IMCGAMES first launched Granado Espada in Korea in 2006 and brought this version to Steam on 15 October 2017, the same game that reached the West as Sword of the New World. Its defining feature is Multiple Character Control: you run a family of characters and field three of them at once, each locked into its own stance, instead of a single avatar. Barracks begin at four character slots and grow with Quarter Slot Permits bought for Vis, the player traded currency. The Baroque flavoured Age of Exploration setting spans over 300 areas, from the Reboldoeux stone pits at level 1 up to Lucifer Castle at 130 and above.
Starting Granado Espada can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Granado Espada is a mmo game built around Multiple Character Control and Stances tied to the equipped weapon. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fighter | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Wizard | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Scout | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Musketeer | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Elementalist | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Wizard. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Elementalist as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Multiple Character Control
You control up to three characters at once and switch between them with a keypress, and all three fight at the same time. That means a single player fields a front line, a healer and a damage dealer without needing a party, which is why Granado Espada plays more like a squad tactics game than a standard MMO. The party you take into a field zone is picked from your barracks before you leave town.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Multiple Character Control works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Reboldoeux Stone Pit
The first field zone outside the starting city and the place every family learns Multiple Character Control. Monsters here are slow and sparse by design, which gives you room to practise switching between three characters without dying for it.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Great Sword: it's the most accessible early upgrade. A heavy Fighter weapon carrying Plow Guard and Roof Guard. The swings are slow and wide, hitting several enemies in an arc, which is what makes it the front line answer once packs get large enough that single target guards stop coping.
Step 4: Understand Stances tied to the equipped weapon
A character's available stances depend entirely on what is in their hands. A Fighter holding a great sword only reaches great sword stances such as Plow Guard and Roof Guard, and the same Fighter with a rapier gets Epee Garde and Sabre Garde instead. Stances level with use, and the progression runs basic, then veteran, then Expert stances, also called Constellation stances.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Al Quelt Moreza
A wide open zone that carries a family through its first ten levels and beyond, holding over twenty creature types including Dragonwasps, Hell Hound variants and Zebra-eaters, plus a Hell Hound Leader as its boss. It connects onward to Ferruccio Junction and the Cathari Falls.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Multiple Character Control
You control up to three characters at once and switch between them with a keypress, and all three fight at the same time. That means a single player fields a front line, a healer and a damage dealer without needing a party, which is why Granado Espada plays more like a squad tactics game than a standard MMO. The party you take into a field zone is picked from your barracks before you leave town.
Stances tied to the equipped weapon
A character's available stances depend entirely on what is in their hands. A Fighter holding a great sword only reaches great sword stances such as Plow Guard and Roof Guard, and the same Fighter with a rapier gets Epee Garde and Sabre Garde instead. Stances level with use, and the progression runs basic, then veteran, then Expert stances, also called Constellation stances.
Barracks and the family roster
Everything you own belongs to a family, not to a character, and the barracks screen is where you see and rotate that roster. Each barrack holds a set of slots, you start with four character slots, and further slots come from Quarter Slot Permits bought from the item shop or from other players for Vis. Recruitable NPCs, known as RNPCs, join the same roster and often start at their own levels rather than at level 1.
Auto hunting mode
The client ships with an active automatic hunting mode that keeps your three characters fighting a chosen area without input. It exists because the game's levelling curve and stance experience both expect very long grinding sessions, and it is a supported feature rather than a third party tool, so the intended way to level a new stance is to set the party up and let it run.
Colony Wars and Faction Wars
The endgame competition is territorial. Colony Wars pit clans against each other for map colonies on a schedule, and Faction Wars run the same idea at a larger scale. Players who take part in colony battles collect items from them and gain an experience buff that carries into ordinary field hunting on other channels, so the PvP layer feeds directly back into levelling.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Building a family of three damage dealers with no healer, which works until Garden of Kings and then stops working entirely
2. Levelling stance experience across several weapon types at once, so no single stance reaches veteran tier and the whole family stays weak
3. Spending early Vis on gear rather than on Quarter Slot Permits, then hitting the four slot barracks limit with no room for RNPCs
4. Leaving auto hunting running in a zone far above the family's level, which produces a long stretch of deaths instead of experience
5. Treating the game like a standard MMO and playing one character, which throws away the one system the whole design is built around
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Multiple Character Control and Stances tied to the equipped weapon
- Choose Wizard as starting build
- Clear Reboldoeux Stone Pit main content
- Acquire Great Sword or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Al Quelt Moreza
- Multiple Character Control is not optional. Fielding one character in a three slot party means a third of the damage and none of the healing, and the level curve assumes all three are working.
- Stances come from weapons, not from classes. If a guide tells you to run Blandir Cruz, that is a polearm instruction, and putting a rapier on the same Fighter removes the stance from the bar entirely.
Tips for New Players
- Multiple Character Control is not optional. Fielding one character in a three slot party means a third of the damage and none of the healing, and the level curve assumes all three are working.
- Stances come from weapons, not from classes. If a guide tells you to run Blandir Cruz, that is a polearm instruction, and putting a rapier on the same Fighter removes the stance from the bar entirely.
- Your character promotion track runs Veteran at level 100, Expert between 110 and 120, and Master at 120 and above. Basic and veteran stances carry you from level 1 to 100 before Expert stances become the point.
- Vis is player traded, so its buying power moves with the server economy. Quarter Slot Permits and barracks expansions hold value far better than mid tier gear you will replace by level 40.
- RNPCs join at their own levels rather than at level 1, so recruiting one is often faster than levelling a fresh character into the same role.
- Auto hunting is built into the client and is the intended way to grind stance experience. Set the party in a zone slightly below your level so the fight never stalls while you are away.
- Al Quelt Moreza spans level 4 to 17, which is unusually wide. Fight near the fountain end for the lower level monsters and move toward the Hell Hound Leader as your family catches up.
- Colony Wars hand out an experience buff that follows you into ordinary field hunting on other channels, so joining a clan that participates is worth it even if you never enjoy PvP.
- Weapons are split into light, medium and heavy families. Bayonets, daggers, gaiters, javelins, knuckles, main gauches, sabers and shotguns are light, pistols, rifles, rapiers and swords are medium, and cannons, great swords, maces and polearms are heavy.
- The level bands between zones are the real progression gates. Reboldoeux Stone Pit at 1 to 6, Al Quelt Moreza at 4 to 17, Garden of Kings at 19 to 29 and Porto Bello at 36 to 64 form a clean ladder with no long gaps.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Multiple Character Control in Granado Espada?
It is the game's core system: you create a family of characters and take three of them into the field at once, controlling all three and switching between them freely. Each character holds its own weapon and stance, so one player fields a full party without needing other people.
What are the base classes?
There are five: Fighter, a melee all rounder with the widest weapon selection; Wizard, an area damage and debuff caster; Scout, the support and healing class that also uses tools and traps; Musketeer, the long range gun specialist; and Elementalist, who deals heavy damage through fire, ice and lightning.
How do stances work?
Stances are skill sets attached to the weapon a character is holding. Equip a great sword and you can only use great sword stances such as Plow Guard and Roof Guard; equip a rapier and you get Epee Garde and Sabre Garde instead. Stances level with use through basic, veteran and Expert tiers.
Is Granado Espada the same game as Sword of the New World?
Yes. Sword of the New World was the name IMCGAMES used for earlier Western releases of the same 2006 title. The Steam version launched on 15 October 2017 under the original Granado Espada name.
How many barracks slots do I start with?
Four character slots. Additional slots come in blocks and need Quarter Slot Permits, which you can buy from the item shop or from other players using Vis, the in game currency.
More Granado Espada Guides
- Granado Espada Granado Espada Overview
- Granado Espada Best Builds
- Granado Espada Tier List
- Granado Espada Walkthrough
- Granado Espada Tips & Tricks
- Granado Espada Weapons Guide
- Granado Espada Combat Guide
- Granado Espada Boss Guide
- Granado Espada Maps & Locations
- Granado Espada Crafting Guide
- Granado Espada Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Granado Espada, check out these related guides:
- New World: Aeternum Beginner's Guide: mmo game with similar mechanics
- Lost Ark Beginner's Guide: mmo game with similar mechanics
- The Elder Scrolls Online Beginner's Guide: mmo game with similar mechanics
