-Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis- \/\/\/\/------------\/\/\/\/ /\/\/Gorgon Guide/\/\/ \/\/\/\/------------\/\/\/\/ -------TreasureFinder------- Version 1.0 - The meat and potatoes of the guide Version 1.1 - Added another setup, and extra info/battle strategies, rearranged and added extra sections ***************** Table of Contents ***************** ************************************ I. Purpose of this FAQ II. What is a Gorgon? III. Why use a Gorgon? IV. How to Obtain a Gorgon V. General Notes VI. Basic Strategies VII. Equipment VIII. Setups IX. Emblems X. Closing and Acknowledgements ************************************ *Note* I give my consent for anyone to use this guide, as it is just a simple, quick, and dirty guide to Gorgons. It's intended purpose is to provide some ideas on how to implement a Gorgon into your team. It may be used anywhere. -------------------------------- Section I: Purpose of this Guide -------------------------------- The purpose of this guide (my first, I might add), is to advise players why to use a Gorgon, and how to effectively use a Gorgon. Hopefully, this guide will shed some light on the often misunderstood unit. Just keep in mind that this guide is intended to give the beginnings of the usage of a Gorgon. I do not have debate-like arguments in my guide... ----------------------------- Section II: What is a Gorgon? ----------------------------- "A monster with a snake-like body and snakes protruding from its head. Gorgons have the power to petrify enemies. Don't forget to equip a shield when using them." A Gorgon is classified as a Denizen of the Netherworld. And now for a little history: The Gorgons originated in Greecian mythology. There were three of them, Medusa being the most famous. They had faces that were so ugly, that if a mortal were to look them in the face, they would turn to stone. The Greek hero, Perseus, eventually killed Medusa by cutting off her head, and used it as a weapon...how...romantic. ------------------------------ Section III: Why use a Gorgon? ------------------------------ A Gorgon is a very good choice for a team, because she is very unique. Besides a Cockatrice, no other unit type can petrify naturally (without a spell). ________________________________________________________________ A Gorgon gets the following stat boosts at every level up: Stat Growth: HP: 6 MP: 4 STR: 5 INT: 6 AGI: 4 Definitely not the best, but not too shabby. The main use for a Gorgon is to...you guessed it...PETRIFY! The percentage rate of the petrification is 100% (!!!!) if the character is not equipped with a shield or is facing away. THAT'S RIGHT: 100% CHANCE OF PETRIFICATION Petrification is really nice, in case you hadn't noticed. The main reason why people use Gorgons is for the Evil Eye Talent. This ability has (stunningly) no range limit for petrification! That's right, you could petrify the entire enemy team in one move. Winning the game in one move is nice, in case you hadn't noticed....-_- Just some reassurance: Your own characters cannot be affected by your own Gorgon's Evil Eye. ---------------------------------- Section IV: How to Obtain a Gorgon ---------------------------------- The only way you can get a Gorgon is to persuade one. The best way to persuade any unit is to lower it's health to about 5%. The best unit for persuading a Gorgon is another Gorgon, or Denizen of the Netherworld (a Lesser Daemon or a Gremlin). ------------------------ Section V: General Notes ------------------------ I just want to mention a couple of things here. Many people will write off a Gorgon as a 'junk unit'. DON"T DO THIS! Petrification is good! Counters: People claim that Petrification is easy to counter with a Priest, items, even a Swordmaster! Let me reiterate: Priests: Too filled up with Heal Plus/Full Heal, Exorcism/Divine Radiance, Resurrection to keep Cleanse. Not too much of a threat, try to eliminate them first, if possible. Knight: Most people claim that Knights are 'liek teh bmb!!11!' because they can use Cleanse. Let me ask you this: How many people have you seen with Knights with Cleanse? Practically none. Most (in my experience) have Heal, as some meager aegis. Items: Only Revive Stones (which I've never seen anybody use) and Angel Fruit (VERY rare to get), can heal Petrification. Only the enemy AI will use the Angel Fruit, and unfortunately, they have an unlimited supply...but come on, it's the AI! It's not that hard... Purify: Um...this doesn't work on Petrification..so..get out... Prevention: There are numerous ways to prevent Evil Eye. Make sure you check for any of the following conditions before battle (if possible). Shield: Honestly, not too many units (non-AI) have shields equipped. People often favor Firecrests, because they provide more defense. MWAH HAH HA! THOSE CAN'T SAVE YOU NOW! The only shields I would beware of are the Saint's Shield, as it is part of the Divine Armament set, and the Chocolate Shield, as it is a part of the Candy set. Item: Yep, this is the biggest thorn in the Gorgon's scales. Numerous items prevent Petrification: -Pearl Necklace -Pendant -Dragon Eyes Facing the Wrong Direction: Ok, THIS is the biggest thorn in the Gorgon's scales. Don't sweat it: if you can't get at least two characters petrified, just wait for another turn, and then try it. --------------------------- Section VI: Basic Strategies --------------------------- Three things before we get started: 1) Any Gorgon needs to have a good movement, in order to position themselves to effectively use the Evil Eye. 2) Any characters allied with a Gorgon will NOT be affected by her Evil Eye. An enemy, however, will be affected. 3) For reference, the Gorgon's special talent looks like this: (G: Gorgon, X: Square affected by Evil Eye) G (Assume the Gorgon is looking down) X XXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX This pattern continues on, FOREVER! There is no limit to how far it reaches! In my opinion, the most direct strategy of a Gorgon is to build up enough SP to use Evil Eye. However, a Gorgon can also be used as a harasser, keeping enemy healers at bay, and constantly draining their own MP for healing purposes. Evil Eye Stragegy: Basically, what you need to do is manipulate the enemy units so that they are facing the Gorgon on the fourth turn. You can do this in a number of ways: 1) Attack from a certain direction (away from the Gorgon), to make the enemy unit counter- attack and face the Gorgon 2) Leave your back away from the Gorgon (the enemy usually tries to exploit vulnerabilities, and will usually go for a character's side or back). (G->: Gorgon, and direction it faces, A->: Ally, and direction it faces E->: Enemy) * I had to use: | to indicate that the unit is facing down) V 1) G | V A (Attack enemy to make it face the Gorgon) | V <-E-> (Enemy can be facing either direction, but not away for this tactic to work.) 2) E | V (In this setup, the ally has its back facing A the enemy, exposing a weakness...it'll be worth | it by the next turn though!) V ^ | (The Gorgon watches on, ready to strike) G Thus, if the enemy units are not equipped with either a shield, or an accessory that prevents petrification, and are facing the Gorgon: 100% chance they are petrified. Period. Harassment Strategy: This strategy is very simple. The Gorgon shadows any enemy unit (assist oriented or a healer) that is quite troublesome. While the main attack party battles it out with the enemy melee characters, the Gorgon persistently harasses the specific unit. If preformed correctly, the Gorgon effectively causes the harassed character to waste its valuable MP to heal itself. The best way to pull this one off is to equip the Gorgon with a bow, and something that aids in their movement, such as a Warp Ring, Warp Boots, or the Ring of Flight. Lachesis, the bow technique, is very good for this stratagem. The Gorgon then follows the unit, continually picking at them with her bow. Remember, the higher the Gorgon is, the farther away the bow can reach. Eventually, when she can has enough SP, she can try to petrify the unit (which is extremely useful if it is the healer), and eliminate it from battle. "Leave me alone for three turns so I can petrify you" Strategy: Basically, the Gorgon stays near the edge of the screen, trying to stay as FAR away from enemy units as possible. I would recommend this strategy if you have a weak Gorgon. Try to equip things that aid in defense and movement. Personally, I would not recommend having a Gorgon be a melee unit, as many people opt to have a really (uber, if you will) strong melee unit, that can, on certain occasions, OHKO, a, Gorgon, okay, no more commas.... Plus, if a Gorgon is a melee unit, she will be in the battle, and cannot catch as many characters in her Evil Eye talent as if she was on the outskirts of the battle. ------------------ Section VII: Equipment ------------------ Ah, the equipment section. Keep in mind that you can dress up your Gorgon in any way your heart desires. These are just a few pieces of equipment that are helpful. Helms: Eh, I don't use any...save up for accessories. If you really want to, try the Goblin Helm, Freude Helm, or the Dragon Helm. Weapons: Try to stick with bows...they're a Gorgon's best friend. -Crescente: It's the bestest bow there is, so go for it! -Tundra Bow: Its range is 6 (that's just a recommendation, bows actually go farther than the hi-lighted areas on the battlefield, but unless the Gorgon has the advantage of elevation, it won't hit), and it has the same power as the Sherwood Bow (second strongest) -Sherwood Bow: 7 range, and 54 power. Part of the Enchanted Hunting wares. Good if you didn't grab the Crescente Armor: I'd go for accessories, but that's just me -Peregrine, Phoenix, Nathalork Mail: Pretty strong stuff, but they cut down on movement, and that's BAD Shoes: Now that's more like it! -Warp shoes: Added mobility is a major plus for the Gorgon, and it basically eliminates terrain height and obstacles -Winged Shoes: Same as Warp shoes, but eliminates chances of being pushed off a cliff and taking damage. -Greasy Boots: Only good on a stage where a lot of water is present. Good to walk on water. Accessories: (A girl's best friend) -Ring of Flight: *drool* This is great! Not only does it eliminate terrain height and obstacles, it saves you from being pushed off a cliff! -Warp Ring: Like the shoes, but weighs less (that's good) -Flotation Ring: Like greasy boots, (only use on water stage) but takes up less movement -Armlet of Agility: Added movement is always a plus; go for it if you need to fill up a slot but if other, more valuable things are available, choose them. -Dragon Eyes: Yep, it's nice to protect the Gorgon from petrification (and all other status effects) This is actually a pretty good item; consider it. -Pearl Necklace: See Dragon Eyes...but its more pretty and goes well with red.... -Necklace of Resist: Ah, the good ol' NoR....this is one of the most valuable items in the game (in my opinion), because it negates all spell damage AND all spell effects! However, this also includes healing spells. I keep this one on her, but make sure she doesn't get too damaged -Firecrest: Do I even have to say anything? The Firecrest is invaluable (like a mother's love). It'll keep your Gorgon well defended, and allow her to take a beating before she has to high-tail it out of the fray. This is a virtual must for ANY unit! -Sacred Stone of Bliss: Great if you don't have a healer on hand. Bad because it takes up and entire slot. Overall: meh -Seraph's Plume: It makes the Gorgon light, so she can move more. That's good, but it's not really worth the slot it takes up. Consider the Ring of Flight, or an Armlet of Agility. -------------------- Section VIII: Setups -------------------- Traditional Gorgon: Firecrest, Crescente, Necklace of Resist/Armlet of Agility, Ring of Flight This setup is good because the Gorgon is protected physically (Firecrest), and from spells (Necklace of Resist) If there aren't many casters, go with the Armlet instead. The Ring of Flight allows for unrestricted movement. The Crescente, obviously, is for attacking. Melee Gorgon: Firecrest, Snapdragon (A type of sword), Warp Ring, Necklace of Resist I included the NoR in this setup because often, if two or more characters are on adjacent squares, enemy spellcasters tend to use spells that have a large AoE. The Snapdragon is to provide a boost in all categories: Agility, Strength, Intelligence, etc. "Leave me alone for three turns so I can petrify you" Gorgon: Firecrest, Firecrest/Necklace of Resist, Armlet of Agility/Seraph's Plume, Ring of Flight Basically, the setup allows for optimal protection (thus the two Firecrests), and maximum Agility (Seraph's Plume/Armlet of Agility). The ring is to allow for maximum movement, without those nasty terrain obstacles. Move far away, and petrify. -------------------- Section VIII: Emblems -------------------- This section is dedicated to the Emblems that would compliment a Gorgon nicely. *The only three emblems that a Gorgon cannot acquire are: The Cycle of Life, Relix/Ripple/Grozz Nuy Emblem, and the Gibe of Fallen Angel* -Blood Reign: Works well, because it drops the enemy mental gauge. Inducing fear is always nice... -Self Preservation: For a melee Gorgon only. Punching counterattacks are just pitiful. -Berserk: Good, because it extends your biorhythm...that's a good thing, trust me. -Arbitration: Good if you're going to constantly use your Gorgon. If she's not going to be in the battle, don't worry about this one. -Vixen's Whisper: Good if you're going for Arbitration; if not, don't worry about it -Sniper: A very good emblem if you're using a traditional Gorgon. Try to get it, because its relatively easy to acquire. -Fist Fight: Heh....this one is good for a traditonal Gorgon. Counterattacking becomes.... less futile... -Centurion: Adds strength, and that's always nice -Charisma: Good if the Gorgon is going to be in the battle; if its traditional, don't worry about it -Miracle: This is great, because it ups the critical hit rate. Doing more damage is always good. -Lucky Soldier: Increases biorhythm; that's good...don't believe me? Go look in the Biorhythm FAQ and look! ------------------------------------------ Section IX: Closing and Acknowledgements ------------------------------------------ I would like to thank the following: -www.tacticsogre.com For providing the information that I couldn't find in the game (stats and emblems), and for putting my guide on their AWESOME site -Atlus, Quest, and Nintendo For making a super-dee-dooper game...please don't stop! -Myself Go me! **** I hope this guide has helped you learn the basics of the Gorgon. Hopefully, you will understand how to use a Gorgon, and why it is advantageous to have one on your team! With this information, you can now start to build yourself the perfect Gorgon, and the perfect team. Feel free to use this guide anywhere. TreasureFinder