Screenshot eclipse attempts: FE8 HALB Run (Lords of Chaos, all done~!)

[eclipse]

Welcome to Fire Emblem 8: Hella Awesome Lightning Boots! ([H.A.L.B.] For short)

This is a randomized and edited version of FE8. It was edited by Klokinator and features a number of gimmicks, though the editing is not at the level of FE7CM, and this hack is unrelated to FE8CM. Don't get it twisted.

Here are the settings used for this hack:

-Every character in every class, player and enemy, has 9 movement. The exception is the Demon King.

-Weapon effects wasn't checked in this image, but I did check it in reality. Every weapon has a very high chance to add any 1 extra effect, such as poison, unlimited uses, a stat boost, or even the Devil effect. Watch out!

-Character classes, their recruitment order, their growths are all totally randomized, and boss classes are also randomized. Character bases are also randomized, though to a smaller degree.

-Every enemy and every boss has had their growths increased up to 100%. Some enemies will be very difficult, though this is subjective as I've allowed the tower and ruins grinding as needed.

-Items are also randomized, though to a lesser degree. Initially I wanted to edit descriptions for the LPers but since FEditor is borked after randomizing, that won't happen.

The goal of this LP is to try out a new gimmick (All units with 9 movement) but also to show off the all new (not really) WIP FE8 Randomizer Fix Patch! If you guys want to randomize with Otaku's randomizer, apply my patch and randomize! (In that order, please) Important fixes include monster weapons displaying stats properly and Eirika always being able to wield the Rapier (Provided her class can wield swords). Also if you randomize her position around (As I did) then the new not-lord won't but that's beside the point.

The LPers can play Ephraim or Eirika route, though Eirika route is recommended since I have not playtested Ephraim's.

Each LPer has a list of three units. They MUST use all three. They cannot use any units assigned to other LPers. These units appear at random intervals throughout the game. The LPers are only required to use the units on non-Ruins/Tower chapters. (Ie: Main story) and can grind them up if needed.

Here are the unit lists:

[1] The Trifecta of Terror: Neimi, Amelia, Gerik [TAKEN BY TEQUILA]

[2] Lords of Chaos: Moulder, Rennac, Duessel [TAKEN BY ECLIPSE]

[3] Where's Gerik? Creeping Shadows: Innes, Tethys, Marisa [AUTO ASSIGNED TO MR. NIGHT]

[4] Hardcore Heroes: Forde, Natasha, Saleh [TAKEN BY MONIKER]

[5] Strength Without Power: L'Arachel, Ephraim, Tana [TAKEN BY KIRIE]

Watch out for the demon king, and may the best LPer... win? I guess?

So, what does this mean?

- Movement is no longer a concern upon promotion. This makes the likes of General a lot more attractive.

- Siege tomes are a lot less irritating, unless it's something like Chapter 16 and its stupid walls.

- I'm gonna go broke buying weapons. Because.

- I should really stop procrastinating.

I chose Lords of Chaos because dudes. And because I liked the idea of removing a light and a dark. . .wait, I don't have anyone with a Light affinity. BAH. At least I got the Dark affinity! Supports are gonna be rough - Moulder can have Vanessa and Rennac has Colm. I hope Cormag doesn't suck, since Duessel would appreciate that.

This intro's kinda long as-is, and I want to keep it like this in case Tequila wants to steal my unit list for his own topic or something. It'll also give everyone else one post of nothing gameplay-related to read. Sooo. . .we'll see how this goes.

Weapon effects found so far:

Slim Sword      Eff. vs. horses
Iron Sword      Devil
Steel Sword     Devil
Killing Edge    Eff. vs. fliers (or wyverns)
Armorslayer     Eff. vs. armors
Iron Blade      Rapier-like
Brave Sword     Res +5, Brave
Runesword       Eff. vs. horses (or is a reaver)
Poison Sword    Def +5, Poison

Iron Axe        Res +5
Steel Axe       Poison
Silver Axe      Poison
Halberd         Eff. vs. horses, Brave
Swordslayer     Poison

Slim Lance      Spd +5
Iron Lance      Reaver
Steel Lance     Devil
Javelin         Eclipse
Axereaver       Reaver, Eclipse
Dragonspear     Devil
Brave Lance     Brave, eff. vs. flying (or monsters)
Reginleif       Rapier-like
Siegmund        Reaver

Short Bow       Magic weapon
Longbow         Brave
Killer Bow      Eclipse
Poison Bow      Poison
Beacon Bow      Spd +5

Fire            Poison
Thunder         Brave
Elfire          Res +5
Bolting         Brave (yes I got hit by that POS)
Fimbulvter      Mag +5

Divine          Eclipse
Purge           Eclipse

Fenrir          Poison
Naglfar         Poison

Evil Eye        Brave
Crimson Eye     Brave (FML)
Fetid Claw      Devil
Lethal Talon    Str +5
Sharp Claw      Eff. vs. flying
Fiery Fang      Luk +5
Dragonstone     Brave

Edited May 23, 2016 by eclipse

[Jedi]

This looks quite goofy. Can't wait.

[eclipse]

Prologue

Let's welcome our heroes!

. . .uh, hi Eir, your flowing hair is a lovely shade of red. Looks like he needs to be kept away from armor-slaying weapons and magic, and he'll be fine.

Looks like he's not killing much of anything.

Seth is a cute little girl. She'll take care of any mages that want to harm Joshua. Everything else will eat her alive.

Hmmm. . .weapon uses alone dictates the Killing Edge~!

I'll leave animations on in the beginning, or if I'm doing something monumentally stupid.

. . .like this.

Myrrh decided that Yours Truly was a shitty tactician, and left. Joshua, unable to so much as scratch the boss, was unceremoniously killed. History has been written.

THE END!

.

.

.

Chapter 1

. . .well, I-I wasn't lying, it WAS the end of the prologue!

. . .in this picture, we see Joshua doing damage to something. No one knows how it happened, and I'm quite content with letting him do something, besides cower in the corner like a scared kid.

Welcome to my first drafted unit, Duracell. Unlike his vanilla counterpart, he's gonna hit like a wet paper towel. No Strength growth does that to a man.

I'd normally toss that lance to Joshua, but Duessel needs something to poke enemies with.

I'll sit on that Metis' tome, until I get my three dudes. Would be a pity if I used it now, and found out that someone else has no Speed growth or something.

Someone pass me a Silver Lance.

And exhibit B. Hits once like a truck. He'll be able to cart people around or something.

New guy's putting in work!

Gilliam is a walking Sprite can. He can double the enemies, but he misses every other hit, so he's living up to my expectations.

I'm gonna pretend that Myrrh's slice is so powerful that she cuts the horse in half, while somehow not impaling herself.

SUPERIOR TACTICS!

Edited May 3, 2016 by eclipse

[eclipse]

Got a bunch of images for the next couple of chapters, hence the new post.

Chapter 2

Bases: Beastly. Stat growths: Lack of HP and Speed worry me. Unless Moulder's stat spread is worse, Rennac's getting the Tome.

Ooh, that looks interesting.

I WILL MAKE THIS SON OF A BITCH USEFUL. WATCH ME!

The Lords of Chaos, so far, have superior weapon ranks. Granted, they're all in the same weapon, but still.

For the guys that didn't get Duracell.

To start our run, Rennac beats the everliving shit out of this guy.

Waitaminute. . .I couldn't catch the icon flash in the screenshot, but the hit rates should tell you more than enough. Iron Lances are reavers.

In other words, IT'S TIME TO LEVEL LIKE NO ONE'S BUSINESS!

Duessel tries to keep up.

Huh. Interesting. Joshua's gonna see a lot of axe action on promotion.

Bone is a moron. A lucky one (due to that hit), but not even Anna can save him from an angry Myrrh with a Killing Edge.

Stripped Gerik of his weapons, so that bandit did a whole lot of nothing (not my fault that he ran around literally everyone else). Duessel flew over the mountains, rescued Rennac, and flew to that village for a Pure Water. I think I'll need it.

ANYTHING to improve your offense.

Chapter 3

You're the best, Myrrh.

Thank goodness I tried that Steel Sword on a WALL. And not something that can actually hit back.

Plan B: Duessel smacks the wall, Gilliam gets him out of the way, Rennac and the Toxin Lance become useful, and then Joshua runs into the gap and does battle.

It worked!

He can now double the bandits~!

Got the Javelin, since I have a team full of lance users. I decide to deal with the thief before he jacks my stuff.

Erm. . .what. Oh, it's Eclipse. In 1-2 range form. GIMME!!!!

This will be extremely useful in Duessel's hands, given his nonexistent Strength growth.

The plan: Rennac makes the Toxin Lance useful again.

Gilliam murders this guy.

Joshua sees them reaver stats and switches to a Slim Lance instead.

I'll take it~!

Duessel makes this guy regret everything.

Told ya the Toxin Lance doesn't suck!

As long as Duessel isn't hit on both phases, it should be good.

Sweet~!

AND HELL YES!

Rennac with an Iron Lance is a scary guy. Thank the other chest I pilfered~!

Duessel goes in for some self-improvement, and--

FUCKING POISON?! Crap, emergency measures activate!

As long as Duessel is in Gilliam's saddlebags, he won't take damage.

Too little, too late.

I didn't feel like trying my luck further, so I had Rennac clean up.

No regrets!

Edited May 3, 2016 by eclipse

[eclipse]

It's another doozy of two chapters!

Chapter 4

These guys don't have very intimidating stats.

Huh. Existent crit. Gotta watch out for that!

I think the enemies in Awakening's Prologue on Normal Casual are more threatening.

This, however, is going to sting.

Ross is mad that he's benched.

Straight out of FE6.

Myrrh's putting that Armorslayer to work!

Not bad~!

Wait. Shit.

Evil Eye has the Brave effect. Joshua can't tank four of 'em. GG.

One reincarnation later. . .

WTF happened to this sword.

I suspect an integer overflow error.

Instead of having Joshua tank four hits, I had Myrrh draw them instead. They couldn't scratch her. Rennac, on the other hand, wrecks face.

Better level, too.

Myrrh gets her revenge.

Oh hey, Joshua's got over 100% HP growth~!

. . .we need to work on you, Gilliam.

. . .that's a start.

I think this is Gilliam's second kill ever.

That Speed is going to bite her in the ass. Still, she might be useful for sniping or something.

Confirming that the Iron Sword went poof after one use.

Either both Claws have additional crit, or zombies have an innate crit bonus.

Reavers FTW.

That's +1 in just about every stat that he can get (I guess gray on the stat sheet = really low growth).

I give Lute a whirl.

Though I didn't catch it, Fire has a poison effect.

OMG HE GAINED LUCK!

. . .and everything else~!

Chapter 5

Oh hey, Saar's an archer. Sucks to be you~!

It's Garcia Inverse! That Power/Skill is awful, so he's getting his ass benched. Joshua's gonna be my main axe user, if this keeps up.

. . .sadly, it's still better than FE6's Hammer.

To start things off, Gilliam eats a hit.

WHEE~!

I guess he's recharging his Luck, after the previous level-up. . .

NICE~!

Duessel follows Rennac's example.

Myrrh's first level. Perfect, IMO.

Joshua wants to be perfect like Myrrh-senpai!

Gilliam wants to be himself.

I'd previously healed Gilliam to full, before taking on Saar.

. . .because Iron Swords ALSO have the Devil effect. Not that Gilliam cares, he can take the 1 HP hit!

He's gonna keep pecking at the boss.

He's got a goal in mind, and he'll eat every last Devil effect if it will help!

BINGO! Now he can move on with life!

I am the best tactician.

Meanwhile, it looks like Slim Lances add 10 to avoid and have the Brave effect. . .or I am a moron and didn't realize it was +5 Spd. Best LPer right here, folks~!

I'm not going to complain about Luck~!

Edited May 3, 2016 by eclipse

[eclipse]

Chapter 5x

Oh, THAT's where Seth went! His growths worry me a little.

He'll, uh, have some use for a little bit of time?

Upside: THIEF. Downside: I'm gonna miss Chapter 7's Energy Ring, which I could've really used. Oh, and those growths.

Strictly superior to the Steel Sword.

He's going to be a slight bitch come Chapter 16.

The Silver Sword should be self-explanatory. I just wanted to show off this bad boy.

Here's the Ephraim wannabe. I hope bows have amazing effects, because his Str/Skl growths worry me.

THAT'S NOT AMAZING.

I'm gonna rely on this thing a lot more than I should.

Cormag kills these suckers at base. Me likey.

Wait, WHAT?!

Oh. Short Bow hits Res.

Cormag - only a thief in class.

This should keep Duessel relevant for a long time.

That was an EP dodge, from Kyle. You're probably wondering why I bothered.

Poison turns this 3HKO into a 2HKO.

I'd expect that out of a pegasus knight.

Seth's hit rates are really shaky.

Colm dodges like he's still a Wyvern Rider.

Supercharged HP growth GO!

This is a smart move. Totally.

Your stats still scare me, but it's a good start.

That's the boss. Lovely chap.

That's gonna hurt.

This illustrates Fire's poison effect better.

CORMAG DODGE PLZ.

. . .I'll take +2 HP, thanks.

Kyle continues to long for a winged horse.

Seth can double something now!

Used a save state here. It's nearly impossible to hurt him otherwise, and screw this RNGfest.

. . .I guess?

Huh, looks like Brave weapons give Res +5. Joshua would like that!

Chapter 6

So I got a PM from Klok that basically said "stop sitting on good things", so I used the Tome.

You're probably wondering why I gave it to Rennac over Duessel. Duessel can snipe using Javelins, and keep himself relevant. He can also crit-blick things with the Killer Lance I picked up in 5x, and should be able to promote starting from Chapter 9. Once Rennac stops doubling/gaining bulk, he's in trouble. A LOT of trouble.

Reginleif is still broken.

That's HP. ilu Rennac.

Iron Blades - have Rapier's effect (in other words, blicks armors/horses). How do I know it's Rapier's effect? Guess what killed Joshua earlier?

Halberd - has Brave effect. Fortunately, this guy can't hit for shit.

With this hack, it is impossible to get the Orion's Bolt (or maybe it is if Duessel somehow distracts everyone, despite the fact that he'd probably die due to mages/archers). This is the scene after turn 1.

And that's a Speed level! GO RENNAC!

Thunder - has Brave effect. No, I didn't know this before deploying Lute.

Nice~!

I believe that weapons can only go up to 63 uses. Any more, and you get the overflow problems pictured here.

After using Metis' Tome, Rennac has leveled several stats, along with one stat he normally didn't. He's gonna wreck face.

That hit is worrying, but luckily Novala doesn't move.

. . .that sucks. For me.

Used Joshua to poison Novala.

Gilliam managed a level--OMG THAT'S LUCK!

First rigged hit - securing the kill on Novala (couldn't wait, poison was still active).

Welcome to the team, girl.

Edited May 3, 2016 by eclipse

[eclipse]

Oh hey, I only have a slightly ridiculous number of pictures this time. ;/

Chapter 7

This picture is here just because I'm salty that I can't get it.

I could get used to this archer spam. As long as their asses are glued in place.

Oh dear, it appears I've left Duessel in range of a bow.

"Our tactician is shit, see you next time." --Myrrh

N-no, get back here Myrrh, you're part of the strategy!

OMG SPEED! Oh, and everything else, too. I'll hack in a Master Seal just for YOU, if I must~!

Putting Garcia to shame one capped stat at a time.

Duessel channels his inner pegasus knight.

Myrrh thinks your Thunder attempts are funny.

Lute's still on a roll.

"I can do you what you just did, AND gain Speed~!" This was after a bit of boss abuse. I'm not sorry.

Lute hit with Fire. But Poison doesn't work on thrones, so bleh.

". . .I died to a mage whose hair color changes depending on what angle you look at her"

"It's a superpower, fool."

Chapter 8

Good morning Joshua~!

It's worth a shot! Spoiler alert: he misses during PP and hits during EP.

Normally, Ephraim's grand entrance isn't a problem. NORMALLY, THREE ENEMIES CAN'T POUNCE ON ME!

The Javelin's other function: Kill-feeding.

To the dead guy.

"Let's talk about me instead."

This Longbow did diddly for damage.

. . .you're still kinda hopeless.

She's still determined to kick everyone's ass.

YES KEEP GAINING LUCK!

He'd still be pretty good, if this were Chapter 16.

OKAY THEN.

That looks painful.

Hey, the enemy can't crit him!

Joshua's still putting in work.

YOU GAINED STRENGTH?!

. . .and Longbows are Brave weapons, too. Kyle might want one. . .if he can scratch anything by the time I get him back!

That boss doesn't stand a chance against Rennac.

Tirado swapped to the Fiendcleaver, which gives one more hit and three more crit.

His lowest stat went up. It's a good thing!

Fiendcleavers still are OP against monsters. And no I didn't attack, that would be crazy.

After a bunch of misses, Joshua steals the kill.

Guess where we're going?

[eclipse]

Chapter 9

Ahahaha. . .what?

As long as he doesn't move, life is peachy.

Durability: F

MT: C

Hit: D

Crit: B

Wt: D

Effect: WTF

This thing is a mostly-inferior Javelin. Its only use is against a super-bulky axe guy.

Speaking of inferior--

"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT ME?!"

Get better levels.

Like this guy and his Luck.

Rennac think you're cute. And he likes squishing cute things.

Best tactics.

"I'M the best"

With a level like that, I believe you.

"Step right up and get stabbed in the face! Any takers?"

Typical Cormag level.

Bad bases, promising growths. Better than Kyle, IMO.

This guy dies in one hit.

Like so.

HAIL THE SHORT BOW!

Rennac briefly channels the power of Vortimer. Minus the whole "turning into a dragon and falling asleep" thing.

That's two maxed stats!

I believe!

I BELIEVE!

My faith was rewarded!

Myrrh's no longer tinking magic things. I need to feed her some bosses!

Hmmm, wonder what this Steel Lance does?

First hit: Miss

Enemy counter: Miss

Second hit: Hmm, it has the Devil effect. How fitting. And I'm really lucky.

"No I'M the lucky one!"

Don't stop believing!

TACTICS.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

AT LEAST YOU HIT!

I get the terrible idea to do a bit of a montage. Note the turn count. Also note that Franz bought himself a Steel Bow.

SUCCESS!

Duessel doesn't care about his Strength growth when he can do things like this!

. . .that's a point of Strength, isn't it? DUESSEL YOU ROCK~!

While Franz was busy shooting the spider, Cormag and Duessel had a chat.

Totally worth it.

Myrrh will tank magic. Or die trying.

Edited May 4, 2016 by eclipse

[Jedi]

WHY IS BINKS A SPIDER? Also so many turns for all that movement

[eclipse]

WHY IS BINKS A SPIDER? Also so many turns for all that movement

Because Binks hoped that Eir had arachnophobia. Except Eir was nowhere to be found.

Chapter 10

I love a good RNGfest.

Rennac could use a back scratch.

Gilliam's Skill is beginning to bite him in the butt.

That was a crit she ate.

So things got dicey as hell, because I needed to recruit Marisa (who's in Innes' slot) ASAP, so she could get Neimi (Gerik) and Fado (Tethys), then get herself out. I managed to have her grab Fado and hightail it north. Meanwhile, Rennac became a one-man wrecking crew down south, and I set up that little defensive formation near the mountain so that the bandits wouldn't murder Franz.

Duessel approves of my strategies.

That asshat with the Sleep staff hit all three times. Lute murdered that archer because Neimi could sorta-tank the sword-guy, but not the archer on top of that.

Rennac is not threatened by these guys at all.

This is what he looks like after four turns of sleep.

Maybe he stole a cup of joe from one of 'em.

That's two stats that I don't mind seeing go up. . .but only Joshua and Duessel are allowed to do that.

Speaking of. . .

Ultimate chip damage.

So he'll do a bit more than chip damage.

FINALLY!

And this is why I recruited Ephraim. Rather than wait, Duessel ate this immediately.

Well, shit. Didn't expect to see you guys here.

Joshua wants that.

Go away.

When stealing, weapon boosts to stats are not factored in. SUCCESS~!

Gilliam gambles more with his hit rates than Joshua does with his coin.

Myrrh doesn't like you.

You can do it! I disarmed Neimi just for you!

He didn't hear me, so let's try that again.

YOU CAN DO IT!

YOU DID IT!!

Free experience is the best experience.

. . .or not.

Oooh~!

1. Rennac got Speed~!

2. He's got over 100% Luck growth.

3. That's three maxed stats!

"But I got more stats!"

"Suck it."

This could take a while. . .

That's better.

Shadowkiller is still effective against monsters.

Meanwhile, Joshua wonders why Pablo even bothered.

"Not this shit again."

"I'm out."

Consistent as ever.

[eclipse]

Chapter 11

Hmmm. . .little frail, and his offense is pretty bad. . .but I think I can salvage him.

Or he can salvage himself.

OMG.

MARRY ME! (even if you are a giant spider)

This is legit annoying. Mostly for the tanky aspect, not the offensive one.

These guys have been training or something.

Wound up restarting several times, due to the following:

before I got sick and tired of that, and rigged an EP dodge on Moulder.

The secret to attacking is to make yourself shorter than the opponent. Maybe that's why Cormag's growths are so bad.

Rennac had to use Reginleif to get past these scrubs.

I'm not complaining!

Three maxed stats before promotion, can't complain.

Thanks to all the love I've poured into Franz, he was able to 2HKO the Poison Bow archer.

This is Myrrh giving zero fucks.

This is Cormag attempting to be decent.

Joshua's gonna wreck face.

Duessel with the Killer Lance is pretty funny. Pity it's only got 14 uses.

Myrrh is not amused.

SKILL AND LUCK?!

He's shaping up slowly. Could probably use some tower love, along with Moulder.

FINALLY!

Oh what the--

Somehow the least terrible of the five poison weapons.

That's the last enemy, who doesn't move unless attacked, sooo. . .

Franz chips.

Lute chips.

Not bad~!

See you next chapter~!

High-level cheating

So, there's another way to figure out who you're going to get, and that's the support viewer. It won't tell you WHEN you'll get them, just what class they'll be.

Joshua's final support is Artur, who looks like a female Bishop. I could use a staffbot!

Franz's final support is Amelia, who's a General. IIRC the trio shown in Chapter 5 had a General in it, so we'll see her come Chapter 14.

Hmmm. . .one of these is Dozla, and the other is Eir.

By using Innes as a cross-reference, we can deduce that Eir's the Wight, and Dozla's the Eir Lord on steroids. Furthermore, it appears that Vanessa is a Sage.

With Artur and Amelia spoken for, that leaves Colm as a Wyvern Lord.

We know that Moulder is a Mercenary, which means that Syrene is the Thief.

That Wyvern Rider is Tethys.

Of the rest that I didn't mention. . .

- Saleh is a Bonewalker based on Gerik and Myrrh's supports

- Ewan is an Assassin based on Ross' supports

- With the last three unpromoted slots being Ewan, Cormag, and Knoll, I know that Tethys, Saleh, and Syrene will all appear by Chapter 15.

- At least two of Artur, Dozla, Eir, and Colm are locked into postgame

Moral of the story: I'm so glad I chose Lords of Chaos, due to how the support options panned out. I have a 50% chance of getting Colm, who I really want due to supports with Moulder/Rennac.

[eclipse]

Chapter 12

YES.

I HAZ A HEALER!

This is the pathetic excuse of a boss that we get.

. . .that is NOT funny. ;/

Why did I bother with this shot? Because That One Bonewalker isn't there. No game crashing on this chapter~!

How frustrating. Fortunately, I can still OHKO these things.

I imagine a couple of drunks swinging at each other. Or something. Drunk. . .giant. . .spiders. . .yeah.

No preview window. Since monster weapons are technically not supposed to be in our hands, I'll just memorize their stats or something.

Trigger warning: Excessive spiders.

Sharp Claws do effective damage against flying units. Guess what Knoll came with?

This is a preview of Chapter 15. Expect much screaming.

"Did that idiot tactician really leave the Amelia replacement in front of me?"

"Did that idiot eyeball really think that it would survive?"

He's turning out to be pretty good.

FANGIRLING INTENSIFIES.

I heart the Lancereaver.

Beautiful level~!

When given a choice between attacking Rennac or Joshua, they chose Rennac. Despite Rennac's superior Defense.

Risky battle of the turn.

The zombie missed, so Moulder could tank this attack.

Anything to lower enemy crit.

THAT'S how I like my battles.

Keep gaining a bunch of stats every time you level!

The formation before I trigger the reinforcements. Knoll was the perfect bait.

Oh. Fiery Fang gives +5 Luck.

WOOHOO~!

STILL DECENT!

I have nothing to fear.

His growth is nice and steady.

NOW you guys show up.

Had Moulder equip the Lancereaver and use himself as bait.

Urp.

Defensive formation, activate!

Unless the Deathgoyles have insanely high stats, I think Knoll's gonna be on my team solely to deal with 'em.

Good night.

And a good night to you too.

VULNERARIES! FINALLY!! I stock up like crazy, and grab a few other things.

The zombie decided he wanted to live so he attacked Knoll.

Lute for the kill steal.

Lute for the win.

Chapter 13

This guy's gonna get wrecked.

Two new weapons, zero incentive to stick around and see what they do.

These guys are more pathetic than the generics in Chapter 10.

Lute starts off with a bang.

"This strategy is dumb. I'm out."

"Stay for Saleh and Ephraim!"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because they're stuck on the bench!"

"Do I look like I care?"

"You haven't run away yet."

"Fucking. FINE."

In other news, Moulder blocks things with his face.

Gilliam legit wants this.

Still gaining everything. . .besides Strength.

This looks like the worst Marisa ever.

What's up with thieves having wonky growths?

And how did I end up with two Steel Blades?

Joshua gains a bunch of stats he really wants.

I'm not gonna complain about HP!

Turn 8: Knoll carts Joshua to Syrene.

Cormag jacks some money.

Ephraim takes a bite out of crime.

Lute levels on some scrub.

And Aias dies in a most embarrassing way.

To the archer who needs a lot of stats.

Besides that one.

Edited May 5, 2016 by eclipse

[Jedi]

Spider Knoll, Spider Knoll, he does whatever a spider can.

[eclipse]

Spider Knoll, Spider Knoll, he does whatever a spider can.

Spiders OP.

So rather than do the smart thing and actually play the next two chapters, I did some exploring.

Tower of Valni

First off, give Knoll the everything, including a Fiery Fang from the store.

Showing up is half the battle.

Floor 1

See?

This spineless freak is the other half.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED, YOU ONE-EYED MONSTER!

Joshua and a Toxin Lance take point here.

Thanks for trying?

That's slightly better?

Moulder sneezed, which caused this hit to miss. In a failed run, Moulder ate a crit.

That's seven levels, and one Strength level total. This is gonna suck.

STARING CONTEST.

Once the worst of the enemies are dead. . .

. . .I show off why I'm really here.

SUPPORTS!

No, Knoll actually hasn't joined, and is simply waiting for the right moment to jack everyone's stuff.

Lute looks like she's about to grab Knoll's ass or something. N-not that I can fault her for having the urge!

Ahem. . .back to the play log. . .

Thanks to that HP level, Moulder would've survived that Shadowshot with 1 HP. Except he decided to dodge instead.

This Javelin's good for something.

Knoll doesn't like it when people monsters giant floating eyeballs stare at him.

"Power: To kill them faster. Luck: So I may spot them from afar. Resistance: To do the same unto Lute."

This final zombie's kind of outmatched. By Moulder.

Floor 2

SCRUB ALERT.

I'm pretty sure Franz could tank this, no problems.

That's a little better?

Oooh, funds!

Heavy Lances keep their effectiveness versus armors. Also, Knoll died here, and I think it was due to Fetid Claws having the Devil effect (because the ONLY thing that could've killed him was a backfire crit. . .unless there's weapons that randomly OHKO things, which I kinda doubt).

I hope you enjoyed that tink.

That wasn't too bad?

This is the last time I'll use Gilliam in combat, barring a miracle.

Joshua appreciates Skill.

Moulder's offense is going to go to hell the minute he stops fighting monsters.

Killing things with a Javelin!

Oh, right, reinforcements.

I. . .guess?

Franz gets into a shootout.

Moulder barely puts a dent in these guys.

"Why am I shorter than this corpse?"

Franz is slowly becoming decent.

"I should've listened to my mom when she said to drink my milk."

Knoll's hungry.

Not a bad first level for Vanessa!

It's time for more supports~!

Can't tell if Knoll is staring at her chest or mulling over how badly he's gonna wallop her later.

See, if you guys just invented SUNGLASSES before doing that, you wouldn't have had to resort to crazy things like a Dark Stone. Believe in the me that believes in you!

Tactical genius, I say.

I can either deal with all those guys at once, or I can isolate the boss. With four support's worth of damage absorption. . .

. . .the boss can't scratch Knoll.

Rather than acknowledge Knoll's hard work, Lute grabs the kill.

"My defense is DIE IN ONE ROUND, INFERIOR BEINGS!"

"Eeeek, she's scaring me."

Spider discussions or something. Pretty sure it ended with Knoll eating the other guy.

I leave after two floors, since I didn't feel like grinding out A supports. That's for later.

Skirmishes

Skirmish 1

SOMEONE wants to die today.

Never bring an axe to an axereaver fight.

Knoll makes himself useful.

Lute thinks it's a competition or something.

Ah, the glorious sound of an enemy doing zero damage.

He reminds me of a Wil that can tank hits.

Knoll plays fetch with that dog.

"Must I do everything myself?"

Joshua FINALLY maxed Defense!

I-it was intentional, I promise!

His job is to make Duessel slightly more competent.

Anything to make you double more consistently.

The power of supports!

The power of "I hate Javelins in the hands of my enemies".

SPEED HELL YES!

". . .she's still scaring me. . ."

OMG this boss is actually competent!

Unfortunately, he can't do squat about an angry mage who hits twice.

Skirmish 2

Lute is really close to promotion, so I did this one.

"I shall have to up my game accordingly".

I'll take it!

Totally intentional. I swear. Especially the part where Duessel tanked a bow.

In eleven levels, Moulder has gained Strength all of once.

I swear I accidentally recruited Marisa.

Priority: Eyeballs.

Once I cleared most of the map, Lute was at 19.91. In the interest of actually promoting her, I stripped her of her weapons and had her facetank this guy for a few turns.

"I approve of your tactics, inefficient as they are."

What will Lute promote to? Find out next time!

[eclipse]

Some other business

Tower of Valni floor 1

So Joshua ended at something like 30 exp short of promoting. That's lame.

Confirming that Fetid Claws have the Devil effect. Boo.

Duessel gets a pretty good level. Not great, 'cause no Strength.

. . .way to reward me, Joshua.

. . .are we even talking about the same Cormag?

Something in the tower is causing everyone to hallucinate.

This is how I deal with a giant eyeball. By saying "screw you" to the magic triangle.

Knoll shows Duessel how it's done.

Ta-da~!

Some idiotic skirmish in my way

Yay, no fog!

He's actually competent!

Even these guys are no joke.

I stand corrected.

This is why I have a couple of mages in the party.

With his new equipment options, taking monsters out isn't a problem. For now.

Skill/Speed is great by me!

That, on the other hand, is slightly disappointing.

Stationary boss!

Vanessa gets some dark ranks in.

Duessel uses the only weapon in his inventory capable of killing the boss.

Five stats - great. No strength - uhhh. . .

Duessel ended just short of level 20, so he's gonna get to level 20 a la Lute. Also, Vanessa and Moulder hit A, and don't marry.

Meanwhile, Cormag and Duessel hit A as well.

Vanessa and Lute hit B. BTW, Lute confessed to Vanessa that she was inspired to pick up Dark magic thanks to the latter.

Full damage mitigation: Check. Suspect offense: . . .check.

He reminds me of a less disappointing Marisa.

Then Vanessa said "screw this" and finished the map for good.

. . .fucking seriously?

That's IT, you WILL do more than chip damage versus something!

Chapter 14

OMG.

OMG.

I think I'll have to use something that's not a mage to scratch him. ;/

At least these guys are manageable.

Moulder will kill these guys. . .one day.

Rennac jumps right back in and shows off why he's a boss.

No-cost Amelia recruitment. She comes with goodies like the Member Card. Which I really need.

Swordreavers still have their advertised effect.

Conga line~!

So rather than try to outrun the reinforcements, I just holed up here and let 'em have it. With Franz.

Knoll gets tired of that bullshit and eats the Javelin guy.

Terrible idea/10.

Not arguing!

Lute's still unhappy with her damage output.

This is the best Moulder can do.

I think this is still better than Gordin.

Slow and steady. Just my style~!

Axereaver - don't bring 'em against swordies.

I wonder what else this does?

Lute has the weirdest way of flirting with guys.

Duessel's putting that Energy Ring to good use!

This is a pretty sad prepromote.

This is an even sadder way of killing him.

I'll take it!

This map is great for grinding Franz.

"There's a pillar up my arse, you expect me to level well?"

. . .this might take a while.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THAT PILLAR?"

Geez, so spoiled. But as soon as he was removed from the pillar, this happened.

That's a comfortable win in the name of Franz.

Once my treasure circuit was done, I used the only unit that could tank all those attacks to block the door.

Myrrh's still useful.

Kinda miffed about the uses remaining.

See Joshua's HP? Most of that was done thanks to that lance he's holding. Dragonspears have the Devil effect, it seems.

Boss that can't fight back? I'm getting a terrible idea. . .

Amelia makes herself useful.

Two Orion's Bolts. I have a terrible plan.

You can stay in the shop.

I like Silver Swords better.

That's surprisingly not bad.

. . .and there we go! Vanessa now has access to Nosferatu.

Wait. . .that's Eclipse. . .which means this boss isn't threatening at all! And Franz suddenly became really useful!

Enjoy your newfound arachnophobia.

[Jedi]

Wow that sniper's stats hahaha, also geez, Lute should give Moulder some of her growth in Str/Mag

[eclipse]

Chapter 15

What the fuck is this?

Three-digit avoid. Good grief.

I think I'll need this.

Four maxed stats, seriously.

The FUCK is this?!

After seeing triple-digit Avoid, this has to happen.

BECAUSE I WILL BE RELYING ON SURE SHOT AND ITS AMAZING 8% HIT RATE IF EVERYTHING ELSE FAILS!

This looks interesting.

OMG.

Franz strides out with no fear.

Killing Edges are effective versus flying units. SCORE!

The story of Cormag's life.

And Myrrh finally gains a different stat!

Strategy, ladies and gentlemen.

I didn't say it was any good

Knoll is not sure of what to make of this.

That's a good level.

This is Duessel. This guy has promise!

A BLANK LEVEL?! WHAT KIND OF PAYBACK IS THIS, YOU NOODLE-ARMED, SLIMY, TWINKLE-TOED SOLDIER-FOR-HIRE?!

Even Lute is disappointed in Moulder.

Overkill is the best kind of kill.

Joshua isn't fond of Javelins. Since they can actually hurt him and all.

Rennac FINALLY promotes.

Marry me.

That's pretty lame.

Joshua shows Moulder how it's done.

Joshua ate a crit.

Myrrh's on clean-up duty.

I think I'll pass.

Duessel does damage?!

Some things never change.

I think I need a new plan.

All that power, negated by a single effect.

I hope this has a cool effect, too.

That's Rapier damage.

That's just sad.

Lute's had enough of this nonsense.

So the strategy was "rescue-drop Lute and hope for the best".

Eh.

Dozla's long hair fluttered in the wind, as he smirked over the confused expression Valter wore while the latter's life drained from his face.

OH HELL YEAH!

Kyle KIND OF sucks.

Turns out a fully-supported Lute has half-decent hit rates on that thing.

"Naturally."

Too bad no one's gonna use this.

Or this.

A waste of time

Joshua's at it again!

That sound you hear is a sigh from me.

OMFG.

Knoll shows 'em how to level.

Get four stats at once.

And make sure they're relevant.

Duessel finally gets the hint! STRENGTH~!

Oops.

The struggle is real.

Lute flaunts her growths.

Twice.

Still awful.

Five stats, yes. No Strength, bummer.

Kyle puts in his best effort and gets four stats.

And then gets half of that.

It averages out.

And becomes the best he can probably do at this point.

Eep.

Double eep.

BULLSHIT

[Jedi]

HOLY CRAP THOSE STATS. O.o

I'd have probably thrown my hands up hahaha.

[Moblin Major General]

*put's on monacle* Nein. You are scheiB.

[eclipse]

HOLY CRAP THOSE STATS. O.o

I'd have probably thrown my hands up hahaha.

Fortunately, that was the worst of it. FOR NOW.

*put's on monacle* Nein. You are scheiB.

ilu too.

Prepromotes only!

To save time, here's everyone's levels.

This should be obvious.

Oh. Right. Details.

Unlimited Hand Axes call to me!

Putting that Tome to good use!

Chapter 16

So, here's what we're up against:

That's got Eclipse.

And that looks lame.

This, however, does not.

Tanky, fast, and hits like a feather.

That is still better than Silver Lances.

I don't like you.

Never mind.

What a relief!

Uhhh. . .if I had an extra promotion item, I'd totally try to level her. But Franz has been around for longer, so eh.

Speaking of. . .

What's the worst that could happen?

Worst, for him, that is.

Good luck with that, Mr. Generic.

Hey, join the 1-use Eclipse tome in my inventory!

This guy is actually competent.

SWEET~!

Good grief.

Rennac's off days are better than most of Moulder's existence.

I am not worried at all.

Better than Moulder, at least.

High-level cheating, go!

I'll get this. Eventually.

Finally!

So the Swordslayer poisons. And kills swords.

SPEED~!

Fed this to Dozla because why not.

He's kinda terrifying. In a good way.

No.

Hehehehe. . .

Dozla's gonna wipe out everything.

Meanwhile. . .

I think Rennac will make better use of that.

Kyle is officially Oscar.

Chapter 17

Ahahaha. . .no.

Even with his upgraded stats, he's kinda slow.

Ooh, MT boost!

Lute wants!

That's cute.

I'll take that?

Luckily, these guys are kinda sad.

Myrrh is still useful. Somehow.

Rennac wants to stomp things.

You know you suck when Franz can ORKO you.

. . .dear me. . .

Killing Edges being effective against flying things is a gigantic help.

I'll take Skill.

Whoops.

Yes I made a save state here.

And I made another one here, because that is one sexy level!

And that's a cap!

Knoll joins in on the sexy.

"Hey, you're not Eir, even if you have her flowing hair!"

"Ehehe. . .what gave it away. . ."

(rewind, because that was a crit; also, Fenrir poisons)

Jack this.

Huh, good to know that Lyon is weak enough to be nuked. But first, more experience!

Like so.

"The only thing I fear is your godawful hair."

"I am the only purple-haired magical nuke allowed."

That's for Vanessa.

Franz likes this?

HELL YES.

And I got Rescue to boot.

[eclipse]

"Gee eclipse, what happened to all the pictures?"

That should tell you how many times I had to savestate abuse on these chapters.

Chapter 18

Stat booster distribution.

I guess that's not too bad.

IT'S ONLY 30 MT. ;/

And Demon Surge has Eclipse.

The boss.

The LOL.

Stone has a MT rating!

He'll hit one of 'em. I hope.

How typical.

You're not supposed to follow his bad example. ;/

The enemies are kind of sad.

Duessel WTF. Oh, and if he does use that Poison Lance, it'll poison the egg, and the egg will die before it, uh, grows.

Making everything suffer. EVERYTHING.

HELL YES!

Sheesh, not even a OHKO.

You're hopeless. . .

Even KYLE can OHKO these guys.

Oh, right, Axereavers suck.

Myrrh continues to branch out in her gains.

"THIS is the pride of purple hair."

"Bah, I'm too old for this."

"I'm good at something. But not what you want."

"I did my time, you guys do the rest."

"At least I'm hard to kill, right?"

"I'm running out of amazing stats to gain."

"RNG POWERS ACTIVATE!"

"Or something."

Chapter 19

Sure, why not.

Rausten's gonna get its butt kicked.

"I'm amazing."

"Your hair isn't purple enough to be amazing."

"I'll let you shine just this once, Knoll."

This should give you an idea as to what the hell I was up against.

TACTICS. I didn't say they were good, though!

That's really, REALLY bad.

See Riev's attack? That has nothing to do with max Speed, since Rennac has Siegmund. That's because Dragonstones are Brave weapons. Also, I rigged that hit.

'k.

Dear goodness. . .

Well, this sucks.

Get wrecked.

Next time: More grinding, to make Moulder/Duessel better. By force.

[eclipse]

"Hey eclipse, what have you been doing?"

Actually, a whole lot of nothing. Just kidding, I took a stroll up the Tower of Valni, and force-leveled Moulder/Duessel into something a little less embarrassing. Why? Because both of them did very little in Chapter 19, and I'm going to need all of my units to Not Suck in the last few chapters.

As long as he avoids magical attacks, he's good.

She's still relevant, due to her ability to tank magic.

Barely getting kills, but it's better than before. Even if I were to rig every last Strength level, I think he'd still fall short of the cap.

He's getting the final Angelic Robe.

Wrecking face and giving no fucks. Nosfertanking is A Thing.

Somewhat decent, since his job is to smack things with a Killer Bow.

This is what bait looks like. He's also there to make Duessel tankier.

Majorly RNG screwed. Still able to gib things with a Brave Bow.

Like Duessel, won't cap Strength even if I rig every last level. Unlike Duessel, he murders things with a Fiendcleaver.

Good night everything. Turned him into a tank thanks to Lute/Duessel supports.

Pure utility, with a side of Nosferatu.

The only thing Rennac was missing was a support partner. He has one.

She gets a mention due to Siglinde saving my ass in the Tower. If I was patient enough to give her six more levels, she'd be decent.

[Excellen Browning]

You should train Ismaire. You want to have an S rank bow user with 24+ spd.

[eclipse]

You should train Ismaire. You want to have an S rank bow user with 24+ spd.

Not happening. I'd need to promote her on the second-to-the-last map, and then give her some levels there. And I'm not hacking in a Master Seal because of this.

[eclipse]

Training complete~! Now I'm off to Chapter 20 for real! After I figure out where the stat boosters go.

The team:

Rigged two Speed levels for a future problem.

Rigged a LOT of Strength levels so that he can actually kill things.

Rigged a single Speed level so he'd cap it

Rigged a single Speed level for a future problem. She got all that Defense on her own!

He's here solely for Duessel's sake.

Rigged so much Strength it wasn't funny. It's still pretty bad.

He did this by himself! 'cept the HP, I shoved a Robe down his throat.

No rigging, just a little bit of awesome.

Frail, but competent, and helps out Rennac.