Grandjackal's FE6 Playthrough

[grandjackal]

Some notes before I start.

-This isn't going to be efficiency, but I'm also not going to abuse anything (like sitting in a chapter at the end, turn after turn, to get support levels up, as much as I enjoy having people walk in being already invincible). I might throw some people into the arena when there is nothing better to do, but if I can end the chapter, I will.

-This means that my levels might be a bit inflated and my turn count not so good. However, I will keep an eye out for any tricks I might be able to pull off.

-I will make up my team as I go. Since this is not an efficient run, you may notice my team is going to be quite random, rather than what you would expect from an efficient run (AKA, good units).

-I will be going Sacae.

That being said, let's get a move on.

Chapter 1

I'm going to start by saying this. I started this, testing on how fast I could do this, despite saying I was gonna be lax. Thing is, I had been doing this chapter in like 11 or 12 turns, so when I heard that people were doing this in 8, I was stunned. Then again, I had basically been doing this in a way that I basically had Marcus chip at everything before I even thought of exposing anyone to danger when I didn't have to. That being said...

I THINK this can be done in 7, perhaps even 6 turns, but this would require massive amounts of luck, and some rescue chaining. In fact, this CAN be done in 7 turns, the problem is this requires you miss out on 2 kills (the archer and fighter on the upper right), and giving Marcus the bosskill. All that is quite valuable to the team, currently. It's also quite risky at times, and you might go through your vulneries. Not that big a deal for chapter 2 since Deick's team will do most of the heavy lifting there, but chapter 3? Will make note to buy more vulneries before going.

How did I do it? It's...Not a pleasant ride. Marcus went north over the ridge to attack the north fighter, which Lance rolled around south to kill it. Allen took the south fighter and attacked it. I did this because I moved Roy nearby and had Boris block Roy's southside so he could not possibly be attacked by two people at once, and also possibly encouraging the fighter to attack Boris, or Roy, both of whom would have put it in anyone-could-kill-him range. If he attacked Boris, Roy could have moved forward, Boris took his vulnery and chugged it down, he'd be able to take another round just barely (or at least give him the chance to kill the guy before he lands the second shot). You can already see right there how much I was pushing it.

This strategy also requires a couple kills given to Boris and Walt, but my cavs are still well leveled. This merely detracted from Roy, who is not necessary to keep up to level to get this game done. I only gave Boris and Walt 1 kill each (ok I gave two to Boris because I want to use him simply to see something about generals in Sacae. Not optimistic, as Allen could have taken it, but I wanted to use Boris so...Fuck y'all. Normally though, Boris and Walt will only nab 1 kill each. You can still easily get your cavs to level 2), so it's so far not a major exp loss for your heavy-workers.

So yeah, it's possible to do this in 7 turns, but I question why you would actually want to go fast here. Going slow ensures more exp for the team for the future, and makes it significantly easier. What I did was fast, but I feel it was also incredibly stupid. It also lets you easier position Lance, Allen and Roy for their supports, though the way I went about it, the cavs were able to keep around most of the time just naturally.

Ehhh, I suppose the hit-chip exp makes up for the stolen kills form Walt and Boris. When I went about this slow, even just feeding only Lance, Roy and Allen, I don't recall them getting much higher than I have them. That, and on the plus side, Boris and Walt are at least able to contribute while leveling normally (though neither got a level this map). That is a nice thing Boris does, as while his acc is crap and he is prone to being doubled, he can at least stand next to someone to block an enemy from having another access point to attack the person Boris is helping to block. Saved Roy's ass, and a couple others during the initial enemy rush before dashing to the throne. At least he can do that.

Turn count: 8, could hav done it in 7, but I would still suggest you take the slow approach out of safety and supports.

Levels

Name Lvl Exp Hps Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res
Roy   1   64 Base
Marc  1   56 Base
Al    2   42  22   8   0   5   6   4   6   0
Bor   1   81 Base
Walt  1   50 Base
Lance 2   64  21   5   0   7   9   2   6   0

Edited April 22, 2010 by Cait Sith

[Anouleth]

You're not telling us what your team is going to be? Keeping your cards to your chest, I see.

6 turns is impossible, I think, without rescue-dropping (not really an option) Roy can't reach the Gate that quickly.

[grandjackal]

You're not telling us what your team is going to be? Keeping your cards to your chest, I see.

Cards to my chest? You make it sound like I'm thinking my team through ahead of time. I only have a few units planned, as otherwise you will see most of my team varying. I tend to think more on the fly with these games.

6 turns is impossible, I think, without rescue-dropping (not really an option) Roy can't reach the Gate that quickly.

Even if it is, it would require you to do a stupid risky strategy that would probably deny your cavs plenty of exp, of which I would not recommend.

[grandjackal]

Chapter 2

It's a simple map. Phereans work on the guys they start next to, Deick's group works on the guys they start next to, and by the time they're down mowing down those guys, they all charge the throne together. Don't forget to rescue transport Roy, of course.

Have Merlinus run up and nab the armorslayer then have him go to the vendor so Thany doesn't have to fly so far to get the slayer. You probably should buy a few vulneries anyways, especially if you did the stupid thing I did last chapter, as you'd probably be out. This also makes getting it to Deick all the easier. Then have Merlinus head north along with Walt and Boris (chances are they aren't doing much anyways), and have Thany fly back (I don't think I will care to use her outside of flight utility, as great as that is with her). Load them up with whatever weapons you want to equip the rest of your team next chapter, that way they can just run up and give it to your guys rather than having your main fighters hold back, dig into Merlinus's stash and get it themselves.

Stupid boss proc'd an HP. Deick couldn't ORKO, and I didn't want to waste a third use of it. I had to take a riskier option of letting Allen smoke him at 55 displayed with an iron lance. Lucky me though, it worked.

One problem here is getting people to stick together to build supports here. Unless you're Ward linking between Deick and Lot while helping with tossing hand axes, you probably won't get much out of this chapter. It's actually somewhat painful to think of, considering how I usually play this game ;;>>

Could have gotten Boris two kills here...But he missed one of those attacks.

Turncount: 8

Gold: 5560

Levels

Name Lvl EXP HPs Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res
Roy    2   7  19   6   0   6   7   7   5   0
Marc   1  77  Base
Al     3  99  22   9   0   5   7   4   6   0
Boris  2  16  21   7   0   5   3   4  12   0
Walt   2   5  19   4   0   4   5   2   4   0
Lance  3  34  21   5   0   7  10   2   6   1
Ward   2  22 Base
Lot    4  41  29   7   0   6   8   2   4   1
Deick  6  40  27   9   0  13  10   6   6   1

Merlinus, Ellen and Thany's levels are omitted as their levels don't matter to their use, nor will I use any of them seriously. Especially Merlinus. Blue haired bald hobo, can't ORKO to save his life...

Loving my Str blessed Allen

Boris might not have gotten speed, but I'm just as happy for him to get that Def and a bit more acc to work with.

Lol, Walt only got 1 HP

I'm also loving that speed blessing on Lance. 10 AS is yummy, as Deick will tell you.

[Narga_Rocks]

Name Lvl Exp Hps Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res
Roy   1   64 Base
Marc  1   56 Base
Al    2   42  22   8   0   5   6   4   6   0
Bor   1   81 Base
Walt  1   50 Base
Lance 1   64  21   5   0   7   9   2   6   0

There were a lot of words there. If you mentioned it, sorry, but which unit visited the house?

Anyway, I thought you liked Wolt. I got mine to 2.03 at the end of this chapter. I guess you like Bors more, though, since you got him all the way to 1.81. Mine did one attack, dodged, and then visited the house. (Mine is such a fluky dodge tank that has been in 3 battles and been attacked in each one yet has thus far never been hit.)

And I leveled 4 units in the same number of turns you leveled 1. Even got (ever so slightly) more exp for Marcus. You got 457 total exp. I got 514. I have no idea what we did so differently to get the same number of turns.

My conclusion? Bors is bad for the leveling of other units.

(Mostly doing this since you don't like how much exp I got for Alan and Lance in chapter 3. I bet my Dieck will outpace yours by a fair amount. Really, It was largely because of what I had them do in chapter 3. If you want to use Lugh seriously and get him exp in chapter 3, they are basically the best two units to send left because Marcus is too important in the middle and there are only 4 mounted units that can pick up and run in the same turn and they have 2 more move than anyone else but Chad (who is also necessary for a certain something involving chests). However, there isn't nearly as much exp on the left as there is in the middle. Hence Thany's insane number of levels due to being pretty good against the soldiers and even the cavs. The enemy cavs are much weaker in chapter 3 compared to chapter 4.)

[grandjackal]

There were a lot of words there. If you mentioned it, sorry, but which unit visited the house?

Walt, and it was because after the action was over, he was closest. How Boris got his second kil (he could have gotten a third, but he missed a dude on the counter and he had something else to attend to, specifically an archer) was he was heading north because he had nothing better to do. Since I wanted those last two kills, and my cavs were not quite in the situation to deal with it without someone dying, I opted to heal up instead of have Marcus kill the boss (who, like you, had hit Marcus and was risky to attack anyways as I needed to land 2 blows). That next turn, Boris was in range to take a shot at a fighter, and I did so. Could have had Allen taken it and Boris would have still leveled next chapter, but eh. Made up for it by giving Allen the next chapter's boss kill.

Also, do notice that with that in mind, if I hadn't got Boris that second kill, he would have done as much as Walt had done.

Anyway, I thought you liked Wolt. I got mine to 2.03 at the end of this chapter. I guess you like Bors more, though, since you got him all the way to 1.81. Mine did one attack, dodged, and then visited the house. (Mine is such a fluky dodge tank that has been in 3 battles and been attacked in each one yet has thus far never been hit.)

He does have that presence of area denial, as to make it easier so that a unit (such as Roy) does not get assualted on two sides, so in a way Boris is able to keep Roy alive while giving him some enemy phase. While my Boris is not the drunken fist kung-fu master you seem to have, he is able to do that.

And I leveled 4 units in the same number of turns you leveled 1. Even got (ever so slightly) more exp for Marcus. You got 457 total exp. I got 514. I have no idea what we did so differently to get the same number of turns.

Maybe I had a far more rushful tactic in mind, as I could have done this easily in 7 turns (chose not to, because I would like 60 more exp in those two upper left kills).

...To be honest, I have no idea how the hell there's a 57 exp gap. How there's that big a gap and that we did it in the same amount of turns doesn't even sound possible. Are you SURE your numbers are right?

Huh...If they are...I'm stumped.

My conclusion? Bors is bad for the leveling of other units.

When you party with Boris, you party hardy

(Mostly doing this since you don't like how much exp I got for Alan and Lance in chapter 3. I bet my Dieck will outpace yours by a fair amount. Really, It was largely because of what I had them do in chapter 3. If you want to use Lugh seriously and get him exp in chapter 3, they are basically the best two units to send left because Marcus is too important in the middle and there are only 4 mounted units that can pick up and run in the same turn and they have 2 more move than anyone else but Chad (who is also necessary for a certain something involving chests). However, there isn't nearly as much exp on the left as there is in the middle. Hence Thany's insane number of levels due to being pretty good against the soldiers and even the cavs. The enemy cavs are much weaker in chapter 3 compared to chapter 4.)

Oh Narga, you silly delusional fool...I know what I'm doing. Trust me.

I might nto even use Lou seriously anyways. I'll recruit him anyways since I will enjoy the extra hand early on, but I'll have to see.

[Anouleth]

Maybe I had a far more rushful tactic in mind, as I could have done this easily in 7 turns (chose not to, because I would like 60 more exp in those two upper left kills).

...To be honest, I have no idea how the hell there's a 57 exp gap. How there's that big a gap and that we did it in the same amount of turns doesn't even sound possible. Are you SURE your numbers are right?

Huh...If they are...I'm stumped.

Your numbers are lower than mine as well. I gave Boris and Wolt almost no experience, and Marcus gained about half a level and Roy/Alan/Lace gained about a level and a half each, so that's about 500 exp to your ~450, which is a big gap when technically you should have more due to using Wolt and Bors more.

[grandjackal]

....OHHHH!!

I know what the problem is!

*Typo'd Lance's level, it should be 2, not 1*.

Ok, I got 557 EXP total in actuality with that in mind.

[Narga_Rocks]

Maybe I had a far more rushful tactic in mind, as I could have done this easily in 7 turns (chose not to, because I would like 60 more exp in those two upper left kills).

Mine was still set for 7 turns. Roy was still in range of the gate after 6 turns. My Marcus got hit like yours did and that's what did it.

...To be honest, I have no idea how the hell there's a 57 exp gap. How there's that big a gap and that we did it in the same amount of turns doesn't even sound possible. Are you SURE your numbers are right?

I typed them into notepad just before seizing the throne. Had two windows side by side. Looked at the unit list and their exp, copied it onto the text document.

Huh...If they are...I'm stumped.

Bors' fault.

I might nto even use Lou seriously anyways. I'll recruit him anyways since I will enjoy the extra hand early on, but I'll have to see.

If you aren't using Lugh seriously (which is fine), might I recommend visiting his house on the last turn? Visiting spawns 2 cavs, and if you do it on turn 3 (if it's even possible) or turn 5 then you have the joy of facing 4 cavs at once rather than groups of 2. If you visit the house then seize then no cavs are spawned.

(Okay, so now you have a fair bit more exp. Don't know what that means. Only way to pull that off is more combats. Except our Marcuses have about the same exp so no idea what happened there.)

Edited April 22, 2010 by Narga_Rocks

[grandjackal]

Mine was still set for 7 turns. Roy was still in range of the gate after 6 turns. My Marcus got hit like yours did and that's what did it.

I typed them into notepad just before seizing the throne. Had two windows side by side. Looked at the unit list and their exp, copied it onto the text document.

Bors' fault.

Turns out it was a typo on my part. Lance was level 2 with said EXP gained, not level 1. Not Boris's fault at all.

If you aren't using Lugh seriously (which is fine), might I recommend visiting his house on the last turn? Visiting spawns 2 cavs, and if you do it on turn 3 (if it's even possible) or turn 5 then you have the joy of facing 4 cavs at once rather than groups of 2. If you visit the house then seize then no cavs are spawned.

Narga...Relax. I got it under control.

[Narga_Rocks]

Narga...Relax. I got it under control.

I AM RELAXED!!!

<nearly hyperventilating>

Anyway, do whatever. Tell me how often you relied on enemy 30%s missing to keep people alive or your own 70% hits to kill things.

[grandjackal]

Chapter 3

Ever been so sure of something in a chapter, only to get fucked over on the RNG so bad that you can't hit anything and find yourselves missing 90s displayed constantly? I'm having one of those moments. Even worse, I managed to 9 turn this chapter after getting all the items, and what happens is that Deick decides he doesn't WANT to hit the boss so he gets fucked over when the reinforcements show up at teh end of that very turn (and I had forgotten to block it with Allen and Lance). I had to put the game away for a bit, as I was furious.

Whatever, I did it again, but NOW Marcus decided he didn't want to hit the armors on TOP of Deick not wanting to hit the boss, and for some reason on one of the turns, 4 CAVS DECIDE TO SHOW UP INSTEAD OF 2! If I had hte fist of an angry god, I would land it on whoever designed this fucknut of a chapter.

Had Thany head north for a bit because she actually starts off in range of the javelin soldier guy. I do this to weaken it so that Boris can kill and then proceed to land an accurate shot on the iron lance soldier with his own iron (I was having a bad acc day, I wanted to up my chances), and from there on taking care of the archer, or at least weakening it enough for Lou to take down with greater ease for those who care more about Lou than Boris. Lance (Who I discovered that even with someone rescued can still double loldiers with Allen's kind of accuracy), Allen and Marcus rushed down the center, rescue drops with Deick and Roy to the throne, helping Chad along for when he needed it. I normally for a 9 turn would have sent Marcus to the treasure room to take out the armors with his silver, but no! 4 fucking cavs had to show up because the game hates me, and he was hte only guy around to choke them up while mowing through them reletively quick (otherwise I'd be stuck there for hours in a traffic jam). This made me have to rely on the lumberjacks and their oh so accurate hammer to do that job, and it goes down about as well as you think it did. I nearly had to have Marcus return back, go down and take care of the armors himself with all the whiffing they were doing.

So I had about the worst luck here and I'm done with this chapter, fuck re-doing it. Next time I play this chapter, I'm going to be lazy again, because fuck this noise. What otherwise could have been a 9, the RNG decides to deadlock me and force me to do this rather half-assed, which results in my turncount instead being...

Turncount: 12

Halberd and Cash obtained.

Levels

Name Lvl EXP HPs Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res
Roy    2  84  19   6   6   7   7   5   0
Marc   2  33  33   9  14  12  10   9   8
Al     5  84  23   9   7   7   6   6   0
Boris  3  47  22   8   5   4   4  12   0
Walt   3   5  20   5   5   5   3   4   0
Lance  4  62  22   5   8  10   3   6   1
Ward   2  82 Base                        C Lot
Lot    5  18  30   8   6   8   2   4   1 C Ward
Deick  8  15  29   9  14  10   6   6   1
Lou    1  60 Base

I included Lou because he happened to get 3 chips and a kill (Marcus had to rescue-kill one of the two reinforcement cavs that showed up while Deick was adjusting his glasses on the boss).

Allen, thank merciful heavens he got Str blessed. He was able to ORKO some soldiers with that speed and Str, thus why he has such a MASSIVE lead on Lance. Lance on the other hand is not getting so lucky, as his strength is starting to look a bit under the weather.

YAY, got Marcus 12 AS, can use him on the western isles now! : D

I should probably use Ward a bit more...or eventually kill him off, because Lot still enjoys that support at the moment.

I think its about here I should tell you my Deicks always get speed screwed. Watch, he'll never gain another speed again.

Luckily, Lot proc'd a speed so now he will have 5 AS when wielding the halberd, now far less prone to doubling in chapter 4. This is fantastic.

Boris got Speed, good enough for me really. With that 12 Def, he should at lest be able to avoid a few doubles, and turn out significantly tougher because of it. He's not exactly leveling fast, but it's still a healthy pace. Chapter 4 should be a lot nicer for him.

Lol Walt.

[Narga_Rocks]

If you aren't using Lugh seriously (which is fine), might I recommend visiting his house on the last turn? Visiting spawns 2 cavs, and if you do it on turn 3 (if it's even possible) or turn 5 then you have the joy of facing 4 cavs at once rather than groups of 2. If you visit the house then seize then no cavs are spawned.

Here is the relevant post about facing 4 cavs.

[grandjackal]

Chapter 4

I FUCKING HATE THIS CHAPTER!

Honestly, if ever there was a chapter so dependent on you hitting all your shots to get a fast complete, this is by far one of the most annoying. Pole-axe shots, having to take so many attacks to kill a cavalier otherwise, I nearly just had Marcus do the chapter because fuck it. He's got the silver lance, he's got 12 AS, watch them fall like weeds.

But no, I'm a nice guy! I went through it unsmoothly, as it got someone killed and I fear for the worst next chapter (ROY MISSED AN 80, FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK, OF COURSE IT COMES DOWN TO ONE ATTACK!!). Thank merciful heavens that chapter 6 is nearby. That'll be a breath of fresh air. Problem is I have to go through chapter 5 first...

So I have to give it up to a few people here.

Marcus, for having the silver lance and being clutch with his aquired 12 AS. Without it, this chapter would have been needlessly harder to complete quickly.

Lot, for having the speed to avoid most doubles with his pole axe, letting him use it in moderate safety.

Boris for being one of the few people who can actually take a round of combat, even with the fact he gets doubled. I could have had him rescue someone in case I was in danger, and they'd both be perfectly safe.

Deick for taking the killing edge off Rutger and telling Eric to get the hell off the throne after Marcus smacked him around with silver for a bit.

Lou, because I NEED good accuracy magic chip. Had he started missing, I'd have gone berserk.

Chad, for sitting on a forest and distracting the pirates. Seriously, how about you make this chapter even more annoying IS? Was groups of 4 tough-ass cavs with my pitiful army along with 10 AS nomads not enough? Now I need pirates on my ass? Thanks a bunch. *Rolls eyes*

Finally Roy, for being the biggest finisher with that Rapier. Love the reduced effort needed to take a sucker down with this thing.

That being said...

Ward's got issues here. 5 AS, he's gonna get doubled pretty often (it's pretty much Lot with a 15 weight weapon, except without the good parts of a 15 weight weapon). Handle with care.

Even if my Lance wasn't strength screwed, chances are he still doesn't have the speed to double the common threat here (the biggest threat no less, you need 12 AS just to double the slow ones). Lance sucks here and it felt like I was weakening things just to feed him kills just so he won't suck later.

Lol Walt.

Everyone else was essentially performing ok.

Here's a request I have. I play this on an actual legit imported cartridge, as I hate to emulate. However, I would be far more convinced to emulate if perhaps there was a patch that had all the weapons in this game get +10 to their acc, because THIS IS FUCKING STUPID! Constantly having 68 displayed and whiffing only to get my ass kicked is not fun! I was going for a fast turn, but it's hard to do so when you have such a huge chance of whiffing. I mean fuck, I got t the throne in 9 turns, but I got hung up on that stupid boss for 3 turns! I would have had Rutger take care of him, but hte last time I tried that, that 3 Crit fucked me over and I ragequit almost to the point of starting over just to go about the game my usually support spammy lazy way. It's infuriating. I pretty much would have to turtle anyways, lest I whiff every single attack and leave myself exposed.

Some times....

AllenxLance support C on turn 12.

Turncount: 12

Levels

Name Lvl Exp HPs Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res
Roy    4  12  21   7   7   8   9   6   0
Marc   2  79  33   9  14  12  10   9   8
Al     6  33  24   9   8   8   6   6   0 C Lance
Boris  4  49  23   8   5   4   5  13   0
Walt   4  33  20   6   6   6   3   4   1
Lance  5  49  23   5   8  11   3   7   1 C Allen
Ward   4   8  30   8   5   7   5   4   0 C Lot
Lot    5  89  30   8   6   8   2   4   1 C Ward
Deick  9  76  30   9  15  10   6   7   1
Chad   2  34  17   3   3  11   5   3   0
Lou    2  36  16   5   6   7   6   3   5
Rutgr  4  12 Base

Roy got a perfect level up on the bright side.

On the dark side, Allen got an HP level

My Boris is certainly tougher than normal.

SIX! SIX SIX! THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST! (Walt)

My Lance is so boned it's not even funny. At least he'll be doubling the chapter 5 axers more often than Deick is.

Lolwut, Ward has 7 AS. I might just choose to use him seriously this playthrough just because of his current blessing and his support is pretty awesome for his friends in Sacae.

Deick and Lot are pretty standard.

Lou got a good level up, which saddens me because I'm not using him seriously.

Can't wait for chapter 7...Seriously, I'm considering restarting so I can be lazy. I'm sick of this shit already.

[Narga_Rocks]

So, you reached the boss on turn 9. I reached the boss on turn 9. You used the silver lance a bunch. I didn't. Therefore, Marcus doesn't need it as much as some people seem to think in order for him to be awesome. Therefore: more uses for Zealot and Thany.

[grandjackal]

So, you reached the boss on turn 9. I reached the boss on turn 9. You used the silver lance a bunch. I didn't. Therefore, Marcus doesn't need it as much as some people seem to think in order for him to be awesome. Therefore: more uses for Zealot and Thany.

I'm sure it doesn't matter too much if he can ORKO some cavs with 12 AS and the silver, but I was whiffing enough as it is, I didn't need MORE bastards to deal with.

[Narga_Rocks]

I'm sure it doesn't matter too much if he can ORKO some cavs with 12 AS and the silver, but I was whiffing enough as it is, I didn't need MORE bastards to deal with.

Iron axe against lance wielders gives him 10 more hit. Iron lance against sword wielders gives him 5 more hit. Choose your moments. Also, my Dieck is speed blessed which may affect things. After all, when you have two 12 speed units with good damage things go a lot smoother. Sadly, this taints my experience because I had two units (plus Thany with slim, for all the good it does) doubling the 8 AS cavs when maybe I should have none (save Slim!Thany).

Anyway, my Roy missed with 93%, so don't feel too bad about what your Roy missed at. I was quite surprised/annoyed when Roy missed the first cav on the map.

And yes, Lance is pretty bad here. At least he has (normally) more hit than Alan, though. Makes him a bit better, actually. But no, he's not doubling. 8 base and 50% growth and needs 12 to double much of anything (aside from hand axe pirates). Level 9 Lance this early? Not likely. He did ORKO a hand axe pirate for me, though. Why complain about the pirates, anyway? They aren't a big problem.

And Lugh is pretty useful early game for his accuracy. Also his luck. His base is 5, which is enough that even in chapter 4 nothing has crit on him. And if you get him levels and he procs 6 before chapter 5 then the mercs can't crit him either. Of course, without 8 speed most of them can double, so... Anyway, enemy AI is stupid:

First turn: set Marcus in the south to draw the two cavs down there. I think they both have lances so use an iron axe if Marcus doubles. If not, then I suppose the silver lance may become necessary. The nomad is an idiot with 9 speed (usually, I think, though you said they had 10 for you) so base Lugh can take this guy no problem. Well, I mean, tank on turn 1. You can position them so that Lugh and Marcus are the only ones in this guy's range. Since enemy AI = retard, the Nomad attacks Lugh and takes a counter (probably a 3HKO). Roy counters the sword guy at the top, and if your Roy isn't str screwed like mine (level 4 to start chapter 4 and base str) then he can even 2HKO the sword guy. And if your Roy isn't an idiot that likes missing with 99.09% true hit (93 listed) then that's already a pretty easy KO. The rest pretty much involves Marcus drawing lance users with an axe (iron, please. steel since for axes it is E rank but use only if you are feeling gutsy and he won't double anyway) while Dieck draws sword users with an iron blade (if you are feeling gutsy) or an iron sword. It's manageable. And when the Nomad leaves his post Thany can take the steel blade. Not that I use it particularly often or anything, though.

The only hiccup comes if you haven't KOd everything but the archers by turn 6, since you don't want to have to worry about staying out of Rutger's range and KOing his buddies while there are still cavs alive. You can kill and rescue canto to finish anything that may still be alive on turn 6 as long as you get out of the way of Rutger. You can draw an axe user, though, 6 east and 1 north of where Rutger starts. The bow user can't attack that square because of stupid enemy AI, provided you keep your other units out of range of Rutger.

I really think I should have been able to reach the boss on turn 8, but while I like the chapter well enough I didn't feel like replaying it anyway.

This chapter is a little more painful with 11 speed Marcus and 10/11 speed Dieck, though. I don't think I had either at 12 last time I played, though last time I still pulled either 10 or 11 turns. I think Roy was considerably less stupid the other time, though.

[grandjackal]

Iron axe against lance wielders gives him 10 more hit. Iron lance against sword wielders gives him 5 more hit. Choose your moments. Also, my Dieck is speed blessed which may affect things. After all, when you have two 12 speed units with good damage things go a lot smoother. Sadly, this taints my experience because I had two units (plus Thany with slim, for all the good it does) doubling the 8 AS cavs when maybe I should have none (save Slim!Thany).

I never have a Deick that knows the meaning of the word speed. Look at him. 4 levels, not a single speed point.

Gotta love Thany with her slim lance, dinging everything...

Anyway, my Roy missed with 93%, so don't feel too bad about what your Roy missed at. I was quite surprised/annoyed when Roy missed the first cav on the map.

Why is accuracy so low in this game? It only makes BS like this happen more often.

And yes, Lance is pretty bad here. At least he has (normally) more hit than Alan, though. Makes him a bit better, actually. But no, he's not doubling. 8 base and 50% growth and needs 12 to double much of anything (aside from hand axe pirates). Level 9 Lance this early? Not likely. He did ORKO a hand axe pirate for me, though. Why complain about the pirates, anyway? They aren't a big problem.

Be it ever so slight, the last thing I need in this chapter is more problems.

Yeah though, Lance can eat a bullet for this map. It's a bad day when Boris is outperforming you. Then again, he was outperforming most of the cast (only reason I wouldn't quite say Allen is because he's more accurate. This is a reletively small map and hte action comes to you since the enemies are cavs. He has no trouble seeing plenty of action here, Boris I mean). Even worse, 22 HP and 6 Def. Some lancers have 17 ATK, it's possible for poor Lance to be 2RKOd here.

And Lugh is pretty useful early game for his accuracy. Also his luck. His base is 5, which is enough that even in chapter 4 nothing has crit on him. And if you get him levels and he procs 6 before chapter 5 then the mercs can't crit him either. Of course, without 8 speed most of them can double, so... Anyway, enemy AI is stupid:

One thing I'll give him credit for here, otherwise I'm not too keen on how squishy this guy is.

First turn: set Marcus in the south to draw the two cavs down there. I think they both have lances so use an iron axe if Marcus doubles. If not, then I suppose the silver lance may become necessary.

Better idea, Boris draws in the upper one and a nomad, now Marcus only has 2 cavs to deal with in the south. Boris, Roy with his Rapier and his cavs can handle the nomad and (potentially) weakened cav, our axers, Deick and Marcus can take care of these other guys (though I try to get Marcus to the forest near the ridge on second turn as to hand axe a cav and the nomad). You have two spare chippers, the first group is probably the easiest. My problem is the second group, that has the nomad and 3 cavs all right next to eachother. I can't afford to miss a single one of these goons, or else I run the risk of soon getting ganged up on by the later rushes, or my miss costs someone's life. I want to chip that nomad, because he's by far more annoying than 2 cavs combined (since I can just halberd one of them potentially).

The nomad is an idiot with 9 speed (usually, I think, though you said they had 10 for you) so base Lugh can take this guy no problem.

They do, this point of yours is pretty shaky.

Well, I mean, tank on turn 1. You can position them so that Lugh and Marcus are the only ones in this guy's range. Since enemy AI = retard, the Nomad attacks Lugh and takes a counter (probably a 3HKO). Roy counters the sword guy at the top, and if your Roy isn't str screwed like mine (level 4 to start chapter 4 and base str) then he can even 2HKO the sword guy.

I prefer to split them up, since these punks suck on their own compared to my team. Splitting them up makes it pretty simple. My problem is the accuracy, since no one can hit hte broad side of a barn with the most common acc displayed being 68. Thsi chapter might as well just be called "Whiff Fest", because at least by chapter 7 you'll at least have SOME form of support built up.

And if your Roy isn't an idiot that likes missing with 99.09% true hit (93 listed) then that's already a pretty easy KO. The rest pretty much involves Marcus drawing lance users with an axe (iron, please. steel since for axes it is E rank but use only if you are feeling gutsy and he won't double anyway) while Dieck draws sword users with an iron blade (if you are feeling gutsy) or an iron sword.

It's still fucknuts annoying to take someone down especially after Marcus knocks them down a peg. It's why I love the halberd so much here, even despite it's shitty acc and my luck with accuracy. I don't care, OHKOing these pricks is worth the risk.

And when the Nomad leaves his post Thany can take the steel blade. Not that I use it particularly often or anything, though.

I have her go for the robe first, then go buy hand axes so Merlinus can resupply our frontline with weapons they want, since he'd be nearby. THEN she goes for the steel blade, as it has little importance in the completion of this chapter.

The only hiccup comes if you haven't KOd everything but the archers by turn 6, since you don't want to have to worry about staying out of Rutger's range and KOing his buddies while there are still cavs alive. You can kill and rescue canto to finish anything that may still be alive on turn 6 as long as you get out of the way of Rutger. You can draw an axe user, though, 6 east and 1 north of where Rutger starts. The bow user can't attack that square because of stupid enemy AI, provided you keep your other units out of range of Rutger.

Funny story, as this playthrough, I once again wrongly figured where Rutger would be as I thought he would come out the next turn. He had the opportunity to attack Lance (Who I believed rescued a mortally wounded Marcus at the time) and went straight for Deick (he really does want to kill Deick, doesnt he?). This blocked one of his axers from targetting Lance, and thus attacked Deick who Deick took down, and since hte axer missed the archer couldn't kll him, ensuring my path to the throne. Whodathunk, Rutger's bloodlust saved my life. Funnier yet, Rutger missed one of those attacks. Thank god, if he had crit, I'd have ragequit again and restarted my playthrough because I seriously don't care at this point anymore. This chapter broke me.

I really think I should have been able to reach the boss on turn 8, but while I like the chapter well enough I didn't feel like replaying it anyway.

I don't WANT to get to the boss so quickly if it means I have to go through this hell first! It's not worth it in my mind, I honestly would prefer to just take it nice and easy. Efficiency does take speed into account, but keep in mind that it also accounts for safety in completing the chapter. Early on, it's quite the trade-off. Want safety with more support levels and possibly exp, or somewhat lower turn counts?

This chapter is a little more painful with 11 speed Marcus and 10/11 speed Dieck, though. I don't think I had either at 12 last time I played, though last time I still pulled either 10 or 11 turns. I think Roy was considerably less stupid the other time, though.

I don't care to think about it, I never wanna play this map like this again.

[Anouleth]

I had about 12 uses on the Silver by the end of Chapter 7, and the second hadn't even been touched. I had Marcus thwack some difficult Nomads, since he puts them into range for Lugh to finish. Then a few uses for Erik, since Rutger didn't double . Then probably a few on the Mercenaries in C5.

Dunno who I'm saving them for. A Lances is about a million miles off for Lance/Alan and a billion miles off for Treck/Noah and a trillion miles off for Tate.

[grandjackal]

Eric is a cuntbag.

Yeeeaaaahhh, 12 is about what I have now ;;>>

[Narga_Rocks]

I never have a Deick that knows the meaning of the word speed. Look at him. 4 levels, not a single speed point.

Gotta love Thany with her slim lance, dinging everything...

Not that bad. Damages most things. Some by more than that. And in early chapters she can often 2RKO with 90+ listed hit.

I prefer to split them up, since these punks suck on their own compared to my team. Splitting them up makes it pretty simple. My problem is the accuracy, since no one can hit hte broad side of a barn with the most common acc displayed being 68. Thsi chapter might as well just be called "Whiff Fest", because at least by chapter 7 you'll at least have SOME form of support built up.

They do separate for me, though. 2 for marcus, one for Lugh (never seen that guy with 10 AS yet), one for Roy.

It's still fucknuts annoying to take someone down especially after Marcus knocks them down a peg. It's why I love the halberd so much here, even despite it's shitty acc and my luck with accuracy. I don't care, OHKOing these pricks is worth the risk.

Meh. Most things were OHKOd after taking two iron axe hits to the face with 90+ accuracy.

I have her go for the robe first, then go buy hand axes so Merlinus can resupply our frontline with weapons they want, since he'd be nearby. THEN she goes for the steel blade, as it has little importance in the completion of this chapter.

I just let Merlinus do all that stuff. Hand axes aren't very reliable here so Lot tossing them around is enough risk for me.

Funny story, as this playthrough, I once again wrongly figured where Rutger would be as I thought he would come out the next turn. He had the opportunity to attack Lance (Who I believed rescued a mortally wounded Marcus at the time) and went straight for Deick (he really does want to kill Deick, doesnt he?). This blocked one of his axers from targetting Lance, and thus attacked Deick who Deick took down, and since hte axer missed the archer couldn't kll him, ensuring my path to the throne. Whodathunk, Rutger's bloodlust saved my life. Funnier yet, Rutger missed one of those attacks. Thank god, if he had crit, I'd have ragequit again and restarted my playthrough because I seriously don't care at this point anymore. This chapter broke me.

Seriously, google search fire emblem wod or fire emblem wars of dragons.

I don't WANT to get to the boss so quickly if it means I have to go through this hell first! It's not worth it in my mind, I honestly would prefer to just take it nice and easy. Efficiency does take speed into account, but keep in mind that it also accounts for safety in completing the chapter. Early on, it's quite the trade-off. Want safety with more support levels and possibly exp, or somewhat lower turn counts?

Aside from Lot tossing around the hand axe for fun (I always had another unit handy) I never had hit rates too bad actually.

I had about 12 uses on the Silver by the end of Chapter 7, and the second hadn't even been touched. I had Marcus thwack some difficult Nomads, since he puts them into range for Lugh to finish. Then a few uses for Erik, since Rutger didn't double . Then probably a few on the Mercenaries in C5.

Dunno who I'm saving them for. A Lances is about a million miles off for Lance/Alan and a billion miles off for Treck/Noah and a trillion miles off for Tate.

And Thany doubles nearly everything from day one (though admittedly sometimes for crap damage) and monos lances meaning that's all she uses. It is rather easy to get her to A lances for chapter 11 or 12 considering last game I pulled it off in mid-chapter 9. I expect chapter 10 this game, though, as a result of having her do more flight utility in chapter 5. Thany hits A (for me) when Alan/Lance are about halfway through C on their way to B. Maybe even earlier because they reach D swords as well.

[grandjackal]

Chapter 5

Ok lessee...Going north takes to long...Going west is pretty much suicide. How do I work this out?...Hmmm....

...*Rescue drops Marcus next to the door and realizes the door doesn't open* Ooh, that's nice. *Realizes that Marcus could sit there all day tossing hand axes until all teh hand axe brigands and nomads are dead, one not using the peaks, using Chad and Lou to drag them out using the mountains nearby* Mweheheheheh, this is too good. *Sees that ungodly mage move north, apparently not having the patience and going around*

With that in mind, split up your team. Have Deick, Lot, Ward and Walt (Rutger optional, might want him for the boss kill but he can get there in time anyways) hold up the north with the forts, have everyone else on the south for when the brigands are dead. Once they are, open the gates. Lance with his support should have an easy time holding off the swordies, and Marcus can manage to toss hand axes at the nomads as they come. QUITE a lot safer than just going in immediately. All enemies that go north, Deick's team can take care of.

I'm willing to think that flight could enter into this somehow, so perhaps I didn't execute this plan the best. However, this is a nice way to get rid of that mage and make him far more vulnerable than he used to be. Basically walked into Rutger who proceeded to eat him.

Now thinking about it, I could have had Thany fly Marcus to the fortress near the throne, and wait for him to take care of the bigger threats, then I mash through the door and all that's left are puny mercs and nomads in a chokepoint, which is where they tend to suck (individually anyways). Chip and kill through that crowd, and the boss is right there.

That in mind, I probably could have done this quicker, but it did net me plenty of exp still.

Bad news though is that the killer edge broke.

Turncount: 16 (Ugh. How did supports NOT build up here?)

Surprisingly, that chapter went a lot smoother than the last. Got the Gant Lance (Deick just sort of walked up to it). Can't help but feel like I forgot something though...

Sure went a lot smoother than LAST chapter though...

Levels

Name Lvl EXP HPs Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res
Roy    4  34  21   7   7   8   9   6   0
Marc   3  54  34   9  14  12  10   9   8
Al     6  98  24   9   8   8   6   6   0 C Lance
Boris  4  89  23   8   5   4   5  13   0
Walt   4  43  20   6   6   6   3   4   1
Lance  6  46  24   6   8  11   3   8   1 C Allen
Ward   4  42  30   8   5   7   5   4   0 C Lot
Lot    6  58  31   9   7   8   2   5   1 C Ward
Deick 10  18  31   9  15  10   6   7   1
Lou    4   5  17   6   7   7   7   3   5
Rutgr  8   8  29  11  16  17   4   7   2

I probably won't be using Roy too seriously from here on out. Regardless, he still has plenty of time to get to 20 anyways, not that that's really important for completion.

Lol Marcus already level 3

Boris didn't see much action chapter 5, though he'd have been great at blocking the chokepoint like I pointed out. However, I had Lance do it....For some reason. GuessI just wanted Lance to get a level.

Speaking of Lance, he apologized for the crap levels he's been getting and gabe me blessage in Def and finally got Str.

Ward saw a lot of action, he just couldn't hit it with his hand axe. He would have gotten closer, but cripes these fighters are merciless.

I like Lot a lot.

5 levels, Dieck still has not gotten speed...

Lou got some finishes and landed a crit to crit kill a bandit to the T. He got lucky, thus why he suddenly gained 2 levels.

Rutger had a busy day. This place is like his playground.

[Narga_Rocks]

I'm willing to think that flight could enter into this somehow, so perhaps I didn't execute this plan the best. However, this is a nice way to get rid of that mage and make him far more vulnerable than he used to be. Basically walked into Rutger who proceeded to eat him.

Now thinking about it, I could have had Thany fly Marcus to the fortress near the throne, and wait for him to take care of the bigger threats, then I mash through the door and all that's left are puny mercs and nomads in a chokepoint, which is where they tend to suck (individually anyways). Chip and kill through that crowd, and the boss is right there.

Marcus on the fort with 12 spd and javelins is practically cheating anyway. It's cool you actually opened the door. I never bother. Marcus pwns face, Rutger gets flown in when Marcus is done and Rutger kills the boss. Or that's the idea, anyway. Idiot never got any crits for me on the boss of this chapter.

Now, javelin use is important here. Like dondon said in his video thing, killing the mercs is too important. Javelins with WTD have 45 hit on top of Marcus' massive (for this point in the game) skill and luck. Hand axes with WTN have 50 hit. There are 4 bandits. There is one merc. Hand axe on this guy has 40 hit. Javelin on him has 65. Difference of 25. Net gain of 5. And 5 more hit on the mage as well, and all the other mercs as they appear. And the steel blade merc hits harder than the hand axe enemies anyway. And those enemies only have +8 hit from Marcus wielding the javelin instead of a hand axe. Steel blade merc hit drops by 22. Fire mage dude drops by 2. That's already 3 hand axe guys. Too bad about the damage, but it mostly doesn't seem to turn any XHKOs into (X+1)HKOs.

And then you consider that your Marcus and my Marcus are way too good right now and Javelin lets him keep 12AS but Hand axes don't... Let's just say killing happens considerably faster with javelins than with hand axes.

By the time he is done you can probably clear most of the north and fly Rutger to the boss while leaving the rest of the enemies up there to everyone else. Hopefully culminating in some kind of rescue chain to get Roy to the throne or something (more specifically, 5 spaces from the gate, since gates don't cost 2 move like thrones).

Bad news though is that the killer edge broke.

Mine has like 9 uses left after this chapter. Of course, I didn't let Rutger go crazy here. I'm kinda worried about his levels, actually. He was only level 5 for me after this chapter.

Turncount: 16 (Ugh. How did supports NOT build up here?)

It takes a bit to get them there. Most supports don't start with as many points as Lance x Alan or Ward x Lot.

Surprisingly, that chapter went a lot smoother than the last. Got the Gant Lance (Deick just sort of walked up to it). Can't help but feel like I forgot something though...

Door keys, maybe?

Name Lvl EXP HPs Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res
Roy    4  34  21   7   7   8   9   6   0
Marc   3  54  34   9  14  12  10   9   8
Al     6  98  24   9   8   8   6   6   0 C Lance
Boris  4  89  23   8   5   4   5  13   0
Walt   4  43  20   6   6   6   3   4   1
Lance  6  46  24   6   8  11   3   8   1 C Allen
Ward   4  42  30   8   5   7   5   4   0 C Lot
Lot    6  58  31   9   7   8   2   5   1 C Ward
Deick 10  18  31   9  15  10   6   7   1
Lou    4   5  17   6   7   7   7   3   5
Rutgr  8   8  29  11  16  17   4   7   2

Looks like you gave the exp I got for Roy, Thany, and Dieck to everyone else.

Lol Marcus already level 3

And why not? He's very good early. Especially if you get lucky and pull speed. Goes from good to cheating, really. The difference 1 spd makes, eh? And he's got nearly the best hit rates on the team. Dieck is about the only unit capable of beating him this early. Rutger can do it, I suppose, but in your case it's only by 1 anyway. 4 extra points from skill, 3 less from luck. And you got him 3 more levels than I got for him. And my Marcus is beating Dieck by 4 and Rutger by 8 at the end of chapter 5.

Rutger had a busy day. This place is like his playground.

Only if you are willing to let him have fun with the killing edge. Which you were. If you play it more conservatively with that thing, he's still only 2 rounding and thus tends to start the axe fighters and let another finish. Otherwise two units face counters. Sadly, he's too good at his job for me to give him all that much exp. And he faces annoying crit rates from the mercs, but I just decided to suck it up and hope for the best. I really want a C Clarine, NOW.

[grandjackal]

Marcus on the fort with 12 spd and javelins is practically cheating anyway. It's cool you actually opened the door. I never bother. Marcus pwns face, Rutger gets flown in when Marcus is done and Rutger kills the boss. Or that's the idea, anyway. Idiot never got any crits for me on the boss of this chapter.

Now, javelin use is important here. Like dondon said in his video thing, killing the mercs is too important. Javelins with WTD have 45 hit on top of Marcus' massive (for this point in the game) skill and luck. Hand axes with WTN have 50 hit. There are 4 bandits. There is one merc. Hand axe on this guy has 40 hit. Javelin on him has 65. Difference of 25. Net gain of 5. And 5 more hit on the mage as well, and all the other mercs as they appear. And the steel blade merc hits harder than the hand axe enemies anyway. And those enemies only have +8 hit from Marcus wielding the javelin instead of a hand axe. Steel blade merc hit drops by 22. Fire mage dude drops by 2. That's already 3 hand axe guys. Too bad about the damage, but it mostly doesn't seem to turn any XHKOs into (X+1)HKOs.

That, and you can choose to pull the bandits away and have them opt to attack someone else as to pull a bit of extra heat off Marcus in case you're paranoid about him getting killed.

However, if levels are seriously this low by now, I really d need whatever exp I can get my hands on. This is ridiculous.

And then you consider that your Marcus and my Marcus are way too good right now and Javelin lets him keep 12AS but Hand axes don't... Let's just say killing happens considerably faster with javelins than with hand axes.

Startng brigands have 9 AS and don't lose AS, only reinforcement brigands have this issue. Really I'd just choose to Silver the merc, then go hand axe on the brigands and nomads.

By the time he is done you can probably clear most of the north and fly Rutger to the boss while leaving the rest of the enemies up there to everyone else. Hopefully culminating in some kind of rescue chain to get Roy to the throne or something (more specifically, 5 spaces from the gate, since gates don't cost 2 move like thrones).

If we're going north, there is significantly less. Going through the door after Marcus murderfaces most of it gives us more EXP, so you can split up and have some guys get northern exp and some for western exp.

That's just me though.

Mine has like 9 uses left after this chapter. Of course, I didn't let Rutger go crazy here. I'm kinda worried about his levels, actually. He was only level 5 for me after this chapter.

That, and my Rutger is beastly blessed.

To be honest, the strategy I went with, it was to keep people off my main team's tail while he basically reduced how often his team got attacked with killer crits. It's simple enough with that in mind, but I suppose what I did sacrificed the Killer Edge in exchange.

It takes a bit to get them there. Most supports don't start with as many points as Lance x Alan or Ward x Lot.

It's still annoying, They're not even that good at the moment. The cavs I mean. Eh, whatever, chapter 6 is a nice break from all the monotony.

Door keys, maybe?

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Looks like you gave the exp I got for Roy, Thany, and Dieck to everyone else.

Roy's got plenty of time to get EXP, though generally it's not like he's that worth it for the most part. Most of the time he's just transported anyways, I'm not broken up over it by much.

I don't need to level Thany to have her fly. In fact, not promoting her ensures that when I use her, she can fly heavier cargo. I'd prefer that over having swords for the isles before immediately returning to shit for offense.

Deick can quite easily reach promotion levels pretty quick, and you can opt to early seal him, he won't be worse for the wear later on because he has so much time kicking ass with his beefed stats and new shiny weapon selection (complete with range option out the door with handies). Problem is, my Deick doesn't seem to care much about speed, which is really fucking that plan over.

And why not? He's very good early. Especially if you get lucky and pull speed. Goes from good to cheating, really. The difference 1 spd makes, eh? And he's got nearly the best hit rates on the team. Dieck is about the only unit capable of beating him this early. Rutger can do it, I suppose, but in your case it's only by 1 anyway. 4 extra points from skill, 3 less from luck. And you got him 3 more levels than I got for him. And my Marcus is beating Dieck by 4 and Rutger by 8 at the end of chapter 5.

Yeah, Marcus is still able to kick some serious ass. Marcus is so damn awesome.

Makes me wonder what level I can get him to before the isles. I would wager level 4, but if he can get to level 5 he's decently golden for the isles as well. Fun fact, even later into it, steel cavs and steel archers tend to have 8 AS, so he can still double a bit even after the isles. Granted he's probably not as awesome as he used to be, but...

Only if you are willing to let him have fun with the killing edge. Which you were. If you play it more conservatively with that thing, he's still only 2 rounding and thus tends to start the axe fighters and let another finish. Otherwise two units face counters. Sadly, he's too good at his job for me to give him all that much exp. And he faces annoying crit rates from the mercs, but I just decided to suck it up and hope for the best. I really want a C Clarine, NOW.

Speaking of which, I had to have her split healing duty, because...Ellen was the one who died in chapter 4, and with my Mend staff no less, but I was so desperate to get the hell out of chapter 4 that I just said "fuck it" and moved on. Had Ellen been there, I probably still would have done a similar strategy. In fact, I probably could have pushed through the door normally, as I'd have had 2 healers, plenty to rescue-chain with, and Mend. Just those damn brigands...

[Narga_Rocks]

Startng brigands have 9 AS and don't lose AS, only reinforcement brigands have this issue. Really I'd just choose to Silver the merc, then go hand axe on the brigands and nomads.

Really? I got 3 out of 4 with 8 spd. 12 con for 12 wt weapons doesn't help when your max spd gets doubled regardless. Are you certain you got 4 out of 4 with 9 spd? Even 1 guy with 8 instead of 9 already makes the javelin worth using, at least until everything else is dead. Not just because it makes killing the merc and mage easier but because of doubling even one bandit. And to do the silver bit you have to leave Thany hiding behind him for an extra turn so that he can player phase the merc with the thing and then Thany can trade him for his hand axe. Done right, Thany should be able to get in and get out by turn 4 if you just leave javelins on Marcus. Turn 1 involves Lance + Marcus doing a drop thing to get her in position. Then turn 2 has her pick up Marcus and move left 7 squares. Make sure she has slim equipped because 12/2 = 6 and brigands seem to not reach 10. One will be able to attack her, but only 1. He won't double and she'll live at base level quite easily. Turn 3 drops Marcus on his fort. Turn 4 she's already back to the east side of the bridge, or at least really close. I forget the dimensions. Anyway, she can be ready to pick up Rutger in the north for turn 6 if you can clear enough of it quickly enough. If you don't get unlucky with Marcus in the south you may even be able to get Rutger ready to attack the boss on turn 8. I'm not sure turn 7 is possible. Marcus may need 12 spd and to never miss to pull that off. And if you kill the Brigands fast enough then give him the silver lance for the other 3 mercs that get there on turn 5 or something then that part goes faster, too. Of course, if you don't let Rutger help in the north then you can even have him there for like turn 6 instead of 7 or 8. Turn 5 is unlikely because Marcus will still be rather busy at that point.

To be honest, the strategy I went with, it was to keep people off my main team's tail while he basically reduced how often his team got attacked with killer crits. It's simple enough with that in mind, but I suppose what I did sacrificed the Killer Edge in exchange.

Well, that and turns. I did 13 and I had 5 out of 5 non-crits against the boss with the killing edge. 12 would have been easy if I'd gotten even one crit. Though that would have needed 1 of 3 since 2 of the attempts were on turn 13. Anyway, 13 < 16. That should tell you something about pressing through the gate.

It's still annoying, They're not even that good at the moment. The cavs I mean. Eh, whatever, chapter 6 is a nice break from all the monotony.

For the start of the game they are only really good when facing Soldiers, but even Thany can 2RKO them just as easily as Lance. More easily, actually, considering her better hit. But then, you could give him a slim as well, I suppose. Now, they aren't worse than most of your other guys. Lot may be capable of more damage, but they are a lot more accurate. Especially when they meet axe users and can pull out 85+10 (WTA) hit weapons (iron sword). Basically, they are above average for the start. Considering there aren't many units that are truly "good" at this point (Marcus, Dieck, Rutger), that's not really a bad place to be in. Of course, Thany being better than you (Lance) against soldiers has to mean something.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Lemme guess, you only have the one from chapter 4? Have fun in chapter 6. That's going to take you forever if you want a good amount of treasure while Chad needs to open all the doors. Well, you can use that "rush the Unlock Staff" room plan of yours to relieve Chad's burden a bit, but it'll still likely cost you turns. When I get back to my comp that actually has an emulator (and that saves) I think I will replay that chapter and get everything in either 12 to 13 turns. I don't think 11 is impossible, but I think it will be very very difficult. I can open a chest on turn 3 and use rescue chains to get him in between chest rooms, but since I only have 3 keys and I want to get to Sue before opening the unlock room I think I'm stuck dropping a turn to open that door. Clarine can probably open the south-west chest-room door with unlock, though, if I set it up right. 8 chests + 1 door + 2 turns at the beginning. If I'm really really good I may even pull it off. I'm not certain that 10 turns with everything is possible, though. If I gave up on Sue until most things are dead then maybe I could open the room with the Unlock Staff. Trouble is that Roy must talk to Sue and Cath. I'm thinking that setting up multiple rescue chains to do all that is impractical. If I only had 4 door keys instead of 3 I could maybe pull off 10, but frankly I don't think I'm that good even if I had the extra key. Extra two keys, preferably, to make it easier. 5 keys for 5 doors is the best, obviously. If I didn't hate chapter 5 so much I might actually do it over.

I don't need to level Thany to have her fly. In fact, not promoting her ensures that when I use her, she can fly heavier cargo. I'd prefer that over having swords for the isles before immediately returning to shit for offense.

Well, I'll let you know what mine does, and just how "bad" her offence is. It's never gonna be great, but given all the two rounding that happens in this game I don't much mind if she's doing 20% a shot and doubling everything while others do 30% a shot with doubling. And she'll even manage to two round a few things on her own along the way. And ORKO some promoted mage-types.

Deick can quite easily reach promotion levels pretty quick, and you can opt to early seal him, he won't be worse for the wear later on because he has so much time kicking ass with his beefed stats and new shiny weapon selection (complete with range option out the door with handies). Problem is, my Deick doesn't seem to care much about speed, which is really fucking that plan over.

Well, I try to get him to level 20 before the end of chapter 12. That's just me, though.

Speaking of which, I had to have her split healing duty, because...Ellen was the one who died in chapter 4, and with my Mend staff no less, but I was so desperate to get the hell out of chapter 4 that I just said "fuck it" and moved on. Had Ellen been there, I probably still would have done a similar strategy. In fact, I probably could have pushed through the door normally, as I'd have had 2 healers, plenty to rescue-chain with, and Mend. Just those damn brigands...

I don't get what you don't like about chapter 4. I think it's great. Better than 5, anyway. I like it more than 3, also. Killing cavs in open space > killing cavs in a confined space. I'm just glad my timing worked out in chapter 3 that I didn't have to fight them in as cramped a space as my other playthrough. Which explains the 4+ turn difference between HM PT 1 and HM PT 2.