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Swords & Soldiers ~ Trophy Guide & Roadmap


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Overview

 

Estimated Trophy Difficulty: 7.5/10 (it's 9.5/10 if you play campaign with the patch)

Fun Factor: 8.5/10

Approximate Time To 100%: 5-10 Hours

Trophy Breakdown: 20 Total (19 (B), 1 (S))

  • Offline: 19 (B)
  • Online: 1 (S)

Number of Playthroughs Needed: 1

Missable Trophies: None

Glitched Trophies: None

Are There Any Unobtainable Trophies?: None (some are practically impossible if you patch)

Does Difficulty Affect Trophies?: No

Do Cheat Codes Disable Trophies?: No

Are Peripherals Required?: No (Move compatible if you patch)

Online Pass :psn: Required?: No

 

 

Introduction

 

In Swords & Soldiers, three factions (the Aztecs, the Vikings and the Imperial Chinese) are fighting each other to gain the powers of the gods. The game boasts both a single player campaign for all three factions and a skirmish mode, as well as competitive split-screen multiplayer and several other modes and minigames players can unlock by progressing through the game.

 

The single player campaign features 10 missions for each faction, with objectives ranging from conquering the enemy's base on the other side of the play area to surviving a full out assault from the enemy or infiltrating their defenses with a limited number of troops. Players collect gold and mana which are used to purchase units and spells. After being built, units automatically begin marching towards the enemies' base and players cast spells to either strengthen their own units or directly attack their enemies. Players must make strategic decisions on which units to build and when to send them out.

(source)

 

 

Roadmap

 

Step 1: Campaign

 

Do NOT patch the game initially, as it makes the Chinese faction much too weak. The result would be a Chinese campaign that is nearly unbeatable, with a handful of trophies that are just too difficult to bear. After you are done with everything except the online, then and only then should you patch the game (as it's required in order to play online).

 

Initially you only have the Viking faction available; after completing the ten stages for that faction, you unlock the Aztec faction's ten stages; which upon completion unlocks the Chinese faction. In total there are three faction with ten stages each, for a total of thirty stages.

 

To start the campaign, from the Main Menu select: Single player > Campaign. Focus on obtaining all of the campaign related trophies, including the stage specific ones, at the same time. I suggest playing each level to win, then while it's fresh in your mind, quickly repeat it and undertake the stage specific requirements to unlock that trophy.

 

During this step you should unlock the following trophies:

  • Where are the Kangaroos? (Viking)
  • Fourtification (Viking)
  • Pity the fool! (Viking)
  • Cooking by the Book (Viking)
  • Fort Knox'd (Aztec)
  • Lacking Balls (Aztec)
  • Keep Your Lousy Army (Aztec)
  • V for Veggies (Aztec)
  • Planet of the Ninja Apes (Chinese)
  • Blotting out the sun (Chinese)
  • Lost Vikings (Chinese)
  • I'm no kung, fool! (Chinese)

 

Step 2: Challenges

 

To start the challenges, from the Main Menu select: Single Player > Challenges. These are the hardest trophies in the game, and have the most detailed explanations of all the trophies in the guide. Please follow the strategy I personally discovered, and posted below, to make them all a lot easier.

 

During this step you should unlock the following trophies:

  • Son of Norris
  • Techno Viking Dances Away
  • At First I Was Afraid
  • King of the Stone Age

 

Step 3: Cleanup

 

The reason these trophies are being listed here, is that some of them may unlock randomly during the campaign or challenges. For any that haven't unlocked after the above steps are all done, then do them tactfully by playing a two player game, with only player 1 doing anything!

 

To start a local two player game, from the Main Menu select: Multiplayer > Local > (Select Faction/Color) Next > (Choose Small Map) Start. If you don't have two controllers, you can also do this online with a boosting partner.

 

During this step you should unlock the following trophies:

  • RickRolled
  • Uncontrolled Demolition
  • Bull in a China shop

 

Step 4: Online

 

Now that you completed all the above, there should just be a single trophy left, for playing online. In order to play online, you will need to have the latest patch in place, which we have been avoiding till now. Simply quit and restart the game, this time choosing to have the patch installed.

 

To start an online game, from the Main Menu select: Multiplayer > Online > Search Game. Now you can play ten games online, and you can also keep replaying the same person using the option at the end of the match. Win or lose ten matches and you will get Social Viking. If you have been following this guide, you should now have 100%. Congratulations!

Edited by Dark_Phantom_89
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Campaign

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/14.jpg Where are the Kangaroos? (B)

Complete Viking Campaign level 4 by destroying the enemy base.

 

There are two ways to win this match, either by destroying the enemy base or accumulating 1000 gold. For this trophy you obviously want to avoid 1000 gold, so spend it before you get too high.

 

You have a limited amount of spells and research that you can do. Obviously you want to have gold miners and mana regen. A proper mix of spawning all that you can, with heals and lightning as appropriate, will result in you pulling this off.

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/12.jpg Fourtification (B)

Complete Viking Campaign level 7 with all Towers intact.

 

To pull this off, you will need to do everything right from the get go. You need to have around 6 or 7 gold miners to start with. Point the sign to the lower path using :square: and have two axe throwers head out to fill the far towers. You want to research Mana Regeneration to Rank 2, Axe Throwers, Berserkers, Frost Hammers and Rage. You also want to have the maximum Gold Miners (ten).

 

Once the enemy starts attacking, you want to send out groups of a Berserker & a Frost Hammer, along with the occasional Axe Thrower. Using Rage at the right time will allow these groups to power through your enemies, and slowly but surely win the game for you.

 

Once your catapults come in (after a certain amount of time passes), you are good to go. Just keep applying the same strategy and you'll emerge victorious.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEWMKiGZBrQ]Swords and Soldiers Fourtification Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/13.jpg Pity the fool! (B)

Survive Viking Campaign level 10 without the help of Mr. Thor.

 

Mr. Thor will come to your aid as soon as a tower is breached, so you need to keep your tower intact in order to get this trophy. You want to use a similar strategy to what we used for Fourtification, aside from Berserkers. You will be sending out groups of Axe Throwers and Frost Hammers, combined with Rage as appropriate, to take out enemies. Use Blizzard on groups of enemies (especially large groups of cloned opponents) to accomplish the task.

 

Cooking by the Book will unlock upon completion of this level. If you don't have the assistance of Mr. Thor, both trophies will unlock at the same time.

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/02.jpg Cooking by the Book (B)

Complete the viking campaign.

 

This is story related and cannot be missed. There are ten levels in the campaign, and upon completion you will earn this trophy (as well as unlock the Aztec campaign). See Pity the fool! for more information.

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/15.jpg Fort Knox'd (B)

Prevent the Giant in Aztec Campaign level 2 from reaching the Goldmine.

 

You need to kill the Giant before it reaches the enemies' gold mine, which is all the way to the right of the screen. You will have a limited amount of spells and allies at your disposal, so you need to go about this in just the right manner. You want to spawn a few Gold Miners, to have six or seven total, as a base. Now you want to spawn as many Dart Blowers as you can, along with hitting the Giant with poison each time the previous spells wear off. This combination should take him down before he gets to the mine.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1dPtwS8RF8]Swords and Soldiers HD Fort Knox'd Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/11.jpg Lacking Balls (B)

Complete Aztec Campaign level 8 without using a Boulder.

 

You need to use the right mix of poison, cages and most importantly mind control to get this task done. See the video for a good run of this.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KR0Xqwo_Aw]Swords and Soldiers HD Lacking Balls Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/16.jpg Keep Your Lousy Army (B)

Complete Aztec Campaign level 10 without taking control of the Viking army.

 

As the trophy description states, you cannot take control of any viking units. You can however take control of the Chinese faction, and I strongly suggest you control some Zen masters! In order to build up more more mana, you can spawn and then sacrifice Giants

 

Hit :square: on the road so that your allies use the lower path, which will make this easier. You want to use a combination of Necromancers and Dart Blowers, along with controlling Chinese enemies to win this battle.

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/03.jpg V for Veggies (B)

Complete the Aztec campaign.

 

This is story related and can not be missed. You must complete the Viking campaign to unlock the Aztec campaign. There are ten levels in this campaign, and upon completion you will earn this trophy (as well as unlock the Chinese campaign).

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/17.jpg Planet of the Ninja Apes (B)

Complete Chinese Campaign level 3 without a single Ninja death.

 

You start with three Ninja Monkeys, but there are four in total, and they all must survive. There are two main things you need to take care of here, these being: 1) Toggle the third sign to point down by pressing :square: and 2) Use shield on any Monkeys that are being levitated by the Zen Masters.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it02LTpNE5U]Swords and Soldiers HD Planet of the Ninja Apes Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

 

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/760/18.jpg Blotting out the sun (B)

Complete Chinese Campaign level 7 wth 17 or more Rocketeers alive.

 

This one is tough to pull off and took me a few tries. You want to produce Swordsmen to lead the way, followed by Buddha Statues in all of the slots, and use yin-yang to clone the Rocketeers as often as possible.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSiWfyO_JYk]Swords and Soldiers HD Blotting out the sun Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/19.jpg Lost Vikings (B)

Complete Chinese Campaign level 8 without killing a single Berserker.

 

There are several Berserkers your opponent will sacrifice if you don't kill them first. Don't be too aggressive in your attack, and your opponent should kill the berserkers before you kill them. You will need to produce units at the correct pace in order to wipe out the enemy waves, while avoiding killing the hostages.

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/04.jpg I'm no kung, fool! (B)

Complete the Chinese campaign.

 

This is story related and cannot be missed. You must complete the Viking & Aztec campaigns to unlock the Chinese campaign. There are ten levels in this campaign, and upon completion you will earn this trophy.

Edited by Terminator
Replaced missing trophy tile.
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Challenges

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/07.jpg Son of Norris (B)

Kill 36 units with a single unit.

 

See Techno Viking Dances Away, as you will unlock this trophy while completing that.

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/08.jpg Techno Viking Dances Away (B)

Reach the maximum distance in a Berserker Run game.

 

To unlock this challenge, you first need to unlock Where are the Kangaroos? To start this off, from the Main Menu select: Single Player > Challenges > Berserker Run.

 

You are going to be helping a Viking make it to the end alive. You will be faced with some simple choices along the way, both in terms of spells and at fork-roads choosing to go up or down. At many crossroads, each of your viking(s) will clone - don't worry about keeping them all alive, you only need one at the end so that is your primary goal, but of course the more vikings you have the better. Other than the final spell (which has a long refill time), I am not going to spell out when to to use it, just use your judgement.

 

Listed below are the options I used and suggest:

0 yards: Shield and Heal [Always have some mana handy for these]

10 yards: Cage [trap zen masters when no one is behind them] (decline lightning)

70 yards: Poison [group health drain] (decline Rage)

100 yards: Upper path

111 yards: Snow [group freeze] (decline Stone Warriors)

146 yards: Arrows [group attack] (decline yin yang, as tempting as it may be it's a mana drain)

175 yards: Upper path

215 yards: Thor [only use as listed below] (seriously, don't pick sacrifice)

230 yards: Upper path

270 yards: Use Thor directly behind the Zen master, then cage Zen if he survives

300 yards: Bottom path

355 yards: Use Thor directly in front of the Zen master

415 yards: Use Thor directly in front of the Giants

430 yards: The trophy is yours!

 

An important adjustment I suggest is using the Thor hammer before the giants charge at you.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT5zMyoNva0]Swords and Soldiers HD Techno Viking Dances Away & Son of Norris Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/09.jpg At First I Was Afraid (B)

Survive over 30 minutes in a Survival game.

 

To unlock this challenge, you first need to progress in the campaign and unlock trophies. Once unlocked, from the Main Menu select: Single player > Challenges > Survival.

 

I suggest doing this as the Chinese faction, without the patch of course. Many people have posted different strategies that work for them, but they are difficult to replicate. I spent some extra time figuring out what to do, and these methods have not been mentioned anywhere in the years from the game's release till now. These tips will make what would have been an overwhelmingly difficult and frustrating trophy, relatively simple.

 

Here are the best tips I can offer, and you will see the effectiveness of it by the pictures posted!

  • You want to drag out each wave as long as possible. This is counter intuitive, which is why no one else has done this. The reason is because of what I noticed about the spawn mechanics of the game - the next wave is delayed until you either kill the current wave or a certain amount of time has elapsed. While most people will explain how to deal with everyone quickly and hope for the best with enemy Wave 24, I am going to tell you how to get the trophy before Wave 19 can make it to your base! Skipping those last five waves is the best tip I can possibly give, and a lot of the tips after this are merely to support dragging out the waves.
  • Always plant a Buddha statue behind the enemies, right after they pass the rubble of the previous statue. You want to do this in all three spots. This will allow you to have an endless supply of mana, better scope as the Buddha will tell the "fog of war" that none shall pass, and it will also slightly delay the next wave when they destroy it. After they destroy it, build another one behind them:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS8.png
  • Let the enemy wave get as close to your base as possible before killing them (then respawn the Gold Miners back until you are full at the maximum of 10 Gold Miners so you have more gold than you need). This also means you should never send a large group forward to wipe out the entire wave. However, you can certainly send an ally out every now and then to slow them down a bit though.
  • At around the five-minute mark, stop producing anything but warriors; let the zen masters sit behind the Buddha statue all the way at the right edge of the map for a few minutes, literally. Here are some pictures for you to see this in effect:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS1.png
     
    They will kill any warriors you sent out:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS2.png
     
    Then begin to bunch up at the buddha statue:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS3.png
     
    That's a lot of life bars piling up:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS4.png
     
    None shall pass!
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS5.png
     
    As you will notice, it took nearly two minutes for the next wave:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS6.png
     
    A single arrow casting will wipe all of the Zen masters out:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS7.png
     
    This trick will allow you store all the Gold and Mana you would have wasted on spawning soldiers that die - but more importantly, allows the clock to tick away which means you will hit 30 minutes on an earlier/easier wave!
     
    Don't forget to build another buddha statue when nothing is there to crush it:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS8.png
     
  • If you use all these tricks, the 19th wave (Sun Giants with Rage) won't even make it halfway down the screen before the trophy unlocks!
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS9.png
     
    As you can see from the picture, I made it to 41 minutes with my tricks on a casual run while taking these photos:
    http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSS0.png

 

This video doesn't use my strategy, but you can use it to get an idea about waves, etc:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz7HxRXQBdk]Swords and Soldiers HD At First I Was Afraid Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/10.jpg King of the Stone Age (B)

Kill all Vikings in a Boulder Mode game without killing any of your own.

 

To unlock this challenge, you first need to progress in the campaign and unlock trophies. Once unlocked, from the Main Menu select: Single player > Challenges > Boulder Mode.

 

In my opinion, this is the most difficult trophy in the game. You need to jump at precise moments to clear all of your Aztec allies, while killing all of the Viking enemies. The simple truth is you will need to repeat this over and over again until you get used to the pattern, especially the part at the very end, where the moment you have to jump boils down to split second timing. Once you played the entire thing through a few times (and somewhat mastered the finish), I found it easier to pause every five jumps and see what you need to jump for the next five.

 

What I did was write down how many enemies you crush before you jump your ally. This challenge starts off where you need to crush two opponents before jumping your own ally, and for that it says "2" below. This process repeats a few times, so the sequence is "2", "2", "2." At this point, you will be jumping over your third ally with six enemies killed.

 

A ~ B ~ C ~ D ~ E (dead)

2 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 5 (14)

2 ~ 2 ~ 1 ~ 3 ~ 2 (24)

3 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 5 ~ 1 (37)

2 ~ 2 ~ 5 ~ 3 ~ 4 (53)

1 ~ 3 ~ 3 ~ 2 ~ 3 (65)

4 ~ 7 ~ 3 ~ 2 ~ 1 (82)

0 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 6 ~ 1 (100)

 

This is extremely hard to pull off; initially because you don't have the pattern down, and later on because there are a few precise moments where you need to jump.

 

Expect to see a bunch of these:

http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSB1.png

 

When you are nearly done:

http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSB2.png

 

And finally!

http://www.tigerlust.com/ps3/SSB3.png

 

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA34AddYE_0]Swords and Soldiers HD King of the Stone Age Achievement - YouTube[/ame]

Video by xymjak

Edited by Dark_Phantom_89
Editorial Sweep
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Misc

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/01.jpg RickRolled (B)

Destroy the enemy castle with a boulder.

 

You need to play as Aztec (the only faction with the Boulder skill) and earn enough gold to unlock it. Then, you need to use the boulder to deliver the final blow to the enemy castle. The boulder can kill soldiers from both teams, and damage to the castle made from earlier weaponry is fine - the only thing that matters is that your boulder delivered the final blow to crush the castle (which in turn wins the match).

 

This will nearly never happen in a legit game, so I suggest doing it in a 2P game. Create some Gold Miners and build some shrines for mana. Now, send a few troops to kill Player 2's gold farmers and then start chipping away at the enemy castle, then sacrifice most/all of them before the castle is destroyed. Now quickly send a boulder out to destroy it, and watch how much of a dent it puts into the castle. If there is still some health left, then try again, only this time send out some more troops until the castle has health remaining which is low enough to be completely depleted by a boulder.

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/05.jpg Uncontrolled Demolition (B)

Destroy a tower under construction with Rage.

 

Easiest in a local 2P match. You need to play as Vikings (the only faction with the Rage skill) and earn enough gold to unlock the Rage skill. You will need to unlock this skill, and then send out a group of troops. When your troops are close to the spot where Player 2 can build a tower, have Player 2 build the tower, then quickly have Player 1 use Rage on the troops to demolish the tower quickly.

 

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/06.jpg Bull in a China shop (B)

Cast a boulder that does not damage a single unit.

 

This is easiest in a local two player game with both players having chosen Aztecs (the only faction with the boulder skill). This can also be boosted online with both players using this strategy.

 

First off, you need to have enough gold to unlock both the Sacrifice and Boulder skills. If playing 2P locally, Player 2 also needs the Sacrifice skill but not the Boulder. Now, both players should Sacrifice all of their own troops, therefore leaving no one left to damage. Now, simply send out a boulder and you are guaranteed to earn the trophy.

 

 

Online

 

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/760/20.jpg Social Viking (S)

Play 10 matches online.

 

In order to play online, you will need to have the latest patch in place, which we have been avoiding till now. Simply quit and restart the game, this time choosing to have the patch installed.

 

To start an online game, from the Main Menu select: Multiplayer > Online > Search Game. Now you can play ten games online, and you can also keep replaying the same person using the option at the end of the match. Win or lose ten matches and you will get this trophy.

 

To find a boosting partner, please use this thread.

 

 

Closing Notes

 

Trophy Guide and Roadmap are now complete. Open to suggestions, feedback, comments, etc. Thank you for reading and I hope you have fun getting your 100%!

 

Thanks to

for most of the videos, and also cotter548 for the RickRolled video.

 

These trophy guides and roadmaps remain the property of the author. PS3T.org is licensed to display this once here in the forum and one copy on the "front end" of the site under the guide tab. This license does not allow any additional copies to be posted on this site, nor in any other form (physical, electronic, or other). This may not be duplicated in any fashion without the expressed permission of the author.

Edited by Dark_Phantom_89
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
So they actually made the game harder with the patch? That's kind of weird.

Yeah, I agree. The Chinese faction was overpowered in the initial version, so they felt it needed a rebalancing. As developers often do with tweaking, they took things a bit too far - then just left things unbalanced... :facepalm:

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That 30 minute trophy is giving me fits. I'm doing what you suggest but I only got to 25 minutes twice before dying. :mad: It took me a while to figure out how best to start out, they come pretty quick at the start. Perhaps I'm killing them too soon. I drop the stone guards in there to keep the fog at bay so you can rebuild the buddha statues all the way to the end each time.

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Well, it is a tough trophy, and it took me lot's of attempts initially. I'm sorry if the guide reads like it's a stroll in the park, because it isn't. You really need to get the hang of the all the little nuances and use everything effectively.

 

As far as dragging things out: always let the enemy waves stay alive as long as is possible, but that doesn't mean to give them a clear path to your castle. What you want to do is SLOW them down. The primary two methods of this is to have all three buddha statues, and send out a lone soldier periodically. Those two things also result in the enemies being bunched together, so you can use arrows, fire dragon breath, etc, to wipe them out when the time comes. If you are dealing with any enemies on rage, also use some ice to freeze them in place.

 

As much as the goal is to keep the waves dragging out, as soon as the new wave appears, you have a license to kill the previous wave - and always do so immediately!

 

If you notice any specific waves are giving you a hard time, please list what the enemy is, I might still remember what strategy I used for them.

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