GAUNTLET LEGENDS EXPERTS' FAQ v1.1 03/08/99 by RED PHOENIX Copyrighted to RED PHOENIX This is a completely unofficial guide for seasoned Gauntlet Legend players. I am in no way associated with Atari games or Midway. The contents of this FAQ should not be taken as engraved in stone; rather, they are merely my personnal observations, from one gamer to the next, that I have after wasting tons of cash on this arcade game (and coutless hours) and by watching level 99 pros play it. Feel free to distribute this to anyone you want. Please do not modify this file and please do not sell it (not like anybody in their right mind would buy this crappy file...). Table of Contents: -0.0 Foreword -1.0 History -2.0 What's New -3.0 Definitions -4.0 Character Comparisons -5.0 Items (Purchassing Priorities) -6.0 "Level Up"ing -7.0 Tricks -8.0 Tricks Versus Bosses -9.0 Things to Come -10.0 Conclusion -11.0 Credits * 0.0 FOREWORD *************************************************************** This FAQ is made for people who are already acquainted with Gauntlet Legends. People who haven't played yet may not clearly understand the contents of this FAQ, but it may still help them nonetheless. You have been warned! This FAQ is in no way even close to complete. The symbol (?) means that I am uncertain if the aforementioned statement is even true. * 1.0 HSITORY **************************************************************** v.1.1: Added Tricks Versus Bosses section. (03/09/99) v.1.0: First release of GAUNTLET LEGENDS EXPERT'S FAQ. (03/08/99) * 2.0 WHAT'S NEW? ************************************************************ Added Tricks Versus Bosses section * 3.0 DEFINITIONS ************************************************************ Stat Potion: Potion bought at the end-of-level shops which increase a specific character attribute (strength, speed, armor or magic) by 5 points; which is the equivalent of 1 experience level gained. They all cost 800 gold. Auto-Aim: Also known as Auto-Targetting. This makes the difference between a smart character and a dead one. All the four heroes have this ability. It basically allows your characters to aim on his/her own on the nearest monster in his/her field of vision (thus, as the player, you need only to guide the character in the general direction of the monsters you want to kill). This is sometimes a bad thing (in the cases where you want to shoot red/green barrels and not the monsters), but generally, it's usually advantageous to have this ability. Missile Attacks: The shots that your character shoots when you are far from enemies and you press the Attack button. Melee Attacks: The strike that your character makes when you are near enemies and you press the Attack button. * 4.0 CHARACTER COMPARISONS ************************************************** What's really fun about this game is that YOU are have total freedom over how the character of your choice progresses because you have access to "Stat Potions" (potions which increase individual attributes of your characters by 5 points - which is the equivalent of one level of experience) in the end-of-level shops. Thus, it's true that buy a lot of speed potions for a Warrior and watch him run faster than the Archer, BUT no matter how many Stat Potions that you buy, some properties of your character will NEVER change. These are as follows, sorted by hero, in no particular order. Note that the Alter Egos of the characters (get to level 10 and when you start over again, hold down the Turbo button after entering your password and before pressing Attack to select your character) seem to be the exact same thing as the original character except that they look difference and they have 50 more points in their dominating statistic. (ie: the Warrior's alter ego, the Minotaur has 550 strength instead of 500. The Falconess has 550 armor instead of 500 like the Valkyrie has. etc.) ***** WARRIOR ***** I do not know that much about him because I only played him once. From what I understand, he's a lot like the Valkyrie (so look in her section if you want more details); but I am sure that there are significant differences. When I will have finished this game with my Valkyrie, I'll try to complete this guy's section. If you want quick levels, always stay in front, engaging as many monsters in melee as possible. Warriors make pathetic amounts of experience in ranged combat (until he gets 999 speed). ADVANTAGES: -Turbo attack level 3 (Plasma Trail) executes very quickly and can go through walls (I think). Use to eliminate crowded rooms very quickly. At execution time, the attack creates an aura about 1 foot around (360 degrees) your character and kills all nearby enemies caught within this aura. -Missile attacks are wide. -Melee attacks are fast and they can hit in a 180 degree arc directly in front of him (?). DISADVANTAGES: -Slow missile attacks (ie: low Rate Of Fire). [See bellow in "[NOTE ON RATE OF FIRE]".] -Missile attacks rarely hit small creatures (ie: rats and snakes). ***** VALKYRIE ***** A very good rounded player to use when playing alone, but she is best when used in conjunction with a Wizard. Her high armor with help keep the Wizard alive longer as long as she stays in front and takes all the hits. If you want quick levels, always stay in front, engaging as many monsters in melee as possible. (Despite the fact that the Wizard in the group was given all the potions and he used them all strategically [ie: in rooms full of monsters], my Valkyrie has always been equal to him in levels.) Valkyries make pathetic amounts of experience in ranged combat (until she gets 999 speed). ADVANTAGES: -Turbo attack level 3 (Sky Lance) executes very quickly and can go through walls. Use to eliminate crowded rooms very quickly. At execution time, the attack creates an aura about 1 foot around (360 degrees) your character and kills all nearby enemies caught within this aura. -Missile attacks are wide. -Standing melee (let go of joystick while attacking) hits in a 180 degree arc directly in front of her. -Very good with shields (obviously). Relfective shield (probably the best item in the game) works VERY well with her. She guards 180 degrees in front of her. She can also attack and block with the reflect shield at the same time without risk of getting hit (unlike the Wizard). DISADVANTAGES: -Slow missile attacks (ie: low Rate Of Fire). [See bellow in "[NOTE ON RATE OF FIRE]".] -Missile attacks rarely hit small creatures (ie: rats and snakes). -Moving melee (move joystick while attacking) sucks. She thrusts her sword forward; it's slow and it only hits directly in front of her. -Stomping kick melee attack (melee attacks done on small creatues) very slow and akward unless done while walking/running (I have no idea how to do this, but I have seen it be done). ***** WIZARD ***** Not much to say about him except that if you want to make quick levels even though your Wizard is at level 1, simply run though the Mountain Stage in a Multiplayer Game, collect all the potions and use them recklessly (there are over 18 potions in this stage alone in a 2 player game!). If you play your cards right, you can get to the Dragon with 1 credit (500 health) and gain 3-4 levels (considering that your Wizard is low-level) as well as make a small fortune (this stage is easy and has LOTS of gold). Repeat as desired. ADVANTAGES: -Turbo attack level 3 (Demon Skull) executes very slowly, but can go through walls. Use the long execution time to redirect the skull. Be careful when you are surrounded by missile attackers (ie: archers, bomb tossers, red demons, etc), because you'll get hit A LOT. At execution time, the attack creates an aura about 3 foot around (I mean 360 degrees!) your character and kills all nearby enemies caught within this aura. Very good versus monsters that can only engage you in melee. -Fires missiles attacks quickly (high missile rate of fire). [See bellow in "[NOTE ON RATE OF FIRE]".] -Missile attacks are big (magic bolts) and thus can easily hit enemies on the floor (no need to kick small enemies on the floor anymore :) ). DISADVANTAGES: -Melee attacks are only done on enemies who are directly in front of you. (ie: No Auto-Aiming in melee.) This requires you to direct your Wizard more carefully when engaging others in melee. ***** ARCHER ***** A tougher character to play at the start considering she has so little strength. Gain experience by using potions at low-levels. At high levels, she is really killer because she shoots fast and far. Also note that she's really good in melee (contrary to what most people say), but remember to buy lots of strength and armor before charging in like a crazy lunatic. ADVANTAGES: -Turbo attack level 3 (BFG) executes very slowly, but can go through walls (unsure about the second part). Use the long execution time to redirect the blast. Be careful when you are surrounded by missile attackers (ie: archers, bomb tossers, red demons, etc), because you'll get hit A LOT. At execution time, the attack creates two cohesive greenish beams which be directed to kill enemies (though this beam is weak). It then shoots 5 arrows in a 180 degree arc in front of you. Use it to clear out rooms full of monsters who can only engage you in melee. NOTE: This is the only Turbo Attack level 3 that will not hit enemies 360 degrees around you. -Fires missiles attacks quickly (high missile rate of fire). [See bellow in "[NOTE ON RATE OF FIRE]".] -Seems to have the ability to shoot over walls more effectivily than others. (It seems that her shots go over walls just like Familiar shots.) (?) -Missile attacks go further; thus allowing you to hit enemies beyond your field of vision. :) -Faster melee attacks. (?) -Can move foward while in melee combat (very useful to kill monsters who stand in front of their generators). -Spinning roundhouse kick (punch twice then turn character while kicking) hits enemies all around you. (?) DISADVANTAGES: -Missile attacks are small and consequently have a hard time hitting small enemies. -Melee attacks are linear (only hit enemies directly in front of you) . ***** POJO ***** For those of you who didn't know that you can play as Pojo (from Mace: The Darkening fame), all you have to do is find a special item (which looks like a big egg). This will change your character into Pojo the Chicken temporarily. TRICK: For those of you who don't want to go to all that trouble, simple enter your name as EGG and your password as 911. Then choose your character; this character will be the template for Pojo's stats. When you start playing, you will immediately see that you are now permanently Pojo the Chicken. WARNING, this code is irreversible. After entering this code, you will no longer be able to play as any other character other than Pojo. The only way to change characters is to start a new game, with a different name and/or password. NOTE: I am unsure what happens when Pojo reaches levels 10, 25, 50, 75 and 99 (classes when your title changes). I do not know what titles Pojo has, whether his breath attack improves and whether he gets a familiar (I only managed to get Pojo up to level 7 using the previously mentioned code before I went back to my Valkyrie). I know that when you play normally with any of the 4 heroes and you get an egg, you become Pojo temporarily and you lose your familiar for that period of time (Pojo doesn't seem to have a familiar, but he can still have a Phoenix Familiar). ADVANTAGES: -Fires missiles attacks quickly (high missile rate of fire). -Missile attacks are big (fireballs) and thus can easily hit enemies on the floor. -Has only 1 turbo attack (level 1). Very fast to charge and very powerful. it acts like the "Fire Breath" item, except that it has a wider arc, it is more powerful and it knocks monsters back (if they aren't already dead). Very effective versus Golems (aka: Elementals). DISADVANTAGES: -Slow movement. (Chickens don't walk fast.) -Melee attacks have very little range. (Pojo pecks enemies with his beak.) -Melee attacks are slow. -Melee attacks are weak. -Can't use magic. (This property alone makes Pojo very difficult to play.) -Can't eat "Chicken Leg" food (it's poison to him). [NOTE ON RATE OF FIRE] When I say "Slow missile attacks" and "Fast missile attacks", it is a relative term. I mean "slow relative to a Wizard/Archer of the same level and with the same Speed characteristic". Even when my Valkyrie had 999 speed and the party's Wizard had 700, his character still managed to shoot as fast as mine. I guess it's because the Wizard's and the Archer's missile attack animation is simple, while the Warrior's and the Valkyrie's animation is complex. (ie: Swinging a sword takes longer than stretching out your arm to shoot fireballs.) BEST PARTIES: Avoid parties of more than 2 or 3 characters. Players can easily push themselves into traps (which hurt A LOT; even at high levels). In my opinion, the best party consists of two characters. You get a lot more items (food, gold, potions and special items) and lots more monsters (good experience points), without getting the feeling of being overcrowded. I personally like a Valkyrie and a Wizard. Their speeds are comparable. The Valkyrie attacks fast in melee and a Wizard attacks fast in ranged combat. The Valkyrie has high defense and the Wizard has low defense. Put her in front and him behind backing her up. Give all the potions to the Wizard. * 5.0 ITEMS ****************************************************************** PURCHASING PRIORITIES Don't waste money on special items; buy stat potions instead. They are permanent and will greatly help you in the future. None of these potions work miracles; they're long term investments. You'll have to buy at least 20 potions (ie: 100 stat points) before you can see a difference, but don't worry; in a 2 player game going through the Mountain Stage with one credit (500 health) each, you can easily buy 10 stat potions per player, if not more, when you will have memorized the stage layout (along with all 3 runes, gold and the "secret" treasure room). 1) Speed Potion The best potion, period. It increases walking speed and missile rate of fire. Very useful in every combat situation; versus weak or strong foes. Essential if you want to fight bosses. Helps you dodge enemy missile attacks more effectively. The increased walking speed decreases the amount of health lost through time since you get to exits much faster. 2) Magic Potion A very good potion in multiplayer games to give to characters who need lots of experience points. Just walk into a room full of monsters and waste a potion. The Caverns in the Mountain Stage is a good example of an open area where you get tons of potions and meet tons of monsters. TRICK: Push and HOLD Fight and Magic to throw potions REAL far. The longer you hold the button, the further your character throws it. 3) Armor Potion A good potion for people who love to charge in front of the group (ie: people like me). Effects are fairly noticable, but don't expect monsters to do 1 damage to you after just buying 5 potions. 4) Strength Potion Not all that useful. A strength of 500 is good enough. This should allow you to kill level 1 monsters in 1 hit. Once you get to level 10 (you get a better weapon), you should be able to kill level 2 monsters in 1 hit. Even at 999 strength, my level 82 Valkyrie still can't kill level 3 monsters in one hit (I doubt that even at level 99, she will be able either...). High strength is not really all that noticable on weak or strong monsters, but I suspect that it really makes a difference when fighting golems (aka: elementals) and bosses. So if you want to kill a boss in 1 credit every time you play (try to get high levels and high stats before you think even about it), get 999 strength! The following are good items to buy ONLY in times of great need (or when all your stats are maxxed out). 5) Reflect Shield (duration: time delimited) Probably the best item in the game. Doesn't last very long. Useless in normal stages. VERY effective on bosses. For example, versus the Chimera, standing there with just one shield allows you to wipe out half his health bar with no effort! (No kidding!!!) 6) Rapid Fire (duration: time delimited) Increases your Rate Of Fire. Missile attack ROF increases dramatically. Melee attack ROF increase is barely noticable. Allows you to shoot cohensive streams (very good) of missile attacks!!! Add a 3-Way shot (or 5-Way Shot, if you're playing a multiplayer game) and your choice of any amulet to this and now you're REALLY kicking butt! 7) Gold Invulnerability (duration: time delimited) A pretty good item, but pretty expensive (2000 gold). Reduces damage you sustain to -1 health. This means that every time an enemy hits you, you gain 1 health point. Don't expect to come out of a stage with 9999 health unless you buy hundreds of Gold Invulnerability. Just take advantage of the fact that you are invulnerable to damage and that your health doesn't drop because of time. * 6.0 "LEVEL UP"ING ********************************************************** Inference: As your levels increase, your character's auto aim ability also improves. (?) Level/Description of Ability obtained 10 Get a better version of your weapon (eg: Valkyrie gets a broad sword). Multiplies your strength (by how much, I am not sure). Increase in power is very noticable. Very useful since it allows weak characters to kill monsters in less hits, thus saving time and health. 25 Get a familiar. When you shoot your missile attack, your familiar shoots a weak blast along side yours. Your familiar doesnt have the auto-aiming ability (yet). And since your character has auto aiming, his/her shots will always hit and the familiar's shots will tend to miss (because its shots fly beside your character's shots). Shots aren't powerful, but very useful since it effectively doubles your rate of fire. Even though your familiar may not be able to kill most monsters in one hit, its shots will temporarily stun monsters, giving your character enough time to shoot and kill it while it is still in pain. (This is very useful versus multiple archers, bomb tossers or level 3 egyptian orcs, etc.) Very good versus masses of monsters (that'd be just about anywhere in this game!). 50 Get an even better weapon. EXTREMELY powerful! Even characters with only 500 power will be able to kill level 1 and level 2 monsters now in one hit! Note that even with 999 strength and level 50, your character will still not be able to kill level 3 enemies in one hit. 75 Get a better familiar. Now, your familiar auto aims too!!! This means that when there are two enemies in front of you, your familiar will shoot one and your will shoot the other. Also, if there is only one enemy in front of you, both you and your familiar will shoot at the same guy. Two brains are indeed better than one! 99 You get a permanent growth potion effect even though your character stays the same size. Ultra powerful! Allows you to take many hits and come out virtually unscathed! (ie: Damage is reduced drastically.) Very important if you don't want to waste 20$ trying to finish the Catherdral and the Underworld in one sitting (which you must do if you want to see the ending). * 7.0 TRICKS ***************************************************************** -To make lots of levels and gold in the least time and credits as possible, never continue. Keep trying the same stage over and over again, and try to get further than where you last died. This way, you'll memorize stage layouts and you'll easily be able to finish the stage with more health than you came in. (When I got to the Dragon at level 25, my Valkyrie and the Wizard had 770 health each even though we only started with 500.) -Also, run through the stage over and over to get and re-get Runestones. Reacquiring a Runestone nets you an easy 500 gold (though I heard that at some arcades, you actually get 1000). -Potions, Thunder Hammers, Super Shots and Turbo Attack Level 3 are the key to killing lots of enemies, and consequently, to making lots and lots of experience very quickly. eg: Playing two players in the Mountain Stage, you can get 2 Hammers: one halfway through the first stage and one at the beginning of the third (At the Golem in stage 2, get the X-ray glasses, then in stage 3, step next to the chest and wait until you see Fire Wall Shield which follows the Golden Invulnerability. Open it the moment you see the Fire Wall Shield and get a Thunder Hammer!). -Use Potions and special items against fireball monsters because Turbo Attack is simply too slow (you'll get hit too much and possibly die). -Never die with potions in your possession; it's a real waste. -TRICK: Push and HOLD Fight and Magic to throw potions REAL far. The longer you hold the button, the further your character throws it. Potions can be thrown well beyond your field of vision and can still kill enemies even if you don't see it happen. -When playing multiplayer games, make all except one player stand on the exits as soon as possible. This way, the characters' health will stop decreasing (due to time) and the monsters will ignore him/her/they as though he/she/they were invisible. -Give fast players "IT". Make them run around while enemies chase them or try to shoot at them. It's advantageous when you know who the enemies are going to target all their attacks on so that you can plan your strategy appropriately. -Use traps against monsters. Traps can kill monsters as easily as they kill you; if not even easier. -When fighting Golems (aka: Elementals), always hit and run. If you can manage to hide behind a chasm, pillar or any obstruction, then you can snipe him away while he's stuck. -Turbo Attack Level 3 knocks Golems back so as to give you more time to run back. Potions do the same. -If you are hiding behind a wall, you can't shoot the Golem, but he can't hit you either. Note that your familiar can shoot over walls though, but since they are so weak, it might take forever to kill him. -BUG: When you hide from a Golem behind a wall, step up towards the Golem. If you are roughly 3 feet away from him, you will be able to engage the Golem in melee, but he still won't be able to hit you. Though it's real strange to see your sword go through a wall to hit the Golem behind it, this trick is VERY effective. Killing Golems this way is MUCH faster than killing him in ranged combat. This trick is tough to do since if you walk too close (around 1-2.5 feet) the Golem WILL be able to hit you and knock you down. Also note that some walls are too thick for this trick to work. -Memorize stage layouts. When you come back later, throw potions where you know there are lots of enemies (especially those who shoot at you) to avoid losing lots of health. * 9.0 THINGS TO COME ********************************************************* -Revisions on the character comparisons. (Try to complete the descriptions for the Valkyirie and the Wizard.) -More revisions on the character comparisons. (Start playing with the Warrior and the Archer to find out if all the stuff I wrote is even true.) -More info on Pojo? -More tricks? * 9.0 TRICKS VERSUS BOSSES *************************************************** The following are tricks such as "The 10 Second Boss" and the like. A trick that pretty much works versus all bosses is "Buying many Gold Invulnerability, Rapid Fire, Phoenix Familiar and 3-Way Shot works, but who the hell has that kind of gold to waste!?!" But if you're not worried about coming out of the stage then when you came in, then go right ahead! ***** Versus The Dragon (The Mountain Stage) ***** There IS a quasi-safe-spot near the Dragon's right claw (the left upper part of the screen). It's safe as long as you are playing more than a one player game. The Dragon will tend to attack the other player(s) with its fireballs and ignore you completely. Be warned! Sometimes, it will beat its wings and knock you down (this will actually hurt you; a lot). Thus, this is not a 100% fail safe safe-spot, but it's the next best thing if your character isn't fast enough to dodge the Dragon's fireballs (ie: Warrior level 1). Otherwise, if you already have 999 speed, my tip is to destroy all the pillars (they are more of an obstacle to your character than to the boss) with a Level 3 Turbo Attack and just hit and run. Reflect shields aren't that effective since the Dragon can lob his fireballs and he can do a breath attack (both of which when you stand far). These attacks are NOT reflected, so beware! ***** Versus The Chimera (The Castle Stronghold) ***** Also known as "The 10 Second Boss" trick. Easy, just buy 2 Reflect Shields (preferably for the Valkyrie in your party, if you have one; she's the best with them). One won't be enough; buy two. The moment you start, all players except one should move up the stairs and grab all the items. This will keep the boss from activating itself prematurely. The middle stone/pillar should be destroyed with a Turbo Attack Level 3 because there is a 3-Way Shot under it. After this is done, the last player should move up and activate the Chimera. All players should stand as far away as possible and the player with reflect shields should stay 1/2 to 3/4 distance from the boss to avoid the boss' breath attacks. Now you shouldn't get hit a single time! Simply stand there (no need to move or shoot, that is, unless you want to) and every time the Chimera shoots that player, its shots will bounce back at it. The reflected shots do INSANE amounts of damage (ie: x10 times the amount you would do with 999 strength)! The boss should last more or less 10-20 seconds (no kidding!). This trick is much easier if you are alone (since all its heads will automatically aim for you), but it is also good if there are only 2 players. Make the reflect shield character stand 1 step after the middle stairs and make the other stand directly behind him/her ON the stairs. This way, all shots aimed at the unprotected player will be intercepted by the other player. Don't worry about recouping the cost of the two shields after killing the boss, the gold that he gives you EVEN in a single player game is more than enough make sure you're still in the black. ***** Versus The Spider Queen (The ??? Forest) ***** [TO BE DETERMINED] I wouldn't know. I never got to her. I always die in the stage right before her lair. I guess 1 credit just isn't enough to get to her hideout; that last stage is just SO long! ***** Versus The Djinn (The Desert Lands) ***** [TO BE DETERMINED] I have no idea whether Reflect Shields will even work. ***** Versus Skorne 1st version (The Cathedral) ***** [TO BE DETERMINED] I have no idea whether Reflect Shields will even work. ***** Versus Skorne 2nd version (The Underworld) ***** [TO BE DETERMINED] I have no idea whether Reflect Shields will even work. NOTE ON KILLING BOSSES: After killing ANY boss, the arcade immediately shifts to "Hard Mode". You will notice this change the moment you enter the following stage. There will be many more enemy generators (as many monster generators as if you were playing a 4 player game) no matter how many players are currently playing. It is also possible to note other changes such as the fact that Orc Archers shoot twice as far (!). I am currently unaware of all the changes since I never continue after I die (ie: I don't live long enough in "hard mode" to find out all the changes). Eventually I will have to since you MUST finish the Cathedral and the Underworld in one sitting if you want to see the ending. At that time, I will post all the details on "Hard Mode". * 10.0 CONCLUSION ************************************************************ I haven't much to say, other thank this game really rocks! I'd love to own it, but I can't spare a couple of thousands of dollars to buy it. No, I really don't think that the N64 and Playstation versions will even compare to the sheer magnificence of this game; so carefully crafted in every aspect. * 11.0 CREDITS *************************************************************** First off, I would like to thank my brother who introduced this game to me. At first I was skeptical as to whether this game was any good (or just some cheezy remake of the original Gauntlet which I liked so much). After a few games, I realized that this game was really kick-ass! I would also like to thank Atari games for making this increadible game; and hopefully, they will port it to the PC someday (I really doubt that the N64 and the Playstation versions will even come close to what the arcade version). I would also like to thank Puni_sher, a.k.a., Broug, A.k.a. DOUG BROWN for writting the increadible Gauntlet Legends FAQ (version 2, 1/7/99), without which, I would never have even bothered to write this FAQ. These two FAQs are ment to complement each other and I am in no way trying to compete to see who has the better FAQ (but obviously, he does). Lastly, I would like to thank ASS, KXX and all the other level 99 characters at my arcade who finished the game many times over. (It really helped me a lot because I only play with the Valkyrie; I got a chance to analyze their character for free.) PROBLEMS, SUGGESTIONS? E-mail me at RedPhoenixOne@Hotmail.com COMPLAINTS? Don't e-mail me at all. Get a life; you certainly got better things to do than put other people's work down.