Conquering the Invasion

This article is not meant to be a strategy guide. It is merely a listing of many facts that I have found as I played Invasion of Meridell.

Some Additional Basics

Diagonals

One major point that was missed in the instructions is the ability to move diagonally. So a length of 1 space can be in any of 8 directions. If you have an item that can attack from 2 spaces away, one or both of those 2 spaces can be diagonal.

Items

At any time, you can have up to 1 attack and 1 defense item. Whenever you start a battle and are not 100% familiar with an item on the field, click it’s image just below the board. That will give you it’s abilities, stats, and what species it does best with (if any).

Fixed Full Data

One of the best things to do if you are going to be a good IOM player is, in the top right hand corner, click “Fixed Full”. This will show you all stats and the inner workings of the damage counter when you attack. The damage counter shows you the mathematical equation of your attack and how it came up with the damage. “Strength bonus + item bonus + roll - defense = damage”. “Health = previous health - damage”. The roll is a random number from 1 to 20.

Enemy Movements

An enemy keeps moving straight forward unless (a) it can’t move forward (b) something tempts it elsewhere, like a village or one of your fighters (c) it can destroy a village or (d) it can attack you. In the case that it can attack or conquer a village in 1 move, it will take the village.

Skipping Turns

If you can’t or don’t want to continue your turn, click the End Turn Now button on the bottom of the page to end your turn right away. Your enemies will then move.

Choosing Fighters

When choosing fighters, it is best to keep one of every character. If you do decide to eliminate one, make sure that you are getting a Techo or Grundo out of the deal. Unless you are experimenting, they are the only ones you should get. Make sure that if you have a Grundo, you also have a Moehog in Wave 2.

If, by chance, you lose a fighter, the fighter’s stats and items will not be returned to you when you convert it back. See Losing a Battle below.

If you have to choose a fighter out of many, try to find the one that is highest in strength and defense. Health will not help you in the long run. Keep in mind that the maximum defense you can have is 14. For example, there is a 7 attack and 14 defense fighter that cannot increase defense. In this case it would probably be better to choose a 9 attack and 10 defense fighter because whenever you get a bonus, both stats are increased.

Losing a Battle

When you lose a battle, everything will be reset as it was at the beginning of the mission, except for the lost item. If you lose after collecting the lost item, you will still have the item but it’s bonus will be gone forever. A good solution to this could be to wait until there are only 2 enemies left in the last mission before collecting the item. The bad thing about this method is that you will not have the bonus until near the next mission. Consider the likelihood of you losing a battle (or wanting to lose a battle) before deciding when to collect the lost item.

Keep in mind, the only way to retrieve a lost fighter is to lose a battle in the mission that you lost the character in.

Special Fighters

Each fighter has strengths and weaknesses.

Grundo – When paired with the Magic Force Spell or Magic Lightening Spell, it can heal other fighters, but not itself. This can lead to your Grundo being a pincushion unless you heal it with another Grundo or a healing potion. You could also keep it out of battle, but this would be disappointing because it has very good attack and defense. In addition, a Magic Lightning Spell also allows blasting an opponent from two spaces away, and healing multiple fighters in the same column (but still not itself). NOTE: When an enchantment is cast upon a Grundo by a Buzz or Grarrl (Wave 2), your Grundo cannot heal allies.

Skeith – One of the Skeith’s advantages is it’s immediate 18 attack power. In the Wave 1, this is the maximum! Unfortunately, you may not have much chance to use this powerhouse since it can only move once per turn. A solution to this problem is the Amulet of Teleportation - it can teleport your Skeith to any unoccupied space except for the farthest 3 rows! In addition to that, a Berserker Battleaxe gives your Skeith an extra move after teleporting, and the Halberd can give your Skeith (or any fighter) unlimited moves. NOTE: When an enchantment is cast upon a Skeith by a Buzz or Grarrl (Wave 2), your Skeith cannot teleport.

Scorchio – Scorchios are well balanced. They have an average number of moves, average attack, and average defense. When you have a Bow and your Scorchio has 9+ saves (at least a soldier rank) it can shoot from two spaces away!

Techo – A Techo’s stats aren’t sensational when you start, but it’s specialized items will give it the best stats of all! NOTE: The Sword of Deflection is a must. Not only does it give a 6 bonus, but it can neglect enchantments cast upon Skeiths.

Moehog – Moehogs are the weakest fighters, although it doesn’t mean that Moehogs themselves are bad. Moehogs have an amazing speed, and accordingly they can move 4 spaces each turn. NOTE: The Counter Enchantment Helmet is a must. Not only does it give a 5 bonus, but it can neglect enchantments cast upon Grundos.

The Second Wave

All right, you’ve gone through the Wave 1 pretty easily, but now you want to know what’s waiting for you. There are many changes. I’ll list them.

More ranks, villages, missions, and lost items, of course!

New, more powerful items

New Max Stats – 21 health, 19 attack, 14 defense

Enemies – In each mission there are 4 of the main species. The main species are the same as those in the Wave 1, and in the same order. However, in each mission there are Buzzes OR Grarrls equal to the mission number + 1. So Mission 1 has 2 Buzzes OR Grarrls, Mission 2 has 3, etc.

Normal Enemies: The limits are: 21 health, 19 strength, and 19 defense. Buzzes and Grarrls: Exactly 23 health, 21 strength, and 21 defense. They can cast enchantments on Skeiths (no more teleport) and/or on Grundos (no more healing). Make sure to use your Techo and Moehog’s special items to eliminate the enchantments whenever you need them, and especially before the next battle. When they are defeated, instead of being converted, they become an impassible ditch.

Invasion of Meridell is a very complex game, but once you get the hang of it, you shouldn’t have too much trouble except on the higher missions. Good luck playing!