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Total Annihilation: Kingdoms "The Iron Plague"
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WalkthroughFaq v1.0
By Greyson
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Release date: 324 3
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Contents
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--Introduction
--New Expansion Units
--Gameplay Hints
--Complete Walkthrough of Chapters 1-25
--Hidden Levels
--Credits
--Disclaimer
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Introduction
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First off, I want to agree with you. If you are looking at this guide then I
assume you are having trouble playing "The Iron Plague." I agree that this
game can be frustratingly difficult. In fact so much so that I almost quit
playing it. Total Annihilation: Kingdoms is many times easier than IP.
The hardest mission on TA: Kingdoms is somewhat easier than the "hard" maps
here. Having totally enjoyed TA: Kingdoms I was looking forward to playing IP.
TA: Kingdoms had such a good flow and story that I couldn't wait to find out
what happens in IP. That excitement was met with constant gnashing of teeth
and reloading of saved games. I will say that IP does indeed have a good flow
and story to it as well. The problem is the early maps are quite difficult and
have no continuity to them. Everything is disjointed until you get past
Chapter 8. From then on, the designers began to create a good flow to the game.
You start to understand why one chapter is easy and then the next one is
hard. If you can make it past the early tough chapters then I promise you that
you'll start to love IP as much as TA: Kingdoms.
I wrote this Walkthrough just for the simple fact that there were none. Like
many players I started having trouble on the very second map. I would then
search the web looking for some hints or strategies. I then found out there
was never an "Official" walkthrough created for IP. No end user guides were
written either. The best I could find were a few forums that had
player's tips on them. Even some of the tips weren't that informative. I
became frustrated over the fact that I could possibly not even beat the game.
With no guides and not really anywhere to turn for help, I decided I would try
to beat the game and create a guide on my own. Fortunately, I succeeded. Being
such a fan of the game my only intent here is to help others enjoy it as well.
It simply started out as a basic walkthrough of how I beat a particular
chapter. Since you can play both games with complete strategic freedom I
decided to just write down what I did. In hopes that it would direct the
player into making a successful strategy for beating a tough mission. My
suggestions on how to beat a particular map are just that, my suggestions. Not
my dictations. There are a number of ways to beat each map. I just wanted to
make sure the player knew that there was at least one successful strategy if
he/she became disgruntled. So, if you're having trouble then read this
walkthrough, take what you need, and apply it.
I also noticed that at times in the campaign you get to control new units for
the original TA: Kingdom forces. While the IP manual is a pleasant read it
didn't include any info on these new units at all. I decided to include some
basic observations and tips on the new non-Creon units. Most of them are
very cool and my favorite was the Spirit Wolf.
Also just so you know what kind of TA: Kingdoms player I am. I am more of a
defensive player. I usually take my time and build up my bases. When I feel
confident that I can repel most enemy attacks I then send out troops. I also
don't go overboard with defensive structures. I usually stick with what will
work and get me through that particular map. Whenever I do have to attack on
multiple fronts I keep my hand near the pause button. I don't like being too
overwhelmed and unable to take care of all my troops at the same time. I also
don't mind taking my time. Sometimes this makes the map twice as long as it
should be. I also usually play the game at -3 speed. It only prolongs the
enjoyment of it though. At least that's the story I'm sticking with.
I hope my strategies help you if you're in trouble. I have tried to explain
everything in good detail. I know I can be a tad "wordy" so if you need to
find something quickly be sure to use the Find option under the pulldown menu
or press Ctrl+F. Good luck!
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New Expansion Units
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ARAMON-
Rolling Tower - Built by Keep - A mobile defense structure. They have a strong
arrow attack and in groups can be a good backup
unit. They also have high hit points and good
armor. They move slow though and can be hit
easily.
Flying Builder - Built by Acolyte - They can build the same structures as a
normal Mage Builder. They have slightly
more hit points than a Mage Builder.
Their ability to fly and build Trebuchets
makes them a good strategic unit.
Grenadier - Built by Acolyte - Long range bomber. In large numbers they can be
very deadly. They move somewhat slow but are
not bulky. They have three modes of attack:
Explosive, Incendiary, and Stun.
VERUNA-
Lighthouse - Built by Priestess - A tall standing structure that has good
scouting range. Fires a shot that
momentarily paralyzes enemies. A perfect
compliment to other defensive structures. It
has medium defense and does not take long to
build.
Ballista - Built by Priest of Lihr - Has very long range. Shoots an arrow that
does small damage. Moves slow and is
susceptible to fast firing units.
Centaur - Built by Citadel - A horse unit that attacks with a bow and arrow.
They are fairly cheap to create but move slow.
If they moved faster they would be a perfect
compliment to the Berserker.
Mer Warrior - Built by Enclave - A very cool low level unit. They move at a
decent speed and have good attack abilities.
They can also swim and attack ships.
ZHON-
Swamp Beast - Built by Beast Handler - Slow land based unit. Has medium attack
power and good health. Moves too slow
and is susceptible to fast moving
units. Good back up unit when paired
with Jungle Orcs.
Spirit Wolf - Built by Beast Tamer - Very fun unit. Basically Zhon's version
of Veruna's Berserker. They are built
at a good speed so it is easy to make a
pack of them. They have medium attack
power but because they are small they can
easily surround an enemy. They have fast
walking speed and a decent amount of
health. They can also raise fallen troops
into weaker versions of Spirit Wolves.
Giant Orm - Built by Shaman - A very slow moving land unit. Looks like a
caterpillar. Has good amount of health. They
have a very strong attack and are probably best
used on fixed structures.
Giant Barracuda - Built by Shaman - Sea only creature. Same size as a ship.
Was not able to use it in battle so I don't
know its capabilities.
TAROS-
Kamikaze Rat - Built by Temple - A small unit. It can also cloak making it a
good spy unit. It has around medium speed.
Its must uncloak to attack but has wide attack
damage. Has enough hit points to survive a
few hits.
Rictus - Built by Abyss - A slow moving land unit. Its attack and range are
similar to the Fire Demon. Good support unit.
Darkhand - Built by Abyss - A mace wielding troop unit. Has good range. Kind
of slow though and only medium health. Its attack
is not too powerful.
Fallen Angel - Built by Dark Priest - A flying unit with a strong offense. Has
three modes of attack. Its group killer
attack is very powerful. Has low hit
points considering its cost. Best used
in fly by attacks.
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Gameplay Hints
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While playing the campaign, I discovered a few tips that were not explained in
the manual.
1. DismissKill a friendly unit: This tip goes along with TA: Kingdoms as well.
It is plainly written in both TA: Kingdom's and IP's manuals. I just never
realized it. To get rid of unwanted unitsstructures simply select them and
press Ctrl+D. You will get a "leaving your command" message and within five
seconds the unit will disappear. I'm not sure if dismissing units adds to
your loss total. Sometimes when I would dismiss a unit the attack warning
sound would play so I presume it does count as a loss.
2. Chief Engineer special skill: You can use a Chief Engineer to resurrect a
dead troop unit into an Automaton unit.
3. Better aiming with the Aerial Juggernaut: Sometimes you can do more damage
and aim better by moving the juggernaut beside the intended target instead
of actually targeting it.
4. Easier targeting with the Neo Dragon's "Freeze Storm" attack: Sometimes you
will target a unit and the Neo Dragon refuses to use the "Freeze Storm."
It is usually easier to manually target an area by pressing the A button.
This applies also to any attack that affects enemy groups.
Sometimes the attacker will try to lock onto its target instead of just
attacking and killing all the enemies. By manually targeting an area the
attacking unit doesn't have to try to lock onto a moving target. Also be
aware that not every unit can frozen. Examples are the Amazon, Knight, and
Swordsman.
5. Zooming around the map easily: It is good to remember that whenever you
select a unit you can center in on it by simply pressing the T key. So
if your #8 group is being attacked and you're at the #2 group simply press 8
and then T and the map will zoom in on group #8.
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Complete Walkthrough of Chapters 1-25
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Chapter 01-Blood and Gold-Your task here is to destroy all the Verunan
merchant ships before any of them pass the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is on the
far west side of the big island left of your starting position. This is a
rather simple map as your ship is quite powerful. Just try to snipe at the
ships and whittle them down. There are too many to take on all at once.
Strategy I used to beat: You also start off with a Sky Knight that you can use
to scout. I sent him off to the west side of the island to make sure where the
Lighthouse was. I made my way to the lower right where a large number of ships
were. I picked them off several at a time and eventually destroyed most of
them. Once done here I proceeded to the left along the southeast coast of the
Lighthouse island. Again sniping and picking off a few ships at a time.
Eventually I made it around the corner and sailed up past the Lighthouse. There
are a few strong enemy ships sitting here. I turned around and waited for them
when they came after me. Picking them off one by one. Eventually I got
parallel with the Lighthouse, destroyed it, and waited for the rest of the
Transport ships to try to make it past me. After a few minutes the last one
was destroyed. Also, do not try to destroy every single ship. If you try to
then most likely you will take too long and a few Transport ships will slip past
the Lighthouse.
Chapter 02-Dark Hulls-Here you must attack the Creon navy and destroy all their
Shipyards. This map is not designed for you to kill every enemy unit.
Something that took me a few tries to discover. There are far more enemy units
than what you can build. The key is to wait for the main force to attack and
then swoop around to the southwest end of the enemy island and destroy the last
shipyard there. This map is mediumhard but if you know exactly what to do it's
actually not that tough.
Strategy I used to beat: You start at the east of an island. Near the lower
middle of the west side of the island is where a strong enemy fleet is waiting.
Unload your troops onto the island and immediately build up the Lodestones.
Then attack the enemy ships with your navy. It will be a somewhat hard battle
but you should not lose many ships. I then built two Sea Forts making mostly
Man of Wars. I was tempted to build some Trebuchet Ships but you actually won't
need them. As soon as you can, take a few Man of Wars and a Skiff and head over
to the east side of the map and head south. Go almost to the bottom and then
head slowly to the west. The first enemy shipyard is located at the southeast
of their island. Use a Skiff to spot it then use your Man of Wars to pummel it.
Go back to your island the same way you came. If you go directly up you will
get sniped by a few Mirrors. There are also about three enemy ships near the
middle of the island on the east side. It would be a tough battle at this
point. One that can be avoided as well. Afterwards, keep building up your
navy. Another attack will be coming soon from the west of your island. Pretty
much where the first battle was. But this time a few transports will go to the
north end of your island and start unloading enemy troops. It won't be that
difficult of a land battle. Especially since you will know to expect it. Take
your navy and clear out the ships that also will be attacking you from the west
side. After a little while you should have a nice sized navy. Take that navy
and head to the first small island directly north of the main enemy island.
There is another enemy shipyard located there. The resistance is a little
heavier and you will probably lose some ships. There are more enemy ships to
the northwest of the second shipyard. They didn't usually attack me so I
decided to attack first and clear out that area. Your main navy you were using
will probably be dwindled down by now. Keep building ships. Now comes the last
and HEAVILY guarded shipyard. There are two ways you can destroy it. Neither
way uses a head on battle tactic. The first way: After some time a huge enemy
navy (about 10-20 ships) will start pouring in and attacking your forces at your
main island. They will be coming in from the same area the very first enemy
ships were. You could have built a second shipyard area at the north end of
your main island. If you did then follow this tactic. As that huge enemy fleet
is attacking, sneak a few ships behind them near the west side of the map and
take them directly south. The third enemy shipyard is near the lower left
middle of the enemy island. Simply destroy it and the map is over. The second
way (what I did). Clear out the northwest part of the map. Leave a few of your
ships there. Then send a Skiff down to the third enemy shipyard and engage the
huge enemy fleet. This will get them stirred up and they will attack your main
island immediately. Wait until you believe the way is clear and then take your
northwest hidden fleet down and destroy the last shipyard.
Chapter 03-Join Us-Your orders here are to fend off the Veruna revolt and show
them you're staying. It will start off rather peaceful but near the end it
becomes quite intense. This map is between mediumhard. If you are having a
hard time remember you are not supposed to kill every unit. Just enough to
where the enemy will retreat.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off in the southeast corner. You will have a
Mechanic, Fire Wagons, Shock Troopers, and Barnstormers soon. I scouted around
the immediate area and it was clear. I spotted a Divine Lodestone directly
northwest of the starting position. I took some troops up and tried to destroy
the Divine Lodestone placed there. A Mortar from up above started bombing my
troops. Deciding to come back to it later, I scouted some more. Directly below
to the west of the starting area was a clear mana site. I then headed left.
The road was crumbled some and I decided to make the area left of the debris my
base. I then sent my Mechanic and some troops down to build up the mana
refinery. A short while later some Mer Warriors snuck up on the other side of
the mana site and attacked my refinery and troops. After a good battle I killed
them. I then built a Smithy next to the mana site. I then proceeded to build
up a Bomb Sprinkler and some Gatling Crossbows at my base on the road. By now I
had received a good amount of support troops. Scouting to the left of my base I
saw there was another enemy Lodestone. I decided to destroy it and build my own
there. I succeeded and used the extra mana to build up more of my forces. I
had tried to scout out the water to the west but my Barnstormers were always
destroyed. After building up a good amount of Fire Wagons and Shock Troopers I
decided to take out the Divine Lodestone that was guarded by the Mortar. I
destroyed it and continued to head up and engage the Mortar, two Bastions, and
two Guard Towers. I also met some enemy troop resistance. After clearing this
area I then headed back down to the mana site. I built a mana refinery and made
this area my second base. I proceeded to make another Bomb Sprinkler and more
Gatling Crossbows. After a while a good amount of enemy troops began to attack
my first base. It was a tough battle and I had lost the mana refinery to the
west. I built it back up again. By now I had created another Smithy at the
second base. I made some more troops and headed north from the second base. I
engaged a few patrolling troops. I then took over the mana site in that area.
Now I had a good supply of mana coming in. I made this area my third base. I
again set up a Bomb Sprinkler, Gatling Crossbows, and a Mirror. I also built
two more Smithies. I had scouted to the northeast and saw that most of the area
was clear. There was also a mana site. I built a refinery there. I then
started sending squads into the city. I cleared it out to the top right bend.
By now I was also under bombardment from an enemy Trebuchet Ship. Fortunately
it was trying to destroy the mana refinery at my second base. The sacred stones
were blocking it. Now I headed northwest just outside the city to the right. I
built up some Gatling Crossbows and three Mirrors. I was also distracting the
enemy by sending in squad after squad of troops. I had cleared the entire city
out except the northwest section. For the next 20 or so minutes I fought hard
against the enemy. I had a steady stream of troops pouring into the city. Some
of the city buildings were getting in the way of my troops so I cleared them
out. After a bit the enemy sent out a large force. They attacked my Gatling
CrossbowMirror station and my third base. It was hard holding them back and
now the Trebuchet Ship had picked other more susceptible targets. It had
destroyed my Smithy at the second base and another Smithy at the third base. I
had noticed another mana site to the top left of my MirrorGatling Crossbow
station. I proceeded to destroy the enemy Lodestone and built a refinery. This
seemed to stir the enemy up so after a while I just left it alone. At this time
an enemy squad had come onto the beach near my very first mana refinery and
caused havoc. Fortunately, I had left a small force around my Smithy and they
repelled the enemy. It seemed like it was impossible to break any farther into
the city. There was an enemy Lighthouse positioned perfectly and anytime I got
close to it enemy Bastions, Mortars, and ships would tear my troops to shreds.
I kept fighting though and after some time I heard someone yelling, "Run Run"
and the map was over.
Chapter 04-Sins of State-This is one of those trial and error maps. You try
five times, die horribly, and then finally learn the error of your ways and do
it right. Lucky for you I've already gone through the pain beforehand *tears*
On this map it is your duty to save the Veruna sailors before 15 minutes are up
or they will be slaughtered by the Aramon townspeople. The Aramon military will
also slaughter them if they get near. This map is hard unless you do everything
the right way. Then it is almost too easy.
Strategy I used to beat: As mentioned before this is a kind of puzzle map.
There are several routes your ships can take. All of them have their own traps
but I will show the most direct way. You start off on a small island all the
way on the east side of the map. If you also look directly west in town you
will see all the sailors you must save. I group selected all of them and sent
them directly east to the edge of the dock. Don't let them stray too far north
or south as enemy Strongholds will kill them. Back to your starting units in
the east. You start with a Priestess, a Skiff, and some military units. Leave
the military units on the island. Use the Skiff to transport the Priestess to
the top of the map and a little to the left. There is a mana reserve in that
area. Grab it quickly. After claiming it, I built a Sea Fort. You will be
using mainly Skiffs on this level so no need to have massive amounts of mana.
After the Sea Fort is built jump back onto the ship and head almost directly
south but a tad to the right. There is another mana reserve located here. And
then finally hop on the ship and head to the island directly at the southeast
corner. There is anther mana reserve there. This will be all the mana storage
you will need to win this map. By now you should have several Skiffs built.
Perhaps a Man of War as well. Now head to the castle island directly west of
your starting island. It is a good idea to build one Guard Tower on each hill.
The enemy will send a Flying Builder to put down its own Watch Towers otherwise.
This way your Guard Towers will kill the flyers and you won't be nagged by them.
Also a few enemy War Galleys might pop up sometime around the first mana site.
By then you should have plenty of ships to take care of them. Once you have
around 6-8 Skiffs head directly west. This will be the river that is directly
left of the castle island with your two Watch Towers. Almost between the
castle island and the dock will be a single War Galley. It will be below your
ships so ride past while shooting at him. You will normally lose one or two
ships so be sure you have made them expendable. DO NOT HEAD DIRECTLY NORTH from
that battle. There are two or three more War Galleys waiting above and they
will make quick work of your navy. Instead, keep heading west until you reach
the dock. There might be a Flying Builder trying to build an enemy Stronghold
on the docks. Quickly stop it. Once that's clear start loading the sailors
onto your Skiffs. You can leave six sailors behind if you want to. Lose seven
or more and you lose. By now, you should have at least three Man of Wars. Send
them to tackle those two or three War Galleys. And while they are battling it
out sneak your Skiffs past them. Head your Skiffs to the northeast corner of
the map and the map will end.
Chapter 05-Tin Gods-Finally, a stronghold map. Your mission is to flee to the
desert and establish a strong fixed defensive structure base. There are
hundreds of enemies in this map and many times you fight 20-50 at once. However
with the right mix of fixed structures it is rather tense but fun. You must
also last 45 minutes. I actually could have lasted a lot longer but it was fun
while it lasted.
Strategy I used to beat: At the beginning there are enemies at the gate breaking
through. It is best if you pull back most if not all your army to where the
white path ends near the middle of the map. That area is a really good
defensive position to take. While my forces were fleeing to the desert I sent
two of my builders, one to the east and one to the west, to build up some mana
generators. Ultimately the generators in the west were destroyed way before the
ones in the east were. I used that extra mana to build some Guard Towers
quickly where my main army was with the remaining builders. You certainly
need them since a strong force is chasing you. I built up two Guard Towers
along with my Musketeers in the back providing support while my main ground
force attacked. I only lost a few troops as the collective firepower took care
of the enemy force. Once that's finished start building up fixed defensive
structures and unit factories. Also, the desert seems to be somewhat deserted
around you so send out your builders to acquire more mana generators. I even
Walled in my Divine Lodestone and it lasted most of the map. However, be
careful around the mana sites near the corners of the map. They are guarded by
MirrorsGatling CrossbowsBomb Sprinklers. I then walled in the lower left of
my base and that seemed to help a lot. At the front of my base I had three
Guard Towers on each side of the white path. Along with a Lighthouse behind
them and one Bastion for support. I then placed one Mortar behind everything on
each side. The enemy was also attacking from the east so I built up my fixed
structures there similar to how I did at the white path. The game play then
consisted of waiting it out and repelling the various forces. Random enemy
forces will roam the desert and take out your various Lodestones that are away
from your main base. Simply let them pass and build them up again. Later in
the map it becomes more dangerous to do this. By then you should already be
well entrenched though. The enemy seemed to attack my base mostly from the east
and southwest. After a while I decided to try to clear out the northwest
corner just to make it a tad easier for my forces. Using only Warriors (around
150-200 of them total) I eventually cleared it out and built up my own
Lodestones. The enemy didn't seem to send out forces to destroy them so if you
are running low on mana that may be an ideal solution. Near the end a swarm of
enemies start attacking you. This was definitely the most thrilling part! They
attacked mostly from the south. Since my defenses were mainly armed for north
and east engagements it was a little rough going. Eventually I fought them
back. Finally the Amazons will appear. They will start running around and
attacking the enemy. Afterwards the map soon ends. Whew.
Chapter 06-Enemy Hands-This is fortunately a rather laid back map. Compared to
some of the other maps this one is about easymedium. The main enemy camp is at
the beach around the Sea Shadow. There are also many ships in the nearby ocean
and a powerful one guarding the Sea Shadow.
Strategy I used to beat: Basically I just took my time building up my forces.
It seems the enemy doesn't attack until you attack first. Or at least until
they see you. I made sure their scouts didn't see me on radar as I built up my
base. So I didn't use any mana resources that were above the big pit in the
middle of the map. Once I did attack, the battle is pretty furious for the
first ten minutes. But nothing too hard. Just keep the units flowing and pull
Heligrin back when he gets severely damaged. Some of the units might try to
climb up and attack your base but if you have multiple long range defensive
strictures they won't pose a threat. The enemy will then steadily drop
Mechanics on the beach to build more bases and mana refineries. Be sure to nag
them enough to where nothing substantial gets built. Taking out most if not all
their mana refineries will help a lot also. Always make sure you keep your
forces a healthy distance from the beach as the ships will pummel you quickly.
After a while it seems the enemy runs out of Mechanics and ground units so then
it's time to take out the ship guarding the Sea Shadow. I used 15 or so Ghost
Ships to do the job. Having a good sized Ghost Ship army will also help
tremendously in this map.
Chapter 07-Close Ranks-This map was so laid back and easy I was sure Cavedog had
a nasty surprise for me when the island was cleared. Thankfully, there was
none. Your job is to unload your troops on the island somewhere and clear it
out of enemy forces. It says the enemy is entrenched so it makes you wonder if
it will be a very hard battle. In reality, it is more laborious than hard.
Strategy I used to beat: The area I dropped my troops off was near the middle
southwest part of the island. You can't drop them off at the very bottom
because there are Gatling Crossbows and a Bomb Sprinkler waiting on you. Once
you have a builder on the island go to the mana reserve at the lower right.
None of the weapons fired at me so I assume it is placed at a safe distance.
Meanwhile most of your attack forces should have already landed. Good thing
since very soon a large Automaton force will attack. However, you have PLENTY
of troops to easily kill them all. Just don't go near the middle of this area
as there are more Gatling Crossbows and a Bomb Sprinkler waiting for you. Once
you have defeated the Automaton force, try to take out the middle fixed
structure force (gatling crossbow and bomb sprinkler). I found that a Mortar
took care of the job quite handily. You can now relax and build up the other
mana sites in the area (however don't try to use the one near the cliff. There
is a Bomb Sprinkler there that has perfect range on you.) I then proceeded to
build my base up with some defensive fixed structures. I also put a Lighthouse
on the hill where the bomb sprinkler was. Then I built up a substantial navy
(around 13 War Galleys). Then I built two Trebuchets. Using my flying scouts
to find targets I then bombed away with my Trebuchets. After destroying most of
the enemy structures I then took my original yet still very sizable army and
proceeded to attack inland. There are a few Gatling Crossbows and Mirrors you
will probably have to take out by hand. Also most of the Bomb Sprinklers here
are surrounded by walls. So it will be much easier to take them out with the
Trebuchets. I built both of my Trebuchets to the lower left of my Lighthouse on
the hill. Their range included all the enclosed Bomb Sprinklers. Also there
are not many enemy troops that are created on this map. From then on it is
pretty much mopping up. A few enemy ships will ride by the island shooting at
you occasionally. But it was never more than one at a time and my navy took
care of them. Also all the ships that will attack you are in the upper right
portion of the map. If you fly a scout up there then all the ships attack at
once. There are around 6-9 of them. I suggest either just wait and let them
thin out over the course of the map or take the appropriate number of heavy
ships (around 15-20 I'd say just to be safe) if you want to kill them at once.
Once every enemy unit is killed then the map is over.
Chapter 08-Dark Tempest-Whoa Nelly! Talk about a bear of a level. This is
definitely one for the record books. I've read from several players that, in
their opinion, this level was the hardest in the game. It is a grueling "win by
inches" type map. This can be an overwhelming map at times. If you find
yourself getting slaughtered (like myself) over and over then turn the game off
and come back to it after a while. Fresh rested endurance is always a bonus.
It will most likely take you 2-4 hours to beat. Your mission is to take over
the Caora Island and show Aramon and Veruna who they are messing with. But they
will not go down without a furious fight.
Strategy I used to beat: Having read a few other player's strategies I decided
to incorporate them into my own. I definitely like to come up with my own
designs to win so I did a few things differently as well. You start off on a
medium sized island in the northeast corner. Immediately start making mana
generators and some fixed defensive structures. Place them near the northwest
and southeast tips of the island. During your exploration you will come across
random packs of Mer Warriors. They are hard to kill while they are swimming.
They will most likely make it onto your island and cause some havoc. Almost
directly to the south of your island is some enemy Bastions on circular
floating islands. They are pretty easy to kill as they will usually miss your
ships as you sail by firing. After you have cleared that section out you might
draw some enemy ships toward your island. If you do just sail back and attack.
By now you should have one or two Navy Yards constantly building ships. If all
is clear then head a little left from that first group of Bastion islands you
destroyed. There are some more islands and this one has a mana reserve on it.
I didn't put a mana generator here immediately thinking it would draw unwanted
attention. The enemy did destroy it once but it didn't seem to be a big concern
for them. Keeping a lone Mechanic on one Stern Wheeler and having him
unload and remake the mana generators when needed is a good strategy. That is
all of the small circular islands in the ocean around your starting island. You
may start getting some more enemy ship attacks by now. Next, you can choose
which western corner you want to take over first. Either the northwest or
southwest corners. Both are practically identical in their design. You don't
really have to worry about making land troops right now. I headed to the
southwest corner first. You will start to see some walls dividing the ocean.
They have some Bastions and Lighthouses on them as well. On the other side are
heavily fortified medium sized islands. They have a couple of Bastions, Guard
Towers and a Mortar on them. Also with some Floating Towers as well. If you
head southwest first, right past the medium fortified circular island is another
set of the smaller Bastion islands. There is another mana reserve on one of
them as well. This area is well defended and will take several passes to clear
out. If you get close to the enemy mainland then their beach Mortars and
Bastions will open fire on you as well. You will notice by now that you have
come up to the enemy island. There is a canal at the very bottom of the map
under the enemy island. This is somewhat of a key area. There are some enemy
Sea Forts down there and taking them out will ease the attacks on your island.
You should also remember to sail through this area from time to time as the
enemy will try to rebuild its Sea Forts. At the end of the canal is some land
that you can actually drop some troops onto. Unless you do this early in the
game it won't give you any advantage. It is just a clear area that you could
build some Mirrors or Bomb Sprinklers on and snipe at the enemy. Unfortunately
the area does have some enemy fixed defensive structures as well. If you can
take them out and place a few Mirrors there then you can slow the enemy down
somewhat. I didn't bother with it since it required a bit too much
micromanagement to handle. By now you will probably be getting steady enemy
navy attacks and Mer Warrior raids. The enemy also has a few floating Trebuchet
Ships. They will snipe at you forever if you don't take them out. They are
VERY annoying. A trick I learned was to take the ship they are trying to
destroy and move it to the eastern edge of the screen. The floating Trebuchets
will follow it and you can then easily draw them out and destroy them with your
fleet. You will also notice if you get too close to the southwest part of the
enemy island that enemy Dirigibles will start to trail you. Make sure you have
a few Stern Wheelers to take them out or the enemy fleet will have a much easier
time hitting you. After you have cleared the southwest part it's time to clear
the northwest part. Again, it is designed similar to the southwest. Another
heavily fortified medium circular island and a few Sea Forts in the northwest
corner. After you have cleared both areas out it is time to clear the beach for
the impending invasion. Have some Barnstormers fly back and forth while your
ships tail them. They will spot the enemy emplacements and destroy them. Once
that is done then the hard part ensues. Making a beachhead. It is very
advisable to bring a lot of ships (15-30) as moving defensive structures. After
a while the enemy will start attacking in mass and the explosive nature of the
ships armament really helps a lot. You will notice four platform areas that are
easily accessible for unloading troops. On the enemy island they are located
at: northwest corner, northeast corner, one a little above the eastern middle,
and then one a little below the eastern middle. The safest place seems to be
the northeast corner platform. There are a lot of buildings there that you can
use defensively. I walled a few of them off so the enemy was forced to attack
from two sides that had three Bomb Sprinklers waiting for them. While I was
building my base up I was also attacking the enemy from the southeast corner of
the enemy island. But not with troops. With ships and Mirrors. I had two
Mirrors on the small island closest to the enemy mainland and a few more on the
mana reserve island. Then I made a Barnstormer guard the small island. The
Mirrors did a good job of pestering the enemy and drawing their attention from
my invasion to the north. The enemy finally came around to attacking my beach
head but by then I had already become entrenched and fortified. The key is to
keep many many ships around your base and to logically place Mirrors as long
range backup. Your ships will destroy a bulk of the enemy while the Mirrors
will snipe the stragglers. Any leftovers are for my fixed defensive structures
and troops. I did not bring a lot of troops onto the beachhead. Just around
eight Mechanics to build up the base and about eight Shock Troopers and Beast
Riders each. I did not use any Fire Wagons the whole map. With my Navy and
Mirrors guarding me and the distraction to the southeast area, I had a good
amount of time to build up. I built one Smithy and one Academy factory, three
Bomb Sprinklers, and a few Gatling Crossbows. Now it was time to start invading
inland. But where to first? I don't know if there is a right way to go as it
will be difficult no matter what you choose. I chose to destroy the closest
enemy mana generator just directly southwest of my base. You will always draw
many troops and Catapults to you so be prepared. After a bit I decided to build
a second staging area at the northwest platform area. The enemy didn't seem to
be that interested in my actions at first. I only made one Bomb Sprinkler and
one Gatling Crossbow the whole time there. I placed another Smithy and started
pumping out Automatons. I also brought over around ten ships to protect me. At
the same time queuing my other factories to move new troops to my second base.
When I would get a nice sized army (10-18 Automatons and 3-6 Beast Riders) I
would head diagonally towards the next mana generator near the very middle of
the island. There is another enemy mana generator directly right of it as well.
If you head directly south of the northwest platform, you will run up a hill
with two Bastions and a Mortar. This area is very hard to penetrate right now.
My strategy wasn't to win by brute force but to whittle down the enemy by
knocking out their mana generators. After a long battle of trying to take both
middle generators out I finally succeeded. I then used my Mirrors to make sure
the mana generators nearest to the middle east end were never built back up.
Now I decided to try to take out the heavily fortified raised metal platform at
the lower left of the island. Again, this is a hard battle. There are numerous
Mortars and Bastions on it. Along with very well placed Lighthouses and enemy
troops who seem to always get in the way of your troops. Patience Patience
Patience. You should also start expanding to the middle of the eastern edge of
the enemy island. The enemy Mortars can't hit you from there but your Mirrors
have a perfect shot at the fortified metal platform. From my second northwest
base I kept the enemy occupied with constant attacks in the middle of the
island. While I brought down some Mechanics and built up the Mirrors as fast as
I could. Keeping a nearby ship defense as well. After two Mirrors were built I
then sent Barnstormers on suicide runs to scope out the platform. If some of
your Mirrors can't hit some structures then build more that can. Just don't
build them too far inland or the enemy Mortars will start hitting them. Once
the platform is mostly clear you can do one of two things: Either start invading
from the northwest base down or start working around the now clear platform to
the south and work your way west. Both ways will be tough. I chose the first
choice. Again the key is to build up some Mirrors and pick away at the
structures on the hill. They took out the Bastions and a few Guard Towers but
could not hit the Mortar. Now it's time to start sending in a majority of your
army. The Automatons will always be killed quickly but the Beast Riders will do
a splendid job of slowly wilting away at the enemy structures. Just keep
pumping out troops. By this time you will start to break through down the hill
to the opposite side of the now cleared metal platform. There will probably be
even more Bastions, Lighthouses, and Guard Towers waiting for you. I did notice
that while there were still plenty of enemy troops that their numbers had
diminished. You will be losing squad after squad here. Just keep pushing. Now
the enemy will be focusing most of its attention on that area. Perfect time
finally to build a third base at the once dangerous lower middle right platform
area. I built a Bomb Sprinkler and two Mirrors. A Smithy and Academy factory
as well. Also you should have upgraded ALL of your non enemy island mana
refineries into amplifiers by now. Again I started pumping out Automatons and
Beast Riders. The enemy will most likely have built some Bastions and
Lighthouses beneath the cleared metal platform as well. Use the tried and true
method of using a Barnstormer to scout. Then the mirrors to whittle away. Your
Mirrors won't be able to hit the more inland structures easily. Time to invade
to the southwest. There is another mana generator below the metal platform.
Once the generator was destroyed it seemed the enemy was left with a very low
mana supply. Along the path to the south then west you will find more Mortars
and Bastions. Keep attacking them and finally they will crumble. Your other
campaign from the northwest base should be getting closer to the southwest part
of the island. You will now be hitting the last section of enemy territory. It
will be tough going since there will be many dead enemy structures in your way.
As well as most of the Bastions and Guard Towers having Gold killing experience.
Good news is that there will probably be few to no troops attacking you. Keep
sending in reinforcements and eventually you will clear the island of the last
enemy. Whoa, what a hard battle.
Chapter 09-The Test-This map is relatively easy. It's a good thing since your
nerves will probably be waning from that last map. This map takes a bit more
cautious exploring and relaxed tactics to beat. Your mission is to keep
pressing onward into Aramon. Here you are requested to assimilate the local
townsfolk. After you have killed the populace and raised them back up as
Automatons you are to assault the area Barracks. Here we go.
Strategy I used to beat: Fortunately as stated before this is a pretty calm
level. You won't have loads of troops pouring out after you. You start off
right at the top of the map. There will be a few Horsemen running around in
your area. Use your Chief Engineer to attack them. His taser weapon has long
range and once hit the enemy will give chase. Lure them back to your waiting
Fire Wagons and Shock Troopers. Once dead simply reanimate them. I ventured
eastward first. There are a few more Horsemen running in the forest. When you
come near a small mountain slightly below your starting area some Archers and a
couple of Barbarians will attack. Simply use the same strategy against them.
Have your Automatons slow them down while your long range troops mop up. Below
this area and slightly to the right you'll find an enemy Watch Tower along with
a Divine Lodestone. Use your Chief Engineer and your Shock Troopers to sneak
along the beach until you are in range of the Watch Tower. If you go lower in
the grass enemy Watch Towers and a Stronghold in a castle will target you. Take
your time and soon the Watch Tower will fall. Afterwards walk to the area above
the Divine Lodestone and destroy it. Once finished head back to the small
mountain where your main army is waiting. Now start heading southwest around
the other side of the small mountain. Below the mountain will be another
Lodestone along with a Watch Tower. Destroy both. I then kept heading
southwest. Another Watch Tower and a few troops were waiting for me there.
Keep moving until you reach the southwest corner. Head back up to where the
small mountain was. Head a little to the right and there will be the castle
again. At the lower left of the castle is another Divine Lodestone. Take it
out without drawing any attention from the Watch Towers. Now head south and you
will be about in the lower middle of the map. Watch out in this area as there
are a few more troops and another Stronghold. Spread your forces out and take
care of the Stronghold. Continue east and there will be another farm and a few
more Watch Towers. Once they are taken care up head northeast and you will kill
a few more lone Horsemen and other troops. Now you should gather your troops
under the castle. There will be another Lodestone in this area. Take it out.
Once that is destroyed the enemy will basically have no mana left. This will
make the destruction of the Barracks much easier. Now time to head up to the
castle. There will be two Watch Towers behind the walls along with a Gate
blocking your way. You can easily destroy the Gate with your Chief Engineer and
Shock Troopers. If you take any damage from the Watch Towers just pull back and
repair. Now some enemy troops will start coming out of the castle. There were
only about five of them in my game and they are nothing to worry about. Kill
them then start flooding in the castle. I targeted the two closest Watch Towers
first then the Stronghold. Then the other two Watch Towers then finally the
Barracks. I had a very sizable Automaton army at the end of the map (55 or so).
My advice is to just kill all the villagers with your Chief Engineer and
Shock Troopers to get them into Gold experience (then resurrecting them into
Automatons of course). Enemy resistance will be light the whole map so take
your time and build up.
Chapter 10-War Toys-This map is quite a step up in difficulty from the last map.
This is an intense fast paced map with difficulty between mediumhard. Be sure
not to take too much time setting up your base. Take over the surrounding area
then head for the bridge to the east.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off with a nice army and some new Tortoise
units. Directly south of your starting position are an enemy Lodestone and some
Watch Towers. Use your Tortoise units to take care of the few enemy troops,
Watch Towers, and Lodestone. From the starting position, I then used my Beast
Riders and Automatons to head east and there were more Watch Towers along with
another Lodestone. The Watch Towers are spaced apart so try not to rush in or
they will do good damage against you. After I had taken care of them, I then
built a Smithy at the starting area. Build a few Mechanics and send them to the
various mana reserves. I then headed farther east and came to a bridge. Stop
there and build up some fixed defensive structures. I first made a Bomb
Sprinkler while logically positioning my Beast Riders for support around the
bridge. You can use your Tortoise units to then head south (southeast from your
starting position) and there will be a few more Watch Towers and another
Lodestone. Take over them and you will have a nice flow of mana coming in.
Also since it will be somewhat calm now it is a good time to try to take out
the enemy Watch Towers and Strongholds on the other side of the bridge. Taking
them out will take the pressure off your Beast Riders and lets them shoot
peacefully. Soon enough the enemy will assemble a good number of troops and
start sending them over the bridge. They are usually Horsemen and Knights.
This is the intense part of the map. The fast moving units will try to swarm
you and they will usually have one or two Catapults at the other end of the
bridge bombing away. By now I had another Smithy and an Academy being built.
Keep pumping out whichever troops you want. Be sure to send out some "slow
down" units like Automatons so your fixed structures and Beast Riders can have
ample time to destroy the enemy. You may notice by now that there is a small
strip of land at the very bottom of the map. This is a key area in winning this
map. You will need to build a Navy Yard here sometime. But not now as there
are two War Galleys that will attack if you stray too far east. Simply send a
Barnstormer to that area and the War Galleys will start heading toward your
troops at the bridge. Your numerous Beast Riders will make short work of them.
You will probably be having mana problems now since you will have all your
factories making troops. If the fast enemy troops are starting to advance over
the bridge into your area then it is a good idea to have a Bomb Sprinkler
continuously attack the opening of the other side of the bridge. The enemy will
get tangled up for a few seconds when trying to cross, and this will damage if
not kill them before they come across. After I felt like I had a good hold of
the bridge I decided to upgrade a few of my mana refiners into mana amplifiers.
After the first one was made I then constructed a Mirror to help kill the enemy
Troops that were crossing the bridge. I had tried to build another Bomb
Sprinkler closer to the bridge but it was too easy for the enemy to bomb it.
After the Mirror was finished, I built another mana amplifier. Now I had a good
mana supply flowing in. After I felt I had made enough troops for the time
being I then stopped all factories and built a Navy Yard. I built it at the
lowest left section of the river. Since ships are expensive I made one more
mana amplifier. It is best if you don't make an amplifier out of the mana
reserve closest to the bridge. As usual the enemy will easily bomb it. A good
method to stop the Catapults is to manually aim the Mirrors and see what they
are shooting at. Keep switching enemy blips until it says it is targeting a
Catapult or other long range unit. Once the third mana amplifier was built it
was time to make a navy. I built five or six ships and then looked for targets.
I immediately took out the enemy Divine Lodestone that was along the water.
There is also an enemy Barracks to the right of it as well. After taking both
out I then set a Barnstormer to guard one of the ships and sent them on patrol
below the enemy dock. This helped two fold. I was able to destroy one of the
enemy Barracks in the castle along with many of the bridge bound units. It also
distracted the enemy to the point that I was able to build a few more Mirrors
near my side of the bridge and to start moving my units into enemy territory.
While my land units were starting to make some headway toward the enemy castle I
then sent some Mechanics to build more Mirrors on the small strip of land
directly below the docks. I didn't have to worry about enemy bombardment as my
patrolling ships were protecting me. After the Mirrors were built I then sent a
Barnstormer in to scout. I targeted and took out an enemy Trebuchet, another
Barracks, Stronghold, and more harassment of the enemy troops. By now I had
taken over all the mana reserves outside the castle. The pressure to defend the
bridge had passed as I was now approaching the castle entrance. I built two
Bomb Sprinklers and had a healthy supply of Beast Riders outside the castle.
Along with the Mirrors I had built on my side of the bridge I had firm control
of the entrance. I then used both Smithies to pump out Tortoise units. As I
made headway into the castle, I took out the enemy Keep along with more
Strongholds and other structures. I even had two Stern Vessels full of Beast
Riders to unload on the south dock. I never needed them. I kept pouring in
Tortoise units and after destroying most of the important structures I then
brought in my Beast Riders that were guarding the castle entrance. They made
quick work of the remaining enemy and cleared out the castle.
Chapter 11-Kingsbarrow Hills-Hello! Talk about tense. This particular mission
is a hold out mission. Difficulty is either hard or near impossible, depending
on how well you play. You have been given orders to hold an area against the
Creons. Set up your base as fast and logical as you can. There will be packs
of enemies attacking you from all sides in this mission. The mission lasts
about 30-40 minutes. If you don't set your base up correctly then you are going
to be hitting the reload button a lot.
Strategy I used to beat: You are only given four mana reserves in this mission.
Two are above your starting position (left and right) and one is below your
starting position. I also upgraded the one directly left of the starting area
to a mana amplifier. It may not have been a good idea. I'll explain later.
For the first ten minutes or so, it is pretty much smooth sailing. You will be
confronted with packs of Automatons and Shock Troopers. Usually about six in
each pack. You have three major accesses to your base. Directly north,
directly west, and directly southeast. I walled in the southeast route.
Something I would advise to do as it made things considerably easier. I built
up Watch Towers on the west route first. One on each side of the road. Then I
headed to the north route and put two on each side. I then built some Spyhawks
and had them patrol so my Watch Towers had good vision. I then made a few more
Archers and put them all into one big group. I also set all the Mage Archers to
"Tracking arrow." This seemed to help a lot during the map. I then created a
Mage Builder and used him to wall in the southeast route. Then I walled in the
mana generators except on the sides facing my base. After I built up four more
Watch Towers (6 in total) on the west route I then got another Mage Builder to
start on a Stronghold behind the bottom three towers. After it was finished I
had him build another Stronghold behind two of my towers on the north route on
the right side. This position seems to have quite a blind spot with the mana
generator on the right corner. You should make it a habit to group the
Watch Towers and Stronghold on that side and manually aim them when needed. I
also was using Elsin and his earthen wave attack to quickly get into Gold
experience. After a few minutes, I decided to build a Keep. A Keep will be
worth the effort if for only one unit.........the Knight. He is invaluable on
this map. After the Keep was built I then made two Cannoneers and placed them
on the west route. They performed admirably on that side and had well over ten
kills each. I placed one behind each Watch Tower row. I then decided to build
a mana amplifier on my starting mana generator. If I was to play this map again
I definitely would not have done that. It took too long and it drained too much
mana. And the benefits of the amplifier weren't that apparent. I would have
otherwise built some more Mage Archers or Knights. After a bit you will start
to get annoyingly sniped by Tortoise units. They will use their shooting range
to the maximum and stay far away from your base. This is where the Knights and
their speed comes into play. If you have anywhere from 6-12 Knights at any
given time you should be OK. You will also be frequently ambushed by Neo
Dragons. They are really hard to kill with just two Watch Towers. I did all
right since I had so many Archers but building 6-8 Watch Towers on each route
would not be a bad idea. Eventually all but one of my Watch Towers on the north
side was destroyed. Luckily about 25 minutes into the map you get a few minutes
of peace and quiet to rebuild your base. I struggled on the north side with
just five Watch Towers, one Stronghold and Elsin guarding. However the west
side with its six Watch Towers, one Stronghold, three Catapults, two Cannoneers
and frequent hang out for the Archer pack was virtually impenetrable. For some
reason later in the map you run completely dry of mana. Either it is being used
to recharge Elsin's weapons or automatically healing something. But it was very
frustrating trying to repair while something was draining away +500 mana while
only gaining around +90. Just keep on your toes and repairing structures and
units when needed. Use hit and run tactics with the swift Knights against the
Tortoise units and wherever else they are needed. And when the Neo Dragons
attack, show them the fury of your Archer group (I had a mix of Mage and non
mage Archers from 8-12 units). The last few minutes are very tough. You will
get attacked by about 12 Neo Dragons from all sides, a bunch of Beast Riders and
Shock Troopers, and a good number of Tortoises. After the last main battle and
between breaths for repairs the Victory text flashed. Whew.
Chapter 12-Secrets Unveiled-This map is a welcome change of pace. This one
gives you a handful of units and you are to use them to win. You are given some
Archers, Barbarians, a Knight, and three Assassins. The map is not too easy but
it is very simple. Your mission is to investigate a Tarosian outpost and
destroy all its inhabitants.
Strategy I used to beat: You start of in the northwest corner overlooking a
cliff. The Tarosian outpost is down below the cliffs in the upper middle of the
map. If you rush right in you will most likely lose. There are a few enemy
Lichs that will use their life drain attack and quickly take your forces out.
What I did was use a cloaked Assassin to map out the area. The Tarosian troops
seem to be patrolling inside the outpost. We can use this to our advantage. On
the left side of the outpost is an area of fallen wall. Use your Knight to lure
some of the enemy into chasing you. Then have your Archers shoot them from
afar. I got a Skeleton Archer, two Fire Demons, and one or two Executioners to
follow me out. I killed them one by one. Then I traveled over to the right
side of the outpost. There is a Mage Tower just behind the wall in the upper
right of the outpost. It will try to shoot you and eventually break down the
wall and be able to hit you. After losing a few troops I then ran to the right
side. Since there is another break in the walls I was soon spotted by a
Skeleton Archer and two or three Lichs. The Lichs really hurt my troops with
their life drain attack and I lost most of my Barbarians. After taking care of
them, I then headed to the southeast corner of the map. There was a lonely
Ghoul hanging around and I killed him. There are also some wild boars loose in
the map but they don't pose much of a problem. Then I went to the middle bottom
of the map. I began to slowly make my way up towards the open bottom of the
outpost. I was then greeted by two more Executioners and one Fire Demon. After
sustaining some damage I then waited until I was fully healed. Now it was time
to destroy the Mage Tower in the lower left of the outpost. I hid one of my
Assassins behind a rock column that was to the lower left of the Mage Tower.
Sure enough it took the bait and was trying to shoot me. I then took the rest
of my army and attacked from the other side. My Knight got in two good swings
until the tower targeted him. As soon as his health started running low I drew
him back and my Archers and one lone Barbarian finished the tower. Finally it
was time to take out the upper right Mage Tower. This time I just rushed the
tower with everyone and when my Knight was low again I pulled him back and the
rest of the army finished the tower. Clearing the outpost was the goal so the
map is over.
Chapter 13-A Bold and Risky Plan-This map is similar to the last one. You are
given a finite number of troops with which to accomplish your mission. This map
is a little bit harder but only if you trigger its nasty surprise. You are
trying to find your way through the caverns and come out into Creon territory.
Rumor has it there are monsters living in the caverns. Sure enough there are.
Strategy I used to beat: This map is all clouded and you will have to explore to
find your way out. Fortunately I discovered the nasty surprise and mapped out
most of the level. So be happy you don't have to :-) The way out is really
simple. Just walk directly right from your starting position until you are in
the middle of the map. You will probably run across some Ghouls on your way to
the middle. They have high health but not that strong of an attack. They won't
pose much of a threat. Once in the middle, the way north should be
unobstructed. Keep heading north until you hit the top of the map. Then take a
right and keep going until you find a pair of Mummies. Defeat them if you wish
and they will laugh at you. This is your cue to know you are close to the end.
Keep heading right and you will come to the exit. Pretty simple. Now for what
you missed the first time around. If originally you kept on going toward the
middle and then down to the east border of the map you would have come upon
another path going up. There was another Mummy here that seems to call a BUNCH
of Ghoul friends. When you turn back and try to go the correct way there are
around 40 Ghouls and a few Devourers waiting for you. Also slightly above the
very middle of the map and to the right is another Mummy. He seems to call out
a few friends but it's only a couple Ghouls and one Devourer. If you follow the
correct path you will probably meet minimal resistance. That sure is some cool
looking green water.
Chapter 14-Yellow Jackets-This map is a rather fun one. It has a lot of good
battles. It is about medium difficulty. Your mission as the Yellow Jackets is
to destroy the loyal army's Keeps.
Strategy I used to beat: This one starts off rather calm. You are located at
the northwest corner on top of a hill. You are in a very dominant position
here. I quickly sent my Mage Builder to the mana reserve at the top right of
the base. I then sent another Mage Builder to acquire all three mana reserves
on the lower western edge of the screen on my hill. I then built another
Barracks thinking I would be swarmed soon. After it was finished, I built a few
more Watch Towers on the hill. I was also concentrating on making some Archers
and Horsemen. After a while the enemy starting attacking. Nothing too
powerful. Just a few Horsemen and Knights along with one Catapult. The key to
their attack was they went straight after the mana reserves at the lower western
edge of the hill. Something they will frequently do the entire map. I then
decided to start walling in my mana generators. Keeping one side open but
positioning the Walls to where they would block any unit bigger than a soldier
from getting in. You cannot build Mana Amplifiers on this map so try to protect
your generators as much as possible. I then built a Keep of my own. Like
Chapter 11 the Horsemen and Knights will help your effort tremendously here.
There are a lot of trees and other obstacles that will slow most other units
down too much. Also the fact that the enemy makes a lot of Strongholds. After
building a nice HorsemenKnight army I then sent them out to the northeast
corner. There were some enemy factories up there but I was killed before I took
them out. There were beginning to be more raids on my hill so I decided to
construct some more Watch Towers. Also a Cannoneer. I placed the towers under
the mana generator directly below my hill. I then made two more Watch Towers to
the left of the mana generator and dubbed this my "HorsemenKnight area." I
kept the original Barbarians as base guards along with all the Archers. This
turned out to be a pretty effective defensive layout. I never needed to build a
Stronghold of my own. I also made a small pack of Mage Archers for support on
the hill. You will get frequent attacks on all your mana generators so pay
attention and move your horse mounted army when needed. After scouting out the
enemy with Spyhawks I then decided to build a Trebuchet. My first targets were
back at the northeast corner. After a few minutes of bombing and one Knight
raid the entire area was flattened. I then took the remaining Knights and went
inside the enemy castle using the north entrance. There is another enemy
factory here and I took care of it. I then headed my troops down to the middle
exit of the enemy castle. I scouted out the area and gave my Trebuchet new
targets. By this time I started construction on another Trebuchet. I then went
after the enemy mana generator directly to the right of my lowest mana site on
the west edge. After assembling more KnightsHorsemen, I entered the middle
enemy castle entrance and headed up again. Just making sure nothing was
rebuilt. Nothing was. Now I moved them down into the southeast corner of the
enemy base. There are several factories, a Trebuchet, and Strongholds littered
here. Unfortunately, my two Trebuchets were not able to target most of them. I
then decided to build a second base parallel with the middle entranceexit of
the enemy castle. After moving down my horse army and making sure the area was
clear I then built three Watch Towers. Then having Spyhawks guard those
Watch Towers so I would have good vision. Now it was a matter of keeping enough
horse troops to protect the second base so I could build two more Trebuchets.
After they were built and a few minor skirmishes near the middle enemy entrance
I then scouted out the southeast corner again. This time I could target
everything. With Trebuchets flailing, I then invaded with my horse troops.
They harassed enemy troops and did a good job destroying enemy structures.
Eventually I destroyed the last Keep and the map was over.
Chapter 15-Alliance-This map has you in charge of a single unit. Heligrin, the
priest captain of the Cult of Lokken. It is his job to find Thirsha somewhere
in the jungle. This map is easymedium. Just take your time and know when to
attack and when to pull back. Since this is a rather nonlinear type of map I
will write what I generally did to win.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off at the very bottom middle of the map.
You will see a dirt road in front of you. Follow it up a little ways and it
will then split into two ways: Straight up or to the right. I took the right
road. As you venture along some wolves will start attacking you. They are
fairly strong and numerous. Either use Fire Ring or pull back until they quit
following you. After they were thinned out and killed I kept following the
road. The road keeps going right until it has another branch going up. If you
keep going right then you will go to the eastern edge of the map and start going
down. There are some Bats and a Death Totem waiting for you here. I then
turned back and took the branch that was going up. I came across some Jungle
Orcs. I killed them and moved on. I kept moving up to the top of the map until
the road started heading to the left. I proceeded left. I saw a bunch of enemy
Swamp Beasts gathering at a pond below me, and when I ran down to attack they
all scattered. I then stepped back onto the road and kept heading left. The
road then started going down. It had a branch that turned left but that only
led to a mountain and some Drakes. Stay on the road and take the second left.
I then passed by an enemy camp that was below me. A big group of Jungle Orcs,
Basilisks, Wisps, and Swamp Beasts came after me. Using a Fire Ring and
retreating I then spent the next 15 minutes thinning them out. Whenever I would
travel to that camp again there would always seem to be a few Jungle Orcs
patrolling. No matter how many I killed. I didn't know if there was an enemy
base there or if they simply would respawn. Perhaps there is just a large
number of them patrolling. In any case after 20 more minutes of sniping Jungle
Orcs, retreating, sniping again, retreating, I decided to just run past the
camp. The road kept traveling to the left until I came to another Jungle Orc
camp and some paved road. I attacked the Jungle Orcs and then had five chasing
me. Too many so I reloaded. This time I didn't attack and the Jungle Orcs let
me walk by. If I touched them they would attack but otherwise they were docile.
I then walked to the left of the Jungle Orc camp fearing there were more enemies
waiting at the top of the paved road. I then headed up and came to some steps.
Venturing further I came across Thirsha surrounded by more docile troops and the
map was over. I have heard from a couple of players that this map was really
hard for them. I think they probably made the mistake of trying to kill every
enemy unit or venturing into parts of the map that are supposed to be too hard.
Also, if you're having trouble killing things then be sure to kill the wildlife
around the starting area. You can easily get up to 10-15 kills and build up
your Gold experience that way.
Chapter 16-Nocturnal Horrors-This map is a nice stroll through the underground
cavern. It is pretty easy and has only one part where it can be a little hard.
Your mission is to continue to make it out of the caverns into Creon land. But
you are trapped by a river. You will have to build some War Galleys to get
across. There is also the fear that you have been found out by the Creons.
What lurks in the caverns ahead?
Strategy I used to beat: You start off with the same units you had in the other
cavern map. You are in the northwest corner. Move your troops east until you
hit the green river. Then make your way down until the river bends to the
right. Here is a good place to start building your War Galleys. There are some
Piranhas and Sea Serpents swimming in the water. They will attack your units if
you are close to the water and when you are building the boats. They aren't
really patrolling so if the area seems clear then start constructing. Once
four or five War Galleys are built then send them on a mission to clear out the
river. The Sea Serpents are very strong and have high hit points. You will
need a lot of firepower to take them down. The Piranhas on the other hand
are pretty easy to kill. Once the river is cleared out I then headed to the top
right corner of the river and unloaded. I basically used my Knight to scout
ahead and kill any Ghouls that were lurking about. He ended up having over 65
kills for the map. The exit to the map is at the southeastern corner. After
unloading my troops on the top right corner I then headed down. When the way
was cut off I then turned right and headed up. I then made my way back left and
up and then right. Once there I headed down and then left. Once at the left
corner you must go down and turn right. There is a small Creon army waiting for
you here. It's only a few Automatons, Shock Troopers, and a couple of Tortoise
units. Nothing too hard. Once they are beat keep heading right and the
mission ends. There is really no way you can get lost on this map and there
are no nasty surprise attacks anywhere. Just a few Ghouls and Devourers here
and there. Kudos to the Cavedog artists for making such cool water.
Chapter 17-Science Above Magic-Hmm. This map is very easy. Not that it is
simple. It's just that it could have been really hard and it was anything but.
Your mission is to take over the main Veruna Island Vidara. Once again you must
make a beach head and clear the island. Just like on Chapter 08. However this
mission is as easy as chapter 08 was hard. I don't know if the designers forgot
to put any AI routines on this map or what. It just seemed like the enemy
didn't really do anything other than stare at their shoes. Anyway, here goes.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off with a nice navy in the southwest corner.
I immediately headed north and took out the few Bastions that were guarding the
docks. Afterwards I unloaded my troops. I was moving them all into the open
beach through the entrance on the right while sending my ships farther north.
There are a Mortar and a Lighthouse on a small island above the starting docks.
It is easier to hit the units if your boats are at a distance. Doing this drew
the attention of a few boats which were easily destroyed. I then took my ships
back to the starting area. Now all my troops were assembled on the beach. I
then began looking for mana sites. From the entrance to the right this is where
they are: one directly south, one directly north, another farther south up the
hill, and another farther to the right of the north site. Take all of them and
you will have a nice mana supply flowing in. I then built a Smithy by the first
south mana site. After building some Barnstormers, I scouted north and east.
At the southeast corner is an enemy factory, a Bastion, and a gate. I then
built some Tortoise units and moved them into the walled city. Along the way
they destroyed two Watch Towers that were guarding the entrance. I then led
them south and cleared out the factory area. I then took the mana site that was
to the upper right of the Bastion. Now I assembled more Tortoise troops by
building another Smithy. I then constructed a Bomb Sprinkler near the path
uphill that was fed from the walkway with the palm trees. I then took a
Barnstormer and scouted the rest of the water. In the northwest corner is a
few more boats, one Sea Fort and one being built, and some Floating Towers. I
then took my ships up and cleared the area. Taking out a Trebuchet Ship and two
more dock Bastions during the journey. Now I started to head north with my
tortoise units and Beast Riders that were inside the walled in section on the
east side of the map. Up ahead and to the left was another mana site along with
Watch Towers, a few troops and a Bastion. I took care of them but I did not go
onto the docks. I headed back into the walled in section. I then made around
12 Fire Wagons and moved them to the docks where the enemy troops and Mortar
were hanging out to the left of the mana site. They killed them then headed to
the right through the entrance to the beach. I then moved them up the hill and
attacked two more Watch Towers and a Bastion. My units were killed. At this
time I had built up more Tortoise units and had them destroy the remaining enemy
structures. Now I moved them north to the next entrance and destroyed the
Watch Towers there. Up ahead is the entrance to the enemy base in the northeast
section of the map. I didn't go in yet though. I turned left and headed out
onto the beach on the upper dock area. I destroyed the few enemy structures
that were out there. Coming back to the base entrance I then destroyed the
Gates. Making my way in there I discovered a Divine Lodestone, Bastion,
factory, and a Sea Dragon was being built. I destroyed everything and then
destroyed the next Gates. Finally, I broke through into the northeast section
and destroyed the few enemy structures in there. I will end this strategy with
a warning. I don't know if perhaps my game somehow messed up or if the map was
meant to be this easy. The design of the map with all the beach paths and enemy
factories spread out gave me the impression that it could have been A LOT harder
than it was. Also the fact that some of the enemy troops were standing around
instead of attacking me. Plus, the fact that not many troops were made at all.
If this is how the map was supposed to play then so be it.
Chapter 18-Shining Hope-This is a rather intense but overall easy map. Your
mission is to escort Kirenna and her elite guard to the eastern water pass. It
initially seems like it will be a hard map but turns out to be rather laid back.
Strategy I used to beat: As stated earlier, the first five minutes or so are
really hectic and intense. Your forces are spread out with Lodestones scattered
everywhere. Along with enemy ships immediately to the right of Kirenna. You
will have some ships nearby but a little spread out. You can easily defeat all
the enemy ships with the navy you start out with. It's just getting them
together and concentrating their firepower. After the enemy ships to the right
of Kirenna's starting island are destroyed a few more ships take a northeastern
route and come out by the Lighthouse that is almost in the very middle of the
map. It seems they are taking that route to unload troops onto the big island
near the northeast corner. They unload Shock Troops, Chief Engineers, and
perhaps some other troops. That island is of no major concern for this map.
The enemy troops will shortly destroy the Lodestones that are placed there.
After most if not all of the enemy ships are destroyed a bunch of Neo Dragons
will then fly around destroying your Lodestones in the other parts of the map.
One will destroy the Lodestone directly below Kirenna. I sent Kirenna down and
destroyed the dragon and rebuilt the Lodestone. I then proceeded to build a
Guard Tower but the dragons would not let me. They would keep flying by and
attacking Kirenna. There will also be a large pack of Shock Troopers on
Kirenna's island as well. I decided to try to take them on and destroy them
with a Water Blast attack. There are too many of them, and they are spread out.
They made quick work of Kirenna. I then reloaded and this time decided to wait
up at the Lighthouse with the two Priest of Lihrs and pick them off one at a
time. While waiting for the Shock Troopers to come up to that area I started
building some Sea Forts over where my elite troops were. I built two of them.
Then started pumping out War Galleys thinking there would be more enemy ships.
There will be no more enemy ships made during the map. I then started making
some Guard Towers near the Lodestone on the elite island. By now the Neo
Dragons will probably start taking out some of your other Lodestones. Your mana
supply will probably start getting a little low now. Nothing to worry about too
much as the few dragons are the only enemies you will have to worry about. By
now the Shock Troopers had made their way to where Kirenna and the Lighthouse
were. Sure enough the Lighthouse would stun the Shock Troopers and I could
easily destroy them with Kirenna's long range attacks. Be sure not to use her
third Wave attack just yet. After killing about five Shock Troopers they then
started to congregate more. There were about six or seven together and this is
when I used the Water Blast attack. After killing all of them, I then headed
back to the Lighthouse and waited for the remaining 5-7 Shock Troopers to make
their way up. I then picked them off again and the island was clear. By now I
was pretty low on mana. After making a healthy supply of ships I felt ready for
any further enemy ship attacks. I then decided to load a Priestess onto a War
Galley and head south from the elite island. I was going to rebuild my
Lodestones. The small island southeast of the elite has two mana sites on it.
I built them up without any resistance. I then sailed to the small island with
one mana site at the southwest area. There was a Neo Dragon waiting for me
there. Since War Galleys can't attack air units I retreated. I then sent three
Flagships down and they destroyed the Neo Dragon. I then unloaded the Priestess
and she built up the Lodestone. I then built some Guard Towers to protect the
Lodestone. Meanwhile I had also rebuilt the Lodestone that was directly below
Kirenna and the Lighthouse. Along with a few Guard Towers and a factory. I
then sent her to all the mana sties on the island and built more Lodestones. On
my way to the Lodestone at the western edge of the island there was a lone Shock
Trooper patrolling. I quickly killed him. By now I also started making some
Mer Warriors from the factory. During that period, I had also made a Trebuchet
Ship to destroy any structures and troops on the northeastern island. I was
content to simply snipe the troops at this point since it seemed nothing
substantial was being built there. After making a big navy and many Mer
Warriors to help out I decided to load up the elite troops and head east. If
you are not sure which units are elite or normal just load up all the troops on
the elite island. I then loaded up Kirenna and sent most of the navy to the
east waterway. I met no resistance and the map ended.
Chapter 19-Treacherous Updrafts-This map is much like Chapter 06. You are
tasked with moving Heligrin and Thirsha through the area to the northwestern
area. This map is relatively easy with only one really strong opponent. That
being the Aerial Juggernaut. Take your time and build up your forces. Be sure
to admire the wonderful cold scenery too.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off near the middle eastern edge. Head
immediately north and there is a mana site there. Then directly south is
another one. Don't head too far south as there is a single Mirror there. You
won't have to worry about that section as there is nothing down there other than
the Mirror. I then built a Bat and scouted the area. To the lower left of the
starting area is an open section. I made this my base of operations. I built
two Death Totems and two Sacred Flames there. I then started making some
troops. The new Spirit Wolf unit made by the Beast Tamer is much like the
Veruna Berserker. Swift with a good attack. I mainly used them and Hunters as
my attack force. I then scouted the area to the lower left of my base. I
spotted another mana site. I decided to head there first. Some Beast
Riders, Shock Troopers, and two Gatling Crossbows were in this area. Using
Thirsha and her Wind Wave attack I cleared out some of the enemy. Then shortly
afterward attacked with my Spirit WolfHunter army. Once that is clear, do not
head too far west of the mana site as the Aerial Juggernaut is patrolling. It
will make quick work of your troops. There are Shock Troopers south of the mana
site. I again used Thirsha's Wind Wave attack to take them out. When this
area was clear I then used the Bats to scout more of the area. It is hard
sometimes to scout very far as the patrolling Aerial Juggernaut and Neo Dragons
to the northwest will usually kill them. I then took some more time and built
up some Shamans. Afterwards I used them to make Divine Lodestones out of all
three mana sites. Now with a healthy mana supply I made around 12 Stone Giants
along with more Spirit WolvesHunters. I then proceeded to the northwest area
across from my main base. There was a patrolling Neo Dragon along with some
Tortoise units. I killed them with my main army and headed west. There is
another mana site there along with an area with two Gatling Crossbows and some
Shock Troopers. There are also a few Automatons which my Stone Giants saw fit
to kill. However soon enough the Aerial Juggernaut arrived and quickly killed
my Spirit WolfHunter army. I then decided to build my own Ancient Dragon.
During this time, I then headed to the area southwest of the third mana site.
There are some more enemy units there. After clearing the area of them and two
more Gatling Crossbows I then headed Thirsha back right as once again the Aerial
Juggernaut arrived and killed the smaller army I had made. Once it had left I
moved Thirsha to the southwest corner and was greeted by a lot of Shock Troopers
and a Neo Dragon. There are too many Shock Troopers (about 12) to take on at
once so I then let Thirsha help out with the Ancient Dragon. Once it was made I
then headed to the northwest of my main base. Here I made a stand against the
Aerial Juggernaut and it quickly fell under the firepower of 12 Stone Giants and
the Ancient Dragon. I then moved my Stone Giants to the southwest corner to
take care of all those Shock Troopers. Heading there, I destroyed two more
Gatling Crossbows that are near the middle of the map and to the left. Once the
Stone Giants arrived they made quick work of the enemy. Now I moved Heligrin,
Thirsha, and my Spirit WolfHunter army to the northwest area. The way was
clear. When you come to a small dirt road in the northwest area with both
Heligrin and Thirsha the map will end.
Chapter 20-Monstrous Violations-Your mission is to go to the center of the map
and retrieve the Soul bottle. This map is a calm medium difficulty. You will
be winding your way through the Creon laboratory. The environment textures are
very cool. You are on metal walkways and grates venturing forth over bright
orange lava. Time to get that bottle!
Strategy I used to beat: You begin at the very bottom center. You also start
off with a very high mana supply. I immediately built a Beast Handler. After
which I built a Beast Tamer. While I had the handler making Bats, I used
Thirsha to build a Death Totem. Once built I placed a Sacred Fire behind it. I
then scouted to the left with a Hunter. At the far left he entered a room and
was frozen by a Mechanic. Now with some Bats built I started scouting with
them. By that time some Mechanics from the north walkway came down and my Death
Totem killed them. I then flew Thirsha up and at the end of the walkway was a
Chief Engineer. I took care of him then headed right to follow the walkway some
more. There were a few Mechanics in another room and I killed them. This way
is a dead end. By now I had scouted with the Bats. There are some mana sites
out in the lava on islands. They are to the left and right slightly above the
starting area. I made some Lodestones. Now I flew to the lower left where my
Hunter had been frozen. After clearing that room out I flew up and to the
right. Following the walkway, I came across another Chief Engineer and mana
refinery. Destroying both, I then made my own Lodestone. I then proceeded to
move Heligrin and my army to the room at the southwest where the frozen Hunter
was. My army mainly consisted of Hunters, Spirit Wolves, and the starting Taros
units. I then headed north on the walkway and came into another open room with
more Mechanics. Ridding the map of them, I then set up another base. I built
another Sacred Fire and a Shaman. I used the Shaman to build a Divine Lodestone
at the mana site directly to the southeast of the second base. I then created
three Death Totems to guard it. I then created a Roc and flew the Shaman over
to the southwest mana island. Here I made another Divine Lodestone along with
three more Death Totems. Having a good mana flow now I flew Thirsha up to the
second base room. Following the walkway on the right took me to another mana
site. Putting a Lodestone there, I then headed over to the left walkway from
the second base room. Heading up took me into another room with some enemy
units. Clearing it out I then made this my third base. Building another Sacred
Stone and Death Totem near the eastern walkway. Some Mechanics tried to walk
over to my third base from the east and the Death Totem showed them the error of
their ways. Flying to the east now the way split to the north and I followed.
There were some Chief Mechanics here and I killed them. Coming back down I then
cleared the island mana site to the lower left. I then headed to the right on
the walkway. A few more Mechanics and another split walkway heading up. It led
to another mana site. I came back down and cleared another island mana site to
the lower left. By now I was moving the rest of my army east over the walkway.
Finally flying all the way to the right and up I came across some Automatons and
enemy builder units. I then followed the walkway south and came into another
big room. There were some enemy units in there and I destroyed them. I was now
just to the right of the center area. There are about ten Shock Troopers and
several Gatling Crossbows inside the center room. The Shock Troopers were
patrolling near the right entrance and I used my Wind Wave attack to kill them.
This alerted the other Shock Troopers and they came to attack me. I then used
Heligrin's Fire Ring and killed all of them. Now it was time to storm in the
center room with my army and clear it out. Once it was cleared I sent Heligrin
in to the center and Lokken was brought back to life. Then the map ended.
Chapter 21-The Necromancer Returns-Now that Lokken is back it is time to break
out of the laboratory. Problem is the Creon force has blocked the way out.
This map's layout is exactly the same as Chapter 20. You also have the choice
of using either Taros or Zhon forces. I decided to use Taros. This map is
slightly harder than the last one.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off in the middle of the map. Now you have
control of Heligrin, Lokken, and Thirsha. Like the last map, I used Thirsha to
do a lot of the scouting and killing. I immediately took Thirsha north. There
are now enemy mana generators on the islands. I used my Hunters to target the
one on the right. By then some Mechanics came across the walk way above and
started building a Gatling Crossbow. I quickly stopped them. I then headed
farther north along the walkway and disposed of the enemy units that were in the
top area. Flying back to the northeast corner you will find a group of Shock
Troopers guarding the mana site. I used Thirsha's Wind Wave attack to kill all
of them. My Hunters had destroyed the enemy generator by then. I flew
back to the mana island to the left of the now destroyed one and there was
another generator there. I then used Thirsha and the Hunters to destroy it.
Meanwhile I had Lokken construct Lodestones on two of the four mana sites at the
starting position. I then built an Abyss factory. After the island mana
generator was destroyed I used Thirsha to build Lodestones on both islands. By
now some enemy Tortoise units from the big room to the right of the starting
position were shooting at Lokken. I then sent Heligrin and the Hunters over and
they took care of them. Now the Abyss was built and I started making two Dark
Masons. While they were being built I used Lokken to cover the other two mana
sites in the starting area with Lodestones. Once the Dark Masons were built I
had one start building a Mage Tower above the center pit and the other mason to
wait. I also ordered Lokken to start building Caged Demons around the mana
sites. I feared a big attack from Neo Dragons was coming soon. One that never
came. By this time I had Thirsha fly over and clear out the big room to the
right of the starting room. Again, I met minimal resistance. Once I had made a
nice army of Fire Demons and Skeleton Archers to complement my starting force I
then headed up. In the northeast corner is more Tortoise units. I killed
them. Now I started moving my army to the left. When they got almost to the
western edge of the map I sent Thirsha in to investigate. There were about four
Fire Wagons and some Shock Troopers waiting for me in the room. I once again
used the Wind Wave attack and killed them all. I then moved all my army into
the area and cleared it of the remaining troops. Then I sent Thirsha down the
western edge walkway and met some Beast Riders and Mechanics. After taking care
of them, I then moved into the big room that was the location of my second base
in the last map. Meanwhile I had created two more Fire Demons and used them to
snipe the Gatling Crossbows and mana generators that were directly west and
south of the starting area. By now I had moved Lokken and Heligrin to my army.
I then used Thirsha to head south down the walkway and to the right. She met a
few more enemy units and destroyed the enemy mana generator. Now I moved the
whole army to the southwestern room and cleared it. Then I sent my army into
the exit area which was the entrance on the last map. While Thirsha, Lokken,
and Heligrin were moving towards that area the map ended.
Chapter 22-Son of Garacaius-Ooooooooook. You know how I said Chapter 08 took
the title of being the hardest map? I think its successor has been found.
Within 20 minutes of my first play, I had my army's head handed to me. I tried
again. This time it took five minutes. Which got me to thinking. Maybe you
should not do certain things or it will trigger an enemy assault. See the end
of this strategy for some warning hints. I can't lie about the map's
difficulty. It's either hard or impossible. Not calm hard but tense to the
point of having a knot in your stomach hard. You basically struggle the first
25 minutes and then things start to turn around. Near the end of the map I was
clearly the dominant army. So much so that I even had thought about invading
into the enemy's territory. The map lasts 45 long arduous minutes. Your
mission is to hold out in the Creon city. The Mage King's children have arrived
in force. It's time to hunker down and repel them.
Strategy I used to beat: You start the map in the middle western area.
Immediately start building a Smithy. I built it to the right of the middle top
mana site. Once it was built I then started building another Smithy next to it
on the left. I also queued up five Mechanics in the first Smithy. Once the
first Mechanic was built I sent him to the upper left near the blue roofed
Senate building on the western edge. I then queued Walls until they almost
reached the end of the city above the Smithy area. When the next Mechanic was
built I sent him to the lower left where the building to the top right of the
Palace was. Again I queued up Walls until they touched the middle bottom mana
site. My plan now was to Wall myself in and force the enemy to attack me
directly from the east. Walling from those two buildings out gives you plenty
of space within to work and build. I actually didn't move too far inward. I
built up my base around the two middle mana sites. OK then. When the next two
Mechanics were built I sent one to help build the second Smithy and the other to
wall in the northwest mana refinery. After I had walled in most of the refinery
I decided to keep the bottom entrance open. I then connected the Walls to the
Senate. Effectively blocking the refinery off from enemy attack and if it was
destroyed I would have safe access to rebuild it. After the last Mechanic was
built I sent him to the southwest mana refinery and Walled it in as well. Using
the same method of keeping the base side open. Then Walling up to the Palace
building. Once that was completed, I then used him to seal off any other
openings among the buildings and main base Wall. Once both Mechanics were
finished with their area I sent them off to build up the other two mana sites
that were near. I Walled them in also. Leaving the base side entrance open. By
this time the other Smithy had been built. I had made a couple more Mechanics
to help guard the other Wall building Mechanics and used both Smithies to create
a few Barnstormer and Tortoise units. After I almost completed the entire
"Walling in" process I decided to build a Mirror to the lower left of the
Smithies. While it was being created I built more Barnstormers. I created
enough to guard all but the base mana refineries. I already had a Barnstormer
patrolling over the base. Using this method gives you good radar range. Being
able to scout and see the enemy early is crucial to winning this map (Neo
Dragons have a long radar range and help make spotting the enemy easier too).
All through the map the enemy will move Knights and Catapults to the original
clear mana site areas then move toward the middle to attack. Also note that the
Knights will usually head straight for the mana refineries in the starting
position area. By the time the first Mirror was finished a large enemy force
approached directly from the middle east. It is also essential to use your
Tortoise's long attack range effectively. Send in a few Tortoise or Automaton
units to slow the enemy down and snipe with your Beast Riders, Tortoises and
Shock Troopers. The enemy Knights are immune to the Mechanics freeze ray so use
their Taser attack also. I say that because around 55% of the total enemy
troops that will assault the base will be Knights. It is also imperative that
you space your troops out. Enemy Grenadiers will cause absolute havoc on your
forces if they are all squeezed together. Spacing them out causes you to
lose usually one unit from Grenadier fire instead of five. I also did not make
any Automatons or Fire Wagons the entire map. By now the base was completely
walled in (if you're having trouble picturing the walled in base then I will
explain in detail here. The Palace building has two buildings above it. The
building on the right was Walled all the way right near the middle lower mana
site. Then the Walls went diagonally up to touch the mana site's Standing
Stones. Then the Senate building was Walled right until the wall was diagonally
going down touching the Standing Stones of the middle top mana site. Then the
Palace was Walled down to the mana site directly below it. The Senate was
Walled up to the mana site directly above it. Completely sealing in the base).
The only way in and out was the well spaced middle mana siteSmithy starting
position. I noticed that I had placed my first Mirror a little too far back so
I decided to build once closer to the Smithies. Still to the left of the
Smithies and inside the base though. By now I was effectively dealing with the
enemy. I also learned a few valuable strategies. I left the initial Shock
Troopers above the middle top "base" mana site. There they would pick off any
enemies that made it through the front lines and also destroy the Knights that
would come down from the north. I also kept a group of two Tortoise units to
destroy the catapults from the north. I also did the same with the south end.
The Knights from the south would usually kill a few Tortoise units since they
didn't have the Shock Troopers to help out. I could afford to lose them though.
Also it's better if you move your Tortoise units towards the Catapults instead
of targeting them. When the Tortoises stop to fire the Catapults will fire also
and hit them. If they are moving and firing at the same time however the
Catapults can't aim at them. I had both factories pumping out Tortoise units.
One factory moving them to the right of the middle top "base" mana site and the
other factory moving them to the right of the middle lower "base" mana site. I
then would designate one Tortoise as the scout and move it out between the two
concrete raised platforms near the middle. If he spotted anything the other
Tortoise units would bomb away. I didn't go to the middle though. I feared I
would awaken more Grenadiers and other units. I then saw that I could use some
more Tortoise units so I built another Smithy. Using it exclusively to pump out
Tortoise units. Also around the 15-20 minute mark a big squad of enemies,
Rolling Towers, and a Gold Dragon will attack. The troops are not that big a
problem. The problem is the Rolling Towers and Gold Dragon. Make sure you keep
a healthy supply of Tortoise units at all times. When the towers and dragon
start to attack try to move a few more Tortoise units around them. This will
slow them down and distract them, allowing your Mirrors (I had three at this
point) to slowly snipe the towers. Of course while you are doing this the
Golden Dragon will snipe at your blocking Tortoise units. Eventually the
Tortoise units will die and the towers and dragon will head toward your base.
How do you kill the dragon quickly? SHOCK TROOPERS! I kept my original Shock
Troopers the entire map. Using all of them at once will allow you to kill the
dragon quickly. The dragon might retreat if he is taking lots of damage. You
can't send your Shock Troopers after him as they are too fragile and slow. Keep
them back and just wait until the dragon comes back. If he won't then see if
you can lure him back with a Tortoise unit. Once the dragon is killed use the
troopers to take out any remaining towers. The enemy attacks will now slow down
for a few minutes. Not too long though. Try to create more units and repair
any that are damaged that you want to keep. After doing that I then had a
choice to make: Do I build another Mirror or an Academy? Mana was getting kinda
tight with three factories pumping out troops. I decided to build an Academy
then a Chief Engineer. Once they were built it was a matter of holding out and
saving up enough mana to build an Amplifier. During the next ten minutes or so
my Tortoises got beaten down to around four units. Then three minutes later
they were back up to around 15. I kept fighting and holding out until I felt I
could make the Amplifier. There will also be few cloaked Assassin attacks
during the map. I decided to make a few more Shock Troopers to act as inner
base guards. Keep guarding your Mirrors as well as sometimes the Catapults will
target them. By now I noticed that the enemy didn't seem too inclined to try
and destroy any of my other mana refineries. They mainly went after my middle
"base" mana sites. After another calm period I built up the Amplifier at the
middle top "base" mana site. Ironically, the mana sites the enemy seemed bent
on destroying were also the safest. They were well protected by the Mirrors in
my base. If they ever got damaged they received immediate repairs. Once the
Amplifier was built I had a good steady mana flow. I thought it was time to
make another Smithy so I could have a healthy supply of Tortoises. The battle
kept going back and forth and I was tired of losing so many Tortoise units. I
also did not use the Academy to build troops. I just made sure I had a constant
amount of Shock Troopers (around 15) and Beast Riders (3). Eventually more
Rolling Towers will attack. These are tough battles. The towers will then
start targeting the north and south area mana sites. Becoming fed up with the
cheap tactics of the KnightCatapult raids I decided to build two Neo Dragons.
This proved very helpful. Instead of constantly baby-sitting the north and
south areas I just flew the Neo Dragons around. They easily destroyed the
Catapults. The Knights were then easily destroyed near my base from the
combined firepower. I just kept flying the Neo Dragons back and forth.
Eventually they got 40 kills each and became quite powerful. Around the 35-40
minute mark another big enemy squadRolling TowerGold dragon attack will ensue.
This time I was more prepared. I used both Neo Dragon's Freeze Storm attack to
freeze most of the units. I then handily destroyed the Rolling Towers with my
large number of Tortoises and Mirrors (4 at this point). Finally the Gold
Dragon had a good number of Shock Troopers shooting him. Afterwards the enemy
seemed to stop the KnightCatapult attacks and started using a few Grenadiers.
The Grenadiers specifically went after the northsouth area mana sites. I
easily spotted and killed them with my Neo Dragons. For the remainder of the
map the enemy will send high volumes of troops through the middle east route.
It became almost laughable how many enemy troops were being slaughtered by the
now well sized Tortoise squad. I had around 30 Tortoises. I also had three
Barnstormers patrolling near the middle of the map where the small circle is
located. This gave my Mirrors and Tortoises perfect range to bomb away.
Anytime a lot of enemy troops congregated I would use the Neo Dragon's Freeze
Storm attack. Eventually I didn't need to make anymore troops so I started work
on an Aerial Juggernaut. While it was being constructed I thought about
invading into the enemy territory. Around then the 45 minutes were up and the
map ended. Finally!
Warning hints: Since I was easily killed the first two times I played this map I
thought I would point out some things that you should not do. The first time I
played I tried to Wall the white concrete elevated platforms from their tips to
the northsouth edge of the screen. Thereby making the only entrance to my base
the very middle and having the whole left side of the map to myself. This
proved costly. It seems when you start building Walls in that area the enemy
will send out a large Knight army to counter. This makes it impossible to beat
early in the game and too timemana consuming later in the map. Therefore I
walled in a base in MY city. The city being everything to the left when you
start the map. The white stone covered section. I also read a few other
players strategies on how they beat this level. One person said they just built
a lot of factories and pumped out Tortoise and Beast Riders while shunning the
Shock Troopers. Another said they built a lot of Mirrors and walled them in.
Yet another said their entire base was destroyed so they hid their last two
units in the corner for the remaining minutes and won :-P
Chapter 23-March at Dawn-This map isn't nearly as difficult as the last one.
However if you do not act somewhat fast then the enemy can become entrenched and
it will be a nightmare. Also contrary to what the objectives say you can also
win this map by killing all the enemies. This will be difficult without an
Aerial Juggernaut though. There are three Veruna ships in the southwest corner
that have been seriously upgraded. I believe that similar to the last map if
you build at a certain place it will trigger the Veruna ships into unloading
their troops. What are their troops? Tough elite Amazons and a builder. I
will explain how to avoid triggering the unloading too soon. As stated this map
is pretty calm most of the way. The enemy seems to start off slow but things
are so spread out that if you take too much time then the map will only get
harder. Your mission is to build 12 Mana Amplifiers then last ten minutes with
all 12 intact. Creon will need this mana in upcoming battles.
Strategy I used to beat: Things appear to start off pretty grim. You have one
lone Mechanic in a huge city with a huge countryside as well. The mana sites
are spread out all over. Where to build first and which buildings are the enemy
troops hiding behind? Don't worry you are alone for the time being. I
immediately built a Smithy to make some Mechanics, Barnstormers, and Tortoises.
After scouting the immediate area and seeing it was clear, I decided to build up
the two mana sites directly below the starting position. I then headed to the
south to the next mana site by the white concrete raised platforms. It was the
mana site to the left. However, I had a suspicion that if I built a refinery on
the site directly to the right near the platform edge that some troops would
attack. I believe this is a trigger for the Veruna ships to unload. Later in
the game I was scouting the Veruna ship area and I built a refinery on that mana
site. Sure enough the ships started unloading. I'm not 100% sure if it will
cause the ships to unload every time but you can do without that one mana site
the whole map. After being paranoid from the last map I decided to wall in the
openings of the white raised platforms. I Walled in the entry ways and the
ramps on the raised platforms. Back at the base, I had already built another
Smithy and started making Tortoises. By now my Barnstormer had flown over to
the next two mana sites directly east of the starting position. There were some
troops there and the Barnstormer stirred them up and they started heading toward
my base. By then I had a good supply of Tortoises. I took them over and
engaged the enemy. There are Mage Archers stationed behind certain buildings
that will stun your troops. They are more annoying than dangerous. I kept my
Tortoises there and put mana refineries on the mana sites. Pulling my troops
back after clearing the immediate area I then constructed a Bomb Sprinkler at
the starting base. Back at the raised platform area I decided to completely
Wall my entire city in. There are enough buildings in the city's southeast
section to place Walls between each one. So, I thought it wouldn't take too
long. From the edge of the right raised platform I started walling directly
east until I came to a brown house. Then I connected that building to a blue
Embassy to the right. Then to a green Institute. I then saw the lowest row of
buildings in the city was too close to the unexplored countryside. From the
Institute I headed up to a brown building and then starting walling in to the
right on that row of buildings. When I got farther to the east a Knight and
Mage Archer were stationed by one building and they killed my Mechanic. Since
the "walling in" didn't draw too much attention I then took my sizable Tortoise
army and headed farther northeast between the next two mana site sections. A
Mage Archer and Rolling Tower were behind another building. After disposing of
them, I then headed to the northeast corner of the map. Disposing of a few
enemy troops along the way. Some Grenadiers and an Acolyte guarded the corner.
I then decided to keep my Tortoises there and build up another Bomb Sprinkler at
my base. Once that was built I then began scouting out more to the lower east.
I didn't scout any to the south in the countryside as I didn't want to stir up
any troops there. I was also slowly walling between the buildings sealing in
the city from the countryside. Now an enemy squad came to attack my base.
There were also a few Rolling Towers with them. The Rolling Towers were easy to
kill since the Bomb Sprinklers were able to hit them consistently. Once that
was clear I kept walling farther east until my Mechanics were being constantly
harassed. I then decided to build an Academy and create some Neo Dragons to
guard my Mechanics in that area. Now a few more Rolling Towers had made their
way over to the starting base. After killing them and building up more
Tortoises, the Neo Dragons were finally built. I made two and sent them to
guard my Mechanic that would be making walls. The Neo Dragon's extended radar
really helps in this level. I also sent another squad of Tortoises to destroy
the Rolling Tower in the southeast corner of the city. The southeast city
corner was now clear too. I then noticed that some enemy troops were coming
into the city from the countryside. I used my dragons to dispose of any that
were too close to my Mechanic. I now also noticed that an enemy Golden Dragon
was flying towards my base. I had already made around ten Shock Troopers at my
base so I was ready for him. He didn't seem to attack anything but just flew
around. Lucky me. After clearing the southeast part of the city I decided to
raid into the countryside using the Neo Dragons. I came upon more troops which
I used Freeze Storm on. Heading to the southeast corner of the map I found some
Priests building a Stronghold. I froze the Priests. I then noticed two
Trebuchets nearby. I destroyed both of them. Fortunately, there were only two
Watch Towers built here so my dragons had free reign. Moving more into the
southeast corner I found two enemy Barracks and a Keep. I destroyed them. I
now continued west and destroyed a few more Lodestones, Watch Towers and a
Stronghold. I felt relieved to have cleared out the countryside. During the
raid into the countryside I had also finished walling in the city. I then moved
my Tortoise troops in the northeast corner down to see if there were any enemies
there. There were a few more Grenadiers and a Flying Builder was making a
Stronghold. I quickly destroyed them. Also note that I had noticed that if I
destroyed all the Lodestones in the countryside that it would trigger the Veruna
boats to unload. I reloaded and left the remaining countryside Lodestones
alone. I then flew my dragons north. In between the last two vertical mana
site sections in the eastern part of the city is an enemy walled in base. There
are around six Watch Towers, four Strongholds, and a Keep. The enemy had also
built up the Lodestones nearby and another Barracks. I scouted the enemy base
and pumped out Tortoise units. I sent in around three squads of Tortoises
(about 12 each) and finally destroyed the enemy base with the help of the Neo
Dragons. Now I didn't have to worry about enemy troops in my city. I started
to build up the remaining mana sites when I flew my Neo Dragons back to the
southwest corner to see if the boats had unloaded. Sure enough, they had
unloaded and a Priestess was building a Lighthouse with all the elite Amazons
around her. I used the dragon's Freeze Beam attack on her and on a Priest as
well. This stirred up the Amazons and they attacked the dragons. Since I knew
they couldn't follow me into the city I flew to my base and had the Mechanics
heal them. I had noticed a new Enclave to the left of the Lighthouse. After
making two more Neo dragons I then flew back and destroyed it. Along with the
rest of the Lodestones. Now the enemies were numbered and had no way of
building anymore units. Since the enemy Amazons and Veruna ships were so tough
I decided to build an Aerial Juggernaut. After it was built I flew it down to
attack the roaming Golden Dragon. After it was destroyed I then flew farther
south and saw all the Amazons at the white raised platform entryway.
Fortunately I had walled it in and they couldn't enter. I attacked with the
Aerial Juggernaut. Having most of the Amazons attacking me made the
juggernaut's health drop quickly. I retreated and healed. Then came back and
destroyed them. Bypassing the 12 mana amplifier requirement I decided to
destroy the ships. They are very tough and I had to destroy them one at a time
(there are four) then head back and repair. Amazing how much damage a few
upgraded Skiffs and Transport can do. Finally after a few minutes I destroyed
the ships and the map ended. (I also went ahead and reloaded and beat the map
by creating the 12 Amplifiers. I left the Veruna ships in the southwest corner
alone. During the ten required minutes there were no surprise attacks or
anything. Once the ten minutes were up the map ended.)
Warning hints: It is suggested not to take too long getting things accomplished.
The first time I played the map I took my time and the enemy in the countryside
had built up a lot of structures and troops. I reloaded from an earlier saved
game and played more diligently. I don't know if walling in the city is exactly
the best overall idea. If I had built a lot more Tortoises and took out the
walled in enemy base in the east of the city first then it probably wouldn't
have been as tough as it was for me. If you don't wall in the city then be sure
to build up a good defense around your base. I'd suggest walling in the entire
white raised platform section though as this will slow down troops trying to
enter that way. Putting a scouting Barnstormer there will give you plenty of
time to prepare for the enemy attack. However with a good number of troops you
can use that entryexit to clear the southeast countryside. Whether or not
coming through the raised platform entryexit will alert the Veruna ships I
can't say.
Chapter 24-A Sage Determined-Looks like we have another 45 minute hold out
mission. This one is about the same in difficulty as Chapter 22. However it
has different challenges than the previous one. You won't be so overwhelmed
with large numbers of enemy troops as on Chapter 22 but you will be attacked
more frequently. Fortunately if you beat Chapter 22 then you most definitely
have the skills to beat this one. Again, the key here I believe is Walling
yourself in where the enemy can only attack from one direction. The difference
here is there are more flying attack units. You will also have GoldenAncient
Dragon attacks as well. Your mission is to show the combined forces of Aramon,
Veruna and Zhon that you can repel them. Hold out for 45 minutes and that will
show them they can't win this battle. There are 45 long minutes ahead of us.
Here we go.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off above the middle of the map. You have a
strong starting army as well as a healthy mana supply. A Smithy and an Academy
have already been built. Along with all the mana refineries you will need.
Don't try to take over any of the other mana sites. They are heavily guarded
and you already possess enough refineries to make it through the map.
Immediately I made some Barnstormers to scout the surrounding area. All the
enemies are south of you. There isn't any hiding around you or in the northern
corners. This gives us time to start Walling in the base. I sent the starting
Mechanic down to the lower right of the starting area. There are four small
brown houses at one section. From the bottom house I started Walling east and
connected to a Manor. From there I Walled a little more until a roaming band of
Hunters started attacking. I then headed back up to my army and used my Shock
Troopers to kill the Hunters. A few also attacked the single mana refinery in
the northwest area. There will also be a similar Hunter army on the lower west
mana site section. I decided to send the Sage over to dispose of them. After
all the Hunters were killed I resumed the walling in process. I sent the
Mechanic back to the lower right as well as sending the Sage south to a green
Great Hall. From the Great Hall, I walled west to a blue Embassy. Then to a
brown building then to a Distillery. These buildings are directly below the
lower left mana site section. I was going to wall all the way to the west side
of the map and seal that section off. By now I had made a few more Mechanics
from the Smithy and had them go guard the Mechanic to the lower right as well as
the Sage. I also had moved all of my army between the two middle mana
refinery sections. I decided to use a few more Mechanics to build some Gatling
Crossbows at the lower left mana section. Back to the Sage he had walled in
about half way to the western edge when I saw a pack of enemies below me. I
decided to keep the guarding Mechanics walling in and sent the Sage down to
confront the enemy. It was just a few Goblins, Basilisks, and Trolls. I took
care of them with the Energy Blast attack. I then headed him back to help wall
in. The Mechanics on the lower right side had made it all the way to my bottom
mana refinery. I walled the bottom side in then I headed diagonally up to the
right to the next mana refinery. By now I thought I might also draw some enemy
attention so I sent one Mechanic to a house that was northeast of the lower
right mana site section. I started using him to Wall to the east. He walled
right to a Manor (it has another Great Hall above it, just so you know exactly
where I'm talking about) and then to a few more buildings until the eastern edge
of the map. I then had another Mechanic diagonally wall up from the middle mana
refinery up to that first building that has the Manor to the right of it. This
whole walling in process went totally undisturbed. After a little while longer
the entire east portion was sealed off. Since there was still a huge gap in the
middle section below the starting area I decided to start walling in some more.
From those four close houses where I originally starting walling in I walled
diagonally down and to the left. I wanted to make a nice choke hold section
between the bottom left Great Hall and walls from the four houses area.
Meanwhile the enemy had become interested in what my Sage was doing. When there
were about five more walls to build to seal off the west section he got attacked
by another squad. It was basically the same army I killed last time but they
also had a Stone Giant sniping me from afar. After killing the squad I then
headed to the right to draw the Stone Giant's attention away from the western
wall process. He followed and then I headed back left and helped finish the
walls. I now had a few more weaker enemies chasing me so I had to move the
Sage all the way to the middle where it wasn't walled in. This was fine as by
now the Sage's Energy Blast attack was fully charged. I then headed the
western Mechanics to the lower left mana refinery section to build several
more Gatling Crossbows. By the time the Sage came to the right of the bottom
left Great Hall I decided to place four more walls to the right of the Great
Hall's right side. By now I could start to see some enemy activity below me
to the south. I then moved my Tortoises, Shock Troopers, and Automatons near
where the Sage was. I then used the Sage to help wall in the remaining
queued walls from the four houses area that were heading diagonally to the
lower left near the Great Hall. I kept about a 20 Wall opening from the
bottom left Great Hall to the diagonally made walls from the four house area.
By now I started to get bigger enemy groups attacking. I did not make any
Automatons the entire map. I exclusively made Tortoises, Mechanics when needed
(around five at all times), Shock Troopers, and Neo Dragons. By then I also had
most of my mana refineries being guarded by Barnstormers. I also always kept
a few patrolling around the base choke hold opening. I felt confident since
my side of the map was totally sealed off. I knew any enemies that would be
attacking must come through the bottom middle choke hold section. That was
until the Gryphons, Harpies, Wisps, and Drakes started attacking. Their first
attack wave totally caught me off guard. My Shock Troopers were fortunately
not too far out of position. It seems for about the first 15 minutes of the
map the aerial assaults will be against the bottom left mana refinery section.
There will also be some Stone Giants below it bombing away with boulders.
They can usually throw over the Walls. They weren't always accurate but the
giant's attacks were something I always kept an eye on. I now had started
work on a Mirror. I placed it in the middle left between the two nearby mana
sections. This gave me a good angle on the base opening and also to kill any
aerial assaults on the left mana section. Also, at this time I decided to make
more Shock Troopers and build a few more Gatling Crossbows to defend the lower
left mana section. After around six troopers were made I then made a few more
and sent them to guard the lower right mana section. Around the 12-15 minute
mark a Golden Dragon appeared on the scene. He was more annoying than
dangerous as I used my good supply of Shock Troopers to take care of him.
About two minutes after he died an Ancient Dragon then attacked. Both
dragons caused some damage but nothing severe. They also both attacked either
the lower left mana section or the opening of my base. Once again I used the
Shock Troopers to kill the Ancient Dragon. I always kept a healthy squad of
Shock Troopers slightly above the lower left Great Hall. This was to kill
anymore dragon attacks and to halt the aerial attacks. For the rest of the map
about every four minutes you will get some sort of aerial attack. Usually it
was nothing too hard to repel. Though sometimes around seven Harpies attack and
they will usually turn one or two of your troops against you. They will also
try to turn your Barnstormers against you. I assumed this was because there
were some Trebuchets somewhere. If they took over your Barnstormers and flew
into your base then they could scout for the Trebuchets. However, I don't know
if this is true since I never saw or heard a Trebuchet attack. I probably had a
total of five units switch sides. Nothing too harmful. I had made another
Smithy by now and was pumping out Tortoises. I then would use the same strategy
as on Chapter 22. I would send a few Tortoise units out to scout and the other
units would bomb away. By now I had also made another Mirror. I placed it near
the other one. Around the 18-22 minute mark, the enemy will start sending
squads of Knights, Mage Archers, Catapults and Grenadiers to attack the lower
right mana section. Since the walls are blocking their advance, they will
usually just attack the most southern mana refinery. Always keep a Mechanic in
this area so he can quickly rebuild it. Afterwards the enemy squad will head
left towards the base. I saw that they usually had to go down and to the left
to where the opening of the base was. It was fortunate since the Catapults
didn't try to bomb away from a great distance. They also would try to go
through the base opening. I saw that this was a great opportunity to build a
Bomb Sprinkler that could snipe the enemy in this area. I built two Bomb
Sprinklers in the four close houses area. This proved to be a very good spot as
they can easily take out the Rolling Towers that come from that direction later
in the map. By now I had started work on some Neo Dragons. I also had built up
more Gatling Crossbows (around 7) in the left mana section. Once they were
finished there I headed over to the lower right mana section and built a few
more Gatling Crossbows. Feeling confident in my defenses, I then decided to
build a few Chief Engineers to make mana Amplifiers. Around then my two Neo
Dragons had been created. I then used them to great effect near the lower right
mana section. I reaped havoc on the slow moving Archers, Grenadiers and
Catapults. I was constantly freezing units. Which would block new enemy units
and slow them down. By the end of the map there were dozens upon dozens of
frozen enemy troops in that area. Later in the map I made two more Neo Dragons
but by then both of my original ones had over 50 kills each. Anytime there was
a great congregation of enemy troops near my base opening I would use Freeze
Storm on them. Also if you have three of more dragons then it becomes quite
easy to kill the Stone Giants. Overall, the dragons made the map a lot easier.
After the 25 minute mark I started to notice that some of my walls near the base
opening were starting to crumble. The constant bombardment of fire was wearing
them out. I made sure I kept a few Mechanics nearby to rebuild any destroyed
walls. Around this time the enemy will start sending a good amount of
Berserkers to attack. They will run through the gaps in the walls and be really
annoying. There will also be a good amount of KnightsHorsemen that will do the
same thing. It seems they didn't like the Bomb Sprinklers all that much. I
decided to partially wall in the Bomb Sprinklers and it seemed to help a lot. I
also made a few Fire Wagons and used them as guards in the Bomb Sprinkler area.
From this point on in the map there will be some calm periods. I used these
periods to build a few mana Amplifiers. I built up all three on the lower left
mana section. I then headed over to the lower right mana section and built two
more. I did not build one on the lowest mana site since it was the main focus
of the enemy in that area. Instead I headed to the northeast mana section and
upgraded all the of sites there to Amplifiers. I also built up some Gatling
Crossbows to add defense in the northeast mana site section. The enemy never
attempted any aerial attacks on any of the northern mana sites. Once the
Amplifiers were all built I then headed back to the starting area and starting
building an Aerial Juggernaut. I had four Chief Engineers at this point.
Around the 30-35 minute mark you will get another GoldenAncient Dragon attack.
This time I was ready for them. The Ancient Dragon flew up from the southwest
and attacked the opening of the base. With my Shock Troopers I killed him in 15
seconds. The Golden Dragon was attacking some Tortoises I had scouting below
the base opening. I led the Tortoises to the upper left where the Shock
Troopers were. The troopers killed the Golden Dragon in about 20 seconds. I
had also built up another Mirror. Around this time, I started to notice that
the enemy was sending Dirigibles near the base opening. Again, I figured they
were trying to scout out for some hidden Trebuchets. None of the Dirigibles
ever got too close to my base. I would easily kill them with the Mirrors. I
had also tried a few times to attack the enemy bases to the south. There are
many fixed defensive structures and enemy troops there. I could almost go to
the very bottom of the map but never to the southeast or southwest. I decided I
would just hold out until the 45 minutes were up. Around the 40 minute mark the
Aerial Juggernaut was built. I sent it on patrol around the opening of the
base. I then moved most of my Tortoise army past the base opening. This is
where the map became fun. Literally no enemy troops could even get close to my
base. The juggernaut's huge range combined with the Tortoise's firepower made
it very hard for the enemy. The next five minutes passed quickly and the map
was over.
Chapter 25-Perilous Balance-This is it. The final chapter in the game. It has
been a long yet fun path leading here. The children of Garacaius have formed an
uneasy alliance to fight the Sage of Creon. The Sage is completely surrounded
by all four Monarchs. It is simply a matter of waging battle to the middle of
the map and slaying him. However, this will be more difficult to accomplish as
the Sage has many elite troops and structures guarding him. The difficulty is
hard to very, very hard. I would not say impossible since there are various
ways you can beat this chapter. If one way is not working then you are able to
change your tactics and try again. Something I had to do three times. Also the
longer you take the harder it will be to beat the map. More enemy structures
and troops will be constructed. Since your goal is to only kill the Sage this
gave the designers reason to make it so hard to get to him. This map took me
around three hours to beat. I tried two strategies to kill the Sage and both
were met with failure. The third one however proved to be successful. You
start with all four Monarchs including Heligrin with Lokken. Which force should
you build up and use exclusively or does a mix of units work best? There are
many choices to make ahead. Now it is time to take out that Sage.
Strategy I used to beat: You start off with all four Monarchs in each corner.
Lokken also has Heligrin with him. Since I had so much reserve mana and good
starting armies I didn't know what to do first. I sent my fast units to the
surrounding area. There are three mana sites directly around each Monarch. I
noticed this and starting building mana generators. Also, the mana sites that
are closest to the center of the map are where your main bases should be. Take
Elsin for example. He has mana sites directly to the southeast, northwest, and
southwest of his starting position. The southwest mana site is where he should
place his fixed defensive structures. When the enemy attack they will always
come out of the opening in the white raised platform area that is farther
southwest of the starting mana sites. Apply the appropriate direction for the
other Monarchs. I will go ahead and explain what I found to be the two best
defensive structures in this map. The Stone Giant and the Death Totem. The
Stone Giant's long range and strong attack help take out the strong enemies
well. I used Watch Towers, Guard Towers, and Caged Demons at the other Monarchs
areas but eventually I made around 8-10 Stone Giants in each Monarch area. It
seemed the Bastions, Strongholds and Mage Towers just didn't have enough
effective range to keep the enemy far enough away from the bases. If I play
this map again I will immediately make Beast Lords and transport them on a Roc
to the other Monarch areas and build the Stone Giants. The Death Totems seemed
to be the best fixed defense structure. They have a nice range and can take
some damage. Build up your respective Monarch's own defenses if you want some
immediate protection but then dismiss the structures when you start making the
Zhon units. I did not get attacked for about 8-12 minutes. I had plenty of
time to build up my forces in each corner. I then sent out scouts. You will
see more mana sites around the white raised platform areas. Building on these
sites later in the game seemed to draw some attention. There are patrolling
elite Neo Dragons in those areas though so I didn't feel the need to build them
up. The starting mana sites are the only ones I used. Fast moving troops are
key to winning this map so I started construction on two Citadels to make
Berserkers. I actually never used any of the starting troops except Lokken's.
He seemed to meet lots of heavy resistance the entire map. Feeling like each
corner was adequately protected I decided to start building Trebuchets at
Elsin's corner. I built two then scouted near the middle of the map to look for
targets. The entire game I could not scout directly into the center of the map.
There are too many Shock Troopers, Beast Riders, and elite Mirrors that will
kill scouts quickly. The best I could scout out were the edges of the middle
section. I eventually started sending in five of each scouting unit at a time
to see a little farther into the unexplored areas. There will be some middle
border area Mirrors, Bomb Sprinklers and mana Amplifiers you can bomb. They
won't be rebuilt but the enemy will just build more behind them. When they did
rebuild the mana sites they usually put refineries instead of amplifiers. By
this time I had also made three Dark Priests and flew them around to all the
mana sites and upgraded them to Divine Lodestones. The Monarchs can help in the
building of ANY unit or structure. They just can't make any other units
or structures than their own. I didn't upgrade the mana sites that were at the
corners of the bases that faced the center of the map. So, I ended up with
eight Divine Lodestones and a nice mana supply. By now I had also started
walling in each corner. I used the map edge mana sites and walled inward toward
the mana site at the front of the base. Walling myself in was a waste of time.
Like stated earlier the enemy always attacked me from the same direction and
never tried to flank my base. Eventually after noticing this fact, I then had
troops attack the Walls to bring them down. I presume that the more Walls you
have the less unitsstructures you can build since the unit limit is 200. While
building the Divine Lodestones I decided to construct a Fallen Angel. While it
was being made I then started building an Ancient Dragon. Around this point I
was getting somewhat frequent enemy attacks. I would always start each attack
off by moving my Monarch near the enemy troops and using their "group killer"
attack. Then head back and while the enemy was following me the base defenses
would bomb away. Since Lokken's corner got a lot of attacks he had well over 45
kills. Around this time I had also made some more Trebuchets in Lokken's corner
and Kirenna's corner. You won't be able to win this map by staying in your
corners though. You will have to make another base closer to the center of the
map. More on that later. Soon you will be receiving an attack from a highly
upgraded Aerial Juggernaut. They are very strong and have high defense. The
juggernaut attacked Elsin's corner first. It took out around five Watch Towers
and a few troops before being destroyed. If you haven't had a chance yet to
build Stone Giants then build StrongholdsBastionsMage Towers. They help out
with the Aerial Juggernauts and usually are not targeted by it. This is where
you will start to see how superior the Stone Giants are in destroying the
juggernauts. The giant's long range and strong attack help out tremendously.
They are also strong and can take several shots from the juggernauts before
being destroyed. It is also recommended to place a Sacred Fire in the middle of
all the Stone Giants to help out with their repair. It is also advised to use
Dirigibles to guard the base corner mana sites. This way the Dirigibles long
scouting range compliments the Stone Giants long attack range. By now I had
completed the Fallen Angel and Ancient Dragon. I then decided to use them in
defending some bases from enemy attacks. They weren't all that useful. The
Fallen Angel's "group killer" attack is amazing but takes too long to activate.
Likewise the Ancient Dragons "group killer" attack was too weak. I was going to
have to storm the center of the map someway. I had already made two Citadels in
the Veruna corner. I was going to try to swarm the enemy with Berserkers (I
made around 35 of them). After a few failed swarm attempts I abandoned that
plot. I had the right idea though, just the wrong unit. The Berserkers are
swift but lack hit points. I hardly made it up the center hill before all of
them were destroyed. The enemy also started paying more attention to Veruna's
corner. For the next 30 minutes or so, I received wave after wave of enemy
units. I was able to fend them off but I was having trouble. This is when I
thought about placing Stone Giants around the other three Monarch's bases. Once
I placed around eight giants at the Verunan corner it became almost fun
defending the base. All the Stone Giants quickly got into Gold status. Which
also helps them kill the Aerial Juggernauts more quickly. I was now using both
a Dirigible and the Ancient Dragon to guard the Veruna base. The Ancient Dragon
has even more scouting range than the Dirigible but his guarding pattern is
erratic. I had to set him to passive mode so he wouldn't chase after the enemy.
By now I had started work on a Black Dragon. For the next 40 minutes or so I
kept trying to scout and build up Trebuchets. Then bomb away with the
Trebuchets and try to storm the center section with troops. It simply was not
working. The troops I were using just weren't fast enough and died too quickly.
I then had another idea. Perhaps I could send in some Knights as scouts and
send in a large wave of Wisps and kill the Sage that way? While this is always
a good strategy to use it doesn't work well here. I actually did get the
Knights to the Sage. He is located near the very middle in a fencedwalled in
area. He also hangs around the big white Tomb of Garacaius. Feeling good about
spotting him, I then sent my large Wisp squad (about 20-25) to kill him. Most
of them never even made it that far. There are too many elite Neo Dragons and
Mirrors around the center area. I then decided I needed to get closer to the
center. I had already made one Keep to build the Knights. I decided to build
two more Keeps and pump out Knights. I would collect the Knights slightly to
the bottom right of the Aramon base. They would then enter the center map area
through the northeast opening of the raised white platform areas. If you look
you will notice two white paths that lead to the center of the map. One is near
the very top of the map and the other is almost at the very bottom. They both
lead towards the center of the map and end at the top of hills. I chose to
build my new base a little to the north of the top path. The bottom path seemed
to have more troops patrolling and more Mirrors guarding it. The top path only
had minimal enemy defenses. I planned to build up a lot of Trebuchets in that
area and fortify them against attacks. I immediately built around ten Stone
Giants and five Death Totems. A Lighthouse and some Watch Towers as well. I
then used either Elsin or Kirenna along with Thirsha guarding to build up Walls
around the square end of the white path. It is a little hard to build walls at
that exact area so I built them a few steps before the path's square end.
However, I was still on the hill. I made the Walled in space big enough for two
Trebuchets. While building the Walls I drew more enemy attention. The Stone
Giants did a good job of killing enemies on the hill. None ever made it down
the hill actually. There is also a Bomb Sprinkler directly below the end of the
white path. It will be attacking while you are trying to build up the Walls. I
also noticed that Kirenna seemed to build Walls faster than Elsin. Eventually I
made around four Trebuchets at the base and one in the walled in section. I was
now waiting for some targets. This is when I attacked with my big Knight army.
Using squads of around 12-15 Knights I would then head up the center hill and go
near the top of the hill. This would give the Trebuchets targets that were
fully in their target range. I targeted an enemy Smithy, Mirrors, Bomb
Sprinklers, and Gatling Crossbows. I destroyed them all. Also please note that
the Aerial Juggernauts DO NOT seem to be constructed. Once one is destroyed
another one is built instantaneously. Usually they don't attack until after
some time. Now though since you are attacking near the Sage if you get in the
Aerial Juggernaut's range it will immediately head toward one of your bases.
When the Knights attacked the first time the juggernaut headed for the Aramon
base. Every time after that it headed toward the new Trebuchet base at the top
white path. A few times the juggernaut destroyed all of my Trebuchets. I then
would build them back up and attack immediately with more Knights. Since this
would trigger the juggernaut to attack my base I would lose all my Trebuchets
again before I could bomb with them. I eventually made more Stone Giants to
help attack the juggernaut as well as more Death Totems. I also built around
seven Trebuchets and spaced them apart. By now I had also built all four Sacred
Dragons. I then had them rest by the Trebuchet base and attack the juggernaut
when it would attack me. Pretty soon the juggernaut would only destroy two
Trebuchets at most. I was then able to destroy most of the surrounding enemy
defenses that were guarding the Sage. Problem is there were always a large
supply of enemy troops around him. It's not so much that the enemy troops would
quickly kill my Knights. It was the fact that there was so much debris in the
way for my Knights to get around that by the time they made it to the Sage most
were already severely damaged if not dead. I then tried targeting the Sage with
my Trebuchets. This didn't really work too well as it seemed the Sage always
kept moving around. However, I did have hope because more Knights were getting
through and at least getting a few swipes on the Sage. During the last few
Knight attacks I was constantly rebuilding Trebuchets and healing structures
from juggernaut attacks. Eventually I decided to make a lot of Knights at once.
I would then send in three squads one after another. When the first squad was
almost dead I would immediately send in the next squad. Fortunately, the Sage
was in perfect position when I decided to do this. Unfortunately, he also had
dozens of units around him. Enough Knights got through to him though and caused
some damage. I then sent in the second Knight squad. While they were making
their way to the Sage I sent in the third squad to attack the enemy troops that
were around the Sage. When the second squad began to surround the Sage I then
sent in all four Sacred Dragons to attack the Sage. I had the dragons use their
middle attacks. Sure enough the combined firepower whittled the Sage down and
he was literally two Knight swings away from dying when "Defeat" flashed on my
screen. I was so enthralled in the Sage battle that the Aerial Juggernaut had
attacked my Trebuchet base and killed Thirsha. UGH!! I reloaded and moved
Thirsha to a safe distance. This time the Sage was destroyed. Whew!
Hints: This map literally took me all night to beat. There were a lot of
choices to make. With so many units to use which ones are the most effective?
Where do I place the Trebuchet base? How do I make sure I won't get swarmed by
strong enemies? To answer these questions I will say what I would do if I were
to play this map again. I would immediately start making Beast Tamers and Beast
Lords. Then move them to all the corners and build 8-12 Stone Giants and 4-6
Death Totems. I then would upgrade the Lodestones into Divine Lodestones. Once
the bases were secure I would start making Sacred Dragons. I would then head to
the top white path. I would bring along a healthy supply of Stone Giants. I
then would build Walls at the square end of the white path. While also making a
good number of Trebuchets. Back at the Aramon base I would build 3-5 Keeps and
make large amounts of Knights. I then would attack with the Knights and bomb
away any enemy structures. Something to keep in mind is with a healthy Stone
GiantDeath Totem defense you will need minimal ground troop support. The enemy
simply won't make it close enough to your base. Keep a few troops around though
for the enemy Tortoises as they like to snipe sometimes. Also, Thirsha is
probably the best overall unit on this map. She can help build anything and her
Wind Wave attack is very strong against the enemy.
-------------
Hidden Levels
-------------
Yes, that's right. There are two hidden levels in IP. Well, perhaps not two as
they may both be the "Creon Glory" level. At first I was curious to see if it
was in fact true. I downloaded the "Creon Glory" map and looked at its .hpi
file in a .hpi viewer. I then looked at the Cavedog .hpi files. Sure enough
there is a level 26 in the "IPMission.hpi" file. It has the same objectives as
"Creon Glory." Where the second hidden level comes from is the name of this map
is not "Creon Glory" but "Father's Day" in the "IPEnglish.hpi" file. In "Creon
Glory" you can build the Ghost of Garacaius unit. Perhaps "Father's Day" meant
you would build the Garacaius unit and he would kill all of his monarch
children. I also read that Cavedog included all the information for the map in
IP. Just not the actual map. I don't know if there are any hidden levels in
the original TA: Kingdoms. "Creon Glory" is the exact same map as Chapter 25.
The only difference is now you are the Creon Sage and you must defeat all the
monarchs. If anyone wants this map then email me and I will send it to you.
The file is only 88KB so it is a very small download. These are the
instructions on how to play the level:
1. Copy the file into your Kingdoms folder.
2. Modify your TAK shortcut with
"C:CavedogKingdomsKingdoms.exe -disablecavedogverification"
3. Now you will see "Creon Glory.tdf" on the campaign screen.
4. You will probably have to insert your original TA: Kingdoms CD to play it.
You can also download it from this site as well:
http://www.offlinegames.de/files/creon_glory.hpi
Chapter 26-Creon Glory-As stated earlier this map is the same as Chapter 25.
The only difference is now you are the Creon Sage. You are surrounded by the
pitiful magic wielding Monarchs. I thought it would be an easy map since I
thought I would start off with all the elite Creon troops. You don't. You even
have to build the Aerial Juggernaut. Oh well I always like a good challenge.
Please note that the objectives say to destroy all the enemy forces. I did just
that but the map did not end. However, if I killed the Sage then the map would
end. I don't know if the map is not supposed to end after you kill all the
enemy units. Perhaps it was a bug in my game. I did notice that I fought only
three deities. The Taros deity was the one I did not fight. Maybe the game
messed up and put three instead of four? Thereby I couldn't "technically" kill
all the units. It was a bit of a let down but otherwise I would say that I did
beat the level. I did have to restart the level once as early on I got the
Aramon deity mad at me, and he destroyed my entire base. I'd have to say he is
the toughest unit in the game that I played against! Anyway, it is time to
fight off these intruders and show them the glory of Creon!
Strategy I used to beat: You start off in the very center of the map. You also
have a small army around you. Your mana supply is pretty low and there are no
walls or defensive structures already built. I immediately built two Smithies
to the lower left of the Tomb. I was going to build plenty of Mechanics to Wall
myself in. After the Smithies were built I then built up the four mana sites
that are around the tomb. I had also sent the Mechanics to start Walling in the
outer mana sites. The upper Mechanics would wall in the mana site and wall down
to the middle of the hill. The lower Mechanics would wall in the mana site and
wall up and meet the other Mechanic. You don't have to worry about walling in
the north or south end as they are both blocked by the hill's incline. During
my first game I had built up a lot of Tortoises and headed to the northeast
corner to take out Aramon first. I didn't want any Trebuchets being made. I
totally wiped Aramon out except for one unit. The Aramon deity. He has a super
strong "group killer" attack that recharges in about three seconds. He also has
very fast healing powers. He destroyed all my Tortoises and nearly the Sage.
He then headed for my hill base and proceeded to wipe it out. I then reloaded.
This time my plan was to Wall myself in then build the Aerial Juggernaut. I
would then use it along with Neo Dragons to slowly clear each corner. So I
restarted and did just that. After I had completely walled myself in I built an
Academy. I built some Chief Engineers and upgraded the refineries into
amplifiers. I also started building several Mirrors around each inner mana
site. Once I had a nice mana flow coming in, I started on the juggernaut.
Along the way the enemy forces will try to attack the four outer mana sites.
Since the mana generators were walled in it made the enemy forces start to
congregate. I then decided to build two Bomb Sprinklers at each outer mana
site. Since I was on the hill it gave the Bomb Sprinklers good attack range.
They pelted the enemy and racked up lots of kills. Now the enemy started
sending in lots of Harpies and Ghost Ships. My Mirrors did a good job of
destroying them. I then decided to build up four squads of around ten Shock
Troopers each to help with aerial attacks. I placed them around each corner.
They helped out a lot and especially against the enemy Sacred Dragon attacks.
After a while I started making lots of Neo Dragons. I also used a few of them
to guard the mana sites. This gave me good scouting range so I could see where
the next enemy attack would come from. I also started using some of the Neo
Dragons to freeze the enemy. Again racking up more kills and getting them into
Gold status. Eventually I started having trouble at the northeast and southwest
corners. The enemy will use Catapults and Trebuchets to target any structures
there. I would have to rebuild
epair walls, refineries, and the Bomb
Sprinklers frequently. Finally, the juggernaut was completed. I sent it out to
face Lokken's force first. Moving to the very south of the map and clearing it
out, I then headed to the southeast corner. There were a lot of entrenched Mage
Towers and Caged Demons. Along with the slow fire rate of the juggernaut, it
meant I had to keep retreating and sniping from a distance. Eventually after
using "hit and run" tactics the area to the southeast corner was clear. After
destroying some inner elite Mage Towers I found Lokken and Heligrin in the
corner. I quickly killed both of them. By now I had decided to start building
the Ghost of Garacaius. The good news is he is very powerful. The bad news is
the Sage is the only one that can build him and it will take him over an hour.
I then kept heading the juggernaut from the southeast up. Aramon was next. By
now I had created around ten Neo Dragons. I used them in combination with the
juggernaut to take out structures. Eventually I made it to the northeast
corner. Facing off with some elite Watch Towers I then found Elsin in the
corner and disposed of him. Aramon was really built up so it took me longer to
clear out the northwest corner. By now the gameplay at the base consisted of
repairing damaged walls and freezing any approaching enemy troops with the Neo
Dragons. I was also happy that I hadn't run into the Aramon deity. Now from
the northeast I headed to the west and to the middle of the map. After clearing
the upper middle section out I decided that Zhon would probably be the toughest
side to take out. With all their Death Totems, Stone Giants and perhaps the
Zhon deity. I then flew back to the very bottom of the map and headed west.
Time for Veruna. I made my way almost to the southwest corner when the Aramon
deity showed up. He had walked around the northwestern white raised platform
area and headed for my base. The Bomb Sprinklers had caught his attention.
They continued to bomb him and he then attacked them and destroyed the entire
northwest section of my base. Reload. This time I would set the Bomb
Sprinklers to passive until I saw there were normal troops at the northwest
wall. The Ghost of Garacaius was now around 60 percent finished. I then
proceeded with my attack on the Verunan corner. Again resistance was fairly
heavy and there were a good number of troops running around. It made the
juggernaut miss a lot of the time. I then sent the Neo Dragons down to help.
Eventually the juggernaut found Kirenna in the southwestern corner. I had
almost killed her when she started fleeing to the northwest. I sent the
juggernaut and Neo Dragons after her and thankfully they caught up to her. At
this time the Aramon deity along with the Veruna deity came around the
northwestern platform section. Earlier the Aramon deity had left when I quit
attacking him with the Bomb Sprinklers. Now he was intent on destroying it and
wouldn't leave. He would not attack though as I had set the Bomb Sprinkler back
to passive. I slowly made my way up the northwest corner with the juggernaut
and Neo Dragons. As expected there were good amounts of Zhon defensive units.
I kept attacking and eventually made it to the northwest corner. Thirsha was
nowhere to be found. I then headed from the northwest corner east to the top
middle of the map. Thirsha flew by and I sent the Neo Dragons after her. There
were still a good number of Stone Giants and Death Totems around so I gave up on
trying to kill her. I headed the dragons back to help the juggernaut. The
remaining Aramon and Verunan forces had built the northeast corner back up. I
advanced slowly taking out new Trebuchets, Keeps, Lighthouses, and Strongholds.
By the time I had cleared out the northeast corner again, Thirsha started
attacking me from the northwest of my base. She used her Wind Wave attack and
destroyed a large number of structures and units. I quickly killed her though.
Now the Ghost of Garacaius was finally finished. He is a massive unit that has
a very strong attack. My plan was to destroy a few walls and send him outside
the base. Then build the walls backup and support his attacks with the Neo
Dragons and Aerial Juggernaut. The Aramon and Verunan deities were still around
the northwest of my base so I headed the dragons, juggernaut, and Garacaius to
the northeast of my base. At this time the Zhon deity decided to attack the
east side of my base. Its Tornado attacks did a lot of damage. I sent most of
my Shock Troopers and Neo Dragons after it. Along with all my Mirrors targeting
it. Eventually I killed it. I then quickly rebuilt up all my walls so no enemy
troops or deities could enter. By now the other two deities had split up and
the Verunan deity was heading for Garacaius. I used him along with the dragons
and juggernaut to attack the deity. I took it out but it killed Garacaius as
well. I was not going to spend another hour rebuilding him! I reloaded. This
time I got the Aramon deity to attack by itself. He killed Garacaius, all the
dragons, and the juggernaut in about ten seconds. I reloaded. Now I was going
to lure him into my base but have all my Mirrors shooting him while I had
Tortoises distract him. Sure enough it worked and the Aramon deity was
destroyed. Now the Verunan deity started attacking my base from the east side.
I sent everything after it and quickly destroyed it. There were no more enemies
left. The map did not end though. So I searched with Garacaius' huge range.
Still no enemies were found. I then presumed either it wasn't supposed to end
or the game had messed up. Either way it was a fun long map and I got my
enjoyment out of it.
-------
Credits
-------
www.tauniverse.com - I went there for help and found a few older posts on their
forum. There was also an IP guide wrote there but the page it was on did not
exist.
www.planetannihilation.com - I also went to their forums for help. This is
where I learned of the hidden levels as well.
Aerisk's "Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict" FAQ for the inspiration and
design.
Deathspork's "Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight" FAQ for the inspiration and
design.
----------
Disclaimer
----------
Anyone may use my FAQ for any purpose as long as there is no profit involved and
this document remains unchanged. There's no need to email me asking for
permission to use my FAQ. However if it is used on a forum or other type of
help site I'd like to know so I could help out other players too. Informing me
is not mandatory though. Thank you for using my FAQ. I hope it helps someone.
This FAQ copyright 2003 by Greyson.
