=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =================================== [|: HEAVENLY SWORD 3 GLYPH GUIDE :|] ============= by Hanji ============ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= .[Table of Contents]. - Legalities - Foreword - Basics - Guide - Afterword - Other .[Legalities]. This is my guide, for the PlayStation 3 Video Game; Heavenly Sword. It may not be altered or distributed (except for personal, noncommercial use [ie. Feel free to print it if you like]) in any way, shape, or form without my express permission. The only website currently allowed to host this guide is GameFAQs. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. .[Foreword]. This guide is for the aforementioned Heavenly Sword, for PlayStation 3. It is not a walkthrough of the game and I am assuming everyone who reads it is familiar with how the game and the levels are described work. Instead, the purpose of this guide is to help you achieve all 129 out of 129 glyphs on Hell mode. It is not that this guide will not work with Normal mode (in fact, it should be even easier), but it should be noted that I tested each of these techniques while playing Hell mode. In light of the fact that you should know how to play the game to read this guide, there are a few terms below I will be using which you should certainly recognize. Health/Glyph Jar/Pot: This would be the red (or gold, occasionally) glowing pots found in every level. They usually raise your glyph points and are thus mentioned quite often. Combo: Any of the listed, named techniques within the stances where you press certain buttons in a certain order for Nariko to do a certain attack. Guard-Break: Any combo which will end in an guarding opponent recoiling back for a moment, giving you a chance to hit them. Aftertouch: The aspect of the game when you hold the fire/throw button and go into a near-first-person control of said projectile to aim it more accurately at an opponent. For the record, I play the game with Six-Axis aftertouch. Glyph/Combo/Style Points: The number next to the Glyph Bar which raises when you hit someone, a glyph pot, or do a button sequence correctly, and falls when you get hit, idle for too long, or miss a shot. This can also mean the raw accumulation of your glyph bar. Either way, it should make sense in context. Button Sequence: The interactive cut scenes wherein you are prompted to press a button, or move in a certain direction via directional buttons or analog stick. The sequences are not always written in this guide, although their locations are mentioned. .[Basics]. Very few of the levels in Heavenly Sword have a flat way to get all three glyphs, most of them do require a certain level of skill when playing, and as you will be able to tell from the short instructions on some missions, that’s all it comes down to. However, there are general tips for both Kai and Nariko. Nariko: Counter, and try not to get hit. It’s best to counter incoming attacks, but rolling away is also effective. Remember that rolling away might cause your style points to fall (if you don’t hit soon enough), getting hit definitely will. Also, don’t use Superstyles, you can generally get more points fighting an enemy than eradicating him. The same goes for stabbing enemies on the ground or throwing things at them, in most cases. Also, whenever there is an archer, you can automatically get 3 glyphs by constantly deflecting their attack. Furthermore, countering Ninjas is an excellent source of points. Kai: Don’t Miss. Don’t get Hit. Any mission is child’s play provided you hit every time. However, since that probably won’t happen, try to make good use of the jars in the mission by striking them when your style points are high. Try to utilize explosive barrels as well. Headshots give you more points. -Additional suggestion (Credit: Snigs) Shooting enemy soldiers again before they hit the ground nets additional points. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ================= - [:. GUIDE .:] - ================= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ----------- [Chapter I] ----------- Mission 1: The Art of Battle Counter as much as possible and try not to get hit, don't be shy about rolling away to stop your attack and keep your combo; you only need to hit an opponent once every few seconds to keep it from dropping, and the enemies can't guard. It will probably work just to go ballistic, as I've never not gotten three glyphs on this level, but if you're having trouble try being a bit more patient. Mission 2: Night Attack Don't miss. It takes a while of inaction for your style points to drop, but not getting a hit drops them immediately. Thus, be patient and wait for a good shot, then use aftertouch to nail them perfectly. As well, there are two jars, one under a roof in front, and one in a tree house to the far left. I suggest hitting the first few enemies in the center, then the three archers from the left, before hitting one of the jars. Provided you didn't miss in between, this should raise you to two glyphs already, from there just try not to miss, and use the second jar before/after if you do to get a boost. If you don't have three by the time you control Nariko, counter and hit consistently without killing to get as high a number as possible to hit the final jar with, and then hit people into the air and stab them on the ground. Provided you had at least 2.5 glyphs at the start, it should be enough. Mission 3: Dawn Siege Take out two catapults and take one down to the last target. Then, start shooting soldiers for some extra glyph points, and at about 10 seconds (you might want to leave more if you're inaccurate), shoot for the last catapult. You'll then have another amount of time to kill 700 soldiers. As they approach try to hit the red barrels, which will explode killing everything around them. Once the close in just take potshots at the most dense area you can see. Mission 4: The Escape Don't get hit, counter, and make use of the jars and combos at opportune times. It's mainly just standard playing for this one. Mission 5: Forest Ambush See Mission 4 Mission 6: The Heavenly Sword See Mission 4/5, but rolling/countering works well along with consistent combos against the unarmored guards, and simply guard-break those who block and follow up with Square, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle; which has you hit them then spin through the air, getting good points and making you rather difficult to hit. Also of note is the jar and that you can run back to the gate you entered from and fight them Thermopylae style; which I haven't tried, but might keep you from getting overly surrounded. ----------- [Chapter II] ----------- Mission 1: Fearless When running on the ropes, make sure to press Square at the end for some starting glyph points, then try to take advantage of this with a swift Speed or Heavy combo. Aside from that, just follow standard playing until they are dead. Mission 2: No Turning Back After you finish the enemies and cut the rope, be sure to mash X for some more extra glyph points, after that, follow the aforementioned procedure, and take note that there is a glyph pot in the area. There are a lot of enemies in this level to take advantage of, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Mission 3: Fire Fight Deflect the arrows with range-stance attacks until you have three glyphs. Mission 4: Beware the Fox Counter, keep your combo up, ect. Flying Fox himself won't die unless you press O and do the button sequence, so you can theoretically fight him for as long as you want, making it impossible to not get three glyphs if you play well enough and can persevere. Note the pots around the area in case you need some health or combo points Mission 5: Prison Approach It should work to just run up the path and start swinging with Power Stance combos; if that doesn't work, however, just play it normally and note the pot off to the side before you run up the path. Mission 6: The Prison Use block breakers, then a combo on each enemy (I suggest Speed: Square, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle), and try to avoid getting hit along the way via rolls or counters, there are two pots as well. Mission 7: The Main Gate Try to get as high a combo with the rocket launcher as possible. That should make it easy enough to just fight up the last bit of glyph points you need. Mission 8: Bait and Trap As most of the enemies can't block, steadily raise your combo with short chains and counter/block/roll until you think you're in the clear, then hit an enemy with a full combo (again, I suggest Speed: Square, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle). Considering the number of enemies, it shouldn't be difficult to get three glyphs even if you make a few mistakes. Mission 9: Whiptail Use L1 + Triangle to deflect her thin water blasts, and L1 + Square to deflect her wide waves, you can do this until you have three glyphs, and you won't win until you press O and do the button sequence (twice, in fact), so you have infinite chances to do this, provided you don't die. Additionally, to make both the glyphs and fight go faster, I suggest using aerial combos on Whiptail after her barrage of waves. Mission 10: Shen's Escape Like with Night Escape, try not to miss any targets. It should be noted however that it is much easier this time around as if you give the guards a little distance you will have a huge stretch to aim at them from. Not only that, but there are four pots in this level, to either boost your combo or give you a substantial amount of glyph points after you've risen your combo yourself. One is in the front left, there are two on the raised platforms in the middle (one of which the snipers were on at the start of the level), and there is one at the very end to the left. Mission 11: Eye of the Storm See Mission 9 - Whiptail. Deflect the waves until you have 3 glyphs. ------------- [Chapter III] ------------- Mission 1: Kai's Mission Don't Miss or Get Hit. Take advantage of the two combo jars. Mission 2: Playtime After the guards run out, run backwards as deep into the "maze" as possible, then let them reach you, and jump over the boxes to run all the way into the gate where they came from. This will force them to file into it in a straight line, allowing you to get a high combo. Not much is required in this mission, so as long as you get one glyph per wave (there are three waves) you're fine. Mission 3: Shooting Fish Don't Miss. It's all about accuracy here. Mission 4: Duck and Cover Again, don't miss. You have a lot of distance to aim here, though, so it might be more pertinent not to get hit. Also note the pots and explosive barrels which can be detonated with a flame arrow. This can knock out two enemies for good points. Mission 5: Twing Twang First, shoot and arrow through fire and hit the fire barrel in the left tower with guys standing in the windows, this will kill them and break two pots giving you a huge boost. From there, provided you hit at least somewhat consistently, getting three glyphs simply by picking each enemy off should not be a difficult feat. They're all over, however, so be sure to hide when you see everyone turn yellow, as the time it takes enemies to shoot is not enough for you to lose your combo, but getting hit, like missing, will drop it instantly. Mission 6: Brother Against Brother Counter, and when a button comes up (Circle or Square) press it to paralyze instead of kill them. Do this on each person and it will complete the level (and they didn't have to die, good for you) although you should get three glyphs pretty early on, especially if you get a "chain" of counters. Mission 7: Fireworks There are a lot of ways to get glyph points in this level. If you’re confident in your accuracy, feel free to try and headshot each guard (as they are the kind which can only be killed by a headshot). Otherwise, lead them to the barrels and blow them up, then take advantage of the glyph pot in the area with the microphone, and the one accessible after blowing up the fireworks (it's inside the shed). Mission 8: A New Threat Do not counter. This could instantly kill the beast and only give you one glyph. Instead, roll around and just attack it with combos, it's resilient so you should be able to get three glyphs before killing it. At 2.5 glyphs, you can just counter it if you like, as that will raise you to three. Mission 9: Riding High Don't Miss. Try not to get hit. Ect. Note the pot where you start, the one at the end, and the one on the bridge where enemies appear. Additionally, the pot from Fireworks becomes temporarily accessible after the first wave of enemies run out from behind you. It is very difficult to hit, however, as it is just out of level range, causing your arrow to swerve just before hitting it. It is still possible, however, although I suggest not risking the combo you might have built up from the starting enemies. Mission 10: Roach's Pets Counter, and maybe throw in a combo on one of the countered enemies if you get a chance. Don't be shy about rolling away from the very powerful attacks. Mission 11: Rolling Thunder When Roach starts "charging" his somersault, run next to one of the pillars along the edge of the room. He will hit it taking damage and giving you combo points. Get him to hit each one, which will, along with the first two button sequences (at the end of his first two health bars) give you a little more than two glyphs. After that, simply do the final button sequences correctly, and that will boost it to three. Easy, provided you can live to actually defeat Roach, which shouldn't be difficult, considering you can roll away from most of his attacks and three pots are gradually dropped for you. ------------ [Chapter IV] ------------ Mission 1: Cat and Mouse Counter the "ninjas", it tends to give you a lot of glyph points. If that isn't enough, just fight it out with the rest of them. Mission 2: On Silent Wings See "Cat and Mouse" Mission 3: Hunting Party Counter and Guard Break / Combo the "Elite" Soldiers, then Counter and throw things at the Big Head-Shot Guys, then Counter and Guard-Break the rest of the "Elite" Soldiers. There are also three pots and two Orangumen you can free and fight. Mission 4: Beasts of the Land Counter, and don't get hit. On Hell mode these guys can take you out in seconds. After countering, attempt a large combo (Such as Square, Triangle, Triangle, Square, Triangle), but roll away if you see an attack. Finally, try not to kill them by stabbing on the ground until you have three glyphs. Same goes for using the rocket launcher. Although, after you get three glyphs, feel free to use a Superstyle or grab the launcher and blow them all away in one shot. Mission 5: The Wrong Place Archers. That means an automatic free three glyphs. Deflect with Range Stance then attack head on. If you have trouble with the puzzle try throwing one of the bodies into it instead of hats from the poorly placed canister on the side. Mission 6: Temple Wilds Do the button sequence correctly then counter/fight/ect. Should be a very easy three glyphs. Mission 7: To Kill a Fox If hitting him with combos isn't enough (which it should be, considering you fight him and all the copies), make sure to deflect his projectiles (press triangle when they hit you with R1 pressed if it’s a big orange one and nothing if it's a simple blue one) into either him or the pots on the outer sides for points (although you might want to save them until later in the fight for health.) ----------- [Chapter V] ----------- Mission 1: Bohan's Army Take most of the catapults down so you can win in a hurry if need be, then just fire until you have three glyphs, preferably aiming for the flaming barrels, which will annihilate anything near them. Mission 2: Death From Above Counter the ninjas. Use the pots if need be. Make sure Shen doesn't die (which only happens if you're far away, which shouldn't be the case). Mission 3: War Machine Use the rocket launcher to hit as dense groups of people you can, but invest a bullet to keeping even a single person from reaching you before you run out of ammunition, as it will disrupt you obliteration and possibly kill your combo. After that, simply kill for the rest of your points (I suggest Range Stance, but keep note of your health; Superstyles are also good). The Catapult button sequences can also be a good source of points, so take the first one out early, but don't risk the last one unless you’re a modicum from the third glyph (it'd be a shame to have to do it all over, after all). Mission 4: Full Circle Counter and try to hit the one's that can't block while evading everyone else. Try to work your way forward while doing this, and make sure to immediately run for the gate after getting three glyphs, as the venture will probably take most of your time. This relies somewhat on enemy AI (unless you can circumvent/force respectively good or bad actions through skill), so it might require a few retries. ------------ [Chapter VI] ------------ Mission 1: The Goddess Hit everyone around you with a range stance blow, roll forward (or towards the most dense enemy amount), and repeat. -Alternate Strategy (Credit: Xanthar) “If you instead stand still, hold Power Stance, and send blows flying in all directions, it will grant you those three glyphs alot easier. With this method I ended the chapter with 1254 combo-score (if that's what you call it), at my first shot.” Mission 2: The Raven King Counter his projectile blasts (Block then press triangle, hold R1 if he's shooting an orange one), and use a Range Stance attack on the enemies running around if you have a spare moment. The battle doesn't end until O and a button sequence, so it shouldn't be difficult. Mission 3: Heaven and Hell No enemies to pick off, but he shoots the projectiles much more often now (albeit in the air, and with arbitrary speed), just counter until you have three glyphs, and prolong the battle you need to, which you probably won't. Mission 4: Redemption See "The Raven King" and "Heaven and Hell" as this is basically a combination of both missions. As if it wasn't easy enough with constant projectiles and enemies all over, he now shoots raven flurries which can be dispersed for significant glyph points and occasionally falls static for a short sequence wherein you hurl him into an edifice for massive damage. I don't see how this level can be completed without getting three glyphs, so have fun. .[Afterword]. That’s that. Hope you find this guide useful. If you find any flaw in my directions (and I mean, it does not work, not you had trouble with it), do tell me and I’ll be sure to edit. That said, if you believe you have superior methods for obtaining Three Glyphs in any of the levels, feel free to contact you and I will add your method with credit given. If you need further help after reading the guide, contact me and I’ll see what I can do. Thank you. .[Other]. Version: 1.1 (Complete, unless I feel the need to add something) Update 5/15/08 – Added Xanthar strategy to “The Goddess”. Added Snigs strategy to Kai Tips. Contact: Email; Hanji@live.com PSN; Hanji- Special Thanks: Ninja Theory for making the most beautiful, epic, cinematic piece of interactive software to date, even at the cost of some game play elements. -Hanji Copyright 2007 M. H. Goerner