Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Wing Diver (Earth Defense Force)

Is Earth Defense Force a fairy tale? To better answer this question, we should ask if the game series has fairies in it? That is debatable, but it would still be correct to say that it has Spriggans. What are spriggans?  Cornish plant fairies as far as lore is concerned, but in the case of Earth Defense Force 5, they are a legendary group of flying women known as the Wing Divers.

Unlike the Ranger class, who are all doomed to remain bolted down to the earth as they strive desperately for greatness, the Wing Divers can leap up into the air and fly about with perfect freedom. According to the game's lore, the reason the class are composed of entirely women are because of their lighter body weight and graceful economy of movement. They are proud creatures who zip about and attack the invading monsters from all sides, always finding and exploiting their weak points. There is no place a Wing Diver cannot go. Everything is exposed to them. This is their advantage.

But with every advantage comes a drawback. The mighty Spriggans are woefully fragile. A simple flick of Godzilla's tail would be all it would take to end a Wing Diver's life. Every bone will break. All equipment will be destroyed. That will be their end. Not to mention their susceptibility to giant spider webs.

Agility... swiftness... quick thinking... these are all important virtues to someone who would take up the Wing Diver class. Keep moving. Keep flying. Never stop! Never give up! Become an annoying fly that will buzz about but never be smacked. That is how you play a Wing Diver.

Being a Wing Diver is also about energy management. Her flight pack as well as her weapons are energy based... and come from the same power core. That's right. Every shot you make will draw from the same resource that powers your flight. It's a very easy mistake to make to fly in shooting only to deplete your core, leaving you helpless on the ground while swarms of monsters come to kill you. A good Wing Diver knows how to manage her energy reserves... and when the time is right... she'll give the enemy everything she's got. She may be rendered helpless, but the enemy will be dead.

I love playing the Wing Diver. The freedom of flight makes the class so much more liberating. The energy management aspect as well as her fragility provides a wonderful balance to the class. But the best part of it to me is that, in a very real sense, the Wing Divers... no... the Spriggans... They are the fairies of the Earth Defense Force, and the good news is... they are on our side.

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