------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Destiny of an Emperor II Copyright 2006 Lordyuanshu.com (dad_crotty@yahoo.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Index a) Updates b) DoaE 2 Background/Gameplay concepts c) Walkthrough d) Items e) Weapons/Armor f) Enemy Analysis g) Han Army Analysis h) Random Things i) Tactics/Arrays j) Ending ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ a) Updates .50 - 1-1-06 - Began writing. .80 - 1-4-06 - Finished walkthrough .85 - 1-5-06 - Started on the rest... .98 - 1-12-06 - Finished! Kind of. Although tactics need to be entered still...but there are few things left. .99 - 1-14-06 - Okay, tactics and arrays are done. Nearly everything has been entered, although there are some still odds and ends I'll clear up in the next few weeks. Basically I'm in the process of leveling up/maxing out and I'll analyze the soldier increases when I'm done. .995 - 1-16-06 - Well, level 99 is the max. Just finished that up and I'm not sure what else is left, so I might take a break and work on the site for a while until I think of more to add. Check the soldier part at the end of the guide for the updates... .996 - 3-05-06 - Revised the Ba Gua Tactic (with help from Dan N (sirhatter) .998 - 4-25-06 - Added some nice new features regarding arrays, tactics, and other random DoaE 2 occurrences. Item duplication trick is important, go read about it and thanks again to Samuel for that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ b) Destiny of an Emperor II Story and Gameplay In gameplay, Destiny of an Emperor II is very similar to it's prequel Destiny of an Emperor. However, Destiny of an Emperor II is a more accurate (not perfect certainly)portrayal of Liu Bei's attempt at restoring the Han. For those unfamiliar with the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", this is all based in late 2nd and early 3rd century China. Liu Bei's kingdom of Shu fell to the stronger nation of Wei in reality yet in Destiny of an Emperor II the goal is to aid Liu Bei in uniting China. Those who have known of DoaE2 for a while have known that it has been translated only recently (2001? 2002 maybe?). This was done by Destiny Translations, Magic Translations, Gaijin Productions and The Vale I believe. Again these people are thanked by everyone at Lordyuanshu.com and we still hope for the DoaE 3 games to be released on Genesis and SNES soon, as these have great potential also. DoaE2 was never released on the NES in the United States, despite Destiny of an Emperor being considered one of the most revolutionary role playing games ever made by a large audience. Fast and efficient gameplay both in and out of battle was wonderful in an era when other RPGs (Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior for example) were notorious for slow-moving characters, storylines and battles. While you aren't able to recruit the 100 or so generals that you were in the first Destiny of an Emperor, the thirty four ones that you do recruit go up levels with your army. This is important as you then have more real options at the end of the game as each of the 35 characters provides their own unique option, instead of having 8 or 9 generals that go up levels to choose from. Another change from the first to the second is that each character can equip their own type of weapon (ie axe, sword, spear, etc) and also can equip a shield along with armor and a helmet. Generals have an official agility statistic as well as a deeper array of tactics. In addition, DoaE2 allows you to cast tactics outside of battle, nice for healing/casting suo di/casting yan dun. The tactics will be explained as best as I can later, after the walkthrough. The best way to go about it is just to experiment, you'll get used to the new Fire/Water/Boulder/Healing tactics you get but try out your "other" tactics to get a feel for them. Some of them, like An Sha (instant assassination) and Li Jian (cause enemy to attack own army), are deadly in battle. Also arrays are available, creating an increase/decrease in attack/defense/agility for the cost of TP, among other effects. Initially I created a guide at my site with pictures and such, but realized that it would probably be a wise idea to create a text guide as well. This is my first attempt at this sort of thing so bear with me if you see my guide-writing inexperience at hand. I'll try to section off the game in logical intervals, and the walkthrough will go off in tangents when necessary to explain concepts/tactics as you progress and get them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ c) Walkthrough Make a new history file. I would choose fast for message speed by the way. The separations and the work in general is very similar to my work at the website, minus the pictures of course. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chasing Yuan Shu and Evading Cao Cao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The game begins with a summary of what happened historically before where you come in. The allied forces stop Dong Zhuo, while Yuan Shu steals the Imperial Seal and declares himself emperor. Cao Cao then dispatches you to deal with him and the screen opens with you by Cao Cao. Cao Cao has a lot of power in China at this time so get used to seeing him, he'll be hounding you throughout the game. He will offer you Lu Zhao and Zhu Ling, two mediocre yet somewhat-valuable generals in this early stage of the game. If you recruit them, equip their weapons/armor(along with Liu Bei and everyone else you get). Cao Cao will scoff at you and you will not be able to get them ever if you say no. This is not fatal, but may cause you to fight up a few more levels to get by this Yuan Shu capture mission. As you leave, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will come and force themselves in your party and you'll grow to love them. Zhang Fei has the highest strength possible, but his intelligence can make him a viable target for tactics by the enemy. Always watch this with Zhang Fei. Guan Yu is one of the top generals (check the Han general analysis section) in the entire game, and Liu Bei is more than serviceable for the time you have him. Make Liu Bei your tactician and order your generals by soldier count (this is what I do at least). Check the town and the shops. Frequent the armory in each new city. New weapons and armor are key. If you have the money, save it for that. There is a gym also but I don't recommend using it unless you are lazy and need a quick level boost (sometimes you can be too far ahead for them to train you). Item shops have the necessities and you can save and store items in the dragon-symbol house. Dong Cheng is hanging around town and also you'll hear a lot of people complainng about Cao Cao's motives. XU ZHOU Weapons - Short Sword - 100, Stone Axe - 80, Wood Spear - 80, Leather Armor - 300, Leather Helmet - 100 and Leather Shield - 100. Items - Herbal Medicine - 50, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 (allows you to avoid battle - same as the tactic Yan Dun) Gym - 500 Buy the Leather equipment if you can afford it. Specifically for Liu Bei, you'll find out why later. Go outside and fight around and gain a level or two. Take note of the different terrain effects (Zhang Fei being better on mountain, Guan Yu on plains, etc..). If you are up for some exploring before you go off to Yuan Shu, go northeast to a cave where you can get some quality items, notably a Copper Sword and some Leather equipment. This will help immensely against Yuan Shu. Head south of Xu Zhou when you are ready, to meet Ji Ling. Ji Ling comes with Liang Gang and Liang Ji. Liang Ji is a little bit better than Liang Gang but neither of these two should pose a threat to you. Instead, ignore them and absorb their weak attacks and take out Ji Ling. He is a brute and is much superior to the others, and generally taking out the top general or top tactician leads to victory. Use the all-out command to mop up the Liang's and the generic forces. All-out is a vital move; It will save you so much time and make the game so much more enjoyable for you. If you lost a decent amount of soldiers, head back and rest. If not, continue to the east and north to fight Yuan Yin. Yuan Yin is the first able tactician you meet. He comes with two decent fighters in Chen Lan and Li Feng. Again, careful with Zhang Fei, he might get caught with a Lian Huo or two from Yuan Yin. Take out Yuan Yin, but beware of the decent strength of the other two generals. Really though it shouldn't be a problem, Chi Xin your party members that get hurt. Rest up before you continue however, Yuan Shu is coming up soon. Entering the cave, head east immediately for 120 gold coins. Now go west and north for a while, until you can go east. An herbal is here so pick that up and continue on northward. The left path going north yields a Leather Helmet and the next path a Leather Armor. Continue east here and follow the path as it winds back west and north. Grab the visible treasure for another herbal. As you continue you will see Yuan Shu waiting. Chi Xin your party members and get ready for a five person army. Each person in Yuan Shu's army is a fighter first and foremost. Yuan Shu has a 190 attack, pretty good for this early in the game. Take him out ASAP, with tactics like Lian Huo. Chi Xin the rest of your members as they absorb hits from the other fighters. Once Yuan Shu goes, start taking the others out one by one. Lei Bo is the next best fighter and Yue Jiu has a low soldier count so you may want to target them next. Ji Ling returns and he is a formidable fighter as well with his soldiers but his attack is on par with the others. Zhang Xun is relatively worthless, leave him until the end. As long as your tactics are up and Chi Xin is in use, you should overpower these five once Lord Yuan goes down. Head back to Xu Zhou with Yuan Shu defeated. Lu Zhao and Zhu Ling will scurry off with the Imperial Seal to return to Cao Cao. Ugg, sheep. If you didn't recruit them you'll hear nothing as you return. Chen Deng is here at the gates to warn you of Cao Cao's knowledge of your blood oath. As you walk around town you'll notice another unique-looking general, this is Che Zhou. You will fight him upon talking to him. He will tell you that Ma Teng and Dong Cheng (guy who was here before) have been BEHEADED!!!! He has a decent amount of soldiers but his strength isn't good enough to wear down the three brothers. Go back to Chen Deng now. He will tell you that you are probably screwed if you stay around after doing what you've done, so you should probably leave to Yuan Shao. He says he'll take you north to Zheng Xuan to get an Introduction Letter to Yuan Shao. Before you leave, transfer any Leather equipment that Guan or Zhang have to Chen Deng or Liu Bei. Buy Liu and Chen the remaining Leather armor. As you leave Xu Zhou, Cao Cao attacks you with a frightening army. Zhang Liao, Xun Yu, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei back him. Yeah, run away. But Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are lost! That is no good. Well, head north and conserve your tactics as you'll need them for this long treck. In Zheng Xuan's estate, head north and you'll see a blob on the screen (at least on my emulator). It is indeed Zheng Xuan and he will give you the letter, but first you must have the Map (you can do this before you talk to him). The Map is in the cave to the east. Take the northern path for some gold, then take the lower path for some more gold and a Leather Helmet, Leather Armor, Leather Shield, Copper Sword (GREAT weapon for Liu Bei here), a Revive, and finally the Map. Now head to Zheng Xuan to get the letter, and you can then take that to the port (past the Yuan Shu cave). So march all the way back (ignoring the Cao Cao-guarded Xu Zhou) to the cave and go through it. Sail across the sea and just head straight to Ji Zhou, so head north east. You will be blocked by Guan Ping's home, so enter and leave and go north again to Ji Zhou castle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Escaping Cao Cao and Serving Yuan Shao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once you enter Ji Zhou, explore the city. The weapon shop has some nice additions, notably the Scale Shield and the Copper Sword. The Copper Spear is nice also, buy one, you'll need it in a second. Go talk to Yuan Shao now. He'll comment on you ousting his brother-in-law Yuan Shu, saying how much "of a lout he was"! Well. When you wish to continue the storyline, "USE" the Zheng letter and Yuan Shao will open up to you. He is happy you wish to fight alongside him, and puts Yan Liang in your party and suggests him be put in the front. Yan Liang is a poor man's Zhang Fei. That said he'll suffice for these few battles that you need him. Now that Copper Spear, give that to Yan Liang. If you didn't get one you may not want to get one though, he is not in your party for a long time. But leave with the three and talk to the old man outside the armory. He will tell you to go to the boat, so do so. JI ZHOU Weapons - Copper Sword - 300, Stone Saber - 80, Copper Spear - 200, Leather Armor - 300, Leather Helmet - 100 and Scale Shield - 500 Items - Herbal Medicine - 50, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 Gym - 1000 This takes you to some gates towards Luo Yang. Note that when you cross the sea with the boat, you cannot go back for the time being. So head south and the first gate is occupied by Wei Xu, Song Xian, and Lu Qian. The first and the third are the best fighters, while Song Xian is a bit weaker. Yan Liang will get critical hits every time and the other two should do just fine with their Copper Swords. Keep your soldiers up and you should have no trouble. After the fight Yan Liang, the enemy flees in terror of Yan Liang. Further south is another gate, but Chi Xin everyone to max soldiers before you hit it. Cheng Yu has 225 for intelligence here and that is the best you've seen out of an opposing general so far. Careful with him, I'd go straight after him and kill him in round one with physical attacks. You'll have to absorb the other three's attacks but that shouldn't be too difficult, have Chen Deng heal everyone after Cheng Yu is defeated. Yu Jin and Li Dian are similar fighters while Yue Jin is slightly worse than them, so consider them nearly equal and hit them with tactics to soften them up for Yan Liang's critical hits. Before you continue south after this battle you may wish to take some items and weapons from Yan Liang. The battle is against "?????" but his avatar, figure and statistics look an awful lot like a general you used to have in your army. Guan Yu. Anyway, this mystery general slaughters Yan Liang and Liu Bei flees to Ji Zhou. Back in Ji Zhou the town is unhappy with Yan Liang being defeated. The old man who helped you earlier says "you people are incompetent". Thanks bud. Head north and see Yuan Shao again. Or just go see Wen Chou and he will join you. Very similar to Yan Liang except he is stronger yet lacking in intelligence. Scary, I know. He has Yan Liang's equipment too. Head back to that gate where the ???? general killed Yan Liang. Low and behold, he will kill Wen Chou and Liu Bei will notice it is Lord Guan! The people back at Ji Zhou are frightened at the situation unfolding as two of their top generals have been murdered. Yuan Shao is furious but is rational enough to understand that having Guan Yu in his army would be an upgrade over Yan Liang and Wen Chou. A messenger is ordered to contact Guan Yu, as the scene fades. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Three Brothers Reunite ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guan Yu is hanging out with Gan & Mi and when he hears of Liu Bei's location he declares that he must return to him. The two females join you and don't fight, but they have an item slot (with Chi Tu Ma in it) so take the item in it and give it to Guan Yu. When he (or anyone) equips it the speed of the character walking around is much faster (very similar to DoaE 1) and I believe the wearer gets an agility increase also, although I cannot confirm that. At any rate, equip this on Guan Yu and make him your tactician so you can heal when necessary. Head out of this dead town now. The guards stop you for a moment but ultimately allow Guan Yu to leave. The hut outside of the castle is Hu Hua's and inside he will allow you to rest. After resting talk to him again and he will tell you that his son Hu Ban serves Wang Zhi and that he'll write a letter for you to deliver to Hu Ban to prove your cause. Remember this. Head south now. Kong Xiu will be the first to stop you and he declares that you must have papers to ask. Guan Yu realizes he has to fight his way through. Kong comes with 2 forces who are easy to destroy. Just attack Kong until he is dead and heal after the battle. Continue on for another battle, this time against Han Fu. Han Fu has a decent agility but that can't stop you, just attack him twice and he'll be gone. Again, heal up and continue on. Bian Xi will greet you at the gate and offer to get you drunk. Guan Yu follows him to the temple (filled with guards) and he asks you to drink. Now, you can say yes 3 times and each time you do it, more soldiers (probably 50% each time or something) leave Guan Yu. So if you say yes every time you could be in trouble, but just Chi Xin and you should be able to recover to full soldiers after a few turns. Or you could just say no to him right away and slaughter him as he is a poor general, similar to the last two. Your choice, doable either way. Pu Jing appears at the temple after the battle to allow you to rest. Head east now to Luo Yang before you continue on. There is not much to do here, but the armory has a Copper Saber for Guan Yu (also some good defensive equipment if you have the need/money). The people implore you to stay under Cao Cao but respect you nonetheless. LUO YANG Weapons - Copper Sword - 300, Copper Saber - 150, Wood Spear - 80, Leather Armor - 300, Leather Helmet - 100 and Scale Shield - 500 Items - Herbal Medicine - 50, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 Gym - 1500 After you are done buying what you need or training at the gym, head north for another gate. Hu Ban greets you here and remember that if you got the Hu Ban letter you can use it on him, allowing you to leave the citadel to avoid the fire attack. If you fall for the trick/accept Wang Zhi's Inn invitation, you will fight Wang Zhi with two outlaw forces and flames will take off 80-120 or so soldiers per round. Again, with Chi Xin this is still feasible as Wang Zhi is a poor tactician and little else. Qin Qi is at the last gate, and with your new Copper Saber you should be able to slice him in a round or two. Hop on the boat and you'll be near Ji Zhou! Xiahou Dun will ambush you after 15 steps or so off the boat. You cannot win and he probably won't kill you either, so fight him for a few rounds until Zhang Liao breaks it up. You can do a couple of things here. First, I would head north west to get to a village, where you can rest. The villagers tell you that there are marauders terrorizing the lands, so head to the north gate to deal with it. Zhou Cang (an ex-Yellow Scarve I believe) is at the gate with two bandit forces. Zhou Cang has a decent attack, but overall he is a pretty generic character. After getting his soldier count down he will offer to join you. What a scumbag, you can say no to him if you want. If you do, he'll be waiting inside the gate if you ever choose to forgive him. With characters at a premium at this point in the game, picking him up is advised. Rest up and head east when you are ready, to Qing Zhou castle. You'll find out that the "ruffian" who seized the city is really Zhang Fei. He calls you a traitor for choosing Cao Cao, but Guan Yu offers to prove himself. Zhang Fei throws Cai Yang out for Guan Yu to kill. Talk to Cai Yang to start the battle, going back to Qing Zhou just brings up the Zhang Fei request to kill Cai Yang. With two generals now, this should be easy. Gang up on Qin Qi's uncle Cai Yang (who is a tough warrior with 180 strength, but is alone unfortunately) and all-out when he is near death. Enter the castle afterwards and Zhang Fei will join you, along with Zhao Yun. Now this Zhao Yun character, he's going to be one of the best generals (#2 on the ranking list) that you are going to find, and you will be able to use him throughout the rest of the game. He will leave once in a while but is a must-use when available. Go towards Ji Zhou castle now, and enter the shack below it. Guan Ding is here, offering you to rest. He will also send Guan Ping to Ji Zhou to tell Liu Bei of the situation. The scene then shifts to Liu Bei. Guan Ping comes up to him and relays the message and joins. Guan has no weapons or armor so you may want to buy him some here. Talk to Yuan Shao and Liu Bei will suggest an alliance with his kinsmen Liu Biao. Yuan Shao accepts, which allows you to get past the guards. When you leave however, Guo Tu and Tian Feng stop you. These two are dangerous, especially Guo Tu. Tian Feng has 150 strength and 190 intelligence so he is dangerous overall; attack him first. Once the tactician is gone, Guo Tu will fall shortly. Head south and recruit your brothers! You now have a seven-person army for the first time yet; you can use the top 5, and the 6th is your backup while the 7th is your tactician. Liu Bei should probably be your tactician, with Chen Deng sitting out. If you want Chen Deng to be tactician (beware his intelligence isn't that good) then you can have Liu Bei fight in battle (for Zhou Cang probably). Talk to Guan Ding before you leave to get Guan Ping an attack bonus and TP bonus of 10. Not quite sure what the TP bonus does as Guan Ping cannot be a tactician, but maybe it was referring to Guan Yu's TP. Either way, reorganize your party and head south to the boat once again, this time to Jing Zhou. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jing Zhou Introduction and Zhuge's Brilliance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As the chapter begins, you are being courted by the sickly Liu Biao. A messenger runs to warn of a rebellion in the Xia Kou region. Knowing your task, leave and explore the new area. The question around Jing Zhou castle is the issue of Liu Biao's potential death and the following succession. Check the stores, nothing has changed much other than the copper armor and copper weapons that came in at the armory. Buy your active party members their respective copper weapons and get as much copper/scale armor as you can. Chances are you can't afford copper armor for everyone so just give it to your physical attackers. Get out of town and head east (ignore the "Xia Kou region" comment from that messenger. Xia Kou castle is being guarded by Liu Qi and you cannot get in, and the rebellion is east of Jing Zhou at the small villages). JING ZHOU Weapons - Copper Sword - 300, Copper Saber - 150, Copper Spear - 200, Copper Armor - 600, Copper Helmet - 200 and Scale Shield - 500 Items - Herbal Medicine - 50, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 Gym - 2500 The first village houses the great Huang Shao. Actually, with your new army these next few battles will probably be some of the easiest you will face in the entire game. Especially if you upgraded your equipment. Just all-out or attack Huang Shao and explore the village. Nothing too special, an Inn is here and the people tell you to continue further. Going east, you will meet He Yi at the next village. Gasp! He is easier than Huang Shao. Again, you should be able to all-out this clown. The vibe is the same at this village, as there is yet another village you must secure. This last village to the east houses a whopping two generals. Gong Du is the stronger and better of the two, although that isn't saying much. Liu Pi is a bad general and I think his name is supposed to be Liu Bi anyway. You can probably all-out but with two generals you should be safe and attack them for a turn. Once they are low you can all-out, and rest up in town. You will be told that you should return to Liu Biao at Jing Zhou, so do so. Liu Biao will be pleased and will award you Xin Ye castle to attend to, north of Jing Zhou. At Xin Ye you will see the remnants of a castle, and there is a place to rest and save if you wish but little else. Leave when you want and Liu Qi will run at you and say it is the end for his father! Head to Jing Zhou immediately. On the way to the throne you see Cai Mao who says "damn". Liu Biao tells you that Liu Qi must reign and to be wary of Cai Mao. As you leave the dying Liu Biao Yi Ji rushes up to you! This is the first time you meet him and he is a nice fellow who helps you out on numerous occasions to advance the story. He tells you to head through the western wall and go to the estate across the river. Head north and west past Liu Biao's bed. It is the northwestern-most passage in the area and you will appear in a cave. Note that you cannot leave the throne room here. This cave is rather simple. Head north and east to get an herbal, then continue west. Head down the stairs and head all the way west for 83 gold coins. Go back east and take the lower staircase going up. This takes you to a new area on the first floor, where you can head south for 63 gold coins and then head east (ignore the west route, it is a dead end). Follow this path south all the way to the wall, then head west and north when you can, and take your first right for an herbal. Head back and go down that staircase you see. Go west and south when you can, and further west for four treasure chests. They are (starting from upper-right corner and going clock-wise): Copper Saber, 88 gold, Powerpil, and a Scale Shield. Head north from here taking the right path for 199 gold and then taking the left for the staircase. Eastwards after you take this staircase is three treasures, a Copper Spear, Copper Sword, and a Copper Axe. Nice. Unfortunately the southern path in this room yields only 82 gold coins or so. Having cleaned this area out, head back to the staircase. From here head back south and east and north to get back to the initial starting point in this area. Now go west instead, ignoring the staircase up to get an herbal further along the path. After taking the staircase, head north when you can to get a Copper Armor. Now head back south and west to leave. You will appear a matter of steps away from Jing Zhou castle, but this time there is a bridge to get to the western hut. Enter, it is Sima Hui's house. He will make a comment that you probably have been hearing often, that you have no true tactician. Liu Bei admits to this and worries, but Sima Hui tells him to relax and sends him to bed. Zhuge Liang visits while you are sleeping, despairing over the lack of people to rule with virtue. Seemingly the two are looking for eachother, and when Liu Bei wakes up he asks how to get a hold of Zhuge. Sima Hui tells him to go east past the villages and then north, so follow these directions. Zhuge is nowhere to be seen but Zhuge Liang's brother Zhuge Jin is there. He will tell you that Liang is at Cui Zhouping's house and may be gone for a while, but that he will give you notice at Xin Ye when he returns. Okay, well go back to Xin Ye then. Yi Ji is there to tell you that Cao Cao is marching on Xin Ye with 10,000 troops! Yi Ji suggests going to the southwestern forest, so go there. Get used to this area, you'll be traversing it often. Head west and get the 80 gold coins along the way, and keep going west to get more gold coins. Now go south for an herbal, but return north and east a bit for a Copper Helmet. Head south and you'll see two generals, Lu Kuang and Lu Xuang. Not the toughest of generals certainly but formidable fighters with high soldier counts. Not quite 10,000 though. Kuang is the stronger and more stacked soldier-wise of the two, so attack him and Ye Huo the two of them, Chi Xin-ing when necessary. Without much resistance they should go down. South of them is 81 more gold coins, and then you can walk back to the beginning and back to Xin Ye (or you can cast Suo Di to exit the cave, if you have it). Back in Xin Ye, Zhuge Jin is there to tell you of Liang's return. Head back there immediately. Zhuge will be sleeping by himself, and you cannot talk to him. When you check him you'll have the option of waking him up. If you do he'll get upset and tell you to leave. If you click and leave Liu Bei will just say that Zhuge is out cold and that they'll come back later. The trick is to Check him, click don't wake him, and leave it for a few seconds. After waiting, Zhuge wakes up and thanks you for allowing him to sleep. Liu Bei gets straight to business, asking him to join. Initially he refuses, but after seeing the sorrow in Liu Bei, Zhuge reverses his decision and joins you. The scene fades and opens again with Cao Cao on the attack once again and your army is at the Xin Ye throne room planning on how to repel it. Zhuge orders a bunch of ambushes and goes out with Zhao Yun as a frontal assault. Make Zhuge your tactician and equip him if you wish, although it's not absolutely necessary. Xin Ye has been upgraded a bit and there are less people walking around town. Head into the southwest forest and you'll meet Cao Ren before long. Cao Ren comes with Yu Jin and Li Dian, two of the generals you fought with Yan Liang. Cao Ren himself is quite good and a general to be careful with. However after the first turn, you'll see your ambush come into affect. Guan Yu will ambush, and then Zhang Fei will the following turn. After that Guan Ping will come in and Cao Ren should be dead. (Note - I have had problems with this part. If I kill Cao Ren too early (ie before the Guan Ping ambush party) the screen will freeze after they go over the experience/gold gained. Thus I try to just defend and watch the fire burn Cao Ren's party as I've had to restart for killing him too soon in the past). Head back to Xin Ye (note that you can fight random general battles now (non-recruitable by the way)). Chen Deng is still guarding the town, and Liu Bei will congratulate you on your work. A messenger will run in to alert you of Liu Biao's failing health, so go see him. Zhuge will stay back to plan the defenses. Liu Biao begs of you to take his throne but Liu Bei cannot. Biao dies and the kingdom belongs to Liu Qi. Cai Mao runs in to tell you that Cao Cao rebuilt his army. He then asks you why you don't submit to Cao Cao. He runs off and Liu Bei states that Cao Cao is going to ruin the Han and Jing Zhou. Go back to Xin Ye now to speak with Zhuge. Zhuge hints that Liu Bei needs to accept the throne. Liu Bei naturally cannot, but they both agree to see Liu Qi in Xia Kou. Head south and you can finally enter this castle. You'll hear that Xin Ye and possibly your other castles have been taken over by Cai Mao's nephews. Great. Well the weapon store has a Copper Shield so you may want to buy them if you can. XIA KOU Weapons - Copper Sword - 300, Copper Saber - 150, Copper Spear - 200, Copper Armor - 600, Copper Axe - 200 and Copper Shield - 1000 Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 Gym - 4000 Head to the throne room to speak with Liu Qi when you want. Before you do, talk to his eight attendants in the throne room, they have valuable information on some storyline issues that you will be taking part in soon, such as the Wu Alliance. As you talk to Liu Qi, he begs of you to take over for him. You have no choice here, and from here on out Liu Bei is the ruler of Jing Zhou and no longer a member of your active fighting party. :( Liu Bei orders to you throw out the Cai nephews from your northern castles. Rest up and go do this. Unfortunately your party is setup so Zhuge (or Guan) will be your tactician, thus making you use Zhou Cang and Guan Ping over one of the generals mentioned above. Hopefully you will be okay, be sure to buy equipment for Zhou Cang if he wasn't being used prior to this. Head north to Jing Zhou, and you will come across two of the Cai nephews. Cai Zhong and Cai He have a high soldier count to make up for their bad stats, while Huang Zu and Han Sui have decent strength. Try to Ye Huo all these fighters so you can lower the attacks that they have. I'd target the lower two generals as their attacks are higher. Use Chi Xin to keep your soldier count high for everyone, and try to utilize Ye Huo also. They try to flee after the battle, but the ships are burned and their plan is foiled. In Jing Zhou the townspeople are still talking about Liu Biao's health (he's dead) and the succession (Liu Qi passed it on to you). Rest up and head to Xin Ye to procure the final castle. Cai Xun appears with Jiang Xu, Zhang Nan and Kuai Yue. The former three are fighters (albeit bad ones with 100 or less strength) while Kuai Yue is a decent tactician. I'd try to take out Kuai as fast as possible, as the warrior generals probably can't last too long if they aren't getting tactical support. Keep your soldiers up and Cai Xun will be coughing up blood and cursing you soon enough. Rest up here and talk to the person in the throne room, who suggests that something must be going on at Xia Kou. He heads there and you should too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alliance with Wu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In Xia Kou, Lu Su will be visiting Liu Bei. He will join you and he is quite a formidable tactician. Personally, I would use this opportunity to put Lu Su in as your tactician, allowing you to put Zhuge Liang in for Zhou Cang. Zhuge is the best tactical user in the game and he can exploit anyone. Buy some more copper stuff if needed, and head south from Xia Kou when you wish to leave. The ship takes you south, and go south when you get off the port. Soon you will see Chai Sang so enter there. The armory has some nice selections, most notably the new iron equipment. That Iron Sword would be ideal for Zhuge or Lu Su. You will meet a man capable of creating gunpowder also, seems as though that might come in handy (especially if you've played the first one!). The throne room holds Sun Quan with his staff of Lu Meng, Zhou Yu, and Zhang Song (Zhang ZHAO). They each request a task of Zhuge Liang and you must carry each out to get Wu to have faith in you. CHAI SANG Weapons - Iron Sword - 800, Copper Axe - 200, Copper Spear - 200, Iron Armor - 1500, Copper Helmet - 200 and Copper Shield - 1000 Items - Herbal Medicine - 50, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, Steed - 2000 Gym - 9000 Note that Steed's add 10 to your agility. When you are ready, head out of the castle and go east of Chai Sang. You will come across a village in which all of the inhabitants claim to know nothing of changing the wind. Odd, well the guy at the far right of town tells you to check out the village elder's hut, so talk to the elder. He tells you to sail east and look for an island called Wa and to find Empress Miko there. Head to the ship and it'll take you near a town, which you should go in. The people there open up about the wind, and say that Lady Himiko can help you but that she is at Mt. Fuji. Not much else to do here, so head north and you will be at Mt. Fuji! Head east and grab the 70 gold coins you see. Continue on and go south until you can go west, which you should do to grab an Herbal. Head back and grab the chest below it, which is 144 gold coins. Straight east from here are two more paths leading south, take both for a Copper Potion and another chest of 150 gold coins. Head to the northeast now, and you will be at the top of the mountain again. Follow the path east, south, east, north, east, and finally south. No worries there are no turns here. As you head south and are able to go east and out of the mountain, quick go west and grab three treasures; a Powerpil, 218 gold coins, and a Tent. You may want to use a Tent as you get out of here, depending on how hurt you are. After a few steps north you will be stopped by an Orochi and four Python units. Orochi is fast and powerful, but a quick round of tactics and physical attacks should destroy it. The Pythons are better than outlaw forces but not by much. All-out once the Orochi is dead, and go north to get the Wind Scroll from Miko! Head all the way back to Chai Sang now. Zhou Yu will commend you and exude confidence knowing you found the Wind Scroll. The gunpowder guy tells you of the two ingredients you need, saying that the tree is in the town. Forget about that for now, we'll get the Saltpeter. Head northeast of Chai Sang, cross the bridge, and head east to the cave. This is not too complicated. Head east, sticking to the north end of the map. You will get a Copper Potion along the way, and the path will wind south and then east, so follow it until it takes you to the other treasure in this cave, Saltpeter! Suo Di or walk out of the cave and head to Chai Sang. Grab the 1,000 year old tree behind the old man and give him the ingredients. He will make gunpowder, and you can figure out where this goes. Head back on the ship and it will take you just outside Xia Kou. Make your way past the Bo Wang Po forest and "USE" the Gunpowder on the rocks on the other end of the forest. They will be destroyed and you can continue onward towards Xiang Yang. Heal up and be ready, Cai Mao is here. This is probably the hardest battle yet. Cai Mao is a good overall general, so attack him and use Liu Mu or Shui Xing on him. Wang Can is a decent tactician so he should probably be your next target. After that, there is the versatile bow-wielding Zhang Yun and the powerful Wen Ping. Lu Gong is kind of worthless, leave him alone until he is by himself. Use Tong Xian to keep your soldier level up and the battle should start going your way once Cai Mao or Wang Can dies. Xiang Yang is a luxurious area. Iron weapons are abound, so load up. The town is barren but the shops are all open. When you are ready head to the throne room and go west, grabbing the treasures. Iron Sword, Iron Spear, Iron Saber, Iron Armor, Iron Helmet, Arrow Storm, Iron Shield, Iron Axe, quite a collection! Hopefully you didn't buy the weapons already. With the Arrow Storm and Cai Mao dead, head back to Chai Sang. XIANG YANG Weapons - Iron Sword - 800, Iron Axe - 500, Iron Spear - 500, Iron Armor - 1500, and Copper Shield - 1000 Items - Herbal Medicine - 50, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, Tent - 1000 Just when you think you are ready to face Cao Cao, Sun Quan suggests you find someone to administer the plan. Pang Tong's name gets brought up, so go to Sima Hui first to look for him. Sima tells you that he can be located southeast of Chai Sang. Head south and east of Chai Sang, following the water. You will come to a river crossing area here. Hop into the boat and go south, east, then north, all while not getting off the boat obviously. This will continue to circle around, going south, west, and giving you an option of south or east. Choose east and grab the Copper Shield on the island, and continue east and south. You will leave here. When you are out, go south, west, then north to the cottage. Pang Tong is hanging out here and suggests chaining Cao Cao's fleet together to allow a fire attack. You can tell him it's a bad idea but you have no other options. Pang Tong goes off to do this, so head back to Sun Quan. Sun Quan is happy and orders Zhou Yu to mobilize the troups! Make sure you have the Wind Scroll in ZHUGE LIANG'S INVENTORY SLOT (or else it won't work) and head out of here and onto the boat to start the ship battle against Cao Cao. You will approach Cao Cao's fleet and he has Xu Zhu (Chu), Dian Wei, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang with him. Scary, well just use the Wind Scroll. Zhuge will go first and use it, then the fire attack will be launched. Cao Cao will attempt to flee but Lu Meng will have them shot with arrows. Again Cao Cao flees but is pursued by the Wu army, led by Taishi Ci, Zhou Tai, Gan Ning, Huang Gai, and Zhang Hong. They hack at Cao Cao's army for a turn and then Cao Cao runs again. Now he is escaping on ground and his army is scattered. Eventually Zhang Fei ambushes Cao Cao and Zhao Yun. Then Cao Cao flees, only to be caught by Zhang Fei. Attack Xu Zhu or Xu Huang, you can kill one of them (although it means nothing). Cao Cao will flee one last time, only to run out of energy and be caught by Guan Yu. Xu Huang and Cao Cao convince Guan Yu to spare them, and Guan Yu has too much respect for Cao Cao allowing him to return to Liu Bei. Guan Yu returns to Liu Bei and the rest of the army and they expect that you won. Zhuge Liang will say 'ULTIMATE HAPPINESS". Guan Yu admits however that he did not kill Cao Cao but rather let him go. Zhuge orders execution but this is reasoned with. The chapter ends with Zhuge and Liu discussing the future with Cao Cao still alive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Re-taking Jing Zhou/Xiang Yang and Settling South Jing Zhou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As the scene cuts in, Liu Bei gets a message of Cao Cao taking over Jing Zhou and Xiang Yang. This is your first destination so get your party ready. It looks like you'll need to use Zhou Cang here as you have 6 characters without Lu Su. Worry not, but head to Xin Ye first. At the entrance, Yi Ji is here to offer his help. Allow him to and make him your tactician. His TP is not very high compared to Zhuge Liang, but at least this allows Zhuge to be in battle and not Zhou Cang. Now head south to settle Jing Zhou. Chen Jiao protects Jing Zhou with four Outlaw armies. Chen is a good tactician and may mess up one of your fighters, but keep your soldiers up and attack him and Yan Re him if you can. Once he is out, head into town and search in front of the throne in the throne room. You will get the Tally Order (This is vital for the next battle to be able to take off a decent amount when attacking, although IT IS NOT NECESSARY (Thanks SlickSlicer)). Incidentally, if you wish to go these battles without the Tally Order, try using tactics only to defeat your enemies as their defense is really high and that is the only thing that changes with the Tally Order, really. Anyway, head to Xiang Yang. Xiahou Dun is here. Again, if you have the Tally Order you'll waltz right into town and catch Xiahou off guard, lowering his defense. If you don't he'll have a very tough defense (even your best fighters won't be able to take off more than 75 soldiers) and Liu Mu and Shui Xing will be the only things that can help you. SlickSlicer has confirmed that the Yu Lin formation was what he used during this battle to buy himself enough time to oust Xiahou via Liu Mu. It's a fun challenge but if you get the Tally Order you should have no problem. If you don't have the Tally Order, play defensive and use tactics with Zhuge to slowly wind down Xiahou's soldiers. One of the villagers says you can get to Yi Ling via the southwest port, so do so. Head straight south and you should get to Yi Ling. If you don't have the Tally Order, Cao Hong will taunt you and their defense will be similar to the previous battle (again, they can be had via tactics like Yan Re or Liu Mu). If you do have the Tally Order this battle will be simple. Throw a few powerful tactics Niu Jin's way as he has a high attack and must be dealt with soon. Inside of Yi Ling you will hear of Cao Ren defending Nan Jun, the next castle, and of Lu Bu being in the area. Yikes. YI LING Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 Head to the far east and north to find Nan Jun. Cao Ren is here with Cao Ang. Both are good fighters and Cao Ren is a bit more intelligent. Cao Ren should be your main target, and Zhuge or Zhao should be using Yan Re or something of the sort on him. Once he is gone, all out. Cao Ren then attempts to flee to Han castle to the north, but Lu Bu is there. Lu Bu slaughters the two Cao's with his massive 5-general army. Consequently, you get no experience for your battle against Cao Ren. There is not much to do in Nan Jun although there is the first billetting shop in the game here. I would advise dumping Zhou Cang (but not Yi Ji. Not yet). There isn't much else to do but some of the information is important. NAN JUN Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, Steed - 2000 Continue north to Han to get a look at this Lu Bu character. If you go to the cave and try to get to south Jing Zhou, two guards will stop you. Thus you must defeat Lu Bu although you cannot hurt him and need a plan. Head back to Nan Jun and ask around. Turns out there is a student waiting to tell you of Pang Tong being here. This is the house in the upper-right, so go in here and speak with him. He will give you a Brocade Sack to open when fighting Lu Bu (anyone can use this). When you use it in battle against Lu Bu, Guan Yu will feign defeat and Lu Bu will chase. Guan Yu then tells Lu Bu he has been tricked and the rest of the Liu Bei's army has entered Han castle. Lu Bu runs back but is indeed beat to the castle. This battle is much more manageable, although still difficult. Lu Bu is the number one issue, obviously, so use Yan Re or whatever your best attack spell is on him. Yi Xin or Li Jian would help as well. His supporting generals are weak but are a nuisance as Lu Bu requires so much concentration that they will each get to open up on you while you are killing Lu Bu. Zhang Ji and Li Jue are the tacticians while Guo Si and Li Su are the fighters. I would try to take them down evenly after Lu Bu is finished. Han castle has some new things at the armory, notably the Iron Helmet and the Iron Shield. Buy as much as you can, and listen to the advice of the townspeople and include Yi Ji in your party, it'll save you some time. Head east of Han to the cave when you are ready. HAN Weapons - Iron Saber - 400, Iron Axe - 500, Iron Spear - 500, Iron Armor - 1500, Iron Helmet - 2000, and Iron Shield - 2000 Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, PowerPil - 300 This cave is rather easy to traverse. Skip the first two southern paths, but take the third and grab the Steel Armor. Now take the east path north and further east for an Iron Shield. Heading back, grab the Copper Medicine along the way andcontinue west until you can go north. When you have the option, go north, to the northwestern corner. Here there will be two treasures, both gold coins. Further down is an Iron Sword and all the way east is an Iron Sword. From here, take the southern path right next to this one, ignoring the split that goes to the west as that is a dead end. You will then be out of the cave and head east to Ma Liang's villa. Again, Yi Ji must be in your party for you to enter here. Zhuge Liang and Ma Liang will discuss strategy to take over the four southern Jing Zhou estates. Ling Ling is to be taken first, so head east and south to the gate. Xingdao Rong is here, with Liu Yan. Xingdao is a fierce fighter but is not very smart. Yan Re him to death, or Yi Xin/Li Jian him. Liu Yan is another mediocre general that shouldn't harm you much, especially once Xingdao is gone. The two of them flee to Ling Ling where Liu Du is there to reinforce them. This battle is a bit harder, especially considering you just went through a gate battle and a cave and haven't rested. Get rid of Xingdao as fast as you can before his physical attacks pummel you to oblivion. Liu Du should be next and he is not too tricky but a solid ruler nonetheless. Ling Ling is not a very happening city and once you rest up you can probably leave south for Gui Yang. LING LING Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 Go to Gui Yang now and you will see Bao Long waiting outside. He will fight you with Chen Shu (Chen YING). Chen Shu is the better fighter but can be neutralized with a powerful spell. Likewise Bao Long is a worse fighter but can handle your tactics a little bit better. Either way these two shouldn't be able to uproot your five general team (ideally of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Guan Ping, Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun). The two generals flee into the castle and you chase them. Zhao Fan, the lord of Gui Yang, comes out to apologize to you and asks to entertain Zhuge Liang among peace in the palace. Zhang Fei smells a trap and Zhao Yun can be seen going around the castle as support. Meanwhile, Zhuge is led into the throne area with Zhao Fan and is ambushed by the two generals you just beat! Zhuge is in trouble! But Lu Bu comes out of no where to help! Lu Bu will kill all three generals and the rest of your party will run up to help you. It is then decided that Lu Bu shall defend Gui Yang while you "advance and conquer". The item shop here is generic and there is no armory either. However use the billetting to drop off Yi Ji, so you can have a 5 person army with Zhuge as the tactician and still fighting at the same time. Gui Yang Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300 Venture west and you will see a small village. Here you will hear of Jin Xuan and Gong Zhi, and how Gong Zhi is contemplating Liu Bei's army at the cape to the west. Go to this cape (southwest of Wu Ling) and visit him. As you head west through the forest, take the north dead end and search at the end for a tactic potion. Further west is Gong Zhi, and he explains his situation and says he'll see you at Wu Ling as you fight Jin Xuan. At Wu Ling, Jin Xuan will be waiting for you. He is by himself and is a poor general; mop him up and enjoy the scene afterwards. Jin runs back to Gong Zhi to tell him to lower the bridge, but instead Gong Zhi shoots him down and peacefully gives you the city. There are plenty of things to do inside, and improving weapons and armor is the most important part. The people in the city will tell you to go to Chang Sha to the west. Wu Ling Weapons - Steel Saber - 1000, Thunder Sword - 2000, Steel Spear - 1500, Steel Armor - 4000, and Iron Helmet - 2000 Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, PowerPil - 300 At Chang Sha castle, Huang Zhong will be waiting outside and will duel Guan Yu. You fight for two rounds and then the match is over, now don't walk into Chang Sha right away! This is a tough battle, definitely the toughest you've fought so far. Rest up and buy all the new equipment at Wu Ling. When you are ready, head there. Han Xuan comes with Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Han Hao and Yan Ling at his side. Wei Yan and Huang Zhong are two of the top generals in the entire game. Worse yet, Yan Ling is a powerful fighter as well, and Han Xuan makes up for his poor stats with better equipment. Han Hao is pretty average fortunately. Try to neutralize Wei Yan at the beginning of the battle. If you can Yi Xin or Li Jian Huang Zhong too, great, but it'll be harder than Wei Yan. Otherwise, Wei Yan will wreak havoc with his physical attacks and Huang Zhong will as well. While Wei Yan is neutralized, hack away at Huang Zhong until he is eliminated, as well as Wei Yan. Hopefully Yan Ling and the others don't mess you up too bad. Come in with full tactics and Zhuge as your fifth member and tactician, and you should be able to win a war of attrition against this tough group. When you enter Chang Sha, you will see Wei Yan waiting at the front gate. He asks to join, and let him without hesitation. He is a top warrior, and although his intelligence is a little low he is a huge help for a good while in your party. Dump Guan Ping probably and replace him with the Axe-wielding Wei Yan. CHANG SHA Weapons - Steel Spear - 1500, Steel Axe - 1500, Steel Bow - 3000, Steel Armor - 4000 Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, Steed - 2000 Although southern Jing Zhou is now settled, you must get Huang Zhong to continue on. He is at home, depressed that he can't bury his master's bow with his body. Head to the west cave to help him out so he can join. Once in the cave, take the south path down the stairs. The right path produces a Thunder Sword and a Copper Potion. The left side gives you 1000 gold coins. Head back up and to the beginning of this cave, where you should go west this time. As you go west you will go south also, to a 4 way split. Go south for the quick treasure, 604 gold coins. Then go left for a Copper Potion, and the upper left-hand path produces a Copper Bow. Head north for the staircase. From here head east for an Iron Helmet, and south for the Youyuu Bow! Now you can use Suo Di or walk out, and return to Chang Sha to present this to Huang Zhong. He will join you. Now here's why I don't use Huang Zhong here. First of all, I prefer Wei Yan over him. Second of all, I prefer Huang Zhong over Zhang Fei, but you can't dump Zhang Fei. This means that you can't use Zhuge in battle then, which ruins everything. Thus, Huang Zhong stays in my billetting for a while (I think until the Shu area). Anyways, head back to Ma Liang's estate now. As you walk up to the Ma brothers, a messenger runs in to tell you that Lu Bu has taken over Gui Yang and plans to vie for power. Great, well rest up and go back there. Lu Bu will be with Zhang Ji, a decent tactician of his. Yan Re Lu Bu to death, or use Yi Xin or Li Jian, your choice. Zhang Ji shouldn't do too much save for a few spells on your less-intelligent officers (Wei Yan, Zhang Fei). I guess there's one reason to put in Huang Zhong over Wei Yan. Anyways, rest up and head to Ling Ling to chase after Lu Bu. Lu Bu shows up at the gate with three Jing Zhou generals in Xingdao Rong, Yan Ling and Liu Yan. Xingdao and Yan are both good fighters if you remember, and Liu Yan is versatile. That said, use tactics on this group and you shouldn't have a problem. They can provide some brute strength though so beware. Again, Yi Xin is your best friend here. Rest up and head to Ling Ling for the final confrontation with Lu Bu. He comes with his regular army of Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Li Su. Careful, he surprised my army and nearly killed Zhang Fei in the first turn. Keep your soldiers up and you must get rid of Lu Bu asap or you will probably be cut down by the rest of the generals and whatever is left of Lu Bu. Yi Xin as many generals as you can, and abuse Yan Re. Don't let up once Lu Bu is dead, the other generals have some stability themselves. Try to pop each of them with a Yan Re to get them all down a bit otherwise they'll be taking full powered shots off you while you are working Lu Bu. When it's all over you'll have Lu Bu's head and you can finally enjoy peace in south Jing Zhou. Head to the Ma villa and the guardians there will tell you that they went to Xin Ye already. Head back that way now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Invading Han Zhong ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At Xin Ye, you will see a huge castle. Wow. Chen Deng will join you (enjoy billetting, bud). The armory has been upgraded even. Grab some Steel Shields if you can. XIN YE Weapons - Steel Saber - 1500, Steel Axe - 1500, Steel Bow - 3000, Steel Armor - 4000, Thunder Sword - 2000, Steel Shield - 4000 Items - Copper Medicine - 100, Revive - 100, Tent - 1000, Steed - 2000 At the throne room the Ma's will join and Zhuge will leave you. They send you to consult with Sima Hui. I'd make a party of Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and some combination of Zhang Fei/Ma Su/Huang Zhong/Wei Yan with Ma Liang as your new tactician. Personally I take Ma Su, Wei Yan and Huang Zhong but that's just me. At Sima Hui's, he will bring up Pang Tong whom you have been hearing much about at Xin Ye and elsewhere. He gives you a bottle of "Jiu" to give to Pang Tong to get him to open up, so head to Xiang Yang to find him (it's the house in the northwest). Pang Tong isn't there though but some other guy is there and if you have the bottle he will ask for it, which you must give him to continue on. He mentions the Young Phoenix so you must be on the right track. Ultimately he asks you to apprehend the bandits in the northwestern woods, led by Liao Hua. Go there now, it's in the middle section of the forest formation. Immediately head east for 197 gold when you get in. Then go north and take your first east for a Copper Medicine and 152 gold is just north of that. Northwest of here is a Revive, and go east and north after this to come to the bandit's area. Further north is Liao Hua and three females. Talk to him and you will fight him. He is a pretty generic general and a few Luo Shi's or Yan Re's should best him. Worse yet, he forces to join your party afterwards (you can't say no). But you can just leave him in your billetting. At Xiang Yang, Pang Tong will finally join you. The scene will then cut to Liu Bei's throne room at Xin Ye. Zhang Song rushes in, imploring you to head to Shu. First, you need the Shu map though. Head through the Bo Wang Po area once again and go west of Xiang Yang to the cave in the far northwest. Upon entry, grab the treasures on the first floor; 598 gold in the first structure, and a Copper Medicine in the one to the left of it. The third structure has a staircase that leads to a Tactic Potion. Head back to the first floor now and go south then east for a staircase, which you should take and then go east for 1002 gold coins. Go west, passing the staircase, and continuing on to another staircase. Head west for a Silver Medicine and head east for a Tactic Potion, bypassing two staircases along the way. Run back to the nearest staircase and take it. Now head to the southwest and take this staircase which leads to the bottom of the cave. Head west at the bottom for a Flame Armor, and then present the Liu Bei letter to Meng Da. He will move and allow you to take the Shu Map, but once you head back he will block you until you let him join. Fortunately he is actually a good general (really high agility) so you may wish to use him anyway. Head back to Xin Ye now. At the throne room, the plan of attack is being discussed. Fa Zheng from Shu runs in to tell you that the Han Zhong army has seized Xia Meng citadel and he requests your help. Zhao Yun and Guan Yu are dispatched to take care of the land you have already overtaken, so it is just Pang Tong and Zhang Fei in your party. Now when you get control, talk to Liu Bei. He gives the same line as Yi Ji did when you go back to Xin Ye and can recruit him ("Oh Pang Tong, it is I Yi Ji...etc) and there is a prompt at the end to let him join you. Say yes, and supposedly you just recruited Yi Ji, but Liu Bei instead gets off the throne and turns into Zhang Lu. WHAT?! Everything I just said is true, even if it doesn't make sense. Again, a huge glitch in the game. Zhang Lu has 5100 soldiers with 170 attack, 175 agility, and 190 intelligence. Pretty good, I'd venture to say. His attack is weird, a fire ball image appears south of him as he attacks. He will kill most of the people he hits with a few attacks, at least for a while once the generals are still weak and his soldier count is twice the size of anyone on your side (at least). Even at the end of the game though, Zhang Lu is still a force. He does not gain levels with the rest of the army however (as he isn't a REAL recruit but a glitch). And please note that recruiting and using Zhang Lu is more or less a cheat code as he will make the Han Zhong and Shu areas so easy that you probably won't need any real strategy other than using Yin Xian once in a while when your soldiers are low. So you are supposed to go to the port southwest of Xiang Yang now. You can only have a 5-person party (which is good as Pang Tong then is the strategist and fights as well. He is a top general so you'll like that) so choose three other members (two if you have Zhang Lu) to join Pang Tong and Zhang Fei. Ma Liang is probably too weak to be considered and Pang Tong is a better tactician anyway, and Liao Hua is worthless. Again, I'd suggest some combination of Ma Su/Huang Zhong/Wei Yan/Meng Da. For the record I'm taking Pang Tong, Zhang Fei, Zhang Lu, Huang Zhong and Meng Da. At the port Fa Zheng is there and he gives you his ship, if you let him join of course. He'll be in billetting for the rest of the game too, regardless of whether you have Zhang Lu or not. The ship takes you west to the Fu Shui area. Liu Zhang is at the throne telling you to stop Ma Chao at Xia Meng. A man named Li Qi is brought up often, as is the Blood Seal that Cao Cao learned of and killed Dong Cheng and Ma Teng for. FU SHUI Weapons - Steel Saber - 1000, Steel Spear - 1500, Steel Bow - 3000, Thunder Sword - 2000, Steel Shield - 4000 Items - Silver Medicine - 500, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, Tactic Potion - 2500 Go north across the bridge and quick go east across another bridge to find Li Qi's residence. He explains the background of the Blood Seal and marks the location of Emperor Jing's Tomb on your map. Follow this and "CHECK" the area to find it. This is a difficult dungeon and a lot of people have problems with the stone walls and the lower floor. Really, most of it is a trial and error issue. I'll try to list your options as best as I can. As you enter head west and north when you can. A Dragon Sword is here, good for Zhang Lu or Pang Tong. South of here is a revive and 232 gold coins are to the east. Now go all the way back to the beginning and head north and east for a Copper Potion. Take the upper-most west path now that leads down and take the staircase at the end. Now you are at the stone wall area. East of the entrance is blocked (this is the area that you circle around to when you pick the wrong choice and get blocked off and sent back to the beginning) so head west and north. Go east when you can for 284 gold coins and a Steel Shield just above it. Two rows up is a Silver Potion and a Flame Armor above that. As you head further north from here you will be blocked off, so head east and south to get back to the beginning of this maze. You may need to enter and re-enter the staircase to reset the stone walls. When you are ready to advance, remember the words of the man in north-east Fu Shui; take the east path 3 times and the west path 4 times. This translates to going north through the eastern-most path 3 times and then going all the way to the west wall and going north 4 times through that one. You already got the treasures on the east wall but there is a tent that is all the way to the east after you pass the western-most north path 3 times (ie the east path BEFORE the staircase). So get this Tent and walk all the way back to the west and go north, and then all the way east to the staircase. If you go too far north, you'll have to walk ALL THE WAY AROUND. Count to four and then head east and you won't have a problem. The bottom floor is a little odd also. It has things at the middle of the four-ways to invert your path. You can still get everywhere on the map, it's just a matter of where you come at the paths. As you head west and then south to enter, advance to the right while staying to the north. You will come across a chest of 596 gold coins. If you take the path going right that is just under this one, you will come to the Blood Seal! You can Suo Di if you want but there are more treasures so I'll guide you to them quick. Under the Blood Seal route is a Smoke Bomb and a few paths under this is a Silver Pendant (I think it's a pendant; it heals you I think). Now Suo Di out. Head back to Li Qu and he will be happy with the Blood Seal and will talk to Ma Chao for you. Head back to Fu Shui and visit Ma Chao at Xiameng Citadel. They will challenge you to a fight and they are tough. Ma Dai is a better tactician and only slightly weaker than Ma Chao. Keep your guard up and most importantly your soldiers up. Catch either of them with Yi Xin or Li Jian if you can, or just a strong tactic like Tou Shi or Da Re. They are great generals but without a tactician as support they should fall relatively easy (again, especially if you have Zhang Lu). Recruit them and put them in your party; they are better than anyone save Zhang Lu. Ma Chao probably will be in your party for the rest of the game. Consequently, a party of those three and Zhang Fei and Pang Tong is pretty formidable. Anyway, continue north of Xiameng now. At Yang Ping citadel, Yang Ang shows up with three other generals. Yang Ang, Yang Ping and Cheng Yin are decent fighters, while Yang Reng is only an average tactician. You really shouldn't have problems with this fight considering the staff upgrades you've had recently. Pummel Yang Ren and throw some Tou Shi's at the fighters (who are decent but not too dangerous). There is not too much to do at Yang Ping citadel other than rest and learn more about Han Zhong. Apparently the mountain ahead is Plank Road, so go north and check it out. Take the western path going north for a Silver Potion, then take the eastern one. The south exit yields 593 gold coins, and go north sticking east now. Another pass comes up, take the south route for a Tent, the north to continue onwards east. There will be another fork, go north for 293 gold and then south to go further east. As you go you will see another chest so grab it, it's a Dragon Sword. Follow this north and then south, leaving and going north to the next citadel. Yang Bai Is here with a bunch of mediocre generals and a general named Pang De. Pang has 235 strength so you're going to want to give him a Li Jian or some powerful tactics to eliminate him. The other generals are very similar to the ones in the previous battle and there is no real tactician here, so mop them up and keep using Yin Xian to make sure they don't hack too much off of you. Nan Zheng citadel has another Inn that you should stay at, and a man named Wang Ping who offers to bribe Yang Song to open the gates to Han Zhong castle. You can go on ahead and try to attack, but you can't win (I'm pretty sure; no tactics worked at all for me). So pay Wang Ping and see what happens. You get inside Han Zhong and the fight is doable all of a sudden. If you have Zhang Lu in front you get a funny scene where the real Zhang Lu will tell your leader (ie Zhang Lu) that he is going to kill him. Scary. Now this battle seems easier that you have them surprised. Zhang Lu is far and away the best general here and has the highest tactical ability, so attack him with everyone while Pang Tong uses Tou Shi on either him or the other generals. Zhang Wei and Heng are decent fighters, as is Hou Cheng. But they are all prone to tactics; meanwhile Yan Pu is weak but can use some tactics, so you may want to take him out after Zhang Lu. HAN ZHONG Items - Silver Medicine - 500, Revive - 100, Steed - 2000, Tactic Potion - 2500 Han Zhong has not too much for you. The item shop has some new items but that's it. Head out and Yang Huai will show up and will try to persuade you into attacking Liu Zhang. He will even give you gold to cover the expenses (I'm not sure if you actually get gold). But you must say yes to him and he will leave, so head there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Settling Shu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At Fu Shui you will see Yang Huai again, so rest up and talk to him. Something fishy is obviously going on. He fights you, with Wu Lan and Gao Pei. Gao has a high soldier count but his strength is lower than Wu Lan. Again there is no real tactician so mop them up and recruit Wu Lan inside. He probably won't be used but he is a little better than Guan Ping, if that gives you some perspective. People will talk of a Water Gate key that you will need and of Liu Zhang giving in to Cao Cao. Head north to the village when you are ready; Pang Yi will reveal the Bronze key to you so take it north. Ling Bao (Leng Bao) worries as you rush in. Deng Xian and Zhang Su are both with him and are both weak fighters and average tacticians at best. Ling Bao is an average fighter and the three of them shouldn't bother your army. As you enter, use the key and walk up to the wheel inside the shack. Press yes and you will be able to cross now that the water dried up! Unfortunately Zhang Ren will show up at the narrow section, with Liu Kui, Liu Ba, and Liu Xun. Pang Tong will be assassinated and your team will automatically fall back to Fu Shui, But Zhang Ren is there again, this time with Li Yan, Huang Quan, and Wang Lei. It looks like you are about to be routed, but Zhuge Liang comes in with fire and you should win fine here as the fire damage will slaughter Zhang Ren. You will be inside Fu Shui and Zhuge Liang will now join you with Zhao Yun and Guan Yu. My, your team is cluttered right now. I'd suggest getting Ma Liang in as your strategist, allowing Zhuge to fight. With Zhuge I would put in Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Zhang Lu and one of the Ma brothers (if you don't have Zhang Lu then you don't have to worry about cutting a Ma brother). Zhang Fei is your sixth man and Ma Liang is your tactician. Take the boat at the southern port and go east and south a little to come to Ba castle. Yan Yan is a really good general here, but Huo Jun is really bad (especially that agility). Dong He is an average tactician but once you eliminate Yan Yan you can probably all out. Inside you can recruit Yan Yan, but unfortunately he doesn't stack up with the guys in your party or even a lot of the generals who are in your billetting. Check out the armory though for an Ice Spear or a Flame Armor. FU SHUI Weapons - Dragon Sword - 5000, Ice Spear - 5000, Steel Saber - 1000, Steel Axe - 1500, Flame Armor - 10000, Steel Shield - 4000 Items - Silver Medicine - 500, Revive - 100, Tent - 1000, Tactic Potion - 2500 Gym - 20,000 West of Ba castle is Ba citadel. Liu Ba is here along with Fei Guan and Fei Shi. After one turn they retreat; now remember what the guy in Ba castle said and don't move at all. You'll see a soldier run into the citadel so head in. He will ask if Liu Bei fights for justice; if you say yes he'll reveal the fire ambush. If you don't do this, you'll have to fight this group again with the fire damage. Still, this is doable as Liu Ba is the only good general and he goes down pretty easily. If there is no fire you will have no trouble with this battle. Now move on south and west from this citadel to a small village. This is where the Chen clan live. You will here of the provisions for Liu Zhang that is in north mountain, and that Jianning is impregnable without it. Actually if you use the speedup button (~ on FCE Ultra) you can get past the arrow barrage in a glitch. However you must head to North Mountain to get to the provisions to truly get past. CHEN CLAN VILLAGE Items - Silver Potion - 500, Revive - 100, PowerPil - 300 As you enter North Mountain, head west and north for a Flame Shield. Head back and go up the stairs now twice for 594 gold and west for a Silver Potion. As you head north of here you will see a treasure on your right that is 542 gold coins and you can get it via the ladder. North of here is another ladder with a Silver Potion treasure waiting for you. West of here are a ladder going north to a platform and a ladder going down to a treasure. The ladder going down is a Power Pil and on the platform is a Flame Armor. Head north and to the gate. Wang Kang and Lu Kai are surprised to see you there and they are no match. Wang Kang is completely mediocre while Lu Kai can use tactics but is also one of the weakest characters in the entire game. Attack Lu Kai and all out when he is low. The soldier inside will run away and curse you, so head back to the village, rest up, and head to Jianning in the west. Now that you have the food supply they are lured out. Lei Tong is a tough fighter but can be had via tactics, so I would abuse him first. You've seen the other three before, all mediocre generals with Lu Kai being the most dangerous with his intelligence. You can probably all-out after Lei Tong but be careful. There is not much to do in Jian Ning. You will hear of Jiang Wan and of Yin Ping's stellar fortification. Bring it on, right. Your party should be pretty dominant at the point in the game and should be near unbeatable if you have Zhang Lu. JIAN NING Items - Silver Medicine - 500, Revive - 100, Power Pil - 300, Tactic Potion - 2500 Anyway, head north. You can attack Yin Ping, it'll do you no good though. Head to Jiang Manor just to the south of Yin Ping. Jiang Wan is here and tells you how helpless he is, as his mother is held hostage but he would like to join your army. Well head west to get his mom. Take the upper path in the cave for 602 gold coins and go south to a staircase. Take a south for a long trip to a Power Pil, then head back east for a Silver Potion and north to a staircase going up. Head east for an Ice Spear and leave, simple eh. Outside is the house that his mother is at. Gao Pei is here protecting the house, but he is by himself and is no match for your army. All-out him and talk to Jiang Wan's mom to set up a scene with her and Jiang back at Jiang Manor. He will join you here and tell you to put him in the front of the formation. Okay, well put him in for Ma Liang and make him your strategist, putting him in front as well as that is important. At Yin Ping, Jiang Wan will declare you friendly troops and you'll be let in. Li Yan will then run at you and yell at Jiang Wan. Well, Zhang Su and Dong He are similar strategists, while Wu Yi is a decent overall character and Li Yan is a good fighter. Again though, you've fought armies like this, so I would take out Wu Yi and Li Yan first and leave the weak tacticians for last. You should have no problem. Dump Jiang Wan after the battle, as he is only an average general. Put Ma Liang back in. You will hear of a fire stack and TNT and of Mian Zhu Guan being important to Shu. Okay, well first head to the cave to get the TNT. YIN PING Weapons - Dragon Sword - 5000, Ice Spear - 5000, Steel Bow - 3000 Gym - 30,000 Going to Mian Zhu Guan doesn't initiate a battle but three guards will block your way. Head east to the cave, and head north when you are in to talk to Zi Xu. He talks of TNT and such so head back south and east to go look for it. Head all the way to the north here, for 538 gold. Then go west and north to get a Steel Helmet which is nice. Head back south for 238 gold coins and northeast of this is a staircase. Here you will end up in a four-way. South is a Steel Helmet, while going north and then west is a Silver Potion. East of here is a Qing Long Saber, a great saber for Lord Guan. Directly south of here is a Fire Scroll, and go west at the four-way fork for the TNT! Now go back to Zi Xu and continue north to leave. Go into Mian Zhu Guan backwards now and you can administer the TNT to some of the logs. Or you an attack the rebel soldiers here over and over and over. But when you use the TNT, a battle will ensue with Zhang Ren opposing you with Liu Kui, Liu Xun, Liu Ba, and Lu Kai. Fortunately, these powerful generals are ousted easily as the fire sweeps them away. Zhang Ren flees to Long You and Zhuge orders to charge. Well, heal up, then charge. This is probably the toughest Shu battle. Zhang Ren is a powerful general, very similar to Yan Yan in his stats. Liu Kui and Liu Xun are generic fighters, while Liu Ba and Lu Kai are above-average tacticians. Get Zhang Ren and Liu Ba out as soon as possible, then the battle will turn your way. Wan Fu or Yin Xian will help you, as will Hou Shen if you have it. LONG YOU Items - Silver Medicine - 500, Revive - 100, Steed - 2000, Tactic Potion - 2500 At the Jinyan bridge Zhang Ren meets you to duel your best (or first in line) general. Use Zhang Lu if you have him, or Ma Chao. You shouldn't have a problem, just attack. Heal up now, Cheng Du is near! Liu Zhang is here with his mustache. I mean with a bunch of generic tacticians. Liu Zhang himself has a poor strength and only a 160 intelligence. Not too scary, and neither are his other generals Wang Lei or Huang Quan. Liu Xun is a fighter of little importance, while Liu Ba is the only really good general here. Take him out, then Liu Zhang, as Liu Zhang does have equipment upgrades to make him decent. Really this battle is a joke, especially for an end-of-the-section battle. Go in and rest and explore your new castle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Attacking Cao Cao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cheng Du has some nice new additions at the armory. Steel Helmets are a necessity for all, as are the new weapons. The villagers enjoy Liu Bei's unification also. CHENG DU Weapons - Dragon Sword - 5000, Ice Spear - 5000, Qing Long Saber - 4000, Fire Axe - 6000, Flame Armor - 10000, Steel Helmet - 4000 Items - Silver Medicine - 500, Revive - 100, Tent - 1000, Tactic Potion - 2500 Gym - 40,000 Liu Bei has you rest and then sends you off to Han Zhong as that has been seized by Cao Cao. Head north and east, and you can skip a lot of time by going the rout where Pang Tong was ambushed, and make your way back to Xia Meng citadel. Rest up and go north to Yang Ping citadel. Xiahou Shang is here with three bad generals. Xiahou is decent overall, so attack and use tactics on him. The other three are completely mediocre although the increased A.P. and A.C. around here help them. But after Xiahou is dead you can probably all-out. Rest up and continue on to Nan Zheng citadel. Again, all the generals are bad at Nan Zheng save for Zhang Yi, who at least has a decent attack. Still, a few strong tactics like Huo Shen will oust Zhang Yi, and the other three are definitely all-outtable. Here you will learn of Xiahou Yuan being at Han Zhong. Rest up and be ready, this is tough. Xiahou Yuan is a powerful general who can hold his own intellectually. Du Xi and Li Tong are similar and are above-average at both strength and intelligence. Yang Xiu is probably the most dangerous general here, so I would attack him furiously before he An Sha's one of your generals. An Sha (instant kill) will be prevalent in Cao Cao's territory. Ma Yan is pretty generic so leave him for last, but take out Yang Xiu and then Xiahou Yuan as fast as you can. Han Zhong is optimistic about Liu Bei overtaking Cao Cao. Inside the palace Liu Bei is there as he hears of Cao Cao declaring himself emperor. Thus in 221, Liu Bei is ultimately persuaded by Zhuge Liang to ascend to the Shu-Han throne and to send out an army to apprehend Cao Cao. Zhang Fei will be sent to Xin Ye, and Guan Yu to Cheng Du. As you leave the throne room in Han Zhong, Guan Xing will be blocking your way, with Zhang Bao next to him. You must recruit Guan Xing here, and it is worth it as he is only marginally worse than Guan Yu. Zhang Bao has a better intelligence but worse strength when compared to Zhang Fei. An interesting thing to note here that is unorthodox but a favorite solution of mine, is that you can skip recruiting Zhang Bao. Personally I prefer to skip him, as Guan Xing and Zhang Bao cannot be removed from battle (like their fathers) so you are stuck with him if you recruit him. His intelligence is better than Zhang Fei but is still a liability, at 90, so pick him up or don't. Now I would have a party of Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, Guan Xing, Zhang Lu, and Ma Chao (Ma Dai for Zhang Lu if you don't have Zhang Lu). East and south of Han Zhong is the gate into Wei, where a generic general in Xiahou Mao appears with two other generic generals and a decent tactician in Liu Ye. Take out Liu Ye first, and then Xiahou as he has added equipment. The other two can be all-outted. South and a little east is Nan' An, where Cao Xiu faces you with three other generals; Lu Zheng, Wang Kuang and Fu Gan. Fu Gan and Lu Zheng are good fighters, while Wang Kuang is kind of worthless. Cao Xiu is a tough overall fighter and tactician, so attack him exclusively until he perishes. The others can be mopped up with tactics. NAN' AN Weapons - Barrage Sword - 10000, Flame Bow - 6000, Flame Shield - 30,000, Flame Armor - 10000, Steel Helmet - 4000 Items - Gold Medicine - 1000, Revive - 100, Smoke Bomb - 300, Tactic Potion - 2500 The reknowned Hua Tuo lives here and he will offer to heal you (ie rest). Do so. Everyone else talks of Jiang Wei and how difficult Tian Shui will be. Well, buy some Flame Shield's if need-be and go east to An Ding first. Cao Chun holds this castle, with Jiangyi Qui, Lu Qian and Heng Huan. The former three are all very similar warriors (all around 160 strength) and they all can be had via tactics. Huo Shen is nice, try that. Heng Huan is very bad, ignore him until you are ready to all out. You will hear more of the Jiang Wei mother-medicine issue here, and you will even see her (in pain too). Well you can't venture further until you attack Tian Shui, so do so. AN DING Items - Gold Medicine - 1000, Revive - 100, Power Pil - 300, Tactic Potion - 2500 Gym - 50,000 At Tian Shui, Jiang Wei and Xiahou De will ambush you when Xiahou Mao taunts you. They slaughter you and you end up in Ji Ping's house in An Ding. He will explain the situation between Cao's army and Jiang Wei, and will alert you that Hua Tuo can help but that his house is guarded. He writes you a letter of approval and sends you off, so go back to Nan' An to check that out. Fu Wan is waiting outside Hua Tuo's house, and he is a decent tactician with good equipment. Still, he is by himself and should be slaughtered in a few turns. Inside Hua Tuo thanks you and when you read the Intro letter to him, he will go to An Ding to aid Jiang Wei's mother. Go here and she will tell you to tell Jiang Wei of this and to have him join you as he supports Zhuge Liang. As you leave town, Jiang Wei will approach you by himself, so be ready. Jiang Wei is tough, even by himself. You probably won't get off many tactics, even with Zhuge Liang. Just attack him and Yin Xian or Wan Fu to make sure he doesn't swipe one of your characters. He will run off, challenging you again, until his mother talks some sense into him. He joins you and you start up a scene in An Ding. Zhuge leaves the party to work on a plan for a weapon of his, while Jiang Wei joins you instead. Personally, he is the best general in the game. His stats are off the charts, especially that agility. Always use him in battle if you have the option. Tian Shui is a much easier siege now. Xiahou De and Chen Xi are strong warriors, but the others offer little and none of them offer much tactically. Use Huo Shen or Ji Shi to dispatch of them, and Wan Fu incase they get a critical hit or gang up on someone. Tian Shui is a prosperous town with fabulous weapons. Buy as much as you can. TIAN SHUI Weapons - Nu Long Sword - 25000, Tiger Axe - 10000, Void Spear - 35000, Ice Bow - 15000, Emperor Saber - 12000, Dragon Armor - 40000 Items - Gold Medicine - 1000, Revive - 100, Tent - 1000, Tactic Potion - 2500 Gym - 20,000 There is a Tea dealer here. Make note of that, you'll need to visit him later. But now go to Chen Cang, northeast of here, to get a Ferry Ticket from Hao Zhao. With your new armor, this battle should be easy despite the tough generals. Hao Zhao is a fine general, better than Xiahou Yuan even. Go after him first. Hua Xin is a decent tactician but not as dangerous as a lot of the Wei tacticians are. The other three are solid warriors and little else (note that this is a different Yang Xiu, one that is bad and doesn't An Sha you). CHEN CANG Items - Gold Medicine - 1000, Revive - 100, Tactic Potion - 2500, Steed - 2000 The northwest house is loaded with stuff, including the Ferry Ticket. From the upper left, going clockwise; Wind Hat, Thunder Shield, Ferry Ticket, Great Armor, Double Axe. Equip all of those, if applicable. Now rest up and go west and show the Ticket to the character outside of the port. Shen Pei instead fights you, but is by himself, negating his good intelligence and overall ability. Hop in the boat to sail towards Bei Di. Bei Di houses Cao Zhen, along with Wang Lang, Zhang He and Chen Yi. Zhang He is another powerful and somewhat intelligent general that should be disposed of immediately. Cao Zhen is pretty good overall so I'd go after him next. Wang Lang is an average tactician but nothing to fret about, and Chen Yi is generic. Inside Bei Di, you will hear that Sima Yi is nowhere to be found, and that you should head back to Zhuge Liang. As you head back Zhang He will ambush you, followed by Xu Huang, Sima Zhao, Sima Shi, and Sima Yi. Run from each battle until you can flee to Tian Shui. Zhuge will join you and Jiang will leave, so rotate him in accordingly. Head back and Wang Lang will ambush you at the beginning of the narrow route. He comes with Zhang He, who again is an issue so use Huo Shen or Ji Shi to supplant him. Wang Lang is nothing after that. After this head to Bei Di citadel and again you will fight the same four as you did last time at Bei Di. It shouldn't be any different, take out Zhang He and Cao Zhen and then all-out. Leave this citadel and go east to Beiyuan Pass. Head east as you enter for a Wind Hat. Go all the way north now for a Water scroll, and then head west and north again for a Gold Potion. Head south along the western edge to grab the 1054 coins, and then go back north sticking to the west end. This will take you to the top of this mountain, and will circle to the right and then go south, and pick up the Void Spear along the way. As you reach the bottom, take the left route for an Ice Bow and then go east to leave. Outside is Xialuo village, where you should rest. The battle at Beiyuan citadel is tricky, so be prepared. Cao Zhang is a beast, simply put. His attack is as high as you'll see in Wei, and his intelligence isn't bad either. Xun You is spectacular with tactics, while Cao Zhi is slightly worse but still a threat. Hou Cheng is a good fighter but far and away the fourth target here. I'd slaughter Xun You first as he can do a real number on your team with tactics. Cao Zhang next and then Cao Zhi. You'll probably lose a general or maybe two, hopefully not more. Now that Beiyuan is yours, go north to Luo castle once you are rested. Cao Cao is here! You must battle him straight up, and he has three of the toughest Wei generals with him in Xu Zhu (Chu), Dian Wei, and Pang De. Xun Yu is also at the bottom of the list, and he is as deadly of a tactician as anyone in Wei outside of Sima Yi. Oh, and then there is Cao Cao. Well it's pick your poison basically. I'd go after Cao Cao and Xun Yu, as you can at least predict what the other three will do. With Cao Cao and Xun Yu, it's best to get them out of there before they decide to start An Sha-ing the house. This is going to be a tough battle, one of the toughest you'll fight; period. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Final Confrontation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After this hard fought battle go rest at the inn. Talk to the villagers to learn of a Cloud Burst item at the cave nearby, and also of weapons Cao Cao left behind. In the northeast there are two huts with 6 items each. The left hut has a Sky Helmet, Wind Helmet, Great Armor, Great Armor, Wind Helmet, and a Treatise, starting from the bottom left and going clockwise. The Treatise adds 20 to any character's intelligence. A great addition, I give it to Zhao Yun to make him even better. The right hut has a Dragon Spear, Heaven Sword, Halfmoon Bow, Thunder Shield, War Scroll, and a Cun Yu Saber. Impressive, equip these. LUO Items - Gold Medicine - 1000, Revive - 100, Tent - 1000, Tactic Potion - 2500 Heading south past Bei Yuan and Xia Luo you will come to a cave. It is here where you find the Cloud Burst item. First, head north for a Gold Potion. Go east and take the staircase leading south, which ends up with a Gold Pendant. On the far east end is 4028 gold coins, and the ladder going down west of this is symmetrical with the Gold Pendant passage, and the treasure is a Gauntlet. This increases A.P. by 20, a good item. Go back now, and head a little west then south, and take the ladder going down and follow that around for a Fire Scroll. When you return, take the south path and that goes for a while and leads to the Cloud Burst! The treasure on the plateau east of this (which is accessible through an eastern route) is a Void Spear. Finally, there is a Nu Long sword on the ground floor towards the west end. This should be it, Suo Di to get out of here. Be sure to put the Cloud Burst in Zhuge's possession, it's necessary for it's use against Cao Cao. Head north of Luo castle now, and Xun Yu will meet you with Pang De. Tough generals, but alas the two of them shouldn't be able to stop you. Dispatch Xun Yu before he An Sha's someone. There is not much to do in Qi Shan except prepare for the next fight, so make sure the Cloud Burst is in Zhuge's hands and head on east and south, where Cao Cao will ambush you with fire. Plan out the first turn like you would be normally fighting these five, except have Zhuge use the Cloud Burst. The fire will stop and Cao Cao's plan will be foiled, but he will attack you anyway. This battle is easier than the Luo battle, in my opinion. Liu Ye and Guo Jia come in for Xun Yu and Pang De. Xu Zhu and Dian Wei, as always, are at Cao Cao's side. Take out Cao Cao as fast as you can, then Guo Jia. Liu Ye really isn't too potent of a tactician but can still harm you if he has enough chances. I would leave him for last though and Huo Shen Dian and Xu after Cao Cao and Guo Jia pass. Again, you should be able to handle this battle if you handled the previous battle in Luo. Speaking of Luo, Liu Bei is there when you are done with this battle. He hears of Han Zhong being recaptured so he sends Guan Xing to help out. You are sent to battle Cao Pi at Sili citadel, and Guan Suo joins you as you leave. He is the last general you get and a nice one. Plug him in, and you'll have him, Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, Ma Chao, and Zhang Lu (or Zhang Bao/Ma Dai) with someone like Ma Liang in your party as the tactician. Head north and past the Cao Cao flame-ambush area. As you get there, Jia Xu ambushes you with some older generals, Zhang Yun from Jing Zhou and Li Zhan from the Han Zhong area. Neither are tough, but Jia Xu is another deadly tactician. Kill him and you can probably all-out after that. I would go rest now, and then come back and hit Sili citadel. Cao Pi is here with the younger generation of Wei, notably Dian Man, Xiahou Wei, Xiahou Ba and Chen Qun. These generals are pretty tough, but a step below the generals you fight when you go up against Cao Cao. Cao Pi's stats are very similar to Zhang Lu, and I would target him either first or second, after the deadly assassin Chen Qun. Dian Man is the worst of the lot, just another generic fighter general, who can take off a bit if you don't hit him though. Xiahou Wei is a solid tactician that has a 180 attack as well, so he is well rounded. Xiahou Ba is the strongest general here and his intelligence is higher than most of the brutes in Wei. Again, focus on Chen Qun and Cao Pi. Xiahou Wei is a good tactician but is below average for Wei standards, so you can afford to leave him be for a while. Xiahou Ba is probably the third target, with that 220 strength, and you can probably all-out after him. Good luck, this is hard but easier than the Luo battle. SILI CITADEL Item Shop - Gold Potion - 1000, Revive - 100, Tactic Potion - 2500 As you continue forward, Cao Pi is at the next citadel (Wuzhang Yuan). Sima Yi makes his move here and kills Cao Pi, and then knocks you out with some high-powered magic. You will wake up at Cuizhou Ping's house, which is northeast of Sili citadel. He won't tell you how to counteract the spell though, not until you get him some tea. If you have been talking to the villagers throughout the last few cities, you'll have heard about tea dealers and water and other things that Cui Zhouping is going to want. Well, head to Tian Shui for tea. The tea dealer is to the right of the item shop and he will gladly give you some Tea. Cui then asks for Water, so go to Xia Luo and get that from the old man north of the entrance. After giving him Water, he then asks for a Tea Set! This is in Luo, again next to the item shop. Talk to the purple guy outside the house and he'll say the old man is home, and he is indeed home and implores you to take his Tea Set as your cause is just. Cui finally tells you the trick after the Tea Set is delivered: up, up, down, down, left, right, up, down. Note that you must do all this, you can't just know the combination beforehand and skip these parts. I bet you love Cuizhou Ping now, don't you? :) Head to Wuzhang Yuan now. After the combination, your army will do what Zhuge says and the plan will work. Sima rushes out to attack, but Zhuge's feigned defeat puts Sima in a tough position. Fire will be released and Sima Yi will be with his sons Shi and Zhao, along with Xiahou Wei. Attack them and just play defensive; the fire will annihilate their forces soon enough. Enter Wuzhang and speak with everyone and rest. One man will offer to sell you a bottle of medicine for 1,000, so do it since that is pretty cheap anyway. You can try traversing the stone formation, you won't be able to do it probably. Head northeast to an old man who complains of losing a Heaven Elixir (which you have). Give it to him and he will reveal himself as Shi Guanyuan. Your leader will ask of the stone wall maze, and he will reply to go south 20 times and east 20 times. Do this (it's not hard) and head south after the 20th east step. When you get out, head south and east and hit up Chang 'An. Zhang Liao is here, with a bunch of ex-Jing Zhou generals and Xu Shu. Zhang Liao is a beast and should easily be your first target. Xu Shu is another dangerous tactician so he should be next. The Jing Zhou generals have had a boost statistically, but they are still pretty average generals. Basically, if Zhang and Xu are out you should be okay. Chang 'An Weapons - Double Axe - 10000, Halfmoon Bow - 35000, Power Spear - 40000, Cun Yu Saber - 30000, Thunder Shield - 60000 Items - Gold Medicine - 1000, Revive - 100, Power Pil - 300, Tactic Potion - 2500 Gym - 60,000 Get the Snake Spear from the guy in the northwest part of town, it is a great weapon. You probably don't need the weapons but do get everyone a Thunder Shield. This is the stretch run; use all your money for items/weapons. Head south and east of Chang 'An to get to the "rugged" Luo Yang Pass. All the way east is a tent, and north and a little west of here is 6065 gold coins. Go further west and north which takes you to a long bridge that travels east. Follow it as it goes south and head west at the split for a Sky Helmet. Go east now and head north for a Moon Saber and a Youyuu Bow. The Moon Saber is sweet, give it to Guan Suo. Now go all the way south and all the way east for a Thin Axe. Head west a little and go north and follow it as it wraps around, going west when you can to get a Doomsday Scroll. East of here are some more options, and going north leads to another Great Armor. That is all the treasures here, so head east and south to get out of this area. Fresh air. North of here is a port with Zhang Liao guarding it. He is surprised to see you and will not let you by without a fight, of course. He is with Chen Qun, a good tactician if you recall. The two of them though shouldn't be able to get you. Take out Zhang Liao first as he is a dual-threat, but Chen Qun can use some deadly tactics as well. Zhang Liao will curses Wei's fate, and you can get on the boat now. This takes you to the area that Guan Yu was at, and Hu Huo will still let you stay for free at his house! The castle is still empty, and further south are gates that you have to go through. Dong Heng is at the first one, with a similar warrior in Dian Man with him, and a tough tactician in Guo Yi with him as well. Kill Guo first and this should be easy, the other two are good fighters but nothing you can't destroy at this point. The next gate pits you against Sima Zhao and Xiahou Wei and Jiang Yong. They are all tough tacticians, so Ce Mian will help you as it would any tactician-related battle. Try to get Zhao out first, he is the real dangerous one, the others are good but aren't apt to An Sha your party like Sima is. Head back and rest, then return to the third gate to see Sima Shi is here. He brings a tough warrior that you have already seen in Xiahou Ba, and a solid tactician in Huang You as well. Sima has 240 intelligence, so careful. Kill him first and try to hit Xiahou with some tactics to weaken him. Huang You is a good tactician but is similar to Xiahou Wei in that he probably isn't smart enough to An Sha your party. After Sima is gone though, it won't matter as the battle will be over shortly. You can still go in here, but Pu Jing won't be here to allow you to rest. Head back and continue to Luo Yang, the final battle. First off the Sima brothers come out to battle you. Two warriors, Dong Heng and Dian Man, are with them. Concentrate on Shi first as he is the smarter of the two. Then Zhao. Try to gang up on one of them so as to limit their Wan Fu capability. They may Ji Mian you which will complicate matters. Or they could An Sha you which would really complicate matters. Once they are done though, the other two fighters are nothing. The next battle starts right away, with Sima Yi declaring the need for one emperor instead of two. He comes with some of his best; Xu Huang and Zhang He, along with the younger Xiahou's (Wei and Ba). Xiahou Wei is really the only other strategist here besides Sima, so keep that in mind. You will have to deal with a lot of physical attacks, so Ji Mian might help. Don't bother with tactics on Sima Yi, he'll shrug them off, even Zhuge Liang (it can be done, just rarely). Of course you could try to eliminate the other generals and deal with Sima Yi last if you wish too. Sima Yi doesn't have the stamina and overall soldier count that he did on DoaE 1 obviously, making his chance of Wan Fu-ing himself less, which is nice. However, he can also kill you a lot easier, and he has An Sha also. Once you find a way to pull this out, China is yours! Luo Yang has the same weapons and items as it did before. Of course this doesn't matter now. Rest at the Inn, and when you leave the ending music will be playing. While you were sleeping, Liu Bei and friends came here to congratulate you. Liu thanks Zhuge especially, and the screen fades to the ending, as you see the hacked credits and Liu Bei strolling across China. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ End of Walkthrough ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ product of www.lordyuanshu.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ d) Items ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NAME PRICE EFFECT Herbal Potion 50 Heals 100 soldiers Copper Potion 100 Heals 500 soldiers Silver Potion 500 Heals 1000 soldiers Gold Potion 1000 Heals 4500 soldiers Power Stone N/A You find this randomly from generals Silver Stone N/A This heals you by 1000 Gold Stone N/A Heals fully. I believe the difference between the stones and potions are that you get 5 or so uses out of the stones as opposed to only one with the potion. Not sure but that's all I've noticed. Smoke Bomb 300 Allows you to walk free, without worry of random battles for a short while. Revive 100 Revives a dead character (they come alive with 400 soldiers) PowerPil 300 Critical hit is ensured Tact. Potion 2500 Recovers 30 tactical points Tent 1000 Acts as an Inn and can be used anywhere. Crossbow N/A Zhuge Liang gives you this, it attacks every enemy with a chance to fail and succeed. Takes off a decent amount if it connects. Doomsday Scroll N/A Casts Ji Shi on all enemies Fire Scroll N/A Casts Huo Shen on all enemies War Scroll N/A Casts An Sha on one enemy Water Scroll N/A Casts Shui Long on all enemies Wind Scroll N/A Used by Zhuge Liang (received from Orochi/Miko) against Cao Cao at sea. Cloud Burst N/A Found at the structure southeast of Bei Yuan and is to be used at Shang Fang Valley against Cao Cao. Map N/A Allows you to check non-Shu areas of the Chinese map. Shu Map N/A A map of Shu Chi Tu Ma N/A Increases the speed of your character walking about when equipped (From Gan & Mi) Steed 2000 Increases agility of wearer by 10 Gauntlet N/A Adds 20 to any character's attack when equipped (southeast of Xia Luo) Treatise N/A Adds 20 to any character's intelligence when equipped (Luo castle) Speed Shoes N/A Adds 20 to any character's speed when equipped (bottom left of Xia Luo (search in the grassy area and you'll find it)) Zheng Letter N/A Received from Zheng Xuan to use on Yuan Shao Hu Ban Letter N/A Give to you by his dad Hu Huo at the hut. Use on Hu Ban Intro Letter N/A From Ji Ping to give to Hua Tuo. Liu Bei Letter N/A To give to Meng Da, allowing you to have the Shu map Gunpowder N/A Received in Chai Sang from the old man after he receivers the lower two items Deadwood N/A Search the tree behind the old man from the side facing his back and you will find it. Saltpeter N/A In the cave northeast of Chai Sang. Check the guide for cave directions. Arrow Storm N/A Received in the Xiang Yang upper throne room. Tally Order N/A Received in front of the throne in the Ji Zhou throne room. Brocade Sack N/A Given to you at northeast Nanjun by Pang Tong, for use against Lu Bu at Han. Jiu N/A Sima Hui will present this to you, to give to Pang Tong at Xiang Yang. TNT N/A Zi Xu has this in the cave east of Mianzhu for use at Mianzhu. Blood Seal N/A An annoying item to get, Li Qi needs this before he'll see Ma Chao for you. Bronze Key N/A Pang Yi will give you this northwest of Fu Shui, for use at the water gate. Ferry Ticket N/A A treasure in Chen Cang that is needed to get to Bei Di. Heaven Elixir N/A Purchased at Wuzhang and given to the old man east of here for directions to conquer the stone maze. Tea N/A From the guy in the house east of the item shop in Tian Shui, for Cui Zhou Water N/A From the old man northeast of the entrance in Xia Luo village, south of Bei Yuan. This is the second item Cui Zhouping asks for. Tea Set N/A Given from the old man who gives his trust in you to save China, at Luo castle. The last item you need to get the code from Cui. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ e) Weapons/Armor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Body Armor Defense Cost Cotton 5 100 (can't buy it, but that's the sale-rate) Leather 10 300 Copper 15 600 Iron 25 1500 Steel 40 4000 Flame 60 10000 (a good deal) Dragon 65 40000 (a bad deal) Great 75 N/A (You find 4 or 5 of these) Helmets Bandana 5 50 Cap 10 100 Copper 15 200 Iron 20 2000 Steel 30 4000 Wind 40 N/A Sky 50 N/A Shields Wooden 5 50 Leather 10 100 Scale 15 500 Copper 25 1000 Iron 40 2000 Steel 50 4000 Flame 60 30000 Thunder 80 60000 Fortune 110 N/A (found in Chang 'An castle, search the road heading north, directly east of the armory. Face north and search once the stretch goes from heading east to north. Weapons Sabers Stone 10 80 Copper 20 150 Iron 40 400 Steel 80 1000 Qing Long 120 4000 Emperor 150 12000 Cun Yu 200 30000 Moon 220 N/A Zeng Zong N/A N/A Spears Wood 10 80 Copper 20 200 Iron 40 500 Steel 80 1500 Ice 120 5000 Void 150 35000 Power 200 40000 Dragon 220 N/A Snake 235 N/A Swords Short 10 100 Copper 20 300 Iron 40 800 Thunder 80 2000 Dragon 120 5000 Barrage 90 10000 (attacks twice per-round) Nu Long 200 25000 Heaven 220 N/A Qing Gang 235 N/A Note - Qing Gang was found after defeating Cao Pi at Si Li Citadel. Axes Stone 10 80 Copper 20 200 Iron 40 500 Steel 80 1500 Fire 120 6000 Tiger 150 10000 Double 120 10000 Thin 220 N/A Thunder 235 N/A Note - Thunder Axe was found in the Wuzhang Yuan Gate. The stone path that leads south, search the left-part of that path and you'll find it. Bows Steel 50 3000 Flame 70 6000 Ice 90 15000 Doublemoon 120 35000 Youyuu 132 N/A Li Guang N/A N/A (Note - The location of the Li Guang Bow and Zeng Zong Saber are unknown. I have only heard of these from e-mails but I am assuming they fall randomly from Wei generals like the Qing Gang Sword did for me, or that they are somewhere on the ground randomly towards the end of Wei.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ f) Enemy Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unlike Destiny of an Emperor 1, you cannot recruit generals after a battle. Some join throughout the story though and they'll be listed in both the allied general list and the enemy general list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name STR - INT - AGI - AP - AC - SLD. - WPN. - Land ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ????? 245 - 180 - 160 - 80 - 180 - 3000 - Saber - Plains Bian Xi 110 - 90 - 90 - 25 - 12 - 380 - Sword - Plains Bao Long 125 - 90 - 115 - 90 - 100 - 2900 - Spear - N/A Cai He 75 - 80 - 55 - 60 - 30 - 2100 - Sword - N/A Cai Mao 165 - 160 - 155 - 60 - 40 - 2300 - Sword - Sea Cai Xun 100 - 70 - 95 - 60 - 40 - 2200 - Sword - Sea Cai Yang 180 - 120 - 115 - 35 - 25 - 680 - Sword - N/A Cai Zhong 80 - 75 - 45 - 60 - 30 - 2200 - Sword - N/A Cao Ang 175 - 110 - 110 - 70 - 60 - 2200 - Axe - N/A Cao Cao 215 - 230 - 155 - 230 - 230 - 9800 - Sword - Plains Cao Chun 160 - 80 - 95 - 200 - 200 - 7500 - Axe - N/A Cao Hong 150 - 145 - 115 - 80 - 70 - 2800 - Sword - N/A Cao Pi 175 - 190 - 195 - 240 - 240 - 9600 - Spear - Sea Cao Ren 205 - 155 - 100 - 50 - 40 - 1900 - Sword - MTN Cao Ren2 205 - 155 - 100 - 70 - 60 - 2600 - Sword - MTN Cao Xiu 185 - 170 - 110 - 200 - 200 - 9000 - Spear - N/A Cao Zhang 235 - 150 - 175 - 225 - 230 - 9400 - Spear - Plains Cao Zhen 165 - 140 - 120 - 220 - 220 - 9200 - Sword - N/A Cao Zhi 40 - 205 - 95 - 140 - 220 - 8200 - Bow - N/A Che Zhou 140 - 85 - 75 - 35 - 25 - 700 - Sword - N/A Chen Jiao 50 - 195 - 95 - 70 - 60 - 4100 - Sword - N/A Chen Lan 160 - 60 - 55 - 15 - 12 - 250 - Sword - N/A Chen Qun 120 - 230 - 105 - 220 - 220 - 9000 - Sword - N/A Chen Shu 150 - 45 - 125 - 80 - 90 - 3000 - Sword - N/A Chen Xi 160 - 60 - 85 - 210 - 210 - 8200 - Axe - N/A Chen Yi 100 - 90 - 85 - 200 - 200 - 7300 - Sword - N/A Cheng Yi 110 - 90 - 85 - 130 - 120 - 3900 - Sword - N/A Cheng Yin 145 - 100 - 100 - 130 - 120 - 4500 - Sword - MTN Cheng Yu 75 - 225 - 65 - 20 - 20 - 480 - Sword - N/A Deng Xian 75 - 135 - 100 - 150 - 140 - 4000 - Sword - N/A Dian Man 195 - 65 - 105 - 230 - 230 - 8800 - Axe - MTN Dian Wei 230 - 65 - 135 - 220 - 220 - 9400 - Spear - MTN Dong He 85 - 160 - 65 - 150 - 140 - 4700 - Sword - N/A Dong Heng 195 - 105 - 95 - 230 - 230 - 8600 - Axe - MTN Du Xi 160 - 150 - 110 - 180 - 180 - 8200 - Saber - N/A Fei Guan 115 - 95 - 70 - 150 - 140 - 5600 - Sword - N/A Fei Shi 70 - 130 - 90 - 150 - 140 - 5700 - Sword - N/A Fu Gan 165 - 60 - 55 - 180 - 200 - 8400 - Spear - N/A Fu Wan 120 - 170 - 125 - 220 - 220 - 7600 - Sword - N/A Gao Pei 135 - 90 - 90 - 150 - 140 - 6100 - Sword - N/A Gao Shun 120 - 75 - 95 - 200 - 200 - 7500 - Sword - N/A Gong Du 120 - 75 - 65 - 50 - 25 - 1500 - Sword - N/A Guo Jia 75 - 230 - 50 - 220 - 220 - 8400 - Sword - N/A Guo Si 135 - 85 - 85 - 90 - 100 - 3000 - Sword - Plains Guo Tu 195 - 100 - 65 - 25 - 15 - 800 - Sword - Plains Guo Yi 75 - 220 - 85 - 230 - 230 - 8600 - Sword - N/A Han Fu 85 - 55 - 128 - 25 - 12 - 350 - Sword - N/A Han Hao 105 - 95 - 60 - 90 - 100 - 2900 - Sword - N/A Han Hao2 75 - 60 - 60 - 180 - 200 - 7200 - Sword - N/A Han Sui 140 - 110 - 75 - 50 - 25 - 1800 - Sword - MTN Han Sui2 165 - 135 - 75 - 200 - 200 - 8200 - Sword - N/A Han Xuan 85 - 50 - 80 - 100 - 110 - 3600 - Sword - N/A Hao Zhao 210 - 175 - 125 - 220 - 220 - 9400 - Sword - Plains He Yi 80 - 45 - 85 - 50 - 25 - 1200 - Sword - N/A Heng Huan 100 - 100 - 75 - 180 - 200 - 7200 - Sword - N/A Hou Cheng 185 - 120 - 115 - 78 - 120 - 4200 - Bow - Plains Hou Cheng2 175 - 110 - 75 - 200 - 200 - 7600 - Sword - MTN Hua Xin 70 - 180 - 75 - 200 - 200 - 7800 - Sword - N/A Huang Quan 65 - 165 - 105 - 150 - 140 - 6400 - Sword - N/A Huang Shao 105 - 60 - 95 - 50 - 25 - 1400 - Sword - N/A Huang You 90 - 205 - 75 - 220 - 220 - 8400 - Sword - N/A Huang Zhong 220 - 175 - 150 - 55 - 100 - 3400 - Bow - MTN Huang Zu 130 - 45 - 128 - 128 - 50 - 1900 - Sword - Plains Huo Jun 115 - 105 - 18 - 150 - 140 - 6700 - Sword - N/A Ji Ling 155 - 70 - 100 - 20 - 15 - 270 - Sword - Plains Jia Xu 75 - 215 - 120 - 200 - 200 - 8600 - Sword - N/A Jiang Xu 80 - 40 - 65 - 50 - 30 - 1700 - Spear - Sea Jiang Xu2 170 - 80 - 65 - 200 - 200 - 8600 - Spear - N/A Jiang Wei 210 - 240 - 245 - 220 - 230 - 8400 - Sword - MTN Jiang Yong 35 - 160 - 85 - 200 - 200 - 7200 - Sword - N/A Jiangyi Qui 170 - 80 - 65 - 200 - 200 - 8600 - Spear - N/A Jin Hui 80 - 105 - 90 - 180 - 200 - 7100 - Sword - N/A Jin Xuan 95 - 105 - 55 - 90 - 100 - 1800 - Sword - N/A Kong Xiu 75 - 70 - 55 - 25 - 12 - 320 - Sword - N/A Kuai Yue 45 - 175 - 60 - 50 - 25 - 1600 - Sword - N/A Lei Bo 175 - 80 - 80 - 15 - 12 - 280 - Sword - N/A Lei Tong 205 - 95 - 95 - 150 - 140 - 5400 - Spear - Plains Li Dian 130 - 100 - 105 - 30 - 20 - 750 - Sword - N/A Li Feng 140 - 65 - 75 - 15 - 12 - 270 - Sword - Plains Li Jue 105 - 100 - 70 - 90 - 100 - 3100 - Sword - Plains Li Su 135 - 60 - 100 - 90 - 100 - 2800 - Sword - N/A Li Tong 165 - 145 - 100 - 180 - 180 - 8400 - Sword - N/A Li Yan 190 - 125 - 130 - 90 - 140 - 5800 - Bow - Plains Li Zhan 130 - 110 - 90 - 130 - 120 - 4000 - Bow - N/A Li Zhan2 130 - 110 - 90 - 200 - 200 - 7800 - Bow - N/A Liang Gang 85 - 45 - 45 - 15 - 12 - 240 - Sword - N/A Liang Ji 105 - 90 - 65 - 15 - 12 - 220 - Sword - N/A Liang Xing 175 - 55 - 100 - 200 - 200 - 8400 - Saber - N/A Liao Hua 170 - 100 - 85 - 90 - 80 - 4600 - Axe - MTN Ling Bao 150 - 115 - 125 - 140 - 130 - 4700 - Sword - MTN Liu Ba 145 - 190 - 130 - 150 - 140 - 5400 - Sword - MTN Liu Du 130 - 95 - 30 - 90 - 90 - 3300 - Sword - N/A Liu Kui 115 - 100 - 110 - 150 - 140 - 5600 - Sword - N/A Liu Pi 95 - 80 - 70 - 50 - 25 - 1300 - Sword - N/A Liu Xun 140 - 105 - 100 - 150 - 140 - 5900 - Sword - MTN Liu Yan 125 - 115 - 110 - 80 - 80 - 2300 - Sword - N/A Liu Ye 40 - 165 - 65 - 200 - 200 - 8600 - Sword - N/A Liu Ye2 90 - 195 - 25 - 200 - 200 - 8200 - Sword - N/A Liu Zhang 115 - 160 - 80 - 160 - 160 - 6500 - Sword - Plains Lu Bu 255 - 50 - 145 - 120 - 110 - 3800 - Sword - Plains Lu Kai 25 - 185 - 65 - 150 - 140 - 4800 - Sword - N/A Lu Gong 75 - 35 - 55 - 50 - 25 - 1650 - Sword - N/A Lu Kuang 170 - 55 - 95 - 55 - 30 - 1800 - Sword - MTN Lu Qian 170 - 100 - 105 - 35 - 20 - 450 - Sword - N/A Lu Qian2 160 - 125 - 95 - 200 - 200 - 7600 - Sword - N/A Lu Xiang 150 - 55 - 100 - 55 - 30 - 1700 - Sword - Plains Lu Zheng 165 - 80 - 115 - 180 - 200 - 8400 - Spear - N/A Ma Chao 240 - 140 - 175 - 130 - 120 - 4600 - Spear - Plains Ma Dai 230 - 170 - 135 - 130 - 120 - 4400 - Spear - Plains Ma Wan 140 - 65 - 105 - 120 - 200 - 7500 - Sword - N/A Ma Yan 125 - 100 - 85 - 180 - 180 - 7200 - Spear - N/A Mao Jie 130 - 100 - 90 - 200 - 200 - 7600 - Sword - N/A Mu Shun 95 - 70 - 60 - 180 - 200 - 7200 - Sword - N/A Niu Jin 215 - 80 - 105 - 80 - 70 - 2600 - Spear - MTN Orochi 210 - 10 - 200 - 80 - 60 - 1350 - N/A - MTN Python 70 - 5 - 100 - 15 - 30 - 520 - N/A - N/A Pang De 235 - 110 - 125 - 130 - 120 - 4100 - Spear - Plains Pang De2 235 - 75 - 125 - 220 - 220 - 9400 - Spear - Plains Qin Qi 90 - 50 - 75 - 25 - 15 - 420 - Sword - N/A Qui Ji 70 - 75 - 55 - 180 - 200 - 7000 - Sword - N/A Shen Pei 120 - 180 - 115 - 220 - 220 - 8600 - Saber - N/A Sima Shi 100 - 240 - 175 - 245 - 250 - 9600 - Spear - N/A Sima Yi 205 - 250 - 210 - 250 - 255 - 9999 - Sword - Plains Sima Zhao 120 - 230 - 155 - 245 - 250 - 9400 - Saber - N/A Song Xian 150 - 90 - 100 - 25 - 15 - 480 - Bow - N/A Tian Feng 155 - 190 - 35 - 25 - 15 - 580 - Sword - N/A Wang Bi 95 - 80 - 125 - 180 - 200 - 7100 - Sword - N/A Wang Can 40 - 185 - 105 - 50 - 30 - 1650 - Sword - N/A Wang Kang 105 - 95 - 95 - 150 - 140 - 4900 - Sword - Plains Wang Kuang 105 - 80 - 65 - 180 - 200 - 7300 - Sword - N/A Wang Lang 40 - 165 - 25 - 180 - 180 - 7600 - Sword - N/A Wang Lei 45 - 170 - 90 - 150 - 140 - 5800 - Sword - N/A Wang Zhi 50 - 130 - 45 - 25 - 15 - 400 - Sword - N/A Wei Huang 85 - 90 - 60 - 180 - 200 - 7000 - Sword - N/A Wei Xu 170 - 105 - 90 - 25 - 20 - 480 - Sword - N/A Wei Yan 240 - 90 - 130 - 90 - 100 - 3200 - Axe - MTN Wen Ping 175 - 45 - 50 - 50 - 30 - 1800 - Sword - Plains Wu Lan 195 - 105 - 110 - 150 - 140 - 4800 - Spear - MTN Wu Yi 175 - 140 - 75 - 150 - 140 - 5700 - Spear - MTN Xiahou Ba 220 - 140 - 135 - 235 - 235 - 9400 - Sword - Plains Xiahou De 170 - 135 - 110 - 200 - 200 - 9000 - Sword - MTN Xiahou Dun 230 - 155 - 115 - 10 - 250 - 1400 - Spear - Plains Xiahou Dun2 230 - 155 - 115 - 80 - 70 - 3600 - Spear - Plains Xiahou Mao 100 - 80 - 70 - 210 - 210 - 9000 - Sword - N/A Xiahou Shang175 - 140 - 100 - 200 - 200 - 9200 - Sword - Plains Xiahou Wei 185 - 190 - 115 - 235 - 240 - 8800 - Spear - MTN Xiahou Yuan 215 - 150 - 105 - 200 - 200 - 7800 - Spear - Plains Xingdao Rong180 - 35 - 115 - 80 - 80 - 2600 - Axe - Plains Xu Huang 225 - 120 - 115 - 245 - 250 - 9200 - Axe - MTN Xu Shu 100 - 210 - 115 - 200 - 200 - 8600 - Sword - N/A Xu Zhu 240 - 50 - 140 - 220 - 220 - 9600 - Spear - Plains Xun You 90 - 230 - 75 - 220 - 220 - 8400 - Sword - N/A Xun Yu 95 - 240 - 85 - 220 - 220 - 9200 - Sword - N/A Yan Ling 175 - 120 - 85 - 90 - 100 - 2400 - Sword - Sea Yan Pu 70 - 155 - 95 - 130 - 120 - 3800 - Sword - N/A Yan Yan 200 - 160 - 135 - 150 - 140 - 5600 - Spear - MTN Yang Ang 155 - 70 - 105 - 130 - 120 - 3900 - Sword - MTN Yang Bai 150 - 85 - 85 - 130 - 120 - 4400 - Sword - N/A Yang Huai 175 - 105 - 115 - 140 - 130 - 5200 - Sword - MTN Yang Ping 165 - 70 - 95 - 130 - 120 - 4300 - Sword - MTN Yang Ren 140 - 160 - 110 - 130 - 120 - 3600 - Sword - N/A Yang Xiu 75 - 225 - 80 - 180 - 180 - 8600 - Sword - N/A Yang Xiu2 160 - 85 - 90 - 200 - 200 - 7600 - Sword - N/A Yu Jin 130 - 115 - 45 - 15 - 30 - 820 - Sword - N/A Yuan Shu 190 - 135 - 115 - 20 - 20 - 400 - Sword - Plains Yuan Yin 60 - 165 - 60 - 20 - 15 - 320 - Sword - N/A Yue Jin 125 - 75 - 55 - 20 - 20 - 500 - Sword - N/A Yue Jiu 150 - 115 - 70 - 15 - 12 - 150 - Sword - MTN Zhang He 225 - 160 - 120 - 230 - 230 - 9400 - Spear - MTN Zhang Heng 180 - 75 - 120 - 130 - 120 - 4600 - Sword - Plains Zhang Ji 65 - 160 - 45 - 90 - 100 - 3200 - Sword - N/A Zhang Liao 230 - 205 - 175 - 235 - 240 - 9400 - Saber - Plains Zhang Lu 170 - 190 - 175 - 130 - 120 - 5100 - Sword - MTN Zhang Nan 100 - 40 - 75 - 50 - 30 - 2100 - Sword - Sea Zhang Nan2 130 - 95 - 75 - 200 - 200 - 8600 - Sword - N/A Zhang Ren 205 - 155 - 150 - 155 - 160 - 6200 - Sword - MTN Zhang Su 60 - 165 - 80 - 150 - 140 - 5300 - Sword - N/A Zhang Wei 180 - 80 - 110 - 130 - 120 - 4200 - Spear - MTN Zhang Xun 120 - 35 - 85 - 15 - 12 - 270 - Sword - N/A Zhang Yi 160 - 75 - 90 - 180 - 180 - 7300 - Sword - N/A Zhang Yun 130 - 145 - 90 - 30 - 25 - 1750 - Bow - Sea Zhang Yun2 130 - 145 - 90 - 130 - 220 - 8600 - Bow - Sea Zhao Fan 130 - 95 - 90 - 80 - 100 - 3200 - Sword - Plains Zhou Cang 165 - 80 - 75 - 20 - 20 - 550 - Axe - MTN Zhu Guang 105 - 85 - 55 - 180 - 200 - 7200 - Sword - N/A This SHOULD be complete. I just put in the second Xiahou Dun. From now on, I'm going to put the first occurrence of any general first, and the second will be after that, marked with a 2. At www.lordyuanshu.com, there is a more in-depth analysis on the enemy generals and the battles that you fight them at. Most of the generals are just the same ones with upgraded stats, but Yang Xiu2, Lu Qian2, Han Hao2, Hou Cheng2, and Liu Ye2 are completely different characters from Yang Xiu, Lu Qian, etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ g) Han Army Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Han Army is you. Unlike DoaE 1, everyone who joins you (save for the glitch/temporary people) gets a soldier increase as each level is gained. Previously, only 8-10 characters had soldier levels that would raise. Thus your choice is harder towards the end of the game with so many able generals at your repertoire. Balanced generals are the key, and deadly tacticians are more valuable than tough warriors (you'll notice you get plenty of generic/dumb warriors and you may want to stay away from them, even the king of attack power Zhang Fei). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name STR - INT - AGI - SLD. - WPN. - Land - Rank ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chen Deng 50 - 160 - 30 - 9490 - Sword - N/A - 32 Fa Zheng 110 - 205 - 75 - 9470 - Sword - N/A - 19 Guan Ping 160 - 110 - 100 - 9863 - Saber - N/A - 25 Guan Suo 250 - 160 - 135 - 9719 - Saber - N/A - 7 Guan Xing 235 - 175 - 150 - 9719 - Sword - MTN - 6 Guan Yu 245 - 180 - 160 - 9719 - Saber - Plains - 5 Huang Zhong 225 - 175 - 150 - 9385 - Bow - MTN - 11 Jiang Wan 140 - 195 - 18 - 9470 - Sword - N/A - 23 Jiang Wei 210 - 240 - 245 - 9863 - Sword - MTN - 1 Lei Tong 205 - 95 - 95 - 9468 - Spear - Plains - 22 Liao Hua 170 - 100 - 85 - 9906 - Axe - MTN - 29 Liu Bei 130 - 200 - 85 - High - Sword - N/A - 26 Lu Su 105 - 235 - 65 - High - Sword - N/A - 20 Lu Zhao 95 - 50 - 65 - 350 - Spear - N/A - 34 Ma Chao 240 - 140 - 175 - 9863 - Spear - Plains - 9 Ma Dai 230 - 170 - 135 - 9878 - Spear - Plains - 10 Ma Liang 45 - 235 - 90 - 9440 - Sword - N/A - 18 Ma Su 170 - 210 - 110 - 9863 - Sword - MTN - 15 Meng Da 180 - 155 - 185 - 9468 - Sword - MTN - 14 Pang Tong 150 - 245 - 125 - Lower - Sword - MTN - 8 Wei Yan 240 - 90 - 130 - 9396 - Axe - MTN - 13 Wen Chou 235 - 45 - 70 - 680 - Spear - Plains - 27 Wu Lan 195 - 105 - 110 - 9518 - Spear - MTN - 21 Wu Yi 175 - 140 - 75 - 9878 - Spear - MTN - 24 Yan Liang 230 - 55 - 95 - 600 - Spear - MTN - 28 Yan Yan 200 - 160 - 155 - 9385 - Spear - MTN - 17 Yi Ji 40 - 185 - 45 - 9470 - Sword - N/A - 31 Zhang Bao 240 - 90 - 145 - 9906 - Spear - N/A - 12 Zhang Fei 255 - 60 - 120 - 9906 - Spear - MTN - 16 Zhang Lu 170 - 190 - 175 - 5100 - Sword - MTN - 4 Zhao Yun 240 - 200 - 180 - 9543 - Spear - Plains - 2 Zhou Cang 165 - 80 - 75 - 9396 - Axe - MTN - 30 Zhu Ling 120 - 75 - 45 - 380 - Sword - N/A - 33 Zhuge Liang 80 - 255 - 155 - 9565 - Sword - Plains - 3 Rank denotes the overall rank of each playable character. Several things factor into these rankings, from tenure with party to personal preference. Cumulative stats are considered, although again a great warrior may not be as important as an average tactician, so a lot of it is based on the type of party I like to use. Generals such as Pang Tong, Lu Su, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou are all rated lower than they should be statistically but are lowered due to tenure, or lack-thereof. By the way, you'll notice that I added the soldier count for each Han officer that gains levels with you, and note that it is at level 99. For the Zhang's and Guan's, I'm just assuming the soldier count is the same for whoever replaces who, so that's why they're the same. Obviously, the soldiers with counts under the 9000's either don't level up or leave you too early to be able to tell what their max HP would be, so that is why I left the estimates up. Again, a more in-depth analysis can be found at www.lordyuanshu.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ h) Random Things ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Destiny of an Emperor 2 has some strange events in it. I am not sure if it is because of the translation or if it was not a completely editted game, but there are plenty of miscues both with the translation and with the gameplay. - Leveling up - Generally, when I am at the end of the game I am usually in my late 40's/early 50's for my level. Further research shows that you can level up until 99 and each level past 50 or so requires you to get roughly 170,000 experience points for the next level. Again, these are estimations on my part, but there is definitely a trend in numbers after a certain point in terms of leveling up. Also of note is that when I checked my experience needed for the next level when I reached level 90, the record-keeper just told me I needed 0 experience points. At this point I thought I maxed out but I noticed I was still going up levels, so it must just be a glitch because you can definitely get to level 99 and you definitely can't get past it (there are no Ji Zhou old men in this one, you vets of DoaE1). - Individuals Leveling up - With the leveling up process, I noticed each character has their own soldier level and some characters have the same soldier level as others. Liao Hua and Zhang Bao are two that have the same amount, as are Zhou Cang and Wei Yan, along with Yi Ji/Jiang Wan/Fa Zheng. A keen eye notices the similarities in style among those groups (spear users, axe wielders, tacticians, etc). In regards to soldier levels, Ma Chao/Jiang Wei/Ma Su/Guan Ping hold the lead handily for a good 50 or 60 levels. However, when leveling up to 99 you'll notice them lose the lead, gain it back, only to lose it again to Zhang Bao/Liao Hua. What's more, Ma Dai and Wu Yi pass them also. But if you're at level 99 you're probably not having too many problems with this game, haha. Oh and please god use the "`" key if you are going to max out your characters, it's horribly boring from level 50 to level 99. Just watching out for your sanity. - Being able to get Zhang Lu after acquiring the Shu Map (this is all at Xin Ye castle) is probably the biggest glitch in the game. As you see above, he is the fourth rated general on my list and I stand by that claim even at the end of the game, when his 5100 soldiers suddenly isn't much more than some of your better and more leveled-up generals. He is solid overall and is a beast throughout the early stages of getting him. - You can skip Yi Ling Castle (on your way to south Jing Zhou) and Ba Castle (as you are fighting Shu). Simply head to Nan Jun castle to skip Yi Ling. Yi Ling though acts as a buffer for Nan Jun, so Cao Ren, Cao Ang, and an added Niu Jin have a very beefed up defense. It is still winnable but you must do it with tactics. Regarding the Ba Castle battle, you can just go straight to the Ba Citadel instead to fight Liu Ba. You can return later to conquer Ba Castle or you can ignore it for the rest of the game. After the Shu stage, it turns over to your side and you can walk in and get Yan Yan without a fight. - If you are a smart DoaE 2 veteran, you will ALWAYS skip Zhang Bao when Zhang Fei and Guan Yu leave you at Han Zhong. As you leave the castle, Guan Xing will immediately be in your way so you have to get him, but that isn't an issue because he is a worthwhile party member. Just walk right by Zhang Bao though, as his intelligence makes him much more of a liability than an asset for you in the future. - Item Duplication trick. First of all, big props to Samuel, I had no idea of this before him. Anyway, you can do this for any item the game let's you drop. With your top character, have a full inventory, with a weapon equipped and the item you'd like to have duplicated in his inventory also. Now drop the desired item, and then un-equip and re-equip your weapon. "Check" to pick your dropped item, and try to drop it again. You will, but the item won't leave your inventory. "Check" the ground again and you have your duplicated item. Samuel also noted that users of the foreign DoaE2 are able to drop important items like the Zheng Letter and use them to recruit secret generals like Zhou Yu and Pang Tong after he dies. Not sure how this works but that's just a rumor. Definitely duplicate the Treatise, SpdShoes and Gauntlet. Having five of each is a good way to make dominant characters. Also, duplicating special weapons and armor (like the Fortune Shield/Snake Spear/Sky Helmet, etc.) is highly advised. - Name issues - Plenty of names are butchered in this release. I'll try to list them all here. Xu Zhu - Xu Chu Ling Bao - Leng Bao Chen Shu - Chen Ying Yan Ling - Yang Ling Wen Ping - Wen Pin - There are two generals with the same name, or generals that you fight twice: Han Hao - One in Jing Zhou Reunification with Han Xuan, and also one in Cao Cao's army at the end. Both aren't good, while the Cao Cao Han Hao is actually worse than the older one. Han Sui - One in Jing Zhou and one in Chang 'An at the later stages of Wei. The Wei Han Sui is improved over the other one. Hou Cheng - There is one Hou Cheng at Han Zhong castle with Zhang Lu, and one Hou Cheng that you fight later on in the Cao army. Li Zhan - Li Zhan is another general that you fight twice, once in the Han Zhong area and again in the later stages of Wei, when Jia Xu ambushes you. Neither are tough although I think the Wei one may be slightly better. Liu Ye - There are two of these guys and they are both dangerous. The later one with Cao Cao is an especially dangerous tactician, so be sure to not assume he is the Liu Ye you fought earlier (who is worse but still a decent tactician) Pang De - You fight Pang De twice as well, and he is better the first time (his INT is higher). However he is still very dangerous in late Wei and is a powerful warrior. Xiahou Dun - You fight Xiahou Dun twice, once at Xiang Yang that is winnable but should be done with the Tally Order. Before that you fight him with Guan Yu for a few turns until Zhang Liao stops the fight. Yang Xiu - There are two Yang Xiu's and they are very different. The first one is with Xiahou Yuan at Han Zhong castle and is a deadly assassin with An Sha. The later Yang Xiu is a warrior-only who you fight at Chen Cang with Hao Zhao. Zhang Nan - Another Jing Zhou general that comes back for more in Wei, he is a little better in his Wei version. Jiang Xu - Again, a Jing Zhou general hired by Cao Cao and given better equipment and stats, but alas it is still feeble. - GOLD - As you notice I put specific numbers for the gold I came across in caves/dungeons. Well it's randomized so don't get confused if yours is different, because it will be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ i) Tactics/Arrays ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tactics are vital in Destiny of an Emperor 2, and having a good tactician with high tactical points is the first key. For a while your tactician will probably be pre-determined (Liu Bei or Chen Deng), so appoint one of the two. In battle your tactic menu is simple once you experiment. The upper-left tactic is always a fire spell, the upper-right a water spell, the mid-left a boulder/earth spell, and the mid-right is a healing spell. Unlike the first Destiny of an Emperor, you can choose whether you want it to be on one person (more powerful) or a group (spread out) both with healing and attack tactics. You continually get these as you progress, so utilize them (depending on terrain of course). Huo Shen and Ji Shi are basically what'll get you through the last leg of the game, if you use them with Jiang Wei and Zhuge Liang. - Couple notes about the tactics below. First of all, Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei get every tactic except An Sha and Ji Mian. Ma Liang is the best tactician for An Sha. Zhuge Liang is also the only tactician to get the ultimate array, Ba Gua. -boulder/fire/water magic can only be used in certain terrains. From worst to best Fire Tactics: Lian Huo - 2TP Ye Huo - 4TP Yan Re - 6TP Da Re - 6TP Huo Shen - 8TP Water Tactics: Shui Tu - 3TP Shui Xing - 5TP Shui Lei - 6TP Hong Shui - 8TP Shui Long - 10TP Boulder/Earth Tactics: Luo Mu - 4TP Liu Mu - 4TP Luo Shi - 6TP Tuo Shi - 8TP Ji Shi - 10TP Healing Tactics: Chi Xin - 2TP Tong Xian - 4TP Yin Xian - 6TP Wan Fu - 8TP Jin Xian - 4TP (probably the best deal out of all the tactics, TP-wise) Below these four are two additional choices which pull down more menus; Array acts as your resource for changing the formation of your party. Special brings down more tactics that are not elemental based, but that provide a variety of different effects. Special Tactics: Xue Lu - 8TP - Causes party to run (can fail). Expensive TP-wise and I have no proof that this is more efficient than clicking the retreat option (although you'd have to assume using this with a good tactician like Zhuge will probably give it a decent chance of succeeding). Chao Ma - 4TP - Lures enemy out into the open, decreasing their defense. Again, this can fail. Wei Tui - 8TP - Lures all enemies out into the open, basically Chao Ma on everyone. Ce Jian - 8TP - Increases tactical defense (can fail). Yi Xin - 6TP - Causes an enemy general to distrust their allies (they will skip their turn) Yan Dun - 8TP - Uses smoke on your party, making them harder to hit. Outside of battle it is essentially a "Smoke Bomb" item. Ce Fan - 8TP - Brings up a reflective shield that sends enemy tactics back at them (on one ally). Xing Luan - 4TP - Cuts TP away from chosen enemy. Li Jian - 8TP - Causes an enemy to turn against their army and attack them. Fu Sha - 12TP - Causes enemy to doubt army. If used on every army twice the battle will be won. Jie Zhen - 16TP - Breaks up an enemy array. Rarely works, it is suggested you kill a few generals to break the array instead of trying this. Thanks to Samuel for information related to Jie Zhen. Jie Ce - 8TP - Counter's enemy tactics, I believe. For example, if they have Ji Mian up and you use Jie Ce, that shuts it down I think. Also fixes Li Jian, Fu Sha, and any other tactic done to an ally member. Xian Jing - 12TP - Attacks the enemy and takes off half their soldiers if it hits. Ce Mian - 12TP - Causes the enemy to refrain from tactical use, same as Ji Mian but with tactics. Ji Mian - 12TP - Causes the enemy to refrain from physical attacks until it runs out. An Sha - 16TP - Beheads one enemy if successful. You get this much later in the game as opposed to the first one. Moreover, it is simply not as effective and doesn't seem to work as often (even when wielded by Jiang Wei/Zhuge Liang) and the cost is pretty high. Li Fan - 16TP - Fu Sha and Li Jian combined - the enemy will attack their own army and if they are the last ones left it will be considered a victory also. Some of these tactics you are allowed to use out of battle. On the world map, choose Tactics and then Support to bring up your (total of 5) options. The first tactic will always be whichever healing tactic you have, which you can then use on ONE of your allies. Other tactics include: Sha Du - 4TP - Allows user to walk over lava/poison freely, for a limited time Yan Dun - 8TP - The same as using a smoke bomb; a good idea if you need to get to a new area without fighting. Suo Di - 8TP - Acts as an escape/exit spell. Can't be used in certain caves (ie caves/dungeons with storyline additions). Zhao Gui - 32TP - Revives a dead warlord (they start with 400 soldiers). Arrays - Destiny of an Emperor 2 added an entirely new system, one that allows you to change the positioning of your army, which in turn leads to increases/decreases in attack, defense, and agility. Like tactics, you learn them at various level-ups. Their effects go deeper than just base agility, attack and defense variations. To be honest, I've gone through the game without touching one of these. The first five or so times I played through this game (several years back) I never ever touched them. They cost TP to use, and some of the tactics are unclear. However after looking through them and understanding them, they have their advantages. Basically, each array is going to move a certain group of characters a spot back, a spot forward, or they will stay in the middle. If a general is forward, they have increased attack/decreased defense. If they are in the back, the opposite happens. I am not entirely sure of how this affects agility, although I know arrays do. Chances are if you are to get any use out of any of these, you'd be wise to experiment thoroughly for yourself and use some basic concepts (ie your best fighters/warriors in front, with tacticians moved to the back) as you look through them. Also, many people around Destiny of an Emperor 2 will tell you some facts about certain arrays so listen up when you are offered hints. Finally if anyone has any facts on these that I don't add or that I am wrong about let me know, admittedly there are some ambiguities that lie in this section. San Kai - 0TP - This is the regular array that you start in. As the default, there is no advantages/disadvantages as all 5 members are in the middle. Can't go wrong here, and if you beat the entire game without doing anything other than San Kai, then welcome to my world. He Yi - 8TP - This is also the name of a poor general in Jing Zhou. Now the He Yi formation sends the middle character to the front, leaving the other four in the middle. This is good if you have one dominant character at any point in time (Zhang Lu comes to mind), or if you come across a good weapon/defensive equipment that you'd like to utilize on a character. Bai Ma - 8TP - Brings the top general forward and the bottom two back. Personally this is one of my favorites, with two solid tacticians being moved back for defensive purposes, along with a top warrior being pushed forward with an enhanced attack. Yu Lin - 8TP - Yu Lin brings the middle three characters to the front, keeping the top and bottom in the middle. This is a pretty aggressive tactic, though not quite at the level of Yi Wen but close. Again, this is a good tactic for leveling up when you are constantly doing all-out (and in turn your attack is up so the enemy goes down faster). Heng Fang - 12TP - Heng Fang is an odd looking technique, as it brings the top, middle, and bottom characters to the front, while putting the second and fourth in the back. It is suggested that you use this if you have three heavy fighters and two tacticians. Feng Jian - 16TP - A similar tactic to Bai Ma, this puts the middle general in the front, with the top and bottom going back and the other two staying in the middle. Yi Wen - 16TP - All generals move forward. An aggressive maneuver but one that saves time when leveling up later in the game. Quite frankly this is too dangerous and unnecessary to be considered in strategic battles, in my opinion, as there is no need to leave yourself so vulnerable defensively. Bei Shui - 24TP - All generals in the back. Exactly the opposite of Yi Wen, and a nice choice if you're fighting a bunch of brutes, although your party could probably out-brute anything Wei has to offer anyway. Jing Mo - 32TP - Makes your party invisible. I don't know the downfall in this to be honest, maybe your attack is less likely to succeed. However, it definitely improves your evasion, and it's one of the last tactics you get so you may want to give it a shot (although it's hefty on the TP). Ba Gua - 48TP - The last tactic on the menu, this brings the second and fourth to the front and moves the middle to the back, leaving the top and bottom in the middle. Got all that? Well, it asks you also who will be the "first line of defense" and you can choose whomever and that doesn't affect the formation, although maybe it makes the enemy attack the person you choose. Other than that, I noticed that when I used this it made the enemy under Ji Mian and sometimes they would even start attacking themselves. I wasn't completely sure what happened but maybe it caused a bunch of random status effects. You ARE using 48 tactical points so I'd hope you're doing something relatively important to the enemy generals. (Ba Gua use in the words of sirhatter@yahoo.com)- regarding first line of defense; "if your opponent tries to hit the general in the first line of defense, it will in fact hit them and hurt them hard .if it tries to hit 2 of the generals not inthe first line, it will act as a miss (just like ji mian), if it tries to hit the last two generals, the damage will be reflected upon themselves, in a manner similar to li jian." "...clearly in this case, zhang bao is my canddiate for the first line of defense. i tend to stick him at the bottom, since the computer AI tends to go for the top generals slightly more. in key battles your army can go nearly untouched the whole battle with one ce mian from jiang wei (or more as it fades), and then you just unload with the crossbow shortly thereafter..." For more information regarding tactics and arrays, I advise you check out the forum at lordyuanshu.com, where there is extensively lists and feedback regarding questions you may have, especially with some of the more complex arrays. http://lordyuanshu.com/conewalkerforum/index.php ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ j) Ending ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And with that, this guide comes to a close. Hopefully that covers everything you need to know about Destiny of an Emperor 2. If it doesn't please let me know so I can include it. I'd like to thank Capcom for making this game, despite it not being released here in the United States. Because of this, I'd like to thank the translators who finished the game (and a quality job at that). The fans also, especially the diehards who enjoy dissecting a translated 8-bit NES game in the year 2006. To all who have helped, thank you, especially sirhatter, junsui, samuel, taishi, and anyone else I missed. Everything has been done by me and any copying of it is illegal. However if you'd like to discuss anything regarding this guide or DoaE2 in general, feel free to consult with me at; dad_crotty@yahoo.com http://www.lordyuanshu.com http://www.lordyuanshu.com/DoaE2Index.html http://www.lordyuanshu.com/conewalkerforum/index.php