Ogre Battle 64
Strategy Guide
by asimpkins00@hotmail.com
January 29th, 2005
Version 1.0
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Terms
3.0 Magic, Status Effects, & Stats
4.0 Alignment
5.0 Soldier Promotion
6.0 Training
7.0 Legions
8.0 Playing The Game
9.0 Cockatrices & Gorgons
10.0 Chaos Frame Walkthrough
11.0 Classes
12.0 Units
13.0 Charts
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I N T R O D U C T I O N                                                 1.0
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- What's So Unique? -
Since there are already a few Ogre Battle 64 FAQs out there that contain
nearly all the raw information you'd ever want about this game, I didn't
bother to attempt anything similar here.  What I made an effort to cover in
this FAQ was the actual strategy of playing the game.  Having all the
necessary information and statistics available is only the first step.  How
you analyze this information to make decisions is just as important.  This
second step is what I've tried to map out in this FAQ, both from my own
observations and from ideas I've picked up from other players.  For that
reason I've tried to avoid duplicating these other FAQs as much as possible.
When information has been duplicated it is only because I felt that it was
immediately essential to grasping whatever concept was being discussed.
If you are looking for a large FAQ of raw data about this game I'd advise
taking a look at CyricZ's FAQ (which I drew upon heavily when memory failed
me) at:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/n64/file/ogre_battle_64_a.txt
A more concise alternative would be bearsman6's FAQ, which gets more to the
point regarding the main questions:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/n64/file/ogre_battle_64_e.txt
And for any information regarding the world of Ogre Battle itself, take a
look at The Ogre Battle Encyclopedia at:
www.ogrebattle.vze.com
- Contributions! -
Strategy guides are by nature subjective.  Problems usually have multiple
solutions, especially when it comes to a well made strategy game.  For this
reason there can be no final word in this guide, unlike with the raw data that
other FAQs deal with.  The bulk of this FAQ is filled with my opinions on the
best way to go about things (usually backed by some numbers).  However, in
order to flesh this guide out more, I'd like to fill it up with the ideas of
others, particularly those that disagree with me.  If you have an interesting
strategy (or subject) that I overlooked, perhaps a way to use a certain class
or a unique unit formation, then email me.  I'd prefer to just cut and paste
your message in and give you credit, so try to be as eloquent as possible and
yet brief.  And please attempt to offer reasons behind your thinking when
applicable.  Just your pure opinion, backed up by nothing else, won't get very
far.
- Update -
I started work on this a long time ago.  I always thought I'd come back and
finish it.  Turns out I didn't.  I figured I'd post it up incomplete anyway.
It's still got a lot of stuff I think people will find useful, even if it
isn't everything I envisioned.  So don't be surprised to find unfinished
sections, awkward wording, things that make little sense, and crazy spelling
errors.  Maybe I'll catch the flu sometime, start playing OB64 again, and get
motivated to finish this guide.  Until then, enjoy it for what it's worth.
It's probably about 85% of the way there.
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T E R M S                                                               2.0
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- Introduction -
Some of these terms are standard in the game.  Some of them I've made up.  I
included this section to free myself from the burden of worrying about
defining my terms in the midst of some other dissertation.
- Character -
Refers to the individual creature/person in your battalion.  A character is
further defined by its class which will usually be changed during the course
of the game.  (But not always, as some characters will be bound to their
class.)
- Class -
The abstract attribute that defines your character.  A class will dictate the
character's combat actions, what equipment it can use, and how it will
strengthen after gaining levels.
- Unit -
An organized group of 1-5 characters.
- Battalion -
Your whole army.  Includes characters both in and out of units.
- Blocker -
A strong physically defensive character placed strategically in front of a
physically weak character in order to protect them.
- Filler -
Refers to a character that is less than ideal for his unit role yet is used
anyway due to the lack of a better option and the necessity to get the unit
out on the field.
- Armored Spellcaster -
Refers to a class that has weaker magic yet superior physical defense than
that of a pure spellcasters, making them ideal for back row positions that
lack blockers.
- Melee -
Refers to classes that are designed for hand to hand combat, usually from
the front row.
- Melee Casters -
Any melee class that has the ability to cast magic from the back row.  The
magic is usually determined by the element of the character's weapon.
- Healers -
Any character that can restore Hit Points.  This obviously includes the
Cleric and the Priest, but could also include melee casters equipped with a
virtue weapon in the back row.
- Spellcasters -
Any character that can cast offensive elemental magic and therefore has the
potential to combine with other spellcasters.  This includes both pure
spellcasters such as Sirens as well as melee casters.  This does not
include Healers, Witches, or characters with special attacks such as most
beasts and dragons.
- Grooming -
Refers to the carefully planned process of moving a character through
specific classes for specific periods of time in order to maximize their
potential.
- Foundational Classes -
Refers to the basic human classes that all human characters must pass
through on the way to higher classes.  They include the Soldier, (male)
Fighter, and (female) Amazon.
- Basic Classes -
Refers to the next level of human classes after the foundational classes.
These are roughly the classes that will be used in the first two chapters.
- Advanced Classes -
Refers to the final level of human classes.  Many, but not all, advanced
classes have a corresponding basic class that they represent an improvement
upon.
- Large Class -
Any class that takes up 2 spots in a unit, and does not allow any other
characters to take position next to them.
- Level-Ups -
Refers to the set of numerical averages that a particular class increases
its character's stats by whenever a new level is reached.
- Status Effects -
Conditions that can be placed on characters such as Petrification or Sleep
that affect their ability in combat.
- The Grid -
The 3x3 grid that all units are constructed upon.
- Overkill -
Refers to the practice of putting more offensive power into one unit than
you'll ever be able to use.
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M A G I C ,   S T A T U S   E F F E C T S ,   &   S T A T S             3.0
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---------------------------------->
Magic Attack Types
---------------------------------->
- "A" Magic -
This is the basic magic attack of the Wizard and Sorceress and a few other
classes.  It only inflicts damage on the single grid that it targets.
- "B" Magic -
This is the type of magic attack that occurs when two "A" Magic attacks
combine.  It inflicts damage on the square that is targeted as well at the
squares directly above, below, left, and right of the targeted square,
forming a sort of "plus sign".  Unless this attack is targeted at the center
of the unit grid, one or two "branches" of the plus sign will normally be cut
off.  The most damage is usually inflicted on the originally targeted
character at the center of the plus sign.
- "C" Magic -
This is the basic magic attack of the Archmage and Siren and a few other
classes.  It inflicts damage on a 2x2 portion of the unit grid.  Being that
the unit grid is 3x3, this means this attack can take on four basic forms:
back left, back right, front left, or front right.  It will always hit the
center square.
- "D" Magic -
This is the type of magic attack that occurs when two "C" Magic attacks
combine.  It is also performed by Venerable Dragons and spellcasters with
Drakonite Books.  It inflicts damage on all 9 squares in the grid,
effectively hitting every enemy character.  It usually inflicts the most
damage on the center square, followed by the center row/column squares, and
doing the least amount of damage to the corners.
---------------------------------->
Status Effects
---------------------------------->
- Petrification -
This ability used by Cockatrices, Gorgons, and any characters wielding
Ji'ygla's Bow effectively removes a character from combat and perhaps the
whole mission.  It doesn't kill the character, and thus no experience will
be handed out for petrifying enemy characters (though you can still attempt
to kill them while they are petrified).  Friendly characters will return to
normal at the end of the mission or if taken to a Witch's Den or treated
with a Revive Stone.  Golems are naturally immune to this effect as are any
characters equipped with the Hallowed Shield or the Celestial Veil.
- Power Down and Poison -
Power Down and Poison do essentially the same thing: temporarily drop the
level of the targeted character.  This means they will deal out less
damage and take more damage in return.  However, at the end of battle the
character's stats return to normal.  This ability is not very effective
unless you are in a training battle or have a character that can Power Down
multiple enemies at once - like the Ahzi Dahaka.  This status effect is
usually associated with the Fire and Earth elements.
- Power Up -
Power Up is a very rare ability that does just what you'd expect.  It
temporarily raises the level of the targeted character.  It is usually not
worth your time.
- Sleep -
A status effect usually associated with the Water and Bane elements.  Sleep
will take its victim out of the battle, causing them to miss their attack
opportunities.  However, slumbering characters seem to wake up fairly often,
particularly when being attacked, making this status effect not quite as
valuable as Paralysis.
- Paralysis -
Perhaps the most valuable status effect, Paralysis is usually associated with
the Wind element.  Like sleep, it prevents its victim from attacking, but
unlike sleep it seems to wear off much slower.
- Virtue Attacks -
While not a true status effect, Virtue damage has a special property that is
worth mention here.  Most Undead classes will regenerate back to life after
a battle when killed.  However, if these same Undead classes are slain with
a Virtue attack they will become "Lost" and be completely removed from the
game.  This means that you won't be able to resurrect them through any
method.
---------------------------------->
Stats
---------------------------------->
- Hit Points -
- Strength -
- Vitality -
- Intelligence -
- Mentality -
- Agility -
- Dexterity -
- Physical Resistance -
- Magical Resistance -
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A L I G N M E N T                                                       4.0
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- Why Does Alignment Suck? -
Simply put: the game designers screwed up.  The alignment system in this game
is highly frustrating to work with.  Unless you are willing to put enormous
time and effort into performing tedious and trivial tasks you'll likely find
that all your characters will gravitate to one alignment extreme.  This is a
serious problem because the proper alignment is a requirement for all of the
classes in the game.  You will likely find yourself locked out of a huge
number of classes.
- Peer Pressure -
One of the main things that affects alignment is the alignment of the other
characters in a character's unit.  After each battle, every character's
alignment will shift in an attempt to equalize with the alignment of those
around him.  This can be the most useful way to drastically change a
characters alignment.  Simply put a Chaotic character with a bunch of Lawful
characters or vice-versa and there alignment will start to head towards
neutral.
- Competition -
Another factor in alignment is the character's level relative to the enemy's
level.  Basically, if you have a much higher level than your opponents then
your alignment will swing towards Chaotic.  Or if you have a much lower level
than your opponents then your alignment will swing towards Lawful.  Players
that use many units usually have a lower average level and end up with lots
of Lawful characters.  Likewise, players that only use a few units usually
have a high average level and end up with Chaotic characters.  The amount of
training you do can also affect this.
- Fair Play -
Allegedly a unit's battle strategy might play a factor in alignment.  Battle
strategies like "Attack Strongest" may make your characters more Lawful,
while conversely "Attack Weakest" may make your characters more Chaotic.
- One On One -
The final factor that plays a role in alignment is an individual one.  If a
character kills an enemy that is more Lawful than him he will become more
Chaotic, and if he kills an enemy that is more Chaotic than him he will
become more Lawful.  Since this system is relative it causes a real
problem.  Essentially, a character will get to the point that he is so
Chaotic or Lawful that every character he kills will push him further in
the direction he is already headed.  This is probably the main reason that
characters seem to swing to extreme alignments.
- What Would You Do About This? -
After researching this problem and considering all the possible solutions I
decided to just use a game glitch, known as the 55-item cheat, to get around
it.  Personally, I see this as a poorly designed aspect of the game and I
highly prefer cheating to the laborious alternatives.  To get around this
problem you need to get ahold of an Urn of Chaos or a Scroll of Discipline
and use the 55-item cheat to make a large number of them.  Then use these
items on your characters to tweak their alignment to the necessary levels.
Information on the 55-item cheat can be found in bearsman's OB64 FAQ at
www.gamefaqs.com
- I Can't Cheat Though! -
Well the alternatives aren't very pleasant.  Basically, your best strategy
would be to break up your units.  Mix up your Lawful and Chaotic characters
so that their alignments will balance out.  If you are missing Lawful or
Chaotic characters then you'll need to go out and recruit characters with
the desired alignment from neutral encounters.  And try to use training to
raise the level of characters you want to be Chaotic and avoid using
character you want to be Lawful so that they'll fall behind in level.  It's
really a pain in the ass.  Trust me, just cheat.  It's a video game.  It's
supposed to be fun not tedious.
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S O L D I E R   P R O M O T I O N                                       5.0
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- Should You Promote? -
To be blunt, it's very possible to finish this entire game without promoting
a single Soldier.  Throughout the game a wide assortment of special characters
will offer to join you, often bringing along a full unit of characters with
them.  If you don't lose many characters to death nor require a large number
of units you can completely disregard this aspect of the game.  Remember, you
can only dispatch a maximum of 10 units on the field anyway.
- When To Promote? -
If you do decide to promote Soldiers then do it early in the game.  This is
because a promoted Fighter or Amazon will take the level of its unit leader.
Early in the game this number is likely to be low, while later in the game it
is very likely to be high.  Promoting a Fighter or Amazon to a high level is
bad because those classes have terrible level-ups.  You'll only be creating
stunted characters.
So start promoting right away.  Estimate how many human characters you are
going to want and get them all done immediately.  If you choose to wait a
little while, at least keep a character at low level so they can be the
Soldier promotion unit leader.  But don't wait too long because the enemy
might become too difficult to defeat.
- Soldier Promotion Unit -
The first key to a effective Soldier promotion unit is to have as many
Soldiers in it as possible.  The more soldiers in the unit, the faster they
will promote.  Fill your unit with four groups of three Soldiers a piece
and a leader.
The second key is to design a unit that will win battles yet take a large
number of battles to complete kill off the enemy unit.  By having four
Soldier groups in the unit, you're halfway there.  In addition, choose a
unit leader that does no damage and offers purely defensive protection.
Clerics, Priests, and Witches are ideal choices.  The Cleric or Priest
will keep everyone healed, while the Witch will deny the enemy a chance to
even attack.  Set up your unit something like this:
___ Sld ___
Sld Cle Sld
___ Sld ___
- Attack the Left-Overs -
Don't send your Soldier promotion unit after full-strength enemy units.
Rather, keep the unit behind your main combat force and have your main
combat force cripple enemy units down to one survivor.  (Retreat if
necessary).  Then send in your Soldier promotion unit to rack up wins
attacking the single enemy character over and over until he finally dies.
You should consider disabling several enemy units in single mission this
way.
- Ansate Cross -
Be sure to occasionally equip your Soldier promotion unit with the Ansate
Cross in order to get humans of both gender.
- Medal of Vigor -
At the beginning of Chapter 2, return to the town of Edepar in Alba with
Magnus to receive the Medal of Vigor.  Equip this item on your soldier
promotion unit and it will double to Soldier promotion rate.
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T R A I N I N G                                                         6.0
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- Should You Train? -
Much like Soldier promoting, the game can easily be completed without
training.  If you keep your number of units from getting too high, kill all
of the enemy characters on each map, and spread the experience out evenly you
should never have to train.  However, if you have a problem with any of those
items then feel free to train about as much as you want.  You'll most likely
be loaded with Goth and there are unfortunately very few other things to spend
your money on.
- Where to Train? -
The best place to train seems to be at Alba.  While the levels of your
opponents adjust to match yours, the classes you face are strictly defined by
the training location.  Alba will offer you Basic classes such as Amazons,
Clerics, and Fighters which translates into quickly and easily won battles.
- How to Train? -
The level of your opponents will equal the level of the highest level
character in the unit being trained.  With this in mind, the most effective
way to train would be to pair up 4 medium level characters with one character
that is of much higher level.  This way your 4 medium level characters will
get the maximum experience from defeating higher level opponents, likely
gaining a level every training session until they catch up to the high level
character.  However, it can be a lot of work to rearrange your units like
this, so it's often just simpler to train your units as they are.
|=============================================================================|
L E G I O N S                                                           7.0
|=============================================================================|
- Why The Negativity? -
Okay.  I stand with the majority of players that find Legions to be incredibly
disappointing.  Except for one minor tactic, I find them completely useless --
a handicap even.  There are the occasional advocates here and there, and I
plan to post some of their articles in this FAQ so you can make up your own
mind on the issue.  However, for my contribution to the matter I shall only
discuss why I think they suck and then explain their sole use.
- The Legion Core -
The primary drawback of the Legion is that every Legion needs to have a Legion
core.  For every additional unit you want to add to the Legion (1-4) you have
to have a corresponding Soldier in your Legion Core.  The problem should be
self-evident but I'll explain anyway.  The Soldier is arguably the weakest
character in the game.  Thus you unavoidably have a Legion built around an
extremely inferior unit composed of Soldiers.  That's one less unit on the map
that you can use in a fight.  If you successfully avoid confrontations with
your Legion Core is only means that you are denying experience to the
characters in that Legion Core, making it even weaker.  And if your pitifully
weak Legion Core does get attacked it will most likely get slaughtered,
causing your whole Legion to fall apart.
- Supportive Attack -
This should be an advantage but it is really just a joke.  The Legion Core can
provide one supportive attack to any of the other Legion units in a fight.
Basically, the pathetically weak soldiers from the Legion Core appear and do
about 1 point of damage to the enemy characters.  Yeah.
- Lack of Mobility -
Another problem with the Legion is that it is really slow.  The Legion must
stick together meaning that units spend lots of time waiting for other units
to take wide corners and stay in formation.  It's also difficult to manage
how a unit is facing, meaning that units can often be flanked or attacked
from behind.  And ultimately, you can only have 10 units on the map at a
time.  With a Legion it is difficult to spread your troops across the map
as needed because Legions are by definition concentrated.  The ability of 10
separate units to quickly move and shift positions around the map as needed
is completely lost with the densely packed Legion.
- The Practical Use -
The one undeniable practical use for Legions is just this: searching for
neutral encounters.  It's much easier to form two 5-unit legions and issue
orders to walk around the map than to continually issue orders to ten
separate units.  Keep Legions in mind when searching for those neutral
encounters.
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P L A Y I N G   T H E   G A M E                                         8.0
|=============================================================================|
- Equipping & Upgrading -
In between scenarios remember to take the time to browse through your various
characters and make sure they are using the best equipment possible.  Also,
remember to routinely check your characters for the possibility of being
upgraded into a superior class.  It's to your advantage to start using higher
level-ups as soon as possible.
- Leave No Survivors -
During every mission you should make the maximum effort to completely kill off
every enemy unit on the map.  Send your units to chase down fleeing enemies.
Leave no survivors.  There are two reasons for this.  The first is that you'll
want to collect as much experience for your characters as possible.  Every
surviving enemy is experience lost.  The second reason is that completely
defeated enemy units often drop items.  Kill off ever enemy unit to ensure
that you don't miss anything important.  It's rare, but sometime enemy units
will retreat from the map from their main stronghold.  Try to get a unit near
the main enemy stronghold as soon as possible to cut them off.
- Take Every Stronghold -
At the end of the mission the amount of Goth and Soldiers you receive is
related to how many strongholds are under your command.  For this reason you
should attempt to bring as many strongholds under your command as possible.
On the low Chaos Frame path you should take every stronghold on the map, but
on the high Chaos Frame path you'll have to leave neutral strongholds alone.
- Shopping -
Every time you encounter a new map, be sure to stop by any shops it may have.
At the shops you should buy any piece of equipment you don't already have at
least one of.  New classes won't become available until you have collected all
of the required equipment.  If you keep your battalion updated with all the
new equipment you'll be able to access the new classes as soon as possible.
- Use The Witch's Den -
At the end of the mission there's a chance that any dead human characters
could turn into Zombies.  You most likely don't want this to happen.  If you
don't have (or don't want to use) an Altar of Resurrection, be sure to find
the Witch's Den on the map and resurrect your characters before you complete
the mission.  Petrification can also be cured at the Witch's Den, but unless
the character is immediately vital you shouldn't worry about it.  The
petrification will wear off at the end of the mission naturally.
(Characters leading a unit cannot be turned into Zombies.)
- Expendables -
Make a habit of equipping all your units with a well rounded batch of
expendables.  You'll want healing items like Heal Leaves, Heal Seeds, and
Heal Packs.  The healing items you carry should be determined on the total HP
of your average character and whether or not you have a healer in the party.
Also remember to bring one or two Power Fruits or Angel Fruits.  You never
know when your unit may get caught near an enemy unit with low stamina.  If
you have the funds, carrying a Quit Gate, Revive Stone, and Altar of
Resurrection can also be useful.  Finally, remember that you have these
items and be able to determine when you should use them.  It's pointless to
stock up and carry these items if you never use them.  In general, they are
all fairly cheap, so you shouldn't be too hesitant to use them.
- Stay Healthy -
Keep track of the HP and stamina of your units.  Don't send them near enemy
units when they are tired or badly injured.  The enemy doesn't move much in
this game, so take your time and move when you are ready.  Have your
characters rest at strongholds before moving again.  And don't forget to
use expendables in emergencies.
- The Buddy System -
Whenever possible, try to send your units out in at least groups of two.  If
one unit ever gets in trouble you always have another unit nearby to hold the
enemy off while the injured unit retreats.  Occasionally, you'll also run
into particularly strong enemy units and it's necessary to have two units
take turns attacking to wear it down.
- Guard Your Base -
You don't want to go overboard with this, but get in the habit of leaving a
unit or two at your main stronghold.  Sometimes the enemy will attempt a
sneak attack, often with flying units, on your main stronghold.  If you
didn't leave anyone behind you will quickly lose the mission.  A Quit Gate
can often come in handy in this situation.
- Scout -
Remember you can click on enemy units and view their contents and formations.
If you find yourself having a hard time, try to do some scouting first and
adjust your strategy accordingly.
- Flank -
Sooner or later you'll come across especially strong enemy units.  Often this
will be the final boss unit.  Attacking with multiple units is often helpful,
but try to flank the enemy unit as well.  Usually you can find a direction
that the enemy unit is much less effective from.  If the enemy unit is using
petrification, attack from an angle where they can't.  If there's a
particularly strong melee character protecting the leader, attack from
behind.  The leader will be vulnerable and the strong melee character will be
much less effective.  This is usually easy to do against boss units as they
stand still in the main stronghold.  Mobile units are a bit tougher, but try
using one unit to get it's attention while another unit moves in from behind.
(Remember not to be flanked yourself as most of your units will probably be
designed to be highly effective only from the normal direction.)
- Attack Them While They're Sleeping -
Another way to gain a huge advantage against the enemy unit is to catch them
camping out in the wilderness.  If you attack, all their characters will be
asleep allowing you to inflict lots of damage while taking little in return.
Enemy units rarely get stuck camping in the wilderness unless they are
running from you, so this strategy will only be somewhat useful.  (In the
same way, don't let your guys get caught camping.  If you see an enemy unit
approaching try to use the break camp command to quickly wake everyone up.
Eat an Angel or Power Fruit if you need to.)
- Change Formations -
Remember that you can change your unit's formations in between battles.  You
can sometimes rearrange your unit to make it more effective against a
particular enemy unit.  Move injured characters out of a dangerous position.
Switch rows for a character to change his attack type.  Rearrange to
compensate for a slain blocker.  Move your characters to one side to better
target the enemy unit leader.
- Kill The Leaders -
The "Attack Strongest" battle strategy can be useful when you have
Pumpkinheads, and the "Attack Weakest" is always useful to quick outnumber
the enemy, but the "Attack Leader" is probably the most useful battle
strategy overall.  Firstly, it provides the most effective way of focusing
your offensive power on one character.  You'll probably find that your
spellcasters perform combo-magic more frequently.  Secondly, a leaderless
unit is essentially out of the game.  By killing on character you have
disabled the whole unit.  The enemy doesn't have the ability to assign a
new leader, and after the battle the enemy unit will just run away from
you, allowing you to come back and mop up at your leisure.
- Retreat -
Remember that you have the retreat option during combat.  Run away if you
get in over your head.  Sometimes your characters will be quicker than the
enemy.  In that case, wait for your characters to attack and then retreat
right before it's the enemy's turn to attack.  You can then engage the enemy
again and repeat the tactic until you have worn them down.
- Pedras -
You won't gain the ability to use the Pedras until later in the game.  But
when you do, remember to use them when you get in trouble.  Pedras take a long
time to recharge, but if you gather all six of them you'll be able to use them
much more frequently.
|=============================================================================|
C O C K A T R I C E S   &   G O R G O N S                               9.0
|=============================================================================|
- Introduction -
The most difficult battles you will likely face in this game involve enemy
Cockatrices and Gorgons and their devastating ability to petrify your
characters.  This is such a standout issue that it warrants its own section.
I will discuss a few strategies for dealing with this below.
- Know When It's Coming -
The first key to dealing with this problem is to know when you will actually
run into a Cockatrice or Gorgon unit in the game.  Fortunately it's rather
rare -- a total of eight units in the whole game.  (Note: there are a few
more Cockatrices in the game, but they are placed in the front row and
shouldn't be a problem if attacked normally.  For that reason, I didn't
bother to mention them here.)
Your 1st encounter will be near the end of Chapter Two at Mount Keryoleth.
A unit lead by a Freya with two Cockatrices in the back row will be found up
north, southeast of Dolbo.
Your 2nd encounter will be the first mission of Chapter Three at Dardunnelles.
A unit lead by a Freya with two Cockatrices in the back row will be part of a
legion guarding Bungasue.
The 3rd encounter will also be in Chapter Three at Fair Heights.  Yet another
Freya lead unit with two Cockatrices in the back row will be guarding Rajisk.
The 4th encounter will also be in Chapter Three at Capitrium.  As the pattern
goes, a Freya lead unit with two back row Cockatrices will be found south of
Castle Eundel.
The 5th encounter will be in Chapter Four at Gules Hills.  This is a single
Cockatrice in the back of a flying unit lead by a Raven that will suddenly
appear with a few other units in an ambush.  The ambush is west of your
starting point.
The 6th encounter will be at Barpeth, also in Chapter Four.  This time you
are facing a front row Gorgon that also happens to be the final boss for
that level.
The 7th encounter will be at Tybell, also in Chapter Four.  Another Gorgon
lead unit will be guarding Tricaeze.
The final encounter will be on the Aura Plains only if you access the bonus
low CF mission.  Two back row Cockatrices lead by a Black Knight will be
guarding Albesta.
- Become Immune -
The most solid strategy to dealing with petrification is to send units that
are immune.  Golems are a great class to use as they are not only immune to
petrification, but can sometimes use petrification to upgrade to a stronger
class.  There are also two items in the game that will make their user immune
to petrification.  The first is the Hallowed Shield, which you can get at
Elgoria, Mylesia with Troi.  The second is a piece of headgear known as the
Celestial Veil which may be dropped by a Sword Master lead unit guarding
Murau at Romulus (enemy item drops are random so you might need to play the
mission several times.)  Gorgons are even easier to deal with as any character
with a shield is immune to their gaze.  Also, Cockatrices in the back row will
usually attack your back row.  Sometimes it is good enough to only make your
back row immune to their petrification (like placing a lone Golem back-center)
and then not worrying about your front row.
- Flank -
Cockatrices can only petrify in the back row and Gorgons can only petrify in
the front row.  If you can attack these units from behind you will have
eliminated this threat.  It is particularly easy to sneak around behind when
the unit is guarding a city or part of a legion.
- Fight Fire With Fire -
You could always try to bring your own Cockatrice or Gorgon to the fight.
Just make sure that they are lined up with some high Agility characters so
that their petrification attacks happen first.  Remember, you don't get any
experience if the enemy is petrified by not killed.
- Charge In Desperation -
Sometimes it's easiest to just line up a bunch of units and try to overwhelm
the Cockatrice/Gorgon unit.  Try to fire off a few Pedras if possible.  You
may lose many characters to petrification, but that can always be reversed
with a Revive Stone or a trip to the Witch's Den.  Or even better, if you
don't need them to finish the mission, petrification wears off when the
mission is complete.  Just use a few expendable units.  This strategy can be
particularly effective if you can catch the enemy unit asleep.
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C H A O S   F R A M E   W A L K T H R O U G H                          10.0
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- Introduction -
Chaos Frame is one of the most important aspects of this game.  It will
determine how the story flows, which characters will offer to join you, and
how the game will end.  It is affected by two things: decisions you make in
the game and your town Liberate/Capture record.  While a high CF could be
equated with 'good' and a low CF could be equated with 'bad', high CF should
not be equated with winning and nor should low CF be equated with losing.
It's two different ways to play the game -- each with a unique story and
unique characters.  The game is worth playing through twice just to
experience both paths.
It's important to decide before you begin playing which path you want to take.
This way you can make the right decisions so as to not miss anything
important.  If you aren't decided on this matter and strike down a middle road
you'll miss out on much of the game.  It's the two extreme paths (high CF and
low CF) that have the most to offer.
- Liberate/Capture -
Your town Liberate/Capture record has the largest impact on your Chaos Frame.
When you liberate a town you get +0.5 CF.  When you capture a town you get -2
CF.  So in essence, you have to liberate 4 towns to make up for one captured
town.  To liberate a town you must enter it with a unit who's average
alignment is +/-20 of the town's morale.  Otherwise you will Capture it.  You
cannot Liberate neutral towns.  If you or the enemy enters a neutral town it
will count as a Capture.  If the enemy takes back one of your towns it counts
as a Capture.  Due to a few bugs, there are a few towns in the game that you
will always Capture.  As you can see, it's much easier to have a low CF than
a high CF.
- High Chaos Frame -
The High Chaos Frame path offers the larger number of recruitable special
characters (Aisha, Saradin, Ankiseth, Debonair, Destin, and Gilbert).  It is
also the more difficult of the two paths to stick to due to the huge burden
of having to Liberate (and not Capture) the large majority of strongholds in
the game.  In addition to understanding the needs of the masses by Liberating
their towns, you will also need to make highly moral decisions throughout
the game.  This seems to involve choosing non-violent paths, disobeying your
orders, and following your heart (unless of course it violates the previous
standards).
You'll need to remember not to Capture neutral towns and you'll need to avoid
letting the enemy re-Capture towns you have already Liberated.  In some cases
you might need to avoid a town altogether because you don't have a unit that
has an alignment that matches the town's morale.  But don't worry if you
occasionally capture a town.  In the long run it won't matter too much, just
don't make a big habit of it.  Sometimes a stronghold will have such
strategic importance that it'll be worth capturing it.
Mentally keep track of your high alignment and low alignment units.  At the
start of a mission take a look at all the strongholds and see what their
morales are like.  Then send your units out accordingly:  your high
alignment units to high morale strongholds and your low alignment units to
low morale strongholds.
- Neutral Unit -
Since it's a usual pattern for units to become aligned either extremely high
or extremely low, it's a good idea to create a neutral unit when attempting
the high CF path.  Basically, make a unit of one or more neutral aligned
characters and then never use them in battle.  This way their alignment will
never change.  Keep this unit behind the rest of your 'combat' units and
have them Liberate all the strongholds that have a neutral inclined morale.
It can be helpful to make this unit a flying unit so they can get around the
map quicker.  Consider recruiting a neutral hawkman or two for just this
purpose.
- Low Chaos Frame -
The Low Chaos Frame path offers a lesser number of recruitable special
characters (Biske and Carth), although you could argue that the low CF
characters are somewhat more interesting.  It provides an opportunity to
lose Dio from your battalion, yet he still remains to play an important part
in the story line.  It also boasts a bonus level at the end of the game and
perhaps a more interesting story line overall.  And most importantly, it
frees you from the high CF hassle of Liberating all those damn strongholds.
Low CF players care not about the fickle wishes of the masses.
You shouldn't have to worry much about Capturing strongholds.  You'll do it
enough without even paying attention to ensure a low CF.  In fact, most
players who don't know anything about CF will end up with a low CF.  To be
on the safe side make sure you capture any neutral strongholds and maybe
even let the enemy Capture your strongholds occasionally.  Remember that
Capturing a stronghold is 4x worse than Liberating one, so it's not that
hard to achieve a low CF.
- "Neutral" Characters -
Most special characters can be acquired on both the high CF and the low CF
paths.  These include Dio, Leia, Troi, Katreda, Asnabel, Vad, Meredia,
Europea, and Paul.  Liedel and Sheen can also be acquired on either path,
but they take a bit of extra work.  Liedel will join you at the end of the
Sable Lowlands mission if your CF is high enough.  If you are going the
high CF route then this shouldn't be a problem, but if you are going low CF
and want Liedel in your party then you'll need to raise your CF before you
meet her and then start dropping it immediately after she joins.  The
reverse is true for Sheen who is found in the Azure Plains level.  Sheen
requires a neutral to low CF.  So if you are on the high CF route and want
Sheen in your battalion, keep your CF near neutral until he joins you and
then start to raise it afterwards.
---------------------------------->
Decision Points
---------------------------------->
- Confrontation with Dio -
Near the beginning of the game Dio will challenge you to a fight.  Refuse if
you are on the high CF path and accept if you are on the low CF path.
Optionally, you could refuse even if you were on the low CF path if you would
like to keep Dio for some reason.
- Mylesia/Zenobian Border -
Early in chapter one you will be given a choice between Mylesia and the
Zenobian Border.  You will have to complete both missions and the order that
you do them in most likely does not affect your CF in any way.
- Frederick's Execution -
Midway through Chapter 1 you will be ordered to execute Frederick.  Refuse if
you are on the high CF path or say "..." if you are on the low CF path.  This
decision is crucial to determining how many of the Zenobians will join up
with you.  If you agreed to fight Dio and you say "..." then Dio will leave
your battalion at this point.
- The Slaves -
Midway through Chapter 2 you will be given an option to travel three different
directions.  You can travel north to Mount Ithaca, but that will cut out the
other scenarios, so save Mount Ithaca for last.  If you are on the high CF
path I'd go to Audvera Heights, then the Sable Lowlands, then Mount Ithaca.
On the low CF path I'd go to the Sable Lowlands, then Audvera Heights, and
finally Mount Ithaca.  On the high CF path you should be able to pick up Aisha
in Audvera Heights.
- Mount Keryoleth/Azure Plains -
Near the end of Chapter two you will be given a choice between Mount Keyoleth
and the Azure Plains.  After finishing either one, the path to Wentinus will
open.  I would recommend finishing both missions before going to Wentinus as
going to Wentinus will cause any unfinished missions to close.  Your decisions
here most likely do not affect your CF in any way.
- The Western Division -
Near the end of Chapter 2 you will be given a choice to follow orders and
attack the Western Division or disobey orders and make peace with them.  For
high CF you should make peace (and eventually bring Ankiseth on board), for
low CF you should follow orders.  Optionally, you could make peace on the low
CF path but make sure to not recruit Ankiseth afterwards if he offers.  You'll
still be able to acquire the low CF characters, but Ankiseth will meet his
demise in a different fashion.
- The Eastern Orthodox Church -
About midway through Chapter 3 you will encounter another fork in the road.
There will be three paths to choose from: Vert Plateau, Capitrium, and the
Tremos Mountains.  In reality there are really only two choices as the Vert
Plateau and Capitrium lead into each other.  If you are on the low CF path
you'll most definitely want to choose the Vert Plateau/Capitrium path (either
one will do) as that leads to Biske, one of the great low CF characters.  On
the high CF path the choice is not so clear.  Vert Plateua/Capitrium offers
you the change to pick up Europea, and offers more missions which means more
equipment and experience.  The path through the Tremos Mountains offers you
the chance to pick up Paul and a Ring of the Dead which means you can make a
second Lich.  I would recommend going through the Tremos Mountains though,
because if you know that you'll always take the other path on low CF (to get
Biske) then going the other way lets you experience all aspects of this game
in just two play throughs.
- The Central Region -
A few missions into Chapter 4 you will be presented with a several choices.
Basically, you can march directly to the capital and free the surrounding
territories afterwards, or you free the surrounding territories first and
then attack the capital.  For the high CF path I'd recommend clearing out
the surrounding territories first.  For low CF I'd recommend first going to
Ptia to pick up Carth, then attacking the capital (Latium), and then freeing
the surrounding territories.  Optionally, if you wanted to face Carth in
battle (and Leia's father in the Tundra of Argent) just make sure you save
Ptia (and the Tundra of Argent) until after finishing Latium on both the
high or low CF path.
|=============================================================================|
C L A S S E S                                                          11.0
|=============================================================================|
---------------------------------->
General Thoughts
---------------------------------->
- Gender Principle -
The way the rules are defined for this game you'll find that male classes are
usually more effective as front-line melee fighters, and females are better
used as spellcasters, healers, or ranged attackers in the back rows.  There
are a few exceptions to this principle, but it should work as a general
guideline.  Female front-line characters are usually not going to be as good
as their male counterparts, so avoid them.  And don't waste your male
characters on back row jobs, leave that to the female characters.
- Diversified Armory Principle -
One main reason to have a diversity of classes in your battalion is to take
advantage of the diversity of weapons you'll find as you progress along the
way.  For instance, it might make sense to have a Beast Tamer/Master around
just to use the few high powered whips you may come across.  No one else can
use them.  From the reverse perspective, you might not want to make too many
Paladins because you'll run out of quality equipment for them.  It's best to
have a nice mix of Paladins, Black Knights, and Swordmasters so all your
characters can be equipped with great stuff.  Of course, you don't want to
take this too far.  A Cataphract with a great spear still might be worse than
a Swordmaster with an average greatsword.
- Large Class Principle -
When considering the merits of a large class it is important to remember that
they take up 2/5 of the unit's capacity as opposed to the 1/5 taken by normal
sized classes.  That understood, it is not enough for a large class to simply
be better than a normal sized class.  It must be at least twice as good!  For
every large class you can have two normal classes in it's place.  And simply
put, most large classes do not compare to two normal classes.  Two normal
classes will usually have more total attacks, inflict more damage, have more
total Hit Points, and can block two columns while the large class can only
block one.  This pushes most large units out of strategic consideration except
for filler.
- Grooming -
Effective grooming for most human characters is fairly straightforward.  Most
basic classes have a corresponding advanced class.  While you don't have to
advance to an advanced class from its corresponding basic class, it's usually
a good idea to always do so.  This will ensure that the important stats will
be increased through similar level-up numbers and the advanced class stat
requirements will be met as quick as possible, thus allowing you to evolve as
quickly as possible.  In other words, Paladins should come from Knights and