______ _ | ___ ] * * * * | | ______ ___ _____ _____ _____ _____ _ _ _____ | |_/ / _ ___ | | __ | ___/ _ \/ __ \_ _|_ _| _ | \ | |/ ___| | / | | / __| | |/ / | |_ / /_\ \ / \/ | | | | | | | | \| |\ `--. | |\ \ | | \__ \ | < * | _|| _ | | | | | | | | | | . ` | `--. \ | | \ \ | | __| | | \ | | | | | | \__/\ | | _| |_\ \_/ / |\ |/\__/ / \_| \_| |_| /___/ |_|\_\ \_| \_| |_/\____/ \_/ \___/ \___/\_| \_/\____/ _______________________________________________________________________________ S T R A T E G Y G U I D E / F A Q Written by threetimes _______________________________________________________________________________ Platform : PS3 Submission : January 31st 2011 Developer: Stainless Games Version : 1.2 Publisher: Electronic Arts Update : April 2011. Released : 2010 (online) _______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................ SEARCH CODE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find a section of the guide select the Edit option on your toolbar and then Find and type the code. Or use Ctrl +F, (it's the Apple button for Macs +F) to bring up a box where you can type in the code. I. Introduction .................................................... *INTRO II. Controls ........................................................ *CONT III. Main Menu ....................................................... *MENU IV. How to Play ..................................................... *PLAY V. Objectives ...................................................... *OBJECT VI. Rewards ......................................................... *REWARD VII. Command Tips .................................................... *TIPS VIII. Campaign Mode Walkthrough ....................................... *WALK Chapter 1 ....................................................... *WKC1 Chapter 2 ....................................................... *WKC2 Chapter 3 ....................................................... *WKC3 Chapter 4 ....................................................... *WKC4 Chapter 5 ....................................................... *WKC5 IX. Trophies ........................................................ *TROPH X. Custom Games .................................................... *CUST XI. F.A.Q.S. ........................................................ *FAQS XII. Credits, Legal and Contact ...................................... *CLC =============================================================================== I. I N T R O D U C T I O N ............................................*INTRO =============================================================================== Risk - Factions is based on the traditional board game of Risk and also features the 2008 updated rule set that makes the game much faster to play. It offers a campaign mode, complete with a storyline involving five factions that can then be played as many times as you like. But the real attraction is the online play and the trophies. The basic concept (if anyone doesn't already know) is that you use dice to play against a number of opponents and the aim is to win territories on a world map or, for the Factions game, to win 3 Objectives and claim various rewards on a range of different maps. This FAQ explains: * - how to play the game, and all the new features of the Command mode * - how to complete the campaign mode * - how to gain all trophies =============================================================================== II. C O N T R O L S ................................................... *CONT =============================================================================== The Help and Options menu allows you to change the Volume of sound and music and to choose to keep Game Tips on (good idea) and Vibration on or off. For the PS3: * L2 shoulder button - gives Game Info - shows details of opponents and player * L1 shoulder button - gives Map Info - this includes the names of the continents and any map bonuses for holding a continent * R2 shoulder button - zoom in or out of the map * R1 shoulder button - press to finish a turn * Triangle - shows the objectives and rewards for that match * Circle - cancel or go back/retreat * X button - confirm an action/launch an attack * Square button - finish an attack/fast battle * Left Stick/D Pad - navigate from one part of the map to another, select number of dice to use for an attack * Right Stick - not used * START - Exit a game to the menu with these options: Resume Game Help and Options Leaderboards Save and Exit Game Exit Game =============================================================================== III. M A I N M E N U ................................................. *MENU =============================================================================== CAMPAIGN Play through the Single Player campaign missions. CUSTOM GAME Create a customized game to play on your own or with friends. (Progress is saved for you so you can start a game, leave it and go back to it later.) PLAYSTATIONNETWORK Log in to the PSN and play a multiplayer game online. WAR RECORD See your player stats for: - Games Won - Hours Played - Games Played - Games Lost - Favorite Faction - Overkill Total - Super Overkill Total - Objectives Earned - Humans Destroyed - Cats Destroyed - Robots Destroyed - Zombies Destroyed - Yetis Destroyed - 1's Rolled - 2's Rolled - 3's Rolled - 4's Rolled - 5's Rolled - 6's Rolled LEADERBOARDS Online Rating and Rank View the PSN leaderboards that list these modes separately for the overall Rank and Rating: - Command Room - World Conquest - Classic Accumulated totals are listed for: - Overkills - Troops Destroyed - Territories Conquered HELP AND OPTIONS Change the sounds and game options and learn how to play. =============================================================================== IV. H O W T O P L A Y ............................................ *BASIC =============================================================================== I'll explain the significance of all the features even though the game Help does a perfectly good job of that, because this is a FAQ and that's what FAQs do... ---------- GAME TYPES ---------- There are three basic types of games: COMMAND ROOM This is Risk with a twist and utilises the 2008 rule change. The first player to complete 3 Objectives (randomly generated) AND control their capital, wins the game. WORLD CONQUEST This game uses the Objectives and Rewards feature of the updated game but doesn't end until one player controls all the territories. It can be played on the Classic Risk map or the new maps. CLASSIC The original Risk game with accumulating troop cards. Play until one player controls all the territories. ----- RULES ----- OBJECTIVES Objectives are goals that players will attempt to achieve. You can only collect ONE objective per turn, so if you win more than one you have to choose. If you eliminate another player you take over that player's objectives (although not the rewards) and all their troop cards. REWARDS Each objective comes with a reward. (Also randomly generated, although usually the harder to achieve objectives reap the better rewards.) If you eliminate another player you do NOT get their rewards. STARS At the end of your first successful attack on an enemy territory you'll receive a Star card. Each one gives you 1 or 2 stars and you can trade these in for additional troops at the start of your turn. (During the "draft" stage.) Note: In a game with 5 players star cards are awarded at the start of the game. The third and fourth player get 1 card and the 5th gets 2, although that might work out differently if someone is given a 2 starred card. CAPITALS Each player has a capital and you can choose where to place it in online games, although this is predetermined in the campaign mode. For every capital you control you draft one troop per turn in addition to the normal draft. YOU MUST CONTROL YOUR CAPITAL TO WIN THE GAME! CITIES Some territories contain a city and each city is added to the number of territories you control when drafting. That means that cities are useful to have, (especially in the Classic Risk map using Objectives). They also might be subject to particular objectives. --------- YOUR TURN --------- There are three stages to each turn: DRAFT At the start of your turn there is a draft, and you must place all the troops in your draft on any of your territories. The number of troops is based on various conditions. 1. The number of territories you control divided by 3. (If you have 21, then you'd get 7 troops.) But even if you only have 1 territory left you'll still get a minimum of 3 troops. 2. Cites are valuable and territories with a city count double when allocating troops. For example: if you have three cities you'll get an additional 3 points, and that gets an additional 1 troop. 3. The number of capitals you control: each capital adds 1 troop. 4. Any continent bonus: Press the L1 button to see the bonuses for each continent on the map. Larger ones usually get more troops added. 5. If you have the Reward of "2 Troops" you'll get an additional 2 on every turn. 6. Cashing in your star cards. The more cards you have, the more troops you get! Drafting Troops 2 Cards - 2 troops 3 Cards - 4 troops 4 cards - 7 troops 5 Cards - 10 troops 6 Cards - 13 troops 7 Cards - 17 troops 8 Cards - 21 troops 9 Cards - 25 troops 10 Cards - 30 troops ATTACK To attack another territory you must have at least 2 troops on an adjacent territory. Some have water between them but you'll see a dotted line on the Faction maps showing which areas connect to each other. If you defeat all the troops on that area you will invade, but must leave at least 1 troop behind. All your troops are moved onto the new territory you won, but you have the choice of leaving some behind (press Circle to subtract and X to add troops) or moving them all. You cannot attack with 1 troop. If you attack with 2 troops you will only be able to use 1 dice, and with 3 you can use 2, and 4 or above you can choose to use the maximum of 3 dice (or less if you wish). You can attack as few or many territories as you want, but remember that you won't receive a star card if you don't win any new territory! DEFENDERS ALWAYS WIN TIES! MANEUVER After you finish your turn you get the option to move troops from any connected territory to another one. Territories are connected if you control all the land between them. (This is only possible in the Command mode and in classic Risk you can only move troops to adjacent territories.) At the end of your turn you will see a message: "Conquer a Territory" and can choose to take an Objective (if you won one) and the corresponding Reward OR a Star Card, but not both. This means that if you take the Objective you won't get a Star Card on that turn (unless it's the Guaranteed Card reward). -------- FEATURES -------- These features appear on the various maps for the Command Mode. MISSILE The player who controls the missile rolls a Bonus Die when attacking and defending territories within the missile's range. It only covers areas in a circle around the lake on which it is situated and you must control a minimum of 3 Barracks in order to activate and control the missile. You can only roll ONE Bonus Die. BARRACKS Control any three Barracks (there are 5 on the map) and you control the Missile. DAM The Dam is situated between two territories and a player who controls BOTH of these (they are not connected to each other and in different continents) controls the Dam. It is only traversable if both sides are controlled. If you're in control of the Dam at the start of your turn you have the option to "flood" Kokta, the continent below the Dam. If this option is activated then ALL troops except one, from all the territories in Kokta, are killed. MINE The idea is to control a mining territory to gather Mineral Deposits which are sometimes (not always) the goal for an Objective. At the start of your turn you collect a Mineral Deposit for every additional troop you have on the territory (over and above the obligatory one troop). If you have 2 troops you'll collect 1 deposit, for 3 you get 2, 4 nets you 3 and so on. GEOTHERMAL PLANT Control a Geothermal Plant (only found next to the Volcano) and you'll harvest energy in the same way as with the Mines. The drawback here is that the volcano erupts at random times at the start of each round of play and that will wipe out all troops, except for one, on the three surrounding territories. VOLCANO The volcano may or may not erupt between each round of turns. If it does all troops but one on the three surrounding territories are killed. SOLAR ARRAYS Solar Arrays are only found on the same map as the Volcano and have no purpose other than to achieve an Objective. Control some or all of the maximum of 5 Solar Arrays to achieve a specified Objective. TEMPLE The Temple is situated on three territories (making up a single continent) and to control the Temple all three territories must be in possession of the player. If the Temple is under control at the start of their turn the player can choose an enemy territory to convert. They take over that territory and all enemy troops are changed to the player's colour and faction. CRYPT If a player has control (or takes over control) of three Crypts on their turn, they can freeze another territory. This is done at the end of their turn and ANY territory can be frozen, an enemy territory, one of their own, or even a crypt. A territory that has been frozen cannot have troops added to it or be attacked in any way during the next round. (That includes being converted by the Temple.) AIRFIELD This is a reward for achieving a particular objective and can be placed on any territory controlled by the player. When you attack or defend in this territory, or any adjoining one, you get +1 bonus on your highest die. In other words, if a 4 was your highest throw you'll see a +1 added to it, making it a 5. Lose control of the territory that the Airfield is on and you lose the Airfield and its effects. If you place two Airfields so they affect the same territory, you only get the bonus for one. -------- OVERKILL -------- OVERKILL If you roll a double six either as defender or attacker this is called an Overkill. Your troops defeat twice as many enemy troops and there's a special animation to accompany this feat! SUPER OVERKILL Roll a triple six and this triggers the Super Overkill! All defending enemy troops are defeated for an instant victory. ------------ CLASSIC RISK ------------ CARDS Conquer at least one territory to earn a card. Cards are shown with Infantry (a figure with a gun), Cavalry (a horse), or Artillery (a cannon), and each card also depicts a territory from the world map. If you own the territory shown on a card that you trade in, you get 2 extra troops in addition to the amount for the traded cards and these are placed on that territory automatically. Collect cards and trade in 3 of them at the start of your turn for additional troops. A set of cards consists of 3 of one type or one of each type, or any 2 cards and a Joker. The maximum number of cards you can hold is 5 and when you have that many you MUST trade them in, like it or not! If you conquer an enemy, removing their last territory from the map then you take their cards, and that might mean that you have to trade them in at that point if you have the maximum of 5, giving you an additional draft of troops at that point. Trade in your cards for additional troops, but how many you get is dependent on how many sets of cards have been traded. 1st Set = 4 troops 2nd Set = 6 troops 3rd Set = 8 troops 4th Set = 10 troops 5th Set = 12 troops 6th Set = 15 troops 7th Set = 20 troops 8th Set = 25 troops and so on, with an increase of 5 troops each time a set is traded. MANEUVER After you have finished your turn you get the option to move troops from any territory you control to another one, but it must be next door, directly adjacent. =============================================================================== V. O B J E C T I V E S .............................................. *OBJECT =============================================================================== WIN OBJECTIVES! Objectives are randomly generated for each Command game and it's important to check exactly what they are and what you have to do to earn them. Usually the better rewards are linked to the harder objectives. The Objectives are ranged across the top of the screen with the name of each one, and the locations of features, such as capitals, barracks, crypts, solar arrays and cities are highlighted on the map when you select an objective. When you scroll through them you'll see an icon in the top left corner showing the type of objective. Globe Icon - Control of a named continent Control of any 2/3/4 continents Control of a specified number of territories Capital Icon - Control an Enemy Capital Control 2 or 3 Enemy Capitals 2 Yellow Huts - Control of 3/4/5 Barracks Rock Icon - Mine 10 (number varies) Minerals (Kokta and Dam map) Power Plant - Harvest 12 (number varies) Energy Resources (Volcano map) Red Flower - Control 3/4/5 Solar Arrays (Volcano map) Crypt Icon - Control 3/4/5 Crypts (Temple map) City Tower - Control 3/4 Connected Cities Control a specified number of cities on the Classic Risk map YOU CAN ONLY TAKE ONE OBJECTIVE ON ONE TURN! What this means is that if you win more than one, choose which one you want and if the same conditions apply on your following turn, then you'll receive the second objective you won. For example: if you obtained two enemy capitals and there was an objective to win 1 enemy capital and another to win 2 enemy capitals, take the second one (which is harder to get) and if you still have one capital on your next turn, you'll win that objective by default. Another example is if you've mined the number of minerals and won that objective, but on the same turn you also gain control of 2 continents. Take the latter (because it's something you could lose) and you'll still have the minerals' objective to claim on the next turn. Watch out if someone wins two objectives in one turn because they will have only been able to claim one of them and the other will still be up for grabs. Check out which one they took and act to prevent them from getting the second one, which they will do on their next turn if they still meet the conditions. TAKING THE REWARD FOR AN OBJECTIVE MEANS THAT YOU DON'T GET A STAR CARD! However, if you don't take the reward it's still available for someone else to claim so it's nearly always essential to take the reward. When a Faction fulfils the conditions of an objective and takes the reward their colour will show on the shield for that objective. Keep checking to see the progress of your opponents and what objectives there might be left if they already have two. Do everything you can to prevent them from taking it or it's game over. GRAB THEM WHEN YOU CAN! Often you can gain an Objective in the early stages of the game, such as to take an enemy capital. or control a particular named continent. Sometimes you might even get an Objective by default thanks to the random selection of territories - you might already control 3 barracks, or solar arrays. Look for easily guarded continents and those with a small number of territories to defend to get the objective of controlling two or three continents. Sometimes this is very easy to do and you'll get the objective on that turn, even if you lose control before your next go. =============================================================================== VI. R E W A R D S .................................................... *REWARD =============================================================================== Each Objective wins you a corresponding (but randomly generated) reward so you need to check up on which gets what for each game. 2 TROOPS You get 2 additional troops every turn while drafting. A nice reward to get as it adds 2 troops to your stock at the start of each turn, regardless of your entitlement. The more troops you have to play with the longer you can hold onto your cards. ADDITIONAL MANEUVER You get an additional troop maneuver during your maneuver phase at the end of your turn. This is not a bad reward as it allows you to move troops twice during the maneuver phase. AIRFIELD Airfields are placed in any territory you control adding 1 to your highest die rolled for any battle (whether you are the attacker or defender) waged in that territory or any adjacent territory. If you lose control of the territory containing the airfield, the airfield is destroyed. You'll be asked to place the airfield at the end of the turn in which you win the reward: if you choose to accept it. You can have two airfields in one continent (although not on the same territory) but the effects DO NOT stack up as you can only roll one Bonus die. The main drawback of airfields is that you can lose them if you lose the territory on which you placed one. ATTACK DIE When attacking, you now roll the bonus attack die in addition to the normal dice. The extra die will give you a greater chance to roll higher dice than your opponent. An excellent reward to get as it lasts for the rest of the game and you cannot lose it once you get it! Every time you attack you throw one extra die. This can also be stacked along with the extra die for controlling the missile, so you could throw a total of 5 dice if you have both! DEFENSE DIE When defending, you now roll the bonus defense die in addition to the normal dice. The extra die will give you a greater chance to roll higher dice than your opponent. This is probably the most valuable reward and you retain it for the rest of the game. Every time someone attacks your troops you will add another die to your roll. So, if you had 3 troops and rolled 2 dice, you'll actually roll 3 dice. If you only have 1 troop, you'll roll 2 dice instead of 1. Not only does it aid your chances of resisting attack, but other players might be wary of attacking you if they can attack someone else instead! GUARANTEED CARD You are guaranteed 1 card at the end of your turn, whether you conquer a territory or not, or if you take an objective. This is a very handy reward to get as it means that you can gain an objective and take that reward AND get a star card on the same turn. It also allows you to play a defensive game, building up stocks of troops and not attacking anyone (yet still getting that star card) while you wait for the right time to launch a powerful strike. STARTING MANEUVER You get a troop maneuver at the start of your turn, after you're placed troops but before you make your first attack. This gives you the chance to move troops from territories that you might not have added any troops to. It's the least useful reward, but even so, it's still worth having if only to add another objective to your tally. =============================================================================== VII. C O M M A N D T I P S .......................................... *TIPS =============================================================================== PROGRESS REPORT! Keep a close watch on the progress of other players to see how close they are to winning the game. At any time during a game (except when someone is controlling the draft or in the middle of an attack) you can check up on everyone's progress by pressing the L2 button to see their names. Scroll through each one for a running score. * The Shield icon at the top left shows how many objectives they have. * The upper area shows the precise rewards they've won. * The left coloured circle shows their colour and the number next to it shows the current tally of troops deployed on their territories. * The Star shows their number of star cards. * The row of 4 large coloured stars shows which capitals they control. Under this is a scrolling score that fills in the other details. The list changes according to the map you're playing on. It shows: Cities : Number/Total Crypts : Number/Total Minerals : Number/Total Number required for Objective Barracks : Number/Total Territories: Number/Total THE TEMPLE Don't attempt to control the temple (unless it's for an objective) unless you can defend it easily until your next turn. You'll waste troops in the meantime because everyone else will attack you, and can find yourself at a disadvantage. Also note that if you're going after an objective such as "Control 3 Continents*, the temple can be an easy continent to win as it only has 3 territories, and you don't have to defend it to win the objective. However, if you CAN take and control the temple it's a very powerful tool, allowing you to gain capitals or convert territories with many troops on them to your colour. THE DAM Watch out for who has control of the dam. If you control it, don't agree to flood Kokta if you have troops there! (Easily done...) Move your troops off those territories if you intend to flood it on the next turn. Controlling the dam is never an objective, but conquering Kokta often is one, and mining minerals is usually one, so being able to control the dam is highly advantageous. If you freeze a mining territory the troops on it will still mine minerals! Always remember that whoever controls the dam cannot flood Kokta until their next turn. CRYPTS Control at least 3 crypts (on some maps there are 5 of them) and you can freeze almost any territory, including those of other Factions. But you cannot freeze a player's last territory, no matter how much you might want to! If you use this feature to protect one of your territories from attack it means that you can leave it with no additional troops and it's safe for the whole of the next round, even if you lose a crypt. Think carefully about how you use this feature and don't waste it! Possible targets for freezing are: - your capital or one of the crypts (if it might be in danger of attack) - an enemy territory with many troops (preventing the opponent from making use of their troops on the next turn) - an enemy capital (preventing other players from attacking it, perhaps for an objective) - a territory that blocks access to a part of the map (preventing attack) CAPITALS Placing of Capitals This is a crucial decision. Generally go for a territory that has the highest concentration of troops, but that's not always possible. Check the order of play and be careful not to place your capital where it can be easily captured by someone who has a turn before you. Choose somewhere close to players whose turn is after yours, if you can. Also, bear in mind what goals the other players are likely to have at the start of the game, since they will probably be trying to take over a continent. Taking Capitals When playing online intimidate other players early on by taking their capital, (if at all feasible and especially if it's an objective). That can often result in a panic slash and burn response where the player attacks everything in sight and quits after losing most of their troops. Gaining a capital is also advantageous as you gain an additional troop when drafting. If your capital is taken early on, don't worry. It's not the end of the game for you, so long as you stay calm and fight for things you can achieve. If you can get it back quickly then do so, but otherwise it can be something to keep in mind for later in the game. Retaliate by taking someone else's capital. ATTACK AND DEFENSE In general, do not attack a territory unless you have more troops than the place you're attacking. If someone has the Defense Die, an Airfield, or controls the missile then, remember that they have a greater advantage and you'll need even more troops if you're to win. Sometimes it's better to stack troops to defend an attack you know is imminent and NOT attack. Obviously that is a better strategy if you have the Defense Die or other bonus like an airfield, but always remember that the defender has the advantage! Don't spread yourself too thin, making yourself vulnerable, or you could find that opponents quickly take over your territories. You have to judge whether to go after an objective that you might be able to achieve now, or wait and build up troops before doing so, but in the meantime someone else might have taken it. At other times it might be worth attacking even with very few troops if there's the chance to gain a valuable objective (for example, one where you need a set number of territories (often 18 or 22) or to take over a number of territories (anything from 7 - 10) in one turn. Take the risk for greater rewards! WINNING A TERRITORY You must win a territory on your turn or you won't get a troop card (unless you already have the reward of a guaranteed card). Be careful and cautious in your placement of troops because sometimes the dice won't roll your way. Sometimes it's best to opt for a slow battle so you can retreat if you're losing. The Fast Battle option won't let you quit until you've won, or lost all your troops. STAR CARDS Knowing when to use your star cards and when to hold onto them makes a big difference. Sometimes it's best to use two early on in the game to get a quick advantage if it means the difference between winning an objective and not winning one. Watch out for how many cards your opponents hold and if they are planning to use them before your turn. Save yours so you can mop up any damage after that, OR use yours before they get a chance to do much with theirs. If you completely defeat an opponent you get their cards and any objectives they have won (although not their rewards). This is a quick way to win a game if you target a player who has a number of star cards or who has already won one or two objectives, if you can manage it! There's no point hanging onto your star cards if you see that someone is close to achieving three objectives. Use them and do everything in your power to stop them! WINNING THE GAME When you win the third Objective the game doesn't end until you take that Objective. (Don't bother to keep attacking other players once you have fulfilled the requirements for the objective, but finish your turn quickly and grab the reward.) You'll see your name on the winner banner and streamers and fireworks will go off, confirming your win. Your name appears first on the roster of players, and the rest of the players are ranked according to their achievements in the game. If someone has 2 objectives and control of their capital they might be second, third could be a player with 1 Objective. Note that you can still win points when playing online even if you are placed second. =============================================================================== VIII. C A M P A I G N M O D E W A L K T H R O U G H .................. *WALK =============================================================================== Complete each chapter to unlock the next, and to gain access to all the command maps. You'll be given an optional tutorial on the new features of the game and introduced to each Faction in turn. You have as much time as you require for each game, and troops and capitals are placed at set positions at the start. You always get the first turn. The Factions are: Green - Human Yellow - Cats Red - Robots Black - Zombie Blue - Yeti =============================================================================== CHAPTER 1. ALL QUIET ON THE HUMAN FRONT ................................ *WKC1 =============================================================================== Peace time is no time to get soft. While the world is busy holding hands and sharing their feelings, one man is preparing for war. From a secret military base he readies his troops for the impending threat posed by...peace?! ----------------------------- INTRODUCTION (PROVING GROUND) ----------------------------- * The player who controls the Missile rolls the Bonus die when attacking or defending territories within range. * Control any 3 barracks to activate and control the missile. This mission gives you a tutorial about the new features of the command mode of Risk and introduces the Human Faction using the green colour. The map is a small one with 4 barracks situated in the territories of: Killoofs in Black Fort Vanguard in Outpost Boot Camp in Headquarters Fox Hole in Garrison. Three of these are close to the lake and the missile, and the fourth is at the south west corner of the map. ------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE OBJECTIVES AND................ REWARDS - TOTAL 5 ------------------------------------------------------- Control Garrison .................... Guaranteed Card Control Outpost ..................... Airfield Control 4 Barracks .................. Starting Maneuver Control 2 complete continents ....... Airfield Take over 7 territories in 1 turn ... Defense Die ----------------------------------- CONTINENTS - TROOPS - TERRITORIES ----------------------------------- Black Fort - 2 - 6 Outpost - 3 - 9 Warpaw - 1 - 4 Headquarters - 1 - 5 Garrison - 2 - 5 --------------------- PLAYER COLOUR - GREEN --------------------- Opponent - Major Nolens - Blue -------- STRATEGY -------- Check the objectives and where your opponent's troops are placed. Actually, they are always in the same place, although it took me a while to realise that, but the objectives and rewards will vary a little If they can easily achieve an objective on their next turn then act to prevent that, or maybe concentrate on getting one for yourself. If none of that seems feasible, then try and gain control of one of the smaller continents so you have the chance to draft more troops on the next turn. You'll see that blue controls 4 out of 5 of the territories in Garrison, and his capital is there, although with only one troop on it. One way to start is to attack his captial and obtain that as well as the barracks next to it. Another way is to leave that for now and take over the 3 territories that are blue in the continent of Outpost, giving you control of that area, especially if it means achieving an objective. I prefer to play it safe and defeat the three two territories near to the green capital, taking control of Headquarters. You could add 2 troops to the barracks in Outpost and take the barracks at Boot Camp which gives you both control of the missile, and only one territory to defeat to give you control of Headquarters. On your next turn attack the fourth barracks for a probable objective, and finish gaining control of a continent. With the missile your opponent will have a harder job trying to defeat your troops. Attempt to control the missile as soon as possible to boost your attack and defense power. Also, gaining control of the Black Fort continent is often a very useful strategy as this can be easily defended from Rottendale territory, and it gives you safe control of 1 barrack as well as 2 troops for owning the continent. Notice how your opponent plays: if he's not doing too well, he tends to stack troops on one territory and only attack once to get a star card. This is a good strategy to copy if you're in difficulties. =============================================================================== CHAPTER 2. A BRIDGE TOO FUR ............................................ *WKC2 =============================================================================== Accidents during military training can happen, but from the deafening clamour of a thousand angry mews, one cat realised he would not be bale to sleep in peace until retribution was given to his people. They want McGutterpants' head on a post...a scratching post. -------------------------- INTRODUCTION (CATSMIR MAP) -------------------------- * If a player controls the dam at the start of their turn they may flood "Kotka". * If flooded, all troops but one in this area are killed. * Hold a Mine to receive Mineral Deposits. If you have 4 troops in the territory, you collect 3 Mineral Deposits each turn. This mission introduces the Cat Faction and you control the yellow colour. Again, the map is a small one and features the dam with the continent of Kotka on an island below the dam. There are also three cites on the map and you'll notice that the land at the far east of Warpaw (Yaowin) connects directly to the southern territory of Kotka (Colocolo) which means that attacks can be made between these two areas. Mining minerals has no other purpose but to gain an objective and you won't get additional troops or any other benefit. Watch out for who has control of the dam as that player is given the option to flood Kotka at the start of their turn and that will kill of any troops you have left in the island. Of course, if you control the dam you can use this feature to kill remove enemy troops and then sweep through Kotka fast and take control of the whole continent! The two mining territories are: Meowping in Kokta Tigercat in Kokta The dam is controlled by owning two territories, one on each side: Birman in Simmas Sire in Silvestris There's often an objective to control connected cities. These are not the Faction capitals, but a territory with a small group of towers on it. To connect them you must be in control of a line of areas that link up all three, and that includes crossing the lake. These are at set locations: Meow's Corner in Next Gen Bay Skogkatter in Warpaw Kattepus in Silvestris ------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE OBJECTIVES AND................ REWARDS - TOTAL 5 ------------------------------------------------------- Control an Enemy Capital ............ Additional Maneuver Control 3 Connected Cities .......... Guaranteed Card Control Warpaw ...................... Starting Maneuver Mine 10 Minerals .................... Attack Die Control 2 complete continents ....... Airfield Take over 7 territories in 1 turn ... 2 Troops ----------------------------------- CONTINENTS - TROOPS - TERRITORIES ----------------------------------- Kotka - 3 - 6 Simmas - 1 - 4 Next Gen Bay - 3 - 5 Warpaw - 3 - 10 Silvestris - 1 - 4 --------------------- PLAYER COLOUR - YELLOW --------------------- Opponent - Major Nolens - Blue -------- STRATEGY -------- Usually the objective to control an enemy capital is an easy one to fulfil, especially since you have the first turn in this game. Always defend your capital and don't leave it unguarded because you cannot win a game without your capital! (Actually, you can, during online play if someone quits and you get default win but it's best to try and keep hold of your capital.) Your capital is situated at Yarn Yard in Next Gen Bay, and you only have 1 troop on it, so the first thing is to defend it! Green's capital is at the east of the map on Yaowin which connects directly to Kokta. Gain that capital if it's an objective, and even if it isn't as it will add to your troop draft. Of course, you'll have to defend it and defend your own capital, so that's probably all you can do for the first turn. You might consider attacking green on Korat from the dam territory of Birman. Once you have control of Next Gen Bay put all your troops on Korat to defend it. Next Gen Bay gives a grand total of 3 additional troops as a continent bonus which gives you a great advantage. Then, try and take over Simmas continent which only has one green territory and that gives you two continents. Take over the other side of the dam and that effectively prevents green from doing much mineral gathering. After that, it depends on your success and the objectives, but the one to connect cities often appears and that's going to a quick one to achieve by controlling linked areas between the three cities. If green seems to be mining a lot of minerals, then act to prevent them from achieving an Objective for that, if there is one. Often, the opponent will stack a lot of troops on a mining territory to gain that Objective quickly. Try and control the dam so you can prevent that, or attack them directly. =============================================================================== CHAPTER 3. THE RED BADGE OF STORAGE .................................... *WKC3 =============================================================================== Since the Feline Nation were driven out of households around the world, feline allergies in humans have risen to astronomical proportions. In their weakened state, the humans must now rely on their technology to win this war. --------------------- INTRODUCTION (BITMAP) --------------------- * Between each round of turns the Volcano may or may not erupt. If it does, all troops but one in this area are killed. * Control a Geothermal Plant to harvest Energy. These work the same way as Mines. This mission introduces the Robot Faction (red) as well as the volcano. It's impossible to predict when the volcano will erupt and so you have to take your chances with leaving troops on the Geothermal Plants to gather energy. There is usually an objective regarding this and it can be a tricky one to win, or it might be easy if the volcano stays dormant for many turns. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't! There are three areas where you can harvest energy, and they are all adjacent to the volcano and at the mercy of its eruption: Satcom Ash Slip VC40 You'll also find Solar Arrays on the map, and these have no benefit other than to fulfil a particular objective. They are found scattered around the map at: Tigris in Smilodon Waren in Death's Door Cybern in Black Fort Hardwaren in Garrison. Felidale in Warpaw For this match there are two opponents, MC GutterPants (Green) and Generlissimo Meow (Yellow) and many more objectives to choose from. ------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE OBJECTIVES AND................ REWARDS - TOTAL 8 ------------------------------------------------------- Control 4 Solar Arrays .............. Guaranteed Card Control an Enemy Capital ............ Additional Meneuver Control Next Gen Bay ................ Airfield Control Warpaw ...................... Starting Maneuver Take over 9 territories in 1 turn ... 2 Troops Control 2 complete continents ....... Attack Die Control 2 Enemy Capitals ............ Defense Die Harvest 12 Energy resources ......... Airfield ---------------------------------- CONTINENTS - TROOPS - TERRITORIES --------------------------------- Smilodon - 1 - 4 Next Gen Bay - 2 - 8 Death's Door - 1 - 3 Black Fort - 1 - 4 Garrison - 1 - 5 Warpaw - 2 - 8 Mt Magma - 3 - 7 --------------------- PLAYER COLOUR - RED --------------------- Opponents - MC GutterPants (Green) Generlissimo Meow (Yellow) -------- STRATEGY -------- Since you always get the first turn on the Campaign mode, look for the easiest objectives to achieve and the ones that give the best rewards. In this case it's usually the control of one or two enemy capitals. If you can manage both of them, take that reward and you might still control one capital at the start of the next turn. (Make sure to protect any gains and your own capital!) Be aware that there's a good chance that the volcano will erupt before you get your next turn, so use up any troops placed on the adjacent areas before they get melted. This is one map that you can win very fast in just a couple or maybe three turns with a favourable arrangement of starting territories. Usually it's not worth bothering with the energy resources objective. Note that the three continents with the least territories are Smilodon (which is easiest to defend) Death's Door and Black Fort. Gain control for extra troops at the drafting stage and to help with the objective of controlling 2 or 3 continents. Your capital is on Oncilla in Smilodon so the best start you can have is to take control of that continent and the Solar Array there. It's also possible to control those other two continents with a lot of luck with the dice, and take over green's capital on Back Bone. Or even, go for one or two enemy capitals since yellow also only has 2 troops on his, and you have a handy 3 troops on the adjacent area of Carpal Coast. The other three Solar Arrays only have 1 troop on them, so that's another option for attack. However, the best plan is to get control of a continent first. A lot depends on the objectives and the rewards. For example: one time I targetted yellow's capital to win the reward of an Airfield which I placed on my capital (after adding some troops to it) and didn't attack the other two territories of Smilodon until the next turn. You'll find that your opponents seems to spend most of the time messing around with the volcano territories, leaving you to chase the objectives. =============================================================================== CHAPTER 4. A FAREWELL TO BRAINS ........................................ *WKC4 =============================================================================== As the "Breathers" realised they have a common enemy in the "Box Heads" they made an unwritten pact to quell the android threat. So, to avoid disassembly, Commandant SixFour must take drastic action...the Undead Nation, they came in pieces...urgh! ------------------------ INTRODUCTION (LIMBO MAP) ------------------------ * The temple has the most powerful Ability. If a player Holds the temple for a full round they are rewarded with the Convert Army Ability. * If a player controls 3 Crypts at the end of their turn they may choose to Freeze a territory until their next turn. You're playing as black, and against three other foes this time, as Commandant SixFour has been added to the roster. There are 8 objectives and the missile is on this map, together with four barracks, as well as the temple and crypts. (You'll see that the missile map at the start of the campaign mode is now included in this larger map.) Both of these features add a lot more strategy to the game. The temple has three sections (the Earth, Fire and Water Altars) and all must be guarded well if you're to stand a chance of retaining control until the start of the next round, since other players will do everything in their power (at least, they should do everything in their power) to take control away from you. If you control the temple you will be able to select any territory not your own and change the troops to your colour. It's a quick way to conquer other capitals or gain additional troops if someone was foolish enough to stack a lot on one area. The Crypts allow you to freeze an area at the end of your turn and that territory cannot be attacked or have troops added to it. You could freeze your capital if it is in danger, or an enemy territory that might be a base for an attack on the next round, or even freeze an area that blocks access for other players. Crypts are found on four territories: Darkhill in Next Gen Bay Boneyard in Skullshire Gutter's Corner in Gutterin Hollow Hill in Black Fort Barracks are situated on: Killoofs in Black Fort Vanguard in Outpost Boot Camp in Headquarters Fox Hole in Garrison ------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE OBJECTIVES AND...................... REWARDS - TOTAL 8 ------------------------------------------------------------- Control 4 Barracks ........................ Starting Maneuver Control 4 Crypts .......................... Additional Maneuver Control Outpost ........................... Airfield Control Death's Door ...................... Airfield Control Black Fort ........................ Guaranteed Card Take over an Entire Continent in 1 Turn ... Airfield Control 2 Enemy Capitals .................. Defense Die Control 22 Territories .................... 2 Troops Take over 8 territories in 1 turn ......... Attack Die Control 3 complete continents ............. Attack Die Note that you won't see duplicated rewards apart from the Airfield: this is just an example! ----------------------------------- CONTINENTS - TROOPS - TERRITORIES ----------------------------------- Gutterin - 1 - 4 Skullshire - 3 - 5 Next Gen Bay - 1 - 3 Death's Door - 2 - 4 Von's Temple - 1 - 3 Black Fort - 4 - 10 Outpost - 3 - 9 Warpaw - 1 - 4 Headquarters - 1 - 5 Garrison - 1 - 5 --------------------- PLAYER COLOUR - BLACK --------------------- Opponents - MC GutterPants (Green) Generlissimo Meow (Yellow) Commandant SixFour (Red) -------- STRATEGY -------- Take your time to check out everything before deciding where to place your troops. See which objectives might be the easiest to obtain and which continents you might be able to conquer and defend. Defence is key on this map as you have many different areas to watch. Is someone close to getting control of the missile over at the east side of the map, or about to take control of the temple or 3 of the crypts? And that's not considering the objectives! Try and take control of one small continent early on so you have a steady source of troops on each turn. The obvious one is Next Gen Bay where you already control two territories. Take Fate Alley and keep troops on the adjacent Eye Gorge and Darkhill (your capital) to defend them. Watch out for the connecting pathways between territories. You can attack Horden at the north east of Gutterin from Stale Bridge at the north west corner of Outpost, for example. Don't try to do too much at once and spread yourself thin. If someone controls a continent that gives more than one troop extra (Skullshire for example, where green is likely to dominate) try and attack them to win a territory so they cannot get these additional troops. Capitals are less of a target this time as they all start with three troops. Your best bet is probably to go for Deaths' Door next as you already have one territory there and connecting ones on Black Fort continent. Watch out for green attacking you from his base on Skullshire, and for yellow taking over the small continent of Warpaw. If all else fails, remember that an opponent without control of their capital cannot win, no matter how many objectives they accumulate! (Green tends to forget about his capital situated all the way up at the north east on Derson in Headquarters.) But unfortunately, the AI doesn't seem to think that way, so you're likely to be on your own in trying out anything sneaky. Your opponents will try to control the temple and if they do so they normally target either a capital or the area with the largest concentration of troops. =============================================================================== CHAPTER 5. AVALANCHE NOW ............................................... *WKC5 =============================================================================== Hidden far away in the Himalayas, the solitary Yeti Nation has shied away from the world and the politics of its unenlightened nations. Though with the war encroaching on Yeti borders, it's time for these friendly giants to bare their teeth. -------------------------- INTRODUCTION (BIG ICE MAP) -------------------------- * This is the last chapter of the Campaign! * The temple has the most powerful Ability. If a player Holds the temple for a full round they are rewarded with the Convert Army Ability. * If a player controls the dam at the start of their turn they may flood "Kotka". * If flooded, all troops but one in this area are killed. On this final map you play as Blue, against the other four Factions. There's the temple again, the crypts and Kokta. As before, the crypts are situated on these four territories (one is different from the previous map): Darkhill in Next Gen Bay Boneyard in Skullshire Gutter's Corner in Gutterin Margay in Smilodon As before, the two mining territories are: Meowping in Kokta Tigercat in Kokta The dam is controlled by owning two territories, one on each side: Birman in Simmas Sire in Silvestris What this means is that you will already be familiar with how the features work, although the arrangement of the continents is different. ------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE OBJECTIVES AND...................... REWARDS - TOTAL 7 ------------------------------------------------------------- Control 3 Crypts .......................... Guaranteed Card Control an Enemy Capital .................. Additional Maneuver Capture Von's Temple ...................... Starting Maneuver Control 3 complete continents ............. Airfield Control 26 Territories .................... Attack Die Mine 12 Minerals .......................... Airfield Take over 10 territories in 1 turn ........ 2 Troops Take over 9 territories in 1 turn ......... Airfield Control 2 Enemy Capitals .................. Defense Die ---------------------------------- CONTINENTS - TROOPS - TERRITORIES ---------------------------------- Black Fort - 1 - 4 Gutterin - 1 - 4 Skullshire - 2 - 5 Death's Door - 2 - 4 Von's Temple - 1 - 3 Smilodon - 1 - 4 Next Gen Bay - 3 - 13 Warpaw - 2 - 2 Silvestris - 1 - 4 Simmas - 1 - 4 Kotka - 2 - 6 -------------------- PLAYER COLOUR - BLUE -------------------- Opponents - MC GutterPants (Green) Generlissimo Meow (Yellow) Commandant SixFour (Red) Col. Stiffenberg (Black) -------- STRATEGY -------- This time you are the blue player and all four adversaries are in the game. Your capital (blue) is situated on Black Forest in Black Fort and you're probably going to want to take control of that continent from the start. You will also have control of one crypt in Skullshire, one third of the temple and with other territories scattered around the map. Order of play is: Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, Black. The first two places have no cards, the third and fourth have 1 each and the last to go has two cards as compensation! One way to start is to attack Horden, held by black on Gutterin, and that gives a little additional protection to your capital. Take over the rest of Black Fort too. If capturing the Temple is an objective (which is usually is) then consider taking it on your first turn as you have two territories adjacent to it and one section already with 2 troops on it. Of course there's no guarantee that you'll win all battles and you might end up weakened with the rest of your opponents given free reign. Be careful and opt for slow battles rather than fast ones. I would go for control of Black Fort and defend your capital after you've finished your turn. Watch out for black who starts with control of the dam at Kokta and don't leave any troops there (you only have one on one territory to start with so it's not really an issue). On your second turn you could take over Silvestris in the north east above Kokta, and prevent black from controlling the dam. There are also two enemy capitals close by: green is on Korat in Next Gen Bay, and black is inside Kokta on Rufus. If their troops are low, then maybe you can take one or both of these. The yellow enemy capital is on Tigris in Smilodon, and the red is on Strench in Skullshire, and both can be vulnerable by the time of your second turn. If someone controls a continent then it's always a good idea to attack them and take over at least one territory. You don't have to defend it, as the purpose is just to lessen their draft of troops. Save up your troops so you can attack weak territories for an objective that requires you to take over many territories at once, or place a large number on a mining area for a quick accumulation of minerals. There's a lot to watch out for this time and you need to keep a close eye on what your foes are doing and planning to do to gain objectives. If someone is mining away, attack them to remove their troops or gain control of the dam and wash them away. If someone leaves their capital with poor defence or gains a continent then you might want to attack them. Watch for the number of cards held by opponents as they might be saving them up for a mighty onslaught. Check up on who holds the crypts and which territory is being frozen by them if they have three. You might have to change your strategy according to the way the others implement theirs, but keep a close watch on the objectives, and remember that you only need to win three of them! =============================================================================== IX. T R O P H I E S ................................................ *TROPH =============================================================================== FIRST STRIKE - BRONZE Be the first to get an objective in a game. Easy enough to achieve this one without even trying. At some point you should be the first to win any objective: usually the one to take an enemy capital is easy to achieve when you have the first turn in the Campaign games. DESTROYER - BRONZE Kill 100 human, cat, robot, yeti and zombie units. Check up on your War Record to see the progress of your kills. Play more on a Campaign map where you're the colour you have most kills for, or play on any map and choose your colour and Faction. You should gain this trophy with ease, especially if you go for the 5 Star General one, or start playing online. FACTION SPECIALIST - BRONZE Complete the human, cat, robot, yeti and zombie campaigns. Simply finish the Campaign mode: although of course this means that you have to win all five games. CAPITALIZE THIS - SILVER Control 5 capitals. On a map with 5 players you must conquer all four capitals and keep control of your own. Probably the easiest way to do this is on a map with the Temple. Gain control of it and you can convert enemy capitals one by one. (Maps with 5 players and the Temple are Limbo and Big Ice.) IRONMAN - SILVER Defend a minimum of 5 attackers with one defender. This trophy is easier to get than you might expect, especially if you always go for the Defense Die reward. But it's not something you can control. Just try and get the Defense Die and "encourage" someone to keep attacking your territories by placing only 1 troop on them. DEMON CHILD - SILVER Achieve 10 super overkills. The easiest way to achieve this is to play a map that has the missile. Take over three barracks so you have control of the missile and that gives you an extra dice on every throw. Try and obtain a reward that gives you the airport as well and place this on a territory controlled by the missile. Attack territories within range of the missile and and you'll throw 4 dice, giving you a better chance of throwing three sixes. With the airport as well, the highest throw will have +1 added to it, boosting your chances of getting a 6. Alternatively, hope that there's an Attack Die reward for an objective and get this too, and you will roll 4 dice on any territory. (You cannot throw 5 dice, even if you have both the missile and the Attack Die.) Of course you also need to have the minimum of 4 troops so you can use 3 dice for the attack. You will get this trophy if you just play for long enough, but it might take a while without using this method. You can also play any kind of game to get this trophy, apart from the Classic Risk. The maps with the Missile are: Down Range, Miltize and Proving Ground. STAR COMMAND - SILVER Earn 10 stars and trade them for 30 troops. During any Command game you'll be awarded a star card at the end of each turn so long as you conquer at least one territory, and the idea is to save up your star cards until you have the maximum of 10. However, the game might end before you get the chance to do that, or you might risk defeat if you don't employ additional troops. One way to manage this trophy is to win the reward of a guarantee card so you don't have to attack anyone, and can sit tight on your capital until you've got enough cards. Of course, it helps if you have control of a continent that you can easily defend and it would help if you played with a friend who let you alone while you waited. You'll usually get one or more 2 star cards in a game and that helps accumulate the star cards faster. If you make a game with the manual placement of troops this is easier to achieve on a map with a small and easy to defend continent where you can wait it out. 5 STAR GENERAL - BRONZE Win a game on each map. After completing the Campaign mode you'll be able to play a whole range of maps featuring a different number of opponents. Win them all! SOLDIER - BRONZE Play 5 games on PlayStationNetwork. This is easy enough as all you have to do is play 5 matches and there's no requirement to win! These games can be any combination of Classic, Factions, World Conquest, Command Room style, as well as any number of players for Player created or Ranked matches. MASTER & COMMANDER - BRONZE Win a 5 player ranked Command Room game on PlayStationNetwork. Okay, slightly tougher because you've got to win a 5 player ranked match. Either create a match that allows 5 players, or join one already on offer. You can go for the Classic Risk Map as well as the other 5 player maps, but it must be a command room match which means that there will be Objectives to fulfil. If you're having difficulties winning a game then consider roping in friends to play with you and opt for the Manual arrangement of troops. The more exciting and honourable way is to test your skills against unknown players. It doesn't matter if someone quits so long as you stay the course (and someone else does too!) and you started with a 5 player ranked match. Maps with 5 players are: Limbo, Big Ice and Down Range. GLORY HUNTER - SILVER Win 10 ranked games on PlayStationNetwork. This is by far the toughest trophy to get, and not just because you have to win 10 games! The conditions for this trophy are that you win 10 ranked games (they can't be Player matches) but other than that they can be of any kind, with any number of players involved. Winning means seeing the Winner banner with your name and streamers flying with fireworks going off. Any other type of win doesn't count towards this trophy and it's possible to win many times but not witness this little display. You'll need to have some patience and determination to win this trophy (it took me over 40 wins before it popped up). The reason for this is that many players quit the match before the end. Some players will quit when they see you are about to win, depriving you of that essential winning banner. That won't matter in a game where at least one player has stayed to the end, but you'll find that many players, including the host of the match, quit early on, If the host quits the AI will take over, but sometimes that isn't successful and you'll find that the game ends before you even get much of a chance to do anything. Even though you'll win the game (if you're the last one standing) it's not counted for the trophy. The best way to ensure that the host stays to the end is to take that role yourself, but even so, you could find yourself hosting a ghost of a game if everyone else quits. In a random match players will quit the game if they don't like the troop deployment at the start. Other reasons for an early departure might be: if they lose their capital, fail to capture a territory, see that you (or someone else) obtained a powerful objective early on, or because they end up with few territories left and no cards to use and are about to suffer a total defeat. Their territories are now effectively "dead" zones as they won't be used to attack you. That means that you can use these territories as buffers for protection, or take them over knowing that no more troops will be added to them. However, that's not necessarily a good idea since they don't pose any threat and it's wiser to attack active opponents. It might not be as much fun playing a game when people quit, but so long as one opponent stays to the end you can still achieve a win. However, the worst kind of player is one who quits when you're about to win a match (let's hope that someone does the same to them when they are about to win). If you win a third objective there is still some time before you take the reward for that objective, while you complete your turn. That's the point at which a mean-spirited player will quit. Although you will win the game you won't get the *Winner* streamers needed for this trophy if that player was the only one left in the game. Don't be evil! Be gracious to other players and stay the course for them, even if you're losing, and you might make some RISK online friends who will do the same for you and help you achieve this trophy. =============================================================================== X. C U S T O M G A M E S ............................................. *CUST =============================================================================== 1. Command Room 2. World Conquest 3. Classic Risk 4. Custom Games Online 5. Online Etiquette --------------------------------------- 1. CUSTOM GAME - COMMAND ROOM: FACTIONS --------------------------------------- Once you've completed the Campaign Node all maps are unlocked and you can create a Custom Game and play all maps to achieve the Trophy: Five Star General. The maps are divided by the number of players and you only have to play one of each type of map for the trophy. You can choose to play with the random selection of territories and troops at the start, or to place troops manually. Each player chooses where to place their capital on these maps. Turn order is random too, so you'll get experience playing games where you don't get the first turn. You can also select from a Normal game, Quick game (with fewer and easier objectives) or Epic game (with more difficult objectives). When playing a Custom game you can Save and Quit the game at any point (press Start) and finish the game later, or simply exit and cancel that game and make another one. COMMAND ROOM FACTIONS MAPS .-----------------------------------------.--------.--------.--------.--------. | MAP NAME | FEATURES | 5 Play | 4 Play | 3 Play | 2 Play | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Classic Risk Map | World map | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Limbo | Temple and Crypts | Yes | Yes | No | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Big Ice | Temple, Crypts, Dam | Yes | Yes | No | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Down Range | Missile and Dam | Yes | No | No | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Bitmap | Volcano, Solar Arrays| No | Yes | Yes | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Miltize | Missile (large map) | No | Yes | Yes | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Tweety | Dam (large map) | No | Yes | Yes | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Quarantine | Temple (medium map) | No | Yes | Yes | No | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Proving Ground | Missile (small map) | No | No | Yes | Yes | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Catsmir | Dam (small map) | No | No | Yes | Yes | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Dead Central | Temple (small map) | No | No | Yes | Yes | |------------------+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------| | Planes | Volcano (small map) | No | No | Yes | Yes | |__________________|______________________|________|________|________|________| COMMAND ROOM FACTIONS - CLASSIC RISK Command Room Classic Risk features 42 territories and 15 cities, but the same rules apply to this map as to the rest of the Command maps. You'll choose the location for your capital, gain Objectives and Rewards, and be awarded a star card at the end of a successful attack on an enemy territory. ------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE OBJECTIVES AND................ REWARDS - TOTAL 8 ------------------------------------------------------- Control an Enemy Capital .................. Starting Maneuver Control 2 Enemy Capitals .................. Airfield Control Asia .............................. Airfield Control Europe ............................ Guaranteed Card/Starting Maneuver Control 8 Cities .......................... Guaranteed Card/Additional Maneuver Control North America ..................... Additional Manuever/Airfield Take over an Entire Continent in 1 Turn ... Defense Die/2 Troops Take over 10 Territories in 1 Turn ........ Airfield/Attack Die Take over 4 Cities in 1 Turn .............. Guaranteed Card Control 11 Cities ......................... 2 Troops/Defense Die Control 2 Complete Continents ............. Attack Die/Defense Die Control 18 Territories .................... Attack Die/2 Troops ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTINENT - TROOPS - NUMBER AND NAME OF TERRITORIES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Australia - 2 troops - 4 Indonesia, Western Australis, Eastern Australia, New Guinea South America - 2 troops - 4 Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela Africa - 3 troops - 6 South Africa, Madagascar, East Africa, Central Africa, North Africa, Egypt Europe - 5 troops - 7 Iceland, Great Britain, Western Europe, Southern Europe, Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia North America - 5 troops - 9 Central America, Western United States, Alberta, Alaska, Northwest Territory, Greenland Ontario, Eastern Canada, Eastern United States Asia - 7 troops - 12 Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, China, Afghanistan, Ural, Siberia, Mongolia, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Kamchatka, Japan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Much depends on initial troop placement of course (with the random option), but the best way to proceed is to attempt to control one of the smaller and easiest to defend continents so you are awarded additional troops for that continent. In order of the number of territories to defend they are: Australia (1 - Indonesia) South America (2 - Brazil and Venezuela) Africa (3 - North Africa, Egypt, East Africa) North America (3 - Central America, Alaska, Greenland) Europe (4 - Western Europe, Southern Europe, Russia, Iceland) Asia (5 - Ural, Afghanistan, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Kamchatka Another option is to control as many cities as possible (these are usually the subject for an Objective), and each set of 3 cities controlled will add 1 troop at the drafting stage. Cities are located randomly scattered around the map, and they might be none in a small continent such as South America, so you need to check on these for each game. General strategies include taking over opponents' capitals, especially if they are doing well and might win. Eliminating another player means that you gain their star cards and objectives. Try and attack anyone who has control of a continent and gain at least one territory (you don't have to defend it) to prevent them from gaining the continent troop bonus. This is especially important if it's one of the larger bonuses! Accumulate star cards, if you can, to give you plenty of troops, and try to manage the early part of the game without using them. Stack up troops on single territories (especially your capital) to give you protection and to intimidate other players so they might think twice before attacking you. Check up on your opponents' progress with objectives as usual, but also to see the number of cities under their and your control: there are so many of them it's harder to see just by looking at the map. ------------------------------- 2. CUSTOM GAME - WORLD CONQUEST ------------------------------- There's a choice between random placement of troops or manually placing them, which takes a lot longer! Select the option and then pick from the command room maps. In this version you play until one player controls all territories. Other than that, the game is the same, with Objectives and Rewards, but your strategy needs to be different, since you're not just playing to win objectives. Building up concentrations of troops, saving up your star cards, going for rewards that bring permanent benefits such as the Attack and Defense Dice, the 2 Troops and Guaranteed Card will be priorities. ----------------------------- 3. CUSTOM GAME - CLASSIC RISK ----------------------------- There are only two options here: Manual or Random. With the manual game players take it in turns to choose their troop deployments. All countries start with just one troop on each, and the selection of territories is random, as is the turn order. Every player begins with 8 or 9 territories: Random selection means that everything is done for you In classic risk there are no capitals or features besides the six continents. 1 troop is awarded for every 3 territories, and additional troops are awarded for controlling a continent. The minimum number of troops is 3, even if a player only has one territory left. Troop allocation for control of a continent is the same as for the Factions Classic Risk game. ---------------------- 4. CUSTOM GAMES ONLINE ---------------------- All these varieties of games can be played online on the PSN. Sign in and select PlayStationNetwork from the main menu screen. You can choose from Classic Risk or Factions. Both options give you the further choice of an unranked Player Match or Ranked Match of three types: Quick, Custom or Create Game. In Ranked Matches your progress (or lack of it!) will be recorded for the Leaderboards. If you wish to join a game, look at the Game Info at the right of screen to see exactly what kind of game you're joining: - Map type (Classic Risk Map/other named map) - Number of Players (5/4/3/2 - depending on map) - Match Type (Command Room/Classic Risk) - Random/Manual - Game Type (Normal/Epic/Quick) Click on the host's name to add your name to the roster and select a Faction colour. Then, click X to add a tick to your name indicating that you're ready to play and wait for the rest of the places to fill up. When the list is full the game will load. Whilst playing online, press Start to see the menu giving these options: - Resume Game - Help and Options - Leaderboards - Save and Exit Game (not accessible) - Concede Game Be aware that if you concede the game as host that might create problems for other players if the migration of host is not successful, which often occurs. DON'T just exit the game without using the concede option because that is likely to mess up the entire game for everyone else, and it also might result in the loss of your Leaderboard ranking for a Ranked match. (One time I had to reboot the PS3 because the game froze and that wiped out my ranking...) RANKING POINTS I'm not sure exactly how the ranking points are calculated and sometimes I've gained points for a loss when coming second (anything from +4 to +12). If you concede a game, obviously that's counted as a loss, but you lose less points than if you are completely defeated. I conceded once in a 4 player match that froze when the host quit and it was the only way to exit the game. That resulted in a loss of 11 points, but a total defeat netted a loss of 102 points so it's understandable that players prefer to quit than take such a heavy loss of points! However, I've also only lost 7 points for a total defeat, but lost 61 when placed third, so it's pretty confusing. Points scored for a win vary according to the number of players in a match, and there may be other factors too, such as how many have quit and how many objectives other players have won, hence the variation in results for a win. The range of points is based on my own games and I'll update this if I get more data. 5 player match: 20 - 59 points for a win 4 player match: 18 - 38 points for a win 3 player match: 10 - 18 points for a win =============================================================================== XI. F. A. Q. S. ........................................................ *FAQS =============================================================================== Just a few questions I've gleaned from the PS3 and X360 boards about this game. Q. The AI cheats so how the hell can I ever win? A. The AI doesn't cheat so you just need to hang in there. If you play for longer you'll see that the dice throws average out. Here are my stats at the 6000 mark. - 1's Rolled: 6000 - 2's Rolled: 6050 - 3's Rolled: 6042 - 4's Rolled: 5958 - 5's Rolled: 5948 - 6's Rolled: 6151 Q. Does it make any difference which Faction I play online? A: No. Just choose the colour and animations you like. Q: How are the rankings calculated for the online Leaderboards? A: I don't know exactly, but remember that you need to wait around 5-10 minutes after a match before there's a change. However, if you win a match (by whatever means) points are added, and if you lose, points are subtracted. You gain more points for a win in a match with more players. Sometimes a loss can gain you points, especially if you come second. Q. How do I know if I'm second? A: Look at the list of players at the end of the match and they are arranged in order of success. Winning more objectives than the rest might get you some points, even if you lose. Q. It's not fair, people keep taking my capital/ganging up on me/etc A. It's Risk, and all's fair in war. Teaming up to go after a stronger player to prevent them from winning, taking capitals, attacking a continent to prevent someone getting the troop bonus are all part of the game. Q. What should I do if my capital gets taken? A: Taking a capital is often an objective so it's going to happen a lot, especially if you have a later turn. Prevention is better than cure! Firstly, try and pick a spot for your capital that's not close to anyone who has a turn before you. Secondly, choose the territory with the most troops on it, or one that's defended by other territories you own. Avoid placing your capital too close to someone else's. If it still gets captured, take it back as soon as you can, or leave it and take someone else's capital. An anecdote: when playing Command Classic Risk my capital (Japan) was taken early on and heavily defended by an opponent In the end it was the final territory I captured, to win the game. Don't panic! Q. Which is the best objective to go for? A: Any objective is a good one since it counts towards the goal of getting three of them. A lot depends on the related reward and on what the other players might be trying to get before you do! Q. Which is the best reward to get? A..The Guaranteed Card is very useful because it allows you to get a card even if you don't attack, and you also get a star card when you take the reward for winning any objective. The Maneuver ones and Airfields are the least useful, and the 2 troops and Attack Die are both valuable, but the best of all is the Defense Die, at least, if you can get it before the final stages of the game. Q. Can I make alliances with other players online? A. Yes, you can. You can use the PS3 message box to offer a temporary truce so two players can work together to defeat a more powerful player that might win. Unspoken alliances can arise with the same aim in mind. However, don't play a Ranked match with a pre-set arrangement as that's unfair to other players. Q. What's going on? The game stopped and everyone left and I lost points despite being in a winning position! A. The online game is definitely glitched because someone quitting can halt the game, making it so no-one wins at all. If no winning banner appears then it's counted as a loss, even though you might have been about to win. It's happened to me a few times and it's very annoying to say the least... =============================================================================== XII. C R E D I T S , L E G A L B I T , C O N T A C T ..................*CLC =============================================================================== ------- CREDITS ------- Thanks to Stainless Games for making this excellent game. Thanks to GameFAQs for hosting my FAQs. Thanks to other players online for some un-looked for advice and help. Thanks to Saikyo Mog for at least trying out the demo. ;) --------- LEGAL BIT --------- This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site other than GameFAQs.com or otherwise distributed publicly. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. This FAQ is copyrighted by threetimes on January 31st 2011. ------- CONTACT ------- I'd appreciate any comments on this FAQ, and if you find any errors or have any additional helpful strategies, please let me know. Emails must be titled RISK: FACTIONS FAQ and can be sent to me at: threetimes.ajh[@]googlemail[dot]com