Surikia’s Invasion of Meridell Guide by phenylalaine

Invasion of Meridell is a turn-based war strategy game. It takes place on a 10×10 grid map.

Randomly placed on this map are:

Items

Healing Potions, Armour, Weapons, and the Lost Item. All of these can be picked up and used by your troops.

Mountains

These are just impassible squares. They can be obstacles or assets

Villages

Six of these are placed on each map. They, like mountains, cannot be crossed. If an enemy soldier steps onto one of these squares, the village will be destroyed. It is your duty to defend them.

Losing 4 villages is an instant game over!

Also on this map, you will find:

Your Army

You have some plucky neopets at your disposal, each a different species, but fighting to protect their homes! Beware, once a soldier is defeated, it turns into an enemy trooper.

Losing all your soldiers, obviously, means the game is lost!

Enemy Soldiers

Ferocious Draconians want to destroy your villages, and you! But if you can defeat one, they will be transformed back into a loyal neopet, ready to help in the cause.

There are 10 missions in this game, each with a different type and more difficult enemy. Each mission is composed of 3 separate battles. Your progress is saved at the end of each mission, so if you lose a battle, you will restart at the beginning of a mission. [However, if you’ve retrieved the Lost Item, it will be safe even when you’re set back]

Your army is composed of 5 troops. The enemy will undoubtedly have more troops at their disposal. The enemy can make up to one move for each soldier it has. You are limited to five moves per turn.

There are 5 species of soldiers in this game, each species has different pros and cons – please see the Characters section for more information on this. Different species have different numbers of moves. The enemy’s troops may only move once per turn, no matter the species.

The battle is won only when all of the enemy troops have been converted back into friendly neopets.

As stated above, the game is lost if all your troops have been transformed into Draconians, or 4 out of the 6 villages have been destroyed.

Make sense? Then let’s move on.

Items

These items are placed randomly on the battlefield, between rows 4 and 8. Items can be divided into 4 categories: Attack, Defense, Healing, and the Lost Item. Items are activated when a trooper steps on the square.

One Attack item, and one Defense item can be held by each soldier. If a soldier already is holding an item, and steps onto a square containing another item of the same category, he will drop the old item in the square he came from, and use the new item. If an enemy steps on a square containing an item, it will be gone forever.

If a trooper equipped with items is converted into a Draconian, those items are gone for good, even if he is converted back.

Some items have special powers if worn by a specific creature.

Attack Items: First Wave

• Broadsword = +1 Attack, for a Techo +3
• Mace = + 1 Attack
• Warhammer = +2 Attack
• Longbow = +2 Attack, For a Scorchio +4, special powers for a Scorchio
• Bezerker Battleaxe = +3 Attack, Special Powers for Skeith.
• Magic Spell of Force = +3 Attack, For a Grundo +5, special powers for a Grundo.

Attack Items: Second Wave

• Double Sword = +4 Attack, For a Techo +6
• Halbred = +4 Attack, Also grants the character unlimited moves!
• Magic Lightning Spell = +2 Attack, For a Grundo +4, special powers for a Grundo
• Double Axe = +5 Attack

Defense Items: First Wave

• Magic Staff of Thunder = +1 Defense, for a Grundo +3.
• Amulet of Teleportation = +2 Defense, special powers for a Skeith.
• Magic Cloak of invisibility = +4 Defense, for a Grundo +7.
• Helmet = +3 Defense, For a Moehog +5
• Shield = +5 Defense, For a Techo +7

Defense Items: Second Wave

• Leather Armour = +5 Defense, can not be worn by a Grundo or Skeith
• Chainmail = +6 Defense, only for Moehogs and Techos
• Plate Armour = +7 Defense, only for a Moehog

A special note about Wave 2 defense items: I have this listed in the bug section, but since not everyone reads that.. The chainmail and plate armour can be worn by other species, even though it says on their info that they can not – this is a bug, and it will probably change soon, so don’t rely on this little ‘secret’ 😉

Healing Potions can also be found, and heal a good amount the amount is higher as the level increases. They disappear as soon as their square is stepped on, either healing, or doing nothing if the soldier is already healthy.

There is one Lost Item per mission. It is always located in the middle of the first row on the map, deep in enemy territory. If recovered, it adds a +1 Defense and +1 Attack to all your troops, and an NP bonus. If it is not recovered in any of the three battles, it will disappear, and the next mission will have a different Lost Item.

Lost Items can only be recovered if there are 2 or more enemies on the board. If there’s only one left, the guards will spirit it away to safety, or something.

It is not mandatory to recover any of these items, but Surikia highly suggest getting as many as you can, and, whenever possible, give the right weapon to the right species.

Characters

Each character has some basic statistics:

• Hit points – The amount of life the soldier has. (Maximum of 21)
• Attack – How strongly the individual can attack. (Maximum of 19)
• Defense – This determines how much damage is neutralized when the trooper is attacked. (Maximum of 14)
• Moves Each species has a different number of available moves allotted. A move can be just moving to another square, attacking, teleporting, or healing.

Characters can also equip one Defense item, and one Attack item please see the Items section for a list.

Enemy troops cannot carry items, however, their stats may exceed those of your own troops. All enemy troops have only one available move per turn. If an enemy trooper is converted, his stats will not exceed the maximum, even if they did while he was still in draco-form.

Characters in this game have ranks, which are determined by the number of saves, or conversions, they make. Every time a character gains a rank, they also gain a valuable point of attack and defense. They start out as a Villager, and a few saves brings them up to Defender, to Soldier, to Captain, Lieutenant, and Corporal. If a character is converted, he will lose his rank, and start out as a Villager again if he is converted back.

Species

These are the basics for each species in the game, along with Surikia’s thoughts –

Skeith 1 move per turn. Using a Teleportation Amulet gives a Skeith the chance to move anywhere on the map except the top 3 rows. Using a Bezerker Battleaxe gives a Skeith an extra move to attack ONLY, and only after teleportation.

These are very sturdy, but very slow troops. Without the amulet, it’s very hard to get them where they’re needed in time. However, they’re a real powerhouse with their items. Surikia uses them to delay the enemy troops at the start of a battle or defend places that would otherwise be out of reach.

Moehog 3 moves per turn. Using a Helmet, Moehogs are pretty hard to hit, as they get extra defense points… but you may want to upgrade to plate armour, eventually.

Surikia likes the moehogs least. In the official neopets guide for this game, they suggest using moehogs to break through the lines and capture the lost item. If you were to use all 3 moves of the moehog per turn, you might come up short somewhere else, and miss a chance to attack, heal, or even get into a good position. She’s found their attacks, even with a weapon, to be quite weak. When she has a moehog, she uses it only to distract the enemy, or in an emergency, as a blocker.

Grundo 2 moves per turn. Using a Magic Spell of Force, Grundos can attack up close with tremendous power, or heal their friends wherever they stand. The new Magic Lightning Spell lets a Grundo heal multiple allies, or attack from two spaces away, [yay, finally another ranged weapon!]. Grundos also get bonus defense from the Magic Cloak of Invisibility, and a smaller increase from the Magic Staff of Thunder. Contrary to popular thought, the Cloak of Invisibility does not make your Grundo invisible. Because the defense becomes much higher, the enemy may seek out a weaker soldier, but your Grundo can still be seen and hit, and converted, while wearing the cloak.

Their healing ability makes Grundos one of Surikia’s favorites. She might keep one just on the edge of the front lines, so it’s less likely to be injured, but can still lend a hand in smiting the Draconians, and healing every turn it’s needed. If you’ve got a Grundo, keep them safe at all costs!

Techo 2 moves per turn. Using a Broadsword or a Double Sword gives a Techo extra damage in his swing. Techos also get a large defense boost from a Shield; they are knights after all 🙂

Surikia hasn’t quite made up her mind about Techos. They’re effective fighters with the sword, and the shield makes them very hard to hit, so she often places them right on the front lines. But if they are hit, it’s usually for massive damage, and an enemy Techo is a handful

Scorchio 2 moves per turn. Give a Scorchio a Longbow for extra attack power, and the ability to attack from two spaces away after he increases in rank to a Soldier!

Scorchios are Surikia’s favorites to work with. They’re strong to start with, and with the bows, can attack enemies without ever getting hurt, if positioned correctly. Boosting a scorchio’s defense can make it practically unstoppable

Draconians Boooo! Hisss! Draconians come in the same forms as your own soldiers, such as Draco Skeith. In Mission 1 you are fighting Draco Moehogs, Mission 2 Draco Techos, Mission 3, Draco Skeith, Mission 4 Draco Scorchio, and finally the Draco Grundos in Mission 5. Since the game update, on 11/08/02, 5 new levels have been added. on level 6 you’re facing the moehogs again, but this time a couple of Draco Buzz are included. They make the game much trickier! And on level 8, you encounter Draco-Grarrl, which are even tougher… ugg… Each set of Draconians are progressively harder to beat, having more attack and defense, and having larger numbers of troops. They are also smarter, and by the end of the game they will be actively seeking out your weakest soldiers and will look for ways around your defenses. Draco Buzz are professional escape artists!

A special note about Draco Buzz and Draco Grarrl – Unlike the other Draconians, when defeated, they do not turn in to useable soldiers. Instead, they sort of turn into a pile of smoking ash 0.o Their final resting square then becomes impassable to your troops.

If one of your troops is converted into a Draconian, they will not change species, just get the draco form and appropriate stats beware having your Grundo converted on an early level!

Game Mechanics

On the game page, there are two important sections the Playing Grid, and the Status Grid. The Playing Grid is the more important of the two, so we’ll get the Status Grid out of the way quickly. The Status Grid, located to the right of the Playing Grid, shows some of your soldiers’ stats, and those of the enemy. If you wish to learn more about your enemy or your own soldiers and items, you may click on the pictures that appear in this grid. If you wish to view all the stats, you may click the Show Layer, which hides the Playing Grid and replaces it with the full Status Grid. Or, alternatively, you may click Show Full, which shows all stats and does not disrupt the Playing Grid. Surikia strongly recommends using the show full feature.

The Playing Grid measures 10 by 10 squares. Some of the squares will be taken by items, some by players, and some by non-passable objects. To move your troops, first select one by clicking on it once, then click on the square you wish to move to. Remember, you can move in any direction, but only one space at a time (unless you are a skeith using a teleport amulet), so if you click on a square that is out of range, nothing will happen. You cannot pass mountains, or villages, so clicking on those will not get you very far 🙂 If you move on a square with an item, the item will automatically be used by your soldier. Clicking on a square with an enemy present, (if you are in range 1 space away) will make your soldier attack the enemy. If you have a Grundo equipped with a Magic Spell of Force you may click on any of your own soldiers to heal them, but only if the soldier has an available move

Remember, you only get 5 moves per turn, and there is no way to back out of a move once it’s made!

As stated on the overview, this game is turn-based. This means you have time to plot out your moves. The enemy will not move until you click on Invader’s Turn, after you have finished with your 5 allotted moves, or click on the End Turn Now, at the bottom of the page. End turn now forfeits the remainder of your moves for the turn.

Below the Playing Grid lies the message area, where important game events are shown. Basically it tells you, move per move what is going on example = Soldier 01 attacks Draco-Techo for 9 points of damage! If you have the status on Fixed Full, a little chart pops up after you’ve attacked, to show you how the damage was calculated. This brings us to

The Damage Chart. This chart shows you just exactly how the points were added up in an attack. This is how it works It adds any of the attacking character’s bonus strength (if any) to the weapon bonus strength. That total is then added to a random number between one and twenty. If the resulting total is less than the defense of the enemy, your attack will miss. If the number is greater than the enemy’s defense, then the difference is subtracted, point for point, from the enemy’s hit points.

The battle is won when all of the enemies have been saved. The battle is lost if 4 out of 6 villages are destroyed, or all of your soldiers have been converted. If a village has been destroyed, all that will be left will be an empty square when the invader moves.

Game Strategy: Hints and Tips

This is where Surikia really shows off her stuff. These are just some things she used to get through the game, and hopes they will help you too.

Understanding the Enemy

This could be one of the most important, and under looked aspects of the entire game. Let’s take a look at it for a moment. The Draconian’s main goal is the destruction of villages. If a Draconian is in a square that is next to a village, no matter how many troops are around him won’t stop him from destroying it on the next turn. This includes squares that are diagonal to the village. Therefore, each and every square that surrounds a village must also be protected!

The enemy will stop moving towards a village if it encounters one of your soldiers. Just as with the village, encountering means being in any space that touches your soldier. If a soldier is much closer than a village, the Draconians may make them the prime target.

However, there is now an exception to the above rules. Draco Buzz, and Draco Grarrl will attempt to move around your troops, instead of stopping, to get next to the villages. They can only be halted by a Line Block, which is explained below.

In the latter levels of this game, the Draconians may try and find a path around you, or may even stop moving if they don’t see any opportunity for success

What this can do for you – Knowing just how the Draconians move allows you for several tactics. One Surikia often uses is Buffering. A buffer is just a space that no Draconian will ever enter so long as you are in position. This is a good way to secure an item, such as a healing potion, for later use. To do this you need 2 soldiers. Place one on either side of the space you wish to protect, left or right, and one on the square beneath the square. Buffering by using only 1 soldier can be accomplished, but it is not recommended. A 1 soldier buffer is done by simply placing one soldier in front of a square you wish to protect. Reasons this is not recommended – it is easy for a soldier to get cut off from any aide if they are alone. In this game, a surrounded soldier means a dead soldier.. Also, this method is not 100% effective, especially on the last level, or if a village is close. Draconians may chose just to ignore the single soldier, and move on. Remember, this tactic has limited success on the Draco Buzz and Grarrl

Another tactic is Blocking. Blocking is very similar to buffering, but instead of trying to protect a specific area, the goal is to prevent as many Draconians as possible from advancing. Just place one soldier directly in front of any line of troops. It will instantly stop 1 to 3 troops from advancing further, as all of their squares will be touching your soldier. However, this is not considered a safe tactic when the chosen soldier’s defense is low. Surikia loves to teleport a skeith first thing in the level right in front of the lead enemy. Sometimes, if lucky, the draconian can be converted in the first hit. Even if he’s not converted, he will be held up for at least 2 turns, buying that critical time in the beginning to get your soldiers into prime positions.

The only sure method for stopping the new Draco Buzz, or the Draco Grarrl, is Line Blocking This means you have to form a solid wall with your troops in the direction the Buzz/Grarrl is headed. It takes a minimum of 3 soldiers to accomplish this – one directly in front, and another on each side. The reason all three are needed, is that Draco Buzz will ignore your soldiers if they can reach a village in 2 moves, unlike the rest of the Draconians, which have to be only 1 move away. This means that they will happily go diagonally forward, right next to your soldier, and one space away from the village. And as we know, having an enemy 1 square away from a village is a bad thing.

Since we know a single normal Draconian will not go around you, but will instead constantly attack, we can easily use a Minimum Defense tactic for outlying villages. Placing one soldier, preferably the one with the highest defense, in any of the three squares above a village, guarantees its’ safety, for as long as the soldier remains healthy. Just keeping the soldier there, without ever moving, buys time, and available moves for the rest of the army. This way your other soldiers can be concentrating on the main battle, then, after they’ve finished, come and pick off the last enemy or two still trying to get to that one village. Surikia likes to use moehogs for this, as their attacks are low, and defense, especially with the helmet or plate armour, is admirable.

Block Attacking requires 3 soldiers, and one of them must be a Scorchio archer. Set up an ordinary 2 soldier buffer, then place an archer in between the 2 soldiers (in the lower square, not the buffer square). He will then be completely safe from attack as long as both of the other soldiers remain healthy, and will be free to attack any Draconians that approach the block zone.

Speaking of understanding our enemies, have you taken a close look at their stats? This is more important than it seems, and is why Surikia always keeps the Status Grid on Full. Ohhh all the enemies are approaching at once, which one do I want to attack first?! Don’t just guess, or pick whatever’s closest, use the stats! Of all the enemies you can attack from your position, always take the one with the lowest defense first. Why? It’s very simple. The ones with a low defense are easily converted into friendly troops. It is much better, and safer, if you have less enemies attacking you at once, so converting the weaker ones makes perfect sense. If you went for the stronger one first, you’d have one or two extra Draconians attacking you for the duration of a longer battle, and those odds are not favorable. If all your potential targets have the same defense, attack the one with the strongest attack strength. Again, this is to lessen your own soldier’s risk by taking out an extra threat.

This approach does not work as well on the second wave, because for some reason, *coughs*lazy programmers*cough*, all Draconians have the same stats each mission – Moehogs have 13HP,13Defense,13Attack; Techos have 14HP, 14Defense, 14Attack; and so on, up through the levels.. But in a way, you can still take out the lowest first, because the special draconians, the Buzz, the Grarrl, have significantly higher stats. Try to take out all the ‘normal’ Draconians first, then concentrate on those last, tough invaders.

At all times, try to minimize your Contact Points with the enemy. A contact point is anywhere a separate enemy touches you. Just remember, each time there is an enemy square near one soldier, there is one chance he will be injured. A solid line of your best defenders is not a good idea unless you’re dealing with a single Draco Buzz. More than two contact points on any soldier is enough to be deadly. All it takes is one lucky roll. So, what can you do to absorb this threat? Use the buffering technique above if at all possible. Stagger your troops diagonally around the sides of a protected area. You can also minimize the contact points by adding more soldiers. Yep, that’s right. Surikia suggests minimizing my adding more Basically, how this works.. the more soldiers that are touching the enemy, the more choices he has to attack, and the less likely you are to have every enemy you have a contact point with, hit that one important soldier. This is the best use for recent converts, as they won’t have weapons or much natural attack. They can just stand and take the blows while your hero attacks. It may seem like meat for the grinder, but even if some are reconverted, your main soldiers will still be safe, and will have at least weakened some of the other enemy troops.

The Lay of the Land

Understanding the landscape is almost as important as the enemies. When you first start a battle, spend a minute or two just looking at the grid, before rushing in to move pieces. Note where the villages are, and if they are close to any mountains. Take into account where each of your soldiers are in relation to all of this. Pick out any items that you might need to grab. And, don’t forget about the enemies. If there is something you need to do that is near one of the closest enemies, spare no expense in getting there first. Remember, the Draco Buzz and Grarrl don’t mind going around you, and wherever they fall will be non-passable.

If your villages are all together in the middle Lucky, this is very easy to defend, just form a semi-circle on the edge of the villages, alternating strong and weak soldiers. Have each pair (or trio) work on one enemy at a time.

If your villages are split into two groups three Still, very lucky. Pick your strongest soldier, and your third strongest soldier and position them by one group of villages, and take the rest to the second group. If possible, teleport a skeith to delay the enemy troops. Don’t be afraid to switch soldiers on these groups if the formations aren’t working.

If your villages are split into two groups, one smaller than the other This can be a bit tough. Surikia suggests using your strongest soldiers to defend the main group of villages, and sending only a blocker or two to the outlying villages. If you wish to play this game merely to win, then do not be afraid of losing a village or two. With your strong soldiers fighting the main battle, probably no one will bother the guards at the other villages. If they do, the blockers should be strong enough to wait for help. If that fails, abandon the villages, and retreat to the main army.

If your villages are everywhere on the map It’s a tough call. Surikia recommends choosing only 3 of the villages to defend, and completely forget about the rest of them. If they’re scattered, you can’t put one soldier to each village; the Draconians will outnumber and destroy the outposts one by one. Purposely sacrificing villages is only bad if you want to get on the high score list 😉

If at all possible, use mountains as roadblocks. They can be a good way to minimize contact points, and can also serve as a shield for Scorchio archers, or even your magic Grundos.

Using Characters to Your Advantage

Sadly, Surikia’s ultimate combo involves 6 soldiers. It would have 2 Moehogs with plate armour on the front lines, behind which two skilled Scorchio archers would stand. And in reserve would be a Grundo healer, and a Skeith that could teleport and attack whenever he was needed but, since she can’t have that, here are the best uses she’s discovered for her fighters.

Having a healing Grundo can mean the difference between life and death. Keep them back from the front lines unless they’re absolutely needed, because they can’t heal themselves. Even if the enemy is attacking on multiple fronts and causing injury everywhere, the Grundo can heal twice each turn, and that’s enough to hold together the most disorganized mess. Heal your most injured fighters first, even if they’re lowly converts. You’re trying to keep the level of attackers down, so having them turn back won’t help.. Even if seriously injured, your main fighters should be strong enough to hold their own until the next round of healing.

Skeiths that can teleport and attack are brilliant. If you’re lucky, you can have an extra soldier your very first turn of the mission! Just teleport him in front of the closest Draconian, and hack away. Even if he doesn’t hit, the Draconian will be stopped in his tracks for at least one turn, possibly longer. Teleporting skeiths can also be a lifesaver if your main army is stable but the fight is desperate elsewhere. Just one turn, and he’s there fighting already. Their strength means they will usually score a hit too, which is just the icing on the cake.

Scorchio archers can be used in so many ways it’s hard to even list. You can keep them safe away from battle and still have them fight. You can snipe over mountains. You can advance them in the beginning of a level to try and convert an unlucky Draconian before the main enemy host catches up. Surikia’s main soldiers are always Scorchio archers.

Some Things to Avoid

Do NOT try to train your troops; letting the enemy constantly transform a soldier to a Draconian and attacking to convert it back, thus increasing your soldier’s ranks. This is not recommended because of the random roll. One lucky roll of 20 on the wrong soldier may make an extra draconian in the wrong spot, forcing you to lose your position, and possibly the battle. If this happens, all of the training you just did is now worthless.

Do NOT avoid picking up items. They may seem worthless, by only boosting a point or two, but you will regret not taking them later in the game.

Do NOT outright attack the enemy your 5 troops will not stand against almost twice their number of Grundos, obviously, so always fight defensively. Remember, keeping the villages safe is just as important as converting Draconians.

Battle Walkthrough

Surikia: Helloooo! This is Surikia, the master behind this game guide. Uhhh..Phen decided to let me do the entire Battle Walkthrough myself, because errrshe and I disagree on the tactics, and we didn’t want to waste time umm.. arguing.. yeah, that’s it! I hope you find this section to be.. umm uh insightful!

Funberoo: Phen doesn’t know you put this in, does she

*THUD*

Funberoo: Owww!

Surikia: Shhh you! You’re no fun! Anyhow, on with the walkthrough!

This is my roster for the upcoming mission. Although he does not have many saves, Murrik has been with my army since the first level, and has yet to be converted. I use him mainly as a blocker, and he rarely takes a swing at anyone. Jondo is obviously my main fighter. With that bow and his stats, he’s deadly from even two paces away. Amuna is in the running for MVP 😉 She packs a powerful punch with her magic spell of force, but her main focus is to heal the troops. I use her as a secondary on the front lines. Stalwere receives a lot of knocks, as he’s always being teleported around to delay enemy troops. And if he’s not on the move, he’s right in the middle of the front lines. Napsolare is another blocker. His slot in my roster has changed a couple times. He was my techo, but was defeated on the fourth mission; the scorchio I chose had much higher stats than the techo, but because she lacked species weapons, and armour, she was converted on the next mission. Her grundo replacement, Napsolare, was lucky enough to get a shield and survive. On the first battle of mission six, Napsolare finally got a weapon, a double sword 🙂

This is my opening scenario for Mission 7, Battle 1. Yours may look different, but the same elements will be in place.

Here’s what I’ve done on my first turn I teleported my Skeith (Stalwere) into a blocking position. I used two moves on my Moehog (Murrik) to get him into the chainmail, and close to the halbred. I moved my Scorchio (Jondo) up one position, as he will eventually be protecting the villages under the mountain. One of my Grundos, (Napsolare) was also moved up one square to be in position on the other side of the mountain. My other Grundo (Amuna), did nothing this round, as all 5 moves had been taken.

Why are those two villages X’ed out? I feel that concentrating on the 4 closest to the mountains gives me the best tactical advantage for this battle The X’ed one of the left could not be saved unless all my troops were there, because of the Draco-Buzz presence. That would leave everything on the right undefended, and the enemy would swoop around from behind while I would still be beating Buzz. Likewise, if I protected the outermost right village, I would be leaving too few soldiers to deal with the Buzz elsewhere.

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Ohhh.. the Draconians are close! Stalwere could reach out and touch them! But he’s not going to move at all this round. He’s stopping the enemy cold, and that’s what counts.. just buying time for the rest of the army. I moved Murrik another two squares, to get him a halbred. I’m hoping that comes in useful soon. I’m spending the remainder of my moves on Amuna and Napsolare, because the Draconians are getting pretty close to the village on the right of the mountain and I want them ready.

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Invader Techo05 attacks Stalwere, but misses!
Invader Techo06 attacks Stalwere, but misses!
~~

Whew, that was lucky! Stalwere sustained no damage, so he’s going to sit there for another turn, delaying the Draconians further!

~~
Napsolare consumes the Potion of Fortitude, but it has no effect on the already healthy Napsolare!
~~

Oops, well, there was no way around this. The village has to be protected, and because there is a Draco-Buzz in the area, both Napsolare and Amuna will have to be in front of the village. I’m planning on putting Napsolare one space to the left, soon, to prevent the Buzz from sneaking in. Amuna will take his place directly in front of the village.

Speaking of Amuna, I moved her forward one more space. I also moved Murrik closer to the villages by one, and moved Jondo into his final position.

~~
Invader Techo05 has struck Stalwere for 7 points!
Invader Techo06 attacks Stalwere, but misses!
Invader Techo07 attacks Napsolare, but misses!
~~

Ouch! Well, it looks like it’s time for Stalwere to move; he has three contact points, and he’s been hit hard! But not to worry.. I’ll just move him back a little, and

~~
Stalwere consumes the Potion of Fortitude.
The health of Stalwere is now 21 health point(s)!
~~

I moved Napsolare one left as planned, and used two moves on Amuna to get her in front of the village. I also moved Murrik he’s almost in position.

~~
Invader Techo07 attacks Amuna, but misses!
~~

Lucky me, no one was hurt this round. I moved Stalwere into his final position, then decided against moving Murrik, because I want to use the moves elsewhere like so

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Amuna has struck Invader Techo07 for 12 points.

Amuna has struck Invader Techo07 for 2 points.
Amuna has saved an Invader!

Napsolare has struck Invader Techo06 for 10 points.

Napsolare attacks and misses Invader Techo06.
~~

Do’h, I was hoping to get two saves, but one isn’t bad..

---

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Invader Techo06 attacks Napsolare, but misses!
Invader Techo03 has struck Soldier 1 for 8 points!
~~

Oww.. good thing my converted techo has a lot of health! I can’t spare a move to heal her this round.

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Napsolare has struck Invader Techo06 for 7 points.
Napsolare has saved an Invader!
~~

YES! Another one down. It’s a good thing too, all the Buzz are grouping up, and I need distractions!

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Amuna has struck Invader Techo03 for 5 points.

Amuna has struck Invader Techo03 for 6 points.

Stalwere attacks and misses Invader Techo05.

Jondo attacks and misses Invader Techo05.
~~

Aww.. no more converts this round.. This is looking dangerous.. Stalwere has a lot of contact points.. but I’m pretty certain the Buzz in front of him will take out that village instead of attacking..

~~
Invader Techo03 attacks Soldier 1, but misses!
A village has been sacked!!
If they sack 3 more, it’s game over!
Invader Buzz01 has struck Stalwere for 7 points!
Invader Buzz02 has struck Soldier 2 for 7 points!
~~

Well, the Techo got to the village before the Buzz, but it doesn’t matter.. now, to do something about those wounds..

~~
Amuna bestows 7 points on Stalwere.
~~

Well, that was handy!.. Now, back to the fight!

~~
Amuna has struck Invader Techo03 for 1 points.

Stalwere attacks and misses Invader Techo05.

Jondo has struck Invader Techo05 for 11 points.

Jondo has struck Invader Techo05 for 13 points.
Jondo has saved an Invader!
~~

Another Draconian down! This is great news – now I can begin to concentrate on the Draco-Buzz, and think about rescuing that Lost Item that’s been sitting there for the whole battle. Amuna still has one Techo on her flank, and one closing in on that far right village, but she can easily handle them both by herself.

I’m not exactly sure what happened, but the graphic seems to be missing for this move O.O! I am terribly sorry for this, and I’ll try to fix it asap!

~~
Invader Techo03 attacks Soldier 1, but misses!
Invader Buzz01 attacks Stalwere, but misses!
Invader Buzz02 attacks Soldier 2, but misses!
A village has been sacked!!
If they sack 2 more, it’s game over!
~~

Wow, that was a lucky round. Nothing happened that I hadn’t planned on, and no one was hurt! Now it’s time for Amuna to make her moves. She has one more chance to hit that Techo, then she has to position herself to stop the other one.

~~
Amuna has struck Invader Techo03 for 9 points.
Amuna has saved and Invader!
~~

Perfect.. after that hit, I moved her back one space, to block that last Draco-Techo. I also moved a converted Techo back by Murrik, and moved Jondo forward to take some of the pressure off of Stalwere.

~~
Stalwere attacks and misses Invader Buzz01.
~~

Oh well, I’ll have to hope for a better roll next round.

~~
Invader Buzz01 attacks Stalwere, but misses!
Invader Buzz02 has struck Soldier 2 for 8 points!
Invader Buzz00 has struck Soldier 3 for 16 points!
Invader Techo04 attacks Amuna, but misses!
~~

Those Buzz did a lot of damage this round.. I’ve continued to move soldier 3 around Murrik, just one more space to get him to safety. Soldier 2 is looking pretty shabby, so I’ll get Amuna to help.

~~
Amuna bestows 7 points on Soldier 2.

Amuna bestows 5 points on Soldier 2.
~~

There, much better! Now I’ve moved one of the converts up one square, closer to the Lost Item.. and I’m giving Stalwere another crack at that Draco-Buzz.

~~
Stalwere has struck Invader Buzz01 for 1 points.
~~

That’s all? Those critters are tough!

~~
Invader Buzz01 has struck Stalwere for 1 points!
Invader Buzz02 attacks Soldier 2, but misses!
Invader Techo04 attacks Amuna, but misses!
~~

Since one of the Draco-Buzz has a contact point with the badly injured soldier 3, I’ve decided to use Amuna’s powers again. I could just keep moving him back, but that would create a diagonal gap in the line, and the Buzz would surely try to wiggle in, which would be bad!

~~
Amuna bestows 9 points on Soldier 3.

Amuna bestows 5 points on Soldier 3.
~~

That should keep him safe enough. I moved a techo one step closer to the Lost Item, and spent the rest of my turn in battle.

~~
Stalwere attacks and misses Invader Buzz01.

Jondo attacks and misses Invader Buzz01.
~~

Those low random rolls are starting to hurt me I haven’t done much damage at all lately!

~~
Invader Buzz01 attacks Stalwere, but misses!
Invader Buzz02 has struck Soldier 2 for 10 points!
Invader Buzz00 attacks Jondo, but misses!
Invader Techo04 has struck Amuna for 3 points!
~~

Soldier 2 is back on the badly injured list, but Amuna was hurt too! She’s vital, so I think it’s time I did something about that last Draco-Techo But, first is first, soldier 2 is in critical condition!

~~
Amuna bestows 6 points on Soldier 2.
~~

Well, he’s not out of danger, one lucky roll and the Buzz could convert him.. but I’m taking the chance that it won’t go that way, so I can do something about this Draco-Techo!

~~
Amuna has struck Invader Techo04 for 12 points.
~~

Nice! Another good roll, and Amuna will be able to fully concentrate on healing soon. Also, my techo is now only one step away from the Lost Item.. this is going well!

~~
Stalwere has struck Invader Buzz01 for 6 points.

Jondo has struck Invader Buzz01 for 8 points.
~~

More great news this turn, that first Buzz is in poor condition.. it won’t be long for him!

~~
Invader Buzz01 has struck Stalwere for 4 points!
Invader Buzz02 has struck Soldier 2 for 11 points!
Invader Buzz00 attacks Jondo, but misses!
Invader Techo04 attacks Amuna, but misses!
~~

Ach! Soldier 2 is in trouble for the third time! But before I let Amuna heal him, let me move that techo one square

~~
You found the Royal Tapestry! Hooray!
The returned lost item boosts everyone’s attack and defense strength by 1 point!
It also earns you 350 neopoints!
~~

Not only is my army stronger, but Phen can buy me a good breakfast! Ahem, anyway..

~~
Amuna bestows 8 points on Soldier 2.

Amuna bestows 9 points on Soldier 2.
~~

That’s some powerful magic.. I wish she could heal that much every time. Ah well, back to combat..

~~
Stalwere has struck Invader Buzz01 for 6 points.
Stalwere has banished a Dark Lord into oblivion!

Jondo attacks and misses Invader Buzz00.
~~

Finally, I’ve destroyed a Draco-Buzz! I can almost taste victory.. but I won’t start to party yet anything could happen!

~~
Invader Buzz02 has struck Soldier 2 for 5 points!
Invader Buzz00 attacks Jondo, but misses!
Invader Techo04 attacks Amuna, but misses!
~~

That soldier 2 always seems to be getting hurt, but, it’s not a problem this time

~~
Amuna bestows 5 points on Soldier 2.

Amuna has struck Invader Techo04 for 13 points.
Amuna has saved an Invader!
~~

At last, all the Techos have been saved! Now it’s time to get serious about the Draco-Buzz

~~
Stalwere attacks and misses Invader Buzz02.

Napsolare attacks and misses Invader Buzz02.

Napsolare has struck Invader Buzz02 for 8 points.
~~

Woah, go Napsolare! I wasn’t expecting him to do that much damage, this is great!

~~
Invader Buzz02 has struck Soldier 2 for 16 points!
Invader Buzz00 has struck Jondo for 8 points!
~~

Ouchies! That soldier 2 seems to be very accident prone Amuna to the rescue!

~~
Amuna bestows 9 points on Soldier 2.

Amuna bestows 6 points on Jondo.
~~

Soldier 2 still wasn’t healed enough, so I’ve moved him away from the front line for now.. anyway, back to the battle!

~~
Stalwere has struck Invader Buzz02 for 9 points.

Napsolare attacks and misses Invader Buzz02.
~~

So close! That Draco-Buzz is an inch away from oblivion!

~~
Invader Buzz02 has struck Stalwere for 4 points!
Invader Buzz00 attacks Jondo, but misses.
~~

Just a tiny wound.. No problem this time!

~~
Amuna bestows 8 points on Stalwere
~~

Now all I have to do is attack!

~~
Stalwere attacks and misses Invader Buzz02.

Napsolare has struck Invader Buzz02 for 6 points.
Napsolare has banished a Dark Lord into oblivion!

Jondo attacks and misses Invader Buzz00!

Murrik attacks and misses Invader Buzz00!
~~

I thought I should try Murrik for a change, but nothing seemed to come of that.. we’re down to the last Draconian, yay!

---

~~
Invader Buzz00 has struck Jondo for 11 points!
~~

Ooohhhh.. I don’t like to see that much damage in one hit as I said before, those Buzz are dangerous!

~~
Amuna bestows 9 points on Jondo.

Amuna bestows 4 points on Jondo.
~~

Now that everyone on the front line is in tip-top shape again, I’ve teleported Stalwere to join them, and used his extra attack capability with the axe

~~
Stalwere attacks and misses Invader Buzz00!

Jondo attacks and misses Invader Buzz00!
~~

Darn, nothing this round! At least I’m completely in position for my next turn.

~~
Invader Buzz00 attacks Murrik, but misses!
~~

No injuries this time, which means I have all 5 moves to attack with..

~~
Stalwere has struck Invader Buzz00 for 8 points.

Jondo has struck Invader Buzz00 for 8 points.

Jondo has struck Invader Buzz00 for 4 points.
Jondo has banished a Dark Lord into oblivion!
~~

You defeated an Invader army! Well done!

All right! I did it!

I hope that by seeing a level played out successfully, you’ve learned a thing or two. Be sure to read the rest of my guide for more information and tips Form your own army, and beat some Draconians today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ask Surikia

This section is dedicated to answering the questions that so many of you have asked Surikia, or myself. The questions are not in any order, just randomly picked topics. Most of these questions were neomailed to me, and a few were posted on the PPT Forums. If you have a question that is not answered here, or if you need further explanation, don’t hesitate to neomail me. Enjoy!

Q: One, (or more), of my good soldiers was just converted on level x, should I keep going, or restart the mission?
A: Past Mission 2, it is highly recommended that you restart a mission if you lose a key soldier, such as a Scorchio archer, teleporting Skeith, or a magic Grundo. While the soldiers may not be that hard to replace, The weapons and/or experience required, is. These specialized troops are extremely important in the latter levels, so even losing them early can make a huge impact.

Q: When should I get the Lost Item?
A: There is no solid answer to this question. If you retrieve the Lost Item on the first battle, you run the risk of losing on a later battle, before the save, and, although you get to keep the item, the bonus strength and defense will be lost. Likewise with the second battle. Mostly, it is safe to say, that you shouldn’t need the Lost Item’s power to complete a mission, so don’t feel guilty if you don’t pick it up immediately. I recommend the end of the second battle, but it’s really up to you, and your own scenario’s opportunity.

Q: Help! Help! My villages are everywhere and I’m losing soldiers and I need help, how do I beat it?!?!
A: This is the question I get asked the most often -.- I really have no clue how to help you, and it’s impossible to say if you even can be helped, especially if you send me no other information, heh. My only suggestion is to seek advice before you’re in trouble, and to remember, I have zero clue as to what’s going on in your game, and because of the random factors, there are no set solutions for any battle. Also, some battles just cannot be won if you’ve already lost soldiers/villages… so think before you act please ^.~

Q: How come when I look at your game standings, you haven’t finished IoM, yet you wrote this guide?
A: Cheek! ^.~ I finished the first wave, when that was all there was to do, then wrote the first version of this guide. The bulk of it has remained the same over time, because the mechanics have not changed. Infact, I have beaten the first wave more times than I’d like to count, each time I was testing new ideas and tactics, for the sole reason of making this guide the most comprehensive there is. I simply added as much information about the second wave as was needed… I, personally, don’t want to try for a ‘perfect score’.. the mere thought of it disagrees with my tactics, which say I’m allowed to sacrifice villages… I’ve played war strategy games for years.. so it doesn’t bother me a bit ^.^ Also, the fact that I’m only on a 56k modem, at home, sort of puts a damper on how much time I’m going to spend playing.. a battle can take over an hour in loading time alone -.-

Q: When do I get a Trophy?
A: With the first wave, trophies were awarded on a level basis – completing certain levels meant certain prizes. Now, with the second wave, you need to be on the high score table to get any sort of trophy. So that’s why you may see people, like me, who have a gold trophy, who haven’t even completed the second wave. Keep in mind though, anyone with the gold, did complete the entire game, at some point. ^.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Game Bugs and Problems

This is a collection of all bugs, errors, and problems I have come across in this game. If you have something to add to this category, please Neomail Phenylalanine, and if possible, take a screenshot 🙂

• With the addition of the Second Wave, your troops are now allowed up to 19 Strength, and 21 Hit points. The game board still reads that there is a maximum of 18 for each of those stats.
• Chainmail states in its description that it is to be used by Moehogs and Techos, but Grundos also seem able to wear it. Plate Armour also has this problem.
• Sometimes, dropping an item when a new item is to be equipped, makes both vanish, or the one being dropped will not appear.
• Slow loading/bad connection, can sometimes make a move be doubled, even if nothing is touched – this most often leads to the ‘You can only move your pieces’ message, but sometimes it can make an extra attack.
• Skeiths with halbreds do not get multiple moves if they use Teleport – I’m not sure if this is a bug, or an intended feature..
• Dead Buzz sometimes become.. uhh.. Undead O.O I was attacked by a pile of smoking ash still titled InvaderBuzz03, after it said dark lord into oblivion and such.. however there was no option to attack it on my turn, and it did not rise again… this has only happened once to me… 0.o
• Draco-Buzz can move on spaces with dead draco-buzz… methinks that’s a mistake, not a feature..
• ~RANT~ O.O either those Draco-Buzz are ultimate magically powered soldiers, or they’re.. bugs.. The board does not wrap around, meaning if you go to the edge, you do not get put on the other side next move.. the game doesn’t doooo that!!.. but.. now it does.. only for the Buzz – I had all my villages walled off by my troops, and then the Buzz starts going in the opposite direction.. he’s on the complete other side of the map, then it’s the invaders turn.. and he’s destroyed one of the villages my side, behind a solid wall of my troops. -.- if that’s a feature.. well.. you might as well just make the whole Draconian army invincible.. ARRGGrrGGRRRRR those cheating… CHEATING.. low down… was two away from winning 7/3 ..reset to 7/1 *sobs* ~RANT~
• O.O again! A Draco-Grarrl made the lost item vanish! 0.o please tell me this was a bug..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Surikia’s Guide to Invasion of Meridell Version History:

1.21: [11/27/02] Yes, I’m a major slacker.. I’ve been caught up in the war, and haven’t updated this page as much as I wanted to.. Now, this is a strange sight.. anyone trying to play IoM today got this message –
******
ERROR : IofM is being taken down for maintenance (slightly ahead of schedule). Sorry for the inconvenience.
You should be fighting the war anyway. The Darigan’s need you! Prosperity from theft isn’t prosperity, it’s gangsterism! Down with Meridell (but not Turdle Racing, I need the np).
******
lol, well.. someone on the neostaff has a sense of humour.. that or they should be drug tested with whoever it is that made the Draco-Buzz/Grarrl able to leap to the other side of the game board -.- I changed a bunch of things, but they’re all too trivial to be mentioned, except that the version number will be at the top of the page from now on 😉
1.17: [11/22/02] The FAQ is done for now, if you have a question you’d like ask about IoM, feel free to Neomail me and it may be answered soon 🙂 Also fixed a few missing tags.. sorry if the page was messed up 0.o
1.16: [11/22/02] The lack of updates would again be due to my laziness, but today I’ve added more credits, where due, crossed some things off the future plans list, and am in the middle of creating the FAQ section… Spiffy! On a side note, one of the IOM crowd, tskaaron is being honoured with the site spotlight for Derangel’s Guide! I’m so pleased for ya matey, although, rightly jealous 😉
1.10: [11/16/02] Err.. I have been updating.. except.. not this section.. oops.. sorry.. Corrected a few typos, expect better things later.. say.. tactics diagrams! woohoo! Maybe even more tactics.. 😉 Hope the background’s agreeable to everyone.. I tried to make it simple.
1.07: [11/12/02] People, enough is enough! After telling y’all to please not flame me for a spelling mistake, I get flamed more for something that’s not even a mistake! Defense can also be spelled Defense, both are correct… please don’t burn me over it.. Oh, and this update, added a lil more info here and there, and added the Double Axe to items ^.^
1.06: [11/12/02] Added another link, corrected that spelling mistake…-.-
1.05: [11/12/02] Fixed a mistake in that last update, and divided items into first and second wave. Reminder: Yes, you may neomail me with comments, problems or questions, however do not flame me over one spelling error you found in this entire guide. Just plain, don’t do that! Aargg!
1.04: [11/12/02] Added two new items, and some more info on Draco-Buzz, and Draco-Grarrl.. and a new bug.. *sobs* These new invaders are driving me insane. They were designed to make people like me go nuts, or perhaps they’re just full of bugs.. either way, I think the game programmers/designers should have a drug test.. -.-
1.03: [11/11/02] Added more bugs to the bug report………I hate Draco-Buzz… also added links back to the Index, for people too lazy to scroll, heh.
1.02: [11/10/02] Added a bug report… took out the UBB tags, (they were supposed to be HTML, but I have been on and off message boards too much today.. and I think my brain slipped) …still no luck on diagram #7 I probably mislabeled and saved over it when I was making them.. I’m going to have to doctor an image 🙁
1.01: [11/10/02] Just added a Links section… and re-ordered the pictures in the new walkthrough – you know how if you’re buttoning a shirt and you miss one somewhere and then the rest of the buttons go through the wrong holes? Well, something like that happened with the pics, and I’m still missing one 0.o.. I’ll try to fix that..
1.00: [11/10/02] YAY!!!! At last, we have reached v1.00!! To celebrate, I treated Surkia and all her friends to dinner at the Golden Dubloon. It was a blast!.. err *ahem*.. This update was huge, the guide now includes a complete BATTLE WALKTHROUGH! *oooohhh… ahhhh* Also, I plan on adding a links section later… stay tuned!
0.99: [11/09/02] Added the Items for Mission 7, the Halbred |2oXx0rZ!! hehe.. Fast approaching the first *full* version of this guide, I think I’ll go plug it on a few message boards to celebrate.. 🙂
0.98: [11/08/02] I added a LOT about the new Draco Buzz, and 2 new items. I have to go play more o.0
0.97: [11/08/02] Okay, so, I’ve been really shabby on the updates, but guess what was in the news today! –
******
INVASION OF MERIDELL – SECOND WAVE!!! Yes, you saved Meridell once, but can you do it again? The bad guys are back, and this time there are more of them and they are much stronger! Good luck!
******
Upon investigation they’ve changed a few things.. quite a few things -.- So, I’ll be updating this a LOT…
0.94: [10/26/02] Added small note for Grundos and Invisibility Cloak, and added a Future Plans section.
0.93: [10/25/02] Added a partial index, and improved layout slightly. Wow, it’s.. almost organized! heh..
0.92: [10/25/02] Uploaded a title graphic, (displayed), and index graphics (not displayed).
0.91: [10/24/02] Fixed ALL weapon values.. I hope..
0.90: [10/24/02] Added enough tags so the document was readable, yay 🙂
0.83: [10/23/02] Finished the block of text and uploaded it, and corrected a mistake on Broadsword attack value… not many weapons have a negative attack o.o – phenylalanine