After reading the Warren Reports, the Phorampa Wildwood opened for hunting, though I decided to postpone exploration and marched toward Krysaro instead.
Reflecting on the weakness of human archers, I reclassified Thundermaiden Arycelle as a Kunoichi. I don’t yet have a katana, but I equipped her with Bows, Katanas, HP Up, and MP Up. My party underwent significant changes and re-equipment to match new insights that I found.
With a Dragoon now in play, I realized beasts, dragons, and beast tamers are somewhat obsolete — a single Dragoon effectively invalidates all three.
In hindsight, I might have changed Voltare into a Dragoon here, but keeping him a Knight proved fine.
Party composition: 2 Knights, 2 Valkyries, Vartan, Ninja, Wizard, Winged Archer, and 2 Clerics.
The battle at Krysaro was straightforward: eliminate lightly armored foes with archery and heavily armored ones with finishers or magic.
Folcurt, a stalwart knight, joined as a guest after the battle and will prove nearly invincible even when charging ahead.
Arycelle, now a Kunoichi, far outpaces normal recruits — agile, fast, and capable of striking with a ranged finisher that seems to do okay even against armor.
Weapon Revisions and Elemental Tuning
Post-battle upgrades were abundant:
- Baldur Bow for Arycelle.
- Bowgun for Canopus.
- Five Baldur Armor sets for knights, valkyries, and Canopus.
I equipped Denam with a Morningstar, replacing Pincer Attack with Hammers, maintaining both Sword and Hammer proficiency.
With Lyuneram’s blessing, Denam’s finishers began dealing 400+ damage, devastating enemies.
My spell upgrades included:
- 6 Heal II, 2 Ease, and 2 Major Heal spells (the latter I never used).
I also used an Ice Charm on Voltare, boosting his ice finisher’s damage to rival Denam’s.
Training reached Level 17, and my wizard swapped Concentration for Conserve RT.
As for Canopus’s Wind skills (El Colas and Huapango) — they don’t seem very useful, especially for my current crossbow build.
Qadriga Fortress — Helpful Spirit
Qadriga Fortress required Recruit for the stage bonus.
The battlefield featured Cockatrices capable of petrification — easily countered by equipping Resist Petrify on all recruits.
Though I could have tried taming beasts, I opted for a token recruit attempt on a human warrior and moved on.
Arycelle’s mobility as a Kunoichi rivals that of a Vartan; she easily scales heights to strike from above.
The key here was keeping Magus Bayin alive — push your frontline healers forward aggressively to protect him.
After victory, I agreed to help Bayin rescue Cistina again, earning the “Helpful Spirit” title.
Ndamsa Fortress — Tragedy at Sea
We sailed west to Ndamsa Fortress, where the battle proved trivial but thematically grim — protecting ourselves against a pregnant pirate mother was unsettling, even in self-defense.
After the fight, Cistina joined as a guest once more.
Golyat — Compassion and Crafting
The next mission, Golyat, required a Knight and Archer.
Scouting revealed two Ninjas with dual strikes — immediate high-priority targets.
The battle was simple, though Bayin’s AI seemed suicidal; only my relentless healing kept him alive.
Enemy Rampart Aura II stalled Denam’s advance for two turns — the first time I’ve felt truly halted in combat.
Dagon, the enemy mage, was yet another tragic soul — hunting my bounty only to save his daughter’s life.
Matsuno’s writing shines here: you don’t realize the enemies’ humanity until it’s too late.
After Golyat, crafting expanded dramatically:
- Learned all new recipes under Sundries.
- Crafted:
- 2 Morningstars +1 for Knights
- 2 Voulges +1 (Breach on hit)
- 2 Sibyl’s Staves +1 (Spell range +1) for clerics
- 3 Leather Gloves +1 (+Jump) for casters
- 3 Linen Slops +1 (+Move) for casters
- 4 Chain Leggings +1 (+Move) for frontliners
- Bowgun +1, Longbow +1, and both Warrior Rings +1 (for winged)
These upgrades dramatically improved mobility and spell reach — key limitations of human units. Note: many of the special woods, threads, etc., can be crafted prior from regular logs, threads, etc.
I noticed, perhaps I missed it earlier, two extremely powerful ninja spells. Benumb (stuns on hit) and Bridle (silences casters on hit). I will always want to equip one or the other since they auto-cast for free, which makes Arycelle’s bow attacks even more ridiculous.
Boed Fortress — Reunion and Justice
At Boed Fortress, I sided with Cistina, resulting in all three guests joining my union. This grants the Man Among Friends title.
Now, eight of my ten party members are story characters — a rare and powerful synergy.
Later, the Warren Report revealed a disturbing scene:
Duke Ronwey publicly executing Balbatos — falsely condemned, as both he and Denam share unjust accusations.
The cheering crowd only deepened the tragedy.
I replaced my original Wizard with Bayin, and my Valkyries with Cistina and Folcurt.
Reclassing Folcurt as a Dragoon proved wise — his power was unmatched in the coming battle.
Rhime and the Abduction
At Arkhiaopolis of Rhime, the mission required a Ninja, Archer, and Recruit skill.
I equipped Folcurt with Dragonsbane and Dragonslayer, and gave Recruit to Denam and Voltare.
Denam was ambushed and surrounded before he could act — yet as a Knight, he shrugged it off.
Had I chosen another class, it might’ve ended badly.
A Beast Tamer attempted a stun blowdart on Denam — he became priority one and was eliminated by my archers. The token recruit attempt was rather difficult, as every attack from Arycelle causes stun. Come to find out, if an enemy has a status effect, they’re impossible to recruit! This opposite-of-Pokemon situation made me recall my favorite Pokemon, Meowth. The ultimate Pokemon for catching other Pokemon! No such luck here–but in not doing any legitimate recruiting attempts, I didn’t increase my chariot rerolls in this session.
MVP: Folcurt — breaching and doing 900+ damage to two dragons each, and slaying a golem all within two turns. This is despite having only 1 point in spears!
Xapan, the coward, fled at half health, kidnapping Catiua in the process.
His repeated threats toward her were vile, making the scene’s helplessness all the more disturbing.
In the chaotic aftermath, the Lodisian Black Knights massacre another group as Denam watches powerlessly.
The drawn-out duel between a poisoned White Knight and his Black counterpart underscores the moral rot of this world — a world where righteousness is punished, and cruelty thrives in spectacle.
Conclusion
Tactics Ogre: Reborn continues to challenge not only tactical skill but moral endurance.
Every battle, even a trivial one, asks: how much of your soul can you keep intact in a world that rewards neither mercy nor justice?
For now, Denam remains steadfast — a knight holding to his inner law while the world collapses around him.