This guide is an Early Access Gameplay for people just starting with TacticsOgre: Reborn. It is especially useful for those unfamiliar with the mechanics or afraid of getting caught in a trap.

This guide is not for people who have completed SSCC runs in FFT or Impossible Ironmans in XCOM. If FFT and SSCC are new, you’ve come to the right place. This is not a walkthrough or strategy guide, but it will help new players avoid some more perplexing pitfalls. This guide is intended to assist you in getting started, not to hold your hand.

The game is deceptive because its mechanics are not explained unless you go through its menus. Even if you have expensive gear and struggle with unfair fights, it’s easy to see your damage drop. Let’s get into the details of creating the company you want.

 

Beware of the (old blood and obsolete guides)

TO:R is the third reskin of this game, following the original and the PSP version. There’s lots of advice. Check the age of any information you find on GameFAQs and other related sites. At the same time, some things are still true (Canopus and Vyce’s AI have been annoying people since 1995, but some things haven’t aged well. It’s impossible to list everything here, but there are a few things worth mentioning:

1. Except for weapon skill levels, you can’t transfer learned abilities or skills between classes. It is impossible to learn Rampart Aura and Concentration and use it on Warrior.

2. Archers aren’t as OP as they once were due to changes in armor and stats. While archers are still quite good, they are not the best answer to everything most of the time.

3. Heal spells here are much stronger. Heal 1 used do 25-30, as opposed to 100+. Therefore, very old guides emphasized healing items (which had similar values) more heavily than a cleric).

4. Rune Fencers, and other hybrid classes, seem to be much better. They are not garbage, at least not early on.

Early Game Classes and Their Roles

In the early game, you will have seven options.

Warrior, Knight Barbarian, Cleric Wizard/Enchantress Archer, and Rune Fencer/Valkyrie. I say most because you’ll soon see three more: Priest, Vartan and Beastmaster. Two of these are tied at least to characters (early on), while Beastmaster will be the first class you get access to. We’ll be focusing on the basic seven because of their limited availability.

We tend to have preconceptions when we look at classes. However, these classes are limited, so don’t assume they have a role.

 
ARCHER is Chapter 1’s strongest offensive class for many reasons. They have the greatest range. This is because bows (and crossbows) can shoot beyond their listed range. The altitude also increases that range. Archers can shoot targets within a few squares of their listed range even if they don’t have high ground. This is made easier because archers don’t need to move. They can get their turns around faster because they don’t have to sacrifice WT to reposition every attack. They can also move more easily, as their options are not limited to certain squares for adjacency. It’s better to have a few archers in the early (, although you can find a similar option in Vartan).

BARBARIAN is a damage dealer. However, they will be very ineffective early on. They won’t be able to access most of their relevant skills until they reach a few levels, and they don’t have a lot of weapon availability. While it is good to have one on the field to improve their weapon skills, investing heavily in Barbarians may not be the best idea. Barbarians have difficulty finding things to do when they cannot get into melee, which Knights and Rune Fencers don’t mind.

 
CLERIC is your healer. They do not cast Exorcism on the undead very often. As AI tends to favor weaker units, healing is essential. You won’t have any tools to protect them early on so it is vital. You’ll be dependent on healing items, which can quickly become expensive and consume a lot of WT due to all the moving.

ENCHANTRESS/WIZARD will be your designated debuffer. If you thought wizards could do AoE damage to you are wrong. You’re too young to expect any real damage from your wizards. Although they can use elemental damage spells, it will feel much less than weapon users. You’ll notice the poor accuracy of Charm, Sleep, or Poison early on. This is where the Spellstrike passive from the Concentration passive comes in. Charm and Sleep can win you a fight if you are looking for an action economy. However, poison can add up if applied to a low-priority enemy such as a knight. Let it work its magic while you focus your attention on its allies.

 
KNIGHT is your tank. The AI will attack the most vulnerable units and take the most damage. This is a common theme in many games. Your Knight can use Rampart Aura to stop any enemy from moving past him. Although it has a limited control range, this ability can be useful in smaller areas. The Knight can also cast Heal to make this even more useful. This means that they are essentially a crunchier cleric with some zone denial. Their disadvantage is the slow movement. They’ll move slower than other units due to their poor WT and 3-movement speed. It’s a good idea to have one to limit enemy movement while also dropping some heals and doing some damage. PINCER is always a thing.

RUNE FENCER/VALKYRIE, the hybrid, is very strong in the early games. A weak damage spell is available that does not do much but can be useful for extra damage at close range. It also can heal and a passive that can boost melee damage. You also get a spear that can hit two squares. All this on a fairly durable unit. The downside is that the Rune Fencer can’t do everything and you won’t get the same damage as an archer or warrior. Despite their mobility, and attack range (2 for spear, more for spells and) utility, they are extremely useful and handy to have around.

WARRIOR is your most basic unit for hitting people. The Warrior is between the Knight and the Barbarian regarding defense and offense. However, they do get a strong damage buff that uses MP to allow them hit extremely hard when necessary (Mighty Impact. It is also faster than the Knight. Access to 2H swords can be extremely useful, as Warriors are more likely to prefer soft targets.

These seven will make up most of your forces in the early stages, but the three others are worth noting.

Catina’s special class is PRIEST. It is a Cleric with some extra offense in light element damage spells. I advise her to un-equip her Spiritsurge as her attack spell makes her AI more aggressive. I prefer her hiding in my back casting Heal for 100 to my troops, rather than rushing in with Vyce trying to extract value from randomly targeted 50 damage Spiritsurges. However, Vyce) or her (“die” in most fights is irrelevant, I would still prefer the healing.

VARTAN is Canopus’s special class and is only available to hawkers. It can be used as a melee-ranged hybrid or a 2H crossbow. The main attraction is not the weapon options but the 5 movements and infinite jump height (. He can use 2H bows as an archer but loses 2 movements. It would be worthwhile to have the ability to pick up loot bags or cards, but it is worth the freedom to position him. You can recruit other Hawkmen to make Vartans. But be aware that Canopus has more stats than a generic one. They’ll be great, but not Canopus-level.

BEASTMASTER is an exciting class with strong utility. It’s also almost irrelevant in Chapter 1. You can skip training one if you want to run one to level up your weapon skills in blow guns. Although the Lobber skill is less useful than in older versions, it can still be very useful.

Strategy and teambuilding

The first win is your goal; then you can go to war.

You can make it easier or harder (by what you prepare. We’ll be breaking down preparations into two categories: party composition, equipment,, and training.

Party Composition

Party composition is your combination of the above classes. Priest Catiua will follow you around (to remove her Spiritsurge, but she can’t be controlled so don’t rely too heavily on AI allies. Vyce is not affected.

Healing: At all times, you’ll need at least two or three healers on the field. It’s not three clerics. Rune Fencers or Knights get the heal spell. At least one cleric is necessary. They get Meditation to keep their MP high, and a Knight without MP can’t heal anyone. Exorcism is also a possibility.

Damage: Archers (, Canopus) are very good at dealing damage wherever you want it. However, they will have a noticeable dropoff against armored targets because of their piercing damage so don’t rely solely on them. Warrior is a good choice as a melee hitter. (Berserker, a great class, must reach the level 14 range before it can take off.)

Utility: A Knight of Rampart Aura can be useful and trigger Pincer for other melee attackers. (Pincer allows melee characters to participate in friendly melee attacks.) The enemy will not focus on your tank, but they are still a valid target. AI will target them occasionally to give you something to do. Wizards suffer from underwhelming damage and awkward firing ranges, but access to Charm and Sleep, as previously mentioned, is very helpful. It works when it works.

If this were XCOM and you had four units, making decisions would not be easy. You get 8 to 9 units in most battles, so give it a try. However, I recommend Canopus in his Vartan Class and having at least one cleric on hand. It is possible to have a balanced mix of everything, but you have enough body mass to double or triple down on any unit, especially flexible ones like Rune Fencer.

Denam is a class you can take. If you are new to the game, don’t make him a full caster or archer. Warrior and Rune Fencer are two options I would recommend. He will be with you in battle and will not be allowed to die. Sometimes he will be deployed in extremely, very dangerous situations. You will make your life easier if you keep him in a strong class with melee potential and a variety of self-healing items in case of emergency.

Equipment

The majority of gear in this game is fairly self-explanatory so it’s more about concepts rather than specific weapons.

More than just defensive stats, armor significantly impacts the performance of other abilities.

For damage, archers and ranged troops need Dexterity. This means that you should choose the right weapon and your armor to maximize dexterity and minimize defense.

This applies to all classes, but the starting armour has Dexterity, while the upgrades don’t. You’ll be amazed at the difference in damage if you buy fancy armor for your archer.

The next thing to note is that different armor types offer different protection against damage types. This is especially important for Crushing and Piercing damage. Bows and 1H Crossbows can pierce; 2H crossbows can crush. This means that against classically armored enemies, bow damage is likely to drop sharply. 2H crossbows will be more effective. This is also true for spells, and some do element+crushing damage.

You’ll have more options later on, but you want to avoid taking all the piercing damage early in the game. Canopus can be given a 2H crossbow if your archer has a longbow of 2H. This will give you range of damage options. Two spear-wielding Rune Fencers might need a hammerberserker to crush things occasionally. In case of an enemy’s resistance to crushing damage, a wizard might need both damage spells from their favored element.

Consumables can be expensive, but they are powerful. The healing leaf+1 gives you more HP than the heal spell. Because the AI can’t predict who will dogpile, you need to equip Blessing Stones on several people.

While you can’t farm money in Chapter 1; you don’t necessarily need everyone equipped with the most expensive items at all times. Your money should be spent on weapons to protect your damaged dealers and armor for your frontline. It would be best to keep between 5-10k and 10k in reserve to replace healing and recovery items. Then, upgrade your equipment as needed. You can often save a lot by having appropriate gear for your level of play. You can also sell your old gear to make extra income. However, I prefer to wait until I need cash to buy new equipment or top-tier weapons for my main damage dealer.

Training

A union level is a cap on the level of your units at any given point in the game. This is used to prevent leveling and indicates the difficulty of the next story battle. Although they don’t provide loot or cash, training battles give you lots of XP.

Your core troops must have the maximum XP when you are a beginner. This has many benefits: additional higher-level stats give you an advantage in accuracy and damage, as well as HP and defense. Skill unlocks with level. These skills can make a bigger difference than just a few stat points or HP.

Training battles will also increase your weapon skills, which is a very important skill to have, especially if you have been changing classes or weapons frequently.

You should be aware of a few nuances in the XP system.

1. XP does not depend on individual actions. It is a pool of actions that are shared across all units.

2. Units below the level cap won’t receive XP. This means that lower-level units will get more and move up faster.

3. XP gained over a certain amount can be converted into XP charms that can be used later to level up units.

Among the many clever tricks, these are just a few. First, if the rest of your units have reached the cap, you can quickly level up any remaining units. Training battles are off-limits to guest units. You can get the enormous brick of XP to cap your team, though, if they have already reached the cap. Since it’s simple to get your own units to the XP caps by allowing the AI to fight a training battle, XP charms should be saved for visitor units.

Battlefield Tactics: All Tactics, no Ogre

Completing the objectives is key to winning fights.

Sometimes it’s defeating all enemies. Other times, there is only one enemy to kill. If you feel that a fight is unfair, don’t try to defeat everyone.

 

I hope you enjoy the Guide we share about Tactics Ogre: Reborn – Early Access Gameplay; if you think we forget to add or we should add more information, please let us know via commenting below! See you soon!