KoT's Mystical Magical Lunatic "Efficiency" Run

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

EDIT: Torn on which chapter to do next. Prologue 2 is longer and might benefit more from the extra levels from Chapter 7, while Chapter 7 is short and brutal and might squash the crap out of my team if I try to speed through it.

Basically, I'm in the middle of an Lunatic efficiency run, and I think I've sorted out the basic rules of the run. So far, I'm thinking:

1) Tonics are allowed

2) Barracks are allowed; yes, I know they're random, but the effects are usually small, I'm not going to manipulate them, and they're like pleasant little gifts to me.

3) DLCs are banned for obvious reasons.

4) Streetpass shops are also banned; fights too, but don't they give 1 xp per kill on lunatic anyways?

5) Skirmishes are banned -- not like they're really doable past the first few chapters you get them, but still.

6) I'm doing the paralogues whenever I damn well please, but the first four MUST be done at least. Hopefully I'll find a way to unlock them all feasibly to LTC them.

7) Reclassing and promoting are obviously allowed.

8) EVERY character must be recruited.

9) The odds of pulling off these strat should be reasonably pulled off. Nothing wild like my theoretical minimum LTC FE12 Lunatic run like dodging three 90% hits in a row for the latest chapters.

That SHOULD be everything. Any thoughts on the run (especially tips on the run, since this is my first time through) would be appreciated!

Current Turn Counts:

Prologue - 4/4

Chapter 1 - 4/8

Chapter 2 - 6/14

Chapter 3 - 4/18

Chapter 4 - 4/22

Paralogue 1 - 7/29

Chapter 5 - 5/34

Chapter 6 - 4/38

Chapter Overviews:

[spoiler=Prologue]So this chapter kind of sucked to 4 turn, simply because I felt like I was playing the odds a little too much. I'm not sure how Redwall cleared it, but I did it in pretty much this way, using a +MAG, -STR MU:

Turn 1:

Freddy initially kills off the myrm in the middle of the platform, MU pairs with Chrom to attack the axe bandit on the far left, and Lissa moves exactly two speaces to the right;Turn 1 EP has MU/Chrom finish off that bandit and Freddy finish off everybody else nearby except for the nearest mage and the other axe bandit, who has only a few health left. Unfortunately, for the strat to work, that mage has to move above Freddy instead of to his side on turn 1 EP, and I have no way of manipulating the odds of that happening. However, once I get past to that point without problems, I'm largely set.

Turn 2:

Freddy moves to the right of the mage, and OHKO's him. MU trades a bronze sword to Freddy, transfers Chrom to Freddy, and finishes off the axe bandit weakened by Freddy. After such an ordeal, MU gets healed by Lissa. On turn 2 EP, Freddy kills both northern myrms and chips off ~85% of one of the northern axe bandits. By the end of this EP, one mage and an axe bandit have full health, and one axe bandit has a few health left, and the boss stands at the top of the map like an idiot.

Turn 3:

MU moves to the edge of the weakened bandit's range (so he can lure him away from Freddy and kill him on that EP), and Freddy OHKO's the northern mage. The EP ends with the last axe bandit with a few health and the boss still standing there like an idiot.

Turn 4:

Freddy rides to the boss, switches places with Chrom, and has the blue-haired lord bash the boss' face in (mostly to feed Chrom some experience); I use rapier in this case to boost the odds that Chrom succeeds. To win, Chrom must either crit with Rapier (~9% chance) or has Freddy join in with one of his attacks. MU gets healed by Lissa again and moves to the range of the axe bandit so that he can kill him that EP. Doing out the math, I have the odds of this happening at ~58.72%

[spoiler=Ze (Probably Wrong Somehow) Maths:]Chrom Crits First Hit: 0.09

Chrom Procs Freddy First Hit: 0.91*0.35 = 0.3185

Chrom Crits Second Hit: (0.91*0.65*0.09) * (1 - [0.51*0.51]) = (0.91*0.65*0.09) * 0.7399 = 0.0393

Chrom Procs Freddy Second Hit: 0.91*0.65*0.91*0.35 * (1 - [0.51*0.51]) = 0.91*0.65*0.91*0.35 * 0.7399 = 0.1394

Total: 0.09 + 0.3185 + 0.0393 + 0.1394 = 0.5872

Final Thoughts:

I probably could have Freddy finish him off with a little more reliability, but Chrom desperately needs that experience.

UNIT 		LEVEL	HP  ST  MG  SK  SP  LK  DF  RS   WEP LEVEL                  	
Chrom    	1.57	20  07  01  08  08  05  07  01   E Swords
Books    	2.50	20  05  08  05  07  04  07  04   E Swords E Tomes
Frederick	1.78	28  13  02  12  10  06  14  03   D Swords B Lances D Axes
Lissa    	1.51	17  01  05  04  04  08  03  04   E Staves 						

[spoiler=Chapter 1]There aren't really very many ways to do this chapter in Lunatic.

Turn 1:

I paired Chrom with Freddy and attacked the nearest barbarian and merc with silver lance, ORKO'ing the barbarian and leaving the merc near death. If the merc is below Freddy by the end of turn 1 EP, the rest of this chapter becomes very simple.

Turn 2:

MU goes right next to the merc (to be in the range of the archer for the next EP), finishes him off, gets a vuln from Lissa, and pairs up with her (nobody will need healing on this chapter, shockingly enough). Freddy goes to the fort, equips a bronze sword, finishes off both barbarians (dodging the fatal hammer blow with high reliability), and leaves the southern merc near death. The archer attacks MU and eats a significant counter.

Turn 3:

Virion/Sully finishes off the archer, Freddy ORKO's the last barbarian, and MU/Lissa finishes off the merc. If done right, every enemy except for the boss should be dead, and only Freddy should be in his attack range, equipped with a bronze sword. I should note that this only works if MU proc'ed MAG -- if not, the archer is left alive until turn 4 and Virion pairs up with Sully so Virion is not doubled and ORKO'd by the archer; this, IIRC, also finishes the chapter by turn 4 with reliability, but is not as preferred because it feeds Freddy more experience at the expense of MU.

Turn 4:

Freddy doubles the boss with a bronze sword, Virion (with full health) stands on the fort and chips him (avoiding standing next to Freddy so he doesn't finish the boss off), and MU finishes the boss off.

Final Thoughts:

I believe that Freddy needs SPD on his first level up to double the boss, although I suppose he could make due with a single Silver Lance blow otherwise. Freddy proc'ing STR consistently will be VERY important for chapters 2-5, and MU proc'ing MAG is extremely useful for feeding him experience in this chapter. I don't know if any of those stat ups are NECESSARY, though, but all are extremely nice to have. Going over the stats, I think Freddy might've gotten a perfect level. How the hell did I not notice that? I swore he didn't proc DEF...oh well, pleasant surprise nonetheless.

UNIT 		LEVEL	HP  ST  MG  SK  SP  LK  DF  RS   WEP LEVEL                  	
Chrom    	1.72	20  07  01  08  08  05  07  01   E Swords
Books    	2.50	20  05  08  05  07  04  07  04   E Swords E Tomes
Frederick	2.27	29  14  03  13  11  07  15  04   D Swords B Lances D Axes
Lissa    	1.51	17  01  05  04  04  08  03  04   E Staves
Virion   	2.40	19  06  00  09  05  07  06  01   D Bows
Sully    	2.10	20  07  01  08  08  06  07  02   E Swords E Lances 						

[spoiler=Chapter 2]Like with chapter 1, there isn't a whole ton of flexibility on strategy, unless (so I hear) you go tanky!MU.

Anybody who's seen the vids on completing chapter 2 Lunatic kind of knows how it starts. Before Frederick charges up the middle to a now infamous tile, MU trades Virion a vuln, Lissa moves 2R, Sully moves 2R of Freddy, Virion moves between Freddy and Sully, trades his elixir and vuln to Freddy, and pairs up with Sully. Chrom pairs up with Stahl, Stahl moves 1R of Lissa, and Vaike pairs up with Frederick (with 1 STR above base, this pair up allows OHKOs of mercs). The main difference between this strat and the slower, safer strat is that Freddy wields a silver lance instead of a bronze counterpart, allowing him to kill off enough people to reach the top of the map by turn 4. This first turn is basically the sketchiest part of the strat, but one I couldn't find a way to avoid. At least with my Freddy, he can live as long as at least one of the hits miss (most are in the 70-80% displayed hit range).

Since both Chrom and Virion are paired with cavs, they have enough move to draw off an enemy during turns 2 and 3 (first by Sully, then by Stahl, trading weapons between them as necessary), simultaneously saving Freddy an elixir use and keeping him from being surrounded. This does a couple of things -- first, by having MU, Chrom, and Virion finish off the enemies chipped by Stahl and Freddy, it feeds them a ton of experience; second, it gets Freddy to the shining tile on the top of the map by turn 4 (not because it is a shining tile, but because that happens to be exactly where I found Freddy has to be for this strat to work).

On turn 5, Freddy goes to the top right fort and kills the weakened barbarian with an iron sword (Freddy switches to a silver lance again in turn 4, killed the mercs, and looted that sword); meanwhile, Lissa heals a MU near death from a barbarian hit, Chrom trades MU a vuln, and MU moves to the edge of the boss' attack range and consumes a vuln use, thus allowing him to take a hit and chip the boss, while still staying outside the range of any other enemy. On turn 6, Chrom can then weaken the boss and MU can finish him off without eating a counter that would kill him, while still being outside the range of the northern enemies; Virion can then decide to move to a shining tile and have a picnic, if he so chooses. Freddy should be able to finish off all of the northern enemies during turn 6 EP with his iron sword, finishing the chapter.

This would be so much easier to show with a video.

Final Thoughts:

I don't have the stats at the end of this chapter since I accidentally overwrote them, but I think MU ended up at around level 5-6, Chrom around level 3, Lissa gained a level, and Freddy got about a level and a half. Freddy gained SPD on his level up, which will be useful on Chapter 3, but not STR, which will hurt me on Chapter 4. I hate how much Freddy is relied upon, and as a result, his stat ups. All in all, this is a the worst chapter at the very least up to C5, and possibly (from what I've heard) in the entire game, at least reliability-wise.

[spoiler=Chapter 3]So this is a chapter that feels like you cheese it if you do it fast, mainly because it's a "Defeat Commander" instead of a "Rout All" objective.

Unfortunately, I also found that clearing out the initial wave is easier if my Frederick manages to gain SPD during his next level up, since he will double the soldiers with a Sumia pairing if he does. Also, going through C1-5 once before, I know that Freddy will need a +STR/+SPD level up to make Chapter 4 as cheap as possible. Failing to proc both in a level up means that he will need a +4 MT Javelin forge for C4, which will eat most of my funds. If he procs neither, I don't think I'll be able to afford the +5 MT forged jav I'll need. Realistically, I would've only needed a +2 MT jav forge if I had been lucky enough for Freddy to proc STR on C2, but what can I do?

The only other thing I have to chance is, to ORKO the final boss on turn 4, I need to proc a double attack from MU from one of Freddy's hits. It's about a 25% chance each time, so I'm looking at around a 43.75% chance of success (slightly less, because Freddy's true hit with Silver Lance is not "quite" 100%, but damn close to it) -- not high enough for my satisfaction, but unfortunately Chrom + rapier won't pack enough of a punch (due, again, to Freddy missing that STR proc on C2). Everything else on the chapter is pretty much near 100% chance.

Turn 1:

Freddy pairs with Sumia, doubles and kills the nearest archer with an iron lance. Chrom recruits Kellam, is picked up by Kellam, falls back behind enemy range, and switches so that Chrom is now in front because I need the 5 MOV instead of 4 MOV for turn 2. Miriel pairs with MU, who stands diagonal of Chrom, and Vaike pairs up with Sully, who is standing diagonal to MU; to finish, Stahl goes 1R of MU and Lissa is 1R of Chrom. To clarify:

oooooSu

ooooMS

oooCL

o = Enemy range, C = Chrom, L = Lissa, M = MU, S = Stahl, Su = Sully

On that enemy phase, Freddy should kill the soldier and leave the knight severely wounded, while having as low as 7 HP.

Turn 2:

Chrom finishes off the knight with a rapier attack, avoiding a counter. Stahl chips the archer, and so does MU; Sully with Vaike's help has JUST ENOUGH of a punch to finish the archer off and grabs the door key. Freddy, if he's injured (which, barring extreme luck, he will be), moves exactly 3 spaces closer to the boss, trades Sumia for her vuln, and consumes a use. This puts Freddy JUST in range of Lissa's heal range for next turn and JUST in range to reach the boss on turn 4. EP is...well, nothing.

Turn 3:

Chrom/Kellam moves 1U of Sully, switches and then transfers so that it is Sully/Chrom. Sully/Chrom then moves to the door, switches to Chrom in the front, has Chrom equip the rapier, has Sully trade Chrom the key, and has the door opened. Lissa moves max distance and heals Freddy. Freddy then charges out, moves max distance, and switches to an iron sword (to make a hit by the nearby axe user very unlikely). Everybody else moves max distance, making sure that Stahl is close to the recently opened door (I think he's like 2D or 3D of Chrom). EP simply has Freddy weakening all nearby enemies -- a path to the boss should be open; a knight attacks Chrom and gets severely wounded by Rapier counter.

Turn 4:

Chrom finishes off the weakened knight, opening up the doorway. MU/Miriel then moves next to Stahl, switches so that Miriel is in front, passes MU to Stahl, and has Stahl move next to Freddy; Stahl then transfers MU over to Freddy (since Freddy doubles the boss even without Sumia's help), moves max distance so he's right next to boss, and doubles her with a Silver Lance. He will kill her if he either crits (which I don't even know if he can) or if he proc a MU attack. In my case, it was *just* enough damage to ORKO her and end the chapter.

Final Thoughts:

This chapter, all in all, isn't too bad. Half of the "failure" rate comes from a "not-good-enough" Freddy level for C4, which I don't know how to avoid. I *still* hate how much Freddy is relied upon, and as a result, his stat ups. Hopefully I'll feed enough experience into MU and the other guys so that this doesn't last too much longer. I have no idea if I'm feeding my non-Freddy units enough experience to keep them relevant, and it's concerning me.

UNIT 		LEVEL	HP  ST  MG  SK  SP  LK  DF  RS   WEP LEVEL                  	
Chrom    	3.27	22  08  02  10  10  05  07  01   D Swords
Books    	6.55	24  05  12  07  10  06  09  05   E Swords D Tomes
Frederick	4.33	31  15  03  14  13  08  17  05   C Swords A Lances D Axes
Lissa    	2.36	17  01  05  04  05  09  03  05   E Staves
Virion   	2.60	19  06  00  09  05  07  06  01   D Bows
Sully    	2.45	20  07  01  08  08  06  07  02   E Swords E Lances
Vaike    	3.10	29  09  00  08  06  04  05  00   D Axes 
Miriel   	1.00	18  00  06  05  07  06  03  04   E Tomes
Stahl    	2.20	22  08  00  07  06  05  08  01   E Swords E Lances
Sumia    	1.05	18  06  03  11  11  08  05  07   D Lances
Kellam   	5.00	21  10  00  07  05  03  12  02   D Lances                              	

[spoiler=Chapter 4]This is not that bad of a chapter, provided your units are strong enough (mine were). Basically, it's pacing yourself so you do it fast enough while not being too aggressive. I guess this can be 3 turned with Renown items, but since that's out of the question due to the rules of the run, I can't forsee anything short of a 4 turn here. If anybody beats it, I'd love to know, though. Been too long since I beat it, so I'm not 100% sure on this strat. I had to buy a STR tonic for Freddy and forge a +2 MT javelin so that he could ORKO the short axe berserkers. I might have needed a STR tonic for Chrom.

Turn 1:

Freddy goes at edge of left 1-range barbarian's range, Chrom paired with MU goes to edge of the right 1-range barbarian's range; Virion goes 1D of Freddy, Lissa goes 1D of Chrom. Freddy ORKO's his target, while Chrom and MU chip the other guy.

Turn 2:

Freddy OHKOs the right mage with a silver spear, Virion chips right 1-range barbarian, Chrom finishes him off, and Lissa goes to trade with Freddy so that he has his javelin equipped. On enemy phase, Freddy ORKO's the right short axe barbarian.

Turn 3:

Freddy goes 1U of the left mage (right on the edge of Marth's range) and OHKOs him with a silver spear. Virion and MU stayed out of the knights' range. On enemy phase, Freddy ORKO'd both knights and chipped Marth heavily.

Turn 4:

Freddy ORKO's the left short axe barbarian with an iron sword, Virion chips Marth, and Chrom finishes her off (for the awesome cutscene that procs).

Final Thoughts:

An expensive but otherwise very easy chapter. It's just coddling me for the extreme bullshit that I will soon face in Paralogue 1 and Chapter 5. There just isn't that much to say on this chapter, sadly. I *think* Vaike paired with Virion, but I'm not 100% sure.

UNIT 		LEVEL	HP  ST  MG  SK  SP  LK  DF  RS   WEP LEVEL                  	
Chrom    	4.42	23  09  02  11  10  06  08  01   D Swords
Books    	6.70	24  05  12  07  10  06  09  05   E Swords D Tomes
Frederick	5.04	32  16  03  15  13  09  18  06   B Swords A Lances D Axes
Lissa    	2.70	17  01  05  04  05  09  03  05   E Staves
Virion   	3.25	20  06  00  10  06  08  06  02   D Bows
Sully    	2.45	20  07  01  08  08  06  07  02   E Swords E Lances
Vaike    	3.35	29  09  00  08  06  04  05  00   D Axes 
Miriel   	1.00	18  00  06  05  07  06  03  04   E Tomes
Stahl    	2.20	22  08  00  07  06  05  08  01   E Swords E Lances
Sumia    	1.05	18  06  03  11  11  08  05  07   D Lances
Kellam   	5.00	21  10  00  07  05  03  12  02   D Lances
Lon Qu   	4.00	20  06  01  12  13  07  07  02   C Swords                              	

[spoiler=Paralogue 1]Thank god I'm not playing this on Lunatic, trying to reach a low turn count, gunning to get both chests, AND trying to get the person with the lowest base stats in the entire game a level in the process. Oh wait....

Anyways, this chapter was not fun, by any means. The sketchiest parts of this chapter were basically the beginning, where I need to rely on 1-2 Killer Sword crits to clear enemies and for the closest archer to move on the tile I need him to (although, with proper unit movement, the odds of that happening can be gamed considerably), and the end, where I need Donny to land the final blow on the last thief to get his last 60 experience. On the plus side, I don't think I can get everything together and clear the chapter in fewer in 7 turns, so I can sleep well on beating this. Lon'Qu needed a def tonic not to be OHKO'd by berserkers, Donny needed a STR tonic to finish off the nearest archer for the first 40 experience, and Freddy needed a STR tonic to 2HKO the boss with an +1 MT forged iron sword. Jesus, where did my cash go?

Turn 1:

MU pairs up with Sully, Sumia pairs up with Freddy, Donny pairs with Virion, and Lon'Qu pairs up with Chrom. Lon'Qu attacks the nearest barbarian and (hopefully) ORKO's him. MU moves 1L of Lon'Qu and finishes off the barbarian, if necessary. Lissa moves 1L of MU; Virion moves 1U of Lissa, trades Donny a STR tonic, switches to Donny in front, and has Donny drink it up. Freddy moves to the short axe on the bottom of the map and ORKO's him with iron sword. Enemy phase has Lon'Qu killing the nearest Steel Axe barbarian and Freddy killing the other short axe barbarian (who, for whatever reason, does not want to 2 range, IIRC).

Turn 2:

There are a number of ways for turn 1 EP to turn out, but optimally here's how turn 2 PP goes (most other routes end up with the practically the same turn 3 PP, but with lower probabilities of success). Lissa moves max range and heals Freddy. Freddy moves 1U of archer to nearby pillar and ORKOs him, Lon'Qu has full health and stays in his same position. MU moves to edge of northeast archer's range (away from the wall, if Sully is still in front and MU did not have to attack on turn 1, since this provokes the archer to move near Freddy instead of on the other side of the wall as MU), switches to Sully, removes her wep to prevent double attack, and switches back. Donny moves max range, out of the attack range of all enemies. EP has Freddy killing the two barbarians north of him and MU countering the northeast archer's attack; Lon'Qu ORKO's the northeast barbarian.

Turn 3:

MU chips the northeast archer, Donny finishes him off, Lissa heals Freddy to full, and Freddy moves max range to 3R of westmost archer. Lon'Qu moves to edge of northeast thief's range, and heals with a vulnerary if necessary. EP has Freddy killing off the nearest two barbarians and eating chip from the westmost archer and the nearby short axe barbarian and Lon'Qu countering and maybe killing the nearby thief with a crit.

Turn 4:

Freddy moves 1U of short axe barbarian and ORKO's him. MU moves to end of range of westmost archer, switches to Sully, has her equip her weapon again, and switches back. Lissa heals MU, Donny moves1R of MU, and Lon'Qu moves max range and heals with a vulnerary if northeast thief is still alive. At EP, Freddy chips one of the remaining thieves (I don't remember which one), who is either 1L or 1D of him by the end of the turn. MU counters the attack of the westmost archer; Lon'Qu may or may not kill a thief.

Turn 5:

Freddy moves 1U of the archer that *was* blocking the way to the boss last turn and ORKOs him with an iron sword. Lon'Qu finishes off the westmost archer. Lissa heals MU, who then moves 5L. If the thief is 1D of Freddy, MU simply finishes the thief off with Fire (or Wind, for max accuracy); if the thief is 1L of Freddy, MU will prevent the thief from attacking anybody else and kill the thief on EP. Donny moves 5R as well. EP is simply Freddy being chipped by the northwest archer and ORKO'ing the last barbarian and *possibly* MU killing the second thief.

Turn 6:

Freddy moves 1D of the nearest archer in the boss' "room", equips his trusty javelin, and heals with vulnerary, which should leave him with just enough health to survive one of the boss' attacks next turn. Lissa heals either MU or Lon'Qu (if MU is at full health); Lon'Qu moves 1U of MU, switches with Chrom, and transfers as MU's partner. Sully and Chrom separate. MU moves 1D of the last archer and, with Lon'Qu speed boost, doubles the archer and leaves him near death. Virion is used to finish him off. EP has Freddy finishing off both archers. Annoyingly, the thief does not attack MU.

Turn 7:

I cannot remember exactly how, but I remember having Chrom, MU/Lon'Qu, and Sully chip in such a way that Donny lands the final blow, getting a killer lance and a level as a reward. Virion opens the chest with Rescue in it. Freddy attacks the boss. EP has Freddy landing the final blow and ending the madness.

Final Thoughts:

I'm proud of beating this chapter. This. Chapter. SUCKED. SO. HARD. Got decent level ups, which will help me immensely on chapter 5. Also, Donnel, thank GOD you have 12 LUK -- I mean, you could have 12 points in a useless stat like STR or SPD, and how terrible would that be?

UNIT 		LEVEL	HP  ST  MG  SK  SP  LK  DF  RS   WEP LEVEL                  	
Chrom    	4.52	23  09  02  11  10  06  08  01   D Swords
Books    	7.85	25  05  12  08  11  07  10  06   E Swords D Tomes
Frederick	6.58	33  17  03  16  14  09  18  06   B Swords A Lances D Axes
Lissa    	3.38	18  01  05  05  06  10  04  06   E Staves
Virion   	3.26	20  06  00  10  06  08  06  02   D Bows
Sully    	2.45	20  07  01  08  08  06  07  02   E Swords E Lances
Vaike    	3.35	29  09  00  08  06  04  05  00   D Axes 
Miriel   	1.00	18  00  06  05  07  06  03  04   E Tomes
Stahl    	2.20	22  08  00  07  06  05  08  01   E Swords E Lances
Sumia    	1.37	18  06  03  11  11  08  05  07   D Lances
Kellam   	5.00	21  10  00  07  05  03  12  02   D Lances
Lon Qu   	6.00	22  07  01  14  15  08  08  02   C Swords
Donnel   	2.00	17  05  00  03  03  12  03  01   E Lances                              	

[spoiler=Chapter 5]This chapter sucks more than chapter 2. I have no idea how they made that possible, but it is. So many flying enemies, a map that HEAVILY favors them, and same turn reinforcements (yeah, everybody just LOVES those) makes this just...evil. The way to low turn this, at least what I found, is to rush straight up to where Ricken & Co. are, so a rescue staff is not needed here. I hope that the later chapters aren't this demanding, tbh, because this is just stupid.

Turn 1:

Freddy pairs with Sumia, flies 1L 1D of northern dark mage, switches so that Freddy is in front, and ORKOs with javelin. Lon'Qu pairs with Stahl, moves 1D of barbarian of nearest fort northwards, and doubles with Killing Edge. The turn goes a little differently depending on if he crits and ORKOs or if he doesn't.

>Lon'Qu Crits: Vaike pairs with Virion, moves 1D of Lon'Qu, and attacks myrm; Ricken chips myrm. Chrom pairs with MU and finishes him off. MU levels up, hopefully gaining a point in SPD.

>Lon'Qu Fails: Vaike pairs with Virion, moves 1D of Lon'Qu, and attacks myrm; Ricken finishes off berserker. Chrom pairs with MU and tries to finish myrm off -- for this to work, one double attack has to have been proc'd on myrm, or MU needs to crit. If this works, MU levels up, hopefully gaining a point in SPD; if not, reset.

Sully moves 1D of Virion, steals Vaike, and equips a bronze sword. Turn ends with Maribelle healing either Lon'Qu (if he got hit) or MU who gaining HP on level (for free XP). EP consists of Freddy killing the barbarian and mage nearest him and either killing the nearest myrm or leaving him low on health; Sully counters the nearest south barbarian.

Turn 2:

There are two possibilities here -- either the leftmost wyvern moves so that it is in range of an iron sword and gets ORKO'd, or it is only in range of javelin and does not (except in rare instances where Luna procs twice). If myrm from turn 1 is still alive and wyvern is not ORKO'd, a reset is required, as you cannot finish off the myrm without being killed by the wyvern on turn 2 EP; if myrm is dead, wyvern will suicide on MU on EP. If myrm from turn 1 is still alive and wyvern is ORKO'd, then Virion will finish the myrm off; otherwise, he will go 1R of where MU is at the end of PP.

>If MU Gained SPD: Ricken moves 1U of MU (on fort) and trades MU his Elwind in exchange for a Thunder tome. MU moves 2D of eastmost wyvern (1U from Ricken) and ORKOs the wyvern.

>If MU Failed: Same as before, except requires a paired attack, since MU does not double. If wyvern does not die, reset.

Maribelle heals Sully if she needs it; otherwise, she heals Freddy if she can. Lon'Qu moves 3R? of fort, in range of myrm and barbarian above him but just outside the range of the nearest wyvern. If both barbarian and myrm hit him, he will die, but this is very unlikely. EP consists of Sully countering the nearest south barbarian, MU possibly killing a rogue wyvern, and, hopefully, Lon'Qu killing the barbarian and at least chipping the myrm.

Turn 3:

Sully switches to Vaike and has him finish off the nearest southern barbarian that has been harassing her for two turns. Ricken and Virion combine to kill the myrm chipped by Lon'Qu. MU moves where the recently killed myrm is, right on the edge of the nearest wyvern's attack range. Freddy moves to the fort nearest him and attacks the myrm 1U 1L of him -- this will allow him to kill off the dark mage, barbarian, and myrm on EP. Depending on if Lon'Qu is full health or not, there are two options:

>Lon'Qu Dodged Like a Boss: Lon'Qu attacks myrm 2D from Vaike and hopefully crits; however, if he does not OHKO and gets hit on PP, then he is healed by Maribelle. This means he only has to dodge at least one of the myrm and dark mage's attacks on EP (since Nosferatu has crap hit, this isn't hard).

>Lon'Qu Dodged Like a Fatty: Maribelle heals Lon'Qu before he attacks the myrm 2D of Vaike with a killing edge. Lon'Qu hopefully kills him with a crit; if not, Lon'Qu has to dodge both attacks, which is far rarer, but HAS happened in my attempts.

On EP, Freddy kills all non-wyvern enemies near him and counters a couple wyverns (one of whom is the boss), Lon'Qu kills a southern barbarian and possibly a myrm, and MU ORKO's a wyvern with Elwind on counter. Two barbarians spawn from the two bottom left forts and move ominously towards Lon'Qu & Co.

Turn 4:

Freddy notices a gap in the wyverns, switches to an iron sword (he ORKOs the wyverns with it) and moves so that he is within 7 spaces of both two top-right towers, which will spawn wyvern reinforcements on turn 4 EP -- he may or may not be able to kill a wyvern from this position, but it doesn't matter, since they'll almost all suicide on him on EP anyways. MU moves 5U, which should be exactly two spaces away from another wyvern, which he will ORKO with Elwind. Now, depengin on how the wyverns were arranged last EP near Freddy, MU may or may not be in range of one of them. If so, and if MU is low on health, Maribelle heals him before he moves. If not, she will heal Lon'Qu. Lon'Qu ORKOs the southern dark mage who attacked him last EP, and everybody else gets out of range of the short axe barbarian and separates for that little extra offensive oomph necessary next turn.

EP consists of MU possibly killing a third wyvern, every other wyvern suiciding on Freddy, and the two turn 3 reinforcements move within attacking range of Lon'Qu & Co.

Turn 5:

Lon'Qu is healed by Maribelle and attacks the 1-range barbarian reinforcement from turn 3 and ORKOs him. Everybody else who is not ORKO'd by the barbarian (Virion, Sully) chip him; IIRC, Vaike lands the final blow since he has a high ATK but would die on counter.

Final Thoughts:

Such a sketchy chapter where so much stuff can go wrong, especially when you try to rush it. However, I have a ton of contingency plans, but even they have significant failure rates. It took me forever to refine the strat to make it work, and it may not even be a one-size-fits-all strat since it requires certain stat thresholds on certain characters to pull off. It reminds me too much of chapter 2. I heard people maligning this chapter, and I initially doubted it, but DAMN were they right.

UNIT 		LEVEL	HP  ST  MG  SK  SP  LK  DF  RS   WEP LEVEL                  	
Chrom    	4.74	23  09  02  11  10  06  08  01   D Swords
Books    	10.53   28  06  14  11  12  09  12  07   E Swords C Tomes
Frederick	7.92	34  18  03  17  14  10  18  06   A Swords A Lances D Axes
Lissa    	3.38	18  01  05  05  06  10  04  06   E Staves
Virion   	3.59	20  06  00  10  06  08  06  02   D Bows
Sully    	3.12	21  08  01  09  08  06  08  02   E Swords D Lances
Vaike    	4.15	30  10  01  08  06  05  05  00   D Axes 
Miriel   	1.00	18  00  06  05  07  06  03  04   E Tomes
Stahl    	2.25	22  08  00  07  06  05  08  01   E Swords E Lances
Sumia    	1.54	18  06  03  11  11  08  05  07   D Lances
Kellam   	5.00	21  10  00  07  05  03  12  02   D Lances
Lon Qu   	7.90	23  07  01  15  16  08  08  03   C Swords
Donnel   	2.00	17  05  00  03  03  12  03  01   E Lances
Maribelle	3.88	18  00  05  04  06  05  03  06   D Staves
Ricken   	3.48	20  03  08  06  05  10  06  03   D Tomes                              	

Edited March 15, 2013 by Kngt_Of_Titania

[Tormod]

I think in general anything with unlimited or random access is off-limits? Repeatable content (Streetpass, DLC, Spotpass Teams, Challenges), randomized content (Field merchants, barracks), and probably the 'free' content (Spotpass items, Renown items) - but if you're on Lunatic I can understand forgiving the latter.

Event Tiles and Barracks are a bit odd. Technically you can get some great stuff from them, but Event Tiles are right there in the stages themselves and Barracks are pretty much the same bonuses (just given to you for picking up the DS after certain periods of time pbasically)

But... I dunno. I don't know if there's already been an established set of rules/expectations for tier listing or draft tournaments, but you could look that up if you're interested?

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

I think in general anything with unlimited or random access is off-limits? Repeatable content (Streetpass, DLC, Spotpass Teams, Challenges), randomized content (Field merchants, barracks), and probably the 'free' content (Spotpass items, Renown items) - but if you're on Lunatic I can understand forgiving the latter.

Event Tiles and Barracks are a bit odd. Technically you can get some great stuff from them, but Event Tiles are right there in the stages themselves and Barracks are pretty much the same bonuses (just given to you for picking up the DS after certain periods of time pbasically)

But... I dunno. I don't know if there's already been an established set of rules/expectations for tier listing or draft tournaments, but you could look that up if you're interested?

Yeah, I've been stepping on event tiles, but I think I'm going to ban the items. The small xp and support level bonuses are balanced with the opportunity cost, but the items are not.

The ADHD in me wants to do Barracks, but I know the random nature of it sucks.

[Gergeshwan]

Since you have to complete the pairings to access the children's paralogues, maybe skirmishes could be allowed for the purposes of pairing characters? Otherwise you have to waste deployments slots on a bunch of weak, underleveled characters during the actual chapters. I haven't gotten to Lunatic yet, but I can't imagine that would be a good thing.

[eclipse]

Some of the beginning skirmishes can be difficult. Right before Chapter 4, I got one with a ton of El-mages, and the boss had Arcwind. For the sake of pairings, I think you'll have to do some research as to how much "support" each action gives, and determine what to do from there.

[zahlman]

If you care about Ricken and Maribelle then you are going to need to do Donnel's paralogue before that for the Rescue staff.

Also how the hell did you get 6 turns on Chapter 2 and 4 on Chapter 3, that's amazing.

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

If you care about Ricken and Maribelle then you are going to need to do Donnel's paralogue before that for the Rescue staff.

Also how the hell did you get 6 turns on Chapter 2 and 4 on Chapter 3, that's amazing.

Chapter 2 is the only chapter where I had to deal with low-ish success rates. Basically, if Freddy can OHKO the myrms with a silver lance and survive turn 1 with a silver lance equipped instead of a bronze one shown on the youtube videos, I can reasonably pull it off. Doesn't require crits or anything like that, although I think I missed at a vital time once and had to pray a double attack proc'd.

Chapter 3 strat is pretty much guaranteed (at least with my mildly STR blessed Freddy) except for the boss. If Freddy is level 5, he can ORKO her with silver w/o Luna if STR blessed, but can kill her otherwise with a Luna proc. Freddy at almost all levels can ORKO her with a proc of a MU attack, which was like...25% - 30% per strike? Comes to a 50/50 chance. Freddy was level 5 the first time I faced her, level 4.65 when I accidentally saved over the wrong file and had to re-do chapters 2 and 3.

Chapter 4 was rather reliable if you can get Freddy to ORKO the short axe fighters with a forged javelin and a STR tonic.

If I get short on supports right before final chapter, I might have to support grind to open up paralogues. Since the enemies give 1 xp per kill, I think it should be safe to do. I wouldn't want to, though. It's odd having to get S rank supports to open up chapters.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Kngt_Of_Titania

[Othin]

Requiring children Paralogues doesn't make any sense, and good luck actually winning P17 ever.

[Sol Hiryu]

I think it would probably be easier to assume that most children won't be recruited in an efficiency run simply due to the fact that you probably won't have enough time or resources to train and support an extended team. You could probably get one or two children paralogues, depending on your team setup, but there's no way you'll get all of them if you're aiming to keep turn counts low.

[Redwall]

Requiring children Paralogues doesn't make any sense, and good luck actually winning P17 ever.

That Paralogue can be doable without grinding, actually (I did it right before Ch. 23). I used a Rescue stave to move Tiki one space north of her starting position, allowing me to form a barrier using five doubled-up unit pairs, with Avatar positioned so that three of those pairs would receive a Rally Rainbow each turn. I'm not sure if speed runs of this game will wind up with five capable combat units, though.

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

Just finished Paralogue 1 in 7 turns and managed somehow to get the Rescue staff, a killer lance, and Donnel the level he needs to stay in the group.

I feel like a boss, tbh. Took long enough to formulate the strategy, and it feels good to see it succeed.

Basically I needed a +1 MT iron sword and bronze lance forge, a DEF tonic for Lon'Qu to prevent being OHKO'd at base, and STR and DEF tonic for Freddy so he can 2HKO the final boss and survive long enough without heals to get there, and a STR tonic for Donnel. The beginning requires 1 or 2 crits from a killing edge, which is rather likely since he doubles when paired and has a 30% crit chance, but past that, it's rather reliable -- mostly 30% hit chance for axe users, 40% for the boss, and 80%+ hit chances from the party.

EDIT: I'll do the chapter again if somebody tells me how to take a video of it and YouTube it. I think some people may be curious or won't believe me unless I provide the vids, which I can understand.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Kngt_Of_Titania

[Redwall]

Your turncounts are pretty good. You can probably figure this out on your own, but Prologue can be done in four turns (at a reasonable success rate of ~19%, after accounting for every possible Silver Lance miss, Dual Attacks, and the like, though I didn't bother accounting for the non-boss enemies getting Gamble) with Chrom getting the boss kill.

I'm curious as to how your character levels look, as a reliable (> 50%) clear of the final boss requires a strong Falchion user, and feeding Frederick so many boss kills makes it more difficult to get Chrom some levels. Even as early as Chapter 9, assuming all characters are recruited, I found that a quick clear (four turns, before any reinforcements appear) required a decently strong Chrom capable of ORKOing Wyverns when paired with Avatar.

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

Your turncounts are pretty good. You can probably figure this out on your own, but Prologue can be done in four turns (at a reasonable success rate of ~19%, after accounting for every possible Silver Lance miss, Dual Attacks, and the like, though I didn't bother accounting for the non-boss enemies getting Gamble) with Chrom getting the boss kill.

I'm curious as to how your character levels look, as a reliable (> 50%) clear of the final boss requires a strong Falchion user, and feeding Frederick so many boss kills makes it more difficult to get Chrom some levels. Even as early as Chapter 9, assuming all characters are recruited, I found that a quick clear (four turns, before any reinforcements appear) required a decently strong Chrom capable of ORKOing Wyverns when paired with Avatar.

Any of the other chapters able to be cleared faster? I'm particularly curious about Chapters 1 and 2 as well.

[Redwall]

The Prologue is the only chapter where I seem to have beaten you so far. My best Chapter 1 clear was the same as yours: four turns. I only got eight turns on Chapter 2, though; I wanted to conserve my Silver Lance uses and get Chrom some experience. Your Chapter 3 strat sounds pretty similar to mine (which took five turns), though I had to get a bit creative with partner swaps since Frederick only had +1 Str from his base in my playthrough.

Hopefully you still have a Silver Lance use remaining, as Chapter 5 can be made a bit easier with a Silver Lance on turn 1.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Redwall

[Crimson Red]

I honestly think your turn counts are amazing and that you have nothing to be ashamed of

though I know that some of you people are just freaks at this game and get competitive about your LTC runs

but seriously I think the first 5 chapters took me like 200 some turns (EDIT: combined), once I beat Lunatic mode I'll be sure to record it and post it here >_>'

Edited February 19, 2013 by Burning Gravity

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

So, thanks to Redwall, I did manage to do a 4 turn clear of prologue. I'll be restarting the run, but it should take way less time since I know what to do strat-wise now with the early chapters. I'm doing some refining, so I should be using fewer uses of silver lance on the early chapters and feeding a few more kills to Avatar/MU/Virion to help with chip/prepping for Final.

I'll be adding a chapter by chapter analysis as I clear the game, which is now possible since I can record stats/strats while they're still available and fresh in my head. Prologue and chapter 1 are done right now, and I'm currently writing both sections.

[Redwall]

OK, here's how I did the Prologue:

Turn 1 player phase: Chrom, who unequips his weapon to prevent unwanted Dual Attacks, partners with Frederick (to improve his Silver Lance accuracy) and they KO the center Myrmidon from his right. Lissa partners with Robin, who remains stationary.

Turn 1 enemy phase: Barbarians attack Frederick, who counters with Silver Lance at 86% accuracy on each. The myrmidon KOs himself from an enemy phase counter. The mage advances to either 1L1U from the LHS of the upper-right partition (case 1), or to 1D from the RHS of the upper-right partition (case 2). As I will illustrate, it does not matter.

Turn 2 player phase: Robin KOs a Barbarian with Bronze Sword. If case 1 occurred, Frederick KOs the Mage from 1D below the Mage with his Silver Lance. If case 2 occurred, Frederick KOs the Mage from 1R relative to the Mage.

Turn 2 enemy phase: The remaining Barbarian from the first group of enemies KOs himself from Robin's Bronze Sword counter. A Myrmidon from the top KOs himself from Fred's counter. The remaining enemies move down, with varying positions (which again won't matter)

Turn 3 player phase: Chrom reequips his weapon to increase the odds that the remaining Barbarians will be dead by the end of turn 4. As a result of turn 2 enemy phase, multiple configurations can occur (I won't separately treat the Barbarian positioning since I never found it to matter). Frederick must KO the Mage while cutting off squares accessible to the Myrmidon. One sample one would be that the Mage is 2U from the LHS of the partition, and the Myrm is 1U from the RHS of the partition, in which case Frederick must position himself 1U from the LHS of the partition and KO the mage, though I've never had trouble resolving any other configuration(s). Robin and Lissa must position themselves to be able to trade the Bronze Sword to Fred on the next turn. Robin also heals with a Vulnerary.

Turn 3 enemy phase: The two Barbarians get hit with Silver Lance, while the Myrm kills himself.

Turn 4 player phase: Robin trades the Bronze Sword to Frederick and uses Thunder on a Barbarian. Frederick advances to the boss with the Bronze Sword equipped (though maybe I should have had Silver Lance equipped to give me a chance at not having to dodge; was Fred's accuracy on the boss 100% with the Silver Lance for you?) and switches to Chrom, who attacks with Rapier.

Turn 4 enemy phase: If it hasn't been killed with a Dual Attack, the remaining Barbarian dies from Robin's counter, and the boss dies now or during player phase.

A while back I had EDIT: Looks like I still have! a pretty exhaustive writeup prepared in which I accounted not only for the Dual Attacks and required dodge or crit, but also for things like the boss's critical hit rate, Silver Lance misses (I treated accuracy on the Mages and Myrmidons as unity, but accounted for my four 86%-accurate hits), and Robin's shaky 82% accuracy when using Thunder. From looking quickly at your calculations, your math seems correct, though even putting the Silver Lance misses and things aside, somehow I recall that final conditional probability (given all the other stuff that needed to happen) being a bit higher. Blah, I dunno. My cumulative success rate after accounting for everything was 19% or so, and I suspect that the cumulative success rate for your own 4-turn clear is not qualitatively different. But I guess some amount of luck is permitted in LTCs, so whatever.

For convenience, we account separately for the probability Garrick dies during turn 4 player phase and the probability he dies during turn 4 enemy phase.

The probability of a 4-turn clear is P = FredSilv * Cond_BanditsDie * (GarDieEnPhase + GarDiePlPhase).

FredSilv is the probability that Frederick's Silver Lance hits all four axe bandits. Although he must also connect on all his other attack attempts, his accuracy on the other units is rarely below 100% and never below 97% when paired with Chrom.

Cond_BanditsDie is the conditional probability, given Frederick connects on every Silver Lance attack that both axe bandits starting near Garrick die by the end of turn 4.

GarDiePlPhase is the probability Garrick dies during turn 4 player phase.

GarDieEnPhase is the probability Garrick dies during turn 4 enemy phase.

ChromSurv is the probability that Chrom, who is at full HP at the start of turn 4 player phase, survives two attempted attacks from Garrick: one during player phase and one during enemy phase.

Frederick's accuracy on the axe bandits is 86% with the Silver Lance when Chrom is doubled with him. Frederick must hit all four axe bandits with the Silver Lance (he also has to hit all the non-axe users, but his accuracy on those other guys is rarely below 100% when paired); the odds of this happening are FredSilv = FredAcc^4 if we assume Silver Lance accuracy against non-axe units is 100%.

We next compute the conditional probability, given Frederick's Silver Lance successfully hits the axe bandits, that the two axe bandits near Garrick die by the end of turn 4. Although Robin is in position to kill both with Thunder, a Dual Attack from Chrom will KO any axe bandit who has been hit with Frederick's Silver Lance.

The probability that neither bandit receives a Dual Attack but both get hit by Thunder (one during player phase, the other during enemy phase) is: [RobinAcc * (1 - ChromDualAtk)]^2

The probability that one bandit receives a Dual Attack, and the other is not hit by a Dual Attack but gets hit by Thunder during turn 4 player phase is: 2 * [ChromDualAtk * ChromAcc] * [(1 - ChromDualAtk) * RobinAcc]

The probability that that one bandit receives a Dual Attack, and the other is not hit by a Dual Attack but dodges Thunder during player phase AND is hit by Thunder during turn 4 enemy phase is: 2 * [ChromDualAtk * ChromAcc] * [(1 - ChromDualAtk) * (1 - RobinAcc) * RobinAcc]

The probability that both bandits are hit with Dual Attacks is: (ChromDualAtk * ChromAcc)^2

Finally, the conditional probability, given Frederick's Silver Lance successfully hits the axe bandits, that the two axe bandits near Garrick die by the end of turn 4 is simply the sum of these terms: Cond_BanditsDie = [RobinAcc * (1 - ChromDualAtk)]^2 + 2 * [ChromDualAtk * ChromAcc] * [(1 - ChromDualAtk) * RobinAcc] + 2 * [ChromDualAtk * ChromAcc] * [(1 - ChromDualAtk) * (1 - RobinAcc) * RobinAcc] + 2 * GarAcc * (1 - GarAcc) * (1 - GarCrit)

The probability that Chrom survives Garrick's two attempted attacks is:

Chrom does not score a Critical on his first try, and one attack hits Chrom AND is not a Critical: 2 * (1 - ChromCrit) * GarAcc * (1 - GarAcc) * (1 - GarCrit)

Chrom does not score a Critical on his first try, and no attacks hit Chrom: (1 - ChromCrit) * (1 - GarAcc)^2

(The factor of 2 is there to account for two possibilities: either the first attack or the second attack can miss.)

Add these together to get ChromSurv = 2 * (1 - ChromCrit) * GarAcc * (1 - GarAcc) * (1 - GarCrit) + (1 - ChromCrit) * (1 - GarAcc)^2

The conditional probability, given Chrom survives Garrick's two attempted attacks, that Chrom kills Garrick at the end of turn 4 enemy phase is given by the pigeonhole principle: the only way that Garrick still survives at the end of turn 4 enemy phase is if Chrom hits twice with the Rapier (Rapier has 100% accuracy against Garrick when supported) but fails on both attempts to either roll a Critical or a Dual Attack.

conditional probability Garrick survives turn 4, given Chrom did not land a Rapier Critical on his first attack AND he survived Garrick's two attempted attacks: Cond_GarSurv = (1 - ChromCrit) * (1 - ChromDualAtk)^2

There is only one instance of (1 - ChromCrit) in this conditional probability since Chrom only attacks once during enemy phase and since we assumed that Chrom's first Rapier strike did not score a Critical. However, two factors of (1 -ChromDualAtk) are present since there are two chances for a Dual Attack--one during player phase, and one during enemy phase--following Chrom's player phase attack assuming Chrom survives Garrick's two attempted attacks. Hence, the conditional probability, given Garrick attacks twice and fails to kill Chrom, that Garrick dies on turn 4 enemy phase is: Cond_GarDieEnPhase = 1 - Cond_GarSurv

Chrom and Frederick each have 100% accuracy with Rapier and Bronze Sword respectively when supported, so we need not account separately for their hit rates against Garrick. For simplicity, I assumed Frederick's Critical rate to be 0%.

Assuming Chrom's first Rapier strike did not land a Critical on Garrick, the probability Garrick dies during enemy phase is: GarDieEnPhase = ChromSurv * Cond_GarDieEnPhase

The probability Garrick dies during turn 4 player phase from Chrom's first Rapier attack is simply equal to ChromCrit: GarDiePlPhase = ChromCrit.

We now have the probability that Garrick and all his supporting cast die by the end of turn 4. It is kind of low, but bear in mind that the many of the instances in which the 4-turn count fails won't result in any character deaths; often, the result will simply be that the clear time will increase. Barring something rare like a midgame non-boss Critical landing on Frederick, the only decision in the presented tactic that puts any characters in a position to die is the choice to have Chrom strike Garrick, which results in Chrom's death 1 - ChromSurv = 32% of the time; virtually all other instances in which something does not go according to plan (for example, Frederick misses a Silver Lance attack against an axe bandit) can be salvaged with Vulneraries and/or Lissa at the cost of a higher turn count. It should be evident this risky decision is clearly not necessary to complete the level since Frederick is much better suited than Chrom to fight the boss, so although I gambled a bit, I certainly didn't do it with the intent of making the game easier; I've gotten much more reliable (albeit slower) completions on the Prologue in Lunatic while distributing more experience to my non-Frederick characters--for example, using more than five turns enables me to reliably get Lissa some experience, consume fewer Silver Lance uses, and distribute a greater number of kills to Chrom and Robin while winning the actual fight the majority of the time--so if anything, my RNG abuse here made the next few levels harder, albeit probably not by much.

With that said, I definitely won't gamble as much from here on out, if only because I don't want to continue justifying risky tactics with similarly detailed projections (among other things, the possibility of Dual Attacks and Criticals makes the math extremely annoying). I'll continue playing at a brisk pace for at least the next few levels, but may slow down at some point as more gameplay options become available.

For simplicity, I didn't bother accounting for the possibility of getting hit with a Critical by the axe bandits (sometimes there will be some number of them with Gamble, but the frequency of Gamble appearance is unknown to me; in any case, it doesn't change my estimated success rate by much), nor did I account for the possibility of Frederick scoring Criticals on any of the axe bandits.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Redwall

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

Redwall, it looks like your strat is probably more reliable than mine, if not for the reason that it doesn't rely on which way the mage moves on turn 1, while mine feeds a little more experience to people not named Frederick. To be honest, I was too focused on feeding MU/Chrom kills that I never thought of just...leaving them behind, like you did (although the total experience they get with your strat is still considerable). I did a trial run of your strat, and it seems to work out perfectly.

Anyways, I finished chapters 2-4, and will update the OP shortly.

EDIT: I forgot to take into account Frederick's hit rate with Silver Lance. Since it is 86% displayed hit, and I *think* true hit is in this game, he has roughly a 96% chance to hit, so I just rounded it up to 100% to make the math easier and still keep an accurate approximation. My analysis was not nearly as comprehensive as yours, though.

Edited February 24, 2013 by Kngt_Of_Titania

[Redwall]

just noticed you're using a male Avatar. That's probably suboptimal since the female Avatar can reclass to a female-exclusive class, the Dark Flier, and learn the Galeforce skill, which allows you another move if you kill an enemy during player phase (only activates for one kill, though, and probably won't be a factor until late in the game). It's certainly not necessary to complete the game with qualitatively low turncounts (which is what I did without Galeforce, though even this early in the game my turncounts were generally not as good as yours), but because it seems you're really looking to optimize, you might want to reconsider your choice of gender. Enemies with Wind magic and bows are abundant late in the game, by which time you can reclass to something else while retaining the Galeforce skill, but the middle third of the game ought to permit safe use of the Dark Flier. Chapter 25 probably needs a Dark Flier to be one-turned, but some of the other lategame chapters may be easier with a non-flying Avatar.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Redwall

[Gergeshwan]

Are you allowing Renown for this?

EDIT- Never mind, saw your answer up there. I was working on a 3 turn of Chapter 4 using a few of the earlier items, but it's out of the rules here.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Gergeshwan

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

@Redwall: I thought about it, and I think I'll just post that I used a male avatar for this run. If I do a Lunatic+ efficiency run in the future, I'll try out Female!MU. Kind of sucks that one of the most broken skills in the game is gender-specific, though. Actually, it really sucks.

@Gergeshwan: I'm mostly curious...what Renown items were you planning on using and what was your idea for 3-turning it? Swinging the 4-turn, it didn't feel like I could feasibly 3-turn it with what I had available, but maybe with a different approach, I could. I mainly expect a 3-turn clear to be largely Frederick with a 1-2 range weapon charging down the middle and praying he lives.

[Gergeshwan]

Frederick with a Strength and Defense Tonic, Orsin's Hatchet (forged Javelin would work, but he barely survives as it is) and Chrom goes up the left, and kills the Fighter and Mage. He needs a total of 52 HP + Def + res to survive. Avatar takes a Spirit Dust and Speedwing, pairs with Sumia, and kills the Fighter on enemy phase. You need something like 12 Mag and a +4 mt Thunder for that to work, which probably means selling the Bullion too. There's also the possibility of rigging a double attack from Sumia.

On turn 2, Frederick uses an Elixir and moves in range of the Knight and Fighter to the left. The Knight probably won't die, but that's fine. Someone who doesn't get double weakens the Mage, then Avatar kills it, staying out of the other Fighter's range. On turn 3, Frederick attacks the boss from the left with the Silver Lance, and can ORKO if Chrom procs a double with the Glass Sword. He kills both Knights on enemy phase. Avatar gets healed again and enters the last Fighter's range.

The problem so far is that MU can't survive the first Fighter + Mage hit even after a heal from Lissa. I might need a Robe, which would be a jump from 1200 to 2200 renown.

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

Avatar gets healed again and enters the last Fighter's range.

The problem so far is that MU can't survive the first Fighter + Mage hit even after a heal from Lissa. I might need a Robe, which would be a jump from 1200 to 2200 renown.

I know that this sounds like an incredibly stupid question, but since you don't explicitly mention it...when you move MU into the last fighter's range, do you have him chug a vulnerary?

[Gergeshwan]

Yeah. My bad, forgot to mention it. Lissa heals on turn 2 as well, but no Vulnerary there because Avatar needs to attack.

EDIT- A few snags came up in playtesting, but I did complete it. I forgot the Knight on the left has a Vulnerary, so he needs to be ORKOd. Frederick takes the right side and Avatar the left. Since the Knights also aggro even if out of attack range, the left Knight can't go to Frederick. Avatar needs a +5 mt Thunder (or 13 Mag) to ORKO him. Avatar also needs to be able to survive both Fighters and the Mage without the Vulnerary, which took 24 HP, 8+2 Def, and 6+3 Res. On the plus side, since there's only one Knight left, Chrom can get the boss kill and survive.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Gergeshwan

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

Sorry for the delay! Just had to go to Montana for graduate school interviews and finish up my last days at my current job.

Just managed to beat Chapter 5 in 5 turns (no Rescue use). I know it's a bit slower than I wanted, but I don't know if I have the raw power to complete it in 4 turns without SpotPass or Renown items.

Also, can somebody link me PKL's lunatic run? I heard she cleared the entire thing in just under 90 turns.

Edited March 10, 2013 by Kngt_Of_Titania