In the first part of our Hoplite strategy guide, we stressed the importance of the saying “look before you leap,” albeit briefly. That’s why we’re going to look at this here with a bit more detail. As you play Hoplite on a grid consisting of hexagonal tiles, you can only jump at enemies that are two tiles away when they’re in line with one of the sides of the tile where you are currently at. But if the enemy is in line with one of those sides, you cannot attack them from where you’re at. This alone underscores the importance of looking before you leap and thinking before you make your next move.
An easy way to practice this tip is to hold your finger on the tile you’re planning to move to – only attack if the enemy’s tile turns red, because if it doesn’t, then you’ll be attacked once you move there.
You can get this as early on as the first level, but first, you’ll have to take two damage points. That’ll leave you with only one heart, and after that, you’ll want to kill the two enemies. Use your sandals to jump around until your energy is sapped out, pray to get your health back to 100 percent, and voila – Shielding Bash II is yours. Also, praying at an altar on Depth 5 or deeper (meaning a higher-number Depth) will allow you to sacrifice two hearts for Shielding Bash II.
Now, that you know how to get it, when do you use it? We suggest using Shielding Bash II in the deeper depths, where you’ll likely be ganged up on by enemies. Use this against an enemy or one of their bombs, and this will allow you to be indestructible for the enemy’s next turn.
This is a neat trick you can try to pull a fast one on the bad guys. Archers and Wizards won’t fire at you if there is another demon in between, so try this whenever possible – if you can’t beat them, hide behind them.
If you see Deep Lunge at one of the altars you’re praying at, go get it. You won’t need to sacrifice any hearts to get Deep Lunge, which will allow you to attack two enemies simultaneously, and also give you a better chance of getting the Golden Fleece.