Front Mission 4 Walkthrough
MJ's Front Mission 4 Guide
Welcome to my FM4 guide. Front Mission 4 is a game that requires a
good amount of skill to play well. This guide can remedy some of that
skill for you by instructing you on what wanzer parts and skills to
purchase, along with the general strategies of each mission. You still
need to know how to use the link system properly to achieve optimal
results in battle. The guide is based on my Unofficial Score Ranking,
which is a way to rank how well you've done in each mission based on pre-
set criteria. The guide is based on offensive playing and smart resource
management, not turtling or simulator abuse. No level in this guide will
take more than 20 turns to complete, with an average of 13 or so.
I've given each mission a difficulty rating from 1 to 5 stars.
1 Star (*) - A training mission. No risk of dying unless you're trying
hard to.
2 Stars (**) - A bit tougher than a training mission. You need to use
basic tactics here at least, like the link system, setting up your wanzers
and skills properly, etc.
3 Stars (***) - An average difficulty mission. You need to use some
specific tactics to succeed, and you might get in some trouble if you
screw up. Overall, though, you won't be in too much danger as long as you
follow basic battle tactics.
4 Stars (****) - Above average difficulty mission. These missions can be
difficult for numerous reasons, but they always involve a higher than
normal risk of failure, with some definite 'danger' spots. You need to
achieve objectives that are often involved and difficult, requiring use of
pre-battle configuration of wanzers, skills, and links, along with
effective tactics and use of enemy AI.
5 Stars (*****) - High difficulty mission. On these missions, you must
perform mission specific pre-battle configuration of links and equipment,
and play at a high level of skill while knowing exactly what to do in the
mission. The risk of failure or a destroyed wanzer is quite high and you
usually won't make it out of the mission without some heavily damaged
wanzers (although no broken parts, I hope).
Gameplay Tips:
Here are some assorted tips that I'll develop as I write the guide.
Make sure to get all the free equipment available in the game through
talking to people. You can find this info in other FM4 FAQs on
Gamefaqs.com
Links with melee units are extremely effective throughout the game. Learn
how to attack in sequences that optimize your melee attacks and link
chains. Link chain bonuses can do some incredible damage! The most
effective fighting method is to attack with a Melee unit who is linked to
your gunners, and pull off a large link combo. Then, have all the gunners
linked to the melee unit - as long as they have enough AP to fire their
weapons, the melee unit can attack with them. Position your melee units
between two enemies when possible, because normal wanzers usually don't
survive more than a few link attacks.
Aiming ranged weapons with link attacks is important to get the hang of.
While you can't fire directly in front of a linked unit, you can almost
always move a bit to the side and get the same results. Plan out how your
units are going to make a successful link attack. Since melee units have
low AP requirements, it's smart to angle them to the side or behind an
enemy so your ranged units have a clear shot at the enemy, while your
melee unit can pound on them with links.
Fighting enemies in tight corridors is often a bad idea, since you'll
block each other off and become much less effective. Try to lure them out
into the open or find something else to attack instead.
Unlike Front Mission 3, shields are less important and dual wielding is
more of a possibility, due to the healing wanzer.
The enemy AI has two main traits. First, it is scripted to wait until a
certain turn to move out and attack your party, or it will simply wait to
be attacked. Second, it acquires the first target it can attack, and will
often stick with that target until it sees a better opportunity (for
example, a ranged unit may switch to attacking a melee unit).
Damage is worthless without accuracy. You will get ahead in the long run
with more accuracy rather than more damage, especially with single shot
weapons like RF, BZ, and ML. However, your own pilots evasion isn't
something you should worry about until the end of the game when you have
more EP points to spend.
Shotguns aren't too useful until you can hit more reliably with them and
they meet up with machine guns in damage.
Some of the best battle skills are the ones that are passive, non-
situational, or don't rely on parts breaking to activate.
The two most important stats for your pilots in the game are AP and links.
Luckily, they're both fairly inexpensive. More AP means more linked
attacks, and more linked attacks means more damage and very dead enemies.
No enemy can survive a fully linked gang beating with AP stocked pilots
for long.
What is the Unofficial Score Ranking (USR)?
The FM4 Unofficial Score Ranking is a set of rules and rankings that
players can use to score how well they played through the missions of FM4.
The rankings are easy to calculate, based directly on in game data, and
are a good indicator of player ability. The ranking focuses on scores
that a good player will strive for - high enemy damage, low player damage,
max EP points, and a modest time limit. The scoring system is based on
honesty, so play fair and make sure you enjoy the challenge!
USR Rules:
1. You may only play the simulator missions one time each.
Analysis: Since you can't use the simulator for EPs, gold, experience, or
weapon levels, you need to get as much as possible in the missions
themselves.
2. You must complete the simulator missions as soon as they are available.
All simulator missions are ranked.
3. You must unlock simulator missions whenever possible. You may, however,
delay playing a simulator mission as long as that team (Durandal or USN)
can play it later without going into their next mission.
4. If you unlock two simulator missions in one stage, complete the lowest
number first (for example, do USN04, then USN09)
5. Abuse of quicksaves is NOT allowed. This means saving before an attack
then constantly reloading to get a desired result out of their attack, for
example an EMP attack, or a hit on an enemy wanzer body.
USR Rankings:
You are graded for your performance based on each level out of 100 points.
Too many penalties will result in a lower rank. However, the system is
flexible enough to reward the highest rank even with a few flaws. The
ranks are:
Platinum: 90 or above
Gold: 80 or above
Silver: 70 or above
Tactics Ranking - The tactics score represents the number of turn cycles
taken to end the mission successfully. There is a count of allowed turn
cycles for each mission. Subtract 4 points for every extra turn cycle
past the turn cycle count.
Analysis: These turn counts are not 'as fast as possible' scores, but
scores that are a balance between speed and optimal funds/survival/EP.
You'll be able to go through the missions at a pace that allows you to
keep your wanzers healthy and your enemies dead. This is done through
intense pre-battle planning and smart in-battle tactics.
Survival Ranking - The survival score represents the number and type of
broken parts at the end of the mission. Units other than your main 12
wanzers do not count. Subtract 5 points for each broken part.
Analysis: Broken parts will happen, but they can be restored. The turn
cycle count is comfortable enough that you can play through each mission
with no broken parts by the end of it.
Funds Ranking - The funds score represents the amount of money earned at
the end of the level, based on a damage formula of total amount of enemy
unit damage / 3. There is a funds count for each mission, usually around
90-95% of all enemy unit health. Subtract 3 points for every 100 gold
below the score.
Analysis: Destroying a wanzer body outright does not give you any funds
for the other remaining parts, so if you try to use quicksaves or sniper
shots/whatever to destroy wanzer bodies throughout the mission, your score
will suffer. Note that NPC ally attacks will count towards your funds.
Avg. EP Ranking - The EP gained score represents the average EPs gained at
the end of the mission. There is an average EP count for each mission.
If a pilot has EP Plus, subtract 20% of their EP score before taking an
average. Subtract 2 points for every EP point below average.
Analysis: Your pilot gains EP for a kill as long as they initiated combat
with the enemy unit. In addition, pilots who initiated combat with an
enemy unit will allow a pilot that they are linked to gain in experience
from a kill, regardless of whether or not they initiated combat with the
enemy unit.
Walkthrough:
Mission 00 - Jutland, Denmark
Difficulty: *
Tactics: Turn 08
Funds: 500
EP: +25 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Max AP+1, MG Level+1, Rapid Fire I, and Terror Shot.
Battle Position:
No detail necessary.
Battle:
This is a very basic mission. Just make sure Zead gets a target every
turn. Use the shotgun to attack and MG to counter. There's only so much
you can do on this level, so if luck turns against you, just start over.
Mission D01 - Durandal Simulation 01
Difficulty: *
Tactics: Turn 08
Funds: 400 funds
EP: +12 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Panic Shot I
Ze: Buy MS Level+1, Max AP+1, AP Charge+1
Battle Position:
North Drop Zone -
XXXXZe
ElHeXX
Battle:
Use the same tactics as the first mission - shotgun to attack then counter
with MG, while keeping Zead with targets to hit.
Mission 01 - German Base
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 09
Funds: 1000
EP: +20 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Rank 2, SG Level+1
He: Buy Minus Shot I
Battle Position:
C2
C1
S1 ZeEl
S2 He M1
Battle:
The challenge here is getting all the EP gains for everyone, since you
don't have any links set up. Destroy M1 first, then S1. Have Zead fire
on M1, C1, and S1 (in that order) before they get too close to him. Focus
on S2 with Zead while finishing off S1, but don't kill it until Elsa and
Hermes can get in a shot. C1 will sometimes get in the way of your party
depending on your positions, so you may have to kill it to get to the
remaining two enemies.
Mission 02 - Eastern Venezuela
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 16
Funds: 1000 funds
EP: +30 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
None.
Battle Position:
No detail necessary.
Battle:
This is a slightly tough mission, since you can't set your pilots up
beforehand or use links. Head across the river to take on the machine
gunner, then take out the missile launcher, keeping close to his range.
Stay out of the tanks range and it won't approach your guys. Once you've
finished off the missileer, take on the tanks and remaining mech.
Repair/restore any critically broken parts.
Mission U01 - USN Simulation 01
Difficulty: *
Tactics: Turn 18
Funds: 1200 funds
EP: +20 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: Buy SG Level+1, Rank 2
Re: Buy RF Level+1, Aim
Ch: Buy Max AP+2
Wanzer Setup -
Change all wanzers armor type to impact.
Battle Position:
North Drop Zone -
XXXX
XXRe
ChDa
Battle:
Jam up the tanks at the bridge and tear them apart. Have Ch attack first
to take their counters. Once they're through, mow down the remaining two
wanzers.
Mission 03 - Guinerama Base
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 14
Funds: 1300 funds
EP: +33 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Da: Buy ML Level+1, Rapid Fire I
Re: Buy Rank 2, Focus Up
Battle Position:
Da
ReCh
Battle:
You need to finish this map in 15 or less turns to unlock USN Sim 9, so
you'll need to make a few body shots on the melee wanzers from Renges.
Quickly take out the base cannons and start blasting away at the wanzers.
Use one or two body shots on the melee wanzers but not the gunners, since
they die easily enough anyway.
Mission D02 - Durandal Simulation 02
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 10
Funds: 800 funds
EP: +18 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Make sure you set up your links and wanzers before starting this one. You
might not have enough money to do all the wanzer setup here, but you will
soon enough. Do not waste your money on power packs for Zead or Latona.
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Link Points+2, Double Shot I, remove Panic Shot I and equip Double
Shot I
Ze: Buy Rank 2, EP Plus
Wanzer Setup -
El:
Body: Latona's Stork IV
Both Arms: Gust 500
Right Arm: (optional) Quint w/ Shotgun instead of Gust 500
Legs: Stork IV
Backpack: TB-40 Power
Ze:
Body: Valiant F
Shoulders: MGR-IB Missiles
Legs: Quint
Remove Bone Buster
He:
Body: Valiant F
Left Arm: Gust 500
Legs: Quint
La:
Body: Quint
Left Arm: Quint
Legs: (optional) Gust 500
Remove EMP Backpack
Change all wanzers armor type to impact.
Link Setup -
El: Attack link 2 with La and He
La: Defense link 1 with Ze and He
Battle Position:
Center Drop Zone -
XX
Ze
XX
East Drop Zone -
La
He
El
Battle:
If you've set everything up correctly, you should be tearing through the
enemies like paper. Kick some butt with link attacks (attack with Zead,
then Latona, then Elsa/Hermes on a unit next to Latona). Once the east
group is eliminated, have Zead pelt the north group with missiles while
the rest of the team catches up. Nobody should take any significant
damage. This is an easy level to kick butt in and get some experience
with the link system.
Mission 04 - Polish Command Center
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 07
Funds: 1400 funds
EP: +25 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Skill Slots+2, equip Panic Shot I
Ze: Buy Max AP & Charge +1, Skill Slots+2, Piercing Missile
He: Buy Rank 2, MG Level+1
El: Buy Charge I
Wanzer Setup -
El: Place a repair 200 in her backpack.
Battle Position:
G2
S3 S4
G1 ElZe
S2 S1 LaHe
Battle:
It's worth it to heal the NPC ally, since the enemies will pound on him in
your place, and he'll dish out a fair amount of damage himself. If he
kills a unit, your pilots will still get the experience.
Move your units west - Latona first, Elsa second, Hermes third, then Zead
fourth. If the allied wanzer gets directly hit by G1's bazooka shot, I
suggest you just restart the mission, because he will usually dodge it.
Have Elsa repair the NPCs left or right arm, and Hermes repair the NPCs
body. Attack S1 with Zead and Latona.
Proceed with a general ass beating of G1 and S1-2 - use link attacks again
with Latona pounding away. Nobody should take any significant damage,
unless you're unlucky with the bazookas - then just do a link-repair with
Hermes. Aside from one more heal of the NPCs legs, he should last the
rest of the battle just fine.
Mission 05 - German Border
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 12
Funds: 2900 funds
EP: +33 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Rank 3, MG Level+1
Ze: Buy Rank 3, Max AP+1
He: Buy Rank 3, Link Points+2
La: Buy Rank 3, ML Level+1
Link Setup -
He: Attack link 2 with La
Battle Position:
ElHe
LaZe
Battle:
Liquefy the tanks and move out against the sniper and gunner. You should
now have both Hermes and Elsa triggering Latona to attack, so she now gets
3 attacks per turn on the unfortunate target of your choice. If you don't
block the bridge when killing the gunner, and don't provide the sniper
with a shot as he moves down the ramp, he will move into the main road on
his own, where you can easily gang up on him, instead of being cramped up.
On to the main entrée, the four enemies to the west. It's best if you
spread out the enemies target acquiring, since all four enemies beating on
a unit is tough to handle. Wait until the shotgunner moves forward at
least, so you can distribute the AI targeting instead of having them gang
up on one unit. Take out whoever's in front of Dranz, then go after him
with melee link attacks. He won't last more than two turns. Take the
sniper out next, then the remaining units.
Mission D03 - Durandal Simulation 03
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 11
Funds: 1600 funds
EP: +23 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Max AP+1, Link Points +2
Ze: Buy Max AP & Charge+1, MS Level+1
He: Buy Max AP+2 & Charge +2, Panic Shot
La: Buy Link Points+2
Wanzer Setup -
Bo:
Right Arm: Gust 500
Remove Sensor Backpack
Change all wanzers armor to impact.
Link Setup -
El: Attack link 1 with Ze, Defense link 1 with Bo
La: Attack link 1 with Bo and He, Attack link 2 with El
Battle Position:
Southwest Drop Zone -
HeElBo
ZeLaXX
Battle:
Move your units north to take care of the baddies, while firing a few
missiles at the east group. Take out the initial gunner in range, then
the missileer. The east group should be right behind your troops to
finish off, then the Bazooka troops will be right around the corner to the
north.
Mission D09 - Durandal Simulation 09
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 15
Funds: 2700 funds
EP: +19 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy Rank 4, Rapid Fire II - replace this with Panic Shot I
Ze: Buy Rank 4, Max AP & Charge +1, Skill Slots+2, Impact Missile
La: Buy Rank 4, Link Points +2, Blast Strike I - replace this with Fire
Strike
Link Setup -
La: Attack link 2 with He, Defense link 1 with Ze
Wanzer Setup -
Change all wanzers armor to piercing.
Battle Position:
Bridge Drop Zone -
XXZeLaElHeBo
Battle:
As soon as you destroy a unit in the east group, the west group will come
after you. Get the enemy bunched up around you and use Latona to trigger
mass attacks from Elsa and Hermes. Hermes should have 4AP left for one
more Latona attack. It's possible to make 4-chains here which rock, so go
for it. You should be taking out one full unit a turn, with the enemies
trying to gang up on the evasive Bosch. Move Zead eastward out of the
bridge entrance once the west group shows up, and don't let them gang up
Hermes either, as he'll take a beating. On turn 9, both teams should be
eliminated, so go after the river group. Send Zead after the missileers,
and try to take out the sniper asap. Don't let them focus on one guy,
especially not both missileers attacking one guy.
Mission 06 - Blauer Nebel Base
Difficulty: ****
Tactics: Turn 19
Funds: 5200 funds
EP: +34 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Buy SG Level+1, Skill Slots+2
He: Buy Rank 4, MG Level+1, Link Points+2
Bo: Buy Rank 3, Link Points+2
Wanzer Setup -
El:
Right Arm: Quint
Right Arm Weapon: Kirishima 51
La:
Right Arm Weapon: Bone Buster
Bring along some repair items.
Link Setup -
El: Attack support: Shotgun
La: Attack support: Bone Buster
La: Change Attack link 1 with Bo to Defense link 1
He: Attack link 2 with El
Bo: Attack link 2 with La
Battle Position:
LaEl
HeBoZe
Battle:
Just in time for the Blauer Nebel Base, everybody but Zead is linked
with Latona for maximum melee pounding. You can now get a total of 4
attacks out of her per turn, plus counterattacks. Even Wagner won't stand
much of a chance once you link out on him.
Start out using piercing weapons on the gunners. They will do a bit
of damage but nothing you can't heal. Trash em all quickly and move on to
the machine gunners. Draw them out a bit instead of fighting them on the
ramp, then take them apart. Try to destroy the grenade launcher asap.
Do a bit of healing on the way up the ramp, then bring Wagner and
friends over. Take Wagner out first thing, then the sniper, and then the
gunner. Try to get them focused on Latona and Bosch, since they have very
high evasion rates. Make sure Latona is there for every hit on Wagner for
more melee support. Wagner should go down in two turns at most with
constant attacks. By the time you take them out and the base cannon, the
two copters should be right there to blow up. Use Elsa/Zead on the east
copter, and Hermes/Bosch (and Zead if necessary) on the south copter.
Mission U08 - USN Simulator 08
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 12
Funds: 700 funds
EP: +24 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: Buy Rank 3, Charge I
Re: Buy Rank 3, Link Points +2
Ch: Buy Rank 2 & 3, Link Points +2, MG Level+1
Wanzer Setup -
Da:
Left Hand Weapon: Kirishima 51
Link Setup -
Ch: Attack link 2 with Da
Re: Attack link 2 with Da
Da: Attack Support: Bone Buster
Battle Position:
South Drop Zone -
Re
Da
Ch
Battle:
Use Darril's links to dish out 3 melee attacks per turn + counterattacks.
Don't let any of the melee units start hounding Renges - cut them off.
Chaeffer makes a good meat shield, although most units will be attacking
Darril. No body sniping necessary in this level. Do not go provoking
them, let them come normally.
Mission 07 - Port Cumana
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 14
Funds: 1200 funds
EP: +36 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: Buy SG Level+1, Link Points +2
Re: Buy RF Level+1, AP & Charge+2
Ch: Buy MG Level+1, AP & Charge+2
Wanzer Setup -
Change all wanzer armor to piercing.
Link Setup -
Da: Attack link 1 with Re and Ch
Battle Position:
No detail necessary.
Battle:
Have the three meet up by the boxes and start slugging it out with the
gunner and Vavliov. Use Darril's 3x melee attacks to take out the gunner,
then Vavliov. If he's about dead, you can hop on boxes and blast him away.
His destruction triggers the next two units, another gunner and Ivanovna.
Try to take the gunner out asap, then Ivanovna.
Mission U02 - USN Simulation 02
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 12
Funds: 1000 funds
EP: +15 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: Rank 4, ML+1
Re: Rank 4, Blast Shot I
Ch: AP+2
Wanzer Setup -
Da:
Legs: Husky IV (optional)
Re:
Right Arm: Giza
Legs: Husky IV
Ch:
Body: Recsys V
Right Arm: Husky IV
Right Arm Weapon: M.Gun
Legs: Gust 400
Link Setup -
Ch: Set attack/defense support to right arm.
Battle Position:
Northeast Drop Zone
Battle:
Immediately take out the right then left misileer while the rest of the
enemies stay put. The west group will approach first, then the east.
Just take them as they come and use link attacks with Darril.
Mission M08 - Cumana City
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 8
Funds: 1200 funds
EP: +26 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: AP+2
Re: SS+2, Zoom II
Battle Position:
No detail necessary.
Battle:
A fairly straightforward battle against the Zhuk. Have Darril and Renges
pound on it while Chaeffer heals and provides link attacks. Hopefully
your guys will dodge most of the low-hit rate cannon shots. Don't bother
with the gunners until the Zhuk is eating dirt.
Mission 09 - Refugee Village
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 11
Funds: 2600 funds
EP: +21 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: LP+2, Rapid Fire II
Re: AP+2, Charge+2
Wanzer Setup -
Set all wanzer armor to fire.
Link Setup -
Da: Attack 2 with Re and Ch
Battle Position:
Ch
ReDa
Battle:
Move Darrils team out east to take on the melee units and copter, while
Ines and Luis take out the gunners with grenades and the shotgun. Have
them meet around the center to take the second copter out and the
remaining two gunners. For some reason the last two gunners try to move
west past your guys, but it's not hard to slaughter them.
Mission D04 - Durandal Simulation 04
Difficulty: **
Tactics: Turn 13
Funds: 2500 funds
EP: +18 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Ze: Rank 5, AP & Charge+1, MS Level+1
La: Rank 5, ML+1
Bo: Assault Skills I, Skill Slots II, SS+2, Double Shot I, Rapid Fire II
Wanzer Setup -
The Gust 500 arms are good enough for the second round of equipment, due
to their excellent ranged accuracy. You may choose hand MGs if you wish,
though.
El:
Body: Cicada II
Right Arm: Cicada II
Right Arm Weapon: Catsray X
Legs: Tatou
Ze:
Body: Ratmount
Legs: Mareraid
Shoulder Weapons: Piz 3
He:
Body: Giza 2
Legs: Tatou/Mareraid
Right Arm: Valiant F
La:
Body: Cicada II
Arms: Cicada II
Legs: Tatou
Weapons: Hard Rod
Bo:
Body: Cicada II
Arms: Gust 500
Change all wanzer armor to impact.
Link Setup -
El: Attack 2 with Bo, Weapon support to left hand (MG)
Battle Position:
Southeast Drop Zone -
ElBoXX
LaHeZe
Battle:
Move your units west to engage with the south group of enemies. Take out
the missileers first and repair the grenade launcher. Once the missileers
are dead you don't have to repair the turret any longer. Work westward
then head up the ramp to engage the jetpack team.
Mission 10 - Wassau
Difficulty: ****
Tactics: Turn 15
Funds: 4000 funds
EP: +48 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: Rank 5, MG+1
He: Rank 5, Ap Bonus II
La: Melee Skills I, SS+4, Double Strike I
Wanzer Setup -
Set Zead armor to Fire, and all others to piercing.
Bring along some repair items.
Battle Position:
Northwest Drop Zone -
Bo
El
Northeast Drop Zone -
ZeHe
La
Battle:
With Bosch and Elsa, trail after Wagner. Once he's close to the
shotgunner, stay out of his attack range, or he'll turn around and start
firing, and you want him to keep moving. Once Wagner is past the gunner,
trash it with Elsa and Bosch, then meet up with Zead's team in the center
to take on Wagner.
With Zead's team, move south and engage all three enemies. Don't fight
the gunner until he's out of the narrow corridor. With those enemies dead,
head through the narrow corridor to the center of the map, where Wagner
should be passing by.
Make sure Wagner has someone to attack when your teams meet, or he'll just
keep running north. Bosch, Elsa, or Latona are preferable. Quickly trash
the sniper standing in the way before taking Wagner on, so Latona and
Hermes can break out. Pull some link madness on Wagner and he won't last
more than a turn or two.
With Wagner out of the picture, proceed south while doing a bit of healing,
take out the missileer then sniper. Do not let the sniper start hounding
Zead, as there's no way he can dodge the shots. Finally, work around west
to eliminate Dranz and the shotgunner, who have terrible accuracy rates.
Mission 11 - Zaftran Border
Difficulty: ****
Tactics: Turn 13
Funds: 5000 funds
EP: +43 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
El: AP Charge II, Double Shot II, Rank 6, Perfect Shot
Ze: Rank 6, Perfect Missile, AP-8, 2 SS+4, AP & Charge+1
He: 2 SS+4, Accuracy II, LP+2, AP Bonus I
La: Heavy Strike I, LP+2, 2 SS+2, Move Plus I, Piercing Strike, Skill
Slots I
Bo: AP+2, Rapid Fire I, AP Charge II, Skill Trigger I, Rank 4, MG+1
Wanzer Setup -
Purchase Pegase Legs for all wanzers.
Set all wanzer armor to fire.
Link Setup -
La: Attack 2 with El
Battle Position:
Ze
He
La
Bo
El
Battle:
This battle is annoying because you can't dodge at all with the
Pegase legs, and the enemies will do some nasty damage with their machine
guns and missiles. Proceed east to take out the two ground units, then
spread out to take on the grenadier. Converge on it and kill it, then
move north to take on the two gunners and missile launcher. By the time
they're out for the count, the south ones should be in your range, so go
after them. The enemies will go down fairly quickly, but mobility and
health can be a serious problem. The missile launchers will run around
all over the place trying to hit their target if you don't keep them put.
Try to spread the damage evenly among your units, don't let any gang ups
occur, and use Hermes almost exclusively for healing.
Mission U03 - USN Simulation 03
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 16
Funds: 2300 funds
EP: +22 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: LP+2
Re: SP+2, Focus Left, Focus Right
Lu: LP+2
In: Skill Slots I, EP Plus, 2 SS+1, Heavy Strike I
Wanzer Setup -
Da:
Body: Cicada II
Arms: Giaour
Left Weapon: Catsray X Shotgun
Right Weapon: Hard Rod
Legs: Cicada II
Backpack: TB-60
Re:
Body: Cicada II
Right Arm: Calm 200
Left Arm: Giaour
Left Weapon: Anaconda Rifle
Legs: Cicada II
Ch:
Body: Giza 2
Left Arm: Cicada II
Right Arm: Calm 200
Left Weapon: Luis' Cemetary MG
Legs: Cicada II
Backpack: RP-5 Healing Pack
Lu:
Remove Backpack
Right Weapon: Grave S
Optional - Power pack with Giaour arms.
In:
Body: Giza
Left Arm: Cicada II
Left Weapon: Hard Rod
Legs: Cicada II
Make sure she has some Grenade reloads.
Set all wanzer armor to piercing.
Link Setup -
Da: Attack 2 with In
Lu: Attack 2 with Da and In
Battle Position:
Southeast Drop Zone (near the group of 5 snipers)
Battle:
Ines will be acting as a melee and grenadier unit until the minotaur arms
show up. So for now, she can be a second melee link attacker along with
Darril. Her grenades are important in this battle - they can really put a
hole through the snipers and they're useful for taking out near-dead units.
Don't waste grenades, though - only use them when you can hit 2 or more
enemies at once. This is a good stage to practice tossing them around.
The large group of snipers will bunch up on the road, making perfect
grenade targets. As tempting as it might be, don't split your group up to
attack the snipers attacking from the side, just take the enemies out one
at a time as a team. They will be coming at a fairly steady pace, so
you'll almost always have a new one to gang up on. Try to get them to
make stupid shots that have extremely poor accuracy. Use the double melee
links with Darril and Ines to do some serious pounding. There are some
good melee spots north of your team where your units can hop behind bushes,
while the snipers have a terrible hit rate.
Sometimes a sniper or two may start moving towards your party very late -
just chase after them if you've got nothing left to kill.
Mission 12 - Caracas Hideout
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 17
Funds: 4200 funds
EP: +48 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Ch: Sniper Skills I, Terror, Panic, Minus Shot I, Zoom I, 3 SS+2
Lu: MG+1
In: AP+2 & Charge+1, 2 SS+1
Wanzer Setup -
Change armor to impact.
Make sure Ines has grenade ammo.
Battle Position:
InChRe
DaLu
Battle:
Head west and surround/kill the Moth wanzer and melee wanzer. If it gives
you hell dodging your shots constantly and activating DMG 30 every attack,
just try the level again. Normally it'll go down in two turns at most
with Darril and Ines slamming it.
Move southwest to save the hideout. Send Darril and Chaeffer to the west
copter, and the other three south - snipe the tank and south copter with
Renges, have Ines pound on the tank with grenades, and have Luis fire on
the south copter. They'll go down fairly quickly.
Once Calvo's team shows up, send then west against the mech, tanks, and
south copter. They can take them on without much trouble, just haul some
grenades from Rodriguez.
With Darril's team, move them west along the road against the three
wanzers (lob some grenades), then backtrack a bit to stop the north copter
dead in its tracks. Renges can hit it fairly accurately from the bridge
as it passes over the river.
Mission U04 - USN Simulation 04
Difficulty: ***
Tactics: Turn 12
Funds: 2400 funds
EP: +13 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: Rank 5, LP+2, SG+1, Double Assault, 2 SS+2
Re: Rank 5, RF+1, LP+2, SS+4, Focus Down, Terror Shot II
Ch: Rank 4,5 & 6, MG+1, Link+2, AP Bonus II, AP Charge+2
Lu: AP+2, LP+2, SG+1
In: GR+1, ML+1, AP+2 & Charge+1, SS+1
Wanzer Setup -
Set armor to fire.
Make sure Ines has grenade ammo.
Link Setup -
Da: Defense link 2 Lu
Re: Attack link 2 In
Lu: Attack link 2 Ch
Battle Position:
Northeast Drop Zone - Ines
South Drop Zone -
Re
ChLuDa
Battle:
Start out by dropping grenades on all 5 units with Ines. Head east with
Darril & Co. to take them out up close. Focus on the missileer/grenadier
units, as Ines's grenades will quickly paste the gunners and melees.
Prioritize grenade drops on the sensor wanzer, as it is a pain to hit,
like all sensor wanzers.
Take out the copters as they approach while heading west. Engage the west
group with grenades and link attacks. Have Renges/another gunner blow off
the grenade arm of whatever grenadier/missileer is launching grenades at
your party. After that danger is taken care of, beat the crap out of the
gunners and melees with grenades and just like the first group.
Mission U09 - USN Simulation 09
Difficulty: ****
Tactics: Turn 14
Funds: 5300 funds
EP: +15 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: AP Charge I, 3 AP Charge+1
Ch: Repair Plus II, SS+2
Lu: AP Charge II, AP Charge+2
In: Rank 4, AP Charge+1
Wanzer Setup -
Da:
Left Weapon: Heavy Pile
In:
Body: Cicada II (you got a whole set of this from Calvo)
Backpack: TB-60
Left Weapon: Heavy Pile
Make sure you have grenade ammo for her.
All armor types to impact.
Battle Position:
Northwest Drop Zone
ReLuIn
XXChDa
Battle:
This mission is one of the tougher simulations. Immediately run south and
obliterate the missileers and base cannon. The enemy melee units will
come at you one at a time, slow enough to deal with them if you put all
your power into wiping them out one at a time. Don't fight near the top
of the ramp: back down slowly while pounding with grenades and linked
melee attacks, so that the enemy grenadier can't get a shot at you until
most of the melees are dead. Once the grenadier is in attack range, take
him out with the full force of your party (plus or minus Ines), then
finish off the remaining melees and the northeast turret. You need top
condition skills, wanzers, and links to be able to handle the melees
without them backing up. If you take too long, the melee units will back
up and the grenadier will tear your party apart.
Mission 13 - Governor's Manor
Difficulty: ****
Tactics: Turn 09
Funds: 4400 funds
EP: +46 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: SS+2
In: Heavy Strike II, 2 SS+1, Move Plus II
Wanzer Setup -
Change armor to piercing.
Battle Position:
DaReLu
InCh
Ca
SaGo
RoPu
Battle:
In this battle, you must destroy all units. The problem is, they start
running away after you kill the fourth one. You have to take out legs and
generally weaken the whole group to the point where you can kill them all
off in a turn or two without them running away. Grenades are a big help,
as is Renges' Focus Down skill.
The copters are the easiest to keep alive and kill reliably, as long as
they're very low on health and you don't let them run for it. The ranged
attackers like the gunners and snipers are most likely to run for the
hills while hitting you at range, while the melee units are usually stupid
enough to hang around and attack you instead of fleeing.
Move Darril's group west and knock the legs off two of the wanzers, and
get the copter down to very low HPs. Then proceed south with them to the
south group. Have Ines lob grenades on the southwest group to soften them
up.
Calvo's group should move west and critically wound the copters, as well
as try to kill the mech outright. Move Rodriguez westward and start
bombing the southwest group along with Ines.
Injure the southwest copter, and make sure the sniper isn't going to be
running anywhere. Once the southwest gunners are weak enough to be killed
with one more grenade shot, start killing them all. Drop a grenade on the
crippled north units that are remaining, and shoot all the copters down.
Anything that has legs should be prioritized for killing. Take one last
day to finish off whatever else you didn't kill. You should definitely
get this done, because you need to unlock USN Simulator 10 in order to win
the Minotaur Arms, which is nearly essential in the next mission.
Mission U10 - USN Simulator 10
Difficulty: ****
Tactics: Turn 17
Funds: 4600 funds
EP: +14 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: Rank 6, ML+1, SS+2, Blast Strike I
Re: Rank 6, Blast Shot I, Snipe, Zoom 3, AP+2, AP Charge II, AP Charge+2
Ch: SS+4, AP Damage II, AP Charge II, SS+2, Repair III
Lu: Rank 3, MG+1
In: AP Charge I, 3 AP Charge+1, AP II, AP+2, 2 BZ+1, 2 RK+1
Wanzer Setup -
Change armor to fire.
Make sure Ines has Grenade ammo.
Battle Position:
Southwest Drop Zone:
XX
InDa
XXChLu
Southeast Drop Zone:
Re
Battle:
Fight your way eastward with Darril's team, droping grenades on the recon
unit and meeting the group of enemies at the bottom of the middle road.
They will bunch up, so greet them with some heavy grenade fire and linked
attacks. With Renges, body snipe the missileer, meet up with Darril, then
go around the corner to body snipe the missileer on the other side of the
buildings.
After crushing the meager opposition, all that remains are two missileers,
two recons, and a Zhuk I. Proceed north to the Zhuk, dropping grenades on
and ganging up on the recon and sending Renges to snipe the missileer east
of the Zhuk. Use Darril and Ines' melee links to give the Zhuk a good
pounding.
Once the Zhuk is dead, carpet bomb and gang up on the remaining recon, and
body snipe/attack the remaining missileer.
Mission 14 - Caracas Escape
Difficulty: *****
Tactics: Turn 10
Funds: 6700 funds
EP: +50 avg.
Pre-Battle Planning:
Pilot Setup -
Da: Skill Slots I, AP+2, AP Charge+1
Re: Skill Slots I, SS+1, Zoom III
Ch: Skill Slots I, Escape II
Lu: LP+2
Wanzer Setup -
In:
Body: Giza
Legs: Giaour
Backpack: TB-60 Power
Left Arm: Minotaur
Make sure Ines has rocket ammo, and others with her.
Link Setup -
Lu: Defense 2 with Chaeffer
Battle Position:
Lu InRe
Ch
Da
Go
Pu Ca
Sa Ro
Battle:
This is a nasty battle involving no less than three rocket launcher
wanzers, which are to be your mortal enemies. They can bomb you far
faster than you can repair yourself, and facing three of them means a
whole lot of trouble. You'll need the minotaur arms on Ines to blast away
the regular enemies and allow you to focus on the rocket launchers.
One good thing about the rocket launchers is that they only have a
launcher on their left arm. That means you only have to take out that arm
to render them harmless. Renges's sniping will be very handy for blowing
those arms away.
Start out moving your units south along the road. Move Darril and Luis
before Chaeffer, and move Calvo straight south. For some reason, Calvo
seems to be the favorite target of most enemies in this level. Have Ines
fire the first rocket at the enemy group below you.
You'll get smashed by your first rocket on enemy turn 1. On turn 2, blast
the baddies with a grenade and rocket blast. Have someone with high
evasion attack the rocket launcher - all of the enemies are linked, so
whoever attacks first is going to get blasted at. With that out of the
way, snipe the rocket launchers left arm, then perform a relentless
assault until you break the arm. There's not really any luck involved -
just keep attacking and you'll do enough damage to break it.
On turn 3, kill one of the snipers blocking the way with Luis, then break
out and move southeast towards the second rocket launcher with everyone
but Ines, who should move south. If your units aren't too close to him,
he won't do anything, which is what you want. If he decides to lob
rockets at you, consider trying to approach him at a bit more of a
distance. I'm not sure what the exact conditions are - anyway, it's
possible to complete the mission while taking the hit.
Send the Al Alanzia units east to the bridge to face off with the two
linked bazooka units. Don't let them both lock onto the same target, or
that target will probably end up in very bad shape and cost you
maintenance money. It's best to surround one of them and just fire away,
as there's not much of a better strategy. Let one of the non-targeted
units attack first to take any counter damage, then fire away with the
rest of the group.
Meanwhile, move Ines and Luis south to start rocket bombing the south
group. They'll give chase to her, so just keep moving back north and
bombing them at range, while Luis picks the two gunners off. Once you
finish with the second rocket launcher with Darril, Renges, and Chaeffer,
send them south (you can move over the low-level buildings) to take out
the third one and the rest of the south force, which should be
significantly damaged from Ines's carpet bombing. Good thing too, because
everyone will be really beat up at this point by the constant rocket
flinging. Vavilov will be weak enough that you can blast him without
needing to get into melee range.
Send Ines and Renges back up northeast to help finish off the bazooka
units while you repair any broken parts with Chaeffer. Lob rockets with
Ines then fire her bazooka, and use some body snipes with Renges to seal
the level for good.
More guide coming soon!
Print this Front Mission 4 guide