Female-only "low" turn counts

[dondon151]

you can probably do this chapter a couple of turns faster if you rescue chained fiora further down the map; also, if the problem is that florina can't see uhai due to fog, the easy solution is to have her use a torch beforehand (unless you didn't get the torch in chapter 13?), or you can go for the EP ORKO by having florina move to uhai's right.

if you're not allowed to rescue chain NPC fiora with male units, i'm pretty sure you can still 5-turn with fiora recruited, since it takes florina only 3 turns to move from a potential fiora recruitment location to uhai's RHS.

there may be a possible 4-turn if you rescue lyn with florina, drop her as far south as you can on turn 2, and then have lyn kill uhai while florina backtracks to recruit fiora.

[blogger]

you can probably do this chapter a couple of turns faster if you rescue chained fiora further down the map; also, if the problem is that florina can't see uhai due to fog, the easy solution is to have her use a torch beforehand (unless you didn't get the torch in chapter 13?), or you can go for the EP ORKO by having florina move to uhai's right.

if you're not allowed to rescue chain NPC fiora with male units, i'm pretty sure you can still 5-turn with fiora recruited, since it takes florina only 3 turns to move from a potential fiora recruitment location to uhai's RHS.

there may be a possible 4-turn if you rescue lyn with florina, drop her as far south as you can on turn 2, and then have lyn kill uhai while florina backtracks to recruit fiora.

The only unit that can rescue Fiora is Florina, which obviously does not solve any problems. I tried to get Fiora to follow Florina south, but the AI makes her wander across the ocean to attack pirates instead. I also tried having Florina transport Lyn, but Lyn gets surrounded by nomads and everybody at the starting position dies. Florina does not 2HKO Uhai, so a 5-turn clear requires either a critical (~5% displayed) or some way to make the AI move Fiora a few more tiles to the right.

To clarify, I am not intentionally turtling or playing slowly. I always start each map with the riskiest strategy I can see and roll back until something actually works.

Edited June 4, 2014 by blogger

[dondon151]

Florina does not 2HKO Uhai, so a 5-turn clear requires either a critical (~5% displayed) or some way to make the AI move Fiora a few more tiles to the right.

then find a way to make fiora move to the right. a 5-turn clear with florina 2RKOing uhai via even an iron sword looks very possible.

To clarify, I am not intentionally turtling or playing slowly. I always start each map with the riskiest strategy I can see and roll back until something actually works.

and i'm exhorting you to try harder.

[General Horace]

cant priscilla rescue fiora

Edited June 4, 2014 by General Horace

[blogger]

then find a way to make fiora move to the right. a 5-turn clear with florina 2RKOing uhai via even an iron sword looks very possible.

and i'm exhorting you to try harder.

I just loaded a save state, and by counting tiles, Fiora can not in fact move any farther to the right (well, she can, but she would also have to go up). Florina needs to travel a minimum distance from the party to kill the two pegasus knights on the west side. The torch does not give her enough range to see Uhai on player phase, but Fiora can scout ahead. In the end though, she ends up just shy of Uhai's right side by one tile. So I can still get that 5-turn clear with a Javelin critical (apparently 11%), to which I have no objection. However, I am not going to redo chapters to save a last turn with criticals because that ship sailed when I did not bother for a 1-turn of C7.

If I let everybody die, I think I can do this in 4 turns. The word "low" is in quotes in the topic title for a reason. I am perfectly satisfied with making a best effort and noting the existence of faster outcomes.

cant priscilla rescue fiora

I think she can, but when Fiora goes the wrong way, she likes to really go the wrong way. If you mean to have Priscilla move Fiora closer to Florina, that takes two turns since nobody can take Fiora from Priscilla. It also does not work because Priscilla is not a pirate and can not walk on water.

Edited June 4, 2014 by blogger

[blogger]

After sitting down and thinking about it, I realized that rescue-dropping Fiora actually does work. It is risky as Fiora needs to survive an enemy phase with this strategy though. I am not sure how its reliability compares to just getting the Javelin critical.

• Turn 1: Florina heads south to kill the oncoming enemies.
• Turn 2: Florina heads back to kill the pirates on the island.
• Turn 3: Priscilla rescues Fiora and heads as close to Florina as she can. Florina takes Fiora from Priscilla and starts heading towards Uhai.
• Turn 4: Florina heads towards Uhai and drops Fiora. Fiora gets attacked by a lot of nomads and hopefully does not move in the wrong direction.
• Turn 5: Florina equips a Silver Lance, talks to Fiora, and heads to the right of Uhai. Uhai moves first and is killed on enemy phase.

Since this results in the same turn count as the critical I passed over, I will not go back and redo the chapter. However, I am going to thank dondon151 for making me think about this.

Edit: I just realized that the ECG can be performed using a torch. I can use this to move Uhai, getting a 100% reliable 3-turn clear. With this in mind, I will definitely go back and retry C19.

For C20, I am looking to see if I can do it faster than 6 turns, which is when Legault makes it to the throne room. Florina seems to be able to reach the boss on turn 4, but without a 2-range unit in the rescue brigade, I do not see a way to get Hector and Lyn to the throne before turn 5. I can skip the Guiding Ring and seize the throne on turn 5, which is one turn slower than the reference LTC I linked earlier.

I am also concerned about Serra and Priscilla's growth. They remain at level 5 with staff ranks halfway between C and B. I am having difficulty getting staff EXP for them as they tend to die. Will they be able to reach A staves and sufficient MAG in time to warp anyone?

Edited June 7, 2014 by blogger

[General Horace]

Once they promote they'll be fine. The defend chapters are godsends for them.

[blogger]

I have redone C19 with a new and improved 3-turn clear that still manages to preserve some nice level ups for the scrub squad. The execution was sadly not as masterfully performed as in the example video, as the thief with the Torch staff is in a different location in HHM.

C19: 3 / 104 turns

Jaffar is an asshole.

I bet Leila would have been way more useful than Nino.

Florina upgrades from flying Marcus to flying Seth. Isn't she adorable?

I had to field Matthew to spy ahead, because I forgot to get the Torch in C13.

This will also work wonders for Serra and Priscilla's staff ranks.

Rebecca's offense is almost usable now.

Minimizing my risks.

Advanced dondon151™ strategies.

Enabling Fiora to make the boss kill.

Uhai needed to be on a forest tile to survive the Mani Katti.

Fiora steals the kill. Her hit rate is terrible.

Florina does not gain any levels with the new plan, but that only costs me one STR and two SPD. She will likely make those up in the next chapter, and I saved a bunch of Javelins. The only issue is that she needs the 23 STR to ORKO Cameron with a Javelin in the next chapter.

Edited June 6, 2014 by blogger

[blogger]

Once they promote they'll be fine. The defend chapters are godsends for them.

I lied. They're actually still level 4. Priscilla gained a level and reached B staves in C20 though.

Fiora is a pretty average unit, needing three STR and SPD gains to begin reliably killing generic enemies. My previous 3-turn clear of C19 left Florina too slow to quickly defeat Cameron and Darin, failing to double either of them with a 2HKO or 3HKO weapon. Fiora could clean up Cameron with the Horseslayer and a poke from Rebecca, but I had to manipulate a Steel Lance critical to handle Darin. A 5-turn clear is possible by rushing Hector to the throne, but it misses out on Legault's Barrier and Guiding Ring. Neither are strictly necessary, but I slow down for them anyway, as having 3 falcoknights makes the triangle attack that much cooler.

C20: 6 / 110 turns

I think Marcus already killed the "Hurricane" back in C15.

Florina, Rebecca, and Fiora manage to deal just enough damage to take this guy out.

Fiora narrowly survives the onslaught of shamans. The Nosferatu shaman is fast enough to avoid being doubled.

I cheated and had Legault grab the Member Card. I'm not sure if I'll use it, since it was against the rules.

Fiora is ready to promote with the Elysian Whip in the next chapter. However, I might leave her as a pegasus knight for a few more chapters, so she can gain a few more points in STR.

Edited June 7, 2014 by blogger

[blogger]

C21 is a fog of war map, which would normally be a bad thing, but I have the power of ECG at my disposal. In 2 turns, I rout nearly all enemies, visit the shops, sell nearly 8000 gold worth of items, get the Wyrmslayer and Elysian Whip, use the arena, and kill the boss. The MVP of this chapter was Priscilla and her Torch staff.

C21: 2 / 112 turns

A monk obtains the Wyrmslayer. Not sure who would use it.


A couple of pegasus knights suicide against Fiora.


Fiora's ghost obtains her promotion item.


Then, it delivers it to her on the following turn.


Rebecca takes the Wyrmslayer from the monk.


A trade chain delivers Oleg's Hero Crest to the shop. The full inventory allows me to buy some weapons at the same time.


The little pegasus knight who could earns another 1000 gold in the arena.


Finally, Oleg borrows an axe to commit suicide.


Can never have enough units.

My party is starting to look much more respectable now that Isadora and Fiora have joined. Once I have Vaida and Farina, I might even be able to perform some of those fancy rescue-dropping shenanigans that are popular in LTC.

[General Horace]

unfourtunately, only Florina and Priscilla can rescue promoted hector. At least all your other units have such low con that even Vaida can rescue them!

[blogger]

unfourtunately, only Florina and Priscilla can rescue promoted hector. At least all your other units have such low con that even Vaida can rescue them!

Does Florina have higher AID than her sisters? Also, why does Hector have to be so fat.

Edited June 7, 2014 by blogger

[General Horace]

Yeah, Flo has one less Con. Unpromoted Farina/Fiora can rescue him though I guess, although you'll need all the combat help you can get.

[blogger]

I completed C22-24, which went by fairly quickly. My main core of Florina, Fiora, and Isadora ( ) has high movement and serviceable combat ability. I have yet to feel the despair that is the female 23 STR cap, but I expect to run into it very soon. Compared to the reference LTC, I lose one turn on C24 to obtain the Earth Seal, as Serra would otherwise need to wait until C32 to promote. Both Serra and Priscilla are halfway between B and A staves and near level 6.50.

C22: 3 / 115 turns

I can never take Kenneth and his bare midriff seriously.

Fiora blocks a chokepoint and nearly dies in the process.

Free items.

Florina lands a clean 2HKO with the Horseslayer.

C23: 4 / 119 turns

Free money.

Bad writing.

For Isadora, I guess?

The only useful ring.

Slow but steady progress.

Married women are no good.

That extra 5% boost to growths will make all the difference. Well, it would if I weren't rigging all the level ups.

C24: 2 / 121 turns

I thought Serra was annoying, but Louise just won't shut up about Pent.

Except he won't give me it until C26.

Does this mean she's no longer a loli?

Evil LTCers 1-turn this chapter and miss this cute dialogue from Nino.

Lyn's on track to hit 24 STR before endgame.

C25 is looking to be harder than normal, since I need to survive for 5 turns to recruit Farina. It remains to be seen if Isadora can handle the southern area by herself, so that Lyn can work on improving her support level. My other issue is that Farina costs 20,000 gold but I only have 8,999 in cash. The Ocean Seal fetches 10,000, but I still need to sell some stuff to make up the remaining 1,001 gold.

Edited June 8, 2014 by blogger

[General Horace]

ocean seal should fetch 25000, you're fine.

[blogger]

ocean seal should fetch 25000, you're fine.

Whoa, I just checked, and you are absolutely correct. No wonder Dart wrecks your funds rank.

For those curious, my current tactician ranking is:

The game clearly does not like my FloFlo abuse, given that 1-star ranking in EXP. Surprisingly, this still averages out to three stars.

Edited June 8, 2014 by blogger

[dondon151]

that's not how tactician stars are calculated

[Chiki]

Your Florina is just too damn good...

[CT075]

The game clearly does not like my FloFlo abuse, given that 1-star ranking in EXP. Surprisingly, this still averages out to three stars.

tactician stars are based on chapters completed

[blogger]

tactician stars are based on chapters completed

I see. Thank you for this information.

It turns out Farina can not be recruited on player phase, so the minimum possible turn count for C25 is 6 turns. Not much is lost by skipping her, but the pegasus knight set would be sadly incomplete without her.

I use the extra turns to force some self-improvement in my units. Fiora caps SPD and reaches 18 STR, setting her for a promotion next chapter. Isadora gains a level and becomes ever so slightly less mediocre. Serra and Priscilla both make it to level 7, but I only have 2 remaining uses of the Barrier staff. Rebecca grows at her usual pace, reaching 16 STR and 18 SPD. Lyn gains a level, reaching 19 STR (she reached her SPD cap long ago).

C25: 6 / 127 turns

Selling useless promotion items. Why the Ocean Seal is valued at 25000 gold is left unexplained.

Florina x Fiora works too.

This is the only time I'll be seeing Karla in this run.

Isadora redeems herself with an unlikely Steel Sword critical.

She's promoting first thing next chapter.

The other two were amazing units, so why not?

"Past results are not indicative of future performance." Wow, her stats suck.

I get the Hammerne in the next chapter, which I may need to use to repair the Barrier staff to get Priscilla/Serra to level 10 by chapter 29. On the other hand, Priscilla and Serra will have 15 and 12 MAG respectively upon promotion. I have this vague feeling that neither of them will be doing much warping of any sort with those stats.

Edited June 17, 2014 by blogger

[Excellen Browning]

Did you consider dumping your stat boosters into Isadora? She's the only combat unit who can't easily be rigged due to prepromoted status.

[blogger]

I finally got back to working on this run. C26 is not an especially tactics-heavy chapter, but there are quite a few objectives to be achieved.

• Obtain Vaida's Uber Spear.
• Obtain the Hammerne.
• Grind for EXP with Serra and Priscilla.
• Grind for Lyn x Florina love points support level.
• Buy a lot of Killer Lances.

I use my remaining Mine on turn 1 to have Vaida trade-chain her Spear to the Shaman on the far left. Louise heads toward the armory to trade in her White Gem for 4 Killing Edges, 2 Killer Bows, and as many Killer Lances as I can afford. Rebecca covers her, using the rightmost ballista to unblock her path. For the remainder of the chapter, Isadora, Rebecca, and Lyn fend off the Wyvern Rider reinforcements from the bottom-right corner.

The Uber Spear has a neat use outside of its combat properties. By equipping another weapon and then re-equipping the Spear, the holder can deal 17 damage to itself. This alleviates the problem of not having enough targets to heal.

C26: 12 / 139 turns

Fiora has 3 STR and 8 SPD to go before she catches up to her little sister.

Lyn can now use bows. Hooray?

I can never tell if I'm supposed to feel bad for Ursula or not.

Objective 1 cleared.

Objective 2 cleared.

Given how late it is in the game, Farina will likely never amount to anything.

Uber Spear staff abuse.

This is the last time money will matter, so there's no sense in saving gold.

Louise fears nothing.

As expected, I have landed in C27 Kenneth version. The snow will be rather annoying.

Edit: Hector is OHKOd by Purge in C27...

Edited July 6, 2014 by blogger