If you are looking to get ahead in battle, these Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes tips will serve you well.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a game that features a hefty emphasis on exploration. Naturally, while exploring, you can expect to throw down pretty frequently. Moreover, some of the fights can pose a real threat. Especially if you are playing on the superbly well-balanced hard mode.
This is a combat engine that has a number of moving parts, which is why we're here to help clarify certain elements that may be a touch confusing. We'll also provide a few strategies to give you a proper fighting chance. Don't get paralysis by analysis, follow this guide and establish your dominence on the battlefield.
Understanding Battle Formations In Eiyuden
While rows have been featured in a number of RPGs, people who haven't played the Suikoden titles may be a little confused by how Eiyuden's combat works, as rows are greatly emphasized here. You won't be able to effectively build a party unless you understand how the rows affect the different types of combatants.
As an example, games like Final Fantasy 6 have rows that will act as modifiers, but they don't impact the ability of characters to act.
For starters, there are three types of combatants: Short, Medium, and Long. You will find the categorization for each party member listed under their profiles. Short-range fighters should always be in the front, as they won't be able to attack from the back row at all. Long-range fighters should always be in the back, as they are considerably more vulnerable than their short-ranged compatriots. However, they can still act from the front row. Medium-range fighters are able to attack from either row, though, they can only attack the enemy team's back row if they are positioned in the front.
In the character profiles, Short-range is shortened to simply an "S", Middle-range an "M", and Long-range an "L".
Don't make the mistake of thinking of your Medium-range fighters as being Long-range fighters simply because they can act from the back row. Characters like Garr are exceptionally sturdy. If you place him in the back row, then you aren't taking advantage of his high physical defense. Meanwhile, Francesca — another medium-range fighter — has pretty low physical defense, making her a poor fit for the front row. You should always decide on a character-to-character basis where you will put those Medium-range warriors.
Bosses Often Have A Gimmick, Even When They Don't Have A Gimmick
So, one of the big selling points of Eiyuden is that many of the boss battles feature "Gimmicks". These gimmicks operate in a number of ways, and add an additional layer of depth to the boss encounters that feature them. But they aren't featured in every boss battle. Just because you are fighting a boss that doesn't have a giant crane you can hit to drop a boulder on top of them, or an object you can take cover behind to avoid hefty damage from a big attack, doesn't mean that there won't still be a novel element to the battle.
As an example, fairly early in the game, you will encounter the Ancient Seed boss. This colossal creature doesn't have a formal "gimmick", but they do have a trick to them: every physical attack performed against the Ancient Seed will be countered. If you aren't paying attention, you may just think that this boss gets a ton of attacks, which could cause you to have a pretty rough encounter — especially if you are playing on the hard mode. It is pretty common for there to be a light problem-solving element to these encounters, so make sure to pay attention.
Keep Your Eye On The Turn Tracker
This tip comes in two parts. First of all, on the most basic level, it is important to keep track of who is going first, especially when healing is involved. For example, if Nowa is hanging by a thread, and your primary healer's turn is after the boss's, waiting for the healer's turn to come around is a massive roll of the dice. The safe bet is to have a character who acts before the boss to use an herb on Nowa. That's pretty basic stuff, but here's something that isn't so basic: the turn tracker can shift.
What you choose to do in some instances will shift the turn order. A great example of this is opening a chest mid-battle. This will move that character to the back of the turn order. Using a defensive stance, on the other hand, will move a character to the top of the turn order. A number of skills will also adjust the turn order. So, before you confirm any actions, make absolutely sure that you haven't shifted the turn tracker in such a way that you have undermined the other actions you have selected! If you have ever experienced a moment where it feels like things happened in a surprising order, that is what happened.
How To Manage SP Effectively
SP is what you'll use to perform powerful non-magic attacks. But how they work can be a touch confusing. For starters, certain characters enter into combat with an SP point, but this is character dependent. At the beginning of battle, every character will receive 0-2 SP. We're not sure how this is decided, but it appears to be completely random. Any character who starts with an SP could potentially start a battle with up to 3 SP. At the beginning of every subsequent round, each character will gain a single SP.
If there is a stat that determines the amount of SP you receive during the first round, we weren't able to figure out what it is. It appears to be a roll of the dice.
You will gain the SP at the beginning of the round even if you used an SP attack the previous round. This does mean that if a character has an attack that costs a single SP then they will be able to use it in perpetuity (as long as they start the battle with at least one SP). Being mindful of your SP usage is a big part of being effective in Eiyuden, so be mindful of how you use your SP, how much you have stocked at any given time, and how SP dependent your characters are.
Be Keenly Aware Of Defensive Abilities
Most JRPGs give you the ability to defend. Typically, this allows you to mitigate the damage a troop will take. More often than not, this is a pretty infrequently used option, as you are only using it when a boss has a tell that indicates their next target, or, if you have a character with low HP and your healer acts last — though even there, you are more likely to use a potion or something along those lines. However, Eiyuden is not other RPGs. While some characters have the classic "defend" command, there are a number of alternative defensive options. We will list a handful of them below…
- Defense: Halves the amount of damage received
- Charge Up: Increase the damage of your next attack
- Shield: Create a magical barrier capable of absorbing a certain amount of damage
- Dodge: Increase your evasion for three rounds
- Taunting Counter: Taunts the enemy, drawing their attention, and performs a powerful counter-attack against any enemy that takes the bait
- Taunting Evasion: Taunts the enemy, getting their attention, while increasing evasion for three rounds.
The Charge Up skill is incredibly potent and is almost always worth using.
As you can see, some of these abilities are extremely interesting. Avoid gives you a buff that will last three rounds! That is worth doing during any tough encounter. Similarly, Power-Up will allow you to supercharge your offense, and is a great tool during encounters where you don't have a clear shot at the boss for one reason or another. Make good use of these defensive abilities to make your life substantially easier!
Get Your Auto-battle Options In Place
After Final Fantasy 12 introduced the gambit system, the beloved mechanic went missing for pretty to two decades. Until now, that is. This month alone we've gotten three games that have a version of it in one way, shape, or form. And while Eiyuden's version of it is certainly paired down, it is an effective way for you to establish the patterns you want your characters to fight in. You can select a more general option by choosing a "Party Strategy" that will do most of the thinking for you, but we'd recommend tailoring your battle strategies.
To create your won auto-fight strategy, select "Fight Cautiously" for the Party Strategy, then, set the "Action Limits" (which will establish the basic game plan) and then choose the type of skills you want the character to use with the "Priority Action" menu. Finally, you can establish who you want them to target in battle by adjusting the Targeting Settings. You aren't able to say the exact abilities you want the characters to utilize, but there are enough options here that you can have the auto-battle take advantage of your current party's build.
High Defensive Stats Can Be A Game Changer
It is important to note that Eiyuden Chronicle provides tremendous benefits to characters with high defense and resistance. If you play your cards right, characters will be able to tank hits that would devastate most characters. We've seen a defensively specced out Garr eat giant boss attacks and only receive a single point of damage. This applies to elemental resistance as well.
While not every character has the ideal base stats to be a tank, any character equipped with the right runes and accessories can become quite sturdy. As the game opens up, you'll find more and more items that will greatly enhance your defensive stats. While dishing out big damage can obviously be appealing, it is worth seriously considering your defensive stats. Especially when dealing with particular attack types. If you are looking to shore up your defensive stats early, Werne Village is the place to go.
You'll find this settlement North-West of Eltisweiss. Here you'll find a ton of resistance-providing accessories and runes. There are rings that will provide you with resistance to every element, as well as every type of non-magic attack. But it isn't just accessories, the rune shop will also sell you a resistance rune for every element type. Pair a resistance ring and a resistance rune with your mage casting a spell like Water Veil and you will be able to shrug off some pretty powerful magical spells. Spread out those resistance runes, as they will help you considerably.
You have to commit to runes, so, but there are most certainly environmental cues that will clue you into what resistance types you should focus on. If you are entering into a dungeon that is a seaside case, water resistance will probably help you quite a bit!
Use Taunt-Based Defensive Skills To Better Control A Battle
This point is a bit of a hybrid of the two previous tips. There are certain characters who have access to taunt-based defensive options. These skills will cause the enemy to focus on them. Naturally, the best way to make use of these skills is to emphasize that characters defensive stats. When choosing runes and accessories for those characters, lean towards the stuff that will make them more durable.
Now, in actual battle, you can use the classic MMO strategies. Have that character taunt, and then have a healer set to replenish their HP. Since healers tend to act last, you should be able to repeat the strategy in the next round as well. If you don't want a character to simply act as a tank, then you can still use these taunt skills in emergency situations to pull enemies away from wounded allies.
Generally, we found the Taunting Evasion to be better at holding an enemy's attention than the Taunting Encounter.
Use Hero Combos Thoughtfully
Much like the Suikoden series, one of the core components of the combat engine in Eiyuden Chronicle is the inclusion of team-based attacks — In Eiyuden they're called "Hero Combos". While you will likely want to seek them out for the spectacle alone, Hero Combos aren't just for show. In fact, they may just be one of the most potent tools in your arsenal. However, these attacks aren't always the best approach, as they come at a cost. Here is the breakdown of things you need to be aware of when it comes to these team attacks…
- Hero Combos cost all characters involved SP.
- Hero Combos will use each character involved's turn.
- Hero Combos take both character's speed into consideration, and will affect the action order.
- Hero Combos have their own range (as an example, despite both Nowa and Lian being M-Range characters, their Hero Combo cannot be performed if they are both in the back row).
While that seems like a lot to sacrifice for a single attack, they offer a lot in return. Some of the best Hero Combos will attack every enemy unit, others will deal a substantial amount of damage while also providing buffs. Additionally, they have their own attack type. This means that characters who aren't effective against enemies can often still contribute by way of a Hero Combo.
It isn't a terrible idea to build your team around certain Hero Combos. As an example, Francesca and Falward Light and Dark Heal Combo is expensive, costing a pricey 3 SP, but it heals your entire party by a reasonably large amount while also providing multiple buffs to each character. Better yet, it doesn't cost a single MP. That is the type of ability that should make you consider bringing both of them with you.
