OGRE BATTLE 64 The Guide to Questions We Know You Want to Ask, but Shouldn't A Simple Q&A Session >>>>>TABLE OF CONTENTS<<<<< I. Revision History II. Introduction to the Guide -- And so the Questions Begin -- III. To Get the Game or Not... IV. Game Controls V. Chaos Frame! VI. Cheats VII. More Cheats... VIII. More Items, and Extra Events IX. Character-Related Q's X. Soldiers and Legions XI. The Thing I Need Most Right Now (a.k.a. Money!) XII. Miscellaneous Q's XIII. Credits and Disclaimer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Revision History, Because History is Good For You! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VERSION 1.0 (9/3/2001) - First version! Yip Yip! - I'm still missing quite a few questions, most notably: legions, how to get the Zenobians, and many other frequently asked questions... both from the boards and yet to be asked. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated. VERSION 1.1 (10/20/2001) - Another one down, and still not complete... - After getting editing help from a few friends, I've now gone back caught much of what I had missed before. Spelling and grammar are my friends, but even they like to pull a few fast ones on me from time to time. - Added a little touch-up to the sections on Love and Peace, soldiers, combination magic, and even my Thanks and contact information. - Never released, but still, it had a lot of progress. VERSION 1.2 (11/15/2001) - This seems to be a pattern: another down without completion. Starting to wonder if completion will ever be possible in fact... - More editing added some valuable questions about items and even a few basics that I forgot to add in initially. - Alignment's section has been tweaked a bit to add in new info as well as clarify some smaller and subtler points. - Check out some the new Items setion! It's new! And stuff!! - Oh, and I still have to do the Zenobians and finish off legions... bleh. VERSION 1.3 (12/05/2001) - Redid some of the orderings on the sections in a feeble attempt to make things a bit more logical and flow better. Maybe it worked, but i doubt it. Oh well. It seems better to me now! - Added a LOT more to the Items section, including most of the really rare and stat-affecting expendables. - Added a few more miscellaneous questions, as usual, and a few more people to the credits (or maybe just one). - As always, i have managed to put off finishing legions and the Zenobians. ***Last Note:*** Please feel free to send any suggestions or questions you would like to see answered to the email at the bottom of the guide (or the one provided in my profile at GameFAQs). I really do appreciate any and all help. Thanks again! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- II. Introduction to the Questioner's Guide: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is actually going to be just that, a Frequently Asked Question guide. Why? The idea has basically sprung from the fact that many questions are seen over and over again on the social and normal boards for this game, and, well, there are quite a few times when you would do well to not ask them (as the vets get a bit upset by them... weird, isn't it?) However, let me not digress. This FAQ is made for YOU. For anyone and everyone who has a question about the game, I hope to be able to provide some relief. But before we get straight into it, a few pieces of advice that apply to MANY questions: (1) Play through the Tutorial. It is, by far, the best introductory tool the game provides (unless you have the original Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen). The Tutorial will teach you basically all you need to know about navigating through menus, going through battles, and even movement and deploying forces on the battlefield. JUST USE IT, and save us the trouble of telling you something that is obviously found therein. (2) Read through the instruction booklet. If you don't have one, then this doesn't apply to you. However, if you DO, and you don't read it, that is about as bad as ignoring the Tutorial. Both of those tools are very helpful to someone who has never played an Ogre Battle game before, and, honestly, they can teach you everything you know about the basic game (not the total game, but how to start, how to play, just not strategy). (3) Read CyricZ's FAQ. Yes, this sounds a bit weird, doesn't it? Often referred to as The FAQ, this tool is by far superior to either of the other two when it comes to DETAILS. You want to know about a certain class? Go there and find it. You want to see the possible progression of levels and battles? He has it in there, too. That FAQ is huge for a reason. It is the best I have ever seen for the game (not to inflate his ego). (4) To save yourself some time, get accustomed to the Ctrl-F function - - Find. All it requires is that you hold down the Ctrl key and hit F. A new window will appear where you can type in a word, a set of words, etc. and it will search the entire document for those words. This is VERY helpful on a long page (such as this, or CyricZ's FAQ)... Just keep these basic lessons in mind, and now, let the learning begin! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- III. Thinking of getting the game? Well Do It Already! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The questions in this part of the FAQ will be the ones that have been seen the most on the entire board, as well as those that many of the vets truly dislike to answer. They will deal with the "Should I get this game" type of questions, and all of the many variations. Just remember, for your own safety, please read through these carefully, as ALL of these answers are taken directly from previously asked questions or from a collection of answers given by the veterans of the board who do like to help you... most of the time. "I'm thinking of getting this game, but is it easy to play like Chrono Cross in terms of skill level. Gamespot says it's hard and the learning curve is over 3 hours. I don't want to buy it if it's that hard. Thanks for the input." Believe it or not, this has been one of the less annoying questions to be shown on this subject, so I will do the honor of putting it first. Congratulations (unnamed newbie), you almost didn't make the vets upset with your question. However, to answer this question: ---I would have to say that this game does have a fairly steep learning curve, but once you understand the system of play then you will be fine. For that, I suggest that you PLAY THROUGH THE TUTORIAL... Also, as another member of the board said, "If you've played the original Ogre Battle, this is a major step down in difficulty. Is this game harder than Chrono Cross? Sadly, yeah." "What is this game about?" ---Oh dear lord help us... For this, I will go directly to a post made by one of the more knowledgeable on this area, Rashidi. "The Ogre Battle -- Many years ago there was a battle that rocked the world. Humans fought against the netherworld led by Ogres. The humans received help from the gods, and three high knights from the sky were sent to the earth to help the humans. Together, they were able to beat the demons back into the netherworld. The three knights returned to the heavens, but one knight left behind her holy sword, the Brunhild, so that the humans could use it to call them if they were ever in a time of need. This epic event became known as the Ogre Battle." However, that is just the distant past. In relation to this game, you have an even more in-depth discussion... "Is this game any good?? Should I get this game??" ---Arguably the most annoying questions on the entire board. Why? Well, let me explain... The people who inhabit this game board often hear these questions, and of all that we do hear, they are the most obvious to be biased. Think about it: we spend enough time with that game (or did at one point in time) that we still go to that message board, just to answer questions and talk (sometimes) about the game. Do you THINK we would like the game? What do you suppose our opinion of the game would be? Honestly, do you think we would HATE IT AND KEEP GOING TO THE BOARD??? Ok, enough of that rant. Finally, if you ask one more time about should you get the game, I will simply say this. The question is not SHOULD you get it, but HOW WILL YOU get it. By now, the word "scarce" hardly describes accurately this game. Yes, that's right. It is HARD to find. If you want it, you had better prepare to (1) wait a long time for it, or (2) pay a lot for it, or, of course, (3) both of the above. Just a hint: start looking now. "Why is/isn't this game called an RPG?" ---This question is also very frequently asked, in both forms. However, its answer is a bit more complicated than you might think, which is why it can be asked from either perspective. From one perspective, this game is NOT a true RPG. It doesn't really develop one set of characters in the normal party-building experience (such as a Final Fantasy) that we have grown used to. However, in the same aspect, this game DOES involve character building, level ups, and a very intriguing storyline that drives the entire game. If these things do not make it an RPG, I don't know what would. Sure, it relies heavily on the strategy, so it could be a strategy game; yes, this game has real-time troop movements and organizing, so it could be like that. What is this game? Why not just settle with a great mixture of genres and leave it at that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. For Those Who've Lost Control, or Never Had it... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A number of problems occur when you don't play through the tutorial, and, well, this section will be to help answer those. What kind of problems are we talking about? How about deploying units, equipping items, and even creating units, changing classes, etc. Yes, the basics that are answerable in the tutorial, or here. Take your pick. If you prefer to read, well, enjoy... "How do I control my units on the battlefield, and how do I send out more than just one unit? I only see Magnus!" ---Well, as I said, playing through the tutorial would help, but since I am already typing this... Most functions in this game are handled by the use of Menu bars. How do you find one of these bars? First, pause the game (start), and then hit R. Pausing isn't necessary, but it helps since it stops the flow of time and gives you a "secure feeling" if you want it. Well, hitting R should bring up a nice little bar of icons on your screen, and pressing either left or right on your control stick should let you cycle through the options. Each option should also describe itself for you in a small text box, so I won't describe it all here. The R button is basically used to access ALL menus ANYWHERE. Therefore, I suggest you get very used to it and navigating through the menus. On a final note here, the R button is most helpful in battle. Why? Because it accesses the battle menu, where you can choose tactics (attack leader, attack weakest, etc) or use a Pedra. Want more info on that? Well, read on (or use the ctrl-f feature to skip ahead to it). "Ok, you answered the first part of my question, but now how do I move my units around on the map??" ---Well, though this is often overlooked, I now feel the need to explain one of the most common and useful parts of the game: troop movement. How do you move your units over the battle view maps? Well, first, you put your cursor over one of the units you can see. Then, when the cursor turns into a hand, you click the unit. From there, you are given a small menu bar, three or four buttons normally. One of these says, "Move." Select that option. Now, take your cursor to where you wish the unit to move to and click there. You should see a flag planted in the terrain where you clicked. Now, that can either be a waypoint (the first stop on the way to another location) or the final destination itself. You can leave three waypoints before you get to the final destination. "I only see Magnus, help! What do I do?" ---Well, I suggest you read the above question, but besides that... You need to hit R on the battlefield screen. Doing so, one of your FIRST OPTIONS should allow you to Deploy Units. Go into that menu and you should come upon a list of all your units (designated by the unit leaders' names). Choose the unit you would like to see by selecting the leader's name, and they should appear on the screen, ready for action. Yes, before you ask, they appear as the sprite of the unit leader. See how that works? A unit is basically designated by its leader... "How do I save?" ---A very basic question with nearly infinite importance. The save feature becomes one of your best friends during this game, especially after completing a scene (which could likely take you anywhere from half an hour to quite a few, depending on how you play it). To save, you have to be on the map screen (well, for the main style of saving). There is an option during the middle of a scene, called Suspending the Scene, but that only freezes the data one time, and as soon as you resume from that suspension the data is lost. To do a permanent save (only able to do so between scenes), you press R and a menu bar should appear. One of those options should be either Save, or Record (I forget which one it is). Then, it takes you to a journal looking screen with three save slots. The two on the right are for game saves, while the one on the left is for a suspension. However, once you have saved, you can transfer these saves to a memory card (very helpful, and recommended since they take up very little space compared to other games). "How do I change classes?" -Or- "I have a character that should be ready to change class, but he(she) cant. What is wrong?" ---First things first. How do you change classes? Well, you must have a character with the proper stats (which vary from one class to the next. While an archer needs certain strength and dexterity, a siren requires intelligence and mentality) as well as the correct alignment. To change classes, you have to meet all the stat requirements for the class you desire with the character you desire BEFORE STAT INCREASES from armor and weaponry. Also, you must have the correct equipment ACCESSIBLE (normally the default equipment for the class you're changing into). Though you can normally buy this equipment should you not have it, as long as you have seen it in the game previously, there are instances where you cannot. The most notable are dragoon, black knight, princess, and lich. But again, I digress. So now you understand that, and you have a character that has all the right stats, alignment, and equipment ready to equip, but you still cant change the character's class? Are you sure that you have the stats met? Remember, this is determined before adding the bonuses of weaponry and armor. You can check what you are missing on the Change Class screen under the Character Management menu screen. The field that appears in red will be the stat that you are not meeting. Many times this will be as simple as your alignment being slightly too high (far too high) or the exact opposite, too low. The best advice here is... Wait, I will answer this stuff later on. Just search for alignment and you will eventually find your answers. Still, if you have all the necessary stats and the necessary equipment you may not be able to get the class. A major example of this is the Centurion (of either sex). This class will not be available until the Third Chapter, regardless of how advanced and ready your characters may be. However, even the class-change system is not completely understood, since a few other classes are seemingly impossible to attain until a certain event. Such as a siren (wait for Meredia's meeting) or those that require quests: dragoon, princess, lich, vampire, etc. (See lower in the FAQ for more information on those classes and obtaining them) Well, I hope that helps. Now, we go on to the next, always- interesting and extremely popular segment... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- V. ALL YOUR CHAOS FRAME... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This section will be devoted to the Chaos Frame (CF). All of the questions you have about it, I will try to answer here. So, sit back, relax, and let me kill some more of your brain cells with my mindless babbling about one of the most confusing elements of the game. "What is the Chaos Frame (CF)?" ---Dear lord, help me now... Though this question is respectable because nowhere in the manual or tutorial does it tell you about it (not even in the game, until you beat it), the CF is the underlying, hidden, and all-powerful evil entity that will determine, basically, your score at the end of the game, and what path you end up taking to your destiny. For any who played the original Ogre Battle: MotBQ, this is very similar to your popularity from that game. If you serve your people well and if you make good choices throughout the game, you will end up on the High CF path. However, if you choose to abandon your people and become a dishonorable, evil, conniving.... You get the point. You can do that, and your ending will reflect that. YES, there IS more than one ending. So now we progress to the next question. "How do I get a higher/lower CF?" ---The most obvious way (and the easiest way) to control your CF is by liberating/capturing strongholds. Yes, that's right. Every stronghold you visit, whether they are neutral or enemy, and capture or liberate affects your CF. Liberating a stronghold will RAISE your CF, while capturing a stronghold will LOWER it. Still, there are a few complexities in this process... "How DO I capture or liberate a stronghold?" ---Ok, simple enough. As you may or may not know by now, every stronghold and town has a value called its morale. This is basically the alignment of the town. You can view it by going to the town status window (accessed by clicking on it when on a battlefield). Now, the way to go about this is simple. A stronghold will normally be either neutral, chaotic, or lawful, just like a unit or character. What you are going to do, however, depends on what you want to do. If you want to capture the city (lowering your CF), then you should try to bring in a unit with the opposite alignment. For example: if you find a town with morale of 20, which is considered chaotic, and you want to capture it, you should bring in a unit with alignment of 55+, or a lawful unit. However, the alignment of the unit is not really shown that well. To determine this, you need to look at the makeup of the unit. Basically, the unit's Ali is the average of the alignment of every character in it. To that effect, if you have a lot of neutral characters and ONE chaotic character, that may be enough to throw the unit into the chaotic side. Similarly, if you have a good amount of chaotic characters and you add one or two very lawful characters, the unit will become almost neutral. This can be very useful when you want to liberate and capture neutral strongholds. However, if you want to liberate the city, and we will use the same example, you would want to bring in a unit that closely matches the morale of the stronghold with its own alignment. In this case, you would want a chaotic unit, preferably with Ali around 10-25. In all honesty, liberation and capture is one of the easiest things to do in this game once you know how to go about it. It is also a very important part of the game, since it will determine to a large extent what ending you will get (along with a few other large decisions, etc). Hope this has helped! "Can I liberate neutral strongholds?" ---Simply put: NO. It is not possible to liberate a neutral (green) stronghold. No matter if your unit's alignment matches the morale of the city exactly, you cannot hope to liberate it. Therefore, you will ALWAYS take a small hit in your CF when going into one. ***As a side note on this answer, there are a few strongholds in the game that CANNOT be liberated, no matter what, even though they appear to be enemy strongholds. These will always be captured (like a neutral stronghold) no matter what you try. If you encounter one of these, just accept it and continue on with your quest, for there is not a thing you could do to help it. "Is capturing and liberating strongholds the only way to change my CF?" ---Again, the answer is no. There are a few choices that can be made during the course of the game, where a cinema may stop and you are allowed a choice, or where you are given the decision to go one way or another. Each of these choices may affect your CF, so think about them hard before just passing them by. You never know when another is right around the corner, and they may limit your chances for other things, later on, such as playable characters... But that will be addressed in another section. However, you are lucky, and I am feeling generous. A major example of this type of choice comes very early in the game (in fact, almost before the real game itself starts). You are given the choice to fight one of your own men, Diomedes Rangue (Dio). Needless to say, the choice you make here will affect your game. To fight, or not to fight; now I leave that question up to you... "Will walking around and wasting time waiting for my birthdays affect my CF at all? I hear that you can get good gifts, but I don't want to sacrifice the good ending for these small trifles." ---You are correct in one aspect. By walking around for extended periods of time, you are allowing time to pass and the game DOES keep track of this. In fact, Magnus is actually assigned a birthday by you at the beginning of the game, and every year his comrades will throw him a small party on this day. He will also receive one present every year. Now, most years (9 out of every 10) these presents are just small stat enhancing items or alignment altering items, but on every multiple of 10, Magnus gets a unique present. These are most definitely worth getting! However, for the main focus of your question, NO, wasting time does NOT affect your CF, nor ANYTHING AT ALL. Though Magnus may be 99 at the game's end, it will not affect anything, and he will even appear just as young as ever, even in your ending. It's funny, really, because about the time Magnus hits "mid-life" Ankiseth begins cracking on how old he is getting. Oh well. Still, WASTING TIME WILL NOT AFFECT CF AT ALL!! Finally, the spur in all of our respective boots... "At the end of the game, Magnus was super lawful, but I still got the awful ending. Why?? Isn't alignment the same as my CF? Why did it say I had a Zero CF?" ---Well, to put things simply here, Ali is a character stat; CF is a stat for the game as a whole. Ali affects only the one character, or the one unit. Alignment is great for determining classes for change, and also liberation/capturing, but beyond that it is mostly worthless. Yes, I do realize that those things are huge, but let's stay on topic. ALIGNMENT HAS NO DIRECT AFFECT ON CHAOS FRAME! It does indirectly affect it (when you liberate or capture a stronghold due to a unit's alignment), but otherwise, it has no affect whatsoever. No matter what alignment Magnus is, if you have captured every stronghold throughout the entire game, you will have the "bad" ending and get a 0 CF. Similarly, even if Magnus is the most vile piece of trash on the planet, if you have liberated every stronghold along your way to making him chaotic, you will most likely get the "good" ending, and a 100 CF. And now, for completeness on this issue, though it is originally unrelated to the section and chaos frame: "How can I change the alignment of one of my characters? What about for my entire unit?" ---Well, this is a bit complicated, but it is very useful. Alignment is affected mainly by two separate factors. One factor regards levels, both of your unit and the unit you are fighting. If your unit is of a significantly higher level, by which I mean about 4 or 5 levels on average, then, with all other things ignored, your characters' alignments will decrease after the battle is over should you win. What is the logic behind this? Well, think of yourself as a bully, picking on a weaker kid. You are therefore less lawful, more chaotic, and your alignment dips that way... down. However, in the reverse situation, where you are at a significantly lower level, your alignment would rise after the battle. This is sort of similar to the hero taking on the giant. It is a stronger foe than you are, supposedly, so in risking yourself, you are more righteous, therefore more lawful, and so your alignment will rise to reflect that. However, levels are not the only factor, so the system is not that simple. The next factor in this madly confusing system called alignment is the alignment itself. Yes, let the confusion begin. If your unit attacks an enemy unit that is more lawful than itself and you win the battle, your characters will likely go down in alignment. The inverse is also true, should your unit be of a higher alignment and attack a lower aligned unit. In that case, your characters would likely rise in alignment after the battle. Now to explain why... I'm going to go back to the same system we had before. If you are fighting a low-aligned unit, think of them as thieves and robbers. By attacking and defeating them, you are more just, and therefore you're more righteous, and again, more lawful (higher alignment). Similarly, if you attack a high-aligned unit, you are taking DOWN a group of heroes, and that makes you less noble. In that case, you would drop in alignment and head towards the chaotic end of the spectrum. But fear not, these changes are not that vast; one battle shouldn't affect any character too much. That said, there are still the inter-unit relationships among characters that affect alignment. Yes, that's right, there is more. Though the two above factors externally affect the alignment of characters in a unit, you cannot overlook one of the most important factors: a unit tends to try and focus all of the alignments within itself on the same value... This means that it will try to lower or raise all the values to an average, which is good since it will help the morale of the unit, but very interesting when you mix and match characters. For instance, say you have a very chaotic black knight from a very chaotic unit, but you decide that you want to put this B.K. in a very lawful unit. Well, after the first battle, the B.K. will raise in Ali for no other reason than because the other members of the unit are so much higher than he is. HOWEVER, the fun doesn't stop there. The rest of the characters in the unit will also drop in Ali (though not as large as the B.K. will gain), in an attempt to even out the alignment of all characters. This is very useful if you wish to alter one characters alignment in one way, but do you see how it could also be very bad at the same time? Now, for one last thoroughly confusing bit. There are times in the game where your alignment might actually get "pegged." What this basically means is that the character is so lawful, or so chaotic, that, despite your best efforts, they just will not change their ali at all. Most often what happens is you have a character at a far extreme of the alignment spectrum, but you want them to become more neutral, but this won't work. The main cause of this is that the character has been in that one mode for so long that they are not going to change. For an example, let's take a very lawful paladin. In this case, his ali would likely be 100, and therefore EVERY CHARACTER would have a lower ali than he does, except other extremely lawful characters. The unfortunate thing to this is that, no matter how many lawful units you combat, they will still be of lower ali than your paladin, and therefore his ali would want to go up after defeating them. This can be a major problem, and one of the few ways to fix this is actually to take the character and transfer them to unit with the opposite alignment (in which case, after a few battles, the character would change through inter-unit balancing). But still, this is a major problem at times. When you mix all of these factors together, jumble them up, and actually start playing a few battles with real units, you will notice that none of the rules work as specified here, and many times the opposite will happen. Why? Because, in my examples, I isolated each factor to make things more clear, but in the real game ALL OF THEM ARE ACTIVE AT ONCE. So yeah, just thought I would try to help you a little bit in your understanding of this very muddy, very intricate system. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. Cheaters Do Prosper: The 55-Item Cheat and other Item Questions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This section will be completely devoted to one of the largest glitches in the game, and subsequently one of the largest cheats: the 55-item cheat. I suppose I will start off with the obvious question and proceed from there... but to do so, I will be pulling from other FAQs and board members alike: "What is the so-called 55-item cheat and how does it work?" ---Also referred to as the Item Multiplier Glitch, this trick basically means that you can create 255 of a specific item. However, this trick will only work for Supplemental Expendables and Portable Valuables (types of items). What happens is that you trick the system into thinking that you have an item carried by a unit when you really don't, and in so doing, the computer creates the item for you. Now for the real part: how do I pull this insane cheat off? Well, here we go... What you basically end up doing here is creating a unit with at least one character that can only hold one item. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! The cheat will not work unless you have a character with only one item slot! Ok, that said, you must fill all of the item slots for the unit except one, and it should look like this: Random Item Random Item 2 Another Random Item Unimportant Item (blank -- next to last space) Item you want duped... Now that that is done, you go into the unit management screen and TAKE OUT THE CHARACTER THAT ONLY HAS ONE SLOT FOR AN ITEM. Your unit should now have a "full" inventory of items since removing the character moves the item you want into the new last slot (previously blank), BUT it also creates a copy of the item, which is put back into your depot for ALL units. Now you have an extra copy of the item, but that isn't all! From there, you go back into the item management and remove the item that the unit is still holding (the original). But since your unit technically has none of that item, despite it showing up in the inventory, the counter of that item being deposited will go to 55! That's right! It should read 55/01 (or over whatever number of that item you had in your inventory originally). Now, you can deposit all 55 of the item, even though you only had one originally... See the beauty of it? Too bad you aren't done yet. To actually have all of these items to keep as your own, DO NOT LEAVE THE MANAGEMENT SCREENS! You have to go to the Sell Item menus and sell one more of the item than you have... Again, this would be 2 if you show 55/01, 3 if you show 55/02, etc. Once you have finished that step, you are home free. Now, you are free to leave the management screens, and when you reenter, you will see that you have 0/55 of the items you duplicated. What you DON'T see is that you actually have 255 of the item; they just chopped off the 200... Isn't life great now? "Why is it called the 55-item cheat when you really get 255?" ---Definitely one of the weaker questions of this segment, I shall merely reply that (1) you are blind and don't see the obvious 2 in front of the 5, or (2) it doesn't really matter, especially since it's cheating and cheaters never prosper. Tisk Tisk. However, both answers are not quite true... The real reason behind this is hidden answer number three: (3) the game doesn't want to display the 2 in front of the 55, so it doesn't. Easy enough, right? "What does a Love and Peace do, and where can I find one?" ---Ah, the Love and Peace question... Always a favorite around the boards, a Love & Peace basically allows you to try and recruit enemies from units you have fought into your own army. However, there is a catch in there. To have the chance to recruit someone, you have to have already fought the unit. Also, unless you really do like wasting valuable items, you should have killed the leader of the unit they are in. Otherwise, the morale of the unit will be too high and you won't accomplish anything. However, once the leader is gone, you will have greatly increased chances of actually converting one of the enemy characters to your side (or even more than one, on a rare occasion). However, even the beauty of the L&P has its limits. You cannot L&P a character if it is (1) the leader of a unit, (2) the last character alive in a unit, or (3) a boss or story character. Characters of the last category must be earned, so no, you get no easy way out... Although it would be great to find a way to get another black knight, like Jeal, early in the second chapter, hehehe... Second, a L&P is most useful on characters that are most difficult to obtain yourself. The two most frequently sought characters are the Black Knight and the Angel Knight. To create a Black Knight first requires that you obtain the very rare "valiant mantle" which is part of the default equipment needed to become that class, while the Angel Knight basically requires you to kill off (or sacrifice, depending on how fond you are of that character) a female human character... The worst part here is that, even after you sacrifice your warrior, you still have the very real possibility of not getting anything better than a zombie. And yes, zombies are a joke and a half. Does the L&P benefit make sense yet? You could get these two characters much more easily by the L&P method... and without risking a character's death (A.K.) or having to worry about getting enough equipment (B.K.). A few final notes on this part of the L&P question: you cannot get any Grapplers (besides Vad), Knight Templars, Daemons, or Knights of Danika... though that would be insanely cool (since they are basically the evil equivalent of your all powerful dragoon. Besides, KoD just look too cool). You can, however, get Goblins, Ogres, Gorgon, Sphinx, and Saturoses... In that last group, only Saturoses MUST be L&Ped if you wish to get one, because you will never find them as neutral encounters. Oh no, it isn't because you don't know where to look, nor because you aren't good enough (notice how I leave that there), it is simply because they do not exist as neutral encounters. Saturoses are basically the equivalent of a Black Knight, and these guys are only brought out of the Netherworld to lead units and fight for evil. I still don't quite get why they are worth it, but maybe for the sake of completeness and getting every class? Finally, where do you find these valuable treasures? Well... The first place you find an L&P on the battlefield is in chapter 2, at Wentinus. I remember because you visit that map twice in that chapter, and you can pick it up either time. It is located off the beaten path between Ellode and Silhouette. As I said, you can get it either time you fight at Wentinus or if you revisit the map, so you really DO want to go find them. Especially since this is the easiest place to find one of the most sought after items in the game. Another place to find a L&P as hidden treasure is in either Temple of Berthe mission/map. In Part II, however, it is much simpler to find the L&P though, mainly because it is located right behind your starting location, in the valley formed by the mountains, so it may be easiest to get it then. If you miss that one, well, we will just say that you either had no clue it was there, or you just didn't know better than to walk around a little. The final places, I do believe, to find an L&P are in Barpeth and Castle Talpaea... but those are in the final chapter... so how much use are they? Still, in Barpeth, look in the forest on a direct line] between Sondrio and Belle. In Castle Talpaea, look for the final L&P of the game to be in the central ring of the level (inside the outer barrier ridge, but outside the inner sanctum with the tower) and off to the right. It is a bit out of the way, but it is worth your time if you want another unit recruited... Just follow the paths to the right and trace them all. You will find it. Oh, one more note: random encounters are helpful in your search here as well. As you may or may not know, many times a randomly encountered creature will drop an item after it has been defeated (not recruited, but actually beaten and killed in battle). You can get a Love and Peace by finding, fighting, and beating random Gorgons. Though these creatures are not that common, and are only found much later in the game, if you still desire L&Ps by then, you can just find them in that manner. All you have to do is beat those gorgons and "they'll give you a piece of lovin" (used courtesy of Eternalfate01, and yes, fate, it is corny, hehe). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. Even More Cheating, Since it is So Popular... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One quick note: This entire section, or most of it, comes from one of the oldest topics on any of the OB Boards. The MEGA-EVIL Gameshark Code topic has long been the reference for almost any code that is in existence for this game, so I thought it would be helpful to put all of those in a more compact format. Maybe this section will even turn into a separate FAQ some day. We shall see. But, for now, this will have to do. One final note before we get into the real deal: All of the codes here, taken from the topic, were either contributed by myself (bearsman6) or Wicked Souls and are reproduced here with his(our) permission. First of all, the obvious questions: "Does this game require a key code or an enable code?" ---Simply put, the game requires NO KEY CODE (which is good because those things are a PAIN to use). However, it does require the simpler enable code, which is: f109a730 2400. Just enter that as if it were a normal code, label it the enable code, and make sure that it is always on. If it isn't on, your other codes won't work. These codes make 99 of the item in the first slot of each page of items. They are: 80196B27 0063 - Helmets 80196B03 0063 - Weapons 80196B8B 0063 - Spell books 80196B13 0063 - Shields 80196B17 0063 - Armor 80196B37 0063 - Accessories 80193AC3 0063 - Expendables 80196b01 00__ For those of you who were wondering, here is a code to change the first weapon on the Weapons page of your items! Now, you can get a few Ogre Blades on the first mission if you want. Anyway, replace the __ with any number below and it will change it to The corresponding item... 00 - Nothing (FREEZES GAME! DO NOT ENTER!) 01 - Short Sword 02 - Baldr Sword 03 - Falchion 04 - Flamberge 05 - Fafnir 06 - Sum Mannis 07 - Notos 08 - Sword of Firedrake 09 - Laevateinn 0A - Glamdring 0B - Stone Sword 0C - Adamant Katana 0D - Ice Blade 0E - Nephrite Sword 0F - Blessed Sword 10 - Penitence 11 - Oracion 12 - Evil Blade 13 - Dainslaif 14 - Noish's Promise 15 - Knoevlfer** 16 - Bastard Sword 17 - Sword of Tiamat 18 - Claymore 19 - Balmung 1A - Glaive of Champion 1B - Sigmund 1C - Matsukaze 1D - Iscandelvey 1E - Kagari-bi 1F - Gram 20 - Yomogi-u 21 - Malachite Sword 22 - Yu-giri 23 - Chaladholg 24 - Kusanagi 25 - Durandel 26 - Ogre Blade 27 - Sonic Blade* 28 - Rapier 29 - Main Gauche 2A - Sword of Dragon Gem 2B - Estoc 2C - Peridot Sword 2D - Needle of Light 2E - Ambicion 2F - Clau Solace** 30 - Fransisca 31 - Halt Hammer 32 - Baldr Club 33 - Baldr Axe 34 - Euros 35 - Gramlock 36 - Flame Flail 37 - Axe of Wyrm 38 - Aqua Hammer 39 - Frozen Axe 3A - Celestial Hammer 3B - Evil Axe 3C - Bloody Cleaver 3D - Warhammer 3E - Paua Hammer 3F - Heavy Axe 40 - Mjollnir 41 - Boreas 42 - Prox 43 - Sanscion 44 - Yggdrasil 45 - Urdarbruun 46 - Rune Axe 47 - Satan's Bullova 48 - Dagda's Hammer 49 - Short Spear* 4A - Spear 4B - Baldr Spear 4C - Culnikolnne 4D - Thunder Spear 4E - Zeyphros 4F - Volcaetus 50 - Ignis 51 - Earth Javelin 52 - Osric's Spear 53 - Bentsica 54 - Holy Lance 55 - Lance of Longinus 56 - Evil Spear 57 - Brionac 58 - Leather Whip 59 - Rupture Rose 5A - Whip of Exorcism 5B - Scourge of Thor 5C - Holy Comet 5D - Blood Whip 5E - Iron Claw 5F - Baldr Claw 60 - Touelno 61 - Lfal 62 - Berserk 63 - Cyanic Claw 64 - Vajra 65 - Black Cat 66 - Short Bow 67 - Great Bow 68 - Baldr Bow 69 - Composite Bow 6A - Bow of Thunderbolt 6B - Conflagrant Bow 6C - Bow of Sandstorm 6D - Bow of Tundra 6E - Crescente 6F - Ytival 70 - J'ylga's Bow 71 - Light Mace 72 - Baldr Mace 73 - Celestial Mace 74 - Gambantien 75 - Scipplay Staff 76 - Arc Wand 77 - Hraesvelg 78 - Totila 79 - Jormungand 7A - Phorusgin 7B - Airgetlam 7C - Kerykeion 7D - Hemlock* 7E - Scepter** 7F - Marionette 80 - Fool 81 - Heaven's Doll 82 - Lia Fail 83 - Doll of Curse 84 - Gallant Doll 85 - Battle Fan 86 - Caldia *This weapon cannot be unequipped, but is basic equipment for attainable classes. For example, Debonair can only equip the Sonic Blade. **This weapon cannot be equipped on anyone, because it is default equipment for an unattainable enemy class. For example, only Yumil can use the Clau Solace. And now for some shield modifier codes... 80196B11 00__ 87 - Small Shield 88 - Buckler 89 - Electric Shield 8A - Flame Shield 8B - Terra Shield 8C - Ice Shield 8D - Starry Sky 8E - Kite Shield 8F - Tower Shield 90 - Large Shield 91 - Baldr Shield 92 - Dragon Shield 93 - Shield of Nue 94 - Shield of Inferno 95 - Crystal Guard 96 - Saint's Shield 97 - Ogre Shield 98 - Hallowed Shield Armors... 80196B15 00__ 9A - Cloth Armor 9B - Leather Armor 9C - Hard Leather 9D - Ninja's Garb 9E - Scale Armor 9F - Chain Mail A0 - Thunder Chain A1 - Flame Leather A2 - Terra Armor A3 - Ice Chain A4 - Saint's Garb A5 - Idaten's Mail A6 - Breast Leather** A7 - Breastplate A8 - Plate Mail A9 - Baldr Mail AA - Titania Mail AB - Peregrine Mail AC - Phoenix Mail AD - Nathalork Mail AE - Hwail Mail AF - Angelic Armor B0 - Bloodstained Armor B1 - Plate Armor B2 - Baldr Armor B3 - Heavy Armor B4 - Dragon Armor B5 - Wind Armor B6 - Breidablick B7 - Rune Plate B8 - Ogre Armor B9 - Armor of Death BA - Southern Cross BB - Jeulnelune BC - Diadora's Song BD - Elem Plate** BE - Torn Cloth BF - Robe C0 - Cleric's Vestment C1 - Magician's Robe C2 - Robe of the Wise C3 - Vestment of Wind C4 - Vestment of Flame C5 - Phoenix Robe C6 - Vestment of Earth C7 - Vestment of Water C8 - Cloak of Oath C9 - Purified Robe CA - Bloodstained Robe CB - Robe of Abyss CC - Robe of Devus CD - Old Clothing CE - Plain Clothing CF - Witch's Dress D0 - Fur Coat D1 - Pure-White Dress D2 - Feather Suit D3 - Heat-Tex D4 - Forest Tunic D5 - Misty Coat D6 - Stardust D7 - Spell Robe D8 - Tiny Clothing* D9 - Count's Garment* DA - Quilted Cloth** DB - Royal Garb** Helms, Headgear, and Umbrella Hats... 80196B25 00__ DC - Iron Cap DD - Bone Helm DE - Amulet DF - Baldr Helm E0 - Dragon Helm E1 - Helm of Thunderclap E2 - Freude Helm E3 - Ogre Helm E4 - Helm of the Fearless E5 - Cross Helm** E6 - Jelton Helm** E7 - Leather Hat E8 - Bandanna E9 - Hachigane EA - Jin-gasa EB - Plumed Headband EC - Pointy Hat ED - Hannya Mask EE - Burning Band EF - Ice Bandanna F0 - Celestial Veil F1 - Red Branch F2 - Decoy Cap Spell Books... 80196B89 00__ F3 - Spell book F4 - Book of Wind F5 - Book of Flame F6 - Book of Earth F7 - Book of Water F8 - Book of Bane F9 - Tempest FA - Annihilation FB - Meteor Strike FC - White Mute Accessories and jewelry for the ladies... or the Black Knights. 81196B34 0___ 0FD - Amulet 0FE - Ring of Eloquence 0FF - Firecrest 100 - Bell of Thunder 101 - Fang of Firedrake 102 - Naga Ring 103 - Snow Orb 104 - Rosary 105 - Elder's Sign 106 - Feather of Archangel 107 - Ring of Branding 108 - Angel's Brooch 109 - Rai's Tear 10A - Runic Cape** 10B - Glass Pumpkin 10C - Dream Tiara* 10D - Royal Crown** 10E - Bloody Emblem* 10F - Ring of the Dead* 110 - Valiant Mantle 111 - Fur-lined Mantle** 112 - Majestic Mantle** 113 - Blue Sash* 114 - Tunic* 115 - Guard Tunic** And finally, the always popular character codes. Why do people always ask for these when there are so many other wonderful codes out there? Because we get tired of having to choose between Zenobians with Ankiseth or Biske and Carth. I mean, really, wouldn't you love to have all of them? I know I would. Now you can. Enjoy... ****One more note: This code comes in two parts, like all of the other codes, but this one is more noticeable. Why? Each character you will change, you will probably only change one time. After that, you will need a new base codes, so that you don't keep changing the same character every time. So, the first thing I will list is the base code (where you choose which character to modify); the second part will be the actual class-modifying digits (choosing which class to change the base into). Also remember that each base code is actually two parts: a sprite code and a portrait code. I will explain that later... Here is the list of the codes for different character numbers... (These numbers are the ORIGINAL numbers that characters are given when they join your army, assigned by the game, not the numbers you can manually assign them... trust me.) Base Character Codes: Character #2---80193c42 00xx #4 --- 80193cb2 00xx #5 --- 80193cea 00xx #6 --- 80193d22 00xx #7 --- 80193d5a 00xx #8 --- 80193d92 00xx #9 --- 80193dca 00xx 10 --- 80193e02 00xx (of course the last four digits continue...) 11 --- 80193e3a 00xx 12 --- 80193e72 00xx 13 --- 80193eaa 14 --- 80193ee2 15 --- 80193f1a 15 --- 80193f52 16 --- 80193f8a 17 --- 80193f8a (A break here in numbers because I always promoted these myself) 27 --- 801941ba 00xx 28 --- 801941f2 29 --- 8019422a (from here on, the numbers get more scattered) 31 --- 8019429a 00xx 38 --- 80194422 00xx 39 --- 8019445a 00xx 41 --- 801944ca 42 --- 80194502 44 --- 80194572 45 --- 801945aa 46 --- 801945e2 47 --- 8019461a 48 --- 80194652 49 --- 8019468a 50 --- 801946c2 Class Digits: Regular Classes: Human/Demi-/Undead/Etc. 01 Soldier 02 Fighter 03 Lycanthrope 04 Amazon 05 Knight 06 Berserker 07 Fencer 08 Phalanx 09 Beast Tamer 0A Doll Master 0B Ninja 0C Wizard 0D Archer 0E Dragon Tamer 0F Valkyrie 10 Witch 11 Sorceress 12 Cleric 13 Paladin 14 Dragoon 15 Black Knight 16 Sword Master 17 Cataphract 18 Beast Master 19 Enchanter 1A Ninja Master 1B Arch Mage 1C Diana 1D Dragon Master 1E Freya 1F Siren 20 Priest 21 Princess 22 Centurion (M) 23 Centurion (F) 24 Angel Knight 25 Seraph 26 Lich 27 Hawkman 28 Vultan 29 Raven 2A Werewolf 2B Vampire 2C Vampire (Coffin) 2D Zombie (M) 2E Zombie (F) 2F Skeleton 30 Ghost 31 Gorgon 32 Pumpkin Head 33 Faerie 34 Gremlin 35 Goblin 36 Saturos Large/Monster Classes: 37 Ogre 38 Young Dragon 39 Thunder Dragon 3A Red Dragon 3B Earth Dragon 3C Blue Dragon 3D Platinum Dragon 3E Black Dragon 3F Quetzalcoatl 40 Flarebrass 41 Ahzi Dahaka 42 Hydra 43 Bahamut 44 Tiamat 45 Wyrm 46 Wyvern 47 Griffin 48 Opinincus 49 Cockatrice 4A Sphinx 4B Hellhound 4C Cerberus 4D Giant (GLITCH) 4E Golem 4F Stone Golem 50 Baldr Golem ****The following codes are the ones people have questions about... 62 Overlord (Yumil) <---I am sure this works... you CAN have this character in your army 63 Dark Prince (Amrius) <--- 65 Flail Monarch (Procus) 66 Death Templar (Richard) 67 Temple Commander (Baldwin) 68 Temple Commander (Thamus) 69 Temple Commander (Pruflas) 6A Temple Commander (Amazeroth) 6B Temple Commander (Vapula) 6C Vanity (Godeslas) 6D Vanity (Kerikov) 6E Vanity (Count Silvis) 6F Superior Knight (Xevec) 70 Superior Knight (Rhade) 71 Gatekeeper (Knight Of Danika) <--- ...For these, I have tried them and they have NO sprite code that works IN BATTLE... they appear as a single soldier, but they keep the great stats and attacks... its as if the character was there, but all you see is a soldier. 72 Grappler <--- 73 Knight Templar 74 Daemon <--- ...For these, I have not even tried them... I suspect, however, that it will be similar to the previous classes: you get a soldier in battle, but the soldier has all the abilities and stats of the other class... ...All the codes below these numbers (for characters), I have not tried EXCEPT the Death Bahamut (Grozz Nuy--which is the same as the 'soldier- in-battle' group) and Deneb (which works PERFECTLY, except she is like another Magnus... if she dies, game over...) I suspect that all the rest are glitches and are the same as the 'soldier-in-battle group' except for the codes that NEVER fight (which I have tested the barkeeper and it froze the game at the start of the battle... it was a soldier in my ranks facing the wrong way). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. Items and Events, Both Useful and Pointless: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This section was basically added because lately I have seen a rash of special questions related directly to items, both on how to obtain some as well as what some of them truly do. "What happens if you combine Noish's Promise and ...? In the description of these items it seems as though they would be special together." ---Believe it or not, this is one of those times where the game seems to build up something for absolutely no reason. Why do I say this? Simple, because combining these this particular sword and armor really isn't anything spectacular... at all. The sword isn't that great to begin with, though it does raise some unusual stats, and the same can be said for te armor. However, there are a few benefits from combining the two. The stats that Noish's Promise DOES raise actually improve ..., and therefore they help make up a bit for .... The same thing is true for ..., which actually makes up for Noish's Promise's strength slightly. Otherwise, however, the two make nothing all that wonderful when combined. In earnest, I almost expected a super bonus just for combining them, but no such luck. Sorry. "What exactly does the _____________________ do?" ---As this section might suggest, all the questions and answers from now on will be in the above format. Just look for whatever item it is you have a question about and you will find your answer. Simple, no? "...Scroll Of Discipline/Urn of Chaos...?" ---This is actually quite a simple concept to grasp. Both of these items directly affect the alignment of a character. When you use either of these items on a character, their alignment will be shifted in one way or the other (the direction depending on which item you use) a random number of points. Now, the scroll of discipline raises a character's alignment while the urn of chaos... Yes -- that's right! It lowers alignment! very good! heh... It's quite simple, really. "...Flag of Unity...?" ---The flag of unity is another extremely useful item, well, in some aspects. Its purpose is, simply put, to increase the efficiency and morale of a unit. What this means in terms of your unit, however, is that you can begin to expect more combined attacks and spells, since the flag will increase the unit's 'teamwork' if you will. In other words, it's great to have if you want to play around with group attacks or combo magic. "...Goblet of Destiny...?" ---This item has long been discussed, and unfortunately, no one is any wiser for it. The best we can say is that it increases OR decreases your "luck" stat at random. No one knows WHY it does this, nor even what the luck stat actually does, but there are quite a few theories. It might affect the probability of making a female character into an angel knight, or it might affect critical hits, but no one knows, and no firm information has been released about it. The best that i can actually do here is just quote the _awful_ strategy guide put out by prima: "A character who drinks from the goblet experiences a change in luck, either positive or negative." Makes you think that they might not know either, doesn't it? Heh... oh well. If you have any information on this, feel free to email me! "...Champion Statuette...?" ---By far the easiest (and most slack) way to cheat in this game is to duplicate this sad item and use it to no end... But the same could be said for the long list of things below (See the incredibly long list below). So what does this VERY evil item do? It is the infamous LEVEL UP item!! Yes, that's right! For all you people too lazy to train your characters the real way, you can just skip right to the top of the pile with this baby.... Ugh. Sickening really. But hey, it can be a great help, if you need that kind of thing... "...Sword Emblem/Bracer of Protection/Crown of Intellect/Mirror of Soul/Stone of Quickness/Crystal of Precision/Cup of Life...?" ---LOL. I know that seems like an awful big generalization to make, but you will soon see how I can do that. ALL of those items are just stat boosts. Each item corresponds to one stat area, and all they do is raise the stat they are assigned a random amount... So here is the list of items to their corresponding field: Sword Emblem ....................................... Strength Bracer of Protection ............................... Vitality Crown of Intellect ................................. Intelligence Mirror of Soul ..................................... Mentality Stone of Quickness ................................. Agility Crystal of Precision ............................... Dexterity Cup of Life ........................................ HP (Hit Points) "...Quit Gate...?" ---This one is actually a bit different from the others. It is, as they are, a one-time-use item (expendable), but Quit Gates don't affect your character in any truly direct manner at all. The Gate can only be used during a mission (or on a mission map), and what it does is it INSTANTLY transports ONE unit that has been deployed (and is holding the item in storage) back to your HQ and takes it out of action. This can be VERY helpful if you have left your HQ unguarded and an enemy unit is about to take it, or if you just want to return a unit for no real reason at all. Either way, it's a great tool, and I normally give one to every unit. "What are the four legendary weapons of Wind?" ---Notos, Boreas, Zephyrus, and ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IX. How Do I get ______? Character-related Questions: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How many times have I read through a post just to realize that all the person wants is to know how to get a special character to join their army? The answer is far too many, and with that in mind, I now hope to try and nip a few of those questions in the bud, before they can be posted, and thus anger us by showing that the person didn't read a FAQ. The sad truth is that the hardest aspects to this game are getting the special characters that you want. It seems that anyone can beat the game with enough practice and patience, but actually building the army you want, composed of the classes and characters that you want, is ten times harder. It is with this in mind that I devote this section to the questions that plague all of us players far too much. How do i get...." "Okay, on scene 26 or whatever the Tremos Mountains scene is, I felt too lazy to send Magnus over to talk to Debonair, thinking since no one actually said anything about Magnus directly, nothing much would come out of it. But then I found out that I had to send Magnus to see Debonair if I wanted to get him to join (my intention all this time)... This was after I finished the scene, and after I saved. So now I'm wondering if there's any way to go back and get Debonair, or am I totally screwed out of him. If not, I think I may have lost my will to continue playing." ---Believe it or not, we have seen quite a few of posts similar to this on the message boards, and so, here I am to answer them... In this situation, I regret to say that, since you don't have Debonair at the end of the scene, you cannot get him. To make matters worse, since you don't have Debonair, you also cannot get Destin or Gilbert, the last two Zenobians. So how can you avoid this situation, and how do you get these characters that I have mentioned? Read below, as I divulge to you and everyone the tricks of the trade, or just those you need to know in order to get these and other special characters!! *Cues "duhn duhn dunnnnnnn" sound effect* "Liedel..." ---Liedel Klein is actually one of the few characters that is not that difficult to obtain, if you know what you're doing rather early on. To get Liedel, you must have a fairly high CF, and this is the real challenge in acquiring her. Since she is only a few missions into the game, you have to know how to get a high CF. (For more info on this topic, please use the Find function and get it from this FAQ) Other than this factor, you only have to defeat her in her (boss) battle in the Sable Lowlands, City of the Past. Defeat her, then answer her question (of course you want to take her with you!!) She is a fairly powerful archer, and it is worth getting her, especially since you have PLENTY of time to alter your CF as you see fit to get later characters or events that you desire. "Biske..." ---Well, to start things off, Biske is one of those characters that you can only get if you're going the LOW CF way. Yes, you can't get him and have Ankiseth, Aisha, or Saradin. In fact, if any of the Zenobians even OFFER TO JOIN YOU, you can't get Biske. Sort of makes you sick, doesn't it? Though it would be incredibly cool to have both Biske and the Zenobians, it is one of the choices you have to make in the game. Still, getting him is one of the greater benefits of going to the "bad," low-CF ending (considered bad because the hero eventually becomes a villain). So who is Biske? Biske la Varet (Biske the Beast) is a lycanthrope... a werewolf. What this means is: at night and during the day he has two different forms. Most people will agree that his night form (the wolf man) is much stronger than his day from (basically an enhanced Knight), but still, the mere fact that he is so powerful attack-wise makes him a wise choice in EITHER form. Then, tack on his three attacks at night up front and you would love to have him around. He is just insanely cool, and worth getting. But how to get him... After you defeat Gules Hill for the first time, you can chose to go in three directions, one of which is north to Capitrium, the Land of the Advent. You can also chose to go west to the Vert Plateau to look for the Berthan Sentinel, or east to the Tremos Mountains, but if you want Biske, go to Capitrium, which will be Scene 24 (The Rebel). Battle your way through the level and to Castle Eundel, where you will meet Biske. Fight him and, after you defeat him, he will rave about how you should just kill him. You will be presented with two choices. Select the "Why don't you join us?" option (I mean, we've gotten this far, isn't it a bit obvious what to do?). He will then talk about your being pathetic, but he still says he will help you because you're desperate enough to ask him. Don't mind his attitude, he is worth putting up with any amount of verbal abuse! "Vad..." ---Vad Orok Zlenka is the only grappler that you can actually get in the entire game. What does that mean? Not much, but he is a unique character to say the least. Normally achieved by going a pretty neutral route, leaning normally toward the high-CF path, Vad is found in the Mount Ithaca mission (Uncertainty). However, finding him is not the hard part for this mission, or for getting him to join. First, you have to go north and liberate Ketican, which will destroy one of the few bridges on the map leading to your final destination. Once this is done, Vad will no longer move his unit, so just stay out of his way. You must avoid attacking him, and if you must, be sure to attack weakest and kill off his support! If/when you finish the level and Vad is still alive he will offer to join your army after the final (boss) battle. Sounds simple? Well, it should, and if it does, you're wrong. (Don't you love how I manipulated you there?) Anyway, there is a challenge in this. You have to get to Ketican without engaging Vad. This, my friends, is not fun. Once the mission starts, he begins moving pretty steadily along a course from right around Lapide (to the northeast of your starting HQ). He will go by way of Nakina (directly to your east), and march right at you. If you don't send a unit up to destroy the bridge at Ketican, you WILL have to fight him. His unit is fairly good, too, but it's easy to kill Vad. DON'T TEMPT FATE. If you want him, do it quick, and do it right. "Carth..." ---Carth Forleizen is another one of the HUGE benefits of going the low-CF route. While you may not know it already, he is a Black Knight, and that in itself makes him rare. Still, it's time for a description. Carth is another of those blonde killers in the game. He appears as a black knight, but in silver armor and with a red cape across on his back, bearing a cross on it (definitely one of the sweeter suits of armor in the game). As I said, you have to have a fairly low CF to get him to even offer to join, and you can't have any Zenobians even offer to join you, like with Biske. In Ptia (Scene 32 - the Disillusioned) you will encounter a young boy in Furge (the isolated town north of Billemina where you start), telling a story of this sad man who is fighting hordes of enemies off on his own. Yep, that sad warrior is who we want: Carth the Disillusioned. From there, go to Torab Ni (the stronghold the farthest south and west you can go) where you will encounter this noble, yet tired man. However, you have not yet recruited him. After a brief discussion in Torab Ni, Carth sets off with his unit to finish his duty, mainly take out the boss of the level. If you were smart, you positioned a unit of your own outside of Vitegith Castle already. If you haven't, you had better get there before Carth does. Carth and his unit may be strong, but odds are, unless you have weakened the boss' unit, he won't survive. Anyway, to get Carth to join now, all you have to do is beat the level and keep him alive. After beating the level, he will comment to you that you shouldn't have gotten involved, but he will thank you for saving his life. You can then request he join your army, and what a strong addition he is! **On a final note, Carth will come with his full unit (two Cataphracts and two Valkyrie). Just enjoy them as gifts, though you won't use them as often as their leader. "Destin and the Zenobians..." ---Expect this section in the next update... This will take some serious time and effort, and until I like what I have, I won't put it in here. Sorry. "Angel Knights and Seraphim..." ---Well, the honest facts here is that these characters are a PAIN to get. However, when you have one, or more, you will thank whatever deity you pray to that you were patient enough to do it. YES, THEY ARE THAT GOOD. They use fairly weak equipment (thrusting swords), but they have good attacks from any row, with decent numbers of attacks, great variety (if seraphim, each row has a different attack), and they FLY! That fact alone meant I wanted one. Why? Because they can also LEAD UNITS. I finally had my flying unit's leader, since I grew bored of the hawkman evolutions. So on to the real part of this answer. Where do you find an angel knight, and how do you make one? Well, if you have the L&Ps to spare, then Celesis is your dream come true. Yes, in Celesis almost every unit has at least one angel knight for you to attempt and recruit. How sweet is that? In fact, most units have more than one! But fear not, if you don't have the extremely rare and valuable L&Ps to waste, you can always create on yourself. Yes, you heard me, you can create an angel knight yourself. But "how" is the part you may not like... While an angel knight is an outstanding addition to your army, and the evolved seraph is even stronger, the fact that their creation is a risk makes them normally a luxury character in most armies. What do I mean about their creation? To make an angel knight, not only must you have a female character with the proper stats and proper equipment available to equip her with, but you must also, and here comes the kicker, KILL HER IN A SCENE. After the scene is over, you have a random chance of her turning into an angel knight. Now, what happens if she doesn't turn into an angel knight? Well, you may get lucky, and she may turn into a zombie (and yes, we all know how they are awful), but considering how the alternative is her DEATH... I think we all see now why an angel knight is a risk. On a final note here... Once you have your angel knights, however you have managed to obtain them, should you want to change them to seraphim, you must meet the following requirements. (For all stats, be sure that your character meets the requirements BEFORE applying bonuses gained through equipment and accessories). An angel knight must have Intelligence of at least 108, Mentality of 125 or higher, Dexterity of 137 or above, and an alignment on the lawful side, 75 or higher. You must also have a needle of light, kite shield, and baldr mail, all unequipped and available for the person to change classes. However, this class change is like all other human classes in that you can decide when to do it at any menu screen. It does NOT require another death or sacrifice (thank BLEEP). (inset question for the above question/section) "Has anyone gotten and Angel Knight without using a Love and Peace? Do you have to have a needle of light or does your character automatically get one when she changes?" ---Unfortunately, you MUST have the needle of light before you kill off whatever female character you are using in this experiment. Otherwise, you have just ensured that you killed a fairly strong woman for absolutely nothing, and what a waste that would be. The angel knight promotion is just like all other class changes (except for the change to zombie). You have to be in possession of all the equipment needed WITH IT ALL UNEQUIPPED and ready to be equipped on the new character BEFORE you can change them to their new class. Just because an Angel Knight is an undead class does not exempt them from this general, and underlying rule of the game. Although it would be excellent if that were true, since it would get rid of the entire, long and boring miniquest that i described above... "A Dragoon..." ---The dragoon is one of the most sought after classes in the entire game, and probably the most sought after class that is not unique (as in you can turn ANY generic, male character into one). However, to get a dragoon, you require a lot of preparation, and training, so we will go at this class in parts. First, we will discuss the physical needs for the class, such as stat requirements and alignment. Then, we will go into the equipment requirements, which are by far the hardest part to this class. Enough yapping, though, this will take a while, so we should get started! The stats required for a dragoon are actually quite high for a normal human promotional class... but then again, the dragoon is hardly normal. The dragoon requires that your male character have 117 strength or greater, 103 vitality, and 95 dexterity. However, unlike almost every special class, the dragoon does not require any specific alignment, which is actually good, because you can take either a paladin, sword master, or black knight and easily create an outstanding dragoon. That done, now we dive straight into the good, and hard, part of the quest. Why is this outstanding class so rare? Because of all the equipment you require, and the fact that almost EVERY PIECE OF IT IS UNIQQUE. So what rare equipment do you need? Simple, you must have a Sword of Tiamat, Dragon Armor, and a Dragon Helm. To get EACH of these, you have to undergo a quest, so we'll start with the easiest now: the dragon helm. To get this helm, and generally just to start you off on ANY of the three required pieces, you must first obtain information about the dragoon class itself from a man in Idorf, Mylesia. He will also get you started on finding the other equipment, too, so pay attention to what he says. Then, you need to go to Burgunny in Gunther Piedmont to talk with a drunk between the times of 18:00 and 6:59, and yes, just to talk to him... for now. Then, exit the stronghold and wait for the day to break. Once it does, reenter the stronghold and a woman there will tell you to go find the man's wife. Guess what you get to do! So now you need to go to Senal, Volmus Mine and talk to the drunken man's wife. Needless to say, she will not be too happy with him, and, well... just trust me. ^_~ No, head back to Burgunny and you find the couple reunited (yay!). As if that weren't enough for you to actually get something, you have to reenter the stronghold yet again in order to actually BUY the dragon helm! What a gyp! Luckily, the kind man only charges you 250 Goth for the helm, so it is an investment well worth the money. Next up, the Dragon Armor. However, this quest in itself has a small mini-quest, since to get the dragon armor you have to first obtain some Condrite (a rare material that is pretty strong and used in the making of the strong, golden armor). You have to buy the Condrite in Melphy, Dardunnelles on the 6th of any month between 9:00 and 17:59 from a specialty merchant. If you don't hit the date and time correctly, you will not be able to buy the Condrite, which goes for a petty 200 Goth. Now that you have the Condrite, you can continue with the rest of this quest. All you have to do now is go to Kynora, Mount Ithaca where you will exchange the Condrite for the Dragon Armor, free of charge (which is VERY nice indeed ^_^). The final piece to this puzzle is the Dragoon's mighty sword, the Sword of Tiamat. However, to even be able to START this quest, you have to have already gotten the other two pieces of armor described above. With that said, we now have to return to Idorf, Mylesia after the start of chapter 3. From there, enter the stronghold and listen to the tale of a barkeeper in Elaine, Fair Heights. Yes, so now we go there and enter the stronghold to meet the barkeeper. He will tell you all about the Divine Dragon, Grozz Nuy, including the legends and myths. Then, to get you on your way further, he will give you the Dragon Scale and tell you that you can find the dragon in the forests outside of Pinneg in Celesis. As misleading as this sounds, what you actually need to do is take a unit leader into the stronghold itself after beating the mission that takes place there (also make sure you take a fairly strong leader, since that character will soon undergo a one-on-one duel with the legendary dragon itself). When you enter the stronghold, you will be taken to the forests where you will use the dragon scale and fight Grozz Nuy... Now, don't be intimidated, since the Divine Dragon really isn't that difficult if you are at a decent level. Just be sure to attack him, and like in training, the battle will continue until one character falls. If you win, you will 'discover the Sword of Tiamat in the dead corpse of the dragon,' and the game explains that it was probably left there by one of the dragoons of old who fought the beast... and lost. But really, who cares now? You have the sword, and with that, the final piece of the puzzle! Make yourself a dragoon and rejoice! "A Princess..." ---The princess class is another that will be best explained in two parts, so again I shall break the class down into the two categories of statistical and equipment requirements. For this class, however, there will be a third section also, explaining the benefits, and believe me, these you will not want to miss. The statistical requirements for the Princess class are simple. Why is this, do you ask? Because all you need is a lawful female, which means you only need alignment above 70. On the other hand, the equipment requirements, as with the dragoon and lich (as you shall see) are the difficult part of this class. To promote a female character into the high-alignment, spell- casting fiend that is the princess, you must obtain the normal spellbook, and THREE fairly rare, specialty items: the battle fan, pure-white dress, and dream crown. Needless to say, this will take some effort, and time, which will make up for the lack of stat requirements, but it is ALL worthwhile. The first item, the battle fan, is actually the easiest of the three to find, as it is a hidden item on the map of Gules Hills. It is located just west of Belleboppo, except on the opposite bank of the river... So now we need the pure-white dress. You can actually obtain this valuable equipment early in the game by merely talking to a woman inside the stronghold of Bourdeaux, Tenne Plains with a female group leader and learning about making a pure-white dress. Then, you must reach Melphy, Dardunnelles on the 15th of any month, between 9:00 and 17:59 to buy a bolt of silk from the specialty merchant there for 2000 Goth (take note: this merchant can also supply you with Drakonite books and other goodies on alternate/special days of any month). After obtaining the bolt of silk, you need to go to Billney, again in Tenne Plains, with a female leader to use the silk in exchange for the pure- white dress, charging you another 2500 Goth. Breath a sigh of relief, you are almost done, even though at a small expense. The problem? The remaining item is a bit harder to get... The final, and hardest to find, piece of equipment required for the creation of a princess is the Dream Tiara. This process is rather long, involving five steps to the process, so we might as well quit our whining and begin. First head to Clemona (located in Blue Basilica) and talk with the old man there about Gelda, the love of his life that was never realized... how sad. Then, as if you couldn't tell where you were going, you begin to hunt for his love, and the place to do that is in Boolem, Crenel Canyon. Look for Gelda there and discover, unfortunately, that she has moved on... to the Zenobian Border. Off we go! Once there, go to the stronghold of Elle and search for her. Unfortunately, you discover here that, again, she is gone, but this time she has left for Soathon. Where do we go now? Tristle (in Soathon of course), where you meet Gelda and obtain a letter, which you should immediately deliver to the old man, of course, to do that you must go back to Clemona (which is still in Blue Basilica). When you FINALLY deliver the letter, the man will thank you profusely and present you with the Dream Tiara! Hooray! Unfortunately, we don't ever learn what happened between the two, and after going on that wild goose chase, you would at least like some real closure, but all is not lost! You have the Dream Tiara! So go create your princess unit! **"Ok, you said before that the princess was something special, care to explain that now? What does she actually do, besides cast spells?" ---I am so glad you asked! As promised, the princess IS special, but ONLY as a unit leader. Sure, she casts spells with the best of them, but her REAL ability comes when you let her lead a unit. Why? When she leads a unit, EVERY OTHER CHARACTER IN THAT UNIT GETS AN EXTRA ATTACK! Think of it, every sword master would strike FOUR times, as would a lich. It is literally the best way to ensure defeat for your opponents (like using Drakonite spells, which can be arranged since the princess herself can equip them ^_^). Is that not enough? Then TOO BAD! That is one of the biggest perks in the entire game, so get used to it. "A Lich (or two!)..." ---Again, we shall have to break this section into two answers. The first, again, will be the statistical requirements while the second will remain the hard stuff. Yay for simplicity, heh. The stats required for the lich class are actually fairly low, especially considering how powerful this class can become. It only requires Intelligence of 24, Mentality of 51, and an alignment lower than 30. The alignment is by far the hardest part of that, but considering how easy even that is, you come to see where the real challenge for this class is: getting the equipment! So what equipment is needed to unlock the lich class? We start with the easy objects to obtain, the kerykeion, book of bane, and bloodstained robe. Yes, I realize that the bloodstained robe and the kerykeion are both uncommon until the end of the game, but even these are nothing compared to the other, final requirement. You can find a kerykeion by fighting black dragons in neutral encounters, and you can get a bloodstained robe in Gules Hills just off the road between the strongholds of Novipoldt and Castle Echel or in Fair Heights just south of Rajisk, near the southern tip of the mountain range. You must obtain a Ring of the Dead to create a lich, and THIS is your true challenge. There are only TWO Rings of the Dead in the entire game, and unless you go a specific route, the most you can hope for is actually just ONE. The first, and easier to obtain, ring is found through a short chain of events. You begin by going into Banna Barra in Celesis after your 24th or 25th mission. Upon entering, you will receive a letter from a girl there. All you have to do now is take Magnus to Quelluan in the Zenobian Border to deliver this letter and your reward will be the first Ring of the Dead. Now, I have promised you that there is a second chance to make this incredible class, and there is. However, if you are going to take this path and create this second character, you will be making sacrifices. This choice is actually one that many players have trouble with, since it occurs at the three-way split in the final chapter. You can either get the second Ring, along with Paul, or get Carth, or Europea. Needless to say, each path has its benefits, and no one path is really wrong, but it is a choice that you will have to make. So where is the second Ring? You find it in the first Tremos Mountains stage in a small wooded valley in the mountains north of Congool. All you have to do once you obtain the equipment is go to the character class-change screen and select the character and lich class. I will give you one warning, though. Once you change a character into the lich class, you CANNOT change them back. They officially become undead, and therefore they cannot become another 'living' class again. However, once you make the lich, you really won't want to turn them back. They are just that good. "A Vampire..." ---As with any human class, to promote a character to a vampire, you must have both the proper stats and equipment. Since the stats are the easier part to explain, however, we shall go into details there first. Unlike many of the other special classes, the stats for a vampire are rather low. Any chaotic male with Intelligence of 52 or higher, Mentality of 63+, Agility greater than 54, and even slightly chaotic (alignment below 50) can become a vampire. The real struggle, however, comes in when you want to get the proper equipment for the promotion. You only need two pieces of equipment to make a vampire, but one is fairly hard to acquire. First of all, you need a Count's Garment, which is not that difficult to come by as I recall. However, the second required equipment is the Bloody Emblem. Getting this is not really that hard to do, but many people overlook it. Simply take a chaotic male unit leader (unit leader's alignment must be under 50) to Elgorea in Mylesia. Upon entering the stronghold, your leader will encounter a vampire who asks you four questions. If you answer all four questions correctly, you receive the bloody emblem. This would be a chore normally, but aren't you glad you came to me for help? I know I would be! Depending on the time of day (game time, not real time) that you enter the stronghold, the questions, and answers, will be different. Instead of listing all the possible Q's and A's here, I will just give you the answers (in the form of the numbers of their choices. 00:00-01:29 - 1, 1, 1, 1 12:00-13:29 - 1, 2, 1, 1 01:30-02:59 - 2, 2, 2, 2 13:30-14:59 - 2, 1, 2, 2 03:00-04:29 - 1, 1, 1, 2 15:00-16:29 - 1, 2, 1, 2 04:30-05:59 - 2, 2, 2, 1 16:30-17:59 - 2, 1, 2, 1 06:00-07:29 - 1, 1, 2, 1 18:00-19:29 - 1, 2, 2, 1 07:30-08:59 - 2, 2, 1, 2 19:30-20:59 - 2, 1, 1, 2 09:00-10:29 - 1, 1, 2, 2 21:00-22:29 - 1, 2, 2, 2 10:30-11:59 - 2, 2, 1, 1 22:30-23:59 - 2, 1, 1, 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- X. Soldiers, Soldiers Everywhere, and Not One Worth Anything! Yet... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, call me insane, or call me a genius, it is one or the other, but in this section I will discuss everything about soldiers you may want to ever know. I hope that you aren't that curious, because all these soldier questions will indubitably lead to LEGION questions, and those by themselves will drive me insane... So here we go! "What are soldiers used for?" ---Besides as the base class for all human characters, soldiers can also be somewhat useful in the rare case that you use the legion system. In this case, the legion core (the central unit of a legion, with the legion commander leading it) must have as many soldiers as the legion has other units. Therefore, if you have a legion consisting of the legion core and one other unit, the legion core itself MUST have ONE soldier in it. The game explains this by saying that the soldier acts as a messenger from the core and legion commander to the other unit. To further this example, if you had a full legion (a core and four other units), your legion core would simply be the commander and four soldiers. This is basically the only time soldiers are used for purposes other than promotion, so I would almost suggest forgetting them unless you desire another human character. "Ok, so how do I promote a soldier to a better/useful class?" ---Ah! That is a good question! Soldiers are easily one of the most useless classes in the game, but they are NECESSARY if you wish to build a strong army. Why, you may ask, are soldiers necessary? Because ALL human classes develop from soldiers. Now to the real answer part: a soldier changes classes very differently from all other human classes, but very similarly to many of the beast and undead classes. A soldier can only change at the end of a battle in which its requirements have been met. What are the main requirements? Well, here we go: First things first: Equipment! You have to have the correct equipment, ready to equip. However, the equipment will change depending on what class you will 'evolve' the soldier into. For a soldier to become a fighter (the lowest male class), you have to have a short sword, a round shield, chain mail, and an iron helm, but if you want to change the soldier into an amazon (the lowest female class), you will need to have a short bow, leather armor, and a bandanna. One more thing, this is but the first requirement for a soldier to class change... The second requirement for a soldier to change classes is actually one that focuses more on the unit's strength as a whole. However, to explain this, we must coin a new term: Soldier Points. Now realize, these points are not listed anywhere in the game, nor are they official. However, they will greatly help in the explanation. How do you get these Soldier Points? Every time you WIN a battle with a unit that has at least one soldier in it, that unit's leader will get 2 or SP for EACH INDIVIDUAL soldier in the unit. So a unit with 4 soldiers and the leader would get 8 SP per victory. However, a unit with 4 soldier CLUSTERS (each with 3 soldiers in it) would get 24 SP from each battle. That starts to add up, doesn't it? So now, When that leader accumulates about 100 SP, one soldier in their unit will be promoted. See how difficult this process is getting? There is one way to speed this process, and this has saved lots of time for all of us game players. One item, the Medal of Vigor, doubles the amount of SP gained in each battle, so our same unit with a leader and four soldiers would actually gain 16 SP per battle. This is VERY useful. Just two more notes: (1) we are not sure exactly how many battles it actually takes to promote a soldier, but many of the vets do believe it to be about that many... and (2) Training battles do NOT count toward SP and soldier promotion. Sorry. The final factor, and probably the most important, for soldier promotion is......*drum roll* ...the sex of the unit's leader! Yes, that's right, it DOES matter! If you have a male unit leader, your soldier will change into a fighter; if you have a female unit leader, your soldier becomes an amazon. The one exception to this rule is a unit that is carrying an Ansate Cross This item only has one function, and that is to switch the sex of the soldier you will promote. With this item, if a male leads your unit, the soldier will become an amazon. By the same reasoning, if your unit is lead by a female, your soldier will become a fighter. This can become very useful later in the game if you want to really customize your army, but have too many of one sex of leader versus the other. Now, a few more quick side notes here... "Where can I find the extremely helpful Medal of Vigor?" ---Simple! The Medal of Vigor is a quick, one-step 'secret item.' Basically, after you have visited Alba (around your 9th mission), return there and go to the stronghold of Edepar with Magnus's unit. Upon entering the stronghold, Magnus will be presented with the medal as proof of his leadership. It is very helpful in increasing his leadership, and those of your other leaders, as well as seemingly essential if you want to create a Centurion. "Is there any place where I can promote lots of soldiers, or where I can easily gain victories to help promote soldiers for centurions?" ---As a matter of fact, another gamer, Wicked Souls, had a solution just for this question that I had completely forgotten about. Without further adieu, here is his reply: "In the second stage... Volmus Mine... there's a unit with two Clerics and a [Fighter]. Send a unit to kill the [Fighter], and run away once he's dead. Then, just send a unit with any character (preferably a Cleric, so you do less damage) and four Soldier clusters after it. You'll always win, since Clerics can't do damage, and they won't die real quick, since they keep healing themselves... You could actually use this trick anywhere in the game where there's a Cleric or Priest in a unit, or possibly with a Vampire at daytime. Funnily, there's a unit in Celesis with two Priests and three Clerics. How perfect..." LEGIONS... "What is a legion?" ---A legion is just a larger grouping of characters. Let's start small and work our way larger. Your basic unit of measuring and controlling your army is on the character level. You are given the ability to customize them and edit them, etc. A group of such characters (up to five maximum) can form a unit. Now, here is where legions come in: a group of up to five UNITS can form a LEGION. Each legion would be lead by the leader of the central unit, called the legion core, and the leader then becomes a legion commander. However, the limiting aspect to this is that only certain classes can become legion commanders, and therefore you can only have so many legions. "What are some of the benefits of legions?" ---Now, if I was being honest, I would tell you that there aren't really that many, but since I will be NICE... One of the largest benefits of a legion is the fact that you can group your units in larger organizational groups. Being able to control 5 units at once is a big benefit, despite what that requires. Also, when any unit of the legion goes into a battle, it gets a "supporting attack" also. This is basically where a line of soldiers rush the enemies and cause fairly good damage depending on the level of your characters. Probably the most use any legion gets, however, is in finding hidden treasure on map screens. Why, you may ask, would that be so? Simple, you can put your legions into different formations and the units will move in those formations. Instead of just marching one unit across a plain, hoping to get lucky, you can march a "mobile wall" across the same plan and almost cover the entire thing. It really is helpful in that respect. "Ok, now you have covered the advantages, what are some of the disadvantages of using legions?" ---So glad you asked, really. Well, wow; there sure are a lot... The most obvious, and simplest place to start, is the legion core itself. The legion core is where your legion commander stays, and therefore it is the central unit of your legion. However, the problem is, the concept of a legion is that your commander can send orders out to every other unit in the legion and keep them all organized. To do this, the game incorporates a simple rule: for each additional unit in the legion, there must be one SOLDIER in the legion core. Now, if you have read my above sections on soldiers, or if you have just played the game for a little while, you realize how BAD soldiers are, especially in the later half of the game (when legions become available). If you wanted a full legion, 4 units in addition to the legion core, you would have to have a core that consisted SOLELY of the commander and FOUR SOLDIERS. This is a pain, since it makes your legion core extremely weak. However, if you like the legion format, this may still be for you. Another glaring disadvantage to the legion system is that it takes even MORE time to get good at controlling it. Normally by Chapter 3 (when you first gain access to legions) you have gotten a good grasp on the concepts of troop movements and unit control. However, if you begin to use legions, most of that will change, drastically. First of all, you will be complicated with another set of menus to memorize and understand, which in and of itself can become a chore. Then, you have to get used to directing your legions, and understanding how they will move over certain terrains can be a chore. Remember though: a legion will assume the movement of the SLOWEST unit in it, and the units assume the movement of the slowest CHARACTER, so therefore the legion is only as strong as its weakest link! At least that applies in movement... Yet another glaring weakness stems from the legion core. This is the problem that, if the legion core loses a soldier cluster, then the legion loses a unit. Also, if the legion commander dies, the legion is disbanded. Both of these cases are problematic merely because of the weak nature of soldiers. They are NOT strong fighters, especially in chapters 3 and 4, and having to deal with them can be a chore. Another problem arises when your legion commander might happen to promote a soldier. Think about it, the legion core then has lost a soldier cluster, just as if one had died, and therefore the legion will, again, lose a unit. In both my experience and those of most people I have spoken with, one glaring point has made itself clear: it is just a pain to deal with legions. Unless you enjoy pain, or enjoy making the game unnecessarily difficult and weird, you should probably stay away from legions as a general rule, but I won't tell you not to try them out. Decide for yourself, but be warned, legions are a pain! Further Questions... ---As I have stated above, these questions will drive me insane, so I will not yet finished them in this version of my FAQ. However, I will take this time to, once again, say that this FAQ is property of bearsman6, Sean Sexton, and the rest of his 8 personalities. Any use of this FAQ without his (our) permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to get in touch with him, please direct all comments and email to bearsman6@hotmail.com. Thank you. And yes, there are some very lovely thieves out there who will probably miss this disclaimer if they copy it. Enjoy... ~_~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- XI. More Money Means More Fun! Money Questions of All Kinds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "First of all, what exactly is a Goth?" ---Now, right now, if I was sitting in your shoes, I would be saying, "Oh please, tell me you are kidding." Sorry, folks, I am not. I have heard this question, just as the other awful questions before it, and I am sure that it will happen again. Goth is the general name assigned to money in this game. Where does the name come from? For what purpose did they name it as such? I have no clue, and if you figure it out, just let me know. All I do know is that Goth was the name of the currency in the original Ogre Battle game for the SNES, so for the sake of continuity they kept it. Oh, and does anyone else find it funny that seemingly ALL RPGs have a currency that starts with the letter G? Think about it... *Cues Twilight Zone music* "Ok, now that that is said, where can you get Goth, and what can you do with it? Is this a stupid question?" ---Actually, my friend, those are SEVERAL stupid questions, or they would be if I wasn't a firm believer in the principle that no question is ever truly stupid (only the questioner is). But on to the real issues here... You can find Goth in a number of places. The most common, and really the only one most people know about, place to find Goth is after you have successfully completed a mission. Every time you complete a mission and defeat the final boss (or capture the enemy stronghold/HQ, you will be rewarded both Goth and soldiers (for your reserves) and occasionally a rare or uncommon item, but that is a different question. The amount recieved depends on a number of factors, but the most commonly accepted belief is that you start off recieving a set amount of Goth, but as time progresses, and as the level takes you longer to complete, the amount you actually recieve will decrease. This is reason enough to complete every mission as quickly as you can. However, there is another key factor to this puzzle. Your default amount of Goth also depends upon the number of units and characters you defeat on that level. So even if you zip through the level, avoiding most of the enemy encounters, you will not get as much Goth as had you gone marginally fast and defeated all of the enemy units completely. This is just proof of the fine line that you must tread if you want to have a good war chest to help support your growing, and demanding, army. The only other places to find Goth that I know of is when you are either presented with Goth as a present (like you are given at the very beginning of the game to get you started) or when you sell some of your inventory and items to a merchant or store. The latter is the least preferred method in my eyes because you are actually giving up at least one item that may have been helpful to you in the future. Besides, you don't really need all that much money in this game, but we will get into that next... right now! "Now that I know where to find Goth, what can I actually use it for?" ---The most common way to spend all that Goth that you so strenuously earn is to train your troops. This eats up a considerable amout every time, though, and as your units increase in level, each training battle will only cost you more and more. Though it does cost an insane amount of money once you really get going, training is almost a necessity in this game, since it is the only way to level up your units outside of missions. If you hit a mission where all the enemy units are a good level or three above your units, you know that you have not trained enough. This could well happen to you on your first or second times through the game, too. Also, training is the only way to get all four of the Elemental Pedras, which are excellent tools in this game. The second most useful (and only second my a short measurement) way to spend your Goth is on equipment or items for your army. In this game, having the best equipment is utterly important. Sometimes a certain set of equipment is required for changing classes, and other times it is needed simply to improve your characters and make them worth your while to train and use them. You can go shopping either outside of a mission, in a set of screens you can access by hitting R and navigating the main menu bar, or by entering into a stronghold in a mission that has a "shop." There is usually only one of these shops per mission, but they are worth finding since they can have specialty items, or rare items. The only other real way to spend money in this game is when a character dies and you go to a witch's den. Basically, a witches den is where you go as a last resort if one of your characters has lost all their HP and you do not want to lose them forever. What a witch's den can do is, for a nominal fee, revive this character from death, though with only a small amount of HP, and save their spirits from becoming either worthless zombies, or more worthless memories. Witch's dens can also revive characters that have been turned to stone, either by chickens (cockatrices) or gorgons, or any other means. They are, in fact, quite useful, but they do run like a business, so you won't escape with your war chest undamaged. Also, as the level of your character to be revived goes up, the cost of the witch's proceedure goes up. This is just another good reason why you should try to avoid death... But that seems to be common sense, or so I would hope. "Does my wealth have any affect on my final score or CF at the end of the game? I just want to make sure that being extremely wealthy won't make me a worse person in the eyes of the people." ---You have got to be kidding me... If you actually asked this question... the answer is yes. If you don't have lots and lots of money, the people of every kingdom will hate you and join forces in the last scene to kill you. Even your fallen comrades from missions past will rise from their respective graves to slaughter you and your incompetent self. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- XII. Miscellaneous Questions: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, as if the title of this section doesn't explain it, there will be all sorts of varied and crazy questions in here. Some will be more pertinent than others, and some will just be.... Newbie questions. Well, in any case, here we go. Please forgive the random insanity floating about, but we can't control everything about the board. "How many times have you played through this game, and are you bored with it yet?" ---I personally have played through the game completely 6 times. However, I currently have two games underway, and I plan on finishing those, and at least one or two more... at least being the key words. In fact, two of my games I undertook merely for the challenge, and the thrill of trying something new and different. In other words, to answer the second question, no, I am not bored of this game yet, and I doubt strongly that I ever will be. "How many classes are in the game?" ---Oh boy oh boy! A real question! Without further adieux, I shall answer it for you, but not only that, I will list them for you (but only the generic classes)!! Male: Soldier, Fighter, Knight, Berserker, Ninja, Beast Tamer, Phalanx, Doll Master, Fencer, Wizard, Paladin, Cataphract, Beast Master, Black Knight, Enchanter, Sword Master, Ninja Master, Arch Mage, Centurion, Dragoon, Lich, Vampire. Female: Soldier (yes), Amazon, Archer, Dragon Tamer, Valkyrie, Cleric, Sorceress, Witch, Freya, Diana, Dragon Master, Siren, Priest, Centurion, Princess, Lich. Then, we have the undead: Zombie, Skeleton, Ghost, Angel Knight, Seraph (also lich and vamp, but they were listed in with the human classes). Dragons: Young Dragon, Thunder Dragon, Quetzcoatl, Red Dragon, Flarebrass, Earth Dragon, Ahzi Dahaka, Blue Dragon, Hydra, Black Dragon, Tiamat, Platinum Dragon, Bahamut. Golems and Beast: Golem, Stone Golem, Baldr Golem, Wyrm, Wyvern, Griffin, Opinicus, Cockatrice, Hellhound, Cerebrus. Demi-human: Hawkman, Vultan, Raven, Faerie, Gremlin, Pumpkinhead, Goblin, Ogre, Sphinx, Gorgon, Saturos. **There are a total of 74 classes in the game that you can control.** "Does the Rai's Tear have any purpose in the game?" ---Actually, there has been no discovered hidden or special purpose for this item as of yet. All that I, and all of the other people I have consulted on the issue, can tell is that it is purely for stat enhancement, nothing more. Sort of disappointing, I know, but still... There can't be a special aspect to all the weapons, so don't expect too much from this one, or any of the others that look really cool or that have good names. Sorry. "I have some real problems when I encounter a gorgon because they always paralyze me. Is there any way to prevent this? Help!" ---Wow, yet another good question, but unfortunately the answer is simple. The Gorgon's attack is a line-of-sight based attack. It is also good to remember that ANY CHARACTER with a SHIELD will block the attack, and therefore not become petrified. The best part of this is, since the attack is line of sight, any characters in the columns behind the shield-bearing character will be protected from petrification. Because of this, a simple unit with three paladins (or any three characters who have a shield equipped) up front will protect your entire unit. That wasn't too hard, was it? "What is a Pedra, how do I get them, and how do I use them?" ---My lord, these questions have been asked so many times it isn't even funny. Here we go... A Pedra is basically the physical manifestation of the powers of one of the elements in the game. Each Pedra is only one element, cannot be combined, and can ONLY be harnessed by Magnus (you). You automatically start the game with one Pedra (the element that matches the element you assigned Magnus), but to earn the others, and there is a grand total of 6, you have to do something special. More on that later... How do you use a Pedra? Well, first of all, you have to be in a battle. Secondly, you have to fill up the active-time bar three times. Therein lies your problem most of the time. Until the latter stages of the game, you will only be able to fill up a bar once or twice during any one battle because there just aren't enough attacks to take up the time needed to fill the bar. However, later in the game, when most character classes have at least two (normally three)attacks, and many of these attacks give long animations, you can fill the bar twice to 3 bars and use two Pedras. Simply put, it is like retreating or changing battle tactics. You have to use the instant command option (where you press the A button to freeze the battle and, at the end of the next turn, you can use a menu to change a little tactic, or retreat, or even offer to talk to a neutral encounter). However, if you have three bars filled, the option to use an Elem Pedra is also open. As if the choice wasn't obvious enough, highlight the Pedra option and hit A again to select it. The sit back, relax, and enjoy the cool battle animation, because the enemy unit will take a huge hit from the ensuing special attack! Now here is a bit of extra information on Pedras before we go straight into how to find them. The strength of any Pedra is directly related to the strength of Magnus. The higher his level and the higher his stats, the stronger each Pedra casting will be. Sometimes that means that it will attack more characters, other times it will mean that it just does more damage to a boss, etc. "Ok, so where do I find these extremely useful Pedras?" ---Glad you asked, because now is the time you've all been waiting for: the walkthrough on where to find all 6 of the Pedras or Power! To get the 3 Elemental Pedras that you don't start the game with, you will be required to train Magnus's unit at special locations (on the map over-world screen). In each of these locations, however, you may find it necessary to train more than one time. You are not guaranteed to fight a Pedra battle every time. The first stop here is in Mylesia after your fourth mission. Next, you should remember to train in Mount Ithaca (Mission 15...), and then Gules Hill (Mission 20). In each of these locations, you will fight against a fairly powerful unit, but only two characters in it. One character will be the Venerable Dragon that corresponds to the elemental Pedra you will receive after the battle, the other character will be either a dragoon or a dragon master, depending on which element it is. Both characters will be the level of the member of your unit WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Therefore it is better to keep your entire unit at about the same level. After you train with each unit and win, you will receive the corresponding Pedra. But be warned, each battle is fairly difficult, especially with the Quetzcoatl and dragoon. However, those battles are actually the easier Pedras to obtain. The other two, the Pedra of Bane and the Pedra of Virtue, require more patience, time, and skill to get. First, we shall talk of the Pedra of Bane! Arguably, this is by far the easier of the two non-elemental Pedras to obtain. All you do have to do is go to the Highlands of Soathon, and then proceed to the stronghold in the southeast, Jiram. Enter this stronghold after the mission where you battle there and you will talk to a young boy about his dog that was injured during all the battles. To get the Pedra of Bane all you have to do is bring a unit to that stronghold with a hellhound in it. When you enter the stronghold, you will then GIVE the boy YOUR hellhound to replace his lost dog, so do not get too attached to the hellhound. One more bit of information: if you can't find a hellhound, check in the valley right outside of town (between the two mountains, the rough terrain). Isn't it nice how the game basically puts you in the perfect spot to find what you need? Now that you have Bane, all you require is the Pedra of Virtue. This Pedra, however, is only acquired a good deal further down the line, but is not really that much harder. Like most sub quests in this game, this search will require a bit of traveling, so be prepared. Start off by going to the stronghold of Muji in Gules Hills. Talk to a man there about his daughter who is in the Volmus Mine and get a letter to deliver to her. Next stop, Volmus Mine! Enter into the mine itself and look for the daughter... too bad, she isn't there... Instead, you learn that she has moved on to Mount Ithaca. Guess where you get to go now? That's right! In Mount Ithaca, proceed to the stronghold of Caltovich where you will find the daughter and proceed to deliver the man's letter. In return for your kindness and in finding her, the daughter will reward you with the Pedra of Virtue. Congratulations! You now have all 6 Pedras! "I just got to Fort Romulus and what the heck happened?? What kind of mission is this?" ---Ah yes, the infamous siege missions. There are actually three such missions: Fort Romulus, Winnea, and Castle Talpaea are all siege missions. Basically what happens is that you are taken inside one stronghold and you have objectives to accomplish there. Notice, however, that just because you are in a different style environment the actual gameplay has not changed much at all! Though time has seemingly slowed down (quite significantly in fact), this time you are actually given a time limit. Be very wary of the time limit. You do NOT want to see that counter hit zero... Also in siege levels, you have to breach walls. This is actually quite a bit different from everything else in the game. What you have to do is take a unit up to one of the doors and just wait for the unit to "break through." In other words, you wait a set amount of time the computer says it should take for your unit to crash through the pathetic, wooden doors and breach the next level of walls. One way around these temporary barriers is to employ flying units! These are great since, as always, they are not affected by terrain, but they also can soar above the castle walls and almost immediately breach the innermost sanctum of any siege level. Flying units make themselves worthwhile on these three levels... One final note about sieges: though your battlefield is seemingly a smaller area and more focused, everything from before seems to apply. There are still hidden treasures, battles are still carried out in the same fashion, and there are still checkpoints, though only your headquarters and the final objective seem to be actual strongholds. Just treat it as you would any other level and go wipe out some enemy baddies! "What exactly is a Drakonite spell? I hear about these powerful spellbooks and also wonder where I can find them. Help!" ---Fear not, for your answers have arrived! Drakonite spells are, by far, the most powerful magic spells in the entire game. There are four different books that each cast a different, yet equally devastating spell. The four Drakonite books are Tempest, White Mute, Annihilation, and Meteor Strike, and each title should tell you slightly the style of devastation that each will result in. Each spell is insane in strength, and they all hit all the enemy characters in the unit. This in and of itself makes the spells amazingly powerful. Add to that the fact that the books themselves, when equipped, raise several stats (including intelligence and mentality which only strengthen the spells) and you see why they are the best spellbooks in the game. So now you are probably wondering where you can find these extremely powerful, but elusive books of mass destruction and unspeakable evil? Well, each can be found once in the game as a hidden treasure on a map later in the game: Annihilation - Barpeth, east of Sondrio and heading toward Vitra; Meteor Strike - Ptia, west of Furge and northwest of Rete; Tempest - Blue Basilica, located on the river bank northeast of Clemona and en route to Bespleme; White Mute -Argent, due east of Caralla, except on the opposite bank of the river. Of these books, two can also be bought rather early in the game, which also means that you can purchase multiple copies of the books given the funds. Both Meteor Strike and Annihilation you are able to buy in specialty stores. The Book of Meteor Strike you can buy in Melphy, Dardunelles on the 1st, 6th, 15th, or 21st of any month between 18:00 and 21:59. It will cost you a LOT of Goth, but it is WELL worth it. The Book of Annihilation can be bought even earlier in the game, in the stronghold of Vertze, in Alba. The price of this book starts at a paltry 30,000 Goth and climbs 20 Goth per day until it mazes out at 60,000. Still, even at that high price, the book is well worth it. "What is morale? What does it affect in the game?" ---Let the games begin! Morale is one of those invisible numbers that you grow to hate throughout the course of the game, unless it starts working to your advantage. Morale basically is the way a unit works with itself. The longer a unit has been together, the higher its morale; the closer the alignments of the members in the unit, the higher the morale; and the more flags of unity you use on your units... well, duh! What does Morale actually do? This is in depth, too. Morale most notably affects combinations. Combined attacks and combination-magics are all a direct result of having a unit with high morale. This is VERY useful, since both a combination attack and combo-magic is much stronger than the sum of its parts. Normally, a combo attack is merely when two attackers attack at the same time, and have a neat animation where they strike the foe at the same time. The problem? Only soldiers use combination attacks. Sucks now, doesn't it? Well, the real deal of morale is Combination MAGIC! However, though it is far cooler... Combo Magic is sweet enough to get its own questions. So you have to read even MORE now. Hehehe... "Fine, now that you've made me ask, what is combination magic, how does it work, and what are all of the possible spells?" ---Wow. That was a long and complicated question. So, first things first: what combination magic really is, and what it does. As CyricZ says in his FAQ, "When you have two classes that can cast the same type of magic in the same row (Elemental, Effect), there's a chance that they'll join they're attacks and attack one target with a combined spell for increased damage." This is the basic principle behind our friendly combo-magic. However, there is only limit to this: the two spell-casters cannot have opposing elemental spells (Fire-Water, Wind- Earth). Now, how does combo magic work? All combo magic for spells that target only one enemy character can combine to do what is often called "splash damage." What this means is that there will be a little bit of extra magic that hits the target AND THEN hits all other characters adjacent to the target for a little bit of extra damage. Pretty cool, eh? But wait, that's not all! Though the damage is not as great on the nearby characters, you can combine more than just two spells together for even grater effects, and then the damage will lessen the farther out from the target you go. But still, how sweet is this? Some sample combinations resulting from spells of similar elements are: Wind + Fire = Plasma Ball; Earth + Water = Clay Assault; Water + Wind = Ionosphere; Fire + Earth = Lava Shot; Bane + Wind = Infest; and my personal favorite of these: Bane + Fire = Dark Blaze Combining one of the normal spells, a single-character spell, with one of the 'upper level' spells, such as the combination elemental spells listed above, gives you one of the following spells, which will hit all the enemy characters in a four block area. Combining two of the upper level spells, however, gives you a spell over the entire battlefield. Wizard or Sorceress/Archmage or Siren can combine to form these high spells: Wind + Fire = Plasma Storm (w/paralyzing status effect); Fire + Earth = Lava Flow (also with paralysis); Earth + Water = Blue Spiral (sweet spell, which also poisons); Water + Wind = Atmosphere (another neat one, puts enemies to sleep); Bane + Wind = Inferno (alright, but another sleeper); Bane + Fire = Dark Flame (good spell, weak status effect: power down enemy attacks) Witches will combine, however, to do these combos: Water + Wind = Poison Lime (poisons enemies hit); Wind + Fire = Bind Flare (paralyzes enemies hit); Fire + Earth = Poison Plant (again, paralyzes); Earth + Water = Deep Sleep (puts affected enemies to sleep); Bane + Wind = Black Breeze (poisons enemies); Bane + Fire = Doom (sleepy time!) NOTE: Combos are also available for classes that can cast specific Spells. This basically means that Black Knights with Word of Pain and Valkyries with Lightning, and even Ghosts with Nightmare, can combine. (Also, one smaller note: Black Knights can also change the spell that is cast by changing their default equipment to a different element. This can be helpful when trying to think of possible combinations with that class). Also, combining Healing Spells, will produce a Healing Spell that can cure status ailments. Oh, and lastly, as nice as it would be, you can't combine Drakonite spells. Sorry... "Can I combine wind, fire, and bane magic? They all mix with each other." ---Though they do all mix with each other, you cannot combine more than two elemental spells at any one time. Though the result would indeed be awesome, that would also be too powerful. In fact, they would probably look very similar to the Drakonite Spells, and we all know how crazy those are by themselves. On another note, it is really quite difficult to get three magic users to combine at one time. Making three casters of different elements do it would be even more difficult. Just don't press your luck. However, that doesn't mean that you can't combine three spells, it is just that at LEAST two of those spells must be of the same element. So, in reality, it is like just combining two spells, even though the resulting combination will be much more powerful with the boost of the third spell. "Can dragons pull combo-magic?" ---I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but no, they cannot. Though a dragon's spell looks like it should be able to combine to form an even more devastating spell, it just cannot. Why? I don't know, maybe it's the fact that dragons don't like each other? Or maybe they like humans even less. Still, they just cannot, have not, and will not ever help in combination magic. Sorry. "What does a character's element actually affect?" ---First and foremost, character elements determine what kinds of attacks do the most and least damage to that character. A character's elemental guardian primarily affects their defence against other elements. For example, a fire-aligned knight would take more damage from a water-aligned weapon or spell than from a neutral weapon or spell (earth or wind). That same character would also take much less damage from another fire-aligned weapon or spell, so it's a blessing and a curse at times. The only other thing a character's elemental alignment does is determine what kind of spell or elemental attack the character would perform. As with sirens, wizards, and all spell-casters (before given an elemental book), they will cast the spell according to their own element. "What about bane and virtue elements? Since no character naturally has virtue or bane alignments, when whould you use virtue and bane weapons, or pedras? Are lawful and chaotic characters considered virtue or bane elements, or do the classes effect their virtue or bane tendancies. (i.e. are Clarics and Angel Knights considered to be of the virture element, while a Lich and Vampire considered the Bane element?" ---Well, I combined those questions into one because I actually got an email asking, in those very words, that question. Basically, any weapon with an element is going to be stronger than any weapon without one. That is one of the first basic principles in OB64. However, as the tutorial will explain, or as the manual would, weapons of one element do better damage against characters of opposing elements and do less damage to those of the same element. The problem is that no characters are truly of bane or virtue elements, so what do you do with those elemental weapons? Luckily, there is something to do! Well, with virtue weapons at least... bane is sort of given the short end of the stick here. A virtue weapon is extremely powerful against undead (like ghosts, skeletons, and zombies). In fact, virtue weapons are the only weapons that can truly kill these awful things. Any other normal or elemental weapon will only kill them until the end of a battle, unless their entire unit is destroyed in which case they remain dead. By that logic, however, you would assume that bane weapons would be great against the "holier" classes, like angels and seraphim. You would be wrong. The only true advantage to a bane weapon is its shear strength, which normally is immense. Oh well... I guess that just further discriminates against evil things. What a shame, really... Finally, as I only lightly touched upon in the above paragraph, the undead and arisen classes are NOT considered to be of bane or virtue classes, though they are slightly affected by weapons of the other element. Now, if you're as confused by this as I am, you'll just let that lie there and not complain. It is one of the more complex aspects of the game, and there really is no other way to say it. They are only the element that they are assigned, and NO ONE is a virtue or bane elemental. "Is there a OG64 support group out there somewhere? OGAA perhaps?" ---Well, first of all, the correct abbreviation is OB64... Unless you know of some reason that there should be a G... besides ogre. Exactly. Secondly, the only place to go for helping yourself is.... (Drum roll please).... The Boards! Yes, that's right. Just come back to the boards and everything will be made better. Congratulations... NEXT! "Anyone who has actually messed around till Magnus's 99th birthday: Has anyone noticed anything special about putting Noish's Promise sword, and Diadora's Song together? I can't see as anything great happens??" ---Actually, I have done that... But it's nothing spectacular. Alone, each piece of equipment is just normal, since they do help, but are lacking in a few areas. However, when you combine the two, they tend to make up for the shortcomings of the other... Basically, they turn make the character's stat gains well rounded... which is good... but not great Why equip those when you could equip the far superior swords that are then available? It's not a worthwhile trade-off "Who do you think is hot from the game?" ---Yes, I realize how bad this question sounds, but believe me, it has been asked _so_ many times, it really isn't funny any more. So please, can we stop it already? I'll give you a likely list of candidates, and if you see fit, email me and I'll add your suggestions to it: Deneb (only found in the tutorial, unless you cheat and have a Gameshark), Katreda, Liedel, Meredia, Europea, Leia, and ANY character in the game almost, except for that old hag Zeda. I have never heard of her... But still! This question is ridiculous. So why is it in here? Because I am tired of hearing it asked!!! "Why did Nintendo abandon OB games?" ---For this answer, and question in fact, I went directly to one of my sources: Wind Rider. His opinion on this, since he does so love the series, "They are cold and heartless bastards." He meant it in the nicest way, but let me assure you, when Nintendo stepped away from the OB games, even if it is just temporarily, Wind became disenchanted with the majesty that was Nintendo. First they fought with Square, and now no more OB games? Well, to appease him, and all us other fanatics out there, we can still look forward to Tactics Ogre: Gaiden. But will we ever see another OB game? We can only wait, and hope... *********************************************************************** *********************************************************************** XIII. A Few Final Comments to All of You... If you have an idea for a question to add, or just have a question you want answered, before you submit them to me, make sure you check to make sure they are not already in the FAQ. I'll be more than happy to take any questions and answers that you may find useful, but please, make sure, before you send it my way, that I don't already have it in here. It is such a pain to sort through all the mail as it is. Contributors, and Thanks: Yes, most definitely, thanks deserve to be given to many people. But where do I start? That is the hardest part. I suppose the best place would be to start with CyricZ whose massive FAQ for this game has been a great guide and walkthrough for so long. I just hope that this FAQ will help add to what you have already started. Next, I would like to thank Wind Rider, the little man who helped me with both inspiration and pushed me to keep going. He was there when I first thought up the crazy idea for the FAQ and he has helped contribute questions that only he could have remembered to ask. ^_~ Then, we cannot forget jackofknaves. The man who will some day save me, which is good, since he is me, has actually provided bits of help, both in writing the FAQ and reminding me of how powerful a tool intelligent humor can be. Though he will never admit it, he even helped me a bit in finding questions for this guide, but he doesn't know it, since he merely assumed they were stupid. HAHA! But jack is the man... In fact, this entire fact was actually his idea, but he intended it as a joke. Sometimes I wonder if he even gave thought to the idea that I would actually do it. He knows better now, heh. Another great help in this process was a great friend, broodwars. Though he always said that it would take forever (and it still may), he would be there to provide help, more questions, and even the occasional answer. He really helped me get this thing off the ground, and for that I thank him. I must also thank him for the completely unrelated fun of Robotech! ^_^ For almost all of my Gameshark codes, except the character modifying ones, I turned to Wicked Souls. This man is a genius when it comes to hacking the smaller, yet finer details of the game. If you wanted a weapon, armor, or shield, he got it for you. He also contributed more sage wisdom when it was needed. This was surprising since he almost had to give up on that apathetic image he strives for. Thanks Wicked! The next person has actually served more as an editor than anything as of late, but in that role, he has helped me significantly. Eternalfate01, who is a relative newcomer, has really given me some great suggestions in the development of this guide, and he has provided many a question for me to answer. His contributions may have only come relatively recently, but they are just as helpful as all the others, if not a bit more, because I really do hate to edit, especially if it's something that I wrote... Another person who has helped me a lot since I first put out this FAQ was a rather recent addition to the boards I frequent: soliloquy. He has been a great help in reading over the guide and providing more useful (and at other times, useless =Þ) questions. He is also one of the people I know have read through the guide, if only partially, and has contributed despite that task. Heh. He has indeed been a great help. I suppose after that it is only right to thank the major contributors, who I have taken quotes from or asked specific help of: Rashidi, Mpagar, Wario, Drenreg, the Xrays, asimpkins, and everyone else who helped me compile questions, answers, and just generally, on both the thread I made for this FAQ that contributed ideas and in emails and IMs. Last but definitely not least, I'd also like to thank every member of the two Ogre Battle Boards on GameFAQs.com, for either directly or indirectly you have contributed to this. Even if you just asked one simple question once, or flamed someone else, you have helped me somehow. One final note: You could take all my advice and just take my word for everything, but still, I learned all this from going out and doing it, playing the game, and having fun. That is, and has always been, the best way to figure out the answers to your own questions. I suggest you get to it. good luck Have fun! That is what this game is meant for. If you find yourself starting to hurt your controllers and throwing them across the room in a fit of anger, why not take a break for a bit? Come online, go to the boards, and let the vets flame your aggression out of you. It will be fun (for us), I promise. If that doesn't float your boat, then just remember: This FAQ is only meant to help the individual, over-asked questions. If you want a walkthrough, go to CyricZ's FAQ. That's about it... except for the legal stuff. This FAQ is the property of bearsman6, Sean Sexton, and the rest of his 8 personalities. Any use of this FAQ without his (our) permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to get in touch with him, please direct all comments and email to bearsman6@hotmail.com. If that wasn't enough, you can almost always find me on the game boards at www.gamefaqs.com. I am constantly patrolling the board for this game, especially, though under various names. If you have a question, just post there and address it to bearsman6 and I will answer in one of my many forms. Fine fine, here is the list so far: bearsman6 (the obvious choice of champions), Sixx, BLEEP (don't ask, please), iSay, Iguana Lightblade, nine11, something xzotic, and another, but you don't need to know that one. Thank you again, to all that contributed and helped along the way, especially all my awesome vets at the OB boards. Without you, I would never have cared enough, really(c) to write this... Thanks again.