Unicorn Overlord, Vanillaware’s take on the tactical/strategy genre, is here, and it is good. The game blends the best of real-time and turn-based strategy games to create a melting-pot of tactical combat. As a follow up to the studio’s last game, the twisting narrative adventure of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Unicorn Overlord is light on story. It’s a pretty average medieval fantasy world, but for people who want a deep combat focused RPG to dig into, this is the game for you.
But the complex battles mean that Unicorn Overlord is bursting at the seams with more systems than you can shake a sword at. When you are just getting started it can be a lot to take in, so here’s a crash course on the best tips you’ll want to know about the game.
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Upgrade units ASAP
Before you explore the world of Fevrith and wage war as far as the eye can see, the first thing you should do is upgrade your units. Unicorn Overlord starts players off with only two units, each of which is limited to two characters. Once you land in Cornia, you will be given side quests that nudge you to unlock more units and expand the units you have. Do this quickly. Having more units and characters per unit is essential for building strong strategies in battle. Two units will also not cut it when the game starts throwing huge battles at you that involve enemies coming at you in all directions. You can earn more honors through deliveries and side quests and upgrade your units.
Always protect your command post
Every battle in Unicorn Overlord has a lose condition, typically your Command Post being captured by the enemy. Since you start every battle by deploying from the Command Post, you might imagine this would be hard to forget. You’d be wrong. When battles become hectic, it is all too possible to have your units deep in enemy territory and completely forget about the Command Post you left unguarded. Suddenly, right when you are about to defeat a boss, a humble infantry unit capture’s your unguarded Command Post and its game over. When you have the Valor Points, deploy and garrison a unit at your Command Post so it is never left vulnerable.
Turn on auto-pause in settings
Battles don’t wait for you in Unicorn Overlord. They take place in real time, and the second a battle starts, enemies will be coming at you. To give yourself time to assess the situation, you will need to pause. To make this easier you can go into the options menu and turn on the “Auto-Pause at Start of Stage” toggle. This way, you don’t have to remember to pause, the game just does it for you and you can plan without giving the enemy a head start.
Companion side quests are essential
The story of Unicorn Overlord is nothing special, but you need to be doing companion side quests in the world anyway. By taking on these quests, which you initiate by talking to special NPCs on the overworld, you will eventually unlock new characters and unit types. Collecting all the characters gives you the best variety of fighters to add to your units when the need arises.
Unit organization is more important than level
Every character has a level, and every battle has a recommended level. This can mostly be ignored. Unit organization and character types have much more sway over battle outcomes than levels. This is not a game that lets you brute-force your way through a level with strength, you need to take a second to think. This has the benefit of letting you take on battles you are underleveled for, as a smart plan will always outweigh power.
Spare Mordon
An early fight you’ll come across is the Battle for Barbatimo. When you win the fight, you will be given the option to spare or execute Mordon. You want to spare him. Mordon unlocks the ability to build bridges across the overworld, letting you explore more places and collect resources. While another character with this skill will automatically join your party later, it is nice to have Mordon early on. As an extra tip, there isn’t really a good reason to not spare people when given the chance. Sparing your enemy means they join your army, and you always want more fighters.
Take to the skies
Flying characters can be incredibly overpowered in Unicorn Overlord. That’s not because of their actual strength, but because of their mobility. Making a flying character like a Gryphon Knight, into a unit leader will allow that unit to fly across battlefields. This means you can completely bypass difficult terrain like mountains or fly over enemies altogether. A well-organized unit with a flying character at the lead can often end battles in a matter of seconds.
Use items frequently
With so many systems going on, it’s easy to forget that you have a plethora of items at your disposal. While this includes the standard healing items, there are other consumable you should be aware of and make use of as often as you can. Smoked Nuts are a great way to replenish stamina when undertaking a lot of clashes, Magick Mines can easily destroy units, Light Feathers will make units move faster, and so on. Every item has a use that can be vital to winning a fight, and the ability to use items as much as possible without burning resources like Valor Points make them great to fall back on.
Battle predictions won’t always help you
When commanding a unit to attack an enemy, you will see a quick predictive outcome of this encounter. While it is accurate, it can change rapidly. You may direct a unit to move across the battlefield and be told you will defeat the enemy with ease, only to arrive at said clash and discover that is no longer the case. There are many reasons for this. The enemy may have used a Valor Skill or item, or maybe they are now supported by a unit of archers. Battle predictions are accurate, but you need to check them frequently to account for real-time scenario changes.
Stationing guards is a quick way to build rapport
There is a rapport system in Unicorn Overlord that lets characters build relationships and unlock better fighting capabilities. This system eventually becomes crucial the main quest without much warning. If you need to build rapport quickly, a simple trick is to station the character you want to build rapport with at a town and then give them a bunch of gifts in a row. Though the caveat to this tactic is that it only works for building rapport between Alain and a character.
Don’t over deliver to towns
The world of Fevrith is speckled with towns across its map. All of them are in need of some sort of aid from Alain to rebuild. This is done by collecting resources and delivering them. Each town will have a star rating between one to three and completing deliveries help you earn stars. Once you have filled out all a town’s stars, the game will keep offering you new deliveries. Do not do them! The town won’t unlock new things after its stars are filled. You will just be wasting resources that could be put towards fully rebuilding other towns across the map, and there are a lot of them.
Save, save, and save
Save often. I know that sounds like a given. But seriously, you should always be saving in Unicorn Overlord. Especially during battles. Yes, you can save in the middle of Unicorn Overlord’s expansive and lengthy battles. This is a great way to give yourself a lifeline if you make a mistake. Instead of starting over and losing half an hour of progress, you can just go back a minute or two and re-assess your strategy. If you aren’t a fan of save scumming for whatever reason, then you can honorably fall on your sword. But seriously, save your game.
Buy Unicorn Overlord: Amazon | Best Buy | Target
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