Mission 45: Faulkner the Filcher

Mission Overview

Situation: While Bastion is occupied in the temple, it's up to us to hold the fort and make sure no one attacks him. But there are lots of Imperials here, and even Faulkner himself! We have to hold them back! Objective: Annihilate all enemies.	3D Map:

Enemies

	Imperial 1 (Einlager ATAC)
	HP: 93			Level: 11			Money: 5000
	BAS: 9	POW: 10	DEX: 12	AGL: 8	DEF: 9	WEP: 13	Spirit: 48	Range: 5	Speed: 4.78
	Equipment: Preshuze, Sapphire			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash, Ice Shards, Ice Storm			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 2 (Einlager ATAC)
	HP: 93			Level: 11			Money: 5000
	BAS: 9	POW: 10	DEX: 12	AGL: 7	DEF: 10	WEP: 13	Spirit: 48	Range: 5	Speed: 4.54
	Equipment: Preshuze, Sapphire			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash, Ice Shards, Ice Storm			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 3 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 86			Level: 10			Money: 3500
	BAS: 9	POW: 8	DEX: 10	AGL: 7	DEF: 7	WEP: 13	Spirit: 45	Range: 4	Speed: 4.54
	Equipment: Preshuze, Jasper			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 4 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 86			Level: 10			Money: 3500
	BAS: 9	POW: 8	DEX: 10	AGL: 6	DEF: 8	WEP: 13	Spirit: 45	Range: 4	Speed: 4.30
	Equipment: Preshuze, Jasper			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 5 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 76			Level: 9			Money: 3500
	BAS: 7	POW: 7	DEX: 7	AGL: 8	DEF: 9	WEP: 8	Spirit: 42	Range: 4	Speed: 4.70
	Equipment: Gladius, Turquoise			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 6 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 76			Level: 9			Money: 3500
	BAS: 7	POW: 7	DEX: 7	AGL: 8	DEF: 9	WEP: 8	Spirit: 42	Range: 4	Speed: 4.70
	Equipment: Gladius, Turquoise			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 7 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 76			Level: 9			Money: 3500
	BAS: 7	POW: 7	DEX: 7	AGL: 8	DEF: 9	WEP: 8	Spirit: 42	Range: 4	Speed: 4.70
	Equipment: Gladius, Turquoise			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 8 (Dantarius ATAC)
	HP: 75			Level: 9			Money: 2000
	BAS: 8	POW: 7	DEX: 9	AGL: 13	DEF: 4	WEP: 11	Spirit: 42	Range: 5	Speed: 5.94
	Equipment: Shimmerswrd, Olivine			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash, Str. Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 9 (Dantarius ATAC)
	HP: 75			Level: 9			Money: 2000
	BAS: 8	POW: 7	DEX: 9	AGL: 13	DEF: 4	WEP: 11	Spirit: 42	Range: 5	Speed: 5.94
	Equipment: Shimmerswrd, Olivine			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Str. Slash, Str. Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 10 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 66			Level: 8			Money: 3500
	BAS: 5	POW: 10	DEX: 6	AGL: 9	DEF: 5	WEP: 8	Spirit: 39	Range: 4	Speed: 4.86
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 11 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 66			Level: 8			Money: 3500
	BAS: 5	POW: 10	DEX: 6	AGL: 9	DEF: 5	WEP: 8	Spirit: 39	Range: 4	Speed: 4.86
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 12 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 66			Level: 8			Money: 3500
	BAS: 5	POW: 10	DEX: 6	AGL: 9	DEF: 5	WEP: 8	Spirit: 39	Range: 4	Speed: 4.86
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Imperial 13 (Barbatos ATAC)
	HP: 68			Level: 7			Money: 3500
	BAS: 6	POW: 8	DEX: 6	AGL: 6	DEF: 5	WEP: 9	Spirit: 36	Range: 4	Speed: 4.18
	Equipment: Gladius, Onyx			Attacks: Slash, Thrust			Dormant Abilities: NONE
	Faulkner (Solarus ATAC)
	HP: 140			Level: 15			Money: N/A
	BAS: 15	POW: 15	DEX: 11	AGL: 10	DEF: 13	WEP: 15	Spirit: 60	Range: 5	Speed: 5.50
	Equipment: Darkblade, Ruby			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Tackle, Str. Slash, Kick, Fireball, Melting Flare			Dormant Abilities: Parry, Mass Menace

CPU Controlled Units

	Zeira (Toreadore ATAC)
	HP: 148				Level: 11
	BAS: 14	POW: 11	DEX: 10	AGL: 13	DEF: 17	WEP: 17	Spirit: 48	Range: 7	Speed: 6.18
	Equipment: Gunganir, Royal Jade			Attacks: Slash, Thrust, Tackle, Str. Thrust, Tornado			Dormant Abilities: None

Important Battlefield Events:

- 39 turns after the start of the battle, Bastion appears in the Ultragunner ATAC, ready for action! A suspenseful scene occurs, which ends the battle, and as a result, Bastion LOSES the Ultragunner ATAC!

Strategy

Err... this battle is fairly short and really without need of any strategy. Just try and knock out an Imperial on the east bridge, and try and gain a level if possible. Make sure Galvas or Devlin don't claim your kills, of course; you should be concerned only with Barlow, Andrew and Reyna. 39 turns into the battle, everyone retreats and Bastion screws up.. horribly. But don't worry; things will turn around!

Now that the mission is complete..

- Bastion HAS GIVEN AWAY FRICKITY-FRICKING ULTRAGUNNER ATAC!

- Devlin, Zeira, and Galvas leave your team..

- You move onto Mission 46 Before beginning Mission 46, save your game and load stats from the Options screen as done so many times before, and head to the Interview screen and chat with whoever you want. Morale doesn't matter really on the Ruin Branch, so feel free to read the well-written and humorous dialogue.

Now stop for a minute. Things look bad.. REALLY bad. Your team has been shortened to only 4 members, the Ultragunner is gone from your grasp forever, and things seem hopeless. But they really aren't. Over the next few missions, you will gain an incredibly powerful ATAC for Bastion, as well get Milea and Sadira to join your party, which constructs your team for the endgame. Even with a formidable team like this, things aren't going to be easy, and there are some easy missions along the way, but there are also some of the toughest missions that Vanguard Bandits has to offer.

Keep these notes in mind as you play through the Ruin Branch.

1.) Bastion needs 18 of every stat (20 DEX) to earn his ultimate attack; Tidal Wave. The ATAC he will be receiving in a few missions boosts every stat but WEP by 3 each (WEP is increased a LOT by the sword equipped). Therefore, your goal for now should be getting Bastion's stats aside from WEP up to 15 (17 for DEX). Also, try and get Bastion's BAS up to 15 WITHOUT equipment bonuses; this will teach him Second Attack. Second Attack + Tidal Wave = Massive Damage with a low FP cost.

2.) Reyna and Andrew should be leveled up as well, but Bastion is still your priority. Keep Andrew and Reyna about a level behind, and level them up to learn their special attacks; Reyna's Trick and Somersault.

3.) Since you won't have Holy Light, Barlow will have to be the closest thing you'll get to a healer. Increase his BAS and give him an Earth stone. For leveling him up, try and keep his stats balanced.

Now, check the Briefing. The next mission is a good opportunity to level up before you get the new ATAC, but take the above into consideration. Everyone's level should be about 10-12 right now, with Bastion and Andrew being the highest leveled. When you are ready, head for Mission 46: Futile Search.