Player's Guide
CHARACTERS
Da Boyz The basis of mastering Dark Legions lies in fully
understanding the game's characters. All 16 of them have their own
strengths and weaknesses, and their own specific uses, both on the
strategic map and in combat. Over the next four pages we tell you what
these qualities are as well as advise you which characters are best in
which situations, taking into account whether you're playing against
the computer or another human opponent. So without further ado,
meet...
Berserker
The humble Berserker is the weakest character in Dark Legions,
with no special strategic powers and just simple sword attacks in
combat. However, a Berserker is far from useless, for one simple
reason - it's cheap. The Berserker's low cost means that eve n the
smallest army can afford several of them, and their loss in combat is
far from crippling. However, the rule book's suggestion that you
should use them as 'trap-finders' should be ignored - with sensible
use of Seers, this is unnecessary. Instead, u se a screen of
Berserkers as your front line, to slow down and weaken enemy
attackers. In combat, Berserkers should avoid characters with ranged
attacks, as they'll often get killed before they even get a swing in.
However, a large enough number of Berse rkers can wear down, and even
kill, the toughest of opponents by attacking in a wave. This is
particularly effective against the computer. When controlling a
character without a ranged attack, the Dark Legion's artificial
intelligence will charge straigh t at you. Stand still, facing the
approaching enemy, and when the character is still just out of range,
begin a Killing Blow move. If you get the timing right, the opponent
will be hit just as it gets within attacking range, ensuring that you
do the maxi mum amount of damage, even if it then proceeds to rip your
Berserker to pieces.
Conjurer
The Conjurer is the most expensive character in the game, but
it's a good investment nonetheless. Its ability to summon new troops
gives your army great strategic flexibility, allowing you to
temporarily replace lost forces, bolster a weak area of your d efences
or deal with a particular type of enemy, by summoning the right kind
of character to deal with the situation. Bear in mind, however, that a
summoned creature will survive for only ten turns at the most, and
it'll grow gradually weaker as time goe s by. This means that ideally
you should not summon a creature until enemy troops are within sight
of the Conjurer, and preferably not until the summoned character can
immediately attack its target, while it's at its strongest. This poses
a problem, beca use Conjurers should be protected from combat at all
times - even the lowly Berserker can be a serious threat. Because of
this weakness you should always hide your Conjurers behind a screen of
real bodyguards (the stronger the better) and save enough lif e-force
so that if an enemy does get close, you can summon a last ditch
defender. In keeping with all the magicians in the game, Conjurers
work well in combination with other character types, and should always
have a Templar right next to them. Rings of Life and Rejuvenation
increase their usefulness, and a Ring of Speed allows them to move up
the map faster, bringing their considerable power to bear.
Demon
This is the most powerful fighter available to you - it's
difficult to do anything wrong with a Demon. Against human players
their sheer psychological effect is a useful device, and even the
computer knows enough to be wary of them. Their huge combat abi lity
means that they are very flexible, serving equally well as assault
troops or as a virtually impenetrable wall of defence. A group of
Demons is one of the only forces capable of smashing through the
enemy's line on its own. In addition, their very st rength makes them
capable of defeating just about every other character in the game. The
only opponents they should be wary of are: Fire Elementals, due to
their ranged attack and partial immunity to the Demon's breath weapon;
Trolls, due to their great strength (a Troll won't find it easy to
kill a Demon, but it can certainly weaken one severely); and, of
course, other Demons. However, the biggest danger when using Demons is
over-confidence - because of their seeming invulnerability there's a
strong te mptation to just charge in and duke it out toe to toe with
everything. But remember, Demons can be worn down just like any other
character. The Demon's Sonic Scream, while useful, should only ever be
used when a Demon is right in the thick of it and like ly to die,
otherwise you should save its life-force for what it does best -
fighting.
Fire Elemental
Other than the brute power of the Demon, the Fire Elemental is
arguably the most dangerous fighter available to you in Dark Legions.
Its use in combat requires a bit more skill, but with practice it's
more than a match for any other character in the game (including the
big four-armed red guys with the horns and serious halitosis
problems). Due to their speed and ability to fly over chasms and
water, Fire Elementals also make ideal scouts and roving
troublemakers. The key to using Fire Elementals in comb at is range -
stay away from your opponent and pepper him with Fireballs, using the
Mini-Nova attack only as a last resort. Against a slow-moving enemy
without a ranged attack, this is easy, but tougher baddies take a
little more skill. Against a fast-mo ving adversary, terrain can be
your best friend. Hide on the other side of a tree (or whatever) and
wait until the other character comes around it, then blast them and
run away. When fighting something that can fire back, things get a lot
harder, althoug h the computer AI has problems controlling these
characters. Stand still, facing the computer's character, and when it
gets in line with you it'll fire. Immediately let loose your own
Fireball and dodge to one side. The computer will tend to sit there an
d get hit. As soon as its missile has passed you, move back into the
line of fire and repeat the process. This can take a while to get the
hang of, but it means that you can often come out of such a fight
without a scratch. The same rules apply to the No va as to the Demon's
Scream, but remember, it kills the Elemental.
Illusionist
The Illusionist is one of those characters whose usefulness is
very dependant on whether you're playing against the computer or
another player. Against another human player, who has no way of
telling what is an illusion and what isn't, Illusionists can b e a
powerful force. Mixing Illusionists in with real characters can make a
group seem far more powerful than it is, and this tactic can be used
to divert your opponent's attention from a real threat, or scare him
into backing off. In these instances you can afford to create illusory
Demons and Trolls, as their appearance is more important than their
combat ability. Against the computer, which is immune to psychology,
Illusionists are less useful and you should concentrate on creating
characters with ran ged attacks - remember that a single hit in combat
destroys an illusion. The greatest enemy to the Illusionist, though,
is the Seer. If your opponent (real or computer) uses these characters
well, your Illusionist will be all but powerless. It's this wea kness
that really limits Illusionists, and makes them of dubious use. Unless
you're confident in your ability to pick off opposing Seers, it's
probably best to avoid using them. However, if you do decide to have
an illusionist in your army, keep it close to a Templar or two, give
it Rings of Life and Rejuvenation if at all possible (a Ring of Speed
might not go amiss either), and keep it out of combat at all costs.
Orc
In many ways the Orc is just a slightly more powerful Berserker,
and much of the same advice applies - use Orcs in great numbers as a
screen for your main line and in groups to intimidate a human opponent
or wear down a tough character. The key differenc e between the
Berserker and the Orc is in combat. The Orc's Charge Attack, as well
as causing a decent amount of damage, allows him to close the distance
between himself and the enemy quickly (or run away quickly - you don't
have to charge at the opponen t, after all). Against
computer-controlled characters without a ranged attack, the Orc can
use the same technique as the Berserker, charging at its opponent as
it approaches. In addition to this, though, the Charge Attack gives an
Orc a slightly better c hance against characters with ranged attacks -
hopefully getting close enough to do some damage, at any rate.
Finally, the Charge is of great use against human players, who can
often be forced to panic by using it. When you do get close, avoid the
Head B utt - it's too slow to be of much use. Instead, go for Side
Swings with the Orc's Cestii, which are quick and can easily cause a
lot of damage. The ideal attack from an Orc is a Charge followed by
two or three Swings - this'll seriously damage even the t oughest of
characters before the Orc dies.
Phantom
The Phantom is a character dominated by its special ability -
everything else is secondary to the fact that the enemy can't see it.
And that's the key to using it effectively. Without its invisibility
it's a very average character, slow moving and of lim ited use in
combat. The Phantom is ideally suited to being a scout, sneaking past
the enemy's front lines to locate its Orb Holder and other weaker
characters. Bear in mind, however, that if an enemy moves on to the
unseen Phantom, combat will still occu r, giving away not just its
existence, but its position as well. To avoid this you should be
careful when moving your Phantom - stick to the edges of the map when
possible, but if that's not possible, hide behind obstacles and in
awkward spaces - most pe ople (including the computer) will just move
across and down to avoid an obstacle, so hiding right behind one is a
good idea. The real problem with using a Phantom in this way is its
speed - a scout is no good if the rest of your army outruns it, so
Ring s of Speed are a must. A Ring of Power or two can also turn it
into a good assassin. As with Illusionists, the Phantom's biggest
enemy is the Seer, who can negate its special ability. Again, only use
Phantoms if you're confident of dealing with enemy See rs before they
cause too much trouble.
Seer
A Seer is one of the most strategically important characters in
the game. All your enemy's cleverly placed traps, sneaky Phantoms and
confusing Illusionists are useless when one of these characters is
about. However, Seers do suffer from the same problem as all the
strategically strong characters - they're horribly weak in combat but
need to be close to your front line to do their jobs, making them
prime targets for your opponent. As such, always protect them with
some big, tough bodyguards, preferably Demons. In spite of what the
manual says, Seers are all but useless in a fight, especially against
higher level computer opponents, against which their befuddled attack
is worthless, so if they get attacked, they're as good as dead. Seers
really must be protected as well as possible. Beyond that, there's
little else to say about them. Their powers are always active,
requiring no input from you. Just be careful not to let your front
line stray beyond the Seer's range of sight, or you negate the point
of having the character in the first place.
Troll
Despite being second only to the Demon, in sheer destructive
ability, these characters appear far more useful than they really are.
The problem with Trolls is their slow speed, which makes them
virtually useless as an offensive force - it takes them too long to
get into the action. You can negate this with a couple of Rings of
Speed, but then you're paying more per Troll than you would for the
far tougher Demon. Where the Troll does come into its own, however, is
in a defensive role. Leave your Orb Hold er at the back of the map,
scatter a few Trolls around it and turn them into rocks on your first
turn. Then, even if the enemy does break through your line, there'll
be a nasty surprise waiting for it. In combat the Troll is suitably
tough, able to deal out a satisfying amount of damage as well as soak
up a fair amount. When playing against the computer and faced with an
enemy without a ranged attack, you can use a similar technique to that
of the Berserker, but with the Troll's devastating Overhead Sma sh
Attack. However, ranged attacks can cause the slow-moving Troll a lot
of trouble, especially the pesky Fire and Water Elementals.
Shape Shifter
The Shape Shifter is a very flexible character, which offers you
a number of options, and makes a good Orb Holder. Its shape-changing
ability is completely free of charge, so you can change from one form
to another as many times as you like without weake ning the character,
and it gains all of the combat abilities of its current form. As
stated in the game manual, deception is the Shape Shifter's forte, and
you should make the most of its ability to confuse and surprise an
opponent. Because of this abili ty, the character is far more useful
against human players than the unperturbable computer opponent, which
won't suffer from the same shock when a Demon appears 'out of nowhere'
and rips up its flank. Note: You should be careful when following the
advice in the manual. Pretending to be a weak character in order to
lure the enemy close and then changing into a Demon or Fire Elemental
and frying them is a good tactic, but you've got to be very careful ╞
if the enemy can reach you and attack in one turn, y ou wonЦt have a
chance to change forms, and you'll be stuck as a Seer or something
else equally pathetic in combat, effectively throwing your Shape
Shifter away. Be sure to look closely at the ranges of the opposing
characters when trying this trick.
Templar
The Templar is another character of great strategic importance.
It can not only heal adjacent characters at a cost to their own
life-force, but by merely standing close to them it can give them a
bonus to their revitalisation every turn. Unfortunately, w hile
they're not as helpless as some characters in combat, they aren't
particularly strong either, and should be protected if at all
possible. Templars are particularly useful to have around the magician
characters (Wizard, Conjurer and Illusionist), as their special powers
burn life-force at an alarming rate. You should aim to have at least
one Templar in your force for every two magicians, and move them as a
group, so that the magicians receive the Templars' bonuses at all
times. The other role that a Templar can fulfil is as an 'undead
killer'. By loading a Templar down with suitable rings (Life, Power,
Stamina, Protection and so on) it can become a powerful force in its
own right. Combine this with the Templar's natural bonuses when
fighting undead (Vampires, Phantoms, Wraiths and Zombies) and you have
a potent force, especially if you time your attacks to occur during
the day!
Thief
Although on the face of it the Thief might seem quite a handy
character, to be honest it's not much use. Provided you make good use
of your Seers, youЦll be able to avoid enemy traps, and by doing so
avoid the need for the Thief. Your opponent can't move over his own
traps, so you'll rarely, if ever, be cut off from an area of the map.
The other problem with Thieves is that disarming traps is dangerous,
and often gets the character killed. You have to ask yourself whether
it's worth paying the points fo r a character whose only real use is
to disarm traps that could just as easily be avoided. These problems
are only compounded by the Thief's lack of combat ability - it's just
not very tough at all. It's a shame, because it has some neat moves,
but the o nly way a Thief will ever become a force in combat is with a
lot of skill and a lot of rings. If you do decide to use a Thief, it's
best to manually disarm traps. When doing this, remember to look at
any symbols following the one you have to guess, not j ust the one
before. For example, if you've been given the symbol in the top-left
corner, a blank and then the symbol in the middle-right, then the
blank can't be the top-left symbol, or the bottom-left symbol.
Vampire
The Vampire takes a fair amount of skill to use to its fullest
potential, but if you take the time to practise with it, this
character can turn the tide of a battle. The key to success with a
Vampire is to create as many zombies as quickly as possible. N ot only
does this mean that the Vampire will lose less life-force per turn
(and will eventually start to gain some, if you create enough
zombies), but it also means that you can get the Vampire's life-force
up to a good level. The zombies themselves are also very useful. Not
only do they provide you with 'free' cannon fodder with which to wear
down your opponent, but they also serve as an excellent distraction,
forcing your opponent to divert troops away from the front line in
order to deal with them. B ecause of this, the Vampire shouldn't be
used as part of a formation, but sent off ahead of the rest of your
army, hopefully sneaking around the edges of the enemy and attacking
weak targets to start off with. Rings of Speed are useful - remember,
every turn that goes by the Vampire grows weaker - and a Ring of
Stamina helps in combat. The trick to using the Vampire in combat is
to get a feel for how long the enemy will remain paralysed and
withdraw before it 'snaps out of it', then run away until your stamina
has returned.
Wizard
Wizards have all the same drawbacks as the other magician
characters - they're weak in combat, but need to be near the front to
be useful, thus requiring bodyguards, and their strategic power burns
off life-force. However, like the other magicians, they' re very
useful guys to have around, despite these problems. More than any of
the other 'strategic' characters, Wizards work best in a group. Two or
three of them together with a screen of bodyguards to hide behind and
a like number of Templars to boost t heir revitalisation rate can be a
powerful force on the battlefield. Their special ability to freeze
opponents in place is very flexible in this situation. Each Wizard can
'hold up' a nasty monster until you're ready to deal with it, or all
can target th e same enemy, usually killing it in a turn or two.
Although they are weak in combat, Wizards at least have a half-decent
couple of ranged attacks that give them a better chance of surviving a
fight. Use the first attack to freeze your opponent and then l et
loose with the other - even the strongest of enemies will have trouble
defending themselves against this onslaught. As with all the magicians
in Dark Legions, Rings of Life and Rejuvenation are almost a
prerequisite for the Wizard, and a single Ring o f Speed will help it
keep up with the rest of your forces.
Water Elemental
They may not be quite as tough as their arch enemies the Fire
Elementals, but Water Elementals have an incredibly useful strategic
power - provided that there's water on the map. By teleporting to an
area of water on the enemy's side of the map you can g et instant
scouting information and, unless the enemy has some nearby Water
Elementals of its own, you can just sit in the middle of the water and
recover your life energy. This 'hiding in the water' technique is also
useful when you get badly wounded in a fight, allowing you the time to
recuperate. In combat, the Water Elemental's ranged attack isn't very
powerful, but is one of the most rapid in the game, making for an
effective close attack as well. However, the Tidal Wave Charge can do
some real dam age, and can be used in just the same way as the Orc's
Charge. Because the Water Elemental has a ranged attack as well, it's
often useful to use the Tidal Wave to get away from an opponent who's
dangerous at close range. Water Elementals are good all-rou nd
characters, useful both in combat and on the strategic map. As such,
they benefit from virtually any ring you can give them, although Life
and/or Rejuvenation are particularly useful if you want to teleport a
lot. Bear in mind, however, that a Water E lemental is far less useful
on a map without any water.
Wraith
As the manual says, the Wraith's teleporting ability makes it an
ideal assassin, which is very useful for picking off those pesky
characters that are weak in combat but powerful on the strategic map,
and happen to be inconveniently hidden behind other en emies.
Unfortunately, their low starting life-force means that they are
virtually incapable of doing this at the start of the game. What's
worse, unless your opponent is nice enough to provide you with a few
weak targets to build up your energy, the Wrai th will end up either
being killed early or wandering around in a useless fashion. To
prevent this, always equip a Wraith with as many Rings of Rejuvenation
as possible, and (unless there are a couple of weak characters on
offer) keep them well back unti l their life-force has risen to a
decent level. When teleporting into combat, take the time to think of
the consequences - is the Wraith going to be able to survive the
inevitable counter-attacks, and if not, is it worth sacrificing it?
With these charac ters it's best to wait for a good opportunity when
the Wraith will be able to do the most damage, rather than throw it
away early and wish you still had it later. Of course, if you wait too
long, that's just as bad. But no-one ever said that strategy was going
to be easy!
STRATEGY
The first thing to realise about Dark Legions is that playing
against the computer is very different to playing against a friend,
and so requires different approaches and strategies. The following
guide is split into two sections (Computer Challenge and Friendly
Fun), one for each kind of opponent. Both sections assume that you are
playing with a moderately-sized army (2500 points or more) - much
smaller than this and the game stops being as much fun.
Computer Challenge
The computer opponent in Dark Legions is far from the toughest in
a modern strategy game, but the huge advantage it gains in points on
the higher levels, combined with its considerable skill in combat with
certain characters, can still make it a formidab le challenge. To beat
it, and to beat it convincingly, it's important to understand its
weaknesses. And here they are:
The computer is not very good at fighting with or against certain
characters (see last month's issue for more details on this). It has
only a very basic grasp of overall strategy. It tends to spread all
its characters across the map and charge them down to meet you. It
will keep the various magicians in groups, back from the action, and
keep its orb carrier at its end of the map, but that's about it. It
tends to give its orb to a 'weak' character, often a magician. Even
with the extra power granted by t he orb, these characters are far
from hard to kill. It has very little ability with breaking through
your lines, or any other coherent plan. It seems to pick its army on a
semi-random basis, just having as many of every character as it can
afford. It doe s tend to pick a lot of Seers, and push them towards
the front. Likewise it tends to spend a fair number of points on
traps, which it scatters around liberally.
Taking Your Pick
Your strategy in Dark Legions begins with the choosing of your
army, and when playing against the computer there are several points
to bear in mind. The first thing to realise is that it's not worth
using traps as a destructive weapon. The computer tends to saturate
its forward lines with Seers, making it unlikely that your traps will
escape notice. Although killing off the Seers is possible, it does
mean that you have to divert characters from more important targets (a
Seer is no military threat on his own) and it's pointless once the
traps have been spotted anyway - the computer doesn't seem to forget
the location of traps, even if the spotting Seer is killed or moves
away. You can, however, use traps to block off certain areas. In this
case you want your opponent to see them, and thus the computer's mass
of Seers doesn't matter - the enemy characters won't be able to move
through the line of traps, and that's the point of them in the first
place. By using this technique you can channel the computer 's forces
into the area of the map where you want them, and cut down on the
number of areas that you have to defend. On a similar note, Phantoms
and Illusionists are of very limited use against the computer for
exactly the same reasons as traps, so it's best not to bother with
them unless you have a specific love of either of these characters.
Phantoms are a bit weedy anyway, and for the extra points it's better
to buy a Conjurer and have some solid help at your beck and call. Do
remember to include at least one Seer on your side, though. The
computer really does love traps, especially at the higher difficulty
levels, where it has points to burn and strews them around liberally.
There's nothing quite as annoying as losing a valuable character
without s o much as a fight, so it's vital for you to be able to spot
traps early. The other types of character to avoid when playing
against the computer are weaklings, like Orcs and Berserkers. The
computer isn't intimidated by huge gangs of these guys, so it's more
efficient to have a smaller number of tough characters. For the price
of four Berserkers you can get a Demon, and normally it'll take a lot
more than four boneheads with swords to bring down one of the big red
guys.
Getting Down To It
The key to beating the computer is to use characters in concert,
building a central formation and advancing it up the battlefield under
the cover of skirmishing groups. Group some Wizards, Conjurers,
Templars and Seers together, then put a solid line of Demons in front
of them and slightly to either side. Give all the magicians Rings of
Speed (so they can keep up with the rest of the formation), Life and
Regeneration. Put a couple of Vampires right at either edge of the
board, with Rings of Speed and St amina, then a couple of groups of
Demons, with whatever rings you fancy, to either side of the main
formation. Scatter some Fire Elementals around, as well as whatever
other characters you fancy. Finally, put a Demon or a Shape Shifter
right at the botto m of the map, and give him the Orb. When the game
begins, you just advance the central group steadily up the map - the
Demons will easily protect the magicians, who should be used as and
when needed. Use the smaller group or groups of Demons as skirmishe
rs, taking out the enemy as they find them, and use the Fire
Elementals to clear the way for the main advance, dealing with
anything nasty or dangerous that might threaten one of the bodyguard
Demons. Advance the Vampires up the flanks at full speed, try ing to
slip past the front lines and circle around to the weaker characters
at the back. Creating a few zombies behind the main line confuses the
computer no end. Follow this plan and you should be able to defeat
even the hardest difficulty levels. Just keep your Orb Carrier where
he started, and advance slowly with the rest of your forces, grinding
the enemy down. If you're playing on a larger map, with more points,
keep to the basic idea, just form multiple central formations.
Friendly Fun
Mixing it up with the computer is fun, but the ultimate test of
your skill with Dark Legions comes from fighting another player. Human
players are capable of far more intelligent plans and strategies than
the computer, and can be far better in the combat sections of the
game. The problem is that it's harder to give definite guidelines
telling you what to do, as every player will use slightly different
ideas, and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Still, there is
some general advice that applies to most situations. For a start,
ignore most of what you've learnt about playing the computer. You can
no longer count on your opponent making glaring errors and simple
mistakes. Many of the hints above are based on the fact that the
computer is relatively immune to deception and psychology. This isn't
true of a human opponent. Illusions, Phantoms, big gangs of Orcs and
traps are all far more useful against another player, for example. The
formation idea still works, but you'll need to more adequately pro
tect its sides and rear from sneaky attacks by and intelligent player.
Most importantly, you can't just leave your Orb Holder at the back of
the map, unprotected. A human player will normally assume that any
character near the back is a potential Orb Car rier and go for them
with a vengeance. However, some things still work. Demons have an even
higher intimidation factor, Fire Elementals are just as effective at
clearing the way for your formations, and sending Vampires up each
flank to circle in behind is even more effective (in fact, Vampires
can be one of the most powerful groups of characters in a two-player
game). The real key to playing against another person is to remain
flexible, and keep an eye on what's going on. Try to maintain the
initiative by attacking in several areas at once, confusing your
enemy, and try to predict what he or she is likely to try next. Most
of all, play around, and try new things whenever you can you never
know what's going to work, so it's best to try everything.
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