Mission 4: Araba Reclaimed

Mission Overview

Situation: Araba Castle was once territory of the Kingdom, but the Empire recently took over, and they are holding Galvas hostage. Reyna and Ione will sneak in and break him out of prison while we engage the Imperial troops in a false attempt to retake the castle. Zeira and his men will take the big guys, while Bastion, Devlin and Barlow tackle the Imperials on the bridge. When Galvas is freed, we flee, UNLESS an opportunity arises. If you wish to take revenge, Bastion, wait until Galvas is safe and sound. Though Faulkner and the Imperials who slayed your father may be here, it would be best to wait and fight another day! But if you insist... Objective: Rage around showily. Later, becomes Occupy Araba Castle. Basically, that means cause a scene with the Imperials on the bridge.

3D Map:

Enemies

	Bodyguard 1 (Einlager ATAC)
	HP: 87			Level: 6			Money: 5000
	BAS: 10	POW: 9	DEX: 5	AGL: 5	DEF: 5	WEP: 8	Spirit: 33	Range: 5	Speed: 4.10
	Equipment: Gradius, Garnet			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Bodyguard 2 (Einlager ATAC)
	HP: 85			Level: 5			Money: 5000
	BAS: 10	POW: 9	DEX: 4	AGL: 4	DEF: 5	WEP: 7	Spirit: 30	Range: 5	Speed: 3.86
	Equipment: Gladius, Garnet			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Bodyguard 3 (Einlager ATAC)
	HP: 81			Level: 5			Money: 5000
	BAS: 9	POW: 8	DEX: 6	AGL: 6	DEF: 3	WEP: 7	Spirit: 30	Range: 5	Speed: 4.30
	Equipment: Gladius, Garnet			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Bodyguard 4 (Einlager ATAC)
	HP: 79			Level: 4			Money: 5000
	BAS: 9	POW: 8	DEX: 4	AGL: 4	DEF: 4	WEP: 7	Spirit: 27	Range: 5	Speed: 3.82
	Equipment: Gladius, Garnet			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Duyere (Sarbelas ATAC)
	HP: 118			Level: 4			Money: 12000
	BAS: 10	POW: 6	DEX: 9	AGL: 7	DEF: 4	WEP: 16	Spirit: 27	Range: 6	Speed: 4.58
	Equipment: Mystaria, Sardonis			Attacks: Slash			Dormant Abilities: Forest Motion
	Faulkner (Solarus ATAC)
	HP: 126			Level: 12			Money: 8000
	BAS: 13	POW: 14	DEX: 9	AGL: 8	DEF: 12	WEP: 14	Spirit: 51	Range: 5	Speed: 4.94
	Equipment: Darkblade, Ruby			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Tackle, Str. Slash, Kick, Fireball, Melting Flare			Dormant Abilities: Parry, Mass Menace
	Imperial 1 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 58			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 5	POW: 5	DEX: 6	AGL: 4	DEF: 3	WEP: 8	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.66
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 2 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 62			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 6	POW: 4	DEX: 5	AGL: 4	DEF: 4	WEP: 8	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.70
	Equipment: Gladius, Turqouise			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 3 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 54			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 4	POW: 5	DEX: 5	AGL: 5	DEF: 4	WEP: 8	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.86
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 4 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 58			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 5	POW: 4	DEX: 5	AGL: 5	DEF: 4	WEP: 8	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.90
	Equipment: Gladius, Turquoise			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 5 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 58			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 5	POW: 5	DEX: 5	AGL: 4	DEF: 3	WEP: 9	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.66
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 6 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 58			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 5	POW: 6	DEX: 5	AGL: 4	DEF: 3	WEP: 8	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.66
	Equipment: Gladius, Turquoise			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 7 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 62			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 6	POW: 4	DEX: 5	AGL: 4	DEF: 4	WEP: 8	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.70
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 8 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 62			Level: 4			Money: 3500
	BAS: 6	POW: 5	DEX: 5	AGL: 4	DEF: 3	WEP: 8	Spirit: 27	Range: 4	Speed: 3.70
	Equipment: Gladius, Turquoise			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Zakov (Einlager ATAC)
	HP: 97			Level: 9			Money: 5000
	BAS: 11	POW: 11	DEX: 8	AGL: 6	DEF: 7	WEP: 12	Spirit: 42	Range: 5	Speed: 4.38
	Equipment: Preshuze, Sapphire			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Tackle, Str. Slash, Kick, Ice Shards			Dormant Abilities: NONE

CPU Controlled Allies

	Avalon 1 (Glaive ATAC)
	HP: 70				Level: 6
	BAS: 7	POW: 7	DEX: 5	AGL: 6	DEF: 5	WEP: 9	Spirit: 33	Range: 4	Speed: 4.22
	Equipment: Gladius, Emerald			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Avalon 2 (Glaive ATAC)
	HP: 66				Level: 6
	BAS: 6	POW: 6	DEX: 5	AGL: 6	DEF: 7	WEP: 9	Spirit: 33	Range: 4	Speed: 4.18
	Equipment: Gladius, Emerald			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Kingdom 1 (Haizuron ATAC)
	HP: 73				Level: 5
	BAS: 7	POW: 8	DEX: 5	AGL: 5	DEF: 5	WEP: 8	Spirit: 30	Range: 5	Speed: 3.98
	Equipment: Gladius, Jasper			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Kingdom 2 (Haizuron ATAC)
	HP: 81				Level: 5
	BAS: 9	POW: 8	DEX: 4	AGL: 4	DEF: 5	WEP: 8	Spirit: 30	Range: 5	Speed: 3.82
	Equipment: Gladius, Jasper			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Ganlon (Waiban ATAC)
	HP: 112				Level: 9
	BAS: 11	POW: 9	DEX: 7	AGL: 11	DEF: 6	WEP: 15	Spirit: 42	Range: 6	Speed: 5.58
	Equipment: Dragontail, Ruby			Attacks: Thrust, Long Thrust, Str. Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Zeira (Toreadore ATAC)
	HP: 144				Level: 9
	BAS: 14	POW: 11	DEX: 8	AGL: 8	DEF: 10	WEP: 17	Spirit: 42	Range: 7	Speed: 4.98
	Equipment: Gunganir, Royal Jade			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Tackle, Str. Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE

Neutral Units

	Sadira (Sylpheed ATAC)
	HP: 114			Level: 4			Money: ????
	BAS: 9	POW: 4	DEX: 5	AGL: 13	DEF: 4	WEP: 16	Spirit: 27	Range: 7	Speed: 5.98
	Equipment: Steelburn, Star Diamond			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Franco (Korbelan ATAC)
	HP: 85			Level: 7			Money: ????
	BAS: 9	POW: 8	DEX: 6	AGL: 7	DEF: 4	WEP: 8	Spirit: 36	Range: 6	Speed: 4.54
	Equipment: Gladius, Emerald			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Halak (Korbelan ATAC)
	HP: 87			Level: 8			Money: ????
	BAS: 9	POW: 9	DEX: 7	AGL: 7	DEF: 5	WEP: 8	Spirit: 39	Range: 6	Speed: 4.54
	Equipment: Gladius, Emerald			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash			Dormant Abilities: Bad Back, Mass Menace

Important Battlefield Events:

- At the beginning of the mission, Devlin talks with Bastion and a choice comes up. Choose the first choice does nothing, but choosing the second increases Devlin's anger emotion, which makes him more powerful. - 36 turns after Duyere makes his first move, Zakov analyzes the situation and appears outside the castle entrance with Imperials 5-8. Ione and Reyna also join the battlefield under your control, and the objective changes to Occuby Araba Castle. - Eight turns after the previous event, Sadira, Franco and Halak appear in the eastern corner to observe the battle. They are neutral, so they will not attack you. Feel free to attack them and get EXP though!

Strategy

This is an odd mission. What begins as a diversionary tactic becomes a rush to reclaim the castle. The Imperials you will deal with are small fry, but the Bodyguards and the big named soldiers fighting the real battle to the east are big and mean. They will always end up defeating the Kingdom troops, and even Zeira and Ganlon. Once they're done with the Kingdoms and Avalons, they turn to attack you. Though they will be weakened at this point, the combined threat of them AND Zakov's men from the castle is a serious threat. However, you don't need to really fight all that much. Simply eliminate the Imperials on the bridge and await the event. Once the event occurs, lure the Imperials and Zakov away from Bastion, and have Bastion make a beeline for the castle door. Only Bastion can reclaim the castle, and he must be standing on the space right in front of it to complete the mission. The screenshot here highlights the exact position; simply move onto that space with Bastion and end your turn. If you'd like to try and win the battle though, you can (I recommend it). Keep in mind that the Kingdom forces will usually go after the Bodyguards, so expect them to be dead or weakened, with the big bad guys still in good condition. It's tricky enough to defeat Zakov, but Faulkner is even more of a concern. Duyere is the same as Mission 3; if you can get him dizzy, he's screwed. In fact, if you are going to clear out the battlefield, concentrate on taking down the big guys first by constantly attacking them to keep them busy and possibly cancelling their attacks. However, deal with Zakov and his men first! The Imperials will probably gang up on the Kingdom guys, ESPECIALLY when they are dizzied, so sneak up behind them and pop them one. Don't worry about who kills what, but try and make sure your characters share EXP. Faulkner is pretty easy to dizzy, but it's dangerous. He will counter your moves with Fireball, which costs a LOT of FP to use, let alone counter with. If you can take the hits, dizzy him and kill him for LOTS of EXP! The incredibly resourceful player will be able to knock off everything on the battlefield. Save Sadira and her aides for last, as they do not move, and do not attack back! However, they are also not worth very much.

Now that the mission is complete..

- You now control 1 more team member; Galvas. Galvas pilots the Serata ATAC.

- Zeira joins you as a CPU-Controlled ally in the Toreadore.

- You move on to Mission 5

Before beginning Mission 5, save your game and load stats from the Options screen, and head to the Interview screen. Devlin is a grump, so talk with him if he's looking sad. I suggest going to the Equipment screen and moving Devlin from the Ratatosk to the Serata.

A shop is open. Take advantage of it, and purchase new weapons for everyone. Go for the cheaper, yet more effective Preshuze over the Quicksilver, then purchase new stones for everybody, even Galvas. Sell some of your old stuff, but save a bit for equipment switching. When you're ready to move on, check the Briefing, and proceed to Mission 5: Nordilian Assault.