XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX ___ ___ _______ ___ _ XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX | \ / | | ______| | \ | | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX | |\ \ / /| | | |_____ | |\ \ | | XXXXXXXXXXXXX ____ | | \ \ / / | | | _____| | | \ \ | | XXXXXXXXXXX |____|| | \ \ / / | | | |_____ | | \ \| | XXXXXXXXX |_| \___/ |_| |_______| |_| \___| XXXXXXXXXXX __ _ __ _ _ XXXXXXXXXXXXX | | / \ | |\ | | \ ( \ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX | |-- ( __ |-- | \ | | ) \ XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX |__ |__ \_/ |__ | \| |_/ \_) XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX X-MEN LEGENDS (Gamecube version) FAQ/WALKTRHOUGH v1.30 2005-01-14 (c)2004 Barry Scott Will <pyric@cavecreations.net> <http://www.pyric.com/> This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons 559 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, California 94305, USA. X-Men (tm)Marvel Comics X-Men Legends (c)2004 Activision This FAQ/walkthrough is not endorsed by, nor is the author associated with, either Activision or Marvel Comics. ASCII art by Barry Scott Will / \ /--MEN--------------------------------------------------------------- \/ Table of Contents /\---LEGENDS----------------------------------------------------------- / \ / [1] Overview [1.1] Game Review [1.2] Glossary [1.3] Frequently Asked Questions [2] Controls [3] Gameplay [3.1] Basic Play [3.2] Combat & Mutant Powers [3.2.1] Power Combo Names [3.3] Using the Map [3.4] Leveling the X-Men [3.5] Items [3.6] Hints [4] X-Men [4.1] X-Men Stats [4.2] Power Leveling [4.3] Beast [4.4] Colossus [4.5] Cyclops [4.6] Emma Frost [4.7] Gambit [4.8] Iceman [4.9] Jean Grey [4.10] Jubilee [4.11] Magma [4.12] Nightcrawler [4.13] Professor X [4.14] Psylocke [4.15] Rogue [4.16] Storm [4.17] Wolverine [4.18] Optional Builds [5] Enemies [6] Walkthrough [6.1] Overview [6.2] Escape From New York [6.3] Interlude #1 - X-Mansion [6.4] HAARPo March [6.5] Interlude #2 - X-Mansion [6.5.1] Sentinel Flashback [6.5.2] Juggernaut Flashback [6.6] That's Morlock It! [6.7] An Arbiter-y Assignment [6.8] Interlude #3 - X-Mansion [6.8.1] Magma Qualification Exam [6.8.2] Weapon X Flashback [6.9] Nuclear Family [6.10] Interlude #4 - Muir Island [6.11] Interlude #5 - X-Mansion [6.12] Illyana on the Astral Plane [6.13] Weapon X Part Deux [6.14] Interlude #6 - X-Mansion [6.15] Morlock, More Power [6.16] Interlude #7 - X-Mansion [6.17] Juggernaut Jig [6.18] 48 Sentinels on Parade [6.19] Got Morlock? [6.20] Interlude #8 - X-Mansion [6.21] I Fall To Pieces... [6.22] Sentinels 'R Us [6.23] Three Strikes and You're Out, Shadow King [6.24] Interlude #9 - X-Mansion [6.25] Magneto's Hunk-a, Hunk-a, Burnin' Rock [7] Item List [8] Trivia Game Q&A [9] Danger Room Scenarios [10] Version History [11] Credits To jump to a specific topic, open the Edit menu and choose Find in this Page (or just press Control-F) and enter the bracketed number, including the brackets. For example, enter [4.17] as the search text to jump straight to the information on Wolverine. / \ /--MEN--------------------------------------------------------------- \/ [1] Overview /\---LEGENDS----------------------------------------------------------- / \ / ================= [1.1] Game Review ================= X-Men Legends is an action role-playing game in the mold of Diablo, Dungeon Siege or Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. The primary "role-playing" aspect of the game is controlling your characters' increase in power--a process called "leveling"--and the occasional non-action stage, where your main purpose is to hunt down other characters and chat with them. Primarily, your task is to kill people and break things; and, since your characters are fifteen of the uncanny X-Men, you can do this very well. For fans of the action/RPG genre, this is a good game. For fans of the X-Men, this is a good game. For fans of both the action/RPG genre and the X-Men, this is...well, your geek dreams have come true. The gameplay is smooth, combat controls are mostly intuitive, and the game is very linear, so you don't really have to put much thought into it beyond "X-Men Smash!" The story involves an ongoing fight between the X-Men and two opposing groups: The Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto; and the Genetic Research and Security Organization (GRSO), led by General Kincaid. Throw in some of the supreme anti-mutant robots known as Sentinels and you have the recipe for rock-'em, sock-'em fun. Some people have been put off by the fact the characters in the game are somewhat clumsily rendered using a cel-shaded technique, rather than being full, 3-dimensional polygonal figures. You will get used to it, and it does help the characters pop off the screen. Considering how chaotic many of the fights become, this is a good thing. Controlling the X-Men's leveling is also a nice feature; but, a lot less useful than one would think. Each X-Man has a strength, and, for the most part, trying to make the X-Man anything else ranges from hard to impossible. For example, Wolverine, Beast and Rogue will never be anything other than hand-to-hand fighters and you can't make them into ranged fighters. Cyclops can be a hand-to-hand fighter if you level him that way; however, he will be an incredibly bad melee fighter, so why bother? In the end, most of the X-Men end up being basically the same regardless how many times you play through. This does limit the replay value of the game; but, it is so much fun the first time (or two) through, it is definitely a worthwhile purchase. ============== [1.2] Glossary ============== A few terms used in this guide with which you may not be familiar... Boss ---- "Boss" enemies are the super-powerful opponents you face at different stages of the game. Typically you will see references to a "mini-boss", this is a slightly weaker foe you fight midway through a mission. A "boss" is the foe you meet at the end of a mission. The "end boss" is the wickedly powerful bad guy you have to defeat to end the game. Buff, buffing, insta-buff ------------------------- A "buff" in game lingo is an increase in a character's powers. For the X- Men, this may be an increase in ability scores or damage from attacks. An "insta-buff" is an increase in the team's powers that can be easily and immediately applied. For example, Cyclops' Command power increases the Strike and Agility scores of the entire team as soon as it is used, thus is can be described as an "insta-buff". Critical hit ------------ A critical hit (or, sometimes just "critical" or "crit") is an attack that strikes a "sensitive" area and does more damage. In X-Men Legends, criticals do three times as much damage as a normal attack. E.g. if your normal attack averages 30 points damage, a crit will do 90 points damage. Mob --- While this term originally referred to groups of enemies, it has evolved to refer to any enemy--even singular foes. Spam ---- In this context, "spam" refers to repetitive action. For example, to "spam the L button" means repeatedly press the L (Call Team) button. Or, "spam Lightning" means use Storm's Lightning power over and over and over and over...You get the point. Tank ---- A hand-to-hand fighter that can take a lot of damage and dish out even more damage. Colossus, Rogue, Beast and Wolverine are all examples of "tanks". ================================ [1.3] Frequently Asked Questions ================================ The following questions are the ones most frequently asked via email or on the GameFAQs X-Men Legends message board. Look here first, if you're having a specific problem. Q1) How many X-Men are playable? A1) Count 'em from the ToC above. There are 15 playable X-Men; although, one, Prof X, is only playable in one mission. Q2) I'm having trouble rescuing the crewmen from the Arbiter! A2) First, don't save at the Galley Xtraction point if you don't have much time left! Second, be sure to seal up all the leaks; they're marked for you on your auto-map. Q3) How do I beat the Sentinels? A3) Nightcrawler + Teleport Frenzy + Hammer of Nimrod = dead Sentinel. If you're not high enough level to use HoN yet, Wolverine's Brutal Slash is remarkably effective. Q4) I'm out of health packs and don't have enough money to buy more. A4) Play a Danger Room scenario that you have not completed. You can use this same method to earn money, collect energy packs and equipment, etc. Q5) What's the maximum level for the X-Men? A5) Forty-five (45). Q6) My team is constantly being beaten. What's the best team for (insert mission here)? A6) The best team is usually Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey and a tank (Wolverine early, Colossus later). However, unless your team is composed of just Emma, Jubilee and Beast, you've got a fighting chance in any mission. If you keep dying, try these combat tips: - Don't charge ahead. Advance slowly, and, if you get mobbed, retreat the way you came, drawing a few enemies after you. Keep AI-controlled X-Men near by using the L button (Call Team) frequently. Don't let them charge ahead and trigger more mobs. Consider using Jubilee (Photo Flash) or Emma Frost (Confuse or Fear) for controlling large crowds. - Always be aware of rejuvenation units and take them out first (i.e. Morlock Goths, Acolyte Adepts) - Learn to hit power combos and always have Cyclops or Storm or both on your team (with leveled up Leadership skill) to increase the damage done by combos - Learn to read the enemies' resistances and concentrate on hitting them with other types of damage. I.e. don't expect Jean's Psychic Shout to have much effect on Sentinels. Q7) I'm stuck! Something's blocking my way and I can't go around. A7) Yes, you can go around. You can always go around. Just search a little harder. Try hitting a few nearby walls to see if they're breakable. Q8) Can you play as (insert enemy mutant here)? A8) Only in Skirmish or Sparring mode. In Story Mode, you are limited to the 15 X-Men listed in the ToC above. Q9) I beat the game; how do I change costumes? A9) Press X (Skin) in any team select character screen (at beginning of a mission or when using Change Team at an Xtraction point). In other words, you can't change costumes until you get most of the way through the first mission. Q10) Do I keep my comics, sketch books and X-Men levels when I start a new game? A10) No. Every game plays exactly the same way. You can use the Review option from the main menu to view all previously unlocked load screens, cinematics, concept art and comics. In the game itself, you still have to start at level one with all X-Men, unlock the X-Men in the same order, find all the comics, DR discs and sketch books, etc. Q11) I missed a Danger Room disc. Now what do I do? A11) If it was one of the standard (i.e. not the Challenge or Nightmare discs) scenarios, it will eventually show up in Healer's shop and you can buy it. You may also get any DR disc from Healer's Grab Bag, but trying over and over again to get one can be frustratingly tedious. Q12) I've unlocked all 15 characters, and there's still an empty slot in my team selection screen. Who is the missing X-Man? A12) Prof X. That's his slot for when he's playable during the first Astral Plane mission. Q13) What's the best way to use (insert X-Man here)? A13) General leveling and tactics tips are covered in this guide. For more exhaustive information on using each mutant, refer to the GameFAQs FAQ page for X-Men Legends. As of this writing, every X-Man has an individual guide with the exception of Rogue, Jubilee and Prof X (who doesn't really need his own guide). / \ /--MEN--------------------------------------------------------------- \/ [2] Controls /\---LEGENDS----------------------------------------------------------- / \ / Key: - A comma between two buttons means press the first button and release, then press the second button. Example: A, A, B means press-and-release A, press-and-release A again, then press B. - An addition symbol between two buttons means press-and-hold the first button, then press the second button. Example: R+A means press and hold the R (right shoulder) button and then press A. - A, B, X, Y, Z are the buttons on the controller that are labeled with those same letters - L and R are the Left and Right shoulder buttons Just another reminder, this refers to the control layout for the Nintendo Gamecube. If you're trying to use this FAQ for the PS2 or X-Box version, none of this is going to make sense (or even work). The controls for the menus are covered where appropriate in Section 3, Gameplay below. This section covers the in-game controls. =========================== [2.1] In-game control chart =========================== BUTTON...........ACTION A................Standard attack, basic mutant power B................Knockback attack, Strong jump, Alternate mutant power X................Use, Down while flying, Defensive/Buffing mutant power Y................Jump, Flight, Up while flying, Xtreme mutant power Z................Use health pack X+Z..............Use energy pack R................Activate mutant power menu: hold, then press A, B, X or Y L................Call teammates to you Control stick....Move D-pad............Switch player control to a different X-Man C-stick..........Move camera Start............Bring up game menu =========================== [2.2] Detailed descriptions =========================== [2.2.1] Standard Attack (A button) ---------------------------------- This is your basic melee attack (punch, kick, some X-Men use a weapon) and does the least amount of damage. [2.2.2] Knockback attack (B button) ----------------------------------- This is a stronger, slower melee attack that has the ability to knock your opponent backwards. Use A and B in different sequences to deliver special attacks. For example: A, A, B is a popup; A, B, A is a trip; etc. You can learn and practice special attacks in the Danger Room. [2.2.3] Use (X button) ---------------------- This is the button you press to open doors and pick up items. You also press X to talk to other characters, activate Xtraction points or to use certain control panels. You will get a notice on screen if you can press X to use anything. X can also be used to pick up people or other objects and throw them; and is the button fliers use to pick up and carry people. Fliers can also use X to fly lower. [2.2.4] Jump/Double jump/Flight (Y button) ------------------------------------------- A single press of the Y button will cause your character to jump. Pressing Y again in mid-jump will cause the character to use his or her special mutant ability, assuming you have purchased points in that ability. For example: Iceman creates ice slides; Magma creates lava slides; some X-Men can fly; some X-men can double-jump; etc. Fliers use Y to fly higher. Any X-Man can perform a high jump when you press Y, B. The high jump ends with a powerful attack, which is very useful against tall enemies, such as Sentinels. You can also use it to clear large gaps or tall obstacles. [2.2.5] Use health (Z button) or energy (X+Z buttons) packs ----------------------------------------------------------- To use a health pack for your current character, press Z. To use an energy pack for your current character, press-and-hold X and then press Z. [2.2.6] Activate mutant power menu (R button) --------------------------------------------- Press-and-hold the R button to open the mutant power menu, which will show in the upper-left portion of the screen. All currently available mutant powers will appear mapped to the appropriate button. Press the corresponding button to activate the mutant power. The buttons for the mutant powers are: A - Basic offensive power, all X-Men have this power from the beginning of the game. All other mutant powers must be purchased with level-up points. The A-power icon is the bottom icon on the menu. B - This is an alternate offensive power. It may be a variation of the A-Power, or a different ability altogether. The B-power icon is the left icon on the menu. X - Defensive/buffing mutant power. Some X-Men's defensive powers cover the entire team, others only protect the individual X-Man. Some X-Men have a buffing (stat-increasing) power rather than a pure defensive power. The X-power icon is the right icon on the menu. Y - Xtreme mutant power. This is a super-powerful mutant power that can only be purchased once an X-Man has reached 15th level. The Xtreme power icon is the top icon on the menu. [2.2.7] Call team {L button) ---------------------------- Press L to call your teammates to you. If you are currently engaged in combat, your teammates will target your opponent with their mutant power as defined in their character sheet (see section 3.4 below for more information on character sheets). Use this button, in combination with one of your own mutant powers, to score combos (see section 3.2 below). [2.2.8] Move (Control stick) ---------------------------- Use the left control stick to move your character around the screen. [2.2.9] Switch X-Man (D-pad) ---------------------------- Use the directional pad on the left side of the controller to switch to an "open" X-Man. Any X-Man that is not controlled by a human is available for switching. Look at your team icons in the lower left of the screen to see which direction to press the D-pad to switch to a character. For example, your team icons look like this: Cyclops /\ || Storm <--------> Rogue || \/ Wolverine You would press up to take control of Cyclops, right to take control of Rogue, down to control Wolverine and left to control Storm. When playing with more than one player, each X-Man on the team appears in one of the four corners of the screen, with a diagram of the D-pad next to the X-Man's portrait that shows which direction on the D-pad you should press to take control of that X-Man. [2.2.10] Move camera (C-stick) ------------------------------ You have some limited control over the camera using the yellow C-stick on the right of the controller. Left/right rotates the camera, up/down zooms in and out. There's no way to change the camera angle except through the options menu. [2.2.11] Game menu (Start button) --------------------------------- Press Start to bring up a menu that allows you to view your current objectives, access your current teams' character sheets, load a game, turn the map on or off, etc. / \ /--MEN--------------------------------------------------------------- \/ [3] Gameplay /\---LEGENDS----------------------------------------------------------- / \ / ============================= [3.1] Basic Play (Story Mode) ============================= The following information is for playing through the main story. There are some special game modes that can be accessed through the Danger Room selection at the main menu (the one you get when you first start the game). Those game modes--Sparring and Skirmish--are not covered in this guide. Gameplay in X-Men Legends consists of action-oriented missions interspersed with interludes where all you do is talk to other characters. During the interludes, you are limited to playing as Alison Crestmere (AKA Magma). During the missions, you will have up to fourteen X-Men from which to choose. (The fifteenth character, Prof X, is playable only in two specific situations.) You progress through each mission with a team of up to four X-Men. There are a few missions where the number of available X-Men is less than four. Anywhere from one to four players may control the X-Men on the current team. Any X-Man not controlled by a player will be controlled by the game's artificial intelligence (AI). NOTE: A player can take control of an X-Man simply by plugging in a controller and hitting Start. If a player has to leave, you have to bring up the game menu (Start button) and select the Players option to render their controller inactive. If there are fewer players than there are X-Men, any player can switch control to any "open" X-Man on the team. In addition to finding and eliminating resistance, each mission will have a variety of objectives you must complete. You might need to destroy a certain number of machines, or find a specific character or rescue other people. You can review your current mission objectives by bringing up the game menu and selecting the Objectives option. During missions, you can bring up an auto-map (see section 3.3 below) that shows you where you've been. The map shows objectives (a yellow X inside a circle) and Xtraction points (a blue X inside a circle). You should always use the map to help you find your way around the different stages. Xtraction points are marked by a glowing, blue X in a circle on the ground. At an Xtraction point, you can do a variety of things: Change Team ----------- Allows you to change the members of your current team. Choosing this option brings up the team select characters screen. Highlight any character and press A to switch to a different character. While in this mode, you can revive fallen X-Men using tech bits (see section 3.5 below) and re-add them to your team. If your current roster is not subject to change, this option will not be available. NOTE: all fallen X-Men are revived at the end of a mission, so only pay to revive an X-Man if you absolutely must do so. Save Game --------- Allows you to save your current progress. Saved games require 25 blocks on a GCN memory card. You should use a memory card with enough free space to store at least two saved games, preferably more. You will also need 1 block for game configuration options, so your memory card must have at least 26 blocks and should have 51 or 76 blocks free for playing X-Men Legends. Load Game --------- Allows you to load a saved game. You can also do this from the game menu (i.e. you don't need an Xtraction point to load a game). Visit the Danger Room --------------------- Some Xtraction points allow you to jump straight to the Danger Room in X- Mansion and play scenarios there. If you are finding a stage difficult, use this option to level your characters some more so you have more power to get through the stage. Visit Healer ------------ Healer is a Morlock friendly to the X-Men. Once you have talked to him during the third mission, you will be able to use Xtraction points to visit his shop. He sells health and energy packs and certain Danger Room discs you may have missed along the way. He also has a very expensive Grab Bag that produces a random item. Sometimes this can be a very good item; most of the time it will be worth far less than what you paid to reach into the bag. Healer will also buy any of your surplus items. Visit Forge ----------- Once you have unlocked Forge during the first interlude, you may use an Xtraction point to visit his shop and either buy or sell equipment. Forge will buy anything you carry; however, he sells only armor, backpacks and belts. If you are in desperate need of protection, you can buy some things from him. Mostly, you will use Forge to reduce your inventory so you can pick up more loot. Not all stages have Xtraction points and not all Xtraction points allow the full range of options listed above. (Save Game and Load Game are available at all Xtraction points; the other options vary.) Whether or not a stage has an Xtraction point is noted in the walkthrough below. As you play through each mission, you should try to pick up as much stuff as you can. This means breaking things. At least half, if not more, of all the placeable objects in the game are breakable, and some produce equipment, health or energy packs or tech bits. The most likely candidates for useful items are the container objects: barrels, trash cans, crates, etc. Beds, chairs, computer consoles and other such items rarely produce anything; but, they're fun to break anyway. (Or, pick them up and throw them at the bad guys...) ============================ [3.2] Combat & Mutant Powers ============================ Combat, and lots of it, is the name of the game in X-Men Legends. Each X- Man has two primary melee attacks: standard and strong/knockback. Standard attacks are made with the A button, strong attacks with B. By hitting an opponent with different sequences, you can perform a special attack that does more damage. Some of the special attacks are: - Triple Hit: A, A, A - Knockback: B, B - Popup: A, A, B - Trip: A, B, A - Stun: B, A, B, B - Power sequence: A, B, B, A, A, A While some X-Men can be effective just unloading melee attacks on the bad guys, the best way to win fights is to use your X-Men's mutant powers. Even better, you should learn how to hit "power combos"--two mutant powers used on one opponent at the same time. Hitting combos in multiplayer requires communication between the players and a good sense of the timing of each mutant power being used. Wolverine's Brutal Slash, for example, is much faster than Storm's Lightning Strike. If a player controlling Wolverine wants to hit a combo with a player controlling Storm, the Wolverine player must watch the timing of the LS and initiate the Brutal Slash immediately before the lightning hits. In single player, hitting combos is part luck and part skill. In combat, you press L repeatedly to call your teammates to you and have them attack your opponent with their mutant powers. Again, timing is an issue, but you don't have much control over when the computer AI will actually unleash its power(s). The primary method of hitting combos in single player is to hold down the R button and repeatedly press both the L and either the A or B button. Experiment to find different teams that work well for hitting combos. (Note: Emma Frost's Confuse and Jubilee's Photo Flash powers do not appear to cause power combos.) Make sure you always have either Cyclops or Storm (or both) on the team for the bonuses they provide to power combos. The Leadership skill possessed by both X-Men adds bonus damage to power combos and bonus experience points earned from an enemy on whom you used a combo. You do not have to actually defeat the enemy with the combo. As long as you used a combo on that enemy at some point, you get the bonus XP. Also, you only need Storm or Cyclops on the team for the bonus, other X-Men can actually hit the combo. The damage bonuses from the Leadership skills "stack"; i.e. if both Cyclops and Storm are on your team and both have Leadership 5, you'll get 300% bonus damage to your combos! The XP bonuses, alas, do not stack. Still, the primary purpose for Leadership is the damage bonus, so having both X-Men leaders on your team is a good thing. You can also score combos even if you are just fighting hand-to-hand; just keep pressing L while you're punching to keep your teammates blasting away with their powers. There's even a "Batter Up!" combo that is scored when one X-Man hits with a strike sequence at the same time another X-Man hits with another strike sequence. Examination of gameplay videos shows the powers do not have to hit exactly simultaneously. There is a small window of opportunity surrounding each power when you can cause a combo. Powers that temporarily stun your opponents are especially good for combos as you can hit with the second power any time while the foe is stunned. Area-of-effect powers also give good chances for hitting combos as multiple enemies are affected. Once you get to level 15 and purchase Xtreme powers for your X-Men, you can use these powers by pressing R + Y. You can hit super power combos by hitting a combo with one or two Xtreme powers. Xtreme powers require Xtreme icons, which will display at the bottom center of the screen. In order to fill these icons, you need to collect Xtreme tokens the same way you collect health packs, etc. Each token fills one-quarter of an icon, so you must collect four tokens to get one full icon and use an Xtreme power once. The Xtreme power icons are shared by all X-Men. Thus, if you have one icon filled, and Gambit uses 52 Pick Up, Storm cannot then immediately follow with Cyclone Fury until you pick up more tokens. At level 15, you can have one filled Xtreme icon. At level 20, you can have two filled icons. At level 25, you can have three; at level 30, you can have four; and, at level 35 and after, you can have five filled icons. Xtreme powers are most useful for crowd control. The best Xtreme powers are those that launch enemies away from you, such as Colossus' Seismic Smash. Try to avoid using Xtreme powers against bosses, as most Xtreme powers are large area-of-effect powers that are intended to damage multiple enemies. Against a single enemy, they're a lot less powerful. Use focused, single- opponent powers and combos against bosses. Another method of dealing with your enemies is to throw things at them. A character with the Might skill can pick up and throw cars, trucks and other really heavy things--or Wolverine for a Fastball Special (see section 4.17 below). Any character can throw barrels or crates; the exploding barrels are especially nice. Gambit and Jubilee can both charge objects and throw them before they explode--sort of homemade grenades. As you attack enemies, keep an eye on the enemy status bar in the top center of the screen. This shows your opponent's health status and any damage resistances possessed by the enemy. For example, some enemies are physical resistant. This means attacks causing physical damage are less effective. Team up on the foe with energy and mental attacks. The same goes for opponents listed as mental resistant, etc. Keep an eye out for rejuvenators. Various mobs have a special unit that can revive fallen comrades. If you don't take out the rejuvenator, the bad guys will keep coming and coming and coming and coming. See section 5, Enemies, below for a list of rejuvenator units. Finally, if you can, avoid combat on bridges (especially bridges built by an X-Man) or near ledges. The computer AI is just stupid enough to occasionally send your teammates jumping into the abyss after enemies that have fallen over the edge. That's a bad thing. Combat in X-Men Legends is fast, furious and goes on forever; so, you'll get plenty of practice in taking care of the bad guys. If, for some strange reason, you can't get enough combat, try the Danger Room. [3.2.1] Power Combo Names ------------------------- Every power combo or super power combo has a name composed of an adjective and a noun; e.g. Atomic Blades or Electric Quake. The two words are taken from the X-Men powers that were used. The first power that hits determines the adjective; the second power determines the noun. To determine the name of a combo, just look up the adjective and noun for each power. Thus: Cyclops Optic Beam + Wolverine Brutal Slash = Optic Claw Wolverine Brutal Slash + Cyclops Optic Beam = Adamantium Beam Here is a list of adjectives and nouns for most of the offensive mutant powers. Emma Frost's Confuse power and Jubilee's Photo Flash power do not appear to cause combos, perhaps because they do not harm your foes. |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Character | Power | Adjective | Noun | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Beast | Pinball | Rolling | Strike | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Propeller Kick | Simian | Kick | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Orbital Bombardment | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Colossus | Power Smash | Charging | Smash | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Concussion Slam | Catastrophic | Slam | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Seismic Smash | Diving | Quake | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Cyclops | Optic Beam | Optic | Beam | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Optic Sweep | Immobilizing | Shockwave | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Optic Rage | | Rage | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Emma Frost | Confuse | n/a | n/a | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Fear | Spectral | Terror | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Psychic Bedlam | | Shellshock | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gambit | Charged Card | Atomic | Cards | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Staff Slam | Charged | Slam | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | 52 Pick Up | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Iceman | Freeze Blast | Icy | Chill | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Ice Shards | Piercing | Blades | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Freeze Frame | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Jean Grey | Telekinesis | Lifting | Kinetics | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Psychic Shout | Shrieking | Scream | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Phoenix Force | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Jubilee | Energy Burst | Dazzling | Sparklers | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Photo Flash | n/a | n/a | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Independence Day | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Magma | Fiery Blast | Burning | Blast | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Lava Fissure | Molten | Eruption | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Volcano | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Nightcrawler | Teleport Leap | Quantum | Leap | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Teleport Flurry | Leaping | Flurry | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Blindside Blitz | | Chaos | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Professor X | Hammer Legend | Astral | Flash | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Blast Legend | Cerebral | Nova | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Psychic Maelstrom | | Maelstrom | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Psylocke | Psychic Slash | Crushing | Slash | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Psychic Bolts | Slicing | Bolt | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Psychic Onslaught | | Devastation | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Rogue | Southern Strike | Vampiric | Strike | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Ability Drain | Devitalizing | Diffusion | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Energy Drain | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Storm | Lightning | Electric | Surge | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Whirlwind | Tempestuous | Twister | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Cyclone Fury | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| | Wolverine | Brutal Slash | Adamantium | Claw | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Claw Flurry | Bestial | Assault | |--------------|---------------------|--------------|--------------| | | Savage Rampage | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| =================== [3.3] Using the Map =================== The large auto-map is an essential part of success in X-Men Legends. Without the map, stages can become confusing and impossible to navigate. With the map, you can always see in which direction your next objective lies. The stages are very linear, but some of them can twist around enough to leave you confused unless you can see where you are and where you are going on your map. The map contains a number of useful markers to help you find your way through each stage: A blue X marks an Xtraction point. See section 3.1 above for more information about Xtraction points. A yellow X marks a stage objective. It might be a control panel that needs to be operated, a person who needs to be rescued or a device that needs to be destroyed. Your primary goal in each stage is to go to each yellow X and do whatever needs to be done. Then you head for the exit and the next stage. A red arrow marks the exit from the stage. Once all objectives have been cleared, find and use the exit. By default, the map is hidden when you start the game. To turn on the map, bring up the game menu using the Start button. Scroll down to the Map option, which defaults to Map Hidden for story missions and Small Map for DR scenarios, and press A to switch maps. The order is Map Hidden - Small Map - Large Map. The small map overlays the right center portion of the screen, and is the best option for DR scenarios as they take place in very small areas.. The large map overlays the center of the screen and can show nearly an entire area in story missions. The large map overlay can be daunting when first used; however, it is an invaluable tool and you should quickly grow accustomed to its presence. In no time at all, you will be able to look right past the map whenever you are in combat and then refocus on it when you are ready to move on. ======================== [3.4] Leveling the X-Men ======================== [3.4.1] Introduction -------------------- Each X-Man has a "level" that indicates how much experience and how much power the X-Man has. This level can be seen on the character screens, the character sheet of each X-Man and next to the X-Man's health and energy meters during game play. As you play the game, the X-Men earn experience points (XP). At specific totals of XP, each X-Man increases in level and can "level up". Here is the list of total experience points required to reach each level: Level Total XP Required ----- ----------------- 1 0 2 100 3 265 4 505 5 830 6 1,320 7 2,070 8 3,190 9 4,720 10 6.880 11 10,015 12 14,415 13 20,610 14 29,190 15 41,265 16 58,065 17 81,440 18 113,810 19 158.630 20 220,650 21 306,345 22 424.545 23 587,450 24 811,610 25 1,119,830 26 1,543,300 27 2,124,650 28 2,921,870 29 4,014,295 30 5,510,355 31 7,557,660 32 10,357,460 33 14,183,785 34 19,410,055 35 26,544,400 36 36,278,080 37 49,551,280 38 67,642,160 39 92,287,785 40 125,847,705 41 171,526,730 42 233,674,980 43 318,196,770 44 433,102,210 45 589,255,845 Each time you defeat an enemy or fulfill your objectives in a mission, you earn experience. Each active X-Man on your current team receives the full amount of XP; inactive X-Men ("dead", not on the team or not unlocked) receive a percentage of the XP. The percentage received by inactive X-Men is sufficient to keep them about three to four levels behind active X-Men even if you never use them on any team. For example, if you defeat an enemy worth 499 XP, each active X-Man on your team will receive 499 XP. All inactive X-Men will receive a percentage of 499 XP. The percentage varies based on level, type of XP earned, etc. If you use Cyclops on every team and never use Beast at all, by the end of the game, Cyclops will be about 38th level and Beast will be about 34th level-- even though Beast was never an active X-Man. Whenever an X-Man on your team has increased in level, you will get a notice on screen (it's kind of hard to miss). You may also see a smaller notice on screen if you start using an X-Man who has increased in level, but has not yet been leveled up. This notice shows bottom center and says "Level Up" with a small gray circle to the left of it. The small gray circle represents the Start button. Additionally, any X-Man that needs to level up will have a gold double-helix rotating around his or her feet. Every time an X-Man increases in level, he or she receives one point to add to stats (stat point) and one point to add to powers/skills (skill point). At every fifth level (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.), the X-Man receives two stat points and two skill points. If you play the game normally--i.e. without power leveling--the X-Men will end the game around 38th level, which means you will be able to spend a total of 44 stat points and 44 skill points. If you power-level using the Danger Room, you can get your X-Men to level 45, which is the maximum. At 45th level, you will have earned 53 stat points and 53 skill points. Purchasing all levels of all powers and skills for each X-Man varies, but is usually around 65 or 66 points. It is impossible, no matter how much power-leveling you do, to max out all powers and skills. The descriptions of each X-Man in section 4 will list those powers and skills you can most easily do without. You are not required to level up the X-Men every time they increase in level. You can wait as long as you wish, saving the skill points in order to buy more expensive powers or skills; i.e. those costing 2 points rather than 1. [3.4.2] Character Screen ------------------------ To level up an X-Man, you must bring them up on the character screen. You can get to the character screen through the game menu (Start button) and choosing the option Characters. At the beginning of each mission and when you select Change Team at an Xtraction point, you get the team select character screen. The team select character screen allows access to all available X-Men. The character screen accessed from the game menu only allows access to the members of the current team (including "dead" X-Men). The character screen shows four X-pads, typically with a mutant on each pad. The pads are in the same configuration as the X-Men on the D-pad icon on your game screen. To the right are each X-Man's vital statistics, in order from top to bottom of top, right, left and bottom X-pad. The stats show each X-Man's level and current and maximum health and energy. If the X-Man needs to be leveled up, a gold double-helix will be rotating next to his or her name. To select an X-Man on the screen, use the control stick or D-pad to highlight an X-pad. Below the character stats are your current number of tech bits, health packs and energy packs. Along the bottom of the screen is the menu. B - Back: cancels everything you've done and returns to the game; do not press this unless you want to go back and start over from the point where you first opened the character screen. At the team select character screen, this button also selects the team that appeared when you first opened the screen. X - Skin: changes the current X-Man's costume (not all X-Men have alternate costumes); available only after you have beat the game and unlocked extra costumes and only useable on the team select character screen. A - Replace: changes the X-Man at the currently selected X-pad; only available on the team select character screen. Y - Details: opens the currently selected X-Man's character sheet Start - Accept: commits all changes to memory and returns to the game; once you accept changes made to the X-Men's stats, powers and skills you cannot undo them. On the team select screen, this selects the current team with changes made since you opened the screen. If you are at the team select character screen and you press A to change an X-Man, a filmstrip of available X-Men portraits opens on the bottom of the screen. You can scroll left and right on this filmstrip with the control stick. Fallen X-Men's portraits are darkened with "Revive" overlaid and the cost (in tech bits) to revive him or her. The cost increases as the X-Men increase in level. From this filmstrip, highlight an X-Man and press A to revive (if the X-Man has fallen and you have enough tech bits). Press A to place that X-Man at the currently selected X-pad. Press Y to access that X-Man's character sheet. [3.4.3] Character Sheet ----------------------- You level up the X-Men, change their equipment, change the AI that governs them and view all their information from the character sheet. At the top left of the character sheet is the character's portrait. To the left of the portrait, you can see the L and R button icons; press L or R to switch to the character sheets of the other X-Men on your current team. If you are accessing the character sheet from the team select filmstrip, you can switch to any unlocked X-Man. To the right of the portrait are three icons representing three pages that you can access. Underneath these page icons is the character's current level and the number of points (stat or skill) available for the selected page. The three pages are: Stats/AI -------- Shows the character's Strike, Agility, Body and Focus scores; the AI level; the AI heal rule and the character's AI mutant power. Powers/Skills ------------- Shows the character's mutant powers and skills and current level in each. Equipment --------- Shows the character's equipped backpack, belt and armor and the available inventory for each slot. To the right of the main window are the character's statistics including current attack and defense ratings, current and maximum health and energy, current experience points and points needed to reach the next level. Underneath the editable region of the window is an information window showing details about the selected stat, power, skill or piece of equipment. At the bottom is the menu: B - Back: returns you to the character screen; changes you have made are kept, but have not yet been committed to memory, you can still come back to the character sheet and re-do the level up. X - Subtract/Unequip: reduces the currently selected stat, power or skill