Azelstan is a powerful side-character who was first introduced to the world with the PSP version of Tactics Ogre - now, in Reborn, he's back and is as useful and flexible as ever. As the archetypical Buccaneer, he's a great frontline unit with access to melee weapons and guns.

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Recruiting him, however, is a bit of a complicated process. There are multiple timed events to witness and a few difficult battles to undergo. Here's a step-by-step guide on getting this dashing rogue to join you.

How To Recruit Azelstan

You can recruit Azelstan on any route of the game once you reach Chapter 4, but there are quite a few steps to the process. First, you will need to unlock Port Omish - to do this, read the Port Omish, Den of Thieves topic in the Warren Report. You must do this before you deal with the story battle at Mount Hedon.

Make sure you've reached your maximum level - Port Omish holds a devilish battle.

The battles involved in this guide will be detailed below the entire process of recruiting Azelstan.

Once you beat the fight with Azelstan alive, you'll be treated to another cutscene introducing him. This is all you can do for now - progress the story until you are prompted to go to Barnicia Castle.

• Before going to Barnicia Castle, read the Talk topic about The Pirate's Graveyard to unlock the dungeon. Enter this dungeon and then leave - you do not have to actually complete the dungeon or fight any battles there.
• There will be a new Talk topic - The Dread Pirate. Read it and then visit Port Omish again. You'll get another cutscene with 'Diego.'
• Now, go to Qadriga Fortress for one more cutscene. This is the trigger that activates the rest of Azelstan's recruitment quest. This is the point when you can go take on Barnicia Castle.
• Go to Port Omish for yet another battle that involves keeping Azelstan alive - this one is considerably easier than the first. After this, you can take on Pirate's Graveyard for real - the first few stages will be normal.
  • Cave of Spite is likely to have Octopuses and undead. Take along a Dragoon with Beast Killer and some means of exorcism to speed things up.
  • Astride the Border is likely to have lots of Lizardmen and some Winged. You might want to take the time to recruit some, especially if they have good equipment.
  • Crystal Halls will have the scripted battle in which you recruit Azelstan.

Optional Battle: Port Omish First Visit

If Diego/Azelstan dies in this battle, you will never be able to recruit him.

The difficulty in this battle comes from the difficulty in trying to save Diego - and you really need to save him. He starts off basically surrounded by enemies and there are multiple Rampart Aura users standing between you and him, so getting to him is a problem.

• Characters with Lobber make for great ways to heal Azelstan - Beast Tamers would be okay, but Vyce in the Ranger class is even better. With Ranger's high Jump stat, he can hop up to the roof near the Swordmaster and Archer quite easily and throw a healing item at the pirate, hopefully before he snuffs it.
• Sometimes RNG will not be in your favor, and Azelstan will die before you can reach him in any way - this is just how the cookie crumbles. Reload and try again, or try to abuse the Chariot function to reroll the number generator.
• If Azelstan's Evade ability triggers, it'll save you some worry, but if it doesn't, that's another turn of getting hit from all sides.
• You only need to defeat Ragnar to win this fight - focus your firepower on him to make sure the fight ends before anything bad happens to Azelstan.
• Be sure to check the field out with the overhead tactical view - some units are hidden in the alleys to the left.

Once Azelstan is comfortably safe with your healers near him, this fight becomes considerably easier. Take out the Knight and Terror Knight before descending on Ragnar with everything you've got. Don't be perturbed by early losses - it really is just that luck-based to begin with.

Optional Battle: Port Omish Second Visit

This battle is a ton easier than your first go-around in this town, mostly owing to the fact that it's a lot easier to get to Azelstan to heal him.

• Use Winged with healing items to get across the rooftops quickly and heal Azelstan. Also great for this fight are Clerics with staves that grant their spells extra range. If you have Catiua in the Princess class, Engulf can come in extremely handy for this.
  • If Azelstan has Evade activated, healing items will do nothing. Take note of this.

• Azelstan starts off surrounded again, but he's also more powerful than he was last time. The Swordmaster who starts out near him is probably the biggest threat, so try to take him out as soon as you can.
• The Hydra here is nasty - but this is also a great opportunity to recruit one. Hydras are rare!

Once you deal with the heavy hitters - the Swordmaster, Terror Knight, Wizard, and Warlock - you should be set. Winning the battle gets you a scene with Azelstan and the ability to go recruit him at the Pirate's Graveyard!

Optional Battle: The Pirate's Graveyard - Crystal Halls

It's pretty obvious by now, but if Azelstan dies, you don't get to recruit him.

There's a healthy number of foes on this map, but it's also quite an easy battle to tackle.

• The majority of your enemies here are physically based, with only the Patriarch and the Familiar having a magical affinity. You can combat your enemies with lots of magic yourself, pelting them with spells before they can reach you, for a big advantage.
• This is a good place to recruit the slightly uncommon Hoplite, Patriarch, and Juggernaut classes. These are powerful, bulky classes exclusive to the Lizardmen, Lamia, and Orc races.
• Send any flying or long-range units to the right - they'll have an easier time dealing with the units on the high-up ledges, including the pesky Winged Archer.
• Azelstan starts near you in this fight - keep someone with healing abilities near him, and you should never have an issue keeping him healthy, especially if his defensive abilities trigger.

All in all, you shouldn't have any trouble with this fight. It's an easy end to a sidequest that begins with a significant difficulty boost.

Complete the battle, and you'll get a cutscene in which Azelstan joins your crew - you'll also get some Pirate's Marks, which allow some other characters to use the powerful Buccaneer class - Canopus, for example.

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