video FE14 Conquest Girls Only LTC (FINISHED!)

[Espinosa]

Rules of the run:

- Hard Mode

- Lowest Turn Counts (LTC)

- Male units aren't allowed to be used in combat, for ferrying or as defensive pair-up bots

- They can however visit villages and open chests

- The challenge starts at chapter 7

- Ebon Wings/Dread Scrolls are allowed

- No Visitor or Online bonuses; the Boots/Dragon Herbs that come with the Special Edition cannot be used

YouTube Playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbSv8zSDR9c3vX7S5HrRwFuM7oJ2qbx5Z

Prologue to Chapter 3 are in this video.

I thought I'd start recording this much later since I was really busy with LTCing Awakening 0% growths on HM, but I came to a point where I need to resolve one big problem (Libra and Anna showed up with their NM bases because of the growths being hacked out), so I needed something else to work on for the time being. I'm pretty well-acquainted with all three paths of Fates from playing the Japanese version, which doesn't seem to have be any different gameplay-wise (maybe some cosmetic differences exist somewhere like elsewhere in the series, but I haven't been able to spot one just yet), so I have a good idea what I'm doing and it's always exciting to start a new LTC run.

I've decided to play without restrictions (other than Low Turn Counts obviously) until chapter 7 and begin the challenge from there with the male units excluded. Maps like chapter 2 and 5 aren't meant to be played with only girls, I think (especially C2), and it's only chapter 7 where units stay in the party for good.

I still have some time to think what exactly the rules of my challenge will be. Namely, I have to answer three highly important questions:

1) Do I use male units for pair-up purposes at all? Early on, there's a glaring lack of units to use and just pairing up MU with Effie leaves you with no more combat units. Not quite sure how I'll achieve objectives like visiting the different villages in chapter 8, for instance. However, allowing to be paired up with males (either without restriction or temporarily) should make the earlygame maps more bearable. This is a challenge though, and sacrifices are expected of one. There's no doubt that a pair-up like Arthur or Jakob makes a huge difference to units' performance later on, especially if compared to having nobody to pair up with at all.

2) Should children units (i.e. female ones) be recruited? This obviously implies a 'yes' answer to the previous question. Without levelling and/or reclassing the fathers, their optimisation will be quite limited and since this runthrough follows an LTC direction, both producing children and doing their paralogues seems largely incompatible with racking up low turn counts.

3) Finally, the problem of using the Dread Fighter/Dark Falcon scrolls. These let me experiment with ideas like Dark Falcon Nyx and give me a mobile and/or powerful unit early on in the game, but is it a better idea to have more options or to stick with the characters' natural options? I'm almost sure I do not want to use the Boots and Dragon Fangs obtained in the same way however (though Azura that's eaten two pairs of Boots is so fun to play with).

I've set up a poll to get some assistance with these difficult decisions, and I'd be grateful if users could speak out about it in this topic too.

As of chapter 7 (which I've been playing and which is about as far from 'easy' as it can get), how I choose to go about these things will influence the playthrough very directly.

I also wonder if I'm going to regret opting for a Cavalier reclass MU and not going with a flying class like Wyvern Rider instead. I think having swords is really important and there's no shortage of fliers just a few maps ahead, especially if the two Dark Falcon scrolls are fair game too.

All in all, pretty excited about how this will turn out.

Turn Counts

Pro 2
C1  4
C2  3
C3  5
C4  7
C5  4
C6  2
C7  10
C7x 7
C8  4
C9  5
C10 11
C11 3
C12 3
C13 3
C14 2
C15 4
C16 2
C17 2
C18 2
C19 5
C20 2
C21 3
C22 2
C23 2
C24 2
C25 1
C26 5
C27 1
E 1
TOTAL 105 turns

Resource Allocation

C4  Goddess Icon - Avatar
C8  Talisman - hoarding
C10 Dracoshield - Selena
C11 Spirit Dust - skipped
C12 Secret Book - Avatar
C13 Arms Scroll - Avatar
C14 Seraph Rone - Azura
C15 Spirit Dust - Avatar
C15 Speedwings - Mozu
C15 Goddess Icon - Avatar
C17 Speedwings - sold
C19 Talisman - Avatar
C20 Secret Book - Avatar
C23 Goddess Icon - Avatar
C24 Speedwings - sold
C25 Dracoshield - Avatar

Edited July 11, 2016 by Espinosa

[ruadath]

Sounds awesome! I won't be following until (if/when) I actually get the game for myself but good luck! Curious though as to why you choose to do a Girls Only Run first when (as far as I am aware) regular LTC hasn't yet been explored.

[Espinosa]

Sounds awesome! I won't be following until (if/when) I actually get the game for myself but good luck! Curious though as to why you choose to do a Girls Only Run first when (as far as I am aware) regular LTC hasn't yet been explored.

Gwimpage and Shephen from reddit have already done a lot of great work LTCing the games.

Well, I've always been the challenge guy. It's always fun to have additional restrictions or a theme to follow during a run. The draft-like roster makes it a nice introduction to low-turning the entirety of the game too (so far, I'm only really familiar with LTCing just the first 8 or so maps on Hard/Lunatic). Who can resist playing with an all female cast?

[Quintessence]

Imo only gurls. No male, no children. Classic FE style.

[Espinosa]

Chapter 7 has been a really hard map thus far and I really need to decide what I want to do about the usage of male units in the run. If Effie pairs up with Arthur, she starts one-rounding the mooks right away because +4 str/+2 spd is stupidly good. Without it, I have to be really smart about the way the resources are used and units are positioned, and so far it hasn't quite translated into a good turn count.

Right now leaning towards no male units at all. One immediate problem is that I can't put Arthur and Silas anywhere on the map where enemies can't attack them, because I have just two units who can deal damage and enemies are coming from as many as three directions. I'm sure (hope?) it's something that can be managed with a lot more work and thinking dedicated to it. But yeah, LTC gets hard when Paladin Jakob isn't around to laugh at the game.

[XeKr]

hype. ^_^

I'd lean toward allowing males to Pair Up because it's be more entertaining to me (and what about C15...). Especially if you grab the female kids. But either will be interesting.

Edited February 21, 2016 by XeKr

[Espinosa]

There are a lot of unnecessary complications related to recruiting children, actually. For a late joiner like Keaton or Laslow, how am I supposed to get them married while maintain the fast pace of an efficiency run? It seems like breeding and LTC don't quite mix, at least not on a females only run.

Anyway, looks like I've got a 10-turn of chapter 8 figured out, which seems good enough. The reliance on luck is more or less absent, though MU faces a lot of coin flip hit rates on her that shouldn't all connect. I'll see if I can record it tonight.

Though I've begun to wonder if I wouldn't have finished this more efficiently by building an armoury instead, getting Effie and Elise tomes and having them both become Dark Falcons. Probably not because I really need Elise's healing!

Also, 2x Boots / 2x Dragon Herbs sells for 4K gold! Since I may be skipping some of the villages in the next storyline map, this seems suitable for my run. Gotta say this is the oddest use of Boots I've ever found in an LTC run. Having 11 movement this early would be so silly though; I want it to be a run that doesn't smell like cheese.

[XeKr]

It’s not that many battles to build the support. Lazlow to Pieri (mounted so probably used, and fast support growth) and Keaton to Camilla maybe (gives her Str for Hand Axe ohkos). The inefficiency there is similar to slowing down to recruit all characters and not sacrificing any, which is a relatively common restriction. Additional turns in the paralogues will help out too.

But I just kinda want to see some of the child paralogues done efficiently. >_>. They’ll probably be free in drafts and skipped in lowest-tc runs.

Alos, didn’t want to sell the Goddess Icon? I find it’s useful to buy a Javelin or whatever + the heart Seal + tonics, but maybe it’ll prove unnecessary for C8 if Corrin is the Cav. (though I don’t touch the scrolls/herbs these days, even to sell)

Oh and some thoughts re: Wyvern, I was experimenting with it a bit, Bronze Axe + Str+2 is the same mt as Yato early, though no elbow room (but close enough to Prince/ss, which is enough judging by runs with Jakob). Can go Malig Knight later w/ Tomes/Bolt Axe, or +Str for hand axe ohkos. But the lategame is a little concerning to me. Who beats C23 and C27/E bosses? Does Yato bonus against Dragonskin apply like the stats, if it’s just the inventory but not equipped?

Edited February 22, 2016 by XeKr

[Espinosa]

Endgame (and to a much lesser extent Garon) is pretty much the one reason why I chose a sword class. It would be stupid to choose a sword-class otherwise because none of the flying classes can use swords. +def MU isn't exactly a recipe to have much magic for effective Levin Sword use, but I'll see what I can do - befriending Nyx, should I opt for that, can allow me to go Dark Knight for extra +5 mag, having already grabbed Elbow Room and possibly Defender too. I don't think Mr. T in C23 has Dragonskin yet though.

Opting against a flying class set will most likely hurt me in C15, but since MU needn't seize on her own, any other flier can imitate that sort of utility while MU does other things (Shelter duty for instance).

DF1/DF2 can't be sold actually / don't give you any gold... But I think I want at least 1 Dread Fighter and at least 1 Dark Falcon in my army on this run.

I used the Goddess Icon on MU right away. A lot of exposure to enemy attacks early on.

Peri should be instapromoted / babied to not die to attacks easily, but I'm not sure if she'll be all that competent aside from being a Shelter bot.

[Espinosa]

Cleared Mozu's paralogue as well as chapter 8 today. Really not looking forward to doing Nyx's map... The Defence Seal lancers may not be that bad if I can ORKO them though, I think? I might not have the strength to do so without Arthur or Jakob. MU being needed to recruit Nyx should change the experience quite a bit however.

Was the Enfeeble staff priest absent on the Hard Mode version of the map though? That'd be a relief.

Anyway, I should be able to upload the next video for the run tomorrow, hopefully.

[XeKr]

Yeah, the whole 2 tonic + 3 elbow room + 1 defender + 3 gunter + 2 malig knight Pair Up (sub +2 Nyx + 3 Dark Knight/Falcon probably in this run) + 2 spirit dust + 2 weapon rank + 12 levin sword = 27 att before Mag carries you pretty far, even without much of the actual stat.

C15 is only Corrin, Azura if Gunter can’t be used, which is why I brought it up. This is similar enough to the pre-split chapters that maybe an exception can be made though.

[Espinosa]

Yeah, it seems like clever optimisation makes even more of a difference than inflated stats in this game. This I have to say I really like.

Uploaded a video of chapters 4/5/6, LTC'd with a full party still.

I will leave it to somebody a lot more patient to go for a sub-7 turn of chapter 4, but I was quite positively surprised chapter 5 is reliably 4-turned on Hard (not doable on Lunatic because of how many reinforcements come from all directions at once).

[Ayra]

Holy eff! I'll definitively be watching this.

My first playthrough was a female-only run on Hard/Classic on all runs, but there was no efficiency involved. I did allow myself usage of the male units until I could field a full female team, and I did grind supports to get the children faster (and replace the males) in My Castle battles. Efficiency wasn't a concern at all, just surviving was enough. Even with that in mind, I found my playthrough to be pretty darn hard (and fun). Looking forward to see you do what I did, except a whole heck of a lot better.

[Espinosa]

So I found a way to 5-turn chapter 9 while still obtaining the Rescue staff, which is supposed to shave off 2 turns from the completion at a point where I please (probably two of the maps prior to Fuga's chapter where I obtain the 2nd staff).

It looks like 4 turns may be possible with a Paladin MU; however, this makes my exp gain dreadful for a long while and might render the Avatar unable to fulfil the harder objectives later on with much weaker stats. The longer I postpone the promotion, the better MU should be in the endgame.

Recruiting Nyx doesn't merely not cost any turns but probably helps clear the map efficiently but that's because I have a Dark Flier and can thus reach her on turn 1. I'm sceptical to the possibility of turning Nyx into a proficient combat unit (it's mainly her durability and to a much lesser extent luck) but she can do good things if promoted quickly and can give MU Dark Knight for higher base magic.

[Upside-DownFish]

I'll be interested in seeing if Rinka ends up being any good

[Espinosa]

I'd be curious how Rinkah would play too, but she's in the Birthright version of the game.

Chapter 7 in 10 turns.

Having just one proficient combat unit slows down the rout considerably. That said, Effie and Elise are both pretty useful and MU wouldn't ORKO the paired-up Faceless without the Effie pair-up, triggering Speed Seal.

I've also finalised the run's rules and put up a playlist link in the opening post!

[Elieson]

I wanna see Dark Falcon Nyx steal the spotlighttttttttt

[Espinosa]

I wanna see Dark Falcon Nyx steal the spotlighttttttttt

Since there are no flying sword classes, tome-oriented Dark Falcons are the only fliers with a weapon triangle advantage against bow users! Not that you want to try your luck though...

DF Nyx is less bulky than a Dark Knight but her speed really skyrockets. If I decide to reclass her, it'll be after she gets Dark Mage's +2 mag dmg skill.

I also wonder if going Sky Knight with Selena is really such a good idea. I have plenty of fliers and I'm not sure if my Rescue user really needs to be flying in order to shave off turns. I can always have a flier pair-up with Elise or something. I'm saying this because I've found Selena's lance rank terribly time-consuming to build in order to ensure an acceptable level of combat (which she needs for self-improvement) and I could just turn her into a decent foot unit for combat by going Dread Fighter or Bow Knight/Hero (former not a foot unit obviously).

[Elieson]

Since there are no flying sword classes, tome-oriented Dark Falcons are the only fliers with a weapon triangle advantage against bow users! Not that you want to try your luck though...

DF Nyx is less bulky than a Dark Knight but her speed really skyrockets. If I decide to reclass her, it'll be after she gets Dark Mage's +2 mag dmg skill.

I also wonder if going Sky Knight with Selena is really such a good idea. I have plenty of fliers and I'm not sure if my Rescue user really needs to be flying in order to shave off turns. I can always have a flier pair-up with Elise or something. I'm saying this because I've found Selena's lance rank terribly time-consuming to build in order to ensure an acceptable level of combat (which she needs for self-improvement) and I could just turn her into a decent foot unit for combat by going Dread Fighter or Bow Knight/Hero (former not a foot unit obviously).

My bigger concern is the skillset that she gets for points beyond Sky Knight.

Darting Blow and Rally Speed seem integral to this playthrough. It's a shame to waste her D+.5 Sword rank but that support makes Camilla and Effie all the better lategame

[Espinosa]

My bigger concern is the skillset that she gets for points beyond Sky Knight.

Darting Blow and Rally Speed seem integral to this playthrough. It's a shame to waste her D+.5 Sword rank but that support makes Camilla and Effie all the better lategame

Darting Blow may help double faster enemy types on player phase but doesn't solve the problem of having low Might even with forged lances.

Rally Speed is definitely a useful thing to have, but I suppose it's flying staves that's the selling point here. The question is whether I can count on Selena to have unique turns to save with it.

[Elieson]

Flying Rescue has to have a niche somewhere...

[Espinosa]

The notorious Conquest chapter 10 is finally giving me trouble, the reason for that being the shortage of playable units to assist with the defend objective. The real reason might also be me thinking this is the perfect time to train Mozu when it, in fact, is not. I do think that applying the right tonics in the right places should allow me to succeed on that front too.

Do I go for the Takumi kill though? The reward is little more than just bragging rights, but I think it's not impossible for me to achieve in just one turn and makes the last turns of the map more tolerable to boot. Just need to find that right balance between reliability and maximising units' opportunities for growth.

[Wayward Alchemist]

I wouldn't if I were you, that chapter is tough enough as is, especially if you're training Mozu. I think even Camilla is OHKOd by him and Haar can't be dinking around on the south side of the map when the Pegs come a-knocking. Also I'd marry off Niles and fast, that lack of Locktouch won't be fun.

On another note, Selena could be a valuable Bow user. Go Merc --> Bow Knight --> Kinshi Knight. IDK if there are any maps like that depressing one in Awakening on the giant bones, but a flying archer would have been awesome there.

[Espinosa]

I wouldn't if I were you, that chapter is tough enough as is, especially if you're training Mozu. I think even Camilla is OHKOd by him and Haar can't be dinking around on the south side of the map when the Pegs come a-knocking. Also I'd marry off Niles and fast, that lack of Locktouch won't be fun.

On another note, Selena could be a valuable Bow user. Go Merc --> Bow Knight --> Kinshi Knight. IDK if there are any maps like that depressing one in Awakening on the giant bones, but a flying archer would have been awesome there.

Nobody is marrying Niles because I shouldn't be using pair-up with male units. Otherwise I would be fielding Arthur in every map for the absurd +4 str/+2 spd.

I don't really see Bow Knight being very valuable without Adventurer's Pass, and I don't see any utility in working out of E rank bows. Even Hinoka has Iote's Shield...

Camilla is obviously OHKO'd by Takumi since Fujin's damage triples against her, but she only needs to connect two attacks to summarily KO him. Dual guard properly prepared can void the first attack, so with an Azura dance or a prior enemy phase counterattack Takumi will fall. Fujin's +10 avo bonus makes connecting Steel Axe attacks on him unreliable though (I gotta see if Iron will 2HKO, because I'm pretty sure that's the case for Oboro protecting the Dracoshield village).

Been playing the map and without a full party I can use it's not as easy as it normally is. Need to find the right balance between self-improvement and reliable defence still.

Meanwhile, here's Paralogue 1 completed in 7 turns. I don't mess around and try to get Mozu ready for action ASAP.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Espinosa

[Shadow Mir]

Might as well follow... Nya.

Planning on doing a girls only playthrough for Birthright too?

Edited February 27, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia