FRONT MISSION 2089: BORDER OF MADNESS BEGINNER'S GUIDE VERSION FINAL(2.00) By Angelo Pineda(rpger77@yahoo.ca) VERSION HISTORY --------------- 7-12-2012 - Added Front Mission History, Front Mission Products, and Front Mission 2089 Changes sections. 26-11-2012 - Minor clean-up. 7-11-2012 - Minor clean-up, renamed Terrain Effects to Geo Effect, and fleshed out some game mechanics. 12-6-2012 - Minor clean-up. 9-6-2012 - Minor corrections made. Guide complete. 28-6-2010 - Beginner's Guide done. Will update material and do grammar fixes when they're found. TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sections Search Codes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. INTRODUCTION [INTR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Front Mission History [FHIS] Front Mission Products [FMPR] Front Mission 2089 Changes [F289] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. BASICS [BASE] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Game Flow [GAME] Mission Play [MISS] Intermissions [INMS] Arena [AREN] Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) [TFAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. BATTLE SYSTEM [BATT] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Battle Phases [PHAS] Wanzer Combat [WCOM] Wanzer Actions [WACT] Geo Effect [GEOF] Attack Types [ATEL] Job Types [JTYP] Weapon Types [WTYP] Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) [BFAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. WANZER SETUP [WSET] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wanzer Design [WDES] Wanzer Parameters [WPAR] Wanzer Types [WANT] Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) [WFAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. CREDITS [CRED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To quickly find the section you want, press Ctrl + F at the same time to access the Find options. If you want to access something, type in the word in [] and the [] themselves. If you want to find the Credits, type in [CRED]. AUTHOR'S NOTE ------------- I don't get the deal behind mobile phone games, but I sure am glad that the Front Mission 2089 series got the port treatment! To those who are unfamiliar with Front Mission, this guide will get you up to speed! Any Front Mission is not easy to get into and they tend to be confusing for newcomers. Thus, I decided to make this guide with the sole purpose of explaining how the fundamentals of Front Mission work. Enjoy! Sites allowed to post this guide: http://www.gamefaqs.com http://www.gamespot.com http://www.neoseeker.com http://www.supercheats.com http://www.1up.com I will consider allowing other sites to post this guide if I get an email on the address shown above. I'm usually open to allowing other sites to post my guides provided that I am credited for my work. I assume anyone reading this is aware of the guide's purpose so I don't think I need to explain that. Also, don't try and pass this work of as your own. I've created this guide in a certain way that allows me to identify if someone has plagiarized from my guide. Respect those who spend a great deal of time making guides to help out other people. We don't do it just because guide writing is fun, you know! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. INTRODUCTION [INTR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a beginner's guide to Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness, released in Japan on the Nintendo DS. The guide will document the foundation and game mechanics that are found inside the game. This will not document any material pertaining to the game's missions and whatnot so please don't send any questions to my e-mail address about that. Go to GameFAQs if you are looking for walkthroughs of the game. This guide is written for those who have never played Front Mission or this one in particular if you have already played other Front Mission installments before. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FRONT MISSION HISTORY [FHIS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So what exactly is Front Mission? Well, it's a Square franchise that was developed by series visionary and creator Toshiro Tsuchida. Although it was technically developed outside of Square under Tsuchida's development studio, G-Craft, it was their very first intellectual property (IP) that ventured into the turn-based strategy genre. While it's often known for this style of gameplay, this doesn't quite fit Front Mission. Just as much as it enjoys its strategy and role-playing game (RPG) elements, Front Mission is also equally known for experimentation through genre spin-offs. Even within the turn-based strategy entries themselves, there are titles that focus more on the strategy elements and others with very strong RPG elements. Counting the remakes, 13 video games have been released under the Front Mission banner. There are two main types of Front Mission games: numbered entries which play out as turn-based strategy games, and non-numbered entries which play out as real-time action-based games. Numbered entries include Front Mission, Front Mission 1st (the remake of Front Mission), Front Mission 2, Front Mission 3, Front Mission 4, Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, Front Mission 2089, Front Mission 2089-II, and Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. The non-numbered entries include Front Mission: Gun Hazard (side-scrolling shooter), Front Mission Alternative (real-time strategy), Front Mission: Online (massively- multiplayer online third-person shooter), and Front Mission Evolved (third- person shooter). Beyond the video games, Front Mission boasts an incredibly diverse media presence that includes comics, films, novels, and even radio dramas. In fact, it's worth noting that Front Mission actually started out away from the video games themselves! Its non-video game media, especially its comics and novels, have enjoyed levels of success comparable to the source material itself! As such, the Front Mission franchise is incredibly popular in its home region of Japan. Unfortunately, its overseas performance has been shockingly poor as only four entries have been localized: Front Mission 1st (renamed as "Front Mission" for the release), Front Mission 3, Front Mission 4, and lastly, Front Mission Evolved. Much of this can be attributed to Square and Square Enix's incredibly poor handling of the franchise overseas. UNIQUE SELLING POINTS --------------------- So, what defines Front Mission and sets it apart from similar offerings in the turn-based strategy genre? For starters, Front Mission takes place in a near-future Earth which greatly resembles modern-day life, as opposed to the fantasy-based settings that prevail in games such as Fire Emblem or Ogre Battle. As a result, stories and themes of Front Mission focus on real-life issues that are prevalent in our societies and the world around us. Military, political, and technological topics are commonplace, as is the presentation of the characters. There are no real "good" or "bad" guys in Front Mission, and the narratives never follow the typical save-the-world cliche. Instead, Front Mission is a realistic, heartfelt drama revolving around mankind versus itself. The storyline of Front Mission also stands out for its unique storytelling approach. Modeled and styled after serial dramas, Front Mission is one long, continuous storyline. Although the video games contain standalone stories, these interconnect with ones from other entries and tie back to a larger, overarching storyline. Consequently, they show a very clear cause-and-effect relationship as events from one game are an aftermath effect from a previous one chronologically. This is accompanied by a large cast of over 70 recurring characters who make multiple appearances in the entries. What makes this more remarkable is how the storyline is not restricted to the video games alone. As all of its media are linked to each other, Front Mission practices what is known as "transmedia storytelling". In transmedia storytelling, all stories from each medium come together to tell the greater whole. All media products are considered canon, and their stories are usually penned by a core group of writers. This notion of transmedia storytelling also applies to the spin-off Front Mission: Gun Hazard and its related media, which are set in an alternate universe. This means that Front Mission: Gun Hazard is not considered canon to the main Front Mission universe. When Toshiro Tsuchida envisioned Front Mission, he and his writers mapped out a very elaborate main storyline that involved telling the stories beyond the video game medium. Starting in 1994, this was made into a reality through a comic series titled "Front Mission Zero", and a live-action movie of Front Mission that was shown on television. These two set the foundation for the main storyline, and began a trend of media lead-ins prior to the release of a new Front Mission video game. After the original Front Mission was released on the Super Famicom, it was followed up by a new comic series and a novel which foreshadowed Front Mission 2. This practice continued until the release of Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, the final planned entry of the grand storyline. Storyline aside, another major defining feature of Front Mission is its use of mecha. The mecha of Front Mission is known as the Wanderpanzer (German for "walking armor") or the wanzer. For the uninitiated, mecha is the term for a bipedal robotic machine which is controlled by a human pilot. Most mecha are unrealistic in terms of real-life applications in that they are portrayed as all-powerful, one-man army machines. Wanzers, however, are more grounded in realism in their design and they are assisted by other weapons platforms despite being a versatile weapons platform themselves. The official term used to classify a wanzer is WAP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FRONT MISSION PRODUCTS [FMPR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For anyone who wants to dip into more Front Mission offerings, the following is a quick summary of the major Front Mission products released. Most of them are in Japan, so you will have to import most of these products: MAIN SERIES GAMES ----------------- Front Mission - Super Famicom and WonderSwan Color. The original Front Mission is available only in Japan and can only be gotten by way of imports. It's fairly easy to find in auction sites...or you could try the fan translation route. The WonderSwan Color port is a much tougher find though. Front Mission 1st - PlayStation and Nintendo DS. As mentioned above, this remake of Front Mission stayed in Japan only. There's no point in getting the PlayStation version as the Nintendo DS one contains more content to enjoy. Front Mission 2 - PlayStation. Front Mission 2 is Japan-only so importing is your best option. This is a rare find, even in auction sites, so consider yourself a lucky one if you can get it. Front Mission 3 - PlayStation. Front Mission 3 has been released overseas, but it is hard to find nowadays. Fortunately, this can now be found on the PlayStation Network (PSN) Store for a reasonably cheap download. Front Mission 4 - PlayStation 2. Front Mission 4 has been released overseas and is fairly easy to find nowadays. Game retailers should still have a copy or two lying around, at least online ones. Front Mission 5: Scars of the War - PlayStation 2. Front Mission 5 was only released in Japan, so you will need to import from an online retailer or buy it from an auction site. Front Mission 2089 - Mobile Phones. Front Mission 2089 was only released in Japan as part of Front Mission Mobile. As Front Mission Mobile ended its services on February 28, 2011, you have no chance of playing it anymore. Front Mission 2089-II - Mobile Phones. Front Mission 2089-II was only released in Japan as part of Front Mission Mobile. As Front Mission Mobile ended its services on February 28, 2011, you have no chance of playing it anymore. Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness - Nintendo DS. This remake of Front Mission 2089 was only released in Japan. It's a fairly easy find at online retailers or auction sites. SPIN-OFF GAMES -------------- Front Mission: Gun Hazard - Super Famicom. Front Mission: Gun Hazard is a Japan-only release, but there is a fan translation available on the Internet if you're interested. This is the only non-canon entry of Front Mission. Front Mission Alternative - PlayStation. Front Mission Alternative was never released outside of Japan, so you will need to import. As with Front Mission 2, this is a rare find so search hard if you want to play this. Front Mission Online - PlayStation 2, PC. Front Mission Online was only released in Japan. It also requires signing up for Square Enix's PlayOnline service. Front Mission Online ended its services on May 31, 2008, so you have no chance of playing it anymore. Front Mission Evolved - PlayStation 3, XBox 360, PC. The most recent Front Mission title was released overseas and is readily available in retailers. It's also quite cheap these days, so you have no reason not to buy it. COMPILATIONS ------------ Front Mission History - PlayStation. This is a compilation that consists of Front Mission 1st, Front Mission 2, and Front Mission 3. Front Mission 1st is the PlayStation remake of the original, an enhanced Front Mission 2 with bug fixes and a Quick Battle option, and an unchanged Front Mission 3. As with most of the Front Mission products, it's only in Japan. Since this one had a print run of just 20,000, this is arguably the rarest product out of the video game line to get. FILMS ----- These live-action TV films are canon, expanded universe supplements to the Front Mission and Gun Hazard storyline. All of them were released only in Japan. Front Mission Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard COMICS ------ These comic series are canon, expanded universe supplements to the Front Mission and Gun Hazard storyline. All but Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style were released in Japan only. Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style has been released in Japan and translated into Korean for South Korea, and in French for France. Front Mission Zero (3 volumes) Front Mission Comics Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard Front Mission 2: Wanzers of the Elite Front Mission: The Drive Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style (10 volumes) NOVELS ------ These novel series are canon, expanded universe supplements to the Front Mission and Gun Hazard storyline. All of them were released only in Japan. Front Mission: Front Line Report Gun Hazard: A Mercenary's Iron Legs Front Mission 4: Elsa (2 volumes) RADIO DRAMAS ------------ The Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard radio drama is a canon, expanded universe supplement to the Gun Hazard storyline. This 10-episode radio drama was only released in Japan. OTHER NOTABLE ITEMS ------------------- Front Mission World Historica: Report of Conflicts 1970-2121 - A reference book. World Historica documents the entire world of Front Mission in one giant book. It covers Front Mission, Front Mission 1st, Front Mission 2, Front Mission 3, Front Mission 4, Front Mission 5, Front Mission 2089, Front Mission Alternative, and Front Mission Online. Front Mission: Gun Hazard and Front Mission 2089-II are only briefly detailed. Additionally, World Historica does not cover the additions to the Nintendo DS Front Mission 1st, the remake of Front Mission 2089 "Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness", and Front Mission Evolved. This was released only in Japan. Action Figures and Model Kits - With the exception of the Front Mission 3 action figures, all of these releases saw the light of day only in Japan. Auction sites are a good place to find these. Original Soundtracks (OST) - All of these are Japanese releases, but online retailers tend to carry them. Some like the Front Mission 2 or Front Mission: Gun Hazard OSTs are very rare so you may have to search harder to find them. For more information on Front Mission products, please visit the following: frontmission.info ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FRONT MISSION 2089 CHANGES [F289] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Okay, so what about Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness? Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness is actually a remake of the mobile phone version of Front Mission 2089. This version of the game comes with a bunch of changes and additions that make it play more like the newer Front Mission titles. Changes between the original Front Mission 2089 to Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness will be detailed below. 1. The story now includes an abridged version of the story from Front Mission 2089-II, which comes into play towards the end of Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. The story of Front Mission 2089 has been reworked to include mission branching now. Through mission branching, the story events of 16 missions from Front Mission 2089 have been altered as only eight of them can be done in one playthrough. Lastly, as the story now focuses only on the O.C.U., the player can no longer choose to play for the U.S.N. or its cast of characters. 2. Recurring characters from other Front Mission titles have been added to the game. This is not to be confused with the recurring characters who appear in the original Front Mission 2089. The new recurring characters come from Front Mission 1st, Front Mission 2, Front Mission 2089-II, and Front Mission Online. These characters can be found in both the 2089 and 2089-II scenarios. 3. The presentation aspects of the game, the graphics and sound, have been updated. Map graphics, including the ones for battle scenes, have been redrawn with more detail and with special effects incorporated. For example, a map may feature heavy rain or faint lighting to indicate the appearance of dusk. The interfaces have been completely redesigned for easier touchscreen usage. The character graphics have also been updated, now showing the characters' bodies instead of just faces. Comic-style drawings have been included for special event scenes. The music tracks have improved sound quality through synthesizer upgrades and tracks from Front Mission 2, Front Mission 3, Front Mission 4, and Front Mission Online, have been included. 4. Several game mechanics have been removed or their functionality downgraded due to space limitations on the Nintendo DS card. The mission ranking system has been removed entirely, for one. Another example is that there is no multiplayer option for the Arena. To compensate for this, new game mechanics such as the Body Blow command (more on this later) and changes from the Nintendo DS version of Front Mission 1st have been included. Furthermore, the bonus EXP values for destroying enemy units or using certain weapons have been completely reworked for balance. Destroying enemy units only yields about 50% of its actual value. For weapons, the Ziege Rifle no longer gives bonus EXP per attack and the Dragon Hands Arms only gives half of its bonus EXP. 5. Game mechanics from other Front Mission titles have been included to fix game balancing issues. Here is a list of them: Armor Coating - Front Mission 2/3/4/5: Scars of the War Links - Front Mission 2/3/4/5: Scars of the War Mission Branching - Front Mission 3/5: Scars of the War/Alternative Part Sorting - Front Mission 5: Scars of the War 6. A number of wanzers and weapons have their statistics reworked for better game balancing. Hover Leg parts now have 20 more Weight. Rifles are now long-range weapons and cannot be used at a Range of 1. In addition, they now have 15 more Weight. Three Rifles have a new Price: Hexa G3 (2000 = 1300), Ibis 3 (1000 = 1600), and Firebird (1280 = 2000). Shotguns now fire six rounds per attack. The Attack value of each Shotgun has been reworked to be 1/6 of its original value per round fired. Shotguns also have 10 more Weight points. The Weight of Rods has been reworked to be lighter than before. The damage of Arm Punch (wanzer's bare arm attack) has been cut in half. Lastly, the Gloster mobile weapon now uses a Machine Gun and Cannon setup. 7. There are new wanzers, mobile weapons, parts, and weapons from other Front Mission titles. Here is a list of them: (Wanzers) XW-N Alucard - Original wanzer, enemy only XW-Prototype Nosferatu - Original wanzer, enemy only Zenith V - redesigned to fall closer in line with design from Front Mission 4 (Mobile Weapons) Type 301 Gousai RS - Original mobile weapon Type 301 Gousai XM - Original mobile weapon, enemy only Type 301 Gousai XN - Original mobile weapon, enemy only (Computers) Clock Doubler M - Hidden part from original Front Mission (Weapons) Battle Tusk - Front Mission 5: Scars of the War/Online Destroyers - Original weapon Double Nail - Front Mission 2/5: Scars of the War F-X Imperial - Original weapon Heavy Pile - Front Mission 3/4/5: Scars of the War/Online Iron Lump - Front Mission 2/5: Scars of the War/Online Kagiroi - Original weapon Keen Saber - Front Mission 2/5: Scars of the War/Online 8. The Zenith V wanzer has been redesigned to fall closer in line with its designs from other Front Mission titles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. BASICS [BASE] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This section will detail how Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness works as a whole. If you are more interested in learning specific mechanics about the game, please check the other sections. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GAME FLOW [GAME] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness progresses like any typical game: the player goes through a set amount of missions before beating the game. In-between each mission, the player can manage their characters to prepare for the next mission. Cutscenes occur at certain periods of time...before, during, or after a mission. These are plot-related events that reveal more about the topics covered in the game and the characters themselves. The player spends time at a base when they are not in a mission. When missions are accessible, the player automatically travels to various locations on a world map. This is how the game flows and progresses. To recap game flow: 1. Play and complete missions. 2. Intermission: prepare and setup units at the base. 3. Progress plot by watching scenes before, during, or after missions. 4. Repeat until the player beats the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MISSION PLAY [MISS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Missions in Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness work similar to other strategy RPG offerings. Prior to mission play, the player will get a basic briefing of the enemy forces and the main threat or objective for the mission. The player can make adjustments to their units accordingly before commencing the mission. Once in a mission, the winning conditions must be met in order to complete the mission. At the completion of any mission, the player is rewarded with monetary funds from military commission (if possible) and the amount of enemies destroyed. This is subtracted from the repair costs, which are incurred for every unit destroyed in battle. Each mission has a limit to how many units can be deployed for the mission, though the main lead, Storm, is a mandatory participant in every mission. On several occasions, non-playable characters (NPC) fight in missions, but the AI controls all of their actions. As far as mission variety is concerned, most missions are involved with the destruction of all enemy units. Some missions have different conditions, such as protecting a particular unit, gathering information at a designated location, or destroying enemy units within the given time limit. For example, escape points on a map can be identified via the green-colored squares that represent them. Similar objectives are also marked by green-colored squares on the map. This covers the flow behind mission play in a nutshell. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTERMISSIONS [INMS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermissions are sections of the game in which the player is currently not participating in a mission. During an intermission, the player has access to a few options. Normally after a mission ends, the player will be sent back to a military base or supply camp. At any military base or supply camp, the player can access the following options: Headquarters Mercenaries' Quarters Hangar Arena Operational Records Leave Base The Hangar is where the player can buy or sell parts and items for mission play. This is the place to go for upgrading wanzers any time during the game. Plot progression and mission briefings take place at the Headquarters. A mission briefing is an analysis of an upcoming mission that helps the player to plan their approach. Pictures showing details like targets and friendly units often accompany mission briefings. The Mercenaries' Quarters is where the player can speak with mercenaries, as well as other military personnel. Some folks offer helpful tips about playing the game, while others reveal more details about the game's backstory. If the player wants more funds, the Arena is a side feature that pits a player-controlled unit against the AI for the purpose of accumulating money. Operational Records is where the player can save or load game progress at any given time. Lastly, when the player is ready to take part in a mission, they must choose the Leave Base option. This option will not be available until the player visits the Headquarters to receive the briefing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ARENA [AREN] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A returning feature from Front Mission 1st, Front Mission 2, Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, and Front Mission Online, the Arena lets the player fight opponents and win money. When fighting in an Arena match, the player must choose a unit to use for the match. Next, the player must select an opponent from a list of combatants to fight. After selecting an opponent to fight, the player must choose a fixed amount of money for the bet. If the player wins, they win an amount of money equal to the bet multiplied by the Odds rate. If they lose, the amount of money bet will be deducted from the player's total amount of funds. The Odds rate fluctuates based on the unit's composition against the enemy's. When a battle commences, the player gets to select what weapon their unit will use for the turn. After the action is completed, the player can choose their next action and so on. The goal of the battle is to destroy or disable the Arena combatant before your unit gets destroyed or disabled. Destroying a wanzer is relatively simple, but you can opt to destroy the wanzer's Arms and Legs instead. To disable a wanzer means to eliminate their ability to attack with their weapons so destroying their Arms and Legs is an alternative means to winning. There is no draw; the player successfully defeats the Arena combatant or vice versa. On a final note, weapon priority plays a role in who acts first. Fight takes priority over Long, but loses out to Short. Short takes priority over Fight, but loses out to Long. Finally, Long takes priority over Short, but loses out to Fight. If you can guess what weapon an enemy will use, you can use the information above to gain initiative when it comes to actions. Arena Screen interface: (Top Screen) --------------------------------------------------- | PILOT NAME | UNIT NAME | | PILOT NAME |---------------------------------- |---------------| Fight xxx HP |=|=|=|=| xxx | | |PICTURE| | Short xxx W/P _________ xxx | | |PICTURE| | Long xxx | | |PICTURE| | WW | ----------------- WWWWWWWWWWWW | | Pilot: xxxxxxx| WWWWWWWWWWWW | ----------------- WW WWWW WW | | Fight xxx | WW WWWW WW | | Short xxx | WW WW WW | | Long xxx | WWWW | | Agility xxx | WWWWWW | | Total xxx | WWW WWW | | Move xx | WWW WWW | | Attribute x | WWW WWW | | W/P xxx | WWW WWW | |_______________| WWWW WWWW | --------------------------------------------------- |MONEY xxxxxxx H$| --------------------------------------------------- | Player Combatant | | Odds: XXX.XX | --------------------------------------------------- (Bottom Screen) /\ /--\ ----------------- | COMBATANT | ----------------- | COMBATANT | ----------------- | COMBATANT | ----------------- | COMBATANT | ----------------- | COMBATANT | ----------------- \--/ \/ |----| |BACK| |----| --------------------------------------------------- | Help Text | | Help Text | --------------------------------------------------- Arena Screen guide: PILOT NAME - the name of the Arena combatant. PICTURE - a picture of the Arena combatant. Fight - the Arena combatant's potency in the Fight parameter. Short - the Arena combatant's potency in the Short parameter. Long - the Arena combatant's potency in the Long parameter. Agility - the Arena combatant's potency in the Agility parameter. Total - the Arena combatant's overall potency in all parameters. Move - the movement rating of the Arena combatant's unit. Attribute - the armor coating equipped on the Arena combatant's unit. UNIT NAME - the name of the unit that the Arena combatant uses. W/P - the Weight/Power Output ratio of the Arena combatant's unit. HP - the overall HP of the Arena combatant's unit. MONEY - the amount of funds available to the player for usage. ODDS - the chance of victory against the Arena combatant. If the unit is more powerful than the Arena combatant, the Odds rate will be low. High Odds rate reflects a stronger Arena combatant and a weaker player unit. COMBATANT - the name of an Arena combatant that can be fought. BACK - cancel selection and return back to pilot selection. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS(FAQ) [TFAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: How do much of the game uses the stylus? Could I opt to use the regular controls instead? A: The stylus control is used for every menu and option in the game apart from using them in battle. Stylus usage is 100% optional, although it feels more natural on the hands in terms of controlling the battles. It's up to you whether or not you want to play the game with stylus or regular controls. Q: I need help on a mission! I saw the briefing prior to the mission and made preparations, but there are things the mission didn't go through! What gives? A: The briefings are only designed to give the player a general idea of what to expect in an upcoming mission. The missions themselves tend to have extra factors to take note of that the briefings never detail. If you feel that you aren't properly prepared for the mission, you can always make adjustments at the Hangar. Q: During an Arena battle, I fought a combatant and for some reason, it was over! I didn't even destroy the combatant so I'm not sure what happened. Can you explain how I did this? A: As stated earlier, there are two means of winning Arena battles. If you are not capable of destroying the combatant, you can disable them by taking off their Arms and Legs part. Not that I'm saying this is an easy task to do, but it is an option worth taking if necessary. Q: Can I earn EXP for fighting in the Arena? A: Yes, you can earn EXP for fighting in the Arena. The amount awarded is very small and if you overpower your enemy combatant, you gain no EXP. Q: How is money calculated through Odds in the Arena? I fought a combatant at 1.01 Odds and barely got any money back! A: The amount of money you earn is basically how much you bet multiplied by the Odds rate. So if you bet 5,000 and had an Odds rate of 1.50, you will get 7,500. Subtract 5,000 you bet and 2,500 is the amount won from that battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. BATTLE SYSTEM [BATT] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This section details the fundamental mechanics of Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness' battle system. If you are looking for information on how the battles work, you are in the right section. Reading information on Wanzer Setup is also recommended as information here goes hand-in-hand with the following section. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BATTLE PHASES [PHAS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The battle system of Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness is turn-based and takes place on grid maps for movement and actions. In short, it is the same format as seen in previous Front Mission installments. The concept of Phases has returned: the player's units go first and when they have finished acting, the AI-controlled units act next. These Phases are appropriately titled as Player and Enemy Phases. A full turn, therefore, is the combination of one Player and Enemy Phase. While the player-controlled units act only in Player Phases, they can counter enemy attacks during Enemy Phases if the opportunity is possible. If the player does not need to act, they can force a Player Phase to end. Thus, the general flow of a mission is as follows: 1. Player Phase. 2. Enemy Phase. 3. Repeat until the player wins or loses. Within the general flow, the player can press the Start button to open up the System menu. This menu has been in every Front Mission game so it should be familiar to those who have played previous entries. If not, read on: System Menu Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Commands Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ End Player Phase End Player Phase. Game Settings Open up Game Settings menu. Quicksave Save mission progress. Game Settings Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Commands Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Controls Change control settings. Manual or Semi-Auto. Speed Change game speed. Normal or Fast. Battle Speed Change battle speed. Normal or Fast. Sound Change sound settings. Stereo or Monoaural. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WANZER COMBAT [WCOM] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As the main fighting unit in any Front Mission, wanzers are unique in several ways. Wanzers are compromised of four specific parts that have their own special purposes and durability parameters, known as Health Points (HP). The Legs control the wanzer's ability to move around the battlefield. The Arms allow the wanzer to attack using hand and shoulder-equipped weapons. Finally, the Body keeps the wanzer unit operating on the battlefield. Attacks damage parts on a random basis and do not focus on any specific part. Destruction of any part severely cripples a wanzer's effectiveness in battle. Without the Legs, the wanzer's movement is cut in half and thus it becomes an easy target for the enemies. Destruction of an Arm is self-explanatory; weapons equipped on it cannot be used. Lastly, destruction of the Body is the only way to eliminate a wanzer completely. Needless to say, the fastest way to destroy a wanzer is by destroying their Body parts. Most of the time, this isn't possible without taking out the Arms or Legs first. This may sound confusing at first, but the wanzer mechanics are quite easy to get into. Basically, as long as a wanzer's Body is functional, it has uses in a mission. Even if a wanzer has nothing left except a Body, it can provide assistance to the other units in some way outside of attacking. Destroyed parts can be restored with a supply truck or a Repair Backpack (more on these later), so no wanzer is truly "dead weight" until they are destroyed for good. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WANZER ACTIONS [WACT] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wanzer mechanics aside, wanzers can do a variety of actions in mission play. The most basic actions are moving, attacking, and using items. When under attack, wanzers can elect to guard and perform evasive maneuvers. Movement and attacks are self-explanatory, but attacks become unavailable if there is no enemy within weapon range or both Arms are destroyed. In the event that a unit's Arms are destroyed, a last-resort charge attack can be done by using Body Blow. The only requirement for this is that the Leg parts must still be in operational status. Body Blow will also damage the wanzer using it, so it should only be used if no other option exists. Body Blow always hits the Body part of its target. Link Attack allows two pilots to attack an enemy unit in one turn. This can only be used during the Player Phase and requires the Battle Skill, Link Attack. A unit that chooses the Guard command will defend against an enemy's attack. While guarding, the unit will take no damage until the attack exceeds its damage tolerance. If a unit has a Shield equipped, they can elect to use it instead of Guard when under attack. Using items is more of a support action as opposed to an offensive one. The basic purpose of items is being able to repair damaged parts, however they cannot restore any that have been destroyed. Unlike in Front Mission 1st, repair items are no longer restricted to just the unit who has them equipped. They can be freely given to other ally units, as long as they are within range for the repairs to take place. Unit Commands Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Command Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Move Moves the unit. Attack Attacks an enemy unit. Body Blow Attacks an enemy unit by colliding with it. Link Attack Attacks an enemy unit with ally support. End Ends the unit's turn. (appears after Move) Use Item Uses an item. Guard Perform evasive maneuvers. (appears only during Enemy Phase) Cancel Closes the command window and cancels movement. Aside from repair items, there are support items which affect the performance of player or enemy units. Their data is detailed in the following: Support Item Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Range Effect ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mine 0 Places a mine in the current location. Flash Grenade 1-4 Stuns target. Smoke Grenade 1-4 Lowers target's accuracy. Chaff Grenade 1-4 Protects against long-range attacks. Acid Bomb 1-4 Lowers target's defense. Mines damage units that end their movement on the square which they were placed in. This affects both ally and enemy units, and all parts are damaged. Flash Grenades cause Stun status, which means that the unit is defenseless and all attacks have 100% accuracy rates against them. Smoke Grenades lower the unit's weapon accuracy by 50% for all weapons in the Striker and Assault Job classes. Chaff Grenades decrease any attacking unit's accuracy by 75% for weapons in the Sniper and Launcher Job classes. Acid Bombs decrease the unit's Defense to 0 for the entire mission. Units hit by Chaff Grenades, Flash Grenades, and Smoke Grenades have a 50% chance of recovering from them on each passing turn. Flash Grenades can remain in effect for up to three turns. SPECIAL ACTIONS --------------- In regards to special actions, the player can interact with supply trucks in the game. Interacting with a supply truck requires a wanzer to stand adjacent to it. With a supply truck, the player can refill weapons out of ammunition. A supply truck is also capable of restoring destroyed parts, which makes it a vital unit to protect. If a wanzer is adjacent to a supply truck and does not move away from it, all of its parts will be repaired by a certain percentage every turn. Any destroyed parts will also be restored to 1 HP. The amount of HP repaired to damaged parts varies based on their current HP; at 1 HP, parts will recover 5% per turn. This value drops if the part has more HP. In addition to supply trucks, the player will eventually have access to a Repair Backpack known as Riff. This part has the same restoration and ammunition reload features of the supply truck. The Riff also comes with a basic repair feature, which restores 50% of a wanzer's part HP. Like the supply truck, the Riff can repair damaged parts of wanzers standing adjacent to it. The amount of HP recovered on each turn is the same as the supply truck's. Unlike the supply truck, the Riff does not restore destroyed parts by default. The unit equipped with it must manually select a destroyed part to restore. In addition, the unit with Riff cannot use its repair features on itself. Special Commands Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Command Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Resupply Refills the ammo of currently equipped weapons. Repair Restores or repairs damaged parts. (Riff) On a final note, the player can check the status of each unit on the top screen of the DS. In the original Front Mission 2089, checking status of a machine and its pilot involved selecting various options. With the DS, unit status is displayed any time a unit is selected on the bottom screen. Unit Status Screen interface: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | MACHINE STATUS || PILOT STATUS | |------------------------------------||--------------------------------------| | UNIT NAME: AC || PILOT NAME: LV. xx | | -NOW- / -MAX- || -STATE- -EXP- | | BODY xxxx / xxxx || FIGHT xx xxxx | | [****************]|| SHORT xx xxxx | | LEFT ARM xxxx / xxxx || LONG xx xxxx | | [****************]|| AGILITY xx xxxx | | RIGHT ARM xxxx / xxxx || TOTAL xxxxx | | [****************]|| | | LEGS xxxx / xxxx || -------------- SKILL: --- | | [****************]|| |PICTUREPICTU| --- | | MOVE: xx GE: xx% || |PICTUREPICTU| --- | | STATUS: --- --- || |PICTUREPICTU| --- | | --- --- || -------------- --- | -------------------------------------||--------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | UNIT NAME: -NAME- -BULLET- -RANGE- | | BODY BODY WEAPON AT xx / xx x - xx | | L. GRIP L. GRIP WEAPON AT xx / xx x - xx | | R. GRIP R. GRIP WEAPON AT xx / xx x - xx | | L. SHOULDER L. SHOULDER WEAPON AT xx / xx x - xx | | R. SHOULDER R. SHOULDER WEAPON AT xx / xx x - xx | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unit Status Screen (Machine Status) MACHINE STATUS - shows details of the selected unit's machine. UNIT NAME - the name of the selected unit's machine. AC - the armor coating of the selected unit's machine. NOW/MAX - the current/maximum HP values for the selected unit's machine. BODY - the current/maximum HP values for the selected unit's Body. LEFT ARM - the current/maximum HP values for the selected unit's Left Arm. RIGHT ARM - the current/maximum HP values for the selected unit's Right Arm. LEGS - the current/maximum HP values for the selected unit's Legs. MOVE - the movement value of the selected unit's machine. GE - the Geo Effect rating of the square the selected unit's machine is at. STATUS - the current status of the selected unit's machine. (Pilot Status) PILOT STATUS - shows details of the selected unit's pilot. LV - the overall level of the selected unit's pilot. STATE - the current Job levels of the selected unit's pilot. EXP - the current amount of EXP that the selected unit's pilot has. FIGHT - the selected unit's pilot potency in the Fight parameter. SHORT - the selected unit's pilot potency in the Short parameter. LONG - the selected unit's pilot potency in the Long parameter. AGILITY - the selected unit's pilot potency in the Agility parameter. TOTAL - the total potency of the selected unit's pilot in all parameters. PICTURE - a picture of the selected unit's pilot. SKILL - the equipped skills of the selected unit's pilot. (Equipment View) UNIT NAME - the name of the selected unit's machine. NAME - the name of the selected unit's weapons. BULLET - the current/maximum amount of ammo for the selected unit's weapons. RANGE - the minimum/maximum range values for the selected unit's weapons. BODY - the weapon equipped into the selected unit's Body. L. GRIP - the weapon equipped onto the selected unit's Left Hand. R. GRIP - the weapon equipped onto the selected unit's Right Hand. L. SHOULDER - the weapon equipped onto the selected unit's Left Shoulder. R. SHOULDER - the weapon equipped onto the selected unit's Right Shoulder. AT - the attack element (s) of the equipped weapon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GEO EFFECT [GEOF] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness retains a terrain feature from Front Mission 2089-II, Front Mission 1st, and Front Mission 2- the Geo Effect. Each square on a map has a geographical rating that influences a wanzer's ability to fight. Geo Effect affects two parameters in regards to wanzer combat: the unit's movement and weapon accuracy. A weapon's accuracy is deducted directly from the Geo Effect rating of the target's square. For example, a unit on forest terrain tends to have a Geo Effect rating of 20% or higher. Thus, the unit is hard to hit on this terrain. In urban terrain, Geo Effect ratings are generally around 5% so any units on this terrain are easy to hit. The player can equip four unique Leg types for their wanzers: Normal, Hover, Treads, and Tires. All Leg types require a certain amount of Move points to traverse one square on a map. All Leg types move well on urban terrain, but their movement will vary when they are moving across other terrain. Referring to the forest terrain example, Tires Leg types expend 3 Move points to move one square. Normal Leg types, however, expend 4 Move points for every square of movement on this terrain. Leg types that move well on a certain terrain will always have a Move cost of 2. However, on terrains where a Leg type is unable to move well, the Move cost can be as high as 5. Geo Effect and Move cost information can be viewed on the top screen of the DS during a mission. Elevation also plays a role in what terrain each Leg type can move on. So, while Tires Leg types may seem great on flat surfaces, they can ascend or descend one elevation level at a time. Normal Leg types can ascend or descend two elevation levels at any given time. Ascending or descending inclines requires an extra Move point. If a unit with Normal Leg types is moving across forest terrain with a Move cost of 4 and is scaling an incline, then the actual Move cost is 5. Leg Types Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type Elevation Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Normal 2 Good for quickly moving up or down inclines. Treads 1 Good movement on ground terrain. Hover 1 Good movement on ground terrain and bodies of water. Tires 1 Good movement on paved surfaces. Terrain Types Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Terrain Geo Effect Normal Treads Hover Tires ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Air Force Base 15% 3 3 2 2 Air Force Base (Night) 20% 3 3 2 2 Arena 8% 3 3 2 2 Base 15% 3 3 2 2 Base (Night) 20% 3 3 2 2 Bridge 15% 3 3 2 2 City 15% 3 3 2 2 City (Night) 20% 3 3 2 2 Desert 3% 4 2 2 3 Desert [Road] (Night) 8% 4 2 2 3 Dirt 8% 3 3 2 2 Dirt (Night) 17% 3 3 2 2 Factory 15% 3 3 2 2 Factory (Night) 20% 3 3 2 2 Fortress 20% 3 3 2 2 Forward Base 15% 3 3 2 2 Forward Base (Night) 20% 3 3 2 2 Grass 8% 3 3 2 2 Grass (Night) 17% 3 3 2 2 Mountain Front 5% 3 4 2 4 Mountain Front (Night) 10% 3 4 2 4 Port 8% 3 3 2 2 Port (Night) 15% 3 3 2 2 River 0% 4 5 2 4 River (Night) 15% 4 5 2 4 Snow 8% 3 3 2 2 Waterside 0% 4 5 2 4 Woods 20% 4 3 2 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ATTACK ELEMENTS [ATEL] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A feature first seen in Front Mission 2 and later in Front Mission 3, Front Mission 4, Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, Front Mission 2089-II, and lastly in Front Mission Online, attack elements are attributes that dictate the type of damage a weapon can do. All weapons fall under one of the three attack elements. Attack Element Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Element Effect ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Piercing Penetrates through the target's armor. Impact Applies tremendous pressure at target's armor. Fire Burns through the target's armor. This basically means that all weapons will have different effects when used against particular enemies. Specifically, weapon damage is affected by an enemy's armor coating. Resistance to one of the elements decreases damage by 24%, but this will be cut to 20% towards weapons made up of two attack elements. Armor coating applies to all parts of a machine, including wanzers. The player can freely change the armor coating applied to their units at the Hangar. However, only one type of armor coating can be added to the unit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ JOB TYPES [JTYP] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A standard mechanic found in every strategy RPG, Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness incorporates a Job class system. Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness has five unique Job classes - Striker, Assault, Sniper, Launcher, and Mechanic. Striker is a class that specializes in the Fight parameter and in melee weaponry such as knuckles, pile bunkers, rods, and a wanzer's bare arms. Assault is a class that specializes in the Short parameter and in close range weaponry such as machine guns, vulcans, shotguns, and flamethrowers. Sniper is a class that specializes in the Long parameter and in hand-mounted, long range weaponry such as rifles, bazookas, and grenade launchers. Launcher is a class that also specializes in the Long parameter, but specializes in shoulder-mounted weaponry like missile and rocket launchers. Lastly, Mechanic is a class that specializes in the Agility parameter and evasive maneuvers. In mission play, the player units gain experience towards any of the four parameters mentioned above. Using weapons designated for Striker, Assault, Sniper, and Launcher Job classes will result in experience in a particular parameter. It is also possible to gain some experience in Long by using Acid Bombs, Chaff Grenades, Flash Grenades, and Smoke Grenades. To gain experience in the Agility parameter, a player unit has to be attacked by an enemy unit on either the Player or Enemy Phase. Experience gained is directed towards one of the parameters depending on the action used. For example, if Storm attacks an enemy with a Short weapon and EXP + 100 shows on the battle screen, 100 EXP is added to the Short parameter. The EXP amount fluctuates based on enemy composition; strong enemies yield large EXP gains. Extra EXP is gained by destroying enemy parts, especially if the Body part is destroyed. In the event of improving Agility, the EXP gain is determined by Pilot Level. A higher Pilot Level results in more EXP gained whenever the Guard command is used. In addition, is also possible to get EXP in Agility when electing to use an equipped Shield. However, the EXP gain will differ depending on what range the Shield is used from. The EXP gain will be the same as Guard against Launcher and Sniper weapons, but it will be much smaller against Striker or Assault weapons. Furthermore, using a Shield during counterattacks prevents the unit from evading enemy attacks. Lastly, Agility EXP can also be gained whenever you attack with a Striker or Assault weapon, so long as the enemy target counterattacks the attacking unit. Constant use of weapons in a particular Job class will lead to an increase in Job Levels. Higher Job Levels in a particular Job class will increase the accuracy and damage of weapons which correspond to that class. In the case of the Agility parameter, higher Job Levels will increase the maximum damage tolerance when using the Guard command. For example, at Agility Level 9, a unit's damage tolerance is only 5 points - this means that the wanzer will only be damaged if the attack deals over 5 points of damage. By successfully guarding against numerous enemy attacks, the unit's Agility Level will go up and its damage tolerance will increase. A higher Agility Level will also improve a unit's ability to dodge enemy attacks. BATTLE SKILLS ------------- At certain point values for each parameter, a pilot can learn Battle Skills. Basically, they are pilot abilities that increase the potency of weapons used in battle at random. There are eight Battle Skills in total that a pilot can learn, but pilots are limited to five skills maximum. Likewise, not all pilots can learn all skills or have the five skills maximum. To learn skills, a pilot must level up apart from meeting the point value requirement. Pilot levels are increased up accumulating a certain amount of total EXP in all of the parameters. Bonus EXP is added to all Job parameters during each level increase. If a pilot reaches the maximum of 50 levels, they cannot learn any more skills. Most pilots have three point value intervals and thus three chances to learn a skill from the Fight, Short, or Long parameters. There are no skills for the Agility parameter unfortunately. The point value intervals will vary depending on the parameter's value and the pilot's specialties. A pilot that specializes in Striker will get skills early in Fight, whereas a Launcher training in Fight will take more time to learn skills. It is important to note that skills cannot be removed and if the pilot's skill slots are full, no more skills can be obtained. When you can learn Battle Skills, the following menu will be displayed: /\ /--\ ----------------- |SKILL NAME Lv x| |SKILL NAME Lv x| |SKILL NAME Lv x| |SEE | |SKIP | ----------------- \--/ \/ Skill Acquisition Guide: SKILL NAME - the name of the selected Battle Skill. Lv - the proficiency level of the selected Battle Skill. SEE - see the currently learned Battle Skills. SKIP - skip skill acquisition. Skill Acquisition Example: 1. Storm uses a Striker weapon and gains 55 EXP. 2. 55 EXP is added to Fight, which gives him over 1500 in this parameter. 3. Storm gains a Pilot Level increase. 4. Storm is only at Pilot Level 40 and has two skill slots left so the skill list for Fight appears. 5. Storm chooses to equip the Fight skill "Double". 6. If Storm does not choose to equip a Fight skill, the list appears whenever Storm gains a Pilot Level increase and has one skill slot left. 7. Storm will not learn any more skills if he is at Pilot Level 50 and has no more skill slots left. The Fight skill list does not appear in this case. Battle Skills always start at Level 1. Constant usage of Battle Skills will increase its level and therefore increase its potency. The final level is known as "Last", which has an extremely low chance of happening. The chances of getting the "Last" level are 1/2000, so you really have to get lucky for this to appear. Job Level Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Level Total EXP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 0 10 256 11 512 12 768 13 1024 14 1280 15 1536 16 1792 17 2048 18 2304 19 2560 20 2816 21 3072 22 3328 23 3584 24 3840 25 4096 26 4352 27 4608 28 4864 29 5120 30 5376 31 5632 32 5888 33 6144 34 6400 35 6656 36 6912 37 7168 38 7424 39 7680 40 7936 41 8192 42 8448 43 8704 44 8960 45 9216 46 9472 47 9728 48 9984 Pilot Level Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pilot Level Total EXP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 0 2 200 3 400 4 700 5 1000 6 1300 7 1600 8 1900 9 2200 10 2500 11 2800 12 3100 13 3400 14 3700 15 4000 16 4400 17 4800 18 5200 19 5600 20 6000 21 6600 22 7200 23 7800 24 8400 25 9000 26 9600 27 10200 28 11000 29 11800 30 12600 31 13400 32 14200 33 15000 34 16000 35 17000 36 18000 37 19000 38 20000 39 21200 40 22400 41 23600 42 24800 43 26000 44 27400 45 28800 46 30200 47 31900 48 33600 49 35500 50 37500 Pilot Specialty Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pilot Specialty Skill Slots ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Main Characters) Storm (Ernest J. Salinger) Assault 5 Rain (Rei Amamiya) Assault 5 Champ (Stan Williams) Striker 5 Oddeye (Kate S. Houjou) Launcher 5 Gray (Ash Wright-Firth) Sniper 5 (Other) Hepaist Mechanic 5 Dark Knight (Roy) Assault 5 Pilot Bonus EXP Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Range Fight Short Long Agility ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Main Characters) Storm (Ernest J. Salinger) 3-10 15 19 15 17 ---------- 11-20 20 28 20 24 ---------- 21-30 25 37 25 31 ---------- 31-40 30 46 30 38 ---------- 41-50 35 55 35 45 Rain (Rei Amamiya) 2-10 15 17 15 17 ---------- 11-20 20 24 20 24 ---------- 21-30 25 31 25 31 ---------- 31-40 30 38 30 38 ---------- 41-50 35 45 35 45 Champ (Stan Williams) 2-10 19 13 15 17 ---------- 11-20 28 16 20 24 ---------- 21-30 37 19 25 31 ---------- 31-40 46 22 30 38 ---------- 41-50 55 25 35 45 Oddeye (Kate S. Houjou) 2-10 15 17 17 15 ---------- 11-20 20 24 24 20 ---------- 21-30 25 31 31 25 ---------- 31-40 30 38 38 30 ---------- 41-50 35 45 45 35 Gray (Ash Wright-Firth) 6-10 15 15 19 15 ---------- 11-20 20 20 28 20 ---------- 21-30 25 25 37 25 ---------- 31-40 30 30 46 30 ---------- 41-50 35 35 55 35 (Other) Hepaist 2-10 13 13 13 17 ---------- 11-20 16 16 16 24 ---------- 21-30 19 19 19 31 ---------- 31-40 22 22 22 38 ---------- 41-50 25 25 25 45 Dark Knight (Roy) 29-30 37 37 37 37 ---------- 31-40 46 46 46 46 ---------- 41-50 55 55 55 55 Pilot Skills Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Fight Short Long ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Main Characters) Storm (Ernest J. Salinger) Stun/Double/First Duel/Speed/Switch Guide Rain (Rei Amamiya) Stun/Double/First Duel/Speed/Switch Guide Champ (Stan Williams) Stun/Double/First Duel/Switch None Oddeye (Kate S. Houjou) Stun Duel/Speed/Switch Guide Gray (Ash Wright-Firth) Double Duel/Speed/Switch Guide (Other) Hepaist None None None Dark Knight (Roy) Stun/Double/First Duel/Speed* Guide For the Link skill, Link Attack, all main characters can learn it. Notes: * - pilot already has the skill equipped. - Dark Knight's (Roy) Speed starts at Level 2. Pilot Skill EXP Requirements Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Fight Short Long ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Main Characters) Storm (Ernest J. Salinger) 1500/3000/4500 1000/2000/3500 3000 Rain (Rei Amamiya) 1500/3000/4500 1000/2000/3500 3000 Champ (Stan Williams) 1500/3000/4500 5000/7000 0 Oddeye (Kate S. Houjou) 3000 1500/3000/4500 750 Gray (Ash Wright-Firth) 7000 1500/3000/4500 750 (Other) Hepaist 0 0 0 Dark Knight (Roy) 2500! 5000 3500* The Link skill, Link Attack, can be learned through two ways: 1. A pilot's proficiency in Fight, Short, or Long is over 1500. 2. A pilot's proficiencies in Fight, Short, and Long is over 1000. Notes: ! - Dark Knight (Roy) can learn two skills based on his starting proficiency. * - Dark Knight (Roy) can learn one skill based on his starting proficiency. Battle Skills Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Type Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stun Fight Stuns target with a melee attack. Double Fight Strikes target twice with melee attacks. First Fight Grants first strike during battle. Duel Short Aim at selected wanzer parts. Switch Short Attacks again with a different weapon. Speed Short Adds extra attacks to burst weapons. Guide Long Aim at selected wanzer parts. Link Attack Link Provide attack support to a nearby unit. Notes: Learning Link Attack gives access to the command, "Link Attack". Link Attack operates similar to how it appears from Front Mission 2, Front Mission 3, Front Mission 4, and Front Mission 5: Scars of the War. Two units must be within weapon range and must not have acted yet in order to initiate the link. Linked attacks can only be initiated between two of the three weapon types: Fight, Short, or Long. They do not work if you intend to use two units using Fight, Short, or Long class weapons. All units will do 50% more damage than usual when using Link Attack. For example, Storm uses Short class weapons and Champ uses Fight class weapons. As long as they are within range, they can initiate Links. If Storm and Champ both used Short class weapons, they cannot initiate Links. Lastly, initiating Links ends the turn of the units involved regardless if the first unit manages to destroy the targeted enemy. Battle Skills Level Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Level Potency ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stun 1 Stun status lasts for up to three turns. 40% activation. Stun 2 Stun status lasts for up to three turns. 60% activation. Stun 3 Stun status lasts for up to three turns. 80% activation. Stun Last Stun status lasts for up to three turns. 90% activation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Double 1 Up to three extra attacks are made. 40% activation. Double 2 Up to three extra attacks are made. 60% activation. Double 3 Up to three extra attacks are made. 80% activation. Double Last Up to three extra attacks are made. 90% activation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First 1 40% activation. First 2 60% activation. First 3 80% activation. First Last 100% activation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Duel 1 Weapon accuracy is reduced by 50%. 40% activation. Duel 2 Weapon accuracy is reduced by 25%. 60% activation. Duel 3 Weapon accuracy stays the same. 80% activation. Duel Last Weapon accuracy is increased to 100%. 100% activation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Switch 1 Up to two extra attacks are made. 30% activation. Switch 2 Up to two extra attacks are made. 50% activation. Switch 3 Up to two extra attacks are made. 80% activation. Switch Last Up to two extra attacks are made. 90% activation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Speed 1 One extra round is fired. 20% activation. Speed 2 Two extra rounds are fired. 40% activation. Speed 3 Three extra rounds are fired. 60% activation. Speed Last Three extra rounds are fired. 80% activation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guide 1 Weapon accuracy is reduced by 50%. 40% activation. Guide 2 Weapon accuracy is reduced by 25%. 60% activation. Guide 3 Weapon accuracy stays the same. 80% activation. Guide Last Weapon accuracy is increased to 100%. 100% activation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Notes: For Duel and Guide, there is a chance of the skill gaining a level even if you choose not to use it. When leveling up Double and Switch, the maximum number of activations stays the same. The only difference is that the chance of reaching the maximum number of activations will increase. Double and Switch will be far more likely to reach three and two activations respectively at higher levels. The same mechanic also applies to Stun. Link Attack has no proficiency levels. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WEAPON TYPES [WTYP] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This section discusses the weapon types that are used by both friendly and enemy pilots for the purposes of mission play and Arena battling. STRIKER ------- Weapon Types: Punch, Knuckle, Pile Bunker, Rod Weapon Location: Hand Weapon Range: 1 Description: Striker weapons are single-hit melee weapons that deal large amounts of damage and rarely miss. Striker weapons are last in the attack priority so expect to take damage before being able to attack. This is balanced out by the fact that a Striker weapon often hits the Body and therefore leads to easy kills. Punch refers to the melee attack, called Arm Punch, that occurs if an Arm has no Hand weapons equipped. Unlike in Front Mission 1st, the Arm Punch has been balanced and is much weaker than it was before. Knuckles, Pile Bunkers, and Rods are melee weapons that can be equipped on a wanzer's Arms. Arm Punch, Knuckle, and Rod weapons are Impact-based, whereas Pile Bunkers are Piercing weapons. ASSAULT ------- Weapon Types: Machine Gun, Vulcan, Shotgun, Flamethrower Weapon Location: Hand Weapon Range: 1 Description: Assault weapons are either multi-hit or single-hit weapons. Multi-hit weapons consist of Machine Guns, Vulcans, and Shotguns, which have weak single round damage. Unlike in Front Mission 1st, Shotguns now fire more than once so they are classified as multi-hit weapons. Flamethrowers still fall under the single-hit category much like Striker weapons. Of the weapons, Shotguns and Flamethrowers possess the greatest accuracy in this class. The trade-off here is damage output. The Machine Gun and Vulcan weapons have less accuracy, but deal more damage. In terms of attack elements, Machine Guns and Vulcans are Piercing, Shotguns do Impact damage, and Flamethrowers are predictably Fire types. SNIPER ------ Weapon Types: Rifle, Bazooka, Grenade Launcher Weapon Location: Hand Weapon Range: varies, base 2-3 (Rifle)/base 1-4 (Bazooka, Grenade Launcher) Description: Sniper weapons are ranged weapons that deal high, single-round damage from a distance. Sniper weapons include Rifles, Bazookas, and Grenade Launchers. Unlike in Front Mission 1st, Rifles are now strictly ranged weapons that have high accuracy in exchange for less damage output. Bazookas and Grenade Launchers are unique in that they can be used from both close and long ranges. The drawback is that their accuracy is fairly low, so misses are more common with them. Rifles are Piercing-based, Bazookas do a combination of Impact and Fire damage, and Grenade Launchers are Fire types. LAUNCHER -------- Weapon Types: Missile Launcher, Rocket Launcher Weapon Location: Shoulder Weapon Range: varies, base 3-4 Description: Launcher weapons are either single-hit or multi-hit weapons that can be fired from a long distance. The selling point of such a weapon is that the enemy unit cannot counterattack the user and unlike Sniper weapons, they possess higher damage outputs. Launcher weapons do have a minimum firing range, and cannot be fired at close ranges though. They are also the only weapons to have ammunition limits and must be reloaded when ammo has been used up. There is no difference between a Missile Launcher and a Rocket Launcher as both have the same functionality. Their attack elements are also shared - Fire. MECHANIC -------- Weapon Types: Shield Weapon Location: Shoulder Weapon Range: 0 Description: Mechanic weapons are purely for defensive purposes. They are used to raise a wanzer's Defense parameter and increase the damage tolerance when the wanzer uses the Guard command. Shields are useful in defending against attacks from both Sniper and Launcher weapons. That's all there is to know about Mechanic weapons. BUILT-IN -------- Weapon Types: Punch, Machine Gun, Shotgun, Flamethrower, Bazooka, Cannon Weapon Location: Hand Weapon Range: varies depending on weapon class Description: Built-in weapons are self-explanatory: weapons incorporated into a wanzer's Arm parts. Built-in weapons tend to weigh less than equipping a normal Arm and a Hand-specifc weapon, making them quite useful. These are balanced out by the fact that the Arms tend to have low Defense and HP, making them easy to destroy. Cannons are the same as Machine Guns and Vulcans; they are under the Assault class as multi-hit weapons. They only differ in terms of attack elements; Cannons are both Piercing and Fire-based. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS(FAQ) [BFAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: What is the maximum amount of Move that can be attained in the game? A: The maximum amount of Move that can be attained is 25. This is equal to 12 squares of movement with a Move Cost of 2 per square. Q: What is the maximum amount of damage that can be inflicted in a single attack? A: The maximum amount of damage that can be inflicted is 999. Q: What is the maximum amount of Guard that can be attained in the game? A: The maximum amount of Guard at the highest Dodge Level is 108. When using a certain Shield, the maximum Guard is 137. Q: What is the maximum amount of Agility EXP that can be gained from using the Guard command? A: The maximum amount of Agility EXP when using the Guard command is 50. Q: What are the bare minimums and maximums of Cover? A: The bare minimum for Cover is 0%. The maximum is 20%. Q: What is the maximum amount of money that can be gotten in the game? A: The maximum amount of money that can be gotten is 9,999,999. Q: If I manually end the Player Phase, does that mean the Enemy Phase ends as well? A: No, the Enemy Phase does not automatically end if you manually end the Player Phase. It continues as usual until all enemy units have made their actions. For the most part, manually ending the Player Phase is never a good idea. Q: One of my wanzers got both Arms destroyed! What am I going to do with a unit that can't attack? A: You several options in this case. The first is to restore the destroyed Arms via supply truck or Riff as soon as possible. The second is to keep the unit's Body operating until your other units come to its aid. If your Legs part is still operational, you can do a charge attack in the meantime. This will cause damage to your own wanzer, so only use it when necessary. Lastly, try to complete the mission before the damaged unit is eliminated. Q: I want to access the supply truck to reload my weapons but I don't see any commands about this. Is there something that I have to do to access the supply truck? A: Whenever you want to access the supply truck, one of your units must be one square adjacent from the supply truck. On the following turn, you can use the supply truck to exchange your weapons. If you are already beside the supply truck and haven't acted, you can access it on your current turn. The option to interact with the supply truck disappears once the unit moves out of the supply truck's range. Q: Every time I try to attack this unit in a mission, my shots keep missing! I have Arms with a high accuracy parameter on my wanzer that's attacking it but that's not helping out! Why is this? A: There are only two explanations for this. The first is that the enemy is on a terrain with a high Geo Effect rating. Lure that particular enemy out of the terrain so your attacks will connect instead of miss. The second is that your weapons have low accuracy. While Arm accuracy does augment the accuracy of the equipped weapons, it is important to use weapons with high accuracy parameters. A weapon with low accuracy parameters will result in a lot of misses even with high accuracy Arms. Q: I have all of my pilots equipped with Short weapons but I notice that some of them do more damage and get better accuracy rates than others. During the level ups for pilots, some get more bonus EXP for Short. Is this expected or am I missing out on something? A: Pilots specializing in a Job class will gain boosted accuracy and damage as a result of focusing the EXP gains in that class alone. All pilots can receive these bonuses with enough training and proficiency. However, you are right in that some pilots will level up more quickly in a certain Job class which they are naturally gifted at. In any case, it's far better to specialize than to train in multiple Job classes for your pilots. Q: Is it possible to gain experience from using any of the support items? A: Yes. Using Acid Bombs, Chaff Grenades, Flash Grenades, and Smoke Grenades will yield EXP in the Long class. Q: Is it possible to remove Battle Skills or am I stuck with what I chose? A: Battle Skills cannot be removed once they are equipped. The only way to get them off is to play a new game file. Make sure you choose your skills wisely. Q: What weapon should I equip for my pilots? I know that each weapon falls in one of the five Job classes but there's not much of a difference with each weapon that I see. A: It's personal preference really. If you want to train under a certain Job class, you should consider equipping weapons designated for that class. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. WANZER SETUP [WSET] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This section details the mechanics and features behind the customization and creation of wanzers. Reading information about the Battle System is highly recommended as information here goes hand-in-hand with the aforementioned section. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WANZER DESIGN [WDES] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Designing wanzers is a daunting task if you are new to Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. This is where Front Mission really stands out of the strategy RPG crowd and thus, it has its own section. Designing a wanzer will be broken down into sections as to ensure that you understand the process behind wanzer configuration. FRAME PARTS ----------- The wanzer frame consists of the parts that make up the actual wanzer. This consists of a Body, a Right Arm, a Left Arm, and the Legs. A unit cannot be created unless the wanzer frame is complete. The Body part is top priority over the Arms and Legs for a good reason. Special to the Body is the Power parameter, which is essentially the lifeblood of any wanzer. Every part has a Weight parameter that is subtracted from the Power parameter. The overall Weight value of a wanzer must be always be equal to or lower than the Power value or it cannot be used in battles. Therefore, choosing the right Body is key to creating a powerful wanzer. Next in terms of design priority are the Right and Left Arms. A wanzer's only means of attacking are through its Arms and without them, it is helpless. The Hit parameter is special to Arm parts; it enhances the accuracy values of an equipped weapon. A weapon that has low Hit values can benefit from an Arm with a high Hit value. An Arm without a hand-specific weapon can be used as a Melee attack that has its own Attack and Hit values. Built-in weapon Arms are viable options as they result in lower Weight values for a wanzer. Their drawback lies in the fact that no hand-specific weapon can be equipped on Arms of this type. The last part in designing a wanzer is the Legs. The only purpose of the Legs is to allow the wanzer to traverse over various terrain and elevation. The Move parameter is special to Legs only and dictates how much a wanzer can move of course. The amount of Move needed to traverse a square depends on the Leg type and the square's terrain type. Some Leg parts can raise the wanzer's Power value. Normal Leg types will suffice for the entire game, but Treads, Tires, and Hover Leg types have their uses on certain terrains. One last notable detail to mention is that the Move value can be increased depending on a wanzer's Weight/Power difference. For every 10% of free Weight that a wanzer has, 1 point is added to its Move value. Those extra Move points can make a difference, so try to keep your wanzers as light as possible. Extra Move Guide: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Move Weight/Power ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 80-89% 2 70-79% 3 60-69% 4 50-59% 5 Less than 50% SUPPORT PARTS ------------- After a wanzer frame has been fully assembled, support parts can be equipped to boost the effectiveness of the wanzer. Backpacks are parts mounted onto a wanzer's back that increase the following: item storage, Power value, and the range of support items such as Chaff Grenades. Backpacks have no drawbacks of any kind and therefore should always be equipped onto a wanzer. In regards to items, items can also be traded between other units. This action can only be done in the Setup menu. A special Backpack that exists is called the Riff. The Riff is the only way for units to reload weapons and restore destroyed parts on wanzers without the use of a supply truck. As a special Backpack, the Riff does not have the same features as a normal Backpack. The second support part that a wanzer can equip are Computers. Computers are parts that raise a pilot's proficiency in all Job classes. Computers tend to specialize towards one of the four Job classes, though there are ones that enhance all Job classes equally. Computers raise weapon accuracy in the Job classes, and in the case of Agility, raises evasion rates. Thus, equipping the proper Computer for the right pilot is an easy task to do. ATTACKING PARTS --------------- Now that the wanzer has been equipped with its frame and support parts, it's time to give it some firepower. A wanzer can equip up to four weapons: two on the Hands and two on the Shoulders. Technically, a wanzer can have a fifth one in terms of a Body with built-in weapons, but this is exclusive to mobile weapons. Knowing what weapon to equip depends on the pilot who will use the wanzer and their Job specialty. Hand weapons are generally lighter than the shoulder weapons so they should be your first concern. For Launcher units, shoulder weapons should be their top priority. While it is possible to fully load a wanzer with weapons, this is bad wanzer design in most cases. No more than two weapons should be equipped on any wanzer for optimal performance. Wanzer Design priority: 1. Body 2. Arms 3. Legs 4. Backpack 5. Computer 6. Hand Weapons 7. Shoulder Weapons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WANZER PARAMETERS [WPAR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wanzer parameters for all parts will be documented here and split into the appropriate sections. (Commonly Shared Parameters) DF - the Defense parameter. High Defense values result in reduced damage. HP - the HP parameter. High HP values result in greater part durability. WEIGHT - the Weight parameter. Low Weight values result in extra Move points. POWER - the Power parameter. High values result in more design flexibility. (Body) INT. WEAPON - weapons integrated into the Body part (built-in weapons). AT - the Attack parameter. High values result in greater damage potential. HIT - the Hit parameter. High values result in less attacks missing. (Arms) HIT - the Hit parameter. High values result in greater weapon Hit values. INT. WEAPON - weapons integrated into the Arm part (built-in weapons). AT - the Attack parameter. High values result in greater damage potential. HIT - the Hit parameter. High values result in less attacks missing. (Legs) MOVE - the Move parameter. High values result in greater movement distance. (Computers) FIGHT - the Fight parameter. Raises proficiency in the Fight parameter. SHORT - the Short parameter. Raises proficiency in the Short parameter. LONG - the Long parameter. Raises proficiency in the Long parameter. AGILITY - the Agility parameter. Raises proficiency in the Agility parameter. (Backpacks) ITEM - the Item parameter. Raises the maximum amount of equipped items. RANGE - the Range parameter. Raises the maximum range of items. (Weapons) AT - the Attack parameter. High values result in greater damage potential. HIT - the Hit parameter. High values result in less attacks missing. RANGE - the Range parameter. Dictates the minimum and maximum weapon range. AMMO - the Ammo parameter. Ammo must be replenished by supply truck or Riff. TYPE - the Type parameter. Classifies weapons under the Job classes. (Overall) FIGHT - the wanzer's potency in the Fight parameter. SHORT - the wanzer's potency in the Short parameter. LONG - the wanzer's potency in the Long parameter. AGILITY - the wanzer's potency in the Agility parameter. TOTAL - the wanzer's overall potency in all parameters. MOVE - the wanzer's Move value. W/P - the difference between the wanzer's Weight/Power values. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WANZER TYPES [WANT] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Assuming that you have read the Wanzer Design and Wanzer Parameter sections, it's time to learn about viable wanzer builds that can be used. STRIKER ------- Striker builds are designed for Fight specialists. The basic idea behind a Striker build is having a wanzer geared for close-range combat and to act as a tank unit. Parameters that a Striker build focuses on are HP and Defense mainly since they attack last against ranged enemy units. The combination of high HP and Defense makes a Striker build hard to kill, which allows them to operate as tanks. Striker builds generally are used to finish off enemies due to how Fight weapons operate in general. When shopping for new parts, go for ones with high Defense since they are easy to identify. Equip Knuckles, Pile Bunkers, and Rods when possible as they deal more damage than Arm Punch. Arms with high punch damage, though, have the highest Defense ratings so they're easy to idenfity. Finally, a Shield should always be equipped on Striker builds for more durability. Build checklist: Frame - HP and Defense. Support - Backpack and Fight-specialty computer. Attacking - Knuckle/Pile Bunker/Rod x 2 on Hand. Shield on Shoulder. Sample build: Body - Valiant Left Arm - Valiant Right Arm - Valiant Legs - Valiant Backpack - Bag Worm Computer - Evolucion WW-87 L. Grip - Battle Tusk R. Grip - Crusader L. Shoulder - WS-14B R. Shoulder - None ASSAULT ------- Assault builds are designed for Short specialists. The basic idea behind an Assault build is having a wanzer geared for close-range combat and act as the main attacking unit. Parameters that an Assault build focuses on are Hit and Move for hit-and-run tactics with enemy units. Assault weapons lack the accuracy that Striker weapons possess so an Arm with a high Hit value results in more damage dealt. Assault builds do most of the fighting so being able to reach enemy targets is key with a high Move value. HP also matters since Assault units will take a lot of damage. When shopping for new parts, choose a balanced Body to suit the needs of an Assault build. Buy Arms with high Hit ratings for the purposes of better accuracy. For the Legs, high Move is important but stick with Normal Leg types to get the most mileage out of them. A Machine Gun or Vulcan paired with a Shotgun or Flamethrower is a good balance of multi-hit and single hit-weaponry. Top it off with a Shield to be safe. Build checklist: Frame - Hit, Move, and HP. Support - Backpack and Short-specialty computer. Attacking - Machine Gun/Vulcan and Shotgun/Flamethrower on Hand. Shield on Shoulder. Sample build: Body - Zenith V Left Arm - Zenith V Right Arm - Zenith V Legs - Zenith V Backpack - Bag Worm Computer - Yeata RG-0624z L. Grip - FV-24B R. Grip - Covet V300 L. Shoulder - WS-14B R. Shoulder - None SNIPER ------ Sniper builds are designed for Long specialists. The basic idea behind a Sniper build is having a wanzer geared for distance combat and acting as Link support for Strikers and Assaults. Parameters that a Sniper build focuses on are Hit, Move, and Power. The weapons designated for a Sniper build are very heavy so a lot of Power is vital to these builds. Despite the nature of their role, Move is important in order to get within a good attacking position. As long as they are not forced into a fight at close range, take advantage of their ranged weaponry. When shopping for new parts, go for the Body with the highest Power rating. Follow the same guidelines for Assault builds when searching for Arms. For the Legs, choose something with a reasonably high Move rating. As for the weapons, load both Arms with a Rifle and a Bazooka or Grenade Launcher. Build checklist: Frame - Hit, Move, and Power. Support - Backpack and Long-specialty computer. Attacking - Rifle and Bazooka/Grenade Launcher on Hand. Sample build: Body - Phantom Left Arm - Phantom Right Arm - Phantom Legs - Phantom Backpack - Bag Worm Computer - Yeata RG-0624z L. Grip - Rock Jack R. Grip - Firebird L. Shoulder - None R. Shoulder - None LAUNCHER -------- Launcher builds are designed for Long specialists. Similar to Sniper builds, their role is providing long range support for Striker and Assault units. Parameters that a Launcher build focuses on are Hit and Power. Their weapons are even heavier than Sniper weapons, so it's imperative that your Power value is very high. Launchers are crippled up close and should ideally stay farthest away from enemy units. Use them to weaken or finish off enemy units rather than in Links. When shopping for new parts, go for the Body with the highest Power rating. Follow the same guidelines for Assault builds when searching for Arms. The Legs don't matter to a Launcher build so do whatever you want with them. As for the weapons, load both Shoulders with Missile and Rocket Launchers. They don't need Arm weapons to contribute to the fight. Build checklist: Frame - Hit and Power. Support - Backpack and Long-specialty computer. Attacking - Missile Launcher/Rocket Launcher x 2 on Shoulder. Sample build: Body - Igel Eins Horn Left Arm - Igel Eins Horn Right Arm - Igel Eins Horn Legs - Igel Eins Horn Backpack - Bag Worm Computer - Yeata RG-0624z L. Grip - None R. Grip - None L. Shoulder - Albatross R. Shoulder - Donkey DX2 MECHANIC -------- Mechanic builds are designed for Agility specialists. Their role is purely support-based as far as combat goes. Mechanic builds only require two things: HP, Defense, and Move. As they will be out on the field doing repair work, expect enemies to come at them constantly. With high HP and Defense, Mechanic units can be used to eat the bulk of the damage from enemy forces. With high Move, Mechanic units can reach other ally units and repair them more easily. When shopping for new parts, follow the same guidelines as you would with a Striker build. Don't forget to equip a Riff Backpack, as well as two Shields for defensive measures. Mechanic units won't really need to be on the attack, so don't worry too much about their weapon loadout. Build checklist: Frame - HP, Defense, and Move. Support - Repair Backpack and Agility-specialty computer. Attacking - Shield x 2 on Shoulder. Sample build: Body - Eldos Left Arm - Eldos Right Arm - Eldos Legs - Eldos Backpack - Riff Computer - Evolucion WW-87 L. Grip - None R. Grip - None L. Shoulder - WS-14B R. Shoulder - WS-14B HYBRID ------ Hybrid builds consist of fusions between two or three of the five builds combined. Hybrid builds may seem attractive due to their all-purpose role, but these builds are the hardest to make. Balancing all of the parts to have an effective hybrid build takes a lot of number-crunching and analysis of the parts available. It is doable to create hybrid builds but you will have to spend some time searching for the right parts. Build checklist: Frame - Balance. Support - Backpack and balanced computer. Attacking - 1 Striker, 1 Assault, or 1 Sniper on Hand. 1 Gunner on Shoulder. Sample build: Body - Phantom Left Arm - Zenith V Right Arm - Numsekar Legs - Igel Eins Horn Backpack - Bag Worm Computer - SI Prototype VP-6Gr L. Grip - FV-24B R. Grip - Crusader L. Shoulder - None R. Shoulder - Donkey DX2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS(FAQ) [WFAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: Why should I follow the wanzer design priority list? I've already made a few wanzers and it seems that I'm doing things right. A: The wanzer design priority list is a guideline on how to successfully create wanzers in the easiest way possible. Logically, a player will start off with the frame parts and leave the attacking parts for last. The wanzer design priority breaks these steps down to its simplest steps. You don't have to follow it, but it helps out a lot if you're new to Front Mission. Q: When I try to equip a part on my wanzer, the game tells me that I can't equip it! What am I doing wrong? A: The most common issue is that your wanzer's Weight value exceeds that of its Power value. You can easily solve this by equipping lighter parts and weapons. The second issue is that you are trying to equip a Hand weapon on an Arm with built-in weapons. Hand weapons cannot be equipped onto these types of Arms no matter what you do. Shoulder weapons, with the exception of a few, cannot be equipped on these Arms as well. Q: What is the Agility parameter for when it comes to unit customization? I don't know what it's supposed to do. A: The Agility parameter determines the chances of a unit dodging an enemy's attack. This value can be increased by equipping stronger wanzer parts and by equipping Shields. The effect is relatively minor though - the only way you can see the difference is if you pit an early-game wanzer against a late-game model. The Geo Effect rating is far more important when it comes to unit evasion. Q: Can you explain what the range on a Backpack stands for? I'm clueless on what is affected by the Backpack's Range parameter. A: Range on a Backpack increases the maximum range of support items. Support items don't play much of a role in battle, so the boosted Range isn't that useful. However, if your units are up against strong opposition or are about to be hit with loads of missiles, it pays to have some Chaff, Flash, and/or Smoke Grenades in hand. Also, since repair items can be given to other ally units unlike in Front Mission 1st, Backpacks also increase the maximum usage range for them. Q: How many items can a unit hold with and without a Backpack? A: A unit can hold four items without a Backpack, and up to eight with one. Q: What is the maximum amount of copies I can have for a part or item? A: The maximum amount of copies you can have for a part or item is 99. Q: What is the selling price for a part or item? A: The selling price for a part or item is 25% of its original price when you purchase it. Q: Is there any benefit to creating a wanzer frame made up of the same parts? I could get better performance by mixing parts up instead of sticking with a pure wanzer frame. A: There is no benefit to creating a pure wanzer frame unless you like to use pure wanzers. Do whatever you need to make a good wanzer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. CREDITS [CRED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks to: - GameFAQs obviously - Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness guide for skill level differences - Square Enix for the Front Mission series This FAQ copyright 2012 to Angelo Pineda. Redistribution in any form, including reprinting in electronic or print media, without express permission of the author is strictly forbidden.