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So with the help from a few of you guys on the last post I made a few weeks back, I finally finished my Conquest run on hard/classic mode. For anyone interested, I just wanted to go over what I really liked about the game, as well as list my final team/units for the last chapter(s). With that said, I’m also looking for some advice to get more out of Fates, as well as any tips/advice for playing Conquest on Lunatic. — So starting with my overall experience. I was initially using DLC to earn some extra gold, and grind some supports, as well as utilizing path bonuses and so on, but not too long after I utilized the DLC, I felt like I was hampering the experience for my first playthrough, and ended up starting a brand new save file without using the DLC whatsoever (outside of one dread scroll, and one witches mark but only on already promoted units). Even though my overall FE experience is rather limited (only played the “Radiant” series on GC/Wii), I have to say that Conquest really impressed me, and is hands down the best FE experience I’ve had so far (at least from a gameplay perspective). Some of the finer points for me include: - The map design was absolutely incredible, and is hands down the thing I enjoyed the most about the game. I loved all the unique objectives and the overall pressure you feel in a lot of maps to get things done as fast as possible. With Chapter 10 being the best map I’ve ever played in the series so far. - I loved the whole reclassing aspect as it adds endless replay-ability and customization. With that said, I greatly enjoyed the skill system as it added a whole new layer of depth and strategy in utilizing them, especially in comparison to PoR where skills weren’t a main focus, and RD where just about every skill was “one shot kill”. - I felt the game provided a steady challenge from start to finish, that really made it feel like all my choices mattered. In the other FE games I played, PoR didn’t offer much if any challenge whatsoever, and RD’s challenge was practically non-existent outside of the first act, and hard/maniac mode didn’t do much to make the gameplay actually harder outside of making it annoying by removing enemy attack ranges. - THE MUSIC! Seriously! I loved the music in this game, especially Azura’s voice/song is absolutely beautiful, and I loved the music in the final chapter. - Lastly was the endgame chapter(s). I actually really enjoyed them if I’m being honest. I felt the endgame chapter, atleast on hard mode was pretty well designed. I did have rescue uses left, but I did not do what seems to be what most players prefer, and rescue “cheese” to the boss for a 1/2 turn clear. Instead I played it out normally, and really enjoyed the challenge of making it to the boss before getting over-whelmed, and used my rescue staffs only on pulling my units out of danger. I ended up completing it in 6 turns with no unit deaths (but several resets), and felt really accomplished upon completing it. I can imagine this chapter being hell on lunatic though. This could be due to me having a lot of competent combat units though, as I spread the exp out for my units rather efficiently, and every unit I deployed was capable of combat, besides the 2 that were used strictly for pair-up. For anyone curious, my final team was: - F!Corrin (+Str | -Mag / Master Ninja) - [Shurikenfaire / Dragon Fang / Replicate / Strength+2 / Draconic Hex] - Holy hell did my Corrin turn out insane. She was insanely clutch the last few chapters, replicate was just overkill. Draconic Hex didn’t really do much if anything since she pretty much one rounded everything with forged iron daggers or the yato. - Xander(Hero) - [Elbow Room / Defender / Sol / Aegis / HP+5] - Fucking love this dude! One of the few characters I really enjoyed from a story perspective, and one of my favorite characters in the entire series. Also, insane combat unit.. reclassed to Hero for Sol & HP+5, ended up staying there due to all the beast killers in the last few chapters. - Charlotte(Berserker) - She was strictly a backpack for Xander. - Velouria(Wolfssenger) - [HP+5 / Odd Shaped / Trample / Better Odds / Grisly Wound] - Mom was Camilla. What a beast. Seriously... such a godly unit. Will use her every future run without question. - Keaton(Wolfssenger) - Used him up until I got Velouria, which he then became a backpack for either Velouria, Beruka, or Camilla. Was glued to Velouria last few chapters. - Effie(Great Knight) - [Def+2 / HP+5 / Luna / Armored Blow / Natural Cover] - I almost benched her as soon as I saw her base 4 move. Glad I didn’t... insanely solid unit up until the very end. Dipped into fighter for extra HP, and general for Wary Fighter, which I didn’t even need since she was actually doubling things let alone worrying about being doubled. - Arthur(Berserker) - Backpack for Effie. - Azura(Dancer) - [Camaraderie / Sing / Voice of Peace / Amaterasu / Foreign Princess] - Always used the heron’s in the radiant series, so no different here. Amaterasu on her was awesome! Also what does Foreign Princess do exactly? I couldn’t find any direct answers.. - Jakob(Paladin) - [Elbow Room / Defender / Luna / Tomebreaker / Gentilhomme] - Jakob was amazing, and was easily one of my better combat units. Didn’t really understand how good he was at first, as I didn’t know his level cap was 40, nor did I know how easily I could obtain skills on him. - Shigure(Falcon Knight) - [Rally Speed / Warding Blow / Camaraderie / Amaterasu / Locktouch] - Kaze was his dad. Was mostly used for support/staffing. Between Amaterasu, Locktouch and Rally Speed, he had a lot of utility to offer. - Beruka(Berserker) - [Trample / HP+5 / Sol / Gamble / Strength+2] - Holy hell did my Beruka turn out OP, capping skill, speed, luck, and def. Between the Killer Axe giving her 70%+ critical hit rates, and the Dual Club letter her counter swords/tomes while still having 40%-50% critical rate, she was an absolutely insane combat unit, dare I say second to Corrin/Xander. No regrets making her a full time zerker. - Nina(Adventurer) - [Mov+1 / Trample / Lucky 7 / Pass / Shurikenbreaker] - Beruka was her mom. Probably not the best pairing for her, but I recruited her pretty late so I’m assuming the offspring seal helped a ton, because her stats were awesome. Fed her all my spirit dust, and she made excellent use of the Shining Bow and was a great second staff user. - Mozu(Sniper) - [Certain Blow / Bowfaire / Quickdraw / Air Superiority / Amaterasu] - I did not regret putting the time into her. Once I got a Killer Bow, there wasn’t a single boss/enemy she did not one shot. Dipped into Kinshi for Amaterasu, having 3 units with this skill was amazing. - Ophelia(Witch) - [Demoiselle / Malefic Aura / Heartseeker / Warp / Witch’s Brew] - Elise was her mom. I did my best to avoid using the DLC classes and avoiding path bonuses, but I couldn’t resist once I saw the Witch class and the Warp skill. Warp was so insanely powerful and useful, even without it though, I still probably would’ve used Ophelia as a Sorcerer as she was just so damn good. Plus her paralogue had some insanely useful tomes. - Kaze(Master Ninja) - [Shurikenfaire / Aggressor / Clarity / Poison Strike / Lethality] - I had Kaze spend a few levels in Dread Fighter from 20/10 to 20/15 to try and get some better strength grows, and to pick up clarity/aggressor. In the end it didn’t do much as he still kept his same old job of being one of my best mage killers and putting enemies into kill range for other units. He was mostly used as a backpack for Beruka in the final chapters, as that 5-6 speed and +1 move for pair-up is amazing. - Ren(Master of Arms) - [Rally Strength / Rally Defense] - The one and only unit I captured. He was strictly used for Rallying, not much else to say here. Honorable mentions for: - Camilla - She was incredibly useful from chapter 10 onwards, just towards the end she kind of fell off for me when compared to my other combat units, with only 36 HP and average at best defense/res. Meanwhile my main combat units (beruka, xander, jakob, velouria, etc) were sitting around 50 HP without tonics. Next time I’ll reclass her into a Wyvern Lord earlier for better bulk growths, or maybe I should’ve dipped into Fighter with a partner seal and snagged +5HP. I probably just got unlucky with her growths though. - Elise - Another one that was incredibly useful throughout the game. Just towards the end I had Ophelia who was out damaging her, and had Shigure/Nina as staffers that could actually take a hit if needed. Really loved her character though! Her facial expressions were always hilarious.. haha. - Leo - Even though I didn’t use him, he was another character that I really liked from a story perspective. Next play-through I will definitely give him a chance, as he did seem pretty good combat/stat wise. — Okay, so.. moving on. I’m looking for recommendations/advice in regards to getting more out of Fates. 1) So for someone who greatly enjoyed Conquest gameplay, how do Birthright & Revelation stack up to it and are they worth checking out and playing? - Coming from hard Conquest, would it be advised to play them on hard for my first run, or should I just jump straight into Lunatic as I heard these routes are a bit easier? - Now I’m all about a good story. And I thought the Conquest story was meh, and it actually had me laughing at some of the more “serious” parts if I’m being honest. So even if the gameplay in Birthright and Revelations doesn’t stack up to Conquest, how is the story? Because as easy as something like Path of Radiance was, that game had me sucked in because I was enthralled by the story, so I’d be perfectly willing to play them if the story is actually good/decent. 2) Regardless if I jump into the other paths or not, I do 100% plan on playing Conquest on Lunatic. - How is the transition from Hard to Lunatic? Is there still a lot of freedom in which units and so on you can use? - Any important skills I should try to focus on acquiring (outside of Shurikenbreaker, which seems like a given). - I’m guessing Niles would have a lot more utility on Lunatic with Capture, so besides the infamous Rallyman, any other units I should focus on capturing? - This question is probably subjective. But is Lunatic difficulty.. fair? Like is the gameplay still fun and rewarding, or is it just incredibly frustrating? - I GREATLY enjoyed my Master Ninja Corrin, and on my next playthrough I plan on using Male Corrin, so any good boon/bane + talent combinations that you recommend would be awesome. 3) How are the other 3DS titles, like Awakening or Shadows of Valentia? I know SoV is a remake of a very old FE title, but I’m interested in FE as a whole. So I’ll take any recommendations for which FE games are worth checking out, even outside of 3DS era. I honestly prefer gameplay > story, but having a good story is always a plus. — I think that’s it. Anybody that takes the time to read this and/or replies, I just want to thank you in advance and say I greatly appreciate any comments that offer advice for future playthroughs. This board has been awesome for any questions I’ve had up until this point, and I’m super glad I came across this website. Thanks again!