FE9 0% growths LTC

[Espinosa]

Chapter 12 in 5 turns.

Managed to shave off one turn when I was re-watching the video and realised that if I beat the boss and the last Raven on turn 5 player phase, there will be no reinforcements. This also means no Seraph Robe though. Ironically, a 5-turn clear is more reliable than a 6-turn.

[ZemZem]

Would using promoted Volke and giving him Lethality/Silencer be an option for later chapters? Others like Tanith would make better use of the Occult scrolls, but it's just something I thought of that might actually be credible.

EDIT: On second thought, it most likely isn't worth it, since knives are pretty terrible.

Edited February 15, 2013 by ZeeEmm456

[Espinosa]

I've been wondering how Volke's Shade skill works. It seems that in certain instances the enemy will always ignore Volke and go for his team mate (even if that team mate can not be penetrated in a dozen rounds of combat by said enemy), but in other cases, like the Killer Lance Halb in chapter 16, Volke gets owned harshcore when I expect him to get away with it.

I think I'll promote him just for the extra durability. I've actually been paranoid about not opening any extra chests so that I don't run out of Chest Keys (I need 2 just for chapter 16's Full Guard and Dracoshield) and even ignored a chest with Silver Lance. I really should've ignored the Armorslayer chest in chapter 7, too.

The knife with the most crit in this game has only 10% crit so Lethality isn't going to activate on any major enemy, I'm afraid. At least in RD the Assassin class had the +25 critical skill; there's no such thing here, so Volke's a horrid combat unit right from the start, perhaps only decent at chip damage. I guess he can weaken an armoured knight with Stiletto? Dealings with AKs gets pretty hard on this run.

Tanith's mastery skill isn't worth the Occult scroll, I think. If it dealt 3x/4x damage like the RD mastery skills, then we'd be talking, but its effect is pretty much useless. If it's not Geoff, then Calill/Bastian are primary candidates for the last two Occults. I think Geoff might not even care about having Sol so much, since he has 23 defence at base with the Knight Ward...

edit: I heard something about Volke taking away 50K for promoting... is that true? Because I don't remember that happening on my past runs.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Espinosa

[Refa]

I don't know why you'd ever get rid of something as great as reinforce anyways.

[Espinosa]

I don't know why you'd ever get rid of something as great as reinforce anyways.

Precisely. It's not something to be underestimated in the Ashnard fight, and virtually every other map as decoy for the opposition (ballistae love these).

So I just realised that you get precisely two Arms Scrolls in this game... Could've sworn there were more. I think it might be better to forge a +2 Mt Fire tome for the desert chapter instead of getting Ilyana to D rank magic for Elfire with an AS, just because there's precisely one instance where it's needed, which is melting Muarim's anus. I have, like, 40K money after that chapter and there's way more to come, too; at least Arms Scrolls are finite and could be used by others, e.g. Ike for Vague Katti's defence boost (not sure if I'll need it, but the option exists), Haar for Silver Axes, Geoffrey for Brave Bows, possibly something else that I've forgotten.

[ZemZem]

I don't know why you'd ever get rid of something as great as reinforce anyways.

Tanith was a stupid example to use. I meant someone like Titania or Stefan, though IIRC, Stefan already has Astra.

Edited February 15, 2013 by ZeeEmm456

[Refa]

Tanith was a stupid example to use. I meant someone like Titania or Stefan, though IIRC, Stefan already has Astra.

Aha, makes sense. Also yeah, Stefan comes with Astra. He gave the Occult scrolls to Titania and Kieran IIRC.

[Espinosa]

Managed to improve my completion of chapter 14 to 2 turns while still getting the Laguz Lance. However, no Secret Book or Laguz Bow (boo hoo; though I guess Geoffrey wouldn't mind the bow). The reliability is at its lowest: Zihark needs to survive a Killer Axe (good chances to dodge the whole attack) and crit with a Steel Sword forge (I didn't forge any crit on it so that's just 15% + Adept). Delegating two fliers for the western part of the map ensures that I can get the lance.

I wonder if I should send Sothe to get the Statue Frag instead of Shine/Guard/Silver Blade in the desert chapter. The frag might not make a difference (one lets Mordecai smite unpromoted Jill untransformed; it could also be used to let Lethe shove male Paladins); Silver Blade is neat but replaceable, Shine is meh because Rhys is terrible at combat and I don't really know what to do with Guard, though it's a useful skill. Largo probably wouldn't mind it to have better chances staying alive. Not sure how much I'll end up using Largo though.

Guard is probably a good skill to use together with Vantage, as well as a killer weapon/Vague Katti.

[Espinosa]

As I've been redoing chapters from 12 onwards (since I found out I could shave off 1 turn in 2 maps), I re-recorded the desert chapter and, can you believe it, my 12 skill Jill picked up the Statue Frag (Stefan got the White Gem so he needed none of her assistance with that). That's some crazy luck (as besides that, I had to pick up the White Gem and connect three inaccurate attacks on Muarim).

Not sure what to do with the two Statue Frags now that I do have both. Clearly, Mordecai being able to Smite Jill has some definite tactical benefits and could make a difference in the future. However, Demi Band exists and the weight bonus from demi-transforming is NOT halved like the rest of the bonuses so transformed Mordecai can still Smite everything in the world (Haar included I'm pretty sure).

Just looking at numbers, here's what changes Statue Frags can make:

- Ranulf taking 1 Frag can shove Haar transformed.

- Lethe taking one to shove male Paladins, two to shove Jill (transformed)

- Muarim taking one to shove Titania untransformed, two to shove male Paladins

I guess Muarim also enjoys being in demi-mode due to his bases alone, very reliable fighter midgame.

[Espinosa]

17-1 reminds me why I tend to hate rout maps. The 3 Myrmidon reinforcement on turn 3 is stupid and pretty much demands that Stefan hangs back at the starting point instead of helping out north, like with the Halb who has 39 HP/13 def/13 spd, and whom nobody else can reliably ORKO.

This might actually be a good chapter to have Muarim use the Laguz Stone as a full transformation gives him enough attack to occasionally 2HKO the Halb (if he procs less HP than normal upon a reset). Reyson might complain later, though, so I'll see if I can gather enough units to chip in instead. Maybe Ward Muarim and give him Beorcguard so that the two mages in the north suicide on a mounted unit with Short Spear/Axe instead... we'll see what works.

If the map isn't cleared in 3 turns, then it gets even harder to clear it in 4, as enemies suddenly appear from the stupidest places all over the map. Gotta see what I can do about it.

[Florete]

Oh yeah, 17-1. That can be a bitch for drafts, too.

But I can't wait to see 21.

[Refa]

Who are you deploying for the map? Are there just not enough people to leave like, Lethe and Mordecai in the back (maybe trade around that Demi Band)?

[Espinosa]

Nevermind, false alarm, this is actually an easy map to 3-turn. Jill starting in the northwest corner needs not a single shove to aggro the Killer Lance halb and his 3 minions (Ward is a good idea here because Jill's resistance is nonexistent in 0% growths) on turn 2 enemy phase and after that they're actually so close that you need to pull away your party so that Muarim can finish that entire group off (everybody else just gets in the way due to not ORKOing).

The Myrmidons that appear on turn 3 have like 17 AS, so only Stefan can double those, and it's probably wiser to leave Stefan there than attack a different Myrm with a different guy on player phase. Stefan actually is mobile enough (in spite of all the goddamn bushes on the map) to kill something in the centre on turn 2 and come back south on turn 3 for the Myrm counterkills.

Also, now that Stefan got his Ashera Icon (should've saved the first one as well), you wanna know whose getting critted pisses me off the most? Marcia and her 4 luck. Granted, Tanith, Janaff and Ulki (maybe) are kicking her out of the party for good after Ike's promotion event, but I had to restart quite a bit because of those 2% crits she faces all over the place.

[aku chi]

Wow, I never realized that there was ground near Seeker. Nice job getting a 5-turn clear without a trained Marcia!

[Espinosa]

Wow, I never realized that there was ground near Seeker. Nice job getting a 5-turn clear without a trained Marcia!

What's even more interesting is that it might be possible to recruit Jill a turn earlier by having Marcia drop Ike a little southwest from the ship (maybe, didn't actually try) on a tiny island. But then again nobody can aggro the Seeker on time so it's pointless trivia even if it works.

[Espinosa]

3-3-10-2 is confirmed to be the lowest turn completion of the chapter 17 maps in 0% growths... However, I want that Adept scroll while getting my 2-turn, which is impossible with the fixed unit positions I got for this map. Going to rearrange the party and see if I can 2-turn 17-4 while getting Adept. Not a skill to be missed for sure.

[dondon151]

very good work so far

[Chiki]

How do you shove promoted Jill, by the way? I recall transformed Mordecai not being enough, but who can shove him with Statue Frags? What's the optimal combination of Statue Frags and Muarim + Mordecai to shove Jill?

[Espinosa]

17-4 is ridiculous. Not recording or saving, I managed to 2-turn with Adept on one of my first attempts, but after that I couldn't achieve the same after like 3 hours of resets. I think I'm missing something from my initial equipment setup/positioning (which plays a huge role in making that huge group of enemies attack you in a certain way). Gotta stop and give it some more thought. I'm really looking forward to finally using Tanith, Reyson and Janaff.

very good work so far

Thanks!

How do you shove promoted Jill, by the way? I recall transformed Mordecai not being enough, but who can shove him with Statue Frags? What's the optimal combination of Statue Frags and Muarim + Mordecai to shove Jill?

Mordecai with one Statue Frag can smite promoted Jill untransformed. Muarim also does so transformed. Promoted Lethe needs two Statue Frags (probably not worth it). Jill's use drops pretty sharply after chapter 18, with Janaff being shovable by folks like Devdan and armours (and having 20 AS!). Not to mention Tanith.

[Espinosa]

So I've been thinking about whether Ena is really going to need both Drops in Endgame. Ashnard has 60 HP/35 defence in his first form, 80 HP/35 defence in the Berserk form.

With no drops, Ena has 25 transformed (no Demi Band) strength, 37 in Resolve. Her weapon has 10 Mt so that's 47 - 35 = 12 damage with each attack, 36 on a Wrath critical hit (probably a must). One Energy Drop changes that to 15/45 damage, which also happens to be enough to 6HKO (or 2HKO with Wrath crits) the final Ashnard form. Two Drops changes this to 18/56, which still doesn't improve the reliability as one crit + one normal hit don't kill Ashnard yet.

edit: I guess two Drops permit Ena to OHKO the first Ashnard with a Wrath crit and he does aggro on enemy phase and choose to attack you at point-blank range.

If I'm not mathfailing, Ena can take one Drop (the later one) and go with it. Either Tanith or Stefan would definitely appreciate the earlier Drop (though Stefan could have done so earlier but I didn't mind terribly).

Ena has 15+4 speed, 28 AS under Resolve. With a Speedwings that's 31 AS, just enough to double the first Ashnard form. It's difficult for me to calculate if the Speedwings will shave off a turn, considering 1) Ena needs to enter Resolve HP range at an appropriate time, 2) there are both player and enemy phases, 3) Reyson is there to dance and healers are there to return Ena to the right amount of HP when/if needed, 4) there might be risk of Ashnard attacking others on enemy phase. As far as I remember, even though I had killable units on my last runthrough with growths, Ashnard still went after Ena as if she had Provoke. So I hope my impression was right.

So I'm still thinking if I should give Ena anything beyond that one Drop (and Resolve+Wrath), which includes most importantly Adept, a Speedwings, and possibly Seraph Robes/Dracoshield for facilitating her entering Resolve HP range.

Oh, and here's chapter 13 prematurely routed/defended in 7 turns:

Edited February 19, 2013 by Espinosa

[Espinosa]

Chapter 14 in 2 turns.

[Refa]

So because I'm a tool and also have no life, I decided to waste an hour or so determining what the best way to kill the later bosses was without dumping loads of resources into Stefan/Resolve!Taureono was. Here's what I got, starting from Chapter 18;

Also I put the strategies for some of the earlier bosses even though they're pretty damn easy to figure out how to kill just to uh...hype Stefan, I guess.

Chapter 18: Kayachey

Steel Lance!Tanith exactly ORKOes him, but since he 2RKOes her back, it may be safer to just go with Steel Sword!Stefan.

Chapter 19: Homasa

Silver Blade!Tanith or Silver Sword!Stefan for this one, but Tanith's probably busy doing flier things like killing out of the way enemies, so probably Stefan.

Chapter 20: Shiharam

Now that you've got 50k, I recommend forging a max might, hit, and crit Silver Sword (I just put the hit for reliability and it may not be needed, but the crit is very important). Not for Shiharam specifically, but it sure helps against him. Now you could be boring and kill him with Silver Blade!Tanith and Silver!Sword Stefan, if they're both available to attack, or you could be awesome and OHKO him with a Sigurd Sword (name for Silver Sword forge because I'm lazy) crit. I mean, Shiharam has one luck for a reason!

Although this only really works with a 2 turn, not sure if you can 1 turn this one with 0% growths because I'm pretty uneducated plebian when it comes to LTCing FE9.

Chapter 21: Kasatai

I don't know if you even need to kill him, but if you did, Janaff + Ulki, Tomahawk!Titania, Hammer!Boyd, etc. is enough to finish him off.

Chapter 21: Ena

This is the first major use of the Silver Sword forge. With it, Stefan doubles and has uh...15+13+9=37% -14 = 23% crit on both attacks. If he crits once and actually hits the other time, he'll be doing 40 damage. Tanith with a Laguz Lance can either finish off or start off with 13 damage from the Laguz Lance. It's just a shame that Tanith doesn't have one more base speed, because she precisely 2RKOes Ena with her current STR and even doubles, but Laguz Lance weighs her down by one.

Chapter 22: Schaeffer

Stefan easily ORKOes with a Vague Katti crit + normal attack (and the crit rate is a ridiculous 55%), moving on.

Chapter 23: Petrine

The most unreliable one yet, Stefan needs to connect a 27% crit with his Sigurd Sword, which leaves Petrine at one HP, at which point even Steel Sword!Tanith could finish the job.

Chapter 24: Rikard

OHKOed by a Sigurd!Sword crit, but I dunno if you'd even need to fight him or if Stefan is the right way to go about it.

Chapter 25: Gromell

Tanith 3HKOes with Sonic Sword, and if necessary, Calill can finish him off with Blizzard, moving on.

Chapter 26: Bertram

This is the tough one, and bringing in the required units might not be the easiest, having just done this map (albeit in a more casual setting...with growths) recently. Stefan needs another Sigurd Sword crit, which is the same % as it was with Petrine, which does 36/49 HP. His DEF is ridiculous, so none of your other units will be able to finish the job, even if they are great prepromotes and all. So what do? Simple, strike his 19 RES with a Calill Bolting which does just enough damage to kill him (I guess you could use Bastian too but CALILL).

Chapter 27: Hafedd

ORKOed by Sigurd Sword + crit, but the bosses ridiculous luck puts the chance of crit at 18%. But really, I'm feeling lazy, so I'm sure you can come up with your own more reliable strat for this.

[Espinosa]

Whoa, good work, that's sure to be helpful. Hope the data is from HM (though there is often no difference).

Some comments/nitpicking:

• Chapter 23 is the earliest you can forge Silver Sword/Lance on HM. So no Sigurd Sword till then.
• Ena is Demi Banded, so Laguz Lance!Tanith does double her. Tauroneo is also likely to be not too far away if needed. Ferrying Stefan over... not sure how that would go, or if there's a need. Facing the Generals must be a huge pain in the arse without him using Armorslayer/Silver Blade and proccing crits and Astras.
• Boyd is a scrub in 0% growths and would have negative AS with the Hammer if he could. We can leave that boss alone though, or just cockblock him with some Demi Band Laguz with a decent enough defence.
• Chapter 20 cannot be 1-turned even with growths on Normal Mode. 2-turning in 0% growths is dubious but I'll try and see what I can do. You need to arrive so two fliers (Tanith and Jill probably) or one flier and unit capable of ORKOing Shiharam are needed (Tanith + Stefan).
• Schaeffer needs to be attacked at 2-range unless you take the extra turn to shove a Priest out of the way (I think). No idea how that one will go. Spear!Tanith + Meteor Calill sounds like one solution just theorycrafting.

About feeding Tanith/Stefan lotsa resources, I actually wonder if it isn't the best idea to just give Tanith everything, including Drop and Speedwings (she still doesn't double Petrine so maybe Speedwings is Stefan's property after all... assuming Stefan doubling Petrine is turn-saving; I can't know until I play through that map on 0% growths and immerse myself in it for some period of time). Aside from doubling Petrine/Bertram, Stefan has no need for the Speedwings, so it could go to improving other units' (e.g. Geoffrey and Haar) mook-fighting capacity instead. I did admit Titania getting the first Speedwings cut just one turn in chapter 6, but the extra 2 AS enabled her to double AKs with the Hammer later (shit's heavy) and do the occasional other thing Kieran can't with 14 AS.

Tanith can also take an Arms Scroll (I still have both left) to wield Stefan's Vague Katti, and with an Energy Drop she almost matches his attack while being more accurate, though less likely to proc a crit/Astra, but still likely enough.

[PKL]

How I feel whenever one of your videos end:

Loving this run, if you couldn't tell already. :D Keep it up!

[dondon151]

oh wait i just noticed this but

you're moogleboss on youtube

from personal experience it's not worth expending resources on lategame units for better performance against mooks

Edited February 22, 2013 by dondon151