botafogo007
05-14-2008, 07:05 PM
After finally getting 1,000 in Bladestorm the other night I realized there is a lot of confusion about how to get the last two books and that I would have saved a lot of time trying to finish the game if I'd had more detailed information about how to obtain the Explosives and Engineering books. I've seen a lot of people asking about it and noticed that some of the information in the guide is inaccurate (such as saying you need to max out Horses instead of Spears), so hopefully this will clear it up.
Explosives
You gain the book of Explosives by completing a series of requests for Christine De Pizan, a French scientist/magician/crazy lady. You’ll first see her in the Tavern when she comes and insults everyone, and after a while the missions will appear for you. This can happen as early as 3 star fame or as late as after you’ve completed the storyline. Before she’ll come to the tavern, however, you need to level your books of Bows, Swords, and Horses above 70%.
Her first two requests are fetch missions that have you running all over the map looking for "the just right wood" and "just the right iron." You can make it easier on yourself by hiring some fast recruits (like mounted bowman or swordsman) so you can ride over the map faster and find the wood. After you find the wood just complete the battle as normal. Her third request for "the just right sulfur" will have you protecting her, and again you’ll probably want recruits to fend off the attackers that will come after her. After completing these three she’ll eventually appear in the tavern again, open up a ‘!’ battle, and give you the book after the battle is complete.
Note: People claim you can miss these missions if you don’t take them as soon as they’re available, so be sure to watch for them after Christine appears in the tavern for the first time.
Engineering
You’ll most likely get this book long after you’ve completed the storyline. To get it you’ll need every weapon type, including Explosives, leveled above 70% and Spears, Swords, and Bows at 100% each (some people claim you need Horses at 100% but others say you don’t. Mine was at 100% when I got it). You’ll also need to either command or defeat every unit type in the game and have the silver bow, sword, and spears. That may sound like a lot, but here’s the breakdown of how you get it:
First concentrate on leveling all books above 70% and Horses, Bows, and Spears to 100%.I would only really start to worry about this after clearing the story, though you’ll need to do some leveling to get the Explosives book and some will come naturally. As far as quick leveling goes, choose battles where the enemy is close to the same level as whatever you’re going to be commanding (maybe slightly above), try to avoid fighting units that you’re at a disadvantage to (they’ll glow red when you see them in battle) if they’re much higher level, watch for the vases to drop during fights that will fill your Bladestorm meter, and kill enemy named commanders or mercenaries whenever you see them because they’ll give you lots of experience. Also, when allocating your experience points after battle you should max out Research first, as this will help you level faster in the long run. Hire recruits, especially the Elite versions, so you don’t have to waste time running all over the battlefield looking for the unit type you want to command.
At some point you’ll see two men arguing about leadership in the Tavern (always check gossip when there’s a ‘!’ there so you don’t miss it). You’ll get two items - notes on which squads you’ve defeated and notes on which ones you’ve led. You won’t be able to look at them, but you’ll need them eventually.
Once you’ve got everything leveled to 70% AND you’ve either led every unit type OR defeated every unit type you’ll be approached in the tavern.He’ll ask you for one of the sets of notes you received earlier (above). Give them to him, and he’ll come back after a few contracts with the final page to the Spears book, which you’re going to need to get 100% in it. As far as leading or defeating every unit type goes you’re likely to get it during the course of the game - I wouldn’t worry about trying to keep track. Just take command of all kinds of stuff, including cannons and catapults, and make sure you attack siege equipment when you see it just to be safe.
You’ll need to get Swords and Bows leveled to 100% at some point, and once you get the last page for Spears you can (and need to) level them to 100% too. After reaching 100% in the any of those books you’ll be approached in the Tavern by the Silver Bow, the Silver Sword, and the Silver Spear, respectively, and they’ll give you weapons which you can equip and use (they appeared one battle after hitting 100% for me). You’ll need to get all 3 silver weapons.
After getting all 3 silver weapons the Avatar of War will visit you in the tavern and give you the Book of Engineering.
That should be all you need to the last two books. To give you an idea of time needed I logged in about 60 hours of playtime to complete the game, though I'm confident you could shave 10-15 hours or so off my time. PM me if you have any questions.
Explosives
You gain the book of Explosives by completing a series of requests for Christine De Pizan, a French scientist/magician/crazy lady. You’ll first see her in the Tavern when she comes and insults everyone, and after a while the missions will appear for you. This can happen as early as 3 star fame or as late as after you’ve completed the storyline. Before she’ll come to the tavern, however, you need to level your books of Bows, Swords, and Horses above 70%.
Her first two requests are fetch missions that have you running all over the map looking for "the just right wood" and "just the right iron." You can make it easier on yourself by hiring some fast recruits (like mounted bowman or swordsman) so you can ride over the map faster and find the wood. After you find the wood just complete the battle as normal. Her third request for "the just right sulfur" will have you protecting her, and again you’ll probably want recruits to fend off the attackers that will come after her. After completing these three she’ll eventually appear in the tavern again, open up a ‘!’ battle, and give you the book after the battle is complete.
Note: People claim you can miss these missions if you don’t take them as soon as they’re available, so be sure to watch for them after Christine appears in the tavern for the first time.
Engineering
You’ll most likely get this book long after you’ve completed the storyline. To get it you’ll need every weapon type, including Explosives, leveled above 70% and Spears, Swords, and Bows at 100% each (some people claim you need Horses at 100% but others say you don’t. Mine was at 100% when I got it). You’ll also need to either command or defeat every unit type in the game and have the silver bow, sword, and spears. That may sound like a lot, but here’s the breakdown of how you get it:
First concentrate on leveling all books above 70% and Horses, Bows, and Spears to 100%.I would only really start to worry about this after clearing the story, though you’ll need to do some leveling to get the Explosives book and some will come naturally. As far as quick leveling goes, choose battles where the enemy is close to the same level as whatever you’re going to be commanding (maybe slightly above), try to avoid fighting units that you’re at a disadvantage to (they’ll glow red when you see them in battle) if they’re much higher level, watch for the vases to drop during fights that will fill your Bladestorm meter, and kill enemy named commanders or mercenaries whenever you see them because they’ll give you lots of experience. Also, when allocating your experience points after battle you should max out Research first, as this will help you level faster in the long run. Hire recruits, especially the Elite versions, so you don’t have to waste time running all over the battlefield looking for the unit type you want to command.
At some point you’ll see two men arguing about leadership in the Tavern (always check gossip when there’s a ‘!’ there so you don’t miss it). You’ll get two items - notes on which squads you’ve defeated and notes on which ones you’ve led. You won’t be able to look at them, but you’ll need them eventually.
Once you’ve got everything leveled to 70% AND you’ve either led every unit type OR defeated every unit type you’ll be approached in the tavern.He’ll ask you for one of the sets of notes you received earlier (above). Give them to him, and he’ll come back after a few contracts with the final page to the Spears book, which you’re going to need to get 100% in it. As far as leading or defeating every unit type goes you’re likely to get it during the course of the game - I wouldn’t worry about trying to keep track. Just take command of all kinds of stuff, including cannons and catapults, and make sure you attack siege equipment when you see it just to be safe.
You’ll need to get Swords and Bows leveled to 100% at some point, and once you get the last page for Spears you can (and need to) level them to 100% too. After reaching 100% in the any of those books you’ll be approached in the Tavern by the Silver Bow, the Silver Sword, and the Silver Spear, respectively, and they’ll give you weapons which you can equip and use (they appeared one battle after hitting 100% for me). You’ll need to get all 3 silver weapons.
After getting all 3 silver weapons the Avatar of War will visit you in the tavern and give you the Book of Engineering.
That should be all you need to the last two books. To give you an idea of time needed I logged in about 60 hours of playtime to complete the game, though I'm confident you could shave 10-15 hours or so off my time. PM me if you have any questions.