_ / | _____ _________ _------_ __________ _____ /___| \ | _- / _- ____ -_ \_ ___ \ \_ | _________ | \ \ | _- _______\ _- / \ -_ | | \ \ | | \___ / | \ | | | _- - / \ - | |__/ / | | | | | \ | | | | - / \ - | / | | / | | |\ \ | | | | | | | | | __ \ | | | | | | \ \ | | | | ______ - \ / - | | \ \ | | | | | | \ \ | | _ _ /_ \ -_ \ / _- | | \ \ | / | | | | \ \ | | -_ -_ - _ \ -_ \____/ _- | | / / | | /_____\ | | \ \| | -_ -_____| / -_ _- _| |___/ / _| |_________ / \ \ / -_______ / ------ /_________/ \____________/ /_______\ \ / |/ ____ ___ __ __ __ __ ____ _ _ ____ ____ ____ / ___| / _ \ | \/ || \/ | / __ \ | \| || _ \ | __|| _ \ | |___ | (_) || || || __ || || |_| || __|| / \____| \___/ |_|\/|_||_|\/|_||_| |_||_|\_||____/ |____||_|\_\ _------_ ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- -______- U N L E A S H T H E H O R D E Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde FAQ Copyright 2003-2004 Patrick Fortune Table of Contents: I. Introduction and future plans II. Story III. Version History IV. Game basics A. Basic controls B. Resources C. Managing your troops V. The Clans A. Stonekrusher B. Hellfire C. Stormbringer D. Plaguespitter E. Nighthorde VI. Structures VII. Strategies VIII. Frequently asked Questions (FAQ) IX. Cheats X. Help Needed XI. Legal Crap XII. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction and Future Plans ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello there! =) This is my first-ever FAQ (and second-ever contribution) to GameFaqs. I am NOT, however, new to the gamefaqs community, and I have been posting on numerous boards for a while. Any tips, suggestions, corrections, questions, or (constructive) criticism may be sent to me at PJ688@comcast.net. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make the title of your e-mail "Goblin commander" or something very similar, as I get lots of spam e-mail and having a subject that sticks out would help me sort through it. In the future I hope to make a walkthrough for this game. By the time I do, however, there will probably already be one up on the site. But mine will be better, damn it! BETTER I SAY!!! Note to self: take medication prescribed by doctor. Anyways, ON WITH THE SHOW!! =) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. The Story ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you want the "official" story written by the creators of the game themselves, read the manual that comes with it. Or, maybe the website has it. Look in the credits for the website. The following is my version, with a couple of phrases taken from the book to show important elements of the story. The great human wizard Fraziel, combining his power with that of the five moons, created five goblin clans to build his "Great Machine." He promised that if they succeeded in creating this machine, they would be given power beyond their imagining. To guide and protect each clan, Fraziel created a chief, and granted each chief the power of the moon that created him. These children of the moon were given the ability to control members of their clan directly, or to meld with the moonlight and direct the entire clan from above. Grommel of the stonekrusher clan was first to be born. With the power of the white moon Froxx, he led his clan deep into the earth to uncover stone and metals for the Great Machine. Grax was second to be born unto the world. With his Hellfire clan, and the powers of the red moon Heelinx, he cleared entire sections of the great Ogriss forest. With some of this lumber he constructed settlements within the forest, and the rest he sent to his master to aid with the Great Machine. Faine was next, and he used the power of the blue moon Trist to study the phenomenon that is electricity. Aided by his Stormbringer clan, he build great centers of study atop the frozen peaks, and any knowledge he discovered was shared with his master, Fraziel, in the hopes of using it in the construction of the Great Machine. Syst of the green moon Phoust was next. He and his Plaguespitter clan resided in the swamps, where they gathered rare plants and studied toxicology. They used this knowledge to make fierce war upon their enemies and to create fuel for the Great Machine. Naxus was last to be created, and Fraziel gave him the power of the purple moon Farthis. He and his dreadful Nighthorde clan scrounged long-forgotten battlefields and ruined cities for the remains of ancient wisdom and lore, and used whatever they could find to benefit themselves. For a long time, the five clans lived in perfect harmony, each carrying out their duties to their master to aid in the construction of the machine that he promised would change them forever. But then something horrible happened, and Fraziel was quite suddenly dead. Grommel, who was with his master when it happened, sought the aid of the other clans to find out what had happened. But, the other clans blamed Grommel for their master's death, and he was forced to battle them to make them submit. It is up to you to unite the clans, and unleash the horde upon your enemies! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. Version History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.00 (November 20, 2003): -The first version! YAAAY! -Set up the FAQ, put in all the basic stuff -I have unit/upgrade/titan/turret costs for all of Stonekrusher, almost all of Hellfire, and most of Stormbringer. Currently I am not far enough in the game to provide the rest, so I'll update it as I progress, or as I receive information from other players Version 1.10 (November 23, 2003) -Finished up with Hellfire and Stormbringer research and unit costs. -Started on Plaguespitter research and unit costs -Discovered that you may only have one support unit per type at a time. Updated the FAQ accordingly =) -Became experienced with Stormbringer and provided my opinion in the "My Opinion" sections of their units Version 2.00 (November 27, 2003) -HAPPY THANKSGIVING! =) -The guide FINALLY got posted on GameFaqs. It looked very neat and organized in Microsoft Word, but it came out very ugly on GameFaqs. I've fixed it and I will be using Notepad from now on. -Finished up almost all of Plaguespitter research and recruitment costs, and put in most of Nighthorde's costs. Version 2.01 (December 4, 2003) -Very minor updates Version 2.50 (January 2, 2004) -HAPPY NEW YEAR! =) Yeah, it's a day late but, oh well. -Added another tip to the "Managing your Troops" section -Added a list of runes and their functions (thanks to MadMonk!) Version 2.55 (January 5, 2004) -I recieved the first submitted strategy today (yay!) and made a strategy section for it. Version 2.55b(January 9, 2004) -Updates so minor they dont even merit one full hundredth of a version =) Version 2.70 (January 24, 2004) -I've been getting e-mails asking about cheats a lot lately. I've added a cheats section to help folks out. Also, I've added a new question to the Frequently Asked Questions section, detailing how to recieve help for a particular mission. Version 2.71 (February 2, 2004) -Added an ASCII title to the top of the FAQ (thanks to Perfect Light!!!) Version 2.72 (February 22, 2004) -Added some more tips to the Managing your Troops section (thanks to Justin Rasnic) Version 2.73 (March 13, 2004) -I will no longer be providing strategies for specific levels. Any emails asking for one will be promptly deleted. Sorry, but I don't play the game any more and therefore am not much use to anyone when it comes to specific levels. Version 7.80 (June 19, 2004) -Added 2 strategies to the strategies section (thanks to MadMonk and Nicholas Adams) -Added a tip to "Managing your Troops" (thanks to Devon) Version 7.81 (August 23, 2004) -Added a missing rune (Thanks to Diabloman1991) -Couple of typos fixed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. Game Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------A. Basic controls------------------------------ In this ENTIRE document, the following will be my abbreviations for buttons: S -> the square button T -> the triangle button C -> the circle button The others (start, X, L1, R2, etc.) are pretty self-explanatory. Ok, so here are the controls: Left analog stick: used to move the cursor, or the unit or titan you are in control of. Right analog stick: zoom in/out. When in control of a unit or titan, used to rotate the camera as well. X, S, C: Used to direct the clan associated with the button. For example, lets say S was assigned to the Hellfire clan, and X was assigned to Stonekrusher. Press S on the ground to make the entire Hellfire clan move there. Press it on a structure, enemy, or on debris to make the entire clan attack that object. Press it over one of your own buildings to make the entire clan defend it. If you want both clans to do the same thing on the same target, you have to press S and then X (or vice-versa) on that target. X: Press when inside a damaged clanshrine or hall of the titans to repair it. Press when the cursor is over a moongate that you control to teleport to it. T: When the cursor is over a destroyed building, it rebuilds it, for a cost of gold. When the cursor is over a defense structure (also called a "turret"), it destroys it (you DO NOT get your resources back). When over an already- constructed clanshrine, hall of the titans, alchemist's shop, or observatory, it allows you to enter that building. When over a unit, it allows you to take control of that unit, which automatically makes the entire clan follow that unit. When over a titan, it takes control of the titan (controls unique to each titan are listen in "The Clans"). When in control of a unit or titan, hold L1 and double-tap a clan button to make that clan follow you. Multiple clans may follow you at once. R2: Uses item in the right inventory slot L2: Uses item in the left inventory slot Directional pad: Right: Shows mission objectives Down: Takes the camera to the last ping Up: cycles through home markers NOTE: Hold L1 and press Up to set home markers Left: Access help screen --------------------------------B. Resources---------------------------------- To purchase upgrades, create units, repair or rebuild structures, make turrets, or buy items from observatories and alchemists, you need resources. There are only two resources in the game: 1. Souls How to acquire: -kill units -find and destroy a cache -find and take over a soul fountain -The Nighthorde's witch doctor can steal them How it's used: -Creating units -Some units require souls to be unlocked -Some turrets require souls to be built -Purchasing items 2. Gold How to acquire: -Destroy enemy buildings -Destroy debris (type of debris depends on the area you are in) How it's used: -Mostly for upgrading -Unlocking new units requires mostly gold -Purchasing items -Repairing and rebuilding your buildings -----------------------------C. Managing your troops--------------------------- These are a few assorted tips on how to carry out a battle successfully: -Destroy every single piece of debris you come across as soon as possible and BUY UPGRADES. 10 goblins with level 3 armor are MUCH MUCH MUCH harder to kill than goblins with none, and the sooner you get these upgrades, the easier the mission becomes. Even after you have all upgrades, keep destroying debris. You never know when you will need to replace a destroyed turret or titan, and some goblins cost gold as well. -As soon as you are able, get a support unit. One from each clan should be with you at all times. And DON'T forget to upgrade your support unit's abilities in the clanshrine. -Don't be afraid to use turrets if the situation demands it. If you are off collecting resources or securing an area, but enemies are still coming at your base from a different direction, protect it with 2 or 3 turrets and one clan. If you have to go to a place that can only be accessed by warping (via moongates), leave a titan behind, as well. -USE TITANS. They can wreak massive damage upon your enemy. Take control of it and have your troops follow you, then go whack some baddies =) -When you get access to a new clan, see to your defenses and then explore the clanshrine a bit. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of your new goblins and plan accordingly. Also remember that you cannot get all five of the goblin types on the first mission you have that clan. Check for new units each mission until the clanshrine is full. -If you come upon an enemy turret, USUALLY (but NOT always) it is best to ignore enemy units and take out the turret first. If there is a titan, take that out, then the turrets, then the units. This is much easier if you have all your upgrades. -Use a clan's strength to your advantage. For example, early on you may want to use Stonekrusher Pitbosses to do the heavy meleeing while Hellfire bombardiers and hunters are blasting the enemy to bits. -Find and use runes! They can wreak havoc on your enemy or provide benifits to your army. MadMonk sends his list of the symbols on the runes and the runes' functions: "Rune list: Heart- Heal (pointless with drummer) Eye- lets u see things in the area of use (I never use this cause usually u don't know where to look Wavy lines- earthquake (damages units) Flames- fire (obviously flame that hurts units) Rain cloud- Acid Rain (not very useful) Red marking- Slows opponents (good for running away or stopping enemy reinforcements) Lightning- (another pretty much basic rune almost the same thing as Fire) Shield- (......... I think you can figure this one out) Blue star- Freezes enemy units (so much better than Slow) Saw- Shoots all these little throwing star looking things at enemies( this is no doubt my favorite rune, it looks so cool and its more useful than Fire and Lighting because it spreads out) Red swirl- Soul Drain( Hurts units and steals souls) This is my first entry to a FAQ so I hope you use this!" -Diabloman1991 sends in some info about a rune we've missed: "Somebody forgot the Transmogrify rune. It shows a red sheep. Good for large groups of enemies. Releases a purple gas cloud that turns all enemies in the cloud into sheep. Those in the cloud who are going to be transformed have yellow circles around them." -Pay attention to the mini-map and the pings that appear on it. Blips (small squares on the mini-map): -Green = Friendly unit/structure -Red = Enemy unit/structure -Yellow = gold -Blue = soul fountain/soul cache Pings (rotating, circular symbols on the mini-map): -Green = You have captured a structure -Yellow = The enemy is attacking one of your units/structures -Red = The enemy has captured/destroyed one of your structures -Use the help screen if you are new and don't know what a certain object is or how to use it. To do this, place you cursor over the object and press Left on the control pad. -Justin Rasnic sends in a couple tips of his own: " -Destroy as many enemy clanshrines as you can. This will slow or stop the continuous attacks on your base. This makes completing any mission much easier, as you dont have to keep spending souls on goblins to defend your base or the gold to repair and rebuild structures. -If you have to defend a base with multiple entries and you don't have enough clans to guard all of them, have your available clans patrol a path from on entry to the other. I found this a good strategy on the level where you control the plaguespitter, hellfire, and nighthorde clans and you have to destroy parts of the great machine untill it explodes. " -Devon also sends in a tip" " -Tip on managing units. I always (or at least when I can) get 9 Pitbosses and 1 Drummer, then I get 10 ranged units from the Hellfire clan to back em up, but what you need (and I really mean need) for this tactic is fully upgraded range. Then you'll pretty much dominate a lot of guys. " ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. The Clans ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The five clans, Stonekrusher, Hellfire, Stormbringer, Plaguespitter, and Nighthorde, each have 5 unique goblins (four combat and one support), a turret, and a titan. The following sections will list those units and give details on each. Cost to unlock = the amount of resources it takes to unlock a unit. A unit must be unlocked once at the beginning of each level before it can be recruited. NOTE: "N/A" listed in this category means you never have to unlock the unit; you always start with the ability to recruit it. Cost to recruit = the amount of resources needed to create one of this unit. Combat = Damage done Toughness = How much damage can be sustained Attack = Type of weapon/attack used Bonuses = Certain advantages of the unit NOTE: I, like the manual, will use "Poor", "Average," "Good," and "Excellent" to rate combat and toughness. Excellent > Good > Average > Poor. Furthermore, each clan has an overall strength against another clan, and an overall weakness versus another. I will provide these strengths and weaknesses as well. --------------------------------A. Stonekrusher-------------------------------- The stonekrusher clan was made by Fraziel to collect stone and precious metal for the great machine. It is strongest against the Nighthorde clan, and weakest against the Stormbringers. Clan-chief: Grommel Moon: White moon Froxx Goblins: 1. Miner: Basic melee unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 6 souls Combat: Average Toughness: Good Attack: Blunt Bonuses: -Armor vs. Piercing -Excellent vs. Structures My opinion: The miner is good to use only when you have a very limited supply of souls, or in the early game when it's the only melee unit you have access to. The damage versus buildings is nice, but it's best to use better melee units for this clan, and then use the ranged attacks of other clans to take out buildings. 2. Rock Thrower: Basic range unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 8 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Average Attack: Blunt Bonus: Chance to knock a unit back (not including titans) My opinion: Only use this unit when the stonekrusher clan is all you have. After you get hellfire, which is MADE for ranged combat, start training only melee stonekrushers. 3. Lugger: Melee unit Cost to unlock: 30 gold Cost to recruit: 10 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Good Attack: Blunt Bonus: Chance to stun the target My opinion: The pitboss is much better, and not much more expensive. 4. Pitboss: Melee unit Cost to unlock: 40 gold Cost to recruit: 14 souls Combat: Excellent Toughness: Excellent Attack: Blunt Bonus: Chance to kill target instantly My opinion: The pitboss is the best tank of the clans, besides Nighthorde. The chance to kill instantly is a good enough reason to get these guys, not even looking at their other stats. Fully upgraded and in large groups, these guys wreak havoc and are tough to kill. Team up 10 upgraded Pitbosses with some upgraded ranged units from another clan, and you have a very powerful force. 5. Drummer: Support unit Cost to unlock: 50 gold Cost to recruit: 12 souls Combat: None Toughness: Excellent Attack: None Bonus: Heals nearby units My opinion: Never leave home without him. A fully upgraded drummer can heal your entire army after a battle in only a few seconds. Upgrades: 1. Damage: -First level: 20 gold -Second level: 60 gold -Third level: 150 gold 2. Armor: -First level: 30 gold -Second level: 50 gold -Third level: 150 gold 3. Healing (Drummer): -First level: 40 gold -Second level: 80 gold -Third level: 140 gold Stonekrusher turret: Rock lobber Cost: 40 gold Description: Throws big ol' boulders at the enemy. How fun! Stonekrusher titan: Stone Ogre Cost: 140 souls Description: The ogres lost a war with the Goblins and now they serve them eternally. Unique controls: X: Swing your club forward to bash the enemy C: Swing your club around to knock the enemy around S: Pick up and eat a small creature to restore health. Note: If there are no enemy units around when you press this button, and one of your own units is in front of you, YOU WILL EAT THAT UNIT. You have been warned. ---------------------------------B. Hellfire----------------------------------- Fraziel brought forth the Hellfire clan to harvest lumber for his Great Machine. Hellfire is strongest against Plaguespitter and weakest against Nighthorde. Clan-chief: Grax Moon: Red moon Heelinx Goblins: 1. Lumberjack: Basic melee unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 7 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Good Attack: Slashing Bonus: Armor vs. Slashing damage My opinion: Worthless, worthless, worthless. NEVER use this guy. Not even to save resources (the archer costs the same amount). The Hellfire clan was built for ranged warfare. Leave the melee to another clan. 2. Archer: Basic ranged unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 7 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Poor Attack: Piercing Bonus: Armor vs. Piercing damage My opinion: Only use him when you have just gotten Hellfire and you only have the first two units, or when you need to save resources. Upgraded, it is still relatively powerful, but get hunters and bombardiers over these if you can. 3. Hunter: Ranged unit Cost to unlock: 30 souls, 20 gold Cost to recruit: 12 souls Combat: Excellent Toughness: Poor Attack: Piercing Bonus: Chance to kill target instantly My opinion: These are excellent units. Take some of these along for combat, along with a few bombardiers to take out buildings (I usually take 6 hunters, 3 bombardiers, and a scout). 4. Bombardier: Ranged unit Cost to unlock: 45 souls, 25 gold Cost to recruit: 12 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Average Attack: Piercing Bonuses: -Area damage (splash) -Excellent vs. Structures My opinion: Always take a few of these along to take out the buildings. The splash damage helps as well. See "My Opinion" for the hunter for a recommendation on how many to bring. 5. Scout: Support Unit Cost to unlock: 60 souls, 30 gold Cost to recruit: 10 souls Combat: None Toughness: Good Attack: None Bonuses: Increases range of vision My opinion: Not the best support unit. I have found that my units attack enemies whom I wish to avoid when I have a scout with me. However, it may be useful in certain situations. Upgrades: 1. Damage: -First level: 40 gold -Second level: 90 gold -Third level: 140 gold 2. Range: -First level: 30 gold -Second level: 60 gold -Third level: 80 gold 3. Vision (Scout): -First level: 50 gold -Second level: 80 gold -Third level: 100 gold Hellfire turret: Lens Cannon Cost: 10 souls, 35 gold Description: Two lenses made from sap use light to blast the baddies to bits. Hellfire titan: Warpigpult Cost: 90 souls, 25 gold Description: These war pigs were once very docile creatures, but were corrupted when the Hellfire clan captured them and put catapults on their backs. Unique controls: Right analog stick: Rotate the catapult Hold and press X/pull back and release right analog stick: Fire the catapult S: Switch between Rock and Fire ammo. ---------------------------------C. Stormbringer------------------------------- Fraziel created the Stormbringer clan to harness the power of electricity for his Great Machine. Stormbringer is strongest against stonekrusher and weakest against Plaguespitter. Clan-chief: Faine Moon: Blue moon Trist Goblins: 1. Acolyte: Basic melee unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 7 souls Combat: Average Toughness: Average Attack: Blunt Bonus: Chance to knock back the target My opinion: Just as worthless as the Hellfire's lumberjack. Leave the melee to clans like Stonekrusher. 2. Conjurer: Basic ranged unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 7 souls Combat: Average Toughness: Average Attack: Piercing Bonuses: -Armor vs. Blunt -Chance to stun the target My Opinion: I actually prefer this unit over the Pyro Mage, but it's still not as good as the Ice mage. 3. Pyro Mage: Short-Ranged unit Cost to unlock: 30 souls, 20 gold Cost to recruit: 9 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Average Attack: Fire Bonuses: -Area damage (splash damage) -Excellent vs. Structure My Opinion: This unit gets killed way too easily because of its short range. Sure, it's good versus structures, but you can get Hellfire bombardiers, Stonekrusher miners, or anything else Excellent vs. Structures for that, and they will last longer. The Bombardiers are too far back to get hit much, and the miners can have their armor upgraded. The Pyro mages have neither of those advantages. 4. Ice mage: Ranged unit Cost to unlock: 30 souls, 20 gold Cost to recruit: 9 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Excellent Attack: Ice Bonus: -Chance to freeze the target My opinion: The Ice mage is much better than the Pyro Mage, simply because it has a longer range, with pretty much the same attack power (Ice mages don't get splash damage, however). Plus, they can freeze a target, rendering them helpless. =) 5. Wind mage: Support unit Cost to unlock: 120 souls, 10 gold Cost to recruit: 11 souls Combat: None Toughness: Good Attack: None Bonus: Armor bonus to friendly units My Opinion: The crazy amount of souls needed for this is entirely worth it. Even with no upgrades your units are tougher to kill, and with the level 3 shield they are near-unstoppable =) Upgrades: 1. Damage: -First level: 40 gold -Second level: 80 gold -Third level: 120 gold 2. Health: -First level: 10 souls, 30 gold -Second level: 10 souls, 70 gold -Third level: 10 souls, 110 gold 3. Shield (Wind mage): -First level: 10 souls, 30 gold -Second level: 10 souls, 70 gold -Third level: 10 souls, 110 gold Stormbringer turret: Tesla coil Cost: 20 souls, 30 gold Description: Metal tower with a sphere on top that blasts enemies with an electrical charge. Stormbringer titan: Lightning Elemental Cost: 80 souls, 30 gold Description: Made of metal rods that have been animated by the Stormbringer clan, these creatures mindlessly destroy all of their enemies with fearsome electrical attacks. Unique controls: X: Shock enemies in front of you with electricity S: Start a whirlwind attack --------------------------------D. Plaguespitter------------------------------- Created by Fraziel to use herbs to fuel his Great Machine, this clan uses poison to slowly kill their enemy even after their defeat. The Plaguespitter clan is strongest against Stormbringer and weakest against Hellfire. Clan-Chief: Syst Moon: Green moon Phoust Goblins: 1. Cropper: Basic melee unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 4 souls Combat: Average Toughness: Good Attack: Slashing Bonuses: -Armor vs. Blunt -Chance to slow target My Opinion: The cropper, like all basic melees, is fairly weak. If you can, use Nighthorde or Stonekrusher units to melee. 2. Savage: Basic, short-ranged unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 5 souls Combat: Average Toughness: Average Attack: Piercing Bonuses: -Acid -Chance to kill the target instantly My Opinion: The savage is weak as well, but a good balance of plaguespitter units (besides the cropper) seems to work best. Bring one or two of these guys along. 3. Bile Spitter: Melee unit Cost to unlock: 60 souls Cost to recruit: 10 souls Combat: Average Toughness: Excellent Attack: Corrosion Bonuses: -Acid -Area damage (splash) My Opinion: These guys look really cool (large snail-like things with a goblin on their backs)! As said above, I like to use a good balance of Plaguespitters, so about 3 or 4 of these is always appropriate for your army. 4. Shaman: Ranged unit Cost to unlock: 120 souls Cost to recruit: ? Combat: Good Toughness: Good Attack: Piercing Bonuses: -Acid -Area damage (splash) -Chance to knock the target back My Opinion: The shaman is a very powerful unit, especially when upgraded. Fill up what space is not used by Bile spitters or Savages with these guys. 4-6 seems about right. 5. Spore fiend: Support Unit Cost to unlock: 150 souls Cost to recruit: ? Combat: Average Toughness: Excellent Attack: Corrosion Bonuses: -Poison -Weakens enemy armor My Opinion: ALWAYS take one with you. He makes your enemies easy to kill, and he gets better and better with upgrades. Upgrades: 1. Acid: -First level: 15 souls, 35 gold -Second level: 15 souls, 70 gold -Third level: 15 souls, 105 gold 2. Speed: -First level: 10 gold -Second level: 40 gold -Third level: 140 gold 3. Plague (Spore fiend): -First level: 40 gold -Second level: 80 gold -Third level: 140 gold Plaguespitter turret: Hive Cost: 30 souls, 25 gold Description: The Plaguespitter hives contain poisonous flies that attack enemies. Plaguespitter titan: Green Slime Cost: 70 souls, 35 gold Description: Strange globs of acid that have allied themselves with the Plaguespitter goblins that destroy units and buildings simply by touching them. Unique controls: Dissolve units/structures by moving into them. The more you dissolve, the larger you grow. Once you have grown, press S to explode and damage things around you. ----------------------------------E. Nighthorde-------------------------------- It is unknown why Fraziel created the Nighthorde clan, and today they use whatever they scrounge to benefit themselves alone. Nighthorde is strongest against Hellfire and weakest against Stonekrusher. Clan-Chief: Naxus Moon: Purple moon Farthis Goblins: 1. Scrounger: Basic melee unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 7 souls Combat: Good Toughness: Good Attack: Soul Bonus: Chance to loot the corpse of a dead enemy My Opinion: Worthless. Dont even use it, unless Nighthorde is all you have and you need something cheap to keep enemies off of your ranged guys. 2. Reaper: Basic Ranged unit Cost to unlock: N/A Cost to recruit: 7 souls Combat: Average Toughness: Average Attack: Piercing Bonuses: -Triple Shot -Chance to knock the target back My Opinion: Definetly not as good as Hellfire or Plaguespitter ranged units, but if you dont have those, bring a couple of these along. 3. Cannibal: Melee Unit Cost to unlock: 30 gold Cost to recruit: 10 souls Combat: Excellent Toughness: Excellent Attack: Slashing Bonuses: -Chance to regain health -Chance to kill the target instantly My Opinion: I like a good mix of Cannibals and Grave Robbers. Both units are good tanks, so use Cannibals for their instant- kill, and the Grave Robbers to knock down buildings. Bring 3-5 of these along with your army. 4. Grave robber: Melee unit Cost to unlock: 50 gold Cost to recruit: 12 souls Combat: Excellent Toughness: Excellent Attack: Blunt Bonus: Extra damage vs. Structures My Opinion: Again, mix them up with Cannibals. Fill up the rest of your army with them, but save room for the Witch Doctor if you can afford him. 5. Witch Doctor: Support unit Cost to unlock: 120 souls Cost to recruit: 12 souls Combat: Poor Toughness: Excellent Attack: Soul Bonus: Chance to steal souls My Opinion: He doesnt provide much in the way of combat damage, but the extra souls are always nice. Always take one along, unless you have a lot of soul fountains and more souls than you meed. Upgrades: 1. Damage: -First level: 60 gold -Second level: 90 gold -Third level: 130 gold 2. Armor: -First level: 40 gold -Second level: 90 gold -Third level: 120 gold 3. Soul steal (Witch doctor): -First level: 20 souls, 30 gold -Second level: 20 souls, 60 gold -Third level: 20 souls, 90 gold Nighthorde Turret: Soul Vortex Cost: 40 souls, 20 gold Description: This portal to the netherworld sucks the soul out of enemy units. Nighthorde Titan: Battle Ball Cost: ? Description: Metal ball with sharp spikes that can explode and jump through the air. Unique controls: X: Jump S: Detonate To attack an enemy unit or structure, ram into it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. Structures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout the many lands in Goblin Commander, there are several buildings with several functions: 1. Clanshrine Each clan has its own clanshrine. You have one in your base for each clan under your command. Inside of these buildings, you may unlock and/or recruit goblins of the clanshrine's clan, and you may purchase upgrades for those goblins. Clanshrines can be destroyed. 2. Hall of the Titans You have only one Hall of the Titans in your base. In it, you may purchase a clan's Titan or Turret, as long as that clan is under your control. The Hall of the Titans can be destroyed. 3. Turret (Defensive Structure) The turret is a defensive structure that can be bought in the Hall of Titans. To build one, select it in the Hall of Titans, choose a strategic spot on the ground, and press X. It will then be automatically built in that spot. When enemy units come within range of the turret, it will fire upon them until either they are dead or they destroy the tower. For a description of the turrets, look in section "v. The Clans." Under each clan is a description of their turret. 4. Observatory Once you have captured it, you may buy Moonstones from the Observatory. Moonstones enhance the fighting capabilities of their corresponding clan for a short duration. You may buy as many moonstones as you want, provided you have the gold and the enemy does not recapture the Observatory. Also, you may only have two items at once. Observatories cannot be destroyed. 5. Alchemist's Shop Once captured, the Alchemist's shop provides you with inexpensive runestones. Each runestone has a different effect. You may buy as many as you want, provided you have enough gold and the enemy does not recapture the Alchemist's shop. Also, you may only have two items at once. Alchemist's Shops cannot be destroyed. 6. Soul fountain Once captured, the soul fountain provides you with a flow of souls. At first the flow of souls is relatively fast, but later it slows down. The more soul fountains under your control, the more souls you steadily get. Soul fountains can be recaptured, but not destroyed. 7. Scout Tower Once captured, scout towers provide a wide range of sight in their area. They can be recaptured, but not destroyed. 8. Moon Gate and Master Moon Gate In some maps there are several structures called moongates, which are all tied to their master moongate. Once captured, the master moongate allows you to teleport to all moongates with its color and symbol on the map. They can be recaptured, but not destroyed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. Strategies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phred-Burt offers his help for a stormbringer level: "I have a strategy for the level where you have to find the 4 soul fountains and secure them to choke the stormbringer: After seeing the cutscene of your gunners sniping the patrol, make sure you rebuild your clanhalls. Send your 20 goblin party of 10 melee stonekrushers, and 6 hellfire gunners and 4 hellfire bombaders to the west teleporter from your base. You should secure the observatory and soul spring in the area. work your way north until you get to the soul spring there by the warp and secure it. Go to the northeast corner and secure the soul spring there. Go down and there should be the last soul spring at the bottom right part of the map. If any of your springs have be captured by now, leave your hellfires at the 4th spring and warp to the first teleporter in the begining of the strategy and work your way north securing the springs that have been captured. Finally, if the northeast spring was captured, send your Melee gobs to gaurd the green enemy portal in between the northern spring and the north east spring and your hellfires to take back the final springs (having your melee gobs gaurd the green portal ensures no more enemies will slip by and recapture another spring while you work. I had to go back and forth about 3 times before i did this)." Madmonk provides strategies for multiplayer battles: "Almost-Invincible units: This one for multi-player is great, use stonecrusher, storm bringer, and night horde. As soon as the game starts, get the drummer, and the wind mage (last units for stonecrusher, and stormbringer). Get only pitbosees for now and cannibals. By this time you shouldn't have much more resources! Use your units and get some cash. Now get the Witch Docter (Nighthorde last unit) They should give you extra souls! Now just get some ice mages and upgrade the units' armor, life, and the wind mage and Drummers attack. they should now be unstoppable! You don't even need a titan (though it can help if your opponent has a stone Ogre (eat attack,smart people aim for drummers and wind mages))! Quick Death team: This is easy. Just use three of the following units (stonechrusher - pitboss, hellfire - hunter, plaguespiter - savage, and nighthorde - cannibal) these are the units with instint kill %age. A group of 30 gets some high %! Test it out! And learn what true ass-kicking is!" Nicholas Adams provides his strategy for the first stormbringer level: "In this stage, you start out like a lot of other beginning of acts, cut scene, clan leaders calling Grommel a murderer, all that kind of stuff. This time, you face Faine and his Stormbringer kin. When you start out, send all ranged goblins out to break things in the area, but DO NOT go past the two tall towers to the east untill you have a good amount of gold. You won't have any soul fountains until later, so don't worry about it now. After you go east, past the two tall towers (breakables), you'll see a Master Moongate and some enemies warping from it. Dispatch them, leave one clan here (I prefer leaving Stonekrusher), and lead the other clan eastward. If you go north, you'll hit a magical gate, so just go east (not back towards your camp, a little north from there). You will find an observatory, where you will need to leave the second clan there, then take the soul fountain. The Ritual timer will start; you'll need to protect both sites for six minutes. Stormbringers will keep on coming, but it might not be a problem. If you fail to protect the sites, the timer will start anew, and you'll have to do it all over again. Also note that while Hellfire is weak against Stormbringer, they will take less casualties because of their ranged abilities. Oh yeah, make only archers, no lumberjacks. After thats done capture the Master Moongate and send all goblins north through the gate (or, if you don't know how one works, press the Hellfire and Stonekrusher buttons down while the cursor is over the Master Moongate, then press the again when the cursor is over the slave moongate to the north. You can warp your units from anywhere to the Master Moongate if you need to retreat.) You may or may not meet Stormbringer resistance. If you do, defeat them and head west, then north. Destroy the Clanshrine nearest to you, then continue east. You will find two more as you go along. Destroy them and you'll win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I capture a structure? A: Easy. Kill all enemies around it, then stand a unit close to it for a while. A green ping will appear on the mini-map signifying its capture. Q: What is the maximum number of units I can have? A: You may have 10 regular goblin units (including support units) from each clan at a time, and you may only control 3 clans at a time. You may also have one titan and three turrets at a time. So, that's 34 units total, unless you count turrets as units (I don't), in which case the max would be 37. Q: I need hints/walkthroughs/tips/strategies on Act(insert roman numeral here) Level (insert number here)!!! A: I am no longer answering these kinds of e-mails. I do not play the game anymore, so I can't remember how I beat each level. Sorry! There will be more frequently asked questions as soon as more questions are asked -- frequently! =) See "Help Needed" for how to contact me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IX. Cheats ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are having trouble beating the game (although in my opinion it is quite easy anyway), simply use the following cheats. I have never used them, so it is just a guess when I say they probably don't work in the multiplayer skirmish. Please note that these are the cheats for the PlayStaion 2 version of the game. Please also note that in order to use the cheats you must first hold L1+R1+Triangle+Down for 3 seconds in order to enable the cheats: L1, R1, R1, R1, R1, L1, Triangle, L1, L1, L1 +100 Gold R1, L1, L1, L1, L1, R1, Triangle, R1, R1, R1 +100 Souls R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, L1, L1 +1000 Gold and Souls R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, L1, Triangle, Triangle, L1, R1 Disable Fog of War R1, R1, R1, L1, L1, L1, R1, L1, Triangle, R1 God Mode Triangle,Triangle,Triangle, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, L1, R1, R1, Triangle,Triangle,Triangle Level Select L1, L1, L1, L1, L1, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, R1 Slow Down R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, L1, Triangle, R1, R1, R1 Speed Up R1, R1, L1, L1, L1, R1, R1, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle Instant Victory ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X. Help Needed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can't do it all by myself! These are the things I need, and anyone who sends in helpful information will get their name posted in the Credits section: 1. I need more tips for the "Managing your troops" section 2. I need player strategies for individual or multiple levels. 3. I need more questions for the Frequently Asked Questions section. I would prefer it if you guys made sure the question isn't answered somewhere else in the FAQ, but if enough silly folks ask the same silly question, I'll post under Frequently Asked Questions. 4. Any other information you think this FAQ could use. If it's about Goblin Commander, and will help people beat or understand the game, it will most likely end up in the FAQ If you have something that could help this FAQ grow more complete, send it to PJ688@comcast.net. MAKE SURE that the subject has "Goblin Commander" or something VERY similar to that in it, so I can easily sort through all the junk I get. Please include your alias (what you want to be listed in the credits as) somewhere in the e-mail. Please note that unless I have been struck with lazy, most submissions will be "cleaned up," meaning that spelling and some grammar will be corrected. The meaning of a sentence will not be changed, the sentence will just be changed to make it look neat. I want to keep the FAQ looking great! =) I thank you all in advance for your help!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XI. Legal Crap ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sigh. this part is so boring. Anyway, here it goes: This document is copyright 2003-2004 by Patrick Fortune. This document may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. In short: Don't use my FAQ unless you just want to use it to beat the game, or unless you've gotten my permission first. The following websites have my permission to post my FAQ: www.GameFaqs.com (Will ALWAYS have the MOST UPDATED version of my FAQ; other websites probably will not update it.) faqs.ign.com www.cheatplanet.com www.neoseeker.com www.cheats.de www.cheatcc.com www.cheathappens.com NOTE: While transferring data from my old computer to my new one, I lost a list of sites I was planning to list here in the next update. So, if you see my FAQ on a site not on this list, send me an e-mail with the URL and I'll check to see if I gave them permission or not. Thanks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XII. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following folks have helped get this FAQ to where it is now, and I would like to thank them =) : GameFaqs, for hosting my site. www.gamefaqs.com Jaleco Entertainment, for making such a cool game! www.jaleco.com Me, PJ688, for making this guide =) Starky27, for submitting the cheats to GameFaqs so I could steal them =P Perfect Light, for the awesome ASCII title. You rock! Info Contributors: MadMonk: - Gave a list of the functions of the runes. - Reminded me to include moon gates in the "structures" section. Silly me! =) - Provided a couple of multiplayer strategies. Phred-Burt: - Submitted a strategy for a stormbringer level. Justin Rasnic: - Submitted 2 general tips for the "Managing your Troops" section. Devon: - Submitted a tip for the "Managing your Troops" section. Nicholas Adams: - Submitted a strategy for the first stormbringer level. Diabloman1991: - Sent in info on the Transmogrify rune, which we seem to have missed before. THANKS GUYS AND GALS!!!