Who wants some Gungnir info?

[mjemirzian]

Game mechanics explanation (in English):
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/622913-gungnir/61365847

Some gameplay footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kozgOTMfHhg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk3DVdYLSqc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjnOtb_FrI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Hs7sf0wfs




I wrote a brief overview of Gungnir's combat system, since I found the gamefaqs post to be a lacking. It's good on the technical details, but doesn't explain the flow of combat very well. If I got something wrong feel free to let me know.

Gungnir is a turn based tactics games that superficially most resembles other speed based isometric games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. However, being a Sting game, Gungnir has an above average number of mechanics and systems working in the background to complicate things. Below you'll find a fairly concise overview of how Gungnir plays and what mechanics are involved.

Gungnir's turn order is speed based, similar to FFT/TO, but with one major difference. While enemies and NPCs all have their own individual speed and turn icon, you only have a single icon on the speed bar to issue orders to your entire army (it looks like a yellow P). Whenever it's your turn you can choose from any of your units to act with. This generally means that enemies have a significant turn rate advantage over you, especially in large numbers. Every action your selected unit makes (moving, attacking, waiting, etc.) causes delay which will set your next turn back by a certain amount on the speed bar. Units have a delay stat that subtracts some delay during their actions, and by choosing an Ace unit at the start of the mission some class types will benefit from a further delay reduction bonus.

Each unit has a stat called WT (wait time) which determines how fast they can act again without suffering a loss of Vitality, which temporarily reduces their max HP. Equipment has weight and equipping it increases the WT burden by a % of WT. Any WT burden over 50% causes a WT penalty. You'll see the "Ready" overhead if the unit is ready to act without Vitality loss. Also, each attack has its own recharge rate, and if you use it before it's recharged, it will deal less damage.

Performing the move action with your units will build up tactics points, 1 point per square moved. Units have a tactics stat that determines how many tactics points they can build by moving. Building up tactics points increases the damage multiplier of some attacks. Tactics points can be spent on reducing delay (overclock), group attacks (beat), support buffs (boost), reducing the weapon recharge rate, and performing certain special summoning attacks. Units can only join into beats if they are directly in line with the target enemy, while boosts have a more permissive radius. Up to 4 allied units can assist the attacker with a beat or boost. Beat and boost activation range can be increased by capturing flags scattered around the map. These flags also increase your maximum tactics point value. In almost all situations, overclock isn't worth burning your tactics points, so you almost never have to choose between "speed or damage".

At the end of a mission you earn up to 3 stars based on certain conditions. You're awarded a star each for not restarting a mission, having 0 allied units defeated, and clearing the mission under a certain time. However, if you take too long, you'll start to lose stars even if you had no allies defeated and no restarts. Earning stars will increase the rank, a multiplier viewable in the upper right corner of the battle objectives screen. On basic difficulty the rank starts at 0.75, on Advance it's 1.0, and on Nightmare it's 1.25 or 1.5. My guess is that rank only increases if you get 2+ stars. For each mission you clear with 2+ stars, rank increases by 0.01 points on basic, 0.02 on advance, and 0.03 on nightmare. The rank multiplier increases enemy damage and HP. I'm not sure what the cap is, but I think it carries over with a New Game+. On Advance and Nightmare modes, enemies have 1.5x and 2.0x HP and Speed, respectively, in addition to the rank multiplier. Nightmare mode is unlocked after clearing Advance mode. You may start a New Game+ on Basic or Advance modes, but not on Nightmare mode.

During intermission you're able to recruit new units, and buy, sell, equip, improve or disenchant equipment. As for Gungnir's plot and characters, it looks very much like a FFT/TO style medieval melodrama, with all the usual JRPG cliches. You're able to make choices during the campaign that alter which ending you'll get, similar to TO.

I'm still not sure why Atlus chose to localize Gungnir. Contractual obligation? Similarity to Tactics Ogre? It's certainly a sales gamble and not in line with their recent attempts to publish more high profile games. It should be a pretty good game for technical minded players, and probably enough plot related stuff to please the FFT/TO fans.

Other combat details:
Level affects HP, Resistance, and WT.
The guard stat gives a % chance of negating melee damage.
The defense stat gives a numerical % damage reduction.
Attacking an enemy from the side or behind reduces their guard % and deals more damage.
The counter stat gives a % chance of a counterattack after a successful guard.
The resistance stat gives % chance of negating negative status effects.
The cast stat reduces cast time by a % amount.
All units have a "special roman numeral" which is the numeral shown in yellow in the attack selection. Using any yellow colored attack will level all attacks of that numeral by the amount shown in the Specialization bar at the bottom of the screen.
Using a weapon raises that unit's mastery of the weapon, granting more damage.
Gungnir also has an RPS elemental system - I'm not sure on the details.
There's no mid battle saving.
There are no free battles but you can choose to restart a mission while keeping your stat growths and item gains. This is similar to Super Robot Wars.
Defeated allied units will retreat and suffer a Vitality (max HP) penalty for the next mission.
During your turn you can deliberately wait if there's a gap between your turn and the next enemy turn.

[kadosho]

Well done! I'm sure that those who are interested in the title will find this helpful. Plus its pretty technical, even though in written form.

[Aroo]

Thanks for the detailed information!
One of my concerns in one of the screenshots is the "Armor Break" that shows a piece of leather armor being broken. Is this a permanent item-loss event for players or only enemies?

To me, it seems this type of armor loss is antiquated - it should have died with FFT a generation ago. I doubt I'll pick up this title if unique weapons/armor can be broken in such a manner.

http://www.atlus.com/res/Gungnir_PR_Screens_145.bmp

[mjemirzian]

I'm not exactly sure on the armor break mechanic, but I'm pretty sure that you can't lose your own equipment permanently.

[lol, forums]

Destroyed armor is permanently lost, and enemies can do it to the player. However, there's only one unit with those skills, and they'll typically only have a single one which will break a particular type of armor (or shield).

If you're playing strategically, it's not too hard to avoid them, or at least avoid confronting them with a unit that has a particularly good piece of armor that can be affected. They're the high-HP, heavy-hitter unit, so you'd want to avoid going head on against them anyhow.

In the course of a normal playthrough, you'll might only lose a couple items, and they'll probably be something easily replaceable.

[ShadowRaskolnik]

Losing items by either having them break down or get destroyed is something that should be expected in Dept Heaven games (I'm pretty sure the only items in the series that couldn't be destroyed were the Diviners in Riviera).

[KingOfPrinces]

Man, This game is sounding greater and greater as the days go by!

[daveyd]

I'm looking forward to it.

Amazon offered me it on their "Today's Deals" / quick picks page a couple weeks ago so I snagged it for $28.50 Probably got that offer because I had pre-ordered Growlanser from them.

[lol, forums]

Originally Posted by ShadowRaskolnik

Losing items by either having them break down or get destroyed is something that should be expected in Dept Heaven games (I'm pretty sure the only items in the series that couldn't be destroyed were the Diviners in Riviera).

Surprisingly enough, equipment doesn't have durability in this game, so it's not like the rest of the series where you're constantly using up equipment. The armor break skills are actually the only way to lose them (aside from letting a unit die, get looted, and not kill/looting the other unit back). Meanwhile, none of the armor break skills apply to weapons, so there's no way to lose those aside from the parenthetical note above.

[KingOfPrinces]

I have some Questions for you LOL Forumns.

Are all your characters in your army set named characters that are forced upon you (i don't necessarily mean that in a bad way) like the rest of the Dept Heaven series. Or can you hire, create, and possibly even name custom generic characters like you can in the Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre Series.

Im asking because i heard that theres like 25 different character classes in the game.

Also, Do you know where this game is CHRONOLOGICAL when compared to the other three games in the series?

[daveyd]

RPGamer recently did a preview of Gungnir.

You may also want to check out the Gungnir neoseeker page.

[Aroo]

Great information, thank you!
Aside from equipment what other character development/customization is available?

[mattiator]

I read something about story characters as well as hiring mercenaries, so that might be how they intend to allow you to customize your army.

[lol, forums]

Originally Posted by KingOfPrinces

I have some Questions for you LOL Forumns.

Are all your characters in your army set named characters that are forced upon you (i don't necessarily mean that in a bad way) like the rest of the Dept Heaven series. Or can you hire, create, and possibly even name custom generic characters like you can in the Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre Series.

At the Guild, you can offer up gold to attract random merc units, of which there's nearly 200. Depending on how much you offer and what scene (level) it is, different units will be available. If you offer a weapon along with gold, you'll only attract units of a class that can use that weapon. During some scenes, a few set volunteer units can be recruited from Camp for free. No naming or creating.

Im asking because i heard that theres like 25 different character classes in the game.

Technically there are that many, but about half of them are unique ones. Pretty much each story character that appears in battle (player and enemy) has their own class. Sometimes that class is just a copy of the generic ones, but usually they'll have some differences, like being able to equip two particular weapon types.

Also, Do you know where this game is CHRONOLOGICAL when compared to the other three games in the series?

Not sure.

Originally Posted by Aroo

Great information, thank you!
Aside from equipment what other character development/customization is available?

Just equipment, really. Though one thing worth mentioning, is that each unit has a specialty number of I-IV, and every weapon action is also tied to one of those numbers. When a unit uses an action assigned the same number as itself, it will actually level up that action for that unit.

So, for example, if you had a really awesome hammer with a II action, you'd want to recruit and equip it to a unit with a II specialty, since that means that action would gradually get better as long as that unit is using it. Whereas otherwise, the action would always have the default attributes if used by a unit with a specialty of I, III, or IV.

On top of that, the more a unit attacks with a certain weapon, the more actions they'll unlock for it. So between that and the specialty, you have some options for differentiating units of the same class even if they have the same weapon equipped.

[lunarXskies]

How would you compare Gungnir to the previous DHE games?

[mjemirzian]

There aren't any truly randomly generated units. Every time you go to the intermission you get a limited selection of premade units to recruit. That's in addition to the recruits you automatically pick up along the campaign.

[vany]

Is this game like Disgaea, i mean the battle system of disagea was boring and if this game is like it im skipping this.

[ShadowRaskolnik]

Originally Posted by vany

Is this game like Disgaea, i mean the battle system of disagea was boring and if this game is like it im skipping this.

It's similar to Disgaea in that it's an SRPG, but I would say that the battle system is more like Final Fantasy Tactics/Tactics Ogre then Disgaea.

There should be some gameplay footage available on YouTube so I'd suggest checking it out.

[vany]

Originally Posted by ShadowRaskolnik

It's similar to Disgaea in that it's an SRPG, but I would say that the battle system is more like Final Fantasy Tactics/Tactics Ogre then Disgaea.

There should be some gameplay footage available on YouTube so I'd suggest checking it out.

Thanks, is this game difficult or average.

[ShadowRaskolnik]

Originally Posted by vany

Thanks, is this game difficult or average.

Many interviews with the developers of this game often had them stressing how this game is considerably easier then the past two titles released in the series (Yggdra Union and Knights in the Nightmare). That being said I'm pretty sure this game has a difficulty selection menu.

[vany]

Originally Posted by ShadowRaskolnik

Many interviews with the developers of this game often had them stressing how this game is considerably easier then the past two titles released in the series (Yggdra Union and Knights in the Nightmare). That being said I'm pretty sure this game has a difficulty selection menu.

Yay, then this will get in my shopping list, thanks.

[mjemirzian]

Originally Posted by vany

Thanks, is this game difficult or average.

Normal mode is fairly easy and forgiving. You can ignore the scoring system entirely and enemy stats actually get lower if you grind or score poorly, due to how the rank works.

Nightmare mode on the other hand is very difficult. One mistake or some bad luck and you'll probably fail, even in the earlier scenarios. It's more difficult than anything in yggdra union and most tactics games. I guarantee you almost nobody will even clear Nightmare mode, let alone score well on it.

[MODCA]

Originally Posted by mjemirzian

Normal mode is fairly easy and forgiving. You can ignore the scoring system entirely and enemy stats actually get lower if you grind or score poorly, due to how the rank works.

Nightmare mode on the other hand is very difficult. One mistake or some bad luck and you'll probably fail, even in the earlier scenarios. It's more difficult than anything in yggdra union and most tactics games.

That sounds awesome!

[lunarXskies]

Originally Posted by mjemirzian

Normal mode is fairly easy and forgiving. You can ignore the scoring system entirely and enemy stats actually get lower if you grind or score poorly, due to how the rank works.

Nightmare mode on the other hand is very difficult. One mistake or some bad luck and you'll probably fail, even in the earlier scenarios. It's more difficult than anything in yggdra union and most tactics games. I guarantee you almost nobody will even clear Nightmare mode, let alone score well on it.

Untested/impossible difficulty or just really hard?

[ecthel1412]

It's just a bit hard until you get acquainted with the game's system. This is a game that once you find out the right tactic, you'll be able to complete the battle even if it's Nightmare mode or your enemies are totally overpower you.

[mjemirzian]

Originally Posted by lunarXskies

Untested/impossible difficulty or just really hard?

Nightmare mode is definitely possible to clear. But I am fairly certain it's highly luck based or impossible to get 3 stars on every nightmare mode scenario.. you'll end up with an absurd amount of rank stacked up against you and it just gets numerically impossible at that point, especially considering that to get 3 stars on a scenario you aren't allowed to restart it, so no grinding allowed.

[ShadowRaskolnik]

Originally Posted by mjemirzian

Nightmare mode is definitely possible to clear. But I am fairly certain it's highly luck based or impossible to get 3 stars on every nightmare mode scenario.. you'll end up with an absurd amount of rank stacked up against you and it just gets numerically impossible at that point, especially considering that to get 3 stars on a scenario you aren't allowed to restart it, so no grinding allowed.

Well it's not like you can grind in the first place, I'm pretty sure there are no free battles in the game (at least that's what I heard, if I'm wrong feel free to correct me).

[Onion of Mystery]

Originally Posted by ShadowRaskolnik

Well it's not like you can grind in the first place, I'm pretty sure there are no free battles in the game (at least that's what I heard, if I'm wrong feel free to correct me).

If you fail a mission, you have the option of restarting it while retaining the EXP you've gained. That's grindy.

[ecthel1412]

Originally Posted by mjemirzian

Nightmare mode is definitely possible to clear. But I am fairly certain it's highly luck based or impossible to get 3 stars on every nightmare mode scenario.. you'll end up with an absurd amount of rank stacked up against you and it just gets numerically impossible at that point, especially considering that to get 3 stars on a scenario you aren't allowed to restart it, so no grinding allowed.

Nightmare mode is pretty hard, but it's not up to a level that is luck based or nearly impossible, all it does is give your enemies a bigger boost in speed and damage compare to Advance mode. If you've completed Advance, you'll find Nightmare just a bit harder. It's even possible to clear Nightmare with 3 star for every scene, and there are several people managed to achieve it at this time.

[mjemirzian]

Gungnir has several important random elements to it. Enchanting failures, getting poor recruits, random combat results, item drops, crits, procs, gear being destroyed, etc. Giving enemies better stats has a direct effect on how much luck effects an efficient strategy. Gungnir can be a very RNG heavy game at times.

Both the rank and base stat multiplier are higher, increasing enemy damage, HP, and speed. You do realize that it's not just HP and damage that are increased, right? (according to the JP wikis I've looked at)

I didn't say it was impossible, just that it would probably take a significant amount of luck even playing efficiently. So let's see this "not up to a level that is luck based" playthrough.