Spoiler -
As you can see from the final result of the experiment, Kieran and Oscar only barely managed to reach promotion while Ike barely managed to reach level 20--that was the "deadline," so to speak, for both of them. and they _just_ managed to reach it. At the base of Chapter 17, I was almost completely out of bonus experience.
Why is this such a big deal? Because it proves that using Titania is actually detrimental after a certain point in the game. Yes, while I wholeheartedly agree that Titania contributes greatly to earlygame chapters such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7, there's a great problem in using her after these certain points. In fact, since Kieran, Oscar and Ike barely managed to reach their bare minimum requirements to get the lowest turns possible (maximum efficiency, which in my opinion is what debating should be about), it shows that there isn't much experience to go around. Therefore, a 9 move unit like Titania, who often charges and gets a lot of kills by herself due to her high stats, is only a negative after a certain point in the game.
After Chapter 11, Titania herself cuts no turns at all. She has a niche use in Chapter 16 to get the Full Guard, but that is not wholly necessary to finish a maximum efficiency playthrough but it gives you an easier time regardless. There is no need to even use her after Chapter 11 (with the exception of getting the Full Guard) because she cuts no turns at all. Why is this a negative, however? If it's not a positive, then why should it be a negative? Because Titania takes valuable experience from units like Kieran and Oscar.
Promoted Kieran and Oscar are necessary to get a 2-turn clear of 17-2. They are the only units who can, together, rescue-take-drop Mordecai who can achieve a 2-turn by Smiting Boots Marcia. Another reason why Kieran and Oscar have to be strong is for Chapter 18; as it is a rout chapter, they have to survive and kill as many enemies as possible in 5-6 turns with a transformed Reyson diamond, along with Marcia and Tanith. Kieran is maybe the only unit who can get the Resolve scroll in 3 turns on Chapter 27, as he can actually kill Generals with his high might Tomahawk, but he still needs a lot of strength to pull it off.
Why am I so anal about getting Ike to level 20? There are a lot of chapters where he needs to be really strong (have the highest stats possible) to survive Seize chapters. 21, for example, requires him to have 23 strength in order to KO Generals with a Regal Sword so they don't block his path to Ena. Another chapter is 23, where he needs to be really tank to survive a dozen enemy attacks and end the chapter in 4 turns (3 turns with Sonic Sword Ike, discovered by yours truly). Chapter 26, 28 and Endgame are all extremely important chapters as well, where Ike needs to have the highest stats possible.
Another problem with the lack of bonus experience in general is Mist. Mist needs to be at a really high level so her magic can become high enough to use Rescue effectively. As you can see, at the end of chapter 16, I had a level 3 Mist. I worry that I may not even be able to promote her by the time I get Rescue.
You may be wondering why I gave some bexp to Mia and Ilyana. First of all, before you think I wasted a lot of resources on them, I really didn't--they got most of that experience from battles, and I only finished those levels off with bonus experience. The amount I used on them is insignificant, maybe around 200-300 bexp in total, which isn't enough to have an effect on anything really. Why did I waste time training them, though? Because Mia and Ilyana make an excellent combo. Ilyana is necessary to get some crucial kills without RNG abuse (Chapter 22, 23, 25, 27 and 28) with siege tomes, and Mia helps that greatly simply by being around: her support gives her a hit bonus. Ilyana needs to have high stats to be able to one-round enemy units with siege tomes in Chapter 25. Mia needs to be trained as well; she's one of the few foot units that have decent enough stats to actually get kills in Chapter 25. As I'm bringing along Mia in every chapter for their support anyway, why shouldn't I give her a bit of bonus experience too, so she doesn't get killed? Mia and Ilyana don't get in Kieran, Oscar and Marcia's ways at all. They simply stay behind and get kills from the enemy units near the back. In my record-breaking playthrough of 119 turns, Mia actually got into the top 5, showing how useful she really is.
Hopefully, this will convince people that there isn't as much bonus and combat experience to go around as originally thought, and Titania is a negative after a certain point in the game.
Edited by Aeine, 30 July 2012 - 01:58 PM.
