JourneymanN00b

Thanks for the tip. Any run that I decide to do will accommodate for this increased difficulty. Learning to work through hardship without any outside help is something that has always been my thing with video games such as this. Maybe it is just me, but it helps me get into the mindset to think outside of the box when it comes to finding solutions. For sure. Anyway, my work projects in real life are really eating up into my free time, so I don't think I will be able to begin my run and set up the thread until the end of the month at the very earliest. When I do, I hope that there will be at least some interest in seeing how I tackle Fates as a n00b.

Thanks for the clarification and advice. In that case, I will count your suggestion to play Conquest on Hard and Classic, with no other restrictions. I might do Birthright on a second playthrough under the same settings if I have the time to do this.

Thanks a lot for the reply. And yes, I am aware of not being able to access the DLC, which is why I put myself under Ironman restrictions to make the best of the situation. I am not sure if I will do multiple playthroughs, although I could maybe see myself doing a second playthrough if circumstances allow it. Unless you have any other specifications that you would like me to try, I will count your suggestion as to play the Ironman run in Birthright on Hard and Classic, with no other restrictions. It should theoretically go smoother than my Lunatic Classic attempts on Awakening, but I am going to look at the guides and familiarize myself with the mechanics before I say anything more. I will start a new thread in the Fates subforum as soon as I am ready to set up my run.

Well, I get bogged down with work, but I manage to legitimately beat the game. Below is how I did it: Before starting Chapter 25, I check the Barracks, as usual, which provide a Rift Door and Maribelle 16 EXP. I also get a B support between Robin and Lucina. Chapter 25 went like this: Turn 1: After pairing Chrom with Robin, I have her kill the lowest Berserker on the right with Valflame, and use the Galeforce boost to kill the Swordmaster at the position where the Berserker was. Then I pair Lucina with Morgan, have Morgan kill the Tomahawk Warrior, and move him 1 tile left, and 1 tile south from Robin. As expected, the Trickster and Warrior both die in the enemy phase. Turn 2: Robin moves 8 squares up, kills the Trickster with Arcthunder, unequips herself and waits. Morgan then kills the Sage, then swaps to Lucina, who kills the Mire Sorcerer by Robin from 1 square east and 1 square south of him using the Spear. On the enemy phase, the Sorcerers fail to hit Lucina, and the General hits Lucina, who proceeds to kill him thanks to Dual Strikes from Morgan’s Helswath. Turn 3: Robin kills a Swordmaster with Valflame, while Lucina kills a Berserker with Parallel Falchion. After equipping Chrom with the forged Beast Killer, I have Robin attack Aversa with Valflame, who goes down thanks to a Dual Strike from Chrom. I sell the Bullion (M), Reeking Box, 4 Logs, Tree Branch, 2 Kneaders, Sweet Tincture, Balmwood Staff, Aversa’s Night, 2 Shocksticks, 2 Wolt’s Bows, Glass Bow, Glass Sword, Superior Lance, Finn’s Lance, Superior Axe, Wilderwind, Dragonstone, Beaststone, 5 Vulneraries, 2 Gaius’s Confects, 1 Kris’s Confect, Dying Blaze, 2 Micaiah’s Pyres, Superior Jolt, Katarina’s Bolt, Erika’s Blade, 2 Arcthunders, 2 Elthunders, 3 Winds, Seliph’s Blade, 2 Steel Lances, 2 Iron Lances, a Hammer, a Steel Axe, and a Rapier to pay for forging the Brave Bow for Morgan. I then use 3 Seraph Robes, 2 Speedwings, and a Secret Book on Chrom and then 2 Talismans and a Dracoshield on Morgan. Finally, I check the Barracks, which give extra relationship points between Cordelia and Gregor, Lon’qu and Miriel, Ricken and Lissa, Lon’qu 26 EXP, Anna a surge of Str and Res, Maribelle 27 EXP, and a Superior Jolt that I give to Robin. After buy 2 Str Tonics for Chrom and Lucina so that every Tonic that I outlined in the previous post was used on the correct characters, I start the Endgame. Below is how it went: Turn 1: I pair Morgan with Lucina, and have her move 8 tiles down from Grima’s middle Berserker. Next, I pair Chrom with Robin, and put Robin 1 square below Lucina. Then, I pair Olivia with Cordelia, and move Cordelia to Lucina’s left. Finally, I move Basilio 1 square below Olivia, Anna 1 square right of Lucina, and Libra 3 squares below Anna. Turn 2: I Rally everyone with Basilio, and have Robin kill the middle Berserker with the Levin Sowrd, and use the Galeforce boost to attack Grima at 1 range with Valflame. Together with Chrom’s Dual Strikes, I deal 46 Damage to Grima. Then, I move Lucina up, swap to Morgan, and attack Grima with the forged Brave Bow, who thankfully dies thanks to a Dual Strike from Lucina and a critical hit from Morgan on the second blow. It took a grand total of 31 attempts to finally achieve my goal of finishing the game at the hardest settings that a complete n00b can choose. The successful attempt required 43 hours, 32 minutes, and 6 seconds of gameplay to complete, with much of it was spent trying to deal with IRL stuff at the same time as playing the game. And thus ends my playthrough of Fire Emblem: Awakening. Next up is Fire Emblem: Fates. I am going to get the Special Edition, which will maximize my options on how to play the game for the first time. I am open to any suggestions (which path, difficulty, mode, extra content such as paralogues can be accessed, supports to make, items to buy, and so forth) to have my experience be an attractive enough for users to read and comment on. The only constraints are that I will always be following Ironman restrictions, which means that I will not engage in save-scumming or use any Wi-Fi or DLC content at any point in my playthrough, and that if a Game Over takes place, I will start the whole game over.

Well, the week was hectic as usual, but I finally got some time to continue this run. As predicted, Chapter 24 gets cleared without any issues. Below is the short summary: The Barracks give extra relationship points between Kellem and Cherche, Lon’qu and Lissa, Basilio 12 EXP, Lon’qu 28 EXP, and a Log. Turn 1: I pair Lucina with Morgan, and have Morgan head to the upper-left Fort with Yewfelle equipped. Then I pair Chrom with Robin, and move Robin one square north of Morgan. The enemy phase sees a Paladin go down to Robin, thanks to a Dual Strike from Chrom, which also causes his Silver Lance to break. Turns 2-3: I have Lucina kill a Valkyrie with a Beast Killer, Robin kill a Bow Knight after equipping Chrom with a fresh Silver Lance from the Convoy, Morgan kill a Paladin after equipping Lucina with a Silver Lance, and have Robin and Morgan return to their previous spots. After that, I have Robin kill a Great Knight with Luna, Lucina kill a Wyvern Lord with Parallel Falchion to get his Spear, Morgan kill another Wyvern Lord, and then have Robin and Morgan retreat to their previous spots, with Morgan killing another Wyvern Lord in the process. Two more Paladins get killed while two axe users and a sword user surrounds Morgan during the enemy phase. Turns 4-9: I repeat the attack and retreat tactic against 2 Great Knights with Luna and two Paladins wielding Silver Swords, and a Wyvern Lord. During the enemy phase, Robin’s Arcthunder breaks, so I get another Arcthunder from the convoy from her as I repeat the attack and retreat tactic to wipe out the rest of the enemies. Next up is the final stretch, as I plan to tackle Chapter 25 and the Endgame in one go. Below is my plan to finish off the rest of the game: Chapter 25: Give Chrom the forged Beast Killer, and give Lucina the forged Armorslayer. Then use HP and Def Tonic on Robin and HP and Def Tonics on Morgan. Have Robin equip Tomebreaker over Slow Burn. Send Robin, Lucina, and Morgan. Turn 1: Equip Chrom with the Exalted Falchion with Robin, and have Robin kill the lowest Zerker on the right, and use the Galeforce boost to kill the Swordmaster. Then Pair Lucina with Morgan, have Morgan kill the Tomahawk Warrior, and move him 1 tile left, and 1 tile south from Robin. The Trickster and Warrior should die in the enemy phase. Turn 2: Robin should kill the Trickster, and unequip herself and wait. Morgan then kills the Sage, then swaps to Lucina, who kills the Mire Sorcerer by Robin. Turn 3: Robin kills a Berserker, Sage, or Swordmaster. After equipping Chrom with the forged Beast Killer, have Robin attack Aversa with Valflame. If Aversa is not dead, have Morgan kill an enemy to boost him, and finish Aversa off with Yewfelle. Endgame: Buy a Brave Bow, forge it to have +5 Mt and +9 Crit, and give it to Morgan. Make sure that Libra has a Physic staff. Use HP, Mag, Skl, Luk, Spd, and Def Tonics on Robin, HP, Str, Skl, Luk, Spd, and Def Tonics on Morgan, Str, Skl, and Luk Tonics on Chrom, and Str, Skl, and Luk Tonics on Lucina. Have Robin equip Anathema, Hex, Galeforce, Vengeance, and Solidarity skills, and Morgan equip Galeforce, Patience, Armsthrift, Sol, and Axebreaker skills. Deploy Basilio, Olivia, Cordelia, Libra, Anna, Lucina, Morgan, and Robin. Turn 1: Pair Morgan with Lucina, and have her move 7 tiles down from Grima’s middle Berserker. Pair Chrom with Robin, and put Robin 1 square below Lucina. Pair Olivia with Cordelia, and move Cordelia to Lucina’s left. Then move Basilio 1 square below Olivia, and Libra and Anna 1 square right of Lucina and Robin respectively. Turn 2: Rally everyone with Basilio, and have Robin kill the middle Berserker, and use Galeforce to attack Grima at 1 range. Move Lucina up, swap to Morgan, and attack Grima with the forged Brave Bow. If Grima does not die and Morgan has less than 43 HP, have Libra use the Physic staff on him. Move Cordelia behind Morgan, swap Olivia and boost Morgan, and then have Morgan finish off Grima. Watch the credits. This plan should hopefully work, but I am prepared to improvise if necessary to have at least Robin and Morgan survive.

After a hectic week, I am back and ready to continue where I left off. Chapter 23 is cleared without any problems. Below are the details: The Barracks give extra relationship points between Tharja and Henry, Cherche and Frederick, Henry and Miriel, Gaius and Robin, and Lon’qu and Vaike, Morgan 13 EXP, and Wolt’s Bow. I also get a C support between Lon’qu and Vaike. Turns 1-5: I pair Chrom with Robin, and have her move right to 2 squares below the throne’s southwest pillar to lure enemies that way after killing Validar’s first form. Then I pair Basilio with Flavia, and have them move left. After pairing Lucina with Morgan, I have Morgan move up and runs interference from enemies from closing on Basilio. That starts by having the pair the General, Sorcerer, and Assassin north of him. On turn 2, Robin takes out a couple of Generals, while Lucina and Morgan kill a Hero, a Berserker, and a General. Turn 3 sees Lucina and Morgan killing another Hero, Sorcerer, and a Berserker, and robin killing a Hero and attacking a Berserker, who survives due to Robin’s Bolganone breaking. The next two turns see Robin, Lucina, and Morgan taking out a good number of enemy units without any real issues, with Robin using an Arcthunder to deal out the carnage. Turns 6-10: I have Robin use a Galeforce boost to take out a Sorcerer reinforcement with Valflame, and Morgan retreat to the left after Lucina takes out a Sorcerer. On the next turn, I have Robin, Lucina, and Morgan clean up the reinforcements. I have Robin visit the left sparkly tile in the process, which gives her extra weapon proficiency. After killing a Sorcerer, Lucina reaches level 5, but I do not have her learn the Defender skill. I have Chrom check out the right sparkly tile, which gives him useless extra weapon proficiency. Robin takes out Validar without any issues whatsoever. Next up, Chapter 24. Below is my plan for clearing it. Since Robin has 30 Resistance, switch out Tomebreaker to Slow Burn. Use HP, Mag, Spd, Luk, and Def Tonics on Robin, and HP, Spd, Luk, and Def tonics on Morgan. Deploy Robin, Lucina, and Morgan. Turn 1: Pair Lucina with Morgan, and have Morgan head to the upper-left Fort with Yewfelle equipped. Pair Chrom with Robin and move Robin one square north of Morgan. Turns 2+: Have Lucina kill any non-axe users she can at range with the Short Spear, and Morgan with Yewfelle. This is to ensure that the tanking formation is entirely surrounded by axe users to avoid any complications from the incoming reinforcements that appear from turns 2-5. I predict zero issues with clearing the chapter, and believe that I am in the home stretch here.

Chapter 22 goes smoothly enough. Below are the dirty details: Before I start, I check out the Barracks as usual, which gives extra relationship points between Virion and Libra and Kellam and Lissa. Turn 1: I pair Chrom with Robin, Lucina with Morgan, Henry with Libra, and Frederick with Olivia. I kill Equus with Robin after equipping Chrom with the Beast Killer thanks to a Dual Strike from Chrom. After that, I move Robin to the lower edge of the Dark Knight and Warrior’s ranges. Next, I have Olivia boost Morgan, and Morgan move just within the Bow Knight’s range with the Silver Bow equipped for Morgan, since I forgot to equip the Short Axe and the Beast Killer for Lucina, thanks to a boost from Olivia. Finally, I move everyone else slightly to the right of Morgan, Robin, Olivia in preparation for any necessary heals. During the enemy phase, the Bow Knight thankfully dies to Morgan thanks to a Dual Strike from Lucina, while the Dark Knight gets killed by Robin thanks to a Dual Strike from Chrom and the Warrior gets heavily wounded by Robin. Turn 2: I have Morgan finish off the Warrior, move Robin 2 squares east and 4 squares north, have Olivia boost Robin, and position Robin against the middle of the 1x3 wall to lure the Valkyrie and Sniper after equipping Chrom with the Silver Lance. I move Morgan and everyone else closer to Robin. The Valk and Sniper both get killed by Robin during the enemy phase thanks to Dual Strikes from Chrom. Turn 3: I have Morgan get Yewfelle from the convoy, and then have him kill the Assassin and General with Lucina equipping the Silver Lance, thanks to a critical hit from Morgan when he fought the General. I then have Olivia boost Robin and have Robin move into the Sorcerer’s range with the Levin Sword equipped. The Sorcerer gets killed thanks to a critical hit from Robin. Turns 4-6: I have Morgan attack the War Cleric, who survives thanks to a Miracle trigger. I then have Robin finish off the War Cleric. Then I have Cordelia use Rally Speed and Olivia boost Morgan to enable Morgan to double and kill the Swordmaster. Next, I have Robin get the Sage with Katarina’s Bolt, which allows to kill him due to two Dual Strikes from Chrom. The left sparkly tile gives Chrom Aversa’s Night, while the right sparkly tile gives Cordelia a Reeking Box. After that, I have Morgan kill Aversa with Yewfelle. Next up is Chapter 23. Below is the plan to tackle it: Use the Goddess Icon on Chrom. Equip Robin with Valflame, Chrom with a Silver Sword, and Morgan with Helswath. Replace Robin’s Vengeance skill with Axebreaker. Use HP, Mag, Luk, and Def Tonics on Robin, HP, Str, Luk, and Def Tonics on Morgan, and a Str Tonic on Lucina. Send Lucina, Morgan, Cordelia, Anna, Libra, and Olivia. Place Lucina on the northwest spot at the bottom edge of the map, Morgan to the right of Lucina, and the rest anywhere. Turns 1-5: Pair Chrom with Robin, and have her move right to lure enemies that way after killing Validar’s first form. Pair Basilio with Flavia, and have them move left. After pairing Lucina with Morgan, Morgan should move up and run interference from enemies from closing on Basilio. On turn 2 and 3, Robin then doubles back left using a Galeforce boost. Have Morgan aggressively clear out approaching enemies on the left side. Turns 6+: Have Morgan retreat and join the others, and have everyone start kiting south to clear the area. With Tomebreaker, Robin should be able to kill Validar’s second form without any problems. This is the last chapter where I foresee any problems, so I hope that things do not get screwy here.

I manage to finish Chapter 21 with everyone in okay condition. Below is how it went: Turn 1: I pair Chrom to Robin, and have her kill the Zerker between the two left-side stairs in the quad set of stairs. Then I move her 1 tile down, 1 tile left from the right corner stairs of the quad to lure two Assassins into attacking at range from the stairs and also kill the Zerker to the right of her. Next, I pair Lucina with Morgan, and have Morgan take out the two enemies closest to his left. On the enemy phase, every enemy that engages with Morgan and Robin dies. Turn 2: After equipping Chrom with the Silver Lance, I have Robin kill the upper Swordmaster near second quad of stairs, go 2 tiles below the Assassin, and kill him. I then have Morgan equip the silver bow and move to the top left treasure room. As expected, all enemies that attack Robin at 2 range are killed. Turn 3: Robin kills the Swordmaster blocking the right-side gap, equips Bolganone, moves 1 tile below the non-Mire Sorc, and kills him as well. Morgan kills the Sorc in the treasure room, and gets the Secret Book. The Boss suicides himself against Robin during the enemy phase. So now the time has come to get through Chapter 22, which should be perfectly doable to achieve. Here is my plan to do so: Sell the Bullion, and buy 3 Arcthunders. Use HP, Mag, and Def Tonics on Robin, HP, Str, and Def Tonics on Morgan, a Str Tonic on Chrom, and a Str Tonic on Lucina. Make sure that Chrom and Lucina have a forged Beast Killer, Robin has the Levin Sword, Libra has Physic and Rescue staves, and Anna has Rescue staves, Frederick with a Silver Lance. Deploy Robin, Lucina, Morgan, Libra, Cordelia, Frederick, Olivia, Henry, and Anna. Put Robin on the leftmost position on the second row, Lucina on the northwest spot, Morgan on the northeast spot, Anna on the center position on the second row, Olivia on the left position on the third row, Frederick on the right position on the third row, and everyone else on the leftmost spots on the last row. Turn 1: Pair Chrom with Robin, Lucina with Morgan, Henry with Libra, and Frederick with Olivia. Kill Equus with Robin, with Anna using Rescue and Olivia boosting Robin if a second attack is needed. Then use Robin’s Galeforce boost to position on the lower edge of the Dark Knight and Warrior’s ranges. Have Morgan position himself just within the Bow knight’s range with the Short Axe equipped. Turn 2: Move Robin to where Olivia can boost Robin out of enemy range, and position Robin against the middle of the 1x3 wall to lure the Valkyrie and Sniper. Have Morgan position himself above Robin. Turn 3: Kill the Assassin and General with Robin and Morgan and have Olivia boost Robin and have her move into the Sorcerer’s range with the Levin Sword. Turns 4+: Kill the War Cleric and have Cordelia use Rally Speed to enable Robin to double and kill the Swordmaster. Then get the Sage. After that, give Yewfelle to Morgan and have him kill Aversa. This one could get tricky at times, but I think the chances of completing this chapter are still rather good.

Chapter 20 is cleared as expected. Below is the summary: Before starting, the Barracks give extra relationship points between Chrom and Lissa, Robin and Olivia, and Lissa and Gregor, Eirika’s Blade, Log, and Micaiah’s Pyre. I also get a B support between Chrom and Morgan. Turn 1: I pair Chrom to Robin and Lucina to Morgan as usual. Then I have Morgan kill the 2 Heroes in the north with Lucina killing the left Sage in between the kills with the Parallel Falchion. Then, I have Robin kill the two Warriors north of the dead Heroes. Cervantes, a General, and 3 Sages all die to Robin in the enemy phase. Turns 2-3: I have Robin take out the Thief by killing a Hero while Chrom has the Falchion equipped and then going after him, and have Morgan 2 Generals to the right. Several Generals and a Sniper, get killed by Morgan, while a Sage dies to Robin. On the next turn, I have Robin kill a Warrior and get in range of a wounded General in the center hall, and Morgan kill two Generals with a Silver Bow and Silver Axe. The enemy phase sees a General die to Morgan. Turns 4-5: After having Morgan kill a General, I have him and Robin retreat to the right hall. Kite the reinforcements and Excellus’ group up and down the side and main halls. Morgan takes out a Sage during the enemy phase using the Silver Bow. The next turn sees Robin killing a Sage who attacked Morgan in melee from the north and a Hero from the bottom right of the map, while Morgan kills the two generals who surrounded him in the previous turn. He reaches level 15, but I do not have him learn Counter. Every enemy that goes after Robin gets killed, as well as a Sniper who went after Morgan. Robin reaches level 5, but I do not have her learn Slow Burn. Turns 6-16: The enemy reinforcements and Excellus and his entire crew go down, with Excellus striking a lucky hit on Morgan for 32 damage that quickly gets healed with his Sol skill. Walhart goes down to Morgan using his Short Axe and Silver Bow. The lower sparkly tile gives Robin useless extra relationship points with Chrom, while the upper sparkly tile gives Robin extra weapons proficiency. I don’t have any more Door Keys, so I don’t get the Spirit Dust from the treasure chests that I probably should have gotten for this chapter. The plan for chapter 21 is this: Equip Robin with Bolganone and Arcthunder and Lucina with a Short Spear. Switch Robin’s Veteran Skill to Vengeance, and Morgan’s Veteran Skill to Axebreaker. Have Robin use HP and Def tonics, and Morgan use HP, Def, and Luk tonics. As usual, send Morgan, Lucina, and Robin. Robin should be in the lower-left starting spot, while Morgan and Lucina can go anywhere. Turn 1: Pair Chrom to Robin, and have her kill the Zerker between the two left-side stairs in the quad set of stairs. Then move her 1 tile down, 1 tile left from the right corner stairs of the quad to lure two Assassins into attacking at range from the stairs. Pair Lucina and Morgan and have him take out the two enemies closest to his left. Turn 2: Have Robin kill the upper Swordmaster near second quad of stairs, go 2 tiles below the Assassin, and kill him. Everyone should be lured into attacking Robin from range and dying during the enemy phase. Turns 3: Robin should kill the Swordmaster who is blocking the right-side gap. Then she should equip Bolganone, move 1 tile below the non-Mire Sorc, and kill him. The Boss should die to Robin during the enemy phase. The odds of completing this chapter are good, and I am hopeful that there are no surprises here.

Well, I get through chapter 19, but I decide to change up my plan to make things more efficient. Before starting the chapter, I check the Barracks as usual, which gives extra relationship points between Lissa and Vaike, Lon’qu and Cordelia, Anna 25 EXP, and Say’ri 24 EXP. I get an A support between Lucina and Morgan, and a B support between Robin and Morgan. Turn 1: I pair Chrom with Robin, and Lucina with Morgan. Then I move Robin to the left fort on the right of the map and have her take out a General. Morgan next shoots another general before going to the right fort on the right of the map. Turns 2-10: I camp Robin and Morgan on the forts, with Robin killing two enemies on turn 2 with Hand Axes, Morgan trade-convoying them afterwards and shooting people with his bow. Starting turn 3, I decide to try to simplify things by having Robin equip her Short Axes during the Enemy Phases. After Chrom’s Armorslayer breaks, I have him equip the Beast Killer. When Robin reaches level 15, I do not have her learn Axebreaker. I convoy to get two Arcfires and a Second Seal for Robin, and change her to a Dark Knight. Turns 11-21: Chrom reached level 10 at this point, so I begin to retreat from the bottom right fort by having Morgan kill two enemies adjacent the fort, Robin take out the third enemy adjacent to the fort, move Robin out of enemy range, switch to Chrom, and have him equip Falchion and use a Master Seal to promote to a Paladin. I then have Lucina equip a Steel Lance and have Morgan take out most of the remaining enemies. Next I check out the sparkly tiles with Morgan, with the right one giving him 17 EXP, and the left one giving him a Kneader. I then have Morgan take out a General, and then have him retreat to the edge of the enemies attack range, transfer Robin to Morgan, and wait. After that, I have Morgan kill a Paladins, Robin kill the second General, and Robin attack Walhart, with Morgan dealing the finishing blow. Below is the plan to finish up Chapter 20: Give Robin Katarina’s Bolt, Lucina a Silver Lance, Morgan a Silver Bow, Silver Axe, and Short Axe, and Chrom the remaining forged Armorslayer, a Silver Lance, and a Silver Sword. Use HP, Mag, and Def Tonics on Robin, HP, Def, and Luk Tonics on Morgan, and a Str Tonic on Chrom. Deploy Robin, Lucina, and Morgan once again. Put Robin to Chrom’s left, and Lucina and Morgan to Chrom’s right. Turn 1: Pair Chrom to Robin and Lucina to Morgan as usual. Then have Morgan kill the 2 Heroes in the north, and Robin kill the two Warriors north of them. Before Morgan makes his second kill, maybe kill a Sage with Lucina. Turns 2-3: Have Robin pursue the Thief while Morgan harasses the incoming Generals. Turn 4: Kite the reinforcements and Excellus’ group up and down the side and main halls. Turns 5+: Kill Walhart’s healers and goons, then take Walhart out. This is getting close to the home stretch, so things should be smooth sailing from this point forward.

Chapter 18 goes smoothly enough with Chrom gaining enough levels for me to feel better, although Morgan doesn't get as much experience as I hoped for. Before starting the chapter, the Barracks thankfully give Chrom 23 EXP, and I get a B support between Lucina and Chrom. Turn 1: I pair Chrom with Robin, and Lucina with Morgan, and then move Robin and Morgan to a thin 1×2 strip down and left from the top-right Griffon group, with Robin below Morgan. Morgan reaches level 5, and I do not have him learn Rally Strength. The enemy phase sees Robin taking a counter trigger from a Warrior while killing a Sage, and Morgan taking a hit from a Griffon Rider. Turns 2-10: I transfer Chrom to Morgan, and have Morgan kill the wounded Warrior. I then transfer Chrom back to Robin and have her kill the Griffon Rider. Morgan takes out most of the Griffon Riders during the enemy phase, while Lucina reaches Level 10 from Dual Strikes. On the next turn, I kill a Warrior with Robin, transfer Chrom to Morgan again and have him take out a Griffon Rider, retreat Morgan behind Robin, put Lucina back to Morgan, switch to Lucina, and have her use a Second Seal from the convoy to become a Paladin. On the next turn, I transfer Chrom to Morgan, and have Morgan kill two enemies and break the turtling position. I then transfer Chrom back to Robin and have her kill a Paladin. The rest of the turns see more enemies getting killed by Robin and Morgan without dealing any damage. A highlight is on turn 7 where Chrom manages to kill a Sage with Seliph’s blade while being on the front. The lower sparkly tile gives Morgan some extra weapons proficiency, and I manage to use Chest Keys to get the Energy Drop and a Second Seal from the chests before I have Morgan take out the Boss. The plan to complete chapter 19 is this: Use the Energy Drop and a Str Tonic on Chrom. Use Str, HP, and Def Tonics on Robin, and HP, Def, and Luk Tonics on Morgan. Sell a Dragonstone, and forge the two Beast Killers to have +1 Mt and +10 Hit each, and the two Armorslayers to have +1 Mt and +10 Hit each. Give Chrom a forged Armorslayer, a forged Beast Killer, and Falchion, and Lucina the Parallel Falchion, a forged Beast Killer, and a forged Armorslayer. Equip Lucina with the Parallel Falchion and Chrom with the forged Armorslayer. Send Morgan, Lucina, and Robin as usual, and place them all to the right map. Turn 1: Pair Chrom with Robin, and Lucina with Morgan. Move Robin to the left fort on the right of the map, and have her take out a General. Then move Morgan to the right fort on the right of the map. Turns 2+: Camp Robin and Morgan on the forts. For each turn, have Robin kill two enemies per turn with Hand Axes, with Morgan trade-convoying them afterward and shooting people with his bow. Try not to let the melee who get in range be those who have Hawkeye. Also try to save Generals without Counter for Chrom to take out. When Robin reaches level 15, change her class to a Dark Knight. Chrom should promote to a Paladin as soon as he reaches level 10 as well. To deal with Walhart, have Chrom equip a Silver Lance, and have Robin take out two Paladins. Then have Robin attack from range during the player phases. This chapter should be straightforward to clear, if I do not slip up along the way.

Thanks for the tip. Chrom did gain a couple of levels, but he is currently only a level 4 Cavalier, which is certainly not what I want to see at this point in the story. Definitely going to be making more of an active effort to level him up in Chapter 18. Chapter 17 turns out to be easy to clear, as expected. Below is what happened: Before I start the chapter, I check out the barracks, which give Frederick a surge of Mag and Def, a Katarina’s Bolt, and a Balmwood Staff. Turn 1: I have Chrom go to Robin, with Olivia boosting him to get him paired up with her. Then I pair Lucina with Morgan, and have Robin and Morgan kill the left-side group. On the enemy phase, a War Monk dies to Robin and a Sniper dies to Morgan. Turns 2-7: I have Robin kill another Sniper with the Short Axe, and move Morgan to deal with the lower right enemies. The enemy phase sees Morgan kill a Hero, while Robin kills a Valkyrie, War Monk and a Sniper. On turn 3, Morgan takes out the rest of the lower right enemies except a Hero with Axebreaker, while Robin kills a Sniper, a War Monk, 2 Heroes, and Valkyrie. During this process, Robin reaches level 5, and I have her learn Sol over Hex. The next turn sees Morgan finishing off the Hero, and Robin killing a Sniper, a Thief, and a Hero. Robin then kills two Valkyries, and begins to retreat to the lower left, while Morgan kills a Valkyrie during the Turn 6’s enemy phase. Morgan then kills a War Monk on Turn 7. Turns 8-23: After killing a Hero, I get Robin to retreat to the lower left area to properly engage with the reinforcements that start coming up on Turn 9. Morgan picks off the reinforcements that come from the right without too many issues. The right sparkly tile gives Chrom extra weapons proficiency, while the left sparkly tile gives Chrom Gaius’s Confect. I pair Chrom with Lucina, and have her take out the Boss using a Javelin. Below is the plan to finish Chapter 18: Sell the Bullion and buy 2 Arcfires. Use the Boots on Robin, and use HP and Def Tonics on both Robin and Morgan. Give Chrom a Silver Sword, a Silver Lance, and the Levin Sword, and have him equip Seliph’s Blade, and Lucina the forged Elwind. Deploy Lucina, Morgan, and Robin, and put all of them on the right side of the map. Turn 1: Pair Chrom with Robin, and Lucina with Morgan, and move Robin and Morgan to a thin 1×2 strip down and left from the top-right Griffon group, with Robin below Morgan. That way Robin will face at most 1 melee and 3 ranged. Turns 2-10: Remain in that position until the crowd thins out, and pass Chrom around between Robin and Morgan while they attack the enemy units to get Chrom extra experience. Try to let non Hawkeye Sages get into some of those spots so that they can bodyblock other 2-range and fail to hit against Robin since she has Tomebreaker. Prioritize taking out 2-range units. Turns 11+: Get concoctions and Elixirs if necessary to heal from the lava damage, head towards the boss, and take him out. Hopefully this chapter doesn’t present too many problems for our heroes.

Well, it took some careful thinking at times, but Chapter 16 is finished with everyone unscathed. Here’s how it unfolded: During the preparations, I find an Anna Shop selling Spirit Dust, so I buy it, and use it on Lucina. The Barracks give extra relationship points between Cherche and Ricken, Robin and Panne, Donnel and Cherche, Donnel and Sully, Tharja and Henry, Lissa 23 EXP, and a Shockstick. I also get a B support between Lucina and Morgan. Turns 1-3: I pair Chrom to Robin, and have her kill the Bullion Thief, and then the southeastern most Fighter. I pair Morgan with Lucina, and have her kill a Pegasus Knight, while I have Morgan kill the two remaining Thieves. The enemy phase sees Robin and Morgan kill everything that comes their way, although the Warrior that comes after Morgan hits him with a Counter trigger before dying. Chrom reaches level 2 in the process, so I unequip him move Robin up the right side after that, while I pair Morgan with Lucina and have them pick apart the left side with Morgan on the front during the enemy phases. Morgan reaches Level 15 in the process and declines to learn the Axebreaker skill. Turn 4: I get everyone back toward the center of the map, with Lucina taking out a Warrior, Morgan killing a Warrior and with Robin luring the Warrior reinforcement into fighting at 2 range by putting her one tile north and two tiles east from the lower sparkly tile. Turns 5-16: I move the party to the middle right of the map. After clearing most of the enemies, I have Robin check out the lower sparkly tile, which gives her extra weapons proficiency, and the upper sparkly tile, which gives her a Glass Sword. I then have Robin, who end up being a little underlevelled to my liking, to kill the boss. Below is Chapter 17’s game plan: Sell the 2 Bullions, and buy 23 HP Tonics, 4 Second Seals, and a Bronze Bow. Forge the Bronze Bow to +5 Mt. Use one of the Second Seals to reclass Morgan to a Warrior. Give Morgan the forged Bronze Bow, make sure Robin has the Killer Axe, give Lucina Katarina’s Bolt, make sure Libra has Mend and Rescue staves, Cordelia a Mend staff, and Anna Rescue and Mend staves. Have Robin and Morgan each use Def and HP Tonics. Deploy Lucina, Robin, Morgan, Olivia, Anna, Frederick, Cordelia, and Libra. Place Morgan, Lucina, Frederick, Robin, and Olivia in the left group, and Cordelia, Anna, and Libra in the group with Chrom. Turn 1: Have Chrom go to Robin, with Olivia boosting him to get him paired up with her. Robin, Morgan, and Lucina kills or at least severely shrinks the left-side group, prioritizing any enemies that have Counter. Turns 2-7: Have Robin work her way up, killing what she can until about Turn 6. Then she should start heading back toward the lower left to avoid getting swarmed by reinforcements. Turns 8+: Get Robin out of range from most of the reinforcements that start turning up on Turn 9. Lucina pairs with Morgan, who picks off the enemies coming in from the lower-right area. This chapter should be within the winnable realm, provided I don’t get too careless when it comes to dealing with enemies with Counter.

Chapter 15 goes smoothly as well. Below is the summary: Before starting the chapter, I check out the Barracks, which give Libra 13 EXP, extra relationship points between Robin and Olivia, Gaius and Sully, and a Superior Axe. I also get a C support between Robin and Olivia. Turn 1: I pair Henry to Anna, and Chrom to Robin. I then have Anna rescue Say’ri, move Robin over to Say’ri, swap to Chrom to Recruit Say’ri, switch back to Robin, and unequip her. Next, I position Cordelia and Cherche next to Anna, and pair Say’ri to Sumia. I pair Morgan with Lucina, have her move west, and kill a Cavalier with Elfire. Then, I move her two squares to a Cavalier, switch to Morgan, and kill him with the Bronze Axe. Finally, I have Morgan kill a General with the Levin Sword with the aid of a Lucina Dual strike. The enemy phase sees Morgan killing a Knight. Turns 2-8: I transfer and pair Anna and Henry to the other fliers, and then move the fliers to the Sea for safety. I have Morgan and Lucina clear the left side of beach, and have Chrom get the Levin Sword from Morgan. I then pair Chrom with Morgan, and have Morgan kill the enemy units until Chrom reaches level 17. I then transfer Lucina back to Morgan, give Morgan back the Levin Sword, and have Chrom use a Second Seal and change him to a Cavalier. Turns 9-18: I transfer Chrom to Lucina, and have him take out a Silver Sword Cavalier with the Forged Bronze Lance during Turn 9’s ending phase. I have Robin obtain the Second Seal, and use it to change her to a Hero. I then have Lucina go to the lower sparkly tile, which gives her extra weapons proficiency, I also have Robin get and use the Arms Scroll, and equip her with a Hand Axe. After pairing Lucina with Robin, I have Robin check out the upper sparkly tile to give Robin extra weapons proficiency. I then have Robin finish off the Boss with the Hand Axe. Below is the plan to take on Chapter 16: Sell the Bullion and buy 3 Hand Axes. Give the Iron Axe to Robin, the Steel Axe to Morgan, and a fresh Elfire and the forged Elwind to Lucina. Use Def Tonics on Robin and Morgan, and a Mag Tonic on Lucina. Send Lucina, Morgan, and Robin. Put Robin on the rightmost starting point, and Lucina and Morgan at the leftmost starting points. Turns 1-3: Pair Chrom to Robin, and have her kill the Bullion Thief, and then the southeastern most Fighter. Send Robin up the right side after that, while Lucina should pair with morgan and pick apart the left side. Turn 4: Get everyone back toward the center of the map. Have someone who needs the experience the most (Robin or Morgan) lure the Warrior reinforcement into fighting at 2 range by putting the unit one tile north and two tiles east from lowest sparkly tile. Turns 5+: Move the party to the far right Falcos if getting pressed for space, since both of the reinforcements there should spawn with 2-range weapons. As soon as Morgan gets to Level 18, use a Second Seal and reclass him to a Warrior. Because there is a truckload of reinforcements that the group will need to face in this chapter, things could get super ugly, so I am hoping for the best here.

Chapter 14 is thankfully cleared without any problems. Below is how it went: I get C supports between Morgan and Chrom, Robin, and Lucina, as well as one for Robin and Sumia. The Barracks give extra relationship points between Lon’qu and Gregor, Robin and Sumia, and Tharja and Nowi. After some thinking, I have Chrom take Seliph’s Blade in case he needs to use it. Turn 1: I pair Chrom to Robin, Anna to Cordelia, and Morgan to Lucina. Then, I have Lucina attempt take out the Pegasus Knight to her right, which fails since Morgan did not get a Dual Strike in. So I have Robin and Cordelia in the safe spot between the right edge of the center boat and hope for the best. In the enemy phase, Lucina manages to kill the three Pegasus knights thanks to Dual Strikes from Morgan. Turns 2-12: I have Lucina take out a Pegasus Knight on the center boat with the Iron Lance after unequipping Morgan, and move her to her designated spot. I next have Cordelia move directly north of Lucina, and have Robin go towards Lucina after unequipping herself. After the enemy phase, I then proceed to move Robin and Lucin to their designated spots, where Lucina kills the Peg knights without any issues. I have Lucina forego learning Relief upon reaching level 10, and promote her to a Dark Flier after getting a Wind tome from Robin. The process of doing this causes Lucina to break the turtle formation, forcing Cordelia to take 10 damage before Lucina can take out the last 2 Peg Knights. Turns 13-31: I have Lucina kill the 2-range units with Wind, while Chrom takes out a wounded Mage, a wounded Knight, and a Cavalier. The right sparkly tile gives Chrom useless weapons training, while the left sparkly tile gives Chrom 12 EXP. I do not have Lucina learn Rally Movement when she reaches level 5. Due to a miscalculation on my part and having Morgan reequip himself when he was not supposed to, Chrom only reaches level 16 when the chapter is finished. It's now time to prepare for Chapter 15. Below is my designed plan to get through it in the most optimal fashion possible: Sell the Bullion, buy a Bronze Lance, forge it to have +5 Mt, and give it to Chrom. Equip Lucina with a Javelin, and give her a Steel Lance, Elfire, Dying Blaze, and Elixir. Equip Morgan with the Levin Sword, and make sure he has a Steel Sword and Hand Axe. Make sure Anna has Rescue and Heal staves, and make sure that Robin has a Wind tome. Use the Talisman, a Luk Tonic, and Def Tonic on Morgan, a Mag Tonic on Lucina, a Mag Tonic on Lucina, and a Def Tonic on Robin. Send Lucina, Morgan, Robin, Anna, Henry, Cordelia, Sumia, and Cherche. Place Robin one square north and one square east of Chrom, Lucina to the left of Chrom, Henry to the Right of Chrom, Morgan one square south and one square west of Chrom, Cordelia two squares east of Morgan, Anna one square east of Cordelia, Sumia two squares south of Chrom, and Cherche one square south of Anna. Turn 1: Pair Henry to Anna, and Chrom to Robin. Have Anna rescue Say’ri, move Robin over to Say’ri, swap to Chrom to Recruit Say’ri, switch back to Robin, and unequip her. Position Cordelia and Cherche next to Anna, and pair Say’ri to Sumia. Pair Morgan with Lucina, have her move west, and kill a Cavalier with Elfire. Then move her two squares to a Cavalier, switch to Morgan, and kill him with the Levin Sword. Finally, have Morgan attack a General with the Levin Sword. Turns 2+: Transfer and pair Anna and Henry to the other fliers, and then move the fliers to the Sea for safety. Have Morgan and Lucina clear the beach, with Chrom getting a couple of kills from Knights and Cavaliers. As soon as Chrom reaches level 17, use the Second Seal on Chrom and change him to a Cavalier. Obtain the Second Seal and Arms Scroll and use the Second Seal to change her class to a Hero, who should then equip herself with a Hand Axe and use the Arms Scroll. There might be some complications with getting Chrom the required EXP, but I am confident that this strategy can be carried out without any deaths.