Langrisser II

Frequently Asked Questions
===What is Langrisser? Langrisser (Warsong in the US) is a roleplaying-tactics hybrid made by a company called Masaya. There have been many different games in the series, but the only one to reach American shores was the first. You can find an old cartridge of it for the Sega Genesis if you're lucky.

What is Langrisser 2?
Langrisser 2 takes place many years after the first. The kingdom of Baltia (the good guys in Langrisser 1) is gone, and a new world power called the Rayguard Empire has risen. Led by Emperor Bernhart and his four generals, it has been taking over the surrounding countries and searching for something... what is it? You'll find out as you play the game.

What's the difference between Langrisser 2 and Der Langrisser?
 * DL is for the SNES, L2 is for the Genesis
 * DL has a branching storyline where you can choose who you want to fight for after a certain scenario.
 * DL has different dialogue.
 * L2 is much harder.
 * L2's graphics are more anime. Whether or not this translates into 'better' depends on your tastes.
 * They both have the same basic story and characters.

Some notes on abbreviations in this FAQ:
 * AT = attack
 * DF = defense
 * A = attack bonus given by leader to follower
 * D = defense bonus given by leader to follower
 * MDF = %chance of evading a negative status effect (like charm or sleep)
 * HP = Hit points. The health of the character
 * MP = Magic points. The magical energy (or mana) of the character used to cast spells.
 * MV = Movement points. How far the unit can move per turn over clear terrain. Different units take different penalties for rough terrain (see gameplay and basic strategy section).
 * L = Experience level. As you gain levels, you gain abilities. Each class has a set of bonuses/spells which will be gradually phased in. There are ten levels in each class, and at the tenth of any non-dead end class you will change into a higher class.
 * P = Gold, cash.

Controls
You start each scenario with up to 10 heroes, each with his/her unique advantages and disadvantages. You can use the gold you earned from the scenario before to hire troops for them or buy special items that increase their power. In most scenarios, you get a number of starting positions that you can choose to post your heroes on.
 * A: Go to next leader with active troops
 * B: Cancel
 * C: Select
 * Start: Options

The game alternates between you and the computer--you always go first. On your turn you can move your heroes and soldiers, attack, and cast spells. Each hero gives his/her followers attack and defense bonuses, but only if they are within a certain distance from him/her. Their command radius is helpfully lit up by a blinking area, light blue for you, red for the enemy. Except for special circumstances, NEVER let your units fight outside of that area. In the beginning, your troops will be closely matched with the enemy and you'll want every advantage you can get. Later on, your leaders' bonuses will be so high that fighting outside of their radius would be suicide.

In real life, numbers mean more than skill, but in Langrisser 2 and movies, experience has a huge effect on combat. A level 30 character could defeat an infinite number of level 5 characters, just because they wouldn't be able to damage him for more than one point in a blue moon (read: very rarely). Keep this in mind when fighting.

To heal your soldiers, have them spend a turn next to their leader. At the beginning of each turn, all damaged soldiers next to their hero will be healed by 3. Problem is, the AI tends to hit the weakest units. Protect the guys waiting to be healed with your more healthy ones. If you're lucky, they'll be powerful enough that the enemy will shy away from attacking you altogether.

L1 Note: In Warsong (Langrisser I) enemies pretty much always attacked, even if they had no chance. Langrisser II's AI is more timid - it only attacks if it thinks it will come out on top, or if it doesn't think it will be very damaged if it tries. You can take advantage by this by sending a strong unit into a mass of weak ones. As long as you keep your HP high, not one of them will try to attack you, even if they could overwhelm you if they attacked together. Also, the AI doesn't take into account first strike rules--a Scylla who could take down a full unit before they even reach her would still stay away from them if their attack was high enough.

To heal your heroes, have them use the 'health' command. This will restore their HP by 3 and their MP by 2. Healing yourself is of course a good idea if your HP is low. In addition to making you feel good about yourself, keeping your heroes alive till the end of the scenario means that they get experience bonuses. Since in Langrisser you cannot backtrack if your characters are lagging in exp like you can in most RPGs, this is important.

In Warsong, if a hero died he was gone. Permanently. This is no longer the case in the sequel. Unlike the first game, Langrisser II is very dialogue-heavy, so this may have been to avoid writing multiple sets of dialogue depending on who was alive.

Different types of terrain give different defense bonuses. In general, the rougher it is, the larger the bonus. Rough terrain also means that units take longer to pass through it. Here's a list of terrain types and how they affect soldiers:


 * %: Bonus the unit gets in combat.
 * F: Movement cost for foot soldiers.
 * H: Movement cost for most mounted units.
 * h: Movement cost for Unicorn Knights, Silver Knights, and Hell Hounds.
 * S: Movement cost for sea units.
 * D: Movement cost for 'deep' sea units (Leviathans and Krakens)
 * - indicates that the terrain is impassable to that type of unit.
 * means that they never show up in a scenario with that terrain type.

______________________________________ Try to position yourself so that you get the most out of the terrain. The difference is not large but it does matter.
 * Terrain    | %  | F | H | h | S | D |
 * _____________|____|___|___|___|___|___|
 * Road       | 0  | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 * Grass      | 5  | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 * Forest     | 20 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
 * Crater     | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
 * Mountains  | 25 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
 * Roof       | 25 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
 * Cavern/Room | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | * |
 * Rubble     | 5  | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | * |
 * Shallows   | 0  | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
 * Water      | 0  | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
 * Wall       | 40 | 4 | - | - | - | - |
 * Ship Deck  | 5  | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
 * Ship Rail  | 5  | 4 | - | - | - | - |
 * _____________|____|___|___|___|___|___|
 * Ship Rail  | 5  | 4 | - | - | - | - |
 * _____________|____|___|___|___|___|___|

If you're a flier, terrain doesn't affect you at all (see unit matchups for details).

Deep sea units will always get 0% when fighting on land.

Werewolves and archdemons are the only units who can move across high mountains (they look white on the map but look the same on the battlefield, and they give the same bonuses as normal mountains.)

Some of your characters will be able to cast spells. In fact, all of the higher level classes have at least one or two. Spells either damage the enemy, heal you, or hit someone with a stats effect, which can be good or bad. Healing spells are extremely useful, they can heal you much faster than health commands, and they give experience to the caster. How much experience depends on how many units the spell healed.

Damaging spells are good against enemy leaders, or large masses of units. It's a good idea to hit the enemy leader with a magic attack or two before you assault him directly. Leaders do fewer damage when damaged themselves--a full health hero can do a maximum of 10 damage, but a hero with only 1 HP left can do 5 tops. Ordinary soldiers get exactly as many attacks as their HP.

Here's how many hits a leader gets depending on his HP: ___________ There are also other spells (see the spells section).
 * HP | Hits |
 * ____|______|
 * 10 | 10  |
 * 8-9| 9   |
 * 6-7| 8   |
 * 4-5| 7   |
 * 2-3| 6   |
 * 1 | 5    |
 * ____|______|
 * 1 | 5    |
 * ____|______|

You can also give your heroes special AI for their soldiers so you don't have to give orders to each troop individually.


 * Move: Soldiers follow hero as close as possible, and attack any enemy units that they happen to find within range that are weak enough (according to AI). Leader's icon is a shoe.
 * Battle: Soldiers will aggressively attack anything within command radius unless enemy is more powerful than them. Leader's icon is a sword.
 * Defend: Soldiers will shy away from fights, refusing even to get within a single space of an enemy if they can avoid it. They will still try to follow the leader, though, and they still occasionally attack. Leader's icon is a shield.
 * Manual: Do it all yourself. Leader's icon is a pointing finger.

Unit matchups

 * Spear units get about +10AT/+10DF against mounted units.
 * Soldiers get about +5AT/+5DF bonus against spear units.
 * Horsemen get about +5AT/+5DF bonus against soldiers.
 * Archers get about +10AT against fliers but don't seem to do very well against anything else.
 * Ranged units get a +20% bonus in forests.
 * Monks get about +10AT/10DF bonus against dark units (undead, demons, and the like)
 * Guardsmen get about +12AT/+12DF against slimes. They also get bonuses against dark units, though they're not as large as the ones monks get.

Other bonuses
Flyers ALWAYS get a 25% bonus from terrain--in some cases, this actually means they get less than an ordinary unit would on that terrain (like if they're on a wall, ground units would get 40%, but fliers would still only get 25) Fliers are also immune to earthquake.

Sea units get a +30% bonus over shallows and +50% over deep water.

From this, you can sort of get an idea of what kind of units will do best in a in a given situation. Because of the speed of their attack, flyers seems to do well against most ground units of equal strength - their enemies will only get in 5 shots, and then each surviving flyer will get in 2 hits (unless you entered the battle with less than 10 HP). Ballistae don't get any bonuses vs. flyers like archers do, but, as Hain will proudly tell you, they still do well against griffons because of their low defense. If you can put them under a commander with a high AT bonus, they can do quite well against a lot of units.

The moral of the story? Always check to see what your enemies have before you choose your units. Remember, you can mix and match unit types for a single character.

Formation
In general, put weaker units behind stronger ones. If you have some archers and some pikes, put the archers in back. If your hero is a fighting class, it often helps to put him/her in front of his troops. Since the leader is usually stronger than the followers, enemy attackers will either have to move around the leader to get to the soldiers, or attack the leader at a disadvantage. This is assuming that your hero is stronger than the enemy leader. If the enemy is a boss with much more exp, or if your hero is especially vulnerable, (like a mage or cleric) do the reverse of this and have your soldiers protect the leader.

If you have a whole unit that is stronger than the enemy, have that unit spread out to cover your other forces as much as possible. A good example of this is when you're facing enemy fliers. Since fliers move very fast, you might not be able to get first strike with your archers. Spread one of your own flier units out in front of your weak units. Let the enemy come, then use archers to shoot them out of the sky. Again, this assumes your fliers are better or at least as good as the enemy flyers.

If you are fighting a very powerful enemy, it's better to attack with all your heroes together so you can bring all your force to bear. The last thing you want to do is fight a powerhouse like Leon with a damaged Highlander and 3 heavy horsemen. Oftentimes, you'll run into a boss mid-scenario, when you may have already split your forces. Unless there's something that the boss wants more than he wants to kill you (like, say, Langrisser) retreat and delay him until you can pull everyone together.

Also, position your forces to take the most advantage of terrain. Put troops near the bottom of hillsides so that when the enemy attacks you he'll be doing it from lower ground. If you can see a place within your leader's command radius where you can get a terrain advantage, even if it is slight, you should probably take it. Remember that horseman cannot climb walls and suffer more penalties for moving through rough terrain than soldiers.

When to kill
Killing an enemy leader kills all soldiers under his command. While this may seem like a good thing, it is a waste of perfectly good experience. As mentioned before, you can't backtrack for level building unless you cheat, so every bit you gain counts. Try to kill all the followers before you go for the leader.

Exceptions:
 * There is a time limit that's running out
 * Not killing the leader immediately would result in the death of one of your characters or NPCs.

How to make this work better:

Keeping leaders like archmages alive for too long can be dangerous because of their meteor spells. To keep someone alive but harmless and immobilized, damage them down to 7 or below using spells, ranged attackers, or just plain melee units if you have to. Enemy AI ALWAYS heals when its health is below 8. No exceptions.

Spells
The effectiveness of spells depends on the caster's level (NOT on their class).


 * Levels 1-3: Minimum area of effect and damage for spell
 * Levels 4-7: +1 radius if area of effect, +1 damage if an offensive spell.
 * Levels 8-10: +2 radius, +2 damage.

For some reason, the AI does not like to reduce its MP to 0. It will always use health on itself if the only spells it has would reduce its MP to 0.

Damaging Spells
Magic Arrow Cost: 1 Range: 5 Damage: Low Area of effect: 1 space Learned by: Warlock

A nice spell for nudging near death enemies into oblivion, or for softening up enemy leaders before you attack directly.

Blast Cost: 10 Range: 2 Damage: Extreme Area of effect: 1 space Learned by: Wizard, Dragon Master, Royal Guard, Zarvera, Hero

An extremely brutal spell, it's probably more dangerous to you than the enemy. The enemy's best leaders usually have high magic resistance, and you'll want to be able to hit their troops besides. However, if you're not careful, this can take one of your own seemingly healthy characters and send him/her to oblivion.

Fireball Cost: 2 Range: 4 Damage:Very low Area of Effect: 1 space + 3-5 radius, depending on caster ability Learned by: Sorceror, Magic Knight, Dragon Knight, Bishop

A good spell for hitting a lot of enemies, but for smaller or more spread out groups thunder is better.

Meteor Cost: 8 Range: 10 Damage: Very high Area of effect: 1 space + 2-4 radius, depending on caster ability Learned by: Archmage, Summoner, Zarvera, Agent

This is the most often used spell in the game, for good reason. It hits hard, and over a sizeable area that the caster has a lot of flexibility in targeting. Expect to see it a lot, so you might as well jump on the bandwagon and start giving the enemy back some =P. It is capable of destroying a full health ballista in one shot.

Thunder Cost: 4 Range: 7 Damage: Medium Area of effect: 1 regiment Learned by: Shaman, Dragon Lord, Serpent Lord, Highmaster

A great spell that does decent damage. It's also nice for taking out units that are lagging behind their commander (like ballistae).

Tornado Cost: 2 Damage: Medium Area of effect: 3-5 space radius around caster Learned by: Hawk Knight, Mage, Swordmaster, Silver Knight, Paladin, Saint.

This is probably the worst of the second-tier damaging spells. It does decent damage, but the area of effect is so limited it's a chore to get it to hit enough units to make it worthwhile.

Blizzard Cost: 3 Damage: High Area of effect: 4-6 space radius around caster Learned by: Serpent Knight, Knightmaster, Archmage

A bit better then tornado, but I still prefer fireball and thunder.

Earthquake Cost: 12 Damage: Very high Area of effect: 5-7 space radius around caster Learned by: Grand Knight, Sage, Serpent Master, Zarvera, Highmaster

The only characters of the above who will find this worthwhile are the sage and zarvera. The MP drain that this spell causes means that any fighting class that uses it will probably be unable to cast anything else for the rest of the scenario. Even the magic users will find the fixed target area annoying... it's usually just better to meteor.

Healing Spells
Heal1 Cost: 2 Range: 6 Heals for: 3 maximum Area of effect: 1-3 radius Learned by: Lord, Cleric, Healer

Quick, easy experience. If you have a bunch of damaged units clustered together, cast this on them, even if they aren't being threatened by anything. The exp you get from one heal spell isn't much, but if you make a habit of it, it does add up.

Heal2 Cost: 4 Range: 6 Heals for: 9 maximum Area of effect: 1-3 radius Learned by: Priest, Saint, Sage, Dragon Master, Royal Guard

Extremely effective at what it does. Best used at the end of the turn, when you can maximize its effect.

Force Heal1 Cost: 3 Range: 6 Heals for: 3 maximum Area of effect: 1 battle group Learned by: Healer, Highlord, Bishop, Dragon Lord, Paladin, Serpent Lord.

A nice trick for this spell is to take a unit like fliers that tends to go ahead of the front lines, keep behind one griffin, and continually cast this on the griffin while the others fight the enemy. This spell provides instant supply lines.

Force Heal2 Cost: 6 Range: 6 Heals for: 9 maximum Area of effect: 1 battle group Learned by: Princess, High Priest

You'll mainly use Heal2 for mass-healing purposes. This is only better in special cases (like the supply lines thing), or if your caster's level is too low to affect enough people. Status Affecting Spells=== Attack Cost: 2 Range: 5 Learned by: Warlock, Knight, Highlord, Dragon Knight, Knightmaster, Dragon Master, Agent. Effect: All units in same command/section/regiment/whatever of the target will get +4 attack until next turn. Quite useful, even late in the game, because that extra attack can make a big difference when the forces are evenly matched, or when you're trying to level up a late joiner.

Protection Cost: 2 Range: 5 Learned by: Cleric, Healer, Lord, Highlander, Serpent Knight, Swordmaster, Grand Knight, Princess, Summoner, Royal Guard, Zarvera Effect: All units in same command get +4 defense until next turn. Not as useful as attack, but still nice when your forces are otherwise evenly matched. It's great when you're going against those annoying ballista units.

Sleep Cost: 2 Range: 4 Learned by: Highlander, Saint, High Priest Effect: All units within certain radius of target square have a chance depending on magic resistance of being unable to move or attack. If attacked, they will not defend themselves, having the offensive power of a bunch of civilians. At the beginning of each enemy phase, there is a chance of them being able to recover from the spell.

Sleep is one of most useful (and, in my opinion, cheapest) spells in the game.

Charm Cost: 6 Range: 4 Learned by: Princess, Agent Effect: All units in target leader's command have a chance of becoming your allies. They will move/attack at the same time that NPC's normally would. At the end of enemy phase, there is a chance of them recovering.

A nice spell, when it works, but I prefer to just kill things myself. Charm is a waste of experience.

Resist Cost: 2 Range: 8 Learned by: Mage, Wizard, Serpent Master, High Priest, Hero, Highmaster Effect: Makes whole unit immune to harmful magic. This is incredibly useful - cast it a lot.

Mute Range: 5 Cost: 3 Learned by: Bishop, Priest, Sage Effect: Silences the target leader, stopping spellcasting.

Zone Cost: 6 Range: 6 Learned by: Grand Knight, Wizard, Silver Knight, Archmage, Serpent Master, Hero Effect: Deactivates leader's attack/defense bonuses on troops. Extremely effective, because by the time you get this spell the leader bonuses are very large.

Other spells: "Shikaaaa!" -Barbarian Shaman

Illusion Cost: 2 Learned by: Sorceror, Shaman Effect: Creates 0-6 illusions of the caster, depending on how many troops the caster already has. No character can have more than 6 units, so if the caster already has six, spell won't work. If the caster doesn't have any units, it will make a full 6 illusions. They look exactly the same, but if they ever go into combat they vanish in a puff of smoke. Great distractions if you're fighting someone you don't want to kill just yet, but in a no-holds-barred combat it's probably better to just frag them with a meteor or fireball.

Turn Undead Cost: 5 Learned by: Healer, Priest Effect: Kills all undead within a certain range of caster. That includes skeletons, zombies, and wraiths. Depending on the situation, this spell ranges from totally awesome to useless. 95% of the time, it's the latter.

Teleport Range: 16 Cost: 5 Learned by: Agent Effect: Takes a unit up to 16 spaces from the caster and drops them onto any square, 16 spaces from the caster. Not only is this spell incredibly useful, it's also a lot of fun. Unfortunately, you get it too late in the game to take much advantage of it.

Hero classes
AT/DF is the hero's attack/defense. A/D is the attack/defense bonus the hero gives to his soldiers. Soldier-type leaders (fighter, lord, etc.) can use all weapons except lances, and all types of armor. Knights can use all weapons and all armor. Sky Knights and Sea Knights are like knights except they cannot wear plate armor. Priests can use hammers and wands, and chainmail or lighter armor. They're also the only 'class type' which can use the cross special item. Highmasters/Rangers are the only characters who can use longbows or arbalests. Mages can use daggers and wands, and no armor heavier than robes. If a character equips, say, some plate armor and then class changes to an archmage, the armor will stay equipped even though the mage technically isn't allowed to. You can use this trick to optimize your equipment regardless of your class.

Knights and SkyKnights have longer level bars than any of their counterparts until the fourth class level, where pretty much everyone takes an equally long time to level up.

I usually try to have as many class types around as possible. If I have a choice between three class types I already have, I'll choose the one that's most extreme, the one that's best at what s/he does. For instance, I'd rather have a knight master, because his focus is on offensive melee, than a paladin, who doesn't really have a focus and is not outstanding in anything. Similarly, I'd rather have an archmage, who is a complete battlemage and destroyer, than a weak class in somewhere between battlemage and healer like the saint. I also like to have a fourth class change, so I usually ignore dead-ends like the Grand Knight or King even though they are very good classes.

Fighter AT + 3 DF + 2 MP + 1 Range 2 A + 0 D + 2 MV 5 Attack type: Rolling fire Troops: Soldier

Basic soldier-type leader. Barely better than the rabble he commands, but with a great sword he can be a real powerhouse.

Lord AT + 3 DF + 6 MP + 3 Range 3 A + 2 D + 4 MV 5 Attack type: Rolling Fire Spells: Heal1, Protection Troops: Soldier, Pikeman

Low attack, but pikemen are important for dealing with enemy horseman, and heal1 is great for easy experience.

High Lord AT + 4 DF + 6 MP + 5 Range 3 A + 3 D + 4 MV 5 Attack type: Rolling Fire Spells: Force Heal1, Attack Troops: Elf, Phalanx

The pros and cons between this and magic knight/highlander are pretty much the same as the pros and cons between lord and knight.

Sword Master AT + 6 DF + 7 MP + 3 Range 3 A + 8 D + 7 MV 5 Attack type: Energy blast Spells: Tornado, Protection Troops: Phalanx, Armored Soldier

Nothing particularly fascinating here, just more of the same. His magic defense isn't very good, so watch out for meteor and blast.

King AT + 8 DF + 7 MP + 8 Range 4 A + 8 D + 8 MV 5 Attack type: Energy blast Spells: Heal2, Attack, Resist Troops: Ballista, Armored Soldier

This class does everything the swordmaster does, and more. Great bonuses all around and much better spells. Unlike the swordmaster, this class is a dead end. It looks exactly like the hero in battle.

Hero AT + 4 DF + 2 MP + 4 Range 4 A + 9 D + 8 MV 6 Attack type: Energy blast Spells: Blast, Zone, Resist Troops: Phalanx, Dragoon

Okay bonuses, nothing spectacular. You probably won't use blast much, since you won't have much MP to begin with. Incidentally, the hero's combat stance looks exactly like Bernhart's.

Ranger AT + 9 DF + 6 MP + 12 Range 0 A + 7 D + 5 MV 7 (special) Attack type: Blur charge (lightning discharge vs. air) Spells: Blast, Tornado, Resist Troops: None

An odd class. Short command range, and a shift toward magic on a path that was really melee oriented. It is also the one of the only classes that can use bows, but s/he loses the ability to use swords or axes. You can equip a necklace or crown to give her some range and allow her to use some troops. The ranger and highmaster seem to get an extra 10% bonus when fighting inside caves, buildings, or rooftops. She also moves quickly over water, and has an extremely small level up bar.

Highmaster AT + 2 DF + 2 MP + 8 Range 0 A + 8 D + 6 MV 8 (special) Attack type: Energy Blast (Sword beam when using ranged weapons) Spells: Thunder, Earthquake, Resist Troops: None

The class that comes after the ranger. They are very similar. Ranger, being a fourth level class, gets more AT/DF bonuses. Highmaster has an unusually small level up bar for 5th level class, so you can get the spells faster. The lousy range and inability to equip good weapons, however, are eternal. Still, he makes for a good fighter/mage combo, and his spells are good.

Knight AT + 6 DF + 3 MP + 2 Range 3 A + 6 D + 2 MV 8 (horse) Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Attack Troops: Horseman

The opposite of the lord, knights are very attack-oriented. Since you'll be on the offensive most of the time, this is a good thing =P. You could probably get by without a knight... you could get by w/o any one class if you tried hard enough... but it would be hard. Even though their level up bar is unusually long, they're still a good investment.

Highlander AT + 9 DF + 4 MP + 4 Range 4 A + 5 D + 3 MV 11 (horse) Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Protection, Sleep Troops: Heavy Horseman, Gladiator

A very combat-oriented knight. He gets a great AT boost.

Magic Knight AT + 7 DF + 4 MP + 8 Range 4 A + 6 D + 3 MV 10 (horse) Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Fireball, Sleep Troops: Heavy Horseman, Gladiator

Worse stats than the highlander, but he gives better bonuses, and the MP boost can be nice. Unless there's something at the end of the class path that you need the magic knight for, I'd say just pick Highlander.

Unicorn Knight AT + 6 DF + 5 MP + 8 Range 4 A + 6 D + 2 MV 10 (special) Spells: Mute, Charm, Heal1 Troops: Heavy Horseman, Gladiator

A knight class with less power but better magic. Usually it's best avoided, since there is really no reason why you would want a knight to be good at magic.

Knightmaster AT + 8 DF + 4 MP + 4 Range 4 A + 10 D + 5 MV 11 (horse) Attack type: Blur charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Blizzard, Attack Troops: Dragoon, Armored Soldier

Another very attack-oriented character. His charge is so swift archers and ballistae don't even get a chance to fire.

Royal Guard AT + 5 DF + 1 MP + 2 Range 4 A + 10 D + 7 MV 11 (horse) Attack type: Blur charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Blast, Heal2, Protection Troops: Phalanx, Gladiator

Very good attack, but his defense still suffers. He makes a good second wave attacker - send him in after you magic attack an enemy leader, or after you hit him with one of your higher defense characters. His low defense hurts his ability to fight on his own, but he is great support.

Grand Knight AT + 8 DF + 9 MP + 0 Range 4 A + 8 D + 8 MV 8 Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Protection, Zone, Earthquake Troops: Phalanx, Dragoon

This class gets a couple of very nice spells, but no MP. If your knight hasn't spent class or two as a magic user, this class might get very boring. It's a dead end fourth level class, but it gives very solid bonuses, more than any of the 4th level classes that evolve into 5th.

Paladin AT + 5 DF + 7 MP + 6 Range 4 A + 9 D + 6 MV 11 (horse) Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Tornado, Force Heal1 Troops: Monk, Angel

An interesting mix of a horseman-type leader and two troop types that are generally not associated with horsemen. He's not very strong in any given area, but he's pretty versatile. However, by this point you should have nearly 10 characters - you should be able to carve out a niche for every one. In the end a versatile character is only the most limited of specialists. (And if that makes any sense, you can whack me or something)

Hawk Knight AT + 7 DF + 2 MP + 3 Range 3 A + 2 D + 4 MV 8 (flying) Attack type: Wind Spells: Tornado Troops: Griffin

Like Knights, Hawk Knights have large level bars, but they're also very good. Even though the leader itself isn't very tough, he is fast, and his troops are powerful and versatile.

Dragon Knight AT + 6 DF + 6 MP + 4 Range 4 A + 4 D + 3 MV 9 (flying) Attack type: Lightning Breath Spells: Fireball, Attack Troops: Horseman, Griffin

This class is great against enemy fliers, his attack will take them all down before they even get a chance to hit. He does pretty well against ground troops too.

Dragon Lord AT + 10 DF + 4 MP + 4 Range 4 A + 9 D + 6 MV 10 (flying) Attack type: Lightning Breath Spells: Thunder, Force Heal1 Troops: Armored Soldier, Angel

Angels are very useful units because they don't die as often and are immune to magic. Other than that, it's more of the same.

Dragon Master AT + 4 DF + 0 MP + 4 Range 4 A + 8 D + 7 MV 11 (flying) Attack type: Lightning Breath Spells: Blast, Heal2, Attack Troops: Dragoon, Gladiator

A nice 5th-level class with a lot of versatility in spells and troops. The A/D bonuses aren't that good, though, and it hurts the angel's already low stats.

Crocodile Knight AT + 6 DF + 3 MP + 2 Range 3 A + 5 D + 3 MV 6 (sea) Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Attack Troops: Merman

Lester's starting class, but it's his second in terms of runestoning. It's similar to the knight.

Serpent Knight AT + 4 DF + 7 MP + 4 Range 3 A + 5 D + 4 MV 7 (sea) Attack type: Charge (Lance or spear throw vs. air) Spells: Blizzard, Protection Troops: Merman, Elf

A nice, balanced class with as many bonuses as the knight without the long level up bar or the weakness against pikes. He is incredibly slow on any kind of rough terrain, though.

Serpent Lord AT + 5 DF + 9 MP + 4 Range 4 A + 10 D + 6 MV 8 (sea) Attack type: Charge (Lance or scythe throw vs. air) Spells: Thunder, Force Heal1 Troops: Ballista, Gladiator

Still very well rounded. His high attack/defense bonuses compared to most mages make him great for artillery duels, if you're into that sort of thing.

Serpent Master AT + 4 DF + 2 MP + 2 Range 4 A + 10 D + 7 MV 9 (sea) Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Earthquake, Zone, Resist Troops: Dragoon, Angel

Okay bonuses, and good spells. 5th level classes aren't that exciting.

Warlock AT + 3 DF + 2 Range 2 A + 4 D + 2 MV 5 Attack type: Charged fireball (very slow) Spells: Magic Arrow, Attack Troops: Guardsman

Basic mage leader type. He levels up extremely quickly. His troops are horrible but with the great A/D bonuses, they can fight against soldiers as equals.

Sorcerer AT + 4 DF + 4 MP + 8 Range 2 A + 5 D + 4 MV 5 Attack type: Charged fireball Spells: Fireball, Illusion Troops: Archer

I actually think he's an inferior magic user to the shaman... thunder is much cooler than fireball imo. But he's the only guy early on who can get archers, while the lord can get pikes, so I still take him. Fliers can be a major pain.

Mage AT + 5 DF + 4 MP + 14 Range 3 A + 6 D + 4 MV 5 Attack type: Charged fireball Spells: Tornado, Sleep, Resist Troops: Elf, Gladiator

The mage class continues the warlock's and sorceror's history of high attack and attack bonuses, while rounding out his spell arsenal. If nothing else, take him because he has resist. *Very* useful spell later on.

Archmage AT + 7 DF + 4 MP + 14 Range 4 A + 7 D + 5 MV 5 Attack type: Charged fireball Spells: Meteor, Blizzard, Zone Troops: Phalanx, Ballista

More and more damaging spells. His defense is as crappy as ever, but the archmage is extremely good at what he does - mass slaughter. He is one of the few classes with the meteor spell, which is quite possibly the best offensive spell in the game. Zone is also very good.

Zarvera AT + 2 DF + 1 MP + 14 Range 4 A + 9 D + 7 MV 5 Attack type: Energy blast Spells: Blast, Meteor, Earthquake, Protection Troops: Armored Soldier, Heavy Horseman

This is one of the few 5th level classes that shows a big improvement over its predecessor. Boosted MP, a much faster attack, and a set of new spells and troops.

Wizard AT + 6 DF + 5 MP + 14 Range 4 A + 6 D + 6 MV 5 Attack type: Lightning storm Spells: Blast, Zone, Resist Troops: Armored Soldier, Ballista

It's a decent class, but I prefer archmage. Wizard misses out on meteor, and blast is too focused and short-ranged to make up for it. Only take it if you really want Hain to become a summoner.

Sage AT + 4 DF + 7 MP + 8 Range 3 A + 7 D + 5 MV 5 Attack type: Lightning blast Magic: Earthquake, Heal2, Mute Troops: Phalanx, Armored Soldier

Another hybrid class, but this one actually isn't a dead end for Jessica. It still isn't as good as archmage, but it lets her become a summoner, and having heal2 is kind of neat. For some reason, this class is allowed to equip plate armor.

Summoner AT + 2 DF + 1 MP + 14 Range 4 A + 8 D + 7 MV 5 Attack type: Fire lash Magic: Meteor, Protection, Summon Troops: Phalanx, Armored Soldier

Lousy bonuses, but this class gets to do what no other class in the game can - summon. Once a creature is summoned, it acts like a second commander, casting spells and dealing out decent damage. Unlike summons in, say, final fantasy, these things stay until they're killed or the battle ends. They can get pretty good if you get the special items that let you summon the really powerful stuff. See summons section for details.

Meteor is also nice to have, since you missed out on the archmage class.

Shaman AT + 5 DF + 3 MP + 7 Range 2 A + 4 D + 4 MV 5 Attack type: Lightning storm Spells: Thunder, Illusion Troops: Pikeman

Getting thunder early is definitely a plus, and the attack is somewhat faster than the sorceror's. Other than that, there isn't much here. The shaman's pikemen are stronger than the lord's but either class will do fine against horsemen.

Bishop AT + 4 DF + 5 MP + 12 Range + 3 A + 5 D + 4 MV 5 Attack type: Lightning storm Spells: Fireball, Force Heal1, Mute Troops: Monk, Gladiator

A cleric with more of a tilt toward offensive. It has an unusually small level up bar, but is not a particularly useful class.

Saint AT + 6 DF + 7 MP + 6 Range 3 A + 8 D + 8 MV 5 Attack type: Lightning blast Spells: Tornado, Heal2, Sleep Troops: Armored Soldier, Ballista

Another fourth level dead end. One reason why you might want to take it is that it gets the same bonuses monks get against demons. That, combined with his decent attack bonus, can make him very effective. If you plan on using this class, pick a character who can reach here from Highlord so that she can carry over a great sword or devil axe from her previous class.

Silver Knight AT + 7 DF + 6 MP + 2 Range 4 A + 10 D + 6 MV 10 (special) Attack type: Charge (Lance throw vs. air) Spells: Tornado, Zone Troops: Griffin, Dragoon

This fighting class comes on a path that's composed of mostly magic users (Shaman, Bishop, etc.) Kind of the odd one out, but sometimes it's nice having a knight with a large MP total and a cool spell like Zone. However, its horrible movement indoors severely cripples it. Only take it to get Sherry to Princess.

Princess AT + 2 DF + 2 MP + 8 Range 4 A + 9 D + 9 MV 6 Attack type: Flash Spells: Force Heal2, Protection, Charm Troops: Monk, Angel

This is one of my favorite classes in the game... then again, I'm kind of biased since Sherry is one of my favorite characters =P. She has an extremely fast attack, made even better by the fact you can equip swords and axes. She also has good spells and troops. You can give her a wand if you want, but this is such a great melee class that it would be a waste.

Cleric AT + 2 DF + 2 MP + 2 Range 2 A + 0 D + 4 MV 5 Attack type: Cross darts Spells: Heal1, Protection Troops: Guardsman

Basic healer. Terrible at fighting, although you can augment that slightly by using a war hammer. It's probably better to just use a wand and concentrate on healing for experience.

Healer AT + 2 DF + 6 MP + 6 MP + 2 Range 2 A + 3 D + 5 MV 5 Attack type: Cross darts Spells: Turn Undead, Heal1, Force Heal1 Troops: Monk

This is where the healing classes really start to shine. Great troops, decent troop bonuses, and better spells. Still hopeless at fighting, but that's not her job anyway.

Priest AT + 3 DF + 6 MP + 10 Range 3 A + 4 D + 6 MV 5 Attack Type: Cross Darts Spells: Turn Undead, Heal2, Mute Troops: Monk, Phalanx

This is the earliest class that can use heal2... unfortunately, you won't see it much because Riana will probably leave at around this point. It's a decent class, but by the time she rejoins there will be much better ones around.

High Priest AT + 4 DF + 7 MP + 12 Range 3 A + 6 D + 7 MV 5 Attack type: Cross darts Spells: Force Heal2, Sleep, Resist Troops: Phalanx, Armored Soldier

The most useful item here is resist. By the time you get this class, your other characters' troop bonuses will have caught up with the healer's, so the A/D here is nothing special.

Agent AT + 0 DF + 3 MP + 10 Range 4 A + 8 D + 7 MV 5 Attack type: Cross darts Spells: Meteor, Attack, Teleport, Charm Troops: Monk, Angel This is your reward for having to go through 4 classes of very low attack power. Agent gets a lot of good offensive spells, and her A bonus is higher. Teleport is also pretty cool. She doesn't get any new healing spells, but come on - you have them all by now anyway.

Other classes
Thief AT 25-28 DF 18-21 MP 0 Range 2 A + 4 D + 2 MV 6 Attack type: Blur charge (Sword beams vs. air)

A type of enemy unit you'll run into early on. High attack, low defense, uses the sort of units that fighters/lords have. It is a soldier type class even though its attack is faster than most knights.

Assassin AT 32-34 DF 21-23 MP 2-3 Range 2 A + 5 D + 2 MV 6 Attack type: Blur charge (Sword beams vs. air) Spells: Attack

A stronger version of the thief.

Necromancer AT 30-34 DF 18-21 MP 24-33 Range 3 A + 7 D + 2 MV 5 Attack type: Lightning storm Spells: Thunder

These guys show up only on scenario 7. High attack and attack bonuses combined with thunder can really take a bite out of your forces if you're not careful.

Swordsman AT 28-31 DF 24-26 MP 4-5 Range 3 A + 4 D + 5 MV 6 Attack type: Energy blast Spells: Attack, Heal1

You cannot get this class. It isn't much like the swordmaster or highlord, with a focus on offense rather than defense.

Living Armor AT 31-33 DF 30-32 MP 16 Range 4 A + 8 D + 7 MV 4 Spells: Attack Attack type: Rolling fire

The monsters' highlord. Nothing particularly special here, just another soldier-type class. His defense high can be a major pain if you haven't been leveling your characters enough.

Minotaur AT 39 DF 33 MP 0 Range 4 A + 9 D + 5 MV 5 Attack type: Slow charge (Axe throw vs. air)

Another soldier type unit. They shouldn't be much of a threat, since their stats aren't that great and horsemen have a high attack.

General AT 40-48 DF 30-35 MP 26 Range 4 A + 11 D + 8 MV 5 Attack Type: Fire lash Spells: Heal2, Thunder, Blast

This is the class Vargas and Imelda use. A very strong soldier type class with more of an emphasis on offense. The MV is average but half the time you meet it, the general will have major movement restrictions. Use the extra time to mass your forces - you'll need all the help you can get.

Demon Lord AT 46-50 DF 32-34 MP 64-80 Range 4 A + 10 D + 9 MV 7 Attack type: Fire lash Spells: Heal2, Blast, Zone

Incredibly powerful beings, they are best attacked with horsemen or fliers. Anything else will probably die before it reaches him. It is immune to all harmful magic. He is weak against monks, if any actually survive his barrage of hellfire.

Emperor AT 40-52 DF 37-42 MP 45-51 Range 5 A + 13-16 D + 11-12 MV 6 Attack type: Energy blast Spells: Meteor, Force Heal2

This is Bernhart's class. Extremely high attack power, made even deadlier once he acquires Alhazard. His defense is also pretty decent. Think of him as a powered-up Hero - in fact, their combat stances are very similar. He's a soldier-type class, but he has a lot of MP and won't hesitate to meteor you if you're out of reach of his sword.

Werewolf AT 21-26 DF 19-22 MP 0 Range 3 A + 4 D + 2 MV 6 Attack type: Blur charge (Energy darts vs. air) + 20% bonus in forests or mountains

They are not considered soldiers or horsemen, so no units get attack bonuses against them. However, they are not very strong.

Cerberus AT 32-37 DF 25-28 MP 7-13 Range 4 A + 6 D + 3 MV 8 (horse) Attack type: Blur charge (Energy darts vs. air) Spells: Attack

Decent fighters when you first meet them, but they still fall easily to pikes. By the time you reach the endgame, they will be little more than a nuisance.

Master Dino AT 29 DF 32 MP 0 Range 4 A + 6 D + 2 MV 8 (horse) Attack type: Slow charge (Fire bolts vs. air)

Horsemen type units with unusually high defense. You might have to power up your pikes to be able to damage them. If that fails, send your own horsemen and try to win through attrition.

Great Slime (G. Slime) A 19-21 D 22-25 MP 0 Range 3 A + 1 D + 2 MV 4 Attack type: Slow charge ( Slime missile vs. air )

These things are hard to kill, but will rarely kill anything of yours. Their magic resistance is terrible. It makes an odd sound when it feels pain. They're great for leveling up your weaker characters since low-level clerics and mages both have access to guardsmen.

Iron Golem AT 38 DF 40 MP 0 Range 3 A + 5 D + 7 MV 4 Attack type: Slow charge (Spear throw vs. air)

This is the only leader type in the game that's considered a spearman. Incredibly tough, don't bring a horseman anywhere near him.

Ghost AT 34 DF 24 MP 29 Range 4 A + 9 D + 4 MV 6 (special) Attack type: Fire lash Spells: Attack

Like the wraiths, these things teleport when they move, and they are not weak against anything but monks.

Witch AT 32-37 DF 27-29 MP 30-37 Range 4 A + 8 D + 5 MV 5 (special) Attack type: Lightning storm Spells: Meteor, Force Heal1

This is a flying mage class. Quite powerful, it's probably the first time you'll see a meteor spell used. He's weak against monks.

Succubus AT 33 DF 28 MP 30 Range 4 A + 10 D + 6 MV 5 (flying) Attack type: Lightning hit Spells: Meteor, Heal2

Another flying mage. Another flying meteor. You'd think she would have charm, but I've never seen her use it.

Dark Princess AT 36-37 DF 33-34 MP 30-41 Range 4 A + 9 D + 7 MV 5 Attack type: Fire lash Spells: Meteor, Force Heal2

The class Larna uses when she fights against you. Really, I thought naming her Larna while all your characters thought she was Riana ruined the mystery. This class is a mix of mage and cleric, with decent power in direct combat to boot. She is also immune to all magic.

Dark Master AT 38-42 DF 29-32 MP 52-59 Range 4 A + 11 D + 8 MV 5 Attack type: Lightning blast Spells: Attack

Bosel's class. Because he is weak after having been revived, he is not very strong in combat. However, he surrounds himself with strong troops, and gives decent bonuses.

Vampire Lord AT 43-48 DF 34-41 MP 61-75 Range 4 A + 12 D + 8 MV 6 Attack type: Lightning blast Spells: Meteor, Force Heal2

A strong magic user. Think of him as an advanced Zarvera. He's weak against monks.

Pirate A 23 D 19 Range 2 A + 0 D + 2 MV 5 Attack type: Blur charge

Weak sea units that you run into on scenario 10. They are easy to kill, and doing so nets you experience that would otherwise be given to monsters.

Scylla A 30-36 D 19-26 MP 14-20 Range 3 A + 2 D + 3 MV 6 (sea) Attack type: Lightning blast Spells: Charm

Sea monsters that enjoy charming their enemies into serving them. Their attack is both strong and fast - most units won't even survive to get close enough to hit them. Fortunately, they have a low defense, making them an ideal target for ranged attackers.

Kraken A 39-41 D 32-35 MP 16-19 Range 4 A + 9 D + 8 MV 5 (sea) Attack type: Slow charge (energy darts vs. air)

A stronger, slower sea class. They're best confronted head-on with high offense units like dragoons.

Wyvern A 29-32 D 23-27 MP 10-12 Range 4 A + 5 D + 4 MV 8 (flying) Attack type: Lightning breath Spells: Thunder

Like dragon knights, but weaker. They shouldn't be much of a threat.

Great Dragon A 39 D 34 MP 24 Range 4 A + 10 D + 8 MV 5 (flying) Attack type: Fireballs Spells: Meteor

Larna's pet monster that she sends at the village in scenario 18. It has decent stats, but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. Its attack is very slow - it sends out its 10 fireballs one at a time. The main thing to worry about is its meteors.

Builder A 38-45 D 26-30 MP 0-18 Range 4 A + 6 D + 1 MV 4 Attack type: Flash Spells: Force Heal1 Thankfully, you only have to fight these guys in scenario ?1.

Summons== Summons can only be used with the summoner class. Most require a special item. A summoner can only have one of these at a time - if you summon a new creature, the old one disappears. I'm not sure how exactly spells work on these, but they seem to be randomly assigned, and each time their leader moves or a new turn starts they have a random chance to get a new bunch of spells. They never have more than 3. Spells: Magic Arrow, Heal1, Force Heal1, Attack, Fireball, Earthquake, Tornado, Sleep, Resist.

Elemental AT 22 DF 20 MP 10 MV 7 (Flying) Attack type: Lightning blast

Aniki AT 35 DF 30 MP 16 MV 5 Requires Iron Array Attack type: Flash The best summon in the game, if you dare to use him. If not, just use white dragon instead.

Valkyrie AT 29 DF 21 MP 25 MV 7 (Flying) Requires Aura Attack type: Lightning hit

Sleipnur AT 31 DF 18 MV 10 (horse) Requires Odin's Buckler No spells. Attack type: Charge (Energy hit vs. air)

YrmGuard/Iremguard AT 29 DF 28 MP 32 MV 5 (Sea) Requires Gyaral Horn Attack type: Slow charge (Fire dart vs. air)

White Dragon AT 33 DF 22 MP 10 MV 5 (Flying) Requires Gleipnur Attack type: Fireballs.

Fenrir AT 31 DF 25 MP 10 MV 8 (horse) Requires Carbunkle Attack type: Blur charge (Energy darts vs. air)

Freiya AT 23 DF 25 MP 40 MV 7 (flying) Requires Angel's Wing Attack type: Wind

Follower classes
Civilian A 0 D 6 MV 5 They're, well, civilians. If they get attacked, they cower, do nothing, and will probably all die. Oftentimes the mission depends on their survival. They're always led by a low-level cleric.

Barbarian A 19 D 12 MV 6 Enemy's weakest unit. Their attack is okay, but their defense is horrible. Sending a fighter against them will rip them to shreds before they even get close.

Soldier A 20 D 14 MV 5(6 imperial) 40P Basic soldier type. You'll see them a lot early on.

Gladiator A 23 D 19 MV 6 70P A more powerful soldier. They are much better than the enemy's version of this unit, the berserker.

Berserker A 24 D 15 MV 6 (Imperial only)

Armored Soldier A 25 D 22 MV 5 140P The best soldier money can buy.

Dark Guard AT 30 DF 25 MV 6 The best soldier in the game. They cannot be recruited - hey, they're dark, what were you expecting? You have a reputation as a Descendant of Light to protect, you know.

Pikeman A 18(17 imperial) D 18 MV 5  50P Basic spear type. Due to the stupidity of your opponents, you will also see a lot of these early on. They get wrecked by soldiers.

Phalanx A 22(20 Imperial) D 22(23 Imperial) MV 5 100P A more advanced spear unit. Note that although soldiers and horsemen have 3 levels of units, the phalanx is as far as spearmen go for you. The almighty computer, of course, gets golems.

Golem A 23 D 28 MV 4 The most advanced spear unit in the game. A major pain to kill, even soldiers can have trouble if they're not powered up enough.

Horseman A 24(22 imperial) D 15(14 imperial) MV 10 60P Basic mounted unit. Extremely mobile, although they're slowed in forests, and very strong. They're great against pretty much anything but pikemen.

Heavy Horseman A 26(27 imperial) D 19 MV 9 110P Less mobile, but what it loses in speed it more than makes up for in power.

Dragoon A 27 D 21 MV 8 180P Your best mounted unit, and probably best all around mercenary in the game.

Royal Horseman A 34 D 23 MV 13 The strongest horsemen in the game. They are both heavy and fast. No, of course you can't have them.

Hell Hound A 24 D 22 MV 9 Horsemen type units led by a cerberus. They get bonuses in forests and mountains like werewolves.

Bone Dino A 26 D 24 MV 8 These are the horseman type units that the monsters generally use.

Elf A 19 D 8 MV 6 100P    Attack range: 3 The only unit in the game that gets bonuses against fliers. They don't do that well against ground units, but they're still okay at softening them up for the kill.

Dark Elf A 20 D 8 MV 7    Attack range: 3 The imperial version of the elf. Theirs is better, of course.

Ballista AT 22 DF 10 MV 3(2 imperial) 250P   Attack range: 6 Long range artillery units. Properly powered up and with a strong commander, they do decently against almost anything. Unfortunately, they're very slow, and weak against magic. You can make them faster using speed boots, but since most ballista characters are mages, it means you won't be able to use an orb.

Ballistae are not as good as elves against fliers since they don't get the special bonus, but they're still capable of killing griffins pretty easily. The imperial version looks more like a catapult, but they have the same name.

Griffin A 26(27 Imperial) D 13 (14 Imperial) MV 10 70P Basic air unit. Attack power is very high, defense surprisingly decent because of the automatic +25% air bonus. A whole unit of griffins can sweep across a ground unit before half of them get a chance to attack. A very useful unit.

Angel A 24 D 19 MV 12 200P A flier with lower attack but higher defense. This makes them much better at taking out enemy catapults. Angels are also immune to offensive magic, so the mages commanding the catapults also won't be able to do anything against them.

Wraith A 25 D 21 MV 6 These things look like they fly, but they are not weak against archers. They move instead by teleporting, and can pass high walls. Unlike fliers, ground units are unable to attack them until they are literally right on top of them. They are weak only against monks.

Elemental A 28 D 22 MV 6 An advanced version of wraiths. They are immune to magic, and can cross unscalable walls the same way wraiths do. However, they fly like an ordinary griffin when they actually attack. Like wraiths, archers do not get a bonus against them, but monks do.

Gargoyle A 25 D 13 MV 10 The flier type unit that monsters use, essentially the same as griffin.

Vampire Bat A 31 D 18 MV 6 Extremely powerful fliers. They are the only units in the game which show all ten of their hit points as a separate unit. Anything other than an archer or fast attack leader will be in for a world of pain. These guys suck. Literally.

Lizardman A 24 D 6 MV 7 Merman A25 D 13 MV 8 70P Imperial sea units and your sea units, respectively. Merman are stronger, but both suffer from the same low defense. Still, mermen are somewhat better than soldiers so you might find some use for them on land scenarios.

Leviathan A 26 D 15 MV 6 The strongest sea unit in the game. When on land, it always gets 0% for the terrain bonus, even on high walls. Because of this, and their low defense to begin with, they're not that hard to defeat. Oh yeah, you can never recruit one... but you knew that already, right?

Guardsman A 18 DF 12 MV 5 20P Basic unit for magic users, the worst soldier type you can buy. They do get bonuses against slimes and dark units, though.

Monk A 21 D 19 MV 6 100P The game's only holy unit. They will likely become the troop for healers that replaces guardsmen. Unlike the guardsman, they are quite useful in combat. Think of them as somewhere between soldiers and gladiators. Also unlike guardsmen, they do not get bonuses vs. slimes, but slimes are so weak it doesn't really matter. Because of their bonus against dark units, monks remain useful throughout the entire game - few other early units have that distinction.

Wolf man AT 19 DF 14 MV 7 The werewolf's followers. Like their leader, they are neither soldiers nor horsemen, and so have none of their advantages or disadvantages. They get a +20% bonus in forests or mountains, and move quickly over rough terrain.

Slime A 20 D 20 MV 6 Smaller versions of great slime. They're essentially the same thing. Note that although their defense is high and their stats are similar to a spear unit, they are NOT spear units, so horsemen do decently against them.

Skeleton A 20 D 12 MV 4 Their stats are horrible, but since they are led by necromancers, they can still be annoying on the attack. Best hit with holy units or archers. Their magic defense isn't that good either.

Zombie A 22 D 14 MV 4 Slightly more powerful than skeletons. Same sort of strategy works against them.

Archdemon AT 33 DF 24 MV 7 This is, quite simply, the most powerful troop in the game. Anything other than a monk will probably end up trading 1 for 1 with them, or worse. Their attacks rarely fail to hit home. If you don't have monks, your best bet is to hit them with other troops and hope they run out before you do. Fast attack heroes also do well.