure back or attack each enemy troop one by
one.
You will start from the center of the board. To the East is a troop of Lvl. 12
Infantry and three troops of Lvl. 12 Knights. If you're using Longbows, they
will be very effective firing at oncoming enemies with the sun at their back.
Use a scout or Ellen's troop to lure them into the line of fire. These units
are patrolling, so more than likely, you'll encounter them one by one.
To the West are three troops of Archers with the sun at their back. Send out a
scout to find the locations of the enemy Archers. You should also find two
troops of Kinghts to the North of the southernmost two Archer troops. There is
a Tower of Healing that's highlighted on the map also in case you need healing.
More than likely, if you've invested in Holy, you won't. Mop up the three
Archer troops one by one, then take out the two Knight troops.
Just to the North of the Knights is Gwen, a fallen Officer of a Spearmen troop
that tried to follow Ellen, but ran into some trouble in the form of an Ice
Maiden troop. After you're done talking to Gwen, go East to the marked area to
pick up a troop of Spearmen! Of course, you'll have to kill a Lvl. 8 troop
of Ice Maidens first. Ice Maidens are annoying to fight because they keep
phasing in and out and have a lot of HP and melee resistance. Luckily, they
also aren't very powerful in melee, so they won't do much damage to your troop
even if they take a LONG time to kill. At the conclusion of the battle, you'll
have inherited a Lvl. 10 Spearmen troop.
Proceed North to the Northeast corner. Move West along the Northern wall (stay
as close to the wall as you can) and you will find the cave entrance. As soon
as you try to enter the cave, two Lvl. 8 Cavalry troops will appear out of the
West and charge your position. The first will be taken care of in a cut scene
demonstrating the powerful defense your Spearmen provide you from Cavalry
charges. You will have to maneuver appropriately to take care of the second
troop yourself. Just move your other units behind the Spearmen, and the Cavalry
will charge into the spears. As soon as you defeat this last Cavalry unit, you
will have accomplished the mission.
You should finish the mission with a little over 220 kills and 2450 EXP.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to spend any of it for two more missions.
Unit selection:
---------------
Ellen Infantry - locked
2 Free
Overview:
---------
This level is the first truly difficult board to play. The two major challenges
presented are the endless stream of Ecclesian units using healing magic, and
the powerful blizzard attacks of the Dark Elvish troops at the end of the level.
This is not a board where you will have time to pick apart enemy troops
tactically since you will be constantly pressured from the rear by re-spawning
Ecclesian units. The key will be to beat back the Ecclesians long enough to run
past the dark Elves, then attack the two sides as they fight each other.
Getting past the Blizzard casters at the end will require timing, luck, and
a little AI exploitation.
Walkthrough:
------------
You will start at the Southern edge of the cave. The exit is at the North edge
in the middle. At first, there will be no enemy in sight. The Ecclesian armies
will not begin spawning until Ellen's troop reaches the stalagmite blocking the
exit from the first chamber. The only enemy troops on the board will be the
Dark Elves guarding the exit (two Lvl. 5 and one Lvl. 3 Dark Knight troops).
These troops will initially ignore your scout, so you can walk by and mad-dog
them all you want.
As soon as Ellen's troop walks up to the stalagmite blocking the path North,
you will get a cutscene where Ellen says that she remembers the path being
different... If you brought Longbows, get them up as close to the Stalagmite
as possible so they will have high ground and be protected.
the first wave of Ecclesians will spawn at the cave entrance.
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Battle: 1 Knight lvl. 10
1 Paladin lvl. 8
1 Archer lvl. 6
----------------------------------
This first battle will be tougher than all the others you've yet faced. This is
because you face a diversity of troops, and they use sound tactics. Get used to
this for the rest of the game, especially when facing human troops. First
off, the Knights are relatively strong, and will charge your position,
attempting to tangle you in melee. They will have fire support from Archers
and healing support from Paladins, both of whom will avoid melee. Assuming you
brought Longbow and Spearmen to the party, have your Spearmen engage the Knights
with fire support from the Archers. They should be able to hold their own, with
healing and fire support. Have Ellen chase down the Archers. The Archers need
to be dealt with first since you will be decimated if they fire into your melee.
Set a closed formation, walk up, and wallop them. The Paladins will heal them
from a safe distance, which is moderately annoying, but not too bad. Make sure
you finish off downed units using Ellen's A + X move to make sure they don't get
up again fully healed. After all, healing only works on the LIVING. After the
Archers are mopped up, chase down and eliminate those pesky Paladins. Have your
other troops assist as soon as they're done with the Knights.
*NOTE* If you sent your Scout up to stand next to the Dark Elf Knights at the
exit, one or more will activate after Ellen enters melee and may chase down your
position. You will know if they activate when someone yells "The enemy captured
our scout!"
They could arrive at any time and start casting Blizzard, so be
prepared. This is a GOOD THING if you do happen to draw them out. Less to worry
about later.
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Battle: 2 Paladin lvl. 10
----------------------------------
Right after you finish the first wave, a second wave of two Paladins will spawn
at the cave entrance and try to make your life difficult. You should be able
to handle them easily. Just make sure you engage both in melee at the same
time so you don't have to worry about healing. Split your spearmen off to
attack one troop if they separate and run. When the Paladins are about half
dead, Ebbard will appear and cast meteor twice! He will first destroy that
pesky stalagmite (but how did he get to the other side?). He will then destroy
the remainder of the Paladins. Good old Ebbard...
You'll get a break in the action now as long as you don't talk to Ebbard, so
keep your troops well within the first chamber. Once you do talk to Ebbard, the
Ecclesians will start their endless stream of re-spawning units at the cave
entrance. Send a scout up toward the Dark Elf troops and mad-dog them some
more. Get right up in their face and shout obscenities! They're like the
Buckingham Palace guards... won't move a muscle. Just let your scout stand
there. He'll be dead soon enough...
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Battle: 2 lvl. 5 Dark Elf Knight
1 lvl. 3 Dark Elf Knight
------------------------.----------
If you don't handle the guard to the exit at this point, they will become a
right pain in the arse at the end of the level. Since nothing will advance
without Ellen talking to Ebbard, leave Ellen well in the rear and send your
Spearmen up to bait the Dark Elves into chasing you. Once they see your
Spearmen, they will give chase (probably gobbling up your scout in the process).
Lead them down to where Ebbard's troop is standing, and they will engage Ebbard
in melee. If you left Ellen far enough back, you won't see any of the pesky
blizzard action they so enjoy unleashing... (I think something in the AI of
these enemies is coded to only unleash Blizzard when Ellen is present). Once
they are in melee, you won't have to worry about the Blizzard anymore, so you
can throw everything in the toolshed at them. I left Ellen back anyway so as
not to trigger her dialog with Ebbard and get flanked by the Ecclesians. With
healing support, Ebbard, the Spearmen, and Longbowmen are perfectly able to take
out these Dark Elf troops. If you handle this battle successfully, the rest of
the level is a bunny hunt for EXP. Well, maybe not a bunny hunt, but you can
just run to the end when you get low on life.
There are two paths to take, one to the East, one to the West. Both paths
are protected by troops of lvl. 6 Dark Elf Fighters, lvl. 10 Dark Elf Knights,
and lvl. 6 Dark Elf Archers that will run fight either you or the Ecclesians
depending on who gets there first. I counted a total of 4 lvl. 10 Dark Elf
Knights, two lvl. 6 Dark Elf Fighter, and two lvl. 6 Dark Elf Archers.
If you don't want anymore EXP, you can simply run through combat to the end of
the level, which is at the North center where you found the Dark Elf troops that
you baited with your Spearmen. Or you can be like me and fight for as long as
you can hold out against the Ecclesians. They'll throw Paladins at you three at
a time until the cows come home. Kill as many as you feel you will need to max
out your EXP, then head for the exit. If you brought Longbows like you should,
Direct Arrow works REALLY well to kill Paladins in large numbers. Once you get
close enough to the exit, Ellen will say "Head for the exit!" At this point,
the enemies will stop spawning. To max out your unit EXP, you will need
somewhere close to 900 kills for every unit! To do that, you'd have to stay
in the fight for about three hours I'm guessing. I finished with a lot less
than that: about 800 kills total for about 6000 EXP and 27,000 Gold. Walk out
the door, and get ready for the most annoying level yet!
*Alternate Strategy*
--------------------
If the above strategy was too technical or you just want to get through the
level quickly, you can try an alternative strategy submitted by Adam Blaukowitch
According to Adam, as soon as Ellen's first dialog with Ebbard is over, start
running for the exit. Don't stop to engage the Paladins or the Dark Elves at
all. They'll eventually start fighting each other, and if you run for dear life
you should be able to get to the end without losing much life. You'll get hit
with the Blizzards, but if you fight through, you should be able to make it.
I tried this method, and it works, but only Ellen's troop survived, which is
all that really matters since the other units will not have made many (if any)
kills. The advantage to this method is that you get through quickly. The
disadvantage is that you sacrifice EXP and Gold that you could have made by
hunting down and killing all the Dark Elves and the all-you-can-eat Paladins.
Unit selection:
---------------
Ellen Infantry - locked
2 Free
Overview:
---------
Did I mention this level was annoying? It is, not because it's hard, but
because you aren't supposed to kill anything. The object is to run away. How
stupid.
Walkthrough:
------------
You'll start in the Northwest corner of the board. The goal is to get Ellen's
troop to the Southeast corner. Just run through. Run out of combat. You won't
get any EXP for kills, so don't bother. The level is just filler as a prelude
to a FMV cut-scene in which Ellen is saved from the rampaging orcs by Gerald.
After Gerald's archers cut down the pursuing orcs, Gerald demands that Ellen
drop her arms and remove her helmet. Ellen does, and reveals to him that she is
a half-elf.
*TIP* Don't bring all your units into this fight. Since there's only running,
and no fighting, other units will only slow you down. Only Ellen is required,
and she should be the only unit you bring.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.12 Base 5: Esse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You're part of the Hironeiden army now under Gerald. Finally, a base to do some
levelling up.
Operations: Ellen is introduced to General Hugh. He tells her that Hironeiden
is more tolerant of elves than Ecclesia. Hugh assigns Ellen to Gerald's
company.
Barrack: Time to level up again. Get Ellen's melee skill above 15 to upgrade
the troop to Knights. Also, get Ebbard's fire skill up and swap him back into
Ellen's troop. Make sure he can cast Kaleidoflamma (fire 5 required) since
this will be your primary offensive weapon from here on out. I hired a
mercenary with the Heal skill to swap in to Ellen's troop to allow Ellen to
Heal during melee. I also gave Paltor his own troop and upgraded them to
mortars. You may also want to upgrade a unit to either a Storm Rider or Bomber
Wing since you'll be able to use support units on the next boards.
Pub: Ebbard says he's sorry. That's OK, Ebbard... We can level up your
Fire skill now for some Kaleidoflamma smack-down! You can hire mercenaries
here too. I would advise hiring a mage or an elf so you can swap Ebbard for
someone with the Heal skill.
*TIP* When you hire a mercenary, make sure you use the X button to reset the
mercenary troop to default. That way you will get back EXP for the merc
officer's skills! You can then build them back up the way you want them.
Main Gate: The Main Gate will take you to either the optional Unknown battle
or Raven Meadow.
Unit selection:
---------------
Ellen Infantry - locked
3 Free
1 Support
Overview:
---------
Although you don't have to complete the Unknown missions, they're fun and not
too difficult since they're search and destroy missions. Use them to build gold
and EXP for the more difficult story-line missions. This is the first of three
Unknown missions in Ellen's campaign. The other Heroes have many more of these
type of missions. The enemies you'll face and your starting position are random
so you may or may not face the exact same troop types that I describe here. Be
prepared for similar units, numbers, and levels.
Walkthrough:
------------
This board is primarily a forest with rolling hills. Hunt down each enemy one
(or two or three) at a time. If you purchased mortars, they will shine on this
board.
-----------------------------------
Battle: 3 lvl. 21 Dark Elf Archer
4 lvl. 18 Dark Elf Knight
5 lvl. 20 Ghouls
----------------------------------
Once all of the above enemies are eliminated, your mission will be a success.
I finished with 218 kills for approximately 4600 EXP and 5470 Gold. Not huge,
but a nice bonus.
Unit selection:
---------------
Ellen Infantry - locked
2 Free
1 Support
Overview:
---------
This will be the first large-scale battle you will participate in in Ellen's
campaign. You will start out behind Gerald's lines as the Hironeiden army
engages the Dark Legion. The idea is to support Gerald's forces while racking
up as many kills as possible. You'll run into Wyverns on this board, as well as
Swamp Mammoths, though you can avoid them easily. All in all, this battle looks
scarier than it is. It is really quite easy because your role is not as
critical to the outcome of the battle. Gerald has a huge advantage, and the
outcome is scripted, so it's really just another training scenario in
battlefield tactics and unit types.
Mortars, Catapults, and Ballistae will be unstoppable on this board since
you'll be facing enemy Archers, Infantry, and Scorpions. There's also a lot of
thick melee, perfect for huge splash damage. And of course, Scorpions are
vulnerable to siege fire, and there's several of them on this board. Longbows
are good for all the same reasons mortars are good, but they can't touch
Scorpions. They can, however, kill Wyverns quicker than the Hironeiden Archers.
Cavalry will be able to charge through melee racking up huge numbers
of SP and disrupting enemy Archers. Even though you're allowed to bring in
support units, neither Storm Riders nor Bomber Wings will be very useful here
since there are a large number of enemy Archers behind each melee.
Walkthrough:
------------
The level starts just as the battle begins. All of your units will be centered
behind Gerald's lines. Gerald will tell you to take out the enemy archers.
The Orc Infantry will charge and engage Gerald's Infantry units. The Scorpions
will hang back, as will the Archers. Eventually, the Hironeiden Infantry will
push through and engage the Scorpions in melee.
Your priority should be to take out the Archers, followed by the Scorpions. If
you brought mortars, use them to target the Scorpions. Use Ellen to sweep up
the archers. Go either North or South then turn and get behind the Scorpions
to take out the Archers. This way you won't expose yourself to fire
unnecessarily, and won't get tangled in melee with the Infantry or Scorpions.
--------------------------------------
Battle: 6 lvl. 18-20 Dark Elf Fighter
--------------------------------------
Once you've gained a decisive advantage and enter the mop up phase on the
first wave of enemies, six troops of fast-moving Dark Elf fighters will move in
to flank the Hironeiden missile units: three from the North, three from the
South. Pick the closest group, and take them on one by one. You should be able
to clean these melee troops up rather easily.
-----------------------------------
Battle: 7 lvl. 15-18 Orc Infantry
2 lvl. 15 Wyvern
5 lvl. 16 Dark Elf Archers
2 lvl. 15 Swamp Mammoth
-----------------------------------
The next wave of enemies will be spread out both in space and time and will be
well mixed. The main push of the enemy force will come in the middle as they
try to cross the river. Wyverns will come through the center of the board and
Swamp Mammoths will come shortly after from the South.
You can choose to fight on the outskirts at either the North or South end, or
stand fast in the thick of the fight in the middle. If you have longbow
support, I would suggest going to the middle. If you have Cavalry, I would
suggest harrying the enemy flanks and letting the allied Archers deal with the
Wyverns.
Gerald's forces can more than hold their own, try not to split your forces up
too much. Take on one section of the battlefield at a time. If you didn't
bring Longbows, stay away from the Wyverns, or stay in the trees! Under no
circumstances should you go within range of the Swamp Mammoths. If you brought
mortars, use them against the mammoths, but don't go in with melee units.
Once you kill a certain number of enemies, they will signal the retreat, and
you will have won the mission. No, you don't get to kill every single thing
that moves... Weak.
I finished this mission with surprisingly little experience despite a very
aggressive approach: 241 kills for 4733 EXP and 8527 Gold.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.15 Base 6: Advance Base
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operations: Nothing here. Go to the Pub to get your marching orders.
Barrack: Business as usual here - more leveling up!
Pub: Dark Elves have infiltrated the area! And it's up to YOU to stop them...
Rupert says something bad about Ellen and Gerald defends her. Must be love.
Main Gate: The Main Gate will take you to either the optional Unknown battle
or Glaucus. As always, I would advise that you fight the Unknown battle to
build EXP and gold.
Unit selection:
---------------
Ellen Infantry - locked
3 Free
1 Support
Overview:
---------
This mission, like the last, is a search and destroy mission where the object
is to eliminate all enemy forces on the board. The enemy forces are stationary,
so it's pretty elementary. Use the sun and the terrain to approach them from
the proper side, with the proper support behind your infantry. If you brought
Cavalry, don't take them anywhere near any enemy Axemen.
Walkthrough:
------------
This board is primarily a forest with rolling hills like the last one. Because
of the thick forest, go with Mortars instead of Longbows and Bomber Wings in
lieu of Storm Riders if you have the choice. Be careful of Infantry units
flanking you to battle your ranged support, make sure you match up your Infantry
and ranged support with their Axemen and Infantry, and try to use Cavalry to
disrupt the enemy Archers.
Unit selection:
---------------
Ellen Infantry - locked
1 Free
Overview:
---------
Gerald suspects that a Dark Legion base may be in the area of Glaucus, and wants
to take Ellen and Rupert to search for it. When they reach the Glaucus river,
it seems as though the river is lower than it should be... Head West with
Gerald to join the first battle
-----------------------------------
Battle: 3 lvl. 17-22 Orc Infantry
2 lvl. 17-18 Dark Elf Archers
--------------------------------------
This is an easy battle because you outnumber the enemy. The Infantry will
charge while the Archers hang back. If you are able to engage the Infantry
in the trees, do so, otherwise, take out the Archers first. No matter what,
Gerald's forces will eventually take out all the enemies. After the battle is
done, move to the flashing red square, and trigger a cut-scene.
It turns out the river is dammed, and that's why it's low. Gerald sends Ellen
with a troop of Sappers to go open the floodgates (with their oh-so useful
"Open Floodgate" special ability).
-----------------------------------
Battle: 6 lvl. 19-24 Orc Infantry
-----------------------------------
As soon as Gerald sends you off, 6 groups of Orc Infantry (somewhat spread out)
will charge his position. I would recommend you stay and support Gerald while
keeping the Sappers out of combat in a quiet corner. Ellen and her support unit
(I used Mortars) will make quick work of these Infantry for lots of EXP and
gold.
--------------------------------------
Battle: 4 lvl. 21-26 Dark Elf Fighter
--------------------------------------
Use a scout to find the Dark Elf Fighters to the South. There's a narrow pass
you have to go through to get to the Southern half of the board before hooking
around to the Northwest where the goal is. The Dark Elf Fighters are strung
out in a line along the wall you have to go around. Since there's only 4, I
would also recommend ignoring Gerald's commands and just eliminate all 4 with
Ellen's troop and her support. Use the wall to your advantage to prevent your
troops from getting flanked. If you move along the wall, you'll meet up with
the Dark Elves one by one.
Once you turn the corner around the wall, you'll be notified that there are
traps ahead, and a flashing red square will appear to show you where they are.
Nice to have psychics in the ranks... Use your Scout and the Sappers to detect
the traps, and the Sappers to remove them. Keep all the other units back at
edge of the red square. As soon as all the traps are removed, move through the
red square and get your units positioned for battle.
--------------------------------------
Battle: 1 lvl. 15 Dark Elf Fighter
3 lvl. 14-15 Orc Infantry
--------------------------------------
Your alarmist troops exclaim that they'll be overrun! Oh no! By FOUR mediocre
Infantry units!! Set a trap with the Sappers, and retreat a little way. The
Dark Elves will come from the West, and the Orcs from the East. Try to walk the
Orcs into the traps, and engage with everyone. You'll quickly be victorious.
*TIP* Sapper Trap Trick: Sappers can put down and pick up traps, one costs SP,
and one recovers it. Since gold is linked to the amount of SP spent in a
mission, you can rack up massive gold if you have the patience to put down and
pick up a bunch of traps in a quiet moment. You can do that here and now if
you so desire.
--------------------------------------
Battle: 2 lvl. 12-13 Dark Elf Archer
--------------------------------------
Not much of a battle really, but there are two low-level Dark Elf Archers
guarding the floodgate. Take them out before deploying the Sappers to open the
gate. Once the gate is open, the river floods, and the mission ends.
I finished with 350 kills for approximately 7600 EXP and 9000 Gold.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.18 Base 7: Advance Base
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operations: Last Battle? Really? Not if you do the Unknown mission!
Barrack: Before going into the last battle (Arein), make sure you pick out
which units you want to take with you (Ellen, 2 other, 1 support) and strip
down all the EXP and Items from the other units. Also, sell all your EXP
generating equipment for HP or SP boosting equipment if you can. You won't be
needing any more EXP, and you won't be needing any units again except the ones
you take into this battle.
Pub: Rupert apologizes to Ellen and says he doesn't know if he could have taken
out the dam gate (yeah...) He also says he really isn't into Dwarf women.
Main Gate: The Main Gate will take you to either the optional Unknown battle
or Arein. As always, I would advise that you fight the Unknown battle to
build EXP and gold.
Unit selection:
---------------
Ellen Infantry - locked
3 Free
1 Support
Overview:
---------
This optional mission is more or less a bunny hunt. The primary enemy troop on
this board is the Orc Sapper, which would be more of a challenge if they
actually laid down some traps. But they don't, not a single one. Cavalry,
catapults, Longbows, Mortars, whatever you have, throw at them and enjoy the
carnage. The Orc Infantry are not too tough, and there aren't enough Dark Elf
Archers to cause much of a problem except for your Support troop.
Walkthrough:
------------
Kill them as you find them. Units are scattered fairly randomly around the
board and will attack recklessly when they see you. Foolish Orc Sappers...
Unit selection:
---------------
There's a bug here. The map says Infantry, 3 free, 1 support, but you are only
allowed to deploy Infantry, 2 free and 1 support.
Ellen Infantry - locked
2 Free
1 Support
Overview:
---------
This will be the final mission, and it's definitely a comprehensive test of your
battle skills. You'll see quite a bit of action and need to keep all your units
together and coordinated to operate effectively. Make sure you don't get too
spread out, even though you'll be tempted to send different units in different
directions. Remember, since this is the last battle, kills, EXP and Gold don't
count. Survival does. The most important thing is not to let your ranged
support units get surrounded, and don't fly your Support troop near enemy
Archers.
Walkthrough:
------------
You will start near the flank of Gerald's army as part of the front line. The
castle wall is to the South, and you'll be at the Northwest corner of the map.
-----------------------------------
Battle: 5 lvl. 24 Orc Infantry
4 lvl. 24 Dark Elf Knights
----------------------------------
Your first task will be to engage Orc Infantry in order to protect the catapult
and mortar units giving fire support from the rear. Engage each Orc Infantry
troop one by one. Once you've eliminated most of them, the Dark Elf Knights
will come up to attack from the South. Don't get drawn into the range of the
Archers on the castle wall. Let the Knights come to your position.
-----------------------------------
Battle: 4 lvl. 24 Ghouls
4 lvl. 18 Dark Elf Archers
2 lvl. 22 Orc Infantry
----------------------------------
When you've eliminated the Knights, the outer wall will fall, and the battle
enters phase two. Four troops of Ghouls will come up through the breach in
the wall, and Orc Infantry will follow them. Gerald will charge into the breach
and engage the Ghouls. Behind the Orc Infantry are four Dark Elf Archer units
that will need to be taken care of quickly in order to avoid them decimating the
Infantry in melee.
-----------------------------------
Battle: 2 lvl. 21 Ghouls
2 lvl. 24 Dark Elf Knights
6 lvl. 22 Orc Infantry
----------------------------------
Several Ghoul, Dark Elf Knight, and Orc Infantry units are spaced out inside
the outer castle wall, guarding the inner castle wall. The Ghouls in the rear
will cast Dark Mist if you don't deal with them first. After you kill all the
Ghouls, move on to the Orc Infantry and the Knights.
-----------------------------------
Battle: 1 lvl. 99 Leinhart
2 lvl. 24 Dark Elf Knights
4 lvl. 22 Orc Infantry
3 lvl. 18 Dark Elf Archers
-----------------------------------
About halfway through the skirmish with the Ghouls, Leinhart and two Dark Elf
Knights will come from the Southwest. At the same time, several Dark Elf
Archers will come from the East, and Orc Infantry from the North to flank the
Catapults.
Stay away from Leinhart, since you won't be able to damage his troop just yet.
He will engage Gerald and the two will be invincible (for now). Take on the
Orcs and Dark Elves to the North, and clean up the rest of the area around the
inner wall as you can. This battle may get a little dicey because you won't get
much melee support from Gerald's mortars and Catapults, and you'll have to deal
with a large number of enemies all at once. Watch your life-bar, and don't get
killed now after you've come so far.
As soon as the wall comes down, focus on the melee between Leinhart and Gerald.
Nothing else matters at this point except saving Gerald's butt with healing
spells and getting into melee with Leinhart before Gerald dies.
During melee with Leinhart, Gerald will fall, and Ellen and Leinhart will have
a conversation. Leinhart says fighting Gerald was more fun than fighting orcs.
Then, for some reason, the Dark Elves withdraw and Arein is once again in the
hands of Hironeiden.
Congratulations! Watch your cut-scene and credits. You have won Ellen's
campaign. After the credits, save your game, and you'll be able to replay
any of Ellen's completed levels with your high-level troops just for fun. It's
really quite satisfying to replay Woodenshade with Mortars, an Earth Golem, and
a leveled up Ellen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Troop Guide : Human Alliance
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------,
5.1 Infantry |
--------------'
Infantry are the basic unit of the Human Alliance. All other units start out
as Infantry, but they shouldn't STAY Infantry. The ONLY reason to use basic
Infantry in combat is because you have to (as in Ellen's first mission).
Infantry are resistant to arrow attack if you place them in closed formation,
though you shouldn't ever be using Infantry on a board where there are Archers.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 1 Sword / Axe Melee 0
Buckler / Shield Range 21
Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 0
Fire 0
Lightning -19
Ice -150
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------,
5.2 Heavy Infantry |
--------------------'
Heavy Infantry are more heavily armed and armored fighting men. They are not
quite as strong as Knights, but have the advantage of slightly greater speed and
less vulnerability to lightning. They can also can equip shields, where Knights
cannot. Heavy Infantry in closed formation are resistant to arrow attacks,
though they will move very slowly.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 10 Sword / Axe Melee 0
Buckler / Shield Range 21
Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 0
Fire 0
Lightning -79
Ice 0
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------,
5.3 Spearmen |
---------------'
Spearmen are essentially Infantry that are specialized to kill Cavalry. They
have great resistance to Frontal damage (from charging Cavalry) and their
spears are deadly to oncoming Cavalry. Spearmen in melee are identical to
regular Infantry, and are not able to deal Frontal damage to charging Cavalry
(though they are still resistant to the damage). Spearmen should only be used
in battles where you expect to see enemy Cavalry. There is only one such
mission in Ellen's campaign (Nowart) and in this mission, you will be supplied
with Spearmen right before you need them.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 2 Spear Melee 0
Frontal 3 None Range 21
Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 75
Fire 0
Lightning -19
Ice -150
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------,
5.4 Knight |
------------'
Knights are the strongest human infantry unit, and Ellen should upgrade her
troop to Knights as soon as possible. The achilles heel of Knights is their
weakness to Lightning. Fortunately, you will not see any enemies wielding
Lightning magic in Ellen's campaign. Knights share the ability of Heavy and
regular Infantry to resist arrow attacks when using a closed formation.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 15 Two Handed Sword Melee 11
None Range 29
Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 0
Fire 0
Lightning -200
Ice 0
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------,
5.5 Cavalry |
-------------'
Cavalry are mounted horsemen with lances. They are able to fight effectively
in melee, but are most effective when charging through units that are already
engaged in melee. This allows them to inflict Frontal damage instead of Melee
damage in addition to racking up large amounts of SP. Because of their speed,
Cavalry are effective at quickly charging and engaging ranged and magic using
support units, disrupting these units abilities to use magic and ranged spells.
Waypoints should be used when charging cavalry through battle. Set a waypoint
on the enemy, one past the enemy, one on the enemy, one past the enemy, one on
the enemy, etc... for as many passes as you wish to execute. You can also
route cavalry from enemy troop to enemy troop to make "rounds" of a
battlefield, racking up SP while harrying the enemy.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 5 Lance Melee 0
Frontal 2 Equipment Range 5
Riding 2 Armor Explosion 0
Frontal -50
Fire -150
Lightning -19
Ice 0
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -150
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------,
5.6 Heavy Cavalry |
-------------------'
Heavy Cavalry are in all ways the same as regular Cavalry with the exception
that they are tougher (more HP), more resistant to ranged attacks, and more
vulnerable to lightning. You should upgrade your regular Cavalry to Heavy
Cavalry as soon as possible since you won't be seeing any lightning in Ellen's
campaign.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 7 Lance Melee 0
Frontal 5 Equipment Range 21
Riding 5 Armor Explosion 0
Frontal -50
Fire -150
Lightning -200
Ice 0
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -150
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------,
5.7 Storm Rider |
-----------------'
Storm Riders are trained giant eagles that have been trained and equipped for
combat. They are one of two aerial support units available to the Human
Alliance. Storm Riders have the advantage of being fast (the fastest unit in
the game), and able to attack air and ground units. They have the disadvantage
of being very fragile. They cannot stand against any other unit able to hit
them, and will very quickly be eliminated by any type of magic. They also
cannot attack ground units that are in a forest. This combination of strengths
and weaknesses makes Storm Riders great scouts and raiders, but very poor front
line combatants. Very often, you will find yourself running critically injured
Storm Riders out of range of the Archers that they got too close to for a few
seconds.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 10 None Melee 0
Frontal 8 Equipment Range -200
Riding 10 None Explosion -100
Frontal 0
Fire -400
Lightning -400
Ice -400
Holy -50
Earth -400
Curse -400
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------,
5.8 Archer |
------------'
Archers are bowmen that can also fight in melee. They are able to use Fire
Arrows to set forests on fire, and Direct Shot to fire a focused volley at
short range for great damage. Archers are able to attack both air and ground
targets, and are especially strong against air units. Archers get an advantage
when firing at an enemy from higher ground, or with the sun at their back. The
main advantage of Archers is that you can give their officer the Holy skill so
they can cast Curatio. Archers/Longbows are the only ranged units that have
two skill slots available for an additional magic skill. You could give them
any magic skill, but being able to cast Curatio with ranged units that
generally stay out of melee is a huge advantage.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 1 Bow Melee 0
Ranged 1 Sword / Axe Range 0
Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 0
Fire 0
Lightning -19
Ice -150
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------,
5.9 Longbow |
--------------'
Longbowmen are upgraded Archers with greater range and HP. They also have
slightly more resistance to physical attacks. In all other ways, they are the
same as Archers. Upgrade your Archers to Longbows as soon as possible.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 3 Bow Melee 6
Ranged 7 Sword / Axe Range 6
Armor Explosion 6
Frontal 6
Fire 0
Lightning -19
Ice -150
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------,
5.10 Mortar |
-------------'
Mortars are small field artillery, but they do HUGE damage. Mortars are quite
possibly the best unit available to the Human Alliance. They can't stand alone,
but used properly, they are overwhelmingly powerful. Their main advantage is
that they have very long range, and inflict splash damage. Catapults and
Ballistae also have long range, but fire and move slower, and don't inflict
splash damage. Mortar fire also knocks down units that are hit, disrupting
opposing missilers and slowing the pace of damage dealing in melee. The main
disadvantage of Mortars is that they can't hit aerial units. In order to make
your Mortars more effective, upgrade the Gunpowder skill to at least 15.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 5 Mortar Melee 21
Ranged 7 Sword / Axe Range 0
Gunpowder 10 Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 0
Fire -150
Lightning -150
Ice 0
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------,
5.11 Sapper |
-------------'
Sappers are combat engineers that set and remove traps on the battlefield. You
won't have much use for them in Ellen's campaign except in one campaign
(Glaucus). Sappers can be very effective when used properly, but because of
their poor melee skill, most of the time you will want to bring a more powerful
combat unit whose damage dealing doesn't rely on the enemy moving toward YOUR
forces.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 1 Pickaxe Melee 0
Teamwork 1 Knapsack Range 0
Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 0
Fire 0
Lightning -19
Ice -150
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------,
5.12 Pyro Technician |
----------------------'
Pyro Technicians are upgraded Sappers that set explosive mines instead of traps.
They also have the ability to set fires. If you use Sappers, you should upgrade
to Pyro Technicians as soon as possible to get more damage out of their traps.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 4 Pickaxe Melee 0
Teamwork 4 Knapsack Range 0
Gunpowder 5 Armor Explosion 0
Frontal 0
Fire -150
Lightning -150
Ice 0
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------,
5.13 Bomber Wing |
------------------'
Bomber Wings are small dirigibles that drop explosives into combat. They are
the second support unit available to the Human Alliance, and are better damage
dealers than Storm Riders. Actually, the damage they deal is quite substantial,
especially with an upgraded Gunpowder skill. They are, however, very weak to
all forms of physical and magical attack, and are unable to attack other aerial
units.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 9 None Melee -19
Teamwork 10 Aviation Gear Range -200
Gunpowder 12 None Explosion -100
Frontal 0
Fire -400
Lightning -400
Ice -400
Holy -50
Earth -400
Curse -400
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------,
5.14 Ballista |
---------------'
Ballistae are huge crossbows used as field artillery and as siege weapons. They
are slow moving and firing, but deal great damage, and knock down humanoid units
They also have the longest range of any unit, and are most effective with a
Scout being used as a spotter. Ballistae are especially effective against
aerial units and large Beast units like Swamp Mammoths and Scorpions.
Ballistae will probably not be more useful than Mortars in most of Ellen's
missions.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 6 Ballista Melee 50
Ranged 6 None Range 25
Teamwork 10 None Explosion -50
Frontal 81
Fire 0
Lightning -19
Ice -150
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------,
5.15 Catapult |
---------------'
Catapults are large siege weapons that hurl stones. They have long range, great
damage, and inflict knockdown on humanoid troops. They can't, however, hit
aerial units. In all other ways, Catapults are the same as Ballistae, but with
less range and fewer HP. They have the advantage of being cheaper in terms of
EXP, though.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 3 Catapult Melee 50
Ranged 3 None Range 25
Teamwork 4 None Explosion -50
Frontal 81
Fire 0
Lightning -19
Ice -150
Holy 0
Earth -50
Curse -19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------,
5.16 Earth Golem |
------------------'
Earth Golems are a single large, rock creature that is nearly indestructible by
normal attacks. Earth Golems cast a very powerful poison Vine.
The Earth Golem is the best Elemental unit to use in Ellen's campaign as it is
resistant to Melee and Range damage, the most common type of damage you will
encounter. Their vulnerability to Frontal, Lightning, and Explosion damage will
not be exposed in any of Ellen's missions.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 5 None Melee 61
Earth 25 Range 91
Explosion -200
Frontal -150
Fire 25
Lightning -150
Ice 25
Holy 0
Earth 0
Curse 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------,
5.17 Ice Maiden |
-----------------'
Ice Maidens are feminine shaped ice spirits that are very difficult to kill
conventional attacks. They have the ability to cast a potent Blizzard. Ice
Maidens are another good choice for Ellen's campaign since their vulnerability
to Fire isn't likely to be exposed by any of the enemies faced during Ellen's
missions.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 5 None Melee 61
Ice 25 Range 91
Explosion 0
Frontal -50
Fire -400
Lightning 25
Ice 0
Holy 0
Earth 25
Curse 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------,
5.18 Thunder Rhino |
--------------------'
The Thunder Rhino is a large thunder spirit animal with a strong Thunderstorm
attack. The Thunder Rhino is vulnerable to Explosion and Frontal attacks,
neither of which you're likely to see in Ellen's campaign. Their slightly
lower resistance to melee attacks makes them a second best choice for Ellen's
campaign than the other Elementals.
Required Skill Equipment Resistance
-------------- --------- -----------------
Melee 5 None Melee 16
Lightning 25 Range 91
Explosion -200
Frontal -150
Fire 0
Lightning 0
Ice 25
Holy 0
Earth -19
Curse 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------,
5.19 Flame Wraith |
-------------------'
Flame Wraiths are a cadre of sword weilding Fire spirits with a powerful meteor
spell. They have better resistances than the other elementals, but aren't as
resistant to melee attacks, and are very susceptible to Ice magic (something
you will definitely see in Pineth Cave).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. REVISION HISTORY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10-23-2005 version 1.0 - First draft of walkthrough: sections 1-6
10-23-2005 version 1.1 - Error fixed - "L" to set waypoints not "R"
10-31-2005 version 1.2 - Error fixed - Earth Golem Required skill changed from
"Fire" to "Earth"
11-11-2005 version 1.3 - Fixed 4.20 Overview section
11-18-2005 version 1.4 - Added Alternate Strategy contributed by Adam
Blaukowitch to section 4.10 Pineth Cave
