The Lunatic Club

[FionordeQuester]

Again, I tend to like to do 14 Defense, but 13 might work as well. Generally, what I do, thanks to Miikala given advice, is to...

[b]Turn 1: Pair Chrom with Lissa, go south as far as I can, go west into the forest, and dump Lissa west before Pairing Vaike up with Chrom.  Pair Virion up with Sully, move her northwest of Chrom, and drop Virion to the west.  After that, have Stahl Pair up with Sully (trading their weapons if Sully still has her Bronze Lance) before finally pairing the Avatar up with Frederick (they should have a C Support), and marching Freddy as far north as he'll go.  Generally, what will happen is one of the enemy Fighters will attack Sully, and the Avatar will survive against the other four dudes so long as only of his attackers have Luna.

After that, you should be able to go from there. Tell me how it works!

Edited January 14, 2014 by FionordeQuester

[Airship Canon]

Well, I saved [in the Name of True Love]

Takeru's Opening level net him 1 STR, 1 MAG, 1 SKL, 1 RES.

Not what I was hoping for [but hey, I backed it up.] He's gonna get clobbered.

...

.

And then Chrom died. :{[

(Attempt 2: Takeru is not getting flattened. Instead he's flattening things. But the Squish got swarmed. )

Edited January 14, 2014 by Airship Canon

[FionordeQuester]

Where are you at now? Prologue or Chapter 2?

[Airship Canon]

Where are you at now? Prologue or Chapter 2?

2. [i'm abusing the hell out of that Save Data Backup feature this run]

... Changing my initial approach from "Zap Merc" to move near merc and use the sword gives me a 1HP/STR/SKL/SPD/RES level to 10 over the other one, so that's good.

[FionordeQuester]

So are you using the strategy I posted?

[Airship Canon]

So are you using the strategy I posted?

Pretty much. [since Divide/Conquer is not available with that much Hawkeye (or lacking Chrom support).]

Wave 1's done with no faults this time (just a change on how I move, is all). Now on to wave 2.

...

Wave 2 has the boss, but Wave 1 was way more numerous.

...

I think the RNG gods just want this run to win.

I blame it on the fact that I named my MU "Takeru" after well... "Takeru Shirogane" (That poor guy's been through enough. Forcing him to experience Lunatic+ would be a form of cruelty. [he's also a badass once he's done being a sissy])

Why is my DEF asset MU having more SPD than DEF?

Edited January 14, 2014 by Airship Canon

[Pull My Devil Trigger]

Okay, so I decided to try Lunatic Classic, but I think I might have screwed it up bit and wanted some insight if Chapter 2 is still doable without extreme luck or abusing.

My units as of the end of Chapter 1:

[spoiler=Chrom] Lord lv 1.60

HP: 20

Str: 7

Mag: 1

Skill: 8

Spd: 8

Lck: 5

Def: 7

Res: 1

[spoiler= Male MU, +Spd/-Lck]

Tactician lv 8.52

HP: 24

Str: 11

Mag: 7

Skill: 9

Spd: 14

Lck: 6

Def: 8

Res: 9

[spoiler=Lissa]

Cleric lv 1.85

HP: 17

Str: 1

Mag: 5

Skill: 4

Spd: 4

Lck: 8

Def: 3

Res: 4

[spoiler=Frederick]

Great Knight lv 1.83

HP: 28

Str: 13

Mag: 2

Skill: 12

Spd: 10

Lck: 6

Def: 14

Res: 3

[spoiler=Sully]

Cavalier lv 2

HP: 20

Str: 7

Mag: 1

Skill: 8

Spd: 8

Lck: 6

Def: 7

Res: 2

[spoiler=Virion]

Archer lv 2

HP: 19

Str: 6

Mag: 0

Skill: 9 (+2 from his Skill +2)

Spd: 5

Lck: 7

Def: 6

Res: 1

[XeKr]

Frederick can beat the earlygame chapters highly reliably given the correct strategy, just that exp goes to him instead of +Def Avatar. There’s still plenty enough exp (even without grinding) to beat the game as long as you slowly start phasing out Frederick’s use eventually.

+Spd Avatar can be a bit of a glass cannon, but definitely still workable. I remember using one on my first blind Lunatic run. You may want to consider sticking with swords, as least in the Plegia arc, to easily dodge the numerous Axe enemies.

Let us know if you want any more specifics and I’m sure we can help.

Edited January 14, 2014 by XeKr

[tuvarkz]

Welp, cleared L+ Brady's paralogue, much harder than in Lunatic. I might have underrated Vengeance/Sol Sorc Severa with Celica's Gale, which even at 15 mag has been ORKOing any enemy that has the bad luck to carry a luna+ skill.

[PapaDragon]

So I have some questions regarding Lunatic. Not Lunatic+ - I wouldn't come within ten leagues of that horror show.

1. Is Lunatic reasonably beatable for a fairly skilled player without any grinding, wi-fi, DLC, renown, or second seal usage at all? (Everyone can promote if/when they can, obviously).
2. Does it become a luck-fest in this case?
3. In this type of playthrough, can a full team (not every character, just enough for you to not have to play short-handed) be viably cultivated?
4. Can at least a couple of children characters be made viable for this team in the no-grind no-second-seal Lunatic run?

In essence, what I'm asking is if a no grind, wi-fi, DLC, renown, and second seal Lunatic run is comparable to the harder games (or the hard mode of other games, where applicable) in the series?

Thank you for answering this question. I'd figure it out myself, but I am unskilled, and a coward.

[Czar_Yoshi]

1. Yes.

2. No, it becomes an Avatar-fest (even moreso than it already is).

3. Not before Cht.13 (even then, you'll only be using 3-4 pairs instead of 1-2). It takes a good deal of grinding to get enough units off the ground to play offensively, and if you have to play defense then anyone who's not your strongest unit is a serious liability.

4. Yes, four of them (Lucina, Morgan, and their two siblings). For this reason I advise having Chrom and Avatar marry mothers with male children so you can have two Gen2 pairs. For your no Second Seal restriction, I'd advise Avatar x Maribelle/Lissa and Chrom x Olivia (Inigo should go Hero, Brady/Owain should go Sage/Assassin, and Morgan should go Valkyrie/Sage). You'll probably want a +Mag Avatar for this.

Some general tips for no-SS Lunatic:

Don't use Frederick in front. He helps as a pairup early on, and he should stay that way because his low level cap will stunt his stats and troll you in the long run.

Feed Avatar as much as you can early on, but after Cht.2 start investing in Chrom as well. With limited levels, you'll want to spread the exp around between a few units (but not so many that you're not strong enough!). Kellam may be a viable investment as well because he can promote to GK to be a good support bot.

Use staves liberally. Once Lissa/Maribelle promote, they'll be handy for chip damage, and the exp from the staves doesn't detract from the exp your combat units earn.

If you want a third Gen1 pair, I strongly recommend Lon'qu x Cordelia or Gregor x Nowi. Severa starts with Armsthrift (nice in no grind as cash could be tight), can promote for Sol, can inherit Galeforce, and has some decent father options. Lon'qu is a little hard to train due to his low Str, but can pass Vantage which Severa will like once she gets Sol and Hand Axe access. Nowi, on the other hand, is a Manakete who is broken in Lunatic but uses expensive weapons, and Gregor (in addition to giving Nowi all the support boosts she wants) can either pass down Armsthrift to help that problem, or Sol to make Nah even tankier.

Remember, once a unit caps their level, there's no use in feeding them any more, so try not to waste exp. Still, it's better to take a safe kill than a slightly rewarding kill, so don't overdo it.

If you get any Leif's Blades from event tiles, hang onto them! Chrom!Inigo will do very well with one, his RK will boost both Armsthrift (keeping it around longer) and the Bullion drop rate.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[Tribute]

augh capping res sucks

[Elieson]

UNIT	LV.EX	HP	STR	MAG	SKI	SPD	LCK	DEF	RES	NOTES
Chrom	02.47	21	7	1	8	9	6	7	1	
Avatar	04.50	21	8	6	6	10	6	9	4	Male +Skill -Res
Lissa	04.74	18	2	6	5	6	11	4	6	
Fred	02.68	29	14	2	13	11	6	15	3	(Kris's Confect 4/5)
Sully	02.00	20	7	1	8	8	6	7	2	
Virion	02.10	19	6	0	9+2	5	7	6	1	

Welcome to my team, entering Chapter 2. Approximately 37 resets in and can't handle the first wave? (Asset/Flaw logic was my son picked for me)

Approximately how fucked over am I in this?

[PapaDragon]

1. Yes.

2. No, it becomes an Avatar-fest (even moreso than it already is).

3. Not before Cht.13 (even then, you'll only be using 3-4 pairs instead of 1-2). It takes a good deal of grinding to get enough units off the ground to play offensively, and if you have to play defense then anyone who's not your strongest unit is a serious liability.

4. Yes, four of them (Lucina, Morgan, and their two siblings). For this reason I advise having Chrom and Avatar marry mothers with male children so you can have two Gen2 pairs. For your no Second Seal restriction, I'd advise Avatar x Maribelle and Chrom x Olivia (Inigo should go Hero and Brady should go Sage). You'll probably want a +Mag Avatar for this.

Thank you kindly :-)

[Tribute]

how does the bookmark/backup save work?

So its basically casual save states but on classic?

[Czar_Yoshi]

It works just like the Owl Statues in Majora's Mask, except you need to copy the save data to your computer instead of another savefile.

[Kuroi Tsubasa Tenshi]

UNIT	LV.EX	HP	STR	MAG	SKI	SPD	LCK	DEF	RES	NOTES
Chrom	02.47	21	7	1	8	9	6	7	1	
Avatar	04.50	21	8	6	6	10	6	9	4	Male +Skill -Res
Lissa	04.74	18	2	6	5	6	11	4	6	
Fred	02.68	29	14	2	13	11	6	15	3	(Kris's Confect 4/5)
Sully	02.00	20	7	1	8	8	6	7	2	
Virion	02.10	19	6	0	9+2	5	7	6	1	

Welcome to my team, entering Chapter 2. Approximately 37 resets in and can't handle the first wave? (Asset/Flaw logic was my son picked for me)

Approximately how fucked over am I in this?

It's manageable, but you're pretty much gonna have to primarily use Fred and salvage what little EXP for Avatar that you can. This may also be eased if you're willing to sacrifice some of the other characters to buy Fred and Avatar time to clear some of the enemies out.

[TrollHunter]

Finishing up the valm arc of lunatic/classic. Nearly done with Ch.20

God nosferatu is just so broken. I actually feel bad for using it. This will definitely not be my last lunatic run, and next time ill be sure to put some personal restrictions in place (No DLC and no dark magic for starters). Also did a ton of grinding because I didnt want this to become the avatar show... It's pretty much the henry show now.

But strangely enough my chrom has been amazing in this run with absolutely no grinding. Hes been blessed by Anna and having him as a bow knight also allows me to clog up enemies and minimize EP damage. Thanks to Interceptors Luna+ run for helping me realize that archers can be useful in very strange ways.

Edited January 18, 2014 by TrollHunter

[XeKr]

1. Is Lunatic reasonably beatable for a fairly skilled player without any grinding, wi-fi, DLC, renown, or second seal usage at all? (Everyone can promote if/when they can, obviously).
2. Does it become a luck-fest in this case?
3. In this type of playthrough, can a full team (not every character, just enough for you to not have to play short-handed) be viably cultivated?
4. Can at least a couple of children characters be made viable for this team in the no-grind no-second-seal Lunatic run?

In essence, what I'm asking is if a no grind, wi-fi, DLC, renown, and second seal Lunatic run is comparable to the harder games (or the hard mode of other games, where applicable) in the series?

Some of my thoughts, some for elaboration and as some are bit different than Czar_Yoshi's

1. I'll say yes, though I have no idea how to accurately judge player skill. I'll say this, it's arguably more fun than a regular Lunatic run, since it's far harder to steamroll with single pairs like the standard Avatar/Chrom if no Second Seals. Broken things such as Veteran are gimped by the level gap. Nosferatu is less available as the only 2nd gen with access are certain Morgans. Manaketes/Avoid-stacking can't faceroll. etcetc.

2. No, all chapters can be done very reliably with the correct strategy. However, it may be very challenging if it's your first Lunatic run or such.

3. When I did this challenge, I had full deployment every map and used Chrom/Sully, Avatar/Cordelia, Gregor/Cherche and their children. Filled out the remaining slots with prepromos, staff users, Pair Up or Rally fodder, Olivia, etc. Though I did focus exp into those pairings, as possible, early on. A partial playlog (contains early and lategame) is in my sig if you're curious.

4. You'll most probably want to train the children for lategame. 20/20 parents are too weak. It's probably possible to turtle with Rallies with the parents, but it's way easier to just use the children as fighters imo. Their Paralogues are also great for extra exp.

I'd say no Second Seal Lunatic (+no grinding, etc) is probably comparable with FE9 Maniac or FE6 HM (it's probably harder than the other games released in the west, except for maybe FE11 H5?), given you understand how to properly use and abuse all of the FE13 mechanics (how to appropriately use Rescue Staves, Pair Up, Rallies, Tonics, how children inheritance works, etc).

Don't use Frederick in front. He helps as a pairup early on, and he should stay that way because his low level cap will stunt his stats and troll you in the long run.

Kellam may be a viable investment as well because he can promote to GK to be a good support bot.

If you want a third Gen1 pair, I strongly recommend Lon'qu x Cordelia or Gregor x Nowi. Severa starts with Armsthrift (nice in no grind as cash could be tight), can promote for Sol, can inherit Galeforce, and has some decent father options. Lon'qu is a little hard to train due to his low Str, but can pass Vantage which Severa will like once she gets Sol and Hand Axe access. Nowi, on the other hand, is a Manakete who is broken in Lunatic but uses expensive weapons, and Gregor (in addition to giving Nowi all the support boosts she wants) can either pass down Armsthrift to help that problem, or Sol to make Nah even tankier.

Good advice in general. Some comments:

Too true about Frederick. His true bases are actually hilarious (2 base Str, 0 base Def before class bonuses? >_>)

Kellam is too hard to train (slow and lances vs. earlygame Axe enemies) to be worth it imo, since parents are almost inevitably support units in the lategame. Exp investment doesn't make him too much better than just base Kellam as a Def Pair Up bot (arguably his most useful function). Rally Defense is a potential use, certainly.

If you're not grinding, Galeforce may come too late to be a good inheritance skill. You'll have to delay the children's recruitment, which makes them harder to train up. Saving easy paralogues to train them is one way to handle this. Sevara is still easily one of best children since Hero is an op class (Probably the best. Sol + Armthrift Helswath on the hardest stages? Yesplz).

Note that Nowi loses her main advantage in No SS runs, which is really quick leveling after reclassing back in Manakete. Her low bases combined with the level cap mean she is a lot worse than in a regular run. Nah can be useful, but would like high stat inheritance since she only has 20 more levels to grow. otoh, Tiki is a filler option than I found some niche uses for lategame.

Note that Brady/Inigo/Owain and such may have bad base stats unless you staff/dance grind their parents for exp. They also probably won't really have great skill inheritance.

Also, while stuff like Rally Spectrum/Speed/Defense and Sol/Nosferatu are not necessary to complete the challenge, they make things much, much easier and so it's worth trying to plan them into your team. tbh, I was probably overprepared my first attempt at it and found myself wishing I had passed down or gone for more offensive skills like Luna/Ignis instead of Rallies. Though that's mostly a playstyle thing than anything.

Edited January 18, 2014 by XeKr

[Dying Blaze]

I am having so much trouble with my Lunatic+ playthrough. I do plan on using DLC for the run. But a few months ago I was able to get to the chapter where you recruit Kellam. But I for some reason thought I should delete that file. >_<

Could someone help me? I do plan on being a +Str, -Lck avatar. But for this playthrough I couldn't care less about the Asset and Flaw.

(I plan on marrying Nowi, btw)

And Chrom with Sumia.

[tuvarkz]

+STR-LUK is certainly doable for luna+. Shadow of Chaos has a great guide on how to do it.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Kellam is too hard to train (slow and lances vs. earlygame Axe enemies) to be worth it imo, since parents are almost inevitably support units in the lategame. Exp investment doesn't make him too much better than just base Kellam as a Def Pair Up bot (arguably his most useful function). Rally Defense is a potential use, certainly.

I mainly recommend Kellam so he can be a GK, which give +Mov which is helpful when your team includes lots of 6 mov units. He's actually not that hard to train because he starts with a Javelin and on vanilla Lunatic it's extremely easy to make a choke on the stairs in Cht.3 and feed him every enemy except those on the LHS by firing over Avatar x Fred's head. He also starts at Lv.5, so assuming you don't care about his stats in the long run and only want him to be a better Fred he only needs 5 levels to get there, something he can easily get on Cht.3 alone.

If you're not grinding, Galeforce may come too late to be a good inheritance skill. You'll have to delay the children's recruitment, which makes them harder to train up. Saving easy paralogues to train them is one way to handle this. Sevara is still easily one of best children since Hero is an op class (Probably the best. Sol + Armthrift Helswath on the hardest stages? Yesplz).

Actually, there are so many enemies in Lunatic that exp comes really fast until you start racking up ILs. Cordelia starts at Lv.8 iirc, so she only needs 17 (she wants all 27 though) before she can pass down Galeforce. She can start getting that exp while paired behind someone on the mountains in Cht.7, and get a lot more in Cht.8 by dueling Mages with a Sumia pairup. She can even take an Arcwind at base level with no pairup if necessary. There are plenty of Mages and Swordguys in Cht.11, and she can practically solo Cht.12 with a Beastkiller and a good pairup (I was able to get a Lv.12 Sumia 19 levels on Cht.12 alone).

Note that Nowi loses her main advantage in No SS runs, which is really quick leveling after reclassing back in Manakete. Her low bases combined with the level cap mean she is a lot worse than in a regular run. Nah can be useful, but would like high stat inheritance since she only has 20 more levels to grow. otoh, Tiki is a filler option than I found some niche uses for lategame.

Nowi's bases factoring in the Dragonstone+ are actually really good outside of Spd. Gregor can be raised as much as you want for more Nah stats as well.

Note that Brady/Inigo/Owain and such may have bad base stats unless you staff/dance grind their parents for exp. They also probably won't really have great skill inheritance.

Brady can get DS+ and Owain can get Renewal, which could be helpful. Fortunately staff exp is absurdly easy to get on Lunatic with a little patience.

[TrollHunter]

I may have underestimated Lunatic mode Grima.

I may as well have been poking at him with a stick for all the good my unforged weapons were doing.

Forged a few brave weapons for MU and morgan with what little funds I had left. Hopefully they can get the job done (or at least proc enough dual strikes with chroms falchion).

GG Lunatic/classic, GG. That was one tight victory.

[spoiler=How did I even survive that crap?]

Time for lunatic+ shenanigans. Now to decide... casual or classic.

Edited January 19, 2014 by TrollHunter

[Czar_Yoshi]

I say Classic.

[Thor Odinson]

I almost had to reset and not get my one turn clear because Lucina kept on missing one or more of her duals

Luckily I had Sully in range of Olivia and she had enough attack power to finish off 8hp Grima

I probably wouldn't have needed Sully for it if MU's Luna activated on at least 2 of her 4 hits though but oh well

the 2 turn version is a lot easier but I wanted to do 1turn for some reasons I dont' know

also Classic is for the STRONG

do it