Battle 18: The Volcano Hole

The key to winning this battle is to be quick, because the last thing you want to do is wake the BabyDragon. Although the cute little one isn't particularly hard, if you kill him you miss out on the chance of collecting the Hell Dragon Rod in Scenario II, although if you're only going to be playing Scenario I you could always kill him to get a Goddess Tear.

All land carries 15% Land Effect, so there aren't really any spots you could deem as safe, or tactically superior. The map is divided into seven different heights of terrain, colour coded on the map. You can only move between levels that with one or two squares difference in terms of height, i.e. you can move from level six to level four, but not from six to three. You'll have to watch out for the steps going up to the Hydra, as it's quite possible you'll get a backlog of fighters. Proceed slowly, or you'll find yourself outfought.

About halfway through the level, evil nasty Blood Born start to pop up, and they tend to ambush you from behind, so keep your wits about you and try not to leave any weak fighters behind. I've marked one location that the Blood Born tend to favour, but they can spring from many positions on the map. Once again, don't try and rush as far forward as you can, because you tend to get your fighters spread out, and that's A Bad Thing.

Be sure to collect the Large Mithril and Dark Matter by inspecting those areas on the map, and send Eldar out to get the Mithril Dirk if you can - it's not really that good as a weapon, but it can bring in a pretty penny if you sell it.

Whatever you do, don't wake the Baby Dragon! Move slowly and pick off all the enemies you can - the battle ends when all the enemies are dead, or when you get to the exit. Just don't kill the dragon and you'll be fine.

© James Newton 2002