Alliance Alive Walkthrough | Recommended Traits, Guilds, and Training Strategies, Plus Tips for a Quick Clear

I've finally finished playing the 3DS game "Alliance Alive," which I've been playing for the past few days, so I'd like to share some points that might be helpful.

For first-time players"What's the most efficient way to play?"I'll make a note of this as an answer to be given when asked that question.

I will try to avoid story spoilers as much as possible and write down information to help you play the game efficiently.

Who should we raise and how?

To be honest, the conclusion is, "It's perfectly fine to raise the characters you like."
In the middle of the game, there's an all-out battle where you split into parties, so it's important to level up everyone to a certain extent.

However, as for who you choose to use until the end, it's entirely up to your preference.
Thanks to the high degree of freedom in equipping weapons and acquiring skills, anyone can develop their character however they like, so there's no need to worry too much.

Regardless of who you choose to nurture, when it comes to "how to nurture each person," it's important to be mindful of the role each of the five individuals should play in their development.

For example, two attackers, one tank, one support, and one healer.
In my case, Galil Barbarosa was the attacker and tank (both roles), Shiki was the main attacker (sometimes tank), Rachel was the attacker and healer, and Jean was the healer.
I think the key is to assign multiple roles to one person and allow them to switch between them as needed (more on this later).

Even when talking about healers, it's not always necessary to have characters with high concentration use rune magic.
By equipping a medicine box and using powerful healing potions, you can avoid consuming SP, making anyone a healer.
It will cost a little money, but since there are almost no ways to heal the entire party, you'll want to have as many members as possible who can be used for healing.

What qualities were useful?

Talent points are difficult to accumulate, but if you allocate them wisely, battles will become much easier.
What I found most useful was, first and foremost, the aptitude for various weapons.
The SP cost of each corresponding technique decreases by 1, making it easier to use powerful techniques and increasing your combat ability.

Furthermore, "sustained combat capability" is also invaluable in prolonged battles.
I acquired it later in the game, but having it makes a huge difference in SP recovery speed, so I wish I had learned it earlier.

Another useful trait is "Endurance," which increases the rate at which HP grows, leading to greater stability in combat.
All of these are quite difficult to acquire, but once you master them, things become much easier.

In terms of priority,

Endurance Qualities > (Up to "Master" level for various weapons) > Sustained Combat Ability > Others

That's about it, I suppose.

It can be quite useful to teach characters you don't particularly intend to develop skills like "Negotiation/Bargaining" or "Scouting."

Which guild should I focus on developing?

Thinking about it after clearing the game,The thing I want to prioritize the most is the "Tactical Guild".
The "EX Phalanx" formation, which can be learned at level 7, is so powerful that you can practically guarantee clearing the stage with just this formation.
However, you can manage reasonably well without it until the late game, so it's a good idea to develop it alongside the espionage guild.

The next priority I want to give is the "Intelligence Guild".
Since talent points can only be earned through combat, it's a good idea to level up the intelligence guild early on to boost the points you can earn.

To be honest, the "Seal Magic Guild" wasn't really necessary.
Useful magic spells (those that restore HP) can be purchased at shops, and it seems that there's not much to gain from developing this area.
However, the support effect of the guild tower is "enhancing the physical and magical defense of all allies," which is quite reassuring during battle.

The "Library Guild" is powerful because of the "Collapse Mark" that can be obtained at level 7.
However, there are plenty of other powerful techniques that don't rely on this, so you don't need to worry about it too much.

Unfortunately, the "Blacksmith Guild" doesn't offer much benefit in developing it, as the weapons and armor available for purchase in stores are already quite powerful.
The area-of-effect bombardment, which is a support effect, is fairly useful in battles against weak monsters, so I think building a guild tower isn't a bad idea.

What formation should we use?

In short, it has strong protection and is very convenient.
Develop your tactical guild early on and create a formation with multiple guard positions (2-3 people).
I think the guard rotation tactic is very useful.

The "Guard & Gun" and "Turnover" positions are particularly easy to use, and you could even make everyone use them.

Specifically, one advantage of having multiple guards is that there is less wasted time while waiting for SP to recover.
Let's say the guard character is blocking or otherwise protecting the entire party while the attacker continues to unleash powerful attacks until they run out of SP.
In that situation, the guard character takes over from the attacker and uses a powerful technique, while the attacker, having run out of SP, uses a guard technique that consumes 0 SP.
This way, you can keep one person acting as a guard while continuing to attack without letting up.

Additionally, when the guard character's HP becomes low, you can have another member take on the guarding role, making it easier to prevent them from being incapacitated.
Furthermore, having two characters capable of guarding allows you to protect your party more effectively with their combined guarding abilities, which is useful when recovering after taking area-of-effect attacks.
For the reasons above, I hope you understand that having a guard is quite important and useful.

Next, let me explain "EX Phalanx," which puts everyone in a guard position and grants a +50 defense bonus.
When you use it, you'll be surprised at how much less damage you take.

In addition, everyone is ready to act as a shield at any time, making them virtually impenetrable.
Even without a shield, you can instantly become a shield-bearer if you have the "Blade Block" ability with a sword or the "Parry" ability with a staff.

In the second half, the only thing that gave us trouble was the area-of-effect attack "Maelstrom," but this wasn't a problem if we strengthened our cold resistance and everyone carried a medicine box.
This formation, "EX Phalanx," is so useful that you could say you can clear the game using only this formation.

About combat

For weaker enemies, if you choose skills that can be handled by natural SP recovery and have one character acting as a tank, you should be fine in most cases.
An offensive formation where everyone attacks leaves the defense weak, which is a bit worrying.

For boss battles, the basic rule is to use powerful techniques as much as possible.
Then, when the attacker's SP runs out, switch to a guard technique that consumes 0 SP, and then switch the tank to an attacker.
In between, if a Final Strike is possible, I will use it actively.

Also, if your attacker's SP reaches 0, use a basic attack.
When facing a tough opponent, there's a high chance of awakening new techniques, making it a great opportunity to learn powerful skills.

When hit by a powerful area-of-effect attack, have multiple party members focus on healing to help the party recover.

Also, even if your physical defense increases, avoid equipment that lowers your elemental defense, and take measures to ensure you have no weaknesses.

If you're short on cash, there's a trick you can use to make money: revert the game to version 1.0, buy it cheaply, and sell it for a higher price.