Operation Darkness Walkthrough 05/15/09 v3 - [email protected]


Contents

1a - Revision History
1b - Rules of this Walkthrough
1c - Hints/Info
1d - Rare Item List
1e - Valhalla Reports
1f - Character Profiles
1g - Skill List
1h - Armored Recon Missions
1i - Campaign Walkthrough
1j - EX Missions/Eagles Next


1a Revision History

14/07/08 - First Version
16/07/08 - Finished Campaign & EX Missions, added skill lists from OriginOfTime
on gamefaqs
17/07/08 - Fixed a few mistakes and made minor revisions.


1b Rules of this Walkthrough

This walkthrough is based on playing with the following self-limitations:

1. No Auto-Restoration Skill
2. Only play each Armored Recon mission one time - no repeating them, no level
grinding.  
3. No co-op play.

If you choose to use Auto-Restoration, you do not have to be as cautious as
this guide sometimes recommends.  It's completely possible to complete the game
without equipping Auto-Restoration or level grinding, and there is not much
luck involved if your strategy is sound.


1c Hints/Info

1. Most projectile based MS powers (Flare, Sniper Rain, etc.) can pass
through trees, benches, and allies, but not large objects like buildings or
vehicles.  Melee based MS powers require clear line of sight.

2. Cover move is useful for traversing long distances to reach cover or close
in on an enemy.  Cover attack is useful for ganging up on a high HP unit.

3. Try to get everyone as light-weight as possible - only carry one weapon and
a minimum of ammo and healing, unless a character needs an extra weapon (sword,
pistol, etc.) for their MS skill.

4. Leave one weak enemy around at the end of a stage when possible, so you can
spend time looting dead bodies.  Loot as many enemy bodies as possible - 
loot is usually randomized. You can often get items that are not yet sold in 
stores until several missions ahead, or not sold at all.

5. Don't be afraid to put non-essential characters in harms way, as long as
Herbert can revive them later.

6. You never need to recruit any generic soldiers - they suck.

7. Almost always aim for the centre of a vehicle.  That way, even if you 
misfire, it's more likely the rocket will hit anyway.

8. Enemy reinforcements always have a significant delay to their turns, giving
you an opportunity to strike first.

9. Later in the game when everyone has powerful MS skills unlocked, you can 
consider relying on grenades and MS attacks for most of your characters.

10. You can fire in between two tightly spaced tanks/vehicles and hit both of
them, as long as the rocket coverage is under the tank treads.  Firing at
the ground is less accurate than aiming directly at a target, though.

11. Skill levels are tied to a characters level limit.  For example, you will
never get Attack Boost to level 4 until the character is at least lv 35.

12. Stay away from enemy Magiers so they can't stun your units.


1d Rare Item List

M01 - Thompson MG on the corpse of the Commander
M05 - Shotgun carried by Lewis (drop it onto a corpse then have one of your
allies pick it up)
M07 - Shotgun carried by a soldier from the 1st reinforcement wave
M10 - PPSh1941SMG machine pistol on one of the vampires
M11 - Muramasa Blade on one of the Magiers in the north group of enemies
M16 - PTRS1941 Custom Rifle on a 5th wave reinforcement sniper coming from the 
east
M20 and 22 - Dragonslayer on a Magier reinforcement
M23 - Shotgun on a dead American soldier SW of the tent
M25 - Excalibur on a vampire reinforcement


1e Valhalla Reports - All reports are carried by enemies initially on the map
unless indicated.  Collecting these will give you access to the EX Missions aka
Eagle's Nest.

M13 - W Heer Schutze in the NW group.
M14 - W Heer Schutze in the NW group.
M15 - Waffen-SS Magier in the NW group.
M16 - Waffen-SS Schutze
M17 - Waffen-SS Schutze
M18 - W-SS Panzer Demon
M19 - Waffen-SS Vampire
M20 - Waffen-SS Schutze
M21 - Waffen-SS Vampire
M22 - Waffen-SS Schutze next to the west watchtower.
M23 - Reinforcement Waffen-SS Magier coming from the NW.
M24 - Waffen-SS Magier


1f Character Profiles

Edward - Two of his MS skills are based on weapons (a Sten MG, and a 2H sword).
 He can also equip sniper rifles, which will allow him to stay out of danger. 
You can't equip a sniper rifle, sten MG, and 2H sword on him at once without
loading him down, so you have to choose which 1-2 weapons work best with the
mission.  As soon as he unlocks Assail, dump the sniper rifle.

Bestial Fury: Default MS ability. Area Attack. Uses 9 MS. "Hit all enemies in
an area with a sonic wave."
Crimson Slash: Level 21 MS ability. Single Enemy. Uses 19 MS. "Fire a lightning
arrow." (Two-handed sword required.) - Nearly full damage to vehicles.
Assail: Level 29 MS ability. Area attack. Uses 22 MS. "Rush at an area and
attack." (Sten SMG required)

Jude - Jude is a generic 400 HP recruit in disguise, and his death means game
over on most missions.  It's best to give him a powerful long ranged weapon so
he can hit from a distance while staying out of trouble, like an assault rifle,
machine gun, or bazooka.  If you are on a mission where you need to leave your
starting position ASAP, just give him grenades and/or a shotgun.  He leaves the
party at the end of M13.

James - He's got good stats for firing off Bazooka rounds and running around as
a wolf.  You can't be as reckless with him since his death means game over.
He is one of the only units that should use bazookas the whole game through.

Wolf Claw: Default MS ability. Area attack. Uses 10 MS. "Slash at all enemies
in an area with claws."
Evil Eye: Level 21 MS ability. Single Enemy. Uses 26 MS. "Glare at an enemy,
slowing it down. This causes the affected enemy to take turns more slowly."
Silent Kill: Level 33 MS ability. Single Enemy. Uses 18 MS. "Charge forward and
strike at an enemy."

Keith - A great offensive powerhouse character - expect to throw him into harms
way often since his death is not a game over.  Be careful not to over-level him
as he is uber compared to the rest of your team in mobility, taking hits, and
dealing damage early-mid game.  Late in the game you should drop his bazookas
and rely on modified explosives.

Wolf Claw: Default MS ability. Area attack. Uses 10 MS. "Slash at all enemies
in an area with claws."
Bestial Fury: Level 21 MS abilitiy. Area attack. Uses 15 MS. "Hit all enemies
in an area with a sonic wave."
Modified Explosives: Level 34 MS ability. Area attack. Uses 30 MS. " Attack all
enemies in an area." (Hand Grenade required.) - Full damage to vehicles.

Frank - He does well with bazookas or other heavy arms, although his turn rate
suffers worse than James or Keith when wielding them.  Saddling him with a
bazooka is usually appropriate for the task.  Once Frank reaches lv 37, disarm
him and start using his awesome Mjolnir's Hammer skill to obliterate large
groups of enemies.

Fortify: Default MS Ability. Single Ally. Uses 14 MS. "Raise an ally's DEF
temporarily."
Magni's Fist: Level 14 MS Ability. Single Enemy. Uses 16 MS. "Hit an enemy with
a powerful attack from above." - Full damage to vehicles.
Morale Boost: Level 28 MS Ability. Area. Uses 20 MS. "Raises all allies' DEF
temporarily."
Mjolnir's Wrath: Level 37 MS Ability. Area attack. Uses 60 MS. "Smite all
enemies in an area with a divine hammer." - Full damage to vehicles.

Herbert - He's the healer in the group, he's difficult to level up without
exposing himself to danger, and he's a pain to level up if he falls behind. 
There are three ways to level him up, depending on the mission.  You can use
grenades, which is useful sometimes when you're facing a lot of infantry and
it's safe for him to get close (and you need him as mobile as possible).  You
can use assault rifles which are not too heavy, and give him a balance between
turn rate, damage, and attack range.  Or you can give him a bazooka with no
ammo (along with a grenade or two), and have him fire it early in the mission
then discard it.  Giving him the Enrage buff will help him do higher damage to
tanks and get more XP out of his shots.

Revival Experiment: Default MS Ability. Single Ally. Uses 13 MS. "Revive an 
Ally"
Mystery Vial: Level 10 MS Ability. Single Ally. Uses 4 MS. "Cure an ally's
status effect(s)"
Invocation: Level 22 MS Ability. Area. Uses 6 MS. "Restore HP to an Ally."
Song of Avalon: Level 32 MS Ability. Area. Uses 48 MS. "Restore HP and SP to
all allies in an area."

Cordelia - She's the 'magic user' of the group, able to do lots of damage from
a safe position.  Her Flare passes through trees, benches, and people, and her
Blaze Wall ignores line of sight completely.  Late in the game she gets a nice
healing ability.

Flare: Default MS ability. Single enemy. Uses 12 MS. "Hurl a fireball at an 
enemy." - Full damage to vehicles.
Blaze Wall: Level 21 MS ability. Area attack. Uses 18 MS. "Attack all enemies
in an area with a wall of fire."
Inferno: Level 27 MS ability. Area attack. Uses 25 MS. "Attack all enemies in
an area with a firestorm." - Full damage to vehicles.
Song of Taliesin: Level 34 MS ability. Area ability. Uses 6 MS. "Restore HP and
cure status effects of all allies in an area"

Cynthia - Her stats and MS skills are built for sniping.  None of her MS skills
allow her to pierce vehicle armor effectively, but Lightning Shot has the
farthest range of any MS skill.

Sniper Rain: Default MS Ability. Area Attack. Uses 10 MS. "Shoot at all enemies
in an area." (Sniper Rifle required)
Eagle's Eye: Level 20 Ms Ability. Single Enemy. Uses 20 MS. "Deal Severe damage
to an enemy." (Sniper Rifle required.)
Lightning Shot: Level 35 MS Ability. Single Enemy. Uses 30 MS. "Critically
wound an enemy." (Sniper Rifle required.)

Jack (joins M08), Van Helsing (joins M10) - These two are best given their
basic bayonet/killer sword, plus a grenade or two, then let loose.  They are
fast enough to run circles around most enemies and also make good early game
healers with their high mobility.  They are great for high mobility attacks
with grenades, neutralizing an enemy group before they have a chance to spread
out and become harder to kill.

Jack
Death Slash: Default MS attack. Single Enemy. Uses 10 MS. "Charge forward and
slash an enemy." (bayonet required)
Dancing Dagger: Level 32 MS Ability. Area attack. Uses 20 MS. "Slash at all
enemies in an area." (bayonet required.)

Van Helsing
Vanquish: Default MS ability. Single Enemy. Uses 10 MS. "Cleave an enemy,
Instant Kill if undead." (Killer Sword required)
Gouge: Default MS ability. Single Enemy. Uses 12 MS. "Lower an enemy's HIT,
temporarily." (Doesn't work on Vehicles.)
Blade Dance: Level 35 MS ability. Area Attack. Uses 16 MS. "Slash at all
enemies in an area." (Killer Sword required.)

Lewis (joins M12) - Give him either a pistol and grenades, or a pistol and a
sniper rifle.  It depends on how fast you want his turn rate to be.  His Enrage
is a great buff to throw on Keith or James.

Quick Draw: Default MS Ability. Area attack. Uses 18 MS. "Fire dual hand guns
at targets in an area." (Only one handgun required.)
Enrage: Level 25 MS Ability. Singly ally. Uses 10 MS. "Raise an ally's ATK,
temporarily"
Archangel Call: Level 35 MS ability. Area attack. Uses 50 MS. "Call the Air
Force to bomb all enemies in an area." - Full damage to vehicles.

Max (on M19, shoot him with Edward and he will retreat, then on M21, kill all
enemies but him and he will join) - He's got great stats and is nearly immune
to bullets.  His Assault skill isn't that good, especially since he needs a
ridiculously heavy weapon to use it.  His sonic slash is pretty good and it can
pierce tank armor.  He can either run around with a 2H sword and grenades, or
with a bazooka.

Assault: Default MS Ability. Area attack. Uses 12 MS. "Attack all enemies in an
area." (HMG required.)
Sonic Slash: Default MS Ability. Single Enemy. Uses 20 MS. "Send a sonic slash
at an enemy." (Two-Handed sword required.) - Full damage to vehicles.


1g Skill List

Speed Boost, HP Boost, and Attack boost should be equipped on everyone at
all times, although you can leave Attack boost off Herbert.  The other
important skills for most characters to max out are Focus, Providence, Expose
Weakness, and Light-footed.  Focus+Providence or Light-footed is a good combo
for unarmed MS skill usage, while Expose Weakness+Light-footed is good for
bazooka users.

Attack Boost and Focus are the only skills that will work with MS attacks. 
All other attack based skills only affect normal attacks.

Some MS skills will pierce tank armor effectively, like Edward's Crimson
Slash and Cordelia's Flare/Inferno.  Some gun-based MS skills are effective
against skeletons and panzer demons, but still not against tank armor, like
Cynthia's Eagle's Eye.

Auto Restoration: Character automatically uses a healing item whenever HP drops
below 20%. You get it after clearing Mission 01. (They still will use the skill
to heal, even if their HP is knocked down to 0.)

Attack Boost: Raises ATK. Higher levels of this skill grant higher boosts. Max
Level is 4. Raises 8% ATK per level. You get it after clearing Mission 03.

Speed Boost: Raises SPD. Higher levels of this skill grant higher boosts. Max
Level is 4. Raises 3 SPD per level. You get it after clearing Mission 02.

Hit Boost: Raises HIT. Higher levels of this skill grant higher boosts. Max
level is 4. Raises 5 HIT per level. You get it after clearing Armed Recon 02.

HP Boost: Raises HP. Higher levels of this skill grant higher boosts. Max level
is 4. You get it after clearing Mission 10.

MS Boost: Raises MS. Higher levels of this skill grant higher boosts. Max level
is 4. You get it after clearing Mission 06.

Gunslinger: Raises ATK (guns only). Higher levels of this skill grant higher
boosts. Max level is 4. You get this after clearing Armed Recon 04.

Blade Master: Raises ATK (Swords & Knives/Bayonets only). Higher levels of this
skill grant higher boosts. Max level is 4. You get this after clearing Armed
Recon 05.

Precision: Grants the chance of landing a critical hit, dealing double damage.
Higher levels of this skill grant you higher chances. Max level is 4. You get
this after clearing Mission 05.

Focus: Strengthens MS Attacks, but also raises cost of MS Attacks. Higher
levels of this skill grant stronger boosts at greater costs. Max level is 4.
You get this after clearing Mission 09.

Assassin: Grants the chance of instantly killing an enemy with a sword or
bayonet/knife after successfully landing a hit with one. Higher levels of this
skill grant you higher chances. Max level is 3. You get this after clearing
Armed Recon 06.

Marksman: Grants the chance of instantly killing an enemy with a gun after
successfully landing a hit with one. Higher levels of this skill grant you
higher chances. Max is level 3. You get this after clearing Armed Recon 07.

Providence: Reduces the MS cost of Special Attacks. Higher levels grant
additional reductions. Max level is 3. You get this after clearing Mission 11.

Endurance: Increases DEF against gunfire. Higher levels grant of this skill
grant higher boosts. Max level is 3. You get this after clearing Armed Recon 08.

Toughness: Increases DEF against sword and knife/bayonet attacks. Higher levels
of this skill grant higher boosts. Max level is 3. You get this after clearing
Armed Recon 09.

Guard: Grants chance of reducing damage taken by a character by 1/2. high
levels grant higher chances of damage reduction. Max level is 4. You get this
after clearing Armed Recon 11.

Light-footed: Increases movement. Higher levels of this skill grant higher
boosts. Max level is 3. You get this after clearing Armed Recon 12.

Avoidance: Increases a characters chances of dodging an enemy's attack. (Note
that certain attacks are unavoidable and will bypass this skill completely).
Higher levels of this skill grant higher dodge rates. Max level is 4. you get
this after clearing Armed Recon 14.

Find Weakness: Increases damage dealt against all enemy types, including
vehicles. Higher levels of this skill grant higher boosts. Max level is 4. You
get this after clearing Armed Recon 14.

Aegis: Enemy attacks may be nullified by the character. Higher levels of this
skill grant a higher chance of successful nullification. Max level is 4. You
get this after clearing Mission 20.

Sharpshooter: Increases Accuracy of attacks. Higher levels of this skill grant
higher increases of accuracy. Max level is 4. You get this after clearing
Mission 17.


1h Armored Recon Missions

AR 01 - North Africa #01

Unlocked after clearing Mission 1.  Sniper rifles and other high range weapons
are best here, given how far you are away from the enemy.  Don't waste your
bazooka ammo on these guys, just give Keith and James machine guns.

AR 02 - North Africa #02

Unlocked after clearing Mission 1.  Toss bazooka rounds into the tanks, then
snipe/long range SMG the rest.

AR 03 - North Africa #03

Unlocked after clearing Mission 2/AR 02.  Although this map is a clone of AR
01, there are now mines on the ground near the razor wire, so be very
cautious.  Search carefully with your cursor to find mines and blow them up. 
Other than that, use sniper rifles to take out the far right of the map while
your close up units move in on the left side.

AR 04 - France #01

Unlocked after clearing Mission 03.  You will likely have trouble with the
tanks + RPG toting soldiers unless you have MS attacks and revive available
post mission 05.  It is possible to win, though, if you kill the RPG soldiers
fast and the tanks are distracted by cannon fodder or miss their attacks.  12
zombies will show up as reinforcements, but they are very easy to take out with
grenades.

AR 05 - France #02

Unlocked after clearing AR 05.  There are 3 tanks so just make sure you can
spare the bazooka ammo.  These tanks are pretty soft by the time you've cleared
mission 6-7 and have faced 6k HP tanks.

AR 06 - France #03

Unlocked after completing Mission 8.  You've got 3 tanks and a recon vehicle to
deal with, so bring along lots of bazooka and MS attack power.  Fire Bazookas
every which way to clear out the tank mess - throw some cannon fodder at the
tanks as a distraction (revive them later if needed)no.  A 4th tank arrives as
reinforcements, but your guys should be fast enough to wreck it before it moves.

AR 07 - France #04

Unlocked after clearing AR 06.  The same map as one of the previous France ARs,
except with more tanks.  Two more tanks come in as reinforcements as well.  I
recommend getting this one done ASAP to unlock the sniper skill.  Transform and
cover move behind the tree lines as you approach the tanks for a kill.  You can
use cannon fodder to draw the tanks in closer as well.

AR 08 - Netherlands #01

Unlocked after clearing mission 15.  At this point in the game, tanks and
skeletons are more of an annoyance than anything - almost everyone has MS
attacks that are effective against armor or skeletons.  Both tanks are close
enough for anyone to drop bazookas or MS attacks on.  This is a good stage to
get Herbert a few levels from tossing bazookas into tanks and skeleton groups.

AR 09 - Netherlands #02

Unlocked after clearing AR 08.  It's you vs a whole mess of tanks and vehicles,
with two more as reinforcements from the east.  Send someone fast up to nail
the group of mobile bombs, which will set off a chain that destroys the two
left tanks.  That will leave a few tanks left, neither of which are very
strong.  This is another good mission to let Herbert get off a bunch of bazooka
shots for some levels.

AR 10 - Ardennes #01

Unlocked after clearing mission 17.  Pretty standard forest cover mission here.
 Wreck all of the Schutzes and some tanks show up from the N.  Wreck those
reinforcements and two more tanks show up from the N.

AR 11 - Ardennes #02

Unlocked after clearing AR 10.  Another standard forest cover mission, with
mines near the dead Heer soldiers.  This is mostly a long range cover fight
with lots of snipers and machine gunners.  Two tanks and some infantry arrive
as reinforcements from the SE, then another tank and skeletons from the N after
that.

AR 12 - Ardennes #03

Unlocked after clearing AR 10.  These vampires are fast and deal a lot of
damage, try to blow them up in groups as fast as possible.  Don't expect
Herbert to be doing anything but healing and reviving.

AR 13 - Bastogne #03

Unlocked after clearing mission 18.  Tanks everywhere!  This AR is easier if
your party has all of their MS skills unlocked, or you've got Max in your
party.  At the time you unlock it, though, you are not likely to have either of
those, so it'll be tough, but still possible.  It's possible to complete it
even if most of the tank shots hit your characters, as long as you're spread
out and behind cover.  Throw non game-over units in front of
tanks so they might use their machine guns or be unable to move very far.

Don't even bother with weapons or MS skills that can't pierce armor.  Since
Cynthia and Jack have no MS skills that can pierce armor, give them bazookas.  
Lewis should only have a pistol and spam enrage on your heavy damage dealers.  
Herbert should be unarmed and in full heal mode.

Any character that's armed is going to move after the 7 tanks, so you are
basically sitting ducks.  You should be able to take out 3 nearby tanks with
your first player turns.  By your next set of player turns, the NE tanks should
be mid-field along with some magiers next to them.  Try to take out at least
two more tanks and damage another one.  Don't let any of the magiers get close
enough to stun anybody - blow them up ahead of the tanks if needed.  Once you
blow up the last tank (not the last magier), 4 more tanks show up in the NW and
NE corner, so make sure your team is nearby to start blasting away immediately.

AR 14 - Bastogne #04

Unlocked after clearing AR 13.  This is a fairly standard mission, just plow
down the zombies/snipers (two of the weakest enemy units in the game at this
point), and fire rockets/MS attacks into the tanks.  NE reinforcements are a
bit tougher - 3 tanks and 18 vampires.  You should be able to get the first
strike on them before they can cause any harm.

AR 15 - France #05

Unlocked after clearing mission 23.  As annoying as the dragon is, the magiers
behind it are more dangerous.  Blast away at least the magiers before focusing
on the dragon.  Once those are down, infantry and a tank come from the W/SW,
and 2nd reinforcements are 2 tanks and some skeletons from the SE.  There are
some good items on these guys like black crystals, etc. so loot thoroughly.


1i Campaign Walkthrough

Mission 01 - lv 1

Throw away Edwards weapons immediately to lighten up.  Loot the Commanders
corpse with Edward and pick up the A1M1 and grenade.  Head in and kill the
sniper, then loot his corpse for the Mauser sniper rifle before the mission
ends.  You can then use this sniper rifle for the early missions before being
able to purchase one.

Mission 02 - lv 1-2

Conserve your bazooka ammo early on when supplies are limited.  Use bazookas
only to take out the vehicles (2 for the tank, 1 for the recon), and toss
grenades at the infantry.  Snipe the west soldiers and focus your movements
towards the centre and east areas.

Mission 03 - lv 2-3

There is a mine on the field off the road, so pick it off to get some better
ground coverage.  Cover Move in aggressively and try to hit multiple enemies
with area attacks.  Once the zombies show up, throw lots of grenades at them.

Mission 04

Avoid killing the two Gestapo until your forces are in position to attack the
reinforcements coming from the west.  Just toss grenades and bazookas into the
vehicles and soldiers.  Once the zombies show up, toss grenades into them
before they get a chance to move.  Unload into the boss before he gets a 2nd 
turn.

Mission 05

Long range weapons will dominate the early part of the mission before you close
in on enemies.  Snipe the soldiers up on the hill while advancing with heavy
artillery on the beach.

Mission 06 

Now that skills are unlocked, you should disarm Cordelia and give Herbert a
lighter weapon like the shotgun.  Giving Frank a bazooka and Jude a heavier
machine gun is also an option.

Send Keith, James, Jude, and Herbert west to grenade and bazooka the incoming
reinforcements from the west, and the rest of the team north.  The SS
reinforcements arrive after you kill 2 enemies, so you may want to wait until
everyone is in position before firing.  Once the two tanks show up, hide behind
the buildings until you're ready, and then jump them with transformed bazooka
attacks and MS attacks.

Mission 07

Send Frank, Gallant, Keith, and Cordelia north towards the tanks, and everyone
else east to toss grenades/MS attacks at the incoming reinforcements.

Once Carmilla arrives, use the tank wreckage as cover until she moves in close
enough.  As long as you stay out of line of sight, she will not use her MS
skills.  It's possible if you transform before she arrives and start running
north that you can one shot her in werewolf form before she does anything. 
Even if Frank or Keith dies, you can just revive them after there's only a few
zombies stumbling around.  The vampires can carry some nice loot including
Blood Plasma and Lili Marleen Records (not sold in stores until around M18).

Mission 08 - lv 13-15

Skirt around the edges of the map/behind the nearby car to avoid line of sight
from the tank - just taking a couple turns will cause the next part of the
mission to begin.  Once the reinforcements show up, transform James and Keith,
then rush them and Cordelia towards the tanks.  Take down the tanks quickly
then focus on the remaining vampires and magiers.  There's Morphine on a bunch
of enemies, so try to pick it up - it's just about the only thing that can heal
a werewolf effectively at this point.

Mission 09 - lv 14-16

Regroup everyone in the tree area where Herbert and Jude start out - try to get
this done quickly with cover move before enemies close in.  Aim your heavy
bazooka units and Cordelia at the NE corner with the vehicles.  Aim your
snipers SE at the incoming enemies, and aim Jude and Herbert at anything they
can hit from the forest cover with an M1 Garand or Bren 303 MG.  Try not to use
Jack too much as he is still lv 18 and your party should be 14-16.  Once the
vehicles are destroyed, transform and move out into the open to hit the
incoming reinforcements before they can act.

There are 3 additional waves of reinforcements, all of them in the NE corner. 
Once the 3th wave arrives, the mission ends, so be sure to revive everyone by
that time.

Mission 10 - lv 15-17

Close in with long range attacks on groups of enemies or vampires.  Once you
kill enough vampires the skeleton reinforcements show up, and if you kill
enough combined enemies, tanks will show up from the east.  If you kill almost
all of the soldiers then kill a few vampires, you are likely to get both the
tanks and skeletons showing up at the same time.  Try to blast the skeletons
with bazookas and grenades asap as they have a high turn rate and like to get
into melee range to start using MS attacks.  

Transform just before most of the soldiers/vampires are dead, then run and try
to kill the tanks as quickly as possible.  You can shoot in between the tanks
and hit two at the same time with one bazooka shot.  Your wolves should be fast
enough to demolish the tanks without them firing a shot.

Mission 11 - lv 16-18

The North tank is going to move first, then the south one.  Try to take the
south one out first - it's not likely you'll take the north one down before it
attacks.  Hide your weaker units behind the solid parts of the fence to avoid
tank fire.  Once the north and south tanks are taken care of, transform and
Keith and James around to hit the last tank in the corner, then send them in on
Carmilla along with others hitting her.  If you don't take her out quickly she
will heal herself or one of her vampire allies will.  Try to kill as much as
possible before Carmilla gets close - stick Jack or Van Helsing in her LOS so
she has a convienent target for her bazooka.

Mission 12 - lv 18-21

The advantage you have to this stage is that you start close to the bosses. 
Equip lightly (only 2x Bazooka ammo) and rush the bosses, tossing bazookas, MS
attacks, and anything you have at them.  Getting rid of Vlado first is
recommended so he doesn't go around healing.  You also need to get rid of the
nearby incoming skeletons.  Don't be afraid to use a few buffs like Vitamins on
your faster characters if you have stocked up a ton of them from looting
bodies.  Be ready to fire bazookas or MS attacks at the reinforcements.

Mission 13 - lv 21-24

Charge forward with guns blazing.  All you have to do is mow down units towards
the NW corner.  3 tanks and mobile bombs will show up as reinforcements, but
your wolves should be strong enough to one shot the two south tanks, and two
shot the NW tank.  Just keep your team safely behind cover if you don't manage
to kill the tanks before they attack.

Mission 14 - lv 22-26

This is a heavy cover fight - even though you're facing soldiers, there are a
lot of them spread out, they hit very hard, and they have a very high turn
rate.  From this mission onward, enemies will have a much faster turn rate than
before - they will move twice for every one of your armed characters,
especially bazooka toting ones.  Everyone needs a long range weapon including
Van Helsing and Jack.  Wait for the crowd to thin out before transforming and
moving out to take out the train - you have enough time.  Patience is a virtue
here as moving out too soon will get your units shredded.

Once you destroy the tank, two 16k hp tanks show up.  Make sure you are
transformed before you destroy it, so you can immediately take out the two
large tanks.  An Enrage buffed Keith or James should be able to one shot the
tanks with a bazooka.  Keep a Blood Plasma on both of them in case they need to
extend werewolf form.

Mission 15 - lv 25-29

Bring 5x bazooka ammo on Keith, James, and Frank.. they will need it.

Send Van Helsing and Jack north towards the soldiers with a Geballte Ladung,
supported by sniper fire from Edward, Lewis, and Cynthia.  Helsing and Jack
will be taking a lot of cannon fire and gun fire - just revive them when they
go down.  Van Helsing and Jack should chuck a grenade into the groups of
magiers and Soldiers, taking out a majority of them.  Give enrage buffs to
Keith and James while they are near Lewis.  Send Cordelia, James, Frank, and
Keith east/northeast towards the tanks and bosses.

Once the tanks are down, transform and move James and Keith to the SE, then
north towards the NE to toss a bazooka into the vampire reinforcements and the
missile.  Destroying the missile will cause Vlado to retreat.  Send Frank NW to
help bazooka down the vampire reinforcements.  Fire down Carmilla and Jude once
the vampires/soldiers aren't threatening to overwhelm your backlines.  Both
bosses have Blood Plasma to heal themselves with, so try to take them down
before they can act twice.

Mission 16 - lv 27-31

1st wave (already on map) - infantry to the NE
2nd wave - NW 6 infantry, 1 recon
3rd wave - NE large amount of infantry bunched up
4th wave - SE 2 tanks and 5 infantry
5th wave - SE 2 tanks, NW/NE snipers

This is a fairly short mission where all you have to do is bombard enemies as
they show up.  Arm Helsing and Jack with grenades to shell the infantry coming
from the north side.  Transform and send James, Keith, and Frank south to deal
with the tanks.  Try to let Herbert toss in a grenade two.  Keep your snipers
and Cordelia safe but still firing away.  You may want to enrage James so he
can one shot the 17k HP tank, but it's not necessary.  After there's just one
soldier left, try to pick up the Valhalla report and custom sniper rifle.

The PTRS1941 Custom Rifle is a sniper rifle that can be equipped by almost
anyone, has great damage and pierces tank armor, but weighs 150.  This makes it
very hard to setup with since enemies will be taking 3-4 turns over anyone
equipping it.

Mission 17 - lv 28-32

Send everyone east towards the SE corner where reinforcements will show up,
while the enemy soldiers close in from the north.  Find the Valhalla report,
then transform and enrage buff James and Keith just before killing the last
soldier.  Make sure everyone is ready to attack with grenades, bazookas, and MS
attacks.  James and Keith should do 17-18k of damage to each tank.  Toss
grenades into the magiers before they can act, and ignore the snipers until the
tanks and magiers are dead.  After the boss is left, throw everything you have
at him before he can act twice and heal himself.

Mission 18 - lv 29-33

This mission is very easy, just watch out for the mines all over the ground and
near corpses/wreckage.  Panzer demons are basically skeletons with a lot of HP
and ranged weapons.  Only bazookas, some MS attacks, and melee weapons are
effective against them.  Unlike skeletons, however, they have a very slow turn
rate.  This makes them easy to blow up.

After taking out a couple of them, reinforcements arrive in the SE and SW. 
Have your units waiting to blast them.  Once those go down, more reinforcements
show up from the north.

Mission 19 - lv 31-34

Van Helsing and Jack should run up and grenade some enemy forces.  Try to kill
the magiers first before they stun anybody.  Being surrounded makes it easy to
find targets to hit. Stick Herbert and Cordelia on healing duty.

The reinforcements are a bunch of Panzer Demons, and they are still slow and
barely do any more damage than a normal soldier.  If you get too close they
will use Ghost Hunt which does a little extra damage.  Use standard boss
tactics on Jude, who is still a pushover.  Just shoot Max once with Edward and
he will retreat.  Panzer Demons are so slow you can run in with an unarmed
Herbert to toss a grenade for a level up, then run back out.

Mission 20 - lv 32-35

Focus on taking out the two nearby tanks while Jude makes his way towards your
forces.  Having Expose Weakness makes blowing up tanks even easier.  The
magiers and soldiers are dangerous as usual, taking about 2 turns for every 1
turn over your characters that are carrying weapons.

After killing enough magiers.  Skeletons and magiers arrive as reinforcements
from the south, and a tank from the east.  Have someone ready to blast the
reinforcement magiers and skeletons away while they are close together.  You
will have to go around Jude to reach any tanks that have decided to hang back
in the corners.  Once all of the tanks are down, close in on Jude with enraged
MS attacks and bazookas.

Mission 21 - lv 33-36

After kicking a couple vampires around, Panzer Demons show up.  Keep picking
off the vampires while sending bazookas at the bunched up Panzer Demons.  Take
out the tanks after most of the infantry are dead.

Mission 22 - lv 34-37

You can play this mission by stealth, or you can just run in and take on a huge
number of reinforcements.  Of course, not being much for stealth tactics, I
prefer to charge in and attack, after getting close enough to the
reinforcements of course.  Just move along the southern wall until you get
caught.   If you don't blow the magiers up ASAP, expect things to get messy. 
You can find some good healing items on the magiers like Dragon Scales,
Philosopher�s Stones, and Black Crystals, so loot as much as you can.

Mission 23 - lv 35-38

The main difficulty of this mission comes from the fact that enemies now have
turn rates double or triple your characters, even the dragons.  The only way to
get an even match in speed is to go almost completely without weapons and rely
on MS skills.  Give everyone two Medical Kit 3, Sulfanilamide/Mandragora, and
Stimulants/Vitamins.  Hopefully everyone has all of their MS skills unlocked,
including Archangel Call and Mjolnir's Wrath.

Edward/Max Neumann - 2H melee weapon, Focus and Providence skills
Jack/Van Helsing - bayonet/killer sword, Focus and Light-footed skills
Cordelia/Frank/Herbert - Unarmed, use MS attacks, Focus and Providence skills
James/Keith - Bazookas, Find Weakness and Light-footed skills
Cynthia - Sniper Rifle, Focus and Providence skills
Lewis - Pistol - spam Enrage and Quick Draw the skeletons, Focus and Providence
skills

Your first task is clearing out the skeletons.  Focus all of your attacks on
them, don't transform until most of them are down.  Kill Carmilla in one turn
with a full round of attacks after most of the skeletons are down - use Fool's
Gold or a Marleen Record if you need to slow her down or weaken her.  You will
be taking a lot of damage, so Cordelia and Herbert should be healing
exclusively unless Cordelia can nail 3+ skeletons at once.  Move up to the
dragons and throw everything you have at them.  Once the reinforcements arrive,
they will start moving very quickly.  Don't give them a chance to spread out.

Mission 24 - lv 38-42

Once you start this mission, you can't access any supplies until finishing
mission 26, so bring all the gear you need.  Stock Keith and James with a 2x
and 3x bazooka ammo.  Try to save bazooka ammo for tanks in mission 24, and
don't use any on mission 25.  Your skill/gear setup should be the same as
mission 23, except give Edward a Sten SMG so he can use 

Stay under cover until you've taken out at least 2 of the tanks and the vehicle
using Mjolnir's Wrath, Archangel Call, and Cordelia's attacks.  Transform Keith
and James as soon as their turn comes up and have them one shot a tank each. 
Trade long range shots with the magiers and soldiers, but don't stick your neck
out too far into the open - it's just an invitation to get stunlocked and torn
apart by gunfire and cannon blasts.  Reinforcement soldiers will arrive near
your starting position - they take a long time to act so you have some leeway
before destroying them.

Mission 25 - lv 39-43

An even easier mission than 24.  Simply cover move behind the tank wreckage
then toss out devastating MS attacks.  Reinforcement vampires and skeletons
will show up for more slaughter.  If you don't care about picking up items or
Excalibur, just nuke Himmler and he will go down fast.

Mission 26 - lv 39-43

Ignore hitler and focus on killing everyone else first.  Transform asap and try
to nail the troops with MS attacks before they get a chance to spread out. 
There are usually Panzerfaust 100s on the skeletons running towards your party,
so loot them and fire away.  Once you kill enough troops a tank shows up - if
James or Keith have 4 star Find Weakness, they will one shot it.  Once there's
only Hitler and a few soldiers left, take him out the 1st time.  Kill the
dragon then take hitler out a 2nd time.  Once again there is some great loot to
be had on the corpses lying around.

Mission 27 - lv 41-45 or 45-47 after clearing EX missions

You can tackle this mission immediately, or go through the Eagle's Nest.  It's
worth noting the enemies are lv 43-44, so you're probably expected to take it
on right away before doing the EX missions.  Either way, the store has a ton of
the best items in the game newly available.  Bring the best consumables, since
this is the last battle and your game doesn't save when you finish the mission.

The first part of the mission is pretty standard, head in and destroy their
small number of forces.  Once Vlado and dragons arrive, take Vlado out asap -
that will make the vampires and dragons disappear.  Fire everything you have
into the big nasty monster and that's that.


1j EX Missions/Eagles Next

The EX missions are a series of indoors maps with no reinforcements, and
enemies are often placed near your starting position.  The floors start out
with basic soldiers, then slowly move up the nazi food chain to dragons.  When
you run across tanks/dragons put on a little heavier gear like bazookas,
otherwise just keep light with shotguns, melee weapons, and grenades.  A skill
combination of Focus and Light-Footed works well in taking out enemies quickly.
 Whenever there's barbed wire or sandbags lying in the way, you can blow them
up if you need to get through.

Eagle's Nest 10 has 2 Dragons, 11 has a Tank and Recon, 13-15 have 2 Tanks, 16
has 1 Tank, 17 has 1 Dragon, 18 has two Tanks, 19-20 have 2 Dragons (bring
healing items for these ones).  On the maps with dragons, take out the
dangerous infantry like skeletons and magiers before focusing on the dragons.

Ex 20 - Bring your best healing items and Hand of Death grenades to toss at the
Panzer Demons.  Have Herbert and Cordelia almost exclusively reviving.  You
need to hold out against the dragon attacks while taking out the infantry with
MS skills and grenades, until you have a clear aim at both dragons.  It's a
long battle with a lot of reviving.