Date: Wed, 08 Apr 1998 22:04:24 +0800

Front Mission 2 FAQ by Zhou Tai An (Kain), Ver 1.31
kain@pacific.net.sg

Hello again. This is my second FAQ (the first being my GITS one) and I hope you 
enjoy it. 
Note: This is primarily a FAQ on the battle and tactical aspects of Front 
Mission 2 (Hereafter referred to as FM) for a simple reason : I don't know 
enough Japanese to be able to give a good account of the plot. Any help is very 
welcome. (See below for additional plot info. Right at the bottom.)

2nd Note: A lot of this information comes from Henry Jerng, author of a few more 
FAQs on this site. Special thanks to him (which is why he is listed at the top 
of the FAQ. ^_^)

Last note : This is the final update, owing to lack of interest in the game. 
More updates will be at reader request...I also answer e-mails (usually within a 
day), so mail me if you need help.

On with the show!

1. I will first cover the important aspects of the game's tutorial. (Which, 
surprisingly, I can actually understand a bit of. )

AP System 1, 2, 3, and Bullets and AP System and Counter and Attack : The whole 
shebang

AP stands for Action Points. Each unit begins with an AP of 7 (except air units) 
which can only be increased through level-upping (exact AP-Level relation 
unknown). Moving a square on the tactical map costs 1 AP. Attacking with Fight 
weapons costs 0 AP, Shoot 2 AP and Missile a whopping 6 AP. (Which obviously 
means in the beginning of the game, missile units are next to useless as you can 
only move 1 square and then fire.) 

Next, recovery of AP. You will regain up to 7 AP on a turn, with a few 
exceptions:

1. A friendly unit next to you will give you 1 AP (not exceeding your total)
2. A hostile unit next to you will lower your AP by 2. (not going below 0)
3. A hostile unit adjacent to you (on a diagonal) will lower you AP by 1. 
(again, not going below 0)

Counterattacking (or defending with a shield) will lower your AP by 2, in 
addition to the weapon's base AP cost . (So if you counterattack with a JuriEX, 
you will be spending 2+2 = 4 AP, whereas with a HurtClub, you spend 2+0= 2 AP. 
Shielding costs 0 + 2 = 2 AP) If you have 1 or 0 AP, you may not counterattack, 
but may still evade.

If you lose your arms or legs, nothing happens to AP.  However, if you lose your 
legs, you can only move one square.

Not what's with all this AP stuff? AP determines the Hit\Evade Rate of the 
combatants in a fight. The more AP, the better. With an full AP, you can usually 
get 85% - 100% Hit/Evade rates. Of course, you want to surround you enemies, so 
they will lose 8 AP (see above for how I get the figure) and be defenseless to 
your attacks. A difference of 5 to 8 in AP will usually help tremendously.

So, the following things should be obvious:

1. Don't move full tilt into the enemy, get surrounded, and, therefore, 
plastered. You'll have wasted valuable taxpayers' money, not to mention some of 
your precious time. 
2. Attacking one enemy multiple times will lower his AP a lot, especially if he 
counters with gunfire. Same goes for your units.
3. Missiles leave one wide open, with an AP cost of 6.
4. Maneuvering well to keep you troops together will not only ensure a steady AP 
of your troops, but will help you hem in the enemy.
5. Move well. Moving costs AP too!
6. Sometimes you might not want to counter.

The enemy is usually dumb about the first point : it will send units at you 
singly and in twos. Surround and destroy.

BTW, I beat the first 3 stages while totally being in the dark about this. ^_^

Status Ailments : 

I have only these done.

Terr(or) : Unit cannot attack
Stun : Unit cannot do anything
Panic : Unit's Attack\Defense down (I think)

All these have a 50% of wearing of on the first turn after, 75% second, and will 
completely recover by the third.

Shield Rule:
This is simple. If an enemy attacks and you elect to use shields, and she hits 
the shield, you take 0 damage for that arm. (I think Fight is an exception, but 
I have not tested this) Not electing to use the shield adds no extra benefits, 
though it seems that the general Defense value of that arm goes up as well. Use 
2 shields, and both sides don't take damage. BTW, powerful weapons (or lousy 
shields) sometimes do\take more than 0 damage. Using shields on both arms 
ensures a better defense rate. 

Anti-Aircraft:
Only gunfire (Machinegun and Shotgun) and missiles work on air units. Nothing 
else. You must fire anti-air missile at aircraft; any others won't work. Ones 
that have 80+ Hit Rates (in Setup) usually get 100% ones in real combat. (Plover 
and Rapace are good examples). Use those instead of AA Rockets.

BTW, aircraft can move a LONG distance. (Typically 7 squares or more). Great for 
hemming you in. Be careful.

Armor Types and Weapon Types.
There are 4 Armor Types, Anti-Flame, Anti-Pierce, Anti-Shock and Normal. There 
are 3 Weapon Types, Pierce, Shock and Flame. Simple? (The Setup screen is 
supposed to show the properties of the weapons, but I haven't been able to find 
them)

Pierce weapons are any weapon that fire bullets (machine guns, rifles, shot 
guns, etc.).  Shock weapons are weapons that strike blows. (anything like rods).  
Fire weapons self-explanatory. Missiles and rockets are both Fire and Shock.

Secondly, different weapons work on different units with different effects (as 
evinced by the weird symbols like (X) X, O at the top-right hand corner of the 
Setup screen. I still don't know what those mean.)

Skills:

You can equip skills in the Pilot submenu of Setup (usually the other function 
besides Shop). Most pilots have a a skill or two unequipped when they join, so 
check all new recruits. The later ones have as many as 8! (Like Maylan)

I think that the Skill List is now complete. (* indicates I have not used this 
is combat myself and am relying ont the skill descrption) I'm missing Deep 
Strike and a few others, so would kind soul point them out?

All skills are listed at their first level.

Best Position : Increases your AP by 2 in combat and increases Hit Rate. Often 
ensures a 100% Hit Rate. By far one of the best skills.
Feint : Increases chances of getting another skill activated by 50%
*Heat Blow : Gives your weapon "Shock" and "Heat" attributes.
Critical : Increases Damage by about 20%.
Lucky : Sometimes increases Hit Rate and Damage, sometimes the reverse.
Super Lucky : A more powerful Lucky.
*LV Damage : Pilot's total level increases damage (relation unknown).
2LV Damage : Double the effectiveness of LV Damage.
*Charge : Adds HP and Attack Power together and deals it as damage. You take 
more damage as well.
*Sting Blow : Weapon gains "Pierce" attribute.
Speed : Weapon fires 1 additional shot.
High Speed : Weapon fires 2 additional shots.
Hit & Away : Ends the battle after you fire.
First : Attack first.
*Shield Wall : Intercepts enemy attack on shield, causing 0 damage.
Target : Increases both Attack Power and Hit Rate by 10%
Stun Punch : 30% chance of Stunning enemy
*Terror Shot : 30% chance of causing Terror
Side Attack : You Hit Rate 10% up, enemy's 10% down
*Leg First : Directs attack to enemy's legs first, also causes Panic 30% of the 
time
*Arm First : Directs attack to enemy's arms first.
*Body First : Directs attack to enemy's body first.
*Final Break : Adds half your Arms' HP to Attack Power and deals it as damage. 
Destroys arms after use.
Duel : All attacks are directed at one enemy part.
*Immortal : Restores parts with 0 HP after combat to 1 HP. Unsure of whether 
this works on body.
*Blast Blow : Destroys enemy part it hits.
MG Blow : Addtional strike. (Lv of skill = number of strikes added)
Switch : Lets you attack again. Doesn't matter if your other arm is blown off. 
One of the better skills.
Double Punch : Works like Switch.
All or Nothing : Like it says. ^_^
Guide : Like Duel.
Hold Attack : Gives you 10% up on your Attack Power and Hit Rate, but lets the 
enemy attack first. A useless
skill, considering Back and Side Attack do about the same thing.
Crusader : Effects of both Critical and Stun Punch.
Destruct : Attack Power 50% up.
Escape : Enemy's attack ends the moment it begins. Good for avoiding long-range 
fire. (Note : does not count as an attack; AP and ammo are not expended)
Counter Shot : Attacks enemy before they hit you and cancels their attack as 
well. (Does not activate often)
*Dead Angle : 25% chance up of skill activation.
*Sniper : Ensures attack hits the body. Adds 10& to Attack Power if using a 
Rifle.
Defense : 10% Evade Rate up of adjacent units.
*Refresh : All adjacent units are "cured" of Panic or Terror.
*Steal : Steals adjacent units' items. IMO, useless as only Repairmen carry 
items (and we all know how resilient THOSE are. ^_^)
*Skill Down : All adjacent enemy units have their skill activation reduced by 
50%
Find Out : Enemy's first hit is sure to miss.
Strike : Your first attack is sure to hit.

Unknown : I am not so sure of these
*Dash : Renders shields useless and Geo Effect 0, as well as halving Hit Rate.
*Field Effect : Geo Effect goes to 0.
*Z.O.C : Will someone tell me what this does? The descrption is simply "Z.O.C is 
used." That's it!

You can send a skill to Stock if you don't want to equip it yet. Increasing a 
skill level (which I think is done by repeated uses in combat) will cause it to 
either appear more frequently or increase it's effectiveness (i.e. Target will 
up both Attack Power and Hit Rate by 20%).

Another note : A high Attack Group (Short, Fight, etc) level will also aid 
Hit\Evade Rates, as well as give you more skills. It is generally better to have 
each character specialize in one group. Skill group levels max out at 30. 
(Though you can still get Honor)

Honor and Honor Skills : 

Honor is a measure of how much your troops and enemies respect you. The more 
Honor the better. Over 3 stars (30 points = 1 star) gets you Honor skills. Once 
you have reached that level, additional stars give you a skill apiece. You get 
increases in Honor by destroying mech parts or whole units. If your unit has 
honor skills that affect your units, then the surrounding friendlies will blink 
blue. If your enemy unit has honor skills that affect you, your units will blink 
red.

Items : 
There are three main types of items : Rebirths, Repairs and Ammo. (BTW, always 
get an item-holding backpack. The ones which give you more space are next to 
useless, IMO)

Rebirths : Once you get the 2nd type, ditch the first. It only restores 25% of 
the part's HP. (Rebirth's are kinda heavy : take this into account when 
constructing a mech)
Repairs : Type 2 seems to be the best for me. 
Ammo : Get this for your Long troops, and a spare or so if you're fighting a lot 
of enemies.

Mines can be placed a square away from you. Powerful, but be careful not to step 
on the same square - you won't be warned. I never use them as I'd rather gain 
the experience and besides, they only blow the legs off! In case you're 
wondering, a mech which no legs that steps on a mine will not be damaged 
further.

Chaff and Smoke seem to reduce the Hit Rate of anything in the way. If a missile 
has to pass through Chaff, it's Hit rate is lowered. Smoke only affects units in 
the square affected.

You can also take spare weapons into combat. I have no idea why anyone would 
want to do this. ^_^

2. Other stuff

Network: If you haven't figured out this, here's how to use it. Select an 
Address and  then use the options presented to you. Easy.

Here is the list of all Addresses in the game, but without Checkcodes. Many 
thanks to Ignacio Delucas for these, and his update.

Address   : OCUF (OCU Front)
Passwords : OCHRE, OCTAGON, OCTAVE, INANE, HUFFMAN, SAKATA, DARKGEES

Address   : ALF (Alordesh Forces)
Passwords : ALBEIT,
Address   : BURG (Dhaka City)
Passwords : BUDED, ONSET

Address   : E.BIRD (Early Bird)
Passwords : STABBER, STALIN, STAGER, STAID, STALKY, STAMEN, STANDEE,
            STAPLE, STANBY, STALE, SAGGY, SALINE, SLUKI, SANCTUM,
            SANDROT, SANGRIA, SANE, SAPIENT, SATIRE, SAFARI, SEANCE,
            SEAFOWL, SECEDE, SECTION, SECULAR, SADATE, SEEDY, SELVAGE,
            SEMINAR, SENAT, SEPAL

Address   : COLOSEUM (Colosseum)
Passwords : COALFACE, COBWEB, COCHIN

Address   : DNC (Dhaka Network Channel)
Passwords : DOCTRAL, ALTER, ITIOARY

Address   : LEONORA
Passwords : LEADEN, NORALOE, LEAFED,

Address   : IGUCHI
Passwords : IGLOO, IGNOBLE, IHCUGI

Address   : KIRISIMA
Passwords : KIDSKIN, KINDLE

Address   : VINESJP
Passwords : VIADUCT, VICIOUS

Address   : JM=LY
Passwords : JOCULAR, JONQUIL, MEAL

Address   : VELDA
Passwords : VIAND

Address   : BIWU
Passwords : BICARB

Address   : PAPEL
Passwords : PAEAN, PALAIS, 

Address   : DIABLE
Passwords : DIAPER, DIACTIC

Address   : FIREVALY
Passwords : FAITH, FAKIR, FIRVAY
Address   : WT=VN
Passwords : WAGER

Address   : SCHNECKE
Passwords : SCATTER, SCUFF, SN, SCISSOR
Address   : SENDER
Passwords : SCHERZO, SCHUSS

Address   : TAUREAU
Passwords : TELERAN

Address   : BALESTRO
Passwords : BAFFLE

Address   : NAXOS
Passwords : NACRE

Address   : T.A.S
Passwords : TABARD

Address   : MASEL
Passwords : MAJYAR

Address   : ING
Passwords : INCISE, INCITE

3. Miscellaneous:

The Training section in Saribash's house is just to train Ace for the fight in 
the city (and get cash) and has no purpose outside of that. In the city, the 
questions he asks are (in no order) at what distance he should engage enemies, 
when he should retreat, what enemies should he attack, whether he should attack 
enemies based on their AP\HP, and whether he should follow Amia or not. If I 
play the battle again, I should have them all down.

Mission 7 hints :

1. Keep the helicopter alive! You can't do anything with that darn truck 
replacement.
2. Get anti-air missiles for everyone whether they have high Long skills or not.
3. Keep tight formation, especially when fighting the TatouC's.
4. Stay ahead of the heli. It will move right into enemy fire (the two tanks and 
heli) no matter what you do. Get a few troops ahead to take them out. Keep 
moving! Ignore the enemy's attacks if you have to.
5. Hand-to-hand is the best way to get rid of TatouC's.
6. Bring a lot of items, esp. Rebirth (one TatouC strike takes out one hand).
7. Rocky and Co can take out two planes. Be wary of the last and intercept it.

You might be wondering of what use the stupid Long range units are in combat. 
They have horrible Hit Rates, do much less damage that normal attacks and have 
next to nothing in terms of AP! (After firing their weapons, at least) Never 
fear. Here are some good hints:

I've also received many questions about Mission 9, the one with Sayuri and Lisa. 
Firstly, remember that the computer controlled units given to you are next to 
useless. The real fighting will be done by Sayuri and Lisa, so don't factor the 
units into your strategy. Secondly, the objective of the mission is to destroy 
all the enemies EXCEPT the big blue transport plane. That's it.

Another note : when stuck in a town, (no exit, no option to go to the next 
mission, etc)
do the following...

1. Go to the Bar. Talk to everybody.
2. Go to the Colloseum. Talk to everybody.
3. Go to any other places possible. (Hide, Warehouse, etc) and, you guessed it, 
talk to everybody.
4. Repeat from Step 1.

99% of the time, this will work. If it doesn't, you missed out a step. ^_^ And 
yes, I know the problem everyone has after the Lisa\Sayuri mission. What you do 
is talk to Roid in the Colloseum first, then continue with the above
steps.

1. Give them Best Position (Pike starts with it). It usually gets them a 100% 
Hit Rate.
2. Bring extra ammo. Long Units use it up fast.
3. Let them Level up. Surround enemy units (thereby rendering them helpless) and 
enjoy the target practice ^_^. (This is not so useful later in the game, BTW. Do 
it early.)
4. Consider using Cannon fire as well.
5. They are great against Aircraft. Use Plover and Rapace missiles.
6. If you need to reduce an enemy's AP before attacking with a better unit, fire 
a Long shot or two. Remember, even if it doesn't hit, it will take 2 AP to Evade 
the attack. 

My two Long units now kick butt! ^_^ They can take out a fresh mech in two 
rounds and are Level 27 and 29. Remember, bring more ammo!

Okay, okay, here's a bit of plot info :

Basically, the story is about Alordesh, part of OCU (Ocenia Community Union, a 
conglomeration of countries)
and the civil war being fought in it. Because it was formerly Bangladesh, 
loyalists of the country want the OCU
troops to go away, and launch a coup to that effect, led by Commander Ven. Our 
heroes are simply caught up in
the continuing conflict between nations.

Most of the cast are former OCU troops who, because of changes in the situation, 
are now assisting Salibash and his own resistance movement. (Salibash is not 
affliliated with Ven : although they have had previous relations, Salibash does 
not approve of Ven's methods) The main character is a former deserter from 
loyalist factions. Lisa and Sayuri are OCU intelligence operatives at first - 
Pike is as well, until he is revealed to be from another, top-secret branch. 
(he's still on your side though) Thomas and Co. are mercenaries who are on good 
terms with Salibash.

Of course, that's the short, short version. ^_^

4. Credits

Henry Jerng, who kindly supplied me with most of the data in this FAQ 
(especially the AP section), and Ignacio Delucas for the Network addresses, and 
their updates.