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LHM + HHM Playthrough: S-Rank + Max Tactician Stars


ruadath
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20 members have voted

  1. 1. Who will get the most kills?

    • Hector
      4
    • Lowen
      0
    • Rebecca
      0
    • Sain
      8
    • Florina
      2
    • Raven
      4
    • Canas
      2
    • Other
      0
  2. 2. When does the last mine get used?

    • Chapter 26: Unfulfilled Heart (to get that Uber Spear!)
      5
    • Chapter 28x: Night of Farewells (to help deal with all the general treasure getting madness)
      5
    • Chapter 32: Victory or Death (we need all the help we can with this one!)
      2
    • None! With sufficient skill and tactical genius (read: appropriate usage of the Silver Card and Hammerne Staff), we can eliminate the need for the last mine entirely!
      7
  3. 3. What should the excess of funds in Chapter 9 of Lyn Mode be used for?

    • Promote Sain!
      9
    • Angelic Robe Florina!
      6
    • Energy Ring Florina!
      2


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Hey guys, I'm new to this forum (as a contributor anyway) but certainly not new to Fire Emblem! I've completed S-ranked runs of HHM several times, but one challenge I have always wanted to undertake was a Max Tacticians Stars S-Rank. I haven't been able to find anyone who has done something like this online, so I decided to attempt this myself!

I am currently in the middle of a tool assisted run on LHM, where I am attempting to get 58/60 stars while getting Nils to level 7. I am only using TA because it is required; I hope to not do so for HHM (which I consider to be the actual challenge, this just being the preparation).

In terms of preparation, I am aiming to get Sain promoted (which I have to do before the end of chapter 9) and train up Florina and Matthew (and of course Serra/Nils). I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this challenge and any advice you may have to offer. Let me know what you guys think!

Edit: Now with links to all of the completed chapters so far:

[spoiler=HHM - second attempt] Chapter 11 (6 turns)
Chapter 12 (4 turns)
Chapter 13 (5 turns)
Chapter 13x (8 turns)
Chapter 14 (4 turns)
Chapter 15 (8 turns)
Chapter 16 (4 turns)




[spoiler=LHM - 78 turns] Prologue (5 turns)
Chapter 1 (4 turns)
Chapter 2 (4 turns)
Chapter 3 (3 turns)
Chapter 4 (8 turns)
Chapter 5 (3 turns)
Chapter 6 (3 turns)
Chapter 7 (6 turns)
Chapter 7x (19 turns)
Chapter 8 (6 turns)
Chapter 9 (7 turns)
Chapter 10 (10 turns)



[spoiler=LHM - 79 turns] Prologue (5 turns)
Chapter 1 (4 turns)
Chapter 2 (4 turns)
Chapter 3 (3 turns)
Chapter 4 (8 turns)
Chapter 5 (3 turns)
Chapter 6 (3 turns)
Chapter 7 (3 turns)
Chapter 7 (6 turns)
Chapter 7x (16 turns)
Chapter 8 (7 turns)
Chapter 9 (8 turns)
Chapter 10 (12 turns)



[spoiler=HHM initial attempt (unfinished)] Chapter 10
Chapter 11 (watch MoogleBoss's video)
Chapter 12 (slightly outdated)
Chapter 13
Chapter 13x (missing)
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 17x

Edited by ruadath
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Why do you need to do a tool assisted run for LHM?

Also, you can't promote anybody before the end of chapter 8, because you only get the Knight Crest at the beginning of chapter 9.

Sorry, I meant before the end of Chapter 9.

I'm pretty sure FlorinaQuestar has a turn by turn strat that S-ranks LHM no matter what

http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=52411&hl=s-rank

I don't just want to S-rank Lyn Mode, but grab 58/60 stars too (with Nils at lv 7).

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Yeah, I think you need to TAS some of the chapters for crits because otherwise you can't make the funds ranks. Wasn't it specifically the chapter with Glass?

Edit: I guess you could "technically" do it not TAS, but since you'd be burning through the same chain as a TAS would, the only difference is execution speed.

Edited by Balcerzak
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Yeah, you're correct. I followed Vykan12's run for the first couple of chapters. I strayed after that, though, because I rushed Sain to Level 8 in the next two chapters.

Edit: Well I'm not doing it as a TAS, just a TA lol.

Edit 2: Actually, I'm thinking of re-running from Chapter 3, since I would like to save a few more turns for Nils to make life easier.

Edited by ruadath
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Now that I have cleared Chapter 5, I figured it might be a good time to post a progress report (using Balcerzak's nice template):

Name:     Lv.XP HP STR SKL SPD LCK DEF RES
Lyn:      4.89  19  6   8   12  8   3   0
Sain:     7.57  25  13  7   12  5   8   1
Kent:     4.41  23  9   7   10  3   5   1
Florina:  4.31  20  8   8   12  8   5   5
Wil:      2.60  BASE
Dorcas:   3.00  BASE
Erk:      1.43  BASE
Serra:    1.33  BASE

I'm also 10 Turns ahead of the Tactics Rank. What do you guys think?

Perhaps I should also state that I remembered to buy Javelins this time (embarassingly enough, I forgot on my initial attempt, and this was the real reason for my restart... it has been a while since I last played this game)

Edited by ruadath
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After much planning, I've finally cleared Chapters 6 and 7. I took 4 turns on each, which is much longer than the best possible times (3 turns and 2 turns, respectively), but necessary to get the experience I need. Actually, I found a 3 turn strategy for Chapter 6 that met all the requirements, but I was not able to distribute the EXP as I liked, and I decided to take my 4 turn instead since I liked the levels I got better. Anyway, here are my stats:

15 turns ahead of Tactics Rank

Name:     Lv.XP HP STR SKL SPD LCK DEF RES
Lyn:      5.25  20  7   9   13  9   3   1
Sain:     9.06  27  15  7   14  5   9   2
Kent:     4.69  23  9   7   10  3   5   1
Florina:  5.25  20  9   8   13  9   6   6
Wil:      3.17  20  7   6   6   6   6   0
Dorcas:   3.00  BASE
Erk:      1.74  BASE
Serra:    2.32  18  3   5   9   7   2   5
Rath:     7.13  BASE
Matthew:  4.06  20  6   5   13  2   4   1
Nils:     1.43  BASE
Lucius    3.00  BASE

As always, let me know if you have any thoughts! I appreciate the feedback!

Edited by ruadath
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For anyone who is interested, I actually now believe that my original goal of 58/60 stars may be possible. The trick here will be to train Nils up on the level where we already perform badly; Chapter 7x. Since the funds rank cannot be achieved here, we are guaranteed to lose at least 1 star in this chapter, and this thus proves the ideal opportunity to have Nils sit around and get attacked by enemies.

Let me explain further. Leveling up Nils at the expense of the Tactics rank should obviously be done in 1 chapter to minimize damage, and will cost at least 2 stars from the chapter where it is done. If done in a chapter different from 7x (usually 10), this automatically costs us at least 3 stars. However, if both losses are combined in a sinlge chapter, it only counts as a 2 star loss. In addition, we must also account for the Combat rank, which will inevitably go down due to all of the battles that Nils will take part in. However, as long as this doesn't go below 2 stars (15% of battles end in victory) for the chapter, we will still suffer a net loss of only 2 stars for the chapter. Since Nils' levels take care of the Experience Rank (more or less), this provides a perfect opportunity to have Sain run around the map ORKOing stuff (with Matthew tagging along for the steals and chests).

Of course, I will have to TA this level, since I need the enemies to consistenly miss Nils, since I can't afford to damage my Funds rank further by bringing Serra along to heal. Wish me luck!

See http://serenesforest.net/blazing-sword/miscellaneous/rankings/tables for more information regarding the calculations done here.

Edited by ruadath
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OK, so assuming I didn't screw up with any of calcluations, Chapter 7x and the hardest part of the Lyn Mode preparations is over. I tooks 22 turns on the Chapter, which puts me back even with the Tactics rank, and my stats are as follows:

Name:     Lv.XP HP STR/MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES
Lyn:      5.43  20    7     9   13  9   3   1
Sain:     10.56 28    16    7   15  6   10  2
Kent:     5.01  23    10    7   10  3   6   2
Florina:  5.45  20    9     8   13  9   6   6
Wil:      3.17  20    7     6   6   6   6   0
Dorcas:   3.00  BASE
Erk:      1.74  BASE
Serra:    3.09  19    4     6   10  8   2   6
Rath:     7.13  BASE
Matthew:  4.84  20    6     5   13  2   4   1
Nils:     4.26  17    1     0   14  13  8   7
Lucius    3.00  BASE

I'm allowed 7+8+12=27 turns on the remaining Chapters, so Nils should hit level 7 without much trouble (dance every turn, plus get hit by a few more enemies). Surprisingly, my Combat Rank is still intact after that mess of a chapter (85/196=.433>.4), so it looks like I'm good to go! It looks like Sain will promote at level 12 or so, which with his current stats looks to be fine. Hopefully, everything will be smooth sailing until HHM begins.

Edited by ruadath
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Haven't played at all today yet, but Chapter 8 looks like it might be a little bit tricky; I need to get 500 exp w/ only 360 gil worth of weapon use. Anyone have any good strategies they would like to suggest? I suppose I am probably going to have to bring out the underleveled characters (Dorcas, Erk) to reach this target...

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With no one responding, it feels like I'm talking to myself...

Anyway, I've figure out a battle plan for Chapter 8, though I'm not sure I'll be motivated to do it today.

Nils dances for 70 free exp.

Dorcas rushes at the mages by the village for at least 100 cheap exp.

Lance users (Kent, Florina) + Lyn mop up most of the level.

Sain gets the boss kill and anything else I can afford.

Magic is too expensive, so I can't use Erk/Lucius. Serra probably won't be healing, of course, since that will save money (if I have some left over, I will be glad to have her heal though)

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Finally got around to clearing Chapter 8. My play wasn't anywhere near optimal, but I'm getting sick of Lyn mode and restless for Hector mode. Anyway, here are the stats.

Took 7 turns (still on par with Tactics Rank)

Name:     Lv.XP HP STR/MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES
Lyn:      6.28  21    8     10  14  9   3   1
Sain:     11.13 29    17    8   16  6   10  2
Kent:     6.16  23    10    8   11  4   7   2
Florina:  6.22  20    10    9   14  10  6   6
Wil:      3.17  20    7     6   6   6   6   0
Dorcas:   3.92  BASE
Erk:      1.74  BASE
Serra:    3.42  19    4     6   10  8   2   6
Rath:     7.13  BASE
Matthew:  4.84  20    6     5   13  2   4   1
Nils:     5.00  18    1     0   15  14  9   8
Lucius    3.00  BASE

EDIT: Nooooo, unless I'm mistaken, I can't promote Sain in chapter 9 without hurting my funds rank. This ruins my entire plan for Lyn mode, sigh.... -_-

EDIT 2: Never mind, I forgot about the torch. But this still leaves me with only 86G worth of funding for the chapter! I guess my strategy will then be to replay 8 without using Lyn, and then in Chapter 9 have Lyn slaughter everything while Sain makes a charge for the boss using his lance only 10 times. This will still be insane, because Nils can only pick up 80 exp for free, Sain at most ~170 (pushing his luck), so Lyn is going to have to hit 4 level ups in the chapter! Do you guys think this will be possible? Maybe I'll bring out Dorcas for some OHKO's with his Axe where possible (or just rig crits)...

Edited by ruadath
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With no one responding, it feels like I'm talking to myself...

I'm still reading this when I can, it's just been forever since I booted into FE7, so I feel out of practice and most of my advice won't be applicable. If I am quicker to see the posts, maybe I'll do some test runs next time to find out.
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Thanks Balcerzak!

Anyway, with regard to my last post, it appears I am just incompetent at calclulating stuff when excited. I actually have 286G to work with, which while still tricky, is very possible. I might still redo 8 to give Sain a better chance of hitting Level 13 after Eagler.

EDIT: Also, a quick question for anyone perusing the forum. Once I get to HHM, would you like me to also attempt to get low turn counts (while still max ranking/stars; this would involve rigging crits and such)? Or would you prefer a more casual, less RNG abusing playthrough (still going for max rank/stars)?

Edited by ruadath
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Honestly, I always found super low turn count things to be kinda boring, just because you have to manipulate RNG so much. That's just my personal opinion however.

It just seems like a lot of work, unless that is what you want.

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Stats after completing chapter 8 (second time):

Name:     Lv.XP HP STR/MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES
Lyn:      5.61  20    7     9   13  9   3   1
Sain:     11.27 29    17    8   15  7   10  2
Kent:     6.07  25    11    7   11  3   7   2
Florina:  6.48  21    10    8   14  10  6   6
Wil:      3.17  20    7     6   6   6   6   0
Dorcas:   3.92  BASE
Erk:      1.74  BASE
Serra:    3.53  19    4     6   10  8   2   6
Rath:     7.13  BASE
Matthew:  4.84  20    6     5   13  2   4   1
Nils:     5.00  18    1     0   15  14  9   8
Lucius    3.00  BASE

So as you can see, the main changes were less exp. for Lyn and Kent at the expense of more exp. for Florina, Serra and Sain. The level ups were also slightly different. This should put me in good shape for having Lyn level up several times in Chapter 9. I'll try to get that up soon.

BTW for Chapter 9, I'm taking: Lyn, Sain, Kent, Florina, Dorcas, Nils, Serra, Matthew

Although I don't expect to use Florina much.

Edited by ruadath
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I don't think anyone has done quite what I'm doing before, but the idea here is that Erk will be used to meet the EXP requirements in Chapter 10 (450, with ~100 accounted for by Lundgren) where we can afford him (we have 1600G to spend there). A double hit from Erk costs 28G, which is fairly expensive in levels like Chapter 9, where one can only spare 286G.

Speaking of Chapter 9, this is going worse than expected... I may have to do Chapter 8 over again... sigh.

Of course, there is a simple solution; simply accept that Sain promotes at level 12 (instead of 13)... but I'll put a bit more effort into trying to avoid that before I give up.

Edited by ruadath
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Successfully completed! The trick turned out to be having Sain charge at Eagler and engage him in several rounds of combat, since he gets more exp from that (13 per turn) than one-shotting weak enemies (7 exp). He just barely made it to level 13 before promotion, but look at these amazing stats

fe7_sain_promotion.png

Except for the low Skill and Res, you wouldn't guess that he was promoted 7 levels early! He'll be really useful in Hector Mode.

As for the general strategy, Dorcas handled the NW corner soldiers and central mountal bandits, Matthews took care of the SW bandits, and Sain only took out Eagler, his guard soldiers and the two archers that came from the NE corner. Lyn pushed NE a bit, taking out the cavs before Florina rescued her and brought her to seize... and Kent got a kill during the midst of the action.

Anyway, a summary of stats so far:

Name:     Lv.XP HP STR/MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES
Lyn:      6.85  21    7     10  14  9   3   1
Sain:     1.00  33    20    9   17  8   13  4 (promoted at 13.00)
Kent:     6.33  25    11    7   11  3   7   2
Florina:  6.48  21    10    8   14  10  6   6
Wil:      3.17  20    7     6   6   6   6   0
Dorcas:   5.57  32    8     9   7   4   3   0
Erk:      1.74  BASE
Serra:    3.75  19    4     6   10  8   2   6
Rath:     7.13  BASE
Matthew:  5.66  21    6     6   14  2   5   1
Nils:     5.80  18    1     0   15  14  9   8
Lucius    3.00  BASE
Wallace   12.00 BASE

Chapter 10 should hopefully be a piece of cake! Want to vote on who gets to kill Lundgren? It's probably going to be Lyn or Sain; hopefully the former, since I'd like to keep Sain at Lv 1 for HHM, but possibly the latter if she can't take him out. Or I might have Sain weaken and Lyn finish off... something like that.

EDIT: Finally figure out how to get around the image issue (LPix.org!). Also forgot to add Wallace. I suppose we can also compare my Sain with Melth's (at the end of Chapter 10, promoted at Lv. 19):

10%2020%20Sain%20Promote.PNG

Not too shabby in comparison, eh? In fact, overall, once I finish Lyn Mode, I'll be at a pretty similar point in terms of levels/stats to Melth, with the exception that I haven't and can't use the Angelic Robe or Energy Ring.

Edited by ruadath
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If you're using tools assistance, is there any reason you can't manipulate your Sain to have at least average skill? That could hurt you a bit in the long run if he needs to fight a lot of enemies with a javelin or steel lance for some reason (manipulating enemy phase kinda sucks).

I do hope you post videos at some point, it's hard to give feedback without them.

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I'll have videos (I think) for HHM definitely. Nothing for Lyn Mode since you don't want to see the RNG manipulations for chapters like 2, 7x, or 9 (especially since I'm not fast at doing them). I might do it for 10 though since there shouldn't be much RNG manipulation needed there.

Also, I plan (hope) to stop RNG manipulating once I hit HHM. The only reason TA was used for Lyn Mode was because it is necessary for max stars.

Edited by ruadath
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By the way, does anyone know if someone has done something like this before? I saw an old thread on gamefaqs by GreatEclipse a few minutes ago, but wasn't sure if anything conclusive came of that run.

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Finally got around to doing this. I've decided to go with images and turn-by-turn descriptions since it is easier for me to give commentary than with a video. (A note for anyone following along: the description of events on the enemy phase is often given out of order in order to fit the narrative better)

HmzNh3S.png

Turn 1: Florina brings Lyn south (veering slightly west) and equips the Javelin. Erk (with Nils help) makes his move, charging into enemy lines; Matthew, Kent and Sain (carrying Serra) follow behind him.

EK18bqL.png

He gets a solid level up (sans magic growth) from the Mage attacking him on the enemy turn

bwaNweL.png

Turn 2: Florina kills the archer who attacked her from the south (Iron Lance). Serra heals Erk, Sain and Kent advance, and Matthew kills the archer (with Nils help, who levels up), leaving him on 99 exp. to level up on the enemy archer's attack. Erk kills the retreating soldier.

9EavomH.png

Never mind, the archer doesn't attack Matthew, but goes for Erk instead (and dies). I'll probably let the shaman level up Matthew then. A mercenary attacks Florina.

Turn 3: It starts to rain. Florina drops Lyn west, and then heads east onto the forest. I'll give a picture of them since I haven't yet.

vMzwFBL.png

Nils helps Serra heal Erk, everyone else advances.

I2RdIc3.png

Another merc attacks Florina. Lyn finishes off the merc that attacked Florina on the enemy phase and gets this beautiful level up:

NTmkHJo.png

Turn 4: Everyone in the north group advances, Nils vacuously plaing for Serra. Lyn moves onto the mountain to aggro the bandit. Florina waits to finish off the merc to level up.

VuAavho.png

Turn 5: One should note that at this point the EXP requirement is in the bag; we have already gained 282 EXP so far. Whoever kills Lundgren will get at least 100, and Nils has to play 8 mort times (80 EXP) to hit level 7, which puts us above the 450 requirement for this chapter. Funds was never really an issue for this chapter, so all that is left to do is finish the battle at the end of Turn 12. People advance this turn, Nils plays for Serra, Matthews moves in to aggro the shaman. Florina settles on the fort, preparing to wipe out the cavalry reinforcements, and Lyn gets out of the way.

U9J7X6c.png

Matthew levels up, as predicted.

RROffWI.png

Turn 6: Kent takes out the Shaman, Sain visits the village, Nils plays for Serra so that she can heal both Matthew and Kent (she levels up). Everyone else advances. Another cav charges Florina and dies on the enemy phase.

Lx7dXRx.png

Turn 7: People continue to move forward; Florina and Lyn pull back so that the remaining cavs can be taken out by Erk/Kent when they get there. Nils plays for Serra and she heals Florina.

Turn 8: Kent hits a cavalier with a Javelin. Erk finishes him off and gets to level 3. Serra heals people. Nils plays. Cavalier charges Erk on enemy turn, gets doubled and killed.

QsXdxaO.png

Turn 9: Ditto.

Turn 10: With the last cav gone, its time to charge Lundgren. Erk moves into position to to take out the knight when he charges. Now there's only Lundgren

igjo38X.png

Turn 11: Matthew gets out of the way so Serra can heal Erk. Lyn moves forward a bit then lets Nils play for her. Kent attack Lundgren with Javelin. So does Sain. Erk blasts him with Fire and levels up. (Lundgren dodges one of everyone's two attacks by the way, and doesn't counter since he has the Silver Lance equipped).

S3cELQm.png

Here is a picture of the map, by the way.

bjJjlHQ.png

Lundgren witches to the Javelin and attacks Erk. Excellent.

Turn 12: Serra heals Erk. He attacks again. So does Kent. He levels up.

57FuVmP.png

Lundgren now has a measly 2 HP left. Lyn puts him out of his misery and levels up.

IbZYOA7.png

Nice touch!

P1erqMb.png

Nils finally reaches his goal of level 7:

6xK78hf.png

and Lyn seizes to complete the chapter. Finally, done with Lyn mode!

Let me know if you like the image-text stye playthrough, if you would have like to have seen anything done differently, or any other comments!

Edited by ruadath
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