Efficient Playthrough Log

[Interceptor]

Hmm, that's a good point, I didn't notice that only Micaiah counted for the escape. I assumed it was the same as for 1-3 and other similar chapters, I guess I wasted a turn for no reason.

It doesn't take long to re-do the first four chapters, though, so maybe I will still do a re-run for the Protest Patrol on Thurs.

[Progenitus]

So, am I supposed to take this non-answer as you conceding the point about Eddie's level? I could not have gone any faster by giving Eddie fewer kills, any time that I spent extra was for the benefit of other people. 1-1's 6-turn went poof so I could give Nolan a kill and still get max BEXP for Excaping him, 1-2's Laura Marathon went away so that Nolan could get a boss kill and I could get all of the items, 1-3 I stuck around purposely to clear more guys (would have gotten max BEXP if I didn't goof on phase order), etc.

What it means is that the ability to blitz through the early chapters actually depends highly on playstyle and not "you can't go as fast as me without feeding edward kills". I for example got Edward only to level 6 at the end of 1-3 while still having similar or better turn counts as you.

I don't think that we do have different definitions. What's not efficient? I'm early enough that I don't mind re-doing chapters if you have some point that you think justifies it.

Such as not dumping half the resources I have available on Mia to turn her into a rape machine. You'd call that efficient, I'd call that "anyone can do that".

[Interceptor]

What it means is that the ability to blitz through the early chapters actually depends highly on playstyle and not "you can't go as fast as me without feeding edward kills". I for example got Edward only to level 6 at the end of 1-3 while still having similar or better turn counts as you.

Nobody said that, you just made the quote up. What I actually said was, taking kills away from Eddie would not have saved me any turns. Are you aware that there is a difference between those two things? Please indicate whether you do or do not understand the distinction.

Such as not dumping half the resources I have available on Mia to turn her into a rape machine. You'd call that efficient, I'd call that "anyone can do that".

Mia doesn't even show up until 3-P. I'm on 1-4 in this thread. Cart before the horse, smash.

As to your general point about dumping resources into people to turn them into rape machines, are you claiming that concentration of resources in FE10 isn't efficient? Please be clear about what your point is, here.

[Narga_Rocks]

Mia doesn't even show up until 3-P. I'm on 1-4 in this thread. Cart before the horse, smash.

As to your general point about dumping resources into people to turn them into rape machines, are you claiming that concentration of resources in FE10 isn't efficient? Please be clear about what your point is, here.

I'd rather ask him how he thinks Boyd or Soren are going to be anywhere near as good as Mia if you give them Ike and Adept and Cancel and Van... oh wait. Guess you have to drop one of those for Boyd. Anyway, Soren with Ike and Adept and Cancel and Vantage. He should have a fire forge (wait until 3-4 or make one in part 1 to carry over with Ilyana. Either that or his forge is wind or thunder). I suppose you could give him crit on his forge, but considering he's going to need his forge every attack rather than just on Generals and other rare circumstances he might actually need 2 or 3 forges made. Of course, he doesn't double, so probably just 2. Still, he caps skill at 23 and has a whole 26 crit with a max crit forge, which translates to just barely more crit than Mia has with a steel blade. Boyd I suppose give him Adept and one of the two skills, but neither of those skills are particularly good without the other.

I find it hard to believe that Boyd/Soren will be anything close to what Mia is with Ike and Adept. I don't get how you come to this idea that any other unit, given the same resources as Mia, will become nearly as good as her. Maybe if we can solve this underlying problem you might finally accept Mia x Ike, but I suspect you'd come up with some other reason to deny Mia these things. Oh well.

From all appearances you seem to mostly accept Gatrie getting a crown, though maybe I'm reading into it wrong. My point is that since I don't see you saying that you could give any unit that crown in 3-4 and they'd be as good as Gatrie, I wonder what makes Mia such a stumbling block for you.

Unless you mean, anyone (any player) can do that (make Mia amazing). Implying that it takes a real master of the game to make the units like Boyd and Soren good.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Narga_Rocks

[Colonel M]

Well, you could get some mileage out of Boyd with Resolve + the Oscar support, but it assumes that you're fielding another iffy unit IMO (it's just my opinion really but I don't consider Oscar "good" aside from his affinity).

[grandjackal]

Well, you could get some mileage out of Boyd with Resolve + the Oscar support, but it assumes that you're fielding another iffy unit IMO (it's just my opinion really but I don't consider Oscar "good" aside from his affinity).

Would also be taking it away from Mordecai. Boyd could make good use of it, if perhaps he were far easier to maintain in resolve state. But...Mordy's got 34 base defense with Water support, so no.

[Fayt Zelpher]

Would also be taking it away from Mordecai. Boyd could make good use of it, if perhaps he were far easier to maintain in resolve state. But...Mordy's got 34 base defense with Water support, so no.

32 at base. (Well, 16 --> 32 to be precise). But yeah, Mordy probably makes the best use of it (except maybe Skrimir, who already HAS it on him...) due to high HP and the ability to take damage while untransformed, then transform and become a tank.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Lord Ratatosk

[Narga_Rocks]

Would also be taking it away from Mordecai. Boyd could make good use of it, if perhaps he were far easier to maintain in resolve state. But...Mordy's got 34 base defense with Water support, so no.

32 at base. (Well, 16 --> 32 to be precise). But yeah, Mordy probably makes the best use of it (except maybe Skrimir, who already HAS it on him...) due to high HP and the ability to take damage while untransformed, then transform and become a tank.

You bolded the wrong thing, RP. Though, of course, Mordy isn't starting part 3 with an A support. C at best, so 33 base defence. Unless GJ was talking about not getting him any levels and just building supports.

Also, Skrimir starts with 32 def, so believe it or not Mordy is actually better with Resolve. Now, for Skrimir, he does have the royal bonus to capacity so you could do things like Resolve + Pass + Pavise + whatever else and you have room for a few fun things, but by part 4 Mordy should have 40 def or something crazy like that while Skrimir is sitting at 32. When enemies have around 40 mt and you are using a unit at half hp, Mordy is far more durable.

[Interceptor]

Chapter 1-2 redux:

Leo shoves Micaiah, Micaiah and Nolan combo attack to kill off the guy on the top ledge. Laura runs up to the ledge, and Eddie prepares to block lances with his face on Enemy Phase. And so on. Eddie/Micaiah took care of the southwest and picked up Thani, Sothe beasted his way over to the boss and grabbed the Energy Drop.

Turns (chapter/total): 7/21

BEXP (chapter/current): 90/180

Funds: 5000

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   11.14 30 14 1  13 11 8  10 3
Micaiah  3.29 16 2  9  8  7  12 3  6   A Sothe   
Eddie    7.35 22 7  0  14 15 9  6  0   
Leo      4.62 17 8  0  12 10 6  5  4 
Sothe    1.21 35 18 4  20 20 15 14 9   A Micaiah
Laura    1.55 16 3  8  3  5  8  2  10

In order to address the efficiency complaints of the well-intentioned and good-natured Protest Patrol, I shaved two extra turns off this clear. It didn't make a huge difference level-wise, I just missed the Wind Edge (decided to Sacrifice for extra CEXP instead of wasting a key), and the boss kill.

Chapter 1-3 redux:

Went left again, for speed. Fortunately, nobody missed any important attacks in this run, so no resets required. Recruited Aran again, for no particular reason. Didn't get Discipline, had Sothe kill shit instead.

Turns (chapter/total): 7/28

BEXP (chapter/current): 145/325

Funds: 5000

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   11.83 30 14 1  13 11 8  12 3
Micaiah  4.90 17 3  10 9  8  13 4  7   A Sothe
Eddie    8.20 23 8  0  15 15 10 6  0   
Leo      4.78 17 8  0  12 10 6  5  4 
Sothe    1.78 35 18 4  20 20 15 14 9   A Micaiah
Laura    2.10 16 3  9  4  6  9  2  10
Ilyana  12.47 22 6  12 12 13 6  3  9
Aran     7.07 24 10 0  12 10 6  11 2

Shaved two turns off this one, as well. Missed max BEXP on this level, on purpose, because the BEXP at stake is lame, so I spent the final turn killing things off. Micaiah got a perfect level-up in this chapter. Also, Nolan used the Dracoshield in mid-chapter.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Interceptor

[Interceptor]

Chapter 1-4:

Ahh, finally I can use Base. Battle preps: Beastkiller, Mend, lightly forged Thunder (+2mt, +10 HIT) for Ilyana, and forged Axe for Nolan (+5mt, +10 HIT). Established C support between Leo and Nolan. Sold off a bunch of shit that I am never going to use (Kard, Elthunder, Light, Guard, etc). Saving Fortune for later. Wrath goes on Micaiah.

First turn, I break down the north wall (Micaiah + Meg + Ilyana) and send Eddie just to the right of the elbow bend (this is my standard strategy). Sothe weakens the southern tiger for Nolan to kill, Laura does some healing, Aran and Leonardo tag along. Second turn, the boss moves next to Eddie, untransformed, and he and Ilyana combo together to kill him off. Micaiah heals Eddie w/Sacrifice to put herself in Wrath range. Nolan is such an uncaged beast at this point that he can take two tiger facings and live, so I have him in the southeast, combining with Leo and being healed by Laura, murdering everything. Sothe banks west and heads up for Beastfoe.

Team Aran/Meg finally managed to find the Master Seal after many tries. Chapter ends with Sothe getting the Robe in the northeast chest (had to have Eddie shove him a couple times in order to make it), and Nolan dealing the killing blow on the second boss for the Rout.

Turns (chapter/total): 8/36

BEXP (chapter/current): 225/550

Funds: 5387

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   14.38 33 16 2  16 11 10 13 3   C Leonardo
Micaiah  6.66 19 4  11 9  8  15 5  9   A Sothe
Eddie    8.87 23 8  0  15 15 10 6  0   
Leo      5.31 18 8  0  13 10 7  6  5   C Nolan
Sothe    2.23 35 19 4  21 21 16 14 9   A Micaiah
Laura    2.99 16 3  9  4  6  9  2  10
Ilyana  12.96 22 6  12 12 13 6  3  9
Aran     7.07 24 10 0  12 10 6  11 2

Ilyana's forge was superfluous, I didn't really need it, never made a difference. At least it was cheap. Leo has lolbase STR and couldn't even use the Steel Bow (not enough rank), but with C support it was good enough for putting things in 2RKO range for Nolan. I suppose that if Nolan was STR-screwed (he's blessed), Leo may have needed a forge for that extra punch. But, there was enough money for it if need be.

[Silith]

You are making it look like a ranked HHM run with the funds, turns and Bexp countings. Maybe it would be an interresting thing to make a challange which can replace the old rankings from the GBA games.

[Interceptor]

Alright, I am of two minds when it comes to an upcoming decision, so I'm opening the floor here and fishing for opinions. I am planning on bringing a pair of DB units to Endgame, Nolan being one of them, so he needs a partner. Three options present themselves to me: Volug, Zihark, or Jill. Each has various pros/cons.

- Volug: awesome and easy to train. Problem is, the support will be slow to build, and Volug is mediocre in Endgame. Also, I can get 80% of Volug's contributions just by using him by himself, and then dropping him in Part 4.

- Zihark: tier 2, so not difficult to train, and he wants Nolan's support even though Nolan doesn't much care about Zihark's. Problem is his Part 3, which is annoying and prone to resets, and his STR for Part 4. Also, it means I'll have potentially two Trueblades in Endgame, which I guess is acceptable now that I think about it.

- Jill: pain in the ass to train compared to the other two, but probably has the best affinity for Nolan and will build the most quickly (Canto). I like Jill because she's good on the Silver route in Part 4 (and she will make Nolan good there as well, even in the desert), and excellent in Endgame.

Whoever I choose will probably get the Energy Drop that I am sitting on, since all of them have STR issues. Thoughts? Currently I am leaning towards Jill > Zihark > Volug, though I am uneasy about Jill's training requirements.

You are making it look like a ranked HHM run with the funds, turns and Bexp countings. Maybe it would be an interresting thing to make a challange which can replace the old rankings from the GBA games.

Perhaps. FE10 has BEXP turn limits, which could be used as a sort of Tactics ranking. Funds and EXP have no equivalence, so something arbitrary would need to be created. I don't know that I have a lot of interest in it, though, because I really don't like the Ranking system in FE7, in terms of the silly things it forces you to do.

[Ether]

I'd go with Jill personally,as Nolan likes her support more,and i never found her hard to train personally,and since Z/Volug don't really need to be trained for part 3,it gives you an extra competent unit.Also,your Micky's def is

[Narga_Rocks]

Alright, I am of two minds when it comes to an upcoming decision, so I'm opening the floor here and fishing for opinions. I am planning on bringing a pair of DB units to Endgame, Nolan being one of them, so he needs a partner. Three options present themselves to me: Volug, Zihark, or Jill. Each has various pros/cons.

- Volug: awesome and easy to train. Problem is, the support will be slow to build, and Volug is mediocre in Endgame. Also, I can get 80% of Volug's contributions just by using him by himself, and then dropping him in Part 4.

- Zihark: tier 2, so not difficult to train, and he wants Nolan's support even though Nolan doesn't much care about Zihark's. Problem is his Part 3, which is annoying and prone to resets, and his STR for Part 4. Also, it means I'll have potentially two Trueblades in Endgame, which I guess is acceptable now that I think about it.

- Jill: pain in the ass to train compared to the other two, but probably has the best affinity for Nolan and will build the most quickly (Canto). I like Jill because she's good on the Silver route in Part 4 (and she will make Nolan good there as well, even in the desert), and excellent in Endgame.

Whoever I choose will probably get the Energy Drop that I am sitting on, since all of them have STR issues. Thoughts? Currently I am leaning towards Jill > Zihark > Volug, though I am uneasy about Jill's training requirements.

You also need to dish out a seraph robe, right? Jill with seraph + drop is pretty funny (though I've only ever given her the robe).

Jill isn't too bad to train, though no 1-8 existence kinda hurts her a bit. I'm not sure if you can get an A support for Nolan for 3-6 either, considering that's one a map. Canto helps, but not that much. They are a 02, as well, so they need 12 adjacents (shoving is impossible between them) in a single chapter to raise a support level. Even in 1-6 that would be difficult, especially if you want to send Jill up to help Volug in 1-6-2 and send her up on the cliffs in 1-6-1 to battle pegs. Jill and Nolan would be lucky to have a B for 3-6, and even that doesn't seem likely. At least a C still gives +1 def, so while it isn't as good as +2 for reaching 3HKOd, you gave Nolan a shield so his 20/1 stats on average are 37.6hp and 15.85 def instead of 13.85 def. Rounding both down (or assuming 19/1) and he has 37 hp and 15 def. 19 def with Tarvos. 39mt tigers do 40 damage in two hits. Jill means as soon as Nolan procs def (or simply if he's on a thicket) he'll live.

Looks like Jill is a better support partner for Nolan after all. And come part 4 they'll have an A anyway. A B should also be sufficient for 3-12, so no problems there (B should be easy to get for 3-12).

Training her isn't so bad, really, if you let her play with some pegs and kill some stuff in 1-6-2. Like, maybe the boss (provided you don't give Sothe Adept like I did and watch as he kills the boss with a 3HKO from his iron knife forge)?

[grandjackal]

Alright, I am of two minds when it comes to an upcoming decision, so I'm opening the floor here and fishing for opinions. I am planning on bringing a pair of DB units to Endgame, Nolan being one of them, so he needs a partner. Three options present themselves to me: Volug, Zihark, or Jill. Each has various pros/cons.

- Volug: awesome and easy to train. Problem is, the support will be slow to build, and Volug is mediocre in Endgame. Also, I can get 80% of Volug's contributions just by using him by himself, and then dropping him in Part 4.

- Zihark: tier 2, so not difficult to train, and he wants Nolan's support even though Nolan doesn't much care about Zihark's. Problem is his Part 3, which is annoying and prone to resets, and his STR for Part 4. Also, it means I'll have potentially two Trueblades in Endgame, which I guess is acceptable now that I think about it.

- Jill: pain in the ass to train compared to the other two, but probably has the best affinity for Nolan and will build the most quickly (Canto). I like Jill because she's good on the Silver route in Part 4 (and she will make Nolan good there as well, even in the desert), and excellent in Endgame.

Whoever I choose will probably get the Energy Drop that I am sitting on, since all of them have STR issues. Thoughts? Currently I am leaning towards Jill > Zihark > Volug, though I am uneasy about Jill's training requirements.

Eddie

Though that would just be me...If you're quite set on one of these three, I'd choose Jill, as part 1 is simple enough.

Perhaps. FE10 has BEXP turn limits, which could be used as a sort of Tactics ranking. Funds and EXP have no equivalence, so something arbitrary would need to be created. I don't know that I have a lot of interest in it, though, because I really don't like the Ranking system in FE7, in terms of the silly things it forces you to do.

If we're going to inhibit our playstyle like ranks would, for Funds you could simply not ship items and equipment over to other teams through the likes of Illyana/Neph/Brom/Haar/Heather. Speaking of which, that's a lot of inventory space...Isn't Elincia's team ridiculously rich? Could just forge up a bunch of awesome stuff and load them up. Could do the same with Mordecai and Lethe, though I recall that they come a bit later.

EXP rank? I dunno, and frankly I don't care, as EXP rank is always the dumbest rank.

[Interceptor]

Looks like the Jills have it, I appreciate the input. I definitely overestimated the speed at which NolanxJill would build (Volug has a full two chapter bonuses on her), especially since 1-8 is a total wash. But C is good enough for 3-6, the +1 DEF is what I was looking at there. It may or may not be decisive, averages being what they are, but I have one more Seraph Robe coming up and it's definitely not going to the GMs, so Nolan can have it if he needs it.

On that subject, I think that Robe + Drop on Jill is a good idea. I would have given her the Dracoshield, but it was so clutch on Nolan in 1-3 and 1-4 that I don't regret giving it to him instead. It's hard to overstate how useful it is to make him 4HKO'ed in 1-3 and 3HKO'ed by tigers in 1-4, as suggested by him easily gaining three levels in two chapters.

Eddie

Though that would just be me...If you're quite set on one of these three, I'd choose Jill, as part 1 is simple enough.

Can't really take Eddie seriously for an efficient run, sorry. Even though I've made a pretty decent Eddie, all things considered, at best he's going to hit level 9 in 1-5 and then be 4-5 levels under Jill's base in 1-6-1. He has 1-8 on her, but that's about it. Her durability advantage is heug and she's even going to out-SPD him in the short run. Plus, I can give her the Robe and still get to sleep at night, because her 40HP tier 1 cap means it won't go to waste like it would on Eddie. Also, I've sandbagged Eddie's potential at this point by removing Wrath from him (can't put it back now), and gave up a chapter's worth of support potential with Nolan.

It's not in the cards, sorry. Maybe another run. I'll be interested to see how Eddie does in your game, though.

[grandjackal]

On that subject, I think that Robe + Drop on Jill is a good idea. I would have given her the Dracoshield, but it was so clutch on Nolan in 1-3 and 1-4 that I don't regret giving it to him instead. It's hard to overstate how useful it is to make him 4HKO'ed in 1-3 and 3HKO'ed by tigers in 1-4, as suggested by him easily gaining three levels in two chapters.

Clutch? I'd hardly call it clutch. So far, I'd hardly call it necessary. I've yet to see a point where I was thinking "I need more defense". Then again, I'm about as far as you, currently. Still, I'd hardly think it's clutch for 1-3 and 1-4.

Can't really take Eddie seriously for an efficient run, sorry. Even though I've made a pretty decent Eddie, all things considered, at best he's going to hit level 9 in 1-5 and then be 4-5 levels under Jill's base in 1-6-1.

Level 9 is what I have Eddie at right now, looking at 1-4, and I've been going faster so far. I could have him at level 11 by the start of 1-5.

I'm sure you could go faster, but then again I could have Sothe do everything too.

He has 1-8 on her, but that's about it. Her durability advantage is heug and she's even going to out-SPD him in the short run.

Yeah, when I get there I will see if it's heug or heugely unecessary.

I am not there quite yet, but if you're gonna bash Eddie while we're still refreshing, bash him for his part 3.

Plus, I can give her the Robe and still get to sleep at night, because her 40HP tier 1 cap means it won't go to waste like it would on Eddie.

I wouldn't deny her a robe, but then again, I don't care.

Also, I've sandbagged Eddie's potential at this point by removing Wrath from him (can't put it back now), and gave up a chapter's worth of support potential with Nolan.

In fairness, that is indeed a bit too late.

It's not in the cards, sorry. Maybe another run. I'll be interested to see how Eddie does in your game, though.

Currently, he's staying semi-average to his statistics, outside the energy drop, and currently I would blame a lot more flubs on Nolan's accuracy than Eddie's durability. Later part 1? I'll have to see when I get there.

[Interceptor]

Note, I made a mistake with Nolan's level listing at the end of 1-3 (just some EXP not accounted for), so I fixed it.

Chapter 1-5:

Battle prep: bought a Wind Edge, and established C EddiexLaura.

This is nothing but a self-improvement chapter for all, since Jill survival is RNG-based. I minimized the chance of death by clearing the way for Volug to ORKO the NW mage, and then parked everyone on top of the platform. Enemy AI wasn't cooperating, so Volug missed out on some action, but I managed to give levels to people that I intend on using, and picked up the Master Seal while I was at it.

Turns (chapter/total): 6/42

BEXP (chapter/current): 236/786

Funds: 15687

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   15.75 33 16 2  16 12 10 13 3   C Leonardo
Micaiah  8.37 19 4  12 10 9  17 5  10  A Sothe
Sothe    2.23 35 19 4  21 21 16 14 9   A Micaiah

Eddie    9.86 24 8  0  16 16 10 7  1   C Laura
Leo      5.23 19 8  0  14 10 8  7  6   C Nolan
Laura    3.65 17 4  10 5  7  10 2  10  C Eddie
Ilyana  13.10 23 6  13 12 14 7  3  9
Aran     7.49 24 10 0  12 10 6  11 2
Meg      base stats

Chapter 1-6-1:

Battle prep: Lots to do here. Forged an axe for Jill (+5mt, +10 HIT), and two knives for Sothe (+5mt, +15 HIT each). Bought a spare Bronze dagger, and fresh Hand Axe as well. Broke Eddie's support and paired Laura and Ilyana. Volug gets Renewal, Sothe gets Resolve, Nolan gets Cancel. Jill uses the Seraph Robe, Energy Drop, and all of my BEXP. Begin.

The strategy for this one was fairly straightforward. I sent Tauroneo northeast with a javelin, and everyone else mobbed west. I favored Nolan, Jill, Volug, and Micaiah to the extent that was possible. That's all there is to it. Made sure to pick up the Arms Scroll with Sothe.

Turns (chapter/total): 6/48

BEXP (chapter/current): N/A

Funds: N/A

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   16.84 34 17 2  17 12 11 14 3   C Leonardo
Jill    15.55 31 13 1  13 16 15 13 4
Micaiah  9.11 19 4  13 10 9  18 5  11  A Sothe
Sothe    2.89 35 19 4  21 21 16 14 9   A Micaiah
Volug   15.21 49 16 3  18 19 13 13 7

Leo      6.23 19 8  0  14 10 8  7  6   C Nolan
Laura    3.99 17 4  10 5  7  10 2  10  C Ilyana
Ilyana  13.10 23 6  13 12 14 7  3  9   C Laura

From this point forward, I'm mostly only going to bother listing stats for people who actually see combat. If some filler scrub like Aran levels up by accident, I'll note it.

Chapter 1-6-2:

Battle prep: none.

For this chapter, I cleared the start position, sent Volug to rescue Fiona, and put Jill up against as much of the paladin bomb as she could stand in order to farm up some CEXP. Then, just a matter of Tauroneo and Sothe strolling over to the boss to take him out.

Turns (chapter/total): 6/54

BEXP (chapter/current): 1959/1961

Funds: 9384

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   16.84 34 76 2  17 12 11 14 3   C Leonardo
Jill    16.55 32 13 1  13 16 16 14 5
Micaiah  9.58 19 4  13 10 9  18 5  11  A Sothe
Sothe    3.57 35 20 4  22 22 17 14 9   A Micaiah
Volug   15.25 49 16 3  18 19 13 13 7

Leo      6.61 19 8  0  14 10 8  7  6   C Nolan
Laura    4.43 17 4  10 5  8  11 2  11  C Ilyana
Ilyana  13.15 23 6  13 12 14 7  3  9   C Laura

Edited March 22, 2010 by Interceptor

[Interceptor]

Chapter 1-7:

Battle prep: Upgraded LeoxNolan to B.

Standard 6-turn clear for this chapter. I had Volug, Nolan, and Jill run around and do as much training as possible while Sothe, Micaiah, the LEA, and two scrub-bags killed and shoved their way to the boss.

Turns (chapter/total): 6/60

BEXP (chapter/current): 761/2722

Funds: 9384

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   18.17 35 17 2  18 13 12 15 4   B Leonardo
Jill    17.15 32 14 1  14 16 17 15 5
Micaiah 10.82 19 4  13 10 9  19 6  12  A Sothe
Sothe    3.65 35 20 4  22 22 17 14 9   A Micaiah
Volug   15.31 49 16 3  18 19 13 13 7

Leo      6.71 19 8  0  14 10 8  7  6   B Nolan
Laura    4.99 17 4  10 5  8  11 2  11  C Ilyana
Ilyana  13.15 23 6  13 12 14 7  3  9   C Laura

I do believe this is my first SPD-screwed Nolan, he's nearly 3 SPD behind schedule at this point. Jill is also under-par.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Interceptor

[Jaybee]

Nice job.

Also, under your stats it still has Nolan and Leo at C support.

[dondon151]

It also has Ilyana and Laura messed up.

[Interceptor]

Ahh crap sorry, I'll fix those. I guess it shows how much I don't care about those chars. Here's more chapters as an apology. :P

Chapter 1-8:

Battle prep: Bought some Olivi Grass for Vika, tossed Ilyana's tome to Tormod.

Used various strategies to cut turns with the prepromotes, such as shoving Tormod for a 1st Turn Draco kill, charging up Vika's gauge in one turn with grass + zero-damage counter, shoving Sothe through the swamp toward the boss with Aran + Nolan, etc. I am not sure that this is the fastest clear, but it's as fast as I care to go.

Turns (chapter/total): 5/65

BEXP (chapter/current): 1525/4247

Funds: 7784

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan   18.41 35 17 2  18 13 12 15 4   B Leonardo
Jill    17.15 32 14 1  14 16 17 15 5
Micaiah 11.36 20 4  14 11 9  20 6  13  A Sothe
Sothe    4.64 35 21 4  23 23 18 14 9   A Micaiah
Volug   15.40 49 16 3  18 19 13 13 7

Laura    4.99 17 4  10 5  8  11 2  11  B Eddie

Chapter 1-9:

This chapter is not fun with an under-leveled Micaiah.

Turns (chapter/total): 12/77

BEXP (chapter/current): 1500/5747

Funds: 7784

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Micaiah 13.44 21 5  16 12 10 22 6  15  A Sothe

Edited March 22, 2010 by Interceptor

[BigMeatyClawz]

You can 8 turn 1-9 without using Micaiah at all. Granted she'll lose some experience in the process, but she's reduced to healbot soon making the lost exp pretty eh. Here's a turn by turn walkthrough in case you anybody else is interested.

Turn 1: Nothing. End Turn.

Turn 2: BK east 1 and Attack the Fighter. Micaiah North 1 West 2.

Turn 3: BK North 3 West 1 Attack the Fighter. Micaiah East 2.

Turn 4: BK North 1 West 2. Micaiah North 2.

Turn 5: BK West 1 Attack. Micaiah North 2 West 1.

Turn 6: BK East 2 South 1. Micaiah West 1.

Turn 7: BK East 2 South 2. Micaiah North 1.

Turn 8: Kill Jarod with BK.

[Interceptor]

That's a clever strategy, I like it. I had one that went 9 turns that I think was similar, but last night I couldn't remember how I did it. The trick is killing the two stationary enemies, and I could never get there in time with getting Micaiah capped, and no battle saves makes it hard to experiment.

Oh well, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter one way or the other what level Micaiah is. I'm not going to do 1-9 again just for that, since Endgame preparations are a goddamn pain in the ass.

[Interceptor]

Chapter 1-Endgame:

Battle prep: Lots of shit to do here. First, bought some Olivi Grass (for Volug in Part 3), forged one last set of knives for Sothe (these ones with max mt/HIT for 3,000g), and forged an epic Steel Axe (+5 mt, +25 HIT, -1 wt) for ~3900 gold. Jill and Nolan will be sharing it in 1-E, since Tarvos is coming next DB chapter. Next, I promoted Ilyana and loaded her up with a bunch of goodies for the GMs (leaving one slot open for the Speedwings in this chapter): Ashera Icon, Blue Gem, Pass, Arms Scroll, Fortune, and the Brave Sword. Also I banked Celerity and Savior (yes, Savior... this means I am relying on Nolan and Jill's prowess in 3-6) in her Skills. DB still has 11k gold, a bunch of little things to sell, plus the Red Gem, so they ought to be fine for funds.

Next, BEXP time. I hate to waste the growths of such a great guy like Nolan, but christ, he's going to get doubled if I don't do something about his SPD. So I BEXP'ed him to 20, Master Seal'ed him, and gave him Paragon. He procced SPD once in the two level-ups. Good enough. Jill's growths are less troublesome for BEXP, but I'm running low now, so I could only get her a level and change with the rest of what I had left. C'est la vie, at least she will level almost immediately in 1-E.

Finally, supports. Jill and Nolan don't have enough points for C because of the speed that I've been clearing, so here's the new layout: C VolugxNolan, and C LauraxJill. Volug support is the same avo as Leo's but less of everything else, but I don't have a free deployment slot for Leo, so screw him. OK, time to fight.

I intentionally slowed down a bit in this chapter, because I don't feel like shooting myself in the foot for Part 3 in terms of levels. BK and Nailah worked their way up to Jarod (carrying Micaiah) murdering everyone in their way, with Sothe/Maurim/Ilyana tagging along for chests, killing, and trading of stuffs. Volug, Jill, and Nolan stayed around the beginning/middle of the level in order to train, with Laura/Rafiel/Tormod helping out. Volug hit S Strike literally on the last Turn of combat. Jill Sealed as soon as she hit 20. I didn't Seize 'till I was satisfied that I did as much as I could.

Turns (chapter/total): 10/87

BEXP (chapter/current): 1875/1883

Funds: 11,380

Unit    Lvl   HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS  Support

Nolan    3.92 39 18 5  22 16 14 17 9   C Volug
Jill     1.17 36 17 4  15 19 19 19 7   C Laura
Micaiah 13.59 21 5  16 12 10 22 6  15  A Sothe
Sothe    5.15 36 21 4  24 23 19 14 10  A Micaiah
Volug   15.55 49 16 3  18 19 13 13 7   C Nolan

Laura    5.75 17 5  11 6  8  11 2  11  C Jill

Nolan did not, unfortunately, escape getting doubled by cats. I may have to Beastfoe + Vantage on him to keep that second hit from landing, which is fine since thanks to his Dracoshield he'll be quickly 3HKOed by most of the dangerous enemies if I put him on a thicket. Jill is looking OK, after a couple of levels she should be getting 3HKO'ed since she's DEF blessed a bit.

So far, this looks like a good decision.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Interceptor