In preparation for our second prologue Arachne’s Trial, we are publishing this guide to help new players get started and master the basics of the game. This guide is similar to the one shared for the full game, however, it has been slightly edited to only include features in Arachne’s Trial.
As with the main guide, the content of this guide was first made public over on our Discord server by Dan-Cristian Culea (username: Dan), and he kindly permitted us to publish this here, so full credit goes to him.
Welcome to Arachne’s Trial!
Legendary Hoplite is all about strategy and making wise choices to fend off waves of enemies, from upgrading your character and the defenders you bring with you, to choosing the correct equipment and positioning the defenders in the best possible way. Every aspect of the game works hand in hand, and when used correctly, victory and glory await you!
This guide will help new players get started and master the basics of the game. The content of this guide was first made public over on our Discord server by Dan-Cristian Culea (username: Dan), and he kindly permitted me to publish this here, so full credit goes to him!
Important NoteAs with everything, this is a guide that we hope can help you to understand the game and give you a solid foundation. That said, Legendary Hoplite heavily promotes experimentation in how you play, and even if you read this guide, we heavily encourage you to experiment with the various builds, pathways, upgrades, items, and so on, and find a gaming style that is most enjoyable for you.
Guide ChangesThis guide has been slightly cut down when compared to the full guide so that it only contains features that are found in Arachne’s Trial.
Understanding Items, Abilities, and Stats
Let’s start with the basics, the abilities, and character stats. Legendary Hoplite differentiates itself from many of the other Tower Defense games by giving you RPG features such as equipment (that comes in various rarities), unique abilities tied to the equipment, and various character development paths.
ItemsItems can (and will) vary greatly in how useful they are based on two key criteria:
- The rarity (common, uncommon, and rare)
Note: Legendary rare items exist in the full game.
- The level of the item.
Every time you get a new item, we highly recommend that you closely inspect it to see if it is an upgrade to what you have. When doing so, there are two main things to pay attention to.
The first is the raw stats of the item. Every item will give a bonus to a specific stat, for example, a shield will always give you a block rate increase. Just how much of an increase, and what other (sub-stats) the item gives you is dependent on the rarity.
Check out these two items:
The spear on the top is a common item, and only improves your core stats, the damage, attack speed, and how much stamina it requires.
On the other hand, the spear on the bottom is a rare item, and as you can see, it grants you various other bonuses that are not present in the common item.
Though items of a higher level tend to be stronger, we advise you to compare items carefully as a rare level 5 spear can (and in many cases) be stronger than a common spear of a slightly higher level.
Beyond just the regular stats, Legendary Hoplite has a unique feature where each item will grant you a specific skill. This ability is often the most important part of your character, which can lead to situations where an item (A) that is weaker than a new item (B) in raw stats, may be significantly better than the new item, entirely due to the ability.
This may apply to specific levels where certain abilities are much more useful than others, or it may apply to “everything”.
Take a look at these two items and the abilities that they have, and you’ll see that depending on the challenge you’re facing (e.g. the types of enemies on the battlefield) one will be better than the other.
Balancing Your Character’s Stats and Abilities
If you are an avid gamer, especially an MMO gamer, you are quite likely to min-max your character. However, Legendary Hoplite penalizes this.
This is because of how all the mechanics in the game work together, from abilities and stats, to the defenders, and even the types of enemies you encounter. The game heavily encourages a balance between a generalist and a specialist.
Our top tip is to simply avoid extremes and strive for a well-rounded character, with a healthy amount of defensive, offensive, and support traits.
This is especially true when you encounter Arachne. This boss has been known to be particularly tough and requires a well-constructed character if you are to successfully take it down.
Army Composition and Upgrades
The army is what we call the defenders that you bring with you when you enter a battle. Each army unit fills a specific role and can be individually upgraded following one of two paths, a red path, and a blue path.
Important: Arachne’s Trial Limitation
In Arachne’s Trial, you will be able to reach the second “colored path” upgrade (up to the Bronze Star).
The upgrades, and the path that you take, play such an important role in the game that we have made it a feature that you can, at any time, reset the progress for free. Doing so returns all the points and gold that you used, allowing you to choose a different path, or invest the gold in an entirely different unit.
Keep in mind what was mentioned in the previous chapter, Legendary Hoplite promotes balance. As there is no “one size fits all” development and upgrade path for units, we heavily recommend that you experiment with different paths, builds, army formations, and so on.
Important: Arachne’s Trial Limitation
In Arachne’s Trial, you will be able to unlock the following army units:
- Phalanx
- Wall
- Archer Tower
- Catapult
- Barrel Thrower
Unlocking the army units follows the same path as the full game does. That means that some units (e.g. the Phalanx) will be available from the first level, however, others such as the Catapult unlock as you progress further in the game.
General Tips
- When considering weapons, especially spears, calculate and compare the DPS of your spears when equipped. A higher level does not always mean a stronger weapon. Check out the bottom half of this image, the stat changes (compared between the equipped item and the item you are hovering over) will be displayed in a specific color. Red means weaker, and green means stronger!
- If you find yourself struggling in some fights, consider developing your defenses one lane at a time rather than one row at a time, even if this means taking some damage in the first few waves.
- Certain levels have missions. It’s advisable to complete them as they grant your character’s stats and unlock passive abilities, which can be crucial to your success.
With these tips and strategies, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a legendary hoplite commander! Good luck in your tower defense battles and enjoy the game.
