Generation of Chaos Commander & Troop Change Guide Version 1 By wiqayl Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Class Change List 3. Class Changing Tips 4. Troop Changing Summary 5. Troop Changing Detailed Review 6. Partners 7. Finding Class Change Items 8. Frequent Answers from the Forums 9. Defeating the Dragon Kings 10. Thanks & Other Stuff 1. Introduction For corrections, please post them on the GoC forum on GameFAQS, I check it regularly, I will try to confirm or someone else can confirm and I'll update. This is a Class Change List for Generation of Chaos, an SRPG for the PSP. It's an excellent game that suffers from a lack of documentation. This intends to provide information and documentation about the Troop and Commander changing that the other published resources lack. One of the most often asked question on the forum seems to be class change lists, so I put together one based on what I've encountered in the game. This covers the class change item for every class that is able to change, as well as covering troops changes. If you're looking to learn how to play the game, then go to the NIS guide that I've provided a link for at the end of this guide, or use HalfSlothNCamel's Walkthrough that is on this site. There is no need for me to repeat what has been discussed and outlined in the copyrighted works of other people. The forums also has a lot of information on basic gameplay. The list has class - class changed to and (item used). The -Die that might be on the item used means you need to have the commander die in order to cause the change. 2. Class Change List Cleric - High Priest (Golden Apple) Dark Magi - Devil Caller (Demon Book) Fighter - Legionnaire (Crown of Thorns-Die) Fighter - Paladin (Angel's Ring-Die) Gladiator - Berserker (Victory Sign) Gunner - Sniper (Silver Bullet) Healer - Priest (Golden Book) Knight Arcane - Knight Infernal (Demon Sign) Knight - Holy Knight (Knight Emblem) Knight - Dark Knight (Black Jewel-Die) Magician - Sorceror (Magic Orb) Magician - Warlock (Forbidden Book-Die) Marine - Aqua Princess (Dragon Child) Merman - Aqua Knight (Water Crystal) M. Force Recon - Aqua Knight (Water Crystal) Ninja - Warlord (Tiger Claw Manual) Samurai - Shogun (Imperial Letter) Samurai - Ronin (Death Letter-Die) Warrior - Dragonnaire (Dragon Soul) Wizard - Archbishop (Holy Grail) Viking - Captain (Log Book) If I come across more classes I will add them, I know this isn't every class, but all of the special classes like Thunder Lord or Emperor cannot be upgraded. If I am incorrect please let me know. The classes that become Undead as SPI are Dark Knight, Ronin Warlock, Legionnaire. The Paladin becomes an Angel. 3. Class Changing Tips There isn't much I can give about Class Changing. You pretty much get one choice, and that's it. For classes that have more than choice, the differences are very minor. In practice, there is no major difference between a Sorcerer or Warlock. So it's more based on your preference. This is different from troop changing, which has significant differences. Some notes about changing classes. When a character is required to die, it's best to set KMI formation and send them out. Let their HP fall to zero and when they die an animation should occur with them changing their class. Just beware after they do change to try and not lose the battle. Though it can be a boon, I was trying to change Liam into a Paladin, got distracted and set the PSP down to answer the door, and I come back to her having 0 units but being a Paladin. It IS an extra life, with a full heal, so this can be useful in battle under the right circumstance. As for the benefits of changing class, the most obvious is the increase in movement each class gets. It is usually +1 movement. If the commander is dying, then they will likely become undead based, and gain those weaknesses and resistances. Though there don't seem to be negative affects for the classes that die and become Angels. Something noted by leichuan on the GameFAQs board, is that the Commander also gains an additional ground type for their movement. This can potentially be a significant advantage. As always, it is recommended you save before using a Class Change item. 4. Troop Changing Summary To cover the other side of Unit Change Items, I wanted to mention troop change items. The restrictions on those are fewer than that of class changing, in fact, there are no restrictions on what you can change any commanders troops to. Gena running around with Pirates can be fairly devastating. I had Glen as a Holy Knight with Iron Demons as her troops, and they were pretty good. You find the troop change items in the same places as Class Change items. I'll mention a few of the better troop types in my experience. Pirates are probably close to the best Troop type there is. They shoot faster than most troops attack. Huge advantage. The Pirate Pass though can sometimes be tough to find until later. At least it was for me in most cases. Samurai and Wood Demon are pretty much my favorite melee troop. The damage from the Samurai double attack is usually excellent, and the Wood Demons have 50 ATK in almost every situation. This makes these two unit types very strong. For all round magic, the Rabbitonians seem to be the best. Vampires are good, but the weakness is too great unless you're carrying around Time reverse items. Other good speed units would be the Wyvern, Siren and Master Ninja. They all attack relatively quickly, and while not the most damaging, can often take out their opponents faster than their opponents can attack. To change troop types, you need to put the item into the Commanders inventory, and use it while in battle. This is just a basic outline, almost all troops have a place and a use, these are the ones that I prefered. Notice I don't mention many of the Undead types that are affected by Night and Day, however those units (Vampires, Skull Knights) do have the potential to be the strongest units in the game, if it's night time. A full list of these items can be found in the NIS guide or HalfSlothNCamel's FAQ. I didn't think it was necessary to repeat those entire lists here. 5. Troop Changing Detailed Review This section gives thoughts and impressions on every troop type found in the game. Unlike the Class Change, you have a lot of choices as to what your troops can be changed into. Again, thanks to HalfSlothNCamel and the NIS Guide, which is where you can find full item information. Also, I give the review of the unit based on it's attack animation, which is the only thing that matters, aside from some outrageous bonuses that I'll mention where necessary. If you want to know why attack animation is the only really important thing, you should have listened to my advice at the beginning of the document and read the NIS guide. If you ignore my advice, the reason that's all that matters is if you don't complete your attack animation and it gets interupted you start over in the attack animation. So even if you have super high attack, you never could attack a weaker but faster opponent, as the faster opponent will be reseting your attack animation each time they hit. If that doesn't make sense, go read the NIS guide. I've given the basic sentiment of it. The speeds are broken into 5 categories. Very Slow, Slow, Average, Fast and Very Fast. The format is Class - Item - Speed then the description. Dragon Warrior - Dragon Scale - Slow Good tanks, with good attack/defense. They're effective against most troops, with the exception of Magic based attackers. The commanders you get that have these troops are usually good, so there is no need to change into this. Pirate - Pirate Pass - Fast Probably the best all round troops in the game. Their shooting attack animation is one of the fastest of all troop types. Save these for your powerful commanders. This is one of the better troop types for fighting the Dragons. Zombie Dragon - Dragon Tail - Very Slow These things are tough. Good HPs and a bonus at night. The only downside is they do attack very slowly, which is a relatively large disadvantage. I stay away from time bonus creatures, unless the Commander you want to give them to has a Time Mod special. Their breath attack also is 2 units deep, so it hits both front row and the row behind it. Wyvern - Sky Dragon Tail - Fast This is one of the better units, with good HPs and a quick attack animation. These things can keep most troops off balance. Good for any type of Commander and general use, like searching caves or attacking anything short of Dragons and Zombie Dragons. Shooting units and the units faster than them, can sometimes be trouble. Baby Drago - Dragon Tail - Very Slow Similar to the Zombie Dragons, they have high HPs and a slow attack and movement speed. Their attack is like the Zombie Dragon, in that it will hit 2 units deep. If you want big dragons, this is probably the way to go, as their effectiveness is never decreased. Big Eye - Giant Eyeball - Slow A middle of the road type of unit. It can take most of the basic units, but not many of the stronger types. They make great partners, but in the end I didn't find myself using these guys. Just not enough bang. Angel Knight - Snow Wings - Average Another decent middle of the road troop that does well against the basic units, but is lacking when you need to take down something tough like Pirates or the Zombie/Baby Dragons. HP is pretty low for a melee type unit, so they go down quickly. On the other hand, they have a spin attack which hits everyone around them. Though if they get surrounded they're going to die quickly, so it's not a great advantage. Hunter - Steel Arrow - Slow Basic starting unit. Not terribly impressive. With a good commander they do decent damage, but the attack animation is so slow that they get slaughtered before taking too much of the enemy out. These should be changed into something else early. Just about anything else would do. Yeti - White Fur - Slow These things hit fairly hard, but again suffer from a slow animation, though it is not as slow as a Dragon. I rarely find myself changing troops into these, but when I pick up some Yeti commanders I usually leave them. Not good for the hardest stuff, but they're good in just about every other situation. Soldier - Battle Guide - Average Basic troop type. Usually cannon fodder while your Commander builds up their special. Try to change them quickly. Magician - Magician Book - Average Basic spell caster. Really need to change these to Wizards or Rabbitonians at the earliest chance. Warrior - Dwarf Power - Average Basic melee troop type. Not as bad as the soldiers, and they get good bonus while on rock terrain. I would upgrade them when you can, but they have their uses defending cities on rocky terrain or closing off a road. Wizard - Cat Hair - Average A good spell caster. The Rabbitonians can be better if it's night time, but all round they are about the same. If you have this upgrade your Magicians. Skeleton - Meat - Average I only came across this unit once. It is undead and has the same night time bonus that most undead have, but these don't get it nearly as much. If you like undead, upgrade this to something else. If you're fighting these be glad for an easy fight. Vampire - Vampire's Kiss - Fast Mean undead unit. These guys can be monsterous at night. They are one of the few magic using units in the game. At night, they can take just about everything except the high end units (Samurai, Pirates) though during the day, they'd be hard pressed to take out Soldiers. Plan accordingly. Guardian - Clay Doll - Very Slow Physical ranged unit. Very slow. Slower than Infantry. I wasn't very impressed by these things. If you want a physical ranged, go with Infantry or Pirates. Titan - Demon Club - Slow This is a decent melee unit. My Gena actually had these for most of my first playthrough, and I was rather pleased. Similar to Dragon Warrior. Strong, but to take out the harder stuff, would need lots of specials. Good upgrade from Soldiers or Warriors. Mermaid - Mermaid Song - Slow Magic ranged attackers. I think these are slightly faster then Magic Hunters. If you want long ranged magic attacks, then this is a good way to go. Merman - Mermaid Scale - Average Basic melee unit. Is actually alright on water, but unless you plan on defending a water tile or city for a while, you'd probably be better served by other melee types. Infantry - Onigiri - Slow Physical ranged unit. They are relatively slow, but often times they get into a good firing pattern that keeps enemies back. Also very effective against the Dragons. They tend to be one of the more powerful troop types in the game. Knight - Knight Crown - Average These are your average melee troops. Not overly powerful, but they'll take the basic units with ease, and can be leveraged to take stronger stuff. Good upgrade for the Soldiers and Warriors. Samurai - Pill Box - Fast These are the best melee units in the game. Their double attack is stronger than the Ninjas and they attack just as quickly. Save these for your best melee Commanders. Can take on Dragons well if Morale is boosted appropriately. Siren - Siren Wings - Very Fast Fast. They attack very quickly. I was surprised at how strong these units ended up being. Most non ranged enemies can't get attacks off. These are good for a strong commander. Magic Hunter - Forest Extract - Slow These are most like the Mermaids, as they are ranged magical damage. I think they're slightly slower, and there are more useful unit types. Upgrading these when you can is a good idea, even if it is to Rabbitonians or Wizards. Wood Demon - Mokujin Sword - Fast This is probably the second best physical melee unit type. Or tied for second with the Siren. These guys always have a 50 ATT bonus. All terrains, all times. This makes them well matched against just about anything. Not very good against Dragons it seems though. Demon Knight - Demon Voice - Average This is an oddity. It's the only class in the game that has a melee attack that is magic based. The Commanders that start with them, are physical attack based. What this basically means is they don't work very well and aren't that great. They aren't too bad if you put them on a mage type Commander, but you're still going to be lacking in the ENY department, which is physical defense. I usually changed these into something else, with the exception of the mage to experiment with. Iron Demon - Steel Helmet - Slow Good melee troops. Like the Titans. Attack speed is middle of the road, with decent HPs and damage. Great upgrade for the Soldiers and Warriors. Rabbitonian - Bunny Ears - Average These are short ranged magic, like Magicians. They are overall better than Magicians and Wizards with higher HP and better damage. I can't tell an attack speed difference. If you have this upgrade your Magicians or Magic Hunters. Dullahan - Guillotine - Very Slow Another slow melee unit. Attack affects 2 rows deep like the Zombie and Baby Dragos, though attacks just as slow. HP is lower than the Dragons, so the slow speed is a greater disadvantage to the Dullahan than it is to the Zombie/Baby Dragos. Diabolos - Demon Skull - Slow This is a slow melee unit as well. It's faster than the Dullahan, but not by much. Good HPs though, so they're actually more useful than the Dullahan. King Hiyoko Bug - Golden Hiyoko - Unknown This is the one unit that I never found. I've fought Hiyoko Bugs, but never King Hiyoko Bugs. The regular Hiyoko Bugs are relatively weak, so perhaps the King is stronger. Werewolf - Wolf Fang - Average Soldiers by day, mean Werewolves by night. Another middle of the road troop type. Their penalty during the day isn't as bad as Skeletons or Vampires however, so they're fairly usable for defense and the like. For a physical melee, they're middle of the road, with potential for more. If you're going to use any undead unit, this one is probably the best choice. Ninja - Ninja Star - Fast Good physical melee unit. Not as strong a Master Ninja, but if you're upgrading some basic troop types, this is a good upgrade. They're fast, and have double attacks. Master Ninja - 4 Blade Star - Very Fast Another excellent physical melee unit. Good damage, if lower than a Samurai, and good speed, which is slightly faster than a Samurai. This is a melee unit that can take most things out, short of the high end bosses. Skull Knight - None - Average These mean things get a major bonus at night, but are regular soldiers during the day. For some reason, they seem weaker than regular soldiers during the day. My advice for Skull Knights would be to execute them often and early. Nothing is worse than walking down the road with a freshly recruited commander and bumping into a Skull Knight at night. If you choose to use them, it's probably a good idea to carry a Time Mod item instead of a heal item. Saints - None - Average Excellent melee troops. You can't change into these, and you don't want to change out of them. Royal Guards - None - Average Good melee troops. Saints and Samurai can take them straight on, but that's about it. If you're going into a fight with these things, be ready on some specials and the right troops. You cannot change into this troop type. Cerebus - Choker - Average Physical melee troops. Rumour has it that it can take out a Dragon King itself. (larkee, GameFAQs GoC Forum) I never used them much, but if it's what you have available, they are decent to use. 6. Partners I wanted to mention partners as well. These are the troops that offer to join you after a battle. This will only happen if the troops you just fought were of a generic type. Like a Big Eye with a Big Eye commander. If you accept, this partner now acts like a normal troop of yours, except it will use a special like a commander. Unfortunately you cannot control this use, and it happens randomly in a fight. I'm just going to recommend a few partners, because to me the most useful partner was one who used a morale affecting special like Betrayal, Heaven Slash. Things like Big Eye, Infantry, Samurai, Ninja among others use those specials when they become a partner. I would not recommend dumping a named partner like Bado or Vulse for a generic one however. The named partners mostly have good specials, so it's worth keeping those. The best way it seems to find partners is by searching for the class and troop change items as outlined below. 7. Finding Class Change Items The best places to find class change items is by searching caves and towers. Each cave and tower will have 2-4 class change items available. It is recommended that when new caves and tower become available you start searching to get the new items that are available. There is a lot of randomness to this, so the items you get will change with each playthrough. The best commanders to use for searching are ones with both high INT and high LCK. A commander with 30+ in each of these stats will rarely get into fights, and most commonly get items. On the other hand, a commander with low INT or LCK will get into many fights, and rarely find good items. It is best to plan according. On the same note, if you are looking for the special commanders, it helps to use the high INT and LCK commanders so that you aren't searching for so many turns. The commanders I refer to are in the cheats section of GoC on GameFAQs. I don't think I can repeat them here, so go look for yourself. 8. Frequent Answers from the Forums These are all answers that I've been giving on the Forums on GameFAQs to some good and some not as good questions. Save often. Especially before you attack and before you search Caves, and to a lesser extent Stars/Towns and Towers. The random fights you get into you can't see coming, hence the saving. When moving weak commanders around, you have to be careful (save often) so that you don't get waxed by a random encounter on a tile. However you can see what enemy units are in the places you are about to attack. Just hover over them like you look at your own units. Cities with level 5 markets have airships, you can fly from one 5 market city to another. Can save massive amounts of turns. The best type of troops you can get without unit change items are pirates and samurai. Try to get some of these, they rarely lose. To find unit change items, for me (YMMV) was the caves. As well as the best items. A tip for those very close battles from leichuan on the GameFAQs board, which I think is very good advice: since nobody else seems to have said anything about it (its a bit cheap to use), there is a way to gain an advantage over an opponent if its a close match. basically you have to use a skill, item, or super to cancel your opponents attack (a bit difficult against fast opponents). its only truly usefu l in the close matches where your either a little lower or equal to your opponent. I would have to certainly agree, it can be extremely useful. Certainly against the Dragons, among the other tough fights you run into. Many Thanks leichaun. Converting your captured commanders. Execute or release crappy ones, convert the good ones. Get your highest CHM person to try and convert. As a side note I usually release crappy commanders, and execute good commanders that I don't want to use. (Skull Knights, Zombie Dragons) That way when you do get into random encounters, it's against cannon fodder and it's easy exp. All the commanders you release go back into the big pool, so if you manage that pool properly, the getting jacked randomly starts to ease. Oh, and finally, if you're going to fight a really difficult commander, and they're not a story character, you can probably recruit them. Hover over the enemy city and use RCT and you can pick up a decent commander. Again use a high CHM person. 9. Defeating the Dragon Kings I've avoided plot and story summaries through this guide. If you end up fighting Dragons, you'll know it, and can look here for some strategies. Just make sure you save often. I don't know if it's considered cheating or not, but the way I ended up finishing it was by placing useful commanders near where the Dragons show up before going into the Dragon chapter. They mainly consisted of Samurai/Ronin/Shogun and Viking/Captains. Those commanders all have some form of Morale affecting skills. There are of course other commanders that do, but you'd be in fairly good shape if you collected the generic pirates and samurai. After you've placed them near the cities that appear out of nowhere (which really annoys me, every time it happens) you just use the same tactics you probably killed the first dragon with. Lower the Dragons morale, raise yours if you can, make sure you got plenty of filled specials, and keep shooting with the pirates and infantry. Run if it gets close. If they finish it, hooray, if not, go again. So in the end I found myself playing 90% of that chapter in the previous chapter. If you don't want to position the troops, then it's just fighting your way down to the dragons with the troops you need. Watch out for Dragon Voice, which destroys most of your cities and hurts your troops. Having the troops stand on open tiles was what worked for me. 10. Thanks & Other Stuff Hopefully this can assist people in saving the frustration of trying an item on a dozen commanders. Load times aren't one of the strong points of the game. While it is an excellent game, I don't believe everyone is interested in the trial and error that is figuring out proper class change paths. Since there isn't anywhere on GameFAQs to put this link, and I've had to post it in the board a dozen times, I'm putting it here. I have no desire to troll and keep a link bumped. Which is want I have ended up doing. Ironically getting Regular User in the process. http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/005361.php This is the NIS America strategy guide. It helps to explain many commands and has a lot of resources for when you do get into the game. I'd like to thank HalfSlothNCamel and his FAQ, much of the knowledge of how to actually play the game comes from him as well as using his item lists to check to see what classes and items I missed. If you're looking for gameplay information, his FAQ is the best source. Also thank you to the GoC boards here at GameFAQs, enumaelish, Shindo_Hikaru, leichuan and Final Eclipse for the information they posted. This FAQ is to be used only on GameFAQS.com. Copyright© 2006 wiqayl