Rebelstar Tactical Command *Finally, an update* Last update: 03/02/07 The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate. --Douglas Adams By: Vyse_the_King, prophetoftruth@gmail.com ================== Table of Contents: ================== I. Revision History II. Story III. Rebels IV.Alien Species V. Controls VI. Campaign Walkthrough VII. Compedium of Knowledge (tactics, tips and other stuff) VIII. Credits and Special Thanks IX. Legal Information ================== I. Revision History ================== No updates yet, work began on 05/06/06 (May 6, 2006 for those of you w/ different dating systems.) First uploaded on 07/01/06 Overhaul, both content and grammar, on 07/10/06 mission five and Compendium(Tactics) update on 07/22/06 Compendium Weapons update on 07/23/06 Finally, on 09/04/06, I updated again. Whew. I'll try to update more often. Updated a very few weapons in the compendium, and moved all ascii maps to an alternate source. http://www.esnips.com/doc/28fbc842-4bdb-4cd4-9a6a-ca93fbd 93e5f/asciimaps.doc 03/02/07-Far from carrying out my promise to update more often, I'll tell why I haven't been: my classes are tougher than I expected. I will update this at least semi-frequently in the summer, but you'll have to make do with this very small guide until then. Oh, and if you think that I've forgotten about this guide (as I often do) you can jog my memory with an email. In fact, the only reason I'm updating now is to add an emailed strategy by alex2143. Yay for an update! =================== II. The Story =================== The story, taken straight from the manual, goes like this: "The year is 2117, and the Arelian Empire is in total control of the planet Earth. Well, almost. A brave group of resistance fighters have evaded the regime of the Arelians and are starting to fight back. It has been 70 years since the invaders came, and the new generation of resistance fighters have known nothing of Earth as it was before. Now they live in fear of the Zorn, the Arelians' vicious henchmen, and their sadistic brutish methods of control. On the other hand, many people tolerated the Arelians because they brought stability and prosperity to a world ravaged by war,disease, and ecological devastation. They even tolerated the abductions. Under the imperial regime, each human child is taken soon after birth and implanted with a small device inside the skull. No one knows the exact purpose of the device, except that it enables the Arelians to locate a person anywhere, no matter where they may hide. The human population is allowed to live in relative freedom, without any obvious sign of interference from the Arelians, except when the age of 30 is reached. At this point the skull device is used to locate the 30 year old for abduction. The Zorn, a mutant green humanoid race, are used as the police service of the Arelians. They come during the night and take their victims away by force. Some humans with important roles are spared this fate but the majority are taken. Nobody know the purpose of these abductions, or what happens to them afterwards. All they know is that on their 30th birthday they will disappear and no one will ever see them again. These brave rebels are on a quest for the truth, and the truth is not so pleasant. The Arelian's conquest of Earth was not driven by a noble purpose." ================== Rebels.................REB ================== Jorel: "Jorel is a young, idealistic, natural-born leader, determined to avenge the abduction of his entire family as they tried to fight against the abduction of his mother by the Zorn. Once his family was gone, Jorel traveled south to join the rebels. He is plagued by strange dreams in which a mysterious Arelian contacts him telepathically." Jorel is best with rifles and hand guns, but fairly effective with stealth. Ruby: "Ruby is a skilled marksman from South America and fled home as soon as she could. She was selected for special tests by the Arelians and was abducted at regular intervals. However, her skull implant malfunctioned after she fell in a riding [motorcycle or horse, we'll never know] accident and nearly lost her life. After being nurtured back to health by her mother and sister she was urged to flee. She finally gathered the courage to run, after her mother was taken away by the Zorn." Ruby is incredible with rifles. Zak: "Zak is a heavy weapons expert, and one of the older recruits at the training camp. He is immensely strong and loyal, but does not speak much about his past. He has had experience fighting the Zorn in his hometown, which rebelled en masse against abductions. He longs to find his younger sister, who fled before the town was attacked and his parents killed." Zak is very good with heavy weapons and close combat. Corporal Jonlan: "Jonlan is one of the oldest, and grizzliest, rebel soldiers. He is charge of [It's a typo in the manual] training new recruits. He was once a highly respected leader. An incident occurred where many people perished in a raid where he commanded rebel troops. Although he was cleared of blame by the rebel tribunal, he opted for demotion out of a sense of guilt and responsibility." Gordo: A squad commander that ends up coming under Jorel's command. Good news: Well rounded Bad news: Mediocre I usually use command with Gordo, but it requires that he have the highest command skill of any allied character. Eris: A member of Gordo's squad. Eris is absolutely the best character for psionics, other than maybe Klaatu. If properly trained, she can exceed him. Sapphire: A member of Gordo's squad. She is a medic, and was captured by the Zorn to act as doctor. Good as a medic and not shabby with handguns. Carlos: A member of Gordo's squad. Captured by the Zorn. Nickname: The Panther. Good with rifles, great with stealth. Glen: Some other guy that ends up working with/for you. :) I haven't used him much yet, but I know he is good with psionics. Dr. Bronstein: A non-combat scientist who discovers various things. Nothing real specific, though. Bots: Servant bots of the rebel army, most are used for honing the skills of trainees. Surprisingly effective in the stealth catagory, but nothing else. [SPOILER] Klaatu: Talks to Jorel during his dreams. Joins during mission 24 . Starts with 9 in psionics. [/SPOILER] ====================== IV. Alien Species ====================== First Up: Zorn: The manual says: "The Zorn are muscular, humanoid aliens that stand eight feet tall, have a green leathery skin, fiery red eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Their violent ways have proved useful for the Arelians, who employ them as soldiers and policemen in the conquered earth territories. To aid them in their tasks, they raise vicious Urdogs for baiting and trapping humans." I say: Big ugly green guys that look like less the incredible hulk with guns. They are the primary enemy for a short part of the game. They are fairly weak, but don't expect pushovers. Urdogs: Mutant, green dogs that the Zorn have trained for killing people with. Low health, and can't equip weapons. Combat abilities are distinctly similar to Snakeflies. Don't end your turn near to one, because they will move up to you and attack physically multiple times in a row. (They can do this because their attacks take very little AP). Fraylar: The manual says: "The Fraylar have a skinny, humanoid appearance, with an insect-like exoskeleton and bony appendages. They are renowned throughout the galaxy as traders and thieves, and are quite happy to fight if they see an advantage. They also employ the services of Snakeflies -large, flying, insect-like creatures with a poisonous bite." I say: Insectoids with a passion for laser weapons. In fact, they won't use anything BUT laser weapons (with one or two exceptions). (Don't confuse laser with warp) Snakeflies: Close your eyes, and imagine a bumblebee. With a stinger like a yellow jacket. Magnify x100, and make the stinger "poison" and you get these guys. (the manual says poison, but I have never observed any poison effects. Maybe it was just for show.) As for combat info, they're almost exactly the same as Urdogs. Arelians: The manual says: "The Arelians are small, grey-skinned, humanoid creatures with a very large head and large, black, almond shaped eyes. They don't like to participate in battles, but when they do, they prefer to rely on their unique psionic power and advanced technology to win. They generally lack courage or much battle skills, but they are still formidable opponents if encountered." I say: What the manual says about them lacking battle skills is quite wrong. They have far superior weaponry and have those ever-annoying psionic abilities. Speaking of which, beware "Induce Fear". ================== V. Controls ================== I assume that you know the names of the buttons. If you don't, get a photo of a GBA from Google. A: Menu selections/confirmations/scroll dialogue B: Cancel stuff/open pause screen D-Pad: Move cursor-box/manipulate window cursor/change between armory and personnel equipment screens L: Cycle between people with AP left that aren't on overwatch/same as last function of R, but backwards R: Check vision of allied and enemy units, cycle through characters in the personnel equipment part of the armory Start: Skip dialogue/open pause screen Select: Open help page ===================== VI. Campaign Walkthrough ===================== In this section, I will be going over campaign maps, strategies, and enemies. [duh.] Now, as for the part you didn't know. For each mission I'll have the number, name, the type that it is, the general overview of what it looks like, the number and kind of enemies and their weapons, and the general strategy. About mission types, I have designated 4 different kinds of missions. They involve the following: Training- You have to do certain actions at certain times. It is almost a staged victory. Destroy objective- You are given a target (or targets) to kill, and it doesn't matter if some enemies survive. Flee- There are green tiles with an arrow pointing away. Get a character on one of these, and he/she disappears. When all of the characters have Vanished from the map, you win. NO casualties are acceptable. Search and Destroy- Eliminate all enemies. This is the most common form of level. Also, one other thing is that I will attempt to make intelligible ASCII maps, but since the game is isolinear, I'm giving the map a half turn right, or left, it usually ends up being a different direction each time :). One other thing is that when I refer to North/South/East/West, I mean: N w -|- e s Anyway, here is where the guide begins. I had trouble getting the ascii maps to align correctly, so I moved them to http://www.esnips.com/doc/28fbc842-4bdb-4cd4-9a6a-ca93fbd 93e5f/asciimaps.doc Even though they are not contained in this document, they are bound by the same legal contract. ================== Mission 1 Boot Camp =================== Alright. Here it is, the first mission. Luckily for you, the first few levels of this fairly complicated game are training missions. When the mission starts, follow Jonlan's advice; it is very helpful. Just get used to the controls and whatnot. Nothing will go wrong. --Enemies-- Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills There are no reinforcements in this level. ================= Mission 2: Fog of War ================= In any event, you can't see the bots, until they fall into your vision range, as will be the case for the rest of the game. Just follow Jonlan's advice. --Enemies-- Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----level1----trainer rifle----no skills ============ Mission 3 Overwatch ============ Alright, this mission is a bit different from the ones that you have done so far. For one thing, all of the enemies use real weapons. The trainer rifles previously used by the bots did 1 dmg. per shot. The chain gun, and to a lesser extent, the pistol, do more than that. Also, if you like, you can use a pistol or chain gun in this mission. For the chain gun, just pick it up off of a dead bot. The pistol requires you to probably get shot up really bad. You should save if you attempt this. (I haven't gotten it before, but it should be possible to run the 2nd chain gun guy out of ammo.) If something goes wrong, you can't do a lot about it (no medikits), but just make sure not to get ambushed by the pistol guy. Don't underestimate that thing. It only requires a wee bit of your AP to be gone before you get gunned down in the hallway. Also be that aware, that you and the enemy, are not restricted to one overwatch per turn. --Enemies-- Bot^----impossible to tell level----unarmed----unknown skills Bot*----lvl. 1----chain gun, ammo x1----no skills Bot*----lvl. 1----chain gun, ammo x1----no skills Bot!----lvl. 1----pistol, ammo x1----no skills ================= Mission 4 Grenade Practice ================= Alright, this mission will likely mark your first use of weapons other than the assault rifle. First, remember that every time you throw a 'nade, you become unequipped. You have to re-equip to throw again. This means that if you stand entirely still, you can likely throw, reequip, and throw again. If you move, you probably won't be throwing again that turn. Just nade each bot, and remember, grenades do not have 100% accuracy, but they are usually very close to that. Also, they have a very large blast radius, so be very far from your target, like 4 spaces if you don't mind taking 1~3 damage, or 6ish spaces if you want 0 self damage. Now, as long as you don't waste 'nades, and don't bother with smokes (I never do.), you should be fine. (Nading the wall is not a waste, but make sure to hit the brick part, because the steel part is invulnerable.) Also, have a rifle, but don't use it unless run out of explosives. (remember, each bullet does 1 damage, so you will have to sneak up on each bot's side/back, and hit it w/ 2 snap bursts. Don't fire if you can't finish him off that turn, or he will see you and snap burst you back. A lot. Like 3 times.) Don't forget, all the garden bots are on overwatch. This is bad because you will get shot at a lot at long range, but also good because they won't patrol. --Enemies-- Bot----lvl. 1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----lvl. 1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----lvl. 1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----lvl. 1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----lvl. 1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----lvl. 1----trainer rifle----no skills Bot----lvl. 1----trainer rifle----no skills ============== Mission 5 Speed Challenge ============== All right, this map is very large, and very crawling with bots (approx 12) Because of those numbers, you are probably not going to kill all of them. All bots are on overwatch/snapshot on this mission. There is yet another problem. All bots have assault rifles instead of trainer rifles. These deal 5 damage per bullet instead of the 1 that you are used to, meaning about 4 bullets will kill you. If you get badly wounded, your morale will start to drop, turn by turn, until it hits zero and you panic, thus getting mowed down. With only 25 turns, it would be a tight fit to kill them all, and if you get discovered by a close-by bot, you'll run the risk of death. It took me 18ish turns to get 7 kills, and would have gotten 9, but I ran out of bullets. If you save before you move, you'll have a fair crack at it, and make sure to grab a new rifle when your current one hits 10 shots left. Another complication arises when you make them panic by killing enough of them. They will run around erraticly, thus making hard to sneak about unseen, and hard to find them when you need them. My current standing record is 9 kills, so that I have beaten my old record. On the other hand, you could just run, only shooting when absolutely neccessary. You won't really get much xp, but this map is designed for speed instead of fighting anyway. Make sure to stop before corners, because there's always a bot where you least expect it. (Well, that is if you don't have a convenient ascii map) All 12 bots: level 1-no skills-assault rifle ============ Mission 6 Team Work ============ Sorry, I'll add this either soon or when summer starts. ================== VII. Compendium of Knowledge ================== == 1. == These are valuable tactics, but some are just common sense :) Fortify- Take a structure on the map, and set up camp there. Don't let the enemy in. Lightning Charge- Charge, and control an advantageous area before the enemy does. Hit & Run- Stay behind a wall, step out, shoot an aimed shot, step back, end your turn. Works well against overwatching people. Lead Storm- Have 2-5 people with automatic weapons get shoulder to shoulder, and burst overwatch the same area with everyone. Unwitting enemy walks in, and boom. Gets shot at by 15-20 bullets, many more if using the SMG. For example, if you do three smg's on snap burst, and each person only has enough AP to burst once, you have the potential to do 3 people * 5 bullets * 4 damage=60 damage. The Reapers (huge dinosaurs) in mission 20 have ~70 health, to give you an idea how much damage this does. Point Blank- Using someone w/ high rifle skill and an SMG/Assault Rifle (preferably the former), run up to an enemy and snap burst them from an adjacent panel (not diagonally, if you can help it. It actually has a chance to miss that way). Weapon Replication- After some missions, the armory is refurbished with new weapons. If this happens, then say the rocket launchers are affected. If Zak has a launcher, then the armory will replace the "lost" one; the one he has equipped. Thus, his+the armory's=2 launchers. When you do this, the character does not even have to be deployed. Be careful though, because if you are supposed to have 1 launcher, but have two (in the armory), then at the next restock, you'll lose one. Surgical Incision- Take two people with Sniper Rifles and hide around a doorway like so: ---------------------- -------------------------- X>