Chapter 1 – Arrival at Welt

From the beginning you will able to control Runan, Arkis, Kreiss and Garo. Runan is one of the main heroes so I suggest using him. Arkis and Kreiss are both solid units, both who are needed to recruit their respective “lovers” later on in the game. Garo is a pretty poor unit.

This is a very quick and simple map, but you do need some care to get the most out of it. For the first few turns you will be unable to leave the peninsula from where you begin, so you should visit all the villages for information and (more importantly) new items. In the blue building you can have a character learn the Sea Fighter skill. This skill improves their fighting abilities in battles at sea. Garo already has this skill, so give it to one of your other three characters. Once you’ve finished, head as far down as possible as the bridge will open up eventually.

The two female NPCs who are fleeing from enemy forces are Sasha and Kate. These two can both be recruited, by making Runan talk to Sasha. After they’ve finished talking, Kate will automatically join your side. Kate is kind of average, but Sasha is slightly more special. Sasha starts off very weak, but it may be worth training her since she can promote twice. Later, Sasha can use a Pegasus Flute to promote to a Pegasus Knight, but you should wait until Level 10 before promoting her as she will only learn the Gale and Elite skills as a Princess. I don’t want to spoil things, but if you’re a perfectionist I suggest you train Kate as well – even if a little.

Now, back to the situation at hand. The enemy soldiers aren’t much threat, but the Armour Knight boss might be. If you’re familiar with Fire Emblem, you’ll know that Runan’s Rapier is effective against Armour Knights. However, you should note that Kate’s Estoc is also effective.

After completing the map, a long event will play and you’ll arrive at Verge, home of Lord Marlon. He’s grateful enough to lend one of his men on your journey. It may not seem like it, but who you pick will effect something in the long run… Here’s my quick low -down on the characters.

Narron – He starts off terrible, but he has Elite, which doubles the EXP he receives in battle! His stats grow at a terribly rate, but he levels up fast to make up for it. Not only that, but he promotes to Gold Knight – possibly the best class in the game. The only downside is that he doesn’t trigger any useful events.

Ruka – A bow user. Right now your party has a serious lack of them, and there aren’t that many bow users in the game really. He can receive a stronger Hand Bow from Raquel and he is the only person who can convince Raquel to KO human enemies later in the game.

Ezekiel – A pretty solid Knight. If you’re planning on completing the Leteena Event, you should recruit him now.

Lee – The only Bishop in the game. He’s decent enough at healing and comes with a Far -Healing Staff, which could come in useful. He also gives the Defence Staff to Plum during the next chapter.

Once you’ve made your choice, then it’s all decided. If you really want to know, you’ll get one more chance to pick from these characters if you really regretted your choice.

Chapter 2 – Fighting the Bandits

In addition to one of the four characters that you chose at Verge you will also be accompanied by Estelle and Raffin. Estelle is pretty average, but that’s necessarily a bad thing. She can learn the Elite, Gale and Life or Death skills – the latter two are a deadly combination in itself. Raffin comes promoted, but fear not because he can promote again into a Dragon Knight. He’s a pretty solid unit, if a little unlucky. Now it’s not all good news since Kate and Sasha temporarily leave your party, but you can do without them for now.

Lots of bandits here, and there are lots of new allies scattered around as well. Barts and Enteh require attention first of all. Enteh is one of the four Shamans and if she dies you get a Game Over, so you should protect her at all costs. Right now, it’s best to shield her with Barts and heal him when needed. Barts is a half decent Axe Fighter and he’s needed to recruit Thomas. Enteh is so -and -so, but she is a mandatory unit and therefore must be used. Next is Julia who is trying to protect some villages from Thieves. Julia is pretty deadly with her Kill Blade, but you’ll want to rush some horseback units to help her. Julia is needed to recruit Vega and she can learn the potent Dragon Saint skill in Chapter 30. Other than that, I don’t really like her much because of her poor strength growth.

This chapter isn’t very difficult, so just give it a good shot. Some reinforcements will start popping up from the west so take note of that. When things have quietened down, there are several things to do. Barts can obtain a Gold Bag and Pole Axe from two of the houses. If Enteh enters one of the houses she will recruit Plum (the same house where Barts receives the Pole Axe). Finally, if Plum enters one of the houses she will receives Lan’s Mirror – very handy as it possesses the Charisma skill effect…

Actually, the final thing is to take out the boss. Yarzam is your notorious boss today and a pretty tough one too. However, after some attacking and healing he’ll fall and you can make Runan seize the gate. Once the chapter ends, if Lee is in your party he will give the Defence Staff to Plum and the two will get an increased support bonus.

Chapter 3 – Encounter

It’s likely that you’ll see more of these “Encounters” later on in the game. When I meant that, I don’t mean the enemy running up to surprise you, but optional maps that you can return to for training (of course, this Encounter isn’t optional and nor are some others, but I’m sure you get the idea…). Anyway, after selecting your units the chapter will begin with the enemy’s turn. You might also have noticed that Sasha and Kate have returned in this chapter.

This chapter can be a bit tricky, especially with all those annoying horseback units. It’s a good idea to form a wall with your stronger characters and keep your cool. The first strike can be tough to handle but it can be done. Now, this chapter is just a case of moving over to the boss and giving him a good whack, but there are some important things to note as well. Firstly, the villages have re -opened so don’t forget to visit them all, again! Also, some Horse Thieves will appear later on. These guys prioritise the villages, so beat them up before they get there. Also, about the villages – one of them houses a tricky character called Narcus. He’s got to be one of the most frustrating characters to recruit, but he’s got his uses. Make Runan visit the village where he is so it’ll activate an event to recruit Mel (as well as him) later on.

The boss of this chapter is a promoted Commando Knight. He only moves to attack if you are in his attack range, so make use of this by luring him out and then surrounding him with your heavy hitters.

(Some time during this chapter, Garo will talk to Julia. If you press the first option and read through some long dialogue it will increase their support bonus towards each other.)

Chapter 4 – Tragic Soldiers

Your new allies in this chapter are Vega, Raquel and Mahter. Mahter is recruited from the beginning, but the other aren’t. To recruit Raquel you’ll need to visit the north west village with Sasha. Let Vega talk to Julia and he will initiate a battle with he. Vega will kick her butt, and then he’ll join your side (Julia will be left with 1 HP after this talk, but you get a free Healing Fruit as compensation…). Vega is a very good unit, especially with his personal weapon Shramm. Mahter is pretty good, but there’s something that you should know about Pegasus Knights – their class change item (Dragon Flute) is a real pain to obtain! Raquel cannot KO human enemies, but she’s strong as well, so she can weaken down enemies for growing characters to finish off.

This chapter can be a bit intimidating at first sight. The village to the north west will be targeted by thieves very quickly, so you’ll want to hurry – whether with horseback units or Mahter. The other thing is Roger and Mel. Those two are happily sitting in front of the gate that you must seize to complete this chapter… Well not for long anyway, as they will charge when you reach Turn 5. Both can be recruited later on, but they’ll only attack you during this chapter. Mel is no problem since her strength can barely scratch even Plum or Enteh. Roger is probably the most dangerous, especially since he’s promoted and he has support bonus from his fiancée, Mel. The trick is that Roger does not attack female units, so if you can somehow surround him with four female units (or even three), you’re sorted!

With Roger stuck, it’s just a matter of getting Runan to the gate. If you really want to, you can train your female units on Roger, just don’t get him killed as you won’t be able to recruit him later and also Mel goes crazy! (Trust me, you don’t want to see her go crazy.) Once the chapter is complete, Roger and Mel will retreat from the battlefield.

Chapter 5 – Legend’s Other Side

This chapter is pretty small and short, with a lot of dark mages and allied mages fighting it out. Early on, you will see Gwenchaos kill Eisenbaha and then he will leave, so don’t worry – you don’t have to fight Gwen! However, the dark mages he leaves behind are all for your taking. You’ll be able to recruit Maruju and Zeek in this chapter. Maruju is the idiotic allied mage who is trying to talk to Enteh. Zeek is… you can find out later. Zeek is an extremely powerful character, but use him sparingly as he might not be around forever… Maruju isn’t half bad, so pray that he doesn’t get killed before joining your side. He does have an Amulet, which negates one fatal hit, so no need to worry too much there. Sylpheeze, the NPC Saint, unfortunately cannot be recruited.

You might also have noticed a Dark Knight who has a portrait and some incredible stats. Don’t make the same mistake I did and attack him. Instead, just talk to him with Runan. You’ll be glad that you did. The boss has Black Hole, which does area damage so watch out for that. When you’ve defeated the boss he’ll revive himself, but no worries because he’ll just warp away. The dark mages are a bit annoying, but your mainly physical army should be able to slice through them with ease. That is, if they don’t keep recovering themselves with their Janura spell.

After the chapter, Maruju will receive the Wundergust spell if he survived.

Chapter 6 – River Battle

Now, this chapter can be a bit annoying at the beginning since some of your characters may be positioned in the middle of nowhere. The characters you can recruit are Norton and Mel. Norton appears from the north east eventually and can be recruited with Sasha. He is an Armour Knight and can class change to the horseback/armoured Iron Knight. Mel will appear as an NPC from the south east if both Roger survived and Runan talked to Narcus during Chapter 3. Mel is very weak when it comes to fighting, but she is the only Troubadour in the game so you may want to use her. Mel also recruits Roger.

From the start your army will be split into three forces. The main force should attack straight down the bridge. Somebody with strong defence, like Zeek, should lead the charge. Those who are on either side of the map should be given the task of destroying the ballistae before retreating back to the main army. The rest of the chapter is pretty much straightforward with only the boss posing any difficulty. Try luring him out before taking him down with Runan’s Rapier and Maruju’s wind magic.

Before completion of the chapter you should make Mel talk to Sasha to get the Pegasus Flute. If you want, you can use this straightaway to promote Sasha into a Pegasus Knight, but I recommend using it once she’s at least Level 10.

Chapter 7 – Liberation of the Palace

This is pretty much the grand finale at Welt Island, although you will return here with Holmes later. Your characters will be split into two forces, one outside the city and the other inside, but it’s not a problem since they are relatively close to one another. The characters who you can recruit are Thomas and Roger. Thomas is one of two Wood Shooters that you can recruit and he can equip any ballistae that you can come across. He is recruited with Barts. Once you pass onto the west side of the map, Roger will appear with a bunch of knights. Roger can be recruited with Mel. He’s a fairly solid character with a good selection of skills.

The blue building near the centre of the map will teach you the Arena Fighter skill. This skill increases your battle stats in the Arena so it’s best to give it to somebody who you’re planning to Arena abuse with! Talking about Arena abuse, it’s actually quite difficult since you can face some extremely strong contenders. If you feel like you’re going to lose, don’t hesitate to press whatever button it is to leave the arena since those who lose in the arena die.

Aside from Roger’s reinforcements, this chapter is again pretty straightforward. Early on, you will get rushed by a couple of strong units such as a Sniper and a Wood Shooter. The Wood Shooter is equipped with the Gatling Bow (can attack 4 times) so you should be careful. Also, be warned that the Snipers have increased range on the towers and they also recover HP there. However, Mahter can take them all out with proper care. There is also a Bishop who has the Far -Healing Staff. You may want to dispose of him quickly because he can prove a bit of a nuisance as the chapter progresses.

Onto the boss. You don’t actually fight the Duke, Codda, but the General below him instead. The boss has a Sword Breaker, which can instantly break any sword weapons if he lands a hit on you. As such, you’ll want to attack him with non -sword using units or perhaps Maruju. Once he’s defeated you can get that Sword Breaker for yourself if it takes your fancy.

Chapter 8 – Sacred Dragon Neuron

Things start to get interesting now! Runan begins to leave the Island of Welt towards the Lieberia mainland. Along the way he bumps into his good friend Holmes…

Potentially this can be an annoying chapter, but it’s not too bad. This will also be the first time you encounter monsters. You’ll be seeing more of those – especially when playing in Holmes’ route… The characters who you can recruit are Katri, Xeno and Yuni. Katri is one of the four Shamans, just like Enteh. Whilst Enteh is the Shaman of Water, Katri is the Shaman of Fire. Eventually you’ll find out who the other two are as well… Katri is another mandatory character, but she’s pretty good since she has the Summon skill (can summon monsters with summon staves) and she can use her Ring of Salia to… Nah, that would be spoiling. You’ll understand what the ring does once you’ve done this chapter. Xeno is a Fighter – like the ones in Fire Emblem: Gaiden that use swords. He’s a pretty exceptional unit and I recommend using him. Yuni is a Thief and therefore has her uses.

The aim of this chapter is to reach the gate near the top of the map. However, there are tons of monsters in the way and eventually plenty of annoying raiding pirates as well. Once you’re in control of Katri, you should bear in mind that if she dies its Game Over – same with Runan and Enteh. So immediately use her Zombie Staff to summon NPC monsters. You don’t have to worry about her safety later, but it would be recommended to backup her up as soon as possible. Xeno and Yuni serve as guardian and raider respectively. Yuni goes to grab all the treasures and Xeno can look after her – until you provide more help. You’ll want to get all the chests quick as well, because later pirates will come for them.

There’s not really much else to talk about. The pirates pop up from about Turn 5 and appear from the north west, then the west and finally the south west. These guys aren’t really any trouble. To the south east of the map, where there are lots of trees, Glace Mummies will eventually spawn there as reinforcements. Quite a few of these appear and they are pretty weak, but give lots of EXP! So go and train your weak characters (like Sasha) there. There are a few Zombies there as well, but it doesn’t matter much.

After the chapter you will be unable to use Katri until a later point in the game.

Reunion 1

Whenever you see Reunion as a title, it means that Runan and Holmes’ groups meet up on the map. Only at these times can you trade characters and items between the two groups. When you get to these points, it’s a good idea to spread characters/items equally amongst the two, since you’ll be using both groups in equal amounts. That said, having certain characters in a particular group may be beneficial…

Recommended for Runan’s Party

Raffin – Can recruit Sharon and Billford (can be recruited without) and also promote into Dragon Knight

Plum – Can learn the Dance skill

Maruju – Can obtain the Reeve Tome

Sasha – Can gain a +3 Luck bonus by talking to Loffaru

Recommended for Holme’s Party

Sasha/Kate/Raffin/Estelle/Norton/Roger – Can recruit one of Lee, Ezekiel, Ruka, Narron and Lionel

Barts – Can recruit Plum again (can be recruited without)

Mahter – Can recruit Frau (can be recruited without)

Kreiss and Arkis – Needed for Leteena Event

Yuni – Can give the Power Staff to Lyria

Maruju – Can obtain Sylpheed (can be obtained using Alicia instead)

Roger and Mel – Mel can obtain the Magic Staff

Before leaving, if you want to complete the Leteena Event, give a Healing Drop and Amulet to Kreiss.

Chapter 9 – Two Paths

By this stage you should have less units to choose from, after sending some to Holmes’ group. However, you will be able to use Meriah from this chapter onwards. Meriah is another mage, but she specialises in Light and Fire magic as opposed to Maruju’s Wind and Thunder. She also has exclusive use of Starlight (and later Aura Rain). Personally I find she’s much better than Maruju, but it’s your call.

Once again, your army is split into two forces. The northern forces will face the stronger enemies, while the southern ones will just end up wandering around the desert for a while. The northern strike is pretty tough at first, so you should try your best to hold your guard. Meriah will end up there so you should take advantage of her Starlight spell (it also boosts avoid). Back to the southern units… You should try to move them back towards the grass to rendezvous with the rest of your units. Also by the time those units approach the northern grass, reinforcements in the form of horseback knights will probably have begun appearing from the south east. These guys can be a pain, but a high defence character should be able to deal with them. Zeek can take them all out without a sweat.

To recruit Narcus, you need to talk to him with Runan. I’m not sure if the enemies attack him (later on, some Dark Mages and Witches appear a bit too close to him), so its best to get some of your units to help him – preferably Mahter or magic units (magic units don’t get reduced movement in the desert). Once you’ve recruited Narcus, immediately move him two squares to the right of where he started to find a Guild Key. You can use this to access the secret shop – the building to the north west of the map.

When you’ve got to the boss, an event will be triggered the moment you engage the boss. Dagon, the boss of Chapter 5, will return and replace the General as boss. He’s got pretty much the same stats as before so he’s pretty easily defeated.

Chapter 10 – Freedom and Justice

If you just recruited Narcus, you’ll find he’ll have left your party and taken half your gold with him. That swine… Anyway, moving on. This will be the last Runan chapter for a while so make the most of it!

Before we begin, you may have noticed an extremely powerful enemy – Ernst, a Gold Knight. He’s just there to scare you and he’ll leave the moment you start the map. However, bear in mind that you will have to fight him one day… The characters that can be recruited are Mintz, Rennie, Sharon and Billford. Mintz can only be recruited if you seize the gate after 9 turns. Rennie can either be recruited in this very chapter by seizing the gate within 9 turns (or in a later chapter). I recommend getting her later, since it’s quite tough to reach the gate in such short a time period. Sharon can be recruited with Raffin and Billford can be recruited with Sharon. Both Sharon and Billford can also be recruited if they survive until the end of the chapter. I recommend recruiting using Raffin since it’ll also activate the event to promote Raffin! All four characters are pretty decent, with Rennie standing out the most although she starts off very weak. Mintz is good, but he’s pretty unlucky.

Some important things to point out. The most north eastern house is home to a very strange event. If you make Plum enter that house she will get abducted… But it’s also a good thing since she’ll learn the Dance skill later. The white L shaped building to the far south west is home to an outrageous merchant who will sell a rare Dragon Flute for 10,000 Gold. Bearing in mind that Narcus has probably taken half of your funds, where on earth is the money going to come from? Please tell me that you saved those Gold Bags, because now is the time to open them!

Now, onto the strategy for this chapter. This basically comprises of sitting still until the coast is clear. That is, don’t move too far to the right either as the mercenaries will come and attack you – Sharon and Billford included. From the start, there is a 2 square gap (around the area where the land increases in height) that you can fill with your two strongest characters. If you’re really unlucky, you might get attacked by Mintz, but he should retreat once it nears Turn 9.

Once the coast is clear, it’s time to move to the fortress where Mintz was heading. The fortress isn’t really heavily guarded and the boss is pretty weak so you’ll have no problem clearing this chapter. Now, once you begin the next chapter we’ll be joining Holmes on his own personal quest!