Gameplay FAQ / Walkthrough 1.12

[cheese]

Detailed Walkthrough
This detailed FAQ / walkthrough contains all the information you could ever want about Eien no Aselia. It is compiled and maintained by Dakkodango staff members Phlebas and EchoMateria. Check this document for answers before asking any questions.

You may use this thread to discuss gameplay related questions, tips, suggestions for the walkthrough, etc.
Version 1.12 changes:

• *Minor fixes and clarifications.

Version 1.11 changes:

• *Clarified some requirements on Kyouko and Tokimi routes
  *Clarified Gatekeeper Garion conditions

Version 1.1 changes:

• *Important rectification of route priority: Aselia, Esperia and Orpha override Kyouko and Tokimi routes.
  *Various non-critical fixes and clarifications.

Version 1.03 changes:

• *Fixed various non-critical bits for more accurate placement of some events

Version 1.02 changes:

• *Fixed Gatekeeper Raze appearance conditions
  *Fixed information on a choice in mission 11
  *Added a question on recommended route order

Version 1.01 changes:

• *Fixed trainer Yumina Ice appearance conditions
  *Fixed broken hyperlinks
  *Fixed dual info on Selia's appearance.
  *Added a question about clear ranks in the FAQ.

[Nemo]

Before I start rambling, the walkthrough is quite nice in its current form, and I appreciated it greatly.


Regarding mission 4, you give the following tip :
"On the 15th turn, the trainer Yumina Ice appears in the village of Laus."
You could add that you can fetch her with a low-level spirit and that she will be enabled anywhere for you to train ; I remember that on first playthrough I sent both Yuuto and Aselia on the other side of the map to get her...

You could probably add a "general battle tips" section too, before the guide for each mission ; the walkthrough has several useful tips, but I felt they were a bit everywhere and could use to be regrouped. I'll try to think of a few mistakes I made, and check you didn't mention them. Maybe it also would be useful to give deeper analysis of some missions (like "here you want to spend a few turns training your character for the next mission").
Something I felt could be explained : the reward for SS / S / A / etc. grades. Are they worth it ? Sometimes I could finish the mission with SS or S, but instead I chose to delay the victory and level up my party, depleting the mana on the map. Is it wise on the long term ? What do I lose when I gain say 2 levels but miss out on an SS to get only an A or B rank ?
The structure of the walkthrough is also a bit strange, though I don't really know what could be done ; it just kinda struck me that it started by the ending and route sections (though it's probably one of the main reason you're reading the walkthrough in the first place so it makes sense to have it in the beginning I guess ; maybe I've played too many VNs, but I like flowcharts too...) I guess what I expected was more combat tips in the beginning, a quick flowchart, the complete mission / choice walkthrough, advanced tips and the faq.

All I could think on top of my head, I'll take a few notes to write more.

[Phlebas]

If you read the route section you should realize why a flowchart would be quite useless. The organization is chiefly meant so that you can first get the general but very essential info on the routes, for those who do not wish to cling to a detailed walkthrough and spoil themselves. Just how to get where you want on your own.

There are so many things to comment on and debate that the guide would just be sprawling if we tried to stuff it *all* there, and people wouldn't notice the info anyway when they needed it. It's already quite lengthy .
The thing to realize about the completion rewards is that everything is a tradeoff. Levels are equivelant to ether, though you need time to achieve them, so optimally you proceed as fast as you can, so that when you have spare time you can put it into levels and thus reach higher levels than if you leveled along the way and sacrificed SS rewards. There is no way to grind ether, the amount you can get during the play is absolute, so all bonuses are worthwhile. On the other hand, if you don't turn the ether into levels effectively enough you may find yourself unable to proceed and take an even bigger hit.

Feedback is most welcome.

[Nemo]

Yes, I understand about the flow chart ; in a way I felt it represented best what I miss in the walkthrough. Like you said, it is huge but sometimes I just couldn't find the info I was looking for (mostly on combat stuffs).
To me it's more kind of a guide than a walkthrough, if that makes sense. A walkthrough would tell you, "have Aselia at least level 23 by that point, Yuuto 22 using this and that skill and YOU MUST NEVER UP that character because it's a waste of mana" and so on ; litteraly taking the player by the hand and walking him through the hardships

I'm not sure I quite understand the trade-off between ether and levels, but I admit I haven't paid much attention to it (I always play mostly for the story, not a big fan of fights - that's probably why I was looking for a "failsafe" way to win them, or at least to make them the more painless possible, if you get what I mean).
I'll try to do some missions with every rank and compare the rewards ; I'm not a powergamer, but I must confess I played Utawarerumono a while ago in the highest difficulty setting, and couldn't finish the game because my characters weren't levelled properly (had to restart...). So now I'm sort of worried every time i play a strategic VN :p

[Phlebas]

Well it IS a guide, it just includes the detailed walkthrough as well . Looks like cheese renamed it to walkthrough ehe, but we've been writing it as a guide.

And ether simply transfers into your max levels by the end of the game. Just in case you didn't notice it, leveling costs ether. You will eventually run out of ether to level, then you will cry for more and realize you could've only got more by clearing the missions faster .

[blakraven66]

"On the 15th turn, the trainer Yumina Ice appears in the village of Laus."

Just wanted to point out the this isn't always the case since she seems to be appearing on the 17th for me.

[Phlebas]

Yumina Ice appears upon defeating the blue-blue-red squad between Rizario and Rimodoa. Checked and fixed.

[Nemo]

Ha thanks a lot for the explaining Phlebas, I hadn't noticed...
What I usually do is divide the max mana in the mission by the number of turn for the S rank, and try to build enough ether factories to process it by then, while still having some time to train. In the end, I also sell the buildings and do what with the leftover :p Most of the time though I'm only getting A ranks if I'm to empty the mana tank (without losing any spirit - so many times I got one-shotted by a damned caster because Aselia didn't have anymore barrier, and I didn't see it. Then I'm like, "why didn't I save before ~~~~")

[Iskandar]

Just thought I would point out that in the ToC, two of the sections (under Introduction) are broken links.

Also (From Extras>Keyboard),
"Keyboard commands are, unlike the buttons with similar purposes, are direct. Meaning, you won't be asked for a confirmation before ending your turn or returning to main menu, if you press the corresponding key."

Should be
"Keyboard commands are, unlike the buttons with similar purposes, direct. Meaning, you won't be asked for a confirmation before ending your turn or returning to the main menu if you press the corresponding key."

[SnowDream]

Do mana per city reset per mission? Should I be concerned about being a mana hog and building lv 5 ether converters in all cities?