Hector hard ranked playthrough

[dondon151]

Right. I started a HHM playthrough a few days ago, hoping that I would learn from the failures in my last ranked attempt. I'm sure many people have both S-ranked HHM and chronicled their progress before, so this run has a little catch: between each chapter, I will reset all units' stats to their averages at the respective levels. This will hopefully result in a more "objective" experience that can be used in comparison to theory-FE in tier list debates and provide an... unadulterated experience of ranked HHM. I will also not play through LM beforehand.

Hopefully I won't lose interest halfway.

Chapter 11: Another Journey

OK, I have two choices: I can go left and break through walls/doors or I can go down and try to have Hector and Matthew survive through a whole bunch of enemies. Previous experience has shown me that both ways result in the same amount of turns (going west might save me a turn), but going down nets more EXP.

Turn 1: Matthew unlocks the door and Hector attacks the soldier with a Hand Axe. Hector defeats the soldier and counters the archer on enemy phase.

Turn 2: Matthew swipes at the archer for some EXP and Hector finishes off with Wolf Beil, moving into the range of the knight, soldier and archer. This is kind of dangerous, as one of the attacks MUST miss (looking at ~60 hit for the knight/soldier and ~80 hit for the archer) or else Hector dies. The soldier misses; Hector defeats the knight and soldier for a level up.

Turn 3: Matthew kills the archer with Hector's help. The thief unlocks the door.

Turns 4-5: Hector moves west, using a Vulnerary on turn 4. Matthew steals the Lockpick from the thief, and the thief steals it back. Yay free EXP.

Turn 6: Matthew lets the thief alone so that the thief will open the chest. I should have attacked once so that Matthew would get a level-up.

Turn 7: Matthew claims the Red Gem after the thief has pilfered it. The thief opens the upper door instead of taking the Red Gem back.

Turn 8: Hector attacks Wire with Wolf Beil. I had stupidly overlooked to use the Vulnerary again, but Wire misses. Matthew steals the Lockpick and Wire gets himself killed before the thief can take it back. Hector gets a level up.

Comments: Took a bit of a risk, but I think 8 turns is a decent completion time. I doubt I can get a better turn count while still getting comparable EXP and the Red Gem. It sucks that the first chapter is 0 requirement, but this game is kind of gay like that, and it won't be a problem later. Matthew is frustratingly frail, 2RKO'd by everything and having very unreliable avoid... but the chapters ahead have hordes of axe users.

I will also give more concise accounts from now on.

Unit	 Lv.Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   03.85  21  08  05  06  09  01  04
Matthew  02.87  18  04  04  11  03  00  02

Turns/req: 8/0

EXP/req: 372/0

--------

Chapter 12: Birds of a Feather

Sweet, some more people!

Turn 1: Marcus gets the Secret Book. I was debating on whether or not I should send someone else as I thought Marcus would be valuable here, but everyone else needs EXP and Marcus won't have much trouble catching up. Matthew moves in range of the brigand and peg knight - one of them, preferably the brigand, has to miss (~45 hit). Hector and Matthew level up.

Turn 3: Oswin lands a crit on that pesky mercenary. Yay. Matthew grows to level 4.

Turn 4: Zagen begins moving.

Turn 5: Matthew grows to level 5. Zagen is now the only remaining enemy.

Turn 7: Serra trades her Red Gem to Bartre, who goes to the armory and buys an Iron Axe for Hector and an Iron Sword for Eliwood. Eliwood lands the killing blow on Zagen and levels up.

Comments: Still sort of a hard chapter, though Oswin's incredible defense and Hector's durability really help on the north end. The Peg Knights everywhere severely limit Serra's movement and threaten Matthew, but at least the axe users have semi-reliable low hit against him. On Eliwood's end, it turns out Marcus wasn't necessary, but there's so many player units there and not enough enemies for any of them to gain levels.

Unit	 Lv.Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   05.23  23  10  06  06  10  01  04
Matthew  05.19  20  05  05  13  04  01  04
Eliwood  02.89  19  05  06  07  05  00  07
Marcus   01.00  31  15  15  11  10  08  08
Rebecca  01.90  17  04  05  06  03  01  04
Lowen	02.72  23  07  05  07  07  00  03
Dorcas   03.32  30  07  07  06  03  00  03
Bartre   02.43  29  09  05  03  04  00  04
Oswin	09.32  28  13  09  05  13  03  03
Serra	01.67  17  02  05  08  02  05  06

Turns (ch): 7/8

Turns (total): 15/8

EXP: 1267/550

I think I could have defeated Zagen by turn 6, but Hector's group already has enough EXP. I don't think it would have been possible without putting Matthew or Hector at significant risk - Zagen's a tough bastard.

Is there anything else that I should take note of? Am I taking down useless notes? The only thing that I won't keep track of is reinforcements, as I always forget about them.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a ch16 strategy that takes less than 10 turns? I had thought about sticking Kent/Sain in a forest in ballista range and exhausting ballista ammo, then having Florina ferry Hector over to Bauker, but Lyn's units aren't strong enough to stave off PKs and mercs while saving the village. I had also thought about Marcus raping everything by himself... maybe I'll try that.

Edited January 16, 2009 by dondon151

[Mekkah]

For Ch16, put Wil on the edge of one of the Javelin Peg's range, so he counters and nearly kills him, then finish that one off with someone, and gang up on the other. I've found that ferrying with Florina in that chapter hardly speeds up things at all since Florina is so frail and no unit, not even Hector, really lives forever, not to mention his offense isn't enough to cut through things at reasonable speed (all the Cavs, Pegs, a Mage, Archers, etc). I think you're better off going roundabout.

I think this will be a really tough S-rank run because of the underleveledness of the Caelin knights, who are vital for rushing chapters like 17 and 20, as well as Florina (without her, optimizing the desert chapter is a huge bitch).

[dondon151]

For Ch16, put Wil on the edge of one of the Javelin Peg's range, so he counters and nearly kills him, then finish that one off with someone, and gang up on the other. I've found that ferrying with Florina in that chapter hardly speeds up things at all since Florina is so frail and no unit, not even Hector, really lives forever, not to mention his offense isn't enough to cut through things at reasonable speed (all the Cavs, Pegs, a Mage, Archers, etc). I think you're better off going roundabout.

I think this will be a really tough S-rank run because of the underleveledness of the Caelin knights, who are vital for rushing chapters like 17 and 20, as well as Florina (without her, optimizing the desert chapter is a huge bitch).

Yes, I always do that with Wil the first turn. Luckily he is just durable enough to take two hits from the Javelin PKs, though usually I only have Lyn help him out because Kent and Sain are fending off the mercs to the right.

I have to disagree with you on Hector =/ Myrms tink him, sword users in general don't do enough damage, lance users and axe users have unreliable hit... He still takes damage, obviously, but he needs healing like, every 4th turn. The mage is very dangerous, though.

I will try to maximize use of Sain, Kent and Florina in the early chapters. 17 will be tough, I agree, but Lowen is there to help them out and Priscilla easily catches up to heal them.

I've worked out an 8-turn strategy that nets 180 less EXP than the 10-turn strategy. Which one should I use?

[Mekkah]

I have to disagree with you on Hector =/ Myrms tink him, sword users in general don't do enough damage, lance users and axe users have unreliable hit...

I guess it depends on how strong your Hector is. What happened to Ch14 and Ch15?

I've worked out an 8-turn strategy that nets 180 less EXP than the 10-turn strategy. Which one should I use?

The former. You can trade turns for EXP by using the arena while boss/reinforcement abusing which could easily net almost that much EXP, but doing the reverse is more difficult.

[dondon151]

I guess it depends on how strong your Hector is. What happened to Ch14 and Ch15?

I'll post 13-15 later.

The former. You can trade turns for EXP by using the arena while boss/reinforcement abusing which could easily net almost that much EXP, but doing the reverse is more difficult.

Hmm, ok. That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I did manage to work out another strategy (if you can call it a strategy when I hit 3 crits in one turn with single digit crit %s) that completes the chapter in 9 turns with only 23 less EXP than the 10-turn completion; I think I'll go with that.

Edited January 17, 2009 by dondon151

[dondon151]

Chapter 13: In Search of Truth

I should have bought an Iron Sword for Guy >.< Oh well. I'll want to visit the top village for 13x - that way is a shorter path to the throne as well, although Hector is liable to get blocked by the cavaliers. The problem with splitting up the units is that one group won't have Serra, and everyone but Hector and Oswin still takes considerable damage.

Turn 1: Oswin fells the snag and lands a counter crit against the cavalier... lol.

Turn 4: A soldier and an archer appear from the bottom forts. Hector visits the top village and Oswin cuts down the snag leading to the castle.

Turn 5: Eliwood plants himself on a forest tile, but he has to survive five attacks (two of which are brigands with like 10 hit). Guy begins to move.

Turn 6: Matthew recruits Guy. I got myself into sort of a precarious situation, since Eliwood and Serra have low HP and a few other units had taken previous hits. Lowen lands a critical on an archer that would have otherwise been an annoying impediment.

Turn 7: Eliwood hits a Rapier crit against a brigand - kind of crucial since it and 3 archers could gang up on my units. Rebecca also hits a crit against an archer, defeating it in one hit. On enemy phase, Eliwood crits a soldier. The right side is now cleared.

Turn 9: Hector defeats Boies.

Turn 10: All enemies are defeated. Hector seizes.

Comments: I probably should have sent Lowen with the main group in the east instead of with Hector and Oswin, since his decent defensive abilities would have enabled me to take a lot less risks (and a lot less Eliwood and Bartre almost dying). I bought an Iron Sword from the armory for Guy and decided against buying more Vulneraries... hopefully I won't regret this in 13x.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   06.99  24  10  06  07  11  01  05
Matthew  05.77  20  05  05  13  04  01  04
Eliwood  04.36  19  06  07  08  06  01  08
Marcus   01.08  31  15  15  11  10  08  08
Rebecca  03.50  18  05  06  07  03  02  05
Lowen	04.97  25  08  06  08  08  01  04
Dorcas   04.40  30  08  07  06  03  00  04
Bartre   03.76  30  10  05  03  04  00  04
Oswin	09.94  28  13  09  05  13  03  03
Serra	02.69  18  03  05  08  02  06  07
Guy	  03.54  24  08  13  13  06  01  05

Turns (ch): 10/12

Turns (total): 25/20

EXP: 2500/1300

EXP surplus is over 1100 - hopefully it grows and manages to stay a large margin above the requirements, because endgame requirements are a bitch. 13x will add an extra turn to the deficit, but that's not a problem.

Chapter 13x: The Peddler Merlinus

Hmm... how am I going to get that village without a lot of Marcus or any of my units dying?

Turn 1: Matthew uses a Torch and Oswin rescues Merlinus. This was a completely unnecessary step as Hector and Dorcas KO'd the archer, removing any immediate threat.

Turn 2: Matthew steals a Vulnerary from the west myrmidon. He has to take three attacks on enemy phase, but luckily the brigands miss with ~35 hit.

Turn 3: A Hand Axe brigand knocks down the snag leading to the village. For some reason, they're not destroying it.

Turn 5: Guy moves into Puzon's range and equips a Killing Edge. The WT forces him into a single attack, but that's all that is needed as Puzon falls in one shot. The Mine that you got from the last chapter can be used on him here, but there are probably better situations to use them in.

Turn 6: Marcus visits the village and gets 5000G.

Turn 7: All enemies are cleared. Hector gets a C support with Eliwood.

Comments: This is the chapter where Marcus really shines - there's a lot of enemies and your units that aren't him, Oswin, or Hector can't really take more than 2 or 3 hits. He also doesn't double the myrmidons and mercenaries and brings them within KO range very easily. A few times Dorcas and Bartre were in danger of dying; their high HP is rather compromised by their horrid defense.

The myrmidons double everything that doesn't have at least 9 AS. Nomads have 7-8 AS and therefore can double even 4 speed Bartre. Brigands have 6 AS and are easily two-rounded by Matthew and Guy, but are remarkably durable for everyone else.

As for logistics, Matthew and Guy took the left island while Bartre and Dorcas handled the enemies from the south. Everyone else went up north.

I'm really surprised that the brigands didn't go after the village even when there was no one in range. I guess they aren't programmed to destroy it in this chapter?

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   07.48  24  11  07  07  11  01  05
Matthew  07.16  22  06  06  15  04  01  05
Eliwood  06.10  22  07  08  09  07  02  09
Marcus   01.41  31  15  15  11  10  08  08
Rebecca  05.06  19  06  07  08  04  02  06
Lowen	05.64  26  08  06  08  08  01  05
Dorcas   05.06  32  08  08  06  04  00  04
Bartre   04.45  31  10  06  04  05  01  05
Oswin	10.32  29  13  09  05  14  03  03
Serra	03.35  18  03  06  09  02  06  07
Guy	  05.71  26  09  14  14  06  02  06
Merlinus 05.--  Who really gives a damn?

Turns (ch): 8/7

Turns (total): 33/27

EXP: 3574/2000

As far as gaidens go, there's almost no reason to not take this. The EXP requirement is easily exceeded, you get 5000G in fluid cash, and you get slightly more adequate units for the chapters ahead, all for the cost of 1 turn.

I hope you guys don't mind me scraping by with some shoddy tactics in chapter 13 >.<

Is there a way to salvage the northern chests in chapter 17 that doesn't involve Marcus charging in and raping everything? I can get to the thief after he pilfers the loot to take the Knight Crest, but I have no idea how to salvage the Silver Sword.

[Raven]

Saving the Silver Sword is probably worth more than what exp Marcus is going to take helping reach it in time, I'd believe - as long as he isn't used to kill everything, of course.

[Mekkah]

Turn 3: A Hand Axe brigand knocks down the snag leading to the village. For some reason, they're not destroying it.

GBA Brigands have always prioritized on attacking anything (even snags) before destroying villages. If only FE8 Ch9 (Eir) Pirates were this friendly...

Turns (ch): 8/7

Isn't it 7 since you killed Puzon?

[dondon151]

Saving the Silver Sword is probably worth more than what exp Marcus is going to take helping reach it in time, I'd believe - as long as he isn't used to kill everything, of course.

It's like, almost impossible even with Marcus. I can imagine it would be very doable with Kent and Sain leveled up in LM, but right now Kent and Sain take too many rounds to KO enemies and can't take many hits back. I hit a roadblock when the group of cavaliers/nomads/archers melange with the knights in the middle corridor and it takes me a turn just to create an opening (which promptly closes up on enemy phase). With that impediment I simply cannot move Marcus to the thief the turn after he pilfers the Silver Sword.

At least it's only a loss of 1500 G.

GBA Brigands have always prioritized on attacking anything (even snags) before destroying villages. If only FE8 Ch9 (Eir) Pirates were this friendly...

The thing is, only one brigand can attack a snag at the time, and I am 90% sure that there were at least 4 of them in the vicinity.

Isn't it 7 since you killed Puzon?

No, I tested this and it is indeed 8 turns no matter what. My comments on chapter 15 will address this.

Chapter 14: False Friends

The Preparations menu makes its debut - with it comes the Fortune option! Let's check.

Tactics: ☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

The combat rank is a joke.

Turn 1: Serra expresses her confidence in you. That's great! Erk appears as an NPC.

Turn 2: Serra recruits Erk, who subsequently visits the north village for the Iron Blade. Bartre misses against a PK with 94 hit... d'oh.

Turn 4: Marcus plants himself near the south village, but as there's a low health cavalier and pirate nearby, it's not safe to recruit Priscilla yet. Hector moves into Erik's range and counters with his Iron Axe. Rain begins to fall.

Turn 5: Marcus visits the south village and Priscilla joins. Hector finishes Erik with the Wolf Beil.

Turn 7: The rain ends.

Turn 9: Guy buys a Heal and a Fire from the vendor. Marcus buys 3 Iron Swords and an Iron Axe from the armory. Eliwood and Hector defeat the last enemy with tEaMwOrK.

Comments: The key to not making this chapter drag out long (aside from using Hector/Oswin/Marcus smartly) is to not let go a wounded PK after player phase, since it will invariably scoot back to the forts and be unreachable until it recovers its HP. If you choose to leave Bartre and Dorcas behind to deal with the PKs and soldiers, make sure to lure out soldiers and not get ganged up on, for neither can take too many hits. Also, recruit Erk and have him visit the north village as fast as possible so that you don't have to rescue him from brigands (and thus be forced to move units from the main force).

Erik and most of his cavaliers will begin moving the turn after the rain stops. The same with the soldiers on the right, if you haven't dispatched them already.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   09.11  26  12  08  08  12  02  05
Matthew  07.88  22  06  06  15  04  01  05
Eliwood  06.89  22  07  08  09  07  02  09
Marcus   01.75  31  15  15  11  10  08  08
Rebecca  06.33  20  06  08  09  04  03  07
Lowen	06.88  27  08  06  08  09  01  06
Dorcas   06.32  32  09  08  07  04  00  04
Bartre   05.61  31  11  06  04  05  01  05
Oswin	10.71  29  13  09  05  14  03  03
Serra	04.12  19  04  06  09  02  07  08
Guy	  06.72  26  09  15  15  06  02  06
Erk	  02.33  18  05  06  08  02  04  03
Prissy   03.36  16  06  06  08  03  06  07

Turns (ch): 9/10

Turns (total): 42/37

EXP: 4801/2850

It's too bad Merlinus doesn't give EXP to your rankings =/

Chapter 15: Talons Alight

Goddamn, another 0 requirement chapter. This will be good for EXP and Funds, but it will add 8 turns to Tactics. Oh well, that won't be a problem later.

Deployed units: Hector, Erk, Priscilla, Matthew, Eliwood, Dorcas, Bartre, Serra, Oswin

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Note: 43 turns is max 4-star Tactics and 49 turns is max 3-star Tactics. Taking 1 extra turn in chapter 14 preserves 4 stars and taking 2 extra turns makes 3 stars - this proves that 13x always adds 8 turns, even if Puzon is defeated.

Turn 1: Matthew unlocks the door that separates Dorcas, Erk, and Bartre from the rest of the group. Bartre and Dorcas move down and score crits on 2 knights.

Turn 2: Eliwood breaks the left wall so that he can get access to all those fighters. Oswin plugs up the north exit while everyone else holds the main passage.

Turn 4: Matthew steals the Lockpick from the thief, who has opened the door to the treasure room. A myrmidon lands a crit on Erk... goddammit. I'm not ashamed to admit that I used 2 RNs, so on second try Eliwood manages to crit a fighter and Erk crits that same myrmidon.

Turn 6: Hector moves south, within Longbow range of Sealen.

Turn 7: Now, Sealen drops a Dragonshield, and I really want that for Funds. Hector and Bartre attack him with Hand Axes, Priscilla takes Hector's Hand Axe and rescues him, then Dorcas takes Priscilla's Hand Axe and scores the KO.

Comments: This chapter would have been much easier with Guy and Lowen instead of Dorcas and Bartre. The fighters may do well on turns 1-3, where a majority of the enemies are soldiers and knights, but once the myrmidons and mercenaries reinforce, they don't want to be anywhere near there. Lowen provides reliable defense while Guy can take on all of the west fighters by himself. Some may say that Oswin serves more use blocking the main passage, but he's basically your only unit that can deal with the whole northern doorway all by himself, and I could not afford to spare units helping or healing him. The large number of archers and nomads are incredibly annoying; none of them can be one-rounded and they can gang up on Priscilla and Serra, who are still vulnerable behind the front lines.

The mishap with Erk was probably my worst oversight so far, as the myrmidon would have 1-rounded Erk if he hadn't been OHKO'd by a Thunder crit. I didn't want to start the chapter over after so many attempts, as the mistake in Erk's positioning was made earlier that turn when I was trying to KO a nomad.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   09.84  26  12  08  08  12  02  05
Matthew  08.41  23  06  06  15  05  01  05
Eliwood  08.30  24  08  09  10  07  02  10
Marcus   01.75  31  15  15  11  10  08  08
Rebecca  06.33  20  06  08  09  04  03  07
Lowen	06.88  27  08  06  08  09  01  06
Dorcas   08.38  34  10  09  07  04  01  05
Bartre   06.90  32  11  06  05  05  01  05
Oswin	11.90  30  14  10  06  14  04  04
Serra	04.68  19  04  06  09  02  07  08
Guy	  06.72  26  09  15  15  06  02  06
Erk	  03.99  18  06  07  08  02  05  04
Prissy   03.84  16  06  06  08  03  06  07

Turns (ch): 8/10

Turns (total): 50/37

EXP: 5792/2850

Sweet, I am almost 30 levels of EXP over the standard. Hopefully that keeps going up.

Anyone have deployment suggestions for chapter 18? Serra, Priscilla and Matthew are basically mandatory, so that leaves 4 slots for combat units.

Edited January 17, 2009 by dondon151

[Mekkah]

Ch18? I would say Eliwood to keep Hector alive when he Hand Axes Shamans away, Florina since this is one of the very few chapters with few archers and many magic plus she can hold of Pegs...but this gives you a very weak team on enemy phase, so throw in Lowen and/or Oswin too. I may even recommend ditching Priscilla, since she dies in two hits to pretty much anything except two Flux Shamans.

That chapter pretty much comes down to moving Matthew to the boss to steal, then killing, and trying to steal and kill as much as possible on your way there.

[dondon151]

I don't think Florina's a good idea. She's 2-rounded by PKs and they come in groups of 2 or 4 >.< Actually, that not entirely correct - she's 2-rounded sometimes by Iron Lance PKs and is always 2-rounded by Steel Lance PKs.

Priscilla may die to 2 Nosferatu shamans whereas Serra does not, but with regards to everything else their durabilities are basically identical. My last playthrough where I RNG abused good characters I found myself wishing that I had two healers on this chapter, and I imagine that they will be in higher demand right now. I'll see what happens.

Oswin and Lowen seems like a good idea. I'll probably go with Oswin and Kent, who needs the EXP more than Sain or Lowen (his offense and defense are worse than both of theirs), and Oswin will go solo in his tanking duties. Generally I plan on moving the group of my units over to Zoldam's ship so they don't get spread thin, though Merlinus will probably get driven off.

Edited January 17, 2009 by dondon151

[Mekkah]

I don't think Florina's a good idea. She's 2-rounded by PKs and they come in groups of 2 or 4 >.< Actually, that not entirely correct - she's 2-rounded sometimes by Iron Lance PKs and is always 2-rounded by Steel Lance PKs.

I guess you are going to have to stick with Fiora then, because Florina seems to be used as a ferrybitch during Ch16, is pretty much unable to get any during Ch17 except picking off the occasional Archer before being blocked off, and is busy visiting villages and abusing move again in 17x. Her last training opportunity is 19x, pretty much. If she ain't any good from there, she ain't gonna be good nowhere.

Priscilla may die to 2 Nosferatu shamans whereas Serra does not, but with regards to everything else their durabilities are basically identical. My last playthrough where I RNG abused good characters I found myself wishing that I had two healers on this chapter, and I imagine that they will be in higher demand right now. I'll see what happens.

I suppose your current experience counts for more than my theories. Personally I would still throw in a fighter before a second healer on this map and just use vulneraries if Serra doesn't suffice, but my game =/= your game.

Oswin and Lowen seems like a good idea. I'll probably go with Oswin and Kent, who needs the EXP more than Sain or Lowen (his offense and defense are worse than both of theirs), and Oswin will go solo in his tanking duties. Generally I plan on moving the group of my units over to Zoldam's ship so they don't get spread thin, though Merlinus will probably get driven off.

Yeah, I guess going with the lower leveled one or the one that needs that tad of extra AS/Str the most is the best idea, since pretty much anyone one-rounds Shamans.

[dondon151]

I guess you are going to have to stick with Fiora then, because Florina seems to be used as a ferrybitch during Ch16, is pretty much unable to get any during Ch17 except picking off the occasional Archer before being blocked off, and is busy visiting villages and abusing move again in 17x. Her last training opportunity is 19x, pretty much. If she ain't any good from there, she ain't gonna be good nowhere.

I didn't end up using Florina as a ferrybitch in ch16, but you're basically right. To be sure, though, level 7 Florina (what I have her as of ch18) is only slightly worse than base level Fiora. I plan on using both of them in addition to Dorcas and Bartre on 19x since I'll need to get them to a respectable level just for EXP rank, and I imagine that ch23 will be much easier with 2 fliers helping each other versus one flier going solo (granted, Heath is available by then).

I suppose your current experience counts for more than my theories. Personally I would still throw in a fighter before a second healer on this map and just use vulneraries if Serra doesn't suffice, but my game =/= your game.

Keeping that one healer protected while not risking your other units is particularly difficult during the first 5 or so turns =/ Vulneraries I wouldn't rely on simply because a lot of offense is required during player phases if you want to gain any ground. I'll address this further later in the post.

Anyway I wouldn't blame you considering these averages suck more than I had remembered...

Yeah, I guess going with the lower leveled one or the one that needs that tad of extra AS/Str the most is the best idea, since pretty much anyone one-rounds Shamans.

That's one thing that Florina can do, lol. With an Iron Lance, of course.

OK, so a multitude of failed attempts and a successful attempt later... This chapter's hard. Oswin and Hector are consistent as always; Lowen can take mercs and archers decently but shamans seal the deal on enemy phase. Sain and Kent really just can't be exposed on the first couple of turns at all. Serra and Priscilla kept up with healing, but I got lucky a lot with ~60 hit rates from shamans missing and not having to heal those units. Even so, they had their hands full. I really can't contemplate finishing this chapter efficiently with only one healer, as Hector and Oswin can't plug holes forever while the rest of the team moves nor can the rest of the team gain good EXP if Hector and Oswin have to shield them all the time. PKs also throw a loop, able to pick at your healer unless you set either an extensive or restrictive formation.

I tried Bartre/Dorcas as well. The mercs absolutely murder them so they can't really do anything until the initial wave is cleared, and without their contribution to offense the initial wave doesn't get cleared and you will have moved nowhere by turn 7...

Ah well. I somehow managed to just fall short of the EXP requirement for the level by 13 points, so I'm satisfied. The next couple of chapters are easy, then I need to charge on ch20.

Edited January 18, 2009 by dondon151

[dondon151]

Chapter 16: Noble Lady of Caelin

Look, Lyndis's Legion joins! Too bad they all suck without LM experience. This chapter has kind of a tight turn requirement, but it's doable without much loss.

Deployed units: Hector, Erk, Priscilla, Matthew, Eliwood, Serra, Rebecca, Lowen

Tactics: ☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

These requirements make a lot of sense, eh?

Turn 1: Florina says "um..." a lot. Wil moves in range of both Javelin PKs. Florina moves down to the west village while Matthew gets in position to steal the thief's Lockpick the next turn. Erk lands a crit on a PK.

Turn 2: Lyn and Wil clean up the PKs on their end.

Turn 3: The Caelin knights clean up on their end while Eliwood crits a cavalier that's sort of out of the way - I needed this or else I would have had to dedicate a whole lot of units that I couldn't afford. Matthew moves down in range of the brigand reinforcements that threaten the south village.

Turn 4: Erk crits a cavalier, allowing Hector to choke the passage near that house by the 1-space cliff. Lowen one-rounds an archer... with a crit. Then Hector does the same with a cavalier. Getting kind of lucky with the low RNs here...

Turn 6: Matthew is in KO range of a cavalier - it has to miss with ~45 hit.

Turn 8: Sain lands a crit on the Thunder mage; Lowen and Kent mop up the remaining enemies. Hector attacks Bauker with Wolf Beil - it should be noted that at level 10 on average, Hector will not double Bauker. Wil buys a Heal from the armory and Lyn buys a Steel Sword, an Iron Axe and a Hand Axe. On enemy phase, Hector defeats Bauker on a counter.

Turn 9: Lyn buys an Iron Lance and a Javelin. Hector seizes.

Comments: I was considering buying a Steel Bow for Wil, but it still falls short of an OHKO on the PKs. Damned 2x effectiveness.

Marcus would actually have been an immense help in this chapter. He no longer consistently doubles most enemies, but he does double the Steel Sword cavaliers. With an Iron Lance, Marcus puts enemy mercenaries and myrmidons in KO range, and with an Iron Sword, Marcus puts enemy cavaliers in KO range, so he doesn't kill everything and take EXP away from weaker units. He can also rescue Hector and drop him in front of Bauker for minimal risk. If you're bringing Marcus, I would also suggest bringing only one healer, as you're not going to be finding yourself healing very often. In fact, I would hazard to suggest bringing only one healer even if Marcus isn't being fielded, as Hector's group has only 9 units and they need all the offense they can get. The cavaliers especially are 2-rounded by Hector and Guy, while everyone else on your team has worse offense.

I would like to add that Lyn and Florina are offensive and defensive failures. Lyn at least gets a Mani Katti. Florina can't use an Iron Lance without losing AS.

I managed to complete this chapter in 8 turns with Marcus at the loss of 157 EXP. 157 EXP is harder to come by than 1 turn IMO, so I'm sticking with the 9 turns.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   11.42  28  13  09  09  13  03  06
Matthew  10.23  24  06  07  17  05  02  06
Eliwood  08.78  24  08  09  10  07  02  10
Rebecca  07.53  21  06  08  10  04  03  07
Lowen	08.11  28  09  07  09  09  02  06
Serra	05.46  19  04  06  10  03  07  08
Erk	  05.25  20  07  08  09  03  06  04
Prissy   04.58  17  06  07  08  03  07  08
Lyn	  05.37  19  05  11  12  02  00  06
Florina  04.53  19  06  09  10  04  05  09
Wil	  04.72  21  06  05  06  05  01  07
Kent	 06.03  24  08  08  09  06  01  04
Sain	 05.09  23  10  05  08  07  01  05

Turns (ch): 9/7

Turns (total): 59/44

EXP: 7275/3950

Chapter 17: Whereabouts Unknown

This chapter is mostly archers with a few sword users and knights here and there. I get Raven this chapter (!) but he will probably out of commission trying to recruit Lucius... who is still at base level.

At last, a chapter whose turn requirement doesn't suck! I'll try for 13 turns, which is what I got on my last playthrough.

Deployed units: Hector, Lyn, Florina, Sain, Kent, Lowen, Erk, Priscilla, Serra, Matthew

I deploy all the Caelin knights sans Wil because they need EXP. Florina may suck in this chapter, but in 17x she won't do any fighting and in 18 she is too frail to be ganged up on. I give her a Horseslayer in case anyone needs it. Sain has the Heavy Spear to help with the knights.

Tactics: ☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Hector talks some strategy and gets a chill feeling... Ooooo... I notice that the myrmidon has 14 AS, which means that he doubles damn near everyone. Erk 1-rounds the knight and the other enemies are quickly dispatched. I don't plan on leaving anyone back to protect Merlinus, since I can't afford to compromise any offense. Raven is let out of his cell.

Turn 2: Matthew leaves the group to go for the left chests and 1-rounds the archer with a Killing Edge crit. Kent does the same with the archer on the left.

Turn 3: Florina 1-rounds an archer with the help of a Slim Lance crit. The rest of the group charges ahead, as the corridor is clear. Raven begins to move.

Turn 4: Matthew OHKOs the shaman guarding the treasure room. If he hadn't, not only would opening the room have taken another turn, but Matthew's chances of dying would have significantly increased. I completely did not notice that nomads had up to 12 AS, enough to double Sain, but luckily a knight missed and Sain didn't die.

Turn 5: An enemy thief unlocks the door of the closed central room. I'll have to get up quickly to save the treasure.

Turn 6: Matthew gets a Hero Crest. A thief unlocks the door to the top treasure room. Priscilla recruits Raven after an angsty talk. Florina gets a Door Key from an archer. The thief pilfers a Silver Sword and the Caelin soldiers unlock their door. Reinforcements from the south appear with the intent to molest Merlinus.

Turn 7: Kent obtains a Hammer from a fighter. Matthew gets an Unlock. The thief pilfers a Knight Crest, which means I lose the Silver Sword.

Turn 8: Kent and Sain defeat the Thief and claim the Knight Crest. The Caelin soldiers begin moving; I would rather save all 3 of them so that I can get +5000 G to my assets.

Turn 9: Kent OHKOs an archer with a crit... Then Lowen does the same. Priscilla rescues Hector and Sain drops him 10 spaces away from Bernard. Florina dispatches the last archer with a Javelin. The south reinforcements drive off Merlinus.

Turn 11: Hector 1-shots Bernard with a Wolf Beil crit (he would have 1-rounded anyway). The rest of the group mops up the northern enemies.

Turn 12: Raven recruits Lucius (damned soldiers got in his way). Hector seizes. The Caelin soldiers express their deepest gratitudes and give Hector a Red Gem.

Comments: Obviously, quite a lot of people are more viable in this chapter than Florina, given the prevalence of bow users, though Florina has the advantage of being able to keep up with your mounted units on the front line. Marcus could be useful here as well and might be the sole unit who is able to salvage the Silver Sword. Overall the chapter wasn't too hard; the only difficult aspect is making sure that archers and nomads don't gang up on 2 range. It may be more difficult to keep all 3 Caelin soldiers alive without those lucky crits on the archers in the center cell, but each of them can survive one round of battle.

Matthew is basically a dead weight after getting the left treasure, as there's no way he can possibly regroup with your units (maybe he can with Marcus). Taking longer than 12 turns would have caused the south reinforcements to start attacking him.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   12.78  29  14  09  09  14  03  06
Matthew  11.05  25  07  08  17  05  02  07
Lowen	09.37  29  09  07  09  10  02  07
Serra	06.67  20  05  07  10  03  08  08
Erk	  06.93  20  07  08  10  03  06  05
Prissy   05.58  17  07  07  09  03  07  08
Lyn	  07.47  20  06  12  13  03  01  07
Florina  06.78  20  07  10  11  04  06  10
Kent	 08.34  25  09  09  09  07  02  05
Sain	 07.53  24  11  06  08  08  01  06
Raven	05.38  29  10  14  15  05  02  02
Lucius   03.00  18  07  06  10  01  06  02

It kind of sucks that Raven didn't get +1 def to his HM bonuses, but whatever...

Turns (ch): 12/18

Turns (total): 71/62

EXP: 8956/5050

The EXP surplus just keeps growing! Now I'm 39 levels ahead of the curve. This chapter also really helped reduce my turn count deficit.

Edited January 18, 2009 by dondon151

[dondon151]

Chapter 17x: The Port of Badon

The goal is to visit all villages and defeat Damian, which I did in 6 turns on my previous playthrough - let's see if I can beat that.

Deployed units: Hector, Florina, Oswin, Eliwood, Lyn, Lucius

Only 6 units can be used on this chapter. Hector and Florina are pretty much required - that leaves 3 slots. I choose not to bring a healer as I know Oswin can easily survive for the 5 or 6 turns it takes to complete the chapter, and Eliwood/Lyn are not likely to be hit by the pirates.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Oswin moves left to block the middle passage, Lucius visits the village to get Canas, and Eliwood visits the village with the Devil Axe. Hector moves up while Florina rescues him and moves toward the top center village.

Turn 2: Florina visits the village with the Short Bow. Damian and his crew arrive.

Turn 3: Florina drops Hector on the space above the armory. Lyn and Lucius move north, defeating the pirates, and Canas finishes off the Swordslayer pirate with a Flux crit. Oswin smacks Damian with the Horseslayer on enemy phase.

Turn 4: Oswin uses his Iron Lance on Damian - two rounds of combat from both Oswin and Canas put Damian in KO range for Eliwwod. Florina gets a Lancereaver from the top left village.

Turn 5: Eliwood finishes off Damian and Florina visits the last remaining village for a Sleep staff, which causes Fargus to give the command to charge... but it's not like that matters. Hector talks to Fargus.

Comments: Wow, Damian was a lot harder than I remembered. His ~15 def and ~14 res combined with ~37 hp is amazing.

I had thought of moving someone into the "all pirates go batshit" region on the first turn, but that really just nets a whole bunch of killer weapons and mid-level magic in the face, which no one can take. Damian at least is manageable with his steel weapons and horse weakness.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   12.85  29  14  09  09  14  03  06
Eliwood  10.61  25  09  10  11  08  03  11
Oswin	12.44  31  14  10  06  15  04  04
Lyn	  07.85  20  06  12  13  03  01  07
Florina  07.01  20  08  10  11  05  06  10
Lucius   04.32  19  08  07  10  01  07  02
Canas	08.92  21  10  09  08  05  08  07

Turns (ch): 5/10

Turns (total): 76/72

EXP: 9462/5750

Chapter 18: Pirate Ship

Pure Waters would be handy for this chapter... Hey! What are those shamans holding? This is one of those survival chapters that ends if the boss is defeated, so the goal is to defeat him after milking the reinforcements of all their EXP. Or to defeat him as soon as possible, if as soon as possible means the final turn.

Deployed units: Hector, Matthew, Sain, Kent, Oswin, Lowen, Serra, Priscilla

Only 8 units? That's total bullshit. Matthew is basically mandatory, as in addition to the Pure Waters about this chapter, there's also an Elysian Whip and a Guiding Ring that Matthew can steal. Sain and Kent may not even be able to 1-round mercs in tandem... but at least they can 1-round the shamans.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Priscilla insists that she's not seasick and Jake appears to direct you around the ship. How does he come out of the stairs when there's a shaman blocking it? Lowen and Oswin block both stairs with Javelins equipped, countering all attacks on enemy phase.

Turn 2: Stuff happens. I had to retry this turn a few times because whenever I sent Kent or Sain past the stairs, they ended up dying on enemy phase... (In conclusion, I didn't put them past the stairs)

Turn 3: Sain dodges a Steel Lance PK that would have killed him. I'm still holed up near the bow, but finally the enemies let up.

Turn 5: I can finally get off the bow! PK reinforcements from the south are bearing down, but all that's left on the ship is a mercenary.

Turn 6: The group crowds around the stairs that Jake came out of while Lowen and Oswin direct the enemies' attacks. Another wave of PKs move up from the south. Matthew steals a Pure Water.

Turn 7: Matthew steals another Pure Water as the group is positioned to board Zoldam's ship. Another enemy ship reinforces at the south.

Turn 8: The group clears the shamans on Zoldam's ship while Hector and Oswin move to blockade the planks. A bunch of reinforcements show up at the end of the turn, namely some more PKs and a shaman on Zoldam's ship.

Turn 9: Kent equips a Javelin to bait the aforementioned shaman while Matthew moves into range to steal the Guiding Ring. I realize that I had forgotten to buy a Heal from the armory, so Lowen creates an opening in a mob of mercenaries and Hector runs back to the vendor. Shamans reinforce from the stairs on Zoldam's ship.

Turn 10: Matthew steals Zoldam's Guiding Ring and does 10 damage countering on enemy phase.

Turn 11: Everyone gets in a last round of combat, Hector buys a Heal, and Sain and Kent wipe the floor with Zoldam. Fargus and his crew come up and probably rapes everyone... thanks for helping...

Comments: Pure Waters actually would have been helpful for this chapter, that is, if my units didn't have to attack every single damn player phase. This chapter is, IMO, really hard - you should definitely rely on Hector, Oswin, and Lowen (to a lesser extent) for blocking and choking, as it's what this map is all about. You are especially encouraged to do so during the first 4 or so turns, where you're being mobbed my mercenaries, archers, peg knights and shamans. Kent, Sain, and Eliwood all have shaky durability that's only reliable when there aren't hordes of enemies around, and anyone with even shakier durability... probably shouldn't be used. The mercs are tough, 3-rounded without Oswin's help, while Steel Lance PKs, Steel Bow archers and shamans are easily 1-rounded (they all pack a punch, however). Nosferatu shamans are something to watch out for, as they will not be 1-rounded if Nosferatu hits.

Magic users in general I wouldn't recommend if only because the PKs have an annoying tendency to sneak past your formation. Florina I wouldn't recommend either as her crappy durability doesn't help you at all against the PK reinforcements, plus it detracts from the total offense of your team. However, one could make a point that she could sneak past enemies and solo the shamans on the left ship, but keep in mind that her resistance, while better than everyone else's, is not that good.

I have to say, I got incredibly lucky with a lot of ~60 hit shamans missing on player phase.

A final note: 1~2 range is really valuable on this map. You'll want to counter shamans and archers on enemy phase so that you can plow through them on player phase.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   13.34  30  14  10  09  14  03  07
Oswin	14.20  33  15  11  07  16  05  05
Matthew  13.22  26  07  08  19  06  02  08
Prissy   06.79  17  07  08  09  03  08  09
Serra	07.79  20  05  07  10  03  08  10
Lowen	11.86  31  10  08  10  11  03  07
Kent	 11.08  28  10  10  11  08  03  06
Sain	 09.92  26  12  07  09  08  01  07

Turns (ch): 11/11

Turns (total): 87/83

EXP: 10899/7200

Bleh, the EXP requirements are getting tougher to exceed. I fall short of this one by 13 points.

--------

Right now I am on ch20 and I'm broke. Yeah. I want to buy killer weapons from the secret shop so I can reliably land criticals when necessary (I'm thinking this will be incredibly useful on 23 and 23x), but I have no idea how I can steal the Member Card while getting Matthew all the way down to the bottom left corner of the map in a reasonable time frame. Horse-effective weapons will be used liberally, but even then I'm not confident if I can get Matthew up (and down) there in time. I'll also need leftover money to buy normal weapons in ch21, but since I have the Silver Card, I suppose I'll just sell a Blue Gem as the assets lost will be made up sooner or later in Silver Carded merchandise.

Maybe I'll use Marcus to rescue Matthew.

Edited January 19, 2009 by dondon151

[Mekkah]

Hm, your 17x strategy is very different from mine. I always send Raven north to the weak Pirates to flex his muscles, Florina flies by all the houses without rescuing, and I always trigger the pirate crew attack for the huge huge amount of EXP...each their own, but I'm afraid this will make EXP quite a bit harder.

For buying Killers, you don't actually have to buy as much as debates suggest (lol 30 KEs for Guy), seeing as most people get by with Iron just fine. You can sell stuff you would never use anyway (Orion's Bolt is a good example) as well as gems.

For Member Card, Legault should be able to steal it. I use Unlock Staff + Matthew + rescue chain to get the Brave Bow, then carry him north along with the main group, and he takes care of the chest room with the Knight (send along one magic dude or Dorcas/Dart/Bartre for the Knight and the Mages/Fighters) while everyone else goes up there and recruits Legault and takes out Darin.

Edited January 19, 2009 by Mekkah

[dondon151]

Hm, your 17x strategy is very different from mine. I always send Raven north to the weak Pirates to flex his muscles, Florina flies by all the houses without rescuing, and I always trigger the pirate crew attack for the huge huge amount of EXP...each their own, but I'm afraid this will make EXP quite a bit harder.

I had thought of doing this, but I had that Killer Bow archer and Elfire mage to worry about, in addition to the pirates taking literally as many rounds to defeat as Damian (unless you use Guy or Raven). Kinda sucks >.> Raven IMO doesn't need to flex his muscles as his offense is amazing even at base level. Since the pirates are easy, I gave the kills to Lyn and Lucius.

In how many turns do you complete 17x with your strategy?

For buying Killers, you don't actually have to buy as much as debates suggest (lol 30 KEs for Guy), seeing as most people get by with Iron just fine. You can sell stuff you would never use anyway (Orion's Bolt is a good example) as well as gems.

I plan on buying 1 KE and 1 or 2 KLs. My primary purpose is to have Florina/Fiora use the KLs in ch23 so they don't fail at offense (wyverns... lol) and killer weapons in general for 1-rounding when I need it. I also get 2 KAs later on from Hawkeye and Geitz. I'm not going to use it as a primary weapon or anything, seeing as they're kind of expensive.

For Member Card, Legault should be able to steal it. I use Unlock Staff + Matthew + rescue chain to get the Brave Bow, then carry him north along with the main group, and he takes care of the chest room with the Knight (send along one magic dude or Dorcas/Dart/Bartre for the Knight and the Mages/Fighters) while everyone else goes up there and recruits Legault and takes out Darin.

Unlock staff with rescue chain for Matthew seems like a good idea. Legault getting the Member Card will let Matthew get the chests faster as well. I'm primarily worried if I can actually get through all those cavs and nomads in only a few turns...

Edited January 19, 2009 by dondon151

[dondon151]

Chapter 19: The Dread Isle

Not much to say here. I bring the Longsword and Horseslayer, as Uhai's hard to defeat with his good durability.

Deployed units: Hector, Florina, Matthew, Guy, Raven, Lyn, Serra, Priscilla, Dorcas, Bartre, Lucius, Erk

What? Why do I get 12 units (13 with Dart) this chapter and only 8 the previous chapter? Florina's required to recruit Fiora and Matthew's vision is useful (though not necessary). I'll divide the team into 2 groups, one to stay behind to deal with reinforcements and another to work to Uhai.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Matthew announces that he's back, though he was never gone for gameplay-related purposes. Serra, Lucius, Lyn, and the axe users minus Hector stay up top while everyone else moves down. Florina rescues Guy so that Raven can stick him on a fort.

Turn 2: Matthew moves down and I see a mob of cavaliers and nomads... However, the forests in the way put them just out of thier attack range. Florina moves up to recruit Fiora on the next turn. Enemy phase, Lucius 1-rounds a PK with a crit and Priscilla survives two nomads.

Turn 3: Florina recruits Fiora. Stuff happens, namely the southern group of cavaliers and nomads being mostly wiped out thanks to crits by Raven and Erk. Dorcas gets a C support with Bartre.

Turn 4: The enemies in the south are cleared.

Turn 5: Lyn gets a C support with Florina.

Turn 6: Bartre gets a Lightning from a monk.

Turn 7: The southern units engage the nomads surrounding Uhai, who were lured out the previous turn.

Turn 8: Hector moves within bow range of Uhai so he doesn't have to deal with the Killing Edge next turn.

Turn 9: Uhai normally takes 3 rounds with horse-effective weapons, but Raven lands a Longsword crit that brings Uhai down to 5 HP. After some trading, Guy finishes Uhai off with the Longsword.

Comments: Easily the most difficult part of the chapter is the beginning where cavaliers, nomads and pirates mob your units. Defensively, Uhai is a tough mofo, with ~14 defense and resistance and ~52 avoid and the capability to double anyone with 10 AS or less. Obviously he's easily baited into 2 range, but you have 1 turn to defeat him before you risk your units dying.

A note: any Steel Bow nomad with at least 11 speed can double Bartre in addition to all Iron Bow nomads.

I missed a thief with the Torch staff, but that was literally impossible to get without having Marcus cut through the cavs and nomads on the first turn... Some experimentation showed that Marcus is at risk of dying on the second turn if he decides to go after the thief.

In retrospect, 12 units is an adequate amount >.<

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   13.62  30  14  10  09  14  03  07
Matthew  14.63  27  08  09  19  06  03  08
Prissy   07.73  18  08  08  10  04  08  09
Serra	08.70  21  06  07  11  03  09  10
Dorcas   09.49  35  11  09  07  05  01  06
Bartre   08.09  34  12  07  05  06  02  06
Florina  08.14  21  08  11  12  05  07  11
Lucius   06.01  20  09  08  11  01  08  03
Lyn	  08.47  21  07  12  13  03  01  07
Erk	  08.92  22  08  09  11  03  07  05
Guy	  09.36  29  10  16  17  07  02  08
Raven	07.34  31  11  15  16  06  02  03
Dart	 08.57  34  12  08  08  06  01  03
Fiora	08.14  22  08  12  14  06  08  06

Turns (ch): 9/10

Turns (total): 96/93

EXP: 12680/8300

Deploying Raven, Guy, Erk, Lucius, and the fighters really helped EXP rank. Currently I am almost 44 levels ahead of the requirements.

Chapter 19x: Prisoner of Magic

Mages, knights, and Axereaver pegasus knights. Unit choice this chapter isn't very difficult. There's no point to defeating Kishuna as 19xx isn't obtainable without playing Lyn Mode (what a shame, it's a free 20000G to Funds), but his cohort provides some awesome EXP. That is, if I can kill any of them.

Deployed units: Hector, Matthew, Bartre, Dorcas, Florina, Fiora, Lyn, Priscilla

Matthew is required for Aion's Silver Card. This chapter is really Florina and Fiora's last chance to work efficiently before chapter 23. Dorcas and Bartre also do well against the knights without much risk from the silenced mages. Lyn is there to fight the Axereaver PKs and to provide reliable offense against Aion.

I use only one healer because thier utility is compromised after Kishuna appears and I need as much offense as possible on player phase to defeat weakened enemies.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Fiora points out that Aion has a Bolting. For some reason a brigand reinforces at the beginning of this turn? Everyone equips a Hand Axe or Javelin to counter the first wave of mages.

Turn 3: Florina gets a Swordreaver from a brigand. Kishuna and his cohort appears.

Turn 5: Florina visits the village for a Goddess Icon.

Turn 7: Fiora defeats one of Kishuna's knights with a Heavy Spear crit.

Turn 9: Matthew steals Aion's Silver Card. Lyn crits with her Mani Katti, bringing Aion within KO range of Bartre and his Steel Axe (with a very accurate 29 hit). Hector seizes.

Comments: Very easy chapter. Kishuna's minions are pretty damn tough and will take a few rounds to defeat, so it's not worth waiting extra turns to get more EXP. 1-2 range is very useful here as there are hordes of mages and Javelin knights.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   13.96  30  14  10  09  14  03  07
Matthew  15.78  28  08  09  20  06  03  09
Prissy   08.42  18  08  09  10  04  09  10
Dorcas   10.71  36  11  10  07  05  01  06
Bartre   10.99  36  13  08  06  06  02  06
Florina  09.47  22  08  11  12  05  07  11
Lyn	  10.16  21  07  14  15  03  02  08
Fiora	10.12  23  09  13  15  07  09  07

Florina fails and so does Lyn.

Turns (ch): 9/10

Turns (total): 105/103

EXP: 13810/9300

Tactics is slowly catching up.

[dondon151]

Chapter 20: Dragon's Gate

The Member Card thief reinforces on some absurdly early turn, and I need to have that. I would like to buy some killer weapons from the secret shop, except that it's located almost in the exact opposite corner as the Member Card thief by the time I steal the item. Legault is also recruited in this chapter - he'll add an easy 800 EXP to the rank thanks to HM bonuses and a class EXP bonus, but he starts in Hector Mode with two 1-use Chest Keys instead of a Lockpick, so Hector will have to provide him one.

I'm also broke. But since I have the Silver Card, I don't need to worry about selling gems as I can buy equipment for half its value.

Units deployed: Hector, Eliwood, Lyn, Kent, Sain, Matthew, Serra, Priscilla, Lowen, Dart, Marcus, Erk

The first 3 are mandatory. Matthew is deployed for obvious reasons. The cavaliers are deployed for maximum rushing potential and Dart is out there just to gain EXP from the PK reinforcements. Marcus is there for the sole purpose of moving Matthew quickly and maybe softening up the horde of mounted units.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Kent says something knightly. Legault appears... looks like I will have to rush very quickly. I intend to catch up to him around the time he gets to Darin, as it's remarkably inefficient to go through the cracks in the walls. The Member Card thief appears. As Legault will go for the chests while the MC thief runs by, I have to get to Darin by turn 7 with Hector to recruit Legault and turn 6 with Matthew to steal the Member Card... oh man.

Priscilla uses unlock on the bottom left door, which allows Matthew to open the chest with the Brave Bow. Note that Priscilla has to Unlock from 1 range or the archer will impede the doorway on enemy phase. Erk and Eliwood defeat the knight blocking the passage and Hector prepares to counter the knights approaching from the west. Marcus positions himself to rescue Matthew on the next turn.

Turn 2: Eliwood defeats the Thunder mage with an Iron Sword crit. Lowen smacks a cavalier with a Horseslayer so Erk can finish him off. Sain defeats a nomad and moves into Cameron's range. Marcus rescues Matthew. Legault pilfers a Guiding Ring.

Turn 3: Lyn defeats Cameron with a Mani Katti crit and gets his Elixir. Eliwood 1-shots a cavalier with a Steel Sword crit. The team makes it now up to the doorway to the treasure room - one more chokepoint to get through. Legault pilfers a Barrier staff.

Turn 4: The team continues. Some stuff needed to happen here, like Lyn landing an Iron Sword crit on the troubadour (could have used Mani Katti for OHKO, but I got an Iron Sword crit anyway), Eliwood landing a Steel Sword crit on a Steel Lance cavalier (also not necessary as he 1-rounds with Rapier), and one of my cavaliers landing a crit on an Iron Sword cavalier. Only the last one is necessary, keep that in mind... I'm through the chokepoint. Marcus unlocks the door to Darin with a Door Key. Serra Unlocks the door to the treasure room.

Turn 5: Eliwood crits a nomad. Lyn moves into the treasure room to block the advancing fighters. Kent and Sain defeat two shamans now choking the doorway to the throne - Sain gets a Nosferatu. Dart starts working on the archer reinforcements from the Brave Bow room. Marcus moves into the throne room and drops Matthew.

Turn 6: Matthew steals the Member Card. Hector moves up to the throne room. As people are blocking his way, Legault stops moving.

Turn 7: Hector talks to Legault. Marcus takes Matthew's Member Card, Silver Card and Blue Gem and moves over to Legault, who takes them all. Matthew steals a Chest Key from yet another thief reinforcement, which should come in handy later. Kent defeats that thief, and Sain gets a C support with Kent. Marcus rescues Legault and runs toward the southeast secret shop.

Turn 9: Marcus drops Legault so he can break a wall the next turn.

Turn 10: Matthew opens the chest with Luna. I realize that Marcus can't 1-round the wall... but Lowen's nearby with a Javelin to help out! Hector begins to chip at Darin with Wolf Beil.

TUrn 11: Dart uses his last Hand Axe use to KO the archer that surrenders a Killer Bow. Matthew gets a Blue Gem from the last remaining chest. Kent finishes off Darin with a Heavy Spear and everyone else gets in one last turn of combat/healing. Legault goes to the secret shop, sells a Blue Gem and buys 1 Killing Edge and 2 Killer Lances. Hector seizes.

Comments: An easy chapter. Those crits that busted through that last chokepoint were absolutely necessary to reach Legault and the Member Card thief in time.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   15.04  32  15  10  10  15  04  07
Eliwood  12.25  27  10  11  11  08  04  12
Lyn	  12.92  24  08  15  16  04  02  09
Matthew  16.21  29  08  10  20  07  03  09
Prissy   09.45  19  08  09  10  04  09  11
Dart	 10.41  35  13  08  09  06  01  04
Serra	09.87  21  06  07  11  03  09  11
Erk	  11.08  24  09  10  12  04  08  06
Lowen	12.63  32  10  08  10  11  03  08
Kent	 13.14  29  11  11  12  08  03  06
Sain	 12.16  28  14  08  10  09  02  08
Marcus   01.92  31  15  15  11  10  08  08
Legault  12.38  28  08  13  17  09  04  10

Legault's HM bonus is rather crappy =/

Turns (ch): 11/16

Turns (total): 116/119

EXP: 15361/11400

Hahaha yes I am finally under the turn requirements! I lost a chunk of my EXP surplus, however. 21 levels on this map is a pretty tough feat to manage.

--------

On ch21, how many turns should I stall to use the arena? I can get in 3 units per turn, plus there are copious monk and WK reinforcements, so I'm thinking I should wait out the whole 9 turns. I'm loath to go over the suggested turn limit as it has come to bite me in the ass before, but even so I think that I may be able to get over 100 EXP per turn milking the arena and the reinforcements, which is a lot better than what most maps offer. Any suggestions?

Oleg isn't a problem. I can 2-round him with a Luna crit from Canas.

[Mekkah]

Finish this one ASAP. Any turns spent arena'ing here can be done more easily on Four Fanged Offense (Linus), due to no Fog of War, less Wyverns (they're all on the other side of the map, easily picked off by Dart/Geitz/whoever goes there), no annoying Monks, a more durable Ninian, and an extra flier for rescue chains (Heath). Oh, and buyable Pure Water (New Resolve Vendor) and Barrier (Kinship's Bond Secret Shop) speeds it up too.

For the turn requirement, you'll get raped by Ch25's zero requirement, but after that it should be smooth sailing.

Edited January 23, 2009 by Mekkah

[dondon151]

Chapter 22: Kinship's Bond

This is another one of those survival maps, but defeating Eubans ends the chapter (and yields a Knight Crest), so the goal is obviously to defeat him by the 11th turn. Every unit on this map wields a reaver weapon, which makes unit selection easier. Lance users and sword users can counter every melee unit on the map with ease.

Deployed units: Hector, Eliwood, Lyn, Kent, Sain, Priscilla, Serra, Lucius, Lowen, Legault, Ninian

All 3 lords are required for this map. The cavaliers dominate this map due to wielding lances and swords, though they can't do both at once (obviously)... Lucius also doubles fighters and some WKs for decent damage output. Legault is deployed for obvious reasons.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Isadora trades in her equipment for less expensive weapons. The fighters with Door Keys unlock all of the doors... which means the thief will get to the goods sooner.

Turn 2: Lucius, Lowen and Eliwood move left with Legault to help him break through the enemies. Eliwood recruits Heath and Legault steals a Lockpick from the thief, rendering him useless. Lyn gets an Armorslayer from a cavalier.

Turn 5: Lyn talks to Rath.

Turns 6+7: Legault gets a Brave Axe and 10000 G.

Turn 10: Legault visits the secret shop. This one has a lot of good stuff; Legault buys a Chest Key, a Torch staff and a Barrier staff.

Turn 11: Hector defeats Eubans with the help of Kent and Sain and gets a Knight Crest. An enemy soldier materializes out of nowhere to call the retreat... not that there's anyone left to retreat.

Comments: The going is tough in the beginning when your limited amount of units square off against mobs of knights, fighters, nomads and WKs, but by turn 7 Hector should have an almost clear path to Eubans. I had brought a couple of rather overleveled cavaliers (yes, level 13 at this point is overleveled judging from EXP gain), but you get Rath and Heath this chapter, both of whom join at rather low levels and contribute to EXP rank. Enemies equipped with reaver weapons are good pickings on player phase, but try not to leave fighters alive with WKs or knights after player phase as they have good accuracy against sword-wielding units.

By the way, level 6 Lucius gets OHKO'ed by WKs and fighters in this chapter on average.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   17.51  33  17  11  11  16  04  08
Eliwood  14.32  28  11  12  12  09  05  13
Lyn	  13.99  24  09  15  16  04  03  10
Legault  15.14  30  09  14  19  10  05  12
Prissy   11.67  20  09  10  11  04  10  12
Serra	11.19  22  07  08  12  04  11  12
Lucius   09.51  21  11  09  12  02  10  03
Lowen	14.11  34  11  08  11  12  04  09
Kent	 14.27  30  12  11  12  08  03  07
Sain	 13.58  29  14  08  11  09  02  08
Ninian   02.74  15  00  00  13  05  05  11
Isadora  01.39  28  13  12  16  08  06  10
Heath	09.60  34  14  10  09  12  01  07
Rath	 10.65  28  10  10  12  08  02  05

Heath's HM bonus blows total ass. But hey, it's better than nothing.

Turns (ch): 11/11

Turns (total): 133/139

EXP: 18703/14300

And yet, even with overleveled units, I still got almost 3 levels over the requirements.

Chapter 23: Living Legend

700 EXP is what's required for 23x, but Paul and Jasmine are already 200 of those. This map has the second highest Funds requirement of all maps thanks to the plethora of valuable treasure buried in the sand, and there's even a stealable Guiding Ring and White Gem! This map has a somewhat tight turn requirement, so a lot of thief ferrying and luck manipulation will be needed to find all of the treasure in time.

The lords still need 6 levels to meet the 50 level requirement. I can probably get that many on 23x, but I'd rather just feed Paul and Jasmine to Lyn or Eliwood and leave open a slot in 23x for a low level unit.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Legault finds an Ocean Seal. Serra uses the Torch staff to reveal Paul and Jasmine to the north. Canas and Erk move north to confront the knights while Fiora and Heath perform some rescuing to position Legault a bit further up. Pent just totally annihilates a bunch of crap on enemy phase and Hawkeye appears near your starting point.

Turn 2: Hector recruits Hawkeye. I'm in kind of a predicament here as any offensive action means that a unit has to deal with 2 WKs, a mage, and Paul on enemy phase, while any defensive action means that I'll be losing a turn on completing the chapter. The problem of Paul was solved jointly by Canas, Erk and Heath, but on enemy phase a cavalier and a nomad came down along with the WKs to attack a vulnerable Serra. Luckily no one died.

Turn 3: Legault steals a Guiding Ring from a mage. I defeat all of the physical enemies in the vicinity, seeing as how magic doesn't pose much of a threat to most of my units. Fiora and Heath begin moving west.

Turn 4: Heath finds Filla's Might.

Turn 5: Erk moves into Hand Axe range of Jasmine and counters for a very hefty 2 damage. Heath finds an Eclipse.

Turn 6: Legault steals Jasmine's White Gem. A Thunder crit and Killing Edge crit finish him off.

Turn 7: Heath finds a Light Brand.

Turn 8: Heath finds a Body Ring and Fiora finds a Hero Crest. Pent defeats the last remaining shaman on the map during other phase.

Comments: I played incredibly sloppily - I had to rely on a lot of ~60ish hit rates from shamans missing on Heath since he and Fiora have to fly solo for a good portion of the chapter. Completing this chapter within a reasonable number of turns is impossible without some luck manipulation in finding hidden treasure. I could have ferried Legault around, but that still would have taken way too long.

Whoever thought of this "step on a tile and you have a 1/10000 chance of finding a buried item" bullshit is the dumbest piece of shit ever and should have his gonads devoured by a hungry Ilyana.

It should be noted that at level 9, Lucius is 1-shotted by WKs with 23 MT - slightly under half of the WKs in this chapter.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   17.58  33  17  11  11  16  04  08
Eliwood  15.71  29  11  12  13  09  05  13
Legault  15.64  30  09  14  19  10  05  12
Serra	12.18  23  08  08  12  04  11  13
Erk	  12.76  24  09  10  13  04  08  06
Canas	12.23  24  12  11  09  06  10  08
Heath	11.33  35  15  11  10  12  02  08
Fiora	13.70  25  10  15  16  07  10  08
Hawkeye  04.05  50  18  14  11  14  10  13

Turns (ch): 8/9

Turns (total): 141/148

EXP: 19650/15500

Interesting how the chapter's EXP requirement is way higher than the sidequest's EXP requirement.

Chapter 23x: Genesis

This chapter is a major pain. Just look at all those long range tomes and staves... What's more, Kishuna only hangs around for so many turns, so try to wipe out as many people as you can when you still have the advantage. Once he leaves, spam Barrier staves and Pure Waters.

Deployed units: Hector, Hawkeye, Matthew, Guy, Lyn, Florina, Priscilla, Ninian

Logistics.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Florina and Lyn bust through the wall, killing the Luna druid to the left of the starting point with Ninian's help. Luna actually OHKOs Florina coming from a 22 magic druid, and these guys can have up to 23 magic. Matthew unlocks the door south of the starting point and the RHS busts through the wall near the Nosferatu druid. Kishuna moves left, which frees a Bolting sage, but he misses.

Turn 2: Florina and Lyn, again with Ninian's help, continue left and get a Door Key from the bishop in the top left room. Hector gets a Door Key from the Nosferatu druid and Guy and Matthew continue south. Guy dodges a Sleep staff thanks to the Pure Water that he used on turn 1.

Turn 3: Hector and Hawkeye go left from their starting position to clear a path for Priscilla, getting a Door Key from a bishop in the process. Matthew and Guy continue south, but they can't go any longer without significant risk in the form of two Elfire sages and a Purge/Berserk bishop. Guy dodges the Sleep again.

Turn 4: Hawkeye connects the two groups by breaking open the last wall in the second row. Priscilla rushes over to the RHS, for Guy is put to sleep this turn. Kishuna leaves at the end of the turn; all doors and walls open except for the middle and bottom left doors.

Turn 5: Florina clears the last enemy on the LHS with a Killer Lance crit. The RHS prepares for the flood of sages, druids and bishops.

Turn 6: Hector and Guy defeat the two Elfire sages. Florina hurries back to Merlinus for a Door Key to get to the bottom left chest.

Turn 9: Matthew gets a Berserk staff.

Turn 14: Matthew gets a Secret Book. Lyn gets the 50th level for the lords by defeating the last bishop; the only enemies now left are the promoted units in the center room.

Turn 15: Hawkeye gets a Silver Blade. Hector unlocks the center door and equips his Wolf Beil - the general is one-rounded on enemy phase. Priscilla berserks the swordmaster, who brings the sniper to low HP.

Turn 16: Hector and Lyn finish off the hero. Florina 1-shots the SM with a Killer Lance and Guy defeats the sniper.

Comments: This chapter will give you a miserable time with all of its long range magic. Pure Water is more reliable than the Barrier staff, as you'll be under attack even when Kishuna is still present, not to mention that there is the chance that your staff user will be silenced. Pure Water/Barrier at full strength gives +35 to staff avoid, which reduces staff attacks from 100 hit to ~65 hit on melee units depending on how much base resistance your units have. It will also turn most Purges from 2HKOs into 3HKOs, though it probably won't help with Boltings. Eclipse is almost totally a nonfactor with its piss poor accuracy.

The Berserk on the enemy SM was, in retrospect, completely not needed, as the enemy sniper could have been 1-rounded by Guy. But if you find yourself having doubts, that's your best alternative. Its accuracy is really poor, however. In my case, if Hector took damage from the general or the hero, the SM would hav gone after him instead.

Killer weapons are almost mandatory if you don't want to get your ass kicked, either by the magic units or by Kishuna's guards.

An interesting note: the Light Brand can still attack from range even under Kishuna's magic seal.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   20.--  36  18  13  12  17  05  09
Lyn	  16.83  26  10  17  18  04  04  12
Matthew  17.26  29  09  10  20  07  03  10
Guy	  14.12  32  11  19  20  08  04  10
Prissy   13.84  21  10  11  12  05  11  13
Ninian   04.25  17  00  00  14  06  06  12
Florina  15.39  25  11  14  16  06  09  14
Hawkeye  04.41  50  18  14  11  14  10  13

Turns (ch): 16/25

Turns (total): 157/173

EXP: 21716/16150

As you can see, this chapter is a gold mine for Tactics and EXP.

--------

Can someone tell me if Eliwood and Lyn are required deployment in ch25?

Edited January 25, 2009 by dondon151

[Mekkah]

Crazed Beast? Naw, they're not required.

[dondon151]

Chapter 24: Four-Fanged Offense

My efforts the previous chapter gave me Linus's version of this map, which is more desirable than Lloyd's by leaps and bounds - in addition to Linus being less risky to face, his map has twice the turn requirement of Lloyd's at the cost of slightly higher EXP and Funds requirements. Geitz is also better than Wallace.

The secret shop here has some cool stuff, but effective weapons aren't very good in this game =X

The goal here is to get the Earth Seal and recruit Geitz early so that no additional units have to be dedicated to the southern front, then to get the Bolting/Elfire from the sage so that I will be free to use the arena.

Deployed units: Hector, Dart, Serra, Priscilla, Ninian, Raven, Heath, Fiora, Rath, Canas, Erk, Lucius

Dart is required to recruit Geitz.

Tactics: ☆☆☆☆☆

Survival: ☆☆☆☆☆

Funds: ☆☆☆☆☆

EXP: ☆☆☆☆☆

Combat: ☆☆☆☆☆

Turn 1: Fiora and Heath move east to engage the mercenaries blocking the way to Geitz as Dart follows close behind.

Turn 3: Dart recruits Geitz and Geitz visits the east village for an Earth Seal. Geitz's 14 speed means that Dart is doubled, but using Ninian allowed Dart to talk to Geitz from outside of his range in 1 turn.

Turns 5+6: Raven lures out the Silver Sword hero and defeats him with Lucius and Canas. That guy is 3-rounded even with Killing Edge crits, but his 14 defense isn't well complemented with 7 resistance, so magic units can pile on damage during player phase.

Turn 7: Around this time merc reinforcements from the north are starting to bear down on the main group. Pretty much everyone has regrouped by now, but I can't move north in range of the Bolting sage just yet. Fiora buys 2 Thunders and a Lightning from the south vendor.

Turn 10: Canas visits the middle village for an Orion's Bolt. Fiora buys 6 Iron Swords, 6 Iron Lances, 3 Javelins, 4 Iron Axes, and 2 Hand Axes from the south armory. The next armory (that sells iron weapons) won't be until chapter 29, so hopefully this is more than sufficient preparation.

Turn 11: Heath visits the top left village for a Silence staff. Fiora buys 3 Heals and a Restore from the top vendor.

Turns 12+13: Heath moves into range of the Bolting sage on turn 12. Fiora 1-rounds him on turn 13 with a Killer Lance crit.

6 move, 10 range, 33 MT. And hits resistance.

Turn 15: Geitz starts going to the arena. Fiora, Heath, Serra, and Ninian hang back to continue the arena abuse while everyone else heads for Linus.

Getting to Linus is a tough task in itself, though...

Turn 19: Rath defeats Linus. I needed a Luna crit from Canas beforehand, else this would have taken at least another turn. Linus has some decent luck and does huge damage per hit (and has some damn good durability), but at least he's kind of slow.

Comments: The only difficult aspects of this chapter are the abundant WK reinforcements and the Bolting sage. There are enough chokepoints on this map to block mercs from becoming a threat, but WKs move without regard to chokepoints and can hit at the vulnerable back-line units. Magic units nicely counter them on player phase but are 2RKO'ed (in the case of Lucius, 1RKO'ed occasionally) on enemy phase. Heath, with 11 speed, doubles almost all WKs on the map for decent damage output and takes little damage in return. Your PKs, however, need a Killer Lance crit to even come close to 1-rounding.

It is highly suggested that the Earth Seal village be visited as early as possible, before WK reinforcements in the southeast bog down your units.

I don't think the Bolting can be obtained from the sage. To do so, a unit must be able to move 15 spaces in 1 turn, which is not possible even with Ninian's help. Luring the sage by moving a unit in Elfire range is not possible either, for the sage will always choose to use Bolting (12 MT) in lieu of Elfire (10 MT).

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   20.--  36  18  13  12  17  05  09
Raven	13.07  36  14  17  18  07  03  05
Prissy   16.03  22  11  12  13  05  13  15
Serra	14.41  24  09  09  13  04  12  14
Ninian   06.19  18  00  00  16  07  07  14
Heath	13.21  37  16  12  11  13  02  08
Fiora	15.77  27  11  16  17  07  10  08
Rath	 15.25  32  12  12  14  09  03  07
Canas	14.72  25  13  11  10  07  11  08
Erk	  15.50  26  11  12  14  05  10  07
Lucius   13.93  24  13  11  14  02  12  04
Dart	 15.29  39  17  09  12  07  02  05
Geitz	06.46  46  21  15  15  13  04  11

Turns (ch): 19/22

Turns (total): 176/195

EXP: 25317/18050

This chapter probably could have been done a couple of turns faster with just as much arena abuse, but I stalled a bit too much in luring out the Bolting sage.

I don't think I need to worry about EXP anymore... lol.

Edited February 1, 2009 by dondon151

[Mekkah]

I don't think the Bolting can be obtained from the sage.

Longbow Rath critical. Or surrounding him with units up close and keep everyone out of 3~10 range so that he is forced to suicide with Elfire. Not really worth it though.

I recommend savestating before this chapter if you haven't already if you think you could have done significantly better (I think you could). This way, you won't have to start all over if your S-rank fails.

[dondon151]

Longbow Rath critical. Or surrounding him with units up close and keep everyone out of 3~10 range so that he is forced to suicide with Elfire. Not really worth it though.

You're right. I think Rath needs to be promoted and have 8 move, though.

I recommend savestating before this chapter if you haven't already if you think you could have done significantly better (I think you could). This way, you won't have to start all over if your S-rank fails.

I savestate before every chapter. My previous attempt had 18 turns with much better (RNG abused) units, although a couple of turns were spent stagnating... I do have a mid-chapter savestate. If it's not too far into the chapter and if it won't take too much effort to reduce 19 turns to 17, I'll try it.

EDIT: I have a savestate from turn 7. That shall suffice.

Unit	 L .Ex  HP  Str Skl Spd Def Res Luk
Hector   20.--  36  18  13  12  17  05  09
Raven	13.20  36  14  17  18  07  03  05
Prissy   15.78  21  11  12  13  05  12  15
Serra	14.30  24  09  09  13  04  12  14
Ninian   06.00  18  00  00  16  07  07  14
Heath	13.37  37  16  12  11  13  02  08
Fiora	16.32  27  11  16  18  08  11  09
Rath	 13.58  30  11  12  13  08  03  06
Canas	14.77  25  13  11  10  07  11  08
Erk	  14.68  26  10  11  14  05  09  07
Lucius   13.71  24  13  11  14  02  12  04
Dart	 14.78  38  16  09  12  07  02  05
Geitz	05.97  45  20  15  15  12  04  11

Turns (ch): 17/22

Turns (total): 174/195

EXP: 25124/18050

Saved 2 turns at the cost of... a decent amount of EXP. Though 2 extra turns means 2 extra turns on VoL, which I didn't have enough turns to attempt on my previous playthrough.

Edited January 27, 2009 by dondon151