Xian The Great Merchant Online - Japan Characters and Mercenaries

Last updated : March 24th, 2015 :)

Okay~ This time, I'm not going to review this game, but I wanna share my opinion about an in-game matter : Japan mercenaries!

This post isn't SEO friendly (too much words! Haha~), so you must scroll it over and over to the bottom to read it completely :))

I'm not saying that I'm a pro nor have a very high-level character with an epic mercenaries combination, but I experienced this game since its very first appearance. I think it's time to 'transfer' it to the other players now :)

Prepare your coffee and things, and enjoy! I hope this post can be useful, especially for you who play the great merchant/xian online for the first time and (accidentally) pick Japanese characters as a starter. Welcome to the great merchant world, by the way!
^_^

Don't forget to like, comment, and share. Try not to be a silent reader! Lols xD

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Notes :

1. All stats builds are including bonus stats obtained from a shop-standard equipment.
2. I wrote it in english because I understand that the great merchant online has global-scale players, so I want it to be useful for everyone and not only for my fellow Indonesian - although I also understand that maybe there is not much newbie in the international server hahah~
3. (Bahasa Indonesia) kalo agan2, mas bro, dan mbak sis ngerasa kesusahan bacanya, tinggal translate halaman ini pake google translate ato liat postingan singkat ane di kaskus juga bisa. Cari di sekitar link ini (id kaskus : falc0nxx). Makasih udah mampir. Jangan lupa cendolnya ya. Agan2 bisa kirim cendolnya langsung ke  rumah ane. Para aganwati boleh kirim cendolnya ke hati ane kok ahahahah :D

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A. Introduction - Japan Main Characters

Before we start, let me say something about Japan character - which is represented by Sandama Ryo-san (Male. Old name : Sadama Ryu) and Genno Hanahenae-chan (Female).

Japan character is quite rare to found as a starter char today. Neither because it has least fans nor it has uninteresting figures. But most people found it difficult to find the 'easiest' hero combination to play with if you are in the game for first time and for the character's 'future' if you want to stick in the same nationality for a long time.

Simply put, there is no epic combination for Japanese tanker-hitter-support - at earlier time. I admit it tho~

But I also said that the Japanese characters are suitable for you who wants to learn TGM pretty bad with some challenges. :)

Don't you agree with that? Well, for me, I'm not. Because I enjoy and had experience it myself :p

So if you find a lot of people using Japanese character, it is most likely they were using a Naturalization Paper (Japan), an item to change nationality - not to mention the new player who doesn't know the reason or a player who exactly want to pick Japanese char.

However, is that true?

In my opinion, why Japan?

1. Has the simplest set of mercenaries among all countries.
2. 4 out of 7 heroes are hitter.
3. The best free general ticket among all countries : China has Zhuge Liang with his small-area lightning (decent damage, few get hit). Korea has Kimshimin with his burning-by-chance napalm bath (good damage, small hit amount). Taiwan has tanker-wannabe Juhan with his mighty dancing axe and battle cry (high damage, single-oriented hit. Damage will be distributed if there are more than 1 enemies nearby). Japan has Seishou with his moderate-area earthquake (good damage for higher STR, lot of hit).
4. With a good strategy, all mercenaries are very easy to level up.
5. Perfect for you who want to experience TGM in a unique way and challenging exposure. I can assure you that Japanese character will make you a pro later. When you want to play with another country next time, it's like playing with a piece of cake. Lols :)

Here, I wanna share my opinion about Japan characters and mercenaries, including my advise about them, so you can judge it for yourself later :)

B. Transformation of Japanese Main Character

 

 

Basically, a male player with Japanese character will (or must) be represented as Ryo-san, while female player will be represented as Hana-chan. However, we all know that TGM didn't restrict the players with a gender selection and it's up to you to choose the character you want to play with.

Since the big updates period a couple years ago, main character can do a job transformation into the advanced level. And I have to say, these big updates mark the title of "The Great Merchant Online - the 2nd Episode" update. So basically, there is no different between international and Indonesia server, because they use the same game with the same updates, more or less.
I found some people said that the Indonesian server is very different with the international one, just because it uses "Episode 2" on its title while the international one didn't.

Well, that's embarassing, man. Totally wrong, man. Not cool lah man. Think I didn't know ah man. Ahahah :p (singlish wannabe - detected!)

Anyway, Ryo-san will be transformed to Samurai and Hana-chan will be Sorceress. They must speak to NPC Sharaku (between Aomori and Morioka) in order to start the transformation quest. The requirements are :

1. He/she must be level 150 or above.
2. Complete the given quests. There are 3 quests in common, and the first two requires to have some battles without your mercenaries joining in. The last one requires you to pass at least 15 stages of Battle Arena, where you will fight with a range of weak and strong monsters (inside PK arena, east of Cheonahn town).

p.s : They are not like those mercenaries of samurai and sorceress, of course. They are a unique character and have specialized skills

Here they are :

1. Samurai (Sandama Ryo)

Initial Stats -- STR 160 | AGI 60 | VIT 180 | WIS 50 | Physical Res 50% | Magical Res 30%

Weapon -- Sword (Of course, you can use the other weapons. This one is just the 'special one')

Attack Type -- Close range

Skill -- Crescent Attack (Energy force from the sword. Very long range. Deals damage to everything it passes in its way). Level 1-100 sends 1 wave, level 100-150 sends 2 waves, and level 150+ sends 3 waves
Damage Formula -- (Level + STR + Atk) x 2

Specialized Skills -- Pressure (Increase Crescent Attack's damage). Critical (Increase the chance of inflicting 3x damage by Crescent Attack)

2. Sorceress (Genno Hanahenae)

Initial Stats -- STR 80 | AGI 70 | VIT 150 | WIS 150 | Physical Res 20% | Magical Res 60%

Weapon -- Marble (Again, you can use the other weapons. This one is just the 'special one')

Attack Type -- Long range

Skill -- Ice Dragon (Summon ice dragon to attack the selected target and its surroundings. Huge damage). Can send up to 6 dragons depending on the character's level
Damage Formula -- Still unknown. If you know, please add comment

Specialized Skills -- Focus (Increase Ice Dragon's damage). Frost (Increase the chance of inflicting 'freeze' status by Ice Dragon)

And here are the videos of their skills (Attention! Credit to the owners. I'm not owning these videos) :

Samurai

Sorceress

Original Source

Speaking of the main-char's stats build, I can say you don't have to worry about it before the transformation. Because transformation will reset their stats.
In case you look for my opinion, here are my builds :

• 'Dancing Axe' Build = 500 MP, 500-700 HP, and full STR
• 'Deathblow' Build = 300 MP, 700-800 HP, 100-150 AGI, and full STR (you may want to put 500-600 HP to give more STR)
• 'Paralysis Hana-chan' Build = 1000 MP, 500-700 HP, and full STR (In case you don't know it yet, Hana-chan can use a fan, so you don't need to buy adventurer or scholar/confucian)
• Ryo (Samurai) = 800-1000 MP, 1500-1800 HP, and full STR (you may want to add more or less HP to spare with STR)
• Hana (Sorc) = 150-250 STR, 1000-1500 HP, and full WIS (Update! according to jushang, WIS affects freezing chance of her skill, while gersangjjang said that it also affects the damage)

Notes:

1. Spare all the stats by turns.
2. 'Dancing Axe' build can be used for various weapons (axes, swords, dolls, spears, etc.), maybe with exceptional of god-like weapons.
3. 'Deathblow' build can be used for rifles, bows, claws, and new spears.

C. Mercenaries-Generals-Heroes

1. Rifleman / Gunman

  

Role -- Full Hitler, err, Hitter

General --
Wakizaka (Min. lv 40)
Skills : Six continuous hits and Deathblow (both passive. Deathblow needs MP)

Hero --
Quake Tank (Min. lv.80)
Skill : Volcano (200 MP. Duration. Stationary. Area)
Type: Magic
Adv. Hero --
Temblor (Min. lv 100 + 20 semi-auto matchlock at Temporal Vortex)
Add-on skill : Bullet Voley (0 MP. Firing 6 rockets at once)
Type: Physical

Weapon -- Rifle

Stat Recommendation --
Gunman = 100-120 AGI, 25-50 VIT, and full STR
Wakizaka = 100-120 AGI, 400-500 HP, 200 MP, and full STR
Quake Tank =  HP 1500-1600, 600-1000 MP, and full STR (see update 2017 in the notes below)
Hero Skill Dmg Formula -- (Atk + Level) x 5

Notes :

• In the very first time of playing (starter), you may want to recruit up to 3 mercenaries. He is a good hitter. But you must also consider that you may want to fire or sell 1-2 of them in the future.
• My own wakizaka stats is a bit different : 150-180 STR, 400-500 HP, 300 MP, and full AGI. The reason is to give more chance for deathblow to hit monsters.
• I suggest to promote waki at level 100 or more - at least until he can use Penta-barrel Rifle (STR+50 and deathblow, dropped by King Yama. Essential to add more damage to volcano, although the deathblow will be useless - practically useable because it's passive, but won't do).
• (2017 UPDATE!) 600 MP would be enough. However, if you put more MP it will be useful later to play the scenario mode at temporal vortex (north of Gwangju). With a new playing system, I recommend you to put 1400-1800 MP instead. But don't put it too much. It's a waste!
• Make him your first hero. He is the most useful hero IMO to lift up the level of the others - and the cheapest as well. I guarantee that your other mercenaries will have a speed-up leveling once you get this man - as long as you're not a lazy hunter. Lols
• A 'couple' of viper (hero from sorcerer). Their combination unlocks a "Million Arrow" skills that can be used by your main character using ctrl+Z. The original owner of the skill is Shiho, a hero from Cavalier of Korea. Very useful for Japanese with less flying-monster hitters. I didn't use any single air hitter mercenaries in my team, but my main character does and he uses this skill to hit them.
• Quake tank can be upgraded to Temblor. He's a decent hitter for flying monsters. You can read the explanation in my comments below, someone had already ask about it. If you need a translation, do not hesitate to ask me :)

Volcano Skill (Featuring Asumi and Honganji Skills)

2. Sorcerer / YinYangMan

  

  

Role -- Full Hitter / Semi support (2nd Hitter) / Full Support

General --
Seimei (Min. lv 50)
Skill : Possession (50 MP. Single target)

Hero --
Viper (Min. lv.80)
Skill : Poison Blizzard (200 MP. Ground hit. Medium area)
Type: Magic

Adv. Hero --

Upgraded Viper (Min. lv 100 + 20 mutated dragon sphere at Temporal Vortex)

Skill: Frost Poison (200 MP. Ground hit. Medium area) WARNING! DEADLY!

Type: Magic

Weapon -- Marble

Stat Recommendation --
Sorcerer : Full VIT, or, STR-AGI with 100-200 HP, or with 300-400 mana as well if he's wearing a new marble
Seimei : 1000 MP, the rest is VIT or up to you
Viper : 1000-1200 MP and full STR (Full hitter). 800-1000 MP, 100-200 STR, and full VIT (2nd hitter. Might useless in the future, especially if he can't release the rune song). 800-1000 MP and full VIT (Full Support)
Upgraded Viper : 2000-2400 MP, 1000-1400 HP, and the rest goes full STR

Hero Dmg Formula -- Depend on STR and level (Still can't find the official formula)

Notes :

• Must own a new marble for 'rune song' skill (Decrease enemy's magic resistance based on user's level. Wide area effect)
• Useless hitter in the earlier game if he didn't hold any weapon. If you play it initially and for promoting purpose, he can be a support hitter or just snuggling around while waiting for experience point to come. When he finally becomes general and hero, it's your call.
• Make him your second hero, but the last/third general. For the first two generals, I recommend wakizaka and seishou instead.
• If you have a little more gold, you can buy bonggiboo (shop item) so that your viper can release the rune song. Hero can't use an active skill from a weapon unless he/she eats bonggiboo. If you can't afford it yet, you can postpone seimei's promotion to viper (unless you really want it, then so be it)
• Full hitter is good and quite deadly, but may profligate as well because he has a big MP per hit ratio (consuming so much MP considering the damage done by the number of hit he does).
• I personally recommend a full support build for rune song purpose, because there are still lots of hitter options. His original skill can be used to leveling for the first time, but might become a museum display later once he gets higher - not to mention if the battle situation forces us to use it, of course.
• Viper who can perform rune song can save a mercenary slot, so you don't have to hire another sorcerer/yinyangman in your team to perform the skill (except you don't need a rune song, or maybe, it's time for him to go home and switch with another hero hahah)
• (2017 UPDATE!) Upgraded viper is extremely deadly if you guide him in a right way. So if you're in sort of money to obtain sinsu, upgraded viper is a perfect choice :)

3. Shaman (Important!) 

Role -- Healer | Healer and Summoner (Honganji)

General --
Seishou (Min. lv 50. A strong feminine man lols)
Skill : Earthquake (40 MP. Single target. Splash)
Type: Magic

Hero --
Honganji (Min. lv 100 + 20 ancestor soul stone japan)
Skill : Summon Dolls (500 MP. Summon up to 2 monsters at once. Single use until the battle ends or until the summon is dead)
Type: Physical (conjure ji-in/tanker) and Magic (conjure ji-jo/bird)

Weapon -- Beads

Stat Recommendation --
Shaman = 100-500 HP and full MP
Seishou = 750-1500 MP (depend on usage. 800 is recommended for hitter), full STR or VIT (again, hitter or support)
Honganji = 2000-3000 MP and full VIT

General Dmg  -- Depends on level, STR and WIS
Summon Atk -- Depends on STR and level (read notes for explanation)
Summon Def -- Depends on VIT, WIS, and level (read notes for explanation)
Summon Overall Abilities -- Depends on Honganji's Equipment and overall stats

Notes :

• At the earlier game, I suggest to hire just 1 shaman and do the Heihatchi quest until you get the free general ticket - in which it gives you a 'standard' seishou for free.
• If you want Honganji in your squad, I suggest to build seishou from the start (shaman) and not from the free one. You can use shaman that you hire earlier. The free one is very useful to help you leveling earlier in the game and be a full hitter - that's why I recommend to put him on full STR. After that, you can fire him rudely (lols). He was in my team for less than a week before he resigned, by the way :(
• Honganji will also be a single healer in this case, that's why I recommend to put a quite huge amount of MP. You might also want to fill in the VIT and WIS by turns, because his summons' ability is based on his stats. Read my explanation below.
• Update! From my own experiment, all honganji's stats can affect the ability of his summons.
• Honganji is very important IMO, because he has an excellent summon skill. His monsters can be a tanker, so that your hitter can attack the enemy with ease.
• While his stats will be distributed among all abilities of summons, each stat has different 'priority power' to be given. Here are the effects (based on my experiment) : STR (Attack > Def > HP), VIT (Def > HP > Attack), and WIS (HP > Def > Attack). So, put more VIT if you want your summons have more def, and WIS for more HP pool.
• IMO, once you have Honganji, you can change your hitter to any other than quake tank (you can put him to tavern); unless you can afford an art of war, of course.
• The monsters -- Conjure Ji-in (ground unit) and Conjure Ji-jo (flying unit). Both will grow stronger as Honganji's level goes up. You'll obtain Ji-jo at level 100, however.
• Conjure ji-in has an ability to return up to 30% of inflicted damage to its attacker and also a splash deathblow - quite deadly tho~
• Conjure ji-jo has an ability to randomly absorb up to 125 of enemy's MP while attacking and transfer it to all party member as well as randomly release an area freezing storm (like king hanwoo of china has).

Leveling Japanese Team with Seishou

4. Ninja

  

Role -- Summoner (Asako & Asumi) | Hitter/Tanker (Ninja & Asumi)

General -- Asako (Min lv 45) | Skill : Shadow Clone (80 MP. Multiple summon is allowed)

Hero -- Asumi (Min lv 80) | Skills : Kunoichi Summon (300 MP. Single use until the battle ends or all kunoichis are dead), splash damage (passive), and deathblow (passive)

Weapon -- Claw/Bladelet

Stat Recommendation -- Ninja = 300-500 HP, a little STR, and full AGI (Hitter). 70-80 AGI and full VIT (tanker) | Asako = 240-400 MP and the rest goes to AGI/VIT/combination of VIT-STR, AGI-STR, or VIT-AGI. Your call | Asumi = 300 MP and full AGI (High damage guaranteed). Or if you want Asumi to be a tanker as well, you can spare some points to VIT as well according to your need.

Active Skill Type -- Pure Damage (Kunoichi's attack)
Hero Dmg -- Depends on AGI and level of Asumi

Notes :

• Ninja is a pretty good hitter in the earlier game and can be a decent tanker later. However, you must prevent her to get attacked as much as possible because her defense is pretty bad tho~
• The flexibility of Asako's stat is due to the fact that her kagebunshin no jutsu is very useful to mob and be a decoy(s). If you can't afford the art of war yet, you can swap her with seimei (tavern required) and use her shadow beauty to help mobbing and help the others to increase level faster - as long as you have a mass hitter.
• My asako had a stat consists of 240 MP, around 800 HP, around 80 STR, and the rest goes to AGI. Pretty good decoy. I used to give a full VIT in the old time, but this time I wanted to try another one :D
• Asumi's passive skills make her quite deadly in the front line, as both skills can be released together and she releases her deathblow quite often.
• Asumi can use a full advantage of 'drain' from new claw/bladelet (passive skill).
• Asumi can be combined with Honganji and unlock "Thunder Strike" that can be released by the main character using ctrl+Z.
• Asumi's Kunoichi = 1 Kunoichi (1-100), 2 Kunoichis (100-150), 3 Kunoichis (150+). Their ability is based on Asumi's AGI. Warning : Kunoichi is a bad girl carrying a deadly bomb, throwing in quite long range with a deadly splash damage as well as a pretty good defense!
• Kunoichi's attack ignores magic and physical resistance of the opponents, so both rune song and broken armor won't increase her attack.
• Update! After a couple of re-examination, I found that broken armor (sorceress/illusionist) increases kunoichi's damage - although it is said that the attack ignores the resistances.
• Both asako and asumi are beautiful ladies with a beautiful voice. Take care of them with love (ok you can ignore this one)

5. Samurai 

  

Role -- Support/Full Tanker

General -- Konishi (Min lv 50) | Skill : Sword Nova (100 MP. Self cast. Damage duration. Area)

Hero -- Sesunokami (Min lv 90) | Skills : Rush (110 MP. Line area. Moderate damage. MP usage will increase as level goes up) and Recall Shogun (150 MP. Blinking-like skill. MP usage will decrease as level goes up)

Weapon -- Two-handed Sword/Twin Sword

Stat Recommendation -- Samurai = 80-120 STR and full VIT | Konishi = 300-400 MP and full VIT. Or you can go to 100 STR first before giving a full VIT | Sesunokami = 300-600 MP, 250 or more STR, and full VIT (rush-type tanker); or you can go to full VIT instead of STR (recall-type tanker)

Active Skill Type -- Physical
Skill Dmg -- Depends on STR

Notes :

• Many players said that these men are the most useless mercenary in TGM. I'm technically agree but not at all, because, one's choice is his/her own convenience. Player knows him/herself well more than the others, doesn't it? :)
• So, are they really that useless?
• While the others said the thing, I must tell you this. For me, he is a bad ass samurai riding a horse! Someone asks me: who is the best tanker in the earlier game for Japan? I say : Samurai! Booyaaahh! (ok skip~)
• Samurai is very agile. I always pick him as a start. But, you must balance his stat as well between STR, VIT, AGI, and even WIS! You may want to put him more in AGI and WIS.
• Why AGI and why WIS? It is because he has a decent initial hit and dodge, while giving more WIS (300-400 MP) enables him to spam 'sword nova' (like konishi has) that can be obtained from a new twin sword. The damage is pretty good as well!
• Konishi can help your team to level faster. His skill is pretty good to kill mobs near him quite fast - as long as you spam it. All you have to do is mobbing, tanking for a while, activate the skill, and finally, ask a help from his fellow team! :D
• The worst thing about konishi is his initial VIT. The lowest amongs all (20)
• The initial stats of sesunokami is the lowest among his fellow heroes. However, based on my old-day experience, his basic attack is pretty good, although not as good as quake car :p
• Sesunokami isn't that bad. In fact, it depends on someone who commands him. He can even kill king yama with just a single rush. Beat me if I'm wrong, it's my own past experience! :)
• If you want to try this hero without consuming an art of war, I suggest to combine him with shogun minamoto/quake car (full hitter) and toranosuke (full tanker).
• Why toranosuke? Because their combination unlocks 'hellfire' that can be used by the main char. I never try this, but from what I know, combination skill is as bad as hell and you don't need MP as well. The original owner of hellfire is Flying Phoenix/Vermillion (Taiwan).
• IMO, this hero is still full of mystery and must have an advantage. Let's say, almost no one have ever use him successfully. That's why people call him useless! Lols
• For those who still in doubt with samurai or konishi, here is my demo video about sword nova skill. Maybe you can use it as a reference lols :

Sword Nova

6. Rogue / Wolfman

  

Role -- Full Tanker (Rogue/Tokugawa) | Full Hitter (Shogun Minamoto)

General -- Tokugawa (Min lv 60) | Skills : Hurricane (100 MP. Single target. Splash) and Command (0 MP. Available from lv 100)

Hero -- Shogun Minamoto (Min lv 100 + 20 ancestor soul stone japan) | Skills : Spear Flame (Level+50 MP. Single Hit. Area) and Command (0 MP. Available from lv 100)

Weapon -- Spear

Stat Recommendation -- Rogue = 100-200 MP, a little bit STR for equip weight, and full VIT | Tokugawa = 100-300 MP, 75-90 STR, and the rest goes to VIT (Battle-involved). Full VIT (Full tanker or passive mercenary) | Shogun Minamoto = MP equal to 5-7x of skill usage, 1500-1600 HP, and full STR

Active Skill Type -- Physical (Hurricane). Magic (Spear Flame)
Skill Dmg -- Depends on STR and level

Notes :

• Rogue can be an excellent tanker in the earlier game.
• I suggest to bring a new spear (piercing wedge, passive skill) for both rogue and battle-involved Tokugawa.
• I would recommend tokugawa to be a full tanker with 100-200 MP instead.
• If you want Minamoto in your team without consuming any single art of war (3 generals/heroes allowed), you can swap Wakizaka (quake tank) with him as both are a hitter.
• Minamoto can be a 'dependable' hitter once his level is high enough or if you put STR earlier. Even more deadly if you rebirth him :p
• 'Command' passive aura increases attack depending on the level. Initial bonus at level 100 : Attack +10 from tokugawa and +15 from minamoto.
• One of a deadliest hitter in TGM in my opinion - as long as his friends support him to attack with ease and that's it! :D

7. Ronin / Fencer

  

Role -- Full Tanker

General -- Gatto (Min lv 40) | Skill : Fire Nova/Bomb Flare (100 MP)

Hero -- Toranosuke (Min lv 90) | Skills : Violent Anger (0 MP. Passive. Auto counter attack. High damage. Single target. Simultaneously) and Shadow Move (200 MP. Blink to other location. MP usage decrease as the level goes up)

Weapon -- Sword

Stat Recommendation -- Fencer = Full VIT | Gatto = 400-500 MP, 700-800 HP, and full STR (Gatto hitter). Or you can make him a tanker instead. | Toranosuke = 400-500 MP and full VIT (full tanker). Spare some points for STR (tanker+support hitter)

Active Skill Type -- Physical
Skill Dmg -- Depends on STR (non-hero)
Violent Anger Formula -- (Attack x 25) + (VIT x 35) + ((Level + 20) x 75)

Notes :

• You may want to give 100-300 MP to fencer, so he can use new sword's fire nova as well. (and I suggest to do it if you want him to be toranosuke in the future a.k.a hold his promotion)
• If you want toranosuke in your team (w/ max 3 heroes), you can swap him with anyone as long as you have a full hitter.
• Toranosuke can be a god-like tanker if he wears those god-damn equipments (no need to find a god-like equip, anyway. Just put the excellent one). Before you give him the best equipments, it's best to put him in the tavern or even in your mind instead. :p
• Just like his appearance, he can be a hell beast tanker. His skills make him like that.
• I don't know if the new update change it or not, but from my old-time experience, everytime Toranosuke made a shadow move, he will heal himself right before he 'enters the battle field again'. So, a fearsome tanker?
• Give him bonggiboo if you can afford it, so that he can use the skill from his weapon as well. Might want to give him a godlike weapon such as frozen sword to maximize the advantage :p
• An epic combination with Aonghaji (Chinese general)

8. Japanese Porter

Role -- Porter (of course...)

Stat Recommendation -- Full STR (What else could make him be a good porter?)

Notes :

• As he cannot join the battle, you must take care of him very well (indeed, he appears in the battle ground, but he only acts as a good supporter).
• Some people -sometimes and somehow, including me- doesn't include him in the squad and make a full-battle squad instead. However, I suggest to bring him instead - at least until the weight stat of main char is more than 1000 or until you have a hero with stat of STR to be given.
• Very essential if you want to be a merchant and/or want to make a good amount of money with ease (need a lot of hard work and tenacity, if I can say). Use him to do a town-to-town trade will make you rich faster.
• When you have enough money to spent, you can also swap his position with Donkey (An animal/monster porter. I'm not going to explain Japanese monsters and dark sinsu here, however).

E. Foreign Mercenaries (to be added on)

1. Magician (China)

Role -- Full Support (Healer MP)

General (China only) -- Feiyan (Min. lv 40) | Skill : Ice Wall (50 MP. Duration. Create a barrier to make enemies 'consider to change their route' until they cannot consider it anymore, a.k.a prevent them from approaching you)

Hero (China only) -- Trebuchet/Catapult (Min. lv 80) | Skills : Catafire/Sky Bombardment (200 MP. Single hit. Wide area. Longer range)

Weapon -- Amulet/Charm

Stat Recommendation -- 20-25 STR, 2500-4000 MP, 1500-1800 HP (Must be spent by turns between WIS and VIT)

Notes :

• You may want to give her full MP with less than 1500 HP if you wish. Her mana pool will be so deep, but IMO she will die easily in the battle and won't be able to carry much equipment as well.
• If you don't have any hero yet, simply just refill her MP with standard medicines obtained from town shops or harvesting (herbalist). Once you have a hero, especially when you start to love skill spamming, I suggest to buy/produce the pork ribs, grape jelly, and other similars (MP+300 for all mercenaries), so that you won't spend so much money.
• You don't have to put a weapon to her as well as a new amulet (magical fire), because she is a full support. Magical fire needs STR to increase the damage and consume 200 MP per shot.
• Once (or, one day...) if you can afford a level 180/200 amulet, your team is almost complete. It allows magician to use skill 'Ice Wall', the one that Feiyan has.
• The most important team player to 'balance your attack power and economy power'. Without her, even the strongest hero will be useless! :p
• You may want to recruit 3 or more magician. You can decrease it to just 1-2 mercenaries once they have a lot of MP.

2. Adventurer (China) or Scholar/Confucian (Korea)

 

Role -- Full Support Mercenary

General (China/Korea Only) -- Zhu Rong (Adventurer. Min lv 40). Seongryong (Scholar. Min lv 50) | Skills (both) : Paralysis (100 MP. Moderate area. Attack stat and monster's grade can affect the duration of paralyze)

Hero (China/Korea Only) -- Ganesha (Zhu Rong. Min lv 80). Skills : Chained Explosion (61 MP. Area Damage. MP usage will increase as level goes up), Temptation (300 MP. Able to control the target. Higher monster's grade decrease the chance) | Empress Mishil (Seongryong. Min lv 100 + 20 ancestor soul stone korea). Skills : Charmed (500 MP. Same as temptation, but only for monster with grade of 9 or lower), Purge (? MP. Removes negative effects and heal HP of all friendly in selected area)

Weapon -- Fan

Stat Recommendation -- 1000-1200 MP, 1000-1500 HP, and full STR

Notes :

• IMO, even there are not so many people who uses STR (the mercenary is designated to just paralysis spamming and high amount of HP for delaying and surviving), but the attack point can affect the paralyze duration. It is very useful, especially for monsters with higher grade. Because the higher the grade, the lower the paralyze duration (But don't try to paralyze those who have the highest grade or even boss. He/she will look so stupidly cute).
• Adventurer/Scholar must wield a new fan of lv 46+ so that they can do paralysis. If you don't have it yet, you can put them on the front line and let them attack automatically (they will randomly change their target) or simply just manually click the monster one by one so the monsters can't reach you (requires a good control and good STR).
• Don't do anything to AGI. Whether they'll hit the enemy or not, their basic attack still make the enemy paralyzed.
• Very important to make your battle easier.
• FYI. Empress Mishil is a female~

3. Cavalier (Korea. Old name : Horse Archer)

Role -- Support Hitter

General (Korea Only) -- Shinlip (Min. lv 50) | Skills : Water Bomb (10 MP. Act as a 'firefighter') and Deathblow (passive)

Hero (Korea Only) -- Shiho (Min. lv 80) | Skills : Million Arrows (31 MP. Only for flying monster. Area and MP usage will increase as level goes up), Loyal Soul (400 MP. Single use until the battle end or the summoned spirit is dead)

Weapon -- Bow

Stat Recommendation -- 100-300 MP, 45-50 STR, 100-150 AGI, 1000+ HP. The rest goes to STR again.

Notes :

• A useful additional mercenary, especially if you want to fight a flying monster.
• If you already have quake tank and viper, you can put more VIT and let him be a tanker - or even kick him out from your team. The rest is up to your main char to beautifully use a million arrow :D
• Must wield a new bow with 'magic fire arrow' ability, because STR isn't high enough at earlier time. If you don't have it yet, you can just put the best ordinary bow. The damage will just tickling your enemy, anyway. Even worse, your enemy will not interested to him! Lols :p
• The cheapest new bow as far as I know is new circle bow (around 500k).
• If you take just 1 cavalier, I suggest that the main char is equipped with a new bow (magic fire arrow) or new rifle/arquebus (deathblow).

4. Sorceress / Illusionist (Taiwan)

Role -- Full Support

General (Taiwan Only) -- Jue Miao (Min. lv 40. Old name : Sunhwa) | Skills : Stone Trap (60 MP. Will damage and paralyze the target -almost always- and its surrounding -with chance-)

Hero (Taiwan Only) -- Flying Phoenix/Vermillion (Min. lv 90) | Skills : Hellfire/Rain of Fire (225 MP. Huge area. Burn the ground)

Weapon -- Mirror

Stat Recommendation -- MP 800-1000, the rest goes to VIT

Notes :

• Must wield a new mirror (Enable to use 'Broken Armor'. Reduce enemies' physical defense according to her level. Wide area effect).
• As the main purpose of this mercenary is to reduce the enemies' physical defense, she will only be useful if you have a hitter with physical-type skill (e.g. Toranosuke's counter-attack a.k.a violent anger or Tokugawa's hurricane).
• Her main role is just to release 'broken armor'. Other than that, just make her sit neatly.
• If you don't have any mercenaries with physical-type skill, then you must consider to recruit the others.

5. Sifu (China)

Role -- Full Support

General (China Only) -- Dong Bang (Min. lv 50) | Skills : Dragon Ring (100 MP. Small area. The highest dps in TGM)

Hero (China Only) -- Euna (Min. lv 90) | Skills : Yin Yang (50+level MP. Splash damage. Hit twice at level 100-149 and 3 times at above level 150)

Weapon -- Armguard/Bracelet

Stat Recommendation -- Full VIT

Notes :

• The only reason of involving her is to use the skill from new weapon (Sacrifice), and I suggest to just use a new hemp armguard for weight purpose.
• Sacrifice will consume 20% of her HP to heal all your team member with the same amount regardless of their distance. Sacrifice is a 'physical-type' healing, so it can still penetrate a healing prevention skill like iron wall of Korean Sunmo.

F. Hero Combination Skills

Update! I think I'll just add this part separately. There are some people who mails me about the combination skills although I've already told you here on the mercenaries and additional notes sections *sigh*

1. Quake Tank - Viper = Million Arrows (Origin : Shiho - Korea)

2. Asumi - Honganji = Thunder Strike (Origin : Volt - Korea)

3. Sesunokami - Toranosuke = Hell Fire (Origin : Flying Phoenix - Taiwan)

G. (My Mercenaries) Starting Line-Up

Why the hell I put this picture, anyway?

And this is the most common type of question I've ever heard :D

"How's the best mercenaries combination for Japan char?"

"May I know your combination, please? I still don't have any idea."

Okay. So, here is my combination. Please keep in mind that :

1. This is my combination. Doesn't mean that it's only mine, but it means that it might be different with the others. So I just tell you what I have and the rest is up to you :)
2. This combination is based on my current condition of playing. I'm using art of war(s), swapping mercenaries at the tavern, and asking my friends to help me switching mercenaries.
3. I'm indeed have the other combination involving India and monster mercenaries as well as heroes from the other nations, but my purpose of writing this post is I want to share the 'purity' of Japan - with a help from some foreign mercenaries :)

1. First Half (Starter)

One of my previous combination

• 2 Rifleman/Gunman (Hitter. One will be promoted to Wakizaka, the other one will be fired/sold)
• 1 Sorcerer/YinYangMan (Support hitter. Will be promoted to Seimei)
• 1 Shaman (Healer. Will be promoted to Seishou)
• 1 Ninja (Hitter. Will be promoted to Ninja)
• 1 Samurai (Support tanker. Will be trained to be Indian Artillery or sold)
• 1 'Free' Sheishou (Full hitter. Will be fired later)
• 1 Rogue/Wolfman (Full tanker. Will be promoted to Tokugawa later)
• 2 Magician (Full support. China. May need a help from other people to recruit)
• 1 Porter (Will be stored, sold, or transferred to the 2nd character later)

2. Injury Time of the First Half (Early Game)

• 1 Rifleman/Wakizaka (Hitter)
• 1 Sorcerer/Seimei (Support)
• 1 Shaman/Seishou (Healer)
• 1 Ninja/Asako (Hitter. Art of War consumed)
• 1 Samurai (2nd tanker)
• 1 Rogue (1st tanker)
• 2 Magician
• +1 Magician; -1 Rifleman
• +1 Ronin/Fencer; -1 'Free' Seishou (Support tanker. Expected to be Toranosuke in a very-late game)
• +1 Adventurer; -1 Porter (Full support. Porter stored/sold/transferred)

3. Half Time 1 (Mid Game)

• Quake Tank (Full hitter)
• Viper (2nd hitter -> will be full support. 2nd hitter only at the beginning)
• Asako (Support. Summoner. Mobber)
• Seishou (Healer)
• 3 Magician
• 1 Adventurer
• 1 Rogue (Support hitter using new spear)
• 1 Ronin (Promotion postponed. Might swap with another mercenary as well)
• 1 Sorcerer (To activate 'rune song')

4. Half Time 2 (Mid Game)

• Quake Tank (Full hitter)
• Viper (Transition from 2nd hitter to full support)
• Asumi (Full hitter. Summoner)
• Seishou (Expected to be Honganji soon)
• 3 Magician
• 1 Adventurer
• 1 Rogue (Expected to consume another AoW and promote him to Tokugawa later)
• 1 Cavalier; -1 Ronin (Support hitter. Ronin stored)
• 1 Sorcerer (To activate 'rune song')

After mid game, I have so many various combinations and I just too lazy to remember it hahahah~

So, the rest is up to you to decide. :)

One of my combination after mid game

5. Non-Cash User Recommendation

And here is my suggestion for non-cash user. I used to have this combination back in the day, and I think it's good enough for me :)

• Quake Tank (Full Hitter. Upgradeable) > Alternative : Shogun Minamoto
• Viper (Support Hitter. For 'million arrow' purpose) > Alternative : Asumi or Toranosuke
• Honganji (Summoner) > Irreplaceable
• 3 Magician
• 1 Adventurer or Scholar/Confucian (You may replace him/her later once you are high level)
• 1 Sorcerer/Yinyangman
• 1 Sorceress/Illusionist (Only if you decide to have Minamoto or Toranosuke)
• 2 Free slots (Completely up to you)

I still think that quake tank and viper are important because of their "million arrow". If I have to choose, I personally prefer quake tank rather than shogun minamoto. It is because quake tank has a duration-type skill while minamoto has a single-hit type of skill. In other words, quake tank has bigger hit/damage per-mana cost than minamoto. Besides, quake tank can be upgraded into temblor.

However, both have different type of skill. Volcano is magic, while spear flame is physical. Each has its own advantage. Minamoto gives advantage later with his attack aura and he will be the best hitter in the late game. For quake tank, you must upgrade him in the future to enjoy his full potential. Your call :)

If you want to fight the flying monsters, you can use quake tank, viper, and honganji. Quake-viper unlocks million arrow, while honganji can use his bird summon to be a tanker.

You may want to replace viper with asumi, so there is a combination of asumi + honganji (thunder strike, like volt of korea has). In this case, you may want to fill the 2 free slots with archery/gun mercenaries.

You may also want to add sorceress if you want to use toranosuke and minamoto. Sifu is recommended to add as well.

H. Bonus - Hunting Spots

For level 1-100, here are some spots to hunt as far as I remember, assuming that you get Seishou and training demon slayer earlier.  It's Japan preference, by the way.

• 1-20 : Training/proving ground, Hachimantai, Scissor Ghost, Rabid Dog, Daisetsuzan, Japanese sea cave, Mt. Ryung, Gosu Cave, Geoje cave.
• 20-60 : Mt. Datun, Wolgibong (Boar and big black bear), geoje cave (seaking), infernous (seaking ghost). Don't forget to bring your axe!
• 60-100 : Still in infernous. You can try phantom elephant as well, or just stay with seaking ghost. You can ask for a party to other high level players if you wish. You can also explore various hunting places.

It isn't wise to bring Japanese to hunt wongong unless you have honganji with you.

Another best option : Ask a help from the high level players and party in some famous hunting spot like Blue Wolf (White Tiger Forest). I can guarantee, it's fast!

In my case, someone help me leveling in BW. FYI, I've been playing this game again since 3-4 weeks ago before I wrote this post. (after the last one in the old-local server 7 years ago)

Additional for 100+

Because there is a lot of request about hunting spots for pure Japanese char, here they are (again, it's based on my own experience) :

• 100-120 : Do the quest diligently! For permanent spots, they are phantom elephant (yes, still quite fast), king yama, and chow temple (only if you have asumi or honganji with you)
• 120-150 : Chow temple and India main map (do not mob more than 3 monsters unless you get a pleasant spot once you enter the battle map)
• 150-200 : I assume you are familiar with TGM monsters at this level, so I won't make any recommendation for it. Other players? Most of them were 'surrender' at this level and decided to change nationality instead.

In additional note, do not ever try to hunt in BW if you are a pure Japanese char - at least until you have some of these following options (point 2 and 3 are slightly OOT from the purpose of my post) :

• Potential tankers : Toranosuke and Conjure ji-in (Honganji).
• Recruit Indian monster bangor fox. It has HP regen skill and you must use it to your tanker.
• Hire Lasya (Indian hero) and use her protective skill to your tanker.
• Whether you want to pick toranosuke or honganji summon (or both), give them excellent gears to boost these stats : vit, def, and physical resistance. For honganji, you can also use WIS booster equips.
• If you are fast enough in commanding your mercenaries and wanna pick toranosuke, try to bring sesunokami too. Yes, sesunokami. You can take advantages from their blinking skills (tora for 'attacking purpose' blink and sesunokami for 'calling him back').
• Deadly hitter with sorcerer/sorceress backing him up. Recommended hitter for BW : Viper and Shogun Minamoto. Also use Asumi as a support hitter if you can.

I. Additional Notes and Disclaimer

1. As I have some videos containing skills demonstration of Japanese mercenaries, I want to upload it, sooner or later. Until then, I'll keep this post to be updated! :)
2. Your choice, your convenience. As I've already said before, mercenaries combination is based on your own convenience, so you don't have to put yourself into the others' opinion.
3. Promote Mercenary/General to the higher grade as high level as possible. The main purpose is  for stat point bonus. I suggest to promote them at multiple of 5 levels (50/55/60/...), because the obtained stat bonus is 20% of the total of previous stat points. To make it simple, 1 level equals to 4 points, so 5 lv = 20 pts. Let's say one mercenary has a total of 70 stat points at level 1 and he is ready to be promoted at level 80, so his total stat points will be = 70 + (4*(80-1)) = 386. After promoted, he will gain bonus stats = 20% of 386 = 77 stat points.
4. Extra patient and hunt diligently. As long as you know the right hunting spot, your mercenaries will level faster. I strongly recommend that you do the quests as much as possible.
5. Ancestor Soul Stone (Japan) can be obtained from all monsters on Mt. Ishizuchi level 3, or you can simply buy it at the market for 2-3m zin each. For hero who use this item, promote him at secret villa, located at exchange area, near Taipei portal.
6. Art of War is a kind of driving license to add one permitted number of generals/heroes. We are permitted to bring maximum of 3 combination of generals and heroes in default. However, an account is permitted to consume only 3 art of wars in maximum. So if you consume it with the same character, you can bring up to 6 generals/heroes at the same time, and, it's maximum.
7. In case you don't know it yet, a mercenary must be promoted to general before finally promoted to hero.
8. Combination skills will appear automatically. For another combination, you can visit TGM website here.
9. Title is something to add your main char's stats. Press U in the game to read about it. There are various ways to do to obtain the titles. The easiest one is Thunder Struck title, where you just have to get struck by a lightning in the field when it's rainy. To increase the chance to get struck, move to an 'open' dungeon and stand still there until you get struck. Dungeon has a higher struck rate than the outer field.
10. I'm not going to explain the Japanese monsters, its upgrades, and dark sinsu here. I might want to write it later in different post.
11. All item prices that might occurred in this post is based on the market of international server. Might be more expensive or even cheaper in local server.
12. I'm not owning some of the pictures and videos here. All credits to the owners, publishers, and/or developer.
13. This post is purely my opinion and based on my experience and knowledge. You are of course free to add your own idea. If you have something positive to add to this post, please kindly leave a comment. :)

Combination Skill Icon Snapshot (on top of icon bar at the bottom right)

Once again, don't forget to like and leave some comments. I'll appreciate any comments, anyway :)

Thank you for visiting!

For another post, here it is :

Chosun Characters and Mercenaries