Battle Golems Online

If you're into turn-based strategy combat, then you'll get a kick out of the online component of Enchanted Arms™ for Xbox 360™. The game's developers, FromSoftware, have packed a massive amount of strategic complexity into a 4x12 grid. Not only are there more than 100 different golems that you can take into the ring, but each golem has its own assortment of attacks. These attacks each have a particular range and element, which determines their strategic use. Choose the golem that works best for you, based on your experience and preference.

Online, the combat gets truly fierce.

Before the Fight
You earn your golems in the single-player game. As you make your way through the story, you will combat each of the golems in turn. They increase in power as your character does, so you earn stronger golems as you progress further into the game. In addition, each time you use a golem in combat, you earn points you can spent on building it up.

These points don't go into a pool, so you must use the golems you want to improve. However, because of this, you don't have to be stingy with your points. As soon as you earn those points, put them back into improving that golem's Parameters.

My one little robot girl in a sailor suit took out
 a werewolf, a phantom knight, and a giant pod creature.

Choose Your Battles
On Xbox Live®, choose either Ranked or Player (non-ranked) matches. Within these two modes, you can pick from the standard options: Quick Match, Custom Match, or Create Match. If you choose Quick Match or even Custom Match, you may find yourself pitted against someone who has completed the single-player game and has maxed out his golems. If that's the case, you're doomed unless you've played through the entire story as well.

If you want to avoid this, choose the Create Match option. Set a number on the level of competition and the number of turns in the match so you won't take on more than you can handle. Even so, I found that I was able to win with only one golem facing the three that belonged to my opponent. His golems just weren't as buff as mine. My one little robot girl in a sailor suit took out a werewolf, a phantom knight, and a giant pod creature.

Find the battle arena in Yokohama City.

Combat Strategies
Three elements top the list of how well your golems will do in battle: how far they can move, how far they can attack, and how many hit points they have. Chose your golems carefully. A healer will always be handy, and you clearly need a strong attacker. Otherwise, balance your characters with one that can do extra damage up close or one whose attacks can reach the far side of the grid.

Take down one enemy at a time by focusing as much power on him as necessary. Each enemy you eliminate means less damage when your opponent's turn rolls around. Pay attention to your target golem's hit points and how much damage your own golems are dishing out. You don't need to sick all your golems on one enemy if one will do the job.

The strategy in Enchanted Arms is complex and challenging, playing out like a more complicated version of chess. As you develop your own favorite fighting squad of golems, keep the following tips in mind.

• All enchantments have range limits, which dictate the damage area. Maximize your range so you can hit as many enemies as possible.
• Don't always rely on your strongest attack. If using it requires you to be too close to your enemy, hang back and use less forceful attacks, staying out of your opponent's reach.
• If your opponent has attacks with a large damage radius, don't clump your golems together. Stagger them if having them stand side by side puts them in danger.
• Remember the order of play. Each of your golems will first move, and then cast their enchantments. You determine what order they go in.
• If you get stumped, feel free to let the clock run out. The A.I. will take over for you. Study how the computer plays, and you might learn from its strategy.

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy