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[Baha]

How do you support Welkin though? There are a lot of tank busting units in that level. I try to go at least 2 shock, largo and engineer.

Also, when you issue an order, does the status effects last until end of game or end of turn?

Seems my post about this mission was even farther than I thought, here's what I did:

That one's tricky

Spoiler

I beat it with an engineer, rosie, largo & a sniper. Use the sniper near the rocks in front of the base with the engineer for cover fire as well. I left the edelweiss on the left side of the base on the road to cover any runners and it's far enough from the other tanks for a few turns. I moved largo up in the grassy area on the right of the sniper & engineer (crawling whenever his turn was done) to take out the tank radiators and rosie was on the right side of the base with occasional help from the engineer (I moved him back and forth).

 

[radiantdreamer]

For the usual way (i.e. rush to the area above the tanks), it took me 3 turns to complete the mission because Largo can't move very far in a turn.

Is this on a newgame plus or something? I've not been able to achieve A ranks on any of the chapter missions. Only skirmishes.

 

[djkimothy]

Just finished the game. What an amazing game. It concluded nicely. That chapter 17 though... WTF.

 

[comedian]

there is a comprehend guide to getting a S rank in all missions , on the popular website with guides ... *whistles*

 

[djkimothy]

there is a comprehend guide to getting a S rank in all missions , on the popular website with guides ... *whistles*

Well yah... I intend to use that for my A rank run.

There are some missions though I just don't want to play again... It will feel like forever to get some of the medals too.

Spoiler

Like the 1000 kills one. :/

 

[maskrider]

Is this on a newgame plus or something? I've not been able to achieve A ranks on any of the chapter missions. Only skirmishes.

You should be able to A rank most of the story missions before you hit new game plus. The rest takes some good planning and a bit of luck. You don't get to play Hard skirmishes unless you are playing new game plus, normal skirmishes are like the story missions, but easier most of the times because of simple winning condition (comparing to story).

 

[comedian]

I wish there was a form of multi player in the game, would love to play with a friend against 2 others or simply 1 on 1.

A suggestion for the sequel maybe , just got to hope that it sells enough so that sega see a reason to do so.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

I'm on Chapter 11.

Just wanted to say, I love this game!

 

[radiantdreamer]

You should be able to A rank most of the story missions before you hit new game plus. The rest takes some good planning and a bit of luck. You don't get to play Hard skirmishes unless you are playing new game plus, normal skirmishes are like the story missions, but easier most of the times because of simple winning condition (comparing to story).

Then you must tell me how to do this, because I don't think I can complete a mission in 2 turns.

I usually end up getting D rank.

 

[NullPointer]

Just got this in the mail today, and I've gone through the first two missions. I've got some questions regarding tactics:

Can you suppress an enemy position? The missions I've played have had very little cover, and I can't seem to avoid getting pelted when moving from position to position. I'd love to be able to set a field of fire to cover my movements - is this possible? Or should you just expect to get damaged whenever you make a move?

Are smoke grenades available later on? If I can't suppress, I'd like to have some way to move my more injured units under a cloak of safety, or at least deny visibility to a certain flank.

And is it just me? Or is the grenade throw distance pitifully short? Looks like 10 feet or so max.

Last question: Do ALL the missions have a round limit? This is one thing that bugs me about most Japanese strategy games. I can wipe out almost the entire enemy contingent but I'll still lose because of an arbitrary round limit? It forces me to be more aggressive than situations usually warrant. I'm fine with aggressive gameplay as long as I have options to protect my units during movement.

So far I'm on the fence with this game. I'm not sure what the real-time component adds to the game quite yet - seems to be smoke and mirrors over modified Advanced Wars mechanics. One could definitely do worse than that though.

 

[comedian]

Can you suppress an enemy position? The missions I've played have had very little cover, and I can't seem to avoid getting pelted when moving from position to position. I'd love to be able to set a field of fire to cover my movements - is this possible? Or should you just expect to get damaged whenever you make a move?

Sorry, but there is no other way(thougth if you zig zag and play with cover you can easily pass with minimum dammage, also you can try to run outsides the enemys field of vision, unless you run directly at where they're looking its rather easy to not attract their attention and not get shoot).

Are smoke grenades available later on? If I can't suppress, I'd like to have some way to move my more injured units under a cloak of safety, or at least deny visibility to a certain flank.

During the later stages of the game Eldeheiss will be able to shoot 1 smoke round per turn, the best solution for injured soldiers:
1.Order a heal
2.Control player and heal himself as quickly as possible or maybe another soldier can come and heal him if your soldier is much too low.

And is it just me? Or is the grenade throw distance pitifully short? Looks like 10 feet or so max.

Will get better, but yes truly pitiful.

Do ALL the missions have a round limit? This is one thing that bugs me about most Japanese strategy games. I can wipe out almost the entire enemy contingent but I'll still lose because of an arbitrary round limit? It forces me to be more aggressive than situations usually warrant. I'm fine with aggressive gameplay as long as I have options to protect my units during movement.

You will never ever, ever,ever,ever have to worry about the round limit, unless almost all your soldiers die and you end up calling reinforcements because you wanted to hear the sound of all the soldiers different death noises.
In general it will take you 2-16 turns, where 16 turns is if you have no idea what your doing , send out only shocktropers and snipers and demand that everyone stay in a tidy line with the tanks making your progress ridiculously slow.

 

[Surreal]

Last question: Do ALL the missions have a round limit? This is one thing that bugs me about most Japanese strategy games. I can wipe out almost the entire enemy contingent but I'll still lose because of an arbitrary round limit? It forces me to be more aggressive than situations usually warrant. I'm fine with aggressive gameplay as long as I have options to protect my units during movement.

I think I'm about half way through the game and I've never had a problem with the round limit. You have to remember you're trying to complete the objective as fast as possible, whether that means 4 people reach 0 health (you can save them as long as you finish it in 3 rounds) or not. The game gives you letter grades depending on in how many turns you finish the scenario. Get used to using spearhead tactics and general slash and burn game play. I find you basically use 3 or 4 key players in each scenario, the rest are just left in the base. The bonuses for taking out key enemy leaders are much smaller than receiving an A ranking. It's really just finishing as fast as possible. Protecting units and general defensive game play is useless if you're just trying to capture a base or trying to get to a certain area. Then again, I'm only on Chapter 10, so they could change it up drastically.

 

[comedian]

Also, am i the only who only discovered that you could save in a battle in the before last chapter?

I would spend one hour in battle only for me to forget that my eldeheiss backside is showing and loose hours.
It took me 6 hours to beat the Selvaria mission, even more to beat maximilians in his god awfull tank.

 

[NullPointer]

Thanks for the info Comedian. At least now I know what I'm up against. Gotta admit I find it strange when turn based battle systems aren't a hell of a lot deeper than real time ones. So much potential there...

One bit I found strange though - the tutorial says you can take all the time you want lining up your shots in firing mode. That couldn't be more untrue. You can and will get repeatedly hammered and killed while selecting targets and lining up your sights (if you do it manually). That's kind of a major oversight right there.

So far the game feels like it should've found it's home on a portable, or XBLA/PSN (with fewer bells and whistles). I love me my strategy games - just not sure this one has any more tactical depth than say a Jeanne D'arc or a Warhammer 40K: Squad Command. That's a shame, but I'll give the game some time to open up and see where it goes.

 

[ixix]

One bit I found strange though - the tutorial says you can take all the time you want lining up your shots in firing mode. That couldn't be more untrue. You can and will get repeatedly hammered and killed while selecting targets and lining up your sights (if you do it manually). That's kind of a major oversight right there.

If the enemy is firing at you when you enter targeting mode they get to finish firing. After they've finished their salvo they stop and you can take all the time in the world. If you enter targeting mode either before they get a chance to launch their interception fire or in the cooldown between salvos they don't get to fire at all.

 

[Durante]

One bit I found strange though - the tutorial says you can take all the time you want lining up your shots in firing mode. That couldn't be more untrue. You can and will get repeatedly hammered and killed while selecting targets and lining up your sights (if you do it manually). That's kind of a major oversight right there.

You actually can take all the time you want for lining up shots. No oversight there. However, if an enemy is already shooting at you he gets to finish his current attack.

So far the game feels like it should've found it's home on a portable, or XBLA/PSN (with fewer bells and whistles). I love me my strategy games - just not sure this one has any more tactical depth than say a Jeanne D'arc or a Warhammer 40K: Squad Command.

It does have massively more depth than Jeanne D'arc (which I finished) -- I can't command on Squad Command because I haven't played that, but if it's comparable to Jeanne then the same thing goes. And the "Bells and Whistles" are part of what makes this game great, I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[comedian]

Explained much better and in better english above :>

As the game progresses, you will think about terrain, which characters go well with each other, leveling your classes etc...

Also, orders become the best thing ever after round 11.

 

[NullPointer]

You actually can take all the time you want for lining up shots. No oversight there. However, if an enemy is already shooting at you he gets to finish his current attack.

OK - thanks for letting me know there is some logic to it - but yeah, I still don't understand. I want to though

So, the enemy can fire during my phase before I attack? I get it that enemies can counter-attack during my phase (and likewise), just didn't think they'd shoot first. I take it there is an initiative system at work?

Am playing it right now so I'll pay a little more attention to whats happening, especially when it comes to lining up shots. So far I've just hit the R-Button to get the center of mass on the enemies, so no real aiming involved. Should I go for headshots more often? I tried manual aiming with the tank and lets just say the shot went high and ended up taking out the gate I was set to defend. Gah.

And while I have your eyes: The game mechanics seem to open up as you progress. At what point do I get to play around with all of the mechanics in battle?

 

[NullPointer]

Not knocking on the bells and whistles by the way. I love the art style - it reminds me of Nausica. Gives me even more reason to defend Gallia.

But whenever I look at strategy/tactics games, especially turn based ones I focus on the mechanics first and foremost. I like to have as many options available to me as possible.

 

[Durante]

So, the enemy can fire during my phase before I attack? I get it that enemies can counter-attack during my phase (and likewise), just didn't think they'd shoot first.

They start firing at you as soon as you enter their sight cone. The only enemies that do return fire are scouts, shocktroopers and tanks, with the former having a very large activation radious while the troopers have a smaller one. With tanks it varies depending on type. Oh, and I think engineers do as well but I'm not sure (and it's really not very relevant)

Should I go for headshots more often? I tried manual aiming with the tank and lets just say the shot went high and ended up taking out the gate I was set to defend. Gah.

I always aimed manually. Basically what you do in what I'd like to call "high level gameplay" () is run into the position from which you want to shoot while keeping out of the line(s) of sight as much as possible. If you are being shot at, you continue dodging/zig-zagging until the moment where your attacker has to reload. At that point you press the fire button -- you then have infinite time for getting your aim right. Of course this all gets much more involved if you consider sandbags, trenches, cover, grass and which unit type you are using and which weapon type you intend to fire.

Regarding missing shots: that will happen often in the early game. It's part of this being an SRPG -- your unit's aim isn't that great in the beginning. Basically each shot has a chance to go randomly anywhere within the aiming circle.

And while I have your eyes: The game mechanics seem to open up as you progress. At what point do I get to play around with all of the mechanics in battle?

Hmm, all of them? Depending on your leveling speed and how fast you unlock orders probably around chapter 14. However, there are mechanics that are level specific.

 

[comedian]

In fire mode (i.e after you press R1) the enemy will empty his clip at you if he's already started shooting at you you will then have all the time in the world to fire. Before that (i.e when you can run) the enemy will fire,reload and continue firing until: 1.end your turn, 2. kill all enemies that are shooting at you. There are exeptions to this rule such as :A Lancer will not shot you and neither will a sniper no matter how much you run in front of them, and if you can run outside their field of vision they won't shot, thougth they will turn when being shot at.

When you fire: Take your time, to begin with your soldiers aim will be terrible, especially your tanks. Always try and aim for the head as it can kill a enemy so much more quickly, take your time when aiming(do not use the auto-aim and try to get the enemies head or weakspot in the middle of your crosshair).

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

OK - thanks for letting me know there is some logic to it - but yeah, I still don't understand. I want to though

So, the enemy can fire during my phase before I attack? I get it that enemies can counter-attack during my phase (and likewise), just didn't think they'd shoot first. I take it there is an initiative system at work?

The enemy will attack automatically and continuously if you're within their range, in their frontal visual range and moving - the moving part's the key. Other than that, they get to return fire after you attack.

The above works exactly the same way for your guys against theirs. Set up a front line with your shock troopers and tank, and they can mow down anybody who tries to move in your territory.

Should I go for headshots more often?

Absolutely, just remember that your accuracy and damage are both affected by range. Get close and aim at the head, you should be able to take out most enemies in a single turn.

And while I have your eyes: The game mechanics seem to open up as you progress. At what point do I get to play around with all of the mechanics in battle?

What do you mean by "all of the mechanics"?

 

[Durante]

Always try and aim for the head as it can kill a enemy so much more quickly

This is generally good advice, but it does depend on the situation. (Eg. if an enemy is damaged already or your damage output is high enough that you can be certain to kill them by shooting them in the guts that's what you should do)

I'm (positively) surprised at how fast the answering speed still is here considering the age of the thread.

 

[comedian]

And while I have your eyes: The game mechanics seem to open up as you progress. At what point do I get to play around with all of the mechanics in battle?

Orders begin to appear as soon as you get the tank, thougth at first they arent of much use, it's only when you start getting more powerfull ones that they make sense.

Your soldiers begin with little "potentials" to begin , thougth as there levels increases they will get more.

 

[NullPointer]

The enemy will attack automatically and continuously if you're within their range, in their frontal visual range and moving - the moving part's the key. Other than that, they get to return fire after you attack.

Well this is where the confusion is coming from. I can understand that if I move into their line of fire they will attempt to take me down. I also get that enemies can return fire after you attack. But what was surprising me was my non-moving units. The ones crouched behind sandbags. I'd start their turn and before I had taken any actions, he's getting shot at from several different angles. Lost one militiaman that way already - never got to fire off a shot - and that was from as defensive a position as I could get. Seeing that made me panic a bit and spend less time in fire mode. You can definitely get shot at during your turn without moving or firing first.

What do you mean by "all of the mechanics"?

I just meant at what point in the game do the levels stop acting as a tutorial, unlocking and explaining all the different facets to the game. At what point is it assumed you know all of the aspects of gameplay and settle in to use them all? For instance, I know I have just scratched the beginning of the game - haven't upgraded any equipment, spent XP, none of it - so I can't really see the game for all it actually is just yet.

 

[NullPointer]

I'm (positively) surprised at how fast the answering speed still is here considering the age of the thread.

I appreciate it as well

Seems this game isn't what I thought it was at first. I have some experimenting to do.

 

[Zeliard]

I just meant at what point in the game do the levels stop acting as a tutorial, unlocking and explaining all the different facets to the game. At what point is it assumed you know all of the aspects of gameplay and settle in to use them all? For instance, I know I have just scratched the beginning of the game - haven't upgraded any equipment, spent XP, none of it - so I can't really see the game for all it actually is just yet.

When you get the tank, that's when all of that stuff starts opening up. I think that starts in Chapter 4. I think skirmishes open up in Chapter 3, and those are a great touch.

 

[QuantumSingularity]

Well this is where the confusion is coming from. I can understand that if I move into their line of fire they will attempt to take me down. I also get that enemies can return fire after you attack. But what was surprising me was my non-moving units. The ones crouched behind sandbags. I'd start their turn and before I had taken any actions, he's getting shot at from several different angles. Lost one militiaman that way already - never got to fire off a shot - and that was from as defensive a position as I could get. Seeing that made me panic a bit and spend less time in fire mode. You can definitely get shot at during your turn without moving or firing first.

As soon as you select a unit and move into real-time mode, if that unit is in an enemy's range of fire, the enemy will immediately start to shoot at your active unit.
(Actually, if the enemy isn't facing your unit, it might take a second or two for the enemy to turn in your direction and start firing.)

 

[comedian]

Militia men are weak, as your character increase levels, better armor they'll be able to take more shots. When your in Decision mode(no idea what the name is , but when you choose which soldier to use) when you place the arrow on top of a soldier you can see which enemies can see your soldier(emphasis on the "see", they might be able to see you but they can be too far to fire at you when you control your character).

I think by mission 2 you get all the "mechanics" . In a battle all you really do is Control your soldiers and issue orders(they can boost your soldiers, heal them, send a mortar strike etc..).

At first you wont see much use in orders and untill mission 8-10 you don't really need to know how to use them. Also your soldiers "abilities"(i.e Dessert breed ) are usefull thougth arent paramount. Also soldiers friendships are more of a later-on kind of thing to think about.

 

[Surreal]

As soon as you select a unit and move into real-time mode, if that unit is in an enemy's range of fire, the enemy will immediately start to shoot at your active unit.
(Actually, if the enemy isn't facing your unit, it might take a second or two for the enemy to turn in your direction and start firing.)

Yeah, you should always try to use units that are outside the enemy's range. You move into range and kill them in one turn (pretty easy if you're aiming for the head), then get some cover. Although you'll still get shot at behind sandbags, your defense is much higher.

If you want to use a unit in an enemy's range, you'll take pretty heavy damage even if you press R1 ASAP.

 

[NullPointer]

As soon as you select a unit and move into real-time mode, if that unit is in an enemy's range of fire, the enemy will immediately start to shoot at your active unit.
(Actually, if the enemy isn't facing your unit, it might take a second or two for the enemy to turn in your direction and start firing.)

This seems to sum it up.

So if I select a unit, and that unit is within an enemy's line of sight and weapon range, my unit will take enemy fire (except from a few units like snipers).

Now if I sat still, hunched behind cover while the enemy fires - eventually they will expend their clip and I now have all the time in the world to counter-attack?

If this is true, there would seem to be almost a disincentive to giving orders to wounded units in defensive positions. If you never "activate" them the enemy won't counter-attack them?

Sorry if I'm asking too many damn questions - just want to know what I can rely on in battle.

 

[Durante]

Now if I sat still, hunched behind cover while the enemy fires - eventually they will expend their clip and I now have all the time in the world to counter-attack?

If you press R1 while they reload.

If this is true, there would seem to be almost a disincentive to giving orders to wounded units in defensive positions. If you never "activate" them the enemy won't counter-attack them?

That depends on what you mean by "defensive positions". If you crouch behind sandbags then attacks shouldn't do much unless your unit is severely wounded. But it's very rare to be in a situation where giving orders to a unit that is in attack range of any enemy makes sense. Usually you should never leave units in such vulnerable positions in the first place.

Sorry if I'm asking too many damn questions - just want to know what I can rely on in battle.

You could play a few hours and find out, that's what I did It's not like you'll lose any of the first 5 or 6 battles.

 

[QuantumSingularity]

Now if I sat still, hunched behind cover while the enemy fires - eventually they will expend their clip and I now have all the time in the world to counter-attack?

They will only stop firing at you if your unit is in aiming mode. If your unit is in movement mode (you can still move the camera with the right stick), the enemy will continue to reload and fire at your active unit.

If this is true, there would seem to be almost a disincentive to giving orders to wounded units in defensive positions. If you never "activate" them the enemy won't counter-attack them?

Pretty much, yeah.

 

[Surreal]

This seems to sum it up.

So if I select a unit, and that unit is within an enemy's line of sight and weapon range, my unit will take enemy fire (except from a few units like snipers).

Now if I sat still, hunched behind cover while the enemy fires - eventually they will expend their clip and I now have all the time in the world to counter-attack?

If this is true, there would seem to be almost a disincentive to giving orders to wounded units in defensive positions. If you never "activate" them the enemy won't counter-attack them?

Sorry if I'm asking too many damn questions - just want to know what I can rely on in battle.

Well any unit that can shoot at you while you are running (scouts, shock troopers, engineers) has unlimited ammo. Its just that they reload and allow you to close ground without getting shot at for a few seconds. The point is, if your guy has low health don't even bother playing him unless you know you won't meet enemy resistance. Because most of the time they'll shoot you right when you get into range and get a few shots off until you can manage to hit R1.

 

[NullPointer]

If you press R1 while they reload.

OK, I think I get it now. Time to put this info into practice.

Usually you should never leave units in such vulnerable positions in the first place.

What can I say? Turn limits make me hasty. I spearhead forward using bounding overwatch and try to move up as close as I can to the enemy, while still having adequate protection.

You could play a few hours and find out, that's what I did It's not like you'll lose any of the first 5 or 6 battles.

Fair enough :lol Thanks all for spelling out everything I needed to know. Cheers.

 

[ezekial45]

Need some advice. Is lvl 8 for all classes too low for chapter 11? I try to lvl all my classes at once.

 

[djkimothy]

Need some advice. Is lvl 8 for all classes too low for chapter 11? I try to lvl all my classes at once.

You should be fine.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Wow I didn't know Hitoshi Sakimoto was making the music for this game.

It sounds very different than his past work.

Anyway I'm so sick of having no games to play on PS3, I'm gonna order this game.

 

[I'm an expert]

Been more than a month since I beat this game but I still love reading this thread and thinking about it. I can't wait to do my new game+ file and try to A everything. Such a good game.

 

[Loudninja]

Hey how long does it take to beat the game anyways?

Also is the story sad ?

 

[VegaShinra]

Finally beat this game. Wow, wow, wow, this game was amazing. It's sad to know the game sold next to nothing, though. PS3 owners have to play this game. If you skip over it and bitch there is nothing to play on PS3 you can fuck yourself. The story is so sad and depressing, but amazing at too. Sure, it doesn't pick up until Chapter 7-8, but the game is terrific.

 

[AllGamer]

Hey how long does it take to beat the game anyways?

30-40h

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

I`m up to chp 6, loving the game so far! I`ve been waiting ages for a good SRPG that`s not a Fire Emblem (Sorry, Disgaea does nothing for me!) and now I finally have one

Amazing that it comes from one of Sega`s internal teams too! (How much of this team was made up of those who worked on Skies of Arcadia BTW?)

 

[djkimothy]

Hey how long does it take to beat the game anyways?

Also is the story sad ?

Over 30 hours, depends how much time you spend on Skirmishes.

And yes, the story gets sad at some points.

 

[Gibbo]

Just completed this game yesterday. Probably one of the best endings i've seen for a game- just the right length, and has that feel good feel to it without coming across as being too cheesy.

I'm pretty surprised by how good the AI is actually- screw up one movement and the computer WILL capitalize on your mistakes- most of the time.


As mentioned in my previous post, this is the first RPG that i've played and completed this year...and I've played quite a fair bit -Lost Odyssey/Disgea3/ IU/ Blue Dragon/TOV- all of which have not managed to hold my attention till the very end. VC however, has done so with much ease

If you are a PS3 owner and do not buy this game, you are an asshole.

 

[comedian]

It took me about 50 hours to finish the game(just story) but my fault for not knowing you could save in the middle of battles(I can't count how many times i spent 1 hour in battle only to get eldeheiss to get one shoted and have to start from scratch).

 

[MoogPaul]

I would just like to say that my wife is awesome and I am no longer part of the problem

It was one of two copies they had and is now the only ps3 game I own, lol.

Spoiler

pay no attention to the dreamcast, ps2, and the gamecube controller

 

[radiantdreamer]

I would just like to say that my wife is awesome and I am no longer part of the problem

It was one of two copies they had and is now the only ps3 game I own, lol.

Spoiler

pay no attention to the dreamcast, ps2, and the gamecube controller

Excellent! Your first and only PS3 game! Good choice. Keep it forever.

My wife bought me my PS3 for xmas last year, and the first game I got with it was Folklore. Also an awesome game.

 

[panda21]

this game is so good

easily game of the year

everytime i play it i cant help but think i really want a final fantasy tactics like this

wendy rules!

 

[Hcoregamer00]

Reading some of the older posts in this thread, it is pretty sad how some people had sanguine expectations on sales and argued to the bitter end. I guess they may have got the point when reality struck and the November NPD sales came out.

Or I guess they don't like to admit that I am right when I said the game would be a sales failure.