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.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Multiple Character Control is not optional
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.
2. Stances come from weapons, not from classes
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.
3. Your character promotion track runs Veteran at level 100, Expert between 110 and 120, and Master at 120 and above
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.
4. Vis is player traded, so its buying power moves with the server economy
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.
5. 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
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.
6. Auto hunting is built into the client and is the intended way to grind stance experience
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.
7. Al Quelt Moreza spans level 4 to 17, which is unusually wide
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.
8. 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
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.
9. Weapons are split into light, medium and heavy families
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.
10. The level bands between zones are the real progression gates
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.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Fighter (A-Tier):
- Focus on Multiple Character Control combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Rapier
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Wizard (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Great Sword
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Granado Espada's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Multiple Character Control + Stances tied to the equipped weapon: You control up to three characters at once and switch between them with a keypress, and all three fight at the same time. Combined with Stances tied to the equipped weapon, a character's available stances depend entirely on what is in their hands.
Barracks and the family roster + Auto hunting mode: Everything you own belongs to a family, not to a character, and the barracks screen is where you see and rotate that roster. When paired with Auto hunting mode, the client ships with an active automatic hunting mode that keeps your three characters fighting a chosen area without input.
Colony Wars and Faction Wars scaling: 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.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rapier | Fighters who want speed over reach, duelling stances, and players who prefer switching stance mid fight rather than committing to one guard. | A medium weight Fighter weapon that opens the Epee Garde and Sabre Garde stances, plus Epee Garde of Grim on the darker line. |
| Great Sword | Holding aggro in dense field zones, mid level grinding from Tetra Hillside upward, and any family with only one melee character. | A heavy Fighter weapon carrying Plow Guard and Roof Guard. |
| Pistol | Hybrid Fighters, players who want a ranged option without giving up melee, and dual wield builds. | A medium weapon that opens Freestyle Shot on its own and Double-Guns Shot when dual wielded. |
| Rifle | Musketeers, long unattended grinding sessions, and any family that would rather not fight in melee at all. | The Musketeer's main weapon, carrying Standing Shot, Kneeling Shot and Aiming Shot among others. |
| Polearm | Second line Fighters, families with a dedicated shield character in front, and single target pressure on field bosses. | A heavy Fighter weapon behind the Blandir Cruz and Penetrar Cruz stances. |
Location Efficiency
Reboldoeux Stone Pit (Level 1 to 6): 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.
Al Quelt Moreza (Level 4 to 17): 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.
Garden of Kings (Level 19 to 29): The step up after Al Quelt Moreza, and the zone where a family that has been getting by on one damage dealer starts to struggle. Pack density here is the reason most players finally level a second offensive stance rather than pushing one further.
Porto Bello (Level 36 to 64): A long lived hunting area whose monster levels span a wide band, which means a family can return to it repeatedly as it grows instead of outlevelling it in a week. It is the usual home of a family between the level 30 and level 60 walls.
Dr. Torsche's Mansion (Level 54 to 85): An instanced mansion area and one of the better known mid game destinations, running well into the eighties. It is where families that have coasted on auto hunting find out whether their stance choices actually hold up under manual control.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Building a family of three damage dealers with no healer, which works until Garden of Kings and then stops working entirely.
- Levelling stance experience across several weapon types at once, so no single stance reaches veteran tier and the whole family stays weak.
- Spending early Vis on gear rather than on Quarter Slot Permits, then hitting the four slot barracks limit with no room for RNPCs.
- Leaving auto hunting running in a zone far above the family's level, which produces a long stretch of deaths instead of experience.
- Treating the game like a standard MMO and playing one character, which throws away the one system the whole design is built around.
Pro Quick Tips
- 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.
- Start with Wizard, switch to Fighter when ready
- Invest in Rapier above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Reboldoeux Stone Pit → Al Quelt Moreza → Garden of Kings → Porto Bello → Dr. Torsche's Mansion. See our maps guide
- Multiple Character Control + Stances tied to the equipped weapon together are stronger than either alone
More Granado Espada Guides
- Granado Espada Granado Espada Overview
- Granado Espada Best Builds
- Granado Espada Tier List
- Granado Espada Walkthrough
- Granado Espada Beginner's Guide
- Granado Espada Weapons Guide
- Granado Espada Combat Guide
- Granado Espada Boss Guide
- Granado Espada Maps & Locations
- Granado Espada Crafting Guide
- Granado Espada Classes & Characters
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