4 tips for the Tactics Ogre: Reborn beginner

Tactics Ogre: Reborn from Square Enix is an especially deep strategy game that can be extremely intimidating to the casual beginner. There are a lot of systems at play and the game takes little mercy on the uninitiated to the genre. Also the many classes and requirements can make starting out more than frustrating. Hopefully the tips I lay out here will aid you in getting past the frustrating parts and on to enjoying the game.

1. Check your saves. Check them often.

The first major point is save, and save often. Overcoming an especially trying battle only to forget to save can be game breaking. Save after battles and after making changes to your units. It may seem like a no brainer but after finally felling a difficult foe, it can easily be forgotten to save.

Additionally, train your units but don’t overdo it. Enemies in the game scale to your level to keep things interesting, but training your units by doing extra battles is the main way to unlock invaluable new skills that will definitely help you as you go forward. Over training though can be a major detriment, mainly because you will make later chapters even more difficult than need be. Train a few battles to unlock spells and skills

2. Skills that pay the bills.

That being said, one of the most useful skills in the game, especially for your healers is sidestep. This skill is invaluable! One could consider having it as almost necessary. The enemy is going to prioritize attacking your healing units, mostly using their range characters. At times it can be more than overwhelming the way the computer picks off your healers. This is why the sidestep skill is so important. This skill will allow your character to dodge arrow attacks. I personally equip it to every healer I have, that’s how much I value it.

In addition, divine healing units can do damage to the undead using their healing spells. It’s something the game doesn’t tell you right away. In a battle with zombie character that rise up after being defeated it can be frustrating to say the least. Undead characters must be exorcized to fully be defeated. To aid in your fight, use your healers who have long range with those spells to attack the undead, freeing up your melee characters to take the fight to the regular foes.

Another quick tip, crafting is another key element to being successful. Not only does crafting save you goth (money) but it’s also a lot easier than backtracking to a shop. It’s time saving and thrifty.

3. New meaning to Range Rover

Speaking of range, that also should be a major priority for your party in Tactics Ogre: Reborn. Range is easily one of the more necessary elements to success. It allows you to take out heavy hitters before they can inflict major damage to your healers, which are necessary for success in most fights. I always take at least two archers into every battle. Two hand bow archers, can attack from long distance and when paired with certain skills, can be devastating to the opposition. Certainly the enemy can sidestep and block some arrows, but just like you, their healers and magic users are their weakness. Attacking the foes magic users and their ability to heal is a key ingredient to a victory.

However, I would also suggest you convert Denam, the main character, to a knight as soon as possible, and then afterwards the Lord class. It will help to shore up his defense and attack. Also he will be able to heal and use some spells which will make him your main point of attack character. Lord is really the only class outside of Knight Commander that can effectively wield both blade and magic.

Thusly, remember that not many character classes are successful wielding both magic and melee. Having a low magic attack attribute to a character means that character will never inflict major damage no matter the spells you teach it. I would suggest choosing one path for another for your characters. A good mix of range, magic, and melee characters in your party is mandatory. Trying to make every character a jack of all trades is not traditionally the right path. It can be done but knowing a characters strengths and weakness is more important than a catch all approach.

4. If I could turn back time.

Lastly, and absolutely most importantly, the Chariot Wheel is your friend. A unique aspect of the series, the Chariot Wheel, will allow you to undue a number of turns back in time. So if you made the mistake of moving you major healer into the wrong square, simply turn back time using the Chariot Wheel and all is forgiven. In past strategy games we’ve all made that crucial error which led to our downfall. Having to redo tons of times can be a major source of frustration. It may seem a little like cheating, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. For those of us playing with only a little free time, this little option can save you from throwing a controller across the room.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a game that almost requires multiple play-throughs so don’t worry about getting everything right the first time. It’s easy to miss hidden characters. There are multiple paths throughout the game. Multiple ways to change class and skills. You will absolutely not see everything that Tactics Ogre: Reborn has to offer in your first run, and that’s okay. Experimentation is part of the fun of the game. It takes around 30 hours to finish the story. I’m positive whatever you do, you’ll feel you could have done things differently.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn storms out this November!

Tactics Ogre: Reborn launches physically and digitally on November 11, 2022 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. You can also pre-order the game here. To learn more, you can also check out our detailed article that spells out everything we know about the game so far.

What do you think about these tips? What else would you recommend to new players? As always, let us know what you think down in the comments!