This guide was written for the EU version of the game. The game is the same, but some of the names of characters and their classes have changed. Here is a list of changed names:
Characters
- Shiida = Caeda
- Nabarl = Navarre
Key Terms
- Akaneia = Archanea
- Medon = Macedon
- Doluna = Dolhr
Classes
- Chameleon = Freelancer
Recommended Party[edit]
The following is a list of units that are recommended for use. They are in no particular order.
- Wolf - This character's stat growth outplays the fact that he comes in later. He starts out pre-promoted, but his stats still beat most characters.
- Abel - This Cavalier is one of the most reliable. At the higher levels, he can be sent to lure in a unit without getting killed.
- Frey - Just below Abel, high strength gain makes him a powerhouse.
- Marth - Necessary, but he is strong on his own and can fight decently.
- Shiida - Once she gets to higher levels and is promoted, she will be a monster with lances. Good movement rate, too. (Caeda in American version)
- Merric - His proficiency with magic is astounding. Rips knights to shreds, but has poor defence.
- Gordin - Give him a chance to prove himself as a sniper and you won't regret it. Of course, characters like Wolf outclass him if you are unlucky with stat gains. Still, he makes for a good pre-Wolf game character and a great sniper if you are lucky.
- Lena - Healers are always necessary in your party and she is one of the earliest, and best, healers you will get.
- Nabarl - His low defence makes him questionable, however, the myrmidon lovers won't find a better one to use than him. Critical hits are common and, once he becomes a swordmaster, he will tear through almost any unit, generals included (Navarre in the American version).
- Sedgar - Sedgar may be just as good as Wolf.
- Beck - Strong ballista. Due to the nature of this game, ballistae have many weapons that let them kill various units. First, Beck can destroy other ballistae. Then, Beck can also kill all fliers with Arrowspatte. To top this off, Beck can even shoot through walls, and his range is incredible. Solid unit that is topped off with a good stat increase.
NOTE: As a general rule, units that come pre-promoted are usually inferior to those that do not. Wolf and Sedgar are overpowered, so they are an exception. Also NOTE that early use of a Manakete is discouraged. The first one you can possibly use in the game is limited to 30 attacks/counter-attacks due to the 30/30 USE of the Firestone. This means that basically he is useless after he runs out of attacks, making him an unreliable character.
Gaiden Chapters[edit]
Gaiden Chapters are optional levels in this game. They only occur a few times after various chapters. The requirement for all but one of them is that you need to have less than 15 characters alive.
The last chapter (24X) requires that you have a certain character dead and to not have a certain weapon.
Please note that it is not advised to go for gaiden chapters on your first run. Each gaiden chapter has a recruitable unit.
I recommend running a clean file if you want to play the gaiden chapters. However, gaiden chapters are most useful for the players who have lost many units.
Between gaiden chapters, I will briefly summarize the method on how to beat the chapter. Note that you can find this information in the main section, but this is here because there are some differences and optional paths that you can take. For example, instead of recruiting a useless character, you could just kill him for experience.
At the beginning of some chapters, having too few units will make some generic units join you. These units have relatively low stats, no portrait (meaning they technically aren't a real unit), no dialogue, basic weapons, and basically are just good for luring and nothing else.
Recommended Party[edit]
- Marth
- Abel
- Frey
- Gordin/Norne
- Ogma
- Shiida
- Nabarl/Athena (Athena is obtained in Chapter 6x)
- Merric
- Beck
- Lena
- Julian
- Wolf/Sedgar
- Bantu (not to actually use him, but to recruit Tiki who might pose a threat as an enemy)
The last two are open spots for whomever you find taste for. Here are some options:
- Minerva
- Bantu (Tiki is out of the question since she must be dead for 24X to occur)
- Nabarl/Athena (whomever you decided to not use)
- Wolf/Sedgar (whomever you decided to not use)
- Gordin/Norne (again^^)
- Horace (Lorenz comes too late to be of any use)
Hard Mode Chapters[edit]
Chapter 1 - Marth Embarks [HM1][edit]
Enemies: 1 Thief w/ Iron Sword 1 Hunter w/ Iron Bow Boss w/ Steel Axe (Insane Amount...15+) Pirates w/ Iron Axe
Reinforcements: None
Recruits: None
First thing to do is use Marth to get the 10,000 Gold from the village. Then, use Jagen to get many Javelins from the Armory. I'd say 5 would suffice. Next, distribute them to Shiida, Draug, and leave the rest to Jagen.
First of all, Cain only has an E-rank Lance. That means he can't use Javelins, yet. Use the Iron Lance for him throughout this map to get him using Javelins as soon as possible. His silver lance is something that you will most likely want to use in this battle.
Use Abel's Javelin to attack the thief. It should hit him pretty hard. Next, use Shiida to attack. At last, use Cain to finish him off. If any unit misses their attack, you might as well restart since you will be crippled from the damage the thief will deal.
After that pest is defeated, DO NOT ADVANCE. In fact, drop most units back. If a pirate attacks Gordin, he will double and kill him. This means you should drop most weak units back near the house.
A really good unit to use to take hits in this battle (other than Jagen) is Draug. With 11 defence, he only takes 5 damage out of his 20 max. This lets him lure in units to the death.
Move whoever is hurt to the fort near your mass of units briefly, then send Jagen to the bottom (near lower village where the thief was) and equip the Silver Lance. Leave all units but him out of range of attack, but move your able units (Cain, Abel, Draug, Shiida) to the border of the enemy attack range.
Next turn, your Jagen should be attacked by some 1-2 pirates, clear them out but still keep your distance since more enemies are coming. If Jagen is really hurt at any time, like less than half his max HP, drop him to the fort unless he is going to indirect attack or finish an enemy off.
The next few turns should yield a charging pirate mass. This basically is the game's last attempt to defeat you early. If you get by this, you are safe for the rest of the chapter (since the other pirates don't move). This part also demands luck since Javelins have a horrible hit rate (67 or so). This makes it very hard to calculate how to defeat an enemy.
A lot of times, you'll end up having all your able units teaming on one guy to finally get him. This is painstakingly dangerous since 2-3 enemies flood you at a time. As a general rule, don't let anyone but Draug and Jagen take more than two hits without healing. Also note that you have no means to heal yourself other than the forts. This means that the fort near you is invaluable.
The pirates take separate paths depending on where your units are. Just remember to let them come toward you first, and stay out of their attack range. If the coast is clear and there are only two pirates standing in the middle island strip, you are good to advance... However, first heal all your units at the fort.
Next, bring in all units to the boundaries of the attack range. Use Draug to systematically lure in units. One at a time. Use the forts to heal him often.
Next, there is the hunter to take care of. He can double a few of your units, but as normal, he is vulnerable to direct attacks. This guy moves on his own. Do NOT let him attack any unit. Lure him in far then kill him with a cavalier.
Move in afterwards and a pirate in the back will charge. Retreat, lure this guy in then kill him. Advance yet again. This time, lure in the two remaining pirates. Kill them with sheer numbers, then visit the village. Wyrs' Heal is good enough to keep units alive for now.
BOSS: Gazzak[edit]
HP: 35
Weapon: Steel Axe
How to beat: No direct attacks.
Instead, use Javelins and such to take him down. When killed, you get your first Vulnerary.
Chapter 2 - Pirates of Galder [HM2][edit]
Enemies: Boss w/ Hand Axe 2 Thieves w/ Iron Sword 2 Hunter w/ Iron Bow 2 Cavalier w/ Iron Sword 8 Pirates w/ Iron Axe
Reinforcement: None
Recruitable: Darros w/ Steel Axe Castor w/ Iron Bow
This chapter's hardest part is the beginning. You will struggle trying to fend off an attack from both sides.
In three turns time, two cavaliers will arrive from the west. Because of this, we need to be free of threats from the north. However, there lingers a problem. There are simply too many strong units to eliminate at once. It becomes an impossible task unless you try a special plan.
Remember that Vulnerary that you got from the boss last chapter? Give that to Jagen. Next, move him all the way up to the fort on the north island. Jagen will survive. Use him to pile some damage on the thief (with a Javelin).
Next, move Ogma and Bord back a bit and move Draug to the fort. End your turn.
Upon the start of your turn, Jagen will be healed to 13 HP and Draug will be at 9 or so HP (after healing). Immediately use Jagen's Vulnerary then end his move.
Next, use a combination of all your units to destroy the four enemies. It is tough to describe how to do this, but luck in hitting definitely plays a role. Though this is what I recommend roughly:
Kill the west-most pirate first. Flood him with Javelins, Iron Lances, and Iron Swords. Bord and Cord even can do a healthy amount in one attack. Barst's Hand Axe is like another Javelin.
Next thing to take care of is the other pirate. Use whatever units that still have a turn. If possible, kill both thieves too.
On the enemy turn, the pirate will abandon Jagen in favor of attacking whoever killed the thief. The cavaliers should be closing in.
Back to your turn, use Jagen's Javelin to damage the thief from behind. Defeat him easily after. Now, retreat all your units from the lower level upward, note that the hunter left on the north island is practically harmless.
Leave Ogma or someone with a decent speed/defence on the plain before the bridge. Even Draug, even though he will be doubled, survives barely.
They should attack Ogma or whoever you put, and you should either heal or replace that unit with another (cavaliers work well). Use Jagen or someone to finish the hunter on top.
If you see that the cavalier will die to one hit, kill him and then forcefully finish the next cavalier.
If you have made it this far, good job. This was definitely the hardest part of this map. Next thing to do is heal all your units. Then, prepare to move towards the save point.
Bring all good units toward the area, outside the enemy attack boundary. Then, proceed with care. Make sure the unit you move does not have less than 4 speed in relation to the pirate on the bottom-left corner.
Save the game at the map savepoint and get ready for the next wave of enemies.
This one is a little trickier since the recruitable unit is next to another hunter. You need to recruit with Shiida, and the other hunter CAN deal 18 damage, more than Shiida's max (even with her 1 HP gain from a level up)
This of course, is extremely tricky. Either you risk letting them charge at you before recruiting, or you recruit Castor at the bridge, move units to block the square Shiida can be attacked from, and move Castor to the other.
Castor will unfortunately, die. I did not plan to use Castor, so I did not exactly care too much. If the reader wants to struggle to keep her alive, you can go ahead.
After this, the only last part is the boss. Use lure and kill tactics to defeat the last few pirates. Visit the armory and village eventually and get 5000 gold
You don't need to get anything from the armory, unless of course it is like a Hand Axe for Barst.
Last thing to worry about is the boss...
BOSS: Gomer[edit]
HP: 32
Weapon: Hand Axe (drops Steel Sword)
How to beat: This guy is quite tough. First of all, he has 16 strength. He WILL practically kill any unit in one hit not named Ogma, Jagen, or Abel. This is because he also boasts 11 speed, which means he will double any unit with less than 8 speed (low-HP units like Shiida will be knocked out by brute force).
First, bring all able units over, even if they will not partake in the main assault.
The trick is to equip Ogma's Steel Sword, heal him up, then leave him next to the boss. DO NOT ATTACK. Next turn, the boss will attack and has a 50% chance of hitting.
We are waiting for one of the following to happen: A) Ogma lands a critical (most likely- he did it for me twice in five attempts) B) The boss runs out of Hand Axes (not likely, but possible)
If Ogma gets hit, run him to the fort nearby and let him heal. Move him back next turn.
Once you land a critical, the boss should be left with a small amount of HP left. Now, use all your units in a mad rush to try and defeat the boss. For me, Ogma had leveled up strength, so only one more attack with a Steel Sword was necessary.
This boss drops a Steel Sword when dead.
Congrats if you have killed the boss, Chapter 2 complete!
Chapter 3 - A Brush in the Teeth [HM3][edit]
Enemies: Boss w/Hand Axe 3 Hunters w/ Iron Bow 2 Thieves w/ Iron Sword (they have 15 speed...) 8 Fighters w/ Steel Axe (they have 38 HP each...)
Reinforcements: None
Recruitable: Lena/Julian (at beginning) w/ Warp and Iron Sword respectively Nabarl w/ Killing Edge
First thing to do is move Lena + Julian downward. Next, move Marth + Barst to the west. Marth is heading to the village to get the Devil Axe and Barst is going to use it.
Jagen should give the Vulnerary from last battle to Barst. For the rest of your units, just position them on the eastern border.
Use the 
button to position Shiida safely on the mountains (she is needed to recruit Nabarl).
On the second turn, move Lena and Julian all the way down. Trade Wrys's Heal to Lena for she is better. Visit the village with Marth, and trade the Devil Axe to Barst. Use the range button to place ALL units away from attack in the right side (near mountain).
Next turn, a whole lot of stuff will happen. First, use the button again to find where to place Barst so that he can only be attacked by one of the three fighters.
Equip the Devil Axe for him, move Marth and Jagen to the east.
Nabarl and two thieves should have popped up. Use ranged Javelin attacks to fight the thieves first. Recruit Nabarl, but do not attack with him. There are three fighters above that are ready to defeat your army if you try to do so.
The goal is to defeat all the thieves without using Nabarl. The only two units that are fit for the following job are Ogma and Nabarl. We want to form a blockade that will stop the three fighters while we deal with the left enemies.
Once you find a way to kill the thieves, place Nabarl far enough forward that the enemies cannot bypass him. Where to place units:
/ \ EE / |EM| |NM| |OH| | | / L \
--- F |
Legend:
--- and / and \ and | = boundaries. Terrain of them don't matter.
M = mountain (not passable by your unit or the enemy) H = Hill (passable by some of your units and by the enemy fighters) L = Lena (healer) F = the fort on the bottom N = Nabarl O = Ogma (you need both)
As I hope you can see/understand, Nabarl much be far enough to become a true blockade. Otherwise, the fighters can bypass the hills and attack vulnerable units like Lena, things won't look pretty...
The fighters have a chance of missing Nabarl/Ogma. In that case, it is good. If they hit, you will probably have to switch the unit out for the other one (Nabarl/Ogma depending on who got hit). Lena, of course, heals the hurt unit.
Note that the single most dangerous thing is to get hit, then critical counter-attack the enemy. This will kill the enemy and allow the next fighter to hit you, almost a 100% chance of death.
Keep this system going for the next few turns until you finish with the left frontier (then you can think about wiping out the remaining survivors).
Barst & the plan to defeat the seemingly impossible rush[edit]
The idea is to move a unit to a square where ONLY one enemy can attack it. Keep retreating and using Vulneraries to keep your health up. Barst and his Devil Axe were about to get attacked. If you have horrible luck, and this applies for any time you use a Devil item, the weapon will harm your user, in this case Barst. A 24 damage hit WILL finish Barst off with no doubt.
You sadly have no way to stop this, so you must hope for about three hits that you don't have to restart the whole chapter over.
Each hit with the Devil Axe does 24 damage, two blows will defeat any fighter.
Keep retreating until you realize that the fighters are close to attacking other units. Move them away just enough to get out of the range of attack.
Bord and Cord become useful here, they deal 10+ damage with one blow (though you have to watch that they don't die because they only have 20 HP).
If done correctly, this should be the situation:
(Your Units) Barst (a little less than max HP with no Vulneraries left) Cord (Full HP) Bord (Full HP) Other units - Jagen, Cain, Marth, Abel, Shiida (Full HP)
(Enemies) 2 out of the 3 original Fighters left (Both at Full HP)
At this point, move Cord + Bord (or Barst again if you trust his Devil Axe) just into range of the first of two fighters. Two other units should be nearby.
After the front fighter eats a counter-attack, IT starts. It's impossible to hold on any longer, use everything and anything in an attempt to kill the two weakened fighters. All you actually got to do is kill the weakened one then make sure all units in attack range of the other one can take it.
A good way to do this is to surround the remaining fighter with four strong units (Shiida, Jagen, Cain, Abel/Marth) works. Note that Abel will get doubled if he only has 7 speed and he has the Javelin equipped.
With this, you should defeat the vigorous left advance.
At this point, here is the run-down of enemies that should be left:
- 1 Boss
- 2 Fighters near him
- 2 Hunters near him
- 1 Hunter in the mountain area still
- 1 or 2 Fighters left in the blockaded area.
Kill the last few fighters then swoop in to finish the hunter in the mountain area. He moves when you get somewhat close.
Oh and use the green save point if you haven't already.
Next, we pick the two hunters near the boss. Lure & kill (note they also start moving before you get into attack range). Lure the two fighters (I would bring your whole army just to be safe).
You can blockade the fort and easily defeat the two. It ends with them having a horrible 37% hit rate and you having near 100% (using Ogma + Steel Sword).
Last part is the boss... arguably the HARDEST BOSS IN THE WHOLE GAME!
BOSS: Reynard[edit]
HP: 41
Weapon: Hand Axe (Drop Mend)
How to beat: With 15 STR and 14 SPD, this guy outclasses almost anyone in your army. While many people advocate using Ogma + Killing Edge to critical, you may simply do the following:
Just sit Ogma and waste his Hand Axes until he has none left. After this, he has no way to attack... so get some experience for your units. Don't waste Lena's Heal on this. Use the fort instead. OR you can just follow the Ogma + Killing Edge + Critical strategy.